• Sunflower • Hinata Shoyo x Reader

12 • Masterpiece

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❝The smallest feline is a masterpiece.❞

-Leonardo da Vinci

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You pick up the small animal, and it cuddles in your arms. It's orange, but you can hardly tell because of how dirty it is. It's a little boy, all covered in dirt and grime. A leaf sits on his head, and you blow it away.

It's a kitten; probably abandoned or a runaway. It's awfully quiet though.

You handle him carefully, wiping the grime and dirt off of his fur. When you walk inside, it only looks around, still not meowing or making a noise. 

You hold it with one hand and turn on the sink with the other. You make sure the water is warm before putting the kitten in it. 

It doesn't freak out, but it sits. You laugh.

"You're such a weirdo," you say, petting it. You take a peek at its butt. It's a boy.

"You're a little Henjin," you coo, softly scrubbing the dirt off of the kitten's fur. It seems to enjoy the attention and little bath; it's purring and doesn't protest.

"Henjin, Henjin, Henjin~"  You hum in a sing-song voice. The kitten looks up at you in awe.

Once Henjin is all clean, you set him in a bundle of blankets, letting him shake off the water. He seemed to enjoy it, despite the reputation cats have.

As you pet it, you hear a car drive into your driveway.

Oh no.

It's Rat-Face. Kyuen.

She definitely won't let you keep Henjin. 

You quickly scoop him up and wrap him in blankets, but before you can do anything else, Kyuen knocks on the door. Henjin squirms in your arms.

"Shh, little kitty," you whisper, then go to open the door for Kyuen, still holding the bundle of blankets.

The social worker comes inside, glancing at the pile in your arms. 

"So," she says, lifting a brow, "What are you doing?"

"Just . . . Just about to do some laundry." You chuckle nervously, gesturing to the blankets in your arms. 

Kyuen smiles. "That's good. I came over to bring you your stuff for school tomorrow."

Your heart drops. You forgot about that.

Kyuen pulls a backpack off of her shoulder: it's a plain black one with a silver zipper. 

"I didn't know what you would like, so I just picked something simple," she says, and you can tell she really tried. "Everything you need is inside, so all you have to do tomorrow is put your uniform on and bike to the school. Here's your schedule and a map."

She hands you some papers, gives you a little lecture, then finally decides it's time for her to leave. Before shutting the door, though, she takes one last look at you. "Have a good day," she sighs, then leaves.

You free Henjin from the blankets, and he jumps to the couch, already treating the place like his home. He curls up and lays down, immediately falling asleep.

What a weirdo.

You leave him in the house, locking the door and heading to Sakanoshita. If you're going to keep Henjin, then he needs some food. 

You hop on your bike and ride there. Once you hop off, the store is open, even on a Sunday. You happily skip inside, a warm feeling in your chest at the thought of having a pet.

The bell above the door chimes when you enter, and you immediately go to the front desk. 

Ukai is there, singing to himself, and seems to not have noticed you. You tap on the desk, tilting your head.

Ukai jumps, his cigarette falling out of his mouth. Once he sees it's you, he exhales, a hand on his chest. "You're gonna give me a heart attack, kid."

"Sorry," you say, "but I was wondering if you have any cat food?"

You clutch the money in your hand, placing it on the table. 

"Whatever this much will buy."

Ukai looks at the money, then sighs. He reaches behind him then puts a big bag of cat food on the counter. "Here ya go, kid."

You glance at the price tag. It almost costs twice as much money you put on the table.

"I can't pay-" You start, but Ukai stops you.

"Just take it."

You bow, thanking him and thanking him until he gets annoyed and tells you that you can leave now. You give him a wave, smiling. "Thank you again, sir!"

He waves you off, picking up his cigarette from the floor.

You hop on your bike, holding the bag in your lap. It has a smiling cat on the front and looks expensive. Hopefully Henjin likes it.

You ride home, the breeze blowing in your face, trying not to drop the bag of cat food.

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