"Meow, meow~~ Meow~"
The search for the cat was still underway, and the loudspeaker resumed its work where it had left off. Some time had passed since the Photo Booth incident.
It had grown completely dark.
They were no longer in the shopping district. They had made their way to a small park, which, to be honest, seemed like a nice place for a stroll.
During that time, U Amakusa had tried striking up a conversation with Kamuro, but she was clearly still angry.
There was only one way to break the ice... find that orange cat.
Kamuro had to be crazy to go along with U Amakusa's damn plan. The creep had even used the opportunity to take liberties with her.
He never learned, no matter how many times she taught him a lesson.
"Meow, meow~~"
"Meow~~"
Gradually, U Amakusa began imitating the cat sounds coming from the loudspeaker, as if that would help them find the cat faster.
The cat had gone missing after school that afternoon. With only a few people searching, finding it somewhere on this enormous campus by evening had seemed all but impossible.
Now it was nearly seven, and neither of them had eaten. Most of all, Kamuro was so furious she'd lost her appetite.
By now, they could make out a few hazy stars in the darkening sky. Just then, the loudspeaker's cat calls got a response.
U Amakusa and Kamuro both headed toward the meowing. They'd already seen a few cats drawn over by the loudspeaker, but none of them had been the orange one.
At last, an orange cat slipped out of the thick grass beside the gravel path.
Fortune favored the determined. U Amakusa reached to grab the cat that had given him the gift of this "date."
But Kamuro was clearly faster. The moment the orange cat emerged from the grass, she scooped it into her arms. It immediately began to struggle.
U Amakusa didn't freeze just because Kamuro had beaten him to it. He quickly took the cat from her.
Gripping it by the scruff, he lifted it out of Kamuro's arms.
"You just picked it up without any caution? Weren't you afraid it would scratch you?"
"...I don't think so?"
Indeed, the orange cat dangled in the air, calmly licking its paw. Whenever it looked at the loudspeaker in U Amakusa's hand, it let out a meow.
This was a little unexpected. U Amakusa had assumed that an orange cat that had run off on its own would be the ferocious type.
Now that he looked at it, it seemed more docile. Still, it appeared to be in a bit of a bad mood.
Its pretty kitty girlfriend wasn't there after all. Could she have hidden inside that yellow thing?
Once their task was done, the two headed straight to the pet shop, hoping it hadn't closed yet.
If you broke something in a store, all you had to do was pay for it. Losing a cat was different. It had to fend for itself out there.
Maybe that was why this orange cat was so well-behaved.
Pet shop.
Emi Miyata and Miki Yamamura weren't there. They might still be searching outside, but Kamuro was relieved all the same.
She'd been afraid Emi Miyata and Miki Yamamura would be at the pet shop at that hour.
After all, they still hadn't dealt with their masks and the loudspeaker, and Kamuro didn't want the two of them to find out.
The pet shop owner had sent people out to help look, but someone still had to stay behind to watch the store.
U Amakusa and Kamuro handed the unruly orange cat over to a shop assistant, who promptly put it in a cage.
Only after that did Kamuro contact Emi Miyata and Miki Yamamura to tell them the cat had been found and returned.
U Amakusa was still inside the shop. He glanced at Kamuro, who was on the phone outside, and smiled before turning to the shop assistant.
"Um, if I wanted to get a cat, what would I need?"
The shop assistant heard him and began introducing all sorts of things needed to care for a cat. Naturally, the most important part of the pitch was the cats in the shop.
To the shop assistant, U Amakusa was a walking commission. The more things he managed to sell, the more he'd earn.
"No need to explain. I'll take this orange cat. Please."
U Amakusa meant the orange cat they'd spent so long searching for. He picked up a teaser wand and slipped it into the cage to play with the cat.
U Amakusa was truly grateful to the orange cat for what it had done that day.
If you don't want to stay in that cage, then come live at my place.
Still, U Amakusa thought he should get it spayed or neutered. Cats in heat were a bit too much trouble.
"Are you sure, sir? You don't want to think it over? You know this orange cat is... a bit too rambunctious."
The shop assistant would actually have preferred U Amakusa to choose a more expensive breed. These days, money was hard to come by.
U Amakusa waved a hand.
"I've made up my mind. I want this one. We were meant to meet, and so were she and I. Besides, I've already thought of a name."
"Meow~ Meow~~"
The orange cat in the cage was chasing a fluffy toy around.
U Amakusa was having a grand time playing with the teaser wand. Thinking of their "date" that day, he broke into a happy smile.
"What do you think of the name Orange? It suits your color, doesn't it?"
The orange cat in the cage seemed to realize U Amakusa was talking to it. It stopped chasing the toy and gave a clear meow.
"Meow~"
Seeing that, the shop assistant stopped trying to talk him out of it and rushed off to handle the paperwork, afraid U Amakusa might change his mind at any moment.
Just then, Kamuro finished her call and came back into the shop. She wanted to urge U Amakusa to hurry up and leave, before Emi Miyata and Miki Yamamura arrived and caught them.
"What's the rush? The shop assistant is doing the paperwork."
"Huh? What paperwork?"
"This guy." U Amakusa pointed his index finger at Orange in the cage, then pointed his thumb at himself.
"I'm adopting her."
"..." Kamuro stared at U Amakusa in shock, as if to ask whether he even knew how to take care of a cat.
"Is it really that surprising? I've even picked out a name." U Amakusa leaned down, smiling as he started playing with the cat again.
"Right, Orange?"
"You... did that on purpose, didn't you?" Kamuro fixed U Amakusa with a gaze that was growing steadily more dangerous.
"Of course not. Don't you think the color suits her perfectly?"
As he spoke, U Amakusa opened the cage and lifted Orange out, happily stroking her fur.
It was hard to explain, but U Amakusa found it a little unbelievable that Kamuro could still talk to him so calmly.
Most girls probably wouldn't be able to accept the things he'd done, right? Probably... maybe?
He really was getting away with it thanks to his good looks.
It had only been a few hours, yet Kamuro had miraculously let it go. The only possible explanation was that he was handsome.
U Amakusa couldn't help feeling pleased with himself. Who didn't love a confident man?
He'd grown bolder step by step: first, no physical contact; then testing the waters by holding her wrist and holding her hand; then hugging her again, and...
They'd only known each other for four days, and already the whole first year knew about a girl named Kamuro and her crazed pursuer.
They had Majima to thank for that.
From Kamuro's perspective, though, the words "creepy pervert" had to be added.
--Her Crazed, Creepy Pursuer.
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