Monday morning.
The coastal breeze of the weekend faded into the familiar crisp air of Chiba.
Tōhō Getsukai strolled through the front gates of Sobu High School, carrying his school bag in one hand.
The rhythmic click of his small leather shoes echoed against the pavement.
The morning breeze caught the hem of his sailor uniform skirt, making it flutter slightly.
Black knee-high socks hugged his slender calves, and his pristine silver hair cascaded over his shoulders, resting gently against his chest.
The male student body collectively short-circuited.
A loud crash rang out from the bicycle shed as a distracted second-year plowed straight into a metal pillar.
A few yards away, a boy missed his mouth entirely and jammed a milk carton straw directly up his nostril.
Tōhō did not even blink, let alone turn his head.
Just another typical morning at Sobu High.
When beauty breached a certain threshold, ordinary passersby ceased to be people; they became dynamic, self-destructing background props.
While swapping his footwear at the shoe lockers, hushed squeals erupted from two girls a few paces away.
“Student Tōhō is wearing a sailor uniform today!”
“Black socks!
Small leather shoes!
I officially declare Sobu High the winner of the day!”
“But wait, isn’t he a boy?”
“Who cares if he’s a boy?
Boys can be ultimate sisters too!”
Tōhō shoved his outdoor shoes into his designated cubby.
His hands paused against the metal door.
Fine.
The cultural spirit of Sobu High was certainly getting progressive.
He lowered his gaze and unzipped his school bag just a fraction.
There were zero textbooks inside.
Instead, a pair of fluffy, pointed white ears twitched and poked through the gap.
“Meow.”
Tōhō extended a single pale finger and tapped the tip of the white kitten’s wet nose.
“Keep it down.
You are a highly classified secret weapon right now, not a day student.”
“Meow.”
“Exactly.
You are specifically deployed to target Yukinoshita.”
The white kitten shrank back into the dark confines of the bag, batting a tiny paw against the metal zipper.
He had found this little creature shivering in the decorative bushes outside the beach villa two evenings ago.
It boasted a coat of pure white fur, striking blue eyes, and looked to be barely three months old.
Sonoko’s immediate reaction had been to drag it to a luxury pet salon, but Tōhō had intercepted her.
‘Give it to me.”Eh?
Sister Tōhō, are you going to raise it?”I am not raising it.
I am delivering it to someone who desperately needs it.’
Ran and Sonoko had not pressed for details.
The three of them simply commandeered a bathroom and gave the stray a warm bath on the spot.
Tōhō pushed the zipper back into place and casually fished his smartphone from his side pocket.
The screen flared to life.
Ran Mouri had bombarded him with a rapid-fire string of messages over an hour ago.
“Sister Tōhō, um…
I might not be able to go to Mom’s house tonight!”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to go!
Dad suddenly said he wanted to eat pork cutlet rice!”
“And the agency is a bit messy, so I have to clean up!
It’s really not because of the weekend!”
Tōhō scanned the frantic text bubbles and let two seconds of silence pass.
His thumbs tapped out a leisurely reply.
“It’s okay.
Sister is waiting for you anytime.”
He hit send.
No typing bubble appeared.
No reply came.
It was entirely foreseeable that Ran was currently sitting somewhere, her face burning with a furious blush.
Tōhō slipped the phone back into his pocket.
The aftereffects of teasing a pure-hearted girl were far more stubborn than a summer sunburn.
During their weekend beach trip, a massive rogue wave had rolled in, knocking Ran completely off balance.
The violent churn of the water had snapped the back strap of her swimsuit loose.
Her first instinct had not been to scream for a lifeguard.
Instead, the karate ace had clamped both hands desperately over her chest and sank herself up to her neck in the surf, utterly defeated by a tidal wave of shame.
Tōhō had simply treaded water, gliding over to support her from behind.
He shielded her exposed back with one arm and fished the drifting strap out of the foam with his free hand.
“Don’t move around.”
Ran froze, her body going rigid against him.
“Sister…
Sister Tōhō…!”
“If you thrash again, it really will fall off.”
“Wuu—!”
The underwater visibility had been terrible, clouded by churning sand.
But Tōhō could tie a flawless slipknot with his eyes closed.
His fingertips traced the slick fabric against her bare spine, pulling the straps taut and securing them.
Ran remained pressed flush against his chest the entire time.
Her legs were stiff as boards, and her ears burned so bright red that the cool Pacific Ocean could not quench the heat.
[Contrast Bonding System Prompt: Host has completed extreme-distance assistance as a close confidante; target’s emotions are fluctuating violently.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Feline Affinity Trait.]
A cat trait?
It was a purely lifestyle-oriented passive.
It offered zero combat power, generated no financial assets, and provided absolutely no deductive reasoning boosts.
But it did make petting cats significantly easier.
Recalling the strange skill he had acquired over the weekend, Tōhō grabbed his bag and headed toward the main teaching building.
Just as his leather shoes clicked against the hallway linoleum, a painfully familiar, lethargic male voice drifted from behind.
“Student Tōhō.”
Hachiman Hikigaya stood slouched by a vending machine, clutching his own school bag.
His signature dead-fish eyes stared blankly ahead, his entire posture radiating a heavy aura of ‘Do not approach, approaching incurs a penalty fee.’
Tōhō halted his steps.
“Morning, Student Hikigaya.”
Hachiman shifted his gaze from Tōhō’s face down to the bag in his hand.
“Your bag just moved.”
“You saw wrong.”
“It also made a distinct sound.”
“You heard wrong.”
“Student Tōhō, smuggling an animal onto school grounds is likely a severe violation of the student conduct code.”
Tōhō raised a hand, elegantly brushing a strand of silver hair behind his ear.
The cuff of his sailor uniform slid down, exposing his pale wrist.
“Student Hikigaya.”
“Hmm?”
“Would you really report a fragile, pitiful, homeless little life that weighs less than three kilograms?”
Hachiman fell dead silent.
A group of passing girls slammed their brakes, their ears twitching.
“Eh?
A little life?”
“Did Student Tōhō rescue a stray cat?”
“He’s so gentle!”
Hachiman’s dead-fish expression visibly stiffened.
Before he could even open his mouth to defend himself, the surrounding hallway had already drawn battle lines.
The Righteous Faction: The girls clutched their cheeks in absolute ecstasy, instantly elevating Tōhō to the status of an ‘Angel Sister who rescues small animals.’The Neutral Faction: The passing boys, who had initially slowed down to watch the drama, now silently backed away, terrified of being branded as’anti-cat, anti-beautiful girl’ heretics.
The Villain Faction: Hachiman Hikigaya himself, forcibly demoted from a student merely pointing out a rule violation into a cold-blooded monster suspected of wanting to execute a kitten.
Hachiman raised both hands in immediate surrender, his eyes darting toward the hostile crowd.
“I didn’t say a single word.
Please do not let these random passersby drag me to the moral guillotine.”
Tōhō offered a soft, gentle nod.
“Thank you, Student Hikigaya.
You truly are a kind person.”
Hachiman physically recoiled half a step.
“Stop.
That evaluation is far too lethal.
If you go around saying things like that, I will be collectively ostracized by the entire male population.”
“You are already exceptionally skilled at being isolated.”
“Please refrain from discussing my social skill points so casually.”
Another muffled meow echoed from the bag.
The surrounding girls practically vibrated in place.
“There really is a cat!”
“Let me see it!
Just one tiny peek!”
Tōhō shifted the bag behind his leg, shielding it from view.
“Not right now.
It is quite timid.
A large crowd of strangers will frighten it.”
Inside the dark canvas, the white kitten lay perfectly still, its tail swishing lazily against the zipper.
It was not actually timid in the slightest; this exact little menace had fearlessly chewed on Sonoko’s expensive shoelaces just yesterday.
But a tactical tool cat needed to maintain the professional ethics of a tactical tool cat.
Premature exposure would ruin the operation.
The morning bell chimed, finally dispersing the disappointed onlookers.
Tōhō carried his cargo into the classroom and set the bag gently by his feet.
Sitting in the front row, Eriri’s blonde twin-tails whipped through the air as she immediately spun around in her seat.
Tōhō ignored her piercing stare, sat down, and arranged his textbooks on the desk.
The canvas bag by his ankles shifted slightly.
Eriri’s green eyes locked onto it.
“What just moved down there?”
“An optical illusion.”
“Is there something alive in your bag?”
“Shh.
Even the number one beautiful girl of Sobu High occasionally bends the school rules.”
“Huh?”
The morning periods dragged by without incident.
The white kitten slept soundly through three entire blocks, only reaching a tiny white paw up to bat at the zipper during modern literature.
Taking advantage of the teacher turning around to write on the chalkboard, Tōhō slipped a small shred of dried chicken breast through the gap.
The kitten chewed in absolute silence.
Professional ethics worthy of high praise.
During the lunch break, Ran finally replied to his earlier message.
“Sister, please don’t phrase it like that!”
Ten seconds later, another bubble popped up.
“About the weekend…
thank you.
But today is really not possible!”
“It would be incredibly awkward if we saw each other right now!”
Tōhō rested his chin in his palm, his finger tapping the screen.
“What is so awkward about it?”
The chat box froze completely.
A full minute passed before Ran sent a single sticker of a cartoon rabbit burying itself under a heavy blanket.
Nothing else followed.
Fine.
The Ran route had temporarily entered a cooldown phase.
Overheat protection successfully activated.
The afternoon dismissal bell rang, and the lethargic classroom instantly surged to life.
Eriri slung her bag over her shoulder, her gaze dropping to his feet one last time.
“Student Tōhō, you are heading to the Service Club now, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Does your Service Club’s official scope of business now include the illegal harboring of felines?”
“This is a specialized emotional support tool.” Tōhō zipped the bag fully shut and stood up, smoothing his pleated skirt.
“Student Sawamura, when a girl is in a terrible mood, a kitten is vastly more effective than a lecture on grand principles.”
Eriri opened her mouth, closed it, and finally choked out a quiet response.
“…I suppose that’s true.” She hugged her school bag tightly against her chest, her eyes darting away as she muttered under her breath.
“If I’m ever in a bad mood…
can I borrow it too?”
Tōhō paused mid-step.
“That depends entirely on your performance.”
“What do you mean ‘depends on my performance’?!
Are you running a host club for cats?!”
“By appointment only.”
“Damn it!
You really do sound like a shady owner!”
Tōhō did not bother teasing the flustered blonde any further.
He picked up his bag and exited the classroom.
The hallway was a chaotic crush of students eager to go home.
He smoothly dodged the roughhousing boys, keeping his path strictly along the sunlit windows.
Several girls waved and called out greetings as he passed.
He offered each of them a polite, measured nod.
Showering beautiful girls with gentle attention while strictly conserving energy with everyone else.
This was the true path of sustainable development.
[Akarin’s Note:
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