Adopting a Mute Scot

Kurose Shu, an organization traitor's handler.

In winter, she received her first assignment.

Her assignment had been shoved roughly into a cardboard box. He was thin, with black hair falling to his ears. His eyes were as sharp as blades, his body tightly bound in tape, and the exposed skin covered with unmistakable red marks.

Her superior said he had been drugged and couldn't speak, and that he had no strength in his limbs. Otherwise, he would be an extremely troublesome fellow.

But Kurose Shu thought he was just a cat who happened to be exceptionally handsome...

And a cat this handsome could be forgiven for having a bit of a temper.

That was what Kurose Shu thought the third time she fended off the man's attempt to kill her.

She'd completely categorized her assignment, Mao Su, as a cat, and realized the problem was hers. She changed how she treated him, putting away the terrifying gadgets and the medicine he hated. She thought it might bring her closer to the cat...

But one snowy night, the cat climbed out the window and ran away without a second thought.

Devastated, she went out into the snow to look for him.

The cat wasn't hard to find. He was wearing the custom collar she'd made for him, with a tracking device hidden inside...

Though the cat didn't know that.

But before she found him, her superior suddenly sent her a location. It matched the signal from the cat's tracker...

When she arrived, the cat was lying in a pool of blood, his breathing faint.

The cat she couldn't bear to hurt with even a fingertip. Her cat. Her cat.

Her superior agreed to give her another chance to manage him. After all, the new drug was at a critical stage of development, and live test subjects were precious.

But the chance wasn't free. Kurose Shu would have to take the cat's punishment for him.

The cat, breathing weakly, closed his eyes when he heard that. He didn't think Kurose Shu would...

"Okay."

But Kurose Shu answered just like that.

Half a month later, she finally returned home, with the stench of blood clinging to her.

She meant to wash away the smell before feeding the cat, but as soon as she came in, the cat stayed close to her, his worry impossible to hide. Only after she went into the bathroom did the cat's ears turn red, and he hurriedly ran off, belatedly flustered.

Kurose Shu: A whole half-month of pain for one moment of concern from the cat. This is...

A huge bargain!

So naturally, she didn't tell the cat that the blood on her wasn't hers.

The cat began to care about her. He no longer bristled and lashed out with sharp claws whenever she came close...

He gradually accepted her touch, too.

Their relationship grew more peaceful, until they could sit down and have dinner together.

Her superior hadn't contacted her in too long, and hadn't even asked about the new drug.

Kurose Shu and the cat both thought their days would go on peacefully like this...

Until another snowy night, when a bullet pierced her chest and the little home she shared with the cat was set on fire.

She didn't have time to say goodbye to the cat, who'd gone out to buy flowers. All she left him was a corpse with its skull crushed...

And three of her own teeth.

The cat probably wouldn't be sad...

That was what she thought as her consciousness faded.

The organization was destroyed. Its remaining records were burned in a self-destruct operation, and all the people involved were killed.

At last, the undercover agent returned to the protection of sunlight and cherry blossoms.

Officer Morofushi felt someone watching him.

No threat at all, and even... a strange sense of relief...?

He frowned and followed that gaze, only to end up at a dental hospital.

"We can't disclose patient information."

"She's a criminal suspect."

Who says abandoning a cat isn't a crime? Officer Morofushi heard the doctor beside him add, "Oh, that criminal really did a number on herself... Three teeth, pulled out by her own hand..."

He took a deep breath and decided he ought to think carefully before going back to her. Their relationship hadn't been healthy before. You could even call it twisted...

But that thought fell apart when he heard she planned to get another cat.

Guys, I picked up another cat.

Even Kurose Shu, who was in hiding after faking her death, couldn't turn away a cat who was gravely injured.

I'll send him away once he gets better.

That was what Kurose Shu had originally planned.

But the cat started leaning against her.

But the cat started kissing her fingertips.

But the cat started... How did he end up sleeping beside her? And why was he forcibly prying her mouth open with his fingers, then finding the teeth she'd just had replaced with such precision...?

His gaze was becoming harder and harder to withstand. When his large hand gripped her wrist without giving her a choice, she finally understood.

The cat was angry. Angry that she'd abandoned him, angry that she hadn't trusted him, angry that she... wanted to get a new cat.

From then on, the cat only showed his possessiveness to her.

- You can't pick up a cat, treat it well, and then abandon it.

- The cat will be sad. When he sees you again, he won't let go with his claws.

- He might even leave his mark on you.

* Handler of organization traitors × organization traitor

* Sweet romance (certainly)

* Faked death, yes. Lots of romance once their identities are revealed, yes.

Theme: Saving others and saving yourself