I need a better title and summary, so if anyone has an idea, I really appreciate it. Story originally called The Wandering Kitten and the Lost Soul, but that was when I was in high school and find it lame now.
Not sure what the exact genre might be, so if suggestions are welcomed.
Being that my writing has been improving and from that, working on various stories, namely my crossover ones, thought to do a re-write of this.
It was originally going to be a one shot, but it's deemed to long by DA standards, so I'm breaking it up into chapters. I would have kept it a one shot for here, but I wanted to post on DA and it would've looked weird having it chapters there, but not here. Hope you understand.
If I decide to go back on it or someone agrees it's better as a one shot, I'm open to ideas on how to shorten it without ruining the entire thing.
As for the fic, while I'm using, or attempting to use honorifics, I've only seen the English dub, so I'm not familiar enough with the Japanese names of those who had their names changed.
Aside all that, I hope that you enjoy.
A small kitten trotted the streets, avoiding people stepping on her, roaming dogs and feral cats attacking.
Since birth, she had been on her own, surviving somehow, unable to recall if she had a mother raise her before her eyes opened or not.
It was in the past now, as much as the thought pained the tiny creature.
In the few short weeks since birth, she had managed to learn fast how to survive, surprising people and animals alike by her agility and intellect.
If someone attempted to throw something at her, she anticipated it and dodged, taking off to anywhere but here.
Soon enough, she had traveled across half the city she was willing to call home.
Most would think a kitten such as her would be scooped up and taken from such a rough life, placed into a shelter for adoption or taken straight to a home.
Luck was not in the small animal's favor…
Many were slightly unnerved by her, more so due to her unique skills dodging capture, kicks, projectiles, fangs and claws alike.
She had no real physical anomalies far as she knew, so never understood why they were hesitant.
What she didn't know was with her age, her eyes should've remained blue or only begin to change.
Instead, they were a deep shade of crimson, almost like spilt blood, the cause of people's concern.
Many were nervous of her, some superstitious due to the eyes, others believing she was sick and contagious.
The few that attempted to catch her, to get her looked at, whether they showed fear or not, were never fast enough to catch the nimble animal.
Another oddity about her that many had overlooked was the fact that she understood them perfectly.
She understood every word spoken…
Sure, being young, she obviously wouldn't know every definition to such words, but she was smart, figuring it out based on various tones used.
If it was harsh, be it to her or others, then some of the words were bad. If filled with laughter, even with those same words, it could go either way. It really would depend on the other person or group's reaction.
If the words were filled with affection, sometimes followed by some sort of physical contact, they were good words.
She especially loved those words, wishing someone may use them on her someday, or even the playful words people used that got everyone smiling.
Another of the rare oddities with her was her unique eyes allowing her to see in perfect color, but being young she wouldn't even know what color was.
At least, it was like this until she decided to follow a group of small children walking to school one day. She saw a couple of adults leading them, dressed in some strange clothes, identifying them as being important.
She had gotten curious of the toys some carried in their arms or stuck out of their bags, wondering if she could have as much fun as they are.
Careful not to be seen, unsure if the children would get scared or the adult attempts to harm her with a broom, the kitten sat on a branch overlooking the yard.
She watched them play briefly outside before led indoors, deciding to hop down and examine some toys left behind.
Finding a ball, she swatted it, jumping when it rolled before her innocent nature took over, attacking the sphere.
"Kimi-sensei, look the silly kitty!"
The small cat barely took notice she had garnered attention, somehow clinging to the foam filled ball, rolling and bouncing around wildly.
"What a silly kitty it is."
When the kitten took notice, she froze up, her back arching in fright, unsure if she'd be attack.
"It's okay, we won't hurt you, right children?" the teacher spoke gently, glancing at the children.
She knelt down, holding her hand out, allowing the small animal to sniff the fingers before nuzzling.
Her tone was nice; she liked that tone, meaning she had nice things to say.
Gently picking the small cat up, the teacher carried her in, taking a quick notice of the sex due to the position, smiling at how loudly the tiny thing purred.
"Alright children," she spoke, deciding this might be a great experience for them, thinking the small kitten was a blessing. "What do kitties like?"
"Toys!" a small boy cheered happily.
"Hai, we saw that, anything else?"
"Milk!"
"Very good."
"Fish!"
"A bed!"
"Lots of love!"
"That's excellent children."
"Can we give her some milk? She looks hungry," a little girl asked, almost pleading to her teacher.
"Of course," the woman smiled as she continued to hold the kitten in one arm, grabbing a carton of milk.
She grabbed a container she used to hold her lunch, emptying it into the paper bag it came in, using it to fill it with milk.
Setting it and the kitten down, the children watched in awe as the kitten purred even louder, sloppily diving into her meal.
It was like this for the next week, the kitten coming back, running off when parents came to pick their children up.
She knew while the children weren't afraid and the teacher supposedly not afraid, the parents may panic and try to hurt her.
Yet for every time she ran away, she returned, meowing at the door, having the teacher or one of the children let her in.
She got milk and would let them pet her, giving her silly names and play with her with strings or other toys they had.
"What color is this apple?" the woman, Kimi-sensei, asked with a smile before picking a hand. "Jimmy-kun?"
"Red!"
"Excellent, and what about this?"
Next thing she held up was a pretty pen with feathers; the kitten often caught playing with it, a few feathers already missing.
"Yellow!"
Slowly the kitten began to not only identify the colors she saw, but recognizing the words when seeing them written on the board or shown on cards.
Within a couple of weeks, the kitten decided she wanted to participate when the teacher decided to make things harder.
"Does anyone know what this animal is?"
The kitten knew it, being something they saw a few days before, but the children easily forgot, rarely paying much attention. It was only after a while of having it in a sense drilled into them they would learn to recognize. Then again, they were quite young, so it wasn't entirely surprising, even on the kitten's viewpoint.
"Meow!"
The small animal ran up, pawing at the woman's leg, seeing her look down with a kind smile.
Believing she was simply bored, she decided to play along, seeing the kids were interested by their little friend's antics.
"Do you know the answer, little one?"
She placed the cards down, having some fun as the children watched, everyone watching as the kitten glanced around.
Before anyone knew it, she was pawing at the card.
"That…that's right," she gasped softly, unsure if it was coincidence or not.
Giggling, one of the girls teased one of her classmates, "Kitty-chan is smarter than you, Tanako-kun!"
"Hey!"
"Now, now," Kimi-sensei scolded lightly.
"What do I wear on my feet, Kitty-chan?" another child asked, obviously believing the cat was smart.
Perking up, the kitten ran over to where all the discarded shoes were kept, taking a moment to find the child's shoes.
Soon enough she was trotting over with one shoe before grabbing the other, plopping it alongside the first one.
"She's so smart!"
The teacher couldn't help but agree, unsure if this was really a strange coincidence, or the cat was really learning.
Deciding to try something, she pulled out a lipstick, opening it up and setting several cards down with various words. Some were words of animals; others were colors, the rest a miscellany of other words.
"Kitty-chan," she called, the kitten's ears perking at the name.
Trotting over, she sat down, staring at the teacher with her large red eyes.
"Do you know what color this is?"
She pointed to the lipstick, namely the part she uses, waiting for the kitten to answer, to find out if this cat was really learning or simply copying.
After a minute, believing it was coincidence, she nearly dropped the makeup when the kitten pawed at the card reading red.
"Th-that's right…"
How could a cat learn, let alone identify colors like this?
She was no expert with biology, particularly with animals, but she knew cats were incapable of seeing color, at least to this extent.
If this had been a small monkey, it might not be so hard to believe, or even another animal known for learning.
But a cat? Impossible…
"Kimi-sensei, does that mean Kitty-chan is a student like us?"
"It seems so," she smiled, still unsure about what they had.
Could the cat be some genetic experiment that escaped or dumped believing to be a failure?
Should she call someone to have the kitten looked at?
In the end, she mentally shook her head, deciding not to.
Why ruin not only this kitten's happiness, but the children as well?
But if the kitten was truly intelligent as she seems to be, she would have to make certain to bring her home.
She would just need to put some money aside to get pet supplies and pay extra to her landlord for a pet.
Deciding that, she resumed her class not worried of the children telling adults, knowing that even if they did, they're too young and wouldn't be taken seriously.
After a few days, she was nearly set up before hearing doors opening, paling, having completely forgotten someone was going to sit in on her class.
And of all times, it was when the kitten was already indoors, meowing and purring happily with the children.
"Kimi-sensei, what is that doing in here?" the adult asked, giving a look at the pale kitten, narrowing his eyes. "That thing could have diseases or one of the children could be allergic to it."
"Gomen'nasai, Toru-sensei, I know I shouldn't have let the kitten in. But she was so hungry and the children were upset seeing her outside, looking so lonely," she half lied, hoping to gain some sympathy. "I thought that maybe having the kitten visiting, she might've proven to be of a positive influence. Teaching the children responsibility, you wouldn't believe how better behaved they've become…"
"Get rid of it," he ordered, "that thing is a freak of nature. No cat should have eyes like that. It must be diseased."
"But the children…"
Annoyed by her, he walked over, grabbing the cat, ignoring the cries from both it and the children as he brought it outside and threw it into the street.
Terrified of what happened, the kitten ran as fast as she could, trying to ignore the soreness from her body.
Nothing was broken, but the rough landing hurt and by the time she stopped, her muscles ached everywhere.
Flopping on the ground, the kitten let out pitiful wails, wondering if she had been cursed to be alone.
At some point she fell asleep, not knowing how long she had slept or the brief luck she got of no one checking on or harassing her.
Once she woke up, she felt more rested, albeit still miserable of her happiness ripped away. Whether they wanted her back or not, that man was terrifying and feared he would stay or have someone stay to ensure she never returned.
Wandering for several more days, managing to find food here and there between being chased by people with brooms or by dogs, she came upon an alley.
Believing she could use it as a hiding place, seeing that while the sidewalks and such were busy, it seemed devoid of life.
Walking down the dark pathway, she instinctively arched her back, not expecting to find others here as well.
Slumped against the wall was a badly beaten teenager, a small cat sitting between his legs, letting out a meow now and again.
The cat seemed curious before taking notice of the new scent, glancing over to see the red eyed kitten.
Hissing, the cat attempted to chase her off, the small kitten hunkering down, submitting, hoping to get some pity if not from the cat, maybe the human.
Before she knew it, the cat lunged at her, attempting to chase if not kill her, letting her shriek in pain whenever she was kicked or bitten.
Hearing her desperate cries and wails, it seemed to bring the nearly comatose teen back to reality, blinking the haze from his mind.
Glancing over, seeing the two cats fight, realizing how one-sided it was, he found himself on his feet, shoving the white cat away from the smaller one.
"Scat!" he hissed, the cat obeying with one final hiss before disappearing around a corner, away from them.
Glancing down at the kitten, he reached out slowly, knowing the small thing must be scared, possibly hurting.
He gave a silent gasp when she opened her eyes, staring at him with large red eyes, eyes that matched his own.
Before the small cat knew it, he picked her up, cradling her gently, leaning against the wall, rubbing the side of her head.
"You must've been very lonely with eyes like those?" he whispered as he continued stroking the kitten's fur. "I know what it's like growing up with those kinds of eyes. People think differently, they either fear or hate you, children being especially cruel compared to adults."
Hearing how sad he sounded, the kitten ignored her aching body, leaning up to lick his chin, surprising him at her affection.
"You're a strange little cat," he mused as he continued rocking her, enjoying the company, allowing his walls to break down, even just a little.
Animals always seem to bring this out of him, especially cats; it was like he held some kinship with them.
At some point, he felt himself doze again, the kitten not bothered by how he hadn't let her go. If anything, he held onto her tighter, feeling safer as did she.
Nuzzling in, she fell fast asleep as well, the two sleeping the day and just about the entire night away together.
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