Fox Life

Disappointment rolled off Iris in waves. She couldn't believe that this was the end. There had been nothing of note after the declaration of war, not one word of explanation. It was as if Kyro had just forgotten about it the next day.

Although it was unlikely, since there were a lot more ambiguous entries like 'Library', 'Research', 'Check market price' in his schedule. At first, she'd thought they were just part of his school activities, now that he and Jane seemed to be over, but he never mentioned what he was going to study (unlike what he did before), and the amount of time he spent doing those things quadrupled compared to what he spent studying during the last semester.

Yet these were just her guesses. His studies might have just intensified, and that's it. There was no way she could know the truth.

In the end, she didn't learn that much from his journal. He was studious? Didn't like Gale at the start? Had a girlfriend in second half of his first year of university? Was furious when she dropped him? It was all so disappointingly normal, and most of it was deduced by her imagination anyway.

With a sigh, she walked away and jumped onto the bed. It was still bright outside, so she snuggled up between the pillows for a little darkness. Her mind wasn't too drowsy, but she decided to try to take a nap anyway. Might as well waste some time until Kyro returned.

While asleep, she dreamed of a story, one with a righteous young man, an evil witch that tried to seduce him, a loyal friend that first showed up as an enemy, and a giant corporation that squashed them all. She woke up in cold sweat, shaking a little.

'Nightmare? In the middle of the day? Just my luck…' She put her head down between her paws and tried to recall what she'd dreamed of, but it was already fading away. Her mind soon erased everything besides the lingering sense of unease.

There was a sound in the other room. Iris jumped to her feet and rushed to the end of the bed, sitting down like a model pet. Kyro was back! She could hear him closing the door and taking off his shoes, saying hi to Lucy, and the cat purring in welcome.

The two soon made their way over to the bedroom, and the door opened to reveal Kyro with Lucy in hand. Iris frowned at that, but then remembered her new resolution. He was probably a man down on his luck, so she needed to be understanding; he needed all the pet love he could get.

Because of this, she cooed at him with a smile on her face. He crouched down, still holding Lucy, and petted her head. "How have you been? Did you miss me a lot?"

She tilted her head. 'I think you missed me more.' Her knowledge of him wasn't deep, but he seemed out of sorts, like something was wrong. His tone of voice was lower, and it lacked the liveliness she'd sensed on the weekend. 'Did something happen at work?'

The sudden attack took Kyro by surprise. He yelped like a girl and stole his finger back, eyeing her with indignation. "Is that your answer? You didn't miss me at all?"

Iris rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, Kyro put down Lucy and picked her up. 'Hey! We didn't agree on this! What are—'

"It seems I need to teach you the lessons of this house. Rule Nr.1 - You don't bite the owner."

'You don't own me!' Iris instantly denied. 'You're something like a… a… landlord! Yeah! I live under your roof, but that's it! No ownership here, mind you!'

"Rule Nr.2 - What I say, goes." As he said that, he brought her to the kitchen and put her on the counter. There wasn't much space here, and she couldn't go down by herself without getting injured. It was as good as a death trap for her. "And anybody who doesn't follow rules gets punished."

A fire lit up in Iris' eyes. He said he was going to control her? Order her about? Hell no! Without going through her plan a second time, she backed away a few steps, then began sprinting and jumped off.

The expression on Kyro's face was priceless. It morphed from a teasing one to horrified in the span of a millisecond. He seemed to have clearly underestimated her resolve to defy his expectations.