Author's note: I separated chapters five and six to avoid having one obscenely long chapter. Since the name of only two of Makima's dogs are mentioned, I took creative license to make up the other five. I did stay in the same vein of choosing dessert names though.
"Kishibe," Denji said as he opened the door. "You're early."
"Denji?" Kishibe stepped back to glance at the numbers on the door to the apartment that was actually Denji's then the one on the piece of paper in his hand. "But I thought your apartment was - "
"It is," Denji interrupted him. "This is my girlfriend's apartment."
"Your what?" Kishibe scoffed.
"Where's Nayuta?" Denji asked, poking his head out of the door to look down the hall.
"She took the dogs for a walk in the park. Meowy is over there," he said, pointing to the cage in front of his actual apartment door. "Why are you here? Who's apartment is this?"
Denji stood up straighter, poking out his chest. A wide grin showing all of his front teeth broke out across his face.
"I just told you. This is my girlfriend's apartment," he declared with pride.
"You're serious?" chuckled Kishibe not believing him. When Denji scowled at him, he stopped laughing. "Oh, you are serious. When did that happen?" He scratched his head. "Hell, how did that happen?"
"Hi," Mari said as she pushed past Denji. She put out her hand for him to shake in a typical American greeting. "You must be Kishibe. My name is Mari."
Suddenly Denji wondered if that was her real name or a name she was given at the hostess club. Now was not the time to ask about that though so he left it alone.
"Mari? Do I know you?" Kishibe asked, eyeing her from head to toe. "You look familiar."
"Shit," she muttered, recognizing him as a customer from the club. "I suppose you do. My name was Heather at Club Glitter."
Well, that answers that question, Denji thought. But he had so many more.
Kishibe used to be a regular at the hostess club. He was mostly quiet, choosing to smoke and drink rather than engage in pointless conversation and flirtation. He said he didn't want to be pathetic enough to drink alone and preferred the company of a beautiful woman. Of course if he had gotten handsy, he would have been tossed out on his ass. He was one of the few customers who never tried to entice her into taking her work home with her.
It had been a few months since he had visited. Mari figured cirrhosis had finally killed him. The man had drank an entire bottle of whisky by himself on each visit. She was shocked he could remember anything because of how much he drank.
"Well, well, Denji," Kishibe said, reaching inside his trench coat for his trusty and ever present flask. "You've got yourself a beautiful girl here. And sweet too."
"I know," he replied curtly. He pushed his bare feet into his sneakers. "I'm going to find Nayuta."
"Denji, wait!" Mari called after him when he ran out of her apartment. "Dammit."
"Sorry," Kishibe apologized but did not sound sincere. He took a long sip from the flask. "I doubt he's mad at you. Don't worry."
Mari glared at him. How is this man not dead from all of the drinking he does? She saw the suitcases sitting at his feet.
"Do you want to bring those in? You can sit down and wait for them in here," she suggested, standing back from the door to allow him room to come inside with the bulging suitcases in his hands.
A meow echoed down the hall.
"What about - "
"I'll get him," she said, pushing past him to the hall.
The cat meowed again, pawing at the bars of the cage as she approached. The carrier looked more like a bird cage rather than something suited for transporting a cat. He was mostly a fluffy white cat with black on his ears and the tip of his tail and a black spot on the top of his head.
"Hi there cutie," she greeted him, picking up the cage to bring him back to her apartment.
Kishibe had already made himself comfortable on her couch and was taking another swig from his flask.
Mari set the cage on the floor beside the table in the living room. Squatting beside the carrier, she opened the door to let the cat out. He rubbed against her leg, his tail almost hitting her in the face. He walked around her backside to rub his body against her other leg and nuzzle his nose against her hand resting on her knee. He issued another meow as if to thank her. She scratched behind his black ears, and he began to purr.
"You're welcome," she said, glancing at Kishibe who was gazing at her with his dark emotionless eyes.
His dead eyes had always made her feel sorry for him. Now she knew why they looked that way, and it made her feel even worse for him. How much tragedy and loss had this man suffered over his many years as a Hunter?
"What?" she snapped, growing uncomfortable under his piercing stare.
"You look so different out of the club," he remarked.
"I would like to think I am a different person," she said, standing up and dusting her hands off as if to physically brush away that part of her life. "Would you like a glass of water?"
"Do you have any whiskey?"
Mari poured him a glass of water straight from the tap and brought it to him. She thrust the glass in his face.
"Will you be staying for dinner?" she asked.
"Do you even want me to?" he inquired, reluctantly taking the glass of tepid water.
"I don't mind, but it's difficult seeing you here you know?"
"Look, we've all done things in our past we're not proud of. I'm sorry I'm a reminder of yours. But we move on. Trust me, Denji won't think any less of you if he knows."
"He does know. Funnily enough, we just had the conversation about it before you tried to beat down my door," she said, taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch.
Meowy hopped up into her lap. He pushed his head under her hand as a not so subtle hint to be petted. She stroked his head and back which prompted him to start purring again.
"If Denji can still be in love with Makima after every heinous thing she did, the little revelation of your job won't bother him at all," he assured her, grimacing after taking a drink of the water.
"Maybe," she muttered, scratching Meowy behind the ears. He rolled into a ball on her legs to prepare to go to sleep.
There was a cacophony of barking in the hall that penetrated her apartment door.
"Ugh," Kishibe groaned. "That kid is going to get kicked out of this apartment too."
Curious, Mari picked Meowy up to place him on the couch by Kishibe. The cat stretched then got into his lap for a warm napping spot.
Upon opening the door, Mari was greeted with two big paws on her chest and a long tongue giving her several sloppy wet kisses.
"Tiramisu! Get down!" Denji commanded the dog.
Mari scratched the black and white husky behind his ears even though he did not heed the command. Taking him by the paws, she eased him down to the floor and patted his back. Another husky with cream colored fur quickly stepped up to her but did not jump up on her. The dog had one blue eye and one dark brown eye.
"This is Cream Puff," Denji introduced her, pulling back on the lead chain. There were five more.
"They all have dessert names?" she asked looking at the dogs that were all huskies but varying shades of black, white, and brown. It was like they owned their own sled team with no sled.
"Yeah, they do," he laughed and proceeded to introduce each animal milling about his legs and tangling him in their leashes.
Dolce de Leche had light brown coloration to the markings on her head and back and light golden brown eyes, hence the name that translated as caramel. Brownie had dark brown fur in contrast to the white and the icy blue eyes typical of huskies. Creme brulee was a darker shade of cream than Cream Puff, more of a yellowish beige like her dessert namesake. Kakigori was snow white with silver eyes; named for the shaved ice dessert which looked like a ball of snow before the flavored syrups are added. Ganache, a black and white husky with blue eyes, rounded out the crew.
"They're adorable. And a hand full I bet," she remarked when she found herself bound up in the leashes too and being pulled toward Denji.
Looking down before she smacked into him from the dogs drawing the leads tighter around her legs, she saw a small girl peeking from behind him. Nayuta had dark brown hair cut in a shoulder length bob with long bangs hanging below her eyes which would have been hidden them had the hair not divided itself to reveal her eyes.
Her eyes were too pretty and unique to be hidden; yellow irises with red rings of color arranged like a target. There was a beauty mark under her left eye. She was a beautiful child and would someday be a gorgeous woman. The accidental father here would have his work cut out for him someday keeping the young men at bay. But being half Devil, he could handle any hormonal teenage boy who came along with salacious intentions.
"Oh, hi, Nayuta. I'm Mari," she introduced herself.
The girl did not say a word but nodded in acknowledgement. Her little fingers clutched tighter to the fabric of the hoodie Denji was wearing.
"What's going on our here?!" an elderly neighbor down the hall demanded, stepping outside to see what all of the noise was about.
The dogs had been yapping and making that bizarre howling sound like they were trying to form words and talk.
"Just greeting the new neighbors, Mrs. Watanabe," she assured the grumpy old woman.
"Who said you could have all those dogs here?!" the woman groused, placing her hands on her hips. "The association is going to hear about this!"
"I don't want to get kicked out again," Denji moaned.
"The association already knows about them, or they wouldn't have given him a lease. We'll keep them quiet," Mari promised not having any idea how they would keep the seven dogs silent.
She foresaw many walks in the park at all hours of the day and night in their future. Thank goodness there was a section just for dogs and many long trails in the park across the street. That was probably one of the reasons he chose this apartment complex.
"Hmmm, we'll see," the grouchy old woman muttered, slamming the door after disappearing into her apartment.
"Are we going to have to move again?" Nayuta asked in a soft voice that was almost covered up by the noisy, 'talkative' dogs.
"I'll smooth things over with Mrs. Watanabe later with a shameless bribe," she told them. "I'll bake her a pie or a cake or some brownies."
Brownie barked as if she were talking to him. She giggled.
"We better get your sled team into your apartment before any more neighbors complain," she suggested, turning in an attempt to extricate herself from the web of leashes.
Denji placed his hand on top of her head, pushing her down to her knees. She crawled under the criss crossed leashes while getting numerous kisses from the happy hounds. Finally, she was free. Nayuta pushed Denji along as if he needed any help to move since the dogs were pulling him forward. She did not offer to bring Meowy over. The cat could stay with her until the dogs got settled.
"So you met the family?" Kishibe inquired when she returned.
"I did," she laughed, sitting back down on the couch.
"Are you sure you want to be a part of it? You know what he is don't you?"
"I do," she confirmed. "That answer goes for both of your questions."
"You know Makima was personally and directly responsible for killing most of his friends. He lost all of the people he considered family...most by her hand," the man said, reaching inside his coat to pull out a pack of cigarettes.
Mari already loathed Makima from the little Denji told her. The more she learned about her, the more that hatred grew.
"You're not smoking in here. You can leave and go downstairs to smoke," she told him, hoping he would take her up on that offer because he wanted a cigarette. But instead, his face remained passive as he tucked the pack of cigarettes back into the hidden pocket. Well, damn. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I'm trying to protect that boy from any further unnecessary hurt. And I want that girl to grow up far different than her predecessor."
"You entrusted her to Denji right? Despite everything he's been through, he's still kind and loving and trusting. He's probably too trusting for his own good but I assure you I have no intention whatsoever to hurt him in any way. I want to protect him like you do actually. So don't worry. He's in good hands. They both are," she assured him.
He nodded in acknowledgement.
"All right then. I'll take you at your word. You always seemed like a sincere girl, a genuinely good individual. But know this, if you ever step out of line, I'll kill you myself," he warned, his eyes piercing hers but his face and voice remained neutral, unemotional.
Her stomach dropped and nausea welled up inside of her. There was no doubt in her mind he would do exactly as he said. She doubted he would make it quick either. But the last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt Denji and definitely not the girl entrusted to his care. She knew the importance of being given a second chance and not repeating past mistakes.
"You have nothing to worry about, sir," she swore to him.
Denji knocked then opened the door to allow himself and Nayuta in to join them. He took a seat at the low table and the child followed his lead. Sensing the heaviness in the atmosphere, he glanced from Kishibe to Mari, his eyes resting on her questioningly. Rather than giving him any hint to the conversation that had just taken place, Mari stood up to go to the kitchen.
"Why don't we have a piece of cake? We're celebrating after all," she announced, taking the cake out of the refrigerator. "New neighbors. New friends. New family."
"Need any help?" Denji asked from behind her.
"Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed, jumping so violently her knees banged into the cabinet door she was standing in front of. She placed her hand over her heart to keep it inside of her chest; it was beating so frantically it might fly out.
"What happened?" he inquired, his eyebrows drawing together in concern.
"Nothing," she lied. She wasn't going to completely ruin the afternoon by telling him the truth. All she could do was salvage the mood and get rid of the bad vibes that had been cast out during the conversation. "Can you get the plates down from the cabinet?"
"Sure."
He did as she asked, getting four of the small white plates from the shelf where he knew she kept them by watching her. He noted her trembling fingers as she picked up the first slice of cake. She almost did not get it to the plate before plopping it down on its side. Grabbing her hand, he squeezed it reassuringly.
"Everything is going to be fine. Don't be so nervous. Nayuta will like you," he said, giving her quick peck on the cheek.
She gave him a wavering smile on quivering lips. She hoped he was right. Although Kishibe seemed suspicious of her, it was not his approval she was after anyway. But she could not find it within herself to be too upset with him. He was only trying to protect them both after all.
"Will you take those two for you and Nayuta? Oh, do we want some hot tea?" she asked, following Denji into the living room.
"Don't worry about the tea," he murmured to her. "Who wants cake?!" Denji exclaimed, sitting the plate down on the table in front of Nayuta.
The girl's eyes lit up upon seeing the cake layered with white frosting and plump red strawberries. Mari handed Kishibe his cake then returned to the kitchen to put on the kettle for tea. Her nerves would not allow her to sit and be still much less eat the cake which she placed on the counter untouched.
"Does anyone want a second piece?" she called from the kitchen as she measured out the tea into the teapot.
"I do!" Nayuta and Denji replied in unison.
Mari took her uneaten piece to her. She took the empty plates back with her to serve up another piece for Denji. The tea kettle whistled so she filled the teapot. After placing his cake, four cups, and the teapot on a tray, she returned to the living room.
"Shall we take a walk in the park before dinner? The dogs will need a walk right?" she asked, pouring the tea.
"When they wake up, yes. Why don't you sit with us for a minute?" Denji suggested, taking her by the hand to pull her down into his lap.
It wasn't the first time he had been a seat for woman, but he liked holding her in his lap like this much better than being on all fours and her sitting on his back.
"Uhm, okay," she murmured.
"You two sure are cozy," remarked Kishibe, taking his cup of tea from her. "You've been dating how long?"
"It was love at first sight," Denji replied, gliding his hand down her arm to hold her hand. "What can I say? Some things are just meant to be."
"Ah, to be young, stupid, and in love," Kishibe muttered like a true cynic.
"What does it mean to be in love?" Nayuta inquired, blinking her big eyes at Denji and Mari.
"Well," Denji began, inhaling deeply. He rolled his eyes upward as if he might find the answer on the backs of his eyelids. "It means you have found someone to care about and who cares about you. When you meet each other...your heart just...knows."
"I don't understand," she said. Her facial expression never changed to register confusion or even skepticism.
"One day you will," he assured her. "I didn't understand either until it happened to me."
"Sometimes you'll fall in love a hundred times, kid," the skeptic muttered. "Not everyone is meant to find the one. Miss Right Now has always been good enough for me."
Denji and Mari glared at him.
"Why don't we order pizza for dinner tonight? My treat," offered Kishibe. Obviously he had had enough of that topic of conversation.
"Sure!" Denji readily accepted.
"I like pizza," Nayuta said in her soft voice.
"Any objections?" Kishibe asked Mari.
She shook her head. She had no objections whatsoever. They had arrived too early for her to prepare the soba noodles and sides for dinner. Besides, she loved pizza. She had not eaten it since she arrived here over a year ago. She had devoted her palate to exploring Japanese food and her culinary skills in learning how to cook it. It was the only thing she forward to in her life until now.
"Has Nayuta registered for school?" Mari asked to change the subject again.
"Shit," Denji muttered. "I knew I was forgetting something."
"Well, I don't have a job lined up at the moment for Monday. I can take her and get her registered," she offered.
"Great! That's all taken care of. Aren't you the cohesive little family already?" Kishibe interjected.
Whether it was sincere or sarcastic, Mari opened her mouth to issue a snappy comeback but barking and yelping from next door prevented her from responding.
"Time for a walk!" she announced, rolling onto her knees out of Denji's lap so she could get to her feet. She extended her hand toward Nayuta. "Come on! Let's go get the dessert team."
"I love the doggies," Nayuta said, taking Mari's hand.
"I can tell. I'll help you take good care of them," she promised, swinging their hands as they walked.
"You love Denji?" the child asked her innocently.
"Yes," she easily admitted with a smile on her face.
"I love Denji too," she said, leading Mari next door. "He's my big brother. Are you my new big sister?"
"Uh, I suppose I could be. If you want me to be."
"I guess so," the girl responded in her monotone without any change of expression - no smile no anything.
It was a less than enthusiastic reception, but it wasn't an "I hate you!" screamed at the top of the lungs by a shrill little voice so Mari gladly accepted it feeling relieved. Nayuta opened the door to the apartment she would share with Denji and the dogs bounded out.
"Oh, God! Ahhhh!" Mari screamed when a ball of black and white fluff slammed into her chest and another into her belly bowling her over and knocking her back into the hall.
Nayuta stood over her laughing gleefully as the dogs licked her face in tandem covering her with slobber. Mari already looked forward to another shower.
"Nayuta!" Denji exclaimed. "Sit! Tiramisu! Dolce! Sit!"
Mari thought Denji was talking to Nayuta until he called out the dogs names. She took the hand he held out to her so he could help her up from the floor. The dogs sat as commanded, their tongues lolling out of their mouths while panting loudly. They raised their behinds, stepping toward her when she stood up. Nayuta made a clicking sound with her tongue which caused them to immediately sit back down on their haunches.
"We've been working with them on commands, both words and sounds. They're doing good," Denji said, scratching Tiramisu behind the ears and patting his head.
Nayuta had leashed up the five remaining dogs in the apartment, bringing the last two leads to Denji for the dogs waiting in the hall. She handed two of the nylon loops to Mari.
"Here. You can walk Ganache and Brownie. They seem to like you the most," she said, setting off with Cream Puff and Kakigori after passing off the leash to Creme Brulee to Denji.
"What about Kishibe?" Mari asked. "Think he would like to come too?"
"Nah. I'm sure him and Meowy are already curled up asleep together," Denji said. Then he turned to Nayuta. "Hey, did you bring a - "
"Got it right here," she replied, patting the pocket of her jeans. "I brought a spare too."
The outline of what was most likely a tennis ball could be seen bulging in both of her front pockets.
Out on the street, the other pedestrians gave them a wide berth creating a clear path for them. Some people gazed at them with amused smiles, pointing and chattering with their friends. Others glared at them disapprovingly and hurried by faster.
"Sit!" Denji commanded the dogs while they waited at the crosswalk.
All of the dogs except for Kakigori obeyed. Nayuta pressed down on her behind while issuing the order again in a surprisingly strong and firm voice. When the dog sat, the girl praised her and patted her head.
The signal turned to green and the crossing melody started to play. Apparently the dogs recognized the sound because they immediately stood up to trot across the street. No one crossed the street with them.
Once in the park, they abandoned the concrete sidewalk in favor of walking in the grass which would be better on the dogs' paws.
"How far in is the area for them?" Denji asked.
"Not too far. I found it earlier," Nayuta replied before Mari could answer. "It's just past that place there where the picnic tables are under the roof. Hey, can we have a picnic sometime?"
"Mari already has one planned for tomorrow," Denji quickly answered, casting a smile at her. "She's been looking forward to meeting you."
Nayuta said nothing. Instead she took off running toward the area surrounded by chain link fencing where they could unleash the dogs to let them run and play as they wished but still be supervised. The rest of the dogs took off running as well to follow their comrades, taking Denji and Mari for an impromptu jog.
Once the dogs were off their chains and safely enclosed with the gate secured, Nayuta took one of the balls out of her pocket. Lots of yipping and barking followed along with excited bouncing on hind legs. She threw the balls to send them scurrying after them in one big pack, bumping into each other along the way.
Denji and Mari stood at the fence, watching what became a battle to get to the ball first. Each time, whoever won would trot back to Nayuta, head held high while the others tried unsuccessfully to steal the ball away to be the one to give it to their little master.
"Did Kishibe say something to upset you? He has a tendency to do that sometimes. He's not really a mean person. He's just..."
"Blunt?" she provided the word she believed he was searching for. "And protective. Which is understandable. No, it wasn't what he said. He was a customer at the hostess club. It kind of bothered me seeing him. I wasn't expecting to be faced with a part of my very recent past so soon."
"Hey, you did what you had to do to survive. I understand that. It would be unfair for me to hold any part of your past against you. Just like I'm sure you won't hold any part of mine against me," he said, continuing to look straight ahead at the dogs running around like a black, brown, and white swarm of fuzzy insects.
"What do you think I might hold against you?" she asked, reaching out to take his hand hanging by his side.
"I've killed people, Mari. Lots of people. Some who didn't deserve it."
"Yes, but - "
"Sometimes they were completely innocent. Bystanders who got caught up in our shit. They shouldn't have had to die," he stated with sadness and guilt, still refusing to look directly at her.
"I'm sorry, you - " Her words halted on the tip of her tongue when he turned to look at her.
"What did I tell you about apologizing for things that aren't your fault?"
"To not," she sighed, pressing her shoulder into his arm to stand closer to him.
"It's my guilt, my regret, alone. You have the burden of your own past to bear, and don't need mine to go with it."
"You can be very profound sometimes, Denji. You're not as shallow or simple minded as you would like to think you are. So what if if you didn't have these lofty goals or altruistic reasons for doing anything?" She sighed, lacing her fingers through his. "Sometimes I think it's all bullshit. I think people are lying to make themselves look good to others. Hell, I'm sure the reason behind many men's reasons for doing almost anything is getting laid. They just can't admit that to themselves...or their wives."
Denji snorted and laughed.
"Yeah. You're probably right," he said, squeezing her hand.
The sun had disappeared and the lights along the path were flickering on. Since there were no lights in the dog area, they decided it was time to go. Besides, the dogs had pretty much worn themselves out. Most had laid down in the grass, panting with their tongues hanging out while on the two youngest, Kakigori and Brownie, chased the ball.
"We can take them to my apartment for food and water. By then they should be ready to go to bed for the night," Denji said, assisting with hooking on the leashes.
"Do all of them sleep with you?" Mari asked, taking hold of her two assigned dogs.
"Yep. We all sleep in one big bed," Nayuta informed her, closing the gate behind her when the last dog was through.
The night breeze blew. There was a definite chill in the air. The leaves would soon start to changed as the air grew colder.
"That will be great for cold winter nights," Mari said. She wondered how snuggling would work out for her and Denji this winter. Would she be welcome to the dog pile?
On their way across the street, they saw a pizza delivery driver pulling off from the curb on his scooter. As they made their way up the stairs toward the apartment, Kishibe met them on the third floor landing.
"The pizzas are in the apartment. I'm heading home," he said, continuing on his way down the steps.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay and eat?" Denji asked, turning back to look at the man who did not even stop walking.
"Nah, I should be going. Got a long drive, you know. Besides, I'm sure I already overstayed my welcome. All of you need time to get acquainted anyway. I'll see ya soon. Take care," he said, raising a hand in farewell without looking behind him as he walked down the steps.
"Bye," Nayuta called out, waving to his back.
They took the dogs into Denji's apartment. Mari and Nayuta took off their leashes off while Denji filled the water and food bowls. The dogs attacked them gusto as soon as they were freed to go.
Mari looked around the apartment. The only furniture in the room was a low table and an ancient TV. The corners of the table had been chewed on the by the dogs. There were no cushions. She doubted they would last long with this many canines around. If there ever had been cushions, surely they had become the rope in a tug of war to be shredded to bits. There was a small TV on top of a rickety stand that looked as if it might collapse under the weight at any given second. What kind of bed did they sleep in?
"Let's go eat. I'm starving," Denji announced, taking her by the arm to pull her back to her apartment.
Back in her apartment, Meowy had hopped up on the low table and was sniffing heartily at the pizza boxes. Denji shooed him away and flipped open the top box.
"I'll get up some drinks. You like soda, Nayuta?" Mari asked. "I have strawberry, pineapple, and cola."
"Strawberry for me!" Denji yelled out.
"I'll take a cola, please," Nayuta requested politely.
Mari returned with paper towels and the drinks. They would eat the pizza right out of the boxes mostly because Denji and Nayuta had already started. She doubted it was last long anyway because she was famished so she knew the other two must have quite an appetite.
"How is it Nayuta has better manners than you when you're supposed to be her guardian and mentor?' she asked Denji, wiping pizza sauce from his cheek and chin.
He shrugged and continued eating. He had already eaten half of the pizza when Nayuta had just finished her first slice and Mari had yet to grab one. There were two other pizzas though. Obviously Kishibe was aware of the extent of Denji's almost endless capacity for food.
"Do we want to watch a movie?" Mari asked, taking the last slice from the first box. She picked up the remote and held it out to Nayuta before Denji could take it out of her hand. "I think Nayuta should pick it out."
"We're going to be stuck watching some dumb cartoon with talking animals or some shit," Denji grumbled, pouting like he had a tendency to do sometimes.
"I like cartoons and talking animals," she countered, casting a sidelong glance at him.
Mari rolled her eyes and shook her head. At times he could be so mature and say some of the most profound and romantic things. Then other times when he acted like this. She stared at the man with his cheeks stuffed full like a chipmunk hiding nuts, pizza sauce smeared down his chin, and his lips poked out. He looked like he had been stung by a bee. He was being more of a kid than the actual child among them.
They continued to eat while Nayuta searched for something to watch. Every time Denji opened his mouth to offer an unsolicited opinion, Mari would tap his leg and shake her head. It was important Nayuta learned to form her own opinions, make her own decisions, and learn to trust those no matter what others said.
By the time they were finished eating, Nayuta had chosen a movie. It wasn't a cartoon movie but did involve talking animals. Kind of. The dialogue was voiced over the film but the animal's mouth did not actually move to the words. Two dogs and a cat were going on a journey to find the human family they had been separated from.
Nayuta settled down on the floor in front of the television, placing her head on one of the cushions while Meowy curled up next to her on another.
"Hey, look on the bright side, you get to cuddle with me on the couch," Mari whispered to him.
"Okay, that's a definite plus," he grudgingly admitted as he took a seat at the end with his legs extended in front of him.
Mari sat down in between his legs when he separated them, leaning back against his chest. She smiled happily to herself when he put his arms around her waist, linking his fingers across her belly.
Halfway through the journey, she fell asleep with a smile on her face. It had been a really good day. She had just found her family. Her journey with Denji and Nayuta was just about to begin.