Chapter 10: Girls Day (2/2)

[Eri's Point of View]

After we all cheered in response to Hina's excited words, she asked, "Where should we start? Is there anywhere y'all want to go?"

Sakura surprised me with her answer, saying, "I would like to go to a cat café to eat, if that's okay with everyone."

"A cat café?" Hina asked, tilting her head in puzzlement, her ears twitching curiously.

Before I could explain, Sayori enthusiastically replied, "It's a restaurant where we can eat and pet adorable kitties." Hina's eyes lit up, and her three tails swayed rapidly.

"That sounds amazing! Eri, can we go and see the kitties?" Hina asked, her silver-white eyes sparkling with hope as she looked at me.

I couldn't resist rubbing her ears, causing her to lean into my hand and purr. With a teasing smile, I replied, "Of course we can, but you know, Hina, there's only one set of cute, fluffy ears and tails that I want to pet while we're there."

Her purring stopped, and as she comprehended what I meant, her face turned bright red. I was expecting her to call me a name and give me a playful bite for teasing her, but instead, she responded with a red face and longing evident in her eyes.

"You can do whatever you want, you know...ba~ka," she replied before running to Sayori, excitedly discussing how cute the cats would be.

I was left momentarily stunned by the implications behind her words and the look in her eyes. I blushed profusely as I realized what she had hinted at.

'Sebas started training me for 'certain activities' and told me about different 'spots' on Hina's tails and ears after I revealed to him that Hina and I had confessed our love and that we would be together forever. I had been trying to keep myself composed since then, but now that I know Hina wants to as well, I can't stop blushing,' I thought to myself.

I composed myself and made my way to Sakura, who was watching Sayori and Hina talk excitedly. As I walked over, I felt Hina's gaze on me. When I looked at her, she had a look filled with love and a warm smile. However, it felt like she was savoring the image of me blushing and being embarrassed.

"She got you good, huh?" Sakura asked, laughing.

"Shush it. Speaking of such a topic, your request was a cat café?" I teased with a smile.

"You shush it too. I just happen to really love cats; they make me happy," Sakura replied, lightly pushing my arm. But her eyes were fixated on one thing, one person, filled with the same love and devotion that Hina and I looked at each other with.

I couldn't help but snicker to myself, 'You were right, Hina; we need to get these two to be honest with themselves.' I looked at Sakura with a happy smile and said, "Sure, it's cats that you love. Sakura, just letting you know, Hina and I are rooting for you."

Before Sakura could ask what I meant, I had already made my way over to the girl I loved more than anything and everyone.

"Hina," I called out.

"What is...nyaah!" Before Hina could ask anything, I hugged her and whispered in her ear so that only the two of us could hear, "I'm sorry for teasing you, and I want to as well, but let's wait just a little longer. I want to hear the Mistress's approval of our relationship first."

Hina's ears twitched, and her tails swayed gently as she looked up at me, nodding her head in agreement.

"Umm, as much as I love seeing such a cute scene, you two do know you're not alone, and we're in public, right?" Sakura sighed, bringing us back to reality.

Sayori squealed, "Kyaa, Eri and Hina are so bold!" I looked around and noticed that we had attracted the attention of onlookers who were shopping in the mall. 'I might not be forgiven with just a playful bite this time,' I thought to myself.

Just as I asked myself that, Hina snapped out of her daze and noticed all the people staring at us.

"E...Eri, you baakkaaa!" Hina screamed, immediately kneeling and hiding her face behind her tails.

It felt as though I could hear all of the onlooker's thoughts in unison, "Sooo cute!"

A crowd started to form around us, so before we drew any more attention, I gave Sakura a look, and she nodded in understanding. Then, I grabbed Hina's hand, and Sakura grabbed Sayuri's, who seemed nervous from the crowd, and we made a beeline for the café.

Once we got close to the café and away from the onlookers, we stopped running. Sayuri and Hina, who were catching their breath, both looked at their hands being held and blushed deeply before letting go.

Sayori then looked at Sakura with a gentle smile and said, "Tha...thank you, Sakura."

"You...you're welcome," Sakura replied, also blushing.

As we watched them with gentle eyes, I could feel Hina grabbing my hand and whispering, "Thank you for helping me. I love you."

"Anytime. I love you too," I whispered while rubbing her ears, causing her to lean into my hand and purr gently as her tails swayed peacefully back and forth.

After we all left our respective pink worlds, we headed into the cat café. The sight that greeted us was a relaxing atmosphere with lots of different cats inside, much to Sayori and Hina's delight. We sat at a table to order, and that's when Sakura spoke up.

"Hi, Hina, why are you sitting in Eri's lap?" Sakura sighed, clearly feeling exasperated.

To be honest, I was wondering the same thing, but just earlier, I had been worried I might receive the silent treatment, so this "punishment" was much better.

"Nyaa?" Hina looked at Sakura with a puzzled expression, her ears twitching happily.

"Don't give me that cute 'Nyaa,' Eri, help here," Sakura implored, looking at me for assistance.

Before I could respond, I saw a slightly mischievous smile escape Hina's lips. I realized that she was playing a prank to show her affection for Sakura and Sayori while punishing me. So, instead of scolding her, I decided to join in.

"But she's so cute, and I did say I wanted to only pet her ears and tails, after all," I replied while gently petting Hina's tails, causing her to wrap them around my arm and purr.

"I agree it's cute, but now is not the time. You can pet her ears while she sits in her chair," Sakura replied, blushing slightly at my earlier statement.

Hina and I exchanged knowing glances and giggled at their reactions. Hina then got up and sat close beside me.

"Hehe. Sorry, Sakura, Sayori. I just needed to punish Eri a little," Hina explained with an apologetic expression.

Sakura and Sayori both looked at me, seeing my happy but slightly blushing face, and asked in unison, "That was a punishment?"

I laughed, "Yes, it was. She wanted to make me embarrassed because I embarrassed her earlier. I'm honestly glad it was this instead of the silent treatment. And there's another reason as well."

"Another reason?" Sayori asked.

"She wanted to play a prank on you two as well," I answered, watching Hina looking at the sweets on the menu with her eyes sparkling.

"Why did Hina want to prank us?" Sakura asked, looking at Hina, confused.

I started patting Hina's head and answered, "She wanted to show her affection to you. Fox-spirits are very mischievous, and they really enjoy playing pranks, especially on the people they care about. Hina and Aiko-sama play pranks on each other all the time when they see each other."

Sakura and Sayori looked at Hina after understanding what I meant and showed the brightest smiles I had seen from them all day.

"Hina really likes us, huh?" Sakura asked, feeling happy.

"Hina, you are so cute," Sayori replied.

"Nyaa?" Hina looked up from her menu, confused by what they had said for a moment. Then she smiled happily and replied, "Of course, you two are my friends. I like you two a whole lot."

hey smiled in response, letting Hina know they liked her too. After that, we placed our food orders, and Hina ordered a variety of different sweets, which caused Sakura and Sayori to smirk at the array of items that sat in front of her.

As we enjoyed our meal, I couldn't help but watch Hina, who was savoring a Danish pastry. Her tails swayed happily, and she had a gentle, contented look on her face. I reached over and wiped her face with a napkin after she finished eating.

Once we all finished our meal, it was time to play with the cats. There was a sitting area in the corner of the café, so we made our way there, and some of the cats that weren't being pet by others or sleeping came over to us.

"Look at this one, Hina-chan, it's so cute," Sayori exclaimed as she picked up a calico cat with colorful fur and brought it over to Hina, who was starting to get surrounded by cats eager to examine her ears and tails.

"You're right, Sayori. It's so cute. Hello there, kitty," Hina replied, petting the calico cat Sayori was holding. This elicited a purr from the cat, which in turn made Hina purr in delight as well. Her tails began swaying happily, much to the interest of the other cats.

I noticed one of the cats getting into a pouncing stance, and I tried to reach Hina in time, but I was too late.

"Nyaaa!" Hina squealed as a black cat jumped and caught her tail, causing some of the other cats to run to Sakura and Sayori.

"Are you okay, Hina?" I asked, looking at her with concern.

She looked up at me with slight tears in her eyes and said, "Eri~ Help me, the kitty... is... mpf... on a sensitive spot on my... tail."

Sakura and Sayori looked on with blushing faces due to the sounds coming from Hina.

I quickly grabbed the cat off one of Hina's tails, but in the process, I accidentally touched the sensitive spot too.

"Mmnyaaa!" Hina squealed, dropping to her knees after I got the cat off of her. She gave me a look that said, "You should have been gentler, baka!" and turned her head away in a slightly angry pout.

After Hina composed herself, we sat down and resumed playing with the cats, making sure Hina's tails were positioned so they wouldn't be mistaken for toys again. However, there was still one problem.

"Hina, please forgive me," I pleaded with Hina, who was now sitting next to Sayori, petting the black cat that was in her lap.

"Hmmpf. Sayori, isn't this black kitty cute, even if he is a little rambunctious," Hina replied, ignoring me and focusing on Sayori.

'Why is the cat forgiven but not me?' I wondered internally.

Sakura laughed and said, "You really made her mad, huh?"

I gave her a look for laughing and replied, "Yes, I did, but you know, pointing it out doesn't help, you know."

Sakura just gave me an exasperated smile and said, "I'm not helping because you already know what to do. It's just us here right now, so go be embarrassing and go into your pink world already."

I laughed and replied with a teasing smile, "You're right, but you know, that pink world you keep teasing us about is actually pretty amazing, so maybe you should think about doing the same." I then looked over at Sayori, hinting to Sakura about what I meant.

I expected Sakura to deny it and say, "What are you talking about?" but instead, she looked over at Sayori with a warm smile and replied, "Maybe you're right. Now go make up with Hina."

We both laughed and smiled at each other before making our way to our respective partners.

I gently moved the cat off of Hina's lap and placed Hina on mine. She looked at me puzzled about why I did such a thing.

"Hina, I'm sorry I wasn't gentler earlier; I was just trying to help you. I love you, and I don't like it when you ignore me. Please forgive me," I apologized, looking deep into Hina's eyes, which started to glisten slightly from the tears that were about to form.

"I... forgive you, and I'm sorry for ignoring you," she replied apologetically before giving me a warm hug.

"Thank you, Hina," I replied, hugging her back.

Just then, a white cat jumped up on the bench we were sitting on and laid down on her tails, which were lying beside us. I was worried that another incident might happen, but it seemed like the cat knew where to lay down, and it appeared very happy and comfortable, basking in the warmth of Hina's tails.

"Look, Eri. The kitty likes my tails," Hina exclaimed, her ears twitching happily.

After we played with the cats a little while longer, we decided it was time to leave. However, first, I whispered a question into my ear while gesturing to Sakura and Sayori, who looked confused by what was happening. I smiled at what she asked and nodded in agreement.

"Sakura, Sayori, would you two like for me to show you how to pet Hina's ears?" I asked, a smile on my face, already knowing their answer.

"Of course," they both exclaimed in unison, with a touch more excitement in Sayori's voice.

"But are you sure it's okay, Hina?" Sakura asked, a little worried.

"Of course, I don't mind at all. I just wanted Eri's agreement first," Hina replied.

I gave Hina a warm look before I started explaining, "When rubbing Hina's ears, don't rub the tip of the ears or the base; they are very sensitive. Instead, you use your thumb and pointer finger in the middle, like this."

I began rubbing one of Hina's ears with my pointer finger on the outside and my thumb on the inside, doing so gently. Hina wrapped her tails around my waist and started purring contentedly while leaning her head into my hand.

I smiled, watching her reaction, and looked over at Sakura and Sayori. I asked, "Do you two want to try?"

"I do," Sayori said excitedly before coming over to where Hina and I were standing.

Sayori looked at Hina with a sense of nervousness, but Hina just gave her a smile, still purring from my ear rub. After I stopped, Hina looked at me with love before turning to Sayori and saying, "It's okay, Sayori, go ahead."

"He... here I go," Sayori replied before doing as I showed her, gently starting to rub Hina's ear. Hina started purring gently again.

"I want to do it too," Sakura said, no longer able to hold back. She walked over to us and began rubbing Hina's other ear, causing Hina to purr even more.

I smiled at how happy the three of them looked and thought to myself, 'If Hina's ears are unavailable, then I will pet her tail.'

"Now, as for the tail, it's pretty much the same. The ends and base are very sensitive, but instead of rubbing with your fingers, you will want to gently rub the middle with your whole hand like this," I explained before petting one of Hina's tails gently. This caused Hina to purr even louder, and I noticed a little drool coming from her lip.

"This feels good~," she purred from all the affection she was receiving, causing all of us to giggle happily. After a short time, we stopped and left the café.

Hina gave us all a great big hug, smiling happily. As we walked, Hina was hugging my arm and singing to herself, still content from the pets.

"Doesn't Hina-chan seem really happy right now?" Sayori asked Sakura and me.

"Yeah, she even hugged us," Sakura added.

I just smiled and laughed a little at their comments and explained, "We showed her our affection by rubbing her ears, and it made her feel good, so she wanted to show us affection too."

"That's so sweet, Hina-chan," Sayori exclaimed, looking at Hina, who stopped walking, looking up at a neon sign that read "Arcade."

"An arcade, huh?" Sakura's eyes sparkled, much like Hina's when she read the sign.

Sayori, who noticed this, said, "I was actually going to pick an arcade as the place I wanted to go. Is that okay with everyone?"

"Arcades have that game where you can win cute stuffed animals, right?" Hina asked excitedly.

We all laughed, and Sakura excitedly replied, "Yes, they also have all sorts of games and a photo booth. It's really fun."

Hina's ears and tails started twitching and swaying excitedly while she continued hugging my arm. She looked up at me and asked, "Eri, can we go?"

"Of course, we can, and Sakura and I will win both of you a cute plushie while we are there," I replied, making Hina and Sayori both excited to go in. Sayori held Sakura's hand, and she and Hina both started pulling us inside.

Sakura whispered and asked me, "Why did you include me in that?"

I just laughed and answered, "Why not? It's a good opportunity, right? You know, to give them a gift."

Sakura gave me a look before nodding her head in agreement.

After we entered, we all started playing different games. We played air hockey, two against two, but it turned into a 2v1 game as the noise made Hina nervous. We also played a fighting game, which Hina surprisingly excelled at, even beating Sakura, who seemed to have played the game before. When we noticed the time, we decided to try the claw game and the photo booth before leaving to meet Sebas.

When we reached the claw game, Hina and Sayori's eyes sparkled.

Sakura was up first, asking which plushie Sayori wanted. Sayori answered, "I want that kitty one, but is it too hard to get?"

"No problem, I will get it for you," Sakura answered confidently, causing Sayori to blush slightly.

Hina and Sayori moved to the side of the machine, watching through the glass, their eyes still sparkling.

"I got it," Sakura exclaimed after successfully winning the cat that Sayori wanted.

"Here you go, Sayori," Sakura said, handing Sayori the plushie with a warm smile.

Sayori hugged the stuffed animal and then hugged Sakura, saying, "Thank you, it's so cute," causing both of them to blush. Hina and I exchanged smiles before it was my turn to win a plushie.

I knew exactly which animal to get for Hina without even asking her. I spotted a fox plushie at the back of the machine that Hina hadn't seemed to notice. When I grabbed it with the claw, Hina saw what it was, and her ears started twitching excitedly, and her tails swayed back and forth rapidly.

As soon as the claw released the plushie and I grabbed it, Hina came running to me from the other side of the machine. I handed her the plushie with a warm smile and asked, "Did I get the right one?"

Hina didn't answer immediately; instead, she jumped up, hugged me, and gave me a kiss on the cheek before saying, "Of course you did. Thank you; I love it and you."

"You're very welcome," I giggled, putting Hina back down and patting her head.

After we calmed down, we headed to the photo booth and took several different photos as a group and with each of us together in different pairs. Then, we left and headed to meet Sebas at the car.

Hina, who was hugging my arm, looked at me as if realizing something and said, "We didn't go where you wanted to."

I smiled and patted her head, causing her to relax and purr. I answered, "The place I want to go is wherever you are, standing beside you, holding your hand, and having fun."

She looked up at me with a happy expression, as well as a look that seemed to say, "That's not what I meant."

I laughed and continued, "Besides, I am sure we will come here again." Sakura, Sayori, and Hina all nodded at my answer before continuing, making our way to Sebas.

Hina gave Sebas a hug when we saw him, and then we started heading home. As we rode in the car, Hina and Sayori both fell asleep, laying their heads on mine and Sakura's laps.

After we dropped Sakura and Sayori off at Sakura's house, we headed back to our own home. Upon arrival, I gently woke Hina from her slumber, and we entered the house. Hina, still a bit groggy, settled down on the couch and promptly fell back asleep.

However, our peaceful moment was interrupted when we heard someone entering through the front door. Hina's eyes shot open, and she exclaimed, "Is it really her?" She sprang up from the couch, leaving me slightly confused but following closely behind her.

As we approached the door, we were met with the sight of a woman standing there. She had long, striking red hair, nine red and white tails swaying gracefully behind her, and red fox ears perched atop her head. She was accompanied by a girl who bore a striking resemblance to an older Yami-nee.

Before I could utter a word, Hina's eyes welled up with tears of joy, and she cried out, running as fast as her legs could carry her into the waiting arms of the woman. "Mommy!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with emotion.