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Airi took a deep breath, a smile on her face as she looked towards the rest atop the rooftop. A characteristic orange afterglow plastered the sky, ushering in a familiar sense of triumph as practice came to a close. Despite the frigid air that ushered and signalled the holidays proper, a sense of warmth still settled within Airi. White mist filled the air as she exhaled. She staggered up and looked towards the rest of the group while Haruka did the same.
“That wraps up practice!” Haruka exclaimed, a proud expression adorning her. “That was really good. We’re almost set for the live.”
“Yeah, let’s keep it up for tomorrow,” Airi added.
“Eh, we’re done now?” Minori asked, hands on her knees. She quickly pushed herself up into a standing position and glanced towards the door. “Okay! I’ll be off then!” Minori darted off, leaving almost as fast as she’d announced her departure.
“What’s up with her?” Airi wondered. “She’s been leaving immediately after practice a lot lately.”
“Hmm?” Shizuku mused. “Oh, I think she mentioned that she was preparing something for you!”
Haruka let out a chuckle. “Wasn’t that supposed to be a surprise?”
Airi laughed, before curiously looking in the direction where Minori had left. A surprise? Well, it certainly wasn’t like she knew exactly what it was yet, so that exactly hadn’t been ruined. “I guess I’ll look forward to it,” she looked between Haruka and Shizuku, “come on, let’s head home.”
Airi hummed, taking a look at her phone as the school day ended. A slight look of confusion touched her face at the message she received before she made her way over to Shizuku. “Hey, Shizuku,” Airi said, looking up from her phone. “You two didn’t plan this, did you?”
Shizuku giggled, before flashing her signature smile. “Hehe, Minori-chan was telling us how long she’s been preparing this!”
Airi feigned a sigh, holding back a smile. What could have Minori done that was enough to warrant cancelling practice? Either way, she’d asked for Airi to come over with a barrage of messages, so she supposed it’d only be right to oblige and figure out just what this surprise was. “Alright, I’ll be off then…” Airi trailed off, hearing her phone vibrate again. She muttered as she narrowed her eyes at her phone, “Minori, messaging me more won’t make me arrive quicker.” Airi shook her head with a chuckle before heading off.
Shizuku called out. “Enjoy yourself, Airi-chan!”
Airi arrived at Minori’s house. The place didn’t look too different from normal, at least beyond the festive lights strung up around the exterior. Airi had seen them before, but it did feel as if more had been added since the last time she’d been here.
Airi headed up the porch, about to reach for the door when it flew open, revealing an out of breath Minori. She caught her breath, a look of content taking over her as she met Airi's eyes.
“Airi-chan! You're finally here!”
“Hey, Minori. What’s the occasion?” Airi tried to look past Minori, when she heard some barking from within. Was that Samo-chan? Either way, Airi’s curiosity landed back on Minori, an inquisitive gaze on her as she wondered just what could have possibly lended towards the days of her rushing out of practice.
“Ehehe, well…” Minori glanced back, a shred of anxiety seeming to drip off her as she stepped away from the door and let Airi in. “Come in! You’ll see!”
Airi eyed Minori suspiciously, but eventually entered. It was getting cold anyway. She kicked off her shoes and took her coat off before following Minori who’d raced a little further into the house. Pacing forward through the foyer hall as the interior opened up, Airi was met with… a peculiar sight.
To be frank, the only thing Airi could muster as a reaction was standing there, baffled at what she saw. “Minori, what am I looking at?” Airi recognized Samo-chan, even if it had been a while since she’d seen him. Though, there was also another dog, seemingly a shiba inu across from Samo-chan. Several decorations were also strewn about, making the place seem a little more spruced up than the last time she’d been here. A little further away too was the dining table that seemed to be covered with snacks. That wasn’t what confused Airi though.
Both dogs seemed to have what appeared to be makeshift cat ears attached to them, both sitting happily in front of an oblivious looking Minori who seemed almost proud of her accomplishment, if you could call it that.
“You wanted to go to a cat cafe, but since we were unable to, I made my own for you!” Minori exclaimed.
Airi had a blank stare. That was great; perfect sound logic. You know, besides the one issue that she wondered whether to point out or not.
Those are dogs, Minori.
Met with Airi’s unchanging gaze, Minori’s excited expression began to fade as panic started to creep upon her. “I-I know it’s not perfect! B-but—”
“Wait, wait,” Airi cut her off. As she looked around more, she could see how much effort Minori had put into this. And it’s not like she disliked it either, it was just… a little surprising, to say the least. And seeing Minori disappointed like that? It definitely didn’t fit her. “Thank you for this, Minori.”
“Airi-chan!” Minori started beaming, before giggling as she looked at the other dog. “This is Shibao! It's Honami-chan’s dog.”
“Oh yeah, I remember hearing about Shibao before.” Airi walked over, joining Minori on the couch. Even if she’d rather prefer to be with cats, it’s not like she hated dogs. And it was quite pleasant being with Minori.
Airi began petting Shibao, as he rested against Airi’s leg. A faint smile creeped onto her face as she glanced at Minori.
“Shibao really likes you!” Minori giggled as she watched as Samo-chan also made his way over, as if asking to be petted by Airi too.
Airi let out a nervous laugh as she started petting both dogs—or she supposed “cats”—feeling she might be stuck here while a goofy Minori watched on gleefully.
Well, this isn’t so bad either.
Night had fallen, lights of the interior having flooded on now in lieu of the retreating daylight. Evening had come almost as quickly as Airi had arrived here. Honami had already come by to pick up Shibao, and Airi stood at the entrance of Minori’s house, the latter seeing her off.
“Today was fun! Honestly, how did you even come up with this?”
Minori giggled, answering sheepishly. “It’s the closest I could get to cats…”
Right… Airi shot a doubtful look towards her, but she couldn't deny that Minori really felt she did everything she could with what she had.
“Um, Airi-chan?”
Airi looked at her inquisitively. “Yeah?”
“When we're able, let's go to an actual cat cafe one day!”
A slight look of surprise overtook Airi for a moment, before she gave an enthusiastic nod. “Of course! Feel free to take me any time.”