Alley Cat Universe - or ACU

Charm wiped a tear from her cheek as she sniffled. She looked up at the man that had saved her. She spoke quietly. "I-I'm Charm. Thank you for saving me back there, sir..." She felt another tear run down her cheek, stinging her a bit when it touched a slight cut on her chin. She wanted to burst out crying from the pain she was feeling, but she felt she had to appear strong in front of others. Her upper lip quivered a bit, showing she just wanted to cry. She gulped back her tears, only letting them go as far as making her eyes water. She noticed that Kei didn't look very much older than herself, but that thought was interrupted when she started feeling very weak. The world started getting blurry, fading in and out of the darkness. She shook her head, but it only made her neck muscles scream in pain at her. She let out a sob before letting the world go black.

Kei tried his best to smile for the young neko, but it was difficult when his heart was still raging. He was good at controlling his anger but he wanted nothing else then to continue beating on those that had attacked her. He wished he could call the police but to most humans Neko's were second class citizens. It was rare to find a cop who helped them. So Kei did his best to carry her without hurting her any more.

Kei looked back down on his newly found charge when he heard her soft voice. "I-I'm Charm. Thank you for saving me back there, sir..." Kei watched as a tear fell from her eyes. She was trying so hard to not cry, he could feel her quivering with the hidden tears. Kei smiled at her, happy that she was still with him. "Charm eh. That's a pretty name for a strong girl. It suits you." He said in return, but he was unsure if Charm heard him, he could feel her slipping from conscious and he brushed a few more tears that had fallen. "Don't worry, your safe now." He said softly.

When Kei returned to his apartment, he placed Charm softly on his bed. He quickly made sure she was still relatively okay before he went for bandages and other medical supplies. His father had taught him rudimentary skills with medicine and he was confident he could take care of Charm's injuries well. Kei was careful to work efficiently and delicately, he didn't want to press on her bruises. Thankfully none of the wounds were dangerous, they were all just numerous. He did his best to nurse what he could, but he only wished there was a way he could take away the pain entirely. He knew that when Charm woke up she would be in a lot of pain and he doubted if she would be able to walk much.

Finally when Kei was finished he sat in a chair and rested. It wasn't until then that Kei began to think about what his actions would mean. He guessed that Charm was an alley cat, she was too rough looking and malnourished to be anything else. Kei was worried about that, Charm had to be around 13 or 14 but she was much to small and light for that age. He should not have been able to carry her that easily. Kei was also worried about what would happen after she recovered. It would be difficult to keep her at the apartment, it was only a simple one room apartment. On the other hand, he didn't think he had the heart to let her go back out there. Charm seemed to have only just made it through as is. Kei sighed, deciding that he would cross that bridge when he came to it. He would email his teachers and call in sick the next few days from classes, at least until Charm was feeling better.

Kei sighed as he watched Charm's chest rise and fall with her breathing. He didn't know what he was going to do but as he looked at the small girl laying in the bed, Kei decided that he didn't care. Kei rose from his chair and brushed a little bit hair from Charm's face. "Sleep well." he said as he went into the kitchen to cook a small meal for Charm and him when she woke up.

Skylar was in a daze. He wasn't quite sure what was happening. He could have sworn there was a little neko with him a minute ago. He shrugged and walked out of the park.

Not too sure what to do, he decided to pay Thorn a visit. He began to head back into the alley where he to carried her earlier. Once he spotted her room, he plopped himself up on the windowsill. He scanned the room to see if she was there. "Hello?" he called out.

Thorn jumped up when she heard someone come in to her room through the window that should have been boarded up. suddenly she realized the person who came in was a stranger so she pulled her fists up in front of her, into a fighting stance. Her eyes widened when she saw who was standing there. It was Skylar...

"I believe knocking would have been nice." Thorn teased with a small almost broken smile. Her hair was ruffled and a bit tangled which she striaghtened by gently pulling her fingers through it. "By the way thanks for bringing me home."

"If you planned on fighting me, I can be quite sure you would lose" Skylar commented, when Thorn put her fists up. Skylar couldn't help but notice a small smile on her face, it interested him highly. He made a note to see more of them in the future. "True, but the window just seemed more convenient" Skylar chuckled. He smiled a little when he saw how she looked. "Don't worry about it" Skylar spoke, as he stepped into the room.

He began to glance around the room, he noticed everything seemed to have a place. Not surprising, considering the chances of theft in the Alley. "I believe you have my jacket...um I don't think I got your name" Skylar mentioned, trying to recall if she had said it.

Charm groaned as she awoke, letting her eyes stay closed for a bit. She opened them slightly after a while to let the light in, little by little. Once she had her eyes halfway, she turned her head to look around. She registered she was on a bed, and a comfy one at that. She closed her eyes, recalling what had happened. She spoke to herself. "Let's see. I left the park after thanking that guy quietly, then I wandered the streets until I came to the fish market. I stole a salmon, ran into an alley and met a few guys who wanted the salmon. They beat me up, then I was saved and then....." She opened her eyes again, sighing softly. "And then I wake up in this place." She slowly sat up, feeling the sting of a few of her wounds. She blinked a bit and then looked at her arm, seeing it was bandaged up pretty well. "I guess it wasn't another neko that saved me." She rolled to the end of the bed and sat on the edge, easing herself up. She took a painful step and then fell down, catching herself before she hit the floor. She groaned. "Great. How am I supposed to get around when I'm this weak?" She crawled back to the bed and leaned against the side of it, sighing and closing her eyes. "Now that I think about it, where am I?"

When Russet realized that they were going to the old cafe, her face lit up in excitement. "Oh my gosh," she whispered quietly, noticing that the sign was different and the building itself was a different shade of warm brown. She walked along happily beside Yuen, enjoying the feeling of their hands together. The door was opened and the redhead trotted inside along with her partner. It was just as she remembered: sugary and warm. She wanted to curl up in her cat form and take a nap, for napping was something she enjoyed almost as much as Yuen.

"I can't believe we're actually here," she squeaked in excitement, squeezing his hand as they trotted to a table for two.

Kei had long since eaten and was currently practicing Tai Chi when he heard a thump come from the other room. His mind quickly returned to Charm and his brow quickly furrowed in worry. It sounded like she had fallen out of the bed, Kei hoped that the young neko hadn't hurt herself. As he came into the room he saw that Charm was indeed up and leaning against the side of the bed. She must have tried to walk and fallen. Kei quickly went to her side and bent down next to her. "Are you okay Charm? You shouldn't strain yourself, those guys gave you quiet the beating." He said, worry a little imminent on his face. At the same time though he was nervous and unsure what to say. She must be worried and a little afraid waking up in some man's house and bed. "ah, please forgive me. I'm not sure if you remember, but I'm Keiichi, but you can call me Kei. I saved you from that gang that was beating you up and took you back to my place to rest up. Are you hungry? I made some dinner for you."

James finished cringing for a simple and mere moment, his eyes flickering as she spoke to him about the music. He doubted his capacity to accept the music, especially because he hated his father so for making him play and having his mother agree in a dose, happy note. He did realize how he had played out his anger earlier on but hadn't recently done it so much since his father had not been home to punish him if he didn't play.

James blinked at Jenna, wincing rather dramatically when she probed his bruised eye and grumbled something before his own eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something before she scrambled off him, causing him to wince some more, then he settled, staring at the wall across from them, his cheeks slightly colored in.

James's jaw wriggled a little to find something to say until Jenna told him what she did about wanting to hear him play and he shook his head. "I don't know." He uttered softly, blinking with his good eye. He glanced at Jenna and his mouth moved a little before he spoke. "If you really want to then sure but I don't have a piano right now. Well, not right in front of me if you get what I mean. Theres one back at my house though." He paused. His mom was home, and his sister...

Jenna would have to deal with his mother and sister and how the family interacted if she had the nerves to go to his house at all. "Or is there like a music store near here that I could use a piano in?" He asked, figuring simply that she knew this place better than him and letting their moment slip instantaneously.

Charm tilted her head as a boy came into the room. She blinked a bit before realizing it was the boy who had saved her. She was still a bit nervous, glancing at his hair and noticing he wasn't a neko. She smiled slightly. "I'm fine." She held one of the places on her arm where she was bandaged up. "The bandages help a lot." She studied his face, finding that he looked worried. "A-are you okay? You seem a bit troubled....." She then shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't accept your offer. I'd regret taking from you."

Thorn's eyes brightened when Skylar mentioned a fight. "If we did get in a fight, I would win. not you." she said with grin full of mischeif. Her head tilted a bit when she saw him looking around. "Your jacket is in the living room. Follow me." she spoke firmly as she walked through the foor in the right corner. As she went through the first place she looked was at Skylar's jacket. It had a tiny rip on the sleeve.

"Your jacket's on the leather couch and it might have taken some damage." Thorn hid a smile as she looked toward Crystal's door. Her senses were at work now. She was trying to find out if Crystal was here and if she wasn't, how long she's been gone. Her smile turned into a frown when she realized Crystal hadn't been here for over two hours.

Crystal had been moving all day. She was exploring everywhere she could barely stopping for a minute to look at things. When she came upon a craft store that was throwing out a few things. Once the person left she went to the trash can looking at the goods she could find. She saw a few pencils and some old frabric. Crystal pulled out the fabrics very crisp and clean since it was barely used. There were a rusty red color, cream color, dark green a light smudge on it, a ripped piece of blue, and an akward brown. Crystal had her tote and placed them in the bag and dug some more to see if she could fine some more. She found some yarn and few needles in a packet that were bent, but the rest were straight she put them in her bag. Crystal even found some thread and a can full of button that she happily put in her bag. Once she was done she decided to head back to Thorn's place. Turning into her cat form she raced through the streets taking as many safe shortcuts as possible. Crystal walked in the door not noticing the man in front of her she bumped into his leg with an "Oof!"

Yuen nodded to her. "I know right?" A waitress was soon at their table, handing out menus. But Yuen only had eyes for Russet, and only breifly glance at the waitress for a quick thanks and to except his menu. He scanned it quickly. "Ahh yes. I would like a maple roll, please. And... a milkshake for two." Yuen winked at Russet, making it clear they were going to share the shake. The waitress nodded. "So waddya you want, hun?" She turned to Russet.

Meanwhile, Yuen spotted something that upset him greatly. Behind Russet, was a booth full of the rotten kind of guys. What are they doing here....? One was making innapropriate gestures, then pointing at Russet. Yuen's eyes narrowed.

"Oh really? I liked to test that confidence of yours sometime" Skylar challenged, showing a similar tone of mischief. Skylar followed her into the living room. He lifted up his jacket and noticed a tiny rip along the shoulder. He also noticed a lot of hair sticking on his jacket. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you were playing with my jacket" Skylar chuckled, although, he could not quite picture Thorn playing with his jacket. "The damage is nothing to worry about though, I'll just have to fix it up later" Skylar added.

Skylar felt something hit his leg. The sudden impact shocked him as he jumped back a little. He looked down and noticed a gray haired neko beneath him. "Are you alright?" Skylar asked, kneeling down. "Are you lost?" Skylar questioned, patting the neko's head a little.

Crystal blinked once or twice before she realized someone was in front of her. "Are you alright?" Skylar asked, kneeling down. "Are you lost?" Skylar questioned, patting the neko's head a little. She let out a small purr when the person petted her. "No I not lost" Crystal mewed still in her cat form then looking at the Thorn. "And why didn't you say we had company coming over?" She then turn into her human form looking back at the male neko. "Hi my name is Crystal. What yours?"

Russet listened respectively as Yuen spoke briefly to the waitress. A maple roll. She remembered getting those when she was a kid. They'd come to visit this little cafe like this multiple times as children - but this time, their relationship was a little different. A light blush colored her porcelain cheeks when he ordered a milkshake for them to share. The wink only dazzled her further. She was almost too caught up in the situation to realize that the waitress was talking to her. "Fruit tart," she managed to get out with a polite smile.

When the waitress left, the redhead turned her attention to Yuen. She was completely oblivious to the boys behind her. "So tell me," Russet began, bright blue eyes scanning his features; had he gotten more attractive over night? "Back at the house. Was that dark character really you? I'm not just going crazy here, right?" By the look on her face, it was clear that she was genuinely excited to hear his answer. It didn't take a genius to realize that she'd been extremely attracted to that dark personality.

Thorn's frown lightened a bit when she watched Crystal come in. She froze when she heard Skylar saw something about her playing with his jacket. "Fine you caught me. I was bored and plus I wouldn't have torn if you didn't leave me so close to the dge of the darn bed." she spoke as she remembered herself trying to untangle herself from his jacket but ended up falling off the bed.

Thorn watched Crystal and Skylar talk but something inside of her felt like bursting. She looked up at crystal. "Well it wasn't my fault you weren't hear. Where did the little one go? Charm was her name." She tried to sound bored but on the inside she was sad the little neko didn't stay.

Skylar watched as the girl transformed before him. "Oh, sorry, I did not know you lived here. My name is Skylar, nice to meet you Crystal do you live here with Thorn? " Skylar inquired at the girl. He stood back up, and looked back over at Thorn. "Sure, sure. I am sure that you just got too carried away, didn't you?" Skylar teased a little, leaning toward her, attempting to get the truth from her. However, he did not expect her to look as cute as she did up close. His face light up a little as he spoke.

Skylar felt comfortable. He found it odd that he was more happy in the Alley than he was in the mansion. He supposed places like this was truly were he was happy. Skylar sat down on the bed, stretching out his legs as he sat. "I hope I'm not imposing by being here, am I?" he asked, wondering if he was making them uncomfortable.

Crystal put her bag of new treasure on the counter. She looked up at crystal. "Well it wasn't my fault you weren't hear. Where did the little one go? Charm was her name." Crystal moved to look at Thorn directly. "She left before I was up. Last night I offer to make her food butshe went straight to bed I dunno where she went." She shrugged a little as to not sure where the little girl went. "Oh, sorry, I did not know you lived here. My name is Skylar, nice to meet you Crystal do you live here with Thorn? " Skylar inquired at the girl. Crystal smiled back at Shylar. "Its nice to meet you Skylar and yes I am a roomate to Thorn." She then pulled the bag with stuff off the counter and headed to her room. "Thorn do you have some scissors? I need to use them."

"Fruit tart." Yuen's gaze was brought back to Russet. If those guys got out of hand, he would deal with them shortly. "Back at the house. Was that dark character really you? I'm not just going crazy here, right?" His happy expression faltered. Wasn't the usual him good enough for her? Yuen looked away. "That?" He considered pretending he didn't know what she was talking about, but decided against it. "My physciatrist says that that's how I am supposed to be. She says that my 'excellent breeding' has resulted in myself actually being like that. Apparently I get like that whenever I'm under pressure, and all of my wrappings come undone."

Yuen looked up grateful for a distraction when the food came. He pushed the shake in between himself and Russet, picked up a straw and took a long sip. It was vanilla, thick, creapy, and extremely satisfying. In an attempt to change the suject he spoke up. "You should really try this. But then again, I'm not sure you can handle this milkshake's awesomeness." Yuen pulled the shake towards him possesively, daring Russet to try and take it.

The redhead listened, taking in his words, accepting them completely. He attempted to change the topic when the shake came, but she wasn't about to let the conversation go. "Alright," she said, tilting her head, big blue eyes watching him closely. She too took a sip of the drink and was pleasantly reminded of drinking them when they were kids. Leaning back in her chair, she returned her thoughts to his personality change. "Well I like both parts of you, then. Both are perfect. Gentle when you need to be and not when you don't," she said thoughtfully, looking off outside the window. "I don't know why you hid that part of yourself from me. It's just as good as your normal self." She did seem a little disturbed that he'd hidden such an important part of himself from her, but the distress was gone in an instant when the fruit tart arrived.

"Ohhh this looks yummy~!" she chirped, eyes devouring it even before she got her hand to her fork.

Male whispers and laughter behind her temporarily caught her attention, but she was too childly engrossed in her sweets to care about anything else.

"Well I like both parts of you, then. Both are perfect. Gentle when you need to be and not when you don't," she said thoughtfully, looking off outside the window. "I don't know why you hid that part of yourself from me. It's just as good as your normal self." Yuen squirmed a little in his seat. So she did like both parts? "Well, I've never really tried to be that way, but I've also never tried to hide part of me from you. Honest." Dark brown eyes met blue. "That's just the way it worked out." Yuen smiled when Russet's fruit tart arrived. She was so cute with her sweets! He smugly remembered all the times he had bribed her with candy when they were younger. Yuen picked at his maple roll, lost in a flashback. White fingers paused when laughter erupted from a nearby booth.

Yuen looked up in annoyance, sending death glares at the guys laughing. But only one noticed him, and he only smirked back. When Yuen frowned, then the man made a very inapropriate gesture directed at Russet. The laughter resumed.

Momo panicked a little bit. She still hadn't made a solid plan as for what to do, and she could hear him come up the stairs. She could also smell the strong scent of booze, and then knew what to do. She grabbed some string tied it on to something near her room. She then put the string in her mouth, and changed into her cat form. She was faster in her cat form, so it would just look like a blur of orange when she ran past the railing. She bolted over to the other side, closer to Nina's room, and tied the thin, unseen string to something on the wall. She then threw something cheep, but looked expensive in the light, in between the stairs and the wall. She got her knives ready, knowing that she'd have to hit him in the arms and possibly the legs.

Nina sat back down. She wanted to help, but knew that she shouldn't. 'Momo has a better advantage up there, then I do down here' she thought to herself. She watched Drake get up, and became very worried. She didn't want him to get hurt, but just nodded and did what he said.

The fruit tart was just as delicious as she remembered. Of course the memories of coming here had been extremely important. She's always fancied Yuen; up until now, however, she hadn't realized that her feelings might not have been one sided. Russet felt spoiled rotten. Not only did she have an awesome house and a great friend, but she was pampered like no other royal. Her deep blue gaze flickered up to meet his and, out of embarrassment at her own thoughts, flushed a deep red color. She returned to her fruit tart, struggling to stay focused on her sweets and not on him. Maybe she was still a little high on adrenaline from the kiss. It sure felt like it. Her heart was racing a mile a minute.

It was the commotion behind her that finally brought the redhead to her senses. She glanced at them over her shoulder, eyeing them as they gestured at her in inappropriate ways. "What douche-bags," she muttered, but wasn't at all bothered by the situation. It wasn't like guys didn't act like this often. But the frown upon Yuen's lips made her think twice about the situation. Personally she didn't care what others thought about her, but then again he seemed bothered by it.

"Give me a minute," Russet murmured. She stood, hands on the table and full attention on the boys. Without hesitation she stalked over to their table, stopped, and looking at the one who had made the gesture at her, she slapped him full across the face. "Is it really all that necessary to ruin my date with my boyfriend?" she asked; the word boyfriend slipped out unintentionally, but it felt good to say. "Leave us alone." Storming back over to the table, she popped the rest of her fruit tart in her mouth, put some money on the table, and held her hand out for Yuen to take. "Let's go," she said, glaring daggers over at the table of boys.