I am Fukuharu, cat and owner of Masato Keita.
My Keita is a wonderful person. He saved me many years ago and has been taking care of me since then. He's a quiet person who mostly likes to write and read. He also likes to spend time with me and he even gave me half of his bed. It's too bad that he, more often than not, doesn't come to bed until dawn. By that time, I'm usually awake and feel like playing with him. It's a sad thing really, but I like him too much to complain.
Our lives have been peaceful and happy... until recently. There is a new, strange person who has been lurking around our home.
Kurosawa Rintarou, this person, is always so cheerful and full of energy that it's giving me nausea. I bet he's annoying Keita as well. He's been muttering to himself more and more often these days. I'm sure that guy is the reason for it!
But what's even more worrisome is this person's true objective. I am now sure he is trying to steal my Keita! And his tactics are quite clever too. I must admit that for how dumb he appears to be, he can be quite smart.
First, it was bribery (granted it was delicious and I wanted more, but I still have my pride! I was onto you, you sly beast!).
Then, there were occasional visits and friendly chats. He also brought alcohol to the house! I bet his intentions were far from pure even then! He even found a way to infiltrate himself into our house, bringing with him reinforcements. Another sly move on his part.
That Yumi-chan was actually quite cute and well-behaved for a kid. She never raised her voice and she always played with me nicely. Hmph! Like I said, a clever move!
But I was still unconvinced that this person was well-suited for my Keita.
Afterwards, there was an increasing amount of skinship and stolen glances. I even saw him carrying my Keita to his bed one morning. And it wasn't just that one time either! It happened every morning while he stayed at our place. My Keita was even kind enough to give up his bed for him and that little girl and how does he repay him? By stealing him away, huh?!
No matter, I was careful to scratch his pants a few times while he wasn't looking. He won't even know what happened when he finds the holes. So evil of me!
Nowadays, I feel like something has changed between Keita and that person, though. Rintarou is spending every other night at our place. He even took my spot next to Keita on the bed! Also, there has been a lot of touching and physical contact happening between them.
Sometimes, they won't even allow me to enter the bedroom at night. During those times, weird sounds would come from inside the room, causing my fur to rise on end.
I bet that beast is doing something mean, bullying Keita, or else why would my delicate Keita be crying out like that?! Rintarou, you big brute!
Every time that happens, I decide to take revenge in the morning, but when the door opens and Keita comes out, he is always wearing a look of contentment.
When it was just the two of us living here I have never seen him looking this happy. It's like his entire face glows with radiance and even his eyes sparkle. And the smile curving his lips is so warm, like sun rays in spring. Truly a beautiful sight to behold!
Thus, I found it hard to punish that Rintarou guy. After all, he's making my Keita happy, so I guess I'll forgive him for how.
However, something else happened recently that is making me contemplate taking revenge again.
A week ago, Keita and I were brought to an unfamiliar place. It's a big traditional house, with a veranda going around the building. It even has a garden with a small pond at the back.
Just as I was admiring the place, thinking it was quite nice and scholarly, I was told by Keita that this would be our new home from now on.
Eeeh?! Excuse me, but what happened to our beautiful and peaceful apartment?! I liked it there! I didn't want to move from that place! Ever!
But I was a cat in the presence of humans, so my desperate meows were taken as exclamations of enthusiasm.
Where exactly can you see me being enthusiastic about this change?! What eye of yours is seeing that?! Tell me so I can poke it out at once! Except for Keita's, of course! Rintarou can do without them, though. Less chances of him gazing at my Keita in that sleazy and perverted manner.
However, to my horror, Keita was siding with that savage Rintarou and ignored my pleas.
It appeared that the house was something Rintarou's grandparents had left him before they died. It hadn't been used ever since then. Also, because it was very far from the city center it had been left unattended. It was also too big for just one single man. His sister didn't want it either, since she was living happily in a different house with her husband and daughter.
The house may have been somewhat problematic, but even so, I guess Rintarou couldn't bring himself to sell it either, since it was something his family left to him. So, he kept it. I guess that Rintarou can be quite sensitive sometimes too.
Thus, we all moved into the house with the garden. Rintarou made sure we had everything we needed. Keita was going to continue working from home as before, but he now had a beautiful patch of green in which to take a stroll and relax when he was tired.
Again, seeing his happy expression made it difficult for me to hate that Rintarou guy. I guess he wasn't that bad after all.
Well, that's where I was wrong, though! Because today he's done it again!
When he came home from work, he brought with him a present for my Keita.
Ah yes, I forgot to mention that today was his birthday. Since it was such a big day, I thought we would be celebrating like before: eating delicious food while spending time cuddling and playing together. But I guess since things have changed in our lives and there was now a Rintarou in the picture, that previous time of bliss would be just in my imagination.
Even so, all would have been well if not for the stupid present Rintarou brought home!
The cardboard box he carried inside was rather large and looked a bit heavy. When he placed it down, strange sounds came from inside. I felt a sudden premonition that it was going to be something bad, something hateful...
And sure enough, when Keita opened the box, a mass of white fluff emerged from inside, making all sorts of weird noises.
The creature whined and yelped and began to run around in circles until Keita finally caught it. It moved so fast that I couldn't even distinguish its shape properly through that massive layer of white fur. I could only see a pair of black, beady eyes, round ears and a curled tail that was wagging like crazy.
What was this odd-looking creature? That's what I wondered at that time, but now I wish I didn't know the answer.
"Look, Fukuharu." I heard Keita calling me. "This is Shiro and he's going to be our new family member. Make sure you play nicely with him."
The creature called Shiro was apparently a dog. He stared at me dumbly, with his tongue sliding out of his mouth, slimy drool dropping on the floor, and wagging his puffed-up tail. Truly disgusting! Where did Rintarou find such a hateful creature?!
But looking at them both, they quite resembled each other in a funny way. They had the same stupid look on their face.
Honestly, what exactly did my Keita see in this person?! There was nothing likable about him. He was loud when laughing and always ran about the house talking and chasing Keita wherever he went.
Moreover, the most hateful thing about him was that he always closed the bedroom door at night and rarely allowed me to sleep with them in the room. He does everything to monopolize my Keita!
But then again, I guess he does bring me treats from time to time. Also, he cooks good food and buys the best there is for me and Keita. And I guess he does play with me more often than not.
Hmpf! But I still won't approve! Bringing that Shiro into the house... He's just moving his troops to conquer more territory. I won't stand for it!
As a greeting, the dumb looking dog let out a woof and wagged his tail at me.
I simply swiped my claws at his face and ran away in a hurry. I wouldn't grace that stupid creature with even one glance!
Later, Keita and Rintarou's reaction.
"Rintarou, do you think it was a good idea to get a dog? Fukuharu doesn't seem too happy about it." Keita said while rubbing Shiro's white, silky fur.
"It's fine. They will get along well eventually. Look at us. Don't we get along perfectly now?" Rintarou replied with a smile.
He got closer and placed a tender kiss on Keita's forehead, while whispering softly.
"Just like we did, they will grow closer and closer, until they won't be able to live apart from each other."