Purple Floof

“Kyaa! He’s so cute!”

Yasaka could only watch dumbly as her daughter ran towards the giant, monstrously fat, purple tiger that clearly did not want to be here. But despite its very grumpy demeanor, Kunou wrapped her small arms around the impressive girth of its front paws.

“Honey…,” she said with no small level of uncertainty. “What is that?”

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. “It’s a Gregivis Tiger. They’re alchemically created and are all the rage in the Underworld these days.”

“…I see.” No. No she did not see. Not in the least. “And why exactly is it sitting in my backyard?”

“Well,” he started nervously, “remember how you said you wanted to give Kunou something to manage to learn responsibility? I thought getting her a pet would be a great way to do just that.”

She had to suppress the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Meanwhile, Kunou let out a gasp and looked between her parents with stars in her eyes. “Really, Onii-san? Okaa-sama, can we keep him? Pleeeease?”

“Kunou,” she began, but was immediately cut off by her daughter’s pleading.

“I’ll take care of him! I promise! I’ll feed him, walk him, bathe him and everything! Please, Okaa-sama?” Kunou stared imploringly as her tails swished in excitement.

And as Yasaka’s eyes fell back to overweight beast, she couldn’t help but notice the way it looked down on her daughter, so obviously disgruntled and displeased. It was almost impressive the level of contempt the animal managed to muster.

“C’mon, Yasaka,” her husband said as he stepped next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “It’s normal for kids to have pets.” And then his voice dropped low just for her ears. “Plus, it helps that this one is magically enhanced enough to keep up with a certain overenergetic kitsune.”

Between her daughter’s pleading eyes and her husband’s rationale, Yasaka could only close her eyes in a silent sigh. Finally, she said, “Does he have a name?”

Ichigo’s eyes lit up with a smile, and she immediately noticed the brightening demeanor of her daughter who realized she was on the cusp of having her way.

“Well, I was thinking of calling him Murasaki.”

Before she could voice her thoughts, Kunou screamed in delight. “I love it! Kurosaki Murasaki! It rhymes! Oh! I’ll find a big black cape for Murasaki to wear around, he’ll be the most adorable tiger in the world!”

The purple tiger did not seem to agree as it only looked even more grumpy.

“Kunou, wait,” Yasaka said swiftly before giving her husband a flat look as she crossed her arms and raised a questioning eyebrow. “Murasaki, really? You’re going to call him Purple? Could you be any more unimaginative?”

“Hey!” Ichigo responded defensively. “I think it’s great, and like Kunou said, it rhymes!”

Her daughter nodded her head, even as she copied her pose, crossing her arms and throwing out a challenging look. “What would you call him, then, Okaa-sama?”

“I think Yuri would make for a lovely name!” She said imperiously.

Ichigo looked at her in confusion. “Yuri?”

“Like lilies, the flower,” she explained.

“You want to name a tiger after a flower?” He said disbelievingly.

“Yuri’s not bad,” Kunou mumbled.

“No, hold on,” Ichigo said as he held up a hand. “It’s a tiger, how does naming him after a flower make any more sense than naming him Murasaki?”

“Lilies can be purple too!” Yasaka said pointedly.

He gave her a baffled look. “So, it does come down to color! Again, what’s wrong with Murasaki?”

Yasaka rolled her eyes. Honestly, for someone who traveled all around the multiverse and across dimensions, why was her husband so obtuse at times? “Because it’s unoriginal! Yuri is at least a creative way to refer to his pelt rather than naming him literally for the color! Imagine getting a normal tiger and naming it orange!”

“What? No! It’s totally different! It-” But Ichigo stopped himself and dragged a hand over his face, letting out a deep sigh. “Okay, fine, fine. We’ll call him whatever you want. Question still stands; can our daughter keep him?”

Yasaka parted her mouth but then stayed silent for a pregnant pause. She looked at her husband’s expectant expression, and the biting, eager hope in Kunou’s eyes, and then finally to the still sullen looking and newly christened Yuri. And as she took in the sight of the luscious, violet fur and the ludicrous rolls of fat on its massive frame, Yasaka was forced to admit… he was rather adorable.

Finally, after a full minute of contemplation, Yasaka dropped her head with a defeated sigh and said, “Oh, very well. He can stay.”

Kunou let out a thrilled scream and ran towards her mother, throwing her arms around her waist and hugging her tight.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She squealed.

Smiling at her daughter’s glee, Yasaka gently put a hand on her head and patted her hair. “But you better take good care of him, young lady! Or else I’ll have him sent back down to the Underworld with your father!”

Kunou pulled back and nodded seriously at her. “I promise, Okaa-sama! My hand to the Sun!”

She then gave her husband a look somewhere between amusement and exasperation, to which Ichigo stepped in a gave her a light kiss on the lips.

Smiling at them both, Yasaka shook her head fondly and said, “Okay, I need to return to work. I’ll see you both at dinner.”  

And with one final endearing look at her husband and daughter, and an amused one at the fat tiger, she turned around and quickly walked back to her office.

And once she was completely out of sight and gone, without even looking at each other, father and daughter bumped fists.

“Okaa-sama is so easy.”

“So predictable.”