Tentative Title: No-Hoper

Full Summary: Merely a test-subject and researcher for the anti-Vampyre drug Denyxinil, a No-Hoper in the grand scheme, all that changes when he is Marked and forced to live among those he despises most. No identified pairings so far, takes place somewhere around a canon-changed 'Untamed'. Expect pride and a lot of prejudice.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, nor do I own the House of Night series, or the various mentions to various other products of modern and post-modern Western culture. Let me warn you that, while I'm sure the Casts' way of doing things works very well for them, I took the liberty to take what I hated about the series' narration and change it to suit my tastes. So just expect some changes to things, like narrative style and the competency of character development.

No, Casts. This is not the correct domain for such slanderous abuses of the English language; this is, in fact, a Stick-Up.

SEE BELOW

Chapter XIII

Owned

The time coming closer to 4PM now, I shut the Death Note away in my desk drawer, placing King's Carrie on top of it as a shield from prying eyes. While I would've felt safer with constructing a fake bottom for the drawer to put the notebook inside, in a secret compartment that only I had access to, I knew better than to attempt to make one now, regardless of whether or not I had the materials: Jack, for one, was far too pure and trusting to think to go through his roommate's possessions, and the notebook was currently blank and unused. It would be far too suspicious if I was found to be hiding something that, on the surface, held nothing of import.

Taking off my shirt and white jeans and throwing them on my bed, I pulled out a black shirt and a black HON sweater from the wardrobe, putting them over the back of the desk chair for now. I took the rest of my shopping out of the new messenger bag, pulled the tag off a new pair of black skinny jeans and yanked them on, adding a black belt. The shirt and the sweater went on next, and I was half-ready, only needing to comb my still-damp hair into submission. It was far too soon for breakfast, of course, and there was probably some homework I could do in the meantime, once I'd done something about the abandoned clothes.

I walked over to the bed to pick in worn shirt up, only to stop, staring at it in shock: There was a lump underneath the fabric, and a long, plush, black tail, the end flicking with… annoyance, impatience, bloodlust? I didn't know. All I knew presently was that there was something lurking under the shirt that shouldn't even be in this room to begin with; an intruder.

The tail flicked on regardless, slow and steady like a pendulum. The lump shifted slightly, a purposeful feel to the movements, and I lowered my hand slowly to the shirt covering it, taking hold of a sleeve gently, but nothing more. The tail flicked on, of course, and I remained still, waiting for an attack, for a single sign of malice and ill-intent.

"Don't hold your breath."

The words floated into my head, the voice attached strange, yet familiar, spoken through a smiling mouth. My eye widened as the voice laughed, and I had the sudden yet rational urge to run away and lock the door behind me, to call Primrose on my cell phone and beg him to send me to a shrink. But I didn't. I remained still, posture unchanged, still holding the sleeve.

Calm down. Relax. There is nothing to be feared from a disembodied voice and a tail.

"But of course," Answered the voice, "It's the teeth and claws attached that you must fear!"

"I'm going mad." I found myself whispering the words aloud, rather than keeping them safe in my head. The laugh answered again, and I forced myself not to buckle under the alarm, the stress.

Don't be such a coward! You've faced down Ares before; you can take on this mite.

"'Mite'? Say that to my face, scoundrel!"

There was no other option now. Taking a deep breath to centre myself, I pulled up the shirt and held it by my side, not daring to blink as the lump was unveiled to me.

It was… a cat. No… not even a cat – a kitten. A tiny bundle of dense, soft-looking short fur. Bent into a hunter's crouch, it looked barely past eight weeks old. Large teal eyes meeting mine, it seemed to smile as its bottom wriggled and it became a blur. It materialised as quickly as it had disappeared, as needle-like claws sunk into my shoulder, a disdainful tone punctuated with a yelp as I – we – fell to the floor.

It was still there as I opened my eyes, a surprisingly heavy lump of plush on my chest, purring loudly and steadily. It stared into my face, its eyes large, teal, and underlined with black, as though with eyeliner. Its face was white, as was most of its body, with what looked like a black cap over its head that stopped just before its eyes and covered only half of its ears – that is, the half visible head on. A large smudge covered the left half of the bridge of its nose, the nose itself half-black and half-pink. The rest of the front was purely white.

It eyed me with an air of condescension, as though I was the very ground it walked on; studying me like a mouse it might care to eat. Stretching out its head, it made slight sniffs, closed its eyes, and licked the end of my chin. Then, it yawned, opening its mouth widely, displaying tiny white eye teeth.

"You will do." It – no, she – said. The voice was identifiably female; disproportionately low and Machiavellian, but most definitely feminine. I should have seen it in her features – it wasn't quite of the level of cuteness belonging to those kittens found frolicking on calendars and tins of cat food, but it was interesting enough.

What do you mean, 'I'll do'? I directed the thought at the feline.

"I thought you would be smarter. She promised me a strategist, and all I have here is a can-opener." She gave a sniff, like it didn't matter either way, deciding instead to crawl forward, a soft paw on my Adam's apple. Reaching forward yet again, she proceeded to sink a tooth into my left earlobe, practically piercing it as I yelped.

Thanking whatever deity held domain over the fact that she wasn't yet big enough to find cartilage, I sat up, forcing her to tumble down into my lap. Ending her journey in a heap, she began to flail her legs, struggling to get out of her position on her back. Pitifully, she mewed, a whining cry that was sure to annoy in the not-too-distant future. From above her, I could see that her stomach was completely white, as were her front legs, save for a black splotch on the back of each one, just above the pads. It was the same on her back legs, save for the left one which didn't possess the black splotch, although both held large black patches up the back of the legs.

Gingerly, I picked her up, holding her up with my hands under her front legs, inspecting her from arm's length. She narrowed her large eyes, and make a sound akin to a growl. "How dare you treat me like a common dog! Were it not mote that you are solely under my employment on a staff of one, I would have you henceforth demoted to litter box!

"Those are big words coming from a little girl like you." I told her, giving my own human version of her cunning smile.

"Oh yeah? Well, big words coming from a, uh…" She paused to think, stuttering, "… uh, Two-Legger!"

"Well observed." I said. "I do have two legs. And those legs each have a foot on the end, and each of those feet are more than capable enough to cave in your skull if you dare bite me again!"

What she did next was something like a feline eye-roll. "That is not allowed. Or are you really that stupid? I am your familiar, and you are my can-opener. If you hurt me, you will be banished to the odorous pits of MU, with not even a Book of the Dead to guide your way out!"

Not allowed… this was a vampyre thing, wasn't it?

"Too right this is a vampyre thing, Two-Legger, so take it like a Warrior, or be a dog for the rest of your life!"

"Has anyone told you that it's rude to listen in on other's thoughts like that?"

"Perhaps… but I am a princess, you know! She said so! Treat me like royalty, or forever feel my wrath!"

I rolled my eyes at her, scooping her up to sit in my arms with her back against my chest. Her back was mostly an asymmetrical splash of black that stretched from the cap to the base of her black tail. The patch didn't cover her sides, and it was only broken by an isolated sliver of white close to the base of her spine.

"You should take a picture, you know."

"Why, so it'll last longer?"

She gave a snorting sound, something close to 'as if'. "No, because I am the best and I deserve to be in your thoughts at every given moment."

"Uh huh," I said. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I will! Oh yeah, and I get to go wherever I like. From one room to the next, to the Meal Place, on every desk you will ever sit at, and everyone else's."

I sighed. "Why, because you're the best?"

"No, because this is the House of Night and She said so! But yes, I am the best, am I not?" She lifted a paw and licked it, grooming herself, as though suddenly bored with the attention she was garnering for herself. I took that chance to stand up, still holding her to my chest.

"You know what?" I said to her, lowering my head to hover next to hers, "I'm going to name you."

"'Name me'?" She asked. She turned round to look at me with a signature glare. "What do I need a name for? I am the best, how can anyone not know who I am? And you, what do you need a name for? You are so recognisable, you are unforgettable!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. I just think names are stupid. All you need to know is that you are a can-opener, and I am the Great-I-Am!" I expected another laugh, but she didn't give one.

She's actually deadly serious.

"Well, you deserve a name, you know," I sighed, "one that doesn't invoke cries of 'blasphemy'." I'd said it just to spite her, and the tone I used was fitting enough to that end, but she still took it seriously.

"Fine… but I am royalty by Her divine appointment! I deserve a title that will go down in history and tell of my greatness. I deserve it!"

"All you deserve is a run around the table and a kick at the cellar door."

"Table…? Cellar…? What…?"

"Never mind." The phrase was courtesy of one Dr Primrose, apparently. He'd used it often enough, mainly when No-Hopers asked what was for dinner. However, when he said it, it sounded more like 'ah run 'raand table an ah kick a' cellar doo-er', like a true Yorkshire-man.

I let the kitten jump out of my arms when she squirmed enough, and she landed gracefully on my desk. In her wake, she'd left a light coating of white hairs over the black of my sweater. Dusting them off, I turned the desk chair to face the deck again, and I sat in it, facing the feline head on. I was staring at her for a whole minute before I finally said, "How about… Daisy?"

"What? Like a big moo-thing? Take that back!"

A sigh. "Fine. Not Daisy." Another thought. "You need a little girl's name. Something delicate and sweet. You know, not like you at all."

To be honest, I didn't really know how to go about naming a cat, especially not a cat like this one, who always had a high opinion to give all the time; all the cats I'd met before coming here were lab specimens, accompanied by rats and rabbits and dosed up on various chemicals unfit for even human use. Heck, even this healthy thing, alive and talking, was bad enough on its own.

The others probably had cats. I wouldn't be surprised if all the fledglings and vampyres here had a furry familiar who called them their own. If I knew how the others went about naming theirs, I'd probably have a better chance of naming mine.

Snap out of it! You're a genius, right? You should have a better idea of how to do anything than them! Surely you have a creative bone in this body of yours!

I sighed. Looking back, I really didn't, did I? So, turning to the one piece of advice from Damien that seemed to make sense, I picked up The Fledgling handbook 101 from the top of my desk, watching as the kitten merely looked at my hand like it was something to eat. I opened it up, flicking through for a section that I'd only skimmed through before.

I stopped on page 52, finding myself faced with a gorgeous illustration over a double-page spread of an exotic woman in a white robe and gold jewellery, her eyes lined with black kohl, great tongues of flame bursting forth from her palms.

Flame… Fire…

Indeed, of all the four elements that I've felt under my influence, Fire had been the one to come to my aid when I was held down by Neferet, to one to come forth on that subconscious level. 'From the south I summon Fire. I ask that you burn away our fear, and replace in us the gift of strength, to bind us together and illuminate the darkness.'

I took one look at the eyes of the kitten, the way they seemed to be underlined with black kohl… "Cleopatra." I said, and the kitten looked my way, disturbed from her grooming.

"Excuse me?"

"You are Princess Cleopatra… 'Cleo' for short."

She looked to the illustration in the Handbook, gazing at it. "Very nice choice, but I am Princess Cleopatra or nothing."

"Fine, Nothing. Is that fine with you, Nothing?"

She gave an annoyed kind of sigh. "I will give in for now, because I really should be napping soon… but when you call me Cleo, you say it with the utmost respect you can muster, and you think on how lucky you are to be graced with my presence every day." She paused, and another thought crossed her mind. "Oh, and I want a cushion on this desk… or maybe by the window. Not to sit on all the time, you understand, but just something set aside for me to sit on, should I choose."

"You really are a selfish thing, aren't you?" I reached over and scratched her behind the ear, smiling as she purred.

"I'm your familiar. Just you in a furry ball of cuteness."

"Like Pullman's dæmons?"

"What? How should I know what a 'daemon' is? Don't ask stupid questions, can-opener!"

"Fine. You can call me 'Light'."

"'Light'? That's worse than Daisy!" I didn't argue with her, instead taking my school things out of my rucksack and putting them into the messenger bag, slinging it over my shoulders. I put on my shoes and, scooping Cleo into my arms again, we exited the room, stopped only momentarily for me to close the door behind us.

In the Common Room, with a sofa all to ourselves, I sat down with a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of black coffee, spending the time until 8PM fending on an inquisitive kitten from putting her paws in my cereal, or pulling my spoon towards her with a paw, demonstrating why cats had never needed a set of opposable thumbs. It was then just an exhausting job to keep her from getting wired on caffeine, and from nibbling on my fingers worse than she already was.

Cleo, it seemed, was going to be a real handful.

If you think you're suffering from deja-vu, don't worry: this bottom note is really different.

It has been three years and six months since this chapter was first posted. A lot has happened since that time. Our Cleo is happy and healthy, and will be 6 years old in March. I also have a dog; a 2 year old Christmas Jack Russell named Benji. I am in my final year of a three year long degree course in Linguistics (surprise!). And yes, I am still suffering with wrist ailments, as I have for nearly five years now.

The decision to continue this fic has been a difficult one to make, hemming and hawing as I have over whether it truly is too late to make this what I want it to be. In the end, I have come to a real decision.

Rather than go ahead with the next chapter, I will be posting a second edition on Wordpress. It will still be under the title 'NoHoper', but it won't be under 'Ruin Takada'.

From now on, you can call me 'Ruin Dun Burnit'. You can find me at .com, where I now blog and keep readers up to date with what I'm doing when I am not writing or posting fic.

My aim has always been to give you something you can enjoy, and in writing this second edition I aim to make this far better than you could have imagined possible, but rather than risk being the Non-Completing Nathan, I will only begin posting chapters when the entire fic has been written. If all goes well, I may go ahead with writing the sequel.

I no longer apologise for the short chapter; I now hope you will be excited at the prospect of new content.

See you in July,

Ruin Takada XXX

Ruin Dun Burnit