Side Story 2: Kara, the unfortunate cat-girl

A/N: The next chapter onwards will be normal MC chapters. Bear with it till then. Also, the tone of this chapter may be... quite sad. Sorry about that. I got a little too into it. Also, a very long chapter. 4k+ long chapter!

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[Kara's POV]

Kara stared at her mother, tears in her eyes.

"… Mommy…"

A tear leaked from her eye, then two, then more— becoming constant streams down her fair cheeks tinted pink and on the dirty blanket that covered her mother, with only her pale face visible.

"M-Mommy… please wake up. Mommy, no… please, don't leave me. Mommy. Mommy! Mommy…"

More tears fell as she called out to her mother more, still not getting any response.

Unfortunately for her, her mother couldn't reply. Since what remained now was only her cold, dead body.

In the small decrepit room, with barely any things of necessity, the poor catgirl cried and moaned at the bedside as she held the thin and sickly body of her mother.

Beside her, on the ground lay a few copper coins, scattered on the floor, dropped from her hands when she found her mother was not responding to her calls.

"Please… I'll do anything… don't l-leave me…mommy…"

Second ticked by, turning into minutes which quickly turned into hours as she remained in her place, by her mother. She cried and cried for hours, nobody coming to help her, nobody doing anything about her situation.

This was just that kind of place. In the slums, everyone had their problems, and the death of a sick parent wasn't something new. There were already quite a few orphans who roamed around the place not going to the local orphanage, barely managing to live by. Working, begging, stealing, anything to get by and live another day.

It was harsh and cold in the slums. A stark difference from the nice and warm residential areas, let alone the posh inner district.

Kara was fine until now even in such a place, working in a local shop to get by and earn petty pennies to get medicine for her mother, but that all came to a halt, her life's last hope vanished, with the death of the only family she had left, and who she loved more than anything.

"… M-Mommy…"

After a very long time, she finally managed to calm down. In the absence of no one to console her, to help her, she had to do so herself. Life wasn't forgiving enough for her to just stay here and cry. Nor was she so young and helpless as to not realize that. But it still hurt. A lot. Everything felt dark and gloomy. The world seemed scary… no, it had always been a little scary, but today, it seemed scarier. It now felt cold and empty. Or was it her heart? She didn't know.

'What will happen to me now?'

A sudden foreboding thought started haunting her.

With her mother, the only adult, gone, she had no one to rely on. Not that her mother had been able to help her, what with her suffering from a grave sickness that couldn't be healed (as said by the medic she once brought with her savings to heal her mother). But just her opening her eyes and looking at Kara with those familiar irises was enough for Kara to hold on to this shitty life. Barely. But now those eyes were closed forever, never to be opened again. Her last strand of hope was cut off.

She was alone.

'No. It's a lie! My mommy is alive! I-I need to do something. I need to heal her… Somehow. She can't die. No, no, no. She's not dead.'

She stood up, sniffing and sobbing.

She had to do something. She had to ask for someone's help. Someone, anyone…

The shop she worked at! She perked slightly. She could ask for their help!

The owner wasn't exactly nice to her, but he was understanding enough to give her a job. Maybe he would help her.

Those thoughts were delusional at best, however. Something she would sadly never come to realize.

With her shaky legs and unfocused eyes, she made her way out of the small shabby room she and her mother called "home," and started walking. It was already evening. The sun was about to go down.

Looking around, she saw the same dull scenery of the slum, but today it seemed especially cold and gloomy. The people she saw didn't bat an eye at her teary self. One couldn't expect much from them either.

Kara never liked anyone here. They were never really nice to her, ever since she and her mother moved here 2 years ago from their hometown, following their adventurer father.

After a while of walking down the path she now remembered quite well, she took a shortcut through one of the plenty of shady alleys, hoping to reach the shop just on the other end of it a bit faster.

Perhaps, it could be said that this was her life's biggest mistake.

She found two men walking from the other end of the alleyway, one of them carrying a big bag on his back.

"…"

"…"

She didn't have time to care for them or the bag, so she promptly ignored them and kept moving forward.

It was a mistake. She should have turned back and run away as fast as she could.

She passed the two men, not seeing the looks on their faces. They were observing her. She missed the smirk on their faces as they looked at each other, passing some sort of signs between them.

Just as she moved past them, almost reaching the other end of the alley, her eyes widened as a surprised yelp leaked from her mouth.

"Mmmf!"

But alas, her mouth had already been covered by what seemed like a cloth held by a rugged palm. She struggled, tried to break free or even look back to see the culprit, but her struggles were in vain, as she soon felt her hazy eyes slowly losing sight and her body failing.

'No! I need to… Mommy…'

Her world turned dark.

***

She opened her eyes in a dimly lit place. A disgusting smell invaded her nose, making her wince. Due to being a cat-kin, her senses were a bit sharper than humans— only a bit since she was still young and developing them. She groaned as she felt her head ache and her stomach grumble.

"Mngh…. Mo…mmy…?"

'!!!'

It all came crashing down on her. Her mother's cold body, her going to the shopkeeper to ask for help, then—

She jerked and stood back up, quickly darting her eyes from her right to her left then back, to take in her unfamiliar surroundings.

A small room— no, a cell, a bunch of small visages locked in with her and the cells around the one she was in. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light and she found out the visages were other children, most around her age.

'Where—'

Her thought was left hanging as the main door to the cellar room jerked open, a bunch of figures walking in. Tall, rugged, and by no means nice-looking people. She could tell just by one look.

'They're bad people. I-I was kidnapped. Oh no. Mommy.'

"Damn it! Those bastards! I should have known they were no good! They were too suspicious. And yet I…."

One of the men, who walked in front of everyone banged his fist on one of the stone walls and stomped his foot in clear frustration.

"Boss, I told you the fuckers were no good."

Another, a bald man with a scary-looking scar said.

"Damn it! I shouldn't have listened to them! The deal was too good to be true. Fuck!"

The bald man sighed.

"Well, things are fucked up, but at least we managed to get away with a decent haul."

Hearing the bald man's words, the man turned to look briefly at the cells.

"True. But it's not enough. We could have done a lot better."

"No…"

She barely muttered as a pit started forming in her stomach.

Her body shook, she was engulfed in fear.

'I need to go back to my mommy!'

She had to get out. Go back to her mother. She couldn't be here. She shouldn't be here. No, she absolutely needed to go back.

"P-…"

She tried to speak, but her words didn't come out.

She found out her throat was unusually dry, her breath was hitched and she was trembling.

'I'm scared.'

She looked around and found out she wasn't the only one though. Every other kid here was equally, if not more, scared. None seemed to utter a word, but they were all crying.

'I need to go back to mommy.'

The thought repeated again and gave her some courage. She was still scared, but she needed to do something, anything, and get out of here. She'll beg them to let her go, she would! She couldn't think of any other way than to appeal to their non-existent conscience.

She finally spoke.

"P-Please…"

Though, her voice was much weaker and coarser than she had expected. It failed to grab any of the men's attention.

'I'm thirsty. I need water… no, I need to get out.'

"H-Hey! Um, Mister! Please, let me go! I-I need to—"

"SHUT YOUR TRAP!"

She couldn't finish her words as a loud roar shook her very core and made her fall. Tears formed and dropped freely as she felt her body and soul give up and she couldn't move for a second.

She didn't know why it happened.

The man's gaze alone made her curl up and do as he said. He was scary. Too scary.

What she couldn't know was that the man had released his killing intent on her in frustration. It was enough to spook someone young and weak like her. And it had clearly worked.

She was scared. She was very scared. Very, very scared. She was terrified.

But…

'Mommy...'

That one word, the face of her pale mother, her cold body, those gave her strength in the dire times. She needed to go back. She needed to get out of here. She needed to go to the shop and ask for help. She…

She once again mustered her courage. Holding the bars locking her in, she barely managed to stand back up.

"P-Please… le-let me go. I-I need to go back. To my mommy! Please, she needs me! Please."

The man who had just yelled at her turned to look at her. His face was scary, but he didn't speak a word for a few moments, only glaring her down… Then he spoke, his voice cold and foreboding.

"Listen here, you damn brat."

He spoke, as he came to her cell, unlocked the gate, and entered.

She took a step back, in fright. All the other kids had long stepped away from her towards the dark corners.

"I won't say this again… I'm in a really bad mood right now."

He took a step towards her. She took another step back. Her whole body shook, her pupils dilated. She wanted to run away. She wanted to go back to her mother. She wanted her mother.

"So, you shut the fuck up."

He raised his voice so others could hear it too.

"You're not leaving. None of you brats are leaving."

"I-I…"

She stuttered, but couldn't speak. Her guts told her she should shut up, but her heart kept telling her she needed to go back.

"My mommy—"

"DID you not hear me?"

He quickly closed the distance, extended his hands, and grabbed her mouth, squeezing her cheeks hard enough that her jawbones hurt.

"Mwu!... Weas swop… I-Ii… hurrs!"

She struggled and grabbed the man's hands with her small hands, but couldn't separate the man's rough hands from her face.

"Did. You. Not. HEAR ME?"

The man spoke menacingly. But the pain was too much for her and the hold made it hard to speak.

She couldn't get out of the painful hold and in a moment of fear, adrenaline, and a hasty decision, she closed her jaws shut and instinctively bit the man's hand in an effort to get away from his tight grip.

"Agh! You little bitch!!"

That was the biggest mistake of her life. She shouldn't have done that.

What followed was a very harsh beating. She was made to feel unprecedented pain. So much pain that she almost passed out. Almost. The pain didn't let her pass out. Instead, she screamed and moaned, again and again.

"S-Stop! It hurts!"

"Please… I'm sorry!!"

"I'll do as you sa—Don't! Noo!!"

"It hurts… Aaa!!!"

But alas, her pleas went to deaf ears.

…

She now lay on the cold damp floor, a terrible smell invading her nose. But she had no power to even wince.

She sobbed meekly, choked and her body twitched. Every part of her was in pain. Her face, her stomach, her hands, her legs. Even inside. Especially, her insides. Something really hurt. She couldn't tell what, but it did.

Was it her broken ribs, or her broken legs… or was it her broken heart? She couldn't tell. It might have been all of those things.

Her world was fading and her vision in the already dark room was getting even darker.

'I'm going to die…'

Suddenly, she had a realization. She couldn't breathe properly. She choked as she wept, she barely gasped pulling in a little bit of the dusty air. She coughed, then she groaned feeling a torrent of new pain mixing with the already existing pain. She sobbed some more. It hurt. It really hurt. Everything. It hurts. She was going to die.

Her senses were telling her she was going to die at this rate. There was a severe lack of air. She needed air. So, she gasped, and in turn, got a little bit of air and a lot of pain.

*cough*

'… I don't want to die…'

A new realization suddenly came to her head.

She didn't want to die. She couldn't die. She had to go back, back to her mother. She…

But her mother was already dead.

A stark pain immerged from her chest. Then, it settled into a constant simmering, burning ache.

She couldn't breathe again.

'No…'

*cough*

"Ugh…"

'… please someone… help…'

She wanted to say those words out loud, but her voice didn't seem to come out.

*cough* *cough*

'I need to… Mommy… I'm gonna die. I don't want to die.'

She silently uttered one last word as her world turned dark for the second and maybe the last time.

*cough*

"Uuu…"

'Please… help.'

She was going to die… but she didn't want to die.

***

She slowly opened her eyes looking at the figure in front of her staring right at her.

'Where…?'

Her vision was hazy and dark. She couldn't see properly.

Her body twitched, the pain once again coming back in waves.

It hurt.

She wanted to cry and moan, but her words didn't come out.

'I-I'm alive.'

But she still struggled to breathe.

'I-I'm going to die.'

Her nerves started messing with her again. She didn't want to die.

Fearfully and perhaps with a tiny bit of hope, she looked at the person, looking back at her.

His face wasn't visible, but she could somewhat make out his golden eyes. They were a defining feature, the color of eyes she hadn't seen before. They seemed to glow in the dark, making her focus on them.

'Pretty.'

The man seemed to say something, maybe calling out to her, but she couldn't make it out. Her ears hurt when she tried; they were ringing and buzzing. Like dozens of bells ringing near them. They were already sensitive to sound, so this was quite painful. But not as painful as some of the other parts of her body.

Staring back at him, the man's eyes held a certain emotion she hadn't seen in a long time, other than in her late mother's eyes.

'Is he crying?'

Her vision blurred again.

Or was she teary? Were both of them crying? She couldn't think straight.

'Who… are you?'

Her words didn't come out.

…

Her mind felt hazy. The next thing she remembered was her wounds were healing and most of her pain was now gone.

'Uuugh…'

But it still hurt.

As her mind cleared a little, the memory of her beating came to her and she shook and moaned.

"It hurts…"

She muttered.

She heard the man speak something anxiously in response. But her mind was preoccupied with the horrid memories of the other man beating her.

It hurt, it hurt soo much. She was going to die. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt…

…

She didn't remember how, but she was now clutching the man.

He'd helped her. Healed her back to normal… Well, physically at least.

Still, it was nice to hold him. He smelled nice too. Something was unique about him. His very presence was comforting to her.

Her subconscious told her she needed to stay close to him, to not let go. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay, to hold her. The only person to hold her, in a warm embrace, after months of living a constant love-starved life.

…

Her heart suddenly started aching, her breathing hitched, her mind threw away the heartbreaking thought of her mother, and instead it made her remember the painful beating. Trying to hide from a painful memory with another recent painful memory.

"Uuugh… uuuu…no, please stop…."

Her mind constantly reminded her of the painful beating. Not letting her think of anything else. To not remember a certain fact. Her mind rejected anything to do with it.

Her mind was pulled out of a vortex when she felt her body suddenly being lifted.

"Kyaa!"

She yelped, in fear and surprise.

"It's okay. Go with the big sis here. She'll keep you safe."

Suddenly, she realized she was going to be separated from her newfound warmth.

"No! Please, don't leave! Please… I'm sorry. I'll-I'll do anything… Please, don't go away…"

Words came out on their own. She didn't know why she was saying this, but at the moment, she didn't want him to go away. Her only source of warmth, she couldn't let it go.

Yet, the man somehow persuaded her to go with the female with him.

Kara didn't want to go with her. She didn't radiate the same warmth as this person.

She felt cold, just like the others. She didn't want to let go.

Alas, she was made to let go. She gloomily accepted and went with the woman.

Not long after, she was somehow asleep again.

***

The cat-girl opened her eyes, feeling a little strange. Her mind felt empty and hazy.

"Where am I?"

She sat on the place she was lying and looked around. She was in an unfamiliar place.

The room was small, with barely anything of note and it looked old and dusty.

*Click*

She turned as she heard the door click and then open, revealing a woman.

"Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here? … Uhm, who am I? I-I can't remember… I-I… what… I can't remember!?"

She was starting to freak out when the woman replied.

"It's alright, love. I'm… your guardian, let's just say. You're in your home. For now anyway. We'll move away soon. As for who you are. Your name is Kara. I know you're having a hard time remembering anything, little kitty. So, don't bother."

She looked at the woman smiling "kindly" and now standing in front of her.

"Why can't I remember?"

"Your memories are locked. Trust me, it's for your own good."

"W-What? Why? How?"

"Mmm~ I won't tell~"

The woman in front of her smiled mischievously. And Kara felt a sense of discomfort from looking at this woman. She couldn't tell why, but something about her was very strange. Was it her dress, the way she acted, or something else? She didn't know.

"… Why?"

She finally managed to ask back.

"Because… if you remembered it, you would be very unhappy. It's better to not remember than to know and be sad."

Kara's heart thumped in foreboding despair at her casual yet scary reply. The tail on her back stood tensed, the hair of them rising from the goosebumps all over her body, and she suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Something wasn't right. Definitely not right.

"W-What? Why? What happened to me?"

"Something very unfortunate. Trust me, it's better if you don't try to think of it~ Hungry?"

Her stomach growled following the cue. She suddenly felt famished.

"I-I… yeah."

In the end, she didn't have any choice but to give in to it. The woman didn't seem like she would reply to her questions properly.

"Alright, follow me~ Let's go eat something. I'm hungry too."

She was uncertain about a lot of things— everything, really. And she didn't even know if she should listen to this woman. Who was she anyway?

But feeling another deep grumble from her stomach, she resigned and followed the woman out of the shabby bed she laid on.

As she walked towards the door, she suddenly stopped.

"Wait!"

She suddenly realized something strange.

"Why… am I wearing this?"

She pointed at the oversized shirt she was wearing.

The woman turned to look at her.

"Oh... Whoops, forgot about that. Oh well, you stay here like a good girl and I'll bring you some food and clothes. Kay~?"

'She's leaving?'

If this woman was leaving then maybe she could—

Whatever she was planning died down when she heard the woman's voice again, her mind suddenly becoming hazy.

"Don't leave this room till I come back, got it?"

She stared at the woman, suddenly feeling strange, but nodded.

"Okay."

"Good girl~ I'll bring you something nice. Wait here. I'll be back soon."

Kara saw the woman leaving. She went and sat back on the shabby bed she was previously lying on, her body moving on its own.

Looking around, the place felt familiar.

'Where am I?'

Even the bed felt familiar and somehow comforting.

'Why?'

She noticed a few coins scattered around the bed. She hadn't noticed them before.

Suddenly, she felt a lump building in her heart and her eyes grew wet.

'What? W-Why am I crying?'

*Hicc*

She had no idea why, but she had suddenly started crying.

'I am scared.'

She thought.

'No, I'm fine.'

Her own mind told her.

'I want to go home.'

She pleaded.

'I am fine where I am.'

Her mind told her.

'I want to see my family. Where are my mommy and daddy?'

'No, I don't have any. I am an orphan.'

'Why?'

'Don't bother thinking about it.'

A flurry of confusing and contradicting thoughts clashed in her mind. Blurry pieces of memories seemed to surface occasionally, but thinking about them messed up her mind, causing a headache.

"Agh. It hurts…"

In the end, she decided to not think too deeply about it. She didn't want to feel the pain.

'…It's okay, you're safe.'

A hazy memory made her jerk.

This was different from the one that was like her own alternate self talking to her. It felt unfamiliar, yet, something about it was comforting.

'Huh? What was that?'

'…Don't fear….'

The same voice rang in her mind, speaking soothing words.

'Who is speaking? What's happening?'

'I'll keep you safe. Nobody will hurt you…'

The memory seemed to continue in broken pieces.

'It's alright.'

She suddenly felt a sense of comfort wash over her, but it was different from the one that was previously forced on her. Now she felt lonely. She wanted to go back to that voice. To hear it again. She wanted to feel that sense of comfort.

This really confused her.

She was suddenly okay, but not okay.

'What happened? Why do I feel so weird? And who's voice was that?'

Her mind tried to think about it but that only yielded her another wave of pain.

"Uugh! Ouch."

Teary-eyed, she groaned at her inability to do anything. She didn't remember anything, she couldn't leave this room, she didn't know what was happening.

'It's alright.'

And when she had given up, the voice returned back, ever so soothing.

Was it her father? Brother? Did she have a brother?

Whose voice was it? What was happening?

Frustrated, annoyed, and somehow tired again, she lay back on the bed and soon fell asleep.

She dreamt of someone holding her warmly, comforting her. At first, their gender wasn't clear as it shifted from a female to a male, and then back, their features changing between two figures she just couldn't remember. Then, she saw their warm, golden eyes. And the visage finally took a male form.

She smiled both in the dream and in real life. She felt comforted by the presence of that figure, somehow. It felt nice when he held her.

[End of Kara's POV]

***