Not Feline Fine [depressed!Ichi x depressed!Reader]

Nervous Over Nothing

I cautiously rubbed my arm, biting my lip as I was checked out of the hospital. It was weird having another arm again, I thought to myself as I slowly moved it around when I was walking home. I exhaled quietly and continued making my way home, but stopped short when I heard rustling in an alleyway that I'd passed. Huh? I looked back, listening close. I heard a faint whisper emitting from the shadows. Out of curiosity, I stepped into the alley. I wasn't really scared of dying, to be honest.

I stepped quietly through the trash, noticing a figure squatting near the end of the alley. As I got closer, I noticed the familiar shaggy hair and purple clothing. Ichimatsu was kneeling down and petting a small white kitten, jet black cat ears poking out from his hair and a matching cat tail coming out of his sweats. I noticed him tense up as I got closer, gently picking up the kitten and standing up. As I was approaching, I accidentally tripped on a tower of boxes and caused a couple to fall over. "Shit-"

"You're not slick, (Y/N)," he said, turning around and sounding like he was trying not to laugh. I huffed and stood up straight. He had flattened his ears like he was trying to hide them. He was wearing a purple sweatshirt with "DAT" in large yellow text across the chest and was wearing his face mask again, but it was pulled down so I could see his mouth.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked boldly, seeing a small smile on his face as he petted the nervous feline in his arms.

"I'm checking on the strays around here," he shrugged.

"Right.." My gaze shifted to his hair, causing him to tense up again.

"..You probably think I'm a freak, right?" He muttered, holding the kitten tighter to his chest as his smile widened. "You don't have to pity me, yknow."

"What? I'm not, I've just.. never seen a person with cat ears or a tail. It's unique," I smiled nervously, seeing his smile disappear and his eyes avert.

"Tch.." Ichimatsu set the small animal down and watched as it bounded away, still refusing to look at me.

"I should.. go.. I have to go check in with my boss and.. yknow.." My voice got progressively quieter and I began to slowly back out of the alley. He only nodded and turned back around, muttering something under his breath before I took off. I was starting to think that maybe he didn't really.. feel the way I felt?

After I had made my way home and called my boss, I decided to relax and rewatch some of the animes I had on disc. I was only a few episodes in and the sun had just set when my phone started to ring. With a loud groan, I slid out if my seat and shuffled to the phone stand.

"Hello?" I asked, clearly annoyed.

"(Y/N)! Have you seen Ichimatsu nii-san?!" It was Jyushi, but he sounded panicked or worried. His tone made my heart beat faster.

"I saw him earlier when I left the hospital, why do you ask?"

"He's not home yet! The others went out to look for him, but I wanted to call you before I went with them!" His panic was getting worse.

"Oh, well-"

"You said the hospital, right?"

"Yeah, I-"

"Great! Meet me there as soon as you can!" And then he hung up. h god, what if something bad happened to him.. What if Ichi.. no, he wouldn't do that again.. would he? I quickly changed my clothes and set out back to the hospital.

(Ichimatsu's P.O.V)

"Nii-san! She said she was going to the hospital, now hurry up!" Jyushi called from downstairs. Todomatsu had just finished touching up my jumpsuit and had begun dragging me down the stairs. He told me to leave it partially unzipped because it was 'more appealing' and made me 'look cool.' Bullshit.

"Come on, Ichimatsu nii-san! You'll be late if you keep slouching," Todomatsu giggled, leading me out into the open. Jyushi's smile got wider and he let out an "ahh" of what apparently was amazement. "Doesn't he look adorable!"

"Stuff it," I growled, earning a pout from the youngest.

"Hey, you should at least say thank you.. We set this whole thing up so you could spend a little extra time with your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." But I wish she was..

"Come on, the others will be home soon if we don't hurry!" Jyushimatsu seemed pretty impatient, to which I was genuinely surprised.

"Alright, let's go." I nodded to the door, causing Jyushi to fling it open, grab my arm, and launch through the doorway. Oh god, please don't make me ruin my clothes.. Not if she's gonna see me..

"Don't forget to stand up straight and smile! And be confident!" Todomatsu called after us.

Soon enough, Jyushi and I had arrived at the hospital. When he saw that (Y/N) wasn't in sight, he shoved me into one of the nearby alleyways. A few minutes passed and I saw a figure dash by the alley I was in, causing my heart to skip a beat and my breath to hitch. I was actually going go do this. I straightened my stance and listened to Jyushi as he spoke. I emerged after their short exchange, forcing a small smile on my face as I stood in this awkward, erect position. It was extremely uncomfortable since I'm so used to slouching, but I'd do it if it made me look better.

"I-Ichimatsu?" she sputtered. I nodded, causing her to rush forward and nearly tackle me to the ground with a hug comparable to Jyushi's. I felt my face heat up as I awkwardly pulled her close. "Oh my god, I thought you were.. Wait.. What's going on?.." She loosened her grip and looked around.

"Well, I.. I wanted to be with you." I tried my best to put some emotion into those words, but it sounded so damn forced. "I was thinking maybe we could go out for dinner." He smiled broadly, hugging me again with a nod. Jyushi gave me a thumbs up as he headed back to the house.