Here is chapter four of Ikuto's Deeds at long last. I hope everyone enjoys reading and I hope that the annoyingly long wait for this chapter was worth it.
Also, if anyone thinks that it's a stretch for a cat to eat people food or learn tricks, we have a cat right now that like chips. Also, two of our other cats (which we no longer have) loved human food too. The one used to love olives and the other ate pickles. Also, Kayden (the youngest cat) knew how to shake, sit and lay down. It's not uncommon for a cat to pick up a habit if you stick with the training long enough!
I lay stretched out on Amu's bed with my paws extended over the edge, waiting for her to return home from school. She had spent the last week and a half recovering, after contracting the flu from her head cold and today had been her first day back to school. I had told her not to go, seeing as she still has not completely recovered but she hadn't listened.
The door opens and my ears perk up. Speak of the devil, here comes trouble right now. Glancing at me, she flashes a small smile. I lift my head, my ears tilted forward. When I sniff the air, my eyes widen. "You have food!" My stomach rumbles, as if I further need to indicate just how empty it is.
"Yes…" She reaches into the brown bag and pulls out some kid's snacks. Onigiri with salmon and octopus shaped hotdogs. My mouth begins to water as I leap down off the bed. I rear up onto my hind legs to get the food and she raises it out of my reach. I jump again and once more, the food is moved too high for me to reach. Why does she need to play mean games now? I haven't had anything to eat since the day before last.
"Come on, I'm hungry…seriously…this isn't funny." I tell her, taking a seat on the floor in front of her. There's no way I'm going to be made a fool of. Oh but god does it smell good…
"It is funny. If you wanna eat in this house then you're going to have to work for it like any other animal would." She smirks at me, waving a hotdog right in front of my face. My eyes follow it as if it's the first food I've seen since birth.
"What do you want me to do?" There is no possible way to resist in my current state. I try to refrain from drooling while I look up at her with wide, round eyes.
She grins. "Beg."
My eyes widen, my tail fanning out a little bit. My ears fall back. That was the one thing I was hoping she'd spare me of. "I'm not an animal." But I sure am hungry. If she had a real cat I bet it would starve. I know I'm about to. "And I don't beg from anyone."
"You've got a pretty cocky attitude for someone who almost gave in and you're no fun." Rolling her eyes, she lowers the bag of food to the ground in front of me. She sure gave up on her game of keep away rather quickly. She must feel bad for not getting me food as often as she should.
"You'd consider doing just about anything for food too if you never got fed." It comes out rushed in between my bites of food. Why not play the guilt card, since she was being so mean to me just now?
"You should be grateful instead of complaining. At least you don't have to sleep in a glass box anymore." She scowls down at me, flipping that long, pink hair over her shoulder.
"Ha! At least in that glass box a guy could get three square meals a day." I retort, pawing at the last of the octopus-shaped hotdogs. "I'm an eighteen year old boy, I need food too."
Amu grabs me by the scruff of the neck, lifting me up to eye level. I growl at her for the rude treatment as we stare each other down. Although I give no hint of it on the outside, I actually find her pretty intimadating when she's pissed off. Naturally, I have to glare back at her in this situation though, because well, she's kinda hurting me.
"Maybe you'd like to go back in that glass box." She threatens in a tone that makes a chill run down my back. "I'm doing what I can considering you're not supposed to be here."
"All right I get it. No need to be harsh." I concede, making her smile. I should have known that was an argument I wasn't going to win right off the bat. "Now, will you please put me down? This hurts my neck and back."
After placing me on her bed, she walks over and takes a seat at her desk, preparing to plow through the mountain of homework in front of her. Most of it she makes it through in about ten minutes, with my help of course. But I notice her freeze up completely when we get to one book in particular. She stares at it as if there are alien hieroglyphics written all over the front of it.
I look down at it as well. "Science?" I question, then glance back up at her.
"I'm not really that great at science either. I have to really study hard or I'll be failing the class." Amu sighs, laying her head down in defeat. "Defeated by an inanimate object, jeez I'm pathetic."
I shake my head at her when she eyes me up, hoping I may be of some assistance. "Don't look at me," I warn. "I'm not good at it either."
Putting it off until later, Amu decides to go out for a little while instead. While she goes to tell her parents she's going out, I decide I don't want to be left behind this time. She can't take me with her when she goes to school, but if she's just going to go window shopping or something, I can surely go with her. I spend way too much time sitting in this house. I'm going to die young at this rate.
"Take me with you." I say flatly, causing her to glance down at me, confused. I jump up on her shoulder, balancing myself with little difficulty and face her ear. "I'm bored just sitting in your room all the time. I need my exercise."
"Maybe that's true but…I can't just walk around town holding a cat." She explains, placing me back on the floor. "Sorry Ikuto, but you should really stay in here."
I pout, looking up at her. "You don't need to carry me! I'll just tail you. I need to get out of this room…come on!"
"Fine…you can go." She sighs, opening the window. "You have to go down this way, though."
"I don't mind. It's an easy route for me." I head out to the balcony, jumping down to the sidewalk.
About ten minutes later, she is outside the local shopping mall standing in line for something at the food court. When she finally gets her order, she comes over and sits down at a table near the hedges where I am hiding. I crawl out of the bush and onto the chair, crouching down.
"You got taiyaki, right? Can I have some?" I whisper, still feeling the hunger pull at my stomach.
Amu remains silent, eating her food as if I not only am not even there but almost like I don't even exist at all.
"Come on…don't do the silent treatment right now. I didn't even do anything…" I whine, rolling my eyes. Why is she not speaking to me? Suddenly, she leans down, reaching out to the ground as if she had dropped something. I feel a chill run down my spine. Is she…glaring at me? Yeah, she's definitely glaring. Glaring daggers. "W-what?" I question, trying to keep the shakiness out of my voice.
"Did it ever occur to you that if I go around talking to cats in public, people might think I'm crazy?" She questions, her look of disdain only deepening further. "So, if you would like to eat some of the taiyaki that I bought, you're just going to have to beg for it like a regular animal. I might give you some then...maybe."
While I know I will regret this to the deepest depths of my soul afterwards, I really do want some of that taiyaki. I leap down from the chair, walking around and brushing my nose against her leg in a small cat kiss. I look up at her. "Meow!" God, this is humiliating. When she only looks down at me casually and offers no food, I begin to brush my tail against the leg of the chair, hearing the pathetic-sounding meows that come from my small body. At least there's no one else here who knows that I am really a human.
She reaches down, petting my head lightly and scratching behind my ears. I look up at her. "Can I have the food now?" She breaks off a piece and hands it down to me. The chocolate kind, which makes all that mushy animal stuff worth it, because it's my favorite. She breaks off another chunk and lowers it down to me. This gives a new meaning to the phrase "eating out of the palm of my hand." I can't stop the idle though from passing through my mind and my ears flatten again in embarrassment.
When we head to the doors so that she can go inside, I notice a flyer taped to the inside of the window. My eyes widen and I walk up closer to it, rearing up onto my hind legs for a better look. "Classical Music Night?" I question. Amu lifts me up, holding me in front of it. So that she can speak without looking like a lunatic, she leans in as if she's reading it outloud.
"Yeah, they have it right here inside the mall. There are all kinds of displays and games to play. At the end of the night there is a concert held out here in the food court." She explains, making my interest grow more with every word. It's been a long time since I've even been able to play. It'd be nice to hear it for a little while.
"How come I've never heard of this before?" I ask, stretching out my neck to see when it will be held. It really does look like it'll be fun. I need some human interaction and activity or I'll probably go crazy.
"Because this is only the second time that they have done this, the first one was last month." She tells me again, then moves close to my ear so that no one will see her speak to me. "Actually, I was going to have you come with us the last time but I didn't think you'd be that interested." When she finally lowers me back to the ground, I have to gather myself for a moment. Even though she was mad at me all the time and yelled at me every single day, she still wanted me to come hang out with her back then.
The breeze catches her hair and loose, black tank top as she gives a small smile. My gaze follows her when she heads through the doors and into the mall's main corridor. Then I turn my attention once again to the flyer in the window. I want to go to that event.
Heading over to one of the benches nearby, I curl up at the corner and take a catnap while she's gone. It doesn't take long before I am awakened, sensing someone close to me. I peek open an eye to see Amu sitting beside me on the bench. She reaches over and shakes my shoulder lightly to get me moving. She doesn't want to miss dinner, and I don't want to miss scraps. If I even get any of them, that is.
"Let's get going." She whispers. Just as we are about to walk away, a male's voice makes Amu freeze in her tracks.
"Oh…Amu-chan, it's you." Both our heads turn in the direction of the voice. I realize it's that same guy who was with Tadase when I saved Amu.
"Nagihiko, what are you doing here?" She questions, standing up and knocking fists together with him. Both of them give each other a small smile as they move their hands away. Is that some kind of a greeting for them? I don't get it and tilt my head in confusion.
"Actually I am just here working the ice cream stand today. But were kinda busy, I was lucky to be able to take a short break." Fujisaki tells her, looking slightly worn out. He takes a deep breath and rubs his forehead. "What are you doing out?"
She grins at the boy and holds up her bad proudly. "I was here to to pick something up. It was the last one, so I was lucky. But anyway...you said that you had been busy?"
"Yeah," He looks over his shoulder at the little cart with the huge-ass line of people stemming from it. "It's been swamped all morning. Nothing we can't handle though." Even though he says this, it's blantanly obvious that he wiped out and has had a long day.
"Oh?" I watch her eyes move toward the huge line at the small ice cream stand just as Fujisaki's had. They then turn back toward him again. "I can help you out if you need an extra pair of hands."
"You really want to? I don't want to bother you." The kid rubs the back of his head sheepishly, looking as if he feels like he goaded her into it. Honestly, it almost feels as though he had in a small way.
"Sure, I can give my mom a call and tell her that I got some work at the mall today and to put my dinner in the fridge." She pulls out the cell phone and makes the call before he can protest any further.
This is when he finally takes notice of me. "Oh hey little guy, you're the same cat that was there the night we saved Amu." The boy gives me a smile and I just stare blankly up at him. Why even bring that night up? As if it wasn't bad enough being put through all that once. Who wants to be reminded of it? At that, "when they saved Amu?" Really? Just like I did absolutely nothing and just stood by idly, watching.
"I can tell you were there cause you knew she was in trouble too. You're a smart guy." My eyes widen when he tells me this. He reaches out to pet me, his hand lightly coming to rest on my shoulder just as Amu puts her phone in her pocket. When she looks over to see Fujisaki petting me, her face goes white as a ghost's.
"Wait…Nagihiko!" His head turns in her direction when she shouts and I just stare at her. "You shouldn't do that…he um…he bites." As she comes over beside the boy, he turns back to me, still tapping my shoulder in a friendly manner.
He gives me a kind smile. "Well if he bites me, then I'll know to pull away."
I glance at Amu and it seems she understands my ill-intentions in this instance without any exchange of words. She clenches her teeth and I stand up, reaching my paw out just enough so that the back of it connects with the back of Fujisaki's hand. It's the best that I can do to imitate their earlier hand gesture as an animal, but it seems he gets it.
Amu looks both agitated and confused as I glance at her quickly. "What?" I ask, my tone teasing slightly. "Did you think I was gonna bite him?" The next expression to cross her features only confirms the answer to my question. I smirk inwardly and then jump from the bench, heading back into the hedges.
"He really is a smart guy." I hear Fujisaki tell Amu, after he is called back to work. She nods in response.
Looking over to the bench as they walk away, I notice a bag sitting there and sigh. Amu must have forgotten all about it when she made that phone call to her mother. Snatching it up before anyone has a chance to take it, I figure that giving it back to her could be "good deed" material. Anything that gets me closer to being a boy again.
Fujisaki offers to walk her home after work is done, not wanting her to be by herself after what had happened while she was sick. Frankly, I don't blame him. I trail behind them, wishing more than anything that I had my thumbs back and stood more than a few inches from the ground. Carrying this damn bag in my mouth like this is the worst. I stumble and almost fall off the narrow ledge that I'm walking on. It seems like ages and ages before we are finally back at the house and I am made to wait outside while Amu goes up to open her balcony door and let me in.
Watching Fujisaki begin to walk away from my hiding space behind the wall, I notice him taking a book from his backpack: AP Biology. Advanced Placement huh? Then I was right about the guy, he's pretty cool.
"Ikuto!" Amu calls, breaking me from my trance. She's gone from the window when I look up, but I jump up to the wall anyway. Next, I do my best to reach the balcony but end up only reaching the edge of the wall, weighted down by whatever's inside her god damn bag.
"Shit!" I call out, making her look up at me from her desk. She makes no move, still trying to grasp what's going on. "Well don't just sit there! Come help me! Hurry!" She jumps up from her chair, running over and grabbing me and the bag.
"Hey, where did you get this?" She questions, looking more than a little confused. I roll my eyes.
"You left it sit back there at the mall. I didn't want someone to steal it, so I brought it back with me." I tell her, averting my sight and keeping my expression neutral to hide my embarrassment.
I feel her begin to pat my head and look up at her, my eyes widening a little. She gives me a warm smile when our eyes meet. "Well, you're that much closer then."
Just like that, the moment is broken. Where the hell did that come from? This girl really drums to her own beat sometimes. "Random much?" I ask her, jumping off the balcony wall and following her inside.
She just points down at me, still smiling. "It wasn't random at all. Look for yourself."
I follow the direction of her finger with my eyes, finally looking at the tag on my collar. My eyes widen in surprise once more. There, etched upon the little fish-shaped piece of metal is a new number: 97. My heart thumps hard in my chest. I'm one number closer!
But two things still weigh on my mind, snapping me from my reverie. I look up at the girl who is now moving the bag to the other side of her desk and pulling her Science homework in front of her. I leap up onto the desk beside her book, looking at her with a semi-curious expression on my face. She glances down at me for a second and then returns her attention to the work at hand.
"Do you need something?" Amu flips to the right page in her book and starts writing something down on her worksheet.
"Well," I begin, my eyes shifting toward the heavy-ass bag, "I was actually just wondering what was in that bag. It was pretty heavy."
She turns toward the bag and pulls out a really thick book, then lays it in front of me so that I can see the title. I tilt my head a little, wrinkling my nose in disapproval. What is Amu doing with a book like this? She only giggles at my reaction. "Why did you buy Breaking Dawn? It doesn't seem like something you like." I scrunch up my nose further as I say the title, feeling a bit disappointed. I didn't know she was into this vampire dribble.
"I'm not." She answers, surprising me. She picks the book back up, placing it back down into the bag. "It's actually for Yaya. Her birthday is coming up and this was the last one in the store. She's really into it, so I wanted to get her something she was going to like."
I look from her to the bag and nod, then lay down, facing the girl. She places her hand on the top of my head once more, her cheeks flushed. My mouth falls open a little as her hand moves back and forth between my ears. Her expression far surpasses appreciation. "You did me a really big favor by bringing that back to me. I'm really in your debt, Ikuto."
I quickly close my mouth, turning my head away from her and closing my eyes. "Just…be more careful next time ok? Do that and you don't owe me anything."
I peek open an eye to see her looking a little surprised. She simply nods and turn back to her work.
Just as I begin to give into another nap, the second thing that had been on my mind surfaces again. My eyes snap open and I get to my feet quickly, starting the hard-working girl beside me. She blinks twice before she settles down again and then she turns back to her work.
"What?" She questions, her concentration else ware.
I look down, feeling my tail fan out a little bit in frustration and embarrassment. I know that what I'm about to ask her is going to sound a lot like I'm trying to ask her out but part of me doesn't care. The part of me that really, really wants to go to the event at the mall overpowers my hesitation. "Actually, I really wanted you to take me to that event at the mall." I say, my tone even. I managed to not sound like a shy little kid.
She turns to me when she hears this, looking interested. "I don't think inter-species dating is allowed." She places a finger on her chin, looking deep in thought. My ears fall flat, the hair on my back and tail standing completely on end, most likely rising with my irritation. However, before I can argue she begins to laugh. I tilt my head as I look at her, not having expected her to react like that. "Just kidding, I know I'm the only one who can take you. I'll ask my parents at dinner tomorrow."
When I realize that she was only teasing me, my mouth falls agape. "What was that for? That wasn't a funny joke." My facial expression grows a bit angrier before I notice the way she is looking at me. Her glare is even more intense than the one that she had given me this afternoon. I feel even smaller than I actually am under this intense glare.
"And neither was trying to make me think you were gonna bite Nagihiko earlier today." It is a simple reply, but it's enough to make me feel a little bad. Even if it was just a joke, I shouldn't have tried to make her look stupid in front of her friend.
"Okay, I get it already." I lower my head in a bow. "I'm sorry. Besides, Fujisaki is cool. I'm not gonna bite him."
The following day, Amu lets me downstairs, as long as I make sure to keep myself scarce and get back upstairs when her parents come home. I promise her that I will, but her mother foils those plans.
"Amu, I'm home!" She calls as she comes in the door. The hair on my back stands on end as if the words are literally piercing my body. I scurry under the couch as fast as I can. I watch as Amu comes into the room, looking a little flustered. Her mom walks up to her.
"Mama, what are you doing home so early?" She asks the woman, who smiles at her.
"I told you that I was only working half of the day today. So, how was school?" When her mother asks this question, Amu lowers her head looking disturbed.
"Well, most of the day was good. Science class though…" She hands her mom the homework she was working on last night. I notice all the red marks and shake my head. She wasn't kidding when she said she was bad at it.
"Amu…you really do need to get these grades up." Her mom tells her, receiving a nod in response.
"I know that mom." Amu lowers her head, clasping her hands in front of her body. The picture of shame. "I'm just not good at it and it doesn't help that the teacher is booooring." This earns a purposeful glance from her mother that makes even me straighten up a little. I remember getting looks like that from my parents when I did poorly in school. Not much fun.
"Regardless of whether it's fun or not, I do need you to try a little harder. Ok Amu?" Her arms are crossed, her brow arched meaningfully.
Amu nods, still looking upset. I know that expression too. I'm already doing the best I can. There are some things that you're just not good at whether you do your best or not. I've given that look to my parents. In fact, I've said those words to them. I kind of feel bad for Amu right now.
After everyone is home, they all sit down to dinner. Amu looks pointedly at both her parents. She doesn't look all that confident that they will let her go. I wouldn't either if I were in her position, to be honest.
"Mama? Papa?" She questions, causing everyone at the table to look at her curiously. "There's an event coming up at the mall next Friday. Can I please go?"
Both parents stare at her for a moment before turning to each other and exchanging a decisive glance. When they turn back to her, I see Amu's expression fall even more. I can only imagine the look on their faces right now. Her father is the first to speak. "Amu, we're both concerned about your grades in Science."
"We don't think you should be going out when you have such a poor score in Science." Her mother explains further as Amu nods, trying not to look as disappointed as she is. Even Ami is silent right now, knowing that this is no time to interrupt. My ears flatten at this answer, angry. Man, her parents really suck.
"I…understand…" Amu tells her parents at length, her face downcast. Both of them notice it at once and surprise me by deciding to go a little easier on her.
"Listen…" Her mom begins with a lengthy sigh. "…if you promise to work really hard in Science over this next week and show us some improved scores by this Friday, we'll let you go next week." She mother gives the pink-haired girl a small smile. "Does that sound like a deal?"
Amu's face is completely lit up, a huge smile now taking the space the frown had been holding previously. "It's a deal!" She says enthusiastically, then begins to dig into her food as Ami tells their parents about her day at preschool.
My ears perk up, a contented expression filling my face. My tail twitches from side to side happily. Her parents are cool!
While her mom and dad clean up, Amu helps me sneak upstairs and sits back down at her desk with another put-off packet of science homework. She sets to work on it without a word, concentrating as hard as I've ever seen her. My eyes widen. She's working so hard just so I can go to the Classical Music Night? I jump up onto her bed and turn away from her. I wish that there were some way I could help her with this, since she's going to all this trouble to get me to that event. But I'm no good at stuff like this, and I know her parents are busy with work and don't have much time right now. What could be done about this.
What about asking a friend to help? But does she have any freinds who are good at stuff like that? I don't really know any of them that well, so I have to think hard about it for a few minutes. Suddenly, I remember Fujisaki. He's in AP, so maybe he can help. Somehow, I'll have to get him to help Amu. The hard part won't be convincing him to do it, the hard part will mostly consist of how I am going to get him here and sneak back into the house without her parents noticing.
She goes to sleep reluctantly, looking far less than confident. She doesn't even look at me. I can tell she feels bad about not being able to do any better. I close my eyes, still feeling bad for her and snuggle up against her stomach. I touch her side with a paw. She merely shifts a little closer to me. If I could, I'd be smiling. Don't worry Amu, things will get better tomorrow. You'll see. With that in mind, we both drift away into peaceful dreams.
"Amu!" I shout, making her open her eyes. I start hopping from one foot to another. "Amu…wake up! I need to go!" I yell, making her eyes pop open. She hops out of bed, making a mad dash for the sliding door and throws it open, allowing me to jump out and make my way to the ground. I look back up at the window and smile, making my way toward the mall. When I find Nagihiko working at the ice cream stand again, I wonder up to him and sit down. One loud meow is all it takes to get him to turn around.
"Oh hey buddy." He smiles, holding his hand out to me. I lift my paw, touching the back of his hand. Maybe the hand-knocking thing isn't so strange after all. "What are you doing all the way out here?" He questions, looking around for Amu. I meow up at him again. He just shrugs.
"Well, when I am done here, I guess I'll have to take you back to Amu. You always seem to be beside her."
He carries me to Amu's house about a half an hour later. I only allow him to carry me because if he thinks I can get back on my own, he may not go all the way to Amu's house. Of course, once we get close, I have to somehow get away from him and get Amu's attention. At the same time, I can't allow him to leave.
As soon as I can wriggle free of his arms, I do it, running over and jumping up to Amu's balcony. I hurriedly paw at the door, making her come out to get me. "Amu…" I huff, slumping down to the ground. That was the fastest I've had to move in a while. Helping this girl sure does require a large amount of physical prowess. "I brought someone to help you…hurry before he leaves…" She steps over me without even asking if I'm ok and moves out onto the balcony, peering down over the side.
"Oh, Nagihiko!" She shouts. "Since he dragged you all the way here, come on up!"
"Ok!" He shouts back up to the girl.
"So he just showed up where you were working? I'm sorry he made you come all the way here right after work." She bows her head in apology.
"Oh it was no problem. He's a cool little guy." He replies. I meow in agreement, making him look over at me. "And he's smart too."
"So, what are you doing?" He asks, staring at the large packet of papers laying on her desk. She sighs, going over and throwing herself back in her chair.
"I'm doing science homework. But I'm really no good at it." Amu looks a bit depressed again, letting out a huge sigh. Once again, she is defeated by and inanimate object. Normally I would call that pathetic, but since I'm no good at it either, I'll let her have this one.
"Oh, well if you are having trouble, I can help with it." He reassures her, smiling. He moves around to the other side of the desk, leaning down onto it. "So, what are you having trouble with?"
Her expression goes blank. I know what that look means. "Everything." Amu replies at length.
Over the next few days, Fujisaki comes over to out house every night after school and work to help Amu with her Science homework. They spend a good half an hour each day at her desk as he goes over examples with her and shows her how to do different kinds of problems. On the first night she brings something home to show her parents, there is no real improvement, but the grade is a tiny bit higher than before. On the second night, the amount of red pen marks on the paper is actually visibly reduced. By the third night, the shock of seeing her imporved score almost makes me collapse to the ground. She's improved by over 20 points in just three days by having Fujisaki's tutoring. On the fourth night she takes a seat at the dinner table, handing the greaded homework over to her mother. I watch as her mother raises her eyesbrows and her father's face fills with a smile.
"Wow Amu, you've really done well this past week." Her mother tells her, sounding more surprised than she probably should.
"Yes," Her dad nods his agreement. "it looks like you'l be ok to go to that event on Friday then."
I thump a paw against the ground in excitement, having heard everything from my hiding place under the couch. All right!
"I never would have gotten through it without the help of two of my friends." She clarifies, giving Fujisaki a smile. "Thanks Nagi."
He grins at the girl as well. "No, thank you. This is a delicious meal, Mrs. Hinamori." His gaze shifts gratefully to her mother now.
"It was the least we all could do, since you've been using your time to help Amu like this." The woman tells him.
After diner is over and all of the mess is cleared, Amu and I relax on her bed. Her face is filled with a wide, happy smile. I turn my head to look at her, lying on my back with my legs pressed limply to my body. She turns to me, still smiling and suddenly attacks me with a tight hug.
"What is this for?" I ask, my eyes closed tightly.
"You were the one who went and got Nagi. So, you're why I was able to get help in the first place." She tightens her arms around me. I feel my heart thump harshly in my chest. "I'm happy that you get to go to the Music Night, Ikuto. I know it will be fun."
My expression softens, giving in to her arms clasped around me. My body relaxes and my tail begins to flop lazily. I cuddle up against her, suddenly realizing that this is the most comfortable I've ever been this close to another person. Even if it's still slightly awkward, I just can't help it. She's so warm.
I feel my tag of my collar press against my chin and move away from it, my eyes opening in irritation. They widen rapidly when I see the number on the collar has changed again. The little silver fish now reads: 96. I wasn't even thinking about a deed this time, in fact, what I had done was actually selfish. Or...was it? Oh well, better try to get some sleep.
When I awaken the following day, the first thing I am aware of is a large pair of amber eyes staring right at me. The hair on my back stands on end and I jump to my feet, backpeddling into the wall behind me. The toddler named Ami crawls up onto the bed, waking her sister. "Kitty!" She cries, reaching out to me.
Amu wakes fully with a start, jumping out of bed and lifting her sister away from me, looking a little more than flustered. "A-Ami! What are you doing in here?"
"I saw da kitty before and wanted to play with him again!" She reaches out to me, but Amu holds her back, sighing.
"Ami, you can't. He's not our cat." The pink haired girl explains to her younger sibling when she starts to pout and whine. "Now, mama and papa don't know that he's here, so I need you to keep this a secret and I promise to let to you play with him after this as much as you want. Deal?"
Looking away from me and toward Amu, Ami's pouty lip lifts up into a huge smile, her eyes sparkling and wide. Did I just feel a chill run down my spine or is that my sould leaving my body? I don't want to play 'dress up the cat' with some three-year-old! Lord above, please help me. Ami nods happily. "Ok sissy!"
We've all been so preoccupied with the toddler that no one has noticed Amu's mom standing in the doorway. When Amu stands up and turns to see her little sister out of the room, everything seems to freeze in time. I feel like I've lost all feeling in my entire body. I see Amu's face go pale. Ami, not realizing the severity of the situation, covers her mouth and giggles. Her mother raises and eyebrow, her foot tapping against the floor as if she's tapping out the seconds to her daughter's damn good explaination. When nothing is said for another two minutes, Mrs. Hinamori breaks the silence.
"Care to explain this to me Amu?" She says, her face, expression, posture...everything about her screaming, "I am waiting young lady!"
Well, this ends chapter four. I am very sorry about the lack of updates. First I was having a terrible case of writer's block and then the login was down, so I was still unable to upload even when I had finished. Anyway, when I had writer's block I was so frustrated I even started to draw a comic where Ikuto (as a cat) was begging me to write more because he didn't want to be a cat forever. I don't know why, but I guess I was hoping it would help motivate me to write more for you guys. And for anyone here who got curious about my drawing (doubt that, but still) from my saying that, my icon found at the upper left-hand corner of my profile is something that I drew and colored myself.
So, I hope everyone liked this. Now that Amu's parents know, it will be a lot more interesting! Please review and tell me what you think of it. Look forward to a more timely review next week people, I promise that I will upload faster haha! Also, I fit in two deeds in this chapter. I'm really hoping that it doesn't feel rushed!