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Satoru sat in front of the door with a nervously twitching tail. It was almost time. He stared through the glass, unable to keep his eyes away from his target. She always sat there, on the wall that seperated them, right in his line of sight. She always complained when he came over to her. But over and over, every day like clockwork, she sat at the same spot. She knew he was watching, and she wanted him to see her, only to reject him when he approached. She was a devious little thing, dangling a mouse in front of his nose only to snatch it away again.
Oh, how he loved her!
A noise from the back got his attention, and he turned his ears into that direction without turning his head. „Poor little fool. Is it time again? You ready for your lady love, Buddy?“
It was Suguru, his owner and his very best friend. He always understood Satoru, knew what he wanted, what he needed, wether it was food, a new cat tree, or a good scratch behind the ears. Suguru was the absolute best, especially when he noticed Satoru staring at the gorgeous black cat through the window.
Oh, Satoru could remember it as if it was yesterday! How she has jumped onto the garden wall and started grooming herself, licking at her paws and raising her face towards the sun. He was instantly captivated. Becautiful glossy fur, an adorable button nose, the cutest white paws. The scar over her nose didn’t change anything about how lovely she was.
Once Suguru has let him out that fateful day, Satoru has immediately approached the strange cat. She has had a bow around her neck and she was very clean, so she couldn’t be a stray. It could only mean that she lived somewhere in the area. Satoru knew he was gorgeous, with long, silky white hair, a bushy tail and gorgeous eyes. He was a perfect specimen.
So it surprised him when the other cat eyed him wearily and even started hissing as he approached. Satoru approached further, thinking she only had to get used to him, but his advanced were met with a swipe of her claws at his face as a warning before the other cat jumped off the wall towards the house on the opposite side. There the door quickly opened for her and Satoru was left alone on the wall, unable to comprehend what has just happened.
A lot of time has passed since then. Though the other cat was as prickly as ever, she eventually let him be in her presence as long as he didn’t get too close. Getting too close would result in a swat of her paw and her escape. He didn’t want that, and although he wanted to be close to her, he was satisfied with merely being near her.
His patience was rewarded little by little. Eventually the other cat – Utahime, as he found out when her owner called for her – would let him be with her for hours. They would groom themselves together, would bask in the sun, and they would roam the neighborhood. He learned that she didn’t like to get near other dogs (maybe it had something to do with the scar on her face?) and that she didn’t like to get dirty. Well, she was not alone with that. He hated to get his long fur dirty and matted. It meant a bath, and as much as he loved Suguru, he couldn’t abite that.
It has been several months now, and slowly but surely Utahime has warmed up to him to a degree where she even allowed her to cuddle up while they sunned themselves on the wall. She would mumble and grumble at the beginning, but those sounds soon turned into soft purrs, especially when he was presumptious and started cleaning her. She only swatted him off the wall when he started to dare too much, but even those instances were getting less and less often.
Soon… soon.
Suguru observed his cat jumping first on the patio table and then onto the garden wall to reach his crush. Said crush irgnored him at first, but soon warmed up to him, like she was wont to do lately.
He couldn’t deny that he almost cried laughing when his little buddy first approached Utahime and got soundly rejected, almost throwing Satoru off the wall. He still had the image of Satoru in his head as he hung onto that wall, barely holding on, staring after the black cat. If he had to compare Satoru with a human then he would be a schoolboy that thought that annoying the person he had a crush on was a good way of gaining favor.
To be fair, Satoru did get Utahime to warm up to him. He had to put in a lot of labor, but as long as Satoru didn’t get run over by a car while doing so then Suguru was happy for his little buddy.
He talked with Shoko, Utahime’s owner, about those two and the little mating dance they were performing. Utahime played hard to get, and Satoru was the boy who thought that pulling at a girl’s hair was cute. Shoko was his neighbor in the house right opposite his own. In fact, it was their cats that got them talking in the first place, and they became good friends. Now those two cats were their own personal reality soap.
Sadly it wouldn’t end in the way Satoru wanted it to. He was newly neutered, and Utahime was spayed. Satoru’s breeder almost weeped when Suguru told them what he has done with Satoru, but they understood. Though Satoru was generally well behaved, he was also pretty rumbuctious and agressive. Neutering him hopefully reduced those traits. It hasn’t been long yet, so Satoru still had some of those mating urges, but thankfully neither him nor Shoko had to worry about a litter of kittens being on the way, although those would be pretty damn cute considering the potential parents.
Suguru went back to his bedroom to pack his suitcase. He was visiting his parents in the countryside for two weeks. Both of them have turned sixty and wanted to celebrate together with a big get-together. Almost the whole family was invited, and Suguru decided that he should just make a whole vacation out of it.
His parents were happy about that, claiming that he visited them not nearly enough. When he mentioned having to find someone to watch after Satoru, they happily told him to just bring him along. Suguru was a little worried (imagining Satoru getting lost in the forest or falling into a rice paddy), but in the end he agreed. He new Satoru wouldn’t like it, having to leave his lady love behind and all that, but it was only for two weeks.
Suguru prepared everything he could, getting a carrier for Satoru from under his bed that he used for visits to the vet, and packed a bag of litter for his litterbox. When he came back to the living room to get a mouse toy that Satoru loved he glanced out of the window and nearly fell over laughing.
Satoru has climbed on top of Utahime who seemed to indulge him. Enthusiasm looked different. But the fact that she let it happen in the first place already said a lot. Too bad it wouldn’t do anything. Sorry buddy, Suguru thought, no kittens with Utahime for you.
Satoru purred as he licked at Utahimes ear. They were cuddled together in their usual spot, her eyes closed in relaxation, at the verge of falling asleep. Satoru wanted to join her, but he could see Suguru walking in and out and around inside the house like a nervous animal. His human’s energy was infectous, and so Satoru couldn’t fully relax, as much as he wanted to.
It didn‘t matter. It was more important that Utahime kept her strength. She would need it soon with the kittens there would get soon.
Only when Suguru called him inside did he stand up. It startled Utahime awake, and she stretched and yawned as she stood up, too. Satoru gave her a couple more licks to the face and an affectionate headbutt before he jumped down the wall and back into his house. He felt good. Life was perfect!
At least it was, until Suguru put him into the Prison Realm™. He fought valiantly, but eventually he fell victim to a foul trick on Suguru’s part, the damn traitor. He yowled and hissed and swatted at the bar as he was put into the back of the loud, moving monster the humans called car, but it was no use. With forlorn eyes he had to watch as Utahime, who has noticed the ruckus and has come around to the front yard became smaller and smaller.
The journey was longer than it has ever been before. It only got marginally better when they arrived and he was let out. Suguru’s parents, who have visited him before and who gave very good scritches, were an acceptable destination.
But a couple of hours turned into days – DAYS! And no matter how far he roamed the area, he just couldn’t find a spot that was familiar to him, so he didn’t know how to get back home. Back to Utahime! Oh, how could he just leave her, especially in her condition! What if she needed him! What if she was hungry and he wasn’t there to catch her food? What if their kittens were born and he wasn’t there?!
„Oh the poor dear,“ he could hear Suguru’s mother say behind him. „He looks so sad, staring out the window like that. Is something wrong with him?“
„Don’t worry,“ Suguru answered. „He just misses Utahime, the neighbor’s cat. He was wooing her, and lately she has returned his attention. He’s probably worried that she may lose interest if he doesn’t shower her in affection for a couple of days.“
Satoru didn’t know what the humans were saying exactly, but he heard his own name as well as Utahime’s. He jumped on Suguru’s lap and meowed at him. Maybe if he begged enough they would return home sooner.
„Sorry, buddy,“ Suguru said as he stroked over his fur. „Just a couple more days and you’ll be reunited. It’s as if nothing ever happened, you’ll see.“
Turns out Suguru was a filthy little liar.
Satoru knew he should have tried harder to get home! Look at what has happened! Utahime has needed him and he was far away, unable to help her!
He has missed the birth of his own sweet little kitten!
Astonished Suguru observed how Satoru shot out of the patio door and onto the wall to his usual seat. A seat that was already occupied by Utahime. Utahime… and a adorable black kitten. The kitten looked a little rumpled, but otherwise healthy.
Utahime was cleaning him as Satoru jumped up onto the wall and approached them. She meowed, as if to say „Look what I got here!“, and Satoru immediately started to roam around the two other cats, meowing incessantly and trying to headbutt the kitten. Said kitten swiped at his face with a hiss, just like Utahime did the first time, but Satoru didn’t care, crowding into their space until the kitten was almost buried beneath white fur.
A knock from the front door ripped Suguru out of this spectacle. He quickly opened the door to Shoko who let herself in with a lazily mumbled, „I saw you were back and wanted to warn you that – nevermind.“ She lingered at the still opened patio door, observing their cats just like him.
„When did that happen?“ Suguru asked and pointed towards the gaggle of fur on their wall. „I mean… what?“
„It happened a couple of days ago,“ Shoko said with a smirk. „Utahime came home with Megumi – the kitten – in her maw. She wouldn’t take no for an answer and has taught him how to use the litterbox and the food bowl since then. The little guy was kinda frightened at the beginning, but thanks to Utahime he has calmed down quite a bit. Though I guess he found his nemesis in Satoru.“
They observed how Megumi (what a strange name for a male cat, but whatever) almost fell off the wall while trying to get Satoru to back off. He was only saved by said Nemesis, as Satoru quickly grabbed him and lifted him back up. Megumi didn’t apprechiate it, and quickly backed up into Utahime’s care.
„Utahime’s mama insticts are strong,“ Shoko noted. „It really is as if Megumi is her own.“
Suguru chuckled. „Yeah, well, Satoru is obviously elated about how this all turned out.“ They observed how said cat leaned over and started licking at Utahime’s face. He was purring up such a storm that Suguru could hear it even from the patio. „Dude,“ Suguru couldn’t help but call out, „that’s not your kid! Chill out!“
Satoru did, in fact, not chill out.