Nobody Owns a Cat

Cat Nap

For the first time in a good while, Nao had a nightmare. It must have been brought on by the near death experience and Laito finding out his secret. Months of his life of confinement and experiments replayed behind his close eyes. First the boy merely cried out in his sleep, but when he regained some strength he would toss and turn as if trying to fight off the terrible visions. He was surrounded by gore and death. The pain that was felt long in the past erupted from his body again.

He felt loss and misery over and over. The most haunting moments seem to appear on repeat. This torture continued for the three days the boy slept on his bed. Just when everyone was beginning to worry he would never awake, he jolted from his bed with a cry of pain like no other. It was such a vigorous movement that it sent the boy onto the floor beside his bed, covered in sweat and panting.

Yui, who had happened to be on her turn to watch him, quickly runs over to his side. She reaches out to him, eyes full of worry. The approaching hand startles Nao, and he lashes out with his claws, still lost in his dream. The girl cries out as the movement slashes her hand pretty good. She falls back, tears in her eyes. Within seconds, the brother's were in the room. They had all smelled her blood.

Ayato rushes to kneel protectively in front of Yui, glaring at the cat boy who had quickly hid under the bed after his attack. Nao's red eyes glared unseeingly out from under the bed, full of fear. They were the only things that could be seen of him, glowing in the darkness provided by the space. The look had stunned even the angry redhead.

Shuu was the first to take a step closer, earning a hiss of warning from the boy as he scooted even farther away. Nao was engulfed in his fear and felt cornered, lashing out into the air at any little sound or movement.

Ayato drags a reluctant Yui out of the room to tend to her wound, leaving the others to deal with the small male. If he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to hold back his anger. The only thing keeping him from beating Nao was Yui.

The vampires left in the room seemed at a total loss. The boy didn't seem to hear anything they said to him and wouldn't get out from under the bed. Having enough and feeling great sadness looking at the panicked boy, Shuu reaches under the bed. He pulls a hissing and scratching Nao out with ease. The boy manages to get a few swipes in, even landing one on Shuu's cheek, before the vampire traps him in a tight hug. Nao's struggling slowly stopped as the blond whispered soothing words into his ears. With the lessening of the struggle, Shuu's hold becomes softer.

Finally, the boy's breathing and heart calms down, eyes coming to focus. The stare at the trail of blood on Shuu's cheek was filled with guilt and sadness. Nao leans in without thinking and starts gently licking at it, "I'm. . .sorry. . ." He says softly in between licks. He pulls back a bit, noticing the scratches on the blonde's hands. Taking them into his own hands, Nao brings them to his lips and starts gently licking them as well. His big eyes look up into Shuu's, screaming that he is sorry.

As the other brothers watch this, they can't help but wish they were the ones to reach for the boy first. Their eyes filled with jealousy and cheeks turned slightly pink as they watched the small male, unable to look away.

Shuu smiles softly at Nao, fighting back the urge to pin the boy down. Gently grabbing the boy's hair and pulling his face towards his own, he settles for a deep kiss for now. "It's ok." The blonde reluctantly pulls away.

The boy seems to be brought back to reality with the kiss. He quickly gets up with a blush, only for a dizzy spell to hit. Subaru catches him as he loses his balance. "Yui. Is she alright? I have to apologize." He recalls what he did to the poor girl in his earlier state.

The albino sighs. "Don't worry about her now. Ayato is taking care of her. You should worry more about yourself."

Nao was in terrible shape. They hadn't been able to get him to eat anything while he was asleep and only barely managed to make him drink some water. His restless sleeping and constant swearing hadn't helped his state. Considering what made him pass out and how long he was out, it was a surprise he was able to get out of the bed.

"You need food and water and a bath. Then you can apologize and explain yourself all you like." Reiji adjusts his glasses.

Of course by explaining, he was referring to Nao's extra appendages. Any thoughts Laito had of keeping the secret and blackmailing him had all gone out the window when the boy didn't awake the second day. All taking shifts to care for the boy, all the brothers quickly discovered the secret on their own. Some sooner than others, being a little too eager to undress the boy. (Merely to wipe his sweat away of course.)

Instead of the usual addition and back talking, there was just a tired nod from the boy. Everyone was quite surprised, and that only led them to worry more about his condition. Subaru gently lays him back down on his bed and the vampires slowly trickle out of the room.

Seeing Nao was fine but in no condition to play with, Laito and Kanato take off to do their own thing. The two planned to return later to see how the boy was doing. Subaru stayed outside the room, as if standing guard, with a restless look on his face. Reiji and Shuu head to the kitchen to get food and water for the boy, both avoiding acknowledging each other's presence.

The small male sits up in his bed, a small grunt escaping his lips. His body was pretty sore, but he wasn't sure if it was still from the event before his sleeping or from during the sleeping. It was harder to sit up than he wanted to admit, but he was too restless to lay anymore. He didn't want to fall asleep and meet with nightmares again. The questioning sure to come later was also on his mind.

Guilt and fear filled his mind before a loud rumble of his stomach interrupted. Suddenly he realizes he is starving.

Thankfully, Reiji and Shuu enter with food and water not too long after. Reiji seems as appalled as ever as Nao stuffs his face, but says nothing.

Subaru watches in relief as he leans on the door frame and Shuu sits on the boy's bed, handing him some ice cold water. The boy eagerly takes it and gulps it down, handing it back and continuing to eat. A few bites in and he is again offered the glass, now refilled. This continues till the food is gone and Nao insists he can drink no more. A full glass is placed on his nightstand just in case. The boy giggles a little. He didn't know what a doting mother was like but he was sure Shuu was acting like one.

He gives a thanks to everyone just before the door opens and the rest of the mansion's residents file in. Ayato glares at Nao, firmly holding a still startled looking Yui to him. The boy glances at her before looking to the floor. "Yui. . ." He lifts his head just enough to stare at her bandaged hand. "Are you okay?"

"Whatta ya mean-!?" Ayato is interrupted as Yui squeezes his hand.

"Of course. It is just a little scratch. Are you feeling better? Have you eaten?" Her worry for him only makes him feel worse.

"I'm fine now. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. . . I lost myself for a second. . . I just . . . I'm really sorry."

Yui opens her mouth only to be the one interrupted this time. "What kind of explanation is that?! You lost your marbles or something?! You just tore into her for no reason, she bled." Ayato was pissed, stepping forward as he let go of Yui.

Nao flinches but says nothing and doesn't move. "I understand if you want to hit me."

"Hit you? You think that is good enough for what you did?"

"Ayato!" Yui is ignored.

For a second, the boy is at a loss. Then he realized there was only one thing to do. He unsheathed the claws of one of his hands, causing the redhead near him to tense. Then he drags his claws over his other hand, mimicking what he had done to Yui with a grunt.

There is nothing but shock for a little before Yui panics, quickly running to get a first aid kit. No one moves, even as she gets back. She quickly starts wrapping the boy's hand while making a fuss. "What are you doing when you are in this state?"

"Repenting."

Yui huffs and gently hits his head. "Don't be stupid. Ayato is just overreacting. I know you didn't mean to do it. It is my fault for approaching you when you were obviously disoriented."

Nao sighs, not feeling much better but dropping it. He felt the usual pushover of a girl was going to be stubborn about this.

As she continues to tend to the wound, Reiji clears his throat to bring attention to him. "With that resolved, it is about time you gave us an explanation Nao Susuki."