"Dumb?"
Utaha turned her head to look at Peppa nestled in Yukino's arms and chuckled.
"This little one's just like that—goofy and laid-back. All she does is eat and sleep without a care in the world. I thought the same as you at first, but Ichin said it's totally normal for orange tabby cats to be a bit dopey."
"R-Really?"
Yukino lowered her head to take another look. Peppa blinked her big, round eyes right back at her.
Still… she really did seem kind of silly and slow.
But undeniably adorable. Under Ichin and Utaha's care, Peppa's fur had become silky soft, and she'd put on a bit of weight too. Now she was plump and squishy, making her extra cuddly in Yukino's arms.
Scratching under the cat's chin, Yukino decided not to overthink it. After all, cats came with all sorts of personalities. A little derpy wasn't a problem.
As long as she was cute, that was enough.
Haruno, watching the cat in her sister's arms with interest, said, "She really is cute. Yukino, let me hold her too."
The moment she reached out with a smile on her face, Peppa looked at Haruno's extended hands—then let out a meow and suddenly leapt out of Yukino's arms, landing right in Eriri's lap instead.
Startled by the sudden pounce, Eriri quickly and firmly caught the fluffy intruder.
"W-Whoa! What just happened?"
Yukino couldn't hold back her amusement anymore and chuckled. "Looks like your darker side scared her off, sis. She probably sensed it and bolted on instinct."
"Ehhh~ Is that it?"
Haruno furrowed her brow and stared at Peppa, who was now sitting with her back pointedly facing her. She looked genuinely confused.
She hadn't shown any hostility at all. She just wanted to cuddle the cat, purely and innocently. And besides, this was Ichin's cat—no way would she dare mess around.
Could it really be true what some people say—that cats can sense things others can't?
But since the cat didn't want to be held, Haruno didn't push it. She wasn't that into cats anyway—not like Yukino was.
When they arrived at Yukino's house, they let Peppa out and introduced her to Yukino's two cats—one adult and one kitten. After making sure the cats were okay, Ichin and Utaha headed into the kitchen with Yukino to start preparing dinner.
Haruno, who kept some spare clothes in Yukino's guest room, went to change outfits. Once she returned, she peeked into the kitchen to check on the trio, then joined Eriri in the living room to watch the cats.
As they watched, she commented, "Looks like just the two of us can't cook."
Waving a cat teaser toy around, Eriri replied, "I can cook! I can make fried rice… and instant noodles."
"In that case, I can cook too."
They looked at each other and shared a knowing, sympathetic glance.
As for whether they had plans to actually learn?
Of course not. Cooking was tiring. Why bother, when they could just sit back and enjoy the food?
Dinner, unsurprisingly, was a feast. With Ichin as the head chef and Utaha and Yukino assisting, the meal included: monkfish and tofu soup, stir-fried beef with green peppers, cola chicken wings, sautéed romaine with garlic, bamboo shoots with sliced pork, and smashed cucumber salad—six full dishes in total. Only one of them was purely vegetarian, and one was mixed. Everyone ate so much they were completely stuffed.
Originally, they had planned to cook the cod Yukino had bought too, but once all the other dishes hit the table, they realized it would be way too much. So the cod was set aside, saved for Yukino to use in her bento later.
And it wasn't just the humans—Peppa and the two cats, also got to enjoy some fresh monkfish soup.
After dinner, everyone lounged lazily in Yukino's living room, watching TV, playing cards, and chatting. Since there was no homework assigned after today's sports festival, it was a rare chance to truly relax.
It wasn't until 9 p.m. that Ichin, Utaha, and Eriri finally said their goodbyes and left.
After dropping Eriri off at her house, Ichin and Utaha returned home to find both of their parents still out. It wasn't until nearly 10 o'clock, after the two had already showered and changed, that the two mothers finally strolled back in.
As the door opened, Ichin's mother called out cheerfully, "I'm home!"
Utaha sat up from where she had been leaning against Ichin and ran over to the entryway to help carry bags. Noticing her mother-in-law's skin, she smiled and said, "Auntie, looks like that beauty treatment really did the trick. You look so relaxed."
"It really was refreshing," Ichin's mom replied with a smile as she stepped into her slippers. "Sayuri found the place—it's a top-tier beauty salon here in Tokyo. A bit pricey, but totally worth it. So, how did you two handle dinner?"
Pouring her a cup of tea from the pot on the coffee table, Ichin said, "We cooked at Yukino's place with the others. Don't worry—we didn't go hungry, and the food was just as good as yours would've been."
"Glad to hear it," she replied, sitting down and stretching her arms before sipping the tea her son handed over. "We moms had a great time chatting over dinner. Especially Yukino and Haruno's mother—she's completely different from what I expected. I thought she'd be cold and distant, but once we started talking, I realized she's just a regular mom like the rest of us. Ah, but I'm sure you two aren't that interested in this stuff. You've already showered, right? I'm going to wash up too. We've got an early start tomorrow—us moms are going shopping together."
"Shopping together? Even Yukino's mom is going?" Ichin asked in surprise.
"Yup." His mom nodded. "She wasn't going to at first, but when we asked, she said she didn't have anything planned tomorrow. Sayuri immediately pulled her in to come with us."
As expected of Aunt Sayuri.
Ichin had no complaints, of course. He and Utaha had school tomorrow and couldn't tag along anyway. It was great that his mom had others to spend time with.
While his mother went to shower, Utaha headed next door to check in with her own mom and chat for a bit before returning.
Two days after Ichin's mom arrived, on Friday afternoon, Ichin's dad flew in as well.
When he spotted the three of them waiting at the airport and walked over, the first thing out of his mouth was a cheerful phrase in Japanese—startling Ichin.
"Dad, even you're doing this now?"
"Hahaha, of course! I need to communicate with Utaha's parents, right? They're learning Chinese too—so I can't be left behind. Your old man may not be the most gifted in languages, but I did grind my way through learning English for my startup back in the day. Japanese is nothing I can't handle!"
Looks like communication between the two families wouldn't be an issue at all going forward.
The main reason for Ichin's dad coming—besides visiting his son and future daughter-in-law—was to take his wife and go on a weekend trip to Kyoto with Utaha's parents.
But right after they departed on Saturday, an unexpected guest showed up at Ichin's house.
Standing at the front door with a backpack slung over her shoulders, Eriri had a very sour look on her face.
"I've been abandoned. Lend me your downstairs room for a couple of days."
"Your parents went to Kyoto too?" Ichin asked.
Still scowling, Eriri nodded.
Once Ichin got the full story, he looked at her with a bit of sympathy and said, "Alright, it's yours."
...
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