Third Entry of Monstober : Bounty Hunter! Edgeshot x Bakeneko!Reader

The title's a bit too long, eh ? Requested by julkitd. Happy reading !

You snickered quietly as you leaped from one roof to another, a fish hanging out of your mouth. Going hunting at night in your cat form was truly incredible, especially when the humans were too stupid to catch you. Every single night for the past five years, you had been stealing food from houses in the area to survive, yet not a single person was close to catching you. They were all too slow, too full of themselves, and that was why they failed every time. You had only been a bakeneko for only ten years, yet you had outsmarted so many people. Technically you had been alive for about seventy years already and knew everything about humans, but who’s counting ? Being a half-human half-cat was much more fun than just a mere feline, and you were enjoying every moment of it.

“Where is that damn cat ?!?! It stole from my shop several times now !”

The angry yell of the shopkeepers made you come to a halting stop. Never once were they close to you. Of course, they never looked up to the roof, but you couldn’t be too careful now, could you ? Disguising yourself as one of the rock statues, you waited for the humans to pass through before continuing on your journey back to the cave. Your home was deep in the forest, where no one ever placed foot to. Your only friends were a werewolf and some other night creatures, but never a human. They weren’t nice to you at all when you were a cat, and you didn’t allow yourself to trust them. The werewolf friend you had was loud and angry, but she was nicer than any human alive. But she had found her ‘mate’, and it had been months since you last saw her. It was fine being alone, but sometimes it felt too lonely. But it was fine. You already got used to it.

As you dashed on the roof, you didn’t see the dark shadow lurking a few roofs behind you. Whoever it was had been tracking you for a good ten minutes now, yet you didn’t seem to notice them. Maybe you had been a tad bit full of yourself this time. Smirking under their mask, the mysterious stalker jumped after you, chasing you without your knowledge. They didn’t lose track of you – not even once – and until you reached the forest edge, the shadow didn't let you go.

[…]

Something felt wrong. For the past few weeks, whenever you went out for food, you kept having this weird feeling of someone watching you. Being extra stealthy, you had tried going to other towns to find dinner on a different schedule, yet the feeling remained. But no matter how hard you tried to run or find your stalker, they were nowhere in sight. Today was no different. You managed to escape the feeling and got back to your cave, but the uneasy feeling didn’t ease. Where was that damned wolf when you needed her ? Having a werewolf friend gave you more protection than you needed, but it was wrong of you to just keep depending on her. After all, your friend had her life too.

Putting the basket of meat aside, you quickly changed back into your human form. And no, you weren’t naked. You had a long, long-sleeved gray hoodie on alongside black tights, covering your whole body. When you were in your cat form, the clothes acted like fur. You preferred dark-colored clothes because they helped you blend in and described 89% of your life. Yes, your days were mostly filled with endless sleep, dirty jokes from your werewolf friend and... food. Was that all ? Mostly yes. As you sat down and pulled the piece of fresh meat out of its cover, a kunai flew right past your face before landing on the dirt wall behind you.

'Who the hell was that?' - you freaked out eternally as you tried to keep on a cold face and chugged down the piece of meat - 'Shit, this ain't good.'

Chugging down the food like it was your last moment alive, you quickly turned back into the shape of a normal house cat and walked outside. You were cautious, looking around before taking any step forward. Everything seemed just fine, but something in the air seemed... off. There was neither the sound of owls nor the annoying squeaking of mice. The forest wasn't supposed to be this still. Carelessly, you stepped forward and catching your feet into the hidden trap, making you hiss out loud.

'Fuck that hurts. Almost more painful than that girl's punches.' - you thought as you tried to free yourself from the trap just to make it tighter - 'Who placed this here ? I need to get out fast-'

"Don't struggle. It'd only make it worse, I'll promise you that."

The sudden voice made your head snap, your tail tensing. From the shadows of a tree, a figure jumped down and landed right in front of you, their hands on their hips. It was a fairly tall male with sharp-edged grey hair covering his right side. His eyes were grey - representing the color of the sky before a storm. Upon seeing him, you stopped struggling and stared at him with a blank face, completely contrasting your inner feelings.

'Holy shit that's a handsome face...' - you monologued internally as your eyes feasted on the male's form - 'Well, a handsome half-face. Who is he anyway ?'

"You don't need to know who I am." - He said immediately, as if he could read your mind - "Just know that I was hired to catch you."

Unable to talk in cat form, you decided to show him how uncomfortable you were by hissing loudly, tail flicking intensely towards the male's direction. No feline would be happy if a stranger suddenly came into their home and acted like it was theirs. Being a hunter, the man should've known that.

"Snappy, I see. Very well." - the guy replied casually as he leaned against the tree with an unfazed attitude - "I'll just wait until you drain yourself out and bring you back to my boss."

The moment the guy turned away to check his surroundings, you transformed back into a human and effortlessly broke the trap. To not alarm your captor, you walked on tiptoes before dashing off at full speed, the air rushing at your ears. You were a master of stealth and without extreme skills, nobody could even hear you walking. After running for a good couple of minutes, you stopped to rest. You should have been far from the cave at that point, and there was no way he could catch up with you. Unless he was a ninja of course because those people move like shadows. But he couldn't be, right-

"Where are you ?" - the voice suddenly echoed through the air, almost making you choke - "You can't do that, it's very unfair."

'He caught up ??? Shit, gotta go.'

You tried to transform back into a cat to move faster, but your captor wasn't someone to be underestimated. Before you could transform, he was behind you. A rope was on your wrists before you could react and not even a minute later, you were dragged back to your cave.

"Why are you doing this ?" - you asked with an exaggerated sigh after your captor had made sure to tie you up well - "I need food to live, so what's wrong with stealing to maintain my health ?"

"I also need money to keep a roof on top of my head, bakeneko. You and me, we aren't too different. Doing what we need to do to survive."

For what seemed like centuries, no one said anything. Your captor looked more handsome than ever as he leaned against the tree, moonlight dancing across his face. Most humans you'd met were cruel and cold-hearted, but he seemed different. He didn't try to hurt you, instead allowing you to have some decent personal space. He also compared you to himself, something most hunters wouldn't bother doing. Was he... putting himself in your shoes ?

"You know, your skills could be useful for better things other than stealing." - Suddenly the guy spoke up, making you focus on him - "Ever thought about being a ninja ?"

"To have less freedom and time to sleep ? No thank you."

"It's either that, or you get tortured when I bring you back to the boss." - That piped your interest immediately. You didn't want to die ! At least, not yet - "I could always take you in under my care and train you. We also have free meals, three times per day."

"...With other things than just fish ?"

"We have different varieties of food, so you don't need to worry about your health there. There are girls too, so you won't feel left out."

You took a moment to consider his offer. Of course, living in the wilderness had its perks, but there were a bunch of disadvantages too. It was cold, lonely and very dangerous. Having a decent roof on your head would be nice. But staying among humans... They were skeptical of your kind. You knew that better than anyone else. Would it be worth it; putting your life in danger as a trade for the needs of surviving ?

"You don't need to answer immediately." - Seeing your conflicted (not actually, because you're a kuudere, remember ?) expression, the guy stated - "I could always come back on another day now that I know where you live."

"Honestly, I don't trust you humans. Not a single one."

"Believe me, even I don't trust my kind."

[...]

It had been a few days since the incident with the mysterious ninja. He was kind enough to untie you and leave you extra food, saying that if you entered the towns again, he would have no choice but to kill you on the spot. You were uncomfortable knowing that some stranger could enter your territory anytime, but the 'beef' he left was immaculate. Oh well, at least now you knew that what he said about the meals were true.

Staying at the cave doing nothing had given you time to think about the offer. It was a difficult choice, but you needed to make it. Being on the wanted list would only cause you trouble, but with the man's protection, it would be less dangerous. On the other hand, you loved the freedom that you had. It was something that you weren't willing to give up for anything. Being wild was a part of your blood; one of the remaining traits from your ancestors. Could someone give up their roots to bend to the rules of survival ? Would it... be worth it ?

Your werewolf friend stopped by, too. She said that she had found somewhere to stay permanently, a mountain up in the North. She wouldn't be seeing you for a long time since she needed to settle down and fix some problems, so there wasn't anything holding you back in the forest. Leaving a friend behind was a hard decision, but it wasn't like you couldn't track her down, right ?

"Hello." - the voice from outside the cave made you jumped in fright, until you realize that it was just the gray-haired male - "Can I come in ?"

"Sure."

Dusting off your hoodie, you stood up and watched as the male stepped into the cave. He put down the bag he was holding before leaning against the wall, quietly signaling for you to open the bag.

"No. It's very suspicious." - you said icily, making the ninja sigh. Opening the bag, he pulled out some dark clothes and waved them in front of you to show that they were harmless.

"It's my team's uniform."

"So you think that I've made up my mind ?" - you asked with a raised eyebrow - "You're oddly pushy."

"My boss is, not me. He was very mad knowing that I didn't bring you back."

You hummed knowingly as you eyed the costume. It was a traditional ninja outfit - a yoroi - with a red belt tied loosely around the waist. The boots were mid-thigh with laces at the front, a design you liked. One more reason to join ?

"Did you eat them all ? The food I left ?"

"Of course. They were good." - You sassed back with a huff - "...Did you, perhaps... bring some more ?"

Nodding slightly, the man pulled out a bag of fresh salmon and pork. The smell went straight to your nose, as your ears perked up in excitement. Noticing how exited you were, he placed it down and stepped away from it, allowing you to have your personal space.

"I need to get going. I'm running some errands for the clan, they would be mad if I come back late and empty-handed."

The moment the ninja disappeared, you slumped down and placed a hand over your racing heart, face contorting into a blissful expression.

"I've simped so bad..."

Well, sorry for the late update. I've been getting ready for the big moving, so there wasn't any time to write. Besides, midterms are coming and due to my falling grades, the teachers are going to call my parents if things keep up. Don't know why I have to try, especially when I'm not going to study at that school anymore.