Rei Tsubasa's Story

Rei Tsubasa, a young neko (cat creature), walked under a bridge on his way to a secret meeting. This meeting only took place every once in a while, but he wholeheartedly wished to come to this one since it'd been a while since the last one. His green eyes swiveled about when he came upon an old looking building. He looked left then right then up and down. Next he smiled and thought, "Good, no one's here," he stepped towards the old building and went inside, pulling his white leather jacket around him tightly. He was pretty fashionable and wore a nice black t-shirt and blue jeans. He walked very silently in his brown boots until the white hair on the back of neck stood up. His ears perked up too upon hearing the sound of other nekos like him. The looked like they were playing with a long string of blue yarn as he peeked in and watched the yarn dangle from a woman's hands.

It was Yuka who wore a red waloli dress with golden blossoms on it as well as a black collar with the buckle to the back, covered by her hair. She also wore a black collar like his own that looked more like a choker. Rei's mouth dropped slightly. He wasn't supposed to like cat demons, or so he was told since they protected him and other nekos from inus, but Yuka was one cat demon who was hard to look away from. Her green hair and cat ears made her really stand out, especially since he knew that compared to other nekos she was strong.

There was also another neko with black hair and yellow-golden eyes sitting around too. He could tell they were after the same thing. The yarn...

"I'm-I'm here..." he announced his eyes watched the blue yarn move back in forth as he stood around watching the nekos around him bat at it.

Rei watched Yuka put the yarn away and nearly cried. "What is the reason for being here, Yuka?" he asked out of curiosity, raising his hand high in the air. He saw a lot of nekos around him, but this didn't seem like a regular meeting. He wanted to get to the bottom of this so he could leave and continue walking around the fine city of Gatokura, what a lovely name it was, no implications of their being dogs in the city was ever revealed by the name. It was the way any good city of cats was meant to be.

He'd heard about Yuka's bad temperament before and maybe that was the reason she'd gathered them together. Perhaps the cat demons were going to tell them that they were going to go on a wonderful little hunt. And all the nekos needed to do was stay put while they hunted inus. Many thoughts like this ran through Rei's mind as he questioned the current situation.

"That's all this is about? Guys beating up girls?" Rei announced in a shocked manner as he stepped forward into the probably shocked crowd. "Look, I know you mean well, but DID you really have to bring us back a severed head? I say this because I know all you ladies out there probably will see this as a sign of the evils of Inu, but surely, surely, we did not have to go this far. I hardly doubt an Inu guy would go this far. Granted, I hate them as much as the next Neko but you've maybe gone a bit too far Yuka-sama. You're a cat demon and all, but you really must have overdone it trying to take justice out on this guy."

Rei knew he was talking to Yuka the greatest out of many of the cat demons, but he just didn't like the fact that she'd brought them back a severed head. It was disturbing and if the Inus really went this far so sometimes as to deserve this treatment then no one was safe. "Can't we at least respect their territory and bar them from here? If we do that they won't be coming back here with the intentions you've just indicated to us Yuka-sama."

"Excuse me while I go puke. But I really don't think I'm up for a meeting involving a war which really has no grounds to it." Rei stated as he stuck his tongue out in disgust at Yka's evil, psychotic smile. He looked at the injured Neko and sighed, "Sure must have hurt to be slashed at by an inu, but they really couldn't have meant bad things towards you." He took pity on the neko girl and her her stitched arm, yet was not willing to believe that someone like Yuka would go out to war to defend them over something as trivial as this.

Rei turned away from Yuka and said, "You should take care of the girl cat demon. I'm going out for a walk." He didn't feel like referring to Yuka by name now after what he'd seen her do. It was disturbing.

Rei left the building where the nekos had gathered and did not return to the meeting because he felt it was over from the way it sounded. If it wasn't he didn't care to go back. On his way home he found himself wandering through a sweet smelling field, but smelt a very strange smell. He raised his head and sniffed, although his sense of smell was weaker than an inu's sense of smell his nose smelt out the odd smell of an inu mixed within the grass around him. He walked forward through it until he heard someone laugh and say, "I love you, field. You're always here to welcome me."

He looked around surprised to find a girl laying in the grass. He walked up to this girl with short brown hair and bright green eyes. She had a flower in her hair and seemed to be enjoying herself. The oddest thing was he thought her skirt was hiding a tail, and not a proper one at that, it almost looked like a dog's tail. "Are you a dog, something around here smells like one, but you certainly can't be because you're obviously a cute girl. So where's the dog, do you perhaps own one?" He was curious why she was here and why the smell of the dog he was trying to was dissipated by all the grass, it was probably allergies.

Skye had almost fallen asleep when something darkened the vision from her closed eyes. She slowly opened them, only to find a boy looking at her. She blinked a bit, about to get up but stalled by his talking. "Are you a dog, something around here smells like one, but you certainly can't be because you're obviously a cute girl. So where's the dog, do you perhaps own one?" She blushed a bit when he complimented her, though she knew that he could be dangerous. He was obviously a neko from the way he spoke to her.

Skye made a quick decision and stood up, though she immediately knew she wouldn't have the tall, intimidating factor. Damn you, shortness... She looked up at him and tilted her head. "Well, since you obviously know of the hidden world, yes." She then took a step back, her husky-like ears tilting downward a bit as she looked from side to side and then back to him. "You don't have one of those demons with you, do you?" She was honesty afraid of them and was usually wary of them if there was a neko around.

"No, I don't a cat demon with me. But I know of one cat demon that you describe. She's not my personal body guard, yet she does watch out for all of us who are nekos a lot of the time." Rei scratched the tip of one of his cat ears with his hand and said, "I suppose this is what I get for not having a good meeting with the nekos today, walking home alone and undisguised, and taking my usual path home."

His white tail flickered back and worth as studied Skye. She was really short and if he had to he was almost certain he could take her down despite being an inu. Being a male or female didn't play into this thought since he knew either way that nekos were strong after having tried to run from a few from time to time. It was the simple fact that her height would make her an easy target if he had to fight her. She appeared peaceful though and possibly scared of him since she was asking so many questions.

"What's your name?" asked lowering his hand from his ear and looking at her straight on.

Skye gulped as he said that there was no cat demons around, hoping he wasn't lying. She had been tricked by many nekos before and wouldn't let it happen again. She was glad she was still able to keep a stable, even voice. "Well, okay. But if you or any other nekos attack me, I'll just get my friends' help! I have a lot of them, too!" What did I just do?! I don't have any friends! If he attacks, I won't have anyone to help me out... She gave a small frown as he spoke that this was his usual trail home. "Really? This is my usual sleeping spot. I guess we just haven't intersected..." And that's a good thing, too.

Skye raised an eyebrow and took another step back as he seemed to inspect her. His eyes told her that he knew he could easily overcome her and that he wouldn't hesitate in defending himself if she took the first attack. No surprise attacks, I guess. She looked down at her feet, twisting her foot on the ground because she felt uncomfortable around a neko. According to her elders, they were known to be very hostile to inus and often attacked on sight. She herself had been the victim of an attack or two, so she had a hard time trusting anyone that came near her.

Skye took yet another step back as he asked for her name. She pinched her lips together before speaking in a slightly quieter voice. "My name is... Juxta." She was only halfway lying, considering it was her last name. She wouldn't say her first name until she knew that he wouldn't attack.

"Hm, Juxta, I'm in juxtaposition to get to know you better. But you seem to want to go ahead and leave." Rei stated as he watched her step away from him and mutter her name. "You know that's a word from the dictionary that essentially speaks of being close together, side by side, you know." He stated as he smiled at her and let his tail flicker behind him slowly. "My name's Rei, just like the sun, but it translates to dark, so I'm actually no fun."

He took a step towards her and wondered how she would react. She seemed a bit protective of herself. He just wanted to be friends.

Skye stifled a laugh as the guy made a joke out of her name. She looked up slightly as he stated that she wanted to leave. That's only partially true... She then looked up at him as he defined what he had said. Looking to the side sheepishly, she mumbled. "I know what it means." She looked back to him as he introduced himself, even going as far as explaining his name. She opened her mouth to introduce herself, though her instincts spiked when he took a step towards her. She took another step backwards quickly and tripped over a rock that was jutting out of the ground. She gave a short squeak as she fell, landing on her back.

Skye quickly sat up with a blush crawling across her face from embarrassment. She stood, brushing off some of the dirt as she spoke, noticing that each time she backed away he seemed a bit confused. "I-I'm sorry that I keep backing away." She grabbed one of her shoulders with the other hand. "I just have... trust issues. Capture and all, I hope you know." She gulped, wondering why she was apologizing. "I don't have a very good past with nekos, is all."

"I see, it's okay if you don't completely trust me I mean we just met and all... Although, I've never really run into trouble with inus before, but then I've always been warned to stay away from them, so I have." Rei answered her. At least she now had an explanation as to why she kept backing away from him. At the rate she was going he felt she'd injure herself having just tripped now.

Rei put his hands on his hips and said as he smiled, "I know I'm a neko, but do I look dangerous to you? Do I look like the type to capture someone against their will?" he gave her a catlike grin and stood there for a moment.

Skye blinked when he said he understood her mistrust. Wow... most people would just walk off. Not to mention he was told to stay away from my kind. She pinched her lips together when he asked if he looked dangerous. She looked down shyly and out of embarrassment. "I-I guess not. But I don't judge people on how they look. I-I..." She looked back up at him. "I just have a hard time trusting Nekos in general. I know it's wrong to judge someone by the few of their kind that you've met, but it's just instinct that I have such a hard time trusting you."

Skye then felt something click inside her brain. Wait. Why am I telling him all of this?! I should be running. This could all be just a trick to make me relax. The hand on her arm squeezed and she became a bit tense. Is it that I actually trust this guy... no, that can't be it. I could never trust a Neko. But what if I really can trust him? What then? The Inus that already look down on me would look down on me even more if I started hanging out with him. But if they never find out... Skye gave a slight sigh, getting a headache from the war waged in her mind. She looked to Rei. "Can I ask you a question? Why didn't you really do anything when you saw that I was an Inu?"

"The reason I haven't done anything is that I saw something rather horrible today. You know how the cat demons chase down inus right? Well, one I know went about doing that today and showed us the head of her kill. I don't go to many neko meetings, but this is just a little beyond the norm of normal cat demons. I'd rather not describe what I saw, but I suppose she, the cat demon, did what she had to do to protect a neko girl." he started to explain. "I also feel a bit more connected to my actual cat Momo than my fellow neko demons too since we've been together for a while."

Skye gulped as Rei mentioned cat demons and nodded. She didn't want to interrupt him, so she kept in her comments throughout it. She got a bit freaked out when he said that the cat demon had showed the Nekos the head of her kill. She shivered a bit, glad that it was apparently abnormal. She finally let go of her own shoulder when he said he had more of a connection with his cat than his kind. She pinched her lips before speaking. "Well, I definitely know about those demons. They caused my first bad experience with Nekos. I'll spare you the details. I guess it's kind of okay if a Neko girl was being protected, but getting the head is a bit much. The family won't be very happy getting back just the body..." She sighed. "At least you feel connected with someone. I used to have a dog, but he didn't like how I always sleep in a different place everyday."

Skye laughed a bit. "If only he hadn't run away before I found this field. Now, I sleep here every night and even hang out in it in my spare time." She tilted her head. "I'm surprised we haven't met earlier, in all honesty."

"Hm, maybe I came here at a different time of day, or perhaps I used to walk through different fields to go home." Rei suggested as he scratched his head while trying to remember if he actually ever had gone through this field they were in. He couldn't seem to remember, but he supposed it didn't matter now. "So, you own a dog... Don't you think that's kind of weird that you own a dog when you and I are practically cats or dogs respectively. I wonder how we came to be special? It makes me very confused since cats and dogs generally have the same likes and dislikes as us."

Skye let a small smile creep onto her face. "Well, that makes sense. Maybe we're just never in the same field." She sat down as she listened, her legs getting aches from standing so much. "Well, I used to have a dog. He ran away about three months ago, though. Then again, he never really like me. I always got the notion that he was telling me that I was too unsocial. Who knows where he is now?" She looked up towards the sky. "My theory on our creation is that some scientist created several hundred of us, then let us out into society to live on our own. It sounds crazy, but it makes a bit of sense in this crazy world." She giggled at his last comment. "It only makes sense that we share likes and dislike, considering that they're a part of us. Inside and out."

Rei sat down in the and said, "I suppose you're right. Anyway, since we're almost alike in some ways and different in others we should be friends. I've only ever had my cat Momo as a friend, which is why I came here. I heard this city had nekos and inus and all the humans around me didn't want to be my friend, at least when I've been disguised. They think I'm too secretive or something, which I am since I'm really a neko pretending to be human." Rei closed his eyes and let the wind around him blow. There was nothing more peaceful than a calm breeze.