Suzumi

N/A

Over 500 y/o (which is young for a nekomata)
Looks to be 21 y/o

Male

A resilient and down-to-earth nekomata. Honest and simple in his ways. Enjoys physical challenges and spending time outside. Much of his behaviour is based on actual cats, tho his actions occasionally resemble more those of dogs. Stays true to his instincts, and doesn't bat an eye when kind gestures are offered his way, even if there's ulterior motives. Finding his own name tricky to say, he refers to himself as "Sumi".

Little bell, kitty

162cm

July (when Akie found him)

Voice Claim: Komatsu Shouhei

A nekomata who grew up in the forest. Has no memories of where or who he was before he got lost in the woods when he was a kitten. He was found by Akie, nude, filthy with dirt and blood, and bruised, while playing with fireflies. Akie took him in, bathed him, tended to his wounds, dressed him and named him Suzumi, reminiscent of the lone bell the nekomata had around his neck. Akie decided to start wearing one around his waste to, in a way to prevent any of them (more Suzumi) to go wandering off and get lost by hearing eachother's bell.

Having spent so many years in the wilds, Suzumi didn't know how to properly speak either, and Akie took the time to teach him the bases of human communication. These also included basic social manners and customs, but these took a while to be properly taught as the cat found them cumbersome and irrational. Many times did Akie return from his trips to the village, only to find Suzumi sleeping in the sun with his clothes torn, and a dead prey at his guardian's doorstep, a gift of good intentions but troublesome consequences.

Trivia

Suzumi's hair is rough and hard to handle, which is why Akie chose to keep it tied. The amount of twigs and burs that gets caught on him when he goes out to the woods is nightmarish, so the ponytail also helps shortening the duration of the brushing Akie has to do to Suzumi.
One of Suzumi's tails got broken on a tussle with a wild boar and never healed properly. Its tip lost vitality and died, becoming a piece of dead flesh barely attached to the rest. By the time Akie found him, it was infected, so much so that, just by giving it a slight tug, it detached. Suzumi thought Akie was attacking him, so he attacked back, and the fox had to restrain the cat to be able to treat him properly. In the end, Akie came out of it with lots of scratches and bite marks, but at least he managed to disinfect it and wrap it up nicely with a bandage.
Thanks to growing up in the woods, Suzumi has a great sense of smell and hearing, and can distinguish between different poisons and bird calls, both just by scent and hearing, respectively.
Although he can understand most verbal communication now, he's still getting the hang of speaking, so his sentences are broken and to the point. Politeness and the use of honorifics are occasionally replaced or forgotten to give way to swift communication. This is also why he prefers to call himself "Sumi" instead of the name Akie gave him, "Suzumi", but he responds to either one of them equally. Akie finds it amusing, considering that "sumi" can mean both "ink" and "charcoal", finding it fitting for the blotches that cover Suzumi's fur.
Even tho he dislikes water, he doesn't really mind standing in the rain if necessary. Crossing small bodies of water isn't much of a problem either. It is specifically the action of using water to clean oneself that he hates.
The first meal Akie gave him was fried tofu with fish and hard boiled eggs. Suzumi loved it so much that it became his favorite meal, and he started asking for it so many times, that "Tofu" was the first word he learned to speak. Suzumi nicknamed Akie "Tofu" because of the softness of the tofu reminding him of the fox's smooth fur whenever he grabbed him. Akie doesn't really mind the nickname.