The sunlight sifting through the paper windows was enough to wake Kitty. He opened his heavy eyelids. When had he fallen asleep?
He sat up, holding his aching head. His sore eyes told him he must have cried himself to sleep. How long was he out for in the first place? When he came home the day before, it was still daylight. Was it still the same day? There must have been a night between then and now. Damien was sleeping soundly on the floor.
Kitty pulled off the covers. Someone had tucked him in. His shoes were sitting neatly on the floor beside the bed. Did Damien do that? He glanced over at him, watching him in slumber. He looked so cute, lying on his side with his legs tucked into his stomach and his head resting on his arm. He was an elegant sleeper. No snoring, no drool dripping down his chin. His hair was a little messy, but that only added to his beauty. Kitty sighed.
Who was Damien? Kitty didn't know what to think. Damien was a murderer, but he was also one of the kindest, gentlest people he had ever known. He treated those he cared about with love, though he could be a bit cheeky and annoyed with them at times. But that could have all been an act to lure him in. The others could be in on it, too. But they seemed so nice and welcoming. It was hard to believe, but it wasn't impossible.
Could he trust these people?
But even if he couldn't, he had no choice but to stay here. He had nowhere else to go. A hybrid couldn't buy or rent a house. They couldn't get a job. No job meant no money, and no money meant no hotel would accept you. Most would turn you away for being a hybrid, unless you were with your owner. And he couldn't speak Japanese. How could he survive in a foreign country when he couldn't even speak the language?
A knock on the front door downstairs jarred him from his conflicted thoughts. He knew someone who was already out of bed would answer it, so he stayed where he was. Then came footsteps thumping up the stairs. The door was thrown open to reveal Claire. The loud clack of the door made Damien wake with a jolt.
"You'll never guess who's here!" Claire said, beaming.
Claire dragged Kitty down the stairs, telling him she had a wonderful surprise for him. Damien followed after them, just as puzzled as he was. They reached the kitchen. Watching his face for a reaction with glee, Claire opened the door. There was a man sitting next to the counter. When Kitty realised who it was, his eyes filled with tears of relief.
"Father!"
His father, Gabriel, turned to him and grinned, as joyful and relieved to see him as he was. He leapt off the stool he was sitting on and lifted him off the ground into a hug. They held each other, Kitty sobbing into Gabriel's shoulder. All the fear he felt had dissipated. He'd found his family as he'd prayed for.
But where were Eric and Jack?
Once they'd pulled apart, Kitty asked Gabriel where they were. Gabriel's look of happiness became one of sorrow. It crushed all the hope in Kitty's heart. It was obvious something was wrong. Gabriel asked if they could be alone for a minute, and Damien and Claire left. Gabriel sat back down on the stool and Kitty sat on another one in front of him.
"W-What's happened?" Kitty asked. "Why aren't dad and Jack with you?"
Gabriel inhaled and exhaled, and held Kitty's face in his hands. "Sweetie," He looked into Kitty's eyes, and Kitty saw the trauma in his. "I have some bad news, and it'll be difficult to hear. But just promise me you won't do anything silly. OK?"
Kitty swallowed and agreed. He knew what was coming.
"Dad and Jack are, um," Gabriel paused, fighting back tears. "They're gone. They died."
All Kitty did was nod, staring at his hands, twisting them together. He had expected that. He knew all along this wasn't going to end well. He didn't cry immediately, but his chest hurt. He genuinely believed his heart had broken.
"How did they die?" Kitty asked with a shaky voice. His eyes stayed on his hands.
"They were shot. Shot in the head." Gabriel sniffed. "I found them together. Dad was holding Jack in his arms. It seems that dad found Jack and tried to protect him, but they were both shot and killed."
His brown eyes studied Kitty's face, waiting for a reaction. Kitty seemed hollow. Gabriel reached over and took his hands in his. Kitty finally raised his head and looked at Gabriel. The floodgates opened when he saw Gabriel's tears. He held Kitty in his arms as he sobbed. His fears were true. They were dead. His only comfort was that they had died together. Despite the tragedy, he was grateful that at least one family member had survived. But it only helped numb the pain a little.
"How did you find me all the way here?" Kitty asked once they had calmed down enough.
"It was tricky. To start off with, I was shot in the stomach and I passed out. The humans thought I was dead, and so did the soldiers who found me at first. They only realised I was alive when they saw the wound was still bleeding and checked my pulse. I was taken to a hospital in the nearby city, luckily just in time. Any longer and I would have bled out. I was in a coma for a couple of days. As soon as I woke up, I discharged myself to come looking for you, Jack and dad. I went back to the camp, and that's where I found their bodies. I buried them and said my goodbyes, then set off to find you. I never found your body, so I hoped you'd still be alive. But I knew that meant you must have been taken and were to be sold.
"I hired some... questionable people, let's just leave it at that, who tracked down the humans who took you. I travelled to Japan by hitchhiking and sneaking onto a plane. But by the time I got to the location they took you to, you were already gone. So I asked around and showed people pictures of you to see if they saw you. After a few more days, I managed to track you down to this town, and then to this house." Gabriel took a breath after the fast-spoken speech. He smiled and embraced Kitty. "I never would have given up until I found you. I'm so glad you're safe. I just wish I could have said that for dad and Jack, too."
"Yeah, me too." Kitty hugged back, closing his eyes. "I'm glad you're safe, too."
☽☾
That night, Gabriel slept on the sofa. He was suspicious of Damien and the others' intentions, but knew they had no choice but to stay. This was Gabriel to a T; paranoid, overprotective and wary of trusting strangers. He didn't approve of Kitty staying in Damien's room at all. He thought Damien might "coerce" Kitty into having sex with him, but Damien insisted he wasn't going to. He explained that he slept on the floor. Kitty was mortified at his father's accusation. He didn't want to sleep with Damien, or at least he tried to convince himself that he didn't. Gabriel eventually allowed them to stay in the same room, but was still a little cautious.
In the morning, Kitty decided to go take a walk before Gabriel woke up. He didn't want another lecture about "the proper way for a pure boy to act". He already got some stick because of his new piercing and the fact that his shirts reveal his stomach. Damien told him that his flat, hairless tummy was adorable. That gave him the confidence to show it off more.
He took a walk around Kuromori town. He had been living here for a while, and he'd gotten used to the danger of this new world he found himself in. He had to carry a pocketknife with him when he went out alone in case anyone tried to kidnap him again. Damien showed him how to use it in an emergency. He felt safer with it on him, but he didn't want to use it.
As he walked, he spotted a pure white butterfly fluttering past him. His head snapped to look at it. It was glorious and literally glowing, the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He had to follow it. As he did, his transfixed state prevented him from seeing the man in the black cloak approaching him from behind.
Before he could take out his knife or defend himself in any way, black gloved hands ensnared him, covering his mouth and nose with a cloth. He smelt that familiar chemical scent, and blacked out.