A Playful Love (with SelkiSeven)

[Stray Shinku]

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The history of Mankind took an unexpected turn after the discovery of living beings that were way too different from them. Their appearance looked like a normal human, but they had animal traits that quickly made them differ. Willing to become allies, the United Nations and the Council of Wild Beings made a truce, allowing them to join the human society without any problems. At first, most of the people treated them awfully, abusing physically and mentally. They couldn't accept them just because they were too scared of them for been so different. Still, that didn't stop them from keeping trying to show them that the can be just like them.

Our story begins years after when the mistreatment against these species decayed greatly, but not completely. There were laws that protected them and the police punished those who dared to hurt them.

Somewhere around the globe was a small town named Bridgewood which was popular for been a place where a lot these species live in harmony with humans. Every school or educational institute accepted them and every shop or business place allowed them to work there. It was the perfect and safest place for them to live.
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Today was a beautiful day, the skies were blue and clear and the streets were filled with life. People were walking from once place to another, minding their own business or greeting a friend, and cars were driving through the hallways. Every shop, restaurant and other business were open, receiving everyone that entered with open arms.

This town has a pretty famous French café, Belle Aube. It's a decent medium size café that sells mostly pastry and other sweets, but also light food like sandwiches and wraps, and decent dinners. A lot of women frequent this place and that's all to its superstar waiter Rito Moonstone, which was a Neko Wolf. He's an 18 years old tall guy with white hair and bright scarlet eyes. He's half cat, so a pair of cute ears and a long tail could be seen on him. Even not been human, there was a lot of humans girls that loved him. Been so popular was something that made Rito kind of nervous and uncomfortable, but happy as well. After all, he really enjoyed socializing with people.

"Here's your mille-feuille pastry and clafoutis dessert," said Rito as he stopped beside a table nearby a window located at the entrance of the café. As he picked the small plates from the tray laying on the top of his right forearm, he gently placed them on the table, right in front of the two young ladies that looked at him with shiny eyes, flustered by how handsome he looked in the black and white waiter suit. Smiling, Rito stood straight and looked at them. "Hope you enjoy our dessert, ma'am. If you need something else, feel free to ask me and I'll be glad to help right away." With that said, Rito placed his right hand on his chest and gently bowed at them before leaving, heading to attend another table. He could hear the squeaks of joy of the ladies, mumbling how they wished to pet his ears.

This was practically what Rito lived every day he worked here. Even when he did his best to accustomed himself to that kind of situations, he couldn't resist feeling kind of embarrassed.

As the clock hit the 3 o'clock of the evening, Rito was allowed to take a break. As he entered a small room at the back of the café, the owner of the place arrived, looking for him. "Oh, there you are, Rito," he said with a relief smile, fixing his glasses. It was a bald man on his late 40's. Rito's ears perked up after hearing his name, so he took a seat on a small table across the room before looking at the owner, which stopped in front of him. "I need you to do me a great favor. In a couple of minutes, somebody I'm supposed to interview for the baker spot will arrive. Unfortunately, I have something really important to do right now, so I would like you to do that interview for me."

Rito widened his eyes a bit, kind of surprised to be asked to take such a huge position, even if it's just for a while. Yes, he knew how to attend people as a waiter, but making an interview was something way different. "Geez, I really don't know if I could do that, but I guess I can try," he said, lightly rubbing the back of his head with a nervous smile. The man chuckled and lightly patted his back. "Oh, you'll be alright, Rito. It's not a big interview. Just ask her about her experience in the bakery and ask them to bake something simple for a taste test. You know how to cook, so I trust in your taste sense."

Rito nodded, still smiling nervously. Cooking and baking were two different things after all. He loved sweet, though, so he hoped that would help him to decide if this person was a good baker or not. After a short while, the owner left the café and put Rito in charge in the meantime. As he stood at the back of the café to face everybody around, clients and workers, he looked down at the watch on his wrist to check the time, wondering when this person will arrive.​

 

[SelkiSeven]

"One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten!"

Ten thuds of various frequencies were heard from the apartment downstairs and to the downstairs neighbor's disappointment, it was because the pink and white Neko girl upstairs was getting hyped for an interview. Two hours before she even needed to begin getting ready. The spunky kitten was giving herself a pep talk in her broken standing mirror and hopping around her room on one foot while trying to balance books on her tail, each falling off, but nary mistake breaking her attention. Instead, she got excited that she'd actually managed to hop on one foot ten times. Her balance had improved.

"Be quiet up there! Please! For Gods Sake! Please!" A male's voice downstairs pleaded and Kimu blinked, staring at her floor, before going to the baseboards and pressing her face against the wood.

"Sorry!! I have an interview! Wish me luck!" She'd scream, and then stand up to pick the books from the floor and walk around her apartment trying to get her things together. She'd attempt to hold the books on her head and get dressed into something appropriate at the same time.

"Thud."

"Thud. Thud. Woops."

"Thudthudthudthudthud."

"Thud. Clash."


At the half hour mark, Kimu had managed to finally get herself dressed. She'd fashion her hair into a tight and neat bun with a white bow to match her ears that flittered in excitement. A pink bow adorned her white, fluffy tail near the base and matched her pink waitress outfit that she'd made by retrofitting an old dress of hers. The last thing she had to put on was her white, thigh high stockings, pink Mary Jane shoes, and white gloves.

Kimu stared herself in the mirror with her best "fight" face before bowing quickly, rising too fast, then falling backwards onto the bed with an amused giggle. She'd sigh as her pink eyes looked to a clock and then widened.

"I'M GOING TO BE LAAAAAATE!" She'd scream and immediately began to run down stairs and out the door to the bakery. She'd forget her head piece and had to run back upstairs, screaming, and then right back down. While she wasn't the most considerate person, often just forgetting herself, she was highly tolerated because she provided free child care for the residents of her building and did a pretty great job at cleaning everything up. There wasn't a nary stray piece of litter when Kimu was around.



When rounding the corner to the bakery, Kimu stopped at the corner and bent to look into a car's side mirror to fix her hair and make sure she looked presentable. After straightening her dress she'd clear her throat then hum as she'd skip up the street and into the bakery with a smile.

Her smile turned into a lazy grin as she'd smell a dozen and more sweets tempting her. All the sugar and butter, milk and chocolate. Kimu was in heaven and she'd had to stop herself from drooling as she remembered why she was there in the first place. The Neko skipped loudly to the cash register and stood quietly as she clicked her heels together and peered at the different desserts the bakery carried. Her eye was on a tart that seemed to be filled with apples.

 

[Stray Shinku]

As Kimu stepped closer to the cash register, a young woman looked at her with a bright smile, her heart melting as she saw how adorable the cute Neko girl was dressed. She looked at her from head to toes and definitely loved her accessories, especially the cute pink bow on her tail and her shoes were too cute. If it wasn't for her decently big bust, Kimu would look like a child in the young woman's eyes.

"Good evening and welcome!" she said, stepping closer to Kimu with a big smile. "I see you're looking at our delicious pastries. Do you wish to buy something?" As the woman attended Kimu, not knowing she was there for an interview, Rito came out from the Resting Room at the back of the café and head toward the cash register. His long and white tail was gently swaying behind him, his ears moving around by the many noises around the place.

Stopping in front of the pastries and sweets display, he looked at the entrance, guessing that the person he supposed to interview will come by this time. "Man, I'm nervous about this," he thought, looking down at the display, checking if it needed to be refilled with more pastries and sweets. "The boss said I just needed to ask a couple of questions and put his or her baking to test. Mmh.. I wonder what I should choose? A simple cake or something more sophisticated?"

Before he could get lost in his thoughts, Rito's attention was caught by the cash register lady attending somebody that came in. As he looked at her, he noticed an adorable Neko girl dressed in a cute and pink-ish baker dress. Frowning his brow a little bit, he wondered if she as the person he was waiting for.

 

[SelkiSeven]

Kimu gave a loud purr when she was being serviced and gave a quick bow of her head. "Hi! Uhm, yea! I want that one, please!" The Neko bent at the glass enclosure and murred at the apple tart she had her eyes on previously. It was obvious she got distracted easily. She'd raise up then blink as she'd look around then shake her hands.

"Ahhh~ Sorry! That isn't why I'm here. Actually, I'm being interviewed." Her ears flittered in annoyment at herself, but she'd perk up and her tail would raise high up into the air as it swished side to side. Lucky for her she had the foresight to actually create a hole for her tail to fit through the dress so she wasn't flashing anyone. If she aced this interview, and got the score she needed, she'd definitely be rewarding herself with an entire apple tart to herself.

"But, if I pass, then I will have that entire apple tart to myself!"

Her tongue blepped out the side of her lips for a moment as she'd think about the outcome of passing this interview and that seemed to fire her up. She'd stand straighter and her hands shot down to her sides with balled fists as she'd turned to see a Neko male at the counter to her side. She raise a hand to wave with a cheery grin then put on her "fight" face to get herself ready for the interview and test, if one was required. Even her tail seemed to stiffen as it fell flat to the floor and only twitched at the end at random intervals.

 

[Stray Shinku]

Rito couldn't resist to hold back a chuckle after seeing the cute and silly "fight" face from the Neko girl. The cashier also laughed, but mostly because of how silly and adorable she was acting. "Ah, so you're the one I'm going to interview, huh?" asked Rito, stepping closer to the cash register. He smiled kindly at the Neko girl. "First things first, welcome to Belle Aube and thanks for your interest in working here. My name is Rito Moonstone, but you can just call me Rito. The owner of the café is currently attending some important issues, so he put me in charge of the interview today. Hope you don't mind it."

Rito was kind of nervous, but he just decided to go with the flow and act like he was attending another client of the café. Not losing more time, he stepped back and gestured with his right hand at the door that leads to the Break Room. "Please, follow me inside so we can start. Also, I hope you're ready to bake because I'll ask you to do it later just for a taste test."

His white and long tail skillful wrapped around the knob of the door and opened it like it if was another hand of Rito. Doing things with his tail was something that took him a couple of years to master and Rito was proud of it. He looked back at the Neko girl with a wide smile, waiting for her to go inside first.

 

[SelkiSeven]

Kimu was shirked off her fight by the amused chuckle from the other Neko in the room and her tail flickered before her eyes lit up. She'd give a bow once he introduced himself and then quickly rose back up with a purr. Happy to see another Neko working, and to be the one to interview her, she gave a quick smile to the cashier and bound closer to the room, though stopped short when she saw his tail opening the door.

Her eyes moved forward as she'd walked to the room and looked at his tail, bending as she went by, then pulled her own tail around to pet on it. She'd been trying for about a year to pick up things, but hadn't yet gotten control of her tail. She pulled the fluff around and nuzzled her face into it, almost seeming like she was talking to it, then dropped it and wiggled in place.

"I'm excited to start! I never had an interview before. Actually, I don't think I ever had a real job. Wait, is that bad? I wasn't supposed to say that. Uhm... I do have experience baking. I make stuff for people when they need something for celebrations and I also do singagrams!" The Neko hopped from foot to foot as her ears swayed side to side with her movements. And like somebody turned the gravity back on, Kimu plopped down onto a seat and stared up at Rito expectantly, like waiting to be told what to do.

She kept a goofy grin that rested on her face while struggling to keep her tail from flailing about and causing a raucous. While she looked to Rito, she'd giggle lightly at how he'd resembled her sister's boyfriend then blush when her goofy grinned face had widened eyes.

 

[Stray Shinku]

When the Neko girl, which haven't said her name yet, grabbed Rito's tail with hers, his ears perked up and a cold shiver crawled through his spine. His tail was his most sensitive part and nothing good happens if it's touched or rubbed by something. A pink and light blush covered his cheeks as he slowly looked at the Neko girl, wondering why she was playing with his tail. She even nuzzled it. "I guess she's the playful and innocent type, huh?" he thought, sighing with relief as the girl let go of his tail. He swayed it a few time before placing it behind him, making sure she couldn't reach it again.

Finally inside of the room, Rito closed the door behind him and just before he could say something, he Neko girl began to speak quickly, making him widen his eyes and his ears to perked up straight. She definitely was somebody that had a lot of energy, which was good for working. Rito crossed his arms and just looked at her, listening with a smile. She explained to him that she have quite the experience in baking, but haven't had an actual baker job before. That wasn't bad at all actually.

"Oh, that's okay," he said after the Neko girl finished, taking a seat in front of the table in the middle of the room. "If you have the experience, it doesn't matter to us if you have or haven't worked before. I'm catching a great baker vibe on you, so instead of asking you questions, what about if you bake something so I can see if you qualify for the job, mmh?" Rito's professional attitude and strong, yet gentle voice really gave the impression that he was the owner of the café. Not for nothing, he was so popular around here and the boss trusted him a lot.

As he looked to his right, Rito put his right hand under his chin, thinking deeply of what to ask her to bake. His tail was gently swaying behind him and his ears twitched a little. "I guess you can cook something easy or maybe your specialty?" Blinking twice, he looked back at the Neko girl, smiling. "What do you think? Just pick something and I'll get you to the kitchen so you can do your work and try to impress me."

 

[SelkiSeven]

Kimu's eyes were wide from excitement, though they didn't appear to always be so big. She'd not look away from Rito's eyes even for a second when he was speaking to her and her tail rose to pet against her own cheek. It definitely was good news to the pink Neko just to know that Rito didn't look down on her nonexistant experience in an actual bakery. He seemed happy about it, rather.

"You wish for me to bake already? No questions??" She almost seemed disappointed, because she was. She'd spent so much time practicing what she'd say, and so she'd huff then stand before giving her fight face and raising a determined fist to the air.

"I will make the best dessert you will have ever tasted! Your tongue will shout hallelujah and your tastebuds will have went to sugary heaven!" The white ears were flattened though they'd twitch wildly as her competitive spirit broke free of the cute, childish demeanor. Even her feet were spread a bit further out as she'd stood and she was bent slightly at the waist in Rito's direction.

Though, as she thought a question, she'd straighten up and her ears relaxed. With a finger to her lip she'd ask, "What is your favourite flavour?"

 

[Stray Shinku]

As the pink Neko girl stood up and told him that she'll make the best dessert he ever ate with a lot of determination and a strong competitive spirit, Rito looked at her with awe, his heart moved by such words. Regardless of her childish and silly attitude, he guessed that she can act pretty mature and serious when needed and that was helping her to gain more points that could help her to get the job.

Feeling motivated by her, Rito cleared his throat and put a more serious and confident expression, standing straight and straightening his tail behind him. His ears also perked up, allowing him to be aware of everything around him. "I would like you to make a Strawberry Shortcake," he replied to her question. "I really love strawberry and that's a pretty famous dessert here, so this is your chance to prove that your baking can make that sweet better. Also, if you want me to ask questions, I'll be glad to do so while you work."

Nodding, Rito turned around and walked toward the door, his tail moving with him and almost rubbing the baker girl on her right cheek because of his long size. That actually was a small issue Rito was trying to control after accidentally bumping stuff and even break things with it.

When he opened the door with his right hand, Rito remembered that he haven't asked about her name. He widened his eyes and lightly blushed with embarrassment. "N-Nya... Where are my manners, I forgot to ask your name, miss," he said after a meow escaped his mouth, turning around to face her with an embarrassed smile. Those random meows always appeared everything he felt embarrassed by something.

 

[SelkiSeven]

At the mention of a strawberry shortcake for her test, Kimu purred loudly and her small, smooth, feline like tongue lulled out the side of her lips. While she'd say that every dessert was her favourite, because sugar, strawberry shortcake was high on her list of favourites. Her head nodded at the test and when she saw Rito move out, she'd stand up straight and put on her fight face again.

"Strawberry Shortcake it is then! But be prepared! My Strawberry Shortcake is so good that it is rumoured to make the person devouring it fall in love with the first person they see." She'd give a wide eyed grin and her tail wildly shifted side to side.

Her fight face didn't last after she felt a faint brush of air from the tail. She'd murr, resisting the urge to reach out and pet it, before smiling and going to take her first steps forward so she could get into the kitchen. She'd stop short again, however, when Rito had stopped.

"My name? Kimu! Kimu Aikoto!!~" She threw her right fist up in the air then quickly lowered it to her right eye with two fingers raised in a peace symbol. Her tongue blepped out slightly before returning to her normal stance and smiling. She'd notice his blush and smile more, making her eyes close, before they'd blink open and her head tilted.

At first impression Kimu liked Rito. He was nice and she could tell he had a good heart, but she'd thought that about everyone. The real test is how he'd react to her sweets. Those who didn't like her sweets usually got a swift thwack to the head with her tail before she'd storm off and pout, usually ending up crying, and then continuing to make them the sweet over and over until they liked it. She didn't think he'd do that though. Plus, she really, really liked his tail. She could imagine cuddling it lots.

 

[Stray Shinku]

Rito nodded after finally hearing the name of the cute Neko girl. It was Kimu and he thought it was a beautiful name that really suit her. The impression he has about her was good so far. He definitely loved her enthusiastic, cheerful and friendly attitude. He also thought that her fluffy and point white ears were really adorable. If he were a close friend of her, Rito definitely would pet her ears almost all the times.

Scoffing with a small smile, Rito turned around and exited the room, telling Kimu to follow him to the kitchen. The café wasn't busy by this time and was about to close, so most of the workers already left for the day and those that stayed were attending the few customers that left. So, the kitchen was empty and ready for Kimu to use it and prove her baking skills.

"Well, this is the kitchen, Kimu," Rito said, entering the place through a big door that could be easily opened by pushing it from the inside or outside. The kitchen was a pretty big room painted in a beautiful and elegant light gray color. There was a long, rectangular, stainless steel table in the center and a lot of useful and necessary appliances were located around it. White and rectangular light were on the roof, alongside a couple of hanging lights of the same color. In brief, this kitchen was perfect for any heavy cooking and bakery.

As Rito stood in front on one side of the table, he looked around the kitchen. "I know this isn't one of this enormous elite kitchen you see in most famous and big restaurant, but it's perfect for the everyday work around this café," he explained, turning around while crossing his arms. He looked at Kimu with a smile, his tail laying on his right leg. "So, the kitchen is all yours and you're lucky that everyone already left. Feel free to use anything and every ingredient you need. I'll be here to examine how you do work, but just do as if I'm not here." He chuckled with a wide grin, exposing his white teeth. His cute and sharp canines were also visible.

 

[SelkiSeven]

Kimu was pretty excited that she was to be baking for someone new. Every person had a new way of describing sugar and so she tried to test out her treats on as many people as she could and, despite her small frame, she tended to eat a lot of sugar. Loads. It was also off balanced with plenty of fish and berries, but sugar was a main staple for her and so she typically always smelled of sugar cookies or muffins.

The Neko purred all the way through the cafe, lingering a bit to look at the sweets at the counter, and murring loudly when she'd get to the apple tart. Her kitty tongue lulled again before she'd suck it back into her lips and skip into the kitchen once the doors were opened. Her first impression was that it was a bit dull and colourless, but as he'd then describe it she figured it was perfect. Plus the equipment was shiny and she loved shiny.

"Ohhh~ This is way bigger than my kitchen!" She'd simper over to the middle isle counter and lay her upper body across the cool surface with a goofy grin. And like someone had injected her with pure caffeine, she'd rise up and look around with her fingers wiggling in front of her face against her lips.

"Let's see... Let's see.... Sugar. Sugar, sugar, sugar. Mrow~!" She'd peer over to Rito with her own smile and her two kitty canines peeped out before giving a shy nod. Typically people didn't watch her bake, which made her shy, but she'd try her best.

After a deep breath, kitty Kimu moved through the kitchen to examine all the drawers and cabinets and map out the area so she wasn't getting caught up with where things were or what to put where. And immediately she'd went to the oven to pre-heat it. She'd pull out a pot, bowls, spatulas, measuring cups, spoons, a sifter, and a variety of other items. After setting them all along the middle island in sections she gathered all the required ingredients by section, starting with prep, and going all the way to setting the eggs out so they could warm a bit.

In all her swiftness and busied work Kimu forgot all about Rito and his tail. She'd have plenty of the strawberries cored, trimmed, and split then set in a bowl of fine sugar. Next she began two different mixtures. One a shortcake and the other something of a sugar cookie biscuit dough recipe that wouldn't rise too much once baked.

The shortcake recipe was finished first and placed into the oven, since it took longer to bake. After the dough was set out and had proofed, she'd rolled it out and begin cutting out scallop edged hearts and placing them on a baking sheet. Finally she'd coat them with an eggwash and butter mixture and moved to get them in the oven. Once both pastries were in the oven the kitty mewled and stared at the stove top. She'd had bad experience with oven fires.

"Ok.. you are going to cooperate with me, sir! I feel like you are a sir. No? Madame? Well, then. My apologies. Still, you'll work with me!" Kimu put her fingers out slowly to turn the knob for the stove and turned her face away. She'd squeak when she heard the clicking sound and cover her eyes with one hand before the stove fire was heard. She'd peek through her fingers and murr out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." She'd bow to the stove and get the strawberry mixture she'd made onto the stove, saving a handful of fresh berries for later, chilling in the fridge along with some fresh whipped cream she'd made.

A strawberry glaze was soon made up and both the shortcake was done, but the cookie biscuit needed a bit longer. The Neko pulled out some course sugar and sprinkled over the still soft top and purred as she'd put the cookie back into the stove and put on the broiler for the remainder of the time.

She had to act quick though, so with lightening kitten reflex she'd flip over the shortcake onto a cool marble slab so she could slice through the shortcake hearts to match the cookie. Her tongue blepped out as she'd cut the shapes and when her nose smelled the sugar being browned her eyes drooped a bit and she'd purr even louder.

Two plates were set out along with a small platter. The platter was filled with the heart shortcakes all except two, which she'd put on the small plates. Taking the cookies from the oven she'd have to resist licking them and set them aside to cool. With the whipped cream and berries now out of the oven she had set the strawberry glaze in the fridge to cool while she stared at the cookies for a moment. She blew a kiss to them and then her pace slowed.

Decorating is the one thing she did slowly. It was the one thing she really liked doing more than anything in the world. A healthy portion of the glazed berry sauce was put on the shortcake and then covering it all was the whipped cream. The fresh berries put on top of that and then finally topped with the cookie. She'd do all this with the plattered desserts and saved decorating the single servings last so they were the freshest.

Once finished, Kimu picked up one of the plates and walked to Rito to set it before him. Then she bowed at the waist and her tail flickered out behind her. "Enjoy! Mrow~!"

Shortcake

​

 

[Stray Shinku]

Once Kimu began to move around and Strawberry Shortcake, Rito moved aside to make sure she had enough free space to do so. He also didn't want to disturb her work even when he was examining her. He put his hands behind him and stood straight in a free corner, noticing how concentrated Kimu became all of a sudden. It was like a seeing a whole new person. Rito indeed liked that attitude, it was so professional, so he wondered why nobody has ever contracted her to work as a baker before.

Kimu firstly moved around, studying the kitchen and its surrounding, memorizing where was everything, typical of a person that was new in a different place. After that, she went straight to the over and pre-heated before getting all the ingredients she needed for the dessert mix and the items and equipment she needed to create that mix. She moved fast, but perfectly, not even stomping with anything on her path. Her Neko senses and reflexion were on point, something that Rito also had. "She's not only adorable and funny but also serious and professional when needed, huh?" he thought, holding his chin with his right hand with a smile, his tail swaying behind him as he kept examining her working. Her charm was also there and there was nothing that could fog it.

After a couple of minutes, Kimu finally finished trimming and cutting some strawberries and two mixture, which Rito wondered why there wasn't only one. He was pretty sure that you only need one mix to make a Strawberry Shortcake, so he guessed that maybe she had a surprise for him. Rito loved surprises, so he was curious and excited about it.

When Kimu put one of the mixtures on the oven, Rito walked closer to the isle table, looking down at everything, a happy and curious expression on his face when he noticed she was making some cute heart shaped scallop from a dough. His ears perked up and his tail swayed when he finally figured out she was about to make some sort of cookies or biscuits. He loved them so much as well. He gave his best to hold back a meow and purr of excitement. Suddenly, he slowly looked back at Kimu when she began to talk, apparently to the stove. Confused, he tilted his head to his right, wondering what was happening, but he found out that soon after the poor kitty squeaked when she turned it on, the flames coming out after a clicking sound. Rito chuckled and stepped back, thinking that was too cute.

After an hour or so, Rito looked down at his watch, guessing that the Strawberry Short must be ready and that the cookie biscuits were on its way as well. kind of tired, Rito looked around and found a chair, so he walked toward it and dragged it all the way to the isle table, putting it in a spot that wasn't blocking Kimu's path. Sitting down, Rito cutely scratched his right ear, smiling with a delightful Neko expression. Scratches on the back of his ears were another thing the Neko Wolf loved, catching balls been on his list as well.

After half an hour, Kimu finally finished baking and decorating the dessert. As she walked toward him, she put the plate of the pastry on the table. When Rito looked down at it, his ears perked up with awe. The Strawberry Shortcake she baked looked like one of those from an extremely fancy bakery. The decoration was so beautiful and the dessert indeed looked delicious. He even spotted the cookie biscuit on top of it. Rito was extremely impressed and couldn't wait to taste it.

"I guess this is the moment of truth," he said with a smile, picking a spoon. Then, he gently scooped a piece of the cake and when he ate it, the pupils of his eyes dilatated as an explosion of an amazing flavor occurred on his mouth. He could taste the sweetness of the cake and his mouth felt like been among a parade of a thousand strawberries. Not been able to resist it, Rito purred and meowed, scooping another piece of the cake, eating it and taking the cookie biscuit. When he took a bite, another explosion of flavor hit his mouth, feeling the crispness of the cookie.

"Nya, for all the gods in heaven, this is way too good!" he exclaimed, smiling widely like a child in a candy store. he tossed the rest of the biscuit on his mouth and munch it with a cute happy cat face before procceding to finish his favorite dessert, forgetting that he needed to give Kimu the results of her hard work.

 

[SelkiSeven]

Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Kimu after she'd given the sweet to Rito. Her eyes widened after he'd take up the plate. Ears and tail twitched when the spoon was retrieved. Maw opened lightly in anticipation for the bite she could almost taste, nay smell. Even she was drooling at this point and had backstepped to retrieve her piece of cake. The Neko's eyes were trained on Rito and every reaction he'd make.

Almost there.

Scoop.

Lift.

Chew!

Kimu was leaned in so far that she was gripping the side of the table and standing on her tippy toes when she'd rejoice and throw herself up in the air over his reaction. The dilated pupils and the mew were both equally sufficient for her grading and she'd spin around before taking her own plate so she could enjoy her work.

"Mrrrrowm~!" She'd mew as she scooped up the cake with her cookie. She had to suck in her drool a couple of times at how delightfully impressed she was with her own recipe. She'd continue eating with closed eyes even after a compliment was given and swallowed quickly to answer.

"I know! I will have to remember this recipe!!" She'd squeak out, then purr again as she took another giant bite. Her tail was erratically swishing about and wrapping around things without her knowledge. It'd gripped onto her feet just in time for her to be hopping back and forth causing her to trip, scream, and knock the silver dish of extra desserts into the air. This seemed to happen in slow motion too as she'd landed on her rear and felt the cold of the strawberries and cream mixed with the warmth of the cake splash against her skin and hair. Her eyes widened as she'd go cross eyed to stare at a strawberry on the tip of her nose and her tongue slipped out to reach for it.

Again, she'd purr, then lick her lips and turn to look at Rito with a satisfied grin.

 

[Stray Shinku]

After suddenly feeling been intensively observed, Rito finally snapped out from his fantasies about living in Candyland and slowly looked to his right, spotting Kimu glaring. She was way too close to him, mostly because she was actually leaning on the table. Blushing faintly, Rito gently stuck out the spoon from his mouth and put it on his empty plate. Clearing his throat to gain his cool composure, he stood up from his chair, thinking about all of his observations on Kimu while she baked. His cute, long and white tail was swaying gently behind him as he became serious, yet calm.

"Well, I guess you'll want to here my final result, right?" he finally asked after a minute of silence. As he looked back at Kimu with a smile, Rito widened his eyes as the poor pink Neko girl accidentally tripped with her feet, knocking some stuff of her way to the floor. Rito closed his eyes and his ears twitched and perked up after hearing the clashing sounds of a silver dish hitting the floor as well. When it ended, he opened his eyes and quickly walked around the table to check on Kimu.

"Oh, my God, are you okay, Kimu-san?" he asked her, spotting her on the floor, some parts of her body covered in cream and strawberry. Her dress was kind of wet for that, especially on her chest area, which Rito cold see her pink bra through it. His cheeks flushed a deep tone of pink, thinking that this was like a scene took out from some weird pervert anime series. He tried not to think about it, but seeing Kimu skillfully eating a strawberry that was on the tip of her nose with her tongue didn't help at all.

Blinking twice, Rito cleared his throat and stepped closer to try to help her to get up. "Here, let me help you," he said, extending his right hand for her to get, but his right foot stepped into some sticky cream, making him slip. Rito yelped as the gravity pushed him down, making him fall on top of Kimu. His face landed right on her chest, making him blush extremely deep red and his red eyes were widened like an owl's.