Chapter 362: I Am a Cat, So What?
I am a cat. My name… is still undecided for now.
That was the opening line of Natsume Souseki's famous work — and it fit this scene perfectly.
Raindrops pattered outside the window. The marathon that was supposed to be held today had to temporarily halt preparations.
But there was still someone who arrived too early, not having checked the weather forecast.
Shinomiya Kaguya stepped into the student council room.
As a member of the "dog faction," she encountered a cat here — a jet-black cat.
Its body had not a single hair of another color. Its fur was long, and if one were to describe it as cute, the more accurate word would be… "handsome."
"...Get out of here, now!"
Shinomiya Kaguya, clearly irritated, walked closer and reached out her hand to shoo it away.
The black cat lying on the sofa lazily stretched its body, then continued to sleep.
"I've warned you already, and you didn't listen! Don't blame me then!"
Shinomiya Kaguya walked to the corner of the room, grabbed a broom, then stepped toward the sofa. "You're an animal, so you're not allowed to lie here. Besides, you're just a filthy stray cat… huh, wait, why are you so clean?"
Upon hearing that, the black cat lifted its head and looked at her, then rolled its eyes.
Stray cat, your ass! If my power hadn't gone out of control today, I would've turned you into a cat already!
凸/ᐠ - ˕ -マ凸
Feeling playful, he'd tried using his transformation ability — but it had gone wrong.
Sakurai Saki, nicknamed "Esper," truly lived a life full of surprises every single day.
"Get out of the way! Hurry up!" Shinomiya Kaguya cautiously probed, but her movements didn't provoke any reaction from the cat.
Sakurai Saki yawned, lying still without moving.
Shinomiya Kaguya realized this cat was incredibly lazy.
After observing for a while, she rubbed her chin, thought for a moment, then said:
"Alright, I've decided! Your name shall be Edward of Woodstock!"
That name was way too long.
And wasn't that the name of the "Black Prince" of England?
Sakurai Saki was speechless.
Just as he was about to lie down and rest a bit more, waiting for the side effects to fade, two soft, fair hands suddenly lifted him up high.
"I'm only sparing you because I follow animal protection principles. It's raining heavily outside—if you go out, you'll definitely get soaked, and as a stray cat, you might even die out there… so, you should be grateful to me!" Shinomiya Kaguya declared proudly.
Kaguya: （￣^￣）凸
'Kaguya looks huge…'
From his perspective, Shinomiya Kaguya — who was only an A-cup — didn't look flat anymore. She looked like a giant.
"Are you hungry?"
Shinomiya Kaguya gently scratched under the black cat's chin.
"Nya!?"
Sakurai Saki tried to wriggle free from her arms, but unfortunately, he was currently in the body of a cat, so his strength wasn't enough.
After struggling for a few seconds, he gave up.
Since he couldn't resist, he might as well enjoy it.
Shinomiya Kaguya's hands were really skillful.
"Did you come here to hide from the rain?" Kaguya glanced out the window, then sat down on the sofa, placing the black cat on her lap.
Those legs were perfect — full of athletic power, though… not quite soft enough.
Out of curiosity, Sakurai Saki stretched out his cat paw and gave Kaguya's thigh a little squeeze.
Kaguya-sama, who had just been "attacked," immediately sensed something was off.
"Y-you… you're a lewd cat, aren't you!?" Shinomiya Kaguya's face turned bright red as she lifted the cat up.
After staring at him a few times, she mumbled to herself, "Cats don't understand human speech anyway. It probably didn't mean to grab my thigh."
Right after saying that, Sakurai Saki once again felt Kaguya's thigh.
A few minutes later—
"I heard cats know how to 'knead dough' too…"
A bold idea suddenly popped into Shinomiya Kaguya's mind!
She picked up the black cat and placed it on her chest.
"Go on, try kneading!"
Sakurai: (,,•᷄ࡇ•᷅ ,,)?
You've got to be kidding me.
Sakurai Saki tried to move his cat paws but couldn't find anywhere to put them.
Sorry, can't do it. He knew she was trying to make that part of herself feel more noticeable, but seriously, he was powerless.
Even an Esper couldn't touch something… that didn't exist.
Just then, footsteps sounded from outside the door.
Soon, Fujiwara Chika walked in.
✧｡٩(ˊᗜˋ )و✧*｡
"Are? Why did you bring a cat here, Kaguya-san?"
As soon as her voice sounded, Shinomiya Kaguya immediately set the cat down.
During a previous conversation with Fujiwara Chika, she had made it perfectly clear that she belonged to the "dog faction."
"Kaguya-san, don't tell me you…" Fujiwara Chika looked at Shinomiya Kaguya with suspicious eyes.
Chika: (.≖ˇｪˇ≖｡)
Kaguya: (,,¬﹏¬,,)
Someone from the dog faction getting all cozy with a cat — that was pure betrayal!
Members of the dog faction were only allowed to love dogs! Loving cats was heresy!
The sky cannot have two suns! Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolutely disloyal!
"It's raining outside! I just couldn't bear to leave it in the rain, so I brought it in…" Shinomiya Kaguya explained.
"Oh~" Fujiwara Chika drawled meaningfully.
She walked up beside Kaguya and bent down to look at the black cat.
'So cute…' Fujiwara Chika's heart wavered slightly.
At first, she thought she could never like cats — but maybe it was just because she'd never met one that suited her taste?
This one in front of her was honestly perfect.
'This isn't good.'
Sakurai Saki now only wanted to escape from the student council room. Just as he was about to jump off the sofa and run, two hands grabbed him.
It was Fujiwara Chika.
"Kaguya-san, its eyes just rolled back!" Chika exclaimed.
"Indeed, just like Sakurai-san. Look, this is the same contemptuous expression he makes."
Sakurai: (◔_◔)
Fujiwara Chika was holding the black cat that Sakurai had turned into.
In that position, naturally, Sakurai was standing on her chest.
He reflexively stepped twice.
"...Staring~" Shinomiya Kaguya looked at the scene, and a faint twinge of jealousy stirred inside her.
A few minutes later.
"Let me hold it too," Shinomiya Kaguya said.
All this time, the self-proclaimed dog-faction secretary, Fujiwara, had been the only one playing with the cat.
"Alright." Fujiwara Chika lifted the black cat up, preparing to hand it over to Shinomiya Kaguya.
Sakurai Saki sensed something was wrong and immediately struggled in resistance.
"What's wrong? Don't squirm." While Fujiwara Chika wasn't paying attention, the cat fell straight onto her face.
Sakurai Saki still hadn't fully adapted to a cat's body, so he clung to her face like some kind of face-hugging monster, unable to move.
After a few seconds, he released his claws and slowly slid down.
In Shinomiya Kaguya's line of sight, the black cat was slipping right into the chest opening of Fujiwara Chika's school uniform.
Very quickly, the cat burrowed straight into Chika's clothes.
"Kyaa!!!" Chika screamed, clutching her chest with both hands.
"Fujiwara-san, don't squeeze!! The cat will suffocate!!"
Unfortunately, in such an embarrassing situation, Chika couldn't possibly pay attention to those words.
————
Sakurai Saki realized his body was now in a mystical domain.
In the dim darkness, soft, snow-white flesh pressed in from all around, accompanied by a faint milky scent lingering around his nose.
Could this be… heaven?
————
A few minutes later, the black cat crawled out from under Fujiwara Chika's skirt hem and darted out of the student council room.
"Haa~" Fujiwara Chika slumped down on the sofa.
For the first time, she realized just how terrifying cats could be.