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Chapter 2 - Bath Event Triggered

An hour later,

Lucy placed the black cat beside a bowl of milk as she sat against the wall, stretching her tired legs. 

Her room was small, worn-out, and packed with books, job application papers, and half-opened instant meal packets. 

"I got fired again today," The curvy-figured girl muttered, looking down at her knees. "Ralph said I wasn't fast enough…that I didn't smile enough." She said, her face almost too sad.

Still wondering if this man named Ralph was her boss, Kaito looked at her quietly, still contemplating if he should fall to the sudden temptation of licking the bowl in front of him or not.

All that…and yet there was something in her voice that reminded him of…himself.

She smiled weakly and leaned down to pat his head. "I found you on my way back home, strewn across a corner…abandoned.

That was when I decided I would take care of you, my kitty cat." 

"I'll name you…Mochi." The girl decided, giving the black cat a look.

"…you look like one." 

Kaito wanted to protest. 

'Mochi?! I'm not a snack!' He complained.

But he couldn't say anything, just meow. 

And just before he could sound his denial of a meow, Lucy scratched behind his ears gently. 

'It feels…kind of nice.' Kaito felt his entire being melting as the girl's small nails rubbed against the back of his head. 

"I hope you don't leave me too," she whispered, all of a sudden. 

"Everyone else did."

The boy did not know what to do. He was still trying to make sense of everything happening around him. 

But for the first time in years, someone looked at him—really looked at him…like he mattered. 

Even if he was just a cat now…somewhere deep inside him, a strange thought occurred: 

"Could there actually be a reason why I was reincarnated as a cat?"

***

Two hours later…

Kaito lay flat on the bed, legs stretched out like a tiny black loaf.

His blue eyes stared at the ceiling fan above him—the same model that had mocked him to death.

It spun slowly now, almost like it was enjoying the show.

"This is fine," he muttered in his head, his tail twitching.

Sure, he was a cat. Sure, he had just been told the world was going to end. And sure, he had to build a cult to stop it.

That was just a normal day in a cat's life, right?

Right?!?

"What the hell am I even supposed to do? Hand out tuna-flavored flyers?" Kaito groaned, burying his face into the pillow.

Just then, the door creaked open.

Kaito glanced at her.

The girl looked drained.

But not sad. More like...defeated.

She wasn't even crying. Just walking towards the bed, lying by his side as she looked at him faintly.

That feeling, Kaito realised, he knew it damn too well.

Maybe that's why he didn't move.

Didn't meow.

Didn't even blink.

He knew what it was like to lose and be too numb to care.

The next few minutes continued with silence as she sat up again with a sigh, rubbing her face, looking at the dumb, black cat.

"You stink." The girl said, making the boy cat almost feel his cat hairs raising in trepidation.

[Warning Detected: Follower Intends to Initiate Cleansing Ritual (a.k.a. BATH).]

"No way," Kaito realised, his ears tilting back slowly.

"Not happening."

The boy saw Lucy standing up and walking outside the room as her figure disappeared.

Kaito almost felt sweat form against his forehead as he willed his tiny cat legs to hop off the bed as he took three slow steps back, and turned to flee.

"You're not getting away this time," Lucy stood against the door, grinning like she'd just won the lottery.

In her hand was a tiny, soft baby towel. It was sky blue and had a duck on it.

Kaito's ears twitched. "Bath?" he thought, suddenly wide awake. "No. No. No bath."

Before he could roll away dramatically, Lucy had already scooped the black kitten up.

"Let's get you nice and clean, little Mochi," she said with a voice far too cheerful for what she was planning.

Kaito let out a weak meow of protest as he was carried into the bathroom.

The walls were white. The floor was white. Everything felt like a scary dentist's office, but wetter.

Lucy placed him gently on the closed toilet seat and turned on the shower tap.

Water splashed out with a hiss, steaming slightly. 

[Warning: Bath Event Triggered.] 

"Wait. WAIT. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Kaito wanted to scream. But all he could manage was:

"Meowwwwwwwwwwww!"

Then, to his sheer and absolute horror…she started undressing—

Her oversized T-shirt slipped off first, leaving her in a simple black bra and a pair of snug shorts.

The girl's pale skin almost glowed under the harsh bathroom light, and the red of her lips stood out like cherries on a cake.

Kaito looked away instantly, his whiskers twitching as the boy saw the faint outline of her boobs pressing against her laced bra.

"I am NOT looking. This is a crime. This is a crime."

Lucy wasn't trying to seduce anyone, to be honest. She just didn't want to get her clothes wet while cleaning her 'pet cat'.

But to poor Kaito? This was like watching a drama he hadn't signed up for.

After his parents had suddenly disappeared when he was 17, the boy had lost all hope to live his life.

Emotions like sadness, happiness, and even anger had already started to become just like numb feelings for him.

And even the allure of going out with a girl had always seemed like a distant dream to the guy since he was an academic failure, and even though his good looks had attracted some girls' attention, one look at his sorry wallet and they all used to run far away from him.

If anything, the only time he had seen a girl's body was when the 'summer heat' used to get to his brain, and he had had to open his phone's incognito mode.

Just as he could think of the wonders of living in a high-tech world that offered its citizens things like 'incognito', Lucy's pale and curvy figure appeared in front of his eyes, making everything he had seen in his life as Kaito just dull 2d images.

The 19-year-old girl was literally the epitome of beauty he had ever seen as she called out to him slowly, stepping into the shower area. "Stay still, Mochi!"

He didn't move.

He didn't breathe, how could he when such a view was in front of his eyes?

"I'm being assaulted," the guy realised again, staring at the floor with wide, empty eyes.

"I'm a victim—"

The thick-thighed girl reached out to him, picking his body up with both hands as she held him up in the air like some soggy sacrifice.

That's when Kaito's eyes dropped downward.

And he saw them.

His cat jewels.

Dangling innocently with no dignity or shame.

Kaito's soul left his body.

[Warning: Refusing to obey your Owner may result in -5 Faith Points.]

The floating screen blinked in front of his face as Kaito blinked back.

"What the heck are Faith Points?! Why do I lose them for not bathing?! WHO MADE THIS SYSTEM?!"

He had no time to protest as Lucy pulled him close.

"Let's get you clean, my little Mochi!" And before he could even scream, she hugged him tight and stepped under the shower.

SPLASH.

Water hit his fur like tiny cold needles. His tail shooting straight up in horror.

"MeOOOOOOOOOW!"

Lucy laughed as she gently rubbed him with some cat body wash.

"You're so dramatic," she said.

Meanwhile, Kaito's brain was melting like wet cardboard.

"I used to be a man! A man with dreams! Now I'm being sponge-bathed by a sleepy part-timer in her underwear!"

The cat wailed, flailed, and eventually gave in, its legs dangling, dignity gone.

He had lost the battle. And the war.

But at least he didn't lose his 5 Faith Points.

Lol.

***

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