It had been exactly three days since Ren transferred in on Monday. Aoi had been thinking about PE class even before homeroom ended. (Basketball today, huh...) She glanced at the seat next to her. Ren was gazing out the window. Black hair caught the light streaming in, glinting faintly. Golden eyes looked somewhere into the sky. She'd always found those eyes strange. Depending on the light, they sometimes looked brown, but when it was bright like this, they were unmistakably gold. The exact same color as Kuro's eyes. "[serious]Are you bad at PE?" Aoi jumped at the sudden question. "[surprised]W-why are you talking to me all of a sudden!?" "You were obviously staring at me from the next seat over." "I wasn't!" Ren didn't even smile. He just closed his notebook with a snap. --- They moved to the gymnasium, and PE class began. Even in his gym clothes, Ren somehow maintained that same aura. Long limbs, efficient posture. He stood out just by being there. Aoi watched from a distance, a little worried. (If he moves like a cat, he's definitely going to get caught...) The teacher's whistle blew. The game started. At first, it was normal. Ren received a pass, dribbled, moved like anyone else. Aoi thought, "Oh, he's actually doing this properly," and felt a little relieved. Three seconds later, it all fell apart. The opposing team's ball arced toward the goal. A height no one should have been able to reach. Ren jumped. "[surprised]...Huh?" He went so high it looked like he might touch the ceiling. His blocking hand flicked the ball away, and when he landed, there was almost no sound. Like a cat dropping from a roof—silent. The gymnasium went quiet for a moment. Then the girls started buzzing. "[excited]Wait, how high was that!? What the—!?" "Was he on the basketball team or something?" "And the way his body moves is weird!?" Aoi stood frozen by the fence, her face twitching. (...That's exactly the same movement as when he's hunting birds from the fence...) That jump. The one he'd tried to do countless times at night, leaping from the veranda to the neighbor's roof, until Aoi stopped him. Ren's gaze flicked toward her as he ran. Only his mouth moved. (—You'd be the one in trouble if this got out.) Aoi could only nod. She exhaled slowly and looked away. (I know. I get it. But still...) After that, Ren kept playing, occasionally restraining himself to what looked like "normal" movements. But his baseline for normal was already broken, and the boys in class kept calling out: "Wait, was Kurosaki on the basketball team?" "His core strength is insane." "How is his reaction time even like that?" Aoi alone stood there, unable to laugh. --- Lunch break. The school store at Nichu became a battlefield at noon. The store—a small shop tucked in the corner of the school hallway selling sandwiches, juice, and bread—had limited quantities of yakisoba pan (170 yen). Every day was a scramble. The moment class ended, Aoi dropped her bag and ran. (Today I'm definitely getting one!) She turned the corner and reached the store. Ren was already there. "[sarcastic]You're late." He had three yakisoba pans in his hand. "[angry]Why do you have three!!" "I was in line, so I took them all." "That's against the multiple purchase rule!!" Ren opened one right there and took a bite. "Tasty." "[angry]Give me one!!" "[sarcastic]This is payment for revenge list item number seven—the matter of you always putting my meals last, every single time." "I didn't put them off that much! I was just busy!" "From April 2021 to August 2023, an average of 3.2 times per month." "...Why are you counting that precisely?" "I remembered." Aoi slumped. Her shoulders fell as she looked at the store. The yakisoba pans were all gone. (...There's nothing left...) Just then, a voice called from down the hallway. "[gentle]Tanaka, could I see your math notes from yesterday? I only missed copying page 54." It was Tajima from her class. Aoi was about to say "Oh, sure, no problem—" when Ren suddenly stepped between them. Physically inserted himself. "[cold]Tanaka's busy right now." "Huh? No, I'm not busy at all!" "She's preparing the next revenge list." "I'm not!!" Tajima laughed awkwardly and said, "Oh, well, maybe another time..." before leaving. Aoi was about to tell Ren "Why are you getting in the way!"— She looked at his face. Something felt different about his gaze. His usual cool expression, but his eyes held something like... confirmation. But Ren just said, "Eat lunch before the yakisoba pan runs out," and turned away from the store. Still holding the remaining two yakisoba pans in his arms. "[angry]Give me one!!!" "The revenge list isn't finished yet." "I'm so done with this..." --- After school, Aoi realized she'd forgotten something. She was heading to the library when she noticed the door to the roof—at the end of the hallway—was slightly ajar. The roof was off-limits. But everyone knew the lock was broken. Aoi didn't usually go up there, but—she sensed someone beyond the door. (...No way.) She pushed the door open. A person was standing on the fence. Barefoot. Black hair swayed in the outside wind, golden eyes gazing at the city. The Minase River glimmered in the distance, green hills of Kagura beyond it, and far past that, the evening sky. Ren's profile looked... peaceful. "[angry]Hey!! Get down!!" "[cold]Cats like high places." "[angry]I know that! But you're human now!!" "I wanted to climb on the roof for seven years. You know that." "I know!" Aoi rushed to the fence. She was about to cry. Seriously. Three stories of ground stretched below the fence. Her feet froze, but she couldn't afford to hesitate. She reached out and grabbed Ren's wrist. "Get down. Please." Her voice was shaking. More honest than when she'd been yelling. Ren looked down. Then at her hand. For just a moment—just one moment—he went still. Then slowly, he climbed down from the fence. Like a cat jumping down, silent and light. He stood on the ground and looked down at Aoi. Aoi still had his wrist in her grip. She realized it and tried to let go— His ear tips were slightly red. "[cold]...Don't touch me. I'm not done with my revenge for the nail clippers yet." He turned away. Aoi let go. She should have gotten angry. Should have yelled, "You scared me!" But for some reason, her chest thudded, and her voice wouldn't come out. (...Why did I just feel that?) Ren started walking ahead. Aoi followed a step behind. --- The Nakamise arcade got lively in the evening. As soon as they entered the shopping street, a sweet smell hit them. Taiyaki shop "Kawase"—a 38-year-old establishment selling taiyaki for 180 yen each, with three varieties: red bean, cream, and chocolate—its smoke dissolved into the evening air. At the shop front, the owner, Kawase Genichiro, was cleaning a small iron plate. Seventy-two years old, white-haired, quiet. But this man loved cats, and when Kuro was small, he used to give her taiyaki scraps at the shop front. "[gentle]...Oh, it's you, girl." Genichiro looked at Aoi, then at Ren. His eyes narrowed. He stared at Ren's face. "[serious]...Have we met before? You... feel somehow familiar." Ren's body went rigid. His golden eyes flickered slightly. The sweet smell of taiyaki drifted from the iron plate at the shop front. That smell—unchanged from long ago. A memory surfaced in Ren's mind. Under the shop eaves, a rainy evening, a large hand bringing warm scraps close to his nose. A memory from when he was Kuro. "[surprised]Oh, um, nice to meet you! We should go!" Aoi pulled Ren's hand. They walked quickly, deeper into the arcade. "Huh? Girl?" His voice faded behind them. They passed through the shopping street and slowed down where fewer people walked. Aoi looked at Ren's hand. She was still pulling it. "Oh." She let go. Ren didn't say anything. He just looked away slightly, then forward again. They walked side by side. The cherry tree avenue along the Minase River came into view, bare branches spreading black against the evening sky. The river water glimmered. For a while, neither spoke. Aoi realized she didn't mind the silence. Not at all. (...That's weird.) When was the last time she didn't mind silence? --- That night, Aoi remembered she'd left her homework printout in the library. The library on the third floor of the classroom building, at the east end—about 8,000 books, with librarian Yoshioka coming a few days a week, a quiet room—had almost no one at this hour after school. She opened the door softly. Warm air greeted her. Someone was sitting by the window. Orange light from the remaining evening sun streamed through the window. In that light, Ren was asleep, using a textbook as a pillow. He lay on his side, both arms folded across his chest, his body curled slightly. Aoi stopped. (...That's a cat's sleeping position.) Exactly how Kuro used to sleep on Aoi's lap. The same curled posture. Steady breathing. Black hair falling across his cheek, golden eyes closed—his profile was exactly the same as the one she'd seen for seven years. Aoi moved silently and took the printout from the shelf. She took it. But her feet wouldn't move. She just kept staring. At Ren's sleeping face. (Why am I looking?) Then Ren's eyes opened slightly. Sleepy golden eyes fixed directly on Aoi. "[surprised]I-I just came to get my homework printout! I wasn't looking or anything!!" Her voice was too loud. For a library. Ren narrowed his eyes, then closed them again. "[cold]...Shut up." He said only that and went back to sleep. Aoi left the library, printout in hand. In the hallway, she closed the door and pressed her back against the wall. Her face was hot. (...Why?) Why does my heart race when I see my cat's sleeping face? It doesn't make sense. None of it. I've been watching that sleeping face for seven years, and it's just a cat's face, so— But. That sleeping face wasn't Kuro's. It was Ren's. Aoi still didn't fully understand what that difference meant. She hugged the printout to her chest and walked down the hallway, glancing back at the library door once more. The door was closed quietly, and from inside, there was no sound at all.