Chapter two...the title changed. Psh, I was stupid for not noticing that '...' doesn't work when trying to put titles up. I got the sudden urge to write another non oneshot fanfic, but I got the feeling I'd kill myself trying to update 2 fanfics at one.

Disclaimer : I don't own Gakuen Alice. If I did, I wouldn't be here.

-

Kittens, Cats, and Him

02

-

Hotaru stepped into Mikan's house. It was a very pleasent house. Clean, a bit old-fashioned, but seemed like a good home. Natsume looked around sniffing. Hotaru groaned. He's gotta stop this charades, or Mikan's really going to think he's a cat.

"Why don't you get showered? Your clothes are filthy," at Mikan's words, he looked down to his clothing. A dirty white shirt and brown shorts. Eh, they weren't too dirty, but he agreed anyways. Been a while since he's taken a bath, a proper one anyways. He's been running around trying to run away and he's ended up in a very small countryside village. He stepped into the bathroom that Mikan directed him too. She gave him some of her grandfather's old clothing before he turned on the water.

"Mikan," Hotaru followed Mikan into the kitchen, "You sure this is a good idea?"

"Hm? Why do you ask?"

"Because it's not a good idea in my point of view," Hotaru cynically answered.

"Oh, you're so paranoid. It's fine," her friend answered quite easily. Hotaru's expression did not change, but she crossed her arms quite strictly. Mikan was taking this too casually. There were so many factors to consider.

"Where would he sleep?" Mikan answered on the floor, just as most cats do, "His food?" she answered they have enough food for another person. They weren't poor and made enough money to support another person, "...I still don't trust him."

"Why?"

"He has the look on his face. The look of a beast," Hotaru glared at the bathroom door. Mikan giggled and replied on the lines of that Natsume was just a stray with no place to go. In Mikan's eyes, he was a stray cat. To Hotaru's, he was a monster. His bloody crimson eyes should say more than enough.

"He has such pretty eyes..." Hotaru's eye widened at her words. Pretty? Those violent, bloody, piercing eyes? Pretty? They weren't anywhere near pretty! It was either that she was wrong, or her stupid friend needs to get her eyes checked, "They look so sad...bitter. As if he's lost something important. We need to help him!"

Her emotionless gaze wandered near Mikan's smile. Her friend was always the type of person to help others, Hotaru realized that from her last 15 years of her life. But Mikan was a fragile girl. As strong as her spirit was, the weaker her heart was. Even a small lie, a small sin could break her heart into pieces. She really didn't want to trust her dainty friend in the hands of a beast.

As soon as Mikan finished slicing the strawberries into edible pieces, Natsume came out from the shower in grandfather's old clothing. She beamed as she took the strawberries to the porch, "Come, I'll dry your hair."

Natsume sat out on the porch with Hotaru and Mikan. He reached out for a strawberry and chewed on it intensely. His pasty skin proved that he hasn't been eating properly for a while. Mikan used the towel to dry of Natsume's hair. Yes, this scene was exactly like a little pet being dried off by it's master. The strawberries soon ran out (due to Natsume's intense hunger) and she head back to the kitchen for more.

"You have a pretty big scar there," Hotaru pointed to Natsume's arm. Although Mikan missed it, the other girl could clearly see the faded scar on his arm. Natsume nodded silently, and scowled at Hotaru, as if he were to say, 'it's none of your business'.

She scowled back. She knew she couldn't trust such a beast. "Ah, how nice. The little stray cat, is actually a little beast," Hotaru whispered, "Don't hurt Mikan. She's not as strong as she looks," she whispered a second time, "I mean it."

"Understood," Natsume whispered back. Everytime he talked, a strange aura remained around him. Maybe it was because he did not talk very often?

"Are you always so silent?"

"You're not too talkative yourself, compared to your friend over there. The answer to your question is no. But if that girl over there wants me to act like a stray cat, I'll keep my words to myself and act like one," well, he was certainly doing a good job at this game of 'let's pretend you're a stray cat'.

"You've never met Mikan before. There's no reason why you have to go through all this trouble."

"I want a home," he replied quite solemnly. Hotaru gazed at him oddly. He was strange. Was he serious? "It looks of my only chance getting a proper place to stay is that girl over there."

"So, you want to use her as a tool to get a place to stay?"

"If you want to take it literally, yes. What, are you going to tattle tale on me?" she wasn't. Actually, she admired his way of thinking. Hotaru liked free items, and Mikan was a very good way to obtain free items because of her dense personality. Mikan soon came with strawberries and Natsume immediately became silent. The emotionless girl stayed emotionless, but inside, she growled. A two-faced self-proclaimed stray cat. How lovely.

The brunete softly petted the boy. Ah, master and pet. How pleasent...not. Hotaru snapped inside.

"Natsume, did you have a previous master?" Mikan asked gently. This may be a sensitive subject, seeing how he ran away.

Natsume nodded.

"Was he a good master?"

He shook his head.

"Oh...I see," her voice faded, "Was he a bad master?"

He nodded. A very bad one if you wanted to be exact.

"What's your previous master's name?" Natsume remained silent. He'd rather not say anything relating to the man. But after glancing into Mikan's devout eyes, he gave up and talked.

"Persona," he retorted very silently and quickly. But it was enough for Mikan and Hotaru to hear it.

"Persona?" Mikan joggled through her memory. Nope, never heard that name before. Natsume pouted. Even the thought of the man made him want to curl up in a corner with fear. If Natsume was a stray cat, Persona was a monster. She petted Natsume a second time, "It's okay. If you don't want to talk about it. I understand."

He scoffed a bit. It was ridiculous. A girl like her understanding his hardships in the past? It was impossible. But still...he wanted to lean on somebody. Was it okay for him to have a bit of comfort?

"No."

A sharp, piercing voice snapped through his head.

"You can't have comfort. Or anything near that. You are a cat. A black stray cat. Nobody wants to go near a black stray cat. You are doomed to do my bidding. To kill. Never forget that...My pet."

It was torturing him from the inside, eating up his very soul.

"Natsume...?" Mikan questioned the young boy. He was trembling. His eyes, there were a mixture of two very conflicting emotions, anger and fear. His crimson eye fired up. Hotaru stood up right away.

"Mikan...I don't think he's okay...Maybe you should back up." Hotaru warned her friend. She tried to pull Mikan away, but she wouldn't listen.

"But...he's in so much pain!" Mikan cried urgently. She broke free from her friend's retraint had head over to Natsume, "Are you okay? What's wrong? Do you need-"

"Mikan!"

Before they knew it, Natsume pushed Mikan away. Was he truly the calm boy they knew just a while ago? It seemed as if he was being controlled by something...He wasn't an innocent stray cat. He was a trained monster. Mikan's eyes teared up with fear. What is she suppose to do? Hotaru slowly crept over to the berserk boy and frightened girl, but the boy growled at Hotaru. If she went any closer, who knows what he would do to Mikan?

Natsume glared at Mikan, who was tearing up in fear. Ah. So this was what he truly was. A monster. He's scaring the poor little girl. But he couldn't help it. This was how he was raised, to become a killer. He decided it would be better to run away while he had some consciousness within him, before he would hurt anyone else.

"It's okay," before he knew it, a soft touch covered his cheek, "It's okay."

A warm, comforting voice surrounded him. His bloody eyes calmed down. Oh, what was happening? Just a moment ago, he was flaming with anger, going crazy. Now, he's calming down. What happened?...Did the girl in front of him result in this?

Mikan beamed. Her smile was so bright.

"It's okay," she repeated again and petted Natsume softly on the head. He sat down normally. He was back to the calm stray cat.

Hotaru sighed in relief. She thought something serious was going to happen. No, it was, but thankfully, Mikan calmed the boy down. What a relief... Hotaru glanced at the boy sitting down, pouting his lips, while Mikan was enjoying petting his soft raven hair.

Great, we got a sometimes berserk kitty cat on the loose here. Hotaru mumbled to herself. But inside, she had to admit, the boy's eyes reflected fear, and Mikan seemed to ease the pain. She scoffed a bit. It was funny, how well the master and pet looked together.

-

Chapter 02

fin

-

Dang, this is suuuper long. I don't even write oneshots this long...

Well, yes, what a sweet story. Natsume, the cat that goes berserk at times. Mikan, the owner, the only one who can calm the berserk cat down. Isn't this a lovely family? AWWW (insert your sweet little 'awww' here). Psh, I don't know how I got such a cute idea in my sinister, cynical mind.

...School starts today. NOOOOOOOOOOO...Spring break is over...I miss my shining week...