Chapter 1 - The Wish No One Should Take Seriously

Rei Hoshizaki had what most people would politely call an unusual interest, although anyone who knew him well enough would probably describe it as something closer to an obsession that had long since crossed the boundary of normal hobbies and entered the territory of life philosophy.

The object of this fascination was something very specific.

Neko kanojo.

A phrase that could loosely be translated as “catgirl girlfriend,” but to Rei it carried far more meaning than such a simple explanation could ever convey.

To him, the concept of a neko kanojo represented the perfect balance between elegance, cuteness, unpredictability, and charm. The idea of someone with soft cat ears, a swaying tail, and the mysterious personality of a feline had captivated his imagination ever since he first encountered the archetype in anime years ago.

And unlike most people who simply enjoyed such characters casually, Rei had devoted an alarming amount of time to thinking about the subject.

If someone were to step into his bedroom without warning, the first thing they would notice would not be his desk, his bed, or even the window overlooking the quiet suburban street outside.

No.

What they would notice first were the posters.

Large posters of famous anime catgirls covered nearly every inch of the walls, each one carefully positioned so that none overlapped another, forming what Rei privately referred to as his “Hall of Cultural Appreciation.”

Below those posters were shelves.

And those shelves were filled with figurines.

Small ones.

Large ones.

Limited edition ones that Rei had saved money for months to purchase online.

Some of them were posed playfully.

Some looked shy.

Others wore confident smiles that seemed to say they understood exactly how much admiration they received from their devoted collector.

At the corner of Rei’s desk sat a thick notebook.

On the cover, written carefully in neat handwriting, were the words:

“The Evolution of the Neko Kanojo Archetype.”

Inside were pages upon pages of notes.

Observations about personality types.

Comparisons between fictional characters.

Even small diagrams that attempted to explain what Rei believed to be the ideal balance between human and feline traits.

To Rei, none of this was strange.

To everyone else…

It was extremely strange.

Which was exactly why his best friend Haruto Sakamoto was laughing at him in the school hallway the following morning.

“Hold on,” Haruto said, wiping tears from the corner of his eyes as he leaned against the row of metal lockers. “Tell me I’m seeing things.”

Rei paused in the middle of opening his locker and slowly turned his head.

“What do you mean?”

Haruto pointed dramatically.

“You brought the cat ears again.”

Rei looked down at the small black headband in his hands and frowned as if Haruto had just insulted something deeply important.

“It’s not just a headband.”

Haruto raised an eyebrow.

“Oh really?”

Rei placed the headband carefully inside his locker before turning back toward his friend with a completely serious expression.

“It’s a symbol of appreciation.”

For a moment, Haruto simply stared at him.

The hallway bustled with students arriving for the morning classes, lockers opening and closing with metallic clanks while conversations filled the air with the usual noise of a typical school day.

And in the middle of all of that, Haruto slowly shook his head.

“You know,” he said with absolute certainty, “you are never getting a girlfriend.”

Rei crossed his arms.

“I don’t need a normal girlfriend.”

Haruto tilted his head.

“Oh?”

Rei lifted his chin slightly, as if declaring something incredibly profound.

“What I need,” he said with unwavering confidence, “is a neko kanojo.”

There was a brief moment of silence.

Then Haruto exploded with laughter so loudly that several students walking past them turned around to see what was happening.

“You’re serious?!” Haruto gasped between breaths. “You’re actually serious about that?!”

Rei frowned.

“I don’t see why it’s funny.”

“Because they’re not real!” Haruto said, pointing both hands dramatically toward the sky as if presenting an obvious truth to the universe itself. “Catgirls are fictional! They exist in anime, games, and your extremely questionable imagination!”

Rei looked away thoughtfully.

“Reality,” he said quietly, “is simply limiting its own possibilities.”

Haruto covered his face.

“Bro.”

“What?”

“You need therapy.”

Rei chose not to respond.

Instead, he simply closed his locker and walked toward the classroom, though the conversation lingered in his mind long after Haruto’s laughter faded behind him.

Because even though he would never admit it out loud…

A small part of him knew Haruto was right.

After all, no matter how much he admired the idea of a neko kanojo, it was still nothing more than fantasy.

A fictional dream.

Something that existed only in stories and imagination.

At least…

That was what Rei believed.

Until later that evening.

Behind the school, hidden beyond a row of old trees and a narrow stone path that few students ever bothered to explore, stood a small shrine that had clearly been forgotten by time.

The wooden structure was weathered and slightly tilted to one side, its faded paint barely visible beneath layers of moss and age.

Most students ignored it entirely.

Some didn’t even know it existed.

But Rei had heard rumors.

Rumors that if someone made a wish at this shrine with genuine sincerity, the gods might actually hear it.

Normally, he would have dismissed such a story immediately.

But after the embarrassing events of that morning—and Haruto’s endless laughter—Rei found himself standing in front of the shrine as the evening sky slowly darkened.

The air was quiet.

A gentle breeze moved through the trees.

Rei clasped his hands together.

“This is probably ridiculous,” he muttered to himself.

Still, he closed his eyes.

“If there’s really a god listening…”

He hesitated for a moment, feeling slightly embarrassed even though no one else was there.

Then he said it.

“I want to meet a real neko kanojo.”

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Rei sighed.

“Yeah… I guess that was—”

The wind suddenly stopped.

Completely.

The silence that followed was so sudden and unnatural that Rei slowly opened one eye.

“…Uh.”

Standing in front of him was a man.

Actually, “standing” wasn’t quite the right word.

The man was floating several centimeters above the ground, his long robes moving gently as if stirred by an invisible breeze.

His eyes glowed faintly.

And the faint outline of something resembling divine symbols hovered around him like drifting sparks of light.

Rei blinked several times.

“This might be the weirdest hallucination I’ve ever had.”

The man sighed.

“You mortals always say that.”

Rei froze.

“…Wait.”

He pointed.

“You’re real?”

“Yes.”

“Like… an actual god?”

“Yes.”

Rei slowly pointed at himself.

“So if you’re a god…”

“Yes.”

“And you heard my wish…”

“Yes.”

The god smiled.

“Granted.”

Rei dropped to his knees.

“THAT WAS WAY TOO EASY.”

The god chuckled quietly.

“I enjoy entertaining requests from time to time.”

Then he raised a single finger.

“One girl in your school will become a neko kanojo.”

Rei gasped.

“Seriously?!”

“But,” the god continued calmly, “there are rules.”

A glowing symbol appeared in the air between them.

“Only you and the girl will know the truth.”

“To everyone else, she will appear completely normal.”

Rei nodded rapidly.

“That’s fine!”

“You must find her.”

“Of course!”

“And you must make her fall in love with you.”

Rei paused.

“…Wait.”

The god smiled in a way that felt slightly mischievous.

“You have one month.”

Before Rei could respond—

The god vanished.

The wind returned.

The shrine was silent once again.

Rei slowly looked around the empty space.

Then he placed a hand on his head.

“…I may have made a terrible mistake.