The Inventor's Neko

[Mari_Rose]

After him Korina sat down and out her napkin in her lap "well be careful... If it happens a lot you should be more careful" she said quietly eating her food with a fork like it is apparently normal to do. With that mess in his office no wonder he cut himself. He probably works so much his office just sort of gets like that without him knowing. Bbt his guests, if they saw the mess they would probably think of him as unprofessional and wouldn't want to invest. She took a few bites of her fish and looked at him "do you know when the guests you were talking about are coming?"

 

[CrystalTears]

"I am expecting a phone call later today, so we can arrange a meeting. I am thinking that it will either be tomorrow or the day after that. If it is not too much to ask, I would like it if you could stay in your room or out in the garden when they arrive. I am not sure if they are going to be as pleased with how I treat you, as it is seemingly very different from others," Itsuki said as he wanted to make sure that the investors were left with a good impression, and some of them might not be pleased by how he gently he treated Korina. As a scientist he valued all life as they had their own meaning in the ecosystem, but not all were as open-minded. There was the other option to become what seemed to be a 'real master', but he wasn't sure if he could pull it off, but that way Korina wouldn't have to hide.

 

[Mari_Rose]

"Of course" Korina answered with a nod "I was just wondering if you wanted me to organize and clean your office before they came" after the question was asked she ran something's path rough her mind of what she would do while she hid. Maybe she could practice reading or writing. But if she had any questions she wouldn't be able to ask him...she could paint all day but she wouldn't want to waste her paints like that. This might be harder than she thought but she would try it. She knew it wasn't personal, just business.

 

[CrystalTears]

"We usually have our meetings in the living room, but cleaning up the office is much needed so if it's not too much to ask, then please do clean my office. It tends to get easily messy when I get caught up in my work," Itsuki said as he finished his serving and smiled to Korina, she was a very good cook despite knowing limited recipes. "I was thinking of giving you a cellphone, as I may sometimes have to travel, and I thought it was an easy way to keep in touch," Itsuki said to her as he could bring her along, but then he needed to become a bit more as the stereotypical master. But she should at least be brought to a trip overseas one time in her life. There were times he could be gone for a very long time after all, it all depended on how well his invention was accepted after all.

 

[Mari_Rose]

"I'll do it first thing in the morning before your guest arrives" Korina gave him a smile and got up cleaning their places. Hearing the part about the cellphone she stopped and looked at him "a cellphone? What's that? And when are you traveling..." She asked in sort of a nervous tone, now she had more to think about, like what she would do when he was gone rather than what she was going to do when he was here and she was in her room. Quickly she out the dishes in the sink now just realizing how much she's dependent on him since she got here. She didn't ink she would last in that town long if she went in by herself, probably get lost and never find her way home. She had no Idea how to drive let alone read, and no one would would want to help or talk to her.

 

[CrystalTears]

"You don't-" Itsuki stopped as he saw her quizzical look, how far away from civilization had they kept this poor girl? He sighed as he thought of the numerous ways of explaining a cellphone, as he could even talk about how they were built, but decided to keep it easy and short instead to not confuse her even further. "A cellphone is a way we can talk to each other even if I am far away. However, I think it's safer just to bring you alone... I can't have you staying here alone without a driver's license, and certainly not leaving you in my family's care. Itsuki stood up as his cellphone rang and he showed it to her. "This is a cellphone," He said with a smile as he retreated himself into the living room to talk to his investor.


"This is Itsuki Mitsuchiko," Itsuki answered as he already knew who was on the other end of the phone, but he still answered it formally.


"Yes hello! This is Kuro Takagami. I just wanted to make sure that our appointment is still tomorrow at 12 pm?" Kuro asked as Itsuki was happy to hear Kuro's voice. He was one of the best investors he knew, except from his brother, and would always throw in some extra credit if needed.


"Yes, that is just fine. The blueprint and prototype is already finished, and ready for your disposal for our meeting," Itsuki answered him.


"Good! Then I will be arriving at your house tomorrow, I look forward to doing business with you again Itsuki," Kuro said as he hanged up and Itsuki sat down in the chair in the living room, grabbing a book from the bookshelf before he began reading, but slowly fell asleep as he was mentally tired from the Math equation he was struggling with earlier.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina looked at the small item in his hand before sighing "right..." She said quietly and walked back into the kitchen to clean. Every time they went into town she would see people with those little machines, it felt like common knowledge to know what they were, everyone had one. Still so much she didn't know about this new lifestyle, the Nekos usually were in extreme poverty, never having the opportunity to have the same luxuries as humans do. Maybe the answers to all of this was in the books. Itsuki did say that he would start teaching her tonight. When she was done cleaning she had a small smile on her face. She walked into the hall and shuffled through the bag from the book store choosing one of the picture books and making her way to the living room "Itsuki i-", he was asleep. There was no point in waking him up now, the lesson would have to wait till tomorrow, it was about time she got to bed as well. With a frown and a sigh she grabbed a blanket from the other couch and laid it over Itsuki before retreating to her room to sleep

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki woke up the next morning as he realized he had fallen asleep in the chair. He felt a bit silly once he realized he had been straining his own body this far, maybe if he drank more coffee he would be able to stay up later. Or maybe the three weeks without sleep finally caught up with him? Nevertheless, he woke up and walked upstairs as he began grooming his hair back, and changing into more formal clothing, but nothing too formal either as he was expecting visitors today. He would have to apologize to Korina later, they were supposed to read together after all. Once the investments were made, then he would have more time to relax and more time to teach Korina about the modern society. Maybe she could teach him a bit about the Neko society too, but from what he had heard so far, it didn't sound as a good society to grow up in.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina was already up, and knowing itsuki was sleeping downstairs she made sure to tread lightly. In the hours of the morning that she had used, breakfast was made. There was a pot of oatmeal on the stove to keep warm for him to eat. And she was very close to finishing his office. She had chose today, to wear something that resembled a uniform in case she had to come out of hiding for emergencies. It looked as if she were his maid, rather than whatever he thought of her now in his office she was careful not to touch any of the inventions there not wanting to break anything. Books were organized as well as blueprints which were rolled up and put away. Any papers she found she neatly piled on his desk so he could do what he wished with them. The blood trail left by his hand was cleaned up as well as the mug shards that remained in the floor.

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki let out a large yawn, once he finished in the bathroom. He tried his best to look a little decent as he usually would just throw something on. Once he finished he walked downstairs to find his breakfast already prepared and smiled a bit, seemed as Korina was very early today. With a smile he ate his breakfast, before he put the dishes in the sink and walked up to his office to gather the prototype and some files, as it seemed Korina was already there, walking around in some very unusual clothing. "What are you wearing Korina?" Itsuki asked as he examined her from the doorway before entering.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina looked at him her cheeks flushing a little, maybe this wasn't the best Idea "w-well... I thought.. If you needed something... I could look like your servant.." She folded her hands behind her back and looked down "I mean more like your servant. So... I don't make you lose your investment" she bit her lip and looked up at him "I can change if you want me too" with that she walked towards the door thinking he would say yes but she would stay and finish cleaning if he didn't

 

[CrystalTears]

"No, you don't need to change at all. You look cute in that," Itsuki said and smiled to her as he entered the office smiling a bit to her flustered face, before he reached out his hand to pet her. "Thank you for caring about my investment. That is very kind of you," Itsuki praised her, squatting a bit down to reach her level, chuckling as he could clearly see her flustered cheeks. He walked over to his desk as he saw everything was arranged, and quickly found the files he was looking for, before he looked a bit around for the prototype.

 

[Mari_Rose]

As he crouched down her cheeks became a deeper pink and she looked away. Why did he keep calling her cute? She was supposed to be below him despite how he treated her. "I-I should get back to cleaning." She turned away an went over to a pile of books just to keep her busy and to take her mind off of what just happened. She took a few breaths as she took a stack and started putting them on shelves to get her cheeks to stop blushing. Cute was something that was meant for endearment wasn't it? Honestly she wasn't sure anymore, she wasn't quite sure of anything knowing that there was still so much she didn't know. Living in poverty is very isolating, it's probably why humans liked it that way. So they didn't have to deal with their kind even though they weren't to different. All of it really was just physical differences.

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki let out a small chuckle as Korina went straight back to work, as he rummaged through a couple of more drawers, but made sure not to make a mess as Korina was cleaning after all. He looked around the office to see the floor once again, he hadn't seen the entire floor since he first moved in here, and that was two years ago. Once he found the small circular prototype, shinning in it's silver color and blinking in a couple of lights he smiled. It seemed as even though he had worked long on the prototype, it was still in top condition. He turned it quickly on as a bright blue light was projected, and a small hologram of himself was standing on top of the circular prototype, projecting his every move. Quickly he turned it off, as to not waste its power, and smiled, proud of himself. Itsuki walked over to where Korina was cleaning and petted her head once more, smiling to her. "You are really cute, just like how you're acting now," Itsuki said almost teasingly as he put the projector on the desk and walked downstairs to prepare some pastries and tea for his guest to come.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Just after she felt like she had calmed down and her cheeks were at their normal tint he was at it again. Her cheeks flared up and she tightened her grips on the books failing to show that it didn't happen. When he left korina let out a breath that she seemed to Be holding the entire time, maybe to hold back her purrs. She ran her fingers through her hair and turned to put some thigs on his desk when the glimmer of silver caught her eye. The disk on his desk had caught her eye and curious it's. When she was putting books away she had heard a feint wiring behind her and this must be it. She put the papers down and gently put the device in her hand to examine it. She couldn't take her eyes off of it as like any curious child started to fiddle with it, trying to figure out what it did. When she pressed one button the device lit up and the small projection of her showed up. She jumped and pulled her hand up, the device falling back down to his desk and shutting off. Shaking her head she quickly made her way out of the office deciding not to touch anything else in there, hopefully she didn't break it.

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki heard Korina quickly running down the stairs as it seemed she was still busy cleaning around, she really didn't have to do it quickly, but he knew that stopping her was futile. Instead he decided to finish placing the tea and the pastries on the tray he had prepared and then brought it upstairs. Once more was Ituski surprised to see everything so tidy and in order, especially inside his own office. Despite him not looking at Korina as some sort of housemaid, she was very good at it, and he was grateful for that. He looked at the little disk on the desk, with a smile as he tried it out once more. However, this time something went wrong. The holograph was being unclear and shaking, as if some of the wiring had twisted itself. "Wait... it was working just a few moments ago..." Itsuki quickly looked at his watch, seeing how little time he had left to fix it and began straight away. I swear... It was working just a few moments ago... Itsuki thought as he hurriedly tried to fix whatever had happened.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina ran straight down to her room and shut the door. Fiddling with her hands she nervously paced her room taking deep breaths and reassuring herself that his device wasn't broken, the she didn't break it. When it landed in the desk it probably just landed on the off switch that's all. With another deep breath she left it at that, it seemed reasonable in her panicked mind. Now she needed to bring her mind to other things so that the thought would not come back, quickly she put a canvas on the easel and got out her paints. As she started to paint the flowers from the garden she heard the doorbell and froze keeping her ears trained towards the door

 

[CrystalTears]

"Oh, there here..." Itsuki said as he was stressing up to get the wires fix, and he didn't even get the chance to test run it once the door bell rang. He let out a deep sigh, hoping he had managed to save most of his prototype, without having to check it first as he hurriedly walked down the stairs, fixing his tie on the way down as he did as he cleared his throat before opening the door. "Kuro, welcome!" Itsuki said to the man giving him a friendly hug, as he looked at the leash in his hand. The leash lead to another one like Korina, only this one was walking down on all fours, and looked almost terrified when they exchanged eye contact. "Itsuki, my friend! Do you mind if I brought my pet? You see, I do not feel safe leaving her home alone..." Kuro excused himself as Itsuki quickly peeked back inside, making sure Korina didn't see this, as it must terrify her if she did, and smiled. "Of course," Itsuki said as he lead them inside, closing the door and walked upstairs, ready to hold the meeting.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina heard a few voice being exchanged so she assumed it was investor. As she listened she heard a familiar and uncomfortable word, 'pet' bring in the room and not in the hall to see what he meant she hoped it was a real animal, mot what she feared. Thought her hopes weren't the highest as she remembered master Yutou referring to herself as a 'pet'. The word itself gave her shivers. Maybe if she saw, it might actually be like a dog or something, just a peak, just to put her mind at ease. With a nervousness deep breath she waited until she heard footsteps pass her room and head up the stairs before quietly opening the door and popping her head out to see the company. She was wrong, she was terribly wrong. Seeing the girl on her hands and knees shattered her heart, not wanting to look any more she went back into her room and accidentally slammed the door. Seeing that also made her realize how lucky she was to be where she is now. If Itsuki found out about his device, and that she did it, she might lose it all.

 

[CrystalTears]

They sat down as the girl in the leash was assigned to a corner, as Kuro tied her to a lamp post. Itsuki avoided to look at the poor girl, as he thought the sight itself was hideous. Being a scientist made him appreciate all life forms, and being treated like that... it had to be horrible... Without giving it another thought Itsuki smiled to Kuro, trying to forget the girl sitting in the corner as if she really was a pet. Itsuki had heard the door slam earlier, and knew that Korina must have seen it, his heart became a bit heavier, but he hoped that she didn't fear the same happening to her, he had already thrown away the leash after all. "Now, let us get down to business shall we?" Itsuki asked as he looked at the device, nervous that it might not work. "Oh, we have time. How have you been lately? You know, these 'nekos' as they are called are very handy. They do everything you tell them to! They can be used to anything you want them to, too. They are such obedient creatures, right?" Kuro asked as the girl nodded and followed it with a quiet "Yes, master,". Her eyes were dull, and her face was expressionless. It was as if she was a doll, and Itsuki couldn't imagine what the poor girl had been through, before she became like that.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina curled up in her bed awaiting the wrath of Itsuki, though maybe that was an over exaggeration. She hadn't yet viewed him when be was angry, or even knew if he got angry. Even so the unknown scared her, seeing the girl made her a bit more scared. What if he found out and that was her punishment, or she was sent back to master Yutou. If she was sent back that would mean that she was disobedient, no one wants a disobiendient neko. All of these thoughts made her lose her appetite for painting. She didn't deserve how he was treated her, the clothes paints. The books... Maybe this was the anxiety talking but these were all the thoughts running through her head. She wouldn't run away though to make up for it all she would be as obedient as she could. To please him and serve him, that was her purpose so that's what she'll do.

 

[CrystalTears]

The conversation went on for a while, before Itsuki finally managed to get them back on track, it took a few hours, but at least they were no longer talking about the nekos. It seemed as the neko trade was more popular than Itsuki had originally thought, and it seemed as they were all treated like that poor girl, if not even worse. Some were even gagged and blindfolded, as they were not allowed to speak. "Shall I show you the Hologram Phone Projector then?" Itsuki asked as he turned it on, after some much difficulties that was clearly sound by a few electric sparks here and there it turned on, the projected picture being a bit more blurry than what it originally was, but it was at the very least no longer shaking as it was earlier. "This is only a prototype, so the real deal will of course show a clearer image, and be more quiet," Itsuki added, still uncertain why it suddenly changed. "I see! This is brilliant though Itsuki! I shall talk to my superiors, but you shall expect a phone call soon!" Kuro said impressed, as he showed him a bit the different modules and they talked about how much was needed for it to become a fully operational device.


A few hours went by and Kuro and the girl left, as Itsuki escorted them out. Once the car was completely out of the driveway, Itsuki sighed relieved. The imagine of the poor girl was still in his head, and he had to go check how Korina took the sight, as she had clearly taken a quick peak. He gently knocked on her door before entering, seeing the easel and empty canvas, looking around for Korina as she was on the bed. "Hey, sorry you had to see that. I didn't expect it either," Itsuki apologized, as he walked over to Korina and sat down beside her.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina jerked her head as he knocked on the door, she was silent when he came in and moved her eyes away from contact when he sat down on the bed. Glancing over at the windowsill she slowly got off of the bed and walked over to sit there, deciding it was best she slept there from now on. Bringing her knees to her chest she glanced in his direction "a-are.. We usually.. T-treat in s-such a way..." She asked quietly bringing her hand to her neck remembering the feeling of the tight collar she wore during the few days sent at master Yutou's home. She would also wait until he told her about the meeting before admitting to anything, it wasn't lying right? It would only be lying if she said she didn't do it, but if she didn't talk about it at all maybe, maybe she wild be in the clear.

 

[CrystalTears]

Itsuki sighed as Korina walked away from him, but couldn't blame her for wanting some distant either. "It seems that way, but I honestly cannot tell you for sure. He said it waa a way for the neko to show her obedience. Don't worry though, I'll never have you to do something like that," He reassures her with a smile as he doesn't move from the bed. He couldn't even imagine how scared Korina must feel after seeing someone like herself being treated in such a way as Itsuki was struck by an idea. "How about we make dinner together? I don't got work and you can tell me what to do. Teamwork is important as we are living together as equals, and after that we can read together," Itsuki suggested with a smile. Hoping to cheer her up.

 

[Mari_Rose]

Korina shook her head and stood up looking down "I'll make dinner, you relax" she simply said bowing and leaving the room to the kitchen. Tonight she decided to make something he's eaten, not her, though it would be kind of hard to read the recipe book... She said and looked through the pantries pulling some things out that smelt good together, not entirely sure what they were but her nose never let her down. She chose to make a steak tonight, it wouldn't be that hard, just one steak. For him, she could settle with some leftovers from the nights before. She heated up a pan and placed the slap of meat on it as well as chopping some vegetables to go with it.