Just Like Snow

Chapter One

  The colorful lights of the city blended beautifully into the dark backdrop of the night sky and the pure white that dyed the ground. Even in this cold weather, people were happily milling about the streets with friends and family, filling the air with the sound of pleasant chatter. Soraru observed the cheerful bypassers as he strolled casually through the city on his way home. It had been a long day at work, and he was thoroughly exhausted. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to go home and get some sleep. He stopped briefly at one of the shops lining the street and picked up something quick to eat, munching on a freshly baked roll while continuing on his way. Ah, it's almost Christmas time, isn't it? Soraru thought to himself, observing the multi-colored lights strung up around the buildings. Christmas didn't mean all that much to him, so he never did anything special. Sometimes he'd get together with a few friends and hang out for a bit, but that was pretty much the extent of it. Here in Japan, Christmas was more regarded as a lovers' holiday than it was in other countries, so it was pretty normal for Soraru to not care much about it. He didn't have a significant other, and he never had, so the season was just another time of the year for him.

Soraru smiled to himself as the image of his house came into view. Now that it was Friday, he could finally get some rest and do the things he really wanted to do. Though, those things didn't include much more than lounging around at home and working on some personal projects of his. He wasn't the type of person to go out a lot on the weekends, he hardly ever left his house at all except to go to work and get things from the store actually. His friends had complained a few times that he needed to get out more, but Soraru, being the blunt person he was, had told them flatly that he wasn't interested and they eventually gave up. It seemed his life had taken on a sort of boring routine, and Soraru had grown to be fine with that. Yet something that was not a part of his routine sat right on his doorstep that day. Soraru stopped in his tracks when he noticed it, staring at the object in mild confusion. It was a small box containing an even smaller cat. The cat had fur as pure white as the snow around it, and it looked up at him helplessly with large, ruby red eyes. It's tiny body was trembling from the cold, the perfect picture of innocence.

"What the...?" Soraru muttered as he kneeled down in front of the box.

The cat let out a soft mew that sounded both weary and pleading, as if begging for help. Soraru frowned and hesitantly picked up the box with the cat in it. I can't just leave this cat out here like this, it'll freeze to death, Soraru thought while bringing the box inside with him. Still, I don't think I can take care of it on my own... The best thing to do would probably be to take it to a shelter tomorrow. Soraru couldn't deny he had a soft spot for cats. He found the creatures so cute and lovable, so it was hard for him to even think of leaving the cat out there in the cold. Still, it was odd that the cat had been left on his doorstep. If it had been abandoned, why not drop it off somewhere else? It most likely would've been a lot safer at a shelter than on someone's front porch. Soraru couldn't imagine what kind of person would abandon such a cute little cat, but he supposed that person didn't care much about the cat's safety if they had left it in the first place.

"Don't worry, little guy, I'll make sure to take good care of you until I can get you to a shelter tomorrow," Soraru said softly while setting the box down on a table and picking the cat up gently.

The cat gave another weak mew, but it seemed happy. It gave no resistance as Soraru brought it with him to his bedroom and wrapped it up in a warm blanket at the edge of his bed.

"There, that should do," Soraru smiled faintly as he observed the snug little cat.

It seemed to have fallen asleep, tucked cozily in the fabric of the blanket. The sight was very cute, and Soraru couldn't help but smile a little more at the tiny creature.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Soraru stated, as if asking for the cat's permission before going over to his dresser and changing into some pajamas.

I don't know how I would feel if I was abandoned by someone, but I'd imagine it's pretty scary, Soraru thought to himself, glancing back at the sleeping cat. I'd probably feel unwanted, too, like nobody cares about me. That's pretty sad. Poor cat... Even though Soraru wasn't usually a very openly caring person, he couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor thing. The cat probably hadn't ever done anything wrong in its life, and yet someone had left it out in the cold all alone. The image of those round red eyes blinking up at him was so pitiful it made Soraru frown to think about. He shook away the thought and climbed into bed, careful not to disturb the cat.

"Goodnight, cat. I'll see you in the morning," Soraru said quietly, feeling a new wave of exhaustion come over him the moment his head hit the pillow.

He reached out sleepily and turned off the light, soon joining the cat in a peaceful slumber.

The next morning, Soraru awoke to the sound of pots clattering and a rather high-pitched voice shouting about something. Confused, Soraru sat up and rubbed his eyes groggily, still half asleep. He didn't remember inviting anyone over last night, but maybe Lon had stopped by for a surprise visit like she sometimes did. Still, why would she be shouting and making a ruckus like that? Soraru got out of bed and shivered at the feeling of his bare feet touching the cold wooden floor. He would have to remember to wear socks to bed in the winter from now on. He exited his room in a sort of tired shuffle and made his way to the kitchen, where he thought the noise was coming from. The closer he got, the louder the sounds became, and the more distinguishable the voice and what it was saying was.

"Ohhh, what is this? Where do I find that? Uwah, this is harder than I thought it would be!" the voice whined loudly.

Now that Soraru really got to hear it, he realized the voice was definitely not Lon's. So, who else could it be? And what were they doing? When Soraru finally entered the kitchen, he saw absolute chaos before him. Pots and pans were covering the stove and pouring out of the cabinet he usually kept them in, various types of foods were strewn about the whole kitchen as if someone had taken everything and thrown it around at random, and a person Soraru had never seen before with a blanket wrapped around their shoulders was anxiously flipping through the only cookbook Soraru owned while muttered something under their breath. Needless to say, it was the most confusing scene Soraru had ever experienced. Soraru could do nothing but stand in stunned silence as his brain tried to process everything that was happening, while in that time the stranger looked up from the cookbook and noticed him standing in the doorway.

"Oh, you're awake! Good morning!" they chirped happily, a grin spreading across their face.

Soraru stared at them in total bewilderment. "Um... who are you?"

"Huh? You don't remember me...?" they said with visible and audible disappointment.

Soraru shook his head. "Nope, can't say I do."

"But you rescued me just last night," they pointed out.

"Rescued you...?" Soraru trailed off while truly observing the stranger for the first time.

It was a male somewhere around his age, maybe two or three years younger than Soraru was. He had slightly long hair that was as pure white as snow, and large, ruby red eyes that seemed oddly familiar. To top off his unusual appearance, the boy seemed to have... cat ears? And a tail? Was he cosplaying or something?

"Yeah, it's me, that little cat you took in! You know, the one in the box that was left on your doorstep?" the boy stated, hoping to refresh Soraru's memory.

Soraru stared at him for a few moments before turning to leave and get his phone from his room. "I'm calling the police."

A/N: Writing a story about winter in the summer... not the best timing. To be fair, though, when I first wrote this it was January so the time actually fit. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. It was originally twice as long, but I thought that was too much and decided to split it into two parts. Please let me know what you think! ^w^