Neko-Hiro

Chapter Thirty-Six: Replacement

After the incident that morning in the bear room, Misaki had looked for a new hiding place.

Ironically this ended up being in Hiroki's old room. The chocolate kitten didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before, maybe it was because this space was associated with the Kamijou cat's unpleasant memory. At any rate, Usagi-san rarely went in there and would certainly never think that his new pet might be enticed to venture into it.

One would think that encountering this new found refuge and the fact that he had been able to, as a result of his discovery, pass an entire afternoon in the apartment without being pounced by a horny rabbit would have made Misaki very happy. But it didn't, because a safe hiding place was not all that Misaki had found in Hiroki's old room.

Once Misaki had adjusted to the room's smell of old books and purple and red marking pens (colors did have different smells and the odor of red was noticeably more strident) the small chocolate hybrid had noticed an open book lying face down on Hiroki's abandoned bed. It appeared strangely out of place as everything else in the room had been put into cardboard boxes since the professorial neko's disappearance.

Akihiko had left Hiroki's journal out on the bed, where he had last sat reading his old pet's most intimate thoughts.

The journal had taken Misaki some time to decipher, partly because he had never been very good at formal Japanese and also because he was periodically distracted by hearing Usagi-san's calls for him echoing throughout the apartment. The author wanted to partake of cookies and Misaki milk, the man's currently favored afternoon snack.

Misaki knew that Kamijou-san had disliked him. This wasn't really surprising since he had been Usagi-san's first pet after all and some breeds of neko were very possessive. But there were times, despite having been bitten, when Misaki thought the older hybrid had been foolish to run away.

After all, the apartment they lived in was huge so they could have easily avoided each other most of the time and the Kamijou neko generally seemed spend most his time either at the University or sequestered away in his room reading or grading anyway.

Not to mention that Usagi-san, for all his troubling features, was incredibly generous to his pets: all the basic neko needs were met and far surpassed in ways that exceeded what most pets could ever hope for.

What was more, in short the time Misaki had been living with the two older males, as far as he had been able to tell, Usagi-san hadn't seemed to bother much with his Kamijou cat, at least not in the same way he "tormented" him. Unless his constant request of Kamijou-san to "edit" for him was a code word for rabbit sex. Still, Misaki happily hadn't seen any evidence to support such speculation.

To top it all off, the man had let Kamijou-san more or less come and go as he pleased, whereas he practically stalked him. And Usagi-san didn't even seem to be upset when Kamijou-san snapped at him (outside of that one awful instant just before the professor left). In fact, while it terrified Misaki, Usagi-san had seemed to generally find the professorial neko's occasional bouts of hissing and spitting amusing. Most owners would have punished such behavior from their hybrid severely.

Yes, it had seemed to the young Takahashi, Misaki, that the Kamijou, Hiroki, had actually had it quite plush.

That was at least until Misaki had finally managed to figure the professor's writings out.

It had already been a terrible blow to Misaki's confidence that morning when Usagi-san had told him that he was seriously considering getting Kamijou-san back, though with the multi-neko ordinance now in place Usagi-san could really have as many nekos as he wanted. Still, Misaki couldn't understand how the author could do that to him. Especially since Usagi-san had now told him numerous times that he loved him.

And while he hid constantly from his owner, mewled about hating to submit, sputtered and struggled every time the perverted silver-backed bunny tried to take him, Misaki too had come to love the man in his own way.

Misaki had spent much of his time before hiding in Hiroki's room struggling to contain his conflicted emotions since, along with his six nipples, the Takahashi neko was also bred with a high sense of selflessness. Takahashis were genetically conditioned for easy maintenance, never wanting to cause trouble for anyone and always putting the needs of others above their own desires. So, if having the Kamijou cat back would make Usagi-san happy, Misaki had known he would find a way to endure it. Not that he had a choice. Like Kamijou-san, before him, he was just a neko after all.

Finding Hiroki's diary, however, had changed the situation Misaki found himself in completely.

Misaki's ears drooped and his tail trembled. His green eyes threatened tears as he came to understand the strong feelings the Kamijou cat had harbored for Usagi-san. His kit-teen heart beat rapidly as he compared this to the fragility of his own newly-budded feelings for his owner.

The young neko's tears could not be held back, however, when he also learned from Kamijou-san's last entry how much Usagi-san had apparently loved his elder brother Takahiro. Now, on top of his greedy owner wanting two nekos, the green-eyed hybrid discovered that apparently he was really nothing more than a replacement for his brother.

Misaki's kitten heart felt like a balloon that had just been popped.

Through his tears, Misaki looked at the clock that still ticked away on the wall of Hiroki's bedroom. He suddenly realized he'd been hiding so long it was now time for him to start preparing dinner. Despite how crushed he felt, Misaki had been too well-trained that a good neko never shirked his pet duties, regardless.

The kitten wiped his wet cheeks and padded silently off down the hall, his lean tail curled dejectedly between his legs. He paused and peeked into the author's study. His owner sat at his desk, typing away on his laptop.

"Good," thought Misaki. That would at least keep the big pervert occupied, hopefully long enough for him to prepare the man's evening meal without getting molested. Maybe if he was clever enough, he could figure out a way to not have to eat with him too, though for some reason it had seemed important to Usagi-san ever since he had arrived, that he sit down at his master's table and take his meals with the man.

Misaki stifled a sniffle. Maybe every time they ate together Usagi-san had been pretending that he was eating with Takahiro. Maybe that was why he'd never made an issue of it when Kamijou-san didn't eat with him.

The kitten shuffled into the kitchen.

Unable to find him that afternoon, Akihiko had left a note on the fridge, dictating what it was he desired to consume for his evening meal: yellow eggs, sausages cut to resemble octopi, the usual crazy stuff. Misaki was of course listed under the title of "dessert."

The teenage hybrid frowned at the note. He crumpled the paper and threw it away, imagining it was his heart and set about preparing Usagi-san's dinner.

Misaki was splicing the sausages when he heard his owner slip stealthily into the kitchen. At first Misaki pretended, as he usually did, not to notice. As smart as his owner was, one might think Usagi-san would have realized that with his highly-honed hearing it was really almost impossible to sneak up on the kitten. Even if he hadn't heard him, Misaki's sensitive neko nose would have smelled his smoky owner immediately. Still, it made Usagi-san happy so Misaki had been allowing the farce to continue.

But today, the more the kitten thought about what he had read in Kamijou-san's journal, Misaki moved past his sorrow and the angrier he got. Misaki set down the knife and the sausage and quickly turned to face the stalking silver-back. He could feel his hair raise in an angry ridge between his flat ears... something he had seen happen with other Takahashi nekos but had never experienced before himself.

Akihiko's lavender eyes widened a moment in surprise and then shifted back into their usual leer.

"I could hear you from a mile away, Usagi," Misaki snapped. "Go away if you want any dinner! Touch me and you can just go hungry…" The neko had planned to say more involving going to bed without "dessert," but his confidence wavered as he watched Usagi-san's reaction. Usagi-san's countenance had changed from surprise to curious concern, which was making Misaki feel terribly guilty.

Akihiko was used to his neko's outbursts, but this one was different. It sounded like his kitten was truly angry. He found this both disturbing and intriguing.

"Misa-kitty, where were you this afternoon? I needed you and couldn't find you. You know by hiding all the time, you're really being a very bad pet. Troublesome, one could say." Akihiko studied the small hybrid closely as he said this.

Misaki looked down, unable to meet the man's piercing pale eyes. Then he balled his fists, and drew in a deep breath. "Well, you're a very bad owner Usagi! Doing things to me all the time, telling me you love me when you don't really! You suck! And not in the way that feels really good!" Misaki yelled, his fluffed tail rattled its agreement.

Both man and neko were taken aback by this outburst. Misaki fled the kitchen crying and ran out into the main room. Akihiko followed and caught the small cat by the sofa.

"Who do you think you are talking to me like that?" Akihiko asked. His voice was low and threatening.

Misaki tried desperately to pull his thin wrists out of the author's grasp, but Akihiko held him fast (not cruelly, but firmly).

"I'm no one… nothing…," Misaki sobbed, "nothing but a replacement!"

This stopped Akihiko short. "What? What are you talking about, Misaki?"

"Takahiro… my brother… You don't really care about me. I... I'm nothing but a replacement for him, right?" Misaki hiccupped.

Seeing the kitten in this state and hearing the pain in Misaki's voice touched something in Akihiko.

"Misaki," he crooned, "I may have chosen you initially because I lost Takahiro. It's true. But I want you to know now, that as far as any Takahashi neko goes, you'll always be my pick of the litter now. I love you."

"Really, Usagi-san?" Misaki asked softly.

Akihiko took the kitten's tear-stained face in his hands and kissed Misaki deeply in reply. Misaki submitted willingly for the first time to his new owner and the silver-backed rabbit proceeded to quickly make a complete mess of his hybrid right there on the sofa.

When they were finished Akihiko stood up and pulled his shirt back on and refastened his pants. He took a cigarette from the pack on the coffee table and lit up.

Misaki looked up at the man from where he lay, naked and sweating, still panting for breath on the couch, "Does this mean that you're not going to try and get Kamijou-san back either then, Usagi-san?"

The hope in the kitten's voice amused Akihiko. "Of course I'm still going to try and get him back," he chuckled.

"But after what you just said to me… and what we just did…why?" Misaki gasped.

"Ah, Misaki, you obviously don't know how to compartmentalize. You're such a kitten you wouldn't understand: the Kamijou and the Takahashi are completely different breeds, meant to address different needs…

"And besides, most importantly," Akihiko said crossing his arms and towering imposingly over the crumpled kitten, "I will bring Hiroki home now simply because I want to…

"Now, I'm going back upstairs, I have some more work to do. And you can forget that threat of making me go hungry… I think I've had enough, uh… 'dessert' to tide me over for now while you finish making dinner…. You can call me when it's done and we'll sit together at the table and eat."

Akihiko began to make his way up the stairs but he stopped midway up. "I do love you, Misaki, but love takes many forms." The author paused and looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, and by the way, after dinner, please get out the steam vac and clean that couch. We are having a guest tomorrow after all."

Misaki lay there stunned on the sofa until he heard the door to Usagi-san's study close. Then the chocolate neko began to silently sob.

Kamijou-san's decision to run away no longer seemed foolish to Misaki at all.

New AN:

X… your new slough of reviews… you still know how to make this FF writer's heart sing. Your reflections on the Egoist dynamic always brings me new insights to incorporate into new works. And I am glad that some of your lessons have sunk into my thick skull. Thank you, professor.

Ashley Tangerine- Darling, I love your reviews. You keep writing and I'll keep reposting. Keep this up and you may find yourself appearing in the Fangirl chapter towards the end of the story. Your discussion of the Terrorists brought me great joy and now you have a new Romantic chapter to chew on.

Old AN:

Thanks everyone for the reviews... So glad you liked yesterday's update. I have family visiting the next few days, so I will probably not be posting tomorrow. I will try to get the Nowaki/Hiroki, Akihiko/Misaki confrontation written and up sometime this weekend.

X( )- as always your reviews make my heart sing.

Madame Masquerade 64- I loved your comment. Yours too - FreshPrinceLover.

Teabags- you know you're one of my faves!

Lastbloom-lovely to hear from you, yeah, sweet and sad is kind of a specialty of mine.

Midoritenchi90-hope you are not too disturbed by my dark Akihiko, I sense you are a Romantica fan.

Ichigo Kousei- I will take your suggestion seriously under consideration. It does sound like fun, so keep your eye out. You may see that scenario coming up at some point.

Midnight Reader-glad you're up to speed, hope your enthusiasm continues.

Rubymonkey and NocturnalOtaku, thanks for adding me to your favorite stories list, hope you'll consider dropping a review sometime.