A/N: rounding it to ten chapters. The bonus one really was something requested by one of my FP readers expounding a bit on the world this story is set in.

Chapter 6: Enter the Cat Thief

Yuki’s POV

“Question: why the heck are we in Scottsdale?! I thought you said we were going to the Northern Lands,” I asked, very agitated by our little “detour.” It had been only about two days since we had left, and so far all that Kai seems to have been interested in is sightseeing! Who the heck has time for sightseeing when they need to get somewhere that’ll probably take months to reach on foot?! Then again, this is Kai we’re talking about…

“We are,” Kai replied in his usual carefree, captain-obvious tone. “But consider this: say we take a direct path from point A to point B. All that the opposition would have to do to stop us is block the path or send their Coyote mercenaries after us.”

“Your point…?”

“If we just go random places so as to make our pattern less predictable, as long as we get there, we should be okay.”

There were only two problems that I could see in his theory. First off, although it’s true that we’d be harder to track, if they notice that we’re still heading for the general direction of North, then they’ll still be able to track us. Granted it would be harder for them than if we took a straight path, but it would still be possible, especially if they sent the Coyotes on us. Coyotes tend to be loners, much like those of the cat tribes, and most don’t take much part in the affairs of other clans, but there are some who will side with us, and there are those who side with the wolves. Since they’re typically quite aggressive and persistent in whatever they do, the wolves like to hire them to do their dirty work. And second, wouldn’t taking such an erratic and random route delay us time wise?

“You have a good point, Kai-san, but what about time? Don’t we want to make it there as soon as we can?” One of the wolf sisters – I didn’t notice which one, but it sounded like Hoshino – asked, almost as if she were taking the words right out of my mouth. Sometimes I wonder about her…

“Time isn’t really of an essence to me, to be honest,” Kai answered as he ran his fingers through his hair. “As long as we all make it alive, that’s all it matters.” I don’t know why, but the way he said that made me think that he was more than likely hiding something. Lian-Yue and Atsuka seemed to get the same vibes, but Hoshino was as calm as ever. Honestly, I don’t get how she can keep her cool in a situation like that.

Hoshino’s POV

Did I really sound that suspicious? I heard Kai ask me using his powers of telepathy. Really, I didn’t see why he was asking this to me alone when he could have just said it out loud. But considering what happened yesterday between him and Yuki, I wasn’t that surprised. I’m still surprised though that the bump on the back of his head healed so quickly…

It would appear so. All three of them seem to have taken it that way. I responded mentally, knowing that he could hear my thoughts just as clearly as I can hear his. But don’t worry about it; I’ll tell Atsuka that you didn’t mean it in the way that she thinks you do.

We were now at an outdoor café in Scottsdale, one of the few cities scattered across the world that weren’t quite as affected by the third World War as the rest of the world, so naturally they had a bit of a technological trump card against everyone else. Most people that travel by automobile in this day and age are from these cities, since they’re the only ones that still produce them. Everyone else just travels by horseback, camel, wagon, or on foot, like historical records say they did in ancient times before any of the World Wars occurred. Perhaps it was the advances of technology and science that caused so much controversy as to throw the entire world into war to begin with…

I picked up my cup and took a sip of the sweet liquid contained therein. I must admit, the people here know just the right amount of honey to add to make a good cup of tea.

Yuki’s POV

The next few minutes were spent in silence as we all partook of whatever food or drink we had ordered. I, on the other hand, was just nibbling on a piece of the appetizer bread, not even touching my honey-lemon tea. The uneasiness in the air was only broken by Hoshino whispering something into Atsuka’s ear, causing her to calm down a bit, while Lian-Yue and I were still wary of Kai’s words. As I finally reached for my teacup, a shrill, angry cry rang out, shattering the silence into tiny little pieces.

“STOP, THIEF!!!!!!!!!” A large, stout man in a suit and tie, more than likely one of the governing officials in this town, shouted this as he came out from a nearby alley chasing down a thin, bright-eyed youth wearing a pair of worn-down, patched-up pants and a shirt that was so dirty you could hardly tell that it was originally white. His messy, brown hair and his lack of shoes indicated that he was more than likely a perfect specimen of your average pickpocket who had just stolen something from his pursuer. From that distance I couldn’t tell what clan he was from by his ears or tail, except that they were black and his tail had a white tip at the end. But as he drew nearer, I also noticed a black paw and a white paw where his feet should be. The only clan that I know of that has paws instead of feet was…

Atsuka’s POV

A cat! There was no doubt that this ruffian was indeed of one of the cat tribes. No other clan or tribe has paws instead of feet. The thief kept running towards us, until…

“’Scuse me, coming through,” he said so fast it was almost inaudible as he jumped over our table to flee from his pursuer, knocking down Onee-sama’s teacup in the process.

That thief was going to get it.

Fiction: 06/04/09 | Posted By: cardcaptorryoko | 0 comments | Original Anime and Manga