"Hmm. I see your point." Ayumi considered what I had told her.
"But what if he has a cat and has never stepped foot in here?"
My lips curled into a small smile. "Trust me, he'd come here."
A few moments later the barista came back with a clipboard and a sheet of paper, handing them to me. I thanked her as I sat down at a nearby counter, looking over the form.
Most of the information was that I already knew—like my phone number and address, but since I was a teenager there were a few problems. I needed a parental signature.
Although I'm not sure if my mother would be open to the idea of getting a cat, my father would probably hate it. Something told me he's more of a dog person.
Forging my parents signature was one of my first options, but due to the fact that my parents weren't present with me, the barista would be confused on how I acquired the signature without leaving.
On the contrary I could just steal the cat and run out the door, but that would be illegal, and I'd probably be fined—maybe even banned from the cat cafe entirely.
"You look stuck." Ayumi spoke up, sitting beside me.
I looked towards her, a small pang of disappointment running through my body as I sighed.
"Unfortunately I'll need a parental signature, and I don't think my parents would like the idea of getting a cat—or even affording one." I dropped the pencil onto the wooden table and leaned back against the plush, booth-style bench, letting out a sigh of disappointment.
Ayumi eyed the paper for a few moments, and the way her expression changed made me think an idea had just formed in her head. "Maybe..."
She reached out and picked up the paper and pencil, and she began to scribble down on the lines. "I could get it for you."
"Huh?" I didn't know how to feel, the only thoughts running through my mind were my parents reaction if they found out I was keeping a cat in secret. I ended up shoving that idea aside when I heard the bell over the door ring as it was opened, and a pair of shoes sounding as they entered the cafe.
It was Shinso!
The boy slugged over to a separate corner and plopped down in a booth, his lips curling into a faint smile as he extended his hand and began stroking a light gray cat, which rubbed against him with contentment.
"Mr. Shinso is one of our most frequent customers." The barista spoke up, her voice almost a conspiratorial whisper as she pointed to a picture hanging overhead the counter. It showed Shinso, and he was holding a plastic certificate indicating the number of times he had visited the cafe. My eyes widened when I saw the number, well over three hundred!
"Heh, he got an award." Ayumi chuckled, looking at the photo for a few more moments before returning her gaze to me and the paper in her hands.
"Is he a friend of yours? I'd be happy to supply you with a discount. Twenty percent off all our coffee, biscuits, and everything we have to offer!"
I shook my head softly. I wasn't friends with him, at least for the moment. The barista nodded as she stepped back and walked into the kitchen, leaving the three of us alone.
"Are you following me or something?" I heard the boy's deep voice as I lifted my head, his eyes locked onto me, almost in a predatory way. I swallowed my spit as I attempted to stifle my words. If I said the wrong thing, maybe Shinso would take offense.
"It's merely a coincidence we're here together." I looked towards the kitchen, watching the barista approach us with two cups of coffee.
"These are on the house since it's your first time here." She said with a smile as she put them on the table. Shinso watched the whole interaction, his gaze not leaving me at all. His hand continued to mindlessly run over the fur of the gray cat he was petting, the animal never leaving his side.
The indigo-haired boy remained silent for a few more seconds before speaking again. "It's your first time here, huh." He looked towards the photo on the wall, his disinterested gaze in the photograph posted in the frame reflecting his current one.
"Yeah. Although you seem to enjoy it here." My lips curled into a small smile as I took a sip of the coffee. It was chocolate flavored, almost familiar to the hot chocolate I usually drank.
Shinso's cheeks flushed a little as he looked down at the cat, the animal's eyes closed in relaxation as it curled on the table, its tail lazily swinging back and forth. "It's not my fault I like cats."
"Hey, I like cats too." I held up the brown and gray cat in my arms, showing it to Shinso. The boy looked at the cat in my arms and I think I saw his eyes soften.
"Cute..." The boy's voice was uncharacteristically soft, but that sense of stoicness never seemed to leave it.
"I know, I found it in the rain in my backyard." I looked down at the cat in my arms, it remained limp in my grip as it purred like a tiny motor.
"Wow...that's nice." Shinso's expression didn't change—but his voice remained softer than usual. The flush on his cheeks remained as he continued to pet the cat lying down on the table.
At that moment his pupils drifted towards me, and he raised both of his eyebrows. "Why did you leave?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You left me alone at U.A." Shinso's voice returned to its stoic demeanor, and his jaw tightened slightly.
I felt my entire body freeze. It was like I was standing in thirty degree weather with nothing but boxers on. If I were to tell Shinso I had left him because of his outburst would that hurt his feelings? Would he take offense and blame himself?
"I...had stuff to do." I choked up, the words leaving my throat with immense effort. It felt awful to lie to him, but at the same time it was impolite to not give him a response.
"Stuff to do, like come here?" Shinso crossed his arms over his chest, letting his hand leave the cat. The animal perked an ear as its eyes shot open, slightly agitated from the lack of affection now. It let out a low meow as it jumped off the table.
"Uhm..." I didn't know how to respond. My entire chest seemed to tighten as the words seemed snared in my lungs.
Shinso let out a low groan as he stood up, approaching the door, his gaze remaining on me. "Just admit you're like everyone else."
The indigo-haired boy's gaze drifted down to his phone as he stepped out of the cafe. The sound of the overhead bell was calming at first—but now it felt like rejection.
My heart sank to my stomach as I sulked in my seat, an immense wave of guilt crashing over my body. I felt Ayumi's hand rest on my shoulder, and the dark-haired girl offered me a genial yet solemn expression.
"It'll take time, Isaac."
...
"I had a dream last night, so I wrote down what I saw." I took out the worn journal from my backpack, sliding it to Mr. Ryujin, who was seated across from me. The dark-haired man with blue horns on his head took the diary and opened it, his brows furrowing when he caught sight of the dark red liquid sprawled out across the pages of the spiral-bound book.
"What's this?" He asked, his voice lowering to a whisper as he turned the book towards me.
"I...don't really know how it got there." I slouched back in the bean bag chair, the guilt and previous interaction with Shinso replaying in my mind like a tortuous cassette tape. I couldn't focus.
"Well...these words are quite disturbing." Mr. Ryujin's expression remained analytical as he scanned the lined pages and their eerie—almost grotesque phrases.
"I want to get out of this place."
"I want to get rid of my awful father."
"Does anyone actually care about me?"
Those words echoed in my mind, and the current emotions I was feeling seemed to amplify those statements ten fold.
"I can tell you wrote these though, you have talked to me about this."
"Can you just turn the page?" I groaned, dragging my bottom eyelids down with my hands.
"Sure, sure." Mr. Ryujin nodded his head as he flipped the page, catching sight of what I had written on the next page.
"You had a dream about a boy who killed a bird?" He looked back at me, his eyebrow raising—not in suspicion—but rather in curiosity and something else I couldn't exactly decipher. I looked down from the ceiling and at the Guidance Counselor, nodding my head.
"I've never seen them before—I don't know why. Aren't faces you've seen in dreams only ones you know?"
"I think that's true, but Thaila's seeing a man she doesn't recognize. Maybe she's on some booze, or something...more bitter." His lips curled into a mischievous grin.
"Huh?" I felt a surge of confusion.
"Sorry...Lane of Lust is too good to put down." Mr. Ryujin pointed to a thick book sitting beside him.
"Did I mention I read romance books?" He cocked an eyebrow playfully.
"Let's get back to the topic." I groaned, plopping back against the red bean bag chair.
"Yes, yes."
Mr. Ryujin sighed, almost disappointed as he pushed the book aside and looked back at my journal. He didn't look that invested in what I was saying, but I could tell that he was committed to his job.
"And..." He continued to slowly read my journal entries, licking his pointer finger so he could turn the pages.
"It appears...his father was angry at him, but at the same time he was teasing him? Do you remember what he said?"
I nodded my head. "He said..." I cleared my throat. "Now that you killed one of the animals, the rest might not want to play with you—or something along those lines."
"Ahh...that's a little symbolic." He chuckled, closing the diary.
"Yeah...except I don't know what it means." I ran a hand through my hair, sighing softly in disappointment.
"Not everything will have an answer on the surface, one must look deeper if you are to unravel the mystery."
He tossed the diary onto a bean bag chair and took a deep breath.
"If you feel any thoughts or concerns—write them down—or you can come to me. If I'm not here, you can speak to Olivia."
"Olivia?"
"Yeah, my co-worker. She's my substitute when I'm not here." He pointed towards a photo on the wall. It showed a woman with grayish-blue eyes, blonde hair and light skin.
She looked American, just like me! Aside from my parents I've never interacted with another American for years!
"When is she coming in?" I asked, leaning forward a little in my bean bag chair.
"Well...I have a dentist appointment in a few days—Friday. So she'll be here then."
"Good to hear." I nodded as I stood up, grabbing the black diary off of the bean bag chair beside me, analyzing its condition for a few moments.
"Would you mind handing it to me next time?"
"Ahh, sorry." Mr. Ryujin already had his head in a romance novel, and his answer sounded somewhat dismissive. I think I'd just read the entries out loud instead of having Mr. Ryujin do so.
"Why's it so wet though?" The question pierced the quiet air.
My shoulders slugged as I approached the door. "I dropped it in a puddle. My sidewalks get pretty slippery after rainfall." I lied, and I didn't know why.
I didn't write down or comment on the disturbing images of cutting I saw in my dream, as I felt like they would arouse concern within Mr. Ryujin, a little more than I was comfortable with.
"See you later." I gave the man at the desk a small smile as I opened his office door and left.