GJ Bu - Volume 2 - Chapter 24

Volume 2 - Chapter 24:In the Park?

One afternoon, a few days into summer break.

Suddenly, as Kyouya was passing in front of the park—

He saw Kirara-san sitting on a bench in the park.

He had already walked past, so Kyouya did a double take and turned around. Covering the blinding sunlight with his hand and trying to look away from the scorching rays, he stared at the figure in the distance.

"That's... Kirara-san over there... right...?

She was wearing casual clothes, so Kyouya couldn't quite be sure.

But still, it was probably Kirara-san, Kyouya's upperclassman in the GJ-Bu. That was what Kyouya thought as he looked at the well-dressed girl sitting on the bench.

It was the first time he had seen Kirara-san in her casual clothes.

She was wearing denim shorts and a long vest. She was covered in denim from top to bottom, a fashion style that suited her well. Her black tank top could be seen barely peeking out from her vest, and the choker she wore around her neck looked more like a collar.

The reason Kyouya was able to confirm that this beautiful girl was Kirara-san with a single glance was simple.

At the side of the bench, a plastic bag had been filled with chicken feet. In the time it took Kyouya to notice the bag, Kirara-san had already taken another piece and began happily gnawing into it.

"Kirara!" 

Kyouya tried calling out to her, but the cry of the cicadas had drowned out his voice, so she probably couldn't hear him.

Kyouya crossed the entrance of the park, beyond the gate at the parking lot and onto the cool grass from the scorching asphalt he was standing on a second ago. As he crossed the park's open field, Kyouya suddenly noticed a single cat sitting on the bench beside Kirara-san.

Kyouya thought at first that perhaps the stray cat was there for Kirara-san's meat, but as he got closer he realized that something different was going on.

"Meow—"

The cat cried. Its coat was striped like a tiger's, and its cry carried a certain sense of dignity. Perhaps this was the boss cat around these parts.

"Meow—"

A voice replied. This time it was Kirara-san's voice. 

Kyouya hid behind the trunk of a nearby tree. He stealthily listened in on the conversation between human and beast.

"Mew—, mewmewmew, nya— nya—, go—aaahhnn"

"Nya—, na—, mewmew, meowwwwn—"

"Nyaoohn— Nyaaaa Nyu—, Nyun—, Nyanya Pyaaah—"

"Nya—Nya—, Nyan, Nyanya—, Nya—nya—nya—, Ru— Rurururu"

On one side were the cries of the cat, although some of the sounds were not ones you'd usually hear from cats.

Kyouya had never raised a cat, so he wasn't sure on the details. It might just be that he didn't know about those sounds.

Maybe cats really could make sounds that would make someone think they were having a conversation.

But on the other side, Kirara-san was making sounds that could be mistaken for the cries of an actual feline. She was responding in exactly the same way.

"There's no way..."

Kyouya shook his head.

He had almost begun to think that Kirara-san was actually talking to the cat.

No, he had to make sure.

Were they finished talking? No, was the cat finished playing with Kirara-san? The cat stood up to leave, and looked back only once on the way out of the park.

Kirara-san watched the cat leave until after it was out of sight, and then—

She suddenly turned toward Kyouya. 

"Hm. Kyoro."

Kyouya came out from behind the tree. There was no point hiding if he had already been seen.

"You noticed...? Since when?"

"Hm. From the beginning?"

When exactly was the beginning? In any case, Kyouya had other questions he wanted answered.

"Do you know that cat?"

"Hm. Kirara's kid."

"Ehhh!?"

Kirara-san has a child? Wait, no, it's just a cat!

"Found it. Raised it. So...Kirara's the mama?"

"Ahh, that's what you mean?"

Kyouya nodded as he tried to calm his randomly spiking heart rate. For some reason, his pulse always began to race whenever he talked to Kirara-san. 

"What were you two talking about?"

For some reason, Kyouya asked the question as if he had already decided that they really were having a conversation.

"Hm. Today. Normal. Nothing to report."

Kirara-san, too, answered as if she really had a conversation with the cat. So the cat was reporting the results of its patrol. That was the gist of what Kirara-san was saying. Deciphering Kirara-san's sentences was always a difficult task.

"Kirara, you're better at cat speak than you are at Japanese."

Kirara-san beamed back a smile. Kyouya had been joking, but she had taken it seriously. What an awkward atmosphere, he thought.