On that day, Mai left school early to go to the hospital to be examined.
“Please take care of Blue,” she asked of Kota.
Kota pounded his chest in response. “Leave it to me!”
And so, Kota was left to take care of Blue after school by himself. As soon as homeroom ended, Kota dashed out of the classroom as always. Kota was completely unaware of Saiki, who watched him leave with a complicated expression.
Today, since Mai was not here, he had to make sure Blue was taken care of properly. After all, he was the father. He had to do this and that, and think about this and that too. Kota was worked up even more intensely than usual.
But he soon discovered something that knocked the wind from his sails. Blue was not where he should be.
Although he didn’t know how to whistle, he pursed his lips and tried cheerfully, peering into the cardboard box. But Blue was not there.
“B-Blue?”
He turned the box over, but nothing came tumbling out.
“Blue!”
He called out, but there was no answer. The wind rustled and rocked the trees behind the shrine. He tried not to think about it. Especially since lately, Blue seemed to be overflowing with so much energy.
When they first found him on the back street, Blue had been weak, but thanks to Kota and Mai’s devotion, he was now bursting with energy. Well, actually, he had gotten a little too energetic lately and was becoming a handful. He was interested in everything and would chase and pounce on anything that moved.
At first, he had been frightened of the soccer ball Kota kicked around. But as he got used to it, he would chase it everywhere. He seemed especially interested in butterflies and falling leaves, anything that fluttered in the air.
This was a problem. If he had chased a butterfly or something into the woods, it wouldn’t be easy to find him. Kota remembered the painful memory of going into these woods to look for homed and stag beetles and getting lost while he was looking. When you went in there, you discovered how dark and large it actually was.
“Blue!” he continued calling out. But still, no answer.
“Are you serious…?”
He looked into the woods and let loose a sigh. “Dang it! Bluuuuuuuuuuuue!!” Kota yelled out loud, feeling desperate.
And then…
“Meow!”
He heard the voice. It didn’t come from the woods. It was directly behind him.
“Huh?” he asked, puzzled.
Now that the prospect of going into the woods was eliminated, Kota somehow felt disappointed. He turned around.
“Meow.”
Their eyes met. Blue cocked his head in puzzlement. The cat was directly behind him. Plopping down in a seated position, he looked up at Kota. He had gotten close to the boy without him ever knowing. He must have heard Kota calling and come up from somewhere in the distance.
“Jeez, my goodness…”
Relieved, Kota crouched to pick Blue up.
“Meow.”
Blue slipped away from him.
“Hey, Blue.”
He reached down again.
“Meow.”
But the cat still evaded him. It seemed Blue thought that they were playing.
“Hey, c’mon, Blue.”
This time, saying it a bit angrily, he reached out again. And again, the kitten slipped away. Over and over, he tried to catch him, but Blue deftly evaded. The more desperate Kota got, the more skillfully Blue stayed out of his reach.
“B-Bluuuuuue!”
His throat was now dry from yelling so much and being out of breath.
In a huff, he breathed hard and deep, moving his shoulders. And then, finally…
“Daaaaaaggggghhhhhh! ”
Lunging forward, Kota finally captured the kitten. Perhaps satisfied after jumping and hopping around so much, Blue settled down without a struggle.
The chase took so long that by the time Kota finally headed home, the sun had long since gone down. The road home seemed much longer today. It was at this point that Kota began to think of Blue as being just a little bit of a nuisance.