The Night Before
The Teeny Tiny Mischevious Kitty-mas
written by Kevin Bell (Death Star)
The Night Before
The Teeny Tiny Mischevious Kitty-mas
written by Kevin Bell (Death Star)
8:30 AM, Galactic Standard Time
Sleeping in their own room adjacent to Megumi and Erevis' master bedroom, so that the adults could have 'adult love love time', two little kitties lay sleeping, cuddled together in a tight little ball for warmth, a floating crib above their bed holding their youngest sister, Lenneth. When the alarm clock hit 8:30, it began to sing 'mew mew MEW MEW MEW MEW MEW MEW MEW!!!!!' to wake them up, and the two little kitties jerked awake, while their sister continued to sleep, a sound proof glass around the crib.
"Good morning, Ako!" Iko chirped. Though her full name was Isis Kittyfantastica Zhenmei - middle part not originally included by parents - she was called simply Iko, due to the fact her future self lived in the house and went by the full name. Iko stood for, simply, 'Little Isis'. She had charming green famfrit eyes, red hair that was a bit long on her small frame, and tiny cute famfrit ears that were wiggling in greeting.
"Good morning, Iko!" Ako chirped back. Her full name was Athena Idol-in-Training Zhenmei - middle name also not originally included by her parents - she was called Ako for the same reason, meaning 'Little Athena'. Looking like her mother Megumi, she had long white hair, famfrit ears, but her difference was that she had human green eyes.
The two giggled and hugged each other, rolling along the covers in excitement. "Today's the big day!" Iko begin. "We have to go get presents for the family and be secret kitty-tas!" Ako agreed. They paused in their rolling and stood up on the bed to peer through the glass at the sleeping Lenneth.
"Sleep well, little sis sis!" Iko told her. "Don't go anywhere we wouldn't," Ako said sternly, then they both laughed and bounced off the bed, creeping over and opening the door. Peering out, they saw the master bed room door to their parents' room was still closed, so they snuck past it, then past Zephyr's room and down the stairs. Bouncing along, they moved to the kitchen and realized by getting up a bit before everyone else, no one was making breakfast. Their ears began to droop as they looked up at the bare cabinets towering so high above them.
"Hungry," Ako whined, peering at Iko, who needed in agreement, then looked at the fridge handle, remembering the fish from last night. She walked over and grabbed a chair, pulling it with all her effort over to the fridge with a terrible noise. Then she climbed up it slowly, balancing on the flat surface. Noises coming from Jennifer, Athena, and Sammael's guest extension of the house distracted her a moment, then she gripped the handle of the fridge and pulled hard, opening it up and falling off the chair, dangling from the handle; she peered down at the long drop, where Ako debated catching her, then bounded into the fridge to get the fish for them instead. Iko paused as the door swung shut and locked Ako inside.
Squeaking, Iko let go and fell back onto the flat surface of the chair, flailing her hands, knowing that Ako was in danger of becoming a kittensicle before their adventure even began! Iko quickly leapt again, grabbing the handle and twisted in the air so she can put her tiny foot against the side of the fridge and kicked off, reopening it. Ako hopped out with a fish in her mouth and holding two more, looking completely nonchalant as she scurried away; the momentum swung the fridge all the way open and Iko flailed in mid-air again until she let go and landed on her feet. Pushing against the door, it swung closed with a loud clunk and she trotted over to join Ako in devouring the fish. With their bellies soon to be full, they could begin their plans.
9:10 AM, Galactic Standard Time
Their bellies compliant finally, Ako and Iko made their way out of 1B and to engineering, where they had to meet a contact. Walking down the hallway with the lights flickering and the hum of machinary, they came across the first barrier that prevented people without autorization nanites to pass through. Looking left, then right, behind and in front, they saw no one was looking and Ako climbed up onto Iko's shoulders and grabbed part of the wall and yanked, removing a hidden panel. Pulling herself in, Ako climbed in a bit then turned and held out her hand for Iko to pull herself up, then the two combined their minds to use their psionics to slide the panel in place. Then, together, they began to crawl through the small crawl space, past currents, hyperspace generators, electronic radiation patches, and then finally out into the work area the engineers walked about.
Dusting themselves off, Ako and Iko skipped along until they came to a certain work station, a bit deeper into engineering, where a balding 40 year old man sat, entering equations to keep the engine fluxations workng. Approaching the guy from behind, they watched him a minute without him noticing before Iko politely, and quietly, went "Mew." The man jerked and turned around, his glasses sliding down his nose and a look of nervousness spreading across his features as he used his finger to press them back up.
The man stuttered, "Mewia, Mewstress, y-you're here earlier than I thought." He glanced around nervously, running his sweaty palms together. Ako and Iko leaned in a bit, barely even coming to the man's nkees, but somehow they seemed to tower over him - from the ground looking up at his chair that is.
Ako flexed her hands like a cat pawing the air, smiling sweetly at him, while Iko stretched her arms over her head like a lazy cat. "Mr. Ronnie have creds?" Iko asked him sweetly, pawing at him with a stretch of her short arms. "Iko and Ako gave kitty-kat-loan long ago!" The man licked his lips like he was terrified and leaned back in his seat, it creaking.
"I could use a few more days, you know --- bills and all," he lied poorly, and Ako walked around him playfully while Iko studied him sympathtically. "Bills bad. Momma Erevis always saying not like having to give bills" Iko said sadly for him and Ronnie nodded, seizing on it. "Iko be sad to say that Ronne paid bills with cred creds not belonging to him," she said, sensing his lying with her psionics and knowing he had plenty to do both - pay them and the bills that came at the beginning of the next month. Ronnie jerked and peered down as Ako stuck her head up his shirt and wiggled about in his clothing, her tiny feet hanging off the floor as she pulled his credit sack and hopped down. "Well, Iko glad it not come to that! Bye Bye, Mr. Ronnie. See next month!" Iko twirled as Ako rejoined her and the two pawed at him before bounding away.
Ronnie sighed bitterly and turned his chair back to his monitor, annoyed, but then paused when he saw a small wrapped box on the floor. Reaching down he picked it up, seeing a tiny note written on the paper. "Rest of cred creds all Mr. Ronnie's if buy fishies at Kat Kat's once a week for hungry kitties. Mew! Happy Holidays!" written in perfect Basic surprisingly. For a moment he wondered if someone was backing the two kids finacially and writing their notes, considering they only appeared two, but being the daughters of the Empress, did he really want to underestimate them? He decided to just take his Christmas gift and run with it as he went back to work.
10:04 A.M, Galactic Standard Time
Popping out a panel from inside a crawl space, Ako and Iko hopped out into the plaza of the PAX, the 10 mile long stretch of shops and businesses that made the core of the PAX, located in the center and throughout it from one end to the other. While not all of the plaza was filled with businesses, a good section of it was filled, slowing spreading outward. Teleporters were set up to help easy travel, every quarter mile so that people can get near the store they wish - some even had teleporters in them if they were willing to pay more for rent, or in the case of Katrina's Bar, were 'grandfathered' in considering Katrina was part of the team that found the PAX so long ago.
Replacing the panel against the wall, Ako and Iko began to walk along the plaza, mingling with the people who were up and about, shopping, working, relaxing. The Suisen Empire was growing larger every day, now in the millions, though only 40,000 people were actually on the PAX at this moment. Some minor races had joined the Suisen Empire and were now part of it, with special teleporters hooked up to go to those places in a heartbeat, teleporters other races once had before Erevis shut them off for good. Now only allies who signed tons of agreements had them, and even then their's was not the special type like those who actually joined, and one non-ally planet had one teleporter: Cheryl of EarthGov. The school for the Suisen Empire was located under her mansion and was designed to look like a traditional Japanese school. The only reason Cheryl had one on Earth was due to her loyality to the Suisen Empire and the fact she had self-destruct codes hooked up if anyone she didn't authorize tried to get to the PAX.
Waving at people as they walked along, Ako and Iko quietly shifted through, passing areas where job training booths were set up for people to accept job training in areas the Suisen Empire needed people - mostly these days in mining materials and ship building, though each provided a wealth of jobs. New people joining the Empire every day always found their way to these booths since Erevis did not accept people who would not seek jobs in the Empire. They were given free places to stay and food to eat upon arrival, but all had to find some sort of job they wish to train in by a month. Ako and Iko headed to area where there wasn't any shops really yet, where new ones cropped up, and before them was an area that had been rented but was still mostly empty of materials, even with everything built inside. By the nature of the PAX, one merely gave CHIP the layout of the store they wanted, no matter how fancy, and he used the holographic nature of the ship to reproduce it. New businesses were always opening for those who wanted to run their own business instead of seeking job training, and Erevis even gave them a month free rent to get their business going - and accepted delayed payments the second and third month if required, so long as it was shown they were genuinely working hard to get business drummed up. This particular business, a manga store, was not doing well and was into it's fourth month and would not be able to meet it's payments.
Entering the store, Ako and Iko looked at all the pretty covers as they approached the counter, adjusting their tiny business suits they had made. The man behind the counter, a human, looked down at them and squinted, looking dismissive at first. That was not a good sign: if he was rude, he would not be getting Kitty Love. Stopping at the counter and peering up, Ako and Iko smiled at him and innocently toed the ground. "Our momma is busy and there's no where fun for us to be. Can we stay here for just a little while sir?" Ako asked, giving him kitty eyes and looking pathetic.
The man studied them and grimaced, probably thinking that since they looked maybe 3 at best, they would tear the store up, but he studied Ako's expression and nodded. "Alright, but don't touch anything without my permission, please. Customers won't buy the books if they're smudged or bent," he finally relented. Iko bowed to him gratefully. "We won't, sir; thank you very much," she told him and the two wandered the store for ten minutes, admiring covers, now and again asking if they could look at a certain book if they were careful; while always reluctant, the owner accepted and slowly began to relax when he saw they were harmless, pointing out titles they might would like.
After ten minutes, they approached him and smiled, adjusting their business suits. Iko spoke first. "This store is really neat, sir. We like it. Will you be open next month?" she asked innocently and the man's face fell a little, glancing down. "Probably not," he admitted finally and Ako climbed up the counter and sat, facing his surprised expression at her boldness. Iko climbed up as well and sat cross legged, adjusting her suit. "We like this place; we have deal for you!" and began to explain to the bewildered man that they would cover his payments for the next two months if he agreed to let them have a free manga a week to share with their family.
"Is this a joke?" the man asked finally, looking a bit angry at the two year olds, but then paused when Iko brought out the pouch of credits and set it down. He looked at it, then up, then down, then back at Iko and Ako, peering at each of their faces slowly. "This isn't a joke is it?" he whispered and Iko and Ako shook their head to indicate their offer was genuine. "Of course I agree! Really!" he told them.
Iko and Ako smiled brightly and pawed at him, then looked deadly serious. "Now we have to make sure you do not break oath to us," Ako said to him sternly. The man paused, feeling uneasy as he looked at them, wondering what they would do. Take blood? Something precious to him. Flinching as Ako pulled out a small box, he looked down as she opened it up and revealed a tiny fish inside. Staring in confusion, he heard her say, "Swear on fishy and done deal, mew!"
After swearing on the fish and giving them this week's free manga, he watched Ako and Iko hop down and walk toward the store front, pausing and peering back. "Does nice man mind if we spread pictures Ako and Iko made to others?" Iko asked him, pawn and wiggling her hips. "Iko promise that pictures are nice!" The man just nodded, stunned at them doing more and watched them hop out into the plaza. Moving to a corner the changed out of their suits into tiny kitty outfits, complete with fuzzy tail, and teleported to the main area of the plaza, where they hopped up onto a fountain edge and began to sing and dance.
"Mew mew," Ako began, waving a finger to lure kids and adults forward. "We just be teeny tiny kittens, but we have something big to say!" Iko twirled on the fountain, her tail stirring the water playfully and spraying some kids who laughed and giggled. "We can't read or write," Iko began, pawing the air as Ako picked up, "So we have de-ny-kittyability!" she added to the laughter. "But we wanted to say..." Iko picked up and they both continued, "Sailor Kitty is awesome!" They pulled out flies and tossed them out to people who caught them, reading about the manga store with pictures drawn by Iko and Ako in cranyon, showing a picture of a Sailor Sensi Kitty flying through the air with mangas in hand. "So please buy her adventures," Ako asked, leaning forward, and Iko mimiced it, continuing, "Or the kitty gets it!"
Later that day, the manga owner was surprised to see tons of people filling his store to get Christmas Gifts, while Ako and Iko wrapped up the manga they got for a certain someone, prancing onward, realizing all this hard work had made their tummies rumbly. They detoured for Katrina's in the hope for fishies.
11:29 A.M, Galactic Standard Time
Arriving at the bar, Ako and Iko plodded inside, peering around to see who all was there. The ever lame, but nice, Ethan was sipping a drink on his lunch break, hunched at the bar like the whipped person that he was - Ako and Iko heard that Tamara 'kept him in line'. They were not sure what the line was, but since coloring inside the lines important, no doubt Tamara was doing Ethan a favor. Still, even as useless as he was, they both liked him lots because he gave them fishies and was never mean to them. Also at the bar was Thomas Aduxley, drinking a drink called a 'beer'. They sniffed one once and almost fell over from the smell, so they assumed it was an old person's medicine, since medicine never smelled or tasted good.
Walking over to the bar, they each picked one, Ako climbing up Ethan's lap and Iko climbing up Thomas' lap, mewling at both of them as they flopped onto their backs and pawed upward at their faces in greeting; it was rude to ask for fishies without showing affection and cuteness first to the intended target. Lenneth's drone floated nearby, the tiny baby dressed in a waitress outfit, staring at them with what seemed to be a deadpanned expression, but the two toddles assumed that her facial expressions were not yet matured enough to show anything else in regards to their cuteness. All in good time though.
Thomas chuckled and stroked Iko's ears, sending waves of pleasure through her tiny body and she wiggled from it. "Hello, Iko," he said in greeting; his voice was gruff, but had a kindness to it. He pushed the beer away and peered down at her. She could hear Ethan talking to Ako in return, and see her younger sister was being pet as well. "What brings you here today?" he asked Iko, bringing her attention back to him.
"Ako and Iko here to help starving kitties not starve," Iko said gravely; it was true of course. It just was that she and Ako were part of the starving kitty equation. After all, they had to fill up their own bellies to deliver fishies to other kittens of the Empire. She weakly pawed at Thomas to get the point across, wiggling her ears hopefully. "Mr. T will help poor kitties, right? Maybe order some Japanese soup? There's fishies in it," she whisperd to him like it was a secret, not wanting others to order all the soup and have Katrina run out. That would be disasterous.
Thomas reached his other hand into his pockets, the sound of credits jingling heard. Iko's ears perked up and she sat up on the lap, wiggling hopefully as he plopped it down, peering at Lenneth. "A few bowls of Japanese soup," he said. Lenneth deadpanned more and turned as Ethan ordered 3 fish for Ako as well. She drifted into the back so the drone could pass on the message to the cook. Since both of them had added to the Help the Starving Kitties Fund, Ako and Iko hopped up onto the counter and began to dance to show their thanks - after all, seeing them dance and sing was a reward unlike any other.
Twirling on the bar, they clasped hands together and began to sing. "Mew mew mew, kitty kitty, with the hungry belly. Mew mew mew, give the kitty belly something, please?" They paused as they sang. "You won't let the kitty belly grumble and rumble without company of fishies, will you? Mew mew. Please fill the kitty belly and when it's got company, there will be tons of dancies!" The two began to dance and twirl their arms together, throwing out their hands in thanks. By the time they finished to the clapping of Ethan and Thomas, Lenneth's drone drifted out with their orders. Ako and Iko dived into a bowl of soup each, dipping their fish in, and devouring and licking their fingers clean afterwards.
Iko looked at Ethan and Thomas and bowed her head politely. "Thank yoo!" she said. Ako pawed cutely, then they struggled to lift the remaining bowl and fish and carried it over to the teleporter, shifting around to avoid a customer walking in by dancing between their legs. Hopping onto the teleporter, they hit the 1B button and shuffled across the grass toward the Cridhe sector; they had barely made it to the pond when kittens from the Cridhe side rose all around them from the grass, having formed a circle about them.
Setting the bowl and fish down, Ako and Iko lifted their hands and the Cridhe famfrit kids paused. "We bring you offerings in the name of the kitty bellies. Devour this devouted meal from Mr. T and Mr. Ethan and have your bellies offer up thanks later in the kitty boxes," Iko said, then she took Ako's hand and pranced off as the famfrits descended on the meal, moving to head back to the teleporter; they still had a busy day ahead of them.
1:06 P.M, Galactic Standard Time
Making a few more stops in the plaza, exchanging and giving credits to business, the two now had a reasonable pile of shiny credits. Ako was sitting by the fountain, playing with the credits, eyes wide like a cat as she knocked them into the air over and over, while Iko peered at a magazine of holiday sales, trying to find a good store for their intended targets, including the Secret Santa they had to do.
"Alright, I have our pwan of atwack!" Iko told Ako, who looked up, a credit bouncing off her head and into the pouch. "Mew?" Ako mewled, tilting her head and leaning closer to look at the circled items. Iko nodded proudly. "Fwist, we enter this store and offer it rwent money for 5 of the gifts we need, then we buy the rest, here, then there, then that one," she explained, trailing her finger. Ako peered at the first one - an 'Adult Item' Store and nodded. "Lots of adults! Sis sis is so smart," Ako purred and began to strip right there in front of the plaza; people walked by, not even really noticing, used to famfrits and since they were toddlers it wasn't like there was any real goods to look at. Ako slipped on her turk business suit while Iko did the same, then they put away the pouch and began to move toward the Adult Item store. While usually the business did well, this month it had done poorly due to the holidays for some reason; why wouldn't adults get other adults these things during this time of year as gifts? Well, adults were silly.
Walking into the stores, Ako and Iko's eyes widened at all the toys about, surprised that adults still played with such things. There was a long purple floppy worm that you could bat around, and it looked like it vibrated. There was strangely shaped objects with belts that you could put around you and charge at people, poking them with it. There were neat marbles all over the place and things called Red's Fruit. Ako and Iko moved about, peering at everything when a woman walked over. "You two are a little young to be here, aren't you?" she asked, friendly yet sternly. Iko and Ako looked up, crossing their arms all cool like.
"We here to make you an offah you can't refuse!" Iko informed her and the woman raised a brow, waiting for her to go on. "We wish to help you pay rent for this month for ... a favor," Iko continued, trying to sound all mysteriously cool. Ako nodded several times beside her, all silent but cool as well. They were two chilled kittens, Iko told herself.
"What sort of favor?" the woman asked slowly, leaning on her counter as if playing along, brushing some hair out of her eyes. Iko and Ako looked at each other, then at her and pulled out their pouch of credits, jingling it. "We wait five gifts of our choosing, wrapped up in pretty wrapping paper!" Iko told her, setting the credits down. The woman opened it up and peered inside, taking one and biting it to see if it was real; satisfied, she looked down at them again.
"Not for you, I take it?" she asked and Iko and Ako shook their heads. Though Ako did peer at the large purple worm longingly; that looked fun. Considering it, the woman nodded but only took out some of the credits. "This will be enough to cover my rent; pick out what you want and I'll wrap it up. Should I put any names on it?"
Iko and Ako nodded and split up, walking slowly - to look cool - and picking up their objects. 1 purple worm, 3 very large belt poking things, and one banana cream bath time lotion. They placed it on the counter and the woman wrapped each up in cheerful wrapping, writing down the names; to Megumi went the purple worm, Jennifer - Isis - Athena - went the poking things, and the bana cream bath time lotion went to Erevis. Gathering the gifts, Ako and Iko moved out and onto a teleporter, moving to 1B, then moved around the house and opened a secret compartment against the back wall behind the bushes, sliding inside their secret kitty base.
The secret kitty base, named Kitty Kat Lair, was full of stuff - posters of things they liked lined the walls, like My Little Pony 10-590, Athena's idol posters, cats hanging from tree limbs, and Sailor Kitty. There was tons of pillows all over the floor to lay on and a small slide they built, along with a strange car tire they made into a swing. Tons of snack food was about, including fish in ice trays to keep cool and unbloated like the horror stories Miyuki told them. They move over and opened a cabinet they found once and placed the items inside, closing it, then they stripped out of their suits and hung them in a cubby hold with other clothing they had found or had people make for them through business deals. Switching into their normal tiny outfits with skirts, the two creeped out, closed the door to the Lair, then headed back to the plaza to do normal shopping now. They wouldn't need their turk suits for at least another 30 days, after all - unless some other business came up short before the end of the year.
2:10 P.M, Galactic Standard Time
Moving through the plaza, Ako and Iko continued to shop, buying gifts for everyone they could think of - first they stopped a toy store and bought Lenneth, the Cridhe kids like Pome and Berry, Lorelei, and others gifts and put them in thick bags to hide them before stepping back out into the busy mainstream rush of people doing last minute shopping. Holding hands with their bags in their other hands, they skipped along, peering at the various shops and stores.
Leaning forward, they spotted what appeared to be a group of small animals sneaking by some people and moving onward; one of them looked like Isis' Beloved, but before they could get to the spot, the animals were gone, with a woman exclaiming that their suasage meat was gone. Frowning, Ako and Iko gave the woman some credits to cover it, since she looked distressed, then moved onward. Stopping in front of a painting store, they walked in and bought paint supplies for Erevis, Ethan, Isis, and Jennifer, adding it to their bags, then they pranced along until they came across a group of gangsters practicing their rap. Moving over, they say it was the gangsters that Ako defeated a few weeks back.
"Nah, nah, nah, dawg, those lyrics are whacked. We gotta show the love. The kitty love," one of the men said, crossing his arms hipster style.
"These lyrics are love, man; you be whacked to think different," another man said, doing some sort of gangster gesture.
"Don't you be pointing at me like that, dwag, hell no," the first one said and stepped forward a bit toward the other man when he spotted Ako and Iko there, watching them. He immediately smiled and walked over. "If it ain't the little lady that showed me the light; welcome, kat. You come to hang?"
Ako crossed her arms all authoratively, not even really coming up to the man's knees, but looking up at him and the others, her ears twitching as she gave them looks. "Ako heard that you trying to make proper kitty lyrics for concert," she noted.
"That's right, kat. Big you agreed to let us open up. We gotta make this perfect; slam it in the hole, you dig? Ain't no time for mess up here," he added, the other four men nodding with him. "You mind helpin'?"
Ako and Iko looked at each other and nodded, setting their bags down and sitting down on the benches as they listened to the gangsters clear their throats to begin their song. The lead gangster began to do some sort of hip hop dance, spreading his arms. "It's that time of season and we be chillin, hanging out under the christmas lights," he said, the other men making various noises that sounded like beats to instruments. "It's that time of year where we be givin', not blasts to the face but gestures of peace. We here to spread the word of love, yo, we here to be gettin' dawgs and kats together. Chillin' under the lights, we all the same, full of love so supreme. Anyone who want to start a fight, we'll kick yo' ass and set you straight, with some holiday cheer."
The gangsters finished and looked at Ako and Iko expectantly about their song. Ako tilted her head while Iko seemed to mouthing what she just heard in perplexity. "Ako think should make some changs; has some ideas if interested."
"Of course, kit-kat, let us here what you gots to say," the gangster said and he sat down with his people. Ako and Iko looked at each other and nodded, moving out to stand in front of them all.
Ako spread her arms to the sides, cocking her head side to side, while Iko pranced in place, pawing all gangster style, up and low, right to left. Ako began to sing. "It's that time of year again; where we come together under the pretty lights."
Iko crossed her arms, shaking her head a bit, while Ako twirled her butt on the floor and posed like a lazy cat. Iko began to pick up where she left off. "That time of year we give gifts of love, to remind everyone that they be kit-ty-loved. Giving them the gift from the heart, giving them the gift of the soul. Yo," Iko said, gangsta style.
Ako popped up onto her feet, walking in place and moving her hands rapidly side to side. "All coming together, to remember the love, the kitty love we have all year. Giving a fishie to the one we love, giving a fishie to the ones we cherish, giving a fishie to those who with no fishes, we be givin' - the kit-ty love." The two finished and the gangsters wiped at their eyes as if the song changed them some how on the inside. They moved off to continue practicing, and Ako and Iko picked up their bags continuing along the plaza as they picked up more gifts - a motivational 10-593 calandar for Thomas, a back massager for Katrina, a kitty hanging from a tree limb for Mem saying 'hang in there'. Then a cute dollie in a dress for Cheryl, a new cook book for Lemon, a build yourself a target range for Zephyr, and so on. It was a busy day.
5:03 P.M, Galactic Standard Time
After nearly three hours of shopping, the two tiny toddlers felt their bellies rumbling and their strength fading. They had stopped back at the house to hide their stuff in the Kitty Kat Lair, narrowly avoiding detection from Megumi who sniffed the air like she sensed them, and now were back, heading for Katrina's bar when they spotted Miyuki and Kasha ahead, looking in shop windows and talking about something. Iko let out a happy sigh purr watching Miyuki laugh at something comical Kasha was doing and her ears twitched in the happy way they do. Ako peered at her and leaned in. "Iko love love Miyu?" she asked.
"She's pretty and nice and lets us have lots of milk and she loves Big Sis Iko. Iko going to marry her too one day," Iko declared boldly, sniffing. "It like song Big Sis Ako practicing lately."
"Which one?" Ako asked and tilted her head, her belly momentarily forgotten as Iko shyly toed the ground. She cleared her throat, then begin to sing in a quiet, yet emotionally filled voice that made it some beautiful, even on her young age.
"Oooooo, it's such a mystery (mew, not really), that haunts each lonely niiiiight," Iko began, swaying. "I'm scared that I'm gonna wake up, because if I should wake up, I'll be along in the morning liiiight; it's a mystery, what she does to me (mew, not really - milkies!), if I can make her see what she does to me, it's a mystery, could she care for me, will my kitty dreams ever be real, or will she stay a mystery?" she continued, singing Athena's love song about a certain someone. "She's such a mystery, why can't I let her know, how much I love her, how much I care about her, about how much I think of her, but I am scared to tell her so; it's a mystery, what she does to me (mew, nope!) can I make her see how I feeeeeeel." She finished the song pawing like Athena did.
Ako giggles and nibbles on Iko's ear. "Silly big sis. Want to go say hi?" she asked, but Iko pointed that the two had already moved on and sighed. "Would have been nice to get some milk," Iko mewled sadly, and the two took to holding hands and moving for the bar to see who they could kitty eye for some fishies.
5:20 P.M, Galactic Standard Time
Arriving at Katrina's bar, Ako and Iko pounced inside, peering around to see who the targets - er, the 'fishie givers' - were at this time. Seeing Leyaeh wearing a santa hat and holding egg nog at the bar, which Mem was tending, the two bounced over and climbed up Leyaeh's leg and onto her lap to sit. "Hi," Ako greeted her as Iko mewled cutely.
Leyaeh studied them and quietly greeted them with a "Hey cuties..." before holding her drink again. Ako could sense the depression in Leyaeh, there the past two weeks, and she tried her best to cheer her up with a "Merry Kitty-mas Eve!" and Iko at the same time added, "Merry Fishies!"
Mem glanced over from working, wearing the latest version of Katrina's waitress outfits - likely forced into it by Katrina herself. It was a red and white santa like outfit that showed mid-drift, lots of leg, and lots of cleaveage, and the santa hat's end had a fish shaped ball. "It's the midget-kitty squad," she noted in her deadpanned tone.
Ako and Iko turned their gaze upon Mem from Leyaeh's lap, pouring on the cuteness with their eyes and pawing toward her. "Any free fishies for poor kitties?" Ako asked her, trembling her voice to show how rumblely her tummy was. "We so hungry," Iko added. Leyaeh held up two fish for them and they quickly grabbed them, hiding them before Mem could notice; after all, the more fish the better for the tummy.
"I don't care," Mem stated in her emotionless, not giving a kitty tone. Ako and Iko jerked at the tone, their ears drooping sadly, believing she meant she didn't care they were so hungry. At least they had Leyaeh's fishies, but still.... maybe with a little kitty pressure they could get Mem to change her mind. "N-Not even a tiny fish?" Iko asked. "We so weak," Ako added. Mem rolled her eyes and retorted, "I meant I don't care that pussy over there is giving you fish."
Busted. The two peered at Leyaeh, then back, Ako mewling sheepishly. "Then you give us some too?" Iko asked. "Maybe bigger?" Ako added, hoping to get more out of this deal; sometimes big people liked to out-do each other in the giving department for some reason. Shrugging, Mem walked into the back and pulled two fish out of the trash, walking back over and setting them on the counter.
Sniffing at the fish, Leyaeh made a face. "You're going to get them sick," she told Mem, covering the fish with her hand. "I doubt it; cats eat this all the time," Mem responded to Leyaeh, eyeing her.
Ako and Iko peered back and forth, then at the fish; both of them at the same time began to have flashback to Miyuki's ghost story of what happens to uneaten fish - and how they bloat. Ako swallowed fear down her throat. "It...It not bloated fish, is it?" Iko trembled next to her in fear of the idea.
"It's old," Leyaeh told them. Ako and Iko grasped each other and trembled while Mem looked annoyed and stated, "It's from like an hour ago." Leyaeh frowned and sniffed again, mumbling that she smelt other things on it, but Ako and Iko were already recovering from their fear - an hour wasn't bad at all!
"Only hour?" Ako chirped. "We eat fishies much older than hour," Iko added. Mem eyed Leyaeh however and stated flatly, "Sure you do. Guess no fishies for the midget-kitties then." Ako and Iko let out a gasp of the idea of losing the poor fishies and pawed desperately at them. They had to be eaten! Fishies lived to be eaten!
"You eat out of trashbins?" Leyaeh asked the two. "Well--no!" Ako answered. "Not done that one," Iko added to the statement. "Is it clean trash?" Ako asked. Leyaeh deadpanned at their answers and picked the two up. "I think before I launch Operation Ao I'm taking you two to hang with my girls to eat a big fish," Leyaeh said.
"But it mean to not to take Memmy fishies," Ako told her. "Not want to reject Memmy Fishies," Iko said with a nod. Mem flatly spoke up. "Doesn't bother me." Leyaeh slowly peered her head toward Mem while Ako and Iko gasped and spoke toward Mem now. "Mem not mind if fishies not eaten?"
"It's not healthy to eat," Leyaeh told them, authority in her tone. The two peered at each other and decided to accept the decision, but there had to be something done for the poor fishies if they were not to be eaten. "Okay, but we have to give the fishies burial," Iko told Leyaeh and Mem. "Mem and Ley help bury?" Ako asked the two.
"Sure," Leyaeh said and the two girls brightened that the fishies would have someone in attendence to their service. With Iko cheering, Ako thought and spoke up where to do it, since they couldn't launch them into space like they did with their dad's body. "Let go bury in garden," Ako decided after thinking the fishies would like to be close to water. The two quickly ate the good fish that Leyaeh gave them so they wouldn't become bloated either when they heard Mem finally speak up, as if everything sunk in finally. "...Bury..." she repeated slowly, eyeing the two older fish. Leyaeh studied her and Ako and Iko's lips trembled, worried she wouldn't come with them for this important ceremony. People needed to be there; their dad had a lot of people there. "... What?" Mem asked, finally noticing the looks.
"Coming or what?" Leyaeh asked her. "Uh, what about the bar?" Mem asked, pointing out the obvious to Leyaeh, gesturing with a hand. Ako and Iko peered at Lenneth's floating drone, which hung out in the bar a lot for some reason and latched onto the idea at the same time. "Len Len will watch!" Ako declared. "Fishies must be buried; please?" Iko begged Mem. Lenneth seemed to deadpan at the two as only a month old baby could. "Yeah, sure, whatever," Mem said finally and threw her towel down on the counter.
Teleporting to the garden, Ako and Iko led them to a patch of dirt they had found ages ago in their adventures. Kneeling down, the two began to dig with their hands, getting them all dirty as they dug a tiny hole. Leyaeh stood nearby, holding the fishies, as they worked. Mem walked up and deadpanned again. "Don't use your hands..." she muttere to the two.
Blinking, Ako and Iko looked up at her, confused. "What do we use?" Ako asked. Mem exasperatedly answered, "A shovel or something!" Tilting their heads, Ako and Iko ran off to look about, spotting a child's plastic shovel near a sand castle and grabbing it before returning to the hole they began. "That's better," Mem said as she eyed it. "Don't want to fuck up your fingers if you plan on using them later."
Leyaeh peered down to the side, softly whispering something that Ako and Iko couldn't quite make out so they continued to dig with the shovel. Finishing, they stepped back and made sure Mem and Leyaeh each had one of the two fishies. Ako cleared her throat. "Now..." she began and her sister picked up where she left off, "Please place fishies in hole." Leyaeh placed her's in gently and Mem then tossed her's in afterwards, sighing. "Now moment of silence," Ako said, remembering what the man said at their dad's funeral. She and Iko bowed their tiny heads in respect of the poor fishies, as did Leyaeh. Clearing her throat, feeling something in it, and feeling sad for the fishies and more, Iko spoke up. "W...will someone say a few words?"
Leyaeh cleared her throat. "They were good fishies, probably always swam upstream, and parts of them made tastey soup for hungry kittens. We commend these final bits to the garden, where they will make flowers grow." Ako and Iko nodded and both said, "Kitty-men." Beginning to rebury the fishies with their shovels, Ako spoke again. "Return to ground to one day be born again in water nearby." Iko then added, tossing the last pile of dirt on them, "And enter our bellies."
"...is this for real?" Mem asked, her voice exasperated. Finishing patting the dirt even, Ako and Iko turned and bowed to the two. "Thank you for coming; you two are nice," Ako told them and Iko added, "Very nice."
Kneeling down and petting their ears, Leyaeh asked, "Now, you two coming back to 1B for some fish?" Knowing they had more shopping to do and Athena's concert coming up very soon, Ako and Iko shook their heads. "We have few more things to do," Ako told her. Iko added, "Will be back before 9 for party." And with that, the two bounded away, hearing Mem say something about the station being so weird. Weird? It was just kitty-tastic!
6:18 P.M., Galactic Standard Time
Ako and Iko bounded onto the bridge, using the teleporter to take them there, their DNA so close to their parents' and older 'other selves' the DNA. Peering around the bridge, which was empty - surprisingly - they pounced onto the captain's chair and held each other as it spun around in circles, giggling. Unknown to them Aya had stepped out to deal with a problem with the bridge not sending out proper signals to the hanger crews, which should have only taken a brief moment so Aya could return within a few minutes, but the signal was being stubborn today. And with everyone else off for the holidays, and even Aya getting off in time for Athena's concert starting in 12 minutes, there was no one else left on the bridge, letting the two famfrit kids have the bridge to themselves.
"Commander Ako! To the weapons!" Iko ordered in a captainly voice and Ako saluted, bouncing onto the weapon commander's chair, spinning in it. Outside a large asteroid field was floating, with Suisen shipyards being constructed for ship construction. "Target enemy asteroid ship that is hiding!" she said, playing a game with her sister.
Ako saluted and grabbed the controls, peering to make sure to aim at one not listed in blue which she had learned last time they played 'save the universe' was an asteroid with materials the empire needed - they got fussed at real good. This time she targetted one that was blinking red with 'unknown signature' since red was not blue. "Enemy targetted!"
Iko leaned back in the large seat that was much too big for her, basically engulfing her, and her hands barely could rest on the arm rests with the button controls. She stretched and tapped a few buttons, authorization weapon fire and the bridge dooted letting the bridge crew know the weapons were armed. "Weapons are armed, Commander Ako. Are you ready to fire?" she asked. Neither seemed to notice the asteroid they were targetting getting closer to the ship in a strange erratic behavior.
"Commander Ako ready to fire!" Ako acknowledged, twirling in her seat dramatically.
"Then---kitty fire!" Iko ordered. Ako nodded and grabbed the controls, pressing the fire button. Unknown to them the asteroid was an ancient monster creature that had fed on ships for generations, growing more and more powerful with each ship it ate; none had survived it before due to it's looking like an innocent asteroid, waiting it's time - sending out signals to confuse the ships to tasks that were mundane. It was now about to devour the prize gem of the universe, due to the PAX's size - the power it would attain would be unbeliveable. As it prepared to devour the PAX, it began to realize in horror that the PAX's weapons were glowing, then beams of light headed toward it. After so many years, so many hundreds of years, to end like this? What masterminds saw through it's deception that no one else had? What beings was it dealing with? It never knew, as it's world went bright, then black.
Ako turned to look over. "Enemy ship destroyed!" Ako said obliviously as the asteroid in space blew up into space dust.
"Good job, Commander Ako," Iko congratulated her sister, who beamed. They paused, hearing the teleporter activating and realizing Aya was returning. They quickly bounced down the stairs to 1B, unaware what they just did, and quickly headed for 1B's teleporter - they had a concert to catch. After all, today had been just another kitty day for them, just with Kittymas involved. Mew mew!