Catastrophe

"Hehe, kitty problems?" Kohaku rested his head against his arm on the ebony table.

"We all started from somewhere, right?" Hibiki's nonchalant reply rang true for the others to nod in reply.

"I have a guess." Makoto raised his hand.

"Ooh! Me too!" Kohaku followed.

"Great! You can keep it to yourself then~." (Hibiki)

*Click*

The small stream of a creek ebbing as small birds chirped and fluttered across the open blue sky. Out in a forest clearing, two individuals sat on separate boulders.

A soft breeze made grass softly rustle, unlike the insistent tapping against the already hardened stone, if not for its solid form it would've been lop-sided by a pig-tailed gremlin.

S: You're taking this too lightly! (Jules)

B: "Exactly." Marcus acknowledged her words while slowing his exhale to be as soft as the wind blowing by.

S: "What-!" (Jules)

B: "For being in here for so long you still don't have a clue what's going on… or do you?" Marcus inhaled and held his breath before releasing into a heavier exhale causing the wind to stir, blowing Julia's hair into a frenzy.

S: "Ack! Can you stop speaking in riddles?! WHERE'D YOUR SHIRT GO?!" By the time she could look him in the eyes again, his shirt was like it was never there.

B: 'And they talked about me being loud…' (Marcus)

B: "Riddles? If you called this that they'd laugh in your face." (Marcus)

S: "You…! This is impossible!" (Jules)

B: "Improbable." (Marcus)

S: "Why pull me away?! Just for this n-nonsense?!" (Jules)

B: "You've heard it, haven't you?" Marcus opened his eyes, never once making eye contact with the glaring figure beside him.

S: "…" (Jules)

B: "The blood-curdling screams, the soft cries, the laugh. You've heard it all." (Marcus)

S: "What's your point?" (Jules)

B: A soft chuckle escaped his lips, "How about we make a little bet?" (Marcus)

***

-Hibiki's POV-

"Is this really a good idea?" Menma asked once again when we were popping out heads around the corner over each other.

"Who knows, honestly." I yawned right above him

"Wh-mphh!" (Menma)

"Shh…" I covered his mouth and watched. The clanking in the room came to a halt and three cats followed the same light brown cat that almost took my eye out of commission.

"They're so cute." Sasame was much better at keeping her voice quiet.

"When they're sleeping, I agree. Right now, they're demons." (Hibiki)

"Oh, you're overexaggerating!" She said, still as hushed as ever. I was impressed.

None of us made a move as the last 2 cats sauntered out and into the next room, armed with kunai in their mouths.

I slowly turned to Sasame, staring wide-eyed back at me.

"Agree to disagree?" (Sasame)

I kept my sigh to a minimum and let go of Menma. We steadily crept our way to the open door. I nearly put my welcoming gift to good use until I saw the feline mid-flight over a set of stairs.

'Oh, you gotta be kidding me…'

I had two kids by me, so I had to play it safe. I only had [Sleep] to go by and opened my arms out, bracing for impact.

"What's going on?" (Menma)

I turned to them as the comparatively active critter now stuck the landing with its eyes shut, purring softly in my arms.

'DON'T FALL FOR ITS DEVIOUS SOFTNESS, SOLDIER!!'

"ITS SOO CUTE!" Sasame ran up, knocking Menma out of the way to look at the small kitten. I had laughed at the way he flailed.

I lifted a finger to my lips to which she covered her mouth and went wide-eyed like I just gave her some juicy gossip.

"Menma, you alright?" I stuck my hand out, grasped his, and pulled him up to his feet. He dusted himself off, tears welling in his eyes as I turned my gaze to the starry-eyed ginger staring down the fluff ball in my arms.

"My eyes are up here." (Hibiki)

This little girl froze for a moment and lifted her head inch by inch, that upbeat energy wavered and was replaced with puppy dog eyes.

"C-Can I-" (Sasame)

I wasn't about to have any of it.

"Apologize? I'm sure you can." (Hibiki)

"So-" (Sasame)

"Huh? Am I the one you need to apologize to?" I tilted my head and raised my eyebrow quizzically.

"..." (Sasame)

She was digging her own grave; I was just checking if she needed help lying in it.

Once she turned around and I heard a small sniffle, I knew she was going to be alright to hang out with.

***

"Geez!" (Hotaru)

"What is it?" (Hibiki)

"Unforgiving." (Hotaru)

"You're so right, unlike some people I like to nip the problem from the bud." (Hibiki)

"Ouch…" (Hotaru)

***

I left the two of them momentarily cause I wasn't gonna be there for the waterworks if there were any. I went to the back down the hall. Over to the cat collection but, when I got near the door, I could make some faint whispers I was getting more used to along with soft purring.

"Yes, ooh, marvelous. Ho ho, ho! Your scritches get better every day!"

Without turning walking any further, a gentle breeze stirred, and a faint visage faced me in an expansive marble stadium looking covered with a glass dome that highlights the stars in the night sky. I didn't know whether to be furious and saddened or gleeful but, one thing was clear.

There was a giant shit-eating grin across this being's face that brought chills down my spine.

They slowly lifted something that looked like a pen- no, a needle that spiral expanded out like branches of a tree to make the handle.

Now at the moment's notice, I struck.

Making use of 4 of my 5 questions of the day, a foreign energy came back in response. Almost violently before stopping in front of me and now I wielded one of these needles as well.

The figure grinned from ear to ear as tears rolled down their face. I could barely take note that I was in the same position. We rushed at one another. And with a blink, I was now looking at a little girl, her hair a 'red' that you'd say was more magenta if anything.

She looked just as shocked as I was but, before anything could be said I put the cat down beside her and ran off, tears streaming down my face.

That's how I got caught in an unfortunate group hug at the top of the stairs. I can't explain it personally but, those two had a really good cry together and I came at the cusp of it.

It was too much for me honestly and I was too tired to reject the cuddles I was subjected to. At least that was the case until 4 cats scrabbled down the hall towards us.

"Is the bait set?" (Hibiki)

"All ready to go!" Sasame looked like she was handing me air but I grabbed the bag without any issue.

"Then we'll go as planned." (Hibiki)

Without looking at the results I got back, I had to make the most of what I could get back. So, I applied my rune to my last question before tapping another one to the wall behind me and watched as it split into two and rushed down the hall.

The contents of the bag I made invisible now emptied and let out a slightly sour smell that stopped the cats in their tracks. The felines scampered back down the hall along with 3 others making their way toward the dry fish. I made my hand signs and nodded my head to Menma, prepped with his ocarina.

[Sound Release: Amplify→ Enchant: Wings of Will]

'Enchant? Wings?!'

Me and Sasame put in our earplugs as Menma began to play. Luckily, it was something he was practicing. The ability to enhance or diminish the capabilities of our companions was not something to joke about.

While I'd love to hear the performance, the cats fell one by one until we were looking at a cat pile upstairs.

'That makes 8…'

A little bell rang in the back of my mind along with the splashing of water coming around the corner the other three cats came from.

"Sasame, wait!" (Menma)

"Huh?!" (Sasame)

I snapped out of it just to see her running down the hall unsuspectingly. At a chance to get in the cat pile… For a banana peel to be thrown.

One step and Sasame skidded vertically into what I thought was a-

"AHHH!" (Sasame)

*BANG, ping, thunk, splish*

'Tool Closet….'

"Owww…" (Sasame)

"A-are you okay?" (Menma)

'BREATHE SEARGENT BREATHE!!!'

"It's dark in here…" That sounded so muffled that it's a real-time translation. You're welcome.

'CAN'T LAUGH THINK SAD!!! HOMELESS PUPPIES!!! RIKU'S FUTURE LOVE LIFE!!!'

We ran down the hall and caught the sight of two cats unlike the rest in more ways than one. Drenched to the nines, these two light brown cats with darker markings and kanji on their foreheads. One of which was a name I learned recently.

Wobbling forward and shaking as if I threw them against a wall. Next thing you know, I'm going to get some power of friendship speel.

"We must…succeed…"

"Or you can just… sleep. Sounds nice, doesn't it?" (Hibiki)

"Yeah… it does… WAIT! WHO ARE YOU?!"

The poor kitty screaming at me while I was trying to keep myself from laughing at the little wet rats, they looked like.

"So, communicating with animals, time to add that to the list."

More importantly, was the velvet pouch the second one was holding in their mouth. Water shield with [Set] was a combination I needed to work on more. It was one of my favorites after all.

I tried moving the drop I spilled from my source down here, but I was drained at that point.

"What's happening?" (Sasame)

"It's okay just get up slowly…" (Menma)

"Listen, you got two choices, and you have to be quick. You can either hand the pouch over an escape or you could have another cold shower and let's just say it won't be the most pleasant thing."

"Human…"

"I'll give you to the count of three to be nice. The sooner we dry you off, the sooner you can be on your way."

[Bargaining Lv 4 Activated]

"Hibiki? Can I get a little help?" (Menma)

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second." (Hibiki)

"Enough of this!" Even while soaked, the cat leaped into the air with ease. It goes to show that he was not playing but, neither was I.

I'm really glad it did split into two. The look of horror on the cats' faces when a second one appeared without me moving an inch. It made me feel like I was on top of the world… just for a moment before the water came tumbling down on me.

"What? Need another?" (Hibiki)

"Fine…"

I walked over to the second cat who dropped the pouch into my hand without a fight.

This whole thing was so weird that I had to open the bag and find out just what they were after.

After undoing the bag's bindings, I pulled out a yellowed smooth surface that I thought could be porcelain. Rounded to fit someone's face but it didn't have any detailing to it, even a neutral mask had more of an expression in this. Maybe some eye holes, maybe a nose?

[Unidentified] [Soulbound]

A dull mask with a small spark of defiance.

+10 CHA

+5 ???

[Sealed]

[Sealed]

[Sealed]

[Sealed]

'Fucking Ninken.'

I took a few steps near the window and opened the shutters before I stuck out the bird for the world to see before I walked back to the tool closet.

[Quest Completed: Snatch Those Cats!]

Some facetious felines have gone on the loose! Yet, there seems to be more than meets the eye.

- Find the perpetrators of this incident. [Completed]

- Find out what they are after. [Completed]

- Put a stop to their plan and retrieve the item. [Completed]

Balancers: 1/1

Loot: Varies based on Results [Grade: B]

[You may invite your allies to assist you.] [3 Allies Assisted]

"Hibiki?" (Menma)

"Coming." (Hibiki)

*Click*