Sunday morning.
Hayasaka Ai discovered a dying cat in the garden.
"Nyan~" It was a white cat, very cute in appearance, but now on the brink of death, covered in wounds, with nothing left related to the word beautiful.
"It's dying." Ai-chan looked down at it.
"Wanna be saved?"
She had just finished discussing the idea of trimming the garden with the gardener when she spotted the cat near the inner courtyard—probably snuck in unnoticed.
Ai-chan hated cats.
When she was little, both she and Kaguya had been scratched by a cat, and ever since then, she hadn't dared touch the creature. Cats, typically regarded as adorable by most people, were anything but cute in Hayasaka Ai's eyes.
The white cat revealed a surprised expression full of human-like emotion.
Cat: ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)?
Cats don't talk! Does this girl have a screw loose? She even asked if I wanted to be saved? If I had known, I would've picked a different target from the start!
This white cat was in fact an Oddity nad Sawarineko, whose usual hobby was playing dead and then possessing kind-hearted humans who took pity on it and buried it.
Once possession succeeded, it would use the Energy Drain ability of the Sawarineko species to absorb their life force. This particular Sawarineko was female, and quite intelligent. She understood the importance of sustainable developnt, so she never resorted to wiping out humans entirely.
In other words, she had never killed anyone.
Nyan~ stupid human.
/ᐠ ≖⩊≖マ
After the failed attempt at contact, the white cat continued to pretend to be severely injured and tried to crawl toward the mansion gate.
Seeing this, Hayasaka Ai stepped in front of it and blocked its path with her foot.
"The Shinomiya estate isn't a place you can just enter and leave as you wish, little kitty." Ai-chan smiled gently. This was the first ti she had seen such a smart cat.
It even knew how to exploit human sympathy.
She'd found herself an interesting toy.
"Nyan!" The white cat was furious.
It charged straight at Ai-chan.
Even though Hayasaka Ai was afraid of cats, it wasn't to the point of trembling in fear. She agilely turned her body and, with a single move, dodged the sudden attack.
"Looks like you really like , huh? Don't worry, I'll save you soon." Hayasaka Ai thought that raising such an interesting pet wouldn't be so bad. Besides, stray cats weren't expensive and were easy to keep.
Recently she had rented an apartnt nearby—if she couldn't keep the cat here, she could bring it there.
She squatted down.
The white fur on the cat bristled—it was truly angry now.
"Hm? Did I guess wrong? You actually don't like ?" Ai-chan chuckled a few tis, terribly amused.
Suddenly.
A "Nyan~" sound echoed.
The cat convulsed all over, then collapsed to the ground.
At first, Hayasaka Ai thought it was playing dead again, but unexpectedly, after a few minutes, it really stopped moving.
Ai-chan walked closer and saw that it might truly be dead.
'...La.'
Life really was fragile, but sothing about this was strange. Just a mont ago, it had been so full of life. Even with all those injuries, it should have had enough strength to hold out until she brought it to the vet.
She didn't dwell on it.
Hayasaka Ai had no real sense of attachnt to stray cats, nor did she feel any pity, but she still found a spot and buried it.
————
The cat followed along Hayasaka Ai's hands as she buried it, slipping into Ai-chan's body—or more precisely, into the depths of her soul.
If all had gone well, it should have been able to possess Hayasaka Ai's body for a while, drain her life force until she was nearly empty, and then spare her life.
But unfortunately—
After this Sawarineko entered the target's psyche, it imdiately lost all sensation and dissolved inside.
The mind of Hayasaka Ai, repressed for over ten years, the pressure of daily life, the guilt toward Shinomiya Kaguya—everything had caused her endless tornt. She longed for a normal youth like other girls, but her role as a servant of the Shinomiya family made that impossible. Even dating her boyfriend had to be squeezed into what little ti she had.
That massive pressure far exceeded normal human limits. After accumulating for over a decade, it had, under the influence of the Oddity, condensed into a destructive spiritual force—but instead of being released, it was stored up inside Hayasaka Ai's body.
Now, she had beco extrely dangerous.
...
Outside.
Hayasaka Ai stood in front of Shinomiya Kaguya's room, resting a hand on her forehead, which was throbbing slightly.
"(ノ _
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