Work Text:
Kusuo Saiki is currently stuck in the form of a cat.
How he got there is like such: tired of travelling to Texas at every sighting of a bug, he decided he would try and get over his fear. While he didn’t care much for animals, let alone cats, he does know how agile cats are and how sharp their claws can be, and he reminds himself of when Anpu saved him from certain death. And so, he decided perhaps it’d be best to expose himself to these creatures by changing into a feline and heading out.
He hadn’t planned on going any further than his front yard or his garden, but as his life typically goes, his furry ‘friend’ found him and dragged him to look at Pushi. He only went along with it for his own benefit, since if those two got together maybe they’d stop meowing at his door in heat.
It’d all be good and fine like that, if that’s all there was to the story; annoying sure, but what wasn’t annoying?
It’s when Saiki hears another familiar voice when his ears perk up in alert.
Teruhashi-san .
She seemed to be walking past the neighbourhood to go to town for some evening shopping, a bag in hand with casual girl clothes on. But, of course, she notices the one cat in the hedge.
One -?
Saiki looks around and sees himself alone. Anpu found a butterfly. Good grief.
“Ooh, kitty!” The feminine voice chimes, and Saiki turns around to find the girl crouched down with her hand creeping close to pet him. If only she knew who this cat was, things would become greatly awkward.
Due to the fact he can’t control his strength well in this form and couldn’t risk breaking her arm, he allows her to stroke his head, and then allows her to pick him up from behind his front legs.
“Hm, that’s odd… You have a collar but it only has these weird bobs on it and not an address… You’re not lost are you?” Teruhashi holds him up slightly, expecting him as his lax cat body hangs.
No, I’m not.
“You’re a bit dirty too, hm. I wish you could talk to me so I could know, I don’t want to leave you out here if you’re a stray do I?” She continues to talk, in her perspective, to herself.
I live around here.
She holds him like a baby and seems to think for a while before deciding on a plan. ‘It wouldn’t hurt to take it home just for the night and post when I get back to see if anyone lost their cat, would it?’
It would hurt.
Saiki huffs in his head. “You’re not very aggressive are you, little kitty? Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”
Teruhashi has a soft spot for animals unlike humans, Saiki has known this, so it really shouldn’t be a surprise she’d drop her plans for a supposed stray, but he still finds himself in a panic as she starts walking with him still in her hands. Writhing around could be bad for both of them. What a pain .
It takes a long fifteen minutes of Teruhashi talking to herself (to the cat) until they’re in sight of her residence and she’s going in the front door, shifting Saiki to one arm to hang up her bag, then scurrying up the stairs. Thank goodness, her brother doesn’t seem to be home.
She hums a little tune to herself. “Pushi’s not home… I guess it’s just you and me.” She declares after looking around a few corners, and Saiki pauses more than he already has been. Pushi?!
He’s plopped on the floor of her bedroom, the doors and windows closed, and is told to just stay while she tries to set up a bath.
While she’s gone, he tries to think of a plan, his tail curled around his paws. He could teleport, but she would probably be left confused as to how the cat escaped. Sure, she didn’t bat an eye at his odd dress but that’s a matter of weird clothing and not potential powers. There’s also the chance she might believe the cat is hiding somewhere in the house.
He huffs again, using clairvoyance to look and see who’s home right now. His mother.
It’s Kusuo, put a post on the internet saying you lost your cat around our street. He sends to her, curled up for concentration.
‘Hm, Ku-chan?’
I’m currently stuck as a cat. Help me please.
‘Right… Okay then, I’ll do that now.’ Even the voice in her head sounds confused, and he can’t blame her, he as an esper doesn’t even know how he ends up in half the situations he does.
A door opens and his head lifts up. Teruhashi is approaching again. Carefully, he’s lifted once more and transported, then placed into shallow water.
“You’re a very quiet cat, you must have been domesticated before.” She converses, rolling her sleeves up and soaping up her hands.
I’d meow for the act, but I’m a sixteen year old human male, so I’d rather not. At least she thinks I am a cat that belongs somewhere, at least, so she definitely will check. For now…
He sits like stone as his paws are spread with some cat-safe soap, and his face fur is massaged. He closes his eyes, ignoring the comfort for the sake of saying he’s only doing so to not get soap inside.
“You look oddly like one of my classmates now that I look at you more cleanly…” She wonders, rubbing his ears between her pointer and thumb. “But that’s impossible, isn’t it.” She chuckles. No. “You’re just as blank faced as him too, next thing I know you’re going to start saying ‘good grief’.” I just might.
There’s an awkward montage of her speaking about Saiki to the cat, Saiki, while the bath continues, and when Teruhashi tries to clean the under half of himself Saiki draws the line, stomping a foot down and becoming skittish until she gives up and gets him out into a fluffy towel.
Expectantly and already used to it, he’s then transferred back to the bedroom and put on her bed where he curls up and lets her dry him. This is so weird.
His body wobbles side to side with the more aggressive petting and he puts out his front paws for stabilisation as Teruhashi laughs at him. He is not impressed.
“Let me text my brother to get milk on his way home and get into some pyjamas, okay? I’ll be back.” She says, giving him one last pat before getting up and going into her closet to grab some baggy clothes, then going into the bathroom.
Saiki lies his head down in its side and looks around the room. He’d been here before but it gave him something to do. It’s quite a neat room, and the bed is comfortable to sink into. Being a cat is also surprisingly pretty comfortable to relax as, they really did something with the loaf technique.
Teruhashi reenters the room a couple moments later in a large and fluffy pink sweatshirt and some black sweatpants. She has a small pout on her face, one she’d typically never show to others. Saiki stares in piqued interest, and she sits on the side of the bed, placing a can of tuna beside her for him.
Looking into her mind, she doesn’t need to voice what happened at all, her brother messaged her, and that’s enough to annoy her even if she started a conversation. He slowly gets up and licks into the can, thankful she didn’t bring up actual cat food. As he does so, she looks away from her phone and gains a small smile, resting a hand on Saiki’s head.
“Animals are so much easier than humans, you’re pretty lucky to be a cat.”
I’m not a cat, but I get where you’re coming from. This life is much more desirable.
He, knowing the move could never be traced back to his real form, gently places a paw on her thigh and her smile grows. It’s disturbing while only seeing her muscles as they move, but he’s sure if anything anyone says is true about her, it’s a pretty nice smile.
She places her phone on her nightstand and moves Saiki onto her lap, rolling onto her back and locking her fingers together over him as he has no choice but to lay. She’d really be having a field day if she knew just who this cat was.
“I hope Pushi’s safe out there.” She thinks aloud, rolling onto her side and thankfully adjusting the cat so he was more so nestled in the crook of her thigh and torso. Why did you name your cat that? “Oh! Right, a post about you, little mystery kitty.” She leans over and grabs her phone, going onto Facebook. “Hm, I don’t know many people in the area I found you except for Saiki… I’ll check his mom’s facebook.” She narrates for the reader reading this right now.
Saiki puts his nose into the blanket and brings his paws up to cover his ears.
“UWAHHHH? Y-you’re Saiki’s cat for real?!” Teruhashi sits up at the speed of light. ‘Oh no, as much as it’s great I get to go over there it totally might seem like I took his cat… But maybe he’d also respect me for bringing it back?!’ She bites the corner of her thumb and lets out a harsher exhale from her nose, bringing up her DM’s with Saiki’s mother, because of course they’re friends on Facebook.
Great. Now just ask her to come to this place and collect me.
[Hello Kurumi-san! It’s Kokomi, I found a cat earlier today and thought it was a stray so I’ve brought it home, is this what your cat looks like?] She types and adds a picture, one taken just a second earlier of Saiki on his side in cat form with his eyes closed.
Say you’ll come and get me. He telepaths.
Teruhashi taps her finger on the side of her phone as she waits for a reply.
[Hello Kokomi! Yes, that is our cat, such a free spirit always wandering out. Is it possible for me to come and collect him now?]
The girl looks out to her window and taps her phone some more.
[That’d be fine with me, but I’d also be okay keeping him for the night if you don’t want to walk out so late.]
Saiki, tense, spots his mother’s thoughts ahead and listens in. ‘Kokomi is such a sweet girl… Her and Ku-chan are so cute together too! Ah, he’ll be angry at me if I make him stay there though, won’t he…’
Yes. I will.
Kurumi purses her lips and huffs, bringing up the keyboard.
[Oh you’re too sweet, if that’s okay I would appreciate it dear.]
What.
[Wonderful! I’ll bring him over first thing tomorrow Kurumi-san! :) Have a good night!]
Hold on, what?!
[Thank you! I’ll tell Ku-chan you said goodnight too :)]
Saiki’s kitty jaw drops as he opens his eyes again. Teruhashi’s blushing, putting her phone further away again. She has a cheeky little grin on her face as she pets Saiki some more, who’s still quite frankly in shock at the audacity. Though, his parents were always annoying about him hanging out with others, a flaw in both of them even if his mother was the bearable one of the two. Damn it.
“I found your home, Kitty-Saiki, I’m taking you back home tomorrow since it’s gotten so late so fast! I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’ll leave my door open a little if you need to use the toilet, it’s downstairs in the entrance hallway, okay?”
About as perfect as the situation’s going to get, as soon as you go to sleep I’ll be able to take a reasonable leave.
Teruhashi stands up and nudges her door open and puts a doorstop underneath it, then comes back to the bed and curls around Saiki once more, telling him goodnight, switching her lamp off, and then closing her eyes.
Thoughts are far less active during sleep, so all Saiki has to do is wait until his telepathy quiets down, and he’ll be gone.
… Is what he thought.
After his rigorous and quite frankly traumatising day as a cat fighting bugs and fighting Anpu, as well as maintaining his form as a cat, he finds his eyes slipping shut as Teruhashi’s thumb, even in sleep, continues softly stroking his cheek. He might have even purred.
He wakes up with a startle. Premonition . Her brother is about to walk into the room and…
He isn’t a cat right now. In his sleep his body transformed back to its regular state, leaving him on his stomach on Teruhashi’s bed as she clings to his side completely unbeknownst to her. Sweat runs down his temple for too many reasons to count.
Just as the door creaks, resistance of the door stop stalling time, Saiki falls onto a wooden floor in a poof.
He sits up groggily and realises he’s in his sitting room at home and rubs his temple.
His fear of bugs can stay. Never again.