A Tiny Kitten's Greatest Adventure: A Ta-kun FanFic
I know a great part of the people remember the other characters in the series I appeared for the first time, na. You probably remember the grouchy boy, the demented alien, the flying robot and the insane girl who gave me my name… But I exist too, na.
As you may know, my name is Ta-kun, na. I was born in a loony bin called Mabase, and I fell once into a river, but a girl addicted to cigarettes and a videogame saved my skin. I lived with her for a time, although I was almost always hidden under the bridge. I usually appeared in her pictures, and I wandered around with her, or with the flying robot, na.
However, I met a beautiful white kitten, and I decided to leave the place with her. We wandered around the streets of Mabase together, until the day a car stopped where we were, and someone took her away, na. From then on, I decided to leave the mad place where I was…
And I told myself: I'll make a trip around Japan, na. And so my journey began.
Every animal ahs an instinct… And I followed mine. At first, I traveled north, to the place humans call Hokkaido. I sometimes traveled by paw, but I was lucky to travel in trucks sometimes, and most of the times, it was with other animals, na.
The first freight truck I sneaked into was full of pigs. HUUUUUUUGE pigs, na. For a moment I thought "naaa, if I'm not careful I'll end up being pork chow," but the biggest, fattest, heaviest one of the lot noticed me, and told me to get up on his back to avoid being trampled, since I'm small and my head's a bit big. I had thought pigs were grumpy and hateful, but to be honest… They were quite kind, although they were already prepared to accept their cruel fate, na. The hog that saved me during that part of my trip told me some things about being a pig and about his point of view on life, but I'm pretty sure he's been turned to ham now, na.
It was the middle of winter in Hokkaido when I got there. It was freezing, na! I thought I'd turn into a popsicle after saying goodbye to my first journey mates (who by the way, na, were very clean… for being pigs), but I found a lost glove in a garbage dump and an old Santa Claus cap, which I used as winter clothes. Even my tail was toasty warm now, na. I walked thru the streets of the place I was wrapped in my glove and cap, and many times a clerk took pity on me and gave me a warm shelter for a night. However, I hadn't completed my objective, and I didn't dare to stay for more than a fortnight in the places I stayed, although I showed my gratefulness a lot of times killing some bug that tried to get their food.
But once, when I was passing near a ranch, a snowstorm fell, and I almost lost my skin trying not to be carried away by the furious winds. I luckily got to a stable, and man if I'm lucky! There were lots of cattle ladies there, na. Of course, half frozen as I was, I dragged myself into the warm stable. Many ladies there thought I was a rat or something, but the kindest one, a lady of respectable age and veeeeery sweet eyes licked me until I was back to normal and asked me who I am.
-They call me Ta-kun, na –I answered, thanking her kindness. –And I'm traveling thru Japan.
The cattle lady blinked once or twice and said that I was a very brave kitten, na. I couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed, and she and her lady friends chuckled a bit.
I waited for the storm to end along with the cattle ladies, who gave me a bit of milk while I waited for the storm to subside, na. I had only had milk that some humans had given me in dishes, and I admit it, it was really nice, but the milk the cattle ladies gave me (after milking them a bit carefully, trying not to use my claws, na), with all its cream… Man, my mouth waters just thinking about it. It was delicious, na.
And I almost forgot, na! After saying goodbye to the cattle ladies, I passed near another ranch, and there I saw soccer for the first time… Since I saw some kids playing with a black and white ball on the snow.
After getting to the northernmost city in Japan, Wakkanai, I decided to travel south, na. Up to where I could go. Well, I went to Hokkaido almost by the middle of the country, this time I'd go along the west coast.
And so I did. I crossed many cities, on my paws and on freight trucks. Akita, Niigata, Toyama, Fukui… I passed thru those cities very quickly, since I was lucky enough to travel in a trailer where some people were carrying a horse from Akita to Fukuoka, since the horse was going to be in a jump contest, na. His name was Eishi, and though at first he wasn't very noble with me as his name would've shown, I won his friendship and respect after kicking out a hateful tick that tried to have lunch on the horse's back and telling him about my adventure. After that, the journey was much more fun, since Eishi-sama told me about his job, and about his father, who had been a champion show horse too. I didn't starve in the journey, since the second time a tick tried to bite my pal, it got into my mouth by accident, I crushed it with my teeth although I tried to spit it out and I swallowed it… And my! Bugs are tasty, na!
However, it was time to say goodbye, and I wished the best of luck to my friend. How did he fare there? Only the Great Cat of Heaven knows, na, but I went on my way. However, in order to get to Okinawa, my next goal, I sneaked into a ship going there… And that's a trip I don't want to remember. There I realized I get seasick when I go on ships and other water vehicles. However, one of the sailors noticed there was an itty-bitty fury stowaway in the ship, and took me to the deck, where the captain was. The captain had bushy whiskers, kind eyes and a good humor. When he saw me, he only scratched me behind the ears and told the sailors to let me go around the ship, in case there were any rats or bugs, since the ship I had sneaked into… was a tourist cruise ship, na.
I was a hit among the passengers, since they never imagined there was a stowaway with four furry paws and a tail who just said 'na.' Funny thing is, na, that while the people was around me and the kids played with me, I didn't feel sick, but once I was alone, I was forced to run to the deck and barf what I ate. But I arrived at Okinawa, and though the captain took me in his strong hands and told me that I could go back with him and live in his house with his wife and son, I didn't accept. Yeah, that's right! I had to get my goal: I had to be a cat that had traveled around the Country of the Rising Sun.
Opposite to Hokkaido, Okinawa was a pretty hot, sunny place, and it wasn't rare to se me snooze in a beach under the sun. I chased some crabs to the border line between the sand and the sea (I hate getting wet, as the cat I am), I scared a seagull out of her wits when she tried to eat me, since she believed I was dead, but I was only asleep, and I scratched her, and I caught my first sardine. I was in a place between some rocks, looking at the sea, when a wave crashed against the rocks. I hid in a small nook, but I ended up in a Ta-kun soup anyway. However, I saw there was a small seawater pool in the place I had been, and a small school of sardines was in it. I dipped my tail in the pool and waited, humming a cat song, until I felt something biting my tail. Of course, it hurt a lot, na, but I stopped running, I stepped on the fish's tail and freed my own, na. However, I wasn't able of hurting the sardine. It looked at me with pleading eyes, and since you humans think fish eyes can't show feelings, it's up to you to believe it or not, na.
Fact is… I let it go. I prefer to eat canned fish, not a live one.
I continued my journey, and I passed by a lot of cities. I made friends with lots of animals, and with a few humans, but of course, I don't speak human and you don't talk cat. I kept on going, and at last I arrived to the prettiest city I had ever seen. It wasn't as big as Tokyo or Osaka, but it wasn't a small place like the ranch with the cattle ladies either. The sea was a bit nearby… I could smell it, na. I walked around the streets, seeing how the kids had fun playing soccer (yeah, na, I admit I became a soccer loving kitten, even though I only watch it)
It was Shizuoka, Japan's Soccer Capital.
I kept on walking calmly, but while I passed near a pleasant-looking house, I realized I hadn't eaten in days and I fell to the floor, dizzy, na. However, Lady Luck favored me again, since the owner of the house saw me on the sidewalk, my eyes spinning, and she took me into the house. It was a pleasant, tranquil place, but almost all of the lady's things were packed in boxes. Was she about to move out, na?
Well so it was.
But I noticed something, while the lady packed some books in boxes. Trying not to be seen, I opened a map book and tried to see where I was. Without realizing it, I had finished my mission, since Shizuoka was nearer to Tokyo than Mabase. An itty-bitty furry black little kitty had traveled all around Japan!
-Something the matter, kitty? –I heard the lady say, since she had seen me looking in the map. I could only shake my head and use my best good cat face, na.
The woman passed her hand over my fur and told me that a family would come to this house in a few days, and asked me if I would like to stay with them.
I didn't know what to think, since I was afraid they wouldn't like cats, so I barely rolled my eyes to another side. I guess the lady guessed I meant "we have to wait and see…"
And that was what we did. The mentioned family arrived some days later, and the youngest member of the family, a girl (Well… She had to be about twelve years old, just like her twin brother) saw me and smiled. How? I don't know, but I had the gut feeling she liked cats. Of course, the lady that had taken care of me in the last few days told them she had found me starving in front of the house, which hey, it was the truth, and the girl, or better said, Saki, asked her parents if she could adopt me. How did she know my name is Ta-kun? Once, while she painted with watercolors, and she still didn't choose a name for me, I stepped on her watercolors accidentally, but that gave me a good idea: write my name in katakana… So I did, and luckily she read it and found it nice, na. So she put me the same name the girl in Mabase had given me: Ta-kun.
And up to now I don't regret it, 'cause if I had continued my journey, I would've probably ended up in Mabase, which was the last thing I wanted, na.
But the best thing happened… some time after my owner, Saki, had decided to keep me. It's a small world after all, and I ended up meeting with the captain of the ship I took to Okinawa, since he had moved to Shizuoka too, and his son was a friend of Saki's. I loved being at her side, since we were almost always together, eating candy, reading or listening to music, but once, when I was walking around town on my own, thinking about the things the Great Cat of Heaven had given to me after my journey…
-Ta-kun? –I heard… a familiar voice calling.
-Na? Who's there?
It was my white kitten! She had escaped the house she had been in and followed me thru Japan without me realizing it… But the best thing was that my family let her stay with us… And Saki's twin, Jun, called her Ta-chan.
Even now as you read this, my children and grandchildren are still very close to Saki's family. Sometimes one of my descendants decides to do what I did, but we always return to the beginning, to the city I really feel like home…
And you know what? I had forgotten to tell you, na. My family never fights with any animals, not even with dogs, but we still eat a tick once in a while nn.
OWARI, na.