Me: (gives ramen to reviewers) WHOO-HOOOO!
I'm back again, with more furry madness! Kai is now a cat, but how did it happen? Will he escape the lot full of hostile cats? Will his friends find him? Will they even know it's him?
Sandy: Will she ever shut up. . . ?
WHAM!
Owie. . .
Me: Much better. Now that we are into the cat world, there are a few things I should explain:
A lot of the things in here are based and inspired by Erin Hunter's "Warriors" book series. It's basically a Watership Down type story except with cats. Some cat OCs of mine will be introduced in this chapter so NO COPYING. I seriously doubt something like that'll happen, but I feel better with a warning.
One more thing:
This story has absolutely NO YAOI. I'm sorry, but I don't write those, and there certainly isn't a shortage of them. Although it may seem like there's some shonen-ai in future chapters, there is nothing but friendship (or lack thereof) between Kai and the Bladebreakers, so don't get confused or bug me about it, K'?
Ok, Sandy, your turn.
Sandy: (rubs head) WE OWN NOTHING 'CEPT THE CAT AND DOG OCS!
Me: and now Sheena will do the reviews! Sheena. . .
Sheena: righty-o! We got some wonderful and helpful reviews from all of you! Thankies!
Kai/hilary all the way: hey, awesome name! We will try to update every Friday evening for you guys, but Rishika sometimes has school crap she has to do cuz she started college. But we hope to keep up with your demands! Don't kill us if we're late!
Scars of the Pheonix: Nope! Not Ranma 1/2! Although the character Shampoo can turn into a cat, she can turn back with warm water. Kai got turned into a cat cuz he found a hidden cat shrine. Keep guessing!
Kais Devil: we will try our darndest to keep up with all o' you guys! But you must, MUST review!
Nubia: we'll give it our all! Thanks for the review!
Kawaii-Chibi-Kai: yes, it was funny wasn't it? Hee, hee. . . poor Kai. . . (laughs uncontrollably) AHEM! Kai has a lot more to go though before his problems are over however. Let's just hope he'll live to do so.
Busteraunt: actually, Rishika is currently working on a picture with Kai and other animal characters from the story. She finally got a scanner but she still needs to get Adobe Photoshop 7 so she can color her pictures. The crappy program she has now takes forever to color but she should be finished soon, we hope. If you would like a copy give us your e-mail and we'll send it to you as soon as we finish it. Yes, Kai as a kitty looks very cute. Let's just hope THESE cats don't kill him first!
Jani Reime: hey, thanks! Your suggestions are awesome! I think Rishika will put it in chapter three went Kai does some exploring in his new surroundings. No, Kai won't meet another kid in a cat body like him for certain reasons you will learn later (hint, hint) and yes, as you will see in this chapter, Kai will have some trouble controlling his new body. Let's just hope he can pull it together before he gets himself killed!
Jessica: nope! Not Tokyo Mew Mew! It's from a manga that not too many people have heard of before. I'll give you a hint. . . the main story is about a boy who falls in love with a girl in his class, who turns out to be half alien! (No, not Tenchi Muyo, though it sounds like it.)
Chibi-Kari: holy CRAP, you're observant! You're the first to notice that! Yep, there might be a bit of a love triangle, wink wink.
Me: Thank you all! Your reviews are like Halloween candy to me! Enjoy chapter two!
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CAT TALES
Chapter Two:
Lost and Found
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'Aw, dammit!'
Kai tried as hard as he could to stand up, but his badly injured left forepaw was already beginning to swell. Searing pain jabbed from every point on his body. A trickle of blood blinded his right eye. He wasn't even used to moving in this body yet, much less fighting in one.
Hostile cats surrounded him, all growling curses at him and hissing.
-Stupid human,- Kai turned toward the advancing cat, who seemed to be a leader. -You think you can just waltz in here and try to be one of us. Well let's see if you can fight like us!-
-Alright Gutterfang! Tear him to shreds!-
-Show him who rules the streets, Gutterfang!-
'Gutterfang? What kind of name is that?' Kai asked himself while trying to eye down the other cat.
Gutterfang obviously was a born and bred stray, with his dark brown and black tabby fur and fierce yellow eyes. Scars criss-crossed his body and he had a cross-shaped scar just below his left eye. For all his fierce looks, his tone of voice and relative size was that of a rather young cat.
Kai stood up shakily and gave Gutterfang what he hoped was a threatening glare, all the while trying to figure out how the cats could talk just like any human but not move their mouths. He tried to say something himself but it came out in a low growling sound.
Kai was answered with an ear-splitting screech and a solid blow to the side of the head. Gutterfang had struck so fast Kai didn't even see it. All hell seemed to break lose as the swarm of cats converged onto him, screaming, hissing, biting, and scratching. Kai lashed out in desperation, but it was hopeless. He could only watch as the cat called Gutterfang closed in, fangs aimed at his neck.
"REEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!!"
A caterwaul much too loud and wild for a normal cat tore through the chaos. In an instant, the cats had backed off a good five feet from Kai. Kai coughed weakly from where he lay bleeding on the ground. He lifted his head and shoulders up to see what had happened.
Standing as a barrier between him and Gutterfang's cats was a she-cat. She had her back to him, but her could tell she wasn't any ordinary stray cat. She had white fur fringed with black, and it was unusually thick and matted around her neck and on her tail. The way she looked and held herself gave her an aura of power and authority. Indeed, her voice was that of a wise and dangerous cat.
-Run along kits,- she said, her voice dripping with malice. -Your games are over.-
The dark tabby tom hissed loudly at her before retreating with the rest of his cats. The other cats that were watching the event went back to what ever they were doing.
-It's deplorable,- she said, more to herself. -The way young cats play their trivial war games with disrespect. They're no better than most dogs.-
Kai pushed himself to stand and to start walking. He had enough of all this. He just wanted to get out of this place, away from this lot and its shed and from all the other cats.
-And where do you think you're going?-
Kai looked up, only to be met with the most piercing ice blue eyes he had ever seen. The eyes of the she-cat seemed like they could burn right through you, and freeze your heart at the same time. Over her right eye was a jagged scar, and there was a nick on her right ear. He forced himself to look away and kept walking.
-None of your business,- he rasped, finding his cat tongue at last.
As he eventually found a hole in a side fence to crawl out of, he could still feel the intense gaze of the she-cat burning into his back.
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Rei stood at the Kinomiya Dojo gateway looking down the streets as far as he could see. Max came up beside him.
"Still no sign of Kai?"
"Nope," answered Rei. "But I'm not too worried. He'll find his way back eventually. Oh hey Hiromi. Are you going home?"
Hiromi walked past the two boys as she was putting on her coat.
"Yeah, I told my mom I'd be home by now for dinner. See ya."
"Bye Hiromi!"
"Later."
Hiromi looked toward the darkening sky. No matter what the others had said, she was still worried about Kai. The boy was on his own way too much. He needed to learn how to not treat everyone around him as if they were the enemy.
Just as she reached her street she noticed a blue and gray furry lump lying in the gutter. She knelt down and saw that it was a cat, and it was still breathing. She felt a wave of compassion for the badly injured animal.
"Oh, you poor thing," Hiromi gently lifted the cat from the gutter and cradled it in her arms. It meowed weakly and opened its eyes groggily. Its eye color was oddly familiar.
"Shhh, don't worry. I won't hurt you. I'm a friend."
At that, the cat seemed to relax into her arms and closed its eyes. Hiromi smiled and carried the cat to her home.
"Mom! I'm home!"
When she didn't get an answer she walked into her kitchen and found a note from her mom saying she would be late getting home from work.
'Well that figures. . .'
Hiromi took the cat to her bathroom and gave him a bath in her sink. The cat woke up as soon as he touched the water but he didn't panic like Hiromi thought he would. He seemed content with what ever she was doing.
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'Finally something's going my way today,' thought Kai.
After limping several blocks, scrambling over tall fences, avoiding other cats and dogs, and dodging cars and people he had collapsed into a gutter and blacked out. When he came to in Hiromi's arms a feeling of relief unlike anything he had ever felt washed over him. Out of anyone that could've found him, he was found by the one person he secretly trusted the most.
Not that he'd tell anybody this, but he had a deep feeling of attachment to Hiromi, a feeling that was foreign to him, so he hid it inside himself. He cared about her a lot, and found himself thinking about her often. Her innocence and cheerful nature made him feel better, even when he was in the worst of moods. She was just so easy to be around. Kai was currently thanking his lucky stars for her gentle hands that were massaging the caked mud and dried blood from his fur.
Hiromi gave Kai one final rinse and wrapped him up in a soft towel. She left him on the countertop while she searched for bandages. Kai shook water droplets from his head and looked around at the bathroom. It was small and cozy, with floral wallpaper. He looked to his other side and to his surprise, saw a dark blue/silver blue cat staring back at him. He blinked. Kai was staring at a mirror.
This was the first time he had seen himself since he became a cat. Most of his fur was a dark blue, the same color as the back of his hair, while his chest and underside was the same silver blue as his bangs. His eye color had remained the same as well.
"Alright, kitty, hold still." Hiromi took his injured forepaw and wrapped it up in bandages. "There we go, all better."
Hiromi smiled and picked up her new charge. She cuddled him and scratched him behind the ears.
'Oo-oh kay. . . this is. . . odd. . . and kinda nice. . .'
If cats could blush, Kai would've been red as a tomato. Never in his LIFE had he been held the way he was being held right now.
"Oh, you are so cute! I hope my mom lets me keep you!" Hiromi said in a voice that bordered squealing. "I always wanted a cat, you know."
Hiromi took Kai into her bedroom, and put him on her bed. Kai took a few steps forward and stumbled. Even after all this time he hadn't gotten used to his cat body yet. He felt awkward and uncomfortable when he walked. So he sat there on her pastel green comforter, surrounded by yellow walls and swimming in the overwhelming scent of his secret crush that came from everywhere.
Hiromi crawled onto her bed next to him and began stroking his back.
"You know, you kinda remind me of someone, must be the color of your fur and eyes." Kai blinked and looked at her. "I wonder what to call you. I could call you. . . nah. Kai'll probably think I'm a freak if I name you after him."
'Oh, the irony. . .' Kai grumbled to himself. -Me mind? Oh no, I don't mind.-
"So what should I call you? Maybe I'll call you Nikko. Yeah that's a good name!"
(Note: "nikko" means "bight" in Japanese, and is the name of a Japanese city. It can also mean "smile." An interesting name for Kai, ne?)
Kai sighed inwardly and laid his head on the bed.
'A new body, a new home, and a new name. How did I ever get into this mess?'
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Me: Awww. . . Kai got saved by Hiromi, but how will he get his body back? And what of the Bladebreakers when they begin to miss their team captain?
Sandy: Next chapter: Kai has to deal with a cranky neighborhood dog, and Gutterfang wants to settle an old score. Not to mention the blue-eyed she-cat makes another appearance. . . what's her deal anyway? Hiromi can't hear Kai talking in cat speech, but the Bladebreakers can?! How?!
Sheena: R and R, and we'll see ya next time!!