《The Story Of Two People And A Cat》


 CH 1

    I remember almost nothing from my childhood.


    I remember neither where I was born nor where I was raised.


    I remember neither my mother¡¯s nor my father¡¯s face.


    My only faint memory is of a warm, soft, sweet smell.


    I was whisked away from a place of indescribable comfort, and before I knew it, I was somewhere cold and dark.


    Cold rain pelted down day and night, soaking me to the bone. It was cold. I was hungry. I couldn¡¯t even cry out.


    Just as I closed my eyes and started to think that I would rather never wake up, I felt very light. I was in the air.


    I weakly opened my eyes. In front of me, there was a person with glossy black hair just like mine, although his was shinier, and kind eyes of a bit lighter color. The clothes he was wearing were all black except for a couple of golden buttons.


    As a black cat myself, I thought he looked a lot like me.¡°You¡¯re alone too,¡± he said. I meowed frailly.


    That was how I met Masaya.

 CH 2

    He took me to his house. For the first time in a long while, I fell asleep surrounded by a warm, soft, sweet smell.


    The next morning before I woke up, Masaya came to look for me.


    He scooped me up in his arms and took me in the direction of something bright.


    He pulled on something which made a whooshing sound, and blazing light rushed into my eyes. I shut them tightly.


    As I got used to the brightness, I cautiously opened my eyes. In front of me was one giant, expansive sheet of color. Here and there floated bits of white fog.


    ¡°With this blue sky, it¡¯s hard to believe it was ever raining.¡±


    Now that I think about it, I¡¯ve never in my life been somewhere that wasn¡¯t dark. When I saw my first human, I immediately was put into a box and abandoned  where I was yesterday. I was left in the shadow of a building, out of reach of any light, so I have never seen the blue sky. This is my first time.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I haven¡¯t named you yet. You¡¯re a cat so¡­ Tama? Nahh, that¡¯s too common. Kuro for your black fur? But that¡¯s more of a dog¡¯s name.¡±


    (T/N: Kuro means black in Japanese.)


    Masaya continued to mumble names. I would have been fine with any name, really, but©`©`


    ¡°Okay. How about Sora?¡±


    (T/N: Sora means sky in Japanese.)


    As soon as I heard that name, it resounded with the ¡°blue sky¡± that I had described earlier, and I felt it would be good. Without thinking, I meowed. Masaya smiled broadly.


    ¡°I see. So you like it, huh? From now on, your name is Sora. It¡¯s good to have you, Sora.¡±


    As he said that, Masaya began to stare off into the distance.


    His eyes, lonely, seemed to be searching for something farther away than the blue sky.


    It felt as if, somehow, he would drift away if left like this. I meowed loudly once again.

 CH 3

    There began the life of a person and a cat.


    Although, technically, it wasn¡¯t just one person.


    Masaya¡¯s mother and father were living in the same space. However, they weren¡¯t home very often, and when they were, they didn¡¯t seem to care about Masaya or me.What made it worse was whenever his parents came face-to-face with each other they were sure to raise an intense battle of words.


    At times like that, Masaya would wrap his arms around me and wait for the storm to pass. He would hole up in his room, not moving an inch. It was hard for me to watch him suffer. However, it made me feel I was needed, which made me feel a little glad.


    Two human years after I had met Masaya, our life of one person and one cat became the life of two people and a cat.


    One day, without any prior suggestion, Masaya brought someone home. He was unlike anything I had seen before.


    ¡°Riku,¡± was what Masaya called him. He was two years younger than Masaya, and his name was Nomura Riku. He was a first-year.


    Compared to Masaya, he was of a much smaller build. He had silky brown hair and round, kitten-like eyes.


    He stiffened up when near me¡ªmaybe he was bad with animals?¡ª but I could tell he wanted to get closer to me even without words.


    It was tough to tell what Masaya was thinking from his face or his voice. The only emotion I knew him to have was the loneliness I felt when he hugged me.


    On that particular front, Riku was his polar opposite. His expressions changed as quickly as the seasons, and what he was thinking was written all over his face. It was because of that quirk that I knew from the day I met him that he liked Masaya.


    As for what Masaya felt¡­ I really couldn¡¯t say.


    But, I did know one thing. That when Masaya was with Riku, he seemed happy. At the very least, when Riku was around, Masaya stopped staring off into the distance.Sometimes it weighed on me that I wasn¡¯t able to do anything cause i was just a cat, but more than anything, I loved how Masaya was when he was with Riku. So, my disappointment seemed trivial.


    I thought wholeheartedly that, from now on, we would forever be together as two people and a cat.

 CH 4

    ¡°Must be good to be you, Sora. You get to be with Masaya all the time, forever.¡±


    One day, when Masaya had gone down to the first floor, I found myself alone with Riku. He started talking to me. Riku was always a cheerful and gentle person. However, he seemed depressed that day. It reminded me of how Masaya was after Riku went home.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you a lot.¡±


    I didn¡¯t understand what he was saying.


    Why would he miss me?


    ¡°I¡¯ve had a crush on Masaya since middle school. When I became a high schooler, I asked him out, and we started dating. But¡­ it¡¯s probably just because of our special circumstances. We¡¯re now in senior year of all-boys high school. When he graduates and goes to college, he¡¯ll be surrounded by girls. Unlike me, Masaya is not gay. And he¡¯s really handsome, so I¡¯m sure the girls won¡¯t be able to leave him alone.¡±


    Riku laughed quietly, his face looking soundly defeated.


    Masaya sometimes made that face, too. It would show up when his mother handed him an envelope full of money, saying that it was ¡°this month¡¯s living expenses.¡± Or when his father looked over his plans after graduation and, without a hint of interest, would ornament it with the opinion that ¡°it seems okay.¡±

 CH 5

    As soon as Riku left, both Masaya and I were left alone. This is because Masaya¡¯s parents had a divorce and Masaya moved out of the house alone.


    Compared to our previous house, this one is much smaller, with only one room. Masaya brought many men and women to our house, but they all came only once.


    Masaya was always looking for a replacement for Riku. If that were the case, he should have gone to see Riku, but he didn¡¯t do that either. Not being cared for by his parents makes Masaya timid. All this time being by his side I realised this much. It was always hard for me, a cat, to replace Riku.

 CH 6

    After changing residence several times, I had reached the age of a grandfather in human terms.


    Masaya seems to be working as a ¡°novelist¡± now, and spends most of the day at home. And then one day, suddenly a miracle happened.


    ¡°I¡¯m Nomura, who brought the book on your behalf.¡±


    I thought I heard a familiar voice, so I went to the front door and found Riku there.


    ¡°Leave the book there. Also, can I ask you to come up so I can check the schedule for my next serial?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes,In the meantime, I will ask the doctor about his availability and Saeki will get back to you officially.¡±


    Riku gave me a soft smile as he had in the past, as I remained at the entrance and wagged my tail.


    ¡°It seems like Sora remembers me.¡±


    It was as if to say that Masaya did not remember him. Riku apparently didn¡¯t notice how upset he was when he took off the slippers he had put on and left barefoot. In the middle of the meeting, Masaya received a phone call, and while he went out on the balcony to answer the phone, I jumped onto Riku¡¯s lap. Riku¡¯s hand gently caresses my back.


    ¡°It¡¯s spacious and clean for a single person, and I bet you have a girlfriend now you¡¯re dating.¡±


    I wanted to say ¡°no¡± but I couldn¡¯t say it, so I meowed.


    ¡°I heard that he became a writer, so I went to work for a publishing company. But I¡¯m glad to see him again looking so happy.¡±


    I knew it. Riku couldn¡¯t forget Masaya for a long time, too. Riku doesn¡¯t know Masaya as a college student. He started writing novels and his rough life became a lot calmer as he let out his depressive thoughts in writing. However, it feels different from happiness. Even now, there are times when Masaya gazes blankly at the sky and looks as if he might just disappear.

 CH 7

    Masaya talked about work all the time and refused to make eye contact with Riku. Eventually, the meeting was over and Riku was ready to leave. Unlike that day, Masaya walked Riku to the door. I had hoped that Masaya would stop Riku this time. Riku put on his shoes, bowed and said, ¡°Sorry to bother you.¡±


    Masaya only looked at Riku, who turned his back to us, his face contorted as if he were about to cry, and said nothing. So I squealed instead.


    Riku, don¡¯t go!


    Masaya, hold Riku back!


    This time, do yourself a favor and tell him how you feel!


    Lately I seem to have a weakened trachea, and just squealing makes it hard to breathe. I have a hard time breathing properly. Riku opened the door, stepped out, and looked back at me with concern.


    ¡°Sora. Stop being so annoying.¡±


    Masaya told me in an irritated voice, but I didn¡¯t stop. I didn¡¯t stop. Because I am helpless and all I can do is purr. I am just a cat no matter how hard I try. But it¡¯s too painful to be good.


    The meow becomes a mew, and eventually a hissing, weird sound. My mouth was full of bubbles. Just before my eyes went black, I thought I heard two voices.


    ¡°Sora!¡±

 CH 8

    I don¡¯t know how much time has passed. It felt like a little while, but it also felt like a very long time.


    ¡°Senpai! Sora is awake!¡±


    I heard a voice mixed with tears above my head. Footsteps approached me¡­¡­


    ¡°I was going to take him to the hospital one more time at night if he didn¡¯t wake up. But it looks like he¡¯ll be fine.¡± This time it was Masaya¡¯s voice.


    I was lying on my favorite cushion in the living room, and outside the window in the distance was the color of sunset.


    ¡®I¡¯m worried, can I come back tomorrow to check on Sora? Of course, I¡¯ll visit when your girlfriend is not here.¡±


    ¡°Girlfriend? What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Since you have such a big room and it¡¯s so clean, I thought you were living with someone¡­.. Aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t been with anyone since I broke up with you. We can do it tomorrow, but if you could, would you stay here today? If I¡¯m alone and something happens to Sora, I¡¯m going to lose my mind like I did earlier¡­¡­ Also, there¡¯s something else I need to talk to you about.¡±


    The air that surrounds them turns sweet and fluffy, just as it used to be. Now, I¡¯m sure everything will be fine now¡­..


    After the reassurance, I felt sleepy again. I love Masaya. I love Riku just as much. The happiest thing for me is to be with the two people I love, the two of us and one pet.


    I¡¯m glad I was born a cat¡­¡­


    With this thought in my heart, I fell asleep happily.