Don't Trust Them

Chapter 9

Shinju was on edge all day and everyone continued to stare at us throughout. I had not missed the whispers from other students about Shinju either. A lot of different things about how pretty she was, however a few were about where she came from. She was younger than everyone in class but she was eager to answer questions and got them right.

"Sato, could I speak with you and your Neko for a moment" my teacher commented as we were about to leave.

I took Shinju's hand and pulled her back much to her dismay. I gave her a few scratches to calm her down as we waiting for everyone to leave. Her purring made a smile form on my face.

"Haruka, I understand the situation with you and your Neko, however I don't like her interrupting my class" He told me.

I gave him a confused look, "interrupting?"

"Per class rules Neko's are only allowed to answer one question a day. Your Neko answered all of mine, and without being called on might I add."

Having to hold back a sarcastic laugh, I answered him, "sir, with all due respect, did she not answer the questions correctly?"

"That is not the point Haruka" He demanded, "we have rules in this school, if they are broken by your Neko again I will wright her up."

I had not done this before but I found a bit of confidence in me to defend her. "I'll be talking with administration about this."

Then I took Shinju's hand and left the room. Going straight to administration like I had promised.

"Haru?" Shinju asked.

"Yes kitten?"

"Did I do wrong?"

The sad tone in her voice broke my heart, "no kitten, you didn't do anything wrong. He is just an ass," I paused, "don't ever repeat that unless we are in private."

She nodded and stopped talking when we made it.

"Mr. Sato, what may I do for you?" Ms. Hyung asked with a smile.

"May I speak with Mr. Long?" I inquired matching her smile.

"May I ask what this is about?"

"It's a personal matter I'd rather speak with him about."

With that she called him and told him I was here to speak with him. Shinju and I stood there silently as she played with my hand boredly.

"Haruka, come on in" Mr. Long greeted me at his door.

Shinju followed me as I walked into his office, Mr. Long was a good man, tried to do his best to help anyone he can. He did a lot for me as he liked to suck up to my father, and I was going to use that in my favor.

"What can I help you with my boy?" He asked.

"A rule has been made for the school that restricts my Neko from answering questions in class. You and I both know how smart she is and I noticed in class everyone learned more. I was pulled aside and told she was interrupting by answering questions the teacher asked. Yet she got them all right, I don't find this entirely fair to put her education back. As her owner, I want her to be properly educated, what do you think?"

I spoke formally and with purpose because I wasn't lying, I did want her to get a good education.

"Well Haruka, the rule has been set so that Neko's know to be seen and not heard. To teach them their role in this world so that when they graduate they can go to good families and obey rules. I can't-"

"I'm going to stop you there, our school is the most prestigious one in this area. High test scores and a big percentage of college admission acceptance. Would be a shame if that went down when I take my Neko and my father's checks to a different school."

I was falling very low for this, but Shinju had every right to learn if she wanted to.

Mr. Long shifted nervously, "I I can bring it to the boards attention. I can't promise anything yet but I can try."

A smile fell upon my lips, "great."

I held my hand out to Shinju and we both walked out. I'm normally not one to make threats like this, however Shinju didn't deserve to be treated like an object. Nor did I believe the other Nekos did, but one step at a time for now.

The rest of the day went by without anymore problems and Shinju didn't seem to have lifted in her mood. Once school ended and we were walking back to the house I studied her. When she was angry or frustrated her ears laid on her hair and her tail hung low. Her face was scrunched and her eyes narrowed. It was adorable, I'm not going to lie, yet I wanted to fix it. So before we fully reached my house I took her hand making a wrong turn toward a park. Maybe letting her slip would help her mood a bit, I even texted Ki to see if he and Hana wanted to join.

When we reached the park Shinju squealed dropped her bag and ran for the equipment. Climbing all of it sliding down slides and just having fun. Ki and Hana showed up too, causing Shinju to jump up and down in excitement and pull Hana with her.

"Why skip homework?" Ki asked as we watched the two nekos play.

"She had been in a bad mood all day, I wanted to cheer her up."

"I heard she got mad when she heard what mom did to Hana."

"Oh she was livid, never really left her today, also almost got in trouble at school."

"Let me guess, answered to many questioned?" He chuckled.

I let out a chuckle as well, "She answered all of them, correctly. He got mad saying she was interrupting class, I took it to Long."

"Good, I did the same when Hana and I were in school together. They let up that rule until we graduated, you're on your last year so they may be more inclined to do it for you."

I nodded a fond smile on my face as I watched Shinju drag Hana all over the park. Her bad mood seeming to fly into the abiss now that she had slipped.