Excerpt from The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, Philip Gabriel, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

'I see,' Satoru said, backing down. Now it was Kosuke's turn to ask the questions.

'But tell me, why can't you keep the cat any more?'

'Well, it's just that …'

Satoru gave a perplexed smile and scratched at the thinning hair on his head.

'Something came up, and we can't live together any more.'

Something clicked. Kosuke had known something was awry when Satoru, who had a nine-to-five job, had offered to work around Kosuke's day off and come over in the middle of the week.

'Have you been downsized?'

'Not exactly, well – in any case, we just can't live together any more.'

Kosuke didn't pursue it, since Satoru seemed reluctant to talk about it.

'Anyhow, I've got to find a home for Nana, and I've asked a couple of friends.'

'I see. That can't be easy.'

It made Kosuke want to take the cat even more. As an act of kindness. And besides, it was for Satoru.

'What about you? Are you okay? Your ? plans for the future, and everything?'

'Thanks for asking. As long as I can get Nana settled, I'll be fine.'

Kosuke sensed he shouldn't dig any further. Resisted the if there's anything I can do, let me know line.

'You know, when I saw the photo, I was amazed. Nana's the spitting image of Hachi.'

'Even more so when you see him in the flesh.'

Satoru glanced back at the cage still sitting on the floor, but it didn't look like Nana was intending to show his face anytime soon.

'When I first saw him, I was surprised, too. For a second I thought it was Hachi.'

That was impossible, of course, but the memory saddened him, nonetheless. 'What happened to Hachi?' Kosuke asked.

'He died when I was in high school. His new owner got in touch, told me it was a traffic accident.'

Even now, this must have been a painful memory for Satoru.

'It's nice that they let you know, though.'

At least the two of them, who had both loved the cat, could mourn together. Satoru must have cried alone many times since.

'Sorry, I seem to be getting sadder and sadder here,' Satoru said.

'Don't apologize, you idiot.'

Kosuke made as if to lightly punch him and Satoru playfully swayed to avoid it.

'Time goes by before you know it,' Satoru said. 'It seems like yesterday when you and I found Hachi. Do you remember?'

'Remember? How could I forget?' Kosuke smiled, and Satoru gave a little embarrassed ahem laugh.



A short walk from the Sawada Photo Studio, up a gentle slope, was a housing complex. Thirty years ago, this was considered an up-and-coming area, with rows of model showroom-like houses and fashionable condo units.

Satoru's family lived in a cosy condo in the neighbourhood. Satoru and his parents: the three of them.

Satoru and Kosuke had started going to the same swimming school in second grade. Since he was little, Kosuke had struggled with skin allergies, and his mother, convinced that swimming would make his skin tougher, had made him go, but Satoru had a different reason for going. He was such a fast swimmer people said he had webbed hands, and the teachers at his school had recommended he learn to swim properly.

Always a bit of a joker, Satoru, when they had free swimming time, would pretend to be a salamander and crawl along the bottom of the pool, then playfully pop up and pounce on the other pupils. 'What are you, some kind of kappa?' the swimming instructor had said, irritated, and the nickname Kappa – a kind of mythical water imp – stuck. Depending on the instructor's mood, he sometimes called him Webfoot, too.

Excerpted from The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.