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Hakutou loved his owners.
It took him some time to admit and yes, there was the brief period where he was angry with Momose because he thought he was leaving him, but Hakutou loved his owners very much. He got treats and pets everyday. There was always someone for him to cuddle. New toys were always popping up around the apartment. He could not have asked for better owners than Shirosaki and Momose.
However, lately, Hakutou has noticed some strange things happening in his home. It started out with little noises here and there, and at first, he thought he was just imagining it. But the noises kept growing and growing, until finally, Hakutou came to one conclusion.
There was a monster living in his home.
That, of course, would never do for Hakutou. If Hakutou had a different owner, he would let him handle it themselves. But Hakutou knew how goofy Shirosaki was and he knew how scared he was of everything supernatural. A matter like this could never be left to Shirosaki to handle. He supposed Momose could possibly take care of it, but since he no longer lived with them, he wasn’t around 24/7 and there was no knowing when the monster would strike.
No, there was only one solution to this and that was for Hakutou to hunt down the monster himself.
Hakutou loved movie nights with his owners. It was always so cozy and warm with the two of them around him. He didn’t really know what was going on in the movie, though, but he thought the giant cat bus was neat and it seemed like Shirosaki and Momose were enjoying it.
Hakutou was trying to stay up to see if the cat bus would show up again, but the warmth surrounding him made it harder and harder to stay awake. It wasn’t long before he started drifting off to sleep, barely registering his owners getting up to go to bed as well. He guessed neither of them wanted to wake up since they let him stay on the couch, a soft blanket draped over him to keep him warm.
However, he was just about to get to the good part of his dream when he heard it.
“Ohhhhh!”
The noise awoke Hakutou before he could even register it. He realized the monster had returned and had to stop it before it got to his owners. Looking around wildly, he jumped off the couch and began searching the apartment. There was no sign of it in the bathroom or the kitchen. He checked under the couch too and saw no sign of it there. He was growing more frantic with every passing second until he heard a rhythmic creaking coming from the bedroom.
“Yes! Ah! Ah! Ah!” cried the monster. “Oh, fuck, yes!”
Oh no, thought Hakutou. The monster was already trying to eat his owners! If he doesn't do something, it’ll be too late and he’ll be all alone again!
“Let me in!” Hakutou meowed, clawing at the door. “Stop eating them! Let me in!”
Hakutou cried more and more the longer the noises continued. His little heart was pounding wildly as he imagined the immense pain his owners were going through just beyond the door.
Why don’t I have hands? thought Hakutou. Why can’t I open the door?!
As if hearing his thoughts, the door swung open then and Hakutou found himself falling face first. His fall was stopped, though, by a familiar looking slipper and he soon found himself being picked up. He flailed around for a moment until he saw Shirosaki looking at him, concern on his face.
“Hakutou, what’s wrong?” he asked, hugging the cat to his chest. “What’s got you so worked up?”
“Oh, thank god,” he meowed, burrowing his face into Shirosaki’s chest. “You’re okay!”
Shirosaki chuckled. “I guess you were worried when you didn’t see me, huh?”
“I was! I was!”
“It’s okay. I’m alright. Here, you can sleep here with me and Momose tonight, okay?”
Hakutou looked up to see Momose sitting in bed, smiling softly at him. He felt the tears start to return when he saw his other owner was safe too and quickly leapt out of Shirosaki’s arms to cuddle him too.
“Oh, poor Hokutou,” Momose cooed as he held him. “It’s okay.”
Shirosaki climbed into bed with them, surrounding Hakutou with warmth once more. He let out a small sigh of relief as they pulled him close, placing kisses on the top of his head. Hakutou was still worried about where the monster went, but for now, he was safe and so were his owners.
Hakutou was up early that morning and was currently doing a lap around the apartment. After the monster nearly got his owners last week, he’s been making it a habit to inspect his home every morning to make sure there were no signs of it and so far, there was nothing. He hoped that meant the monster was gone, but he knew he couldn’t be too sure just yet.
“Oh, you’re up already, Hakutou?”
Hakutou turned around to see Shirosaki and gave a meow before wrapping himself around his legs, purring in contentment. He always looked so silly with his hair sticking up everywhere, yawning and stretching without a care. It must have been warm last night because his shirt was missing, leaving his top half bare.
“Hold on. Let me get you your breakfast.”
Shirosaki managed to navigate past Hakutou and into the kitchen where he began preparing his food. Hakutou padded along behind him, ready to enjoy his meal, when something worrisome caught his attention.
All along his owner's back were long red scratches. None of them broke skin, but there was no way they didn't hurt. It looked as if something had tried to grab his owner and pull him away, and Hakutou knew there was only one thing that could.
“The monster!” Hakutou cried. “The monster was here last night!”
He ran after his owner, meowing loudly as he pawed at his legs. Shirosaki looked down curiously, unable to understand why his cat was getting so worked up at this hour.
“Huh? Hakutou, what's wrong?” he asked, picking him up. “I know you're hungry, but you need to give me a second.”
“That's not it! We don't have time for food now!” he meowed, thrashing about in Shirosaki’s arms. “I can't believe I let the monster hurt you!”
Finally able to free himself, Hakutou hurried to the bedroom. It's possible the monster was still there or maybe it at least left a clue for him to follow, and he was determined to find it. He checked under the bed first, but only found dust bunnies and a treat he had forgotten about the other day. He went into the closet next, but saw nothing there either. He finally came to the bed, spotting a familiar head of hair pop up.
“Hakutou, what is it? What's going on?” Momose yawned.
The relief Hakutou felt upon seeing his other owner quickly disappeared when he saw something worrisome on him too. All along his neck and shoulders were numerous bite marks, ranging from small to large. They were bright red and starting to purple, but thankfully, once again, none of them were that deep. Still, it did nothing to calm Hakutou and he began crying even more.
“I'm sorry!” he meowed. “I'm sorry! I should've stopped the monster last night!”
Hakutou was still so distressed that he failed to register Momose picking him up and setting him on the bed. Shirosaki came in then with his bowl of food, but Hakutou continued to lament his regrets.
“What's gotten into Hakutou this morning?” asked Momose.
Shirosaki shrugged. “I'm not sure. I thought he was just hungry, but I guess not,” he answered. “I'm sure he'll be alright. If he's not by the time we get home, I'll make a call to the vet.”
Hakutou did not trust the bathroom. You can’t trust a place with that much water. Not only that it was the only place his owner wouldn't let him in when he was in there and after what happened the other night, Hakutou was not keen on leaving his owner alone anytime soon.
So when Hakutou heard the sound of the water running, he ran towards the bathroom immediately. He knew that his owner liked to turn the water on to warm up first before returning, which was the perfect window for him to try and sneak in.
Peeking his head inside, Hakutou was met with the hot humid air. It made him wrinkle his nose in annoyance, but he knew he had to put up with it to protect his owner and took a step onto the tile. He was scanning the room for a place to hide when he found himself being lifted up and began fussing.
“Hakutou, what are you doing? You know you can't go in there now.”
“Put me down! Put me down!” he cried as Shirosaki carried him out.
He placed Hakutou on the couch and returned to the bathroom. Hakutou tried to hurry after him as fast as his little legs could, but the door got shut on him just as he was a hair's breadth away.
“No! Let me in!” howled Hakutou. He began scratching at the door wildly. “Let me in!”
“I'm just taking a bath, Hakutou. I'll be out in a little bit.”
Hakutou wanted to cry out more, but he knew it was futile. His owner was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do now was sit and wait for him to hopefully return. So with a sigh, he sat down, watching the bathroom door carefully.
He supposed he was overreacting a bit. After all, nothing has happened to Shirosaki in the bathroom so far. Perhaps the monster was afraid of water like he was. Maybe the bathroom was a neutral zone for all of them.
“Ohhhh!”
Or not.
“Mmmm yes!” came another moan. “Ah!”
No! I knew this would happen! Hakutou thought, shooting back up. And now the monster is in the bathroom too!
“I’m coming!” he cried, clawing at the door once again. “Stay away from my owner!”
Hakutou could hear the moaning grow louder through the door. The sound of water splashing also increased which could only mean that the monster was trying to drown his owner, which only made him more frantic as he attacked the door.
“No! Don’t take him from me!”
“I’m- I’m- ahhhhh!”
Silence filled the air after that last cry and Hakutou felt his heart drop. His owner was gone, taken by that monster, and he couldn’t do anything to save him. He had no idea how long he cried for as he thought back on his regrets, but it would never be enough.
If only he had found it sooner! If only he had stopped it! If only he had gone into the bathroom with him!
There were so many things Hakutou could’ve done differently, but now, he was all alone once more.
“Hakutou, did you wait for me again?”
What?
Hakutou looked up to see his owner looking down at him, hair wet and towel wrapped around him. He crouched down to pet him, giving him a scratch right behind his ears. The tears of sorrow quickly became tears of joy as Hakutou wrapped himself around Shirosaki’s legs, rubbing his face against them as he rejoiced at the fact that he wasn’t gone.
Shirosaki chuckled. “I love you too, Hakutou. I love you too.”
Shirosaki and Momose were on a business trip, which meant Hakutou was going over to Aoyama and Kinjou’s house.
Hakutou didn’t like Aoyama, but he didn’t hate him, either. He just thought he was weird. He had more plushies than even Hakutou had and that was a lot with how much Shirosaki and Momose spoiled him. Kinjou was also weird. Sometimes, he had cat ears, like Hakutou, but then sometimes, he didn’t. Hakutou knew Kinjou wasn’t a cat, but he thought it was weird that he could make his ears just appear like that.
Probably the one person, or rather, the one thing Hakutou liked about staying with Aoyama and Kinjou was Kumattechan. The giant one was the best because it meant he could curl up right in its lap and take a nice warm nap, which is exactly what he was doing now. It was so cozy and they had left a show about a robot cat on for him to fall asleep to too. It was probably the most relaxed Hakutou had felt in a while, until he heard it.
“Oh, fuck! Yes! Yes!”
Oh no, the monster had followed him here! thought Hakutou. It’s been after him this entire time!
“God, you taste so good! Watch me as I eat you out!”
Hakutou may not care for Aoyama and Kinjou, but he couldn’t let the monster eat them like that! Especially when it was his fault to begin with!
He may not know his way around their place as well, but he could hear where the sound was coming from. He followed it to the bedroom and luckily for him, the monster had left the door cracked open. Jumping at the door, Hakutou was able to push it open and spotted Aoyama and Kinjou on the bed. Both of them were moving around wildly, clearly trying to fight off the monster that was attacking them.
“Don’t worry! I’m coming!” Hakutou yelled.
Using all his strength, he managed to make it onto the bed. He began scratching and biting at whatever he could in the hopes of landing any kind of hit on the monster. Anything to get it let go of his owners’ friends!
“Ow! Ow! Hakutou, hold on! Wait!” Kinjou cried, lightly batting at Hakutou’s paws. “Stop! It’s okay! We’re okay!”
Hakutou stopped long enough to see Aoyama and Kinjou staring at him curiously. Both of them had the same scratches and bite marks that his owners had, but aside from that, they were alive and there was no sign of the monster anywhere.
“Oh, thank god,” meowed Hakutou, sighing with relief. “I did it. I got here just in time.”
Aoyama and Kinjou chuckled and shared a look.
“Maybe we should do this later.”
“Yeah, good idea.”
After all of these close encounters, Hakutou was determined to rid his home of the monster. His owner was out today, which meant he had free reign and could do as much investigating as he wanted. It’d be a good surprise for when he returned!
From past experience, it seemed the monster usually appeared in the bedroom the most, so it made sense for him to search there first. He already established that the closet and under the bed were safe, but there was another spot that he had yet to check. Next to the bed was a bedside table. There usually wasn’t much on it aside from a bottle of water and his owner’s glasses, but Hakutou knew that it had a drawer and he believed that was where the monster was hiding.
The obstacle now was whether or not he’d be able to get it open given that he had no hands. But it seemed luck was on his side because when Hakutou peeked into the bedroom, he saw something long and furry sticking out of the drawer.
“It’s the monster’s tail!” he gasped. “Now’s my chance!”
With careful steps, Hakutou snuck over, taking great care not to startle the monster as his heart beat loudly in his chest. It showed no sign of movement and he hoped that meant it was asleep. Teeth and claws bared, he pounced on the monster’s tail, gripping it tightly in his mouth. He pulled at it, wrestling it from the drawer, and he nearly let go when the monster revealed itself.
It was smaller than he had expected and remained unmoving as he dragged it out, but Hakutou knew better than to assume that meant it was harmless. He saw the aftermath of the damage it had caused already and would not be underestimating it again. Shaking his head, he tried to throw the monster, hoping to use his surroundings to his advantage. It hit the wall with a loud thud, but it seemed he must have angered it because the monster started vibrating violently.
It’s getting angry, he thought. Good. This wouldn’t be satisfying without it putting in some effort!
Pouncing on the monster’s tail once more, Hakutou held it in place, doing his best to scratch it. The monster only grew angrier, shaking even more, and he did his best to hold onto it with his little paws. His back legs scratched wildly as he held it in place, teeth tearing out more and more of the fur on its tail. He felt his claw catch on something and it was as if someone had flipped a switch. The monster’s thrashing began to slow and Hakutou knew this was his chance.
“This is for my owners!” he howled. “This is for my owners’ friends!”
Biting down harder, Hakutou pulled as hard as he could and with a pop, the monster became separated from its tail. He tossed it aside, reveling in the sound it made as it hit the wall again. That seemed to have been the final blow because the monster stopped moving, lying motionless on the floor. He tentatively came over to inspect it to make sure and sighed in relief when it gave no reaction.
He did it. It was over. He won.
“Hakutou, I’m home!”
And right on time too! he thought, grabbing a hold of the tail. He dragged it from out of the bedroom to where his owner was removing his shoes by the doorway.
“Look! I did it! I stopped the monster!” Hakutou meowed. “You don’t have to worry anymore!”
“Hm? What have you got there? Oh!”
Shirosaki’s eyes went wide and a hand went up to cover his mouth. Hakutou knew his owner would be speechless and he preened at the happy reaction he was getting, standing tall before his prize.
“Um, oh, uh, good job, Hakutou!” Shirosaki chuckled. He reached out to pet Hakutou, scratching his little head, before picking up the tail. “Thank you for the present,” he said, holding it up. “I’m sure Momose will appreciate it too.”
Hakutou’s heart soared even more when he heard this. He was so glad this was all over. Finally, after everything they did for him, he was able to pay them back and protect them. It had been a long journey and there were times where even he doubted if it was possible, but now that it was done, it only made victory so much more satisfying.
“Momose, is it alright if we go over to your place tonight?”
“Sure. Do you mind if I ask why?”
“Well, Hakutou seems to have…destroyed one of our toys.”
“...oh.”
“And I think he may continue trying to do so.”
“Yeah, we can go to my place instead.”