Chapter two: Week one, escape attempts

Kyo

He wasn't human. There was no way in hell he was human. It's like, like he can read my mind or something! Every time I make a break for it, he always catches me! Sneaking didn't work, fighting didn't work, and now I had to resort to . . . acting. I've been laying it on thick these last couple of days, playing with the toys he got, laying in the cat tree, even letting him pet me. Pet me! I haven't turned into my human form or growled, not once, and it's been killing me. I hated playing the good kitty and Purple eyes was enjoying it way too damn much. All his smiling is getting on my nerves. And all this pampering is ridiculous, I don't need this many toys and stuff. I'd be fine with just two or three. . . . . . .Wait, what the hell am I saying?! I don't need any cause I'm not staying!

"Kyo, there you are." Purple eyes said and sat next to me on his dark gray couch.

I didn't know how much longer I could keep this up. He was here all the time and it was smothering. Didn't he have a job or go to school or something? With that princely face, it was hard to guess how old he was. He reached over and pet my head a few times before turning his attention to the tv.

"You don't have to be a cat. I'm more than comfortable with you being a human." He stated, but kept his gaze on the screen.

As if I believed that. Besides, if I was in my human form he'd definitely know I was putting on an act. I wasn't a very good liar and at least in cat form he couldn't see my facial expressions. His phone started ringing and he reached to the coffee table, sighing as he grabbed it.

"Hello? . . . . . . . . . . What? . . . . . . . He didn't." Purple eyes said and got up. He was clearly irritated, an almost scowl on his face as continued the conversation to his bedroom.

My ears pricked up in curiosity, but I waited for the sound of the door shutting instead of following. Once I heard it click, I jumped from the couch and dashed towards the front door. Finally, this was it! That Damn rat never left me in the living room alone before. My acting must've paid off, he actually trusted me. Fool! I smiled to myself as I transformed and unlocked the door. I'm outta here!

Yuki

I was on the phone talking with Mine about my older brother. Ayame had apparently made a new fashion line that he named "My adorable baby brother", inspired by yours truly. I got up from the couch, attempting to hold backa scowl. Why does he always do these things? Just because he's a famous fashion designer doesn't mean he can use me for his projects.

"No, I'll talk to him later." I told her as I walked down the hall. I pressed end call and opened and shut my bedroom door.

I suspected Kyo had been playing the perfect house cat and decided to test him. Sure enough, he went to the front door and transformed once he thought I was out of the room. I snuck up behind him and grabbed his shirt collar just as he turned the doorknob.

"Ah!" He yelped as I tossed him away from the door.

He glare at me from his position on the floor. "Really, Kyo?" I sighed, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You didn't have to fling me on my ass!" He complained and then added, "How'd you know this time?"

"There's no way you'd go from biting and clawing to calm and obedient in two days. If you had gradually changed you might have fooled me, stupid cat." I teased.

"Damn rat." He hissed and I gave him a questioning look. Did he just call me a rat?

"Just give up on escaping and keep your end of the deal. It'll make things easier for the both of us." I told him.

He stood and stared at the floor, sulking. It was honestly quite cute. "Fine." He groaned and I patted his orange head.

"Good boy." I praised, though I wasn't sure if he meant it this time either.

He smacked my hand away and went back to his cat form. I wasn't getting anywhere with him these past few days, not even a little. He padded back to the couch and sat in the same spot he was in before. How am I going to get him to open up to me?

Kyo

The next morning I had tried to escape out the window before he woke up, but he caught me again. Seriously, how does he always know? I was currently being held in his arms against my will, cradled like a baby. My tail swished back and forth in annoyance as he carried me around the house. I hate him so much right now. What really ticked me off was the fact that he was obviously enjoying it, constantly giving me smug looks. He was even humming! I don't know how much more I can take. He finally put me down on the cat tree in the living room and went over to the kitchen, a long silver island counter that separated the two rooms.

I watched him as he started pulling out different kinds of food and a few pans. So he can cook? My stomach growled at the thought of food and I mentally sighed. I was fine with cat food, but after awhile I got tired of it no matter how many different kinds there were. It's all still weird forms of processed meat and not the good kind. I climbed to the highest perch to get a better view of what he was making. Purple eyes caught me staring and tossed a smile at me.

"Want to help? I could use some extra hands." He said, though I doubted it.

I jumped down and shifted to my human form, leaning on the back of the couch. "I don't know how to cook." I mumbled.

"Come here then, and I'll teach you." He insisted and I surprised myself by walking over to him.

I figured it was because I was hungry and wanted human food. This way I didn't have to ask him for it. I'm many things, but I'm not a beggar.

"You can start by grabbing the salt for me." He instructed and gestured towards two white bags on the parallel courter.

I shuffled over to the identical bags and sniffed. I could usually tell things apart by their smell but I wasn't a dog, there were plenty of things I couldn't identify and apparently salt was one of them. There were letters on the bags, but those didn't help me.

"Which one is it?" I grumbled and purple eyes gave me a weird look.

"Kyo . . . you can't . . . ?" He began but didn't finished. Now I realized what that look was: pity.

"I can't read. So what?" I spat and glared at the floor. "I don't know how to do a lot of things but that doesn't mean I'm stupid, don't you dare look down on me." I angrily added and desperately tried not to sound vulnerable.

I wouldn't let him or anyone else make me feel ashamed because I'm ignorant. There were a lot of things I did know how to do and I owned up to it if I didn't, being ignorant and being stupid were two different things. Purple eyes walked over and pointed to the bag on the right.

"Salt. S, A, L, T." He told me in a gentle tone.

What the hell? "Are you . . . are you making fun of me?" I asked vexingly.

"What? No, absolutely not." He stated firmly, his face serious.

I eyed him suspiciously before I picked up the stupid bag, handing it to him. He silently went back to the other counter and placed the bag next to the food. I watched him closely as he began cutting, seeming focused on the task at hand. I still wasn't sure if he was making fun of me or not, but I took a chance and stood next to him.

"What's this?" I asked quietly, picking up a piece of the green thing he was cutting.

He was looked surprised for a second before smiling again. "It's a leek." He explained and I sniffed it.

"It stinks." I said bluntly.

I took a bite out of curiosity, know that not everything tasted as bad as it smelled. This was not one of those things. I immediately spit it out and dropped to my knees, coughing.

"Kyo, are you alright?" Purples eyes asked in concern.

"That . . . was the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted. This coming from a street cat that ate rodents." I told him.

He paused for a moment with a blank look before laughing.

"What's so funny? I was being serious." I said and he laughed harder.

I just watched as he tried to turn and muffle the sound. He looked good when he laughed, way better than that borderline fake smile he would wear. It always seemed like he wasn't really happy, that he was just smiling for the sake of the act, which is probably why it irritated me. Now those damn smirks, those were real, the Damn rat. When he stopped laughing and realized I was staring, he blushed.

"Your face is red." I pointed out with a smirk of my own.

"Yeah, I know that Kyo." He huffed and I stood closer to get a better look. It's strange and kinda funny to see him off balance like this.

"Is it getting worse?" I mused.

He glared at me which just looked adorable added to the blush. "Shut up."

"Are you embarrassed?" I teased and he stuffed a leek in my mouth.

"You-*cough, cough*-bastard!" I choked.

Like hell I'm helping him cook now.

Yuki

Throughout the rest of the week, I ended up teaching Kyo how to read and write. He was against me teaching him at first, but he eventually caved. It was refreshing at how fast he picked it up since he striked me as the dim witted delinquent type.

"Y, U, K, I." I spelled and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yuki?" He asked and I smiled.

"That's right. That's my name." I told him, gazing at the ceiling as he laid on the floor.

"Yeah, well I like Damn rat better. D, A, M, N, R, A, T." He stated and I rolled my eyes. How did I end up with that nickname anyway?

"I should teach you some manners next." I thought out loud and he pounced, causing me to be the one with his back against the floor.

"I'd like to see you try." He dared and I smirked.

"See?! That! That right there is why Damn rat is better for you." He explained, catching me off guard.

"What?" I asked as I looked up into his orange eyes.

I was suddenly aware that he was straddling me in his black t-shirt and blue jeans, an odd warmth filling chest. His short orange hair looked as soft as his fur was and I barely resisted the urge to pet it. His hair is so pretty.

"Hey . . . quit looking at me all weird." He said and I blinked at him.

"What?" I asked again.

"Don't you even realize what faces you make? Probably not since they look genuine." He mumbled, but I wasn't following his line of thinking.

"What?" I so elegantly asked for the third time and cursed my brain for not working.

"Seriously? And you're supposed to be so smart." Kyo chuckled and got off of me.

He's unusually playful today. Is he finally warming up to me? Kyo turned into his cat form and I picked him up, sitting him in my lap. He quietly growled, but didn't resist as I started petting him. I held back a laugh when he almost immediately began purring at my touch. Such the tough cat, isn't he? I silently watched as his eyes slid closed and his tail idly swished back and forth. He could be happy here, he didn't have to live on the street. 'He doesn't have to be alone' I thought, but perhaps that was because I was the one who hated being alone. I want him to stay . . . I really do.

Kyo

I had dozed off and woken up in one of my cat beds. Did I actually fall asleep in his lap? Ugh, I broke so many street cat laws but what the hell, I don't care right now. I was warm and well rested, something that hadn't happened often before I came here. I yawned and lazily stretched before getting out and looking for purples eyes. The house was quiet as I trotted down the hall and into his room, but it was dark and empty. Where'd he go? I padded back to the living room when my stomach growled. Well it's not like I care if he leaves me by myself. I don't need him here to feed me or anything.

I transformed into a human and opened the fridge. His nasty leek monstrosity was in there and I shamelessly threw it away, doing him a favor. Then I scanned the shelves and settled on making a chicken and turkey sandwich. I may not be able to cook, but I could throw stuff together and eat it, especially if it was meat. Next time he goes to the store, I need to remind him to get some more milk. The front door suddenly opened and Purple eyes came in with two bags.

"Where were you?" I asked as I put some mayonnaise on my bread.

"Shopping. We needed more milk." He explained and I mentally praised him.

At least he knew to get the bare necessities.

"I also got this." He said, tone borderlining excitement.

He set the bags down on the island in front of me and opened one, pulling out a black and white collar. He can't be serious.

". . . . . What makes you think I'm going to wear that thing?" I asked. "I'm outta here at the end of the month. That was the deal." I told him and his face dropped.

I almost felt guilty, but he knew from the beginning I had no intention of living here. It wasn't like we were friends and I sure as hell didn't consider him as my owner.

"The month isn't over yet, I still have two more weeks to convince you." He spoke with conviction. "Besides, you didn't try to escape when you were here by yourself. That means something, doesn't it?" He pointed out and my eyes widened.

"Oh shit." I gasped and mentally kicked myself. I knew he wasn't here and yet I didn't try to escape?! I missed a golden opportunity! Damn it, what the hell was I thinking?!

"Judging by the look on your face, the thought never occurred to you, did it? You stupid cat." He laughed and I blushed.

"Bastard, it's not funny." I pouted but he continued.

This really sucks.


A/N: Chapter two is through, now onto the next chapter! Did anyone else laugh when Kyo ate the leek? I swear it cracks me up every time (yes, I'm the type that laughs at my own jokes).