I can't believe how long it's taken for me to get back to this! DX

I'm sooooo sorry!

Thanks to those who kept waiting and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 10: Peck on the Cheek

As the three were flying to the First Ship, Uro's messenger bird flew up next to Yuki. The cat-girl paled and tried to shoo it off without alerting Tsukitachi. Thankfully, the bird understood and flew down to the forest where it waited till Yuki called.

Yuki sighed quietly with relief. That was waaay to close for comfort, she thought tiredly, I hope no one noticed…

Unfortunately, Tsukitachi did notice. He didn't say anything, but he was definitely planning on tattling to Hirato at a later date. After he had his own fun, of course.

When they finally arrived at the Ship, Kiichi greeted them with a shrill, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, TSUKI-CHAN?!"

The red-head set Nai down (Yuki had flown herself), and shook his head to get rid of the residual echo. Afterward, he grinned happily at Kiichi and said, "I went to visit Hirato and meet his most recent guest. Kiichi-chan, this is Yuki. Yuki-chan, this is Kiichi. Yuu-cha-"

"Do not call me that. Only my master gets to call me that." Yuki glared at the red-head in disgust, "Never even try to call me that again. Is that clear?"

Tsukitachi gulped and nodded with a slightly frightened smile, "O-okay…um…Yuki-chan, I'll introduce you to Jiki as soon as he shows u-"

"Tsukitachi-saaaan! Is that you?" The boy in mention came round a corner holding a book and a cup of steaming tea, "I'm guessing you were visiting Hirato-san, yes?"

"Ah! Jiki-kun! There you are. Yes, I was with Hirato. Would you like to meet his new guest?"

"Sure."

"All right then, Yuki-chan, this is Jiki. Jiki-kun this is Yuki." Tsukitachi gestured to each of them in turn and, afterward, stood there grinning cheerfully at them.

Yuki smiled sweetly at Jiki and said, "Hello there, Jiki-san. It's nice to meet yo-"

Jiki took four steps toward her and dumped his cup of tea over her head, "Nice to meet you too. Oh, and just so you know, I hate cats. So if you actually want me to even think about respecting you, I'd recommend taking off the ears and tail. I have to say they look ridiculous." The boy tilted his head to the side and waited for Yuki to respond.

At first she didn't do, or say, anything. It took her…hm…let's see…I think it took about seventeen seconds for her to get over the shock of having a cup of tea dumped on top of her head. When she did snap out of it, Tsukitachi, Nai, and Kiichi could all tangibly feel the air temperature around her drop to sub-zero levels. They all took two steps away from her and watched as the inevitable confrontation played out.

Yuki slowly tilted her head to the side and looked at Jiki with a frigid cold gaze. "I am incapable of 'taking them off,' as you said," she shot out a hand and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer (she also snagged his cup), "As for the whole 'respect' thing, I'd recommend you show me an adequate amount, even with my ears and tail. You'll be sorry if you don't, Jiki-san." With that, she crashed the cup over his head and shoved him back. She angrily shook the liquid out of her hair and fur and crossed her arms, going into sassy-stubborn-ticked-off-mode. Not even Uro could stand up against this side of her personality.

Jiki fell on his backside and put a hand to his bleeding head, "You hit me…"

"Yup. And you poured hot tea on my ears and hair. Call it payback, jerk."

"Don't expect me to respect you. Cause I won't. I promise you that."

Yuki kneeled down and crept toward him carefully, "Wanna bet?"

Jiki paled slightly before looking away, his face (for some reason) sporting a very slight blush. He shook his head 'no' and whispered softly, "I give. I do have one condition, though…"

The cat-girl raised an eyebrow and said, "And that condition is…?"

"You have to let me touch the ears and the tail." He glanced up at her, curiosity laced with mischief in his eyes.

Yuki frowned and blinked at him, "What?"

"I want to touch your ears and tail."

"Why?"

"I've never pet a human with cat features before. It'll be a new experience." Jiki grinned and stood up.

The cat-girl also stood but backed away a bit when he reached his hand out, "I never said you could, buster. I don't intend to let someone who just poured hot tea on me touch me at all. At least not anytime soon. Having said that, back off." She hissed at him and allowed her eyes to flash dangerously.

Jiki either ignored the warning signs, or simply didn't notice them. He again reached out his hand only to yelp loudly when Yuki scratched and bit him with a low growl. Nai and Tsukitachi tried to bite back their laughter and Kiichi simply cackled happily, "You were asking for that Jiki! Yuki-chan," she skipped over to the furious girl and gently hugged her, "That was a perfect response. If Jiki-kun ever bothers you again, come tell me before you take care of him. I would sooo love to see that!" The blue-haired girl laughed happily and squeezed her new friend.

Nai, seeing that things seemed to be going relatively well, giggled happily and thought, I'm so glad Yuki-chan is getting along with Jiki and Kiichi. I was worried! He sighed and clasped his hand behind his back. Thank goodness.

Ω

Two hours later, Yuki was stuck underneath a monumental pile of clothes and couldn't do anything as Kiichi continued to throw things at/on her.

"Oooo! This would look cute on you too! And this! Oo and this! Oh, oh, oh! You soooo have to try this on, Yuki-chan!" Kiichi pulled the frazzled cat-girl to her feet (knocking all the clothes to the floor) and shoved her into her bathroom with an outfit, including accessories.

Yuki came out wearing a white knee length sundress, tall brown lace up boots, a couple of bangles on one arm, a white headband, ruby-red earrings, and a thin silver chain with a pendant the same ruby-red as her earrings. She looked a little uncomfortable, but absolutely adorable. Her tail and ears simply added to the effect. Kiichi first gasped, then she squealed, and, to top it all off, she screamed, "YOU ARE SOOOOOOO CUUUUUUTE! KYAAAAA!"

Yuki winced at the shrillness of her voice and said, "Thank you, Kiichi. I have to say," she stepped in front of a large mirror and scanned her new look, "I've never worn clothes like this. My usual attire consists of black tank-tops and black, or very dark blue, skinny jeans." She spun around and giggled as the skirt gently floated back to its original place.

Kiichi sighed happily and murmured, "No thanks necessary, sweetie! You must show this to Nai!"

"H-huh?!" Yuki blushed in embarrassment.

Kiichi glanced up at her from her own position on the bed. She noticed her friend's reddening face and her mouth curled into a slightly cruel smirk, "That's right, my dear," she stood and sidled up to the cat-girl, "You like him don't you? Come on, dearie, you can tell me."

Yuki blushed brighter and stuttered, "Wh-wh-what a-a-are you talking a-a-about?"

"Oh, come now! It's sooo obvious. I can even tell that he likes you too."

"Eh?" Yuki turned and looked at the blue-haired girl, "What do you mean?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? He. Likes. You. Too. Understand me?" Kiichi skipped over to the door, flung it wide open, called loudly for Nai and, when he appeared, motioned him over, "Come here for a minute, Nai. I want to show you something."

Nai obediently walked to her and asked, "What's wrong, Kiichi?"

"Wait!" She stopped him right before he saw Yuki and continued, "Close your eyes and I'll lead you."

"Okay." He did as he was told and Kiichi led him right in front of the decked out cat-girl. She was blushing madly and wildly waving her hands, trying to make Kiichi stop. Unfortunately, Kiichi paid her no heed. She simply told Nai to stand still and continue to keep his eyes closed until she told him to open them. After doing that, she came around behind Yuki and kept her from running away.

"Okay, Nai. You can open your eyes now."

Nai blinked his eyes open and, immediately, his jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. He was stunned speechless. Yuki wasn't doing much either. She was frozen solid in utter terror. Never in her life had she wanted someone to tell her she looked nice. Right in this moment, it was all she could think about.

The niji-boy finally regained his speech and said, quietly, "You look amazing, Yuki." He clammed up after that and blushed almost brighter than the cat-girl.

The girl in question stared at him, "Really?"

"Uh huh. Really." He didn't look up at her, but she could tell he meant it.

She smiled happily and said, "Thanks, Nai," she walked over to him and gave him a soft peck on the cheek, "I'm glad you think so." They were both blushing adorably, and Kiichi could barely keep herself from squealing with delight. I can't wait to see how these two turn out!

Many thanks to Apple of Eris (your review got me back in the game!) and Salt_the_Catgirl (hope I continue to please!) for your reviews.

Also, thanks to any and all who simply enjoy reading!

See ya next time!