Chapter 3 – One Paw Closer

Grabbing and zipping his bag in a hurry, the unsuspecting Yuu rushed out of his house and ran like his life depended on it. Classes in college should be more laidback and non-stressful for most people but not when he had a relative for a lecturer there. Awkward as it may have seemed, Yuu was more than terrified of his own uncle, also known as the Rampaging Ogre (because he swings the long teaching stick like one). And it just had to be his turn to present his designs for a particular project they were given last week. Ahh how much worst could his luck get?

Slowing down as he approached the lecture hall, Yuu finally realized how heavy his bag was. Was it really the bag's fault or was he getting weaker due to lack of exercise? Opening the door with precaution, Yuu peered through the gap only to see that no one was actually inside. "Hey, I was early after all!" Yuu chuckled proudly to himself before the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind him made him jumped a little. "-?!"

"Wrong classroom, baka Yuu." Guren said with that evil demeaning look on his face that was so punching-worthy. But he was right. Yuu accidentally went to the hall next to the real one. "Sh-shut up..." The younger male grumbled as he trudged to his class begrudgingly.

"Yuu-kun, you look horrible, are you alright?" One of his college buddies, Yoichi, sincerely asked as Yuu took a seat beside him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Ran into a complicated-" Yuu unzipped his bag, eyes immediately fell on a ball of fur inside. "-trouble!" 'The heck is he doing in here?!'

The werecat woke up slowly as light suddenly shone on his face. Blinking, he looked up tiredly and found large shocked emerald orbs staring down at him. Startled, Mikaela hissed and panicked, realizing he wasn't at the human's den anymore. Had he lied after all? Was he going to sell him off again? The scents from the people in the room seemed friendly, however, the feline had been through too much to trust someone in simply one day. Specifically, not a human.

Mikaela attempted to jump out of the bag but found that it was shut in his face and that he was soon held down to keep still. Alarmed, he stopped moving and instead flickered his tail back and forth, feeling even more uneasy since Yuuichiro seemed quite nervous and upset himself. Where was he? How could he not have noticed being carried away like this? …Had the human drugged the milk? The werecat was too lost in thought to realize he was being lifted up in the air again and hurriedly carried out of the loud room.

The males' bathroom on the third floor. That was the very first place that popped into Yuu's mind as he tried to come up with isolated places where one rarely go to. 'I'll take him there and we'll sort this mess out somehow...'

As he ran lightning fast to the designated area, Yuu could feel the weight in his bag swayed from left to right, and he imagined the yellowed-fur cat shifting uncomfortably in the cramped space. "I'm so sorry! Please bear with me for a bit!" He whispered, swiftly switching the bag so that he was now hugging it from the front.

When they arrived, Yuu wasted no time in locking the whole toilet, not forgetting to put the 'Cleaning in progress' sign outside for extra precaution. Once he had confirmed that they were all alone, the ravenette hastily unzipped his bag again, to find an annoyed looking little kitty splaying amongst his notes and books.

"Mika... why were you in my bag again?"

The werecat grunted as soon as he saw Yuu again, staring down at him like he was some kind of a specimen or worst; an experiment gone wrong. Why was he in the bag? Well, why had the human carried him off to a completely foreign place in the first place? Popping his head out of the bag apprehensively, he looked around. Where the heck were they? Ugh, it stinks. Mika winced, automatically covering his nose with his paws.

"Well?" Yuu picked him up and stared acquisitively at the suddenly mute cat.

"…"

"Huh, guess you're just a normal cat in this form… You can't talk like this, right? I'm going to remove the collar for you." Yuu said, waiting for Mika's agreement.

Deciding to look back up the ravenette, he lowered his ears cautiously, feeling slightly ashamed. Mika reluctantly let Yuu removed his collar and again, he took a human form in front of Yuu, but of course without any clothes on. "The bag was comfy.." To be honest, he wasn't sure what to say or do, but he had obviously done something wrong it seemed, judging from Yuu's dark expression.

"I was tired.." He tried again, murmuring a bit lower and wrapping his tail around himself protectively as the human kept looking at him without providing him any sort of answer. He seemed a little stressed and somehow older than the cat had remembered. Humans do age a lot quicker these days, huh?

"You-!" Yuu sounded angry at first but quickly clenched his teeth shut before he could utter any more spiteful words without actually meaning it. Being hot-blooded was not all that, to be honest. Rubbing his temple, Yuu made a quick slow and deep breaths session on his own.

Finally relaxing, he turned his attention back to the wide-eyed blonde with a calmer expression. "Nevermind. It's my fault for not checking my bag in the first place." Yuu said while rubbing the back of his neck, he felt guilty if anything else, for bringing a most sought after werecat to college, knowing fully well the dangers lurking in every corner. "Let's get you home for today..." He tried to approach the blonde who was somehow a bit pink in the face and was slightly panting. He looked sick. They'd have to swing someplace before going home then. A place Mika would not like too much perhaps, so Yuu decided to keep it a secret from him.

"D-don't touch me.." Mika tried backing away, his cheeks now a very defined shade of pink. He knew his small protests would be paid no mind to, however. The human would have to touch him one way or another in order to get him out of here. He'd have to put the necklace back on, after all. In worst case scenario, Yuu would try and bring him somewhere else other than his den, or so called - home.

Yuu displayed the collar for Mika to see, making sure that the blond knew what he was trying to do. His anger from before quickly dissipated when he saw the fluffy pair of ears quivered slightly. It wasn't Mika's fault, he didn't know any better. Yuu justified.

"Okay, I'm gonna put the necklace back on you-" At that time, Yuu caught a glimpse of hell. He had lost his footing when he approached the naked blonde and in his defense to avoid falling, he grabbed onto whatever it was standing in front of him. Only to realize it was...

Oh, no. The thing that he had grabbed was none other than Mika..!

"W-watch out!"

They bumped heads and the next thing Yuu knew was that his lips were met with something soft and slightly warm. At that instant, the ravenette felt a sense of impending danger, like a foreboding of some sort. Dare he open his eyes now? Gulping nervously, Yuu forcibly reopened his green eyes. A gasp of late realization escaped his lips, his eyes widened.

He was kissing Mika, the werecat. Directly by the mouth. Well, technically, their lips happened to have touched in a kissing manner. Sapphire eyes widened when the human suddenly grabbed onto him and he didn't have any time to react before he felt warm lips on his own.

!?

Oh shit. Oh shit. OH SHIT. Yuu cursed before slowly backing away. What should he do now? What was there to do now? He had kissed someone by mistake, that someone turned out to be a werecat and a male nonetheless! And that was his first kiss too! Did the gods finally decided that he was not worthy of being in a relationship with a human so they gave his first kiss to another species instead? But still, weren't accidental kisses supposed to happen only in movies or those unrealistic dramas? Then again, life could be a fucking troll at times. And Yuu just got trolled big time.

Even though Yuu began backing away on his own, Mika roughly pushed him off even further and hissed in embarrassment, his cheeks now blaring a deep red. Having had the other so close up in his face so sudden had startled the werecat and it caused him to feel oddly self-conscious in the presence of the other. The blond looked the other up and down apprehensively whilst backing away against the wall before directing his gaze towards the stalls. First he'd felt shock, then surprise and anger, but now, he felt... strange.

Violated? His mind suggested. But, why do you seemed to be enjoying it?

Enjoying it..? Was he really? But- His cheeks grew warmer than before and his chest squeezed painfully.

Mika wanted the feeling to go away. He hated himself for feeling somewhat curious about the warm and tingly feeling in his lips when Yuu first made contact. Still blushing, he quietly picked up the necklace that the raven had dropped earlier and shoved it against the other's chest, refusing to meet his gaze. No words could convey what he was experiencing at the moment.

"...!" Yuu winced and looked down to see the familiar black choker being roughly shoved at his chest. Mika was furious. Well, he had every right to be so.

"I'm- I'm so sorry... I..." Not wanting to make matters worse as it already was, Yuu finally took the collar and quietly refitted it around Mika's neck and a golden fur cat reemerged in Mika's place.

"Ah-" The cat seemed to have lost its strength as it went limp right into Yuu's arm without fighting back. He was burning up! Yuu noted as he held the feverish feline close. His silky yellow fur were slightly damp which Yuu suspected to be sweat. "I have to take you to the vet..." The ravenette carefully cradled the cat before hiding it under his sweatshirt and made his way out of his uni. To meet someone he knew he could very well trust.

Mika woke up all sweaty and exhausted as he felt himself being removed from Yuu's warm hold and placed down on some weird, strangely cool table. The room he was in was unfamiliar and oddly bright, and it smelled funny. The sharp smell was strong enough to burn his nostrils and Mika automatically brought his paws to his twitching nose. "Meow…" He groaned, slowly blinking his eyes open and saw lots of weird equipment, from scary, sharp tools to labeled bottles and vials stored inside the glass cabinets. It resembled the old dungeon he was in before, only whiter and cleaner and…brighter.

Ears perking up in alarm, Mika was fully brought to his senses again as a pair of gloved hands reached out to him. They weren't Yuu's, but of a woman's he did not recognize!

Despite feeling utterly crappy and sluggish, the werecat hastily crawled backwards and fell down to the floor. He felt even more terrified when the hands followed him so he decided to make a run for the slightly ajar door.

Where were they? Why did the raven bring him here? Why was some stranger reaching out for him and why were there so many strange objects lying around? This was not Yuu's home, that was for sure. The werecat shook both from his fever and fear, wrapping himself up in his tail to comfort himself. Being sick only made his anxiety worse.

"He's getting away! Yuu, what are you doing, hold him down!" The woman angrily barked as she tried to catch the cat who skillfully dodged her hands.

"I'm trying!" Yuu moved lightning speed and shut the door in the nick of time before Mika could run out of the inspection room and possibly wreak havoc outside. "Mika, please! You need the meds to get better! You're sick, goddammit!"

The raven went a full circle around the room as he continued chasing after the delirious cat. "And this scary lady is a friend of mine, Shinoa! She's here to treat you, don't worry!"

A vein popped on Shinoa's left cheek as she hotly retorted. "Hey, I'm not scary!"

"MREOWWWW?!" Came the fierce response from the frightened cat as Yuu grabbed its tail but it slipped right through his fingers. "Mika, please! It won't hurt that much, I promise!"

Both the lady's and Yuu's frantic shouting made Mika's head spin more and more so he decided to scamper for the cabinet behind him instead, squeezing his way under it, hiding in the safety of the shadows.

"Mika, don't you-" Yuu tried stopping the cat from hiding but failed miserably. The cat up and went to hide under one of the cupboards used to store various medicines and bottles, much to Yuu's aggravation.

"You did have a pet cat, what did I tell ya?" Shinoa crossed her arms and leaned against the steel table. "The owner's so gonna be pissed..."

"Is that a threat I smell?" Yuu begrudgingly said as he crouched down to see a pair of sea blue eyes peering at him from the dark. "And no he won't, if you keep your mouth shut!"

"Ara, and why should I?" The lilac asked back and Yuu honestly didn't like where this was going at all. If he were to be thrown out of his apartment because of some stupid 'no pets allowed' rule, he would lose all hope in humanity. It would be a hassle to find a new house close to his uni and at a cheap rent as the one he lived in now. And then, there was Mika. The fluffy ball of newcomer in his life whom he felt obliged to take care after picking him up. Werecat or not, Mika was still a defenseless animal that needed to be protected.

"Because...OW!" A painful scream escaped Yuu's mouth shortly after. Mika had bitten his finger. A red spot began to form on his index finger before trickling down to the floor. "Ow ow... you didn't have to bite me..." Perhaps Mika would now come out from his hiding out of guilt. Hopefully.

In Mika's case, he was just so startled when his eyes met Yuu's vibrant green ones out of nowhere and his first reaction was to bite the slim finger as the human stretched out his hand towards him.

It didn't take long for Mika to smell the scent of blood and hear Yuu's soft whimpers which made him pop his head from underneath the cupboard to check the damage he'd inflicted but the moment he did, a thin gloved hand pinched the back of his neck (any cat's weak spot) and he was immediately dragged out of his hiding place, unable to fight back. "Meeeow…"

The first face he saw was a woman's, her violet eyes shone bright with positive enthusiasm, her thin red lips curved into a cheeky smirk. "Gotcha. Now, let's have you examined…"

When the firm hold on his nape was released, the cat Mika tried to shoot off towards the window this time but to no avail. The grip around his waist was too strong. A weird object with tube-like rope attached to it was placed near his chest, his mouth was forced open before a small flash of white light penetrated inside his mouth, a flat stick infiltrated his mouth and felt at his tongue. Uncomfortable. He was very uncomfortable to be treated as such.

Eventually, the fondling and flipping stopped and Mika felt himself settling back into Yuu's chest as if the lady in white coat seemed to have enough of him not sitting still. Mika immediately crawled underneath Yuu's sweatshirt, trying to hide from the big needle in the woman's hand, shaking slightly. At least he felt more safe close to the raven whether he liked to admit it or not.

"Hey, hey...ahahah~ that tickles!" Yuu started, only to be thrown into a fit of giggles when Mika's fur lightly grazed his bare skin. "Mika- ehehe~ don't squirm so much, you're gonna hurt yourself...!" That was when he saw a fluffy yellow head popping out of the collar of his shirt and those sapphire eyes staring intently at his bandaged finger. "Oh, this? It's just a small scratch, don't worry. I'm okay now."

Yuu gently pulled Mika out in the process and cradled him so that his hind was positioned in front of the purple-haired veterinarian. "Tell you what, Mika... If you take the shot, I'll give whatever you want later, okay?" Yuu said with a smile, moving his hand to stroke the soft golden coat of fur. "What do you say?"

"Meow..?" Really? Mika seemed to say and Yuu gave a small reassuring nod.

"Mm-hm! I promise!" Yuu said, not once did he stop stroking at Mika's soft fur and also lightly scratched between his ears in order to comfort him.

The feline wanted to move away at first but was too weak after spending all of his energy from the little chase beforehand. Getting pet by the raven felt oddly relaxing and he found himself almost dozing off, purring in ease at every stroke.

Mika had never had anyone other than his deceased mother, treating him this gently before. He nodded his head sleepily without really thinking but regretted it when he felt a sharp needle penetrating his back seconds later. He let out a small hiss of pain, unable to move since Shinoa held him down tightly until she was done. Moments later he felt himself being lifted up again, not by the raven this time, but by the vet herself.

Something successfully stopped Mika from jumping off or even scratching the person holding him. The scent. Warm and familiar. The woman smelled like freshly-picked lavenders and she was so gentle when she held him that he felt safe and somehow at home. It got Mika thinking that maybe the vet wasn't so bad after all. Because she reminded him a lot of his kind-hearted mother.

Something made the raven gasped loud and sudden. Mika was... Mika didn't even retaliate as much as he did with him when Shinoa lifted him into her arms and started stroking his fur. And was that a purr he just heard? Unbelievable. It took him days to get the blond to allow him to even touch him, and Shinoa succeeded in just minutes after meeting her. Deep down inside, something else stirred inside of him aside from perplexity and astonishment.

It was that. The emotion that made your eyes go all green. Jealousy.

"Did you just drugged him or something…" Yuu turned his gaze to Shinoa's unmistakably smug face.

"No. And uh-oh. Someone's a bit... jelly, I suppose? Can't help it if the cat likes me more than its own owner. I'm a cat magnet after all~" The wee devil named Shinoa smirked wide as she posed the question aloud. Seeing Yuu pissed off gave her some sense of satisfaction, call her a sadist or whatever.

"H-Huh?! Me, jealous? Get real, you sadistic fox." Yuu snapped back when he noticed Mika slipping right under Shinoa's arms and quickly caught him. "Hey... He's asleep...?" Something about the way Mika fitted perfectly in his hold made his heart fluttered with joy. Mika appeared like any other normal cat, snuggling close in his arms and Yuu wanted to protect that image for as long as he lived.

"Well yeah, the shot I gave him had a drowsy effect. So, let him rest for a few days, okay? And don't feed him anything weird except for warm milk and soft food." Shinoa said before jotting down something, the list of food presumably, and handed the note to Yuu. "I did a quick inspection of his stomach, it's in a pretty bad condition. Guess before he met you, he hadn't been eating well."

"Uh, thanks." Yuu took the note and carefully slipped it into his jeans pocket. Before this? Mika was held captive by some dangerous organization. Maybe they didn't feed him as well as he had originally thought. His attention was brought back to the yellow cat, peacefully sleeping in his arms. Those bastards.

Continue we will…

Hello again! So yeah, I finally had the time to continue rping with my co-author~ hope you guys enjoy the new update and do R&R! :D