She knew there would be trouble.

She did not, however, expect so much trouble.

She should have stopped them.

But perhaps it's for the best she didn't.

Inspiration ß Kitty AUs

...xXx...

Back when her friends had spoken about her, besides 'unreasonable reasonability,' they had also deemed her as a person with 'confusing organization.' They went on to describe it for her again.

"It's not that you yourself are a confusing, complex kind of person, not that there's something wrong with that," Jinju had began. "But it's like there are times when you should mess up or leave a mess but you don't."

"It's like the unreasonable reasonability," Miyoung had added. "You're basically unbelievably organized and have all your priorities straight, but what and how you organize is..."

"Confusing," Jinju had provided; then, she elaborated. "Your system is just for you to know basically. It makes sense for you, but for others...Yeah, we just go along with it."

At that time, she had just nodded and went with it, but, she silently reasoned, this must have been what they were talking about.

When she placed the male sharing the bed with her as Zitao, she prioritized her usual schedule first, if only for a minute to organize her brain longer with the monotonous work so she set about, gathering the laundry and tossing it in the washer as always. She went through her normal morning routine, ignoring the male in her room, reasoning the whole situation until finally it was time for her to wake up Zitao normally...if he had been a cat. 

Then, she decided, today's schedule would be different; she wasn't sure, of course, but she had a feeling.

So first, she prioritized what she needed to do about who she believed to be human-used-to-be-cat Zitao - clothes, food, language (barrier?), hygiene, behavior differences, etc. She searched through her drawers, finding what she was looking for finally.

"Zitao," she called carefully, shaking the male slowly on the shoulder. Again, he lazily opened a blue eye and naturally, her hand reached up to pet him behind his cat ears at his groggy look. He purred and if it wasn't for her 'unreasonable reasonability,' she would have screamed, frozen, flinched, or something similar. Instead, she swallowed nervously and called him again.

"Zitao. Get up," she urged. He finally sat up, her blanket falling to his waist and, as she feared, she was pretty sure he wasn't wearing clothes. She lifted a quick prayer up that this wouldn't go horribly bad. "Zitao, come on. Let's put on some clothes."

"Clothes? But those are for humans, Shuying-Zhu," human-Zitao grumbled in a foreign language, rubbing his eyes with a yawn. Sooyeon faintly recognized his words and bit her bottom lip. She had taken the language back in high school and though she understood him well enough, speaking Mandarin was beyond her capacity in her current state of confusion and panic. And what was Shuying-Zhu?

"Zitao," she called carefully. "Look at yourself...You are a human right now."

Both his eyes widened, fully awake, and he looked at himself, blinking slowly. He opened his mouth then closed it. Then he blushed. 

"Don't look Shuying-Zhu!" Zitao pleaded, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders. "Human boys and girls shouldn't see each other !" 

Assuming that she herself was Shuying-Zhu (whatever that meant), she turned around, holding out a pair of boxers, sweats, and a giant hoodie. A quick pull had them tumbling out of her grip and she waited patiently while Zitao figured out how to wear them.

There was a pause of silence without the usual clothes rustling or muttered Chinese.

"Shuying-Zhu...I need help," Zitao admitted.

"Are you decent?" Sooyeon asked, back still towards him. 

"...Yes?" he said, almost in question, but she turned to look at him slowly anyways. He had pulled on the boxers and sweats no problem but he had gotten his head and arms stuck in the hoodie, a light blush on his cheeks as he sat on her bed. She laughed and he pouted.

"Shuying-Zhou! It's not nice to laugh! I was a cat before!" he pointed out in reminder. She reached over, a smile still touching her face as she helped the poor cat-male untangle himself from the hoodie. 

"I know Zitao. You did well in dressing yourself," she reassured, mussing his hair affectionately and pulling off the hoodie. "Come on. Let's try again."

With her directing and light pulling, she was able to get him in the hoodie no problem although...

"I'll have to buy you some more clothes later...and you have a tail," she observed, tilting her head in puzzlement. Zitao's tail was just above where his pants needed to go, luckily, but there was no way to disguise the fact that he had a tail. 

"Guess you'll be staying home like always," she mused before straightening. "Come on. Let's have some breakfast."

"I love breakfast," he stated, agreeing with her plans, before he stood and collapsed. She turned to him and held out her hand.

"Come on Zitao," she urged, smiling. "I know you can walk on two legs if you want to."

He gave her a quick 'what-do-you-know' glare but took her hand all the same and with shaky, slow steps, the two arrived at the table. She helped him into his seat and even before she took her own seat, his face was buried in his his eggs and sausages, defying all rules of table manners. Although partially appalled, she found his actions amusing more than anything else.

"Zitao," she called, barely catching his attention. Some eggs fell off the table.

"Zitao," she repeated firmly. He looked up, a sausage still in between his lips.

"Wot?" he asked, mouth full. She rolled her eyes and sighed, giving him a helpless smile.

"Eat slowly. The food won't go anywhere...I'll teach you how to use chopsticks later," she decided, wiping some eggs from his cheek with her thumb and eating it herself, an action she had done often when her younger sister was a baby. 

He stared at her for a moment, head tilted and eyes concentrated in a way that would have made her flustered if not for the egg bits and sausage grease smudges on his cheeks and bangs.

"Shuying-zhu, do you do that often?" he asked finally. 

"Only with people I'm close to," Sooyeon answered, starting her own breakfast. 

"You shouldn't do it with others," Zitao declared, frowning. "Someone's going to get attacked."

"Attacked?" she repeated, coughing. Zitao looked alarmed but she waved him down. "Why would someone get attacked because I ate eggs off their face?"

Zitao scowled.

"Never mind," he grumbled. The cat ears on his head twitched and Sooyeon's eyes were drawn to them. She observed him as they ate.

He was tall as a human and easily towered over her (though his posture needed fixing). His hair, unlike his fur, was a pure black that matched the color of his ears and his tail. He had a pair of human and cat ears, oddly enough, and his tail, much like when he was a cat, swung in the air happily as he ate. But more importantly, his eyes...were still the startling blue she had fallen in love with back at the cat store. 

Blue clashed with brown.

"Is something wrong Shuying-zhu?" he asked, blinking innocently at her. Her mind grabbed at a thought and she couldn't help but release a sigh. He blinked again.

"Finish eating first Zitao," she advised, casting a critical eye over him. "After, we'll wash the food off of you and brush your teeth."

"Why?" he probed, looking at her warily. She stared at him for a moment.

"Zitao do you trust me?" she questioned, startling him. He looked nervous and looked around, almost shrinking in himself.

"Zitao?" she called, surprised. His eyes matched hers and cautiously, he nodded. 

"That's good. You're a good cat," she complimented, reaching over and petting him behind the ears. He purred and the two continued eating. She knew she would need her energy to teach her feline cleanliness.

-oOo-

When she first got up in the morning, she hadn't realized anything was different at all. She was never a morning person and it was only near noon when Changmin would usually would throw a fit if she was still lazing about that she finally admitted to herself that maybe (just maybe) she was attached to the annoying furball of trouble.

"Changmin!" she called, glancing over at where his cat bed was. Finding it empty, she set about exploring her home but didn't see tail nor fur of the feline. 

"Changmin!" she shouted, somewhat panicked. Finally, there was an answer. 

"Umm...over here?" came the voice. She looked around quickly and her jaw dropped. Standing awkwardly behind the kitchen counter was a male -...with cat ears and tail. She did not have the 'unreasonable reasonability' she had coined towards the eldest female and therefore, did the most logical thing - screamed.

"Creep! ert! Put on some clothes!" she screeched, except, of course, with colorful curse words inserted here and there. She threw random things at the claimed-feline-but-human including a lamp, a plant, three pillows, and a cat toy.

"Ow! Stop that! It's not like I wanted to be a human!" said male shouted, dodging gracefully. "I just woke up this morning and bam! I'm human! What do you want me to do?!" 

"Turn back into a cat then!" Jinju threw back, covering her eyes. "What am I doing reasoning with a freaking ert-creep?! What'd you do with Changmin you liar?!" 

"I am Changmin!" the male huffed. "Do you want proof? What can I do to prove it to you anyways?!" 

The phone rang then, startling the duo. Jinju grabbed the phone and ran into her room, shutting and locking the door behind her; she needed help.

"Morning Jinju," Sooyeon's calm voice came over the speaker.

"Oh gosh Umma! I need your help! There's a ert in my house and Changmin's nowhere and-"

"Jinju. Breathe," Sooyeon ordered, stopping the female from hyperventilating. Jinju took in a breath slowly, releasing it carefully.

"Ok. I'm calm...er. But I'm not lying Umma. I need your help," Jinju stated, throwing a suspicious look at her bedroom door, as if it would betray her at any moment and swing open. 

"Is your cat missing?" Sooyeon asked, sounding curious rather than panicked.

"Yeah! And there's this ert-creep outside who keeps on claming to be him," Jinju confirmed, nodding though Sooyeon wouldn't be able to see through the phone. 

"...Jinju, it is hard to believe, but maybe that is Changmin," Sooyeon reasoned slowly. 

"Yeah right," Jinju laughed. "Never thought I'd see the day when you would joke like that."

"Hey Shuying-Zhu. Which human are you talking to?" came an unfamiliar, male voice over the phone.

"Not now," Sooyeon answered softly, placating the male in the background.

"Umma! I'm asking for your help and you're flirting with some Chinese guy?!" Jinju screeched, surprised by Sooyeon's flirting and worried about her own situation.

"Oh for the love of-" Sooyeon muttered before sighing. "Half an hour. Then I'll get over there with Zitao. I'll bring Miyoung and Minho along. Stay put...and don't throw things at the poor guy. We need him alive."

"But he's a ert and a creep!" Jinju shouted into the phone, but she only heard the dial-tone. "...Don't hang up on me!"

-oOo-

"Miyoung-human," came the deep voice. She groaned, clinging to the last remnants of sleep. "Miyoung-human, wake up! You have to help me!"

"Not now," she mumbled, pulling the covers over her head. 

"Get up now!" the voice shouted, pulling the blankets away. 

"I don't want to," she complained, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She froze. She opened to scream but no sounds came out. Instead, she settled for losing consciousness and fainting. Immediately.

"Miyoung-human!" the man who stood near by the foot of her bed called, clad only with a large towel wrapped around his waist. When she next woke up, the room was gratefully empty and she was still in bed. She sighed aloud. A dream. That must have been what it was. Only a dream. She got up, pulling the covers off and heading to her kitchen. She heard a familiar voice speaking and she smiled.

"Umma!~" she called, eagerly hugging the shorter female who was talking on the phone. Sooyeon absent-mindedly patted Miyoung's arm in acknowledgement before continuing her conversation.

"Look. She's up now. We'll be over in a few minutes...It's only been half an hour. Your cat-human won't die without your help and you're not going to help him die either...Look I know it's unreasonable but-...Jinju, shut up. I'll be there in 10 minutes so chill," Sooyeon finally snapped, rolling her eyes and hanging up.

"What's going on with Jinju?" Miyoung asked, tilting her head with confusion. 

"With all of us," Sooyeon corrected, looking passed Miyoung and into her living room. Miyoung turned and gaped. Sitting on the couch, watching Animal Planet were two males - one that she faintly recognized as the male she had seen near- before. He was dressed now in clothes that she faintly recognized as an outfit from the store a few streets down.

"What's going on?" Miyoung questioned, looking confused. "And where's Minho? He doesn't take to strangers so why isn't he all hissy at the new guy?"

The 'new guy' looked over, raising a hand.

"I am Minho," he stated simply. The cat ears on his head moved as if to accent his statement. 

She gaped for a moment, openly gaped then shut and slowly spoke.

"So...is this going to be...permanent? And how did this happen?" Miyoung dared to ask, eyes darting to the shorter female. Sooyeon looked up at her, patting her arm in comfort. 

"We're going over to Jinju's to discuss. Now come on," Sooyeon urged, escaping Miyoung's hug and hopping down from the chair. "If Jinju calls me one more time before we get there, I'm abandoning her."

Miyoung rolled her eyes at the female's statement since she hadn't followed through with the threat yet but the four - the two cat-humans and two females - soon made their way to Jinju's home regardless.

-oOo-

The second the doorbell rang, Jinju burst out of her room, pushed passed the still- claiming-to-be-a-cat-human, and opened the door.

"Jagiya!~ Umma!~" Jinju cried, wrapping her arms around the first person there. "Help me!"

"I'm over here," Miyoung stated from the left. Jinju blinked and looked up, finding a tall male in her arms. She yelped, letting go as if burned. 

"What is going on with this world?!" Jinju cried, jumping away. 

"You must have been really distressed if you voluntarily hugged someone," Miyoung noted, raising an eyebrow as she, Sooyeon, and two males stepped inside. "You hate when people touch you or when you touch people...If it makes you feel better, that is a cat...or was a cat anyways."

"Was a cat?" Jinju repeated, pausing in her panic. "What do you mean by that?" 

"Let's talk about that after we get Changmin clothed," Miyoung suggested, shrugging. 

"Where is Changmin? And what happened to that guy?" Jinju questioned, looking around. 

"I had Zitao and Minho instruct him on how to dress," Sooyeon answered, breaking into their conversation. "It's a good thing I assumed your felines would end up human too."

"Because all cats turn into humans," Jinju muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. Leave it to the mother of the group to assume the weirdest, worst-case scenario ever and have her actually be right. The world was going nuts.

-oOo-

The three female humans and three ex-feline humans sat on the couch, three on each. Sooyeon sat in between Changmin and Zitao while Jinju used Miyoung as a physical barrier against Minho.

"I don't like this," Jinju finally stated, frowning. "This whole thing goes against science and I should know since I almost majored in Biology in college; this is completely-"

"-nuts. We know Jagi," Miyoung interrupted, lips pulled into an awkward smile. "I think we've already established."

"As interesting as the biology aspect of this...transformation is, whether or not this is reversible is more important," Sooyeon pointed out, frowning. "It's one thing living with a feline and another dealing with a cat-like human. Plus, my cousin announced that he's visiting sometime next week. If Zitao's not back by then, he'll have to live with one of you two for a few days."

"I don't want to be separated!" Zitao shouted in Mandarin, frowning. "I want to stay with you Shuying-Zhu."

"It's bad for all of us, but Umma I think it's somewhat hard for you in particular. How are you dealing with the language barrier?" Miyoung asked, throwing a quick glance at the tall blue-eyed male. "And Shuying-Zhu?"

"The language barrier shouldn't be a problem. I'll have to brush up on my Mandarin but that's not the biggest concern," Sooyeon answered, patting Zitao on the hand comfortingly. 

"And Shuying-Zhu?" Jinju repeated, raising an eyebrow. Sooyeon rarely skipped over a question and when she did, it was often for amusing reasons.

"It's me," Sooyeon admitted. 

"Oh so Sooyeon is the same as Shuying," Miyoung pieced together. "But Zhu?"

Sooyeon blushed, turning pink dark enough for the two other females to lean closer in anticipation. Finally, she muttered under her breath, eyes dropping to the floor.

"What?" Jinju questioned teasingly.

"It's master ok?" Sooyeon spat, red. "I can't get him to drop it alright? I tried."

Miyoung and Jinju broke out into light laughter at her answer. 

Only the oldest would have the most unusual of the days when in their odd circumstances.