Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 1Volume 3 . - Mountains, Sea, and... a Town Full of Cats...?
Mountains, Sea, and… a Town Full of Cats…?
“Kyaa!”
“Hikari!?”
“Hii-chan!?”
Sakuto and Chikage hurried over to Hikari, who had fallen on her bottom.
“Ouch… I hit my butt…”
With tears welling up in her eyes, Hikari watched as something brown hopped out of the nearby bushes.
Upon closer inspection, it was a tiger-striped cat. Judging by its size, it was an adult.
Seemingly accustomed to people, it didn’t run away but instead started nonchalantly licking its front paws right next to Hikari.
“Oh, it’s just a cat…”
While Sakuto gazed at the tiger-striped cat in astonishment,
“Wow… so cuteeeee! Look, look, it’s a kitty!”
Hikari’s eyes sparkled as she sat on the ground.
“Hello there. You gave me quite a scare just now, didn’t you?”
Hikari let the cat sniff the back of her hand. After sniffing, the cat proceeded to lick Hikari’s index finger.
It seemed to be used to people, though it didn’t have a collar.
Seeing Hikari happily playing with the cat, Sakuto finally looked relieved.
“Is this one a stray?”
“Probably.”
“It’s so friendly, isn’t it? ──So cute♪”
“This is a Cat Town. That’s probably why they’re so used to people.”
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“Oh, I know about that.”
Hikari’s eyes shone even brighter.
“Enoshima and Naramachi are famous, right?”
“Yeah. This place isn’t as well-known nationally as Enoshima or Naramachi, but I thought you two would be happy to know, so I kept it a secret──”
Before they knew it, a calico cat had also appeared at Sakuto’s feet.
The calico cat narrowed its eyes and rubbed its body against Sakuto’s leg, seemingly trusting him.
“It looks like they’re all used to humans──”
Sakuto reached out to pet the calico cat’s head.
Suddenly, the cat tensed up, leaped away, and ran towards Chikage.
“It doesn’t let me pet its head. Chikage, over there──”
“Hyah, a cat…!?”
Chikage jumped in surprise, and the startled calico cat ran away.
“Huh? Chikage…?”
“Ah…”
“…Could it be that you’re not good with cats?”
Chikage made a face as if she had slipped up.
“I… I’m fine!”
It was clear that she was anything but fine.
Moreover, saying “I’m fine” in such a way suggested that she actually wasn’t good with cats.
“Could it be that you’re really not good with cats…?”
When Sakuto asked again, Chikage shook her head.
“I’m okay! It’s not that I’m particularly bad with them!”
She seemed to be forcing a smile.
However, thinking back, it made sense. Before summer vacation, when she was on the audit committee, she used to say “woof woof”──
“I see, Chikage is one of the dogs of the student guidance department…”
“Um, well, that doesn’t mean I prefer dogs, okay? Don’t jump to conclusions…”
Chikage glared at Sakuto with a reproachful look.
While they were having this exchange, Hikari was talking to the tiger-striped cat from earlier.
“Nyanya nyann? Nyaa?”
“Nyaa Nyaa.”
“Nyannyan nyaa… nyan.”
It seemed like they were having a conversation, but what on earth were they talking about?
“Hikari, what is that cat saying?”
“Um, it’s saying, ‘I’m hungry, give me some food, damn it.’ “
“That’s some rough language…”
Sakuto was dumbfounded, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the tiger-striped cat was indeed saying something like that.
***
Beyond the Futagoko Station, where they had rolled their carry-on cases, there was a shopping district called “Futaneko Shopping Street.”
The town had a retro atmosphere reminiscent of the Taisho Romance era, with old public phones and postboxes not seen in Yuuki City.
There were also shop signs and house nameplates featuring cat motifs, creating a thorough blend of retro and cat-themed ambiance throughout the town.
“Wow! It’s like a movie village!”
Hikari was as excited as a little child.
“Everywhere is a photo spot! ──Ah, that’s cute!”
Hikari seemed to really like it, her excitement level higher than usual as she looked around happily.
On the other hand, Chikage had been restlessly looking around while clutching Sakuto’s arm since earlier.
And no wonder. There were cats everywhere in the town, and for Chikage, it must have felt like she was being watched.
(I thought Chikage would be happy too…)
Sakuto started to feel a bit guilty.
He had thought that bringing them to Futagoko Town would make both of them happy… It was a reminder that there was still so much he didn’t know about his girlfriends.
“Ah! What’s that over there!”
Hikari pointed at something between the buildings.
Approaching, they found an old bronze statue completely covered in verdigris.
On its pedestal, two women of the same height in kimonos were holding hands amiably, and a cat was walking between them. The statue stood quietly in a secluded spot.
Hikari put her index finger to her mouth, making her usual thinking gesture.
“Could it be that these two are twins?”
Chikage also seemed interested and mimicked the gesture of stroking her chin in thought.
“Certainly, their faces do resemble each other. What could this cat be?”
“Maybe it’s a pet cat?”
“Twins and a cat? Futago, neko… Futagoko?” (TN: Futago=Twins, Neko=Cat)
“Hmm… Maybe it’s a play on the name of the town?”
While Hikari and Chikage were observing the statue, Sakuto was thinking about how he could make Chikage happy.
The three were heading to a villa owned by a friend of Sakuto’s aunt, Kisezaki Mitsumi.
From the photos he had seen, the villa itself seemed nice, and there was a mountain nearby where they could go hiking, which Chikage loved.
Accepting that they were in Cat Town—
(Hopefully, the mountain air in the afternoon will change Chikage’s mood)
Thinking about what lay ahead, Sakuto quietly braced himself for action.
──An old woman with white hair happened to pass by and watched the three from a distance.
“Those are twins…”
The old woman showed a look of regret and quietly closed her eyes.
“…I hope no disaster befalls them…”
***
