Silvermoonlight

“Alle meine entchen, schwimmen auf dum tsee. . .” Aki Ikari sang herself the German nursery song that her grandmother had taught her as she walked home from school. Today had been a good day, all things considered. She had played with her friends—especially Ririko—and had even been told she had done a good job on her schoolwork, which always made her feel proud of herself. As she turned the corner, she was distracted from her thoughts by a movement behind a trash bin. Was it an animal of some kind? Aki couldn’t recall seeing very many animals in Tokyo-3—other than Misato’s genetically-engineered penguin Pen-Pen, of course—so she was curious was to what it was. Crouching down onto all fours, Aki crawled behind the trash bin, ignoring the smell for the moment. She saw the movement again. It was something small, black, and furry, but too big to be a mouse or a rat. Mrow! The creature let out a plaintive mew, and Aki was immediately able to make out what it was. It was a scrawny black