CH 22

After playing bowling and arcade games like students, we had dinner at a family restaurant nearby. Perhaps because of its proximity to entertainment facilities, we saw many people our age who seemed to be students here as well. So students’ thinking is usually the same.

As the four of us sat around chatting and eating, the time passed quickly until 7:00 p.m. We had to go back to school tomorrow, and it was getting late.

Since we had to start school again tomorrow, it was not a good idea to stay up too late, so we decided to go back to our respective homes when it was still slightly light, just like high school students.

Leaving Saejima and Keiichi behind, I walked alone with Kohinata along the street at night.

The wind was cool and the sun was already setting on the horizon.

Sometimes I like the time of daybreak or sunset. I don’t know why, but it’s the time of day when I feel at home.

“So, here you are.”

Without any further ado, I took a key chain with a thumb-sized stuffed cat attached from my pocket and placed it on the palm of my hand so that Kohinata could easily see it.

They are two in number, a tortoiseshell cat and a Russian blue-ish gray cat, respectively. Both were posed like beckoning cats.

Kohinata stared at the two cats, then looked up at me and tilted her head.

“Remember that time we were playing the crane game in pieces at the arcade? That’s when I got them.”

Kohinata looks at the cats again. She looked very interested in them.

“I put in a hundred yen to try it out, and I was lucky enough to get two. I don’t often put on things like this, so I’m honestly a bit puzzled. I’d be happy to take them if you’d like.”

I said, and Kohinata shook her head vigorously.

Actually, the amount of money I put in was not much more than a hundred yen, but it seems she doesn’t dislike it, thank goodness.

After gazing at the cat for a while, Kohinata eventually pinched the looped metal part with her thumb and forefinger and lifted it up. What floated up into the air was a gray-furred cat.

“It’s not just one of them, but both of them is okay you know?”

I said to her, and she shook her head. Apparently, she doesn’t want the second one.

But …… I’m in trouble. What should I do with this cat if Kohinata doesn’t take it? I had not thought about that at all.

“Well, if …… it is, I’ll give this tortoiseshell cat to Saejima, Akane-san, or the store manager.”

Maybe there would be at least one person who would say, “I want one”. If all of them refuse, I’ll secretly attach it to Keiichi’s schoolbag.

As I was thinking about this while looking at the tortoiseshell cat left in the palm of my hand, I received a tap on my lower back. The culprit, needless to say, was Kohinata.

“Hm? you want?”

Kohinata shook her head. It seems that she doesn’t want it.

“So….., does that mean I can’t give it to someone else?”

Kohinata nodded her head.

Why is it that you say you don’t want it, but it’s not okay to give it to others?. When you say that, there is nowhere for this furry cat to go, and it will be unable to leave my hands.

“You mean, I’m supposed to use this tortoiseshell cat?”

That’s right! Kohinata shook her head as if to say so. Seriously

“…… Well, you see, Kohinata-san. Wouldn’t this cute little cat be too creepy if I used it, with all the bad publicity it’s getting?”

Me, who is rumored to be involved in assault and blackmail, wearing a cute tortoiseshell cat key chain–isn’t that still suspicious?

However, Kohinata shakes her head and says, “No, I don’t believe that!”

“I see…..Well, I don’t mind if it’s just displayed in my room, as long as I don’t have to worry about anyone seeing it.”

At the most, I’m sure my friends who come over to my house to play with it will give me a hard time about it.

With a sigh, she slapped me on the hip again.　

“Eh? Maybe that’s no good either?”

Kohinata nodded once. She’s kind of pushy today.

It’s not like I’m being pushed around, so I don’t feel bad at all. It’s not good for my pulse rate, though.

Kohinata takes her phone out of her pouch and starts typing something.

I feel like a defendant who is being sentenced. Of course, I have no such experience.

And then I looked at the screen of the phone that was pointed at me,

“That’s— school thing, isn’t it?”

The three words on the screen were “bag”.

Did this little lady really want me to put that adorable kitty on my school bag?

Kohinata, who looked a little uncomfortable as she turned her gaze to my feet, gave me an affirmative answer to my question with a small pull of her chin. I was a little nervous, but Kohinata’s ears seemed to be reddening.

Is this …… it? She’s a bit of a “matching with dad~” kind of girl, isn’t she?

If so, it is difficult to deny it considering that she has lost her father. It may have been an unnecessary concern, but I couldn’t ignore that fact.

“……Okay, okay, I get it. But Kohinata is going to wear that keychain somewhere too, right? If we wear matching things, some people might think we’re a couple. I’m used to people looking at me funny, so I don’t think it’s a big deal, though?

Besides the strange stares, though, I have to worry about being stabbed by Kohinata’s fans. I might as well plant a manga in my stomach.

She slowly shook her head in a wide grin at my self-deprecating remark. Then she types ‘okay’ on her phone and shows it to me.

Come to think of it, I’m used to people looking at me funny, but she’s the type of person who doesn’t really care about the way people look at her in the first place. I had completely forgotten about it.

“…..Haa, I understand, Kohinata-sama.”

When I responded, she nodded repeatedly, as if satisfied.

But I wonder which she said she was “fine” with “being thought of as a couple” or “being looked at strangely. ……”

–