🐾にゃんこから、あなたを好きになるまで&守護から恋心へ - Ch13

💜💗💜💗💜 Story 💗💜💗💜💗 Eyes Filled with Expectation Luka remained quietly on the sofa. Her gaze followed Gakupo the entire time. That human had just said he was going to cut the fish up into smaller pieces for her. She had understood. Yet she still didn't quite understand something. Why? Why was this human willing to look after her like this? They'd only just met today, after all. She didn't even know who he really was. ...Except for his name. Gakupo. That name echoed softly in her mind. Luka watched him rise from the table, not approaching her, but heading toward the kitchen instead. Her ears turned, following his footsteps. She couldn't help but wonder. This human... would he really not hurt me? From the moment she'd woken until now, he had never once forced her to do anything. When she'd been afraid, he stopped. When she'd retreated, he hadn't chased after her. When she'd wanted to approach his hand, he had simply waited quietly. And even earlier, when she'd stared at the fish the whole time, he hadn't laughed at her. Instead, he had genuinely gone to figure out how to make the fish more suitable for her to eat. Luka didn't know what to call this feeling. She only knew... she didn't seem quite so afraid anymore. She watched Gakupo open a cupboard. He pulled out a clean white plate. White. Clean. Luka's blue eyes followed his movements. Gakupo set the plate down on the counter. Then he picked up the plate of fish from before. Luka's nose twitched immediately. It smelled so good. She couldn't remember what she used to eat. Couldn't remember what she liked. Couldn't even remember how long it had been since she'd last eaten. But right now, she simply wanted to eat. That thought was as clear as it could possibly be. Wanted to eat. Gakupo transferred a small portion of the fish onto the white plate. Then he picked up a pair of scissors. Luka watched him. He really did seem to be handling it with great care. Not treating it carelessly at all. Instead, slowly cutting the fish into small, bite-sized pieces, one by one. Snip. Snip. Faint sounds drifted from the kitchen. Luka's ears twitched gently with each sound. So... he really is preparing this for me. She herself found it strange. It was just a piece of fish, after all. He was just a human she'd only met today. Yet watching him carefully prepare food for her like this, an odd sense of ease welled up within her. She didn't know whether she had ever been cared for like this before. If she had... who had that person been? Why couldn't she remember anything at all? Luka lowered her eyes slightly. Her mind was still nothing but a blur. She didn't even know why she'd been injured. Didn't know why she'd collapsed near that shrine. The only thing that remained was the name on her collar. Luka. She glanced down at her own collar. This was the only thing she knew. But now, there was one more name. Gakupo. That human had said his name was Gakupo. Luka lifted her head. In the kitchen, Gakupo was still bent over, working on the fish. He was very quiet. He didn't rush her. He didn't keep glancing back at her. He simply focused on preparing her food. Luka's tail twitched gently. She suddenly found herself thinking... if it's this person. maybe she could trust him, just a little. She herself didn't know why she felt this way. Perhaps it was simply because he'd been gentle the whole time. Or perhaps... it was simply because she was truly hungry right now. Luka looked at those hands. The very same hands that had stopped in front of her earlier, waiting for her to decide on her own whether to come closer. In the end, she had leaned into them on her own. At the thought, her ears twitched slightly. By now, Gakupo had finished cutting the last piece of fish. He looked it over once more. Every piece had become small, suitable for slow, careful bites. He set the scissors aside. The white plate sat quietly on the counter. The cut-up pieces of fish lay neatly arranged on the plate, still carrying a faint warmth. Luka's gaze settled on that white plate. She made no sound. She simply watched quietly. For the first time, a very simple thought surfaced in her mind. ... I really want to eat. And for the first time, she also began to feel anticipation. Anticipation for what that human called Gakupo would do next. --- Melayu Mata penuh harapan Luka tetap diam di atas sofa. Pandangannya sentiasa mengikuti Gakupo. Manusia itu tadi berkata dia akan pergi memotong halus daging ikan untuknya. Dia faham. Tetapi dia masih agak tidak memahami sesuatu. Kenapa? Kenapa manusia ini sanggup menjaganya dengan begitu teliti? Padahal mereka baru sahaja bertemu hari ini. Padahal dia sendiri pun tidak tahu siapa lelaki itu. ...Kecuali namanya. Gakupo. Nama itu bergema perlahan di dalam mindanya. Luka memerhatikan Gakupo bangun dari meja makan, tidak mendekatinya, sebaliknya berjalan ke arah dapur. Telinganya bergerak mengikut langkah kakinya. Dia tidak dapat menahan diri daripada berfikir. Manusia ini... benarkah dia tidak akan menyakitiku? Sejak dia terjaga hingga sekarang, lelaki itu tidak pernah sekali pun memaksanya melakukan apa-apa. Ketika dia takut, lelaki itu berhenti. Ketika dia berundur, lelaki itu tidak mengejarnya. Ketika dia ingin mendekati tangannya, lelaki itu juga hanya menunggu dengan tenang. Malah tadi, ketika dia terus menatap ikan itu, lelaki itu tidak mentertawakannya. Sebaliknya, dia benar-benar berusaha mencari cara untuk menjadikan ikan itu lebih sesuai untuknya makan. Luka tidak tahu apa nama perasaan ini. Dia hanya tahu... dia seolah-olah tidak lagi terlalu takut. Dia memerhatikan Gakupo membuka almari dapur. Lelaki itu mengeluarkan sebuah pinggan putih yang bersih. Putih. Bersih. Mata biru Luka bergerak mengikut pergerakannya. Gakupo meletakkan pinggan itu di atas meja dapur. Kemudian, dia mengambil pinggan ikan tadi. Hidung Luka serta-merta bergerak sedikit. Wanginya. Dia tidak ingat apa yang pernah dimakannya dahulu. Tidak ingat apa yang disukainya. Juga tidak ingat sudah berapa lama dia tidak makan. Tetapi sekarang, dia hanya ingin makan. Fikiran itu jelas, sejelas-jelasnya. Ingin makan. Gakupo mengambil sebahagian kecil daging ikan dan meletakkannya di atas pinggan putih itu. Kemudian dia mengambil gunting. Luka memerhatikannya. Dia kelihatan benar-benar berhati-hati. Tidak melakukannya secara sambil lewa. Sebaliknya, perlahan-lahan menggunting ikan itu kepada kepingan-kepingan kecil, satu demi satu. Kertak. Kertak. Bunyi halus kedengaran dari dapur. Telinga Luka bergerak perlahan mengikut bunyi itu. Rupa-rupanya... dia benar-benar menyediakannya untukku. Dia sendiri berasa pelik. Padahal ia cuma daging ikan. Padahal lelaki itu cuma manusia yang baru sahaja ditemuinya. Tetapi melihat cara lelaki itu menyediakan makanan untuknya dengan begitu teliti, satu perasaan tenang yang pelik timbul di dalam hatinya. Dia tidak tahu sama ada dia pernah dijaga sebegini sebelum ini. Jika pernah... siapakah orang itu? Kenapa dia langsung tidak dapat mengingatinya? Luka menundukkan matanya sedikit. Fikirannya masih kosong dan kabur. Dia sendiri tidak tahu kenapa dia cedera. Juga tidak tahu kenapa dia rebah berhampiran kuil itu. Satu-satunya yang tinggal, hanyalah nama pada kolarnya. Luka. Dia menunduk melihat kolarnya sendiri. Inilah satu-satunya perkara yang diketahuinya. Tetapi sekarang, ada satu lagi nama. Gakupo. Manusia itu berkata, namanya Gakupo. Luka mengangkat kepalanya. Di dapur, Gakupo masih menundukkan kepala, sibuk menguruskan ikan itu. Dia sangat senyap. Tidak tergesa-gesa mendesaknya. Tidak sentiasa menoleh untuk melihatnya. Hanya fokus menyediakan makanan untuknya. Ekor Luka bergerak perlahan. Dia tiba-tiba terfikir... kalau orang ini. mungkin dia boleh mempercayainya sedikit. Dia sendiri tidak tahu kenapa fikiran sebegitu timbul. Mungkin kerana lelaki itu sentiasa lemah lembut sejak tadi. Atau mungkin... hanya kerana dia benar-benar lapar sekarang. Luka memerhatikan tangan itu. Tangan yang sama yang tadi berhenti di hadapannya, menunggu dia sendiri membuat keputusan sama ada mahu mendekat atau tidak. Akhirnya dia sendiri yang mengusap-usap tangan itu. Terfikirkan hal itu, telinganya bergerak perlahan. Pada masa ini, Gakupo telah selesai memotong kepingan ikan yang terakhir. Dia menundukkan kepala untuk memeriksa sekali lagi. Setiap kepingan telah menjadi kecil, sesuai untuk dimakan perlahan-lahan. Dia meletakkan gunting ke tepi. Pinggan putih itu terletak dengan tenang di atas meja dapur. Kepingan-kepingan ikan yang telah digunting tersusun kemas di atas pinggan, masih membawa sedikit kehangatan. Pandangan Luka tertumpu pada pinggan putih itu. Dia tidak bersuara. Hanya memerhati dengan tenang. Buat pertama kali, satu fikiran yang amat mudah timbul di dalam hatinya. ... Sungguh ingin makan. Dan buat pertama kali juga, dia mula menantikan sesuatu. Menantikan bagaimana manusia bernama Gakupo itu akan melayaninya seterusnya.