closed.

[ex_adept179]

Who: Slaine Troyard adept and Hibari Kyoya disciplineking
What: A run-in and kittens.
When: Afternoon 3/9
Where: Town
Summary: Exploring a bruiser's fluffy side.


[Slaine's making good time as he rounds a corner and cuts through an alleyway, folded slip of paper in one hand. He's no sure why exactly his god tasks him with such things as grocery shopping, but he doesn't have a mind to argue about it - well. He debated a few of the select items on that list, to be sure, and asked how to pronounce others...but that aside.

He's focused on the task he's been set to, debating the most efficient way to get everything he's supposed to and considering jobs he might get for more funds. So he doesn't notice a carboard box right in his path until his boot makes contact with it, resulting in a low scraping noise and a chorus of high little cries.

Which leaves him blinking down wide-eyed at a box of kittens.

...Who leaves a a box of kittens out on the street?

Having unfortunately kicked that box he pockets his shopping list and kneels to get a better look]

Sorry...

[For kicking their...this isn't their home is it? He should hope not...]

Comments

[disciplineking]

[Hibari himself had taken to avoiding his god as much as possible, not wanting to acknowledge the terrible bonds that the words on his shoulder liked to remind him. Which led him to stalking around town, maybe even in hopes of getting some sort of memory back, but nothing was happening.

Instead he zeroed in on the sound of mewing kittens-for some reason he suddenly knew that small animals were something he spent a lot of time with. Thankfully he was quick at navigating the town and almost dropped in on the other end of the alley that Slaine had appeared in.

The Cloud guardian's eyes flicked to the fellow shinki, but quickly ignored him in favor of what now appeared to be a box of six tiny kittens lying on the ground. His lip curled in disgust-how dare people just abandoned and use animals like this?

His quick footsteps let him reach the box and pick it up, completely ignoring if Slaine even had a reaction to that.

It was odd, Hibari knew he detested weak animals, but it seemed almost exclusive to humans who were useless, not to these tiny creatures. They would certainly grow up to be excellent animals.

He didn't quite know it but he had an actual soft expression on his face as he reached his hand into the box to gently scratch one of the kitten's heads.]

[ex_adept179]

[The box being picked up was certainly a surprise; Slaine was too focused on making sure he hadn't hurt any little residents of that box to pay much mind to his surroundings. When the box moved of course, his gaze flicked up to Hibari, and his posture tensed.

Was this going to be another episode of pointless fighting? As much as the idea of training didn't bother him, he didn't get the impression Hibari cared for that so much as dominance.

Something about that was, unfortunately, not unfamiliar.

He rocked back on his heels and stood in one smooth motion, watching the box in case Hibari tried to somehow involve kittens in a brawl, but... Instead, it appeared he was petting them. Was this guy fond of cats then?]

They must've been left here pretty recently.

[Judging from the condition of the box, at least]

But they seem really young...

[disciplineking]

[Hibari wasn't really listening to what the other had to say, too preoccupied with the bunch of kittens that were now crowding around his hand and mewling. It really was an ugly aspect of humanity, to leave its own young behind like this...

One of the kittens got brave and bit down on his finger, drawing blood from the digit.]

Hmm...it's okay little one. Be brave.

[There even was almost a gentle smile on his lips before he remembered the other shinki was here and his gaze flew up and instantly hardened.] What are you doing here?

[ex_adept179]

[It seemed he was finally noticed. He puffed out a quiet sigh, not terribly surprised at this point. Hibari seemed to have his own set of priorities, ones he didn't really find himself relating to.

Not for lack of some effort - whether acknowledged or not they were on the same side. Slaine was given to understand that knowing how others thought meant they could be more effective, not that it seemed worthwhile to make the assertion]

I happened to be here first, so isn't that my question?

[Though he wouldn't have asked, considering anyone could be out here for any reason. Having said that, he patted down his pockets until he found a band-aid, offering it to him]

Here, unless you fancy losing out to an infection.

[disciplineking]

[Hibari didn't rightly care about whether Slaine was here first or not-in his mind, what mattered was that he was there and this shinki was attempting to breach his personal space by talking to him. He'd definitely calmed himself down since he arrived but his default emotion is irritation.

Still he gave the bandage a look of disgust before shifting the box of mewing kittens in his hands and looking like he was about to walk away.]

They will fall under my custody now.

[ex_adept179]

Your custody...

[He didn't bother to mask the incredulity, though the martial way of thinking had already stood out to him. Since the bandage was apparently declined, he simply pocketed it again. Hopefully this guy knew well enough to wash his hand, especially since it was unclear whether the kittens had been vaccinated or not]

How much do you know about taking care of cats?

[Judging from their insistent mewling and how young they were, they were probably due for a meal about now. Given their apparent age, were they even on solid food yet?]

[disciplineking]

[Hibari again, didn't really care about his wound or whether it got infected or not, which probably wasn't the best thing for him. He's had much worse. However, what Slaine said actually gave him pause in his step.

Did he actually know how to take care of cats? Hibari couldn't remember anything like that and looked down at his tiny charges. Right now in their state he was their benefactor and he had to provide until they grew stronger, but what did he feed them?

Did they sleep a lot? Is there some special thing he had to do?]

.....

[He didn't answer, just glared at Slaine, like accusing him of calling Hibari incompetent.]

[ex_adept179]

[He didn't shrink under that glare. It only seemed to roll off of him like water off of a duck, which...may well have said something about his experiences in life.

That, or perhaps he just wasn't the sort to be concerned with such things. There was no way to be certain]

If you're going to take responsibility for them, you need information.

[Slaine didn't see a point in contesting who got ownership of the kittens, even if he might've brought them back to his god. She seemed protective, and good at looking after others...even if he didn't agree with being fussed over.

So long as they had a good home, that was what mattered. And even if he'd only just found the kittens himself, he felt he needed to know that was what they were getting]

And since your hands are full, I suppose I can make time.

[disciplineking]

[Hibari actually seemed to consider that for a moment. He found the other shinki rude and annoying and a thorn in his side, but for right now their interests were aligned. Hibari wanted to take care of the kittens and Slaine wanted the same thing, so for now...

he supposed he could at least accept this, even if he felt disgusted that he'd owed a favor to this guy now.

But at least he knew how to repay it.

Hibari didn't say anything, but didn't move away, which was the best 'go ahead' Slaine was going to get.]

[ex_adept179]

[Surmising that he wasn't liable to be able to drag Hibari into a veterinary office at this time, and aware that it'd be hard for them to get noticed, Slaine took his phone out. He could search for the information this way, and it was common enough information that he could cross-reference it for accuracy.

Given several moments, he eventually held up his phone with the screen pointed at Hibari]

...Based on the images here, they should be around eight weeks old. They're moving around on their own, but unsteady on their feet.

[It would also explain the biting. At that age, they'd be looking for playmates during the hours they weren't sleeping.

Once he was satisfied that Hibari could see the information for himself, he drew his phone back to look up something else]

Hm. They can have canned kitten food. Small amounts at frequent fixed intervals.

[disciplineking]

[Hibari peered at the information on the phone-it made sense, and sounded familiar somehow. The kittens looked like they were at least old enough to move, and start using his own fingers as toys.

But about the food..]

I can't go and just buy cat food.

[He didn't have any dishes or anything for them either.]

[ex_adept179]

[He was just looking into a regular job himself, what with resources being limited. Why they don't have much by way of resources was beyond him.

Can't, though...?]

If you focus, you can get people to notice you're there.

[Although, considering whom he was talking to...]

A local vet or pet store might be willing to supply some food to begin with... And I've done a few odd jobs, so I can pitch in.

[Rather he'd just helped out here and there, but older people had insisted on giving him something... And then promptly forgot about him]

[disciplineking]

[Hibari just gave Slaine a look-he'd hated talking to people while he was alive-he assumed-why would he want to do it know when they could actually ignore him? Plus, it looked like he could just force this shinki to do it for him.]

Fine. You go get it.

[His hand had sneaked its way into the box of kittens again, where he had been buried in a ton of tiny kitten faces.]

closed to Ren

[disciplineking]

When he came back from his venture into the town, Hibari hadn't been expecting to be carrying five kittens with him in his school jacket. He also didn't know when he started coming back to Inanna's temple, but that was more because simply no other place would hold him.

Ren had been true to his word and didn't bother him-he wasn't even sure if the god knew he slept on the roof almost every night since he found the place. And occasionally snagged food that had been left out.

But now with his new charges and a bag full of cat supplies in tow, he went to a shady part of the first floor to release the kittens onto the floor. Feeding them was a chore in itself, involving three different bowls and peeling kittens away from one another, but he was very patient with tiny animals.

He saved the rest of the food for when they became hungry again and currently was playing with one of the awake ones by dangling a cat toy above its head.

:DDD

[shadowrevenger]

Oh, he's been aware of it. Why else would food be left out for him to snag, after all? Ren isn't exactly sure where on the roof, because he has been trying to give Hibari his space, but since he hasn't been staying anywhere else in the temple, he must be staying up there somewhere.

So when Ren hears him come back, he figures Hibari's going to disappear up there again and goes back to what was working on...except that from where he is, he'd be able to see Hibari head upstairs, and it's been a while and he hasn't yet. But Ren hasn't heard him leave again either.

He waits a couple more minutes, but his curiosity finally overpowers his promise to leave Hibari alone, and he finally gets up to go looking for him. Of course, it's not a very big house, so finding Hibari isn't difficult.

He definitely wasn't expecting to find Hibari amid a bunch of kittens, though. So even though he was trying to be sneaky about this, as soon as he sees them, he lets out a rather loud gasp of delight.

And then immediately claps a hand over his mouth, but it's too late. There's no way Hibari can't know that he's there now.

[disciplineking]

Hibari was very good at sensing other people, even when Ren was trying to be stealthy so he knew that the god was there a little bit before he gasped. His eyes shot up to meet Ren's, only to flicker down to where the tiny kitten finally pounced on his hand.

He almost slipped up-he actually gave the kitten a small genuine smile before returning his neutral stone-cold expression to Ren. The god could tell his emotions were surprsingly settled for once, even if there was some anger and resentment bubbling under the surface.

Ren was lucky-Hibari was in a good mood and not goin to run away while his tiny charges were literally sleeping on him. "We are taking care of them now."

[shadowrevenger]

Ren is very careful not to show any sort of outward reaction to being noticed other than widening his eyes at being caught, and he definitely doesn't react to seeing Hibari actually smile. This good mood of his might not last past that, and their even being in the same room again is shaky enough as it is.

Still, Ren being Ren, he can't help but push a little bit, especially if Hibari is in a good mood and less likely to hit him for it.

"Okay!" Ren says with a bright smile, although he is careful to keep his voice low so as not to desturb the sleeping kittens. And then as he goes on, he slowly kneels down next to them--outside Hibari's reach, of course, for his own safety and so Hibari still has some space.

"Where did you find them? Did you get everything we need to take care of them?"

[disciplineking]

It was strange. He didn't want Ren to be close to him, but for once, he didn't feel the urge to leave. Perhaps it was because most of the redhead' attention were on the kittens, not him, so he wasn't at threat of being turned into a weapon anymore.

And he was staying out of his personal space, which Hibari liked. At least the god had learned to respect that. The kitten Hibari had been playing with decided to wander over to the new person and pounce at his knees.

"That shinki bought some things. Someone will have to find money for more food." And that someone was obviously Ren. After all he was the god. Hibari's chin pointed to the bag of kitten food and the bowls he'd been using.

[shadowrevenger]

Ren laughs a little as the kitten attacks his knee and gently pokes it to encourage it to go after his finger instead, which he can keep out of the way of claws a little easier.

"All right. But you might have to help me a little." Ren winces as the kitten decides his finger is boring and it wants to kill his knee after all, but he just carefully pries it free and sets it in his lap instead. "Making money and finances have never been my strong suit. I'm just the company mascot."

As much as Tetsu liked to gripe about Ren actually doing the work of running his own company, they both knew that Tetsu was better suited for it and that Foo Fighter would probably collapse within a month if Ren had to do it all.

[disciplineking]

Hibari just raised an eyebrow at what the god said. A mascot? Was he serious? How was this guy still alive? He gazed at the one active kitten attacking Ren's knee, wondering why he even brought them back here.

He even knew he wouldn't be able to take care of five kittens, and this was his home for now so....why did he feel unsettled about this? He didn't even know why he returned here other than food and a roof, but-he had nowhere else to go. And Ren stayed out of his space.

"I don't earn money. There are no jobs that interest me, unless they are for fighting." Hibari honestly didn't care about making money on fighting, but he would if it helped him. And since his god was apparently useless...

He didn't have his rich family name backing him up anymore.

[shadowrevenger]

Ren blinks at him for a moment, then ducks his head so maybe Hibari can't see how close he is to laughing again. It comes through pretty clear in his voice, though, as he says, "I probably should have expected an answer like that, huh? Although I feel the same way..."

There isn't much he can do about his feelings just yet. He'd spent most of his first few days here looking for any sign of Vanguard only to come up empty, so it wasn't like he could try to arrange exhibition matches or sell autographs or anything like that. Hibari's wish, on the other hand, would probably be easier to deal with, although he does wonder how many jobs could involve hand-fighting...

"Well, I'll come up with something. I guess I have to take things seriously now that these guys will be staying here, right--oh--!" Ren looks up from the kitten eagerly attacking a fold in his pants. "Do they have names yet?"

[disciplineking]

Names? He didn't think of that. He'd never actually named any of his animal companions, and despite his faulty memory he was pretty sure of that fact. It hadn't seemed necessary to him.

"Do whatever you wish." He started stroking the little tuxedo patterned kitten that had taken a great liking to him and was now seated in the center of his lap. However, the news of Ren actually doing something came as a bit of a suspicion. Hibari, from his narrowed eyes, clearly didn't believe him.

"Didn't you say ayakashi need to be fought. Do you not get rewarded?"

[shadowrevenger]

Goodness, Hibari is being nice to him today. Even if it's almost certainly because of the kittens and not anything he did, it is nice to feel like he can smile and be his usual self without being attacked for it. And he even gets to name the kittens! That was much nicer of him than he'd expected.

"Really? Thank you! I'll make sure they're good ones."

And since it does seem like Hibari is somewhat okay with his being here, Ren gently picks up his own pure black kitten and shifts so he's sitting with his legs crossed. Much more comfortable, and the kitten has exciting new areas under his legs to try to crawl through.

"I don't know. When I first arrived here, I fought a lot of them, but I don't remember earning anything for that..."

[disciplineking]

He didn't care that Ren seemed happy and even thanked him for naming the kittens-why would someone get excited over that? Whatever, it didn't affect him and he steadfastly looked away from the god's face.

"Tch. As I thought, you really are useless. I remember you telling me these ayakashi were actually strong opponents?" Why was he like this, actually? Hibari was being friendly, and it bothered him. Was it because of the kittens, or the fact that Ren was staying away from him and only talking about said charges?

He didn't like it. He wanted Ren to leave, especially since he was sure the god could probably start feeling his rising discomfort.

[shadowrevenger]

Ren pouts at him as he awkwardly reaches for one of the cat toys. "I know you like thinking I'm useless, but you should really wait until you know everything before you think that."

Like, that he doesn't know how to fight with tonfas. Sure, he had made do with awkwardly swinging a scythe around, but there was a little more margin for error with a shinki that was six feet long. Tonfas...not so much. And that's definitely something that will convince Hibari he's "useless."

But that's also going to be a touchy subject for Hibari, so he's not going to bring it up. Yet. Not directly, anyway.

"They are strong. The littler ones, maybe not, but anything bigger than a dog was a worthy opponent. They're fast and persistent and usually take more than one hit to go down. And you have to avoid touching them too much while you're at it." He smiles down at the kitten in his lap as it bats at the toy in his hand. "It was exhausting fighting them. I can't wait to do it again."