Thank you all for the positive and helpful reviews! Here is chapter 2 Enjoy :)

CHAPTER TWO – Affect
Day 1

Misaki opened the door to the large condo and sighed to himself in disappointment when he looked down at his empty hands. "Agh, I couldn't find a single thing to get him! He had already bought everything he had ever wanted, (obviously since hes rich) and whenever I ask him what he wants for his birthday, he says the exact same thing!"

last night...

"Usagi-san, tomorrows your birthday! Is there anything you would like as a present?"

"Y.O.U." Akihiko said mildly.

"Dammit, anything BUT me?" Misaki asked slightly flustered.

"You in bed."

"Anything that doesn't involve me, you big pervert?!" Misaki yelled, growing more and more annoyed with the smirking rabbit.

"A road trip to a romantic resort?" Akihiko asked.

"Anything that I can afford?" Misaki scoffed.

"I don't know, a cup of tea?"

"Oh come on, Usagi-san! I'm not that poor." Misaki chuckled. "I'm not going to give just a cup of tea for your birthday." Misaki said while giggling. He walked to the couch across from Akihiko and sat down. "How about I just surprise you with something?"

"hmm, but what if the surprise doesn't surprise me?" Akihiko said, while smiling smugly.

"Shut up! I'm going to make a surprise thats going to surprise you more than anyone who have ever been surprised before! Your eyebrows are going to fly off your head and break through the roof because you're... b.. be-because you're going to be in so much shock!"

"I can't tell if thats a good thing, or-"

"No, its a great thing! Everyones going to love the surprise, its going to be the best thing that ever happens to everyone, especially you! Everyone is going to love it, its going to be awesome." When Misaki finished bragging about his supposedly 'awesome' surprise that even he didn't know what was, Akihiko smirked and his eyes where half-lidded in a perverted manner.

"Ok, Misaki. I await your surprise and anticipate whatever you got for me." Akihiko then got up from his couch and leaned closer to Misaki on the other side, causing him to gulp and back up into the seat. "but..." His lips getting dangerously close to his right ear. "If your surprise fails to meet my expectations, I'll have no choice but to 'punish' you for false advertising." He said into his ear seductively. Misaki shuddered as Akihiko lightly bit down onto the shell of his ear. His cheeks where burning hot and his heart was beating against his chest. 'Crap, not even I know what the surprise is! I can't lose, not like this at least!' Misaki lightly pushes Akihiko back and nervously laughed.

"Hehe, false advertising is not a punishable c-crime, Usagi-san.." Misaki said while trying to act normal and composed again.

"You're right." He said while still smiling, and got off of Misaki. He went over to the other side of the couch where he was originally sitting and picked his book back up. "I can't wait for that 'big super-awesome surprise that everyones going to love'!" Akihiko teased.

"Shut up, Usagi-san!"

present day

'Shit, Usagi-san said the meeting would last about an hour or two, but knowing him he'd probably sneak back home 40 minutes early. How the hell am I going to escape getting punished and find a mind blowing gift in less than an hour?!' Misaki panicked around the house and roamed everywhere like he lost his wallet. He looked in every crack and crevice for at least a clue on what to give him before he gets back.

So far, no luck. Misaki was about to collapse onto the floor and just mope until he came back, until something bizarre happened.

Misaki started to feel a light yet irritating twinge of pain in his stomach. He rubbed his stomach lightly with his left hand and felt the pain rise to his chest, a wave of nausea soon following. 'Thats weird, I don't remember eating anything fatty or sugary yesterday and yet my stomach hurts. Maybe it was from all that walking.' It was silly to think that getting exercise was hindering his health, but he hasn't went for a walk in a while, so he thought that it was just his bodies way of getting used to it. He got himself a cup of water, went to the couch and laid down, trying his best to sooth the throbbing pain.

He reached for the TV remote but then stopped halfway. 'What am I doing?! I promised a surprise, a great surprise at that- well, I didn't really promise one, I was just bullshitting about the surprise, but I got to at least get him something mediocre.' Misaki tried to get up but only fell back down onto the couch when he was hit by another wave of pain.

"Ow fuck! I can't have a stomach ache now, I haven't even blown up a single balloon, or got a cake, or ANYTHING birthday related! Usagi-sans going to come back home with nothing but a sick person on the couch for his birthday. I have to give someth-"

CLINK

Misaki jumped as he heard the clinking of keys and the door knob twisting. 'Oh no, not now...'

The door flew opened and out pops a young lady with long brown hair. 'Oh thank god, its just Aika-' a familiar silver haired man followed.

"NO!"

"What the hell?! Misaki, whats wrong?" Akihiko asked, a little startled by Misaki's sudden shouting.

"Oh ahh, nothing important! Just something that happened on TV."

"But.. but the TV isn't on." Aikawa commented.

"Oh yeah..." Misaki muttered quietly.

"Anyway, I'm sorry if we came back a little unexpectedly. We where supposed to stay at the meeting for another 30 minutes." Aikawa hissed while glaring at Akihiko. "But he just had to get out of there as if he was standing in lava."

"I had no reason to be there. All I did was sit still in a chair, fake smile and respond to rhetorical questions once in a while." Akihiko said in an agitated manner. "Whats the point of even being there if I'm going to serve no purpose or add anything to the meeting?" Aikawa was going to retort to what he said, but she decided to just let it go. Akihiko took off his jacket and went to the living room where Misaki was lying while Aikawa went to the kitchen table to put her bags down.

"Usagi-san, let me explain! I-I... I I was going to get the surprise for you, but the stuff I needed for it was at a store, and that store was closed and I had no other choice but to think of something to make from scratch, but then my stomach started hurting and I didn't know what to-"

"Shh shh, relax Misaki. I'm not going to get mad at you because you didn't turn the house into a amusement park." He said with a gentle smile. Akihiko leaned over him and lightly kissed Misaki on the forehead. "Still, I'm a little disappointment that you hyped up a surprise that I never got to see. Its almost like you... false advertised." Akihiko said seductively. Misaki's eyes met Akihiko's mischievous stare and shivered nervously.

"Usagi-san, you know I was just making all that stuff up back there, right? I am going to get you your surprise, right after I get something that isn't as great as the surprise for you." Misaki said while trying to get back off the couch.

"Its ok Misaki, you don't have to buy me anything. My fans already sent me a junk pile of stuff I don't have enough time to go through. How about we just relax at home?" Akihiko suggested, sitting back on one of the couches. 'Dammit, hes suggesting exactly what I didn't want to do!' Misaki sighed and slightly got up from the couch, hoping that he'll be able to enter the kitchen without another wave of pain crashing onto him.

"I'm sorry, I really wanted to do something special for your birthday, but I just failed. Don't worry though, I'll find a way to make this up!" Misaki said determinedly. He continued to walk to the kitchen, but as soon as he got to the kitchen counter his stomach started to hurt again. The burning and throbbing feeling never left, it just stayed and only got worse by every second. Misaki grabbed the edge of the counter for support while his other hand held his aching stomach.

"Ugh..." He groaned quietly under his breath, hoping that Akihiko didn't here his voice. Unfortunately for him, luck was not on his side.

"Are you ok? You look kinda sick." Akihiko asked, his voice laced with concern. Misaki turned his head and gently smiled at Akihiko.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. My stomach is just aching a little bit, nothing too serious." Misaki said calmly, but even he began to feel a little concerned for himself when he started feeling nauseas again.

"Maybe you should get some rest, a good nights rest is the best cure for any illness." Aikawa added.

"Yeah, you should really get some re- wait a minute, why are you still here?" Akihiko questioned while glaring at Aikawa. She placed her hands on her hips and scoffed at Akihiko's remark.

"Did you really think I would forget my favorite authors special day? I have to give you a present for your birthday!" She said cheerful, but Akihiko just stared at her blankly.

"You shouldn't have." He said in monotone. Akihiko turned back to Misaki and gave him a reassuring grin. "I'll be fine Misaki. Just get some rest, and we can do something when you're feeling better." Misaki wanted to refuse and stay down there so he could try to contribute something to Akihiko's birthday, but instead he just nodded and went upstairs, feeling utterly useless by every step. 'Wow, some boyfriend I am. I can't believe I'm going to sleep through his birthday.. but I couldn't exactly blame myself for this spontaneous stomach cramp.' Misaki made it all the way upstairs, turned to Akihiko's (or their) room and went inside, closing the door behind himself.

Without taking off any of his clothe, including his jacket, he jumped over the toy train-tracks and plopped onto the bed. He then rolled himself into a bundle of sheets like a butterfly cocoon and tried his hardest to ignore the never ending pain that made it impossible to feel comfortable.

"Agh! What did I even do to get this crap?!" Misaki groaned under his breath. He retraced his steps from three days ago till now, yet nothing seemed to be capable of causing intense stomach pains.

Until he remembered the cat.

His eyes shot open in fear, he quickly yanked his hand out of the tight bundle of sheets to stare at the palm the cat bit. It was slightly pinkish, yet it didn't look infected, but Misaki did not feel like taking a chance. He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He almost dropped it because his hands became slippery with sweat. He couldn't help it, he was too scared of what he could possible have. After tentatively entering his password and going to the internet, he typed in: Rabies Symptoms.

His fears where met. Nausea and stomach pains are one of the symptoms, but the list of other symptoms went on and on. He didn't have any muscle spasms, he didn't feel dizzy, and he definitely wasn't feeling like he was going crazy. Plus, it takes days to weeks for rabies symptoms to show, while Misaki was bit by the cat only a couple hours ago. It was probably just an ordinary stomach cramp. Wiping the sweat off his face, he sighed in relief now knowing that he didn't have a deadly disease. Misaki laid back down onto the soft bed that smelled of cigarette smoke and smiled to himself, feeling slightly more at ease. He slowly closed his eyes and let the familiar smell carry him off to dream land...

It was dark, cold, and strangely eerie when he woke up in a black box, with nothing but a puddle on the metal ground to drink. The only light in the whole dark area was a crack in the ceiling that brightened up only a small part of the ground with starlight. He looked around the whole room, but could only see what he thinks where jail cells or cages lined up against the walls evenly. He wanted to push open the metal bars in front of him so badly, yet he feared what could be on the outside of the barriers, so he stayed put and just observed the area around him.

"Hello?" He thought he said, but he couldn't hear his own voice. He couldn't hear his footsteps, his voice, not even his own breathing. All he could here was the soft yet unsettling hums of machinery far away in the distance and other unknown noises. He yelled for help, but no noise came out.

"Keep trying all you want, they will never hear us." He jumped at the sudden sound and turned to look at the cage across from him. He couldn't see \who was behind the bars, all he could decipher was a tall black figure. He took a deep breath and without warning, he lunged at the bars and body slammed into them, violently crashing his weight onto metal. Shockingly, it worked! He broke free from his prison, but as soon as he got up the ceiling lights turned on, but the cages didn't illuminate, making it impossible to see who was behind them. When his eyes finally adjusted to the blinding lights that looked like something out of a public school, He looked down at himself but didn't see anything, he must have been invisible.

"I'd kill to be as naive and risky as you, but sadly I am cursed with knowing whats going on out in the hard grounds."

"What do you mean? Whats going on out there?" He asked.

"Something that doesn't matter anymore. We're already trapped."

"If we join together, we might be able to escape." He suggests.

"Against them? No chance. We had no chance when we where free and we have no chance now that we're trapped."

"We? How many of you guys where trapped by 'them'?" He asked.

"Not 'you guys', us, you included. We had no chance, the only way we could have stayed alive is by torturing our psyche until we lose our lives... or just give up our lives." He had no idea what the black figure was going on about, but it sounded scary. The strangers deep voice that sounded like he had throat cancer didn't make it any better. He began to regret breaking free from that cage now knowing that something was not right out there.

"How are we to survive then?" He asked, hoping that there was a way around this nightmare.

"..."

"..."

"Heavens first step..."

BANG!

Misaki jumped at the sudden sound that awakened him from his bizarre dream. He looked around the room to see it completely shrouded in darkness. He moved his leg but stopped when he brushed against a much larger leg and looked down to see Akihiko sleeping next to him. 'Oh good, its just you... Wait a minute, what time is it!?' Misaki looked down at the clock to see it reads 11:59 P.M.

"HOLY CRAP! I slept the entire day!? I missed his whole birthday!?" Misaki whisper shouted while grabbing chunks of his own hair in frustration and anger towards himself. "Agh! How could I have been so fucking sleepy!? Now how am I going to make this u-"

BANG!

Misaki flinched again at the sudden noise and turned to the window to see an unexpected visitor clawing at his window.

"What the? You're that stray cat I fed earlier!"

"Gromm hmm.." Akihiko grumbled in his sleep in response to Misaki's voice. 'Crap, I gotta keep it down.' Misaki thought as he got up and walked towards the wind to see the cat on the other side.

"How did you even know I lived here?" The cat simple twitched its ear and licked its paw. Misaki slowly opened the window and reached his hand out to pet the starving cat, but when he looked down from where the cat was standing, his eyes flew wide in shock. "HOW WHERE YOU EVEN ABLE TO CLIMB UP HERE!?"

"Agh, mm.." Akihiko grumbled again. Misaki slowly opened the window wider so that the cat can come in. Hesitantly, the cat stepped into the condo and stood tall in front of Misaki.

"Sheesh, you're still no skinnier than a stick." Misaki commented as he picked up the super light cat and placed it onto the floor. The cat rubbed against Misaki's leg and meowed in a very weak, yet high pitched voice. "Aww, did you come here to see me, or get some more free hand outs?" Misaki chuckled, while petting the cats fluffy blue-ish grey fur. Misaki walked to the door, looking behind himself once in a while to make sure the cat was still following him, and went down stairs.

After making himself a sandwich and a large bowl of sandwich meat for the cat, he went into the living room and sat down onto the couch and looked out the window. It was a beautiful night, the sky was a lovely shade of dark blue that was illuminated by the sparkling stars and city lights. The sight really reminded Misaki of smooth city jazz or a relaxing night out with a loved one, or sitting on a couch eating a sandwich with a cat.

It was one of those days where the mood was just perfect.

When the cat finished eating every last scrap of meat in his bowl, it jumped up onto the couch with Misaki and laid down on his lap purring.

"Aww, cat. You're really cute, but you know I can't keep you. We don't have any litter boxes around here, and I'm not the one paying for it if you piss on the expensive carpet. So you're going to have to go back outside buddy." Misaki picked up the cat and put it onto the floor, but as soon as he got up to open the front door, the cat ran in front of him to stop him in his tracks. "I can't keep you! You're going to have to go back outside." Misaki picked up the cat and opened the door, but the cat began to struggle and flail its arms all over the place.

"WRAOW!" The cat meowed loudly.

"Dammit, you are going outside wither you like it or not!" Misaki pulled the door open and puts the cat down, but it turned around and immediately runs back into the house. "AGH! Get out of here cat!" The cat looked up at him and shaked his head left in right as if it was saying 'no', which shocked Misaki. "Holy crap, you shook your head! You must know some basic sign language?.. hmm... if you know that, than maybe you should know where to use the restroom on something that isn't a carpet?" Misaki scratched his chin, wandering if it might work, but after a couple seconds of thinking, he picks up the cat and brings it to the bathroom to show it what to do. "Alright cat, you see that bowl thing over there? Thats the toilet or in other words, the opposite of sand in a box. You take loads in there. All you have to do is open the lid. Watch!" Misaki showed a demonstration by opening the lid. "Just open it with your claws, shit, close it with your claws, and then press that little silver trigger. Got it?" The cat looks him in the eyes and shakes his head left and right as if saying 'no' again, which annoyed Misaki.

"Is that the only sign language you know, or are you literately stumped?" Misaki questioned, the cat just shook its head again. "Ok, whatever. I'll just leave the upstairs window open, so if you have to go, get out of here and do it!" Misaki was about to go back upstairs until the waves of pain came back. "Oh no, not this again..."

The cat whipped its head to face Misaki, who was once again holding his stomach in pain. The cat ran over to him and lightly rubbed its paw on Misaki's pants leg. He looked down at the cat and softly sighed. "This is so annoying, ever since yesterday morning, I started to get these shots of pain in my stomach, and it went on all the way till I fell asleep, and now it came back." Misaki explained to the cat. Since the animal couldn't talk back or get troubled by anything Misaki says, he felt a lot more comfortable complaining to the cat than he did to people. It helped calm him down, but he still couldn't ignore the throbbing pain.

The cat noticed this and took action, it ran all the way upstairs and jumped out the window. Misaki was shocked, and a little hurt by the cats actions, it made him feel like the cat was so uncomfortable with being there with a sick person that it had to evacuate as quickly as possible, so it jumped out the window. 'Ahh, whatever. At least the cat is gone..' Misaki thought as he went back upstairs to close the window.

When he made it into his bedroom to close it, he heard a clawing sound from outside. He looked down from the window to see the cat climbing back up the building with some green packet in his mouth. Out of curiosity, he reached out and pulled the cat into the condo.

"What is that in your mouth?" The cat didn't answer but instead it brushed the packet against his hands as if he wanted him to hold it. Misaki takes the packet from the cats mouth and read the label.

"34.25346 BR 7 … Is this some kind of illegal drug or a deadly chemical?" Misaki whisper shouts, trying not to wake up Akihiko. The cat responds by shaking his head left and right again. "I still cant tell if you mean it, or if thats the only thing you know how to do." Misaki said, not knowing if he should trust the cat, or just forget about it and look for some medicine in the stores. Misaki stares at the condom sized packet and wandered to himself if he should open it or not. He looked back at the cat, and it was given him a reassuring look. The look made him smile back at the cat and eventually he opened the small packet, shocked to see only two small light-green leafs fall onto the floor. "What the? There just leafs. I thought there would be some kind of powder in here." He picked up the leafs and with one more nervous glance at the skinny cat, he swallowed both the leafs in one gulp.