xantissa

Anime/manga fiction archive is here
TV and other fandoms: here

Cat’s-paw 06: Realisation and Cruelty
PG-13
Ritsuka, OFC
Summary: Mey stared at the ceiling for a while longer, trying to understand what was it that she felt. Anger or pity? Because right now, Ritsuka deserved both.

She wasn’t asleep when Ritsuka crept into her room. Dressed in the ridiculously oversized tee-shirt and soft cotton pants he usually wore to sleep, the teenager slowly crept onto the small bed and wormed his way under the covers.

He hesitated a moment and then pressed close, burying his face in her shoulder, his arms sneaking around her waist. He was tense, minute tremors wrecking his body.

He was already taller than her, the rigorous training adding muscles where there used to be only skin and bones. If he wanted, he could envelop her completely in his arms. Yet, he felt like a child right then. Thin, fragile and upset.

She could feel his eyelashes brushing her skin as he pressed his face into her neck.

“Tomorrow, you’ll move into my room.”

Briefly, she wondered what his brother had done this time to warrant such a reaction?

“Understood.” After all, she promised to follow his orders. She was a Fighter; he was a Sacrifice. There was nothing more, nothing less to it.

There were no more words and eventually they fell asleep, curled around themselves like a pair of homeless kittens.

* * *

She woke up to the feeling of Ritsuka’s face pressed to her chest and his uneven breathing. His arousal was pressing into her hip. But the teenager was obviously still asleep.

She shifted and he woke up, his body tensing in instant embarrassment. Mey ran her hand though the dark, silky hair, pressing at the kitty ears and watching them spring back automatically.

“Do you want to?” She asked quietly, her hand still touching the silky ears.

Obviously, her master was at the age where those instincts should kick in full force. She lost her ears to her Sacrifice when she was fifteen too.

The ears swirled adorably and then lowered sadly.

“I promised my ears to someone already.” Ritsuka whispered, his face still pressed into her chest.

She contemplated the dejected ears in front of her for a long while.

“Your Fighter?”

The boy nodded.

She stared at the ceiling, noticing the lack of any cracks and imperfections. Only the best for Ritsuka.

“The one you abandoned?”

Ritsuka tensed but stayed quiet. That was an answer enough.

"You know, half meant kindness can be the worst kind of cruelty.”

She watched Ritsuka get out of the bed with angry, sharp motions and then stomp towards the bathroom. The sound of slamming doors was overly loud in the room.

Mey stared at the ceiling for a while longer, trying to understand what was it that she felt. Anger or pity? Because right now, Ritsuka deserved both.

tbc