“Calm down? You have it easy. All you have to do is quit, but my whole life is at stake here!” Emoto’s words echoed through the dark streets.
Bee began to yowl and rattle the carrier violently, as if she were screaming. Shuta clutched the carrier to his chest with both hands.
“Bee. It’s okay. Relax.”
Emoto clasped his hands together in supplication. “Please, Kagawa. I have a family. What if I get sued? I just need you to align your story with mine for a little while. In the meantime, I’ll return all the money I collected to my clients.”
Shuta shook his head.
“If you tell the company the truth, they might forgive you. I also plan to tell them everything I know.” Shuta tried not to drop the carrier in which Bee was rampaging.
Emoto’s face turned blank. Then he let out a weak laugh. “Tell them the truth? You self-important little—”
“Mr. Emoto—”
“No, you’re right.” Underneath Bee’s relentless caterwauling, Emoto sounded strangely calm. He turned his shadowy eyes toward the carrier. “Have you got a cat in there? I didn’t know you had a cat.”
“Um, well, yes,” said Shuta. He felt a chill go down his spine. His grip around the carrier tightened, but Bee didn’t stop crying.
Emoto broke into a grin, then looked up at Shuta’s apartment building. “You live here, don’t you? A building like this doesn’t typically allow pets. You must be keeping your cat in secret. Isn’t that a bit dishonest?”
Shuta’s jaw dropped. Emoto rubbed his chin in triumph.
“I’m going to call your building’s management company first thing tomorrow. You, too, should just tell the truth. Tell them the whole truth. Hey, am I the only bad person here? Embezzling money is bad, but secretly keeping a cat is okay? You’re being deceitful, too. Don’t act like you’re the only honest one.”
Emoto laughed, but he also looked on the verge of tears.
Clutching the pet carrier more tightly than ever, Shuta fled. The laughter behind him gradually faded into the distance.
Relieved to see that the lights in the office were still on, Shuta made his way inside to find Jinnai and Satsuki. Satsuki looked concerned.
“What’s wrong, Kagawa?”
“Here…the cat…”
Out of breath from running so fast, he collapsed onto the floor and pointed to the pet carrier.
Satsuki took it with a confused look. “What happened? You’re drenched in sweat.”
“Please take in the cat. Make Bee yours,” pleaded Shuta. His gaze met Bee’s, her golden eyes fixed on him through the carrier’s mesh panel. His own eyes began to well up.
Standing over Shuta, Jinnai looked stern. “What do you mean? Give me a proper explanation.”
“Bee is not my cat. She’s from the pound. Tomorrow’s the end of her adoption period; after that, she’ll be put down.”
“Put down?” Satsuki squeaked.
Jinnai remained silent.
“I thought I’d just adopt Bee, that it would work. But then, my department head—no, my apartment management—found out about her, and I can’t keep her anymore. Will you please take Bee in? You both love cats. Bee adores you. Please.”
Shuta got onto his knees and bowed deeply, his forehead touching the floor. When he looked up a few moments later, he saw Jinnai’s lips were set in a tight line, and Satsuki was looking baffled.
“Honey—” said Satsuki, addressing her husband.
“No. We cannot take the cat.” Jinnai’s voice was deep and bitter.
Shuta shook. “Why not?”
“We’ve decided not to have cats anymore. After our cat died, we swore never to get another one ever again. I cannot break that vow, no matter what.”
“Boss.”
Jinnai dropped to one knee and leveled a penetrating stare.
“Listen. You said you wanted to keep Bee, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did. But—”
“Then you have to be responsible for her until the end. If you can’t keep her, then you should do everything possible to change things so that you can. Is there anything else you can do?”
You can stay with me forever. Shuta looked through the mesh at Bee, then clasped his hands together. There, he felt something soft and warm—a fluffy tennis ball. The cat had become his without his knowing, and she was never going to leave him. Just as Jinnai and Satsuki held the memory of their late cat close to their hearts, Shuta knew he would forever carry this warmth within his heart.
The golden eyes peering at Shuta through the small window were not worried about a thing. At least they didn’t seem to be worried. It was no longer a trivial matter of whether it was fun to live with a cat, or whether she was cute. He might be evicted from his apartment. His job was unstable, and he had little money saved up. What could he do?
Shuta rested his forehead on the floor again. “Please let me work permanently for you, boss! Please let me stick around even after I finish paying back the car repair bill! I’ll move out of my place tomorrow. I will find an apartment that allows cats, and I will keep Bee. So, can you please continue to look after Bee here while I’m working? I promise to work even harder.”
