The morning sun glimmered off the surface of the narrow river beside them, its current slow and peaceful. Birds chirped overhead, and the familiar grassy slope ran alongside the sidewalk, dew still clinging to its blades. The road was quiet, save for two sets of footsteps echoing side by side.
And that was the weird part.
Hazuki and Ren. Walking. Together.
A duo never before seen in the wild.
From across the street, a pair of middle schoolers passed by on their bikes. One squinted at the sight.
"Yo... he's not following her now?"
"Stalker turned to boyfriend?"
"Joe Goldberg ahh rizz," one whispered with reverent horror, pedaling faster.
Ren's eye twitched. "I heard that."
Hazuki tried to suppress her laugh and failed miserably. "They've been saying stuff like that for years, haven't they?"
He sighed. "Yeah, but now I'm walking next to you, so it's somehow worse."
Inside Ren's backpack, the gremlin peeked its fuzzy head out through the half-zipped gap. Its blue eyes sparkled under the sunlight, taking in the morning scenery like a tourist on its first trip. Hazuki slowed her pace slightly to walk behind Ren, gently wiggling her fingers into the bag.
"Who's a little outlaw?" she whispered. The gremlin responded by swatting her fingers in glee.
Ren rolled his eyes. "Don't get it excited. I swear if it poops in there—"
"I'll buy you a new bag," she said, deadpan.
"A new spine would be more helpful at this point."
As they passed the grassy slope, Ren caught sight of the water glinting under the bridge. It was the same walk he took every day—same houses, same trees, same river—but it felt... different.
He glanced sideways at Hazuki laughing to herself, poking a literal illegal stowaway hidden in his bag.
Just yesterday, he'd walked this path trailing behind her, like some awkward NPC in a romance game.
Now?
Now they were cat-criminals in crime.
"All this from a single feline," he muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just thinking how the whole vibe of my life did a backflip overnight."
Hazuki smirked. "You're welcome."
Ren narrowed his eyes but couldn't deny it.
Ren cleared his throat. "Alright. So, we're gonna have to set a game plan for this furry chaos machine."
Hazuki perked up, walking beside him again. "Lay it on me."
"Until lunch, I'll handle it. Keep it in my bag, take it with me into class—"
Hazuki stopped in her tracks. "Wait, you're actually bringing it into lectures?"
Ren shrugged like it was no big deal. "You expect me to leave it in a locker?"
"I expected at least one functioning brain cell between us," she muttered. "The principal's going to throw you into detention so hard you'll be in next week."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "It's one day. It'll stay in the bag. Quiet. Peaceful. Besides wasn't this your idea in the first place?"
As if on cue, a muffled MREOWW came from the backpack, followed by frantic wriggling. The bag bulged ominously.
Hazuki facepalmed. "It's not even the first period and I already have regrets."
"You'll be fine," he said, adjusting the bag as it wiggled like something possessed. "People like you. Me? They just expect me to be weird."
"That's not a good thing, Ren."
"It's a survival tactic."
As they reached the school gate, the morning buzz of students filled the air. Groups gathered in circles, chatter bouncing off the courtyard walls, teachers trying to herd latecomers into order, and someone already tripping over their own shoelaces.
Hazuki and Ren paused just before parting ways. She turned to him with a smirk.
"Well, good luck in there," she said, reaching into the half-zipped backpack to gently pat the gremlin's head. "Try not to get arrested for feline smuggling."
Ren groaned. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"I believe in the gremlin. Not you."
With that, she waved and headed off toward her class building. Her navy skirt swayed with each step, and she disappeared into the sea of students like she belonged there—confident, easygoing, admired.
Ren, meanwhile, just stood there, grumbling to himself as he adjusted his backpack again.
"Ready to see modern high school for the first time, Commander Meowdachi?"
A muffled purr vibrated in response. Ren sighed, ducking behind a tree near the side path for a moment of privacy.
He slowly unzipped the bag and pulled out the tiny bundle of chaos. The black-furred menace looked up at him, its sapphire-blue eyes twinkling with unholy curiosity.
"No making a sound, okay?" Ren whispered, stern.
The gremlin blinked once. Then gave a small, solemn nod.
"…What even are you?" Ren muttered, sliding it back in gently. The purring didn't stop.
With a deep breath and existential dread coiling in his gut, he walked into the school building.
Alright. One day. Just one. No noise, no trouble—easy.
He entered his classroom, the usual low hum of morning conversation greeting him. Ren made his way to his seat near the window, dropped his bag gently beside the desk, and sat down, trying to look as normal and non-cat-carrying as possible.
Okay… good. He hasn't made a sound. This might actually—
"Yo, Ren!" came a voice from beside him, cutting his thoughts in half.
A hand slapped his shoulder as a tall, sleepy-looking guy dropped into the seat next to him. Tousled dark hair, hoodie under his uniform blazer, and the constant aura of perpetual late-night gaming.
"Morning, Ryuu," Ren muttered.
Ryuu Katsuragi. Ren's longest-suffering friend. Known for his zero sense of urgency and infinite ability to sleep through chaos. Popular for his somewhat good looks.
Ryuu raised an eyebrow. "You look tense. Did your anime waifu come to life and start judging your life decisions?"
"…Not exactly."
A muffled mrrrp came from the bag.
Ryuu stared.
Ren stared.
The gremlin did not care.
"…Bro. Please tell me your bag isn't possessed."
Before Ryuu could investigate further—or worse, unzip the bag—a sudden gust of silence swept through the class like someone had pressed the mute button.
A sharp clack echoed across the floor.
Heels.
Ren didn't even need to look. The air shifted, the posture of every boy in class corrected itself in unison, and Ryuu straightened like he'd just remembered he had a spine and walked away to his seat putting other matters aside for later.
"Everyone, to your seats," came the voice. Calm. Crisp. Lethal if disobeyed.
Mrs. Adler had arrived.
She strode in like she owned not just the room but the entire district. Early 30s, sleek black hair tied up in a bun that could slice egos, glasses perched on her nose like they were judging your GPA, and a fashion sense that belonged more on a runway than a chalkboard. Yet, her figure was a sight to behold. The "mommy" of the school, Mrs. Adler.
Every male student, save for Ren who had bigger (furrier) problems, subtly adjusted their tie.
Ren muttered under his breath, "Here we go…"
Mrs. Adler set her books down on the desk like she was dealing cards at a high-stakes poker game.
"We will begin with attendance. If your voice cracks when I call your name, don't come crying to me."
Ryuu leaned over and whispered, "She's terrifying and I love her."
Ren rolled his eyes, "Who doesn't?"
The bag shuffled beside Ren's leg. Mrrp.
Ren kicked it gently. "Not now, you little demon."
The attendance was going suspiciously smoothly. Ren dared to think maybe—maybe—he'd get through the day without disaster.
Mrs. Adler stood at the front, slicing through names with military precision.
"Katsuragi Ryuu."
"Here."
"Tanaka Mina."
"Present!"
"Akamatsu Ren."
Ren straightened his back. Just say "Here." Calm, collected, normal. He opened his mouth to speak—
"Meow."
Silence.
Dead, suffocating silence.
Ren blinked. No. No, no, no, no—
(Insert punisher meme).
The classroom collectively turned toward him like a horror movie scene. Every eye, every neck craned, every thought screaming what the hell was that.
Ren laughed nervously, hand behind his head as a single bead of sweat slid down. "Meow?"
Yes. He just tried to cover for it.
Yes. Out loud.
Mrs. Adler paused. She didn't even look up at first, only adjusted her glasses like she was zooming in to confirm the crime.
"Do you identify as a feline now, Ren?" she said without missing a beat. "Has the western trend of spirit animals finally claimed your soul?"
Someone snorted. That snort turned into a ripple of muffled laughter, mostly from the girls, while the boys looked betrayed by a national hero.
Ren Akamatsu. Cool guy. Star athlete. Mysterious loner. Possibly a furry?
"Here... Mrs. Adler," he said through gritted teeth, barely lifting his face from the desk he now wanted to sink into and die beneath.
Inside his bag, the gremlin purred in delight. Probably proud of its work. Probably already planning its next act of war.
Ren stared at the black leather of his bag.
"You and I are going to have words," he whispered.
Mrs. Adler continued with the roll call, not even acknowledging the chaos she left in her wake.
---
Ren stared out the window, dozing off into his usual sleepy trance. The sunlight felt warm on his face, the drone of Mrs. Adler's voice fading into a soft lullaby. Morning classes had always been like this for him—a blur of words and boredom.
He blinked lazily, side-eyeing Ryuu, who was staring at Ren's bag like it was about to sprout teeth. Again.
"It's not possessed," Ren muttered under his breath, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You're hallucinating."
Ryuu didn't answer. He just kept his gaze fixed on the slight twitch of the zipper flap. It was like the bag was breathing. Ren shook his head and turned back toward the window.
That little gremlin sure knows how to play with people.
Minutes passed. Maybe more. Mrs. Adler went on about something involving equations or the death of numbers—Ren couldn't care less. What struck him was the silence.
Too much silence.
His eyes narrowed. No meows. No rattling. No movement. He slowly craned his neck back to check on the bag—
Open.
His soul left his body.
NOPE.
Ren abruptly stood up, panic flashing through every nerve as he wildly scanned the classroom. Every head turned toward him at once.
Mrs. Adler didn't even look up from her book. "Is there something you need to ask, furry little Ren?"
Snorts. Giggles. Someone nearly choked.
Ren laughed nervously, rubbing his neck. "N-Nope. All good. Just… uh… stretching?"
His eyes darted—then locked. There. Behind Mrs. Adler. Creeping. Stealth mode. Blue-eyed black devil. Their gremlin, practically tip-toeing toward the classroom door with more finesse than a ninja assassin. Every student in the class had noticed the little gremlin by now.
Ryuu's eyes widened, about to point and shout—
"LOOK, A HELICOPTER!" Ren's voice broke through.
Everyone turned to the window.
There was no helicopter.
"I lied," Ren said, shooting finger guns.
More giggles. People were catching on. But still, no one said a word. They knew what he was doing. And to his shock—they were in on it. Ren would've been in trouble otherwise.
Every time someone who hasn't caught on tried to speak, Ren blurted something—
"DO YOU GUYS SMELL BURNT TOAST?"
Mrs. Adler rubbed her temples in frustration.
"What are you even shouting about, Ren?!"
The gremlin was now near Mrs. Alder's legs, sniffing near her heels. What a view through her skirt for the little gremlin. Heaven for him. But if he moved a step ahead, that heaven will be hell for Ren. Ren's eyes almost bulged out seeing the gremlin this close and he blurted out without thinking twice.
"MRS. ADLER, ARE YOU MARRIED?"
"What...?!" Mrs. Adler was bamboozled by the boldness of this young man as her cheeks flushed. One of the boys, someone who's very hard to get chuckle from, Ray, laughed and almost choked. Everyone else were the same. Pure chaos.
"I- I-" Mrs. Adler was left stuttering. Ren facepalmed, what was he even saying? Mrs. Adler while being flushed looked away.
Mrs. Adler was left stunned..."I- what...? Are you high Ren? Did you like...get on with some bad influence and took something...?" She looked down in pure disappointment as everyone laughed.
It was chaos. Pure, glorious, panicked chaos.
Behind Mrs. Adler, the gremlin zipped out the door with the grace of a thief escaping the Louvre. Ren exhaled. Victory. A small one, but he'd take it.
Mrs. Adler finally looked up, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Ren. What is going on with you today? You're usually quiet. Moody, yes. But not… whatever this is."
Ren stiffened. "Uh... I think my stomach's acting up. Might've been the curry bun from yesterday. Mind if I run to the washroom?"
She stared at him long and hard before sighing. "Go before you start meowing again. Last warning, if you blurt something out again like that it's you, me and the principal."
The class erupted into chuckles as Ren bolted for the door, before he walked out he joined his hands and showed gratitude to the classmates, also mentally praising every one of them for not ratting him out.
Ryuu leaned back on his chair, releasing the breath he'd been holding with a chuckle. "Okay. Not possessed. Just cursed."
Ray still not over the incident couldn't help but mutter, "What an eventful morning."
People were still giggling and whispering amongst themselves. This is going to be an iconic memory they'll look back on in some Class Reunion in the future.
---
Cut to Ren, dashing through the hallway, eyes darting left and right like a frantic father searching for a runaway toddler.
"Where are you, you little demon?" he whispered sharply. "If you're peeing on someone's shoes, I'm mailing you to Siberia."
Ren sprinted through the school corridors, shoes squeaking against the polished floors, backpack half-zipped and flapping behind him like a cape. His heart thudded not from the exertion—but from the sheer dread of what that little furball might be up to.
Where did he go—no, WHERE COULD HE GO?
The school was a fortress of rules, and that gremlin was a battering ram against every one of them.
As he rounded the corner near the second-year classrooms, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure through the narrow glass window on a classroom door—Hazuki. She looked up just in time to catch him mid-sprint, the panic etched into his face. She raised an eyebrow and then smiled slyly, amused. Of course, she knew exactly what was going on.
Ren ducked his head and bolted past.
He turned sharply again—and froze.
There it was.
At the foot of the science lab door, pawing at the glass like a small, innocent demon from the void. The gremlin looked up at him with those glowing, too-blue eyes, then meowed. Loudly.
"Shhh—shut up, shut up," Ren hissed, tiptoeing toward him. "You're gonna get me suspended—possibly executed!"
The gremlin tilted its head. Then—without warning—it darted into the science lab through the legs of a confused student exiting with test tubes.
Ren cursed under his breath.
Of course it's the science lab.
He peered into the room.
Hazard signs. Fragile instruments. Chemical solutions. Breakables. Expensives.
It was a wonderland of destruction.
He slowly crept in, as he saw the Lab teacher's back from afar, this was the perfect opportunity to sneak in. Ren ducked behind a counter.
There—under a table, nibbling on something suspicious-looking—was the gremlin.
Ren reached out carefully, whispering, "Come on buddy, let's not blow up the school. Not on a Tuesday."
But as his fingers brushed its fur, the gremlin darted again—this time leaping up onto a desk, skidding across it, sending a model of a molecular structure flying in slow-motion.
Ren gasped.
The gremlin landed. The model didn't.
Crash!
"Who's there?!" the lab teacher shouted, voice sharp.
Ren instinctively grabbed the cat and dove behind a shelf of specimen jars, his hand slapping over the gremlin's mouth. "Don't. You. Dare."
For once, the gremlin obeyed. It blinked.
After a tense silence, the lab teacher muttered something about "bloody rats again," and turned back to his business.
Ren didn't wait.
Clutching the cat to his chest like a hostage negotiator in retreat, he bolted out the door and didn't stop until he was outside the building, wheezing, his blazer clinging to his back with sweat.
The gremlin licked his wrist.
"You're lucky you're cute," Ren said, collapsing onto a bench on the campus. "You're not a cat. You're a crime."
He heard footsteps approaching. Ren turned.
Hazuki walked toward him, a handkerchief in her pocket and a knowing look on her face.
"Washroom break," she said with a shrug, glancing down at the gremlin. "He ran, didn't he?"
Ren groaned. "Straight into the science lab. I think he almost made mustard gas."
Hazuki blinked. Then snorted. "You're unbelievable. Not even the second lecture yet."
Ren looked at her, then at the cat now happily nuzzling against his chin. "I'm not the one who brought a terrorist into my house."
She smiled. "Fair."
They walked back toward the school building, a silent truce forming between them and their feline menace.
"Should we finalise it's name? We made a list yet never named it."
"Anything but Tomogatchi the third works from that list."
"Oh shut it, that actually sounds cool rather than the same ol' Kuro or stuff!"
Ren sighed. "Well whatever, let's decide that later. I'll head back or Mrs. Adler will be mad."
Hazuki gave a half-hearted laugh. "Sure sure."
Ren picked up the Gremlin and looked into its eyes.
"I'll be putting you in my pocket, if you do anything that can get us caught then...no milk for your black ass after we get home."
As if scared of losing its precious milk the gremlin nodded profusely. Hazuki giggled at its reaction.
"You can be cruel sometimes."
"I am gentle most times." Ren huffed.
"Really~?" She put her fingers on her lips and looked at Ren in a teasing way.
"Gentle men are mostly the type but I prefer a bit more bold— no, rough is the right word~."
Ren's face turned pure red at the implications.
"Wha-"
Hazuki giggled at his predicament and walked away waving.
"See yaa in break, gentleman~!"
Ren stood frozen, steam coming out of his ears.
That idiot!
He shook his head before taking a deep breath and put the Gremlin in his pocket, surprisingly it fit in. He made his way back to his classroom, Hazuki's sudden remark still in his mind.
Why would she say something like that? That's very out of characteristic for someone like her even if she's at times straightforward. I have a feeling she's just toying with me...
But again... that's very unlike her too.
Ugh!
He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.
Forget it, I have more important things to worry about.
He thought to himself as he looked at the black tail wiggling out of his right pocket of the school uniform pant.
This is going to be a long day...