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*'''Cutscene: 2024-04-15: Balam Wonderworld''' *'''Cast:''' [[Character :: Akane Shinjo]], [[Character :: Rikka Takarada]] *'''Where:''' Nouvelle Tokyo International Animal Rescue; Nouvelle Tokyo Takarada-Shinjo Apartment *'''OOC - IC Date:''' 0099-03-10 *'''Summary''': ''With some effort, Akane and Rikka adopt a new little friend. ... They'll have to lay the house out again, but it's so worth it.'' ---- <poem> It turns out it's actually quite difficult to adopt a pet through a shelter in Japan. While they could just go to a pet shop... ... well, is it really surprising that Akane and Rikka, of all people, are favoring the shelter route? The process proves a lot more involved than either of them probably expected. A lot of shelters turn away students or unmarried women on reflex, it turns out, and one actually asked for proof that they're allowed to have a cat in the apartment. This has funneled them, in turn, to a foreign-run cat rescue in Nouvelle Tokyo's Ocean City district. (It's expected to close its doors in April, after losing about half of its staff to the shift in the political environment. While the operator himself comes from the Philippines, about a third of the workers were AEU or REA expats now forced back to their home countries.) As they're walking around a wall full of cat enclosures, Akane starts to get anxious -- until she feels a sharp tap at her shoulder. "Ow -- hey," she starts, reflexively pulling away -- before turning and meeting a one-eyed, tuxedo-patterned gaze through the bars. Rikka wanders through the enclosures, eyes tracking across felines of all shapes and sizes. It's a dangerous place for her to be, in a way. Her heart goes out to all these kitties - but she doesn't think they can get away with more than one, and starting with two might be hard anyway. She's never had a cat before. She turns, hearing Akane's gasp. "You okay?" Rikka asks, turning to join her - and meets the piercing eye of the cat behind the bars. She looks to Akane, then back to the cat, and takes a slow step closer to him. The shelter worker escorting the young ladies -- a tall woman of mixed Pacific Islander descent -- says, "Oh, that's Cass. His old owner's house got destroyed in that big incident last summer, and he had to move back to somewhere in SAUS with his family. Poor little guy lost an eye to some debris. The owner paid to have the socket sewn up and some follow-up therapy, but..." Akane takes a long look at Cass, saying, "... that name's not gonna sound great in Japanese, ehehe... no wonder he's still here." A one-eyed cat whose name is a homophone for 'trash' definitely isn't gonna have an easy time in a shelter. She scoots toward the cage, slowly putting her finger through the bars. Rikka looks between the woman escorting them and Akane, listening quietly. A survivor from a big disaster... She feels a slight pang in her heart from that. And a name - a nice name in a different language, but here... Rikka gives a sad smile, gently approaching and resting a hand against the bars. "...I'm sorry. We've really put you through a lot, huh?" She murmurs an apology to Cass. "But you're still trying to connect with people..." She studies him a bit longer as Akane goes for a chin scratch. "Doesn't he..." She starts, but trails off. ...He makes her think of a certain someone a little, is all. She shakes her head, then looks back toward their guide. "Is it alright if we take him out for a bit?" ------ The pair settle in in the room prepared for introducing cats to new people -- a pretty simple space with a ratty old rug. After a minute or so, the shelter worker brings Cass in, and lets him loose. There's definitely a shyness to the way their potential new friend navigates the world; losing depth perception definitely doesn't help a cat get around. He seems to take an immediate shine to Rikka, though; he doesn't quite hop up into her lap, but he does trot over, flop over about a foot and a half in front of her, then lazily scoot himself across the floor toward her. Akane lets this happen for a while, scooting toward him in much the same manner; when her own movement leads to a startle, she stops for a bit before starting to move a little closer. Rikka, always willing to be patient, watches Cass as he navigates. She has to suppress a ''little'' bit of a cuteness-induced gasp as he trots up and flops over, scooting toward her. She lets him approach at his own pace, though, and when he's close enough, she carefully reaches out her hand - making sure to approach from the side with his good eye, so he can see her - to give him a scratch behind the ears. She smiles - and then laughs, despite herself. Akane thinks for a little while -- and then nods softly, her brown-black hair curtaining her face a bit. "I think I like him." With a little smirk, she teases, "I like Rikka best, too~." "I think I like him, too." Rikka replies, and then Akane hits her with the follow-up -which she didn't expect at all - and Rikka laughs again, looking down at their new friend. "No wonder you two got along so well. You already have so much in common." She shifts her attention from ear scratches to chin scratches, and then respositioning herself, a bit - allowing him the option of climbing into her lap if he so chooses, but without forcing him. And as she watches him fondly, she realises - 'Oh no. I'm too attached, now.' ------ "A name? Hmmm..." Well, Akane did grow quite attached to Foras and Buer in her time at Sayla's, and she did do a little research... "Hmm... How about Balam?" She glances to Rikka, shifting thoughtfully. "Gremory seemed kinda overplayed," she adds, with a little giggle. "Sayla's really rubbed off on you, huh." Rikka notes with a chuckle - but her tone approves of that. It only feels right to continue the lineage. "Yeah, maybe." Rikka agrees with a smirk... and then 'hm's to herself, mentally rolling the name around in her head. "Balam..." After a moment, she nods. "I like it. How about you, what do you think?" She asks, looking to the cat - their cat, she hopes now. It's only been a short while but she's already come to the conclusion that she'd be willing to fight the world for this little fellow. Their new friend rotates his head to either side for a few moments, then immediately smashes his face against Rikka's hand a few times. It's as much an endorsement as you can get from a cat. ------ After realizing that they probably shouldn't put an awkward little cat on a train or a bus and having to call someone Akane met in art circle for a ride, the pair -- cat hidden in Akane's usual bag, after transferring her things to Rikka's -- arrive home. Stooping down, Akane gently lets the literal cat out of the literal bag. "Welcome home," she says, with a big smile on her face. "Welcome home, Balam." Rikka echoes, setting down her bag somewhere safely out of the way. She watches the cat navigate, remaining close but out of the way to allow him his freedom. "We might have to rearrange the place again, huh..." Rikka considers. Having a cat already requires making some life changes, much less a cat with only one eye. She's okay with that, though. It's a nice thought - the way their lives change others just by existing. </poem> [[Category:Cutscenes]] [[Category:Phase 1]] [[Category:Phase 1 Special Disc]]