Chapter 95 - ♥ Blended Beauty and the Beast ♥

Tama skidded clumsily about the cool floorboards as she sprinted down the corridor from her humans.

She dodged the many feet, which tried to shoo her off or retracted from their spots with a moment of fright. And found her way into a steamy kitchen where the smells of soup, cooked meat and spices were teasing her taste buds for food.

"Shoo, fleabag beast!" A burly pot-belly cook shouted at her as he started kicking her out of an open door.

She fled through a door opening made by an unsuspecting maid when she was carrying a tray of dirty dishes inside.

"Ugh!" The maid screamed as she tottered on the spot, balancing the wobbly bowls and cups from smashing to the floor.

Tama didn't stop to check the end result of the maid's balancing act. She fled and weaved through more feet openings, down a worker's dingy and semi-dark corridor and ended up outside near a garbage area of sacks and broken baskets.

The pebble and dirt ground was damp from light rain. She shivered, feeling an instant hit of cold to her fur.

A curt bang, made her flinch and instinctively take cover behind a set of sacks in the garbage pile. She shuffled further into the dark and dry shelter the sack space created for her, watching the scene of two humans happening before her.

"Useless child!" A tall fat man, in a grey kimono and scarred face, slapped a tiny young girl in the face to send her falling to the ground near the garbage pile.

"Stay with the rubbish! It better be sorted by the time I'm back!" The man's heavy voice scolded the child.

He went back inside. Making a loud thud from slamming the sliding door behind him.

The girl sat on the sacks that Tama to shelter under.

Tama saw her skinny ankles had dark patches or ring marks with yellowish stains. Her bare feet in were being drenched by a sudden downpour of rain. The edges of her kimono was sagging with the weight of water. 

That small human would get wet!

"I'm sorry mother. I'll try to do better." Tama heard the girl say with a shaky voice. 

She cocked her head to one side, feeling a sad emotion from her.

Her instincts to soothe the child made her step out of the cosy space and stand before the girl's feet.

The girl reacted with mild surprise when she saw Tama looking up at her.

"Are you hungry?" She politely asked Tama, wiping at her eyes.

Tama peered at the girl, trying to see her face better. It was hard to see it in the rain. She recognised her smell to be sweet and flowery. The girl's pats to her head was gentle. She seemed kind.

"I only have this." The girl sighed wistfully as she held out a piece of dried fish to Tama.

Tama looked at the fish and to the misty sight of the girl's face. She ate the fish, feeling full afterwards.

This prompted her to clean her paws. Although, it didn't make much different as the rain fell on her fur to make her feel heavier. She dashed back into the dry cosy space as the rain fell harder.

The girl sighed and started talking about her life before.

She was the youngest of her litter. Her father had left for that place called war and had never returned. Her mother was left on her own to raise the family, but ended up owing a lot of money to debt collectors. So the young girl was given to this brothel place to pay for a debt. Her older brothers were made to work for another place to pay another debt.

Tama didn't understand the girl's story. Rather, her talking made her fall asleep.

The girl smiled when she saw Tama sleeping. Feeling better about herself, she started doing her chores in the torrential rain.

Fierce lightening and thunder jolted Tama awake. She realised it was night and the little girl was gone.

Rain started pouring into her dry space to soak her fur. She sprinted blindly down many alley ways and roads. Desperate to flee to a drier shelter. Avoiding other walking humans and groups of alley-cats hissing at her approach.

One beefy tomcat chased after her when she entered its territory near a set of food sacks before an open door. It stopped its chase when she had turned a corner.

She entered a wide street where there were lots of humans rushing about to bring in their wares from outside tables and close up for the night.

She took shelter beneath an open crate that was lying on its side against a shop wall.

Before her were two young boys staring at a shop display of sweets piled up on a plate. They were skinny, like the girl, and not moving despite being drenched by the rain.

"I'm hungry Kaz-tan," the smaller boy said as he rubbed at his eyes and held the shirt hem of the taller boy.

"Come on Yuki-chan. No point in wishing for things we can't eat." The taller boy sighed.

Tama saw the shop door slightly ajar due to a small box on the ground that kept it open.

Instinctively, she dashed through the opening, leaped up to the display shelf, nabbed one of the wrapped sweets in her mouth then ambled back down to the ground and dashed out of the shop.

She stood before the smaller boy's feet and gently placed the wrapped sweet on his foot.

The smaller boy flinched with surprise at the sight of her. His surprise turned to glee when he picked up the sweet that he had been eying earlier.

"Arigato!" The taller boy thanked Tama with a grateful pat.

"What're you kids doing?! A burly voice shouted from within the shop.

The boys fled the scene, causing Tama to do the same.

Tama ran blindly in the torrential rain to seek shelter. She was chased away from choice spots by other cats and humans. Eventually her sprints took her back to the main road of the city.

She was growing tired from all the running and being startled by lightening, which would make the city momentarily bright with flashes. She saw her refuge in the distance ahead during one of the flashes. It was that cosy shelter her humans called a car.

There were other cats hiding underneath her car.

"NYA, NYA!" She rushed at the other cats to shoo them away from her belonging.

She extracted her claws and fiercely swiped at the others for her possession. Adrenaline and determination saw to her success, as the other cats hissed then turned tail to flee the scene. She felt smug by her win, but exhausted.

Lightening flashes showed her a dry spot against one of the tyres close to the raised curb, which was free from a storm drain. She settled into a comfy position against it and eventually fell asleep.

She awoke to a bustle of bangs, voices and shuffling of feet. It was a new day, but still a rainy one. Her dry spot was suddenly filling up with water to soak her body.

"Tama!" She heard a familiar voice say.

Familiar shoes appeared before her view underneath the car.

"Nya, nya." Her soft mewing became louder as she tried to get the attention of what she hoped were her humans.

A head came before her. She rose on all fours and shook her tail excitedly as she saw the face of her human called Eiji.

"Nya!" She bellowed towards him and enjoyed the pats he gave her when he had picked her up.

All her other humans were happy to see her too. It was nice to be loved.

She allowed her fur to be dried and was happy to be back in her cosy basket bed, and inside the car.

Her heart eased to a calm pace when the car purred into motion. She was soon fast asleep.