All of the things that happen on a Monday morning

by A_lemonadestand

Summary:

Life as a kid is fun, when not seeing your favourite stray cat on the street and reaching school 10 minutes late are like the biggest, most awful phenomenons that could happen in one's life.

That's honestly a good thing. It's good to be under the impression that such simple things are considered "awful phenomenons", and not yet a bad grade that'll cost you your life.

Notes:

I'M BACK YALL!! And VERY much before school started.. heh.. oof.

Anyways, I'm finally done with this thing! This was initially supposed to be a oneshot (?) with actually more stuff but the idiot in me decided to write IT MUCH LONGER!! And at some point when i stepped baxk from writing i realised that the current state of my fic and the way everything was working out wasn't exactly how I wanted it to be.
But I didn't wanna abandon my weeks worth of hardwork so I jus decided to make this into a separate fic and the upcoming favourite part (that I rlly wanyed to write, hell, this fic was STARTED cuz I really wanted to write it) will now be written separately as another portion :'D

I'm not too proud of this cuz i feel like I kinda rushed it ( yeah yeah as if u didn't take a month to write it 💀) but regardless, I still wanted to post it cuz I worked super hard oj it! And i wanted to show it! Yeah! :D

SO without further yapping, let's begin! (Alsp this includesa dang it grandpa reference just thought ill mention it lmao):

Chapter 1: Quest for the cat!

The excited chatter of friends reuniting and the soft chirping of birds filled up the ambience of the monday morning. The cool breeze blew along the trees, hitting the skin of the young 4th grader that stood in the middle of the road.

 

A pair of brown eyes scanned the surrounding area painted in the morning Sun's amber glow, searching for a particular small being that resided in that area most of the time.

 

Clutching a small bag of treats in her hand, the girl's stern expression softened into worry as her voice rose higher, calling out for the 5th time:

 

"Moemoe! Where are you?" 

 

Silence, the air was empty of any response from a particular kitten, while the chatter of kids and the chirping of birds continued to linger on in the air.

 

Claire was growing even more worried.

 

Moemoe, the stray cat she befriended and grew to absolutely adore, usually hung around right here, waiting for any sign of Claire who carried around treats especially for him. It's been a few times he wandered off to somewhere, but returned immediately when Claire would raise her voice a little higher to call out for the 3rd time.

 

Today, however, was different; It's been the 5th time Claire had called out Moemoe on this street, but Moemoe was nowhere to be seen. 

 

A sense of panic settled onto her, her eyes darting from one corner of the street to another. 

 

She glanced at her watch, 35 minutes till school started. She usually liked to get there 20-25 minutes minutes early to chat with her friends, teachers, revise for tests, or just hang around the library, reading her favourite books. But it seemed like that today would be different, considering the possibility of her feline friend actually going missing.

 

Was there a chance that Moemoe was alright? Definitely, maybe he overslept or went to find new friends of his own, it's not uncommon for stray cats to disappear out of nowhere and re-appear when you have lost all hope.

 

But for some reason, that didn't seem to give Claire the reassurance she needed. She just felt that Moemoe wouldn't leave her like this out of nowhere. Hell, she gave him treats. What kind of cat leaves someone who gives them treats?

 

Panic continued to spiral inside her, when she stopped and reminded herself to take a deep breath.

 

'No, stop panicking, everything will be alright.' She rehearsed the words that her mom told her whenever she had an exam. Yes, she had to calm down, and search for her precious friend. She had lots of time anyway, and there's no way he won't be alright!

 

...

 

But what if he isn't? What if he got attacked by a bigger, mightier cat? He won't be able to survive, he's just a kit-

 

Her train of thoughts came to an abrupt stop at a sudden call of her name, and the sound of jogging that got closer and closer.

 

"HEY CLAIRE!" A warm, annoying voice called out from behind her, who she knew exactly who it belonged to. She whipped her head around at the source of the voice, her worries washed away by both relief and an urge to punch the boy.

 

"Yes, Engel?" She huffed in annoyance, rather glad to see him.

 

"Huh, you look mad." He said, catching up to her and bending down to breath and look at her. She managed to get a proper look at him as he did so; his ginger hair was tied into a low ponytail as usual, with his hat that had two feathers poking out, along with his usual overalls.

 

"What can I say, you never fail to nag me with everything." She replied sassily, clutching both of her backpack straps. Engel continued to stare at her, before piling up an obviously very fake offended expression.

 

"How could you say tha to me, Claire! I thought we were bestfriends!" He said dramatically, quite very much not offended by what she said. He had listened to her rambles about him being annoying millions of times before, yet they still always did everything together, so today wasn't exactly new.

 

"You should be offended, annoying-head." She said amusingly, before turning back to face the road, which served as a reminder for her currently missing buddy. She comically whipped around again, placing both of her hands on his shoulders and lightly shaking him, earning his full attention.

 

"Eng, I need your help." Her voice dropped low and serious, determination abiding her tone as she spoke. Engel stood there, admittedly more surprised at how much.. taller she looked. He slowly looked down at his feet, quickly catching her heels hit the ground, before facing her again with a smirk.

 

"Were you standing on your tiptoes?" He said cheekily, watching an embarrassed expression crawl up her face.

 

"Shush." She said, a red blush now piling up on her face. Engel chuckled, his annoying laughter brought warmth to her chest. "Look, this is important." She said, dismissing the warmth she felt and returning to him with a stern, worried expression. His laughter died down as he noticed her solemn face.

 

"Alright, are you.. uh, okay?" His brows furrowed in concern.

 

"Moemoe is missing. I've called out to him millions of times now, but he just isn't showing up!" She half-yelled out her worries. Engel just looked at her confused.

 

"Maybe he's still sleeping or just somewhere else? Cats are cats, they do loads of things that don't make sense." He chuckled. She crossed her arms, looked down and sighed disappointedly, before looking up and continuing,

 

"He won't just disappear out of nowhere, we have to find him!" She insisted. Engel didn't look convinced, and retaliated. 

 

"Maybe he's hanging out with other kittens, or just overslept. It's not that he's undeniably in danger." He said unbothered, fidgeting with the feathers on his hat. 

 

"You. Don't. Get. It!" She suddenly pulled out the packet of treats and whapped him with it on the head as she spoke each word. "He's a kitten, kittens can get attacked by other, bigger cats!" 

 

"Ow! Ow! Okay fine!" He winced, rubbing his head slightly. "We'll look for your beloved Moemoe! Happy now?!" He huffed out a defeated response.

 

"Hmph, good." Claire appeared satisfied. "Let's get to it then." She started walking along the road.

 

"Hey! Wait!" Engel ran up behind her. "Where do we even begin? This neighborhood is huge and-" he cut-off, glancing at his watch. "We only have 30 minutes!" He blurted. Claire's footsteps came to an abrupt stop as she turned to face him.

 

"You tell me." She said simply. Engel just titled his head in confusion. Claire sighed and elaborated, "You said you wanted to be a detective right? Well, now's the time to prove your skills." She held up her finger as she explained. "Besides, you've read countless detective comics, atleast one of them should come in handy, right?". Engel took a moment to digest the thought, and as soon as he did, he dead-panned at her. 

 

"Seriously? That's why you're dragging me along with you?" He said in annoyance. Claire stayed silent for a moment, before muttering a "yes" and continued walking along the path. Engel clicked his tongue as he followed behind her.

 

"Now then, where do we begin?" Claire started, examining the street for any sign of a black kitten. Engel thought for a bit, examining with her, when Claire noticed a small, white kitten round a corner of the street. Claire recognized the small kitten.

 

"Hey, isn't that Moemoe's friend?" She said, approaching the kitten and bending down to gently pet it.

 

"Huh, wait, that's Moemoe's friend?" Engel inquired.

 

"It is." She confirmed, taking out the packet of treats. "I once saw her annoying Moemoe and Moemoe just hissing at her in annoyance." She took out some treats and teased the kitten. "Then later, I saw both of them trying to reach a higher ground by using eachother as support." She chuckled, watching the kitten struggle to reach the treats. In the back of her mind, she swore that relationship seemed.. rather familiar, but the thought was dismissed when Engel spoke up after his long silence.

 

"Wait, did you say they used eachother as support?" He asked. "Where was that?" Claire found the question odd, still replied regardless.

 

"Yeah, they did. I think it was somewhere near that convenience store in our neighborhood." She gestured vaguely in a direction.

Engel watched her hand gesture, the gears in his head turning, trying to recall as many detective comics as possible.

 

All of a sudden, something clicked.

 

"Wait, I know exactly what to do!" He perked up excitedly, as he bent down to Claire's level and grabbed her shoulders to turn her around to face him. Claire yelped as he did so, dropping the treat she was holding but held onto the packet. The kitten took the opportunity that she was distraught and quickly caught the treats and munched on them in victory.

 

Claire didn't notice however, she was more distracted by Engel's expression.

 

Seriously, if it was possible for stars to appear in anyone's eyes, then that'd be Engel. His eyes look as if stars that were as bright as the moon just took the place of his pupils as if it was the only way to emphasize his excitement.

 

It's not that Claire had never seen him this excited, but it was upclose that was rather new to her, and seeing how damn happy she had made him, she wasn't exactly guilty anymore for only using him to find Moemoe.

 

"Wow! Detective comics aren't as useless as aunty (she calls Engel's mom "aunty" and vice versa) kept saying!" She said in a surprised, subtly teasing tone, shoving him back slightly. The stars disappeared as he looked at her in annoyance, before declaring proudly:

 

"I've never read about this particular situation in detective comics, so really, I came up with the solution myself!" He stood up upright with his hands on his hips, before seeing Claire's horrible attempt to conceal her laughter and then immediately returning to a regular pose, slightly flustered. "Do you even want me to help you?" He spoke through gritted teeth.

 

"Pfft- Yes! Yes!" Claire said while still barely stiffling her laughter. It took her a few moments to regain her breath before she and Engel were finally ready to begin their quest.

 

"Okay, so, what's the plan?" Claire asked as they both sat down on the side walk, earning some questionable looks from the walking onlookers, but they had better things to do.

 

"Our plan goes like this; we will take her-" He pointed at the white kitten, who was now intentfully watching an ant, probably preparing to pounce on it. "-And we will take her to that same spot where she and Moemoe used eachother to reach a higher ground, and put a treat on the same high place." Claire listened intently, slowly catching up to his plan. "Then, as she has done this before with Moemoe, she will go to find Moemoe, and like the time you once told me that cats have a good sense of smell-" Claire's expression immediately turned blank at his words. Instinctively, she spoke up, cutting him off:

 

"Wait, I told you that?" She said. Engel stopped, blinking a few times trying to fathom her confusion. 

 

"You don't remember? We were in the library and you were telling me about stuff you read in a book about animals." Claire looked to the side at his words, pondering about the many times they had both met up at the library to discuss test scores and talk about their favourite books. All of a sudden, a memory clicked and her eyes lit up in joy:

 

"Wait, you remember?!" Her voice rose higher as she turned to him with a bright smile. Engel ceased his movements at her sudden burst of excitement. 

 

For a second, he felt lost. 

The way she was smiling at him brightly and the stars that sparkled in her eyes, it had managed to.. encapture, his sense of conscious thought. It was funny, he had seen her excited multiple times before, but this time was.. actually really out of bounds.

 

"Hey, earth to Engel!" He felt a hand waving infront of him. 

"What are you thinking?" Followed by a question.

 

"Oh-" He blinked a few times, a domino effect to getting pulled out of a trance, and as the realization sunk in of his strange behaviour, an embarrassed expression crawled up his face. "Sorry, just had a thought." He apologized sheepishly, following up with a small explanation, silently hoping to gain no further questions from the girl infront of him.

 

The girl's face pulled into one of suspicion, staring at him as if not wanting such a vague answer. However, she seemingly decided against pushing further, which made relief wash over the boy internally.  

 

"Fine. Anyways, you didn't answer my question." Her expression morphed into one of happiness and anticipation again as she brought up what was to her, a phenomenon quite unexpected; someone actually paying attention and remembering the random things she's always throwing in their faces. Engel, who had forgotten this matter, quickly made up an answer at the spur of the moment:  

 

"Oh yeah, I remembered because I read that same thing a few days back." A lie. Surprisingly, this was one of the few times he managed to remember something she once told him. Most of the other times, she'd repeat the same thing, exclaiming "I've told you this before", which he decided by default, was probably true.

 

"Oh.." Claire's expression dropped to one of disappointment, a sight that Engel found more funny if he knew that she was being over about something. But now that he knew it was caused by a lie he told, a wave of guilt hit him, disappointment in himself seemed to overcome his sense of thought. A feeling of responsibility seemed to fuel him.

 

"Well.. I was kinda impressed actually. It made me remember some other stuff you told me, and I thought it was cool you knew that stuff." He added quickly, hoping to make the impact of his previous statement lessen by some amount rather than nothing. Well, that happened to work a little too well, considering how Claire's expression shot up from disappointed to relieved and happy, looking at him with brightened eyes.

 

"Wait, you think so?!" Her voice was fueled with delight, catching Engel in a state of awe. Luckily, he had learned from his past mistakes to know not to stare off at someone, daydreaming.

 

"Yeah, I was, kinda, I guess." He paused at each phrase, earning a teasing look from his friend, and flushed slightly. "Anyway, let's continue with our discussion." He quickly pushed the topic away. Claire released a small giggle, but affirmed to his statement as she turned to him, thankfully happier than before, earning Engel interior happiness of his own.

 

"As I was saying before I was interrupted.." He looked at her with joking offence. "She'd look for Moemoe using her senses. Then, we'll follow behind her and find him!" He pumped his fists up excitedly, glancing at Claire to see her reaction. 

Claire thought for a moment, thinking over the plan at her own pace. The two felines' relationship, the location, the overall process, it was rather lengthy, but if it was to ensure the safety of her beloved kitten, then being slightly late to school than usual wasn't a big issue.

 

"Alright, sounds good." She affirmed, watching Engel jump in celebration, muttering a poorly hushed "yes!" under his breath as pure joy filled him to the brim. God, he looked so stupid. He was smiling and acting like a child getting their favourite toy, and Claire knew that, yet it brought just as much amusement to her, even evoking that same strange warmth she felt in her chest earlier today. She had felt it a few times before too, but could never really understand what it was, and wasn't planning on doing so right now since there were much more important matters to be taken care of.

 

"Hey! Celebrate later, we should get going now!" She bent down to take a small toy out of her bag and shook it slightly, catching the attention of the white kitten, and just as the kitten approached the toy and played with it, Claire picked it up and held it gently as she stroked it, letting the panicked kitten calm down in her grasp, and started walking to the convenience store, expecting Engel to follow behind and walk along with her.

 

And he did. He somewhat skipped over to her, exclaiming "Yeah! let's go!" and walked alongside her.

 

The walk ensued in silence. It was until an idea clicked in Engel's mind as he shot her a teasing smile.

 

"Race me to the convenience store, loser buys winner a drink!" Giving Claire no time to even think, he dashed off ahead. 

 

Claire stopped in her tracks and stared at him running, trying to process his words until the realization clicked. 

 

"HEY! I NEVER AGREED TO THAT!" She yelled at him from behind as she too, broke into a run. Her pettiness levels only rose as she heard Engel release a breathy chuckle at her complain from the front. "Oh-?! You think I'll let you win just like that?!" A determined smile made its way up her face. "Hah, well then, we'll see about that!" She picked up her own speed, and followed behind him. Engel glanced behind at her words, gaping slightly at her determination, before piling up a smirk of his own as he too, huffed out:

 

"Alright, game is on!" He clutched his backpack straps and picked up his speed.

 

                 ------------------------                

 

"And do you know what happened next?! Then the mastermind, who was (redacted) appeared outta absolutely NOWHERE and revealed themself as (redacted) and the mastermind behind it all!" A white haired girl continued rambling on and on to her friend about this weird anime about teenagers in a killing game, while the short haired brunette next to her listened quietly, watching the stars that sparkled in her friend's eyes. Her lips pulled into a small smile, quite uncommon on her face, contrary to the snow-haired girl who wore hers like a medal of honor. 

 

Katie was just about to tell Alice how this "Makoto Naegi" used the power of hope to pull everyone out of despair when suddenly, a swoosh of wind went past them, followed by frantic footsteps. Both of the girls' hair flew slightly towards their faces, and as Katie pulled hers back, intending to yell at whoever did that stupid prank, her eyes fell on the small spectacle unfolding before her. Alice's eyes darted to her friend, and her annoyed expression pulled into one of confusion when she saw an expression of amusement plastered on Katie's face.

 

"Awh Alice! Look at them!" Katie tugged at her friends' sleeve, pointing at the two 4th graders racing across the street, the sound of their chuckles and teasings filling up the air. Alice looked at the sight. The ginger in the front was seemingly teasing the brunette behind him, who was firmly holding onto a small kitten while yelling at her friend. 

 

Alice swore that relationship felt.. oddly nostalgic. She swore she saw someone in the girl.. maybe herself? 

Instinctively, she glanced at the boy and then her friend, she swore she felt a resemblance, a small smile grew on her face.

 

"Y'know, I feel like I know those two.." Katie stared into the distance, thinking back to a particular day when she was told to monitor a 4th grade class while the teachers held a conference. A memory suddenly clicked of those two exact students sitting infront of the class, excitedly scribbling in their notebooks as she rambled on about some dinosaurs she learned about in that day's science lecture. Out of pure amusement, Katie asked them about their names and they both introduced themselves as..

 

"Oh yeah! That boy is named Engel and the girl is Claire!"

She perked up at the reminder of their names. "I like those two, they're nice and well-behaved. They're so adorable together!" Alice stared at them for a second, before replying with a smile:

 

"I agree, their relationship seems quite endearing."

 

               -------------

Notes:

Part 1 is done! I rlly hope it's not that bad cuz i might die if it is :'D /j

Next chapter will be out next week (idk if thats how it works cuz this is more of a oneshot with two chapters but uhh ok 👌)

Alr. I'll give more clarification of the continuation of this oneshot in the next chapter, so until then, stay tuned!

Chapter 2: A series of unfortunate events

Summary:

The quest for the cat followed a series of countless unfortunate events, all of that which led them to the most awful tragedy of their life, one that they'll definitely miss.

Notes:

I know I usually post on Saturdays but i was lowkey kinda eager to post this so here it is :D I dont exactly have much to say (ok wait i forgot to add, this includes a gasa4 reference jus thought ill mention) soooo without much yapping, let's begin!!11!:

Frantic footsteps came to an abrupt stop, proceeded by huffing as the brunette finally caught up to the ginger, who was equally out of breath, but still managed to put up a teasing smirk.

 

"Heh.. I win." He said, panting.

 

"Not fair-!" Claire objected in a breathy voice. "I started late and I was carrying her-!" She said as she finally let go of the kitten, who quickly fell out of her grip and hissed at her. 

 

"Not my fault, you should've thought faster!" Engel interjected, now standing upright, holding onto his hat and fixing it on his head. Claire frowned at him, adjusting her own bow before standing upright, preparing to argue back before Engel cut in, with a different expression.

 

"Actually.. now that I think about it, you actually managed to catch up to me quite well, even though you started late and were holding a kitten." He noded approvingly. "I'm impressed." He spoke proudly. Claire was seemingly taken aback by his statement, but quickly smiled in pure pride, taking in his compliment as a fact.

 

"Exactly! Hence, I don't owe you anything." She argued.

 

"You do." Engel argued back. "I still won."

 

"Nuh uh."

 

"Yuh uh."

 

"Nuh uh."

 

"Yuh uh."

 

"I don't owe you anything, final." She said sternly, and before Engel could reply, she turned her back to him and started walking the other way. Engel scoffed, giving up and following behind her. 

 

Claire suddenly stopped infront of a wall. "This is the wall that they both climbed." She said, without turning to face her friend. Engel peeped from behind her. The wall seemed like it belonged to a house, and wasn't exactly too high, he could easily see a kitten jumping over it with the help of another of it's size.

 

"Alright then, let's get this over with." Engel sighed, walking over to the wall before holding his hand out to Claire. "Hand me the treats, I will put them up there." He said without looking at her. Claire released a "hmph" at his pettiness, before reaching for the packet of treats and handing some to him.

 

"You do that, I'll look for the kitten." She muttered, not waiting for a response and went off ahead. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Engel looking at her with slight pettiness, to which she quietly chuckled. 

 

The kitten was at the corner of the street, gently licking her paws. Claire's expression warmed into a soft smile as she took out a treat and went up to the kitten.

 

"Hey." She spoke softly, holding out a clenched fist infront of the kitten. The kitten looked up from her business and blinked. She made her way over to Claire and sniffed her hand, and licked it as she detected a treat. 

"Heh" Claire giggled, opening her fist to reveal the treat, but quickly rose her hand before the kitten could devour it. "Alright, follow me." She stood up, still holding out the treat and walked, making sure that the kitten was following her. The kitten of course followed eagerly.

 

While directing the kitten, Claire looked infront incase she might bump into someone, when from a distance, she noticed Engel stepping on his backpack, his hand struggling to reach the top of the wall. Claire smiled smugly, calling out to him:

 

"Hey Eng! Struggling?" She said teasingly, slowly running up to him, making sure that the kitten followed. Engel could only turn his head slightly as in to not trip over, which was still enough for Claire to notice his reddened face, which only made her release a snigger, adding to her friend's embarrassment.

 

"S-shut it.. as if you could reach it." he muttered. Claire was a tad bit offended, but pushed his comment aside as she continued to chuckle, teasing the boy. He sighed and turned back to the wall, stretching out his body in attempt to reach his hand to the top.

Claire could only watch in joking pity before she had enough of watching him struggle.

 

"Okay, okay, fine, you can use mine too." She insisted, wrapping up her chuckles.

 

"Huh?" Engel turned to her in surprise, an expression of disbelief pasted on his face.

 

"Yeah, can I not be nice?" Claire rose her brow and said questionably. 

 

"I mean, it's quite rare." He remarked teasingly, earning an annoyed glare from his friend. While he was more than happy to continue pushing her, he did not want to take more time to get this quest over with. Hence, he dropped the act and stepped off his backpack.

 

"Alright, help me out, I'm kinda missing Moemoe and his little face too." He admitted, crossing his arms and waiting for Claire to place her bag on top of his own. 

 

"Exactly! A day feels empty without getting to see his face." Claire said, taking off her backpack and placing it carefully on top of Engel's, and holding it firmly. "Alright, get on it, I'm holding it."

 

Engel hummed as he carefully stepped on the bag, it wobbled slightly as he did so, but was immediately firmed by Claire who held it to the ground. Engel muttered a "Thanks." as she did so. He stretched his arm towards the top of the wall, and thankfully managed to place the treats on top. 

 

"Phew!" He steeped low, sighing in relief, followed by Claire who also huffed thankfully, loosened her grip on the backpack. 

 

"Huh- hey, HEY!" Engel could only yelp as the backpack wobbled and before he or Claire knew it, Engel had lost his balance and fumbled onto the hard, asphalt road.

 

"Oww..." he groaned as he landed on butt, his palms pressed against the road to save his head from colliding with the ground. "Hey! Why'd you do th-" Engel was about to yell at Claire, before he noticed that she vanished from his view. In confusion and mild concern, he shook his head from side to side, to discover her lying just beside him, rubbing her palms as she winced in what he assumed was the similar pain he was feeling, just to a slightly lesser degree because her fall was less nasty than his.

 

"Oww.. that hurts." She spoke through a hurt tone.

 

"Hey uh, you okay?" Engel stared at her concern, rubbing his own hands alongside to lessen his own pain. Though he had every right to be mad; for once, he wanted to make sure she was alright before he started nagging her about her clumsiness.

 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Your fall was more nasty." She finished rubbing her hands as she turned to him, crawling over and holding his hands in hers, checking out his injuries. "Are you okay? Also, what were you saying earlier?" She addressed to him.

 

Engel was taken aback by her gesture. Her hands felt.. comforting, as if they managed to heal all of the pain his hands felt when they collided with the hard, rough road. He looked to the side, feeling his face heating up as crimson blush grew on his face. "Nothing, I'm fine." He only managed to mutter lowly as embarrassment filled his bloodstream. Claire continued to stare at him questionably, before giving in and letting go of his hands.

 

"Alright, if you insist." She said as she stood up and began dusting her clothes. "Y'know, I would've been mad at you for being so reckless." She finished up and turned to him.

"But I guess I can forgive you, just this once. C'mon, let's get to work!" She said enthusiastically, holding her hand out to him. Engel turned to look at her and there she stood, with an honest, determined expression plastered on her face, which was somehow contagious as it rose Engel's spirits. 

 

"Hell yeah! Let's get to work." He replied in equal determination, grabbing onto her hand as she helped him to his feet. "Operation Find Moemoe is in action!" He announced, matching her enthusiasm.

 

"Hasn't it been in action for a while now?" Claire joked, earning a small glare from Engel.

 

"Doesn't matter, anyway, where's the kitten?" He asked, shrugging off her remark and scanning the area for any sign of a small kitten. Claire examined alongside him.

But surprisingly, the area was empty of the small kitten.

 

"Where is she?" Claire muttered in worry, turning to Engel as he turned back with similiar concern.

 

"I.. I don't know? She was here just now." He replied. Luckily, their confusion was answered by a sudden thamp! emanating from behind them. They snapped their heads towards the direction and were the greeted by the sight of the kitten, who had presumably climbed one of the bags to the top of the wall, and judging by how she was licking her lips, she had probably eaten the treat and fallen back down. 

 

The two stared at the kitten, who stared at them right back. Engel quickly glanced at Claire, who glanced at him back, and nodded. Turning their gazes back towards the kitten, Claire approached her slowly with a smile, holding her hand out as if to pet her.

 

"Hey little one, looks like you caught the treat!" She spoke, her tone sugarcoated with calmness and very much not malicious intents. "I have some more treats, c'mere! I'll give you some." She rummage through her pockets in search of the packet of treats, but to her surprise, they were empty. 

 

"Hey Eng, did I give you the packet?" She turned to her friend and asked. Engel looked at her back in confusion.

 

"I don’t think so..?" He rummaged through his own pockets, and turned back in disappointment. 

"Nope, empty." Claire appeared concerned. She looked back at the kitten to think of another way to lure her when she noticed her staring at something intently, as if to pounce on it.

 

"Hm, whatcha lookin' at?" She looked at the source of the kitten's interest, and was surprised, yet pretty relieved to see the packet of treats, which she assumed fell out of her pockets when she fell.

"Oh, there it is! Grab it!" She said to her friend. Engel nodded and approached the packet, but just as he was about to pick it up, the kitten pounced, snatched it, held it in her mouth, and ran-off quickly, leaving Claire and Engel with dumb-found expressions on their faces, as they attempted to process what happened in those 5 seconds.

 

By the time the realization hit them and they stood up and started running behind, the kitten had already rounded-up a corner of the street, and by the time they reached the corner, the kitten was no where to be seen.

 

"Dammit!" Engel cussed between huffs. "We lost her.."

 

"N-no.." Claire said between huffs. "Wait, look!" She half yelled out, pointing at a small treat that resided near a trash can against a wall. They both went closer to inspect.

 

Engel had the detective gears turning in his head, trying to come up with a theory that fit the circumstances best. Looking at the trashcan, treat and the nearby wall, a theory built up in his head. He was about to articulate his thought until Claire shushed him. 

 

"Wait." She looked around as she spoke. "I hear something." Engel tilted his head in confusion, but right then, a faint sound managed to reach his ears; a sound that.. resembled meowing? He looked around with her. His ears managed to pick up another, slightly less faint meow, which judging by the direction, came from.. 

 

"It's coming from behind that wall!" Engel stated, moving closer to the wall and placing his hand behind his ear in a listening gesture.

 

Right then, a louder, more clearer noise erupted from the other side, but instead of gentle meowing, it sounded more like hissing, and then a sort of.. struggling?

 

Engel tilted his head in confusion, his mind blurring up some interpretations of what could be happening on the other side, but the interpretation that stood nearest to possible was..

 

"I think there are two cats fighting!" Engel perked up in worry, turning to Claire only to discover her already rounding up the street's corner. Engel hastily followed behind her, yelling out to her to wait for him.

 

It was convenient that the wall, instead of belonging to a house like the previous, belonged to a playground instead. Hence, they had open access to it. What WASN'T convenient, was that they had to do an entire 180 of the street, making them lose their breaths for the 3rd time today.

 

-----------

 

Claire and Engel FINALLY reached the park, out of breath once more and silently hoping that the presumable white kitten and the unknown other had not left the scene yet or indulged in a serious fight. They looked up from their panting, and Claire's exhaustion immediately melted away and she jumped in pure delight and relief, finally catching sight of her beloved Moemoe who she had been worried sick about! Along with the white kitten who judging by the somewhat ripped up packet of treats but no lost fur, had a small, pretty harmless fight with Moemoe.

 

Claire ran up to Moemoe, who at the sight of her, was equally happy to see her as he ran up to her and jumped in her arms. 

 

"Moemoe! Where have you been?!" Claire screamed in what was pure happiness, relief, worriness, and anger all together. In a nutshell, she sounded like a mother who had been worried for her child. "I've been worried sick about you!"

 

Engel followed behind her, sighing in relief for Claire's weird antics were contagious enough for him to get worried for the two kittens as well.

 

"Told you he'd be fine." He said in a subtly teasing tone, earning a small glare from Claire. He pretended to not notice her glaring as he approached Moemoe, and scratched his head. "Can't believe you had us worried this much. Where have you been?" He asked. As if he understood what the boy said, Moemoe took a long, exaggerated yawn. Claire's glare melted away as she looked at Moemoe.

 

"Oh, you were sleeping?" Claire said with slight guilt, trying not to look at Engel who's expression literally spoke "I told you."

 

Avoiding his eye, she pushed Moemoe into his arms.

 

"Have this dummy, dummy." She said as she turned to the white kitten, glaring at her. Engel swore he saw the kitten shruddered like a child under a mother's gaze. "And now for this dummy.." She went up to the kitten. The kitten could not pull the same stunt twice as Claire, learning from her past mistakes, managed to catch her in her attempt to get away with the treats. "Gotcha!" She said as she held the struggling kitten and took the packet of treats from her. The kitten tried to hold onto the packet firmly but was forced to let go of it, to which she hissed at Claire. Claire sighed and placed down the kitten, examining the pretty badly chewed up packet of treats, which despite the many holes in it, had still somehow kept almost all the treats in it safe and sound. 

 

"Place Moemoe down." She said to Engel, who nodded and placed down the kitten. Claire took out a treat. "Want to give him some too?" She said as she got on her knees and placed a treat infront of Moemoe, giggling as she watched him devour it whole.

 

"Oh sure!" Engel said as he held out his hand to Claire, who shook the packet of treats over his hand which resulted in some treats to land in his palm. Engel took it and teased Moemoe along with Claire, chuckling as he watched Moemoe have a happiness spiral as if he was in heaven. At some point, he saw the white kitten sulking in the corner, and convinced Claire to throw her some too and watched her have a happiness spiral too.

 

Engel chuckled slightly, glancing at his watch, and the happiness that bubbled in the atmosphere immediately burst as dread spread like dark, thunderous clouds. He comically stumbled to the ground, his hands and knees on the ground, leading to the Claire infront of him to stare at him with part judgement and worriness, but before she could say something, Engel already stumbled out the reason for his dread:

"School.. we only have 10 minutes.."

 

Immediately, Claire's judgemental look sunk into one of despair as her hands sunk to the grounds in a similar manner. To make things worse, Engel muttered his following words in a fit of what was mental pain:

 

"Our backpacks are on the other side of the street.." Pure pain from his words settled onto her like a cold blanket. Now, they'll have to do their 4th run of the day to go get their backpack, and then their 5th to the school so they won't be late? Pure terror. Pure despair. They were officially, what their classmates called, but they hated saying the words themselves because they sounded rude, utterly screwed.

 

Hence, it was truly an utter miracle that Engel looked up from his distress to meet sight with the wall at the end of the park, from where the white kitten had jumped over. His gaze landed on a tree that resided near, and in a moment of quick thinking, an idea clicked, and Engel turned to Claire with a hopeful smile on his face:

 

"Hey Claire, can you climb trees?"

 

"Uhh.." She looked up from her less concerning version of a mental breakdown, face filled with confusion. "Yeah..?" Engel's hopeful smile turned into a beam. 

 

        ---------------

 

"And.. whew.. Gotcha..!" Engel huffed in celebration as he carefully caught Claire in his arms, who after her countless questions of "is this even safe!?", had finally agreed to jump from the tree to the other side of the wall on the conditions that 1: Engel would jump first to show it's safe; and 2: Would catch Claire on her attempt to jump so that she lands safely.

 

"Whew, good grief.." Claire huffed in relief as well for her legs weren't broken from such a high jump. She was about to give an annoyed scolding to Engel, until she felt the presence of a strange feeling that lingered in her body, which after a moment of quick self reflection, she realized was the similar warmth she had felt a few times earlier today due to being with..

 

"..You can let go of me now." Claire spoke in a quiet, dull voice, masking the sudden realization and embarrassment of being in the arms of the boy infront her. The boy, after a moment of confusion, quickly jolted in surprise as he let go of her, digging his face in his hands out of embarrassment and uttering a muffled "Dammit, I'm so sorry!". Claire, although quite flustered, quickly shushed him.

"C'mon, let's grab our bags now." She started walking towards the other direction, signaling him to follow behind. Engel quickly caught up with her, and they both walked alongside eachother in awkward silence.

 

Soon enough, they both reached their destination. Their bags were horribly scattered on the ground, covered in dust and whatnot. Engel sighed and dusted his bag, sprung it over his shoulders and prepared to take off before Claire called out:

 

"Hey, I want to run and grab something from the convenience store." She said, pulling some money out of her pocket. "Wanna tag along?" Engel thought for a bit, shuffling around in his pocket and found some money of his own too.

 

"Sure, I'll grab something too." He affirmed, and followed Claire who already took off running towards the convenience store. 

 

Soon enough, they were surrounded by the somewhat cool, stuffy air of the convenience store. Strangely enough, there were already three people inside the convenience store. The Cashier wearing a green visor had his chin resting on his arms on the counter, who was exhaustingly listening to a boy with a red cap and blue hoodie who Engel judged to be older than him and Claire by a few years, along with someone wearing an entirely gray fit, who was just staring at the Cashier in joking pity. 

 

Smiling slightly at the scene infront of him, he darted his eyes to look around the convenience store. Nothing quite managed to pique his interest. He particularly liked their caramal pastries, but didn't want to use his money on something so expensive. Hence, he dropped the idea of buying anything at all.

 

"Hey, I'm not in the mood to buy anything right now. I'll see you outside." Engel turned towards the exit of the convenience store, hearing Claire released a small "Hm." He walked outside, waving the Cashier a small goodbye, who exhaustingly waved back in return.

 

Soon enough, Claire came out, stuffing something in her bag. "Alright, let's go." She said as she pulled the straps over her shoulder, and walked along, Engel following behind her.

 

"What'd you buy anyway?" Engel inquired, glancing at her.

 

"Nothing big." She answered bluntly. Engel noded, deciding not to push her further and let the walk fall back into awkward silence.

 

"Hey.." Claire said after a period of awkward silence, catching Engel a bit off guard, as he turned to her with a confused expression.

 

"Thanks for helping me." 

 

"Huh?" Engel exclaimed, staring at her in confusion and surprise. Claire stayed silent in response, before repeating in a louder, clearer voice.

 

"Thanks for helping me out today." She looked towards the ground, trying to hide her embarrassed face. Engel continued to stare at her in slight shock, before the realization sunk in, and instead of welcoming her, he just started smiling cheekily.

 

"Hah, someone's grateful." He said teasingly, causing Claire to look up with her reddened face, her brows creasing together in an annoyed expression.

 

"Shut it, I'm thanking you here and you're being annoying." She lightly punched his arm, starting to chuckle slightly watching Engel burst into laughter as well.

 

"Yeah yeah, my pleasure, miss." He said as he held his hat and slightly pulled it over his head as a welcoming gesture. Claire chuckled, rolling her eyes slightly in amusement. Engel picked up on that, and retaliated jokingly:

"Hey now, don't look at me like that as if you didn't-" His words were cut off by a sudden gasp from Claire, whose expression had changed from amusement to fright and dread as she looked at her watch. Before Engel could ask, Claire blurted out, her tone dripping with panic:

 

"We're 5 minutes late!" They both broke into a run.

 

        -----------------

 

And the day ensued, albeit, quite as anything but normal for them. Getting scolded was something alien to them both, especially Claire for that never once in a million years she could ever even think of experiencing getting scolded. Engel was scolded too, but was much less concerned with it. Still, we can definitely say that this has to be the worst thing they will ever experienced. 

 

Or what atleast they think for now, but that's not actually a bad thing. For now, let them stay under the impression that arriving late for school is the biggest tragedy of one's life.

        -----------------

Notes:

Here we conclude this oneshot! Now, the continuation of this oneshot will be posted as the 4th part of the series "Chronicles of the Golden Friendgroup." That part was actually my entire reason for writing this oneshot lol, and despite it not fitting into this one, I still really wanted to write it so I made it into a separate part! It'll include more angst (dw, its not about dying or isnt extremely heavy, but its definitely there)

I'll try to get it done as fast as possible but I can't give out any indication cuz really, I don't at all know how long it'll take either :'D

But I'll try my best to make the wait worth for you all!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of Chronicles of the Golden Friendgroup