A/N: SO! MANY! REVIEWS! AND FOLLOWS! I can honestly say I stopped breathing for just a moment when I saw all of the FF email alerts. And so... DOUBLE TIME! I'm dropping EVERYTHING for the next two nights!

A thousand thank-you's to all my reviewers and story followers and a hundred to the rest of you dear, dear readers!

Being safely back in his kitchen was a great relief to Tatsuma - after all there were no bright pink Nyanmaru boxers to be seen in the kitchen. His cheeks were still reddened after seeing such a sight, but the more he focused on cooking the less prominent the image became. Cooking was the one thing Tatsuma could always rely on to clear his mind, be it of sad thoughts or dark memories or something stressful, or bright pink Nyanmaru boxers that belong to an incredibly cute young boy who is now curled up on his couch.

His only couch... In his tiny home that has no bedroom... A dreamlike haze overcame Tatsuma as he envisioned the both of them cuddled up on the couch together, snuggly wrapped in the blankets and peacefully sleeping in each others' arms. "B-bad thoughts, bad thoughts!" he forced the daydream away and returned his focus to his cooking, chopping away at the remaining ingredients for the main dish: leaks, mushrooms, and carrots. "I'll sleep on the floor... and everything will be fine... I can't entertain these crazy ideas that keep popping into my head - I just have to ignore them..."

But it'd be so cute if you got him to smile at you, Tatsu...

"Ignore..."

But he's so shy and adorable, just a little peck on the cheek..?

"Ignore..."

He'll be sleeping on your couch all night long..!

"Ignore..!"

He's already wearing your clothes, Tatsuma!

"Ignore..!"

... Yuuki in bright pink Nyanmaru boxers.

"Ignore!"

Tatsuma was internally yelling at his own wayward thoughts, and had started to reflect in his chopping - the poor vegetables were practically minced! But at least he had finally taken control of his brain. He breathed in deep to calm himself and leaned back against the kitchen counter - though for his height, leaning on it was practically sitting on it. "What's wrong with me tonight..? I don't know the first thing about Yuuki and yet..." Tatsuma's internal monologue paused as he lifted his eyes to the ceiling, deep in thought as he tried to identify the source of his rampant emotions, "And yet... he seems so familiar to me..."

Tatsuma racked his brain, searching for any potential reason for this strange sensation while adding the poor slaughtered vegetables to the noodles, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't recall even seeing Yuuki before - or anyone like him. Only once before had something similar happened, when Tatsuma simply walked past someone who immediately gave him a feeling of intense hatred. "So strange... But I shouldn't dwell on it any longer; I'm sure Yuuki is starving by now... Maybe even literally."

With his final thought spurring him into action, Tatsuma added the remaining ingredients to the pot, and picked up an already-made tray of appetizers: hot tea, rice balls, and (what was supposed to be desert) chichi dango. He had no idea how long Yuuki had been out on his own like that, or where he had come from to begin with and how he even managed to land himself in such a situation; for all Tatsuma knew it could have been days since he last had a good meal. Tatsuma hurriedly brought the tray out of the kitchen, but the moment he stepped through into the living area he halted, taking in an unexpected sight. "Well don't you two look cute," he commented with a gentle laugh as he found Nyanmaru and Yuuki curled up together on the couch. "Lucky cat..."

Yuuki's eyes fluttered open when he heard Tatsuma's voice, and a subtle blush hit his cheeks as he was so directly called cute. "Kagemaru..." he said quietly as Tatsuma approached with what appeared to be a tray of food.

"Kagemaru..?" For just a moment Tatsuma was confused. He knew already who Kagemaru was, being a fan of the Nyanmaru series himself after watching it so much with the younger orphans, but why was Yuuki saying it? He shrugged the question aside and set the tray of food down, then dropped down onto the other side of the couch. "Are you feeling any better, Yuuki-kun?" Tatsuma asked with concern.

"Mm," Yuuki answered with a nod as he sat upright, but for once he managed to continue, "I'm not shaking anymore, but my fingers are still pretty numb..."

Tatsuma smiled at the boy's more confident response, but the answer raised an interesting question. "Think you'll be able to hold your food alright?"

Yuuki hadn't even given it any thought until Tatsuma asked, and after uncovering his hands from the mass of blankets he looked down at his fingers with saddened eyes. He was hungry, near starving, but as he poked his hands in various places he soon realized that he still couldn't feel and his hands were still shaking - if only a little. "I... I don't think I can..." Yuuki replied, his voice sounding so forlorn it was heartwrenching.

"Yuuki-kun..." Tatsuma spoke gently and reached over to the nearest rice ball, then slowly held it towards Yuuki, "Let me help." A few times before Tatsuma had come across strays who were too weak to eat; from orphaned kittens to wounded and old adult cats, Tatsuma would do anything and everything from using tiny millimeter droppers of milk to making fish puree and feeding it through a straw. Holding someone's rice ball was a small task in comparison.

With hunger in his eyes Yuuki stared at the rice ball in Tatsuma's hand, but the idea of eating from the aforementioned appendage was... odd. Eating out of someone else's hand? Like some sort of animal..? His lavender eyes slowly rose to meet Tatsuma's, searching for some sign of twisted malice or sadistic pleasure but only finding genuine care and concern in his brilliant emerald orbs.

Tatsuma could sense the boy's unease, and using his other hand he carefully moved Yuuki's chilled, smaller hands around his own, essentially allowing Yuuki to hold the hand that was holding the rice ball. "Will that make it easier, Yuuki-kun?" he asked with a hopeful smile.

In a strange way it did make Yuuki feel more comfortable with the idea - or maybe it was the warmth of Tatsuma's hand and the way he smiled? Still it wasn't comfort enough to stop Yuuki from blushing as he brought Tatsuma's hand closer to his face, but as he first bit down into the warm rice ball Yuuki completely stopped caring. "It's... delicious..!" Yuuki practically exclaimed, and with a renewed vitality sparking in his eyes he turned his gaze back to Tatsuma, "Kagemaru, did you really make these yourself..?"

"Kagemaru..?" For the second time it had left Tatsuma confused, but seeing as he was the only one here, and the one who Yuuki was looking at, and the one who had indeed made the rice balls, it all quickly clicked, "I'm Kagemaru..?" Tatsuma suddenly felt like he was Nyanmaru's - his feline companion Nyanmaru - sidekick, but he somewhat guessed that it was the use of such a nickname that had raised Yuuki's confidence. "Um... yeah, I did," Tatsuma replied after just a few seconds of dumbfounded silence, "I work as a chef at a restaurant now, but cooking has always come natural to me."

"Mumffamumm." Yuuki had made an attempt at a reply, but his mouth was far too full after taking in the whole rice ball to manage anything more than a muffled mumble. He had also fully disregarded - or possibly forgotten - the fact that his rice ball had been sitting in Tatsuma's hand rather than his own completely numb one, and immediately after he had downed the entire thing he began licking the remains of rice off of the fingers.

Tatsuma's fingers. Tatsuma's entire face turned red and every last muscle in his body tensed, and for a few seconds he was in such a state of disbelief that he couldn't even breath. "... um... Yu-uki-kun?" he finally managed to speak, though his voice managed to crack in the middle of saying the other male's name, "You know there's plenty more, right? You, er... you don't have to lick my fingers."

For Yuuki it was almost like being abruptly stirred from a daze; the only difference was that most people who find themselves in a daze do not snap out of it to find that they had been sucking on someone else's fingers. He nearly fell backwards - much to Nyanmaru's surprise when his comfortable pillow had so sharply moved - but luckily the arm of the couch caught him. Eating out of the palm of someone else's hand had been an awkward event all it's own, even though he had gotten past it, but this? How could he even begin to explain himself? Words failed him, action failed him; Yuuki was at a total loss of what he could possibly do to make this right.

Though still obviously blushing Tatsuma leaned over and grabbed two more rice balls - one for himself, and one for Yuuki. As before he held his hand out towards Yuuki, and with a gentle chuckle he gave him a brief bit of advice, "Try not to eat this one so fast, alright Yuuki-kun? And once you're done you should probably drink some tea, too."

The last thing Yuuki had expected was that the whole ordeal would be so nonchalantly put aside, but he was grateful for it. He shifted back to his prior seat, and on his own terms he cupped his hands around Tatsuma's much larger one. "So warm... I think the numbness is finally going away..." It was a much-needed realization, and with his nerves now settled he eased Tatsuma's hand closer to - bite by bite - eat his second rice ball.

Tatsuma smiled to himself as he bit into his own meal, and despite starting late he had actually finished his rice ball before Yuuki. He hadn't expected his suggestion to be followed to such an extent, but he figured it may possibly be a result of how embarrassed Yuuki had been before. It was then that the few questions once again popped into Tatsuma's mind... where Yuuki came from, why he was out there, if he had a place to even call 'home.' It was quickly becoming too hard not to ask, since everything had settled down. "Yuuki-kun?" Tatsuma could no longer hold back his curiosity, "You don't have to answer me but... why were you out in the rain like that?"

Yuuki halted mid-bite, and almost reluctantly backed away from the delicious rice ball and lowered his hands. It was a reasonable question for Tatsuma to ask, of course, but being a Code: Breaker required a high level of secrecy; Yuuki couldn't just detail the chaos of his daily life and all of the battles he had faced - already it was astounding enough that Tatsuma had insisted on bringing him home after witnessing how dangerous his abilities were. "I got lost," Yuuki answered. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the complete truth either.

"Lost as in, you can't find your way home?" Tatsuma responded, a little perplexed at the simplicity of the answer.

"I wouldn't call it home, but yes."

The follow-up answer was much more enlightening, and instinctively Tatsuma placed his free hand on Yuuki's shoulder. "Yuuki-kun," he said gently with a deeply concerned look, "did you run away?"

Yuuki nearly jumped - not from the touch, but from Tatsuma's correct assumption. He couldn't face Tatsuma, and after turning his head and shielding his eyes with his dark red bangs he nodded, "I did at first, but now I can't find my way back..."

"Do you want to go back?" Tatsuma asked, his question completely honest and his tone remaining compassionate.

It was unexpected. Rather than scolding him and telling him to 'grow up' like so many others had Tatsuma was making an effort to understand him. Yuuki turned his head, just enough to see Tatsuma from the corner of his eye, and gave an honest answer to the honest question. "I don't know..."

"I see... The orphanage I grew up in would often take in people like you for a while if they needed a place to stay," Tatsuma remarked, but before he could finish Yuuki interrupted.

"I'm not going to an orphanage."

"Hm?" Tatsuma was momentarily lost, but as it clicked he couldn't help but laugh, "No, I wasn't suggesting that, Yuuki-kun, I was going to suggest that... well, if you wanted, you could stay here for a while. I know it isn't much... and we would have to go out and get you some more clothes to wear, but..." Tatsuma's voice trailed off - there was no way that anyone would accept such an offer out of the blue like that! "Hey I know we just met tonight and I'm probably a few years older than you and already find you irresistibly adorable but I've already dressed you and fed you by hand and I'm even running around shirtless so why don't you live with me for a while! Real intelligent, Tatsu... Yuuki definitely won't think you're a creep after that!" Tatsuma scolded himself, harshly.

Unnoticed by Tatsuma, Yuuki had turned to stare at him intently with large, bright eyes. "You mean it, Kagemaru?" Yuuki asked in disbelief, "I can stay here with you and Nyanmaru?"

Tatsuma was snapped out of his thoughts immediately by the boy's enthusiasm, and with his own disbelief in his tone he answered, "Yeah... i-if you want."

Yuuki's face was alight with a smile - though still smaller than the average smile, it was a pretty big one for Yuuki - and he happily scooped Nyanmaru into his arms and gently held onto the unsuspecting kitty. "Did you hear that, Nyanmaru? Kagemaru said I can stay for a while!"

"Nyan!" Nyanmaru replied and nuzzled against Yuuki's cheek.

"Lucky cat..." Tatsuma couldn't help but think for the second time, but even so, seeing a smile on Yuuki's face was enough to make Tatsuma happy. "I guess it's settled then," Tatsuma beamed, "You can stay here as long as you like."

A/N: I have strayed just a bit from my initial plotline... At first Yuuki was going to be genuinely lost, and Tatsuma was going to try helping him find his way back. Now, Yuuki is showing some teenaged rebellion amidst everything and doesn't want to go back quite yet! But how long will he be able to stay..? I need to tweak the plotline! And strangely, this works to my advantage for the far-off twist of darkness I have planned for the future... *grins evilly then comes up with a distraction*

Once again, a special thanks to my reviewers and story followers/favoriters! The always-name-changing first reviewer! Death-Sama01 and Mellon who have reviewed multiple times! (Mellon, I wish I could thank you privately as well but you don't seem to have an account so an extra thanks to you!) Yeyu! florreco! sbbchslns (who has just barely made the cut for my special list of public thank you's with a last-second review!) "Guest" who is also without an account (and deserves an extra thank you!) and Darkness Incarnated! All of you have driven me to work my very hardest on this story and for that, I thank you! The encouragement means far more than is fathomable!