Week 3 Story: Manifested Mice Taste Better Than Nothing

(Photo by Aosora Aoi)

Morgana had been living happily in the attic above the cafe with Akira for some time now. Despite how much he wished to be a human, living as Akira’s companion made being a cat not so bad. The only problem was the food situation. Meals were already somewhat scarce, with Sojiro only providing two plates of cat food for Morgana and a plate of curry at breakfast for Akira. As the Phantom Thieves had been taking on more difficult targets, most of their money went to better weapons and armor, and higher quality healing items. Also as time went on, the cafe saw less customers come through the door. They eventually were reduced to one plate of cat food and a smaller plate of curry each day.

“Do you think the chief will get some more customers soon?” Morgana asked one night as his stomach rumbled in hunger.

“No idea,” Akira responded. “Do you want me to find some extra time to work? That way we can buy some more food?”

“You already spend all of your time working when we’re not busy with the Phantom Thieves. I don’t know how you could possibly work any more than that.”

A few weeks later, Morgana was so hungry and tired from trying to scavenge for food that he couldn’t take it anymore. “I think it would be best if we ended our arrangement. There just isn’t enough food here for the both of us.”

“Mona, if you leave, this cat food will just go to waste. I’m… probably not going to eat it. And you’ll be even hungrier if you don’t eat it. It’s already nearly impossible to scavenge food around here, so you’ll be eating even less if you go.”

“The chief can save the money he would have spent on cat food, and use it to make more curry. Then you’ll be able to fight better because you’ll have more energy. I’ll just go somewhere where I can scavenge better. I am a cat after all! There must be a part of Tokyo that has plenty of mice for me to hunt!”

So Morgana left the next morning, after the breakfast that Akira insisted he eat. He wandered the districts of Tokyo in search of mice and scraps, be he was hardly able to find anything. It became apparent that the life of a stray cat was not good for Morgana. After about a week with little more than some water from a drainpipe, he had a brilliant idea! Morgana headed back to Shibuya, and pawed at the door to the Velvet Room. He had seen Akira go inside many times, and when he asked, Akira had told him about Igor. It was a magical place, so it was sure to have plenty of food, right? If not, it was possible it had a mouse problem. After a few minutes of pawing and meowing at the door, it was flung open.

“Please help, I’m so hungry!” Morgana whined.

“Welcome back to the Velvet Room,” the long-nosed man who must have been Igor said.

“Welcome… back?” Morgana asked.

Igor just shook his head. “You will understand in time. Is there something that I can help you with?”

“I.. I am starving and I can’t find food anywhere. I was hoping we could make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yes. I was actually hoping that you might be having a problem with mice. I’m a… cat, so I could help you with that.”

“I see. And what would you get in exchange?”

“I would get nourishment from the mice, and perhaps you could spare a warm place to sleep?”

“Hmm… I believe I would find this agreeable,” Igor replied. “You can sleep on the bed in that cell.”

“Is that - I mean, that’s where Akira visits, isn’t it? He and I have ended our deal. I should probably try not to see him outside of our work as the Phantom Thieves,” Morgana said reluctantly.

“Then I will alert you before he enters the room, so you may hide in the back.”

Morgana nodded and walked into the cell. He curled up on the bed to take a nap. He was hungry, but the journey here left him feeling completely exhausted. Once Morgana was asleep, Igor quickly manifested a few mice for him to catch when he woke from his slumber.

Meanwhile, Akira was absolutely miserable without him. While he didn’t think of Morgana as a pet, he was his closest friend and Akira felt lonely without him. He continued to put a plate of cat food outside the shop each morning in case he was close by and hungry. Akira’s world no longer sparkled without his favorite companion at his side.

One day before a mission, he entered the Velvet Room. To his surprise, Morgana was curled up in a ball, sleeping on the bed in his cell. “Mona!” he shouted excitedly.

Morgana woke, startled. “Joker? What are you doing here?! I told you our arrangement is over! You should be home regaining your strength!”

“I don’t want to be home without you, Morgana. It’s just not the same. I have sold some of my armor and gotten some less expensive pieces. We’ll be able to afford more food now. Please come home?”

Morgana sighed. He had a hard time saying no to his best friend, especially when he looked all sad like that. “Fine! But as soon as we have enough extra, you’re buying me some sushi!” He talked tough, but on the inside he was touched that Akira would risk his safety to provide for him. They went home together, both happy to resume their arrangement.



Author's Note:

This story is based on a Jewish fairy tale called "The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog." In the original story, the dog and cat were named by Adam and get along like the best of friends, even sharing food with one another. When food becomes scarce, the cat insists they go their separate ways and agree to never meet again. This makes the dog sad, but he honors the cat's wishes. The cat ends up living in the house of Adam, hunting mice and is happy, forgetting all about the dog. The dog has a harder time finding food and shelter without harm coming to himself other animals. He eventually meets Adam, who insists he come live with him. When the cat sees him there he is angry and the two fight. This story is an explanation of why cats and dogs don't get along. In my retelling, I have again based my story on characters from the game Persona 5. Akira, the main character, and Morgana, the talking cat have made an arrangement to live together. For this story, I have exaggerated the fact that the cafe is low on customers, making food scarce. I thought it would be fun for Morgana to look for a home in the Velvet Room, a magical place where Akira goes for aid throughout the game. Igor, the magical man who is in charge of the Velvet Room, would have to manifest the mice to help Morgana, because there wouldn't be real mice running around a place that doesn't exist in reality. I changed the ending to get Akira and Morgana back together as they should be.


"The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog" from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa. Web Source.