After being Reincarnated as a Cat Girl, I Somehow obtained a Unique Subclass

Out of Place

Heartache ebbed through like hot coals slowly burning away at the soul. Sat across the table from a beautiful woman, the vision became blurred as an evil smirk spread across her lips. The woman's other features were undistinguishable, the focus was on her lips. Suddenly a fist smashed the closest plate to pieces with a jolt, the view shifted and spun.

A stumble towards glass doors revealed a strange sight: several tall, square spires of glass randomly littered with artificial lights. Thoughts rang out, 'why me? I don't understand. This will never end,' as a trembling hand reached out for the knob and opened the door. The woman's voice had venom.

"Fine, retreat to your balcony. I'll show myself out."

'Every time I try my heart is stomped on. What is the point? They get bored or cheat, but somehow it's always my fault. I guess I care too much,' steadily approaching a rail, the thoughts continued, as a well lit street came into view with lights racing both ways far below. Suddenly, hands gripped the rail and legs vaulted over. The ground sped towards, wind raced past, and a final thought came to the forefront, 'I hate being a man.' With a crunch and a jolt the darkness came swiftly.
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Zatiel woke with a scream and fought against her blanket, cheeks covered in tears. Her heart raced still, as she swung her legs over the side of her mattress and ran fingers through her hair. She felt her ears and took a deep breath.

She did not fully understand the dreams and memories she had. Reality often felt like a lie, though her soft cat ears reminded her of the truth. Almost every morning, she found herself staring into the mirror in disbelief. Shoulder length dark gray hair with two furry cat ears on each side of her head with matching fur and white puffs inside felt strange, though she had them for seven long years.

Her father no longer rushed into her room at the sound of her screams often heard in the morning, though he had when the dreams first started. Truth be told, her parents were at their wits end with her. It did not help that she was strangely adept at academics and uninterested in "normal" things. In fact, if her father said one more thing about what normal girls her age liked, she would likely have an emotional breakdown.

Staring into her own amber eyes, her face set in determination and she poured water from a vase into the ceramic basin set into the top of her dresser. She washed the tears from her face with hands full of water, before she picked out clean underwear and began to change out of her blue nightgown. Within moments, she was walking into her small closet. She donned gray cotton pants and a white blouse; almost an afterthought, she buttoned the back of her pants above her tail.

Her bare feet padded across the polished wood floor, as she made her way out of her bedroom and down the short hall towards the dining room. She reached out to touch the stone walls, dragging her fingertips across the rough surface. She picked up the pace as she came into the dining room, meanwhile three plates were already set at the table. Her parents sat waiting, and her mother broke the silence.

"Happy birthday, Zatiel, eat quickly. We will take you to see the sage after breakfast."

"Thank you for the food."

Her ears perked up and tail twitched in curiosity, as she sat and grabbed a piece of bacon from her plate. Zatiel popped the meat into her mouth and used a knife to butter her toast. She noticed her father watching her with concern, before he spoke carefully.

"Are you not excited to receive your status tag and learn what aptitudes you have?"

She scooped some of the scrambled eggs off her plate into her mouth and took a bite of toast, as she slowly looked up and shrugged innocently. Her father narrowed his eyes at her expectantly, his ears going flat. With raised brows, she finished chewing and answered.