The Smiling Mask and the Cat Mask

Inside the dormitory elevator, a man and a woman were waiting for the lift to reach the ground floor.

The boy wore an eerie Smiling Mask, while the girl remained unmasked, though she held a Cat Mask in her hand.

"Why am I..."

Kamuro couldn't fathom how she had inexplicably ended up leaving the house with U Amakusa while wearing masks—masks she had even retrieved from U Amakusa's own room.

"Stop dawdling and put it on."

Seeing Kamuro hesitate, U Amakusa snatched the Cat Mask from her hand, pulled back the elastic band, and snapped it onto her face.

After all... what they were about to do might attract a bit of attention.

To pick up where they left off, U Amakusa had claimed he had a way to find that orange cat, a notion Kamuro met with skepticism.

She doubted it because a school this large wasn't something you could search thoroughly in a short amount of time.

She believed it only because... U Amakusa was somewhat uncanny, always inexplicably knowing things he shouldn't.

But... the mere thought of the method U Amakusa had proposed made Kamuro feel mortified.

"Is this method of yours... really going to work?"

"Of course it will. It's a male cat, right?"

"Miyata confirmed it with the pet shop owner; it is indeed a male."

"Exactly, so there you have it."

U Amakusa spread his hands, then patted his own chest with conviction. "It's guaranteed to work. Just trust me."

"Sigh, fine."

Kamuro felt a headache coming on and wanted to press her temples to express her speechlessness.

U Amakusa's so-called method was...

To record the mating call of a female cat on a loudspeaker and play it on an infinite loop while walking around to lure the orange tomcat.

Was this really a method a normal person could come up with?

Of course, this was merely a cover; U Amakusa had known the orange cat's location all along.

He kept plotting routes and observing Kamuro to see the results, switching paths whenever he hit a dead end.

The information he had received was that he and Kamuro would find the orange cat in a small park at 18:57.

However, there was another reason for using this method... U Amakusa was bored and wanted to stir up some trouble.

Isn't this interesting, after all?

Child, live boldly and without restraint; your life has so many spectators.

If you aren't normal, you'll have more spectators than you can imagine, child.

Life may not actually have that many spectators, but we can certainly make it so.

While U Amakusa was excited about what was to come, Kamuro felt mostly shame, her cheeks flushing a deep red.

Ding—

The chime rang, signaling that the elevator had reached the floor where they needed to exit.

Filled with excitement, U Amakusa began fiddling with the loudspeaker in his hand, as if it were about to blare the pre-recorded cat calls at any second.

Stepping out of the elevator, they were lucky that no one was outside; otherwise, given the mask U Amakusa was wearing, they might have been reported as thieves and hauled away.

Having prepared everything, U Amakusa noticed something was missing. He looked back to see Kamuro still standing in the elevator.

Meeting U Amakusa's gaze, the expression beneath Kamuro's mask was one of pure conflict.

"...I'm not going..."

"Oh, stop the nonsense. We're already here."

U Amakusa couldn't be bothered to argue; he grabbed Kamuro by the wrist, pulled her out of the elevator, and headed toward the exit of the dormitory building.

Before long, they were a hundred meters away from the dorms, with curious onlookers staring at the two masked figures.

At that moment, Kamuro truly wished she could fuse the mask to her face so it would never come off, to the point that she didn't even realize U Amakusa was still holding her wrist.

"Yosh, let's start from here."

With that, U Amakusa raised the loudspeaker and pressed the start button.

"Meow~ Meow-meow~..."

The sound was loud enough to carry for a hundred meters, and the curious gazes of those around them quickly turned into the looks one gives a freak.

Why did I ever agree to this method of U Amakusa's? And why did he have to drag me along to do something like this?

Does this person have no sense of shame!?

U Amakusa: Shame? What is that? Is it edible?

As the crowd around them grew, and everyone began to steer clear of them, Kamuro's sense of shame reached its limit, and she wanted to bolt.

Just as she was about to run, she realized U Amakusa was still holding her wrist—wouldn't that mean everyone saw him dragging her along??

Thinking of this, Kamuro quickly broke free from U Amakusa's hand, her face heating up beneath her mask.

The megaphone continued to blare.

"Meow meow meow~~~ meow meow~"

Feeling the strength in his hand, U Amakusa knew Kamuro was struggling, so he let go without a second thought.

U Amakusa looked at the 'Cat Mask' with a resentful gaze and said, "I'm clearly trying to help you, yet you're trying to run away?"

It's not like I asked you to help...

In a fit of pique, Kamuro almost blurted that out, but she swallowed the words back down. Gritting her teeth, she glared at the 'Smiling Mask' and said, "Who told you to use such an embarrassing method!"

"It works, doesn't it? Just trust me, I guarantee we'll find that cat in heat today."

"Shut up! I know you're doing this on purpose!"

Having his thoughts poked, U Amakusa put on a heartbroken expression, clutching his chest as he said, "And here I was, offering you my sincere help, only to be cast aside like a worn-out shoe."

Damn it! This bastard! Why does he always say such frivolous things!

With onlookers watching, Kamuro, whose face had turned as red as a tomato from shyness and shame beneath her mask, finally snapped.

"Shut up, shut up!!"

She raised her arm to lock U Amakusa in a chokehold, gripping her own wrist to ensure a firm hold.

U Amakusa began frantically tapping on Kamuro's arm. "I'm dying, I'm dying, let go already, you wild woman!"

After giving U Amakusa a symbolic thrashing, Kamuro released her grip.

"Hmph!"

Once Kamuro let go, U Amakusa caught his breath and feigned anger to reprimand her.

"You! I'm here out of the kindness of my heart to help you, and you put me in a chokehold??"

Kamuro retorted loudly, "Who told you to say such embarrassing and frivolous things! There's a limit to how much you can tease someone! Pervert!"

After saying this in a fit of anger, Kamuro turned her head away and muttered softly, "Fine, I'll just treat you to a few more meals after this is over..."

Kamuro knew U Amakusa was there to help her, and she wasn't so spoiled as to act this way toward someone assisting her.

It's just... this guy is too infuriating! He keeps pushing his luck!

I bet he says these kinds of things to girls all the time!