Nekomimis fall into the fantastic creatures category along with fairies, elves, ogres, and other “mythical” creatures. Once these creatures were very prevalent on the earth, but as belief in their existence declined so did their numbers. As their population diminished, big people took less notice of them till the vast majority of the population no longer believed in their existence. As a result many of these mythical races have become extinct. After centuries of conditioning, most people disbelieve in the existence of these creatures and consequently this causes these creatures to go completely unnoticed. This is why they can walk about in public with no notice from the big people around them. Recent exposure in manga and anime have helped keep the nekomimi safe from extinction.
Due to their similarity to normal humans, nekomimis are ideal test subjects for medical and other experiments involving human physiology. Nekomimis are purchased on the black market, mostly in Hong Kong or Singapore. The black market sellers get them primarily from Japan, where nekomimis originated. Research grade nekomimis are usually purchased when they are very young (months old) and most laboratories keep no more than one at a time. This is so they don’t consort or scheme together. Nekomimis mature fairly quickly at about a 5:1 ratio compared to normal humans, where a 3-year-old nekomimi would be the equivalent of a 15-year-old human in appearance and mental development. Once nekomimis reach 3 or 4 years of age the aging/maturing process appears to slow down greatly. It is uncertain exactly how long nekomimis live or if they spend their entire “adult” life looking and acting like cute, goofy little teenage girls. It has been found that nekomimi can be easier to control through a socialization process involving structured education and the social interaction of a school. Nekomimis are drawn to the scholastic environment.
Nekomimi can be flighty and fickle, momentarily passionate or clever, but almost always short sighted. This overall short sightedness greatly contributes to their average life span of 3-5 years. It is usually not long before their natural poor judgement catches up with them. Nekomimi most frequently die in embarrassing accidents of their own manufacture. The few remaining nekomimis are frequently killed by those enraged by their unfathomable logic or their unnatural kawaii. For a research facility keeping one nekomimi can be risky. Housing more than one is a sure invitation to disaster.
Nekomimis have a number of inherent traits and abilities. They are usually very intuitive, some more so than others. This intuition can get them into serious trouble, as most of the time they will over think a situation and an illogical decision can lead them to a bad end. Nekomimis also tend to bring those around them luck. Depending on the person, it could be good luck or bad luck from the same nekomimi. This could explain why some people are attracted to them and why others are compelled to bring harm to such a cute, seemingly good-natured creature.
