the book of fluff (that usually isn't)

kitty kitty

Mitch sighed as he unlocked the door to his one-bedroom apartment. It was dark, all of the lights turned off. "I'm home," he mumbled, dropping his keys in the dish and kicking off his shoes.

He hated living alone. He had never felt more lonely than he did right then, eating ice cream for dinner on his couch. He watched Spongebob halfheartedly, wishing he had someone to cuddle. He didn't have any friends, and no one was ever interested in him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had proper physical contact that wasn't just an accidental hand brush or bumping into someone in the street.

Suddenly, he got an idea. His lips immediately curled into a smile and he scrambled to get his shoes on again, grabbing his keys. He knew that this was a stupid idea, but he was just so lonely and he craved company.

He hopped into his car and pulled up the directions to the nearest animal shelter. He happily sang along to the radio as he drove. He hadn't been this excited in a long time.

Mitch walked inside with a bounce in his step. A worker came over, a smile on her lips. "Hello, sir. My name is Melody. How may I help you?" she asked, and Mitch returned the smile. "Hi. I'd like to adopt a pet, please." Immediately, the woman's smile brightened. "Of course. Would you prefer a dog or a cat?" she asked as she began to lead Mitch to the animal cages. Mitch thought for a moment before he shook his head. "I don't care. I just need some company." Melody smiled understandingly. "Of course, of course. Take a look around."

Mitch walked through the aisle, the puppies and kittens in the cages surrounding him meowing and barking to get his attention. One small puppy even stuck her paw through the bars of the cage, swatting hopelessly at Mitch. Mitch smiled and stopped to scratch behind her ear with one finger since he couldn't reach her very well before he continued on.

When he neared the last cage, Scott's eyes widened in fear and he scrambled to the back of his cage, his ears flattening and his tail wrapping around himself. His cage was larger than all of the others to accommodate his large body, so Mitch figured a Great Dane or a St. Bernard was inside. However, when he saw Scott, his eyes widened. "What the-...? He's— Th-That's a human, ma'am." Melody's smile immediately fell, and she regarded Scott with distaste. "No. Scott's a neko. You don't want him, trust me. We're putting him down in just a few hours, actually."

"That's murder!"

"It's not murder if he's not a human. Look, he has the ears and tail of a cat. Disgusting."

Mitch's mouth opened and closed like a fish as he searched for words. Scott whimpered and hid his face in his hands, trembling terribly. "What do nekos do?" Mitch asked eventually. "Are there a lot of them?" Melody scoffed and shook her head. "No, there's only a few in the world. Nekos don't do anything, just eat and take up space. We're very unfortunate to have him. We didn't even get a pretty one." Mitch happened to think this neko was very pretty, but he didn't say that. "Um..." He was quiet for a long time, unable to tear his eyes away from Scott's shaking form. "I'm... I'm going to look at the puppy that I pet," he said finally, turning to go.

Mitch pet the puppy through the bars of the cage, smiling and cooing quietly at her. However, he was unsettled. He couldn't shake the memory of that cat-human hybrid thing out of his mind. The poor thing was going to be put down that night. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he let someone get killed, even if they were part cat. Plus, the neko was attractive, in his opinion. He could do more research to find out about their anatomy, but all that mattered to him was that the neko was someone to cuddle with. Besides, taking care of another human would be easier than taking care of a dog or a cat, especially a grown one. The neko could feed himself and go to the bathroom in the toilet.

Mitch didn't even realize how he was convincing himself to adopt the neko until he'd already made the decision. He took his hand out of the cage and turned to the woman. "Have you made your decision?" she asked, her bright smile back on her lips. Mitch nodded and smiled back. "Yes, actually. I'd like the neko. What was his name again?"