The Tanaka Family Reincarnates - Chapter 15
Author’s note: It’s a story about a past life dream.
Chapter 15 – Koumei-san
Emma’s POV
That night, I dreamt of when I was still Minato.
Maybe it’s because I had been thinking of cats all day, I dreamt of when Minato was little.
The cat ‘Minato’ kept in her childhood was a calico cat, Koumei-san. It was the same age as my older brother, so it was a cat that was older than me and Peita.
Whenever I returned home from elementary school, it would lie down at the house gate to welcome me. When I said, “I’m home~” it would move its one ear as a greeting. After that, it would ignore me.
But whenever I got into an argument at school or had a hard time, I couldn’t say if it understood, but it would give me a “Meow~”.
That’s right, at difficult times like these, Koumei-san was there. It was forbidden to keep pets in the house, so I went out to the garden and cried next to the soundly sleeping Koumei-san.
‘Minato’ hated school. When I think about it now, it wasn’t like I was bullied, or I had no friends. I just really hated it.
I was scared of various things. The playground equipment at school, dodgeball during breaks, the Labrador Retriever, Love, I passed on the way to school, everything was scary.
Being afraid of things that ordinary children found fun, I couldn’t do anything well.
???
‘Minato’ was crying in the dream.
I wasn’t crying in the garden, and there was no Koumei beside me. I was crying alone in a forest that I was forbidden to enter because it’s dangerous.
……I remembered. On this day, as I was on the way home from school, Love, who was usually leashed, slipped out and ran towards me.
The dog was probably saying, “Play with me~!” while running excitedly to me, but I frantically ran away. Because the area was too rural, I didn’t meet anyone on the road to ask for help.
I ran and ran. Sometimes I was caught and jumped away, then I ran away again, but when I entered the forest, the dog didn’t come chasing after me.
The whole time after that, I was so scared that I couldn’t move. As I lay crying with big sobs, it was getting darker and darker. The light penetrating through the forest gradually disappeared, but I just couldn’t move.
If I got out of the forest, the dog might chase me again, but the forest itself was already scary. I also didn’t know how to go home. I had run to the forest in a panic, so I didn’t know where I was right now, I didn’t even know where the exit was.
I was scared and afraid, and I couldn’t muster any strength in my legs. Tears overflowed and blurred my vision.
I could only cry.
I was anxious, scared, fearful, and at that time.
“Aaoo”
“Aaoo”
There was a cat’s cry[1].
“Aaoo”
“Aaoo”
[T/N 1: The sound may be described as a yowl, example here: howl and yowl. See number 7 on the list.]
It sounded like the cry of a mother cat looking for her kitten.
The crying sound was gradually approaching.
I would tremble if it were signs of a dog, but I love cats. Moreover, this voice is…
“Meow~”
When I heard a meow nearby and lifted my crying face…
The calico cat, Koumei-san, appeared before me.
“……Koumei-san?”
“Meow~!”
“Did you come to pick me up?”
“Meow~!”
Koumei-san, who usually hated hugs, jumped into my lap and licked my tearful face…
*lick* *lick*
A cat’s tongue is rough, so it kinda hurt, but I laughed softly. I like cats. And I liked Koumei-san very much.
“Thank you, Koumei-san.“
It felt like laughter and energy came back to the anxious, scared, and hopeless me.
“Meow”
Koumei-san separated himself from me and began to walk away.
As if to say ‘follow me’, Koumei-san walked, looked back to confirm I was still there, then walked again.
Even though I had been so scared that I couldn’t move, now I was alright.
I wiped my tears and stood up, then followed behind Koumei-san.
Without getting lost, Koumei-san navigated through the forest and came out to a street that I knew.
The dog who had chased me until I entered the forest was also gone.
Even the dim road couldn’t scare me since I was with Koumei-san.
When I got home safely, Mom only said, “You’re late today.”
Even though I just had that scary experience and felt like I just finished a little adventure, I was disappointed[2].
[T/N 2: disappointed that her mother’s reaction was only that]
At dinner that day, my older brother Wataru told a shocking truth.
“Today… Koumei-san fought with the Labrador Love.”
“Eehh?!”
The whole family exclaimed in surprise. Koumei-san, an ordinary calico cat, and Love, a Labrador Retriever… There was a considerable gap between them, just judging by their physiques alone.
“Is Koumei-san alright?”
Peita said anxiously.
Wataru made a serious face…
“Koumei-san… had an overwhelming victory over Love…”
Love literally tucked its tail and ran away.
“Eehh?!”
The entire family exclaimed again.
“Now that you mention it, Koumei-san is the boss cat around here…”
“Love is a pet dog… but Koumei-san grew up half-stray…”
“Koumei-san, amazing!!”
Only I chuckled in my heart as the family expressed their surprise and praise to Koumei-san.
To think that Koumei-san took down my enemy for me…
After that, when Love met not just Koumei-san but also me, it would start running away with its tail between its legs.
???
Author’s note: The three siblings call Koumei with the honorific ‘-san’