"Kuro~, good morning." A sleepy voice leaked into the still-dim hallway. Tanaka Aoi hit snooze three times before finally getting up on the fourth alarm. Her black hair down to her shoulders was a mess, and the earring from her right ear had slipped out from under her pillow. She dragged her 155cm frame down the stairs. White blouse, navy skirt, cardigan slung over one shoulder. The last Monday of September in Minase City. Pale morning light was just beginning to show through the window. "I smell food…" The scent of miso soup tickled her nose. Aoi's eyes opened a little wider. In the corner of the living room, near the veranda—a fluffy bed. For seven years, Kuro had been there every morning. Curled up in winter, stretched out in summer, always there. "Kuro, you still sleeping?" Aoi peeked at the bed. ——There was a boy she didn't know. Black hair. Long. Straight black hair that spilled past his shoulders, falling across his face. Slender hands folded like a cat's across his chest. His body was too big for Kuro's bed, spilling over the edges. Aoi froze for three seconds. Then she screamed with all her might. "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" A loud thud echoed from the second floor. Then another. "Kosuke!? Are you okay!?" "I'm fine—wait, what was that noise!?" The second floor erupted into chaos. Aoi had bigger problems. ——A little while earlier. Three minutes before dawn. In the living room, there was one black cat. His name was Kuro. Seven years old. A cat that Tanaka Aoi had picked up when she was six. Kuro was looking out the window. The sky was beginning to pale. From the direction of the Minase River, he heard a single bird's cry. The light coming through the window shifted slightly. It was a full moon. The last of its light touched Kuro's black fur. That's when it happened. His body grew hot. (W-what is this?) His bones creaked. His paw pads stretched. They became fingers. His tail disappeared. His vision shot upward. The ceiling he'd always looked up at suddenly came close. (So big… was the ceiling always this close…?) His own hands, seen for the first time. Five fingers. Long. Strange shape. (Is this… a human hand?) Everything was confusion. But the one thing filling his mind was the desire to see Aoi. That feeling had been there, properly, for all seven years. And then, after that—— (Revenge list… ready to go) The corner of his mouth curved upward. It was questionable that his first expression as a human was a "wicked smile," but oh well. ——And now. "Who!? Why!? What!?" Aoi backed up three steps from the bed and hit the wall. Her bright brown eyes were open as wide as they could go. Slowly, the boy opened his eyes. They were gold. Depending on the light they could look brown, but in this moment they were unmistakably gold. He slowly raised his 178cm frame, brushing his black hair back lightly. "[excited]Finally became human," he said. His voice was low. But somehow relaxed. "[serious]I've been waiting. Aoi." "Huh, uh, wha!?" Aoi's panic was at level five out of five. "[angry]Who are you!? Why are you sleeping in Kuro's bed!?" Ren tilted his head slightly. Like a cat being asked something obvious. "[sarcastic]You don't get it? After seven years together," Aoi's entire body went cold. "[serious]Seven years ago. September." Ren continued quietly. "[serious]The riverbed of the Minase River. Under the stone bridge. You came there soaking wet without an umbrella——and picked me up." Her legs trembled. "[serious]You said it while crying. 'Become my family.' I remember your school bag was covered in mud." Aoi's bright brown eyes began to glisten. "That's not…" Her voice shook. "[whispers]…I never told anyone that." Ren's gold eyes looked straight at her. That color—she knew it. It was exactly the same as Kuro's eyes when he looked out the window in the middle of the night. (Kuro…?) She didn't want to believe it. But she had no choice. The smell of breakfast spread through the living room. Tanaka Maki—Aoi's mom—appeared from the kitchen wearing an apron. Short brown hair, eyes still a little sleepy. "[gentle]Oh, Ren, you're already up? Thank you so much for coming all this way yesterday." …What? Aoi froze. Tanaka Kosuke—Dad—came down the stairs. A company employee, 45 years old, the kind of guy who leaves for work in a suit every morning. He was rubbing his forehead as he walked. Apparently he'd taken a tumble yesterday. "[gentle]Ren, we've already got your school uniform ready. Thanks for being here from today on." Aoi looked left and right. Dad was normal. Mom was normal. Both of them were calling this unknown boy "Ren" like they'd known him forever. "W-wait a second!" Aoi raised her hand. "[angry]Dad, Mom! This guy is our cat Kuro!?" Her parents exchanged glances. "[laughing]Oh, Aoi. You mean Ren is cute like a cat?" "[serious]…Well, I do like cats." Ren said it casually. Aoi felt like she might collapse. (Why is everyone acting normal…) She didn't yet know that this was the "Hitogaeri"—the human transformation—that had been passed down in this town for ages. She didn't know that the records of it were kept at the Kagura Shrine on the west side of Minase City. The only thing she understood was that she alone felt something was wrong. And that felt incredibly lonely. "Well then, let's start the revenge list," Ren said. Before breakfast, he pulled a small notebook from his pocket. A proper notebook with ruled lines. "[serious]Number one. May 3rd, 2018——the day you switched my food to cheap stuff." Ren smoothly spread butter on toast——and ate Aoi's strawberry jam toast in one bite. "[angry]Hey!? That was mine!!" "Delicious." Aoi screamed. Ren flipped through the notebook while chewing. "[serious]Number two. July 2019——the day you piled laundry on my bed." "T-that couldn't be helped, the room's small!!" Ren smoothly picked up Aoi's school bag. He rummaged through it and quietly pulled something out. In its place, he left an empty bag. Aoi didn't notice at all. She'd been screaming since morning, and tears were floating in her eyes. He walked to the entrance and opened the door. "[cold]Number three. March 2020——the day you forcibly took me to the hospital." Slam. The door closed. Aoi was locked out of the house. "[angry]Hey——!!" From behind the door came a soft chuckling. Low and quiet, but somehow happy. "[angry]You're a cat, Kuro!!" She stopped for a moment after shouting. That laugh——it sounded somehow like the purring Kuro used to make on the veranda in the middle of the night. (…Why am I thinking about that now?) Her chest felt unsettled. There was something there besides anger. Aoi pretended not to notice it and decided to just get to school. Minase Second Middle School——nicknamed "Nichuu"——was a ten-minute walk from the Tanaka house. You walked along the promenade beside the Minase River, then climbed the slope through the residential area. The cherry trees along the river were bare now, just leaves. In spring, two hundred cherry blossoms bloomed here. Last year she'd watched them with Kuro from the window. Aoi checked her bag as she walked. (…Huh?) It felt light. (…What?) She unzipped it. Inside were not textbooks or a pencil case, but three empty ziplock bags and a folded supermarket flyer. "[angry]…You bastard——" Her voice cracked. The mallards on the Minase River startled and flapped their wings. Aoi arrived at school with tears in her eyes. Messy-haired, with an empty bag. Classroom 2-3. Second floor, end of the hallway, the classroom where you could see the cherry trees along the Minase River from the window. Aoi sat at her desk and buried her face in it. Morikawa-sensei, the homeroom teacher——34 years old, teaches Japanese, usually calm but becomes a different person before tests——stood in front of the blackboard. "[serious]Alright, everyone pay attention. We have a transfer student today." Aoi lifted her face from her desk. The classroom door slowly opened. ——Black hair. Gold eyes. 178cm. "[cold]I'm Kurosaki Ren. Nice to meet you." He said only that. Just that. For a moment, the classroom went silent. The next instant—— "[surprised]He's so cool…" "Isn't this crazy!? His eye color is like, special!?" "His voice is so deep too… and he's tall, right!?" The classroom erupted. Aoi sat frozen, watching Ren. (No way) (Why is he at school too…) Ren slowly moved his gaze——and found Aoi. The corner of his mouth went up. It was exactly like the face Kuro made when he was sunbathing in his favorite spot. The face he'd make by the sunny window, eyes narrowed to slits, stretching out. Something jumped in Aoi's chest. (…What is this?) (It's anger. It has to be anger) But Aoi herself couldn't quite figure out what that "jump" was. And so. On the last Monday of September, Tanaka Aoi's everyday life——fell spectacularly to pieces. Her bag was empty, her breakfast was stolen, and an unknown boy had transferred into her class. The fact that this boy was actually the cat she'd lived with for seven years—no one else knew that. (He's a cat. My cat) (But… I can't say that) The surface of the Minase River glimmered in the distance. Aoi let out a small sigh and placed her empty bag on her desk.