They Call me the Catman

The male could see Takeshi's shaking, though it was not so much from the physical signs as his own 'instinct'. He could understand by looking at Takeshi how shaken the boy was, just as a cat could tell when something dangerous was approaching.

"Apple?" Madeo chuckled, curling up on the grass, smiling as the sun went down and around his body, curling over. "Hmm, that's fair. I doubt there is any that know me who would care, in any case." The catman explained, his mouth opening in a big yawn before settling in to hear what the boy had to say.

"…" Madeo was silent, his back arching as he flopped over onto his stomach. That tail of his slowly slid back and forth through the air, his eyes looking at the clouds. Hmm, wonder if he got caught up in some dreadful apple related imagery, and that's why he doesn't like them…? The Werecat King wondered, before closing his eyes himself.

"...heheh.." Madeo gently laughed as he described the powers-that-be in their world, slowly curling up into a sitting position. "Nyah." Was all he said in reply to Takeshi's accusation that Madeo was trying to tell him how he should feel. As he finally finished, the Werecat stretched, before gently smiling. "Fine, I'll show you a treat." Madeo said, before slowly reaching his right hand up to his face. His features seemed to… change. His masculinity became even more defined, and the gray armor he was wearing… well, vanished completely. The black ears on his head elongated, and his tail grew tremendously, his eyes becoming wider and black as night as Madeo held up his right hand…

Without pause, cats from all over the area began to gather. Getting up, stretching, dashing. House cats, alley cats, forest cats… all of the cats in Karakura, except for those with a bond as strong as their soul, were drawn to the male who stood in the middle of the park. "...I'm not just a cat, Keshi-san… I'm also a king." He said with a sigh, the fur that covered him vanishing and leaving him in his loincloth. "It… was not something I chose. It was something which chose me. I tried to run, as well. I've been running for so many years that I have lost count, now…" The male explained, reaching a hand down as all the cats laid down in the clearing, as if in homage.

"Yes, I will tell you how to feel." Madeo said, though his tone was much more gentle as he sat down in the clearing, the cats getting up and surrounding around his body. "But only because you remind me of myself. And I always was a fool." The male said with a laugh, before quieting once again. "No one can outrun destiny, Keshi-san… Poor Oedipus' plight comes for all of us. What you can do, however, is decide how you want to think about them. I… didn't think well about them. And because of that decision, I lost the best friend I've ever had." Madeo's head bowed, before reaching a hand out and gently petting under one of the cat's chins.

"What matters are the people, Keshi-san. The people who won't leave you. The people who would rather die than abandon you. Finally, there are your own two hands. Those hands can either lay at your sides as the future changes around you… or they can become involved." With those words, Madeo's body slowly began to shrink, the cats around him beginning to get up and inspect one another, though not a single catfight began. Finally, his loincloth turned into shorts, and the Prince of Purrsia gently shook his head back and forth, smiling.

"You are a human being, capable of doing terrible things. But you're capable of some wonderful things, as well. Isn't that why you stopped getting close to others?" Madeo asked him, before reaching both hands up into the air, his small tail gently whipping back and forth as he yawned. "Now then, why don't we play a little game… it's called 'whack the cat'!" Madeo said with a smile, before seeming to vanish, reappearing on a low hanging branch of a nearby tree, gently rubbing his cheek with one hand. "So for a minute, just drop yourself into wild abandon. You probably need something to take your mind off all of this, anyway~"