Loner Cat (Malin x Aise)

“No way! You’re joking right?”

The shout of disbelief rang out just as the bell rang signaling the end of class, and the start of lunch. Several heads turning as a rather flustered blonde teen pulled herself up close to her dark haired friend.
The shorter girl reached out, pulling her friend beneath the surface of the pool. A cute, yet annoyed look of irritation on her lips as she waved to the rest of the departing students that had already dragged themselves out of the water and were heading to the change rooms. The other girls in her swimming class uninterested in whatever nonsense the blonde, Tracy was making a ruckus about. While Tracey was well liked amongst her peers, many knew how easily it was to excite her, and her outbursts weren’t all that uncommon.

Despite having her lungs filled with water from the surprise turn-over, Tracey quickly uprighted herself, coughing a few times to clear her lungs before edging up close to Kara once more, this time whispering her disbelief in at a much less notable volume?
“Are you kidding me? Adam? As in Adam, Adam? Captain of the Football team?”

Pulling her swimming cap off, Kara let her raven hair tumble down her back, the white fabric of her swimwear contrasting heavily with her dark hair. Her sea blue eyes blinking a few stray beads of water away as she tried to think if there were any other Adam’s they were mutually acquainted with. Being the head jock of the school, Adam was one of the top favorites when it came to potential boyfriends, but Kara just wasn’t interested. For starters she just couldn’t respect a guy who always had girls hanging off his arms, and boasted the number of virgins he’d claimed. The mere thought was enough to make her stomach churn.

“Kara! Don’t ignore me! Did the Captain of the football team really ask you to go to the school ball wit-Ah!!?” The shout loud and clear was cut off short as Tracey was once again pulled under. Water splashing around as a red faced Kara tried to drown her loudmouthed friend. Tracey was a great friend when she kept her mouth shut… it was just a pity that seldom ever happened.

Glancing around frantically, she sighed with relief when she made sure that the pool area was only occupied by Tracey, herself, and a lone figure swimming over on the other side of the pool where the senior boys had been only a few minutes ago. Judging from the looks of the swimmer, he either hadn’t heard, or didn’t care enough to stop what he was doing. So she could still hope she was in the clear. The idea of other ‘Tracey’s’ swarming around her didn’t appeal at all, and she was sure to get a few unfriendly glares if the female populace became aware of what had happened after school yesterday.

That aside though, she Kara stared at the other swimmer, wondering what they’d be doing alone. Surely they knew class was over? Shouldn’t he be over in the cafeteria with all the other guys? Flirting with girls from lower grades, and enticing them with the possibility of going to the ball together?

Ren had spent most of the swim period doing laps, and now that the class was over he stayed in the water watching as the other students left the pool around him. Now he was relaxing letting the water carry him as his body went into cool down, he used the light flicks of his tail to propel him slowly back towards the shallow ends of the pool. He blinked at the shreek, turning onto his front to hear where it was coming from, and seeing the blond girl practically yelling at a smaller girl. He rolled his eyes lightly realizing that it probably wasn't important.

As he reached the shallow end he stood up, his tall height of 5'11" a good 6'1" inches if you counted his ears allowed him to stand at pretty much waist height in the pool. His abs showing along with the athletic body of a swimmer, his long arms and legs helped him in the water. His brown hair and fur was soaked, the water pulling it downwards to give impression that his normally messy and wild hair was actually straitened. His long tail twitched water logged as it was. Ren had to be the only cat in the school who actually enjoyed the feeling of being in the water.

Shaking his head lightly his ears twitched as he over heard more of what the loud blond was saying. From what he could gather the shorter darker haired human was being asked out by the captain of the football team. Was kicking a ball around really all that impressive to these girls? He shook his head his light green eyes reflecting in the water light. Lunch had began, but he didn't really want to leave the pool just yet.

Ren felt good in the pool it was his safe zone. As one of the few Neko males who actually had access to the resources of the school and one of the stronger swimmers on the school team, he was trying to get lined up for a good scholarship, and at this point the best way he could figgure out how to do that was to be the strongest swimmer in his class. He stretched lightly yawning slightly as he swam over to the edge of the pool and sat up on the ledge.

His ears twitched lightly as he looked at the two girls. The small one was cute, for a human girl, but really he was wondering what they were doing still in the pool. Normally he was the first one to enter, and the last one to leave the pool, and he wasn't about to let that change, as he watched them, he finally called out to Kara and her friend.

"Hey, if you two stay in here much longer you will miss out on lunch." He said lightly not really caring, but also wanting to make sure they left the pool. There was something about him that made him protective over the territory. His ear twitched thinking back to what they were saying about the school ball, such a thing was a distraction and certainly not what he was focused on. He rolled his eyes lightly feeling the light sting of chlorine already affecting them, leave it to a bunch of girls to be more pre occupied with a dance then anything else.

Tracey had finally managed to pull herself out of the water, her blonde wavy hair damp and clinging to her skin making her look shriveled and grumpy, she knew she deserved what she got, but having her hair messed with wasn’t something she was too happy with. Even then she didn’t complain, not until the nosy halfbreed called out over the waters.
“Tch, mind your own business, filthy uncollared”

The small raven haired girl cringed at the hostility in her friends words. It was only last month that a young neko girl had transferred out of her grade. Unable to deal with the negativity from her peers. Neko’s were considered a sub-human species, and the only way to make up for their ‘inferior’ genetics was by belonging to a rich, wealthy person. There was even a fashionable brand dedicated solely to manufacturing collars of varying prices, from the common leather collar, to a silken one studded with diamonds. It was essentially a marker indicating the neko’s worth, and at the bottom of the chain were those that didn’t belong to anyone. More often known as the uncollared. A slanderous term much like four-eyes, or buckteeth, only with a whole lot more hostility as an uncollared neko was considered to be an equal of a homeless person who’d chosen to become one due to an unwillingness to work.

Turning to face Ren apologetically for her friends words, Kara had been the last person to see the chubby neko girl from her class before she transferred out, her eyes red and puffy, streaked with tears as the girl continued to ramble how she was undesirable and ugly. Kara hadn’t thought much of it back when she was being bullied, but she still regretted not saying anything to the girl.

Tracey clicked her tongue once more, pulling herself out of the water, and grabbing a nearby tower before throwing it over her head. Her mood clearly lopsided due to Ren’s interference. As much as the girl loved gossip, one thing she didn’t like was having her fun interrupted, and Ren had done just that.
“Come on Kara, water’s probably been soiled anyway”
Tracey’s kind were prone to blindly following societal views anyway, and society didn’t view Neko’s too favorably. In fact it was only a few years ago that they were even given full human rights. Before then they had their own set of laws and punishments. Unfortunately discrimination was still common practice, and the likelihood of a Neko surviving independently without some sort of outstanding feature was near zero.

Ignoring the later half of the comment, Kara forced a smile before shaking her head,
“You go on ahead, I want to practice a bit more” she lied, in truth she just didn’t want to go to the cafeteria where Adam was likely to be.

Watching as her friend finally left the poolside and off to get changed. Kara turned to see if Ren was still there, slightly surprised at how the feline was still watching her. She managed a more convincing smile before diving under the water, her hair floating up behind her as she ungracefully swam over towards Ren, her form was horrid, and it would have looked as if she were drowning if she wasn’t making progress moving forward.

“Sorry, she’s just had a bad day” Kara lied again, finally making it to the same lane Ren had been swimming in.

The back of the hair on Ren's neck rose as the blond girl used the term uncollared to describe him. It was true, and in a way the word was both degrading and rewarding. He knew a hand full of Neko's who thought of it as more of a rewarding term trying to take it and show that they would not be leashed to any owner. Ren on the other hand just dismissed the term, and instead glared at the blond. Who was she calling filthy? He could smell her stench from where he was sitting, and it reeked. He let out a low growl almost as he watched her try and walk away.

Being sub-human wasn't really as bad as most people thought, and with the new rights that had been given to the Neko community more and more uncollared were showing up on peoples radar. They still had to be better in some way than most other people in order to live peacefully, but the number of pets being sold openly was going down. That said there were still breeds of Neko's that were bought and sold in 'pet' shops, and worst of all there were still those degrading fashion shows in which humans would try to show off how well they could train their neko partners. As he watched Tracy leave the pool he almost called out an insult back at her, feeling that it would have helped his own wounded pride.

The only worse part about having human one leave was the one that stayed behind. Had Ren known that talking to them meant he would have gotten a human of his vary own to converse with he most likely would have not talked to them at all. His eyes glared mistrustfully at Kara as she made an excuse for her friend. "Oh I can tell she has had a bad day, bitches usually have Karma to deal with." He said with a light tone and a false smile.

His ears twitched as Kara came into his lane. Why was she suddenly so interested in joining him at the pool? His ears seemed to move back slightly his back arching as his tail flicked showing more of his annoyance. "That's close enough." His tone shifting to a more defensive one. "Your grade was on that side of the pool remember?" He said pointing back to the lane she had come from. Just because they shared the pool time, and the instructor, and it was well after class didn't mean that she had a right to come and talk to him.

He didn't think she would take the command of course. Humans never listened they were always so much more high and mighty then anything else. His protests would probably sound to this one like he was inviting her to get closer, which he most certainly was not. Sliding back into the pool his body felt a small shiver as it got used to being under the water again. Since the girl didn't seem to want to leave the pool neither did he. This was his territory after all, but just to make it clear that he wasn't doing it to get close to the girl he stayed close to the wall of the pool, his eyes were practically locked onto her.

Watching her swim was slightly amusing, she looked more out of place in the pool then... a cat. The fact that he was more comfortable in the water than a human was almost too easy to laugh at, but he did anyway with the slightest snicker. What was her issue anyway? did she always walk up to neko's? was she looking for some cute toy she could play with or a pet to give a collar to? Any of the above were possibilities, and frankly he didn't really want to hear out what ever case she was going to make. He just wanted to get out of the pool and go for lunch. Which he couldn't do till after she left.

With his eyes pretty much set on her, he waited for her to say what ever it was the human was of course going to say. He was ready for more insults to come from this girl. That was of course the only normal reason a human would try and walk up to him.

With his eyes pretty much set on her, he waited for her to say what ever it was the human was of course going to say. He was ready for more insults to come from this girl. That was of course the only normal reason a human would try and walk up to him.

Flinching as her approach was abruptly halted by the Neko’s harsh words, the expression she showed being closer to hurt than irritation, it was only brief though, immediately swapped out for a friendly smile. In honesty she should have expected the reaction, the other Neko she’d known had been like that as well. Distrustful and always wanting to be alone, Kara had always kept her distance thinking that the girl genuinely wanted to be alone, and she’d spent a good few hours wondering if it was something genetic. But the tears that had marked the girls cheeks the last time Kara had seen her had made her reconsider, and made her conclude Neko’s were just prideful creatures that wanted to see tough and self-reliant.

“Her name’s Tracey” she stated simply, her voice coming out a bit too flat for her liking. It was hard to keep her cool when her closest friend was being called a bitch. But Tracey had been the one to initiate the name calling, so Ren’s irritation was understandable. She didn’t think for a second that Ren was more annoyed at her approach.

Glancing back over at the side of the pool she’d come from, she shrugged, ignoring Ren’s command of not coming any closer, and floating over beside him to the edge of the pool. “It’s lunch break remember? No reason I can’t talk to you right?” she smiled, trying to seem as friendly as she could. She didn’t know why she’d come over. Perhaps it was guilt for not helping the last neko out? Or maybe it had something to do with her admiration of Ren’s much more graceful stroke in the water? Or maybe?......

Blushing slightly as her eyes traveled over Ren’s bare shoulder. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“A-any plans for the ball?”
Immediately she cursed herself mentally. Asking a senior that now was like asking him out, but now that the words had left her lips, backing out now would seem suspicious.
“Not that it’s any of my business, I was just curious, hope you and your girlfriend have fun, it is a school highlight after all.”

Ren let out a low growl as Kara swam closer to him, Honestly he knew that she would have, humans always had this thing about ignoring the obvious, and right now Ren was making it obvious that he didn't want her anywhere near him. He nodded as she said that her friends name was Tracy keeping that information on hand so that next time he could say that Tracy was a bitch. Or at the least a Racist human, then again throw a dime and you would be bound to find at least twenty more of those before it hit the ground.

Ren pushed himself away from her, drifting slightly with the water as he got further away from her. What was with this girl? She clearly wasn't taking his words seriously. He could think of a few reasons he didn't need to talk to her, but as he opened his mouth to say something that would keep her away she nerviously popped a question about the ball. He was about to say something, probably worse than what he was about to say when she mentioned a girl friend. It was an almost immediate reaction, as pretty much every part of the male neko's body tensed up.

It had only been less then a month since his old relationship had ended, and it was as though Kara had walked up to him to sucker punch him in the gut. In his mind she knew full well what had happened to his relationship, and how things had ended up. Her asking that question was just a human throwing his life in his face. At first he was ready to pounce her, jump on her, claw her even, but she was much smaller then him, and he couldn't risk hurting another person especially in his current position. Closing his eyes he breathed out a low hiss. "How... shut... I'm Not going. It's a stupid event." He said more in anger as he turned and kicked the wall.

He swam quickly, and effectifly into a deeper end of the pool wanting to get away from the girl who was annoying him, and before he even really thought about it, he found himself treading water in the deeper end of the pool. A girl like her who had no real skill in a pool he doubted that she would follow him to this or any length she had the answer she was looking for. He held onto the wall on the other end of the pool breathing heavily for a moment.

Who the hell did this girl really think she was? She clearly had an ego, if she needed to kick him while he was so far down, but there was more to it then that. How did she know about his old relationship? He shook his head his ears practically burning at the moment, His claws dug into the tiles of the school pool. "Just a dumb little human girl." He said under his breath. Besides why did she care? She was being asked out by Adam, actually with the way she was acting she was right up Adam's ally.

“Oh…” Kara didn’t really have a response for the unexpected answer she’d gotten. Confusion clearly visible in her eyes before she seemed to make up her mind. She’d heard several other guys saying similar things, and it was usually right after they’d been rejected by a girl, or too cowardly to ask anyone out. Stupid or not, she didn’t think anyone would genuinely be against going. All the rumors pointed to a great night out, and those that stated otherwise often came from the mouths of those that hadn’t even gone. It was essentially the lonesome factor playing itself out in Ren’s mind as far as Kara was concerned, and for some reason she wanted Ren to look back at his last year fondly.

Hesitantly kicking off the wall herself and splashing after Ren, her attempt to tread water being unsightly to say the least, her head dipping below the surface a few times before she finally caught up close enough to continue their discussion, she thought she heard Ren mutter something about a ‘human girl’ but that could mean anything, and frankly she had more important things to tell him right now.

“Don’t be a sour puss” she laughed perhaps a bit too cheerfully.
“I’m sure someone out there would love to spend the night with you…. And if no one else is, I wouldn’t mind going with you” she offered, not really realizing what she’d said until she’d finished saying it. At first she’d only intended to cheer him up, give him the usual prep talk on how there was someone out there for everyone, and how that happiness didn’t come to those who sulked.

As Kara swam up to Ren he watched with some amusement she was really bad at swimming hell for a moment when her head went under the water he thought he was gonna need to drag her out of the pool. If she drowned they would have had to close the pool, and he would have been seen as some kind of criminal because he didn't save her life, that said it didn't seem to be needed as she did manage to crawl up to him. However her words were no different than what he was expecting from her, and she only seemed to hurt him more.

"Is this some kind of joke to you?" He said slightly shocked that she was even trying to extend an offer to him. From what he could gather she knew full well what had happened between him and his last relationship, and now the woman who had already been asked out by Adam one of the better off Humans in this school was trying to mock him further by asking him out? Calling him a sour puss and mocking him at the same time. He bit down on his lip trying to stay his tongue a little more than he wanted too.

"What is your deal? A human jock not enough for you so you want to put a collar around a Neko as well? Do you really have that big an ego that you can't be satisfied with one person, you have to mock the neko boy as well?" He said pulling himself out of the water and onto the side he finally had enough of this girl, she could have the pool he was gonna go grab his bag and eat his lunch. "God that is stereo typical of you girls it hurts. How low do you need to sink to kick a guy when he is down."

Having no idea what was going through Ren’s head, Kara was somewhat relieved when Ren asked her if this was some sort of joke. Barely managing to withhold an eager ‘yes.’ She didn’t really know why she’d even made the offer seeing as she knew less about Ren than she did about Adam. Though from what little she knew, Ren was the more preferable option regardless of his racial genetics. Even if he was a sour puss, at least he wasn’t acting like Kara belonged to him already. And there was something awfully refreshing about being spoken to in an honest way. No subliminal requests to date, and no carefully selected words in hopes of leaving a good impression.

“J-jock?” she blurted out, her enjoyment of Ren’s honesty disappearing instantly as she fell beneath the water again, her face deep red with embarrassment, Kara had desperately hoped that Ren had been too busy to notice Tracey’s outburst, but that was quite obviously wishful thinking.

“I’m not, don’t want.. I’m not interested in jocks” she mumbled the last part, barely a whisper. In truth, she just didn’t like Adam too much, but making it personal could lead to problems later on if Ren decided to threaten her with Adam knowing. She doubted he was that sort of person. Judging from how he was swimming alone, he didn’t have too many friends…. Or perhaps that was social bias speaking inside her head? Either way she wasn’t going to be left alone in the pool. The water suddenly feeling much colder and less welcoming the moment she was left to splash around in it by herself.

Not wanting to spend a moment longer in the pool she tried to follow after Ren, but was stopped by a searing pain in her thigh. A silent grunt of pain before she took her hands off the side to hold her cramped thighs. The pain was excruciating, but from experience she knew it’d go away after a bit. What she didn’t take in to consideration was that none of her friends or classmates were around to pull her up out of the water this time. The realization didn’t take long to strike though, and the moment she did, she gasped sharply, inhaling a mouthful of water and choking on it, as she tried to swim back up using only one hand with no success, she was sinking deeper each moment. And having swum over to the deep end, there was a fair bit to go before hitting the bottom.

Ren rolled his eyes. Considering she had just tried to ask him out in a really half ass'd fashion her suddenly saying she wasn't interested in jocks came off as more of a lie then anything thing else she had said all day. Ren may have been a Neko but his body was clearly that of an athlete, had he been human he probably would have been thrown under the same label as Adam, so who exactly was she trying to lie to when it came to that incredibly poor excuse. Ren dismissed himself heading out he walked away for a moment.

Turning back only when he had thought of a good rude insult to yell at her, but when he turned she wasn't on the surface of the water. He blinked for a moment scanning the water, but instead seeing air bubbles, and her body struggling trying to swim for the surface. It took a moment to realize she wasn't faking it, she really was drowning. He blinked his back arching and in an instant he dove back into the water. His arm looped around her front pulling her body towards his back as he pulled her back towards the surface of the water.

She was heavier then she looked, and Ren had never actually swam holding a second person before. He was a competitive swimmer not a life guard. Pulling her body awkwardly towards the surface he was just hoping that she didn't flail and try to hit him as he held her. His lungs were fine with holding their breath however he didn't know if she had already breathed in the water. Oddly enough one of the largest thoughts in his head was if she couldn't swim well why had she swam out into the deep end to start?

Pulling her back up to the surface they both broke the water as he held her, his body instinctively trying to drag her back to the shallows so he could deal with anything else. He didn't know if he was gonna have to resuscitate her, and as he dragged her, his hand slipped up not used to carrying a body through the water his hand landed on her breast instead of under her ribs. Squeezing her breast lightly as he pulled her back towards shallow waters. "Seriously drowning in swim class? What kind of person are you." He said mostly to himself still unsure if she was okay or not.

Sinking to the surprisingly dark depths of the pool, Kara had no idea how she could escape a watery death. Her hopes of Ren coming to her rescue had faded a few seconds ago as she was certain he’d walked off already, not caring to give her any more of his time. Perhaps approaching a stranger wasn’t the best idea, but was it really bad enough to punish with something as silly as this? Closing her eyes as she couldn’t really see much anymore anyway, the last few bubbles escaped her lips floating up to the surface as she accepted her death. It was embarrassing to think all her friends would be told she’d drowned in the school pool out of all places, but her foremost concern was that no one would think Ren was responsible. After all, loud mouthed Tracey would have no qualms telling everyone how Ren and Kara were the only two people in the pool when she left. Judging from Tracey’s dislike of Neko’s it was likely she’d tack on some lie that would make it seem like Ren was directly responsible.

In her fading conscience she felt a warm hand grab ahold of her, her senses already too numb to recognize anything around her, the hand hold felt extremely warm in comparison to the water around her, and when she was pulled up against Ren’s back, her first thought was that death wasn’t half as bad as people made it out to be.

----

Hanging limply from Ren’s back as she was carried back to the shallow end. Her body much colder than it should have been, her figure indicated she wasn’t an athlete herself, and while it would have been nothing to Ren or most people, Kara had spent way too long in the water for her own good, she was supposed to have pulled out of the water half way through the class, but hating the idea of being seen as sickly, she’d adamantly stated that she was fine…. And she had been until now.

Her cheek pressing against Ren’s neck, the most alarming factor was that she wasn’t breathing. It wasn’t until Ren accidentally squeezed her breast and got no reaction that he’d realize that his words were falling on deaf ears. If Ren repositioned himself he’d notice that Kara was ghastly pale, and her lips a light purple from the cold. The water wasn’t even that cold, set to a comfortable temperature by the school, it shouldn’t have even been possible, but facts meant nothing when denied by reality.

Ren noticed it now that the woman he was carrying wasn't breathing, her cold body limpness in his arms he got the memo pretty quickly, And he pulled her out of the pool, onto the deck, where he laid her down. His ears were twitching as he knelt over her body, and started to apply pressure to her lungs. She had swallowed water, had it in her lungs. He had never performed CPR before, but he had seen it done a few times, and knew how it was supposed to work.

"1... 2... 3..." He counted as he pumped before putting one of his ears to her mouth still not hearing any breath he did the only thing he could pressing his lips to hers and breathing for her. Before going back to pumping against her solar plexus. Oddly enough if anyone else came into the room right now considering where his hands were and how he was having to breath into her mouth, he probably would have been called out for being a rapist taking advantage of a girl who was unconscious. So few people would have actually cared to see that he was trying to save her life.

A question bugged his mind for a moment as he checked her breathing again before administering more CPR. Well two questions really the first being he had no idea how long he needed to do this before he could pronounce the girl dead and call the cops, and the second being why she was so cold in the first place. Her body had seemed fairly weak, so what was it? Was she just a defective human? He started counting again trying to revive her as he worked. His tail was flailing slightly as his ears pressed back. He still didn't like this woman, but that was no reason to let someone die. If she was ill then she should have left the pool earlier to avoid something like this from happening.

"Come on you cough up the damned water already." The only other thought he had was that if the CPR wasn't working, then he needed to clear her lungs. The only way he could do that was if he enduced vomiting, but was he supposed to do that along side the CPR... why hadn't he taken the first aid class? these felt like things that it would answer nicely. He leaned down to check if she was breathing yet before giving CPR another round.

Despite being out cold, something inside her head seemed to register the warmth around her as she was finally pulled out of the water and laid on her back, before having amateur CPR administered on her, it really wasn’t something someone should attempt without proper training, but either Kara wasn’t as bad as she looked, or a stroke of luck shone in her favor, and after a few attempts, the water was forced out of her lungs. Inducing a coughing fit from the dark haired girl as her respiratory system started functioning again. Glazed blurry eyes opening slowly and staring at the ceiling for a few seconds before moving a hand over Ren’s. Her fingers still ice cold, her touch frail and weakened.

“Pool side rape?” she whispered coarsely, unable to find her voice properly yet. Her throat felt sore from coughing up the water, and her breasts hurt from the rough treatment they’d received. Though the friction and heat they’d caused was more than welcome to her bone-chilled body. Her small hands closed around Ren’s, holding his hands to her breast, Ren’s body felt awfully hot to her, but the heat was something she desperately craved right now. In honesty she was grateful for being resuscitated, but admitting she was fine would give Ren an excuse to walk off. And in her weakened state, the last thing she wanted right now was to be left alone.

“Thanks for saving me…. From the embarrassment of dying in a school pool” she whispered, forcing a smile. “Wouldn’t be a very funny story to share at family, get-togethers would it?” she chuckled, breaking off into a coughing fit as her throat was strained. She knew she should focus more on breathing and less on talking, but if she didn’t say something, she was sure Ren would run off and get someone and she definitely didn’t want that. She was already excluded from several physical activities already, and while she had no love for PE, the idea of spending the next year and a half sitting out wasn’t one that appealed to her.

“Wouldn’t be a very funny story to share with friends and classmates either” she added weakly, gasping for air much more needily now than when she had first come around. The strain on her lungs obvious to even herself in her groggy state. She could only hope Ren would get the hint and not prance off to find someone who'd undoubtedly spread the tale. Ren's involvement would likely be interepreted unfavorably, despite coming to her rescue anyway. And teachers weren't known for keeping secrets. That said, his only other options were leaving Kara by herself, or taking care of her himself until she was well enough to dry off and feign an unrelated illness.

Ren leaned back from Kara as she caughed up the water. He was glad that he didn't have to answer to the cops, but feeling her hand she was freezing. She felt like a corpse which was odd, she hadn't been gone long enough for her body to be that cold, and as he stood up he took her with him carrying her. He didn't know what to do with her since she was so cold, so he brought her to the edge of the schools hot tub. Placing her down he shook his head when she asked if he was gonna rape her. It wasn't worth it, and she was too weak. In all reality he didn't even know why he had saved her. He was still miss trustful of her and when she said that this wasn't a story she wanted to get out. he completely agreed.

"I am not telling this story to anyone, but your welcome." He said with a slight tone of annoyance. The hot air from the heated water would hopefully help her body. He placed a hand over her for head for a moment checking too see what was wrong with her. He knew she was far too cold then the water would have allowed her to get, and the way she had seezed up, it wasn't a fever he knew that much for sure. But he watched her closely waiting for her clear her lungs more.

"I am not a doctor, but this seems to be a pre existing condition. Do I need to take you to the nurse?" He said scowling almost as he checked her over. He didn't like doing this but part of him knew that if he didn't she would likely only get worse then what he had already seen. She was a human, and her health really shouldn't have concerned him. He could have left her now and gotten a medical professional. Instead he stayed by her side out of worry that if she died now it would cast suspicion on him. The school would blame him for her death and then his freedom would be taken from him.

He was too caring for his own good. He should just leave her, hell why hadn't he left her already she had practically made a mockery out of him earlier. Leaving her at the nurses office would be the easiest thing he could do. Looking down at her he was still convinced that all she wanted was a pet.

“I’m… fine” she whispered, her body shaking from the cold which had soaked into her, the warmth of the hot tub was a nice one, but for some reason she valued the presence and warmth Ren’s hand offered even more. Even as Ren placed her down and began checking her over she refused to let go of his hand. Clasping on to him as if he really was the only thing keeping her alive. Despite a few dangerous encounters in the past, she’d never been this close to actually dying, and now that her body was warming up, her mind was slowly being invaded by fear of what could have happened if it weren’t for Ren. The only thing keeping her from bursting into tears right now, was her pride, and unwillingness to seem weak infront of Ren.

“What can the nurse do?... Besides call my parents and make everyone worried?” she whispered, a bit more life in her tone now that her body was warming up. The one thing she couldn’t do was look Ren in the face right now. Sure, she didn’t want anyone knowing, and anyone involved Ren. If there was some way to erase his memory she gladly would have taken it without a moment of hesitation. She was glad that Ren wasn’t trying to get something out of her yet, but she knew in her mind that she owed him big time. Unfortunately she had nothing to offer at the moment, and judging from how Ren acted earlier, she was nearly certain that he’d ask for her to leave him alone if she offered to repay him.

“Thank you” she repeated again, this time sounding genuinely grateful. She knew Ren didn’t mean anything special by saving her, but that didn’t change the fact he’d done her one of the biggest favors anyone could do for her. Color beginning to return to her lips, she bit her bottom lips nervously before realizing something off, a peculiar taste she wasn’t used to lingering on her lips. In her confusion she glanced up at Ren, her fingers subconsciously tracing her lips.

“Did we….?”

Ren nodded as she said she was fine, but she seemed to refuse to let go of his hand. It was a little more than awkward for him as he didn't really want to stay around her. She seemed to refuse the attention of an actual medic, and the more he thought about it the more she should have gone home. She had nearly drowned she sounded weak, and at this point no one was going to have any food, as time kept ticking away. This human girl was waisting his efforts and energy and he felt disturbed by that. Whats more he had just saved the life of a girl who for his mindset had spent most of the last ten minutes insulting him, and that made him even more anxious to find a way to get rid of her.

To that respect if she had asked to pay off her debt it would have been to let him go, but as he watched her and she seemed to thank him honestly, he nodded showing some respect. She was at least honestly greatful for the problems she had caused him, and for him saving her life, that much was made clear, and that meant maybe she did have some respect in her, did it make him want to spend more time with her, not really. Did it make her pressence more tollerable, yes. Actually now that she was out of the pool and he could see her entire body she actually did seem kind of small and cute for a human. A bit short, for him, but there was little wonder why a person like Adam would want her.

"No." He said quickly to her question. "I had to perform CPR, and that was it. I did what I had to save your life." He said quickly as she traced her lips, his tail flicked in annoyance he wanted his hand back. He wanted to go get lunch, and if anyone spotted them now there would be questions, hell he was still leaning over her, he would still probably be accused of rape. He sighed for the moment anyway they were alone, however as he sniffed the air he blinked recognizing a scent of an approaching person. Looking around, Ren wanted to hide, and made it very clear that he wanted to not be here.

Especially when the person who was walking into the scene yelled out. "Kara, are you still back here!" The voice was unmistakably Tracy's, and as she re entered the pool area, Ren finally pulled away his hand and hid in the one place he could, the hot tub, slinking down into the hot water his ears went flat as he tried his best to be small and inconspicuous against the tiles. He didn't need people seeing him hanging over a humans semy conscious body, and from what he knew about Tracy questions and stories would follow far too quickly around the school if she even caught wind of him around Kara.

The whole ordeal still seemed a bit surreal to her. Drowning was happened way out at sea, not somewhere as common and daily as the school pool. It just wasn’t something that in her mind sounded possible.

Upon hearing that Ren had indeed administered mouth to mouth to save her life, her temperature shot up slightly. Just enough blood circulating through her system to make her cheeks flush a light pink. Mumbling a repeated “thank you” was all she could do. Lowering her head and trying not to seem overly shocked at having lost her first kiss to someone she barely knew. What confused her more was that she didn’t mind it. In fact, the revelation was somewhat exciting, her heart picking up it’s pace as her imagination tried to picture the state she’d been in a minute ago. It was clear that Ren didn’t think of it as anything intimate, and perhaps he was used to fooling around with the opposite gender, but the closest Kara had gotten to a guy was back in kindergarten when she’d been forced to hold hands with a boy when they lined up.

Contrary to Ren who was eager to get going, Kara sort of enjoyed the silence between them. The much larger hand she was holding on to feeling much warmer and assuring than it should have. She was briefly reminded of how she loved holding her father’s hand when she was much younger. “Re-“ she started, cut off by the shout of an all too familiar voice. She knew she should have felt relieved at being able to hear her friend’s voice again, but the first emotion that crept up was irritation as the silence was shattered, and the brief moment of surprise allowed Ren to slip his hand away.
-
“Kara! There you are, how long-…. Are you okay?” the blonde asked hurrying over, noticing how Kara was slouched and still looking a bit ‘off.’ The raven haired girl wasn’t even given a chance to respond as Tracey started rambling on, fussing over her like a mother who’d found their lost child after half an hour of searching at a shopping mall. “That fucking uncollared didn’t do anything to you did he?” Tracey shouted, her words filled with venom as she glared around the pool angrily, scanning for any sign of the feline. It didn’t matter whether he was responsible or not, if he hadn’t done anything he deserved to have his ass kicked for ignoring a sickly girl, and if he did do something, Tracey would have no qualms calling the cops no matter how minor the harassment was.
-
Kara wasn’t sure how to respond, but after pausing for a moment she shook her head. Trying her best to seem as calm and inconspicuous as possible. “He left right after you did.”
-
Glaring at Kara suspiciously Tracey eventually sighed, shaking her head before pointing Kara off towards the changerooms, “Come on, we need to get you changed and ready for class, I’ll try and think of something in the meantime” she assured her friend pulling Kara onto her feet and ushering her away towards, the girls changerooms.

As Tracy left with Kara walking towards the change rooms Ren breathed in air. Having kept his ears above the water he had heard pretty much everything the two girls had said. He blinked thinking it over for a moment Kara could have easily pointed to the hot tub and said he was here, in fact it would have been the responce he had expected from a human. But instead he remembered the thank you, and the way she had looked at him after he had saved her life. It had been odd but for a moment she seemed kind of happy.

His tail flicked in annoyance that was not something he needed to worry about. A human girls happiness did not depend on him becoming some kind of pet for the girl. Still she was small, and kind of cute. He shook his head. He probably wouldn't have minded bumping into Kara again some other time. Getting out of the pool and checking that no one else was around he was more then content now to walk towards the males changing room. The semi criminal thought of sneaking into the girls change room if just to sneak a peek at a changing girl did occur to him, but at the same time so did knowing full well that Kara's friend Tracy would have pressed charges against him in a heartbeat.

Instead he decided it was for the best that he simply went to his own change room. Dropping his swim shorts, and stepping under the shower to wash the chlorine off his body. He let the water soak over his natural curves, he was skinny tall, and somewhat browned with a tan line showing around his waist. His tail was long and rather elegant even as he struggled to wring the water out of it. His normally messy hair was pressed flat, except for his ears which small amounts of fur dripped water off of. Stepping out of the shower he knew he didn't have much time to get dressed he would just have to eat lunch during his next class when he could.

He felt oddly comfortable walking through the male change room nude, not even using a towel to cover himself if either of the girls had done what he had decided not too they would have gotten the full view body, his strong legs were shaved, as to much hair would slow someone down in the water, and for a neko who already had to carry an extra appendage in the water he couldn't have needless amounts of body hair on him. Getting dressed and dried he slipped into a pair of jeans, and a vest that covered the top of his body. His tail was aloud to roam fee thanks to the lower cut of his jeans. His clothing was not designed to hide his Neko features rather Ren embraced them whole heartily.

Walking out into the hall part of him hoped hat he wouldn't have to deal with either Tracy or Kara on the way to his next class the fact that he was still so close to the pool probably would have raised a few questions, but at the same time he was curious about Kara.. Why had she fainted in the water? why had she been so cold? He wasn't about to accept anything about the woman, but curiosity was burning his ears, and he wanted to know a little more about this girl.

Certainly he could already feel that this would not be his last encounter with her.

Having Tracey practically breathing down her neck, Kara was trapped in the girls change rooms. A clear look of discomfort marking her features as she tried to get changed as quickly as she could. Her body still wasn’t keeping up, and her movements were sluggishly slow, but she couldn’t help but worry about Ren who’d disappeared into the hot tub. Fortunately, Tracey hadn’t bothered to check there, but at the same time, it wasn’t an ideal place to hide for long periods of time. The heat could quickly get to one’s head…. Though the thought of pressing up against red heated body with her still shivering cold one did sound awfully pleasant.

“Ahem” <Tracey>

Blushing deeply as she was called back to reality, she realized her hands had stopped moving, and Tracey was sitting on the nearby bench looking at her quizzically, with a hint of worry. While Kara had recovered a bit, she still wasn’t what someone could call a person in perfect health, and her zoning out was more than a bit worrying, especially since she was still swaying dangerously while getting changed, Tracey had offered to help her out countless times, but Kara insisted she was fine, and her friend knew how stubborn Kara could get.

Leaving the changerooms, Kara glanced over at the hot tub from across the room, squinting for any signs of Ren, and feeling a mixture of relief and disappointment when she realized Ren was gone. She hadn’t even gotten the feline’s name, or shared her own, and the lack of closeness hurt her. Ren had managed to capture her interest the moment he’d called out to her, and now that he’d saved her life, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. In fact the comfortable warmth of his hand somehow eclipsed the fact that she’d nearly drowned.

“Tracey?” she asked nervously, knowing that what she was about to ask was a really touchy subject for her friend. “The neko… the one that was with us earlier… you wouldn’t happen to know his name?”

-----

“Ren…” she whispered dreamily to herself, sitting quietly in the corner of one of her classes as she idly scrawled random shapes on the piece of paper she was supposed to be taking notes on. School was nearly over and she couldn’t remember anything that had happened in her last class, and couldn’t understand a thing her current teacher was rambling on about. Her mind completely filled with thoughts of the feline, she wondered where he was right now? What he was thinking? And most importantly if their paths would cross again? A small smile forming on her lips as she was most certainly they would, one of the girls nearby who’d been passing notes around caught glimpse of Kara, smiling happily and scribbling down something, it was a peculiar sight, but it was an obvious one. She was looking forward to something.

For Ren the rest of the school day passed slowly. Classes were harder to focus on when questions bounced around inside his head. Who was Kara? why was she so fragile? and if she was a racist like he had initially thought why had she been so honestly thankful? It didn't help that his ears kept burning like someone was saying his name Ren hadn't really been able to focus for most of the day, at least not sense the pool. He wanted answers but investagating Kara meant he would have to deal with people like Tracy, and what if she really did only want a pet?

Sighing Ren finished his assignments for the day standing up from his class and turning to leave the room as the bell rang. He stretched his long arms and felt the stretch in his spine, giving a small nyah sound as it popped and loosened. Ren walked out into the hall, watching as humans passed him by. Ren walked through the halls of the school feeling how crowded it was, just as one of the larger people body checked him, sending Ren sprawling out to the ground. His book bag scattering it's contents across the hall creating a bit of an easily seen commotion.

"I thought cat's were supposed to land on their feet!" Adam spoke rather harshly as he looked down at Ren. Adam was basically the same size as Ren, standing in at a naturally tall imposing height, of 6'0" which was more than impressive, but the two carried their weight differently Ren was a swimmer, he was sleeked down not built for strength. Adam on the other hand clearly went to the gym to work out. He was heavier, thicker then Ren. He had longer black hair, with brown eyes, by most people's standards he was gorgeous, it was just a shame that the inside didn't match the outside. "Why don't you watch where you are going uncollared."

Ren watched as Adam passed by not saying anything more on the subject. It wasn't worth getting into a fight over, and he knew full well that the school would favor Adam over Ren in a heart beat. Ren sat up shaking himself off. Somehow the thought of the fragile little girl he had seen Kara as, next to someone as rough as Adam didn't match up in his mind. Going to collect his books he sighed lightly he would have loved to have laid Adam flat, but the simple fact was it wasn't worth it. Instead he just waited till the halls were cleared of people and started to pick up his books.

The school was closed for the day, but facilities like the pool, and library would still be open for a couple of hours. Part of him wondered about where Kara was or what she would have been up to, even as he walked towards the main exit of the building He walked slowly his ears twitching trying to search for sounds. He didn't want to be ambushed again, and part of him was also under the impression that he was being watched.

As the final bell rang and the students eagerly filed out of the classroom, relieved from the dull repetitive prison of the education system, Kara hadn’t even realized how fast time had flown by. She could have sworn she’d only sat down a few minutes ago, but her the sheet of paper filled with hearts, and cute little sketches of kittens clearly indicated that a great deal of time had passed since class had started. Getting ready to pack her things, the classroom had already emptied itself and left Kara by herself, a cold draft from a nearby window reminded her of her near death experience only a few hours ago. Not bothering to put away her books, she clutched them to her small breasts defensively, trying to keep herself warm from the cold silence of the room.

Overcome with the urge to be near people again, she quickly hurried out of the room and into the bustling hallway, letting herself be guided to the school exit by the flow of people, she nearly collided with the girl walking infront of her when the stream suddenly seemed to stop, the sound of a few guys laughing being heard loud and clear from a bit further down the hallway, Kara immediately felt a cold shiver of dread when she recognized one of them to belong to the very jock that had asked her out. Kara had yet to give the bulky man an answer, shyly asking for a bit of time to think the offer over before fleeing from the scene like a terrified mouse. Her mind had been made up immediately, but she couldn’t help feeling unsafe around Adam. The complete opposite to Ren who’d felt awfully nice and warm to be around. It might have just been her imagination, and her cold body, but despite the hostility Ren had shown her, she couldn’t help but feel drawn to him.

Lost in her own thoughts once more, she wasn’t fast enough to avoid the bump that came from behind her as the crowd started moving again. The books knocked out of her hand and onto the floor, unlike Ren’s case though, the girl that had bumped into her immediately apologized before helping her pick up her books. Unfortunately for Kara though, she didn’t notice her notebook filled with her sketches over the past hour being kicked down the hallway by an unsuspecting student, who seemed a bit too eager to get home. The book skidding across the floor and mingling with Ren’s own belongings.

Thanking the girl, who quickly hurried off. Kara was about to continue her journey home as well when she noticed a familiar brown tail swishing elegantly up ahead of her. “Ren! Wait up” she called out before thinking her words through, it was fortunate the hall had been emptied or it would definitely have attracted some unwanted attention. Clumsily hurrying over, nearly tripping on her own feet several times, she finally managed to get to Ren’s side. An innocent smile on her face. “Didn’t think I’d find you again so soon, must be my lucky day” she stated proudly.

Ren hadn't noticed the new sketch book he had picked up, rather it had just gone into the pile he had absentmindedly picked up, and put into his bag. Making sure to do up the over the sholder bags straps this time he slung it over his right arm and was about to leave the building when he heard a rather familiar voice, turning his ears twitched lightly as he saw Kara telling him to wait up, and he did wait for her, stopping on his heels he stood by watching as she ran and tripped her way up to him. It was odd really thinking of her with Adam, the two weren't exactly a power couple then again she had also said that she had no interest in jocks. Which came off as a lie though not for the same reason he believed earlier.

He looked at her with an odd, slightly puzzled expression as she said that today must have been her lucky day. She had nearly drowned in the school pool, she had been cold as ice, and looked to be about as clumsy as when she had nearly drowned. Exactly what part of today had been lucky for her? He shrugged lightly opening the door for her, and waiting for her to go through. It wasn't an act of servitude it was an act of politeness his parents had raised him with some form of manners. Pausing however he simply nodded lightly. "Neither did I." He said lightly honestly he hadn't expected to deal with Kara again so soon.

"What are you doing now that schools out?" He asked kind of unsure about this situation. He didn't like the idea of being seen with a human. If he spent to much time around Kara, then rumors were bound to spread that he was her pet, and that was the last thing he wanted people to think. He took an instinctive step away from her, but didn't do anything else that would have really disturbed the distance between them. He was after all still curious about what had happened, and oddly enough about her.

"If you live close enough... I could walk you home I guess." There was an odd distance to his voice. He was trying to be friendly but at the same time he didn't want to be. He was still flustered about earlier, and yet her smile was slightly charming. He decided that he would try and give this girl a chance. If nothing else her reaction to how she had woken up had proven that she wasn't trying to be racist or offensive. Maybe there was a miss-communication on her part with her earlier comments. If he gave her a chance, maybe she could prove his expectations wrong. He doubted it but maybe she could. His eyes however kept scanning the outlines of where they were not wanting to be seen walking around with a human, not needing the potential rumors that could spring from their contact.

It wasn’t until Ren looked at her with a confused look that she recalled that her ‘lucky day’ could quite have possibly been her ‘last day’ if things had gone wrong. But she’d never been one to look back on the past, and she wasn’t about to start now. Sure she’d been a bit sulky when she’d first understood that her body wasn’t as strong as everyone else. And for awhile she’d been afraid she’d drop dead suddenly, or simply not wake up the following morning. But after a few years of nothing extreme happening she’d come to accept that she might as well live for the present. Everyone was bound to die sooner or later, so she might as well enjoy what time she had.

Blinking up at him with clear blue eyes, it was her turn to be surprised as Ren offered to walk her home. It had been a big enough shock to hear Ren was interested in what she was doing, but to be offered something so friendly from the same person who’d been trying to get rid of her during lunch time. The first thing that came to mind was that Ren had been in a bad mood and had calmed down, but the second thought that replaced it wasn’t at all appealing.
“If you’re worried about what happened earlier, I’m completely fine” she smiled, moving close enough for her shoulder to brush against Ren’s hand when they walked.

A tiny 5’3” in comparison to Ren who towered over her. She frowned a bit, hooking a few strands of long black hair behind her ear as she looked at him with a mischievous look. Digging into her pocket and pulling out her mobile before hitting a few buttons and lifting it to her ear. “Harold? Sorry, yeah Tracey, I’ll call you when I need you? Thank you Harold, love you” she joked mirthfully, turning her phone off and shoving it into her pocket.

A cute smile played on her lips as she looked around, making sure the hall was still deserted before grabbing Ren’s hand and squeezed it with her soft hands and pulling him forward as she lept forward with a springy step “Very close by” she lied, clearly plotting something. Tugging on Ren excitedly like a young child leading their parents somewhere.

Ren felt more and more like this was some kind of trap, a thought that seemed to be confirmed by her coming closer than he had anticipated or liked for that matter. His instincts told him to hiss at her and run, but as she looked up at him with the clear blue eyes, he didn't really know how to react. He wanted to be kind, to her, but at the same time she was giving him mixed messages. The phone call she made really didn't help his already suspicious nature. "Well yeah I am a little worried after what I saw i doubt your completely fine." She certainly wasn't fine in the head.

As Kara asked if he was worried she basically hit the nail on the head, it wasn't every day he saw someone drown, and yes he was a little worried for her. He certainly didn't believe that she was fine as she would tell him, but as she brushed against his hand his tail and ears seemed too perk defensively. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he took another instinctive step back trying to re establish a distance between them which seemed futile when she grabbed his hand. She was small and light he could have easily thrown her around, but then he would be just as bad as Adam, not to mention the scandal that would ensue and destroy his life. Neko harms sickly girl... yeah that was what his life needed.

"Who's Harold?" He asked slightly paranoid for all he knew Harold was some collar vendor, and she was off to try and make him into a pet. Kara was light he could have easily broken free from her grip but at the same time he considered how fragile the girl had been. Even when she was talking about her racist friend. In all honesty he had no idea what she was talking about, the conversation was too quick and one sided for him to draw any conclusions, though if her house really was close by he would simply have to deal with the short walk out of his way.

"Fine but I refuse to go indoors." He wanted to add with the likes of you, but stopped. He was trying to be nice, and hold back his worse tendencies. He didn't know if that would really work, but it was very clear even as he walked and kept up with Kara's springing steps that he was nervous about where she was taking him. "I will take you to your door, no further then that." He said lightly almost hissing in how awkward and nervous his tone was.

Sensing Ren tense up as she held his hand, she didn’t think for a moment that he was being wary of her. In fact she just figured it was a nervous reaction due to Ren not being used to having his hand held. She didn’t mean to be offensive, but she couldn’t imagine anyone else in the school doing what she was doing right now, part of her couldn’t believe what she was doing herself. But as the warmth of his large hand flowed into hers, she stopped caring, simply enjoying the sensation while it lasted. She was just relieved that he wasn’t going to shove her away, or slip his hand out like he’d done last time.

“Harold’s my personal s-… friend?” selecting her words, she didn’t want Ren knowing who Harold really was as she figured he’d have issues with her if she did. “He was supposed to come pick me up, but I’d rather spend a bit more time with you” she smiled innocently, looking up at him with cheerful eyes. Whether she was plotting something evil or not, one thing was clear, and that was Kara’s excitement. Her springy steps, joyous smile, shining blue eyes all pointed to the same thing, and it was all too natural to be an act.

She decided to ignore his final comment about going indoors, it’d be a problem if he refused, but telling him he’d have to come in might make him turn tail and run in the other direction. Instead she started humming herself a cheerful little tune, walking for ten or so minutes down the street and into the neighboring suburb, where Ren probably hadn’t been before. There really wasn’t much for the two of them to talk about, and wanting to be as secretive of her intentions as possible Kara wasn’t making much effort to talk.

Huge flashy looking houses with huge gardens spreading between the front gate and front door on either side of them. It was only a few more minutes before they arrived at the front door of what looked to be a restaurant. One of those expensive type of places that people would only go to to celebrate a momentous occasion. Even from outside it was clear that the place was expensive, and the white polished marble walls made it too elegant to be anywhere Neko’s could be collared.

Glancing up at Ren with cute kitten like eyes as they stood near the entrance, Kara mewled pleadingly as she pulled looked at the entrance. “Sorry, I actually live pretty far away” a guilty tinge in her tone as she confessed her trickery. “I know you said you wouldn’t go indoors, but… please? It’d be awkward going in by myself, and I still haven’t thanked you properly for earlier.”