Yukinoshita Yukino stepped out of the school gates and pulled out her phone to contact the driver.
She stood at the entrance, carefully typing out a message, then stopped just before hitting send.
Her little head turned, her big eyes fixed on something without blinking.
A cat. A big cat.
Almost instinctively, Yukino took a step forward, walking toward the large white cat sprawled out in the sunlight, its eyes half-closed as it lounged on its side.
"Meow… meow…"
She softened her steps, inching closer, calling out softly.
The big cat opened its eyes, shot her a glance, then got up and trotted off on its little legs.
Yukino didn't hesitate. She followed.
The cat looked back at her, quickening its pace, then broke into a run along the coastal road.
A flicker of urgency crossed Yukino's face, and she ran after it.
One after the other, they turned into a narrow alley and kept running.
Finally, the big cat stopped. It turned and looked at the girl, now out of breath, with a hint of helplessness in its eyes.
This girl how is she so persistent and so out of shape at the same time?
Seeing the cat finally stop, Yukino's face lit up with pure joy. The happiness spilled from her eyes and spread through her whole body, all the way to the tips of her hair.
She tried to steady her breathing, then crouched down and softly called, "Meow… meow…"
With a resigned air, the cat padded toward her.
Yukino's eyes sparkled. She carefully reached out, ready to bury her fingers in that soft fur.
"MEEOW!!!"
The cat let out a piercing yowl and lunged forward.
Huh?
Yukino watched the cat leap at her, instinctively stepping back. Off balance, she tipped backward.
Thud.
A dull sound echoed in her ears, followed by darkness closing in.
When she opened her eyes again, the sky was bright once more. She rose to her feet, dazed, and looked down at her own body lying there, and the boy crouched beside it.
"Congratulations. You just won your resurrection match."
Her lips parted, confusion written on her face. "What do you—"
Before she could finish, her body pulled her back in, a force she couldn't resist.
Natsuo lowered his hand and let out a breath.
The wound wasn't serious. Her soul had only been separated for less than a minute. Easy fix.
He dusted off his hands, picked up his oden cup, and stepped back a few paces, waiting for her to wake up.
Yukino opened her eyes, stood up, and looked at the boy across from her in silence.
The air between them seemed to freeze. The only movement came from the sea breeze weaving through the alley, stirring their hair, the sole proof that the world was still turning.
After a long moment, Yukino decided she'd sorted through the strange events well enough to ask a question. "Yamanashi-kun, what exactly happened?"
Natsuo's tone was matter-of-fact. "I tossed a snake. It passed by here. The big cat got startled and lunged."
"Then you tripped and died."
"I had something to do with it, so I brought you back."
Yukino frowned deeply as she processed the information. She glanced around the alley, then looked back at him and asked, "Where's the big cat?"
The silence returned. Natsuo realized he might have misjudged this girl. "That's what you want to ask?"
Yukino met his gaze without flinching. "I want to find that cat and get my revenge."
'Then you probably need to find the snake and the guy who set it loose too.'
"Yeah." Natsuo nodded. "I figured."
Yukino could tell he was brushing her off, so she switched tracks. "You said that snake was fake."
Natsuo fished a meatball out of his oden cup and popped it into his mouth. "I lied."
Yukino didn't dwell on it and moved to another question. "How did you save me?"
Chewing on the meatball, Natsuo mumbled, "You know the three-second rule?"
Yukino thought hard for a moment, then shook her head.
Natsuo held up his skewer for emphasis. "If food falls on the table and you pick it up within three seconds, it's still fine to eat. What happened to you wasn't really death. It was more like a temporary state, one you can still come back from."
"If we're talking in medical terms, what I did was kind of like when a person's heart stops, and doctors perform CPR to bring them back."
"My family runs a shrine, so I know a few unconventional tricks."
Yukino listened quietly, then gave him a serious look. "Thank you."
Natsuo didn't respond, just kept chewing. He had a feeling she wasn't done.
"Yamanashi-kun, who acts recklessly," she said, "please don't go around tossing snakes in the city anymore."
Natsuo nodded. Now this is more like the Yukinoshita Yukino I know.
He picked up another meatball and glanced at her. "Not mad?"
She took a moment before answering. "I am mad. But chasing the cat was my own decision, and you did save my life, so…"
Natsuo nodded. "So you had no choice but to swallow your anger."
Yukino took a deep breath. "Don't you think you have a strange way of talking, Yamanashi-kun?"
He shook his head. "No."
Yukino watched him keep eating and changed the subject. "You don't seem worried that I might tell people about what happened."
Natsuo chewed thoughtfully. "Tell them what? That your soul left your body and you came back from the dead? Sure. That'd work out great. The teachers would finally realize how serious bullying is. And Yukinoshita's daughter would be written off as crazy."
"The teachers would lose their jobs. The Yukinoshita family would be furious and go after everyone's families."
A look of satisfaction flickered in his eyes. "Honestly, that's a pretty good script. I kind of like it."
Yukino fell silent, processing.
Natsuo tossed his empty oden cup into the trash and shook his head. "I forgot. You don't have any friends anyway. There's no one for you to tell."
Yukino gave a small smile. "Yamanashi-kun, you don't have any friends either."
Natsuo smiled back at her. "Yukinoshita-san, just because you see me alone at school doesn't mean I'm actually alone. I'm actually pretty popular."
She tilted her head. "Popular? You mean the kind of popular where no one talks to you?"
He held up a finger. "Wrong. People talk to me all the time. I just don't want to deal with them."
"Then I'm popular too."
Yukino took a step forward and suddenly staggered, eyes going wide as she stumbled toward him.
Her body was… off-balance.
A flicker of panic crossed her face as she looked at the boy in front of her. Just a moment ago I was arguing with him, and now I'm about to fall right into him. This is so humiliating.
Just before she collided with him, she squeezed her eyes shut, resigned.
But she never hit anything. She stumbled a few more steps forward before finally catching herself.
Turning around, she looked at the person who had stepped aside.
Natsuo held up both hands in a gesture of refusal. "Men and women shouldn't have physical contact. I hope you'll maintain some modesty, Yukinoshita-san."
Yukino's hands clenched at her sides. She could feel her fist getting tighter.
Catching the fire in her eyes, Natsuo took a step back and opted for a more soothing approach. "It's normal. After a soul returns to the body, there's a brief period of disorientation. It'll pass in a few minutes."
"You can have your driver come pick you up. That should be enough time for you to recover."
Yukino frowned. She still had so many questions she wanted to ask.
Natsuo held up a single hand this time. "Yukinoshita-san, you're not going to miss me, are you? That would be pretty—"
Yukino's breathing quickened, but she still managed a smile. "Yamanashi-kun, come here a moment."
He looked at her eyes and took two steps back. "I refuse."