Disclaimer: CLAMP owns Cardcaptor Sakura, not I, the inexperienced writer who writes fictional stories based upon it.
Feline… Forever or Not?
Summary: Maybe one day she would see me for who I was. Perhaps she'd feel the same way as I did for her, but it always felt like that moment would never come. She would never see the true me, and she'd go on with her life without any guilt…. Oh the woe of a cat.
Chapter 1: The Pessimist
Sometimes I wonder if I could just go back in time and choose a different path. As it is, I'm not really doing so well with my uh… emotions right now. However, back then, my whole world revolved around a gleaming piece of processed petroleum, a pet bowl. Food was all that truly mattered to me and thinking about how uninterested I was in life makes me feel so horribly pathetic. Many other problems accompanied having no hobbies as well. I couldn't even plan my wonderful escape from the wretched old geezer who never fed me, due to the temptations of sleep that haunted me every waking hour of the day. To top it all off, even if I had left right there and then, I would have died from starvation out in the wilderness, fell victim to rabies, or froze to death from the cold winds or heavy rain. Come to think of it now, I much rather prefer my current lifestyle! Come with me and embark on a journey through the eyes of a wandering feline vagrant ….
Everything changed shortly after suffering five treacherous weeks at the wonderful flea-infested Tomoeda Animal Shelter, (after the abusive man chose to disown me, that is). Although the Japanese family arrived at the most inopportune time, right before feeding, I suppose that they were my saviors. On the contrary, they're also the reason for my recent predicament too, even if it's technically not their fault that the conflict arose...
The first one to come in the dreary, grey beast house was a preteen whose entire being shone with radiance, completely opposite to the environment that she was currently standing in. Obviously, since she is bouncing all around the room with excitement, it's probably her idea to adopt a new pet kitten today. While observing her cheerful act, I began to sneer at the kid's childish attitude. I'd seen girls just like her pass in and out of here, always looking for the cutest newborn and later returning the poor creature because he grew up and lost its cuteness. This new visitor with the bright auburn tresses was probably the same as the rest. Too bad little girly, even cats age and their appearances change. Go buy a little porcelain doll to cuddle if you want such an adorable companion! Naturally, since the shelter believed me to be around four years old, I wasn't of any particular interest to those shallow people. For us felines, a one-year-old is already pretty old, so I was practically ancient! At least I didn't have to come and leave as frequently as the unfortunate juveniles did.
When I saw two jade orbs peering curiously at me from the bars of my cage, I was beyond astounded. My flicker of hope died shortly though, since I just remembered that the obnoxious, smart-alecky, hyper Russian Blue kitten just transferred to my cage this morning. Stupid Suppi… I'll get my hands on you some day for destroying my fragile mental stability. I see you cheering in your tiny brain, firing crackers and lights everywhere, don't think that I can't. Just you wait, you'll get returned to this pigsty in a blink.
After several moments of waiting, this schoolgirl still wasn't beaming at and cuddling Suppi like a person would to a huge stack of cash. Rather, she was cradling me, the old-timer with the disheveled fur that had the ghastly tint of vegetable oil, along with bald patches, and plenty of flea bites. Hah, I even bet myself that she would throw me back to the pen in disgust in five seconds like the other immature toddlers. I mean, it happened practically all the time, why should it change now?
Five…. She was observing my eyes and cooing gently. Four…. The girl stroked the back of my ears and gave a warm chuckle. Three…. Any moment now, she would be pulling her hand back and shrieking. Two… one…. Small, smooth fingers confronted my weary amber eyes and slid over the disgusting material on my head and back, all the way to the tip of my tail. Seriously, what kind of kid is this? Even I get disgusted by my sticky, dry coat!
Zero… the gleaming grin on her face disappeared. As usual, I would be staying at this dump for quite a long time…. Eh?! Are those adoption papers that the older man and woman are exchanging? Ah, I see, they decided on him after all. I wish you a painful death… Suppi-chan.Sophie opened the metal door once again… yes, yes, I suppose that I'll be carried to the feeding area now, Miss Caretaker? …but instead of the kitchen, I found myself on the smooth, cold, wooden surface of the transaction desk. Uh… lady… I think you grabbed the wrong cat. Here I was, bathing in the warmth of who I believe to be Miss Kinomoto, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kinomoto, when I knew that they specifically picked the little bastard Suppi.Despite my utter confusion, I was being carried out of the familiar building, right into the small interior of what I remember to be a car. Although it took me at least five minutes to comprehend, from there, I discovered this child was different from the rest of them. She was the caring one who set aside appearances, yet I never really found out what indeed she was searching for in her new pet.
In fact, the girl's parents were also intriguing. The father shared his offspring's glossy locks and carefree smile, while the mother possessed the same entrancing emerald eyes. They too, were some of the most genuinely kind people I had ever met, rubbing beneath the mud-stained fuzz on my chin and sending authentic smiles my way. Before I knew it, my small body was being carried into a spacious new home. Little did I know, my days would continue to get better starting from the moment I was renamed Kero-chan. No, to be honest, I probably would've had no clue that I would become so dangerously close with the second friend I had ever made, Sakura Kinomoto.
A/N: Chapters 1 and 2 rewritten.