Me: Finally. . . I'M FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
School is officially OUT, people! HALLELUJAH!
So, yeah, sorry for the holdup guys. Finals where CRAZY. I pulled late nighters for like, the entire two weeks. I seriously thought I was going to be in trouble in one class, but I'm happy to report the best grades I've ever gotten in school! Yayz!
For this chapter I've been working on and off for quite some time, and now that I'm done, I'm postin' it, baby! Again, a HUGE thanks to Jani Rieme who suggested a great cat book called "Tailchaser's Song" by Tad Williams. I actually bought and read the whole thing before I finished this chapter. It is VERY good and I recommend it to all cat lovers.
Sandy: Thank you, THANK YOU, for your patience!
Sheena: Wow, 94 reviews. . . that's a real record for us.
Nubia: Your welcome! Wasn't he a cutie? I think I might want a Kai kitty, but I'd have to beat Rish to it first.
Lunar Fire: Hee, hee, you'll see. . .
SchoolBoredom: Thanks. Thank you Lord Almighty school's over with. XD Glad you thought it was funny!
Chibi-Kari: Yes, Kai's acting all cute now, but not always. Maybe after all this is over with he'll be sweet all the time. . . maybe.
Hutchy: Read on and you'll find out!
Brat-always-day-and-night: Sorry it isn't soon, but here it is!
Monarch: Aw crap you're right. X3 Oh well. I doubt Kai would call anyone a "twoleg" anyway, or any of the other fierce ally cats for that matter. XD
Frosticdranzergal: Yes, Rish loves cats, that's for sure. Thanks for the nice review and we're glad you like our story!
Sorekai: Ummmm, sorry? X3 Geez, we feel really bad it took so long to update. It's been really hard for us to get any real writing time because of all the studying we had to do. We'll try harder next time.
Ariel: Sorry it's late, but here it is!
Kairi Hiwatari1015: Whoo, glad you love it so much! Here's the next chappie!
Naturalbeauty: Yaaaay! Four stars! XD Thank you!
JeLlYbEaN RuLz: I really do take the names seriously. For any name of an OC, whether human or animal, I really think about what their personality is like and come of with a good catchy name to go with them. With the cats it also has to do with how they look or a special trait they have. Kai crazies continue in this chapter. Hope you like!
SBird: OMG, thank you! Rish is a big time bookie and she has a soft spot for the animal stories. I sometimes tease her about it, but she loves reading. Thank you so much for you kind words!
Any Mew Moonlight: Whooo! Yes! Kai is HYPER! XD
Booboaba: You got it!
Black dranzer: Thank you! Glad you like it!
VGMaster04: LOL! Never trust a cat. . . Hee, hee! Thanks!
Jani Rieme: Dude, you frickin' rule. Rishika went to Barnes and Noble and actually found "Tailchaser's Song" by Tad Williams. Not only that, but she read the ENTIRE THING. I mean, DAMN. And it's a good story too! We might even add some "Tailchaser" bits in the story. Lol! That would rule. Thank you so much for you support, and we hope you get to update "The Bonds" soon. We really like that story!
Kai Hiwatari1: It ain't "soon," but It's here! sweatdrop
Hanashi: Thank you! Hope you enjoy!
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CAT TALES
Chapter Eight:
Gutterfang's Secret
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Whoooo hoo! Spin cycle!-
The Bladebreakers could only sit and watch, greatly amused and slightly disturbed by the recent actions of their captain-turned-kitty. Right now he lay on his side on the dojo's floor while a giggling Hiromi spun his body around on the polished smooth wood. Kai had already chased several butterflies and other various creatures in the garden, climbed up several trees and gotten stuck, and ran around the dojo at top speed as if possessed. All the while he would frequently run back to Hiromi and act as if he was completely smitten by her, purring and cuddling, and unbeknownst to Hiromi, saying things you would've expected to hear in cheesy romance novels.
"Good God, that must've been some catnip he got into," muttered Takao as he watched him. "If he gets any more of that stuff he'll end up going on tour with Phish."
"You said this stuff is harmless to cats, right Rei?" asked Kyoujyu nervously.
"Yeah, it'll wear off eventually," answered Rei calmly. "Just give him some time."
MAXIE!-
"AHHHH!"
Max hadn't been keeping an eye on his captain, and seizing the opportunity, Kai suddenly sprung up from where he lay and pounced on the American blader, knocking him over in surprise. Then the blue cat jumped up and did a summersault, laughing madly the whole time, before taking off to run around the dojo a few more times.
x-x-x-x-x-
Unnnnntthhh. . .-
Kai lazily opened a single eye and closed it again. Then he blinked groggily and lifted his head. He was lying on a hard surface, wood apparently, and the warm summer afternoon sun beamed down on him.
'Wait, afternoon? Wasn't it morning?'
"Good evening Kai. Glad you could join us."
Kai recognized Rei's voice, and as his vision cleared he could see his team lounging in the sun with him, enjoying a well-deserved break from beyblading.
Huh? The dojo? How'd I get here? And why is it the evening?-
"You don't remember! You don't remember!" Max chanted excitedly while the others laughed.
Remember what?- Kai demanded. Then his eyes widened and he jumped up on all fours. -Oh GOD, the catnip! What have I been doing!-
"You spent the entire morning acting like a freak before you passed out at noon," answered Takao. "And that was five hours ago."
Rei joined in the teasing, "But seriously! You should've seen- Kai?" Everyone looked up in surprised to see that the blue cat had disappeared completely.
x-x-x-x-x-
Kai ran into an alleyway across the street from the dojo. He paused for a moment to catch his breath. Try as he might, the events that occurred while in his catnip-induced euphoria gradually surfaced in his mind.
He had never been so embarrassed in all his life.
He stumbled wearily on.
The mass of thoughts in his head seemed to have all become so messed up that his mind simply shut off. He was a cat. He used to be one of the most respected and feared beybladers in the world. He used to be hard and cold on the inside. He used to be alone and liked it. He liked Hiromi. He loved Hiromi. He was a cat. He was Hiromi's pet cat. He used to like cats. He was a target for nearly every stray cat in the city. Coldfire saved him. Coldfire taught him about being a cat. She was patient with him. He saved a dog that was scared of her own shadow. He gave her a name. He was alone. He always had been. So why did he feel so hurt? Was he alone? No, not really. He just chose to be, that's all.
His confusion and frustration mounted until he felt like he could scream.
He stopped suddenly. He heard voices, cat voices, and he recognized one of them. He felt his hackles rise. Gutterfang. Finally, a little payback for what he had put him through when all of this started. He slunk forward toward the source of the whispering.
But if he's only going to be looking, there's a good chance nothing's going to happen, Gutterfang,- said a foreign female voice.
I'm not about to take that chance,- Gutterfang snapped. His tone clearly indicated anger and a great amount of fear. -I swear, damn it, I swear on StarClan itself, I won't let anything happen to you. I won't let anyone take you, not even Him. . .-
He won't,- said the female with a kind of soft conviction. -I won't let him. . .-
Kai rounded the corner and the unknown female cat looked up at him surprised. Gutterfang, who had his back to him, turned his head and pierced Kai with his bright yellow eyes. He immediately stood and bared his fangs at the intruding blue cat.
You!- he snarled. -What are YOU doing here!-
Kai arched his back in response. Rage was already swelling up in his mind, and adrenaline started to course through his body. His cat body instinctively went into battle mode; his ears flattened, his claws extended, and his fur stood out on end, making him seem much larger than he was. Gutterfang mirrored him, his eye pupils narrowing into slits. But just as the two toms were about to lunge at each other the female cat suddenly walked in between them. She padded right up to Kai; standing so close to him their noses were almost touching. Kai was thrown completely off guard. The she cat had the same yellow eyes as Gutterfang, but they were dimmer, as if a great weight had crushed all light out of them. Her fur was a dark brown with bits of black streaked here and there, and her underside was a pure white. She had a horrid dank smell to her, and her fur was filthy. She gazed deep into the startled cat's eyes for a long while before speaking.
You're the human cat everycat's been talking about, aren't you?- she purred in wonder. -Your eyes are pretty.-
Barkfur get over here NOW,- Gutterfang commanded.
Do you know him, Brother?- Barkfur asked, breaking her gaze from the blue cat to look at the Captain.
'Brother!' Kai thought in amazement. 'So that's why they look similar, and why he seems so scared.'
This realization dulled all will to fight in Kai. Instead he turned and ran away, desperate to get away from the she-cat. The look in her eyes had in truth terrified him beyond all reason. They had just seemed so. . . dead. The look was one he had seen before, and one he had hoped he would never see again. When he felt he was a safe distance away, he stopped and lay down, taking a much-needed break.
'Let's face it,' he thought grimly. 'I'm gonna be stuck like this forever. I kind of wish I did more when I was human. I would've at least told Hiromi I liked her. . .'
A crash of trashcans exploded behind him. Kai jumped to his paws and turned around, only to see a large black stray dog sniffing through the fallen garbage. The dog then caught sight of Kai and bared his teeth in a hellish grin. Kai felt a new wave of terror grip his insides. Pet dogs were one thing, a stray who was happy with finding any kind of red meat possible was quite another. The black dog barked savagely and lunged at the blue cat. Kai bolted a second time in a row taking off into unknown back-alleys with the dog hot on his heels, and it became very clear that without any trees to climb or places to hide, he was finished.
"Kai! Jump!"
Kai barely had enough time to register what was going on until he heard the all so familiar sound of a beyblade headed right for him. He sprung into the air as the blue and silver beyblade streaked under him and charged right for his assailant. The startled dog tried to stop but it was too late. Gale force winds flung him from the ground, sending him tumbling several feet. The dog looked up in utter shock, first at the blue cat, then at the human boy who came running up. The dog then scampered off with an arched back and its tail between its legs.
"Takao?"
"Kai! Thank God I found you," the bluenet boy said with a deep sigh of relief. "Hiromi totally freaked when she found you were gone. Kai? Are you ok?"
Fatigue finally caught up to Kai and he involuntarily collapsed. Takao rushed over to him.
"Do you need a hand?"
I'm fine,- Kai muttered.
"No you're not," Takao stated as he picked up the blue cat. "All that running around this morning had you worn out already."
The World Champ, with the kitty Kai under his left arm, retrieved his beyblade, then started back to the dojo.
"What were you thinking, man?" Takao scolded. "Why'd you run off? You almost got eaten or something."
Hmfh,- Kai snorted stubbornly.
"Fine. Be that way," Takao growled.
The two were silent for a long time. Kai found this to be a bit odd. He expected Takao to lecture him a bit more, or mock him even, but he was stone silent.
Hey, Kinomiya,-
"What."
. . . Thanks, for helping me out back there. I owe you.-
"Hmmf."
Kai looked up at his rival and teammate. This was not like him at all.
What's with you. You've been strangely quite for the past week, not that I'm complaining,- Kai added in the last part to try to get some of Takao's old pride filled flare back.
"It's nothing. You wouldn't care anyway."
Surprised by his rather harsh tone, Kai continued to probe.
Tell me,-
"I said no."
Takao. . .-
"Look, it's personal, ok! So would you quit bugging me already!"
Kai decided to leave the agitated beyblader alone and was silent for the rest of the way back to the dojo. The rest of his team said nothing to him as they returned from the search. It seemed to Kai that they felt responsible for making him run off and were ashamed. A short while later Hiromi left for home, taking "Nikko" with her.
x-x-x-x-x-
Something didn't seem right. Kai lifted his head from Hiromi's shoulder and looked around him at the city streets, awash with the reddish glow of a setting sun. The evening's noises usually included some end of the day rumors from the birds, but the feathered gossips were completely silent with the exception of a few indistinguishable screeches. The only birds he saw were in tight clusters among the leaves of trees, their beady eyes wide with unknown terror. The streets where eerily quiet but deep in the background was a kind of low pulse that just barely tugged on his consciousness, like seeing some shadowy flicker out of the corner of your eye. Although Kai had no clue what it was, his heart began to race and he felt restless.
When Hiromi reached her house she went straight to her room with Kai, scolding him as she got there.
"You are honestly the weirdest little thing," she said, holding Kai out in front of her and staring at him. "Don't you go running off like that again. You always go off and disappear, only to come back later when you need to. It's like you always have some kind of mission. You really are just like him. . ."
'Like who?' Kai wondered. (AN: Kai, you are such a doofus)
"Just don't go and make me all worried again, promise?"
Kai then got an idea. 'As long as I have the opportunity, why not?' He then stretched his head forward and gave Hiromi a little lick on the nose.
Hiromi smiled and put him down on the bed. She stroked his back and said, "You're just too cute for you own good. You think you can just get away with everything, don't ya? You naughty little kitty."
Kai smiled to himself and rolled over onto his side. Being a cat did have its perks.
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Kai suddenly sat up, eyes wide and ears perked. He looked at the window and found that it was already dark. He had been resting on Hiromi's soft comforter and had apparently dozed off. He was suddenly jolted awake by the sound of the woman from his dream screaming somewhere in the fogged darkness of his mind, but the scream was mixed with what sounded like to him a cat yowling.
His fight or flight instinct that had kicked into full gear when he woke up wasn't fading with each passing minute. Instead, it was growing. Something, somewhere just wasn't right, and it hadn't been since this evening. The yowl he heard still echoed in his head; a yowl of both pain and grief. He immediate thought was of Coldfire and Roary, and of their safety. Although he really didn't want to leave the warmth and security of his secret crush's room, he knew what he had to do.
Kai snuck out of Hiromi's room, padded softly down the stairs into the kitchen, and leaped onto the counter with an ease he found himself wishing he had a few days ago. He fiddled with the latch in the window and managed to get it open. Pushing the glass with his head he lifted the window open and slid out into the crisp night air.
The sky was remarkably clear for the suburban night, and a waxing moon just past the half point hung high in the black sky. For all its primeval beauty there was definitely something horribly amiss. For one thing, it was quiet; not only quiet but dead silent. Not a nightingale, owl, or even a single cricket disturbed the stillness. Kai listened, ears perked straight up, for anything distinguishable.
A whimper coming from behind him caused Kai to jump and spin around toward the house again. There, underneath the porch lying in the dirt, was a larger creature with golden fur that seemed to be trembling uncontrollably.
Roary!-
The young stray looked up, surprised. -K. . .Kai!-
Kai jogged toward his canine friend as she stood up, but she remained where she was, in her usual submissive crouch. Her eyes however, seemed more terrified then ever.
T. . .Thank g. . .g. . .goodness you're al. . .alright,- she stammered.
Roary, what's wrong?-
S. . .Screams. . . everywhere. . .-
Screams? What Screams? Who?- asked Kai, but Roary only buried her head beneath her paws whining profusely. -Roary!- demanded Kai a little more sternly. -What's going on out there? Tell me!-
The streets are at war, that's what.-
Kai turned around to see Coldfire sitting on the fence.
Coldfire! What's going on? Who's at war?-
It would seem Grappleclaw has run across some rebels within his rabble he calls a clan,- answered the white and black she-cat. -A great fight has broken out, but it draws toward the end now. As expected, the Cat Lord, as he calls himself now, has put the troublemakers down the best way he knows how.-
Then what are we waiting for,- Kai said running toward the fence. -Lets go see.-
Why?- asked Coldfire, tilting her head in puzzlement. -It's extremely dangerous right now. You should all stay here, out of sight, until morning.-
But if there are really rebels out there than we should help them, right?- asked Kai.
Perhaps, but why risk you life?-
Why not?- Kai shot back, staring boldly into Coldfire's legendary gaze for the first time without feeling any nervousness.
She was silent for a moment before flicking her tail in a cat shrug. -Alright then.-
I. . .I'm c. . .c. . .coming too.- The two cats looked back at the dog with surprise as she slowly and timidly pulled herself from underneath the porch. -W. . .Wherever Kai goes, I g. . .go too,- she said with a shred more bravery than she had before, but with Roary it was a great deal more.
Alright pup, lets go, and don't worry, you have two big fierce cats to protect you,- said Coldfire with a humorous edge.
The trio left the human housing and roamed quickly and cautiously down the street with Coldfire in the lead, then Kai, and then Roary who was constantly looking back over her shoulder. Kai could barely make out recognizable places in the darkness as they traveled deeper into enemy cat territory. Coldfire suddenly stopped and motioned for the others to be wary. Kai instinctively went into a stalking position and moved forward after Coldfire, checking often to make sure Roary was behind him. When he looked around he realized that he was in the same area that he had met Gutterfang and his sister Barkfur. They passed this area and moved deeper into the alleys.
The first thing to hit him was the smell. It was thick, putrid, and strangely luring. He almost immediately knew what it was. Blood, and a whole lot of it. It was everywhere, splattered on the floor and walls. A great fight had played itself out here.
Coldfire stopped short and stood up. Kai froze, thinking they had been found, but the she-cat was staring at something lying lifeless on the cold concrete in a pool of blood. As Kai moved around Coldfire he too stopped and stared, fear and shock flooding his body.
Gutterfang!-
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Me: Well, things seem to get stickier as we go along here. So what happened to Gutterfang? The heartbreaking story next chapter.
As a final note, there has been something that's bothering me for some time now and I want to know what you guys, the readers, think. . .
When I first started working on this story, all the cat names where originally written in Japanese, since they where Japanese stray cats after all. The names where the same as they are now but translated in Japanese. For some reason I changed the names to English because I thought people would complain that it was confusing. When I started to write anime fanfiction I had always made it a point to use the original names that the creator intended it to be, so I felt a little guilty that I had changed the cat names. So what do you think? Here are the names of the cats in both English and Japanese:
Coldfire. . .Tsumetaibi
Gutterfang. . .Mizokiba
Grappleclaw. . .Tsukamutsume
Foxfang. . .Kitsunekiba
Skyfang. . .Sorakiba
Ashtail. . .Haishippo which then became Ashfang. . .Haikiba
Barkfur. . .Juhike
Icepelt. . .Korikegawa
Tarfoot. . .Taruashi
So should I start to use these names? I would give translation in parentheses if I do use them, and I wouldn't mind changing them in the earlier chapters, though It'd take awhile. Drop us a review and let us know!