Sayuri yawned wide, her elongated canines glinting in the pale moonlight. She stretched languidly before hopping to her feet. She scratched her thigh idly before glancing at her surroundings. The rooftops of Arkbridge rolled out beyond her perch, stretching to the edge of the curtain wall to the north. Her stomach growled irritably and Sayuri rubbed it consolingly.

“Good belly,” she murmured soothingly, closing her eyes as she rubbed her aching stomach. “It’s okie that you are hungry. So is Sayuri. She will find us food.” Yawning again she walked to the edge of the roof. Her ears swiveled, searching for any sign of trouble before dropping off the edge of the roof and straight toward the street 15 meters below.

She yawned once more as she fell toward the street before her form seemed to shimmer and shrink into itself. The soft, white kitten with heterochromatic eyes landed daintily on a thin clothesline stretched across two buildings and hopped the rest of the way down to the street.

There was food to be had, provided she wasn’t too picky and didn’t mind fighting for it. She could, she supposed, always revert to her Neko form but that seemed cruel when the other cats were simply trying their best to survive as well. Besides, people didn’t take too kindly to Nekos like her, she’d found. Or she didn’t think they did. She’d never seen another Neko, but people didn’t care for her, so she was mostly sure they didn’t like all Nekos. The thought that it could just be her they didn’t like settled into her mind like an unfriendly guest, and her tail swished back and forth nervously. They threw things at her sometimes and tried to hit her and made her leave where she was sleeping until she’d been forced onto the rooftops.

The first several months after her family had vanished had been especially difficult for her as she tended to be a rather restless sleeper in her Neko form and had rolled off the sharp peak of the roofs a few times. Recently she’d gotten better at learning to sleep with an arm and a leg on either side of the peak for safety’s sake. Sleeping in her cat or panther form wasn’t nearly as comfortable during the heat of summer.

She leapt onto a fence and followed it carefully until finding what she was looking for, a relatively fresh trash dumping site. Her eyes narrowed as she found three other cats had already happened upon it before she could. They had a better sense of smell than she did since they were full cats and she wasn’t, but she was patient. She curled her tail around her and waited.

“Hsssss!” One of the cats hissed at a tiny dusky kitten who had appeared around the corner of a building near the trash dump. The kitten looked wounded and moved gingerly, one of her hind legs not holding her weight. Her large green eyes widened in fear, and she shrunk back toward the wall reflexively. Sayuri’s eyes narrowed, and she leapt down in front of the cat who’d hissed. The cat, a rather muscular tabby with a torn ear stepped back in surprise before growling angrily at her, its tail puffing up dangerously. Sayuri’s form shimmered and blurred in the low light filtering through the buildings and she stood, ears pricking forward irritably.

“You are a very rude kitty, kitty,” Sayuri wagged her finger at the thoroughly terrified tabby. “There is more than enough trash to share with our new friend if she wants some.”

“Mrrrowll!” The tabby growled, stepping back a pace warily as the other two cats around the garbage weighed their hunger against the sudden appearance of the white-haired woman in their midst.

“Gah!” Sayuri gasped, shrinking back slightly in horror. “You take that back!” The cats finally decided the trash pile wasn’t worth it and, turning tail, fled into the night. Sayuri cocked her head curiously to the side as they vanished before turning to the injured kitten against the wall. Not only was her back leg hurt but there appeared to be a cord or wire of some kind wrapped tightly around her neck, cutting into her skin. Sayuri sat down carefully against the wall a couple of meters from the wounded cat, fluffy tail wrapping around her waist. “It’s Okie! You can come over if you want. Sayuri will help you.” The cat took a cautious step forward but otherwise remained where she was.

“Sayuri is not good for much,” Sayuri shrugged. “But she can try to help if you’ll let her.” The cat eyed her curiously and Sayuri’s big eyes looked back, a comforting smile lighting up her face. “Sayuri understands. Humans can be mean. They throw things and splash water on us and yell and sometimes do worse.” Sayuri’s eyes traveled along the cat’s injured body, and she sighed sadly.

“They’re not all that way, though. Sometimes they give us tasty things or will not kick us out of doorways in the rain. Sometimes they will be patient with us and give us pets and rubs. One day, if you’re patient, you may find a human who will want you to be happy and give you love. The human will accept your apology when you’ve done bad things. You might even let your human rub your belly. Maybe you can even have a f-family.” Sayuri felt the tears sting her eyes and slip down her cheeks and her voice faltered. The kitten took another hesitant step forward.

“Sayuri had a family once,” Sayuri’s voice cracked slightly. “But she was useless and stupid, and they left her. You are smart, though and Sayuri knows if you are kind and patient, you will find a family of your own someday. Sayuri is not human and is not good at most things, but she would like to take care of you until you find a family of your own.” She held a hand toward the kitten slowly so as to not frighten her. “If you are ok with Sayuri, that is.” The kitten paused warily once more before limping over to sniff Sayuri’s outstretched hand.

“Thank you for trusting Sayuri,” Sayuri rubbed the kitten’s ears gently. “Sayuri does not know if you have a name, but she will call you Sora until you find a name you like better. Is that ok with you?” The kitten stepped closer and nuzzled Sayuri’s hand gratefully. Sayuri’s smile broadened. “You are Sayuri’s friend for as long as you wish, now. Sayuri will find you food and take care of you. Okie?” The newly anointed Sora hopped awkwardly into Sayuri’s lap and nuzzled against her tenderly.