Duran-kun and Kiyo-chan's Omake Theater
(featuring the Kuga-Fujino family pets)
"Ahhhhhh," Natsuki Kuga gave a long, happy, contented sigh.
"You really are a summer princess, aren't you, Natsuki?" her friend Mai Tokiha asked.
"Oh, yeah. My name may not be spelled that way, but it definitely fits."
The two friends and high-school classmates were stretched out on folding lounge chairs in the backyard of the house Natsuki shared with Shizuru Fujino. The only thing that would make this day better would be if Shizuru was home instead of off at a late-afternoon workshop, but Natsuki figured the college student would be as happy to slather Natsuki in sunburn ointment later as she would be to rub in sunscreen now. It was the first really hot day of the summer, and the two friends were savoring the sun in tank tops and denim shorts, letting the breeze tickle their bare toes.
"You know, we ought to go on a beach trip with the whole gang this year," Mai decided. "After all, we'll graduate next spring, and a lot of us from this class will go our separate ways. Let's see, there's you, me, Yuuichi, Chie, Aoi, Yukino, Akane, Kazuya, and Miyu. I know Miyu isn't going to college..."
"She could just download it all anyway. Probably she has. Or has access to some giant Searrs database or something."
"...but Kazuya and Akane are going away, and Chie got accepted into a journalism program in Osaka. Yukino's the only one I know for sure is definitely going to stay here and attend Fuuka University."
"Me, too."
"Really?" Mai's smile turned into a suggestive grin. "Don't want to get too far away from your wife, huh?"
"Actually, we promised her mom that we'd hold off on any official commitment ceremony until we both at least finished off our undergraduate degrees. We'll just have to live together in sin until then. But mostly I'm just too lazy to take entrance exams so I'm letting the escalator system take me up without effort."
"I hate you," said Mai, whom Natsuki knew planned on applying to at least six different schools. "Just thinking about studying for exams makes me feel hot and sticky."
Suiting actions to words, Mai swung her feet over the side of the chair and plunged them into the blue plastic kiddy wading pool they'd set up between the lounges. Kiyohime, who'd been splashing around in the cold water, popped up several heads to see if anything interesting had caused the sudden intrusion. Her fifth head looked like it might be considering some judicious toe-nibbling, but the majority won out and Kiyohime went back to her swimming.
"You know, I'm surprised Kiyohime doesn't like the heat as much as you do," Mai said. "Aren't snakes and other reptiles most active on hot, sunny days?"
"I think that's for cold-blooded animals only. Kiyohime's warm-blooded."
"She is?"
"Yeah, remember how much she likes to play in the snow?"
"Oh, that's right. A cold-blooded animal would be all lethargic."
"I wonder if that means hydras are descended from dinosaurs?" Natsuki speculated. "Kiyohime might even be more closely related to birds than she is to snakes."
"I doubt there's a lot of books on hydra biology."
"True." Natsuki might have said more, but she felt something solid poke her in the ribs on the side away from Mai and the pool. She rolled over and came face-to-face with a large steel wolf with two built-in long-barreled rifles running along his flanks, giving her very hopeful puppy-dog eyes.
Natsuki checked her watch.
"Yep, the water-resistant spray coating should have set by now, so you can play in the water."
With a happy woof, Duran splashed into the pool, spraying wet droplets everywhere.
"I don't know about that beach trip idea, Mai," Natsuki continued. "Every time I go to the seashore I end up in trouble. But if you're really set on it, just make sure to give me a week's notice so I can get Duran's rustproofing freshened up. He'd be sad if we went to the ocean and he couldn't go swimming."