Mina yawned when the cart came to a stop. Stretching her paws, she looked around the place after she felt the cart's motion stop.
Tarou who has been energetic earlier was too quiet. She tapped the mouse who was curled in a ball.
'When did this glutton fell asleep?'
Annoyed, Mina pushed the animal with a paw. She smiled with satisfaction as Tarou rolled towards the edge of the cart and bumped on a bale of hay.
"No!!!"
Mina heard the loud squeak and saw Tarou reach out one paw into the think air as if grasping for something before opening his mouth and chew. She couldn't help but shake her head before sneaking out of her hiding place to study her surroundings.
They appeared to be in front of a barn. But before she could continue observing the place, the cart tilted to one side. Alarmed, Mina jumped out of the cart. She saw the farmer go down and circle around to unload the hay.
The unsuspecting Tarou who was lost in dreamland had no idea that the bale of hay where he was resting on was about to be unloaded.
Mina, who just landed on the ground, momentarily forgot about Tarou. But when she saw a small, round and furry object roll out of the cart, she couldn't do anything but let take its course.
'Oh, Tarou!'
Just then, she saw the mouse open its eyes. Disoriented to find himself rolling on the ground. Tarou appeared to be panicking to get his footing back. Tarou used his paws to hold one to something stable on the ground but every time he reached for something, he always held on to some loose rock.
"...eaaak..."
Tarou's pleading cry as he rolled further away amused the black cat who grinned from ear to ear.
Feeling slightly guilty about having fun over Tarou's misfortune, Mina was about to rescue the poor mouse but she was too late.
Everything appeared to be moving in slow motion as a stablehand rushed towards the cart to help the farmer unload the bales of hay. Mina could hear a young, well-built man greet the farmer in the background but her eyes were focused on Tarou.
Her little underling seems to have exhausted his good luck for the day. She couldn't help but close one eye.
Mina mentally crossed her spirit fingers as the stablehand lifted one foot off the ground. She found it hard to look as Tarou, who was slowing to a stop, came closer and closer to landing on the area where the young man's foot was about to land.
"Me..."
Not knowing what else to do, all Mina could do was shout a warning which stopped midway. The mouse who now had both paws up in the air seems to be too shocked to make a sound. The shadow of the young man's boot cast a shadow on the mouse.
...ow."
With some stroke of luck, Tarou landed in front of the man's shoe, barely avoiding death by getting squashed.
Before Mina could sigh in relief, she saw Tarou flying from the impact between his round belly and the young man's shoe. Mina could only slap her face with a paw as she stared in horror as the mouse left the ground.
"Squeaaaaakkkk...."
The mouse was clearly panicking and had all paws extended like he was skydiving while being suspended in the air. Tarou appeared to be swimming in the air frantically.
Mina cringed while looking at her little friend. Focusing on Tarou, she prepared her body to save the mouse from another dizzy ride. Just when she was about to do it, she hesitated.
Before she could decide what to do, Tarou landed with a small thud right in front of another shoe.
Mina rushed towards Tarou, prepared to bring him to safety, but the mouse had other ideas.
Tarou had enough of the rough ride.
Afraid of being tossed around again, he tried to stand up quickly to get out of the way. A dizzy Tarou climbed over the shoe in front of him with two paws extended forward like a zombie walking without any sense of direction. Tarou appeared to be slipping off the show. His small body rocked back and forth but he tried to maintain his balance to walk forward until he sensed something solid before him.
***
"Aahhhh..."
Tarou let out a squeak as he clung on to the solid material in front of him. He could still see stars after all the action earlier and he wanted to do nothing but hold on to something still. It took him a few seconds to catch his bearings.
'This! This is a terrible nightmare!'
The surface he grabbed on felt soft but it did not move. It felt like a fabric used for clothing. Trying to get a feel of his surroundings, Tarou caught a whiff of a familiar scent of herbs.
Before he could take stock of the situation, he felt slight movements and he felt something pull the skin behind his ears. Tarou could do nothing but raise two paws up as he stiffened in fear.
The next thing he knew, his feet were on something soft and warm.
He could smell human.
"Little friend."
The gentle voice instinctively made Tarou look up. Although he could not see a thing, the smell was too familiar that he should not be mistaken -- it was the human.
Annoyed, Tarou turned his back on the person talking to him. He felt something poker his tummy but he did not budge.
"Hmpf!"
The squeak was small but it was loud enough to convey Tarou's annoyance.
'Was this human trying to pacify him?'
'Ha!'
Tarou turned to face him and it so happens that the man was about to poke him. Just when the finger was about to touch his potbelly, he crouched down and bit hard enough to hurt.
"Useless! Unreliable! Selfish human!" Tarou spat the accusations one after the other as he released the finger.
"Done venting?" the gentle voice replied while rubbing the top of Tarou's head gently. The mouse turned his back again, still annoyed. "How did you..."
"Tarou! Tarou!"
Tarou, who was waiting for the human to explain himself, was distracted by the frantic meows.
"Boss, I'm alright!" he squeaked enthusiastically, reassuring the cat. He even felt touched. Boss seems to be more caring now.
"Tarou!"
"Boss?" he squeaked back with uncertainty.
'What was Boss getting frantic about?'
"The human holding you..."
"What about him?" Tarou squeaked back.
"...he's way too handsome."