So hey. My computer conked out on me, so I lost my password to and haven't been able to post on here. I won't be getting a new laptop until Christmas so I'm trying to post everything while I'm borrowing someone else's. Hope you all have a happy holiday.

"Come on, partner! How are you going to find a girlfriend if you don't even look?"

Yu sighed, "I already told you I'm not interested, Yosuke."

"Why not?" Yu moved the phone away from his ear when the brunette's whining reached another octave.

This has been a routine with Yosuke for the past few days, even though he has already expressed that he doesn't want a girlfriend. But the brunette still insists on it every. day. Yosuke had only gotten worse after he found out that Kanji and Naoto got together.

"You only want me to come along so you can get laid," Yu deadpanned.

"What! No! Of course not!"

"But that's what you said, Yosuke." He could hear Teddie, Yosuke's teammate, roommate, and practically little brother, in the background. There was a thud on the other end of the line. Someone threw something.

"Shut up, Teddie!"

A loud yawn came from behind him. "Senpai?" Rise groggy voice croaked from behind him.

There was a pause on the line.

"Dude… Is that a girl?"

Shit.

"I have the TV on, Yosuke." He was quick to shush the incoming bunny girl. He mouthed: "I'm on the phone."

He turned back around before he could see the mischief glint forming in her eyes.

"What! TV my ass! That was clearly a girl's voice!"

"Why would I have a girl in my apartment? I told you I didn't want a- !" Yu bit the inside of his cheek to hold back a totally manly yelp after his girlfriend pinched a small inch of fat above his thigh. She giggled quietly into his white cotton shirt. He cursed under his breath. He'd forgotten who he was dealing with. Why did he even think she'd behave?

"Partner? Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just… hit my side against… something." Skin slapped against skin in a loud smack when Yu caught Rise's hand by the wrist before her hand could venture any further under the waist belt of his pants. "Stop."

"Stop what? I haven't done anything." The brunette gasped. "You do have a girl over!"

"What! Sensei scored?" The next thing he knew there was a struggle over the phone. Rise's laughed louder, the cotton shirt unable to muffle the snorts and chuckles.

"This is your fault." He made sure to hold the phone away from his mouth. The two were fighting on the line. He still didn't let go of his hold on her wrist.

Rise merely stuck her tongue out and nuzzled deeper in his shirt. Her fuzzy ears tickled the back of his neck and the underside of his left ear. She gently scratched the short hairs under his navel, sending pleasurable shivers down to his toes and blood rushing to where it didn't need to be while he was on the phone.

"I'll talk to you later, Yosuke. Bye."

"Wait! Hold on-" Beep.

"So do I have all of Senpai's attention now? Woah!" With a mooth turn, he had her pressed against the kitchen counter and his body. He leaned down and hovered just enough to where they were sharing the same breath. He said these words against her lips before trapping hers in a sweet kiss.

"Every last inch of it."

Every day, early in the morning, Yu would leave. Then he'd come back, pet her, and leave again. Then he'd come back again and she'd merely watch him type away on the computer. At least this time he'd let her lay her head in his lap until it was time to go to sleep.

She missed him.

Okay she was bored out of her mind too, but she still missed him.

He left her the TV remote to watch her shows and she knew the basics of working the computer to entertain herself. But it wasn't the same.

She's watched every rerun of America's Got Talent that they were willing to show and exhausted the clips of it on UWatch; and music could only hold her for so long.

She wanted her Master back. Why is this "college" holding him for so long? Did he like them more than her?

"No! Stop that, Rise!" She double slapped both of her cheeks once, twice. That type of thinking would only lead to more bad thoughts.

The door opened from the living room and she perked up.

"Senpai!" She raced out of the bedroom to the living room. Her master was finally back! But in the hallway, she stopped in her tracks.

Senpai had company. She could see two girls around the tall frame that was her master. They were like the opposites of each other. One was taller than the other but both were shorter than Senpai. They were looking around; the tall one's expression of curiosity was more tamed than the shorter one.

Rise didn't like the tall brunette. She was too close to Senpai. Why did she blush whenever she looked at him? A low growl began to work its way up her throat. Her long ears started to twitch in annoyance.

Senpai's eyes locked with hers.

This was also another frequent occurrence.

Hybrids were illegal in most of the world and unfortunately that included many parts of Japan. Harboring Hybrids was one of the greatest offenses a person could make; even worse than being one yourself. Harboring could equal twenty years in jail to lifetime, even death row depending on how many you're keeping. To see her here in his apartment would only spell disaster for both her and Senpai. So she knew what she had to do.

She skulked back to the bedroom, making sure to keep out of sight and be quiet as possible to stay hidden from the girls. She made sure to keep full eye contact with her master. Her eyes conveyed every emotion and word she wanted to yell at him noe.

She better get extra cuddles after this.

Yu knew she was upset when he saw the look in her eyes: a look he never wanted to see on her ever again. But in the world they lived in, he'd have to accept that there were going to be times when he'd have to see her sunny smile turn sunny side down.

She didn't like it when she brought company over, especially if they were females. It took his time away from her, and she always claimed they were flirting with him whenever they came over. Which would result in him proving the rest of the day that he only wanted her.

He loves Rise. He loves her bubbly personality. He loves her comforting presence. He felt like he could truly be himself around her. He didn't care about her having rabbit ears. To him, they were only an extension of who she is. But she didn't see that way, and the world didn't want her to.

"Yu-kun?"

"Huh?" Yukiko and Chie were looking at him expectantly. They must've asked him a question.

"You've been awfully distracted lately. Is everything okay?"

"I'm okay. It's just been… stressful lately."

"Is it school work?" Yukiko asked. A pink flush dusting up her neck and her eyelids started to flutter. Maybe she was feverish. "I wouldn't mind tutoring you. If you need help that is."

"Thanks, Yukiko, but I'm okay" He stood up from his spot on the couch. "I'm going to get something out of the bedroom right quick. I'll be back."

"Oh. Okay."

He left the girls on the couch to themselves to walk down the hall to his bedroom. The door was left slightly ajar. No doubt so she could listen in on all the conversations from down the hall. Those ears on her head were seriously no joke.

He opened the door to find her sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked up from her downtrodden stare at the ground to Yu.

"I'm okay, Senpai. You can go back to them."

"You need me more than them right now, Rise." Yu took a seat beside her on the bed. He covered his hand over her closed fist. She let his fingers slip in between hers without a struggle.

In her dreams of becoming a detective, she never thought she'd have to do this.

Their friends made a group chat without Yu. They were asking her to investigate Yu. Everyone agreed that he had been acting strange. Yukiko and Chie said that he seemed out of it when they had visited. He could barely focus on his work. Though Chie's words were more objective than Yukiko's, since the dark haired female had a crush on the college student.

Teddie typing "Sensei scored", momentarily silenced the chat. Yosuke confirmed that it rocked the chat to its core.

So now she was asked to investigate his "mystery girlfriend" too.

Nowadays she felt more like a PI than a regular detective.

"Maybe it was just the TV." She didn't want to come over to his apartment alone, so she asked Kanji to tag along. He was great company on the way over. He had spent all night making a sweater for Yu as a housewarming gift. Him coming with her was a good excuse for him to give it to him.

"We won't know until we investigate."

They knocked on the door.

"Do you think he actually has a girlfriend?"

"Well it wouldn't be that weird." Yu has always been a hit with the ladies. She even had a crush on him at one point before she started focusing more on her work and started dating Kanji. Despite his popularity, Yu never made a move towards anyone nor dated anyone, except for those questionable days with Ai Ebihara. If he was dating anyone, she'd have no idea who it was. "Senpai isn't made of stone."

The door opened and Yu looked confused and… different.

"Naoto-chan? Kanji-kun?" He looked disheveled if she could call it that. His shirt was slightly rumpled. His hair wasn't as tamed. He looked to be slightly out of breath.

"H-hi, Senpai. Can we come in?"

He let them, but he seemed hesitant to do so. He was looking over their heads at something.

"Uh, were we interrupting something, Senpai?" Kanji asked from behind her.

"No, but you guys coming was unexpected. You could've given it to me tomorrow." They were all going to meet up tomorrow at the Junes food court. Why would they visit him today?

"Uh, yes. But I really wanted to see your new apartment. You've been here for a month and I still haven't seen it." She looked around the apartment to better her excuse. She made sure to pay close attention in case she could catch anything suspicious.

"Here, Senpai." Kanji gave Yu the present he had made him: a sweater. "It's getting colder too, so this should help ya out."

"Wow. Thanks Kanji." He held the sweater out in front of him, silently looking over the design and intricate sewing. Even if it was mostly a plain white sweater, he knew Kanji still took his time to make it and embroider all the smaller details.

While he was admiring the handiwork, he didn't notice the look Kanji and Naoto shared.

"Uh, Senpai. Yosuke thinks he left a pair of his headphones in your spare guest room. Think I can check?"

Kanji dragged Yu towards the back of his house and Naoto got to searching.

Little evidence that she could use was found. She found a long strand of hair on one of the couch pillows. She remembers Yukiko and Chie saying they had sat on the couch while they were doing their homework, but the hair was too light to be Yukiko's and too long to be Chie's.

But besides that there was nothing-

"Ah!"

She turned around to face the anomaly. She had hazel eyes and chestnut brown hair tied into messy pigtails. She had a face anyone would fall for, but the most prominent part of her were the two bunny ears standing tall and erect on top of her head from shock.

"Naoto! What happened?" Kanji ran from the back and stopped in his steps too. He, of course, saw what she saw too. He was had more words than she did at the moment. "Woah!"

"The others put you up to this?" Yu leaned on the wall behind them with his arms folded. His glare was sharp on Naoto and a little on Kanji.

"Senpai! What do you think you're doing?" They left Rise and Kanji in the living room as Yu pulled Naoto in the spare guest bedroom for their discussion.

"Quiet down! She'll hear you." He whisper-said.

"She'll hear? Why is she here? You're a lot of things Senpai but you're not blind. She a hybrid."

"I know what she is, Naoto. And you know those rules they have for hybrids are bullshit."

"It's not about how stupid the rules are! Do you realize that if anyone catches you, you're going to jail! Or maybe even worse!"

"Naoto!" Yu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is Kanji was a hybrid?"

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"If Kanji was a hybrid, would you love him any less?"

"Love?" Naoto was speechless, her eyes wide in disbelief and shock. "You love her?"

Yu was quiet. He wasn't sure himself. He's never felt this way before, but he knew he didn't want to be without her or see her in pain ever again.

His heart felt so heavy. Maybe this was love.

Naoto sighed at his silence. She shook her head at the ridiculous situation. Of all the people for her Senpai to finally fall in love with, it had to be someone with so many discriminations against her. Things with Senpai were never easy.

"Is she worth the risk?"

"Yes."

"Then I didn't see a thing. But you have to find a way to break it to everyone. They are worried."

"I will."

When they returned to the living room, Rise and Kanji were sitting at the kitchen counter. Kanji was in the process of pouring another glass of tea. Rise was giggling before she noticed Yu and Naoto. She waved them over. "Senpai! Did you know Kanji-kun makes the best tea!"

Yu couldn't help but smile and when he looked at Naoto, judging by her smile, Rise was growing on her too.

The velvet sheet felt so soft beneath her skin. It's been so long since she's felt such cozy material. She's gotten so used to scratchy sheets and hard floors that the plush mattress felt like heaven.

"Is something wrong?"

She isn't used to this either.

For so long Rise has been alone. No siblings, no parental guardians, no friends. She bathed herself, fed herself, and raised herself. She's never had anyone to care for or to care for her, and she's been fine with that.

Then he came into her life like a hurricane.

His eyes were the kind of sharp that meant sleep was long past him. One arm was propped up on the pillows and the other slipped around her waist, his index fingers drawing small circles and doodles on her upper thigh.

With him, she felt peace. And it scared her.

In this dog-eat-dog world everybody wanted something. That's how it works. There are some who are up front about their desires. The ones who try to hide them are the dangerous ones. They buy you gifts and presents, give you a roof over your head and food to eat. They want you to eat up every last drop of their kindness until they finally ask for reimbursement.

This human hasn't asked her for anything in return. He hasn't made her do anything she didn't want to do. He hasn't made her do anything degrading. He hasn't asked her to do anything illegal.

He fed her when she didn't have any food or drink. He found her clothes to wear. He gave her a roof over her head and a bed to lay in without her doing anything at all in return. It was almost like she was freeloading. She actually was at this point.

But this human didn't think so.

He said she could stay as long as she wanted. She can leave anytime she wants.

She fell in love. Or at least, she thinks this is love.

He frowned at her silence. She forgot he was asking a question. His hand traveled from her thigh to her cheek and gently drew the small circles there. "Rise?"

She blinked, still not used to the small acts of affection and tender touch that he gifted her. But she smiled, tiny and a little bit wary from the years of duress but still a smile. "Nothing at all, Senpai."