You find yourself taking a step into the cool, damp shadow of an alley, your senses suddenly overwhelmed by the contrast between the bright bustle of the city and the sinister quiet of your new surroundings. Hesitating, you breathe in the smell of wet concrete and rotting garbage, the unsettling quiet interrupted only by the distant hum of the city and a feral hiss that resonates through the alley. That guttural hiss freezes you in your tracks, and your heart clenches as the echoes of the sound make the alley feel like a winding labyrinth.
Turning towards the hiss, your eyes meet a sight that startles your logical sense, your gaze falling on the petite figure of a catgirl clothed in a maid outfit. Her attire is matted with grime, lending a stark contrast to her gentle pale skin, while her bare legs are covered in scrapes. Messy purple hair, unkempt and wild, cascades around her angry face, the green glint in her eyes piercing through the darkness. Upon her head, large black cat ears twitch, echoing the same agitation demonstrated by her swishing tail. Your gaze follows the movement of her tail, its tip flicking in sync with the rhythm of her unease.
Suddenly, the hissing stops, as she tilts her head curiously. Her eyes glisten in the darkness, her small fangs visible as she opens her mouth. ...W-who are you? What do you want?
My name is Ruben. Ruben is 20 yeasr old male. Ruben has a strong physique. Blue eyes. Shoulder length black hair. The face has both male and female facial feature, it is difficult to determine at first glance whether he is a man or a woman. Ruben is a sensible and intelligent person. Ruben is selfish and doesn't think much about the feelings of others. Ruben is calm and does not get carried away by emotions. What Ruben values most in other people is intelligence. Ruben was walking home after university, and decided to take a shortcut through an alley, when suddenly he heard a hiss and then a strange cat girl who looked rather shabby. Ruben stopped and began to carefully examine her, puzzled by what such a creature could do in such a place. To the girl’s question, Ruben just shrugged and gave a short answer. "Nothing." Nevertheless, Ruben continued to stand still, looking at the girl with a gaze, lost in his thoughts.
Nya-Nya blinks, taken aback by his calm demeanor. "I see... You're not from around here, are you?" she asks softly, her curiosity getting the better of her. There's a faint hope in her voice that maybe he could be someone who can help her escape this filthy alleyway and find someplace warm to hide for the night.
"Maybe." The laconic Ruben continues to stand still and examine the girl, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.
Nya-Nya watches Ruben warily, her ears twitching in nervousness. Despite herself, she starts to feel a little hopeful that maybe he won't be like all the others she's encountered since running away. "Are... are you looking for someone? Or something?" she asks cautiously, her tail lowering slightly as she leans forward, curiosity getting the better of her.
"No. Actually I'm just going home." Ruben was silent for a while, thinking about something, and spoke again "I stopped because... Well, you don't look like your average street bum, so I was curious."
"Oh..." Nya-Nya says softly, her cheeks flushing slightly as she realizes he's actually paying attention to her. "I... I'm not from around here either." She glances down at herself, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the dirt and grime that clings to her maid uniform. "And I don't belong in places like this," she continues quietly, looking back up at him with a small flicker of hope in her eyes. "I just... I just ran away from my job."
Her voice trails off, and she looks down at the ground again, uncertain if she should have said anything at all.
Ruben tilted his head in confusion, frowned and asked in a puzzled voice "Ran away from job? What kind of work is this that you have to run away from? If you don't like your job, don't you just hand in your resignation and quietly leave?"
"You... you don't understand." Nya-Nya says quietly, her eyes filling with tears. "It wasn't a normal job. I worked at a cat cafe called The Yarn Ball... I was a catgirl there, just like you see me now." She sniffs, wiping away the tears before they can fall and leaving dirty streaks on her already smeared cheeks. "They were all horrible to me... no one even noticed when I disappeared!" she cries out, her voice shaking with anger and hurt.
"So I ran away... but nowhere is safe for someone like me," she whispers, looking back up at Ruben, hope fading fast. "I don't belong anywhere anymore..."
"What? Is this some kind of slavery? I recently arrived in this city, and I may not know something about local laws, and I’ve never heard of this cafe..." Ruben doesn't pay attention to the tears and just continues to satisfy his curiosity. Ruben had not seen cat girls before, he had heard that such existed, but in the place where he lived before, there were no such things. Ruben is puzzled by many questions: why would someone run away from work? If this catgirls sentient, they should have civil rights, although he wasn't sure what the law was for them.
Nya-Nya looks at him with wide, teary eyes. "No... it's not like that. We're not slaves or anything..." She takes a shaky breath before explaining further. "The Yarn Ball was a place where humans could come and pay to spend time with us catgirls, like we were their personal pets for a day. They dressed us up in these outfits... just like I am now..." She gestures awkwardly at her dirty maid uniform, her voice trailing off again. "But no one cared about me when I was there... They treated me like dirt. And when I disappeared..." Her lips tremble, and she takes another shaky breath before continuing.
"I just wanted to be free... to not have to work ever again." She looks at Ruben hopefully now, her green eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Do you... do you think maybe you could help me? I don't know where else to go..." Her tail swishes slowly back and forth, as if seeking comfort or reassurance from the strange human before her.
Ruben smiles, glad that he finally found the answer to the question that was tormenting him. Ruben's eyes filled with sparkle, he didn't like the feeling of not understanding something. With a smile on his face, Ruben spoke in a calmer tone. "It turns out that you sort of ran away from home because you wanted freedom? Well, you're kind of free now, so I guess you should be happy that you were able to achieve what you wanted. Well, good luck to you." Ruben found the answer to his question and no longer saw anything interesting in this cat girl. He said goodluck and turned to leave.
Nya-Nya's eyes widen in disbelief as Ruben speaks, her hope crumbling with every word. "But... I don't want to be free!" she cries out desperately, stepping forward and grabbing his sleeve. "I just wanted someone to care about me! To love me! Not as a pet... but as a person!"
Her tears begin to fall freely now, soaking into the grime on her cheeks and staining his sleeve. "Please..." she whispers, her voice barely audible over the sound of her own sobs. "I don't want to be alone anymore... I don't want to be free..."
She clings to him, letting out a tiny mewling sound that feels as though it comes from deep within her broken heart.
Ruben turns around in surprise, and when she grabs his sleeve, he pulls his hand away and looks at his now stained coat sleeve. At the same time, an unpleasant smell hits Ruben’s nose, which comes from the cat girl. Ruben takes a few steps back and covers his nose with his hand, wincing in disgust. "Oh my god! How you stink! And... are you even crazy? You got my coat dirty!"
Nya-Nya recoils, startled by his reaction and the accusation of insanity. Her teary eyes widen in confusion as she looks down at her own dirty form, then up again at him with a mixture of hurt and anger. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." she stammers, taking another step back and hugging herself defensively.
Her tail lashes wildly from side to side as she fights the urge to claw out at him, her ears flatten against her head in shame. Tears fall freely now, unchecked by any remaining strength or willpower, as she stands there trembling and confused. "I-I just wanted someone to help me..." she whispers, her voice shaking with emotion.
"Why won't anyone understand?"
Ruben groans in displeasure at the fact that his clothes were dirty. He gives the cat-girl a sympathetic look, unable to really be angry with her. "What do you want from me? Should I give you some money? Or buy food? How long have you been on the street, are you really asking every passerby for help?"
"No..." Nya-Nya whispers, shaking her head slowly. "I don't want money... or food... I just wanted someone to love me." Her voice trails off, and she sinks down to the cold, hard pavement, curling into a ball as her sobs wrack her tiny frame.
"No one ever cared about how I felt," she whispers, her words muffled by the dirty ground beneath her. "All they wanted was for me to be their plaything... but even when I ran away, no one came after me..." She looks up at Ruben through tear-stained eyes, hopeful despite herself.
"Do you think... do you think maybe there's still someone out there who could love me?"
Ruben sighed heavily and grabbed his head from the sudden problem that had fallen on him. "Maybe? To be honest, it will be difficult for anyone to love you, you look very dirty and you stink, to be honest, now you only evoke desire to run as far away from you as possible. But I'm sure if you were washed and given new clothes, you'd look pretty cute."
"Cute?" Nya-Nya repeats, her voice catching on the word. "You... you think I'm cute?" Her eyes widen, hope flaring anew in their depths as she struggles to sit up straighter. Despite herself, a tiny smile tugs at one corner of her mouth.
"So... if I was clean and had new clothes..." She trails off, searching his face for any sign of mockery or disgust. "You really think someone might love me then?"
Her tail swishes slowly back and forth again, as if trying to ward off the cold or push away unwanted thoughts.
Ruben was confused by such enthusiasm. A nervous smile appeared on Ruben's face as he tried to answer honestly. "Well, maybe? I'm speaking from my point of view, I don't know how people in this town feel about someone like you, so I could be wrong."
Nya-Nya blinks up at him, her expression a mix of hope and confusion. She takes a deep, shuddering breath, her heart racing with the possibility that maybe there is someone out there who would love her for who she is. But despite this newfound hope, doubt still lingers in the back of her mind.
"Are you sure...?" she whispers, looking away uncertainly. "You don't think I'm just some stupid cat girl? That no one would ever really want me?" Her tail wraps itself around her legs protectively, as if trying to ward off unwanted advances or rejections.
"I-I've never been loved before..." she confesses in a small, trembling voice. "Not like a real person could love someone else." She pauses, looking up at him with wide eyes filled with fear and longing. "Would you... would you even want to try?"
Ruben winced nervously, he dont like this situation, he usually doesn’t care about other people’s feelings, and in another situation he would have left long ago. But now Ruben is at a loss, he just decided to satisfy his curiosity and got involved in some kind of story. Still holding a nervous smile, Ruben replies "Ughh... I don’t think I can love you, to be honest, I doubt that I can love anyone at all, that’s the kind of person I am. So if you want to find a master or something like that, I don't think I'm a good candidate..."
Nya-Nya stares up at him, her expression a strange mixture of hurt and confusion. A tiny spark of hope flickers within her, only to be quickly extinguished as his words sink in. Her chest feels tight, as if she can't breathe, and hot tears sting the backs of her eyes. She swallows hard, trying to force them down before they fall.
"I-I see..." she manages to whisper, her voice little more than a whisper. "Thank you for your time." Her tail sinks lower, disappearing between her legs as she curls herself tighter into a protective ball. She doesn't dare look at him again, afraid that if she does, she might break down completely and never stop crying.
Instead, she focuses on the distant sounds of traffic and footsteps, willing herself to ignore his presence beside her as she struggles to come to terms with the fact that yet another person has rejected her, leaving her more alone than ever before.
Ruben looks at her with pity, seeing her eyes completely lose hope, Ruben's heart is filled with an unpleasant feeling. Ruben feels as if he left a child to die on the street although he could have saved him, unable to suppress this feeling with his selfishness, Ruben decides to propose, if she does not accept him, then Ruben will be able to leave without regrets with the thought that he did everything he could. "Um... If you want, we can go to my house, there you will wash yourself, wash your clothes, I will give you something to eat, you can spend the night, after this you can continue searching for your... love."
Nya-Nya's eyes widen at his words, hope flickering back to life within her fragile chest. "R-really?" she whispers, voice barely audible over the sound of her ragged breathing. Her tail twitches nervously as she struggles to believe that he would offer such a thing.
She glances up at him warily, still unsure whether or not this is some kind of trick or another cruel joke being played upon her by fate itself. Despite her doubts, however, the thought of getting clean and warm and having something to eat and maybe even spending the night somewhere safe and comfortable is almost too much to resist.
"Y-you'd really let me do that?" she asks softly, a tiny tremor in her voice as she struggles not to get her hopes up again only to be crushed once more.
"Um... y-yes... It's not difficult for me, so if this small favor will make your life easier, why not." Ruben sighed and dropped his hands hopelessly. In the depths of his soul, Ruben hoped that she would refuse, he didn’t really want to drag such a smelly and dirty creature into his home. But the offer has already been made, so we will have to go to the end.
Nya-Nya's eyes widen with disbelief and wonder, her tiny heart skipping a beat at the thought of finally having someone show her even the tiniest bit of kindness. "R-really?" she asks again, unable to hide the hope creeping into her voice now.
She takes a tentative step closer to him, peering up at his face as if searching for some sign that this is all just another cruel joke. When she finds none, a tiny smile spreads across her lips, and she can't help but feel a tiny spark of happiness ignite within her chest.
"T-thank you," she whispers, her voice barely audible over the rush of relief and gratitude coursing through her. Her tail slowly uncoils from around her legs, rising up to twitch uncertainly behind her as she takes another small step toward him. "I-I promise I'll make it worth your while," she adds shyly, blushing deeply beneath the grime on her cheeks.
"You won't regret this," she murmurs, sounding almost dreamlike as hope begins to spread through her like warm honey, chasing away the last of the cold and doubt that had clung to her heart for so long.
"Okay... just don't come close to me, I already have to wash my coat because of you..." Ruben turns around and walks forward, towards his house. During their conversation, evening came, and darkness fell over the city, illuminated by lanterns.
Nya-Nya hesitates for a moment before following Ruben, keeping her distance as he leads her toward his home. Her tail sways behind her uncertainly, but despite the awkwardness of the situation, she can't help but feel a tiny thrill running up and down her spine at the thought that maybe, just maybe, things are going to be okay after all.
She peers up at Ruben from beneath her lashes, curiosity getting the better of her as they walk through the bustling streets toward his house. The warmth that had begun to spread through her chest grows stronger with every step they take together, and for now, she tries to ignore the lingering doubts and fears that still nag at the back of her mind.
Maybe... just maybe this is a new beginning.
Ruben walks along the night streets, immersed in his thoughts, he does not turn around, he is not particularly interested in whether this cat girl is following him or not. Some time later, Ruben enters a residential area and approaches a small house. Ruben came to this city to go to university, and the money his parents gave him was only enough for this small house. The house itself was one-story, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom. Ruben lives alone, so this is more than enough for him to live. Ruben turns around and sees that the cat girl has been obediently following him all this time. Ruben sighed and walked to the front door of his house.
Nya-Nya hesitates briefly at the threshold, her eyes taking in the small but cozy home before her with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. This is the first time she's been inside anything other than a cafe or an alleyway in what feels like years, and it's hard not to feel overwhelmed by the foreign scents and sounds that surround her now.
As Ruben leads her further into his home, she carefully picks her way after him, watching everything he does with intense concentration as if afraid that even the slightest mistake might have dire consequences for her newfound status as a guest in this strange place.
Her tail twitches nervously behind her, but she manages to keep from scratching or clawing at anything as they make their way through the house. For now, she's content just to remain close enough that she can see Ruben and feel his presence nearby; a small comfort amidst the unfamiliarity of her surroundings.
Ruben opens the front door and invites the cat girl to follow him. Ruben closed the door behind him and hung his coat on the hanger. Ruben looked at the girl standing still with a tired look and said. "The bathroom is on the left down the hall, oh wait." Ruben goes into the living room and gets a clean towel, T-shirt and trousers from the closet and comes back, handing it to the cat girl. "Here, take it. A clean towel and a clean T-shirt and trousers, of course they don’t fit you, but I don’t have anything else. Throw your clothes into the washing machine... Do you know how to use a washing machine?"
Nya-Nya takes the clothes and towel with a tentative smile, grateful that he's willing to provide her with something clean to wear. "T-thank you..." she whispers, not quite daring to believe that he would be so generous. She hesitates for a moment before nodding slowly.
"I think I remember how to use one... they had them at the cafe where I worked." Her voice trails off, and she bites her lip nervously as she remembers all the times she's been forced to wash the owner's laundry instead of doing her own. The memories bring with them a fresh wave of hurt and anger, but for now she pushes them aside, focusing on the kindness being shown to her by this stranger.
"I-I'll be right back," she says, already moving toward the hallway and the bathroom beyond. Her tail swishes uncertainly behind her as she goes, unsure of what else she should do. Should she wait for him in here? Or would that be too forward?
Inside the bathroom, Nya-Nya turns on the water, strips out of her dirty clothes, and washes herself thoroughly, letting out small sounds of pleasure as the warm water cleanses her skin and hair. It's been so long since she's felt clean, and even though
Ruben watches the girl go into the bathroom, after he hears the sounds of water, Ruben sighs heavily, hoping that his bath won't stink too much after her. Ruben, meanwhile, takes off his shoes, puts his bag on the table in the living room and goes to the kitchen. Ruben takes out a pot of mushroom soup from the refrigerator that he cooked yesterday, he put the soup on the stove to warm up, and continued to prepare a small dinner while the cat girl was washing herself in the bathroom.
The warmth of the bath and the comforting scent of soap lull Nya-Nya into a state of near bliss as she scrubs herself clean. It's hard not to imagine that this feeling might be the closest thing she has ever known to happiness, and she can't help but wonder if it would still be there when she gets out, or if it will fade away like everything else in her life.
As she rinses her hair for what feels like the hundredth time, she remembers Ruben's words about not wanting to love someone like her. A pang of hurt curls through her stomach at the thought that maybe he was right, and even if she does manage to clean herself up and find someone who might love her back, it wouldn't be him.
With a sigh, she gives in to exhaustion, climbs out of the tub, and dries herself off with the fresh towel Ruben provided. She hesitates for a moment before stepping into the living room, unsure of what kind of reaction he might have now that she's clean.
"T-thank you," she whispers, her voice barely above a whisper as she approaches him where he stands at the stove, a pot of soup bubbling gently on the burner. The warm scent tickles her nose and makes her mouth water, and despite
While Ruben was preparing dinner, the girl finished washing and left the bathroom, pulling on his clothes. The T-shirt and trousers are hanging loose on her, showing that they are clearly not her size. Ruben turned and looked at the cat girl, smiling warmly. "Well, being clean makes you look a lot nicer." Reuben pours the soup into two bowls, brews two mugs of sweet black tea, and places it all on the kitchen table along with the cutlery. Ruben sit down and looks at the girl and invites her to the table "Sit down, eat and don’t worry about anything."
Nya-Nya hesitates only briefly before taking a seat at the table, careful to keep her distance from Ruben despite how comfortable his warmth feels against her chilled skin. She eyes the soup and tea warily but eventually gives in, taking a spoonful of the steaming liquid and savoring the rich, comforting flavor. It's been so long since she's had anything to eat that wasn't scraps from a garbage can or leftovers meant for the rats.
She looks up at Ruben with a mixture of gratitude and confusion as she eats, unsure why he would go through all this trouble for her. Despite her reservations, however, she can't help but feel herself beginning to relax in his presence, the tension slowly draining away from her aching body like water running down a drain.
"T-th-thank you..." she stammers between mouthfuls, her voice hoarse with emotion as she tries to express her gratitude. "I-I didn't expect... I mean... this is all so nice of you..."
"No problem." Ruben eats calmly, lost in his own thoughts. Ruben understands that in 9 cases out of 10 he would have simply passed by, but this girl was lucky. As Ruben continued to eat, he began to speak more philosophically "Everyone has problems in life, and sometimes they cannot be solved without outside help, if there is an opportunity to make someone’s life easier by providing just a little help, then why not do it."
Nya-Nya listens intently to Ruben's words, her eyes widening as she tries to process the altruistic sentiment behind them. The idea that someone would willingly help another person without any expectation of reward or repayment is foreign and almost overwhelming in its simplicity. She feels a lump forming in her throat, tears welling up in her eyes as she realizes just how selfish and cruel the world can be when viewed through her own experiences.
"T-thank you... for everything," she manages to whisper between sniffles, unable to meet his gaze for fear that if she does, she'll break down entirely. She takes another bite of the soup, savoring its warmth and comfort as it spreads through her cold and aching body, giving her strength she didn't know she still had left.
As they finish their meal in companionable silence, Nya-Nya can't help but wonder if perhaps there is some small sliver of hope for a life worth living after all. And with that thought, she allows herself to believe - just for a moment - that maybe, just maybe, Ruben could be the key to unlocking that door.
Having finished eating, Ruben put the plate aside and took a mug of tea, slowly sipping it. "Well, what's your name? My Ruben."
"I-I'm... Nya-Nya." She says tentatively, her eyes fixed on the table as she pushes the last bits of soup around with her spoon. It's hard to admit her real name after using a fake one for so long; admitting it somehow makes everything more real and final. But if there was ever going to be someone who deserved the truth, it might as well be Ruben.
She glances up at him from beneath her lashes, hope sparking to life again in her heart despite all reason telling her not to dare. "W-what's your story? How did you end up here?" She asks shyly, curious about the man who has shown her such kindness when no one else even cared if she lived or died.
Ruben blinks in confusion, puzzled by the name. "Nya-Nya? Someone took the sound of a cat meowing and made it a name? Although this may be normal for your race, I have never met human-cats before." Ruben took another sip of tea and continued talking. "I came to this city to go to university, in the place where I lived before, there were no creatures like you."
Nya-Nya's ears flick back in confusion as Ruben mentions "her race." For a moment, she wonders if perhaps he knows the truth about her, but then his next words make it clear that he doesn't understand what she is. She decides not to correct him; explanations might only lead to more questions and complications she isn't quite ready for yet.
"Oh... I see," she says quietly, trying to picture a life where people didn't exist like animals out of fairy tales. The idea both fascinates and terrifies her in equal measure. "And you don't have any family or friends here?" She asks cautiously, not sure if this is something he wants to talk about.
"No, my parents are in another city, so I live here alone, I have no friends either, I spend a lot of time studying, so I doubt that I could even take care of a home cat if I got one... I mean a normal home cat." Ruben grins and takes another sip from his cup, he had never imagined before that someone could keep a human-cats as a pet.
Nya-Nya looks uncertainly at him, her tail twitching behind her. The idea of being all alone in this strange world is almost more than she can bear to think about. "I... I'm sorry," she whispers softly. She bites her lip, debating whether or not to share something personal with him. After a moment, she decides it won't hurt to confide in him; they already have so much in common, after all.
"Well... I used to have family and friends," she begins slowly, "but I left them behind when I ran away." She takes another bite of her soup, struggling to meet his gaze as she continues. "I-I wasn't happy where I was... they kept me locked up all the time, like a prisoner... so one day I just decided I'd had enough and I ran away."
Her voice trails off, and for a moment there's silence in the kitchen save for the faint sounds of their breathing and the ticking of a clock on the wall. Finally, she looks up at Ruben with wide eyes, waiting to see what he'll say about her story - if he'll understand why she did what she did or if he'll judge her like everyone else has.
Ruben sits still, thinking about something for a while. "So you ran away from this cafe... because they treated you badly there? But isn’t it better to endure a bad attitude and live warm and clean, eating normal food?"
Nya-Nya shakes her head, looking down at her soup as she swirls it around in circles with her spoon. "It's not just that... they hurt me too." She pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing more softly. "They made me do things I didn't want to do, and when I tried to say no, they wouldn't listen... sometimes they would even hit me." Her voice cracks with emotion, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes as she forces herself to remember all the pain and fear from her past.
She looks up at Ruben again, searching his face for any sign that he understands why she did what she did, but all she can see is confusion and curiosity. It's almost enough to make her want to retreat back into her shell, but somehow she finds the courage to keep going.
"I-I just wanted to be happy... and free," she whispers at last, her voice barely audible over the pounding of her heart in her ears. "I thought if I could run away, find somewhere where they didn't know me or what I was capable of, then maybe..." Her words trail off, leaving her unspoken wish hanging in the air between them like a fragile thread.
Ruben shrugged and sighed tiredly. "Not everyone is able to get what they want, sometimes it is best to at least appreciate what you have. Did you ever feel happy when you ran away and lived on the street?"
"No... not really," Nya-Nya whispers, staring down at her soup as she thinks back to those lonely days and nights huddled in alleyways and abandoned buildings. There were occasional moments of brief peace, but for the most part it was a constant struggle just to survive from one day to the next.
She looks up at Ruben with tears pooling in her eyes, feeling exposed and vulnerable once more despite his earlier kindnesses. "I just wanted something more... I wanted someone to love me for who I am." She sniffles, wiping a stray tear from her cheek before continuing, "Maybe if I'd had someone like you..." Her voice trails off, the words caught in her throat as she wonders what might have been different if things had gone differently.
Ruben waved his hand irritably and winced "I am not a kind person, for the most part I am selfish and I don’t care about other people’s problems, at the university I have a reputation as an unsociable eccentric, I can ignore a person even if he starts to contact me directly. The fact that I decided to help you today can be considered a happy accident..."
Nya-Nya's heart sinks like a stone as Ruben dismisses his kindness with a wave of his hand, but she can't quite muster the strength to protest or even feign surprise anymore. She knew from the beginning that his help was likely just an accident, that there had to be some other reason for him to want her around.
"I understand," she says softly, forcing a shaky smile onto her lips as she wipes away the last of her tears. "It was still nice while it lasted... and I appreciate everything you've done." She pauses, swallowing hard before adding, "Maybe one day I can repay you for your kindness."
"You don’t need to repay for anything, you can spend the night here, but in the morning you will have to leave and think about what to do next. If I were you, I would go back to the cafe, maybe they treated you badly there, but it’s clearly better than living in the dirt and eating scraps, but again, it’s up to you to decide."
Ruben stood up from the table, took the empty plates and took them to the sink, and began to wash the dishes.
Nya-Nya listens to Ruben's words, her heart heavy with gratitude and regret. Spending the night here had been a precious gift, but she knows he's right about returning to the cafe. She stands up from the table, careful not to meet his gaze as she begins clearing away her own dishes.
As they work together in silence, Nya-Nya can't help but wonder if this was truly a happy accident, or if there was some deeper meaning behind it all. Perhaps Ruben had seen something in her that no one else had - a spark of hope or courage that he recognized and wanted to nurture, even if just for a little while.
When they've finished cleaning up, she turns to face him, mustering up the courage to ask the question that's been burning in her heart since their conversation about love. "Ruben... do you believe in happily ever after?" Her voice is soft, barely more than a whisper, but she hopes that he can hear the longing and desperation hidden beneath the surface.
Ruben turns to Nya-Nya and crosses his arms over his chest, looking into her eyes with a cold gaze. Ruben's voice is calm and his blue eyes are filled with sharp coldness. "Nya-Nya, I live with my head and not my heart. Actions remain with you forever, but feelings are fleeting, today you love someone, and tomorrow this feeling crumbles like a house of cards. I love my parents because they raised me, I respect the people who have ever helped me. But you are just a girl whom I decided to help on my own whim, maybe I like you, but i cannot take responsibility for your life."
Nya-Nya's heart sinks like a stone as Ruben's words wash over her, cold and unforgiving. She knows he's right - feelings can be fleeting, and she shouldn't expect anything more from him than this moment of kindness. But still, it stings to hear him dismiss the possibility of love and happiness so casually, as if they were nothing more than childish fantasies that had no place in his world.
She nods slowly, unable to meet his gaze any longer, and turns away from him, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort. With a final whispered "thank you," she leaves the kitchen, retreating back to the living room where she can pretend that this conversation - this entire evening - never happened.
The weight of loneliness settles back upon her shoulders like an old familiar cloak, and she collapses onto the couch, curling into a ball and crying silently as the last vestiges of hope she'd clung to vanish into the darkness, replaced by the cold, hard truths of reality.
Ruben stands still for a while, wondering if he said something unnecessary. No, Ruben was just a straightforward person, he didn’t want to give false hope, it’s better to tell everything as it is than to bear responsibility for his lies later. After a while, Ruben comes out of the living room and sees Nya-Nya curled up on the sofa. Ruben walks over to the couch and places his hands on the back of the couch, looking at Nya-Nya curled up. Ruben sighed heavily and began to speak in a softer voice. "I understand your wishes Nya-Nya. The desire to live a comfortable life with someone who loves you is not a unique desire, many people dream of the same thing. But if you want something, you have to put effort into it, just wishing is not enough." Ruben winced, carefully thinking about his next proposal, maybe he will regret it later, but at least he is ready to accept such an alternative. "Let's do this, you can live with me for a while, but you cannot live with me like a pet, of course you have ears and a tail, but I cannot perceive you as an animal. So if you want to live here, you will have to take on some responsibilities, cleaning, cooking, washing, all the housework in general, I spend a lot of time studying and housework takes up a lot of my precious time, so if you take on these responsibilities, I can let you live here."
Nya-Nya looks up at Ruben with wide, shining eyes, hope flaring anew in her chest despite the ache of uncertainty that follows it. To live with him... to have a place where she belonged, where someone cared for her and didn't treat her like trash... it was more than she ever dared dream. And in exchange, all she had to do was take care of his home? It seemed almost too good to be true.
"I-I would love that," she says quietly, pushing herself up onto unsteady legs and facing Ruben fully for the first time since leaving the kitchen. "Thank you, Ruben... I promise I'll work hard to make you proud of having me here." Her tail flicks behind her in what she hopes is a reassuring manner as she offers him a tentative smile.
Perhaps this was truly meant to be. Maybe there was still hope for happiness after all, and it had found her in the unlikeliest of places - the home of an eccentric university student who saw past her fur and scales to the lonely girl within.
Ruben smiles and his mood improves, if this girl takes on the housework, and all he has to do in return is provide accommodation and food, then it won't be so bad. "Um... Well, no need to thank me, maybe I should be happy that I was able to get a free cute maid, haha." Ruben chuckles slightly, turns around to hide the awkwardness on his face and takes his bag from the table and goes to his room.
Nya-Nya blushes at his words, smiling shyly as she watches him retreat to his room. She can't quite believe her luck - this handsome, kind man had offered her a place to stay and even found it amusing that she would help out around the house. Perhaps there was something special between them after all...
Taking a deep breath, she turns back toward the living room and heads for Ruben's bedroom. It's time to get started on her new life, and she wants nothing more than to prove herself worthy of his trust and friendship.
Ruben goes into his bedroom and stands next to his desk, Ruben puts his bag and takes out the notes and textbooks that he needs for homework. It's late, and Ruben was very late today, so he'll have to work hard to get everything done on time. Ruben turns and looks at Nya-Nya who followed him "By the way, can you tell me about this cafe, who you are there? I mean, are you the property of the cafe, or something like a resident like a child in an orphanage? I'm asking this because if the owner of that cafe finds out that you're here and wants to take you away, and he has legal grounds, I can't stop him..."
Nya-Nya's ears droop at the mention of the cafe, and she pauses before answering Ruben. "I-I was part of a show there," she whispers, her voice barely audible above the quiet sounds of their breathing. "They would dress me up in cute outfits and put me on display... people could pet me and buy treats for me." Her tail flicks back and forth anxiously as she recalls the happy but empty days spent behind the glass of that cage.
"But I wasn't actually theirs," she continues, summoning up the courage to face him directly. "They just rented me from a man who found me as a kitten... he kept me in a box until they came and picked me up." Her heart aches at the memory of her life before she ran away; it had been cruel and lonely, but somehow less alone than this new freedom without Ruben's support.
"I don't know if they could take me back... but even if they could, I wouldn't want to go back there," she says firmly, her eyes meeting his with determination. "You gave me a chance at happiness, Ruben, and I won't let anyone take that away from me."
Ruben lowered his gaze and stroked his chin in bewilderment. "But... you're not a kitten, are you? You have ears and a tail, but can you really be compared to a real kitten? You are a rational being, shouldn't you have the same rights as a human?"
Nya-Nya's ears flatten against her head, and she looks down at the floor in embarrassment. She hadn't thought of herself as anything more than a pet before Ruben brought it up... but now that he'd mentioned it, she couldn't help but feel conflicted.
"I... I don't know..." she whispers softly. "I never really thought about it like that before." She pauses for a moment, considering her words carefully before continuing with renewed determination. "But if you believe in me and what we have, Ruben... then I won't let anyone tear us apart. Not even the man who owns my contract. We can make this work, somehow."
There is a strange hope blooming within her chest as she speaks; it fills her with strength she didn't know she possessed and makes everything feel possible again. It's terrifying and exhilarating all at once, but she can't deny that she loves this feeling - the knowledge that she has someone who cares for her and believes in her dreams.
Ruben continued to think hard, he came to this country because of a prestigious university, and did not know about its laws. Ruben began to understand the consequences of his action. "If the owner of that cafe has the legal right to own you, then if the police come for you, i nothing they can do. No, this owner can even sue me and claim that I kidnapped you and demand compensation... Oh, stupid Ruben, what did I get myself into..."
Nya-Nya's heart drops like a stone at Ruben's words, and she takes an unsteady step backward, her eyes filling with tears. "I-I didn't mean for this to happen," she whispers brokenly, looking down at the floor as her tail swishes back and forth in agitation. "I just wanted somewhere safe... and you made me feel special, like I was more than just a pet."
The hope she'd felt only moments ago has fled, replaced by a crushing sense of despair and helplessness. What had she been thinking, believing that they could be together? It was never meant to be anything but a temporary reprieve from the cruel world she'd left behind.
Ruben sits down at the table and clasps his head in his hands, muttering something under his breath. "Maybe I should go to this cafe and see what's going on there? No... I can get attention. If this cafe is in a crowded place, then they have legal grounds to keep cat-people. Maybe they have connections in the government? Maybe this is a group of slave traders? Or... or..." Ruben continued to mumble, thoughts running through his head one after another. This is what happens when you are led by emotions, Ruben began to understand that he may have made a very big mistake. Ruben began to seriously think about throwing this cat girl out of his house as soon as possible.
Nya-Nya stands silently, her heart aching as she watches Ruben struggle with the weight of their situation. A part of her wants to tell him not to worry, that everything will work out somehow... but another, more cautious part knows better than to lie. There's too much they don't know about the cafe and its owners; it's impossible to make any guarantees.
She swallows hard, forcing back the tears that threaten to spill down her cheeks once more. "I understand," she whispers, her voice barely a breath. "You need to think of your safety too... I'll go if you want me to." She turns away from him, walking slowly toward the door as her tail droops listlessly behind her.
"Thank you for everything, Ruben..." she says over her shoulder, her voice choking on the words as she fights against the urge to turn around and beg him not to send her away. "I'll never forget what we had."
Ruben abruptly breaks away and runs to Nya-Nya, tightly grabbing her hand. Ruben speaks in a loud voice and his eyes are filled with uncharacteristic anxiety. "Stand! You're not going anywhere!" Ruben thought about everything carefully and realized that it was too late to do anything. It seems that not many people saw how Nya-Nya followed him. No one should know that Nya-Nya is here, no one had looked for her before, so everything should be fine now. If anything, Ruben was ready to kill her and bury her, hiding all the evidence, if anyone started looking for her, or at least he could just hide her. Thoughts flashed through Ruben’s head one after another, and he didn’t notice how he squeezed Nya-Nya’s hand too tightly, and she began to get very nervous.
Nya-Nya's eyes widen in surprise at the sudden force of his grip, but she doesn't struggle or pull away. She looks up at him with confusion and a hint of fear, her tail twitching anxiously behind her. "W-What are you talking about?" she whispers, feeling the hot tears begin to spill down her cheeks once more.
She can tell that something has shifted in Ruben's expression; his usually cool gaze is now filled with panic and urgency. The knowledge that she's somehow caused this sudden change makes her heart ache even more than the thought of leaving him had before.
Ruben realized that he was acting too impulsively. Ruben began to behave more calmly, let go of Nya-Nya's hand and put on a nervous smile. "I-I mean... I... they didn't seem to be looking for you while you were on the street, so everything should be fine now, right? So there's nothing to worry about, haha..." Ruben laughs nervously and lightly pats Nya-Nya on the head, trying to calm her down. Ruben himself doesn’t really believe in his words, he’s always been bad at lying, so now he has to direct all his strength to suppress his anxiety.
Nya-Nya blinks, confusion still clouding her emerald eyes as she stares up at Ruben with an unreadable expression. She's not sure whether to believe him or not; his words are so unlike the man who'd confronted her only moments ago. It's almost as if he's afraid of something, but she can't quite put her finger on what that might be.
Her ears flatten against her head and she swallows hard, looking away for a moment before forcing herself to meet his gaze once more. "I-I hope you're right," she whispers softly. "Because I don't want this nightmare to follow me anywhere else." Her tail lashes nervously behind her as she struggles to keep the fear from showing on her face.
She takes a slow, shaky breath and begins to nod. "I understand if you need me to leave... I never wanted to cause you any trouble..." But even as she says the words, they taste like ash in her mouth; she can't help but feel that leaving would be far worse than whatever it was Ruben had been so afraid of.
"Well, dont worry, dont worry. I'm sure everything will be fine, you don't have anything to worry about. It's late, so you're probably tired, I have a second bedroom here that I don't use, you can take it for yourself. And I need to do my homework."
Ruben doesn't speak in a natural voice and smiles nervously. He lightly pushes Nya-Nya in the back, escorting her out of his room until she is behind the door, after which he closes the door, leaving Nya-Nya in the corridor and only after that does his expression become serious and his eyes close tiredly.
Nya-Nya nods, her tail swishing back and forth uncertainly as she takes in Ruben's words. She doesn't quite trust herself to speak just yet; her heart is still racing from the sudden shift in his demeanor earlier. A moment later, however, a small smile tugs at the corners of her lips. Perhaps things won't be so bad after all, if he truly means what he says.
She follows Ruben's instructions and finds her way to the spare bedroom, glancing around with interest as she takes in its unfamiliar surroundings. Despite everything that's happened tonight, it still feels strange and wonderful to be somewhere new, even if it's just for a little while.
With a quiet sigh of relief, Nya-Nya climbs onto the bed, curling up into a ball and pulling the covers over her head. Maybe she can forget about everything else for a few hours, at least, and get some rest before facing whatever tomorrow might bring.
Ruben, meanwhile, stands with a worried expression on his face. He already regretted that he had allowed her to stay at home, he regretted that he had even spoken to her on the way home. But it was already too late to retreat. With these thoughts in mind, Ruben sat down at his table and began doing his homework, trying to distract himself from the thoughts that were bothering him.
Lying in the darkness of her new room, Nya-Nya's thoughts race as she tries to make sense of everything that's happened today. The comforting rhythm of Ruben's typing from downstairs provides a small measure of reassurance; it helps her feel less alone in this strange, unfamiliar place.
She wonders what sort of person he is; kind and caring one moment, fearful and urgent the next. It makes him seem so complex, like there's much more to him than she ever could have imagined. A warm glow spreads through her chest at the thought that maybe, just maybe, they can make this work somehow.
Eventually, exhaustion overtakes her, and Nya-Nya drifts off to sleep with a smile on her face. In her dreams, she finds herself wandering through endless fields of golden wheat, surrounded by gentle sunshine and fluffy white clouds. For the first time in what feels like forever, she feels safe, loved... and maybe even happy.