XI

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Arc XI Chapter 10

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Holding Katsuki tightly in her arms, Yuki wandered the floors of the impurrial pawlace, which was apparently not a case of misspelling, but rather the correct denomination according to neko terminology and orthography. The proud members of the impurrial catguard trailing closely behind her, following her on their fluffy paws. 

Through illicit means such as cuddles and pats, Yuki had earned herself their loyalty and respect. The pack of kittens and cats had accepted her as their de facto alpha cat. Nevertheless, they still met her with a considerable amount of suspicion. They didn't completely trust her yet. She was far taller than them. She had no fur, no tail, and no whiskers. Furthermore, she was walking on her two hind paws and was missing their fluffy ears. Instead, she possessed a pair of curious clams fixed to the sides of her oval head. And last but not least, she was not meowing. All this made her suspect in the eyes of the catguard who probably regarded her as a strange type of kitten.

Captain Yourichi and her detachment were guiding her around, showing her the various rooms and facilities inside the palace’s wall. Her chest swelled with inherent feline pride, her whiskers straightened, and her tail waved at the sight of the fruits and achievements of catvilitisation and all of nekohood. Yuki merely smiled and went along for the sake of diplomatic politeness. It would be impolite to interrupt her.

Captain Yoruichi raised her paw, motioning at a forge. The fire of coke and coal nourished the flames of the furnaces. The sound of hammers and anvils, of hardening steel and labour reverberated through the air. The vapour of boiling steam and oils clouded the room.

Yet it did not escape Yuki that a considerable number of cats were lying around on the floor, taking a nap. Most of them were sleeping in close proximity to the furnaces. It was probably the warmth of the furnaces that attracted them. It was an economical use of warmth, but the fact remained that many of them were sleeping dangerously close to the flames. Hopefully, they wouldn't get their tails burned.

Captain Yoruichi raised her chin. “This is the impurial pawmoury. Here we purrduce our armaments. Only the most proficient smiths and armourers of the Empire receive the honour to render their services in these esteemed halls.”

“Oh …” Yuki marvelled at the industrious kittens at work. Their little hammers made them look so cute.

Their little group moved on to the next room.

Captain Yoruichi spoke, “This is the pride of the Empire. This is the impurrial manufactory.”

“Ah ...” Yuki opened her mouth in awe.

“Here we produce the softest and most exquisite fabrics of the Empire. Whether it be silk or serge, felt or velvet, linen or hemp, wool or cashmere. They are our pride and represent our prime expurrt product. We are expurrting our delicate fabrics across the entire spirit realm.”

Yuki beamed. “I see.” Much to her confusion, several kittens were playing with samples of yarn, their paws battling them in the air. Other kittens were bouncing with their paws on rolled out bolts of silk, cashmere and cotton. 

Yuki tilted their head. What were they doing there?

Captain Yoruichi noticed her confusion and cared to explain, “Do not wonder, they are purrforming an impurrtant duty. They are testing the fluffiness and softness of our raw materials and final products. We, the Neko clan, stand only for the highest degree of quality in terms of softness and cuddliness.”

Her words didn't convince Yuki at all. Their occupation did not look like work at all. They were having a lot of fun playing with their yarn and fabrics, yet she didn't wish to argue with the neko clan and their feline expertise in the field of fabrics and textiles. They probably knew what they were doing.

Their little tour continued, leading them to a wide, open area within the palace’s walls. It was a garden and many cats were tending to their herbs and beds in an exemplary display of horticulture. They even had a little irrigation system and were wielding tiny shovels and sickles in their paws. The cats were busy harvesting their plentiful bounty. What a heart warming sight.

Yuki beamed.“What are you growing here?”

Captain Yoruichi puffed her chest and purred, “Catnip, of course! Much, much catnip! Nekohood is constant need of a steady supply of high grade catnip! Fresh catnip is an essential commodity of our daily life.”

Yuki nodded. That made sense ... Katsuki had told her much about the prime impurrtance of catnip.

And their journey continued. There were many more rooms to visit and many more floors to wander. Purrhaps too many ... Yuki appreciated their efforts to introduce her, an outsider, to the rich and colourful history and culture of the Neko clan, but there was a limit to her human patience and benevolence. Their tour was becoming increasingly tedious ... All the walking and the endless lectures were slowly starting to bore her to death ... She had seen enough of the 9 999 rooms of the Impurrial Pawlace, and she doesn't want to hear anything any more about the 999 uses of catnip!

But Yuki was a good girl. Despite being bored to death, she didn't raise any complaints, just as courtesy demanded. ... Her fate was instead to slowly fall asleep. Her eyelids were heavy, and it was only ... a matter ... of time ... until ... ... sleep ... ... claimed ... ... her ... ... “Zzz ... Zzz ... Zzz ...”

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