The Neko Savior

Nozomi slept in a wooden chair she had pulled up next to the bed that night, her head and arms resting on the mattress before her. Silent tears leaked out of her eyes as she slept; even her dreams were full of worry for the injured Neko. Her father had returned to the village long before Dr. Kanzaki, his heart heavy with guilt. Dr. Kanzaki had left before the sky grew too dark and the forest too dangerous, reminding Nozomi to come into town immediately should Yusei’s condition worsen again. For now he appeared stable, but things were still touch-and-go. Nozomi sniffled in her sleep, unaware of the fact that Yusei’s labored breathing had finally evened out.
~*~*~
Nozomi woke up with a start in the morning, not realizing why she had woken so suddenly. She turned to Yusei and gasped, seeing a toothy grin on his face, his hand moved up close to her face. She laughed, tears of joy spilling down her cheeks, now knowing what had woken her. The Neko hadn’t been able to resist stroking her cheek gently as she slept next to him!
“Yusei...” Nozomi breathed, carefully climbing onto the bed next to him. Yusei pulled her close with his uninjured arm, kissing her on the lips and smelling her wonderful scent.
“Arigatou, koi,” he whispered gently, kissing the top of her head. Nozomi sat up a bit, her eyes gazing into his, slightly confused.
“For what? I couldn’t do anything!” she asked, close to painful tears again. The Neko tenderly stroked her hair.
“For being there for me. For staying by my side in such a painful time. It must have been hard...”
“Not as hard as it would have been if I had lost you!” Nozomi replied fiercely. Where had this self-conscious attitude come from?
Yusei looked away, suddenly unsure of himself. Nozomi gently guided his face back to hers and gasped as she saw tears in his eyes. “Gomenosai, Yusei. I- I didn’t mean-”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. No, it’s probably me who did,” Yusei said softly. “I couldn’t let that cougar harm you, but I should have just escorted you back to the outskirts of the forest. I brought this on myself. I had hoped that since you had the same feelings for me as I did for you - the whole ‘love at first sight’ thing - everything would be alright. But... The townsfolk fear me because I’m not human, but look like one. From that alone, they believe me to be a demon, saying, ‘If it looks human, but isn’t, it isn’t safe.’ I’m sorry to have caught you up in this. I- I just want...” His voice trailed off, the Neko’s gaze lowering and looking at nothing. Nozomi smiled sadly, gently hugging him to her chest.
“I’ll never abandon you, Yusei,” she promised, feeling Yusei’s breath hitch as he held back the painful tears that had been bottled up for so long. “That saying isn’t always true. Many aren’t. They’re generalizations, and to those there are always exceptions. I promise I’ll stay by your side. You’re kinder than many humans would ever be in their lives, and I’ll make the town see that. If they can’t, we don’t need them.”
Yusei couldn’t hold in the pain any longer. He cried into his soulmate’s warm embrace, the pain flowing freely out through his tears. His nightmare had ended the moment he had saved the girl’s life. He would protect her with his own, knowing she would do the same for him. She was right: If people were too shallow to understand anyone from preconceived notions, they weren’t worth the time of day...