"Oh my… He is a beauty."
Hands grasped Kitty's face, and rubbed it. "A fine specimen…" The hand grabbed his lip. "We'd better treat this before it becomes a scar."
Kitty's head was fuzzy, his eyelids heavy. His body sluggishly responded to his commands, barely budging. He tried to open his eyes, and a pain seared through his head. So he had no choice but to stay still.
He sensed the danger of this situation vaguely, but his body made him submit to a half-conscious state, where the only thing he really knew is that someone was touching him and moving him around. "What… happened…"
The hands grabbed a cloth, and rubbed Kitty's lips with it, removing all of the excess blood. Then some type of lotion was applied, which stung subtly.
"Making you allll clean for a wonderful owner! I feel honored to be in charge of such a beauty!" The person yanked Kitty's face closer to them, and ran their fingers over his eyes, which twitched in response. "Such long lashes…" the fingers fell down his face." Smooth skin, supple lips…" then they moved up to his ears, grabbing them firmly. "Soft and squishy, truly the best ears!" Finally, the hands moved all the way downwards towards his back.
Kitty jumped, and hissed. His eyes fluttered open, and he struggled to move away, his body still heavy. N-No! You… stop! He was trying to speak, but his mouth only produced strange sounds as his numb tongue rolled around his mouth.
The person in front of Kitty laughed loudly. " So the tranq is wearing off huh?" They snickered and gave Kitty a good whack on his head. "You should be able to feel that now, huh?"
Sure enough, Kitty groaned in pain.
"Well that's just fine, I was just about to wash you and put you in your cage anyways." The person said. It was strange how this person's voice didn't seem to carry any empathy at all, but what was even stranger still is the way the person addressed Kitty. It felt like he wasn't really talking to him at all, or acting as if Kitty kind understood. Like the way someone would talk to an animal.
Kitty, gripping his head, finally was able to survey his surroundings. It seemed like it was as his kidnapper said, "the 'tranq' was wearing off". He looked first at the person before him.
They were sitting, hunched over on a chair, looking at Kitty who was just a bit lower. Their eyes were blue and icy, sending a sense of cold throughout the room. Kitty couldn't help but shiver. Their mouth and nose were covered by a black mask, and Kitty noticed they were covered head to toe in some kind of thick black garment. Upon closer inspection, kitty found there were large scratches and marks of struggle that marred the surface of the fabric. It was reasonable to say it was made to be sturdy enough to withstand these kinds of blows. Which means… It is designed to keep me from hurting them.
Kitty suddenly knew that he was absolutely at a loss here, and any attempt to escape would be futile. He couldn't run, but there was no way he would go back to his captor willingly, so he did the only thing he could, and pressed himself against the wall, bearing his fangs and making a low growl.
"Pfft." The captor's eyes curled upwards. "Don't worry, you will learn quickly not to defy-" they took a break to deliver a harsh blow to Kitty's ribs, kicking him with an iron-toed boot. The wind was knocked out of him instantly, and hot pain rose in his lungs and he found himself gasping for air. "Me!" They spat at him. Then, they knelt down, and grabbed Kitty by the face.
Realizing their hands were uncovered, Kitty quickly took the opportunity to bite, sinking his teeth deep in their skin, trying hard to clamp his jaw down and cause as much pain as he could. He could taste their hot blood in his mouth, and wanted to spit it out, but he held on soon. The human side of him, Masaru, would've never done such a thing, he was too gentle and weak the way only humans were, but Kitty wasn't concerned about his humanity or anything else but getting out of this situation.
"Argh!" The person exclaimed. They grimaced, trying to shake Kitty off, using his other hand to pry him away, but to no avail. "Dammit why are you so wild?! Damn crazy cat!"
Kitty felt his jaw ache, and he wanted to let go, but adjusted quickly and kept biting. He furrowed his brows as he began to sweat and his head ached. A tear streamed out of his eye.
When Kitty was about to climb up on this person and topple them over, they grasped for something behind them that made a loud crackling sound. At once, Kitty sensed the danger, let go and jumped back violently.
He understood, now, that any attack wouldn't be able to kill this person. He gazed at their bleeding hand. It wouldn't be enough. And seeing now that they had- it looked like a strangely shaped taser, with a large metal spike on it, that would surely pierce his skin quickly-he knew that fighting back would do absolutely nothing.
The walls were blank, the concrete floor cold and empty. There was nothing, but a big door that was most certainly locked.
Kitty finally lay still, and quietly whimpered and cried. What a great way to start a new life.
The person, with the taser still by their side, snorted. "So… you have finally come to your senses." They moved their arm swiftly, and put the point of the taser to Kitty's throat. "Be a good boy from now on, ok?" They stared into his eyes.
Kitty gulped, realizing the person was looking for an answer. Carefully pulling his head backwards, away from the sharp metal point, he rasped," Yes…" "I mean, it's not like I have another choice," he thought with a pang.
A long silence followed this, and Kitty noticed the person's eyes softening, turning into something that might have been a smile. He shivered. Then, they lowered the taser slowly, but still gripped it firmly. They raised their bleeding hand to his face, and he flinched, closing his eyes tightly.
The hand moved downwards, grabbing the collar of Kitty's striped buttoned shirt. Then, they tore it off, with a single movement, the tearing sound splitting the air. Kitty's heart quickened, and he clenched his fists, and bit his lip hard. "Why, why? Are they going to do 'that' to me? Someone come help, someone save me!" Kitty thought of Arte. He wondered what caused her to leave, and hoped, "If you can return now please! Please.." But, Arte did not return. "Arte! Deca! Gods!" He cried aloud.
The captor snickered, a cold, bone chilling wheeze-laugh. "No one's coming to help you, you are in my hands, little kitty cat. I'm going to beat you and break you down, and build you anew, into the perfect pet. I don't like looking at kitties like you, but hey, it pays decently, right? Especially when I've got such a good one like you… I can't wait to sell you off." They grabbed Kitty up quickly, yanking on his arm. "Come! Don't resist, or you can expect a shocking experience!" They waved the taser around with a wicked look in their eyes. "I've got to get you ready for a new home!" He laughed haughtily.
Kitty shivered. It seemed like he really wasn't going to get any help. So now… will my second life be so much more horrible than the first? I want to go back…
Time passed, and Kitty was shivering in the back of a metal cage. It was just barely too short to stand in, and not quite long enough to lay down flat, so any position Kitty could be in was slightly uncomfortable, his skin mushing painfully against the iron grate. His thin white jumpsuit he had been given was flimsy and felt like it could tear with a little movement, as it was probably a size too small. Kitty groaned with a pain that came from his core. His tail itched, wanting to move, but it stayed limp because there was not enough space.
His hair was wet from the shower he had been given, and his skin was a bit red because the water had been too hot and too pressured. He seethed when he whacked his arm accidentally against the cage. He decided the only thing he could do was to observe his surroundings.
The room was filled with other cages, from floor to ceiling, in a long hallway. A fluorescent light hummed annoyingly, making Kitty's ear twitch. The gray, tiled floor had a marbled texture, and was freezing cold to the touch. The door stared tauntingly, a large iron door with a giant lock. Hope was draining from Kitty very quickly.
He noted that none of the cages were empty, all of them had a Bakeneko inside. But he didn't dare talk to them, or even look them in their eyes. For some reason he didn't feel like it would help, and it looked like they felt the same. Kitty curled up in his cage, turning towards the wall.
After a long while, Kitty's mind was buried in his past memories. At first he wandered in Masaru's memories of his mother, Choco, his friends, and his school. But that was too painful, those memories were far too complicated, tangled emotions, doubts, joy, sadness, and all of that troublesome human stuff. Choco's memories were far better. A warm bed, soaking in sunlight. Birds chirping outside of the window. Delicious food guaranteed every day.
A rough rumbling purr escaped Kitty's dry throat, and he closed his eyes with a smile. Maybe when I open them, I'll see something better.