The night broke. Mio washed her tear-stained face. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red. Her eyelids were swollen. (I'll do everything I can before Rei disappears.) That was all that was decided. She remembered that day when she and Rei laughed together. Kagerou Street shopping district, in front of the cat goods stall. Rei grabbed the cat ear headband and said "it's an insult to cats," and when Mio laughed saying "but it suits you"—that look on Rei's face. He said it was annoying, but he looked just a little happy. Mio put on her sneakers. Rei still had his eyes closed in the futon. His complexion was bad. Worse than last night. She quietly opened the front door and ran. Kagerou Street was slowly waking up in the morning light. The sound of shutters opening. The sound of sweeping with a broom. Mio ran searching through the row of stalls and stopped in front of the small cat goods shop. "[gentle]Um... do you still have the cat ear headband?" The shop owner smiled and pulled out two items—one pink, one black—from the back of the shelf. Mio chose the black one. Five minutes later, Mio was back in apartment 203. Rei had sat up on the futon. Golden eyes looked at her. "[cold]Where were you?" "[gentle]Never mind, just put this on." Mio placed the headband on Rei's head without question. "[angry]What? Why would I—an insult to cats—" That was the moment. The cat ear on Rei's left side vanished. The black fur that had lingered since last night receded, and the tip of his right hand—returned completely to human form. Both of them froze. Rei brought his right hand in front of his face and stared at it. Mio watched too. "…" Silence. Three seconds. On top of Rei's head sat the cat ear headband. Black hair, black cat ear headband. A handsome man at 181 centimeters wearing perky cat ears. Mio tried to hold back her laughter. She couldn't hold it back. "[laughing]Meow." "[angry]Shut up." Rei reached out to take off the headband. But his hand stopped. He looked at his right hand. Looked again. His face was thinking slowly. "[cold]...The headband doesn't have power." Mio stopped laughing. "[cold]What changed is that you're here and laughed. ...When I'm with you, can I stay human?" His voice was low. Not joy. Rei's face twisted complexly. A thinking face. But beneath it, a scared face. "[cold]...Will I become bound to you?" Mio couldn't say anything. She remembered when Rei was a cat. Watching birds outside the window, escaping, sleeping whenever he wanted, bound by no one—that was Kuro. That was Rei. That pride was about to shatter now. "[serious]Rei..." "[cold]You don't need to answer." He looked out the window. The headband was still on. He reached to take it off, but didn't. * * * Past noon, the intercom rang. She looked at the screen. Crimson braids were visible. (Hinata...!) Before Mio could say "wait a moment," Rei opened the door. Hinata stood there. Her bright ramune-colored eyes looked at Rei and stopped for a moment. A handsome man wearing a headband stood there. "[surprised]Cosplay!?" "It's not." "[excited]But it's cool!!" She recovered in one second. That was impressive. Hinata looked at Mio, looked at Rei, and took a deep breath. Her fangs showed. "[excited]Rei, I like you! Please go out with me!" Mio started to say "Hinata, wait—" Rei said it with a straight face. "[cold]Sorry, but I'm a cat." Hinata laughed. "[laughing]You can't be a cat, you're funny!" "[cold]It's not a joke. I'm a cat." Hinata's smile faltered slightly. "[surprised]...Huh? You're serious?" Rei looked at Mio. Mio's eyes wavered. "[scared]Um, well... the explanation is..." "[cold]I'm just stating facts. I'm a cat." Hinata looked at Mio. Mio nodded slightly. "[surprised]...You're seriously a cat?" "[serious]...Seriously a cat." There was a pause. "[excited]But you're cool so OK!!" Rei froze. Mio froze too. Hinata was a mass of positivity. * * * Meanwhile, at that same time. Makoto stood in front of Shiori-do. Shiori-do—an old bookstore a five-minute walk from the south exit of Minase Station, with cat figurines lined up throughout the shop. The owner, Togawa, was a taciturn woman who always sat at the counter in the back drinking tea. Makoto opened the door. The sound of a bell. Shelves lined with cat figurines greeted him. "[serious]Um... do you have books about cat legends or folklore, that sort of thing?" Togawa looked up. "What do you want to research?" "[serious]About cats... becoming human, that kind of story." Togawa thought for three seconds. Without a word, she stood and went to the back of the shop. A rustling sound. After a while, she returned with a thin booklet. "[gentle]This one." The cover read "Minase City Local History—Supplementary Edition." Makoto took it. He turned the pages. A folklore page. Local legends. Old stories passed down in Minase City— His hand stopped. "A cat that loved a person gains human form. Yet if that love is lost, it returns to its original shape." "[serious]...This is it." Everything connected. That handsome man at Mio's house. Cat ears. Cat hands. Why Mio had been so desperate. The look on her face when she offered the bouquet. It all became one line. Makoto left the shop holding the booklet. He started walking toward Tsukimi Terrace. * * * Evening, in front of Tsukimi Terrace. "[surprised]Oh, Makoto?" Hinata called out. Four people stood in front of the entrance. Mio, Rei, Hinata, and Makoto who had just arrived. Makoto looked at Mio. Looked at Rei. Looked at the headband on Rei's head. "…" He said nothing. There was something more important to do first. Makoto opened the booklet. "[serious]Um... I want you to read this." He read quietly. "A cat that loved a person gains human form. Yet if that love is lost, it returns to its original shape—" All four fell silent. Mio's face looked like she might cry. Hinata said "huh?" and covered her mouth. Rei—looked at the wall. The tips of his ears gradually turned red. "[surprised]Wait... Rei, you're really a cat? Really?" Mio nodded. "[serious]...Yeah." Hinata looked at Rei. Looked at him from top to bottom. "[surprised]You became human because you liked Mio?!" Everyone's gaze focused on Rei. Rei's ears were bright red. His neck too. "[angry]...It's natural for a cat to like its owner." He spoke quickly. "[surprised]That's not—" "[serious]That's not the point—" "[angry]It's natural. Nothing special. All cats like their owners. That's all." Rei turned to face the wall. His face wasn't visible. But his ears were red. His neck was red. Even the area around his sideburns was red. Hinata raised her hand. "[excited]I still don't give up even if you're a cat because you're cool!" Rei turned back with a "what?" expression. Makoto laughed quietly. A gentle laugh, but somehow a little pained. The face of someone who understood everything. Mio couldn't laugh. Her eyes filled with tears, she couldn't laugh. (Rei liked me and became human.) It wasn't about affection for a pet, or how a cat shows attachment to its owner. It was completely different. Mio understood that now. "[cold]...No one say anything more about this." Rei muttered. Still wearing the headband, still bright red, arms crossed, facing the wall. "[laughing]Rei, you're still wearing the headband." "[angry]I know." He didn't take it off. * * * As Makoto was leaving, he leaned in close to Mio and whispered. "[whispers]Um... did you read the rest of the booklet?" Mio shook her head. Makoto quietly opened the booklet to a page and pointed to a line with his finger. "A cat that loved a person gains human form. Yet if that love is lost, it returns to its original shape—for a cat to maintain human form, it too must acknowledge its love in words." He read it in a whisper and closed the booklet. "[whispers]...Unless Rei admits his own feelings, there's no real solution." Mio froze. She looked at the apartment. Rei was saying to Hinata "what do you mean OK even if I'm a cat, explain." Hinata was cheerfully replying "because I like you, that's OK!" That stubborn, foul-mouthed former cat, desperately protecting his cat pride—as long as he kept saying "I'm a cat," he would keep fading away. (What should I do?) Mio looked up at the evening sky. Above Tsukimi Terrace, orange light spread across the horizon.