His Neko Angel

Chapter Seven

After running away from the scene, both Dolly and Natsume were inevitably caught by the person they least liked. After lecturing Natsume on his bad behavior and her inaction to stop the situation he gave them their punishments. They were supposed to wear their masks for the rest of the day and be on their best behavior. No disrespectful attitude towards the teachers. No skipping or late to class. And no hiding from Persona himself. Natsume glared hard into his skull as he watched him place the white mask on Dolly. She looked so broken. She would endure more pain than he would, due to the fact she wasn't completely human and the fact Persona liked to experiment on how much electricity she could handle until it made her pass out. Or she asked for him to lower it, which was a rare sight.

"Sorry about this." He said as the two walked to class. They were a little late, but Dolly still wanted to go. Natsume didn't argue against it, since he felt terrible for getting them both in trouble that morning. "It's alright, Na-chan. You didn't put this mask on. He did." He didn't respond, but thought quietly to himself. 'But I did in a way.' When they came to class they walked in, noticing class rep explaining the star ranking system to Mikan. 'If she isn't careful, she'll end up with a bad star ranking.' Dolly thought as she and Natsume walked to their seat. Natsume mumbled something and both were shocked by their masks. The whole class looked concerned for the pair. Mumbling among themselves about what the pair could of done, to earn such a punishment. Natsume turned towards his companion and she just nodded to him and both sat down. Narumi continued addressing the class.

"Alrighty now. Your going to need a partner. Any volunteers?" He asked the class. For a moment no one volunteered, but then a shy, shaky hand rose up shocking most in the class. " this is rare. Thank you for being so kind, Doll-chan." She nodded. Ignoring the whispers and stares she got. Narumi- sense left soon as he had business in order, leaving Mikan and his substitute to complain. Mikan walked over towards the masked girl and introduced herself once again. "Thank you being my partner, Doll-chan. I really appreciate it. I hope we can be really great friends." Dolly smiled under her mask. Even though she was being shocked with enough electricity to kill an elephant, she felt happiness and hope. "Your welcome, Mi-chan. I hope to be the best partner I can for you. And I would love to be your friend." Natsume grew annoyed at the two making a connection and decided to bother Mikan. "Hey polka dots. Get lost." She grew angry at this, while Dolly was soon consumed with worry for the girl. The two argued, but Natsume wasn't in the mood to be in same room as the girl. "Let's go Ruka, Doll." Both followed after him. Dolly hugged her cat closely to her chest and waved a friendly good bye. Mikan was saddened by the loss of connection, but smiled and sat down.

As the three walked over to some shade, Natsume and Ruka wanted to know why their shy friend took an interest in the loud girl. They found her obnoxious and rude, and would of never thought Dolly would want to be near a person like her. At a loss for explanations, they decided to ask their quiet friend. "Dolly? What's with your sudden interest in the new girl? She doesn't seem the type you would socialize with." She looked up at the two, noting their confusion and maybe a hint of jealousy. She sat at her table and the boys joined her. "It's nothing really. She just reminds me so much of her." She said sadly, with a happy undertone to it. "Her? Who's her?" Ruka asked for Natsume.

"Anna. She was a very dear friend of mine, before I came here. She was loyal and very kind. A heart of gold, really...in fact if it wasn't for her, I'd be dead. And that's saying a lot." She paused and played with her kitty. Ruka and Natsume waiting patiently for her to continue. "She had her flaws. She was very loud. Almost obnoxious at times. Didn't use her brain too much, but she was dependable and her kindness towards all, outshined all her faults. It was my fault she died. Though Dante and Damian would say otherwise." She grew quiet again shaking slightly. Natsume gathered her and held her close to his chest. He felt tears wet his uniform and he rubbed her back, while Ruka stood on her right and petted her head. After a few minutes she stopped crying and soon ended up falling asleep. Between the  emotional pain and physical pain, she didn't have enough mental energy to handle both at the time. Once she had fallen into deep sleep, Natsume and Ruka spoke softly amongst themselves.

" she must be in severe pain. She hid it quite well up til this point." Ruka said towards his ravenette friend. He watched as Natsume cradled the girl on his lap. One hand around her waist while the other petted her silky soft hair. "Yeah. She is. That bastard cranked up her shock again. And he made it double if I do something. So while I'm electrocuted. She'll get double to dosage, on top of already receiving more than usual. But she would never complain. Which is why I worry so much about her." He said as he soothed the girl on his lap. He didn't know what else to do, knowing full well neither him or Ruka could make her ask Persona to lower the level. She'd rather go through the pain, than spend another moment with him. He had an unhealthy obsession with her neko demon traits. It was almost like he viewed her as a human puzzle and he was trying to see what made her tick and crack. This got under both of their skins, making their hatred for him grow. "How long are your punishments?" Ruka asked as he picked Lucy up and moved towards the center of them. "Just the whole day. But I'm still worried though. She was literally shaking in her seat in class." Ruka nodded in agreement and watched as her little white cat played with a red and white ball on the floor. "So your Alice still has no effect on any of her groups pets?" Ruka shook his head. "I guess it's cause they are apart of their souls and cause they aren't normal animals. They do like me. But I can't control or manipulate them, but their perspective owners and Dolly herself. It's interesting in a way. If you think about it." Natsume nodded as he continued to pet the slumbering girl, he was starting to care about deeply. Ruka noticed it, but doubted his friend noticed himself falling in love with the girl he held. Ruka liked that she brought a light back to his friends life. Though he doesn't smile all the time, he can tell he's happiest with Dolly around. And she seems to share the same fondness he has for her. Both sat in silence enjoying the peaceful day. Even though they couldn't see her face at the moment, they both knew was content in her sleep, due to her purring. Lucy grew tired and jumped onto Natsume's head, then walked onto his shoulder, before licking his face and purred as he settled on him for a cat nap. Soon he grew tired, and welcomed a nap as well. Ruka smiled happy at the sight and watched over the three. 'They are truly meant to be.' He thought to himself.