“I… HATE HIM!!!”

I…

I expected that…

I really did, but…

Even so, those words stabbed me like a poisoned dagger.

How long has it been?

I remember we had a dispute over something incredibly petty…

And afterwards, it felt awkward to visit her again…

I knew I should have gone and made up with her, but I kept delaying it…

I was finally forced to go by my girlfriend at the time.

She went with me to encourage me.

But for some reason, Nina seemed even angrier than before and threw us out.

I gave up on her that time, simply because I didn’t know the reason for her anger.

But now I get it…

She got mad because I brought my girlfriend with me.

She was jealous.

Something like ‘he gets to hang out with girls while I’m stuck in a hospital bed all day’.

I wish I understood this back then.

Years went by, and I stopped visiting her altogether.

I thought she hated me anyway, so what would be the point…?

Still, something at the back of my mind kept nagging me to go and try to make up again.

But I always decided to do it ‘later’.

‘I have time’, I thought.

There’s no need to rush.

…

And on a date with my new girlfriend, I got a call from the hospital.

“We are sorry to inform you… but earlier today, your sister has passed away.”

I didn’t know what to say.

That sentence hit me like a truck.

I made a mistake.

I didn’t realize there was a time limit.

I postponed it for too long.

There is no ‘later’ if she’s dead.

I couldn’t go and apologize to her ‘later’ now.

It was too late.

Way too late.

My regrets wouldn’t let me sleep for a long time.

My life after that consisted of a lot of alcohol and even more women.

It wasn’t my fault that she died, but…

The expression her corpse had… it kept haunting me.

I couldn’t forgive myself for being such a terrible brother.

I was in a slump for very long, until ‘she’ pulled me out of it.

‘She’ was the girl who saw my frozen expression when I got that call from the hospital.

The one I had a date with at that time.

Erica…

Thanks to her, I managed to move on and started a family with her.

With the birth of our son, it began to seem like my life gained a meaning.

…

Until we had a car accident and I died.

I don’t even know whether my wife and son survived it or died with me…

The ‘god’ wouldn’t tell me.

All she said was that the world I would reincarnate in, will have Nina in it.

Like reopening an old wound and stretching it out to inflict more pain.

I was reborn as a cat.

…

And after the initial anger and depression passed, I made it my life mission to find and apologize to Nina.

Along the way, I subjugated lowlifes similar to me and tried to set them straight.

All just to become a better person.

To show Nina I’m not such a scumbag anymore.

…

But when I finally found her…

And I hesitated to reveal who I am…

I feared she would yell at me and kick me away if she knew my true identity.

I really am pathetic, aren’t I…?

“You alright now?”

“… yeah.”

Look at that…

A girl who aimed to kidnap her when they first met does a better job of supporting her than me.

I’m disgusted with myself…

“Meow?!”

Wha-

Someone picked me up.

It’s the other redhead.

“I wanna talk to you about something. You don’t mind, do you?”

I… don’t like that sinister smile.

Don’t tell me she figured out who I am…!

“You are that brother aren’t you?”

Argh…

She really did…

Is it because I reacted so much when Nina said she hated her brother…?

Ugh, what is she gonna do to me?

Scold me?

Beat the hell out of me?

…

I’ll accept whatever my fate is…

“Don’t worry… I’m not gonna judge you… I don’t really have any right to do that…”

…

If you say so…

“But, you see… you should really tell her who you are.”

B-but she’s gonna cut me with that sword if she finds out…!

“When she said ‘hate’, it really means ‘love’, you know?”

…

That… doesn’t make any sense.

“She just missed you and got angry that you were neglecting her.”

Umm…

You may be right…

But she has friends now.

I think it’s better if she forgets about this brother of hers and keeps on going.

“I’m sure she would be happy to see you again… to know you are looking after her.”

That’s…

…

Yeah…

You’re right!

What am I hesitating for?!

I’ll go and-!

“So Nina, what if your brother was one of the reincarnated people and you got to meet him again?”

…

Both me and the gorilla girl froze and watched Nina who fell into deep thought.

Nina then grabbed the sheathed sword and held it with both hands.

“Then… I’ll stab him to death with this!”

A furious expression creeps up onto her face as she smashes the ground with it.

…

O-o-o-on the other hand…

L-let’s wait a bit with revealing my identity…

Y-yes, that sounds like a better idea…

…

But…

There’s still something that bothers me…

From her story, she died, met god, created this world, and then was sent into it right away.

Time-wise… that’s impossible.

After her death, I lived full ten years before getting into that accident.

And even after my reincarnation as a cat, eighteen years went by…

That’s a total of twenty-eight years where Nina just… didn’t exist… anywhere.

Did that ‘god’ manipulate time in some way…?

Why…?

And why specifically for Nina?

Why was she ‘chosen’…?