She stood at the doorway, pulling on her shoes.

"Well, I'm off. Be good while I'm gone, Karma-kun."

The cat boy's tail simple flicked in response for he was too lazy to get up from his nap on the couch.

When she arrived in her classroom, Manami couldn't help but wonder if her cat was mad at a her for leaving him alone again. It was rare for him not to see her off in the mornings.

She let out a sigh. But it's not like I can just skip school to stay at home with him.

"Good morning, Okuda-san!" a voice called out to her.

Looking up to see her pigtailed friend, she greeted, "Good morning, Nagisa-kun."

The boy took a seat next to her. "Is something bothering you? That was quite a big sigh you let out."

"To be honest," she began, "my cat has been acting weird lately."

His azure eyes widened in surprise. "You just noticed that Karma acts weird?"

Realizing how factual her classmate's statement was, Manami corrected herself. "Well, weird for Karma-kun. He's been super clingy lately, and the other day he got into another fight with Terasaka-kun."

"Maybe he's just lonely," Nagisa speculated, "Clinging to you is probably just how he gets your attention."

Manami's eyebrows furrowed, considering his theory. "Also," the pigtailed boy added, "Isn't your neighborhood just full of dogs? It makes sense that he wouldn't get along with them because he was a stray. He's even pretty wary of Akari."

"I guess you're right, Nagisa-kun," she said, "Karma-kun did seem to be acting lonely, and he never really did like dogs. Even if they're as friendly as Akari-chan."

Nagisa couldn't help but inwardly laugh at how dense his friend was. He didn't visit very often, but sometimes he and his dog would stop by as family friends. In his eyes, it was clear that the devious red kitty was completely smitten with his bespectacled owner. Because Manami was so blind to anything involving love, Nagisa and Akari were currently in the middle of a bet: how long will it take for the Satan-spawn cat to confess his love? From the looks of the troubled owner before him, Nagisa felt like he would win.

"I heard that the local shelter has some cats up for foster care. Do you think I should foster one for a bit, Nagisa-kun?" the girl asked.

Nagisa hesitated to respond. As a friend of the kitty, he knew that Karma would throw a hissy fit. "I don't know, Okuda-san. Will you be okay with getting another cat while your mom is overseas?" he advised.

"Oh, I guess you're right," Manami admitted, "I'll ask her first."

For the sake of everyone within a five mile radius of Karma, Nagisa prayed that the girl would not get another cat.

Pretty boring chapter, but I just wanted to introduce Nagisa and Akari and how they're totallydown for KaruMana.

Thank you for the feedback!