Nine · Lives · preview

Chapter 10 - Secret

Silk woke up with a start. Dreaming about that day again… He clenched the corners of the bedspread as he remembered. His body felt weak, so he put a hand on his forehead. He couldn’t tell if he had a fever or not. I guess you can’t do it on yourself…
He got out of bed and changed into his uniform. He examined the night clothes he had just changed out of. They were standard white pajamas with light blue stripes, and they fit him pretty well. I can’t believe they took the time to change my clothes yesterday… He walked slowly down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Miyako was eating breakfast.
“Silk, do you feel okay today?” she asked when she noticed he had come. Silk walked over to the table.
“Yeah…” he said. Miyako scooted her chair back a little and turned around to put her hand on his forehead.
“You have a little fever,” she said. “You sure you wanna go to school?” she looked up at him.
“It’s fine,” Silk said. “I’ll go.” He reached over her head and took a strawberry that was sitting in a bowl on the table. He pushed it into his mouth with his index finger and ate it.
“Let’s go,” Silk said to Miyako. “’Kay,” she responded. Before they left, Miyako’s father handed Silk a piece of paper.
“It’s your schedule,” Miyako’s father said. “So you don’t have to follow Miyako around all day.”
Silk took the paper without thanking him. It’s not like he wanted a schedule anyway. He walked out of the door without another sound.
“So what happened yesterday?” Miyako asked as they were walking. She looked at him for a response.
“Eh…I was just a little dizzy,” he replied. Miyako stared at him, wondering if it was true.

• • •

“Silk, where are you going? Come eat lunch with us,” Miyako, Maya and Michelle ran after Silk as he walked away.
“Come on,” Miyako said. But Silk ignored her and kept walking. She grabbed his left arm. As she did, the bandages slipped off to reveal a peculiar tattoo on his upper arm just above his elbow. It looked as if it were engraved very deeply, because it showed even under the scar. The tattoo itself held a strange notation: XIX.


Time seemed to freeze at this moment. Miyako stared with fright at the tattoo, while Silk stared at it also with horror and fear. The stares of Maya and Michelle were filled with only surprise. When time had started again, Silk jerked his arm away and tried to cover the tattoo with the bandages.
“Silk…” Miyako’s now very small and timid voice broke the five seconds of bitter silence that seemed like forever. “What…is that?”
“Nothing.” Silk said in a definite voice. He stood at a distance from Miyako, his back turned to her.
“It is something,” Miyako walked towards him and reached for his arm. “Let me see-“
“STOP.” Silk didn’t yell, but his voice was very commanding and stopped Miyako dead in her tracks. Silk walked away, and no one followed him. What a stupid mistake… he thought.
He walked to a deserted place in the field under a tree. He positioned himself so that no one could see him. He held his left shoulder and hardened his gaze.
“What the hell does ‘xix’ mean?” Maya wondered when Silk was gone. She pronounced it ‘kuh-siks’ like it was spelled.
“It’s not xix,” Michelle said. “It’s a Roman numeral.” She could tell by the way it was written, it was like a number.
“A number…?” Miyako questioned. “That would be… nineteen then, right?”
“Yeah…” Michelle mulled over the subject a while. A number…nineteen…his arm…what could…?
“Are you in any of Silk’s classes after lunch?” Maya asked as she took a cookie out of her paper bag and ate it.
“No…” Miyako said. She had memorized hers and Silk’s schedules.
“Good!” Maya raised her eyebrows as she ate another cookie.
“Why’s that good?” Miyako was confused.
“Girl, he’s pissed at you! You don’t wanna be in the same class as him, do you?” Maya was a little surprised Miyako hadn’t got this yet.
“Guess not… I hope he’s not too mad…” Miyako bit her fingernails with a worried face. Maya sighed. That girl can be so dense sometimes…
Miyako, Maya, and Michelle departed to their different classrooms after lunch was over. Miyako slowly walked to her English class. I wonder if Silk is okay…
Miyako literally plopped down in her chair and waited. Everyone else in the class was settling down and the teacher began to teach the lesson.
At that moment, the sliding door went crashing open. A man looking in his thirties appeared and looked straight at Miyako.
“Come on, Miyako, you’re going home,” he said, motioning with his hand. Silk’s head peeked out from outside, and he nodded. Miyako got up and headed for the door.
“Sorry, but I got to go,” Miyako said to the teacher with a reluctant smile.
“It’s ‘have to go’, Miyako, and have a good doctor’s appointment,” the English teacher said. “I got a note from the secretary.”
“Um… okay,” Miyako quickly headed out the door and closed it. “Who the heck are you!?” she whisper-shouted at the mysterious man.
“Oh, sorry,” the man outstretched a hand. He had a dark complexion, and his hand was very soft as Miyako shook it. “The name’s Killsong.”
“Nice to meet you,” Miyako said. She looked at Silk, who was watching them fairly expressionless. Miyako looked at him with a worried expression.
“…You’re not mad, are you??” she sincerely hoped not. To her surprise, Silk just smiled and laughed.
“Mad? What are you talking about?” Silk really wasn’t mad at her. Why should he be? It’s not like Miyako did that to him.
“Come on, we have to go! Midori and Azure are looking for you!!” Killsong told them urgently.
“Midori and Azure? Who’re they?” Miyako looked confused when she heard unfamiliar names.
“People you should avoid,” Silk shuddered as he thought of them. “Those brothers are downright devils…”
“Let’s go!!” Killsong started to run for the exit. Silk and Miyako followed in suit. Miyako was impressed; Silk was a very fast runner.
“I’ll tell you about them,” Silk said as he was running. “They’re cats like me, but they’re probably humans right now. They both have marks across one eye, and I think they’re younger than us right now…”
Miyako, Silk, and Killsong made a bolt for the exit, which was straight ahead, but to their horror and surprise, Midori and Azure were waiting for them. Silk and Killsong stopped dead in their tracks, and once Miyako figured out who they were, she did too.
“Well, would you look at that. You still have the same face, Ju-kyu,” Midori smirked. Azure coughed. He was having trouble breathing. Now it was Silk’s turn to smirk.
“What’s wrong, Shi? The holy mark hurting you that bad?” Silk walked over to him and pulled his collar down. There, on his throat and neck was a mark identical to the one on his face. Azure glared at Silk and jerked away from him.
“We’ll leave you alone for now,” Midori turned around. “But we haven’t disappeared. Remember that.”
After they left and were out of earshot, Miyako turned to face Silk and Killsong.
“What’s a holy mark?” she asked. And why did it hurt him?
“We all have them,” Silk pointed to his left cheek. “My other one is on my chest.”
Killsong pushed up his right sleeve to reveal his holy mark. Just like Azure, it was identical to the one on his face. Miyako looked at it, and then looked up.
“What are they for?” Miyako was starting to understand, a tiny bit at a time.
“They’re signs that we were… chosen by the god…” Killsong pulled his sleeve back to where it was before. Unexpectedly, Silk grabbed Miyako’s right wrist. On it was a mark that looked almost like a swirl.
“You have one too,” Silk said, as a statement. “Miyako, was your wrist hurting when Azure and Midori were here?”
“Huh? Now that I think of it, yeah…” Miyako did remember a sudden pain in her wrist when they showed up.
“That’s what happens when another ‘chosen one’ is near,” Killsong said. “The only reason you don’t feel it when I’m here is because I trust you, and hopefully, you trust me.”
“So, at first, when Killsong showed up, you should’ve felt something in your wrist,” Silk was glad that Miyako was so easy to earn trust of. It saved her less pain.
“But why do Azure and Midori want to kill us?” Miyako actually wasn’t freaking out at the fact that someone wanted to kill her. Killsong sighed.
“They’ve always had some kind of grudge against you and Silk. They hate me because I help you,” Killsong explained. “I guess it’s because… they don’t want to be chosen.”

• • •

Azure coughed and gasped for breath. Midori clenched his left thigh, the location of his holy mark.
“The pain should go away by now. Why does it still hurt?” Midori’s eyebrows were furrowed with pain.
“It’s-“ Azure swallowed. “… Our curse.” If we stay humans for much longer, we’ll probably die…
Midori chuckled ruefully. “We’re already… running out of time…”

• • •

Tei unlocked the door to his house. It was dark and gloomy inside, and ranked with the smell of chemicals. He stepped inside and took off his shoes. He pulled off his right sock and stared at the X on his foot. My so-called ‘holy’ mark… It hurts…
Tei slipped off his uniform shirt without turning on the light. On his slim figure were many stitches and scars. There were stitches around his shoulders, around his neck, and on his wrist. It looked like he was a doll that came apart, and someone had sewed the pieces back together. There was also a ring of stitches around his waist, which hurt the most.
“Do they hurt you…?” A voice came out from the darkness. As it walked forward, the figure of a man took shape. The man turned on the light and smiled a not so kind smile. Tei hardened his gaze as words came from the man’s mouth.
“Do they, Teya?”

Chapter 9 - Crushed?

“Crap, why’d Killsong have to send us to the wrong school!?” Midori looked irritated as he crossed his arms.
“Probably because he didn’t want us to find Miyako,” Azure knew that Killsong had sent them there for a reason. “Oh well, I mean we know where they live so no big deal, right?”
“Hmph,” Midori grunted. It would be all the easier if they went to the same school, but it wasn’t a total loss. Although, the whole point of going to school was to get to Miyako and Silk. He took a strand of his long green hair and chewed on it. It wasn’t healthy to do so, but he didn’t care; it wasted time.
A little farther away, three girls whispered among themselves. They were checking out the new arrivals.
“I think the shorter one is cute,” the first girl said. “The blue-haired one.” The girl was skinny and shapeless, like the other two.
“Nuh-uh! The other one’s way cuter,” the second girl said. “Even if he is chewing his hair.”
“They both look girly to me…” the third girl pitched in. She had glasses and hooded eyes, making her look sleepy.
“Shut up! You don’t know anything about guys!” the first girl whispered loudly. “Dare me to go talk to them?”
“Yeah, go, Lain,” the second girl seemed excited. The third girl watched quietly. Lain walked up to them and they turned to her simultaneously.
“Hey, you new here?” Lain asked, supposedly trying to act cool. “’Cuz I haven’t seen your faces before.”
“Yeah, we just got here. Azure,” the blue haired one held out a hand. Lain took his hand and smiled.
“Lain,” she said, still smiling. What a cute accent!! They let go and the green haired one introduced himself.
“My name is Midori, sixth grade,” he smiled. “Azure’s in fifth.”
“Oh, I’m in fifth, too,” Lain pointed to herself. Yes! The cute one’s in my class! The other two girls watched from a distance.
“Ha! Midori’s in my class! Cha-ching!” the second girl made the cha-ching gesture. The third girl looked at her like she was crazy.
“What are you smoking, lady?” she asked. “I don’t really care which one of them is in my class. Like I said, they’re girly.”
“Okay, whatever, Anne,” the second girl shrugged. It made it all the easier for Lain. At that moment, Lain herself came running back.
“Oh my god, Rieta! They’re even cuter up close!!” she was fully spastic and sounded as if she was hyper. Rieta and Anne both jumped backwards.
“Whoa, you scared me,” Rieta said, eyes wide. “And heck yes! Midori’s in my class!”
“Azure’s in mine!” Lain and Rieta jumped up and down with excitement. Anne watched the two and scooted away slowly.
“WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?” they turned to her and said it simultaneously. Anne reluctantly stood her ground. But she didn’t have to do so for long, because at that moment the first bell rang. The threesome walked towards the school entrance. Midori and Azure did the same.
“I have a strange feeling that that girl’ll start stalking me…” Azure glanced towards Lain expressionlessly. Midori laughed.
“Good luck, otoutou-chan,” Midori referred to his brother as ‘little’ as it was quite true. Azure scowled at him.
“Tch…” Azure turned the corner; his classroom was in the second building. Almost on cue, Lain and another girl came up to him. He looked at them without moving his head.
“Hi, Azure. This is my friend, Anne,” Lain pointed to Anne. Anne didn’t respond. Neither did Azure. They were silent for the rest of the way. When they arrived at the classroom, Azure walked to a seat and took off his backpack, which looked more like a tote bag. He started rummaging through it meaninglessly. His royal blue eyes showed no emotion.
Lain stared at him for a few seconds, then took her own seat. Anne sat next to her. They were sitting in the back left corner, Azure at the right back. Anne nudged Lain.
“What??” Lain swirled around.
“Umm… Although I don’t approve of you liking that girly person, I’ll uh… you know, help you,” Anne put this quite bluntly, and at first, Lain didn’t grasp the information.
“Oh,” Lain said. Then she realized what Anne was saying. “YOU WILL!?” Her eyes bulged and she grinned.
“Yeah…” Anne particularly liked to get people together. It was her job, other than being the source of sanity in the threesome.
“Oh, I love you, Anne!” Lain took a hold of Anne’s head with both her hands and kissed her on the forehead. Anne’s eyes widened and her glasses drooped. Lain danced around and giggled. I guess she really likes this guy…
“Well, better get to work,” Anne mumbled to herself. She ripped a piece of paper from her notebook and started scribbling a message on it.
“Meet…you…there…from…Lain…” she wrote furiously to finish before school started. When the note was finished, she folded the paper and walked casually towards Azure. She dropped the note on his desk when he was supposedly not looking. Azure flicked his eyes towards the desk. Anne made a round trip back to her desk. Her heart was beating fast as she came fast-walking back.
“I’m really sticking my neck out for you; he totally noticed!” Anne whispered to Lain.
“Then maybe you should stick it on his desk when he’s not there,” Lain wagged her finger. It was so obvious.
“Be grateful, woman,” Anne crossed her arms and sat down. Lain also sat down, grinning and giggling. A chorus of ‘SHH!’ was heard as the teacher entered the classroom. She was very uptight and looked down her nose at the students. Azure looked at the woman like ‘What a hag…’
As the day wore on, Azure got a feel of school and its staff. It was finally lunch after the seemingly eternal classes. He stopped at his new locker to drop his books off. He took out the note the stupid girl had dropped on his desk. He scanned it quickly.

Please come and meet me on the roof at lunch. I have something to tell you and I really want to get to know you.
Meet you there!  From LAIN

He raised an eyebrow slightly. What a strange girl… But he decided to tolerate it and meet her anyway. It was probably the best way to tell her off. So he climbed the stairway to the roof. It was windy up there, and the wind played across Azure’s long light blue hair. As expected, Lain was sitting somewhat in the canter, eating her lunch and looking at the sky. She noticed he was there and turned around.
“Hey!” she grinned. “I’m glad you came,” she said as Azure came over and sat down next to her. He looked up at the clouds like her.
“So why do you wanna know me?” Azure didn’t look at her. “I mean, why me, out of all the great people out there?” But Lain just smiled.
“I just do,” she took a bite out of the sandwich she was eating. “You look cool. You act cool. You are cool.” Azure looked at her, and even though his face was mostly expressionless, a trace of disbelief sparkled in his eyes. Lain turned towards him and laughed.
“What? Is there something on my face?” she smiled again.
“No…It’s just…People usually want to know me for some selfish reason or other,” Azure’s gaze wandered for a bit. “People…use me.” A dead silence hung in the air for a minute.
“Not me,” Lain said with a straight face. She seemed thoroughly serious. Azure got a feeling of warmth from this comment.
“Thanks.”
After school had ended, Midori and Azure were walking out of the school aimlessly, for they really didn’t know where to go, since their home was in the jungle.
“Nii-san…You know that girl Lain from this morning?” Azure decided to bring the topic up.
“What about her?” Midori glanced down at his little brother. Please, oh please say he doesn’t like her…
“Well…she’s very nice,” Azure said, looking straight ahead. Midori hardened his gaze.
“Don’t get involved with other people at this school, Azure,” he said seriously. “We are here for a reason – to get Miyako. In order to do that, we must enroll in a school of some sort, to give the impression that we met her by coincidence.” Azure glared at his brother.
“You’re one hell of a headache, you know that?”

• • •

“What’s wrong? You seem more tense than usual,” Katarina said softly. Killsong had a mean expression on his face.
“Something’s coming,” he said. He turned his head towards his wife. “Azure and Midori are after Miyako.”
Katarina sighed. “Go,” she said. She knew Killsong would go even if she argued with him.
“I’ll be back soon,” Killsong headed out towards the transporter. He said a few words to it, and in a flash, he was gone.
As instructed, the transporter took him to the Eclipse. He took familiar steps to the glowing orb. The same procedure followed. The orb brightened, and the warm feeling cats and humans get when they transform reached Killsong. The orb faded back to its normal glow, and Killsong was now human.
He had dark skin and darker hair that reached his lower back. His eyes were a rich brown and gleamed with kindness. His markings were similar to Silk’s – a horizontal stripe on his left cheek and two vertical stripes on his right cheek, coming up from the jaw. He stretched his tall figure and yawned. It felt good to walk on two feet.
“Now, to Miyako’s house,” he mumbled to himself. Silk said it was somewhere near the alley. I guess I’ll take his word for it…
“Take me to the Forlorn Alley,” he said to the wall, and he was there. He looked around. Now where…
For a while Killsong walked around without a purpose because, truth be told, he had no idea where he was going. As he ambled down the sidewalk, he had an idea. Why don’t I just go to their school? He was surprised he never thought of it before. He had the school’s address because Azure and Midori told him to look it up and enroll them in it. Of course, I did send them to a different one…
“Now I just have to wait,” he looked at the sun’s position. One p.m. …

Chapter 8 - New student

“Do you always go to school this way?” Silk asked as they walked to school. He now had a new backpack, filled with the necessary supplies.
“Yeah, and we’re going to meet Maya and Michelle on the way,” Miyako was still excited. She smiled and looked ahead. Maya was coming out of her house and locking the door. She saw Miyako and cocked her head. It looked like a boy was with her. She ran to Miyako and shook her by the shoulders.
“MIYAKO, YOU TWO-TIMER!!” Maya was pretty surprised to see Miyako with a boy. And it wasn’t even Tei with her!
“Uh, sorry to interrupt, but…I’m not dating her,” Silk said from a distance. He remembered the tall blonde from the last time he saw her. She stopped shaking Miyako to take a look at who was talking to her. It was a skinny boy with tan hair and dark skin. He looked a little bored, and his eyes were golden. He had bandages on his left arm, and Maya wondered what was wrong with it.
“Then why are you walking to school with her? Did you just move in or something?” Maya had now let go of Miyako’s shoulders and was facing Silk.
“Yeah! He lives at my house now, since he has no place to go,” Miyako said after she stopped feeling dizzy from all the shaking.
“You’re always taking strays in, Miyako,” Maya said. She paused. “You don’t sleep in the same room, do you?”
“Eww! That’s disgusting, Maya! We have separate rooms!” Miyako shook her head and waved her arms.
“This is a weird uniform,” Silk said, changing the subject. “You have to wear this every day?”
“Yeah, of course we do. What do you think uniforms are for?” Maya personally thought the uniform was cute, but maybe not on guys. “Hey, never got your name. What is it?”
“Silk. And yours?” Silk tried to be sort of polite. Maya, however, didn’t take too much caution to do so herself.
“…You’re named after a fabric??” Maya kind of felt sorry for the guy. “Oh yeah sorry. My name’s Maya.”
“Yeah, thanks a lot. When you put it that way, it sounds really stupid,” Silk didn’t particularly like his name himself, but it was his name. Maya laughed a little bit. She was kind of cute when she laughed; at least, Silk thought so.
“Come on! We still have to get Michelle!” Miyako was already walking towards Michelle’s house. Michelle came out of her house, and waved slightly to Miyako.
“Hi Miyako. Who’s that?” Michelle cocked her head as she looked at Silk. He was a little strange; his eyes seemed too mature for their age. He also had markings on his face, which gave him an even scarier appearance.
“Oh, that’s Silk. He’s gonna be going to the same school as us,” Miyako was more excited than usual. She seemed to have forgotten all about being mad yesterday. Maya was already flirting with him, fixing his tie thing that they had to wear.
“And he lives with her too, can you believe that? It’s a wonder that nothing’s happened yet,” Maya was finished doing Silk’s tie.
“Jeez, stop treating me like some pervert. I’m not gonna do anything to her,” Silk was a little surprised at how kids act and think nowadays. They take everything like it’s gross and disgusting.
Michelle also noticed that Silk was not so tall, and rather skinny. He was barely taller than her. She wondered if he got enough to eat. Michelle tried to stop thinking about people’s eating disorders, and instead thought of the science test they had today. That reminded her of how Miyako got lost yesterday. Before she knew it, they were at school.
“Here we are,” Maya waved a hand at the school. It was a plain, grayish building with a boring look to it. Silk knew better, though, than to judge a book by its cover. He made a point to himself not to be too smart; he didn’t want to skip a grade. This was because he didn’t lose his memories like other cats, and Miyako, when reincarnated. He, of course, didn’t tell Miyako this, to save himself from curiosity.
“I know that look!” Miyako stared up at him. “It’s the ‘Oh, great, this is where I’m going to school?’ look. Don’t be like that, it’s an okay school.” Miyako looked at him, expecting an ‘Oh, I’m sorry I misjudged your school! Will you ever forgive me?’ but all she got was a little toss of his head to get the hair out of his face. He started to walk to the school’s main entrance. He turned around.
“…Aren’t you coming?” Silk asked, in a monotone, like a lot of things he said. Another boy rushed past him. The boy looked at Silk suspiciously and surreptitiously slipped a note into Silk’s pocket. Silk noticed, of course, but didn’t take it out just yet, for two reasons. One, not to draw attention to himself, and two, to fool the culprit into thinking he was clueless about it.
“Yeah, yeah,” they all said. Miyako ran to catch up with Silk. She started telling him about all the rules and what he could and couldn’t do. Maya and Michelle walked a little ways behind them.
“They look real chummy, huh, Michelle?” Maya didn’t even lean down to whisper. “A little too chummy, if you ask me.”
“Hmm. Something’s a little strange about that boy. He just seems way too mature, you know?” Michelle had her suspicions, but didn’t want to guess anything until she got enough information.
“Uh…not really, no. I think it’s sort of cool, how he’s mature and stuff. It’s the thing that makes him hot,” Maya said, smiling.
“Somehow I think Miyako would be angry with you if you try to get him,” Michelle stared straight ahead. Stealing guys from their girls was one of Maya’s secret skills. With her looks it was easy.
“Yeah, but that’s still all the more reason to steal him away,” Maya could be quite cruel sometimes. At that moment, the bell rang. All the kids in front of the school started running, including Maya, Michelle, and Miyako pulling Silk along with her.
They managed to get to class in time, and since they were all ironically in the same homeroom, they sat down for class. Silk followed Miyako to a seat behind her. Many students stared at him, but when he stared back they turned away, quite scared. The teacher motioned for him to stand up. So he did.
“New student!! New student!! So, what’s your name again?” the teacher was overly peppy and energetic. It was, of course, very creepy.
“Silk. And yours is…?” Silk said nonchalantly. All of the students laughed at his response.
“I see no reason to laugh. And my name is Miss Jumbles. Nice to meet you,” the teacher reached out a hand. Silk looked at it and then reached out his. They shook hands, and Silk sat down for class.
“Okey dokey, students! You’re lucky you have free period first, but remember! You have a science test today!!” Miss Jumbles was quite knowledgeable about tests and such in other classes. Everyone in class started talking and moving around. Silk stayed seated. Maya and Michelle came over to Miyako’s seat.
“Hey, I bet you didn’t study, huh, Miyako?” Maya teased her, even though she didn’t study, either.
“So? Neither did you! You’re just gonna copy answers from Michelle, like always,” Miyako could tell by her face that she didn’t study at all.
“A science test, huh?” Silk said, and Miyako, Maya, and Michelle all jumped with surprise.
“Did you forget I was here already?” Silk had his head on his hand, resting his elbow on his desk. “So what’s it on?”
“What’s what on??” Miyako asked dubiously.
“The science test, you idiot! What’s the science test on!?” Maya and Silk both shouted at the same time. Maya blushed. Silk coughed.
“Um… It’s on meiosis and chromosomes, right?” Michelle timidly chimed in. She studied for all the tests, even though she was super smart.
“Yeah I think so,” Maya said. “But I wouldn’t know. I didn’t even take my science book home.” At that moment, a girl came up to them. She was a cheerleader, and not one they normally talked to.
“Oh my gosh! What happened to your arm?” she said dramatically. She faked surprise and utter concern. They all looked at Silk’s arm.
“Don’t stare at it. And it’s fine,” Silk looked away. Truthfully, it did hurt, but not so much that he couldn’t stand it.
“Well, if you need anything, just say so. My name’s Trish; here’s my cell number,” she handed him a little piece of paper with a number on it. Then she ran off.
“…Okay…” Silk said and made a face like ‘that was weird.’ He looked at the number. It was written in pink ink and in cutesy printing. He stuffed it in his pocket. He felt another piece of paper in his pocket, and suddenly remembered the note that boy gave him that morning. His gaze darkened. He knew now who gave him the note. That wretched lab experiment…
“Hellooo… Silk there?” Miyako waved a hand in front of his face. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Silk said, and smiled a little. “Hey, shouldn’t you be studying? Cheating is bad, you know.”
“Oh yeah!! I forgot again,” Miyako looked at the clock. Fifteen more minutes. “I gotta hurry!” she fumbled for her science book and opened it to study. They studied for fifteen minutes and then departed to their respective classes. Miyako’s next class was literature, so Silk followed her to her locker so she could get her literature book. As she did, she told him about the literature teacher.
“You’ll really like her, she’s really nice…” Miyako blabbed on and on, so naturally, Silk wasn’t listening.
“Are you listening??” Miyako asked indignantly, and clumsily dropped all of her books. Silk knelt and helped her. It reminded him of when the other Miyako did something similar. He smiled a little.
“What??” Miyako was blushing. Silk stood up, and did a little ‘heh.’ Miyako stood also. She was thoroughly embarrassed now.
“Don’t laugh at me…” Miyako said, but she was happy now, because Silk was happy. He seemed like a person that was rarely happy.
“I’m not, I’m not…” Silk slightly shook his head. The same boy from that morning passed by and frowned. Silk caught this, and in turn, stuck his tongue out at him. The boy made a little pouty face, and then walked on.
“What are you doing?? That’s Tei you’re sticking your tongue at!!” Miyako grabbed him by the arm and shook him.
“Uh…so?” Silk didn’t see why it was so wrong. I mean, he’s the one who stuck a note in my pocket…
“Just because!! Well, I sort of like him,” Miyako blurted out the truth before she knew what she was doing. Silk had no response to this. He just kind of stared away. Is it possible, she thought, that Silk might be jealous?
Literature class was very uneventful. Silk thought it was awfully boring, but pretended to pay attention because the teacher was very nice. It wasn’t her fault she got stuck doing that particularly boring story. Miyako was talking with Tei in between classes literature and science, so Silk took out the note Tei had written. It said:

I saw you with Miyako, JU-KYU. Don’t try anything with her, she’s MINE. She may be linked to you spiritually, but she doesn’t have to LOVE you like the last one. I WILL kill you, and she won’t care.
- LOATHE

This troubled him. Loathe was back, and worse, remembered who he was. I thought I had cleared his memory. Those scientists must have brought it back…They’re always getting on my case…
“Silk!! Come on! It’s time for science!” Miyako waved to him. He quickly stuffed the note back into his pocket and walked with her to her locker again. Tei smiled at him. I love it when you’re confused like this…he thought.
“I hope my fifteen minutes of studying will pay off,” Miyako said while she put her literature book in her locker. “Okay, the double stranded chromosomes line up in the center…” She went over the section in her head and out loud. Silk stayed quiet for a while, but he felt that he should tell her, even if she wouldn’t agree.
“Listen, Miyako. You don’t want to be too friendly with that Tei guy, okay?” Silk told her. But Miyako just laughed.
“Are you just jealous? Don’t worry, nothing’s happening between me and Tei,” Miyako said with a smile. “We’re just friends.”
“That’s just it. Don’t be friends with that guy, okay? He might be all sugar and sweet on the outside, but trust me. He’s out to destroy both of us,” Silk told her, and it was true. Before he could finish, someone grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. It was none other than Tei himself.
“Hello, Silk,” Tei said in the undeniable alluring voice Silk knew well. “Don’t tell her anything. She has nothing to do with it. All I want is you. Dead,” he said under his breath so only Silk could hear.
“Trust me, you won’t get away with it,” Silk whispered back. They both had hardly moved their lips while whispering, to avoid suspicion that they were not just saying hi to each other. Tei smiled at Silk, and Silk did the same, and they went on to where they were supposed to.
“I’m glad you’re over your jealousy of Tei,” Miyako smiled. She paused. “Not like there was anything to be jealous of.”
They took their seats in science, and the teacher passed the test out. When he passed by Silk’s desk, he didn’t give him a test.
“Hey, you skipped me,” Silk said in a normal voice. The teacher was surprised at first, then puzzled.
“Are you sure you want to take it? It’s your first day,” he got a copy of the test and handed it to Silk.
“Yeah, I studied with her,” Silk said, jerking his head towards Miyako. This stuff is easy, anyway. He looked at the test, and put his name on the front. It felt a little weird to write in English; he had not done so in a while.
“You may start,” the teacher said, and at that moment, students began writing furiously with their pens, as to finish the test when it was still fresh in their minds. Silk, however, wrote slowly and took his time. His thoughts drifted away for a moment, and unconsciously he started writing in Chinese. He quickly erased it and wrote the answers in English. What an awful habit…
In a few minutes, Silk was done. He handed the test to the teacher. The teacher was once again surprised. He took Silk’s test.
“Since you are done, I have a question for you,” the teacher said. “This is for all of you, so listen up. I’ll put it on the board in a minute.” He paused. “I am on an investigation of a robbery. It was very tricky, as the culprit left little evidence. We have three suspects. Two of them claim they didn’t do it, while the other remains quiet. The quiet one is related to the victims, and has the key. Which is the culprit?”
“The normal person would be baffled by this question, as they would be choosing between the deniers and the quiet one, because he has the key. I would say it is neither; rather, someone you didn’t even consider a suspect, a bystander, actually. Even a 1% chance is a chance. Am I correct?” Silk said this without pause. The teacher was delighted.
“I will tell you after class. The rest of you finish your test and then answer this question with your own answer,” the teacher went to his desk and sat down. Such a resourceful student…It took us two weeks to solve that case, and he solved it in a matter of seconds…
“Wow, Silk,” Miyako whispered. “I would’ve never thought of that.” Miyako stared at him for a moment. Was he really their age? He seemed way too smart.
“That’s because you don’t have the experience I do,” Silk said. “Don’t be so surprised. Cats are intelligent beings. Any other would tell you the same.”
“Oh. Can I steal your answer for the question? I can’t think of anything else,” Miyako whispered.
“Of course not,” Silk said. He made a ‘what are you, stupid?’ face. “Finish your test, imbecile.”
“Right, I forgot,” Miyako went back to those chromosomes. After class was over, the teacher told Silk to stay behind and talk to him.
“What is it?” Silk asked rather calmly. The teacher paused for a while.
“How did you figure it out? It was a rather wild guess, but it was correct. I just want to know: how??” the teacher looked rather baffled.
“I could tell just by looking at your face,” Silk said. “Your expression gave it away.”
“But I was serious, I had no expression on my face,” the teacher cocked his head.
“But you were trying to be serious. That’s what gave it away. If you smiled while you said it, or were genuinely serious, I would have considered the more obvious answers,” Silk stared right at the teacher while saying all of this. He waited for a response.
“I see…I’ve never seen a child with such skills; it’s almost like you have an aged brain but a young body…” the teacher was once again baffled. Silk just raised an eyebrow at this.
“Okay…bye,” Silk went off to where Miyako was waiting for him.
“Come on, we have math next…” Miyako rummaged through her locker for her math book. “Tei’s in that class, so behave,” she teased.
“I’m serious, Miyako. That guy gives me a weird feeling…” Silk hunched his shoulders and looked around.
“Well, we’ll see…” Miyako smiled. Is he just jealous? She thought to herself again. I shouldn’t think about it…
“Algebra 1, huh? I’m surprised you got in,” Silk glanced at her book. It was an old book, tearing apart at the edges.
“Hey, that’s not nice. I happen to be an A student in math,” Miyako said proudly. She wondered though. Do I really look that stupid??
“Huh…” Silk smiled awkwardly. He was quite charming, especially when he smiled. Miyako was getting stared at by cheerleaders because a good-looking guy was following her. They whispered and glared at her.
“Let’s go,” Miyako grabbed Silk’s arm and headed towards the math lab. The cheerleaders whispered louder and glared some more. Miyako only smiled. Hah! I totally owned them!
“People are glaring at you…” Silk informed her.
“Yeah, I know,” Miyako said, still pulling him to the math lab. When they got there, Tei also stared. It was creepy to have someone like him stare at you the wrong way.
“Um…can you let go of my arm now? He’s staring at us,” Silk leaned down a little to tell Miyako.
“Right,” Miyako let go quickly. She didn’t want Tei to see her holding Silk’s hand. She sat down in the front of the class. Silk sat down next to her, and Tei sat next to Silk. This is great placing, Silk thought sarcastically to himself.
Tei rested his chin on one hand and looked at Silk. He looks so scared. I’m not used to sitting up here, but it’s worth it… A man in a suit came up to the chalkboard, turned around, and smiled at the students.
“POP QUIZ!!” he shouted. An arousing shout of ‘Aww…’ and ‘Boo!’ filled the room. The front row of Miyako, Silk, and Tei, however, stayed quiet. The suit man handed out a paper with ten algebraic problems. It wasn’t much, really. The students just hated pop quizzes, even if they were easy.
Silk and Tei started their quiz. They glanced at each other occasionally, to see who was farther. Oddly enough, they finished at the exact same time, clacking their pencils down simultaneously.
“Finished, huh? We’ll see how well you did,” Suit man said. He took their papers and checked them over. He scowled sarcastically at them when he was finished.
“One hundred percent,” he said through clenched teeth. Then he grinned. “Good work, you two.”
Silk and Tei smiled, and Miyako gave them a thumbs up. Then she went back to her own quiz, which she was almost finished with.
After math was finished, they headed down to history with Maya. They walked slowly, dreading the horridly boring session that awaited them.
“Oh my gosh, Maya! Silk is so smart!!” Miyako wouldn’t drop the subject for even a second. “I’m still in shock!”
“You told me three times already. Besides, you shouldn’t brag about people when they’re right there,” Maya looked at Silk.
“You know, I’ve actually been here the whole time,” Silk said to Miyako. Miyako blushed and pouted. She felt like such a little kid, with Maya and Silk being so mature. They had reached the history class by then, and were staring at the door.
“Oh joy, we’re here,” Maya said sarcastically. She slid open the door and went in, and Silk followed. Miyako sort of scurried in the door. She didn’t have as long of legs as Maya, so she couldn’t just stride leisurely.
The history teacher looked up from her desk at the back, where she was reading a newspaper. She was an elderly woman, but certainly not weak. She had glasses that sat on the tip of her nose. Her eyes were stern and narrow, giving them a scary yet wise appearance.
“Come now, sit down,” the teacher said. Her voice sounded a little old, but ten years before this it was loud, sharp, and clear. Miyako, Silk, and Maya sat down in the back, as they were the only seats available. The teacher didn’t care if there were new faces in her classroom, as long as there were bodies to listen to her.
“Now, King Henry was a…” This was about all Silk heard, because after that he fell asleep. Maya giggled a little and poked him with the end of her pen. Silk cracked open an eye.
“Pay attention,” Maya whispered, even though she failed to pay attention herself. As a response, Silk went right back to sleeping. By the time he woke up, class had ended. He looked up to see Maya and Miyako there.
“Where’s the-“
“She left. You should’ve seen her face. We told her you had insomnia and she totally fell for it,” Miyako grinned.
“Either that or she didn’t give a care,” Maya headed for the door. Silk stood up and did likewise. Miyako followed in suit. As they were walking to lunch, an unwanted topic came into conversation.
“You didn’t eat breakfast!?” Maya was thoroughly shocked. “No wonder you’re so puny.” Miyako laughed at this.
“You’re just a giant, Maya,” she said. Silk had no response to this. He knew he was small, he always had been.
“You’re…a non-meat eater, huh?” Michelle joined into the conversation. Both Miyako and Maya were surprised at this remark.
“How’d you know?” Silk was interested. This girl was way smarter than Miyako, and a little smarter than Maya.
“I can tell. You’re way too skinny to be a meat eater anyway,” Michelle mumbled in response. She talked like Silk, low, quiet, and in a monotone.
The rest of the day went uneventfully. After lunch there was English and electives. Miyako’s chosen elective was cooking. As always, Miyako, Maya, Michelle, and now Silk, all walked home the same way.
Miyako took the key on her necklace and unlocked the door. She was talking, as expected, and probably didn’t care if Silk was listening or not. When Silk walked in, a sudden wave of dizziness came over him, and he couldn’t see well. His legs gave in and he fell onto the floor.
“Silk…?”

• • •

Chapter 7 - Eclipse

“Where have you been!? I was waiting for you to show up!” Suki was more in-his-face than ever.
“Uh…I was just visiting someone,” Silk said bluntly. “Besides, I’m not here to see you. I’m here to get Miyako.”
“Where are you going to take her?” Suki always had a question to ask. At that moment, Kuto came by, interested in what they were talking about.
“I’m curious as well. Where would you take her that we couldn’t come with you?” Kuto was purely curious, with a hint of doubt in Silk.
“Well, actually I don’t know if you can. Do you have markings like I do?” Silk said, pointing to the three horizontal stripes on his left cheek.
“Well, no. Is that the reason? Suki, do you have any?” Kuto was surprised at this question. He also never noticed Silk’s markings. Maybe they meant something.
“Yeah, like a birthmark, you mean? I have one on my back, see?” Suki turned around so that they could see. It was on her upper back, and shaped oddly like half of a star.
“Hmm. You could probably come, but I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Silk said. Why would this cat have a marking? He prepared for the whining, but surprisingly nothing came.
“Okay,” Suki said. “I can go when I’m older?” she inquired.
“Yeah, just wait a few more months,” Silk said, pleased at her maturity about the situation. “Transforming into a human takes a lot out of you.”
“What…? Transform…? Human…?” Kuto and Suki were utterly confused. That wasn’t possible, was it?
“Oops,” Silk realized he accidentally blurted that information out. Come on, Miyako, save me from telling them. And, on cue, Miyako came down at just that moment.
“Are you ready?” Silk asked.
“For what…?” Miyako had no idea what he was talking about.
“Just come…” Silk said, and turned towards the door.
“Okay…?” Miyako just followed, and soon they were outside, and on the street. It was about sunset, and the sky was a beautiful red-orange. Silk lead her into an alley of some sort. He said something to the wall, and then, Miyako didn’t know how, they were somewhere else.
It was awfully dark inside that place, except for a glowing orb in the center. It gave the only light. Silk stared at it, and started walking towards it.
“Wait, where are you going?” Miyako asked. She didn’t even know where they were, or how they got there, for that matter.
“The Eclipse. It’s right there, and I intend to use it,” Silk said. Perhaps it would be easier to communicate with her as a human. He stepped towards the orb, and once he reached it, he started to levitate. Then everything became too bright to see. Miyako squinted to find out what Silk was doing, but it was no good. She couldn’t see anything. The light started to fade, and Miyako was able to see just a little bit. She saw the shape of a human person, and she wondered who it was. The light dimmed some more, and she could see the details of the person. It was a boy, and he had tan, almost peach hair. He looked Miyako’s age, and was sitting on the floor looking up at her. Miyako now knew who it was, because she noticed the markings on his left cheek.
“Silk?” she asked, just to make sure. “Is it you?”
“Yeah. I don’t see anyone else here, do you?” the familiar voice came back to her. He stood up, and brushed himself off.
“Wow, I can’t believe it’s you. You look so different,” Miyako was excited to be able to talk to him.
“Well, you don’t look exactly like the old Miyako,” Silk said in reply. He did look different, though. He looked at his arm. The scar was still there. At least he wouldn’t have to walk on it.
“Come on, let’s go back, Silk,” Miyako said, still excited.
“…Do you even know how?” Silk doubted she did.
“Well no…” Miyako wanted to show Suki what Silk looked like as a human. She would be so jealous! “Will you show me?”
“Yeah, sure. Just face the wall.” Silk faced the wall, and Miyako did likewise.
“Take us back from which we came,” Silk recited the transportation spell. And, in a flash, they were back in the alley they came from.
“See? It’s easy,” Silk grinned. Miyako wondered if Tei would ever grin like that at her. No, no! Stop it, myself! Don’t think like that!
“Wow! Are you going to go to school with me now? My dad’s the principal, so he can fill out all the paperwork,” Miyako sure hoped he’d come.
“Your dad’s the principal?” Silk thought it must be awful to have the principal for a dad. But Miyako didn’t think so.
“Yup! He’s my dad, and my principal! You look the same age as me, so we’ll be in the same grade! And hopefully in some of the same classes,” She actually couldn’t wait for school tomorrow.
“Okay. The only thing we have to worry about is if your dad will do it for me,” Silk hoped he could go to school with her as much as Miyako did.
“Of course he will; he’s my dad!” Miyako knew her dad was nice, despite being a strict principal.
When they came in, Silk looked around. The house was pretty spacious. Miyako’s father came by and stopped.
“Who’s that, Miyako? A friend of yours?” he said, looking in Silk’s direction. The boy stared right back, he didn’t even falter under Miyako’s dad’s stare.
“Yeah. We were wondering…He has no place to go, and he needs an education, so would it be okay if he started school with me? He’s in the same grade,” Miyako asked. Miyako’s dad jerked his attention away from the boy and back to his daughter.
“Why sure, honey. Let me just fill out some papers and he’ll be ready to go by tomorrow. What’s his name?” Miyako’s dad wasn’t sure about letting a child like this go to Miyako’s school, but it looked like he had to. He didn’t want to let down his daughter.
“It’s Silk. I have no last name, so don’t bother asking,” Silk said, nonchalantly. He didn’t particularly like Miyako’s dad. He had something weird about him.
“Okay, Silk. So, do you have any place to live?” Miyako’s dad asked this question, knowing that Silk didn’t have a home.
“No,” the expected answer came. What was this guy trying to do, prying with such an obvious question?
“Oh! Can Silk stay with us? He can sleep in the extra bedroom; we’re not using it, so it’s okay, right?” Miyako asked, even though Silk had been staying with them for a while, as a cat of course.
Miyako’s mother was busy in the kitchen, listening to the conversation. “Of course he can stay! We’d love to have him, and we have enough room.”
Miyako’s dad went to fill out the paperwork, and Miyako’s mother was busy in the kitchen, making a special supper for them. So Miyako and Silk were left alone.
“Do you want to go down to the basement?” Miyako said suddenly. She wanted to show Suki! I wonder if other cats can turn into humans.
“Um, sure. Why not,” Silk shrugged. He would have to show himself sooner or later. Those curious little cats are probably blowing up from suspense. So they went down to the garage.
“Wow, Miyako! Who’s that??” Suki was, of course, curious. Kuto was as well. But then he noticed the three horizontal stripes on this boy’s left cheek.
“SILK!? Is it really you!?” Kuto’s eyes widened with disbelief. What the heck was going on?
“Yeah. Hi,” Silk said, waving a hand. Kuto still stared, wide-eyed. Suki stood there as well, mouth agape. She turned to Kuto with a face like ‘you’ve got to be kidding.’
“Wow, Silk! I can’t believe you’re human! Cool!” Suki jumped up and down. She wanted to be human, too. Maybe she could, Silk said so because of her birthmark. But she had to wait a little longer before she was ready.
“Can I go to sleep? Don’t you have that room for me?” Silk was kind of tired, and his arm bothered him.
“Oh, sure. Yeah, the room’s upstairs. Let’s go,” Miyako couldn’t believe he wanted to go to sleep already. It was only 5 o’clock. “Don’t you want to eat first?”
“No, I’m tired. I don’t want to eat,” Silk said. It was true, he didn’t want to eat. He would have to explain that he was a vegetarian.
“Okay…” Miyako turned towards the door to leave. Silk walked with her. They went up the stairs and into the spare bedroom. It was dark and a little dusty. Miyako coughed as the dust reached them.
“Okay, here we are. I’ll have to get some school supplies for you, but you can sleep,” Miyako always had extra school supplies, her dad being the principal and all.
“Okay, good night,” Silk flopped on the bed and went straight to sleep. Miyako quietly crept out of the room. She went down the stairs to dinner.
“Where’s Silk?” asked her mother. “He isn’t hungry?”
“No, he said he’s tired, so he’s sleeping right now,” Miyako looked at her mother’s expression, as she was wondering what to do with all the food she made.
“Just put it in the fridge,” Miyako suggested. “Maybe Silk will eat it tomorrow.”
“I suppose…” Miyako’s mother said as she put the food in the fridge.
“Okay, let’s eat,” Miyako’s dad didn’t seem the least bit disappointed that Silk couldn’t come to dinner. In fact, he almost seemed happy about it.
Miyako tried to eat fast so that she could go to sleep. She couldn’t wait for school tomorrow.

Chapter 6 - Apology?

Miyako walked down the hallway of her school. It had only been a day since Silk had disappeared. She was a little worried that he might not come back. She felt like she had some kind of connection with him. Like, if they weren’t together, something would go wrong. Of course, it felt weird to be like that about a cat. She was so deep in thought, she didn’t notice when she bumped into Tei, a guy from her class.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it!” She felt so embarrassed.
“I know. It’s okay,” He said, and picked up her books for her. He looked at her and said, “Are you okay? You been kind of distant today…”
“Ah! It’s nothing,” she said franticly. She wouldn’t want anyone worrying about her.
“Um, thanks for picking up my books. I gotta go to class, bye!” As she ran to class, she thought, How would he notice? I was trying so hard not to show that something was up!! … But…he is kind of deep…He’s always thinking… It’s kind of cute…
As soon as those thoughts reached her mind, she shook them out. No! I don’t have time for guys! Besides, it’s not like he likes me! Why would he like me? I’m not smart! And I’m not that athletic! He probably likes someone else! Like Maya! She’s so pretty any boy would like her!
She was convinced that she didn’t like Tei and that Tei didn’t like her. Even so, she couldn’t stop thinking about it during literature.
“Hey Miyako, you doin’ all right?” Maya suddenly approached her. Obviously the teacher was gone.
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine…” Miyako shook her head even though she was saying yes. She was a little messed up from all the confusion today.
“Eh? What is it? You can tell me,” Maya was interested. What if she likes someone? It sure seemed like it.
“Well, I ran into Tei down the hall, then all of my books dropped, then he gave them to me and he asked me if I was okay, and I got this weird feeling when he looked at me, at first I thought he liked me, but then I thought that was ridiculous and-“
At that point, Maya clamped Miyako’s mouth shut with two fingers. “Whoa there. That’s what I call a run-on sentence.” She laughed. Then she leaned down towards Miyako’s desk till they were eye-level.
“So you like Tei?” she asked seriously.
“I guess so…” Miyako blushed. “But he probably doesn’t like me, so…”
“REALLY!? YOU LIKE TEI!? I don’t believe it!!” Maya whispered loudly.
“Shhh! Don’t let everyone hear!!” Miyako blushed even more. Why’d she have to tell Maya of all people? It was such a bad choice. However, Maya completely ignored this warning.
“So, are you going to tell him??” She was obviously enjoying this. After all, Miyako was always so modest; she never liked any guy before.
“Tell who?” “Tell what?” People started to listen in on their conversation. Maya sort of looked at Miyako like, ‘Can I tell them?’ but Miyako shook her head and frowned. What a mistake!!
“Oh it’s nothing,” Maya said sarcastically. She wanted to create suspense. She wouldn’t tell of course, but it was fun to act like she was.
“Oh, come on, tell us!!” “Please??” “I promise I won’t tell…”
“Well…” Maya made a thinking face. Miyako made a face of dismay. Was she really going to tell them after she told her not to??
“NO. It’s Miyako’s business,” Maya said. Phew, thought Miyako. I thought she was really going to.
“Yeah, it’s her business, so if you want to pester someone, pester her,” Maya said, flicking a thumb in Miyako’s direction. And, as expected, everyone started to crowd around Miyako now.
“MAYA!! GET BACK HERE!!” Miyako was furious. She wasn’t really sure if Maya was her friend or not. “AND I’M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU SO GO AWAY.”
Miyako stormed towards the door. As she reached to open it, someone from outside opened it themselves. It was Tei.
He stared at her for a moment and then said to everyone else, “Aren’t we supposed to switch classes? I thought it was 11:30…”
“Um…it is,” Miyako said, looking at the clock. She quickly ran back to her desk to get her stuff and whisked out the door.
“Uh…Miyako? What class do you have right now?” Tei asked.
“Science. Why? What do you have right now?” Miyako stopped in her tracks.
“I have art- but that’s not the point,” Tei said. “The science lab is the other way…”
“Oh, right!! Thanks again, bye!” She ran past him, totally embarrassed. I hate how I’m so stupid and clumsy!!
Tei sat down in the back, where he always sat. That girl can be so clumsy. I wonder if she knows I gave her wrong directions…It’s all part of the test…
“Hey Tei, are you listening to me?” The teacher bonked him on the head with a rolled up magazine. “Please show me your painting.” Tei gave him the painting he had done.
The teacher looked irritated; as if he wanted Tei’s painting to be incomplete or messy. “Very good,” he said, and Tei smiled triumphantly.
“Nice,” his friend elbowed him slightly. Everyone hated the art teacher because he was always trying to find faults in the students.
“Of course,” Tei said, for he had planned the entire thing. Well, not the part about not listening.

• • •

“I’M LOST!!” Miyako exclaimed. Had Tei given her wrong directions? He seemed to be pretty sure about making me go this way. And he didn’t even know what class I was in next. Would he do that on purpose?? No, of course not! Tei’s always so nice. All these thoughts crammed inside her head made her dizzy.
“You’re lost, huh?” A voice came from nowhere. Miyako looked around for where it came from.
“Down here, idiot,” it said. So, automatically, she looked down. Silk stared up at her. He looked a little irritated.
“How did you…Where did you…?” Miyako fumbled her words as she tried to ask two questions at once. However, Silk seemed to understand it just fine.
“The window,” he said. “I’m pretty good at jumping and unlocking.” For a few minutes they just stood there, an awkward silence hanging above their heads. Then, finally, Silk broke the silence.
“So you must be angry with me for running away. I mean, I would be. I don’t know how else to say it, but sorry.” He didn’t look at her as he said it, which probably meant that he wasn’t kidding.
“It’s okay, I’m just glad that you’re back,” Miyako was, in fact, very happy. Everyone had been missing him, especially Suki. Oh, no! I have to get to class!!
“Uh…sorry, Silk, but I’m late for science!” She hurried on her way. She remembered the way to class now. The only reason she didn’t before was because she was so flustered.
When she walked in the door, most of the students looked at her, plus the teacher. Miyako was out of breath, so she couldn’t say anything.
“Would you kindly explain as to why you are fifteen minutes late?” the teacher inquired, annoyed. Miyako took a deep breath.
“Well, I was in lit. but then it was time for this class and I was in a hurry and someone gave me wrong directions and I got lost but then I remembered the way and came here really really fast!” Miyako let it all out in one breath. She was pretty good at making run-on sentences.
“Okay, whatever, just take your seat,” the teacher was pretty baffled by how fast Miyako could talk. She didn’t even want to try to get what she said.
“Okay, on page 238…” the teacher continued with her lesson.
After that the day went by pretty fast. As they were walking home, Michelle was curious to find out about what happened in literature, because she was not in the same class.
“Do you really like Tei?” Michelle asked innocently.
“I guess I do… But I don’t want everyone to know. I mean, what if he doesn’t like me back? That would be so embarrassing. Besides, I’ve done plenty of embarrassing things in front of him,” Miyako said.
“Oh? Embarrassing things, hm? Like…?” Maya was poking into the conversation like always.
“I’m not telling you! Not after the last time I told you something!” Miyako wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“Jeez, I’m sorry,” Maya said. “It’s not like I told them.”
“Yeah, but you almost did. And then you told them to ask me if they wanted to know, which, of course, they did,” Miyako was pretty angry.
“What’re you so pumped up about? Take a chill pill,” Maya said calmly. It was just a joke. She thought it was funny, but obviously Miyako didn’t.
“I’m just mad, okay? Maybe I won’t be tomorrow. Bye,” Miyako trudged rather loudly to her house. She needed to spend some time alone to cool off.
She went into her room and jumped on her bed. She stared at the ceiling for a while. She knew that if she closed her eyes, she would either fall asleep, or think about Tei. So she stuck with ceiling staring. Why did I have to start liking him? I mean, he gave me wrong directions. That was so mean. So why do I still like him?

• • •

Chapter 5 - Killsong’s House

“You worry too much, Killsong. Ringtai-oops- Silk will be fine,” a middle-aged female cat said. She was a light beige color with tan spots. A pretty cat she was, and Killsong’s wife as well.
“I can’t help it…” Killsong replied. “He seemed like he needed some help. He was limping, Katarina.” Katarina sighed and looked around at their home. ‘The Canopy of Trees’ it was called. Anyone could transport here, from the city, in that alley…
“Mama! Can we climb the trees?” a brown kitten approached Katarina from behind.
“Mako! You scared me! And no, you can’t climb the trees- it’s too dangerous,” Katarina answered to one of her boys.
“Aww, please?” Mako pleaded. “We’ll be good, promise!”
“…Well, okay, but only the low ones, got it?” she couldn’t say no to a face like that.
“Yes! Come on, Kotori! Let’s go!” Mako called to his sister, Kotori. She was beige like her mother, but had no spots at all.
“Coming!” Kotori said. They ran to the low trees that they could climb.
Katarina looked at them affectionately. She sighed happily.
“Mako looks so much like you, Killsong,” she said. She looked over at him. His eyes were sad. He was so worried for Silk-it was cute in a way, how, after all these years; they could still remember each other and worry their heads off.
“Hey! Someone came from the transporter!” Mako jumped excitedly as he saw the flash from the transporter.
“Who is it? Who, who?” Kotori ran over to see. She stopped in front of the cat that transported. The cat was dark brown with black stripes of fur that looked like rings, on his legs and on his tail. He was lying on the ground, unconscious.
“Izze sleepin’?” Kotori asked.
“I dunno. Poke ‘im,” Mako said. So Kotori started poking with no avail, but she kept at it. Mako noticed the black rings on this cat’s fur.
“Hey, hey! It’s that one cat with rings on ‘is tail from Dad’s stories, ‘member?” Mako suddenly realized. What was his name? Ringlegs? No…Ring…tail! That was it!
“No way, Mako! Those’re jus’ stories! There not real,” Kotori protested.
“So what? I’m tellin’ Dad anyways,” Mako said, and stuck out his tongue.
“Hey Dad! We found that guy from the stories-Ringtail!” Mako shouted to Killsong.
Once Killsong heard that name, he went right over. His kids wouldn’t lie to him, would they? He got over there and, sure enough, there he was-Silk, on the floor of his house, looking halfway dead.

• • •

When Silk awoke, he was quite aware of where he was. He could remember the temperature, the smell, and, of course, the dirt underneath him. He stood up and found that Killsong was watching him.
“What?” Silk asked. “Something on my face?”
“Ah…nothing…” Killsong said with a sigh.
Silk smirked. “You sound like such an old man when you say that. I almost forget that I’m older than you.”
“Oh be quiet! I’m not the one who can’t resolve his own problems so he has to come here!” Killsong retorted.
Silk stuck out his tongue at Killsong. “So, since I’m here, would I have the pleasure of meeting your wonderful family?”
“Oh! I’m Katarina. Nice to meet you. I’m Killsong’s wife.” Katarina said from a distance.
“It’s a pleasure. I’m sure you know my name but I’m Silk, just in case,” Silk said, and winked.
“I’m Kotori!”
“And I’m Mako!”
Two kittens suddenly jumped at him. “Whoa…hi…” Silk said in surprise.
“So…Kotori? And…Mako? Right?” he said, pointing to them as he said their names.
“Yup!” they said in unison. And then they flashed a big smile to him. They were obviously excited.
“So, why are you here, anyway?” Killsong asked, trying to appear innocent and curious. Though of course he knew the reason. He hated the way Silk always acted so superior to him.
“That stupid girl…what’s her name…oh, Suki, right…she picked a fight with me. She’s barely older than you two, Mako and Kotori,” Silk said. Killsong kept a laugh to himself. It was pretty funny the way he said that girl’s name with such disgust. It seemed…so fitting for his appearance, despite his real age.
Silk lifted his paw to lick it. The bandages were falling off, and the scars were showing through. He didn’t seem to care, though. He didn’t even seem to notice.
“Your paw! It’s hurt!” Katarina said with worry.
“It’s fine. It doesn’t really hurt…” Silk lied. He stared at the scar. It was very long, starting at his shoulder and going all the way down to his wrist. It did hurt, but what did he care? It’s not like he was going to die of it.
“That’s some scar, Silk… How’d that happen…?” Killsong was curious. He immediately regretted asking, because Silk’s eyes showed anger, and he could be pretty scary when he’s mad. He didn’t say anything; he just stood there with a scary expression on his face.
Silk sighed. It was those stupid scientists who did this to him. The only thing those scientists were useful for was bringing him here, helping him find Miyako.
“I’m hungry, so I’m going to go find something. Bye,” Silk was abrupt as he left. He hadn’t eaten in a while, and he knew he wouldn’t get a good meal in the city.
“Oh, and thanks,” Silk said. He then bounded away into the forest. Killsong watched him go.
“He’s pretty fast for someone with a ripped up arm…” he said.

• • •

Silk had gathered some nuts and edible leaves. Despite his cold, no-mercy attitude, he was, in fact, against the consumption of meat. As he started to eat, he got the feeling that he was being watched. He looked around cautiously; no one seemed to be there. The feeling did not go away, however. As soon as he finished eating, he ran out of the forest. The faster I get out of here, the better, he thought.
As he ran, he thought of what he was going to say to Miyako. What if she wouldn’t talk to him? He was pondering over this, when two cats approached him.
“Hey you. What are you doing here?” the first one asked. They were of interesting colors, one was blue, and the other was green. They both had markings across one eye; the green cat’s on the right eye, and the blue cat’s on the left.
“It’s not your place to ask that, Chi,” Silk answered. It certainly ticked the green cat to be called by the name of his past life.
“Shut up. That’s not my name anymore,” Chi answered. “It’s Midori.”
“And call me Azure,” the blue cat said, who’s former name was Shi.
“The Chi-Shi brothers are back, huh? Now Midori and Azure, eh?” Silk smiled in a careless way. Those cats were always so serious, it was kind of funny.
“Shut up and answer the question,” Midori said with an expressionless face.
“You’re so uptight,” Silk said under his breath. “I was at a friend’s, okay? Now I’m going home.”
“Home to where?” Azure asked. Azure was slightly sneakier than Midori, even though he was the younger one. He smiled as Silk hesitated.
“Nowhere special…What’s it to you?” Silk asked. He didn’t trust them as much as he used to. They were hiding something behind those innocent faces.
“If it’s not special then tell us,” Midori smiled as well. Silk was slowly losing confidence. It would not hurt to confuse him.
“To the city, okay? Bye!” Silk ran off before they could say anything else. He was running faster than he was before. They confused him, alright.
“Shall we follow him?” Midori said in a teasing way.
“Yeah, we’ll follow him. But in a way he won’t notice,” Azure had formulated a plan inside that mind of his. Hopefully Silk wouldn’t recognize them as humans.
• • •

Chapter 4 - Battle! Silk vs. Suki

When Silk arrived at the Asuni house, his leg was still hurting, but he didn’t care. He had to talk with Miyako about Suki and her behavior. But as he was going to take a step forward, Suki herself came out of the house. He looked surprised at first, surprised that she’d show, then he quickly changed his expression into a glare.
Suki was trying to put on a glare, too, but it was hard to contain her excitement without giving it away in her eyes. She was going to fight Silk! And win!
“I’ve come to fight you, Silk! You’ve been mean, so I’ll prove that I’m grown up enough!” Suki said confidently. But Silk started laughing.
“You’ve got an advantage, kitten. My leg’s still healing. But I doubt you’ll win anyway,” Silk said with a smirk. He would deal with her quickly. He made a challenge for himself: Deal with this brat without hurting her at all. She could hurt herself, though.
Suki came running at Silk. Silk sidestepped and dodged the attack. As a result, Suki crashed into the floor. She got up, angry. She gave a little roar and came at him again. Once again, Silk dodged it and she came crashing into the floor. She tried a different approach. She raised her claws to scratch. She came down forcefully, but her attack was evaded when Silk slapped his paw against hers, and it failed. Suki used her back leg to trip Silk. One of his legs dodged it, but the other got hit. Silk didn’t fall, but it looked like it hurt his paw.
Silk glared at her. This was taking a bit too long, he thought. I know, he thought, I’ll trick her!
Silk started licking his paw. He let out a sigh of boredom. He glanced at Suki. “This is boring. Are you finished yet?” he asked, in the most bored tone of voice he could say.
“Grrr…” Suki was mad. She was trying her best. She thought she was doing pretty good, and he thought it was boring!? She growled, and charged at him, full force, one last time. But he sidestepped out of the way. Now Suki was headed straight for the wall of the house. She couldn’t stop, it was getting closer. Closer… this is it, she thought, big headache here I come!
But she stopped. Silk had his tail wrapped around her tail, causing her to brake. Silk let his tail unwind out of hers. He sighed, and started walking away from the house. Why did he stop that brat from hitting the wall? Why didn’t he just let her learn her lesson? Some force inside him…what was it?
Suki just stared. I thought he was going to kill me, she thought. He looked so mad, so why…
“Why did you…Why did you save me?”
Silk froze in his steps. He didn’t even know. He was confused. Maybe being in experience of death made him afraid of it. He needed to think.
“I don’t know,” he replied, dazed.
At that moment, Miyako came up to the house. She just stared. What were Suki and Silk doing outside? Why did Suki look like she hit her head somewhere? Also, Silk looked kind of lost. He never looked lost, always sharp and alert.
“What are you guys doing?” she asked. “Are you okay?” she asked both of them. She noticed that Silk was leaning on his right front leg. His left was just loose. Suddenly she remembered the injury.
“Oh, Silk! Your leg! It’s still injured!” she went over to him.
“It’s fine,” he replied. Miyako still looked worried. He smiled. “Really.”
“Okay…” she said. Then she noticed Suki licking her paws. She looked like she got a bonk on the head…a few of them.
“You okay, Suki?” she asked.
“Yeah, I guess,” she replied, pretty maturely for her.
“So, uh…what exactly happened here?” Miyako looked around, a questioning expression on her face.
“Well…” Suki started explaining. As she was doing that, Silk walked away, unnoticed.

• • •

Silk wasn’t that far away from the house, but he felt tired. Not to mention his leg was hurting like crazy. I guess I overexerted myself, he thought, smiling ruefully. I won’t cover much ground in this state. I know where I can go. He was breathing hard, but he would make it there; to Killsong’s house.
He had an idea of where Killsong’s house would be…
A clearing on the far east side of the forest that he used to live in; all surrounded be trees, like a canopy. “When I’m grown up, I wanna live here!” Killsong said, along time ago. Silk could still remember vividly where it was.
He turned a corner into a deserted alleyway. He stopped at the far wall and looked up.
“Send me to the canopy of trees,” Silk said. And then, with a flash, he transported to Killsong’s house. There, he would be welcome.

Chapter 3 - Reuniting with a friend

When Silk woke up he felt different. A tightness had gone away. It probably had gone away from talking to Miyako. He blushed. She was different but still kind, in a dumb kind of way.

“Silk! What did you talk about with Miyako? Huh, huh?” Suki practically jumped on him.

“I can’t tell you. You wouldn’t understand,” he said. Suki saw Miyako in her head, saying the same thing. Why did everything have to be kept from her? Silk moved around Suki and started walking. But Suki just jumped in front of him again.

“Now listen here, you! I hate being left out! So tell me what happened, right now!” Suki was infuriated.

Silk glared at her. What a nuisance. Then he raised his paw and slapped her. Right on her face. Then he ran and jumped out of a window Miyako was too much in a hurry to close. He would return, as soon as that Suki forgot about his talk with Miyako.

He was now on the sidewalks of the city. People stepped out of the way when they saw him running; a few girls even screamed. He ran past a market, a shoe store, a restaurant, doughnut stop… so many human stores!

Silk thought he ran enough, so he slowed down. He began walking along the sidewalk when he saw another cat.

“Ringtail?! Where have you been?” the cat asked.

“Shush! My name’s Silk, okay? Don’t mention that name!” Silk whispered. Ringtail was his name on the streets, in the city. It was an alias for his past life. He didn’t want any alley cats to know that Ringtail - him - was here.

“Riiiiight, okay Silk,” the cat said. He looked Silk up and down. “Got yourself killed I’m assuming, seeing as you’re so young.” Silk blushed.

“You know how close Miyako and I were… I couldn’t just let her die on her own. She got reincarnated, you know. The new Miyako’s kind of stupid. I’ll introduce her to you, Killsong,” he said. Suddenly he remembered the little incident with Suki. “Er…but not soon.” Killsong laughed.

“What? Did you have a fight?”

“Not with Miyako, with this stupid young cat she owns, Suki. Not a fight really. More like she put her nose into my business,” Silk replied.

“Maybe you shouldn’t blame her that much. I mean, she’s still young, and I’m sure she means well. She’s just curious,” Killsong said.

“And since when do you know so much about kittens, huh? Got some of your own?” Silk smiled. Now it was Killsong blushing, and he nodded. “Three boys…two girls…”

“I’d like to come visit sometime,” Silk said. “But I gotta go. See ya.” Silk turned around and started walking when he felt a sudden pain in his left front leg. He remembered that he’d been running and it still hadn’t healed. He limped pretty badly.

“Need some help there? You’re limping,” Killsong asked.

“I know. It’s okay. I’ll be fine,” Silk replied. Actually he did need help, but he didn’t want to appear weak. Then he started limping back home.

• • •

Suki was sitting in a corner, thinking. Okay, she was pouting, but she had a perfectly good reason. Silk just slapped her in the face! How could he do such a thing? she thought.

“You alright?” Kuto came up to her.

“No! Silk hit me! And I’m a girl! Not to mention I’m only little!” Suki said. She paused, then, “But I’m already grown-up!”

“Yes, yes of course. Now, why did he hit you? Surely he had a good reason?” Kuto questioned. He could probably sort this out.

“Well, he and Miyako went up to Miyako’s room and talked about something. Then when they were done, Miyako wouldn’t tell me what happened. So the next morning I asked Silk. He said the same thing. So I told him how much I hate being left out. Then he got mad, and slapped me. Then he jumped out of that window,” Suki pointed to the window Silk jumped out of.

“Hmmm…,” Kuto pondered. “Well, I hate to say this, Suki, but Silk and Miyako are older than you. They have a right to have some things that they won’t tell you. It’s probably because you’re too young.” Suki looked kind of down. Everyone was telling her the same thing. She supposed that she was being a little immature.

Chapter 2 - Talking to someone special

Miyako realized that the cat she found yesterday was awake. She turned to him. He seemed to be staring at her. His eyes were mostly emotionless, with a hint of sadness. What could be wrong?
“Hey Miyako! I wanna introduce you to Silk!” Suki suddenly came running towards Miyako and stopped at her feet.
“Silk! Come on!” she said excitedly. Silk calmly walked over.
“You didn’t even introduce yourself, but from what I heard your name is Suki, right?”
“Oh yeah. Oopsie,” Suki said and put on a grin. Or rather, she put what looked like a grin to Miyako.
“Nice to meet you, Silk,” Miyako said in the friendliest tone she could. But he was staring at her again. He sighed.
“I looked all over for you and look what’s become of you. Reincarnations suck,” he said, a little irritated.
By now, Miyako’s friends were pretty bored. They were looking around though, probably counting the cats, if they could.
“Oh, sorry. Maya, Michelle, you can leave now,” she said, waving her hand.
“Okay, bye! See you tomorrow!” Maya shouted as she walked out the door.
“Thank you for letting me come over,” said Michelle, following Maya.
She waved to them and smiled. Suddenly, she turned around, and her face totally changed. It was a mixture of anger and confusion.
“What do you mean, ‘reincarnations suck’?”
Silk sighed. He knew it was her, but she wasn’t the same. Her eyes were not the calm eyes they used to be. Her voice did not flow like the first Miyako’s did. The only thing that was the same was, of course, that she could talk to cats.
“You’re the reincarnation of… Ugh! Never mind, let’s take this elsewhere,” he said. He didn’t feel comfortable talking in front of Suki. She wouldn’t understand, and she would keep asking questions. He knew that from just looking at her face.

• • •

Silk decided to talk about it inside Miyako’s room. Miyako’s mother allowed it, of course. When they were in the room, Silk thought it was a very nice room. The room was all pink. It had a pink bed with pink blankets. The curtains on the window were pink with little flowers printed on them. And the walls were painted a light pink, with darker pink ribbons painted across the top.
Miyako sat on the bed, and Silk hopped up there, too. “So, I’m the reincarnation of who?” she asked.
“Well, your past life had the same name as you do, but your personalities are totally different. And she lived before you were born. Since she died at a young age, the cat god decided to reincarnate her, and she became you. The process of reincarnation is complicated, and the new body, that’s you, can not contain the memories and knowledge of your past life. That’s why you don’t remember who I am,” Silk said. He remembered his life with her. It was so wonderful, and he wanted the old Miyako back. But that was selfish.
“But if you knew my past life, then how old are you? You look pretty young to me,” Miyako was confused. Exactly how young was her past life when she died? Was she going to die at that age, too? She certainly hoped not.
“Cats have nine lives. It’s normal for cats to be reincarnated, except we don’t lose our memories like you did. Miyako got reincarnated like a cat would, and she could talk to cats. That’s why I believe that Miyako was partly cat herself,” Silk said. And he really believed that.
“You miss her, don’t you? I would too. I’m… sorry I don’t remember you,” Miyako said softly. Silk shook his head. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I was being selfish.”
“So tell me about my past life. I want to know what I was like,” Miyako smiled. Silk closed his eyes, trying to remember.
“You were kind. Your eyes were always calm. Your voice was as calm as your eyes were. You treated cats like you would humans. And,” he paused, “you showed me the Eclipse.”
“The Eclipse? What is that?” Miyako asked.
“It is a magical place where cats can transform into humans, and the other way around. I’ve been there before. I transformed, and stayed that way until I died. Then I got reincarnated, and I started searching for you. The first Miyako died when I did, and I knew she would get reincarnated so that’s why I kept staring at you earlier,” Silk’s voice faded. He was still tired from yesterday and fell asleep.
She carried him down to the garage. Everything was back to normal. She could hear all the cats chatting. She wondered what cats chattering would sound like to regular humans.
“What didja talk about, Miyako?” Suki seemed excited, as usual. She looked at the sleeping Silk in Miyako’s arms.
“What happened?”
“He got sleepy, he’s still injured. And I can’t tell you what we talked about. It’s a secret, and you wouldn’t understand,” Miyako said kindly.
“Aww! That stinks!” Suki walked away, pouting. Was it that secret that they couldn’t tell her? She was the one that found him anyway. She had to find out about this ‘secret talk.’ And she would pester Silk until he told her.

CHAPTER 1 Finding a lost cat

“Name: Miyako Asuni...Grade: 7th...Age: 13...Talents: reading, science and talking to cats!? Miyako, no one’s going to take this profile seriously, you know,” Maya pointed out. “I mean, I even have my own doubts. You’ve never told a lie before, but it’s impossible to talk to felines,” she said, hands on hips.
“I told you, it’s true!” Miyako said indignantly. Her own friends doubted her talents. “You believe me, don’t you Michelle?” Miyako suddenly turned to Michelle, looking for support.
“I...w-well...I guess so...” Michelle was startled by the sudden want of her opinion. The whole time, she was just standing close by, listening to them argue.
“See? Michelle knows that I tell the truth!” Miyako seemed triumphant. “Whatever. You know everyone’s going to laugh,” Maya said teasingly.
But she was right. As soon as she showed everybody in her class, they burst into laughter.
“Talk cat for us, ‘Meowko’!” one of the boys teased. Miyako blushed. She looked like she was going to cry. Maya felt a little guilty.
“Shut up! You don’t have t’call names!” Maya shouted. Miyako was confused. Maya was defending her, when a few minutes ago they were arguing?
“And...Perhaps it’s true...” Michelle pitched in, even though she was shy and her voice was small. I have wonderful friends! Miyako thought.
“Thanks, guys. You really helped me out, Maya. You stood up for me, and Michelle, too.” Miyako smiled.
“Well...that’s what friends do,” Maya said blushing. Maya always wanted to look tough, so she avoided doing goody-goody deeds, like standing up for somebody besides herself. Was Miyako that important to Maya that she broke her golden rule?
“I was glad...I could help,” Michelle said, smiling her tiny smile. Michelle was soft all over. She was very shy, so she didn’t have many friends besides Maya and Miyako.
“Oh! We’re already at my house! Well, I’ll see you guys later,” Miyako rushed into the house. She had a meeting with one of the housecats today. She loved to be able to talk with someone other than humans.
Once she told her mother that she was home, Miyako dashed down to the basement, where the cats hung out all the time. When she got down there, she noticed that all of the cats seemed to be looking for something.
“Is something wrong?” she asked Kuto, the cat in charge.
“Yes, one of our cats, Suki, has gone missing,” he replied. “Where did she go...” he muttered, quite worried, for Suki was one of the youngest cats in the Asuni household.
“I’ll go look for her,” Miyako suggested. “I’ve got no homework, so it’s okay.”
She was once again rushing, but this time to the alley, where most missing cats are held. She was relieved to see Suki there, but she seemed worried about something.
“Suki? It’s time to come home—“Miyako stopped, mid-sentence, because she saw what Suki was worried about. On the ground next to her, there was a male cat, wounded badly.
“What happened to him, Suki? Did you see anything?” Miyako was curious as ever.
“I don’t know,” Suki said shakily. Since she was so young, she didn’t understand what was going on.
“He’s going to be okay. We just need to take care of him,” Miyako said, soothingly. “Now, let’s go home.” She held Suki in one arm and the injured cat in the other.
“Does this mean I get a new friend?” Suki asked, brightening up suddenly. Miyako laughed a little. “Once he gets better, yes.”
Suki wasn’t the only one excited about the new arrival.
“I’ll gladly take care of him. It has been a little boring ‘round here, anyways,” Kuto glanced at the sleeping unknown cat. “Those are deep wounds though...” he murmured. All of the female cats said that, even when he’s sleeping, the ‘new guy’ was cute. Suki always helped out because she, too, thought he was cute.
“Do you think he’s cute, Miyako?” Suki asked. “I guess so. I can’t really tell...” Miyako wondered why Suki had asked her, of all people. Miyako was a human and Suki was a cat so how would she know?
At least Miyako knew she could go to school without worrying. She told her friends about how Suki went missing and how they found the new cat.
“Do you really have...space for another cat?” Michelle was worried. There were already too many cats in the Asuni household.
“Yeah, what if there’s not enough space?” Maya said. Miyako loved animals, but too much is no good.
“But Suki was so happy. I can’t let her down,” Miyako said, not wanting to think of Suki crying. “Well, I guess its okay, as long as you have trustworthy cats and it was approved by your mother,” Maya said encouragingly.
“Can I...come over to see him...after school?” Michelle asked sheepishly. “I could...help out...” Miyako was surprised that Michelle was interested. “Well, of course! You can come too, Maya. I mean, unless you don’t want to.” Maya blushed. “Well, I’ll come, but only to see if everything’s going okay.”

• • •

Silk didn’t want to wake up. It was so nice, wherever he was. All he could remember was being left in the back alley, and then everything went black. His front left leg hurt badly, and he wondered if he was injured in other places. Silk opened his eyes and was amazed at what he saw. There were cats everywhere. Bustling about, talking, and for a second he believed that he were in some kind of cat paradise. But then he saw the walls. They were man-made. This was a human house. He didn’t understand. Why were so many cats inside this building?
“Oh! You’re awake! Finally awake!” a small female cat was shouting delightfully.
“Um... yeah. Where am I? What is this place?” he questioned her, though it was obvious she didn’t know anything.
“Oh, I see you’ve awakened.” This time it was a male cat that looked somewhat middle-aged. “Welcome to the Asuni basement! I am Kuto, the cat in charge of stuff around here.”
“That’s nice. Now how do I get out of here?” Silk replied coldly. He didn’t want to stay here long—it smelled of human. Besides, these cats must have found him in the alley, all alone. At least that’s what he thought.
Suki frowned. Why did their new friend want to leave? This would be such a nice place to live.
“Thanks for your hospitality. I’d love to stay,” he said, even though he didn’t want to stay at all, “but I have things to do – a life to live.”
“Well, you’re going to have to wait ‘till Miyako gets home from school,” Kuto said sharply, “and that’s not until 3:00.”
Silk gasped. “Miyako Asuni? The cat-speaking human?” he tried not to sound surprised – he’d been looking for this Miyako for a while. “No wonder there are so many cats,” he muttered under his breath.
“So you’ve heard of her! Well, she’s amazing, I know that,” Suki smiled proudly. “What’s your name?” she asked, suddenly changing the subject.
“Silk. Leave it at that. I want nothing to do with you domestic cats.”
“Domestic? Where do you come from, then?”
Silk winced. Did he have to go into details? But he knew that these cats would pester him until he answered, so he sighed and said, “I come from outside of here, you know, the jungle and all that. Where the ground is dirt and the walls are trees, not cement or whatever. And although I look like you cats, I live with wild cats, tigers.” He smiled, remembering his home and his family.
“Then, how’d you get here?” Kuto asked. “Certainly not by paw.”
“Scientists,” he said plainly. He didn’t want to be reminded of all those tests, and the fake place the scientists made him stay in.
“Scientists broughtcha here? Wow, how cool! Scientists invent lotsa cool things, ya know?” this time it was the little female. It was apparent that she couldn’t speak so well yet.
“Hey kitties! I’m home! I brought friends over, too!” Miyako had suddenly burst through the door, cheerful as ever. Her friends tagged along behind her.
Silk studied these humans. There was a tall blonde, a middle-sized Asian girl, and the shortest one, an orange-haired girl. So this was the reincarnation of Miyako, he thought. Good thing they had the same name, or he would never been able to track her down. She seemed to have lost her memory, although it wasn’t unexpected. The process of being reincarnated had an effect on the new body. It couldn’t hold the knowledge of its past life, and the memories. Silk sighed. So then, she wouldn’t remember him, would she?