Don't Trust Them

Chapter 2

The boy was funny, until he told me to stop stomping my foot! Tears pricked my eyes and I felt my ears fall slightly. It wasn't my fault that the buildings, at least that's what he called them, looked so pretty! He stood back up and reached out for my hand calmly.

"Come on little kitten, let's get you somewhere safer than out here on the streets" He told me.

I began to skip as I let him guide me to wherever we were going. I got weird looks from others, of both kinds, human and Neko alike. Though, I didn't enjoy seeing other people like me wearing those bulky things around their necks. Haruka answered my endless questions as we walked.

Soon we walked up to a big shiny building that seemed shorter but longer than the others. Haruka walked me to this wooden thing before moving it to go inside.

"It's called a door Shinju" He told me as I stared at it.

"What does it do?"

"Keeps the inside of buildings safe from the elements."

"Haruka! Is that you!" I heard a loud female voice shout causing my ears to hurt.

I whined out and hide behind Haruka as feet padded over to where we stood. A tall human woman stood with a mean face pointed at Haruka. I was scared as I had no idea who this person was or why she was in this place.

Before she said anything to Haruka though her eyes found me. They narrowed then brightened before she looked back at him.

"Oh you finally found one Haruka!" The woman seemed happy now.

"No mother, she is not my Neko" Haruka stated before trying to push past his mama.

She stopped us as she yanked me from him causing another whine to leave me before I hissed at the mean woman. She seemed very shocked at first before she glared at me with her deep eyes.

"Who do you think you are to hiss at me ingrate!" She shouted before trying to hit me.

Haruka stopped her by grabbing her arm, "mother stop! She doesn't know any better. She wasn't raised in a normal setting she was raised in the woods."

His mother fixed her eyes on him, "you would do well to learn to let me go child." Haruka did looking down shamefully.

The woman went back to me, looking and touching all of me! I felt so violated and gross after that I wanted to burn my body of her touch.

"She is just a young child, how old?"

"She's sixteen."

I didn't like that his mama wouldn't ask me her questions directly, I felt just about invisible. After her questions were answered and she was done touching me, Haruka was permitted to take me to his room. He did so quickly and we did not speak until we reached the small box shaped area.

"This is how my kind is treated here?" The words came out with so much disgust I was unaware someone could possess such distane.

His face held a lot of sympathy, "unfortunately yes, society treats your people like animals. My mother and father have been pushing me to buy someone but I don't agree with it."

"It's awful, the way your kind is so ignorant to kindness."

Haruka let out a single chuckle, "you're so timid until someone disrespects you."

A faint growl left my throat toward the boy, "timid and shy may be me when I feel like a kitten however I do still have part human in my blood. Therefore I do still know my own worth."

"I never said you didn't, however I'm not the one being awful to you. So watch the attitude kitten."

His stern voice and look of disapproval made my kitten side return once more. I bowed my head and apologized for being rude.

"It's fine" He sighed. "I can understand you're hurt and confused about everything."

"Those things my people wear around their necks, what are they?"

He pulled the one from earlier out of his bag, "they're called collars. It's to signify ownership of that Neko. If you were part of normal society you would be wearing a government issued one."

"So you took ownership of me on the street without speaking to me first?"

His face paled, "no, no no that's not what I was doing." He took a deep breath and asked me to sit, I obeyed. "Some people like to demonstrate their superiority over Neko's who refuse to wear their collars. That boy looked as though he may do that, so I used the fact my father forces me to carry this around to try and help. I was going to let you leave right after until your kitten decided to be a brat."

I huffed and growled again, "am not a brat!"

He cut his eyes to me quickly, "inside voice kitten." My body tingled and I looked down before nodding softly. Mama said I had a tendency to deny the truth when my kitten took over. Which may mean that I was being a brat.

"Listen I'm gonna help you get back to your mom and where you live okay? Then you'll be safe and not have to worry about these things anymore."

I smiled and nodded beginning to purr at the thought of going back home and seeing mama.

~~~

Haruka's bedroom door slammed open scaring me from my nap. A human male stood in the door way and he was looking at me like I was a prize.

"Haruka, I'm so glad you found yourself a Neko! We'll have to get her enrolled at your school, make sure she's had she shots. Oh this is-"

"I'm taking her back where she belongs dad, I'm not keeping her like some kind of consolation prize" Haruka interrupted his dad not looking up from what he had been doing.

The father smirked, "you can't take her back, I have entered her into the system, if you don't claim her she become a ward of the state. And who knows what will happen then son."

This caused Haruka to look at his father so fast that I barely saw his head move. "You did no such thing! You didn't even have her name!"

His father hummed, "Shinju Ogawa, her mother is a fugitive. So naturally when your mother told me what she looked like I knew instantly. The girl is either yours, or she's the states, she won't be going back to her mother."

My heart almost stopped, I can't go see mama again? Who is this man? Why is he saying things like this? I don't like him.