Welcome to Somewhere I Belong!
I really hope that you will enjoy it. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or just simply want to talk! :)
Reviews are most welcome, and I will answer all of them! ;)
Onto the story~!
In an alternative universe not too far away from ours, there was once a continent with astonishingly beautiful scenery and nature that flourished with life and harmony flows through every pore of all beings; from the trees to the birds.
But what is spectacular with this continent was not its scenery nor its nature.
No, it was its inhabitants.
The inhabitants, who have a unnatural beauty like the rest of the creatures of this continent, are quite spectacular. They have a distinct human look to them, but what makes them different from normal humans are their ears and tails; hence the name Hybrids. But even if they are considered one species, there are quite big differences between two Hybrids; you might even go as far as call them different races. For example: if a Hybrid have the traits of a dog, he or she is called an Inu, and one with the traits of a fox is called a Kitsune, and so on.
The Hybrids were beings who could outlive three whole generations of humans before they started to become old. They were not immortal, mind you, they just lived for a very long time. The Hybrids may also have possessed magical abilities, but that has not been verified.
Despite the differences between the races, the Hybrids lived in harmony with each other and with the nature around them. Even if they are as different as cats and dogs - pun definitely intended - no major conflicts arose.
Their society was not as it is in the human's society, where each nation is keeping to itself only. It was quite the opposite actually, with rivals living together in the same village.
Does it seem to be too good to be true?
Maybe...
Because after eons of peace, the humans arrived...
There was stories from the merpeople and other people of the sea of horrible beasts that tortured, slaughtered and raped everything that moved on the other side of the ocean. What the Hybrids did not know that there is a grain of fact in the stories, as they were soon to witness.
They arrived in big ships that had cost hundreds of trees their lives and their corpses bent into unnatural shapes and sculptures. The humans, as they presented themselves as, immediately fell in love with the beautiful landscape that was well cared for and wanted to claim it as their own and, as if that was not enough, they also wanted these likewise beautiful but inferior creatures that roamed the land as their pets.
The Hybrids, of course, did not want the humans to soil the land and its inhabitants and politely told the humans so, but they certainly did not want to listen with that ear and started claiming the land by force.
The Hybrids fought tooth and nail to keep their territory, but it was futile. Forests were burned or chopped down, villages leveled to the ground and the Hybrids were slaughtered. Everything the stories had said about the humans to calm the adventurous ones from exploring was true.
After a hundred years of slaughter, torture and wars so bloody, the two World Wars on Earth are considered minor scuffles over nothing, the humans had successfully claimed the new land as their own, and the Dark Century was finally over. The losses were great on both sides, but the aftermath of the Dark Century was worse for the Hybrids. From the hundreds of races, now only one is still left, the Nekos (cat-hybrid), who were forced into slavery and treated as trash, and their situation have not changed a bit since then.
Today, Nekos work for their Master until the day they die or the Master grow tired of them. They are horribly treated and their Masters can do whatever they want with their property, with only a few exceptions. If two Nekos are to have a child, for example, said child will be taken from its parents them moment he or she is born to be put in a Dangai, where the Koneko (Neko child, kitten) will be raised until ten years of age, when they can be sold off.
However , there are those Nekos who do not have a Master nor live in a Dangai, instead they live on the streets. By living on the street the Neko can decide upon their own life, but for that freedom the Neko must pay with their life since life on the street is hard and starvation, illness and coldness are common demises. But is the Neko survives that, then there is another problem: the law "Any human who sees a Ryoka (stray Neko) is required to catch it and turn it in to the closest Dangai. Those who turns a stray in will be rewarded." This means that there are several bounty hunters, called Hollows, that hunts Nekos for the reward.
It in such a situation we find our main character.
"THERE IT IS! DON'T LET IT ESCAPE!"
Tōshirō curses under his breath as he starts to zigzag more intently through the alleys to lose the hunters that have been chasing him for an hour or two already, with no indication of stopping any-time soon. Damn, he need to shake them as soon as possible since he is losing quite a lot of blood from wounds he has acquired, and add the fact that he has not eaten for a few days and you know that the situation is not really in his favour. With a strategy in his head, Tōshirō suddenly turns around and start retracing his steps a few meters before he darts into another alley, jumps agilely over a high fence and run around a few corners before he reaches an abounded house. After making sure the coast is clear, he darts inside and closes the door behind him.
"Finally lost them", Tōshirō thought as allows himself to catch his breath before he walks to a cupboard to retrieve a first aid kit but as he opens it, he curses again when he realize that the kit is empty.
"Damn. I guess I have no choice but to go there to get my wounds cleaned up", he thinks as he throw the now useless kit away and makes his way out again, careful not to be seen.
He arrives at an traditional Japanese house where two human pre-teens, a black haired girl and a red haired boy, are bickering in the front yard. They do not even notice him as he slips past them and into the house. He sneaks into the hallway and into the dining room, moving carefully around the creaky floorboards, and sees a man lying on the table snoozing. Toshiro is weighing the pros and cons of waking him up, and just as he is about to poke him awake, a voice speaks up from behind him.
"I knew you would come by eventually. What took you so long?" the male voice said.
"Hollows have chased me endlessly this week and wouldn't leave me alone, and I also prefer not to have this place swarming with hunter. Is that answer to your satisfaction, Yoruichi?" he counters back as he turn around to face the black cat who have a wide smirk on its face.
"Yes, it is", the cat known as Yoruichi says before a puff of smoke surrounds it and in its stead stands a woman with dark skin, orange shirt, black pants and long purple hair pulled into a high ponytail.
But what is spectacular about this woman is not her generous bosom nor the playful smirk on her lips and the amusement in her yellow eyes, but the cat ears on top of her head and the long swishing tail behind her that reveals this woman to be a Neko.
Once the smoke from her transformation has cleared for a bit, she removes the dirty and ratty hat that sits on top Tōshirō's head to ruffle his white hair before gathering his smaller frame into a hug before greeting him by sniffing, stroking their cheeks together and purring, with him doing the same.
"My goodness Shirō, you stink!" she suddenly exclaims. "When was the last time you had a bath?!"
Tōshirō just shrugs, not bothering to correct her for using that dreadful nickname, since she would not listen anyways. She releases him from the hug and stands up straight with a serious and commanding look on her face.
"You, young man, have a shower with your name on it and right after that, we will take a look at your wounds. Do you understand!?" Yoruichi orders pseudo-seriously and pokes him on the chest.
"Yes, ma'am!" Tōshirō answers with a mock salute and march off towards the bathroom.
Tōshirō are walking back to the dining room after a nice shower, clad in comfortable pants and a T-shirt Yoruichi had found somewhere for him some time ago to use in situations as this. He is still drying his hair as he plops down on one of the cushions around the table next to Yoruichi, who has a first aid kit ready on the table as well as a plate with a steaming hot meal on it. As the delicious aroma hits his nose, he almost starts to drool at the thought that the food was actually for him. With a quick thanks, we starts to wolf down the food, as the hunger of not eating for a while makes itself known. A chuckle sounds from the doorway.
"Oh my. Someone is certainly hungry today", Urahara says while he fans himself to hide the amused smile at the sight of the young Neko in front of him, who totally ignores him in favor of concentrating on the food while his white fluffy tail swishes back and forth in happiness.
Only when the food is gone and Tōshirō is full does he greet Urahara by thanking him for the food and making an offhanded comment about old age catching up, since Urahara was asleep just a few moments ago.
"Well now that you are clean and have a full stomach, let's have a look at those wounds now, shall we?", Yoruichi asks after a few minutes of talking and joking. Tōshirō only nods as he removes the shirt and turns towards the female, who has the disinfectant ready.
"My, my, you only gets thinner and thinner every time I see you. Are you sure that you don't want to stay here, Shirō?" Yoruichi clicks her tongue in displeasure at the sight of his chest, where you can clearly see the ribs sticking out.
"I'm positive and you know the reason why I refuse", Tōshirō simply says as he turns his eyes away from her sad look and Urahara's knowing one.
"But if you ever change your mind, the offer is still open and even if you start to live somewhere else, remember that you are always welcome here," she reassures while bandaging the last wound.
"I know," he nods and quickly squeeze her hand before standing up.
"Do you really have to leave so early? You can stay the night, you know?" Yoruichi pouts and gave Tōshirō her best kitty eyes.
"I'm sorry Yoruichi, I can't. But thanks for the offer," Tōshirō answers and turns to Urahara.
"Tessai should have cleaned up and dried your clothes by now," Urahara simply says as said man walks into the room with the now clean clothes, and gives them to Tōshirō, who nod in thanks.
"Thank you again for everything. I don't know what I would have done without you", Tōshirō says formally while bowing to the three who just waved it away with a "it's nothing".
"Please be careful, Tōshirō and take care of yourself", Yoruichi says seriously, for once not using that stupid nickname, and she envelop him in another hug. Tōshirō stiffens before forcing himself to calm down and simply squeezes her back and scratch her behind the ears a few times before pulling away.
"I know, and thanks again. Bye Yoruichi, Urahara, Tessai", he says softly before nodding to each mentioned person before retreating to another room to change before going back to the streets.
"I really hopes he will be okay. I worry so much for him when he is away like this", Yoruichi says worriedly and Urahara envelops her in a hug.
"He'll be fine, Yoruichi. He's not the same scared kitten we found two years ago, who was afraid of his own shadow", Urahara reassure her but he could not help but feel the same way.
Because, after all, no one can predict the future.
To be continued...
And here is the first chapter of 'Somewhere I Belong'.
The wonderful cover is made by MoonPrincessAya on deviantArt and I have her permission to use it.
I apologize for the eventual OOC-ness of the characters, especially Tōshirō. But since this is a major AU, I think it's acceptable.
Also, English is not my first language, so there may be some grammatical wrongdoings.
Quick vocabulary, in case you missed something:
Hybrid: a specie that looks half human and half animal. They possess supernatural power.
Neko: a kind of hybrid that is half human, half cat (name means cat in Japanese)
Koneko is a Neko-child (kitten in Jap.)
Inu: half dog-half human (dog in Jap.)
Kitsune: half fox-half human (fox in Jap.)
Dangai: a center where Nekos and Konekos are kept and raised until they are purchased by a Master.
Ryoka: a stray Neko, a Neko who doesn't have a Master and is living on the streets.
Hollow: a bounty hunter who hunts Ryokas.
Thank you for reading and if you have questions/opinions, feel free to review and/or PM me! Ideas are also welcome! :)