Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Come on! Heal faster!”

DJ’s eyebrow raised, as he had been passing by Asuka’s office in the studio, only to hear them say that. He approached the door and pressed his ear against it, hearing a low humming sound that he recognized when Kaitlin was doing her magic. He then straightened up and knocked on the door.

“Darling? Are you doing okay?” DJ asked loudly, hoping not to startle them.

From the swear that came from the other side of the door, it sounded that not only they were not okay but they were also extremely startled. Concerned, he opened the door slowly, to reveal that they were trying to hide something behind their back. When Asuka turned to look at them, he could see a glaring thing about their appearance: their arm was missing.

“What happened to your arm, darling?” DJ asked quietly, closing the door behind him.

Asuka looked like they were going to protest when they sighed in defeat. They then pulled out their arm from behind their back. It was frosted white at the fingertips as well as where it was broken off. DJ looked at it with facisination as he approached, interested by how strange it appeared.

“Can I see it?” he asked curiously.

“Sure.” they said with a shrug, handing it off to him.

DJ shivered as he took it from their grip, as it felt freezing cold under his fingertips. He then noticed that, instead of having muscle or bone inside of their unattached limb, it was beautiful crystals ranging from a dark blue to a pale, translucent blue. He carefully examined it, making sure not to break off any of the fingers before giving it back to them. Asuka stared at it for a minute before sheepishly smiling at DJ.

“Hey, could you do me a favour and hold my arm in place as I reattach it? Normally Flora or Peony would help me with this but, seeing as I can’t exactly leave this room without being noticed, I don’t have them.” They said holding out the arm.

“Of course, darling. I understand how frustrating it is to have limbs fall off.” he said as he carefully aligned the arm with the stub connected to their body.

“Thanks a lot.” Asuka thanked.

DJ watched in amazement as they closed their eyes and started to silently whisper words in Japanese. Magic swirled around their body as well as DJ’s, causing him to inadvertently shiver at the cold. And, within a minute or two, the two parts of their arm were attached together again.

“So...how did this happen?” DJ asked after a second, looking quizzically at them.

“I…one of the Moon Penguins accidentally bumped into me and, because I’m so stressed, the arm just...fell off?” Asuka admitted with a nervous chuckle.

“Are you really that stressed?” he asked in concern.

“I...guess so? The temperature in the studio doesn’t help either.” they said with a shrug.

“Do you want me to get the penguins to make it colder for you?” DJ asked in concern, taking their hands into his.

Frost covered their cheeks, which DJ had learned was their way of blushing. They then shrugged their shoulders as they averted their eyes.

“That…that would be nice.” They mumbled, obviously flustered.

DJ leaned in and kissed them gently on the lips before pulling away, rubbing his thumbs on the back of their hands.

“Now, why don’t we go back to the old man before he has an aneurysm, hm?” he joked with a gentle smile, squeezing their hands.

They chuckled and nodded, though not before concentrating for a second to put up their glamour that they used to make their skin seem more like a human pale skin tone instead of it’s normal icy blue. The two then, still holding hands, went to go find Cornelius, though they didn’t tell him about what had happened.

Chapter Text

Jotei knew all of the signs of it nearing the full moon by heart. Not only because of her experience with a handful of members of the Nyakuza who were WereCats, but also because her own child was one.

First, it was mood shifts. For Shun, they became more irritable and prone to snapping at people who weren't Jotei. And, to Jotei, Shun became extremely affectionate and clingy, growling at anyone who tried to even touch Jotei.

Then, it was the sensitivity to certain things. For Shun, it was smell and hearing, as they would dislike and hiss at sounds like what, for Jotei, would be a far-off dog barking, or they would get overly excited over certain smells, such as Shun getting excited because they smelled distant KFC or a fish fry.

After that, it was the teething. Shun would always get an object, usually their favourite foam ball, and start absently chewing on the edge of it. This need to teeth was so strong some full moons that they would even absently teeth on their favourite baseball bats.

And, finally, it was the constant fidgeting and scratching at themself. Shun would do anything to keep moving, from jiggling their legs, to chewing on their lip until they bled, to just flat out asking Jotei what was needed to be done around town.

And, throughout all of it, Jotei tried to accommodate her child as much as possible, though most of it was done in private to keep up her image to the rest of her gang.

However, during this particular full moon, there were some...troublesome members who thought it was a good idea to try to not only trick Jotei into thinking that their debt was paid off, but also…

"Why does Empress even keep that little brat around? It's only another mouth to feed."

Jotei's ears flicked as her gaze went up from sharpening her nails to staring coldly at a group of Nyakuza members. While some of them had the decency to look horrified and motion for the person to shut up, the others nodded in agreement. She glanced over at Shun, whose shoulders had tensed and now was glaring at the person who had said that. Jotei then elegantly got up and walked over to the group.

The ones who hadn't been talking shit backed off immediately, not wanting to get involved when Jotei was angry. However, the ones who were talking shit either shrunk under her cold eye or looked up defiantly. Without a word, she grabbed the two main offenders by the collars and motioned for two of her loyal followers, Jun and Shichirou, to grab the other two.

Shun, understanding what was going on, got up, picking up their ball and carrying it along with them as they followed Jotei, Jun and Shichirou, who were all still carrying the squirming traitors. The ones who had shrunk down were begging and pleading for forgiveness while the ones who were defiant were yelling insults and curses. However, when they reached The Bunker, the defiant traitors stopped moving and paled, as it finally dawned on them what was going on.

First, the group was followed in and Shun went to go join them inside but paused, their eyes scared and helpless, obviously not wanting to go through the transformation alone. Jotei felt her heart tighten with pain at the expression but she pushed it away to simply nod encouragingly. They shakily took in a breath before going inside, causing Jotei to shut it behind them and lock it up.

She then sat down and waited.

After the sun had finally sunk below the horizon, Jotei heard the familiar, painful sounds of Shun crying, hissing, and sobbing as their body transformed. After what seemed like eternity, the pained sounds were replaced by loud snarls and growling, mixed in with fearful whimpers from the gang members. Almost immediately, there was a cacophony of loud sounds, which consisted of large pawsteps pounding against the ground and desperate screams and pleads.

And then….silence.

Knowing Shun, they had probably gotten full and so decided to sleep. And, seeing as how many people were there, that would more than likely tide them over for the rest of the night. Jotei got up, smoothing out her clothing, and going to bed for the night.

The next morning, she wasn't surprised that most of the gang members who weren't used to that sort of occurrence were all cowering away from her in fear, as word had probably spread about what had happened. However, Jotei ignored them and walked to The Bunker and unlocked the door, opening it.

Her nose wrinkled at the strong scent of blood and fear that permeated the room. Sitting in a corner, fast asleep, was Shun, naked and bloody. Sitting in one of the corners was their clothing, surprisingly untouched. But, then again, it was probably because they were occupied otherwise and then immediately fell asleep.

Jotei, despite the copious amounts of blood on them, couldn't help but smile at Shun, as they just looked so adorably peaceful while they were asleep. She leaned down and gently picked them up, trying her best not to disturb them.. However, as Jotei did so, Shun did, in fact, wake up, their eyes blurrily opening as they peered up at her. They seemed to panic for a second before the relaxed again, nuzzling her chest with their head.

“Did I do good, mama?” they murmured, their eyes glancing down briefly to look at the blood on them as well as around the room.

Jotei smiled and kissed their forehead lovingly as she picked up the folded up clothing and shifted her grip so that she was comfortably holding both.

“You always do baby. Now, why don’t we go to your favourite sushi place after we get you cleaned up?” she purred lovingly, tucking some of their hair behind their ears.

Shun happily nodded before leaning against Jotei, their chest rumbling as they purred, tail lazily flicking back and forth as they dozed off once more. Jotei smiled and went to go to her place, humming a lullaby softly under her breath as she did so.

There wasn’t much in this world that she cared for.

But her little kitten was definitely one of them.