REPLIES TO COMMENTS
Note: The writer, Facarous, doesn't have an account on JPHIP but she saw readers' comments, and asked me to post these replies on her behalf.@Bukiyou Taiyou: Thank you for your comment! It really pleases me to know you enjoyed this story, and that you think the characters' personalities reflect accurately the personality of the real people they are based on. The "cereals scene" is one of my favorite moments in this part 2. About the "ice cream scene", it's actually the result of a conversation with Sophcaro. One evening, as we were plotting ideas for the story, she suddenly mentionned ice creams and one thing leading to another, that scene came to life.
@Rhythm: They are anthropomorphic animals, which is not exactly the same.
Sophcaro's addition: I suggest you to watch this video so you can visualize better the idea. > https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVhdTY76T68
THE ADVENTURES OF NYAN NYAN KAMEN
FINAL PART
“Public challenge?!” The chief commander of the police station glared at Yuko. “Officer Oshima, it’s not a secret that you are one of our best elements, but I think this case is getting out of control.”
Yuko made herself confortable in her chair, not taking her eyes off her superior. The old man-cat waved his mustaches in disgust. His glasses had fallen off his nose due to the agitation.
“We will put an end to these robberies. I can promise you that.”
“The whole city is watching us, Oshima. Are you aware that if you fail this would not only sign the end of your career, but also damage the reputation of your colleagues?”
“Yes sir, and my team is aware of it.”
“You have the best freshman this police station has seen in years. I’m taking her off the case, we can not expose her to something like that.”
“Will you take her away from every complicated case you see? A relief that she has so much potential!”
“Do not abuse my patience. If this goes wrong, I expect your resignation on my desk first thing on Monday.”
Outside the office, a very curious Jurina was waiting impatiently. When Yuko stepped out, the girl-dog approached her at once.
“You’re off the case, puppy,” Yuko announced simply, before walking towards her desk.
“What?” Jurina followed immediately. “You can’t leave me out, we’re a team!”
“Chief’s orders, I have nothing to do with this.”
“No! I want to catch her too!”
“It’s no use protesting, Matsui…”
Rena sighed as she looked in the direction of the kitchen table, where a despondent Jurina was playing with her plate of food. The young officer had arrived after the end of her shift, her morale unusually very low. Until now, she had not told her what was going on, but it was obviously not good. The girl-dog used to be very energetic and playful, but today her ears were down and her tail moving lazily.
“Is there something wrong with the food? I thought pasta was your favorite.” Jurina looked up at the question, only to wince and push the plate away.
"Sorry Rena-chan, it’s just that I have no appetite.”
“Hey!” Rena played with Jurina’s hair. “I prepared this food with you in mind, and you just don’t have appetite?”
“Sorry, Rena-chan…”
“Stop apologizing, what’s wrong?” Rena hugged her from behind, resting her chin on Jurina’s right shoulder. “Maybe talking about it will make you feel better.”
“The boss pulled me out of the case. He’s going to partner me with another officer less problematic.”
“Eh?” Rena’s ears quirked curiously.
“It’s always the same thing,” Jurina sighed. “He doesn’t trust me. He never lets me conclude a single case. Before Yuko-san, all my previous partners were the same; always fearing something might happen to me, or that I would mess things up. Yuko-san however, always let me be part of everything. I don’t want to change partners. There’s so much I want to learn from Yuko-san…” Jurina’s tail moved with reluctance.
“Well, what do you think of helping me with the store when you’re off duty?” Rena tightened her hold around her.
“I don’t understand…” Jurina gave her a side glance to try and visualize the other girl-dog’s face.
“If Nyan Nyan Kamen tries to rob me again, you might as well do something about it.”
“But I’m not on the case anymore.”
“True, but if you are with your girlfriend and she is suddenly attacked, you can’t be blamed for trying to defend her,” Rena released her hug and faced Jurina with a warm smile. “I’m surprised the clever officer Matsui is giving up so easily.”
Jurina’s eyes gleamed with pleasure, her ears raising in alert and her tail wriggling playfully.
“Could you repeat that?”
“Oh? The clever part?”
“No, the girlfriend part.”
Rena laughed, giving her a quick kiss on the nose. “Now eat or it will be the last time I cook for you.”
“Hey! That sounds like a threat!” Jurina protested, but a smile fell on her lips when she started to eat and received a satisfied kiss in return.
“Oy! Where’s Jurina-chan?” Minami was surprised to see the young officer’s desk empty.
“The boss pulled her off the case,” Yuko growled a little before answering in displeasure. “I think he partnered her with Sashihara.”
“Eh? But Sashihara is in charge of the surveillance of schools for puppies.”
"Exactly. He gave her a partner less… problematic.”
“Pff! I guess she must be very happy.”
“You have no idea.”
“And I see you’re also in a very good mood.”
“Don’t try me, Takamina.”
Minami chuckled as she sat at her desk and began to sort out some papers. The day had passed quietly without any major incident, only a small traffic accident that was solved easily by contacting the insurance companies. She gazed back at her co-worker who looked very bored and was playing distractively with a pencil. The Nyan Nyan Kamen’s case was proving to be much more complicated than anticipated.
The lack of real motive behind the robberies was driving the dog-officer crazy. After investigating the company that produced the only brand of cat food that was not stolen, it appeared it was not a clever scheme from their behalf to weaken their concurrents. Moreover, the famous thief didn’t only target small neighborhood stores but also big, famous ones. As a result, there was no real pattern in the attacks.
The press was alert to any new appearance of the masked cat, which increased the pressure on the police, making it more than necessary to capture the culprit as soon as possible.
The sound of the phone ringing pulled both officers out of their thoughts, and Yuko answered immediately.
“Police station, officer Oshima speaking… Matsui? What is it? Do not follow her! We will arrive in a moment! Where…? Hey, Matsui! Matsui! Damn it!” Yuko hung up the phone quickly.
“What happened?”
“Nyan Nyan! She robbed the same store!”
Minami stood up at once and ran to notify the operators, alerting on the way the patrols nearby the site of the robbery. In the end, it appeared the thief had decided not to wait for the arrival of the cargo full of luxury goods.
The whole police station was in alert. Nyan Nyan Kamen was striking again.
Jurina ran as fast as her feet could allow it… which was quite a lot. She had the best speed record in the police academy and it was time to demonstrate why Matsui Jurina was unstoppable. The thief was wearing a white cape, and was carrying on her back a huge bag full of food she had just stolen.
She was going to catch that thief and prove she was not a puppy that needed to be protected, but could on the contrary be trusted and work on difficult, important cases.
“Stop! Stop in the name of the law!” Jurina screamed. That was something she had always dreamed of saying.
The cat-thief turned a brief instant towards her, but quickly ignored her as she continued to run. No, she would not allow it, Jurina was more determined than ever, and increased her speed to the point of feeling her legs hurting. Soon, she saw the distance between them decreasing, and she knew it was her moment to act. Gathering all her strength she jumped forward and caught the thief by the waist, causing them to both fall down.
“It hurts! It hurts!“ Jurina held her left arm which had entered in contact with the asphalt, but she refused to stay down any longer. Not without difficulty she got up on her feet, seeing Nyan Nyan getting up as well a few feet away. “You’re under arrest!”
The thief grinned in amusement, before sending her a flying kiss. Jurina felt the heat rise up to her cheeks at such a provoking act. She was making fun of her!
"Not today, officer-chan,” Nyan Nyan gripped tightly the bag and jumped on a cornice. Jurina could only watch powerless as the thief jumped next to the roof of a building, putting some distance between them. No, this would not end like that! Jurina turned at the corner of the street, following the thief who was jumping from roof to roof with great agility.
As for Haruna, she was keeping good distance from the police officer, doing her best to lose her very persistent pursuer. She had been surprised to see her in that store, but it only served in making things more entertaining. With that in mind she decided to slow down a bit, willing to stay visible from the girl-dog. She was going to teach them all a lesson.
Entering the store had been easier than the previous time… she had simply passed the front door. The real challenge had been to find a quiet place to change into Nyan Nyan’s famous outfit without anyone seeing her. Everything would have been going according to her plan, if she had not unexpectedly crossed path with the police officer on her way out.
Haruna was still keeping good distance from the young police officer when she suddenly heard sirens, the sound getting closer and closer. The good guys were approaching.
She turned to the left, making a big jump to the next building. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the officer still following her, even though she showed evident signs of fatigue. Obviously, she had much less stamina and agility than a girl-cat like her.
“Jurina, stop!” A patrol car approached the young girl-dog. Inside, was seated Yuko in the passenger side. “We will handle it.”
“No!” Jurina refused stubbornly, “She attacked Rena-chan!”
“Enough, pup! She’s ours, and has nowhere to run. We’re surrounding her. Damn it! At least, get in the car.”
It didn’t take very long before they reached a building under construction. The tall steel skeleton rised to a height of five floors, some cranes were parked outside and unpleasant fresh cement could be smelled.
“The suspect was seen entering the building,” Minami’s voice sounded through the patrol radio.
“Teams A and B stay on the periphery. Team K entering the building,” Yuko stepped out of the car, gun in hand. “Puppy, stay close.”
Hastily, they entered the building. Behind Yuko, was following her trusted team of officers: Kuramoshi, Yokoyama, Umeda, Nito, Kitahara, Sato and someone who was not supposed to be here, and could possibly cause her problems if her boss ended up knowing about it: Matsui Jurina.
“Everyone, form pairs! Matsui, you’re with me. Let’s cover as much ground as we can.”
They advanced to the third floor and were about to go upstairs when a small stone suddenly hit Yuko’s head.
“Over here, officer-chan!” Nyan Nyan jumped a few times to be visible. She waved her hand enthusiastically, as if she had been waiting a while for her date.
“Hey! Stop!” Yuko shouted, which only caused Nyan Nyan to turn around and run.
“I tried it before… it doesn’t work at all,” Jurina explained in defeat.
Both officers chased the thief, soon arriving at what appeared to be the central part of the floor. It was almost sundown, and it wouldn’t take long before the place would plunge in the obscurity. They tried to distinguish the thief’s smell, but the smell of cement and lime was burning their noses.
“That was a bad idea,” Yuko said as she sneezed.
“Wow, watch out, senpai! There’s a big hole in front of us,” Jurina stepped back as she noticed the big hole traversing the building top to bottom. The young police officer deduced it had to be the hole designed for the elevator. Some thick cables could be seen hunging from the ceiling.
“I’m not far, officer-chan!” Along with the cheerful voice, several lights suddenly came on at the same time, leaving the police officers momentarily stunned. When they got their sight back, they noticed Nyan Nyan suspended at one of the cables just above the shaft pit. Behind her, on the other side of the floor, was laying casually on the floor the bag of cat food she had stolen.
“I like playing with you, but you need to understand I don’t like challenges. I’m a bit lazy,” Nyan Nyan pouted. “Officer-chan, I don’t care how expensive the food is, as long as it tastes good and you can eat it.”
“Get down, now!” Yuko pointed her gun at her, ready to shoot if needed.
“Mou, officer-chan, that’s dangerous. You shouldn’t be playing with guns… but if you really want me to come down…” She waved them goodbye, letting herself fall into the elevator shaft.
“Stop!” Both officers shouted in unison, running towards the edge of the hole. Darkness was all that greeted them as they glanced down.
Nyan Nyan had escaped.
“Team A, the suspect is trying to leave the building,” Yuko immediately informed the other officers by radio.
“Senpai!” Jurina exclaimed, after approaching the bag of food. “All the stolen food is here.”
Haruna checked her purse for her appartment keys, walking up the stairs. It was almost time to feed her cats. She hummed a cheerful song, even though she was feeling a little tired after running so much today. She had given a good lesson to those arrogant officers! Celebrations were in order. For the first time, one of her plans had wonderfully worked.
“Good evening, Kojima-san,” Haruna suddenly stopped and looked up. Leaning against her apartment door was the one and only officer Oshima.
“Oshima-san?”
“Did you have a nice afternoon?”
“Y-Yes…”
“I’m glad. I also had a very interesting afternoon… Did you hear about Nyan Nyan Kamen? I was chasing her half across town.“
"Oh… did you catch her?” Haruna tried to muster her best smile.
“I don’t know, only you can give me that answer.”
“Oshima-san, I’m not in the mood for games. I remember telling you that we could not see each other,” she thanked God when her fingers finally encountered her keys.
“I must insist,” Yuko took a few steps towards the girl-cat, showing her a bag of cat food. “Have you seen this brand of food before?”
“Sure, in the store… Oshima-san, I don’t want to be rude.”
“Why rob a store to leave the booty behind?”
Silence envelopped them, Haruna desperately trying to find a way to get out of this unconfortable questionning.
“I still don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Really?” Yuko placed the bag of cat food on the floor, pulling out from the pocket of her blue skirt a white mask. “You left this behind, Kojima-san.” She approached Haruna, who took a few steps back until her back hit the wall. Yuko placed gently the mask on the girl-cat’s face. “Your eyes are beautiful. That’s how I knew it was you.”
“Are you going to arrest me?” Haruna asked suspiciously.
“Should I?” Yuko smiled. That unique smile that showed her beautiful dimples.
“You have no proof. I don’t think a jury would accept my beautiful eyes as a proof,” Haruna teased her back.
“Tell me why you’re doing it. What do you need so much cat food for?” The officer was now drawing dangerously close, their faces only a few inches apart.
“I need it. I tried to get help, but nobody seems to care.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Would you like to get in, Oshima-san? That way, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”
Yuko took a step back, considering her options.
After finding all the stolen cat food in the bag Yuko had left the building in a haste, trying to find the possible escape route of the thief. It didn’t take long before she found the sewers connected to the building and behind a large garbage container, the iconic Nyan Nyan Kamen’s clothes neatly folded in a black bag. Who on earth left their clothes in such a place? Didn’t the thief think one minute they could be mistaken for garbage?
The news of the thief’s escape soon reached the press and the only thing that saved the police from being laughed at was that they had recovered the stolen bags. The police had publicly challenged the thief, and the latter had retaliated by stealing again from the store owned by Matsui Rena.
As soon as they entered the apartment, a choir of meows greeted Yuko. At her feet, dozens of sharp pairs of eyes were staring at her intently.
Cats.
There were way too many cats in that small appartment.
“What the hell?”
“They are stray cats. They come here to either spend the day in a safe place, or to get fed. Associations refuse to come to their rescue. They spend days without food, or without any safe place to sleep.” Haruna took Brandy in her arms. “I really tried to get help, to no avail. I don’t make enough money in my job to feed them, so I decided to rob stores.”
“Do you know I can use what you just said as a confession?”
“You will not arrest me, Oshima-san,” Haruna shook her head. “If you wanted to do it, you would have done it already,” she chuckled playfully.
“You can’t keep stealing. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a good cause.”
“I can’t leave my cats in the need. I tried to ask help from food factories, but nobody cared.“
"I’ll help you, but you must promise me you will never steal again.”
“Oh? Officer Oshima, do you plan on leaving a criminal free?” Haruna scoffed. She walked towards her kitchen, taking care not to fall because of the cats that crossed her path, before opening the shelves full of food cat. She poured food in bowls under the attentive look of the officer who still couldn’t believe how many cats there were in that small apartment.
“Kojima-san, I like you,” Yuko confessed, refusing to beat about the bush any longer.
Haruna stopped what she was doing instantly, stunned by the unexpected confession. Without her realizing it, her heart started beating faster inside her chest.
“Let me help you. I know someone in the Chamber of Commerce,” Yuko added quickly, figuring it was wise not to push the subject further for the time being. “She helped me with the luxury food issue… She can also help raise funds for setting up a shelter.”
“Oh yeah?” Haruna resumed progressively what she was doing, relieved she wasn’t expected to give a reply to the officer’s confession straight away. She filled other bowls with water and placed them close to the food so the cats could drink. “Who is this important contact?”
“The owner of the store you stole from… twice in a week,” Yuko smiled broadly, amused by the irony of the situation.
Once again, Haruna found herself destabilized by the police officer. Oshima Yuko knew how to render her speechless, and the sound of her pounding heart was telling her the officer surely didn’t leave her indifferent.
“Jurina,” Rena approached her girlfriend cautiously, whom was moving further and further away from her. “Jurina, this is necessary.”
“Noooo,” The young cop shook her head fiercely, using her best abandoned puppy eyes. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I promise.”
“Jurina… it will be quick. Just let me see…”
“Nooooo… Rena-chan, take that thing away from me.”
“What happened to the brave officer who defended me against Nyan Nyan?”
“The brave officer says it’s not necessary for you to do this.”
“Jurina,” Rena sighed. “If you don’t let me check that wound, it will get worse. Do you want to go to the hospital?”
“It’s just a scratch!” Jurina’s watery eyes had unfortunately little to no effect on the shop owner.
“Exactly. So, it won’t hurt… too much.”
“Noooooo,” the cop-dog jumped back, moving her injured arm away from her very concerned girlfriend. “It’s fine. It doesn’t even bleed anymore.”
Rena placed back on the table the antiseptic, cotton and bandages that she intended to use to tend to the bloody and swollen elbow of her very childish girlfriend. She frowned, and placed her hands on her hips in defeat. This was taking longer than planned.
Jurina had arrived at Rena’s house in the evening, after finishing all the paperwork and interviews with the press about Nyan Nyan Kamen’s new attack. In the following days, the young officer still would need to have an undesirable conversation with the head of the police department, for having intervened on a case she was supposed to stay away from. Despite feeling really tired, she decided to make a stop at her girlfriend’s house, to make sure she was okay.
As soon as Jurina put a foot inside the house, a strong smell of cement and lime reached Rena’s nostrils, and she immediately noticed the dirty uniform of the young officer who was holding her arm tightly. It didn’t take too long for Rena to see that the girl-dog had a small injury on her elbow, dried blood mixing with dust.
And now here she was, trying by all means to convince her girlfriend to allow herself to be cured.
“I’m not playing, Jurina. Come back here and let me see that arm.”
“But…” Rena’s frown and serious look gave her the strong sensation that it would be dangerous to refuse once more.
“I will not repeat it again.”
The girl-dog decided to make a final attempt and gave her girlfriend a hurtful look, trying to make her understand that she didn’t want her poor arm to be attacked with alcohol. However, she knew it was no use insisting by the strict look Rena was sending her.
Reluctantly, she sat at the table and focused her attention on anything else but Rena. The latter opened the bottle of antiseptic and impregnated a cotton swab with the liquid, the unpleasant smell reaching Jurina’s nose already irritated by the smell of cement.
“I’ll do this as fast as I can. If it hurts a lot, let me know,” Rena’s tone was soft and reassuring, trying to make her feel better. Jurinna nodded, ears dropped, a small pout on her lips.
The older dog-girl took gently Jurina’s injured arm and smiled, trying to cheer her up. She knew it wasn’t a serious injury, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. The simple fact of seeing the officer hurt was causing her an unpleasant feeling inside her chest.
A puppy cry sounded as soon as Rena placed the cotton impregnated with alcohol on Jurina’s injury, but she didn’t stop cleaning and disinfecting the area until she was satisfied with the job. Her girlfriend was holding onto the edge of the table with her other hand, trying to overcome the urge to run away. The plaintive cries continued for a few more minutes after the task was successfully accomplished, and Jurina’s displeased expression said she was definitely not happy with the bunny bandage Rena had placed to protect the wound.
“You’re mean, Rena-chan,” the officer looked at her girlfriend with teary eyes. Rena couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“There, there… I think I know a way to make you feel better.”
“Really?” Jurina’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Yes,” Rena smirked. “It’s a secret technique my mom taught me.” Walking around the table she sat on Jurina’s lap, folding her arms around her neck to give her a soft kiss on the lips. “What do you think?”
“I’m not sure… I think it still hurts,” Jurina shook her head in a playful way.
“Oh, I must have done something wrong. Nevermind, you can always…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. Jurina captured her lips again but this time in a slightly more passionate kiss, which was reciprocated with haste.
Rena’s heart pounded fast. Who could have guessed Nyan Nyan’s robbery would be the best thing that could have happened to her? This young police officer, who sometimes looked like a spoiled puppy, filled her heart with a feeling difficult to describe.
She looked at her with a wide smile when they parted. “That definitely should have helped.”
“Yes, but I think I have a problem with this cure,” Jurina replied mischievously. “It’s very… addictive.”
Eight months later..."Nyan Nyan! Nyan Nyan!” A weeping Yuko wagged her tail forcefully to try and free herself from the grip of the wild beast attacking her, much in vain.
“What is it now?” Haruna, who was putting some cat litter away in the shop sighed and turned around, widening her eyes in shock at the improbable scene playing in front of her. “My God! Brandy, let go of Yuu-chan!” Haruna pulled away the cat that was hunging to Yuko’s tail. “I’m sorry, Yuu-chan, but your tail attracts a lot of attention.”
“My tail is not a toy for cats!” Yuko protested.
“Really?” Haruna giggled. “I don’t remember you complaining much the other night.”
Yuko blushed madly. Behind them, could be heard the laughter of some of the employees who hadn’t missed a bit of the exchange. “Nyan Nyan!” Yuko complained.
“Phew! Phew! That was too much information for me!” A third voice said with disgust.
Yuko and Haruna turned towards the direction of the voice only to see Jurina, and behind her Rena who was trying to hide a smile.
“Hey! How long have you two been here?” Yuko’s face was now completely red.
“Ne, Rena-chan, I just heard something very perverted from someone I used to admire a lot,” the younger one said innocently. “Can you believe it?”
“You’re a spoiled puppy…” Yuko snarled.
“There, there… I need help with the milk supply for kittens. Rena-chan received a new brand, and I’m not sure my cats are going to like it,” Haruna intervened immediately, exchanging glances with an amused Rena.
“It’s a new brand and the distributor is very interested in sponsoring the shelter,” The shop owner was carrying a folder with some papers that seemed important. “I’d like you to review his offer, Haruna-san.”
They walked past the wooden building they used as one of the cellars, and Yuko shared some information about the new case she was investigating. She had resigned from the police and now worked as an independent detective, although she still cooperated with the public forces from time to time, which kept her in touch with Jurina.
They entered the main office just in time, as the phone started ringing. “Neko Neko Kamen cat shelter, what can we do for you?”
Yuko smiled at the sight of Haruna answering the phone and taking notes, slowly approaching her and beginning to play with the girl-cat’s ears while she was giving some instructions to whoever was on the other side of the line.
As of Rena, she was checking again the papers she had brought with her - a few invoices and estimates – when she suddenly felt a tentative tap on her shoulder.
“Rena-chan…” Jurina murmured in a low voice. “I don’t think we’re needed here.”
Rena arched an eyebrow at her words, before looking in the direction Jurina was pointing at discreetly. Yuko had embraced Haruna, and was burying her nose into the crook of her neck. The girl-cat was definitely having a hard time focusing, between the phone call and her girlfriend’s affectionate gestures.
“Sometimes, Yuko-senpai forgets everything around her,” The young police officer still had a hard time getting used to the detective’s demonstations of affection. The place, time or the numbers of people surrounding them never mattered when it came to showering the former thief with affection. Jurina wrinkled her nose when Haruna had to stop the adventurous hand of her girlfriend.
Rena merely smiled. Leaving the folder of papers on the table, she knew it was indeed best to postpone her conversation with Haruna to later, preferably when Yuko would have calmed down a little. Jurina was already making her way out of the office in the evident intention of putting some distance with the other couple, and she followed her shortly after that.
“Mou, Yuu-chan… I already told you not to do that while I’m on the phone. You distract me,” Haruna pouted and faked annoyance.
“There, there… don’t get mad. How can I please you, then?” Yuko smiled broadly. "Ah, I know… How about a kiss?”
“Not in front of the visitors!”
“But there’s no one around…” Yuko wagged her tail in content as she managed to get close enough to the girl-cat’s lips. “Besides, I have every right in the world to kiss my girlfriend.”
Outside the main office, Jurina tried not to puke rainbows at the sight of her senpai being so lovey dovey with the girl-cat.
“Rena-chan, we’re not like that, right?” She asked her girlfriend in concern.
The shop owner looked at her in amusement. Jurina could sometimes be worse than Yuko, but she preferred not to broach the sensitive subject. Her girlfriend would surely deny it with fervor. “I’m not entirely sure,” Rena replied, leaning forward to give her cheek a tender kiss.
END