Takeru spent the rest of the morning petting Sting and watching Ken.  Ken thought watching Takeru with Sting was adorable.  He wanted to get Takeru his own kitten that afternoon. 

Koushiro came in close to lunchtime.  "I see you are still with Takeru.  I came to see if you knew where he was since lunch is almost ready." 

"Takeru was having a good time playing with Sting," responded Ken.  "He has stayed with me all morning."

Takeru stood up.  "I guess I should go back to the harem.  There isn't a good reason for me to stay in here all day."

"You can stay with me and eat lunch if you want," said Ken.

Takeru shook his head.  "I've bothered you long enough.  I'm sure that I'll be fine."

************************************************************************

That afternoon Ken left for the bazaar.  He wandered around for a bit looking for a special kitten to give Takeru.  He found a stall with a mother cat and two kittens.  One kitten was orange and white with blue eyes.  The other was light blue with dark blue eyes, which confused Ken. 

"Why is this kitten blue?"

"Well, Your Highness, he got into some blue dye we have.  We tried to get it off of him, but we didn't quite succeed."

"Can I buy the two from you?"

"Of course.  We've already found homes for the rest of the kittens, but no one wanted a blue kitten, and the orange one didn't seem to want to leave the blue one behind."

The shopkeeper found a basket and put the two kittens into it.  Ken paid for them and took them back to the palace.  He went into the Harem rooms and ran into Jyou.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," said the healer.  "Are you looking for Koushiro or Takeru?"

"Takeru.  I have a present for him."

"He's in the garden looking at the flowers."

Ken nodded thank you and went to the garden.  Takeru was sitting on a bench under a tree looking a little lost.  "Are you ok?" asked Ken.

Takeru looked up, startled.  "I'm doing fine," he responded.

"You didn't look fine." Ken sat down beside Takeru.

Takeru looked down at his feet.  "I just don't feel like I fit in.  I don't understand what you want from me."

"I already told you.  I don't want anything from you.  In fact, I brought you a present."

Takeru looked up expectantly.  "Yes?"

Ken took the two kittens out of the basket and put them in Takeru's lap.  "I found something to keep you entertained."

Takeru's face lit up as he looked at the kittens.  Both of them were looking around cautiously to see where they were.  "One of them is blue?"

Ken smiled at Takeru.  "He's unusual, like you."

Takeru blushed.  "I'm not special.  I'm just another slave."

Ken decided to leave that alone for now.  "What are you going to name them?"

"I don't know.  I've never had a pet before."  Takeru paused, thinking.  "What about Patapata and Demi?"

"Patapata and Demi?"

Takeru nodded.  "They're so little.  So they need little cute names."

"So which one is Patapata?"

"The orange one."  Patapata was currently trying to figure out how to climb up Takeru's chest.  Demi had jumped down and was walking around Takeru's feet.

Koushiro strolled into the garden.  "Prince Ken?"

Ken looked at Koushiro.  "Yes?"

"A messenger came from the capital with letters from the court.  I left them in your study."  Koushiro came to a halt by Ken and Takeru.  "What do we have now?"

"Two new kittens," responded Ken.  "Takeru named the orange one Patapata and the blue one Demi.  They're to keep Takeru company."

Koushiro shook his head  "At least they're little.  Maybe they can be taught to leave the fish and beetles alone."

Takeru looked at Koushiro concerned.  "I hadn't thought about that.  I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what?" asked Koushiro.  "You have a right to have pets as Jyou and I do.  You'll be around to watch out for them and keep them out of trouble.  Jyou has his fish in a safe place and I have my beetles locked up away from Sting.  I can't imagine that these two little ones could get where Sting can't."

Ken stood up.  "I should go look at the letters.  Will you have dinner with me, Takeru?"

Takeru nodded.

"I'll see you then," said Ken turning around and leaving the garden.

Koushiro looked at the two kittens.  Patapata had given up climbing Takeru and had settled down for a nap in Takeru's lap.  Demi was trying to jump up, but he couldn't quite make it.  Koushiro smiled and picked up Demi putting him on the bench beside Takeru.  "I should go get things ready for our two new residents.  They'll need food, water, a place to sleep, among other things.  Most of that we have with Sting around so it shouldn't be a problem."  Demi jumped into Takeru's lap and snuggled down by Patapata to take a nap.

"Apparently, I'm going to be they're place to sleep," said Takeru.