Tanimaki Learns Massage (Part 4)

“Hey, how about learning massage, sir? I’ll teach you for free. It’d be a waste to let talent like yours go unused~.”

Tark offered to teach Tanimaki the art of massage.

“Very well, meow. Teach me.”

And so, completely out of the blue, Tanimaki began learning the art of massage.

“A masseur’s heart is a cat’s heart,” Tark said.

“A masseur’s heart is a cat’s heart, meow.”

“Rub away, and some kinda fountain springs forth.”

“Rub away, and some kinda fountain springs forth, meow.”

Tanimaki repeated Tark’s words as he kneaded a pillow.

“What really matters is caring about the one you’re massaging~. Technique alone isn’t enough~.”

After saying this, Tark drilled the secrets of massage into Tanimaki in just three hours. He even gave him, as a special gift, a copy of the massage guidebook he had published himself.

Tanimaki emerged from the private room looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

“You sure took your time, Tanimaki,” Debiru said.

In the lobby, Debiru, Mayutan, and Mashu were relaxing with glasses of Matatabi Water. A faintly sweet fragrance filled the air.

“Mayutan, your shoulders have been pretty stiff, haven’t they, meow?”

“Yeah. My shoulders have been rock-hard for ages... I got a massage earlier, but there’s still a little stiffness left.”

“Nya-fu-fu-fu. Wanna see what I can do, meow?”

With that, Tanimaki placed his paws on Mayutan’s shoulders.

“A masseur’s heart is a cat’s heart. Rub away, and some kinda fountain springs forth, meow!”

Mayutan gave him a dubious look, but the very next moment—

“N-no way... That stubborn stiffness... it’s completely gone!”

Mayutan’s eyes widened. His mouth fell open as he stared at Tanimaki.

“Nya-fu-fu-fu.”

Tanimaki had a thought.

Maybe, with this massage technique, he could actually help someone.

—45 days until Tanimaki’s death—