Raised by an Anomaly - Chapter 3

Just as I was about to keep reading, the alarm my keeper had set went off.

“It’s time. Shall we go, Hehe?”

I looked at her in confusion. “Go where?”

“To give you a bath.”

A bath?

I bolted at once. I had one reason and one reason only: I did not want to go to the human bathing center.

There were always so many humans there for their baths.

And they were all! Completely! Naked!

“No! I’ll wash myself!”

My keeper wound her tail around me and lifted me up.

“Come on, come on. You need a haircut too. Your hair has gotten so long. The care manual says female little humans need regular baths, shampoos, grooming, and trims, or they’ll get sick.”

Wait. You still haven’t thrown that lousy manual away?

I did not dare open my eyes once we reached the bathing center.

Last time, I had seen a handsome man struggling in a bathing tub, and the great bird that flapped past my face made me want to wash my eyes several times over.

Fortunately, bathing facilities had become much more considerate. At the very least, male and female humans were now kept on separate floors.

The cat anomaly’s paw pads at the salon felt wonderful. After cutting short the hair that had reached down to my backside, she thoughtfully styled it for me too.

Pet salons for humans were staffed almost entirely by cat and dog anomalies. Humans found those species easier to accept.

I seized the opportunity to stroke the cat’s paw pads several times, only to glance up and meet my keeper’s resentful gaze through the glass door.

Silently, I withdrew my hand.

I had almost forgotten how sensitive my keeper was about not having fur.

Once I was dressed, I ran back to her, bundled from head to tail in clothing. We were waiting downstairs for my number to be called for a physical when a half-naked human came sprinting out like a madman.

“You sick bastards! Don’t even think about taking my balls!”

So the other side of this floor was the neutering ward?

Then another broken scream came from somewhere else.

“Don’t touch me! Stay away from me, you monsters! Aaaaaah—!”

The commotion spread through the entire floor. Then I saw all kinds of male humans with nothing on below the waist.

My upper lip began to itch. Was I growing a mustache?

I touched it. Warm and wet. Oh. It was only a nosebleed.

My keeper shrieked and began searching frantically for something to wipe away the blood.

When I saw male humans actually running in my direction, I could not stay calm any longer.

Don’t come any closer!

Terrified, I fled the hospital.

“Hehe!”

Sorry, my keeper. I simply cannot handle this. I’m going to get a stye from seeing all this!

The moment I left the Human Services Center, I became disoriented.

I had been so intent on escaping that dreadful place, I had forgotten I knew nothing about the neighborhood.

This world belonged to anomalies now. The old human civilization could no longer be copied wholesale, and without a written-language translator, I could not read a single word of anomaly script.

Anomalies streamed back and forth along the street. Some studied me curiously. Others approached, wanting to pet me.

“What an adorable little human. Are you lost?”

I did not dare move. The anomaly in front of me was a leopard.

Living with my keeper for years had taught me not to fear her. That did not mean I had stopped being afraid of every other predatory anomaly!

The leopard picked me up in its jaws, carried me aside, and vigorously rubbed my head.

Oh no! I would never find the way back at this rate!

More and more anomalies crowded around. Some pinched my cheeks; others took photographs.

“A little human this exquisite must have an owner.”

“Who knows? Little humans are so rare these days. Hesitate, and you miss your chance!”

The moment I heard that, I spotted a gap and darted away.

What kind of joke was that? I already had an owner! I had my own poop-scooper! I loved my poop-scooper and had no intention of leaving with any of them!

Unfortunately, I had fled in such a rush that I had not put my tracker back on after my bath.

Was I really going to lose my keeper?

No, no. I could not keep running around. My keeper would find me by scent.

As I searched for somewhere safe to wait, I caught an odd smell first.

Then I heard a sound.

I looked in its direction and saw a black, blood-soaked lump.

It was moving!

At that size, it had to be either a human or a young anomaly.

What should I do? Should I stick my nose into someone else’s business?

Then came a fit of coughing. A sharply knuckled hand, pale enough to gleam, tried to push its owner upright.

It was a person!

I walked over but stopped several yards away, asking cautiously, “Do you need help? There’s a rescue center for stray humans nearby. Would you like me to take you there?”

A muffled groan sounded, followed by a man’s hoarse voice.

“Get lost!”

Then he fainted.

He just… fainted?

Come on. A man your size had to stay awake and cooperate. How else was I supposed to get you treated?

I was an ordinary human woman, the sort whose body showed no sign of ever having exercised.

As I stood there at a loss, I heard something rustling nearby.

“Hehe! Is that you?”

My poop-scooper!

I immediately called out to my beloved keeper.

“A person! There’s an injured person here!”

One look at the man on the ground, clearly on his last breath, and my poop-scooper wound her tail around him. She put me on top of her head, then raced toward the Human Services Center.