Aoi stepped out onto the porch and saw Ren standing there in his everyday clothes, staring blankly into space. She tightened the sash of her yukata and did a double-take at the sight before her. "[surprised]……Ren. Why aren't you wearing a yukata?" "[cold]Cats don't know about clothes." He said it matter-of-factly. Aoi held her head in her hands. (That's not the point!!) After thinking for a moment on the porch, she yanked open the closet and pulled out her father's jinbei. Navy blue checkered pattern. Her father was a bit smaller than her, so when Ren wore it, it would definitely look… "[serious]Put it on." "Huh?" "[serious]I said put it on. Hurry." After a brief pause, Ren reluctantly took the jinbei in his hands. The result was exactly as expected. The sleeves ended at his wrists. The hem was a bit short too. Ren's long legs stuck out awkwardly, making him look like someone doing a Cossack dance. "[serious]The size doesn't fit, does it?" "[laughing]It doesn't! But it's better than nothing!" Ren gave Aoi a sharp look. But he didn't argue. He'd given up. The two of them stepped out of the porch together, and the night air felt slightly cool. October nights grew cold early. The autumn breeze slipped through the thin sleeves of Aoi's yukata. As they walked toward Kagura Hill, the light of lanterns and the smell of food stalls drifted from the shrine path before the stone steps. The mingled scent of burnt soy sauce and oil. Takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and what else? Ren's nose twitched. Like a cat. Completely like a cat. (Kuro.) Aoi felt warmth bloom in her chest. That small black cat she'd been with for seven years. Kuro, sunbathing on the veranda. Kuro, jumping onto her lap when she cried. But. In the next moment, what she saw chilled that warmth. Ren's right half was translucent in the orange light of the lanterns. The night sky was visible beyond his shoulder. The stone pavement showed through beyond his clothes. Aoi bit her lip. "Ren." "What." "[whispers]……Can I hold your hand?" There was a beat of silence. "[cold]……Do as you like." A blunt response. Aoi gripped Ren's left hand tightly. It was warm. Even though he was fading, it was warm. Glancing sideways, she saw Ren's ears had turned slightly red. Aoi pretended not to notice and kept walking forward. --- Since there was some time before the ceremony, the two of them wandered through the area lined with food stalls. Okonomiyaki, candy apples, shooting gallery, and——goldfish scooping. Ren stopped dead. Aoi took one more step before turning back. Ren was tracking the goldfish with his eyes. He was staring intently at the goldfish swimming lazily in the tank, his body gradually leaning forward. (Ah, his instincts are showing.) "[scared]Wait wait wait!" Aoi pulled at the sleeves of Ren's jinbei with both hands. "[cold]I was just looking." "[serious]Your eyes were serious! Those were hunting eyes!" "I'm telling you I was just looking." Still, as he was dragged away, Ren didn't take his eyes off the goldfish. He turned only his neck back, reluctant to leave. Aoi had run out of energy to retort and just kept pulling. But in the next moment, the strength in the hand she was holding suddenly weakened. Ren's grip loosened. When Aoi looked at Ren's right arm——from the elbow down was almost completely transparent. The sleeve was fading along with it, and beyond it she could see the stars of the night sky. "[serious]Ren." "[cold]……You noticed. It's because of time. There's nothing I can do." His voice was quiet. Calm, like resignation. Aoi quickened her pace. She gripped Ren's left hand more firmly and pulled him toward the sacred tree. "[serious]I'll do something about it." "Even if you say that——" "[serious]I said I'll do something about it." She said it firmly. Without looking back. Ren said nothing. But he didn't resist, following along. He gently squeezed back the left hand that held his, as if to confirm it was real. --- When the time for the ceremony came, worshippers gathered in front of the sacred tree. The annual "Beast Return Festival"——an autumn festival tradition at Kagura Shrine where worshippers float paper animals they've folded down the river. The ceremony's purpose was to guide the souls of animals so they wouldn't lose their way. Lantern light formed a line as men and women of all ages gathered, each holding a small paper animal in their hands. Aoi and Ren stood at the edge of the crowd. Moonlight illuminated the sacred tree——a massive camphor tree over three hundred fifty years old——in white. Its enormous trunk stretched toward the night sky, its branches spreading wide enough to hide half the moon. Ren's body was becoming increasingly translucent. Not just his right half, but his left shoulder too. In the moonlight, Ren's outline was becoming unclear. But his golden eyes alone reflected the moonlight clearly. Two points of gold, shining in the darkness. Ren opened his mouth. "[gentle]It's okay now, Aoi." Aoi looked up. "[gentle]Even if I turn back into a cat……I'll still be right beside you." He was smiling. A smile that looked like it might cry, but was gentle. It overlapped with the face of Kuro, the small black cat who had been by her side for seven years. Tears spilled from Aoi's eyes. She couldn't stop them. They fell in drops onto the front of her yukata. Aoi turned to face Ren directly. She wrapped her arms around his fading body and held him tight. "[crying]Don't turn back!" Her voice shook. But she continued. "[crying]I love you, Ren! I loved Kuro the cat too, but——I love the human Ren. I want to be with you forever. That's all!" Under the moonlight, Aoi's tears fell on Ren's chest. In that moment. A line of golden light ran through Ren's body. The transparent parts rapidly regained substance from end to end. His right shoulder, right arm, right hand——the outline became sharp, color returned, warmth returned. Like a candle flame spreading slowly, Ren's body was restored. The leaves of the sacred tree rustled, though there was no wind. The surrounding worshippers didn't seem to find it strange. They simply let the moment pass as a peaceful sight of the festival night. Ren's arms slowly wrapped around Aoi's back. "……I too." His voice was low. Faintly trembling. "[serious]For seven years, I……I've always loved you." Aoi couldn't speak while being held. She nodded through her tears. The two of them finally understood the words from the old document. 《If you swear your bond to the moon, your human form will be fixed》——it wasn't about praying toward the moon. It was about standing beneath the moon and sharing your true feelings with each other. That was the answer. The leaves of the sacred tree rustled once more. As if in blessing. --- They walked down the shrine path hand in hand. Walking through the lantern light, Ren was silent for a while. Aoi was silent too. But the silence wasn't heavy——there was a relieved atmosphere drifting between them. About halfway down the stone steps, Ren spoke quietly. "[sarcastic]But I still have a revenge list left." "Huh?" "[sarcastic]The shampoo incident of July 2020. You remember, right?" Aoi froze for a moment. Then she puffed out her cheeks. "[angry]You're bringing that up NOW!?" "[cold]I am." "I'm so done with you!!" Ren's mouth curved slightly. He was smiling. Aoi was annoyed, but she didn't let go of his hand. She couldn't bring herself to. Like this. Just like this. Even after the confession, continuing these kinds of exchanges as the same two people. Somehow, that felt really reassuring. When they reached Nakamise Street, they passed in front of "Kawase," a taiyaki shop with its shutter half-closed. The owner was closing up. Seventy-two-year-old Kawase Genichiro looked up from putting away his griddle. He saw Ren. Slowly, he narrowed his eyes. "[gentle]……So it was you after all." His voice was low and calm. The voice of someone who had lived many years. "[gentle]I'm glad." Ren was startled and started to say, "You knew——" but by then Genichiro had already disappeared into the back of the shop. Aoi and Ren looked at each other. Did Genichiro know about the Hitogaeri? If he did, since when? How much? ——There was no way to confirm it tonight. The two of them started walking again in silence. --- The next morning, on the Tanaka family's veranda. Ren was sitting on the veranda still wearing the jinbei——apparently he'd forgotten to return it last night——dozing in the morning sunlight. His back was rounded like a cat's, his eyes half-open. The cat's habits hadn't completely worn off. When Aoi spread out her homework notebook, Ren leaned over to look. "[serious]That answer's wrong." Aoi looked up from her notebook. "[surprised]Huh, how do you know!?" "[cold]I just know." "[surprised]How does a cat know math!!" "[cold]That's rude. You can tell just by looking." Aoi pulled the notebook back and checked. ……She really had gotten it wrong. "I'm so done with you." Just then, her phone rang. A LINE message from Hinata. 《Let's go home together tomorrow, the three of us! Don't forget to buy my taiyaki too》 An old photo sticker came with it. The three of them lined up together——from last year's school festival. Aoi and Hinata and——back when it was still Kuro in the Tanaka house, before there were three of them, a photo from before. Aoi smiled. There was still lingering guilt toward Hinata, and gratitude, and some complicated feelings she couldn't quite put into words. But their friendship continued. Changing form, but still continuing. Ren was looking at the phone screen from the side. "[cold]Hinata?" "Yeah." Ren seemed about to say something for a moment. But in the end, he just turned back toward the veranda and became drowsy again in the sunlight. Aoi typed her reply to Hinata while looking at Ren's profile as he half-dozed on the veranda. Black hair. Golden eyes. Long legs sticking out from the veranda. (He's here. He's really here.) That was enough. Night fell. A full moon rose. The moment the moonlight illuminated Ren's golden eyes as he dozed on the veranda——they flickered faintly. Gently. Like a flame reflected on water. Unstable. The humanization should have been permanent. The light had run through his body last night. And yet on this full moon night, something still lingered in Ren's golden eyes. Aoi didn't notice. She went inside, closed her notebook, and turned off the light. Only moonlight remained on the veranda. What would happen on the next full moon night——no one knew yet.