Takemichi Hanakagi is an 18-year-old college student living a seemingly ordinary life in Japan. Since a tragic accident at age 16 left him with amnesia, he's been starting over, trying to piece together his past while managing a normal routine. Now...
Hi there, I'm Rain Hanagaki, but feel free to call me whatever you like. I'm currently at home, living with my older brother, Takemichi Hanagaki.
Are we siblings? Well, yes—though not by full blood. My mother and Takemichi's father were siblings, making us cousins. But you might wonder why my surname is also Hanagaki. Shouldn't I use my father's last name? Well, I could, but I prefer to stay Hanagaki. After all, my mother and big brother were Hanagaki's too.
As I mentioned, I live with Take-nii in his house, and I honestly wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
It's Saturday right now, and I’m busy cleaning up the mess my brother made in our home. I’ll also have to clean the store downstairs later.
"Geez, Take-nii…" I sighed, shaking my head at him.
I had only been away for three days, and somehow, so much had happened. The house was a disaster, and apparently, so was Take-nii's life.
I still remember what he told me:
‘Well... As you can see... *inhale, exhale* we’re going to have new family members in our home!’
When he said that, my mind went completely blank.
'Huh?’ It was the only coherent thought I had, and it made me nervous. Sweat beaded on my forehead.
‘What? Did Take-nii adopt someone? Why… I mean when? And who?!’ These questions swirled in my head, but for some reason, I never actually asked him.
Well… I noticed the cat-related stuff all over the place, but I didn’t piece it together until I started helping him clean up.
‘Are we getting a cat? Here I was thinking it would be a human…’ I thought, picking up one of the scattered items.
Then, it slipped out of my mouth without me even realizing it. "A cat."
I didn’t think having a pet would be such a bad idea, but then...
"Cats," Takemichi corrected.
Wait, what?
I blinked in confusion as his words sank in. "Cats? Wait… Cats—wait, what?!"
⫘⫘ No One's POV ⫘⫘
"So… it’s not just one?" Rain asked. They had finished cleaning up the house, but Rain decided to postpone tidying the store. He needed some answers first.
"Two? Three?" he probed.
Takemichi shook his head, indicating no.
"Wait... there’s more?" Rain tilted his head, feeling uneasy.
Rain felt a wave of dread wash over him. More? How many more? Four? Five?
"Hold on, hold on," Rain said, his confusion growing. "Just how many cats did we adopt?"
Takemichi hesitated, clearly struggling to make eye contact. "T-th…ree…?" he mumbled.
"Three? Just three?" Rain’s voice was suspicious. "And what's with the '?', huh?"
Rain definitely didn’t like this feeling. His gut told him it wasn’t just three. Takemichi had said ‘more,’ after all. That meant it was more than just three…
Rain sat on the couch, eyeing his brother warily. "Take-nii? How many cats did you bring home?"
Takemichi, looking guilty, avoided Rain’s gaze. "Before I tell you, promise me something…" he said cautiously.
Rain, too curious to resist, sighed. "Fine, fine. Just tell me."
"Promise you won’t get mad," Takemichi pleaded, flashing an innocent smile.
Rain's eyebrows furrowed. He knew his brother had done something crazy, but… he couldn’t get mad now, right? "Okay, fine. I won’t," Rain agreed, though reluctantly.
"So, how many? Three? No? Then five? Six?" Rain asked impatiently.
What Takemichi said next nearly made Rain choke on his water. "Thirty-three."
Rain stared, stunned into silence. Thirty-three?! He couldn’t even react for a moment as the number sank in.
"You said you wouldn’t get mad," Takemichi quickly reminded him before Rain could explode.
Rain just groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Oh my God…" he muttered. He had been prepared for three to six cats, maybe—but 33?! What was his brother thinking?!
"Thirty-three? W-what—?!" Rain tried to speak but couldn’t form a coherent sentence, while Takemichi awkwardly scratched his cheek, smiling nervously.
"Am I overreacting? Nope!" Rain thought. "Imagine being gone for three days and coming back to find out your family has 33 cats now. How would you react?!"
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of shock, Rain sighed heavily. "When did you find these cats, Take-nii?"
Takemichi, sensing the calm after the storm, felt relieved. "I’m sorry I didn’t ask you…" Takemichi mumbled, guilt lacing his voice.
Rain waved him off. "No, no… it’s fine. I was just shocked, that’s all…"
Takemichi’s eyes brightened. "So… you’re okay with it?"
"Yeah, Take-nii. You know I love animals," Rain said with a small smile. "I wouldn’t mind having 33 cats. Besides, isn’t it the more the merrier?"
Takemichi laughed in relief. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
But Rain, still curious, asked one more thing. "When did you find them?"
Takemichi's nervousness returned. He fidgeted, avoiding eye contact again. "Umm… yesterday…" he whispered.
And so, the chaos began again…
End of Chapter 3
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Author’s Note: Yosh! Chapter 3 is done!!
Sorry it took me so long to update 😅. A lot has been going on lately, and I might have made some errors in this chapter. Thanks so much for reading!
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