#uogst

Y/n is a hybrid between a human and a cat yokai called a bakeneko. Their most distinctly different features are the cat ears and tail they have, both of which are functional. They also have an heightened sense of hearing and balance, as well as being more agile and flexible. Though they don't have the night vision cats do, they can see slightly better in the dark, but not by much. They also sometimes will exhibit cat like behavior, such as hissing or grrowling at things they don't like, taking frequent naps, and even making odd noises at birds. They also have a second voice box that gives them the ability to purr. Their canine teeth are also slightly sharper than humans, but most people don't tend to notice at a glance. Unlike their yokai parent, they cannot use any magical powers, instead limited to their physical attributes.

Y/n grew up in a small, isolated village in Japan where many inter-species couples between yokai and humans lived in harmony, supporting each other as a community for generations away from the pryiing eyes of humanity and the judment of other yokai.

Y/n was a quiet, well behaved child, always doing what they were asked and following every rule they were given, to the surprise of many. As they got older, this didn't change much, although they became more personable and liked to joke around with friends, but would stop whatever they were doing to help when asked by an elder.

They often babysat for the other families in the village, the little ones gravitating towards their calmer nature and soothing voice. They didn't mind it, finding the little ones entertaining to be around and a joy to play with.

When it comes to going out into the world of humans though, they get quiet and reserved, and will jump at any loud sounds. They have to wear a beanie on their head all the time to hide their ears, and their tail remains tucked into their pants (or wrapped around their waist if they wear a shoort skirt/dress). Keeping their ears and tail hidden for long periods of time is uncomfortable, making them quite a homebody once they leave the village.

As an adult they are mostly shy and soft-spoken, unless around their family or doing something they enjoy.

[Due to the nature of them being a hybrid of a cat yokai and a human, they have more of a set appearance than most reader-insert characters do. Hopefully, nobody minds too much-

Y/n is about 5'5", with pale skin and grey eyes. They have black hair that is cut short, in a mix between a pixie cut and a bob. The fur on their ears and tail match the color of their hair.

The crowded airport terminal was loud, putting you on edge as you frantically scanned the area, looking for the familiar face of the person who invited you here when you heard their voice call out to you, coming from the left. 

“Y/N!” 

You turned to see your cousin waving you down, and you let out a small sigh of relief as you dragged your suitcase over to them, subconsciously fixing the beanie on your head. As you got closer you could see that your cousin wasn’t alone, but instead accompanied by a woman who looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties dressed in business casual, same as your cousin. 

“Hey squirt! Long time no see! How is everyone back home?” Your cousin exclaimed as they threw their arm around your shoulder to pull you in for a hug. You laughed, returning the hug with your free arm. 

“Hey Inari, it’s good to see you too. Everything’s good, although Jiji would like it if you would go back to visit. ” You replied, patting your cousin on the back to signal you wanted to be let go. They removed their arms from around you with a laugh, their face crinkling up in mirth. 

“I didn’t think that old fart would miss me that much- ow, hey!” They hissed, rubbing their arm when you smacked them. 

“Don’t be rude.” You huffed, narrowing your eyes at Inari. They laughed again and held their hands up in surrender for a few seconds before jolting and quickly gesturing to the lady, as if they had forgotten about her existence momentarily. 

“Y/n, I’d like you to meet my assistant, Claire. Claire, this is my cousin Y/n, the one who is coming to work at the ‘Plex.” They explained, and the woman- Claire- held her hand out for you to shake. You took her hand timidly, remembering what your mom had taught you about American customs.

About a moonth ago Inari had gotten into contact with your after about 5 years of total silence and asked if you wanted to come work for them in a daycare. They had been having trouble keeping the job position filled, and Inari remembered that you were good with kids and how much the little ones in the village loved you, so you were the perfect candidate. 

Of course you couldn’t say no, especially when you learned how much money you would be making. Plus, it was a chance for you to get out of the village and explore the world a bit more, despite your obvious…. abromalities. 

You retracted your hand from Claire’s and she gave you a small, proffesional smile. “A pleasure to meet you, Mx. Y/n. I’ve heard quite a bit about you, and I’ve got to say, I’m quite amazed.” 

You flushed, before your stomach dropped to the floor and you grew pale. How much did she know? You looked over at Inari in panic, and they frowned before grabbing you gently by the wrist, leading you out of the airport to a waiting car, Claire following behind. A man opened the door for you and took your suitcase from you as you were unceremoniously tugged into the vehicle. 

The backseat was separated from the driver’s seat, giving privacy to the passengers in the back. Claire climbed in behind you, and as soon as the door was shut behind her you snapped your head to glare at Inari. “What does she know?” You growled, trying to mask your fear as anger. 

Inari just smirked at you and winked, and within seconds you saw their fox ears pop up on their head, the human ones disappearing. Two tails pushed up and out from the band of their slacks and they let out a sigh as their red markings on their face appeared. 

You shrunk back slightly in your seat before looking at Claire with a worried glance, only to discover she seemed totally unphased, if not somewhat entranced by your cousin. One of your ears twitched under your beanie in irritation as you tried to comprehend the situation. 

While momentarily lost in thought, Inari reached up and snatched your beanie off your head, revealing the black cat ears that sat atop your head instead of regular human ears. You yelped and flattened your ears, moving to cover them with your hands. 

“Relax, Y/n. Claire knows all about us- and no, she won’t tell a soul.” Inari spoke calmly as they leaned back in the seat, twirling your beanie on the tip of their clawed index finger. You only relaxed slightly, removing your hands from your head as you leaned back in your seat as well. You watched your cousin twirl the hat a few more times before you snatched it off their finger with an irritated huff. 

“Fine, but don’t do that to me Inari, you scared me…” You grumbled, wringing the hat in your hands, thumbing over the hand-stitched silhouette of a cat. Inari snickered, elbowing you in the ribs with an amused flick of their ears. 

“Scaredy cat.” 

“YOU-” Your sentence was cut off by the sound of the car door opening, and you hastily shoved the beanie back over your ears as quickly as possible, causing them to be squashed down in an uncomfortable manner. 

“We’ve arrived, Mx. Sekiguchi." 

A man announced as he opened the car door for your cousin, who had already hidden their tails and ears. "Thank you Bruce! Come on Y/n, I need to show you where you'll be staying quickly cause I've got a lunch meeting with a few of the other managers to go over finalizing your employment." They spoke hurriedly as they climbed out of the vehicle, grabbing you by the arm and impatiently pulling you out when you took too long.

Without a moment to spare Inari rushed you forward, hardly giving you a chance to take in where you were.

You were standing in the driveway of a decently large house, big enough that it could be a mansion. The brick walls were immaculate and free of ivy, and the gardens in front leading to the door were perfectly pruned, bright pinks, purples and blues greeting you from the sea of green foliage. 

They didn't take you into the main house though, instead veering to the left to take a side path that led around to a smaller house, this one painted a pale yellow and hidden from view. The smaller house was two stories with a little porch in front, complete with a swing. 

"This is my guest house, which is gonna be your home away from home from now on! Do with it what you like- however you wanna decorate it, if you want to remodel it, whatever, I don't care. Just let me know and it will get taken care of. There's food in the fridge, towels and stuff are stocked up… everything you need really!" Inari said with a grin, leading you into the building as they spoke. 

Entering the house brought you directly into the living room, which connected with an open floor plan to the dining room. The kitchen was situated towards the back of the house, with stairs leading down to the basement and a door leading outside. Back in the living room, there was a half-bathroom beneath the stairs that led to the second floor.

The second floor housed the bedrooms and the full bathroom, which had a separate shower and bathtub. Both bedrooms had neatly made beds, a large closet, a dresser and a vanity as well as a nightstand on either side of the bed. The way everything was set up and how it smelled was very… homey. 

“So, whaddya think?” Inari piped up, leaning against the doorframe of the master bedroom as you sat down on the bed, smoothing your hands over the comforter.

“It’s great, thanks again Inari…” You hummed, smiling at them. They waved their hand dismissively with a grin, and Claire walked up behind them, tapping them on the shoulder. 

“We need to get going, or you’ll be late for the meeting.” She spoke in a more hushed tone, either not realizing or forgetting that you had more sensitive hearing than humans. Claire then smiled at you, and you returned it nervously. “Your bag is in the living room along with what was shipped here last week.” 

You jumped off the bed, shoving Inari out of the way as Claire stepped aside to race downstairs. Sure enough your suitcase was sitting next to the couch, along with the three packages you had previously shipped to Inari when you had learned you were going to be living in America for a while. 

The packages contained a majority of your clothes as well as some comfort items, like the doll your mother had gotten you for your fifth birthday. You would get to unpacking those later though, as you had something way more important to do. 

You grabbed your suitcase and tossed it onto the couch, unzipping it as Inari and Claire came down the stairs. Pulling out a couple of jackets you grabbed your laptop and microphone, setting them on the coffee table behind you as your cousin shook their head and laughed. 

“Let me guess, your old man wanted you to check in as soon as you got here?” They asked, pulling something out of their pocket before throwing it to you. You pulled your laptop charger out of your suitcase before catching the thrown object, shooting Inari an exasperated glare. They laughed, then nodded their head towards the hand that had caught the flying object, which upon inspection turned out to be a set of keys. “Those are the keys to this house, don’t lose ‘em. I’ll see you tomorrow, tell Toshiro ojisan I said hi!” 

Inari said before leaving, Claire following them out the door. You rolled your eyes with a laugh, and pulled your beanie off your head, tossing it onto the couch along with the keys before starting to set up your laptop on the coffee table. Once everything was all plugged in and turned on, and the wifi password was obtained via a text message from Inari, you were starting a video call to your parents, hoping the tower in the village would get the signal. 

Before long the call picked up, and the first thing you saw was a close up shot of your father’s nose and whiskers. You laughed, which seemed to get his attention because he backed up, sitting down so he was a decent distance from the camera, revealing your mother was sitting in view as well. 

“Otōsan, okaasan, how is everything?” You asked, speaking in Japanese so both of your parents could understand you, since your dad only knew a little English. Your mom smiled, patting your dad on the arm. He seemed a little agitated, but he stayed quiet. 

“We’ve been just fine sweetheart. Your dad is still getting used to you not being here, but he’ll manage.” Your dad let out a grumble as your mom spoke, his ears flicking in irritation. You laughed, shifting around to wiggle your tail loose from your pants, letting it swish behind you in amusement. 

“Otōsan, I’m fine. There’s no need to worry, I’ve got Inari here with me. They said hi, by the way.” You replied, and your father glared into the camera, his fur visibly bristling. 

“That’s what I’m worried about. They’re nothing but trouble.” Your father replied, and you sighed. Your mom elbowed your dad in his ribs and he gave her a playful hiss before the two of them looked up at someone that was behind the camera. Your parents both stood up and moved over, and the oldest yokai in the village, and old Kappa named Gamo that everyone referred to as their grandfather, came into view. 

“Jiji! How are you?” You asked excitedly, earning a chuckle from the three adults on the other end of the video call as the old kappa sat down. 

“Same as ever, little one. How was your trip?” 

------------

You spent another hour talking with your parents and Gamo before they ended the call, and you closed your laptop with a small sigh. You stood up and stretched out, then looked around at the packages of your things. 

“Might as well…” 

With a soft sigh you zipped your suitcase back up and lugged it upstairs, dragging it to the master bedroom before repeating with your other packages. You began the arduous task of unpacking all your things and putting them away, and before you knew it night had fallen. 

You yawned, checking the time and decided to wash up before eating. While you didn’t totally hate getting wet like your father, you just hated being submerged- like taking a bath or swimming. 

You grabbed your things and jumped in the shower, making sure to put cotton balls in your ears to keep water out of them, and scrubbed up quickly, getting the ick of traveling off you. 

You took the cotton out of your ears before you got dressed, shaking your head like a dog would at the feeling before shuddering. “Never gonna get used to that…” You muttered before drying off and getting dressed, taking your hair dryer to your tail and hair, making sure not to blow directly in your ears. 

After that, it was time for food. 

You padded down to the kitchen, setting your phone on the counter and pressing play on your music playlist while you surveyed what kinds of ingredients Inari had stocked you with. There were all sorts of things, from cereals to frozen meals and just about anything in between. 

You settled on making ramen, but not the instant crap- real ramen with ham and egg. You hummed and sang along to the music as you cooked, and before too long you had a delicious bowl of steaming ramen sitting in front of you as you flopped onto the couch. 

Just as you were about to take a bite there was a knock on your door, and you grumbled along with your stomach, your ears and tail twitching in irritation. You set your bowl aside and stood up, walkingover and peeking through the peephole to see who was coming to see you at such a late hour, only to see it was your cousin. 

You threw the door open with a huff, crossing your arms over your chest as you glared at them. “What do you want, Inari? I was just about to enjoy my dinner before calling it a night.” 

Inari snickered, ruffling your hair. “I just came to tell you I’ll be showing you the ‘plex tomorrow, and if you feel like it you can hang out at the daycare for the day to get a feel for what it’s gonna be like.” 

You grumbled and shoved their hand off your head, squinting at them. “Is that it? If so, then goodnight, I’m going back to my ramen. Oh, and everyone says hi.” You huffed out before stepping back and closing the door in your cousin’s face, causing them to laugh loudly.