Work Text:
“Razumikhin”
The rat looked up from where it was feeding. Its red eyes now focused on the object in its owner’s hand.
Thats right.
Owner.
The white-haired guy, Shibusawa was his name?, had given him to someone else. At first, he was looking at him with suspicion but soon warmed up to the black-haired person.
His owner had named him Razumikhin, and ‘Razzy’ by the long white-haired guy. Although his owner never called him that, and only called him Razumikhin.
(What with so many white-haired people?)
And if he was correct, then his current owner’s name was something along ‘Fyodor ’. He looked sickly, his skin as white as Razumikhin's fur, visible eyebags under his eyes. Which seemed to have worsened upon closer inspection. And contrast to the white hair of his previous owner, his current owner had shoulder length black hair with purple eyes.
He had kept him in a cage in his bedroom, on top of a table. The cage had an automatic water filtration system and a feeder, filled with food for him to eat anytime he wanted. It had pellets, small cut pieces of fruits and some veggies.
“His name is Raskolnikov, I’m keeping this beside your cage. Behave yourself.” After saying so, his owner left to do whatever he did in his free time. Razumikhin got closer to see what his owner had kept beside his cage , what he didn’t expect was it to be another rat.
A fellow rat just like him.
Red eyes, white fur. The two were simply identical! Well except for the fact that the other rat was outside the cage and he was in the cage.
That was unfair.
Razumikhin squeaked, trying to get the other rat’s attention, but failing to do so. Said rat was staring at the neatly kept bed in front of him
Razumikhin tried again , he squeaked and chirped again and again but failed. Did the other rat not like him? Or did the other rat simply think that he was superior to some other rat kept in a cage?
His owner called him a classy rat , thank you very much! And Razumikhin is sure that his owner likes him more than this new rat, Raskolnikov.
Razumikhin tried to distract himself by continuing to eat, and then playing around in his cage, his eyes wandering off to the new rat a couple of times, but said rat kept staring at the bed.
While Razumikhin was playing around in his cage, he came up with a few ideas to try and get the other rat to talk to him.
Plan A, sharing food.
By sharing food, Razumikhin could show that he was, in fact, superior to the other rat. It will showcase his willingness to share, his generosity, and his kindness! And hence! His owner will like him more.
Foolproof plan.
Razumikhin grabbed some pellets in his mouth between his teeth and went to the edge of his cage.
Razumikhin tried to throw the pellet out of the cage, and after a few failed attempts, succeeded in doing just so. He waited for the rat to notice the pellet that was beside him. Razumikhin chirped, trying to tell the other fellow rat; Hey, I brought you food , eat it.
Maybe the other rat wanted more food? Wow, greedy. Razumikhin brought a small piece of fruit that his owner had kept and threw it beside the pellet. The other rat still didn't care and kept staring at the bed.
Razumikhin tried to get more food for his fellow companion , but it seemed as if he was adamant about not giving any response or showing any hint of acknowledgment of Razumikhin's attempts. He didn't even move a bit! Just kept staring at the bed.
Razumikhin looked toward the bed, trying to see and figure out what was so fascinating to the other rat that he couldn't even spare a glance at Razumikhin!
Oh.
Razumikhin looked towards the bed and saw his owner lying on the bed, eyes closed and his mouth barely open and slight eye bags under his eyes visible from the dusk streaming in through the window above his cage.
His owner was just sleeping, what was so fascinating about that? Had the other rat never seen someone sleeping before?
Well technically, Neither had Raz umikhin because his previous owner was only there in the morning and left at night, so Razumikhin also had never seen a sleeping human, but at least he didn't stare at his owner when he had slept.
But getting off-topic there.
Plan A.
Fail.
Plan B: Grooming.
It was the next day. The sunlight from the window above his cage, shone down brightly at the bed, illuminating the whole room. He had a great start to the morning.
His owner had petted him before leaving to who knows where and even restocked his food.
This incredible start to the day gave him the motivation to try and get the other rat's attention, and that is how plan B had formed, while Razumikhin was eating and dropping some food outside his cage to give it to the other rat. Who was still as impassive as before.
Razumikhin was in high spirits, hoping that Plan B would work. He had incredibly high hopes for this , after all, grooming was not only a way to keep oneself clean but also a gesture of affection among rats. But there was one glaring obstacle standing in his way—that Raskolnikov , was just too far from his cage for Razumikhin to engage in any meaningful grooming.
So instead of grooming Raskolnikov, Razumikhin decided to groom himself and let out small chirps and squeaks, hoping that the other rat would glance his way and follow his lead.
But much to Razumikhin's dismay, the other rat just wouldn't acknowledge him. Barely moving to even tell that he was listening . Staying Impassive and stoic as ever.
Now that Razumikhin thought about it, it looked like Raskolnikov hadn't eaten the food Raz umikhin had given him either. The pellets and a couple of small pieces of fruits were still in their original position. Had Raskolnikov seriously not eaten? That was concerning. Nor did it look like Raskolnikov had even moved an inch from his original position.
What.
Was the other rat that adamant to show that he is superior?
Wow, that's some commitment.
But anyway,
Plan B?
Fail.
Plan C: Playing
Two plans in the day made him seem desperate but he was desperate now. The other rat was so stubborn to prove its own superiority that it might kill itself by not eating anything. Or even moving! Razumikhin didn't even see Raskolnikov drink any water! Which is very concerning.
Now Razumikhin doesn't care about showing his own superiority , he just doesn't want his companion to die. His only other friend. His owner was nice but he couldn't be here to play with him all the time . And it got lonely very quickly.
So Razumikhin hoped this plan would work now. After all, who could resist playing around in cardboard boxes and shredding them? That was always fun. Or going through toilet paper rolls, one of his favorites!
This was the last lifeline for Razumikhin because he had no other plans in his brain. So he hoped for the best and went along with his mission of getting the other rat to play with him, or at least, spare him a glance.
And so, Razumikhin went around his cage, squeaking and chirping while playing in his cage, throwing occasional glances at the other rat, who was still staring at said bed with such intensity that Razumikhin was surprised the bed hadn't burned down by now. He didn't even care about what Razumikhin was doing.
Okay, Stubborn.
Maybe a bit more pushing will help.
Razumikhin tried a bit more, squeaking in high-pitched noises to indicate his joy while going around playing in the cage his owner had so gracefully made. Razumikhin went around the cardboard boxes and rolls from paper towels and toilet paper , shredding said cardboard boxes was always fun too !
But just like before, the Raskolnikov didn't even spare him a glance. Nor did the other rat give him any indication of at least hearing him.
what had Razumikhin even done to deserve such treatment? he was nothing but kind and generous, offering Raskolnikov food and trying to get along with the other rat. Is trying to get along with another rat that bad? Was Razumikhin not a good friend?
Razumikhin let out a squeak in a last-ditch effort to maybe , finally get the other to glance his way.
But ...
the other rat didn't.
Razumikhin went to the corner of his cage with his bed sat down and tried to get some sleep before his owner arrived.
Either Fyodor was starting to hallucinate or maybe it was real, but he had seen his pet rat, his beloved Razumikhin try to befriend a... plushie? Rats were intelligent creatures, but seeing his pet rat trying to befriend a soft toy was something he didn't expect to see.
It started with subtle gestures—a tentative nudge here, a curious sniff there. Razumikhin seemed fascinated by the plushie rat as if genuinely trying to establish a connection with it.
It amused him at first, seeing his beloved Razumikhin try and befriend a soft toy his mother had gotten him when they had first come to Japan. It was a beloved soft toy. After his mother died, the soft toy was one of the few things that Fyodor had left of her.
He could see the clear signs of distress on Razumikhin's face after his failed attempts at befriending a soft toy. And he cared for his beloved rat very much, just as his mother had taught him, she taught him everything he knew about rats. But if she were here right now to see that Fyodor had forgotten an important factor in how to raise a rat, she would be utterly disappointed.
Rats were social creatures.
Fyodor was busy most of the time trying to create his organization that he had forgotten such an important factor.
He could just imagine her face.
Hence the reason why he has three new pet rats, ready to be kept inside the cage right now.
Alyosha.
Karamazov.
Petronova.
All beautiful names he's sure his mother would have liked.
He opens the cage and notices Razumikhin rush out from where he was sleeping on his bed and make his way towards Razumikhin. Fyodor, amused, watches Razzy
, Razumikhin, sniffing the soft toy, squeaking softly, inspecting it. Fyodor notices a few pellets and pieces of fruit and throws them in the trash can he has under the table. When he looks up, he notices Razumikhin has stopped his inspection and is looking at Fyodor as if demanding an explanation.
He chuckles and pets his beloved rat before explaining, "That's a Plushie, Razumikhin." he looks towards the plushie before directing his view back to Razumikhin. "My mother had gotten this for me when we first came to Japan." he smiles as he remembers the fond memory.
"I've gotten you some siblings as I noticed you were lonely."
Fyodor brings up the cage that was on the ground and opens it to reveal three new rats, squeaking and chirping softly and taking in the scent of the new place and atmosphere.
Fyodor left the four to their own devices for a bit. He sat on the bed and started reading a book that he had kept on the bedside table, opening from where he left off and watching them from the bed, sending occasional glances when he heard a particularly loud chirp or squeak.
But they were getting along seemingly well, grooming each other and playing around in their cage.
Fyodor gives a soft smile and notices it turning night already. He gets up from the bed and ushers the four pets to go inside their cage. He'll have to buy a big cage. Perhaps a glass cage.
He cleans up the room as he prepares to go to bed. He cleans himself and changes his clothes. When he exits the bathroom he sees the four huddled together on the same bed in the corner of the cage with a small piece of fruit outside the cage near Raskolnikov. He smiles fondly and decides to let the piece of food stay. He was too tired as of now.
He lays down on the bed, tired, but content about how the day went. And at the same time, a certain rat happily cuddles with his newfound siblings.