Of all thingsâwhy a cat? And a stray at that? Though she never stopped grumbling, Rose had survived easily enough, drawing on the survival instincts honed in her previous life.
[Whatâd you bring? Hand it overâquick.]
It wasnât like she meant for things to end up this way⊠but here they were.
When a few large tomcats kept pestering her, she gave them a proper thrashingâand that display drew all the neighborhood cats to her like moths to flame.
[Boss! Look at this! I caught a fresh mackerel today!]
[Oh, nice. Thanks.]
It all happened so fast, but honestly? It wasnât so bad. There were perks to holding power, after all.
âWait, why am I feeling proud about this?!â
As Rose gazed fondly at the growing pile of food in front of her, she snapped out of it with a sigh no one could hear.
Still, she had been a human once. Wasnât she adapting to cat life a little too quickly?
[Lady Rose, before we inspect what the others brought, would you care to see what I personally prepared?]
[What is it?]
[A few promising tomsâstrong bloodlines! For your upcoming heat cycle!]
[I said I donât need that!!!]
Though it might seem like she was exploiting the other cats as they lined up to offer her food, it wasnât that kind of situation.
Everything they brought was shared among the group, and when fights broke out with rival gangs, Rose still led the charge.
When the others went hunting, she even volunteered to look after the kittens.
In short, the others chose to follow Rose.
âI guess Iâm finally raising all those cats I couldnât take in before.â
Sometimes sheâd coo and play with the kittens, overwhelmed by their cutenessâonly for reality to hit her like a truck again.
But it wasnât so bad. Compared to being completely alone, this life had meaning.
âSo what if you dumped me? You thought I wouldnât make it?!â
It had been a month since sheâd possessed this catâs body.
And if no one had come looking for her by now, then it was clearâRose had been abandoned.
The more she thought about someone tossing out such a well-raised cat onto the street, the angrier she got. But regardless, Rose was eating well and living fine.
She was practically a pro at surviving in harsh conditions by now.
StillâŠ
There was one thing that continued to hurt, no matter how many times it happened.
â”Thereâs a cat over here!”
â”A cat? Aw, itâs cuâEek! Donât go near it! That thingâs cursed!”
Yep. That.
Sheâd first heard it from a vagrant who tried to steal her collar right after she woke up. Ever since then, any time someone locked eyes with Rose, theyâd flinch, shout nonsense about curses, and run.
Like theyâd seen some kind of monster.
Back then, she had looked into a puddle to see her reflection, trying to figure out what all the fuss was about.
She had snow-white fur with chocolate-brown pointsâa classic Ragdoll cat.
In fact, she had possessed the exact same cat sheâd tried to rescue from the road in her previous life.
From what she remembered, it was so beautiful it looked like a plush toy. And now, people were scared of that?
Sure, her eyes were a low-saturation redâlike faded rosesâwhich was unusual for a cat. But still.
That wasnât nearly enough reason to run away screaming.
âDonât tell me⊠thatâs why my owner dumped me?â
Maybe they raised her as a kitten, and once she grew up, they found her⊠creepy?
Even with all that swirling through her mind, Rose pressed onâand over time, her life as a cat stabilized.
[Please look at this! Lady Rose! Look at the strong shoulders on this black tom!]
[I said Iâm not interested!]
Strong shoulders? He was still a cat. That wasnât going to impress someone who used to be human.
Still, while she continued to scoff at Tuxedoâs nonsense, she began to think that maybeâjust maybeâliving out her life as a cat wouldnât be so bad.
But then⊠danger came knocking.
[Bad news!]
Rose had barely returned to the hideout victorious from another territorial scuffle when Tuxedo ran up with a grim face.
[What now?]
[The yellow cat from next door disappeared!]
[Again?]
Just when things were finally calming down, cats around the neighborhood had started to vanish one by one.
âWhat sicko is behind thisâŠ?â
Whoever was capturing themâif it even was a personâremained a mystery. Maybe there were twisted people around here who believed in boiling cats for âmedicineâ or something.
[Boss!]
[The chief is here!]
While the clueless kittens nuzzled against her, Rose let out a soft sigh in response to Tuxedoâs words.
âMaybe itâs time to relocate the hideoutâŠâ
What if these cats got taken next?
They were like her own little onesâorphans sheâd taken in with a caretakerâs heart.
âThereâs no way Iâm letting anything happen to them.â
Maybe they could move into the mountains? Though it was nice having plenty of food here⊠was that really the right choice?
Rose was still pondering how best to protect her crew whenâ
âThere are cats here!â
Whether it was one of them who stepped on a tail or what, several men appeared at the alley entrance. Long poles with nets on the ends in handâthey were clearly out to capture cats.
[Tuxedo! Take the kittens and run!]
[What about you?!]
[Iâll be fine! Iâll distract themâgo!]
Most of the older cats had fled on their own at the sight of strangers, but the kittens trembled in place, too scared to move.
Rose turned to face the men, leaving the little ones in Tuxedoâs care.
âYou think Iâd just let someone take the kittens I raised?â
With that, she charged straight toward the men.
âIt’s running! Catch it!â
Rose darted and leapt, zipping between narrow walls in dazzling patterns. As expected, all attention shifted to her.
âSheâs going that way!â
âCut her off!â
Try me, losers!
Bounding along the wall near their heads, Rose burst out onto the main road and dashed toward a tall tree up ahead.
âTheyâre chasing that cat!â
âWhoa!â
Some tried to grab her as she passed, but she slipped cleanly through and sprang up the tree before they could react.
Once she was high enough, she glanced down. Most of the men had followed her outâgood.
Rose placed her front paws on her long, slender waist and puffed out her chest, gazing down with smug satisfaction.
âHah! Catch me if you can!â
Trying to trap her? Not in a million years.
After a while, the men realized she wasnât coming down anytime soon and started drifting away, one by one.
Feeling slightly more relaxed, Rose laid flat on a thick branch and looked back toward the alley.
âI hope the others got away safelyâŠâ
She was finally enjoying a peaceful moment alone in the treetops whenâ
Was it karma for mocking those guys? Or just her rotten luck kicking in again?
âHuh? When did it get so dark?â
It had been bright just moments ago. Had clouds rolled in that fast?
Boom!
Lightning struck the very tree she was perched on.
âMWEOOOW!â
Hit by the bolt along with the tree, Rose plummeted to the ground, her thoughts spinning:
âOh, come on⊠Am I dying again?!â
She had just started to settle into this cat life. And now this?! Absolutely ridiculous.
Why did this always happen to her?
âAhahaâŠâ
They say when you hit rock bottom, all you can do is laugh. Wellâcat or notâthatâs exactly how she felt.
Just laugh. Thatâs all she could do.
But thenâ
âWait⊠where am I?â
Somehow, against all odds, it seemed she had survived the lightning strike.
As she slowly opened her eyes, she spotted a familiar sight: her soft, plushy paw dangling in front of her face.
But behind it was⊠somewhere completely different from the market streets.
She was lying on her side in what felt like a fluffy cloud. Noâa bed.
And not just any bed. The cushion was so luxurious, it had to be outrageously expensive. It was enormousâtoo big to even see the other end from where she lay.
The room around her was just as extravagant. Easily big enough to fit twenty beds that size. Newly hung silk wallpaper, ornate decorations⊠everything looked painstakingly cared for.
Even with her blurry vision, she could tell: this was a rich household.
âLady Green! I think Lady Rose is waking up!â
âOh, thank goodness.â
And there they wereâmaids in classic noble-house uniforms: neat black dresses, white aprons, and matching headscarves.
âFinally⊠I found my owner.â
