Nekopara: Chords To Her Heartstrings

Chapter 23 - Don't Be Afraid

With Maple now lending him a hand, preparing dinner became a breeze. While he continued to watch over the frying of the chicken cutlet, his American Curl companion went to prepare the dining table.

When it was time to eat, Miyureno and Maple sat at opposite ends and dug in to the simple yet savoury meal.

The catgirl's tail waved happily behind her as she broke apart the soft folds of the scrambled eggs to let loose the fragrance of the fried rice underneath. The side of vegetable soup was a welcome source of warmth to combat the cold and windy showers outside and the chicken cutlet had a light, crispy texture that was soon followed by the softness of the tender meat.

That, coupled with their exchanges of small-talk and usual snarky teases, made for an enjoyable dinner for the two.

After that, they went upstairs to talk about the night's sleeping arrangements.

Miyureno had given his room to Maple – the same one where she had changed in earlier after her shower. Apparently, it was the only room with a proper bed so naturally, Maple hesitated.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just as comfortable sleeping on the couch below," he replied.

"Are you sure Miyureno?"

"Yup, it'll be alright."

"Why not we both sleep in the living room? That way, it's fair to both of us."

The catgirl asked with a genuine look of guilt on her face.

"No! Don't be silly, you! You're my guest! This is the least I could do for you."

"But Miyureno," she whined. "Giving me your clothes to wear, helping to laundry my wet ones and cooking dinner for me is enough hospitality..."

"To be fair, you helped with the laundry and dinner too."

Maple scrunched her lips before accepting his offer humbly.

Miyureno let out a brief laugh as he walked towards the wardrobe nearby.

"Oh don't feel ashamed. You'll return the favour one day, I'm sure of it."

The catgirl replied with a meek 'okay' as he searched for something to change into. The disarrayed pile of clothes within was the result of his haphazard search for Maple's nightwear earlier.

Satisfied with what he fished out, Miyureno made his way out.

"If you need anything, just call out for me. I'll come by later to see if you... you know... you're doing fine and all."

With that, he closed the door behind him

Now left to her lonesome, the catgirl took a good look around the room. It had a simple study table at one corner, a white bookshelf filled to the brim with stacks of papers, files and folders of all sorts, a wardrobe, and a small bed just enough for 1 person.

Nothing much was too out-of-the-ordinary. Maple noted the amount of random clutter strewn across his desk. Not finding anything too interesting from it, seeing how it's all work-related, the American Curl decided to sit by the side of the bed.

She let out a sigh and fell back on the rigid mattress, staring idly up at the ceiling.

So much has happened in such a short period of time that a little bit of alone time was very much needed for her to collect herself.

It's not like she has gotten over the news of her past either. To discover a family she once had, people she used to know but forgot about, and the reality of her younger years all beared down on her out of the blue.