Chapter 9 | Cats, and Confessions

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“Look Ikki, look at that! It’s a cat!”

When she spotted a cat, she flew to it immediately and bent down to look at it seriously and lovingly.

After returning from Mukojima, we were climbing a mountain in Senkoji Park.

Senkoji Park is located on the north side of Onomichi Station and is a small mountain about 140 meters above sea level.

It is not so impressive that it can be called a mountain climb, but more like a climb up a narrow slope.

The path we are on now is called “Neko no Hosomichi” (Cat’s Narrow Path).

There are cat figurines here and there, and cats can be seen here and there, perhaps because the path is used as a cat path.

The stone steps are also decorated with cat designs, and if you look closely, you can see two-dimensional cats all over the place.

It was truly a “Neko no Hosomichi”

There was a mysterious atmosphere in the air.

As we walked along the narrow cat path, we came across a large, or to put it another way, chubby cat slumped over in the middle of the path.

The cat, which was looking really sluggish, was a dull and unattractive cat.

Well, unlike other cats, it was cute in its own way.

Seeing the cat, Rinka let go of my hand and ran to the cat immediately.

“Look Ikki, look at this! It’s a cat!”

I can tell by looking at it. It’s a cat. He’s a fat cat. He’s a male, right? I don’t like it when my girlfriend jumps on the opposite sex, even if it’s a cat.

“What are you doing here?”

Is it natural cat talk, or is it intentional? She was speaking in cat language, which is something you would never normally see.

I had thought that girls who spoke the cat language were an endangered species. I never thought Rinka was one…

She is very cute. Her accent makes her extraordinarily cute.

Can I take a picture of that silly, squishy smile?

I took out my phone from my pocket and snapped a series of pictures of Rinka, who was taking pictures of cats.

It’s a keepsake for eternity…

“Mouu, I wish I could touch it.”

Rinka muttered bitterly.

She seemed to know that it is not good to touch stray cats with bare hands, and she seemed to feel frustrated that she could not touch them even though she wanted to.

“Then, do you want to go to a cat café sometime?”

I invited her to do so, stroking Rinka’s beautiful head as if it were natural because I wanted to touch her.

“I want to go…”

The next date seems to have been decided.

I had originally planned to go as far as Senkoji Park, but the sun was beginning to set and Rinka was tired, so we decided to go as far as Senkoji today.

I have no problem with that. This is serious.

Apparently, she really wanted to go to the “Lover’s Sanctuary,” but that will have to wait for next time.

“Today was so much fun!”

My cheeks were a little burned by the setting sun in the Seto Inland Sea. We couldn’t make it to Senkoji Park, but we had come to a spectacular spot a short distance from Senkoji, a.k.a. Pompon Iwa.

“Well, I’m really glad we got to start over today.”

With that, I slip my right hand into my bag.

I was supposed to give it to her on her birthday.

I still keep wondering what I should say when I give it to her. I think it’s a good thing that I brought it on today’s date, but in the end, I made excuses to myself and put it off until later, so I haven’t given it to her yet.

“I love you, Ikki.”

The sudden confession stopped my hands from going through my bag.

“We went on a proper date like this, and I was able to be with Ikki for a long time and spend time with him. I’m really glad we were able to start over.”

She was smiling with tears in her eyes and a beautiful view of Onomichi behind her back. The hazy feeling was gone, and the things I wanted to tell her just overflowed.

“Happy 17th birthday. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you. I’m really glad that Rinka and I were able to start over. I love you too.”

I took her hands in my hand, which were trembling and clasped tightly around her chest.

I took out a necklace from my bag that I bought a long time ago.

I was so worried about the first present for my first girlfriend that I went out and bought it for her with my best friend along. I couldn’t throw it away even though I wanted to after we broke up. Looking back, this is probably what protected my connection with Rinka.

She seemed to be speechless with surprise, so I gave her a peck on the cheek.

“I’ll put it on for you, so turn around.”

Rinka did as told and turned her back.

The neck peeking out of her hair was glamorous.

“It looks good on you.”

She looked at the jewelry curiously, not knowing what it was about.

But gradually, she seemed to understand that she had received a gift and jumped into my chest with great vigor.

“Thank you.”

We hugged each other with the beautiful sunset in the background. Her breath, her smell, her body temperature. I could feel everything about her.

“I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

She laughed and said, “Why are you thanking me, Ikki?”

“”I look forward to being with you from now on.””

Extra — On the train on the way home…

It was getting dark, and the two of us were riding home together on the train.

Rinka was sleeping next to me, probably because she was tired after walking a lot.

She’s so cute, isn’t she? I still couldn’t believe the reality that my own girlfriend was incredibly beautiful when I saw her sleeping face next to me.

Just as the train shook, her head was placed on my side.

I took a picture of her sleeping comfortably, wondering what she was dreaming about, and set it as the standby screen of my cell phone.

The next day at school, she saw my phone screen.

I thought she might get a little angry.

“We’re even, you know.”

She had also set my sleeping face as a standby screen.

When did she take that picture?

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