So, at this point, everyone knows that I was forced to remove Lemon Island and its mature content due to the Eliminator Forum vicious attacking and trolling me. I'm going to move ALL my mature stories to a new website. If you're just as sick of this as I am, please join our cause to bring freedom back to Fanfiction!

Avenger Forum link, remove spaces and *: www. fanfiction. n*e*t /forum/Avenger/119079 (All information can be found in the Supporter forum.)

The Rebellion Forum link, remove spaces and *: www. fanfiction. n*e*t /forum/The-Rebellion/114259/ (Most forums are banding together here.)

Petition for an MA rating link, remove spaces and *: www. change. o*r*g /petitions/fanfiction-net-we-want-fanfiction-to-create-a-ma-rating

…

Anyway, I have MOVED this story COMPLETELY to another site. You can find this STORY and all its subsequent UPDATES here: h*t*t*p*:/archiveofourown. o*r*g*/works/699525

I have the same penname there as I do here: ParadiseAvenger

…

Summary: Amu is trapped in an abusive relationship. She desperately wishes to be free of her cruel boyfriend, but then… someone comes to grant her wish.

X X X

The night was cold, even for October, and it was pouring down rain. The jack-o-lanterns resting on steps, railings, and balconies were ready for the holiday next weekend. Plastic ghosts and skeletons hung from porches, swaying and rattling in the icy breeze. Cotton cobwebs stretched across shrubs and trees, fake spiders perched within them, waiting for prey that would never come. It was the kind of night when everyone should be snuggled inside with a loved one, watching cheesy B-rated horror films and sharing extra-butter popcorn.

But Amu was not home, not yet. She was merely on her way home from her part-time job. The hard wind threatened to turn her umbrella inside out and thrashed her rose-colored hair into her face, stinging. The rain tore at her bare legs, soaking her socks and sneakers. She shivered, hugging her free arm around her torso and clutching her thin jacket closed. Even so, the chill wind blew right through her as if her body didn't exist. In fact, she often felt like her heart was always exposed to the elements, the naked organ being torn apart by people, time, and cruelty.

A bolt of lightning raked across the ink-black sky, lighting up the street in stark relief. Amu felt as if she had been tossed into an old-time movie and any moment now, a gumshoe with a cigarette hanging off his lip would step from the alleyway before her. Or else a monster would slink from the shadows and devour her whole just like a scream queen from a cheap horror movie. She shuddered, glancing suspiciously at the shadows around her.

Then, she realized how silly she was behaving and shook herself. "Stop it, Amu," she chastised. "Don't be stupid. There's no such thing as monsters!"

Something yowled in the darkness.

The sharp cry made Amu scream and jump, stumbling over her own feet. She nearly lost her grip on her umbrella, slipping in the ankle-deep water rushing through the gutter on the street, but somehow managed to stay on her feet. She whirled around, golden eyes scanning the shadows for the source of the howl.

At first, she didn't see anything. The world around her was silent expect for the far-off storm, thunder rumbling in the distance and rain pounding the pavement. She was just about to tell herself that she had imagined the cry since she had creeped herself out and it was so close to Halloween. She turned away, reminding herself that she had to get home.

Then, she heard it again.

It was a sharp mournful cry, shattering the silence of the stormy dark night. This time, she recognized the sound as that of an alley cat and sighed in relief. It wasn't a monster or a criminal mugger, after all. She tightened her grip on her umbrella and set her mind to keep walking. She had to get home soon or else…

The cat's yowl splintered the silence again, somehow so loud even with the smothering rataplan of the rain. Its voice was so mournful, painful, that it broke Amu's heart. She knew in that moment that she wouldn't be able to just walk away. Gripping her umbrella tightly, she turned back, walked the few feet back to the mouth of the alley, and crouched down in the shadows there.

"Here, kitty, kitty," she called, extending her hand.

The cat yowled desperately, but did not emerge from the darkness.

"Come on. I won't hurt you," she encouraged.

Again, the cat cried out, but did not appear.

"What's the matter? Are you stuck?" Amu asked.

The cat mewled mournfully, its voice echoing against the grimy bricks of the buildings nearby.

Amu rummaged through her shoulder bag for the small flashlight she carried. She flicked it on, the beam playing off the falling raindrops, and cast the light down the alley. At first, she couldn't make out anything besides garbage cans, dumpsters, and scattered trash. The light reflected on the puddles of gathered rainwater hauntingly. Then, she saw the cat or—more precisely—she saw the cat's eyes.

They were bright blue, gleaming in the beam of her flashlight.

"Hi kitty," Amu whispered, approaching the cornered animal.

The cat mewled mournfully and struggled against something Amu couldn't make out. She moved closer, being careful of thugs and monsters. The cat was black, just like a Halloween decoration, with bright sapphire blue eyes and its rear legs were tangled in the electrical cord of a shattered lamp. Again, it yowled, pulling at its bonds.

Amu hushed it, reaching out slowly. The cat bristled, the hair on its back rising. It hissed and then clawed at her, its nails raking the back of her hand. She cried out, nearly falling backwards, but caught herself on the side of the dumpster. She whimpered in pain, watching drops of blood bead on the wound and roll off. She extended her hand beyond the safety of her umbrella, letting the rain wash the blood from her skin. The cat grew still, its eyes soft and sad and somehow so human.

"I know you're just scared," Amu whispered. "I am too."

She reached out to the cat again, hushing it as she moved. This time, the cat allowed her to free it from the electrical cord. It staggered gratefully away from her, limping badly. There was a large cut on its rear leg, probably from all its struggling against the wire.

"See," Amu whispered. "You're okay. I wasn't going to hurt you."

The cat appeared to consider her warily and then approached her slowly, dragging its injured rear leg. Amu stretched out her hands and gently lifted the soaked shivering cat into her arms, cradling it against her chest. It licked the cuts on her hand tenderly and snuggled deeper into her arms. Amu smiled, petting the cat's head gently.

"Where'd you come from, little guy?" she asked softly.

The cat merely purred in response.

Her lips curved in a faint smile as she coddled the small animal. She gathered her flashlight and shoulder bag, tucking the umbrella under her arm, and hurried home. Glancing at her watch, she suddenly had a very bad feeling. It was late—really late. She should have been home by now. He was going to—

…

Upon arriving at the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, the rose-haired girl had put the cat in the bathroom and closed the door. Now, the cat was sitting on the vanity, his ears perked and his eyes bright. He could hear shouting, weeping, something breaking, more shouting, and finally silence. He listened to the sounds of the girl who had rescued him weeping and heavy footsteps followed by something or someone being dragged.

The knob turned and the cat bristled, hissing. The girl was tossed into the bathroom, crumpled on her hands and knees, by her boyfriend. Her lip was split and bleeding, her left eye swelling and red-rimmed, and her face was streaked with makeup and tears. The cat snarled, baring its teeth at the strange man.

Her boyfriend sneered at them both. "Get rid of that cat, Amu," he growled.

She didn't protest, merely sobbed in response.

He slammed the door on them both.

After a long moment, the cat rubbing against her side, Amu pulled herself to her feet. She gathered the cat up in her arms, stroking and cuddling him. Then, she set him down on the vanity, stripped out of her clothes, and moved to get into the shower.

From the corner of her eye, reflected in the mirror where the cat's reflection should have been, she thought she saw a beautiful boy sitting there instead. He was pale, naked, with bright blue eyes and a long hideous gash running down his thigh. But when she looked again, it was merely the reflection of a black cat.

Maybe all the blows to her head had finally gotten to her.

She shrugged it off, stepping beneath the warm spray of water. Whimpering in pain as the heat and pressure of the water dug into her countless wounds, she washed her hair and the makeup from her face. She winced when she studied her own body. She knew she shouldn't be with him anymore, but… she didn't know how to get away.

Her boyfriend had told her so many times that if she left him, he would follow her. He would find her and kill her.

And she believed him.

Tears leaked from her golden eyes, rolling down her face, and she sobbed. Amu hugged herself tightly, trembling as she cried. Slowly, the pain and exhaustion working its way through her body, she slid to her knees at the bottom of the tub. The water cascaded down on her just like the rain and she wished it would just wash her away.

"I wish… he didn't exist," she whispered through her tears. "I wish… I wish he was dead."

On the other side of the shower curtain, the cat mewled softly.

…

After a long while, Amu scraped herself out of the bottom of the shower. Her body didn't hurt any less, but the crying had exhausted her. The cat was waiting on the vanity, blue eyes bright, and meowed at her when she emerged. She petted his head, wrapping her nudity tightly in a towel. Then, she opened the door and peeked out.

The apartment was silent and dark. Hesitantly, she called her boyfriend's name, but there was no answer. She let out a sigh of relief. He must have left, going out to the bars like he did every night. He would come home later, smelling of rum and cigarette smoke and cheap perfume. But that was alright with Amu so long as he wasn't here hurting her.

She gathered the injured cat up in one arm and her dirty clothes in the other, carrying both to her bedroom. She set the cat gently on the bed and threw the clothes into the hamper. She let the towel drop, hanging on the hook on the back of her door, and moved to pull on her pajamas. The cat watched her every move.

Amu petted him again. "Hey kitty," she whispered. "Just one second and I'll be back."

She padded into the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of milk and almost as an afterthought, pouring a small dish of it for the cat. He was probably hungry, but she didn't have any cat food on hand. She peeked in the fridge, but it was empty save for beer. That was all he spent their money on, but at least the cat wouldn't go hungry even if she did. She sighed heavily and closed the door, walking slowly back to her bedroom in the dark.

The cat was waiting there, patient, watchful, those uncanny human-like eyes just gazing at her.

She set down the saucer for him. "Sorry," she murmured, petting his back as he went to drink. "I don't have any cat food."

The cat purred, nuzzling into her lap after he had finished.

Amu smiled, cradling the cat against her breasts, and lay down on her bed, tucking them both beneath the covers. The cat nestled closer, purring as she scratched behind his ears and stroked his lean body. But, as the night is always apt to do to people in trouble, the darkness pressed down on Amu's heart, smothering her. Though she thought she had cried herself out in the shower, her eyes burned with fresh tears. She hugged the cat and sobbed desperately, even as the cat tried to comfort her, but she could not be soothed.

Again, she whispered, "I wish I could just get away from him. I wish he was dead!"

The black cat meowed mournfully, nuzzling her cheek as if to tell her something, but Amu didn't understand.

Then, finally exhausted, she closed her raw tired eyes and fell deeply asleep… or so she thought because what happened afterwards seemed like it should have been only a strange and wonderful dream. The mattress dipped beside her. Amu groaned, rolling over.

Fingertips touched her face lightly.

Her first thought was of him. Was her boyfriend home? And how drunk was he?

She jolted up in bed, a scream trapped in her throat, but then she found herself unable to scream. All the breath was sucked from her lungs and she merely sat there, stunned.

Seated beside her on the bed where the black cat should have been was a beautiful young man, naked and softly smiling. His skin was the color of pale cream, his hair like rich onyx and shiny, and the gash down his thigh looked painful and raw. His eyes were bright blue, just like the cat's, but where the eyes in the cat's face had seemed somehow human-like to Amu, the eyes in this boy's face were somehow rather animal-like. If those eyes hadn't convinced her that the boy before her was the cat she had saved in the alley, the sight of his ears and tail would have convinced her. Where the moonlight lay across him, his shadow was that of a simple cat, not a human at all.

"W-what's going on…?" Amu whispered.

He merely smiled mysteriously and reached out to touch her, tucking some rose-red tresses behind her ear. "Is that really what you want?" he murmured.

Amu stared at him, her heart pounding. "W-what?"

"Is that your wish?" His cat-like ears perked forward, listening to her alone. "To be free of the man who hurts you?"

"Is this a dream?" she whispered.

He smiled again, his teeth strangely sharp and a little frightening. Amu had always been afraid of monsters and she would have screamed at that moment because he looked just like a predator, a great tiger, hiding behind the façade of a beautiful human boy, but… she wasn't afraid. Those eyes of his… they were so honest, so trusting, so lovely. The fears all left her.

"Maybe," he said softly, stroking his fingertips over her face. His thumb lingered at the corner of her lips. "Tell me. Is this what you wish for?"

She nodded slowly, captivated.

"You wish to be free of him?" he asked.

Again, she nodded.

"You wish him dead?"

She hesitated.

The boy's hand wandered from her face to her shoulder, pulling her so close that she could smell his skin. His hand ran down her back and she felt the pain of her wounds flair and burn through her. She gasped out in agony, clinging to the contours of his naked chest as she sobbed. Fresh tears burned in her golden eyes.

"Is this your wish?" he whispered into her hair, holding her gently.

Amu nodded, gasping out, "Yes. I want him gone."

His fingers slipped under her chin, lifting her face so he could look into her tear-filled eyes. "I will," he whispered, "grant that wish."

Then, he kissed her tenderly. His lips were like velvet, warm and oh-so soft, and his kiss was gentle. Amu gasped in pleasure, her fingers scraping his naked chest as she clung to him. His tongue was rough, cat-like, when it touched the seam of her lips and begged entrance. She welcomed him, kissing him deeper and harder. For a long while, they clung to each other, kissing with unbridled passion. Then, he gently broke the contact and looked into her eyes again.

"Will you grant me a wish, my princess?" he whispered. "Even if I'm not the prince-type?"

She stared at him, her heart pounding. "Anything…"

He smiled again, but did not speak.

X X X

And I removed the original mature content that continued from that point due to the trolls. Please join the cause to bring maturity to Fanfiction again. Or read this story and all its updates in its original version on Archive of Our Own.