Playing with the kitten (Tak)

[Kouji Yajima]

Kouji was starving. Like most growing boys, he seemed to be able to eat insanely large amounts of food. He walked over to an empty table and set his tray down. Lunch today had consisted of two hamburgers, a bag of dill pickle chips, pasta, and some milk. It was sort of an odd combination, hamburgers and pasta, but he was craving both and couldn’t decide which one to get, so he got both to fill the void in his stomach.

As he munched on his burger, he thought of what to do next. It was a Saturday, so he didn’t have to go to class, and he wasn’t planning on doing his homework on such a beautiful day. Naturally, his first thought went to the soccer field, but he wasn’t sure if another sport was using it for practice. He’d have to check, and if it was, then he could possibly go for a run to the lake.

Kouji shoved a few chips in his mouth, causing crumbs to fall everywhere. He tended to be a messy eater when it came to snack-like items. He looked down at the pile of crumbs on his shirt and wiped them away before digging into his spaghetti.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Contrary to what most girls liked to make guys believe, they actually had to eat too. Tak was one of the few that was willing to stuff her face when she was hungry and not care about what anyone thought; back on the reservation, they always ate all of what they had, and never let anything go to waste, and she carried that ideology to Hammel with her. Therefore, when her stomach growled as she had been laying out in the courtyard to soak in some sunshine, she hadn't hesitated to hop to her feet and grab some grub.

When she entered the cafeteria, she went to the food first before even looking around to see if she knew anyone. The stomach came first! She got a sandwich and some chips, along with an apple and a glass of water (milk was weird). Once that was taken care of, she allowed her eyes to scan over the tables, to see if there was anyone there worth sitting near. Her eyes caught sight of a familiar hear of reddish brown hair, and a grin flashed across her face.

"Kitten!" she called, when she got near, depositing her tray on the table so she could go in for some snuggles. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and nuzzled into his neck, ignoring the fact that he was eating. "Thank goodness there's someone in here that I like, I was afraid I was going to need to eat alone." Releasing her embrace, she sat down next to him and picked up her sandwich, diving right into her food. "I haven't seen you since yesterday," she told him, chewing quickly. "Did you miss me?" She shot him a smile.

[Kouji Yajima]

Kouji knew exactly who was calling him, simply because Tak was the only person who called him Kitten, or, at least, the only person who got away with calling him Kitten. He turned mid mouthful of spaghetti with a grin. “’eh ‘ak!” He replied, mouth still full. Kouji swallowed his food just in time to be hugged by her. He gave a cat like smile, practically purring when she nuzzled him. If Kouji was anything, he was a big cuddle buddy, especially when it came to Tak. If she requested it, Kouji would spend the day snuggled up with her and be the happiest man alive. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug. “We couldn’t have you eating alone now, could we? I knew that and came here just so you wouldn't have to.” He smiled and let her go so she could actually eat.

“Of course I missed you.” Kouji shoved another handful of chips in his mouth, making a bit of a mess as usual. He really did miss Tak; it was pathetic, really, considering they had only seen one another yesterday, but he really enjoyed Tak’s company. “Did you miss me?” He inquired, glancing at her while finishing off his bag of chips.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Ahhh Kouji. Unlike many or most of the other guys Tak knew, Kitten was one of the nicest, purest boys she had ever met. Just being around him made her happy and giggly. And the fact that he was the best snuggler in the world made the entire situation that much better. She allowed herself into the tight embrace, managing to squeeze in a kiss on his cheek before settling down next to him. "Aww, that's so sweet," she responded, clasping her hands together and fluttering her eyelashes at him. "You're so considerate. Thank you, Kitten."

She grinned at his answer; he never disappointed. And he was so cute when he ate, food flying everywhere. It made her feel so comfortable around him; he was so sweet and innocent. How had they managed to become friends? She didn't know. But Tak was sure glad they were. "Well yeaaaaaah," she replied, making a very sad face. "I always miss you, Kouj. I always feel so alone and snuggle-less when you're not around. I have a daily requirement, you know." She took a drink of water, grinning at him over the rim of the glass.

"Have any plans for the rest of the day?" Tak asked, ripping open her own bag of chips and eating it in similar fashion to him.

[Kouji Yajima]

Tak’s reply made Kouji give a big smile. He liked how affectionate he was around her, even if they were just friends. He also very much enjoyed the fact that he was Tak’s personal snuggle buddy. “Well, you know you can call me if you’re ever your snuggle requirement isn’t met.” He gave a laugh, and taking a big bite into his hamburger. After the sentence left his mouth, he was starting to realize why some people thought he was gay. That was probably the least masculine thing he could have possibly said that didn’t involve unicorns and rainbows. He wasn’t even sure how to redeem himself at that point.

“Hmm, not really. I was gonna go for a run or something, but nothing solid.” He replied, “Do you have any plans? If not, we could hang out or something. I’m up to doing whatever.” He pondered over what they could do if she was, in fact, not busy. They could head to the lake or pond, or even go about causing a bit of trouble. Nothing too bad though; Kouji was a pretty innocent guy, but he did like to goof off when he could. Normally, he would suggest going out and getting lunch, but they were already eating lunch, so it wasn’t the most practical of options. Kouji finished off his hamburger, being a very fast eater.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak didn't care that her friend may have sounded feminine, she loved the way he talked. "I will make sure to remember that," she assured him, nodding with enthusiasm. "Sometimes just snuggling is better than.... Well, what Cam or Chester would supply." She shrugged, grinning mischievously as she continued eating. She wasn't quiet about her social life. Hopefully Kouji was used to that by now. She was more than happy to provide that sort of situation for him too, but so far he hadn't shown interest - and she felt he was too cute and innocent to really bring up the subject anyway.

Tak is a wonderful friend, really.

"Oooh, running," Tak replied, perking up. "I could use a run. But later, obviously, after our food has settled." She patted her lean stomach, before continuing to scarf down her meal. It was a good thing she exercised regularly - she ate like a pig sometimes. "But I would loooove to spend the afternoon with my Kitten," she agreed, leaning onto his shoulder with an affectionate smile. She watched as his hamburger vanished, and tried to follow suit by finishing off her own sandwich quickly. "Mmf. So, whaddaya think? Wanna do henna or something? Orrrr we could do a photoshoot! Oooor.... We could go get piercings or tattoos together." She grinned. "Your choice."

[Kouji Yajima]

Kouji was used to Tak talking about her ‘social life’, and learned to not let it get to him. Or, at least, not let it show. He just preferred not think of about it – although he couldn't deny the fact that he absolutely hated Chester and Cam – wait, Cam? Kouji raised his eyebrows. Last he knew, Mia and Cam had some… thing going on. He wasn’t sure, but decided not to bring it up, at least not to Tak. He made a mental note to ask Mia about it later though.

“Yeah, it’s never good to run on a full stomach.” Kouji often forgot about those rules and typically regretted it later. Luckily, Tak had saved him from some pretty bad stomachaches and possible cramps, because he would have gone straight out for a run after he finished his meal. “Hmm, I dunno.” He put a finger to his lower lip while thinking. He didn’t mind doing photoshoots with Tak either, but typically he had to be talked into it a bit. Henna was fun, and he had never gotten a tattoo or piercing before. “I was thinking of getting my ear pierced, actually.” He said, turning to her, “What would you get pierced?”

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Poor Kouji. He really did have bad taste in friends. Or crushes, if that's how he felt. Tak was a free spirit, in more ways than one, and sometimes she felt like she was just a little too overwhelming for him. It didn't stop her from being his friend, though - he was so sweet and nice, sometimes he was just a nice break from all the other drama she surrounded herself with.

She continued eating as he spoke, until he asked the question. Oh, innocent Kouji. How should she answer? Already she was grinning at the ideas. "Ooooh, I don't know. Maybe my tongue, orrrr my lip, ooor," and at this, she boldly and shamelessly pointed to her right boob. "Here might be fun too. Although, probably painful as hell." She snorted a little, finishing off her bag of chips. "But yeah! You should totally get your ear pierced, it would look cu- er, it would look hot." She nodded affirmative, leaning an elbow on the table and grinning at him. "Whadaya think? Wanna go get piercings together?" What fun!

[Kouji Yajima]

Kouji’s eyes widened in horror as his gaze went to where Tak was pointing. In response, he reached a hand up to grab his own chest and winced, as if feeling the pain himself. “That just… hurts thinking about it.” Although Kouji was pretty pain tolerant, the idea having a needle shoved through such a sensitive piece of flesh seemed quite insane. Then again, it was Tak, and she was a little insane, but in the best of ways. In a way, Tak was a bit too overwhelming for Kouji, but he liked her like that and wouldn’t change it for the world.

He raised an eyebrow, knowing very well she was going to say cute. That was one word that was often used to describe Kouji and he never understood why. Being cute also tended to put him in the friend zone, which was why he typically whined when called it – not that whining ever helped his case, but that didn’t stop him. “Hot, eh?” he laughed, hoping that at least part of her meant it. Being cute only got you so far in life. “Sounds like fun!” Kouji returned the grin, “Let’s go!”

[Takchawee Ominotago]

"Yeaaaah. I mean, I can tolerate pain but... Maybe not today. I'll do the piercings myself, and I don't trust myself there." Tak had done her other piercings, except the one on her back, which had happened during a Sun Ritual - it really didn't hurt TOO terribly, especially if you were sort of out of it to begin with. Which... She had been. "Your ear will be easy, though - with a hollow needle, it might just sting and burn a little, but it'll be fine!" She smiled, giving his earlobe a tiny pinch as she finished the rest of her lunch. "Maybe I'll do my upper cartilage," she mused. Tak had three piercings on each ear already, but they were all on the lower part. It was funny, how different she felt around Kouji sometimes - his sweet innocence had a nasty habit of almost rubbing off on her sometimes. Sadly, she was far past the point of being naive.

Kouji WAS cute. The kind of cute Tak just wanted to cuddle all day. However, she had a feeling as he got older and lost a bit of the babyishness of his features, he would actually be quite handsome. Yes, hot, even. Maybe this would be a first step! "That's the attitude I like to hear!" she told him, quickly going to throw away her trash before heading up to her room with Kouji in tow.

They reached it a few minutes later, and Tak quickly went about grabbing her things, getting a fresh, sterile needle, some cleaning stuff, and a case of earrings. "Okay, these are the ones I can pierce you with," she told him, motioning to a half-dozen or so simple metal stubs with a small ball on either end. Some had a gem rather than a ball, but they were sort of girly-looking. "Actually, I could do a ring too," she added, pointing to a few small o-shaped earrings as well. "What do you think?" Personally, she thought rings were hot - she had already decided that's what she was going to go with for her new one.

[Kouji Yajima]

Kouji was unaware that Tak had meant that she would be doing the piercings. This made him a bit nervous, but she seemed to know what she was doing. Plus, it was too late to back down now. He finished up the little that was left with his food and threw away his trash. Before he had a chance to react, Tak was already heading up to her dorm, practically pulling Kouji along. Although he was athletic, Tak was hard to keep up with at times, although he was okay with that.

He sat on the edge of Tak’s bed, waiting patiently for her to return with all the proper tools for this. He pondered over how much it would hurt – he didn’t like shots or getting blood drawn, which involved needles as well, so he was sure that he wouldn’t enjoy this process, either. Then again, he was with Tak and therefore had to man the fuck up.

He looked at the studs carefully, unsure what would look best on him. Nothing with a gem or anything like that, he figured. At the mentioning of having a ring, he looked up at Tak and nodded, “I think I want a ring. They look the coolest.” He decided.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak sensed Kouji's nervousness, although she admired the fact that he was trying to keep a strong face. She laid a hand on his shoulder, softening her eyes. "Relax, Kitten. It won't hurt very much, I promise. I've done this plenty of times." She had gotten so caught up in the idea, she hadn't spent a lot of time realizing how frightening this could be for Kouji. "I'm just going to pop the needle through the lobe - it takes just a second - and the earring goes in immediately after. Easy-peasy."

She gave him a smile and brushed his cheek with her thumb, before sitting down beside him and pulling out the ring he had chosen. "Good choice," she told him, nodding appreciatively. "Rings are my favorite, too." She put on a latex glove and unwrapped the needle, looking over it carefully before situating the earring onto it, so that as she pulled the needle through his ear, the earring would go in right afterwards. She then made a small mark on Kouji's ear with a pen, so she knew where to aim.

"Ready?" she asked, holding up her hand in preparation. She lifted the needle to his ear and began,"On the count of three. One, two..." She began to bring the needle to the lobe as she spoke - and belatedly realized that maybe counting down was a bad idea.

[Kouji Yajima]

Her hand on his shoulder did relax him; Tak had an odd calming effect on Kouji. Well, she actually had a lot of effects on him, this was just one of them. He gave a reassuring nod and sucked in a breath. “It’s cool, I’m not worried.” He grinned, lying straight through his teeth. He wasn’t a great liar, and Tak read him like a book, but he insisted on trying to look calmer than he was. Poor Kouji.

The feeling of her thumb rubbing across his cheek made him smile warmly at her. Little affectionate touches like that made his heart race just a bit. “Glad to hear I have good taste.” Kouji watched as she put on the latex glove. He knew why she did it, and thought it was a good idea, but it just reminded him even more of being at the doctors. Oh how he hated doctors.

But it was okay, because this was no big deal. Girls get their ears pierced all the time, so a big strong guy like Kouji would be able to handle it just fine. Right? He nodded to himself in reassurance. Although, the moment she held the needle up, he got the shivers. It was so close to his face, and would be pushed through his skin. No, no, no. He couldn’t back out now. Yet, just before Tak said ‘three’ Kouji started to shrink. Stress and nervousness had a tendency to make him change forms, and the next thing he knew was that he was crawling out of his hoodie and looking up at Tak as a kitten.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

"Thr-" Tak began, but as she pushed the needle forward she was met with thin air. Blinking, she watched as he shrunk, getting over her shock quickly and letting out a laugh. "Oh Kouji," she giggled. She tried to compose herself - she didn't mean to laugh at him - but it was just too cute. "I'm sorry, sweetie. We don't have to do this. I just thought it would be fun." She set down her supplies and took off he glove, before reaching down and picking him up. "Dammit Kouji, why is your power so irresistible?" She nuzzled his cute little face before pulling him close and resting him against her chest. You know, a normal day for two good friends.

For some reason, it made a song pop into her head, and she began humming Circle of Life. If Kouji was a kitten all the time, his name would definitely be Simba.

"Sorry," she sighed a few moments later. He probably didn't appreciate being held like a.... Well, pet. She sat him back on the bed and paused. He was going to be naked if he changed back in front of her. He could dress quickly enough, but she was still tempted to.... Make him more comfortable anyway. "Here," she said with no explanation, and tugged off her shirt without warning. "Now we'll be even. Kind of." No, Tak didn't wear a bra whenever possible. It would have been easy enough for her to have just looked away or left the room but..... Where would the fun in that be? She shot a grin down at him and crossed her arms over her chest. How was this helpful? She sort of forgot...

[Kouji Yajima]

If Kitten!Kouji could pout, he certainly would have as Tak laughed at him. He gave a little mew in response, wishing he could explain that he did want to get his ear pierced and that he was sorry for getting so anxious about the whole deal. As Tak nuzzled him into her chest, he couldn’t help but to purr softly. (Who wouldn’t? Have you seen that girl’s chest?) His big blue eyes looked up curiously as Tak started to hum, trying to figure out the song. It wasn’t long until he did and in response he batted at Tak’s hair with his front paws. People often liked to play Lion King with him and hold him up in the air dramatically, which he didn’t appreciate greatly.

He was a little disappointed when she set him down. Normally, when he was a kitten and treated like a pet it bothered him, but it was okay when Tak did it because she was Tak. His little kitten eyes nearly popped out of his head as Tak removed her shirt. He had no idea how that possibly could have helped the situation in any way. He wasn’t sure how to react, really, so he simply turned around and sat, looking at the wall, his little tail swatting back and forth every few moments.