Volume 1 - The Abandoned Kitten, Her, and Me.
Chapter 4
I was carrying the litter box and all the other items from the kitten starter kit, while Minamino-san held the kitten in the cage. Luckily, the cage had a handle which made it easier to carry. The kitten also appeared to be dozing off inside the cage as we walked.
Although we didn't have too far to go, it was quite a struggle to carry all these heavy stuff.
To be honest though, I had planned to carry everything myself and part ways with her here, but holding both the cage and litter box simultaneously was proving difficult with my arm length.
As opposed to when we came, we walked in silence.
The sun had begun to set in earnest, and I couldn't tell what expression Minamino-san had on her face.
"You… are somewhat strange, you know?"
Was what came out of Minamino-san's mouth as soon as we arrived at my house. I opened the door and set down the litter box.
"I actually think of myself as pretty normal, though."
"I guess I used the wrong word, but what I meant was, Satou-kun, you sure are very observant towards people, you know?"
"Is that so? I don't think so."
"I'm telling you that because you saw right through me easily."
She said, pointing at me like a detective who has just identified the culprit.
"And, after what you said earlier, I've been thinking back on a lot of things, and one thing I've noticed about Satou-kun was that, you sure do a lot of things at school without standing out. Like during cleaning time or small class activities, you just smoothly blend in places where it seems like there aren't many people. How do I say this… it's not that you're not noticeable, but it's more like you're trying not to stand out?"
"Hearing that description makes it seem like I'm some kind of overpowered protagonist hiding my power; it's too much of an exaggeration."
It seems that the time she went silent was spent reflecting and thinking through things. Thinking that she wasn't angry at all, I answered as such while inwardly thinking, I see.
She is just as observant as I am.
It's not something I can say I've really "seen through" about her. Rather, I picked up on a subtle hint of strangeness, perhaps a hint of pretense on her part. My intuition tells me that it might be because of the sense of affinity towards individuals who share the same characteristics.
She dons a mask to ensure that she is well-liked by everyone, going to great lengths to avoid being disliked or making enemies. She strives to maintain a neutral position as much as possible, almost as if she's playing a dating sim that can make her gain or control her likability towards others.
On the other hand, I tend to keep a low profile. Although it's not like I can't stand out if I try my best, I choose not to draw attention to myself and prefer to live a high school life that lets me not get too involved in things.
Initially, I stood out in a slightly negative way when I entered the school, but it wasn't to the extent that it lasted for more than one season. I'm neither someone that is completely invisible nor someone in the center of attention. I wasn't outstanding in academics either, not failing but also not getting top grades. Similarly, I wasn't particularly good or bad at sports, just enough to get through the physical education classes.
Perhaps that's why I was, in a sense, the classmate with the least involvement in Minamino-san's life. I wasn't lonely enough to try and get involved with her too much, didn't approach her proactively, and was just at the level of being a classmate she knew by face.
Despite this, the way she treated me was no different from that towards the male students in class who were considered close to her.
She treats everyone equally without discrimination. It sounds like a normal thing to do, but I couldn't shake off a slight unease. It crossed my mind that, perhaps, just like how I was instinctively putting on my self-defense mechanism, she might also be employing a similar method to adjust her own standpoint.
I could have just left her alone.
However, I can't deny that I don't feel any inclination to be kind to cute girls, and besides, she has never referred to me as "number two" or brought up the topic.
So, rather than forcing herself with things that makes her uncomfortable, I just wanted to tell her that there was no need to insist on such things even in front of someone as inconspicuous as me, especially when there was no one else around who might know her.
"Are you afraid of being disliked by others?"
Feeling that a little bit of the tension was released, I decided to ask her such a question.
"I guess, but that's not exactly it... Say, do you have some time after this, Satou-kun? If it's not too much trouble, that is."
Her response made me feel like we had gotten a little bit closer as compared to before where we still had a certain invisible distance between us.
"I'm cool with it, but what about you? I'm sure you have a curfew or something."
This is my house. As for whether I have time, aside from setting up the kitten's litter box and doing some homework, reading manga, and playing games, there's not much else for me to do today. In other words, I do have time. However, the same might not be true for her. It's not too late, but it's not particularly early either.
"You know… I just felt like having something to talk to you with. Am I not being a bother?"
Honestly, to an inconspicuous virgin boy, this was like a wish come true, even though it seemed unrealistic.
"That's fine with me. Oh, and also, just one thing, I'll let you know just in case, but my parents aren't coming back today."
"Nghh, I didn't know that, what are you trying to… is what you think I'd say, but from your gaze and everything that's happened today, Satou-kun, I don't think you would do anything like that. Yes, I trust you... Don't worry, if you try something, I'll just crush you."
"Thanks for ruining the few good sentences with that threat."
Two people, a man and a woman, alone at night.
Even though being alone together wasn't my intention, just to be safe, I decided to mention that my parents weren't coming back. In response, I was thrown a threat if I "try something."
—that "something" is, well, I'll leave it to your imagination.
