A/N: NOT DEAD, PLEASE REVIEW
-CWA
CHAPTER FIVE: FANTASIES
Third Person
Their morning has become a regular schedule – a schedule that's not best to interfere with. Yet Reve has a hard time bringing herself to wake up the sleeping cat. Kato, who has changed into her true, full form as a Katojns, is bundled in the many blankets on the couch sound asleep with the 'stolen' teddy bear under her large paws. After their talk last night, she can't bring herself to be mad about Kato's transformation over night. She shakes her head with a sigh and eyes the clock. Kato has to wake up soon if she needs to shower and eat before school. But she hesitates and hovers, not wanting to disrupt the Katojn's peaceful dreams. With a heavy heart and mindful of Moriko's watching eye from the dining room, Reve steps closer to the couch and gives the cat a quick shove that rolls her off the couch – a feat only accomplished with the help of minor telekinesis as the cat easily weighs too much for Reve to move on her own.
A large yowl escapes Kato as she thrashes around the floor trying to make sense of her surroundings at her sudden jerk to the real world. Harsh eyes take in the scene around her and noting the lack of a threat, she merely huffs at Reve before stretching her large form out. The teddy bear is gently taken into her mouth as she trots off to the bathroom for a shower.
"You can't shower in that form," Reve calls after her, "You'll clog up the drains! And don't take that bear with you in the shower, it'll get ruined!"
She receives a disgruntled series of noises as a response before a teddy bear is tossed out from the direction of the hall and into her hands. She catches it with ease as she hears the shower faucet turn on. She swallows thickly and rolls her shoulders in an attempt to roll off any mental images coming to her mind – the shiver, however, is something she can't as easily shake off as the thought of Kato clogging the drain is an admittedly horrifying one as she knew she'd be the one that has to clean it. She gently puts the teddy bear on the pile of disheveled blankets.
"You do know she stole that thing from that club," Moriko points out and Reve merely shakes her head in acknowledgment.
"I know…."
"...And all those blankets," Moriko drags on, only to receive a more depressed sigh from the other girl.
Reve moves through the kitchen, grabbing the still warm coffee pot and pouring the rest of its remains into her coffee cup until it was on the brink of overflowing. She sets the coffee pot back at its place on the counter before grabbing a lid for the coffee cup. Light bags dip under her eyes and the usual violet glow is dimmed ever slightly. Her feet drag and make a tad bit more noise than usual against the floor.
"Reve," Moriko's voice is hesitant and unsure, "I know its' not exactly my business, but..."
She pauses, closing her mouth, refusing to meet Reve's eyes. Words that she meant to say choke in her throat and she swallows thickly before shaking her head - "Nothing. It's nothing, nevermind."
Reve cocks her head to the side, her eyebrows furrowed as she gently probes at the surface of Moriko's mind to hopefully get some idea of what she was about to say. When her stare gets a bit too intense and her efforts are proved worthless due to Moriko shoving whatever she was going to say deep down into her subconscious, Reve decides the best course of action is to take a few more sips of her coffee and act as if she never tried to probe her friend's mind in the first place.
However, Reve cannot help but raise her eyebrows when in Kato saunters into the kitchen dripping wet. A puddle is already forming at her feet. A soaked towel clings to her body and her hair resembles a drowned bird's nest. Her eyes are large and wide as she looks up at them, one of her hands gesturing, if a bit discordantly, toward the bathroom.
"I – I broke the faucet."
The teddy bear finds its way into Kato's book bag for the day. She holds onto it tightly by her side, protectively, afraid it will fall out. A hand cupping the bottom of the bag's seams as she wanders through the crowded halls. A stern glare and a curled lip, she learns, gets a majority of the student population to part for her. At least she knows where she's going this time. She just wants to get there as quickly as she possibly, humanly can. Her flip-flops, dangerously inappropriate for such an environment, slap between her heel and the floor. The sooner she gets to class the sooner she can go back to sleep. Her still-wet hair clings to her scalp and gently soaks through the upper back section of her shirt – something no one is brave enough to comment on as she finally finds her place in class.
Kato slides into the seat with ease, carefully tucking her bag in her lap under the desk. She runs her hands through her hair with a scowl, trying best to wring out what's left of the moisture; it creates a small puddle behind her chair, dangerously close to the person seated behind her. Her nose crinkles. She still feels wet. The water itches at her scalp and head causing her to shift in her seat, pawing at the soaked section on the back of her shirt. A huff of frustration leaves her nostrils as she gives a sharp shake of her head. The water droplets fly off across the room, causing many of her peers to whisper and look at her in disgust or annoyance. She swallows a growl building in her throat and lays her head down on her desk. The water from her hair circles her head, making the desktop a bit moist to the touch, but it feels cool against her cheek. She settles in easily, sleeping her feet out of her flip-flops and tucking them under rear in her seat. She absently notes the smell of sweets and musk entering the room, closing her eyes as she rests. Her chest rises and falls with steady breaths, for once her mind is at peace. There is a small part of her that misses the tingling, familiar sensation in the back of her mind that's usually there from Reve's mind link, but Reve made it clear that there won't be any sort of mind link today unless it's an emergency. Her reasoning was a bad migraine, but there was something about the way she said it that still strikes Kato as odd. But a whole day to have her thoughts to herself wins over any suspicions she has over Reve's reasoning.
Hunny spots Kato the moment he walks into the classroom. Her hair creates a dark pool across her desk and her arms and face are tucked into its depth. He tugs on Takashi's sleeve and points at the two empty seats behind her, the larger boy gives a solid nod understanding the question. They don't hesitate sitting down, despite the fact that they're both acutely aware of the way many of the girls in the class are whispering about their choice of seating.
"I can't believe that freaky foreigner gained Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai's attention already, it's so unfair. I've been trying to do that for years..."
"Ugh she's a freak. I swear I've heard her growl, just like the animal she is I suppose. I still don't believe that she can actually afford to go here. Look at her, she doesn't even care."
"She looks like a drowned rat…"
"They should be sitting by me, at least I wear real clothes."
Hunny can't hide the frown on his face and when he turns to Takashi, he can see that he too is clearly unhappy about the whispers stretching out their the class. As Hunny scoots his seat and desk a bit closer to Kato, Takashi watches the girl closely. She seems fresh out of the shower, water ruining her clothes and creating a dark spot across her back. Flip-flops are discarded beneath her. He can't see her face and hopes that she can't hear the things being said about her. He can see a teddy bear poking out of her bag and raises an eyebrow. He reaches past Hunny for the bear. A small growl comes from beneath the pool of dark hair and a hand shoots out to grab his wrist. His eyes go wide at the strong grip and he can feel sharp nails digging into his skin. Her head turns and yellow eyes are narrowed at him in warning.
"Mine."
Hunny leans forward in his seat and looks down in curiosity. He focuses specifically on the grip Kato has on Takashi's wrist before he notices that Takashi was reaching for the bear in the bag.
"That's actually Tamaki-senpai's bear, Kato-chan."
There's an edge in his voice, but there's hardly a reaction from Kato. She looses her grip on Takashi's hand and he brings it back, close to his chest, discretely rubbing the small nail indentations along his skin. She grabs her bag, stuffing the bear farther inside of it, and places it in her lap before laying back on her desk to go back to sleep. Hunny's eyes narrow, but knowing he nor Takashi can do anything at the particular moment, he lets it go. For now.
"I'm surprised you didn't get out of her grip sooner, Takashi," Hunny absently comments, leaning back in his seat with a smile on his face, but his eyes never leave Kato's back.
Takashi frowns, looking down at his wrist with concern, for a moment, he thinks about telling the truth. He didn't get it out of it sooner because he couldn't. His hand was only freed because she choose to let go. He swallows the comment down and merely grunts in response, but can't let go of the small suspicions building in his chest.
Like Kato, Reve spends her morning in class with her head against her desk, breathing quiet and heavy. She hates when she gets too up in her head, in a figurative more human sense, but the image of Kato this morning burns into her mind and across her skin. She closes her eyes and she can still see Kato's tanned skin glistening with water. The water slowly trailing down broad shoulders and a sharp collar bone before falling lower into a more dangerous location. Her yellow eyes looked so wide and innocent, almost helpless. Even the way she spoke, her deeper voice trailing through the air softly. But Kato is hardly helpless. No, Reve breathes, she's an animal. Rough. Loud. Aggressive. Reve can't seem to open her eyes even as her imagination stirs. Her surroundings seem to disappear as she looses herself within a fantasy. Kato picks her up easily, resting her hands on Reve's rear as her legs wrapped around the Katojn's waist. She can feel Kato's nails turn into small, sharp claws that dig into her skin. Kato's lips are a bit chapped and rugged and her canines bite into Reve's lower lip. She breathes out a sigh and forces herself to swallow down the fantasy that turns her cheeks red.
Half-human, half-dream weaver. I think it's time that I act more like the later, this is getting ridiculous. She curses at herself for her lack of control and tries to focus on the teacher droning on in front of a blackboard. Her face turns into a more neutral expression as her skin turns back into its more natural shade. Her knuckles, however, are a few more shades lighter as she grips her pencil tight in her fist. Kato isn't into me in that manner, she reasons, breathing deeply, She hardly even likes me as it is. This is just sexual frustration from my human genetics bringing itself to light. She refuses to think about their 'moment' the previous night and instead, thinks about her family tree. She's half-human. Things like this are bound to happen eventually as she is coming more mature in her human form. It's normal. A lot humans and half-humans deal with this. She just has to suppress it just like she has the others. Reason it out of her system. It's just Kato's strong form. Her sharp jawline. Her broad shoulders that could hold anything – anyone… Her muscular tone that traces across every inch of her body. Her tanned beautiful skin.
She forgets to breathe and when she comes back to reality it's with a large gasp of air loud enough for both Tamaki and Kyoya to look back at her. She's almost sure that Kyoya, however, had been watching for some time judging by the gleam in his eyes. Tamaki, however, is merely looking at her in deep concern; it's the type of concern that, if on the face of someone you've only known for a few days (if that), is usually only there if they suspect something is seriously wrong. She swallows thickly, sits up straight, and holds her head high hoping the flush is gone from her face. She wonders when the teacher moved from the front of the room off to the side and what all the appearingly random words are doing on the board.
"Are you okay, Reve-chan," Tamaki asks in a low-whisper as to not be caught by the teacher. Interesting I didn't think he could be quiet. Reve hardly looks at him, focusing most of her attention on the words on the board, wondering if she can piece that puzzle together. All else fails, she could subject herself to reading through the teacher's mind to get the answers she needed. In the end, graduating and succeeding through this human school is what truly matters.
When it becomes clear that he won't get an answer from her, Tamaki hesitantly turns around, his eyebrows furrowed with concern. He glances toward Kyoya, hoping maybe he would have some sort of answer or perhaps question Reve himself, only to find his best friend's eyes on Reve like she was the most complex puzzle in the world. Tamaki's known him long enough to know that look well. He shakes his head with a sigh.
Reve's pencil snaps when the visions return to her suddenly, a breathless gasp leaving her lips as her mind becomes fuzzy with the fantasies. She stands abruptly, slamming her hand against the desk.
"I need to use the restroom."
She doesn't wait for the teacher's approval before she's out the door, a flush forming across her cheeks. Stupid cat.
She nearly slams the classroom door behind her. Her heels click against the tiled floor as she breaks into a brisk walk toward the women's bathroom down the hall. Strong, toned muscles wrapping around her tightly, holding her close. Sharp canines biting into her neck. She walks faster and bursts through the bathroom's door. Her flush spread across her cheeks and down her chest as she stops short.
"Kato," her voice is void of breath and quiet enough it's barely heard, "What are you doing here?"
For a moment, she believes that her abilities are playing tricks on her. Maybe even causing an illusion or hallucination to help satisfy her fantasies – or perhaps her fantasies are getting bad enough that her powers are manifesting them before her eyes. If that's the case, then she'd rather it be here than in the classroom. Still, she can't quite grasp the scene before her. Kato stands there in front of the bathroom mirrors, her shirt discarded and set on the counter of the sink, wringing out her hair. She forgets to breath when Kato shakes, her hair swirling around her, wet droplets dripping off of toned muscles. She can feel her form faltering and she's thankful the bathroom is empty. Then she notices the bag on the floor by Kato's feet, a familiar teddy bear sticking out of the top. Reality it is then. She's not sure why that's disappointing.
"The teacher told me that I can't sit her classroom soaking wet," Kato growls, giving another shake before reaching for the air-dryer, it shoots a blast of air out that takes her by surprise, jumping back with frantic eyes.
Reve sighs, her 'excitement' wearing thin as she watches Kato repeatedly reach for the automated air-dryer, only to rear back every time it shot air out. The cat reaches out again only for Reve to grab her wrist and hold it as air shots out. Her plan fails miserably when Kato turns with a frightened yowl, digging her claws into Reve's arm before grabbing her shirt, pulling it and running out the door.
Reve looks down at her arm, gushing with a strange mix of purple and red. Pain shoots up her arm. She takes a deep breath before she lets out the longest string of curses that's ever left her lips.
Out of the bathroom, down the hall, two lefts, in the first classroom on the right, Moriko sits in her desk and wishes that the mental link was back has the distinct feeling that somehow, someway, despite it being in the middle of class hours, that Reve and Kato had a falling out of some sorts. She sighs deeply and slouches into her seat. She doesn't know what it will take to get those two to get along. She's beginning to get to a point where she thinks they never will. She's had to have tried everything there is to try at this point, with the exception of therapy knowing that neither would ever agree to it. She wouldn't put a therapist through that type of torture either.
Guess this means I'm stuck as the peace keeper – there are worst things in the world to be, I guess.
