"Mnhhhhhhh." Sorata, finally done with his bath, dried himself off as he was now warm. He made a noise akin to a yawn as the warm air hit him in his apartment. He was dressed in a simple black shirt and some shorts. He looked out the window and saw that it was still raining hard.
"Why did this happen all of a sudden? It's like some god was angry or something." Sorata said as the rain came down even harder and some thunder was heard. He had no way of knowing that this was the aftermath of a certain love goddesses tantrum. Sora didn't feel like eating anything big so he just made some store bought ramen. He was getting ready to empty it into a bowl out of the pot but a voice spoke out.
"Sleep Human!" The voice yelled Sorata was startled by the voice but an overwhelming sense of drowsiness hit him and he blacked out falling towards the floor.
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"Mmhhhh." Sora groaned as he sleepily opened his eyes.'What happened? I don't remember. Wasn't I ma-' Sorata thoughts ended there as he remembered what happened his eyes snapped open and he immediately got up but he was not greeted by his apartment. His eyes opened wide as he was not in a place that a normal human should be. A pure white area nothing to be seen anywhere, no people, no buildings, even the floor that he was sitting on was pure white.
"Where am I?" Sorata said standing out. Someone was there to answer.
"Your soul, human." Sorata immediately stiffened and moved to where the voice came from. There he saw an old woman with gray hair. Though he noticed the cat ears and tail it didn't interest him as he was wary of this old woman.
"My soul? Wait. Who are you? Why am I here? What do you want from me?" Sorata said, trying to stay calm. The old woman expected this and explained. She didn't explain necessarily about the goddess of love and kept that hidden.
"I am someone who has been sent to bond with you."
"Bond with me? What do you mean by that? Why are you doing this?"
"That's why we are in your soul. I am currently bonding with you. It is not dangerous to you in any capacity and is even beneficial to you."
"Beneficial? You answered my first question but what about my second?"
"My master has sent me here to bond with you with one goal."
"What is that goal?"
"For you to get a girlfriend."
"...." Sorata didn't know what he was expecting but the mysteriousness of it all made him think he pissed off some higher being. Not once did he think in The entirety of the time they were talking that the reason this is happening is that this higher being wanted him to get a girlfriend. So hearing her answer made almost all of the tension leave Sorata's body.
"Well, getting a girlfriend is technically the main point my master wants you to fall in love."
"Fall in love?" Sorata said .
"Yes, that's why I'm here. Well I won't be doing much but my involvement is crucial. I can't say much so I'll explain what I'll be doing here." The old lady said. Sorata decided to listen to the old woman and nodded. He couldn't do much and the best option was to at least cooperate for now.
"I am well I'm not on the level of them as they have jobs but my name is saphina the goddess of cats. I'm sure you probably or at least thought that I was akin to a god or my master was a god." Saphina said. She was right Sorata had the fleeting thought that she or her master was a god. The biggest reason why was when Saphina had said "soul". Sorata naturally associated the word soul with god not the god Saphina was speaking of but it was still a god.
"So why did this "god" send you the god of cats? And why are you below them if they're a god?" Sorata said. Saphina looked like she knew these questions were coming and answered them.
"I may be a goddess but I'm not a goddess who has a job. Gods are separated by their titles. Like so, A god of war would be in a higher position than a god of birds or dogs. Their classification is what makes them a higher god that has things that relate to human nature like Anger, lust, sadness and other stuff like that. I was sent because I am the strongest of my god's servants. Though we call ourselves servants we're more like employees." Saphina finally finished.
"I see." Sorata said. Though his face looked calm he was still processing everything and he was still in shock. Saphina didn't seem to care and went on.
"So my goal is to stay with you until you make a lover. Like I said there will be some benefits with it. The benefits are not needed of course but my god found it too troublesome to remove them and sent me here." Saphinas words snapped Sorata out of his thoughts and he looked at her with confusion.
"Benefits? Of what kind? I still don't see why I specifically need to get a lover." Sorata said. He himself wasn't interested in romantic love. Nor did he ever experience it. He only knew of familial love.
"Truth be told, I don't understand my master's reasoning either. But we just have to go along with it." Saphina said. Sorata found the way she acts at odds with her looks. Saphina looked like a graceful old woman but when she talked she sounded like a delinquent though Sorata knew she didn't mean to sound standoffish.But her tone was exactly that.
"What if I don't fall in love with anyone?"
"My master guarantees you will be in love with someone. They wouldn't send me here if they weren't sure. The benefits will appear in a minute exactly. Our conversation will end here. I'll see you in 2 days,mortal time. I need to rest." Saphina said her cat ears and tail drooped not out of sadness but tiredness.
"Hey! Wai-" Sorata said he still had things he needed to know but just as he called out his consciousness faded.
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"Ahh. My head hurts." Sora had his conciseness come back and he opened his eyes slowly. Just like when he woke up before he remembered everything and quickly got up in a rush. He looked over to the couch where he put saphina and nothing was there.
"Was it a dream?" Sorata said. Though he said that it was clear to him that it wasn't. After all, the blanket was still there and the ramen was spilled on the floor. He felt weird for some reason. His eyes felt better and his hearing was more pronounced. He could even hear his neighbor move around even though the walls were 90% sound proofed though not completely soundproof unless his neighbor was stomping their feet with all their might he would hear it as just a little knock.
Sorata decided to look outside the window and even though it was dark he could almost see it clearly outside as if the sun was out. He also noticed that the time had barely passed when he was unconscious. Only 1 minute had passed. though he couldn't exactly see the parts where no light touched at all he could see very clearly the things that had light even if it had a little. Then he saw his reflection somewhat and he was startled.
"!!l What?!?!" Something was on top of his head and it looked very familiar. He couldn't quite see his reflection well on the window so he immediately ran to the bathroom where he had a full size mirror and it confirmed his suspicions.
"No way. Is this because of Saphina-sama?" Sorata said, looking at himself in the mirror. On top of his head we're triangle shaped ears. Cat ears. Just like saphinas. Though they were different in color as Sorata's was pure white. Sorata touched them and a weird feeling went down his body but he ignored it and kept touching his ears. 'Fluffy' Sorata thought. He looked in the mirror again and saw something blurry and he turned around quickly and caught a glimpse of something but it quickly disappeared. Feeling a weird sense of competition Sorata kept turning around in circles trying to catch it for 2 minutes until he realized what he was doing.
'How can I be so stupid!?! I'm doing the exact same thing as a cat and dog would do!' Sorata crumpled down in embarrassment, his cheeks turned slightly red, something that hasn't happened in years. He ignored his embarrassment and turned his back to the mirror and looked over his shoulder and just as suspected a bushy long tail was there. Also pure white. Sorata experimented with it and found he was able to move it by thinking as weird as it was. It moved right, right, left, right, left. He kept moving it for 5 minutes.
"Hah!!!" Sorata caught himself again and felt a wave of extreme embarrassment attack him. For some reason he was interested in the tail as though something was compelling him. Sorata then noticed the way he crouched down. His two front hands in front of him and his feet in the back. Exactly how a cat sat.
"Wah!!" Sorata got up quickly and assumed a standing posture. 'What the fuck? Is her bonding making me assume cat-like behavior?!?!' Sorata thought. He even swore something he didn't do often as there was nothing to ever make him. Saphina had only recently been able to manifest as a human-like form. Saying recently is kinda misleading as she had done it 20,000 years ago when she met a cat beastkin in another world.
That cat beastmen she met was apparently a saint and they worshipped her but saphina had made her presence known and they began worshipping saphina. She decided to take their form and made it her own. Though she had spent most of her life as a cat so her instinct was still there. Perhaps since Saphina had bonded with Sora the instincts also came along. Which would explain why Sorata found himself doing things a cat would do.
Sorata finally calmed down after 15 minutes and looked at himself in the mirror. His looks which were always androgynous equal in both feminine and masculine charm now leaned a little more to feminine side.
"I'm a Shiro Neko.(white cat)" Was Sorata's first thought now that he actually looked at himself in the mirror. It wasn't exactly wrong as his tail and ears were the same color of his hair. His ears twitched slightly and his tail started moving back and forth in a slow motion. Though Japanese people did not use middle names, Sorata's mother was from England and she decided to give Sorata the middle name "Shiro.(white)" It was rather apt as Sorata has a full head of white hair though his mother didn't name him that because of his hair.
Sorata was born on a very snowy day. The sky was covered in thick white clouds. So his mother decided to call him Sorata, Shiro.Suzuki. The most shocking part of it all was that his parents didn't even know his initials were S.S.S until he was 6 months old. Sorata accidentally smacked something with his newfound tail and just as it was falling faster than he could think his body immediately moved and picked up the object.
"Huh?" Sorata, who was holding the object, looked confused. He moved extremely fast or at least fast compared to the average human. 'How did i? Oh. If the instincts of a cat are given to me then reflexes of a cat are also given.' Sorata thought. He accurately deduced what the cause of it was.
"So this is what she meant by benefits?" Sora said. He also noticed that his sense of smell was heightened. He went in front of the mirror and opened his mouth and just as he thought his Canine teeth were more cat-like. 'This is insane.' Sorata thought. He was only able to stay calm as he was because of his own ability even then he was racking his brain and was panicking.
'Twitch*twitch*
"Hmm?" For some reason Sorata's ears started twitching. Sorata felt weird when his ears started twitching but he decided to figure out the reason. He heard muffled voices.
"A-Ahhh Mi- is we- hu-"
"Thi- dry-" Sorata couldn't hear the words of the sentences and he heard footsteps as they were loud but strangely the voices sounded familiar. He stepped out of his bathroom and made his way to the living room and he heard the voices more clearly and a knock.
"We can only go here! Ah we should've paid attention to the time! Mom and dad are gonna be mad at me."
"Emi you're gonna bother them! Are you sure Sora's awake? It's 9:30 and I remember Sora going to sleep quite early."
"Hurry hurry up! Miyu doesn't want to get a cold before summer starts!!"
"I'm knocking but there's no answer and Elsie-San isn't answering my texts. Hmm? It's open." Sorata's mind started going wild. 'Why the hell are they here! This is not the best time to be happening! I don't know how to put these things away! Ah.' Sorata thought but then he heard Emi's last line and it stopped his thoughts completely. He looked towards the door and it was unlocked. He must've forgot to lock it as he was more focused on getting warm and making sure saphina was safe. His mind shut down. This was the second time this month Sorata couldn't think of what to do.
Sadly Sorata was too stunned to do anything and just like that 3 intruders entered the apartment.
"Ahh it's so warm here. I forgot Sorata doesn't have enough slippers. I hope he doesn't mind us wetting this floor. Ah! Sora you're awake! why di-"
"Move Emi-chan! Miyu's cold! Ah! Sora-ku—"
"Hmm? Make room guys. I just closed the door. What's got your attention?" All three girls made their way into the apartment and there they saw Sorata. Who was similarly frozen like Miyu and Emi. Naturally the reason they were frozen were Sorata's ears and tail. It didn't help that his tail was swinging back and forth as though it represented Sorata's current plight. Finally with a yell Kaori,Miyu, and Emi snapped back to reality.
"""Ehhhh!!!!"""
'Why of all days did this have to happen today?!!' Sora yelled in his thoughts. Miyu,Emi and Kaori's eyes were exactly on the two anomalies. Sorata didn't know how to explain this to them though he thought of ways to hide them when he went outside this was an unexpected outcome.
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"Ahhh what a wonderful bath! Miyu feels better now!"
"I feel really bad borrowing Elsie's clothes but hopefully she'll forgive us."
"Yeah though the area around my chest doesn't feel tight at all. In fact it's bigger than mine."
"Really? It feels really really tight around Miyu's chest. In fact, Miyu is having a hard time with it."
"It fits perfectly for me. It's because your boobs are too big, Miyu. Elsie isn't as big as you." The three girls starting with Miyu had finished their baths. They were all wearing Elsie's clothes. Miyu had the biggest boobs out of her friends while Kaori's were a size C and Emi was a size A. Emi stared at her two friends with jealousy in her eyes.Sorata had texted Elsie of the situation and them using her clothes but there was no reply. His guess was that Elsie fell asleep quickly due to walking all day.
Sorata was still troubled by the fact that the girls had seen him as he was. Of course all three of them were asking questions about it and Miyu had pulled his tail thinking it was an attachable one and that was one of the worst pains Sorata had ever experienced. Sorata had said a cat spirit had done something to him and this was how he was. Of course the girls didn't believe him but they touched the ears and tail and noticed how real it felt.
They were soft,fluffy, and warm plus Sorata could make his tail move. They had to accept it after Sorata lifted his shirt to show his back and just as he expected the tail was protruding out of his lower back. He didn't know how it got out as the shorts covered the part where his tail was. The tail seemed to have a mind of its own as when the three girls were petting his ears the tail seemed to be jealous of the attention and it started moving back and forth as if showing its anger.
Sorata also felt a sense of happiness when they were petting his ears but he would take that to his grave. Since Emi,Miyu and Kaori had been out in the rain for a while he decided to make oden for them to eat. Especially since it didn't seem like they'd eaten. He was almost done cooking it when the three girls came to the kitchen.
"Still how are you able to stay calm like that? We're still having a hard time believing it."
"Miyu wants to touch Sora-kun's ears again!"
"Miyu you're really true to your desires aren't you? Though I must admit they were really soft."
"I'm not letting anyone touch them again. Hurry up and sit,the food is ready." Sorata said. His ears were really sensitive. Another thing he forgot to mention was his human ears. They disappeared. Sorata's hair also grew longer covering the part where his ears should be. He looked at it and felt it and there was nothing there. 'I'm exactly like those cat people in isekai novels. I'm pretty sure a lot of guys would like to see people like me, maybe not in male form but female. A lot of girls would probably feel the same except with cat boys seeing as how much of the shoujo isekai section have cat boys.' Sorata thought.
He knew that the otaku's in his class were interested in girls with animal characteristics. Like bunny girls, dog girls, and other ones such as that. He could imagine that female otakus were basically the same. Though he knew that a small proportion of them would prefer it if they were little boys with animal ears. The same could be said about the male otaku's preferring little girls with animal ears. These people are self-proclaimed gentlemen.
"So delicious! Sora-Kun really is an amazing cook!"
"Hmm I have to agree. I don't really like oden, it's still really good."
"Yeah. I wanna bring some back to my dad since he really likes it when my mom cooks it."
"..." Sorata wanted to ask why they came here but since they were enjoying the food he decided to keep quiet. He told himself that anyways but he really didn't want to bring attention to himself. For some odd reason the praise they said made his tail start moving so he focused on making it stop. Time went by and finally the girls stopped eating and went to the couch.
"Ahhh. Miyu feels so full."
"Hey Sorata I hope you don't mind but can we sleep here? Our houses are pretty far from here and it doesn't look like it's gonna end anytime soon." Emi said. She lived 40 minutes away by train from Sorata's apartment and the trains stop to make sure no accidents happen when it's raining especially since the rain was still going hard.
"Yes, that's fine. I'm not cruel enough to just throw you guys out." Sora said in a calm tone as he was putting in the detergent for the girls clothes.
"Yes! Thank you very much! I have to text my mom and dad to tell them. I won't be going home."
"Hmm? Won't we have to make up a lie? I'm pretty sure your parents won't like you staying at the house of a boy they don't know."
"Ah! Miyu should text Miyu's parents as well."
"Yeah you're right kaori. Let's just say I'm staying at your house? My parents won't mind."
"Yeah, that's a great plan. I'll tell my parents I'm with my boyfriend since they already know of him." The girls set up ways to tell their parents without worrying them. Miyu didn't even care and just texted her parents she'd be staying at a boys house. Kaori's parents had already met her boyfriend and they judged he was a good person and kaori had already stayed with him multiple times.
"Hey Emi. Why weren't you able to make it home?" Sorata said.
"Hmm? Oh we were at the mall and we lost track of time. We didn't expect it to start raining this hard so the only place near us was your apartment." The girls had gone to the mall because Emi had dragged to study for the upcoming exams. There was a library in the mall so she decided that was the best place to study since they could go to the food court for a food break. Sorata nodded then looked out the window. The girls were happy as it was warm in the apartment and talked to each other.
'The rain is coming down even harder. Hail is even coming down. Good thing this apartment complex has back up generators in case the power goes off.' Sorata was in his thoughts looking outside the window. Just then as he wasn't paying attention something touched his tail.
"Wahhhhh! So soft and so warm! Miyu wants to keep rubbing it in Miyu's face like this." The culprit of course was Miyu. Seeing as Sorata was spaced out Miyu took the chance and dove from where she was on the couch and put her face in Sorata's tail that was hanging out.
"Hey! What are you doing? Stop." Sorata slightly raised his voice as he snapped out of his daze.
"Ehh. Miyu wants to keep petting it. It makes for a wonderful pillow. Look, you're even enjoying it!" Miyu said. She wasn't wrong as Sorata's tail was actively going to Miyu's hands when she went away as though it was asking to be petted. Sorata's ears for some reason twitched angrily as if his ears were jealous of his tail.
"Stop. My tail is sensitive. It feels weird." Sorata said, snatching his tail away from Miyu. Miyu pouted but Sorata was adamant about this and he kept his tail away from her. Even though his tail looked like it wanted to go back to Miyu.
"So you couldn't resist your desires huh? It would be better if this happened to my boyfriend. I'd be all over his tail and ears." Kaori said. Though she had to admit Sorata's ears and tail were appealing, she had more resistance to it.
"Miyu just wants to keep petting it. Miyu loves cats and here we have a Shiro neko in front of us."
"I may have the ears and tail but that doesn't mean I'm a complete cat." Sorata rebuked. Even though he called himself a Shiro neko earlier. 'Wait there's supposed to be one more. He then looked over to Emi only to find her fast asleep on the other side of the couch laying down.
"Hah." Sorata sighed and went to the laundry room. He opened a cabinet to get some thin blankets and pillows.
"Here." He held his hands which had the pillows and blanket out to Miyu and kaori.
""Ah. Thank you."" Both of them said, He then went to Emi and covered her while slightly lifting her head to place the pillow underneath her. He did as though he was an expert at it. His movements made sure not to wake her up and he did it with surprising gentleness.
"You're really good at that aren't you!" Kaori said.
"Elsie usually sleeps on the couch with Elias so I kinda got used to it already." Sorata said while moving to clean the dishes that the girls had used. He finished quite quickly since it was oden and it didn't cause that much stains and said his final word before going to sleep.
"Uh. I'm kinda tired right now so I'm gonna go to sleep. You guys can do whatever you want, basically just don't break anything. Oh if you guys need a phone charger there's two in the drawer in the kitchen next to the stove." Sorata said making sure they could find whatever they need.
"Okay thank you! Goodnight Sora-kun."
"Yeah, thank you very much. Goodnight sora."
"..." the girls said they're thankful and Sora nodded and went to his room. He quickly collapsed on his bed. The stress of this day and the work he had done made him tired and he quickly fell asleep.