Purr, purr, purr...

  ---

  Amashiro was feeling somewhat bewildered.

  A cat beastman had suddenly appeared claiming to be the reincarnation of his late eldest cat, Rashion. He'd confirmed it was true and clung to him while sobbing. In Rashion's large embrace as he gently returned the hug, Amashiro kept crying, oblivious to how his tears were soaking the chest of Rashion's clothes.

  After crying for a while, he thought he'd finally stopped the tears and regained his composure—

  Lick.

  "Gah!"

  Rashion was licking Amashiro's tear-stained face with his tongue (which, being a cat's tongue, was quite prickly), then rubbing his forehead against Amashiro's face while purring even louder.

  This too was exactly what Rashion used to do when he was alive—when he felt good or happy.

  For a cat, this might be normal behavior toward their owner or someone they trusted, but the fact that he did it so naturally to Amashiro specifically meant this could only be Rashion. That's what Amashiro thought, but... isn't this visually a bit problematic? The joy he'd felt moments ago was now shifting into helpless confusion.

  Besides, when Rashion was alive, he'd been a rather large, fat cat, so this forehead rubbing came with enough pressure to push Amashiro back—but now that he was in this beastman form, bigger than Amashiro himself, the impact was intense, or rather, well...

  Rub.

  "Look, I get how you feel, but in that form, that's... whoa, not the mouth!"

  Normal cats rub their mouths—or rather, their lips—against things they're attached to, trying to spread their scent.

  But Rashion right now was a beastman—in other words, he looked essentially human.

  Which meant...

  "That's a kiss!"

  Amashiro desperately tried to push away Rashion's mouth.

  "Is that not allowed?"

  "Of course not! I don't know how ethics work where you're from, but... adult men rubbing mouths together is... problematic in so many ways, normally!"

  Smirk.

  "I thought so."

  "What?"

  "I know that much."

  "You...!"

  Just as irritation started to rise, Amashiro noticed something.

  Did he just... smile? Wait, what?

  Come to think of it, he'd immediately recognized it was Rashion's face from when he was alive, but looking closer, didn't the skull structure seem somewhat closer to a human's?

  Well, since his body was close to human, it wouldn't be impossible for the skull structure to change slightly to match. That said, it wasn't some grotesque form like a human head with cat makeup (a certain famous musical's Hollywood film adaptation got heavily criticized for exactly that), but rather like a normal cat's head where the brain had enlarged, making the forehead, crown, and back of the head appear swollen overall. Or perhaps the jaw and chewing muscles had changed slightly?

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  ...Or so he thought, but Amashiro, not being a biologist, had no way to accurately assess this.

  Anyway, that didn't matter right now. First, he needed to ask why Rashion had returned in this form and where he'd been all this time.

  "...I have a lot of questions, but sitting on the floor like this is, well, you know. Have a seat on the sofa. I'll get us something to drink.

  What would you like? Coffee? Tea? No, caffeine's probably bad. I have juice too, but... orange-based might be a problem with the smell."

  "Actually, more than any of that..."

  Looking somewhat awkward, Rashion glanced toward something.

  "Chu-ru?"

  Gulp.

  There, scattered on the floor from the eco-bag Amashiro had dropped earlier, were those famous treats beloved by felines—the ones whose brand name we can't quite mention for trademark reasons.

  ---

  "Ahhh... this is it, this right here... I've spent my entire life longing for this taste."

  The other cats had somehow emerged into the living room and were relaxing near Amashiro and Rashion as if it were the most natural thing. Alongside them, Rashion was savoring one of those "lickable" treats, his face full of deep emotion.

  There was something quite comical about this tall, well-built figure—the very picture of "masculine beauty"—licking a tiny treat stick.

  "Isn't that a bit dramatic over one little snack?"

  At Amashiro's inadvertent comment, Rashion's brow furrowed.

  "Just a snack? Even from Father, I cannot let that pass."

  "...Huh?"

  "You, as a human, cannot comprehend how much influence this flavor has over us Felinoid (cat beastmen) and our subspecies."

  "Feli... what?"

  In this already incomprehensible situation, yet another confusing term had emerged.

  "Ah, that's what we call the species that cats reincarnate into."

  "Reincarnate... Wait, you didn't become a bakeneko?"

  Amashiro had always told his beloved cats, including Rashion, that he hoped they'd become nekomata, so when Rashion appeared in this form, he'd naturally assumed he was a nekomata or bakeneko... well, for a Japanese person's common sense, that would be more normal than thinking "beastman."

  "I just told you—I reincarnated as a Felinoid. Don't go treating people like monsters with your 'bakeneko' this and that."

  "No, but reincarnation... what? Even so, something's off. Today is your first anniversary. You became this impressive adult in just one year?"

  "Oh? Has it only been a year?"

  "What..."

  He'd felt something was off, but was this it?

  "Just to be sure—how old are you now?"

  Amashiro asked cautiously.

  He had a feeling he was about to hear something outrageous.

  "Me? This year I'm... 70 years old."

  Pfft!

  Amashiro sprayed spectacularly.

  "Gross! What's with you all of a sudden, Father?"

  Rashion said casually, which only irritated Amashiro more.

  "Because it's only been ONE YEAR since you left my side! What's this about 70 years old?! Are you a senior citizen older than me?!"

  So that was the source of that subtle discomfort Amashiro had been feeling.

  He was actually older?

  "Older than me... should I be using honorifics?"

  At Amashiro's muttered words, Rashion responded with an exasperated look.

  "'Senior citizen,' 'older'—please stop. I'm still a young man, thank you very much."

  "Ah, so you ARE a yōkai."

  "I'm not."

  Rashion answered firmly while tearing open another treat stick.

  Before he knew it, six or seven empty sticks were neatly arranged on the table in front of Rashion, and around him, Norgaar and the others were meowing loudly, as if saying, 'You're not eating them all yourself! Give us some too!'

  "Now, now, overeating isn't good for you."

  Watching Rashion pacify his younger siblings, Amashiro couldn't shake a feeling like he was witnessing something enchanting. However, Rashion in his beastman form was exactly the personality Amashiro had always wished his cat would have—which was heartwarming, or happy, or some indescribable feeling—but there was a more pressing issue.

  "So where have you been living for those 70 years? With that much time, you could've come to see me a bit sooner..."

  He trailed off, confused about what he was even saying.

  Aging 70 years in one year—did that mean he'd gone back in time?

  As Amashiro pondered this, Rashion casually answered.

  "Ah, right, I haven't mentioned that yet."

  "Mentioned what?"

  "Actually, I'm not from this world."

  "I knew it—the yōkai realm!"

  "No! Who's a bakeneko?!

  I just reincarnated on a slightly distant planet!"

  At this sudden declaration, Amashiro's mind couldn't keep up. His eyes went blank.

  "...I'm sorry, what?"

  "Weren't you listening? I reincarnated on a slightly distant planet."

  "And here come the aliens!"

  While such an outrageous statement was being made so casually, Amashiro barely managed to hold onto his sanity.

  It was already preposterous that his late cat had reincarnated as a beastman, but now he's an alien?

  'That's way too many plot points! You hack writer!'

  ...While Amashiro unleashed his displaced anger, Rashion slowly, elegantly tore open yet another treat stick.