Suddenly on a Leash (1)

Chapter four

Eventually, Sora had pulled me along against my will to a small, unnoticed convenient store, and the two of us went over to the side for privacy. Unfortunately, it had appeared that I'd lost my phone (and luggage) in the midst of the accident, so after I finished crying, Sora lent me his. It was smooth and blue, but the model was older and it was clear that he hadn't gotten an upgrade in ages, if ever.
I took the phone from him, wiping the last of my tears away. "So..." I started anxiously. "I just... Tell her you kidnapped me...?"
Sora flicked his long, fluffy tail. "Very funny. No. Tell her what really happened."
That IS what really happened...
"Heard that."
I growled and opened up his flip phone, briskly typing in Haruka's number and waiting patiently as I listened to it ring. Haruka picked up on the fourth ring like she usually did. Sora leaned against the brick wall, folding his arms, eyeing me patiently as I spoke to her.
"Hi, who is this?" She spoke a bit breathlessly; I assumed that she ran to the phone to uphold her "fourth ring" nonsense.
"Haruka?" I started, bringing the phone closer to me, as if I could somehow keep our conversation secret from Sora. "It's Ayano."

"Ayano? Hey, are you on your way? You sure are taking forever. Not that I'm complaining! My room's a mess, cleaning it will take forever."

I giggled a bit at her perky attitude despite her misfortune.
"Um, actually, that's what I need to talk to you abou..."

"Say, why didn't you call me from your cell phone? Who's phone are you calling me from?"

I swallowed, uncomfortable with already having to bring up Sora. "Erm, well, I'm calling you from my..."
I looked to Sora, hoping for some assistance. I had no idea what to refer to him as...!
"Master" he mouthed.
I rolled my eyes and reluctantly said, "... Friend's... Phone..."
I ignored Sora's disappointed look and continued.
"Listen, Haruka, I have a lot to say..."

"What's going on?"

"Uhm, it's kind of a long story... Do you have time...?"

"Ooh, ooh! Lemme get my notebook, hold on...!"

I rolled my eyes at my comical friend and started my story anyway.
"Uh, Haruka, the thing is, this morning I was in a bus accident.."
I heard Haruka immediately stop running and there was a pause. I frowned. "... Haru--?"

"YOU WHAT?!"

I pulled the phone away from my face, grimacing as she screamed into the speaker, even Sora flinching at the volume--- of course, his ears were probably more sensitive to it than mine, even if he was farther away.
"What happened?! Are you alright?! Have you been hospitalized?! ARE YOU GOING TO NEED SURGERY?! ILL DONATE A KIDNEY IF YA NEED ONE!!"
I snickered and rolled my eyes. "No, I'm fine. Don't worry."
She sighed heavily in relief. "Thank goodness... Alright, explain!"
I didn't hesitate to explain the story to her in complete detail. Sora would flinch every now and then, from either the volume in Haruka's high voice or disappointment in my description of him. Don't know why he's upset; I just called him fluffy--- which he was.
Haruka would occasionally interrupt the story for a comment or to react to my description, but above all, telling her was even easier than I'd hoped.
"And so he's going to keep me for a while..." I sighed, disappointed in my future.
Sora rolled his eyes, flicking his tail. I blinked when Haruka giggled and whispered into the phone, "Is he cute...?"
I felt my face go red and I refused to look up at Sora, who was smirking a tiny bit, raising his brow.
"HA-HARUKA!"
She laughed enthusiastically and thankfully changed the subject.
"So then? What are you going to tell your parents?"
I ran my fingers through my still damp silver hair, letting out a sigh. "I don't know..."
I heard Haruka sigh. "Well, I wish I could help you. I CAN help cover for you for not being here, though!"
I smiled. "Thanks, Haruka. I'll figure it out."

"Kay, call me if you need anything! Good luck!"

"Thanks. Bye."
We hung up the phone and I let out a breath.
This was going to suck...
I was going to have to tell my parents something FREAKY.
I slowly turned to Sora. "Erm... W-Well... Maybe... They'd believe me if... They met you..."
This was insane! I couldn't believe I was agreeing to this! Was I really going to have to force my parents to believe that I was moving in with a boyfriend that they'd never even believed in before now?!
Sora gave a small, sly smile. "So you're going to cooperate?"

"Shush... There's no other way."

"Right. So after two days you'll have to introduce me to them."

"If I must..."

Couldn't be helped. But there was one more thing...
"Um, one thing, though..."

His ears peeked up to listen to me. "Hm?"

"C... Could... Could you... Get rid of...?"

I put my hands on the top of my head and flapped them as though they were kitty ears.
There was no way they'd stay conscious if I told them that i was staying with this weirdo youkai...
He looked upward as his ears bobbed.
"Oh... Right."
There was a poof, and in a puff of smoke, once it'd cleared, his ears and tail were gone. "Like this?"
He rubbed his head where his ears had once been.
I blushed just a tad. He was actually pretty handsome...
"Heard that."

"Oh shut up!!"