CHAPTER 663: LITTLE SKELETON AND BLACK CAT (7)

The little skeleton considered the feasibility of this plan and couldn’t help but feel like the chances of success were low. The players panicked at the mere sight of it; not pulling out their weapon for a fight was already a good outcome.

And now the black cat actually wanted them to sit together...?

If it’s the black cat alone, it might be able to blend in easily. But such a feat was impossible for the little skeleton.

The black cat cast it a sideways glance and almost immediately guessed what was running through the dumb little skeleton’s mind.

It couldn’t help but click its tongue in disdain, even rolling its eyes for good measure. "Fool, of course we have to seize the time when there’s no survivor left in this Cycle!"

That was... a good idea.

One couldn’t blame the little skeleton for being a little dimwitted. After all, it did not even have a brain inside its tough skull. It was certain it could also come up with this possibility if given the time, but the black cat just wouldn’t miss the chance to mock it.

Mildly annoyed, the little skeleton stretched out a leg and kicked the black cat’s butt, eliciting a loud yowl from the latter.

The black cat was so shocked by this sudden assault that it almost jumped three feet high, its fur poofing into a ball. It whipped its head toward the little skeleton, its sharp screech a blend of fury and disbelief,

"Y-Y-Y-You—You dare to... kick me

?! With your smelly foot??!"

The little skeleton glanced at the trees on the roadside, the pebbles beneath its feet, the distant sky ahead—anywhere but the black cat. Every single bone in its skeletal body was literally conveying, ’I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

The black cat: "..."

"Ha, good... very good..." the black cat was so angry that it laughed. "Do you think I’m stupid? Who else is here beside you?! Did a freaking ghost pop out of nowhere and kick me?! You audacious brat—you must be asking for a beating!"

With a loud cry, it pounced on the little skeleton and the two of them tumbled onto the grass together, still tangled in a fight. The black cat used its speed and agility to leave numerous scratches on the little skeleton, but the little skeleton wasn’t to be trifled either.

Knowing that it wouldn’t be able to win the black cat in a fight, it simply rolled over and used its surprisingly heavy body to pin the black cat beneath it, nearly squishing the poor feline flat.

"Ohok!" The black cat felt like its entire organs were going to be squeezed out of its throat like a roll of toothpaste as it struggled to breathe under the suffocating weight pressing down on it. "You are... cheating!"

The lazy little skeleton simply lay down, unmoving, yet somehow the black cat could sense the smugness and triumph radiating from every inch of its bones, nearly driving it mad with anger.

"I’m going to kill you—!!!"

***

During this dormant period where time had ceased to exist, they fought and made up, then fought and made up again. Somewhere along the way, they grew extremely familiar with each other, knowing what one wanted to say just by the way one shifted their eyes.

They had become each other’s true companion.

It was also at this time that the little skeleton learned that the black cat had a name all along—not just the ’black cat’.

It all started when the black cat, out of boredom, began to sharpen its nails on a tree bark, or at least that’s what the little skeleton assumed it was doing. But it turned out, the black cat wasn’t simply sharpening its nails, it was carving something... a bunch of wriggly symbols the little skeleton could not even begin to comprehend.

Out of curiosity, it asked and the black cat replied in a casual tone,

"Oh, it’s my name."

"Name...?" The little skeleton echoed in confusion. Yet another foreign word—not for the players, but for nightmare creatures like them. "Not... black cat...?"

A mixture of surprise, amusement and exasperation crossed the black cat’s face. It was truly a wonder how a feline could be so expressive.

"Don’t tell me you’ve always called me ’black cat’ in your head. Oh well, it’s not like I can blame you either," it huffed. "It’s been so long since I’ve been called by my name, so I like to carve it here to make sure I don’t forget. But now..." it snuck glances at the little skeleton and raised its chin in a pretentious manner, its long tail thumping rhythmically on the ground. "I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to grant you this right."

Although it tried to act nonchalant, its minor body language clearly expressed anticipation, waiting for the little skeleton to speak its name.

Alas, it waited and waited, but all it received was silence.

With a scowl, it turned to confront the little skeleton, only to be met with a stupidly blank face. A sudden realization hit the black cat, leaving it utterly dumbfounded. "Don’t tell me..."

"You– you can’t read?!"

The little skeleton maintained a deadpan look.

It was, in fact, illiterate.

But what was so surprising about that?

It had spent its entire existence in the art room, watching as players either being killed or on their way to be killed. When and how was he supposed to learn such a useless skill? It’s not like this was going to come to use.

"Oh, ahem, so that’s how it is... that makes sense. I was just, well, a little surprised..." Although the black cat tried to keep a serious look, its whiskers kept twitching, evident that it was desperately holding back its laughter. After a few more seconds of this stand-off, it finally could not endure it anymore and burst out into a peal of hearty guffaw, laughing so hard that it was rolling all over the ground. "Oh my god, I thought you’re just a little slow on the uptake but you’re really a fool here! Hahahaha!"

The little skeleton’s eyes flickered. Too bad it didn’t have eyelids or else its eyes would have been narrowed sharply. The laughing black cat still had no idea it had been targeted, and once it rolled toward the little skeleton’s feet, the little skeleton abruptly lifted its leg and stomped down on its tail!

"MROOWW!"

The black cat leaped in shock, its fur bristling. "You dumb skeleton, are you plotting murder against me?!"

Not surprisingly, the two of them got into another petty fight, and after their emotions settled down, they sat against the tree side by side, gazing at the school building at a distance.

"Lucius." The black cat suddenly spoke to break the silence. "That’s my name."

"Lu... cius..." the little skeleton tried to articulate the words with its clumsy tongue. "I... I... no name..."

"You don’t have a name?" The black cat guessed accurately, its eyes narrowing in a drowsy manner. "No problem. You can just give yourself a name."

The little skeleton tilted its head left and right, but it still couldn’t think of a satisfactory name for itself. Feeling frustrated, it spoke up, "Lu... cius..."

"What?" The black cat responded lazily.

But the little skeleton only repeated once more with emphasis, "Lucius..."

The black cat peeled its eyelids a little wider, throwing the skeleton a questioning look. After staring at each other for a couple of seconds, something finally clicked in the black cat’s mind, causing it to jump up in anger. "You... you want to take my name?!" It cried out in disbelief. "No way—no fucking way! Think of another one!"

The little skeleton’s knuckles cracked, feeling mildly upset.

What’s wrong with giving itself the same name? Were they not friends? Were friends not supposed to share what they had with each other?

Unable to come to an agreement, the two of them once again came to blows, tangled with each other until they were covered in dirt and dried leaves all over.

The matter of the little skeleton’s name was thus put to rest for the time being, for the Cycle was restarting once more.