Animal Adventure

Chapter 19: Journey to Fantasia

Teresa couldn't help but look at the void with turquois eyes. The same is being said with Teresa. Everyone takes a while to realize there is a cat, a kitten, in Teresa's lap. No sound is being made, but once the shock is over, Natsuki couldn't help but squeals in excitement.

"Kitty!" Natsuki shouted as he goes to pick the thing in Teresa's lap.

"Stop." Teresa said.

Teresa holds her hand up to stop Natsuki. Natsuki looks at Teresa in confusion.

"You're scaring the kitten." Aka explained.

Aka moves closer to Teresa and the kitten, moving Otoya off her. Otoya makes a noise that sound like a protest, but he says nothing. Aka slowly sticks her hand towards the kitten. Teresa tries to not move as much as possible. The kitten hesitates when it sees Aka's hand but eventually sniffs it. It seems to think Aka is safe and leans its head against her hand. Aka gives its command and scratches behind its ear. A purr can be heard from the kitten.

"How did this little guy get into your lap?" Aka asked as she continues to scratch.

Aka moves from its ears to its chin. The black void becomes a bigger puddle under Aka's magic touch. The purring gets louder and louder.

"It just crawled into my lap." Teresa said.

Aka stops scratching the kitten. The kitten lets out a whine from the lack of contact, but it didn't have to wait long for a hand to come back. Teresa follows the same steps as Aka did. Again, the boys watch as the kitten sniffs Teresa's hand and leans towards it.

"Can I pet the kitty too?" Natsuki asked as he bounces up and down next to Teresa.

"Of course." Teresa said.

Before Natsuki can stick his hand out, Aka leans over the kitten and Teresa's lap and catches Natsuki's wrist.

"Slowly stick your hand out." Aka said as she slowly let's go. "Have your palm facing up."

Natsuki follows Aka's instruction. The kitten sniffs his hand.

"Wait for it to lean forward. The number one thing about cats is that you have to let them make the first move. Be patience. Don't rush."

Each word Aka says holds truth as the kitten leans into Natsuki's touch. Natsuki gently scratches the kitten's head.

"You seem to know how to handle cat well." Tokiya pointed out.

Teresa and Aka laugh at the comment.

"When we were younger, Aka would take in cats and take care of them." Teresa explained. "Unfortunately, we couldn't keep them."

"I want to pet it." Otoya said.

Otoya drapes himself over Aka's lap and reaches out his hand. Just like Natsuki, Otoya follows Aka's instructions. But unlike Aka and Natsuki, the kitten doesn't sniff him and goes lean into his hand. Otoya giggles and runs his hand through its short fur.

"It's so soft." Otoya said in awe.

Aka hums in interested.

"It seems to like you a lot, Otoya." Teresa pointed out.

Otoya either ignores Teresa or didn't listen as he continues to pet the kitten. As Otoya runs his hand, his fingers get caught on something.

"There is something on the kitty."

Looking down, Teresa puts her hand where Otoya's is and feels a rough texture in the soft fur.

"I think that is a collar."

"A collar?"

"That means that someone is already taking care of this little guy." Aka answered. "Which means that we have to return the kitten to its owner."

Otoya and Natsuki's faces fall when they hear that.

"We can't keep Kuppuru?" Natsuki asked in sadness.

"Kuppuru?" Teresa repeated.

"Kitty."

"Sorry, Charming Prince. But Kuppuru already has a family." Aka said. "You are sad because you were taken away from your family, right?"

Natsuki nods.

"We should look for its owner online." Teresa said.

Teresa scoops the kitten, now named Kuppuru, into her arms and starts standing up. The kitten lets out a meow but did not struggle.

"That is a good idea." Aka said as she gets up as well. "And if we can't find them, we can post a missing cat post. Hopefully the owner can find us soon."

Teresa nods in agreement. After waiting for the boys to get up, Aka leads everyone back into the house. But before they can go inside, Teresa, who is in the back, yelps. Everyone turns to see what is happening. Teresa is on the ground. Kuppuru, who was in Teresa's arms, is now replaced with a small child.

The child is a boy. He looks to be about Otoya, Tokiya, and Syo's age, maybe even younger. His skin is much darker than any of them. His dark black hair has a pair of black, cat-like ears in them. A matching black tail waves back and forward. Aka frowns at the way the boy's way of dressing. He has no shirt covering his body. Instead, he has a green sleeveless jacket. His The boy looks around. His turquoise eyes showing fears and curiosity. The same eyes as Kuppuru's.

"Kuppuru?" Teresa called, unsure if this boy is the same as the kitten.

The boy nods his head. He looks anywhere that but their eyes. No one doesn't know what to do. The silence is too much for the boy that he said something.

"Are you mad?" the boy asked.

"No." Aka said. "Not at you. But I will be mad at the person who let you wonder on your own."

The boy looks at Aka, eyes widen in surprise.

"Don't be mad at Mommy and Daddy!" the boy shouted. "They don't want me hurt by bad people."

"Bad people?" Aka asked.

"Bad people are after me, but I don't know why."

"What is your name?" Teresa asked.

"Cecil." Cecil said.

"Do you know your last name?" Aka asked.

"Aijima."

Aka knows she heard that name before. She tries to remember. After frying her brain, Aka gives up and instead gets her phone out. Quickly typing Cecil's name into google, Aka clicks the first link. Memories rush through her head when Aka read the few line of the article.

"Is your father's name Abdun?" Aka asked.

She looks at Cecil. He nods, although he tilts his head to the side. Aka curses under her breath. Teresa watches Aka play with her phone, waiting for her twin to explain.

"Get everyone back inside." Aka commanded, not answering Teresa's unsaid question.

Aka puts the phone next to her ear and waits for someone to pick up. Wordless, Teresa guides the boys inside.

"Who is Aka calling?" Otoya asked.

Otoya looks behind him, staring at Aka's figure. Aka has her back facing them. She is talking to someone, but they can't hear what she is saying.

"I don't know." Teresa answered honestly. "But it seems like something serious."

Teresa has a sinking feeling that something bad is going to happen. She hopes that the bad feeling is just her being paranoid.

Or at the very least, Aka deals with this danger before it is too late.