Page 35 of We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat

As usual, Nikké’s limbs hung loosely, yet his tail swayed gently. He always appeared to be dreaming enjoyable dreams. Now, Tomoya could confidently believe that really was the case.

* * *

A noise was coming from next door again.

Akira Shiina turned off the TV and pressed his ear against the door from inside his unit. He heard the metallic clanging sound of a door opening and closing. There were footsteps down the hallway. It seemed like someone had just left.

He quietly turned the doorknob and peeked through the crack of the door. He could just make out a figure in the dimly lit hallway; it headed toward the staircase and disappeared from sight. Hmm. Looks like a young boy, he thought.

He closed the door silently and let out a deep sigh. Just as he’d thought, someone had indeed settled in next door.

Or something has.

Shiina slumped down on the spot. Business is good, he thought. His biological age was twenty-something. Sure, he faced a few challenges in his personal life, but they weren’t anything he couldn’t overcome with his determination and grit.

But it seemed the magnets were powerless against eerie, unnatural phenomena. The influx of people, young and old, visiting the neighboring space remained steady. What was genuinely frustrating was that reaching out to the building’s owner and management didn’t solve the issue. Just the other day, he and a representative from building management visited the next-door unit and found it completely vacant—not even a mouse stirred, let alone a cat.

“Damn it. At this point, I don’t care who it is; I’m going to catch anyone who comes here. I’ll make them spill the beans. Or, like that time with that old man, I’ll go inside with them.”

He had once pulled open the absurdly heavy door and peeked inside. He was truly stunned. The interior of the unit looked different from when he’d last seen it. For just an instant, he saw something resembling a reception window at a clinic.

What was this setup? He couldn’t completely disregard the possibility that it was a large-scale scam. His irritation made him crave a cigarette, but he shook his head. He had quit smoking.

Out of nowhere, he heard a sound. A feeble voice. A meowing cat. And not just one cat.

“I knew it. I don’t know how it’s happening, but there are definitely cats next door.”

I’ll get them next time.

Shiina made up his mind. The next time an opportunity arose, he was going to bust in next door and reveal their identities. He didn’t care, even if they were spirits or two-tailed monster cats.

In preparation for that moment, he swapped the magnetic necklace he was wearing for the highest-grade one. He needed to ensure that he was always harnessing the maximum magnetic power.

“All right! If this helps get rid of the strange thing next door, it’ll prove that the necklace has supernatural powers as well.”

It lifted his spirits to think there might be a new selling point he could add to the product. He smiled with joy. He was ready to open the next heavy door for himself.

* * *

“Well, then.”

Nikké leaned back in his chair and looked around his cramped examination room.

It was unrecognizable now. The room had previously been packed with cardboard boxes. His friends had always been around him. They played together, slept together, and occasionally quarreled within the large circular enclosure. Even when he was put back into his own cage, he had always believed that gentle hands would come to play with him again the next day.

But then he was left alone for a day. Then a second day. His memory of the end was quite blurry.

“That must have been tough. I wonder if she can be healed?”

he mumbled toward the ceiling.

The curtains parted. Chitose stood with her brow furrowed.

“Dr. Nikké, we don’t know when your next patient with an appointment will arrive, so please don’t doze off and drool.”

“I didn’t doze off.”

He sat up hastily and wiped his mouth. It was true that when he allowed his thoughts to drift, he quickly lost track of his surroundings. He thrust his chin forward at Chitose.

“Look. Any signs of drool left?”

“Yes, plenty. More importantly, I have something I’ve been meaning to ask: What was that thing the other day?”

“The other day?”

When Nikké tilted his head in confusion, Chitose’s eyes turned fierce.

“You told Mr. Kajiwara that I was like a little sister to you. When it’s the opposite. You’re like a little brother to me.”

“What?”

Nikké exclaimed, his voice hysterical.

“N-no way! I was born before you, Chitose!”

“Didn’t you know? Once we reach a certain age, sibling roles switch. Therefore, you’re my little brother now.”

“No, that’s stupid.”

“So you need to listen to me, okay? Until your patient with an appointment is completely cured, you must cling on. You have to.”

“You say that, but I’m pretty worn out.”

“I’m not listening to your complaints. Wait, look!”

Chitose turned her usual aloof gaze to the door.

“Seems like someone’s here again. Please try not to spend too much time with the new patients.”

With that, she disappeared behind the curtains. Nikké smiled. The stubborn and spirited Chitose must have been doted on by her owner. That was why she was kind to people now.

“It can’t be helped. If Chitose’s still up for the challenge, I guess I could keep going for a bit more,”

he said toward the ceiling.

The ceiling was the only thing that hadn’t changed. The grapevine had spread far and wide, ultimately bringing in the man Nikké had been hoping to see. His gentle hands were likely saving other cats somewhere, even at this moment. For Nikké’s kin, he was an indispensable figure.

Nikké still hoped for one more person to step forward. She had visited once but had drifted away. He wished that the wandering winds would lead her back once more.

The door opened. A young man in a suit entered timidly, his face in a shroud of gloom. His eyes twitched suspiciously at first. But then he began to share his troubles.

Nikké gave him a bright smile.

“We’ll prescribe you a cat. Chitose! Please bring the cat!”