Kitten Love

Chapter 10

Hibari sat down in an alley, huffing tiredly as he looked at his paws. "Why...?" he wondered aloud. "Am I some sort of werecat now, or what?"

"Hehe, hey, boys, that looks like one of ours," came a raspy voice. Hibari looked to his side, to see a number of cats poking around in the garabage. One of which was staring at him evilly. "He's one of the pretty boys. Wants himself a fish," said the scuffy, black male. "Remember me, kit?"

Hibari swallowed. "You're... Xanxus?" he wondered aloud.

"That's right," purred the other. "Or at least that's what that Bel calls me. You've crossed my path at the wrong time, little kit."

The black feline took a couple steps back, but before he knew it, cats were on him, attacking him. He yowled as they clawed out his fur and nicked his ear, stunned by their power over him. But he eventually managed to throw them off with a powerful kick of his hind paws, and he ran. He ran straight out of the alley, then gasped as the black roads were lit by the headlights of a car. He leapt back just before a car passed in front of him, then found himself running across the rest of the street, panting softly as he reached the other end. He leaned against a growing tree, his fur standing straight up as he looked back across the street. Thankfully, the other cats didn't cross the street after him. He was safe, for now.

"Midori tanamiku, Namimori no! Dainaku shounaku, nami ga ii!" came the pretty voice of a bird. The black feline looked up, to see Hibird flying down, a box held in its tiny claws. The cat allowed Hibird to slip the Vongola ring on to his tail, then sighed as it lit up with weak purple flames.

Weak, because he was scared.

At last starting to catch his breath, the cat opened Roll's box, and nuzzled against the hedgehog as it materialized. "Oh, Roll," he murmured. "I'm so glad to see you."

The hedgehog's black eyes widened slightly as he looked at the cat, and he mumbled, "Master? Are you all right?" Hibari reached a paw up, and touched his nose, to find that the stinging in it had been caused by a few claws that had hit his face.

"I'm fine," he lied. "It was just a scrap. But I showed them who's boss." Roll more or less smiled, and he and Hibari started on a search for a place to rest, flanking each other.

The two were in luck to come across a stack of newspapers. "Ugh... I guess I can just... hm...," Hibari wondered. He took the string binding the papers together, and snapped it with his teeth, before spilling the papers out into a comfortable pile. He lied down it, only to find that it wasn't very comfortable. He closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

"Nn... ugh...," came a tired grunt as Kyoya woke up the next morning. He sat upright, and frowned as he found himself in a human form, but still keeping the ears and tail. "Uff... that was the worst night I've ever had...," he thought aloud. He swept his tail close, then, seeing the ring that was still slipped on to it, he waved the cat-like appendage back and forth. "I guess it's not all bad," he murmured. He brushed his fingers down the long tail, feeling the silky fur, and blushing at the new sensation. "I suppose... if I had to... I could live with this."

"Kyu... kyu..." Hibari glanced to his side, to see Roll nuzzling into him. The hedgehog was cute as always, but Hibari was naturally disappointed that the voice had been lost to squeaks.

"It's okay, Roll," he sighed. "Let's go."

As soon as the ravenette stood back up, he was suddenly taken into an embrace from behind, and he blushed. "Hibari...," came a gentle voice. "Oh, thank pineapples you're safe..." The prefect looked over his shoulder, to just barely see Fran with his face buried in the other's back.

"Fran...," he murmured. "You found me?"

"We both found you, fortunately," came another voice. Hibari completely turned around, placing his clawed hands on Fran's shoulders, and he gave a genuine smile as he saw Mukuro.

"Wow, I'm so happy to see you two again," Hibari murmured, taking Fran into a tighter hug.

"Ow, Hibari, what's with the claws?" the young illusionist protested.

"That, I'm sure," Mukuro began, sombering over to the two, "would be entirely your fault, Fran. Would you like me to fix you up, Kyoya? Get rid of those little cat parts?"

"No, no, that's all right," Hibari murmured, reaching up and stroking his own cat ears. "After all, I'm still Fran's kitten, right?" he murmured, looking down at the teal-haired male and smirking.

"That's really creepy," Fran mumbled, before glancing at Mukuro. Seeing the expression that burned with jealousy beneath his smile, he decided that he liked the idea. He nuzzled into Hibari's collarbone, and cooed, "But it sure is true."

Hibari chuckled, and in reply, whispered, "Meow."

"Good Hibari," Fran answered.

"All right, you two, seriously," Mukuro muttered, striding forward and taking Hibari by the shoulders. He led the other back to an illusionary car, which was parked against the sidewalk. He guided Hibari into the passenger seat, therefore forcing Fran into the back. "Kyouya, are you really all right with all of this?" Mukuro asked as he slid into the driver's seat. "I mean, I told Fran to stop with these stupid illusions, and yet-"

"It's okay," Hibari insisted. "By the looks of it, these little additions only make me stronger. I'm a bit more flexible, too, I think," the prefect mused. He reached over, and touched the blue-haired man's shoulder, smiling. "Do these ears make you uncomfortable?" he teased, his cat ears flicking towards Mukuro.

"Yes, actually, a little," Mukuro sighed. "Just... seeing you like that is hard for me, Kyouya." Hibari sat back, curling his tail close to him, and he listened intently as the illusionist continued, "I see that nick taken out of one of those ears, and I see that scratch on your nose. As a cat, you're vulnerable to your own kind. Who's to say this hasn't made you weaker?"

Hibari was taken back by Mukuro's words. He hadn't considered it, but he supposed that it made sense. "I can hear much better, and I can use this tail to open boxes behind my back," he argued.

"Hm...," Mukuro hummed as they slowed at a red light. He turned towards the prefect, and reached out, before clapping his hands together. Hibari's cat ears lied flat, and he flinched immediately.

"That was mean, Master!" Fran droned.

"Is sharp hearing such a good thing? What if guns are going off?" Mukuro said as they began to drive again. "You'll be powerless."

"Will not," Hibari said, once more raising the ears. "I'll keep them flat and I won't hear it as much."

"You're never going to watch fireworks again," the older illusionist mumbled.

Hibari sighed, and lied back in his seat. "Sorry. I haven't had much of a rest today," he murmured, before closing his eyes.

-End Chapter

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