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Sakura, JJaeyeon and The Graceful Cat on the Roof

To be Free

The heat of the sun is just about right.

The flow of the wind is just about right.

Everything is just about right to take a nap.

Contentment is what it is. Contentment is what she have, sleeping on top the roof of this café. She laid there enjoying her afternoon nap, her white bushy tail sway back and forth.

Chimes sound in and out, customers come in and go, chattering and giggling filled the air. Their muffled sound became her background music. She rolled over and stretches her body, she stand up on her four legs, shakes her body and stretch one more time. It’s nice being a cat.

She likes living here. It smells just like her favorite food, cakes. Yes she is a cat that loves cakes that is if you can believe a cat can love cakes. Her only problem is that the beautiful owner of the café never allows her to eat cake.

She jumps of, like the graceful being that she is, to the window of the second floor. It acts as sort of the staff lounge this is where the owner lives. She pressed her paw to the glass screen, it’s a sliding window, and normally she will be able to open it, but today it’s locked.

She let out a sound of annoyance.  She peaked inside and she saw her friend, a large, well built, silver tabby cat with markings that look more like spots. She knocked on the window several times to call her attention, getting more displeased as the time goes by.

The silver cat eared perked; she lazily stretches her body full of markings that are more like spots than stripes. She turns her attention to the window and the bushy white cat hammering it with a displeased expression on her face.

“Chae! Chae! Catdamnit Chae!”

The silver cat sighed. Again.

The said white cat is more free spirited, a tad bit wilder, but no one can deny how beautiful and graceful she is. 

 “Again. Why don’t you just try enter some other way, the café door is open.” The silver cat said as she walks closer to the window.

“I don’t. I just feel like entering here, it’s closer. Just open that damn lock.” The white cat tapped the window then point to the lock.

“You know I can’t I’m a cat.”

The white cat huffed, “Both you and I know we are not really cats.”

The white cat looks seriously to the silver cat. The other cat maybe bigger but those blue eyes and murderous stare is something else, it brings chills down to her spine straight to her tail.

“b-but what if s-she s-saw.”

“Chaeyeon. You know what you need to do. ”

The silver furred cat sighed, she let her dark hair go and reach to the window lock with her hands. Wearing a stripe gray and white shirt and cream colored shorts and tail swaying gently back and forth, Chaeyeon is objectively a handsome being, much like her cat form.

Chaeyeon took a step back to let her friend enough space to land. The white cat jump elegantly landing on her feet graciously. She let her jet black hair flow with the wind and together with her flowy white blouse.

This is their other form, because like this beautiful being said, they are not really cats. They are in fact cat-spirits of sorts, the kind you read in folklore.

“Chae you should embrace the freedom this form gives you.”

“But Hyewon.”

Hyewon, the cat spirit in white blouse, quickly put her fingers to the other girl lips.

“T-That’s the problem with you house cats, you forgot how it is to be free.” She continues to walk towards the table. “Our owner is really caring.”

She her lips upon seeing the slice of cake on top of the table. She was about to take a bite of it when she was tackled to the ground. “No. That’s Saku-chan’s.”

Chaeyeon is the bigger of the two, albeit she is the relatively tamer one between them. She pinned Hyewon down under her.

Hyewon patted the younger cheeks with bored look in her eyes, “Chae…”

“Jjaeyeonie ~~ Kangchan ~~ ”

The two look to the direction of the door not far from where they are upon hearing the voice. It was the voice of their owner Sakura.

“Oh you guys are there.” Sakura cooed.

The two cats are slightly under the table with the silver cat pinning the bushy tailed white cat. This sight is something a cat owner like Sakura will find adorable. Two cats play fighting.

The white cat, Hyewon who Sakura calls as Kang-chan, slapped the silver cat which the silver retaliated with another pin down. Kangchan then held her head and instead groomed her, this action made Sakura giggle, happy that her pets are getting along well.

Kangchan escaped from Chaeyeon and quickly made way to Sakura who is on the opposite side of the table. She circled the woman and gently side rubs her body and meowed to her.

There is one thing you need to know about Kangchan or Hyewon, she loves her freedom but loves Sakura too. She has an option to go away and maybe she will, one day but she is thankful to Sakura for a lot of things. She climbs to the short haired woman’s lap and extended her body with her paws on her shoulder, she bops her nose to her cheeks.

Sakura chuckled, “You must be really hungry now Kangchan.” 

She grabs the white cat and shakes her cutely talking to her like human. Kangchan might not be human but she’s not entirely a cat too. Sometimes Sakura get a wind of that fact that Kangchan might be entirely different from what she knows; after all, this cat has a mind of her own.

Jealous of what she is witnessing Chaeyeon quickly run on all four and jump to her owner’s arm, loudly asking for her attention. Sakura adores this cat. She is her first cat. A rather large cat of Egyptian Mau ancestry, agile, energetic and loud – her meows can fill up the room.

“Are you jealous again Jjae?”

“Mrowwwww~~”

She hugged the silver cat gently.

“The two of you are my joy.” Sakura whispered.

 There lies the difference between Chaeyeon and Hyewon. Chaeyeon have been with Sakura since she was a kitten even before she became what she is now.

Hyewon on the other hand was found on the street, a mesmerizing beautiful white cat, almost like a Turkish Angola. She is a cat who despite attempts of other to tame or adopt her, she always finds ways to escape, until she saw the beautiful human that is Sakura.

She was captivated nonetheless and so when the woman gently talks to her, she convinces herself to follow and settle down with the said human. Having a good place to call home is not bad. By the time they met, Hyewon is already a cat-spirit. She was never a cat. She was always a cat spirit, a very free spirited one and being with Sakura is a choice, she never regretted making.

“Kkura-yah!”

A voice called to Sakura, it was coming from the first floor, the café. Sakura quickly turn around and answered to the voice.

“The cake~~” Hyewon hummed.

With her hand she quickly took the spoon and took a piece of the cake. It’s sweet, delicious, one of the things Hyewon love about the realms of human. She enjoys this sweet taste. It is her favorite. 

And so is Sakura, she is her favorite human.

“Kang-chan, what if she saw us. And cake is bad for us – chocolate especially.”

“What are you saying? Chocolate is bad if you’re a cat. We are not really cats. Why don’t you try it?”

Hyewon tore another piece of the cake and fed it to Chaeyeon.

“It’s good right?”

“uhmm-too sweet.”

Chaeyeon snuggled to Hyewon side munching the cake and complaining about its sweetness.

“Saku-chan made it.”

“I know – it’s delicious but too sweet for me.”

Hyewon giggled and patted her head.

The door suddenly swung open, there they stood face to face to their owner eating cake.

Sakura blink once and there the two being stand. Two girls with cat ears and tail, both beautiful – one is a mesmerizing beauty while other is charmingly handsome. One in flowing white blouse and faded denim shorts the other in stripe shirt and cream-colored shorts.

Sakura feel a creeping pain in her head, she closes her eyes and think for a while.  There are instances of her cake suddenly disappearing on plate. She’s not gonna lie, she has seen these two before in her peripheral vision back then she is thinking it’s a hallucination –but what if it’s not?

Yokais, what if her cats are yokais? She opens her eyes and on the floor are her two cats playing with each other, she sighed. No way.

“You guys must be really hungry.”

She fetches two cans of tuna and opened them for the two cats to eat. They enthusiastically started consuming the food. Sakura watches the two of them and think about it some more.

The being in stripe shirt gives the same feeling as Jjae and the one in white blouse is as gorgeous as this white cat she adopted. She sighs one more, something that the silver cat seems to have caught and she let a low meow or more like mrow. She smiled and ruffled the said cat’s head, maybe she is just tired.

She stands and made her way to the couch, on her way there she noticed the open window and wondered how, when she was sure it was close this morning. She shook her head, closed the window once again before heading to the couch

“Look what you did Hye.” The silver cat huffed.

The white cat continues to munch her food. Once she was finish, she her paw and cleaned her face. “Don’t you think she probably already knows?”

Hyewon is sure Sakura has ability those like her, it was what drawn her to her. 

Truth be told Hyewon secretly wants Sakura to figure them out, only so that she can finally say goodbye to the woman properly. Because you see she might not be with her for much longer, freedom is what she is and maybe she might need to go for that one being she is looking for.

Hyewon quickly head over to the sleeping woman and side swipe her fluffy body to her, letting her tail touch her face.

“You’re so fluffy Kang-chan.” The short haired woman hummed.

Hyewon settled down on her lap and observed her face. Sakura really is a beautiful being almost like the Kami’s she has encountered in her life.

Chaeyeon jumped to the couch as well and settled to Sakura’s other lap, snuggling her big long body to her side.

Sakura opensher eyes and smiled, her two cats are her joy. She let herself slide down a bit and once again closed her eyes to finally sleep.

Hyewon hug her gently putting her head on her shoulder in her spirit form. Chaeyeon was a bit puzzled, but jealous of if so, she too transformed back to her more comfortable form a spirit, snuggling closer to the snoring girl.

“This is something I would miss.” Hyewon hummed.

“What are you saying?” Chaeyeon did not like the implication of those words. “Are you… are you leaving Sakura…Me?”

“Leaving? I will still be here, maybe not here but will always be here looking over you.”

“Why?”

Hyewon stood up and walk to the window. 

“My power is starting to get stronger, to the point I can now make a tangible human form. Soon enough I can live among humans in different way.”

Chaeyeon followed her and marveled at her friend, who right now stood right before the window in a form with no cat ears or tails. 

“It’s quite sad. Chaeyeon I’ll tell you something, I knew since I met her that she can sense us. There is a huge chance even before today. Don’t worry much about it.”

Hyewon proceed to open the window – letting her tail and ears back and letting the gust of wind enter. 

“That’s not what I’m worrying about, I’m worrying about you. What are you going to do? Where are you going?” Chaeyeon face her, eye to eye – her tail swinging side to side with her long hair being swayed by the wind.

“I have talk to the Gumiho. It’s weird the Japanese Gumiho*, she said her friend a kitsune* from Korea will gladly lend me a room to help in my transition to a more human lifestyle.” Hyewon faintly smiled. 

“Why?”

“It’s inevitable.”

“Do you need to? Are you really going to leave me like this? How about Sakura? You’re leaving her after all this time.”

Hyewon sighed and walk to her friend to hug her. “Chaeyeon, one of these days you might need to.”

“I can’t think about it.” The other girl cried.

“This is the exact reason why you became one of us.”

“Are you really going?”

Hyewon sighed and hop unto the window.

“Soon Yes… I need to find her.”

“Who? Her?”

“My child. I know she is here somewhere close.”

Hyewon look at the confuse Chaeyeon.

“Child?”

“Yes. Not really but I think of her as such. This is a story of my younger years. I sure talk like I have been here for a long time when technically I’m just slightly older than you.” Hyewon look far ahead, “I found a kitten, I know she is not an ordinary kitten she like me is a cat-spirit, but she was so weak and don’t know what to do, so I took her in like she is my child then one day I just could not find her. Who knows where she is now? I just wanna know if she is ok.”

“Do you really need to?”

“Who knows Chaeyeon, who knows?” Hyewon turn around and prepares herself to hop out of the window.

“I will still be here you don’t need to worry. There are a lot of you here; ones who don’t know exactly what you are. I also still need to monitor split tail* over there just in case you know.”

Chaeyeon hung her head and force a smile. “I see. Will you be back?”

Hyewon smiled. “Bye bye Chaeyeon~~~”

She then jumped off the window.

Chaeyeon sighed – she doesn’t know what to feel. Hyewon is freedom she doesn’t know or understand. She closed the window and turn around. Her eyes widened when she saw who is looking at her eye to eye.

“Sakura.”

Sakura walk to her and put her hands on her shoulder.

“You’re… Are you.. are you a nekomata? A yokai?”

Chaeyeon is rather scared and don’t know what to do.

“Why are you shaking? Are you scared? I’m sorry did I scare you. It’s fine. It’s fine.”

Sakura hug her gently giving a great assurance to the poor yokai. She melted into her hug and transformed back to a cat purring calmly.

“So you guys really are real, I was not hallucinating after all. “

Sakura look at the window and saw her white cat not far ahead looking at her direction with her bushy tail swaying, she once again transformed to her cat-spirit form – smiling and bowing to Sakura before truly embarking to her destination.

Hyewon hops down the roof.

It was one sunny morning in spring when she met her. Beautiful eyes almost like those of goddesses, but she knows the girl is special. One of the reasons she followed her is because she felt someone like her is around the girl – and she was right, Chaeyeon is there. The other reason, Sakura is simply mesmerizing.

Even though she said goodbye, she will still be around. There are more of them than usual in this place and she took it upon herself to make sure that they are all well and being guided accordingly.

Hyewon is freedom; she is freedom the kind of freedom they don’t know.  Today she is once again free.

Notes:

Been a while since I updated this. Still same the story explore the idea of Yokais. I have further search there really is no hard translation for the word to english.
Its tricky to write their transition to cats back to spirit. In this we have Chaeyeon, Hyewon and Sakura ^-^. 

I would like to apologize in advance this is in no way an accurate representation of the said folklore. I took great artistic freedom and my search resources are limited to what i have and what the internet have. 

Neko ni Narita - x Nako , x Saku, Yuri, Yena, Minjoo

Gokigen Sayonara - x Hitomi, x Chaeyeon, x Hyewon, Wonyoung, Yujin, Eunbi, Chaewon

Each story has tangental relationship to other story being in the same universe and all but not much to affect each other action in this.

*Split tail is Hitomi ,

*Gumiho is Miho [I thought a good pun] and yes I know Gumiho's are Korean folklore, The Kitsune is Kaeun - she give me that vibe. :3

*Hyewon is a rather strong yokai.

WHo you want next [though i don't know when i can write in this series again]? Yena or Yuri?