“Meow~”
A pitiful stray cat, abandoned by its human owners, trod a solitary path along the wall. It hadn’t eaten in a long time, its weakened limbs dragging its emaciated body. Its large, round eyes had lost their bright luster, now only staring listlessly ahead, hoping by some stroke of luck to stumble upon something to eat.
“Heeheeheeheehee~”
A seductive female laugh suddenly echoed from the darkness, as a beautiful girl, whose every movement could easily enthrall men, slowly emerged from the shadows. She possessed lustrous black hair styled into two pigtails, with one eye concealed by long bangs, while the other, visible eye glowed with a wine-red radiance. Her attire was predominantly black—black stockings and a black skirt—like a black rose blooming in the night. Yet, this dark ensemble only served to accentuate her porcelain-white skin, making her appear like a delicate young lady, frail and sickly, confined to her chambers, evoking a tender affection.
“Well, well, I’ve finally found you, Stray Cat Number 514 of Sector 114!”
As the girl uttered a code known only to herself, she slowly approached the small cat.
“Meow!”
The stray cat arched its back, baring its sharp, tiny fangs, striking a fierce pose as if to warn, ‘I’m dangerous, don’t come any closer!’
“Heh heh, truly a stray cat abandoned by its owner—it certainly has a strong wariness toward humans!”
Despite her words, it was clear the girl had no intention of giving up. And so, she knelt on the ground, hands and knees touching the earth, mimicking a cat. Her cherry blossom-petal lips parted, emitting a soft “Meow~”
“Meow?”
“Meow meow meow, meow meow, meow meow meow meow, meow~!”
The girl’s cat-like sounds successfully lowered the stray cat’s guard, and it slowly began to approach her.
“Good kitty, such a good, good kitty!”
The girl gently stroked the stray cat’s fur. Although the cat hadn’t eaten in a long time, its coat remained remarkably soft and smooth, a testament to its high quality.
“Good kitty, you’re wonderful, so I’m going to give you a reward!”
With that, Kurumi opened the bag in her hand, scooped out a handful of what appeared to be cat food, and offered it to the stray cat.
The stray cat sniffed, finding the aroma of the cat food utterly irresistible, and promptly began to devour it with gusto.
“Meow~”
A few seconds later, the stray cat collapsed onto the ground as if intoxicated, exposing its belly in complete vulnerability.
“Heeheeheeheehee, mission accomplished!”
The girl exclaimed excitedly, then slowly extended her hand to the cat’s belly and began to stroke it gently.
“Didn’t expect that, did you? This cat food has matatabi in it. You fell for it!”
Though the girl spoke, the stray cat could only respond with soft ‘meows,’ and this time, unlike before, its cries were utterly contented. Indeed, as the girl continued to stroke it, the cat blissfully drifted off to sleep, purring softly as it slumbered.
“Well, well, it seems this little one truly was exhausted!”
Cradling the newly acquired cat, the girl stood up, gazing at the rising morning sun.
“Heeheeheeheehee, it seems my—Tokisaki Kurumi’s—cat paradise initiative is proceeding exceptionally smoothly!”
The girl, Tokisaki Kurumi, wore a captivatingly seductive smile on her face. Should anyone have passed by, they would undoubtedly have been utterly enchanted by her.
“Heeheeheeheeheehee, heeheeheeheehee! It won’t be long now until I’ve conquered all the cats in Tengu City and established Tokisaki Kurumi’s Feline Devotion Kingdom!”
Just as Kurumi began to envision her future, the stray cat in her arms suddenly opened its eyes. Its large, round eyes were abruptly tinged with pink, and a pair of pink heart-shaped marks materialized within them.
“This power is… Spirit energy?”
As a Spirit, Kurumi was naturally intimately familiar with Spirit energy. Though this particular energy differed in form from her own, at its core, it was undeniably the same power.
“Is it a Spirit? Why is it affecting me so… *Huff*!”
For some unknown reason, Kurumi suddenly found the stray cat in her arms incredibly alluring. Unconsciously, she buried her face into the cat’s fur, inhaling deeply.
****
“Damn it, I’ve really screwed up this time!”
Needless to say, our unfortunate Qianye had once again botched an experiment with her abilities. This time, the ability she was testing was ‘Dream Infiltration,’ an ability whose effect was precisely as its name suggested: it allowed Qianye’s spirit form to penetrate another’s dream without their awareness.
Simply infiltrating dreams without the power to interfere would be rather uninteresting. Fortunately, Qianye’s ability extended beyond mere infiltration; she could indeed influence dreams, and even reality itself. For instance, she could cause a certain adolescent boy to have a wet dream, allowing him to experience a romantic interlude with the girl he admired, only for him to awaken and find his pants damp.
If Qianye were to be particularly benevolent, the girl on the other side could even experience the same dream—a phenomenon known as ‘linked dreaming’—for the physical changes wrought by the dream would manifest in reality. Thus, Qianye had no intention of doing so, as it would be truly pitiful for a girl to lose something so vital due to a dream.
Theoretically, Qianye could also engage directly, as succubus seduction, in a sense, often begins with erotic dreams. However, Qianye would never do so, because ordinary people without Spirit energy would likely perish if she were to ‘drain’ them. Moreover, she held no interest in any male other than Shido, so there was no need to worry about any unpleasant surprises.
All in all, Qianye discovered that she could influence others’ dreams in various ways, and upon awakening, these influences would manifest in reality. This meant she could kill someone invisibly within a dream, a case that even a renowned detective turned child would be powerless to solve. However, Qianye was no Prime Minister Cao, nor was she fond of killing in dreams, or indeed, of married women at present. At most, she would conduct tests that wouldn’t affect others’ daily lives.
And so, after Qianye had more or less completed testing her abilities and was preparing to conclude her session, she was suddenly drawn by a cat’s meow. Out of curiosity, she decided to see if her ability could be used on animals. And that’s when this happened.
“Meow meow meow? [What happened? Why have I turned into a cat?]”
Somehow, Qianye’s consciousness had entered the body of a stray cat. Not only could she use Spirit energy while in the cat’s body, but she also found someone was currently ‘cat-sucking’ her—whether influenced by her Spirit energy or not, she couldn’t tell.
As fate would have it, the person ‘cat-sucking’ her was none other than the most popular heroine of Date A Live—Tokisaki Kurumi.
“Well, well, I didn’t expect a Spirit to appear among cats!”
Tokisaki Kurumi, now fully lucid, regarded the Qianye-cat with that same captivatingly seductive smile.