Saturday. Mori Shinra felt none of the tension of the approaching regular exams. He sat on his living room sofa, controller in hand, repeatedly showcasing the shameful display of a Long Sword main.
"Eh, Foresight Slash into Spirit Helm Breaker, beauti... crap!"
After missing his Spirit Helm Breaker for the seventh consecutive time, Shinra silently switched to another game.
In the gap while the game was loading, he heard a knock on the door.
Knock, knock~
He put down his controller. His first thought was, Didn't Uncle Li say he was coming tomorrow afternoon? Did I remember wrong?
Walking to the door, Shinra opened it to find that the visitor was not Uncle Li, but Yukinoshita Yukino's older sister, Haruno.
This older sister, who bore a slight resemblance to Yukino and, in some aspects, completely crushed her, waved with a smile upon seeing him. "Yahallo~"
"Haruno-san?"
Shinra didn't expect her to come looking for him directly. Behind her stood Yukinoshita Yukino with a helpless expression, as if she had been forcibly dragged here by her sister. Noticing his gaze, she also gave a polite greeting. "Hello."
"Good afternoon. What are you two...?"
Seeing the two sisters dressed neatly as if they were going out shopping together, Shinra was a little puzzled.
But Yukinoshita Haruno quickly gave him the answer. "Ya~ isn't the [Tokyo Cat & Dog Expo] being held at Makuhari Messe today? You know Yukino loves cats, so I thought I'd take her for a look. As her friend, would you like to come along?"
"Sister, this is different from what you said just now, isn't it?" Yukino's expression changed upon hearing her words.
When they were leaving the house just now, her sister had used the excuse of "it's a rare visit, how can we not pay our respects to the neighbor?" to drag her to his doorstep. They had agreed just to say a quick hello. How did it suddenly turn into an invitation to the expo?
Now, she could only hope that he would not agree to her sister's impulsive whims. Thinking of this, Yukinoshita subtly shot him a meaningful look.
However, Mori Shinra didn't even glance her way. Almost without thinking, he immediately nodded in agreement. "Sure. I was just wondering what to do this afternoon. Come on in and sit for a bit. Wait a moment, I'll go change my clothes."
Yukinoshita Yukino: ...
After changing, Shinra followed the sisters downstairs and saw the Rolls-Royce he had once had an intimate encounter with. Unfortunately, things were different now; the driver had been replaced by a middle-aged man.
Shinra very self-awarely sat in the passenger seat, leaving the back for the two sisters.
"By the way, do you like cats, Mori Shinra-san?"
In the car, Haruno once again started the conversation. This beautiful older sister seemed to have a superhuman affinity, giving off the feeling that she could chat with anyone.
"Of course. Who doesn't like a little furball?" Shinra was quite interested in cats and dogs, but only to a certain extent.
When it came to pets like these, he was fine with petting them. But if you asked him to raise one, he would have to think very carefully.
After all, raising them was too much trouble. It was best to be able to pet other people's.
"So are you two planning to get a cat at the expo?" he asked curiously.
Haruno replied with a smile, "That depends on Yukino. She wanted to have a cat at home when she was little, but unfortunately, our mother wouldn't allow it. Now that she's moved out, it's a good opportunity."
Hearing this, a flicker of interest flashed in Yukino's eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by reason. She shook her head. "I'm just planning to look."
"What a pity. What about you, Shinra? Have you ever thought of getting a cute cat? That way, little Yukino might come over to your place more often~ Buy one, get one free. A great deal, isn't it?" Haruno tempted.
Hearing her words, an image automatically formed in Shinra's mind.
Yukinoshita Yukino, wearing cat ear accessories and holding a small kitten, sitting on his bed in a W-sit, asking in a cool yet shy tone if he wanted to come and play.
Hiss...
Suddenly, Shinra felt that getting a cat might not be a problem after all.
"Sister! What on earth are you saying?!" Yukino asked, her face beet red with embarrassment and annoyance.
"Hahaha, my apologies, just a joke. So, what's your answer?" Haruno said, perfunctorily dealing with her sister while asking him.
"I think I'll pass. I have to rely on takeout for all three of my meals. I can't even take care of myself properly. Getting a cat would just be asking for trouble," Shinra said, regretfully declining her cat-baiting proposal.
Haruno showed a surprised expression. "You eat takeout? I thought little Yukino would be making your portion as well."
"Sister! That's enough," Yukino's expression became a little scary. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone her.
Haruno also realized her joke had gone a bit too far and quickly clasped her hands together in a plea for forgiveness. "I'm sorry, Yukino~ So you two aren't dating yet?"
"No, we're still just friends for now," Shinra's 'for now' was very clever. Yukinoshita Haruno heard the implication and let out a long, meaningful sound.
It was hard to tell if Yukino understood or not. In any case, as if she had had enough of her sister, she crossed her arms, leaned back against the soft leather seat, and closed her eyes to rest, showing no intention of explaining his words.
Seeing this, Haruno laughed easily. "It seems our Yukino wants to save her energy for the cat and dog expo later."
Although this was only his second time meeting Yukinoshita Haruno, Mori Shinra could already sense how formidable she was.
It was no exaggeration to say that she was an enlarged, enhanced version of Yukino (in every sense). Due to her own personality issues, Yukino was not actually good at interpersonal communication.
But this was the complete opposite for Haruno. If Yukino's social skill value was 1, then Haruno's was 10, or even higher.
Everyone who talked to her could feel a sincere sense of relaxation and joy. Although she seemed to like joking around sometimes, she had excellent control over the extent of her jokes, making it impossible for anyone to dislike her.
Paired with looks that were in no way inferior to her sister's, Shinra could imagine how popular she must be at university.
And according to the information on her in his request log, she had already begun to be involved in some of the Yukinoshita family's social engagements and had achieved a certain degree of success.
It was basically certain that she was the next-generation leader of the Yukinoshita family.
...If it weren't for the fact that he could sense emotions, he might have really been deceived by her appearance.