>「What’s the matter? Your face is red?」
Mina is staring at my face.
And my red face got even more heated.
Her pretty face and light brown hair reaching down just before her shoulders……
Being looked at by the eyes of Mina, who has eyes like that of a cat, makes me panic even more…
「Umm, you see, something like that is done by lovers, ok…」
「What is『lovers』?」
“Let’s see”…….I hesitated in explaining it.
To me, that kind of person has nothing to do with me ever since I became a high schooler.
「Nn…….loving one another and wanting to be together forever, I think…..
「So…isn’t that just like us?」
Hearing those words from Mina, I felt an unexpected pang in my heart.
「Isn’t it the same for Kasumi? You love me too, right? You want to be with me, right?」
「T-that’s right, but….」
I do love Mina, and I also want to be with her.
But, I’m sure that’s “love.”
Even though I say that, I wonder why the heart in my chest is beating so fast.
「I’m the same, you know. That’s why….isn’t it alright?」
「Wuuu….my heart is not ready yet…」
Suddenly glancing at the clock–we really need to go to school now.
「Ah, Mina! We need to go to school now!」
Grabbing my smartphone and wallet, I hurried out of the house
Hearing footsteps, I knew Mina was following behind me.
….though, back when she was a cat, I couldn’t really tell whether it was her or not…
…but, looking back once, I grasped Mina’s hand.
We barely made it. But as we were on the stairs, I didn’t know what cla.s.s Mina was in, now that I think about it…
「Mina, which cla.s.s are you in?」
「It’s the same as yours, you know?」
Because there are a lot people, I can’t say anything out loud, but I’m sure Nekomata-sama arranged it to be this way.
Since we have the same family name, her shoe cubby was right below me. It wasn’t new; it looked just the same as mine, a s...o...b..x that has been used for a year.
She wasn’t anything like a transfer student either. She was right behind me, which was the seat farthest back by the windows.
It was as if, from the begining, 『Manabe Miho』 had always existed.
Even in cla.s.s, she takes notes properly, and even on breaks, she talks to our other cla.s.smates.
She was so merged into the cla.s.s, that it seemed like only Mina and I knew she was a cat before.
I was relieved about that, naturally, but no, whenever I look at Mina, the heart inside my chest becomes all noisy.
I wonder why.
Is it because it’s the first time Mina is with me at school?
Is it because Mina was a cat before, so I’m anxious that someone might find out?
Or is it because that I have to kiss Mina, and so my heart is still beating so fast?
My head was filled with those thoughts, and I spent the whole day doing nothing but worry.
The last homeroom ended, and Mina called out to me.
「What’s the matter? Let’s go home?」
「Y-yeah… sorry….」
On the way back home, Mina grasped my hand instead, different from what happened this morning….
….I wonder what happened to me?