Not Even as Strong as a Cat

This time, the noise didn't last long—barely an instant. Jiu Ming's vision suddenly blurred... and the scene changed!

What was even stranger was that the memories that should have been hazy were unexpectedly clear this time. As he sorted through his thoughts, he realized the difference was... he'd agreed to visit Suzumiya Haruhi's world!

Come to think of it, that was a little odd. That detail didn't seem to exist in his hazy memories at all. If it were important, it should have become clear by now.

Ah, whatever. Something had changed this time, so he'd find the source of the events messing with him... and put an end to it!

But where was he?

"Hey, hey, who are you? Don't you know breaking into someone's home is against the law... Uh!? W-what are you doing!?" Jiu Ming lifted a tiny girl, who looked like a little doll, by the collar. She kicked and flailed her little arms and legs. "Help!!"

"Huh? You're soft. You're not a robot?" Jiu Ming reached out and pinched the little beauty's cheek.

"You're the robot! How could a robot compare to me?" The little beauty struggled nonstop, slapping Jiu Ming's hand with her tiny hands and making a series of smacking sounds. But no matter how hard she struggled, there was one unavoidable fact: she couldn't break free. "Damn it, if my abilities weren't restricted..."

"All right, where are we?" Jiu Ming looked around. How should he put it? The place seemed very well kept!

"Hm?" At his question, the little beauty sprang from his loosened grip and landed on the floor. She straightened her clothes, which had gotten a little rumpled from all her struggling. "Ahem... I'm the head of this household!"

"...Could you beat a cat?" Jiu Ming looked down at the little beauty hopping around on the floor. Honestly, even a cat could carry her off, couldn't it?

"No... You're all picking on me!! You too, and Yuki as well!!!"

"Hmm? Yuki? So this is her home." Jiu Ming nodded, then slapped his palm with a smack and praised her. "It looks great."

"Heh, of course! Just look at who takes care of it. If it were left to Yuki, that child..." She shook her head with a sigh, like a little adult. The tiny beauty looked utterly exasperated with her own child, which struck Jiu Ming as rather strange.

"I'm Jiu Ming. What's your name?" He scratched his head, then crouched down and set the little beauty on the low table. At least now he wouldn't have to keep looking down.

"Just call me Asakura Ryoko." The little beauty waved grandly, then gave Jiu Ming a careful once-over. "You don't seem to be doing too well. You're practically smoking."

"You've never seen someone's soul dissipating?" he joked. Jiu Ming wasn't worried about his condition. As long as he didn't have to go through that self-torturing process again, his body wasn't disappearing as fast as it could recover. Once things evened out and he got some rest, this state would pass.

"That's not what I meant!" Asakura Ryoko looked him over a few times, then pursed her lips when she couldn't figure anything out. She'd seen plenty of strange beings, and she wasn't an ordinary person herself, so even realizing Jiu Ming wasn't human wouldn't faze her. "You... are you close with Yuki?"

She stared intently at him. A long time ago, she'd vaguely learned that Nagato Yuki seemed to be connected to another "world." Unfortunately, she was being "confined" here and knew very little. Now Jiu Ming had suddenly appeared, so naturally she couldn't help being suspicious.

"We're all right..." Jiu Ming tapped his head. Since the memories kept accumulating without repeating, he'd lost much of his sense of time. The only thing that stood out clearly was how increasingly guarded Nagato Yuki seemed.

One set of memories?

But his Little Notebook recorded at least three thousand five hundred times...

Thinking about it now, it really was insane. If the memories had piled up through repetition, he suspected he'd have gone mad long ago from that enormous brainwashing loop.

"What's Yuki been through lately? She seems awfully lonely."

"Huh? Now that you mention it, she does." Asakura Ryoko sat with her arms folded atop the low table, which was taller than she was. "But I don't know. I've lost most of my abilities, or I wouldn't have ended up in a position where even a mere cat can threaten me... Damn it!"

At the mention of cats, Asakura Ryoko gritted her teeth. Her furious expression suggested she might have had a close encounter with one and barely escaped with her life.

"If you're close to her, you could ask her. Even she might run into trouble if things keep going like this." Asakura Ryoko rested a finger on her chin, as if something had occurred to her. "Oh, and I think I've been getting more déjà vu lately. Like when she went out just now—I feel as though I've seen it happen over and over..."

"Is that so..." Jiu Ming pinched his fingers together as he thought. He'd given up trying to make sense of this shoddy world. For now, he needed to figure out what was causing these strange events. "I haven't asked yet. What's your relationship with her?"

"Coworkers! Though I'm practically her mother now. I'm responsible for her entire daily life. And you have no idea—she's such a handful at home!"

Having a coworker who constantly badmouthed her... Jiu Ming felt sorry for Nagato Yuki. Wait, she didn't seem like a handful at all.

"Aren't you worried I'll tell her?"

At that, Asakura Ryoko's face turned green. "I'll kill you!!"

...Was an angry mole really threatening?

Watching Asakura Ryoko tumble straight off the low table, Jiu Ming scratched his head. What a tragedy.

"All right, all right. Do you know where Yuki went?" He put Asakura Ryoko, whose forehead had turned red from the fall, back on the low table and looked at her furious expression.

"No!" She looked determined not to cooperate.

Jiu Ming thought for a moment. To Asakura Ryoko's horrified confusion, a strange, wicked smile spread across his face. "Yuki didn't tell you, huh... I'm also a perverted doll enthusiast, especially when it comes to someone with your build..."

"Are you trying to threaten me?" Asakura Ryoko was sharp enough not to be intimidated. She cut him off without hesitation.

"...I'll go catch a cat."

"Eek!!" Asakura Ryoko, provoked into action, lunged at Jiu Ming with her arms and legs flailing. She grabbed the hem of his clothes, swiftly climbed up to his shoulder, bared her teeth, and bit down hard on his neck!!

"What a feeble counterattack." Jiu Ming clicked his tongue and gently pinched her by the collar. "Anyway, don't underestimate what I'm capable of when I've gone completely crazy."

"Besides, all that 'messing with me' again and again has left me feeling pretty restless." Jiu Ming smiled, and Asakura Ryoko stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Uh... Take me with you!"

"Sure!" Jiu Ming agreed without a second thought. "But can you find her?"

"Of course. I've lost most of my abilities, but finding someone is a piece of cake. It takes no skill at all!" She dragged a backpack over to Jiu Ming's feet, looking completely relaxed, as if she could wipe out an army with a wave of her hand. Jiu Ming could only stare.

"That settles it, then. Let's go." Jiu Ming checked the time. It was only one...

It wasn't until he went out with Nagato Yuki that he learned this Three-No Girl lived in a luxury apartment. In the middle of a sweltering afternoon, Jiu Ming saw hardly anyone outside. Most people were probably holed up at home with the air conditioning on.

Asakura Ryoko quietly curled up inside the backpack. After Jiu Ming left, he heard the zipper being gently pulled open by his ear. Then a tiny figure darted out of the bag, leapt into the air, and made what, for her size, was a truly impressive jump of faith, shouting, "I'm free!"

She landed squarely on a sturdy stray cat that didn't seem particularly afraid of people...

Silence...

Asakura Ryoko's face, flushed with excitement and apparently ready to run away, quickly turned ashen. The cat had been startled by her sudden "attack," but a moment later, it let out an angry, low growl.

"Help!!!!!" Asakura Ryoko stared in horror at Jiu Ming, who stood by without moving, then bolted just before the stray cat pounced.

"Hey, if you don't do stupid things, stupid things won't happen to you. Forget it, take it as a lesson." Jiu Ming folded his arms and watched the little beauty and the stray cat circling him with a faint smile. "You really can't behave, can you? Trying to run away."

"Help me! It's over! It's going to catch me!!" After tripping over a pebble, Asakura Ryoko's tiny body was immediately swallowed by a shadow. In the stray cat's eyes, she might as well have been a slightly oversized mouse...

Unless something unexpected happened, what came next would be a gruesome scene of the girl being mauled.

"Urgh! Meow...?"

The stray cat hovered in midair and let out a puzzled cry. Why wasn't it falling?

"I'm saved." Asakura Ryoko let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from her brow. "That scared me to death! How could you stand there and watch so coldly? I'm a beauty, you know!"

"You're too small for me to be interested." Jiu Ming gently pinched the stray cat's ear. It didn't sense any hostility from him, so after struggling a little, it contentedly rubbed against his hand as he scratched it.

"..." Asakura Ryoko figured it out. Jiu Ming hadn't scared the stray cat away; he'd kept it around. The message was obvious, practically saying to her, "Try running away again, and see what happens!"

"You two are in cahoots, aren't you!" At the same time, she felt terribly wronged. Why had the cat been so vicious to her just now, but so well-behaved in Jiu Ming's hands?

"Can we really be compared? To it, you're just a slightly oversized mouse." Jiu Ming gently patted the stray cat on the head, then set it down. "I didn't bring any treats this time. Go play on your own."

Once on the ground, the stray cat licked its lips at Asakura Ryoko, glanced at Jiu Ming, then leapt over a wall and disappeared.

"There won't be a next time, right?"

"But what if there is?" Asakura Ryoko asked awkwardly.

"I'll play with you like you're a real doll!"