"…Ryuzaki?"
I was in the middle of feeding the cat when a voice came from behind me.
I turned around to check — it was Arisu.
"Who are you sup— Arisu?"
"…A panda?"
A panda? What's that supposed to mean?
Some new slang that's been going around lately?
"Your face — it looks like a panda! Look at those bruises… Are you okay? Who did you get into a fight with?"
Ah, she meant my face.
I hadn't looked in a mirror, but judging by her reaction, I must have some pretty impressive bruising.
"Nobody. I just… had a little talk with my father."
"What kind of conversation leaves you looking like that?!"
To put it plainly — I got thoroughly beaten.
I was reminded, once again, that Ryuzaki Genma didn't become the head of a yakuza organization for nothing.
Every time I tried to fight back, I was completely helpless.
*Not that I can't understand where he's coming from.*
He'd spent his entire life building a cushy, secure livelihood — and now his son was throwing a tantrum about wanting to start from scratch with nothing.
To him, it probably looked like nothing more than a reckless kid acting out.
Studying as a form of rebellion — the phrasing felt a little off, but that was the gist of it.
Nothing I could do about it.
It wasn't like I could tell him about my past life.
*I'd be lucky if I didn't end up committed to a psychiatric ward.*
Still, it wasn't a total loss.
*—…Take a break from organization business for a while. Once you've sorted out your thoughts, we can talk again.*
My father's promise not to interfere with me for the time being.
Which meant I could focus on studying at my own pace, without a care in the world.
He'd beaten me without a shred of mercy — and then, having done it, maybe his heart softened a little.
In my past life, I was handed a mountain of debt as a gift. In this one, it's violence.
Between my father from my past life and the one I have now — which one is worse?
Hmm. Hard to say, honestly.
"You don't want to know."
"When *you* say it like that, it actually sounds scary."
"I'm not joking. I mean it."
"Oh, come on…!"
Arisu gave my shoulder a light smack in response.
Of all places, she hit exactly where I'd been beaten. It hurt.
"That's sore."
"Oh — really? S-sorry…"
"That part was a joke."
"You want to fight? Huh?"
Arisu played along just enough and didn't press further.
Watching her pull back without prying told me, once again, that she had a basic sense of decency.
"…So, what were you doing?"
"Feeding this little one."
"Do you know this cat?"
"A little. I've only seen it in passing a few times. Today it kept rubbing against my legs like it was starving."
Arisu came over and crouched down beside me.
She smiled softly and looked down at the kitten.
It was a more relaxed expression than I ever saw from her at school.
"You like cats?"
"I love them! They're my favorite thing in the world. They're adorable. They make me happy just looking at them."
"Yeah? That's good to know, then."
"Hm? What's good about it?"
I pointed at the cat in response to her question.
"I was thinking about taking it in. But I've never raised anything before, so I wasn't sure where to start — now I know I can just ask you."
"You're going to keep it? No, you can't!"
"Why not?"
"There might be a mother somewhere. If you just take it, that's not rescuing a stray — that's kidnapping."
"That should be fine."
Arisu tilted her head.
In the darkness, her dark blue-black hair swayed gently.
"I've never once seen it with its mother."
"It's been alone this whole time?"
"Yeah. I waited about an hour just in case the mother showed up. I was reading my textbook and checking in between — but nobody ever came."
At the word *textbook*, Arisu's expression flickered with a brief frown.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. So — you want to keep it? Do you like cats, Ryuzaki?"
Years ago, a mock exam had included a passage about the effects of owning a cat.
It described how cat owners had a lower risk of stroke and heart disease, and how the animals provided psychological stability that made a meaningful difference in daily life.
After reading that passage in my past life, I'd thought about getting a cat — but I quickly realized it wasn't something I could afford, and let the idea go.
"I've just always wanted to, since a long time ago."
But this time was different.
Money wasn't a problem, and the house was mine alone anyway.
If I could take responsibility for it, why not?
More than anything — cats don't lie.
And they're cute.
"It's cute, and I'm the only one home anyway. I'm either at school or at home, so I can look after it."
"What about your parents— actually, never mind. Forget I said that."
"My father's busy with work, so he's mostly out. My mother is…"
There were no memories of Ryuzaki's mother.
Whether she'd died, run away, or was living somewhere perfectly fine — even Ryuzaki himself didn't know.
I let the sentence trail off deliberately, but Arisu seemed to misread it.
She was quiet for a moment, lips barely moving — then she gently lowered her head and patted me on the back.
"…That's sore, I said."
"Quiet. Man up a little."
There didn't seem to be any need to correct her misunderstanding, so I didn't.
Even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't have.
"…Anyway! If the mother really hasn't shown up after all that time, then it's definitely been abandoned. It's thin, and the eye gunk and general scruffiness — it looks like it hasn't been cared for in a long time."
Arisu suddenly stood up and looked around.
Then she found a cardboard box stacked in the corner, unfolded it neatly, and carefully set the kitten inside.
"Listen up. At this size, it's past the age for formula. But it's still too young for hard kibble, so you'll want to soak dry food in water, or—"
She handed me the box and rattled off everything I needed to know about raising a kitten.
How to handle the litter box, when it was safe to start bathing it, how to set up its environment.
Did she know all this from raising cats herself?
*I'm grateful, but… why go this far?*
She was pouring out knowledge so generously that, without meaning to, a flicker of suspicion rose in the back of my mind.
What did she want from me, to be this helpful?
We'd only spoken for the first time today.
"You're on Line, right? Contact me if there's anything you don't know."
"…Thanks."
"Of course. I have five cats, you know. I know more than most professionals. You can ask me anything."
Her kindness was appreciated, but there was something about it that felt… unsettling. Somehow.
Probably because I was a twisted person.
Whether she had any idea what was going on in my murky inner thoughts, Arisu gave her characteristic bright, eye-crinkling smile.
"Are you free tomorrow? If you are, maybe we could go pick up some cat supplies together?"
"No, it's fine—"
"Oh, I can't make it anyway. I just remembered I have a tutoring session. Sorry for bringing it up first. You'll have to go on your own."
I watched her retreating figure in a daze.
And for just a moment, I felt something — a faint, inexplicable envy.
"I'll send you a list of what you need on your way home, so check Line."
"……"
"Answer me!"
"Yeah. Got it."
What exactly I envied — even I couldn't say.
***
Tutoring, my foot.
For Arisu, tomorrow was a rare and precious day — her after-school schedule completely empty.
So why had she made excuses to Ryuzaki?
Just because she wanted to rest?
Not a chance.
*I can't let an opportunity like this slip by.*
This was a chance.
A chance to see with her own eyes exactly how Ryuzaki spent his days.
Studying from textbooks?
Please.
If that actually worked, why would anyone go to cram school or pay for expensive tutors?
There was no way she could believe such a ridiculous lie.
There had to be something — a special workbook, a cram school, a private tutor that only Ryuzaki knew about.
Tomorrow, Arisu planned to tail Ryuzaki for the entire day and uncover every last secret behind his study methods.
And so, a day passed.
There he was — bold as you please, sitting in the classroom with a textbook open, studying away.
Watching that large frame of his bent seriously over a textbook gave her a strange sense of cognitive dissonance.
At this point, she was starting to wonder if he was doing it just to mess with her.
"Arisu! What are you staring at?"
"H-huh? No! Nothing. Nothing at all."
It didn't matter.
She'd find out everything today.
And so, after-school hours arrived.
Ryuzaki left school immediately, and Arisu followed carefully behind him.
She'd changed clothes in advance, put on a hat, and wore a mask — her disguise was perfect.
Keeping a good distance, she followed him one step at a time.
Then, mid-stride, a wave of something like a reality check washed over her, and she nearly stopped walking.
*…What am I doing right now?*
Hiragi Arisu — top-ranked student at Asahi High School, one of the Five Genius Freshmen of Academy City.
And here she was, tailing some delinquent and playing spy.
The glances from passersby felt sharper than usual today.
What if she got caught?
One second was all it would take to be branded a creepy stalker.
She looked completely suspicious.
A pang of guilt crept into her chest — but she shook her head and pushed it away.
"No. This isn't stalking. This is intelligence gathering. Right. Exactly."
He was the one who lied first, after all.
This was a rational, reasonable move — stripping away a rival's pretense.
"…Why does he walk so fast!"
Rationalizing it to herself, Arisu hurried after Ryuzaki.
Thirty minutes later.
In the sweltering heat, Arisu was bitterly regretting every choice that had led her to wear such thick clothing.
***
…Someone was following me.
"……"
Another yakuza from a rival organization?
Or some delinquent from another school?
Who are you?