Page 11 of We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat

Tatsuya was aghast. For a place with an incoherent address, he was able to find it quite quickly. But he didn’t imagine it’d be on the fifth floor of a tall building with no elevator and only a steep staircase at the very back of the building.

He thought about turning around, but a few years ago, he’d been able to climb up five flights without a hitch. To give up here was to admit his decline.

He glanced up the stairwell to see what looked like a half-landing between each floor. I got this! He began his ascent with enthusiasm, but when he reached the landing before the third floor, he found he could no longer lift his legs. He was surprised by how incredibly weak they felt.

This is not good.

His knees were stuck—he could not muster any strength. The only thing he could do was wait to get his breath back, then make his way down the stairs. Tatsuya hung his head, disappointed in himself.

“Hey, Gramps! What’s up?”

Tatsuya jumped. Someone was coming up the stairs—a shady-looking man with a deep tan in a bold shirt and an equally bold expression. In no time, the man was standing on Tatsuya’s landing.

“Gramps, what floor are you headed to?”

“Well, I had something to do on the fifth floor…”

“The fifth floor?”

The man’s eyes sparkled.

“Then you’re a customer of mine. I’m the only person with an office on that floor. I’m Akira Shiina, protector of Japan’s health.”

“What’s that?”

Could this man, dressed like this, seriously be affiliated with the clinic? His peculiar self-introduction only made him seem more suspicious.

“Come on, Gramps. I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”

“Oh, no, no, no, that’s okay.”

“Don’t be shy. Thanks to this magnetic necklace, I might be nearing thirty-seven, but my body’s only in its twenties,”

said the man called Shiina as he pulled out the thick, silver necklace hanging around his deeply exposed chest.

Not good. This man is totally sketchy. I didn’t realize the “something”

therapy was this kind of thing.

But Shiina had turned his back toward him and was crouching down. The heat radiating from his large body was immense, and on this narrow landing, there was nowhere to run.

Tatsuya reluctantly allowed the man to carry him, and without the slightest wobble, they began to climb the stairs.

“So, how old are you, Gramps?”

“I-I’m seventy-eight.”

“If that’s the case, you’ve got to give this a go. Living long is no good if you’re not healthy. There’ve been a lot of longevity businesses cropping up lately, but most of them are bunk. But our magnetic necklaces are the real deal. If you wear this, you can climb up stairs with no effort. There’s even a three-year warranty. Since you made it here, if you buy our best one, we’ll cover the installment-payment fees.”

Chatting nonstop, he carried Tatsuya all the way to the fifth floor. The fifth-floor hallway was lined with old metal doors and was as dimly lit as the rest. Shiina, still in high spirits, headed straight to the door at the very end. A plate on it read Japan Health and Safety Association. This was clearly not where Tatsuya had imagined he would end up.

“I don’t think this is the right clinic,”

said Tatsuya.

The smile vanished from Shiina’s face.

“Again with the ‘clinic.’ Why do you keep mentioning it, Gramps? Where did you hear about it?”

“Where? From the neighborhood association’s…acquaintance of an acquaintance of an acquaintance.”

“A mental health care kind of place?”

“Exactly.”

“My business is the only one on this floor. I don’t know why, but people keep mistaking the unit next to mine for that place. But that unit’s vacant. People go in and come out immediately.”

“I see.”

Tatsuya frowned. Do I have the wrong information? Or did the clinic close?

Seeing Tatsuya’s disbelieving face, Shiina rattled the doorknob of the next-door unit.

“See, it’s locked. That place has quite a bad history.”

Tatsuya placed his hand around the doorknob and twisted it.

Shiina’s face changed color.

“Huh? It actually turned. Did they forget to lock it?”

Shiina pulled hard on the doorknob, but something wasn’t right.

“Wow! This door’s really heavy.”

He grabbed the doorknob with both hands and braced his legs. His body shook with effort, but the door wouldn’t budge.

“You have got to be kidding me. I am the protector of Japan’s health. There’s no way I can’t open this door. Aargh!”

Shiina’s roar echoed through the deserted hallway. Finally, the door began to give. Shiina sat down cross-legged on the floor to stop the door from closing.

“Look at this, Gramps. This is the power of our magnetic necklace.”

He was panting, but his smile was brimming with confidence.

Tatsuya craned his neck and peeked inside. The room was a bit dark but appeared neatly, though sparsely, furnished. There was no one behind the small window at what appeared to be reception.

“So, it is a clinic.”

“Huh?”

Shiina remained seated on the floor and leaned over to take a look inside. His mouth fell open.

This guy is so over-the-top, thought Tatsuya. He thanked him for getting the door open and for giving him a piggyback ride, then stepped inside. He thought Shiina might follow him, but Shiina, hunched over with fear and mouth still agape, pushed the door shut. It seemed like Tatsuya had gotten away with not having to purchase that questionable necklace.

There was a loud clank from behind him, followed by the sound of slippers pattering on the floor. A young, pale nurse appeared.

“Can I help you?”

“Is this a mental health…something clinic?”

“Mental health something?”

The nurse gave a slight frown.

“This is Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul, not a ‘mental health something’ clinic.”

It seemed the nurse didn’t appreciate the sloppy phrasing, but at least it was clear this was the place he had been looking for. Tatsuya smiled wryly.

“I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t given the full name. I know I don’t have an appointment, but is there any chance I could see someone now?”

“I see. You’re a patient. Please go ahead into the examination room.”

Tatsuya was relieved. He had gone out of his way to come here. As long as he was seen by someone, it should appease Ayumi. As he walked into the examination room, the privacy curtains in the back parted, and the doctor, a mild-looking young man in a white lab coat, appeared.

“Hello! It’s your first time at our clinic, isn’t it? How did you hear about us?”

“How?”

Shiina had asked him the same question just now, but Tatsuya didn’t remember exactly.

“Through an acquaintance of an acquaintance. It was my daughter-in-law who said I should come.”

“I see. We’re not taking on new patients at the moment, but I’ll make an exception for you as you’re a referral. What’s your name and age?”

“Tatsuya Satonaka. I’m seventy-eight.”

“What brings you in today?”

“Well…six months ago, my wife passed away suddenly. Since then, life has felt tedious and irritating. I’m personally okay with feeling this way, but my son and his wife are worried that I might become a recluse.”

“A recluse, I see.”

“My grandson’s in a similar state. He’s only seventeen, but he’s turned basically nocturnal. He stays holed up in his room during the day and then is up all night on his computer or something. I don’t even know if he’s attending school. I know it’s not my place to say, but I’m worried about his future.”

Having put it into words, Tatsuya realized his family was dealing with serious problems. But when he looked into the doctor’s face, he was taken aback. The doctor was laughing.

“There’s nothing wrong with being nocturnal. The night is more fun anyway.”

“More fun?”

“Yes. And it’s quieter and better for hunting. And you can see more clearly in the dark.”

Tatsuya cocked his head. I don’t understand. Had he missed something, or was that really the doctor’s opinion?

On the opposite side of this narrow room, the doctor sat at his computer and began typing on his keyboard.

“Anyway, just in case, let’s warm you up a bit. Chitose! Please bring in the cat!”

the doctor called out toward the curtains.

The same nurse who had been at reception walked in. When Tatsuya saw what she was holding in her arms, he felt his heart start to race in astonishment.

Is that an actual cat?

It was indeed an enormous black-and-white cat. Most of it was spilling out of the nurse’s arms. Its limbs stuck out straight, its face was buried in its body, and perhaps because it was plump, it looked especially uncomfortable.

“Dr. Nikké, quickly! She’s heavy! I’m going to drop her!”

The doctor took the cat from the nurse, placing its chin on his shoulder as if he were carrying a child.

“Wow, she is heavy. How much does she weigh?”

“I have no idea. You need to come pick up the hefty cats yourself.”

The cat must have been quite heavy, because the nurse’s pale cheeks were flushed and her eyes were narrowed angrily.

“Good grief, spoiling the cat like this has made her so chonky. One of these days, her collar’s going to snap.”

The nurse left in a huff, as the doctor gave the cat’s butt a pat.

Tatsuya fell into his seat. He had never seen a cat this large in his life. He could see only the cat’s back as she sat splayed in the doctor’s arms, but at any rate, it was a wide expanse of white with black patches. Her fur was long and reminded Tatsuya of a carpet.

How much does that cat actually weigh?

As if reading his thoughts, the doctor said, “She’s part Maine coon, a breed of big cats. She was a large kitty to begin with, but her caretakers pampered her so much that she’s grown even bigger. But she’ll be more effective at this size. Now, where shall we warm you up?”

The doctor shook himself and adjusted his hold on the cat. Even though he was a young man, probably around thirty, he seemed to be struggling to hold the cat’s weight. As Tatsuya was speculating that the cat probably weighed at least ten kilograms, the doctor crossed the examination room, brushing along the wall, to stand behind him.

“Shall I place her on your shoulder?”

“What?”

Before he could think, Surely not!, the cat had been draped facedown over his shoulders, and in an instant, her face was buried in Tatsuya’s thigh.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch!”

“Oh! Was that the wrong spot?”

The pressure on his shoulders lifted suddenly.

Tatsuya was so shocked he couldn’t even blink. A cat so gigantic that he thought his back might snap had been plopped over his shoulders. Now, she was back in the doctor’s arms, dangling limply like a burlap sack.

“The spot that hurts isn’t always actually the problem area. It’s sore because a different spot is pulling on it and creating tension. So, it’s better to apply the cat on the other spot instead of focusing on where you feel the pain.”

“Apply the cat?”

What in the world was this doctor talking about? As Tatsuya was pondering what he should do, the doctor walked in front of Tatsuya and lowered the cat onto his lap.

“Okay, please hold on tight.”

“Uh, w—”

Before he could refuse, the doctor had let go. Tatsuya quickly caught the cat in his arms. It dropped its butt onto his knees and squished comfortably into a pile.