Wednesday at noon, Cafeteria Midori was nearly full. Mio sat at a window-side table for two, picking at her daily special fried chicken, her mind elsewhere. Her friend across from her—Nakamura, a fellow seminar student from the Literature Department—was staring at her intently. "[serious]You seem like you're having fun lately, Mio." "[surprised]Huh?" She nearly dropped the fried chicken. "Your face is different somehow. Kind of... spaced out." "[scared]N-no it's not! Not at all! Definitely not!" Her denial was too loud. The group at the next table glanced over for a moment. Mio's ears burned hot, and she shoved rice into her mouth. "[surprised]...Why are you mad?" "I'm not mad! I'm not mad at all!" "You've got your angry face on." This was bad. She was falling apart. (I need to change the subject.) "[serious]Speaking of which, what about next week's seminar report?" "That's way too sudden." "[serious]The deadline's next Tuesday, right? Have you done it yet?" Nakamura set down her chopsticks with an exasperated look. "Okay, okay. So you got a boyfriend." "That's not—" (It's not... right? It's not, right? But how do I even explain this?) A pet... no, a roommate... no, well, he was originally a cat and became human... Every explanation caught in her throat before it could come out. Mio just made vague mouth sounds and drank her miso soup. "...What do I do?" It was almost to herself. Nakamura laughed. "That's not an answer." Mio laughed back, but in the corner of her mind, she kept thinking about Rei. What was he doing right now? Was he managing okay alone? * * * At that moment, Rei was walking through Minase City. After leaving Corpo Tsukimidai, he'd wandered without any particular destination. He passed through the south exit of Minase Station and headed toward Hazuki River. When he reached the riverside promenade, he passed a jogging man. A woman with a dog pulled it along, saying "Come on, Choco." The small dog sniffed at Rei's feet. Rei glanced at the dog once, then turned toward the river. The water's surface glimmered. He could hear the sound of flowing water. (…Calming.) The moment he thought that, Rei felt irritated with himself. When he was a cat, he'd escaped here several times. It was the same feeling. Which meant this was just a leftover cat habit, nothing more— "...I don't know." He muttered to himself and sat down on a bench by the river. He stayed there for a while. Listening to the water. The sky was blue. * * * On the way back from Hazuki River, he walked down Kagerou Street. The arcade was dim even in daytime, with oranges piled at the fruit vendor's storefront. Rei stopped in front of Shiori-do—an old bookstore. The door was open, and a wooden shelf sat outside. On the shelf and under the eaves, several cat figurines were displayed. The shop owner, Togawa—a small woman with white hair tied back—was gently stroking one of the cat figurines with a tender touch. It was a ceramic black cat. Rei stopped and watched her carefully. (I'm not a cat anymore.) He thought that. It was true. He was human now, not sitting silently on a shelf like that figurine. But. That hand motion—the way she slowly stroked from the head down the neck—made his chest feel ticklish, frustrated, something he couldn't quite name. Togawa looked up. Their eyes met. "Welcome. Are you looking for something?" "[cold]...No." He said just that one word and left. He thought he'd stood there for about five minutes. He didn't buy anything. Just watched. (I'm not a cat.) That much was certain. But he wondered why he kept saying it to himself like he was trying to confirm it. * * * Thursday night, when Mio climbed the stairs to Corpo Tsukimidai, she already smelled something wrong. The scent of burning hung in the hallway. It grew stronger as she approached room 203. (…What?) She opened the door. Black scorch marks around the stove. The bottom of a pot completely blackened. Something charred stuck to the inside of a frying pan. Vegetable scraps scattered across the floor. Three carrots, or what looked like them, rolled beside the cutting board. Rei stood by the cat tower with his arms crossed. "[cold]I failed." "[angry]What are you doing?!" "I attempted cooking." "And this is the result?! What if there'd been a fire?!" Mio threw her bag on the floor and turned on the ventilation fan. She opened the window. Cold night air rushed in. She moved the pot to the sink and looked at the frying pan. The black lump inside was beyond recognition. "What were you trying to make?" "Stir-fry. Vegetables and canned fish." "Tuna?" "Yes." Of course it was tuna, she thought, and also, did he forget to turn off the heat? Mio sighed and turned to face him. "[serious]Did you turn off the gas properly?" "I did. Smoke came out and it smelled burnt, so I turned it off." "That's way too late to turn it off!" Rei's face twisted into a scowl. "[cold]I had never used a stove before. That's obvious." "I know, but—" She understood. He was a cat, so of course he'd never cooked. But he tried to do it alone, and he failed— Mio was about to speak when Rei said quietly: "[whispers]...I know you made food for me every day. All this time." Mio's words stopped. "[whispers]So this time, I wanted to..." He was facing the wall. The tips of his ears were slightly red. His arms stayed crossed, his gaze averted. Not his usual arrogant face—something embarrassed about it. Mio felt like she was seeing that expression for the first time. (Oh.) Her anger went somewhere else. Her heart gave a sudden thump. "[gentle]...You're an idiot, Rei." "[cold]I know." "If you'd just told me beforehand, I could've taught you." Rei said nothing. Just silence. Mio held back a laugh and pulled out rubber gloves, starting to wash the frying pan. "[serious]Help me. I can't do this alone." There was a pause. "...Okay." They cleaned the kitchen together. Rei was awkward with the sponge, but he did what he was told. Mio picked up the vegetable scraps from the floor while Rei washed the pots. It took about thirty minutes. That night, they ended up eating onigiri they'd bought from Hakomart, sitting side by side. Rei had two tuna mayo. Mio had one bonito and one plum. They sat in the kitchen, munching quietly. They didn't really talk. But it didn't feel strange. * * * Saturday afternoon, Mio dragged Rei out to Kagerou Street shopping district. Every time Rei walked outside, people turned to look. Black hair, 181 centimeters, a good face—it was unavoidable. Two girls looked at him, then at Mio, then at Mio again. "[serious]Why does everyone stare so much?" "Don't ask me." "It's because of your face..." Rei didn't seem bothered, walking through the arcade. He stared intently at oranges in front of the fruit vendor, stopped at the fish shop and started to sniff the dried saury before Mio stopped him. "[angry]Don't sniff! People will think you're weird!" "[cold]It smells good." "Even so!" Midway through the arcade was a small miscellaneous goods shop that sold cat merchandise. A place Mio sometimes stopped by. Various items were displayed in the window. Cat-shaped earrings, paw print coasters, and— "[excited]Hey, look! Isn't it cute?" In the corner of the window sat a black cat ear headband. Fluffy black ears attached to it. Rei's face changed instantly. "[cold]An insult to cats." "Really? I think it's cute." "Only people who don't understand cats would be happy wearing something like that." "[laughing]Then why don't you try it on? I think it'd suit you." Rei looked at her. His eyes narrowed slightly. "[cold]Absolutely not." "Why not? The ears are black, and they'd match your hair color." "[cold]You really—" "It'd suit you." Rei closed his mouth. He'd been about to say something, but stopped. The tips of his ears had turned faintly red. Mio saw it and laughed again. In the end, Mio went into the shop and bought the headband anyway. 580 yen. Rei waited outside the whole time. "[serious]Why'd you buy it?" "Because it was cute." "[cold]Throw it away." "No." Rei didn't say anything else. But when Mio started walking with the bag, Rei glanced at it sideways. Mio noticed. He didn't tell her to throw it away. That much was certain. * * * Sunday night, her phone rang. "Mom" appeared on the screen. Rei was lying on the upper level of the cat tower, his arm draped over the edge, staring blankly. Mio whispered "Sorry for a sec" and quietly stepped into the hallway. "[gentle]Hello, Mom?" "How are you? Are you eating properly?" "[gentle]I'm eating. I'm doing fine." "How's your studying?" "Doing it, doing it." There was a pause. "Is Kuro doing well?" Mio's answer came before she could think. "[serious]...Yeah, he's doing well." After she hung up, she stood in the hallway for a while. The night hallway was a bit cold. She could hear the sound of Mrs. Kishimoto Tae's TV from downstairs. Kuro's doing well. The moment she said it, she felt a small pang in her chest. She hadn't lied—Kuro was doing well. He was just human now. But something caught. (When I was alone, Kuro was there. But now...) Rei was there. Loud, foul-mouthed, always complaining. Yet somehow, not lonely at all. Mio still couldn't put a clear name to this change in feeling. When she returned to the room, Rei had his chin resting on the upper level of the cat tower, his eyes half-closed. "[laughing]...What are you doing?" "[cold]A remnant of sunbathing. Being up here calms me down even at night." "You're a cat." "[cold]I'm not a cat." Mio giggled and flopped onto her bed. She stared at the ceiling. The room's light bulb was white and round. (What a weird life.) But not bad, she thought. * * * Monday morning, Mio had her bag on her shoulder, standing at the entrance. She tied her sneakers and reached for the doorknob. "[whispers]Don't go." A muffled voice from the futon. Mio turned around. Rei was sitting on the floor futon, eyes averted. Arms crossed. He looked like his usual grumpy self, but the tips of his ears were slightly red. "[gentle]You used to do that when you were a cat too, Rei. You'd cry whenever I tried to leave in the morning." "[cold]...I don't know." "I'm going now." Rei clicked his tongue and turned away. Mio opened the door and stepped outside. As she descended the stairs, she resisted the urge to look back. Weird, she thought to herself. * * * In the apartment room, Rei moved to the window. Through the glass, he could see Mio's back. Her black short hair swayed. Bag on her shoulder, she walked down the sloping road. She passed by Tsukimi Park, grew smaller and smaller— Mio turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Rei stood there for a while, looking out the window. Suddenly, he looked at his right hand. For just an instant—the fingertips were thin and pointed. Sharp, like claws. The next moment, it was back to a human hand. Rei said nothing. He just stared at that right hand. Outside the window, Monday morning in Minase City quietly began to move.