My Childhood Friend Meows Under My Skirt. (GL) - Chapter 1

I stumbled several times before reaching the road. I felt like I shouted something, and I might have blurted out various embarrassing things. Before I knew it, I had scrapes on my knees.

Just like me, the truck driver, who had come down with a pale and flustered face, began to scratch his head and cross his arms, and that’s when he noticed something was off.

“Why? There’s no one here.”

The driver muttered, looking at me with a questioning expression. Did I really hit something? His face seemed to ask for confirmation.

Cautiously, we checked under the truck together. Even with the light from my smartphone, there was no sign of anything. Considering the possibility that I might have flung it away, I walked along the nearby ditch and peeked through the gaps in the fence into the backyards of the houses. I returned to the school grounds and searched the woods as well. Maki and the white cat were nowhere to be found. Not even a drop of bl00d was on the road.

The only thing I found was a bug-catching net that had fallen by the roadside.

“Did they skip out and go home? In the confusion?”

After I explained everything, Kobayakawa-sensei replied with remarkable calmness. When I handed over the note with the driver’s phone number, the teacher placed it on her desk as if it wasn’t a big deal. She said she would check the scene later and call the driver.

“Were there any signs of a collision on the truck?”

“There weren’t any.”

“Well, then at least they didn’t get into an accident.”

“But I think I heard the sound of a collision…”

“They might have gotten hurt, though.”

Worried, the teacher stood up and left the staff room. She headed back to the scene on the road once more. Again, Maki and the others were nowhere to be found. I encountered the family of tabby cats hiding behind a telephone pole in the residential area. When I asked if they knew anything, they ran away.

It was just past two in the afternoon, and the sun was still high. I couldn’t find any place that could have been overlooked.

“Maybe they really did skip out,” the teacher sighed.

“I’m starting to think that too.”

She had a personality that, despite complaining, would diligently carry out tasks she disliked. It seemed unlikely that someone who fit the description of a pure delinquent would leave halfway through. However, it wasn’t entirely impossible. After all, I didn’t know Maki at all for the past year and a half.

“Have you heard from Matsuhara?”

“No, I haven’t. I don’t know.”

“Well, it’s fine. Natsume, you can go home today too. If you show your face tomorrow, we’ll have to impose some sort of penalty on Matsuhara.”

“Let’s make her the broom and dustpan duty.”

With that, I decided to go home as well. Just to be safe, I stopped by the scene one last time, but Maki and the others were still gone. At that moment, my worry was overtaken by anger. How could they just leave and push their work onto me? I felt foolish for thinking that we might be able to have a normal conversation again, even for a moment.

Frustrated, I detoured to the shopping district and bought “Miyage Cat Croquettes” and “Miyage Cat Menchi Katsu.” I also craved something sweet, so I bought “Miyage Cat Manju.” I ended up buying a box, and by the time I got home, I hadn’t finished eating them.

“I’m home.”

Even as I spoke, there was no reply. My father was at work, and my mother had just left for her night shift. There was curry prepared for dinner, and the rice was still cooking. I recalled the tabby cat that had been carrying her kittens. Was she also a mother?

When I entered my room and checked the time, it was just before four in the afternoon. I decided to take a nap and dove straight onto my bed. I wanted to change out of my uniform, but I didn’t have the energy. Today had been too eventful for me. I hoped nothing strange would happen anymore.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, the intercom rang. Had I ordered something? It wasn’t me, so it must be my father or mother. If it was urgent, they would have left a note or message, so I felt bad for the delivery person, but I hoped they would leave for now.

As I relaxed and prepared to invite sleep back, the intercom rang again. What now? I frowned, and it rang once more. Reluctantly, I got out of bed.

As I descended the stairs toward the entrance, the intercom rang again. I replied firmly, “Yes,” once.

When I opened the front door, I came face to face with the persistent delivery person.

“Maki?!”

My voice cracked involuntarily.

Maki had changed into casual clothes and was wearing a white cap. Although it was casual, she still wore the same hoodie she had on at school. And I recognized that cap. It was the same brand I had seen her wear often in elementary school.

“I’m glad your house hasn’t changed,” Maki said flatly.

“Why are you suddenly at my house? What happened after that? You just disappeared.”

“Is anyone else home?”

“My mom and dad aren’t here. It’s just me.”

“Can I come in?”

In this house? I almost blurted out in disbelief. Of course, she could come in. It had been over a year and a half since Maki had entered. Unless there was a significant reason, that was unlikely. And that reason was probably related to her sudden disappearance earlier.

“My room is messy, though.”

“Was there ever a time it wasn’t?”

As she jabbed back, Maki stepped inside. I decided not to prepare slippers for her as a form of retaliation.

I climbed the stairs and headed to my room. In front of my door, Maki murmured, “The place hasn’t changed, huh?” I opened the door and invited her in.

In a year and a half, I had rearranged things a bit. However, after just a quick glance around, Maki seemed to lose interest and headed straight for my desk. She pulled out a chair that had been tucked away and sat down.

“So, what happened?”

I asked, feeling entitled to know.

“Why did you leave first? And is that white cat okay? Was it saved?”

“Before I answer, there’s something I want you to see.”

“Something you want me to see?”

“Before I show you, just one thing. Please try not to be too surprised. I don’t like loud noises. No, I think it’s probably impossible not to be surprised, so at least don’t scream. That’s the least I can concede.”

“Sorry, I don’t really understand what you mean…”

What could Maki want to show me that she came all the way to my house? Could it be the white cat from earlier? Was she hiding it under her hoodie? If so, I wanted to see it. I wanted to see it quickly. I promised I wouldn’t scream, so please let me pet it.

Instead of unzipping her hoodie, Maki reached for her cap.

Her hand slowly lifted the cap off her head.

And then.

“…Huh?”

I was left speechless by what was atop her head.

It wasn’t just resting there; it was growing out of her.

Something that shouldn’t have been there was sprouting.

“It suddenly grew.”

It was unmistakably the ears of a white cat.

They were firmly rooted, sprouting from her head, hidden beneath her hair. As I struggled to find words, Maki, the very person in question, asked me.

“What do you think? About this?”

I couldn’t help but scream.

Maki said she was thirsty, so I told her she could take whatever she wanted from the fridge. She returned with just orange juice and a cup for herself. It took her two cups of orange juice to shake off the daze.

“Are you finally calm?” Maki asked while pouring a third cup.

“Why are you so calm about this?”

“I’m already tired from being surprised two hours ago.”

I stood up from the bed where I had been sitting and drank from the orange juice Maki had poured. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but then closed it again. Instead, her ears twitched. I wondered if they were influenced by her emotions to some extent. Yes, I was finally able to think calmly.

The juice traveled down my esophagus and into my stomach, cooling the heat that had built up inside.

“Have you told anyone else about this?”

“I haven’t told anyone. Just you.”

“So you came here first? Why?”

“Because I thought you wouldn’t be scared or creeped out, even if I showed you this form.”

Suddenly, she placed her trust in me. Is that what this is? Even though she still called me by my last name, as if drawing a precautionary line.

But.

I was surprised, but I certainly didn’t find it creepy.

Rather, I wanted to know. I wanted to know more.

“Okay. Let’s figure out the cause together. Let’s think about how to solve this.”

“I’m not really asking for that much.”

She might genuinely feel that way, or perhaps she had left the word “honest” back in elementary school.

“What happened after that? I thought I saw you and the white cat get hit by the truck. We all searched desperately for you.”

“I lost consciousness there, and when I came to, I was alone in the woods behind the shrine. That white cat had disappeared too.”

“The shrine? You mean the Miyatai Shrine?”

“Yeah. That one.”

Miyatai Shrine is the largest shrine among several in town and is the only one built at the highest point in the town, atop Miyage Mountain. Miyage Mountain is also known for its castle ruins, surrounded by moats.

It’s a fair distance from our high school, and no matter how fast you run, it takes at least ten minutes to get there. It’s not a place you can just blink and suddenly be at.

Maki rested her elbows on the desk, propping her fists against her cheeks. The white cat ears on her head slowly turned, as if trying to pick up the surrounding sounds.

“Did you go home from the shrine?”

“Something like that. I screamed when I saw my head reflected in the moat, put on my hoodie, and ran home.”

She had come here after calming down. If she had cat ears growing out of her head, it was understandable that she wouldn’t want to return to school. Going back wouldn’t solve anything, and it wasn’t a problem that could be resolved by going to the hospital either. This was surely—

“A urban legend.”

Maki said it a second before I did.

“I’ve heard that kind of story a few times in this town.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard it too.”

“Could this be one of those?”

“That ‘cats in this town sometimes curse people.’”

As if responding to our voices, the cat ears on Maki’s head twitched again. The more I looked, the more I was drawn into that distorted reality.

“By the way, why did you wear a cap? You could have hidden it with your hoodie.”

After a few seconds of silence, Maki turned her face away shyly and then answered.

“I might not have been completely calm yet.”

When I looked closely at the white cap she had brought, I realized it was not just the same brand as the one she wore in elementary school; it was the very same cap. The place where it had frayed was the same. She must have kept it all this time without throwing it away. Maki had a reputation for being rough with her belongings and often breaking them, but perhaps she had kept that cap as a good luck charm.

Those cat ears that had suddenly sprouted were indeed very similar to the ears of the white cat Maki had tried to save. Rather, they looked exactly the same. With their overall white fur and soft pink tips, there was no doubt that the white cat was involved in this. Maki said it had disappeared, but where was the original? Would finding it solve this problem?

I thought I had been maintaining my composure up to this point.

But I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Hey, Maki.”

“…What?”

As she looked up from the cup of orange juice she had been drinking, Maki stopped in her tracks, as if caught in a child’s game. I didn’t move and got straight to the point.

“Can I touch those ears?”