Hi all! I'm back! Some might have thought I was dead! No! I finally have a life! And guess what? I'm in so many clubs. There's Art Club, Photo Club, Morning News(I'm sound on Tuesdays!), Literary Magazine, Stage Crew, and I'm learning guitar, but the teacher is an idiot! If I can't hear myself play, I ain't gonna play! I can play just as well as the other guys. Just not as much. And guess where he put me!? In the middle! I feel like Allen when he was a little kid, trapped in the alley! And he said he was putting beginners near advanced players. How many do I have near me? 4... FUCKING 4! I'm so insulted! And if I want to pay the third fret with my pinkie, I'll fucking do it! I can't reach with my ring finger! Deal with it, you old fart! Asshole!
Allen: You've been hanging with Kanda, haven't you?
Does it show, Nii-sama?
Allen: It shows like a light house.
You be surprised. He has a calming air about him, especially when he's meditating.
Allen: Really?
Follow me! *sneaks into Kanda's training room while he's meditating*
Telepathy: I told you Nii-san. So quiet and so peaceful.
Telepathy: I should do this more with you, Sis.
Kanda: You know I can hear you, right?
Oh shit...
Kanda: For once, I'm not mad that you disturbed me in a fanfic.
Allen: OMG, Kanda, you broke the fourth wall and the chapter didn't even start!
Kanda: There was never walls in these notes in the first place.
Me&Allen: Touche.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DGM OR THE VAMPIRE CAT! OR ICHIGO, NATSU, RUKIA, OR CHAPPIE THE RABBIT! JUST REVIEW TIME!, THIS STORY, AND KUTOKA!
Review Time!:
Welcome to the first ever Review Time! Your hosts, Yuu and Allen!
Y: Okay, first review.
Ern Estine 13624: Thank you. Since this one was the first story, we've been a little nervous since Chappie 1.
Rukia: I hear Chappie.
A: You had to say Chappie, right?
Y: Security!
*Ichigo and Natsu come out*
I: Rukia, why the hell are you here?
R: I was summoned!
Y:No, more like I said Chappie and she came running.
R:Where's Chappie!?
Y:The rabbit isn't here. I meant chapter! Take her out, we got more reviews!
R:Nooooooooo! *gets dragged out*
A:... Well that was strange. And for our loyal reader who we didn't get to.
Akkira Nala: They went to the second closest village to the Black Order. The closest village is not the biggest fans of the Exorcists because of Akuma attacking the Order.
Y: Next. I almost thought this was Akkira-chan again. LOL!
Alaina Kuski: Thank you. Still very nervous about this one. Goddamn it Aozora, why did you give it to me?
A: Didn't you want to write this one ever since Sky-chan put it up, but she wouldn't let you.
Y:Right. Natsu! You didn't get to speak when you came out so you get the brand new reader.
N:Yay! Okay... Her name looks like mine.
Y:I think her pic looks like a female you as well! I think that's what it is.
N: I got fangirls.
Y:Why not? You're adorable when you're warning people about watching Fairy Tail in the dark.
N:Hehe *blush* Moving on.
Natsuki D: No need to be sorry, it's cool. And that's a good idea. Two neko Exorcists!
A: Oh, you got your thinking face.
Y: Indeed, dear brother. Indeed. So this is the end of the the show and let's go to the story!
"Talk"
"Cat Talk"
'Thoughts'
"Telepathy"
Chapter 8 - Scary Story
*3rd POV*
"And he was never seen again."
"Creepy story, Usagi," Kutoka mewed, but then getting a prideful stance. "But I think I got a better one. It's called-"
"Nee-chan, it better not be that one about the ghost that an eyeball where his butt would be."
"What no! I'll have you know that story is hilarious, and not scary in the slightest."
"That story gave me nightmares!"
"Kutoka, what's he saying," Lavi asked, placing his chin on Kutoka's shoulder, gesturing at the white kitten in her arms.
"He's just complaining the story of Shirime(1), and he's going to have nightmares again. Really, that story was a wake up story for me. Made me laugh every time."
"Oh I heard that story when Panda-jiji(2) and I went to Osaka. Moyashi, that story is hilarious! Why would it give you nightmares?"
"Just get on with the story! I'm tired of hearing about a ghost with an ass eye!"
"Ne, ne, Kanda-kun, no need to be so vulgar. Okay, the story I want to tell is the story of The Vampire Cat of Nabeshima."
The neko got the attention of all the toms and Lavi, letting herself give a smirk. "Got your attention now, didn't I? So who wants the first-hand account because that's how I heard it or the original?"
"You got a first hand account?"
"Yeah, the Vampire Cat is my late cousin, Yasashi(3). He told me the story when I was Allen's size(4), but I really don't remember how it goes. Now that I think about it, I don't remember how Yasashi told it at all." Kutoka's ears droop, and her bangs shadow her sad eyes.(5)
"Nee-chan, stop being depressed and tell us the story. You know how the original goes right?"
Allen paws at Kutoka's face, trying to cheer her up, and it works, earning the kitten a giggle out of his older sibling and a scratch behind his ear.
"Okay stop, it tickles. Okay, this is how it goes:
A long time, there was a prince. The Prince of Hizen, Nabeshima-sama...
There is a tradition in the Nabéshima family that, many years ago, the Prince of Hizen was bewitched and cursed by a cat that had been kept by one of his retainers. This prince had in his house a lady of rare beauty, called O Toyo: amongst all his ladies she was the favourite, and there was none who could rival her charms and accomplishments. One day the Prince went out into the garden with O Toyo, and remained enjoying the fragrance of the flowers until sunset, when they returned to the palace, never noticing that they were being followed by a large cat. Having parted with her lord, O Toyo retired to her own room and went to bed. At midnight she awoke with a start, and became aware of a huge cat that crouched watching her; and when she cried out, the beast sprang on her, and, fixing its cruel teeth in her delicate throat, throttled her to death. What a piteous end for so fair a dame, the darling of her prince's heart, to die suddenly, bitten to death by a cat! Then the cat, having scratched out a grave under the verandah, buried the corpse of O Toyo, and assuming her form, began to bewitch the Prince.
But my lord the Prince knew nothing of all this, and little thought that the beautiful creature who caressed and fondled him was an impish and foul beast that had slain his mistress and assumed her shape in order to drain out his life's blood. Day by day, as time went on, the Prince's strength dwindled away; the colour of his face was changed, and became pale and livid; and he was as a man suffering from a deadly sickness. Seeing this, his councillors and his wife became greatly alarmed; so they summoned the physicians, who prescribed various remedies for him; but the more medicine he took, the more serious did his illness appear, and no treatment was of any avail. But most of all did he suffer in the night-time, when his sleep would be troubled and disturbed by hideous dreams. In consequence of this, his councillors nightly appointed a hundred of his retainers to sit up and watch over him; but, strange to say, towards ten o'clock on the very first night that the watch was set, the guard were seized with a sudden and unaccountable drowsiness, which they could not resist, until one by one every man had fallen asleep. Then the false O Toyo came in and harassed the Prince until morning. The following night the same thing occurred, and the Prince was subjected to the imp's tyranny, while his guards slept helplessly around him. Night after night this was repeated, until at last three of the Prince's councillors determined themselves to sit up on guard, and see whether they could overcome this mysterious drowsiness; but they fared no better than the others, and by ten o'clock were fast asleep.
The next day the three councillors held a solemn conclave, and their chief, one Isahaya Buzen, said—
"This is a marvellous thing, that a guard of a hundred men should thus be overcome by sleep. Of a surety, the spell that is upon my lord and upon his guard must be the work of witchcraft. Now, as all our efforts are of no avail, let us seek out Ruiten, the chief priest of the temple called Miyô In, and beseech him to put up prayers for the recovery of my lord."
And the other councillors approving what Isahaya Buzen had said, they went to the priest Ruiten and engaged him to recite litanies that the Prince might be restored to health.
So it came to pass that Ruiten, the chief priest of Miyô In, offered up prayers nightly for the Prince. One night, at the ninth hour (midnight), when he had finished his religious exercises and was preparing to lie down to sleep, he fancied that he heard a noise outside in the garden, as if some one were washing himself at the well. Deeming this passing strange, he looked down from the window; and there in the moonlight he saw a handsome young soldier, some twenty-four years of age, washing himself, who, when he had finished cleaning himself and had put on his clothes, stood before the figure of Buddha and prayed fervently for the recovery of my lord the Prince. Ruiten looked on with admiration; and the young man, when he had made an end of his prayer, was going away; but the priest stopped him, calling out to him—
"Sir, I pray you to tarry a little: I have something to say to you."
"At your reverence's service. What may you please to want?"
"Pray be so good as to step up here, and have a little talk."
"By your reverence's leave;" and with this he went upstairs.
Then Ruiten said—
"Sir, I cannot conceal my admiration that you, being so young a man, should have so loyal a spirit. I am Ruiten, the chief priest of this temple, who am engaged in praying for the recovery of my lord. Pray what is your name?"
"My name, sir, is Itô Sôda, and I am serving in the infantry of Nabéshima. Since my lord has been sick, my one desire has been to assist in nursing him; but, being only a simple soldier, I am not of sufficient rank to come into his presence, so I have no resource but to pray to the gods of the country and to Buddha that my lord may regain his health."
When Ruiten heard this, he shed tears in admiration of the fidelity of Itô Sôda, and said—
"Your purpose is, indeed, a good one; but what a strange sickness this is that my lord is afflicted with! Every night he suffers from horrible dreams; and the retainers who sit up with him are all seized with a mysterious sleep, so that not one can keep awake. It is very wonderful."
"Yes," replied Sôda, after a moment's reflection, "this certainly must be witchcraft. If I could but obtain leave to sit up one night with the Prince, I would fain see whether I could not resist this drowsiness and detect the goblin."
At last the priest said, "I am in relations of friendship with Isahaya Buzen, the chief councillor of the Prince. I will speak to him of you and of your loyalty, and will intercede with him that you may attain your wish."
"Indeed, sir, I am most thankful. I am not prompted by any vain thought of self-advancement, should I succeed: all I wish for is the recovery of my lord. I commend myself to your kind favour."
"Well, then, to-morrow night I will take you with me to the councillor's house."
"Thank you, sir, and farewell." And so they parted.
On the following evening Itô Sôda returned to the temple Miyô In, and having found Ruiten, accompanied him to the house of Isahaya Buzen: then the priest, leaving Sôda outside, went in to converse with the councillor, and inquire after the Prince's health.
"And pray, sir, how is my lord? Is he in any better condition since I have been offering up prayers for him?"
"Indeed, no; his illness is very severe. We are certain that he must be the victim of some foul sorcery; but as there are no means of keeping a guard awake after ten o'clock, we cannot catch a sight of the goblin, so we are in the greatest trouble."
"I feel deeply for you: it must be most distressing. However, I have something to tell you. I think that I have found a man who will detect the goblin; and I have brought him with me."
"Indeed! who is the man?"
"Well, he is one of my lord's foot-soldiers, named Itô Sôda, a faithful fellow, and I trust that you will grant his request to be permitted to sit up with my lord."
"Certainly, it is wonderful to find so much loyalty and zeal in a common soldier," replied Isahaya Buzen, after a moment's reflection; "still it is impossible to allow a man of such low rank to perform the office of watching over my lord."
"It is true that he is but a common soldier," urged the priest; "but why not raise his rank in consideration of his fidelity, and then let him mount guard?"
"It would be time enough to promote him after my lord's recovery. But come, let me see this Itô Sôda, that I may know what manner of man he is: if he pleases me, I will consult with the other councillors, and perhaps we may grant his request." "I will bring him in forthwith," replied Ruiten, who thereupon went out to fetch the young man.
When he returned, the priest presented Itô Sôda to the councillor, who looked at him attentively, and, being pleased with his comely and gentle appearance, said—
"So I hear that you are anxious to be permitted to mount guard in my lord's room at night. Well, I must consult with the other councillors, and we will see what can be done for you."
When the young soldier heard this he was greatly elated, and took his leave, after warmly thanking Buiten, who had helped him to gain his object. The next day the councillors held a meeting, and sent for Itô Sôda, and told him that he might keep watch with the other retainers that very night. So he went his way in high spirits, and at nightfall, having made all his preparations, took his place among the hundred gentlemen who were on duty in the prince's bed-room.
Now the Prince slept in the centre of the room, and the hundred guards around him sat keeping themselves awake with entertaining conversation and pleasant conceits. But, as ten o'clock approached, they began to doze off as they sat; and in spite of all their endeavours to keep one another awake, by degrees they all fell asleep. Itô Sôda all this while felt an irresistible desire to sleep creeping over him, and, though he tried by all sorts of ways to rouse himself, he saw that there was no help for it, but by resorting to an extreme measure, for which he had already made his preparations. Drawing out a piece of oil paper which he had brought with him, and spreading it over the mats, he sat down upon it; then he took the small knife which he carried in the sheath of his dirk, and stuck it into his own thigh. For awhile the pain of the wound kept him awake; but as the slumber by which he was assailed was the work of sorcery, little by little he became drowsy again. Then he twisted the knife round and round in his thigh, so that the pain becoming very violent, he was proof against the feeling of sleepiness, and kept a faithful watch. Now the oil paper which he had spread under his legs was in order to prevent the blood, which might spurt from his wound, from defiling the mats.
So Itô Sôda remained awake, but the rest of the guard slept; and as he watched, suddenly the sliding-doors of the Prince's room were drawn open, and he saw a figure coming in stealthily, and, as it drew nearer, the form was that of a marvellously beautiful woman some twenty-three years of age. Cautiously she looked around her; and when she saw that all the guard were asleep, she smiled an ominous smile, and was going up to the Prince's bedside, when she perceived that in one corner of the room there was a man yet awake. This seemed to startle her, but she went up to Sôda and said—
"I am not used to seeing you here. Who are you?"
"My name is Itô Sôda, and this is the first night that I have been on guard."
"A troublesome office, truly! Why, here are all the rest of the guard asleep. How is it that you alone are awake? You are a trusty watchman."
"There is nothing to boast about. I'm asleep myself, fast and sound."
"What is that wound on your knee? It is all red with blood."
"Oh! I felt very sleepy; so I stuck my knife into my thigh, and the pain of it has kept me awake."
"What wondrous loyalty!" said the lady.
"Is it not the duty of a retainer to lay down his life for his master? Is such a scratch as this worth thinking about?"
Then the lady went up to the sleeping prince and said, "How fares it with my lord to-night?" But the Prince, worn out with sickness, made no reply. But Sôda was watching her eagerly, and guessed that it was O Toyo, and made up his mind that if she attempted to harass the Prince he would kill her on the spot. The goblin, however, which in the form of O Toyo had been tormenting the Prince every night, and had come again that night for no other purpose, was defeated by the watchfulness of Itô Sôda; for whenever she drew near to the sick man, thinking to put her spells upon him, she would turn and look behind her, and there she saw Itô Sôda glaring at her; so she had no help for it but to go away again, and leave the Prince undisturbed.
At last the day broke, and the other officers, when they awoke and opened their eyes, saw that Itô Sôda had kept awake by stabbing himself in the thigh; and they were greatly ashamed, and went home crestfallen.
That morning Itô Sôda went to the house of Isahaya Buzen, and told him all that had occurred the previous night. The councillors were all loud in their praises of Itô Sôda's behaviour, and ordered him to keep watch again that night. At the same hour, the false O Toyo came and looked all round the room, and all the guard were asleep, excepting Itô Sôda, who was wide awake; and so, being again frustrated, she returned to her own apartments.
Now as since Sôda had been on guard the Prince had passed quiet nights, his sickness began to get better, and there was great joy in the palace, and Sôda was promoted and rewarded with an estate. In the meanwhile O Toyo, seeing that her nightly visits bore no fruits, kept away; and from that time forth the night-guard were no longer subject to fits of drowsiness. This coincidence struck Sôda as very strange, so he went to Isahaya Buzen and told him that of a certainty this O Toyo was no other than a goblin. Isahaya Buzen reflected for a while, and said—
"Well, then, how shall we kill the foul thing?"
"I will go to the creature's room, as if nothing were the matter, and try to kill her; but in case she should try to escape, I will beg you to order eight men to stop outside and lie in wait for her."
Having agreed upon this plan, Sôda went at nightfall to O Toyo's apartment, pretending to have been sent with a message from the Prince. When she saw him arrive, she said—
"What message have you brought me from my lord?"
"Oh! nothing in particular. Be so look as to look at this letter;" and as he spoke, he drew near to her, and suddenly drawing his dirk cut at her; but the goblin, springing back, seized a halberd, and glaring fiercely at Sôda, said—
"How dare you behave like this to one of your lord's ladies? I will have you dismissed;" and she tried to strike Sôda with the halberd. But Sôda fought desperately with his dirk; and the goblin, seeing that she was no match for him, threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful woman became suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up the sides of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen and his eight men who were watching outside shot at the cat, but missed it, and the beast made good its escape.
So the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief among the surrounding people, until at last the Prince of Hizen ordered a great hunt, and the beast was killed.
But the Prince recovered from his sickness; and Itô Sôda was richly rewarded. "
"The End."
"That sounded like a bedtime story, Neko," Kanda meowed from the ground. "Got anything better?"
"Oh shut up, Kanda. I was going for the fact that such a creature existing was terrifying, even thought it was Yasashi. Such a kind man."
"Kutoka, if he as so nice, why did he do all of that," Lavi asked. "It makes no sense, and you don't lie about family, so fill in the gaps please."
"Under my father's rule, it's 'Kill or Be Killed', but not in the usual sense. Yes, every being in Hokkaido and the North(6) were in peace, but higher nobles and daiyoukai who weren't in the immediate royal family had to kill if they were told to, or they died, including their families. Even I, though my status of being heir to being the next Neko no Taisho if he doesn't have a son before he dies, should have protected me, but... Allen and Lavi knows and Kanda can piece stuff together. And when he failed to kill the Prince, it was not the humans that cut down Cousin Yasashi.(7)"
"Why won't you tell me, Kutoka," Senri asked, slightly irritated.
"We just met today. I've known these idiots for years. I might not tell you for a while."
"Hey, if I'm going to live at the Order, I wanna know what's it like."
Kutoka blanches and, Lavi notices. "Neko? What did he say?"
"He asked what the Order was like. Ugh, where do I start? Well, the tower is very big."
"And there are a lot of Finders."
"Jerry-san is the best cook in the world!"
"The Supervisor is a crazy sister-complex."
"I agree with Kanda there. So crazy that he doesn't see that she is a total bitch."
"Oh come on, Kutoka. Lenalee is not that bad."
Kutoka looked at the rabbit like he just grew two more heads, raising a silver brow.
"What?"
"For a Bookman, you sure are stupid."
Kutoka picks up the other two cats, placing them on either shoulder and takes to the trees.
"Hey, wait up, Neko! Neko? Kutoka, come on, wait for me! I don't want Slenderman to get me!"
Notes:
(1): Shirime translate to "buttocks eye". This is an apparition with an eyeball where its anus would be. It's pretty crude humor. Ah, Japan, hilarious as usual.
(2): Panda-jiji, for all the lovelies that don't know, means "Old Man Panda".
(3): Yasashi is Kutoka's third cousin, so he is not part of the immediate royal family, so he is subjected to the 'Kill or Be Killed' rule of Kutoka's father. And despite his deeds, his name means "affectionate', and he holds up to that very well.
(4): Kutoka is referring to the age at which when she turns into a cat, she would have been the same size as Allen. Which would be 100 human years, or 2 demon years.
(5): Whenever talking about her father's side of the family, regardless if they were loving or not, she tends to get sad.
(6): Referring to the Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, and Fukushima prefectures and any islands near Hokkaido.
(7): Continuation of Note 3, if you fail to comply with the order to kill who was listed, the Neko no Taisho will either send a henchman to kill you and your family, and if you are very strong or kin to him, he will personally kill you on the spot. So cruel. See why Kutoka doesn't talk to him or gets angsty when she does.