Chapter 18

Something was knocking down the men. The brightness of the lanterns they held was not enough to see the whole picture. Even the lanterns were being extinguished one by one as the men were knocked down.

That something was pitch black. It blended into the night, so black that it was hard to see anything but the men being flung away and falling.

Finally, the last of the many men...

*Whoom*

was flung away...

and fell with a thud.

The light of the last lantern held by the last man also went out, and the surroundings were enveloped in darkness.

*Meow*

The sound of a cat came from right behind Emma, closer than ever before. When she turned around, two large, glowing golden eyes were staring straight at her.

*It can't be...* she thought, but prioritizing her senses, emotions, and hopes, she asked the golden eyes,

"Komei... is that you?"

Komei had died in the last year of high school. At that time, she cried so much that she almost went crazy. The grief was so intense that it felt painful. Even though the term "pet loss" didn't exist back then, the sorrow that overwhelmed her was far beyond what such a word could describe. No one understood better than she did. That pain, that sorrow, still made her unable to move at times.

But the golden eyes in front of her were Komei's. Her beloved, unmistakable Komei.

"Meow"

Just like that day, the golden eyes responded. Could such a miracle really happen?

"Is it really you, Komei?"

She asked the golden eyes again, hoping it wasn't a dream.

"Meow"

The golden eyes responded once more.

Pinching both cheeks hard, she confirmed that this wasn't a cruel, too cruel dream that only raised her hopes, and asked the golden eyes again,

"Is it really, really, really you, Komei?"

Unable to hold back, tears streamed down her cheeks.

She had always wanted to see him. She knew it was impossible, but she had always, always wanted to see him.

Even as an adult, she wanted him to greet her at the gate when she came home from work. On days when she had a bad day at the office, she wanted him to comfort her with a "meow."

She had always, always wanted to be with him.

"Really?... sniff... Really... really?"

Her words faltered. Tears kept overflowing.

The moon, which had been hidden all night, showed its face as if to tell Emma, "It's real." The moonlight illuminated the cat in front of her.

"Meow"

"Komei...!"

The calico cat slowly approached and licked her cheeks, which were red from pinching and wet with large tears. The familiar rough sensation. She laughed and hugged Komei tightly.

"You've grown so much."

"Meow♪"

The golden eyes, the slightly flat face, and the calico pattern were just as she remembered Komei. Only the size... not just one, but two, even larger than a Labrador Retriever, larger than Emma herself.

If she had to compare, it was about the size between a horse and a pony, an impossible size for a cat.

She squeezed her arms even tighter. He was warm.

Perhaps her ordinary life in the Tanaka family was all for the sake of meeting Komei again. She wrapped her arms around Komei's neck, savoring the happiness as he purred.

...Then, from behind, she felt something sniffing her scent. Without letting go, she turned her face and saw a large, pitch-black cat's face, about the same size as Komei.

Completely black, with orange eyes, it approached Emma.

"Meow"

"Could it be... Could it be... Kan?"

"Meow"

It rubbed its face against Emma's body, showing affection.

Kan was another cat the Tanaka family had raised. A completely black, affectionate cat was in front of her.

"Was it you who saved me just now?"

The men seemed to have been knocked down one by one by Kan's cat punches. Probably, the soft paw strikes absorbed the impact sound, and only the sound of the men being flung away and falling could be heard.

"Thank you, Kan!"

She released Komei's neck and stroked the area around Kan's nose.

Komei... Kan...!

"Chou and Ryu?"

Perhaps... she called out the names of the other two cats the Tanaka family had raised...

"Meow!"

Two cats appeared from behind Komei.

One was a fluffy white cat.

The other was a calico cat like Komei.

The white cat, Chou, approached Emma first. Her fluffy fur enveloped Emma.

"Chou!"

"Meow♪"

Chou had fluffy fur like a foreign cat, not a Japanese cat. Her ears and nose, which were thinly furred, were pink, and she was her father's favorite.

Despite her fluffy fur, her face was slightly disappointing.

Seeing Chou, she remembered how the family had laughed, thinking, "Even cats can have a gentle face."

"Chou, Dad will be happy too!"

She stroked Chou's nose.

"Ryu!"

When Emma called, the calico cat, Ryu, also approached her.

After high school, when Komei was no longer there, Ryu supported the newly employed Kō.

Ryu was Komei's child, and Kan and Chou were Ryu's children.

She stroked Ryu's nose and laughed.

With the angelic smile that had captivated Joshua.

"Dad, Mom, Kō, Pēta, Komei, Ryu, Kan, Chou... the Tanaka family is all here now!"

"Meow♪"

"Meow♪"

"Meow♪"

"Meow♪"

...Almost only cats...?