HOMRA'S Black Cat
Multiroute Fanfiction
Choice EA Part 2 – TMBH
Love and Family Route
When the teen woke up the next morning a welcoming and calm warmth surrounded him. The sheets tangled around his small body, and an even warmer source wrapped around him, as the teen let out a soft groan and opened his eyes. The room softly lit, from the light trying to escape past the curtains, as his eyes adjusted and he noticed the person lying next to him. A frame that had him jumping in surprise, before he recognized the man beside him and a frown fell over his face as he sighed.
"Really?" The teen huffed, as he reached out and brushed some of the man's red hair out of his face. "And after you told me to stay on my side. Honestly."
Another sigh left the younger, as he pulled his hand back and quietly watched the man sleep. HOMRA's king practically dead to the world, as the teen silently gazed at him and relaxed. Their position lasting for over a half hour, before the door to the bedroom suddenly opened and Kusanagi came into the room. The bartender letting out a sigh in annoyance as the teen glanced toward him, and tried his best to keep his walls down, when the man looked at him.
"Sorry about this, Nekota-kun. I know I should've come up earlier." The blond spoke, as he walked into the room and stopped beside the king, a frown appearing on his face. "And knowing Mikoto's he's not waking up anytime soon. Have you tried getting up?"
"No." The teen replied, as he tried his best to keep a neutral tone and facial expression. An attempt that seemed to have worked, as Kusanagi blinked in surprise and the teen glanced away from him. "Can you at least move his arm for me?"
"Of course, Nekota-kun." The blonde replied, as he carefully lifted the man's arm off him and let the teen slide away from him.
A soft sigh of relief leaving the boy, as he sat up and gently stretched. Pain still leaving his chest and shoulder, as he gently hissed and placed a hand over the greatest of injuries. The movement gaining the bar owner's attention, as he gave him a soft look and gestured him to the door.
"You're pain medication came this morning." Kusanagi finally vocalized, as the teen quickly looked toward him and the man rubbed the back of his head. "I was going to come get you sooner, but the boys held me back. They wanted you to get some rest since you looked so tired yesterday."
At that the teen relaxed, before nodding and carefully climbing out of bed.
"Then I'd like to take the medication. Everything still hurts." Nekota replied, as the man nodded and they headed out of the room and into the hall.
The pair of them heading down the hall, and down the stairs, before they reached the bar floor and stepped into sight. Everyone happily chatting, and joking around, till they noticed his presence and quickly turned to him. It taking the teen everything he had to keep his mental walls down, as Kusanagi headed for his beloved bar and the teen followed. The guys suddenly giving him smiles, and a few claps on the back along the way, as they all said good morning to him and he returned them with a neutral expression on his face.
"Is something wrong, Nekota?" Yata suddenly asked, as the blonde behind the bar handed him the medicine bottle and he turned it over to read it. "You seem different."
"Don't know what you're talking about, Yata-san. This is how I always act." He replied, as he popped opened the bottle and took a huge pill out. The size making him wince, as he took the offered glass of water and put the pill in his mouth.
"No, you were definitely different yesterday." HOMRA's vanguard frowned, as the teen forced the horse pill down his throat with a mouthful of water and wrinkled his nose at the slight after taste.
"I'm perfectly normal. Yata-san must've hit his head." In response, the skateboarder growled at him and waved a fist in his direction.
"I dare you to say that again!"
"So you decided not to hide then?" Eric asked, as Nekota stiffened slightly and glanced away from all the stares that suddenly moved in his direction.
"Hide?" Chitose frowned, as Bandō leaned back into the cushioning of the sofa he was sitting on.
"You didn't trust us completely, did you?" Bandō asked, as the teen remained silent when the other's looked at him with slightly hurt expressions.
"Nekota…" Came the soft voice of Kamamoto, as the teen let his gaze fall to the flora and his fingers dug into the wood of the bar.
"Of course I couldn't trust you all completely. Why should I have? To my kind, you humans are all the same." The teen boldly spoke, as the other stared at him in shock and Yata grabbed the front of his sweater he was borrowing.
"Who give you the right to say that, huh?!" Yata yelled, as he shook him and the teen didn't even flinch. "You don't know us!"
"You're right. I don't." The teen replied with a neutral expression, as the skateboarder just stared at him along with the others. "And that very thought scares strains like me, because you can do whatever you want to me and if I fight back I'll be the one punished no matter the circumstance."
In an instant the teen in front of him let go of him, as if the fabric on his body burned him, and the teen stared at him in horror. Horror for not only the words he had spoke, but must likely the look on his face as well. The teen never doubting for a second that his eyes showed all the pain and suffering he had endured till now, as he carefully smoothed out his wrinkled sweater and kept his eyes on the floor.
"So I have a right to be cautious and careful, no matter how I have to act to keep myself safe. I'm surviving." Nekota finished, as the other's stared at him in a stupor. Even Kusanagi himself frozen behind his bar, as the teen carefully pulled the skateboarder's sweater off of himself and placed it in his hands, as he walked past him and toward the stairs. "Thanks for letting me borrow that, Yata-san. I'm feeling better now."
And once more, within the last twenty-four hours, the teen disappeared up the stairs.
By the time Mikoto got out of bed, took a shower, got dressed, and stepped into the bar everyone in HOMRA was dead silent. No jokes coming from Akagi, no insults from Bandō, no curses or yelling from Yata, no reprimanding's from Kusanagi, and no outlandish statements from Tatara. Just an everlasting silence that seemed to blanket the bar in an eerie shadow. Something that had the red king frowning, as he looked around the bar and noticed who was missing among them.
"Where's Nekota?" The man demanded, as several of them flinched and the male looked at his vanguard. The boy flinching heavily under his gaze, as Eric boldly spoke up for once.
"Nekota acted normal and they all overreacted." The blonde spoke, as Kōsuke and Bandō nodded in agreement. "He went upstairs two hours ago and we haven't seen him since."
A nod left the king, as he frowned slightly and looked at every one of them. It obvious whatever Nekota had said hit them hard, before his vassal suddenly walked over with a covered dish and handed it to him with his eyes on the floor.
"Nekota-kun hadn't eaten yet. Share it with him." Tatara spoke quietly, as Yata growled and turned hurt eyes toward them.
"Why bother? He doesn't trust us!" His vanguard spoke, as Kusanagi sent the teen a glare.
"Yata!" He firmly spoke, as the teen flinched and the king put the pieces together.
It more than obvious the young strain let his walls down, and confused them all in the process, so in the end they all misunderstood and believed his didn't trust them. A realization that had the man sighing in frustration, as he took the food and ignored the few flinches around him.
"All of you go for a walk and clear your heads. I'll go talk to him." Mikoto ordered, as they all nodded and quickly headed out.
Kusanagi obviously staying behind to watch the bar, as the man's eyes fell on him and the king met his gaze.
"Does he actually trust us?" His right hand asked, as the redhead sighed.
"He listens if you prove you're point." He replied, as he headed for the stairs with the food in hand. "Gaining his trust is an art in of itself."
And before the man could respond, Mikoto headed up to the second floor. The red king quietly searching for the young strain, before the thought hit him and he sighed. The man heading up to the top floor, before he walked up the stairs to the roof and pushed the door open. His eyes instantly falling on Nekota's back, as he frowned at how close the teen sat toward the edge of the building, and set a brick in front of the door to keep it propped open.
"You told them to leave, didn't you?" Nekota asked, his back still to him as the king stood up and studied the boy.
"They need to go clear their heads and think things through." He replied, as he walked over to the teen and sat beside him with the covered dish in hand. "When their minds are clear they think better."
"If I knew they'd over react I wouldn't have bothered being myself." The teen spoke, as the man turned toward him and saw the neutral expression on his face. "All I did was make a mess anyway."
"You were just a little too blunt for them."
"Pft, if they can't handle me like this they don't want to see me mad." Nekota scoffed, as the man watched him. "What?"
"You look exhausted. What have you been doing up here?" Mikoto demanded, as the teen quickly looked away and toward the vast city scape ahead of them.
"None of your business."
"Nekota-"
"It's not important. Just a little stress relief." The young strain interrupted, as the man frowned and set the covered dish in his lap. "Wha-"
"Tatara made it. Eat." A frown fell over the teen's face, as he carefully lifted the aluminum foil and perked up at the fish inside. "And don't use your powers again without someone by you."
"Why do you care?" The teen spoke in a sour tone, as he grabbed the chopsticks inside and dug into the meal. "They're my powers."
"You lose control of them and injure yourself, even if they are your powers." Mikoto argued, as the teen frowned at him and shoved a piece of fish into his mouth.
"I was careful, thank you." A huff left the king, as the teen continued his meal and ate half of it, before putting the dish in the king's lap. "I'm full you finish it."
In response, the king looked down at the half-finished meal and frowned down at it.
"I haven't eaten for awhile, so I don't have much of an appetite." Nekota spoke, as he watched the people below them walk the sidewalks and relaxed slightly. "Give me a week. Then you'll hate me."
"No one is going to hate you." The man huffed, as he grabbed the chopsticks and dug into the rest of the food himself. "You're tolerable compared to those idiots.
"Because I use my brain." An eyebrow rose from the older, as his gaze fell to his bandage hands and the teen quickly hid them from sight in his lap. "I was protecting myself and made a mistake. You know that."
A grunt left the king, as he finished off the meal and looked behind him just as Yata and the others appeared from the doorway to the roof. The lot of them looking at them in surprise, as Nekota continued to watch the people below them and ignored their presence. It more than obvious the teen knew they had returned, and chose to distance himself so they could slowly get used to him, as he clansmen nervously looked at the younger and the king sighed. The male elbowing the teen slightly, as Nekota turned to him with a frown and followed the finger he pointed toward the group of guys behind them.
"Yeah, so? I knew they were back." The teen bluntly spoke, as he turned back to the cityscape and several of the boys winced at his words.
"Nekota-kun?" Kamamoto spoke up, as the teen didn't move.
"What do you want?"
"We're sorry." The bulkier man spoke, as the teen stayed quiet and stared ahead. A response that had Kamamoto nudging Yata forward, as his vanguard glared at the larger man and hesitantly looked toward the young strain.
"And I'm sorry I yelled at you." Yata finally spoke, as Nekota glanced back at him.
"Yata-san looks stupid when apologizing. Are you even sorry?" Nekota spoke, as his vanguard glared at him and held back the urge to yell at him. Something that had the young cat strain ignored, as he turned back ahead of him and relaxed. "But at least Yata-san understands."
Silence fell over the lot of them, as they all relaxed and gave a small smile toward the young teen. The red king finally relaxing, as the crisis was now avoided and stood up with the empty dish in his hand.
"Now, all of you get downstairs. We've got a mission today."
A week later
"Hey, Nekota. You're up early." Chitose happily spoke, as he entered the bar and the teen just gave a silent wave in response from his seat at the bar. "Your injuries wake you up?"
"No. The idiot rolled over and elbowed me." The teen frowned, as Chitose blinked at him in surprise and Kusanagi chuckled in amusement.
"You mean Mikoto-san?"
"Who else would I be talking about?" The teen grumbled, as the womanizer just stared at him in surprise and Totsuka came out of the kitchen to set his breakfast down in front of him.
The teen easily digging into the fish, as the hobbyist smiled and decided to take the seat next to him. The teen's mind wondering, as Dewa arrived and finally got Chitose's attention off of him. A choice that had him relaxing, as Totsuka chuckled beside him and started talking to Kusanagi.
Over the past week everyone in HOMRA he been trying to get closer to him. The lot of them trying to figure out his hobbies, his likes and dislikes, and what truly pissed him off. An attempt that never truly worked, as the teen tried to keep his distance and stay up on the roof. An idea that never lasted long, as Mikoto would come up and drag him back down to the bar, before the process started once more and created a never-ending cycle. A cycle that Eric and Fujishima had managed to interrupt occasionally, as they were able to start up casual conversations that usually revolved around Eric complaining about something irrelevant and the two of them listening, or Fujishima talking about a new stray he picked up.
Something that only agitated the others, as they tried to get in the conversion as well and turning it into a yelling match. A turn out that always had him disappearing once more, till evening arrived and he had to go to bed. An activity that was starting to get on his nerves, as he woke up either in the middle of the night, or way too early in the morning, to find their grand king elbowing him in the ribs or his arms wrapped around him. An occurrence that was starting to get on his nerves, as he finished his food and shoved the plate away from himself.
"Don't you have an extra room I can use? I'm tired of the idiot waking me up everyday." Nekota spoke, as he looked up at the blonde bar owner and Kusanagi looked at him in amusement.
"We do, but if you have another panic attack you could die before we realize it." He replied, as the teen frowned and huffed. "It's not that bad."
"You're not sleeping in the same bed with him."
His response was ignored, as Yata finally arrived with Kamamoto and the chatter started up. Bandō and Akagi arriving not too long after, as the bar owner called them to attention the moment Eric and Fujishima arrived and held up and piece of paper with some writing on it.
"We got another mission today." He announced, as the guys perked up and the teen frowned.
As he had come to understand, HOMRA took requests and missions from civilians in need in order to keep the city safer. Whether it was a robbery, jump in an alleyway, kidnapped or missing person, or gang fight HOMRA rose to the occasion to help out and got a cash reward in the process. The reward being split up among those who participated, and a portion going to the bar, before a new one arrived and the process started over again. And to be honest it wasn't a bad idea, but it was dangerous as well if the injuries they came back with were proof enough. Yet every time one was announced all of them perked up and got excited as if they had been given the best gift in the world. An action that always confused him, as his frowned deepened and Yata demanded to know what it was.
What was so great about risking your life for a bunch of people you didn't know?
"It seems like we've got another drug dealing gang on our hands." Kusanagi spoke, as the guys quieted down to listen. "From the information I was given, and what I collected, they've been quietly working in back alleys and in downtown. Which is why they never appeared on our radar, but recently they've been sneaking it into local bars and selling their merchandise there was well."
Slowly the man waved the paper and everyone looked toward it.
"I received a call from a local bar owner, who has witnessed their dealings in her bar, and has been too afraid to confront them. So out mission is to stop the dealings and quiet their gang as soon as possible before the police or Scepter Four get involved."
"Are you kidding? This'll be easy." Yata spoke, as he got up and walked to the bar. The teen reaching for the paper, before the blonde pulled the paper away from him and the teen frowned. "Kusanagi-san-"
"It won't be easy this time, Yata-chan." The blonde spoke, as the teen's hand fell to his side and Nekota looked up to see a troubled look on the bar owner's face.
"Why not?" Yata demanded, as the others waited for the man to explain and he set the paper on the bar.
"Because they have a strain among them. One that can teleport."
Scarlett: *beams happily* hey everyone! I'm here with another chapter! *throws her hands up in the air and confetti explodes*
Mikoto: *frowning at the confetti* really?
Scarlett: yes, really! *pouts* just let me have my fun, grand king. *sticks out her tongue*
Mikoto: *glares at her* don't call me King
Scarlett: *jumps and hides behind the couch* anyway! Since i already had this chapter typed I thought i'd give it to you guys! *peeks over the couch* I may be able to get the next one to you soon as well, but its a pretty long chapter and I don't have part 4 finished. So it may be awhile till part 3 and 4 are available. *sulks* that and my notebook I was writing the fic in is out of pages and i don't have any notebooks with me.
Mikoto: you're at college and u don't have a notebook?
Scarlett: *pouts* i forgot them at home, ok! *huffs* so i forgot one bag. honestly, I'm going back home next weekend for the holiday weekend. I'll get my empty notebooks then.
Mikoto: Whatever *goes to lay down*
Scarlett: Oh no you don't! *jumps on the couch and pulls him up, pointing to the camera* I demand you at least interact with the readers before you go sleeping on me again!
Mikoto: *waves at the camera, before laying down*
Scarlett: *sweat drops, turning to the camera* anyway, here's your part 2. I hope to get part 3 posted sometime next week or next weekend at the latest. *bows* I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Reviews Answered:
Panda Master X: *lets out a breath of relief* alright, good. I thought you'd feel a little upset about it, but if that's the case then awesome! I can go along with my idea of opening all options after route EA is finished and letting you guys pick choices from the beginning. *beams* Cause I'm so excited to write for Yata or Rikio. I've got Yata's routes figured out in my head, and one of Rikio's routes figured out. *frowns* Chitose's is kind of hard to come up with, but I'll figure it out. *perks up* anyway! I'm glad you liked the chapter! And yeah, Nekota has a lot to learn about the guys and the guys have a lot to learn about Nekota. They're gunna have a lot of differences from this chapter onward, but they'll hopefully band together in the end! *ignores the guys watching her cautiously*
SnowLiteSnowBrite: *happy* glad you enjoyed it, hun, and here's your next chapter. lol. You and Panda review so fast I couldn't help but want to post the next chapter so badly. *beams* you guys are the only two that review, so I'm trying my best to post enough and get more reviewing readers. I love talking to you guys. *turns and frowns at Yata* now if only you would actually look at me. *sweat drops when he skates off* damn it. Maybe I'll catch him when we get to his route.
K and it's characters do not belong to me. They belong to Furuashi Hideyuki, GoHands, and GoRA.
Nekota however belongs to me. If you wish to use him, please ask permission before using him.