Nekopara - ReUnion

Chapter 6: Family

Minuit woke up somewhere unfamiliar. At first glance, he didn't recognize his surroundings. Before he even tried to figure out where he was, his mind raced to piece together what happened last night, but he was suddenly interrupted by a loud voice he definitely recognized, though he couldn't properly make out the words.

He shut his eyes again, deciding he'd be better off trying to sleep a little longer before dealing with whatever was happening. She'd probably just yell louder if he intervened anyway. He could use his brain when he woke up—if she calmed down. That is, if he could sleep through the noise she was making.

"For the love of god, can't Azuki just shut it for once?" After what felt like hours of insufferable yelling, Minuit finally muttered, thinking no one was around to hear his complaint.

"Oh, you're finally awake?"

Of course, he immediately realized he wasn't alone.

But here's the thing: he didn't recognize this voice, and whoever it belonged to was way too close for his liking. Before he knew it, he had pinned a tall, tan-skinned catgirl onto the bed, one knee pressing her arm behind her back, while his right hand held her head down, her face against the mattress.

"Who the fuck are you? Are they so broke they're hiring whores to do the job now?" He whispered in her ear, immediately switching to English, assuming she was here to pull the trigger on him. Her response came in the form of muffled screams. Annoyed, he loosened his grip slightly to hear what she had to say. "Don't you even think about lying."

"Wha—what are you even saying? I-Is this English?" she stammered, clearly in pain and utterly confused.

"Alright, Miss 'I-Don't-Speak-English.' What's your deal? Who are you? Are you one of their sluts? You sure are dressed for the part." He switched back to speaking Japanese, his words dripping with suspicion. But the catgirl, still pinned beneath him, wasn't pleased.

"HUH?! Shigure-sama picked my clothes!" Her tone suddenly shifted, now fierce and defensive.

"Wait." Minuit froze. Something clicked in his mind. The realization hit him so hard that he practically fell off the bed. "Did you just say... Shigure?"

It all came flooding back, painfully clear. He had made a colossal mistake. If first impressions were important, Minuit had certainly left a lasting one—just not the right kind. As he crawled backward in shame, the white- or maybe light-blonde-haired catgirl (he couldn't tell with the sunlight glaring into the room like a spotlight burning his eyes) slowly stood up. He kept retreating until he hit the door.

Getting to his feet, Minuit took a deep breath and braced himself for what was about to be the most embarrassing moment of his life. Steeling his resolve, he threw himself forward, diving spectacularly to the floor and groveling before the catgirl, who barely had time to react before he was at her feet, face pressed against the ground.

"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY! I APOLOGIZE FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!" he shouted over and over, desperately apologizing.

"Wha—"

"Words can't express how truly sorry I am!"

"W-Wait, wait, wait!" She tried to stop him, but his relentless apologies only made her face turn beet red from embarrassment. Clearly, she wasn't used to such dramatic displays of remorse.

After a few minutes of this, the door creaked open, revealing a familiar face. A green-eyed catgirl entered with a look of disgust. Minuit immediately stood up to face the newcomer as if he wasn't just groveling on the floor in shame just a second ago.