Living With The Nekos (Male Neko X Reader)

9

(Y/n) collapsed, panting. Blood oozed from the numerous cuts on her arms and legs. The abuse and loss of blood was making her weaker as time passed. There was no way she would be able to defend herself against this onslaught.

The girl curled into a ball, bracing for the next attack, but the King seemed to have had his fun - for now.

"Ah, little (Y/n) seems absolutely terrified," the man howled with laughter. "We'll rest, for now." The sadistic king set the trembling girl down in a mass of animal skins beside his throne before exiting the scene quietly.

(Y/n) groaned and looked at her oozing cuts. There was no way these wouldn't get infected. Katsuya had been raking them open again and again after they seemed to have stopped bleeding, causing the injuries to bleed continuously for hours. Thinking of nothing else she could do, (Y/n) tore the animal skins and covered her various cuts with the strips. Hopefully they would help stop the blood, if not infections.

The girl settled down, shuddering breath escaping her lungs, willing to see nothing but her neko family again.

(/*^*)/  

Nahuel narrowed his eyes and silently snarled as Etsuko solemnly informed him of (Y/n)'s disappearance. "No doubt those sinful dogs must have done this." The neko king paced back and forth in his chamber. "Call Yuki for me, Etsuko." The little neko rushed off to do as she was told.

Minutes later, the younger sister of the king showed up. "You called, brother?" 

"Katsuya and Akane are trying to provoke us, but I see no other choice that will help (Y/n) back to us." Nahuel stated grimly, "We'll be entering the hound kingdom promptly. Ready the neko clan, sister."

('^Q^)'

"Awake."

(Y/n)'s eyes fluttered open at the sound of the melodious voice. "Huh?" A feathery, white blur suddenly flew at her face. "Ah!"

"Coku, calm down my little bird." The face of a brunette girl came into view. "Excuse me, (Y/n). Coku tends to get a bit overexcited at seeing strangers." 

(Y/n) gasped as the unknown girl tried to touch her, rolling out of the way. Her agility was back. (Y/n) noticed with wonder before directing her attention back to her target. 

"I'm still in Katsuya's chamber. Who are you?" (Y/n) was tensed, ready to spring at the bird girl across from her.

The girl merely giggled. "Katsuya sent me to heal you enough from his torture that you didn't die. He was worried his little toy would perish, but I healed you more than enough, I see. You're ready to escape from his clutches." The girl stood up from her sitting position, and her parrot flew to her shoulder. "You should leave as soon as possible."

"You still haven't answered me. Who are you?" The girl didn't seem very harmful, but (Y/n) wasn't about to take any chances. 

"Hmm, right now you could say I'm the bird girl that rebelled to help you escape. Sakuragi, at your service, although I seek to be more of an escape buddy than a servant." The girl took (Y/n)'s hand. "Coku knows a way out that isn't necessarily clear of adversaries, but we need to risk going now. The King plans worse treatment for you tonight." The two left the king's chamber.

\(*~*\)

"Nahuel." Yuki knelt behind a tree and pointed to a particularly thick clump of trees in the distance, clutching on to the mountainside. "There it is."

Nahuel could make out a small cavern opening in the rock face. "I see. We must hurry." The neko king crept under some bushes beside him, and his neko group followed. "Stay close behind me. Remember this is not our usual turf. Anything could happen." 

The neko troupe got even closer to the hound cavern, with all six members covered in mud and dead leaves for protection. The rain-softened soil would help cloak their scent should they encounter any guards of the opposing party, making them harder to find. This didn't mean that the disguise was going to be very comfortable, however. Sweat and mud constantly dripped into the nekos' eyes, and the sun beating down through tree branches made it even more difficult to stand.

The troupe reached the base of the mountains, and Nahuel had them all pause to listen. Heavy footsteps tromped around in the distance, but otherwise, the forest was quiet. Hounds preferred to lay around during the day, which was why Nahuel had picked this time to hunt for them. 

"There are about four hound guards standing around the entrance in equal intervals. Let's take them down without a scuffle." Yuki advanced first, extending her claws and coating them with a liquid from a vial from her cloak. Soon, she was behind one of the guards. Yuki quickly sheathed her claws into the back of the guard's head, her hand covering his mouth to muffle any sounds of struggle. Soon, the dog was laying still on the ground. Yuki dragged him to the thick bushes nearby to be hidden.

"Very simple. Akane, Aoi, Mari, take out the other three. Etsuko will follow me." The sisters followed the directions respectively.

Nahuel, on the other hand, had already gotten onto the mountainside. A small ledge lead to the cavern mouth, and the king crawled on all fours, hugging the rock wall beside him lest any guards below should see him. He reached the entrance and waited.

Moments later, Nahuel's sisters joined him and they entered the cavern together.

The mud on Etsuko's face had stopped dripping so fast now that the pack was out of the sun, but nevertheless continued to drop on her face every few minutes. The leaves on her cheeks were also tickling her nose in very unpleasant ways, scratching her nostrils until the irritation reached its peak.

"AHCHOO!" Etsuko's sneeze reverberated through the tunnel, and all the nekos froze. They could hear rapid footsteps approaching them, growing ever closer.

"Run!" Nahuel flew down the dark passage and took a detour from the straight path they had been taking. He had no idea where the troupe was heading now, but there was no way the hounds were taking them. 

The king ran even deeper into the cave, stopping every few moments to listen for pursuers. Finally, there were no noises. The king let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding before walking forward.

The ceiling of the passageway rose, and the tunnel widened into a large room. Nahuel had a bad feeling as he stepped into the room. A smooth, overly silky voice greeted him.

"Hello, Great White One, or should I say, King Nahuel." Katsuya emerged from the shadows, chuckling. "How kind of you and your nekos to drop by." Hounds emerged from all around him, growling.

"Greetings, Katsuya." Nahuel drew his blade and prepared to fight.

\(6^6\)

(Y/n) screamed in delight as she leaped through the forest with Sakuragi, Coku chirping loudly ahead of her. She couldn't believe it - she was finally free!

After passing a few more trees, Coku finally slowed down, chirping three clear notes. 

Sakuragi smiled, stopping on a large tree branch. "We're here, (Y/n)." 

(Y/n) looked below, and surely enough, the neko grounds were there. She smiled gleefully before jumping from the tree to go greet the nekos.

(Y/n) walked around the grounds for a while. Strange. Etsuko and Mari were usually out sparring at this time. Where were they? She decided to enter the cave. Yuki, Aoi, and Akane. They weren't here either. 

The girl walked to check the last place she could hope to find someone she knew, ominous atmosphere pressing down on her. Her suspicions were confirmed. Nahuel wasn't there either.

The nekos had gone to look for her. (Y/n) could barely register this as her brain went into a state of pure shock.

Hello to anyone that is still reading this book! Author-chan will be back for a while, but inspiration to write may take a little bit longer. . . ^^; Hope you found happiness in reading this, and any feedback and comments are always welcome! Thanks for reading and voting too. We will meet again soon~