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Maki stares outside the window of the high-rise building. It isn’t close to dusk, yet the sky is dark and foreboding. Maki brings her mug to her lips and takes a sip; she watches with dry amusement when the first droplets of rain begin. It only takes a moment before the wind picks up, and the rain pours harder.
She pulls her phone from the pocket of her sweatpants; it was a lazy day for her, save for a handful of chores—she essentially had the day off. It’s half-past two, and her girlfriend has no doubt gotten stuck in the storm.
Nobara can handle herself, but Maki’s certain she’ll be hearing a variety of complaints when the other woman returns.
As Maki returns her gaze back to the window, she’s greeted with a flash of light and a roar of thunder that follows soon after. It’s really picking up now. Maki turns her back to the window and returns to the loveseat. She’d typically spend her days off either with her friends, her girlfriend, or training at the school.
Well, not in this weather. Nobara tells her she trains too much anyway, though Maki finds it to be a good source of stress relief. One of their goals is to convert their spare room into their own personal dojo of sorts. Using the school is fine, but Maki wouldn’t mind having her own place, far away from the prying eyes of the new generation of sorcerers.
Maki ends up reading a book instead. A murder mystery novel that Megumi had recommended to her a few weeks back. He told her it started slow, and he was correct. Despite that, Maki does trust his judgement—she’s certain she’ll end up enjoying it once it gets going.
She becomes so engrossed in the book, the sound of the front door unlocking almost startles her. Which is a bit of a surprise, considering Maki can usually hear the sound of their complex’s elevator or Nobara’s footsteps before she’s anywhere near the door. But with the sound of rain and thunder, plus a good book, this one got past her. She sets her book down and heads to the door, only to be greeted by an interesting sight at the entryway.
Nobara is soaked to the bone, looking irritated and exhausted. That’s not what’s interesting though—what’s interesting is the way her coat was bundled in her arms. Even without an umbrella, she could have at least attempted to shield herself from the harsh weather with that.
Maki lets out a fond sigh. She doesn’t understand some of the things Nobara does, but she can’t help but admit she looks cute like this, like a sopping wet cat. Nobara pouts at her, only furthering the imagery in Maki’s head.
“You should have looked at the weather before you left,” Maki remarks teasingly. Nobara opens her mouth, probably to say something insulting. She’s cut off when Maki, who in that short span of time retrieved a towel, begins to pat her head dry. Nobara squirms at the affection, hugging the wet coat closer to her. Maki quirks her brow at that.
“W-what?” Nobara stammers.
Maki tosses the towel to the side and places a hand on her hip.
“What are you hiding?”
“Nothing!”
Maki hums in response, not believing a word. “Weird of you to not wear your coat during a storm.”
“I—uh,” Nobara starts, but she’s cut off by a tiny mewl. Maki’s eyes widen and she glances back down at the bundle in her arms.
“Baby…”
“It was raining, Maki! I couldn’t just leave him to fend for himself!” She begins, unraveling the damp fabric to reveal the source of the sound.
A cat, definitely too big to be a kitten. He has an orange coat with white markings on his paws. His eyes are a dark yellow, and Maki notes the notch on his ear; it reminds her of a sakura petal. The cat itself is also wet, but not nearly as soaked as Nobara. Clearly she did her best to shield him from the storm.
“Well, I’m not going to throw him out into the storm. I’m not that cold-hearted,” Maki huffs. Nobara’s eyes sparkle at that. She leans over and presses her lips to Maki’s scarred cheek.
“I know you’re not babe,” she says before letting out a giggle.
Maki grimaces—Nobara’s lips are cold, making her break out in goosebumps. “Alright, I might not be cold-hearted, but you’re freezing.”
Nobara sets down the cat, who immediately sprints to crawl under the couch. “Whoops…”
Maki rolls her eyes. She’s not surprised at all. She’s not much of a cat expert, but being in a completely new environment and surrounded by two giants would scare any small animal.
“So what’s the story?”
“So, his name is going to be Fuku—you know, since it was so lucky of me to find him and give him shelter from the rain.”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself.”
“Maki, come onnnn.”
“Nobara… He might already have owners.”
“He didn’t have a collar!” She points at the couch. She’s not wrong—the cat didn’t seem to have any claims of ownership. “And the notch on his ear means someone already got him neutered so we wouldn’t have to worry about that.”
“Fine. He can stay tonight; tomorrow we’ll go to a vet and find out if he’s chipped.”
Nobara heaves out a sigh of defeat. “Okay…”
“And…” Maki scratches the back of her head. “I guess if no one claims him…we can go to the store and buy…cat things.”
That makes Nobara perk up. “Really?”
“Really.” Maki nods. “Though I’d honestly prefer we got a dog instead,” she admits unashamedly. Nobara rolls her eye.
“Of course you’d say that.”
“Anyway.” Maki jerks her thumb in the direction of their bathroom. “Go take a bath. I’m cold just looking at you.”
Nobara winks at her—or at least her attempt at a wink. “Okay~” she lilts.
“And… I guess I’ll try to get him out from under there.”
They’ve had Fuku for about three weeks now. The trip to the vet essentially confirmed that the cat was a stray that had been picked up at one point, fixed, and then released back into the streets.
Hearing that only made Nobara even more insistent on keeping the little guy. Maki wasn’t going to deny her. Even she was starting to feel attached to the creature’s presence.
The only problem was Fuku was not warming up to Maki.
But Maki wasn’t letting it get to her. Not one bit—nope.
Sure, every time she offered a hand out to him, he’d either hiss or swipe at her. Maki briefly wondered if her lack of cursed energy had something to do with it. The absence could be spooking the animal, given animals tend to have a better sense of cursed energy than most non-sorcerers.
Of course, anytime Nobara offered a hand, Fuku would immediately press his head into her palm. He’d rub against her legs, sit curled up next to her when she scrolled on her phone. The cat was all over her.
Maki supposes he’s grateful to Nobara for rescuing him. Maybe he could sense that Maki wasn’t as much of a cat person as Nobara was?
She lets out a sigh, ripping open the metal lid of the cat food. The sound alone has the creature prance into the kitchen. Loud meows follow soon after, practically screaming at Maki to hurry up with his food.
That was the other thing.
Fuku takes a leap, landing on the countertop right next to Maki. He leans in, trying to get an early bite of his dinner.
“Stop,” Maki warns. She picks him up and sets him down on the ground.
Fuku doesn’t want his space invaded, but he loves to bother Maki when she’s busy. This is one of the few times he lets her touch him. He immediately leaps back onto the counter, and Maki has to repeat the process.
“I wish I knew what your deal was,” she huffs and earns a loud meow in return.
It’s the dead of night when Maki wakes up to the sound of purring. She groggily wipes at her eyes, only to be greeted by two giant yellow eyes staring down at her. And something grasping at her chest. She peers down to see Fuku kneading into her chest—making biscuits. Maki glances over to the sleeping body next to her. Nobara’s out like a light, letting out a gentle snore.
“Shouldn’t you go bother her with this?” Maki hisses quietly at the cat. The purring only gets louder, and Fuku blinks at her. Feeling rather curious, she slowly lifts her hand up and brings it closer to the cat.
The kneading stops, and a set of claws swipe at Maki’s hand, nicking them.
“You little fucker,” she grunts, glancing down to see a small trickle of blood. Fuku immediately resumes his biscuit-making.
Maki doesn’t get this cat at all.
“That’s just how they are. They make boundaries.” Nobara informs her. She has a video controller in hand, eye focused on the TV.
“Uh-huh…” Maki merely shrugs at her response. “So he only wants to be around me when I’m busy.” She slides behind Nobara, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman and pulls her close. Nobara lets out a small gasp, her button mashing increasing.
“Maki…”
Maki hums back, nuzzling into Nobara’s neck before she starts peppering her with kisses.
“Damn it!” Nobara swears as the gameover screen plays.
“Oops,” Maki whispers before letting out a chuckle. Nobara cocks her head to stare at her. She narrows her eye, observing her.
“You and Fuku are more alike than you think.”
“If this is about the biting and scratching—”
Nobara’s face nearly turns red at that. “No! Shut up! I meant… You’re selective.”
That makes Maki tilt her head. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, you’re not that touchy usually.” Nobara clears her throat as she speaks. Maki grips her tighter, as if to disprove her point. “I mean with most people! You’re picky about your affection…it’s cute. Like how you’re all lovey-dovey with me.” That earns Nobara a scoff. “Or how you hug Okkotsu when you see him or ruffle Itadori’s head.”
Maki blushes and averts her eyes. “Okay, maybe I see your point.”
“Also, you’re all up in my business when I’m trying to finish a boss fight.”
Yes, Maki is definitely seeing Nobara’s point.