The Ultimate

Confession

I breathe a sigh of relief at the fresh air and squeeze Neko's hand in enjoyment.

"I feel like this is all still a dream."

"How do you know it's not?" Neko says, squeezing my hand back.

"Do you want the honest answer or a less hurtful one." I laugh but I can tell he takes it seriously.

"It's because I can't see isn't it."

"Neko... You know I still love you right."

"Of course... I just feel like half a cat now." We walk in silence for awhile, not knowing what to say.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this right now... But I met someone... In my dream."

"I know."

"What?" I look over at him in surprise.

"Kevin told me. He created the perfect guy for you, literally from the details in your own mind."

"Oh..."

"You kissed him?"

"Well.... Ya... I did." His fingers squeeze my own.

"After remembering me?"

I hesitate and then sigh. "Ya... I did."

"More perfect than me?"

I hesitate again, wincing at his words.

"Actually, after I made Adrain fade away...and the rest of the dream world...a dream you appeared to try to talk me into staying and creating a new world with him."

"You kiss him?"

"He kissed me. Yes."

"He could see?"

"Ya. He was the perfect version of you."

"Why didn't you stay if he was a perfect me?"

"Because he wasn't you. I knew that you were waiting for me in the real world and I would never be able to live happily in a fake world when you had to live without me in the real one."

He stops in the middle of the street and pulls me into a hug. "Thank you for coming back to me."

"Of course Neko, but can we get out of the middle of the road now?" Cars begin to honk at us.

"Uh... ya." I begin to pull him to the other side of the road.

"Sorry."

"Neko, it's ok." I say reassuringly.

"I wish you could have seen me back when I was fighting the suits to find you. I didn't feel so useless then."

I stop as we reach the other side of the road and pull him into me. "Neko you're not useless."

"I literally just stopped us in the middle of the road to hug you."

"I love you with or without your sight."

"You're different now." He says suddenly as I let go of him.

"Excuse me?"

"See... That excatly. The old you would have just said "oh... Sorry" instead of getting defensive."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Neko." I turn away from him, looking down the street as people swarm past us, oblivious to the fact that we're here. I almost forgot for a second that I am the ultimate, capable of becoming any animal I wish.

"All I'm saying is that you're different. I'm not saying it's a bad thing..."

"I am different, Neko. I've been hurt. My heart is calloused. I found out my parents experimented on me as a baby and also that my cat, who I fell in love with, who also, by the way, made me forget he existed, got captured by the people who also wanted to capture me because of powers I didn't even know how to control. Then I got captured before I could rescue you and found out you were blind before being tortured and studied and then sent into a coma where I had the most wonderful dream in which my life could have been perfect. I met a perfect guy and I could have had a perfect dream life but I chose to come back to the real world with my real family and real friends and real boyfriend who, by the way again, are not perfect; because that was the right thing to do. Also I just found out that my brother isn't actually my brother and isn't actually totally human either. But oh wait. I'm not actually human either am I? Even though I'm 100% human I'm also whatever precent every other animal I've ever come into contact with. I've had a rough year. Alright? So ya, I'd say I'm pretty different now." I am fuming, yelling needlessly into a crowded street in which apparently no one can hear me except Neko, who is cringing at every word I say.

"Sorry."

"You're different too."

"What do you mean?"

"You just continuously say sorry now like you're trying to apologize for being blind." I want to slap my hand over my mouth. Why did I say that.

He takes a deep breath and turns away from me, sighing as he stares blindly down the street.

"You're right."

"What?" Shock drips from my voice.

"It is like I'm trying to apologize for being blind. I'm still trying to treat you like I used to, when I first met you; like a fragile human being that I needed to carry for miles while we're on the run or that I needed to hold close just so you wouldn't kill yourself because of what I got you into. And by the way, what you said earlier... Making you forget me and everything we'd been through was the only way to save you. I had put you in so much danger already besides the fact that you had been imprinted on twice and needed the antidote which only the higher ups had. I'm just so used to protecting you that it's confusing for me not to have to anymore. I guess I just can't wrap my head around the fact that you can take better care of yourself now than I ever could."

I put my hand on his arm. "I still need you."

He turns his face towards me again. "It's hard for me to believe that right now."

"Let's run away." I whisper teasingly, grabbing his hand getting ready to race down the street.

"We can't. Not yet. There's someone you need to meet."

I drop his hand in dissappointment. "Who?"

"Kevin's daughter. Shes back with the pack."