Prologue: A Name worthy of Her
A soft cry rang throughout the halls. It grew louder and louder and then hushed to a low moan. There appeared suddenly a bright light soon followed by a scream. Shoka rose from her bed and looked around. There was sweat dripping down her back. Her breath was heavy with anxiety. "I know I am not dreaming," she murmured. She looked at the bed beside her. It was empty. "Mitsukake…"
She quickly wrapped herself in a blanket and walked briskly out of the room and down the hall. He wasn't anywhere in the house. "He must be outside, but why at this hour I know not. Perhaps someone sent for him in the night," she thought. She wandered around the small village and found that there was a lamp on in the Kamesuke home. She knocked gently on the front door. A young girl answered the door.
"Miss Shoka, please come in. Mitsukake is with my parents inside," she explained. Shoka smiled with relief.
"Thank you. You should go to bed, dear. I'll help them now," she told her. The girl nodded and went sleepily to the bedroom filled with other children. Shoka followed the light to a room where the family would cook, eat and pray. There an odd sight awaited her. A young couple stood looking over Mitsukake's shoulder. In his arms, he was cradling a young girl. Shoka walked over to him and gasped as she got a good look at the child. Her wild hair was a dark red and her eyes were an equally dark green. But this was not what shocked her. The child had no ears on the side of her head. Instead, among the untamed hair were two brown cat ears.
Anticipating her questions Mitsukake said, "It is a young cat demon. It's harmless now, but it will grow up to be quite dangerous."
"A cat demon? What are you going to do with it?"
"Well, I'll use my healing powers to return it to its true form, and then we can decide what to do with it," he replied. Everyone took a step back as he laid the child on the ground. He unwrapped the cloth around this hand to reveal a symbol on his palm. It began to emit a green light that showered on the girl. Slowly the girl began to shrink and fur erupted all over her body. When she had finished her transformation, Mitsukake closed his hand and wrapped it in the cloth once more. Then he reached into the pile of clothes to bring out the small white kitten.
"So it's true form is a young kitten," the woman muttered with disappointment.
"I guess it is for the best. We have enough children already," the man said. Mitsukake nodded.
"So, would either of you mind if I kept this little one," he asked. The couple looked at each other and said that they would not mind at all. Shoka kept quiet but shook her head in amazement. They left the house together and began walking back to their house. Mitsukake glanced down at the small bundle of fur he held in his hands. Shoka smiled.
"If you are going to keep the kitten, you must give it a name," she suggested.
"Well, you give it a name." Shoka grinned and began to suggest several names. Mitsukake, not being a person of many words just slight shook his head when he disapproved. This went on until they finally reached the house and were getting back into their beds, when a perfect name came to her.
"Now, there are no doubts in my mind that this is the cat's name," she told him firmly. Mitsukake grinned a he lay on his bed.
"Alright, let's here it."
"That kitten's name is…Tama." And Tama she would be.
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