Disclaimer: No Own I

It's been two days since he talked with Run and Kyouko, and in that time he's had plenty of time to plan and think some more. He wants to make everyone happy, really he does, and he knows Lala believes that, if he were to have a polygamous marriage, he could make everyone happy. Nemesis basically gave him a taste of his own medicine with role reversal, but proceeded to do a heel-face turn when Rito himself had decided he had enough. Now Nana tells him Lala is being forced to be in a stable relationship, aka marriage, by the beginning of summer, or Rito and the Earth are doomed. And yet, for some reason before this even happened, Rito was already being told by Saruyama, his idiot, perverted friend, that maybe the Harem Plan just wasn't going to work out because of Rito's morals.

He loved Haruna Sairenji, and it cut him deep when Run revealed that she had left him behind by her own accord. It sounded like there was more to it then what Run had stated, a little too eagerly he might add, that made Rito doubt Haruna had just given up on him. He really needed to settle things with her personally, he couldn't just accept word of mouth six months after the fact. But he would save that for last, when his heart could make its decision without the pressure he was feeling. Now, now he had to focus on the one thing he promised he could do. That was why Yui Kotegawa, Sainan High's resident Moral Committee Chairman, was dressed in a nice sweater and skirt, with a light scarf and jacket to chase away the chill. It was also why Rito was dressed up somewhat decently, thanks to Mikan's advice and Peke's craft, and sitting at a Cafe with a steaming cup of tea in his hands, and an empty seat between them.

"So, Yuuki Rito, who did you say would be joining us?" She asks, as Rito nervously slurps his beverage and sputters. Cough and pounding his chest to clear his throat, he looks at her incredulously.

"You mean, you don't know?" He asks in response, "I thought you were invited by him?" She looks at him quizzically, before sipping calmly at her black tea. He merely palms his face as he waits for the inevitable reveal. He really hopes she would listen to him too, even after Saruyama pulled this stunt.

"Oh, hey guys!" said idiot monkey states, appearing in a light jacket, with some tickets in his hand, "Sorry, I hope you didn't have to wait long, I had to buy tickets for a latter showing since the earliest were all sold out." Yui turns to Saruyama, vein bulging in annoyance at being near the perverted schoolmate of hers. "Yui, glad to see you could make it, Yuu didn't know if you were going to be able to join us," he says happily, "I guess you must have changed your mind, once you knew Rito was tagging along." The words were harmless at first glance, but Rito could feel the daggers already being lined up. He hadn't really expected Saruyama to get tickets to a movie when he said he wanted to get him away from the others for some mysterious reason, but know he saw he was being played as the intermediary.

"Actually, Saruyama, I was interested in the movie I was told you were going to be seeing," Yui rebuffs, "Gothic Neko-Girl(S) sounds like a silly mangaka's fever dream, but I read the light novels and thought that if the movies adaptation is even sub par, it will still have a rich and complex plot to draw from, and even rock!" Yui realizes she had begun to ramble, and looks embarrassingly at Rito and a gaping Saruyama.

"You read the light novels, all six?" Saruyama states, "What about the omake featuring the one off character Fleur-de-Neko?" Yui looks straight at him, her face unreadable.

"I think- honestly Fleur seemed to dainty and more like a princess, than a Gothic Neko Girl," she states, "Maybe if they ever did a spin-off series, she could be the hero of a whole new setting, but as is she just seems so forced and out of character for a gothic-hero setting." Saruyama nods sagely, as Rito sips the last of his tea and checks his watch for the time.

"Well, look at that, it's almost time for the movie to start," he states, "Why not just continue this discussion afterwards?"

Later, after the Movie

"Fleur-de-Neko, revealed to be the amnesiac Princess Amaretti de Fleur, true weirder of the Neko-Magi?" Saruyama states, "Isn't that just a little cliche?" Rito nods, just happy to get out of that cramped theater. It would have been fine, if Saruyama hadn't insisted he sit on the inside of the isle, so that Yui could be between the two of them. Of course the seats were cramped almost resulting in elbow in each other's guts, but somehow they made it work, Rito just crossing his arms and leaning into the wall. It was starting to pay off though, as Rito had noticed at some point Saruyama had absentmindedly put his arm around Yui as he stretched, and Yui in turn snuggled into his embrace without second thought. He was surprised that she would do that, but their interest in the movie seemed to have been enough to cause a cease fire between the two who always seemed to be at odds, at least when Rito himself wasn't in Yui's sights.

"Please, not as cliche as Tuxedo Tortoiseshell, who was really her best male friend?" Yui responds, laughing, "Isn't that just so cliche, it's an overplayed trope magical girl anime and manga have been using for decades; there just isn't any realism in it." She turns back to Saruyama and Rito, as they walk out of the theater. "How do you not know your best friend is also the vigilante whose openly in love with your civilian self?" She states, "If they had cut him out, it would have cut out a lot of needless exposition and the sub plot regarding Fleur's romantic rivalry with Rosary Neko!" Saruyama stops and looks offended.

"But Kokegawa, if there wasn't that sub plot, Rosary wouldn't have really gotten over Tortoiseshell's civilian and superhero identities, and gotten together with Alley Cat," Saruyama states, passionately, "He was originally just a secondary character, but he really shined through in the movie!" Yui scoffs as she faces Saruyama.

"Please Saruyama, Alley Cat was just an extra in the first two light novels it wasn't until the fourth book that people actually liked him, when he was revealed to be the American transfer student who was Tuxedo's childhood best friend," Yui states, putting her arms to her side and staring the spikes haired pervert down, "If Alley Cat and Tortoiseshell up and disappeared, they could fit in more plot then just retrieving the Macguffin, and saving Neko World!" Saruyama puts his hand to his forehead with a smirk on his face.

"True, but then when Tortoiseshell sacrificed himself to keep Dogma from discovering and destroying the crystal heart to the Mirror of Reality," Saruyama replies, "He showed he had true heart, and it opened Fleur's eyes to the fact he really did love both sides of her." Yui looks at him oddly and sighs.

"Sure, and Dogma was the most transparent villain with the least relateable back story ever," Yui replies, "Come on Rito, I want to go to the park, without Saruyama." Yui grabs Rito, who was staying silent as his friends argued, and begins dragging him by the arm. "I'm sure you can appreciate how ridiculous this argument is," she states, "And how my viewpoint is obviously better than Saruyama's!" Rito stops for a moment, to look back at his other friend, who looks obviously hurt at Yui's insults. Rito tries to say something, but the distance between them had only grown, and Saruyama turns away hurt. He looks back at Yui, sees how frustrated she looks, and wisely chooses to stay silent and wait for the opportunity to help her calm down.

Finally they reach a fountain in the nearby park, and Yui stops angrily pulling Rito's arm out of its socket. Rubbing his shoulder gingerly, Rito huffs out of breath after walking into the long park. Taking the brief reprieve, he sits at the nearest bench, as he lets Yui fume away at Saruyama, happy for once she wasn't angry at him. Yui seems to be muttering to herself, as she walks in circles in front of the fountain, much to Rito's amusement at seeing her so concerned. "Are you okay, Yui?" He asks, "I've never heard you talk so passionately about a show like this before..." She whirls on him and she looks both embarrassed and angry at him at the same time.

"S-shut up Yuuki," she says stuttering, "Y-you just don't know my t-taste, is all... neither does Saruyama." She huffs and crosses her arms, her confidence obviously returning to her as she faces Rito. "Saruyama should be grateful I joined you both," she says while blushing just a bit, "That i-idiot had the gall to put his arm around me during the movie too!" She looks away from Rito and huffs.

"Yui... I have to- you know what, why don't I go get us some food," Rito says upon hearing Yui's stomach, and his own rumble, "I think there's a stand in front of the park, I'll go grab something and see what Saruyama's doing..." Making no response to his offer, Rito sighs as he leaves his friend standing against a tree, lost in thought. He wasn't going to be gone long, anyways, and he knew where she was, so she was safe as long as she stayed on this side of the row of trees and bushes that split the center of the park. The massive tree at the center of the park was a landmark he could remember, after all.

Saruyama, on the other hand, was leaving the food stand with the takoyaki he had just purchased from it. The steaming, hot octopus balls were appetizing to the hungry idiot, whose mouth was drooling at the prospect of eating the yummy treat. Theater snack foods were both entirely too expensive, and not filling enough ti enjoy after leaving the bustling movie theater. He could also forget about Yui's remarks regarding the two male protagonists of the movie, and enjoy the food with little worry. Walking down the opposite path to the one Rito was walking up, divided by a thin layer of trees and bushes, he walked until he was about the middle of the park, and under a fairly shaded, large tree that stood in the center of the park.

Suddenly, Saruyama heard mewling, a pitiful sound that was almost to soft too hear. Looking up from his food, his empty stomachs betrayed by his ears, he hears the sound again. Looking around the area for any sound of the source, he finds his attention drawn to the tree at the center of the hedges. Looking up, he sees a brown and white cat, seemingly stuck up on the tree branch. It appeared to be still fairly young, and Saruyama thought it looked hungry. The smell of his food was probably what caused the cat to start crying out.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tree, Yui had heard the cat's wailing as well. Softening her heart at the pitiful wailing she heard coming from the cat, she immediately started to look for it. It wasn't until it wailed that second time that she realized it was coming from the fairly good sized tree at the center of the park. Unable to see the cat from her vantage point, she decided to go through the fairly thick hedges that divided the center of the park.

Saruyama, on the other hand, was finding a spot to set his food down to be able to pick it up later, and takes of his jacket to get some mobility. Getting his sleeves rolled up, and his body ready, he finds a knot in the wood he can use to push himself up into the trees. Finding a split branch close to the trunk, he quickly hauls himself into the branches, and finds a comfortable position he can stay in to entice the cat out of the tree. Thinking back to his own experience of dealing with the alien/cat assassin, he tried to look as appetizing as a piece of fish to get the cat down. As he was doing this,Yui manages to break through the hedge just in time, as Saruyama finds a stable foothold to move further up into the tree.

"Here kitty, kitty," Saruyama states, much to the surprise of Yui, who recognizes his voice, "Come here, and I'll get you some nice fish to eat... maybe a bite of my octopus if you're really hungry." Smiling a bit, she softly chuckles into her hand, as she sees Saruyama gently reach out to try and get the cat into his reach. The cat, more than likely still a kitten or a year old at most from what Yui sees, hisses and swipes at Saruyama. Saruyama, undeterred tries to go forward just a bit more to reach the frightened animal. The cat seems to recognize Saruyama's intentions, and doesn't swipe at him again, but he rumbles an annoyed meow. Reaching out just a little bit further, he watches as the cat turns to a sound and looks down, before turning back to Saruyama and pouncing. The cat jumps straight on to Saruyama's face, to his pained surprise, only to use it as a step and slowly crawl down his legs to the point where Saruyama pulled himself into the tree.

Unfortunately the cat had raked its claws down Saruyama's back as he went, causing him to hiss out in pain and fall out of the tree in the process. Thankfully the ground is soft enough that Saruyama isn't hurt, but when he opens his eyes, he sees three people and three cats staring back down at him. Shaking his head clear, Saruyama finds the ringing in his ears has stopped, and the chiming laugh of Yui Kotegawa instead, as she holds the cat in her arms. The beast seemed to love her, purring in her arms as Saruyama reoriented himself on the hard ground.

"What are you laughing at Kotegawa?" Saruyama replies, "I just got scratched by a cat I was trying to save, and he likes you more than me!" Yui takes this in, and knowing she is going to regret it later, decides to check their severity. Yui then notices his shirt was not only cut, but slightly bleeding as well, causing her to help Saruyama up turn him around. Inspecting the damage she sighs, before going over to where Saruyama had discarded his shirt and jacket.

"You'll want to put this on," she says tossing his jacket to him, "You don't want to bleed out while we're going to my house." Saruyama does a double take as he realizes she's serious about this. Following her as she starts walking, he watches as she absent mindedly strokes the cat.

"Are you sure you want me knowing where you live? I'm like a stray, once you patch me up I might come back again!" he jokes casually, "Except I'll take pleasure in kisses and belly rubs if you offer them to me; unlike that cat." The cat turns his head towards Saruyama and hisses, before Yui scratches his head again, and the purring begins anew.

"You just fell out of a tree after getting scratched by a cat you were trying to rescue, so I'll let that slide," she states calmly, "Besides, you'll behave if you want your wounds cleaned; we wouldn't want our brave hero to get cat scratch fever, now would we?" Meowing in agreement, the young cat snuggles deeper into Yui's arms. Saruyama just can't believe the girl who would blow up on a any boy in school, could keep her cool like that. Maybe he could downplay his over the top humor- just a little bit.

Back at the park, as the two leave for Yui's house, Rito arrives back at the spot he left her. "Yui, I couldn't find Saruyama-" he states, looking down at the tray of food he is trying to balance in his hands, "I didn't know what you might like, so I got a platter- Yui?" He knew he had left her here, now where did she go?

Yui's House

Saruyama had stripped his shirt from his waist at Yui's request, as she put the cat into a kennel, where it was now sleeping soundly. Dragging him to the bathroom, before disappearing, Saruyama took a good look at himself in the mirror. The scratches weren't deep, sure, but they weren't pretty. Just being exposed to the air, they stung and looked crusty with dried blood. His face didn't look too much better under his left eye, where one of it's back paws dug in, nor on his forehead where it had first landed and continued to spring off of him like a diving board, as he went for Yui. It had to be a male cat, because Saruyama could just sense that air of superiority being focused towards him by the smug cat, as it lay snuggled in between her bouncy breasts. Shaking his head a little bit, his face red, Saruyama sees Yui walk back into the bathroom with a clean shirt.

'I grabbed one of my Brother's spare shirts he keeps around the house for the days he sleeps here," Yui states, setting it aside and grabbing a first aid kit from beneath the sink, "He occasionally spends the nights he isn't in college here, and splits his time between Sainana and Shukufuku, where his girlfriend currently is living..." Yui grabs some gauze and rubbing alcohol and motions for Saruyama to sit, where she could see all the scratches. "Don't worry, he won't miss one shirt either," she states, "Ever since his girlfriend came back from her trip overseas with a broken leg, he's been spending more and more time with her, since her parents can't be there all that much with work."

"He's a bit love sick?" Saruyama guesses from her tone, "He must love that girl, if he travels three hours to and from Sainana to Shukufuku; it isn't the closest city by far." He flinches as she begins to dab at one of the deeper cuts, the stinging pain letting him know that it was working.

"True, I wouldn't be surprised if the sap proposes to her once she's all healed, and he musters up the courage," she says, between dabbing at the cat scratches, "They already treat him as part of the family, it seems like, from what he tells me when he's here for college classes or tests; he's always been a bit of a romantic, and he wants to do it right." Saruyma laughs over the pain, hissing with a sharp intake of breath, between her swabbing. "I'll tell you what, over a year ago I thought that girl had just been leading him by a string for months, she always put him off," she says, as she finishes off dabbing at the last scratch, "He didn't mind, at first, but after she went off and came back hurt, he actually got around to her, it seems; she really is in love with him now, I can see it in the pictures he shows me of the things they've been doing together." He nods, as she finishes up, now grabbing some bandages to cover them up and keep them sterile.

"Sounds like he's a nice guy, I hope your big bro gets the girl of his dreams," Saruyama states with a smile, as Yui wraps the bandage around him, "Wish I could be that lucky to get to know the girls of my dreams." Yui grabs the gauze and alcohol again, this time dealing with the scratches on his face.

"You have hope yet, Saruyama, if you clean up your act," she states,smiling slightly as she takes pleasure in seeing him squirm, "You might be a pervert, but your one of the nicest boys behind Rito; you'd probably be able to snag any girl you wanted if you stopped acting so haughty and running your mouth." Saruyama's mouth dries as she gets the cut under his eye, his heart thumping just a bit faster than he was comfortable with. Yui notices he has gone silent, as she finishes up the last scrape.

"Cat got your tongue, monkey boy?" she asks, half joking, "I've never seen you miss an opportunity to flirt with a girl right in front of your face..." Biting her tongue as she realizes what she just said, she blushes heavily and pulls back from his face, rummaging through the bandages as a distraction. Saruyama is just as red, as she pulls out a flexible bandage that she puts under his eye. He swallows, knowing he might possibly regret this next bit of playful banter, knowing know how much she loved cats.

"Oh- no, I was just wondering how cute you might look in cat ears," he says slyly as he can putting his hands to her hair and pulling them up in mock cat ears, "You'd look pretty- well, pretty, Yui-Neko..." Yui's expression is unreadable, but her face is flush red, and Saruyama realizes he might have just taken it a step to far in his joke. He didn't even feel the sting of the slap to his face, as it was light compared to the sting of the cat scratches.

"Get out," she says coldly, pulling away and going for the clean T-shirt she had set aside, and shoving it in his hands, roughly, "Just get dressed and get out; I'll lock the doors behind you once you leave." Saruyama nods, realizing she had a right to be pissed off at him, as he looks away ashamed. He doesn't even see her leave and go to her room, but he hears the door slam. Saruyama decided to quickly leave the house, but not before he stopped in front of the closed door that was Yui's.

"Sorry Kotegawa, I didn't mean to upset you," he states, "I'll find a way to make it up to you though, for your kindness in patching me up; I promise." Leaving the empty apartment behind him, to the pitiful mewls of the damned cat that had led him there, Saruyama cursed his luck that Yui Kotegawa's heart was still taken. He still had daylight, though, and he knew just the apology gift to get her.

The Next Day

While school morning slipped quickly and quietly by, surprisingly there was no incidents regarding Rito's perversions or any shameless activity to report. Then again, no one had actually seen Yui Kotegawa either, so it was a strange day for Sainan High. When lunch came, and Saruyama parted ways with Rito from his locker, he found his hands absently reaching for the small gift tucked within his bag. He would find Yui Kotegawa if it killed him, and it seemed the world was on his side, as he rounded the corner to find her at her locker. "Kotegawa!" he states, to her ignorance, "Yui!" Turning, the schools head moral officer looks towards the delinquent with little interest.

"What do you want, Saruyama?" she asks, her tone suggesting indifference, "I don't have much time, and I need to retrieve my lunch..." Bowing, Saruyama tries his best to speak to the ice cold morals officer.

"I promised you a gift," he says offering the box from his bag, wrapped in paw-print wrapping paper, "And I intend to deliver to my savior." Hesitantly, Yu eyes the strange purple and black wrapping paper, before taking it from his hands. "I hope you like," he says, standing up properly, "I saw you looking at them when we passed a store and..." She opens the box as he trails off, and sitting within a nest of wrapping paper, lay a headband she had eyed when they passed a manga shop display.

"Shameless," she says, grabbing the simple, black head band and looking at its unique additions, "Absolutely shameless, for you to bring such an inappropriate item to school with you, intentions or not." A she says this, Saruyama's head begins to droop a bit. "But, I happen to like the design," she continues, "Thanks for thinking of me Kenichi." She leans over and pecks Saruyama lightly on the cheek. All Saruyama hears is the 'Thank You' and the fireworks going off in his head. He didn't even see Yui pull away from him in his dazed condition, after placing the headband back into its box and into her bag. He really thought she would like it, because there was one thing he thinks he could agree with her about them.

She would look really great in those cat ears he bought.

Later

"Were you okay going home yesterday, Kotegawa?" Rito asks as he escorts the morals officer home, "I know you were mad at Saruyama yesterday, but I didn't think you'd off and disappear like that on me." Yui nods as she absently strikes her hand against the present in her bag.

"Sorry for worrying you Rito," Yui responds, "But, actually, Kenichi and I came to an understanding yesterday; even if neither of us recognized it at the time..." She smiles as she looks to Rito. "I think it'll be okay though, we both need to take it slow this time," she states, "Now, what did you want to talk to me about?" Rito looks alarmed for a moment, before stopping and making sure they were alone.

"O-okay, so don't laugh, and hear me out before you go spouting off at me.." Rito states to the Kotegagwa girl, "Due to my unique situation regarding Lala, as her potential marriage candidate, and Fiance, I Rito Yuuki, must inform you, Yui Kotegawa, as a potential romantic interest that I share no romantic feelings in you beyond mere friendship." Yui merely widens her eyes, but says nothing as Rito continues. "As Lala Satalin Deviluke is heiress to an Empire, I must confront all of my potential love interests, and ask that you reject any feelings toward me romantically, or prepare to become a contender in a battle against Lala, resulting in banishment or death," Rito states seriously, which Yui realizes, "I beg of you to reject any undo feelings towards me, and provide testimony towards this at the behest of King Gid; will you do so, Yui Kotegawa?" Yui doesn't know what to say, to stunned to speak at first, before her hands brush the bag at her side. Suddenly her eyes go wide as she feels something, at the touch of the box.

"Thank you, for telling me all of this," she says with a calm smile, "I do, truly reject any feelings towards you, and will provide testimony if so asked." Rito looks gob smacked at this,thinking even insinuating anything would have caused her to blow a fuse. She smiles and hugs Rito. "Thank you, Yuuki Rito, for the wonderful memories of a first love," she states sincerely, "But I think I've learned a valuable lesson today; not all boys fit to my standards, but they can show amazing acts of kindness, beyond my beliefs." Turning away from Rito, wiping a small tear from her eye and thinking about her future, Yui Kotegawa continues on her way home, alone. The thoughts of a perverted monkey-boy on the other hand, warm her heart as she goes.