Shiro Neko

A veterinarian teacher often falls asleep on the last train home until a boy wakes him, leaving him unsure if the child is genuinely kind or as unpredictable as a stray cat. Two childhood friends, Asai and Yoh, drift apart when Asai moves away, leaving Yoh a message to become stronger. Years later, they reunite at the same school, but Yoh has become a delinquent. A genius named Kuranosuke, knowledgeable in quantum physics and medicine, claims he can't communicate with animals—until after a meal with Lin, who wakes up transformed. Yori struggles with his feelings toward his homosexual brother and a friend who likes him, his emotions complicated further by a new girl's arrival. Akutsu and Mizumoto meet in empty streets, sharing conversations they don't have at school, questioning if their connection is only possible in isolation. A short story also explores the younger brother of Asai and Yoh from "Sweet Days."