"Damn it! This meow is definitely going to become the mascot of this work."
Amp tried to chase after him, but after just a few steps, he sat down panting.
"Huff∽ I've been squatting here too long. Haven't eaten in ages, no strength left. Damn it."
[See? That's why you shouldn't stake people out like this.]
"Damn it! Even if you won't agree to my request, at least give me something to eat!"
Amp sat on the ground staring at Saiki. After Saiki mocked him and left, Amp switched into pitiful mode.
"It's my fault, I'm the bad one. I shouldn't have treated humans like slaves all the time. It's my bad, but I just want to become a mascot—nothing malicious. I'm just... I'm just..."
Amp squeezed out a single "sincere" tear, looked up, and saw Saiki walking farther and farther away without stopping.
(๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!
"No way, meow! You're just leaving like that? After such a heart-shaking performance from me, you ignore it completely?"
[Because it's a hassle, and the acting is way too fake.]
Amp lowered his head powerlessly. He knew he couldn't stop it anymore and could only sigh endlessly.
"My era is over..."
[Your era never even started.]
...
Amp lay on the ground for two minutes, starting to think about lying on the roadside pretending to be a pitiful abandoned kitten to attract cute human girls. He'd let them pet his head three times or his paw pads twice in exchange for food—when suddenly a hand placed an opened can next to him.
Amp looked up and saw Saiki.
"Human..."
[I won't come feed you every day. Don't stake me out here anymore. I'm leaving. No need to thank me.]
After doing that, Saiki walked straight off. Earlier he'd gone to a store and casually bought a can too.
"Who... who'd thank you, meow!"
Amp stubbornly grumbled, then lowered his head and started eating. Just as he thought this human wasn't so bad, he suddenly tasted something off, looked up, inspected the can—and realized it was dog food.
"Go to hell, you damn human! You actually made this meow eat dog food—you bastard!!"
By the time Amp looked up, Saiki had completely disappeared. He'd already left.
In Amp's mind, he could even picture Saiki's smug, expectant grin while buying the dog food at the store, waiting for him to realize what it was.
"You remember this, human—meow!"
On the other side, Saiki sneezed naturally, aware of the situation here. Even if he knew, he wouldn't say much. If you asked whether it was on purpose or accidental, Saiki could only say:
"I deliberately made it accidental."
After sneezing, Saiki imagined Amp's current expression and couldn't help smiling.
(But it's not my fault. When I went by earlier, the only cans left in the store were surströmming and dog food.)
(That surströmming stuff smells like crap. The stench alone—if I bought that, it'd be worse than dog food. Definitely not because surströmming is more expensive, or because the smell would make Amp unable to eat it. Yeah.)
Saiki gave a sly chuckle and headed home.
...
The next day at noon...
Saiki took the Shinkansen to the meeting spot the others had mentioned.
When Saiki arrived, he found the rest already waiting there.
[You guys got here way too early. We still have half an hour until the meet-up time!]
"Because everyone's been looking forward to this for so long!"
Inuzuka Shu: "Finally made it through exams and into break. Time to play hard!"
Hearing "exams," Nekozaki Kyo recalled her own bad grades and snapped at Inuzuka Shu: "Seriously, we just got to summer vacation—stop talking about exams already!"
The expressionless girl Hachimitsu chimed in: "Don't make me remember!"
[Do Hachimitsu and Nekozaki have bad grades?]
Saiki rarely paid attention to others' grades. He usually only looked from the top down to maybe the double digits, then got too lazy to continue.
Shikimori thought for a moment and politely said: "Um... their grades are... okay, I guess~"
"Okay? They fail all the time! This time they barely scraped by the passing line."
Inuzuka Shu mercilessly exposed them with a finishing blow.
"If I hadn't helped them cram right before the exams, they'd have been done for."
Hachimitsu Yui had nothing to say—because it was true.
"You could at least leave us some face!"
Nekozaki Kyo could only grit her teeth in powerless rage at the brutally honest Inuzuka Shu.
"Nope—"
The two glared at each other like that while Shikimori stepped in to calm them.
"Okay, okay, stop thinking about that. We're here to have fun today."
Izumi handed a bottle of water to Saiki from the side: "Saiki-kun, here."
Saiki took the water and noticed Izumi was still wearing a straw hat.
[Thanks. You're really prepared.]
"Of course! I'm at peak enthusiasm. My passion isn't any less than this sun!"
Izumi raised his fist excitedly. He'd been waiting for this for ages.
Saiki saw everyone's moods soaring so high—it felt hotter than the actual weather, almost burning him.
[They're already this hyped right from the start...]
...
After walking for a while, they reached the riverside. Beneath the cliff was a clear lake bottom. Everyone came down and admired the scenery: a peaceful riverbank, emerald-clear water flowing gently. From time to time, fish swam freely through the transparent river.
Inuzuka Shu couldn't hold back his tears, as if he'd gone through endless hardships to finally see sunlight, and shouted:
"River!!"
[Is that necessary? We just took one train ride.]
"You don't get it, Saiki."
Inuzuka Shu said while crying: "With Izumi here and the weather still this perfect—it's a miracle!"
[What? Is Izumi a rain man or something?]
Hachimitsu Yui: "That kinda hurts to hear."
"Right, Izumi!"
Rain Man Izumi took off his straw hat, seeming to breathe a sigh of relief, then smiled in agreement: "Yeah!"
(Don't agree with him!)
"Good thing I made a ton of teru teru bozu!"
(You actually made those things?)
Nekozaki Kyo: "You're seriously like an elementary school kid!"
"Hahaha..."
Everyone was immersed in laughter, while only Saiki looked on expressionlessly. He noticed some dark clouds drifting slowly toward them from above.
(For real?)
Saiki glanced at the group still laughing and chatting, then found the right angle, instantly teleported into the sky, faced the approaching dark clouds, waved his hand, and fired energy blasts to shatter them.
After watching the clouds disperse and reveal perfect weather again, Saiki nodded in satisfaction and returned to the group.
...