After buying all the ingredients for dinner at the supermarket, the group headed out and made their way to the pet shop to buy cat food. It was the same shop they always went to—good quality, reliable products.
Since they were planning to play mahjong that evening, Kou and Rin discussed it and decided they would also stay for dinner at Ichin's place to make the night livelier.
Soon, both cars arrived at the pet shop.
After entering, they first asked a staff member to help them pack a whole pile of cat food and canned food. And then—Yukino instantly became glued to the kittens inside the shop, completely unable to move away.
Seeing her, Ichin checked his watch and chuckled.
"Well, we've still got time. If you want to look, Yukino, we can stay here for a bit."
The shop staff would never complain about them lingering longer. Even though they knew these people were already cat owners and weren't likely to adopt from the shop, every visit ended with them buying plenty of supplies—they were VIP customers.
Watching Yukino play with the tiny newborn kittens inside the enclosure, Yagami Kou laughed.
"Yukino really does love cats, huh."
Ichin nodded.
"She doesn't have many other hobbies. This is the one that truly captivates her. Even though we already have four cats at home, she still happily takes care of them every day. Honestly, if she had the chance, I think she'd happily adopt a few more."
"Mm~~"
Yagami tilted her head, thinking.
"If she really goes that far, I bet there won't be any space left for Haruno at home. It'll be all cats."
"I actually think that would be great. Haruno-nee should learn to be independent and stop relying on Yukino for everything."
Both of them burst into laughter—loud enough that Yukino turned around to see what they were laughing about.
After more than ten minutes of kitten-petting time, Yukino finally decided they could leave.
On the drive back, Ichin asked with a smile,
"You like kittens this much… thinking of adopting more in the future?"
Yukino didn't deny it immediately. Instead she thought seriously before answering,
"Probably not for now. Four is about enough. But… if I really came across a cat that felt right, maybe I would adopt it."
The pet shop cats were cute, of course, but just like when they adopted Mochi and Sesame, Yukino believed in fate with animals—if the bond was right, she wouldn't hesitate.
"Cats, huh… too bad your two little ones are both neutered now. Otherwise you could've just bred your own."
"That would be too many cats. We'd have to find new homes for the kittens. And cats rarely give birth to only one or two—they usually have several at once. Last time, Eriri and Kou each adopted one."
"That's true."
Still chatting about cats, they stopped by a milk tea shop—Ichin bought Utaha's order—and soon returned to the apartment building.
After parking, Ichin grabbed the meat and bags of cat food, while Yukino and the others carried the rest.
Upstairs, Ichin and Yukino returned home first, while Kou and Rin went to drop off their groceries and bring their cats upstairs too.
Inside, Utaha hadn't napped. She was in the living room calmly writing her novel.
When she saw them come in, she smiled.
"Welcome back~ Seems like you took your time."
Ichin put down the bags.
"We ran into Kou and Rin at the supermarket, so shopping took longer. And then Yukino spent a while playing with the kittens at the pet shop."
"Oh?"
Utaha looked at Yukino, who immediately flushed bright red.
"T-The kittens who just turned one month old were very cute… I got carried away…"
"Mm-hm, totally understandable."
Utaha happily took the milk tea Yukino handed her, took a sip, then asked,
"So where are Kou and Rin? Aren't they coming?"
"They are. They're putting away their stuff downstairs. They also want to play mahjong later. Kou is fired up about beating Haruno-nee."
Hearing Ichin report Kou's confidence, Utaha pursed her lips.
"That seems… unlikely. Haruno-nee definitely studied mahjong seriously. Normal people can't beat her."
"It's fine. Let Kou lose a bit. It's not like she's short on money. I lost over sixty thousand yen last night—she can afford to lose at least fifty thousand, right?"
As he spoke, the doorbell rang—Kou and Rin had arrived.
They came in carrying a cat. Kou handed the cat to Yukino immediately before announcing with great excitement:
"Where's Haruno? Come on, let's get a few rounds in before dinner!!"
"Haruno-nee is still napping."
Ichin sipped his milk tea.
"She finally has a weekend with nothing scheduled. She probably won't wake up until dinnertime. Just wait for night. We have plenty of time—we can even play tomorrow."
"Hmph… fine."
Kou plopped down on the sofa, grabbed a Switch controller, and said,
"Then I'm playing Mario Kart! Ichin, come on, let's battle!"
"Sure. We don't need to start cooking yet anyway."
They played until around 4 p.m., when Ichin finally put down the controller and headed to the kitchen to make dinner. Yukino and Rin followed to help.
Utaha, meanwhile, continued writing her novel's final chapters—polishing every detail to perfection.
As her close friend, Yagami Kou had long been granted early access to Utaha's drafts. After watching her type for a while, Kou gently bumped Utaha's shoulder.
"Hey, Utaha… can I ask you something?"
"Hm? What?"
Seeing Kou so cautious, Utaha became curious.
"It might be a bit blunt, but I really am curious."
Kou leaned in and whispered into Utaha's ear:
"When you let Ichin and Yukino go out alone together like that… you're not worried at all? If I saw Rin going out alone with some guy, I'd totally panic."
"Oh, that's what you meant."
Utaha smiled, completely unbothered.
"No need to worry. I'm confident in myself. And I understand Ichin better than anyone.
And Kou-nee, instead of worrying about Yukino, maybe you should be worried about Haruno-nee. She's the one bold enough to show up in front of Ichin wearing just a nightgown."
"Oooh? She's that bold? Tell me everything!"
So Utaha began recounting everything from last night and this morning—though, as she spoke, she kept glancing meaningfully toward the kitchen from time to time.
What exactly she was thinking… only Utaha herself knew.
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