Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

 Chapter 71 The Cat, Him, And Her

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At Mashiro’s suggestion, we headed for the station, arm in arm, pretending to be a natural couple.
Naturally, my nerves were at their peak, and even though it was before the summer season, I was sweating unpleasantly on my back.

However, the girl walking next to me didn’t look like that and looked somewhat satisfied, which made my heart skip a beat.

Fortunately, the distance to the nearest station was not too far, so I would not have to spend too much time savoring the subtle feelings of both joy and bitterness.
With this in mind, we arrived in front of the station’s ticket gate, but for some reason, Mashiro would not leave me.

No, she said, if we’re going to pretend to be lovers, we’re going to have to do this…
Sakakibara and Ayano-san hadn’t arrived yet, and I was embarrassed to be in this situation.
To the people around us, we might just look like any other couple, but the way they looked at us made me feel uncomfortable.

No, I wonder if they see us as a couple in the first place.
I haven’t been told Mashiro’s exact age, but she looked like a young high school student.
If I think about it again, one wrong move and it would be a crime.

“You look pretty scary, are you okay?”
“No, don’t worry about it.
I was just thinking about the laws and ethics of this country.”
“Are you sure you’re fine…”

Mashiro looked into my face with an extraordinarily worried expression.

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I’m glad she felt that way, but if she was really worried about me, I’d appreciate it if she’d step away…

Time passed by without my feelings reaching her, and after a while, the train stopped on time just as Sakakibara had informed me, and I found a familiar pair of people on the other side of the ticket gate.
I waved lightly to signal them, and they looked a little surprised, then waved back and approached me.

“Hello, Satou.”
“G-Good morning.
I’m sorry you had to come all the way out here.”
“Don’t mind us.
I’m the one who invited you.
Anyway…”

After showing a fresh smile as usual, Sakakibara looks at me…and Mashiro with an annoying chuckle.
I could tell what he was going to say just by his face, but since we had known each other for a long time, I didn’t want to say anything tactless.

Sakakibara doesn’t say anything to me, and I don’t say anything back.
I just give him a look and tell him to leave me alone.
He raised his eyebrows and backed off with a “yes, yes, yes”, but the other participant standing beside him didn’t seem to agree.

“C-CUTE!!!”

As soon as Ayano-san, Sakakibara’s beloved girlfriend, saw Mashiro standing next to me, she let out a squeal of admiration.
She easily left Sakakibara’s side and closed the distance to Mashiro right in front of her.

“H-Hello…”

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Mashiro looked puzzled, but she didn’t back down and greeted Ayano-san, who looked curious.

“I-It talked!”
“Can you please not treat her like a rare animal?”

I couldn’t help but think of Ayano-san’s rude behavior from the very beginning.
I understood that she had no ill intentions and was not trying to make fun of her, but what Mashiro thinks was another story.

I looked at Mashiro with a chill in my heart and saw that she was still smiling bitterly in confusion.
It may have been my imagination, but I felt her hug on my arm become a little stronger.

“Come on, Ayano.
Let’s greet each other first.”
“T-That’s right.
Sorry!”

The guardian censured her, and Ayano huffed and puffed and apologized.
I knew she had an eye for cute things, but I didn’t expect her to lose her mind and go out of control.

“My name is Ayano.
I’m Sa-kun’s proud girlfriend!”
“It’s nice to meet you.”

I want to praise Mashiro for being able to answer the greeting before the tsukkomi.
It was such a terrible self-introduction, but Mashiro didn’t seem to be as shocked as I thought she would be.

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Well, from their point of view, this was their first meeting, but from Mashiro’s point of view, this was the second time she had met the two of them.
She must have been somewhat prepared for this.

“I’m Sakakibara, a.k.a.
Sa-kun, and I’d like to introduce myself.
I’m his best friend and pride.”
“Y-Yes.
I look forward to getting along.”
“Mashiro, don’t hesitate to ask questions.”

The couple introduced themselves with quite a punch.
Mashiro was conversely frightened by their words, wondering what to do, and the couple in front of me gave me a “don’t embarrass your girlfriend” look.
Whose fault do you think it is, whose?

“So, what’s your name?”

As I hold my head in my hands, Sakakibara asks me such a question in a natural flow.
It was a very ordinary and casual question.
But when he said that, Mashiro and I both froze as if time had stopped.

“Ah…U-Umm…”

Mashiro, who was being looked at by both of us, choked on her words as she looked at me for help.
I had planned for this to happen, but I didn’t expect to be in that situation so soon.
I should have taken action a little earlier.

I’m going to tell them everything I know about Mashiro later today.
Naturally, this included the fact that the girl here now was identical to the cat they know so well.
However, immediately after the meeting, it would be too unconnected.
Mashiro and I had discussed that we should take some time to talk about it in a more relaxed place.

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It may be too much to ask, but I have to get through this once.

“Ah, sorry.
Is it okay if we talk later?”
“Eh? It’s just the name…is that bad?”
“Well, if you say it’s bad, it’s bad.
I’ll give you a full explanation later, so please don’t ask now.”
“If Satou says so, I won’t ask…Then I’ll call her girlfriend until then, okay?”

I inwardly patted my chest at Sakakibara’s good listening skills.
Ayano seemed unconvinced at first, but she complied with her boyfriend’s will.

“Thank you.
Please take care of us today.”
“Thank you very much.”

Mashiro followed me and bowed her head.
In response, they both said, “Don’t worry about it.”
The reaction reaffirmed for me that it was safe to confide in these two about Mashiro.

“So, let’s get started.”
“Ah!”
““A-Ahhh…””

As Ayano-san raised her fist in high tension, Mashiro and I raised our fists modestly.
I felt a different kind of embarrassment than before, but when my eyes suddenly met Mashiro’s, we both naturally burst into laughter.

So we followed their lead and started walking hand in hand.