[fic] Oh Noes, Neko!

[kiyala.livejournal.com]

Title: Oh Noes, Neko!
Author: kiyala
Word Count: 4091
Rating: PG
Warnings: Fluff, Neko!Uryuu
Status: Complete
Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach
Notes: Aaahh this took me quite a long time to write xP I think Shanny's gone on holidays or something... anyway, this one's dedicated to rweon for wonderful Neko!Uryuu art that made me want to write this fic xD and also to schomperilla because she's a great person who boosts my ego liekwoah :P

Ah and forgive the silly title, I didn't know what else to call it serious titles are boring anyway

x-posted to ishi_ichi



I knew not to expect anything normal from my visits to Urahara Shouten. There would always be something odd going on and even if the weirdo wasn’t directly responsible, it was a given fact that he’d end up being behind it anyway.

And that’s why I can say I wasn’t utterly shocked during my latest trip to that loony bin. I guess I should have known something was up from the moment I got there, because those two kids that were always outside weren’t there. They were inside and I could hear the red-haired brat yelling at the little girl again. Probably pulling on her hair too, by the sound of it, like he usually did. But for some reason, that didn’t stop me. I don’t even remember why I wanted to go there. Rukia had been invited to stay over at Inoue’s place for a couple of weeks and she was still whining about the fact that Sandal-Hat had been out of stock of that freaking Chappy Bunny soul candy dispenser, so I think I had originally gone there to buy some so I could shut her up. But it wasn’t long before I totally forgot about it.




Sliding the door open, I walked into the store. It was odd to see it so empty. If Urahara wasn’t there, at least Tessai would be, if not the kids. I didn’t have much time to wonder about it though, because I heard the girl crying again somewhere in the back. Looking through the shop, I looked around the place until I saw the door to the back. I slid that one open and was almost run over as the two kids ran through it.

“For crying out loud, Ururu!” the red-haired brat yelled, “Why don’t you just learn to read already?! Now look what’s happened to that dork—”

“Hey, what’s going on here?” I asked, managing to get up and look at them and they stopped running around and looked at me.

“Oh, you’re here.”

“That’s mean to say to guests, Jinta-kun!” Ururu cried.

“Ah, Kurosaki-kun!”

Uh oh. I knew that tone of voice. I did not want to turn around, but I did anyway.

“…Urahara,” I greeted with a small nod.

“I think I have something you can do for me,” he said and I’m sure I could feel my insides turn.

“Yeah, what do you want?”

He motioned for me to follow him and so I did. Warily. He walked into another room and as I walked in, a cat mewled at me.

“Got a friend for Yoruichi-san?” I asked, bending down to scratch its neck.

“He knows her, yes,” came the reply with a short nod of the head.

I looked around, “Umm, what are those?”

I walked over (and I think the cat followed me) to a pile of clothes and I picked them up and looked at them.

“Aren’t those… Ishida’s clothes?” I asked, frowning.

The cat mewled loudly and I stared at it.

“Okay. I’m going to hope I’ve gone crazy now… and that the cat isn’t really…”

Bending down, Urahara scratched the cat under the chin with a smile, “He seems to prefer it when you call him Uryuu, and he likes tuna.”

“…Crap.”

“So, I was wondering if you would like to take care of him until we can find the antidote.”

“And that means I have no choice, doesn’t it?” I asked with a sigh.

“Thank you for your kind offer, Kurosaki-kun!” he said cheerfully and dumped the cat… no, Ishida in my lap.

“Erm…” I stared at it (him?) and picked the cat up and held it carefully in my arms, “Yeah, fine.”

I picked up his clothes and found his bag lying nearby that I figured belonged to him, “Call me as soon as you’ve got that antidote, yeah?”

“Sure thing! Don’t forget to call him Uryuu!”


I hurried out of the shop as fast as I could and head home, stuffing his clothes into his bag, which I had slung over my shoulder. I don’t think he trusted me to hold him properly in this cat form, because I could feel sharp, tiny claws digging into my upper arm and shoulder.

“Settle down,” I muttered and closed the bag and held the cat properly, “I’m not going to drop you, idiot.”




“Ichi-nii?” Yuzu looked at me as I walked into the house, “Where’d you get the kitty from?”

“It’s a friend… ah, friend’s cat. I have to take care of him until… his owner comes back from a trip.”

She came over to pat it and the cat purred happily again. I wondered if Ishida was still aware of what was going on – and if he was in control of what his cat body was doing because damn I had no idea he liked attention so much.

“Can I play with him? What’s his name?” she asked and I coughed.

“Umm, he’s a bit tired, I think he needs rest… and I can’t remember what his name was, sorry,” I lied quickly and went up to my room.

“Don’t cause any trouble,” I said as I placed the cat on my desk, from which it jumped onto my bed.

I put his bag down on my bed beside where he was and took his clouthes out of it and folded them neatly, putting them away. I sat in front of my half-complete homework and got to work. I was just about finished when I heard the tap of claws on the window pane as the cat tried to climb out.

“Oi…” I called, turning and reaching out, “Uh… stop that. Ishida! Get back here!”

It didn’t seem to pay any attention and remembering what Urahara had said, I sighed, “…Uryuu.”

The cat immediately stopped and turned around to look at me. I reached out again to pick it up, but before I knew what was going on, it had already jumped into my lap.

“So Uryuu it is, eh?” I asked, lifting the cat onto my desk so I could look at it better, “You’d never let me call you that before… well, not that I’ve tried.”

I guess it was kind of stupid to expect an answer, so after a moment of silence, I sighed and gave up, only to be surprised as I felt the soft furry head rubbing against my chin.

“Hey, that tickles…” I grinned, pulling away and looking at the cat.

That’s when I noticed how much this cat really did look like Ishida. Apart from the blue ears and tail, as well as the ends of the paws, the cat was a snowy white. When I scratched under his chin, I noticed a blue cross on his chest – and his Quincy Cross bracelet was around his neck.

“I don’t believe I doubted it, you are Ish- Uryuu. What were you doing at that crazy place, hmm? You should know Urahara Shouten isn’t a safe place for you… heck, even I feel wary going there and I’m a Shinigami. Now you’re going to miss out on school and you won’t like that, will you?”

There was a soft mewl and I laughed, “Look at me. I’m talking to a cat. I need some sleep.”

He sat there on my desk and watched me as I took his bag off my bed and placed it on the floor before lying on my bed, crawling under the covers and closing my eyes. I was vaguely aware of the feeling of a light weight being added to the bed, and the feeling of four paws padding across my bedsheets before a curled mass rested beside me.

“You’ll probably be napping a lot, now you’re a cat,” I murmured as I fell asleep.




I woke to the feeling of fur nudging at me. Opening my eyes slowly, I grinned as I saw the cat sitting on my chest. Leaning against the wall behind me, I pat him gently and he crawled closer, rubbing his face against my cheek before licking it gently.

I pulled away quickly, swearing as I hit the wall and shaking my head.

Alright Ichigo… calm down. It’s a cat. Cats are allowed to lick your face… that’s just how they show affection.

But it still troubled me. Regardless of what normal cats did, this cat was Ishida. I was becoming more and more inclined to believe that he had no idea of what he was doing in his feline state, but that thought did nothing to calm me down. What did a lick mean to a cat? A kiss? Did I just, in an odd way, end up being kissed by Ishida Uryuu?

I shuddered and hid my face in my hands with a small groan. Not because I found the thought utterly repulsive, but because the thought of waking up to a kiss from Ishida made me feel giddy. In a good way. Which was definitely a bad thing.

The cat’s mewling brought me back to reality and I looked at him carefully before sitting up slowly and cradling the soft warm body in my arms. He purred softly as I began to stroke down his back again and I sat there for a while, feeling extremely carefree.

“You know,” I murmured, “We have school tomorrow. Well, I do. But I want to take you with me… just to make sure you’re safe, you know. But you’ll have to be quiet. Can you do that for me, Uryuu?”

Licked again. It didn’t bother me as much this time, mainly because I was determined not to think too hard about it. My work was complete and I didn’t have anything better to do all afternoon, so I decided to take a walk. It wasn’t until I put my shoes on and was outside that I noticed Ishida was following me.

“Uryuu, maybe you should stay inside,” I said with a small smile, but as he managed to climb onto my shoulder with the help of a nearby wall, it was clear that there was really no point in arguing.

He wasn’t very big, I only seemed to notice when he was sitting on my shoulder – he was probably still just a kitten… not that it mattered much. As soon as the antidote was found, he’d be back into a human and the thought of that felt somewhat reassuring.




I took him to school the next day and he seemed to understand when I asked him to be quiet, as he sat in my bag all day without a sound except for when I took him out during the breaks, making sure that no one else saw him. Chad was a bit hard to avoid for a bit, because he was certain he could feel Ishida’s reiatsu (seems it stayed strong as ever, even when he was in cat form) but knew that Ishida wasn’t at school. I didn’t bother trying to explain, and waved it off as best as I could and telling him he was just worried about Ishida’s health because Inoue wouldn’t stop worrying either. He seemed to accept that, so Ishida went unnoticed. By day two, it was clear exactly how troublesome a cat could be when it wanted to. Well… I’m not sure if he was doing it on purpose, but many tipped-over glasses of water later, I had scolded him so much that the name ‘Uryuu’ had stuck. It was odd, because I was so used to just knowing him as ‘Ishida’ but then again, it wasn’t really that hard to call him Uryuu. It’s just that… well, calling him by his first name denoted familiarity and well, being close. And that, mixed with that incident the previous afternoon with the lick didn’t really make me entirely comfortable, but then again… it always helped when I just refused to think too hard about these things.

I guess it was a stupid thing to do, but at the time I dismissed it as just being protective of something (or well, someone) that was in my care. It didn’t take me long to become, well, attached. I didn’t let Uryuu out of my sight – ever. I even made periodic checks of my bag when I was at school. Speaking of which, the others were still worried about where he was, but had chosen to believe that he was off somewhere training. It didn’t require any awkward explanations about why he was a cat, or why I was taking care of him, so I kept my mouth shut. I guess I’m a bit like Chad in the sense that cute things just win me over with no effort. The cat was soon becoming one the most pampered thing on four legs that I knew of. Most nights, when I could ignore the fact that it was actually Uryuu for long enough, I was happy to sit there doing my work and snuggle with him in my lap or on the desk beside me. It felt extremely comforting and as much as I was afraid to admit it, there was a small part of me that dreaded the day that antidote was found.


Of course, seeing that Fate seemed to hate me, it was right the next day that I bumped into Urahara on the way home from school. I had been carrying Uryuu inside my jacket to keep him warm and safe, because I really didn’t trust that bag as far as I could kick it and figured it must have been uncomfortable anyway. He seemed to still be able to sense the reiatsu of others, because with some shuffling, he climbed up to stick his head out through the neck of my jacket.

“Ah, Kurosaki-san! Ishida-san! What a coincidence to have bumped into you on your way home!” Urahara greeted, cheerful as ever as he waved his arms about.

“Che, coincidence my ass,” I muttered and he brandished his fan.

“I’ve found your antidote, Ishida-san,” he said, suddenly sounding serious as he handed me a vial of bright pink liquid, “Sorry for the inconvenience.”

The cat mewled and I felt a sinking sensation in my gut. In a few minutes, the kitten I had become attached to would be replaced by a teenage guy that wanted very little to do with me.

“The overall process should take about an hour,” Urahara informed with a smile, “It might be painful, I’m not quite sure.”

My grip on Uryuu tightened, “That should be okay. I’ll take care of him until he’s fine to leave.”

“Good on you, Kurosaki-san!” the old man cheered and I shrugged, walking away with the vial in my hand.

“So after you drink this,” I murmured to the cat, “You’re not going to be a cat anymore… back to plain old Ishida, eh?”

It disturbed me then, that the name ‘Ishida’ felt so foreign. Just a week, and I was no longer able to call him by the last name I had been using to refer to him for as long as I had known him. I couldn’t deny it anymore. Something was wrong.

I tried to ignore it on the way home. I ignored it as I walked up the stairs of my empty house and went into my room, tipping the contents of the vial into the saucer that I had let Uryuu drink out of. I cradled him as I crossed the room and pulled out his clothes, still neatly folded, and put them on my bed. But then I looked at the cat again and realised I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“Damn it Uryuu,” I whispered and held him close, burying my face in the soft fur and feeling the warmth one last time, “I’ll miss this. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have become so attached.”

I set him down in front of the saucer and left the room, closing the door and sitting with my back to it. Admittedly, the door was rather thin. I listened carefully to the sounds of the cat lapping at the antidote and there was silence. I checked my watch, five minutes of nothing. I turned my head and stared at the door, wishing I could open it.

“Ury—”

I heard a grunt that sounded extremely familiar. It was the sound Uryuu usually made when he was trying to bear a strong jab of pain. My hand was at the door knob before I stopped myself and breathed slowly, reminding myself to wait.

For half an hour, I listened to him gasping and panting on the other side of the door as he tried to bear pain I could not measure. I didn’t know how bad it was. I didn’t know what kind of pain wracked his body. I felt frustrated but remembered to stay patient. An even longer silence this time until I heard the distinct sound of two feet on the floor. I was relieved he was okay, but at the same time I couldn’t help but feel as though I had lost someone close. Ignoring it, I looked at the door anxiously and listened to his get dressed. Then he sat back down on my bed.

“…Kurosaki…”

His voice was weak but I could tell that it was an invitation. I quickly opened the door and looked at him, leaning against the wall, his face white and sweaty with fatigue but all in all, restored to his human appearance. I took a small step forward and managed a smile.

“Ury— Ishida.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, “Thanks for taking care of me. Uh… how long has it been?”

“A week,” I replied without having to think, “Exactly a week.”

He nodded slowly and I gave him a careful look, “You can sleep if you want.”

With some effort, he stood, “I think… I’ll go home.”

I moved to help him up but barely managed to stop myself, “Are you fine to leave like that? You’re not tired?”

His movements were slow but determined, “I’ll be fine.”

Trying not to feel disappointed, I nodded, “Take care, Ishida.”

He stopped at my door and looked over my shoulder, “You can call me Uryuu, if you like.”

“Uryuu,” I whispered and my mind rejoiced at how natural the name sounded, “Be safe, Uryuu. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow’s the weekend,” he reminded me with a grin and I felt a mix of embarrassment and disappointment.

“See you whenever, then.”

“Yeah. Thank you, Ichigo.”


It was only three hours later, after thinking over that short exchange of words after he had left for me, to realise he had called me by my first name. I smiled and ran a hand through my hair as I closed my eyes.

“Uryuu.”


I didn’t sleep well that night. I kept waking up missing the warmth of the small feline body I was used to feeling by my side… I couldn’t help it. I missed him. It’s just as well that there was no school on the next day because I slept in until around noon, when Yuzu finally woke me up.

Instinctively reaching out to pat Uryuu, I stopped myself when I realised he wouldn’t be there. Muttering angrily at myself, I sat up and scratched my head. Not even five minutes into my first day without Uryuu to keep me company in his feline form, and I was already feeling his absence weighing down on me. When I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, I was not in a good mood. I was slow to get dressed and brooded in my room for a while before being called downstairs for lunch. I ate in silence and then went back to my room, doing some work until I decided a walk would do me some good.

I knew it was pathetic that as I walked down the streets and towards the river, I could only remember the fact that I had taken Uryuu here many times when I was bored, when he was still a cat and small enough to fit inside my jacket. I knew it was stupid. He was back to being a normal person now. No longer the cat, but for some reason the attachment was still there. Perhaps it wasn’t the cat, perhaps it was just…

“Uryuu.”

It surprised me to hear myself unconsciously whisper his name.

“Yes?” a voice came from behind me and I quickly turned to see him standing behind me.

“What—”

“I was on my way to your house and noticed you weren’t there, so I thought I’d find you here.”

I chuckled and looked around, “What made you think I’d be here?”

“Well, you…” he hesitated and I looked at him with a small frown as he cleared his throat and looked ahead, not meeting my eyes, “You brought me here a few times in the past week, I figured you… like this place, or something.”

It immediately clicked in my mind and I looked at him wide eyed, “You… you remember everything that happened?”

“Remember?” he asked with a small, hollow laugh, “I was completely conscious of everything I did, Ichigo.”

“You…” I whispered and couldn’t continue when I remembered the licks, the nuzzling and…

He was still not looking at me and slowly sat on the low brick wall behind us. There was a silence and before I was aware of what I was doing, I reached out and gently touched his hair. He quickly turned his head, stopping and tilting his head, watching me as I stood with the tips of my fingers brushing against his fringe.

Running them down the hair until I reached his chin, I gave him a small smile, “Soft, but your fur was softer.”

He smiled and I touched his hair again, stroking it carefully as I did with the cat. He didn’t seem to mind and I stood closer to him, letting him rest his head against my chest.

“Thank you.”

I looked at him and he lifted his head to look into my eyes. There was a short silence and I smiled, threading my fingers through his hair, “It’s okay.”

My fingers found the tip of his bang and brushed against his chin. He moved his head slightly and I faltered, suddenly feeling worried about what I was doing. Of what it meant.

There was a warmth on my hand and I realised he was licking my fingers, the same way he did as a cat. I smiled and brushed my thumb over his lower lip. Catching my hand by the wrist, he moved forward and pressed it against his lips.

A kiss. I smiled and he kissed it again, up my palm and held it to his face, closing his eyes. I withdrew my hand gently and he looked at me with concern. I grinned as I realised neither of us really knew what was going on but nonetheless, my hands slid to his shoulders and pulled him to his feet, where I met his mouth with my own.

If perfection was the long moment we stood with our lips together, I had no idea how to describe the way it felt when our mouths and tongues moved against each other, inviting, teasing and begging for more.

We pulled apart for a moment and gazed into each other’s eyes before we kissed again.

Confessing.

I kissed his neck and he shivered in my arms as they wrapped around his lower back, pushing the material of his shirt aside and touching the warm skin underneath. His glasses were slanted to one side, his hair was slightly messy and a faint blush adorned his cheeks – and it made me want to kiss him again.

“Uryuu,” I murmured and held him to me, noting how much better this felt than back when I was cuddling a cat, “I missed you.”

It felt odd, yet nice, to feel his arms around me in return and he held onto me tightly, “I know. I missed you too. I’m sorry I had to leave yesterday, it’s just… I…”

I smiled and kissed him again, “I understand.”

I couldn’t help the rush of happiness and relief inside me as we stood there and held onto each other, ignoring the rest of the world. It was reassuring, comfortable and well, nice to have him in my arms.

I guess Urahara was good for something, after all. I decided to go thank him and Ururu later.