Boom—rumble!
The clear sky dimmed in an instant. Black clouds pressed down like an invading army, and a sudden downpour came crashing down. Gale-force winds bent the roadside trees nearly in half, and the streets outside blurred into a hazy wash of rain.
Kiyono Inori: (⊙_⊙)
Rain itself was nothing unusual.
But this was way too sudden. One second she was thinking the weather looked great and that after her IV drip she might take Elysia Cat for a stroll around Tokyo. The next second there was thunder. By the third, it was already a full-blown storm.
The girl caught a whiff of something off.
This was definitely not a natural phenomenon. No way. This was absolutely some Tokyo espers getting into a superpowered scuffle somewhere again!
"Kiyono-san."
"…Hm?" Kiyono Inori turned her head and saw Misumi Uika, holding a box of strawberry yogurt and waving it at her.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Ah… sure."
She had received plenty of help from this blond girl. There was no reason to refuse, so Kiyono nodded naturally.
"Are you a magical girl?"
"Eh…?" Kiyono froze.
"Sorry, sorry, I don't mean anything strange by it. It's just… your cat." Uika shifted aside and pointed at Elysia Cat.
The cat's mouth was very small.
So when the two of them had already finished eating, Elysia Cat was still locked in a desperate battle with a meat bun almost the size of her face. Now that the bun was gone, no one knew where she had found a straw, but she was carefully holding it steady while sipping egg-drop soup.
A cat doing something like this.
Anyone who saw it would find it suspicious, right? As if noticing Kiyono's gaze, Elysia Cat looked over too.
Kiyono Inori: (╯⊙?⊙╰)
You! Got! Found! Out! My dear Elysia! You're just a cat right now, could you pay a little attention? What kind of cat drinks soup like that? You're way too eye-catching!
Her ice-blue eyes glared straight at the pink, pig-like cat who was eating with reckless enthusiasm.
Elysia Cat: (⊙_⊙)
Then what am I supposed to do, meow? I'm a cute girl, you know! I can't exactly lap it up with my tongue like a real cat. That's so inelegant, meow!
She wore an utterly innocent expression.
Well… that was true.
If she turned into a cat herself, she definitely wouldn't eat by licking like a normal cat either. Kiyono could understand. At this point, all they could do was muddle through on cuteness alone.
"I… don't think I am."
Kiyono Inori smoothly put on an (O_o) ditzy-cute face. With charm stat at ten, even playing dumb was adorable. "I picked this cat up by accident. She's smart, so I kept her with me."
"Smart?"
"Yes, yes! I'm telling you, she can even use a straw. At night she secretly plays with her owner's phone too. Come on, Customer Service Little Ai, do a backflip for Misumi-san."
"Meow!" Who is Customer Service Little Ai? Don't give the Pink Fairy Lady weird nicknames, meow!
Complaining all the while, Elysia Cat secured the straw so it would not fall back into the bowl, then performed a standing backflip and launched herself straight into Kiyono's arms.
"Ah!" Kiyono scooped her up and held her at eye level.
"Meow meow meow!"
Elysia Cat blinked rapidly. Hey, that tickles, meow! Don't touch my meow-meow like that, it's embarrassing! Inori-chan, what are you doing, waaah… you're making it hard for me to even talk, meow!
"I thought you were going to smear food all over me."
Kiyono checked the cat's chest, chin, and mouth. Despite eating in an extremely wild manner while hugging a bun the size of her face, Elysia Cat was surprisingly spotless.
"Oh please!" Elysia Cat puffed up proudly. "Even if I've turned into a cat, I'm still a cute girl. Of course I care about my image!"
"Then why did you jump onto me, you pervy cat?"
"Grrr-gurgle-gurgle." Elysia Cat made an adorable sound. "That's not it at all. Inori-chan, maybe you don't know because you're not well, but when the warriors of the Fire Moth make emergency landings, they always choose the softest spot, meow."
"Isn't the blanket soft enough?"
Kiyono scratched Elysia Cat's cheek. This was a weakness seen by the Pioneer of the Stars.
"Meow~ It's all because Inori-chan is too cute!"
At the touch, Elysia Cat looked blissful, her meows dropping several pitches into pure softness.
"…." Kiyono blinked innocently.
She already knew that the weaknesses seen by the Pioneer of the Stars included some very strange things, but this effect was a bit too strong. After she stopped scratching, Elysia Cat was already rubbing her cheek against Kiyono's hand.
"Heehee, Inori-chan, pet me some more, meow!"
"Wake up! Elysia, you're not a real cat! Use some self-control, you idiot! It was just a little cheek scratch and you're already acting like this. You're going to give someone a heart attack!"
"Meow meow? That's your fault, meow! You're the one who turned me into a cat. This is all because of the cat influence, I can't help it! If your heart can't take it, that's right, you like cute kittens too, don't you? Heehee! Even though when Inori-chan turns into Inori Cat you won't let me touch you, I'm not holding a grudge. Hurry up and pet me, meow!"
"There are other people here!"
"It's fine! I'm just a cat, so it's fine. You can talk to me by meowing, that's fine too. To that blond girl, it'll just look like you're meowing at a cute kitty, right? And doesn't that make it more exciting? If you're shy, Inori-chan—"
As she spoke, Elysia Cat suddenly pushed Kiyono down with startling force, then dove under the blanket herself. As a cat, she executed a perfect bed pin on Kiyono.
"Then let's snuggle secretly!"
The good news was that another rule had been discovered. Even though cats summoned by the cat system were cats, their strength did not seem to diminish. With seven points of strength, Elysia Cat easily suppressed Kiyono's three points of intrigue.
The Pioneer of the Stars really lived up to its reputation.
With just a few gentle pets, Elysia Cat was completely fired up. Sure, bringing a fluffy cat into the blanket was normal, but the truth was that she was being pinned down by a cat.
The bad news was that from Misumi Uika's perspective, it just looked like Kiyono meowed a few times with her cat, then suddenly shoved the cat under the blanket to pet it like crazy. A girl who was absurdly obsessed with cats.
Misumi Uika: (⊙_⊙)
The girl and the cat meowed back and forth, and then the cat suddenly burrowed into Kiyono's blanket. It left Uika with a very complicated feeling. She had meowed for ages earlier, and that cat had only agreed to shake her hand. It would not let her pet it at all!
And Kiyono too!
She could tell they had gotten much closer, but wasn't this a bit much? Just a few meows and she could not resist stuffing the cat into the blanket to pet it. Wouldn't the cat suffocate?
Still… it was not a total loss.
At least Uika could now be sure of one thing.
Kiyono Inori was definitely not a magical girl. She had seen plenty of magical girl and magical familiar combos. The familiars were cute, sure, but they always acted like lofty seniors and never let anyone pet them.
But… a new problem appeared!
If Kiyono Inori was not a magical girl, then her behavior just now might have exposed something. The world of espers was dangerous. Kiyono was brilliant and had a bright future ahead of her. It would be better if she stayed out of it.
Hm… she needed a way to muddle through with cuteness!
Misumi Uika pulled two movie tickets from her wallet, for the theatrical version of Magical Girl Movie Part Three.
Recently, Sumita Mana had been injured and was feeling complicated about it. Uika had planned to take her to the movies, but now she would have to buy another ticket. She handed one to Kiyono, who was poking her head out from the blanket.
"Kiyono-san, here's your chance to become a magical girl. Ta-da! Magical Girl movie ticket! When your cold gets better, remember to go see it. I'll leave it here!"
"Thank you. I'll go."
With that, Uika left Kiyono's private hospital room.
…
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Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.