Chapter 1: Hideki's song

I was sitting in a chair, watching Izumi make soup for us that night. My tail was twitching in excitement. That lady knew how to make a feline happy. Her hair, permanently dyed a blackish grey, was tied back. A grin danced across my face, as she hands me a piece of semi-unpeppered meat. I snacked on it contently, savoring each bite. Duchess Chiyo walked in, holding Katsu. Both of them start sneezing as soon as they were hit by the pepper cloud. If I could, I probably would have literally smiled ear to ear. The Duchess has had Izumi for a cook longer than she had me, and she's still not used to the spice. The child began to wail, it was kinda funny hearing him sneeze and cry at the same time. "Hideki, would you be a doll, and get Katsu's bottle."

"Yes, Lady Chiyo." I jumped up, and reached for the glass bottle. I filled it with milk before handing it her. I took my place, back near the cook. Izumi does her usual dance around the kitchen. She was like the witches I've heard about, grabbing at random ingredients. But there is one difference between her and the evil creatures in stories, Izumi would never cook up a child for her supper. Though I heard they prefer half-lings to put in their stews, Lady Chiyo used to tell me these stories before bed. In a way it was her way of keeping me in line, who knows whether it worked on her behalf. I closed my eyes, to hear the music of the flames. The rhythmic steps of Izumi with the fire singing, trying to out do Katsu's balling. That child crying was the worst thing on a cat's sensitive ear. I tried my best to ignore him. My tail swaying back and forth, keeping time with the song of our life. On some days I felt like a conductor, trying to keep everything in working order. I could hear Izumi putting the bowls on the table, the song was about to end. As I turned around, getting ready to devour my meal, I got the feeling that someone was about to arrive. I shrugged it off, keeping my mind on the meal. Who would come to visit when everyone's eating?

I could hear soft footsteps outside the door. My eyes open right before a young lady entered. I was upset that she interrupted my favorite part of the little lullaby, but was overjoyed that I had someone new to play with. Her raven hair glistened as she looked around. Her chocolate eyes filled with many questions on her whereabouts, like most children that wander through. Though she was different. She seemed a bit older than the others that have followed one of my "playmates". She was dressed in a navy blue, almost black, dress with a small white apron.

"This is quite queer. I was just walking home from school, then ended up here in the middle of the woods." When she spoke, I knew she was educated. I also knew that a child like her would cause some wonderful chaos like a certain feline we all know and love. My grin turned into a smirk. "You, boy. Why do you smile like that?" Taken aback with her talking to me like that, noone has ever done that.

"He's a Cheshire Half-ling. What other reason is there?" Duchess loved to snap at unexpected guests, it increased the likelihood that they would ne'er return. I stood up without thinking, and stalked over to her. I was curious of the creature. She was educated, probably beyond her age level, and she's here. She must have been lost for years, and didn't realize it. The poor girl. I wanted to see if there were blue highlights in her hair, like my mother did. I was a few inches taller than her. She looked up at me, making eye contact. Her brown eyes stared into my golden ones.

"My name's Hideki." Those were the first words that came to mind, besides 'would you play with me?' I extended my hand, like most of the children did when I met them. She just looks at it. She doesn't do anything else. "Lady Chiyo, can she be my new toy?" He could hear her laugh, as Katsu finally falls asleep.

"You will not! I am a girl, not some cat creature's play thing!"

"It's a miracle!"

"What do you mean?"

"You can hear me. I thought you were like the ones who hear what the wish to hear, like the older ones who believe I'm just a figment of their imagination." I smiled at her. I hear someone shuffling behind me. It was Lady Chiyo, she was going to put Katsu in his crib.

"You girl, watch him," she commanded the girl.

"Which one ma'am? 'Cause I'm not watching cat-boy here." The girl crosses her arms, slamming her foot onto the wood floor.

"The infant child," the Duchess pointed out. "He was just fed, so he won't bother you much. Just keep Hideki away from Katsu, and you'll be fine." She put her gloves on, as she walked out the door.

"Ok... Well best keep you busy until your owner comes back," said the girl.

"Listen girl, Lady Chiyo is not my owner. She's my master. She took me in when noone else would," I screamed at her.

"I have a name you know," she yelled back.

"You ever told us your name." Point-set-match. She never told us her name, she just barged in and wrecked our supper.

"It's Hikari." That's when Katsu decided to wake up. Hikari gave a sigh as she tended to the banshie child. She tried to calm him down by cooing at him , and lightly bouncing him up and down in her arms. "Do you want to go outside, into the fresh air?" The child looks up at her, slightly passive. She smiles at him, I got jealous of the pipsqueak. I watched her carry him out the door. I sat back down. I grinned wildly, as I came up with an idea to have her play with me. I slowly disappeared, the last thing to go was my smile.