My Cat Girl Neighbor Is Impossible to Understand

Chapter 31: Chapter 31 - First Day

The rays of the morning sun illuminated the classroom as Sui made himself comfortable. He tried really hard not to look weird, but somehow it did not work out.

His leg kept bouncing underneath the table. His gaze kept traveling towards the door. His pen fell from the table three times in five minutes.

"She is just late," Sui repeated to himself. "Nothing to be afraid of."

His heart did not believe him, however.

The door opened. Yuiko entered, her school bag over one shoulder, her golden eyes checking the room. Upon seeing Sui, a bright smile spread on her face. Her cat ears popped up and her tail started wagging happily.

Sui’s heart decided to perform a tricky move – a flip, a clumsy step, and then a jump.

She approached her seat which was two rows ahead and one aside from him. While passing next to him, their eyes met. Yuiko winked at him and then waved gently, twitching her ears in the process.

He waved back at her, feeling like an absolute fool. But the fool who felt extremely happy.

The morning classes passed in a fog. Sui could not hear a single word of the teacher’s lectures. All his notes were a mess of incomplete sentences and drawings of cat paws and wagging tails. Each time when he glanced at his surroundings, Yuiko was either taking notes or – on several occasions – already looking at him.

Every time when their eyes met, they both immediately looked away, blushing furiously. Yuiko’s ears flattened a little in embarrassment, while her tail swished nervously behind her.

At lunchtime, Sui caught himself hanging around near the door of the classroom, pretending to read some poster board for the third time already.

"Looking for something?"

Sui turned around. Yuiko stood behind him, holding her lunch box, her smile slightly mocking. Her ears were tilted with amusement.

"Just... reading," Sui answered sheepishly.

"Uh-huh." She did not seem to believe him, her tail swaying with playful movements. "Wanna eat together? Outside?"

"Yes. I mean, sure. That’s... great." He cringed at the last word, which sounded extremely eager. "I will... just go get my lunch."

She laughed quietly, her ears twitching. "I will wait."

They found themselves sitting under the large cherry tree in the schoolyard. Some of the leaves were shaking on the branches above, creating various patterns of shadows and lights around them. Some of the students were standing nearby, but no one seemed to pay them any attention.

Sui seated next to the tree trunk. Yuiko sat beside him, almost touching his shoulder. Her tail curved and curled near his leg.

"So," she began, unpacking her lunch. "How are you as a taken man on your first day?"

Sui choked on his rice. "Taken man?"

"You are one right now." Yuiko grinned, putting a piece of tamagoyaki in her mouth. Her ears twitched from happiness. "You have got yourself a girlfriend. So you are taken."

"I guess I am." He gazed at his lunch, no longer having desire to eat. "It still seems unbelievable."

"Tell me about it." Yuiko reclined, looking up through the leaves, her tail moving lazily on the grass. "I kept pinching myself today. I felt like I have just dreamt of everything."

"So have I." He laughed. "Except I have left myself a bruise while doing it."

She giggled, her ears popping up. "That is so much you, you know."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Maybe."

They ate in silence for a while, stealing glances of each other from time to time. Yuiko’s tail wagged quietly every time when their eyes met. The wind brought a scent of cherry blossoms from somewhere even though the season was over long ago.

Yuiko put down her chopsticks and turned to him. "Hey, Sui."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

She played with her sleeve, getting shy. Her ears flattened a little. "When did you first... you know... realize?"

He understood exactly what she meant. He gazed at the sky, pondering.

"There was not one moment," he began slowly. "More like... thousands of them. Your laughter to my lame jokes, the way your tail wags when you are happy, how you always save a place for me in the library, how you look at stray cats as if they are the most precious things in the world."

He gazed at her. "It just kept accumulating. Until one day, I realized I could not live without you anymore."

Her eyes shone. Her tail curled, reaching her own arm in a shy touch. "Sui..."

"What about you?"

She looked at her palms, her ears flattening. "I think I always knew. I was just too scared to admit it to myself. Each time you smiled at me, my heart started racing. Each time when you called my name, I felt warm. I was telling myself that we are just friends, that I imagined everything." She smiled, her tail starting to wag again. "But I did not."

The bell rang, ending their lunch period. Neither of them moved.

"We should return back," Sui said.

"In a minute."

They sat beneath the tree, enjoying the moment as much as they could. Yuiko’s tail wound around his wrist, a gesture of affection. After some time, she let out a sigh and started putting together her lunch box.

"We should really be going. The teacher will—"

He put a hand on her wrist. Yuiko stopped moving, looked up at him with curious ears.

"Thanks," he murmured.

"For what?"

"For having the courage to say yes. For not running away after I did something insane." He smiled at her. "For being yourself."

Her cheeks flushed. Her tail wiggled. "You’re making me cry again."

"I’ll stop."

"Don’t." She squeezed his hand. "I love hearing that."

The school day flew by in a haze of glances and shy smiles. During one lesson, Yuiko passed him an origami crane. Inside, it said: You look cute when you concentrate. And you got a little rice stuck in your collar during lunchtime. Your girlfriend, —Y

He grinned so widely that the girl sitting next to him gave him a strange look. In the folds of the paper he wrote: You look cute when your ears perk up. And your tail betrays you no matter how hard you try to keep things secret. —S

She blushed so hard that her entire face went red. Her tail inflated with embarrassment, but she was still smiling. He could see it even through her fingers.

By the time the last bell rang, Sui was shaking with nervous energy. He packed his bag quickly and stood by the door.

Yuiko was walking towards him with a wiggling tail. "Ready to go?"

"Always."

They walked home together at a leisurely pace, neither eager for the day to come to an end. The setting sun cast everything in the warm colors of the evening on the bridge. Yuiko’s tail was brushing his hand now and then, and each time, his heart would skip.

At her door, they stopped. The porch light switched on, bathing them both in a gentle glow. She curled her tail around her own leg, showing her nervous joy.

"That was a perfect day," Yuiko whispered.

"It was." Sui shifted from one foot to another. "Could I...could I hug you?"

She blinked, surprised. Her ears went up immediately. Then her face cracked into a wonderful smile.

"I thought you’d never ask."

She stepped into his embrace. He hugged her tightly, drawing her in, pressing his face into her hair. Her cat ears tickled his cheek, warm and soft. She smelled of cherry blossom and sunshine.

Nothing else existed anymore. Only her warmth, her heartbeat in his chest, the way she fit perfectly in his arms. Her tail wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer.

"I don’t want to let go," he whispered.

"Then don’t."

He clung to her tightly, memorizing the feeling. Her arms encircled his neck, returning the embrace. She pressed her ears to his head, content.

They stood like this for a while, hugging each other by the light of the porch light and watching the first stars appearing in the sky. Yuiko’s tail waggled happily and peacefully.

Finally, reluctantly, they broke apart. Her ears drooped in disappointment at the loss of contact.

"Same time tomorrow?" he asked.

"Same time tomorrow," she agreed, her tail already wiggling again.

He turned to go, and looked back, calling out her name. "Yuiko."

"Yes?"

"I really, really like you."

She smiled beautifully, her ears perking up and tail wiggling incredibly fast.

"I know." Her voice was warm, affectionate. "I really, really like you too."

As they walked together with their heart full of counting the times they again see each other . Behind him , at the gate , her eyes still longing for him to stay but waving beys standing on the door .

They quietly said , " Let’s the tomorrow be another beautiful day for us . "

As the evening wind breeze saying her tail gently.

Her smile still remains in his brain .