Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

I walked hand in hand with Mashiro through the familiar landscape.
The way she hugged my arm and walked in step with me was, to all intents and purposes, like a lover herself.
But it was what she wanted, and I didn’t refuse her.

As she said herself, I understand that the “love” that Mashiro held in her heart was not just a simple, casual feeling.
Because it was also the same feeling I’ve been suppressing in my heart…

“But, you know, embarrassing things are embarrassing.”
“Why this all of the sudden, Satou-san?”
“I’m just struggling with my inner self. Don’t worry about it.”
“?”

Mashiro tilted her head, unaware of my hard work. No, well, it’s labor, but it’s not hard.

If I could, I would tell her how I feel.
I was more than happy that Mashiro was touching me in this way.

It was just that I’m afraid. Because she trusted me, I just couldn’t cross the line.
And I was happy but also envious of Mashiro, who was aggressive without worrying about such a line.

“By the way, Satou-san. Where are we headed now?”
“A-Ah. First of all, we need to get to the starting point.”
“The starting point?”

I lead Mashiro, who was not quite sure where we were going, to the place.
The road we are walking on was the same road we take every day to the nearest train station. Then, at an alley, we turn and go to the end of the alley.
By this point, Mashiro seemed to have understood where we were going. Our steps quickened a little.

“We’ve came here recently, but it feels very nostalgic.”
“Fufu, you’re.”

It was the alleyway where I first met Mashiro on that snowy day.
I don’t know what Mashiro looked like before this place. In other words, this was the starting point of this project.

“Is it going to be okay, Mashiro?”
“Yes. I’ve already made up my mind.”

From the place of my earliest memories with Mashiro, the next step was to walk through the city as she led the way.
The scenery around us was changing rapidly to colors we had never seen before, as we turned off our usual commuting path.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Mashiro’s knowledge of the area, but she kept going without stopping.

She didn’t want to remember much of what had happened since she left that house.
But it was only her memory that she could rely on this time. It was not easy to imagine how much of a burden it have put on her.

By now, my legs were getting tired and hunger was starting to show, and Mashiro’s steps slowed down a bit.
Deciding to have an early lunch, we went into a nearby fast food restaurant.
Mashiro seemed to be interested in eating out, which she usually does not do very often, and I was glad that she seemed to enjoy it to the fullest.

After taking a break to chat for a while as it were, we quickly resumed our retracing of memories again.
As in the morning, Mashiro kept moving forward without stopping, even if there was some hesitation.

“Impressive, Mashiro. You can memorize so much of a path you have just taken once?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just an indispensable skill for a cat.”
“So that’s how it is.”

…Indispensable as a cat? I was unintentionally interested in a worldview that was different from my own.
Of course, it was not that I didn’t trust Mashiro, but I didn’t think things would go so smoothly.

I had opened a map on my phone so that we wouldn’t get lost on our way home, but I realized that we had walked quite a distance in such a short time.
Perhaps we would be able to reach my destination by the end of the day. Just as I was thinking that, Mashiro’s feet stopped.

Ahead of her eyes was a plain old apartment building.

“There was a time when I lived here…But only for a short time.

She told me this without any question from me.
I don’t know what kind of person took her in, but there must not be many apartments like this that allow pets.
Mashiro’s expression was a little downcast, but she seemed to be somewhat shaken up.

“Is there something you don’t like?”
“No, nothing like that. But…I’m troubled.

Then Mashiro crossed her arms and began to ponder.
As I wonder, she looked around her apartment and then sighed.

“I was picked up by this family at a place far from here. From there, they put me in a car and drove me here…”

Mashiro made a troubled face as she pointed to the car still parked in the parking lot, and I couldn’t help but make the same face.
It was true that this pattern may be quite painful to deal with. If by car, the choices increase considerably…to the point where it is impossible to narrow down options.

“As expected, you don’t remember the scenery when you’re in the car?”
“I remember. But I couldn’t see it from my line of sight to begin with.”
“If we’ve run out of options…I’d like to start by asking around.”

After thinking this, I looked at Mashiro’s face.
If the car was still there, the landlord must still live here.
If I could visit that person in person and ask if they remembered what happened when they picked up Mashiro, there would be no problem…

“Do you remember which room?”
“Yes. It’s the last room on the second floor.”
“Got it. …Mashiro, do you want to wait here?”
“…No, I’m fine. I’m going, too.”

If that person saw Mashiro the way she is now, it is unlikely that they would notice, but the problem is her feelings…Or I thought so, but it seemed that my fears were unfounded.
With confident eyes, she held my hand. I squeezed her hand back, and then I walked to the front of the room.

Standing in front of the door, I take a deep breath. Mashiro, who was standing next to me, took a deep breath as I did, and then reassumed her grip on my hand.

Immediately after ringing the doorbell, a young male voice returned from inside the room, saying, “Coming.”
Footsteps approach from behind the thin door, and the door was opened without any hesitation.

The man has a kindly face, though it might be rude to say it was surprising…
He looked at us both with a curious look on his face as he opened the door.

“Um…who are you?”
“I’m sorry for the suddenness of this. I’m sorry to come out of the blue, but I have a question I’d like to ask you.”
“If it’s about religion…”
“I-It’s not about that.”

The door was suddenly about to be closed due to an unforeseen misunderstanding, and I rushed to stop him.

However, although I have stopped him, I was not sure how to begin.
I mean, it was only natural to be suspicious in this situation alone, and it would be a problem if I were to ask any more strange questions that would alarm him…

“U-Um, did you pick up a white cat a little while ago?”

As I was trying to figure something out, Mashiro, who was standing beside me, opened her mouth first.
I thought he might be alarmed by the question, which was too abrupt, but he only looked a little surprised in particular.

“Eh, well, I picked it up… It was just a beautiful cat with your hair color.”
“O-Oh, I see…”
“Hey, are you guys the owners of that cat…?
“Eh, no. It’s not like that…

For a moment, he looked uncomfortable, but then he looked relieved at Mashiro’s words, saying, “Thank goodness.”
My eyebrows twitched involuntarily at this attitude. Mashiro also seemed to shake just a little.

“The landlord was also afraid to let pets in here. Well…it was originally a stray, so yeah.”
“…”

Hearing his words, Mashiro’s face gradually darkened.
Although his words are muddled, the bottom line was that it got out of his hands and threw her away.

Something was rising up inside of me, but there was no merit in my saying anything to him here.
And it’s not like he’s responsible for everything…
I clenched my fists and asked the question in a matter-of-fact manner.

“I hate to ask you this, but could you tell me where you picked up that cat?”
“That’s fine but…what’s your purpose?”
“I’m just looking for someone.”
“Hmm? Well, okay.”

I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but that was not an option.

He then told me about the place in detail with a quizzical look on his face.
Trying to calm our faltering hearts, we listened to his words.