Nekomimi

Known as one of the half breed Yokai races, Nekomimi were born through the continued half breeding of the Nekomata. These half breed children in turn had more half breed children that eventually lost their volcanic ash and smoke as well as their second tail; though they retained their ears. In turn they became the new Yokai kind called the Nekomimi. More than that they have fully human bodies except for their small animal traits and the inborn magic that is found in all Yokai.

One major difference that can be found between these Yokai and their natural created kind is that these Yokai were born into existence much like a few of the other half Yokai kind. They are of course much weaker than other Yokai in all things from body to magic; considered almost inferior to their God born cousins. A large majority of Yokai either take pity on them or regard them as being lesser than them, leading to what could be considered an elitist culture regarding the Nekomimi. What is considered to be the truest weakness of all of the Nekomimi is that they do not have the inborn powers of the Yokai. Firstly, they do not have a true Kami state; instead those who were born with the blessing of the Primordial Wells turn into full Nekomata for a time. They also do not have a Kaiju form, putting them in what could be considered the extreme minority for Yokai.

## Bodies

The body of a Nekomimi appears as human, in every regard except for a few small differences that can be hidden just like with any other Yokai. Firstly Nekomimi have cat ears which appear from the same places as natural Nekomata and in turn all other Yokai. Secondly they have long cat tails which come from the bottom of their spines, often growing down to their calf of ankle, often times thin but some are overly thick fur. Each Nekomimi has thin pupils shaped almost like crescents, which act the same way as natural cats eyes would work. Moreover, while having sharper than normal teeth and some of them shaped almost like canines they are still rather dull and humanoid in nature.

Firstly, Nekomimi skin and hair works almost in the same way that Yokai skin would almost as hard as diamond. The difference here is that they are unable to harden their nails, hair, or fur to turn it into a weapon like other Yokai. Instead these traits only work as a powerful protection against incoming damage and nothing else.

## Kami

In Kami state Nekomimi are able to pull back their human nature and turn into full blooded Nekomata for a short amount of time, though it is extremely painful once the transformation ends and it often leaves their body torn up when it's over.There are however a few major differences between a natural Nekomata and this Nekomata form that these Yokai can take on which are easily noticeable. First, unlike natural Nekomata, their tails end in the sharpened fur points one would see with a Yokai readying themselves for combat. Second, their fingers are less dexterous and human like, much closer to what someone would see with a cat, their pads being much more pronounced and the normal nail structure being replaced with full claws. Secondly their legs are much closer to what someone would see with a cats, their bodies having a slight forward lean because of it.

## Society

Nekomimi and Nekomata society are extremely closely interlinked considering they are essentially a sister species to one another. As such Nekomimi exist in the same close knit communities and roles that the Nekomata live in. Usually a third of the Nekomata community is made up of Nekomimi. They do the exact same things that Nekomata do in the community though they are often the ones being helped and cared for more than their full blooded counterparts.

## Deities

Usually Nekomata take on the roles of Land Gods for mountains or valleys
 as this is where they feel the deepest connection to their origin and
their goddess. Unlike other Yokai shrines dedicated to them do not have
something representing their animal forms in the the shrine but instead a
 symbolic representation of them, usually a carved stone of the mountain
 where they will live or where they were originally born. These Land
Gods are often those related to household protection, harvest, luck,
wealth, and good weather.

## Contracting

There is still a tradition of Taoist and Shintoists actually performing a
 ritual to summon up certain powerful Yokai with powerful abilities or
certain semi magical abilities. From there they create a contract with
the Yokai in return for Human vessels, servants, or whatever else they
may offer in return for allowing them the magic they were granted within
 their creation. Something to note is that it was preferred for Yokai to
 be summoned and contracted for the magic rituals as while a Human can
easily handle the essence of a Yokai the essence of the gods who created
 them can easily overpower and burn out a Human, often leading to a
destructive disbursal of the godly powers, the Yokai offer the same
power but manageable for those willing to summon the Yokai and sign the
contract.

There is a small amendment to this, that being the case that Nekomimi are too weak to have their powers pulled through to a human counterpart who contracts them. Instead they can only have their visages summoned to be used in combat.