thank you for everybody reading :)) ily all 

It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't actually know Kenma that well. We were only friends for a good few moons, but other than that... his life was a mystery to me. Would have Kenma enjoyed the scent of the flowers? Or would he think the fragrance was overwhelming?

I want to find out.

"Okay... long guy. I need to find a long fucking cat with bullshit coordination..." I hummed to myself, circling the building in front of me and twitching my ears apprehensively. "Wait, is it that guy?"

Through one of the see-through panes on the house was a cat who fit the visual description. He had a long, elegant body covered with gray fur, his tail flicking gracefully in front of me. Holy shit! This might be my guy!

The only thing separating me from him was a thick wall... he can probably open the window, though? Right?

"Hey!" I jumped onto the windowsill, pressing my face against the glass. "You! The gray one!!"

The long cat turned his head to me. He noticed me!! The feline stared at me in puzzlement.

"OPEN THE WINDOW" I meowed loudly, pressing my paw pads against the cold glass. "THIS ONE. I JUST WANT TO TALK I SWEAR"

"What?"

"OPEN THE WINDOW"

"You want me to... open the window?"

"YES, pLEASE JUST OPEN IT, I'M NOT A MURDERER I SWEAR TO GOD"

"Uhm..."

"PLEASE I NEED YOUR HELP"

"but... how?"

"O P E N T H E M O T H E R F U C K I N G W I N D O W"

"Oh. Okay." The elegant feline looked around worriedly before jumping up to the window. I'm not sure what happened, but he pressed it a bit, slapped his paws on the glass a few times, then nudged the window open. I'm not actually sure how that worked. "Um... what do you need?"

His voice was slightly feminine, a sweetness edging the tone of his mew.

"Hey, Yaku sent me here," I replied, sniffing his misty scent. "Are you Lev by any chance?"

"Lev?" the cat in front of me blinked. "No? I'm his littermate, Alisa. Why do you need him?"

"Oh," I mewed, looking the long cat up and down. Yaku didn't say that the long cat had a brother. Actually... he said something else, did he? Something like... like a sister. I stared at the cat. "OH WAIT, sorry, I thought you were a tom."

"No, I'm a molly," the feline said, washing her paws. "What do you want with Lev?"

"I just want to talk with him."

"That sounds very ominous."

I held my gaze, continuing to stare at Alisa. "No, it doesn't." She only answered with an inquiring expression. "Okay, fine. Yaku told me to come to him since I wanna ask a question or two."

"Oh! Are you an interviewer?" Alisa's eyes widened. "Can you ask me questions too?"

"I'm not a-" I paused, pursing my lips. It wouldn't hurt to ask her a few things about Kenma's whereabouts. The more cats I asked, the better. "Sure. Have you seen this one cat before?? Calico, male, hazel eyes, fucking tiny... no will to live? Does it strike a chord?"

"Hmmm..." Alisa purred, looking at her paws thoughtfully. "I think I have. He was talking to Lev a moon ago."

My eyes widened and I straightened my posture, my tail flicking into the air. "Seriously? Where was he?"

"I'll get Lev for you, he knows more about him than I do."

"Thanks, Alisa!!" I couldn't stop a wide grin from spreading onto my face, wider than I usually smiled. They've seen Kenma! And only a moon ago!! He could still be nearby if I'm lucky enough!

I sat there on the window with eyes bright as the sun.

***

"Hi?"

"HI??" Alisa had brought the long, slim gray cat, and he sat on the other side of the window with a puzzled expression on his face. "Uh... what do you need?"

"Hey... uh, Lev," I coughed. "So Alisa... uh, your sister-"

"I already know who she is."

"Oh- yeah you do," I nodded hastily. "She told me that you've seen my friend, Kenma, around. Like last moon. Do you remember where he was?"

Lev blinked. "Huh?? Who??"

I took a deep breath, stifling my impatience. "Male calico, hazel eyes... looks like he's lost his soul...? He's really anti-social."

"Uhmm..." Lev slumped in his position. "Let me remember a bit..."

"He's tiny?"

"Oh!" The tom suddenly exclaimed, catching my attention. "He's tiny? You mean Yaku?"

"I-" My voice trailed off and I pursed my lips, wondering if this guy was really worth my time. "No, not Yaku. Actually, Yaku was the one who brought me to you."

"Wait, really?" the slim cat's eyes widened, and he stared at me with a blunt expression. "Aw man, I didn't know that. Why'd he send you??"

A sharp exhale escaped from my nose. "Because I wanted to find my friend, okay? Kenma?" I tapped my paw in slight frustration. "I'll ask you again. Have you seen him before?"

"Uhm... well, I don't know if I've seen a cat..." Lev mumbled, thinking intensely to himself. "But... I've been seeing this crow around if you were wondering-"

"what the fuck- No!" I hissed. "I'm not looking for a crow, I'm looking for a cat! Kenma! He's... my favorite thing ever and he's been missing for years! I love him! I'm just trying to find him. Now, where have you seen him before?!"

"Are you... gay???" Lev asked with a :0 on his face.

"I- That's not important," I snorted. "You are shit, Lev. ( Φ ω Φ ) What's important is that you've seen him before. Alisa told me, I just need you to remember him. Work your small brain, you can do it!"

"Um... if you say so..." Lev sighed doubtfully. The silver tom closed his eyes. "Give me a minute...."

I sat there awkwardly, gaping apprehensively at the dim cat.

...

...

...

"Oh wait!" Lev suddenly jumped to his paws. "I remember him now!! He was out at the yard or something, stepping on flowers!"

My ears perked up, and my eyes began to regain their brightness. "Where? Where??"

"Out there, you see those flowers?" Lev gestured to the chamomiles that lined the house walls. "There are a few that look kind of ugly. They're the ones that he stepped on."

"...Why was he stepping on them?"

"I don't know! I bet he wanted to keep some for himself :)"

I exhaled, sitting back down. "Okay... but what happened? Why was he here??"

"Um. Let me think..."

***

"Fucking... ugly shit flowers..." Kenma hissed under his breath, digging up the delicate roots of the chamomile growing at the nearby house. "They smell like shit... they look like shit... why are they even here? they block my view... fucking white-yellow ass bitches..."

"Woah! Hey, friend!!" A long silver tom poked his head out of the window of the building. "What're you doing?"

"hOLY SHIT-" Kenma's claws retracted from the dirt in front of him, and he stared, wide-eyed, at the random cat that had just intruded on his time. "WHo the fucka re you-"

"I'm Lev!!" The cat smiled widely. "Who are you?"

"I don't feel like telling you," Kenma muttered, staring up at him. "What do you want from me?"

"I just wanna be friendssss (^=◕ᴥ◕=^)" Lev grinned. "Let's be friends, Kenma!"

"...how did you know my name-"

"Just a wild guess. Was I right??"

Kenma stared at him with furrowed brows with what-the-fuck practically imprinted on his face. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay!" Lev nodded. "What are you doing here??"

"Nothing, just definitely not trying to trample the ugly flowers in front of your home. I just wanted to look at something."

"What were you looking at??"

Kenma frowned, his mind holding a debate on whether or not to disclose the information to this very untrustworthy-looking cat. Sighing in defeat, he replied, "Just that building over there. The tall one with lots of windows. It's an apartment complex..."

"Oh, wow! I've never been to an apartment before!!" Lev breathed. "If you want a better look, you can jump up to this windowsill! You can see it more clearly."

"...Oh. Okay," Kenma hesitated before leaping onto the ledge. His wide, hazel eyes stared fondly at the building, and he sat down, his paws tucked neatly in front of him.

"Why'd you wanna look at that?" Lev asked, referring to the apartment complex Kenma mentioned before.

"Mmmm..." Kenma mused. "It's none of your business."

The two felines sat in silence for a while.

"Hey, do you have an owner?" Lev peeped up, splitting the reticence in half. "Like... you don't have a collar or anything. Are you a stray?"

"...I don't know anymore," Kenma muttered. "I used to have an owner."

"Did they abandon you...?"

"No," Kenma continued to linger his gaze on the apartment complex, gazing at it wistfully. "I ran away from him."

"Why?"

"Wasn't feeding me."

"Oh," Lev said quietly. "That sucks."

"Yeah, no shit," Kenma sighed. "He lives in that apartment now. I was always planning to come back but... I never really ended up doing that."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"...Are you... gonna go back now?"

The small calico curled up into a sleeping position, resting his head on his paws. "I want to... but I don't think I should," he mumbled, exhaling. "They've probably forgotten me. It's been years."

Lev pouted, furrowing his eyebrows. "Well, you should still give it a shot! I bet they still remember you!!"

"That's what you say," Kenma murmured.

Quietness filled up the space between him and Lev.

...

...

...

Kenma stood up, getting to his paws. "I'm gonna go now."

"Aw, already?? We only just met!"

"I'm hungry," Kenma yawned. "I'm gonna go catch a mouse. Bye, I guess."

"Come back soon, friend!!" Lev called.

"Uhhh, alright I'll see you."

"Bye-bye!!"

Kenma nodded, jumping off the windowsill and landing back onto the soil underneath. He gave one last glance at the tall building a block away before sighing and heading towards thick bushes.

"I'll go back one day," he whispered to himself. "...Or maybe, I'll see him in another life."  

for the next chapter, you all might have to give me a few days; i haven't had the most time to write but I'm trying to find the time :) thank you for reading, i hope you all had the best holidays <3

- lexi