"What's wrong?"
Seeing Chisato suddenly lost in a daze for no apparent reason, Kazusa gently nudged him with her elbow.
Chisato snapped out of it, pulling his attention away from what seemed like a frozen computer screen before his eyes. He smiled and shook his head at her.
"I was just thinking, now that the competition is over, you should have plenty of free time for a while, right?"
Kazusa's expression turned wary.
"What are you planning?"
"Kazusa, don't be so stiff. Sometimes, even if you realize something, you should pretend not to notice. That's what we call having a sense of romance."
Youko interjected into the conversation.
It must be said—experience truly makes a difference. When it comes to matters like these, she was undoubtedly well-versed.
"I do have some plans, but there's still time before they start, so there's no rush.
For now, just take it easy for the next few days. Adjust your sleep schedule—getting your body back in shape is important."
"How enviable. You two really are so affectionate."
Youko rested her chin on one hand.
"Mom, you really don't act like a parent at all."
Although Kazusa said this, her gaze instinctively lowered, and a deep, unmistakable blush spread across her cheeks.
Youko maintained her chin-on-hand posture and slightly turned to gaze at Chisato.
"You should cherish Kazusa as she is now. From what I know of her, once she gets past this shy first-love phase, she probably won't be as adorably clingy anymore."
Chisato picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, lowering his head respectfully.
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."
"You two… don't you feel embarrassed saying such things so seriously?"
…
No one knew how much time had passed when Yukino slowly woke up.
Her mind was sluggish.
Even though her eyes had opened, her normal conscious thought process hadn't caught up yet. The result was that she simply stared blankly ahead.
This sensation was eerily similar to the morning after returning from the music festival with her sister.
Due to the sheer exhaustion on both her body and mind, even after a full night's sleep, she had still spent quite some time leaning against the headboard, trying to recover.
Was it low blood sugar again? Drinking some honey water might help.
As Yukino's consciousness gradually returned, the moment the thought crossed her mind, she instinctively raised her hand to rub her temple.
And in the next instant, she noticed something odd about her hand—it felt different, somewhat smaller, and strangely short.
She could only touch her own cheeks and had to lower her head significantly to complete the motion she had envisioned.
However, what shocked her the most wasn't just that. She looked at the hand stretched out before her—
No, that could no longer be called a hand. It would be more accurate to call it a cat's paw.
"Meow~"
She had intended to say, "A cat?" but when she actually opened her mouth, what came out was feline speech.
Though the situation was inappropriate, for a brief moment, Yukino wavered at the sound of her own voice.
It was adorable… Just hearing it was unbearably cute…
No, no!
In the end, the reality of having turned into a cat overshadowed her inner cat-lover instincts.
This was not the time to be thinking about such things!
Yukino quickly stood up and moved her body, using the sensations from different parts of herself to confirm that she was not dreaming.
No dream could provide such a vivid sense of physical feedback.
Standing on the sofa, her cat eyes stared blankly at the fallen book on the floor, the black thigh-high socks, the panties tucked into her shorts, and the casual T-shirt draped over the couch, with a pale blue undergarment peeking out from the neckline…
She extended a paw and lightly touched the clothing; they still retained warmth.
Which meant she hadn't been in this form for very long.
Yukino urged herself to stay calm, desperately recalling her memories in search of any clue as to why she had become like this.
She remembered that her morning had been just like any other.
She took a shower, made a simple breakfast, did some cleaning, listened to some music, and then, as usual, read a book at home.
At some point, she suddenly felt drowsy, and then she closed her eyes against her will. When she opened them again… she found herself transformed into a cat!
Her recollections were clear, but even so, Yukino found no hints as to why this had happened to her.
It had been too sudden, with no signs or warnings whatsoever.
Frustrated, Yukino paced back and forth in the living room. She didn't even notice that in her current state, her fluffy tail was raised high, swaying slightly as she grew anxious.
With no conclusions after much deliberation, Yukino decided to head to the bathroom.
Even if she couldn't immediately figure out why she had turned into a cat, she at least needed to see what she looked like now.
Standing before the sink, she quickly realized something that had never occurred to her before—
From a cat's perspective, things that were once within easy reach were now impossibly far away.
Looking up, the countertop loomed over her at multiple times her current height, completely beyond her reach.
But then again, she was a cat now.
Extending her tiny paws and inspecting them, Yukino felt slightly apprehensive.
This was her first time being a cat. Could she jump as gracefully as other felines?
She turned to glance at the washing machine beside her, deciding to test her abilities on it first. It was slightly shorter, so even if she failed, she wouldn't fall too hard.
With her mind made up, Yukino hesitated no longer.
As if awakening an innate instinct, she crouched down, gathered strength, then leaped upward with remarkable ease, landing effortlessly atop the washing machine.
Perching there with her tail tucked against her body, she extended a paw to examine herself again.
She had expected to fail at least once or twice, but to her surprise, she had made the jump on the first try.
Since the washing machine had been so easy, reaching the sink should be no problem at all.
Looking into the mirror, she finally saw her reflection.
Round, glistening eyes, sleek and soft fur, a gently swaying tail—her feline form was nothing short of beautiful.
Yukino stared at herself in the mirror, mesmerized.
If she had encountered a cat like this under normal circumstances, she would have undoubtedly stopped to take pictures or even crouched down to admire it, wasting plenty of time in the process.
But now that the cat in the mirror was herself, her emotions were far too complex to put into words.
After about ten minutes of marveling at her own stunning feline beauty, Yukino returned to reality.
She jumped down from the sink, went back to the living room, and lay on the couch, staring silently at her now-cold clothes.
Her mind was in utter chaos—completely incapable of processing anything logically.
This kind of situation, which defied common sense, was something that not even all the knowledge she had learned up to this point could help her understand in the slightest.
However, considering her current predicament, she was reminded of a book she had once read.
"I Am a Cat" by Natsume Soseki.
The general content of that book was about a humanized cat observing human psychology, with the story unfolding from that perspective.
If one were to force a comparison, it did share some similarities with her current situation.
She, too, was now in the body of a cat, yet retained human consciousness.
In the book, the cat's final fate was drowning after getting drunk on beer.
Would she also, like the cat in that book, remain in this feline form for the rest of her life until her eventual demise?
"..."
No, she couldn't afford to be so pessimistic.
Since the problem had occurred, she needed to think about it and attempt to find a solution.
Yukino shook her head, jumped off the sofa, and walked around the room before making her way to the balcony.
Her anxious pacing was not entirely fruitless—some thoughts formed in her mind.
As far-fetched as it seemed, she had transformed into a cat after falling asleep. Was it possible, then, that "sleeping" was the trigger for this transformation?
If she closed her eyes and fell asleep again, could she wake up and find everything back to normal?
It was an improbable idea, yet once it took root in her mind, it refused to go away.
At this stage, Yukino had no better ideas. With a "might as well try" attitude, she returned to the bed that gave her a slight sense of security and lay down.
However, having just woken up and with her mind still restless, she found it impossible to convince herself to fall asleep again so soon.
After lying there with her eyes closed for twenty minutes, frustration built up, and she absentmindedly extended her paw to lick it.
The moment she realized what she was doing, she froze in place before quickly getting up and heading to the sink to rinse her mouth.
Not only had her body turned into that of a cat, but even her subconscious habits were beginning to change?
Realizing this, Yukino—now Yukinoshita Yukineko—felt an even deeper sense of despair.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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