Work Text:
ω
“Ena, look at me! Nyanya~”
“Are you serious? You called me all the way over here just to show off a cosplay headband?”
“It’s not a headband! Look closer! Meow~”
“Stop adding that stupid sound effect at the end of your sentences. And obviously it’s a headband. I can literally see the… wait, where is the plastic band?”
“There is none! Because they’re real!”
“Yeah, right. Let me just pull this little…”
“Ouch! Ena, that actually hurts! Stop pulling!”
“Wait. Did that… did it just twitch? Did your ear just twitch?”
“I told you it’s real! You’re gonna rip it off! Nya…”
“Let go of my hand, let me feel the base. …Oh my god. They’re actually growing out of your head. They are warm. You have real cat ears.”
“And a tail! Look!”
“Don’t swing it near my face! What is wrong with you?! How did this even happen?!”
“I don’t know! I woke up and just… poof! Nyanya~ You’re blushing, Ena. Do you think I’m cute?”
“Shut up! I am not blushing! Put a hat on or something, idiot! What if someone sees you?!”
“But they’ll get squished! And besides, I want everyone to see how cute I am! Give me a headpat!”
“I am not petting you!”
“Enaaaa~ Just one?”
“…Fine.”
ω
“So… you are a cat now.”
“Just the ears and tail! I’m still me, Kanade! Nya~”
“This might be a visual hallucination caused by severe sleep deprivation. I should probably go back to bed.”
“It’s not a hallucination! Touch them! They’re super soft.”
“…Can I?”
“Go ahead!”
“…Oh. They really are soft.”
“Hehe, that tickles. Your fingers are cold, K.”
“Your hearing… is it better now? Can you hear high frequencies? If I adjust the EQ on my tracks, would the high notes hurt your ears?”
“I’m not sure? Maybe? My ears did stand up when the microwave beeped earlier. But right now I just want chin scratches.”
“Chin scratches… like this?”
“Mhm~ Purrrrr…”
“You are purring. The vibration is very steady. It’s almost acting like a metronome.”
“I am not a metronome! Nya!”
“Do you want to eat cup noodles? Or do you need… cat food now?”
“Cup noodles are fine! I am not eating canned tuna, Kanade!”
“Ah! Mafuyu, don’t just grab it out of nowhere! Nya!”
“It moved when you were talking. I wanted to see if it was attached to your spine.”
“Of course it is! That’s my tail! Be gentle!”
“It’s fluffy.”
“Right? Ena said it was annoying, but I think it’s pretty cute.”
“It’s… interesting. The fur pattern exactly matches your hair color. Is the shedding bad?”
“I just got them this morning! I don’t know about shedding yet! Wait, don’t pull it again!”
“Let me feel the ears.”
“Wait—nya! That’s the sensitive spot!”
“It folded back when I pressed here. A reflex.”
“You’re treating me like a biology experiment! Give me normal reactions! Tell me I’m cute!”
“You are… very loud.”
“Mafuyu! You’re so mean! I’m going to rub my ears on your cheek until you admit I’m cute!”
“Stop. The fur is getting in my mouth.”
“Say I’m cute!”
“…Fine. You’re cute. Now please get your tail out of my textbook.”
ω
“You’ve been playing with that ribbon for ten minutes. Are you actually a cat mentally now too?”
“It’s shiny! I can’t help it! Nya!”
“Stop swatting at my pen! I’m trying to finish this sketch!”
“But the tip keeps moving! And it makes a scratching sound! Nya~”
“I swear to god, Mizuki, I am going to buy a laser pointer and lock you in the hallway.”
“You wouldn’t! That’s animal abuse!”
“You are a human teenager! Act like one!”
“A human teenager who needs a nap. The sun ray on the carpet is so warm…”
“Don’t sleep on the floor. Get on the sofa at least.”
“The sofa is too far away. Can I just sleep here?”
“No! Get up!”
“Then let me sleep on your lap, Enanan~ Please?”
“…If you drool on my skirt, I am throwing you out the window.”
“Yay! Purrrrr…”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re soft. Stop purring so loudly, I can’t focus.”
“…”
“…Are you already asleep? Seriously?”
“…”
“…Goodnight, idiot.”
ω
“Okay, so for the new MV storyboard… Mizuki, are you listening?”
“Nya? Oh, yes! I’m listening! It’s just… the smell of that grilled salmon over there… it’s doing things to my brain.”
“You already ate a parfait and a plate of fries. Are you still hungry?”
“I don’t know! My stomach says no, but my nose says yes! Nya…”
“Should I order a salmon dish for you? It has high nutritional value. Omega-3 fatty acids are good for brain function.”
“Mafuyu, do not encourage her! She’s literally drooling! Mizuki, wipe your mouth.”
“I can’t help it, Ena! It’s the cat instincts! They’re overpowering my human dignity!”
“What human dignity? You’ve been playing with the straw wrapper since we sat down.”
“It makes a crinkly sound! See? Crinkle crinkle.”
“Stop that. It’s annoying.”
“But Ena! Look how fast my tail wags when I crinkle it! Doesn’t it make you want to pet me?”
“No. It makes me want to confiscate the wrapper.”
“Mean! Kanade, Ena is being mean to me! Pat my head!”
“Okay. Pat pat.”
“Purrrrr… Kanade is the best. You should learn from her.”
“I am not indulging your weird feline delusions in the middle of a restaurant!”
ω
“…So if we lower the tempo here, the transition feels smoother. What do you guys think?”
“I agree. It gives the vocals more room to breathe. The lyrics here are a bit heavy, so the slower tempo fits.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. The artwork will focus more on the lighting in this section, then.”
“Mhm. And Mizuki, for the video editing… Mizuki?”
“…”
“Is she asleep?”
“She’s curled up in a perfect circle on the beanbag. Her tail is wrapped around her nose.”
“She looks like a croissant.”
“A pink croissant. Ena, don’t poke her.”
“I just want to see if the ears twitch when she’s sleeping. …Look! They did! They totally did!”
“Stop it, you’re going to wake her up.”
“She’s fine, she’s practically vibrating. Can you guys hear that?”
“Yes. The purring is very loud. It’s almost masking the bass track I was working on.”
“It’s a very steady rhythm, though.”
“Mafuyu, do not start taking notes on her purring frequencies.”
“I just think it’s a fascinating physiological response. If we record it, could we use it as white noise for a track?”
“Absolutely not! We are not putting Mizuki’s cat snores into our song!”
“It’s not a snore, Ena. It’s a purr. There’s a difference.”
“Whatever! Just… grab that blanket, Kanade. She’s shivering a little.”
“Got it. There.”
“…Nya… Ena… warm…”
“Did she just talk in her sleep?”
“She said your name, Ena. Your face is turning red.”
“Shut up, Mafuyu! It’s just warm in this room!”
ω
“Okay, make sure you go straight home, Mizuki. Don’t get distracted by any shiny things or laser pointers.”
“I can walk home safely. Nya!”
“I don’t know, your track record today hasn’t been great. You almost jumped onto a mailbox because you saw a pigeon.”
“It was a very threatening pigeon! It was looking at me funny!”
“It was just eating breadcrumbs…”
“Anyway! Thank you guys for today! Even if you all teased me, I had fun! Meow~”
“Just get home safely. See you on Nightcord.”
“Bye, Kanade! Bye, Mafuyu! Bye, Ena!”
“See you.”
“Yeah, yeah, bye. And seriously, hide those ears under your hoodie. You’re going to attract weirdos.”
“I will, I will! …Wait.”
“What now?”
“Do you guys hear that?”
“Hear what? I don’t hear anything.”
“It’s coming from over there… behind the trash cans. Hiss!”
“Mizuki, why did you just hiss? And why is your fur standing up like a brush?”
“There’s another cat over there. A big orange one. It’s giving me the evil eye. Nya!”
“Mizuki, step away from the alley. You are not fighting a stray cat.”
“It’s a turf war, Ena! It challenged my honor! Hisssss!”
“Kanade, Mafuyu, grab her arms! We are dragging her to the station. Now!”
“Let me at him! Let me at him! I can take him! Nyaaaaa!”
ω
“Mizuki, it has been two days. You need to take a shower.”
“No! I smell fine! Cats clean themselves! Nya!”
“You cannot lick yourself clean, Mizuki. You are a human being.”
“I can try! And besides, the water is scary! It makes my fur go all flat and weird!”
“You didn’t think water was scary last week. It’s just a shower.”
“That was before I had these! I can feel the humidity from here, Ena! It’s threatening me! Hiss!”
“Stop hissing at the bathroom door. You look ridiculous.”
“Kanade, tell her! Tell her I don’t need a shower!”
“Um… well, you did sweat a lot during the dance practice earlier, Mizuki. And your tail has some dust on it from when you rolled on the floor.”
“Kanade! I trusted you!”
“Just get in the tub. We even bought the expensive strawberry shampoo you like.”
“It’s not about the shampoo, Ena! It’s about survival! The wetness! The shrinking! Nyaaaa!”
“Mafuyu, help me. Grab her ankles.”
“I am holding her left arm. She’s surprisingly strong when she panics. Her claws—fingernails—are digging into the doorframe.”
“I am anchoring myself! You’ll never take me alive! Meow!!”
“Mizuki, if you don’t go in there right now, I am canceling our crepe date tomorrow.”
“…”
“…”
“…Will you guys dry my hair for me after?”
“Yes, we’ll dry your hair. And your tail. Just get in.”
ω
“Stop shaking your head! You’re getting water everywhere!”
“I can’t help it! There’s water in my ears! The fluffy ones! It feels awful!”
“Just sit still. Kanade, pass me the towel. I’ll get her head, you get the tail.”
“Hold still, I’m going to use the hairdryer on the low setting.”
“Wait, not the noisy machine! The beast of hot wind! No!”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Mizuki. It’s just a hairdryer. We use it all the time.”
“It’s too loud! My sensitive ears! Nyaaa!”
“Here, I’ll cover your human ears, and Mafuyu can cover your cat ears. Ena, turn it on.”
“See? It’s not so bad. Just focus on the warmth.”
“Mhm… actually… this is kind of nice. The warm air… Purrrrr…”
“She’s purring again.”
“She looks like a wet kitten we picked up from the street.”
“Don’t let her hear you say that, Ena. She’ll get smug about it.”
“I can hear you… Nya… but I’m too cozy to argue… More on the right side, Kanade…”
“You are so demanding.”
“But Ena, you’re smiling while you brush her hair.”
“Shut up, Mafuyu. Just hold her ears steady.”
ω
“Mafuyu, what is this dried plant stuff? It smells weird.”
“It’s a botanical sample from the school greenhouse. Actinidia polygama. Commonly known as silver vine. The professor asked me to sort it.”
“Silver vine?”
“Yes. It produces a euphoric response in felines.”
“Wait, where is Mizuki? She was just on the sofa.”
“Nyaaaa~”
“Mizuki?! Why are you rolling on the carpet?!”
“It smells so good, Ena! Everything is so soft! You’re soft! The floor is soft! Nya~”
“Stop rubbing your face against the coffee table! You’re getting dust all over your hair!”
“Enanan~ Give me a hug!”
“Get off my leg! Let go! Kanade, don’t just stand there, help me!”
“Should I… offer her a cup noodle to distract her?”
“She is completely high on a plant, Kanade! Noodles won’t work!”
“Her pupils are fully dilated. Her heart rate must be elevated. This is a very potent reaction.”
“Mafuyu, stop observing and grab her tail! She’s trying to bite my sleeve!”
“Nya~”
“That is my favorite cardigan! Ahhh! Someone put the plant away in a plastic bag! NOW!”
“Okay, okay. Putting it away. Mizuki, look here. Follow the bag.”
“Noooo! The happy smell is leaving! Nya… Ena, I’m dizzy. Catch me…”
“Woah—hey! You can’t just pass out on my lap! Hey! …She’s completely asleep.”
“Her purring is shaking the entire sofa.”
“…Just let her sleep. But Mafuyu, throw that plant in the trash right now.”
ω
“Haa… ah… it’s so hot… Nya…”
“Mizuki, the air conditioner is set to 20 degrees. It’s actually freezing in here.”
“I don’t know! I feel like I’m burning up from the inside! My skin feels all prickly! Nya!”
“You’re squirming a lot. Do you have a fever?”
“No… I just… I need to touch something cold. Ena, your hands are cold. Let me hold them.”
“Hey! Don’t just pull my hands to your cheeks… God, you are burning up! Your face is entirely red!”
“It feels so good… Nya… more…”
“Wait, don’t rub your neck against my wrist! That tickles! And stop making those weird noises!”
“I can’t help it! My brain is fuzzy! Just hug me, please? Hold me tight… Nya~”
“Absolutely not! You are acting way too suspicious! Kanade, Mafuyu, do something!”
“Based on the seasonal timing and her feline physiology, she might be entering a heat cycle.”
“A WHAT?!”
“A heat cycle. Feline estrus. It causes restlessness, vocalization, and an intense desire for physical contact.”
“Mafuyu, say that is a joke right now.”
“I do not make jokes about biology, Ena.”
“Enaaa… don’t push me away… I need cuddles… Nyaaa…”
“Keep your hands where I can see them! Kanade, go to the freezer! Bring all the ice packs! Every single one!”
“I’m getting them. Should I get the frozen peas too?”
“Get the peas, get the frozen meat, get everything! We need to physically cool her down before I lose my mind!”
“No ice! I want Ena! Nya!”
“Stay back! I am holding a bag of frozen peas and I am not afraid to use it!”
ω
“Mizuki? Is that you? Why are you wearing a winter beanie? It’s May.”
“Lil’ bro! Ha ha… just… fashion! You know me, always setting trends!”
“It looks ridiculous. And you’re sweating.”
“I am not sweating! Anyway, gotta go, bye!”
“Hold on. Did your hat just twitch?”
“No! The wind!”
“We are inside a hallway. There is no wind.”
“My, my. What do we have here?”
“Ah! Rui! Please don’t sneak up on me like that!”
“Fufufu… Akito is right, Mizuki. That is a very voluminous hat. It almost looks like there’s something hiding inside it. Say, do you like this little keychain I recently acquired? Jingle jingle.”
“…Stop it.”
“Hm? Stop what? Jingle jingle jingle.”
“Rui. I swear. Put the keychain away. Nya—I mean, nah!”
“Did you just ‘nya’?”
“I said ‘nah’! As in, nah, I don’t care about your stupid keychain!”
“Oh really? Let’s test that theory.”
“Grrr… give it to me!”
“What the hell are you doing, Mizuki? Why are you swiping at his hand like a… wait. Why did your hat just fly off?”
“…”
“…”
“Rui… you owe me a new life.”
“Oh dear. It seems the cat is quite literally out of the bag. How fascinating.”
“Akito, close your mouth, you look stupid! And stop staring at my ears!”
“You—what—how—?! I am hallucinating. I am going back to class. An is going to freak out.”
“Wait! Akito! Don’t tell An! She’ll pet me to death! Come back here! Nyaaa!”
ω
“MIZUKI! MY FRIEND! WELCOME TO THE WONDER STAGE!”
“Aghhh! Tsukasa! Volume! Volume down! Nya!”
“Oh? What’s wrong? Usually you match my energy! And what are those delightful fluffy things on your head?!”
“Stop shouting! My ears are super sensitive right now! Every time you speak, it feels like a punch to my brain!”
“WAAAAHOOOOO! MIZUKI-CHAN HAS CAT EARS! WONDERHOY!”
“Ahhh! Emu! Don’t tackle me! My balance is weird because of the tail!”
“So soft! So fluffy! Can I bite them? Can I?”
“NO BITING! Tsukasa, get her off me!”
“Emu, please release our guest! Wait, did you say tail? GOOD HEAVENS! IT IS MOVING!”
“Rui, call them off!!”
“Fufufu… but Mizuki, you make such a wonderful addition to our cast. Perhaps a feline acrobatics show?”
“I am not doing flips for you!”
“Here.”
“…Nene? Why are you holding a tuna onigiri out to me like that? And why are you crouching?”
“Pspspsps. Come here.”
“I am not going to respond to ‘pspsps’!”
“…”
“…”
“Fine. I will take the onigiri. But only because I’m hungry! Nya.”
“Hehe. Good kitty.”
ω
“Finally, the new canvases arrived. Let me just move this bubble wrap and…”
“Box.”
“Mizuki, no.”
“But Ena… it’s a box. It’s empty. It’s calling to me.”
“It is a cardboard cube designed to hold canvases. You do not fit.”
“Cats are liquid! Nya! Watch me!”
“Stop folding your legs like that, you are going to break your kneecaps! Stop it!”
“I’m in! See? I fits!”
“You look like a discarded pretzel. Get out of there.”
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“I’m wedged. My hips are stuck. Nya… Ena, help.”
“I am leaving you in the box. I am taping it shut and mailing you to Kamikou.”
“Nooo! Kanade! Mafuyu! Ena is being abusive to a trapped animal! Nyaaa!”
ω
“…It’s mocking me.”
“What is mocking you?”
“That glass of water, Mafuyu. Look at it. It’s sitting right on the edge.”
“Ena left it there. It’s just a glass.”
“No, you don’t understand. It’s too close to the edge. It doesn’t belong there. It needs to fall.”
“That is irrational. Gravity will pull it down and it will shatter, creating a mess.”
“But my paw… my hand is tingling! My brain is telling me to just… tap it. Just a little tap. Nya.”
“Mizuki, put your hand down.”
“Just one tap! I need to see it fall! The physics of it!”
“If you knock that over, Ena will make you clean it up.”
“I can’t fight it anymore! FOR SCIENCE! Nya!”
(Crash!)
“…”
“…”
“WHAT WAS THAT SHATTERING SOUND?! MIZUKI, DID YOU JUST BREAK MY FAVORITE MUG?!”
“It wasn’t me, Ena! Gravity did it! I was framed by physics! Nyaaaaa!!”
ω
“…Almost done… just need to fix the baseline…”
“MEOOOOOOW!”
“Ah! Mizuki?! Why did you just scream from the hallway?”
(Thump thump thump thump thump)
“Was that… running? Mizuki, why are you sprinting back and forth across the living room?”
(Thump thump thump thump)
“I DON’T KNOW! I HAVE SO MUCH ENERGY! NYA!”
“It’s 3 AM. Please stop doing parkour off the sofa.”
“THE SHADOWS ARE MOVING, KANADE! I MUST CATCH THEM!”
“Ouch!”
“Did you just run into the sliding door?”
“I’m fine! The hunt continues! Nyaaa!”
“Please just go to sleep. I need to save this project file before I…”
(Thud)
“…Mizuki. Why are you sitting on my keyboard?”
“It’s warm. And your fingers were moving like little mice. Nya~”
“You pressed Alt + F4.”
“…”
“…”
“Purrrrr… I’m cute, right? You can’t be mad at me… Nya?”
“I am going to look up how to construct a cat carrier out of blankets.”
ω
“Mizuki, why are you sniffing my hair?”
“It smells like that expensive shampoo. But the ends are a little messy today, Ena.”
“I didn’t have time to style it perfectly! Just back off.”
“Hold still. I’ll fix it for you. Nya.”
“What are you—wait, did you just LICK my hair?!”
“It’s called grooming! It means I accept you as part of my colony! You should feel honored!”
“Gross! Stop it! Get off me!”
“Fine, fine! Hmph. So ungrateful. Kanade, you pet me instead to soothe my broken heart.”
“Pat pat.”
“Yes, exactly like that. Behind the ears… purrrrr… so good…”
“Your fur is very soft today.”
“Mhm… right there… purrrr…”
“…”
“…”
“Wait, what—OUCH!”
“MIZUKI! DID YOU JUST BITE KANADE?!”
“I DIDN’T MEAN TO! IT WAS TOO MUCH PETTING! MY WIRES CROSSED! NYAAAA!”
“You literally asked her to pet you!!”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It’s the feline instincts! It’s a love bite! Nya!”
“I am spraying you with a water bottle! I swear I am getting the spray bottle!”
“NO! NOT THE SPRAY BOTTLE! I REPENT! MEOW!”
· · ·
“…”
“…”
“Where is it?”
“What, Mizuki? It’s 7 AM. Why are you touching your head like that?”
“My head… it’s flat. I mean, my hair is there, but…”
“Let me see. Oh. The feline appendages have completely retracted.”
“They’re gone! The ears! The tail too! It’s just… gone!”
“Finally! Do you have any idea how much lint rolling I had to do yesterday? My black skirt looks like a yeti because of you.”
“…”
“Mizuki? I thought you’d be happy you don’t have to dodge the spray bottle anymore.”
“Yeah. No. I am happy. Haha. It’s totally fine. Nya… see? Not the same without the ears, right? Just sounds stupid now.”
“Your voice sounds tight. Are you crying?”
“I’m not crying, Mafuyu! Just… give me a second. I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Wait. Sit back down. What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing, Ena! I just… I’m just regular me again.”
“And?”
“And! And… being a cat was easy, okay?! You guys just… you just hugged me. You let me sleep on your laps. You bought me expensive shampoo. You just… liked me, because I was a cute, stupid cat! But now I’m just… me again. The complicated, annoying one.”
“…”
“…”
“Are you an idiot?”
“Ena!”
“No, seriously, are you actually stupid, Mizuki? Do you think I let you sleep on my lap because you had fur? You weigh like, fifty kilograms! My legs were completely numb for two hours!”
“But—”
“I didn’t buy that strawberry shampoo for a stray cat. I bought it because I know you like the smell of it.”
“Ena is right. You were actually a very difficult cat. You knocked over three glasses and ruined my keyboard shortcuts. A real cat would be smaller and less destructive.”
“Kanade… that’s not making me feel better…”
“But we took care of you because it was you, Mizuki. Not because of the ears. Even if you don’t purr, I still like it when you sit next to me while I work.”
“Your core body temperature is exactly the same as yesterday. Your heartbeat is the same. The only difference is the absence of the appendages. You are still the same Mizuki who drags us to family restaurants and helps Kanade with her music.”
“Mafuyu…”
“So stop crying. It’s annoying. Actually, you being a cat was exhausting. I don’t want to brush a tail ever again.”
“But you were smiling when you brushed it!”
“Shut up! Anyway, get up. We are going to that pancake place today, remember? You promised to pay.”
“I didn’t promise! You forced me to agree while I was high on silver vine!”
“Not my problem. A verbal contract is a verbal contract. Are you coming or not?”
“…”
“…Yeah. I’m coming. But only if you let me link arms with you, Enanan! And maybe a headpat on the way!”
“In public?! Absolutely not!”
“Enaaaa~ Nya~!”
“…Just arm-linking. And stop saying ‘nya.’”
“Hehe, Ena is the best.”