“I am home.” The man announced, plopping down on the bed just right of Tanji. The woman rolled onto her belly, moving away from him before stretching. 

Almost a week passed, and nobody came to pick her up. He’d tried posting anonymously online but had no luck with it. Returning a missing ‘mimi felt like returning a missing wallet. You had to be careful to avoid some rando off the side of the street coming and claiming it as his. At least she had a distinct feature that made her easy to identify, even without any other markings. 

Markings…An idea popped into his head. If dogs get chipped, why couldn’t Kemonomimi? He hadn’t inspected her body properly, after all. When she proved capable of washing herself without drowning, he had left Tanji mostly to her own devices. 

Giving himself a determined nod, Noah crept up to the lazy cat. This time, it was he who was the hunter. Tanji looked up at him in confusion at the display, her eye slits narrowing as his hands descended onto her torso. “Tanji…” He whispered softly, seeing her back slowly arch in preparation for a leap. Wrapping his hands around her soft belly before the grand escape, he saw the Neko thrashing around like it were the worst torture she had ever endured. “Hold still!” He ordered, feeling his grip on her plump body slipping. “Stop overreacting!” This only seemed to make her wiggle around more vigorously, meowing bloody murder. “Don’t you want to get back to your owner, you stupid cat!”

Their tussle was broken by the knock on the door, with Noah standing up to answer it as Tanji escaped by jumping on top of his closet. Opening it, two figures stood in the doorway. 

The one that immediately caught his attention dwarfed his door, with the woman having to lower her head just to be seen. She must have surely been 8 ft tall if not more, her amber eyes refusing to meet his and instead scanning the room like a drone. Her tanned muscular form poked from underneath a loose-fitting red jacket—the woman's constantly clenched fists not putting him at ease. She had a black dog collar around her neck, matching her short black hair adorned with two large wolf-like ears. They were inappropriately cute and fluffy, standing at attention.

Next to her was a man, his eyes obscured behind an expensive-looking pair of sunglasses. He appeared tiny next to her, but the realization that he was actually roughly the same size as Noah quickly settled in his mind. And despite being well-built, whatever stature he might have had was utterly overshadowed by his pet. Just like his eyes, his hands were also obscured by two black gloves. 

“May we come in?” The man questioned, fixing his short blonde hair with a synthetic smile. He had an accent that was very difficult to distinguish—one which sounded almost as fake as his smile. Noah opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but just watched as the two figures invited themselves in. The blonde man locked his doors with a satisfying click which made him tense up as the Amazonian wolf-girl loomed above him with her arms crossed. 

“What do you want from me?” He finally squeezed out, seeing the wolf-girl crack her knuckles. The man made a shushing expression as he gestured for her to stand down. Looking around the apartment for a couch and finding that his bed essentially constituted one, he ordered Noah to sit down. He did as he was told, his legs spread and the right one bouncing up and down. “If you want Tanji, you can just take her!”

The uninvited guest remained silent for an uncomfortably long amount of time, like a stage performer building the tension before his final act. “Tonight, two officers will come to visit your apartment.” He spoke while pacing around the room, walking up to the window. Compared to what he was used to, the sights outside of the lower-class apartment must have bored him, quickly turning away back to Noah. “They will look like the Namiport private police force. Will tell you they’re working on behalf of EikōBio.”

Once again, silence descended over the room. This time, Noah was the one to speak up. “And what do you want me to do?” 

Finally stopping, he approached the college student, probably trying to look him in the eye although Noah only saw his wincing reflection in the dark surface of his sunglasses. “You tell them…that the Nekomimi is yours. Say she belongs to your rich aunt, you're looking over her for a friend, you bought her abroad—I don’t care.” He looked up at his bodyguard with a nod, seeing her hand over a sturdy folder to him. “Either way, she is yours and you have all the papers for her—that’s what you tell them.”

It took a while for Noah to find a response. There were so many things he knew he needed to know and so many more he dreaded to ask. In the end, he settled for the only statement which he could definitely refute. “But I don’t.” 

The sound of paper slapping against wood was heard as the man threw a folder onto Noah’s cluttered work desk. “Now you do.” He cracked his neck, getting a little too close to the seated man. “They will probably not bother since it’s a pain in the ass but…if they say that she’s not in the system, you will tell them it’s a clerical error and you wish to get that sorted out.” 

“Why?” Noah searched for a clever line, but once again came up short. 

“Because my patron wishes it to be done.” The blonde man said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Better to have the target lay low with a nobody for the time being.” 

He felt as if he should have gotten more offended by the statement, but decided to play it smart for the time being. Recollecting his thoughts, he muttered “What if I were to refuse?”

In one swift motion, the previously statue-like form of the wolf girl sprang to life, extending her long arm and grabbing the collar of his shirt. A sense of vertigo overcame Noah as he found himself hoisted up against the wall. There was no sign of strain on her face or arms as the man remained held 2 ft off the ground, his feet dangling in the air. 

He looked at the bodyguard’s face, the neutral expression slowly turning into a cruel grin—like a slider moved from left to right. A row of sharp canines shone brightly in the weak light of the apartment. Being in a position where there was a non-zero chance of his face getting bitten off made Noah freeze. But the woman didn’t stop. She leaned in closer, bringing her chest to his pounding heart as if enjoying the scrambling cardiac orchestra. 

This was his answer. 

"Alright, alright! I'll do it!" Noah stammered, trying to catch his breath. 

“Yulka! Put him down.” With a loud thud, he impacted against the floor, the pillar-like form of the wolf girl towering above him. Rubbing his back, he slowly began standing up, grabbing the side of his bed for support. 

“Good man.” The man praised, reaching into his pocket and producing a 2nd envelope. It was placed by his feet, with the shape of something rectangular bulging through the paper. “Just pick a story and stick to it.” He gestured towards the envelope. “There is a burner phone for you to use here. My number is already in the contacts.”

Snapping his fingers, Noah watched the Yulka once again heed her owner’s command. She extended her arm for Tanji, having no difficulty with reaching the dust-covered top of the wardrobe where she hid. Despite the size difference, she continued trying to escape. But while he may have had difficulty, the wolf girl managed to hold her chubby little body like a stress ball—her hand wrapping tightly around her form. 

“In case they ask you for a product number…” Her owner gestured towards Yulka with an acknowledging nod. At his command, she split the cat girl’s legs with ease. Both Tanji and Noah looked away at first, their collective faces turning a shade of red. But when the initial awkwardness passed, his eyes darted back to the area the wolf girl indicated. On the inside of Tanji's thigh, the numbers “9-1-0” were tattooed in dark ink above a barcode. 

Yulka finally released the girl who landed on the bed with a soft thud. She immediately jumped back at the wolf with her claws, only to be swatted away back onto the bed like a fly. It was clear that she was practicing restraint, knowing very well that she could just rip the Neko apart.

“Come on, Noah. She’s your ‘mimi. You should have her trained to be polite around guests.” He joked, turning around to leave the apartment. 

The next few minutes were spent by the man fidgeting with the buttons of an old-fashioned bright red phone. Tanji sat by his side, folding her hands. Her bright blue eyes once again appeared lifeless, with the woman deep in thought. Whatever ideas were running through that little head of hers, he could not tell. He didn’t like to admit it, but seeing her so vulnerable somehow made Tanji seem more human. It was certainly a contrast with how she leaped at a creature over x4 her size. 

Not wanting to just do nothing, Noah had a quick look over all the documentation. Everything seemed in order, with a sales bill and medical records of visits she never attended. Sliding the meticulously forged papers back into the folder, a sour smile appeared on his face. It was this feeling of getting involved in something that was not one's business—falling in with the wrong crowd you had no choice of joining. 

The burner phone beside him started ringing, breaking him out of his thoughts. He picked it up, seeing a message from the one number logged into his contacts—“H.” His eyes squinted at the row-resolution screen. It was a text with a simple, but chilling message.

"They're outside. Do it now."

As soon as he finished reading it, the sound of footsteps in the hallway was broken by the heavy knock on his door. Opening the door, Noah saw two officers standing side by side. Their uniforms closely resembled those of the police force, yet lacked any badges, with the shirts themselves bearing a slightly darker, more foreboding shade of blue.

For what it was worth, Noah played his part. Even Tanji seemed to play along, not biting his hand and enduring the petting for both of their sake. Whenever they pried deeper, the man always had some fake document to act as his shield. Eventually, getting the feeling that their time was wasted, both officers left the apartment complex with forced smiles. 

Sitting down on the bed, Noah took a breath he didn't realize he’d been holding in. But just as he did, the phone strung to life again, playing the same short tune that he had slowly started to associate with impending danger. 

Clicking the call button, he heard a muffled voice coming from the other side. “Good job, kid. That should get them off our ass for a few weeks.” Noah listened, hearing the sound of liquid being poured on the other end. “Boss might have another job for you. And before you say no, I reckon you should see the care package we have prepared for you. How about we meet up?” Taking the silence as approval, the man continued. “Great! I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t worry about the location, we’ll find you. Oh—and bring Tanji along!”