Chapter 7: Guest / Guards

“It’s a bit hot still, so be careful.” Neko said, serving up the beef stew.

They sat down and started to eat.

“This is pretty good!” Neko said, smiling as he quickly finished his food.

Leaf nodded in agreement.

They finished eating in only a few minutes, Neko sitting back, extremely satisfied.

“Thanks, Leaf. By the way, you seem to be my age, right? What school do you go to? I haven’t seen you around here before.” Neko asked.

“I just moved here. I’m transferring to your school.” Leaf wrote.

“What? How do you know that?” Neko asked.

Leaf pointed at his clothes. His clothes bore the schools emblem on them.

“Oh. That would explain it, I guess.” Neko said, laughing a little.

Leaf started to clean up the dishes, Neko trying and failing to get up and help, tired.

“Just let me.” Leaf wrote.

“Okay, then. Thaaanks.” Neko said, falling asleep.

Leaf left him there, going to bed herself.

She fell asleep.

Leaf woke up, getting ready, like she became used to doing over the past month.

She walked into the kitchen.

Neko was still asleep in the chair.

She wondered how he could sleep in such an uncomfortable looking position.

She stifled a laugh at how weird he looked when sleeping.

She poked him awake.

“Hm? Ah. Good morn-wait. Where am I?” Neko asked, looking around with his eyes barely open.

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“You fell asleep after dinner.” Leaf wrote on a board.

It took him a few seconds for his vision to focus enough to read it.

“Oh.” He said, still not able to process anything properly.

Leaf left him to wake up for a little, doing a few chores in the meantime.

“OH!” Neko shouted, when he woke up completely.

Leaf jumped, startled by his sudden exclamation.

“Sorry. That was a bit louder than I meant it to be. I apologize for intruding like this.” Neko apologized.

Leaf walked over and picked up the board.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind. It’s slightly lonely here, so it felt a little bit less uncomfortable to have someone else in the same apartment.” Leaf wrote.

“You realize I’m a guy, right? Wait, for that matter, you shouldn’t have let a random person into your house in the first place!” Neko said.

Leaf thought for a minute.

“It’s an apartment. Not a house.” She wrote.

He slumped over a little, sighing.

“I don’t mind it that much. I’m safe here. Even if someone wanted to, they couldn't lay a finger on me.” Leaf wrote.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Neko asked, confused

“Look at your chest.” leaf wrote, pointing.

He looked down.

There was a red dot on his chest, moving slightly every few seconds, tracking the position of his heart at all times.

“How long has that been on me?” Neko asked, freezing nervously.

“The whole time you’ve been here. Either way, that’s what I meant by protected.” Leaf wrote.

“In that case, I think I understand. You aren’t ever going to have that kind of problem, I’m guessing.” Neko said, sighing in relief as the dot disappeared, with a signal from Leaf.

“No. The sniper is only going to be here for another day. He has some personal business to take care of, unfortunately. The rest of the people protecting me can’t see or hear what’s going on in here, so it changes things.” Leaf wrote.

“Rest of the people protecting you? There's others?” Neko asked.

“A few to a dozen people follow me, in secret, to guard me.” Leaf wrote.

“What? Why are you being so heavily guarded? Who are you, a mafia boss's daughter or something?” Neko asked, curious.

“I’m glad you didn’t freak out at that. Also, no, I’m not her daughter. I am, however, being sheltered by her daughter. She is very kind.” Leaf wrote.

“What? You’re only being sheltered, and they sent this many people to protect you? How big of an organization are they?!” Neko asked, Shocked.

Leaf put her finger to her lips, indicating that she wouldn’t say.

“Well...I guess I kinda understand why you won't say it, but that’s pretty cool.” Neko said.

Leaf was confused.

“Are you not scared of me?” She wrote.

“Well, I don’t think they would attack me for no reason. And we’re friends as far as I’m concerned, so it’s not something I really think I have to worry about. I’m also just pretending none of that ever happened.” Neko said, grinning with a slight laugh.

Leaf was slightly confused by what he had said, considering the period they had known each other for was quite short, but she smiled.

“Ah, right. Sorry, Leaf, but I have to go. My older sister promised to help me with homework, and I’ll get thrown out again if I’m late. When are you going to come to school?” Neko asked, getting the few things he brought ready.