Silvervine

An LLS Production

You know you're on to something when a pilot chapter nets 30+ kudos in its first 18 hours on AO3 – LLS

零: Kinjiki

You know that belief where taking a picture is supposed to steal your soul? I wish it stole mine. No, I should rephrase that; I wish I had a soul to steal.

Godmother is forcing an innocent kitten like me to write this. Therapy, she says. It's one of the human things I never understood as a kitten.

My name is-

How do humans start their stories? Maybe it's to do with the missing soul that all youkai lack, because we can't express ourselves or something.

Takato once asked Godmother, and she says that it starts with stating your own name, to which he replied that as youkai born in human communities, we don't have names, so Godmother gave us our names. Let's do that.

My name is Akihito, written as 'autumn' and the nanori for 'humanity'. I am a bakeneko working as a freelance reporter. It has been a while since Godmother rescued us after we manifested got a human form, and were about to be slaughtered in the name of seafood.

This would be a good thing, only if you were looking to become human and did not accidentally become human.

Godmother says it's was going to happen anyway, which I would call bullshit on but didn't dare to since she got me back from Asami that bastard- no, it should be Fei Long the bastard, and Godmother was really hard-pressed against him and the Russian Zhar-ptítsa – I had to ask Godmother for an approximation, who names stuff like this? Only humans! Anyway, I didn't ask for a human skin!

I just got smacked on the head when Godmother, who is currently poring over this, scolded at me to add context since I'm a reporter. I got smacked again for writing the sentence above.

So, it all started when I met Asami that bastard.

Godmother just clarified that I'm supposed to write as if to a total stranger. "You do that all the time on your job, Aki," she says, "apply your knowledge!"

Since I am a filial godson, and she is holding a knife with deadly force enough to end even youkai who are difficult to kill, I have to figure out where and when to start to someone who doesn't know my godmother.

My identity in the human world is Takaba Akihito – the family name written as 'high wings', and the actual name given to me as 'autumn' and the nanori for 'humanity'. This is my eighteenth year as a member of human society, though I have had a human form for five years before meeting Godmother somewhere near the Tsukiji market – fish is delicious. At that time I was about to be killed for stealing the good ootoro, so Godmother's rescue was probably lucky~

Anyway, Godmother took me home to Yokohama as the only other youkai I knew in my short time of sentience. It took only a year before I realised that humans saw the world so brightly.

That was incorrect. Cats have a wider range of vision and can see in the dark. However, subtle colours were confusing. A viewfinder was better to focus my vision, and I realised that what I wanted to do was to photograph things like Takaba-san, that man who works for Godmother sometimes, and the things he made was something... well, good. And the purpose he made with it, to expose human corruption, seemed like great fun.

Godmother thought I was crazy, but she paid for my education. She thought I was crazier when I became a photographer and came back to Edo- I mean, Tokyo, but she was hands-off about it. She just told me not to stay anywhere for longer than three years, or else my tail would split, and then I'll have to eat humans to survive.

After Asami, though, I have great fears for my continued freedom. I wonder if Kou took care of my cameras...

Ah, where was I?

Oh, right, the roof in Shinjuku. Seven stories above ground is nothing to a cat, especially if I could shift forms and then haul up my camera and light gear. You get a cheap panoramic view of the high-rises in West Shinjuku while also being away from the loud excesses of human adult entertainment.

See, I was chasing a lead for a drug deal. Those tend to make money, those Godmother and I kind of... disagree about the free will of drug users and their choice of addictions. I take the standpoint that humans are shortening their already-short lifespans; Godmother is all for a small segment of seven billion people indulging their vices.

Back to the stakeout, which is kind of a gamble as to whether or not drug buyer and dealer would show up. Editors are kind of picky about those.

I succeeded! I got them outside Sion. Harada, the now-former secretary of a Diet opposition member, with known drug dealer Nakaoka, and the manager of Sion, all in the same photo. I'm great!

And what is up with that name, Sion? What does it mean? I think someone misspelled the katakana of 'shion', which is at least comprehensible as a Japanese flower.

I just got smacked in the head to get to the point by Godmother.

The greatest problem behind Sion/Shion was, it was owned by that bastard.

Asami Ryuichi.

I'd like that soul removal now, please.

Critiquez, s'il vous plaît !