Sinners - The Puppet (currently being re-written)

Chapter 1 - of the bird who didn't fly

For those who are unfamiliar with the terms, there are certain Japanese words to be found in this chapter (and future ones). I'm a huge anime fan and I'm not really used to stories without the usual Japanese setting so you could say that this story is set in Japan.

The following are the terms found in this chapter:

engawa - an edging strip of non-tatami matted flooring in a Japanese home. You could call it a porch in a typical home.

bokken - a wooden Japanese sword. They are typically used for training.

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"--to Nate? Hello? Hey, Nate? NATE!!"

Nate snapped out of his short reverie. Realization struck, then, and he found himself within the depths of the city by the sidewalk. Next to his foot was a strange black cat and reflected upon its eyes was his figure.

He gazed upon said cat with a pair of russet brown eyes, confusion apparent in his face as he frowned. Having barely gotten out of the usual daze, his head was still up in the clouds, forming a question within his small mind.

The cat...did it just speak?

"Nate...!" a voice called and (clearly) it did not belong to the cat. He faced the girl behind him, in her hands two white plastic bags filled with groceries. "At least carry one of these, my god. How could you leave them all to me and run out like that."

The girl was named Rosa Formella--fifteen, just like him. Their first meeting dated back to three months ago. Back then, Nate and his mother had left the rural town for the city. He learned then that she was their neighbor and it was his mother who introduced them to one another. While he never was the sociable type, with time, he gained the courage to actually start being friendly with her.

As far as looks went, Rosa was ordinary. Her face was oval, her eyes chestnut. She wasn't particularly tall or short. In fact, they stood at roughly the same height (something he was quite sulky for whenever they were together but he wouldn't dare admit it in front of her). Despite this normalcy however, in that busy street, she stood out in more ways than one.

Her hair was, after all, akin to the color of fall--strawberry blonde cut short into a wavy bob. In this country where most people were either brunettes or raven-haired, she was what one would call an alien (or a foreigner in simpler terms). In fact, he was always subject to her complaints about how ugly her hair was and he always fought the urge to tell her to shut up and just dye her hair if she didn't like it. Still, sometimes, when he stared at her, a single thought would pass through his head.

Her hair didn't really look that bad. It actually suited her more than she thought.

His thoughts stopped abruptly at the flick to his forehead. "Will you stop staring all the time? I already know I'm pretty. Use your hands and just hold on to this already."

As far as he knew, the truly beautiful never openly claimed that they were beautiful as it only makes them appear vain but he bit back on the comment as he rubbed his forehead.

She shoved to his chest the other set of plastic bags. Peering into its contents, Nate was satisfied at the sight of at least ten bottles of beloved milk. Just the usual stuff. 

"You love milk that much, huh?" Rosa giggled. "Are you that conscious of your height?"

He shot her a glare and that made her giggle more. Ugh, why was she always like this...? He heaved a sigh, choosing to ignore her casual remarks, and his eyes lingered upon the black cat on the ground.