Chapter 2
You're sending me where?
AN: Edited to reflect guidlines
Warmth was the first thing I noticed, it permeated my body seeping deep into my core and bones. As my mind slowly booted up, I groggily blinked open my eyes. Thoughts starting to come to me in a jumble. 'Did I survive that?'
I couldn't feel the pain anymore. In fact, much like this morning, my body felt the best that it had in years. Focusing on my surroundings I couldn't help but let out the gasp that escaped me. 'Definitely dead, but what the hell? Where did I end up?' I was floating in some kind of… black abyss, all around me little blue lights gently floated and swayed closer and further away from my body. It went on as far as the eye could see and I realized, as my breathing came more rapidly, that the lights were moving in time to my inhale and exhale. Drawing in a deep breath through my nose, I tried to calm myself down and watched as the pulsing and swaying of the lights calmed as well.
"Okay, so, I'm dead. I guess? Though I don't know what this is. Do I have to spend eternity in some kind of freaky space snow globe?" For being dead, I felt relatively calm about the whole situation after my minor panic. I moved my arms and legs in an attempt to swim through this weird space but only succeed in turning myself a little. Letting out a huff and then a frustrated groan I brought my hands up to rub at your head trying to think.
"Maybe this is Hell? I mean I wasn't a great person but it's not like I was bad. Maybe it's something like The Good Place."
"More like Purgatory I'd think by your human standers?" A jolt shot through me and I flailed and spun my arms to turn around and look to where I'd heard the voice. There, sitting perfectly on nothing, fluffy tail curled around her paws neatly, was Cheshire. Her blue eyes blinked slowly at me before she raised a paw to her mouth and then quickly swiped it over her cheek after a few licks, correcting some hair out of place.
"Chesh? Oh no, you're here as well? I wasn't able to at least save you. Oh god, I'm sorry." Tears built in my eyes and I moved to rub them away, anger building at my failure. I wasn't even able to save my cat, why did I even think I could? I couldn't save my family so why should this be any different? Cheshire paused in her grooming as she saw the tears start and quickly stood and padded over to me rubbing and weaving her way around my legs before walking, or climbing, higher and making her way to my face to rub against my cheeks and the tears that stained them.
"Shhh little kitten, you did save me. You did very well." Her rubbing and purring continued until I was able to calm myself down with a shaky breath.
"How are you able to walk and move around here? If I saved you then why are you here? Where is here? God, I'm so confused." Eyes still misty, I brought my hands to her fur scratching and petting around her head and ears. Chesh accepted it gratefully, leaning into my touch before answering.
"I am able to walk and move around here because this is a sort of in-between and us cats have more power in the in-between spaces sometimes. Unlike you humans," the confusion still didn't leave my face as she continued, "I'm here and you are here because you saved me, and now I want to save you. Well, in a way." She started grooming my long brown hair, licking and rubbing against a strand that had started to fall into my face.
"Save me? What do you mean by 'in a way'? How is that possible?" A light smack to my head with her paw had me quieting down before I could ask any more of the million questions on my mind.
"Shh, I'm getting there. As you are aware, or at least aware of the myth, cats have nine lives. Through your and your family's care of me, I am finally down to the last one some twenty-two years later. I'm old Madalyn, older than you and I don't care to live my remaining life without one of my beloved humans." The two of us stared at each other as she spoke, sometimes I forgot how old my sweet cat was. She never acted her age, and through it all, she maintained a healthy physique. I could only feel her age if I looked carefully around her hips and skull, feeling the bones there more than muscle or finding little sunken spots that came with age.
"I watched you grow," she continued, " I was there when you were born and now I am here when you've died. Your body is, well, beyond repair so I can't return you there. However, as a cat, I am not limited to just one plane of existence and thankfully I know just where to send you."
I opened my mouth to speak but she raised her paw at the same time one of the little blue lights flew to hit me in the arm. It didn't hurt, it felt warm, pleasant almost but it left the patch of skin where it touched shining and shimmering blue with no skin to be seen.
"We don't have much time little kitten. I need to give you at least some quick instructions. You will have nine lives, in a way. It's a gift we cats can bestow if we find a human truly worthy, but at the cost of any remaining lives that we have left. You are going to start over in a new place. Depending on how you die, you may use just one life, or multiple so be careful. I have a feeling that having some extra lives on your side will be beneficial where you're going. Also, your memory of the world that you are leaving behind will be there but it will fade over time so if there is anything important you want to remember, make sure to write it down."
As more of the lights moved to hit me, I noticed Chesh herself started to glow, the light in her increasing with each that touched and stuck to my body.
"What? Where am I going, what about you Chesh I don't want to lose you." My hands were still in her fur now, gently clutching to the calm cat. She brought her forehead to head butt my own in a familiar gesture and we made no moves to separate them.
"Don't worry little kitten, I'll always be with you. As for where you're going, it's a place that I know you'll enjoy and I have a feeling that you will want to make a few changes along your journey." The two of us were glowing brightly now, I was covered in the little blue specks and she illuminated with her own inner light. As I opened my mouth to say something else I suddenly found that I couldn't speak anymore as the lights quickly engulfed my face. Chesh glowed even brighter and she blinked slowly at me one more time, her voice barely reaching my ears.
"Good luck little one, enjoy your new life. I love you." With that she moved forward and disappeared into my chest, my vision blurring, and the warmth that had engulfed me now started to become uncomfortable. White light filled my vision and then for the second time that day, the world suddenly went dark.
***
Instead of warmth, this time I was met with cold. Cold stone pressed against my front, as I found myself laying face down on damp cement. At least I thought it was cement, sure felt like it at least. Wetness on my back and steady drip all over my body told me that wherever I was, it was raining. I felt, odd to say the least. My body felt wrong, too small and there was a nagging feeling I was missing something. The sound of a car passing by had my ears twitching, literally.
Groaning in discomfort and confusion I slowly pushed myself up off the ground but paused when I saw my hands. They were tiny! Pushing myself up and back I yelped as something fury brushed against my hand. Grey and white fur flicked harshly from side to side behind your back and you felt each of its movements as it did so. 'Oh my god, I have a tail!' Reaching up with my small hands I gently touched the two twitching things on my head, 'Well might as well match I guess, okay Maddie try not to freak out.'
My hands gently slid down the two fuzzy ears on your head, feeling where they connected to the skull and fur gave way to hair and skin. 'Well, no more human ears I guess, that's gonna be odd to get used to.' my hands continued their descent and as they trailed over my chest I groaned, 'I guess there went my boobs as well.' As I continued my inspection I concluded that either I'd shrunk or I was somehow a kid again. Cheshire's voice rang through my mind as I remembered her telling me that my body wasn't repairable.
'Okay…. so here's the situation, I am in a new body somewhere…' I look around myself to see my situation, 'in an ally….., at night…, and it's raining….. Great!' Not the best of situations but on the bright side, I wasn't dead anymore. Things didn't quite look the same either, but it did seem familiar somehow. It was something to think about later when I was somewhere a little safer. Ears flicking to and fro, I listened to the sounds of the night. I could hear the occasional car rumble or siren off in the distance, but nothing seems close by.
'I guess I should look for a police station or something? Though I've got no idea if the ears and tail are going to get me locked away or cause a mob or something. Oh, Chesh where the hell am I?' Thankfully my small body was covered with a hoodie and though wet and torn in a few places, I could use it to cover my ears. Unfortunately, the ripped pants I sported did little to hide my tail so I just settled for wrapping it around my leg in an effort to appear 'normal'. Making my way carefully from the ally I peered around the corner of the wall. The streets appeared empty only illuminated by a few street lamps here and there or the neon of some signage. Squinting my eyes at one of the closest store signs I felt like I was going a little crazy. The lettering was not in typical English like I was so used to seeing, getting closer it looked almost like Japanese. 'Whatever it is, I can read it perfectly though, 'Tsuygami's Electronic Repair' The picture on the sign depicted a man holding his hands out with a cellphone, laptop, and a couple of objects that I didn't recognize hovering around his head. 'Odd'
I continued to make my way down the street looking for any sign of a map or tourist center, somewhere that might give me an idea of where I was or where to go. Kanji filled every sign that passed my vision, though I did spot a couple of English phrases here and there. It seemed like Chesh sent me to Japan? It would make sense, I had watched anime around her for years and always talked about visiting Japan. The sharp sound of a high-pitched alarm and glass shattering had my sensitive ears pinning flat back against my head, my tail bristling as I jumped quickly away from the noise. 'My reflexes are crazy' I briefly noted as I watched as two men climbed out of a store window two shops down.
"Quick, let's get out of here before the hero's come! Fucking Sadow, I told you not to grab that one!" A third man climbed out of the window as the first berated him, my ears twitched at the word 'hero' and I let out a small gasp at the appearance of the third man. He seemed normal except for his head was shaped similarly to that of a boar. Snout and tusks protruded from his face, his ears were longer and slightly floppy, and a short tail poked out of his torn jeans. All eyes quickly turned to my small form as the intake of air caught their attention.
'Shit, stupid mouth!'
"Ah damn, now we got to kill a kid too? Wasn't on my to-do list but can't have her go around telling the heroes and cops what we look like." The first said in a casual tone as the other two just smirked.
"She'll make for a good snack though. Look at her clothes and appearance, I don't think anyone will be missing her." Sadow, the pig man, said as he pocketed the glittering necklace and turned towards her.
"Ugh you're so gross, but at least we won't have to worry about hiding the body." The remaining man said as he seemed too ready himself, "Just make it fast, grab her snap her neck, and let's go."
Not wanting to give them any more advantages than I had already, I turned around and bolted. Their shouts and footsteps fell after me as I ran away from the scene, the shrill alarm still going off behind us. My hair stood on end and a tingle ran down my spine as my ears twitched hearing a slight wooshing sound. Jumping to the side and up onto an awning I'd narrowly avoided a hand and a few, 'are those needles?', sharp objects that impacted the ground and scrapped by the extended arm. "Damn it Juga, watch your damn nails."
My breathing came rapidly as the first man retracted his limb and yelled at the other who just looked annoyed, "Whatever, don't get in my way then! Come on kid, if you come quietly this will be nice and painless." I didn't get much of a reprieve as the boar-man rammed into the storefront that I had perched above. The wall cracked and blots loosened as the awning started to fall. Leaping off of it, I landed easily on my feet, tail pointed out for balance as the metal crashed on top of the boar. I couldn't stop though, as I had to quickly throw myself to the side again to avoid a few more needles, one catching me in the leg and causing me to stumble a bit. 'Why can't I catch a break today!'
A hand yanked on the back of my hoodie and lifted me in the air dragging me back to the men slowly. I struggled, trying to slip my arms out of the sleeves to drop to the ground when another hand grabbed me by the ankle. I was suspended upside down as I struggled, "Not so fast now little kitty, we need to go. Stop being difficult and just accept your fate." The boar man pulled himself out of the wall, shaking off the debris and approaching the other two. As the first man retracted his arms along and pulled me back towards them I gritted my teeth, 'Like hell am I dying twice in one day!'
Flipping myself around in a way I likely wouldn't have been able to do before, I threw my upper body at the man's arm, nails suddenly extending as I dug them and my canines into his arm. The hand on my ankle released its grip as the villain shouted in pain, flinging his arm back and forth in an effort to get me to let go. Something inside of me made me dig in a second longer, bare feet rising up to kick at any exposed skin as I ripped my head back and forth before finally releasing and taking a chunk of the man's flesh with me. Landing on my feet I fell into a crouch as the pain from the needle in my leg made me stagger a bit. Spitting the chunk of flesh out, a low growl ripped its way from my throat as the three advanced. My back was to a wall, I could feel it with my tail, and the roof was too high to jump to I was sure, some twenty feet up. My eyes darted between the men, one grinning, one cursing, and the other growing more needles from his fingertips, ready to send them out to you. Maybe I could duck between them, 'Sadow' as they called him, seems a little slower than the other two.
The sound of footfalls caught my attention before suddenly, my vision of the three men was blocked by a dark form. I heard the three men curse, "Shit run, hero." "Doesn't really look like one, at least not one I've seen." And "There's only one, we can take him!"
"You three are ruining my night." A dull, almost familiar voice spoke lowly making my ears flick. The person darted forward swiftly, ducking under a long arm and throwing something at the needle man. My eyes could barely keep up as 'Juga' went down in a crumpled heap while the mystery man tossed the other thug to the side before spinning out of the way of the charging boar, something shooting out to wrap around the man and throw him into another wall. The fight only lasted maybe thirty seconds before the three villains were unconscious and bound in a strange white cloth or tape, I could hear the sirens approaching some ways away. My brain moved slowly, piecing all the information together and I was having a hard time coming to grips with what it was telling me. 'Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore.'
There, standing before me casually adjusting his capture weapon on his shoulders as he looked in disgust at the downed villains, was Shota Aizawa. 'Oh Chesh, what have you thrown me into?'