Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

“I’m sorry, Satou, for making you stay.”

In the deserted office, I was staring at the computer display with Sakakibara sitting next to me.
The seasons are changing and the days are getting longer, but it was still dark outside the window and I didn’t need to look at the clock to know that night was falling.

“Don’t worry about it. We take care of each other when we need to.”

Sakakibara’s attitude was lower than usual, so I called out to cheer him up.
Today, unusually, Sakakibara and I are working late together, but the work we are doing was not originally our job.

It was not like we were forced to do it for some black reason.
It was just that Sakakibara’s workload has become enormous due to a combination of circumstances, and now I’m helping him.

“But is it okay? I thought Mashiro-chan was waiting at home for you…”
“That makes us two.”

Sakakibara asked me anxiously as he faced the computer seriously.
Sakakibara was the one who was really a softie, even though his beloved girlfriend was probably waiting for him at home.

I was worried about Mashiro a lot…before she was still in cat form a while ago.
More importantly, she has that calm personality and overwhelming life force. If you don’t consider external factors, there is nothing to worry about.

“Then, for Mashiro-chan’s sake, we should finish this quickly.”
“For someone’s girlfriend’s sake, too.”

We laughed at each other and then resumed our work, both getting back into the spirit for our own precious ones.

“It’s getting pretty late…”

Even though it took two people to do it, the overwhelming amount of work took a lot of time.
But the thought of leaving that amount of work to Sakakibara alone was enough to send shivers down my spine.

This is the first time I’ve been home this late since Mashiro came home.
Feeling apologetic and a little anxious, I opened the front door.

“I’m home.”

I called out into the lighted room. But I didn’t get the usual reply.
I went to the living room, wondering what was going on, and found Mashiro sleeping peacefully at the table where food had been prepared.

The food had been wrapped and she must have fallen asleep while waiting for me to come home, realizing that I would be late.
I felt a little uncomfortable waking her up, but I couldn’t leave her like that, so I shook her lightly and called her name.

Then, after showing me her sleepy, dazed eyes, she noticed my presence and immediately woke up.

“Satou-san. Sorry, I…”
“No, I’m sorry I woke you up too.”

As expected, Mashiro jumped up in a panic, which made me feel very bad.
Mashiro always slept with a cute, happy face, which made me feel even more bad.

“Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Ah, well. I was planning to have it with Satou-san.”
“I-I see…”

There was food for both of us on the table, and I immediately noticed that Mashiro hadn’t eaten yet.
Mashiro hadn’t eaten until I left, and she told me that as a matter of course.
I had assumed that she had already eaten and bathed, which made me feel even more sorry for her.

“I had to work late today, which is unusual for me. I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Mashiro.”
“No, you can’t help it if you’re working. I’ll reheat it a little.”

With that, Mashiro took the wrapped plate toward the kitchen.
As I watched her back, I could not help but feel guilty.

Mashiro didn’t seem to mind, but I realized again how much trouble I had caused her.
It was true that I had been working late and it was probably unavoidable.

However, that didn’t mean that I hadn’t taken Mashiro’s situation into consideration and hadn’t worried about her, which was something that I would never do if we were going to live together.
After all, Mashiro and I have been friends for almost two months now.
The more we trusted each other, the more we overlooked the care that should have been the norm.

“It’s ready. Here you go.”
“A-Ahh. Thank you…Itadakimasu”
“Itadakimasu.”

It was not selfish to use your work schedule as an excuse to dodge household chores without notice.
If there was any possibility of disrupting the schedule of the other party, the least you can do was to take the appropriate action…or at least be polite as a human being.

I took a bite of the delicious rice, which was the same as always, then put my chopsticks down and bowed to her once again.

“Mashiro, I’m really sorry about today. It won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize so much. It’s not like you can call me in advance for an urgent job. It’s not like you can call in advance for an urgency. Please raise your head.”

While Mashiro was shaking my shoulder in a panic, I heard the words she said and looked up involuntarily.
While Mashiro was relieved that I had raised my head, I was turning my head around about what I had thought of.

It was a simple idea.
If I could contact her in some way, just in case, I could prevent something like this from happening.
And if something happened to her, she would be able to contact me immediately. Such a thing that can solve everything.

I stared at the “thing” in my hand and decided on my plans for the weekend.