Chapter Text
“Hey look, it’s that freak again.”
“Ugh, what an eyesoar.”
“Careful, he might punch you if he hears you.”
“He’s the worst.”
“Better stay away from him.”
“Is he talking to a cat?”
“What a weirdo.”
“Maybe he should go live with them instead, like the stupid freak monster he is.”
It was always the same.
The same vile words. The same judgemental stares. The same harsh treatment. The same cold isolation.
He’s heard all the foul things people have to say about him thousands of times already, and it will only continue to add up. There wasn’t even any use in counting them.
It doesn’t matter.
He doesn’t even care anymore.
Nothing he does ever changes anything, so there’s no point in bothering about it.
Sakura has long since given up on forming any sorts of human connections. If people want nothing to do with him, then Sakura doesn’t want anything to do with them either.
It was a lonely way to live. But that was okay, because Sakura did have some companions. At least, in the form of stray cats.
Cats were, in Sakura’s opinion, a lot easier to get along with than people. Treat them kindly, maybe offer them some food, and if you’re able to gain their trust, then they’ll treat you with kindness as well.
When the people from his home town rejected him, the stray cats that Sakura would often visit always accompanied him and treated him kindly.
While the other kids spent time playing with each other, Sakura spent most of his childhood simply hanging out with the local strays. It was enough for him. At least his presence wasn’t entirely unwanted.
That’s how Sakura found himself visiting an abandoned alley so often. Many local cats resided there, and it was a good place to hide from people too. The last thing Sakura wanted was more unnecessary trouble from them after all.
“Ah, it’s the kind young human again~”
“Good to see you again, young boy!”
“Hey, can I have some of your lovely head scratches again?”
This was another reason why Sakura got along with cats so well. For as long as he knew, Sakura was always able to fully understand what cats were talking about. What sounded like a normal ‘meow’ to a normal person, what Sakura would hear was akin to normal human language. And somehow, the cats were able to fully understand his words. This strange ability of his allowed Sakura to basically communicate with cats as one would to a normal human.
He’s gotten plenty of nasty comments when he was seen talking with some stray cats out in the open, but Sakura doesn’t care about it. This ability is what allows him to connect with the creatures that actually accept him. He likes this gift of his, even if he has no clue how it works or why he has it.
.
“You’ll be off the cast soon, so just hang in there a bit longer okay?” Sakura said to the cat resting on top of an examination table.
Sakura also found himself visiting a small local animal clinic from time to time, bringing in stray cats in need of medical attention. He first stumbled upon this place when he found a female orange cat lying on a stack of cardboard pieces, looking sick and weak while softly crying for help.
Not knowing what to do or how to help, Sakura carefully carried the cat in his arms before rushing to find a nearby vet that he vaguely remembered passing by before. He was already quite familiar with the town area, having passed through it multiple times — if not to escape from stubborn troublemakers trying to make his life miserable, then to simply kill the abundance of spare time he had — and recognized most of the different shops and buildings. It didn’t take him long before he found the small local clinic and brought the orange cat in to see a vet.
Turns out the female feline had been pregnant, and simply needed a little supervision when it came time to deliver the baby kittens. Sakura had been relieved when he saw that the orange cat was doing just fine. The relief was short-lived though when he realised he needed to pay for the medical bills. Fortunately for Sakura, the vet that checked on the cat was very understanding towards his situation, and agreed to give him a generous discount (with a warning that there will be no next time of course) considering it was a stray and didn’t require any major intervention. The vet was also kind enough to give him a few advice and guidance in case something similar happened in the future.
From then on, Sakura would visit the same animal clinic again quite a few more times. He’s brought in a cat that had been deathly sick, to which the vet quickly deduced that it was nearing the end of its lifespan, and advised Sakura to lay it somewhere it can rest peacefully. Afterwards was a cat that had been run over by a car. There was no way of saving it, so the vet helped euthanize the poor feline and put it to rest (without any charges).
When Sakura visited again, he had brought in a cat with a broken leg. The vet had managed to treat the injury, and the cat was put into a small cast. After his first visit, Sakura had made sure he saved some money aside in case he brought in another cat, and managed to pay for the operation this time (with another added discount, the vet insisted — not as much as the last, but still a discount nonetheless).
Sakura later took in the injured cat for a bit, letting it rest in his shed and helped the cat slowly recover just as how the vet had taught him. He would periodically bring the cat back for follow-up check-ups to make sure it was healing well. Which brings Sakura to where he is now, talking to the recovering cat during one of its check-up visits.
‘Meow’
“Hm? Sure, I can give you a chin scratch.” Sakura said nonchalantly as he moved his hands to gently scratch the bottom of the feline’s chin. “Does this feel good?”
‘Meow~’
“Heh, good to hear.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you were a cat whisperer.” the vet spoke as he suddenly appeared behind Sakura, startling the poor kid.
The vet, who had treated all the cats he brought in, was the only kind person Sakura had ever met throughout his childhood. He never complained or spoke ill about him, instead treating him with kind understanding. Sakura was also extremely grateful for all the discounts he gave, even though he could’ve easily called his guardians to pay the full price. The kind vet was the one adult Sakura felt comfortable around, which is why he didn’t hesitate to ask when curiosity got the better of him.
“What’s a cat whisperer?”
“Hm? Well, a cat whisperer is someone who can understand cat behaviours better than most regular people, I suppose. So they’re able to interact with them better, just like what you were doing just now.” the vet had kindly explained, before he went back to resume his work.
Cat whisperer, huh?
Based on what the vet had told him, they’re simply people who understand how cats act better, not their language completely like him. Sakura still doesn’t know what this gift of his is exactly, but as of now, cat whisperer is the closest answer he’s ever gotten. It was far better than all the other adults playing it off as him being weird in the head.
Sakura visited the vet one last time when it came time to remove the cast off the cat.
“Alright, that should do it. You can return it back to where it came from now.” the vet spoke, to which Sakura gave a nod and an affirmative hum as he held the now fully healed cat in his arms.
...
“I’ll be moving soon..." Sakura said. “To attend a high school out of town..."
Sakura never told anyone about this, not like anyone ever cared about him to listen in the first place. But the vet was different. He was the only person that had treated Sakura with kindness, and someone Sakura genuinely felt a sense of comfort with. So Sakura decided to tell him. It felt only fair to let him know that a slight regular wouldn’t be coming back again any time soon.
“Is that so?” the vet replied, before slowly approaching Sakura and patting his head. “Good luck out there then.”
Sakura bid the kind vet farewell, along with the local strays he often visited, before moving into a new town known as Makochi.
It was Sakura’s first day in town after moving here. Unfortunately, just because you’re in a different place doesn’t mean your past would automatically go away. Sakura had woken up from his usual nightmare of a tightrope and painful memories of his old town, and now he was in an extremely bad mood this early in the morning.
So he decided to go for a walk in the shopping district to get some fresh air while also getting himself familiar with the place. That walk somehow ended up with him in a random alleyway, befriending the local stray cats that were residing there.
He couldn’t help it, okay? They were so friendly and welcoming to him, not to mention so easy to talk to.
Besides, he’ll be here for about three years while attending high school. He might as well make as many feline companions as he can. It’s not like he’ll have any human friends in this new town either...
“Excuse me, newcomer?”
Sakura turned his head to find one of the cats calling out for him, standing by the entrance of the alleyway.
“You’re strong, aren’t you?”
The cat had asked. That he in fact was, but why does that matter right now?
Noticing Sakura’s confusion, the cat turned to face something outside.
“Someone’s in need of help over there.”
The cat had said, turning back to face Sakura once again and gesturing to him to follow it. Sakura quickly made his way out of the alleyway and followed the cat’s direction.
Sure enough, someone was in fact in need of help. Sakura found a woman being surrounded by a bunch of men, acting all smug and trying to hit on her despite her very obvious refusal.
Talk about absolutely lame. Well, a good workout sounds nice to Sakura right now.
Those thugs really were nothing but weak, they barely put up a good fight and went down so easily. Whatever, at least his business here is done now.
“Hey, wait!” the girl Sakura had saved just now suddenly called out to him and grabbed his arm. “Thank you.”
...
“Huh, me?”
“Who else could I be talking to?”
Now this wasn’t the first time Sakura had heard the word ‘thank you’. He’s been thanked before — by cats that is. And the kind vet back in his old town had thanked him sometimes. But a complete stranger? That was a first.
Sakura honestly doesn’t know how to react to that. So what does he do? He blushes intently and tries to deny it like a hissing cat. God, even their personalities are starting to rub on him.
The girl he saved, Kotoha, simply decided to treat him to a meal at her cafe. And the omurice she made was absolutely delicious. That said, an argument with her ended up with him leaving the cafe before he could even finish the whole dish.
He was alone, huh. And what does she know about him anyway?
Sakura had hoped going for another walk would help take his mind off of the topic when he saw a few stray cats scurrying about, as if trying to flee from danger. A brown tabby cat, one of the strays he had met earlier this morning noticed him.
“Ah, you’re the newcomer from earlier! There’s a group causing destruction right up ahead!”
Hearing about it, Sakura quickly rushed towards the scene.
Turns out the thugs that were hitting on Kotoha and the ones he had swiftly beaten up earlier were back again, bringing in a whole gang this time and wrecking up the entire place as they pleased. Seriously a bunch of lame and stubborn idiots.
Sakura couldn’t help but internally sigh to himself. Might as well let out some steam and give them another round of beating.
The fight ended with Sakura getting his ankle slashed while protecting Kotoha and some Furin students arriving just in time as back up and finishing everything off. Everything had happened so fast, and there was so much to take in once the fight was over. Learning how Furin has changed, that people here were willing to accept him, and Kotoha telling him to look at them too.
All of it felt way more overwhelming than the literal fight itself. Which is how Sakura found himself in another alley where many of the stray cats ran off to just now. He’s long since exceeded his social limits today, and now he needs a break by himself with creatures that he’s actually familiar with.
“Is your leg okay?”
The brown tabby cat from before had approached him while he was slowly pulling himself together from the events of just now. It was slightly sniffing his ankle, seemingly sensing the blood that came from the slash wound.
“Yeah, it’ll be fine soon.” Sakura replied assuringly, slowly lowering himself into a crouching position, meeting the cat at ground level and giving it a soft head pat. “The group just now has already been taken care of. It’s safe for you to go back out now.”
“Is that so? Thanks a lot, kind human.”
The cat had thanked Sakura, purring softly as it leaned further into his touch.
While Sakura continues to pet the little feline, he couldn’t help but think back to what Kotoha had told him earlier. That he hasn’t given up on people yet, and that he’ll be able to find what he’s looking for here.
Can he really, though?
Perhaps sensing his doubts, the brown tabby cat moved closer to comfort him instead. Cats really do have perceptive instincts sometimes.
“Ohhh, so this is where you went.” Kotoha says out loud as she suddenly appears right next to the crouching Sakura, causing Sakura to flinch and let out an embarrassingly loud startled scream. (Is he seriously becoming jumpy like a cat now too?)
“The heck are you doing here?!”
“Oh, I was heading back to the cafe when I happened to notice you here. It’s pretty close to Pothos after all.”
“Right...”
“Aww, no need to be that shy.” Kotoha teases, before crouching down right beside Sakura and approaching the cat he was petting earlier.
“They sure really like you. You are most definitely a good person then, if the local cats here trusts you already~”
“Oh shut up! What kind of logic even is that?!” Sakura tried retorting, his face turning absolutely red while trying to avoid eye contact with Kotoha who slightly chuckled at his cute reaction.
“I’ve just seen how wary they can get when they see someone out of town, especially those that come here looking for trouble. They’re surprisingly really perceptive.” Kotoha explains, voice no longer teasing and carrying a more serious tone. “I know you might find what I told you earlier hard to believe. But I mean it when I say you’ll find your place here, Sakura. I’m certain of it.”
Sakura, on the other hand, was silent for a bit, before eventually giving a response of his own. “Hmph, whatever.”
Little did Sakura know, this would only be the beginning of his story. And that he’ll meet all sorts of new people with his special connections to cats.
Tbc.