Chapter 4: Mysteries of a Feline
Morning came after a good two and a half hours worth of good sex last night. I decided to surprise Kaichi as he woke up. He nearly bumped in head against the backboard of the bed when he saw me on the floor in my Kyoto Cat Stretch position. I promised I would show him and I did. Again, he was impressed.
"Goddamn, Kuni." He nearly exclaimed as he saw me. "This is your cat position, huh?"
"I promised to show you. Remember?" I said to him slyly. Kaichi nodded as he sat on the edge of the bed with the covers covering him from the waist down. "I figured I should show you on a good timing."
"That's good." After that was said, Grandmaster Dogatagi rolled in with a smile on his wrinkled face. "Morning, Grandpa."
"Morning, lovers." Dogatagi greeted us with humor. "Did you two enjoy your night?"
"Did we ever? Kunimitsu couldn't get enough of me. My dragon strength pounded her like hell!"
"I'll bet it did. Did you enjoy it, Kunimitsu?"
"…………damn." Was all I could say as I sat down after slowly getting out of my cat pose. Last night was too memorable to talk about. He told me I was his woman and it was the precise thing I wanted to hear. I smiled, then I felt another fuzzy feeling against my leg. Dogatagi and Kaichi saw it as well. It was another cat… a Manx to be exact. It was purring against me with, what it seemed like, loving passion. "You two see what I mean? Cats just come out of random locations."
"I seem to get where this cat connection is going. Maybe you should go to this Tekken meeting I overheard on the news on my radio." Dogatagi suggested as he rolled up to the cat and picked it up with his cane, observing it carefully. "Yoshimitsu is absent in that meeting, so you'll be home free. Just take a quick shower and get dressed. I already laid out your blue jean skirt and purple tank top outfit. I'll look over this cat for you while you're gone."
Minutes later…
I was in my shower, humming that song that we had on last night while I was washing myself. Then, all of a sudden, I felt like someone was behind me. I quickly turned around and there was Kaichi, standing before me and he was naked! I would've looked down, but I didn't want to tempt myself too quickly.
"Kaichi? What are you doing here?" I asked him. He smiled as he looked down at me, placing his hands around my waist whilst keeping his lavender eyes focused on my emerald green ones. "I really need to-"
"We never did it." He said out of nowhere. I remained puzzled when he continued. "We never took a shower together last night. Wanna do it before you leave this morning? Just to relieve your nervous cat nerves?"
I smiled when I heard this question. He didn't forget that we didn't take a shower together last night and I did… honestly. I complied and said "yes" to his question by dropping my wet cloth and kissing him with all the love I could give him. I had my arms around his strong neck and his hands slowly traveled around my body's figure, stroking every curve of it with precise and careful timing. I moaned with satisfaction within his mouth, telling him that I really loved his touch. The water was drenching our hair and our faces, but we didn't give a damn. Our love for each other was more important. After the nearly 15 minute kiss, we just looked into each other's eyes. We decided to be a little…… "playful". Kaichi started kissing my neck and, when he noticed that I was phased by moaning and fluttering eyes, he placed each of his hands on my breasts and started massaging them with a gentle touch. I moaned even louder, saying his name with lust as I held his hands close instead of his head for once. He then moved a little closer to me and I felt it. I gasped with surprise as I looked down at where his erect member was and I looked back up at him, showing a seductive smile on my face. He smiled back as he felt my hand jerk his dick off gently. He growled within his moaning and I was impressed. I decided to keep on going as I spoke.
"You have a dragon within you." I said sexually. "That tail isn't there for nothing, is it?" I noticed that Kaichi couldn't even speak to me. The pleasure I was giving him that he gave me last night really satisfied his senses, just like his touch did to me. Pretty soon, I slowly leaned my head on his right shoulder with closed eyes as I continued jerking him off… and then, massaged his dick with both hands along with his balls. I smiled as I was doing this sexy expedition and his roar was getting louder and louder by the minute. Honestly, he enjoyed this as much I did. We were in this position for a long 10 minutes… until Dogatagi called out:
"Kunimitsu!! It's almost time for you to leave!!!"
I responded to this quickly by lifting my head up and looking into Kaichi's watery lavender eyes. I stopped the pleasureful massage I was giving him and he frowned.
"Why did you stop, baby?" He asked me. Apparently, he didn't hear his grandfather call out to me. I gave a little too much pleasure to him, didn't I?
"Kaichi, I have to go to the meeting now." I said to him softly, stroking his face. "I'll be back in an hour or so, okay?" After I said this, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and I grabbed my towel on my way out. I really didn't want to stop that ever-so-sexy moment, but this cat mystery in my life had to be solved by a Tekken meeting. I'm sure Kaichi understands this completely. The look in his lavender eyes as I looked back at him one more time before I finally left told me he did, so I was okay.
Later, at the Tekken HQ…
Everybody from every King of Iron Fist Tournament was in the big meeting room. I'm usually hiding in the ceiling with Yoshimitsu, watching the meeting from a bird's eye view. I'm actually sitting amongst the rest of the fighters this time. Everybody was surprised to see me sitting here and, since Heihachi wasn't in the master's chair yet, they decided to ask me questions until then.
"You look good, Kunimitsu." Lee started. "Did you really decide to change your ways and everything?"
"Yes." I replied. "Just being kicked out of the Manji Clan did change my life, but not indefinately. I didn't want to remain a Cat Devil any longer after the explulsion. That's another reason why I decided to come to this meeting. I have these cats coming out of nowhere in random colors, patterns, and breeds."
"When do you actually see them?" Ling asked me.
"I see them every..." That's when I saw another one… beside Kuma, who was directly across from me. I was surprised he didn't see it nor react to it… not until I said something to it. "…LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE, DAMN IT!!!" Everybody nearly jumped out of their seats as they heard this and Kuma, feeling hurt, whined like a dog and started making tears. He misunderstood me.
"What did Kuma do?!" Paul asked abruptly. "I mean, I know he's a real pain in the ass at times, but you don't have to take it seriously."
"I wasn't yelling at Kuma." I pleaded innocently, pointing to the brown Somali cat. "I was yelling at the cat next to him."
"…………hmm?" Kuma hummed with puzzlement as he looked down to where I was pointing and then, looked back at me. He roared out something in a puzzled tone and I translated. I was shocked!!
"What?! What do you mean you don't see him? He's right there." I looked right at the same cat that was sitting there and he meowed at me, telling me that I was helpless. "I am not helpless!!"
"What are you talkin' to?" Roger asked me. I looked over at the confused kangaroo, still having that shocked look on my beautiful face.
"Why the hell don't they see you?" I asked the cat, ignoring Roger completely. I heard Jack-5 chuckling at me, but I didn't care. "I thought I was seeing things, but I guess they're seeing things now. Don't talk to me… please."
The cat disobeyed me. He meowed back at me in response and I gasped with extreme shock. Heihachi walked in with Jinpachi seconds later and they too were confused as they saw me nearly on top of the table, facing the cat… which was invisible to them.
"What's with Kunimitsu?" Jinpachi asked everyone, except me.
"She's talkin' to an imaginary cat." Gon replied with a little teasing. "She's so into cats that she's talkin' to them in her imagination."
"Gon, shut the fuck up!" I cursed at the short dinosaur. "I'm telling you all. This cat is real. He's looking at me, talking to me, and he's a Somali breed. He shouldn't be invisible to you."
"Well, Kunimitsu… I'd hate to break it to ya, but uh… he IS invisible. It looks like you're talking to Kuma's paw." Alex said. I started forming tears in my green eyes, but I dried them up quickly. I couldn't believe it! They couldn't see this real live cat, staring at me. He meowed at me once more, nearly startling me and I started to sniffle a little, absent of tears. "Don't tell me you're crying over this."
"I'M NOT CRYING!" I tried to lie about me not crying, but it was no use. They chuckled at me, all except Christie, Asuka, and, amazingly, Raven… who didn't find it funny at all.
"Goddamn you!" I cursed at the cat. "I'm trying to change my ways and you're not helping. Just… get away from me!" Again, the cat did the opposite. He walked up to me and purred against my chest. I involuntarily purred back, stroking his back with my hand and letting his face rub against mine. That got everybody chuckling even louder, getting to the point of complete laughter. Christie, Asuka, and Raven still didn't join in the near-laughing frenzy and they felt sorry for me. I overheard them.
"Raven, I'm surprised you're not laughing." Christie observed. "How come?"
"It doesn't seem like it should be hilarious to look at." Raven replied. "Seeing illusions is not a funny, comedic sight to behold and it can be a struggle for anybody."
"Is that what it is?" Asuka asked. "An illusion?"
"Yes. Since Kunimitsu's fighting capabilities rely on cats, it seems like the animals themselves are assisting her in this change she's trying to accomplish… and, by the looks of this event we're seeing here, it's… not really helping much at all. It's actually making the whole thing even worse."
"So, what can we do?" Christie asked, looking back at me. I looked at her with sadness. "That cat seems to be helping her now."
"You… you can see it?" I asked her. She nodded along with Raven and Asuka. "But… what about everybody else?"
"They can't see shit! We clearly understand your problem and we wanna help out in any way we can. Can you let us help you?"
"Raven said it was an illusion. Only we can see it." Asuka said immediately after Christie. Raven nodded in agreement. I smiled as I walked over to them, but before I could approach them, Forest Law got in my way. This offended my three supporters as they looked on in anger. "Oh, hell no."
"Feeling embarrased, Kunimitsu?" Law asked me in a childish manner. I was ready to ball up my fists any minute and punch this bastard right through his neck and rip his larynx out.
"You better get outta my way, bitch." I muttered to him, holding the cat in my arms. "Don't make me-"
"Do what? Scratch me?"
"I'm warning you, Forest. Don't make me do it." I was resisting my temptation as best as I could, but the constant bickering from Alex triggered it. "If you all don't shut the hell up…!"
"Kuni's fuse is about to blow!" Christie warned to Asuka and Raven. "We better stop her!"
"Exactly what I was thinking." Raven complied as he stood up. "Kunimitsu, just… calm down and hand that cat to me."
I tried to calm down, but I couldn't. I immediately pulled out my cat mask from behind me, placed it on my face, and got into my fighting stance in defense. The cat managed to get free and ran towards Raven, jumping into his hands. Christie reacted quickly by grabbing Law by his neck with her legs and then, tossed him over towards the meeting room's entrance before I attacked Alex. I managed to scratch him before Asuka stopped me by grabbing the back of my shirt, nearly choking me. I was so close to slicing that raptor's tail off.
"Kunimitsu, stop it!! It's not worth it. If they don't believe you, they don't believe you. Leave it at that, okay?" Asuka pleaded to me. I heard every word and I receded slowly. I took off my mask and actually threw it on the floor, making it crack into a million pieces. When the sound of my mask breaking was sounded, everybody stopped and looked at Christie, Raven, Asuka, and me. Everything was silent.
"Did she just… break her mask?" Lei asked with shock. I heard the question, but I dare not reply. I'd like to call it a rhetorcial question. "Somebody answer that to me."
"Y… yeah." Lee replied. Raven stepped in front of me while my head was down. I was deeply ashamed at how I acted just a few minutes ago. Raven did the talking for me. "Raven, what the hell just happened?"
"Apparently, you all didn't realize it." Raven replied, still holding the cat in his arms. "This cat is an illusion. That's why only she, Asuka, Christie, and I can see it. You all think this is a joke, but it's not. Seeing illusions is not a thing to make a joke about!"
"How would you know?!" Gon asked rudely. "You don't even believe in illusions."
"I do now… and this belief will never disappear from Kunimitsu either. Now, let's let her solve the mysteries of a feline on her own." Raven turned towards me after he said this and I looked at him with watery eyes. When he saw a tear escape one of them, he placed a hand on my shoulder, still holding the cat in his other hand. "Kunimitsu, you figure this out on your own. If you need any help, Christie, Asuka, and I are here for you, but if we're not available, you can rely on your boyfriend and his grandfather for any help. Okay?"
"Thanks, Raven." I replied, cracking a little in my voice. He handed me the cat and I cuddled it against my chest as I left out of the meeting room, never to be seen by them again for the rest of the day.
Minutes later…
I was standing in front of a pet shop… full of nothing, but cats in my vision. Everybody else seems to see rabbits, fish, hamsters, and lizards, but I see cats in their skins and appearances. It was really weird and grotesque, but I had to get used to this illusion I was witnessing. I suddenly heard a mysterious voice near me. It sounded male and it said:
"Finding out our mysteries is not very easy to accomplish."
I looked around for the owner of that voice, but I didn't see nobody. Then, I looked down at that Somali cat that's been bothering me since I arrvied at the meeting and he was smiling.
"Was that… you?" I asked him. He nodded and, shocked to see him respond to it positively, I gasped with horror and dropped him on the ground. He landed on his feet perfectly as he spoke again. "Did you really-?"
"There's no time to discuss it, Kunimitsu. You are relevant to all of us felines alike and you must be amongst us. We have much sympathy for you and your punishment."
"Weren't you meowing to me back there?" I kneeled down to get closer to this cat that was talking. "How in the hell are you talking?!"
"We cats can do anything to puzzle the easy-minded."
"I see." My eyelids lowered with dissatisfaction, making the green in them seem menancing. "So can I with my special tactics."
"But, not as well as us. Solving this mystery is for the minds similar to yours and you must follow your feline ways to find the solution. See how many cats you see among your mission and add them all up. You shall find your answer." After that was said, he ran off into the alley near us. I followed him, but when I arrived, he was gone.
I stood there, looking around for evidence… but then, I felt my feline instincts kick in. I looked at my gloved hands and the glove felt thicker than usual. Then, it slowly swelled up, like it's been filled with air… right at the palm. My hands didn't feel any different, though. I looked up at a wall, then back down at my hands. I looked back up at the wall one more time before I dared myself to jump onto it and I amazingly stayed there. I hopped over to the next wall and clung on again. I got a little excited this time as I crawled up for a 3 seconds, then jumped back towards the other wall. I continued this until I got to the very top and performed a double front-flip, landing perfectly on my feet on top of the building. I looked into the distance of the city of Kyoto and a breeze flowed through my red hair as I stood like a statue. I looked down and it was really scary, but then, I gained my bravery, looked at my hands again, and made a leap of faith towards a horizontal flag pole, absent of a flag. I grabbed it with my hands and flipped myself foreward, landing on it in my Kyoto Cat Stretch position. I looked out in the open again and smiled. I did some amazing stunts while I was cheering for myself. I ran across the walls on all fours, jumped off towards a random car, landed on it, and jumped off towards another flagpole. I went around it for three revelations and then, flipped off towards the street, landing on my hands and feet again. All that was a test of my feline ways and damn! That felt good. I felt… free and… felt like… well, a cat. When someone approached me, I quickly stood back up on my main two feet and straightened out my hair. I was surprised about my own self.
"Oh, my God!" I said to myself. "I guess finding out these mysteries shouldn't be too hard. I better tell…" Then, I saw him again. "…oh, shit." I quickly ran up the nearest wall and hid myself in a random window, where Yoshimitsu couldn't see me. He stopped right below me, sensing my presence. He pulled out his sword in defense.
"Kunimitsu!! I know you're here somewhere. Come out!" He demanded with fury. "I want to wear your ass out before The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 begins."
"Why?" I asked myself in a quieter whisper, so he wouldn't hear me. Somehow… he did anyway. He looked up at me and I was just staring at him with shock. "Fuck!"
"THERE YOU ARE!!! AAAARRRRRRRGH!!!" Yoshimitsu jumped up towards me and I jumped into the room just in time to avoid his sword by the tip, nearly scratching my side. I reached for my kunai, but then, I didn't feel the handle! I looked down at my empty sheath to my dagger and gasped. Yoshimitsu noticed and he chuckled at me. "HAHAHAHA! You're helpless now. Surrender, Kunimitsu!"
"You can kiss my sexy feline ass." After I said this cooly to him, I turned and ran out the door that led into the stairwell of the building.
He followed me up the stairs, cheating me by leaping from wall to wall until he finally landed in front of me with the sword near the tip of my nose. I didn't move a muscle.
"Face it, Kunimitsu." He said to me. "You… will die… for your peace disturbance in my clan."
"And you expect me to be terror-stricken? I laugh at you and your clan. I never wanted to be in it anyway." I said smoothly. Yoshimitsu growled as he attempted to slice my face in two, but I blocked it with my hands rather quickly… like right when it was at the tip of my nose again. I caught the blade with both of my hands in the speed of light and he was not too confounded, but he was still a little pissed. "I've learned my way of the cat that I symbolize and there's nothing you can do to hasp me. So, uh… leave me alone!" After that, I pushed back on the blade, nearly making him fall, and I lept out of a random window and into the city again. I landed on the sidewalk perfectly… and on one foot this time. I looked up at the window I jumped out of, awaiting Yoshimitsu to follow. After 5 minutes, he never showed up and slowly lowered my other foot towards the concrete ground, about to walk away until…
"You bitch!!" Yoshimitsu yelled as he jumped out and aimed the sword at my head. I stopped in my tracks and awaited him to land behind me. When his sword was right above me, I blocked it with my hands in a split second again. Then, flung him across the street, landing in a pile of debris. I escaped from his sight just in time for him to come to. He was pissed indefinately, but I didn't give a shit about him. I never did… and I never will.
Later, in an animal shelter…
I walked through the shelter doors with many common people walking past me. Again, nobody asked me for my name. It was a blessing to me really. Solving this cat mystery was slowly, but surely, becoming complete. I approached the front desk… and it seemed like the employee standing before me mistakened me for someone else.
"Jaherance! There you are!" The angry boss spoke in an angry voice to me. I was puzzled. "I've been waiting hours for you to come back!"
"Huh?" I asked him. It seemed like he didn't hear me.
"Don't play that dumb shit with me! You know what your duty is. Get over here and tend to these cats!!" The pissed-off manager took me by my wrist and dragged me to a metal door. "Now, get in there… and you better be in there still when I come back to check on ya!"
"Bu-" I tried to explain to him, but it was too late. He slammed his door in my face and my sensitive ears rang in pain. It seems as though whoever Jaherance is… happens to be a woman similar to me. Her job was to watch over some homeless cats that were behind this metal door and, since I'm here, I might as well use her job to solve my cat mystery. I entered the door and closed it behind me when I was completely inside. I saw over 200 kittens running around. They were all in different colors, breeds, and ages, but they were all no bigger than the length of my own kunai. I smiled as I got on my knees and joined in. They noticed and stopped their daily playtime to see me. They could talk, too!
"Kunimitsu? Is that you?" One of the kittens asked me. He was a black and white Ragdoll kitten. I sat against a wall as I spoke.
"Yes." I replied as all the kittens gather around me. Some jumped up on my shoulders, arms, legs, and the top of my head. "You all seem to know me already and you're all only a few months old."
"Are you kiddin'?" Another kitten asked. He was a white Persian kitten. Again, another persian in Japan. It was getting strange. "Ever since you've been kicked out of the Manji Clan by that Yoshimitsu bastard, we've been supportin' ya!"
"And we feel as though we need to help you out." A female abyssinian kitten added in a cute voice. "I mean, sure… you're the Kunimitsu, the Cat Devil… but just you alone isn't enough. You have us, the cats and kittens of Japan, to support your strength every step of the way."
"So, wait a minute." I interrupted politely. "All of you cats that know me… will help me in the sixth King of Iron Fist Tournament?"
"Right."
"How?"
"You've got the cat mask. I'm sure you still have it, right?"
"I… broke it." This made all the kittens gasp simultaneously, making it sound like an eerie wind blowing through the cracks off the walls. I nearly gasped myself. "What? It's a bad predicament, isn't it?"
"Most def, baby." A hansome, New York accented Russian Blue kitten replied. "By breaking the cat mask, you've really become even weaker. Our power within you is encased in that mask you've always worn for years. Now, that you broke it, you're helpless… fo' real."
"Oh, no…" I whispered that same thing in my head as I stood up. "I better get back home and tell Kaichi." After that, I disappeared in a puff back to my new home with Kaichi.
Later, at dinnertime…
"How much progress have you made in finding out your own feline mysteries?" Dogatagi asked me as he served dinner. I looked down at the plate before me and purred.
"Not too much progress, I'm afraid." I replied with shame. "I did get some clues."
"You did?" Kaichi asked with surprise. "I can hardly believe that."
"But I did. The first clue was seeing cats everywhere I went… including a pet shop."
"Doesn't the pet shop have other animals in there besides cats?" Dogatagi asked.
"Yeah, but get this. They were cats… in reptile scales, fish bodies, hamster sizes, and even amphibian skin."
"Holy shit!" Kaichi exclaimed as we began eating. Dogatagi was just as shocked as his grandson.
"Any other clues?" He asked. I placed down my chopsticks and held up my fingerless gloved hands. They were still looking like the very center of a cat's footpad. He gasped at the sight of it. "My God! Even you've been turned into a cat… sort of."
"On top of all that, I happened to break my mask before all this happened." I continued as I resumed eating. "When I was talking to some kittens in a shelter, I told them that I broke it and they were not pleased."
"I wouldn't be pleased, too!" Kaichi exclaimed. "But… no worries, baby. I managed to make a new one for you." After he said this, he pulled out a brand new cat mask. It was still the same as the original. It had the same slots for the eyes, the same style, everything. What was surprising to me was the fact that he 'made' it. "Don't ask me how I made it. It's too much to explain, but I can tell you this. It took me pretty much the whole day while you were gone. I hope you like it."
"It looks great." I took the mask and examined it carefully. "You really have been playing Tekken Tag Tournament, huh?"
"I've been… studying up on your mask's appearance and decided to spice it up a little… and by little, I mean just the function. That's why you didn't have your kunai with you."
"You took it before I left?"
"Actually, I did." Dogatagi admitted. "It was getting too old for your quickness and I decided to just keep it as a memory item. All you need is the cat ways of your mask. Try it on."
I didn't say a word as I placed down my utensils again and slowly placed the mask on and strapped it on tightly. It felt like old times as I looked through the slots of the mask. Then, I felt something grow from behind me. Dogatagi smiled and chuckled, sensing my shocked face. I was about to remove the mask, so I could see what it was, but Kaichi told me not to by a hand.
"No, don't! Don't take it off yet, Kuni. Let it grow." He said to me softly.
"What's growing would be nice to find out right about now." I said with anxiousness. Again, Dogatagi chuckled without talking and this was getting weird. Kaichi slowly got up from his seat and he walked behind me. By the time the mysterious thing stopped growing, he gently tugged on it. It sent a stinging pain up my spine. "OW! What is that?!"
"Take off your mask and see." Dogatagi finally spoke. I obeyed him and looked over my shoulder. My eyes went wide as I saw it. It was a temporary fluffy white cat tail! It was waving freely as I looked at it. "Now, you've really gained your feline ways."
"The mask did this to me?" I was still staring at my tail when I asked this question and, after 7 seconds, it slowly receded back into where it grew. I gasped with surprise. Kaichi chuckled.
"Surprised, huh?" He asked me smoothly. "You've really got the cat in you, Kuni. Now, see if you can unleash this cat in a battle against Yoshimitsu. He'll fall out like a chopped off tree."
"I hope he does. He can get on my nerves. What about your tail?"
"I was born with it, remember? It can't go away, like yours."
"So, let me get this straight…" I was getting where all this shit was going as I made my observation. "Every time I place on this mask, not only does it hide my face, it allows a pure white Maine Coon's tail to emit from me along with my gloves swelling up into a footpad of a cat."
"That's right." Dogatagi replied.
"And it also allows me to act more like a cat as well."
"Right again."
"So…" I finally figured it out. A cat was in me. Hopefully, it'll be a beautiful one. "…okay. I got it now."
"Your mysteries of a feline have been solved at last. Congradulations, Kunimitsu!"
"And I thought a fox was the main animal in my system…"
"Actually… yes. That too."
"Huh?"
Uh, oh… more mysteries….
