Ever since she was little, cats had never taken to her. She'd even often wondered that if she were stranded on the African Savannah with a group of people and they encountered a pride of lions, she'd probably be the first one tackled and have her throat bitten through.
So, to avoid making things awkward—and to keep from making the cats uneasy—even when she spotted one as a child, she would only peek at it from behind Haruno.
She forced herself to look away from Little Star and kept her voice calm.
"Let's go to the hospital first. The kitten might get nervous in a place with too many people."
"Okay."
The two walked side by side.
Although Yukino was holding a map, she barely looked at it. She'd only brought it as a precaution.
She'd never been to the largest Pet Hospital nearby, but she'd already memorized a rough map of the surrounding area.
Yukino looked as beautiful as ever today.
As for Kasumigaoka, her outfit and makeup struck a balance between mature and sweet. Her figure was also quite different from that of an average, slender high school girl.
Of course, that absolutely did not mean she was fat. [Repeat one hundred times!]
Her figure was graceful, with a full bust and an exceptionally slim waist. Her face was almost too beautiful, and youthful energy radiated from it. Purity and allure coexisted in perfect harmony within her.
She was the sort of woman who could draw in most men with just one glance.
Two such breathtakingly beautiful girls walking together had explosive appeal. At this plaza, a date spot packed with couples, every passerby who crossed their path couldn't help but look at them a few times.
Kasumigaoka even thought she could faintly hear passersby behind them whispering.
[Are they... that kind of couple?]
[They're so pretty. I've never seen such a beautiful pair of girls in real life...]
[They're both stunningly beautiful.]
[They might not be a couple. Maybe they're friends?]
Yukino hadn't heard a thing. She was intently watching the shops along the street, afraid she might miss the Pet Hospital.
"It should be a little over seven hundred meters from this plaza, right, Kasumigaoka?"
"Yeah..."
Kasumigaoka was a little dejected.
For ordinary girls, going out was practically as momentous as renovating a new home. And Kasumigaoka was even more particular.
For this outing, she'd started buying magazines nearly a week in advance. Then, after logging onto an authoritative fashion forum and researching a mountain of data, she'd finally managed to put together ten outfits and makeup combinations that were currently most beloved and popular among young girls.
After eliminating the few lowest-scoring options from the ten, she was left with five. Then Kasumigaoka had used a sacred dart to select the ultimate winner.
The looks of all the passersby who'd turned to stare proved that she hadn't made any mistakes with her outfit today.
But Yukino hadn't even looked at her once!!!!!
Kasumigaoka was very dejected.
Ahem, don't get the wrong idea. Even when girls went shopping, they loved checking out other girls' clothes along the way.
That girl's coat looks great with that outfit. I've learned something!
That girl's eyeshadow is so clean and precise. How does she do it?!
What kind of magical skirt is that? I'm buying one as soon as I get home!!!
After all, fashion and mathematics shared the same first principle: look and learn.
And if you wanted to become friends, you had to learn from each other. That was how you built a good relationship.
Kasumigaoka hadn't made many friends before, but she'd read plenty of material, and that was what it said.
A willingness to learn, ambition, curiosity—Yukino had none of those when it came to her!
Damn it.
Did Yukino really think of her as a woman with not a single thing worth admiring and no charm whatsoever?!
"We're here."
Kasumigaoka saw Yukino's previously calm, unruffled eyes light up. The way she looked at the Pet Hospital was as if she were gazing at a true beauty.
Kasumigaoka was very dejected.
"Should we have Little Star dewormed first?" Yukino asked, leaning closer to Kasumigaoka.
Yukino's voice was quiet. Faced with a subject she wasn't good at, she seemed a little embarrassed and unsure of herself.
Kasumigaoka shook her head. "The kitten's still too young. We'll have to wait about another month before deworming her. For now, she can only get her vaccinations. One shot every twenty-one days, for a total of three."
Yukino's eyes immediately sparkled as she looked at her. "You're amazing, Kasumigaoka..."
Kasumigaoka fell silent.
After nearly a month and a half as Yukino's private tutor, Kasumigaoka had never received so much as a single compliment from her. Now, her feelings were complicated.
After they entered the Pet Hospital, a receptionist came over. A little later, the doctor they'd booked in advance arrived as well.
As expected of a specialist who worked with small animals, the usually wary Little Star soon settled obediently into the doctor's arms.
The doctor stroked her fluffy little head and said with a smile, "What a pretty, well-behaved kitty..."
Yukino, standing behind Kasumigaoka, murmured, "Yeah, she's so pretty."
Kasumigaoka turned around and gave her a look. "Are you a parrot?"
Yukino blinked. "No..."
"I mean, I've only just noticed how pretty you look today, Kasumigaoka."
Kasumigaoka could still feel the warmth lingering on her face.
Damn Yukino. She was usually so cold and never had a kind word for her, and then she suddenly complimented her out of nowhere. Anyone would've been startled in that situation!
And then she'd innocently asked what was wrong.
How could she even say that?
Sneak Attack, trying to fool her—a mere eighteen-year-old comrade!
That was just bad form!
Kasumigaoka's mind was full of nonsense, looping over and over, when she heard the gentle doctor say everything was ready.
The medical instruments had been sterilized, and the preliminary checks were done. Now came the part kittens hated.
Little Star was a clever kitten. She'd been lounging lazily in the doctor's arms, but now she immediately sensed the serious atmosphere was off.
She tried to spring down with a little cat hop, but the doctor grabbed her by the scruff of her neck—the nape of her destiny—and held her again.
Though the doctor's arms were warm and ample, Little Star was a cat, not a person. She didn't feel comforted at all. Instead, she squirmed and mewed without stopping.
The doctor looked at Kasumigaoka. "Try calming her down first. Otherwise, I can't give her the shot."
Kasumigaoka gave it a try, but the little paws flailing everywhere nearly scratched her.
Yukino immediately stepped forward, volunteering. "I'll do it."
What do you mean, you'll do it? I'm her actual owner, and even I can't get her under control right now.
But when Yukino stepped out from behind Kasumigaoka and approached Little Star, the kitten, who'd been struggling nonstop just a moment ago, immediately went into battle mode. She crouched low and stared at Yukino without moving.
One... two... three...
A few seconds later, the doctor pulled out the syringe after administering the vaccine, while the kitten still hadn't noticed a thing. She remained completely motionless, her beautiful blue and green eyes fixed on Yukino as a rumbling warning growl rose in her throat.
The doctor and Kasumigaoka both burst out laughing.
This usually icy beauty looked so serious and earnest, yet somehow so comical.
Kasumigaoka picked up Little Star and rubbed her little belly. "You're such a silly little thing."
Yukino cleared her throat.
What are you saying?
Kittens shouldn't have to hear things like that.
After the shot, the sick cat and her owner listened together to the doctor's long list of instructions. After all, it had been included in the package they'd booked beforehand.
Yukino went outside to wait for them.
After Kasumigaoka filled two whole pages in her notebook with cat-care tips, she felt an inexplicable sense of responsibility.
It felt as if she'd become the one another life depended on.
She'd been away from her parents since she was young, studying elsewhere, and had basically never had any friends. She'd thought she'd long since gotten used to living alone.
Loneliness and solitude were nothing compared to the misery of staring at a mind full of tangled thoughts in the middle of the night, unable to write a single word, with a deadline looming the next day.
But the emotions she'd thought were long gone hadn't disappeared after all. They'd settled into every night of Kasumigaoka's past, blending self-loathing, self-doubt, and the taste of sleeping pills into the bleak life she'd once lived.
But now, she'd been able to fall asleep without medication for almost two months.
Kasumigaoka smiled and touched Little Star's nose. "What about you? Do you only see me as your litter-box cleaner? Hehe..."
The kitten, who hadn't even noticed she'd been given a shot, affectionately licked Kasumigaoka's palm.
In high spirits, Kasumigaoka had just stepped out of the doctor's office when she saw Yukino sitting there obediently.
This room was for sick or injured animals that needed rest. There were cages piled on racks, and most of the cats and dogs inside were asleep.
Yukino was watching a chubby adult orange cat.
It was dozing with its back to Yukino, half asleep, but its tail poked out through the bars and swayed gently from side to side without its noticing.
When the orange cat's tail swung left, Yukino's gaze followed it to the left. When it swung right, her gaze followed it to the right.
Yukino was so focused that she didn't even dare make a sound loud enough to wake the sleeping cats and dogs.
Hey, you orange pig!
Luring people in was illegal!
And Yukino, wake up! Little Star is the cutest, prettiest, smartest kitten in the world!
Don't let those weeds and wildflowers outside distract you!
They'd left a little after one that afternoon, and by the time they'd finished everything, it was already four or five.
They found a Chinese restaurant nearby that allowed pets in carriers, and after Kasumigaoka called to check, the two of them made their way over.
They sat in a booth with partitions on both sides, decorated in a distinctly Chinese style. Yukino didn't know much about this sort of thing, but Kasumigaoka confidently ordered several dishes.
"Chinese food's most popular dishes are Sweet and Sour Pork and Mapo Tofu!" she declared to Yukino.
"...Really? I don't exactly trust your recommendations."
Kasumigaoka folded her arms and gave a scornful laugh. "You haven't eaten much good food. How dare you say that?"
Damn it, she couldn't argue with that.
The Yukinoshita Family motto was Self-Control and Self-Discipline.
Restrain unnecessary desires so greed wouldn't cloud your heart, and hold yourself to strict standards even when you were alone.
Of course, Yukino had to restrain her appetite, too.
In truth, Yukino had been in poor health since childhood, so she'd developed strict, healthy eating habits for her own well-being.
While they waited for the food, Kasumigaoka mysteriously handed Yukino a few small booklets she'd printed out.
Yukino took them and saw that they contained the opening chapters of several different novels, each with a different genre and style.
Kasumigaoka cleared her throat, sounding a little guilty. "A few light novel authors want to write under an Alt Account. They asked me to judge which opening is better."
That was a lie.
The truth was that Kasumigaoka had come up with lots of ideas for a New Book lately. She couldn't bear to give any of them up, but the subject matter overlapped, so she planned to write one under her main name, Utako Kasumi, and start another under an Alt Account.
Yukino picked one up at random and flipped it open. She hadn't even read a page before she raised an eyebrow. "This one was written by Ms. Utako Kasumi, wasn't it?"
Utako Kasumi herself: "...Uh, well."
Before you continue