"Uhg....what happened?" a young boy's voice echoed inside of an empty room. Darkness was everywhere, but as the boy opened his eyes, he found he could see just fine, even though he could tell it was dark. He seemed to be laying on his right side, but he felt weird.
And then, he noticed.
"Wait, what? Is that my voice? I sound so young" he wondered, as he started to sit up. He then noticed, he seemed to be wearing absolutely nothing but a black hoodie that went down past his waist and covered his body to some extent, and as he felt his head, he noticed he could feel cat ears, as well as a cat tail from right below the waistline.
This came as a shock, as he was much older. However, that was when the rest of his memories came back to him as well. Including how he had seen a cat in a street and went to rescue it, when a truck came out of nowhere and hit him.
ANd now, he seemed to wake up in what appeared to be some old, rundown building. it must have been quite fancy originally, or at least it looked like it would have. Perhaps a hotel, or such. Outside the windows, lights could be seen and various sounds such as vehicles honking could be heard.
However, as he went up to the window and looked outside, it was a city he had never seen before. Although the language looked unfamiliar, he seemed to understand what it said. But the language was definently different. The vehicles at least looked mostly familiar, but a few looked totally out of this world.
And then, he instinctively ducked to the ground and hid behind the wall under the window as a bright light came by and peeked through. He didn't even notice anything, he just sensed it. However, it seemed to scan the room or such, doing that for a bit before moving on.
"This is the police! There is a dangerous criminal on the loose! Please remain in your homes as we perform high intensity scans of the area! He is a known Spirit Holder, and is wanted for countless crimes including murder! Please cooperate with the police and allied detectives".
"Seriously? Great, and I am in an abandoned building too...although, I haven't done anything wrong. Maybe the police can help me? But, what is a Spirit Holder?"
The boy tried to dust himself off a bit, although he only had one piece of clothing to dust off. He would have liked some shoes at least, since he was barefoot, although some shorts or pants would be nice too. But at least that area was covered. Walking in the city with no shoes was probably a pain, and a germ nightmare.
Though, as he was patting himself off, he thought he saw some sort of blast mist release from his hands, as well as maybe a pulse eminate from them. He was quite curious about that, but as he walked forward, his thoughts distracted him and he tripped, falling down the stairs and eventually landing on the floor.
"Oww....that hurt" he muttered, although he noticed that the pain was not as much as he expected from falling down a flight of stairs in a large hall, and he didn't seem to be bruised or cut, although he was dirty from landing in a bunch of dust. He started to do a test to check his own knowledge and make sure he didn't hit his head, but then something terrifying happened.
He couldn't remember his name.
He could remember he used to be fifteen years old. He remembered reading comics and manga and watching movies and anime and such. He remembered playing with friends, being social, everything. He even knew this knew language somehow, at least pieces of it.
But he couldn't remember his old name. He didn't even know if he had a name. And when he tried to name himself, he found himself hit with a mental block. Like he couldn't think of one, or decide one, for himself.
And as if things couldn't get any worse, suddenly the doors were kicked in. There was a man with some heavy looking bracelets on his wrists, the link between them apparently broken, and he was quite tall and tough. He was at least more then double the boy's height.
"Well, what do you know? Lucky me, a stray Cat Spirit" he said, lunging for the boy. The boy tried to dodge him, but he moved so fast and got to him instantly. He picked him up by his cat hoodie, with the hoodie almost sliding off his body if it wasn't for his arms. "You will make a contract with me, and help me out of this mess!"
Seriously?! The criminal?! How unlucky can I get?!
It seemed the boy was not having a good start after reincarnating. Although, he couldn't help but notice what was said.
Wait...Cat Spirit?! Are you saying I reincarnated in another world...as a spirit!?
He wondered if that could really be called reincarnation. After all, he was a spirit. That isn't a new life, thats just an afterlife. But he was clearly in a new world though, so it didn't make sense to him at all.
Either way, the man's face was getting closer, and he didn't like what he was saying.
"Contract Magic: Compel Contract!"
Suddenly, as he tried to fight back, he became filled with pain as if being electroctured. What was really strange though was that he felt compelled to kiss this muscular criminal on the lips, even though he definently didn't want to.
Incidentally, a kiss was often required to seal a contract between Holder and Spirit. Technically speaking, the requirement was intimate body contact, but a kiss was the best method. There was also another a few others though, it was not that simple.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
However, whatever magic he was doing cut short, as suddenly he had to release the boy as he suddenly dodged a falling chandalier. The boy also managed to dodge in time, landing on all fours for a moment.
"How unlucky. Right as we were getting to the good part".
"Well, its not your lucky day" a man's voice said, as he stepped through the doorway that was busted open. Behind him, were three people about the same size as the boy, each one wearing a different colored cloak. Red, light blue, and yellow respectively. The man in front was holding a gun, and pointing it right at the man.
"Heh. No matter. I didn't finish, but I can at least do this. Compel Attack!"
Suddenly, the boy felt himself unable to control himself, as he came after the man holding the gun. His hands emit another black pulse, and as the man moved and aimed at him, he ended up accidentally stepping through the old floor of the building, as the boy summoned claws in his hand that emit the black pulse and came at him. Each one was quite long, at least half a meter, although he found that he somehow could adjust the size at will.
Well, at will was a figurative statement, as his will was not his own right now. Whatever magic the man had used before was letting him control him like a puppet.
"I got this!" the boy in red said, as his hood fell off from his rapid movement, revealing a pair of wolf ears. His fist was clad in fire, as he seemed to plan to punch the cat boy.
"No wait, don't move so fast!" the man warned, as suddenly the floor collapsed below him and he nearly fell through, his arms just barely catching the edge.
The way this is going...could it be...
"Yuki, freeze the entire floor! Make it solid!" the man said as he freed his own leg. "This spirit has the power of luck manipulation!"
Wait, I do?!
The cat boy had not even realized that, but thinking about it now, every time he released a black pulse, bad things seemed to happen, especially towards who he is focused on right now. Or himself, when he was dusting himself off.
He had some sort of luck manipulation. However, the floor suddenly got very cold as it got iced over, a solid and stable sheet of ice trying to freeze them both to the floor and keep the floor stable as well. However, he felt like he might have a bit more control of himself.
But that didn't quite matter, as he instinctively felt an attack coming his way. He tried to dodge, but the ice was slippery on his bare feet and he couldn't dodge well.
"Spiritforce Rounds, loaded. Dont hate me for this, kitty" he said, as he fired a round dead center into the cat boy's torso. Rather then penetrating though, it was as if a massive object slammed into him, knocking him back into the wall. Meanwhile, the man trying to escape was tried to break out of the ice, but the yellow cloaked one moved with a trail of lightning behind him, and kicked him right in the head, causing him to collapse and be knocked out.
And then the boy in the light blue cloak, Yuki, froze various parts of his body so that he couldn't break free or escape.
"I got him!" Yuki said, seemingly trying to pump himself up. Meanwhile, the man went over to the cat boy, who was still in a daze.
"Nothing. It looks like the guy tried to use illegal magic to force him into a contract, but it was interrupted. We made it just in time, the chains on his soul...soul?"
The other three came over to him, as the man looked at the boy.
"What is it? Yuki? Zap?" the red cloaked boy asked, behind the others and trying to push through.
"Ignis. Look at his soul" Zap replied, as Ignis finally got a good look. And that was when he saw it. It appeared to be two souls, not one, but they had fused together of a sorts. Become one. They could clearly see it inside of him, being spirits themselves and since he had no protections on his soul.
"Woah...a dual soul? In a spirit?"
As that was said, the cat boy seemed to gain some awareness. He was very startled to see everyone crowded around him though.
"Who...who are you people?"
"My name is Shirudo Hashimoto. Master Detective, and the leader of the Hashimoto Detective Agency. Its nice to meet you. I dont suppose, by any chance, have you perhaps lost your memories and just woke up here?"
The boy seemed shocked by what he said. "How did you know?"
"Well, you are barely dressed. Even though spirits dont always have the same views or morals as mortals do, you seemed like you were not used to it and embarrassed. Your reactions seemed more human. And also, your soul is unprotected. But, a spirit does not just randomly wake up in a hotel alone. They are created from something...and honestly, you seem to be created from two somethings. But you only have a sweatshirt, and this doesn't look like a home. So...you recently awakened as a spirit, in this lonely place, and you didn't actually know about your own abilities until I said it, and acted off of instinct forced by the spell he used on you".
Shirudo Hashimoto. In that instant, he had seen through so much and gotten so much right. A real and true detective.
"Yes...I dont remember anything".
"Then, in that case, do you want to form a Contract with me?" the man asked. "IN exchange for lending me your power and working with me and my other spirits, helping out with the business and all, I can guarentee you a place to sleep, a place to eat, even a family and friends. And of course, a name".
"A...name?"
"Spirits cannot name themselves, and other spirits cannot name them. A name is given only if a spirit becomes famous enough and the name symbolizes them well, or when they form a Contract with a Human. Like these three here. The Flaming Dog Spirit, Ignis. The lightning sprite spirit, Zap. And the snow princess..."
"I am a boy".
"Yeah, but technically Snow Princess is your species of spirit, Yuki" Shirudo mentioned. "Anyways, they are all my contracted spirits, among two others back at our place of business. So what do you say? I wont force you, but...I can help you find answers, if you join us".
Shirudo Hashimoto held out his hand. The cat boy was a bit hesitant, but he ended up putting his fist in it. "Fine".
"...as expected of a Cat Spirit, to reply to a hand hold with the human body version of a paw" Ignis mentioned, when Zap slapped his head from behind while the cat boy got embarrassed, realizing what he did.
"Anyways...in that case" he said, leaning in and suddenly kissing the cat boy on the lips. It lasted for a few seconds, before he pulled back while the boy's face was red. "By the Contract, I grant you the name of...Kuro".
"As expected, your naming sense is terrible" Zap mentioned, while energy swirled around Kuro's neck, and a collar with a tag appeared. This shocked him quite a bit. Zap however put his hood down, and revealed his own neck, which also had a collar with a tag. Yuki and Ignis also made theirs clear to see. "That is what happens. It is proof of a contract and ownership, although really its more of a partnership".
"Ah...I see" Kuro said, a bit embarrassed.
"Now then, lets get home shall we? Kuro seems like he needs a bath, and new clothes".
And so, the story of Kuro, the Black Cat Spirit, and the Hashimoto Detective Agency, began this day.