My Cat Came Back as a Hot Guy (And He Remembers Everything)
Sakura Tsukishima, a 21-year-old college student, has lived with her black cat Kuro for five years. One morning, she wakes up to find a tall, ridiculously handsome guy with black hair and golden eyes sleeping in her bed. He has a crescent-shaped mole on the back of his neck — just like Kuro.
"Good morning, Sakura. It's me. Kuro."
Sakura runs. Kuro calmly opens the fridge and eats a tube of cat treats. There's no doubt. It's him.
Kuro's first declaration? "I'm here to pay back five years of gr
My Cat Came Back as a Hot Guy (And He Remembers Everything) - My True Feelings and the Night That Was Fading Away
Kuro's left foot was transparent in the evening light.
Sakura couldn't move.
Just moments ago—Ren had confessed. Aoi had confessed. Three people had thrown their feelings at her all at once, and Sakura couldn't find the words to answer.
In the chaos of it all, Kuro had started to fade.
"Kuro!"
"……I'm fine."
His voice was anything but fine.
Ren stepped forward. "Can you walk?"
"I can walk."
The moment he said it, his right arm from the elbow down began to fade. The outline blurred. The rocky ground beyond became visible through him.
"You're not fine at all!!"
Aoi's voice cracked. Her silver hair swayed in the evening breeze.
Sakura tried to grab Kuro's arm. Her fingers cut through empty air.
Again, she couldn't touch him.
"……Kuro."
Kuro kept his stubborn expression, eyes averted. But his lips trembled faintly.
Aoi's voice rose. "Kujira-dou! Umino-san might know something—let's go now!"
Ren nodded. "Let's run."
The four of them raced down the slope of Kagura Hill.
Sakura didn't leave Kuro's side. She couldn't touch him. But she couldn't leave him either.
Aoi flew down the slope. Ren caught up.
"You're fast!"
"Of course. I'm in the sports club."
"You're saying that now!?"
Only Sakura couldn't laugh. She was watching Kuro's right arm from the elbow down. The color of the evening sky showed through. Black hair swaying with each stride. The crescent-shaped mole on the back of his neck.
(Don't disappear.)
She didn't say it out loud. But she kept thinking it.
＊
They burst into the arcade on Hoshizora Street and threw open the sliding door of Kujira-dou with force.
The door rattled.
The shop was dimly lit. The smell of books. The smell of old paper. In the back, Umino Shozo turned around—a 71-year-old man with only his eyes sharp.
He saw the four faces. He saw Kuro's transparent arm.
"……I thought you might come."
He said it quietly and moved toward the shelves in the back.
The bottom shelf. A spine faded by sunlight. Handwritten characters.
*Tsukimi Neko Monogatari*
Umino placed it on the counter. He opened the cover. Pages yellowed with age. Large hiragana. Illustrations like a children's folktale. A cat in the form of a young man, standing beside a girl.
Sakura remembered coming to Kujira-dou yesterday. The story Umino had told her—a cat could become human only once at the end. To say goodbye.
But as Umino turned the pages, he said:
"There's more."
No one spoke.
"When the cat, in human form, has finished conveying everything it truly wanted to say—the cat can choose. To remain human, or to return to being a cat."
Sakura leaned forward. "They can stay human?"
Umino's voice grew heavier.
"But. If the cat remains human, the cat's remaining lifespan is not guaranteed. If it returns to being a cat—all memories of being human will disappear."
Silence.
Something swayed quietly in the depths of the bookshelf.
Sakura gripped the edge of the book. The pages grew damp.
"I don't want either……!"
Ren slammed his fist against the wall. "Don't mess with me."
Aoi said nothing. Her lips pressed tight, she stared at the floor.
Kuro looked at each of their faces in turn. Ren's fist. Aoi's lips. Sakura's tears.
Then he looked down.
Umino spoke slowly. "It's Kuro-kun who chooses. No one else decides."
With that, he closed his mouth.
＊
For a while, no one moved.
Kuro stood up.
He came to stand in front of Sakura. His golden eyes looked directly at her. Not a cat. Not human. Just Kuro.
"Sakura."
Sakura looked up.
"What I really wanted to say wasn't revenge."
Ren stopped moving. Aoi looked up.
Kuro continued.
"I love you. For five years, always. Every day."
Sakura's throat tightened.
"Even when my nails were clipped. Even when I was given a bath. Even when you stuck a thermometer up my butt—I was happy being by your side."
Sakura collapsed into tears.
Five years of grudges, she'd thought. All anger, she'd believed. But it was all—all of it meant something else.
Ren kept his fist clenched, listening silently to Kuro's words. Aoi wiped her eyes with her sleeve and laughed softly.
A cat figurine fell from the shelf in the back.
It rolled across the floor.
"……Oh."
Aoi picked it up and silently returned it to the shelf.
Sakura looked into Kuro's golden eyes. Her voice shook as she spoke.
"I love you too—Kuro. The cat Kuro, the human Kuro, all of you. So don't disappear."
In that moment.
The crescent-shaped mole on the back of Kuro's neck glowed faintly.
Softly. But unmistakably.
His transparent feet began to regain their outline. His right arm returned. Bit by bit. Slowly.
All four of them froze. They forgot to breathe.
Kuro's body was solid again.
＊
Umino turned the pages.
He tilted his head. He turned them again. He tilted his head again.
"……This isn't in the legend."
Ren called out, "What do you mean?"
"When the cat has finished conveying what it truly wanted to say, a choice should occur. To remain human or return to being a cat. But no choice has occurred."
Sakura looked at Kuro's hand.
Only the tips of his right fingers remained—barely transparent.
Kuro stared at his own hand.
"……It seems it's not over yet."
His voice was quiet. Not frightened. Not panicked. Just confirming.
Umino closed the old book.
"The legend only goes this far. What comes next—I don't know."
Sakura asked to confirm. "If it's not over, that means we can still be together?"
Kuro answered quietly. "For now, that's what it means."
The mystery wasn't solved. Time hadn't stopped. But tonight didn't end. That was all the four of them had.
Aoi stood up. "Anyway, let's go home for tonight. Kuro-kun, you look pale."
Ren spoke curtly. "……I agree."
Umino pointed to the wall clock.
"If anything else happens, come back. But—next time, come a bit earlier."
Everyone looked at the clock. More than two hours had passed since closing time.
"I'm so sorry!!"
"We're truly sorry!"
Ren bowed his head. Kuro looked at Umino and nodded slightly. That was Kuro's way of saying thank you.
＊
In front of the Corpo Minazuki entrance.
The late-night residential street was quiet. A single streetlight illuminated their feet.
Ren turned toward Sakura.
"I understand what happened tonight."
There was a pause.
"But—my feelings don't change."
With that, he walked away into the night. He didn't look back.
Aoi hugged Sakura.
"It was a tough day, wasn't it?"
Sakura just said, "Yeah."
"But—I'm not backing down either."
She smiled brightly, waved, and disappeared in the opposite direction from Ren.
Only Kuro and Sakura remained in front of the entrance.
Sakura spoke. "……Thank you for tonight."
"For what."
"For confessing."
Kuro's ears turned red for just a moment. He looked away.
"……It's not like that. I just wanted to say it."
Sakura laughed a little.
Kuro reached for the door handle, then stopped.
"……The key."
"Huh?"
"I don't have it."
He looked at her silently. His expression said: Open it.
"You were so cool just now!!"
"Shut up. Open it already."
Sakura laughed while searching through her bag.
＊
They entered the room. She turned on the light.
Kuro collapsed onto the futon and curled up like a cat.
Sakura sat down gently beside him. She reached out and stroked his black hair.
Kuro, eyes still closed, made a sound deep in his throat.
Purr.
Low and warm, exactly the same sound as when he was a cat.
Sakura laughed. Her face still marked with tears, but she laughed.
"You're still a cat……"
"I am a cat."
He answered immediately.
Sakura looked at Kuro's right hand. The fingertips were still barely transparent.
"It's not over yet—but tonight we're together."
"Of course."
He answered shortly and closed his eyes.
Sakura lay down too. She stared at the ceiling. Everything that had happened tonight repeated slowly in her mind. Kuro's golden eyes. The voice saying: I love you. The moment the crescent mole glowed.
Warmth spread through her chest.
Sleep came eventually.
＊
The next morning, Sakura woke up.
Kuro was still in human form, curled up at the edge of the futon.
Good. He was still here.
Sakura let out a small breath. She tried to sit up—and noticed something on the pillow.
It was small.
She reached out and picked it up.
A leather collar. With a small bell attached. That collar Kuro had worn for five years. The one that made a peacock-like sound every time she took him to the animal hospital. The collar that shouldn't have existed anywhere in this room until last night.
Ching, the bell rang softly.
Sakura held the collar in her hand, unable to move.
Kuro was still sleeping. His transparent fingers curled faintly against his chest, making low purring sounds.
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