The next day, Ranko was looking for a job.
She went to the business district, where there were many old warehouses.
"Excuse me," she said to one off the men that were working there. "Can you please point me to a person in charge?"
The burly, muscular worker blinked and then shouted: "Yo, boss? There's some cat-person that wants to talk to you!"
The foreman of the workers came and Ranko gave him a bow. "Meow, good afternoon, sir! I'm just new in town and couldn't help but see these lovely old warehouses. But I suppose you have big problems with mice, correct? Everyone who stores perishable goods has that problem. Well, but you're in luck - cause the best mouse catcher in the world has moved into your town. Hire me, and I can assure you you won't ever have any problems with mice again."
"Now hold your horses, there, kittycat!" the foreman protested. "I already have a cat, and she is doing her job pretty good."
"Well then, what does you cat do with the mice after she catches them?"
The foreman scratched his head. "Well, she eats them, of course! They're her food!"
"Really?" Ranko asked and retched. "Yuck! But if that's the truth, you must have a lot of mice, then. Or else your cat wouldn't have enough to eat, isn't that right?"
"Well, maybe..."
"Then you're in luck! My method is much more preferable. I just walk through the warehouse, once a day, and the mice are gone. They already smell me, you know? Afterwards, I have to make some rounds to make sure that they stay away."
"Well, I'll be..." the foreman said in awe. "Is that true? Well... my kitty COULD use some help..."
"Then it's settled! Prepare the contract of employment, and I can start by tomorrow! What d'ya say?"
"Nothing..." The man shook his head. "My head is spinning..."
----
And thus, the future of the animal-girl household was assured. Rankos work impressed the foreman of the warehouse so much that he gave her some payment in advance. Kasumoo did the housework, while Muzusa took care of the garden.
A few weeks later, Yamaki returned to the house that had been his birthplace.
He came in his car, this time. His mood wasn't the best today.
And when he saw the new sign hanging at the garden gate, it didn't really help to improve his mood.
It read: 'Cat House Ranko'.
"Very funny, indeed," he grumbled.
He walked around the house and entered through the kitchen, as usual.
"Ah, Mr. Yamaki!" Kasumoo smiled as he walked through the door. "How nice of you to come for a visit! Would you like some tea with milk?"
Yamaki gave her a strange look and shook his head. "No, thank you! I don't have much time."
He turned around to face Ranko, who was sitting at the kitchen table with Muzusa. "So, you decided to name the house after yourself?" he asked with a frown.
Ranko grinned. "Yeah, of course!"
"Of course?" Yamakis frown deepened.
"Sure! If this were just any old house, no one would know that it's us who are living here, right?"
"You can give the house any name you want," Yamaki sighed. "But please ask me the next time you do something like that, okay?"
"Okay!"
"By the way, the reason I came is..."
He stopped himself in mid-sentence. "What's that sound?"
"What sound?" Kasumoo asked while she dried the dishes.
"I don't know... it sounds like snoring."
"Aw, I know who you mean," Ranko smiled. "Just take a look under my chair."
Yamaki bowed down... and stared in surprise when he saw a little girl with strawberry-colored hair sitting on the ground, under Ranko's chair, fast asleep. She was snoring softly.
"Who is that?" Yamaki wondered.
"Not so loud," Ranko whispered. "Or you'll wake her. Well, that's just our little ChibiChibi."
Yamaki blinked. "I see... and where does she come from?"
"Well, it was like this..." Muzusa started to explain. "It was last week, when I tended for the flowers in the garden. I met her there, sitting among the flowers, all by herself. I walked up to her and asked her: 'What's wrong, sweetie? Where are your parents?' And she answered: 'Chibi chibi'!" The dog-girl grinned. "So I called her that."
"I don't believe it..." Yamaki groaned as he sat down on another chair.
"She is a very affectionate child," Kasumoo explained. "But we weren't able to find her parents, so we decided to adopt her."
"Well, to tell you the truth, it's more like she adopted us," Ranko chuckled. "She seems to adore me, I'm afraid. I don't think we could ever make her leave this place again."
Yamaki cleared his throat. "Well, however... I heard that you managed to find a job. Congratulations! And see, that's exactly the reason why..."
He couldn't continue as suddenly, someone shoved a camera into his face.
"What...?"
"Say 'cheese'!" a cheerful voice said, and then a bright flash blinded the poor businessman for a while.
While he tried to see anything else but flashing stars, he could have sworn that he saw another girl with long, black hair, older than ChibiChibi, who ran out of the kitchen, clutching a camera to herself.
"Who...?"
"Tomoyo!" Ranko explained. "You have to excuse her, she simply LOVES taking photos, especially from people that don't expect it. Well, she has a talent for it, so it's only common sense to encourage her."
"She's an orphan, the poor child," Kasumoo sighed. "We found her after coming home from doing some shopping, sitting at the piano. She also has quite the musical talent... and a really nice voice."
Yamaki looked not very happy when he heard about all of this. "So you decided not only to open a guesthouse, but also a children's home?"
"Why not?" Ranko shrugged. "I mean, having children at home is so much fun and excitement... I think we really are lucky that they came to us, right?" Her friends nodded.
Yamaki decided not to touch the subject anymore. "Okay then, but what I wanted to say was..."
He wasn't very lucky, as he couldn't finish his sentence YET AGAIN. Because all of a sudden, a loud crash coming from the pantry made them all jump in surprise.
"Well, and that..." Ranko smiled sheepishly. "Is Totodile. He can be a little bit crude sometimes. Well, after having lived in the forest for such a long time, I can't really blame him."
She quickly walked over to the pantry, picked up Totodile from the ground and carried him over to the table, where she put him down. "Well, look who came for a visit, hon... Uncle Yamaki! Say 'hello'!"
But Totodile didn't say anything.
Now Yamaki was worried. "A reptile?" he gulped. "It's not poisonous, is it?"
"Whiskas forbid!" Ranko protested. "He's a wild one, that's true... But he could never harm a fly."
"Is he an orphan as well?" Yamaki asked as he suspiciously watched the blue little lizard that looked like a tiny crocodile.
"I can't really say," Ranko replied. "He's what they call a 'Pokémon'. I looked it up in an old book in the library. Apparently, the Pokémon originally come from an archipelago in the eastern sea, the three biggest islands are called 'Kanto', 'Johto' and 'Hoenn'. Totodiles normally come from the Johto region."
"As there aren't many of his breed living around here, he is something similar to an orphan," Kasumoo said. "I found him one day sitting on the kitchen's window sill, looking inside." She smiled at the little Pokémon. "I believe he was smelling my milk. He can be a handful, but he's such a little cutie."
Yamaki cleared his throat. "Well, I must say, nothing surprises me in this household anymore... And where do you all plan to sleep?"
"No problem about that," Muzusa grinned. "Ranko shares her bed with Tomoyo, while Kasumoo is sleeping in the other. We also found a small child's bed in the attic, for ChibiChibi."
"Yes..." Yamaki mumbled. "That... was mine..."
Kasumoo decided to ignore the giggles Ranko and Muzusa were giving off at that statement and continued: "Totodile is also sleeping in the bedroom, in a laundry basket we cushioned with a few old towels."
"And I don't suppose you plan on taking any other people in, right?" Yamaki asked.
Ranko shrugged. "Who nyows?"
The businessman sighed. "Then at least pay the rent. That's the main reason why I've come here in the first place. The first of the month is long past, and you still haven't transferred any money to my account."
"Oh my..." Ranko spoke up, very Kasumoo-like. "Sorry, but taking care of such a big house consumes some money, you know how it is, right? And if you consider that we have some children in the house now... But I'm sure I have enough for a little down payment. How about... 20.000 yen?"
"Alright already..." Yamaki grumbled and took the money from her. "But I hope this won't continue over the next few months."
And then he left.
Muzusa looked at her friends. "That man really is grumpy sometimes, don't you agree?"
Totodile nodded and blabbered something in his weird, Donald-Duck-like voice.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Sun, 25 Mar 2007 14:39)
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