RP Log- Ryoma & Marui
Summary:: Ryoma's bitten by someone other than Fuji. Paranoia and a trip to the doctor are in order.
Rating:: G
Ryoma shifted in his sleep. His face scrunched slightly as his foot encountered something at the lower end of the bed. He didn't remember tossing more clothes there, but they shouldn't be on the bed with him. He yawned and nudged whatever it was off the bed, hearing a heavy thump and an odd noise which was promptly forgotten as he stretched a bit and fell deeper into sleep.
What the hell?
Marui, suddenly finding himself at home on the floor, lay upon his back staring up at the ceiling . Startled out of a rather nice sleep, it took a few moments for him to orient himself enough to realize that the hardness beneath his spine was nothing like the wonderful softness he’d snuggled into and fallen asleep on the night before.
Indignation was swift in coming, and if he wasn’t still laying in an ungraceful sprawl of limbs, his hair would have been rising on end from the humiliation of it.
That brat pushed me…ME!! Off the bed.
How fucking rude! Growling, he scrambled to his feet and leapt toward the bed, nosing his way beneath blankets and sheets alike into a perfectly arched foot could be found. A foot that he soon sank the punishing length of his teeth into.
Bad, pet! No treat for you.
Ryoma yelped and sat up in a panic of blankets and sheets flying across the room. His first thought was that it was Fuji coming to give him another wakeup bite filled with jealousy, then that it was in the wrong place. Eyes wide as he panted, trying to calm the racing of his heart, he stared at the lump moving under the covers he'd just tossed across the room.
Disbelieving eyes looked down at his foot, which was bleeding into the bed as though that were the natural thing to be doing. He watched as the cuts healed themselves, leaving behind faint red spots and an ache. Slowly the events of the night before sunk in, and he realized what had happened.
"Shit! Cat, you'd better not have rabies!" Fuji would kill him if his feeder suddenly went rabid.
Marui mentally rolled his eyes, plopped down on the tangle of blankets he finally clawed his way out of, and gave Ryoma a look of such hurt that he was sure angels would have wept.
Rabies? Him? As if.
He was above such paltry things.
Ryoma rubbed his foot and slid off the bed, wincing slightly as he put weight on his foot. He knew exactly what he should do to avoid being in trouble. Limping over to the phone, he found the nearest vet and made an appointment. When he was finished he called downstairs and requested a carrier, not caring if he was seen anymore. He'd already kinda asked Yukimura and he was sure training a cat to use a litter box wouldn't be all that hard. Actually, he was sure Tiger probably needed it anyway by now. He'd set it up in the bathroom but had forgotten to leave the door open.
Well, first things first. Sighing, he went over to the sulking cat and picked him up, heading into the bathroom.
"Let's see if you know how to use one of these things." He yawned, plopping the cat into the box so that his feet sunk into the litter by a good inch. "Then we both get to go for a trip."
“………”
Marui promptly lifted his tail regally into the air, and like a diva sticking up her nose at something beneath her, daintily stepped out of the litter box.
Trip? What trip?
Ryoma shrugged, only a little worried about the possible state of his carpet. He'd just remember next time to leave the door open. In the meantime, he caught the cat and plopped him back into the litter.
"We both need to get some shots just in case... I wonder if feeder blood is bad for cats..." He replied absently as he went back to the bedroom to get dressed.
Shots?
When hell froze over!
Marui shot out the bathroom door right behind Ryoma, sleek body flying for the bed. Specifically, beneath it.
"Ack!" Ryoma jumped as a streak of fur ran through his legs and under the bed. Crap.
"You might as well give in, because I'm not getting a needle jammed into my ass by myself." He said grumpily as he knelt and lifted the ruffled sheet that hid the bottom of the bed, glaring into the darkness.
Oh, yes, you will!
Marui hissed, fur rising on end. He glared through the darkness toward the tunnel of light Ryoma created with the lifting of the ruffled bed sheet.
"I will not!" Ryoma snapped and shoved the matress to the side, glaring down at the cat. "I hate shots just as much as you do, and how do you know I don't have something that I don't even know about? Now get your butt out of there, you look ridiculous."
Not like your paltry human diseases would affect me, runt. And, no thank you, I think I’ll stay right where I’m at.
Now that was a first- having a human hear his thoughts. Usually they were so weak-minded that unless he shoved them into their heads, they didn’t hear a thing. Made it easier on him, he mused. At least it beat the hell out of having to turn human just to rant in their faces.
Ryoma huffed. "Fine. No treat for you today then."
That’s not fair! Marui whined with a huffy hiss.
"Of course it is. I'm not even telling you what I was going to give you now." Ryoma pulled the mattress back to where it should be and limped to his closet to pick out some clothes, grumbling about how he hated shots and being up early.
A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Ryoma accepted the carrier and thanked the man, setting it by the door, the little gate swinging open with a creak.
Marui crept closer to the light, far enough toward the luminance that he could see the carrier as the door swung open. It yawned before him like the gates to hell, taunting him.
No treat is good enough to make up for some human, with a needle fetish, sticking sharp things into my ass, runt.
"I do not have a needle fetish, and I don't see where you have room to call me a runt, kitten." Leafing through a slim phonebook filled with places to go that catered to the clan, Ryoma chose one and dialed, surprised at how easy it was to set up an appointment to himself.
You aren’t the one who will be giving me the shots, now are you?
I ought to change, thought Marui as violet eyes narrowed with ire. Granted, in human form he was probably about the same size as Ryoma, but when he went… Meow. Okay. Not a good idea since he’d probably end up eating his pet for breakfast, if he did.
"Of course not," Ryoma said giving the cat a surprised look. "I don't want to hurt you, and I have no idea how to give myself a shot, much less a cat."
Then I stand by my reasoning that the one who will, has a needle fetish, runt.
Marui still wasn’t budging from his last stance of defiance.
Ryoma frowned. "I don't think they're like that. The place in this book says they pamper animals." He opened the phonebook to the right page, and set it on the floor near the bed for the cat to see.
Psh.
You shouldn’t believe everything you read!
"Well, we can always go just to check it out. I don't want to take you someplace that I wouldn't want to go to myself."
Like I’m going to trust someone who threw me off the bed.
Did he look like a stupid cat? Have a sticker plastered on his forehead that spelled ‘Sucker’ in huge capital letters?
Ryoma shrugged. "Have it your way then. I'll just eat the next sandwich myself and get you some dry cat food on the way back."
A soft, low, pathetically weak whimper bled from Marui’s lips. He hated cat food. The stuff humans fed their cats was just unappetizing to say the least.
I think I hate you.
He shot Ryoma an annoyed look as he slunk from beneath the bed, tail drooping along with the ears atop his head.
Ryoma sighed and crouched down to scratch at the cat's ears. "I wouldn't care so much about you getting checked out too, if it weren't for the fact that someone'll probably make us go anyway. I'd rather do it on my own than be forced."
His other hand joined the first, scratching at the shoulders then migrating to the cat's chin. "Besides, if you came with me we can eat on the way."
I’m a hungry cat, but I’m not a stupid cat. Food isn’t going to change the fact that those shots are going to hurt! he grumbled, unable to resist nuzzling into the fingers rubbing beneath his chin. He wondered if Ryoma had any idea at all that he was talking to an animal. The boy didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary in this, and Marui wondered if it was because he wasn’t aware of doing it.
"Yeah well, I'm getting them too so you wouldn't be the only one sore afterward." Ryoma made a face and stood up. "Well, are you going with me or staying here?"
You think I’m riding in that thing the whole way? Marui plopped down on his haunches, perked a brow and gave Ryoma a haughty ‘You’ve lost your mind’ look.
Ryoma looked from the cat to the carrier and back again. "Well, it's either that or this." He replied, holding up a leash.
Marui ran his gaze from carrier to leash to carrier again. No. I am not being carted around in that miniature prison to wherever the hell it is you’re intent on taking me, and you are not putting a leash on me. He stood, starting to pace in agitation, prowling around Ryoma’s ankles soon after. Do I look like a dog to you? Huh, do I?
Ryoma took advantage of the moment and used his foot to lightly kick the cat into the carrier, swifty locking the gate behind him.
……
Marui scrambled around, diving for the door. He slammed into it just as it swung closed, sealing his fate.
Now, I know I hate you. he huffed, swishing his tail behind him.
Ryoma just stuck his tongue out at the cat. "If I have to go, you have to go." With that, he picked up the carrier carefully by the handle and left, making his way past the elevator and pushing open the door to go down the long flight of stairs.
Oh, shut up! Marui groaned. The sensation of the carrier swaying having adverse affects on his stomach. Bast, was he going to be sick? No, and even if he was, he’d wait until Ryoma took him out of the carrier to lose whatever contents his stomach still held.
It’d serve his pet right.
Ryoma didn't reply as he focused on getting down the stairs without dropping the carrier, listening to the sound of claws scrabbling for purchase now and then. When they finally reached the bottom, Ryoma took a deep breath and made his way across the lobby, as though it were nothing special that he had a pet now and he traveled with a carrier all the time.
Pushing open the door, he made his way to the car that was waiting. If he really wanted to, he could throw the clan and Fuji's name around and have people scrambling to make him happy.
It didn't really appeal to him though. He preferred to do things more or less the 'normal' way, which was why he chose a simple cab service to take them both to the vet and the doctor that were in the small phonebook.
The only concession he made was that he was charging everything to Fuji's account.
Placing the carrier into the back seat first, he slid in and shut the door, rattling off the directions to the driver.
When the carrier was more or less stable again, Marui curled into a ball, tucking his head against his stomach. A pitiful mewl escaped him every now and again during the ride, telling of his discomfort. He hated riding in human conveyances, much preferring to scale the distance of the city in his breed form. Not only did he get to where he was going faster, he didn’t have to suffer the disgraceful state of being motion sick.
Which he was now, and he blamed it solely on Ryoma. And this of course meant he was never again talking to the boy.
Ryoma only felt a little bad for the cat. After all, his foot was still sore, dammit.
When they reached the vet, they were only kept waiting for ten minutes before someone could see them. This had to be the only vet that was open at this time of night, Ryoma was thinking as they were led into the room. He set the carrier down on the table and sat down, his feet scuffing the floor.
Marui struggled when strange hands dived into the carrier to pluck him out, claws unsheathing and striking for every available surface he could reach as long as it carried the healthy peach tinge of human skin. However, in his current form, it didn’t take the vet and his assistant very long to restrain him, and when they did, the displeased cat sent Ryoma a most aggrieved look.
He should change and eat them all, thought the cat whose fur rose on end, hackles rising as his imprisoned state continued to grate on his nerves.
The vet and his assistant exchanged a look with each other. Ryoma was too occupied with hurriedly pulling the carrier out of the way to notice that the gashes in the vet's hands and wrists healed quickly, before more than a sheen of blood could come to the surface. When he looked up, the vet was holding his cat by the scruff of the neck while his assistant stood back, ready for instructions.
You're not a normal housecat, are you. The vet's voice was directed at Marui, carefully shielded from the watchful Ryoma.
Marui stiffened, body going taunt from whiskers to tail. Normal? Of course he wasn’t normal, dammit! He was extraordinary. He was Marui Bunta, descendent of the goddess Bast, and no human had the right to manhandle him this way.
Narrowed eyes surveyed the vet, calculating his worth as a meal. Appetizer or main course? Hmm.
"Looks like we have a feisty one here!" The vet said aloud. Look, I know the difference between a real cat and a were. You smell different. The questions is, does he know?
Marui sniffed and swished his tail, once again adopting a superior look in his gaze. If he knew, do you think I’d be here, putting up with this? Humans, he once again confirmed what he’d learned long ago. Were idiotic creatures.
Good, that makes this easy then. Unless you're a shitty actor. Behave, and we can just fake everything, with your little owner none the wiser. The quick communication between the two happened in a matter of seconds, Ryoma noticing none of it.
"So, what are we visiting for, hm?" The vet inquired, cautiously loosening his grip on the cat with a warning look.
"I've only had him for a short time, and I don't know his medical history. He bit my foot this morning and I wanted to make sure he didn't have anything catching." Ryoma replied, coming closer to the table cautiously.
Oh, he was definitely coming back to eat this guy. Marui added a mental note to his list of things to do while he waited for the farce to be over.
The vet made a big deal about poking and prodding Marui, looking into his eyes. The assistant came over but the vet caught her before she could shove a thermometer up the cat's butt with a look. You know, I should have let her do that anyway for that nice greeting of yours. He was spouting random information about how Ryoma should keep an eye on him while he adjusted to being a housecat, buy a new set of drapes and that this particular breed of cat needed actual meat in its diet rather than regular processed cat food.
Ryoma just nodded, making a mental note of everything.
You really want me to eat you, don’t you? Marui asked the vet in response to his little tidbit.
I'd like to see you try. The vet replied, grinning with a hint of fang.
Don’t tempt me you bloodsucking corpse. He’d put up with being dragged around, talked down to, poked and prodded at, but Marui drew the line at letting a vampire think himself above his place.
The assisstant handed Ryoma a small packet. Ryoma peeked inside to find a bit of metal and emptied the packet into his hand. Ah, tags to prove Tiger had gotten his shots.
When he looked up, the vet was throwing away a needle. "That was fast." He commented.
Not fast enough for Marui apparently, because he chose that moment to take one more swipe at the vet, sinking his claws into the vampire’s skin. When the hold on his body loosened, he leapt, diving toward Ryoma.
Startled, Ryoma caught the cat and held him close, automatically starting to pet him in an attempt to soothe.
Tsk. Maybe next time I should give you the shot for real. The vet picked up the carrier and set it on the table once more. "We're all done here, you guys can go home." He tucked his hand into his pocket, letting it heal out of sight.
Marui refused to spare any further attention for the vet, instead he opted to snuggle closer to Ryoma. A tiny head shifted, nuzzling against the boy’s chest. Stupid vampires needed blowtorching.
Ryoma nodded as the vet left, "I guess that wasn't all that bad? You didn't even yelp or anything." Standing, he carried the cat to the carrier, setting him gently inside. Next up, his own turn.
Not again!
Marui wailed, disliking the feeling of being closed inside the carrier and hating it even more when it started moving.
Ryoma hefted the carrier back to the waiting cab, then they were off to his own appointment.
The wait was even less as Ryoma was ushered to a room, the nurse not even batting an eye at him having a cat with him.
Moments later a doctor entered, looking at a piece of paper. "Echizen Ryoma, is it? This says you're here for a rabies shot?" His eyebrow arched as he noticed the cat in the carrier, but said nothing.
Ryoma nodded, fidgeting. He didn't like doctors very much, but he could deal with them well enough.
The doctor set the paper down and went to the cabinet, opening it and selecting a small glass bottle and needle. "Alright, what I need you to do is turn around and bend over."
Ryoma swallowed hard but complied, glad he didn't have to watch.
I really need some popcorn for this. Marui snarked, still displeased with the whole ordeal. What sucked even worse than his own experience with the vet was the fact that he really wasn’t enjoying the idea of Ryoma having to get a shot. Which, if he came clean, the kid probably wouldn’t have to, but neither was Marui forgiving enough to put a stop to it.
He did have to endure that whole embarrassing situation, after all. Fair was fair.
"Oh, you need to have your pants down for this - don't worry, you don't need to take them completely off, just enough for me to give you the shot."
Ryoma's fingers had a little trouble with the button of his pants, but in a moment he had opened them enough so that they slid down his hips a little, showing a bit of skin.
He blushed hotly when the doctor tugged his pants down further until he felt as though the whole world could see his ass even though they were behind a curtain. His embarrassment was short-lived when he felt a sudden burning that could only mean one thing.
He clenched his eyes shut and hissed softly as the shot was administered, eyes watering slightly. He really, really didn't like shots.
"Alright, it's all over. You can pull your pants up now." Ryoma was quick to do so, a hand rubbing over the sore spot tenderly.
You were the one who insisted on doing this. Marui huffed, feeling a tad bit guilty over the quick flash of pain he witnessed on Ryoma’s face. It wasn’t his fault, damn it. He had told the human there was no need for this, but had Ryoma listened to him?
NoooOOooo. He hadn’t. Therefore, Marui asserted mentally, it was Ryoma’s fault.
Ryoma waited until they were out of the doctor's office to respond. "I refuse to take the chance that I could have something that can be passed on to someone else." He wasn't going to take the chance that feeder blood could or couldn't cure something like that. Disease was something completely different from a broken bone or minor wound. No matter how much he disliked doctors, he wasn't going to do something like that to Fuji.
Then of course, there was his own pride to think of.
Sitting tenderly back in the cab, Ryoma gave instructions to take them back to the hotel. His hunger had diminished, but he was sure Tiger would want something to eat.
The trip back up the stairs seemed as though it would go on forever. When he finally reached his room, Ryoma simply set the carrier down just inside the door and opened the gate. He used the phone to request some more roast beef and milk. He was quiet as he waited for it to be delivered, then set the plate on the floor for the cat and turned to pick up his covers and return them to the bed. His movements were almost listless, and in the end he just crawled into bed and lay there.
Marui headed toward the plate of food awaiting his dining pleasure. Hunched over the delicious smelling roast beef, opened his maw to snap a piece up, but hesitated when the nearly lifeless state of his pet worked itself passed his hunger.
………
Ugh.
He felt like banging his head against something when he turned away from the food that made his mouth water, and then headed straight for the bed. Next time, you really should listen to me, runt. he huffed, creeping over the blankets and working his way around Ryoma until he could nuzzle his nose against the boy’s cheek.
Ryoma looked at the cat with half-lidded eyes, not responding other than to scratch a little at the cat's ears.
He was still worrying about what else a cat might have that could be passed on, and what Fuji would say to him. He was worried that he might have something other than rabies that would make Fuji want to get rid of him. After all, who needed a feeder with bad blood?
Marui softly mewled, giving one last nuzzle of nose over cheek, before a rough tongue slithered out to lap at the warmth of Ryoma’s skin. Human’s aren’t supposed to be heart wrenchingly cute when they feel bad, he huffed, half wishing he knew what was going through his pet’s mind.
He didn’t know what else to do to ease Ryoma’s mind, short of changing to a human state in front of his pet. Which, he wanted to avoid at all cost. His tribe liked their secrets, loved to hoard them, keeping their knowledge to themselves instead of sharing it with the world. Yes, secrets were like wealth, the more you had, the higher your standing amongst his particular breed. And Marui had a lot of them.
Ryoma wrapped his arm around Marui, hugging the cat to him. "I'm not cute..."
He sighed into the cat's fur, nuzzling his face into it as though the cat were really a teddy bear. He did feel a little better, but the idea of having to go back to get more shots depressed him somewhat. He had thought one shot was all he needed, until he'd been handed a slip of paper with the date of his next shot on it before leaving. He'd left the paper on his bedside table so he'd see it and not forget.
Eyes drifting shut, Ryoma fell into a worried sleep. He needed the rest; he had to work later and didn't want to be tired while trying to make sure he gave out the right drinks.
Says you. Marui disagreed, enduring the humiliation of being cuddled like a child’s toy. The warmth of his pet lulled him toward sleep, and soon enough the soft rhythmic purring of a content cat could be heard.
Rating:: G
Ryoma shifted in his sleep. His face scrunched slightly as his foot encountered something at the lower end of the bed. He didn't remember tossing more clothes there, but they shouldn't be on the bed with him. He yawned and nudged whatever it was off the bed, hearing a heavy thump and an odd noise which was promptly forgotten as he stretched a bit and fell deeper into sleep.
What the hell?
Marui, suddenly finding himself at home on the floor, lay upon his back staring up at the ceiling . Startled out of a rather nice sleep, it took a few moments for him to orient himself enough to realize that the hardness beneath his spine was nothing like the wonderful softness he’d snuggled into and fallen asleep on the night before.
Indignation was swift in coming, and if he wasn’t still laying in an ungraceful sprawl of limbs, his hair would have been rising on end from the humiliation of it.
That brat pushed me…ME!! Off the bed.
How fucking rude! Growling, he scrambled to his feet and leapt toward the bed, nosing his way beneath blankets and sheets alike into a perfectly arched foot could be found. A foot that he soon sank the punishing length of his teeth into.
Bad, pet! No treat for you.
Ryoma yelped and sat up in a panic of blankets and sheets flying across the room. His first thought was that it was Fuji coming to give him another wakeup bite filled with jealousy, then that it was in the wrong place. Eyes wide as he panted, trying to calm the racing of his heart, he stared at the lump moving under the covers he'd just tossed across the room.
Disbelieving eyes looked down at his foot, which was bleeding into the bed as though that were the natural thing to be doing. He watched as the cuts healed themselves, leaving behind faint red spots and an ache. Slowly the events of the night before sunk in, and he realized what had happened.
"Shit! Cat, you'd better not have rabies!" Fuji would kill him if his feeder suddenly went rabid.
Marui mentally rolled his eyes, plopped down on the tangle of blankets he finally clawed his way out of, and gave Ryoma a look of such hurt that he was sure angels would have wept.
Rabies? Him? As if.
He was above such paltry things.
Ryoma rubbed his foot and slid off the bed, wincing slightly as he put weight on his foot. He knew exactly what he should do to avoid being in trouble. Limping over to the phone, he found the nearest vet and made an appointment. When he was finished he called downstairs and requested a carrier, not caring if he was seen anymore. He'd already kinda asked Yukimura and he was sure training a cat to use a litter box wouldn't be all that hard. Actually, he was sure Tiger probably needed it anyway by now. He'd set it up in the bathroom but had forgotten to leave the door open.
Well, first things first. Sighing, he went over to the sulking cat and picked him up, heading into the bathroom.
"Let's see if you know how to use one of these things." He yawned, plopping the cat into the box so that his feet sunk into the litter by a good inch. "Then we both get to go for a trip."
“………”
Marui promptly lifted his tail regally into the air, and like a diva sticking up her nose at something beneath her, daintily stepped out of the litter box.
Trip? What trip?
Ryoma shrugged, only a little worried about the possible state of his carpet. He'd just remember next time to leave the door open. In the meantime, he caught the cat and plopped him back into the litter.
"We both need to get some shots just in case... I wonder if feeder blood is bad for cats..." He replied absently as he went back to the bedroom to get dressed.
Shots?
When hell froze over!
Marui shot out the bathroom door right behind Ryoma, sleek body flying for the bed. Specifically, beneath it.
"Ack!" Ryoma jumped as a streak of fur ran through his legs and under the bed. Crap.
"You might as well give in, because I'm not getting a needle jammed into my ass by myself." He said grumpily as he knelt and lifted the ruffled sheet that hid the bottom of the bed, glaring into the darkness.
Oh, yes, you will!
Marui hissed, fur rising on end. He glared through the darkness toward the tunnel of light Ryoma created with the lifting of the ruffled bed sheet.
"I will not!" Ryoma snapped and shoved the matress to the side, glaring down at the cat. "I hate shots just as much as you do, and how do you know I don't have something that I don't even know about? Now get your butt out of there, you look ridiculous."
Not like your paltry human diseases would affect me, runt. And, no thank you, I think I’ll stay right where I’m at.
Now that was a first- having a human hear his thoughts. Usually they were so weak-minded that unless he shoved them into their heads, they didn’t hear a thing. Made it easier on him, he mused. At least it beat the hell out of having to turn human just to rant in their faces.
Ryoma huffed. "Fine. No treat for you today then."
That’s not fair! Marui whined with a huffy hiss.
"Of course it is. I'm not even telling you what I was going to give you now." Ryoma pulled the mattress back to where it should be and limped to his closet to pick out some clothes, grumbling about how he hated shots and being up early.
A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Ryoma accepted the carrier and thanked the man, setting it by the door, the little gate swinging open with a creak.
Marui crept closer to the light, far enough toward the luminance that he could see the carrier as the door swung open. It yawned before him like the gates to hell, taunting him.
No treat is good enough to make up for some human, with a needle fetish, sticking sharp things into my ass, runt.
"I do not have a needle fetish, and I don't see where you have room to call me a runt, kitten." Leafing through a slim phonebook filled with places to go that catered to the clan, Ryoma chose one and dialed, surprised at how easy it was to set up an appointment to himself.
You aren’t the one who will be giving me the shots, now are you?
I ought to change, thought Marui as violet eyes narrowed with ire. Granted, in human form he was probably about the same size as Ryoma, but when he went… Meow. Okay. Not a good idea since he’d probably end up eating his pet for breakfast, if he did.
"Of course not," Ryoma said giving the cat a surprised look. "I don't want to hurt you, and I have no idea how to give myself a shot, much less a cat."
Then I stand by my reasoning that the one who will, has a needle fetish, runt.
Marui still wasn’t budging from his last stance of defiance.
Ryoma frowned. "I don't think they're like that. The place in this book says they pamper animals." He opened the phonebook to the right page, and set it on the floor near the bed for the cat to see.
Psh.
You shouldn’t believe everything you read!
"Well, we can always go just to check it out. I don't want to take you someplace that I wouldn't want to go to myself."
Like I’m going to trust someone who threw me off the bed.
Did he look like a stupid cat? Have a sticker plastered on his forehead that spelled ‘Sucker’ in huge capital letters?
Ryoma shrugged. "Have it your way then. I'll just eat the next sandwich myself and get you some dry cat food on the way back."
A soft, low, pathetically weak whimper bled from Marui’s lips. He hated cat food. The stuff humans fed their cats was just unappetizing to say the least.
I think I hate you.
He shot Ryoma an annoyed look as he slunk from beneath the bed, tail drooping along with the ears atop his head.
Ryoma sighed and crouched down to scratch at the cat's ears. "I wouldn't care so much about you getting checked out too, if it weren't for the fact that someone'll probably make us go anyway. I'd rather do it on my own than be forced."
His other hand joined the first, scratching at the shoulders then migrating to the cat's chin. "Besides, if you came with me we can eat on the way."
I’m a hungry cat, but I’m not a stupid cat. Food isn’t going to change the fact that those shots are going to hurt! he grumbled, unable to resist nuzzling into the fingers rubbing beneath his chin. He wondered if Ryoma had any idea at all that he was talking to an animal. The boy didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary in this, and Marui wondered if it was because he wasn’t aware of doing it.
"Yeah well, I'm getting them too so you wouldn't be the only one sore afterward." Ryoma made a face and stood up. "Well, are you going with me or staying here?"
You think I’m riding in that thing the whole way? Marui plopped down on his haunches, perked a brow and gave Ryoma a haughty ‘You’ve lost your mind’ look.
Ryoma looked from the cat to the carrier and back again. "Well, it's either that or this." He replied, holding up a leash.
Marui ran his gaze from carrier to leash to carrier again. No. I am not being carted around in that miniature prison to wherever the hell it is you’re intent on taking me, and you are not putting a leash on me. He stood, starting to pace in agitation, prowling around Ryoma’s ankles soon after. Do I look like a dog to you? Huh, do I?
Ryoma took advantage of the moment and used his foot to lightly kick the cat into the carrier, swifty locking the gate behind him.
……
Marui scrambled around, diving for the door. He slammed into it just as it swung closed, sealing his fate.
Now, I know I hate you. he huffed, swishing his tail behind him.
Ryoma just stuck his tongue out at the cat. "If I have to go, you have to go." With that, he picked up the carrier carefully by the handle and left, making his way past the elevator and pushing open the door to go down the long flight of stairs.
Oh, shut up! Marui groaned. The sensation of the carrier swaying having adverse affects on his stomach. Bast, was he going to be sick? No, and even if he was, he’d wait until Ryoma took him out of the carrier to lose whatever contents his stomach still held.
It’d serve his pet right.
Ryoma didn't reply as he focused on getting down the stairs without dropping the carrier, listening to the sound of claws scrabbling for purchase now and then. When they finally reached the bottom, Ryoma took a deep breath and made his way across the lobby, as though it were nothing special that he had a pet now and he traveled with a carrier all the time.
Pushing open the door, he made his way to the car that was waiting. If he really wanted to, he could throw the clan and Fuji's name around and have people scrambling to make him happy.
It didn't really appeal to him though. He preferred to do things more or less the 'normal' way, which was why he chose a simple cab service to take them both to the vet and the doctor that were in the small phonebook.
The only concession he made was that he was charging everything to Fuji's account.
Placing the carrier into the back seat first, he slid in and shut the door, rattling off the directions to the driver.
When the carrier was more or less stable again, Marui curled into a ball, tucking his head against his stomach. A pitiful mewl escaped him every now and again during the ride, telling of his discomfort. He hated riding in human conveyances, much preferring to scale the distance of the city in his breed form. Not only did he get to where he was going faster, he didn’t have to suffer the disgraceful state of being motion sick.
Which he was now, and he blamed it solely on Ryoma. And this of course meant he was never again talking to the boy.
Ryoma only felt a little bad for the cat. After all, his foot was still sore, dammit.
When they reached the vet, they were only kept waiting for ten minutes before someone could see them. This had to be the only vet that was open at this time of night, Ryoma was thinking as they were led into the room. He set the carrier down on the table and sat down, his feet scuffing the floor.
Marui struggled when strange hands dived into the carrier to pluck him out, claws unsheathing and striking for every available surface he could reach as long as it carried the healthy peach tinge of human skin. However, in his current form, it didn’t take the vet and his assistant very long to restrain him, and when they did, the displeased cat sent Ryoma a most aggrieved look.
He should change and eat them all, thought the cat whose fur rose on end, hackles rising as his imprisoned state continued to grate on his nerves.
The vet and his assistant exchanged a look with each other. Ryoma was too occupied with hurriedly pulling the carrier out of the way to notice that the gashes in the vet's hands and wrists healed quickly, before more than a sheen of blood could come to the surface. When he looked up, the vet was holding his cat by the scruff of the neck while his assistant stood back, ready for instructions.
You're not a normal housecat, are you. The vet's voice was directed at Marui, carefully shielded from the watchful Ryoma.
Marui stiffened, body going taunt from whiskers to tail. Normal? Of course he wasn’t normal, dammit! He was extraordinary. He was Marui Bunta, descendent of the goddess Bast, and no human had the right to manhandle him this way.
Narrowed eyes surveyed the vet, calculating his worth as a meal. Appetizer or main course? Hmm.
"Looks like we have a feisty one here!" The vet said aloud. Look, I know the difference between a real cat and a were. You smell different. The questions is, does he know?
Marui sniffed and swished his tail, once again adopting a superior look in his gaze. If he knew, do you think I’d be here, putting up with this? Humans, he once again confirmed what he’d learned long ago. Were idiotic creatures.
Good, that makes this easy then. Unless you're a shitty actor. Behave, and we can just fake everything, with your little owner none the wiser. The quick communication between the two happened in a matter of seconds, Ryoma noticing none of it.
"So, what are we visiting for, hm?" The vet inquired, cautiously loosening his grip on the cat with a warning look.
"I've only had him for a short time, and I don't know his medical history. He bit my foot this morning and I wanted to make sure he didn't have anything catching." Ryoma replied, coming closer to the table cautiously.
Oh, he was definitely coming back to eat this guy. Marui added a mental note to his list of things to do while he waited for the farce to be over.
The vet made a big deal about poking and prodding Marui, looking into his eyes. The assistant came over but the vet caught her before she could shove a thermometer up the cat's butt with a look. You know, I should have let her do that anyway for that nice greeting of yours. He was spouting random information about how Ryoma should keep an eye on him while he adjusted to being a housecat, buy a new set of drapes and that this particular breed of cat needed actual meat in its diet rather than regular processed cat food.
Ryoma just nodded, making a mental note of everything.
You really want me to eat you, don’t you? Marui asked the vet in response to his little tidbit.
I'd like to see you try. The vet replied, grinning with a hint of fang.
Don’t tempt me you bloodsucking corpse. He’d put up with being dragged around, talked down to, poked and prodded at, but Marui drew the line at letting a vampire think himself above his place.
The assisstant handed Ryoma a small packet. Ryoma peeked inside to find a bit of metal and emptied the packet into his hand. Ah, tags to prove Tiger had gotten his shots.
When he looked up, the vet was throwing away a needle. "That was fast." He commented.
Not fast enough for Marui apparently, because he chose that moment to take one more swipe at the vet, sinking his claws into the vampire’s skin. When the hold on his body loosened, he leapt, diving toward Ryoma.
Startled, Ryoma caught the cat and held him close, automatically starting to pet him in an attempt to soothe.
Tsk. Maybe next time I should give you the shot for real. The vet picked up the carrier and set it on the table once more. "We're all done here, you guys can go home." He tucked his hand into his pocket, letting it heal out of sight.
Marui refused to spare any further attention for the vet, instead he opted to snuggle closer to Ryoma. A tiny head shifted, nuzzling against the boy’s chest. Stupid vampires needed blowtorching.
Ryoma nodded as the vet left, "I guess that wasn't all that bad? You didn't even yelp or anything." Standing, he carried the cat to the carrier, setting him gently inside. Next up, his own turn.
Not again!
Marui wailed, disliking the feeling of being closed inside the carrier and hating it even more when it started moving.
Ryoma hefted the carrier back to the waiting cab, then they were off to his own appointment.
The wait was even less as Ryoma was ushered to a room, the nurse not even batting an eye at him having a cat with him.
Moments later a doctor entered, looking at a piece of paper. "Echizen Ryoma, is it? This says you're here for a rabies shot?" His eyebrow arched as he noticed the cat in the carrier, but said nothing.
Ryoma nodded, fidgeting. He didn't like doctors very much, but he could deal with them well enough.
The doctor set the paper down and went to the cabinet, opening it and selecting a small glass bottle and needle. "Alright, what I need you to do is turn around and bend over."
Ryoma swallowed hard but complied, glad he didn't have to watch.
I really need some popcorn for this. Marui snarked, still displeased with the whole ordeal. What sucked even worse than his own experience with the vet was the fact that he really wasn’t enjoying the idea of Ryoma having to get a shot. Which, if he came clean, the kid probably wouldn’t have to, but neither was Marui forgiving enough to put a stop to it.
He did have to endure that whole embarrassing situation, after all. Fair was fair.
"Oh, you need to have your pants down for this - don't worry, you don't need to take them completely off, just enough for me to give you the shot."
Ryoma's fingers had a little trouble with the button of his pants, but in a moment he had opened them enough so that they slid down his hips a little, showing a bit of skin.
He blushed hotly when the doctor tugged his pants down further until he felt as though the whole world could see his ass even though they were behind a curtain. His embarrassment was short-lived when he felt a sudden burning that could only mean one thing.
He clenched his eyes shut and hissed softly as the shot was administered, eyes watering slightly. He really, really didn't like shots.
"Alright, it's all over. You can pull your pants up now." Ryoma was quick to do so, a hand rubbing over the sore spot tenderly.
You were the one who insisted on doing this. Marui huffed, feeling a tad bit guilty over the quick flash of pain he witnessed on Ryoma’s face. It wasn’t his fault, damn it. He had told the human there was no need for this, but had Ryoma listened to him?
NoooOOooo. He hadn’t. Therefore, Marui asserted mentally, it was Ryoma’s fault.
Ryoma waited until they were out of the doctor's office to respond. "I refuse to take the chance that I could have something that can be passed on to someone else." He wasn't going to take the chance that feeder blood could or couldn't cure something like that. Disease was something completely different from a broken bone or minor wound. No matter how much he disliked doctors, he wasn't going to do something like that to Fuji.
Then of course, there was his own pride to think of.
Sitting tenderly back in the cab, Ryoma gave instructions to take them back to the hotel. His hunger had diminished, but he was sure Tiger would want something to eat.
The trip back up the stairs seemed as though it would go on forever. When he finally reached his room, Ryoma simply set the carrier down just inside the door and opened the gate. He used the phone to request some more roast beef and milk. He was quiet as he waited for it to be delivered, then set the plate on the floor for the cat and turned to pick up his covers and return them to the bed. His movements were almost listless, and in the end he just crawled into bed and lay there.
Marui headed toward the plate of food awaiting his dining pleasure. Hunched over the delicious smelling roast beef, opened his maw to snap a piece up, but hesitated when the nearly lifeless state of his pet worked itself passed his hunger.
………
Ugh.
He felt like banging his head against something when he turned away from the food that made his mouth water, and then headed straight for the bed. Next time, you really should listen to me, runt. he huffed, creeping over the blankets and working his way around Ryoma until he could nuzzle his nose against the boy’s cheek.
Ryoma looked at the cat with half-lidded eyes, not responding other than to scratch a little at the cat's ears.
He was still worrying about what else a cat might have that could be passed on, and what Fuji would say to him. He was worried that he might have something other than rabies that would make Fuji want to get rid of him. After all, who needed a feeder with bad blood?
Marui softly mewled, giving one last nuzzle of nose over cheek, before a rough tongue slithered out to lap at the warmth of Ryoma’s skin. Human’s aren’t supposed to be heart wrenchingly cute when they feel bad, he huffed, half wishing he knew what was going through his pet’s mind.
He didn’t know what else to do to ease Ryoma’s mind, short of changing to a human state in front of his pet. Which, he wanted to avoid at all cost. His tribe liked their secrets, loved to hoard them, keeping their knowledge to themselves instead of sharing it with the world. Yes, secrets were like wealth, the more you had, the higher your standing amongst his particular breed. And Marui had a lot of them.
Ryoma wrapped his arm around Marui, hugging the cat to him. "I'm not cute..."
He sighed into the cat's fur, nuzzling his face into it as though the cat were really a teddy bear. He did feel a little better, but the idea of having to go back to get more shots depressed him somewhat. He had thought one shot was all he needed, until he'd been handed a slip of paper with the date of his next shot on it before leaving. He'd left the paper on his bedside table so he'd see it and not forget.
Eyes drifting shut, Ryoma fell into a worried sleep. He needed the rest; he had to work later and didn't want to be tired while trying to make sure he gave out the right drinks.
Says you. Marui disagreed, enduring the humiliation of being cuddled like a child’s toy. The warmth of his pet lulled him toward sleep, and soon enough the soft rhythmic purring of a content cat could be heard.