Page 14 of We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat

The next morning, as the two of them were getting ready to head out, Ayumi, eyes wide, exclaimed, “You’re going out this early, Hayato? And with your grandfather?”

“Yup,”

Hayato answered as he slipped into his shoes.

Ayumi’s expression made it clear that it was incredibly unusual for Hayato to be going out during the day. Instead of being worried, she seemed a bit emotional as she saw them off.

The clinic in question was in the same ward as their home, just a short bus ride away. It felt refreshing for Tatsuya to go out with just his grandson, even if it made him a little nervous. When they boarded the bus, Tatsuya attempted to lead Hayato to an open seat.

“I should be the one doing that, Grandpa,”

said Hayato with a smile, just as adorable as in his younger days. His smile had not changed at all. As Tatsuya swayed in his bus seat, he realized he no longer needed to look after his grandson on outings anymore. Unknowingly, Hayato had crossed the threshold of adolescence and was on the verge of adulthood.

When did he start going to night school?

How long is he going to live this nocturnal life?

Did he really choose a path different from the norm?

As he absent-mindedly pondered these things while looking out the window, Tatsuya recalled something the doctor had said. A cat can walk the streets at night with just a little bit of light.

“Hayato?”

“Hmm?”

Hayato was on his phone, standing at his grandfather’s shoulder.

“I took a walk last night, and I realized I can walk quite a bit.”

“Yeah?”

“Being nocturnal might not be too bad, you know. When it’s dark, you can avoid seeing unnecessary things.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And night school’s not a bad idea. That’s all part of life.”

“True.”

Hayato was absorbed in his phone. While Tatsuya and Ayumi were worried about the challenges Hayato might face in the future, to him, this was just life as he knew it. Cats—whether they were day cats or night cats—picked their own hours to be active.

They got off the bus on Oike Street. The buses didn’t go down the narrow, grid-like roads.

“Grandpa, what’s the name of the street where the clinic is?”

“We take Fuyacho or Tominokoji Street and turn on Rokkaku or Takoyakushi Street.”

It was roughly three hundred meters from the bus stop—about a five-minute walk. Or at least that’s what he remembered.

“Huh? Did we go down the wrong street?”

Tatsuya was leading the way, but he couldn’t find the alley from yesterday on any of the four streets. After circling the area twice, they found the building on Fuyacho Street. From the outside, it looked identical to the building he’d seen yesterday. But something was different. The building with the clinic had been situated farther back from the street. Hayato looked perplexed as he watched Tatsuya gazing up at the building.

“What’s wrong, Grandpa? Is this not it?”

“No, this is the building. But also not the building.”

It was a narrow, five-story structure with an old nameplate that read Nakagyo- Building. He fearfully peeked into the open entrance and spotted a staircase at the end of the hallway. It is definitely the same place.

“Oh look! It’s Gramps from yesterday!”

Tatsuya jumped. He turned to see a man approaching him with a grin. With a loud shirt and a deeply tanned face, it was none other than the sketchy president of the company that made the magnetic necklaces.

“The protector of Japan’s health…”

“That’s right. Akira Shiina, president, at your service. I knew you’d come back for our necklaces. Oh, and you brought family with you today. All good, all good. I know the necklaces aren’t cheap. There’ll be fewer disagreements later if you get your family’s approval first.”

The volume of his voice and his intense vibe were as overwhelming as yesterday. If this man existed, it meant that it hadn’t been a dream. That doctor and nurse and the giant cat, Ms. Michiko, were all here.

Tatsuya sauntered into the building. The somewhat puzzled Hayato followed after him. The row of metal doors in the dim light all looked the same. Hovering at the bottom of the staircase, Tatsuya gathered his energy.

But just as he was about to begin climbing, Shiina stopped him.

“All right, Gramps! Leave it to me again today.”

“What? No, no, I—”

“Don’t be shy. I am an ally of the aging population. It’s only natural for a youngster to carry an old person on their back. Right, kid?”

Hayato maintained a stoic expression. Trapped in a narrow hallway where there was no room for more debate, Tatsuya reluctantly allowed Shiina to carry him up to the fifth floor. Impressively, Shiina didn’t seem winded at all. On the other hand, Hayato, who followed them up, was gasping for air.

“Hah! Kid, you might need the magnetic necklace, too. Our necklaces are luxury items, so minors need approval from their parents, but don’t worry. I have an older model that’s cheaper.”

“Oh, all right,”

said Hayato.

“Grandpa, is it on the fifth floor?”

“Yes. Second unit from the back.”

“What? The clinic again?”

Shiina recoiled dramatically.

“Wait a second. Gramps, aren’t you here to buy my necklace?”

“No, I actually came here today to see the cat.”

Tatsuya looked in the direction of the second unit from the back.

Shiina’s face clouded.

“Did you say ‘cat’?”

His voice sounded different. His eyes began to turn dark. He was almost a different person.

“There are no clinics or cats in this building. That unit is empty.”

“But you opened the door for me yesterday.”

“That was some sort of misunderstanding. Don’t drag me into any weird situations.”

Shiina stood in front of the door to the clinic, breathing audibly. Then he grabbed hold of the doorknob and started to twist it right and left. Tatsuya gave him a look. Hayato tilted his head in confusion.

“Hey! Anyone in?”

The door seemed locked. Shiina broke into a wide grin, rattling the knob like a child.

“See, look! No one’s in.”

“Maybe they’re closed today?”

said Hayato in a small voice.

“Nope. There hasn’t been a tenant in this unit in years. It’s a stigmatized property with a shady history.”

Shiina stepped back from the door and sighed solemnly.

“I’m only telling you because you brought it up, but some time ago, they used to grow cats in this unit. They were illegal breeders, but due to sloppy management, they went bankrupt, and the owner skipped out, leaving all the cats behind.”

Hayato, who had been feigning disinterest, now looked disgusted.

“Does that mean that the cats were trapped in here?”

“Exactly. From what I heard, the owner left behind a ton of them. The employees apparently tried to find the cats homes, but there were so many. In the end, a bunch were left in their cages, and no one came for them. You can imagine what happened. I don’t have a cat, but just thinking about it makes my chest tighten. Even the owner of the building said he had had enough of tenants with animals. He won’t even allow pets. So, there are absolutely no cats here. If you really saw a cat, Gramps, it was probably not a cat but something else. It might not be an evil thing, but it’s better not to get involved.”

Shiina walked toward his own unit next door. He was a shady man, but it didn’t seem like he had been lying.

“Grandpa…”

“I know, I know…but this thing is real.”

Tatsuya took out the pink collar from his pocket, the one the doctor had removed from the cat’s neck. He clearly recalled the cat’s warmth and weight. If that was indeed the cat on the flyer, he would not give up now.

Hayato was on his phone again and the two left the building. There was still no alley, and they emerged directly onto Fuyacho Street.

I need to find that building. The building with the strange clinic.

“Grandpa?”

“I know. You can go home. I know you have school at night.”

“I think I found the cat.”

“What?”

Hayato showed him his phone. Tatsuya put on his reading glasses and looked at the screen. There it was—the cat from the clinic. The way she was sitting with a look of disdain was exactly like in the photo on that flyer. She was even wearing a pink collar.

“What is this? How did you find it?”

“I searched on social media for tags related to lost cats. Apparently, she was found two months ago in Shiga Prefecture and was reported to the local police. I don’t know if the person who found her still has her, but I’ll send them a DM.”

Tatsuya understood less than half of what Hayato had said, but he understood that the cat was taken in by someone in Shiga.

“Is the person’s number on the post?”

“No number—but they’ve already responded. They said they still have the cat. To prevent fraud, they said, please contact the police or send them a photo. Huh, so that’s how it works.”

“A photo. Maybe I’ll ask the Watanabes for one.”

“I sent the picture of the flyer. I thought it’d be better not to lie unnecessarily, so I told them I spotted the cat on a flyer on the neighborhood bulletin board, which is the truth…Wait, I just got a reply. They say it is the cat. What do you think we should do, Grandpa?”

Tatsuya couldn’t quite grasp the situation and didn’t know how to answer Hayato’s question.

“Wh-what do you think we should do?”

“We should contact the Watanabes and have them get in touch directly. From their DMs, they seem like nice people, so I think we can leave it to them to figure it out.”

“Dee-ems?”

“Direct messages,”

said Hayato. It seemed like he had done everything he could, and he was respecting Tatsuya’s wishes on what to do next.

Tatsuya thought it over. Indeed, it might be okay for them to step away now. The Watanabes were their neighbors, but they barely knew one another. It was bothersome and quite the hassle.

He also didn’t know much about cats. Just that they could be large and warm. It wasn’t like he wanted one as a pet or anything. If he was asked if he liked cats, he’d probably say no.

Whether he’d wanted to be bothered or hassled was his choice. He wasn’t trapped in a locked cage; he was free. It was also true that he didn’t much like cats. There was nothing wrong with that. He considered all these facts and made his decision.

“I’m going to confirm with my own eyes first, then let the Watanabes know.”

“Okay, then I’ll go with you. I’ll ask the folks to let us visit the cat.”

Hayato was quick to act. He informed the people who had the cat that they’d come over within the day.