Chapter 28

We spent some more time in the city. However, at around 4pm, we returned to the Academy. The others had some business to attend to. Kida was meeting some of our peers, for example. When she asked me whether or not I wanted to join her, I politely declined.

I decide to wander around the academy, aimlessly and without any proper goal in mind. However, soon enough, I do find something. On the lowest floor of the school I see Uyeno standing in front of some kind of board. Without thinking twice about it - motivated to step up the social game I previously judged myself harshly for - I approach her.

“Hey, Uyeno. What’s up?” She turns around quickly. She looks surprised as hell… Did I catch her off guard?
“O-oh! Isuri, it’s only you… Uhm… I’m currently looking at the tasks available for us students.”

Tasks? Oh, right. Something like that was mentioned… some time ago. “How exactly does that whole task thing work?”

“Uhm… So, basically… the military gives us some of their tasks or commissions if they deem them to be fitting for us… And we, as students, then fulfill them… Each student has to fulfill at least 3 tasks per month, but preferably more.”

No one told me anything the like and I am pretty glad that I talked to Uyeno. Otherwise I would not have fulfilled a single one.

“Found something yet?” I myself start looking at the tasks now as well. Might as well look for one if I’m already here.

“Uh… I-I don’t know… Most of these look pretty hard…” Many of those tasks have some kind of yokai as their target: Either hunting one or making one disappear in some other way is the kind of task that is most prominent on this board. Makes sense, though. That’s what this whole Academy is mostly for, is it not?

I quickly notice one task that seems far more easy than the rest. I take off the piece of paper and present it to Uyeno. She looks at its content.

“Please find my dear cat Hoshi.” Uyeno looks at the piece of paper with giant eyes. “Should be relatively easy, shouldn’t it?” I smile at her. She intensively nods and looks at me with big eyes. “Yes! Let’s find this cat!”

And thus the two of us go back into the city I just left. It was not my intention to do a task together with Uyeno but that’s the current situation. Also, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem either. After all this is an easy task on its own and doing it together should only make it easier. Additionally, the two of us can both claim a task at once. So this surprising turn of events might as well be one of the best possible scenarios.

We soon enough stand in front of a small home in a calmer area of the city. I - it’s only me due to Uyeno not having enough courage to do so - knock on its door. A bit of time passes and it opens. A sweet old lady reveals herself. “Eh? What arya doin ere, aye?”

Yikes.

I look at Uyeno and thus confirm that she does not want to talk once more. Well, okay. “Excuse me, Miss, but we are here for the task of finding your cat.”

“Aye? Who you talm bout, eh?”

“Uhhh… Your cat! You said it vanished and you can’t find it, don’t you remember?”

“Iunno no cat, aye!”

Uyeno says something now: “Hoshi!”

“The single name of the cat was seemingly enough to remember the confused elderly woman of the task she herself had given us.

“Aye! Poor Hoshi is missing and Iunno where he is! I’m worried I tellya!”

“Where did you last see Hoshi?” From this point on I take the speaker role from Uyeno again. She is simply standing next to me quietly.

“I was takin Hoshi ona walk! Around the streets ere, that is!”

I nod. “When was that? Oh, and do you have a picture of him?”

The old woman slowly turns around and then goes back into her home. We wait for a few moments, then she comes back. She hands us a small photo of the cat.

“Okay… Don’t you worry! We will find Hoshi and bring him back soon enough!”

Thus, we walk around the streets.

“Uh… I know I just said that we’ll easily find Hoshi but… I actually have no idea how we’ll find them.”

Uyeno smiles a bit. “Don’t worry! I’ve got a plan!” After some time we find a group of stray cats. And - as if there was no problem at all - Uyeno makes her bow of pink matter appear. Before I realize her plan she shoots an arrow on the cats. They instantly flee the scene, yet one remains: The one that was hit by the arrow.

Uyeno kneels down and caresses the cat a bit. “Aren’t you cute? Uhm, I need your help.” Uyeno shows the cat the picture of Hoshi. “We are searching for this cat. Do you have any idea where he is?” The cat looks at Uyeno with big eyes, then it meows, turns around multiple times and then runs off into one direction.

“Didn’t work?” Uyeno shakes her head. “No, it did!” And then she runs after the cat. I nod and also follow her then.

Soon enough we arrive in some sort of dark alleyway. The cat that was charmed by Uyeno stands there, in front of a manhole on the ground.

“Don’t tell me it’s in there… We won’t go in there, right? The cat probably has no idea where Hoshi is!” I look at the manhole in shock, then I look at Uyeno.

Uyeno looks determined. I have never seen her like this - and never would have thought to see her like this.