Omake Week 2014, Day 6: Finishing off Omake Week, well, it just wouldn't be "Omake Week" without an entry from D&KOT!

Duran-kun and Kiyo-chan's Omake Theater

(featuring the Kuga-Fujino family pets)

Kiyohime was curled blissfully into her purple pillow, a warm afternoon sunbeam helping to maintain the lazy atmosphere essential for high-level napping, when the jangling doorbell jolted her out of a happy dream of breathing superheated steam at philandering monks. Five heads jerked upright, while the third tried to untangle itself from the tail-like end of the hydra's body.

"Don't worry, Kiyohime; I'll answer the door," Shizuru Fujino said. Since her mistress was already heading for the foyer, Kiyohime decided there was no point to getting up herself. Her fourth and sixth heads were curious enough to keep watching, while the others settled back down so as not to waste valuable nap weather.

"May I help you?" Shizuru asked, opening the door to find a khaki-uniformed deliveryman. He had a large box, three feet by two by two, balanced on a dolly.

"Yeah, I've got a shipment here for a Natsuki Kuga."

"Yes, she lives here."

"Great; this thing is heavy. Can you sign for it?"

He extended the electronic signature pad and Shizuru scrawled her name with the stylus. She vaguely missed the formality of impressing her seal on paper, but supposed that time marched on.

I wonder if, one day, all of the ladylike arts I have studied will be naught but anachronisms, not even part of our valued cultural heritage but a pointless exercise. She then chided herself; it was all too easy to become maudlin when Natsuki wasn't home.

"Thanks. So where d'you want this, ma'am?"

"Pardon?"

"It's pretty heavy, so I figured so long as I was here, I'd help you get it where you wanted." He patted the dolly.

"That's very courteous of you, but I'm afraid that Natsuki is not home, and she did not mention to me what she wanted this delivery for. Why not bring it into the living room and we shall take it from there?" She could have called Natsuki, but the younger girl was still in class, and Shizuru did not want to be a distraction for her.

Besides, she was sure that if need be, Reito would come over and help move whatever it was, and seeing "the smirking wonder" doing manual labor would no doubt do Natsuki's spirits good.

"All right."

The deliveryman wheeled the crate into the living room and set it down next to the coffee table. The intrusion of a stranger into the home drew the attention not only of Kiyohime but also of Natsuki's Duran, who came in from outside to watch him carefully. It was impressive, really, how secure a large metal dog with two rifles built into his flanks could make a homeowner feel.

The deliveryman took a boxcutter out of his pocket and deftly removed the cardboard crate to reveal a large, sturdy metal safe with a combination lock. Duran yipped happily at the sight, came over and sniffed it a few times, tested the side with a couple of swats of his paw, then curled up next to it on the floor.

"There you go, ma'am. Hope you enjoy it."

"Thank you for your help," Shizuru said. She offered the man a cup of iced tea, but he declined, saying that he had to get back to work.

Curiosity was definitely one of Shizuru's besetting sins, particularly where her Natsuki was concerned, so she was even happier than usual to hear the throaty purr of the Ducati pulling into the driveway.

"I'm home!" Natsuki called as she came through the door.

"Welcome back, Natsuki," Shizuru said, going out to greet her, then was suddenly surprised when a gloved hand cupped the side of her head and pulled her in for a firm kiss.

"Natsuki?"

"I missed you today," Natsuki said, a faint blush on her cheeks. She still didn't find open displays of affection to be the easiest thing to do, but she tried hard. "The new president came around to classes today for some student opinion survey thing and it bugged me to see somebody else in that white uniform."

"Natsuki is such a sentimentalist." It wasn't a very good tease, though, because Shizuru's tone of voice had been stuck in the tender softness of her feelings.

"Idiot," Natsuki said back as she wrestled off her boots, but with the same tone as Shizuru had instead of the usual exasperation with which she said it. "You're lucky I love you."

"Yes, I am," Shizuru said, and captured her lips for another kiss when she straightened up.

"I guess you missed me, too?"

"It is a bit lonely staying home and playing housewife while Natsuki is at class on a day that I do not have any."

"Housewife, huh? I half expected to come home and find you naked in an apron or something."

"I was distracted," Shizuru pouted.

"Huh, by what? Oh, hey, the safe came!" Natsuki exclaimed as they entered the living room.

"By that, in fact. It arrived two and a half hours ago, and I have been very curious about it. Natsuki did not mention that she had ordered more household furnishings."

"Sorry about that. I should have told you it was coming. You should know when delivery stuff is going to show up."

That was not precisely the point, so Shizuru decided to give her a gentle nudge in the direction of you should have discussed such an addition to our home with me first instead of scolding her girlfriend. Particularly since Natsuki was clearly in an affectionate and snuggly mood and Shizuru was not an idiot.

"I am not precisely certain of where we should put such a thing, but Duran seems to like it very much, as he has only left its side to go out since it came."

Duran woofed, echoing the sentiment.

"Well, that makes sense. It's his, after all."

Shizuru blinked.

"His? You ordered a large steel office safe for your dog?"

"Yep."

"Why?" she asked with un-Shizuru-like directness.

"Well, Kiyohime's a great burrower, right? She likes to go tunneling around the back yard for fun, which is why we had to mark off the digging area so someone doesn't step in a hole or on top of a tunnel and break an ankle."

"Yes, that's true."

"So, anyplace Duran wants to bury a bone, she'll pretty much accidentally unearth it within a couple of days, a week at most, and then he won't know where it is." She knocked on the safe a couple of times with her knuckles. "Besides, a modern dog needs to take advantage of advances in security tech, right?"