he moved. Hes alive!

Idiot. Of course hes alive. Kiri-sama told us to tell him when he awoke.

It seemed like there were small children talking next to him. Young boys. Even though they were noisy, for some reason it was a comforting sound. He was tucked into a soft and comfy futon. It had the smell of freshly washed linen.

Unless they were bullies, he liked children. He could trust them more than adults. When he would wander around as a stray, there were children that would chase him around, but there were also children who would call him over with a here, kitty, gently pet his head, and give him treats.

Hey, Akio. Hes probably hungry. You should get him something to eat. How about some of my favorite Nekomata Shrine manjuu? They have some new limited edition taro paste ones now.

Youre so stupid, Natsuki. You just want to eat them yourself. First we need to tell Kiri-sama.

They were talking about something so cutehe couldnt help but feel like bursting into laughter. It was safe hereit would be all right to wake up now. There was no one here to chase him around, or throw stones at him. He opened his eyes, and looked up at the children peeking down at him.