Kotomi Izumi felt as though she were watching an old movie from a first-person perspective.
Or perhaps this was a memory she had once experienced, but had forgotten for some reason.
Right now, she was sitting on the ground crying. As the sensations gradually became clearer, Kotomi felt pain in both hands, as though there were wounds on them.
Perhaps that pain was exactly why she could not stop crying.
Standing in front of little Kotomi with her back turned to her was a silver-haired little girl. She looked about the same age as little Kotomi, yet at this moment, she was bravely shielding Kotomi behind her.
If the current Kotomi had been capable of making any sound other than crying, she definitely would have asked the silver-haired little girl in front of her, Who are you? Why are you protecting me?
"Little Kotomi..."
The silver-haired little girl shielding young Kotomi behind her did not turn around, but slowly spoke.
"Don't be afraid. I'll definitely protect you!"
The silver-haired girl's voice gave the young Kotomi an inexplicable sense of security, as though no danger in the entire world could reach her as long as she stayed behind this girl.
Little Kotomi was still crying uncontrollably.
Perhaps hearing the silver-haired girl's voice made her feel somewhat safer. Although she did not stop crying, she wiped away her endless tears while sobbing,
"Why... I deliberately tried to avoid that kitty, so why did she still follow me?"
"She followed me all this way, then pounced on me and scratched me with her claws. I never did anything to her! Why does she keep bullying me?!"
"Little Kotomi, I don't know why that kitty keeps bullying you either, but... it's okay."
"Very soon, she'll never bully you again, and she'll never follow you again."
"Don't worry. No matter what method I have to use, I'll protect you properly. Just like now—"
As the silver-haired little girl spoke with her back to little Kotomi, she gripped her cane in both hands and raised it high above her head.
It was as though she were gathering strength for what she was about to do.
The silver-haired little girl took a deep breath.
Before taking the next step, she still did not forget to thoughtfully remind Kotomi,
"Little Kotomi, can you close your eyes first?"
"Then cover your ears tightly with both hands."
"I know your arms hurt right now and you don't want to move them, but endure it for just a little while. It'll be over soon."
"From this point on, you absolutely must not open your eyes without my permission, and you absolutely must not move your hands away and listen to what's happening around you."
"Be good, okay?"
"I... I understand... What are you going to do?"
Little Kotomi asked through choked sobs while obediently doing as the silver-haired girl instructed and closing her eyes.
She planned to wait until the silver-haired girl answered before covering her ears with both hands.
"What am I going to do? Hehe. Of course I'm going to make that bad-tempered kitty become obedient forever and have her apologize to you," the silver-haired little girl said with a soft laugh.
"Will the kitty really become good? Will she really apologize to me?"
"I don't want to be friends with her. I just want her to stop following me all the time," little Kotomi said with her eyes closed.
"Mm-hmm. Once the kitty apologizes to you in a little while, she'll definitely never follow you again. Don't worry."
The silver-haired little girl was clearly around the same age as little Kotomi, yet her voice was incomparably gentle when she spoke to her, filled with affection.
After saying that, the silver-haired girl turned around and glanced at little Kotomi sitting on the ground with her eyes obediently closed.
When she saw the wounds on Kotomi's arms still bleeding, a sharp pain stabbed through the silver-haired girl's eyes.
The heartache inside her was almost unbearable!
And the killing intent in her heart surged wildly!
The silver-haired girl forcibly suppressed the trembling in her voice caused by heartache, anger, and killing intent, then gently said to Kotomi,
"Little Kotomi, make sure you cover your ears tightly with both hands."
"You can't listen to anything around you, and you can't open your eyes to look either. Understand?"
"I understand!" little Kotomi nodded and answered seriously.
"Such a good girl. As expected of my fiancée~"
The silver-haired little girl laughed gently.
Although little Kotomi, who only knew how to think about food at this age, did not understand what "fiancée" meant, that was precisely why the silver-haired girl could smoothly keep calling her that.
After all, little Kotomi did not know what a fiancée was.
The first time she heard the word "fiancée," she had even thought it was the name of something delicious.
After those words fell, the silver-haired little girl looked toward the arrogant black cat blocking the path not far ahead.
Then—
She swung the cane in her hands down with all her strength.
With the dull sound of wood striking flesh, the black cat that was brutally struck by the cane let out a piercing shriek.
The cat instinctively tried to flee.
It had completely lost its previous arrogance and wanted nothing more than to escape as quickly as possible!
In fact, while the silver-haired girl had been talking to little Kotomi, the black cat had been given plenty of opportunities to run away.
But instead of fleeing, it had continued acting aggressively, occasionally letting out unnerving growls.
The silver-haired girl did not let the black cat escape.
After striking it once with the cane, she raised the weapon again.
This time, the somewhat heavy cane smashed directly into the black cat's spine and broke it.
The black cat had just been preparing to flee when its body instantly stiffened at the moment its spine shattered.
It collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.
"Phew... That was close. You almost got away."
"If you really had escaped, things would've become a little troublesome. My leg is injured, so there's no way I could chase after you."
"Fortunately, I managed to break your spine before you got outside the cane's striking range."
The silver-haired little girl spoke softly with a faint laugh.
She looked at the black cat writhing painfully on the ground without the slightest ripple in her eyes.
Then she raised her cane again and brought it down once more.
Amid several sounds of breaking bone, the silver-haired girl used her cane to smash the black cat's limbs apart one by one.
The cat struggling on the ground gradually lost even the strength to scream loudly after suffering wave after wave of excruciating pain.
The silver-haired little girl looked at the black cat lying on the ground, a faint sneer curling at the corner of her lips.
Leaning on her cane, she slowly walked over.
Then she crouched down and gently took hold of the black cat's neck.
"I remember a kitty's neck is around here. Mm, I think I can feel the bone."
The silver-haired little girl held the cat's neck and muttered softly, as though searching for something.
After finding it, she smiled faintly.
Then her voice turned icy.
"I don't like small animals, but I've never done anything to hurt them either."
"You're the only exception."
"Little Kotomi is my fiancée."
"She never did anything to you. She's so afraid of you that every time she sees you, she goes out of her way to avoid you."
"But you kept harassing her again and again, and you even hurt her with your claws!"
"Since you wanted to hurt Kotomi, then please die."
After saying that, she looked at the black cat in her hand, which was still breathing faintly.
Without the slightest hesitation, the silver-haired girl exerted force with her small hand and twisted its neck, snapping it apart.
Crack.
With a dull sound, the black cat that had been acting so arrogant and smug only a minute earlier became a corpse that was gradually growing cold.
Thud.
The silver-haired little girl looked at the life she had taken with her own hands without feeling even the slightest fluctuation in her heart.
Like throwing away garbage, she casually tossed the corpse onto the ground.
The moment the black cat followed Kotomi and scratched her with its claws, the silver-haired girl had already sentenced it to death in her heart.
Even if she had not killed it today, she would still have returned tomorrow, found the black cat, and killed it then.
At this moment, an almost pathological desire to protect Kotomi was gradually awakening and spreading through the silver-haired girl's heart.
She wanted to keep Kotomi tightly protected at her side and prevent her from suffering even the slightest harm. At the same time, she wanted to kill anything that wished to harm Kotomi, or anything that had already hurt her.
Leaning on her cane, the silver-haired little girl remained where she was and rested for a while, breathing lightly.
Only then did she turn around and walk toward little Kotomi, who still had her eyes closed and both hands covering her ears.
Seeing little Kotomi still obediently following her instructions, the silver-haired girl nodded in satisfaction.
Then she spoke gently.
"Little Kotomi, you can move your hands now. Everything's fine."
"You don't have to cover your ears anymore, but I'll still need you to keep your eyes closed for a little while longer."
As the silver-haired girl spoke, she reached out and gently tugged at Kotomi's small hand, indicating that she no longer needed to cover her ears.
Because little Kotomi in the memory had closed her eyes and covered her ears, Kotomi Izumi had neither seen nor heard what had just happened.
At the silver-haired girl's signal, little Kotomi slowly lowered both hands from her ears.
At the same time, she obediently kept her eyes closed.
That made Kotomi Izumi extremely curious.
Who exactly was this silver-haired little girl?
Why had Kotomi listened to her so obediently when she was young?
"Can I still not open my eyes?" little Kotomi asked curiously.
"Not yet. Just endure it a little longer."
"I already talked with the kitty just now. She's fully realized what she did wrong."
"She really wants to apologize to you. Would you be willing to accept her apology?"
"Y-Yes."
Little Kotomi nodded as she answered.
Her voice still sounded somewhat frightened.
That was perfectly normal.
After all, she had only just been scratched by the black cat. Even if she was going to accept its apology, she would naturally still feel a little afraid.
"All right. But even when you go accept the kitty's apology, you still can't open your eyes," the silver-haired girl reminded her.
She did not want little Kotomi to see what the cat looked like now.
"Why?" little Kotomi asked in confusion.
"Because..."
Faced with little Kotomi's sudden question, the silver-haired girl hesitated for a moment, unsure how to answer.
Fortunately, she thought quickly and soon came up with an explanation.
"Because when I was teaching the kitty a lesson just now, I accidentally spoke a little too harshly."
"That kitty may look fierce, but she's actually very fragile."
"I only scolded her a little more sternly, and she started crying."
"Cats are very prideful animals. She definitely wouldn't want you to see her crying."
"But that also proves she's sincerely reflecting on what she did."
"What does a kitty sound like when she cries?"
Little Kotomi completely believed the silver-haired girl's words.
She even became somewhat curious about what a crying cat sounded like.
"A kitty crying..."
The silver-haired girl thought for a moment, then made something up.
"It sounds like a little baby crying."
"I kind of want to hear a kitty crying too."
"It's a pity I kept covering my ears just now, so I didn't get to hear it."
Thinking about that, little Kotomi could not help sighing in disappointment.
"Hehe, honestly, Little Kotomi. What's so interesting about hearing a kitty cry?"
"All right, don't open your eyes. I'll hold your hand and take you to the kitty."
"We'll walk over to her and let her properly apologize to you."
The silver-haired little girl laughed despite herself.
With a radiant smile on her face, she stood with her back to the sunlight and extended a small hand toward Kotomi.
It was difficult to imagine that such an adorable silver-haired little girl could possess such a cold-blooded side.
Or perhaps cold-bloodedness was her true nature.
It was only after meeting Kotomi that she gained a gentle side, and she gave every last bit of that gentleness to her.
Even if that gentleness and protectiveness were steeped in twisted obsession.
Little Kotomi obediently kept her eyes closed and slowly reached out her small hand.
The moment she extended it, the silver-haired little girl clasped it tightly.
Holding little Kotomi's hand, the silver-haired girl led her over to the black cat's corpse.
But little Kotomi, whose eyes were still closed, had no idea the black cat was already dead.
Killed by the silver-haired girl's own hands.
The silver-haired girl brought little Kotomi to crouch beside the black cat's corpse, then softly said,
"Little Kotomi, can you hear her?"
"The kitty is talking to you in the special language that only cats use."
"She's saying, 'I'm sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn't have followed you without permission or hurt you.'"
"I can't hear her."
Little Kotomi shook her head.
At the same time, she perked up her ears and tried hard to listen for any other sounds around her.
Little dummy, of course you can't hear her. That damned black cat was killed by me a long time ago...
The silver-haired girl gazed gently at little Kotomi and thought to herself.
After listening as hard as she could for quite a while, little Kotomi finally shook her head in disappointment.
"I still can't hear the kitty."
"Hehe. If you can't hear her, then don't worry about it."
"After all, we're humans and the kitty is a cat. We're two different species, so naturally we can't understand each other's language."
"It's perfectly normal that we can't even hear what the other is saying."
The silver-haired little girl spoke with a light laugh.
"I see... Then can I pet the kitty?" little Kotomi asked after thinking for a moment.
"Of course. This kitty has become very, very obedient now."
As the silver-haired little girl spoke, she looked at the black cat's corpse lying on the ground.
Then she thought inwardly,
Now that it's already a corpse, of course it's become very, very obedient.
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