Half-forcibly obtaining the rubbing right, Fuyuka’s mental hygiene had never been brighter.

“Mm-fu-fu…”
“Ugh, gross.”

Even now, the current Fuyuka express no reaction to the relentless cursing from her junior Kana. Such was the extent to which Ohana’s tail and ears have given her solace.

“What’s the matter with you? You’ve never ever been in a good humour on Mondays…”
“Fu-fu-fu-fu-fu.”
“Oh, could it actually be a hopeless pattern?”¹

Whereas Fuyuka touched her tail, Ohana felt a slight tickling and her body shivered, but the other paid it no heed. For she is an animal lover at heart, she finds animal parts in Ohana nothing but alluring. And yesterday, when she was given such permission, she truly enjoyed the tail and the ears until she satisfied her craving.

“Haa, I wanna go home~.”
“We’ve only just started… Are you sure you’re okay?”

Knowing nothing of circumstances, of​ course, Kana was no more than puzzled; but she knew that there is no point in pursuing Fuyuka in her flowery state, and after that she merely sent a tepid looks.

However, as the time passed and Fuyuka calmed herself down to some extent, she suddenly flushed up and prostrated herself on the desk.

“I… I’m sorry about that. I have a little something going on.”
“I can imagine. I’ve never seen you with such a halfwit face.”
“Please just forget it…”

In front of them there might be seen the new employés, who had just joined the company. They finished their outside training, and will work at the head office starting today.

“Wah—, innocence.”

Once upon the time, she used to stand yonder and to have a high hopes for the life to come. At this stage, she must believe that that was but preposterous pipe dream.
On the day that she immersed into​ such sentimentality, Fuyuka was ready to leave the office at eight o’clock sharp. Reasonably early for this firm.

“Thank you for your hard work, everyone—.”
“Huh? quite fast you are.”
“For I’ve already done what I had to. If you done, why don’t we get going?”
“Umm—, well, if you are going home, Hiiragi-san, I think I’ll go too—.”

“Umm—,” Kana stretched and started to prepare to leave, as Fuyuka does. This company basically do has the concept of regular working hours, but it is but a concept indeed, and workers staying overtime are as yet plentiful. In despite of the fact that it is not a busy season, somehow, there are many who remains that way. Be that as it may, she was not accused of leaving too early.

“New girls were working overtime right away, eh—.”
“Working you say, rather, reviewing what they’ve been taught through the day… How nostalgic.”

It has been no different when Fuyuka entered the company as probationer. She stayed at the head office and reviewed what she learned, under the guise of overtime work. “It was certainly a necessary thing,” believed she, but the question is why bother so much as to burn the candle at both ends.
She, of course, did not say it out loud.

“Well then, see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, goodnight—.”

After parting with Kana before the office, Fuyuka immediately started on her way home. While thinking that Ohana is probably awaiting her, and casting her mind back to tail and ears of the girl.

♢

“Flower viewing… is it?”

Upon that very day, the topic occurred out of the blue. The season is spring, this is the peak time for cherry blossom viewing.

“First, do you know what flower viewing is?”
“H-haah~, it is occasion where one occupying oneself in enjoyment of sakura blossoms, is it.”
“Quite so, have you ever done it?”
“I have. In my settlement, it used to be a gorgeous annual event. We would prepare tasty meals and drinks and make a lot of noise.”

As Fuyuka heard that Ohana was engaged in something similar in her country, she suggested to do something of the sort here too.
An unsophisticated suggestion, which, however, appeared to please Ohana beyond one’s assumptions. And her tail was, pata-pata, wriggling to and fro.

“Shall we go on my next day off, then. We’ll have to take a train, though.”
“That huge carriage. Does the path lies to so distant a place?”
“No, not so distant, but it might in fact be a little tricky, with all the transfers and stuff.”

After the lunch, Fuyuka employed her time to outline the route they were to take. She should ensure not to get separated as they go, anyhow, but no harm would befall if she account it more minutely.

“And so we are getting off at this station. Also, although I say flower viewing, I’m the type to walk around instead of parking down and relaxing.”
“Eh, you are?”
“Yes, yes. We’d walk down the aisle to view the array of sakura trees.”

It is one of the most famous cherry-viewing spots in Tokyo. It should draw a large audience, obviously, but is to no issue, for they solely wish to see some cherry blossom. And supposing they are to change the location, too, there are given sites where one might even spread out the sheet. Whilst it is a little risky for the two of them, two females, to be alone at evening, she simply cannot bring herself to invite someone from the company. Hence, they settled down on this format.

“Hee—, it’s like this… Understood! It is so exciting!”
“U-uh-huh.”

“You don’t really need to pay so much attention to it,” thought Fuyuka. However, for the girl was helping her out so much—was letting her do whatever she pleases with tail and ears—she felt obliged to express her gratitude, and repay at the least.

“W-well, next weekend then.”
“Yes!”

Thinking back, Fuyuka has been so busy that she had not gone to flower viewing in years. And after realising it, she herself started to look forward to occasion a little, just a little.

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1. in italic because it is special Japanese パターン [Patāno], which most likely define something like behavioural pattern, although I would have translated it as omen; simultaneously in the title of this chapter the “pattern” is written in kanji [模様]; back