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Description
The boy without drive

A young man with blond hair sat sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “I’m exhausted…”
“You really should focus more on your studies, Trace. You’re grades are so poor…”
He sighed, looking up at the girl sitting in front of me. “Give me a break. You know I’m not as smart as you are Jenna.”
“Don’t give me that! You’re loads smarter then I am! The only reason you’re failing is because you don’t focus enough on your work!”
“Does it really matter one way or the other? Geeze…I just want to go someplace else and do something amazing…It doesn’t really matter though. No matter what, I’ll always be a loser…”
“Don’t say that! You’re not a loser!”
“Hm. Figures you’d say that. You always thought too much of me.” He sighed, scratching my head. “What a drag…” I looked up in surprise, seeing Jenna fume for a few moments before stomping off angrily. “??? What’s up with her?”
“Maybe she doesn’t like it when you talk so poorly of yourself all the time.”
“I guess, but why would she care about how I talk about myself?” He wondered, turning around before realizing that there was no one there. “Great, now I’m talking to myself.”
“Not up there, you nitwit! I’m down here!”
He looked down to see a somewhat annoyed looking golden haired kitten sitting on its haunches at his feet.
“…Ok, it’s official, I’m hallucinating!” He shouted grabbing at his head. “I knew I should’ve gotten some more sleep last night!!”
“If you had gotten anymore sleep last night, you’d be dead. You did sleep 15 hours after all. Why is it that you, a teenage human, spends so much time asleep? Even I don’t sleep that much!”
He kneeled poking the cat’s forehead curiously. “Hm? So, Hallucination Kit, you mean to tell me that you’re really real, and that I’m not hallucinating? And yet, everyone knows cats can’t talk, so how can you speak?”
“The same way you speak, you nitwit! And of course I’m not hallucination! I’m flesh and blood, like you!”
“…”
A little while later, Trace was sitting in his room studying up on books about cats.
“Any normal person would’ve been more freaked out at finding a real life talking cat,” Kit commented, watching him curiously.
“Yeah well, I don’t freak out easily.”
“Hm. You don’t smile easily either. Anyway, you should get to sleep. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“Fine…” He muttered lying on his bed. I’m talking to a cat like it’s perfectly normal, he thought with some amusement before drifting off.

When I woke up the next day, there were a few things that I noticed immediately; First of all, instead of lying on my nice warm bed, I was lying on a large grassy field. Secondly, someone was pulling me by my jeans leg. Thirdly, I wasn’t feeling exhausted like usual.
“Excuse me, but what’re you doing dragging me by the leg?” The reaction I got was comical at best. The girl jumped, turning to look at me in a very freaked out manner, before running off as fast as she could towards a house. “Did she just have...cat ears???” I stood up and brushed myself off, muttering something under my breath.
“Where the hell am I? This doesn’t look anywhere close to Tokyo! How am I gonna get home? Wait, why DO I wanna go home anyway? I hated it back there! It can’t hurt to give this place a try, right?”
I scoffed, blowing some grass off my wrist and stuck my hands into my pockets, walking towards the house I’d seen the girl go in. I froze in my tracks as the little girl that had found me ran in my direction, behind what looked like her older sister. The older girl had reddish-brown hair, was dressed in a blue tank top that looked like it would burst at any moment, and a short skirt. The feature that really got me to stop wasn’t her chest though, but those things perched on her head. Those are definitely cat ears! What’s going on? I thought, confused.
“Who’re you!?” The older girl shouted, bouncing to a stop a few feet away from me, holding what looked like a knife. “What’s your business here?”
“I’m Trace! I don’t really have any business…I’m kind of lost. Could you help me?” I asked, trying my hardest not to stare at her bust or ears.
“He’s scary! He just showed up out of nowhere! Get rid of him Kara!” The little girl shouted, terrified, egging her sister on to strike. She didn’t though. She stood there for several minutes, staring me in the eyes intently.
Eventually, the sun high overhead, Kara relaxed and slid the knife back into its sheath at her hip. “You don’t look dangerous. Since you’re lost, would you like to come stay at our house for a day or so?”
“I…I guess. Thanks.”
“It’s no problem. Oh, by the way, I’m sorry for pulling a knife out on you. There’ve been a lot of robbers in the area lately-“
“Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.”
“Where are you from, anyway?”
“Tokyo.”
I stopped staring in surprise as she turned around staring at me incredulously.
“What’re you talking about? Most human cities were destroyed around a century ago. You don’t look over 100 years old.”
“Ah…I fell and hit my head, sorry.”
“Ah, amnesia?” she looked at me incredulously, a doubting look on her face. “So, what DO you remember? It’s rare to find a human in these parts without any weapons or equipment.”
“Um…nothing but my name!” I replied, trying not to let my nervousness show until I could figure out what had happened. Kara stared at me critically for several seconds before shrugging and nodding.
“I see…well, like I said before, you’re welcome to stay at my place as long as you like. In fact, if you want, you can even sleep with me!”
I blushed, looking away uncomfortably. “What are you talking about? Why would I do that?? We only just met!”
“What’re you talking about? I’m just saying that we only have one bed, so my sister and I have to share it all the time. Having one more isn’t that big a deal, you know? What are you imagining?”
“Um…nothing, why do you ask?”
“Your face is beet red. You’re not sick are you? Loser.”
“…”
“Pervert.”
“Whatever.”
I sat down on a chair in what looked like a living room, trying to ignore the fact that the young girl was staring at me with great intensity.
“Are you hungry, sis?”
“Not really, I’m ok!” the little girl called back, not taking her eyes off me for even a fraction of a second. A long, uncomfortable silence reigned in the room for several minutes.
“Why’re you staring at me? It’s sorta…uncomfortable.”
“Human.”
“???”
“You’re a human, right?”
“Obviously.”
At this point, I had had quite enough of her staring at me, so I stood up and walked around, exploring out of curiosity. Surprisingly, what Kara had told me earlier about there only being one bed held true. Not only was there only one bed, but it seemed kind of small...definitely too small for more then one person to use comfortably.
“What’re you doing here!?”
I jumped, hearing Kara shout at me from behind.
“I’m not doing anything! You’re the one that invited me inside your house!”
“Why didn’t you stay in the living room!? I didn’t tell you that you could come to my room uninvited! Now get out! Sleep outside for all I care!”
I was tossed out, landing on my face in a pile of leaves. “Ow!” I brushed myself off, glaring back at the house that I had just been forced to vacate. “Fine way to treat a traveler that doesn’t know a thing about this place…”
I looked around, trying once again to get my bearings on this new place I was in yet again.
“This is a…fairly interesting dream. It actually does feel like I’m here. The sounds, the smells, the feeling…it’s all realistic.”
“Is it really a dream? Or is it something more?”
I sighed and turned around, looking to find whoever had said that, but not seeing anyone.
“I’m going crazy aren’t I…aw man! How depressing…”
“Down here, you idiot! It’s me! Kit!”
“Oh…so it is. How depressing.”
“Everything’s depressing with you isn’t it Trace…?”
“Hm…possibly. So what are you doing here little Kit?”
“I figured that you wouldn’t be grasping the situation fully, so I thought I’d drop by to make sure you understand what’s really going on.”
“Oh? And what would a little Kitty like you know that I don’t Kit?”
“First of all, I know that you don’t really believe that this is real. It is. You are no longer in the Japan you knew. You were brought here, by accident or design, I’m not sure.”
“Oh wow…how informative,” I said, heavy with sarcasm. “Anything else obvious that you want to point out to me that I’ve already figured out?”
“If you’re going to treat some that’s trying to help you like that, I think I’ll just keep the rest to myself!” It shouted back at me, obviously pissed.
“Fine then! See what I care!”
I sighed, scratching my head as Kit stalked away extremely angry.
“How depressing…wonder…” I stopped, losing my train of thought when I heard someone calling to me. Reflexively, I bolted, running down the nearest path towards the woods.
“Stop! Get back here!” the voice called, sounding fairly frantic. Unfortunately for the pursuer, the sound of its voice convinced me to hasten my steps even more, until I nearly fell from all the debris that was in the way. Fortunately for me, I managed to keep my footing well-enough that I didn’t need to worry overmuch about falling. My senses were focused more, unfortunately, on the sounds I could hear from the branches of the trees around me.
“Dammit!” I leaped to the side, barely dodging a thrown…something that thudded into the soft dirt I had been standing on.
Gagging, I was grabbed around the throat and thrown hard against a tree, looking up at someone with a sword pointed at my throat.
“If you want to live, give me all your money!” the figure said seriously, telling me that if I didn’t comply, then I would soon be shorter by a head. Sadly, I knew the way that bandits work: He had only said that in an attempt to get me to comply without struggling. As soon as I complied, I would find his blade digging through the flesh of my stomach. Unfortunately for me, even if I felt inclined to cooperate, I couldn’t, because I didn’t have any money on me.
Before I could say anything though, I saw a throwing knife embed itself in the robber’s head, killing him instantly.
“Dammit! Stupid kid! You would’ve been dead now if it wasn’t for me!” Kara shouted, dropping down from the tree branch she had been perched on. “Why’d you start running when I called you anyway???”
“Probably because I didn’t know WHY you were calling me. Rule of common sense; when someone that you don’t know very well calls you, run. Best way to stay alive.”
“That’s kind of…cowardly!”
“Call it what you want. That’s just the way I am.”

Description
The boy without drive

A young man with blond hair sat sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “I’m exhausted…”
“You really should focus more on your studies, Trace. You’re grades are so poor…”
He sighed, looking up at the girl sitting in front of me. “Give me a break. You know I’m not as smart as you are Jenna.”
“Don’t give me that! You’re loads smarter then I am! The only reason you’re failing is because you don’t focus enough on your work!”
“Does it really matter one way or the other? Geeze…I just want to go someplace else and do something amazing…It doesn’t really matter though. No matter what, I’ll always be a loser…”
“Don’t say that! You’re not a loser!”
“Hm. Figures you’d say that. You always thought too much of me.” He sighed, scratching my head. “What a drag…” I looked up in surprise, seeing Jenna fume for a few moments before stomping off angrily. “??? What’s up with her?”
“Maybe she doesn’t like it when you talk so poorly of yourself all the time.”
“I guess, but why would she care about how I talk about myself?” He wondered, turning around before realizing that there was no one there. “Great, now I’m talking to myself.”
“Not up there, you nitwit! I’m down here!”
He looked down to see a somewhat annoyed looking golden haired kitten sitting on its haunches at his feet.
“…Ok, it’s official, I’m hallucinating!” He shouted grabbing at his head. “I knew I should’ve gotten some more sleep last night!!”
“If you had gotten anymore sleep last night, you’d be dead. You did sleep 15 hours after all. Why is it that you, a teenage human, spends so much time asleep? Even I don’t sleep that much!”
He kneeled poking the cat’s forehead curiously. “Hm? So, Hallucination Kit, you mean to tell me that you’re really real, and that I’m not hallucinating? And yet, everyone knows cats can’t talk, so how can you speak?”
“The same way you speak, you nitwit! And of course I’m not hallucination! I’m flesh and blood, like you!”
“…”
A little while later, Trace was sitting in his room studying up on books about cats.
“Any normal person would’ve been more freaked out at finding a real life talking cat,” Kit commented, watching him curiously.
“Yeah well, I don’t freak out easily.”
“Hm. You don’t smile easily either. Anyway, you should get to sleep. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“Fine…” He muttered lying on his bed. I’m talking to a cat like it’s perfectly normal, he thought with some amusement before drifting off.

When I woke up the next day, there were a few things that I noticed immediately; First of all, instead of lying on my nice warm bed, I was lying on a large grassy field. Secondly, someone was pulling me by my jeans leg. Thirdly, I wasn’t feeling exhausted like usual.
“Excuse me, but what’re you doing dragging me by the leg?” The reaction I got was comical at best. The girl jumped, turning to look at me in a very freaked out manner, before running off as fast as she could towards a house. “Did she just have...cat ears???” I stood up and brushed myself off, muttering something under my breath.
“Where the hell am I? This doesn’t look anywhere close to Tokyo! How am I gonna get home? Wait, why DO I wanna go home anyway? I hated it back there! It can’t hurt to give this place a try, right?”
I scoffed, blowing some grass off my wrist and stuck my hands into my pockets, walking towards the house I’d seen the girl go in. I froze in my tracks as the little girl that had found me ran in my direction, behind what looked like her older sister. The older girl had reddish-brown hair, was dressed in a blue tank top that looked like it would burst at any moment, and a short skirt. The feature that really got me to stop wasn’t her chest though, but those things perched on her head. Those are definitely cat ears! What’s going on? I thought, confused.
“Who’re you!?” The older girl shouted, bouncing to a stop a few feet away from me, holding what looked like a knife. “What’s your business here?”
“I’m Trace! I don’t really have any business…I’m kind of lost. Could you help me?” I asked, trying my hardest not to stare at her bust or ears.
“He’s scary! He just showed up out of nowhere! Get rid of him Kara!” The little girl shouted, terrified, egging her sister on to strike. She didn’t though. She stood there for several minutes, staring me in the eyes intently.
Eventually, the sun high overhead, Kara relaxed and slid the knife back into its sheath at her hip. “You don’t look dangerous. Since you’re lost, would you like to come stay at our house for a day or so?”
“I…I guess. Thanks.”
“It’s no problem. Oh, by the way, I’m sorry for pulling a knife out on you. There’ve been a lot of robbers in the area lately-“
“Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.”
“Where are you from, anyway?”
“Tokyo.”
I stopped staring in surprise as she turned around staring at me incredulously.
“What’re you talking about? Most human cities were destroyed around a century ago. You don’t look over 100 years old.”
“Ah…I fell and hit my head, sorry.”
“Ah, amnesia?” she looked at me incredulously, a doubting look on her face. “So, what DO you remember? It’s rare to find a human in these parts without any weapons or equipment.”
“Um…nothing but my name!” I replied, trying not to let my nervousness show until I could figure out what had happened. Kara stared at me critically for several seconds before shrugging and nodding.
“I see…well, like I said before, you’re welcome to stay at my place as long as you like. In fact, if you want, you can even sleep with me!”
I blushed, looking away uncomfortably. “What are you talking about? Why would I do that?? We only just met!”
“What’re you talking about? I’m just saying that we only have one bed, so my sister and I have to share it all the time. Having one more isn’t that big a deal, you know? What are you imagining?”
“Um…nothing, why do you ask?”
“Your face is beet red. You’re not sick are you? Loser.”
“…”
“Pervert.”
“Whatever.”
I sat down on a chair in what looked like a living room, trying to ignore the fact that the young girl was staring at me with great intensity.
“Are you hungry, sis?”
“Not really, I’m ok!” the little girl called back, not taking her eyes off me for even a fraction of a second. A long, uncomfortable silence reigned in the room for several minutes.
“Why’re you staring at me? It’s sorta…uncomfortable.”
“Human.”
“???”
“You’re a human, right?”
“Obviously.”
At this point, I had had quite enough of her staring at me, so I stood up and walked around, exploring out of curiosity. Surprisingly, what Kara had told me earlier about there only being one bed held true. Not only was there only one bed, but it seemed kind of small...definitely too small for more then one person to use comfortably.
“What’re you doing here!?”
I jumped, hearing Kara shout at me from behind.
“I’m not doing anything! You’re the one that invited me inside your house!”
“Why didn’t you stay in the living room!? I didn’t tell you that you could come to my room uninvited! Now get out! Sleep outside for all I care!”
I was tossed out, landing on my face in a pile of leaves. “Ow!” I brushed myself off, glaring back at the house that I had just been forced to vacate. “Fine way to treat a traveler that doesn’t know a thing about this place…”
I looked around, trying once again to get my bearings on this new place I was in yet again.
“This is a…fairly interesting dream. It actually does feel like I’m here. The sounds, the smells, the feeling…it’s all realistic.”
“Is it really a dream? Or is it something more?”
I sighed and turned around, looking to find whoever had said that, but not seeing anyone.
“I’m going crazy aren’t I…aw man! How depressing…”
“Down here, you idiot! It’s me! Kit!”
“Oh…so it is. How depressing.”
“Everything’s depressing with you isn’t it Trace…?”
“Hm…possibly. So what are you doing here little Kit?”
“I figured that you wouldn’t be grasping the situation fully, so I thought I’d drop by to make sure you understand what’s really going on.”
“Oh? And what would a little Kitty like you know that I don’t Kit?”
“First of all, I know that you don’t really believe that this is real. It is. You are no longer in the Japan you knew. You were brought here, by accident or design, I’m not sure.”
“Oh wow…how informative,” I said, heavy with sarcasm. “Anything else obvious that you want to point out to me that I’ve already figured out?”
“If you’re going to treat some that’s trying to help you like that, I think I’ll just keep the rest to myself!” It shouted back at me, obviously pissed.
“Fine then! See what I care!”
I sighed, scratching my head as Kit stalked away extremely angry.
“How depressing…wonder…” I stopped, losing my train of thought when I heard someone calling to me. Reflexively, I bolted, running down the nearest path towards the woods.
“Stop! Get back here!” the voice called, sounding fairly frantic. Unfortunately for the pursuer, the sound of its voice convinced me to hasten my steps even more, until I nearly fell from all the debris that was in the way. Fortunately for me, I managed to keep my footing well-enough that I didn’t need to worry overmuch about falling. My senses were focused more, unfortunately, on the sounds I could hear from the branches of the trees around me.
“Dammit!” I leaped to the side, barely dodging a thrown…something that thudded into the soft dirt I had been standing on.
Gagging, I was grabbed around the throat and thrown hard against a tree, looking up at someone with a sword pointed at my throat.
“If you want to live, give me all your money!” the figure said seriously, telling me that if I didn’t comply, then I would soon be shorter by a head. Sadly, I knew the way that bandits work: He had only said that in an attempt to get me to comply without struggling. As soon as I complied, I would find his blade digging through the flesh of my stomach. Unfortunately for me, even if I felt inclined to cooperate, I couldn’t, because I didn’t have any money on me.
Before I could say anything though, I saw a throwing knife embed itself in the robber’s head, killing him instantly.
“Dammit! Stupid kid! You would’ve been dead now if it wasn’t for me!” Kara shouted, dropping down from the tree branch she had been perched on. “Why’d you start running when I called you anyway???”
“Probably because I didn’t know WHY you were calling me. Rule of common sense; when someone that you don’t know very well calls you, run. Best way to stay alive.”
“That’s kind of…cowardly!”
“Call it what you want. That’s just the way I am.”