'Wakame' is Japanese for 'Seaweed Head' or something along those lines.
And for those of you asking, no I will not have Roko choose between a music concert or the Nationals, because that's like High School Musical and HSM is the bane of my life.
Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Grounds
"Where's Echizen?"
Karupin's eyes quickly snapped open from his deep sleep, already scanning the area for the source of the voice. He couldn't detect it, but he sensed motion below him, and looked down from the branch of the tree.
He had selected this tree to sleep in because it was a very attractive pink colour, even when it was approaching winter, and it was the largest he had seen in the area. The branches were particularly comfortable, and Karupin stretched lazily whilst watching the humans who were apparently sitting on the ground below him.
There were a total of seven humans, and Karupin noticed that one had very bright hair and another was the one who had noticed him earlier today, the one with his eyes shut.
"I'm not sure; he said he had to pick up something"
Karupin paid the conversation of the humans no mind, lazily scanning them like they were delicate morsels on a plate, and then his eyes snapped to something.
There was a human amongst them, his hair oddly white like that of an old human. He had a rather ugly grin and he sat lazily against Karupin's own tree. But Karupin only had eyes for the thing on his head.
It was the white tail of a rodent, swishing back and forth in time with the human's own head.
Food, was the only word that came to Karupin's mind.
His tail suddenly swished back and forth in excitement as he watched the rodent's tail with a predatory gleam in his eyes. He salivated suddenly at the imagination of the taste of the rodent.
And so he tucked his legs under himself, and with a second's pause, he leapt off the tree, pouncing at the unsuspecting rodent on the human's head.
Rikkaidai Fuzoku Music Hall
Roko had suspected as much, and now he knew for sure. Karupin was here, in Rikkaidai Fuzoku.
He mentally replayed the events in his mind.
He finished his breakfast with Ryoma, and entered the hallway, reaching for his cello case and closing the clasps without looking inside.
When he reached the music hall, he opened the clasps again, reaching into the case, into the pocket on the side and withdrawing his music piece for Yamura-sensei without actually looking into the case. He just felt around inside, grabbed his piece, pulled it out, and forgot to lock his case again.
Karupin had climbed into his cello case before he left, and now was amok in Rikkaidai. He had suspected ever since he saw the blur in his cooking class, and knew for sure when he checked his case, noticing the case was open and there was cat hair inside.
He mentally groaned. This was going to be difficult. He didn't even know whether Karupin was in the school, he might have wandered anywhere, and Roko may never be able to find him. The realisation made him panic, but he quickly calmed himself, hoping that it was untrue.
He knew that running around in the hope of finding Karupin would never work, and so he just had to hope that Karupin would find him. He remembered Kirihara mentioning a racoon in the clubroom, which was definitely Karupin, so hopefully he would return to the clubroom. He hoped, anyway.
He mentally sighed, deciding that he should return to the regulars for lunch.
Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Grounds
Roko stopped when he realised no one was here, and he frowned. He was sure that the regulars ate here, under the largest sakura tree in the school grounds every day, so something had changed, but what?
Maybe they changed location because it was cold? True, it was approaching winter and it was notably colder than before, but not to the extent that it was bothersome. Or maybe they had left early for another reason? Maybe tennis training?
In truth Roko had no clue why they weren't here, and so he just mentally sighed in defeat, turning back to the school to the cafeteria. Maybe he could get some cake.
Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Corridors
Karupin ran.
He ran for his life, dodging in and out of the pesky humans' feet, and with the very angry shouts of the white-haired human behind him, followed by the calling shouts of the other humans, whose tone suggested they were also chasing after him.
He had not successfully escaped with his prized rodent, and after much screaming and struggling from the white-haired human - and shouts from the other humans - Karupin had decided that he should run. It wasn't a conscious decision, but for some reason when the white-haired human had thrown him off his head, Karupin decided he needed to run. Very fast.
Which is precisely what he did, slaloming between the screaming and confused humans, which only made the task of escape more difficult for him. He could sense the white-haired human getting closer, and so he madly picked up his speed.
"Get back here you evil rodent!" he heard the white-haired human scream. Karupin only ran faster at his demand, knowing that his life probably depended on not getting captured. He noticed a door was ajar in front of him, and he made a sharp turn into it and ran into the room.
Karupin paid no attention to the room, only the conveniently opened window in front of him, right next to a conveniently placed tree. He picked up speed and made a mad jump for freedom for the window. He landed and quickly jumped again to the tree, suddenly feeling something brush against his fur in mid-air, but only barely. He landed on the branch of the tree, and steadied himself before turning back to the window to stare into the hate-filled eyes of the white-haired human.
"You little fur ball!" he roared in fury, "Get back here so I can shave you bald!"
Karupin had no idea what the human was saying, but he could get the gist by the tone of his voice. The six other humans were stood behind him, all looking at him with a degree of shock and amusement, especially from the closed-eye one. Karupin gave a loud meow of triumph, and the white-haired human seemed to stop, the anger melting from his face, much to Karupin's confusion.
"Oy, that's not a rodent, that's a cat, puri~" he said in his outlandish tongue, and turned to a human that Karupin dimly recognized, but he wasn't sure where.
"Wakame, you said it was a racoon"
"Well how was I supposed to know what it was, Niou-senpai?" the other human protested, and Karupin lost interest in the humans' conversation. He turned and walked to the edge of the tree branch, leaping to a lower branch and then to another, and then onto the ground in one swift movement.
"Oy, get back here!" he heard distantly, but ignored it, walking away in search of his second master. He decided he wanted to go back to his masters' domain.
Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Corridors
Yagyuu was a gentleman, which meant he did not laugh at other people's misery. But there was something about the fact that a cat attacked Niou's rat tail, and how enraged he got over it that amused Yagyuu to no end, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to contain his laughter.
He coughed lowly despite himself, but thankfully no one noticed.
"I am going to skin that cat alive" Niou claimed, the anger in his face suddenly back.
"That cat. Attacked. My. Rat Tail" he spat, clenching his fists, and Yagyuu was now using all of his willpower to hold back his amusement.
"That's enough Niou" Sanada ordered, "You can chase after the cat later, we have to go to class". Niou scowled at him but nodded in acceptance, and Yagyuu thankfully felt some of the laughter he was containing drift away. Niou stormed out of the room, leaving the stunned regulars in his wake, and suddenly Marui and Kirihara burst into laughter. Yagyuu couldn't help it, and chuckled lowly into his hand.
"Yagyuu, I've never seen you laugh before" Yanagi noted, watching Yagyuu's chuckle curiously, and Yagyuu abruptly stopped.
"I have never seen you laugh either, Yanagi" he replied softly, his voice cracking ever so slightly from supressed laughter. Yanagi seemed to notice this and the corners of his lips curved into a small smile.
Yagyuu quickly decided that being the gentleman that he was, it would improper to leave his best friend in the rage he was in, and so he quickly left in search of him, half because he cared for Niou and half because that smile of Yanagi's was rather creepy.
Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts
Sanada watched his team play with a growing headache. It seemed that that cat was all anyone could talk about. Yanagi had done his research, and had somehow concluded that the owner of the cat was a member of the tennis club. Apparently it was because, according to Yanagi, the first thing a lost cat does is try to find its owner by smell, and the first person who spotted it was Kirihara in the regulars clubroom, so he concluded the owner was part of the club.
Sanada honestly couldn't care less about this cat, but it was interfering with his team, which was unacceptable. Echizen seemed to be the only person who could focus, but that was probably because he couldn't engage in conversation even if he wanted to, so Sanada left it.
He was sat on a bench by the forest-area next to the tennis courts, watching the regulars play when an abrupt meow cut in. He turned sharply to the sound, and was very surprised to see the very same cat staring at him with curious eyes. Sanada froze for a moment, and the cat took that opportunity to jump onto the bench Sanada was sat on and rub his head on him.
Sanada suddenly felt extremely awkward, with the furry purring cat affectionately rubbing his head on his arm, when Sanada did not own the cat or know its owner. He wasn't sure what to do, and so he awkwardly reached for the cat with his other hand and started to pet the soft fur on its head, which the cat purred louder at and leaned into Sanada's touch. For some reason Sanada blushed, and he continued to awkwardly pet the cat.
"Oy, it's that cat!"
Sanada looked up sharply to see his team watching him with large eyes, and Yanagi moved forward immediately, the cat ignoring his presence and continuing to rub his head on Sanada's arm.
"Genichiro, you never told me you had a cat" he noted, watching the cat quizzically, and Sanada coughed into his free hand awkwardly.
"I don't" he replied curtly, and Yanagi frowned at his response.
"Then whose is it?" he wondered out loud, and Sanada couldn't help but share his thoughts.
The cat suddenly looked up sharply, which attracted the two's attention, and in an instant the cat shot away like a rocket, much to their surprise.
"Oy, you're not getting away!" Niou cried, suddenly chasing after the cat, which turned around the corner of the regular's clubhouse, Niou following behind by several seconds. Yanagi and Sanada watched for a moment longer before they turned to each other, sharing looks of confusion.
"Tarundarou..." he unconsciously muttered.
Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts
Roko was stuck between being relieved and being annoyed that he found his cat rubbing his head on Sanada so affectionately. It seemed Karupin had taken a new liking to Sanada, and Roko suddenly felt like a third wheel, even if there was no real justification behind it.
He could tell by Niou's shout that he was angry, for what reason, Roko wasn't sure, but he decided he needed to take Karupin back before anything else happened.
Unnoticed by everyone including Karupin, Roko slipped carefully towards the regular clubhouse, moving around the corner and looking back, making sure no one saw him. He then snapped his fingers once, and then disappeared around the corner. As expected, Karupin had heard with his large ears, and in an instant he was at the corner, staring up at Roko with large eyes before he jumped at him. Roko allowed him to, and quickly stuffed Karupin up his regulars jacket, not for one moment thinking he might suffocate the cat, before pretending to walk towards the water fountain nearby.
Niou appeared in front of him a moment later, and Roko hoped he didn't notice the slight bulge in his jacket.
"Oy, Echizen, did you see that cat?" he demanded, and Roko put on his best fake frown before shaking his head. Niou scowled before running off in search of Karupin, and when Niou was gone, Roko unzipped the top of his jacket, allowing Karupin's head to pop out, and Roko couldn't help but mentally 'awww' at how cute he looked with his head sticking out of his jacket.
"Ahem"
Roko froze, and then slowly turned to face every one of the regulars, all looking at him with either a scowl or an amused smirk. Karupin was of no help, meowing loudly at the sight of them, particularly Sanada.
"So this is your cat, Echizen" Yanagi stated, and Roko nodded once in defeat. Yanagi pursed his lips.
"Ah, that explains why he likes Genichiro so much" he noted, and Roko raised an eyebrow, as did the rest of the team.
"What do you mean, Yanagi?" Marui asked, popping his apple bubble-gum loudly.
"Remember how I said that cats look for their owners by smell?" Yanagi asked, and the team nodded confusedly.
"Well" Yanagi continued, "Since Genichiro spends a lot of time with Echizen, it's fair to say he picked up some of Echizen's scent, yes?" he asked, and the entire team's eyes widened in realisation, and they all looked at Karupin in shock.
"So since Sanada spends so much time with Echizen, the cat decided it liked him?" Jackal asked from the background, and Yanagi nodded.
"So it seems"
Roko, for one, was rather shocked himself. It seemed Karupin was pretty smart after all, but not smart enough to distinguish Sanada's scent from his, which made him scowl in annoyance.
"Ne, Echizen, what's its name?" Kirihara asked, stepping forward, and Roko spelt out Karupin's name with his hands, adding something on the end.
"Karupin" Sanada translated, "And he's a boy". The team nodded and smiled softly at the cat.
"That's a cute name" Marui added, and Karupin meowed loudly as a sort of thanks.
"Echizen" Sanada said bluntly, his voice sounding annoyed, and the cute atmosphere suddenly evaporated, "You can leave practice early, just get rid of that cat". Roko didn't hesitate to nod, and then made signs with his hands.
"Can you take care of him while I gather my things?" his hands asked, and the team frowned, whilst Sanada scowled in annoyance.
"Fine" he stated, and Roko handed Karupin back to him, who meowed loudly in approval and rubbed his head on Sanada's arms again, much to the team's amusement and Sanada's embarrassment.
Betrayer, Roko thought acidly as he left his team to ogle over his cat.