Shortish Stories

Yokai

Hello everyone! For explanation about why I've been gone ((sorry)), check my message board!
So I started this story on Christmas, and it's sorta holiday-ish and it was originally supposed to be MUCH shorter & for a contest. So here goes!

Konichiwa. My name is Yokai. I know what your thinking. Yes, my name means demon. I'm not a demon, I'm a Neko. Late Christmas Eve one year, I was playing in the snow.
To this day, I hate Christmas.
My black ears were out, my black and gray tail was waving, and I was having an amazing time.
My littermate, who was black and white- sort of siamese type- was hiding behind a snow fort, resisting my attack. My breath streamed, my eyes crinkled, and I laughed.
To this day I have not laughed.
Just that moment, a human came. This human grabbed my littermate and held a blade to her throat.
"Come with me or she dies." The human said gruffly. My sister is the most important. My sister is my everything. So I walked slowly to the human, and stood before it.
"Let her go." I said, my voice cracking.
"Good little Yokai. Your mine now. And you won't escape, because you have nothing to go back to." They said. The blade flashed, and suddenly my littermate was on the ground, staining the white snow with her red, red blood.
To this day I can't stand snow.
The human took me with it. It trapped me in a cage, it tortured and beat me. Yokai, my name is. Demon, my name is.
This human, a female, is my Mistress. It's almost Christmas, and I know what comes on that day.
Every year, for the past 5 years, Mistress has tried to force herself upon me.
Every year, for the past 5 years, I end up with a new scar. A? Did I say A? There's usually a minimum of 3. Last year I got 7.
Why the scars? Why the torture? Why me?
To this day, I have no clue.
But it's getting close to Christmas. This year, I'll make my move. My claws are sharpened, my teeth are bared, I'm ready to take it down or die trying. I've had enough.
But for some reason, this year had to be the different year. This year had to be the year everything changed. This year had to be the year Mistress took us out for the holidays.
2 days before Christmas, and headed towards a boat. I'm a Neko. I don't do boats. Or water. Especially not to island locations, such as Hawaii. But that was where we were going.
Of course, I was having none of it. I hissed, I spat, I growled, i held onto my cage for dear life, but she dragged me out and chained me to the board.
This board... I was so familiar with it. Technically, it was only a table. A very heavy metal table. But it had all my blood stains. All my tears. All the gashes where she stuck the knife in close enough to scare me, but far enough to only nick the skin. And it had chains.
To this day, I hate rectangular tables.
She took my clothes and put on other ones. I hated everything she put on me with a vengeance that made me destroy all excess material as soon as she left the room.
This had no excess material. A thin shirt, delicately floated halfway down my stomach. Comforting leggings stretched down my legs. My feet were covered by simple canvas shoes, and a minimalist sole. She took my hair and brushed it.
To this aday I hate being brushed.
Brushing is supposed to bring pleasure and companionship. I have no doubt when she did it, she felt those things. But I felt none of it. All I could feel was the desire to rip her apart as slowly and meticulously as she unraveled every tangle.
Of course next she put a collar around my neck. This collar was a black choker necklace with a blue stone that was actually a hidden camera. Feeling her put it on was like feeling someone take your freedom and crush it in their hands.
Leaving the house, she held my hand. My claws grew, but she simply adjusted her hold so that I was stabbing myself, and put her remote in her hand. Under my breath I growled. The collar was capable of 400 volts of force, and I had no desire to feel the pain.
In the car, she forced me to sit on her lap. I hated my small frame. It made me feel weak, and she took advantage of it. She dressed me like a doll, brushed my hair like a pet, made me sit on her lap like a younger sibling, and yet she expected me to love her?
Getting out of the car, I was quick as could be. I didn't want to sit with- or on- her a moment longer. But of course she got out just as quickly, wrapping her arms around my waist. I stalked angrily up the boat's extended gangplank.
Mistress lead us to our (shared) cabin. Grabbing the suitcases she rolled into the small space, I put all of our stuff away while she sat on the bed poutily. I ignored her, so as soon as I was finished she grabbed my hand (so that I would stab myself again) and dragged me out.
In the dining hall, the smells overthrew me. I smelled not only the food, but the people there too. Unfamiliar scents cascaded over my sensitive nose, until I smelled a scent I recognized. I sniffed again, just to be sure.
There were other Nekos here! Eagerly glancing across the room, I saw that there were many people. Different races, clothing, languages... I wondered where they all came from.
I casually glanced at Mistress. She stood, examining the different people. I glanced back and tried to pinpoint Nekos. Finding them wasn't easy due to the different clothing styles, but I did manage to identify a few.
One particular male Neko caught my eye. He was dressed not much differently than I, in shorts and a tank top. I wondered where he was from.
Glancing back at mistress, she also looked at me. She said softly, for her voice does not often betray her violent nature, "Go. Mingle. But come to me before the dinner bell rings at 6." And walked away.
Finally! Here was my chance to escape! I raced to the deck.... And found we were already far from the shore. I hit my head upon the metal railing, recalling the time she hit me with a metal whip.
"Did they just let you go?" A deep voice asked. Spinning around, claws up, I was in attack position.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I demanded. It was the Neko I had noticed, with black ears and tail.
"My name's Crona." He says, shifting back slightly. I recognize that he's defending, and reading himself to spring away at any moment. "I just wanted to say hi... It's not often we get a new IIAWAH member."
"What's iiawah?" I ask, struggling to pronounce the unfamiliar word.
"If you don't know, I can't tell you. Look, let's start this over. Hi, I'm Crona. What's your name?" He asks, straightening his posture. He takes a step forward, and waves as he says hi.
I straighten mine as well, but do not wave. "My name is Yokai. Nice to meet you." I say, awkwardly saying my name.
"That's a very nice name. Your master must care a lot." He said, but he said it in a way that made me think he was joking. I smirked a bit, and corrected him.
"Actually I have a Mistress, not a Master." I said, looking down. Looking back up at him, he nods.
"Mm yes that's not uncommon." He says, behind his back fiddling with his tail.
"So where are you from?" He asks, continuing to play with his tail. I look at him strangely, because I realize I have no idea where I live. For all I know, I could live in the same town where my littermate died, or I could be half the world away. He continues to fiddle with his tail as he talks to me, which if I remember correctly is considered rude. "I don't know." I say, final lug answering his question after a long pause. He brings his tail to the side where I can see it, but continues to fiddle. I ask him a question with my eyes, and he glances at his tail. Catching on, I fiddle with mine as well. He then asks me random questions, such as what my favorite color is, but what he's really doing is tail signaling.
He asks if I'm happy with my Mistress. I say no. I don't tell him how much... But I think he gets it. He asks if she cares a lot about me. I say yes... Because she does.
Somehow, I give this one Neko all the information a torture session would take days to accomplish. When were done, he says to me, "thank you sister. I hope to see you soon."
I nod, and go back to our room. She's there, waiting for me. When she sees me, she smiles. "Good. Your not late. Time for some new clothes for the dinner!" I cringed, and backed into the wall. I had never had more than one clothing session in a day.
This time, I had a green pleated skirt, and a white button up shirt. This shirt had a red necktie, and the buttons had snowflakes on them. She put my hair in pigtails, and put makeup on my eyes. Then the socks.
To this day, I hate long socks.
She bunched them up in her hands, And put them around my feet. Then she grabbed the tops and pulled them up, inch by inch, up my legs. These socks were thigh high. She did this excruciatingly slowly to both legs, then smiled up at me.
She was dressed in a red skirt and green tie, opposite of me. Her white shirt had snowflake buttons as well. Then we both put on our shoes, and she switched my death necklace. This one was low under my shirt and attached to the tie.
We then walked out, arm in arm. I scowled, and she smiled. She slipped her hand in a hidden pocket in her skirt, and I reluctantly smiled. Getting her way, she let go of the remote I was sure was in there. We walked.... Well she bounced, and I walked; to the table.
She sat down, and I was surprised to find my chair was... Just that. A chair. There was no cage, no Kitty bed... It was a chair, only slightly shorter than my mistresses.
I glanced at her for confirmation, and she nodded. So I sat down in the chair, feeling very, very uncomfortable. Glancing around the table, I again spotted Crona.
He was seated next to a beautiful, dark skinned woman. She made my Mistress seem like a child. Her eyes were like pools of darkness, impossible to tell what she was thinking. Her hair was braided, and it fell down her back like a carefully controlled waterfall. Her outfit consisted of a wrap around the chest area, and a faintly see through skirt.
She was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. Looking at my Mistress, I found myself comparing them. My mistress was light skinned, and had blonde hair. This hair was currently up in pigtails, and it curled gently.
Her eyes were green, and this green haunted my dreams. This green I associated with burning cruelty.
They were nothing alike, and I found myself wondering if this was true only in appearance. The beautiful Mistress of Crona, was she as despicable as my own Mistress?
I was jolted out of my thoughts by the arrival of our latest dinner companions. They walked in with a bang, shouting apologies for their tardiness. Of course their spot was right next to me, and so I got full view of a master and his female Neko. This pair seemed to come from somewhere with little sun, as both were very pale and had almost white hair. When the Neko sat, I saw her tail was white with a bit of a gray tip. Her ears were also white, and her eyes were a most interesting violet color.
I blinked my own gray eyes at the Master. He was similar enough to the Neko, but where she was lithe and thin, he was bulky and strong. His eyes had no trace of the violet, they were securely icy blue. He glanced at me, and I flinched.
Staring at a Master or Mistress is punishable by whipping, so I was very afraid. I was also very confused when he started to laugh.
"Little Neko, do not be afraid. I will not hurt you!" He said, his voice loud and echoing. He placed his large hand on my head and rubbed my ears, making me purr slightly. As soon as he was done, I shook my head. My black pigtails accidentally smacked mistress in the face, and my gray eyes widened. Mistress only reached across and tugged my pigtail, before returning her attention to the conversation she was having with someone across the table.
I looked around, finding everyone was talking to someone else. I fiddled with my black and gray ringed tail, hoping nobody would notice me.
"Hello! My name is being Lyrica, and I am being pleased to meet you!" The Neko with violet eyes said to me.
"Hello. My name is Yokai." I said, facing the pretty white Neko.
"Yokai, yes? That is very good name. What does it mean?" She asked curiously.
"It means demon." I said sadly.
"Demon? You look no like demon to me. Mistake maybe?" She said, surveying my small frame.
"No... Mistress chose that name for me." I said, glancing back at my Mistress.
"Ah. Well, I am being glad to have meet you, yes? Remember, Lyrica will talk to you." She said, returning to the other side of her master.
After this conversation with the strangely spoken Lyrica, I was surprised to see Crona behind me. Glancing back to where he was sitting before, I saw a similarly colored Neko in his place. "That is my littermate. Come now!" He said, taking my hand.
I looked at my mistress, and she was distracted for the moment. I turned back to Crona, and nodded. "Quickly, let's go." I said quietly.
He dragged me through the ship until we reached a cabin the size of Mistresses. Judging from the ease at which he sat on the bed, it was his shared room. I carefully sat in a chair that was hanging from the ceiling... What do you call those again?
"So. Yokai. Now that we're alone, I wanted to ask you some more questions." He began. At this, I cut him off.
"First, answer my questions. Why are we here? What is this ship? Why do you need these answers?" I rapid fired at him.
"You're here because we've managed to convince your Mistress that the Masters and Mistresses here are all as awful as she is. This ship is a rescue ship for mistreated Nekos. We need these answers to see how you've been mistreated." He said, just as fast as me.
"You want mistreated? You want to know if I need saving?" I yelled, angrier than I should have been. "Look at this!" I said, pulling down my collar. 3 separate scars started there. They were inflicted by my own claws. They started right on the bone, and continued all the way to my hip, but he couldn't see that. "I've got more scars than you've got brains, which doesn't take much, but I've got a memory for each. I was going to end this anyway. I suppose now I'll have an audience." I said, walking out of the room.
Why am I so angry? These people are trying to help me!
Well they're too late. She's going to pay for what she did to me. I don't care who sees.
With this in mind, I put a smile on my face, and bounced into the dining room.