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It was a rainy day.
A sea of students was running out of the gates, some more frantically than others, all to go home as fast as they could. Probably to avoid getting stuck under the rain for too long, or maybe just to enjoy the moment of freedom before getting locked in their room with homework.
However, Satanick found that he didn't feel rushed at all to go home. It was not like someone was waiting for him, and even if there was someone or was going to be that one brother that cared about him in the wrong sense; he was too logical, too work motivated, and his ideology could be summed up in the things he considered worth of attention and things he found to be worthless.
The highschooler sighed.
Rain had a weird effect on his emotions, making him strangely vulnerable to gloom.
Satanick, in his years of highschool, felt truly alone in the world.
Surrounding himself with friends was an excellent option, going together with his classmates to the arcade for days to no end was the best way he had found to waste that damned time of his youth, but on rainy days like that one everyone went to their respective homes.
Leaving Satanick completely alone.
But that was quite alright, the youthful boy didn't mind spending some quality time with his own thoughts. At least, on the luckier side, Satanick had to thank himself that morning for putting an umbrella when he was packing his backpack! The only bother of that rainy day were all the puddles that formed on the road, which ended up covering Satanick's clean shoes in dirt and mud.
That's why from time to time he glanced at the ground, trying to prevent catastrophe from happening to his poor shoes: his hair was going to be a mess because of the humidity, he might as well try to look presentable with clean clothes.
And it was during one of the glances he threw at the ground that he noticed a cardboard box at the side of the road, a dark fluff popping from it. Usually Satanick would have just shrugged his shoulders and walked past it – it was pretty usual to see abandoned waste in the vicinity of his school – but what supposedly was nothing more than garbage suddenly meowed, the sound so loud and clear that it managed to beat the heavy noise of the raindrops hitting the asphalt.
"Kitty?" Satanick stopped in his tracks, surprise flashing through his eyes as he leant down, almost incredulous that someone would be so heartless to abandon that poor cat when it was raining. And Satanick was certain that it had been left there recently because that very same morning there was no trace of it.
"Who would ever leave such a cutie here?"
Being a huge animal lover, Satanick obviously went to rub the top of the kitty's head, only for it to emit a loud high-pitched meow, a clear distress call to warn the highschool to stay away. It was obviously shaken, his small body trembling both for the cold and in fear of the fate that awaited it. So small and frail... and yet courageous enough to try and push Satanick's hand away.
How could his heart not melt at the sight?
"I am not sure if I can bring you home with me kitty... but you can have my umbrella!"
It was as if Satanick had stopped feeling bothered by the rain, a wide smile glued to his face as he made sure to shield the kitty from the raindrops. He knew how atrocious it was to be alone – he himself was feeling abandoned moments before! – even if that poor animal had it worse: it was enough to make Satanick want to bring it in.
But how would Fumus react? That insensible man wasn't able to care for pets.
"Oh kitty... your box is all wet," Satanick sighed, sadness overcoming his senses. Luckily it didn't seem like the kitty was hurt, its fur looking thick and healthy. However, it was obviously cold and scared, if the way its frail body trembled meant something; after all, who would have ever wanted to stay under the rain like that, be it a pet or human?
Though, even as Satanick was soaked wet from the rain, he couldn't stop worrying about the cat even for a second.
At that point, the highschooler had dared to put his hand on the border of the box, in what was actually an attempt to estimate how much longer it was going to resist, at which the kitty replied by putting his soft paw on top of the boy's wrist.
Not to push him away or to hurt him with its claws; as a matter of fact, it just stood there, wide eyes staring intently at Satanick with that feline curiosity that melts one's heart. Probably the kitty had sensed the highschooler's good intentions, or maybe it was a way to thank him for the umbrella, but it let out a quick meow.
"A kitty of a few words eh," Satanick chuckled, noticing that he felt a little better than before. And as the kitty eyed him curiously, patiently waiting for the highschooler to react, Satanick finally made a decision: he was going to bring the cat home.
It didn't matter that Fumus wasn't going to approve the new arrival – he never expressed liking to anything in the first place, so the highschooler was going to follow his heart.
"You are coming with me!" he promised while opening his arms wide, only to realize that the poor kitty was probably aching for something warmer. That was precisely why Satanick decided to remove the jacket of his uniform, even if it was – unfortunately – wretched from the rain, delicately wrapping it around the kitty's shivering body. Then he took the pet between his arms, pleased to notice that it had started to relax against his chest.
"We will go to a conbini and buy cat food," Satanick promised as he adjusted his backpack and took the umbrella. Luckily it wasn't too far away, not that a larger distance would have mattered for the highschooler now had all the company he ever needed. But just as he took the first step, sweet kitty secured between his arms, Satanick couldn't help but mumble aloud, "Burineko."
A name that his own whispered to his mind.
He didn't know why but he felt like that kitty was meant to be called Burineko, even if it didn't have any deeper meaning.
"We will have tons of fun together, Burineko," Satanick called the name again, fingers tracing a pattern on the kitty's head. It looked cozy and sleepy, its body not shaking anymore in fear, and as the peculiar name reached its relaxed ears, the kitty decided to reply with a low purr, as if to approve of it.
Or maybe it looked forward to spending time with Satanick.
The sure thing was that, for once, the highschooler didn't feel profoundly alone.