When Haru and the others arrived at the audition venue, a line had already formed.
For the four girls—including Hiratsuka-sensei herself—this was their first time visiting a commercial filming site. Their curiosity was only natural.
Haru, carrying his orange cat in his arms, went to speak with the staff, completed the check-in, and joined the line at the back.
When he saw Yukino, Utaha, and Megumi approaching, he assumed they were coming to wait in line with him.
He waved his free hand.
"No need, I'll wait here alone."
But Yukino replied flatly:
"Who said we were coming to wait with you?"
Utaha grinned and followed up:
"We're here to pet the cat."
Megumi chimed in gently right after:
"That's right."
Hiratsuka-sensei was different. She had only followed them because the girls had stood up.
But watching the three of them talk like this, the playful part of her couldn't help surfacing. She chuckled and said:
"Looks like you've been abandoned, Amamiya. Want your teacher to keep you company in line?"
Haru handed the orange cat over.
"You girls go ahead and rest over there."
The others returned to their seats. Seeing the three girls all huddled around the cat, Shizuka looked puzzled.
"Don't you pet the cat all the time at his place? Why are you suddenly this eager now?"
Yukino replied seriously,
"Petting a cat at home is different from doing it at a place like this."
Shizuka blinked, then seemed to understand.
"Because there are other adorable cats around today?"
"Mm." Yukino nodded.
Her eyes wandered over to a couple ahead of Haru in line. The woman was cuddling a shiny-furred, high-appearance kitten.
She made a quick mental comparison.
That cat does seem a little cuter than ours...
But Jelly is way smarter.
The thought filled her with pride again.
The chubby orange cat in her arms was—without a doubt—the smartest and most obedient cat she'd ever seen.
It never caused trouble at home, never scratched the sofa or tore the bedsheets. A stable, well-mannered feline. Just like the memes online say—emotionally balanced.
Utaha also spotted the kitten ahead, her eyes sparkling slightly.
"Is that an American Shorthair?"
Yukino, being the resident cat encyclopedia, answered,
"Yes. American Shorthair. Supposedly, their intelligence rivals that of a young child. Strong immune systems, playful personalities, and one of the most popular breeds right now."
"It's got a pretty face too," Utaha added, clearly focused on the aesthetics.
Watching them get so into it, Shizuka decided to join in:
"With this many competitors around, are you all really confident?"
The one who answered wasn't Yukino or Utaha—it was the always composed Megumi:
"We've practiced ahead of time. Amamiya-kun trained Jelly really well. Don't let the chubby look fool you—Jelly's actually very agile."
"Agile?" Shizuka looked doubtful.
No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't associate "agile" with the little orange tank nestled in Yukino's arms.
Sensing her disbelief, Yukino placed the cat on the bench, ready to demonstrate.
"Let me do it," Utaha suddenly offered.
Yukino gave her a flat look.
"What's with the sudden enthusiasm, senpai?"
"Because I like it," Utaha answered with a completely reasonable tone.
Yukino didn't buy it. Still, this was a public place, and with a teacher nearby, she didn't press the matter.
Under Shizuka's intrigued gaze, Utaha clapped her hands once to get the cat's attention.Then, with her left hand, she raised a finger and drew a circle in the air.
Without hesitation, the orange tabby arched its back and did a perfect backflip on the spot.
"Meow~"
Jelly finished the trick and affectionately nuzzled against Utaha's hand.
Yukino's lips parted slightly, her heart skipping a beat. Even though she'd seen this move before, she couldn't help but feel a warm joy rise in her chest.
Utaha, basking in the moment, looked smug and satisfied.
Yukino, on the other hand, remained composed—she'd expected this outcome the moment Utaha volunteered.
After all, a round orange tabby purring and rubbing against you was an irresistible force of nature.
"This the result of your training?" Shizuka asked in awe, reaching to pet the cat.
"Technically speaking, Haru trained him. He seems to have a knack for it," Yukino replied, sounding uncertain.
She'd known Haru since childhood. Sure, he used to tease dogs and cats playfully, but she'd never seen him train an animal seriously.
Yet this cat, so well-behaved and clever, was all Haru's work.
"That's amazing," Shizuka said sincerely.
She gently touched Jelly's back, and when the cat didn't flinch or show aggression, she quickly went full-on into petting mode.
Just then, a man sitting nearby spoke up:
"How'd you teach him to do a backflip?"
The girls turned to look. The man held a large, sturdy cat in his arms.
"A Norwegian Forest Cat?" Yukino identified it instantly.
"Yep. His name's Kouta. He's family to me," the young man replied proudly, stroking the thick-furred cat.
The moment he finished speaking, his cat locked eyes with Jelly—and immediately started hissing, its fur puffing up.
"Whoa whoa, easy there. They're not enemies," he said, trying to calm it down.
Both Yukino and Utaha tensed, reaching out to pull Jelly back—
But the orange tabby merely glanced lazily at the hissing feline, slowly turned away, and sat down with a yawn right next to the girls.
Such calm. Such composure.
Yukino smiled, softly petting his head.
"Jelly's got the poise of a general."
Across from them, the man was stunned by Yukino's gentle expression. He'd originally spoken up with the intention of striking up a conversation.
Any of these women—Shizuka, Yukino, Utaha—could easily turn heads on their own.
Together, they were outright distracting.
Now, seeing Yukino smile so naturally, he took a deep breath and tried to keep his cool.
"What's it's name? Did you train him specifically for this?"
Yukino's hand paused.
She immediately saw through it—this guy was definitely trying to flirt.
She looked up and replied flatly,
"Sorry, I have a boyfriend."
The man froze. His face went red.
Utaha completely ignored him and leaned closer to Yukino with a playful smirk.
"Should I say that too?"
Yukino gave her a subtle warning glance—don't forget Hiratsuka-sensei's right here.
Utaha shrugged off the warning with a grin.
Still, Shizuka caught wind of something.
"Utaha, what did you mean by that? Do you have a boyfriend now?"
"Nope. Just teasing Yukino a little," Utaha replied smoothly.
Yukino responded calmly:
"In that case, let me tell you a little fable about a 'Bunny-Senpai.'"
"...???"
Utaha froze.
Wait—we agreed not to bring that up in public!
Yukino met her gaze, expression neutral. She didn't say any names. She didn't accuse anyone directly. But the meaning behind her words was crystal clear.
Shizuka blinked, completely lost. She tried asking for details, but both girls stonewalled her.
Left with no choice, she turned to find Megumi—only to realize something was wrong.
"Where did Megumi go?"
She glanced around, a little anxious.
She didn't expect Megumi to act like a child, but as the adult here, she still felt responsible.
Scanning the area, she finally spotted the girl—
Megumi had silently joined Haru in line, and the two of them were chatting quietly.
"When did she sneak over? She didn't say a word…" Shizuka murmured.
Utaha and Yukino followed her gaze.
Both of them frowned.
Utaha: Is Megumi trying to pull a stealth move too?
Yukino: Her silent escapes are getting smoother every time...
They were, of course, completely mistaken.
Megumi had simply gotten bored, realized no one was watching her, and wandered off to Haru out of curiosity.
At that moment, the two of them were just calmly discussing the audition process.
"They're looking at us," Haru said, still using his [Perception] skill.
"They probably think I snuck off to hog your attention," Megumi replied coolly.
Haru noticed that none of the others approached and let it go.
The auditions were moving fast. The staff clearly wanted to keep things efficient given the large turnout.
Soon, there were only two people left in front of Haru.
Yukino came over with the orange tabby and handed him over.
Then she looked at Megumi.
"You're going in too?"
"Mm. I'm curious how commercial auditions actually work."
Megumi added calmly: "You and Amamiya-kun both told me before—if I want to improve quickly in the film club, I need to observe more behind-the-scenes stuff."
Yukino narrowed her eyes.
Using my own advice against me now, huh?
Haru smiled.
"Want to join us too, Yukino?"
"Of course."
No hesitation at all.
If Haru was Jelly's "dad," then she was the mom.
Her love for this orange cat probably surpassed even Haru's.
"Then let's go together. You can watch your little Pokémon trainer show off," Haru joked.
"Pokémon again?" Yukino gave him a sidelong glance.
"Hey, I train Jelly, I train Bunny-Senpai, and I train Miss-Meow—how am I not a master?"
Yukino flushed immediately.
You call that training!?
No—actually, now that she thought about it…
It really did take skill to "ride" a Miss-Meow properly.
~~~~~~~~~~
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