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Crossing Stars

Chapter Three: Missed Connection

It was his day off today.

Touya rolled onto his side as the thin streams of light bled through his blinds, lighting up his room in small splotches.

He needed to get groceries and do some basic cleaning yet he found himself unwilling to move from his bed.

The nightmare of that girl standing in his living room with a knife in hand had come back again. It'd startled him out of a dead sleep and made him wake up soaked in a cold sweat.

He hated to admit that, that moment had still lived on in his memories for so long. He'd been forced to adjust everything about his life, including his security measures all because of one crazy bitch.

Touya lowered his arm over his eyes.

It didn't help that his head was killing him too. He'd had entirely too much to drink last night and now it was coming back to haunt him.

He groaned as he heard something scratching at his patio's door. At first he just thought that it was the pounding of his headache, however the scraggly meow that followed told him that it wasn't.

Touya slowly pulled himself from his bed and made his way to the sliding glass door. He quickly propped it open and the cat from last night sauntered into his apartment as if it'd owned it.

"Making yourself right at home, huh?" His lips curled into a smile while Ohagi meowed even louder.

He scratched underneath the cat's chin before he noticed the paper tied to its collar. The texture was slightly different from the one he'd used, so it was clear that his owner must've sent a response.

His smile widened, "I'll be taking that."

He pulled the paper from the feline's collar and gently unfolded it. The first thing he'd noticed was just how neat the other person's handwriting was. All the characters were delicately drawn and had a softness to it often associated with women's handwriting. Now he couldn't be one hundred percent certain that the cat's owner was a woman based on that alone but the small doodle of Ohagi jumping onto a plate of his namesake certainly seemed to confirm it.

He found himself laughing at the image before he read the message beneath.

Hi! I hope he hasn't been bothering you! We actually named him Ohagi because the day he showed up, he actually stole a plate full of Ohagi from my mother. So the name stuck around.

What about you? Do you have any pets?

-Kagome

He stared down at the name. It was an unusual one to say the least but he supposed that there were weirder ones out there.

Touya tore another strip of paper as he crafted his own response.

That time Ohagi simply blinked at him expectantly when he moved to tie it around his collar.

He had to admit that the cat was pretty tolerant of strangers. Most would be hissing and scratching by now if a stranger tried to handle them.

"You're pretty docile, aren't you?" He tried scratching under his chin again.

As if offended at being called docile, Ohagi wrapped both of his paws around his hand and began nipping at his knuckles and kicking him with his back legs.

It was a surprise attack if he'd ever seen one from a cat.

Touya laughed a little louder, allowing the feline to have his fun.

Eventually Ohagi gave a quick meow before he released him and darted out of his apartment, bolting down the alley and back in the direction from which he came.

Touya laughed.

It wasn't everyday he could say that he became a pen pal with someone because their cat liked to crash his place. Although he surmised that there were worse things that could happen.

He the padded his way into the bathroom and grabbed the familiar bottle of black wash-in dye. He turned on his shower, stripped himself of his sweatpants and stepped inside as the temperate of the water finally became tolerable. He quickly set to work on changing the color of his hair.

The one thing that sucked about this complex was the fact that their hot water only lasted for about ten minutes at most. After that it would become freezing cold. Even then the 'hot' temperature was more akin to luke warm rather than actually hot.

Touya swiftly finished as the water started to turn icy. He stepped out of the shower and towel-dried himself off. With his white locks temporarily dyed black, there were few that would recognize him on the street. Especially if he used his hoody.

He dressed himself for the day and silently locked everything up behind him, double checking both doors and windows before he left.

Touya then opened his app and armed the security system.

Most might consider this overkill but after that incident, he hadn't wanted to run the risk of walking in on some crazed intruder. If there was one thing he'd learned in his twenty-three years of life, then it was the fact that men got laughed at when they tried to report stalkers. Women who faced the same issue had it difficult. That much he understood. However from his personal experience, he always found people telling him that it was nothing to worry about and that he could take care of himself. Yet even now he still had nightmares of that damn woman hovering over him with a knife.

He couldn't imagine being in that same situation and being completely powerless to his attacker.

Touya made his way down the familiar streets and alleys. People hardly bat an eye at his presence, simply glancing at him curiously before going about their day. He got more stares the further in town he went however they were mostly cautious as he was a man walking around in a black pullover with his hood up. He'd have to question their survival instincts if they weren't wary of him.

Touya blinked as he passed a young and attractive couple. The woman was dressed in a nice emerald cocktail dress with a black lace sash. He had to admit that she looked surprisingly good. With a figure that was perfectly curved and not an ounce of extra fat on her. He shamelessly observed her from the corner of his eye as she passed by him.

The man at her side was plain looking at best. He wore similar cocktail-style outfit with a nice three-piece suit and matching emerald tie. He flitted around the woman as if eager to earn her attention. He would attempt to wrap his arm around her waist but she'd jerk away, carefully putting a small amount of distance between them.

Now he was no expert, but he could clearly tell that the woman was not interested whatsoever. Her lips were pressed into a thin line and her expression was unpleasant. It almost looked as if she'd been forced to join him on whatever outing they were heading to.

Touya pressed forward as he observed the couple take another turn at the corner of the block.

If he had to guess then they were likely on their way to a high-end sushi bar notorious for their expensive dishes just down the road. It was common for the city's movers and shakers to host their fundraisers there, so maybe they were going to attend one.

Touya tucked his hands into the front pocket of his pullover.

Not that it was any of his business.

He cast one last glance over his shoulder.

He had to admit that the woman was hot though. It was a shame she was stuck with someone so plain.

Touya straightened his shoulders as he quickened his pace.

He had more important things to do.