House Cat [temporarily complete]

Author\'s Note- Definitions

Hai- Literal translation, \"yes\"

Itadakimasu, ittadakimasu- \"Let\'s eat\" like a prayer or declaration before eating

Arigato- \"Thank you\"

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c.h.a.p.t.e.r t.w.o


Even though he still looked slightly dubious about the prospect of such a seemingly utopian life with someone who appeared so kind and well meaning Chibi\'s starvation drove him to tentatively finish off the bottle of milk and help himself to little, manageable pieces of fish, reveling in the fresh taste - far beyond anything he\'d been given during his time in the cage. When finally he settled once more he looked sleepy and had even begun purring very softly, little shivers of something close to contentment running through his malnourished frame. \"....arigato kaa-san...\"


The full-grown trembled once more at being called Kaa-san, and smiled happily. \"You\'re more than welcome, my little love. You look worn out; would you like to sleep? I\'ll stay with you.\"

There was a soft knock on the door, and Oriel glanced up at it. \"Enter,\" he said quietly.

The door opened, and one of the loinclothed boys came in. \"Are you finished with the meal?\" he asked politely, bowing.

Oriel nodded, and the teen walked over to the bed. He crawled onto the edge and sniffed at Chibi once more, then smiled and licked once at the boy\'s lips before withdrawing and picking up the trays, carrying them out of the room and closing the door behind him noiselessly. When they were alone again, Oriel lifted Chibi up and carried him to the head of the massive bed, placing him on the pillows momentarily while drawing back the thick blankets, then picking him up and settling him onto the mattress with his head on the pillow.

He hurried about the room, blowing out all the candles but a few, and left the fire crackling warmly before going back to the bed. \"Your loincloth should be ready in the morning,\" Oriel whispered, as he untied his sash and let his robes flutter to the ground. He got into the bed beside Chibi and pulled the blankets up over both of them before drawing the boy close and holding him in his arms, providing body heat against his smooth skin as he nuzzled the boy\'s ear.


Chibi was grateful for the wan light provided by the fire, even though he used the shadows to hide himself in the past total darkness had always meant that even held in their reassuring embrace he would feel hands grabbing at his dirty skin through the black, tugging at his hair and tail harshly until he bent over and gave himself up to whichever anonymous neko wanted him for the night. Softly he whimpered and buried his face in Oriel\'s chest, shaking a little with memories that pained him immensely despite how clean and full he felt.


Oriel held him closer, and whispered soft comforts into Chibi\'s ears as he stroked the boy\'s back and cheeks with his hands and face, and purred softly to bring him peace. \"Relax here, my little love. I won\'t ever harm you. I couldn\'t if I wanted. Look, let me show you something.\"

He took one of Chibi\'s hands in his own, and carefully guided it between Oriel\'s legs so that the boy could feel the scar tissue. \"See?\" he whispered softly. \"It happened a few years ago. I can\'t hurt you. Please, be at peace with me. I would become your guardian and your protector if you\'ll let me.\"

Chibi\'s fingers twitched and he snatched his hand back in horror without even meaning to offend Oriel - he\'d thought his own existence was wretched, but it seemed Oriel had experienced much worse than he could imagine. Looking up at his newfound protector with wide, teary eyes and nibbling on his lower lip compulsively he murmured, \"....n-not afraid...\"

Oriel kissed his cheeks. \"Of that, you\'re welcome to be afraid. I just don\'t want you to be afraid of me. I want you to feel safe in my arms, little one,\" he said softly. Oriel nuzzled the boy\'s throat and kissed it, once. \"Sleep now, little love. Sleep if you can. If you can\'t, I\'ll still stay with you. Just try to relax. Would you like more milk, perhaps?\"

Chibi shook his head gently and tried to settle in Oriel\'s embrace - he would have felt more comfortable hidden under the bed as opposed to lying in it, but he was so exhausted he began to drift almost instantly, murmuring quiet, muddled sentences as he fell asleep.

Oriel smiled happily when the boy fell asleep, and he too drifted off. The hours ticked by with both of them nestled closely together under the thick blankets, until three a.m. rolled around. The bedroom door was suddenly opened without a knock first, and Master stood in the entrance, light from the hall shining behind him and making him appear a frightening silhouette.

He marched over to the bed in the darkness, his jacket gone, his sleeves rolled up and his tie gone as well. His hair was a mess and coming out of the neat braid, and his face was entirely dour as it had been when he\'d picked out Runt, if not more. He looked as though he\'d been working hard from the moment he\'d dropped Runt at Oriel\'s feet until that moment, which he had. Reaching out, Master threw back the covers and grabbed Oriel, causing the full-grown to wake and release Chibi.

Oriel wasn\'t startled in the least, but as he was yanked out of the bed and picked up bridal-fashion, he whispered quickly to the boy, \"Don\'t worry! I\'ll be back by morning at least. Please, continue sleepin--mmmg.\" His mouth was covered by Masters roughly, and Oriel appeared to melt in the man\'s arms, his hands cupping either side of Master\'s face tenderly as he shivered and was carried out of the room, the door slamming shut behind them.

Chibi sat up after they\'d both left, he was breathless and shivering from the sudden intrusion and curled his arms around himself protectively. In truth their master scared him - he was too calm and Chibi hoped that he would never be the one being taken from his bed in the middle of the night. After all Oriel had seemed utterly unfazed - even pleased by masters\' abduction. With a shaken little sigh Chibi crawled across the bed and settled beneath it, folding himself up into a tiny fetal ball yet knowing he would only find troubled rest now he was alone.

There was a soft, gentle lapping; at the tip of his nose at first, then Oriel moved his little licks along Chibi\'s face and down to his lips for a moment before he lapped along the boy\'s jaw, down to his throat. \"Chibi,\" he whispered from his place on all fours at the edge of the bed, his head underneath it with the boy. \"Little love, wake up. Wake up; it\'s a new day.\"

Chibi opened his eyes slowly, looking all foggy and confused for a few seconds before he hesitantly crawled out from beneath the bed and sat up beside it looking concerned for Oriel even if he remained silent.


The silver-haired neko sat on his calves before Chibi in the same manner as the boy, though he was fully dressed and the kitten was nude. \"Ohayo,\" he said softly, leaning forward and licking one last time at Chibi\'s lower lip. \"You look a little confused and a little unhappy.\"

Chibi seemed to have forgotten about clothing and the constraints of modesty a long time ago and just sat there gazing back at Oriel, \"I was worried for you.\" He replied quietly, looking down at the floor for a moment as if bracing himself for a reprimand.


\"Why?\" Oriel asked in the same cheerful, warm tone.


Chibi peeked up at him nervously, his concerned expression softening slightly in the face of Oriel\'s cheerfulness, \"...because you went away so quickly.\"


\"I went to Master\'s bedroom,\" he replied with a slight tilt to his head, eyebrows rising. \"I\'m sorry, was it not made clear yesterday? I\'m Master\'s wife-- or at least, as close as one can get, being born male and neko. And as such, it\'s his right to have me any time he pleases. ...Which, of course, I\'m more than willing to give him. Master is a kind man once you understand him.\"


\"......wife...?\" Chibi looked utterly confused by Oriel\'s explanation, but accepted it as the truth. Even though he had reservations about the idea of master being kind in any sense, \".......I u-understand...\"


Oriel laughed softly and leaned forward again, wrapping his arms around the boy and hugging him. \"You\'ll understand some day. For now, I have something for you. Close your eyes.\" He waited until Chibi\'s eyes were closed to reach into his robes, and removed a long black loincloth like the others wore-- the only difference was that there were little pink and yellow flowers sewn into the edges, and onto the bottom the stitched pattern of a little kitten in yellow stared up, barely two inches tall and sitting in a bed of pink flowers.

\"I added the little details myself,\" Oriel said with a smile, \"Open your eyes.\"


Chibi did as he was told dutifully and opened his eyes - he\'d been dreading being given his \'uniform\' of sorts, but it was so pretty and such a kind gift that he found himself blushing profusely as he reached out to run his fingertips over the cute pattern, \"....t-thank you...\"


Oriel smiled wider, a flush of happiness rosing his own cheeks as the gift was accepted. \"He called me silly for spending time sewing that, but it was worth it to see your face. Come; put it on, put it on!\" he cheered, clapping his hands together. \"I want to see how it looks on my little boy!\"


With more than a little hint of being awestruck Chibi carefully put the loincloth on and stood up, giving Oriel a little, shy twirl before sitting down again.


Oriel clapped again and laughed with delight. \"Beautiful!\" he declared, standing and picking the boy up in his arms, twirling him once before hugging him tight and putting him on his feet. \"You look adorable,\" Oriel fawned, kissing Chibi\'s cheeks and nose before taking his hand. \"Now then, it\'s nearly lunchtime; you slept quite a while! I\'ll bring you through the kitchen to meet all the cooks while they\'re making lunch for everyone, and then we\'ll all sit down to lunch, though Master won\'t be attending because he\'s very busy these days, and then I\'ll introduce you to the other boys who will be sitting with you for lessons. You\'ll be quite behind at first, but we have good tutors here, and I have every confidence that you\'ll be caught up and beating the rest in no time!\"


Chibi held onto Oriel\'s hand tightly, feeling a little daunted by their plans for the day even if he was managing to smile and not shake quite so much at the prospect of meeting the others properly for the first time. He was relieved to hear Master would be elsewhere however and that helped him offer Oriel a shy, cheerful little smile, \"I\'ll try my best Kaa-san.\" He replied and genuinely meant each word.


The day went by smoothly-- Oriel introduced the newest member of their family to everyone as his son, and the lunch crew greeted him back with open arms and warm smiles, several commenting on how pretty he was. Lunch went about the same, with Oriel pointing out everyone down the long banquet table and each neko waving, winking or smiling when his name was called.

For lesson time Oriel introduced all the tutors, then sat beside Chibi and gave him encouragement as he was tested for what knowledge of language, history, maths and geography he knew... but half an hour in Oriel was asked politely by one of the tutors to leave, since he kept interrupting the lessons with loud praise for Chibi. So Oriel left the large library, but he remained standing outside the door, peeking through the window every few minutes to make sure everything was alright, and smiling happily when he saw his little one doing so well.

When lessons were done just before supper, Oriel came back in and escorted Chibi to the downstairs of the estate, where all the rooms that weren\'t bedrooms or studies were. He pointed out the recreation rooms, two game rooms, the exercise room, and several others before taking him to the back yard. He pointed out the track, then the maze which he warned the boy not to go into alone because it was easy to get lost, then the large garden, and finally, \"That\'s the pool,\" Oriel smiled. \"You\'re allowed to use it any time it isn\'t mealtime or time to study or you haven\'t been given chores to do, but you have to know how to swim first. Do you know how to swim?\"


Chibi cheered up significantly during the day - the atmosphere at his unconventional new home was friendly and lacked any of the elements from his former prison that had so terrified him. Everyone seemed healthy and contented living under Master\'s roof and he felt himself beginning to relax ever so slightly as he took lessons with the others - all the while feeling Oriel\'s comforting presence even once he was asked to leave. He wondered as they were taking a tour after lessons were over what exactly it was that Master did to be able to afford this amount of luxury, but saved his questions for another time - instead answering Oriel with a little shake of his head, \".....old owner tried to drown me in a bath, but no swimming...\" He replied almost matter of factly.


Oriel reached up and ruffled the boy\'s hair happily, ignoring the drowning comment so that Chibi didn\'t have to dwell on it. \"Well, there are lots of people here who can teach you how to swim if you\'d like. I\'m afraid I don\'t like swimming; I barely like bathing. Master doesn\'t like swimming, either; most of the things meant for pleasure around here were bought for us, our entertainment and our happiness. Master is usually far too busy to relax much, and he\'s not even in the country a lot of the time. He\'s a very powerful business man, and...\" Oriel looked down at Chibi with a soft expression, a hopeful one, wanting the boy to understand. \"Master deals with a lot of bad people, and has to do bad things sometimes for the better of this country and his company. But he\'s not a bad man; he\'s just a strong man trying to get what needs to happen done. It wears on him, and I see the unhappiness at what he does in his eyes a lot, but he keeps on doing it, so that some day this will be a better place and bad things won\'t have to happen in order for good to come around any more. Do you understand?\"


Mulling over Oriel\'s words Chibi understood a little of why their Master didn\'t seem as happy as the ones who he\'d saved and nodded slowly in comprehension, patting Oriel\'s wrist in a cautious display of offered comfort regarding both the dislike of swimming and the burden he seemed to carry every bit as much as Master did. Echoing his earlier introverted smile he gazed up at Oriel, \"I understand....and I won\'t make trouble for him or you...I\'ll be a good boy I promise.\"


Oriel smiled. \"You don\'t necessarily have to make yourself a good boy,\" he confided softly, as though it was a secret. \"Just a happy one. That\'s all master wants, and it’s all I want, too. But!\" He changed the subject with a happy, dopey grin, \"Guess what time it is! Suppertime! I can smell it right now. Smells like chicken and rice! Come come, let us hurry! Just remember one thing; if Master is there and he looks at you, you do not look down or away! It\'s disrespectful.\"

He took Chibi\'s hand and they ran together down the halls, with Oriel laughing happily and looking down at his new little boy with such pride and joy that it was near bursting out of him in happy little giggles. They ran into the dining hall once more, and all sat down at the table, though this time everyone took seats according to rank. The eldest sat closest to the head of the table, and the seating went down by age to the second youngest sitting at the foot of the table. Oriel guided Chibi to sit across from him, so that Oriel was directly at the left of the head of the table and Chibi was at the right.

Everyone waited silently, some looking excited but most solemn as the food waited, hot and steaming on the table. A few of the littlest ones at the end whispered and giggled about their excitement for Master to eat with them for the first time in almost a year, and then someone cleared their throat, causing complete silence as the dining room doors opened and Master entered the chamber as the large grandfather clock in the hall chimed six. Everyone sat at attention but Oriel, who leaned back a little and smiled warmly up at Master.

Master pulled back his chair and took a seat with a glance and a nod towards Oriel, dressed today in a fine suit and shirt but no tie this time, and his hair was once more braided back in a fine black plait. He sat down comfortably in his chair-- or at least as comfortably as one could be with large, muscular shoulders squared and back straight-- and looked down at Chibi. His eyes were an icy blue rimmed with dark cobalt, and he stared at the boy with a piercing gaze.

His face was beautiful as well; he had a strong jaw and full lips, and his eyes were rimmed with a generous fringe of black lashes. But his expression was not one of joy in the least; he looked at the boy with what might have been read as displeasure.


Chibi had measured his own behavior by that of the others and sat up with his back straight and hands clasped upon his lap as a rather awkward, but well meaning model of politeness even as they waited for their master to arrive. From what he could gather this was a rare and coveted event that had all the younger kittens gossiping in hushed voices until he arrived and an air of repressed excitement and adoration settled over the long table. As Master moved to sit at the head of the table he covertly studied his handsome features and was able to appreciate why the other nekos held him in such respect for the first time - all his contented musings ended abruptly as Master sat down and looked at him as if he\'d committed some heinous act of disrespect or was just plain offensive to his eyes which made Chibi shudder and wish he could look anywhere but into that disapproving gaze.


\"Hai,\" Oriel said softly, breaking the silence. \"Let\'s eat.\"

He reached out and picked up Master\'s plate as no one else moved. Oriel served Master and placed the plate back down, then filled his rice bowl as well. He then picked up Chibi\'s plate and bowl and did the same, and finally his own. Still no one else moved, though they were all looking at Chibi now. Most were smiling, and some winked at him, though it couldn\'t be seen.

\"Chibi-kun,\" Oriel then whispered, smiling as well, \"We\'re all waiting for you. You\'re the guest here; you get to eat first.\"

Master said nothing, continuing to stare at the boy, waiting.


Chibi hesitated for a long moment and then picked up his chopsticks with one trembling hand, \"Itadakimasu...\" Even though he was used to eating what he could in the most unrefined manner possible he somehow managed to pick up a small piece of chicken and eat it - only breaking his eye contact to do so for a few seconds for fear of making another mistake.


As soon as the boy swallowed, everything seemed to happen. Master looked away once more and picked up his own chopsticks as all the nekos reached across the table to serve themselves or each other food as well, and once Master had begun eating everyone else did as well.

Cheerful conversation hummed in the background and Oriel drew his feet up onto the chair he sat in so he could rest his rice bowl on his knees as he picked at his food and spent most of his time smiling adoringly at Master, and sometimes Chibi. There was a permanent, happy flush to Oriel\'s cheeks as he ate and leaned back, and one of the boys near the end of the table squealed and laughed as another threw a sardine and it hit his fellow neko in the face. The two ducked under the table and wrestled underneath it as a few of the elders laughed, and Master continued to eat regally as though none of this was going on, though every once in a while he looked Oriel\'s way, making the full-grown smile warmly and flush a little darker.


Chibi\'s attention divided between Oriel and Master as he ate slowly, chewing each mouthful with a sense of thoughtfulness over why Master had looked at him so coldly - was this just another extension of his personality or had he indeed, as he feared insulted him in some way. For now at least everyone else seemed playful and happy including Oriel who was playing the role of Master\'s wife with genuinely heart-warming devotion. Chibi sighed softly and pushed his plate aside, thinking no one would notice.


\"Does the Runt not like my food?\" Master asked in his deep, rich voice a few minutes after Chibi had pushed his plate away, without looking up and without pausing his slow eating.

Oriel sat up a little and looked at Chibi, tilting his head to the side. \"Are you alright, little one?\" he asked with concern.


Chibi bowed his head, shaking it slightly, \"I-it is not t-that....m-my stomach cannot take too much.\" He whispered in a half-truth - admittedly his tummy was aching slightly, but he was more worried about offending Master and being thrown away, \"...s-sorry...”


Oriel smiled, nodding in understanding. \"Alright then. Just don\'t let yourself go hungry; the only way a person could starve around here is because they refused to eat.\" He tried to give Chibi another encouraging smile, and reached a bare foot under the table, caressing the boy\'s knee gently with a wink before resuming his own meal.

Nekos finished eating one by one, and soon Master finished as well. He placed his chopsticks down and stood, and Oriel stood as well, though no one else moved. Master reached out and touched a fingertip under Oriel\'s chin, leaning in and placing a soft, momentary kiss on the fullgrown\'s lips before turning and leaving.

The last of the nekos finished eating, several burps ringing in the hall, and Oriel turned to Chibi once Master had left. He held out his hand as the ones who had been designated began to clear the table and carry the remaining food off to the kitchen. When Chibi took it, Oriel walked with him out of the dining hall and through the ground floor, out to the back yard once more where they took a seat on the warm marble steps. \"So,\" Oriel said warmly, curling his tail around the boy\'s waist, \"You look like you have questions.\"


Chibi\'s brow furrowed, but even as he opened his mouth to blurt out the questions he\'d been dying to ask since they left the dining room he closed it again just as swiftly. Surely it wasn\'t his place as the newcomer, Master\'s latest possession to ask such rude things so he just settled against Oriel\'s side, laying his hands lightly upon the fullgrown\'s robe covered thigh in a quiet sign of his contentment in Oriel\'s presence. \".........\"


\"Nooooooo,\" Oriel said in a singsong lilt. \"Don\'t do that. I know you have questions. Everybody does after their first meal with Master. And this is also your first day, as well as your first formal dinner with us as being the guest. You must have millions of questions. Don\'t hold them back, little love. I\'m not a mind reader; I can\'t tell you everything you want to know and you\'ll have to learn to ask.\"


Before he could lose his nerve again Chibi exclaimed without even taking a breath between words, \"Whydidmasterlookatmelikehtewishedhe\'dneverboughtme?!\" Blinking and a little breathless he hid his face, shamed once more into silence by his curious outburst.


\"He doesn\'t wish he\'d never bought you,\" Oriel assured kindly, smiling all the warmer as he ran his fingers through the boy\'s hair. \"That\'s the way his face looks most of the time, is all. As I\'ve said before, he\'s had a very hard time doing what he\'s doing. The only times his face looks different are when he\'s actually angry, when he\'s in the throes of passion, when he\'s reading or when he\'s making this little, rare face that I\'ve only seen a few times where his mouth moves just a little and his eyes have this warm look to them... kind of like a smile without smiling.\" He blushed and giggled softly to himself as he remembered that expression. \"My favourite is that one, but my second favourite is when he\'s reading. He quirks his eyebrow up just a little, and sticks out his lower lip, or lets a pencil or pen hang between his lips. It\'s absolutely adorable.\"

Oriel kissed the top of Chibi\'s head. \"Not to worry, little one, not to worry. If he\'s actually angry, you\'ll know it. What else do you want to know?\"


Chibi smiled a little, feeling a great weight lift from his shoulders at the realization that Master wasn\'t annoyed with him and also from Oriel\'s fond observations which made him glad that they were together and Oriel could ease some of Master\'s troubles. Softly at first, so it was barely audible a faint rumbling purr ran through him and he snuggled up closer to Oriel\'s side, \".....am I doing good?\"


\"You\'re doing marvelously,\" Oriel smiled. \"But there\'s a surefire trick to finding out the answer to that question on your own. You want me to tell you what it is?\"

When Chibi nodded, Oriel whispered, \"You go like this: You sit down somewhere quiet by yourself, and you ask yourself-- \'Self? Am I happy, and am I enjoying my time here?\' If the answer is yes, then you\'re doing well, my little one. If the answer is no, then you have two options; you can either change things around yourself so that you are happy, or if its something you can\'t change on your own, then you ask Master for the change to be made. If he\'s not here, then you ask me in his stead. That\'s how the pool got here; that\'s why we have tutors and a swing set in the garden and books on butterflies in the library. None of those things are things Master needs or wants; somebody here asked for them and said it would make them happier if it was here, and within the next day or as soon as possible, those things were brought here. Do you understand?\"


Even though Chibi nodded, summoning up enough enthusiasm from Oriel\'s idea to smile warmly back up at him and genuinely take them to heart he added softly, \"....why does he do all this for us?\" His gaze wandered out over the garden beyond as he considered all that had happened over the last couple of days - his sale, salvation and delivery to such a strange situation, \"....and what could he see in a runt like me?\"


Oriel hummed thoughtfully. \"I think the answer to both those questions is the same,\" he purred, leaning down and beginning to lick at the boy\'s ear, cleaning and preening him though he didn\'t really need it. \"Which would you rather have, a life of misery in the place you came from or in a bad home, or life here? Your choice would be life here, of course. And you\'d be happy here if he could make it that way. Like I said, Master isn\'t the happiest man in the world; he hasn\'t said this to my face, but I\'d call it safe to assume that it gives him some... relief or comfort in his heart that he\'s making all of us happy. He makes a lot of people unhappy in the world every day, because it\'ll make things better in the long run, but that still doesn\'t change how unhappy he\'s making them right now. I think it hurts him inside, and that\'s why he seems so tough and angry. So he changes the lives of his servants as he can, that way it isn\'t really him handing out charity, which he hates, and he\'s still keeping up his tough front to his enemies and partners at the same time. To an outsider, all it looks like is a well-run home with a lot of nekos. But to us, we know it’s a happy home meant just for us. A kind of sanctuary, if you will.\"

He switched to the other ear once the left one was preened, and continued softly, \"When Master left the house yesterday after he decided to give me what I said would help make me happier, the last thing I said to him was \'I know you\'ll make the right decision. Bring me the one that needs love the most.\'\" Oriel smiled. \"And I still know that he made the right decision; he did what has made me happy, and what will make you happy.\"

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e.n.d c.h.a.p.t.e.r t.w.o