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

“Meow”

The child living inside her had appeared before me once again. It was not a fake or an imitation; the genuine sound of a cat echoed through the room.

It was just like in the classroom. My consciousness was being dominated. The one here now was not Maki, but the white cat, Maki. When had they switched? Perhaps it was right after I entered the room.

“Um, Maki, or rather, White Cat-chan?”

“Ah-woo.”

With a sound that seemed to beg for affection, the white cat Maki rubbed her cheek against me. She then leaned into me, falling over, and I instinctively caught her. I wanted to stand up and create some distance, but in the end, I settled into a cross-legged position on the bed, leaning against the wall.

Maki placed her paws on my thighs, alternating her weight. The soft sound of “fumi, fumi” seemed to echo in my mind. This action was originally meant to push against a mother cat’s belly to help her release milk. It was said that this memory from her childhood still lingered, and she would show it to someone she trusted.

How she managed it, I couldn’t comprehend; it should be impossible given human anatomy, yet I could hear the soft rumble of her purring. Interpreted without cynicism, it was a sign of relaxation. At the very least, there was no hostility.

She bumped her head against my cheek. There was no restraint, and it hurt a little. I caught her head with my hand and gently stroked it, causing the headbutting to cease. It seemed she wanted to be petted.

She was a cat. Completely a cat. And for some reason, she was a cat that had grown fond of me. In this moment, there were no human entanglements between Maki and me, and we were not on bad terms. I had become numb enough to this situation to think without hesitation that she was cute.

“But Maki remembers this too, right?”

It might be more accurate to say she was watching. The captain, whose control had been taken away, was probably trembling in fear as he observed this situation.

When I stopped stroking Maki’s head, she lightly scratched my arm. When I resumed petting her, she began to purr again. There was certainly a cat there, yet I was touching Maki’s body. It was a different meaning from what she had expressed, but somehow, I felt a strange restlessness creeping in.

An opportunity to play with a cat like this was rare. Yet, I couldn’t afford to be careless, and on the contrary, if I continued to ignore her, I would only end up with more scratches on my body.

Satisfied with being petted, Maki straightened her body and jumped off the bed on all fours. Without caring that her skirt was hiked up, she moved straight to the corner of the room where the bookshelf was.

As I approached to fix her disheveled skirt, I understood what had captured her interest.

“Could it be this?”

When I pulled out what she had been pointing at, she meowed and reacted clearly.

A cat toy.

It was something I had made myself. I had reshaped a mop to create the tip, attached a drawstring from a tracksuit, and tied it to a plastic stick. Since completing it, I had not yet had any cat play with it.

Maki stretched out her right arm and leaped up. With incredible jumping power, she bumped her head against the ceiling. Did her athletic ability change too? It seemed she was still getting used to her body, as Maki failed to land gracefully and made a loud noise.

Maki was clearly interested in the cat toy. Not a store-bought one, but my original creation.

“…Want to play?”

“Meow!”

She urged me to hurry.

“Since I’m being rushed, I guess I have no choice. If I resist, she’ll get angry. I don’t want her to go on a rampage and hurt herself. Yes, that’s right. This is practically coercion. I have no choice in the matter. So, I have to entertain her as much as possible. You’re listening, right, Maki? So, I’m not at fault here.”

With my theoretical justification complete, I was ready to play.

As I moved the mop across the floor, Maki immediately pounced on it. Even though she was a white cat, her human body made her movements large. When I moved the mop in another direction, she pounced again. Maki followed the moving mop with her eyes, turning her head from side to side. She raised her rear, ready to leap at any moment. She was focused solely on the mop.

“Wow, this is so much fun…!”

This cat toy was indeed effective for cats. It had finally seen the light of day. I had thought it would end up being thrown away during the New Year’s cleaning, never having been played with or appreciated. Oh no, this is too much; I’m about to cry from happiness.

“That, that, that, that!”

“Meow!”

With a playful growl, Maki leaped at it. I could tell she was excited. I was, of course, caught up in the excitement too.

“That’s it!”

I swung the mop around, fluttering it, dancing along with Maki. It felt like I was manipulating a ribbon in rhythmic gymnastics. It was the best. I wanted to try other toys too. I absolutely had to. In fact, I wanted to create new ones. She would surely be delighted. I wished she could stay at home forever.

“What are you doing?”

When I turned around while dancing, my mother was standing at the door.

My bl00d ran cold.

I realized that bl00d could really drain from your face.

My mother also looked like she regretted opening the door. Her expression was not one directed at her own daughter.

“Uh, Mom? Weren’t you on night duty?”

“No, I’m on day duty.”

“I see…”

“Wait, is that Maki-chan? Wow, it’s been a while! How have you been?”

Maki paid no attention to my mother and pounced on the cat toy I had dropped on the floor. This was bad; I had to get my mother out of here quickly. I couldn’t let her say a single word. The more contact there was, the more she would notice the oddity, and there was no telling whether she would report it to Maki’s mother.

I immediately pushed my mother back as she tried to enter the room.

“I’m a bit busy right now! Dancing! Yes, dancing! I was dancing to relieve stress. It’s a contemporary dance inspired by the cat that symbolizes Miyamacho!”

“Let me at least say hello.”

“I’m busy becoming a cat right now! Look, see how high-quality it is!”

As I continued this exchange, I somehow managed to push her back outside the room.

“Maki-chan, if I make dinner, will you stay and eat? I’m planning on making fried food.”

“I think I will! So that’s settled!”

I closed the door and locked it just in case. Finally, I relaxed, leaning against the door and sitting down.

That was a relief. It had been a bit forceful, but I had managed to avert the crisis for now.

From here on, I would just spend time quietly. I had finally regained my composure. I needed to keep things calm until Maki’s personality returned.

“Hm? What?”

Thinking it was unusually quiet, I cautiously raised my face.

And once again, my bl00d ran cold.

Maki was nowhere to be seen. The cat toy lay forlornly on the floor.

“W-what, what, what? No way. Where? Where did she go?”

A breeze brushed against my cheek, and a bad feeling washed over me. I slowly turned my gaze, and the window was open.

I jumped to the window and stuck my face out. Looking down, I was met with a sight that made me want to scream.

Maki was skillfully walking along the fence of a nearby house.