Chichiri looked up to see the volunteer worker opening the lock of his cage and put in his bowl of cat food and water. He turned around until his back was facing the young volunteer and ignored her, the food and water untouched.
“Come on, kitty cat, you gotta eat something. You left out so much of lunch today.”
Chichiri gave her the silent treatment. There was no way he was going to eat that. For all he knew, they might try to poison him with a slow-moving drug that could kill both him and his kittens. He’d rather starve.
“You’re not doing you or your kittens any good going on a hunger strike like this. You can’t keep up like this. I don’t want to let the doctor force-feed you. It’s not a pretty sight, trust me.”
Chichiri turned around slightly to give the girl a grudging look. She was no older than Tasuki, and had nice curly and thick dark-brown hair and a pair of hauntingly beautiful blood-red eyes. Skin as pale and smooth as ivory and slim built, he remembered that she was called Illust-chan around the AHS shelter house he was thrown in after he was separated from his beloved Tasu-sama. She had this weird smiley face that always made her look happy and high, like she was on crack 24/7, but in truth, she just had a very jovial, happy-go-lucky nature. So far, in his stay in the shelter house, she was the only one who had been decently nice to him.
Days in the shelter house were sad and lonely. It’s been so long since he last seen Tasuki after that crazy incident outside their home, what with the involvement of the paparazzi and all. When the people of AHS put him into the cat cage, he cried and snarled and hissed and rattled his cage, begging to be out. He wouldn’t give up without a fight, not even when one of them injected him with sedatives. With whatever strength he had left before the sedatives fully kicked in, he grabbed hold on the lock of the cage tightly and shook it as hard as he could, hoping the movement would break it and he would go free. All that vigor was in vain as he woke up with a bad headache and grilled door greeted him, accompanied by other sounds like people talking, dogs barking, cats meowing and things moving about, and of course, the first person he met when it was time for meals was Illust-chan.
Not a day went by without him thinking what happened to his beloved koibito and master Tasu-sama. He could tell from the crowd that gathered around outside their little humble abode that their long kept secret had been discovered and he worried everyday about what the policemen would and all that mad crowd would do to him knowing that he was having an illicit affair with a pet and having him pregnant. He wondered who ratted them out. Surely it wasn’t Nuriko. The first thing Nuriko did when the policemen arrested him was reaching for the phone to call someone for help, so Nuriko was definitely out of the list of suspects. Hotohori? Impossible. He had treated his Tasu-sama and him like family, and was one of the kindest humans he had ever met. He would never do such a thing. It could definitely not be any of their friends from Rekka-Shin or any of their clients. Besides, Nuriko and Hotohori were the only ones alive to know about their secret affair and he trusted them with his life. But if it weren’t them, who could it be?
“Personally, I think it’s not fair they keep you here,” Illust-chan sat down in front of his cage as usual whenever she brought him his meals. “I mean technically speaking, you are 75 percent human, and there’s no say in the law that you cannot fall in love and have babies with you as long as you’re dominantly human, but you know how all those Green Peace people and Animal Rights Activists, thinking you’re an animal and all. Now who’s being the inconsiderate one, eh?”
Regardless if he was paying attention or not, Illust-chan would talk and talk and talk to him like he was an old friend and just pour out everything she had in mind, until she had to be nagged by her colleague or superior to get the hell up and get back to work. Basically Chichiri was her not-so-willing listening ear, and since she didn’t pester him to listen to her or look at her while she’s talking but just talk on and on about her life that has got nothing to do with him, it wouldn’t hurt to just let her blab for a while.
“Actually, to tell the truth, we should just leave animals be, you know?” Illust-chan blabbered as she reached in to stroke Chichiri on the back of the ear. Another thing was that Chichiri would never allow anyone to touch him except Illust-chan (and that was after biting and scratching at her a number of times, yet she never seemed to quit), thus her personally handling him. “Animals have been around this land for centuries and the wild animals in the outback are all doing hunky-dory fine before without having us humans involved, so who are we exactly to question their wellbeing and decide what’s best for them? We’ve made plenty of mistakes trying to play Kami-sama over the animals and look where we’ve ended up? More losing than saving, that’s what it is right now.
“You know what I think?” Illust-chan lowered her voice to a whisper, as if telling Chichiri a secret, “I think you and your master should’ve just eloped when you had the chance. Isn’t that romantic? Him whisking you off into some paradise island where you live your days without care in the world. That would be so great! No one will ever question your love. Hell, they can’t even question your whereabouts!”
Chichiri smiled inwardly. He felt rather intrigued about that idea. Maybe they should’ve done that in the first place. But of course, he wouldn’t admit that to Illust-chan. He still has his doubts about her.
“Let me give you another secret,” Illust-chan lowered her voice to almost inaudible, but only just enough to let Chichiri’s sharp ears catch it. “I think I got a way to get you outta here somehow, so be patient.”
“Illust-chan!” someone called her from afar, probably a colleague or her superior. “I swear you’re going to be sent to the nut house if you keep sitting there blabbering to animals like you’re George of the Jungle or something! Get your ass here to work!”
“Hai, hai, chotto matte bayo!” Illust-chan shouted back with her smiley face and gave Chichiri one last stroke before saying, “Be a good kitty and eat your dinner, OK? For lil’ ol’ me? Onegai shimasu?”
Chichiri stared after Illust-chan who rushed off humming a cheerful tone while ignoring her colleague’s bashing about her slacking off the job.
What exactly did she mean by that statement?
--:--
Nuriko, Hotohori and the first two couples Tasuki and Chichiri helped match-made were in the visiting room along with other people who went there to visit their loved ones being locked up in prison. The only thing separated them was a counter and a glass wall between them and a telephone as their only means of talking to each other.It has been almost 3 months since Tasuki was jailed. Their lawyer Tatemo had tried to make an appeal, but so far, there had been no green light as to whether they would want to allow a retrial. After that sensational news, those who were close to or knew Tasuki or who were known to have been Tasuki’s clients were quickly shunned and ignored, being pointed and whispered about behind their backs, even though they claimed it again and again that they had no part or nothing to do with Tasuki’s bestial affair and had no clue of what Tasuki had been doing behind closed doors. No one would want to listen to them. Even when they knew they spoke the truth, they wanted to have nothing to do with them. They were treated rather discriminately in places and were not allowed visitations to see Chichiri for fear of foul play, since they knew them and Chichiri were close. Tasuki’s guess were as good as theirs as to how Chichiri’s condition was and how he was doing in the shelter home.
Nuriko gestured Tasuki to pick up the phone on his side and waited for Tasuki to do so before talking through the phone on her side, “Ohayo, Tasu-chan.”
“Hai…” Tasuki replied weakly, his mood not really into the conversation.
“How you’re holding up, Tasu-chan?” Nuriko asked worriedly. She traced around Tasuki’s face outline on the glass and muttered, “You’ve lost weight…”
“No biggie,” Tasuki replied. “I’m getting used to having cabbage soup, mash potatoes, bread and soybean milk everyday anyway.”
“Don’t worry,” Tamahome spoke at the mouthpiece of the phone Nuriko was holding. “Once we get you outta here, I’m going to cook up a storm. You’ll be eating like a king in no time.”
“You hold on there, Tasuki,” Hotohori spoke through the mouthpiece of the phone next. “We’re almost close to a breakthrough. Tatemo’s appeal is getting fresh, so…”
“Arigato, Hotohori-san, Nuriko-chan, minna-san,” Tasuki spoke in barely a whisper. “Demo…you’ve done enough. Leave me be.”
“Tasuki-kun, you can’t think that!” Miaka grabbed Nuriko’s phone and spoke frantically, “You can’t give up! We can convince them that this is all a mistake! We can make them see that there is nothing wrong with your relationship with Chichiri-chan! Don’t give up now, please!”
“Yeah!” Tamahome spoke close to the mouthpiece, “Where’s that feisty spirit you take pride in having? Where’s that love you carry around like a torch in your heart for Chichiri-chan? I thought you’d do anything for him! Where’s that Tasuki gone!”
Tasuki silently listened as each and every one of them took the phone to spill out encouragement to him. He knew they meant well. He knew they cared for him. But this…
“They’re gonna keep us away no matter what,” Tasuki finally spoke after 10 seconds of staring quietly at all his frantic friends, his lips creased in a wry, weak smile. “You heard them. Chiri-chan is officially government’s property now. They’ll do whatever it takes to tear us apart. We will never see each other ever again…”
“Then we’ll do whatever it takes to beat the system!” Yui spoke angrily. “If someone doesn’t do something about this, no one will ever win but them! It’s not fair to separate lovers like this! It’s not! No matter what people are supposed to be free to love as long as there is no harm done to others or the partner!”
“Then can you bring my kittens back? Can you bring them back to life after they kill them?”
“Nani…?” everyone was surprised at Tasuki’s question.
“Chiri-chan is almost due,” Tasuki said as he finally allowed his welled-up tears to flow out of his eyes. “He will have my kittens soon, and when he does, I won’t be there for him. You won’t be there for him either. They will make him suffer the pain of birth and then kill them in front of his eyes. Knowing Chiri-chan, he’d rather die than not having my kittens anymore. Can you bring them back by the time we beat the system, if we beat the system?”
Everyone was at a loss of words. No one knew what to respond to that.
“You have done enough, minna-san. Arigatogozaimasu, minna-san. I won’t trouble you all any longer.”
With that, he hung up, bowed at them and left without turning back, ignoring the frantic calls of his friends on the other side and not even so much as glance at them being reprimanded and escorted out by the guards.
--:--
“I can’t believe he’d just shrug us off like that! Baka! Baka Tasu-chan!”Nuriko was still grumbling on the way back as she and her husband drove the couples Yui-Nakago and Miaka-Tamahome home before they go to the nursery home to pick up their Himawari. Judging on everyone’s look on their faces, they had the same sentiments exactly, but not as fevered as Nuriko’s.
“I guess the judge and juries’ verdict must’ve hit him hard,” Nakago commented. “It’s not easy to cope with knowing that your lover is going to be apart from you for the rest of your life and your child would die before they could even have the chance to experience first breath.”
“That’s just so sad,” Miaka shook her head in dismay. “Just because they are the high-ups doesn’t mean they do whatever they want.”
“Well, they are the high-ups after all,” Tamahome sighed. “I mean, look what they did to Tasuki. I’m scared of what they might do to Chichiri-chan.”
“That doesn’t mean he should just lost faith!” Nuriko grumbled. “We’re his friends, for Kami’s sake! He should at least trust us a little!”
“Anata, don’t be that—Abunai!”
Nuriko hit the brakes and swerved at Hotohori’s exclaim, barely missing the dark limo that suddenly appeared from a blind spot and blocked their way by a few inches. Everyone looked like they just either had a heart attack or had just seen Sadako crawling out of the well and out of the TV as their mind blanked out for a moment, shutting down due to shock. As their train of thought slowly returned back to normal, they saw the owner of the car coming out and moved towards the backseat and opened the door to reveal no other the young multimillionaire boy genius Chiriko.
“T…Teme!” Nuriko growled as she got off the car and stomped towards the boy genius. Before the driver could react, she had already grabbed Chiriko by the collar and shook him like a rag doll. She could see that the little boy genius was covered with plasters, bandages and gauze, and was a little bit curious, but her anger was much stronger than her curiosity, and all she wanted right now was to beat the hell out of the boy that caused all these problems on her two beloved best friends. Chiriko held his hand up to stop his driver from helping him as he allowed Nuriko to do as he pleased.
“What the fuck are you doing here!” Nuriko demanded. “After what you have done to Tasu-chan and Chichiri-chan, you dare show your fucking face in front of us again! Haven’t you done enough damage already!”
“I know how you feel…” Chiriko began but was outsmarted when Tamahome lunged forward to punch him.
“Save your bullshit, bozu!” Tamahome growled. “You know shit about how we feel! You know crap about how Tasuki-san and Chichiri-chan feel! You were the one who got them into all this mess! You were the one who threw Tasuki-san into jail and sent both Chichiri-chan and their kittens to their death! What else do you want now!”
“How about me trying to get them out of it?”
Everyone stopped at their tracks, looking at the boy skeptically. Nuriko gruffly let go of Chiriko and regarded him from head to toe.
“What happened to you, anyway?”
“Let’s say I had a little family disagreement,” Chiriko said as he hastily brushed off the blood from the corner of his lips due to the blow given by Tamahome. “Now do you want my help or not?”
“Why should we trust you after all that you’ve done?” Yui asked challengingly, with Miaka nodding in agreement.
“Well, as much as I resent the defeat of losing the love of my life to Tasuki and enjoy the fact that he would be rotting in jail and be an outcast of society for the rest of his life,” Chiriko replied, the last statement making Tamahome look like he wanted to sucker-punch him again, “I still love Chichiri-chan, and the last thing I want is of anything happening to him. I’ve been with him well long enough to know that if those people in the shelter home ever do kill those kittens, he would want nothing more than to be dead, and I can’t have that. I cannot allow my Chichiri-chan to die in such vain.”
The group was not convinced, seeing that Chiriko is behaving like the possessive little childish boy he had always been.
“Besides, I know people. I practically almost own this country. I know you guys are at your wits’ end trying to rescue that Tasuki of yours without as much as yielding a single favourable result. You want to go through them, you’ll have to go through the proper channels. That’s where I come in.”
The group looked at each other questioningly. As much as they hated to admit it, for once this kid was right. They could barely even get to apply for an appeal without facing countless rejections before they even started, let alone trying to convince the judge to get a retrial. Everyone whom they thought were their friends turned their backs to them and refused to help them any further or to associate themselves with this issue any longer. Everything they’ve tried so far has failed. What else have they got to lose, except their best friends?
“So? Are we still on the same wave length here?”
Sighing inwardly, they turned to the millionaire boy genius grudgingly.
“What do you have in mind?”
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