"There were a lot of deals at the supermarket today!" Hanayo cheerfully exclaimed, swinging around her new bag of rice with ease. The plastic glistened with each street lamp they passed, evening settling as they made their way home.

Maki grunted as she adjusted her grip on the plastic shopping bags. Since Hanayo was carrying the heavy sack of rice, she took it upon herself to carry the rest. She was quickly regretting this decision though. "Did we really have to buy so much? Besides, I could've spent a little extra for the store closer to us…"

"Absolutely not! We could use that money for something else! You've also been studying too much and you need some exercise." Hanayo huffs. Maki sighs and straightens out her back, knowing that the endless days of studying are starting to take their toll. "And besides, it's really starry outside tonight. Isn't it great to see?" The redhead looked up confirming that indeed, the stars were extremely apparent and beautiful tonight.

Maki didn't even realize when Hanayo stopped walking, starting to get lost in her own world. She snapped out of her daze when her name was called out, turning to see Hanayo facing a pile of black bags and cans. What could she possibly be looking at? "Hanayo, what's wrong? It's just garbage."

The brunette shook her head. "No, come over here! Hurry!" Maki tilted her head in confusion but complied. Arguing will only delay the time it takes to get home and to her bed even more.

Before looking to see whatever Hanayo was looking at, she placed the vast amount of groceries down away from the trash. "What is it?" She asked, crouching down to Hanayo.

Maki was shocked upon seeing Hanayo tear up. "T— There's a cat that's injured here!" Her voice was cracking and it only made her heart sink further. She wasn't that concerned about a stray cat, but Hanayo…

"Maki-chan, we have to care for it!"

"Huh?"

Hanayo tossed the sack of rice to the side and pushed away the bags of garbage, revealing an orange and white tabby cat laying on its side. Red slashes were all across its face, some on its body hidden by fur. The blood seemed dry but the cat appeared to be barely breathing. Hanayo gently scooped it up into her arms, giving light pets to areas the cat wasn't injured in.

"Maki-chan, I really can't leave this poor animal behind. Can we please treat it? You've studied a bit of animal care before, didn't you?"

Maki looked over to the pile of groceries and back at the animal. "That was when I was younger and I couldn't understand most of it…"

"Maki-chan, please!" Hanayo's pleading eyes made it difficult to resist. The older girl gave a once-over on the cat's injuries, letting out a sigh.

She began to take the plastic bags one by one, hanging them from her arms. "Okay. I'll handle the bags then. Make sure it doesn't get hurt anymore." She didn't want to face Hanayo's face of relief and excitement. She kept her gaze down as she finally picked up the bag of rice, straining with the wonders of Hanayo's strength in the back of her head.

Maki wheezed as she collapsed the moment they stepped inside the small home, Hanayo gingerly stepping over her to place the cat down on a comfortable area.

Maki rolled over on her back on the wooden floor, staring at the light on the ceiling. Her arms surely had marks from the heavy bags and rice was a lot heavier than she thought it would be.

Now wasn't the time to be exhausted though. Hanayo's worried about some stray injured cat and she had to help. Lifting herself from the floor, she made her way to the source of faint sobbing. Although she really didn't want to see Hanayo's crying face, she had to take a look at the damage.

"Um…" Maki muttered as she stepped into the living room. Hanayo looked up from the cat laid atop a sunken yellow pillow they never threw out, her eyes now slightly puffy and red. "I… I work better without an audience. Please take care of the groceries." Her excuse was terrible and she was surely going to be punished for it.

Hanayo wiped away the tears running down her cheeks, sniffling as she made her way to the front door. "Sorry. I'll make dinner right now. We'll have grilled salmon tonight. I want to share with the cat."

The redhead sighed and reached for the emergency kit they keep under the coffee table, taking the gloves out and slipping them on. She looked at the cat, its body rising and falling with each slow breath. A slight pain in her chest, Maki started her work.

"I'm finished."

The two girls in the small home looked up at each other as they said their lines in unison. Hanayo giggled, a small smile breaking out in Maki's face as she took her gloves off to dispose of them.

"Cats like fish, don't they?" Hanayo took the plates out to the nearby table, placing them down on the spots they seem to always sit at.

"They're good in moderation. I think you can only feed them tuna or salmon though." Maki rinsed off her hands as a cautionary habit. "Anyways, let's say that the cat is healed. What do we do with it by then?"

Hanayo placed a finger on her lip. "Well… Rin-chan's really cute! So can we keep—"

"No. Who the heck is 'Rin-chan?'"

"I named the cat Rin! She's really cute. Can she at least stay with us a little while after she gets better? Please?"

Again with the begging eyes that were almost too difficult to resist. Almost. "No. It's a stray cat that was lying in garbage. We're not keeping it."

A pout. "Your entire salmon is going to Rin-chan then."

"Huh!?"

Maki angrily stabbed at her bowl of fruit, looking upon the cat that was moved near the dining table to make feeding easier. She scowled when every attempt to feed it salmon was rejected, Hanayo sitting there in disappointment.

"I don't understand. Don't all cats like fish?"

"Not this one apparently. Oh well."

The redhead didn't have enough time to react when her small bowl of fruit was taken and replaced with a hideous torn up piece of salmon.

Hanayo held out the piece of cantaloupe to the cat, knowing that melons are safe. "Here Rin-chan! Aah~"

"It's not gonna—"

Rin nibbled the fruit slowly, still weak from her nasty injuries. Maki sighed in defeat. Tonight was going to be a long night for her.

The drowsiness that was taking over her body had to hold off for a little longer.

Shivers ran down the redhead's spine as Hanayo kissed the crook of her neck. Small and extremely soft hands sneaked under her pale green pajama shirt, fingernails grazing her skin in ways she loved too much.

"Maki-chan…" Her name was whispered into her ear in a low tone that she enjoyed dearly. "Maki-chan, Maki-chan, Maki-chan…"

She whimpered when she felt a nibble on her ear. Maki grabbed at Hanayo's red shirt, exhaustion and excitement being too much for her to handle.

"Maki-chan…" Another whisper. "Can we keep Rin?"

"No." Maki gasped out, heavy eyelids falling as the warm body on top of her finally fell to the other side of the bed.

She was woken by a shrill scream and the sound of glass breaking.

A pain in her chest from being woken up so abruptly and eyes painfully dry, Maki ignored any and all physical limitations as she grabbed the baseball bat by her bedside and rushed to the source of the scream.

"Hanayo!" Maki tightened her grip on the baseball bat, preparing for a fight when she entered the living room.

"Maki-chan!" She turned to face the redhead, legs trembling in fear. "Rin-chan is…!"

"What?" That's it? Lowering the bat, Maki walked over to the couch that the cat was laying on—

The bat clattered on the floor, rolling over the broken mug and spilled coffee.

Cat ears twitched upon Maki's touch. The injuries didn't seem to be too bad, a nice recovery for only an overnight rest. Maki gave a once over to the body in front of her and took a deep breath.

"The same wounds as last night…"

Despite the average person usually being shocked at a cat turning into a human, Maki wasn't worried in the slightest. This way, she'll be able to care for the wounds better.

The brunette placed a blanket over Rin, the cold air in the room probably starting to get to her now. "Um… Wh— What should we do…" Hanayo questioned, fidgeting her fingers.

Maki looked upon the sleeping human, taken by surprise when her golden eyes starting to flutter open.

Rin pulled the blanket closer to her bare body, sweat starting to drip from her forehead. One pair of eyes on her was glaring daggers sharper than any cat claws she's ever faced, the other barely glancing towards her as the mess on the floor was cleaned up.

"So… Explain this to me. We found you when you were a cat, and we come back to see you as a human?" Maki raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she swings a leg over the other.

The cat girl nodded. "I'm sorry for nyat explaining it to you before you picked me up. I don't understand it either. I'll change back and then leave—"

"Stay with us!"

Rin and Maki turned around to Hanayo who was now standing up, her grip on the coffee-soaked rag tight. Her expression was determined with no nonsense in her eyes, highly unlike the usual timid expression she wore. "Stay with us please! You're hurt and if you're also a human, we can heal you even better!"

The cat girl looked at Maki and received a curious stare. "Well… I feel like I'm nyat supposed to be here if you don't want a cat..."

Hanayo's gaze fell to the mostly cleaned up spill. Her heart sank, a feeling of emptiness starting to take over. "I… I suppose we can't do anything about that—"

"We'll take her in."

"Huh!?" The other two girls jumped, staring at her in shock.

Maki rubbed her arm, avoiding their piercing eyes. "If she's also human, I can't just leave her… A doctor should work hard to save their patients."

Surely, she'll receive bruises from how hard Rin and Hanayo tackled her.

Maki's eyebrow twitched as Rin adjusted her position on her head. Although she was completely against this idea, she didn't want to carry her as a human nor did she want to hear any whining.

She kept her gaze to Hanayo, not wanting to see any stares from confused people. Just a little more shopping and then they'll be able to go home. Maki can't believe that she, a person who was never one to take in pets, is now carrying a cat on her head. She could just die right now.

The beeping sound of a video camera drowns out her thoughts and the noise from the crowd.

She turns to a short girl with black pigtails, a fierce grin on her face as she chuckles. Maki recognized her immediately with the bunny phone case being a large clue. "Nico?"

"Heh, didn't take you for a cat-lover, Maki-chan."

A switch had been set off inside the redhead.

"Turn that camera off right now." Her tone was incredibly dark and aggressive. Maki started to walk towards her, earning Hanayo's attention. A wave of panic washed over the brunette when she quickly assessed the situation.

"Turn that off right now! I'm gonna kick the shit out of you!"

"Whoa! Scary Maki-chan!"

"Maki-chan, please stop!"

Maki sighed as she sank into the large bed, the TV not too far from her making noise at a low volume. Her old school jersey felt very comfortable, exhaustion from studying all the time starting to take its toll. The voices of the talk show hosts on the TV, a trio of orange, white, and blue, seemed to lull her to sleep. Eyes fluttering, she decided that she deserved a nap, especially considering that Hanayo was sleeping on her arm. Sleep was the best option for now.

That is, until she felt a painful pressure on her gut.

Violet eyes shot wide open to a familiar orange cat making herself comfortable on her body. "Really?" She asked, a bit of wind knocked out of her. Just when she was falling asleep, Rin decides to bother her now? Out of all moments!

Hanayo's eyes opened slowly, her nap being a little more heavy than usual. "Maki-chan…?" She mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she turned over.

Maki immediately put her arm around Hanayo, pulling her in for a soothing embrace. "Rin just jumped on me. Don't worry. Just keep resting." Her voice was above a whisper, lulling the girl back to sleep.

Rin laid her head on her chest, blinking at the redhead. After a moment of consideration, Maki sighed and scratched the back of her ear. "Come closer." She meows and moves into the small empty spot between the two girls, soothed by Maki's surprisingly gentle touch.

Eyes starting to burn from how tired she was, Maki drifted off to sleep, keeping her hand on Rin's fluffy body and another in Hanayo's messy bed hair.

A cat is fine too sometimes.

A/N: Cats and MakiRinPana are my weaknesses.

I wanted to make this even longer with more detail but I've been running out of ideas. Maybe I'll rewrite this later but for now, I enjoy the idea of cat Rin being adopted by MakiPana.