Persona BLEACHED 4: Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Day at Castle Kit
August 30, 2031
Early morning near UCL's Bloomsbury campus. At a housing complex just a mile down the road, Tabitha Fairweather, known affectionately as Tabby, stirred out of bed. Her room was what could be called "organized chaos", highlighted by a shelf filled with various collectibles accrued from a previous trip through Asia.
The one thing that she could see through the darkness of her room was a pair of shimmering teal eyes staring back at her. She turned the lights on. "You know you aren't all that scary, Khukki." The source of the eyes was her 3-year old Siamese cat, found as a kitten in Thailand. She got up onto the bed and brushed lovingly against her owner. "Just as ecstatic about today as I am, hm?"
It was going to be a good day for Tabby. The friend she'd made in her social sciences class had invited her to her home to hang out and meet her friends. When Tabby mentioned Khukki, her new friend insisted on bringing her along, as one of her roommates had a cat around the same age, who was just as loving and affectionate.
"You're going to be making a little friend, too. It's going to be wonderful. We can only hope it isn't temporary."
Tabby made for the kitchen, the cat following close along. She took some treats from the cabinet, and put them on the floor for Khukki. She went to the fridge, and plastered on the front was something she'd gotten used to seeing: a sticky note. "'Working late again. No ETA for finish. Don't wait up. - Dad'." She rolled her eyes. "Why don't you just move your bed to your office, save us the trouble..."
She poured herself a bowl of cereal, and made her usual call to her mother in Wolverhampton. "It's been going great, Mum. I've actually made a friend already. Yeah, I'm gonna be taking Khukki to meet her friends. They're all from outside London, so we can feel like aliens together." She laughed. "No. No, he's not. He's at his lab. Again. Probably plotting where he's going to move us next. I know, I know, but I can't keep going on like this, Mum. It's starting to feel like home again. I'm not gonna keep uprooting when I never even see him, anyway. I've been here for three weeks and I've talked to him physically twice."
"...I know how much he values his work, Mum. Maybe he should've thought of that before starting a family. I'm starting to understand why you walked away. I feel more like his maid. If he tries to move again, I'm not going with him. He can have his space experiments to himself. It was fun when I was little, but now I want to actually have a life." She sighed. "You're right. I shouldn't be so negative today. I just needed to vent. Alright, I'll let you know how it goes. Love you, Mum. Bye." She hung up.
After finishing her breakfast, she put on her daywear: an unbuttoned green waistcoat, white shirt and pants along with green shoes. She felt an itch in her eyes, and popped her contacts out. "Glasses day it is." She put on a pair of black spectacles, and slung her handbag over her shoulder. "Alright, missy. Your chariot awaits." She opened the bag up wide, and Khukki hopped inside it, Tabby zipping the bag to where only the cat's head was sticking out.
She left her quarters, locked the door behind her, and made the trek to the residential block where her new friend was living. "71...72...73. Here we are. Let's say hello." She knocked on the door.
Kat opened it to greet her. "Heya! Welcome to Chateau de Kit. Come on in. This is either gonna be your worst ever decision or your best." She winked.
"Very bold assertion, Ms. Kit. I humbly accept your request." Tabby teased. 
"Is this the cookie I've been hearing about?"
"The very same. She's getting a little antsy. Let me give her some breathing space." Tabby unzipped the bag, and Khukki jumped out, shaking her fur and licking her paw.
"Oh-em-GEE, she's so regal! She's a Siamese, right?"
"That's right. The traditional breed. I found her as a newborn during a stop in Thailand a few years ago. She was meowing inside of a gutter when I came across her. Now she's the queen of the palace."
"That sounds right." Kat knelt down and began scratching the cat's chin. "Hi, cookie. You're just the cutest little empress, aren't you?"
The cat gave a satisfied purr. "I think she agrees." Tabby giggled. "So where are the housemates you've spent the last two weeks gushing about?"
"They're still getting dressed. I dunno how dressed up you need to be for a day in, but I live with two fashion queens, so I'm not arguing."
The sound of someone coming down the stairs could be heard. "Hiyaaaa~! You've gotta be Tabby, right? I'm Natty! So nice to meet you!"
"Oh, yes, same to--" Tabby put her hand out, expecting a handshake, but instead was on the receiving end of a hug from Natalia.
"She's big on hugs. You're gonna learn that real quick." Kat commented.
"It's not too much, is it? My Mama always tells me that hugs are the best way to make people feel good. I'm so used to saying hello that way, ahehe." Natalia said.
"N-no, it's alright. I was just caught off-guard is all. I'm not very used to hugs." Tabby replied.
"Oh, how come?"
"It's, um...a long story. But that's for another time. I believe Kat said you have a loveable furbaby walking around?"
"Oh yeah, I do!' Natalia caught sight of Khukki. "Omigosh! Is that your kitty? She's majestic! What's her name?"
"Her name is Khukki! Spelled K-H-U-K-K-I, like how it is in Thai."
"You don't mind if I give her some pets, do you?"
"By all means! She's very playful. Loves being petted. Kat said your kitty was much the same."
"Oh, she's a cuddly little puffball. CiCi! Come over here, I want you to meet someone!"
The fluffy yellow cat trotted down the stairs, and Natalia went to pick her up. "This is my CiCi, my sweet baby! Say hi to Tabby, puffball!"
"Meeeew." the cat chimed.
"How adorable!" Tabby pet her on the head, to the feline's pleasure. "Is she a LaPerm? Her fur has that textured feel to it."
"She is! She was bred to be a showcat, but she was tinier than the rest of the litter, so she was put up for adoption. You couldn't tell she was a pipsqueak with how puffy she is now. Do you know a lot about cats?"
"I know a few things. My Mum breeds them. Suppose that's how I wound up being named 'Tabby'."
"Oy, I think a couple of gals are interested in each other." Kat directed. The two cats were staring at the other.
"Oh, there's a good sign. They must be thinking 'What is that?'" 
"Okay, don't gotta delay it. Say hi, CiCi!" Natalia put her down.
The two cats began to sniff each other and examine one another. "Meeeew?" CiCi sounded.
"Mrrrrawr." Khukki reciprocated.
"Meeeeew!" CiCi began to trot away, and Khukki followed close behind.
"Ohhh, that went perfect!" Natalia exclaimed.
"They're both highly affectionate breeds. I think Khukki's been craving the company of another cat." Tabby said.
"We tried having CiCi meet another cat before, but, uh..." Natalia thought back to when her parents told her of her cat's meeting with Rin's cat Momo, which ended with the much older cat exerting her dominance.
"I think having a couple of babies meeting works out a lot easier than with an old granny." Kat surmised.
Footsteps going down the stairs could be heard once more. "I thought things sounded lively down here." Carrie said.
"There's my leading lady!" Kat chimed. 
"Hi there. Tabitha Fairweather. Lovely to finally meet you." Tabby put her hand out.
"The same to you. Caroline Blackthorne. Carrie is fine. Sorry I had to call off lunch last week. Matters from back home needed attending to." Carrie reciprocated.
"It's no trouble, I--wait. Did you just say 'Blackthorne'? As in...Rodrigo and Mariana Blackthorne?"
"Yes, the very same. They're my parents."
"Oh, oh goodness! I know this must seem out of the blue, but my father is an astrophysicist at the University, and I'm studying to be a science teacher myself. There isn't anyone in the scientific community that doesn't know your parents' names. I actually have the textbook your mother wrote as part of my required reading. Her attention to detail is staggering."
"I'm happy to hear you say that. Everyone always tells me how brilliant they both were. Hearing that their work is still being appreciated warms my heart."
"...oh, that was so careless of me! I'm sorry if I reminded you of anything awful. What a horrible first impression I'm making..."
"Don't apologize. I love to remember their accomplishments. The world was better because they were in it." Carrie reassured. "I'll get some tea going to help keep things easy. The perfect ingredient for a lovely chat."
"That I agree with. Tea sounds wonderful."
"Hope you're ready for the dinner to end all dinners later. Chef Natty's gonna be on a mission." Kat said. "I tell her she's in the wrong business. You haven't *lived* until you've had one of her desserts."
"If you wanna thank anyone, thank my Nana. It's her recipes I'm using." Natalia insisted.
"A fashion designer and a chef? You're certainly multitalented, Ms. Natty. How did all that come about?" Tabby said.
"Ohhh, don't make me blush! It's all the family business. My parents own a clothing store, and I learned how to sew when I was little. So I started designing clothes that they'd sell in the shop. They gave me my own personal machine a few years back. I call it my Happiness Machine. The smile someone gets when I give them something I made personally is what I work for. The same with cooking. My Nana runs a bakery, and she taught me all of her secrets. Making the people I love happy is what makes me happy~."
"And I'm happy whenever I see this cutie-patootie every morning." Kat hugged Natalia from behind.
A few minutes later, the four young women sat around a table, each with a cup of tea. Tabby took a sip. "Mmmm...you brew a splendid cup of tea, Carrie. It's just the right level of minty."
"Nothing like a soothing cup of tea to help with pleasant conversation. Now then, Ms. Fairweather. Tell us a little more about yourself." Carrie replied.
"Okay. So to start, I was born in Wolverhampton. I'm studying to be a science teacher. I love anime, I love games, I know a good amount about cats, I'm an avid reader of romance novels, and I enjoy nature walks. I'm not what anyone would call a fashionable sort, but I at least try to match."
"Oh don't sell yourself short, you look adorbs." Kat said.
"How about your parents? You said your dad works for the University?" Natalia asked.
"That's right. He's an astrophysicist. He's part of the Department of Space and Climate Physics. My Mum is a veterinarian. She's back home in Wolverhampton. Has been since they separated." Tabby answered.
"Oh...they aren't together?" Carrie asked.
Tabby shook her head. "I mentioned before that I found Khukki during a trip to Thailand. The UCL position isn't the first one my Dad's taken. Far from it. My whole life, we've had to move so many times because he got another teaching job somewhere else. He'll get bored of one place after a while and then it's off to the next. I've lived in Scotland, Wales, Spain, France. There were stops in Egypt and Morocco along with that trip through Asia. Two years ago, Mum finally said enough was enough, and she gave him an ultimatum. It was either her or his work. But she knew that his heart was with the stars. So she went home."
"I'm sorry. How did you feel about all that travel?" Natalia asked.
"It was fun when I was little. But when I started getting older, I started missing the friends I made more and more. I wanted somewhere permanent. That's why I came home with Mum. I came here partly for the educational opportunities, but it was also to try reconnecting with Dad. Maybe he'd learned his lesson about putting family over work."
"Has he?" Kat asked.
"I've been in London for three weeks. I've spoken to him in person twice. This is while living under the same roof, by the way. I've heard more out of my cat than I have my Dad." Tabby sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if he'd be happier without a family tying him down. If I'm just an obstacle between him and his work. I doubt he even knows that I've made friends in my time here. That never seems to matter, anyway. What's a few spots of land and some people mean to someone who studies the entire universe? I even start doubting if--"
"If he actually loves you." Carrie interjected.
Tabby perked up. "How do you...?"
"Men of science can be married to their studies, dear. And a lot of times it can feel like their only concern is their next finding. Papa was the same way. I had the same doubts that you do. Until someone found video of him talking about his motivation."
"Meow." Kat uttered.
"He said that it was all for my sake. So I could have a beautiful world to live in when I grew up. I can't speak to your experience, but maybe your father's reasons aren't as selfish as they appear to be. Maybe all you need is to sit down and talk it over with him."
"I'd love that if I ever saw him for more than five minutes at a time. Whatever motives he might have, it shouldn't take precedent over his own family." Tabby took another sip of tea. "I wish I knew what he was thinking. If he didn't care about me at all, I deserve to know about it."
"C'mon, Tabs. I don't think it's that bad. He's a university professor, so he's gonna be crazy busy. Maybe a chat is all you really need." Kat replied. She finished her tea. "Hey, you wanna take a look at my room? I can show ya everything that makes ya girl, ya girl."
"I've never gotten to see someone else's 'nerd palace' before. Count me in." Tabby followed Kat upstairs.
"She seems like a nice girl. Kinda stinks about the situation with her dad, though." Natalia said.
"I can understand why she would feel that way. Still...'I wish I knew what he was thinking'..." Carrie pondered.
Natalia realized what she was implying. "Caaaare."
"It's only a suggestion."
"C'mon, I thought we were gonna try to keep things normal around here."
"And I still want to keep it that way, but...maybe if it helped to put her mind at ease, or helped to mediate her relationship with her father, we should at least consider it."
"That'd have to be Kitty Kat's call. I just don't wanna pull Tabby into the spooky stuff unless we absolutely *have* to."
"I understand. Like I said, it's only a suggestion."
"Well I'm gonna start prepping lunch. Let's agree to keep things chill today. Like those two kitties on the couch."
"Agreed. Ice cold."
Inside Kat's room, Tabby looked up at the Golden Wei poster on the wall. "I could've sworn you said you weren't fond of kpop."
"Not as much as a lot of peeps. That bunch is different, though."
"'The Golden Wei'...most people these days tend to agree that the lead singer's actual musical abilities were...fairly lacking."
"No arguments here. Some of my favorites I've heard over the years are 'The sweet melody of squirrels being tortured', or 'What it sounds like to watch your pets drown'. You should see some of the noise complaints we've gotten."
"...I'm sorry?"
"Oh! Guess I didn't mention that part. He's actually my dad."
"Golden Wei-yin is your father?"
"Yeppers. He sure doesn't look like *that* anymore, though." Kat picked up the family picture on her mantle. "What two decades of free chicken does to a man."
"Wow...he won't be going on a comeback tour anytime soon, I don't think."
"For the sake of Korea's eardrums, I should hope not."
Tabby looked at the rest of the pictures. "Are these your friends? From Japan."
"That's the Krew. It's from graduation. This glowing lass I've got my arm around is Barbara. She's my bestie. She actually had to withdraw two years in cuz of something..." Kat paused.
"Was it something bad?"
Kat nodded. "Something really bad. And the one behind the 'something really bad' was Max. Her twin brother and...my ex-boyfriend."
"Oh..."
"It was actually so awful that we lost all contact with him for over a year, until about a month ago. He was in *rough* shape when we found him. But we got him back. And last I heard he was doing better. I don't hold any grudges. As much of a pain in the bum as he can be, I've still got a soft spot for the blockhead, y'know?"
"Well I can certainly understand...complicated feelings about an ex."
"Uh-oh. Anything you feel like talking about?" Kat sat on her bed, and patted the spot next to her. "C'mon, I don't bite. That's not until the third date." She winked.
Tabby sat next to her. "Well...his name was Calvin. I met him online. We got to talking, and he seemed like a nice guy. When I got back to Wolverhampton a year ago I finally met him in person. For the first few months it was great. But one day he just became...overbearing. Constantly texting me asking me where I am, getting jealous if he saw me talking with any other man, not liking whatever color nail polish I was wearing. It was maddening. Finally I told him I was moving away for uni, and he was livid. He actually broke a vase in my mum's study. That's when I cut him off. I blocked his number and all of his social media, but I still get alerts that he's tried to contact me. I got one just yesterday."
"Yikes yikes and double yikes. I'm sorry. He never put a hand on you, did he?"
"No. Him breaking the vase was the first sign of any violent behavior, but I ended things before it ever got worse. I just don't understand how it got to that point. He seemed so calm and easygoing when I first met him."
"That's how they bring you in. No girl's ever gonna go for a guy who's clearly a creep. You did good to break it off. Cuz where that was headed, it wasn't gonna end well for you. Hey, don't worry your little head over it now. If he tries anything, I'll hunt him down myself."
"I don't want you to do anything so drastic. I appreciate the sentiment, but I wouldn't want you putting yourself in danger if, heaven forbid, something did happen."
"I wouldn't be the one in danger. I like to think I'm pretty good at brawling." Kat waved off the thought. "Okay, enough grim talk. How do you feel abooooout..." She thought of some topics. "Oh, I know. You ever tried karaoke?"
"Oh, dear, no. My singing's not all that good, honestly. I'd be too embarrassed to try it."
"I get the feeling. I was scared to sing in front of a lot of people once upon a time. Weird for a former singer's daughter to say, right? But being friends with Barbie made it a lot easier. She's a real diva. Singing, dancing, acting, she's the complete package. Singing together's what really got us closer. It wouldn't have to be in front of a crowd. It can just be the four of us, or even just me and you. I promise I didn't inherit my Pops' musical 'talents'. If I could survive 18 years of listening to him, I'm sure your dulcet tones won't be hurting my eardrums."
"Well when you put it like that...I guess it would be a fun bonding experience."
"Awesooooome! I've gotta find us a joint to do it. It's gonna be a riot, I promise."
"As long as whatever I sing doesn't wind up online." Tabby looked over at the photos again. "How do you do it, Kat?"
"Please, you're in the circle now. Kitty Kat's what the rest of the gang calls me. But do what?"
"Okay, Kitty Kat it is. How do you handle having friends around every corner of the globe? It must be so difficult."
"Well...it's something I'm still getting used to. When I came here, I wasn't handling it very well. I still miss them all like crazy. After three years living around the same people, you stop seeing them as just friends. They're more like my family. But I got some reinforcement from a lot of people. My sister told me how proud she was of me. But the thing that really made things easy was the letter I got from my professor."
"You've mentioned her before. Is that her in the picture? The one with the red hair and glasses."
"That's her. Professor Rin Kubo. A one in a million type of gal. She told me how confident she was that I would succeed here, and that her door was always open to me. That's when it clicked that it doesn't matter how far away from someone I am. They're still gonna be there for me. Family doesn't stop being family when you go somewhere else."
"I see..."
"Don't you still talk to all the friends you've made?"
"I..." Tabby looked down.
"Oh." Kat grabbed her hand. "Well you don't have to worry about that with me. I stay loyal to anyone I bring into the circle. You picked the right gal to sit next to."
"That...means a lot. Thanks, Kitty Kat."
"Don't mention it. So, any anime recs--"
"What the what?!" a male voice exclaimed from outside the room.
"Who was that?" Tabby questioned.
"Uh-oh. Someone's train came in early." Kat replied.
Inside the living room, Kenneth was staring down the two cats, who were both looking up at him with keen interest. "Meeeew?" CiCi chimed.
"Mrrrrawr." Khukki meowed.
"Natalia." Kenneth uttered.
"Yeeees?" Natalia responded.
"You know what I'm going to ask."
"Her name is Khukki. She's a Siamese." Carrie said.
"That doesn't answer my main question."
"Heya, Kennykins. I see you've met our guest." Kat came downstairs with Tabby in tow.
"Don't worry, Kenny, I didn't just up and adopt another kitty." Natalia said.
"The one is as much as I can handle at the moment." Kenneth replied.
"Right, introduction time. Kenny, this is our new friend Tabby. She's Khukki's mama."
"Curious, she doesn't much look like a cat."
"She takes after her father." Tabby joked. "Tabitha Fairweather. Is that a hint of Scouser I'm hearing?"
"Kenneth Southgate. Yes, indeed. Judging from your accent I'm going to say you are...Wulfrunian. Is that right?"
"Good ear, Mr. Southgate. You can take the girl out of the Midlands, but the Midlands stays in the girl. You must be Natalia's boyfriend, the sculptor, correct?"
"That is me, yes."
"Kitty Kat showed me a picture of the ice sculpture you made of Natalia. It was a truly beautiful piece. Both in appearance and message."
"You flatter me, Ms. Fairweather. Most of the credit should go to my breathtaking muse." Kenneth put his hand on Natalia's head.
Natalia herself became flustered, and started blushing. "B-breathtaking? Oh, Kenny, your words make me melt..."
"Boy, hearing you two talking makes me want to pour a cup of tea right now." Kat said.
"I still have some left over. Let me reheat it." Carrie replied.
"And I've got lunch ready!" Natalia exclaimed.
"Get your taste buds ready for enlightenment, Tabs." Kat advised.
Tabby was looking at her phone. There was an alert for a call from a blocked number.
"Tabs?"
Tabby refocused. "Yeah. Sorry, yeah, let's eat. Time to see how reality compares to your stories."
---
After lunch, the girls stayed around the table. Kenneth, meanwhile, sat on the couch, CiCi on his lap, and Khukki lying next to him. Kenneth himself looked perplexed.
"That was a wonderful meal, Natalia. Kitty Kat's stories were right on the money." Tabby said.
"Call me Natty. And you're flattering me." Natalia replied.
"No, I'm serious. I'm already clamoring for dinner. Are you sure you don't want to take it up as a profession?"
"Cooking's my hobby. Something I reserve for the ones I love. My heart's always been in clothing design. My dream is to take over my parents' store and expand the brand overseas."
"That would put the Happiness Machine into overdrive. I can respect someone who wants to make other people happy."
"There's way too much sadness in the world. I used to suffer from pretty bad depression and anxiety. But thanks to everyone else, I can wake up every morning with a smile on my face. I wanna do the same thing for the rest of the world. It'd be the best way to repay the people that saved me."
Kat tightly embraced Natalia. "Don't you just wanna make, like, 20 of her? And give every single one a big ol' hug?"
"Our lives are already so much more enriching with her in it. Having seen where her mindset was before, it's impossible not to feel so happy to see where she is now. She's the very definition of beauty. Isn't that right, Kenneth?" Carrie added.
"I can think of none who would fit the moniker more." Kenneth responded.
"Guuuuuys, you're gonna make me cry!" Natalia replied, her eyes starting to water.
"(What a sight to see. You can feel the deep well of love between them just from the way they speak to each other. With how tight they are, could I ever...)" Tabby thought.
"So how about you, Carrie? What is it you're wanting to do in the future?" she asked.
"You mean aside from cozying up on a beach somewhere with my charming kitten?" Carrie teased, as Kat turned red. "In all seriousness, my goal is to take up my parents' fight to preserve the environment. It's what they lived...and died for. So it's only right that I honor them by taking up their cause."
"Care's the most brilliant person I've ever met. She can do anything she sets her mind to. Cuz she's also the strongest person I know." Kat said.
"Strength as diamonds, my love."
"She's survived so much, and she's still here with that same pleasant, caring smile. Whenever she says that, it's not exaggerating." Natalia said. "She's saved my life, you know. More than once. Even though it nearly killed her. But she's made it here. And I can still give her as many hugs as she can handle."
"I assure you I can handle as many as you have to give, darling."
"Wow. So this is what unconditional love looks like. I'm honestly rather envious." Tabby said.
"It's nothing you have to be envious of. Surely there must be someone you feel you can share everything with?" Carrie asked.
Tabby just shook her head. "I wish I could say that. But...all the moving and travel I've done has made it difficult to build a lasting friendship that could withstand even a long distance. If there's someone out there that I could be that close to, I've yet to meet them. Seeing the love you all have for each other...it feels like I'm intruding."
"Oh, Tabby, don't think like that. I invited you here cuz I want you to be part of what we have. I wouldn't have you meeting my friends if I didn't already consider you one." Kat insisted.
"You all have known each other for three years. I've known you for all of two weeks. It's easy to feel that I'm a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Can't you tell that I'm not used to making friends?"
"Y'know what? That's okay. Cuz I wasn't, either."
"A girl like you, with that winning personality? I find that hard to believe."
"It's the truth. Kids in school always used to make fun of me cuz of my dad's career or my sister's criminal record. And I'd get really angry and drive people away even more. I'd spend so much time just crying in a corner alone. Before I went to Japan, I didn't have a single friend to my name. And there were moments after that where I almost hurt myself, too. Ask them."
"She was a bit difficult to get close to at first, yeah." Natalia said.
"Her temper would get the better of her at times. There was even an incident where she lashed out and hit one of our friends in the face during an argument. She says what's on her mind, and sometimes that's a really good thing. Sometimes it isn't." Carrie added.
"I've been where you're at, Tabs. This lovely situation you see here didn't just happen overnight. It took over a year and some heartbreak for me to open up to this beautiful gem. Took about the same amount of time for this cinnamon roll to start winning against her demons. What really helped was that everyone looked out for each other when we needed it." Kat got up and hugged Tabby. "Oh, I'm sorry you've had a rough time of it. But you have friends now. Five years or five minutes, it doesn't matter to me. We're gonna make sure you're comfortable."
"Thank you for that. I just don't know how you could help with certain problems..." Tabby said.
"You'd be surprised. We're really good at solving problems." Carrie replied.
"Got anything to add, Kenny? You've been awful quiet." Natalia asked.
"I would, but...I'm currently serving as a bed." Kenneth was on his back. Both cats were sitting on his chest. "Tabitha, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell your cat to get her tail out of my face?"
"Sorry, but I learned a long time ago that cats are going to do whatever they feel like. If they want to use you as a bed, they're going to use you as a bed." Tabby replied.
"You need my lint roller, Kenny?" Natalia asked.
"I'm going to be, yes." Kenneth replied. Both cats stretched out, repositioned themselves, and lied back down. "In about an hour, maybe." he grumbled. The girls all giggled.
---
Later in the evening, Kenneth was staring up at an open kitchen cabinet. CiCi was perched in it, staring down at him. "How in blazes did you get up there?" he questioned.
"Meeeeew."
"CiCi! Quit being silly and get down from there!" Natalia opened her arms up, and the cat came down from her perch.
"There's the other feline habit. Treating the house like her own personal jungle gym." Tabby said, Khukki sitting peacefully in her lap.
"So how would you rate the Chef Natty experience? Life-changing, am I right?" Kat asked.
"I see what she meant by 'baking love into every bite'. I would seriously reconsider not making a profession out of it, Natty. Plenty of diners sell their own apparel. You being so good at both, I can see that working out well if you tried it."
"Y'know...I never thought of that before. My priority's always gonna be the family shop, but if I ever got in a good enough place, I'd love to try it. And Nana's talked about wanting me to take over the bakery, too." Natalia replied.
"Anything to bring people happiness, right, Natalia?" Carrie questioned.
"You know it~!"
Khukki yawned. "Tuckered out from the excitement, are we? I think that's our cue." Tabby got up. "Thank you for your lovely hospitality. Tonight was sorely needed. I hope that this is the beginning of something wonderful."
"Absolutely, we would love to have your company again." Carrie replied.
"Don't gotta be a stranger! Especially when our kitties get along so good!" Natalia added.
"More feline fun. Joy." Kenneth mumbled.
"You want me to walk you back to your place?" Kat asked.
"I'll be alright." Tabby replied.
"You sure? I mean, given everything you told me..."
"It'll be fine. There's plenty of people out and about now. I locked the door to the apartment."
"Well just text me when you get back. If anything seems off, our door's always open. Heh, now I'm starting to sound like Prof."
"I'll do just that." Tabby gave Kat a hug. "Thank you again. I'll see you bright and early on Monday. Have a good night."
"You too, Tabbers. Catch you later."
Tabby left, Khukki back in her bag. As soon as the door closed, a pit formed in Kat's stomach. "(Is it really okay for her to be alone? I might be overthinking it, but...something doesn't feel right.)"
With sundown having already passed, Tabby made the walk back to her Bloomsbury apartment. She got out her key, turned the lock and walked in to the dimly lit home. Unsurprisingly, her father still hadn't returned. She sighed. "Color me shocked." She turned on the lights.
She let Khukki out of the bag, and walked to her room. She thought back on the day's events, and smiled. Maybe this would be what she was looking for for so long. She took out her phone. Kat was expecting a text from her.
As she typed the words, she thought she heard something behind her. It was too heavy to have been Khukki's footsteps. She turned around. Her eyes widened.
"What are you doing here?" she asked with a fright.
---
Kat was sitting on the couch, waiting. Surely Tabby would have returned home by now. 
"Something's not right. There's no way she wouldn't be back yet." she said.
"Maybe she stopped somewhere to grab a quick snack." Natalia suggested.
"After the big dinner we just had?"
"Maybe she's taking a shower first. Or she could have just forgotten." Carrie surmised.
"No. I've got a really bad feeling." Kat got up. "I'm going."
"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this. Any number of distractions." Kenneth said.
"I'm still gonna go look. Just to be on the safe side."
"Well, let us know what's happening. Be careful out there." Carrie said.
"Always am."
Kat left, and with a hurried pace, went over to the apartments in Bloomsbury. She went to knock on the door...only to realize that it was slightly open already. 
At this point, the pit in her stomach only deepened.
She walked in. Nothing seemed amiss at first. "Tabs? Are you in here?" she called out.
Khukki ran up to her, and began brushing up to her frantically. "Hey, cookie. Where's your Mama at?"
She walked around. "Tabs! Is everything alright?" She arrived in Tabby's room. "Tabs...?"
She looked in the room, so filled with travel memorabilia and Sailor Moon collectibles. Nothing looked out of place.
Until she looked to the floor.
There was Tabby's phone. Next to it was something far more alarming: her glasses, shattered into pieces. And beside that was something that made Kat's heart drop: red spots in the carpet.
Kat picked up the phone. She opened it, and saw that Tabby was in the middle of sending a text to her. 
"*Home now. All is good. Have a good ni*"
"Oh, no...oh NO." Kat frantically dialed her phone. "Care. I need you guys over here right now. It's...it's not good. What I was afraid of happening, happened. Please just hurry!"
Minutes later, her friends arrived. "I gave the place a look. No broken windows or signs of forced entry. Whoever this was must have been waiting here for her." Kenneth said.
"I should've gone with her. I shouldn't have even asked her. This is a guy that's been texting and calling her like crazy. This is always how this kind of thing goes. And now she's..." Kat expressed.
"Don't blame yourself for this. If he managed to get inside the apartment, he's likely been planning this for a while. If you had gone with Tabitha, he would have just waited for you to leave to strike." Carrie replied.
"How are we ever gonna find her now? We can't track her with her phone here. Who knows what this creep is doing to her..." Natalia pondered.
Kat looked pensive. "A couple hours ago we were having a great time. She looked so happy to have friends to hang out with. Now this happens. There has to be a way to..." She had a realization. "She blocked his number. Care, can you track where he's at?"
"I can. Let me see..." Carrie's eyes glowed purple, and Tabby's phone screen emitted a similar glow. A holographic map emerged out of the phone. "Okay, I ran the one number she has blocked. It comes back to a Calvin Nguyen."
"Calvin...her ex-boyfriend. And where is he now?"
"His phone is currently active in Chelsea. It's about three miles from here. A half hour by subway, about ten minutes by taxi."
"Let's hurry. The more time she's with him, the likelier it is that he'll snap and do something drastic. We'll have to be cautious to ensure that doesn't happen." Kenneth said.
Kat grabbed her sides, where she had a dagger hidden on each--one styled after a snake, given to her by her sister, the other styled after a cat that she'd manifested through her own power. "I swore I'd look out for her. Homeboy doesn't know who he just screwed with."
---
Hectically driving through the city streets, 21-year old Calvin Nguyen needed to disappear. He had a hood over his head, and was clearly agitated, with his eyes glazed over.
In the back seat was Tabby, her hands ziptied behind her back. Her glasses were gone, having been broken during the initial assault. On her left side, coming through her shirt was a red stain, where she had been stabbed with an ice pick. Her breathing was heavy.
"Calvin, where are you taking me?"
"Shut up."
"Calvin, please, it hurts...I need to get to the hospital..."
"Oh, you want to complain about *your* pain now? Where was any of that when I was on my knees begging you not to go? All that time I spent comforting you when your deadbeat of a dad was at his lab doing God-knows-what, and you run off and ghost me?"
"Please, we can talk things over, just take me--"
"SHUT UP! No more bitching! Who's the guy?"
"What guy?"
"Why else would you want to leave for London so badly? Couldn't be to be near the deadbeat. I saw you go to that house, and I saw the guy walk in later. How long's it been going on for?"
"You've got the wrong idea, I was just seeing friends, I never met him before today..."
Calvin pulled the car over. He got out of the driver's seat, then opened the back seat. He grabbed Tabby by the throat. "DON'T YOU LIE TO ME! I bet you were hooking up with other guys the whole time, weren't you?! You wanna act like you're some sweet little bookworm, but I know the truth, you damn *cunt*!" He shoved her back, before getting back into the driver's seat.
"Please, Calvin, I haven't done anything wrong! Why are you doing this to me?!"
"You know damn well why! You're making me do this! All I did was get a little heated, and you go running off somewhere else like I never existed! I'm not gonna be made a fool out of."
Tabby had become resigned to what was happening. Nothing she could say would placate him while he was this deranged. Her tear ducts were nearly dried out. She could hardly muster a whimper. "Calvin, please, where are you taking me?"
"We're going for a little late night dip."
As they passed through the main streets of Fulham, she looked outside the window to see England's longest river, the Thames.
The dreaded realization of what he had planned for her came into her head.
He parked the car on the banks of the river. He got out, and pulled Tabby out of the back seat. He popped open the trunk. "This is what you get for screwing with me."
"Calvin--Calvin please, don't--!"
Ignoring her pleas, he shoved her inside the trunk, then shut it. He went over and put the car in drive. As the car inched toward the water, he watched his handiwork, before turning and running into the night.
Tabby couldn't muster any more strength. This was how it was going to end, she thought. Her parents were both completely unaware she was in any danger. It would take a miracle for anyone to find her. As she heard the car entering the river, she thought it would be better to close her eyes and wait to either drown or suffocate peacefully.
How cruel was it that on the day where she finally felt that she could have a stable life in London, with such a lovely group of friends, that it would all be taken away like this? 
She waited to hit the bottom of the river.
.....
.....
The car creaked and came to a halt.
Was this the bottom? It didn't feel like an impact. She felt the car moving again. It felt like it was moving faster.
It started moving...up?
She could hear the sound of the car exiting the water. Was this her hallucinating? A delusion setting in as she closed in on death? There was no way this could be possible.
The next thing she heard sent her mind reeling even further.
"...great work Natty, now help me get this open..."
"Kitty...Kat?" Tabby uttered.
The trunk was pried open. Everything was a blur to her. But she could make out the black and pink hair.
"TABBY! Oh thank God, Kenny, help me get her out of there!" Kat ordered.
"Right, easy does it." Kenneth obliged.
"How...?" Tabby uttered.
"Be gentle, now." Carrie said.
They laid her down. "Here, I got you your glasses..." Kat put them over Tabby's eyes.
Tabby blinked. She second-guessed whether she really was hallucinating. Kenneth was wearing a dark red jacket evocative of an old military uniform, a sabre at his side and a mask over his eyes. The Roman numeral 'VII' was on his jacket cuffs.
Natalia was in a yellow hood, blouse, bow and shoes, evocative of a different-colored Red Riding Hood. A red, cartoony skull-and-crossbones adorned the front of the blouse, along with the numeral 'XIII'.
Carrie was in purple, cybernetic attire, a pair of goggles over her eyes. The numeral 'X' was on the back of both of her gloves.
And Kat herself was in a black leather suit, boots and gloves, the sides of which were lined pink, along with a stylized pink cat's face displayed across the front. A bow tied to resemble cat ears was on the back of her hair, and she wore a black-and-white domino mask over her eyes. In the palms of her gloves was a pink number '0'. On the soles of her boots was the pink numeral 'XVIII'.
Kat took out one of her daggers. "Let me cut these..." She cut through the zipties. "Natty, she's been stabbed. Can you stitch it back up?"
"On it!" Natalia's eyes glowed yellow, and she held her hand over Tabby's wound, which began to close up, as if it were a piece of fabric being stitched back together.
"How...how are you doing this...how did you get the car out of the water...and what are you wearing?" Tabby questioned.
"I'll explain it later. It's a lot--a LOT--to take in, and you might not believe me when I tell you, but when I said I was gonna look out for you, I meant it. I'm gonna make this right, I promise." Kat got up. "I need you guys to take her to the hospital. Cut or no cut, she's still really roughed up."
"As you wish." Kenneth replied.
"Care, where did this jagoff head to?"
"Let me see..." Carrie brought up her navigation. "He's heading in the direction of Chelsea Bridge."
"Keep me posted. And make sure she's safe 110% of the time."
"Wait..." Tabby spoke up.
Kat knelt down next to her. "You focus on you. I'll come by to see you later. But I'm not gonna let him get away. Mess with the lion, you get the fangs."
"Please just...let me..." Tabby struggled to get up, but moved just enough that she could embrace Kat. "Thank you...I'll never forget this...please just find him..."
Kat returned the hug. "Get well soon." She gently let Tabby lay back down, and got up. "See you when the bastard's in chains."
Kat went in the direction where Calvin had run off. Before closing her eyes, Tabby gazed at her black-garbed savior. Like a hero out of one of the anime she enjoyed so much.
"(Who would've guessed...that whether I lived or died tonight depended on...where I chose to sit in class...)" she thought.
Her friend in safe hands, Kat ran into the night.
The lioness was on the hunt. And she could smell her prey.