Shanyume
Ta da!
“Yoooosh~!”
Itsuki had managed to beg his way into a fresh meal, one set of six sushi rolls - leftovers from the late night dinner rush. The chef behind the counter seemed more amused at the feline’s antics rather than angered, and did not shoo him off like would normally happen. Itsuki had put a stop to two mice that were running rampant in the kitchen. While the lilac-point didn’t eat the mice (that would be gross), the rodents were summarily killed and tossed outside where they couldn’t contaminate any food. The chef decided to feed the cat, both as thanks and as a way to keep leftovers from going to waste. When making sushi all day, it was difficult to stomach it as leftovers after one’s shift.
The cat had finished off three of the rolls in quick succession - salmon, mostly, though he was hungry enough to each the vegetables too. Once Itsuki had felt the approach of a senshi and the chef was well out of sight, the cat took one last roll in his mouth and climbed his way to the rooftops. Senshi business was always conducted on rooftops, it seemed. Sitting down and enjoying his meal, tail swishing in the breeze, Itsuki couldn’t quite make out who it was approaching - they were light in color, and certainly not Lacrimosa. He wished Guardian Cats could learn to identify senshi while on the go, instead of simply by rank. He hated guessing.
Once she was within earshot, Itsuki hailed her. “Oi~! Senshi-san! Konbanwa~!”
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Lost in thought, mind mentally clouded with the numerous to-do lists ranging from school, work to family matters. The Senshi of Prayer had powered up in hopes to clear her mind, allow the cool evening breeze to numb her enough to finally think clearly. Between earning her medical degree and time spent at the cafe to earn money college and other necessities she found herself with next to no time for Tristan, save for briefly touching their hands against one another when delivering orders to tables or bussing the dirty dishes. All of that combined left her with next to no time for patrolling as she use to back in highschool; the last time being when Mirrorspace sucked both her and her cousin up (something she still needed to look into eventually).
With her mind so preoccupied the White Moon Senshi failed to notice that she was not alone up high where gazes rarely roamed. Quick to turn around at the sound of another's voice, Acrucis found herself thankful for the aura sensing ability granted to her, and those like her, upon powering up otherwise she would have completely missed the feline with brilliant green eyes across the narrow alleyway.
A soft smile lifted the corner of her lips as she waived her greeting, “Hello!” At least two years spent working at a local cafe often brought in several youth, many of which who were into Anime, which is why she somewhat understood what he said despite not knowing the direct translation; context was all that was needed.
Acrucis leapt the few feet separating the two buildings effortlessly once the kitchen worker below dumped the bag he was holding in the garbage and went back inside. “I don’t think we’ve met before. Are you new to Destiny City?”
Itsuki beamed at this senshi’s sense of manners. He greatly appreciated being spoken to like another intelligent being, and not like he was some kind of fuzzy harbinger of terrible doom. The cat’s fluffy ears bobbed up and down and if his face could manage it, he smiled. “Watashi wa Itsuki desu~ Hai, I’m a new Guardian! Well, relatively. I only awakened a few months ago. I don’t think I’ve seen you before, Senshi-san! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Making quick work of the remaining sushi roll, Itsuki began the feline tradition of cleaning himself. He couldn’t possibly be a stand-up Guardian if he was covered in dirt. His fur must be kept pristine if he was to impress Ash-denka and Benedict-sama. Itsuki had quite a lot of work ahead of him if he was to reach those heights. “I’m trying to meet many Senshi so I can learn how to be the best Guardian I can be. Someday, I’ll have a beautiful human form, just like Ash-denka~ Kira kira~ So sparkly! I can just imagine it now… thumbs! I can open all the cans I want! Isn’t that brilliant?”
The cat seemed enamored with the ability to assume a human form, and tiny bean-toes went to his cheeks like a human might if surprised. “Oh, gomen, I forgot to ask you your name! Are you out on patrol, Senshi-san~?”
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Unable to contain her amusement, the periwinkle haired young woman brought her hand up to cover her growing smile however it did little to stifle her laugh. He is so adorable, much like Sheena!. So up-beat and starry-eyed of things to come he carried with him a new light and air of hopefulness of good fortune and better days ahead. If anything he was a breath of fresh air in a city that had become rather stale due to the war.
“It’s alright,” she responded, her voice rather musical despite her previous musings. “My name is Acrucis.” The Super Senshi took a seat beside him then reached her hand out in the same manner as if he were a normal cat.
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what I was doing.” She leaned her head back and gazed up at the cloud spotted sky. “It’s been awhile since I last powered up that I feel like I did so to remember that I still had a responsibility and see if there was anyone in need of my aid.” Her attention drifted downward then to her outstretched hand then to the innocent green eyes that stared at her almost owlishly. “I’m the Senshi of Prayer, my magic allows me to help heal varying degrees of injuries.” And when that didn’t work she had her work-in-progress medical degree to fall back on.
Itsuki did not hesitate to smush his head into Acrucis’ outstretched hand. Like any cat, he thoroughly enjoyed attention and head-scratches. When the senshi pulled away, the feline leaned on her and purred, just as any other cat might. “Acrucis-san, it’s nice to meet you!” he trilled, clearly very pleased with meeting someone new. As soon as space was available, Itsuki flopped onto her lap and started lounging as quickly as possible. “Taking a break? Themi-chan does that too, an awful lot. Themi-chan is my senshi, but he’s a lot of work. Very grouchy. He does not appreciate a kawaii neko like me~ Someday, he’ll take this seriously. Right now, he’s probably flopping around his room and trying to figure out if he wants to go to college or not!”
With a decisive nod, Itsuki’s tail flickered back and forth. “I wouldn’t know anything about college, really. I’d like to go, I think, just to see what it’s like. I don’t think they have courses for kawaii neko, even if I could find funding. I hear college is very expensive. Is that true, Acrucis-san? The Headquarters computer has a lot of information! It’s just… all about the war, and what we neko can do.”
The cat flopped onto his back and reached a paw up to the sky. “Someday, Acrucis-san, I’m going to have thumbs! And a human form! Have you met Ash-denka? She has a human form, and it’s utsukushiku! That’s beautiful. It’s not so bad for a cat to aspire to that, do you think? I suppose it’s like wanting to become an Eternal Senshi… I can do that too, you know! If your starseed needs power, I know how to do that~ Nya~”
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“I honestly wouldn’t know if it did.” Acrucis ran her finger along the edge of Itsuki’s ear several times before scratching his chin. “Sheena has always been the one to tell me when it’s time though. She’s my guardian cat, about yay tall...” For a moment the senshi paused in her ministrations to estimate the size; about equal to him if she were to guess. “...with brown and tan long colored fur.”
“I think you two would get along well!.” She commented with a smile and nodded her head for emphasis. They both had that go-getter positive attitude and were talkative enough Acrucis had to wonder if she would be able to get a word in past the introduction. Either way the thought was rather amusing.
“To answer your question though about school; it’s true, it can be expensive. However, if Themi has the motivation there are scholarships and grants available if there is a degree he is interested in. And while you likely won’t be able to go to class with him, you could always read his books!”
For a moment Acrucis fell silent, contemplative of something as if she were deciding if it was worth saying or not.
“Promise me something Itsuki. Even if he decides college isn’t for him, promise me you’ll help make sure he has some sort of a social life with friends; whether it is through work, clubs or just in general. Use the connections you make with other Senshi’s and Knights to help him out; he’ll need that kind of support if he intends to fight in this war.” It was a hard pill to swallow but without Delilah, things had felt empty; like a flower petal floating in the middle of an open lake. Tristan had started to fill that void but with them both knee deep in school and work things had become difficult again. At least she always had Sheena to come home to.
“Uwah! You have a Guardian Neko too? And her name is Sheena? I would love to meet her! Do you think we could meet each other someday? I like to meet as many other cats as possible. That’s a great way to learn. The Headquarters computer can only help so much.”
If Itsuki was going to be a great Guardian Cat, complete with thumbs, he had a lot of learning to do. So far, he was doing well, trying to awaken and train senshi as best he could. Being a cat was difficult work - you were too small to make an impact in battle, and your abilities outside of upgrading and locating senshi were minimal. Still, cats like Ash-denka were able to ascend to greater heights despite these limitations. If Ash-denka could do it, so could he!
With a determined face (which resembled >w<), Itsuki beamed up at Acrucis. “I promise, Acrucis-san. Themi-chan has some friends, but I think he needs more friends. I know Lacri-san thinks having friends is incredibly important, because you can’t always be focused on the war. I’m sure it’s very hard to balance everything. I hope Themi-chan can figure out what to go to college for. He’s always complaining about being broke, and while Guardian Neko like myself can produce items for you, we can’t print money.”
He pawed at Acrucis’ skirt, ears drooping. “I’ll do my best, Acrucis-san. You sound like you’ve been awakened for a very long time. Do you have any other tips for a neko like me?”
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The senshi hummed thoughtfully for a moment. “Don't lose heart.” She tapped her index finger on his nose playfully. “This war isn't a game little one, the ones we care about will get hurt.” An unfortunate inevitably she wish weren't true. Not even having the ability to heal made her impervious to such things.
“There will be difficult times ahead but it is from those moments that we learn and grow.” Twice now she had stood on death's door because of the Negaverse and the only reason she survived was because of the friends she had at the time.
For a moment Acrucis’ eyes seemed to glaze over but she quickly recovered her senses as if the longing look had never been.
“As a guardian cat you need to do your best to be aware of your surroundings especially when Themi is not powered. At least until he is stronger;but even then he will likely still need you as I need Sheena.” Learning different auras and power levels was a fundamental that everyone quickly learned. However many were not as lucky as she had been when encountering their first General, though the next time they see each other likely will not be nearly as pleasant. Benitoite…
“Most importantly stay true to yourself Itsuki.” In one sweeping motion Acrucis lifted the guardian cat into her arms, a smile alighting her face as she rose to her feet. “You have a beautiful dream, and I for one hope to see you achieve it and I think,from what you've told me, Ash may be the best fit to help you meet your goal! I'll even talk with Sheena when I get home.” The senshi of prayer canted her head to the side and winked. “But for now, how about I treat you to a crepe? I know of a café that's open late.”
“Hai, Acrucis-san, we’ve run into our fair share of Negaverse agents… and a General who tried to kill us… uwu… I learned that I always have to be on guard, even if my senshi isn’t. I’m glad we could make an escape, but… I don’t want to mess up like that again” The cat’s ears visibly drooped, even after being scooped up and snuggled by Acrucis. He never minded the attention, however, and leaned into the senshi for warmth and companionship. “...I try to keep in high spirits, though. Genki! That’s like… high spirits! Sometimes it’s motivating to others when you do that, and sometimes it keeps me from being down in the dumps.”
The thought of Themisto, or Lacrimosa, or Acrucis or Sharatan or Benedict or Wendell… any of his friends getting hurt was enough to frighten his little furry heart. “...Acrucis-san, promise me you’ll do your best not to become injured? And if for some reason you do become injured, I’ll do my best to help heal you back up! They say therapy animals increase healing~”
While Itsuki tried to push the thoughts of injury and death to the back of his mind, the offer of crepes really sealed the deal. The cat’s green eyes lit up like candles and his tail wagged like a dog’s. “Crepes?! Really? I’d love crepes, Acrucis-san!”
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“You are a sweetheart Itsuki!” Her arms around him tightened into a comforting hug before stepping off the edge of the rooftop into the alleyway below. His concern for her wellbeing was heart warming. Fortunately so long as it was wounds of the physical nature he needn't worry; her magic could mend such things easily to a certain degree. Illnesses however were another matter entirely and wasn’t something she planned to give voice to either.
Before emerging from the lightless narrow space Acrucis reached out with her senshi senses one last time before powering down once she was comfortable that nobody on a patrol of their own was near. The uniform she wore was replaced by a simple pair of jeans, black ankle high boots, a simple black turtleneck and a grey knitted sweater type coat with a belt around her waist and hood pulled up.
Together they melded into the sparse evening crowd, the nearest person being a couple leaving a shop two doors ahead while a mother pushed a stroller across the street towards a van parked beside the blue USPS mailbox.
“Why don’t we talk about something a bit more happy hmm?” Hannah suggested. “We have a few blocks to go. How about you tell me how you and Themi met?”
Itsuki settled nicely into the folds of Acrucis’ civilian coat, fluffing himself up for maximum warmth and comfort. He could easily duck beneath her coat to hide from passersby if necessary, though it seemed people weren’t pay much attention to anything but the task before them. “Hmm… well, when I was awakened, I just knew I was supposed to be someone’s partner, but I only had a hazy recollection of them. Foggy?” Ears perked and the cat tilted his head. Was that the right word? “But everyone I met just wasn’t quite right. Not that I didn’t try to help! Ie, I awakened a few on my own and I try to help them as much as I can! I don’t want to just give them power and leave…”
Themisto mentioned being loved and left, though Itsuki wasn’t sure if he was being facetious or not. The name Horatio was mentioned in passing, but nothing beyond that. “I was out patrolling and looking for food one night and there he was! I just knew it, Sailor Themisto - that’s Themi-chan - he was supposed to be my partner. So I asked him if he wanted a new pair of shoes, and he said, guh urgh these geta are terrible blah blah curse words and so I said APUGUREIDO!! and gave him new shoes! And a new outfit too, of course.” Itsuki tried to stay less animated than usual when telling the story of how he and his now-partner had met, but it was difficult. The little cat wiggled when emphasizing certain points, but diligently attempted to keep both the volume and the movement to a minimum.
“Then I told him, watashi wa Itsuki desu, and he said bless you and I said he has to take me home now, because I was hungry and we had a lot of work to do!”
Itsuki gave a sage nod. That was pretty much how everything happened. Pretty much.
“How did you meet Sheena, um… Anata no onamae wa? What is your name in this form~?”
