It became a triloogy! Wowie!
Naru looked up as Mai followed John into the office, giving a feline yawl as he fixed his eyes on Mai, tail limp beside him and ears slightly drooped at the tip, though attentive at the half-dog.
"Huh?" Mai mused. "Why's Naru looking at me like that?"
"He's ill. A fever." Gene mused. "High time - he gets it at least once a year."
"Nyaaaa~..." Naru moaned, face still turned to Mai, who covered her mouth, before carefully sitting by him.
Naru decided rolling into her lap was best, making her find herself trapped beneath him, tail swishing softly.
"Nyaaaaa~..." he complained again, snuggling up to her.
She began petting him, and he gave a happy purr, snuggling close as his tail curled over her lap.
She tickled under his chin, enjoying the close proximity.
"Doggy..." he muttered, before wrapping his arms round her waist, his head on her belly as he slowly fell asleep.
Mai turned bright red, as Yasu giggled and John turned pink at the ears.
"Shall I get Lin?" he asked.
"Nah..." Mai smiled. "Mai-chan's good."
Naru slept until they the next client arrived.
Or more, they felt the next client arrive.
Naru's eyes had shot open, ears pricking up as his tail fluffed, eyes immediately narrowing as he pulled Mai like a child pulls their toy onto the couch, snuggling back into her lap after, tail once again wrapped around her.
The client, though, merely had the spirit attached to them themselves, so John just had to do an exorcism, then Gene let it possess him and they talked it into passing over.
Naru had been oddly quiet, remaining in Mai's lap as his tail remained around her.
The reason why was revealed once it was just Yasu, Naru and Mai in the room again.
"Doggy..."
Mai's ears had perked at Naru's call, and he nuzzled into her neck... Before biting at the collar, making Mai bark and blush as Yasu looked on at the display with a smirk.
"My Doggy, not Birdie's." Naru muttered, before giving up...
Only to kiss Mai's lips quickly.
"Mine mine mine!" he mewled, before finally snuggling down again, head on Mai's shoulder as he softly purred as he fell asleep, tail around her waist...
John and Lin found the pair asleep, Yasu looking like the wolf who got the lamb.
"Naru didn't like Mai's collar, so there's now bite-marks on it... He gets very possessive and cuddly, doesn't he?" Yasu mused.
"You can say that again." Lin grumbled, carefully using his panther-skills to inspect how badly the collar was destroyed. "We might have to get a new one, anyway."
They finally reached the end of the day, Lin having to carry Naru on his back as they got him home...
JoKeR: You thought is was over, but HAHA! NOPE! IT'S ""Pets"" FOR A REASON XD
One, possibly minor, detail they forgot was all that snuggling resulted in Mai having a fever, too.
Naru had also magically cleared up, so Gene's scolding went unheeded by the feline-man.
It wasn't visible at first...
Until, like when telling with Naru, they asked her a question.
"Are you sure you're OK?" John had asked. "We may have to get a new collar for you..."
Mai had barked, before leaping over and kissing John three times, before Naru had called for her and the puppy had run over to her other favourite, sitting happily by Naru, who gently pet her.
"Ah." Lin had mused, as Gene was trying to deal with the young Priest nearly fainting at being kissed by Mai, Lin solving by cuddling the half-bird and kissing him himself.
They had gone to the office, Mai had been kept from the kitchen for the day, and they fnally understood why she had been thrown out on the streets so much - people didn't like her messing up the workplace, yet she hadn't been taught about it, not enough to stop her when in a fevered-puppy situation.
Thankfully, Naru decided to deal with the problem, by waiting until she was close enough and sitting on her, much like when he no longer wished to be run about town and would sit on her in the middle of the footpath to use her as a living bench.
"Bad Mai!" he scolded. "Running's stupid in enclosed spaces!"
Mai looked up at him, hands instinctively by either side of her face.
"Huuu~..." she whimpered, before getting a flick on the forehead.
"You caused a mess. It's bad to."
Gene had watched this interaction with a grin, waving away Lin, who was peering out of his own office, both softly closing their doors...
The next day brought the regulars, Mai cleaning up after herself, hoovering, and Naru lifting his feet as she moved the hoover past him, not really caring.
The collar they had bought yesterday was now blue with a white floral pattern, the new details of ownership - both the English and Japanese for Naru's multiple names taking up one entire side - around Mai's neck.
Upon seeing the mess, Ayako's jaw dropped.
"What on earth?!"
"Mai had a fever - it turns out that's one of the reasons she got thrown in the street." Yasu stated.
"Idiots - Mai's mine." Naru stated simply, ear twitching as he looked over the top of his book, tail swishing in annoyance at the reminder of the previous owners.
If he was able too he'd claw their eyes out.
Not that he'd admit it, as proven when he raised his book to hide his expression again, using a paw- a hand to pull Mai to sit beside him and tail once again wrapping around her waist protectively...
Whelp, there you go! Third part/insert of the "When the Dogs Come Home" series XD