u/Axo_124V3

A short story about two Nekos finding themselves in a world of humans.

Akari, who believed himself to be the only neko in existence, lives in a small house at the edge of town. He is an efficient freelancer and also runs an online job. But his efficient life is disrupted by the arrival of a homeless Neko girl, Nyoko at his doorstep on a stormy night.

They go through obstacles in life while hiding their Neko identity and eventually confess their love for each other.

I was looking for an opinion beta read. Like no need for line to line edits, a thorough read and a review is all I ask.

If anyone is interested in reading, comment or DM me.

I'm willing to do swaps as well. If you want a swap, comment or DM me.

A story of two nekos as they find each other in life.

*Two Nekos *

*By AxoV3 *

*Chapter 1

Akari*

Before she happened, my life was a mix of efficiency and hiding behind its mask. To my human clients, I was merely an efficient freelancer, nothing much. And it was my task to preserve that image as a mere fast worker. Not as Akari, the neko.

I was blessed with the gift of a feline nature, and a permanent speed bonus, but cursed as being different from the rest of the world. If anyone found out I was more than a freelancer, I would be all over the press. And the next thing I would have seen would have been the lights of a laboratory, as scientists sliced me up to see what made me tick.

Thus, I had to live a life of secrecy. My house on the edge of town? The only place where I didn't have to hide the fact that I had cat ears and a tail. I had a small online job, and worked as a freelancing agent to maintain a strong income. My superhuman speed allowed me to blaze through work and finish things much faster than any other mortal. But I was completely unprepared for who would enter my life.

One fateful night, I was at my desk, putting the final touches on a client's request. The blue light illuminated my wrists, typing at speeds no human could ever reach. I had just finished my freelancing work as the rain started to fall. Pit, pat. I turned off my computer and sat down at the piano, one of the few places I found solace.

Then, my ears twitched to the sound of faint scratching. On the front door. I adjusted my hoodie, ensuring that my twitchy ears were well hidden, and went to open it.

At the door, there she was. Cold. Shivering. Completely soaked from the rain. But that didn't surprise me. My eyes fell to her head, where, hidden under a mass of thick gray hair, I saw it.

A pair of feline ears, just like mine, twitching from the blowing wind. My breath caught in my throat. "H.. How?" I stuttered. For as long as I had known, I thought I was a solitary creature of my kind. A singular creation made by chance.

The strong gale pushed my hoodie back, revealing to her the same kind of ears she had. Her expression mirrored mine - sheer disbelief. "You.." she managed to say, her voice barely audible against the rain.

I pulled her inside, and helped her dry off. As I dried her wet hair, carefully at the ear tips, I said, more to myself than her, "It's alright, I'm the same as you..."

Her clothes were torn and tattered, seeming like she never had a place to stay. I asked her gently, "Do you.. have somewhere to call home?" She shook her head. At that moment, my brain made one of the best decisions of its life. This was my sanctuary. My safe zone. But I was about to change that forever. "Cheer up" I said. "You're staying with me now".

*Chapter 2

Akari*

As she processed my reply, her eyes filled with that look of gratitude. "You.. you really mean it?" A slight hint of doubt crept into her voice. Her tail flicked uneasily.

"Of course" I said. I had never expected to find that there was another of my kind in existence. But now that I had found her, I was going to cherish her like a gift from God himself. I hugged her. "I'm not leaving you anytime soon." A small smile tugged at her mouth.

Her stomach rumbled. She looked down shyly, a bit embarrassed. I noticed her thin and pale figure. She looked starved, as if she hadn't eaten for days. "Do you.. um.. maybe have anything to eat?" she quietly asked.

Without a word, I opened my cabinet, full of cans of fish, in case I ever needed them. They were my main source of nutrition. I opened a few packs and handed her some. She quietly gulped down some canned salmon, the grateful look lingering in her eyes.

I recalled. I didn't even know her name. I quietly said, trying to avoid scaring her, "I always thought I was the only neko-demon in existence. I never expected that I would ever find someone like you. I'm Akari. Do you.. have a name of your own?"

She quietly shook her head.

"No worries.. We can find you a name." I thought hard. I needed something deep, which resonated with her. Picking a name seemed to be the toughest thing I had done that week. "How about.. Nyoko?"

She seemed to like it. She said it aloud, feeling it. "Nyoko.. I think I'd really like that name..."

"I'm glad you like it." I added. "But we need last names for the human paperwork, which you will probably face someday. If anyone asks you what your last name is, you have to say 'Kuro', alright? It's the same as mine."

She nodded. "Nyoko Kuro.. So you're Akari Kuro?"

"That's me. But don't worry too much about it. It's only made up, for the paperwork. Humans aren't used to nekos like us who don't have last names."

"Okay", she said. Then she gave a small yawn, only the way a kitten could. Seeing that little bit of 'neko' sleepiness in her was undeniably cute. I glanced at the clock. It was getting late.

"Come on. You need to sleep" I said.

She looked at me with those pleading eyes and asked me, "Can I sleep with you? Please?" It was clear she wanted me. That she trusted me to be with her while she slept. I was touched. Softly, I said, "Of course. Come on, let's get to bed".

That night, she didn't stay on her side of the bed. Even in her sleep, she gravitated towards my warmth. She clung sleepily to my side, her head nuzzling my hoodie. Her tail wrapped itself around my leg. I kept one arm against her back, supporting her in place, and slept contently. The last thing I remembered thinking was 'I don't have to be alone anymore'.

*Chapter 3

Nyoko*

The next day, Akari was busy on his computer, his fingers moving at breakneck speeds. I watched him from the corner of the piano bench. I was thinking about him - how he had taken me in, how he fed me and gave me shelter, how he felt safe and warm.

It was getting late in the afternoon, when he got up from his chair, stretched a bit and said "I'm gonna take a break". Within seconds, the tall freelancer was gone, replaced by a tiny black kitten. He lay down on the floorboards.

I followed his example and turned to my feline form as well. Then, I saw it.

His tail.

Flicking against the floorboards. Refusing to stay still. My brain told me that I should be well behaved, remain calm. But my heart, my cat instinct had planned the contrary. In that moment, that black tip was the most interesting thing in the world. I felt a chirp come from my throat, pure unfiltered excitement filling me up.

I pounced.

He was fast. I could barely keep up. One moment I had my teeth on the tip of his tail and the next moment he was a blur of black fur, dashing away. I chased him. Gone was the shy neko girl. Gone was the efficient freelancer. In that moment, we weren't the old Akari and Nyoko. We were just two playful kittens.

I chased him through the house. He eventually stumbled into a pile of laundry. He tried to turn, I pounced. We collided mid air and rolled into a fresh hoodie.

After tumbling inside, I found that my fur was wrapped up and stuck against his. My paws were tucked into his knees, my tail wrapped around his neck. His head was against my back and his tail coiled around my stomach. A perfect furball. He tried to break free, but we were stuck against each other firmly, trapped.

After what felt like hours of clawing, licking and gently uncoiling and twisting, we managed to free ourselves from each other. He immediately lay flat on the ground and shifted to his human form. "That", he said affectionately, "was the tangle of a lifetime. Next time, warn me before you pounce".

I giggled softly, still feeling playful. "Maybe I won't. What are you gonna do about it?" I joked.

"Keep an untangler ready and within reach." he said while opening his phone and ordering one from Amazon. "No tangling until tomorrow when it comes", he said, trying and failing to sound stern.

That night, as he took his final break and changed into his feline form, I didn't give him a chance to run. I quickly turned to my kitten form and pounced on him. We rolled and tumbled over, getting tied up and knotted in each other tightly again. His paws wedged around mine and my tail got twined around his chest.

I looked up at him as he transformed back into his human form. I was still a kitten, stuck to his chest like a piece of tape in feline form. He looked tired, his hair was a mess. But his eyes had that loving warm glow which I loved. I instinctively nuzzled his neck, and unintentionally yawned, only the way a kitten could.

He smiled gently. "Alright, clingy Nyoko. But then you're gonna be stuck like this all night", he said fondly. I didn't mind. I didn't care.

*Chapter 4

Akari*

From that day on, Nyoko was less scared and shy around me. I could tell she was getting used to being around me. After the mechanical device I specifically ordered to untangle her came, she constantly kept tangling against me. That device was a lifeline for my life as it allowed her to tangle on me as much as she wanted during a break, and allowed me to maintain our little neko secret and avoid her from being seen on camera. I was just glad that she was finally adjusting and not scared anymore.

With that detangler bought online, I painfully realised how much more she needed. I bought her some more things, like a soft comb to brush her silky, dark grey hair. I also bought her some spare hoodies of her size, which hid her ears and tail perfectly, so that she could be outside without compromising our human name as the Kuros. To the outside world, we were just two people, Akari Kuro and Nyoko Kuro. No one knew that behind those names stood two nekos, hiding in a world of humans.

After the furball incident, she was always sticking close to me. During break time, we played in kitten forms. During my work hours, she refused to leave me and would lean against my shoulder just outside the frame. While I had to discuss and work with human clients, she would be there sitting next to me, just out of the view of the camera, content.

On several occasions, she would end up slipping up and accidentally partially revealing herself to the camera. These incidents would go something like:

"Sir, I think this plan of action has more weak points than the other one.." I would discuss with my clients. Nyoko, feeling a little more clingy than usual, would start purring against my shoulder, loud.

The client would ask "Akari? What's that noise?" I would quietly nudge her and respond coolly to the client "Oh, nothing sir. Just the neighbors being noisy as usual".

Thankfully, the mortals were foolish enough to believe a lie as simple as that, and work would continue. Afterwards, I would tell her, "That was a close call, Nyoko" while affectionately giving her a scratch behind her ear as she nuzzled into my shoulder.

Sometimes I would help her with her hair, combing it gently while talking about things. I once asked her what her life was like before coming to me. I found she was a street cat before finding me. Living on the streets. No food security. Absolutely no one to care for her. That day, I swore I would never let my Nyoko fall to that state again.

*Chapter 5 *

Nyoko:

It was a sunny afternoon, everything seemed fresh and bright. Akari suggested we go to the park for a little walk. I accepted the idea and we put on our hoodies to hide our ears and tail. He said he had to make sure that the outside world saw us only as Akari Kuro and Nyoko Kuro, two typical humans, not magical neko-demons.

We walked quietly through the park, which was surprisingly empty at the time. Then, I smelled it.

Catnip.

Not adulterated. Not diluted. Pure scent of catnip. Coming from a catnip plant nearby.

Akari smelled it too. His eyes dilated. I felt mine do the same. We both ended up dropping to the ground and morphing into kittens, looking for the plant. When we found it, we lost all sanity. We were as intoxicated as a drunkard after finishing ten glasses of wine.

We rolled around and nuzzled against it. A man saw us. He looked at our bare, collarless throats, and immediately called someone on the phone. I remember him saying "Animal Control, two stray kittens by Central Park". At the moment, I was too dazed to understand it. After that, my memory went black.

The next thing I remembered?

A cage. Cold, metal walls. A barred door. I could hear Akari's desperate scratching on the other side.

Then, it hit me. The man must have called the shelter and they picked us up. I saw the shelter staff pass by. I meowed to Akari and tried to communicate with him. We pawed at each other's gates, slipping our paws out at the edges and feeling them against each other. It was the only comfort we had. His voice and the feeling of his paw against mine through the gate was all I had of him.

Here, we were going to be left. Until adopted. And an even worse fate would follow if we got adopted by different owners. Separation.

Akari:

I woke up in a metal cage. Alone. I scratched the walls and called for Nyoko to see if she was around. I heard her voice and felt relieved. I placed my paw out of the bars and she did the same with hers. We pressed our paws against each other for a minute, as I tried to comfort her.

I desperately needed a plan to escape. I thought. Thought hard. Then, luck shined on me in the form of a kind staff member. She noticed us trying to be together and understood that we wished to be with each other. She opened my cage door, to put me in the same cage as Nyoko. At that instant, an idea sparked in my head. One which had never occurred to me up till now. But for it to work, I needed to leave her.

I made a split second decision to leave her and bolted through the half open gate and sprang outside and started running as fast as I could. I heard her desperate mewl for me, yet I could not stop. No. Not now. Not when freedom was so imminent. A few workers of the shelter chased after me, but I hid in the bushes nearby while they searched everywhere. They eventually left. I sprinted to my house on the outskirts of the town and entered hastily.

*Chapter 6

Nyoko*

I couldn't believe my eyes. I just witnessed Akari abandon me with my own eyes. He once told me, "I could never think of abandoning you". I was left alone, again.

The shelter people threw my cage in the darkest, coldest corner of the place. After seeing him escape, they must have clearly thought I would as well. But I didn't have any chances.

For a long time, I sat at the edge of the cage, leaning as close to the outside as possible, trying to peer through the bars, expecting him to come back for me in some way or another. But hours passed. The sun set. And yet no sign of Akari.

It took me a while to register it, but I eventually did. I was on my own now. Again. I had no home anymore, no identity any more. I was just another stray now. Like before. Nyoko Kuro? Seemingly vanished with the idea of his abandonment.

I sat and thought. From the time I came into his life, I had been nothing but an attention-seeking freeloader who did nothing to help him while he worked. He was a practical guy. He had a focused life and a good source of income, but I just wore him down.

He had probably decided to give up on me. He must have thought over a plan to rescue me, but then realised I just wasn't worth the trouble. He might have even been looking around that room, and finally enjoying the peace of his life which I had been relentlessly sabotaging. I wasn't anywhere close to a partner, just a nuisance.

The day passed and it became sunset time. Yet, the glorious orange hue of it was nowhere to be seen in that dreadful place, only the bland white light of the tubelights overhead, which barely reached me. My brain had finally accepted that I was no longer a part of his life. That I should stop thinking about him.

But every time the iron doors of that dreadful room opened, my ears instinctively twitched. I always went up to the edge of my cage to see who it was. I would sniff lightly, trying to look for his scent. My brain screamed at me that he would never come. Yet, I waited longingly for a moment where he would walk in and take me back. One thing my feline senses threw into my head was clear.

Hope.

Pure, unmistakable, unshakeable hope.

After we had shared so many good moments together. After bonding with him for so long, my kitten instincts refused to let go of him. They filled me with an unstoppable hope that he would come. That he would save me. The tangles, the sleepy cuddles, the warmth in his eyes when he looked at me affectionately, it couldn't be fake. It had to stand for something, right? He wouldn't just leave me on my own again. Not after everything that happened between us. Not after he promised to take care of me. I watched with renewed faith for his arrival.

*Chapter 7 *

Akari:

Back at home, I was rushing. Paperwork everywhere. Bank files, fake identity cards, the whole mix. I was speeding through crafting an entire persona out of nearly thin air. My head hurt. But whenever my head hurt from the speed, my mind mentally replayed that desperate meow she gave out as I left her there. Every second I wasted in inefficiency was a second longer for her to be in a cage.

I put on the suit of a full businessman. My plan was simple. I was going to act like a human and adopt Nyoko legally. That way, no one could ever put her in a cage again. I got in a cab and went to the shelter, not as a kitten, but as a neko-demon, disguised as a strict and cold man.

At the shelter, the staff were unwilling to let me even see her or warn her until all the paperwork was over. I handed them all the identification certificates I had forged and let them scrutinize. I had been completely thorough and there were no loopholes I left.

But as usual, mortals are slow with paperwork. I had to spend hours in agony, seeming to wait coldly and impatiently while my Nyoko was suffering inside.

After what felt like hours, they finally accepted the information and allowed me to enter and 'pick a cat to take home'.

Nyoko:

After hours in that cold, metal cage, the door opened again. As I looked at the visitor, my heart stopped. It was Akari. He had come back for me.

I was going to let myself be petted and caressed all over by him, but then when the shelter workers weren't looking, he shot me a glance. No other creature in that room would have understood it. But the bond between us both was so strong that we could feel each other clearly without needing direct communication. His look clearly told me "Play along with the role".

He walked up to my cage in the cold dark corner and quietly said, in an unfeeling voice, "I want this one". I was eager to prove myself worthy and so I did my best. I acted like any other kitten would when seeing a new person. Scared and trembling a little. It was a slow torture. My heart was full of feeling and love, while I had to act shy and afraid of him. As if I didn't trust him, when in fact, he was the only one in the world whom I trusted fully.

As he signed on the final papers for adoption, I could see the shelter staff put the stamp on my file 'NYOKO KURO : ADOPTED'. He quietly took my carrier and was going to leave, when a staff member added, "Thanks for taking her, sir, she is a bit of a handful". I looked at his face. Our bond told me he was seething with rage at the man for calling me a handful. I could sense it as well. But he played cleverly and added a dry, sarcastic laugh and said "I like myself a challenge". He walked out calmly, still maintaining the act. In the cab back home, he acted calm as well. But our bond told me how he was crippling inside, longing for me.

*Chapter 8 *

Akari:

When we reached home, I locked the door behind me. As the doorlock clicked into place, I felt the character of the unfeeling, cold businessman sink out of my soul. I had done the impossible, for her. I had successfully managed to fool the mortals with their own logic to keep my Nyoko with me forever. I practically collapsed to the ground, opening the latch of that carrier and pulling her out by the scruff of her neck.

"Nyoko, I'm sorry. Truly sorry." I said, burying my face in her fur. "I didn't mean to leave you there for good. But that doesn't change the fact that I left you there nonetheless. That I left you in the dark. That I let you think for even just a second that you were nothing more than a stray again."

"I heard you call out for me as I dashed off, away from you. The sound has never left my head ever since. I would have been faster, but that darned human bureaucracy. I told myself coming at them with legal certificates was the only way I could save you. But that doesn't change what happened."

"I just hope you still think I'm worthy of you after doing what I did."

Nyoko:

I was not expecting that. In my eyes, Akari was a practical person. I thought he considered me a disturbance to his peace, that he would be glad in my absence and finally get the peace he deserves so much. But his words made something click in me. I wasn't the destroyer of his peace. I was his peace.

I shifted to my human form and hugged him tight, like he was going to go somewhere the second I stopped. As he held me close, his look seemed to wash away all the coldness of the dark cage.

He continued, "I was so busy being 'practical' that I forgot to tell you the most important thing there is to tell."

"I love you, Nyoko."

"More than any silence. More than this house. More than my life."

I leaned into his touch, staying close to him. I saw the passionate look in his eyes. I quietly told him,

"I love you too, Akari. I always have. From the very beginning, I haven't been anyone's but yours."

Thanks for reading this guys! Tell me what you think of it in the comments. Just a single word is also enough!