Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

Mashiro’s past, which I do not know. The two people who were important to her, who colored her days.
She decided to meet them and tell them her true identity once again.
And I decided on a weekend holiday as the day to put it into action.

During the weekdays, I made concrete plans and finished preparations. Today was the day to put it into action.

“Are you ready, Mashiro?”
“Yes, I’m ready.”

Saturday morning. After having breakfast with Mashiro as usual, we were getting ready for the last time at the entrance with some luggage.

“It might be the longest trip we’ve ever taken. Make sure you don’t forget anything.”
“…I’m getting a little, well, nervous.”
“There is no need to force yourself to finish today. If necessary, you can take more time, or we can turn around and continue next week.”
“…Yes.”

Miku-chan and Tsukiyama-san…we actually have a problem about meeting them.

First of all, how to get to the house where they live.
Of course, neither I nor Mashiro knew the address or phone number. All we could rely on was her memory.
In other words, public transportation was out of the question, and taking a car was not the best option.

Since leaving that house, Mashiro has been to many different people’s houses.
She has been trying to keep as much distance from them as possible, and she has been trying to get as far away from their homes as possible.
After all, the only way to reach the destination with only Mashiro’s memory was to go back little by little through the landscape she has walked through.

And with that came the problem of time.
Mashiro herself had no idea how far she had actually traveled.
She could not predict how long it would actually take her to reach her destination.

So, I decided not to worry about the time.
If tomorrow was also a day off, there was no problem if we stay overnight at the destination.
If we don’t expect to reach our destination by the end of tomorrow, we could try again next week.
We decided to take the long term this time.

“Shall we go then, Mashiro?”

I turned around in front of the front door and extend my hand toward Mashiro.
She looked at my hand and gave a small smile, then took my hand.

I would never let go of Mashiro. I grasped her hand with such feelings, and then I opened the front door.

For a while after that, the time was basically comparable to a normal day off.
Mashiro and I walked hand in hand through familiar scenery. It was precisely at times like this that we reminisce about the two of us.

Mashiro’s episodes with Miku-chan and Tsukiyama-san were interesting, but perhaps in reaction to that, Mashiro was listening with interest to my stories from my school days.

“Miku-san told me only a little about it, but I’m curious about this place called school.”
“Come to think of it, you mentioned it the other day when we were watching TV. School…bothers you so much?”
“A place where you study with people your own age, right?”
“I guess so. A place where you can study, hang out together, enjoy events, and so on.”
“I have never been to a place like that before, and I am curious about it.”

Mashiro answered with a smile. She was different from the norm, though it was easy to forget that when you see her in her normal state.
It was not only her physical condition that allowed her to take on the form of a cat, but also her background.

Originally, Mashiro lived as a stray cat. Of course, she was not raised in an ordinary human household, nor did she ever attend school.
She may have had freedom as a cat, but her freedom as a person must have been very limited.

“Since we are heading out. If we have time, let’s stop by and see various things.”
“Various things?”
“Yeah, I’ve never been to these places, so let’s go for a walk.”
“If that’s the case, I’ll be glad to.”

I thought it was an unnecessary gesture, but Mashiro gave me a happy smile.
I don’t just want to protect her. I want to show her more things and let her touch them.
As long as she wants, I want to make Mashiro happy with all my might.

Well, at the moment, I think I’m the one being made happy…

“Umm, Satou-san. I have one question.”
“Hmm?”
“This…is what you call a date, right?”
“…What?”

The unexpected word that came out of Mashiro’s mouth made me stop and stare at her.
She was staring back into my eyes with a very serious face.

“W-Wait. What’s going on out of the blue?”
“Eh…? I thought that when a man and a woman go out together, it is called a date.”
“N-No. I guess you could say it’s about right?”

I covered my forehead involuntarily as Mashiro tilted her head with pure eyes.
The word “date” in general has a slightly different nuance to it.
The other day, when we had a double date, I thought she understood that, but was I mistaken?

“Well, generally speaking, it’s a term for an outing between lovers.”
“That is, yes. But Ayano-san says that if it’s a man and a woman, it’s all a date…”

Hey Ayano-san, what are you teaching Mashiro where I can’t see?
Well, I can’t say that such an interpretation is generally wrong, but from my inexperienced point of view, it is just a mistaken way of thinking.

“Ayano-san is not wrong, but…No, it’s a great opportunity. I’ll teach you something useful with your phone.”

After saying that, I instructed Mashiro to take out her smartphone from her bag.

“Listen, Mashiro. Whenever you come across a word whose meaning is unclear, use it to look it up.”
“Search it, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. So, look up the word “date,” will you?”
“Yes, please wait.”

Mashiro proceeded with her search, though she was a bit dazed and confused.
It seemed that this was not the first time she has used the search engine, and she seemed to be doing well, but her hand movements gradually slowed down.
I could guess what kind of result she got by looking at her face.

“Well…by the way, did you discover Ayano-san’s interpretation?”
“T-There was hardly any…”
“Well, I suppose it will be.”
“I-I’m sorry. I…”
“I don’t blame you. …but, well.”

Mashiro shrank back in embarrassment. I looked away from her and scratched my cheek.

“But it’s generally what it means…”
“Right…”

Mashiro gave me an ambiguous look as if she was satisfied but somewhat dissatisfied.
I asked her, “Is something wrong?” She thought for a moment and then looked at me again.

“…If you like each other, then it’s okay to go on a date, right…?”
“Mm? Sure I suppose…Hmm!?”

Without hearing my casual answer until the end, Mashiro suddenly hugged me in my arms.
It was just like the morning of our double date. Just like when we were pretending to be lovers.

“M-Mashiro? Is this…?”
“If it’s a date, this is what you do.”
“No, so by definition a date is…”
“If you like me, it’s all good, right?”

She has a somewhat devilish smirk on her face that was different from her usual gentle smile.

…I’m not taking her word for it.
I understand that there were naturally different nuances in the word “like”.

“…Do you even know what it means?”

I asked that as if seeking some kind of faint expectation.

“I like you, Satou-san.”

The words were uttered in a casual manner. Before I could fully accept her words, she continued to speak.

“I don’t know if this feeling is the kind of ‘like’ that applies to dating. From Satou-san’s point of view, it may be something completely different. …Also.”

Once again, Mashiro squeezed my arm.
It was as if her feelings can be felt from where we touched.

“I want to do this kind of thing with Satou-san. I think.”
“…Haa.”

My chest was so full that the feelings I was holding on to went out in a sigh.
The sweetness that almost gave me heartburn eroded my heart and made my heart beat higher even though I didn’t want it to.

…I still can’t seem to compare to her, after all.

“…Not fair. Mashiro.”
“Fufu, I’ll take that as a compliment.”