Seeing off the last customers in the last store, the owner of Kushima cleaned up the mess on the table.

Walking towards the door of the store.

A light tide blew in the streets, and thick clouds accumulated over Tokyo.

The original white moonlight disappeared, and the night looked particularly gloomy and depressing.

"Is it going to rain?"

The owner of Jiudao stood in front of the store with his waist crossed, looking up and stunned for a long time.

It's a bit of a loss.

A moonless night makes people lose a bit of color even when they reminisce about the past.

The night breeze fluttered the apron around his waist, fluttering back and forth.

It wasn't until a little coolness crept up on his cheeks that the boss of Jiudao slowly came back to his senses.

He took one last look at the view outside the store and reached out to close the door of the izakaya.

The lights of the izakaya disappear and darkness envelops the store.

Only the light in the back kitchen fell through the warm curtain on the floor not far away.

The izakaya, which had been hot all day, was deserted.

The boss of Kushima took off his apron and walked to the back kitchen, picked up the towel on the table and wiped his sweaty face.

The second floor of the izakaya is where you live, and it is convenient to work and live every day.

Aside from the occasional shopping for ingredients and items, he's almost always used to being in the store.

The boss of Kushima was not in a hurry to go upstairs.

Instead, he brought a chair and sat down and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"What's it called......

The owner of Kushima stroked his chin stubble beard with his big hand, thinking back to what the group of young people in the store had said in the afternoon.

He heard it right.

Those people were talking about Hayabusa, that guy and his girlfriend.

Sounds good.

They seem to be on TV.

However, a long time ago, Hayabusa told him that he was studying directing.

It hasn't been long since I started filming film and television dramas.

Let's support it.

The boss of Kushima pressed his finger on the screen, searching for the movie that the young men were talking about.

It seems to be called ......

Tonight, the world disappears?

Sounds like a very serious movie.

However, it was not found.

The boss of Jiudao frowned slightly, and tried several times in succession.

Tonight, the world is destroyed, tonight, the neon disappears, tonight, the neon sinks......

None were found.

In the end, the owner of Kushima tentatively typed Hayaya Kimura's name into the search box.

In the next moment, a lot of topics and information about Hayata Kimura appeared on the screen.

This made the boss of Kushima a little surprised.

I didn't expect Hayabusa to be so famous!

He unconsciously thought of the silent young man who was always busy coming and going.

For a while, some people associated the youth in their memories with those fresh photos on their mobile phones.

After a brief look, he found the movie shot by Hayabusa Kimura.

"Tonight, even if this love affair dissipates from the world".

Click on the movie link, and the page jumps to station T.

The boss of Kushima looked at the number of views of the movie and was stunned.

Immediately, a hearty smile appeared on his face.

"It's amazing, it doesn't seem like I need to support ......"

Still, he clicked to play the video.

Movie viewing requires a member of Station T, and the boss of Jiudao spent money to fill his Station T account as a member.

Then.

The movie starts playing.

…………………………………………

The back door of the izakaya was pushed open, and the owner of Kushima walked out with a sake glass in his hand.

The dim light of the alley shone on his hard face, and his eyes were a little red.

I don't know if it's because of staying up late or something else.

The glass is full of sake.

He just stood, holding his glass and taking a few sips very hard.

In a moment, half a glass of wine entered the stomach.

It turns out that this is a pure love movie......

The boss of Kushima unconsciously recalled the plot he had just seen and let out a sigh of relief.

Slap your palms firmly on your legs.

"Hayabusa, what are you shooting...... A good love is filmed like this, and love is not like this......"

The Kushima boss's throat was a little tight, and his fingers were squeezing the wine glass hard.

The rough fingers were covered with a white color of overexertion.

"Right, Yuriko......"

A cold breeze whipped through the alley, and the boss of Kushima leaned against the wall behind him.

Drink in a low voice.

The night was shrouded in a yellowish light, and there was a light around him.

Meow.

Suddenly, a slight cat meow sounded in the darkness in the distance.

It's small, but it's so clear in the dead night.

Boss Kushima looked at the darkness ahead and watched quietly.

A thin, disheveled tanuki cat walked slowly towards him.

A soft cry with every step.

As it approached the owner of Kushima, it raised its head, as if to observe his expression.

Immediately after, it was attached to the feet of the boss of Kushima.

Circling around his trouser legs, his slender tail half-bent and rubbing against his calves from time to time.

The owner of Kushima didn't drive the cat away, but after a glance, he continued to drink the sake in his cup.

The tanuki sat on the ground beside it, its two front paws propped up.

With his head raised, a pair of dark eyes stared straight at him.

didn't continue to scream, and his thin body was next to the trouser leg of the boss of Kushima.

In the deep alley, a man and a cat stay quietly.

Until all the sake in your hand is drunk.

The boss of Kushima looked down at the tanuki cat sitting next to him, and there was a slight warmth on his calves and a trembling sensation in the cat's body.

What a strange cat......

He thought to himself, reaching out and swinging hard at it.

Shouted loudly in his mouth.

"Go, go."

But the cat didn't move, just blinked.

Sure enough, it's a strange cat, and it's not even afraid of people.

The boss of Jiudao only took a serious look at the tanuki cat next to his trouser leg at this moment.

A pair of round eyes, with almost no whites of the eyes, and nothing wild.

On the contrary, because there are too many black parts, it looks a little dull.

The boss of Kushima slowly crouched down, and his broad palm reached out to the tanuki cat.

didn't dodge in panic as expected, and even took the initiative to pop forward, and his head gently rubbed against the rough palm of the boss of Kushima.

He was stunned.

"Not a wildcat......?"

As soon as he said this, he denied it in his heart.

Feral cats don't get so close to humans like that.

So, it's more likely to be an abandoned domestic cat.

Abandoned pet cats don't seem to be an uncommon thing.

Look at the lonely, docile tanuki cat under the palm of your hand.

The boss of Kushima said unconsciously, "You were also abandoned......

Huh?

Why is it also.

He was stunned by his words, and a strange feeling came out of his heart.

Obviously, there is only this one cat, and he can use the word "also".

Probably.

I'm really getting older, and I'm starting to lose my words.

The boss of Kushima was silent and did not continue to speak for a long time.

He got up again, walked around the cat on the ground, opened the back door of the izakaya and entered.

The back door closed, leaving the tanuki alone in place.

I don't know how much time has passed.

The back door of the izakaya was pushed open again, and the owner of Kushima had two more worn-out bowls in his hand.

"Didn't go." He looked at the tanuki cat on the ground, which was still sitting in place.

Bend down and put down the two small bowls in your hand.

One has dried fish in it and water in the other.

He pushed the food in front of the tanuki.

"Eat."

The cat stood up from the ground, meowed a few times at the owner of Kushima, and buried its head in the bowl of food.

This kind of look amused the boss of Kushima.

"It's quite human...... Eat, eat, eat, it's not bad for you. ”

The boss of Kushima sat cross-legged on the ground at the back door, his hands crossed on his thighs, and his eyes fell on the cat.

He suddenly remembered......

Yuriko is also very fond of cats, and it seems that she often takes things to feed the wild cats in the neighborhood.

Although he had told Yuriko many times not to approach those cats, in case they were scratched and bitten, they would be in trouble.

But, she just wouldn't listen.

Thinking of this, a soft smile rose into the rough face of the boss of Kushima.

This can't be the stray cat that Yuriko fed.

He thought suddenly, and then he laughed at his own thoughts.

How can it be...... Yuriko, it's been ten years ago......

Although the cat in front of him has lost some weight, it doesn't look like it's more than ten years old.

I'm really thinking about it.

The boss of Kushima grinned, his eyes looking ahead intently.

"Yuriko."

His thick voice echoed softly through the alley.

For some reason, he couldn't help but tentatively say the name.

Feeling, something ridiculous.

The owner of Kushima reached out and rubbed his cheek.

Fortunately, no one saw the scene......

Meow.

"Huh?"

The owner of Kushima looked at the cat in surprise.

The tanuki stopped eating and sat on the ground looking up at him.

“…… Yuriko. He completely forgot about Fang Cai's embarrassment, and whispered the name again.

Meow.

This time, it was almost a response that had just been spoken, and the boss of Kushima stayed completely in place.

He swallowed hard, and his tall body compared to the cat couldn't help but lean forward.

"Yuriko ......"

Meow.

"Do you know Yuriko?"

Meow.

"Yes, did Yuriko ask you to come?"

Meow.

“……”

The alley reverberates with an almost eerie conversation of a man and a cat.

It seems that no matter what the boss of Kushima says, the tanuki cat will meow lightly.

But the eyes of the boss of Kushima had begun to turn red unconsciously.

"Did Yuriko let you come to see me?"

Meow.

"I'm doing well...... No, it's not good at all......"

Meow.

“……”

A strange conversation went on, and the tanuki meowed in the slightest change throughout.

The boss of Jiudao seemed to have something in his heart, and said vigorously.

in his heart.

It was as if the cat had become a medium between him and Yuriko.

His words were no longer spoken, and there was a cold silence.

Instead, there was another voice, even if it was just a cat's response.

In fact......

As long as the owner of Kushima wanted to, he could easily tell the tanuki cat with other questions, whether it was a cat that could meow no matter what he said, or whether he really understood his words.

He could.

But he forgot about it as if he didn't know.

Said to himself.

A man with a rough appearance actually brought out a little cry in front of a cat that was not much bigger than his two hands.

The voice trembled slightly.

As if he couldn't suppress the sudden emotions in his heart, he kept talking.

Even the owner of Kushima himself doesn't know why.

Just feel......

It's like an open embankment, and when it opens, it can't be stopped.

Click.

A drop of rain fell from the sky and fell on the face of the boss of Kushima.

When neither one nor one cat reacts.

The raindrops in the sky are falling more and faster.

In the blink of an eye, there were many dark marks on the ground around them.

Boom.

The sound of rain resounded in the streets of Tokyo, and the water splashed like a thin white mist.

Hazy.

"It's raining ......"

The sudden rain interrupted the words of the boss of Kushima, and he did not hesitate to reach out and pick up the tanuki cat in front of him.

With his body slumped, he walked into the izakaya with the tanuki cat.

The cat did not resist, and snuggled up in his arms very quietly.

As he walked into the back kitchen of the izakaya.

The place where cats shouldn't have been there.

The owner of Kushima turned around and closed the door behind him and placed the cat on the chair.

"It's her...... Did you come......"

Meow.

“……”

…………………………………………

The next afternoon, Hayabusa Kimura, who had finished a day's shooting, received a rare call from the boss of Kushima.

It seems that since he finished his part-time job at Kushima Izakaya, the owner of Kushima has not called him again.

This surprised Hayabusa Kimura.

He paused the filming clip that was playing on his computer, and reached out to make a silent gesture towards Asukhi.

This made Tomorrow's smoke, who was excited about Hayabusa Kimura's analysis of acting skills, pouted slightly.

But she still stopped very obediently.

"Who is it?" Asuki asked in a low voice.

"Boss Kushima."

Hayabusa Kimura answered the phone, and after a slight hesitation, he reached out and turned on the speakerphone.

Let Smoke also hear the voice on the other end of the phone.

This kind of action makes the corners of tomorrow's ruddy mouth hook a subtle arc.

Actually, she didn't care who Hayabusa-chan was talking to on the phone and what she said.

The question just now was just a casual subconscious question.

"Mossi? Is it Hayabusa? ”

The voice of the boss of Kushima rang on the phone.

"Yes, is there something wrong with Boss Kushima looking for me?" Hayabusa Kimura asked.

The next moment.

The phone rang with the eager voice of the boss of Kushima.

"Hayabusa, do you have time now...... The cat seems to be sick...... It was Yuriko who made it come...... Today, the cat has been sick......"

“……”

The voice on the other end of the phone was not as hearty and heroic as the boss of Kushima in the past.

Although it was still a familiar voice, it was full of eagerness and exhaustion.

The cat, Yuriko, was sick......

Three seemingly unrelated things appeared at the same time, making both Hayabusa Kimura and Asuki stunned.

What does that mean.

On the phone, the owner of Kushima tried to explain.

Although he still didn't understand too much, Hayabusa Kimura probably understood that a cat was sick, and the boss of Kushima was asking him for help.

"Boss Jiudao, don't worry, speak slowly...... We'll be right over ......."

Hayabusa Kimura got up and walked towards the entrance, and Asuka followed him.

…………………………………………

The phone hangs up.

Hayabusa Kimura put away his phone, and he reached out to hold Asuki's hand.

The two of them did not speak, but the pace of their feet increased in unison.

"So, does Boss Kushima think that the cat was sent to him by Yuriko?"

"Hmm."

Hayaya Kimura struggled to sort out the words of the boss of Kushima just now.

"Could it be?" Tomorrow Sun looked up at the figure of the young man.

"I don't know......," Hayabusa Kimura shook his head, and after a slight pause, he added, "But, that feeling...... Even a gust of wind is like the return of a loved one......"

Bosses, the little short bacteria kneel and beg for a recommendation ticket, a monthly pass!! Really short of tickets! /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~

Now there are no recommended positions, there is no traffic, and the votes of the readers are needed to support the votes of the bosses to have some traffic, and the little short bacteria kneel down to beg the bosses for recommendation tickets, monthly passes and rewards! Little short fungus kneel thanks!!

Thank you to the readers for the great MonarchCore, Low PoweR, and the Red Lonely Boat! Little short fungus kneel thanks!

(End of chapter)