Then I'll Stay **Tamaki Amajiki**

Chapter Twenty Three

Aika and Hado were hurrying over to Amajiki's. He told Hado it wasn't a big deal, but he knew that Aika would worry, so it was best if they hurried. The girls ran up the stairs, stopping right in front of Amajiki's door. Aika raised her fist to knock, but Hado reached straight for the doorknob, opening the door. The two girls walked in and saw Amajiki sitting on the couch. He stood up, walking over to them.

"What's going on?" Aika asked him. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Amajiki answered her. "I just needed to tell you something."

"Well what is it?" Aika asked, a sense of panic still in her chest.

"I just.. I got back here after Fatgum called me. And.. well... I took Rogue to the vet BUTHE'SFINEIPROMISETHEREISNOTHINGSERIOUSLYWRONGORANYTHING."

Aika stared at him a moment, trying to comprehend what he had just tried to say. She blinked as it all settled in. "WHHHHHAAAAAAATTT?!" She yelled, her heart dropping to her stomach. "Is he okay? What was wrong with him? You should have called me. What did the vet say? Where is he?"

"It's ok." Amajiki said, grabbing her by her shoulders to bring her back down to earth. "He's fine. He's right over here." He said, pointing on the couch where Rogue was laying happily.

"Well.. I.. what happened?" She questioned, calming down at the sight of her cat.

"I came home and noticed he was limping, so I just decided to take him to the vet quick. I was going to call you, but I figured you would worry so I thought it was better to find out what was wrong first." Amajiki explained to her. "They said he probably just jumped off of something wrong and sprained his ankle.. Or whatever a cat has."

"So he's okay?" Aika asked, knowing that Amajiki had already specified he was, but needing the extra confirmation.

He looked at the tears brimming in her eyes. "He's fine." He grabbed her wrist, pulling her over to the couch. She started petting Rogue, looking at the colorful wrap that now adorned his front paw. "I have to give him this painkiller every now and then, but it's no big deal."

"They gave you a medicine?" Aika asked him, now a new concern clouding her thoughts.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean he's super hurt or anything. They just know a cat is always gonna run around whether he feels hurt or not." Amajiki answered.

"Yeah, but.." Aika started, a piece of paper that was on the kitchen counter had caught her eye. "That's not what I'm concerned about.." She admitted, trying to keep Amajiki's attention on her. She focused on the paper. It hadn't been there before, so it could be the vet bill, right? It was a bit of a stretch, but just a glance at it would tell her whether that's what it was or not. She wanted to just look at it. Even if she could just hold it up behind his back to look at it, that would be enough. She just needed to see the price. Vets weren't cheap, after all.

"And what would that be?" Amajiki asked, noticing that she wasn't looking directly at him. She opened her mouth to answer, but she didn't say anything at first, half of her attention on that piece of paper. "Ah, I get it." Amajiki muttered. He manifested tentacles onto his fingers. He used them to extend the length of his reach and grabbed the paper Aika was trying to take.

"Awwww common." Aika cried. Amajiki retracted his tentacles so the paper was now in his hand. He held it above his own head, so it was definitely out of Aika's reach at this point. "Just let me look at it!"

"No way." He said, smiling. "I know what you're after." Aika took a step closer to him, trying to pull his arm down so it was closer to her reach, but it didn't work. She put one hand on his shoulder to boost herself up another little bit.