Dedicated to my sister, who forced me to write this.
Roxas was never proud of his size. Granted, he was still a kitten, but constantly being surrounded by cats three times his size didn't make it better. The girl who took care of the 13 cats always made sure to play with him, but the second another cat would appear he would bolt, not wanting to become their target. More than once he had been the subject to another's bullying; whether for dominance, food, or just because they could. Their caretaker tried to protect him, but when she was gone he was fair game. The only thing keeping him from constantly being a mess of spit and ripped fur was his ability to hide in small cracks.
It didn't matter if he puffed up his fur; the others would smack him down with a simple paw swipe. Most of them made sure not to draw blood, but on the few off times one did, their caretaker would punish the attacker. She always seemed to know who did it, even if she wasn't around (which she never was) when it happened. All of the cats knew that she adored the fluffy blond kitten, and would protect him from any harm if she had to. That was probably another reason why several of them hated him, but others thought that the novelty would wear off once he grew up like it did with the previous kittens.
It quickly became obvious to Roxas which cats to avoid and which ones to stay with: Larxene was frequently subjected to fits of rage that she loved to take out on him, Saix hated him for reasons unknown, Zexion, even though he was the second-youngest, was cold to almost all of the other cats and too cryptic to understand, Marluxia flat out scared him, Xemnas was the leader, which obviously meant that the measly kitten at the bottom shouldn't dare come near him, Xaldin was less of a cat and more like those horrid beasts that their caretaker used to get around town, and Vexen was insane. He always muttered about human objects and tried to mess with them.
However, there are always two sides to a coin. Just like there were cats who Roxas knew better than to even look at, there were also ones who were helpful and friendly to him. Axel was the main one, having took it upon himself to defend the poor scrap of fluff from the others. Roxas didn't know – no, he couldn't care less, why the older, stronger cat helped him. He had someone to watch out for him since he was too little to do it himself, and that was good enough.
None of the other cats were as friendly to him as Axel was, but there were still others who treated him nicely. On the rare occasion he saw Demyx when the older cat wasn't asleep, he was kind. Luxord, while being confusing and vague, was polite and avoided attacking him. Lexaeus, while being another intimidating monster of a cat, knew better than to try to attack the poor kitten. A simple misplaced paw step could potentially end in cute little guts matted in blond fur all over the clean floor. Lastly, there was Xigbar, who was too caught up in his own world of insulting the other, more important cats to care about the newest addition to their 'family.'
So the kitten, knowing this, set out on a mission to cause as little trouble as possible. He learned what areas of the house to avoid and when. As he trotted through the humongous hallway, he made sure to stay several steps away from the open door leading to the girl's bedroom. Surely Marluxia would be there; reigning over the room by sleeping on the bed. Roxas didn't care much for the height and authority the bed brought; he couldn't get to it. The sheets didn't hang low enough for him to climb up, and he wasn't skilled enough to jump up.
"Aha! Found you!" With a mew of surprise, he was lifted off the floor and soon found himself belly-up in the caretaker girl's arms. She smiled down at him, gently scratching behind an oversized ear in an attempt to stop the glare he was giving her. "Come on Roxie! I have a surprise for you!"
He hated that nickname. It made him seem even cuter and even cuddlier than he already was.
He could only watch from her arms as she trotted back down the hall, the opposite way he was going. He hated how he bounced up and down with each of her steps. Granted, he did like the attention and he did like being picked up, but sometimes it got on his nerves.
They went into a room, and the girl and used her hand that wasn't carrying the blond kitten to shut the door. Setting him down gently on the floor, she gave him a mischievous smile before walking away and rooting through some shelves. He watched her, dreaming of the day when his legs would be powerful enough to jump to the top of the shelves. It looked like it would be so much fun up there, darting between the various objects and exploring it.
The girl soon returned, holding a bag with an oddly sweet smell coming from it. It wasn't like meat or milk (the other cats were crazy; milk was delicious), but something odd and foreign to his senses. She crouched down until she was not a giant towering over him, but to where he could see her face. He rarely saw it, but he was always happy when he did. The long red fur, while not exactly the same shade, reminded him a lot of Axel. She always looked so sweet and gentle.
She opened the bag, instantly making the smell stronger which made him sneeze, though she didn't seem to notice. She set the bag down next to him and waited, watching him with a critical eye.
Roxas shrunk back slightly. She was expecting the kitten to do something, but he had no clue what. Looking over at the bag, he figured that she probably wanted him to investigate it, so he slowly crept over to it, carefully putting one paw in front of the other like his life depended on it. When he got to it, he sneezed again, making the girl giggle. The smell overpowered his nostrils, making him unable to smell anything but whatever was inside the bag. He trotted away from it, giving the bag and whatever was inside it a distasteful glare.
His caretaker clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. "Bad kitten! You're supposed to like the catnip!" The kitten shrunk back and stared at her, hoping to get her to understand that he was sorry. Thankfully, she did, and with a small giggle, picked him up and cuddled him in her arms. "Oh, you're just too young, Roxie. It's okay," she said cheerfully. Then, without even giving him enough time to glare at her for calling him Roxie, she picked him up and dropped him into the bag.
Roxas couldn't breathe in the sea of green flakes; the smell, while before strong but tolerable, now choked him. Even though his head was above the sea of flakes, he still couldn't breathe. The kitten mewled in protest, hoping that she would be able to hear him and get him out.
It seemed like his entire life was wasted trying to survive inside of the bag, even though, in real time, it was quickly over. A warm hand grabbed him and pulled him out, setting him down on the floor. He didn't know whether to thank the girl for getting him out or hiss at her for putting him in there in the first place.
He didn't have time to figure that particular dilemma out, because before he knew what was happening, he was picked up again. This time she held him a little farther away from her body, not cuddling him close like she usually did. Probably because she didn't want the green bits on her.
The green flakes stubbornly clung to his fur, but that didn't bother him nearly as much as the smell did. It burrowed into his nostrils, making him sneeze uncontrollably. "How cute!" The girl holding him remarked, giggling each time he sneezed.
His heart started racing when she left the room and entered the hallway only to have Larxene at her feet, gazing up at him oddly. For once, she looked happy to see him. The girl walked away from her, but the blond cat kept following her. "Kitties!" She yelled, loud enough to echo through the entire house, "come here!" His heart beat even faster than before as he frantically tried to figure out what was going to happen. It must have something to do with the green stuff on him, but why?
Looking down, he noticed that Larxene was looking extremely happy, but not in a good way. She looked crazed, even more than normal, as if something else had taken her over. He felt scared and anxious; was he supposed to act like Larxene was because of the flakes?
He then concluded that the flakes were scary things that he will never go near again.
The other cats had formed a small circle around the girl's feet, moving with her as she walked. All 12 of the others were there, even Xemnas. Every single cat shared the same crazed look. He didn't want the girl to put him down. Anything but that; he didn't want to know what the others were planning to do to him.
Roxas squeaked in fear as the girl set him down and stepped away from the group, crouching down and watching from a few feet away. He mewled again, trying to convince her to take him to safety. She stayed where she was, and even started laughing. He growled at her, which due to his age, was more of a squeak.. The girl giggled and started cooing at him, telling him how cute he was.
"Catnip..." Confused, he turned around and saw Larxene, staring at him with that odd gaze she shared with the others. She had emerged from the group and was steadily approaching him, like she was stalking a toy. He looked around for a way to escape but the others had surrounded him in a circle. He wasn't skilled enough at jumping to get over them, and there were no gaps he could slip through in between bodies, so he was effectively trapped.
Having found himself backed into a corner with no way to get out, Roxas decided that the only thing left to do was act menacing, even if he was surrounded and one of the scariest cats in the entire house was coming towards him. His fur rose on end, puffing up and making him seem twice as big. He hissed with all of his might, though in the end he only jumped up and gave some weak spit that wasn't anywhere near as frightening as a hiss. He was the one who made it and he could barely hear it. The caretaker girl burst out into laughter.
It didn't deter Larxene at all; she still pounced at him ferociously, rendering him unable to move. He froze, realizing that she wasn't attacking him.
She was licking his fur. Larxene, the violent, crazy cat of the house, was gently licking his side.
It must be the green stuff...she called it catnip. The catnip was doing this to the others; that's why they were going crazy. That's why Larxene was licking it off of him. It make them crazy, and they liked it. He was just too young to be affected by it.
He had to admit, it wasn't that bad. Larxene was being nice for once, and he could actually get used to something like this. She was surprisingly light for being so much bigger than him, and she was helping to get the overpowering smell off of him.
The group surrounding them mostly stayed in one spot. Occasionally a cat would stray out of the circle, only to be greeted with a ferocious snarl from Larxene. They would usually retreat with their tail between their legs, or an angry growl.
She shifted her position slightly, moving one paw and slamming it only to his tail. He yowled in pain, whipping his tail in an attempt to get her off of it. He heard a hiss, prompting both himself and Larxene to look towards the source of the sound.
It was Axel; ears flattened back and tail thrashing. He glared at Larxene and reached out, smacking the top of her head with a hiss. "Don't hurt him!" He spat, smacking her again with his paw.
Roxas saw the same crazed look in Axel, though compared to the others, it was toned down.
Larxene, in a sudden whiplash in mood, hissed and pounced on her attacker. They tumbled away in a mess of fur and flailing limbs. Roxas sat up and tried to look for another opening to get out, but the circle was sealed shut. And getting closer, he noted fearfully.
The other cats rushed him. He was bowled over by several of them knocking into him on accident. He was expecting claws to become unsheathed and hissing to be more prevalent, but besides the fight breaking out between Axel and Larxene and the voice of the girl trying to get them to stop, it was quiet. Now, instead of Larxene gently cleaning the catnip off of his fur, the others were attacking him and each other to get as much as they possibly could. He wasn't sure if every other cat had swarmed him, but there were certainly a lot.
He heard Demyx's (unfamiliar) meow from behind the group. "Hey! I want some catnip too!" He whined, and guessing by several of the cats suddenly hissing, he assumed Demyx had unsuccessfully tried to push his way into the mob of cats surrounding the kitten. With another whine, the hissing stopped. Roxas guessed that the unlucky cat had temporarily left.
Eventually he stopped struggling and complaining underneath all of the cats. There was only so much catnip stuck of him, and they had already gotten most of it off. He lied there, only snapping when one of them made him too uncomfortable, waiting for them to stop.
One cat finally realized that, after completely cleaning one side of the kitten, there was another side to him that was also covered in catnip. They stopped for a second to back up and let a few of the older cats paw at him until he rolled over. With a small protest, he did, finding out that the catnip had decided that it liked sticking to him more than it did the carpet. With renewed vigor, they attacked him again, eagerly lapping up the green flakes.
One by one, they slowly left, making the group that was around him smaller and smaller. Glad that his patience had been a good thing (and kept him from getting injured – besides Larxene stepping on his tail, he was fine), he kept still. It was pretty comforting, though he would never admit it. For all of the comfort, there was a lot of embarrassment.
After what felt like forever, only one cat was remaining: Zexion. Finally noticing that the others had left, he stepped off of the kitten to allow him to get up. Roxas jumped up, sticking his tail straight into the air, glad that he was actually able to stand again.
The older, mysterious cat (even though, at about eight months, he was the second youngest cat) looked at him with his usual cold, bored expression. His eyes were mostly stone, with only a slight bit of the odd look piercing the stone. "No more catnip," he said regretfully, sniffing the kitten. "But you still smell like it." He turned around and left, leaving Roxas to wonder why he had even said such an obvious thing in the first place.
Now he was finally able to get a good look at the room. The girl was gone, as were several of the other cats. Only a few of them remained, either grooming themselves or sleeping.
He needed to groom himself. In their frenzied hurry to get the catnip off of him, they had mussed his fur up horribly. Bits of blond fur stuck up in odd places, and some of the spittier cats had made his fur feel wet. He was about to start making himself look presentable again when a familiar cat bounded up to him.
"Roxas!" Demyx bounded up to him, stopping to circle the kitten. "Aww, there's no more catnip on you," he remarked sadly. He pushed past the scrap of fluff, stopping at where he was previously laying. He sniffed the ground, then after staring at it intensely, he dove down and buried his nose into it, gently chewing on the carpet. "Oooh it tastes like catnip!" He yelled happily, the purr seeping into his voice.
"Err..." Roxas watched as Demyx dug his muzzle deeper into the carpet, purring loud enough that the small cat could hear him from where he was standing. Rather than stand there and watch the older cat eat the flakes off of the floor, he left to go look for Axel, hoping that he wasn't in trouble. The girl hated it when the cats fought seriously. She would always scold them and lock them up in a room all by themselves.
He trotted down the hallway, noting that all of the other cats ignored him when he walked by. Inside of several of the rooms he saw the other cats, but no sign of bright red fur anywhere. His tail drooped down from its normal height, just low enough for the fur to brush against the carpet. If Axel was in trouble, it would be all his fault. The guilt was already starting to swell up within him.
At the end of the hallway, a door opened. The girl stepped out, the bright pink things she kept on her feet obscured by a mass of red fur. Roxas's tail shot up in the air. Axel wasn't in trouble! He ran to the red cat as the girl made sure to step over him as she walked off.
"Axel!" He meowed happily, nuzzling the side of the older cat. "You're okay!" He licked the blond kitten's head in reassurance.
"Yeah, I'm fine. We both got in trouble, but she decided to only lock up Larxene," Axel explained. Roxas was fine with that, since if Larxene smelled him while the catnip lingered on his fur, she would attack him again.
Looking up at his eyes, the kitten noticed that the crazy, glazed over look was gone. At least now he wouldn't get attacked for catnip. "How do I get the smell off of my fur?" He asked. "It's bugging me."
The red cat sniffed the air. "Yeah, it's pretty strong." He gently pushed the kitten with one paw, forcing him to move his paw to regain his balance.
He felt slightly uncomfortable, feeling the green eyes bore into him as he swiped his tongue over an unruly piece of fur in an attempt to get it to stay down. When it didn't, he sat down and looked up at Axel, hoping he would know what to do. Being the older cat, of course he'd be able to help.
So he did. Reaching down slightly, he started to smooth out the messed up fur, trying not to drag too much and hurt the kitten. Like Larxene, it was calming. He yawned, closing his eyes slightly and feeling a purr rumble within his throat. Feeling tired, he lied down while the older cat continued his job.
He was finding it hard to stay awake. He tried to fight the sleep nipping at the edge of his mind, but its influence grew too strong. He soon drifted off, letting the gentle rhythm of the tongue against his fur help lull him to sleep.
Axel, once he noticed that Roxas had fallen asleep, reached around and bit the scruff of his neck, lifting him into the air. He carried the sleeping kitten down the hall, looking for a good place to set him down. Entering one of the human's bedrooms, he noticed a rather large, comfy looking chair. He jumped onto it, gently setting the kitten down onto the soft cushion. Axel decided to stay with him, since this room was one of Larxene and Marluxia's favorite areas, and he wouldn't be safe alone. Plus, the red cat was starting to feel tired himself.
So Axel did what he thought was the smartest thing to do. He curled around the kitten and resumed his job. Roxas would be happy to wake up and find his fur restored to his normal state. He continued grooming him until all the fur he could reach was smooth and clean before drifting off to sleep himself.
This came from watching my own cats play with catnip. One of them was covered in it, and I started to wonder why her sister didn't just lick it off of her since the catnip bag was already put away and there was no more left. Thus, this was born. I know a few things are incorrect (cats would lick the catnip off of each other for one), but don't mind it. It was for the Rule Of Cute, I swear! D:
Supposed to be a one-shot, but I like the idea, so I'm debating about expanding it into a mulitchaptered fic. Still on the fence, though.
So tell me what you thought of it, if you'd like to read more, and remember; I know the idea is STUPID and probably way overdone, but it was for the rule of cute. I hope you guys thought it was cute.