Alley Cat Part 4

“Hey, Mr Aqua!” Mahannana bounced into the kitchen. "Hi, Ma-Chan! What’s up?” A surprised Aqua turned from the pot he was stirring on the stove. “Remember how I promised I’d find your special wallet?” “Yeah.” An uninterested Aqua turned back to their dinner. A few days had passed since he’d been robbed at the festival. He'd lergely forgotten about it and moved on. “Here to officially give up?” He asked dryly.

“Nope!” Mahannana chirped to Aqua’s surprise. “Ta-dah!” She held out the wallet with both hands. Aqua couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Y-you gotta be pulling my leg...!” His hands trembled as he took the wallet and examined it. The worn creases, the texture, even the faint remaining smell that reminded him of his childhood. It wasn't a joke. ”I-I-It's....how? How did you manage to find it?” He exclaimed, tears burning in the corners of his eyes. ‘Don’t cry, dangit! Don’t get all emotional over something so stupid!’ He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and gave her a wide smile. “Thank you so much, Ma-Chan! I won’t ever forget this.”

Mahannana felt a surge of pride. It may have been an annoying task to start with, but it was worth it to see the look of joy on Aqua’s face. “But, seriously... how did you get it back?” She shrugged.“I just went back to where we failed to catch them and talked to the people who lived nearby. They told me about a cat burglar that was active in the area, and I was able to follow them when they showed up again.” She simplified. “It was just some homeless little kid trying to get money to eat, so they were fine giving the wallet back as long as I let them keep the money. All I had to do was talk to them."

Aqua nodded in approval, glad that Mahannana hadn’t gotten into anything dangerous. “Good. It was just pocket change. If they’re so desperate for money that they’d steal such a small amount, then I want them to have it. They need it way more than I do."

Mahannana was glad he was okay with her leaving the kids with his money. That was the one thing she was concerned he might not approve of, even though he’d previously said he didn’t care about the money. She felt the same way he did. Aqua let her and her mother keep all the tips from their deliveries, saying that they’d helped him get more business and enabled him to take on more clients, so they were more than earning their keep and deserved to make some money of their own. Mahannana had been saving most of her money, but she’d set aside some for her to spend on whatever she wanted in the short term. That had been what she’d given to the kids and all she had to do was work hard and she’d make it back in a couple of days.

“Glad you agree with me. What’s for dinner?” Aqua burst out laughing. “Geez, I’m surrounded by gluttons! We’re having seafood curry, but it’ll take a while to cook and we’re waiting for your mother to come back to eat, okay?” Mahannana nodded.

With nothing else better to do, she grabbed one of her books and drifted to the backyard. It was a glorious, sunny afternoon. Mahannana wove around the fruit trees, looking for a good spot to sit, eventually settling for relaxing under one of the orange trees. She stretched out under its shade, but she couldn’t find the motivation to start studying. ‘I wonder about those kids...’ She thought, tucking her hands under her head as she watched clouds drift across the sky.

‘Are they going to be okay? They didn’t look like they were starving or in any eminent danger, but they sure looked scruffy! The way they were talking about getting to eat regular meals for a few days and tearing into the food the girl bought...it's like having no clue where their next meal is coming from is a common occurrence.’ She recalled how the cat girl had snarled and cursed at her, sure that the child would likely take offense to her pity, but Mahannana couldn’t help worrying about whether she’d done enough. ‘Maybe I should have asked them about their situation. If they have to steal to eat and have no family...maybe I could have helped them. The money won’t last forever. They’re still out there living in an abandoned building...’

“Hey! You!” Mahannana jerked back and bonked her head on the hard ground. “Ow!” She rubbed the base of her skull as she sat up. She looked around, but she saw no one. ‘That didn’t sound like Mr Aqua or mama.’

“Up here, dipshit!” Mahannana looked above her and squeaked as she saw the blue and gray cat girl herself crouching in the orange tree. “Hey!” The girl grinned and flashed a peace sign at her. “Fancy meeting you here, mage lady!”

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“Mmmm...so good!” Bisky sighed, pausing to breathe. “This curry is amazing!” She turned to the uncomfortable looking man stirring his own food around on his plate. “You may be a wussy-looking weirdo, but you’re one hell of a cook!” The man looked like he either wanted to cry or go dig a hole to hide in. “T-t-thanks...I-I think...” The mage girl leaned over and whispered something in his ear, before flashing him a double thumbs up and a smile that seemed intended to be reassuring. The man still looked frightened, but whatever the mage had said had seemingly calmed him.

“I know, right?” The older girl smiled angelically as she picked up her spoon. “Mr Aqua’s cooking is the best! If it wasn’t for my new body, I’d be getting fat!” “Ma-Chan, I don’t think my cooking is that fattening.” The man fretted. "I use all sorts of fresh ingredients..."

“She’s just being dramatic." The gigantic wolf that lived with them padded back into the dining room, a bowl of curry held gingerly in her mouth. “She’s right, though. You’re a good cook and this is better than anything I could ever make.” Bisky detected a note of bitterness and envy in the wolf’s voice as the creature set her meal down and took her seat. The mage snickered.

Bisky couldn’t get a read on this odd little family. The mage lady seemed nice enough, but the man who she assumed was the mage’s brother was as jumpy as a rabbit! The mage, who’d introduced herself as Ma-Chan, had introduced the large dire wolf as her mother. This was one hell of a strange world she’d found herself in!

“Do you want more?” Ma-Chan asked as Bisky shoveled the last of the curry into her mouth. “Can I?” Ma-Chan took her empty plate and got up. “There’s plenty. Eat as much as you want.” Bisky felt a pang of guilt that Pip wasn’t with her. ‘I was just going to spy on the weirdo mage a bit! I've been keeping tabs on her ever since she found us, but I hadn’t planned on talking to her! He’ll be able to get something to eat ‘cause we still have money, but it’s not going to be as nice as this.’ She stared at the full plate that Ma-Chan sat in front of her. ‘Am I an asshole for stuffing my face?'

“Are you alright? You look unwell. I hope you didn't get some weird disease from living in a junkyard.” The wolf fretted, coming over and pressing her nose to Bisky’s forehead. “Nah, I’m fine. Just a little confused.” The wolf backed off, satisfied that she wasn't ill. Bisky stared at Ma-Chan and Aqua. “Why are you guys being so nice? What’s the catch? Are you still mad at me?' 

“I already told you; I don’t care about the money.” Aqua repeated what he’d told her earlier. Despite her brain telling her to run, she couldn't resist Ma-Chan's offer of free food, even when she'd entered the house to find the guy she'd robbed! He'd been surprised, but brushed it off like nothing had happened. “Are we not allowed to be concerned about kids living in an abandoned house who feel like they have no choice but robbery if they want to eat?” Ma-Chan asked rhetorically. Bisky’s eyes went wide. ‘How the hell did she know that me and Pip only had each other?’

The mage laughed at the girl’s shock. “That room was clearly where you two are living and I overheard you and your friend talking. It wasn’t that hard to piece together.”

“Ok-aayyy...but why, exactly, do you give a shit?” Bisky questioned. All three  looked at her like she had a third eyeball. “Two little kids who have no family, live on the streets, and steal to live? It’s more like who wouldn’t give a shit.” Ma-chan responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Girls! Language!” The wolf scolded. “Sorry mama.” The mage apologized. “But it’s true. I was worried that I shouldn’t have just left you and your friend alone, and then you showed up! You don’t seem like the type of person who’d accept help, but I can at least make sure you’re fed.”

“I feel the same as Ma-Chan.” The man said, leaning back in his chair. “I was pissed when you took my wallet because it was all I had left of my parents but hearing that it was just a kid who robbed me made all my anger and frustration melt. I lost my parents when I was young, too. I had nothing and was homeless, but I was able to save up money from working. Things worked out alright for me, but not everyone is that lucky.” 

“I’ll admit, I still have no clue what exactly is going on here.” The wolf admitted. She’d come home just as the three were starting to eat and the other two had had to explain the situation to her. She'd seemingly known about the man being robbed, but she hadn't been at the festival with them. “Either way, I’m onboard with helping you however we can. Can't just let some little kids out there where god knows what could happen to you!

Bisky couldn’t stop staring at them. ‘This is seriously a family of crazies! What sane person just helps out a random stranger for no reason? No one is that selfless unless they want something!'

 She’d learned that as a toddler living in an orphanage. The adults did what was needed to provide for them, but didn’t particularly care about their charges. Being one of the youngest kids there, Bisky was left to fend for herself . If you wanted to get anywhere in the world, you had to be fast, loud, and annoying, or else everyone else would run all over you. That was often quite literal at the orphanage. If you didn’t fight your way through the food line, you’d be lucky to get anything more than a bowl of rice. Same thing with the showers and clothes; if you weren’t fast, you’d get stuck with cold water and ugly old hand-me-downs that looked like something a prisoner would wear. Even now that she wasn’t having to fight for attention in the same way and wasn’t being shoved around by people who saw her as an inconvenience, she still believed in that principle more than ever. After all, if her and pip didn’t steal, they didn’t eat. It was universal the law of first come, first served.

“Okay, seriously, what’s the catch?” She aggressively shoved her plate away . “You can’t fool me with your bullshit, and you can’t bribe me, either!” The wolf sighed. “I can tell you don’t have any parents or guardians. So much anger and sass!” The wolf got up and rested her head on the little girl’s lap. “But you’re still cute! You remind me of Ma-Chan when she was younger.” Bisky wanted to jerk away dramatically, but she couldn’t stop herself from petting the fluffy animal. ‘Ah, she’s so soft!’ It was incredibly therapeutic and rage-decreasing. 

“I promise, we’re not up to anything, and I don’t blame you for thinking that. I don’t know if you heard about the people who were sent here from another world, but me and Ma-Chan were two of them. We have no clue what we’re doing, either, and we just got lucky that someone kind like Aqua was willing to take us in right away. We can understand feeling alone and not knowing what to do or if you’ll be okay in the future.” The wolf gently butted her head against the girl’s stomach.

“Please, try and trust us...hey are you alright?” Selena became concerned as the child’s body tensed up. “W-what did you just say?” The girl fumbled for words. “Did you just say you came from another world?” Selena nodded. “Yes. We came from a place called Japan. Aqua is from this world, but me and Ma-Chan used to be called Selena and Madoka Suzuki. We really are a mother and daughter, weird as it is to think about.” She felt ashamed of her canine body once again, knowing how much of a stretch her explanation was. “We were both normal humans, but we look way different now.”

Bisky stuttered for a few seconds, struggling to speak. When she finally opened her mouth, she said something that none of them had anticipated.

“You’re otherworlders, too? Like me?”