A while back I told a friend I'd write a fic for them, and I've been trying so hard to do it. I had random bursts of motivation for this, so one day I got down to work and finally finished it. We had conversations on skype about kitty!Leo, so much of this is based upon it. This is sort of like my fanfic I wrote one year where Leo tricks Elliot into thinking he's part cat, but here, of course, Leo actually turns into a cat X3

Also, this is the second longest oneshot I have written.

For my friend... my EllyLeo fanfic partner. Please come back to me, my dear friend...

I do not own Pandora Hearts in any way.

The Adventures of Kitty!Leo

Drifting off to sleep the previous night, the young servant would never have expected what had become of him the next day. He had only expected tomorrow to be like any other day, another day being a servant of Nightray.

Leo had been a servant under Nightray- chosen by Elliot Nightray, in fact- for about 2 years now. In that time, he lived his days with the short-tempered heir. Even at Lutiwidge, Leo was a student alongside his master. It wasn't to say he didn't like being a servant these past 2 years. Rather, he just was happy being able to be by Elliot's side. They were friends after all, not just mere master and servant. Despite everything, Elliot was someone the noirette held high in regard; a dazzling and precious person.

Things were not so bad at all for him here.

On this night, Leo had fallen asleep around midnight. He dozed off rather quickly and remained as such for the rest of the night.

And also…. He had dreamed of a black cat.

Elliot was thankful that damned nightmare had not bothered him this time. It was a rare occasion that he wouldn't see that since it was so common for it to pop up in his dreams at night. This was rather a relief, and now Leo wasn't going to bug him about it, for now anyway. Leo happened to ask about it from time to time, usually being the one to notice.

The heir yawned as he sat up in bed, blinking away sleep. Speaking of which, that bookworm of a servant always stayed up late reading. It made Elliot think, 'Oh sure, you tell me to sleep but then you're up till dawn reading'. To Elliot, it seemed rather hypocritical of his servant. Always though, Leo did not appear tired in the morning, even if he had stayed up all night. He would always be up before Elliot and would always be making sure that the Nightray got up and got ready for the day (especially more so if they were at Lutiwidge).

'Wonder if Leo's up yet, though he probably is.' Elliot thought as he looked over at the bed where Leo slept. Of course, it was empty, sheets tossed causally to the side. It meant that Leo was most certainly up and about.

"And now I have to go find him. Geez." He said in an irritated tone, rubbing the back of his neck and yawning afterwards. Knowing the noirette, he was probably curled up in some corner of the library reading. Perhaps ever sleeping, but it was uncommon to find him like that.

Getting up out of bed, and getting dressed, he supposed seeing his best friend like that wouldn't be so bad.

From the moment he had awakened from slumber, he knew something wasn't right. He could feel that something was different about him.

Leo didn't notice it a first when he woke up, perhaps because the door was slightly ajar, so he thought he had opened the door like normal. Frankly, Leo didn't mind walking around in his pajamas, as he was so quiet that barely anyone noticed him at all. Ever so quietly, he made his way to the library, as he would usually head off there early in the morning, unless they were at Lutiwidge. Elliot had still been asleep when he left, so the noirette decided he would return to his master in a few minutes.

When he did get to the library, the strangeness Leo had left about him had become more apparent. It's just that he couldn't exactly understand what that was.

Leo approached a bookcase, and he still he was wondering why he felt this way. But in that moment, as he reached out for a book, something managed to catch his eye, and it was something that made him freeze in place and draw his hand back, as to take a double-take. It was because that he felt that this must be an illusion made by lingering sleep.

As he put out his hand again though, Leo found that his hand was no longer a human hand, but a black cat paw. In fact, his whole arm appeared to be covered in black fur, which was actually the same color as his hair.

"N-nyaaaa?!" Leo exclaimed, soon letting out a gasp because he hadn't spoken normally, but like a cat. At least his thoughts still worked properly.

'What's happening to me? Have I turned into a cat?' His mind raced with questions, staring at his paw in disbelief. In all honesty, the servant didn't know what to think about this. For the first time in a while, he was stunned. The question he wondered about the most was how long he would be like this. What if what had happened to him was permanent?

This was not a very pleasant situation at all. What was he to do?

'Elliot! Elliot will know what to do. I have to fine him.' Leo's thoughts exclaimed, knowing even if his master would be completely clueless as to what was going on, he would help.

And so, the little kitty took off towards the heir's room, trying to calm down from the discovery of his sudden transformation.

Leo had to admit, he could move pretty quickly as a cat, and he was starting to become used to his body. He still didn't like it though, and wanted to get back to himself as soon as possible. Leo moved with his newfound speed to find Elliot. With any luck, the Nightray would be in his room still.

In a few minutes, Leo approached the room, seeing that the door was still closed. Most likely then, he was still there. Since he was a cat now, getting into the room would be difficult since he could not reach the handle. He thought for a moment, and seeing as there was no other way, Leo stepped up and scratched his paws against the door.

"Nyaaaa! Nyaaaa!" He mewed.

With any luck, Elliot would take notice. At least now that secret love of cats that Elliot had would be an advantage in this situation.

Meanwhile, as for Elliot…

The young Nightray had finished getting dressed and decided to make up Leo's bed since he didn't bother to do it before he left (not like he did anyway). He was just about ready to leave the room, until he heard something scratching at the door, which was followed by a sound. It was… something that sounded like a cat.

"Eh?" He twitched, going towards the door quickly and opening it. Sure enough to his surprise, there was a cat there, staring up at him intently.

'What? How in the world did a cat get here?' Elliot questioned silently, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Leo, looking up at his master, expected this kind of reaction. Elliot had always been a cat person at heart and had to keep it a secret because of two reasons; the fact that his family preferred dogs better and that the Vessalius family loved cats. He couldn't hide that from Leo though, who had secretly observed Elliot petting cats and smiling at them on more than one occasion. Whenever Leo even mentioned them though, his friend always denied it, saying he didn't and never would like cats.

The noirette swished his tail back and forth, standing there to see what Elliot would do. Maybe, by some lucky chance, he would recognize the cat as Leo. But he knew the odds of that were very low. As far as Elliot knew, this would just be another ordinary cat who had somehow wandered into the manor.

Elliot stared down at him a bit more before looking around cautiously. "Um… you can come in, I guess." He picked up Leo and gently cradled the cat in his arms as he walked back in and placed the cat on his bed.

'Of course.' Leo thought. 'He wouldn't know it was me. But that was only to be expected. Once he notices 'Leo' is missing, then he might get the idea that this cat that sits upon his bed is 'Leo'.'

Leo lay down on the bed, watching as Elliot observed him. He smiled and sat down on the bed to pet Leo on his head and back.

"You… kind of remind me of my servant, Leo." He looked away from the cat for a moment. "Speaking of which, I wonder if he ran off to the library. He does like to read a lot."

"Nya." Was all Leo had for a response, brushing his head against Elliot's hand.

"Hmm. You are quite, ah, fluffy." The heir paused and face-palmed himself. "Ugh. If anyone else had heard me say such things.."

'Oh, Elliot~' Leo mused. 'If only you knew~'

"Hmph. I should really go look for Leo. He doesn't eat much, you know, so I don't want him to miss breakfast."

'I eat just fine, Elliot.'

Elliot stood from the bed and went towards the door, uttering a 'stay put, okay?' directed at the cat.

Leo, on the other hand, blinked and jumped off the bed, quickly trotting towards Elliot's feet. After all, Leo was still his servant, even like this. Aside from that, he still wanted to accompany Elliot about the manor.

Once at the door, the Nightray felt something nuzzling his leg. It was the cat. "Huh? What is it?"

Perhaps the cat wanted to accompany him, but already Elliot would see a problem with that. His family disliked cats, especially his elder sister Vanessa. Besides, his elder adopted brother Gilbert was deathly afraid of cats for some mysterious reason. Aside from that, he'd be mocked endlessly if anyone found out the noble, stubborn, brave Elliot Nightray secretly loved cats. Already by just taking this cat in he was secretly hiding it, meaning from here on out he'd have to be careful.

For a moment he thought, before letting out a sigh.

"You can come, okay? But my siblings don't take so kindly to cats, so be careful. I don't know where your owner is, if you have one, so let's find Leo first. He'll help us."

'One, I'm right here. Two, you are my master, not my owner.' Leo teased silently, rubbing up against said master's leg again.

"Heh. I get it. Let's go now."

"Nya~"

For Elliot's sake, he sure was lucky he hadn't run into any members of his family on the way to the library. What would they have thought if they saw a cat tailing the heir like a child following their mother? The cat had kept up a constant pace with Elliot, right at his feet the whole time. The cat didn't really say anything ether. It just followed him obediently. Again, he thought of Leo, how he would stay and accompany him throughout the day, as he was a servant. But it wasn't because of that alone.

It was because they were friends, more than just master and servant. Their bond firm and unbreakable.

It was quiet in the library, but Elliot expected it to be that way. Leo was one of the only ones that usually wandered in here and stayed for hours on end. Like he had thought earlier, maybe he'd find his servant slumped down in a corner of the library, a blanket lying over his shoulders and a book in his lap, aside from the few that might be at his side in a stack.

For a few minutes, Elliot looked all about the library, but not a single trace of Leo was to be found anywhere.

The cat- Leo, unbeknownst to Elliot- continued to follow. Leo continued to follow him, sort of amused by Elliot's searching. Based on that he did not find what he was looking for here, Elliot would next do one of two things; go to the piano room or panic and proclaim Leo as missing. And he just knew right now that if he ever got back to his human form, Elliot would be furious and happy at the same time. He'd be happy even if he was yelling at his no longer missing servant.

'Well then, Elliot,' Leo thought after they circled back to the entrance of the library. 'what will you do now?'

The Nightray sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Geez. Where the hell is Leo? Normally, he'd be here." He glanced down at the cat, who merely swished its tail back and forth. "He's quiet when he wanders off, but it's usually not that hard to find him."

'Because I'm down here.'

Elliot closed his eyes in thought, but opened them again after a moment. "Maybe he went to the piano room. It's the only other place he could be."

'Sure, I'll be there~'

The two of them headed off to the piano room. They only ran into one or two maids along the way, but none of them seemed to have managed to notice the black cat following Elliot. Of course they too had their own responsibilities to attend to, so perhaps it would make sense that they would be too busy to notice.

As they got closer though, Elliot heard no music. Was Leo really here? He couldn't think of any place else he would be.

When they got inside the piano room, there was still no music, and Elliot found the room to be completely empty. The piano was left untouched and the music folder sat where it always was.

"Leo?" He called out, knowing no response would come back to him.

'Dammit, I thought for sure he'd be here.' The Nightray's face scowled up in worry and irritation. 'It's not like Leo, because he'd ether be here or in the library.'

While Elliot was being concerned with those thoughts, Leo strolled over to the piano chair and hopped up on it, looking back at Elliot. "Nya."

"Hmm? Well, Leo's gotta turn up sooner or later." He walked over to the cat and looked at the piano. More precisely he was staring at the music folder. He looked blankly at it before going over and opening it, looking through the music.

Some of these were just regular music that could be found played anywhere. A few were pieces Leo had written, including Lacie. Elliot's were in here too, including the song he composed for his mother as a birthday present, and that one song; Statice.

'Forever unchanging…'

Elliot then took a few sheets from the back of the folder and laid them out for him to see. There was writing on them but appeared unfinished.

Leo, watching his master with his gleaming cat eyes, wondered what that was. Had Elliot been working on a new song for his mother? But it was nowhere near the Duchess Nightray's birthday yet.

"This song…" He spoke softly, directing this at the cat; at Leo. "I've been working on this song for my servant, you see."

'For me?' Echoed the thought inside Leo.

Before he even had time to mew in question, the servant felt himself being picked up and placed onto his master's lap as he sat down. Leo looked up, slightly surprised. What in the world was Elliot up to? He didn't understand what was going on…

…until Elliot started to play the piano.

Leo blinked, listening as his ears twitched and the music flowed through him. Elliot was wonderful at the piano and he and Leo always contrasted each other. Together, one of their usual songs they would play was Lacie, and they would be perfectly synchronized while doing so. Whether it be in the orphanage where Leo's love for music started or those beautiful pianos at Lutiwidge, they bonded through music and it always help each of them relax and soothe their troubled minds.

Now the noirette's full attention had been turned to this new tune, one composed by Elliot, one composed for him. To say the very least, he didn't know what to say or think about it. Surely, it was a lovely melody, but even more so it made him happy, his little cat chest filling up with warmth.

'Elliot truly is so kind.' Just to put in an effect, he curled up into Elliot's lap and started to purr. 'And yet he's so hopeless when it comes to these things. I like this song, Elliot.'

It didn't exactly last long, since it was unfinished, and when it was done Elliot lifted his hands from the piano and looked down at the cat. He had taken notice of how the cat had purred at one point in the song. Seems it liked that song. Well, it wasn't music, but he still thought it was okay. He was going to finish this for Leo.

And yet he still wondered where that bookworm was. It would be hard to imagine him anywhere else in the manor.

"I need to find him, before he's gotten himself in to sone sort of trouble." Elliot said, his smile turning into a frown. He picked up the cat before standing himself. After the put the cat down, he thought on what he would do next. Leo couldn't have just… disappeared, right?

But… what if he had…?

No. The Nightray didn't want to think about that possibility. There was no possible way!

"But it's not impossible ether…" He said aloud, his thoughts voicing themselves.

The more he thought about it now, the more he started to worry. Since he would have normally found Leo by now, it wasn't really like him. Could someone have come here and taken him? Could he possibly have run away of his own will?

Biting his lip, Elliot picked the cat back up and quickly rushed out of the room. Once back to his rom he put the cat back down on his bed and muttered the same thing as last time, muttering to stay put, and closed the door behind him as he walked out.

Leo didn't mind being here, but he thought what Elliot was doing was silly. Then again, he was a cat right now, so of course he would be assumed as missing. Elliot would probably be the only one to care about him. He was a servant after all, and nobody paid any mind to servants. Elliot was obviously different, because Leo could count all the times Elliot had helped him, even when he didn't ask for it. He even recalled one particular time at Lutiwidge when the heir had nearly beat up someone because of things that were being said about the servant.

'Do what you please for now, Elliot. I'm still right here.' Leo mused in his thoughts.

He should have figured no one would care or know anything.

Elliot had first asked a few maids if they had seen Leo, but they had no answer for him that would assist in his search. Leo didn't exactly interact with any of the maids or any one for that matter since he kept himself at a distance from people, so that idea was clearly out the window. He considered talking to his siblings, but of course those he had related my blood would be no help. They would only say all the usual stuff they said about Leo.

The only option left would be to go to his father, but he had been strictly against letting Leo become his servant in the first place, even though he mysteriously allowed it later on. It was more than likely that his father still didn't like Leo. Every one of his family members disliked Leo (except for maybe Gilbert or Vincent), and that's what really got on Elliot's nerves. He only wished they would stop talking so badly about him.

About his search, still no sign of Leo. He had to face it now, the fact that Leo was missing. All he could really do was hop the noirette would show up soon and that he was okay.

When Elliot walked back into his room, he saw that the cat perked his head up from where it lay. Also, the cat had moved over from Elliot's bed to Leo's. Elliot sat down on his own bed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Leo's gotta show up sometime, right?" He ended up shaking his head. "He just better be okay. If anyone dared to hurt him… They'll have to answer to me! I won't let anyone harm my servant and friend."

Leo listened to the heir's proclamation, looking at him with the same old cat face expression (since cats really couldn't change their expression like people could). He never really did see why Elliot would choose to protect someone like himself. He'd been an orphan, a dirty little street rat, the 'weird one'. But Elliot had come barging into his life and changed it forever. Leo appreciated the gesture, and once again this proved how dazzling and precious that person before him was.

'Elliot, I am sorry about being stuck in this form. I need to find a way back.' Really, if this continued on, the Nightray's worry would increase little by little. And especially with those nightmares… If Leo couldn't get back to normal and Elliot witnessed another one of those dreams tonight, it might seriously damage him.

In this form, the noirette couldn't do anything. He couldn't read, play piano, or do all the things with Elliot he normally would.

Leo really just wanted to be back to normal.

And so things continued like this throughout the day…

Elliot discovered that this cat, which not only had a resemblance to his missing servant, was really quite a handful.

At one point it had wandered out of the room on its own and came back with a mouse in its mouth. Elliot didn't really take notice of this until the cat hopped up onto his bed and put the dead mouse down.

He just stared at it. "What the-? Why did you bring that in here?! Especially if it's dead!"

All the cat did was sit down and answered with a simple, "Nya~"

For Leo, he had tested out his hunting capabilities as a cat. Lucky for him there had been a mouse wandering about. He simply could not let it get away. After dispatching of it swiftly, for some reason it seemed to be amusing if he were to bring it back to Elliot as a gift.

Leo would never forget that ridiculous reaction from the Nightray.

And on Elliot's side of this situation, he was now afraid that next he'd find another dead mouse by his head while he slept.

Elliot did try out one thing just for fun (though more of a distraction really). Curious to see how it would react, he took a piece of blank paper and crumpled it up into a ball. Then he lightly tossed it at the nearby cat.

Almost immediately, Leo felt his cat instincts taking over. He batted the crumpled paper with his paws, playing and chasing it about the room to whatever spot he had made it go. It wasn't like he had any control over doing this; it was just the nature of cats. Of course he had expected that there would be happenings like this.

Elliot watched the black cat, seeing run about to and fro. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

That ended up catching the noirette's attention and he glared and managed to bat the paper straight at Elliot's head. He wanted to laugh when it hit the heir, but cat's couldn't exactly laugh, only make those little meowing noises.

Well, he was laughing on the inside.

After a while, and still his servant nowhere to be found, Elliot decided to speak to his father on that matter. If not he'd go to his mother, hoping she'd be a bit more merciful. Also, he realized the cat would probably need to eat soon. He quickly made his way to see his father and explained the situation once there. Because of how his father viewed Leo, he knew there was a very good chance that nothing would be done about it.

Actually, the result was much to his surprise. The Nightray Duke said he would look into it and handle the situation, reassuring Elliot he had nothing to worry about. Of course, the tone in his voice made Elliot doubt that, but he listened to his father and nodded in understanding.

Leaving his father now, Elliot went into the kitchen and got a small dish for milk. With any luck, that cat would end up sneaking out of the room and getting a snack on its own. For now, he hoped that this milk would suffice. Elliot would sneak something else out later, after he figured out what would be suitable for the cat to eat.

"Here." He said once he got back into his room.

Leo looked up and decided to comply. He knew his master was looking on as he drank from the milk bowl.

Night had fallen, and this time Elliot was without his best friend there beside him. Leo had been gone for the whole day, so where in the world was he? Again, as he lay on his bed, those same questions floated into his mind. The outcome was still the same; that he could only hope for the best and that Leo returned safely.

In the meantime, besides being occupied with the cat, Elliot had tried to distract himself by reading some of Holy Knight. The cat was nearby on the bed where he lay, looking as if it was going to take a nap. The cat was his only source of company right now. For how, he supposed that the cat would serve as a suitable substitute for now- he was still hiding the cat too- but it was no true replacement for Leo. In his heart, no one was able to replace Leo. That was very much impossible.

Eventually it grew late and Elliot knew he had to sleep. Maybe by tomorrow he'd hear something regarding Leo being missing. Maybe he'd even return, return back here and back to being the servant he called his best friend.

Elliot closed his book at this thought, sudden thoughts of how much Leo really meant to him flowing through his head.

He already had his pajamas on, so he quietly slipped into bed and turned out the lamp by his bedside. Though moonlight still poured in through the window, which outlined the cat nearby, illuminating its face (partially anyway).

Leo could still see, even with the lights out and the room darkened. As a cat, the servant could now see that his vision was strengthened in the dark, giving him sort of a night vision to his eyes. Plus, the moonlight provided a tiny bit of light. Either way, he could see Elliot in the darkness. His paws made no noise on the bed sheets as he approached. Clearly Elliot was trying to sleep, and yet…

The Nightray rolled over onto his side, and saw the cat some into view. He wasn't startled, as he knew it had been there. He just stared blankly for a moment before he saw the cat move closer, and he grumbled out, "Fine."

Leo heard what his master said and lay down close to him. Not too close though, but just enough. He remained just close enough though that he could attempt to help Elliot in case he had a nightmare.

As Elliot glanced at the cat, again he was reminded of Leo just by the gaze alone. And now he flashed back to times of him and Leo at Lutwidge, specifically the nights. With how the noirette always kept books piled on his own bed, so they were forced to share a bed. Thank goodness no one else in the school knew about it but themselves, as far as they were aware of anyway. They usually slept back to back anyway.

Maybe with at least this cat by his side, maybe he'd get some sleep. Hopefully no one decided to barge in here anytime soon.

And as awful as it sounded, as if he weren't missing, he hoped Leo didn't find him like this, or else he'd never hear the end of it.

No, he wasn't suffering from any nightmares tonight. It was just that he couldn't sleep. He stared up at the ceiling with a blank stare. It was still well into the night and the cat was asleep beside him.

'What is this?' Elliot asked himself. 'Why can't I seem to sleep?'

It was like some inner subconscious thought was trying to keep him awake. It wasn't leaving him alone ether. A pestering thought, one that kept coming back again and again. The Nightray didn't move around much, as to not to disturb the slumbering cat. That cat seemed to be sleeping just fine, not that Elliot envied it. He did know that cats did sleep a lot, even during the daytime.

Maybe he was still thinking about Leo. He had tried to convince himself that the noirettte was alright, but in his heart, even if he managed to convince himself his heart was saying that as long as Leo was missing there was a high chance that everything was not okay.

'Leo…'

Elliot knew this was a bad idea- he didn't even know why he did what he did next- but he reached out and gently pulled the cat close.

The servant had been asleep, but had been woken up when he felt someone pulling on his feline body. From sleep, his eyes were only able to open halfway, but he saw Elliot before him. With that secret adoration of cats he had, it wasn't really so much of a surprise. The only reason it made it sort of one was because Leo was a cat right now. Of course Elliot wouldn't even realize that.

The rational part of Elliot said that this was ridiculous, but he could not help it. With such troubling thoughts on his mind, and looming nightmares that could assault him at any moment, he needed something, anything, to keep him tethered and calm. That cat was the closest thing he had at the moment.

Elliot knew he had woken the cat, but he didn't mind. And actually, now that he looked at the cat, he noticed something about the eyes.

'These eyes are…' Never had Elliot seen cat eyes like these; so mysterious and dark, that which shined in the moonlight. They were beautiful.

Just like Leo's.

"Kind of wish you were Leo." He whispered.

And Leo was surprised when his little kitty nose was kissed, and by none other than Elliot.

'Ah… Elliot.' Leo said inside his mind.

In that moment, Elliot suddenly saw his vision going burly. He thought it was just sleep finally trying to drag him under into those dark depths. He yawned, but also thought he saw something else.

The cat seemed to change before his eyes. What did he know though? The lack of sleep was making him hallucinate probably.

The Nightray closed his eyes for a moment, needing to clear his mind and pull himself together. He didn't even notice the changes taking place to the cat. Prominent physical changes and a complete transformation.

Leo felt it though; he felt his cat body changing. Thinking back on what Elliot said though, and coupled with the changes overtaking him, the words slipped from the noirette's mouth.

"I am right here, Elliot."

When Elliot heard that voice, his eyes opened right away. He didn't see a black cat before him this time. The cat was gone.

Leo was there instead, his face close to his and the moonlight contrasting his pale features.

"Leo…?"

Was it really him? Was it really his servant returned to him?

He chuckled and smiled. "Yes? It's just me, nothing more."

The heir stared at the other, taking in every part of him. He wasn't missing anymore, not when he was right here. Where Leo had suddenly come from and where the cat had gone didn't matter. Leo was here, and he looked just fine, which was even more good news.

"Elliot?"

Leo was back.

"You…. How dare you?!" He put his arms around Leo in an instant and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?! Hell, where were you even?!"

"Huh? I've been nowhere at all." The servant said, speaking as if it were a perplexing response. Leo knew he had somehow returned to normal now. He wasn't sure how, but he was no longer at cat. With this, it wouldn't take long for Elliot to figure out what was going on.

"But you-!" Ah, what was the point? As long as Leo was safe, that was all that mattered. "Don't disappear on me like that again! That's an order…"

An order, huh? Leo laughed softly and gently spoke to Elliot. "Do not worry. I'm not going anywhere."

Elliot merely huffed in response. "Good! I'll kick your ass if you do!"

"I'd expect that much of you and being the way you are."

He didn't respond to that comment, having said enough already. There was nothing more to be said on this matter, now that Leo had been found. He was safe and uninjured, which was the best outcome for the situation.

But now that he as calm, he noticed something about Leo. With his arms wrapped around that small fragile frame, he could feel his fingertips brushing against skin; Leo's skin.

'Wait a minute…' Elliot furrowed his brow and looked at Leo. The skin on his thin arms showed, and looking at his chest, there was no shirt there. Cautiously looking down there was no pants on him ether. So that could only mean-

"What the hell, Leo?!"

Elliot drew his arms back right away and looked at Leo in both surprise and awkward shock at the fact his servant had no clothes on.

"Yes, Elliot?" Leo asked innocently, having quickly figured out this fact for himself. Though he didn't like his body being stared at in such a manner. There was nothing there to look at anyway, what with his pale skin and thin figure altogether. He decided to act surprised instead. "Oh!"

"What compelled you to do that anyway?!" Elliot continued to shout, trying to hide his embarrassment to such an awkward moment.

"I am sorry. I did not realize it." He said, covering himself up in the blanket lying on the bed.

"F-forget it! Just cover up and get some clothes on!"

Leo nodded and quickly found some spare pajamas lying around. He set them down on the bed and remained covered in the blanket. Elliot was now sitting up in bed, fully awake now.

"By the way, I never was really gone. You merely thought I was." Leo said plainly, thinking he might as well give Elliot a hint.

"What do you mean? You were nowhere to be found in the manor." The Nightray answered, confused.

"Whatever you say then, Elliot."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means what it means."

Elliot scowled. 'He's making no sense what-so-ever.' His eyes glanced around the room for a second, looking for the cat. It was very strange. That cat had vanished the second Leo appeared before him, and now it wasn't anywhere in this room. Given with what Leo had said, everything was just getting stranger. He had to think.

'The cat suddenly disappearing when Leo appeared… Leo just randomly appearing, without any clothes… What he said just moments ago…' He tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but it was only leading nowhere.

If Leo had never left... and remembering what he thought was an illusion of sleep…

'No way…!'

"You?!" Elliot shouted, catching the noirette's attention. "You were that cat?!"

"Hush. You will wake everyone up if you continue on like that." Leo retorted. It looks like Elliot had figured it out. "And yes, that cat was me."

So it was! But how did Leo even turn into a cat? And assuming this was all true, which could only make sense for everything else, then Leo had been with him throughout the day.

And it also meant-

"Elliot?"

There was a light blush across the heir's cheeks, as if he was embarrassed about something. But Leo already knew what it was.

"J-just go change into those clothes!" He exclaimed, flopping back down into bed and burying his face into a pillow.

Leo jumped off the bed and went into the bathroom to change. "Alright then, Elly~"

"Shut up…."

"Hey, Leo. How did you become a cat anyways?"

"Hmm? Me?" Leo replied, sitting down on the bed next to Elliot, now dressed in pajamas.

"Yeah." Elliot shifted a little in bed and turned his eyes up to the other. "It's not really normal to find out your servant was transformed into a cat."

"I have been thinking about that myself, to be quite honest." He put a finger to his lips to ponder that question. "Ah! I think I may know."

"Then what is it?" Elliot was rather curious to know.

"You see, the previous day I had seen this cat outside. Maybe it was cursed or something, because it had a weird collar on for one. Either that or I must have angered some sort of cat-god. Anyways, the night before today, I dreamt of that same cat. I theorize that's what lead to me transformation that morning."

Elliot nodded. "So the whole time, it was you. You weren't missing."

"Of course not." Leo chuckled, deciding to lay down in bed next to Elliot.

"Uh… Leo-"

"It was quite amusing though. I always knew you had a love of cats."

Elliot frowned, but instead pulled his servant close and kissed his cheek, his lips brushing over Leo's as he faced him.

"Whatever. I'm still glad you're okay."

"Eh? Come on, don't deny your love of cats."

"Tsk. You wanna be kicked out of bed?"

"You can try."

A pause. That was followed by Leo snuggling close to Elliot and laid his head against his master's chest.

"Well I'm glad I am back to normal too."

The Nightray watched as Leo's form grew calm, and now Elliot could rest.

"Yeah. I really am, Leo."