Please don't kill me! I know I haven't updated in over a year! My comp crashed and all my files were lost and I was too lazy to re-write chapters. Thanks to a friend, I decided to look back on here and was not only shocked at how my writing skills haven't improved, but wondered how I ever thought of giving up on this story.

So here it is!

(I decided that the rating might go up later)

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Eiji felt bad. His curiosity cost him his play time with Oishi as he watched the boy clean up the last bit of the mess.

Oishi wiped up the last bit of the mess and looked over to Eiji and sighed. Somehow Eiji had been able to avoid getting his face messy, but there was a large stain on the shirt. He walked over to Eiji and reached for his shirt and began to pull it off. Eiji was glad to feel the shirt leave his skin and nuzzled up to Oishi.

He followed Oishi to the laundry room where the raven-haired boy put it in the washer. He didn't expect the stain to come out, considering it looked like something from Inui's bottle, but he was willing to try. He walked back into the living room, Eiji right behind him. He sat down on the couch and Eiji looked up at him with a little worry in his face.

"Don't worry about it." Oishi said. "I never wear that shirt anyways."

"Nya?" Eiji questioned.

Oishi smiled at him and motioned for him to come up, but before Eiji jumped up to his spot on the couch, a fluffy cat sat down next to Oishi. Both stared at each other.

Oishi suddenly panicked, thinking the two were going to start fighting, but they just kept staring at each other. He reached both arms out and scratched both of them behind the ears, receiving two different purrs.

Eiji jumped up on the other side of Oishi and settled down, nuzzling into Oishi's chest. Oishi smiled and put his arms around Eiji's waist. They stayed like that for a while until Oishi started hearing a soft clinking noise. He looked down to see Eiji fiddling with his collar.

Oishi frowned. How were they ever going to find who did this to him? He couldn't take this to the public. Eiji would be taken away and kept in probably worse conditions than before.

Suddenly, Eiji started poking Oishi. Oishi gave the boy his attention.

"Nya." Eiji pointed to the name tag on the collar and then to himself. Then he pointed to Oishi. "Unya?"

"You're asking what my name is?" Oishi was excited. It was the first true moment of communication. He pointed to himself. "Oishi"

"Hoiii…"

Oishi's eyes widened in amazement.

"HOiIi…sh…shu..nya…?" Eiji was having trouble.

"Oi…shi." Oishi said it slower.

"Hoi…shu." Eiji looked up at Oishi hopefully.

"Oishi."

"Hoi…Oi…..sh…shi…" Eiji smiled. "Oi…shiii…"

Oishi was amazed. This was probably his first word EVER. He held Eiji closer.

After a while, Oishi looked at the clock and got up. Eiji watched him, confused. Oishi opened a closet and pulled out a large robe. Eiji let Oishi put the robe on him and help get his arms through. He looked at Oishi and smiled when he saw that Oishi was happy.

"Good Eiji." Oishi said, tying the belt. "Now you need to stay clothed for a while, okay?"

"Unya?" Eiji tilted his head.

Oishi went into the kitchen and brought back his bowl of food. Eiji ate slowly, wondering why Oishi was acting a little strange, not that he wasn't strange to begin with.

Just then, they heard a car pull up. Oishi walked over to the door to let three bays, about Oishi's age, in. Eiji became very nervous. One of them had large glasses, just like the scientists had.

"I'm glad you guys came." Oishi said, closing the door and walking over to Eiji. Eiji hid behind Oishi.

"…Nya…" He said quietly.

"Does He know how to talk?" The one with glasses asked.

"No, but I think he's willing to learn. He tried saying my name earlier." Oishi said. "Taka-san. We something to feed him that will help him gain weight. He's starved and barely eats anything as it is."

"I know just the thing." Taka said. "Is he friendly?"

"He's nervous." Oishi said. "Give him time."

"Ne, Oishi." Said Fuji. "Does he have a name?"

"Eiji."

Eiji looked up at the sound of his name. He watched as the taller blond passed by to go into the kitchen. He put his hands on Oishi's shoulders and peered at the other two. The one with his eyes closed seemed friendly, but Oishi was very weary… it could be a trick…right?

Oishi led Eiji over to the couch and they sat down. Fuji came over and sat on Eiji's side, but left some distance. Inui just stood there, notebook out and ready.

Eiji didn't like that. This human was too much like the humans he lived with. He pressed into Oishi's side a bit as if to ask why he was there.

"Don't worry." Oishi told him softly, noticing Eiji's nervousness toward Inui. "He won't hurt you."

Eiji, not understanding, just nuzzled into Oishi.

"He seems to have taken to you, Oishi." Fuji said. Oishi blushed a little at the statement.

Oishi continued telling them everything he knew about Eiji so far, from his love of sushi to him not liking his tail to be touched.

Not long after, Taka came back in with a bowl of food. He handed it to Oishi.

"This should help." He said, nervously. "It has a lot of ingredients used in dishes for sumo wrestlers, so it might help him gain a few pounds."

"Thanks, Taka-san." Oishi smiled as he held the bowl up to Eiji.

Eiji sniffed it. It smelt good, but Eiji didn't feel like eating so he turned his head away. Oishi sighed.

"Will he eat from your hands?" Fuji asked.

"Fuji, it's very soup-like." said Inui. "How is he supposed to give it to him?"

"Stick your finger in the sauce, Oishi." Fuji suggested. "Offer it to him like that."

Oishi, surprised at Fuji's suggestion, did so and offered his sauce-covered finger to Eiji.

Now Eiji was confused. He sniffed Oishi's finger and licked some of the juice off. Eiji let the taste sink in before putting Oishi's whole finger into his mouth and started sucking on it. Oishi blushed a crimson red, but Eiji seemed content on keeping Oishi's finger in his mouth.

Fuji snickered at the scene in front of him.

"Not. A. Word." Oishi warned Fuji.

"I'm sure this won't be the first." Fuji said calmly. Oishi glared at his smiling friend.

"So how are the others?" Oishi decided to change the subject. Eiji was still sucking on his finger.

"They should be here in a few hours." Inui said, adjusting his glasses. "Tezuka decided to go with the others to keep Momo and Kaido from killing each other."

Oishi finally got his finger back and set the bowl on the coffee table. Eiji nuzzled up closer, ending up half on him.

"Fuji, he has a lot of injuries on him and a large whip mark on his back." Oishi said to the smiling blond. "Do you know any medicines to help heal them?"

"There is actually a remedy to help heal large area surface wounds that would help the whip mark, and I'm sure we have remedies for anything else."

"Oi, you guys." Taka stuck his head out of the kitchen. "Dinner is ready."

The three walked to the kitchen. Eiji considered following, but the fish tank caught his eye. He decided to find his silver little friend.

………..

The four boys had just finished eating when they heard something from the living room. They scrambled to their feet and saw that Eiji had taken the top off of one of the fish tanks and was looking at the silver fish.

"He's going to eat the fish!" Taka exclaimed.

"He won't eat it, but we need to put the lid back on…" Oishi was walking towards Eiji when all of a sudden, the silver fish leaped out of the water and into Eiji's face. The fish landed on the ground and started wiggling like crazy.

Eiji watched this behavior in amusement. He picked up the flapping fish and looked at it closer.

"Eiji." Oishi said.

"Nya?" Eiji glanced up at Oishi who was right next to him. "Let's put the fish back." Oishi reached for the fish, but Eiji held it close to him. The fish's movements were slowing down. Eiji looked at the fish, confused.

"Eiji, if you don't put it back in the water it will die." Oishi's words did not seem to register. Eiji just kept looking at the fish, wondering why he didn't seem so shiny and happy as he did before. Worried, he looked to Oishi.

Oishi reached for Eiji's arms, slowly and led him over to the tank. He held Eiji's hand as they dipped into the water, letting the fish swim off and into the tank. Eiji bent down beside the tank and watched as the fish seemed to get more energy.

Oishi put the lid back on and knelt by Eiji.

"I wonder if he will benefit from that." Inui said.

"What do you mean?" Taka asked.

"What I mean is that I think you should have let the fish die, Oishi." Inui said.

"What!" Oishi exclaimed.

"Think about it." Inui said. "He obviously has the mind of a child right now. If you would have let it die, then he would know not to do it again. Death is something he should know about. But now that the fish is still alive, it might not register as a threat to the fish's life."

"You can't tell me you didn't see him!" Oishi said. "He was worried and now that he sees the fish is better in the water, he should learn. Besides, there are better ways of teaching than killing." Oishi looked at Eiji.

Eiji's attention to the fish was gone and he was now looking at Oishi. Although he didn't understand much, he could tell that Oishi was defending him.

A moment later, a car was heard pulling up to the house.

"They're early." Fuji said, amused.

Eiji watched the door expectantly.

……….

……….

I hope you all can forgive me for not updating for so long. I will try to keep this one going for as long as I can. I have some great ideas for this one!

Please review! No reviews equals writer's block!