E2 — CLOUDS & CURSES (Part 2)

Steel and concrete tower high enough to usurp the sun’s dominion over the uneven asphalt. Trash cans, piles of boxes, and crates of empty bottles line the alley. Corrugated walls and windowless doors stand guard, keeping the human territories separated from the land of cats. 

Conversation is in short supply. My long list of questions quickly comes to an end as his limited responses and vague mumblings kill any hope for answers. So I trail behind him in silence, trying to make sense of the human symbol painted across the back of his haori. Trying to make sense of the jacket itself. And of the cat wearing it, for that matter.

As we round a bend, we come across a human squatting beside a brick wall with a rancid stick of smoke held between his lips. Above the man is a puffy ball that smells like cedar. Charred fish and savory spices squeeze out a cracked window, mixing with the thick alley aroma. Apprehension slows my pace as we pad closer, but the human seems completely oblivious. The upright cat remains unbothered. Perhaps the presence of his prized can simply negates the possibility of dropping to all fours. Either way, he trudges forward like a fat cloud in a silk jacket, red and white can held above his head.

“Eh?!” The cigarette slips from the human’s mouth. He digs into his pants and fumbles a rectangle from his pocket.

As he lifts it, that invisible buzz radiates from the upright cat once again. It’s just like at the vending machine. Like the air around him is being charged with some sort of energy. Before the man has the rectangle aimed, the cloud cat flicks his tail in the man’s direction. A lightning-fast zap surges through the air. The device crackles and pops as it springs from the human’s grip. It clatters to the ground as the man curses and nurses his fingertips. The smell of scorched chemicals leaks from the spiderweb cracks across its glassy surface. Swaying along, the strange cat lazily continues ahead with wide steps, can still held aloft.

Soon the alley gives way to a small, secluded park. Tall buildings with glowing signs and a gravel path border the far side. The park is flanked by rows of humble shacks covered in wooden signs with hand-drawn human symbols scattered incomprehensibly. The smell of food permeates the small structures, but they seem to be completely abandoned. Could be a trap. Another human scheme to capture and enslave free cats. I should keep a wary eye on this place. On this strange cat as well.

Concrete gives way to scratchy grass. A single, towering camphor tree stands proud at the center of the humble park, its ancient canopy offering steadfast protection from sun, rain, and hawk alike. The twisted trunk, wide enough to conceal at least one entire tuna, is speckled with moss. A soft breeze rustles the tree’s impressive branches, sending a serenade of leafsong through the peaceful grassland. Small birds chitter and chatter about their petty dramas high above, while a duo of squirrels quarrels over the location of lost nuts. A large crow sits high atop the camphor, watching my approach with unabashed intensity.

“Here it is.”

“What is this place?”

“Home,” the word meanders pleasantly from his lips.

Without explanation, he pushes at a knot in the bulbous trunk. It swings open, revealing a subterranean entrance. He lets the can roll into the hole, then follows, his expansive white fur swallowed by the dark mystery that lies within the tree.

Hesitant, I peer down the hole. Perhaps this was a mistake. Chills stalk across my skin. It’s not too late to turn around, but where else would I go? His tail pops back out from the darkness, gesturing for me to follow. I slowly scoot myself in headfirst. A tunnel, more of a hallway really, lies before me. Its smooth, wooden walls are dimly lit by a small lantern at the far end. My upright guide is nowhere to be found, but the swaying curtain shows me the way.

“Whoa…” I push through, stepping into yet another unexpected twist. 

Beyond the curtain is a large, underground chasm expansive enough to house upwards of twenty cats. The chamber is ringed with lanterns that cast warm light on the impressive space. An intricate weaving of roots dances across the ceiling and pushes down, deep into the rocky soil like twisting support beams. Smooth stones, cool to the touch, dot the mossy ground, offering a path to a central structure. 

I blink hard, suspecting my eyes are deceiving me once again. There’s just no way… Yet the image remains.

At the center of the chamber stands a wooden building crafted in the ways of old. Charred wooden boards line the facade, giving way to paper windows and an open doorway. Tiles shingle over the pyramidal roof like dragon scales, coming to a decisive point at each corner of the building. It’s like a miniature of the structure from that shrine. Who could’ve built a thing like this? And why?

A boisterous crack pulls my attention away from the ceramic tiles. Sitting tall at the center of the porch, hind legs crossed underneath, is the white cat. Intoxicating smoke rolls from his smirking lips as he smiles at the can like a proud mother watching healthy kittens. Hoisting the thing with both paws, he leans back and gulps the mysterious liquid, then sets it back down. Tan droplets cling to his chin and whiskers as his smile widens.

“So, Bokuden… It was, Bokuden, right?”

I nod. My paws tread lightly over cold stone and smooth wood as I join him on the porch.

“Well,” he cocks his head to the side, “want a sip?”

“I’d prefer answers.”

His head cocks the opposite direction.

“I—”

The frustrating cloud hoists the can aloft again, tipping himself back to catch its flow.

“Are you…” My ears turn back as I huff out a breath of annoyance. “I don’t have time for, for… whatever this is. Do you have answers for me, or am I just here for your entertainment?”

Thud. The can strikes the hardwood.

The cloud’s bright blue eyes find mine. For just the tiniest sliver of a moment, they hold within them a look sharp enough to cut through steel. The piercing gaze sends a chill racing down my spine. Some unplaceable quality of danger, or perhaps just pure power, lives deep within those pools of blue. But before the chill reaches the tip of my tail, his eyes soften, once again glossed with carelessness and vague amusement.

“You’re quite a rude cat, aren’t you?” He flicks his tail in the air. “You don’t bow at shrines. You demand I stop and answer your multitude of questions. And you haven’t even asked for my name.”

When he puts it like that, I guess I have been a little focused on my needs. I offer him a small, apologetic bow.

“However, to one extent or another, I know what you’re going through,” he says before I have the chance to respond. “I know the fear well, the confusion, too. That anger… The crushing importance of a task incomplete… So, with great kindness and wisdom, I will forgive your rudeness,” he proudly announces.

“You know what happened to me, don’t you? Please, you must tell me. Do you know how I got here? Why did I wake up at that shrine?”

“Well… I can’t promise exact accuracy, but I like to think I understand it better than most.” He pushes the can away and taps his pipe on the ground, letting black ash spill onto the wood.

The smell of moss and earth floods my nose as I drink in a deep breath, trying to keep my frustration from becoming audible. Don’t be rude. He’ll get there. Just let him meander his way to my answers… Even if it’s with the urgency of a tortoise leaving a salad bowl.

“Fine. That’s, er, that’s fine. Any insight would be of great value, even partial truths,” I say as pleasantly as I can. Now, will he please just get the hell on with it?

“When it first happened to me…” He pauses, pulling out a sinched sack from inside his haori. Taking a pinch of green herbs from inside, he gently packs them into the long pipe. “I thought it was all some strange premonition.” His tail lifts over his shoulder and presses into the pipe. When he retracts it, the green herbs are lit cherry-red. He draws out a cloud as large as himself and puffs it up towards the ceiling. “So, Bokuden, just to get you over the initial shock as quickly as possible, I will go ahead and assure you that you most definitely died before awaking at the shrine. Most likely in an exceedingly brutal or tragic way… probably both.”

His words slice through me like the memory of Zei Sho’s cleaver. Guess it wasn’t a nightmare after all.

“I… I really… died?” My paw checks for signs of a wound that no longer afflicts me. Terrible sadness and unflinching anger twist my stomach. My head hangs low. Pain and shame strike hot as glowing embers in my soul. Chiyo, Oda, I failed you. 

“Sorry.” Smoke rolls from his lips. He extends the pipe towards me.

“Wait! How could I have died? I’m here, aren’t I? That alley, this city… No way this is the afterlife, and clearly I’m not a kitten.”

“A cat is a special creature. One soul, nine lives… But why? Reward? Test? Oppurtunity?” He shrugs, “All that is certain is with each life we find a new beginning.”

“Exactly!” I snap. “I know how it works! Each life is a clean slate; everyone knows that! Reborn. Day one. No memories of before. A new chance. Not…” I look down at my body. “Not this!”

“If only it were that simple,” he sighs, his shoulders hunching as if burdened by a great weight. “Unfortunately, beginnings don’t always occur when we expect them to.”

“Beginnings are at the beginning.” This cat is quickly proving himself to be less helpful than I had hoped.

“Eh… you’d be surprised. There are layers to this world, to existence. Things we are not taught, realities that escape even a cat’s intuition. It’s a shame,” he huffs out a labored cloud. “I wish you were right; it would make life a simpler thing. Death, too, for that matter… If only the Mikoneko spared cats like us…”

“The Mikoneko? Spared us from what?”

His gaze pins me with that chilling look once again as he leans forward, the crisp air all but sucked out of the den. “The Nekotsu Curse…”

*Illustrations are formatted in traditional manga style: right to left, starting at the top*

continue with STATIC SHOCK  - out Saturday, 8/22 @ 9:00AM PT!

Thank you so much for reading! Please subscribe, like, and talk to me in the comments!