[Kodai]

Valdemar was quite pleased with himself, once he had gotten Aya to hold him properly. She might not have known how to do it initially, but she was a quick learner and wasn't afraid to ask if she had gotten the steps right. "Ja, exactly so," he'd said each time until she had him gently but firmly, petting him around the neck. So nice! Now the situation only needed to be explained and they could all move on.

...or not.

Human social conventions were still a bit difficult to grasp for the faerie creature (considering they tended to change too damn much), which, coupled with his naturally snarky personality, meant that he often got into trouble with people. Still, he was quite taken aback when Tsuneo paled visibly, looking more hurt and confused than anything else. Whoops. It looked like this man didn't have the right mentality for handling sarcasm; Valdemar had expected a reaction more akin to Takumi's than... whatever this was. He hadn't intended the threat to be taken so seriously; only seriously enough so that the men would take him seriously and follow him back to the bookstore.

That intention had clearly blown up in his face, however. He knew very well that his words could be biting to the point of being hurtful sometimes, but usually that only happened with Julian and then only very rarely. ...Come to think of it, usually he only spoke with that man in the first place. And he had a high tolerance for Valdemar's sass, built up from years of communication.

Ugh. Maybe he'd been cooped up inside too long.

Valdemar gave a raised eyebrow (as much as a cat could manage, anyway) as Takumi finally called him out, but before he could say anything, Tsuneo had somewhat diverted his attention by telling him not to use strong language in front of the child. He had to give the man credit; despite being as upset as he was right now, he was still thinking about the girl.

"I am not his enemy," he began to say, but suddenly his audience was no longer the two men. He was looking into the green eyes of the girl. Aw, no, he'd upset her, too? And as a younger child, she was even more prone to misunderstanding sarcasm.

"I was going to give it back," he replied, an injured sort of tone in his voice. "Just, I did not think he was taking me so seriously. That man was not." He turned his head in Takumi's direction and stuck out his tongue before turning back to Aya. "But now he is taking me the most seriously! He is thinking I have threatened him, ja?" His ears lowered a little. "Well. Maybe that is so, but not truthfully! Only if he did not follow me, that would happen. But if he will follow me, then I will take him to the shop and he will get his book and everything will be good, ja? Okay? Understanding now?"

While Valdemar explained himself to the child, the thief nodded vaguely at Tsuneo's affirmation that the cat was talking. "Oh, so it's not a hallucination... Ha ha, that's good..." Despite his words and his smile, he didn't look relieved. In fact, he seemed a bit edgy. "I think I'll just, u-um, take a nap or something while you all sort this out, a-and maybe the cat will have gone away by then... ha ha.."

[Jaykobell]

Aya wasn't a quiet child, and not the type to really speak up, let alone yell. Like most children, though, she had the tendency to speak her thoughts when she felt they were necessary. In this case, she felt bad for Tsuneo, and she genuinely thought it wasn't very nice for the cat to make fun of him and to threaten to keep his important book. She'd seen what Tsuneo could do firsthand, and in order to help other ninjas like her, he needed the book! The cat was mean for using it against Tsuneo.

While she felt determined that she was right, Takumi was convinced those little childish words wouldn't do anything to put the cat in his place. Conniving and manipulative as he sounded, it was unlikely that he would take the words of a little girl seriously.

Tsuneo didn't have much of an opinion on the matter, the day starting to really run his patience dry. His mentor had been furious over the loss of the book; he'd been disappointed in himself; all those shop owners throughout the day had been either unpleasant or unsettling; and finally, Takumi had been his usual self, snapping at everything that happened and at everything Tsuneo said. The Archivist wasn't one to get nervous and to snap back at others, but he'd noticed that his patience was starting to get surprisingly short at times. This was one of those times, and if the cat continued on that path, the Archivist was ready to give up and go home. He'd vented his anger at the thief, and so now his mind and heart didn't feel like doing that all over again.

This already topsy-turvy situation got all the more surprising as the cat changed his tune after hearing Aya's words, much to the surprise of both adults. Takumi got particularly agitated when the cat stuck out his tongue at him, and had the animal not been in Aya's arms, the toxic ninja knew that the cat would've gotten a nice, hard greeting from his foot. Would he be so cocky after getting hit right in the guts, Takumi wondered.

Tsuneo's face got some of its color back when he heard the cat's words. So he wasn't going to keep the book? He had just been jesting this whole time? And not only that, he was willing to guide them to the store, and he was basically saying that they would give Tsuneo back the book? "Would you?" he asked the cat, smiling sheepishly, and his tiredness definitely showed. "Aya says the truth when she says that the book is very important to me. I need it to do my work," he explained, and he hoped that would be enough to convince the cat that he would, indeed, follow him if it meant getting the book back.

He even bothered to take the bag of money from Takumi that he'd thrown earlier; the same one he'd taken back from the thief, who still laid on the ground, immobile. "I even have this one's money, which I assume he got for the book. If you're willing to give me back the book, I'll also give you back the money." He had no idea if this cat was the owner of the bookstore, but at this point, it sounded very possible. Regardless of whether or not he was the owner, Tsuneo figured exposing his good intentions would earn him a better relationship with the cat.

Aya seemed happy that the cat had changed his tune, and she hugged him tightly after he apologized and promised to give Tsuneo's book back to him. "I'm really happy you understand," she told the cat as she started to pet him again. "Nice cat," she added as she snuggled against him as if he were a plush toy. So soft! She really wanted a cat, now. "Daddy, can we keep him?" For all she knew, he was just a very intelligent cat who knew his way around here, and that didn't mean that he was owned by anybody.

The whole conversation was already out of this world, but Takumi lost it when the child started asking for the cat. "Uh, no," he replied condescendingly, his face pulling a grimace at the mere thought of owning a cat. "Absolutely not." He already had to take care of this kid, and he wasn't about to get even more responsibilities dumped onto his shoulders. "And I'm not following this thing anywhere," he added, this time turning to Tsuneo. "Are you trusting this thing, too?" He'd seen how that cat had stuck out his tongue earlier: he didn't trust him one bit, that cocky furball!

"You don't have to come," Tsuneo said flatly, and his answer actually left Takumi blinking in surprise. "If he says he can show me the way, then I'll follow him. I have to get the book back, and this cat's words match up with what this one—" he looked down to motion to the thief, "—said earlier. The cat interrupted him earlier, so I'm sure they're talking about the same place." And if Takumi would continue to be unpleasant and determined to go against the animal, then Tsuneo could happily send him back to the shrine on his own. Tsuneo almost had his book back in his hands, where it belonged, and he wasn't about to let the opportunity go.

"I'll gladly follow you," Tsuneo replied as he turned to Aya and the mysterious cat, this time, "if you just give me one second," he added, and then he turned around yet again, but this time to focus on the thief. He kneeled down next to him, and once again, he jabbed the ninja's limbs at a few specific points. The numbness he'd inflicted was going to dissipate soon, anyway, but now the ninja would be free to go right away.

"I hope this taught you something, at least," Tsuneo told the thief, but whether or not he would listen was yet to be seen. He would realize that his limbs were working again soon enough, and if he had no desire to get lectured, the thief could escape immediately. "I'm letting you go, but ninjas from any other family wouldn't be so kind to you." It was a miracle this ninja hadn't been killed yet, if this was an activity he practiced often. Or maybe this had been a one-time thing? Regardless, Tsuneo hoped the ninja would be more mindful from now on.

With that said and done, and he got up and turned back to the cat again. "I'm ready whenever you are. Please show me where the bookstore is," he asked, just as he turned to Takumi slightly. "We'll both follow."

Takumi glanced in Tsuneo's direction, arms crossed in defiance, but all he did after a short moment of deliberation was to sigh and roll his eyes with exasperation. "Don't blame me if this thing mauls you when you have your back turned."

[Kodai]

Things turned around for the better — for everyone — when Valdemar explained his true intentions. He had hoped that they would understand once he had clarified his words, and it appeared that they did. Well, at least two of them. Takumi still didn’t look convinced, but that was probably due to getting a teasing tongue in his direction. Valdemar was going to have so much fun with him, that was for sure.

Tsuneo, on the other hand, was showing his relief — literally. The color in his face began to return a bit, and he smiled. He did look tired as well, but that was probably due to having a very stressful day.

“Oh, ja, we will give it back,” he answered in confirmation. “Well. If it is your book really, we will.” Valdemar gave a sly smile, but it quickly changed into a more confident, reassuring grin. “But I am very sure it is! And Julian will hear that too. So no problem.” Curious, the not-cat watched as Tsuneo moved toward the other ninja and retrieved something. From the jingle, he guessed that it was the money the thief had been paid for the book, and Tsuneo quickly confirmed that. “Ah, ja! That is gut. Though, I will say, Julian will have you keep it, eh? He is a foolish man that way.” A sort of exasperated yet fond expression passed over his face. “But you may try to return that, anyway.”

Ooh, a hug! And more petting! Oh yes, things had turned around quite nicely! Purring again, Valdemar snuggled back into Aya, very much content. Well, until the girl asked if she could keep him and Takumi gave her attitude. Valdemar obviously knew that the Chemist didn’t have much love for him, but at least he could be less blunt with the child. He was about to pipe up, but Tsuneo took the words right out of his mouth — he didn’t need to come. It wasn’t his book, after all. The other ninja could just as well go home. Ignoring Takumi for now, he was about to start leading the way when the Archivist said he needed a second. Did he? What did he still need to do?

That question was quickly answered as the man kneeled down next to the thief again, prodding him in what seemed to be very specific areas. The thief jerked in surprise and nervousness, having tried to not pay attention to what was going on anymore, but once he realized that Tsuneo wasn’t killing him, he relaxed. Well, as much as he could, anyway. Blinking, he listened as the Archivist warned him about bothering other ninjas, simply nodding numbly as the words entered and exited his head. Not that he was purposefully not listening; he just wasn’t in the proper state of mind to retain information. The talking cat, on top of being caught, had really made him a mess.

“U-Uh-huh,” he responded blankly, remaining in place on the ground. He’d eventually get up, now that his limbs weren’t feeling like sacks of bricks anymore. Just. Not right now.

With that action done, Valdemar nodded at Tsuneo, though it seemed that Takumi couldn’t help make a snarky comment. “Heh, you do not have to come, like he says earlier,” he scoffed at the Chemist. “Then I will not have a chance to maul you, eh?” Turning back to the Archivist, he smiled. “Ja, okay, we go now! First, we get down, eh? This way, off this side.” He indicated the side closest to them, without even bothering to get down out of Aya’s arms.

Hey, the girl wanted to hold him, right? Who was he to stop that?