Kitten Love

Chapter 2

Hibari pushed the ring on his tail into the purple Cloud box, and from it came Roll, much bigger than Hibari was used to. The cat's gaze softened upon seeing his hedgehog, and he kept his tail high so that the ring would stay on. Hibird grabbed on to the box, and Hibari began to move forward, happy that Roll would follow him.

"Roll," he began, looking back at the hedgehog. "Do you know what could've caused this to happen to me?"

The hedgehog shook its head. "I'm sorry, Master. I don't know."

Hibari jumped with suprise, bristling as the squeaky voice met his ears. Was this... was Roll talking to him? "You can speak?" the cat asked.

"We're both small mammals, so we understand each other," Roll replied, sitting down and giving a cartoonish smile. "Where are we going?"

The feline took a few moments to gaze at his box weapon, unsure, before starting to walk again. "To Kokuyo land," he answered.

"Isn't that where Mukuro is?" Roll questioned. "Why are we going there?"

"I'm not quite sure, either," Hibari muttered, before stopping dead in his tracks. "What's that smell?" he questioned. It was at first a gentle whiff of something in the air, but now, it was all so vivid. Hibari couldn't even come up with words to describe the wonderful scent that flowed into him.

"Which smell?" Roll squeaked. "Maybe it's just your flames, Master, 'cause your flames smell delicious..."

"No, no, not that, I'm not a box weapon," Hibari sighed. "Let's follow it."

Hibari wanted to run, but sensing the hedgehog that waddled behind him, barely able to keep up as it was, he knew he couldn't. He pushed on through a few bushes, and watched as Roll curled up and made his own path through them. He was suprisingly content as he walked along, for he had always known that Roll would be a good friend in times of need. It wasn't long before Hibari came up to the source of the good smell. It was Take Sushi, filled with fish, prepared just the way he liked it. It was difficult for the black-furred cat to resist the urge to purr, and he glanced back at Roll, who seemed less euphoric. "I'm, sorry, Master, but you go ahead without me for this one," said Roll. "I don't eat fish."

Hibari gave a nod, and stalked in to Take Sushi, keeping his profile- and ears- low. He went down, stalking towards the plate of sushi that was on an empty table, then sprang up, and, although angered by his own lack of fingers in such a perfect situation, he leaned down, eating to his heart's content. He was just about to finish the plate off when the owners of it returned, however, and he received a very belittling smack on the back of the head before he dashed out. He caught up to Roll, who had been continuing along the path, and licked his lips, purring quietly with satisfaction. "It might not be so easy next time," he told himself, "but that was definitely worth it. Let's go find some water so I can clean up, though..."

"Um... water, sir?" Roll repeated, his eyes twinkling with the idea of a cat bathing in water. "Well... I've seen a few ponds around here..."

As the hedgehog took the lead, Hibari's whiskers twitched as he tried to get a particularly irksome piece of leftover fish off of his face. To his luck, however, they soon came upon a pond, and Hibari sat down, before reaching out to touch the water with a forepaw. He leapt back in suprise as he touched the water, stunned by how foreign it felt, and Roll's face proved that he was highly amused by his Master's antics. The cat took a moment to ponder what he should do, then reached up, licked his paw, and combed through the fur on his head. He repeated the action several times, and soon managed to clean his face of leftover sushi. He was able to lick down his chest, over his shoulder, and soon, it became a rhythm. Hibari became absorbed in th cleaning process as he continued, but as he lifted up his leg, intending to clean more private areas, Roll cleared his throat. Humiliated, the prefect got back up, and shook himself off. "Sorry about that," he sighed. "Let's go."

The two continued on towards Kokuyo land, Hibari reclaiming the lead, and the cat was relieved when they at last got there. It hadn't been so much of an adventure when he was human, after all. He squeezed between the bars of the gate, then looked back at Roll, who shrunk himself slightly in order to move through as well. Hibird flew over the fence, and the trio continued on towards Kokuyo building. Unfortunately for Hibari, Ken, the dog of Mukuro's group, was out patrolling the fences when the cat showed, and, being almost literally half-dog, the blonde haired animal man dashed out at him. Hibari immediately called on Roll's help, and the hedgehog leapt on top of him, before expanding his spikes out to get Ken. The boy howled with pain as several spikes punctured him. Hibari bounded out from beneath the hedgehog's soft stomach, and called for Hibird to return Roll to his box. The bird held the box at the ready, and Roll returned to it, and the three ran- and flew- back and into the building, leaving the dog-like kid where he was.

Hibari told his bird to fly back home and wait, fearing that the older man who once owned Hibird would try to take him back, and entered Kokuyo alone, wincing at the musky, stony smell that greeted his nose as he walked inside. He leapt his way up a ladder, and moved along, when suddenly, a thick, pineapple-like scent cloyed out all other smells, and Hibari continued in the direction of the oddly familiar scent. He walked into the room where he was once beaten into complete submission, and moved over to the man who lied, sleeping, on the couch. That man, Rokudo Mukuro, was his only hope. The cat stalked over to the velvety red couch, and leapt nimbly on it, then crawled over Mukuro's chest, before lying down upon it. If Mukuro was asleep, and could stay asleep like this, so be it. Hibari was feeling strangely... patient. He watched the illusionist's sleeping face, and gradually began to purr as he settled down. He stretched out, resting his head on the illusionist's shoulder, and gave a small mewl as he looked at Mukuro. Red and blue mismatched eyes opened, and Mukuro sat up, making Hibari twitch with annoyance as his comfort was disrupted. "Oya oya?" came the deep voice. "What a pretty little cat." Hibari closed his eyes as the man petted him, and nuzzled into the collarbone, when Mukuro took notice of the band around his waist that read 'Head Prefect.' "Kufufufufu~? What's this? Could you have taken it from my rival, or... perhaps you... are my rival..." Hibari looked up into Mukuro's eyes as the illusionist held his forepaws up, and he received a quick survey, before Mukuro grinned once more. "Oh, but where are my manners! You are indeed a very beautiful cat," praised the Mist, rubbing the tops of Hibari's paws and dragging another purr from his throat. "Is the pretty little cat hungry?"

Hibari meowed.

He didn't even try to say anything, he just let out the cutest meow he could summon, for the attention was quite pleasant, and the cat didn't want it to end just yet. "Aw," Mukuro said. "Here, follow me. I happen to have something you might like." Hibari followed at the illusionist's heels, simply enjoying his time as a cat, when a thought crossed his mind. What if he could stay like this? He exactly wouldn't be a pet, after all, and he'd have Mukuro bending over backwards to feed him! Actually, his time as a cat... it wasn't that much of a struggle at all, and he felt stronger, even if he wasn't. In fact, it was rather fun. Hibari purred, rubbing against Mukuro's leg as the illusionist prepared something for him, and he rolled onto his back, trying to act as aww-inspiring as many cats had to him. "Here you are, little darling," Mukuro said, setting a plate before the prefect. Hibari looked at the rice balls and sushi set out on the plate, and, while the rice didn't smell particularly appealing to his feline nose, he was pleased to discover it still tasted the same. He ate gratefully, and was quickly sated by it, for he didn't require nearly as much food as he used to. As he finished, he repeated the cleaning process he'd learned earlier, but this time didn't roll over for the sake of being modest in front of his rival. "You sweet little thing," Mukuro cooed, kneeling down beside the cat and stroking his just-cleaned fur. "Would you like me to take care of you?"

"I'd love it," Hibari meowed, sitting up onto his hind legs and placing both forepaws on Mukuro's knee. The illusionist picked him up, and Hibari let the illusionist carry him back into a bedroom.

"As you can imagine, this is my room," Mukuro said, sitting down on the bed with Hibari. "I'd advise you stay here so that you don't get caught by Ken or Chikusa."

"Thanks, Rokudo," Hibari mewed, nuzzling into the illusionist's stomach. There was a deafening pause.

"I only know one man who currently addresses me by my last name." Hibari squeaked with suprise as he was held up, a little less gently this time. "Hibari Kyouya, how rotten of you to trick me."

Hibari squirmed away and leapt off of the illusionist's lap, huffing in indigance. "Look, I don't know what happened," he snorted. "All I know is I'm a cat at the moment. The baby told me to come to you about it... and I admit that I got a little carried away."

"So this will be your form for a while, hm?" Mukuro hummed. "Well, I suppose it isn't so bad. But goodness, Kyouya, next time, tell me about this before I start petting you!"

"But it feels so good," Hibari mumbled. He jumped back onto the bed, and walked over to Mukuro, then nuzzled into his hand once more. "Sometimes I can't help myself," he purred. "I occassionally go off pure instinct." Mukuro reluctantly began to pet the cat once more, and, as he did so, Hibari crawled up into his lap. The illusionist lied down, and Hibari moved up his chest, then began to lick gently at his face. The illusionist grinned.

"This doesn't strike you as awkward in any way?" he chuckled. The cat gently kneaded at the sheets past Mukuro's shoulders.

"Not at all," he breathed. "Just let me enjoy this."

And he closed his eyes.

-End Chapter


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