My Childhood Friend Meows Under My Skirt. (GL) - Chapter 4

The white cat Maki jumps down from the bed. Crawling on all fours, she eventually stands up slowly on two legs and leans against me. Rubbing her cheek against mine, she purrs, her sweet voice resonating.

The cat fur that grows from her neck to her right cheek prickles against my skin, accompanied by a tangible sensation of reality. I watch her little hands, which cling to my clothes as if to hook onto them. Undeniably, they are the size of Maki’s hands, yet they look just like a cat’s.

Caught off guard by the rapid progression of this blessing, my mind struggles to keep up, leaving me unable to react. Maki presses on.

“What’s wrong? Was it surprising that I can talk? Were you disappointed that my ‘meow’ isn’t a ‘nya’? Should I start doing that now?”

She giggles, her laughter more human than that of any human. When I had tried to approach the stray cats while mimicking their meows, perhaps I had looked just as strange to them.

A day and a half.

In just that short time, things have progressed this far.

Is Maki still truly inside there?

“Have you learned any words?”

“I was inside for so long. I wanted to talk to Ichika, so I learned. Praise me.”

“Why do you like me?”

“I don’t know. Before I knew it, I liked you. Ever since I entered this body.”

It was too sweet.

I couldn’t afford to feel rejected and fall into despair.

I should have acted more seriously.

Maki was already standing at a much more critical juncture than I had imagined, heading toward an irretrievable cliff. I had no idea about the depth of that cliff, its slope, or the speed at which she would fall. Would it still be possible to save her now? Could I still pull her back? At this point, had I managed to grasp her hand as she was about to fall?

“White cat.”

“You can just call me Maki. That’s what you’ve been calling me.”

“Please, give Maki back to me.”

The white cat falls silent.

“If you can, switch back to Maki. I want to talk to Maki…”

Maki moves away from me, still on all fours, and exits the room. It seems she has learned how to walk on four legs while maintaining a human skeletal structure; her movements are no longer awkward, with her rear end sticking up. There is undeniably a cat there.

As I chase after her, I find her opening the curtains in the living room. Moonlight streams into the dark room.

“I’m sorry, but even if it’s Ichika’s request, that’s impossible.”

With that, she stands up on two legs. Skillfully moving her hands, she unlocks the window. The night breeze rushes in, sending feathers from the tattered cushions and sofa swirling around the room.

Maki opens the window and steps out onto the balcony.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“I like Ichika, but I don’t want to die. So I can’t give up my body. This is already mine.”

“…Don’t go. Stay here.”

“If you want to see me, try to find me.”

She lets out a sweet-sounding “nya.”

I see her grasping the railing.

In the brief moment when the curtain flutters in the wind, hiding her for just a second.

Her figure disappears from the balcony.

I catch sight of her tail falling from the edge of the railing.

“Maki!”

I rush out onto the balcony and look down beneath the railing. If a person falls from the third floor of an apartment building, they won’t come out unscathed.

Maki had jumped to the roof of a nearby house. Not only Maki, but countless stray cats had gathered there, as if to welcome her into a new family.

“Don’t go! Come back!”

My voice doesn’t reach her. The white cat, still possessing Maki’s body, runs along the rooftops, followed by the strays.

Suddenly, I see Maki leap down to the street. A nearby streetlight casts her shadow. Her tail sways ominously, and after twitching her ears as if searching for direction, her figure vanishes into the darkness.

I hesitate, wondering if I should jump down as well, but ultimately decide to leave the apartment using human means. I can’t wait for the elevator and dash down the stairs, bursting through the entrance. I chase after the direction she went, but I can no longer sense even a single cat.

“Maki, Maki, Maki…”

There is no response, and soon even the wind dies down.

I pedal my bicycle until I reach the foot of Miyatai Shrine. Without a moment to spare, I nearly topple it in front of the moat. I dash up the mountain. When it comes to climbing, my legs are fast.

I shortcut halfway up the winding slope, crawling up the mountainside. Branches scratch against my cheeks, leaving a stinging sensation. Even when dirt gets lodged under my nails, I continue to crawl without caring.

Reaching the top, I press the intercom at the shrine office before I can even catch my breath. Hurry, hurry, hurry, I urge myself, and just as I was about to shout a name in the next second, it wasn’t the entrance door that opened, but the side porch where Kimizu-san appeared.

“Who is it? Oh, Natsume-san. Wow, you’re really dirty…”

I wish the shrine priest would hide his true feelings a bit more, but right now, I don’t have the luxury to retort.

I head toward Kimizu-san, who stands on the porch, looking dirty and desperate.

“Maki! It’s a big deal! She’s been completely taken over by the white cat, and her body is in terrible shape! We need to find her right now!”

“Please calm down.”

Kimizu-san, who had taken a step back, approaches and crouches down. Watching her movements, which are many times slower than mine, I realize how much faster my heart is beating than usual.

“You’ve even gotten hurt.”

With a gentle smile, Kimizu-san wipes my cheek with her finger. She discreetly hides the bl00d on her fingertip from my view.

Before I know it, I’ve arrived here.

The only person I can rely on now is her. That was the only thing I could do at this moment.

“It seems the medicine didn’t work.”

“No, that’s not it… Maki didn’t take the medicine.”

“Didn’t take it?”

“Just like me, Maki loves cats.”

Though we are childhood friends, there has never been a moment when we truly connected.

Our personalities, our ways of walking, eating, speaking—everything is different.

Yet, there is one thing that overlaps perfectly.

The part where we both love cats.

“Also, I had my doubts about you, Kimizu-san. I’m sorry.”

“I had a feeling. I was a little hurt and couldn’t sleep for a day, but I’m fine now.”

With that, Kimizu-san continues.

“What do you want to do? What do you want to do from now on, Natsume-san?”

“What do I want to do… well…”

“There is only one way. I can help with that. But first, I need you to tell me. I want to hear it from your own mouth.”

Is that feeling strong?

Is it special?

Kimizu-san was testing me.

She was trying to confirm it properly.

I have no idea what words would be the right ones to weave together. But during the crawl up to Miyatai Shrine, I had thought about it.

“I don’t know what kind of answer you expect from me. But if you refuse to cooperate, I will hurt you, threaten you thoroughly, and forcefully extract a solution. I don’t care if everyone else hates me, as long as it’s not Maki.”

As I let it all out, I feel something unraveling.

Before I know it, the weakest water in the world is spilling down my cheeks.

“I’ve already done something irreversible to Maki once. I hurt her.”

It stings as it seeps into the wound, and I hurriedly wipe it away, feeling embarrassed by my pitiful self.

But my feelings won’t stop.

“I can’t stand it anymore. I want to end this notion that I can’t do anything just because I’m inexperienced. I want to save both Maki and the white cat. I know I’m saying something convenient. But I will do everything I can for that.”

I’m slow-paced, my moods change rapidly, I’m clumsy, stubborn.

I’m shy and not straightforward, just as I appear, and I often leave people exasperated.

Yet, I still want to be the one closest to her.

Maki. Hey, Maki.

I really want to be special to you.

So.

“I want to see Maki. I never want to be apart again.”