Sunday, April 24, 2005

T.T *sniff* I'm sorry. I'm just feeling very unappriciated right now. I work and I slave to make you people happy, and what do I get in return? NOTHING! *sniff* Well you can all just fend for yourselves now! I'm just going to sit on the couch and eat chocolate till I get so fat I can't fit through the door! WAAAAAHAHAHAAA!


Nah, I'm just kidding. ;) I might've gone a little "prima dona" back there. Sorry bout that. I just get a little discouraged when I don't get a lot of feedback. I'm needy that way. Well, here we go!

Strays part 5 Family “I’m not what you expected, am I?” The beautiful woman stood before me as the fire light danced on her body. After taking a moment to relish this glorious scene, I finally snapped myself out of it and regained my assertiveness. “So you order from the ‘Adam and Eve’ collection. Big deal. What do you want from me?” I asked. She came around from the other side of the barrel and approached me. “Only your attention,” she said. “Well, she’s got it! Undivided, at that!” She came in close as if she was going to kiss me. I warily took a step back. Then she leaned in, put her head over my shoulder, and whispered in my ear, “Thanks for the sushi.” My whole head distorted in confusion. “I’m sorry. I’m confused.” She drew back and smiled at me as her large emerald eyes glinted in the dim light. Then my face stretched as it made room for my eyes. Now that she was closer to me, I could finally see what she really was. That wasn’t a headband on her head, they were WHITE CAT EARS! And those weren’t clothes she was wearing. They were fur! She was a bonafide nekomimi! I stammered as I tried to pull my thoughts together. “Those eyes..... you’re..... that was....... Kitty?” She giggled slightly and nodded. I couldn’t believe it! It all made sense now! No wonder the cat seemed so human. “You were so kind to me,” she said, “I just wanted to thank you in person.” I grabbed the back of my neck and laughed between fragments. “Pssh! I, uh.... ha... it was.... um..... heh........ no problem.” She giggled again as she watched my nervous reaction. And so did my friendly escort. “So, where am I?” I asked. “Oh right. Sorry about the ‘dramatics’, as you put it,” she said. “We just weren’t sure if you were ready to see us. Summer! Hit the lights!” Somewhere in the distance, I heard the clicks of some switches and the low hum of an electrical motor. Slowly the lights faded in and I finally saw where I was. I was standing on the platform of an old abandoned subway station. No wonder I was freezing. I was underground and surrounded by poorly insulating concrete. “Welcome to my home,” she said. “It’s the old Hamilton Station,” I said as my eyes wandered around nostalgically. “They closed it down several...” But my voice stopped short as I glanced back at the cat-girl. Now that there was enough light, I could clearly see her mane of bright blue hair. I stepped back and my jaw dropped in surprise. I knew I had seen her before. “Felicia?” I gasped. Now it was her turn to be shocked. Her ears perked up and she stared at me in amazement. “You... you know my name?” she asked softly. It was really her! “You fought in the Night Warriors tournament at least ten years ago.” I continued to look her over and in a dreamy haze unconsciously uttered, “You haven’t aged a day.” She blushed a little and looked away. “It’s a real honor to meet such a famous..... character. Double meaning intended.” I extended my hand. She gave me a weak half smile. “You’re an odd boy to compliment a monster.” I raised an eyebrow in confusion. But then she smiled at me cheerfully and shook my hand. “But it’s nice to have a fan.” Woof! Her hands, or I guess in this case “paws”, were almost twice the size of mine! As we continued this ritual of acquaintanceship, I felt a slight tug on the blanket around my shoulders. “Anon, sumimasen?” I looked to my side and saw two sky-blue eyes shining inside a small brown coat. “Domo arigato, Artukei-san,” she bowed. “Thank you for saving Felicia.” Then my little companion finally removed her hood to reveal two little white cat ears, a fluffy mane of bright red hair, and a smile that was the epitome of cute. “Hajimemashite! Kanasuki desu! Yoroshiku!” she bowed again. Kanasuki, eh? I returned her greeting and bowed. “Kochirakoso yoroshiku, Kanasuki-chan.” She was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. Right after Kida-chan of course. “Well, aren’t you a man of the world,” said a voice from above. I looked up and saw a third nekomimi sitting on a hanging info board. She leapt down and.... leapt is no good. She floated down and landed right between me and Felicia with such grace and agility that I couldn’t help but whisper a ‘wow’. She had golden blonde hair, slightly darker fur on her body, and an incredible figure! Ai megami, she could’ve been a model! “So you’re the boy scout,” she said as she looked at me with enticing green eyes. My face warped into an overall look of ‘huh’. She moved in closer. “Hearing Felicia talk about you I thought you were just some kid. I’m glad I was wrong.” She looked me up and down as if I were Brad-frikkin-Pitt. By this point she was about an inch away from my face. Again my awkward nature took over and I took a step back. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you too... Miss... um...” She pressed her fuzzy finger to my nose and sensually whispered, “You can call me Tiger Lilly, big boy.” Felicia rolled her eyes and yanked her counterpart’s tail. “Knock it off, Summer.” The blonde beauty let out a small high pitched “mew” and looked back. Then she completely broke character and started whining like a eight year old. “What? I’m just having a little fun.” Felicia looked at her sternly. “I think you’ve had enough fun for today. Shouldn’t you apologize first?” Summer’s ears folded and looked back at me while nervously twirling her hair. “I’m... I’m sorry that I jumped on you and put you in a bag,” she said. It was her. She was the one who jumped me. It also meant that she was the one who carried me. She could’ve been as strong as me, although she certainly didn’t look it. I furrowed my brow and gruffly replied, “I thought I recognized that voice.” She smiled sheepishly and immediately started defending herself as if I were her executioner. “I just got a little carried away, that’s all. I didn’t mean to knock you out, though. That was a complete accident! I swear!” I shook my head and reassured her, “It’s OK. I got a hard head.” Besides, I can never stay mad a cat-girl. Her ears perked up and she smiled in relief that she hadn’t made an enemy. Felicia spoke up, “Well, I was going to introduce them to you myself, but it seems most of my friends don’t need any coaxing.” “Most?” I asked. At that moment, Kanasuki’s ears went up and she surveyed the shadows. Then she ran on all fours and quickly and silently disappeared into the dark. Amazing. These girls all moved so incredibly stealthily. That’s why I couldn’t hear Kanasuki’s footsteps earlier. And when Summer jumped down she barely made a sound. I could hear Kanasuki’s voice coming from the shadows. “Enryo shinaide,” which means “don’t be shy.” She was talking to someone. “Don’t be rude. We have a guest.” She came out pulling behind her one more girl. She was tall and very slender and she had long jet black hair that was draped over parts of her face. She almost looked like she belonged in a goth metal group or something. Kanasuki led her over towards the firing barrel, but she kept her distance from me and the others. She shyly crossed her arms and kept looking down at the floor. Felicia came up and put her hand on her shoulder as if comforting her. “Artukei,” she said softly, “this is Giselle.” She turned to her friend and spoke very calmingly, “Giselle, this is the man who helped me.” She looked through the strands of hair and glanced at me for a second. I gave her a warm and friendly smile and a soft, “Hello miss.” But she sneered at me, looked back down, and sourly muttered, “Bonsoir, monsieur.” Ah, she’s French. Maybe that’s why she’s so rude. “Well, it’s been a pleasure to meet all of you,” I said. “I’m glad I could be of assistance. I guess um....” I had just been introduced to four beautiful nekomimis. Now what? “I guess I should go home now.” It was pretty late; almost 1:00. I removed the blanket and returned it to Kanasuki. “Arigato, Kanasuki-chan,” I bowed. But she looked up at me with her ears folded. “Do you have to?” she mewed. I looked back at the other girls and then at the subway tunnel I had entered from as I considered her question. Before I could nod, she piped up, “Can’t you just sleep here?” It was hard to say ‘no’ to that face, but I had to. If Aisha woke up in the morning all by her onesies, she’d get suspicious. Then again, I could’ve spent the night there and have gotten back home before she woke up. No. My mind was made up. I opened my mouth, but Felicia’s words stopped mine. “I think that’s an excellent idea,” she said. “Why don’t you stay here? It’s already late and seeing as how one of us did incapacitate you...” She glanced over at Summer. “I said it was an accident!” she yelled. Felicia continued, “After all, you helped me. I think it’s only fair that we return the favor.” It was as if the heavens opened up to me. I was in Shangra-kitty-la. Blinded by divine light, I forgot all about my worldly ties and said, “How can I turn down the request of a lady?”

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