Chapter 155: Coincidental Encounter with the White-Haired Cat Girl
Thursday, after the exams ended.
Sakurai Saki finished filming and then parted ways with Ichika.
The filming location was a school near the Shibuya area, since the film's content was about the teacher-student theme, reflecting social realities.
He looked down at his phone — it was already eleven at night. Today was the exam day, so the teachers didn't assign much homework, the side effects of the superpower also didn't appear, and Sakurai was able to spend a peaceful day. He had also decided to put studying on hold for now—after all, continuing to study right after the exams would be a bit over the top.
Only freakish geniuses like Shirogane could maintain studying ten hours a day even after exams, like some kind of monster.
Don't you guys find that terrifying? Studying during class is one thing, but even eating while studying, and even during breaks at part-time jobs still memorizing vocabulary and grammar—can people like that even be considered human anymore? Shirogane Miyuki, a man who doesn't live like a carbon-based lifeform at all.
...
On a street in Shibuya, there were many fashionable girls on both sides, their makeup a bit too flashy for Sakurai's taste. He actually preferred the gyaru style of Ai-chan more—her makeup was very light.
Hayasaka: (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Sakurai: (=♡ ᆺ ♡=)
Holding a can of coffee in his hand, Sakurai took a sip.
Then he spotted someone who stood out on the street.
Silver-white hair, quite rare to see.
He couldn't clearly see her face, but her figure was decent—not too tall, but well-proportioned.
Even so, she was still quite a bit taller than Hayasaka Ai, probably around 170 cm?
By the way, Hayasaka Ai was 162 cm, Fujiwara Chika 154 cm, and Miko-chan 147 cm—but everyone was still in their growth spurts, so they might still grow... hopefully.
Compared to the average height of Japanese women, Ai-chan was already considered tall.
Shirogane Miyuki was 175 cm tall, which was fairly tall, while Sakurai Saki stood at a full 180 cm.
The white-haired girl in front turned and walked into a narrow alley nearby. Sakurai didn't pay it much attention at first, until he noticed a few shady-looking guys sneaking in after her.
Hopefully nothing bad happens.
Sakurai took a few steps forward, then turned back toward the intersection earlier.
'Better go check it out.'
If it were before, he definitely would've ignored it, but after falling for someone, Sakurai Saki had softened quite a bit.
Knowing full well that something bad might happen and doing nothing about it—it was hard to live with that.
Inside the alley, on the left wall, water was dripping continuously from the air conditioner's exhaust pipe, falling to the ground. A cockroach crawled near his feet. Not far away, the trash bins from the restaurant kitchen out back were sitting there, the stench creeping into his nose—quite unpleasant.
Sakurai stepped into the middle of the alley and saw the group of guys from earlier surrounding the beautifully dressed white-haired girl.
Didn't expect something really was going down.
Should I step in?
Forget it— I couldn't just stand by and watch.
With that in mind, Sakurai stepped forward.
...
"What are you guys trying to do?" Hayasaka Ai (cat-girl version) crossed her arms and looked at the group in front of her.
Just from their outfits, it was clear they weren't good people.
"Bitch, you've been beating up a bunch of our guys lately, and you're asking what we're trying to do?" a delinquent with dyed blond hair spat on the ground.
"Our boss wants to see you. Red Demon Gang, ever heard of it? This street is under our control."
"Running around here, having power is useless unless you've got backing." A thuggish guy with black hair dug his ear, the flashy metal earring on his earlobe jingling.
Hayasaka Ai raised a hand to her face, looking exasperated.
Why had she been running into so many weaklings lately—none of them were worth fighting seriously.
And it was always the same pattern: beat up the small fry, then the big boss comes looking for revenge.
This wasn't stress relief at all! In fact, it just made the pressure even worse.
Just as Hayasaka Ai was thinking about how she should toss these guys into the trash, Sakurai Saki arrived.
He walked straight up to the group.
Then came a casual kick—thud! The blond guy who had been mouthing off earlier was sent flying into the wall, then slowly slid down like a dead dog.
"You bastard!"
"What?" Sakurai glanced at the one who was about to growl menacingly.
"Y-You... you're kinda handsome. That kick just now was pretty strong too," the delinquent said with a forced smile.
"Good eye," Sakurai Saki chuckled.
Gang-lackey: ᕙ( ᗒᗣᗕ )ᕗ
Sakurai: (≖_≖ )
Gang-lackey: (,,¬﹏¬,,)
Sakurai: ദ്ദി(‾̀◡‾́ ๑)
He looked away from the thugs. Under the glow of the neon lights overhead, he focused on the girl in front of him.
Wearing a mask, her deep ocean-blue eyes were captivating, and her aura was cold and aloof.
As for her outfit—jeans, a long-sleeved layered jacket, a white T-shirt underneath—at first glance, she looked older than him, possibly a college student?
"Let's go,"
Sakurai said to her.
Hayasaka Ai stared at Sakurai Saki's face for several seconds.
"Umu."
She naturally grabbed Sakurai's hand.
Although her personality was different, she still retained Hayasaka Ai's memories. Even though her appearance had changed quite a bit, the feelings she held for Sakurai Saki remained the same.
"Sorry, boys—my boyfriend's here now." Hayasaka Ai turned to the trembling delinquents nearby.
"Take care, big sis!"
"If you ever want to join the Red Demon Gang, just say the word!"
"See ya, big bro-in-law!"
...
Once they left the alley.
"They were inviting you, huh?" Sakurai asked.
"Of course. What, did you think it was something else?" Hayasaka Ai turned and glanced at him, "Little Brother, what did you think they were going to do?"
"Looks like I acted for nothing," Sakurai said, then tried to pull his hand away from hers.
Too bad it didn't work—she was gripping his hand tightly.
Now he had a strange woman clinging to him.
"Wanna go for a drink?" Hayasaka Ai asked.
"I have a girlfriend," Sakurai Saki replied.
He didn't recognize her as Hayasaka Ai. Her body had changed a lot—her blonde hair had turned white, she was taller, her style of clothing was completely different, and she wore a mask. Most importantly—her breasts were much bigger. Under these circumstances, it would be strange if Sakurai did recognize her.
"Scared, Little Brother? Don't worry, Onee-san won't do anything to you. Just want to buy you a drink to thank you for earlier," Hayasaka Ai said as she pulled him along, giving him no room to refuse.
'After the drink, I'm eating you too!'
While her original self was still unconscious, she'd sneak in a taste of Sakurai-chan's flavor—surely no one would notice, right?
After all... it's the same body. In essence, she and the original self were the same person. Naturally, the boyfriend was hers too.
That's how Cat-girl Ai-chan saw it.
'A predatory Onee-san type?' Sakurai had to admit—he was a little scared.
Was this really okay?
This type woman was dangerous. There was no choice but to be cautious.
...
Thirty minutes later, the two of them walked out of the bar.
Sakurai looked at the white-haired Onee-san beside him, who now seemed totally out of it, and he didn't know what to do.
Just one mojito—and she was done.
With alcohol tolerance this bad, why even go to a bar?
"Onee-san is under a lot of stress right now, nyan~" Hayasaka Ai slurred in her drunken state. "If I wasn't stressed, I wouldn't be out drinking in the middle of the night, nyan~"
Hayasa-nyan: /ᐠ ˵> ˕ <˵マ~
See? She was so drunk she'd started imitating cat sounds.
"Where do you live?"
"I dunno, nyan~."
'What am I supposed to do now?'
Sakurai looked around.
A lot of men were staring at the Onee-san beside him with lecherous eyes.
"Take me home, nyan~" Hayasaka Ai leaned in close to Sakurai's face, then stuck her tongue out and gave him a lick.
Wet, with a scent of alcohol—rum, with a hint of mint.
"Are you sick or something?"
"Nya~?" Hayasaka Ai tilted her head.
/ᐠ - ˕ -マ?
Didn't seem like she was sick.
But mentally... yeah, probably not all there.