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manunelle · 1 month ago

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Inside the Carboard Box (Ikemen Prince Cat! AU)

I wrote this in mid-2022, but forgot it in the depths of my drive. To sum it up, it's an AU where the princes are cats and Emma is their owner. I might continue this or not.

English is not my first language.

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"Excuse me, is it alright if I go out for lunch now?" Emma asked, trying to hide her impatience.

The manager lifted her gaze from the computer in front of her, blinking in confusion. She stared at Emma, squinting her eyes as if she couldn't grasp that simple question, then glanced at the wall clock, quickly understanding the situation.

"Oh, heavens, you haven't had lunch yet?! I completely forgot about you!"

Emma gave a fake smile, something that was becoming increasingly common since she got this job.

“Haha, no problem,” she said, waving her hand in the air. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’m heading out now. I’ll be back in an hour.”

“Yes, yes, take as much time as you need!” she said, smiling timidly at Emma.

She almost felt bad for being annoyed with the woman. Almost.

She left the building in a hurry, nearly sprinting toward her apartment. Fortunately, she didn’t live far from work—in fact, the proximity was the main reason Emma had applied for such a boring job.

In less than 10 minutes, she was already in front of the complex, fumbling with the set of keys in her hands. As she unlocked the building door, something across the street caught her eye—a filthy, lonely cardboard box.

There was nothing special about the object, yet it was as if something was desperately calling out to Emma. For a moment, she could’ve sworn she saw the lid of the box move, but she quickly shook her head, convincing herself it wasn't worth the time to investigate.

She entered the building, shutting the door firmly behind her. Emma climbed up to her apartment, unlocked the door with ease, and stepped into her home sweet home.

She remained silent, listening carefully. Waiting.

“ Meow, meow, meow!”

In less than a minute, a blonde furball ran toward her, affectionately rubbing against her legs.

Emma smiled, picking up the cat and gently hugging it. Immediately, the animal began to purr loudly, rubbing its face against hers.

"Riooo! Did you miss me?"

The cat meowed again, as if to say, "Isn't that obvious?"

"You must be hungry, right? Come on, I'll give you some of your favorite."

“Meeeow.”

She walked to the kitchen with Rio hopping behind her. She grabbed a saucer from one of the cabinets and served some of her pet's favorite pouch food. She watched him eagerly lick the food, a gentle smile on her face.

The woman didn’t know when it had happened, but Rio had become the main reason she kept moving forward with her head held high. She had found him abandoned on a winter night, about a year ago, sleeping in front of the door of the building where she lived. She took him inside her apartment and discovered an injury on one of his paws, quickly tending to it.

She had planned to take him to a shelter once he was well enough, but that never happened.

Maybe it was his adorable blue eyes, or the therapeutic sound of his purring, or perhaps even the excited way he meowed every time she came back from work, as if he had truly spent the entire day waiting for her, just for her. She couldn’t say exactly why, but she couldn’t bring herself to let Rio go back then, and she wouldn't even dream of doing so now.

Sighing, she took her lunch out of the fridge and quickly ate her meal. Although she still had a good forty minutes of her lunch break left, she wanted to stop by the library to return some books, so she couldn’t afford to take too long.

A dripping sound pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked through the kitchen window, curious.

"Was it supposed to rain today?" she asked, casting an inquisitive glance at Rio.

He lifted his head from the saucer, licking himself greedily.

“Mroow?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Emma placed her empty plate in the sink and went in search of an umbrella through the messy house. Although she didn’t have many pieces of furniture, the house was filled with books in every room. The only organized place in the house was probably where the bed she bought for Rio was – a bed that had been completely rejected, by the way, as the cat always slept in her bed.

She grabbed an umbrella and picked up the books she needed to return, dragging herself to the entrance of the apartment.

“Meeeow!”

She smiled kindly at the cat, who looked at her sadly. He always did that when Emma needed to leave, as if trying to convince her to stay with that simple gesture.

Crouching down, she gently stroked the cat's head, laughing as the poor thing rubbed against her hand, trying to prolong the affection as much as possible.

“I need to go, Rio. I’ll play with you more later, ok?”

He meowed again, not at all happy about her leaving.

She stood up, left the apartment, and quickly shut the door. If she didn’t do that, Rio would surely find a way to leap into the hallway, and Emma didn’t want to provoke the building manager’s wrath again.

In front of the building, Emma opened her umbrella and promptly held it over her head. Impulsively, she glanced across the street, nearly jumping in shock when she realized someone was watching her.

A black cat was staring at her intently, as if trying to assess whether Emma was a threat or not. It was sitting in front of the cardboard box from earlier—was it the one inside the box before?

Unable to resist the temptation, she carefully crossed the street, approaching the animal slowly. Despite Emma making sure not to make any sudden movements to avoid scaring it, the cat didn’t seem intimidated at all, scrutinizing her from head to toe with intense focus.

She smiled at him, crouching down and slowly extending her hand. The cat stretched its neck, calmly sniffing her hand as she watched patiently. The animal lifted its violet eyes from her hand, staring directly at her. Slightly surprised by the cat’s unusual behavior, she quickly returned to smiling at it.

That seemed to win him over, as slowly, cautiously, the cat rubbed its head against Emma’s palm.

She gently petted his wet fur, chuckling softly as he rubbed against her knees. The cat narrowed its eyes, as if trying to decide on its next move, then suddenly turned toward the cardboard box, looking from the box to Emma, and back again.

She blinked in confusion, approaching the box and slowly opening it.

Eyes-widened, a sound of pure amazement escaping her lips.

Eight cats were sleeping inside the box, huddled together in a tangle of paws and tails. Although they clearly weren’t kittens, they were severely malnourished, which likely made it easier for them all to fit inside the box.

Did they have no owner? Or had they been abandoned?

She gazed at them sadly, unable to stop herself from remembering when she had found Rio at her doorstep—thin, injured, and sad, completely alone in the world.

At least these little ones have each other, she thought.

Emma placed her umbrella over the cardboard box, carefully covering them so they wouldn’t get any wetter. It was the least she could do for them.

Although the young woman was tempted to take them to her apartment, she knew she wasn’t allowed to. She still remembered how much she had to argue with the building manager to keep Rio, so she already knew the answer to her request to shelter nine more cats in her small apartment.

Someone will surely take care of them, Emma thought, trying to convince herself of that. Someone other than me.

She petted the black cat one last time, saying goodbye. He stared at her with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t understand what she was doing.

Emma quickly looked away, feeling guilty. Turning her back on the cat, she began her journey to the library, glancing back a few times to make sure the cat wasn’t following her.

He remained there, staring at her, but that didn’t make Emma feel any better.

"Someone will rescue them, Emma," she said, sighing heavily. "Don't you dare do it, Emma."

She quickened her pace, distancing herself from the box as fast as possible.

"Have a good rest, Emma," the manager said, bidding her farewell. "And I'm sorry for today, okay? I promise it won't happen again."

Emma smiled, waving goodbye. She knew the same thing would happen the next day, but she was too tired to be frustrated with the woman.

Maybe it was because it was Friday, and the day had dragged on unbearably slowly, leaving her more tired than usual. Or maybe it was because she still felt bad for simply abandoning a box full of hungry, filthy, and possibly sick kittens.

She descended the building’s stairs, a yawn escaping her lips.

Emma was sure that by the time she returned home, the cats wouldn’t be there anymore. Either someone would have taken them, or they had gone off on their own. She thought about this to try to convince herself that she hadn’t neglected a serious situation, but her discomfort only grew as soon as she stepped out of the building.

Sitting on the wet sidewalk was the black cat from before, waiting for her.

At least that’s what she thought, because he seemed to recognize her immediately. He bounced in her direction, rubbing against Emma’s leg and looking into her eyes with an expression so tired that she thought she was seeing a reflection of her own face.

She stretched down and picked up the cat from the ground, carefully cradling him in her arms. Although he was clearly not used to it, he stayed still, staring at her silently.

Emma smiled, gently stroking the cat's head.

"I'm sorry for earlier, okay? I wasn't thinking straight." The cat narrowed its eyes, as if debating whether to forgive her or claw her eyes out. "Let's go find your family, alright?"

This seemed to provoke a reaction from the feline, who widened its eyes and squirmed desperately, jumping to the ground and hopping quickly toward Emma's apartment. It kept turning its head back, checking if she was following him.

Rio was an intelligent cat, but Emma could tell without a doubt that this cat made hers look like an amateur.

As soon as she arrived, the first thing she saw was her umbrella, which made her feel a little more at ease. At least they hadn’t been exposed to the rain. She approached slowly and quietly, careful not to startle the group.

Emma stopped beside the cardboard box, opening it cautiously, but quickly shut it again upon hearing an angry hiss.

Of course they’re awake, she thought.

She exchanged glances with the black cat, who just watched her without offering any support.

"You could at least help, don't you think?" Emma muttered.

She could have sworn the cat's eyes gleamed mockingly, but she turned her attention back to the box. She tried to open it again, but quickly gave up the idea when she heard them (yes, plural!) growling.

"I'm sorry for leaving you here before," she said, gently stroking the box as if the object itself represented the animals it housed. "I'm going to take you to a warm place now, okay? I promise it will be better there, just hang on a little longer."

Almost magically, as if they could understand her, the growls ceased, replaced by an eager silence.

The black cat rubbed against her leg, and Emma smiled.

"Well, I hope Rio doesn't have a fit because of you guys," she said, struggling to lift the box. "Ugh, you’re definitely not light."

The trip across the street to her apartment on the third floor took longer than usual, and Emma thanked all the divine entities for not running into the building manager along the way. Once she finally made it into her apartment, followed all the way by the black cat, she staggered into the living room, placing the cardboard box on the floor as carefully as possible.

"Meow, meow, meow!" Rio entered the room, a look of pure joy on his face. However, as soon as he saw the box, his eyes widened, and he stared at it, alert. "Meow?"

"Yeah... Well, Rio. We have company," she said, opening the cardboard box and letting the chaos loose.

The first to jump out of the box was a cat with messy black fur, its golden eyes wildly scanning the room. It eyed Rio and Emma warily, ready to leap at any moment, but seemed to settle down a bit when it noticed the presence of the black cat.

Calmly, Emma sat down in front of the animal, which stared at her with wide eyes, as if deciding whether to flee or attack. She repeated the gesture from earlier, extending her hand and letting him determine for himself that she wasn’t a threat. The cat sniffed the palm and back of her hand carefully, until, cautiously, it rubbed its face against it.

Emma gently stroked its head, face, and neck, trying to calm and comfort it. This seemed to work, as within a minute, the animal was purring contentedly, rubbing against her and encouraging her to continue the affection.

A wave of agony swept through her stomach—how long had this poor thing been deprived of moments like this? She was almost certain that he had once been a pet, simply by his gentle and needy personality, and she couldn’t help but feel pity at the sight of the cat desperately seeking her affection.

She lifted her gaze, still stroking the cat, which was now rubbing against her stomach, and was startled to see that nearly all the cats had stretched their heads out of the box, staring at her intensely.

The second to jump out was a brown-furred cat with red eyes, who, although seeming calmer than the others, still looked around cautiously. After him, a cat with rather peculiar fur—a shiny gray that could almost be mistaken for lilac—approached Emma immediately, sniffing her curiously and promptly rubbing against her legs, meowing long and melodiously.

Two cats with blonde fur jumped out of the box, each looking at Emma in completely different ways. The first was larger, with thicker fur, staring at the woman coldly with his blue eyes. The second was significantly smaller, but seemed ready to attack anyone who came near, whether human or animal.

Slowly, a large orange cat bounced out of the box, looking around the room with disinterest. When his eyes landed on Emma, he slowly walked over to her, rubbing against her leg and purring when she scratched under his chin.

Finally, a gray cat hesitantly left the box, staring at Emma with red, worried eyes. This made her a little uneasy, but she only realized something was wrong when he and the black cat from earlier approached the box and stuck their heads inside, peering at something there.

She gently lifted both the black and orange cats off her lap, carefully placing them on the floor. Ignoring their grumbles, she slowly approached the box, her heart breaking as she saw what was inside.

A gray cat with red eyes, exactly like the one next to her, was lying inside, an expression of pure exhaustion on its face. But what really caught Emma's attention was its bloodied hind paw – perhaps a dog had attacked it, or maybe even a malicious person had injured it.

She frowned, trying to push those thoughts out of her mind. There were no vets open at this hour, so she needed to treat him as quickly as possible so she could take him to one tomorrow. Fortunately, she already had some experience with injured animals thanks to Rio, so she had an idea of what she needed to do.

Emma carefully lifted the animal, but even so, the poor thing moaned in pain. This seemed to stir the others, who followed her to where she kept her first aid kit. The gray cat circled her while she cleaned the wound of the other, watching every move she made with agitation and concern, while the black cat stood still by her side, as if trusting her skills.

She bandaged the kitten's wound, laying him down on the soft bed that had been forgotten by Rio. He looked at her warily, but seemed too tired to offer any resistance.

The young woman felt something rubbing against her leg and looked down to see the other gray cat desperately nuzzling against her. She gently lifted him from the ground, holding him close to her chest – he didn't purr, but seemed grateful for the gesture.

She turned her gaze to the others, watching them quietly. God, what had she gotten herself into?

The black cat was bouncing excitedly around the room, sniffing and investigating curiously, as if this were the most fun adventure of his life. The orange cat seemed to have found the perfect spot for a nap – inside a laundry basket full of clothes that Emma urgently needed to fold. One of the blonde cats was sitting on a pile of books, while the gray cat had already knocked over at least two of her precious stacks. The brown cat was gently rubbing against Emma's legs, and the smaller cat watched her from behind the bookshelf, as if still not entirely convinced of her good intentions.

She sighed, trying not to panic.

"You must be hungry, right?" she said, carefully releasing the gray cat, who landed gracefully on the rug. "I'll find something for you to eat."

The mention of food was enough to make the animals even more excited – even the calmer ones, like the orange cat and the blonde cat, got up and ran toward her, meowing desperately.

The nine cats followed her into the kitchen, meowing in unison. She feared the noise might annoy the neighbors, or worse, alert the building manager to her little infraction, so she hurried her movements.

Thank God she had taken advantage of that promotion on cat food and pouches, so she had enough to feed the little troop of cats that were hopping around her apartment excitedly. She served the pouches on some saucers, and the cats pounced on the food as soon as she placed the dishes on the floor. While they desperately licked their meal, she set out some bowls with dry food and water, leaving them on the floor for when they finished their snack.

They were incredibly thin, and the way they desperately devoured their food made it clear that it had been a long time since their last meal. Emma couldn't understand how anyone could abandon such defenseless and vulnerable animals. She felt a rage she didn't even know she was capable of.

“Meooooooow!!”

She looked toward the kitchen entrance, where Rio was staring at her desperately. The poor thing ran toward her, practically climbing her until he was in her arms, anxiously rubbing his little face against Emma's neck, as if trying to mark her.

Emma laughed, wrapping him in a comforting hug.

"It's alright, Rio, I'm not replacing you," she murmured, stroking his soft fur.

Rio grumbled, letting out a grouchy meow that was far from satisfied.

"You've been in the same situation as them, remember? I couldn't leave them there, just like I didn't leave you."

Rio kept grumbling softly, but he couldn't hide his happiness at being hugged and petted by his beloved owner.

Emma looked down, surprised to see that all nine cats were watching her attentively. Perhaps they were surprised by the way she was treating Rio.

She placed Rio on the floor, and he hissed at the other cats before running out of the room, likely to hide under the bed. She let the cats continue their meal in the kitchen and went to the bathroom, filling the bathtub with warm water and searching for the shampoo she had used during the few times she needed to bathe Rio.

The cats were adorable, but they were filthy and probably infested with fleas. And since she was already breaking the rules of the complex, the least she could do was clean them so they wouldn’t dirty the apartment any further.

She returned to the kitchen and grabbed the first cat she saw – the one with soft, blonde fur. A low growl escaped the cat's lips as she lifted him off the floor, but he didn't struggle to escape, although Emma could feel he might scratch her arms from top to bottom at any moment.

The moment she placed him in the bathtub, the cat meowed furiously, giving her a deathly glare. She gave a crooked smile, gently petting him as an apology. This seemed to calm him down, though he continued to stare at her as if he were tempted to scratch her face off.

Once she finished with the cat, she dried him carefully and let him loose in the living room, leaving him to his own devices. There were still eight cats to bathe and dry, and she was almost certain they wouldn't be as calm as his brother.

After finishing bathing all of them, she began organizing the living room, moving piles of books to clear space so they could rest and sleep without destroying anything of sentimental value – meaning, her books. It took some time to finish, especially since the black cat with golden eyes and the gray cat with red eyes kept walking and rubbing against her legs, almost causing Emma to fall more than once.

She grabbed some blankets and arranged them into small nests on the floor so they could sleep comfortably. This seemed to please them enough, as they began kneading the fabric, making biscuits with their little paws.

Emma couldn't suppress a sound of admiration as she watched the smallest of them knead one of the blankets incessantly, moving closer to pet his head.

“Ouch!”

The cat greeted her with a scratch, probably because he had been startled by her sudden movement. The other cats looked in her direction, frightened.

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room, and Emma could easily feel their anxiety. She turned her gaze back to the little cat, meeting his nervous blue eyes. His whole body was trembling, and his fur was standing on end, as if he was expecting a violent reaction from her.

Slowly, she gently stroked his head, watching as his posture gradually relaxed.

"You don't have to be afraid, okay? I’m not going to hurt you."

The little cat approached, shakily rubbing against her hand and licking the scratch he had given her, as if apologizing.

"Ha ha, it's alright, don't worry about it. I'm sorry for scaring you, little one."

That seemed to be enough to calm the animal, as he began to gently rub his head against Emma's hand. She returned the affection, placing him on a small pile of blankets she had arranged.

"Sleep well tonight, okay?" she said, stroking his silky fur once more. "If you need anything, I'll be in the other room."

The cat stared at her, probably not understanding a word of what she had said. Truly, she had gotten very spoiled because of Rio.

She sighed, tired. Thank God tomorrow is Saturday, she thought.

Emma walked heavily toward the bathroom, leaving the cats to settle in. She desperately needed a shower and a good night's sleep – her day had been way too stressful.

Once she finished her hot shower, she tiptoed as quietly as she could to the living room, peeking at them. She closed her eyes, stifling a squeal. She would have to be careful not to die from so much cuteness.

All of them were asleep, which wasn’t surprising, as their day had likely been much worse than Emma's. The two gray cats were lying on the bed that belonged (or rather, used to belong) to Rio, nestled against each other. The orange cat was leaning against the brown cat, completely stretched out, while the black cat curled up against the small blonde cat, who was rolled into a little ball. On the other side of the room, the other blonde cat was also curled up, though it seemed much more annoyed than its brother – not surprising, since the lilac (or was it gray?) cat had planted its two back paws on its little face.

She felt something rubbing against her leg and found the black cat, the one that had followed her from home to work and put her in that situation. His lilac eyes gazed deeply at Emma, as if he could read her mind. She smiled, crouching down to pet his soft, black fur.

"You really got me into a tough spot, huh? How do you plan to pay me for my services?"

The cat blinked calmly, not bothered by her question. She laughed softly, sliding her hand from the back of his neck down to the middle of his spine, and he purred quietly.

"I guess I'll have to accept your cuteness as payment after all."

She petted him one last time, then stood up and walked to her bedroom. When she turned on the light, she immediately met Rio's blue eyes, as he stared at her from atop the bed with a sleepy gaze.

She threw herself onto the bed, pulling the covers over her and burying her head in the pillow. She felt Rio kneading her back with his little paws, and Emma felt like she was in paradise.

Tomorrow, she would deal with her possessed building manager and the nine cats that needed food, water, medical care, and love. For now, she just needed to sleep.

She just hoped she wouldn't wake up to find her entire house destroyed.

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