My Cat Girl Neighbor Is Impossible to Understand

Chapter 2: Chapter 2 - Living Next Door?!

The sun set the silent streets alight with a golden hue.

Sui walked home, his school bag slung casually over one shoulder. The quiet streets were lined with houses and flower-bearing trees that danced in the wind.

It was an unusual day.

Not because something dramatic had occurred.

Because whenever he looked to his right, his eyes kept falling on the transfer student walking beside him.

Yuiko Nekozawa.

She hadn’t spoken much throughout class.

Though polite in answering questions, she had convinced almost everyone she needed space.

Almost everyone.

Sui recalled how her tail had curled behind her chair anytime she had to interact with someone.

"She must be feeling overwhelmed."

He slipped his hands into his pockets.

Surrounded by strangers for the entire day was tiring.

But as he rounded the final corner to get home, something out of place caught his eye.

A large moving van was parked outside the house next door.

People bustled with their cardboard boxes while furniture wrapped in blankets vanished through its front gate.

"Oh..."

"So that’s why the house has sold."

The house next to him had been vacant for almost three months.

Overgrown plants had flourished within its garden during those times.

Now the bushes had been clipped, the windows cleaned and the front door left ajar.

A new family had moved into the house.

Sui unlocked the front gate of his house.

As he stepped into it...

"...Be careful."

A voice he knew came from the house next to him.

He looked up.

A girl stood on the front porch, supporting a large box with both her hands while she was balancing it on her arms. Her black cat ears poked from her long hair.

Yuiko.

She had been struggling to open the door with her shoulder while she held the box in place.

For a moment...

They just stared at each other.

"..."

"..."

Yuiko blinked once.

And then twice.

"...Aoyama?"

Sui pointed to both houses.

"You..."

"...Live here?"

She looked around as though just realizing where he was standing.

Then she looked towards the house behind him.

"...You are my neighbor?"

"I guess so."

More silence followed.

Neither of them knew how to continue.

One of the movers hurried past him holding a bookcase.

"Ma’am, where do you want this?"

Yuiko snapped back to her senses.

"Ah... in the living room, please."

"Understood."

The mover vanished inside.

Yuiko shifted the heavy box but she started tipping forward.

"Oh..."

The stacks tilted forwards.

She tried to catch them.

But instead, she fell off balance.

Before she could fall backwards, Sui entered the open gate between the two houses.

"I’ll help you."

He supported the bottom of the box from falling off.

Yuiko’s eyes went wide.

"...Thank you."

"It looks heavy."

"It is."

After a short while,

"...I wanted to help you."

Sui smiled faintly.

"Then let’s help each other."

For the first time today...

Yuiko’s ears flickered.

Not due to anxiety.

But out of surprise.

"...You didn’t have to."

"It’s alright."

"We are neighbors."

The words came out so naturally.

Yet hearing them made Yuiko soften inside.

She nodded slightly.

"...Alright."

"These go upstairs."

One of the moving men pointed to the stack of closed cardboard boxes by the truck.

Yuiko looked at the pile of boxes, then glanced inside.

There were dozens of them left.

She silently rolled up her sleeves on her light sweater.

"I will carry those."

Before she even lifted the first box, she saw another hand picking it up.

"I will take this one."

Sui easily took the box.

Yuiko blinked.

"...You really don’t need to."

"It is alright."

"It is just next door."

He gestured towards the truck.

"By helping each other, we will finish sooner."

Yuiko hesitated.

She hated accepting any help from anyone.

Her parents often said that she was too independent.

She hated bothering other people.

Especially some guy she had met that morning.

"...Then..."

She slightly lowered her head.

"...Thank you."

Those words were so quietly spoken that Sui barely heard them.

The next thirty minutes seemed surprisingly fast to her.

Two boxes became four.

Four boxes became ten.

Books.

Kitchenware.

Little flower pots.

A lamp that almost dropped when Yuiko was sure that it was lighter than it should be.

Each time it happened, Sui calmly put his hands under the box before something could fall out.

They did not talk much.

Surprisingly enough...

Silence between them was not awkward.

It was nice.

During breaks, Sui noticed small details.

Yuiko was always lining the boxes against the wall before opening them.

She was apologizing to the movers every time they were forced to stop and wait for something.

She was carefully cleaning her shoes on the porch before entering the wooden floor, while all other people just stepped inside.

She was... considerate.

Much more considerate than all those rumors about her at school.

After bringing another box inside, Sui wiped away a bit of sweat from his forehead.

"I think it is the last one."

Yuiko looked at the truck.

Only furniture was left now.

"...Looks like it."

One of the moving men gave Sui a thumbs-up sign.

"You helped us a lot, boy."

Sui scratched his neck.

"I really didn’t do anything."

"You carried almost half the boxes."

"I was just here nearby."

Yuiko looked at him.

"You..."

"...Helped a lot."

"We wouldn’t be done in time without you."

Sui smiled.

"That is alright."

"I am glad I could help."

Then, almost thoughtlessly, he said:

"Thank you too."

Yuiko tilted her head.

"...Me?"

"You also carried almost as many boxes."

"You were helping since before I came."

For a second...

Her golden eyes opened wide.

Nobody thanked her for helping her own parents.

Before she even realized what she was doing—

"Mrrr..."

Soft noise came from her.

It was quiet.

Warm.

Gentle.

Time froze.

Yuiko’s ears became straight.

Her eyes opened incredibly wide.

"..."

"..."

Sui blinked.

"...Was it...?"

"No!"

Answer came too quickly.

Her face suddenly turned red.

"I-I..."

She raised her fluffy tail until it was almost double the size.

"I didn’t—"

"...That wasn’t—"

She covered her mouth with both hands.

"Oh no..."

She flattened her ears against her head.

Without a word, she spun around and ran inside the house.

Front door slid shut.

Bang.

Silence.

Sui was still standing in the front yard.

One of the moving men slowly looked at him.

"...Do we do something wrong?"

"I..."

Sui looked at the closed door.

"...I don’t know."

A few seconds later, the curtains from the upstairs became slightly visible.

Yuiko was looking outside through that gap.

As soon as she realized that Sui was still standing there, she gasped and hid once again.

The curtain was shut.

Sui could not help it.

Soft laugh came from him.

Not because he was laughing at her.

Simply...

Unbelievably cute.

He fixed his backpack and went towards his home.

"So..."

He murmured to himself.

"Cats really do purr."

Next door, hidden behind her bedroom curtain, Yuiko buried her flaming face into a pillow.

"Why..."

"...Why today?"

Her fluffy tail hit the bed helplessly.

Deep inside her, she knew that that humiliating memory was going to keep her awake for a long time.

And for the first time since moving to a new town, she felt like she finally got to know who lives in that house next door.