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Toya always felt a bit nervous around Miyamasuzaka, since it was where his birth parents lived. However, he was there for a reason – he needed to pick Saki up from school. Usually, Tsukasa would be in charge of this task, but he was currently bedbound with a stomach flu. Saki was old enough to walk herself home (hell, she was 16 days older than Toya himself), but given the way her health fluctuates, it wasn’t completely safe for her to be by herself. Her friends all had work or other activities to be doing that evening, hence why Toya was chosen for the job.
“TOYA!” Saki cheered, running over to give her brother a big hug for picking her up.
“Ah- Good evening, Saki-san,” Despite the fact that the two were essentially siblings now, Toya still kept up his formalities, “How was your day today?”
“It was awesome! Emu was giving me all kinds of ideas for the sports festival this year, even though she isn’t on the committee anymore because she’s our class rep. Oh! At lunch, Shiho showed me the rabbits that the animal caretaking committee look after, and one of them even let me pet their fur. It was soo soft and fluffy. Anyway, what about your day?”
“It was fine. Akiyama actually showed up today, and I helped them with the notes they had missed.”
“Anything else…even with your partner~” Saki teased.
“I watched a bit of Akito’s soccer practice at lunch, but nothing too exciting. I also watched a few minutes of his game before I left to pick you up.”
“Jeez, why do your days at school always sound so boring while Tsukasa’s almost make me want to go to Kamiyama?”
“I believe it could be because Tsukasa has a thing for theatrics.”
“Heh, yeah, you’re probably right…hm?”
Saki stopped dead in her tracks, causing Toya to do the same thing a few steps later. He turned to look at her, concerned she might’ve started having a flare-up, which could result in him having to call Akito or An to help him carry her home, as there was no way he could do that himself. However, what he instead saw was Saki staring down an alleyway, rummaging through her bag for something, and whispering something that he couldn’t quite make out, either due to how quiet she was or his distance from her.
Upon closer inspection, Toya saw what she was whispering to, a small kitten, stumbling towards Saki, who was holding a treat out for it. The whispers were actually her calling the kitten. It seemed very weak, as if the treat was the only thing it had had to eat in days. He crouched down beside her to get a closer look at the kitten.
It was mostly orange, so Toya had to assume it was male, though the dirt in its fur made it difficult to see if it had any markings. He looked around to see if there were any similar-looking cats in the area, but he couldn’t see any. Given that and the state the kitten was in, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was orphaned or abandoned.
“Toya! Look!” Saki whispered to him, “He was afraid of me at first, but he’s eating up the treat like there’s no tomorrow.”
That’s when Toya really thought about it – if Saki hadn’t given this kitten the treat, chances are it wouldn’t have a tomorrow. This, of course, depressed Toya, since he knew what it was like to have the people around you not care.
…But he could change that.
“Saki-san? Do you think you have room in your backpack to carry him?” He asked. It was sudden, but he wanted to save the kitten.
“Huh? Oh, I probably should.” Saki opened her bag, and the kitten almost instantly jumped into it. It was unexpected, but Saki laughed it off. “Looks like he wants to come with us whether we like it or not.”
“Well, we’ll be taking him to a home where he can get some food, water, and even a bath.”
“Yeah…by the way, why are we assuming he’s a male?”
“He’s orange. Orange cats are usually male because of how the X chromosome carries colour. It’s very rare to find an orange female cat.”
“Ooh, that makes sense.”
As soon as the cat had been thoroughly washed, Toya and Saki could make out some of the white markings on his fur. It was mostly on his belly, but there was a little bit of white on his paws – not quite enough to be socks, but enough to be noticeable if you were looking for them. Toya got off most of the excess water using a towel before Saki gently dried the kitten with a hairdryer, making sure it was on low so as not to burn the poor thing.
Once the cat was completely dry, its fur seemingly puffed up to make it appear fluffier, making it appear as though there was a small, orange hairball on the counter, like Tsukasa had brushed his hair and then left it on the counter. Saki got the cat treats she kept in her bag and gave some to the kitten. It was the only form of cat food they had; neither of them knew what kind of “human food” would be safe for the kitten. Toya, on the other hand, got a bowl from the cupboard and filled it with tap water, letting the kitten drink from it.
“Aw, he’s so cute,” Saki gave the kitten a little scratch under the chin. “What should we name him, Toya?”
“Hmm…I’m not too sure. I never thought about what name I would give a cat if I ever got one.” Toya had thought about getting a cat many times, but knew his parents would never let him. As such, he never really got to the naming part of his dreams, even if he often thought about how he would play with the cat or what kind of cat food he would get for it.
“I don’t have any ideas either. It’s not like we can call him Mr. Cat or something like that.”
“Technically, we could, but I feel like we could figure out a better name for him if we put our heads together.”
And so, as if trying to telepathically figure out the name together, Toya and Saki stood there, staring at the cat. It almost looked like they were waiting for the cat to just tell them his name, even if that was impossible.
“What are you two doing?” Tsukasa’s voice came from behind his siblings, scaring the two of them half to death.
“Onii-chan!” Saki called out to her brother, keeping her distance from him because of his current illness, “Toya and I found a cat, but we can’t think of a name for him. Can you help us? Pretty please?”
“A cat, you say? Let me see him!”
Toya and Saki stood back, allowing Tsukasa full access to see and pet the kitten that was sitting on their kitchen counter.
“Hmm, well, he’s orange. Y’know, I once saved an orange cat, but I feel weird calling him Nyantaro. Perhaps we need to put our own spin on a name for him.” Tsukasa examined the cat, even picking him up to look at him more closely.
“That cat was part of some travelling cat carnival, right?” Saki pointed out, “Maybe we can name him after our own kind of carnival mascot. What do you guys think about naming him Phenny?”
“Phenny…it certainly suits him. Plus, I don’t think we can get sued for naming our cat after Phoenix Wonderland’s mascot. What do you think, Toya?”
“I also believe the name suits him.” Toya agreed, giving a nod to confirm this.
“Perfect! Welcome to the family, Phenny!” Saki picked up the cat, holding him up in the air.
“Now, hold on, before we actually welcome Phenny into the family,” Tsukasa added, “We do need to ask Mom and Dad if we can keep him.”
“I’m sure they won’t say no, right? They know I’ve always wanted a pet, and now that I’m healthy enough to live at home, I think we should be allowed to keep him.”
“Besides, bringing him home was my idea,” Toya added, “Therefore, I believe it would be best if we all speak to them about this once they get home.”
“I think Dad’s gonna be home late today. So, we’ll only have to get through Mom when she-“
Before Saki could finish her sentence, the trio heard the front door opening. Mrs. Tenma was home, meaning they had no time to prepare a plan for asking her if they could keep the cat. It was going to be mostly improv, but they were all prepared to defend keeping this kitten with their lives.
“Mother!” Tsukasa stuck his head out of the entrance to the kitchen as a way to greet his mother while also summoning her to their location.
“Ah, Tsukasa, looks like you’re feeling better.” Mrs. Tenma smiled at her son, taking off her shoes in the foyer.
“Yes, the medicine and other interventions have given me the strength I needed to recover. However, Saki, Toya, and I have something to ask you.”
“Oh? Is this a request for fast food for dinner?”
“Not tonight, mother, it is a request for something a little more…permanent.”
“…Tsukasa Tenma, what did you do?”
“WE BROUGHT A KITTY HOME!” Saki interrupted, getting a little impatient with her older brother’s theatrics.
“Oh,” Mrs. Tenma seemed a little relieved at the fact that it was a cat, “I was expecting to come home to something more dramatic, so I’m glad it was just a cat.”
“We named him Phenny. Can we keep him? Please? We’ll take care of him. I’ll even use some of my money from my part-time job to buy him food and proper bowls and a collar and…”
“Okay, okay, I’ll admit he is very cute. Do you all really promise to take care of him?”
“Of course, Mom!” Tsukasa held both Saki and Phenny close to his chest as if to protect them both (even though he was arguably spreading his stomach flu to his sister).
“I promise to look after him as well,” Toya added.
“Hmm…okay. We can keep him, but the three of you will be in charge of taking care of him.” Mrs. Tenma grinned, excited to see whether or not her kids would actually keep up with the responsibility.
“We shall protect him with all our hearts,” Tsukasa declared, “Oh, and mom?”
“Yes?”
“Can we have WcDonald’s for dinner tonight?”
“Okay, now you’re asking for too much. Go do your homework, all of you.” Mrs. Tenma laughed as the trio of teenagers speedwalked to the dining table to do their homework, giggling the entire time.