Crazy Perverted Pursuer

"Meow, meow~~ meow~"

The cat-finding mission was still underway, and the loudspeaker continued the work it had paused earlier. Some time had already passed since the Photo Booth incident.

The sky had turned completely dark.

The two were no longer in the commercial district, having walked instead to a small park; truthfully, this place seemed quite suitable for a stroll.

During this time, U Amakusa had tried to strike up a conversation with Kamuro, but it was clear she was still fuming.

The only way to break the deadlock was to... find that orange cat.

Kamuro felt she must be insane to have followed U Amakusa in carrying out this ridiculous plan, and this pervert had even taken the opportunity to take advantage of her.

He really was incorrigible, no matter how she disciplined him.

"Meow, meow~~"

"Meow~~"

Gradually, U Amakusa began mimicking the cat sounds from the loudspeaker, as if that would help them find the cat faster.

Since it had gone missing after school, it was truly unlikely that a few people could find it in this massive school by dusk.

(Note: Most schools in Japan finish around 15:25; the same is assumed for the Classroom of the Elite setting.)

It was now nearing 19:00, and neither of them had eaten; most importantly, Kamuro was already full from her anger.

By this hour, some hazy stars were visible in the sky, and it was just then that the cat sounds from the loudspeaker received a response.

U Amakusa and Kamuro both headed toward the sound. It wasn't as if other cats hadn't been attracted by the loudspeaker before, but none of them had been that specific orange cat.

It wasn't until a flash of orange fur crawled out from the dense bushes beside the gravel path that they saw it.

Heaven does not disappoint those who persist; U Amakusa reached out to grab the cat that had gifted him this "dating benefit."

But clearly, Kamuro, standing nearby, was faster. The orange cat was caught in her arms the moment it emerged from the bushes, and 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 hands.

He pinched the back of its neck and pulled the orange cat out of Kamuro's embrace.

"You just grabbed the cat without any precautions? Weren't you afraid of getting scratched?"

"...It doesn't seem like it would, right?"

Indeed, the orange cat, suspended by the scruff of its neck, was currently licking its paws obediently, occasionally letting out meows while looking at the loudspeaker in U Amakusa's hand.

This was somewhat beyond U Amakusa's expectations. He had assumed an orange cat that ran off like this would be the fierce type.

Looking at it now, it seemed more like the docile variety, though it appeared to be in a bad mood at the moment.

It probably thought its pretty cat-girlfriend was missing—could she be hiding inside that yellow object?

Naturally, having completed the task, the two headed straight for the pet shop, hoping it wouldn't be closed at this hour.

If you break something in a store, you only need to pay for it, but losing a cat is a different matter entirely; its survival outside is a problem in itself.

Perhaps that was the reason this orange cat was so docile.

Pet shop.

Emi Miyata and Miki Yamamura were not here; perhaps they were still out searching, but Kamuro felt relieved by this.

She had been worried that Emi Miyata and Miki Yamamura might be at the pet shop at this time.

After all, they hadn't disposed of the masks and the loudspeaker yet, and Kamuro didn't want those two to know.

The pet shop owner had sent staff out to search, but the store always needed someone to watch it.

U Amakusa and Kamuro successfully handed the disobedient orange cat over to the clerk, who promptly locked it in a cage.

After finishing all this, Kamuro finally contacted Emi Miyata and Miki Yamamura to tell them it had been found and returned.

Still inside the shop, U Amakusa smiled as he watched Kamuro on the phone outside, then turned to ask the clerk.

"Say, if I wanted to raise a cat, what kind of things would I need?"

Upon hearing this, the clerk began introducing various supplies needed for cat ownership, and of course, most importantly, began introducing the cats in the shop.

To the clerk, U Amakusa was his sales quota; the more items he pushed, the higher his commission would be.

"No need for introductions. I want this orange cat. Please."

U Amakusa was referring to the orange cat they had spent so long looking for; he picked up a cat teaser wand and reached into the cage to play with it.

For today's events, U Amakusa was very grateful to this orange cat.

Since it didn't want to stay in the cage, it could come to his house.

However, U Amakusa felt that neutering was still necessary; after all, a cat in heat was a bit too much trouble.

"Customer, are you sure you won't reconsider? This orange cat... you know, it's a bit too hyperactive."

In truth, the clerk hoped U Amakusa would choose a more expensive breed; these days, times were tough and money was hard to come by.

U Amakusa waved his hand.

"No need to reconsider. It's the one. Because it has a bond with me, and a bond with her—not to mention, I've already thought of a name."

"Meow~ meow~~"

The orange cat in the cage was busy pouncing on a fuzzy toy.

U Amakusa was having a blast playing with the cat teaser, smiling happily as he thought about his 'date' today.

"How does the name Orange sound to you? It matches your color perfectly."

The orange cat in the cage seemed to realize U Amakusa was talking to it; it stopped its pouncing and let out a crisp meow.

"Meow~"

Seeing this, the clerk didn't say another word and rushed to process the paperwork for U Amakusa at lightning speed, afraid that he might change his mind the next second.

Just then, Kamuro returned to the shop after finishing her phone call. She wanted to urge U Amakusa to leave quickly, lest they be discovered by Emi Miyata and Miki Yamamura, who were rushing over.

"What's the rush? The clerk is handling the paperwork."

"Huh? What paperwork?"

"This little guy." U Amakusa pointed his index finger at Orange in the cage, then gestured to himself with his thumb.

"I'm adopting it."

"..." Kamuro stared at U Amakusa in shock, as if to say, do you even know how to raise a cat?

"Is it really that surprising? I've even picked out a name." U Amakusa leaned over, smiling as he teased the cat again.

"Right, Orange?"

"You... did this on purpose, didn't you?" The look in Kamuro's eyes as she stared at U Amakusa grew increasingly dangerous.

"How could that be? Don't you think the color is just right?"

As he spoke, U Amakusa opened the cage, scooped Orange out, and began happily stroking its fur.

How should he put it? U Amakusa found it somewhat incredible that Kamuro could still converse with him so calmly.

What he had done was probably something most girls wouldn't be able to accept, right? Maybe?

It really comes down to having a good character model, doesn't it?

After all, it had been less than a few hours, and the fact that Kamuro miraculously didn't seem to mind could only be because he was handsome.

U Amakusa couldn't help but feel a bit vain; who doesn't love a confident man?

He had become bolder step by step, from having no physical contact to testing the waters by holding her wrist and then her hand, until finally hugging her and then...

Even at this point, they had only known each other for four days.

In those four days, the entire first year had come to know about a girl named Kamuro and her crazy pursuer.

For that, he had Majima to thank.

Though from Kamuro's perspective, one would have to add the word 'pervert' to that.

--Crazy perverted pursuer.