Animania: Everyone Loves Me

"This... shop assistant miss."

Seeing the black-haired girl in work uniform still staring blankly at him, Kaito lightly coughed and pointed to the entrance door.

"Over there, it seems there's a new customer. Are you sure you're not going to greet them?"

"S-Sorry!", Shiina Taki snapped out of her daze like awakening from a dream.

This girl who had always been strong-willed and tsundere, who not only pressured her teammates but even herself, now looked like a flustered little girl. She subconsciously used the tray to block her bright red face, her cheeks burning hot.

She lightly bowed to show her apology and hurried away, her retreating figure full of the air of a panicked escape.

This should've just been a harmless little interlude. Kaito didn't take it to heart. But as he withdrew his gaze and looked at Chihaya Anon in front of him, he realized the girl beside him was glaring at him with puffed-up cheeks.

The girl's soft pink cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish, arms crossed over her barely noticeable chest, muttering quietly, "…Flirting with every girl."

Kaito: "?"

'Where are the bees? Where are the butterflies?'

Anon gave a resentful glance toward Shiina Taki's gradually retreating back, then glanced again at Raana sitting next to him. The meaning was obvious.

'The cat-girl is at least barely justifiable… but even that shop assistant I only met once counts?'

'I don't even know the girl's name,' Kaito's speechlessness lasted only half a second.

"Parfait," The silver-haired girl sitting close beside him suddenly spoke, looking at the three matcha parfaits on the table. Her beautiful heterochromatic eyes shimmered like rippling golden light under the mellow dusk glow.

She tilted her head, looking puzzled, "No one wants them?"

Of the three parfaits, one belonged to Mana, but the idol lady had already left earlier, clearly missing out on it.

Kaito rubbed the cat-girl's head, "If you want to eat it, go ahead. If it's not enough, you can have mine too."

He never had much interest in these kinds of desserts, so whether he ate it or not didn't matter.

"Okay," Raana lightly nodded, then looked across at the pink-haired older sister and pointed at the parfait in front of her, asking, "Parfait, want to eat?"

"Eh?", Anon was a little surprised. She didn't expect that the stray cat who had just coldly judged her as a boring woman would suddenly offer to share food. She quickly waved her hands and said shyly, "N-No, it's fine. You eat it."

"Okay," Raana brought the parfait in front of her over, scooped a spoonful, put it into her mouth, and squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

Anon: "?"

The girl froze for a moment, 'Did I… just fet get tricked by a stray cat?'

Thinking for a moment, she came up with a plan and picked up the donut in front of her, asking, "Do you eat donuts?"

Raana nodded: "Eat."

The cat-girl stood up and brought the donut in front of her over too.

Anon: "..."

'Why are you not playing by the rules?'

Kaito watched everything from start to finish, took a sip of black tea, and couldn't help but worry for Chihaya's future.

'This girl is just too easy to fool, being played around by a cat-girl.'

'If she meets a bad guy, she might get coaxed into having eight babies.'

However, in order to preserve Anon's self-esteem and prevent her from being too crushed and starting to doubt the world, or herself, he put down the teacup and tapped Raana lightly on the head, "Two parfaits are enough. Any more and you might catch a cold."

"Okay," The cat-girl puffed up her cheeks but ultimately didn't refuse. Reluctantly, she pushed the untouched parfait in front of Anon, "For you."

"…It's fine," Anon couldn't help but cover her face. Skills inferior, she could accept that. One parfait lost, it was no big deal. But her round toes inside her little leather shoes couldn't help but dig into the floor, 'I actually got played by a cat-girl, TWICE?'

'Ugh… In Kaito's heart, the image of me as a beauty with both brains and looks must've been shattered to bits by now…'

This dejected mood lingered all the way until nightfall, even as the group separated, it hadn't completely dissipated.

Finally boarding the train home, the pink-haired girl gritted her teeth and silently vowed in her heart.

'All the lost image, I will personally rebuild it!'

'Starting tomorrow!'

———

"So…", After walking along the road for a long while, Kaito stopped, turned around, and looked at Raana quietly following him like a silent cat, "It's already very late, right? Raana, aren't you going home?"

The silver-haired girl happened to be standing under the streetlight, holding the guitar case with one hand. Her slightly baby-fat face made people want to pinch it. She tilted her head and, after thinking for a bit, confidently said, "Because, want to be with you."

"This isn't about being with someone…"

Kaito held his forehead, "If you keep staying out late, your family will worry, understand?"

"It's fine," The cat-girl answered without hesitation, "Grandma likes you. I do too."

Her parents had been working in London for a long time and rarely returned to Japan, so she mostly lived with her grandmother.

Thinking of Tsuzuki Shifune's inexplicable trust in him, Kaito belatedly realized, 'Alright, there's no convincing Raana with this reasoning.'

The cat-girl bit her lip.

The bright streetlamp cast shadows on her long eyelashes like butterfly wings. The girl's silver short hair swayed gently in the night air, like cherry blossom petals carried by the spring wind.

"Is… it because you hate me?"

Those beautiful heterochromatic eyes were filled with loneliness and sadness, the jewel-like luster lost, reminding one of a soft-furred kitten afraid of being abandoned.

'Hate? Of course not. Who could say no to a luxury cat that doesn't hiss or shed, and shows its belly asking for pets at first sight?', Kaito didn't refuse anymore, just sighed, "Following me is fine, but… at least call your grandma first."

———

Tsuzuki Shifune's attitude was very kind.

She didn't show any displeasure at all about Kaito "kidnapping" her granddaughter. She only expressed slight apology and said, 'Raana, sorry to trouble you.'

She even wanted to transfer some accommodation money. Of course, Kaito refused.

Bringing the cat-girl home, it was just eight o'clock.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, thoughtful little Mutsumi, as usual, came out holding Kirara to welcome her brother home.

But before she could say "welcome back," her eyes had already landed on the silver-haired figure behind Kaito, one that looked a bit familiar.

In the girl's golden eyes, a ripple passed.

[T/N: Must be hard getting tortured by new girls everyday. Poor mutsumi 🥲]

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