Kato grabbed the small bag from the corner of the room that held an extra pair of clothing, pajamas, his bathroom supplies, and a picture of his mother that he treasured. Those were basically all the things he owned. Sighing, he walked out to find Seth leaning against the wall waiting for him.

"Ready to go?" He asked, pushing off the wall and walking over, holding out his hand for the bag.

Kato slung it over his shoulder, signaling that he would like to carry his own things, and nodded. "Yeah." He muttered, shifting his feet. "Where are we going?" He'd wanted to know that for a while now.

"Not sure yet," Seth smirked, amused, and walked down the hall. "But I have a question for you."

"What is it?" Kato jogged up behind him as they descended the stairs.

"I'm pretty sure we made a lot of noise so why didn't the neighbors come out?" He asked.

"Oh." He rubbed his arm and looked around when they got to the first floor of the apartment building. "They're... used to it..."

"Oh yeah?" He turned his head slightly and eyed him.

"Well, I don't really live in a civil area..." He gripped the fabric of his shirt. "Thugs usually live around here and it's like a silent rule not to meddle with other people's business unless you want trouble."

"Huh." He returned to looking ahead. "Alright."

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just curious about you." He shrugged his shoulders lazily. "Do you have an education?"

"Do you mean if I go to school...?" Now that he thought about it, what would he do about that?

"Yeah, that." He said, waving his hand as if that were obvious.

"Yeah, I do." He reached up and pinched the hair between his fingers as he thought about it.

"Well, I'm sorry but I'll have to tutor you from now on." When they got outside, he turned sharply to the right and walked down the street. An apartment building lined each side of the street before it turned into a shopping area with stores and other places he'd rather not think of.

"You?" He blinked in surprise.

"What, do you want an education or not?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, yes. But can you really do that?" He eyed him suspiciously and when Seth noticed, he laughed.

"Yes, yes. I'm smarter than I look." He smirked and Kato turned away. "Do you have any of those new things people have? Um... technology pieces?"

"You mean phones?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Those."

"No." He'd never used one in his life. "I thought you were smart," he added, mostly to himself. But Seth had heard and turned to eye him sharply.

"Why not? Most of the population has them." Seth said, ignoring his statement. But he didn't respond. "Highness?"

He stopped, staring at him until he also stopped. "What?"

"I asked why you-"

He cut him off. "No, no. What did you just call me?"

"Highness?" He turned and raised an eyebrow as if it was normal to go around calling people Highness.

He puckered his lips and looked away. "Don't ever call me that again." He felt strangely irritated over that.

"But-"

"Just don't." He interrupted, looking at him desperately.

Seth looked carefully at him for a moment before sighing. "Alright. Just Kato then?" When he nodded, he continued. "So, Kato, how are you feeling?"

He blinked. "I, um... don't know." He muttered, looking at his feet.

"I see." He watched as he walked into an alley. "Over here real quick." He said. "We'll find a large group of people on the other side."

"Huh?" Kato followed after. "Why would we need to be around people?" Isn't that the opposite of what they should be doing?

"You'll see." He said in a sing-song voice that annoyed him. But he didn't ask anything else and instead followed, pouting.

The sky was turning purple and orange as the sun began to set. Dark shadows filled the alleyways and he instinctively stayed very close to Seth in case something popped out and tried to grab him. When they did finally manage to escape the clutches of the alleyway, they ended up on a main street full of people who were on their way home from a busy day at work and the streetlights started to flicker on.

"Stay at the mouth of the alley. I'll be right back." Seth said, winking before jogging off.

He stood there, frozen, thinking of what just happened. He'd just been left behind. Not knowing what to do, he leaned against the corner and waited, secretly hoping he wasn't left there forever.

A crashing sound came from inside the alley and he jumped slightly, turning to see a cat rummaging inside a can it had knocked over. It was thin and had slick black fur with ruffled patches here and there.

Sighing, he fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeve and returned his attention to the street. He watched people walk by for what seemed like twenty minutes. Somewhere down the street, there was a huge commotion but he ignored it. He didn't want to get involved in something that might cause trouble.

"Back!" Seth was grinning and carrying a worn-down hat he must've found in his hand. Inside, there was an insane amount of money that shocked him half to death.

"Where did you get that?" He asked, backing away. No way was he hanging around a thief.

"Well, I used my charm to ask people for money." He shrugged, his tail swishing rapidly behind him as though this were something to be proud of. "In order for me to get a room for us to stay in, I needed this green paper you people love." He smirked at a girl who walked by and she giggled and nudged her friend who also giggled and blushed.

"But..." He gaped at it. "I..." He sighed through his nose and rubbed his arms. "Is that seriously needed? That's a lot."

Seth walked up and placed his hand beside his head on the wall, leaning in close. "Unless you want to lay in the alley and curl up together on the floor, taking body heat from one another?" His eyes narrowed as he came surprisingly close. Close enough for him to feel his breath on his lips.

A blush spread across his cheeks and he pushed him away. "F-fine. But stop doing that." He eyed him with a glare, rubbing his arms nervously.

He raised his hands and smirked. "Can't promise anything."

Kato rolled his eyes. "So do you know where we're going now?"

"I asked one of the humans who gave me money if there was somewhere I could spend the night and she told me there was something called a motel nearby." He looked at the sky. "It's getting dark. I don't sleep but I know you do." He looked back down. "So where is this place?"

"Motel, huh?" He rummaged through the places in his head before something popped up. "Oh. I know where that is."

"Great. You can lead the way then." He waved his hand in front of him and bowed.

Rolling his eyes again, he walked down the south side of the street. He was consciously aware of Seth one step behind him. He could practically feel the heat waves rolling off of him.

By the time they arrived, most people were off the streets and those who were still on were either late-time workers, thugs, or alcoholics. More than a few times he was whistled at and had to resist the urge to mouth off. The motel itself was a small, one-story building that stretched little ways down the street. It looked fairly run down, as one would expect, and there were obvious drunken men lounging about outside one of the doors, laughing loudly at some stupid story one told.

"This is it," Kato said, turning to see Seth already walking into the office. He froze for a moment in confusion before following him in. A guy with a girl in his lap and a smoke in his hand was talking to Seth, the both of them staring at him. The man was wearing a wife beater shirt and plain jeans. His hair was short and black and it was starting to gray. The girl, in particular, was blushing. She had long blonde hair that was braided and her face was caked with makeup. She wore short shorts that showed off bits of her hot pink underwear and a tank top that flashed way too much of her chest.

He ended up looking at the pictures on the wall. He was never really interested in girls or relationships in general but he was sure that if she caught his eye, she would think he was a pervert and honestly wanted to avoid that.

"You still breathing?" Seth whispered in his ear, sending a shiver down his spine and making him jump away.

"Y-yes!" He said, louder then he intended. Seth really needed to quit doing that.

"Good because I got us a room." He waved a key in front of his face. "I've visited towns quite a few times before so I know how the money system works." He smirked.

"R-right..." He muttered, rocking on his heels. "That's good?" How was he supposed to respond to that? Was he supposed to shout congratulations and bring out balloons? He knew he was being sarcastic but he couldn't help it. He wasn't in the mood to play the happy-go-lucky kid people saw in the movies. He just wanted to sleep. He was tired and scared, with no idea where his life was headed or if the location was good or not.

Seth rolled his eyes and walked out, holding the door open for him. "I was hoping to get a reaction better than that."

"Sorry." He replied, shrugging. "I'm just that lame, I guess."

"Not true." He muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Over here." He walked down the doors, looking at each of the numbers before stopping and unlocking one. "Here you go." He opened the door and stepped aside, letting him through. Inside there were two beds, a table with a lamp located between them, and a TV stand on the opposite wall. A bathroom was on the farthest side.

"This looks nice." He said, looking around. He was about to put his stuff down when arms slowly wrapped themselves around his middle.

"Yeah, it does," Seth whispered in his ear and he shivered again, squirming.

"Let. Go." He said, trying for stern but couldn't quite get there. Seth's hands slid down his stomach and to his waistline. That's when he freaked out and jerked away, falling to the ground and crawling away, his heart racing. He turned around, his eyes wide and frightened, to see Seth staring at him in bewilderment.

"I wasn't going to do anything." He blinked. "Sorry?"

He pressed his lips together, turning pale. "I... I'm sorry... I'm going to the restroom." He quickly stood and jogged into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He stood there for a moment, shaking, before sliding down the wall. "What's wrong with me...?" He whispered. "Why can't I forget? I'm away from him, right?" His chin trembled. "Right...?"