Please I Just Want a Chance (Sekaiichi Hatsukoi)

Chapter 8

                             Yokozawa's POV
      
                       From the very second that I woke up everything had gone wrong. I found that I couldn't properly function in this human form, I am being forced to still be a pet, I had been humiliated by two security guards, and to top it all off now this. My disastrous first impression.
              I made a mistake. I accidentally attacked the one of the two people that I had made up my mind to protect. That's how I now find myself, with my back pressed against the wall for the second time, the difference being that my arms were pinned instead of my tail.
             In my defense, I had assumed that the security guards had come back. I had no intention of just letting them do as they pleased. I don't think anyone would blame me for my actions, actually I'm quite confident that most people would do the same if they were in my position.
                 Despite the feeling that my actions were justified, I couldn't bring myself to explain in the current situation. The shocked expression from Kirishima's face had faded to be replaced by one of confusion mixed with anger. My arms were still securely pinned to the wall by a strength I knew I wouldn't be able to overpower which made panic race thru me. My thoughts were still in turmoil over all I had experienced. Most importantly, I felt throughly frustrated with how poorly my reunion with the Kirishima and Hiyori had begun.
              Opposite to my inability to speak, Kirishima appeared to have no problem starting a conversation with me. "What the hell was that for?"
                Flinching at the growl in the man's tone, I attempted to meet the his eyes only to find myself lowering my head as the brown narrowed eyes had sent a chill down my spine. My tongue stilled by surprise at how scary Kirishima was. I found myself pressing my back harder against the wall as if I could become one with it. I groan in pain as I feel his hold on my arms tighten.
                 "Answer me," Kirishima demanded in an authoritative voice.
                   Silence reigned as I took a moment to think through the response I wanted to give. If I wasn't careful than I could end up driving them away. I didn't get a chance to figure out what to say before a painful jolt distracted me. I let out a tiny whimper as the pain which had been admitted from my neck showed no signs of stopping.
               "It hurts," I partially whine as I remember the warning in letter from earlier: it is not impossible to reject an order however it is difficult and the collar may give you a shock.
              Involuntarily, my eyes close and I lower my head. Choking out words thru the pain I answer, "It was an...accident. I thought you....were someone else."
              As soon as those words left my lips, the pain stopped. Relief flowed within me at being freed from the pain. My tail which has been curled tightly into a ball slowly straightened out and resumed its natural swaying movement. My ears which had lowered, perked back up. Opening my eyes, I frowned as I processed what had just happened. A realization I didn't take very well made its way into my mind. 'That's what I'm going to have to deal with anytime I disobey them....'
             Disbelief fought with defeat inside me as I let this sink in. I couldn't imagine being able to resist an order if it meant suffering through that for...who knows how long. It's not like I didn't want to come back to help them, but this seemed a little excessive. Forget being a pet, this made it seem more like I would be forced to be their servant. That thought made me nervous.
           It's not that I thought that Kirishima and Hiyori were bad people, but given anyone this kind of advantage or control seemed dangerous. Whatever I thought about this or how ever I felt didn't really matter because in the end I signed up for this when I decided to return to the the father daughter pair. 'Why is it that everything seems to be against me?'
           Lost in thought, I forgot the situation that I was in until I felt a slight pain in my arm. Fearing that the shock was about to return, my face pales and my heart speeds a bit. I flinch and my head whips up. I quickly found my eyes locked on light brown eyes that show a brief second of worry before changing to display a neutral expression.
               "Who were you expecting that would require you to use violence?" Kirishima continued to question suspiciousness in his tone.
              "Some people that had treated me poorly earlier," I respond flatly, as I worked to calm my nerves.
               "What do you-" Kirishima began to further investigate until he was interrupted.
                "Stop it. Leave him alone. Can't you see that he isn't doing feeling well? We should be allowing him to rest." Hiyori who had been slow to recover from her shock was now staring at her father upset.
              "Even so, I am not about to release someone who attacked me and could cause you harm," Kirishima responded, turning his attention to his daughter.
               "Papa, have you taken a good look at him? He is super pale and appears that he could pass out at any moment," Hiyori counters.
                The light brown haired man turns sharp analytical eyes on me. Unease rises in me, as those eyes scan slowly over ever inch of me. Thinking back to how Lui had reacted to my appearance, a sense of vulnerability overtakes me. Stress builds up as I am aware that again someone else has all the power and I don't have much choice but to go along with what they want. It takes all my will power not to freak out and to fight back the urge to struggle with in his grasp.
              Those brown eyes soften for a split second before resuming the same neural expression from earlier. It happened so quickly I believed that my eyes were playing tricks on me. Keeping his gaze on me Kirishima continues his conversation with his daughter. "Okay. I will let him go, but that doesn't mean I trust him. Stay out of his reach."
          The pressure leaves my arms as Kirishima releases me from his grasp. I don't have anytime to enjoy my freedom as I feel a hand pressing into my back. I get led back to the bed by Kirishima.
                When I am standing right in front of the bed, I turn to look at Kirishima who had moved away to a little drawer. I see him return with the same types of cloth I was wearing when I first woke up.
              "Put these clothes on," Kirishima said, handing the hospital gown over.
               "Why do I have to wear this?" I asked confused staring at the cloth as if it might attack me if I made the wrong move.
                 "One because my daughter is here. And two because it is expected for a human to wear a hospital gown or some other clothes while staying in a hospital," Kirishima explained a slight twice in his eyebrow.
            "I am not..,"I pause. 
              Wincing I realize that, I am a human and it would seem that wearing clothes as Kirishima called them would be unavoidable. From my experience as a cat, I remember that humans always wore clothes expect for special situations. Although every instinct is telling me no, I reach out taking the offered hospital gown. I clumsily attempt to put the gown back on.
          Frustrated, I throw the gown on the floor fed up. I couldn't figure out which or my human body parts went in which hole. If getting the clothes on is so hard, I feel like my being able to remove the clothes before was something of a miracle. I hear a disapproving sigh, as I look over to see non amused brown eyes narrow a bit. Not only that, Kirishima has his arms crossed as well.
               "Put on the hospital gown, I'm not going to ask again," Kirishima sternly ordered watching me.
                Irritated by his behavior, I snap at him, "I can't."
               I see Kirishima's eye twitch at my response as he says, "If you don't stop messing around, I'm going to get angry."
              "I'm not playing around, I really can't put it on," I explain, a wariness falling over me as I pick the gown off the floor.
              Hiyori cuts into our conversation a look of realization downing on her face as she says, "Could it be that you don't know how to get dressed?"
              For some reason hearing the little girl point this out makes me feel ashamed.   Some part of me feels that like a failure for not being able to do something that comes naturally to humans as far as I could tell. I nod silently in response to Hiyori's question.
            "Eh? Seriously?" Kirishima inquires his brows raised indicating his surprise at my response. "How?"
              "It was never necessary for me to wear clothes before. So this new to me," I say defensively wondering why this was so significant.
               As a cat I strolled around all with just my fur to cover me. In my opinion, a cat's fur would translate as the same as skin on a human. So I don't see why people go to so much hassle and get so offended when someone doesn't cover their skin up. Yet, all the humans have accepted this as normal. 'Humans are weird.'
             "Really?" Both father and daughter questioned in unison eyes wide with amazement.
               "Yes," I reply annoyance edging my voice.
                 "I show you how you put this hospital gown on. You can use what I show you when putting on shirts in the future," Kirishima announces grabbing another gown from the drawer.
                I swallow my disappointment at hearing the words in the future. 'So much for hoping that this was temporary.' I nod reluctance welling within me as I give my full attention to Kirishima.
             I listen and observe carefully as Kirishima gives me very detailed instructions as well as goes through the process of putting on the hospital gown. When he had finished,I figured that this would be simple enough.Yet, it still took about six tries and Kirishima helping me get my head to into the right hole for me to actually get dressed.
            When Kirishima is satisfied with my the way I was dressed, I allowed myself to flop back first onto the bed. All of a sudden I felt drained. Today had been rough. I had very little energy left, especially since getting dressed had taken more effort than it should have.
            Sitting up, I face toward the father daughter pair uncomfortable in the clothes. I do know the answer to this question. I have already received it. Yet, some part of me is unable to accept it. So, I end up seeking confirmation anyways.
             "Will I have to wear clothes everyday and all day?" I ask, silently begging them to say no.
              "I suppose that would be your choice. However it is highly recommended that you do so," Kirishima answers, bewilderment on his face and his eyes searching mine as if to determine if this was a joke or not.
             "I see," I whisper my as my ears lower to my head and my tail droops in response to my depressed state as I lower my head.
                "It's not so bad, especially once you found something comfortable. For many people that tends to be sweatpants and a sweater. But there so many different types of clothes out there. I'm sure you will get to wearing them in no time," Hiyori cheerfully encourages.
                 Glancing up, I see a bright smile on her face. There were quite a few words said that didn't really mean anything to me as I still don't get the point of clothes, but I did understand that the little girl was trying to comfort me. A smile twitched to my lips at Hiyo's kindness.
                 It quickly got dashed when I heard a snort from her father. Turning in his direction, I notice he appears to be unconvinced. Hiyori's smile turns to a pout as she faces her father.
                 "What was that for?" Hiyori asked, upset by her father's action.
                  "It's nothing. I was distracted by my own thoughts is all," Kirishima breezily brushes off Hiyori's question while giving me giving me a look that says he thought his daughter's words were wasted on me.
                 My tail flicks displaying my irritation. I know we had an awful first meeting, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Kirishima had no intention of letting me get close to them. 'This is a pain...no I can't think like this...I need to try to recover from my setbacks. I should start over.'
               As I had been coming up with the best strategy for turning around the current situation, I had been vaguely aware of the father and daughter pair having their own conversation. The low voices that filtered in my ears gave me the impression that they were as a lost of what to do next. 'Perfect. I guess it's my turn to lead the conversation.'
                "My name is Yokozawa Takafumi, it's nice....to meet you?" I ended up finishing off in a question. It technically wasn't as if we didn't know each other, it's just they were used to my cat form.
               I received such blank looks in return that I shifted uncomfortably. 'Did the way I finished my introduction throw them off? Or did I not introduce myself properly?' At this point my head hurts because there was clearly a lot I needed to learn of I was going to be able to pull off my transition to living as a human.
              Hiyori and Kirishima exchanged a glance as they started chuckling. Tipping my head, I stare at them puzzled. Secretly, I enjoyed the sound of their laughs as it was pleasant. Definitely a nice change from the mood in the room not only a few minutes ago. My body involuntarily relaxed as I closed my eyes and opened them.
              "It's kind of late for introductions," Kirishima said a bit of amusement in his voice.
             "Now is fine," Hiyori said as she stopped giggling. "My name is Hiyori Kirishima."
               "It's not like he doesn't already know," Kirishima pointed out seeming  reluctant to initiate something that would invite them  to build a closer relationship.
              "Papa! Don't be rude," Hiyori lectures in a tone full of disapproval.
                 "I'm Zen Kirishima," he responded, in a defeated tone.
               Frowning, I found it difficult to pick up the conversation. I didn't really have a plan of what to say. A silence that could be categorized as uncomfortable perused. From the look on their faces the Kirishimas didn't have an idea of what they wanted to say either.
              "We all had a long day. I'm thinking we should take our leave," Kirishima breaks the silence shifting his eyes towards the door momentarily.
               "Eh? Already? We haven't been here that long. And there are things I want to talk about with Yokozawa-san," Hiyori rambled out displeased at the sudden suggestion made by her dad.
                "I know angel. As you pointed out earlier though, Yokozawa needs rest. Despite his rather impressive display when we walked in, his body is still recovering," Kirishima explained gently, yet with a firmness that indicated that he had decided to leave. "I promise that we will be back at the hospital in the morning. And you know I always keep my promises."
                While he is speaking I find utter panic flood within me. Moving into a sitting position, I find myself taut full of nervousness. I didn't want to be left alone. Not with the almost certain possibility that Lui might come back. I don't know what his intentions are, but that isn't required to  realize whatever he had planned for me wasn't good.
             Tail laying in the bed, my ears lower. My lips quiver slightly. 'I may have come here to help them, but right now I am pretty sure I'm the one who needs it.' As I see that Kirishima has successfully convinced Hiyori, I find myself leaping off the bed. I watch matching pairs of eyes turn to me as I stand sure that their is desperation in my eyes.
               "Take me with you. Don't leave me here please," my voice shaky as I plead.
               I could see surprise in those brown eyes that looked at me. Hiyori I knew was concerned as she reached out to touch me. Words were forming on her lips. Kirishima temporarily displayed worry at my behavior until he grabbed his daughter and pulled her back. His light brown eyes quickly hardened as the light brown haired man put up his guard against me.
                "What did I tell you?" Kirishima sternly asked Hiyori who had to take a moment to recover from her surprise at his action.
                  "But papa," Hiyori began shifted her sad eyes to me and then back to her father.
                    "No," Kirishima stated cutting off any protest or explanation.
                     Tears gathered in the little girls eyes. I had watched her growing up since she was about 2 years old. It has been an extremely rare thing for her to cry as she could hold her own when she argued with her father fairly well. Only when Hiyori truly felt like her father was being unfair or didn't understand was when she ended up crying. Kirishima fought to keep his stern mien in the face of this development. I could see his fingers  grasping onto his pants as he kept from using physical contact to comfort her.
              Now, it may not be my place to speak up. After all, he is her father. However, at the same time I had been here too. I couldn't play such an active role being a cat, but I kept her company and looked out for her while she was growing up. So some part of me felt that I had a right to say something in this situation. Even more so when I think about how I am to blame for her father being stern with her.
                "Don't you think you overreacted?" I asked keeping my tone neutral.
                 "No, I was doing my job," Kirishima said in a cold tone his gaze frosty. "I don't know you and I don't trust you."
             Wincing, I had to acknowledge that it isn't unexpected that he would say that. They are as fair as Kirishima is aware strangers who have never interacted before today. It hurt a bit, but I did consider this.
                 "I am not a threat to you or your daughter," I calmly respond. "I fought off the person who meant your daughter harm."
                  Kirishima's lips twitched. The iciness in his expression and demeanor melted away. Regret and shame replacing it. Admittedly, I felt bad poking at something that was going to be a sore spot for him, but it had been the best way to prove my point. Hiyori had remained silent, something about the way those sharp light brown eyes observed us made me suspect she understood that she should stay out of our way for the time being.
               "I cannot express how grateful I am to you. My daughter is my whole world and I would shatter if she had been...taken away from me like that," Kirishima's voice broke as he avoided using the word killed.
               A tinge of pain hit my heart at that. I held back from saying anything. The way Kirishima ran his hands thru his hair and his lips failed to form the typical smile he used when masking how he felt just showed how truly shaken up the situation had him. I had to guess that he had no chance to talk to anyone, not that Kirishima really struck me as the type to confide his worries in others, or to really work out his own thoughts and feelings.
               Gathering his composure, Kirishima said, "There is too much I don't know about you. I can't..."
                Whatever Kirishima was going to say next got interrupted by the sounds of footsteps passing by. The group of people that I assumed lived in this hospital came by making a lot of noise. Some of the conversation could be made out as they came down the hall. Apprehension sneaks up as I overhear my name being mentioned.
                 "Did you hear about the patient, Yokozawa Takafumi?" A male voice asked.
                 "You mean the guy they say came in with actual cat ears and a tail?" A women answered with disbelief.
               "It's true! I saw it for myself!"  A different excited  female voice answers.
               The footsteps half in front of the room. Tensing, I prepare myself for them to open the door. Kirishima and Hiyori also appear to be on edge at the prospect of more people joining us. The door handle starts to turn and then stops. Holding my breath, a new conversation starts between the people outside the door.
               "What are you doing you idiot? We aren't allowed inside. Only the head doctor and nurse are allowed," the original male voice hisses.
                 "Boo. What a killjoy! I wanted to check it out!" The female voice responds sounding dissatisfied.
                 Some arguing occurs that loses my attention. I start to relax having determined that they weren't going to come in and bother me. However, it didn't last as the next words that I tuned into full me with dread. Trembling, my tail I clutch my tail to my chest with one hand and protectively cover my ears with the other.
              "They are going to cut off the cat ears and tail?" A smooth female voice inquires.
                "That's what everyone has being saying is the best option," A male answers sounding disinterested.
                 "Did the patient agree to this?" A female asks sounding shocked.
                  "Unfortunately, the higher ups have made the call so long as he stays here we have no choice except to follow orders," A displeased male voice responds.
             "That poor man," A sympathetic female voice speaks up and many if not all of the group raised their voice in agreement.
                The group of doctors and nurses departed the voices getting quieter until they could no longer be heard. I stood in shock tightening my grasp on my cat ears and tail. I'm sure all the color had drained from my face and that my absolute pure mortification at what I heard was showing on my face.
             Hiyori and Kirishima's faces has both twisted in anger as they listened. I dropped to my knees.  The pain not even registering in my shocked state. 'I don't want it. How could they contemplate carrying out such a cruel act? Why is it that all the humans I keep coming across seem so messed up?' Despair threatened to claim me, but I pushed it back. I met the two pairs of  matching gentle, concerned glances. I had no idea how to get out of this hospital. I had no where to go. Kirishima and Hiyori were my only hope.
              "Please, bring me home with you," I begged lowering myself into a bowing position as I trembled ears flat and tail laying limp on the ground. "Please."

             After nearly a year I finally update. This chapter is more of a preview of the type of dynamic Kirishima and Yokozawa are going have.    It also, gives Yokozawa an insight on the type of adjustments required for integrating into the human side of things. I know it's a little slow going but things will pick up. I have many twists and surprises in store. Hope to update again soon. *fingers crossed* The character thoughts are in italics.  Sorry for any speeding or grammar mistakes. I try my best to catch them. Enjoy! Til next time! Bye!