Hello! This is my first ever story here and I'd just like to say that damn, I'm no good with summaries. My first language isn't English too, so please tell me if there are any grammatical errors or wrong spellings! Please give advice and criticisms of any kind because they are gladly welcomed!

Hetalia does not belong to me!

The sun was quickly losing its light, street lamps starting to flicker to stability as evening began to fall. Through the slightly crowded streets of eager people ran a boy whose destination was for a local animal shelter just outside the University he was studying in.

Alfred panted lightly, stopping in front of the shelter's glass door before pushing it open, hearing the little bell jingling and cursing lightly when he saw that the place was empty. Damn, he knew he was late.

"Ah, another student, I see?" came a kind voice as a short yet stout man came from behind the counter. He had a kind smile and it was evident in his features that he was used to these kinds of interactions. "I'm afraid your friends have gone half an hour ago." He said with a light chuckle.

Alfred gave one of his own yet he was more sheepish as he let the door swing close behind him, stepping into the shelter. "Er- yeah. I kinda had a few things to do before heading up here.. are there any more left?" he asked, glancing behind the man where a door was placed. Alfred had a thought that what he was looking for is in there. Or at least it was in there.

The man's look turned a little apologetic as he shook his head quite tentatively, "No. There are none left." He said as Alfred's tired features fell even more. The man seemed to look a little guilty when he saw this.

"Aw c'mon.. isn't there any left?" Alfred asked, insisting and the man gave a little sigh.

"Well-.. there is one left. But I'm not sure if he will be of liking to you, son." Although Alfred felt a spark of hope once again, he still felt a little nervous as to why the man would say so.

The man turned on his heel and began to lead Alfred further towards the room till they reached the door at the very back. The door was opened to reveal what seemed to be a small nursery. The flooring was soft and there were blankets, comforters and pillows all around. Toys littered the ground and if it weren't for the slightly dingy and old atmosphere and the scratches on the painted walls, it would have indeed been a nursery. 'The place was empty', this was Alfred's first thought, but that was until he caught sight of something curled up on a blanket against the very corner of a wall. When the door had opened, it had lifted his head, ears perked up thought when it saw Alfred, it seemed to cower away into its corner once again, pressing black ears against equally charcoal black hair as its tail curled around its middle.

"Er- is that him?" Alfred asked quite rudely though it seemed to have not been acknowledged by the man.

"Yes. His name is Kiku." He simply said, a little and somewhat worried frown on his lips as he watched the figure curled up in the corner once more. Alfred had been silent and he guessed that was the cue that got the owner to speak about the neko's past. "He had been abused by his last owner, you see. The neighbors heard yells and calls from the house and when the owner was out, they sneaked in to have a look. They found Kiku locked in a basement and brought him here just about a month ago.. the poor thing. He wouldn't eat or sleep for the first couple of weeks and even now he has trouble sleeping."

Alfred looked over from the owner and then to the figure curled into the corner. If that was the case, wouldn't it be hostile to anyone who tries touching it too? Well.. that was the case with traumatized pets, right? "Does he bite?" the boy found himself asking and to his own surprise, the owner shook his head, making Alfred blink.

"No. He doesn't bite, nor scratch, nor growl whenever someone approaches." The man said, "He just-.. cowers away. As I've said, his last owner had been very abusive and he has feared fighting back. God knows how long he's had to put up with that."

Okay that was kind of good. If the neko didn't bite or scratch, what was the problem, really? But wait.. did Alfred really want to have to put up with that? Did he really want a traumatized neko that could run away and slip out of his dorm room at any given, unsupervised, moment? Ah, damn. This project sucked. But he didn't have to want to wait for the next batch of nekos to come.. that would take way too long, plus his professor had obviously stated that they needed to start working on their report as soon as possible even though it wouldn't even be passed until like, six months later.

"I'll give you time to think. If you wish to wait for the next batch, that's alright too. I understand." the man said, giving Alfred a little pat on his shoulder as he walked out of the nursery-like room. It actually took a few more minutes of contemplating for Alfred before he had finally reached a decision. He had decided that he would wait for the next batch. That would be the best option, right? He felt guilty, yes, but he needed to pass the final semester, god damn it, and Alfred just wasn't sure if Kiku would let him do that.

The student had finally made a move to walk out of the room, seeing the neko perk up at the corners of his eyes yet not acknowledging this as he opened the door. He let out a little yelp, however, feeling something shove in from under his arm and saw a mop of brown hair rush into the room. Alfred glanced at the boy for a few moments, blinking and rooted to the spot as the student watched him hurry up towards Kiku. The boy seemed to be excited about something, bounding up and skipping towards the neko as a small smile found its way to Alfred's lips.

"Neko! Come play with me, come on!" the child chimed, waving his hand and standing in front of the curling mess. The child looked to be about seven eight years old, just as tall as the neko if they both were standing.

Kiku seemed unresponsive though in the next few insistent requests, he had started to shake his head. Lightly at first but soon starting to shake his head vigorously as the boy started to pull him by the arm to get him to stand up. Alfred huffed, wondering why the neko would refuse such enthusiastic invitations, yet his eyes grew wide when he saw that the boy was starting to hit the neko.

"Come on, play with me! I'm bored, come on!" he kept saying, hitting Kiku on his arms at first before hitting his head with a clenched fist, making the neko duck and press his ears against his hair with a whimper. At this, Alfred abandoned all thought and hurried, tugging the back of the boy's shirt till he let go of the sobbing neko's hand and was a safe distance away from Kiku. Alfred got in between them and scolded the boy.

"Hey! That's not the way to treat nekos, kid." He said, footsteps ringing into the room as he saw the owner of the shelter padding in nervously.

"Johnny! What have I told you about bothering Kiku?" the owner asked as the child looked up with anger and betrayal at his grandfather.

"The other nekos would play with me! How come he won't?" he demanded, making the owner shake his head and flash Alfred an apologetic look. "I'm very sorry about this, son.. he just gets so excited with nekos around and-"

"I'll take him."

"..What?"

Alfred went still and rigid, only registering what he had said as he looked up at the surprised looking owner of the shelter. "I-.." he said before licking his lips a little and continuing, "I said I'll take him. Kiku, I mean."

"What- are you- are you sure? It's very alright to wait for-"

"No," Alfred blurted out still, "No he's fine. I'll take him."

"Oh.." the owner said, still a little dumbfounded and only snapped out of his thoughts when his grandson had pulled at his arm a little, "Oh! Right, of course! You'll take him! I'll get the papers to sign, then!" he said, scrambling out of the room yet not anymore closing the door, offering Alfred to follow.

The student didn't however, choosing to stay in the room for the moment as he let out a sigh and ran a hand down his face. Great, now he'd done it. That was just perfect. But he guessed he'd be able to do this. Alfred glanced back at the neko behind him, seeing only now the bruises that littered its arms. Well.. if he was going to start talking to Kiku, he would have to start now.

Alfred took a step back, watching the neko bury his face into the blanket that he held, still seeming to calm down his own sobs. Damn he looked fragile. "Hey there.. My name's Alfred." the student mumbled awkwardly, cursing himself a little but perked up when he saw that the neko had pulled away from the blanket and looked up to meet his eyes as a single mutter escaped his lips.

"Hello."

This was going to be a long semester.