I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Unaware of the trap ahead, the little black cat hesitated for a moment, then walked to the window and gently jumped up, landing in his arms.

Yuu Tenkuji gently hugged the kitten and closed the window behind him.

As he turned around, he whispered with a wicked smile in its ear:

"Finally caught you, Yukino Yukinoshita."

The innocent villager shed his disguise, revealing the fangs of a hunter.

"!?"

In that instant, the black cat's eyes widened in disbelief, its cat pupils revealing a human-like astonishment.

Almost instinctively, the slender yet powerful waist of the cat suddenly tensed, and its claws slammed down on his chest. As its body stretched like a spring, an overwhelming force burst forth from its slender frame!

"Meow!"

As if she hadn't expected such a strong reaction, Yuu Tenkuji loosened her grip, letting the ruffled black cat fall to the ground, its powerful tail even swishing against her cheek.

Seeing him cover his face and back away, the black cat didn't think much of it and decided to retreat and leave the place first, and then make a plan after understanding the current situation.

Looking around, she noticed that the windows were locked and the door to the infirmary was closed. Normally, she would have stormed out and even used Aikido to fight him, carving out a path for herself.

Unfortunately, as an ordinary kitten, she can't scratch wildly or has an iron tail. Her fighting ability is only slightly higher than a goose, and she has very little power to fight back.

The little black cat slowly backed away, its back arched, baring its teeth and growling softly as it warily stared at the smiling boy standing by the window.

"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

Half his face was hidden in shadow. He slowly suppressed his astonishment, and the corners of his mouth turned up in the backlight. Although his tone was cheerful and lively, he subtly exuded a cold and gloomy atmosphere devoid of emotion.

"We just want you to come with us... Don't worry, you won't be alone."

"Because after you, there's your older sister, and Yuuki Asuna and Natsukawa Masuzu..."

His smile widened, becoming like a blood moon hanging in the night sky. Tenkuji Yu's laughter grew increasingly maniacal and mad, until finally he couldn't help but lean back and laugh unrestrainedly.

"Hmph, hmph, ahhhhh, hahahahaha—that's right, I will reunite you! Oh my, oh my, I can't wait to see what you'll look like when you see each other again! Hahahahaha!"

"Gu..."

Although I don't know what he's up to, or why he's ended up looking like this, with a serious illness lurking around him.

In short, Yukino Yukinoshita already understood perfectly well that something was wrong with Yuu Tenkuji and that she couldn't let him take her away.

She pretended to stare at him intently with feigned vigilance, but in reality, she was observing him from all sides with cat eyes that were several times clearer and wider than human eyes, constantly thinking of escape routes and methods.

Stay calm at all times—we absolutely cannot let him get caught here in order to get him back to normal!

A resolute glint flashed in the dark blue cat's eyes. The black cat slowly channeled its strength into its limbs, lowering its head slightly, as if preparing to fight to the death and put up a fierce battle.

However, her target was the glass window behind Yuu Tenkuji!

Ignoring the possibility that the impact might shatter her own little head, Yukino Yukinoshita gathered her strength, mentally rehearsed her escape route, then arched her backside, preparing to transform into a black lightning bolt and rush out of the infirmary window—

An equally unrestrained and arrogant laugh, which could no longer be contained, rang out from inside the bed curtains.

"Pfft, hahaha! This is so, so funny! My dear Youyou-kun, how could you act so hilariously, hahaha—"

"Just thinking about how Yukinoshita is feeling right now, I... I just... Hahahaha, no, my stomach hurts. I never thought I could laugh this hard... This whole thing has been my source of laughter for the next year. I should have put a camera in the corner first!"

"???"

Three question marks slowly appeared above the cat's head, and its slender body, which was about to rush forward, stopped in place, its cute cat face filled with confusion.

Before Yukino Yukinoshita could react, Yuu Tenkuji stopped his overly realistic and manic acting and rolled his eyes at the bed: "Couldn't you wait until the end to laugh? It's really frustrating to only do half the act like this."

From behind the curtain came the sound of kicking the bed, and the girl's panting breath after laughing: "I can't help it~ Besides, I've helped you, haven't I? Look at her, what if she does something stupid in a moment of impulse?"

“You’re right… but I won’t just stand by and watch her do something stupid. Don’t underestimate my reaction time.” Tenkuji Yu sighed, pressing his temples, and turned to look at the black kitten who was standing there dumbfounded, seemingly unsure of what to do.

He coughed twice in a serious manner, then sat cross-legged on the ground to show goodwill, looking calmly into her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Yukino Yukinoshita... Well, this may be the first time you've seen me as I am now, but it's not the first time I've seen you as I am now. I believe you understand what I mean."

"..."

The cat, of course, wouldn't answer, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

But what is certain is that she seemed to gradually understand the situation; her erect hair and arched buttocks slowly calmed down, and she changed from squatting to sitting.

It swept its tail across the ground unhappily, its cat eyes coldly staring at him.

Tenkuji Yu realized that this meant he needed to explain quickly.

"Hmm, where should I begin..." Yuu Tenkuji rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"First, I haven't fully recovered my memories, but I already know that you are all my girlfriends. Second, I have already figured out how to leave, all that's left is to gather you all together and then we'll all leave together."

"?"

The black cat stared at him blankly.

For what seemed like the umpteenth time, a question mark appeared in those large, cat-like eyes.

……

Although I considered whether to wait until everyone had gathered before telling them the whole story at once.

However, considering that if they didn't say anything, Yukino Yukinoshita would probably be reluctant to go with them, and there was a possibility that she might misunderstand something and run away halfway, Yuutokuji gave Neko a general overview of the information before the bell rang for the end of the class.

"In short, in just seven days, or one cycle, I have already recruited the only BOSS we need to be wary of."

He beckoned to the corner, and Itoko, no longer trying to stay out of the spotlight, came out.

"Don't worry about anyone getting in our way or targeting us. All that's left is to recover our memories on the way back to the real world and then put an end to all of this."

"..."

Yukino looked at the expressionless silver-haired girl, silently took two steps back, and walked alongside Tenkuji Yu as if nothing had happened—her tail unconsciously wrapped around his calf—and nodded, indicating that she understood so far.

However, because he only gave the plot outline, many details are still unclear, and there are many doubts worth noting. If Yukino Yukinoshita could speak, she would probably keep asking questions until she fully understands the current situation.

Unfortunately, this little cat, who can't even write yet, can only passively receive information, keeping a lot of questions bottled up inside—although she can still communicate by meowing, she's never tried interspecies dialogue before, so doing so is really...

It was too shameful; she didn't want to leave herself with a dark history that she would regret for the rest of her life.

So, following Yuu Tenkuji's advice, they decided to wait until everyone was gathered before focusing on what needed to be done in the present.

For example, regarding the method to turn herself back into a human, Yukino Yukinoshita doesn't want to remain a cat until she leaves this world—no matter how much she likes cats, it doesn't mean she wants to be a small animal that can be slaughtered at will and has to worry about being touched by others at any time.

After a moment's thought, Yukino looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha on the bed, her cold, dark blue cat eyes gesturing towards Tenkuji Yu.

More than the unknown method of recovery, she was actually more interested in knowing what happened when everyone was scattered—what he referred to as the previous timeline.

What exactly happened between Kasumigaoka Utaha and Tenkuji Yu?!

The girl's combined keen sense of smell with that of a cat allowed her to detect a slightly ominous odor.

"You want to know my story with her? It's not that I can't tell you..." Yuu Tenkuji glanced at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who looked completely indifferent, then looked at the time, her expression troubled. "However, the whole story is a long one, and what if your sister happens to arrive at this time..."

No sooner said than done.

Before Tenkuji Yu could finish speaking, a rhythmic and crisp sound of heels clicking on the ground came from outside the door.

Chapter 153 When Two Women Meet, a Battleground is Inevitable

Compared to the previous playthrough, Yuu Tenkuji arrived at the infirmary much later.

That's why he missed the infirmary teacher, whom he initially considered a "passerby," and soon after, he ran into Yukino Yukinoshita, who jumped in through the window to find him.

The time I spent chasing the cat back then was about the same as the time I'm spending explaining things to the cat now. If I think about it, Yukinoshita Haruno should indeed be back by now.

Tenkuji Yu then stopped speaking and glanced at Itoko.

The silver-haired girl obediently shrank back into the corner. The sudden disappearance of her presence made Yukino blink twice in surprise.

Yuu Tenkuji didn't bother with Kasumigaoka Utaha, just letting her sit on the bed and stare at the door with interest; anyway, even if she was asked to hide first to avoid alerting the enemy, this girl would definitely jump out and cause trouble in the middle.

Why not just set up a battle formation and confront that school nurse head-on?

Turning his gaze to the approaching footsteps near the gate, Tenkuji Yu pondered his next conversation strategy.

The biggest difference between Yukinoshita Haruno and Yukinoshita Yukino is not the difference in human and animal forms, but whether or not they possess memories of the real world.

Even though they are different species, Yukino-neko still has memories, and they can still gain her trust in just a few words.

But if it were Yukinoshita Haruno—according to Kasumigaoka Utaha, this woman is inherently suspicious, cunning, gloomy, and treacherous, and would never easily trust anyone—it would not be an easy task to persuade her to go with them in this situation where they are complete strangers.

However, Yuu Tenkuji still remembers the two times he met Yukino Yukinoshita in the previous playthrough.

First, seemingly due to lingering feelings, she was very interested in him when they first met, even using bold words to seduce him. The next day, during their second meeting, they went straight to bed—literally, she tried to climb onto the hospital bed he was lying on, but he stopped her before she could succeed.

He initially thought she was just a perverted teacher who simply wanted to take advantage of the handsome and strong virgin high school student, but she said, "There's a very familiar feeling about you," and even secretly investigated his information, discovering the strangeness of this world.

This is another difference between her and her sister.

Both being human types whose memories have been altered, Yukino acted as if she didn't recognize him at all, but Haruno keenly sensed the discrepancy between his memories and feelings.

The first meeting is a test, the second meeting is a direct attack. I estimate that after three meetings, Yukino Yukinoshita will be able to regain her memories of the real world on her own.

At that time, Yuu Tenkuji thought that this girl's logical thinking was in no way inferior to her own, and if you take her intuition and action into account, she might be able to conquer this world even faster than she could.

Now that he knows her true identity, Tenkuji Yu can only offer this assessment:

She truly is my girlfriend!

Unfortunately, before the two could explore the secrets of the world together, Yukinoshita disappeared, and the 'relatively plump' black cat never came looking for him again.

Otherwise, he might not have been able to get to this point with Kasumigaoka Utaha.

In addition, Yuu Tenkuji remembered something else.

Yukino once said that this morning, a strangely familiar black cat came to her garage and tried to communicate with her.

If she hadn't been rushing to work, she probably would have caught that kitten and taken it home to tease it.

—In other words, after the younger sister turned into a cat, the first thing she did upon waking up was to go find her older sister, only to be ruthlessly abandoned by her sister. She could only chase after her all the way to school, where she happened to run into herself, who was resting in the infirmary.

Before Yuuki could enter the house, Yuuki quietly asked the black cat sitting on the ground beside him.

"After you woke up and found yourself turned into a cat, you frantically went to your sister for help?"

The black cat paused for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.

"She didn't know what you were trying to say, and after a few words, she drove off?"