Chapter 116: The Crimson Cat and the Threshold of Power
Early morning sunlight filtered through the curtains as Yukima Azuma tied his running shoes. Just as he was about to head out for his morning jog, a sharp scream sliced through the silence of the house.
He froze. The voice came from upstairs.
Without bothering to swap into indoor slippers, he kicked off his sneakers at the door and sprinted up the stairs. Reaching the second floor, he didn't hesitate—he shoved open the door to Kasumigaoka Utaha's room.
"Senpai, what happened?" he called out, eyes already scanning the room for danger.
Finding Kasumigaoka Utaha unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief. But his gaze quickly landed on an oddity atop her cluttered desk.
His expression froze.
A fiery red "fluffy ball" lay sprawled out on the desk next to a slightly askew laptop. It looked like she'd been in the middle of writing when... whatever this was had appeared.
"Senpai! You stayed up all night again!" Yukima scolded, exasperated.
Kasumigaoka Utaha pouted, clearly unimpressed that his first reaction to her scream was to lecture her.
Yukima stepped closer for a better look. The red fluff was no toy—it was a cat. A long-haired breed with a plumed tail that resembled a feather duster. Its gleaming black eyes were sharp and full of curiosity as it surveyed its surroundings.
He waved at it.