Hello, dear readers! It's been a while since I've updated this... Sorry for the wait for anyone who was actually waiting for the next chapter, but never fear! Chapter 6.5 is here! Since chapter 7 is STILL a work in progress, please accept the events that occur somewhere between ch 6 and ch 7.

Disclaimer: I don't own Monochrome Factor and you people know the rest.

Warning: Other than like two words, there is NOTHING I need to warn you about.


Chapter 6.5

Four hours, fifteen minutes ago…

It had been a slow day for Ryuuko. The paperwork seemed to go on forever. It had been rather quiet lately with Shisui gone in search of his "children", Nori and Kou leaving to play with Lulu, and Shirogane avoiding him.

Sighing, the Rei signed the last part of a massive document regarding the imbalance, and placed it among other files and document scattered across his black desk.

There were days when Ryuuko would find himself hoping to wake up in another life. A life in which he wasn't the Royal Rei, have to do paperwork and close small tears whenever they appeared. He'd love to live the kind of life where he would relax and eat a whole cake with extra frosting without being nagged about it, have a pet cat, and not be hated by Shirogane.

It would be nice to get away from it all, but he knew that it was impossible. Every day, he'd wake up to the same life. Every day. Every single frigging day. It's not like he hated his life or anything. He got to meet lots of…interesting people, experiment with forbidden methods when he was absolutely sure no one was watching, and even fall in love.

Despite all that, he couldn't shake this nagging feeling that something awful would happen in the near future. Ryuuko didn't have any form of sixth sense like the other kings. The closest thing to a sixth sense he had was his gut feeling. And right now, that gut feeling was screaming death.

Thirty two minutes ago…

At long last, there was only one small document left to read through and sign. After completing nearly four stacks of paperwork, the Rei only had five more pages to read and sign when necessary.

Fortunately, there was a knock on the door before he could even start reading the damn thing.

"Come in," the raven haired man yawned. All that paperwork was finally starting to take its toll on him.

"I see you're still doing paperwork," Homurabi said as he let himself in.

Ryuuko sighed, "It can't be helped. Speaking of paperwork, don't you have any?"

"Meh," the redhead shrugged. "I'll do it later."

"You came here to visit Shisui, right?" Homurabi nodded. "He should be somewhere in Canada by now."

"Canada? Do you really think he'll find any of his 'children' there?"

"I don't see why not," Ryuuko grunted as he forced himself into a standing position. His tailbone was throbbing with pain from sitting for far too long. "That's where I found Nori."

"I see," the lesser king smirked, walking back out the door. "I'll inform Sawaki that I'm going to the human world. See ya!"

The door closed behind him with a solid click. Once again, Ryuuko was alone in his godforsaken office. He looked down at the last of the documents. He might as well get it done now.

Twenty minutes ago…

CRASH!

The deafening sound of something, likely a heavy vase, breaking woke Ryuuko from the nap he didn't realize he was taking. A bunch of shouting, girly giggling, and barking come shortly afterwards. The quarreling was so loud; it was almost as if it was coming from the other side of the door.

"Maudite chien! On est supposer de rester sillent!"* Nori hissed at Kou. Ryuuko didn't speak much French, but he knew that the Neutral was calling Kou a "damn dog". Whatever was going on out there, the Rei assumed that Kou knocked something over with his tail; Lulu started laughing, and Nori was now yelling at them to keep quiet.

After the bickering ceased, a knock sounded on the door. The door opened before Ryuuko could say that it was open. Naturally, the Rei expected for Nori to poke her head in and start teasing him about something or another. However, he was certainly not expecting a small cat to stroll into the room.

A cat? I wonder how it got in here.

The cat had long, fluffy brown fur. Its face, paws, and tail were black and its mane was white. There was something about that cat that was suspiciously familiar, but Ryuuko wasn't quite sure what it was. Maybe it was the colour of its fur, or even the mischievous smirk that glinted in its pale grey eyes. Either way, Ryuuko wanted to pet it.

Hoisting himself out of his chair, then man started towards the fluffy feline. The cat began to brush itself against Ryuuko's legs, purring contently. The Rei, being a sucker for cats, smiled softly and bent down to stroke the cat's unruly fur. Before he could touch the cat, it suddenly bolted out the door and Ryuuko gave chase. He followed the cat down the wide corridors of the palace until it disappeared into an open door. Pushing the large door open, Ryuuko walked into the room. The funny thing about this entire situation was that this was his bedroom, and the cat was nowhere to be found.

"Forgive me, Ryuuko." Nori's voice sounded behind him. Ryuuko turned around to face the girl, only to see the door close. Was this some kind of prank? It wasn't like Nori to try to pull something like that. What was going on? More importantly, where did that cat go?

The Royal Rei sighed. There must have been some reason for Nori to confine him to his room. Whatever that reason may be, he decided to stay put for a while. Maybe he's take another nap…

Turning on his heel to face his bed, he stared at what lay in front of him: Shirogane. The beautifully pale man lay on Ryuuko's bed, fast asleep.

This could be a problem.

One minute ago…

Ryuuko sat on the cream coloured rug next to his bed. If Shirogane didn't hate him, he would have been laying next to the silver haired man. But there he sat: anxious, confused, still thinking about that mysterious cat, and wondering what to do once his sleeping counterpart woke up. So far, he'd come up with jack squat! Nothing, zero, zilch, nada, shit all! He needed a plan of attack (not literally), and he needed one now. Maybe if he just acted indifferently, everything would be alright.

Unfortunately, his time for thinking had run out: Shirogane let out a groan and started to stir.

This is definitely a problem now!


Oh, snap! Looks like Ryuuko's gone into panic mode. And where did that cat go? What was so familiar about it? (Bwa ha ha!)

Reviews, critiques, suggestion, etc. are appreciated. Thank you for your time.

See you next chapter!