Kobayashi Rinka had a Siamese cat named Zero.
It was clever, cute, and brave, one of the few sources of warmth in her life of more than a decade.
But lately, Kobayashi Rinka had been a little troubled. Her cat adored the police officers who had rescued it from the scene of an explosion, and kept taking her to run into them in different places.
Later, it also took a liking to a kind, handsome waiter at a cafe, and kept sneaking off to his workplace.
The waiter seemed to like it too. But why did he always look a little strange whenever he heard Zero's name?
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My name is Zero, and I'm a Siamese cat.
Ever since I first opened my eyes, I've been passed from one human home to another. People always get cats on a whim, then, once they lose interest, send them away without a second thought. In the end, they abandon them.
Until I met them.
They picked me up from beside a trash can in the pouring rain, took me home, healed my wounds, and gave me the last name I would have in this life.
This house isn't as big as the ones I used to live in. There's another animal here besides me, a stupid dog called Haro, who smears my face with drool every day. The name they gave me was so thoughtless. Why do I have the same name as the male owner, who doesn't have a single white hair on his whole body? Why...
Fine, I admit it. I like it here.
The female owner holds me gently and tells me stories. She even cuddles me and the stupid dog while we sleep, though the male owner always picks me up and throws me out of the room.
But the male owner makes me delicious-smelling food, something different every day. Oh, and he buys me toys and treats too.
He tells me stories as well, but not as well as the female owner. That's because he always smells bitter when he tells them. The female owner says it's because the main characters in the stories were his friends, and they're all dead now. She shows me something called "photographs," but those people are still right there in them, aren't they?
Dead? What does that mean? Cats don't understand, but it definitely doesn't sound tasty.
They also take me and the stupid dog to some big stones and put flowers there. Whenever they do, both of them turn bitter.
I think I'll never die. I'm not going to be a bad cat and make my owners sad.
But in the end, I think I became a bad cat after all.
My body suddenly started hurting so much. I saw her holding me, and the drops falling from her eyes landed in my mouth. They were salty and bitter.
I'm sorry, Mom and Dad, and you too, stupid dog.
If I can be your cat again, I promise I won't be so mean to you like I was at first.
I closed my eyes.
I opened them again.
I had become a very, very tiny kitten. I saw Mom again.
But Mom didn't seem to remember me.
That's okay. As long as I remember you.
I also saw the people in the photographs. Now I understand what "dead" means, so let Cat Hero save you all!
I also saw Dad and the stupid dog, but why doesn't Dad go by "Zero" anymore? Well, that's okay too.
From now on, when Mom says "Zero," she'll mean me and only me.
Yay!
Theme: We should care for animals
