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"Myaaaa~" he trilled, cooing at a pair of girls from Knightside Elementary. They were walking towards the library, probably intent on checking out some books for a report one of them had mentioned when Itsuki had initially appeared. Being so suddenly aware of his surroundings, he now understood what the girls were talking about. He knew what books were, what a library was, and that he needed to secure food at some point...

There was a newfound sense of purpose in the tiny kitty body, but Itsuki wasn't sure what to do with all of it. He knew he had a duty, and that these little girls definitely were not part of it. But scritches! And they were petting him! It was so hard to walk away from all this attention...

There was something in the air, however, sudden and sharp. It was a pang in his tiny kitty heart that swiveled his ears in the direction of a dark-haired youth crossing sidewalk on the other side of the street. Something... special! Special!

As much as he'd love to stay and be petted and loved by these cute girls, Itsuki had to leave them. Duty was calling! He rubbed against their legs quickly while keeping one eye locked onto the youth of interest. Thanking the little girls, who whined when it was time for kitty to leave, Itsuki felt some regret. Consciousness was hard.

Flinging himself around the corner, several passers-by were startled and lifted their legs as a lilac cat went darting between them.

Reaching the young man, Itsuki dashed in front of him and turned around, meowing incessantly. "NYAA! Nyaaaa~!" You're important! You have to follow me! Follow the kitty!! Look how cute I am! You want to pet me! You know you do!

Hai! Hai!

Itsuki instinctive rubbed his head into Sachio’s descending hand. Consciousness be damned, pets were still fantastic! Loud purring soon followed as the cat was winding himself around the handsome young man’s legs. So what if lots of fur was left behind? It was simply a casualty of---

Wait a minute. Itsuki had a duty!

And he was definitely feeling something special about this one. Something… powerful!

Alas, being out in public wasn’t the best place to be when it came to granting magical abilities on someone who likely didn’t believe certain cats in the city possessed the ability to speak, and so Itsuki had to find a good spot to bring this lovely bishonen to. Hmm…

Having squeezed himself through several nooks and a few crannies on his way to the library, Itsuki remembered one alley in particular that wasn’t being used - the restaurant it was attached to and served as housing for a dumpster had been cleaned out in light of interior renovations. That would be the perfect spot! ...probably. It was still daylight but it was late afternoon by this point. People were getting home from work and doing last-minute dinner shopping. Surely nobody would have any reason to be in the alley next to a restaurant closed for remodeling.

“Myaaa~!” came a cry and the kitty used his teeth to gently tug on Sachio’s pant leg. “Myaaa!” The cat darted just a few feet away, only to return to Sachio to repeat the process. Follow me! Follow me!

Ha ha! The plan worked!

Itsuki thought himself so very clever.

Guiding Sachio through the throng of people heading out to dinner elsewhere, the cat made sure to mewl and stop every so often to make sure the young man wasn’t lost. Thankfully for the two of them, the alley in question was as abandoned as ever - construction remnants littered the ground with pieces of cut wood and metal reinforcements being the most obvious. The restaurant, vaguely named Sandy’s, was boarded up and closed to the public. No one had any reason to be there, which afforded them the perfect amount of privacy.

The alley wound around the side and to the back of the building where tarps and trash lay strewn about everywhere. Itsuki’s keen sense of hearing let him know they were away from prying eyes. Good, good!

The cat stopped behind the building and turned around to sit and wait for Sachio to come around the corner. When the boy did, and Itsuki was sure no one could see or hear them, the cat took a deep breath.

“Watashi wa Itsuki, desu! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Haaai! Yes, I can talk! I just didn’t want to startle all those people out there. The last thing I need is to be carted away by Animal Control. Brr.” The cat shook his fur, an unpleasant look on his tiny feline features. “We needed to go somewhere private for this very important conversation, Takamizawa. Or… Sachio! Sachio-chan, you have a very important mission! I just knew from seeing you that you are very special! Don’t worry, I will explain.”

Itsuki then looked as though he was ready to pounce on Sachio, lowering himself closer to the ground with his furry hindquarters in the air. A fluffy lilac-colored tail swished this way and that, as if the cat was hunting prey. However, it was just preparation for a spectacular flip!

“NEKO FURIPPU~!”

Because of course it had to have a silly name attached to it.

At the apex of the flip, sparkling feline magic coalesced into what appeared to be a writing pen with an ovular decoration at the top. Silver in color with a teal-colored handle, it dropped at the cat’s feet as soon as he landed. Picking it up in his tiny mouth, Itsuki padded to Sachio’s feet and presented it to the young man. Yes, the pen seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It was the same size, height-wise, as any normal writing utensil, though the handle seemed thicker. The pen held an interesting physical weight to it, as if its magical significance gave it a very slightly heavier presence than any mundane pen or pencil.

“Have you heard about those young people around the city, how there’s supposedly a gang war in these very streets? Well, I have it on good authority that it isn’t a gang war - it’s a magical war.” Itsuki grinned up at Sachio, who was probably extremely confused. First of all, a talking cat had led him into an alley behind a closed cafe. Second, the cat was talking and third, the cat produced a pen out of literal nowhere. “My job, you see, is to find people who have dormant magical powers. You’re one of those people! Sachio-chan, will you help the people of Destiny City and fight on their behalf against the evil that is trying to take over?”

Itsuki was nothing if not honest, seeking to give as much information and guidance to new senshi as possible. Being that this was his very first awakening, the cat sought to be diligent and forthcoming. You only had one chance to make a great first impression! “Sachio-chan, this is your henshin pen. It grants you magical abilities when you lift it in the air and shout, Takamizawa Power, Make-Up! But not too loud, we don’t want to be interrupted…”

Watching Takamizawa transform for the first time, admiring up close just how magnificent the henshin process was, Itsuki was stunned into silence. Once the process was complete and the great Takamizawa was standing before him, the cat voice his voice again.

"SUGOOOIIIIII~!!!" came a cheer, Itsuki leaping into the air with sheer glee. "Sailor Takamizawa, Senshi of Surgery! You make my kitty heart go dokidoki! You look great! Fantastic! I need to inspect your fuku!"

And thus he did, trotting through Takamizawa's legs, tugging on his pants and patting his bean toes over the senshi's boots. His regalia seemed sturdy and suited his sphere quite nicely.

Once inspection was complete, the cat climbed up a loose wooden board to sit on a pile of construction debris more towards Takamizawa's eye level. With an enthusiastic nod, Itsuki noted that Sachio-chan was astute to remember that there was quite a bit more to discuss than a simple (yet magical) change of clothing.

"Hai! A magical war, which has sadly gripped the city. The media seems to have done a great job at keeping things under wraps, no surgery pun intended." A wink and a snicker. "Those are the gang members you hear about sometimes. You see, there are many people with magical powers that live here in the city, just like you. But not all of them want to protect the city. It is a senshi's duty to do what they can to protect people!"

Another enthusiastic nod. Of course, there was even more to it than just this, but Itsuki figured a huge info-dump wasn't going to do a brand-new senshi any favors.

"It's my job to help prepare senshi for their duty! I can't just awaken you and then leave, so... would you mind if I stuck around for a little while? I'm honto kawaii so it shouldn't be too much of a problem, right~? Oh, and you can dismiss the outfit just by thinking of your civilian self. Don't worry - even without your face mask, no one will know it's Sachio-chan under there. Magic, you see!"

Itsuki seemed overly pleased, clapping his little bean-toes together while leaning on his hind legs. "Takami-sama, this will be great! I'll teach you everything I know. I'm new at this too, but I can't leave you without teaching you all the skills you'll need to keep yourself and the city safe! Yoooosh!"

cat_whee

"Of course, there are dangers..." The cat scratched idly at the dirt, ears drooping in a frown. It was true - it might have been a magical war with all of the glitz and glamour, but according to the Mauvian Headquarters database, so many terrible things had happened during the war's course. So many things that Itsuki himself was completely unaware of, or not even alive for. After all, he was still a young cat of three years or so. "But... I'll do my best! I promise! We can practice the basics tonight, if you want! There's so much more I have to teach you!"

And speaking of best... the cat was suddenly winding between Takamizawa's legs with a twinkle in his feline eyes. "Sooooo Sachio-chan~ What do you do? Do you go to school? Where were you headed? Do you have food? Can I sleep on your bed???"

The cat seemed embarrassed from the praise. "Uguuu... ie, I'm still new too. I have a lot to learn but... I promise I'll try!"

He had so much to learn, still, from the Headquarters computer. Instinctively, he knew to travel there after gaining consciousness, and absorbed as much as he could before falling asleep at the console. Just the basics for now - the Negaverse, the mission to rid the Earth of Chaos, some folks called Knights, but there were still many files and folders Itsuki hadn't yet touched. That was the mission for tonight!

"Uwaaa~! Self-defense training is a great idea! Definitely keep doing that! But I want to go with you to the gardening store... hmm... can I ride in your bag?? I want to see all the neat things they have!" Now that he was capable of appreciating things like gardening stores, tote bags and four-toe-bean discounts. Itsuki couldn't promise to keep his paws to himself.