Ririko finished her shower and put on a brand-new set of pale pink pajamas, with matching fluffy slippers on her feet.
She guessed Clark had bought all of it on the fly when he ran downstairs earlier, racing to some home goods store that was still open.
When she came out of the bathroom, Krypto launched himself from some corner and landed squarely in her arms, his paws clinging to her shoulders and his tail wagging like a little flag.
Holding Krypto, she sat down on the sofa, glanced sideways at Clark as he sorted out his camera, and casually asked:
"Why did you become a reporter? With your abilities, couldn't you make a fortune doing pretty much anything?"
The warm scent of her freshly showered body, mingled with moisture, enveloped Clark. His hands paused, and all he could do was keep pretending to adjust the settings.
"My uncle and aunt adopted me when I was little. I want to earn a job and recognition here through my own efforts, not my Kryptonian powers."
Ririko lowered her head and scratched Krypto under the chin, making him rumble contentedly.
She couldn't understand his words at all:
"Everyone else would kill to have superpowers, but you want to be an ordinary person. You're such a weirdo."
Clark scratched his head, his ears growing warm as he tried to figure out how to explain:
"Being a reporter is interesting, too. You get to meet all kinds of people and learn things other people don't know...
How about this? Next time I'm in a fight, could you take a few pictures for me? Then I wouldn't keep ending up with useless shots from bad angles."
He looked up and found the sofa empty.
Ririko had already carried Krypto into the bedroom, saying lazily, "I'm