Cat and Mouse
Chapter Four: Cheshire Cat
I nearly dropped the cup of water I was holding when one of the women tripped me with her leg. When I turned to look at her, she turned around quickly but giggled with her friends. These women were vicious, like wolves competing to be the alpha male's mate. I wasn't willing to bare my teeth and claws because the prize was worthless. To those women, Ikuto was a priceless jewel in a sea of rocks. To me, he was a loose cannon. As long as he was around, I wouldn't be able to sleep in peace.
"Here's your water. Now please get out." Though my face was welcoming, my voice dripped with venom. I had to keep up appearances.
"Is that any way to speak to a customer? I am appalled!" He joked and took a large gulp of his water. "Can I speak to the manager of this establishment? I need to tell him that he has such incompetent employees!" He ranted as if he was a professional in the catering business.
With every word he spoke, my anger sizzled until it reached its boiling point. Now, I was pissed. "I swear to God, if you don't leave now I can promise that you'll never see your precious key ever again! Now go!" I was yelling now, and people were watching us. I didn't care if they looked, and I didn't give a damn if they thought I was crazy. I just wanted this bastard out of my life!
He wasn't fazed by my rage, in fact, he was amused. His hand cupped my chin and tilted my head so that I stared directly into his eyes. "Make me," He challenged softly.
I felt like I was in a game of tug and war. Despite the fact that I put blood, sweat, and tears into the game, Ikuto had the rope wrapped around my neck like a noose. So every time I pulled as hard as I could, I was only digging my own grave. My efforts were in vain, and it was impossible to win. He was a cheater, and he knew how to play the game well.
Using words with this intolerant man wasn't working, so it was time to take action. I grabbed his wrist and led him outside, and we kept walking until we entered an alley. Knowing the coast was clear, I dropped all formalities and glared at him with the ferocity of a lion. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Didn't we go over this already? You have the key that I need to unlock this goddamn shackle." He grabbed the white padlock and tugged at it to emphasize his point. "I'm not leaving until you give me the key." He held out his hand, waiting expectantly for me to hand him what he wanted.
"I'm not giving it to you."
He raised his eyebrow. "And why not?"
I knew that if I didn't give a satisfactory explanation for my unwillingness to comply with his demands, he would keep being insistent. "It's important to me. This used to belong to my mother, who passed away ten years ago."
When he heard the sincerity in my voice, his eyes softened. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, well, now you know."
"That doesn't change anything. You still have what I need. But, since the key is something precious, I'll wait until you're willing to give it to me." He held my cheek in his palm and smiled apologetically. "I know how you feel."
For a moment, I felt safe with him. He had that nurturing quality, like a father protecting his children, but it was slightly different. I couldn't put my finger on it. Instead of pulling away like I usually did, I pushed my cheek into his palm and absorbed his warmth. It must've been because of the newfound understanding between us. There was something, like a red string, that linked us like two paper cups. I could hear his thoughts and feelings, and he could hear mine as well. It was as if we were exchanging secrets through those paper cups.
I snapped back to reality before his mesmerizing eyes could further spiral me into oblivion. This man was definitely dangerous. Just a touch had me feeling as light as a feather, and just a word sent my heart running a mile a minute. I couldn't comprehend what was wrong with my body. Maybe I was taking too many stress pills lately.
"Now that that's settled, I'll be crashing at your house. I'll see you later, then. If you need me, I'll be making myself comfortable in your apartment." With a pat on my shoulder, he walked on his merry way.
Did that just happen? I was in a daze, and I couldn't tell what was reality and what wasn't. Slowly, the realization dawned on me. I just agreed to having a new roommate. As if my day couldn't get any worse, I realized that I was skipping my shift at work. Knowing that the place was completely packed because of Ikuto's presence, Kukai must've been struggling to serve all the customers.
When I got back to the restaurant, I saw that my assumption was correct. Kukai was scrambling back and forth from the kitchen to the tables. It wasn't as crowed as before since Ikuto left, but the load was still too much for one person to take care of. I rushed to the kitchen to grab the next orders and help with the shortage of hands.
Afterwards, I had a very long chat with the manager. He said I was lucky that he wouldn't fire me because there wasn't enough wait staff, but this was my last warning.
"You know how I feel about pets, Miss Hinamori. They're noisy and too troublesome to take care of. It's a good thing that you're very punctual when it comes to paying rent, or else I would never allow this."
"Yes, I'm very aware of that, Mrs. Takahashi. That's why I'm very grateful that you're letting me keep him." My voice lacked the enthusiasm that my body language had. I had to force myself to look like I was desperate to keep this cat off the streets.
Ikuto meowed in approval and strutted back and forth with his tail swishing. He looked more innocent in his cat form, which annoyed me to no end.
"Oh, what a dear little fellow." Mrs. Takahashi bent down to stroke Ikuto's fur, who purred in satisfaction. "He seems very well behaved."
"I still need to train him, though. He can get a bit rowdy."
"Well, I'll leave you to tend to the cat. Remember that the next payment is due at the end of the month. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." I shut the door behind me and let out a sigh. I really didn't want to do this.
"Jeez, I thought she'd never leave," Ikuto complained, as he yawned like he hadn't had any sleep in years.
When I looked at him, I quickly covered my eyes in embarrassment. "Would you please put some clothes on?" I heard his footsteps head to the drawer, as he pulled out whatever would fit him. "You know, I just can't get used to this whole transformation thing. Whenever you turn human, you're always naked."
"Well, yeah. It's not like I magically have clothes on whenever I transform, and it'd be kind of weird if a cat was running around wearing oversized human clothes. Done."
I removed my hand from my eyes, but I could still feel the blush lingering in my cheeks. In an attempt to hide it, I went to the kitchen to cook up something for dinner. "What do you want to eat?" I rummaged through the refrigerator and found a few cans of tuna and sardines. "Tuna or sardines?"
"Sardines!" He exclaimed, his ears perking up and his teeth glistening. He really did have some feline tendencies. I poured the can's contents in a bowl and gave it to Ikuto, who gobbled it up in seconds. "Seconds please!" By the time he was full, there were no more cans left. I was going to have to buy some more at the supermarket.
"Why did you come to my work place? In disguise, nonetheless?"
"Well, I was bored waiting for you to come back home, and I needed a disguise if I didn't want people staring at my ears and unnaturally colored eyes and hair. I went incognito, like James Bond."
"Ok, but where did your flashy costume come from?"
"I bought it. You left you're credit card on the kitchen table."
Crap. I knew I should've hidden it somewhere. "And how much was the total?" I was trying to keep calm, hoping that he just went to a cheap thrift store.
"$85.95."
I nearly blew my top off. "What? $85.95? Why is it so expensive?"
He didn't seem bothered by my anger. "Well I liked the shiny accessories, and the wig and contacts were pretty cool. I think the clothes were from this place called UNIQLO. They looked pretty decent when I tried them on."
Oh my God. Of course he chose to shop in the most expensive apparel store in Japan. This bastard was going to put me in debt with his excessive spending habits.
I massaged my temples to stop my headache from getting worse, and I tried breathing evenly to calm my anger. "Can't you return the clothes?"
"That's pretty impossible, since I already tore off the price tags."
I was on the verge of strangling him with my bare hands. I ran up to him and got in his face to emphasize my point. "Are you an idiot? I can't afford to pay $85.95 just for clothing and accessories! I don't even spend that much on a month's worth of groceries!"
"Ok, ok. I guess I'll just have to get a job, then."
"You better get one so that you'll stop using my credit card for your expenditures!"
"Alright then, it's settled. I'm getting a job at your restaurant!"
Author's Notes: OMG! I'm so sorry about my absence! I haven't been able to type up anything for any of my stories lately. Summer has been very busy! I promise I'll try to update more often! Until then, please review and tell me what you think!
XxBloodyYukixX
