Sora turned around, her face flushing before she could even finish speaking, instinctively looking away and lowering her head.
Then she peeked again, as if nothing had happened.
(…The last time I saw him like this was maybe six months ago?)
Sora's fingers unconsciously twisted her hair, trying to calm herself. But seeing Yuu shirtless, she couldn't stop her thoughts from wandering.
(I feel like Yuu's gotten way more muscular; his muscle lines are so beautiful…)
(And those legendary six-pack abs, way prettier than white chocolate bars, making you want to stroke them a few times.)
(If I call him 'Onii-chan' and beg, he'd probably let me, right?)
The more Sora thought, the faster her heart raced, a kind of heat stirring within her.
"I got dirty on the way back, so I went straight to shower."
Unaware of his sister's daydreams, Yuu explained with a smile.
Snapping out of it, Sora cleared her throat twice, too embarrassed to ask out loud. She turned back to the gray tabby kitten.
"This cat's our new family member?"
"Yep, her name's Yukinon. She's super obedient, smart, and not afraid of people."
Yuu crouched beside her, oblivious to Sora's increasingly red face, opened the cage, and lifted Yukinon out.
"This is where I live, your new home. From now on, we'll live together here."
He looked into the gray tabby's eyes, saying seriously: "Yukinon, this is my family, Kasugano Sora."
"To me, she's more important than myself. So you need to listen to her, play with her, protect her, and never let anyone hurt her. Got it?"
The cat meowed and nodded firmly: "I understand, Master!"
"Does she understand human language?" Leaning gently on Yuu's shoulder, her heart filled with dependence and joy, Sora couldn't hold back a smile, only pretending to be curious as she looked at Yukinon.
"Meow?"
She tried meowing.
The cat tilted its head, seemingly confused.
Yuu stifled a laugh, his eyes curving like crescent moons: "Sora, she understands human language, so just talk normally… You can't speak cat, so of course she doesn't get it."
"Don't laugh at me!" Sora instantly flushed with embarrassment and annoyance, her small hand smacking Yuu's firm chest, then accidentally lingering before pulling back as if nothing happened.
(Tch, tch, it feels so nice!)
Sora felt satisfied. Things usually just said out loud felt strangely embarrassing when actually done.
And there was a hidden thrill too!
"Interact with her for a bit. I'm gonna put on some clothes and prep her food."
Still unaware of his sister's naughty thoughts, Yuu stood, instructing Yukinon:
"If you need to pee or poop, hold it for now. I'll set up your litter box soon."
Then he turned and went upstairs.
After changing and coming back down, Yuu found most of the cat supplies from the bag already unpacked. A litter box with sand was set up in the corner of the entrance, carefully lined with newspaper.
He entered the living room and saw his sister's petite figure crouching by the dining table. One of two small bowls in front of her was filled with water, and she was pouring cat food into the other.
"Sora, you know how to take care of a cat?"
"There's tons of info online. We're modern people; we should use technology wisely."
After pouring the food, Sora stood up, sighing slightly from exhaustion.
Satisfied watching Yukinon approach and eat eagerly, she lifted her small face, hands on her hips, and smiled proudly at Yuu:
"I'm not your average hikikomori! While you're out earning money, I'm studying at home. Cleaning or taking care of a cat—it's all easy for me. Don't underestimate me!"
Yuu blinked: "What about washing dishes and cooking?"
Stunned for a moment, Sora's smile dropped, and she stared at him expressionlessly, her cheeks puffing up in annoyance.
"I don't like the wet feeling, and my cooking isn't as good as yours… It's not that I can't, I just don't need to be great at it!"
"Hm, fair enough." Yuu smiled, patting her small head gently. "You did great. Worthy of being my little sister."
"Anything else?"
"…For the next three days, your potato chip supply will be doubled."
"Now that's more like it." Sora nodded, satisfied, her gaze shifting to the happily eating kitten.
Her lips pursed slightly, her cheeks rosy, quietly enjoying his pat.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The night breeze rustled.
Soon, the house was filled with the aroma of delicious food.
They sat at the dining table, ready to eat, but noticed the gray tabby crouching on the floor, staring at them with longing eyes.
"Meow~"
Sora hesitated: "She ate a ton of cat food earlier. Does she still want to eat?"
"Obviously." Yuu sighed. He could understand what this creature was saying and had already guessed.
Setting down his chopsticks and bowl, he went to the kitchen. Soon, a savory aroma wafted out. He brought a plate of fried salmon, placing it on the floor in front of the gray tabby.
"I've removed the bones for you, so eat. But don't be picky—cat food, canned food, you have to eat it all."
"Meow~ (Of course, being picky is disrespecting life!)"
"Another line from Grandpa Cat?"
"Meow~ (No, this is my own feeling. If you don't eat, you'll starve. Being picky means slowly starving yourself!)"
"Relax, you'll only die from overeating, not starvation." Yuu patted the cat's head, letting it eat eagerly.
Though sensitive to heat, Yukinon devoured the salmon quickly, panting as it finished.
Yuu returned to his seat and noticed Sora staring at him.
"What?"
"You can talk to cats?"
"Yeah, I understand a bit of animal language." The system didn't forbid him from saying this.
"I see…" Sora nodded thoughtfully. "Then I guess I can't let her in my room…"
Her last sentence went unheard by Yuu.
"You're not even a little suspicious?"
Seeing her calm expression, Yuu found it odd—Sora wasn't like Haruno, who'd seen him punch a machine. Why was she so accepting of something supernatural like "he can talk to animals"?
Sora gave him a look like he was an idiot.
"Didn't I tell you before? If I don't believe in you, who else can I trust?"
Of course, she didn't voice her true thoughts—
In Sora's mind, Yuu was the best and greatest brother in the world. Being all-capable was just the basics.
Even if one day Yuu turned into Ultraman and told her, "You can be the light too!" Sora might not be shocked.
…Okay, that would still be a little shocking.
"True, your brother's only gonna get more amazing." Yuu said with a smile, his tone confident.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
After a slightly touching and warm dinner, Yuu dragged his sister, who tried to escape, to the kitchen, then returned to his room.
Ignoring the vulgar money, he'd also gained new skills and statuses from today's outing, which he needed to examine closely.
For example, skills like ventriloquism, speed…
These seemingly frivolous skills—what could they actually be used for?