Epilogue

April. A Saturday, a few days into spring break. Just before noon, the intercom in my room buzzed.

“Good morning! I’m here to pick you up!”

“Oh, Kohana-san, good morning! Anya, you ready to go? Got your lunch?”

The visitor at the first-floor entrance of the apartment was Kohana, with whom we had plans for cherry blossom viewing today.

Asahi, as usual, was acting all motherly while tucking Pirozhki into a pet carrier.

I carefully packed the tiered lunchbox and plastic containers filled with the cherry blossom picnic lunch Asahi prepared into a paper bag, making sure nothing would topple over.

“I’m ready to head out, Asahi.”

“Alright, let’s go! Pirozhki, we’re going on an adventure together today!”

Asahi spoke to Pirozhki through the transparent vinyl window of the carrier.

The brown-and-white tabby responded, as always, with meows and purrs in that feline language. I still couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of his words.

Yet, strangely enough, I often found myself understanding what Pirozhki wanted.

Perhaps cats wield some mysterious, unspoken power—a kind of silent language that secretly bends humans to their will.

Just then, my smartphone pinged with a notification. As I headed toward the door, I glanced at the screen.

Кошка: “Good morning, Anya. Perfect weather for cherry blossom viewing, isn’t it?”

A message from Кошка. Why so formal all of a sudden…? I glanced back at Asahi, but she was too busy playing with Pirozhki to have touched her phone.

Кошка: “It’s about time I came clean. My real name is Munakata Yogiri, Asahi’s mother. I’ve been sending my daughter in my place all this time, having her assist you directly.”

A shocking revelation—or so it seemed, but honestly, I felt a strange sense of clarity. Asahi was undeniably sharp and clever for her age, but she was still just a kid.

There were always things that didn’t quite add up, given her youth. The idea that the real Кошка was pulling the strings behind the scenes, with Asahi as her proxy, made perfect sense.

Кошка: “It was Asahi’s heartfelt wish to do this. She desperately wanted to meet you, the one who was with Yuki in her final moments.”

The sudden mention of Yuki’s name. Come to think of it, I still didn’t know the connection between Кошка and Yuki.

Кошка: “Yuki Petrisheva was my daughter, just like Asahi.”

“What…?” This time, I was genuinely floored by the shock. I’d heard before that Yuki’s mother was Japanese, but…

Кошка: “After parting ways with Alexei Petrishev, I left Yuki with her father and returned to Japan, though I kept in touch with her secretly. When she told me about her plan to escape and defect, I stepped in to help, as you already know.”

So that’s how it was. The extensive support Кошка provided suddenly made sense. If there was a deep, familial bond between her and Yuki, it explained everything.

Кошка: “Asahi is the daughter I had with my new Japanese husband after returning. When she learned she had an older half-sister in Russia, she was desperate to meet her. But that never came to pass… So instead, she begged to help you, the one Yuki entrusted with her life.”

“Hey, Anya, why’re you just standing there spacing out? Kohana-san’s waiting downstairs, you know!”

Asahi’s voice snapped me back from behind.

“Right, let’s go.”

I slipped the phone into my pocket, grabbed the paper bag with the lunch, and headed out the door. As we descended the stairs to the entrance, Kohana greeted us with a bright smile and a wave.

Our classmates, Umeda and Takesato, had gone ahead to secure a spot for the picnic.

According to Kohana, they were both excited about meeting Asahi for the first time.

“Morning, Anya, Asahi-chan!”

Squinting in the cheerful sunlight, Kohana crouched down in front of Asahi’s pet carrier.

“Morning to you too, Pirozhki-chan!”

Ignoring the scene, I pulled out my phone again to check the message.

Кошка: “The vaccine to fully neutralize Krovoy Klyatva hasn’t been developed yet, but it will be, someday—for you, and for Yuki and Asahi’s wishes. There was also another mission I entrusted to you. By connecting heart and body with those mysterious neighbors we call cats, I wanted you to discover that there’s a way to simply live in this world. Not everything has to be about being useful or serving someone else’s purpose. That’s not the only reason we exist. As for why I’m so confident you’ve succeeded in this mission, let’s just say it’s my little secret. Until we meet again.”

The message ended there.

I slipped the phone back into my pocket as we headed toward the riverbank for the cherry blossom viewing.

“Anya, no texting and walking—it’s dangerous!”

“You’ve been glued to that phone all morning. What’s so interesting?”

The two of them eyed me suspiciously, but I just kept walking, playing it cool.

As we passed a park along the way, I suddenly recalled a middle-aged woman in a hat I’d met there once. Could she have been…

No, she must have been the real Кошка, Munakata Yogiri.

“Oh, a Line message from Eri! She says they’ve got a spot for the picnic, so hurry up!”

Kohana, walking behind me, stepped forward to walk beside me, showing me a photo on her phone.

It was a breathtaking shot of cherry blossoms in full bloom against a bright blue sky.

“Beautiful, huh?”

“Yeah. Ochen krasivo—really beautiful.”

As Kohana and I locked eyes, I felt the corners of my mouth lift into a faint smile.

“Anya’s super-rare smile! Nailed it!”

Asahi, with a smug grin, snapped a photo of me.

Kohana smiled softly and gently extended her right hand. I took it with my left, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Cherry blossom petals, carried by a warm breeze, fluttered down like snow.