Keen

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Good. Something much lighter to talk about.

"I want to do normal teenager stuff. Feel independent. Rebel a little, you could say," he replied with a joking tone. "I'm doing well in school, I'm in the Starlight Academy cheer squad, and I've made a great group of friends. I even have some ideas on what I want to pursue as a career in the future. Life is looking a lot brighter for me ever since I found hobbies to keep me motivated."
 

Lotharingia

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"Sounds like you've been acclimatising pretty well, then." She said, nodding, keeping the smile on her face. "I'm glad to hear it."

She scribbled a few more notes down. She was almost ready to wrap things up.

"What about the rest of the Nek0 who arrived with you?" She asked. "I'm sure you've kept in contact with some of them. Are they adjusting as well as you are?"
 

Keen

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The smile on Natalie's face felt genuine. Sprinkles kept in mind the possibility that it was simple politeness, but he still felt proud. Having his hard work acknowledged made him feel validated. It told him that he was going down the right path.

"I'd rather not speak for them," he admitted. "From what I've seen, we've all been adjusting well at our own paces. There are only two NEK0s I'm particularly close with. One's my roommate, another is a close friend I consider a sibling. I'd rather not outright say their names, however."
 

Lotharingia

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"You don't need to name any names if you don't want to. I was just curious about your opinion."

Nat smiled, finished the sentence she'd written, and flipped the notebook closed, putting both it and her pen back in her pocket.

“I think that should do me fine for the moment. I might try to track you down later down the line if I’m writing more about the Nek0, but for now, I think I can put an article together.”

She took one more long sip from her drink.

“Thanks for agreeing to talk to me, Sprinkles.” She said. “Most people wouldn’t be too eager to revisit these sorts of memories.”
 

Keen

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The interview went much smoother than Sprinkles had thought it would. He hadn't messed up his words or stuttered, the questions didn't seem like tricks, and she didn't seem like the type to take his words out of context. Although, many people didn't seem manipulative and were. Whatever the case was, the interview was over, so Sprinkles had to deal with what he said.

"I can't say I was too eager." But out of all the NEK0s, he felt he was one of the better ones to go through an interview. "I've done a lot to figure out how I feel about things, and, well, I'd like to give people an idea of what some of us had to go through. I'm one of the better situations, so that might help ease people into what happened to us who were worse off. That's why I'd be happy to do future interviews with you about the subject." A strained smile came onto his face, then promptly fell off.

He played with his hair for a few seconds, staring down at the table with a tense expression in the meantime. Then he looked up at Natalie and gave another strained smile. "Actually, that wasn't the only reason I came here. I was a bit interested in you. You also have cat traits and a Japanese last name. Every time I meet another cat-person, I try to learn more about them. See if I can learn more about myself that way."
 

Lotharingia

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“You don’t need to look so apprehensive about it.” Nat said with a light chuckle, noticing his apparent discomfort. “I know its my job to ask the questions, but I don’t mind answering a few for you.”

She sat back in her seat, relaxing, posture moved to look as inviting as she could make it.

“Besides, its not too often people are interest in little old me. I’m flattered.” She smiled. “So go ahead, what would you like to know?”
 

Keen

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Sprinkles let his body relax as he leaned back into his chair. There was no need to play up his nervousness and sadness at this point. He had gotten the point across fine enough.

"I think it's only fair I get to know the person who knows so much about me," he replied with a giggle.

"What I want to know is... well, what kind of cat you are. I've met some bakenekos, a Nemean lion, and now you with two tails."
 

Lotharingia

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"Well, if you've met some Bakenekos that should make things a little easier." Nat set her cup down as she began to explain. "I'm called a Nekomata. We're from Japan as well, much like Bakenekos. The story goes that if a cat is left to grow old for long enough, its tail will split in two, and it will become a terrible youkai and will wreak all sorts of havoc and terror."

At that, Nat flashed her sharp teeth playfully.

"But, my wild days like that are behind me." She continued with a dismissive wave. "Kurono isn't my real name, but I did come from Japan as you guessed. Before I became a Nekomata I was just a normal housecat, kept as a pet."

She spoke of her past life with the same sort of detachment that Sprinkles had earlier. Nat was hardly the same sort of cat she was back then, she was an entirely different person now. It felt like reflecting on a life that someone else lead when she thought of it.
 

Keen

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Seeing creatures he considered myth in real life was fascinating. Terrifying, but fascinating. As Natalie explained, some were yokai who caused mischief and worse, yet on this island, they were safe to be around. It was weird, being on equal terms with people who would otherwise wish to harm you.

The part about her being a housecat interested Sprinkles more. "I guess that gave you more reason to be interested in us NEK0s, huh?" More questions came to mind, but it wouldn't do well to be greedy with how much he could ask.

"Funny, I'm actually trying to do something like that in reverse. Not... becoming a pet again. Going from a human with cat features to having a full cat form." He gave the table a nervous look. At first, it might seem as if he was embarrassed, but the smile he wore was one of barely-contained excitement. "For a while I considered myself human, but, uh... that doesn't feel accurate anymore. I'm trying to get more in touch with my cat side now."
 

Lotharingia

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“Well, let’s just say my interest in this case might be more than just professional curiosity and leave it at that.” Nat winked. She saw no reason to deny her interest, silly as it might seem to herself. Especially since Sprinkles seemed to have been mostly straight with her so far.

As Sprinkles described his current plans, Natalie quirked a curious eyebrow.

“Is that so? I might be able to help then, I’m something of an expert on being a cat.” She chuckled. “How’s that been going for you? How much progress have you made?"
 
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