My eyes flew open the moment I heard the tinkling sound of a bell.

Knowing what it meant, I rolled out of bed into the darkness, ensuring I still had the punch-injector as I did so.

The jet-black silhouette of a man standing adjacent to Tobi's empty side of the bed was exposed by a sliver of moonlight that filtered through a small gap in the curtains.

"Tobi," I ventured calmly. "I know you must be scared and confused right now, but I want to help you, OK?"

The inky shadow stood motionless for a few seconds, presumably weighing up options, before lunging for the bedroom door.

"No, you don't," I told Tobi as I grabbed his petite form from behind, restraining him as easily as I had during our practice sessions.

"I just want to talk to you," I reassured him, moments before his foot came down hard on top of mine, and then swiped me vigorously in the shin.

"You need to calm down," I tried, as he continued to try to wriggle free, repeatedly kicking me in the process.

"If you don't relax, Tobi, I'm going to have to sedate you before one of us gets hurt," I cautioned him, but it was to no avail. He was possibly too frightened, and too lost in thoughts of escape to be able to listen or comprehend anything properly.

The darkness probably wasn't helping things either; everything always seems scarier when there's no light available.

"I did warn you," I said gently as I positioned the punch-injector above his hip, raised his pyjama top very slightly and fired the sedative into his exposed side. I held the wrestling Katki for a few minutes longer before his muscles started to weaken and he slumped into my arms.

"I'm sorry, Tobi," I whispered as I lifted him carefully and carried him back to the bed.

Noting that it was close to three o'clock in the morning, I refilled the punch injector before setting an alarm and sliding back under the blanket beside him. I closed my eyes, knowing that it would be an hour or two before Tobi stirred again.  Assuming it was going to be a long day, I would benefit from a little extra sleep.

The twittering chatter of the dawn chorus woke me before the alarm did. It was a pretty sound that didn't normally rouse me. Perhaps today was different because my subconscious was on the alert for any noise.

I opened my eyes and twisted my head so that I could see the sleeping Katki. I wanted to be around when he woke. The room was lighter now that the sun was coming up, and I hoped that would make everything less imposing for him.

As quietly as I could, I took out my journal while I waited, and noted down the events of the previous night, including the time and date that the Ravim started to wear off. While documenting the violence that Tobi had displayed, I acknowledged that the behaviour could just as well have been explained by fear, since it had been dark, and had only occurred after I'd initiated physical contact between us. Finally, noting that it was too early to draw any conclusions, I put the journal back in the hidden compartment and waited patiently for the sedative to wear off.

Tiger inevitably poked her head around the door to find out whether I was awake, and, satisfied that I was, jumped up for a quick stroke before padding downstairs again, oblivious to the fact that she may have to wait a bit longer for breakfast today since I wasn't about to leave the blond Katki on his own.

It wasn't long before Tobi stirred slightly, and his eyes fluttered open. A few moments later, after taking in his surroundings, he rolled out of the bed and sprung to his feet, taking up a defensive stance like a cornered animal. Just like a couple of hours before, the sound of bells tinkled through the silence as Tobi tripped the alarm that let me know he was on the move.

Watching the Katki carefully, I reached for the punch-injector, hoping that I wasn't going to need it this time. Standing slowly, so not to alarm him any further, I took up my own defensive stance on the opposite side of the bed, ensuring I kept my distance from him.

Panic-stricken icy-blue eyes flicked towards the door, but this time I was convinced that Tobi knew I'd catch him before he reached it.

"Easy," I tried softly.

Tobi's petrified gaze settled back on me, but he didn't move.

"My name is Matthew," I ventured since I seemed to have his attention. "I have no intention of hurting you, but if you attack or try to run, you're going back to sleep."

I held up the punch-injector to show him I was serious. Seeming to understand, his eyes moved towards it and back to me again.

"I was about to eat," I told him. "Are you hungry? Do you want some breakfast?"

Suspicion filled his frosty gaze and his eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

"I know you have no reason to trust me," I continued. "I could be anyone, I get it. But at this point, what have you got to lose? You already know I'm capable of restraining you. So, you can join me for breakfast, or you can go back to sleep. Those are your options right now."

Tobi appeared to be considering his next move as he studied me intently. A full minute or more ticked by in silence before I tried again.

"So, are you hungry?"

There was another long pause.

"I need to use the bathroom," he stated.

The tension in my body dissipated and I chuckled lightly at his response. Of all the things I thought a newly awakened Katki would do or say, that hadn't been anywhere on my list.

"The bathroom?" I smiled across the bed at him. "Of course you do. There's a shower and a toilet through here. Follow me."

Walking backwards out of the bedroom so that I could watch Tobi follow me at a safe distance, I led him to the relevant door.

"That one there," I said, gesticulating towards it.

Tobi stepped past me cautiously with his back pressed against the wall, his eyes never leaving mine until he closed the bathroom door behind him.

A few minutes later, as I'd anticipated might happen, I heard the tinkling of bells.

Bursting through the bathroom door, I saw that Tobi's head and shoulders were already through the open window and he was in the process of hoisting the rest of his torso through as well.

Sighing heavily, I reached for his hips, figuring that would be the safest way of retrieving him.

"Tobi," I started as I gripped him firmly round the middle. "We're not at ground level. Even if you jump, we're too high for you to land safely."

Strength may not have been his forte, but his continuous wriggling allowed him to free one of his legs enough to kick me square in the face with his bare foot. The act of aggression forced me to loosen my grip, but the power behind it wasn't quite enough for me to let go completely.

Recovering quickly from the impact, I managed to restrain his leg so that he was unlikely to be able to repeat the motion.

Realising it would be dangerous to wrestle his lithe form down from the window, I pushed his pyjama top up slightly. With enough skin exposed to inject the sedative, I released it just above his hip bone.

Our struggle continued with neither of us capitulating as the drug found its way into Tobi's system. A few minutes later, I felt his body start to weaken and eventually go limp, resulting in the porcelain angel slipping from the window and into my arms.

"Sorry," I said as I carried him downstairs to the lounge and laid him gently on the sofa.

Tiger meowed from behind me.

"I know, you've been waiting for breakfast. I'm on it," I told her as I gave her a scratch behind the ear.

She leaned in and rubbed herself against my hand, purring softly as I petted her.

"Come on, then," I said, as she followed me to the kitchen so that I could get her some cat food.

Once Tiger's appetite had been satisfied, I made myself some coffee and, rummaging through the cupboards, contemplated what to do for breakfast. Tobi was unlikely to refuse to eat forever, so perhaps I could entice him to relax with some delectable aromas from the stove. I decided that the smell of bacon and scrambled eggs was likely to be more persuasive than the promises of food from a stranger and set aside the relevant ingredients.

In the meantime, I retrieved my journal and wrote up my second encounter with the newly awakened Katki, including dates and times. I documented that on both occasions, Tobi had chosen escape over attack, only resorting to violence when under restraint. I also noted that this had been the opposite of what I'd been expecting, given how close his genetic code was to the Katki template.

Closing the journal and packing it away, I showered, dressed, and refilled the punch-injector before going back downstairs. As I expected, Tobi was still unconscious on the sofa with Tiger curled up by his feet. The pale man in the blue pyjamas looked as fragile and helpless as ever as he lay vulnerably in front of me. I sincerely hoped I could connect with him when he next woke.

Estimating I had about twenty minutes until my next encounter with the platinum blond, I started preparing the bacon, eggs and toast that I'd planned for breakfast. It wasn't long before the scent of bacon and eggs filled the room, and I wondered whether it would make Tobi as hungry as it was making me. I wrapped the cooked food in foil and left it in a warm oven for when we were ready.

Settling into the armchair in the lounge with a book, I kept one eye on the sleeping angel as I read.

Tobi started to rouse a short time later, and, as his head rolled and his eyes opened, I put the book to one side and replaced it with the punch-injector that was previously in my pocket.

Taken off-guard by Tobi's shuffling and stretching, Tiger leapt nimbly onto the floor and trotted into the kitchen.

After surveying the room from his reclined position, Tobi sat up abruptly. His eyes quickly found mine and he stared at me.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, knowing that people could still feel a little drowsy after waking up from the drug.

There was no response.

"I've made us some breakfast," I offered gently. "I hope you like bacon and eggs."

Tobi's frightened eyes scanned the room again before returning to me.

"Where am I?" he asked.

I smiled a little, relieved he was now making an effort to communicate with me.

"This is my home," I told him.

His expression turned sceptical.

"Why am I here?" he probed further.

I decided it would be sensible to give him a condensed version of how he came to be in my care.

"The Andekas rewarded my father for his service to them with a Katki," I replied. "Instead of keeping you for himself, he gave you to me for my birthday. I was supposed to keep you compliant using Ravim, but I decided against it."

"Why?"

"Various reasons," I admitted. "But mainly because I want to understand you better. I'm trying to help the Katki find a way to integrate into society without the Ravim."

Tobi's gaze darted round the room before he spoke again.

"What if I don't want to be here?"

Appreciating that he was feeling trapped, I sighed heavily.

"Where would you go if you left?" I responded sympathetically.

There was a long pause, but it was clear from his expression that he hadn't had a destination in mind. Evidently, he was just trying to escape from an unfamiliar and daunting situation. His initial instinct to abscond by any means possible was understandable.

But there was no way I could let him leave my house, not when there was a strong possibility that he could be a danger to himself or others. Even though the situation currently required him to be confined to my residence, I wanted to make any transition as comfortable as I could for him, so I tried again.

"I'm hopeful that I may be able to offer you a life where you could have a limited amount of free will. I doubt you'd get the same concession anywhere else. Not with that number on your neck," I added, gesticulating towards the prominent tattoo. "Right now, your options are limited. But I think you already know that."

Touching the marking on his neck gently with his fingers, the Katki seemed to comprehend the situation he was in, and while he considered his options, I stayed quiet to let him think. The minutes ticked by as he assessed his predicament, but eventually his gaze drifted towards the kitchen.

"The food does smell good here," he confessed tentatively, and I smiled, relieved at how this appeared to be panning out.

"Then let's go and eat."