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“Kyouji-san! Come here!”
A little black cat with round shiny eyes bounded ahead, waving a paw at the cat behind him.
The cat in the back was much larger, lazily following after.
“What’s up, Satomi-kun?”
Satomi expertly picked up a sausage from the ground and scampered over on his tiny paws. He tore into half of it, then pushed the remaining piece toward Kyouji.
“Let’s eat quickly. People will come back soon.”
Kyouji watched him gobble his share, then silently pushed the food back with his paw.
“Satomi-kun, slow down. I’ll go look for more.”
Suddenly, he felt a paw slap lightly against his rear. He turned around. Satomi blinked up at him:
“Be careful. Get back soon.”
The next time Satomi saw Kyouji that night, he was surrounded by a group of humans dressed in strange outfits.
“Kyouji-san!”
To humans, the call of a cat was nothing more than a few meows. Satomi had no choice but to squeeze between their legs, calling Kyouji’s name.
Just when his anxiety was about to overflow, he looked up—Kyouji stood right in front of him, holding a fresh cat treat in his mouth, obviously just offered by the humans.
“What’s wrong, Satomi-kun? You're looking for me?”
Satomi didn’t answer. He buried his head into Kyouji’s chest, rubbing against his fur again and again. Kyouji responded gently, leaning into him as well.
“Look! Two cats cuddling! So cute!”
Satomi snapped back to attention, staring warily at the crowd slowly closing in.
At the front stood a human wearing cat-ear headbands.
What is that? A human? Or…a cat ghost?
He shook his head and stepped in front of Kyouji, tiny body bristling to drive them away.
Kyouji nuzzled the fuzzy back of his head.
“Don’t be scared, Satomi. I’m right here.”
Satomi trembled just a little, letting Kyouji stay pressed against him.
The crowd dispersed a bit, leaving only two humans holding treats and phones, curiously watching.
Suddenly, one of them picked Kyouji up.
Satomi froze, then meowed frantically.
Kyouji was startled too and tried to jump down, but Satomi leapt into the same human’s arms, clinging to Kyouji tightly.
The two cats were pressed together—though to them, this wasn’t exactly a heartwarming moment.
“All right, all right! Put them down!”
Hearing that, the human quickly set the cats back on the ground and took out several cans of cat food and freeze-dried treats from their bag.
As they walked away, the cats could faintly hear them:
“You’re so bored you just have to pick up a cat? Didn’t you see how panicked the little one was?”
“I thought the big one wouldn’t be as scared. Sorry…”
Satomi watched the food and the retreating humans, thinking:
Humans are…really weird.
By the time Kyouji and Satomi were headed “home,” the sudden rain had emptied the streets.
This time, they walked side-by-side instead of one in front and one in back—still shaken from what happened.
“Satomi-kun, were you scared?”
No reply.
“Satomi-kun?”
Only the sound of paws splashing in puddles.
“…Yeah. Scared.”
“Really?”
Kyouji leaned onto him without waiting for permission, resting his whole weight against him.
“Don’t be scared. I’ll always be here with you.”
Satomi wolfed down all the food he’d gathered tonight, while Kyouji simply sat and watched.
Satomi pushed some toward him… then suddenly took it back.
“What is it?”
“They said today is ‘Halloween,’ a holiday humans celebrate.”
Satomi blinked.
“How about it? Want to join?”
“Sure,” Kyouji smiled.
Seeing Satomi’s eager eyes, he added, “Trick or……kiss me.”
“Okay, you can eat— Wait, what…?”
Kyouji moved fast.
“Kissing you works too, Satomi-kun.”
“…I’m done eating now.”
“?”