Trial Lover 63 (Patreon)

Sequel 9 - Cat Cafe, Once Again

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After window shopping for women's clothing on a different floor from Yuuzen Company, we leave Takano Kakui. Maybe because we’ve been in a cool store until now. Or maybe because it's after 2pm. It feels a little hot when we go outside.

Hiori has been to the cat cafe many times, so she knows the way to get there from Kakui. It seems to be a couple of minutes walk from Kakui. I hold her hand tightly as we start walking towards the cat cafe.

I'm still familiar with the area around Kakui, but after a short walk the scenery becomes completely unfamiliar to me. Takano is only a few minutes away by train from Hagikubo, but it feels like I’m on a short trip with Hiori.

“This is the place.”

As it’s only a couple of minutes walk away, we quickly arrive at the cat cafe.

In front of me stands a two-story building with a characteristic brown exterior and a calm atmosphere. A white board placed above the entrance shows a line drawing of a cat and the words [Cat Cafe Nyakano] written in a cute font. Apparently, the name of this cat cafe is Nyakano.

It looks nice, so I take a photo of Nyakano's exterior with my smartphone.

“This cat cafe has a nice exterior. So it's called Nyakano.”

“That's right. The exterior has a calming atmosphere, doesn't it? The inside is also calm and relaxing, you know.”

“I see. I'm looking forward to it. Then, shall we go in?”

“Yes.”

We enter Cat Cafe Nyakano.

Just like the cat cafe Hagikubo Nyafe that we went to on our Hagikubo date, the price is determined by the length of stay. Also, they sell the treats to give to cats for 200 yen.

Just as we did on our Hagikubo date, we choose the 60 minute course and pay for it before going to the cat room where we can play with the cats.

“Ooh...”

There are cats of various sizes, patterns, and types in this spacious room. I see them playing with customers, snuggling with each other, or sleeping peacefully. The room is very spacious and there are many sofas and chairs for humans to sit on, so it looks like we can comfortably spend 60 minutes here.

Also, I see someone feeding a cat using a spoon. I wonder if this is the experience of giving treats that Hazuki-san was talking about. This is a sight that I didn’t see at Hagikubo Nyafe.

“This cat cafe also has a nice atmosphere I see.”

“It’s nice, isn’t it. Shall we try giving them treats now?”

“Hmm... for now, let’s play with the cats. We have 60 minutes anyway, I think I’ll try giving them treats after some time passes.”

“I understand. Kya!”

Hiori lets out a cute voice. Wondering what happened, I look at Hiori and see... a brown tabby cat rubbing its face on Hiori's leg. This is probably the reason Hiori let out that voice. Also, I'm a little jealous of you for being able to rub your face on Hiori's legs.

When Hiori looks at her feet, she shows a gentle smile.

“Ara, so it's you. You're coming to me this time too I see.”

Crouching down on the spot, Hiori pets the brown tabby cat's head.

Perhaps feeling good from being petted by Hiori, the brown tabby cat makes a cute meow, “Na─u.”

“Ever since I first came to this cat cafe with Saaya-san, this male tabby cat-chan has been touching me every time.”

“I'm sure he really likes Hiori.”

“I'm happy if that's the case.”

‘Good boy~’, Hiori says as she continues to pat the brown tabby cat's head.

This is a memorable episode precisely because Hiori has been here many times before. Also, this brown tabby cat seems to be male... but it's a cat after all. I won’t get jealous. In fact, I think it's very discerning since it likes Hiori.

“Since this is a rare chance, I’ll take a photo and send it to you, Hiori.”

“Please.”

I take out my smartphone and point the lens at Hiori and the brown tabby cat. The instant Hiori smiles and gives a peace sign, the brown tabby cat also turns towards me. So you like being in photos, huh? As I think that, I take a two-shot photo of them. I send that photo to Hiori via LIME.

“I sent it.”

“Thank you very much.”

“...Nyaon.”

Oh, I hear a beautiful meowing sound of a cat from right near me.

“There's a big white cat-chan coming right at your feet, Akito-san.”

As Hiori says that, I look down at my feet and... oh, a white cat is looking up at me. At first glance, it looks one or two sizes bigger than the brown tabby cat that is with Hiori. Its features look good too.

I squat down on the spot and gently place my right hand on the white cat's head. When I do, the white cat purrs at me.

“You’re cute, aren’t you.”

“Nya~n.”

The white cat rubs its head on my right hand. It feels great because of its fur.

“Fufu, that white cat-chan. She might have fallen in love with Akito-san after being told she’s cute.”

“I wonder. But, I'm happy she’s touching me on her own initiative.”

“I see. As a thank you for earlier, I'll also take a two-shot photo of Akito-san and the cat-chan.”

“Thank you.”

Hiori takes out her smartphone from her bag and points the lens at us.

When I make a peace sign with my left hand, the white cat that has been rubbing her head on my right hand turns towards Hiori's smartphone. Right after that, [click] I hear the sound of a photo being taken.

“I’ve sent the photo. ...The sofa is empty, so shall we relax there?”

“Let’s do that.”

We head to a nearby sofa. As we do, the white cat I’ve been petting and the brown tabby cat that has been snuggling on Hiori's legs also follow us. They really like us, huh.

I sit on the sofa next to Hiori. Then, the white cat jumps on my lap, and the brown tabby cat jumps on Hiori's lap and then, they relax.

This white cat... as might be expected from its large size, it's quite heavy.

“We might be interacting with these kids the most this time.”

“Might be.”

I gently stroke the white cat from its head to its back. Then, perhaps because it feels good, the white cat starts rolling on my lap. Because of its large body, its movements feel impactful.

Hiori, like me, strokes the brown tabby cat from its head to its back. The tabby cat purrs at her and makes a cute “na~u” sound.

“What a cute brown tabby-chan. Sitting next to each other at a cat cafe like this reminds me of our time at Hagikubo Nyafe.”

“That's true. The cats at the cat cafe over there were cute, but the cutest one was Hiori with the cat ear headband.”

“When you say that... I'm happy, but I feel embarrassed.”

‘Ehehe’, Hiori says bashfully.

That time when we went to the cat cafe on our Hagikubo date was when Hiori started smiling. That's why, compared to back then, I think Hiori has started to show a lot more smile.

“We went to Hagikubo Nyafe during Golden Week, so, was that about 20 days ago?” (Hiori)

“That's about it. It feels like a long time ago.”

“That's true. ...Is it because we started officially dating?.”

“I guess so. A lot of things happened, but I think the number one was... going from trial lovers to official lovers.”

“It was.”

‘Chu’ Hiori kissed me on my left cheek. I didn’t expect it, so even if her kiss was on the cheek, I still felt my heart skip a beat. Hiori is laughing happily.

“...Geez, Hiori.”

I kiss Hiori's right cheek in return, and laugh with her.

“Nya─o...”

──Tap tap.

I hear the cat's low voice, and in the next moment, I feel my chest being tapped several times.

I look at the white cat, and see her staring at me with sharp eyes. Then, she gives me a light cat punch in the chest.

“Fufu. Maybe white cat-chan got jealous when she saw us kissing each other on the cheek.”

“Haha. That would be cute if it were.”

When I gently stroke her head and back again, the white cat's eyes become calm and she starts rolling on my lap again.

“It might be as Hiori said. Then, what about the brown tabby cat on Hiori’s lap?”

“This one is... he’s relaxing. He is lying down.”

“...He really is.”

The brown tabby cat is lying on its side on Hiori's lap. I wonder if it likes Hiori’s warmth and sweet smell. It looks relaxed.

“Every time I come here until now, he often relaxes on my lap.”

“It might be his perfect relaxing spot. Even if we kiss each other, he can probably still relax, so he doesn’t have to take any action like the white cat did.”

“It might be so. Since they like us, how about we give these kids some treats?”

“Yeah, let's do that.”

We go to the reception and purchase some treats. The staff hands us some dry food in a plastic container and wooden spoons.

We return to the cat room and sit back on the same sofa we sat on. Then, just like before, the white cat gets on my lap, and the brown tabby cat gets on Hiori's lap.

“We saw someone giving them treats earlier, so I think you know how to do it, but you scoop up the dry food with a spoon like this, and bring it to the cat-chan's mouth.”

Hiori brings a spoon with dry food on it close to the brown tabby cat.

The brown tabby cat that is relaxing on Hiori's lap takes a proper posture and starts munching on the dry food.

“Something like that.”

“I got it. I’ll try it too.”

I scoop up some dry food in the container with a spoon and bring it close to the white cat.

The white cat is rolling around on my lap. But, perhaps smelling the dry food. It stops rolling around and takes a proper posture like the tabby cat did. When I bring the spoon close to its mouth, the white cat also starts eating the dry food.

“Ooh, the white cat is also eating it. It's so cute.”

“Seeing them eat the treats we give them is really cute, isn’t it.”

“I guess so. When I was little, I once fed a stray cat that often came to my house, but I did it by placing some cat food on a plate. This way feels more like I am feeding them food, it’s nice.”

“Fufu, I see.”

After that, I continue giving treats to the white cat, and Hiori to the brown tabby cat. Feeding it food with a spoon like this reminds me of when I exchanged a bite of omurice with Hiori during lunch. This white cat is cute, but Hiori at that time was also cute.

Perhaps because they are hungry, both cats finish their meals.

I wonder if giving them treats made them like us even more. The white cat and the brown tabby cat are clinging to us. Until the end of the 60 minutes, we spend a soothing time playing with cats, mainly the white cat and the brown tabby cat.

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