With the matter here settled, Kaito had no intention of staying long and thus proposed to take his leave.
Although Yukino still wanted to persuade him to stay a bit, she also seemed to have thought of something and, in the end, didn't speak rashly.
She simply expressed her thanks to Kaito once again and took the opportunity to exchange contact information with him.
The way back was still by Hiratsuka Shizuka's car.
When Kaito went downstairs and once again sat in that silver-gray Aston Martin Vantage, the iron-fist female teacher looked somewhat absent-minded.
She even forgot to insert the car key.
Kaito could understand how she felt.
Anyone whose worldview constructed over a dozen years was destroyed overnight would naturally be shocked, confused, or even on the verge of collapse, totally normal.
However, understanding is one thing, for the sake of safety in communication, he still tactfully reminded, "Hiratsuka-sensei, we can go now."
"Huh? Oh… oh, oh!", Hiratsuka Shizuka snapped back to her senses and finally realized her behavior was somewhat improper.
She hurriedly gave a dry cough, started the engine, but kept sneaking glances at him from the corners of her eyes from time to time, her face full of expressions that seemed like she had something to say but couldn't.
Seeing her like she had a bellyful of questions she wanted to ask but didn't dare to, Kaito simply spoke, "Hiratsuka-sensei, if there's something, just say it directly."
"Ahem… Then I'll go ahead and ask?", Hiratsuka Shizuka looked a little embarrassed, but in the end, her curiosity overwhelmed everything else, and she couldn't help but ask, "Things like Yokai… are they common?"
'Yukitan's appearance doesn't differ much from an ordinary cat.'
'At most, it just looks smarter, seems to have more spiritual presence.'
'But intelligent and spiritually aware pets are plenty, surely they all can't be Yokai, right?'
"Of course, they're not common," Kaito organized his thoughts and slowly said, "There are only a few ways for Yokai to be born. Perhaps an ordinary animal cultivating into a spirit, or maybe awakening bloodlines through some coincidence… But regardless of which method, the probability is low. Their number might be even rarer than ghosts."
"W-Wait!", Hiratsuka Shizuka swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "You mean, in this world there are not only Yokai, but also ghosts?"
Kaito nodded.
"Let me take a moment," Hiratsuka Shizuka really wanted to cover her face, but thinking she was still driving, she barely restrained that impulse.
She could only sigh inwardly, how come the world suddenly turned into something unrecognizable.
'It really was tough on me to have grown up safely for the past dozen years.'
"If there are Yokai and ghosts, then there must be onmyoji as well, right?", After thinking a bit, she posed another key question.
"Maybe there are," Kaito shrugged. "Though I've never met one myself."
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "…"
She just couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't very reliable.
Still, she silently decided in her heart to go pray at a nearby shrine or temple later.
And pick up a few protective charms while she was at it.
Whether they worked or not, at least it'd put her mind at ease.
———
The sports car soon stopped in front of a familiar detached house.
After bidding Hiratsuka-sensei farewell, Kaito carried the cat bag and turned into the bedroom.
Releasing Yukitan from the bag, the cat had already returned to a harmless-looking form, and its tail was also back to just one.
Seeing his figure, she quickly trotted to his feet in a fawning manner, her little head rubbing repeatedly.
Kaito casually petted a few strokes. That fluffy touch was pretty addictive.
Then he seemed to remember something and flipped Yukitan over.
The cat lay on her back, limbs in the air, looking a little awkward, but didn't dare struggle. She only meowed in grievance, looking pitifully at her master in hopes of receiving a bit of mercy.
"So you're a little female cat," On the other side, Kaito had also confirmed the information he wanted.
Since ancient times, Japan had legends of bakeneko. In traditional imagery, bakeneko were often evil Yokai that fed on humans.
But there were also stories of kind bakeneko, who often turned into girl-like forms to get close to humans, with gentle personalities and a love for eating fish.
Yukitan's situation clearly belonged to the latter.
But speculation was still just speculation.
Upholding the principle of serious verification, Kaito cleared his throat, pointed at the cat in front of him, and solemnly ordered:
"Give me a transformation!"
Yukitan tilted her head, looking innocent.
'Boss, what are you saying? This kitty doesn't understand, nya~'
One man and one cat, silently staring at each other.
"…Legends really aren't reliable," Kaito sighed.
'But it's fine, even if she can't become a catgirl now, that doesn't mean she won't in the future.' [T/N: Man of culture, I see. Ahem!]
He fed Yukitan a handful of dried fish, this was something Yukino stuffed into his hand, along with a few emergency packs of cat food he'd brought back.
The cat was quite happy eating, not even willing to lift her head.
Once she was finally full and satisfied, Kaito tucked both hands under Yukitan's armpits and lifted her into the air.
Then he sat back on the sofa and began extracting intel.
As a cultivator, it was easy to communicate with animals.
It's just that most animals weren't very intelligent, worse than three- or four-year-old toddlers. So the conversation wasn't that meaningful.
But Yukitan was different. As a bakeneko, although she couldn't speak, her intelligence wasn't low. Roughly equivalent to a twelve- or thirteen-year-old child.
"Meow~ Meow~ Meow~"
"You're saying you're a little Yokai born in the mountains and forests, your parents died early, and you grew up alone as a cat?"
"Meow~ Meow~ Meow~"
"You're saying your home was taken over by a very bad, very big dog, and you were even bitten by it, barely escaped after struggling, and have been wandering ever since?"
Another piece of intel on a Yokai.
'If there's time, might as well go take a look.'
Kaito pinched his chin and asked again, "You must've had your own name before, right? What is it?"
The cat nodded, then meowed twice, and scratched lightly on the sofa with her claws, leaving several shallow marks. Vaguely, the word "Kirara" could be made out.
Looking at the newly bought sofa getting scratched like that, thankfully not too deeply, Kaito's mouth twitched.
He angrily scrubbed the cat's head, rubbing her until Kirara was dizzy and disoriented, not even knowing where she was, before he finally stopped.
———
[The Next Morning, At the Train Station]
There weren't many passengers waiting on the platform, but among them, a blue-haired figure stood out.
A proper lady's dress, matched with light blue lace short socks and black leather shoes, the girl named "Togawa Sakiko" was as graceful and beautiful today as ever.
"Good day, Kurumizaka-kun," Even her greeting sounded sweet like a noble lady's.
"Good morning," Kaito responded as usual.
Sakiko was only 155 cm tall. Among Japanese girls who averaged around 158 cm, she belonged to the shorter category.
But her body proportions were perfect, and her temperament outstanding, so when standing beside Kaito, the overall atmosphere felt very harmonious.
Since they lived nearby and often took the train together, the two had become much more familiar compared to their first meeting.
Usually while waiting for the train, Sakiko would chat with him a bit.
But today, after greeting him, the girl didn't start a conversation. Instead, she was muttering to herself as if memorizing something.
Noticing Kaito's puzzled gaze, Sakiko gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I didn't bother you, did I?"
After getting a negative answer, she patted her chest and explained, "The first test since entering school is coming up soon, so I wanted to take advantage of the time waiting for the train to review my lessons."
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