two chapters, I'm happy to announce that from this point
she's back IC for good. I've said my peace on Kaorin, so
let's get on with the story!)
"So, Sakaki," Kagura asked, "I've always wanted to know...
how come you like cats so much?"
Sakaki paused.
"Can we talk about this on the roof?" she asked.
"Sure, that's fine," Kagura casually replied, so they went
up to the roof. The other girls weren't there--probably in
the cafeteria.
Sakaki and Kagura sat down on a bench-like area and admired
the view for a long time.
"Well," said Sakaki, breaking the peaceful silence, "I've
always adored cats. Ever since I was a little girl."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Sakaki flushed pink at what she was about to tell
her good friend.
"I've always been tall," she said. "Never cute."
"Uh huh," said Kagura mildly, wondering what this had to do
with cats.
"Both my parents were tall," Sakaki continued. "My mother
has long black hair--that's where I get it from--and my
father has the same eyes, mouth, and face I do."
"Did the other kids tease you in school?" Kagura asked. She
and Sakaki had gone to different elementary schools, so she
really didn't know.
"In elementary school they used to call me Takaki," Sakaki
said, glancing away. (Takaki is a pun on Sakaki. "Takai"
means "tall".)
"And it really bothered me. You know how mean kids can be,"
said Sakaki.
"They need to hurry and grow up," Kagura agreed. She
thought about the teasing Chiyo-chan must've endured for
being so smart. Kagura also remembered being teased in
elementary school for being a tomboy. But she didn't
mention these things, because it wasn't her turn to share
memories.
"I was already 97cm tall when I was in the first grade,"
Sakaki said. "They were making me feel bad about being
tall. I felt like a nail sticking up." (Which will be
hammered down, according to the Japanese proverb.)
"One day, when I was seven," Sakaki continued, now gazing
at the sky with a slight smile, "I came home after they
were picking on me especially hard that day. I...I told my
mommy," she admitted, giggling at the childish phrase.
"I remember that day," Sakaki said. "Mom was standing in
the studio, working on her latest painting. It was a
watercolor. Two large cranes flying out to sea together.
Her overalls and her hands were covered in paint."
Sakaki drifted away for a moment, recalling the beautiful
painting. Then she came back to us and:
"That painting was called 'Tsuru Futari' (Two Cranes)",
Sakaki said. "Mom eventually sold that one for 73,000 yen."
"Wow," said Kagura, impressed.
"Anyway," she said, "Mom knelt down and laid her hands,
paint and all, on my shoulders. She looked me in the eyes
and told me that if you write Takaki a certain way it means
'High Spirit'."
"Makes sense," said Kagura.
"From then on, I felt a little better about my height,"
Sakaki said. "But it's still true that I've always been
tall, never cute."
"How does that relate to cats?" Kagura asked sincerely.
"I've always adored cute things," Sakaki admitted. "Since I
could never be cute myself."
"I bet you've got a lot of plushies in your room," Kagura
said.
"I have a small bookshelf that's full of plushies," Sakaki
said. "And on my wall I hung a life-size painting of a
giant panda. Mom painted that for me, for my 13th
birthday."
(Note: The giant panda is about 1.5m long and about 75cm
tall at the shoulder.)
"All that cuteness...so that's why you hang around Chiyo-
chan so much."
"Exactly. Chiyo-chan's so cute...she's the little sister I
never had," Sakaki said with a sigh.
"Do you have any siblings?"
"No, I'm an only child," Sakaki said. "You?"
"An older brother, but he's already moved out."
"Mm," Sakaki said. She paused, and then:
"The only time I ever really feel good about my height is
during those athletics festivals," Sakaki said, "because
suddenly I'm in my zone, my element."
"Chiyo-chan probably feels the same way about her height,"
said Kagura, remembering Chiyo-chan's cuteness at the
cheerleading contest last year.
Sakaki nodded. "And she's got this really cute dog...have
you met him?"
"I think so," replied Kagura. "Taka--Tata--what was his
name again?"
"Tadakichi-san," explained Sakaki. "He's so big that Chiyo-
chan can actually RIDE him!"
"Wow! Cool!"
"The best part is that he actually lets me pet him...unlike
that cat we walk by every morning," Sakaki said with a
mixture of happiness and sadness.
"Kamineko? What's up with that stupid cat?" Kagura pounded
her fist with her palm in mock anger. "Man, if I got my
hands on him, I'd show HIM a thing or two! Teach him to
mess with my friend!"
Sakaki smiled. Kagura would actually do that for Sakaki,
and Sakaki knew it. (Canon note: Like she did to the other
cats last month. Vol. 3, pgs. 145-147, esp. 147.)
"See? Even you agree! And you're a cat-lover!"
"Ha-ha, I guess so," Sakaki agreed.
Then Sakaki's smile slowly faded away. "Kagura," she said
quietly, "can you keep a secret?"
Kagura was a bit surprised, but accepted. "Sure. What's
up?"
Sakaki paused. "I know why Kamineko hates me."
"I got something against that cat too!" Kagura agreed.
"ESPECIALLY after you slapped me in the face with that
stupid cat!" Kagura laughed at the rather odd memory.
"Sorry about that," Sakaki laughed.
"Aah, it's fine," said Kagura. "Anyway, why does Kamineko
hate you?"
"It happened three years ago," Sakaki began. "The summer
of the ninth grade."
"Uh-huh."
"Back then, Kamineko was a kitten," Sakaki continued. "His
owners are the Inoue family--you know Inoue, that quiet
girl in our class?"
"Sorta." (Inoue made a very brief appearance near the
beginning of the series. She was in the P.E. class during
roll call and she's the one who asked Nyamo what kind of
student Yukari was.)
"Anyway, I was walking by one morning on my way to school,"
Sakaki continued, "and he just appeared on their wall. I'd
never seen him before, but he was so cute! I just HAD to
pet him!"
"Used to be cute? He's sure not cute now," thought Kagura.
"He didn't like strangers, or at least that's what Inoue
told me when we met in the 10th grade," Sakaki continued.
"But of course I didn't know that at the time and I just
went up to him and tried to say hello."
"Sakaki's more shy around people than cats," thought
Kagura.
"He ran away, and...I chased after him," Sakaki admitted,
now growing upset.
Kagura put a casual, comforting arm around her friend's
shoulder. "It's all right, Sakaki!" she encouraged.
"Whatever it is--"
Sakaki turned to Kagura. "He ran out into the street, and
turned to face me. His tail was all puffy, and I knew I'd
done something wrong."
Sakaki's face fell. "He never saw the car coming."
"Oh no! That's terrible!"
"I took him to the vet right away, and they performed
surgery on him," Sakaki explained, "but it never looked
quite the same."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the car ran over his tail and broke it instantly.
It's healed now, but there's a place on his tail where the
bone didn't set quite right, so his tail is permanently
bent. Just a little. You can barely see it, but if you feel
along his tail, there's a bump that shouldn't be there."
"Aw, man..."
"And the last thing he saw before he got hit was me chasing
him, so he blames me for it."
"So he's hated you all these years."
"Yeah," admitted Sakaki. "Every morning I try to pet him,
try to say I'm sorry, but..."
"It's OK, Sakaki," said Kagura. "I'm not sure what to say
right now, but it's OK."