The bell signalling the end of classes had barely rung when Konekomaru saw the purple haired girl slip away from her classmates and dash through the corridor that lead to the school grounds. "It's not like Kamiki-san to run inside." He noted quietly. An elongated "Huuuh?" in Shima's voice could be heard from the direction of the lockers, and that's when Koneko realised he was quite a few steps behind his friends, almost lost in the crowd, as a matter of fact.
For a few seconds, he contemplated sharing with them what he just witnessed, then quickly decided against it. Why would they be interested in what Kamiki-san does in her free time? Even if it's strange for her to rush anywhere… Why am I interested? Here, he was again interrupted by Shima's voice hurrying him to come and put on his outside shoes. The little monk was surprised to hear himself reply "Go ahead without me, Shima-san, Bon! I have something to do, see you in cram school."
The other two's perplexed expression was left unnoticed by the smaller boy, who already turned to follow Izumo, swiftly disappearing behind the corner. It's probably nothing, but just in case, I'll see if everything is alright with her. If there is a problem the two of us are certainly enough to solve it; after all, we are on school territory in broad daylight. Besides, I can't always rely on Bon and Shima-san. Thus, Konekomaru justified his curiosity by the time he arrived at the tree where they sometimes had lunch.
Izumo was planning this all day and even yesterday evening. She had observed the small black cat for weeks before she decided on a plan of action. Kuro – as she heard Rin call him – tended to spend his afternoons lazing about on the school grounds, occasionally stealing food from careless students. After a few days of spying on the kitten from some distance, the girl realised Kuro was more likely to swipe someone's lunch on days when his master came to school early. It was also obvious that he preferred meat over anything else.
The tamer-to-be kept pondering over how to lure this black bundle of fluffiness into her lap without anyone seeing. Then yesterday, finally, an opportunity presented itself. She was walking home with Noriko after club activities and the cram school have ended when they heard the older Okumura twin rattle on about his morning duties the following day. "Why?! Why do I have to get up so early?! And tomorrow it's gonna rain too!" That's it! Rain! Nobody's going to have lunch outside in that weather. was what Izumo thought instead of feeling even the tiniest bit of sympathy for the boy. Pet thoughts always had priority.
The evening was spent buying snacks for Kuro and praying that the rain would stop in the early afternoon. It was a risky plan, if the kitten didn't come out after the weather has cleared, or if it didn't clear up at all, Izumo would be stuck with a pile of food she didn't even like. She couldn't just go over to the Okumuras' with a pack of beef jerky or canned fish every day! That would be so embarrassing…
The big day has come after a long night of very excited tossing and turning. Despite barely having slept a wink, Izumo jumped out of bed full of energy. She even had to reprimand herself for being too obviously cheerful after Noriko commented on her humming while brushing her teeth. "I just said it's good to see you so lively" the other girl smiled at her, but no, Izumo couldn't let herself raise any suspicion. What if Kuro somehow senses her intentions? After what happened last time, he would run away for sure.
The day passed as slowly as the night and the young miko found it hard to concentrate in her classes. She kept going over and over the plan in her head. She'd have two hours before cram school starts, more than enough to locate the cat and drop a few delicious treats here and there, until he's finally full and can't escape her embrace. Then she would pet him to her heart's content.
The rain stopped earlier than expected, but luckily everything was still too wet to have lunch outside. A little before their last class started, Izumo spotted Kuro at his usual place, in the tree where her fellow exwires often spent lunch breaks. From then on it was hard to contain her excitement and as soon as school has ended she said bye to Noriko, sneaked out of the class and rushed to the school yard.
Only when she reached the tree did Izumo see the crumbles and scattered fish bones under it. Kuro was looking down at her, content and full. This can't be! Where'd he get all that? As the girl was franticly looking for an explanation the cafeteria's image slowly slipped into her mind. Of course… Why didn't she take the cafeteria's leftover food into account? Now everything was ruined. She looked up to the branch where the kitten was lying, fighting with tears of frustration. What a silly thing to cry about, but she couldn't help it.
"Kamiki-san? Is everything okay?" Konekomaru has been standing there for a little while before he chose to make his presence known. Actually, he found it strange that the girl didn't even notice his arrival; he hadn't run particularly quietly. Izumo slowly turned over and at first he couldn't tell what kind of face she was making, but then he looked into her eyes and was stunned. "What's wrong?"
Izumo did not know how to answer. She didn't want to tell the boy about how embarrassingly she miscalculated, or that she could get so worked about a fluffy little thing. But she was so terribly tired and her hands were still full with the cat snacks, she didn't know how to deny what she came for. Eventually, she murmured a "Kuro won't come down" and turned back to the tree, staring at the branches.
The answer was barely audible, but as his eyes followed hers, Konekomaru understood. Maybe even Kamiki-san has a cute side. And what are friends for if not to make each other happy? The little monk opened his bag and pulled out a stick with some colourful feathers tied to it with a thread. He waved it around a few times, shouting "Here kitty! I know you want to play. You need exercise after this feast." and chuckling to himself.
Kuro jumped off almost immediately, there was no way he could resist such a fun game. He caught and released the feathers again and again. Izumo was looking on in surprise; she never knew the boy was this good with animals, now she envied him. Konekomaru suddenly turned to her with a friendly smile on his face. "Would you like to try, Kamiki-san?" The girl took the stick gingerly and swung it, meanwhile watching the kitten intently.
Kuro didn't even notice he was now playing with two people, he just jumped happily around. His mood infected the two kids and soon they were all laughing. After a while the cat got tired of the intense game and snuggled up to Izumo. Seeing the girl's happy face filled Konekomaru with satisfaction. They walked to cram school together in bliss and told the others the snacks were offered to Kuro by a mysterious benefactor.