Night fell on the Palace of East Gorteau. Despite its massive halls the building was eerily empty. If any human were to find themselves in its confines they would find themselves gripped in icy dread from the aura of one of the only four beings residing there. His name was Neferpitou, Royal guard to the Chimera Ant King. He sat cross legged upon a pole on the upper echelons of the palace, his aura flaring up for the presence of any intrudes. Like usual there was nothing. He found himself to be bored but the safety of the King was top priority over any of his needs. He could feel him in fact through his En, the other two guards known as Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupi right behind him with protective intent. But the Chimera Ants weren't the only beings there. A new resident that peaked the Kings attention was there as well.
A blind Human by the name of Komugi, who was an expert Gungi player, a game that she remained unbeatable in. Not even the King could outthink her perfect strategies. Pitou really didn't think much of her to begin with, seeing her as another human that the King will crush and dispose of her shortly thereafter. But in a surprising turn of events the young girl stood her ground, defeating the King at every turn. The King became infatuated with the prospect of defeating her with every day so far spent playing the Gungi game.
While Neferpitou himself didn't mind, he wondered about the other two guards personal views on the matter. Youpi looked uninterested so Pitou came to the conclusion that the giant shared the same opinion. Shaiapouf on the other hand seemed to be a bit more on edge, although that's understandable. To make a giant like the King gripped in your presence like that, let alone a weak human female, is something of an odd wonder.
"Oh, I guess it doesn't matter. Everyone has to have some hobby to kill time."
Pitou continued to survey the area for the next several minutes undisturbed, until he felt a shift that asked for attention. The King has left the main throne room and is heading towards the balcony where he's at. The cat Guard wondered why he was coming here of all places. In an instant Pitou lept toward the balcony and the moment the King stepped in Pitou was already in the process of kneeling before him, showing utmost respect towards him. Meruem stared at his guard for a few moments and then began to speak.
"Pitou, I have a task for you. Curiosity has gotten the better of me. I desire to explore the world. Youpi and Pouf will accompany me as back up. I am here to assign you to be Komugi's temporary guard for the time being. I expect you to serve her as though you were serving me. Is that clear?"
Whatever Pitou truly felt about this assignment was gone in a fleeting moment, for his desire to serve the King was always his number one priority.
"Yes, your excellency. Her desires shall be akin to yours as I serve her, that I swear."
The Chimera Ant King gave a slight nod and left in a blinding display of speed. In a few moments he and the other two guards were gone from Pitou's En range, leaving him alone with the Human Girl. He quickly entered the throne palace and saw her still sitting in front of the Gungi board, waiting as though the King were still deciding on what move to make. Pitou approached the place where the King sat and placed himself in that position, sitting in front of the young girl. For some time they shared a moment of silence, simply waiting for when the King arrived. Pitou began to wonder if the young girl fell asleep, what with her eyes always being closed made it a bit difficult to tell, until he heard her finally speak.
"Did the King tell you when he will arrive from his errand?"
Pitou simply responded that he did not know, but informed her that the King said he will not be out for too long.
"I see, well it's not too much of a trouble. Taking a break is nice every once in a while. So, what is your name? I assume you're one of his body guards, yes? I am Komugi."
Neferpitou gave the girl a bright smile and although the girl did not see somehow she knew as she herself beamed one back at him.
"Oh, my name is Neferpitou, though you can just call me Pitou if you'd like. And yes, I am one of the King's Royal Guards. There are three of us, the other two you are more well acquainted."
The girl gave a slight nod, and proceeded with the conversation.
"Why aren't you indoors more often? Although I can't see, I can still feel when there are people around. In fact in a way I can tell how they're moods are when they're near. One of the guards is usually straight forward, almost animal like. The other feels a bit on edge, somewhat scary. And of course your King is powerful, strong but stoic. Though underneath it all I can tell he's kind."
How interesting! Pitou began to think that this girl must have some inherent ability to use Nen and she doesn't even know it. She could feel the "presence" of the others the same way he can through his nen. That could be the reason why she's an amazing Gungi player as well. Pitou quickly went back into attention when she began to speak once more.
"You know, compared to the others you're a bit of a breath of fresh air. You're far more relaxed, and you seem to be a bit more happy, for lack of a better word. Of course I can't be too sure, but I don't think I'm reading you wrong."
Pitou gave a slight chuckle. He was getting to like this human.
"Nyarahodo, you're not far off at all. You're pretty dead on! I guess you could say I'm somewhat of an optimist, at least compared to the others."
Komugi began to chuckle, making the Ant curious if what he said was funny.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. But what you said at the beginning was a little bit odd. Again, please forgive me for offending you!"
Komugi quickly put her head down as though she was shamed, which surprised Pitou a bit. She should not be apologizing for him! At this moment in time she had essentially the same status as the King!
"No no no! You didn't offend me at all! I forget that my mannerisms are a bit strange, please it is my fault for making you feel strange!"
The girl looked up and smiled at the cat like creature, looking relieved that the odd situation was resolved. Pitou returned the smile and continued on with the conversation.
"If you're wondering why I spoke like that, it has to do with my genetics you see. A dominant trait of mine is that of the house cat!"
The girl showed a bit of a perplexed face and decided to ask a question.
"A house cat you say? So do you have cat ears, then?"
"Oh I do! I can hear a great distance from them."
Komugi giggled, and with a hint of embarrassment asked something that caught the ant somewhat off guard.
"M-may I touch them? I used to have a house cat when I was very young and my favorite thing to do was touch his ears, they were quite soft."
Pitou thought nothing of it, she was technically the temporary King, or should he say Queen, after all. But it didn't bother the Guard to begin with. He answered with a yes, and slightly bowed towards the girl allowing his head to be in easy reach. The girl slowly reached out with both hands, grasping the right ear gently. As she began to scratch and massage the ear Pitou was comfortably surprised how nice the feeling was. He began to purr, though he was unaware of it, which made the young girl giggle a bit. Her left hand reached for Pitou's left ear and she began to massage both now, Pitou's purr becoming louder in the process. The Guard enjoyed her playful hands, and instinctively began to nuzzle Komugi's hands.
The blind girl began to touch his face, feeling the feline-esque ant's features. Through her sense of touch she was able to feel all sorts of faces in her life, and began to understand what kind of features were considered attractive. Of all the faces she's felt, she's never felt one quite as Pitou's. He had soft skin, small pouty lips, a small nose with a smooth bridge. She felt his closed eyes and cheeks, and her hands began to run through the soft, slightly curly hair of the guard. She could tell he must have been very attractive to people, probably cute.
Her face began to turn a slight red as she realized that she was essentially feeling up the poor Guard, and quickly let go of the Ant's face. Pitou was quite enjoying the girls touch and was disappointed when that feeling went away. He saw her face was tinged with red, which made him hyper aware of what he believed went wrong.
"Is something the matter, Komugi? You look like you have the flu or some such."
Komugi let out a nervous laugh and wondered if he knew what she was doing.
"No no, I'm perfectly fine. It's just that-"
She gave a quick pause, and began to speak again.
"It's just that was probably really awkward, wasn't it?"
Neferpitou was a bit confused, tilting his head to the right side and wondered what Komugi meant by that. He recall reading somewhere that whenever Humans do something that's out of their comfort zone, they sometimes began to act strangely.
"I'm not so sure what you mean, but to me that wasn't awkward. In fact I enjoyed it a lot!"
Komugis face began to turn even redder, which made the cat guard began to somewhat worry.
"Komugi, are you sure you're feeling well? You look red!"
Pitou's right hand went over the young girl's forehead, causing Komugi to freeze up from his touch. This was becoming weirder by the minute, yet Pitou was completely oblivious to it! She reached up and clasped his hand with both of her own, slowly putting it down towards the Gungi board. After some time she realized her hands were still on his, and quickly let go.
"I-I'm sorry Neferpitou, sir! I don't know what's become of me!"
Neferpitou was getting a bit worried, not liking that she was becoming so tense all of a sudden. He had an idea, knowing how to calm her. He quickly got up and went straight behind her, his hands gently pressing against her back as he began to massage the girls tense muscles. At first she was shocked by this new act, but soon enough Komugis worries began to melt away as the guard began to expertly remove the fatigue her back has had for sitting up straight this whole time.
She began to slump backwards, which Pitou responded gracefully as Komugi pressed against the Ant's chest, resting upon him. His hands worked their way to her shoulders and was pleased that the girl was in a relaxed state. Komugi gulped a bit audibly, as she struggled a bit to ask something to the guard.
"Neferpitou, why are you acting so nice to me?"
Neferpitou realized that he didn't tell her why he was here, though he felt that she understood why. But he answered her thanks to the Kings desire to serve her.
"The King left me not just to protect you, but to serve you as though you were my King. Or in this case my Queen."
Komugi's face began to turn red again, catching the cat guard off guard.
"So, anything I say you'll do, right?"
"Yes, anything you say."
Komugi knew that she shouldn't do this, but he was just so nice and cute and awkward, it couldn't hurt just to have fun for a bit. Komugi's face began to near Neferpitou's, the Ant didn't notice that they were so close until their breaths began to brush against each other's cheeks.
"I want you to kiss me."