Chapter 20

### Cat Talk

### Tanaka Shokumei

He is often called Komei because his name is long.

From the moment he was born, before he could even open his eyes, his mother had been telling him something. Apparently, his ancestors had a great debt to the Tanaka family, and generation after generation, their clan had been tasked with maintaining the peace in the area around the Tanaka family's house, specifically the third district.

Occasionally, when a cat with strong spiritual power was born, it would serve the Tanaka family as a pet to utilize its abilities.

When Komei was able to open his eyes and move on his own, his mother brought him to the Tanaka family's garden. It was to receive a name. Even stray cats are more likely to receive food and have a higher survival rate if they have a name.

However, his mother warned him to be careful of his father, Ichishi.

His mother already reigned as the boss cat of the third district, moving with agility that belied her plump, white body as she climbed fences. If caught by Ichishi, who had an unusual fondness for cats, she would be held captive for a long time. Moreover, Ichishi had no sense of naming. If Ichishi were to name him, he should just give up.

His mother, named "Shiratama Mochiko" by Ichishi, had a name that undermined her dignity as a boss cat.

Fortunately, the first Tanaka family member Komei met in the garden was his mother, Yoriko, and he received a long but unusually dignified name. Due to his exceptionally high spiritual power, he became the Tanaka family's pet, and he no longer had to worry about food. He lived a peaceful life, but as he grew up, a problem began to trouble him.

Because of his high spiritual power, his kittens did not survive well.

In the womb, they would be overwhelmed by the mother's power and die. Without a certain level of spiritual power, the kittens couldn't even form properly.

After several stillbirths, the one kitten that was finally born was taken away by a crow in a moment of carelessness. At that time, he felt a mix of helplessness, frustration, sadness, and anger, and his emotions raged like a storm, almost driving him mad.

Then, Kō came along.

One day, a baby suddenly appeared in the Tanaka family, and it cried a lot. It seemed to sense something, was afraid, and cried abnormally often.

To protect the baby from harm when Yoriko was not around, Komei decided to guard it. Most things could be driven away with a single meow due to his spiritual power. Whenever he slept next to the baby, it would stop crying, feeling reassured. Sleeping next to the baby on the veranda became a daily routine.

Later, Heita was born, and the household became lively. Heita had asthma.

Because of the floating fur, he was not allowed inside the house, and the number of times he could sleep next to the baby decreased. Ichishi skillfully made a DIY bed for Komei in the garden, but Komei preferred the cardboard box where the materials were stored. Ichishi looked at him with a resentful face, but comfort was the most important thing. The cardboard box was the best.

When Kō grew enough to come out to the garden on his own, they could spend more time together again.

By then, Komei had inherited the territory from his mother, Mochiko, and his spiritual power had become even stronger. He could protect Kō from anything that frightened him within the territory. If Kō stayed within the territory, he could protect him forever, but as Kō went to kindergarten and elementary school, the time he spent outside the territory increased. Komei started to wait at the front gate to greet him when he returned home.

Sometimes, Kō would come back with strange things attached, so he couldn't let his guard down.

One day, Kō was late coming home.

While Yoriko thought he might be playing with friends, Komei knew that was unlikely. He had a bad feeling.

He immediately called the other cats in the third district to search for Kō. A tabby cat named Batman (named by Kō) reported back after checking the elementary school outside the territory.

"Boss, it seems that a Labrador named Love has been chasing Mina around!"

Apparently, a dog that was usually kept on a leash had escaped and, in its heightened excitement, had chased Kō. Kō had always told Komei that he was afraid of the Labrador Retriever named Love who was on the way to school. Poor Kō must have been running for his life. Why do dogs always seek attention and affection? Why can't they control their desires despite their large size?

He needed some educational guidance.

Finding Love was easy. He was wandering in front of the forest, looking around nervously.

"Are you the dog that's been chasing our Kō?"

He hissed instinctively as he spoke. The dog, already cowering, retreated further.

"Where is Kō?"

The dog looked anxiously at the forest.

Komei's blood boiled. He didn't let the cowering dog escape and delivered several powerful cat punches with his claws extended. The forest was dangerous. It was a place he should never enter.

The dog must have come to his senses only after chasing Kō into the forest. Any living creature could sense the abnormality of the forest. The dog didn't enter because it was dangerous. Yet, he had chased Kō into it.

"If anything happens to Kō, you won't get off easy!"

He pounced on the dog and bit the back of its ear hard.

"Yow! Yow!"

As the dog barked and ran away, Komei entered the forest without hesitation.

"Kō! Kō! Kō!"

This was the second time he had entered the forest. The first time was when he chased a crow that had kidnapped a kitten. That crow, that demon, lived in this forest.

That time... the kitten was never found. Kō... Kō... he had to find Kō.

"Kō! Kō! Kō!"

"Kō! Kō! Kō!"

The darkness of the forest was closing in. He had to get out before nightfall. It would be dangerous to walk through the forest with Kō, who couldn't see well in the dark. If only he were bigger, big enough to carry Kō.

He would never let another important child be taken by the forest. He would get Kō back.

"Kō! Kō! Kō!"

While calling out to Kō, he used his spiritual power to repel the occasional attacks from the miasma. As he looked closely at the miasma, he noticed it was flowing in a certain direction. He followed the miasma deeper into the forest, focusing on the area where it was the thickest.

The miasma distorted his vision, but he could faintly hear Kō's sobbing. If the vision was this distorted, a human might not have found him. Poor Kō was crying in the miasma, likely unable to move.

"Meow."

He meowed and used his spiritual power to dispel the miasma.

Kō looked up at the sound.

"Komei?"

"Meow."

Finally, he found him. He meowed in response and continued to dispel the miasma.

"Did you come to get me?"

"Meow."

He dispelled all the miasma around Kō and approached, sitting on his lap. He licked Kō's tear-streaked face, and Kō smiled.

"Thank you, Komei!"

"Meow."

He wanted to comfort Kō until he calmed down, but the darkness was closing in. They had to leave the forest immediately. He meowed to tell Kō to follow him.

This time, he had retrieved what was important. The world tries to take away what is important. He needed to become stronger.

To protect Kō.