There was a tiny beast stalking the tables and cushions of the common room, dashing out and pouncing on anything it found interesting and unawares. Which currently seemed to be a slipper that someone had left out for some reason or other.

Nyan-kun 2 (temp) had decided that whatever type of beast he faced in the slipper needed to be slain, and currently was scratching and gnawing at the object. Unfortunately for the kitten, Hayato didn't approve of his prey and scooped him up in his gloved hands to deposit him by his ball. Which seemed was prey the kitten approved of too, as soon he was batting it around the room.

Hayato sighed softly, coughing to clear his throat. Luckily the kitten seemed to be adapting to its situation well. Unfortunately Hayato and his makeshift mask and gloves wasn't at all.

As the cat hit the ball, it rolled out to a hallway, where a surprised sound came from.

"Oh! Hello little one. You want this ball? Well, let's go somewhere where you're not under foot, neh?"

It was a familiar voice and it was soon accompanied by a familiar looking woman with wet red hair and no mask holding Nyan-kun 2 cradled against her chest.

"Ah, sorry about that Bayushi-san." Hayato offered as he made his way towards her. His voice was a bit more nasal then usual on account of his stuffed up nose.

"He's a rambunctious little guy." The Mantis explained a bit amused by the fact that he was in a mask today and the Scorpion wasn't.

"Oh you know this one?"

She held the cat up to her face, the little thing squirming a little bit until she lowered it again.

"And I don't blame you; Kids will be kids, whether people or animals.... are you all right there, Tsuruchi-san? You seem under the weather."

"Yeah, I found him a couple days ago." He explained a smirk on his lips, though it was hidden by the mask. "Been trying to take care of him since, but he's a handful."

"I've not got a cold if that's what you're asking." Hayato dipped his head towards the squirming kitten, who was trying to find a purchase so he could climb away. "I'm just allergic."

"You're allergic to cats, but you're taking care of one? You could have said something to me."

A look of concern crossed her face and she walked up to Hayato, putting a hand to his forhead with her hand that wasn't holding the kitten. Said kitten was currently standing in said hand and sniffing around Tenma's neck.

"It's nothing too bad, is it?"

"No." Hayato offered after a moment a bit surprised at the sudden closeness of the Scorpion and her touch. A touch of pink touched his cheeks but it was likely hard to see.

"It's not too bad as long as I'm wearing all this." That might not of been entirely true but the Mantis seemed to believe it." He paused a moment. "I probably should of asked for more help."

"Well, as long as you're taking care of yourself..."

She frowned a little and took a step back from Hayato even as the kitten started making an attempt to climb up onto her shoulder, causing Tenma's attention to go to him.

"Hey, I'm not a jungle gym, silly thing."

The kitten did not listen and proceeded to use the Scorpion woman's shirt as a foothold to get up and balance there, giving a small mew as it did so. Unable to turn her head to look, Tenma kind of tilted her head away.

"...does he have a name?"

"Well, it seems he might disagree Bayushi-san." Hayato replied with a chuckle as he watched the kitten begin it's climb. Though he did think better of leaving the kitten where it was, especially when it seemed the little guy might attempt a climb onto her head.

Reachign forward he scopped up the kitten, and held him out for the Scorpion to reclaim. "Kind of, I've been calling him Nyan-kun 2. It's only temporary though as I figured who every wants to keep him will name him what they like."

She gladly took the kitten again, more than happy to have the mobility of her head back.

"Oh? He doesn't have an owner then?"

She looked down at the kitten she was holding in her hands.

"You're kind of like me, huh? Forgotten and away from your family, huh?"

"No, I am just his temporary keeper unfortuneatly."

Hayato smiled at the Bayushi watchign her as she chatted with the kitten.

"He could use a good home." He offered perhaps a bit hopefully.

"...."

She looked at the kitten then up at Hayato. Kitten, Tsuruchi. Cute kitten, handsome man. A SEVERE blush.

"Is this an attempt to win my heart by gifting me a kitten? T-That kind of thing might be considered bribery if I was on the clock."

If she actually minded, then it wasn't showing very well as the Bayushi girl pulled the kitten closer and peered shyly at Hayato over it's furry little head.

His hand reached forward to scratch the kittens head, then moved up to poke Tenma on the chin. "We'll call that a happy coincidence." He offered with an easy smile as his hand dropped away.

"He is your's though if you want him." He offered a moment later. "You seem to like him, and he seems to like you." He offered the woman a playful wink. "A gift I suppose, and you don't even need to kiss me for it."

That got a softening of Tenma's facial features, blush melting into a warm smile, "Coincidence or not, Tsuruchi-san is too kind to me. At this point, I would kiss you, but..."

At this point, she had kind of remembered what she'd wanted to talk to Hayato about the next time she saw him, "I do believe if everything goes as planned, Moto Ruhe-san should be declaring his plans to marry me tomorrow. And if he hadn't already been able to have that luxury, I would have made sure to do so myself. I feel like kissing you would break my heart more than it already is."

"Mmm.... Something told me a girl like you wouldn't stay single for long." Hayato replied with a soft chuckle. "Still seems like Congratulations are in order instead of broken hearts, right?"

He offered the young woman a warm smile. "I take it you two have plans to spend this evening together?"

"This evening? No; Moto-san said something about songwriting. I've been running into a lot of songwriters here at the miai, it seems to me."

She pet the cat a little as she talked, the kitten calming down as it was cradled against her chest.

"Even if he didn't, it seems I might have some arrangements to make, especially if I'm going to be traveling with this little guy, neh?"

She looked down at the relaxing cat.

"A carrier, food, see about shots... that's a lot to take in even if the festival wasn't today."

"I have a carrier, and food you can have as well." He pointed on the floor to a number of cat toys. "And a few toys for the little beast." His lips curled into a soft smile, that ws impossible to see. "Not much I can do about the shots though, I think he may be a bit young for them yet."

"Still if there is anything else I can do to help let me know."

There was a pause. "And I'm sorry to hear you won't be spending the most romantic night of the year with your intended."

Tenma waved the last part aside with a hand, "Romance is what you make of it, I think. Besides, I don't have anything planned, this has all been such a rush. I told Moto-san to make plans for us for tomorrow, which should be more than fine. Anyways... you got all this? You're really a softy at heart, huh Tsuruchi-san?"

She looked at the cute kitten toys in particular.

"You're going to ruin my bad boy rep with talk like that." He teased, as his eyes followed her gaze around the room.

"Really though, they're kind of preventative measures. I'd rather have him chasing those rather then climbing all over me. I've enough problems with these allergies as is." The last part of it was punctuated with a sneeze.

"So you say. Well, I certainly won't accuse you of not being pragmatic in this, as far as looking after yourself in a way. But that's a pretty weak excuse for not giving away the kitten or taking it to a shelter. ...well, they say those who look after animals well will make for good husbands, so that bodes well for you, neh?"