My Childhood Friend Meows Under My Skirt. (GL) - Chapter 3

This year’s Golden Week has two weekdays sandwiched between the holidays. The town, the shopping district, and even the outside world and television are all enveloped in the atmosphere of the long holiday, leaving the classroom devoid of energy. It seems not only the students but also the teachers are affected; even the usual reprimands for dozing off have been absent.

During lunch break, when Maki suddenly put on the hood of her parka to attend class, the teacher didn’t say a word. That was perhaps the only stroke of luck. I was the only one in this classroom who knew that cat ears were sprouting from inside her parka.

After being excused from after-school committee work due to Kobayakawa-sensei’s good mood—she’s apparently taking a vacation with her boyfriend starting tomorrow—I watched the bizarre scene of her chuckling while continuously adding sugar cubes to her coffee. Maki and I then headed straight to the entrance. As we passed through the school gate and onto the empty street, Maki took off her hood, claiming she couldn’t see well.

It was the first time we were walking home together without any particular reason, just because we happened to be in the same class. Maki seemed too busy grumbling about the cat ears on her head to notice.

“I wonder if that medicine is really working. I don’t feel anything. My stomach’s just been fine for ages.”

“Three pills a day. Seven to eight hours apart.”

“I’m taking them properly.”

“It might take time. Are you really not feeling any effects at all?”

“…When I looked in the bathroom mirror earlier, I felt like the ears were less pronounced than before. Maybe by a few centimeters.”

“Let me see,” I said, trying to tiptoe and peek, but she hid them under her parka. A person on a bicycle was approaching from the other side. Even after they passed, Maki still wouldn’t take off her hood.

Maki sighed, looking up at the sky. It had been almost a month since she was possessed by the white cat. She seemed a bit worn out. The phenomenon appeared whimsically, as if embodying the cat’s personality.

Kimizu-san had called this a blessing. I thought it sounded familiar, and then I finally remembered. Maki and I had had a similar conversation back when we were in middle school.

Having been in the same class since elementary school, Maki teased that it was like a curse, and I had said that a blessing sounded better. No, maybe it was the other way around. Either way, one of us had said it. If simply changing the name could alter the impression so easily, then all the dirty and vulgar words in this world could just be called “cat.”

Back then, Maki had jumped out quickly to save the white cat that almost got run over. If I had noticed first, she might not have been possessed. A guilt that feels too late now flickers through my mind. I wish I could encourage the tired Maki, but I feel that half-hearted words would only make her angrier, and I also feel unqualified to do so.

In the end, I only see the cat. Perhaps it’s because I know that loving a cat won’t hurt me. Maybe it’s because interacting with people doesn’t gouge into my insides as deeply.

“Oh, a cat.”

“Where?”

Snapped back to reality, Maki turned to see what I was pointing at. A few boys were coming around the corner, one of them wearing a cat costume pajama. The two boys flanking him were pointing their smartphones at him.

I wondered why he was dressed like that and quickly realized that the shopping district was in the direction they were coming from.

As the thought struck me, I turned to Maki.

“The shopping district!”

“Huh?”

“They’re having a ‘Cat Cosplay Week’ right now. Everyone’s in cat costumes. You can take off your hood and walk around. Let’s go for a little stroll!”

“No way, that sounds awful.”

“Don’t worry. No one will recognize you.”

Maki tried to pull away, wanting to escape, but I grabbed her hand. I had taken the liberty of holding it, but so far, she hadn’t gotten mad.

“Let’s take a break. It’s okay to take advantage of the phenomenon once in a while. If this works out, we can live without worrying about being seen during Golden Week.”

“What’s that? Sounds like nonsense.”

“I’ll treat you to something. There are food stalls out now.”

Maki fell silent.

After a few seconds, she finally replied.

“…If it’s just for an hour.”

“Great, it’s settled!”

I pulled her along, turning the corner. The flyer mentioned that some shops would give discounts for those in cat costumes. They would undoubtedly mistake Maki for a cosplayer.

As we gradually moved away from our route home and closer to the shopping district, the sweet scent of sauce wafted through the air. Stalls were already set up near the arcade entrance. I could see cats skillfully grabbing spilled food near the stalls.

Half of the customers coming out of the lively shopping district were wearing masks, cosplaying, or dressed in similar cat pajamas, all in some form of cat costume. Maki, glancing around nervously, still wouldn’t take off her hood. She began to look down, embarrassed.

“Look, there are people with cat ears just like yours.”

“I want to go home after all.”

She pulled her hand away and started walking in the opposite direction. Just like a cat, she was being fickle. At this point, I had no choice but to take a more forceful approach.

I chased after her, reaching for her hood and leaping.

“Gotcha!”

“Hey, wait!”

Just as she tried to put the hood back on, a father and a little girl walking nearby noticed Maki. The girl immediately pointed at Maki, exclaiming, “So cute! I want that!” to her father. It was enough to change Maki’s mood.

With her hood still off, Maki headed toward the shopping district, and I followed her. Her face was slightly flushed, but she still spoke in an annoyed tone.

“Buy me something quickly. And you should cosplay too, Ichika.”

“No way, I feel like it’s too easy and pandering for a high school girl to dress as a cat.”

“That’s exactly what I hate about you!”

I felt like I was being choked, so I ran away. Just like that, we quickly advanced deep into the shopping district. The residents and tourists we passed glanced our way, but no one said anything. No one looked surprised or gave us strange looks. It was a success after all.

Whenever I looked around, there were always cats in sight.

Both real and people dressed as cats were all around.

Someone’s laughter echoed, as if caught in some kind of fever. I could hear someone mimicking a cat’s meow. It was a sight unique to this town, and I loved it.

At the intersection in the center of the shopping district, a small event was taking place. It turned out to be a cat cosplay contest, and since they were still accepting entries, I jokingly asked Maki if she wanted to participate, and to my surprise, she agreed. When I asked again in disbelief, she said it was conditional on me joining as well.

Since I was the one who suggested taking a break, I reluctantly decided to go along with it. Maki made me wear the cat ears, tail, and whiskers she picked out from a nearby shop.

After registering for the contest, we were made to stand on stage with the other participants. The town had invited a cat enthusiast and a celebrity who loved cats as judges, and their comments were getting cheers from the audience. My costume was teased as “a cat hastily thrown together five minutes ago,” and I was the one who got the most laughs. In fact, Maki was laughing the hardest.

When it was Maki’s turn for evaluation, she received generally high praise, but one of the judges, a male cat enthusiast, remarked, “You could have leaned a bit more towards realism.” After the contest ended, we laughed so hard about it backstage.

We didn’t win any prizes, but as a participation gift, we received a can of cat food, a paper pack of vegetable juice for health, and a tote bag to carry them in.

Sitting on a bench, we both drank the vegetable juice through straws. Before we knew it, the sun was beginning to set. Residents and tourists were starting to head home, and the crowd was gradually thinning.

“Hey. I really do like cats,” I found myself murmuring.

“What’s with the sudden declaration?”

“Just look at how many people are laughing and enjoying themselves. You don’t find that kind of thing often. I’m glad I came to like this town and its cats.”

Maki stared intently at my face. I waited, expecting some mocking words to come, but she said nothing.

It was a day that the vegetable juice and the cats gave us, a slightly healthier day.

It wasn’t long after that when Maki’s condition began to worsen.