Chapter 2 Tom's First Battle!
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Hearing what Elric said, Ryuunosuke froze, clearly startled. Something felt off about the situation. Most people, when catching someone in the act of picking their lock, would typically ask, "Who the hell are you?" Then, they'd yell at the person to leave before calling the police.
That's how it should go in a normal scenario. But this time... something was different. Could this guy also be in the same line of work? But there weren't any signs of the lock being tampered with before...
Ryuunosuke quickly began assessing the situation, trying to figure out what was happening.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Tom heard Elric's command to tie up the intruder. He paused, pointing at himself, then at Ryuunosuke—who was almost three times taller than him—as if to say, Are you sure I can handle this guy with my small body?
Elric didn't say a word, only giving Tom a confident thumbs-up.
Seeing this, Tom swallowed nervously but didn't back down. Despite his apparent panic, he set aside his National Mouse-Catching Champion trophy, reached behind his back, and pulled out a noose seemingly out of nowhere.
Gripping one end of the rope with his left hand, Tom began swinging the noose with his right, the motion growing faster and faster until it left behind an afterimage.
"Huh? You're not really going to sic this cat on me, are you? Hahaha…" Ryuunosuke started to laugh mockingly, but midway through, his voice faltered as he truly processed the situation. He stared at Tom in disbelief. "Wait… this thing is a cat?!"
Tom, unfazed, swung the rope until it reached an ideal speed, then hurled it at Ryuunosuke.
The rope, initially no more than a meter long, seemed to defy all laws of physics as it extended mid-flight, shooting toward Ryuunosuke like a homing missile. The distance between them was at least six meters, but the rope closed the gap effortlessly.
Although Ryuunosuke had no idea what was happening, his instincts kicked in. He leapt to the side, narrowly dodging the noose. The movement was smooth and confident, almost too easy.
But just as Ryuunosuke began to relax, his pupils contracted in shock.
The noose hadn't fallen to the ground after missing him. Instead, it floated mid-air, completely defying gravity, as if Newton's laws had never existed.
And then, the impossible happened. After hovering for barely two seconds, the noose abruptly shifted direction at a perfect right angle and zoomed toward Ryuunosuke's new position with unnerving precision—more accurate than any guided missile.
"Damn it!" Ryuunosuke muttered, but it was too late to react. The sudden shift in momentum had left him off-balance, and the inertia froze him for a split second. That split second was all the noose needed.
The rope looped itself around Ryunosuke's neck and body with precision, trapping his arms against his sides.
But it didn't stop there. The rope continued moving in an otherworldly manner, twisting and looping around Ryuunosuke in increasingly bizarre ways until it finally tied itself into a neat bow.
The entire process seemed like a mockery of physics. Somewhere, Newton's ghost was probably rolling in his grave.
Now bound tightly, Ryuunosuke looked like a neatly wrapped dumpling. He couldn't move anything except his calves, and even that was restricted to the smallest of motions.
Ryuunosuke's mind raced as he tried to comprehend the supernatural scene he'd just witnessed. When the rope had initially been thrown, it was barely a meter long. How had it extended, tracked him down, and tied him up all on its own?
"Nice, Tom! Well done!" Elric shouted in excitement, watching the cat incapacitate Ryunosuke in mere seconds. But before he could finish his praise, a slight disturbance in the room made him pause.
When faced with something beyond his understanding, Ryunosuke subconsciously took a small step back.
This seemingly minor movement caused an unexpected reaction. Tom, who was gripping the rope tightly, was dragged forward a full meter toward Ryuunosuke!
Despite planting both feet firmly on the floor in an attempt to brake, Tom's efforts were futile. His feet left two deep, one-meter-long grooves in the wooden floor as he was helplessly pulled forward.
It wasn't until Tom was dragged to the corridor connecting the entrance to the living room that he managed to stop himself. He did this by bracing his feet against both sides of the doorway.
The scene left not just Elric stunned, but Ryuunosuke as well. Ryuunosuke looked at Tom in disbelief. The sight of this blue upright cat—over a meter tall—being pulled so easily, along with the gouges left in the floor, was mind-boggling. All of this had happened from just a half-step retreat, a movement of no more than ten centimeters.
"Huh? Am I really that strong?!" Ryuunosuke exclaimed, his initial fear giving way to bewilderment.
He had been sure he was facing some kind of supernatural event and that he would meet his end here. But now, realizing he could effortlessly overpower Tom, his courage began to swell.
Testing his theory, Ryuunosuke took another step back, exactly as he had before.
The result was the same. Despite Tom bracing himself against the wall, Ryuunosuke felt no resistance as he moved. Tom, on the other hand, was pulled another meter forward, his feet sliding along the floor. To Ryuunosuke, it was as if the cat was nothing more than a powerless, helpless creature.
After confirming this once again, Ryuunosuke's confidence surged completely.
He finally understood: while the upright blue cat named Tom might look strange, it was clear that Tom's strength was no match for his own.
As long as he could pull Tom close enough, Ryuunosuke was confident the fight would end with a decisive headbutt.
Tom, now only two meters away, found himself being dragged closer and closer. Despite his feet remaining firmly planted at the edge of the corridor, his body was continuously pulled forward.
At this point, the distance between Ryuunosuke and Tom had shrunk to about two meters. Another small pull would bring Tom directly into Ryuunosuke's striking range.
Sensing the critical moment approaching, Tom suddenly released his grip on the rope with his right hand. Without hesitation, he reached back into the room and retrieved a stick roughly as thick and long as his wrist.
Ryuunosuke couldn't help but blink in confusion. He had no idea where Tom had pulled the stick from. But, unfazed, he remained confident.
What can this weak little cat do with a stick? Ryunosuke thought. Even if he manages to hit me, it'll feel like a baby's punch. And before that happens, I'll finish this with a single headbutt.
With renewed determination, Ryuunosuke took one final half-step back, pulling Tom even closer. Now they were face-to-face, less than half a meter apart.
At this distance, it was clear that only two outcomes were possible: either they would fight, or one of them would surrender.
In that moment, Ryuunosuke and Tom resembled two gunslingers in a classic Western standoff. Their eyes locked, the tension between them palpable.
And then, after a brief stalemate, both moved at the same time.
Ryuunosuke bent his knees and launched himself forward, putting all his strength into a powerful headbutt aimed at Tom.
However, to his surprise, Tom didn't swing the stick as he expected. Instead, Tom raised it and held it steady, hovering about ten centimeters above Ryuunosuke's head.
Ryuunosuke hesitated, confused. What is he doing? Has he given up?
But as Ryuunosuke questioned Tom's intentions, the cat made his move.
Without shifting his wrist or even exerting much effort, Tom brought the stick down in a smooth arc, striking Ryuunosuke square on the head.
"BANG!!!!!!"