Honestly, at first Yutsuki didn't think the "cute kitty set" Kurumi gave her would be of any use. She just put it on with the mindset of trying a desperate last resort.
"...Hm?"
While holding the outfit, Yutsuki suddenly slled a strange fragrance.
"The sll of silver vine, mixed with a faint scent of fish... I see."
Yutsuki suddenly understood. This set of accessories—whether it was the gloves, the cat ears, or the tail—must have been specially custom-made by a specific shop. The fabric had been specially treated to emit a scent that cats love. Perhaps Kurumi also experienced being rejected by cats initially, which is why she prepared this equipnt to make them approach her.
"Although it's hard to imagine Kurumi wearing this outfit..."
Yutsuki glanced at the shadows behind her, a sowhat strange look in her eyes.
But none of that was important right now. Whether this cute kitty set could help her escape the fate of being rejected by cats was the main point.
After putting on the cat ears and tail, and slipping on the paw pad gloves, Yutsuki took a deep breath. She carefully approached the small cat at the entrance of the alley.
"ow..."
This ti seed different. The white cat in front of her didn't run away imdiately, but it didn't imdiately approach Yutsuki either. The alarming electromagnetic waves and the enticing scent of silver vine and fish canceled each other out. The white cat seed very hesitant whether to flee or approach.
Still not enough? Yutsuki frowned in distress, thinking of a good thod. Suddenly, Yutsuki rembered what the sweet Lolita Kurumi had said about a thod to increase "cat power" to make cats feel closer to her.
After hesitating for a mont, Yutsuki squatted on the ground, put her hands together like cat paws, and said in a sickeningly sweet voice:
"ow~ Don't be afraid, I'm your friend, ow~"
At that mont, Yutsuki felt sothing important slipping away from her. She silently said in her heart—
Kurumi, you win.
Then, jumping to the present.
After owing for about half an hour, when Yutsuki felt she had lost almost all her sha and dignity, the white cat finally lowered its guard and started rubbing affectionately against her.
Just when Yutsuki was so moved she was about to cry, holding the cat in her arms and nuzzling it, Shido suddenly appeared.
Instantly, Yutsuki was dumbfounded.
Realizing that her shaful side had been seen by soone she knew, Yutsuki felt the whole world begin to crumble around her.
If she didn't understand before why Kurumi didn't want anyone to know she liked cats, Yutsuki now completely understood.
So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing!
If a ti machine existed in this world, Yutsuki would definitely jump into the drawer in Nobita's second-floor room, go back, and slap herself from half an hour ago hard across the face.
"Um... the catgirl look—it really suits you."
After Shido dealt the final blow, Yutsuki's vision went completely black.
"Yutsuki, are you okay?"
Seeing Yutsuki's exaggerated reaction, Shido couldn't help but ask with concern.
Calm down—calm down—!
Constantly telling herself this internally, Yutsuki took several deep breaths repeatedly. Her expression gradually cald down. Looking at Shido, she asked in a sowhat trembling voice:
"Shido... since when were you standing there, ow?"
"Uh... I just got here."
OK—seems like I'm still in the safe zone. Looking at Shido's expression, it didn't seem like he was lying. Yutsuki felt a bit relieved.
If he had witnessed the entire process of her acting like a cat just now, Yutsuki would have had to seriously consider a plan to silence him.
Gently placing the small white cat on the ground, Yutsuki stood up and coughed dryly, pretending nothing had happened.
"Ahem—Sorry, Shido, making you worry because I didn't co back so late, ow."
"A-Ah, as long as you're okay."
Shido nodded with a subtle expression.
"Oh, are you curious about this, ow?"
Noticing Shido's gaze directed towards her head, Yutsuki forced down the urge to run away. Feigning calmness, she took off the cat ears from her head, removed the tail and gloves, and explained calmly:
"Mhm, this is, well, ow... I ran into a classmate on the way back. She's a cat lover, ow, so she invited to go tease cats together. Then halfway through, she suddenly had sothing to do and was about to leave. This cute kitty set is sothing she forced to put on before she left, ow."
"I see..."
Shido nodded. Although he was a bit curious about how that unknown classmate managed to force an entire set of cat ears, a tail, and gloves onto an unwilling Yutsuki... it did match the information Shido got from Granny Tamako: Yutsuki was out teasing cats with soone else. The intel lined up.
Seeing Shido accept her explanation, the heavy stone in Yutsuki's heart was lifted slightly.
Being forced into a cat outfit while teasing cats versus going out to tease cats specifically wearing a cat outfit. Although they look similar, to Yutsuki, it was actually like the difference between scoring 59 and 60 on a test—it just barely crossed the threshold of what she could ntally handle.
Of course, the permitted scope of this threshold was limited to a few people. If a stranger had seen it, Yutsuki would have chosen the "Physical mory Erasure thod" without hesitation.
"Um, ow... because it's a bit embarrassing. Please don't tell anyone, Shido, ow."
"Don't worry, I won't go around telling people. Speaking of which, Yutsuki..."
Shido hesitated for a mont, then asked sowhat awkwardly.
"Hm? Is there a problem, ow?"
"Why do you keep adding the verbal tic 'ow' when you speak?"
Originally, he was going to point it out, but because the girl used it so naturally, Shido thought it was so kind of new trendy way of speaking.
"...?!"
However, hearing Shido's words, the girl finally seed to realize it. Her face turned as red as a boiled lobster, and large puffs of steam rose from her head.
"..."
They fell into a long, stifling, and eerie silence.
"As I thought... I have no choice... but to do it..."
Yutsuki said in a tone so calm it sent shivers down the spine.
"Y-Yutsuki?"
Shido asked nervously. He watched Yutsuki put the paw pad gloves she had just taken off back on.
Realizing he had said sothing he shouldn't have, alarm bells rang in Shido's heart.
"A-Ah, Tohka's probably starving by now. If I don't go back..."
Just as Shido was about to flee, Yutsuki grabbed Shido's arm with the speed of lightning and forcefully pulled him against the wall of the alley.
—Kabedon!
This is an action that frequently appears in shoujo manga: slamming one hand against the wall, leaving the other person with nowhere to escape. The shortened distance between opposite sexes, the closeness of their bodies, and the feeling of each other's breath easily makes the person being kabedon heart race.
He rembered Tonomachi once ntioning that in the latest girls' poll for "The Opposite Sex You Want to be Confessed to via Kabedon," Yutsuki had effortlessly defeated a bunch of popular pretty boys to take the number one spot.
The fluffy paw pad glove left a deep dent in the concrete wall.
Shido couldn't help but gulp. He indeed felt his heart racing—though for a completely different reason.
"As I thought... wiping your mory is the only way... Legend has it that the pressure point to 'erase the mories of the last five minutes' is located at..."
Using an exceptionally gentle tone, Yutsuki, with hollow eyes, spoke terrifying words.
"Calm down, Yutsuki! I feel like if you hit with that much force, I'll lose a lot more than just my mories!"
Sweat pouring down his forehead, Shido hurriedly tried to persuade her.
"Don't worry, I've put on the paw pad gloves. This kind of thing won't kill anyone~"
Even though Yutsuki showed a refreshing smile as if saying "it's foolproof," seeing that deep crater in the wall, Shido couldn't feel relieved at all. Which is harder, concrete or my face? Shido felt that question was too simple.
"ow—"
However, heaven never seals off all paths. Just as Shido thought he was about to go et his grandparents in the next world, a black cat suddenly jumped down from the wall and delivered a "justice from above" right onto Yutsuki's face.
"Holy crap! Kurokichi, you—"
Taking advantage of the ti Yutsuki took to pull the black cat off her face, Shido hurriedly grabbed the Pacific saury and ran away.
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