Page 17 of We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat

The next day, Reona visited Shousuke at his place again. It was already nine thirty at night, a time when most people would hesitate to drop by someone’s house. She did figure that the front door would be locked, so she’d reached out to him ahead of time. Outside his house, she dialed his number, and the door opened before the call connected.

“It’s late. Coming back from work at Nanzen-ji?”

“Yeah. It was super busy today. Why is boiled tofu so popular? It’s delicious, sure, but can’t you get it in other prefectures?”

“Eating it in Kyoto has a certain charm to it.”

As they chatted on their way to the second floor, Shousuke’s mother stuck her head out from the living room.

“Welcome, Reona. Shousuke, it’s late, so make sure you walk her home later.”

“I will!”

As soon as they reached Shousuke’s room, Reona started looking around for the cat.

“Where is she?”

“In that cardboard box.”

Shousuke pointed at a tiny box, one that might be used to ship cosmetics. She peered inside—the cat was fast asleep on her back, belly exposed.

“She’s asleep.”

“Yup.”

“She’s in deep sleep mode.”

“Super deep sleep mode.”

The cat had contorted her body like a child sleeping restlessly, with her paws thrown above her head. But with her short legs, she looked rather silly. Reona had been hoping to play, but she couldn’t bring herself to wake her up, seeing how blissfully she slept.

“I’m not here to see the cat.”

Reona wrenched herself away from the cardboard box.

“So, I went looking for the clinic after class.”

“Did you see your brother there? Wasn’t he over-the-top cheerful?”

It seemed he truly believed that his friend’s kind older brother had somehow turned into a sketchy back-alley doctor.

Reona hadn’t immediately dismissed Shousuke’s story either. And, just like the time she had gone with Moé, she still hadn’t been able to locate the clinic.

“I didn’t find it: the building or the clinic. And I called my brother, but we were only able to chat for a short while because he had to take a bunch of cats to get vaccinated or something. He barely has time to eat. There’s no way he has a side hustle, much less as a doctor. Impossible!”

“But it was one hundred percent your brother.”

“Shousuke, you’ve known my brother for years. You know that his inoffensive face is a dime a dozen.”

Shousuke laughed.

“That’s not very nice.”

Reona’s brother, Tomoya, had a lean build and a kindly face, but there was nothing special or memorable about his looks.

Shousuke had bigger eyes and chiseled features. He was no Adonis, but she thought he was cute. But he had lost a remarkable amount of weight over the past six months.

She knew that spending a gap year studying for exams must be tough, but instead of pointing out the obvious, she thought it would be better to bring some levity to the situation. Just when she was about to bad-mouth her brother to lighten the mood, the cardboard box began to rustle.

“Hey, is the cat awake?”

“Looks like it.”

Just as Reona was about to reach into the box, it tipped over. A grayish-brown bundle of fur, wrapped in a towel, toppled out.

“Uh-oh, she got out.”

“This one’s super energetic. While she’s awake, she never sits still.”

She was tumbling back and forth, her claws stuck in the towel. She was cute, but she was clearly a handful.

“What did you do with her today? Did you have your mom look after her?”

“No, no. I attended online classes at home today, so I was able to keep an eye on her. Honestly, I spent most of my time playing with her instead of studying.”

Shousuke gazed at the kitten, his eyes softening. It seemed the cat was some sort of wonder cure.

“She’s so tiny but fearless. Look.”

Shasha clumsily scrambled toward the bed. She tried to leap onto the sheets, but, missing her mark, she flopped onto the floor. But she didn’t give up, jumping again, only to fall over once more. Reona grinned, but after seeing her flip over several times, she became worried.

“Is that safe?”

“It’s fine. Just watch.”

The cat braced her short legs and took a tiny hop. But alas, she still couldn’t reach the bed.

“Go, Shasha, go!”

Shousuke pumped his fist to cheer her on.

“You got this, Shasha!”

said Reona.

Shasha’s claws finally caught, and she began to scale the sheets.

“Yay! Good job, Shasha!”

“This one’ll keep trying until she succeeds. Yesterday, it was a stack of books she tried to get up on. Earlier, it was my backpack. She’s always aiming for higher and higher places. Cats grow up so quickly, you know. Things she couldn’t do yesterday, she can do today. The more she practices, the higher she can jump.”

“I see,”

Reona said with a nod, thinking Shousuke likely saw himself in the cat. He was also growing from his challenges and, like the fearless and tenacious Shasha, he was determined to give his all until he passed his university entrance exams.

“Reona, I’m going to give up on Kyoto University.”

“What?”

Reona froze, the smile still on her face. Shousuke gave a thin smile in return.

“The truth is, I’ve been struggling for a while now. I couldn’t give up, I just kept jumping at it like Shasha. But see how she’s learning to leap higher and higher? Me, on the other hand…I was never within reaching distance from the start. No matter how many times I jumped, I couldn’t get any closer. I’ve known this all along, but I didn’t know how to stop. I just wanted someone to tell me to give up already. That’s why I ended up at your brother’s…weird clinic. And, well, here I am with this cat.”

Shousuke scooped up the cat, who had joined them on top of the bed.

“This cat works precisely, so I only have her for three days. I need to return her tomorrow.”

“Oh? You’re not keeping her?”

“No.”

Shousuke paused for a moment before he continued.

“I haven’t given up on college entirely. There’s a private college with a program I want to pursue. I’ll have to convince my parents to let me shift the direction of my studies, and it’ll require even more work on my part. If I had an adorable cat like this one around, I’d never focus. I can’t bring a cat home knowing I wouldn’t be able to take care of it, right?”

Shousuke touched his nose to Shasha’s.

“It’s cold!”

he said. He turned away and pressed his forehead against the cat’s.

“Giving up isn’t the same as running away. It takes courage to let go of unreachable goals and leap toward something new.”

He closed his eyes.

“Both you and I have courage,”

he said to Shasha.

“I see.”

That was all Reona could say. A childhood friend who had moved on. A kitten she thought she would watch grow. Suddenly, she felt as if she were the only one left behind. Then, a thought struck her.

“You’re going to the clinic tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m coming with you!”

A peculiar clinic with a doctor that her friend insisted looks just like her brother. Both Moé and Shousuke had been able to find the clinic; she felt frustrated that she was the only one who couldn’t.

“I’m definitely going with you!”

“Okay, okay,”

said Shousuke.

The cat dozed off in his hands.