The first sense to return was hearing. The steady click of leather shoes, the sound of breathing, the faint rustle of fabric brushing together—each sound layered atop the next, one after another. His ears twitched instinctively.
Next came touch. Sensation crept back into his body at a sluggish pace. The back of his neck throbbed with an odd stiffness, and his legs dangled freely. It felt exactly like someone had grabbed him by the scruff and was carrying him around.
Then came scent—the faint aroma of wood mingled with a sharp, almost overpowering rose fragrance that pierced his nose. His hazy vision slowly began to sharpen.
The floor was moving. Still foggy-headed, he stared blankly down at it.
“He’s not sick, is he?”
“No, he’s perfectly fine.”
“Good. Diana likes cats, so just toss him somewhere. Anywhere, as long as I don’t have to see him.”
“Understood.”
What the hell were they talking about? He blinked, trying to make sense of it. Then, with a sudden bang, the door burst open—and his body lifted off the ground.
No, he was being thrown.
His instincts kicked in. He twisted midair, landing smoothly on the wooden floor. He’d never felt so light in his life. As he pushed down with his legs, his agile body landed with feline precision.
“KYAAAH!”
He screamed at the person who had thrown him. But the only response was the loud slam of the door shutting in his face.
Darkness swallowed him in an instant. He was left alone in a dim, silent room with only a sliver of light leaking in.
Too distracted to notice, he didn’t even realize the strange noise that had slipped from his mouth in place of words.
What the hell is going on?
His mouth opened and closed silently, like a fish gasping for air.
Let’s recap: he’d woken up mid-transit, someone had been carrying him, he’d been tossed like garbage, and now he was locked in some unfamiliar room.
A kidnapping? Based on the situation, that seemed like the most plausible explanation. He quickly turned his head and scanned the room. Even with the dim lighting, the faint glow was enough to make out his surroundings. The dusty air and the random assortment of clutter suggested this was an unused storage room.
And something felt seriously off.
Everything’s… way too big.
The boxes, the shelves, even the door that blocked his path—they were all enormous. So tall, he had to crane his neck just to see the top. It felt like he’d been dropped into a world of giants.
And the moment he looked down, the truth hit him like a brick.
Nothing had grown larger—he had shrunk.
“…Mya?”
Scruffy, tan-colored fur. A white paw dusted with grime. Soft, pink toe beans. Sharp claws that slid out when he flexed. This… this was a cat. Without a doubt, he was looking at a cat’s body.
“Myaaaowk…!”
He let out a panicked scream, but all that came out was an adorable mewl.
What the hell?! Why the hell was he a cat now?!
No—this had to be a dream. A hallucination. Anything but real. Clinging to that thought, he shut his eyes tightly and opened them again. Tried pressing his paw against the wall. Even worked up the nerve to bash his head against it. Nothing changed. All he got was pain.
Ah… aaah… A long, hopeless sigh escaped him as the last shred of hope slipped away. His pitiful cry echoed thinly in the quiet room.
At least let me talk, damn it!
***
His thoughts were spiraling, and his tail began thumping against the floor of its own accord. The puff of dust it kicked up tickled his nose. Achoo! He shook his head violently as he sneezed.
Alright. This wasn’t a dream.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but it hadn’t been short.
He’d tried forcing himself to sleep, but he hadn’t woken up. He was still trapped inside the same cramped storage room. At some point, he found himself anxiously licking his front paw, only to snap out of it in horror.
Damn it.
It was like his instincts had been burned into his new body. The more his thoughts raced, the more his body moved on its own. He felt like he was slowly, inevitably being absorbed into this cat form. The thought was unsettling.
To shake the feeling, he forced himself to think logically. What had he been doing before waking up here?
Nothing out of the ordinary, I think…
He’d gotten up early to get ready for work, pushed through crowds to get to the office, drowned in overtime, and only managed to leave late at night.
Then he’d passed out while scrolling on his phone—just like every other night. He was pretty sure that was how it had gone down.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a reason. Not even a clue. Frustration clouded his mind.
Suddenly, his ears twitched. Footsteps.
He sensed someone approaching from far off. The presence grew closer and closer until—
With a loud creak, the stubborn wooden door finally swung open.
A flood of backlight poured in, blinding him.
Startled, he instinctively squeezed his eyes shut. And in that moment, someone grabbed him by the scruff again.
His legs dangled helplessly in midair.
Still not used to being in a cat’s body, he couldn’t even react properly. All he could do was cry out at the top of his lungs, demanding to be put down.
“Myaaaak!! Myaooowrk! Mrrrgh!”
“Ugh, what kind of cat is this aggressive? He’s not gonna throw a fit during the bath too, is he? Ugh, maybe I should’ve dumped this on Lina instead…”
Bath?
He squirmed in protest against the woman’s completely inconsiderate grip, but the moment she mentioned bathing him, he went still and quickly decided to let her do as she pleased.
“…What the—why’d he suddenly go quiet?”
The woman muttered, puzzled. But apparently figuring it was better not to question a good thing, she picked up the pace and hurried along.
Dangling from her hand, he couldn’t help but recall the filthy state he’d seen himself in even back in that dark storage room. His fur was a grimy mess, matted with oil and dirt like some alley stray. After rolling around inside the dusty warehouse, he was covered in a fine layer of filth too. When he’d pressed his nose to his body earlier, the stench had been strong enough to make his head spin.
Cats hate water?
Yeah, no. Just because he was stuck in a cat’s body didn’t mean he’d thrown away his human pride. And human dignity meant basic hygiene.
He was disgusted to his core but had no means to clean himself, so he’d gritted his teeth and endured—until now. If someone was offering to bathe him? Hell yes. He was all in. Time to behave.
Or… that was the plan.
Until everything fell apart.
***
“AEEEOOOOOWWWW!!”
“Kyaaah! Emma! I told you to hold him tighter!”
“I am trying! But he keeps slipping out! And where the hell are you aiming that water?! I’m soaked over here!”
Total chaos.
The sharp screeching of a furious cat mixed with two women’s shrieks echoed off the bathroom walls in a full-blown mess.
Originally, Emma had intended to bathe the cat by herself. But after a few miserable failures, she flagged down Marie, who happened to be passing by. There was no way she could handle this alone.
The cat that had seemed so docile moments ago turned into a wild beast the second the water touched him. It was like he’d been electrocuted—he leapt into the air as if on fire.
They tried to hold him down, but he was too fast, too slippery. All they managed to do was get themselves soaked chasing him around.
And even when they managed to catch him? The moment they tried to pour water or lather him with soap, he escaped like smoke between their fingers.
Thinking two would be better than one, she’d called for help—but it hadn’t made things better. It had made everything worse. Now Marie looked like a drowned rat, soaked to the bone and trembling with frustration.
Why did the Marquess bring something like this here, of all things?
It’s not like he’d ever shown any interest in animals. In fact, everyone at the estate knew how much he hated unclean things. But out of nowhere, he’d brought home a filthy stray cat and ordered them to clean it up like it was some noble guest.
Marie had signed up to serve nobles, not do animal clean-up duty. The injustice of it all made her eyes well up with tears.
It has to be because of that woman…!
The priestess who’d recently started visiting the Marquess’s estate regularly—she was so breathtakingly beautiful, no one could forget her.
Everyone in the manor already knew: Marquess Marilon had fallen for her at first sight and was shamelessly courting her. Maybe she liked cats? Was that it?
Emma, now thoroughly miserable, scrubbed at the cat’s yellow fur even harder. At this rate, she never wanted to see another feline again.
But hold on—was anyone going to ask his opinion on this?
When he’d first seen the basin full of water, he hadn’t thought much of it. Maybe just a vague, ‘Eh, doesn’t seem so bad.’
He hated to admit it, but sometimes his body moved on its own, driven by instinct. He was actually a little worried—what if the sight of water triggered something and made him panic?
But nope, he was fine. Right up until the moment the woman dumped the entire basin of water straight over his head without a word of warning.
“KYAOOOOWWW!!!”
