Staring at the rain that showed no signs of letting up outside the window, Eriri muttered in frustration, "Why is it still raining this hard? I thought autumn was supposed to be drier?"

Utaha, who had just finished reviewing the upcoming Persona plot outline with Hazuki, walked over while stretching and replied, "There are always exceptions. The weather's been weird these past few years, hasn't it? Still, with it raining like this, shouldn't you call Aunt Sayuri and have her come pick you up?"

"Yeah, guess I should give her a call."

Pulling out her phone, Eriri thought for a moment, then ran over to Yukino, who was quietly reading.

"Yukino, why don't I have my mom give you a ride home too? It's on the way anyway!"

Looking up and seeing the weather outside, Yukino realized getting back to her apartment by herself would be troublesome, so she didn't refuse Eriri's kind offer.

"Then I'll trouble you."

Just as she said that, a thunderclap roared across the sky, so loud that both Eriri and Yukino flinched at the same time.

Apparently, not only Eriri, but even Yukino—who usually seemed fearless—had a slight fear of thunder.

Which was fair, because today's thunder really was shockingly loud. Even someone like Ichin would probably get startled if it hit out of nowhere.

Exhaling slowly, Yukino quickly took out her phone and pulled up her home's surveillance app to check on her two cats.

Thankfully, the footage showed the cats resting lazily in their beds, calm and undisturbed.

Seeing that, Yukino finally relaxed.

During past thunderstorms in the summer, she'd always been home with them, so there'd never been any incidents.

Looking at the cats on Yukino's phone, Eriri suddenly said thoughtfully, "Yukino, can I stay over at your place tonight?"

"Huh?"

Yukino looked up, surprised. "Why the sudden idea?"

"Hehe, I mostly just wanna hang out with your cats. And tomorrow's Saturday, so we don't have to get up early. So? Is it okay?"

Eriri had already stayed over a few times, and Yukino had also visited her place, so it wasn't anything strange or uncomfortable anymore.

"I don't mind, but you should at least check with Aunt Sayuri first."

"No problem!"

Grinning, Eriri grabbed her phone and excitedly called her mom.

If it were anyone else, Sayuri might have hesitated, but since it was Yukino, she had no objections.

After hearing her daughter's request, Sayuri said on the other end of the call, "That's fine, but don't go bothering Yukino, alright? And make sure you finish your homework—no skipping. Ideally, finish it all tonight. I can already tell—once you stay over, you're definitely not coming back tomorrow morning."

Busted, Eriri let out a sheepish laugh. "Hehehe, I know!"

"Mm, then should I come pick you two up? If you're staying over, you probably don't have a change of clothes, right?"

"I'll just borrow Yukino's! We're pretty much the same height and build! And you don't need to pick us up—Ichin will drive us!"

Right on cue, Ichin walked out of his office and caught that last sentence, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, you really do treat me like a chauffeur, huh?"

Eriri stuck out her tongue playfully at him, then wrapped up her call with Sayuri after a few more words.

After joining Utaha and hearing the whole story, Ichin smiled and looked at Yukino.

"A year ago, you'd never have agreed to let Eriri stay the night at your place, huh?"

Yukino tilted her head, thinking back, and realized he was right.

In just this short year—no, a year and a half—she had really changed a lot.

Since the rain was pouring hard, even though it wasn't officially time to get off work, Ichin had let everyone leave early. After all, no one could say for sure whether the rain would get even worse later.

Once he confirmed that all the coworkers without cars either had umbrellas or a ride with someone else, Ichin left the office with Utaha, Yukino, and Eriri.

After everyone was in the car and buckled up, Ichin first drove Yukino and Eriri to Yukino's apartment.

Along the way, Utaha, riding in the front passenger seat, chatted with the two in the back.

"Eriri, since you're staying at Yukino's place tonight, how about coming over to our place tomorrow? It's Saturday after all."

"Tomorrow, huh..." Eriri thought for a moment and then shook her head. "Not tomorrow. I want to spend the day studying at Yukino's place. I'll come over on Sunday instead. I mean, I won't have a change of clothes for tomorrow, and I'm not about to walk around in my school uniform all day."

She had no problem going out in her green tracksuit, but there was no way she'd show up at someone's house the next day still wearing yesterday's uniform. No matter how casual she usually was, she was still a girl, and she cared about that kind of thing.

"Sunday then? Alright, it's a date," Utaha smiled and nodded, then turned to Yukino. "You come too, Yukino—bring your cats along. Let the little guys have a playdate. I'll give Hazuki a call tomorrow too, see if she wants to come."

Since getting her cats, Yukino had been smiling more and more. Weekends had turned into mini-events where all the cat owners got together to let their pets hang out and play.

Naturally, Yukino had no objections and agreed without hesitation.

"Sounds good. I'll bring the cats over on Sunday."

"Cats…"

Eriri suddenly felt a bit left out of the conversation, so she quickly chimed in, "Don't forget what we talked about, Yukino! I'm still waiting for your cat to have kittens!"

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten."

Yukino smiled softly. "It's only November. It'll probably be sometime next year—just be patient."

Ichin, who was driving, joined in on the conversation too. "That's right. Also, Eriri, did you talk to Aunt Sayuri about this?"

"Of course I did! Mom's totally on board!"

With Sayuri's approval, neither Yukino, Ichin, nor Utaha had any objections.

As long as Peppa and Yukino's cat, Sesame, ended up hitting it off, Eriri's future kitten dreams would be within reach.

So... for Peppa to find himself a girlfriend in the future, maybe they really should start watching his weight. Can't let the little guy get too fat, right?

*