My Childhood Friend Meows Under My Skirt. (GL) - Chapter 2

It was eight-thirty in the morning before school. Normally, I would have left home early to play gracefully with the cats of Miyage Town, but now I was stuck at the entrance of the apartment building where my estranged childhood friend lived, steadily wasting time in a futile manner.

“Matsuhara-san, let’s play!”

“If I come out, you’d just be put off. You’d be put off.”

“If you come out, honestly, I don’t care about anything else…”

I pressed the intercom at the entrance, trying to persuade her to go to school, but the call was cut off. This was the third time I had gone back and forth with this exchange. Each round felt like I could have spent time playing with a cat, which was frustrating. I tried to motivate myself by imagining that this situation was akin to struggling to coax a frightened cat out from behind a shadow into the sunlight, but it was a bit difficult.

“I’m not going to school today either. You should just go.”

“You were the one who said you wanted me to go with you because you were scared something might happen.”

“That’s why I said I’m not going!”

After the commotion in the classroom, Maki left school early. I took her bag from the classroom and delivered her home, where she trembled in fear, wary of when she might suddenly turn into a cat again. I thought about going home myself, but I returned to school and attended class. Of course, nothing from the lessons registered in my mind.

The next day, Maki was absent. I had contacted her several times, and I received a response in the evening. She wanted me to accompany her to school the next day. And thus began this strike.

“I’ve made sure to cover for you. I told the teacher and classmates that Maki had a fever and went a bit wild. So let’s hurry up and go.”

“I got a call from that Japanese teacher yesterday. ‘If you have any worries, I’m here to listen,’ he said. I almost spilled everything out. Instead of being repaid for saving the white cat, I feel like I’ve been cursed by it!”

“You didn’t say that, did you?”

“Of course not!”

Maki’s transformation in the classroom. The sudden appearance of cat ears, and the disappearance of the white cat. If it somehow infiltrated Maki and manifested outwardly, it would make sense. There had already been too many bizarre occurrences for me to dismiss it as absurd. It would have been nice if I could forget like a cat does, but humans aren’t that adept.

“I can’t tell anyone about this. I have to keep it hidden from now on. I don’t even know how to fix it, and there might not even be a way to fix it. Ugh, this is impossible, absolutely impossible. I can’t handle this alone.”

“But I’m here, right?”

Before I knew it, I had answered immediately.

I didn’t even think about whether I had the right to say that. I didn’t even understand why I had responded that way. Let’s just say it was an impulsive response because I wanted to convince her quickly.

There was silence, and eventually, the intercom cut off. After waiting a bit with no sign of her coming out, I was about to press the button for the fourth time when the elevator at the end of the entrance began to descend. Maki appeared, dressed in her usual combination of uniform and hoodie, and passed by me as if I didn’t exist, slipping through the entrance door. Even after receiving such a graceful snub, I didn’t mind; I had been toughened by the cats of Miyage Town.

“You were wearing your uniform. So you were planning to go to school after all.”

“I just changed.”

“In just a minute?”

“In just a minute.”

Hmm, in just a minute. I see, in just a minute. I repeated it several times, and then I got hit.

As I ran away, I kept saying, “Wow, in just a minute, that’s amazing, in just a minute, that’s impressive,” and she got so mad that she chased after me. We both ran towards the school. At this rate, we might make it in time.

A brown stray cat, in a hurry for something, leisurely passed us by.

As soon as Maki entered the classroom, I noticed that for just a brief moment, her classmates stopped their conversations and turned their attention towards her. They quickly returned to their usual noise, but that only served to emphasize the silence that had fallen between them like a chasm. If I could feel it, she must have been even more acutely aware of it.

Maki moved away from me and headed straight for her seat. No classmates approached her to talk. It was the same scene as always, regardless of the commotion, but the meaning and impression contained within it were vastly different.

She was the cool, aloof type of high school girl who seemed to be on a different level of thought than everyone else, the kind you find in every class. That would have been fine, but now Maki had upgraded to a rare high school girl who jumped onto her desk without hesitation, meowed like a cat, and licked my cheek with a sweet expression.

Yesterday, when Maki was absent, her classmates had asked me questions without ever approaching her. They asked about our relationship in a roundabout way, and some even threw out direct questions like whether she had been drinking or doing something worse. I hadn’t told her because I didn’t want to escalate things, but I had been called in by our homeroom teacher, who asked me several questions.

The only one who hadn’t changed her attitude was Sakura-chan. She entered the classroom in her club outfit and came over to my desk again today.

“Good morning, Sakura-chan.”

“Good morning. So, Maki came today, huh?”

“Yeah. We came together.”

“I heard from the grapevine that Ichika and Maki went to the same elementary and middle school.”

“Wow, the personal information leaks fast. It must have been quite a strong wind.”

Maybe I had been too carefree in my response, as Sakura-chan sighed with concern.

“I know this might be rude to Maki, but I feel like Ichika is getting caught up in the curiosity of the classmates.”

“It’s fine. They’ll change the topic soon. Everyone is just bored and wants to get excited about something. That’s what my mom says while watching the news.”

“Well, that might be true.”

After that, Sakura-chan said she had forgotten something in the clubroom and left the classroom. When I turned my gaze back to Maki, she was fiddling with her smartphone in exactly the same posture as before. Nonchalantly, calmly, without changing her expression. It was hard to believe she was the same person who had been so flustered at the entrance.

Just when I thought she was agitated, she was calm. Just when I thought she was dignified, she was scared. Just when I thought she wouldn’t come to school, she came out easily. Just when I thought we had been talking, she ignored me. Just when I thought we were estranged, she appeared at home. She was contradictory, twisted, and subject to her moods. I would never say this in front of her, but I felt like her cat-like temperament, which she had always possessed, was one reason that white cat had been drawn to her.

Why did this happen? Why is it still happening? Why was it Maki? Is there a way to resolve this and return everything to normal? Everything is still uncertain, but life must go on. Especially if there’s no clear end.

I will go to school, attend classes, occasionally get scolded by teachers, do committee work I don’t want to do, come home tired and sleep, watch streaming videos I don’t need to see, eat, take a bath, sleep, and wake up to both unpleasant and joyful things. Maintaining that kind of life as much as possible is the only coping mechanism I think I have right now.

If it’s to help with that, I can do it for Maki—

“Hey!”

Before I knew it, I had left my seat and was heading out the front door of the classroom. I grabbed my bag, and the moment I saw her, I knew she intended to go home.

I hurried to chase after Maki. I called her name and tried to put my hand on her shoulder, but she deftly dodged me. It was a remarkable evasion, as if my hand had germs on it.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“To the bathroom. Don’t follow me.”

“Why are you taking your bag to the bathroom?”

“I’m going to fix my makeup.”

“Besides, the bathroom is in the opposite direction.”

She suddenly stopped, and then, perhaps out of stubbornness, she really started walking in the direction of the bathroom. If I left her alone, she would definitely head for the exit. She had been so nonchalant in the classroom, but it seemed she was already reaching her limit.

“I understand how you feel, but let’s try a little harder.”

“You can’t possibly understand.”

Maki didn’t stop her feet and continued.

“You can’t understand how it feels to have something else inside your own body and not know when it will come out. The only one who can understand my feelings is Bruce Banner.”

“Suddenly Marvel…”

I’d rather not have my childhood friend turn into the Hulk, but fortunately, her skin hadn’t turned green yet.

“I might not understand all your feelings of fear, embarrassment, and anxiety, but I think I can understand you.”

“Then let me tell you that the most embarrassing moment for me was when you kept petting the ears that sprouted on your head!”

She stopped and jabbed her finger sharply at my chest.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. I promise, I won’t do it again. I just lost my composure at that moment, you know? It’s a bit hard to control myself when it comes to cats. Ah, I get it now! I understand how Bruce Banner feels!”

Maki glared at me with a piercing look.

“Swear you’ll never touch my body inappropriately again.”

“Got it. I won’t touch you again. I’ll keep my curiosity in check.”

“If you break that promise, it’s a thousand needles for you.”

“Yeah, understood.”

That felt like a rather vague punishment, so I thought I might be able to escape it depending on the situation.

“The length is fifty-two millimeters, the width is 1.6 millimeters, and the hole width is five millimeters for a hand-sewing needle.”

That didn’t sound good.

The details were too specific, and it suddenly felt all too real.

Just as I was thinking I needed to persuade her to return to the classroom, I casually glanced around to gather my thoughts. At that moment, when I returned my gaze to Maki’s body, my thoughts scattered like mist.

“Ichika…?”

Maki called out to me, puzzled by my sudden stiffening.

She still hadn’t realized. What should I do? How do I convey this?

“Maki, I need you to listen calmly.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to promise not to scream when you realize. If you break that promise, it’s a thousand needles for you.”

“What are you talking about? Hurry up and say it.”

I pointed to the problematic area.

Maki looked down at her lower body.

And then, between her legs, from under her skirt, she finally noticed the presence of a single white tail that was smoothly extending out.

“Ugh—”

Before she could scream, I covered her mouth and pulled her into the nearest bathroom. Fortunately, no one was there. We moved to the wall at the end, both of us looking down at the problematic tail. Maki opened her mouth in shock, unable to utter a word. The tip of the tail swayed in the narrow space just above the floor. With each movement, the fabric of her skirt made a faint rustling sound.

Maki moved in front of the sink. She thrust her hips out, lifted the shirt she had tucked into her skirt, and began to check in the mirror. The white fur and the pale pink tips were undoubtedly from that white cat. Looking at the exposed skin around her waist, I could see that the tail was sprouting from near her tailbone.

Stunned by the sudden reoccurrence of her cat transformation, Maki muttered, “Why, why, when did this happen…?”

“You didn’t notice?”

“Not at all.”

“By the way, are you moving it on your own?”

“Of course not! And why are you asking such a carefree question right now—”

At that moment.

With cheerful voices and laughter, a group of girls entered the bathroom.