Slowly opening her eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita felt pain spreading throughout her body. Her mind was hazy, as if she had just awakened from a deep dream.
She blinked several times and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling above her.
After a moment of confusion, she finally realized something.
This… didn't seem to be her home.
Then a somewhat familiar voice sounded beside her.
"You're awake. How are you feeling?"
Turning her head, she saw her classmate Luo Yu sitting on a chair nearby, smiling at her.
Her eyes widened instantly. She sat up in a panic and clutched her clothes tightly.
"Where am I?!"
Luo Yu looked at her reaction with a helpless expression before pointing toward the side.
"First of all, look carefully. I'm not the only one here."
Sitting on a single sofa nearby was Ranni, calmly holding a small cat in her arms.
"Second," Luo Yu continued, "this is my house. Before asking more questions, I suggest you take a look at your current appearance."
With that, he pulled out his phone, switched to the front camera, and pointed it at Yukino Yukinoshita.
The moment she saw the reflection on the screen, she froze.
On her head were a pair of cat ears.
Swallowing nervously, she raised her hand and touched them.
They were real.
Having visited cat cafés many times before, she was absolutely certain.
Lowering her gaze, she saw a tail swaying slowly behind her.
Sharp claws extended from the tips of her fingers.
"What… what happened to me?"
"Calmed down yet?" Luo Yu asked.
When she looked up at him, he continued calmly.
"Try to remember what you were doing before you lost consciousness."
After a brief moment of eye contact, Yukino Yukinoshita began recalling the events.
"I was in my apartment earlier… searching for news about recent cat abuse cases in Chiba on my laptop. But as I kept searching, I became more and more sleepy. After that… I don't remember anything."
Just as she finished speaking, fragments of memories began resurfacing.
She remembered herself leaping across rooftops.
Again and again.
Then she remembered arriving at a small alley and finding the man rumored to abuse cats.
After that…
A man wearing armor had grabbed her by the head.
She watched as the cat abuser was frozen solid before being burned away into nothing but vapor.
And then—
Everything went blank.
As that memory returned, something else happened.
Her hands slowly returned to normal.
Her claws retracted.
Her cat ears and tail gradually disappeared.
From within her body, three translucent cats glowing faintly with white light slowly emerged.
They gently landed on her lap and looked up at her with their tiny heads tilted.
"You… you're…?"
Looking at the three cats—now free of the dark aura they once carried—Luo Yu spoke.
"These three should be the cats you encountered before. The ones that died after being abused."
"After their deaths, the pain and resentment they carried turned them into evil spirits. Eventually, they encountered you."
He continued calmly.
"When they sensed your love for cats—and your determination to find the person harming them—they chose to follow you instead of hurting you."
"The strange part is how they managed to grant you the ability to transform into a cat spirit. Using your body, they went out at night to search for the culprit themselves."
"Now that their final wish has been fulfilled, it's time for them to leave this world."
Lowering her head, Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the three small cats resting on her lap.
A flood of emotions surged within her heart.
Carefully, she reached out and gently touched their heads.
Their fur felt just like that of real cats.
The little cats affectionately rubbed against her palm.
"Meow…" ×3
But soon, the three cats cried out together.
Under Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze, their bodies gradually transformed into golden light before slowly fading away.
They disappeared completely.
For several minutes after the light vanished, Yukino Yukinoshita remained silent before finally letting out a long breath.
Looking toward Luo Yu, she said quietly,
"The person in armor… that was you, wasn't it?"
"What exactly is going on here?"
Luo Yu nodded with a smile and briefly explained the hidden reality of the world to her.
After listening, Yukino Yukinoshita frowned deeply.
"Evil spirits… cursed beings… and people with supernatural abilities."
"That explains why there are occasional reports of mysterious disappearances in the news. They must all be related to things like this."
After a brief pause, she asked,
"What about the man who abused those cats?"
Luo Yu answered casually,
"I killed him."
"Are you planning to report me to the police?"
She didn't respond immediately.
Lowering her head, she spoke softly.
"I don't know… Even if I reported it, there wouldn't be any evidence."
Her sense of justice made the situation difficult for her.
Yet at the same time, the memory of the three small cats that had just disappeared left her feeling even more conflicted.
Luo Yu spoke calmly.
"You're right. Even if you brought the police, they wouldn't find any evidence. I can prove that I never left my house tonight."
"As for someone like that… don't worry about it too much. If there's any problem later, it will come to me."
He shrugged slightly.
"I'm not afraid of that."
"But compared to that issue," he continued, "you should pay attention to your own condition first. Just because those three cats have left doesn't mean the matter is over."
Standing up, Luo Yu walked toward Yukino Yukinoshita and gently placed a finger on her forehead.
"I didn't expect you to receive such an opportunity. I honestly can't tell whether it's a blessing or a curse."
Magic flowed from his fingertip.
Instantly, Yukino Yukinoshita felt a hidden power inside her body awaken.
In the next moment—
Her claws returned.
Her cat ears appeared again.
And a tail emerged behind her once more.
But this time…
It wasn't just one tail.
There were two.
Seeing her new appearance, Yukino Yukinoshita froze in shock.
"What… what is happening to me?"
Luo Yu rubbed his chin thoughtfully while observing her cat ears and twin tails.
"Do you know what a Nekomata is?"
"?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"I've read about it in books about yokai… Are you saying that I've become a Nekomata?"
Meanwhile, Ranni watched the transformation with interest.
Humanoid beings with animal traits were not uncommon in the Lands Between—snake men and Misbegotten were clear examples.
However, Yukino Yukinoshita's transformation looked far more elegant than those.
Even the kitten in Ranni's arms seemed curious.
The small cat could sense the aura of its own kind coming from Yukino Yukinoshita.
Luo Yu nodded.
"You could think of it as the cats' way of repaying your kindness."
"After fulfilling their wish, they left behind the power they would have gained if they had eventually merged together."
"If they had remained in the world without resolving their resentment—and without meeting you—they would eventually have fused into a true Nekomata."
"And that could have caused considerable destruction."
"But because of you, they found hope."
"In the end, they entrusted that power to you."
He smiled slightly.
"So congratulations, Yukino Yukinoshita."
"You've taken your first step toward becoming something beyond human."
"And it's irreversible."
The girl fell silent.
Just as Luo Yu had said…
She truly didn't know whether this transformation was a blessing or a curse.
But one thing was certain.
Her life would never be the same again.