All Ranma characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, first published by Shogakugan in Japan and brought over to North America by Viz Communications.
A Different Viewpoint: Curses and Demons:
Chapter 35
Later that morning, downtown in San Francisco, Peter Caine was explaining the situation to his father. "No Pop, we can't free any of the other animals."
The Shambala master sighed. "Ah... it was only... an idea. We shall 'scope out the joint' then? And tonight... free the young woman?"
Peter nodded. "Yes, well, if she's even here."
Caine gave his son a glance. "I do not doubt that she is here. I sense... great evil is about." He frowned. "I do not believe I have ever felt this... kind of evil before." He looked at his son. "A Japanese Demon... you said?"
His son shrugged. "He said a demoness, he didn't tell me the brand."
Master Caine sighed. "You should have... questioned him more fully." He glanced at his son again. "That is your job... is it not?"
Peter sighed back. "It was 2 o'clock in the morning, Pop! It we need, I can try his number again... He might be home by now."
Caine shook his head. "I do not think that will be necessary." He pointed towards the Big Cat building, where a very familiar figure was just entering the building.
"What the?" Peter gaped. "That was him! What's he doing here? He told me he was in Japan. If this is some sort of trick...."
His father laid a calming hand on his son's shoulder. "I do not think...."
Peter shrugged off his father's hand. "I'm getting to the bottom of this!" He walked swiftly in the direction of the Cat house's main doors.
**********
Ami woke up again in a small cage... different from the last one she'd been in. It was slightly larger, and smelled new. Out the cage's door she could smell trees, the wall opposite a viewing area, apparently for the general public. The sounds that way were unmistakable. An inexplicable urge had woken her, cutting even through her slumber, and she felt strange. Her dreams had been... vivid, but she blocked them out as she tried to concentrate on the sounds around her.
< An English tour group I suppose.> Ami reasoned. < The guide's English is very good.>
She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Unremarkable blue painted cement walls, a small water trough, and nothing else was evident in her new home. The exit door to the outside yard was closed, and she sighed to herself. < I wonder how long before the other's find me? I suppose they could teleport in at night...> She glanced at the viewing area. < A lot of tourists here today. I haven't seen so many European faces...> She paused, listening carefully. < Why is everyone speaking English?> She blinked suddenly as she looked about the area. < Why are all the signs in English?>
Her heart seemed to pound harder in her chest. < Ohhh dear... I don't think I'm in Japan anymore.>
Ami rose with only slight difficulty and began to pace her cage in agitation, something burning deep within, her tail swishing behind her. < This... is not good, not good at all. What am I doing here... wherever this is? How long was I asleep for?> She moved her neck slightly up and down. < Still hurts, but not barely as badly... I suppose It's been a day or two at least. Why was I transferred here? I'm sure I was at the Tokyo Zoo the last time I was awake... They must have drugged my food for the plane flight.>
As she paced, her waking was noted, and on a cue from the zoo's head vet, her cage door was opened.
< They are letting me go out?> Ami wondered. < I wonder why?> She cautiously poked her head outside. < Not a bad yard.> She mused. < It's certainly larger than the what I had in the Tokyo Zoo.> She walked slowly out into her new home. It was a large platform of earth and grass, surrounded on two sides by a moat and fence, and behind her a large wall. Several shade trees grew in the enclosure, and Ami looked about her, mildly impressed. < Well, this is fairly nice I suppose...> She shook her head suddenly. < Nice... if I wanted to be an exhibit for the rest of my life. Is there anyway I can get out of here?>
With escape in mind, she began examining her enclosure more carefully. As she moved under one of the trees, however, she realized that she was not alone. A large black shape was laying on one of the larger of the tree's branches indolently. Ami backed up in surprise.
< Oh my!> She thought. < Another panther!> As she slowly backed away, the other big cat climbed out of the tree and came towards her.
Ami flinched backwards but kept herself from running away. < I'd better try to be friends... we might be together for awhile.> As the larger panther came up closer, she spotted a second feline coming up from the moat area. < Two? Are they mates?> Ami wondered to herself. < I hope they don't mind the company.>
Indeed, the two seemed not to mind her presence, and Ami found herself the object of much friendly attention. < Well, they seem to like me... > With that worry off her mind, Ami explored her new world. < No way out.> She sighed. < It looks like I'm stuck here for awhile.> She lay down under the shade of the largest tree and looked curiously back at the people passing. < The hippo area is across the way... I wonder when we get fed.> She listened to the excited people staring back at her. < At least I can improve my English listening skills.>
Her two companions suddenly began hissing at each other, Ami looked up alarmed, but it was over almost as soon as it had begun. To her surprise, the smaller of her two companion's walked away, while the larger lay down next to her and started grooming her. Ami let the larger cat go over her fine coat with his rough tongue, not wanting to make a bad impression on him. At the same time she tried to puzzle out the strange sensations she was feeling.
< What's wrong with me? I want... I want... what? What do I want?> The cursed girl closed her eyes and tried to focus on her schoolwork, trying to recall the first few chapters of the class's new mathematics text. It was much harder than she remembered, bringing up all of those numbers and theorems, and Ami started to get worried. < Why? Why can't I think clearly?> One by one, images started to run through her mind. Ranma Saotome, at Jusenkyo, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts... glistening with sweat.
Ami shook her head. < He's married! Why am I thinking about him?> Johnathon Dwire/Tendo's image came up a moment later, a sleekly furred half cat, exotic, tall, his black shorts blending into his fur so that she could barely tell he had anything on at all. For a moment she wondered what it would be like to be crushed to that furry chest, held in those powerful arms, pinned down by hands who's claws could spring forth at any moment, tearing clothing off with gentle thoroughness.
Ami's eyes darted open and she stared at the rocks and grass before her hollowly. < No! He's married too! What am I... why am I thinking about... men... now?> She couldn't help but recall an old fantasy of hers, replaying the night she had first met Johnathon Dwire. She had found him in his house cat form, hurt after a Youma attack, and had brought him back to her home to nurse him back to health, completely unaware of his curse. Many times after that, Ami had played with the idea of having accidentally splashed Johnathon with some hot water that night... and what might have happened if she had.
It was all highly illogical of course, her fantasies of a cat suddenly blooming into a damp, steaming, naked man... with herself fresh out of the bath as well, wrapped only in a single towel, of Johnathon leaping on her to keep her from crying out. She replayed the fantasy again, with the older man pushing her down on her bed, holding her tightly under his naked form, of his kissing her firmly on the lips to muffle her startled cries. Naturally he quietly explained his curse to her, telling her that he meant no harm. Slowly he would release her, not fully taking his weight off her in case she tried to run, and they talked, her full of wonder at the magic of his curse, him, full of gratitude for her taking care of his wounds. They would trail to a stop, uncomfortably aware of their bodies so close together, only a damp towel separating them....
From there her fantasies had taken many different paths. Johnathon had not been married at the time, she had felt no guilt at the dreams, although after his marriage to Kasumi she had filed that particular fantasy away. Now however, she found herself remembering each of those fantasies in great detail.
Ami shook her head once more, forcing herself to stop. < No! It's not right!> Her mind, however, simply threw up alternate fantasies in place of the ones she was trying to ignore. Ryoga-sensei's image came to her and she sighed. He WAS an incredibly well built young man... a perfect specimen of young adulthood, at least physically, with those little fangs that seemed so adorable on his innocent countenance. She had gotten a peek at him in the buff, months earlier, after they had returned from the dark kingdom and she and Mars had transformed him back into his human form. It had left her speechless. His baby pig form was adorable of course, but when she though of it she immediately pictured herself in her panther form, picking Ryoga-pig up by his bandanna with her teeth, and then jumping them both into a furo.
The images of what would follow swam through her mind, causing the discomfort she had been trying to ignore to redouble, becoming an ache she could no longer deny. Her eyes shot wide open once more as the reality of her situation finally began to dawn on her. Lost in her fantasies, Ami hadn't really noticed the large male panther continuing to groom her, slowly moving to stand over her, straddling her hind quarters. With a hiss, Ami rolled over, pushing the larger cat away with all four paws, having to stop herself from unsheathing her claws on him.
< Oh Kami-sama!> Ami realized in a sudden moment of crystallized horror. < I'm in heat!> Throwing the male panther ignominiously to one side, Ami rolled to her feet and stood up on all fours, quickly loping away from him to the far side of the pen . < What's wrong with me?> Ami asked again, berating herself. < I should have figured this out half an hour ago. The symptoms were obvious! I can't let this cloud my judgment.> Agitated, Ami paced back and forth over a short stretch of grass, keeping one eye on the larger male at all times. < That one was trying to... mate with me. It intimidated the smaller one, and it... knows I'm in... in season.>
Ami cataloged the physical sensations she was feeling as coolly as she could. < Oh my... I really am. My body... aches... like I'm on fire. I haven't been this aroused... ever. It's different... much different than I'm used to... but it can't be anything else.> She moaned softly. < Oh Kami-sama! It's so bad. Does Luna have to go through this? It's awful!> Ami moaned again, a bit louder, and both males perked up their ears and started heading toward her. Ami froze in terror. < No! What did I do? I called them somehow?> She moaned again, louder, then skittered backwards as the two males hurried toward her even faster.
< What's going on? What set them off?> The two male panthers encountered each other on the way over to her and suddenly hackles went up again on both sides. After a bit of hissing and posturing on both sides, the smaller male again backed off, although a bit more reluctantly than he had the first time. Ami continued to retreat as the larger male advanced on her once more, facing him and retreating backwards. < What do I do? I don't want to... to mate with a panther!> She moaned softly again, vocalizing her dismay, and the male panther tried to slip quickly around behind her, encouraged by the sound.
Ami turned with his and growled as he tried to mount her once more, slapping him away with her paw when he got too close. < Oh no you don't!> She thought fiercely, hackles going all the way up her spine in anger and frustration. < I don't care how much this body wants it, you AREN'T my type!> The larger male continued to circle, not taking the hint, and Ami started to get more and more frustrated, moaning again deep in her throat as the ache she was feeling started to become even worse. < Why? Why won't he leave me alone? Can't he tell I'm not interested?>
Suddenly the smaller male was there by her side, growling at the larger male and with a pounce, knocking him away from her. The smaller male rolled the larger one over with the momentum of his rush, then leaped back to position himself between Ami and the larger of the two males. Ami blinked in confusion as the panthers circled one another, coming together in a blur of fur and claws before the larger male was forced away, the smaller using a leverage trick to bowl the larger one over and keep him away from Ami herself. After half a minute of this, the larger panther abruptly gave up, pretending that it had just lost interest, and calmly walking off to take a nap in the opposite corner of their enclosure.
Ami watched the smaller panther warily, as he approached her, but rather than try and circle around behind her, or even simply coming up to groom her, he stopped several feet away and laid down, still facing her, and staring at her with a quizzical expression on it's face, as if it was trying to figure her out. Ami slowly lowered herself to the ground as well, keeping her eyes on him, and tried to rest, the constant strain she was under having started to really wear down her nerves. Half an hour passed, and the smaller male drove the larger off three more times, each time doing so quicker than the time before, until the larger male finally seemed to completely lose interest. Instead of claiming her himself, however, the smaller male panther simply watched her, acting almost like a black furred bodyguard rather than a male interested in mating with her.
Ami was still trying to puzzle out his strange behavior when a dark haired, slightly unshaven young man called to her from just outside her cage at feeding time that morning. Ami noticed him right away. < Johnathon?!! He's found me!>
At her fixed look, the he held up a sign in Japanese. "Turn around twice if you're Mercury."
Almost giddy with relief, Ami quickly circled twice, then went over the front of the cage, only a few feet away from him, ignoring the meat being offered and staring right at him. < It's me, It's me!>
He nodded, his face brightening, then spoke softly in Japanese. "Tonight... late, I'll come and get you. Sleep as much as you can."
As he stood there, an angry looking man about Johnathon's age or a little older came up next to him. "Dwire... I don't know how you got here, but...!"
An older, man, looking slightly Chinese came up to the two younger men and placed a hand on the new comer's shoulder. "Peter... still your anger... all is not as it seems...."
"I don't need your help either, old man!" Peter yelled fiercely.
Michael's face was turning red. "I!!! Who do you think you're yelling at, you baboon faced buffoon!"
Peter blinked as his son turned to face the other man again. "Baboon? You'll pay for... Argh!"
Caine spoke up quickly. "Yes... very well, shall we take this outside and settle it like... men?"
"You're on!" Mike didn't hesitate.
"I'll kill him!" Peter agreed vehemently. The two young men followed the elder outside and around the corner to where there were no viewers.
Peter squared off. "Come on you @%^&!" Mike faced him in his own stance, fists raised, jaw clenched in anger.
Caine stepped back a little, as if to avoid the encounter, then pivoted on one foot, hand flashing out like lightning. "Got you!" He held something tightly in his fist. "Show yourself, Demon... You can not escape me."
Bemused, both men turned to look at the priest, uncertain of exactly why they had just been so terribly angry with each other. They both started back as a tiny man with wild golden hair and a black outfit appeared in Caine's hand.
"You is letting Senbei go!" The tiny imp protested. "Senbei is not even knowing how you is holding him here!"
Caine shrugged slightly, not letting his attention waver for an instant. "I have fought... and destroyed demons... before this, little one. You are not welcome here."
The little imp protested. "But Senbei must be here! Must increase his happiness by making those who help the panther unhappy! Is Senbei's job!"
Caine shook his head. "No longer. I can not... permit you to interfere... any longer."
Peter had walked over and was staring at the tiny demon. "That's not Mara... is it?"
Michael walked over as well. "No... but he has her fashion sense, and tattoos a bit like hers."
Peter glanced at him. "Johnathon, what are you doing here anyway?"
"You've got the wrong Dwire. I'm Michael, John's twin brother."
Caine spoke up. "I was about to..." He shrugged. "To tell you... before this demon interfered."
Peter shook his head. "OK, then what are... never mind... was that panther Ami?" He pointed back towards the front of the building.
Michael blinked twice, then nodded. "Yes it was, and we should let her know everything's alright... we must have worried her with that little display back there." < Ami... that's another of the girls taking classes at the Tendos. I think I'm starting to see a pattern!>
Peter nodded. "Can you handle that thing, Pop?"
Caine grinned, still not looking away from the demon. "As you say.... No problem." The Shaolin master suddenly glanced in the direction of the panther cage with a frown. "We should rescue the young woman tonight. She should be safe... for now. But I fear she is undergoing a trial of her own... one that she should not have to face this young."
Peter looked at his father in confusion. "A trial? What do you mean?"
Caine just raised an eyebrow. "It is not something I believe we can help her with. She will be guarded from danger from the outside, I believe, but it is danger from the inside that she will have to face."
Peter shrugged. "If you say so, Pop."
***************
Inside the enclosure, Ami was a little bit more than worried. < They were being influenced by something, I'm sure!> She paced nervously. < If only I could transform!> She wished she could talk, yell, anything... "Grrr!" She stopped herself from growling fiercely as she saw the two younger men returning. < Thank goodness! I wonder what happened?>
Johnathon approached her cage first and whispered in Japanese. "We're alright now... there was this tiny demon, but it's been taken care of."
Peter frowned. "What are you telling her?" He said in English.
"That everything's alright, Detective...." Michael waited.
"Caine. Peter Caine." He glanced at Ami. "Does she understand any English?" Michael shrugged, but Ami nodded emphatically. Peter noticed. "You do? Great, that will make things a lot easier." He looked around, but no one else was in hearing range. "Your friends asked me to help you get out of here. Tonight, we'll be back to free you, so just hang in there."
Peter motioned to Michael. "Come on, let's find somewhere to talk... we need to plan this thing out." The two men smiled and nodded to Ami, then left the building together.
Ami tried not to watch them, but she couldn't help glancing at them until they were gone. < I can't believe they found me this quickly! Johnathon must have spent a fortune to get plane tickets here so fast.> She frowned. < Wherever here is... probably America... the people all sound American I think, sort of like the American movies I've seen.> With her rescuers gone for the moment, Ami found herself drawn back into the reality of her own predicament. Her physical discomfort had continued to grow the entire time, and she was finding it more and more difficult to endure, and it would be hours before nightfall. Closing her eyes, Ami tried to hold on, doing her best to enter a meditative state, despite her discomfort.
Ami started to the sudden sensation of something very close to her face. She started backwards, opening her eyes only to see the face of the smaller of the two male panthers only inches away, staring into her eyes as if looking for something. She stared back in confusion, a look that he seemed to match. Ami watched as the young male panther (she had the impression somehow that it was perhaps just grown to maturity, although aside from the size, she wasn't sure how she knew that.)
< Hello?> A strange voice came into her mind then, as if it was one of her own thoughts, only with a deep throated male voice, one that inexplicably seemed to match the panther in front of her. Ami glanced around her, but saw no one close enough to speak. < It's me.> The voice told her. < Right in front of you.> Ami looked at the smug looking panther standing nose to nose with her and stepped back with a start. < Hi!> The voice in her head said cheerfully. < You really do understand me, don't you!>
Ami hesitated, then slowly nodded her head. < Oh good.> The voice in her head said in a relieved tone. < I wasn't sure if that would work. Most panthers can't really understand very much when I try and talk to them....> Ami blinked in confusion and the panther looking her in the eyes ducked his head in embarrassment. < Not that you're just another panther. I knew you were something special as soon as I first saw you.>
Ami shook her head in denial automatically, then quirked her head at him questioningly, and the voice went on. < Oh yeah, you'd probably like to know my name. My old master called me Midnight. What's your name?>
Ami hesitated, then tried to think back at him. < My name is Ami. Can you understand me?>
Midnight beamed at her. < Yes! Wow! You can understand me? You really are intelligent!>
Ami blinked. < And... and you are too? How? How are you here? Who are you?>
The black panther in front of her quirked his head. < I just told you. I'm Midnight.>
< Oh, of course.> Ami nodded. < You did tell me.> She quirked her own head in imitation of his. < How did you get here? Don't tell me that all panthers are like you....>
Midnight seemed to laugh, his mouth hanging open slightly. < Of course not. You're pretty unique yourself you know.> He ducked his head shyly. < You're as smart as you are beautiful...> Ami blinked in astonishment at him, not sure how to respond, and Midnight visibly winced. < Dumb, dumb, dumb... what am I thinking, coming on so strong? I must sound like an idiot.>
Ami giggled slightly. < Well, you were doing alright until you started calling yourself an idiot.>
Midnight blinked. < Really?>
Ami nodded slowly. < You were just trying to be nice.> She glanced away. < I know I'm not really all that beautiful....>
Midnight was incredulous. < Yes you are! Really! I thought so the moment I first saw you! And it's not just because... because you're... er....>
Ami swallowed. < I'm in season, right? That's why your friend was... trying to... mate with me.>
Midnight looked her in the eyes. < This is your first time, huh? Don't worry, I won't let Gengis bother you again. He's pretty mellow really, most of the time, but I don't think he's ever been around a female before either. He's just going on instinct.>
Ami nodded. < So... he's a normal panther? He's not intelligent too, is he?>
Midnight nodded. < He's as normal as it gets. When I try first tried to talk to him like this he just got confused. I can get basic emotions off of him, wants... but nothing really complex. Right now he's sulking because I usually let him have his way, although he knows which one of us is really in charge. He just got a bit overexcited when you arrived.>
Midnight licked his lips nervously. < I can understand how he feels. Your presence is... well, a bit overwhelming. Do you have any idea what you're doing do me just by being here?>
Ami took a step back. < I'm sorry... I don't mean to....>
Midnight shook his head. < It's not your fault. It's not like it's something you can control. Take it easy. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do.>
Ami shuddered, sinking back down to lay on the grass again. < I'm not so sure. These urges are so powerful... I can barely think straight.>
Midnight lay down facing her. < I think I understand. I have to admit that I'm very drawn to you, Ami. It's not like anything I've ever felt.> He looked at her seriously. < But I won't let my instincts make me do anything I you don't want me do to.>
Ami sighed. < Thank you. I'm not ready for... for that. I mean, I'm sure you're a perfectly nice per... panther... but I'm not ready for such a large step.> Even as she denied it, her body renewed its demands, stronger than before, but she wasn't ready to give in.
Midnight quirked his head at her in confusion again. < You're weird, Ami.> His voice was kind, softening his words. < You're nothing like I expected you to be.>
Ami blinked. < What you expected?> She nodded a moment later. < Oh yes, you must have known I was coming... the zoo keepers must have mentioned it. I suppose you expected a normal female panther, not one like me.> She suddenly felt strangely disappointed. She wanted so much to be what he wanted her to be, although she couldn't think of a rational reason why.
Midnight hesitated. < Well, actually, yes. That's what I did expect at first... but at the same time, I was hoping you'd be the one....> He shook his head. < You're going to find this hard to believe....>
Ami looked up at him with a combination of hope and dread. < The one? I don't understand.>
< It's a long story.> Midnight explained. < But I can think of no other reason that you'd be here. There can't be many other panthers like us in the world, can there?>
Ami nodded in agreement. < That's true. I still find it strange that we've met like this. It really seems like an incredible coincidence.> The spark of hope increased, as did the fear, but her mind refused to say why.
Midnight shook his head. < It might seem like a coincidence to you, but it isn't. It's all because of my old master....> He hesitated, then nodded. < Maybe I'd better tell you the whole story. You see, up until six months ago, I was what my master called his "familiar." Months after I was born, my master took me from my mother and raised me himself, enchanting me to be smarter, healthier... and making my life longer so I'd be able to live as long as he did. He was a wizard, you see, and he had extended his life far beyond the span of most humans....> He hesitated again. < Do you understand any of this, or am I telling you something obvious? Are you a familiar too?>
Ami nodded. < I understand what you're telling me I believe, but no, I'm not a wizard's familiar. So, what happened? How did you come to be here?>
< My master was old, far older than he appeared, and his old familiar had died of old age, so when he bonded to me, he made sure that I would stay around to be with him.> Midnight shook his head. < Unfortunately it was my master who ended up dying first.>
Ami looked away. < Oh. I'm so sorry for you. Were you two very close?>
Midnight sighed. < We were. He was a good master. He treated me well and for the first dozen years of my life we were happy.... We stayed away from people mostly, although when someone came to my master for help, he did what he could. One day a family came to us for help. An evil spirit had been haunting them for generations... and they had done everything they new how to do to try and fight off its influence, but its curse would not go away. They came to my master telling him that he was their last hope. They had moved here, to San Francisco all the way from China, hoping to escape the spirit, but it followed them, and it was angry. My master and I confronted it, and we did banish the spirit, but not without cost. The struggle weakened my master so much that the spells keeping him alive were torn apart. He started to age as a normal man from that point, and he was already ancient.>
< Wasn't there anything he could do?> Ami asked softly. < Couldn't he save himself with his magic?>
Midnight shook his head. < He was too weak. That sort of magic takes great power, or a great sacrifice. I would have gladly given my life so that he would have the power to save himself, but he would not accept. He was not willing to go on living at the price of another. My master knew that he would die soon, and started making preparations. He lasted for three years after that, and those were good times. We knew our time together would be short, but we were still happy together. My master donated me to the zoo, knowing that they would care for me well... and they have, although it has been a bit boring at times.>
Ami smiled softly, causing Midnight to eye her strangely. < I can understand that. I wouldn't want to be stuck in the same place for so long.>
Midnight quirked his head at her again. < You are so strange, Ami. You act just like a human sometimes. Don't you know that baring your teeth like that is a sign that you're angry?>
Ami blinked, then shook her head quickly. < Oh no! I'm not! I was just....>
Midnight nodded. < You were smiling like a human. And you nod and shake your head too.> He chuckled. < My master taught me to do it too, so I just fell into it again myself when we started talking. You've never been around other panthers before, have you?>
Ami shook her head. < No, that's true. You and your friend were the first panthers I ever really met face to face.> She hesitated. < But you were explaining why this isn't a coincidence. Your old master donated you to the zoo, but it's still strange that we should end up in the same place like this.>
< It's not as strange as you think.> Midnight told her. < My old master wanted to make sure that I wouldn't be alone, so before he died he cast one final spell, one that would draw a companion to my side... someone I could spend the rest of my life with....> He looked nervously at Ami. < So... here you are.... It has to be my master's spell!>
Ami looked astonished. < Do you really think so? I mean, I can hardly believe I got here because of some spell... > She hesitated, strangely wanting to believe it. < Or could it? Getting transferred to San Francisco, where you are... that could have been your master's spell acting. After all, it could have been any zoo in the world, couldn't it?>
Midnight nodded in agreement. < Right. That was how it would have worked, taking some random factor and making it a certainty.> He peered at her shyly. < And... here you are.>
Ami swallowed. < So... we're... destined to be together?> Her heart sang, and she felt ready to faint, all at the same time.
< I... I hope so.> Midnight's voice was quiet even in her mind. < I've never met anyone like you, Ami. I'd like it if you could stay with me.>
< I'd... like that too....> Ami began hesitantly, not believing her own words even as she said them. Before she could analyze what she was feeling, Ami shook her head in denial. < I can't stay here. I have responsibilities. I've got to leave, and soon.>
Midnight looked her in the eyes. < Then I'll come with you! You're the one I've been waiting for. I can't lose you after only a day....>
Ami shook her head again. < I... there's no way... where would I keep you... mother would never understand... oh Kami... I wish there was a way...> Her eyes widened. < What am I saying? It's like I'm a different person....>
Midnight raised an eyebrow. < Did I ever tell you that you're strange, Ami?> He winked at her. < Besides, I'm sure your mother will love me. Aren't I a lovable fellow?>
Ami looked at him and couldn't help but agree. She could hardly think straight around him, he was so desirable. She took several steps forward and butted her head into his shoulder, rubbing up against him provocatively before she even knew what she was doing.
Midnight hesitated for a moment in surprise, then caressed her back with his chin, putting it over her neck and rubbing slowly against her. < Well now....> He murmured quietly in her head. < I guess that's as good an answer as any.>
Ami didn't answer, instead rubbing herself down the length of his body, taking in his scent, the feel of his body against hers... it was intoxicating, and she felt what reservations she still had being overcome by her overwhelming desire for him. He really wasn't that small. Ami realized as she continued to rub against him, playfully nuzzling against his hip with the side of her face. He was smaller than his cage mate, Gengis, but still noticeably larger than she was, and sleekly powerful. She wanted him to be more powerful than her... wanted him to press her into the grass with his weight, wanted him to....
Ami jerked away from Midnight in shock, surprising him. < What am I... What am I doing!?!>
< Whatever it was...> Midnight told her jokingly. < You were doing it very well.>
Ami felt a surge of warmth at his voice, both pleasure and anger at the same time. < That's not funny! I can't... I can't be doing this!> She had to fight to keep the desire out of her mental voice, and didn't fully succeed. He could sense how she felt about him, and she knew it.
< Ami what's wrong?> Midnight sounded confused in her head. < Are you scared? I promise I won't hurt you.>
Ami shuddered, then shook her head. < I know you won't Midnight, but... I can't. I just can't.>
Midnight quirked his head sideways at her. < Should I go?> He shivered, ripples of fur running down his flanks. < If you're not ready... I can go... over to the other side of the enclosure, anyway.> He shivered again. < I don't know if I can... when you're this close to me... I don't know how long I can resist....>
Ami was suddenly terrified. < No! Don't leave me alone. What if... what if Gengis comes back?> She couldn't explain why she was so frightened, not logically.
Midnight immediately nuzzled her cheek, trying to calm her. < I won't leave you... and I won't let Gengis come anywhere near you if you don't want him too. I promise you that.> He sighed, reigning in his lust for her as best as she could, the fear he was sensing from her made it much easier to do.
Ami nuzzled him back automatically, still shivering. < I don't know why I'm so frightened. Your friend Gengis is bigger than me, but I've faced tougher foes... I know I could protect myself from him if I had too.>
Midnight chuckled softly in her mind. < He's just a big cream puff you know. He looks tough, but show a bit of spine and he whimpers and shows you his belly.>
Ami reluctantly pulled away from Midnight a second time. < I'm not scared of him really... I'm scared of being alone with him.>
Midnight raised an eyebrow. < Oh?>
Ami shuddered again. < I can't... I can't think straight. I'm afraid that I'd... that I'd let him....>
< It's hard, huh?> Midnight was sympathetic. < It's my first time too. I mean, I've read about it in books... and seen nature shows on TV... but it's so much more when it's really happening.>
Ami stepped away from him deliberately as she tried to think. < I know only a little bit about the subject myself. I remember some of the basics, from books I read when I was considering becoming....> She shook her head. < I can't remember anything... my head feels like it's filled with fog.>
Midnight kept himself from following her. < If you're not ready, I'll wait. I'll keep Gengis away from you too, OK?>
Ami nodded. < Thank you. I'm really glad you're here. I hate to think what it would be like having to deal with this alone.>
Midnight shrugged sheepishly. < Aw, forget about it. Why don't you just lie down and try to get some rest. I'll keep watch.>
Ami nodded slowly and sank down into the grass. < I'll try.>
End Chapter 35
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