"Lola, please don't try to eat everything you see on the street..." Yuri sighed, his monotonous voice showing his fatigue, his arm straight forward holding tightly onto the purple leash linked to the collar of the hyper, white labrador that was pulling Yuri forward quickly along with her. She was wagging her tail constantly and sniffing the ground, walking zigzags to consume whatever she could find both with her mouth and nostrils like a vacuum cleaner.

It was a funny sight, to see a guy looking done with life struggling to keep up with the labrador, trying to walk her in a straight line as she was happily horsing around. Well, maybe 'dogging' is more fitting, in this case.

I'm so funny.

"She's still one years old dad," I laughed, to which Yuri scratched the top of his head. "And she's hyper as hell. I'm not paying any vet bills if she eats anything she shouldn't be outside. Little miss needs some training while it's still early."

We were walking side to side with dad and the dog walking in front, until Yuri turned his head over a store and paused. "Hey kiddo, wanna grab a bite of something?" "Yes please," I said, "I'm craving some good food. The usual~" I smiled at him.

"The usual it is, then." He handed me the dog leash, "You stay outside and wait with Lola, dogs are forbidden from entering here. I'll get us both something to eat. Keep her near you, have her leash short."

"On it," I smiled and held the leash, petting the happy dog as I watched my dad enter the store.

I stood outside with Lola, who kept staring at Yuri from the distance and whimpered. "It's okay, Lola!" I comforted the dog and rubbed the head, to which she responded by looking up at me with those black, shinning puppy dog eyes. She was adorable. "I know you like Yuri. Don't worry, he'll be back soon. Let's just wait for a bit." Lola sat next to me and took her moment to calm down and stare at her surroundings.

"Woah, I didn't know you have a dog!"

My mind was shaken off of my thoughts and I quickly looked to my side. It was Kazutora, again. I was both surprised and not, for some reason.

He wasn't wearing his gang uniform. He was wearing a black jacket and a white shirt underneath and black baggy pants with a chain on the side.

He approached me, he was smiling and waving from the short distance until he got close. He looked down at the dog and smiled. "Can I pet it?"

"Oh, Kazutora- yeah sure, she's friendly." I corrected my posture, nodding as I watched him happily interact with the dog, smiling and kneeling down to it to accept the dog's intense affection and kisses. Kazutora was laughing and petting her and rubbing her body. God, he was so handsome and his laugh-

I felt myself blush but the laughter was so infectious, I started laughing, too. It was strange to see Kazutora like this, but a welcoming picture, either way. I didn't know he was a dog person, but he geniuenly seemed to like them. Lola liked him immediately, judging by her tail wagging left to right intensely and the way she was jumping on Kazutora. "Her name is Lola. She's not my dog, she belongs to a friend of my dad's. We just sometimes take her out on walks for him when he's busy."

"Aw, shucks." Kazutora said, his smile not faltering as he kept petting her. "She's a really beautiful dog. She looks happy and healthy, too. My goodness, look at those eyes and the soft fur! And that smile, too! So cute!"

My cheeks warmed up at how attentive Kazutora was with her. Lola lowered her head an started sniffing his pockets. Kazutora grinned, looking up at me. "Oh, she caught the smell of cat food I had. Sorry girl, I spent it all for today, I don't have any treats for you." He rubbed her chin as if apologizing for coming empty handed. The dog didn't seem to care in the slightest, she was just happy for Kazutora's attention.

I looked down at Kazutora in surprise, "You carry cat food with you?" He looked up at me, nodding with a smile and his earring ringing, making Lola tilt her head and perk her ears with every ring. She was sniffing his earring out of curiosity. I had to make sure she wouldn't confuse it for a toy and try to pull at it. "I like carrying cat treats with me when I can and feed cats."

My heart warmed at the little gesture. "Wow, that's so nice of you, Kazutora..."

Kazutora did catch on the change of my voice and the way I was feeling more comfortable and calm around him. He smiled, his eyes glinting in happiness, feeling like he made an achievement. It made his heart flutter to hear me compliment him and say something nice. That means she likes me.

Unfortunately for him, before he could make any more advances to continue proving himself to be worthy of my time and friendship and say more things that would get me to feel more comfortable and happy around him, a strong realization hit me.

"Um Kazutora," I said in a rush, making his smile falter as he looked at me in confusion. "My-My dad is coming out of the store anytime now... I think you should go, he doesn't really appreciate it when he sees, um, boys around me, he is uh- a bit over protective and..." I tried to explain to him awkwardly, feeling more and more awkward as he got up and stared at me unblinking.

Yuri was always on guard when it came to seeing me around boys. He could get very protective and he would always try in one way or another intimidate boys away from me and judge their appearances. He always told me how boys can be, so he was always on the look out for any kinds of boys that could be a threat. He was more overprotective when I was younger, but old habits die hard.

Harry on the other side is more optimistic. He is much friendlier and sweeter and he always welcomes any new friends I make with open arms. He looks very excited whenever I mention someone new. Of course, he tells me to be careful but he never stresses too much on it, since Yuri is always handling that part. Harry does tell me to listen to Yuri at times cause he is right and I need to be careful, but he doesn't want to overwhelm me so he just hypes me up and supports me. In fact, he even encourages me to be positive about the idea of a relationship whenever I feel nice and comfortable with someone.

Of course, Yuri never forbid me from making friends and talking to people, but he was never the most hospitable and friendly person, especially when it came to boys around me. Yuri was always a dull-looking person, someone constantly tired with low energy and not much thrill when it came to making friends or having fun himself. But when it came to seeing boys around me, it always looked like he would take some time scanning them from head to toe intensely as if trying to find if they are unproblematic and if I was not in danger around them.

It had always been like that. Even back when I was little and he met my new friends, Baji and Mikey for the first time. Yuri didn't like them at all, at first. He thought they were going to be bad influences on me and bratty punks who were going to disrespect and hurt me. Baji and Mikey were never tame, even as children, they were both very chaotic. Always yelling around, misbehaving and rarely showing respect. After a while, he got used to them around me, just like other boys.

But this case was a more.. special one. It was Kazutora Hanemiya. Not exactly the most... stable person or someone with a good reputation. Aside from the fact that Kazutora was a gangster and had a neck tattoo - tattoos were seen as signs of someone being dangerous and Yuri would not have appreciated it -, he definitely was not a stranger to Yuri.

Both my dads most likely knew about Kazutora. When Kazutora was still hanging out with my brother and friends, I was abroad, so I never got to know whether H/n ever introduced Kazutora to my parents. Even if they didn't know him, they most certainly did right after Shinichiro's death.

I never spoke with my parents about Kazutora. I didn't know what they were thinking of him and right now, I knew it was not the time to find out. The last thing I wanted was for Yuri to see the person who killed Shinichiro face to face, especially interacting with me.

I had a feeling things would not age well.

It was not the best feeling to be near someone who killed one of your loved ones. A person who killed. It was terrifying, it was making my heart tremble in fear and I was feeling a lot of conflicting emotions around Kazutora that I forced myself to hide deep down. It was so difficult knowing that Shinichiro died so unfairly by his hands. Especially when he refused to take the blame, shifted the blame on Mikey, who hadn't done anything wrong and wanted to kill him for revenge.

At the same time, I knew Kazutora was very troubled and unstable and he must have gone through so much trauma to be the way he was. He was someone burdening a lot of guilt upon his shoulders, pain and not even I knew what else. He was someone who needed help. A helping hand that could pull him together and help him, but one that he refused. He was blinded by his anger and all the emotions he had been hiding, to the point where he wanted to do terrible and unforgiving acts. I was refusing to believe that he actually wanted to kill Mikey, but it was also difficult to believe he wouldn't do so.

I adored Shinichiro with all my heart and I believed it would be impossible to ever forgive his murderer. But in fact, I couldn't find it in my heart to bear any hate, anger and spite. I didn't know what Kazutora had gone through himself.

He used to be, or still was Baji's best friend, wasn't he? No matter how stupid he could be, he would never hung out with evil hearted assholes. And that's what I kept trying to make myself believe.

Kazutora never intended to kill. He never wanted to kill someone, let alone Mikey's elder brother and someone so loved by people. A person with his own dreams and goals. He must have gone crazy after what he did.

Could anyone really blame him? I wouldn't have been able to be myself if I was in his place, either. Just who would I have been, what would I have done if I went through everything Kazutora went through?

I couldn't hate him. Until today, he showed that deep down, he himself could show genuine kindness, care and protectiveness. He showed it to me in his own ways, he liked animals and aside from that, I've heard about Kazutora from Baji.

He wasn't a bad person, as crazy as it sounded. He did terrible things and he was heading down a much darker road than the one he fell onto. He couldn't help and save himself. Little by little, he needed support to be pulled away and stopped from doing worse things.

He had killed Shinichiro out of fear and the andrenaline. He acted out of fear and instinct of getting caught. But he never intended to actually kill someone and he never planned it in his head before hand. He didn't want this to happen, right? It was the heat of the moment unfortunately, which led to something terrible that changed our lives completely and resulted in the loss of Shinichiro's.

But killing Mikey and hurting my friends was something he was planning out of his strong hate and the feeling to get revenge. He consciously was planning on it for a very long time now. It wasn't the same as before.

I wanted to believe that if Kazutora got back his common sense and let go of all the pain and hate stemming from the past, he could prove himself to be a great person.

But I doubted someone like Yuri would have been able to believe such thing.

Yuri was annoyed by Shinichiro. He believed he was raising a very spoiled younger brother and he was a dumbass failing his non-stopping flirting attempts and being a terrible womanizer. And the fact that I was looking up to Shinichiro and all that annoyed Yuri. Yet, he knew how Shinichiro truly was and what a great person he was. He wasn't ignorant of his true self.

Of course he was deeply hurt by the news of his death and it affected him a lot more than he showed. Especially seeing everyone's feelings getting hurt. H/n's, mine's, Emma's, Baji's and especially Mikey's.

He knew Shinichiro was a great elder brother, trying his best and taking care of his siblings and grandpa as much as he could and it was difficult to do so without parents. Despite that, he never gave up, he never lost his smile, he never complained. He did everything with a smile, no matter how stupid he was, no matter how cowardly he could get.

I never asked Yuri or Harry how they still felt about Shinichiro's death and Kazutora accidentally killing him to this very day. Even so, I could bet my entire life it wouldn't be good if Yuri saw Kazutora around me, especially after all that happened.

"Why?" Kazutora asked. "You don't need someone to boss you around and tell you what to do. You're old enough to ignore others." He smiled. "Plus, I'm your friend and I am not doing anything wrong."

"Hahah, you- well, yeah... you're right, it's just.... a thing between father and daughter, some dads can be very overprotective when it comes to boys- and... you know, he's just worried... that, uh..." I laughed awkwardly, trying my best to convince him to go away before Yuri could see us together.

Kazutora stared at me before slowly smiling. "Oh." He paused. "I get it, yeah. Well, that's understandable, I guess." He closed his eyes and put his hands inside his pockets. "There's a lot of bad guys around, it's good to have a guardian watching over you." His tightened his lips into a forced soft smile, the look on his eyes distant.

I really didn't know whether he backed down upon realising one of the main reasons why I really didn't want my dad to see us together or whether he did this out of pure respect and understanding of what it can be like for a girl with a protective dad wary of boys. Especially of tattooed delinquents like him.

But it was annoying to him. Kazutora wouldn't ever hurt me in any way. He wasn't a disgusting prick like most guys were. He just wanted the best for me. He didn't want any parents or anyone getting in the way of being with me. Still, there was something relieving about having a dad willing to protect me from unwanted trouble. Even if trouble still found me and I kept being surrounded by troublesome people. Maybe my dad was not as good at the job as he thought, but Kazutora could be there for me instead. If my parents were too overprotective, maybe he wouldn't even have the chance to meet me and spend time with me in the first place.

That was why it was important to win me. Who could even protect me better than him? He wasn't stalking me outside out of boredom or because he was a creep. He was protecting me. Not even my sorry brother or other excuse of friends were doing their job properly at this.

"Still, you're not a child who needs your parents' permission for everything. I think you can still be around people you want regardless of what they have to say." By 'people', I mean me. "But I get it." He paused, looking away from me. "I know what it's like when your dad sees you with people he doesn't approve of." He then pulled something out of his pockets before I could even mentally question myself the meaning behind his words and the slight change on his tone. ".... My phone number." His cheeks were a bit red tinted. "Call me later if you want... okay? I'd like to go out with you today."

I slowly took the paper with his phone number written on it, my eyebrows slightly raised up. I looked at him, nodding. "... Yeah, sure. I'll do that."

His face brightened up an he smiled. I accepted without much thought or any excuses. He looked very excited all of a sudden. He turned his back on me and waved. "See ya later then, Y/n!~" He rubbed Lola's head playfully for a few seconds and left with quick steps, making sure to not delay me any further. Lola was panting and wagging her tail at him, looking as he was going away, whining softly.

I stood right there, staring down at the phone number before putting it inside my own pockets. I myself didn't know exactly why I agreed so quickly, without even processing his question and thinking about possible consequences, but...

Yuri returned from the store with a small plastic bag in his hand. Lola shifted her eyes on Yuri and barked, walking up to him and sniff the bag curiously, her tail wagging in interest, expecting the bag to be filled with goodies just for her. "Was someone out here with you?" Yuri asked. "I think I saw someone talking to you from the window."

I felt some relief by the fact that even if Yuri noticed something, he didn't know who it was. "Oh, just an old friend from middle school."

--------------------------------------------------

An hour later, after I finished spending time together with dad and we finished taking Lola for a walk, he left with Lola to return her back to her owner.

Right after that, I didn't follow them but instead I ended up leaving, telling Yuri I was going outside and gave Kazutora a phone call after taking a few minutes to think about it.

During the first seconds of waiting for Kazutora to pick up, I couldn't help but be haunted by all the words I've heard about staying away from trouble and different voices calling me stupid and reckless, but Kazutora was so quick to pick it up that he made those voices disappear.

"I didn't expect a phone-call so soon, Y/n. Missed me already?"

How did this guy even know it was me in the first place?

That's how we ended up arranging to meet in a specific location outside a random shop. Kazutora had gotten there earlier, waiting for me. I probably arrived five minutes later than he did.

He gave me another of his handsome smiles. "You look pretty as always, Y/n."

"Thank you," I smiled at him, scratching my arm and looking away shyly. Well, I mean.. I am wearing the same outfit as before, I didn't change anything.

"Are you hungry?" Kazutora asked. "I just ate, are you?" I asked him. He shook his head, his smile never disappearing. "No. Well, in that case," He said and I was surprised to feel his warm hand gently hold mine, "How about we head to the pet shop for a moment? I need to buy something real quick, if you don't mind..."

Oh. Well, I didn't expect that.

"Sure, why not?" I shrugged and nodded, glancing down at out hands together, my cheeks heating up.

Now that I thought about that, it was probably the first time it was just me and Kazutora. Going to the pet shop together didn't sound like a bad or dangerous idea... He himself seemed to have noticed that it was just us two this time, hence why he looked brighter than before.

I walked awkwardly next to him, both feeling embarassed of walking hand-in-hand with a boy out in public, but also anxious because you never know which people you might come across outside. I just imagined seeing someone like Mikey all of a sudden outside and he sees me and Kazutora walking together like this. Just the thought made me want to let go of his hand.

Yet, Kazutora seemed content, smiling and walking right next to me, his eyes fixed on the way forward and not looking troubled by anything. He most likely didn't see any kind of issue with this, or anything to be embarrassed of.

"Do you..." I attempted to strike a conversation since we were going to a pet shop for him to buy something. "Have any pets, Kazutora?"

"No," He said, "But I'd like to." He looked at me. "I ran out of cat food, you see..." He laughed awkwardly, giving me a brief flashback from before when he said he likes to have cat food to feed the strays. "I'd like to grab a few things on the pet shop. And we can see the pets on sale, too." He said.

"Yeah, sure, sounds like a good idea." I nodded, "You feed strays often?" "Yeah, around neighborhoods occupied by cats. Whenever I walk by they always show up. One or two see me, and the next thing you know they start meowing and at least ten cats pop up." He laughed. "They all love to eat. Some are tamer and let you get close and pet them. Some like to stay away." He looked at me. "Wanna go see them later?" His voice was softer.

I looked up at him. "We can? Are they far?" "Nope!" He shook his head, his earring dangling slightly. "They're near. Sometimes, some cats disappear for a while and come back. They always travel everywhere but they come back to the same place I feed them. Whenever I can't feed them, I send others to do that." He rambled.

I hummed and glanced at our surroundings. "Where do you think they go when they disappear?"

"Probably to find more food elsewhere."

I laughed at his bluntness. He smiled. "That's how cats can be. No matter how much you may feed some, they still want more!" Kazutora laughed. "In fact, most of them eat more than they should. Some are so used to begging for food from me and other people or shops that they are too lay and untrained to chase mice. That can be kind of a problem. But they eat well all the time, even when I can't visit them. Somebody always overfeeds them daily anyways. I don't worry about them going short on food, but getting cats to like you and trust you does require food on the deal."

"Damn.." I said, pouting and lowering my gaze. "Now I'm kinda jealous." Kazutora looked at me and smiled playfully at my comment.

"You're telling me you want to be a cat?"

I cracked a smile, "If it means I eat as much as I want, whenever I want and sleep and just... be a cat... sure. I dunno. I don't see why not."

Kazutora laughed. "Yeah, I get that. They do have shorter life spans than a human, though." He sighed. "As long as they live a good life, twenty years can be more than enough, I guess."

My smile fell as I heard Kazutora say this and I looked at him in silence. "..." The way he worded that and the sound of his voice changing was... concerning? Maybe it was just me.

He looked at me and smiled again, tilting his head. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just saying. People usually get sad when their pets have shorter live spans than us. I get it. We want to spend more time with them and appreciate them. Sometimes, it may feel like it's never enough. But if they have a good quality of life, if we give them what they want and need, no matter how less they live than us.... I'm sure they go happy." He looked up at the sky with a gentle expression I never saw him with before. Something in his eyes was softer.

"Everybody dies in the end. So it doesn't matter how long you get to live for. Days, weeks, a few months, a year... Five years, ten years, twenty, fifty, eighty, a hundred. If you live a great life, the quality outnumbers the quantity. Many humans live longer but more miserably and painfully than many of the deceased pets we cry for."

Kazutora smirked at me. "So yeah. Even with a lower lifespan, living as a cat wouldn't be bad. Well, as long as you don't fall under the wrong hands..." He immediately shifted the mood of the conversation.

He pressed his index finger on the tip of my nose playfully. "Imagine if we were just two cats. We'd be so cute ♡. We would just eat, sleep, cuddle, and play all the time and do absolutely nothing else. Maybe get rubs and scratches, too. No stupid responsibilities."

To say that I felt overwhelmed by the change in the mood and the switch of Kazutora's personality would not be an exaggeration. He didn't leave me much time to gaze upon the soft, serious face as he talked about life and the years. For a moment the conversation became so mature and serious... maybe slightly depressing to talk about death, but Kazutora's words made something about the whole conversation comfortable. He was more open minded than he showed.

Before the conversation could escalate into something deeper and I could gather my own thoughts and feelings and step in into his monologue, talking about my own thoughts and beliefs, he immediately shifted the attention elsewhere, as if he himself realized the conversation was going somewhere deeper than he aimed to go, so he brought up playful topics.

Either way, I was fine with that.

I laughed a bit, forcing myself to shake all the thoughts away and not remain silent anymore as we kept walking. "I can see you like cats a lot. Big cats, too." I said and glanced at his tiger tattoo across his neck.

He noticed and gently rubbed it with his free hand. "Ah, yeah... I like all sorts of cats. You see, My name, 'Kazu-tora-', has the word 'tiger' in it." He pointed his tattoo, tilting his neck as if to show it off. And I am as strong and brave as a tiger! Strong enough to protect you." He smiled, letting go of my hand and wrapping his arm around my shoulders to bring me closer to him. Somehow, I didn't feel as uncomfortable as I felt at first.

He looked at me from up close, "And you're just as cute as a cat! I'm sure if you had cat ears and everything I wouldn't tell the difference. In fact, I think you are already a cat. That's why I like you so much! I love cats." He teased me and we started laughing as I tried to stand up for myself against his teasing.

From that moment, I had a feeling that I was right about having hopes on him. Baji was right, too. He was right when he said we would definitely get along hanging out together. I couldn't see it at first due to the entire Toman and Valhalla thing, but spending time with Kazutora, just him and I, no gangs involved, he was a different person.

Kazutora really wasn't that bad, after all.

"How much did the tattoo hurt?"

"No pain at all."

".... You're lying. You must have cried doing it."

"Nah, I was fine. I'm a tiger."

"Sure, sure.... Hey. Do you think I should get a neck tattoo like yours?"

"... I mean, if you can handle the pain, I think you'd look hot in one. Just be careful with these. Want me to arrange a-"

"N-Nevermind, I was just joking!"

----------------------------------------------

Upon entering the building, I was embraced by different scents of animals and food, as well as the sound of the filters working in the aquariums and many, many kinds of birds and parrots making loud noises, screeching, singing and chirping.

My eyes were wide and I couldn't keep them focus on one spot. The entire place was colorful, even the food packages, the cute animal toys I started squishing to hear squeaky sounds, before I started looking at the multiple aquariums and cages containing an overwhelming amount of varieties of animals.

"I know, right?" Kazutora grinned, seeing the awe on my face and eyes. "It's so cool! I like to visit this place just for the animals." He held my hand again, pulling me with him. "Let's go! We'll see them all first, just be a bit quiet and careful so we don't stress them."

Kazutora and I took our time looking all over the cages and aquariums. I was impressed by the variety of pets there were. I saw multiple impressive bird species of all colors and sizes, inspecting each different spots, colors and sounds they produced. We saw a generous amount of fish swimming in blue rectangular aquariums, some by themselves and others with the company of other fish, the name of the species and their prices on signs beneath each one of them.

There were many kinds of impressive reptiles and rodents and the owners of the store even let us pet and hold some of them. Kazutora had a great time handling a few snake species and a tarantula and we even got to hold a few small mice and guinea pigs and bunnies.

My instinct told me that I needed to kidnap half of the pets in the store and run away with Kazutora.

The more time I was spending with Kazutora made me realize just how relaxed he himself could get, especially around animals. He was good at handling them and even experienced with most. He helped me out holding a few and even gave me some information about them.

Something about the way his eyes sparkled and the genuine smile on his lips touched my heart in a very tender and warm way.

Needless to say, our time in that pet shop was extremely rewarding and some part of me felt depressed and guilty that I left empty handed. I would miss most of these little guys in there for sure.

"You really like animals, Kazutora." I said as we exited the store. "Is your dream to dedicate your time in animal care in the future as a job, maybe?" I questioned.

Aside from some basic things about Kazutora and the fact that he had a troubling past and he spent time in juvie, I didn't know anything else about him. Life plans or dreams.

Kazutora hummed and tied the plastic bag in which he bought cat food and treats inside, wrapping it up well and holding it on one hand. "I don't know. It would be nice." He gently held my arm and guided me somewhere. "This way."

The more we started walking, the more uneasy I started feeling as I noticed the familiar surroundings...

This was the same road leading to Valhalla's turf.

Anxiety started creeping in inside me and my face twisted in uneasiness, until I was pulled gently by Kazutora on a turn inside an alley, "Over here."

It was a dark place with some locked, dusty metal doors and trash cans everywhere. The place was a mess and definitely a dangerous area my parents always warned me to stay away from. 'Drug dealers and murderers lurk there, stay away!'

And yet, here I was being pulled right into one by Kazutora. This didn't ease my anxiety much since everything I have heard about such dark places scared me and I started wondering if we would see a dead body laying anywhere.

Then, my eyes noticed two cats a few meters away from us. One black and a black and brown one. Kazutora knelt down next to me, unwrapping the bag and taking out cat food and treats.

"Pspspspsss, here kitty cats!" He said softly, his voice echoing slightly. The cats immediately responded with excited meows as they quickly walked to us, their tails raised up and swaying softly, their paws not making a sound as they got close.

"Awww...!" I said and smiled as they approached us. One of them stared at me for a few seconds, but they didn't pay much attention to me. They were more interested in the food Kazutora sprawled on the ground for them. They started eating and Kazutora looked up at me, smiling.

He handed me one of the little bags. "Here, shake it in the air loudly and watch."

I looked down at the pink and brown bag he held for me. I took it and read the contents, it was cat treats with tuna. I did as Kazutora told me, shaking the bag and making a loud noise with it.

The cats kept eating and I stared around me.

Nothing happened.

"Do it again." Kazutora recommended.

I shook the bag again, a few seconds more this time.

A few seconds passed and that's when I started hearing shuffling and other noises, followed by distant meows.

Soon enough, three more cats showed up. Then two more, then probably another three, I couldn't count.

"Woah!" I laughed as they all came running towards the two of us, some sitting near us. Other cats approached while others chose to keep their distance.

Cats of different colors were everywhere!

This was cat heaven.

"You can feed them." Kazutora smiled. "Kneel down next to me and they may feel safer to approach. Some are a bit scared because you're a new face, you see."

I slowly did as Kazutora said and he watched me as I placed food on the ground.

Many colorful and dirty cats walked and ran closer, crouching down on the ground and eating. A few cats got close to Kazutora, who gave them gently rubs. They started rubbing themselves against his hand and legs, leaving their hair on his clothes.

"I'll need to clean my clothes after this," Kazutora chuckled and spared me a glance.

I looked at him and smiled back, exhaling through my nose and relaxing as we watched all cats eat and make cute noises. Kazutora was right, all these cats looked well fed for strays and very tame. It had you questioning whether they were abandoned pets.

I felt something warm and fluffy rub itself against my side and I head a 'mrrrrow~'. I looked next to me to see a multi-colored cat. It was white and it had black and orange spots on random parts of its body. What I noticed about it was that one of it's ears was missing a tiny piece and it was missing her left eye, too. The right eye was a beautiful shade of green.

"Oh, hi there!" I said and started rubbing my hand and fingers against its head and body. The fur was soft and it closed its eyes and purred against my touch.

"She showed up a week ago, actually. I have no idea where she came from." Kazutora said as he pet a gray cat while the rest focused on eating and chilling nearby. "I don't know where most of them came from, actually. They just did and I made friends with them with food."

I frowned at the cutie begging constantly for my attention and affection, rubbing her body against me and swaying the tip of her tail. She kept purring. "You're a needy one aren't you?" I said softly. "Wow, many of these cats... clearly need to be taken to a vet." I noted. Many cats looked to have some flees and other small injuries over their bodies, some missing a few fur patches and others had little scars and dried blood here and there.

"Yeah, these guys sometimes fight with other cats and get hurt all the time. They need to get spayed and have their wounds treated." His smile faded a bit. "Some of these cats were probably abandoned, but they were accepted among other cats and now they are surviving all together. Other cats aren't lucky. I wished there would be people who could adopt them." He said.

We continued watching the cats and petting a few that came close to us. It was nice to be surrounded by them, they were all so cute!

I looked at the multi-colored female cat that kept meowing and purring against me, sitting near my feet and closing her eyes. She yawned, her cute whiskers raising as she scrunched her nose.

"She likes you." Kazutora gave me a closed eye smile.

"Yeah, I can tell, she is so cute!" I smiled back and stared at her. Most cats here are not the most playful or affectionate."

"She was probably a house cat. What a shame people throw their pets away."

I frowned and nodded and looked at the cats around us. I started wondering what it would be like if all of these belonged in loving households and were provided with the food, love, care and medication they deserved. Their injuries looked like they could get infected and it was sad to think about what would hapoen or how sick each could get. Unfortunately, I didn't have the money or space to afford a good life for them, so it was not like I could get greedy and take them all in as much as I wished. Kazutora probably felt the same.

"Do they have names?" I asked. "I don't know." He shrugged. "I haven't named any of them."

We just sat there for some minutes, petting some cats and relaxing in comfortable silence.

Despite all the cats that were around us, I just focused on the one-eyed cat, sniffing my hands. She slowly got closer to me and put her paws on my knee and leaned close to me. My gaze softened down at her and I rubbed her face gently to which she responded with loud, happy low purring as she pushed her small snout against my hand.

"I love her." I broke the silence and giggled. "She's the cutest cat I've ever seen. I want her!" I complained.

Kazutora laughed. "You kept saying the same for every animal we saw on the pet shop! I can't blame you, though." He shrugged and looked at the cat I was petting. He stared at her and me as we interacted. He smiled, "Hey Y/n... If you could name that cat, what would it be?"

I looked at Kazutora and then stared at the cat resting her paws on my leg, until she got down and sat, looking down on the ground at random tiny rocks. She used her paw to play with a few.

"Hmmm..." I hummed. "... 'Angel'?" I said after having random names appear on my mind. Many were beautiful and creative and it felt like it would be a waste not to use them as names. But 'Angel' was fitting, even if it was probably a common pet name. "Cause she's like an angel. I don't know.." I laughed awkwardly and pushing a few strands of hair away from my face. It was silly.

Kazutora held his gaze upon my face, expression and lips and he smiled. ".... A fitting name." He murmured.

I turned my head to face him fully., "It's so sweet of you to take care of all these cats, Kazutora." I complimented. "I admire that. You're... You're actually nicer than I thought." I raised a hand in defence, "Don't take this the wrong way, I just- I thought you were a bit scarier than you actually are. You're sweet and nice."

Kazutora blushed and stared at me. He looked down, his bangs covering one of his eyes. His visible eye softened and he smiled gently, looking away. "Yeah... maybe you don't know me well enough."

My smile faded slowly as he said that and I looked down at Angel- the cat I decided to name.

"Can't you adopt her?" Kazutora suddenly asked me.

I looked at him again in surprise, eyes blinking and I used a finger to point at myself. "Me?" I thought about his words. "... I wish I could. But I don't know if my parents will allow me to have a pet cat." I looked down at Angel and bopped her nose, making her gently slap her soft paw against my finger in a playful manner. "I like animals and I like cats a lot. Well... I think Yuri likes cats too, even if he doesn't show it, but Harry isn't a fan of keeping pets inside the house that can create a mess, leave hair everywhere or ruin furniture." I muttered to myself. "Pets are hard work."

"I get that." Kazutora said and looked at Angel. "I can't have pets either. At least I can come by and spend time with them."

I hummed and noticed the way Angel loved being near me and being showered by my affection. I smiled a bit. "... hey. I'll... I'll try to convince my parents." I decided uncertainly. "They may reject, but ..." I looked at double-colored hair delinquent. "I really like this cat, Kazutora! And she likes me too. Look!" I held her face gently. "She clearly wants me! The other cats don't care much about me, but how can I leave her when she looks at me like this?"

Kazutora laughed at me, "Angel clearly chose you!" He stopped laughing and smiled. "Hey, if you do convince your parents to let you take her home, please let me know. I can help you out with some stuff."

I stared at him and smiled, my cheeks warming up. "Really?" He nodded. "I know a thing or two about cats. I'd be happy to help out!" He smiled. "Oh, I also do have a few things like cat beds and toys I kept packed up somewhere. I could find them and give them to you since I'm assuming if they let you you will keep her inside a house."

"I would appreciate this so much, Kazutora. Thank you." I grinned, cheeks warm and heart a bit sped up.

We two kept sitting there in another calm silence. Most cats got bored and left, others were sleeping and chilling or even interacting with each other, only Angel kept sitting next to me and laid down by my feet, resting as I kept giving her all the pets I could give her.

"Hey, Kazutora..." I said. He was already looking at me. He could have been looking at me all this time.

I looked inside his eyes. "Living as a cat must be the ideal life. I'm sure it would rock if we were cats instead." I smiled playfully, before I closed my eyes and leaned my face backwards, staring up at the tall buildings surrounding us in that dark alley we were sitting, just Kazutora and I and nobody else. "..... but I think we can still find happiness and have fun the way we are. As humans."

I couldn't tell what was going on inside Kazutora's mind in that moment because he was very silent. It was a bit contradicting to what we were talking about earlier. By preferring to be cats instead of people.

'Ding ding!'

My heart jumped at the sound of a phone ringing twice. Kazutora snapped his head to his pocket and brought out his phone. I turned my gaze down to Angel, not looking at Kazutora's phone out of respect. Angel raised her head a bit, looking at Kazutora with her green eye intensely, startled by the sound o the phone. She slowly laid back on the ground.

Kazutora remained silent as he seemed to be reading something. He pushed his phone inside his pocket. He slowly raised himself off the ground. I looked up at him as he did this. He held the bag of cat food and treats on his hand. He smiled down at me, towering above.

"Wanna go to the hideout?"

Which hide.... oh... Oh. He meant that place.

Kazutora sensed my sudden discomfort. He smiled and tilted his head. "Don't worry, it won't be like last time. You're with me now and everybody knows better than to hurt you. We've talked about this." He chuckled.

"...." I remained silent and looked down at Angel who was staring up at me. "Mmmrrrow." She rubbed her face against my knee affectionately. I scratched the top of her head, as if I was giving her my thanks for her comfort. She clearly sensed my discomfort and wanted to make me feel better. I really had to take this cat home.

"... I don't know." I muttered, my heart thumping in fear. Why would I even go there? I had no business being there. Surrounded by so many of them.

If I agreed I would go back to that scary place with all those terrifying people made my anxiety and fear skyrocket.

I was stuck between 'Valhalla is a safe place for you.' and 'Stay away from Valhalla!'

Kazutora looked away. "Hanma wants to see you. He missed you. He talks about you." He said with an emotionless tone. "And the others would be happy to see you again." He gave me a reassuring smile again. "They really liked you by the way. They'd be delighted to see you again. They had fun meeting you." He said, talking about ... wait what were their names again? They all started with Chi... Cho.... right! Choji, Chome and... Choso? No, it was probably Chonbo.

"Mmm.... I don't-... know." I repeated silently. "I... I don't...." I went silent for a moment, trying to find my words. "I don't see why I need to be there actually.. maybe people could get uncomfortable with me or...." Or maybe this is some kind of organized plan to hold me hostage or them to do something to-

"Baji is there."

My mind went blank when Kazutora said that. I stopped scratching Angel all of a sudden.

Baji is there.

That made me feel both comfortable, safer but also anxious.

After he left Toman and went with Valhalla, he completely stopped contacting me in any way. On our last interaction, he wasn't the nicest. He said some very hurtful words.

I kept everything Chifuyu told me in the back of my head, and how Baji was planning something and he would never change his behavior out of the blue. I'd like to believe that he didn't actually hate me or never want to see me again, but I didn't have the highest hopes of being greeted warmly by him if he saw me again. Especially if I agreed to go to Valhalla's turf on my own accord.

"Is he really?" I asked hesitantly. "Baji is there now?" He hummed and nodded. "Yeah. Hanma called everyone cause he wants to make another announcement to everyone regarding the fight between Valhalla and Toman, on the thirty-first of October. He must already be at the turf with the rest by now." He put a hand on my shoulder. "We'll meet him there. If you come."

"I'm not forcing you." Kazutora said softly. "You could leave whenever you want to. Nobody will force you to stay or leave." Kazutora reached a hand to me. I saw his body almost looming over me from above, the air from behind making his hair sway in the air along with his earring. Another smile graced his lips. I picked up on his habit of smiling a lot. "It'd be nice to say a 'hi' to everyone, yes? Hanma sent me a text to meet him in the turf where everyone is waiting for a meeting. Let's surprise them before the meeting."

I'm assuming I'm the surprise.

Staring up at him, I slowly took his hand and grasped it. He helped me get up from the ground and I immediately used my hands to clean the dust and rocks from my legs and butt. "Okay.. You do promise that I will be okay there?" I asked him with a hint of vulnerability and anxiety on my tone.

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

His words provided me with a lot of relief. It would be a shame if he didn't keep the promise.

I looked down at Angel who saw me getting up. She sat and meowed at me, blinking her eye as if saying 'You're leaving already?'

"Sorry girl, I gotta go. I'll see you again. Nice meeting you, bye bye...!" I calmly waved at her with a soft smile, feeling my anxiety decrease just by looking at her. Hope I get to take you home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kazutora chapter let's gooooo

I wanted to expand the pet shop part. I really did. I wanted to write more detailed scenes there for the sake of their bonding time and the wholesomeness of the chapter (and the animal lover in me awakening-), but I was short on time and I had to hurry, so unfortunately I had to skip details to make sure I had more time to write the rest.

First of all before I say anything else, hope September treated you all well ❤ Whether it did or not, hope October will be a much better month for everyone. I'm sure many are looking forward to spooky month 🎃 Unfortunately we don't celebrate Halloween in my country, which sucks.

BUUUUUUTT even if I don't celebrate trick or treating, that doesn't mean I still can't treat you guys into something small ;) whether that's good or bad is up to you to decide, yawn.

October 31st is on it's way. Yes, it is the day of Halloween, as much as I know.

For the TR fandom, it's something a bit more than Halloween, I can assume. Yes. It's Bloody Halloween, the day of Toman VS Valhalla and the terrible tragedy happening that E H EM --- Baji fans and protectors like me cry everyday for. I'm sure this wasn't a spoiler cause I'm pretty sure everyone reading this has already seen or read the entire Valhalla arc. If not... sorry :')

Ken Wakui please bring back our baby boy Baji 😔 I can't keep coping by fanfictions, Baji edits and waiting for the spinoff chapters to see my favorite character shine again.

We needed and deserved more of Baji. I can't get enough of him, he went too soon 😪 anyways-

We are entering October, a month that I wish goes well for everyone and of course October 31st is on it's way.

Aside from that, following the plot of TR, October 31st, Halloween is also on it's way since that's the day of the Valhalla fight.

So I decided to do something interesting and set the date of the Valhalla and Toman brawl on October 31st of this month :) We'll be relieving the Valhalla arc on the same day, Halloween, both in real life and the anime. It would be dramatic indeed, wouldn't it? Very very evil of me.

So conveniently, I decided to delay the Valhalla arc until this specific date.

Until October 31st we still have a month ahead of us. This basically gives me time to work on two-three more chapters until then, that I can take advantage of and give more bonding time between Y/n and other characters, moments and wholesome scenes, before the big day of October 31st where some things may go a bit downhill.

I've already planned what I am going to write within these few weeks before October 31st. During this time, I will most likely publish two or three long chapters and then on October 31st, if things go right with my schedule, I have prepared the entire Valhalla war chapter ready for you.

Since I have a feeling that it's going to be long, I will probably divide the Valhalla fight in two seperate chapters, but I want to have them released on the same day. I'll do this so that the chapter won't look extremely long and feel tiring to read in one shot, so many it will be more helpful if I split it into two chapters instead of one, so don't be surprised if you end up getting two chapters within a single day.

Unless I actually end up writing it all in one chapter. We'll see.

I thought it would be interesting if I completed the whole Valhalla fight and published it on October 31st, the same day of the fight. (^_^;) it's coincidentally good timing I think

This month has been very stressful to me for so many reasons, and the next month and period is going to be even more difficult for me due to many changes in my life and schedule, and I have a LOT of things to write that I want to have finished writing by the end of October. The Halloween chapter will already take a lot of time to write and it will be long, but the chapters in between will be long as well. I already kept notes of what I want to write and even just my notes are long. I have to say, it will be fun and interesting to write everything, but the short amount of time I have mixed with the lots of things I want to write AND the busy schedule I have in real life will be a pain in the ass, but I wanna make this work with the story. I hope I'll be able to get to write things in time.

I love making my life difficult (」ﾟﾛﾟ)｣

But worry not, cause no matter what and no matter the timing and when I get these chapters written, you are still getting this chapters and the juice one way or another, sooner or later so don't worry about not getting updates. I just wanted to fit a lot of things within a month :').

I'll definitely need to take a break and a breather after completing the Valhalla arc especially after everything I will have to write and have them posted on time within a single month.

Jk I'll keep writing

Lastly, I'd like to apologize for 'neglecting' some other characters that I've left aside for now, but I needed time to focus on characters like our sweet baby boy Kazutora and Valhalla, since this is literally their arc so 🤷‍♀️

I'll give more screentime to characters I've neglected that deserve more attention before the next arc, the Black Dragons arc and a bit during it depending on the characters.

(The summer special part 2nd crying in the backround completely untouched and forgotten, I'm sorry 🫡--)

I've been writing for a while now and my head needs some rest at last. Wish you all a good day/night! Thank you for reading and supporting as always 😌

NEXT CHAPTER: (somewhere in October)

BLOODY HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: October 31st