My Cat Girl Neighbor Is Impossible to Understand

Chapter 15: Chapter 15 - Thank You

The afternoon sun cast orange hues upon Hoshizora High’s classroom.

The final bell chimed.

Schoolbooks shut with a thud.

Students quickly threw everything into their bags.

"See you tomorrow!"

"Don’t forget the homework!"

"Let’s hang out at the arcade!"

The after-class atmosphere soon flooded the classroom.

Sui calmly slid his notebook into the backpack.

Next to him, Yuiko did the same, making sure that every pencil was in place before closing her bag.

Neither of them said a word.

There was no need to.

By now it had become a common routine.

Sui rose.

Yuiko rose a few seconds later.

Without saying a word...

They headed towards the classroom door in sync.

Haru watched them with a mischievous grin.

"You know..."

He shouted after them.

"You two don’t even ask."

Sui looked back.

"What don’t we ask?"

"If you’re going to walk home with me."

Yuiko frowned.

"...We don’t?"

Haru theatrically crossed his arms over the chest.

"You did."

"’Want to walk home?’"

"’Are you going this way?’"

"’If you’re free... ’"

He pointed at them.

"Now you just..."

He mimicked the act of walking.

"...Walk."

Sui considered his words.

"...Indeed."

Yuiko quietly lowered her eyes.

"...I didn’t notice."

Haru burst out laughing.

"Exactly."

"You’ve become a habit."

The words hung in the air for a second.

A habit.

Neither Sui nor Yuiko contested.

Because...

They were right.

On the other hand...

A soft breeze met them outdoors.

The cherry blossom petals gently floated in the school yard, occasionally landing on some student’s shoulder and floating away again.

Sui fixed the strap of the school bag.

"All ready?"

Yuiko nodded.

"...Yes."

They left the school yard by their habitual route.

The road hadn’t changed.

The bakery still presented fresh bread.

The flower shop still perfumed the air.

The old lady walking with her little white dog still smiled at them every afternoon.

All was exactly as before.

But somehow...

Something was different.

Weeks ago...

The silence between them had been awkward.

Heavy.

Both were pondering over every minute what should they say next.

Now...

It seemed cozy.

Warm.

Like a quiet sit near the window with the rain falling outside.

Neither of them was forced to talk.

They were content to walk side by side.

After several minutes, Yuiko stopped abruptly.

She bent down near the road edge.

A tiny yellow flower somehow sprouted through the cracks in the pavement.

"...It bloomed."

Sui crouched next to her.

"It found a place to grow."

She smiled.

"...It’s resilient."

A butterfly gracefully landed on the flower and then flew away.

Yuiko watched how it vanished into the evening sky.

"...It’s pretty."

Sui nodded.

"Yes."

She looked at him.

"...You notice small things."

"So do you."

"...Really?"

"You’ve stopped because of a flower."

She looked embarrassed.

"...Yes."

They walked further.

A few streets later...

The well-known orange cat showed up behind a vending machine.

"Meow."

Yuiko instantly smiled.

"...Hello."

The cat approached her as if greeting an old friend.

Without any hesitation it rubbed against her leg.

Sui chuckled.

"It’s found you again."

"...Or maybe I’ve found it."

She gently scratched the cat’s ears.

It purred happily.

"You’ve officially adopted it."

"...I wish."

"You’ll take it home?"

"If I could."

She looked truly longing.

"...I’ll give it a warm place."

"And all the fish it could eat."

"And toys."

"And blankets."

Sui smiled.

"You’ve been thinking about it."

"...Maybe."

Eventually the cat moved on having received sufficient attention.

Yuiko waved.

"...See you."

They walked further.

While crossing a small bridge above the river, they stayed silent for several minutes.

The reflection of the golden rays of the evening sun shimmered in the water.

Children laughed in the playground.

The refreshing breeze brought the smell of grass.

Yuiko quietly put her hands on the railings of the bridge.

"...It’s peaceful."

"It is."

"I’m glad."

Sui looked at her.

"Glad about what?"

She gently smiled.

"...About this."

"The walk?"

She nodded.

"...At first..."

"I kept wondering what to say."

"So did I."

She looked astonished.

"...Really?"

"I was afraid every silence became awkward."

"...Me too."

She laugh lightly.

"...Now we hardly talk."

"I know."

"...Isn’t it strange?"

Sui shook his head.

"No, I don’t think so."

"Why?"

"Because..."

He looked at the river.

"I don’t feel like filling the silence anymore."

Yuiko quietly followed his gaze.

"...Neither do I."

For some reason...

This simple thought made her happier than she expected.

Not every conversation required words.

Sometimes...

The simple thing was to walk beside somebody.

As the sun descended, long shadows crept along the road.

The familiar neighborhood was coming into sight.

The houses were standing one next to another at the end of the street.

Home.

Yuiko slightly slowed down.

She wasn’t tired.

She simply wasn’t in a rush to finish the walk.

Sui noticed it but didn’t say a word.

Instead...

He unconsciously followed her pace.

Neither of them realized it.

They just did.

By the time they reached their gates, the sky had turned orange.

Another uneventful day was over.

Nothing extraordinary had happened.

No passionate confession.

No major events.

But two neighbors walked home together.

However, somehow...

Both of them silently felt that these uneventful afternoons became the best part of their day.

And neither of them could imagine the walk home without the other walking besides them.

The orange hues of evening started filling the sky gradually.

The sun was still hanging low above rooftops, creating long shadows.

Sui and Yuiko continued walking side by side.

Steps of both friends started falling in rhythm.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Once again, there wasn’t any bumping between them.

They just unconsciously adapted to each other’s pace.

Sui slowed down slightly to avoid stepping into the puddle, Yuiko did the same thing.

Yuiko waited for an old couple to pass the road before starting walking and Sui just stopped beside her silently.

Everything went that smoothly and naturally that they didn’t notice it.

The silence appeared between them once again.

But, unlike the first day they met...

This silence didn’t require filling with anything.

It simply existed.

Comfortably.

Peacefully.

Yuiko looked at the evening sky.

"...It’s beautiful."

Sui followed her look.

"It is."

Some cherry blossom petals were floating in the air, being carried by the spring breeze.

One of them dropped lightly on Yuiko’s head.

She didn’t notice.

Silently, Sui reached out to her.

"...You have something."

Yuiko turned around.

"Hm?"

He carefully removed petal from her hair.

His hand touched one strand of her hair gently.

"...There."

Yuiko blinked.

"Oh..."

She looked at the tiny flower laying on his fingertips.

"...Thank you."

Ears of Yuiko twitched just slightly.

For some reason...

Her heart started beating faster.

Petals remained untouched, Sui simply let it float away.

They continued walking.

"..."

"..."

One minute later, Yuiko said quietly.

"...When I transferred to this school..."

Sui looked at her.

"I thought..."

"...That I’ll spend the entire year alone."

Sui listened without any interruption.

"...Everyone was staring at me."

"...Nobody knew how to talk to me."

"I didn’t know how to talk to them."

She smiled a bit.

"...Probably, I looked scary."

"You did."

Yuiko looked at him in surprise.

"...You could have hesitated before answering my request."

"I asked you honestly."

"...Still."

She puffed cheeks slightly.

"...Mean."

"A little."

"But..."

He smiled.

"I never thought that you were scary."

She looked at him.

"...Really?"

"I thought that you looked nervous."

Yuiko stopped.

"I noticed your face."

She subconsciously looked behind herself.

"My..."

"...face?"

"It’s the face of someone who cares about other people."

"..."

"..."

Yuiko covered her face.

"So..."

"Do you think you’ll manage to stay alone if I wouldn’t have come to school?"

"I made a guess."

"...Why do you tell me this?"

"I thought..."

He looked forward.

"...That you would say the same thing to me, that you don’t feel lonely when I’m here."

Warmth spread all over Yuiko’s chest, reaching her cheeks.

"...You’re unfair."

"Hm?"

"You always say things that are hard to answer."

Sui smiled quietly.

"I don’t want to."

"I know."

She smiled.

"And that’s a problem."

The conversation faded away as naturally as it appeared.

Soon, they reached the usual bridge in their neighborhood.

River reflected colors of the sunset, like a moving painting.

Yuiko leant on the rail of the bridge.

"...Do you ever think..."

She hesitated.

"...That our walks became usual?"

Sui stood beside her.

"They already are."

"...They are?"

"If someday, you won’t be here..."

He paused.

"...I would wonder why."

Yuiko stared at him.

These words contained nothing special.

No hidden meanings.

No confessions.

Just an honest opinion.

And yet...

These words managed to make her heart flutter more than any romantic lines.

She smiled without thinking.

"...I would wonder too."

Two friends continued walking home.

Familiar houses started appearing in sight.

Children were playing in front of their houses.

Smell of dinner was coming through the open windows.

Somewhere in the distance, the sound of bicycle bell rang.

Everything seemed absolutely usual.

Finally, they reached the path where their houses were located one beside the other.

Yuiko stopped at the gate of her house.

"...Well..."

"...See you tomorrow."

Sui smiled.

"Tomorrow."

Suddenly, she turned back.

"...Sui."

"Hm?"

"...Thank you."

"For today."

He nodded.

"I should thank you too."

"...Why?"

"I had a nice walk."

Yuiko’s smile became a bit brighter.

"...Me too."

She waved to him and entered the house.

Front door of her house was sliding silently.

Inside...

She leant against it.

"..."

The house was silent.

Only clock could be heard ticking.

Slowly, she touched her cheeks.

"...I’m smiling."

She hadn’t even noticed this.

There wasn’t anything special in today.

No festivals.

No fireworks.

No romantic moments.

They just...

Went home together.

Spoke a bit.

Shared the comfortable silence.

But...

When remembering it, her chest seemed warm.

Looking through the living-room window, she looked at the neighbor’s house.

"...Tomorrow."

The word slipped from her lips with a smile.

For the first time since transferring to this school...

She found herself looking forward to the next usual day.

Outside...

Sui opened his front gate.

He reached the front door.

Then...

Without thinking...

He looked at the neighbor’s house.

The curtains in Yuiko’s room were drawn just a moment ago.

"..."

He stood there for a second longer than it was needed.

She managed to return home safely.

It came to him so naturally that he didn’t doubt this.

Only after opening the door to his own house, Sui realized...

He looked at Yuiko’s house before entering his.

"..."

A slight smile appeared on his face.

"...Habit."

He quietly laughed to himself and went inside.

Neither Sui, neither Yuiko realized it yet.

Their days haven’t become interesting.

They hadn’t fallen in love during this year.

Nothing extraordinary had happened.

But somewhere between awkward greetings...

Shared umbrellas...

Study sessions...

Trips to shops...

Warm lunches...

And peaceful walks home...

Usual had become irreplaceable.

Neither of them couldn’t imagine tomorrow without the person walking beside them.

And although nobody was ready to call it love...

Gentle and steady warmth between them already managed to grow roots.

The slow burn had truly begun.