After Story: Companionship

Chapter Ten: Lost & Found

"Nope, not here." I sighed as I left the classroom to find Misae with a forlorn look. "Don't worry, Misae-san; we've only looked in about half of the rooms. If he's here, I'm sure we'll find him."

She chuckled, though her laugh didn't match her expression. "That cat's always wandering off. I don't know why I bother to keep looking for him."

"Well, he must mean something to you, if you're willing to look for him over and over again," I said. "From what I've seen, you two are inseparable."

"Eh, whatever."

We finally found him, dozing in one of the upper-story classrooms. When he heard her voice he rose from his spot by the window and made his way over to jump into her arms.

"What are you doing here at the school?" she gently scolded. "Aren't there too many people for you?"

"I wanted to go to the festival with you."

My eyes widened. Did the cat just speak? "Misae-san, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" she asked, giving me a puzzled look.

I pointed to the tabby in her arms. "He just said that he wanted to go to the festival with you."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "That's not funny, Okazaki."

"But it's true."

"But it's true," I repeated. "That's... That's what he just said. Wait...you're not hearing it?"

Misae gave me a worried look. "Did you hit your head somewhere?" She walked over to me and started feeling my head with her free hand.

"Your favorite pajamas are the light-blue ones with white bunny faces, but you hide them under your dresser because you're ashamed of them," I found myself repeating as I felt my face heat up.

The hand froze. "How... How did you know that?"

I gestured to the cat again. "He told me. Look, I'm having a hard time believing this myself, but..." I figured it was time to spill everything. "...back in high school you had a crush on a guy called Igarashi or something like that. You waited by the gate day after day to talk to him. At some point Shima showed up and messed up your attempts to get closer to him. You choked him a few times and he told you that he had a light in a box that would grant you any wish you wanted. Igarashi asked him to tell you that he already had a girlfriend, but he had a hard time telling you because he knew it would hurt your feelings."

Her eyes widened as I spoke.

"You kept blowing him off, but he persisted until...until..." I hated this part, "...until you fell in love with him. And he fell in love with you." I gestured to the cat again. "This is 'Shima', Misae-san; somehow he was able to become a human long enough to grant his owner's wish; to repay you for the kindness you showed him before."

Misae's face had long since paled. "H-How do you know all of this?"

I sighed. "Remember when I stopped by that one time and you ended up...well, crying?"

She nodded, slowly.

"Well, I had a dream that night. In that dream, I saw all of this...from the cat's...from Shima's...? Through his eyes," I finished. "It was like he was sharing his memories with me or something."

She stared at me for a long time, her shoulders tense. "You know Okazaki-san, if it were anyone else telling me this I would suplex them through the planet."

I took the precaution of bracing myself.

I was relieved when her shoulders slumped. "But...I believe you. There's no way you could have known even half of that." She looked down at the cat. "He's never talked to me like that, ever."

"I don't get it myself," I admitted. "I mean, why tell me? You were the one he made the promise to; he could've just told you."

She held the cat more closely, and he purred contentedly. "I don't know, Okazaki; maybe I wouldn't have believed it if he had. Maybe I would have thought that it was wishful thinking. Maybe I had to see the impossible to accept it."

I nodded, not trusting my words just then.

She smiled softly at me as she snuggled the cat. "Thank you, Okazaki. I can't tell you how much this means to me."

My smile was probably as soft as hers. "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help." I made a show of rubbing my hands together. "Well, if you'll excuse me, it sounds like I'm interrupting your date."

She laughed throatily, and I could feel my chest tightening. "I'm not going on a date with a cat. But...if you're free, I'd like someone to show me around the festival."

Did she...? Did she just ask me on a date?! "Um...I'm not much of a guide, but...I'll do my best. What about him?" I asked, nodding at the cat in her arms. "Will he be okay with the crowds?"

"Him? Well, why don't you ask him?" she said with a light teasing tone.

I hadn't thought of that, but it was worth a try. I bent down just enough to meet his eyes. "You up to walking through the festival with us?"

***

Apparently he was.

"This is sooo good!" Misae exclaimed as she munched on takoyaki.

To my surprise, 'the cat' had decided that he wanted me to carry him. I had no problem with carrying a cat in a crowd like this; it could get lost pretty easily otherwise. But...I kinda saw him as a rival. I knew it was silly to think that way, but... "I'm glad you like it. I'm sorry I couldn't afford more, but I'd already bought ice cream for Sakagami. If I'd known you were coming-"

"Ah, the student body president, eh?" She gave me a sly smile. "And how are you two getting along?"

"We're getting along okay," I answered honestly. I had a feeling she was trying to tease me, but I wasn't going to bite. "She seemed really grateful for my help with setting up the festival."

She didn't respond, and I looked over to see her staring at her food as we walked. "Okazaki?" she asked then suddenly stopped. She looked around briefly before pointing to a tree just outside the festival grounds. "Could we talk over there for a minute? I need to tell you something."

Holy crap! Was this going to be a confession? Wait, she wasn't in high school anymore, so things wouldn't work like that...would they? "Uh, sure. Lead the way."

When we reached the tree she placed her meal on a nearby table, reached out, and the cat jumped from my arms into hers. She snuggled him for a bit before she spoke: "Listen...I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you, sending all those girls." She brushed a lock of hair from her forehead with her free hand. "You already have so much going on with prepping for tests...and I know you're trying to get caught up, too, that..." She hung her head. "I'm really sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"Misae-san..." Her apology caught me by surprise, but I knew how I wanted to answer. "...thank you."

Her head snapped up with a look of surprise. "Huh?"

I smiled lightly. "All of this gave me a chance to get outside myself, to learn more about who I am and what I can do." I had to look away for my next statement: "I'll admit that I was trying to do all of it at first to impress you, but I...it...kinda got away from me." I shrugged. "My...focus...changed from trying to impress a pretty girl to finding out who I am, so...thank you. And I forgive you, but only 'cause you asked me to; I don't think you need to be forgiven. I asked for it, after all."

Something in the way she looked at me changed. I didn't know what it was exactly, but I was pretty sure that she was seeing me differently. I hoped it was for the better. "Thank you, Okazaki-san. Oh, and you're welcome," she said, and we shared a chuckle. "I'd...like to get back to the festival...if that's okay."

"Okay," I acknowledged with a smile.

"Oh, and Okazaki?" she asked, stopping once again.

"Yeah?"

"Call me 'Misae' from now on, okay?" Then, without waiting for an answer, she turned and hurried back to the crowd, with the cat watching me over her shoulder.

I felt my smile broaden and my heart warmed as I picked up her forgotten meal. "Okay."