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

The next day, Maki came to school without any fuss. I had thought she might take a few more days off after the cat transformation, but instead, she sat down with an air that was even more unapproachable than usual. Of course, there was no conversation between us. There’s no obligation to talk, but the switch in her demeanor was so stark that I found it quite skillful.

I wondered how she would react if I tried to talk to her. Would it create the same atmosphere as when we were alone together? “Hey there, Maki! How are you?” I thought about using a nickname I had never called her before while giving her a light tap on the shoulder. It seemed like swallowing my words would become more than just a prick.

Without saying anything, I quietly observed the area around Maki’s waist from my seat, but it seemed her tail had indeed disappeared. It had returned to her skirt, and there was no unnatural bulge trying to hide it. Just like her cat ears, it appeared that the phenomenon settled down within a day. Perhaps because I had stared too intently, I was discreetly kicked in the hallway during class change.

The first opportunity to talk came after school. It was a day for committee work, which forced us to be alone together. As I waited on the landing of the stairs heading to the staff room, Maki came down from behind. Even if it was a hassle, even if she didn’t want to see me, she ultimately didn’t skip out on the assigned work.

“I hadn’t heard from you since then, so I thought you wouldn’t come to school.”

“Meow.”

“Wait, what! Are you still in cat mode? What should I do?”

“Idiot.”

Maki let out a small laugh, almost teasingly. It was an act. I had been fooled. And she seemed oddly in good spirits, more relaxed than yesterday.

We stopped by the staff room to borrow cleaning supplies and a bug-catching net, and just like before, we headed toward the courtyard first. Along the way, Maki explained the reason for her newfound composure.

“Of course, I’m still really anxious at this moment, but I’m getting a bit used to it. Also, I’ve somehow come to understand the signs that precede the phenomenon.”

“Really?”

“It feels like my whole body is a bit restless, or itchy. You know how sometimes when you scratch an itchy spot, it doesn’t go away?”

“I kind of get that.”

So it was something like that. Being able to grasp the signs was indeed a step forward in reclaiming her normal life. If she could understand the rules or laws of it, she would likely feel even more at ease.

“What about that ‘restlessness’ now?”

“Not here. But I want to go home soon. Being near you makes me feel like I’m getting dirtier little by little.”

“Like this?”

“Then why do you have that photo from yesterday? When did you take it?”

It was a tail version of the collection of photos I had secretly taken of Maki as a cat. As usual, she insisted I delete it immediately. Of course, it was saved in the cloud, so I pretended to delete it right in front of her without hesitation. I even added a bit of a performance, acting downcast as the photo disappeared. Meow.

“By the way, what should we name the white cat?”

“Anything is fine. Actually, you don’t have to name it.”

“Since it’s inside you, how about ‘Maki’ in katakana? Maki the white cat.”

“Absolutely not.”

As we talked, we reached the edge of the field where the woods were. It was near the spot where I had seen that white cat. I looked around, but as expected, there was no sign of the white cat. It was because it was inside Maki.

Instead of the white cat, a calico cat with mixed black and brown fur appeared. It sat at the base of a tree, licking its paws and grooming itself. It either noticed us and looked up or was completely used to people, showing no signs of wanting to run away. Truly, it was a cat from Miyamige Town.

Our job was to send the cats that had wandered onto the school grounds back home. However, I didn’t want to be too rough about it. If I chased it away with the bug-catching net, it might dislike me the next time we met. If that happened, I would cry. Ideally, I wanted to gently scoop it up and take it away. It would be a win-win for both the cat and me.

“Wait, ah.”

Maki snatched the net from my hesitant hands and quickly got to work. Although she didn’t touch the calico cat directly, she poked at it with the net to intimidate it and chased it away. The calico cat sensed the lack of friendliness from us and quickly jumped away.

“Ah, it’s gone…”

“Chasing it away is our job, right?”

“But you didn’t have to do it like that. You like cats too, don’t you?”

“Sorry, I’m just not on good terms with cats right now.”

A smile that was the most unsettling in the world appeared on her face. I learned that when one is excessively rude, they can end up looking like that.

With a rustle, I turned around to find the spotted cat from earlier. With an exasperated sigh, Maki chased it away again.

“Even Ichika, if she were cursed with the same fate, would probably do the same. It would mean recalibrating her distance with cats.”

I wondered about that.

It was inappropriate, but I might find it a bit enjoyable.

Perhaps it showed on my face, as Maki sighed in disbelief.

“You really are an exception.”

“Because I’m curious about various things. I don’t really understand how, when the cat takes over, Maki can use her body to meow. Originally, that voice comes from a specialized mucous membrane, a type of tissue that humans don’t have. By the way, the purring sound that seems to come from the throat is produced by a different vocal organ called the laryngeal ventricle, because cats don’t have vocal cords—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Enough with the useless trivia.”

From the shade of the trees ahead, a black cat appeared. Just then, a ginger cat descended from another tree. The probability of encountering them was higher than before. Maki used the net on each one. Perhaps she had pent-up frustration, as she started running after a tabby that appeared. It reminded me of myself at five years old, but I didn’t say anything.

“There are really a lot here,” I said.

“Don’t say it so happily. I heard rumors that not just students, but even teachers are feeding them.”

A spotted cat emerged from the bushes. This time, it was a different tabby with a shorter tail. My favorite type, a calico cat, was also there. A rare spotted cat with its white and black colors inverted. There was the tabby from earlier, a mackerel tabby, and the calico cat I had chased away earlier. Wait, isn’t that a bit too many?

We exchanged glances.

“Maki, this is…”

“Correction. I really don’t think I can get used to this.”

Before we knew it, we were surrounded by countless cats.

Even after leaving the school, the cats followed us at a certain distance. Some of them seemed to lose interest and disappeared, but even just glancing back, I could count at least seven. They were clearly following Maki rather than us.

“Wow, you’re attracting cats. You’re like a cat magnet right now.”

“What is this?”

“I’m going to go touch them a bit.”

“What are you doing?!”

I approached the nearest black cat, but it quickly ran away. Following suit, the other cats distanced themselves from me. My heart shattered. Right now, I was completely an unwelcome intruder. The things I wanted to be closest to were moving the farthest away from me.

“Thanks for blowing them away, cat fan.”

Maki delivered a final blow as I returned. Behind us, the cats that had scattered earlier began to gather one by one again. They must have sensed the presence of that white cat inside Maki, so they were cautiously trying to approach while observing.

As we reached a fork in the residential area, I decided to watch as Maki turned down one of the paths. I wanted to see the scene of a slow-moving army of cats following behind her. Ideally, I wanted to take a photo of it.

However, Maki didn’t leave and said this:

“Are your parents still not home today?”

“Yeah, not right now.”

“Can I come over again?”

“To my house? Why?”

“I don’t want that group of cats to somehow know where I live.”

What a luxurious worry. I would want to invite them all in and throw a party. However, Maki, the one in question, was in the midst of recalibrating her distance with the cats.

It was fine for her to come over.

But I wondered what she thought about the unresolved issue of our falling out a year and a half ago. There was nothing to talk about, and I had been told that if I wanted to speak, I should. Had it been resolved? We had been talking normally for quite some time.

I hadn’t reincarnated into a troublesome girl who wanted her feelings reassured verbally.

Well, I didn’t have the courage to ask her directly.

“Sure. But since my dad is allergic to cats, it might be better not to go into the living room too much. There’s a chance he might find out.”

“Got it. I’ll stay in my room. I’ll come back as soon as the cat group gives up and disappears.”

We started walking together, heading down the same path.

Marching home with a multitude of cats in tow. It was a scene I wouldn’t have been surprised to dream about in my life so far. I tried taking a selfie using the zoom function along the way, but it was difficult to capture since they kept moving around.

And as my thoughts drifted away from the cats, I found myself thinking about my childhood friend next to me again. We were walking at the same pace toward the same place, but our faces clearly didn’t reflect the same thoughts.

We arrived in front of my house. Maki followed me through the entrance without hesitation. I opened the door and took off my shoes at the entrance. Maki neatly lined up her shoes. The sound of footsteps climbing the stairs echoed in unison. I never imagined such a moment would flow again.

Would we slowly, casually, and naturally return to our original relationship? Or once all the issues were resolved, would Maki stop talking to me again? Like a used ballpoint pen, would she toss me aside once her purpose was fulfilled?

The questions I wanted to ask hadn’t changed since long ago. About that day when I broke my promise. The day I was supposed to travel with Maki, when I didn’t show up at the meeting place. How important that day had been for Maki. I wanted to know that.

Would I be able to ask at some point? Once everything was resolved, would she answer my questions as a reward?

Or perhaps, right now—

“Hey, Maki…”

Just as I was about to turn around.

“Whoa, wait, what!”

An arm suddenly wrapped around my body and pulled me in for a hug.

So tightly that I couldn’t twist my body.

“What!? What, what, what, why all of a sudden?!”

Heat rushed through me all at once. I lost my strength and staggered.

Maki leaned her weight against me.

With a thud, we both fell onto the bed.

I twisted my body, trying to get up, but Maki quickly grabbed both my wrists and pinned me down. I was mounted, completely losing control of my body.

“Maki! What’s going on?!”

Looking into her eyes, which were swaying suspiciously.

I understood everything.

“Meow.”