Nobody suspects a cat sitting on the floor besides a set of stairs of anything untoward.

  So the man I was observing didn't think anything was afoot even as he walked past me and towards the stairs. He was wearing sandals, as I had predicted due to the heat, and when he stepped on the sticky, nearly dried spilled sugary fruity drink, the sandal he was wearing stuck to it, not completely, but, just enough that he lost his footing.

  The next thing he did was attempt to grab onto the handrail, but I had already foreseen that he would try that, and so I had taken the opportunity to pee on the handrail.

  Now, it was also nearly dry due to the heat of the summer sun, and that meant, when his hand grabbed onto the rail, it didn't slide along it to slow down his fall down the stairs giving him a chance to catch himself, instead, in his panic he grabbed hard and thanks to how sticky it was, rather than stopping himself, he actually lost his balance even worse, ensuring that rather than falling forward and being able to put his arms in front of his face, his grip on the handrail would cause him to turn around.

  So the man spun as he fell and the back of his head impacted at the bottom of the steps.

  Six steps down of a fall, but in his own panic he had increased the velocity of the fall with his flailing, hitting the ground hard enough that he would not be surviving that.

  I licked my paws to get rid of the last remnants of the fruity drink I had spilled on the ground, and then departed. It took two attempts, a new record low for something this precise, and I'm impressed with myself, I must say.

  Thus, I completed my work and left, leaving him for the other afternoon park walker to discover him, always an important step to make sure someone was around to inform the authorities of an accident occurring in a public place where children could chance upon a dead body.

  I used my overpowered cat physique to take to the roofs to leave unseen, not that people overly cared what a cat was doing, and rapidly crossed them towards home at first, then remembering I had to go to school.

  As I walked, I thought about how things had changed since I had needed to create my human identity. To think there'd come a day where I would say that I prefer being a cat than having thumbs. Sure, they're useful for sure, allows me to get back to setting up accidents for assholes, but, humans lack the fluff and fur necessary to comfort girls in their time of need.

  Also I've found out I was always supposed to transform into a bigger form for combat. Apparently it's a common thing for guardian beasts like myself. I've found it unwieldy and its lack of agility problematic.

  On the other hand, it is absolutely a better form to serve as a hug pillow for a certain someone to use, and I suppose that is as worthy a purpose as one gets. Also my 'battle' form cleans way easier than my standby form's fur so also good for that.

  Marina and Reiko are growing up well. Though I had never intended to, I've had to take a more paternal position than I would've wished... with Reiko now joining Marina's class, they somehow combined their power to make me attend the sports festival, the first one since Reiko and Marina started attending the same class.

  A part of me does wish they weren't growing quite so well. Them attracting so many gazes is... convenient, if I say so, for hunting a certain kind of prey, but at the same time, I would gladly give up that convenience if it meant they didn't get pests and monsters like the one I had just slain after them.

  Once I was close enough to school, I jumped off the roof into the closest out of view alley and took the form I was used to. I don't know how exactly the thing with my clothes appearing as I take human form works, I only know that it does.

  With the old man's resources and using the power of Reiko's family name, I'd managed to give myself an identity as a wealthy mysterious man that existed and had enough power and influence that people didn't question me.

  The entrance to the school was open and being manned by a small group of students, with a teacher nearby supervising just for safety's sake, as the students simulated being in charge for the festival. They checked my ID and invitation to the festival, and I handed over a couple of bills in exchange for tickets.

  Fundraising. How quaint.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Once that was done, I was directed to Marina and Reiko's classroom, where they had set up a traditional themed café. Apparently, the theme was maids and butlers. I was glad to see that their work was paying off when I stepped in, dodging around the chaotic decorations of the school hallways, navigating it as easily as I ever did since I've been here a lot as a cat.

  I found their classroom, and after handing over my ticket, I was allowed into the 'café'. There was a hastily setup station in one of the corners of the classroom where they had a couple desks brought together to serve as a table where they had set up their coffee and snacks, which caught my eye as the light reflected off the metal surface of a thermos.

  However, one of the girls, dressed in a long black dress and a white apron, approached me. Marina's hair was longer and her headdress kept it in an unusual do, but she would still be Marina.

  "Kuro!" she said, a smile blossoming on her face as she almost ran towards me. These days the corners of her lips are curling up as they used to instead of that awkward stiffness. "You came!"

  I hummed. Talking was still not my favorite thing to do, so I nodded in response instead.

  "Come on- err, Master!" she said, correcting her tone, the exuberant demeanor being replaced by a slightly more controlled, more professional manner of speech. She couldn't quite manage sounding formal, mind you, but at least she tried. "Have a seat!"

  The chairs weren't really meant for adults to use them, neither were the desks, but I could manage as she guided me to what was two desks put together to simulate a table, with a sheet thrown over it. It was a little ramshackle but nobody expected café quality from students, and the parents around me were clearly enjoying being attended to by their own children. There were more girls than boys in Marina and Reiko's class, but there were more boys serving.

  Marina smiled brightly. "Coffee? Tea?" she asked.

  "Milk?" I more asked than ordered.

  She couldn't help the little laugh as she remembered after a few moments that despite what I may look like... I was still a cat. Not fond of coffee or tea, but milk, that was fine. Given I'd been lactose intolerant as a human, I am quite enjoying being able to drink milk again, which I hadn't since I was a child.

  "Hmm! Where's Reiko now... I told her-"

  "I'm right here."

  Reiko was not wearing a maid's outfit. In fact, due to class insistence, she had her dark hair tightly pulled together into a low ponytail, her makeup was simplified and understated, and she was given a butler's outfit. As she approached me and Marina, I swear I saw several of the girls in the classroom look at her with hearts in their eyes.

  She was growing taller faster than Marina, and now had about two fingers of height on her, which Marina was having trouble coping with.

  "Good afternoon, Master, how may we serve you?" Reiko asked, affecting a proper and professional tone, even executing a perfect vow, gloved hands at the ready as if to literally take my order.

  I reached to the top of my head and patted it. My instincts told me to bat her head, because every fiber of my being told me she was being a silly kitten that needed head bops, but thankfully my human thoughts were still functioning. Mostly.

  "Marina, don't you have to do the thing now?" Reiko asked, subtly nudging Marina with her elbow.

  "Oh right!" Marina said, "I'll be right back!"

  She turned around and zipped away so fast you'd think she was already transformed into her powered up form.

  Absent mindedly, I thought about the monsters they used to hunt so much. They never really completely stopped, but there was only one every couple of weeks these days, and it seemed like, almost as if it was a supernatural effect, people had almost entirely forgotten the events that had once shook the city to its core. With no scars to remember it by, and people's memories fading, only a vague idea of the magical girls' identities remained.

  That was all for the better. Reiko bought me a cup of warm milk and a tiny plate with some biscuits on it, and I took a sip of it, trying to fit in with the jovial atmosphere, while eating one of the snacks presented.

  It took a few minutes for both of them to return, and they called my attention.

  As I turned around, I realized Marina and Reiko were both carrying a small cake. The frosting was uneven, the sponge was a little misshapen and the characters on it were so shakily written with such uneven strokes that I couldn't read them.

  For some reason it looked like the single best cake I've ever seen in all my life.

  I looked at each of them, Reiko was blushing, embarrassed, casting her gaze aside, while Marina had an expectant face, her cheeks slightly pink. As they placed the cake on the makeshift table, Marina pulled a candle out of her apron's pocket and Reiko pulled a long kitchen use lighter from her pocket, lighting it as Marina placed it on the middle of the cake.

  "Heheh... it's been a year, you know!"

  A year?

  My confusion at Marina's words must've shown in my face, because Reiko explained.

  "Since... you and Marina moved home and... since you," Reiko's face went even redder, she looked aside.

  I was as confused as they came about what was going on, until it hit me.

  "Thank you, Dad!"

  It hit me like a truck.

  It was the first time I'd ever heard those words.

  And...

  I think I liked it.

  It was a good thing they already knew me to be a man of few words because I really was speechless, even as the students around us clapped as if to celebrate what they thought was a birthday.

  After all that had happened and all that would happen, these are the moments that make it all worth it. I think I get it now, what I've been missing.

  In my life I've had to deal with a lot of things, things I'd never wish on anyone. I've suffered, but... it's at times like now that I find myself thinking, if it was all to get here, it was worth it.

  The cake was delicious, too.