Situation

Chapter 29: Neko News

         I plop down on the bed next to Ice, who was asleep and practically jumped out of her fur. Laughing, I say, "Sorry, we found out what Innocence the baby has!"

The kit immediately composed herself and looked up at me, her striking eyes asking for details. I continue, "She has a Neko Innocence."

Ice tilts her head to the side with a small mew, confused. Taking the feline in my arms, I say, "It means she's very cat-like, which means that I might be able to talk to you because of her powers rubbing off on me."

She nods, purring as I scratch behind her ear. Lavi, Lenalee, Kanda, and I all went and ate lunch together after the ultrasound, but when I was done, the rabbit wanted to talk to Kanda a bit longer so I went on back to the room. I can't believe the grouchy samurai agreed to it, but that only makes me suspicious.

I wanted to wait on Kanda to get back to read the book, but it had been about ten minutes since I left. What was taking him so long? What would Lavi want to talk to him about without me there? Unless....

At that moment, my boyfriend walked through the door and sat beside me on the bed, and I ask, "Was he talking to you about me cutting?"

"No," he says, looking at the floor, but I can see the flash of guilt illuminate his dark eyes. Heck, I thought guilt was nonexistent in Kanda's mind.

I rest my pointer and middle fingers under his chin, bringing his face up to stare him in the eye, "Say that and look me in the eyes."

He holds the gaze, but when his mouth opens, nothing comes out. Closing his eyes, he admits, "He wanted to know what happened, when I found out, and if you still were."

I nod, removing my hand from his chin to pat Ice's head, who was curled up in my lap, "You're a bad liar."

"Good," he mutters, kissing my cheek. "Now, I want to know about the baby."

Glad to be off the negative note, I take the book from the end of the bed. Kanda was propped up against the wall, his legs apart, and I climbed between them, lying with my back against his chest as his arms went around me, taking the book. I smile, looking at the book in front of me as my boyfriend opened it.

I was right about Neko being a parasitic-type Innocence, and I say, "You know, I think she'll try to annoy you with that."

"She might, but I'm going to teach her manners," he retorted, but then placed a chaste kiss on my crown. Who knew he could act innocent? I mean, I'm definitely an Innocent Uke, but he's a Sadistic Seme or sometimes a Romantic Seme. Innocent doesn't fit with him. Now, I emphasize that he can act innocent, very clearly act.

"It's nothing to do with manners. I've got manners, but I choose to annoy you instead," I tell him, giggling. He doesn't say anything, just continues through the book. As I had assumed, the thing sticking out on the sonogram was a tail, and depending on the cat breed she's fused with will determine the tail length, furriness, and ear shape. What was really interesting in my opinion was that the cat can be anything from a common tabby to a lion. The bigger the feline or more powerful in nature helps with her power level and some of her abilities.

The gifts a Neko exorcist has is truly phenomenal, that being that the one ability is feline-like capabilities, but that category expands. All Neko exorcists have ear and tails, both fully functional. The ears take the place of human ones, like my arm, and they give their host super hearing, and some can detect akuma by the sound they make when the soul inside cries, a sound that I was very familiar with.

If the breed the Neko is fused with has a long tail, sometimes after years of practice, the exorcist can teach itself how to morph the end into a sword, like how I changed my arm into a gun and sword. The tail also gives great balance, and can be used to hold on to things to hang from the object. So if the baby was hiding from an akuma, when she's older obviously, she could dangle herself from a tree if she had enough strength in the appendage.