Suddenly, I found myself falling, and I hit my ankle on the nob that controlled the water. I yelped as I felt a sharp pain in my ankle and the water started turning boiling hot.
Master quickly turned the water off and grabbed my shoulders to hold me still.
His expression worried, he asked, "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
I closed one eye and winced a little when I touched my ankle. He reached down and rubbed my ankle with a sympathetic look in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry, kid... I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I honestly didn't expect that kind of reaction from you. You're just like a cat in the water."
I turned my eyes down to look at my feet.
He continued, "Speaking of which, I wonder if Hikari is back yet... Excuse me for a second."
He began to stand up, but I quickly reached up and grabbed his wrist.
"What is it?"
I pulled him back down to me and put his hand on my chest.
I attempted to speak, "H-hik... Hika..."
That's all I could manage, but by the look on his face, I think he understood what I meant. He looked confused for a moment and pulled his hand away from me.
"No.. That's not possible. You couldn't possibly be Hikari. Hikari is a cat."
I looked around trying to think of a way that I could explain to him what had happened. Then I had an idea.
I tried standing up, wincing when I put weight on my ankle. I fell forward, right into master's arms.
I grabbed onto his shirt, blushing and looking up at his face. His beautiful brown eyes were so mixed with emotions that I didn't really know what he was thinking or feeling.
I saw a hint of recognition in them as he looked into my eyes.
Master said, "I never realized how green your eyes were. It's such an unusually bright color. Hikari had green eyes like that too."
Then it dawned on him. A smiled creeped onto my face as he started to take a really good look at me.
He asked, "Are you really Hikari?"
I nodded happily and nuzzled his chest with my face like I'd done so many times as a cat.
He didn't seem to know what to say or think, but he questioned, "So... how did you turn from a cat into a human then?"
I made an 'Oh yeah!' face, turned, and ran into the other room.
Once inside master's study, I pulled out a paper and pen from next to the fax machine. I made a quick attempt to draw out what had happened.
I only ended up using the front of the paper, and my art skills were definitely hard to read.
What could I expect? I'd only been human for part of a day. I'd never used a pen before now.
Anyways, I ran back to my master with the paper in hand.
He looked at it for a long while, and then looked up at me. He seemed a little weary.
"So you're telling me that you were praying at that shrine I found you by? And the gods actually turned you into a human?"
I nodded.
"And I'm supposed to believe this?"
I nodded again, thought about it a bit, then shrugged.
He let out a huge sigh and set the paper on the counter.
"Come here."
I took a few steps closer to him.
He reached out and, with one finger, rubbed under my chin. I let out a little noise and leaned into his touch with a smile on my face.
He nodded, "Yep. You're definitely Hikari. Same sweet spot."
He grabbed both sides of my face with his hands and turned my face in every direction to look at me.
Pulling on one of my cat ears, he continued, "I guess these must be real then, huh." I winced and nodded quickly, pulling away.
He then focused on my hair. "Let me guess, this white streak in your hair is supposed to be your white belly stripe?"
I gave him a confused look, and he turned me to face the mirror above the bathroom sink.
The mirror reflected a small, scrawny boy with rich caramel skin and dark shaggy hair with a white streak through the bangs.
Bright green eyes stared back at me whith flecks of gold in them. I leaned closer in complete awe of my human face.
A huge smile broke out across my face as I turned to look at my master. He smiled back and ruffled my hair.
With a giggle, I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to my toy box in the living room. I dug out a little grey mouse that squeaked and lit up blue when I bumped it.
My master stood behind me and took it out of my hand.
"You're a human now. You don't need toys like these."
I looked at the toy in his hand and gave a little pout.
He laughed at me, "Okay, okay. You can keep it. Just put it away when you're done."
I gave a little smile as he handed it back to me. I put it back in the box and grabbed his hand again.
I tried to pull him somewhere else, but he refused to move.
I glanced back at him to see why he wasn't coming. He had a strange expression on his face that I'd never seen aimed at me before. I stopped pulling, let go of his hand, and took a step back.
He shook his head a bit and came closer to me. Gripping my chin and closing his eyes, he pulled my face up towards his.
I went up onto the tips of my toes to reach, and my eyes grew wide as he planted his lips right on mine.
He held me there like that for a few seconds before releasing his grip on my chin and resting his hand on the back of my neck, pulling me farther into the kiss.
It was all happening so suddenly, and I didn't know what to do or think. I lifted my hand up to his chest and tried to push him away.
When he finally broke the kiss, I quickly reached up and covered my mouth with my hand. I could feel my face burning red as I took a step back.
He looked at me with that same strange expression. He then seemed to realize what he just did, and his eyes widened.
I watched as he shook his head and mumbled an apology under his breath before walking away and heading into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
I sunk down to the ground, still unsure what to think of the incident.
Did he really just kiss me? Master kissed me? Why would he do something like that? Does he actually like me?
As a thousand questions ran through my mind, I stood up and made my way to master's bedroom. When I got to the door, I knocked gently.
"Come in," master said quietly. I slowly opened the door and stuck my head into the room.
My master was laying on his bed under the covers, facing away from the door.
Trying my best to be quiet, I creeped over to the bed and crawled up onto it.
Master didn't move a muscle or react, so I crawled over to him and leaned over his body until I could see his face.
His eyes were still open, and he didn't even bother to glance at me.
It was upsetting to me for my master to be ignoring me. I sighed softly and rested my head on his side.
He then spoke, "If you're going to stay in here for the night, you better stay on your side of the bed."
Lifting my head, I could feel a little stab of pain in the pit of my stomach.
Had I done something to upset him? I hope not... What could be wrong?
I crawled under the covers on the opposite end of the bed, facing the door, back to back with him.
An overwhelming sadness enveloped me. I was so afraid that master was upset with me or that he might actually hate me now.
Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. It was an odd thing for me, but I guess it's normal for humans when they're sad.
I tried to fight them, but the day had just been so overwhelming and exhausting that I didn't have the strength anymore. A little sob escaped me.
I felt the bed shift slightly underneath me, followed by a gentle hand pulling the hair out of my face. I glanced up to see my master leaned over me, worried and apologetic.
He put his hand on my cheek, using his thumb to wipe away a tear. I blushed as I sniffled and covered my face with my hands.
I felt the soft touch of masters lips on my fingers for a brief moment. My dear master wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close to him.
I gasped with shock when skin met skin.
I realized then that I'd forgotten to put my clothes back on after the incident in the shower.
I pulled my hands away from my face as I felt master's lips on my ear. A chill ran up my spine as my body trembled with anticipation.
But... Anticipation of what, exactly?
I didn't have a clue.
By now the tears had stopped and my entire body was burning up. Master seemed to have noticed because he shifted behind me and ran his hand up my stomach to my chest and back down.
I trembled at his touch. I guessed humans enjoyed being pet, too.
As my master's hand went down, I realized it wasn't stopping. I let out a small moan and covered my mouth as I felt his hand close around my member.
"M-M... Master," I mumbled through my hand, short of breath. "P-please... Stop," I managed to get out.
I didn't want this yet. I hadn't even gotten the chance to tell him how I feel. Things were just going too fast for me.
Master froze for a second before letting go and pulling away.
"S-sorry, Hikari... I don't know what's come over me tonight."
He rolled over onto his back, leaving a little space between us. I slowly lowered my hand from my face and turned over to look at him.
He stared at the ceiling, trying to control his breathing.
He broke the silence by saying, "Yamato."
I gave a confused look.
He explained, "My name is Yamato. There's no need to call me master. You're not a pet anymore, and you're definitely not a slave."
I nodded quietly.
"Say my name, Hikari. Please."
I watched his face for a few moments before attempting to speak again.
"Ya... Yamato... kun..."
He turned his face and looked at me with an amused expression. "Kun? But I'm older than you."
I blushed and replied, "Y-Yamato."
He sighed softly, "It's fine. You can call me Yamato-kun if you really want to."
He smiled warmly, and I couldn't help but smile back.
I scooted closer to him and reached my hand up to rest it on his chest. I could feel his heart beating in a steady rhythm.
Cautiously, I leaned up and gave him a small kiss on the cheek before resting my head on his shoulder.
Yamato laughed a bit and kissed the top of my head. Snuggling close, our shared warmth soon sent me off into a deep, dreamless sleep.