Mayuka and Riku make it to Mayuka's apartment together, relieved to get inside in the warmth. 

"Every time I've came back here, it brought back bad memories," Riku speaks up as she takes off her coat. "But now I can only think of good memories."

"That's good," Mayuka smiles warmly, giving Riku a quick kiss on the cheek. "We're both drenched. I'm going to go get us some towels," she then mentions, leaving Riku alone for a moment.

Riku looks around for a moment, once again taking in everything Mayuka had changed about their once cheap rental apartment. Now, Mayuka had fully purchased the unit and made a lot of remodels to it. 

Though, something catches Riku's eye.

On top of a small table near the living room TV is a small box.

Once she looks at the picture frame on top and the writing on the box, her heart sinks.

Yuki, 2024-2028

Yuki was the cat that Mayuka and Riku took in only a few months after they moved into this apartment together. 

When they were walking home from an audition one rainy day, they found a small kitten abandoned on the street. It seemed to be near starvation and there was no sign of its mother or any other kittens.

Mayuka, with her strong love for cats, swiftly took action.

She picked up the kitten, who had to be no older than two weeks old, and begged to Riku that they needed to save it. Riku could not say no, so of course, she agreed.

Mayuka had flipped the hoodie she was wearing around so the hood was in the front. She then carried the kitten home in that to keep it warm.

They took the kitten to a veterinarian clinic that afternoon. They said that the kitten was indeed around two weeks old and is fully deaf. They also mentioned that the kitten was likely left to die by its mother as she saw there was no chance for it to survive long on the streets.

They also found out that the kitten was in fact female and Mayuka gave her the name Yuki for her pure white fur.

The veterinarian mentioned that taking care of her will be a huge responsibility, since she is very young and will still need to be cared for just like its mother would. The kitten will need to be kept warm, fed kitten formula, stimulated to use the litter box, and weighed regularly to keep track of her weight.

Mayuka accepted the challenge with zero hesitation.

She did all of her research and made sure she did everything to make sure Yuki gets the proper care she needs. She fed her, kept her warm, helped her use the litter box, and was even able to watch her take her first steps.

Mayuka treated Yuki like her baby and Riku also did whatever she could to help care for her too. They quickly became parents to this tiny white deaf kitten.

"You're such a good mom to Yuki," Riku had smiled as she watched Mayuka bottle feed the small kitten.

"I try to be," Mayuka had smiled as well as the kitten on the little bottle of kitten formula. "I feel so attached like as if I birthed her," she joked.

Of course though, when the two of them split, Mayuka got custody of Yuki. Riku knew that was something she couldn't fight with Mayuka over. Riku was convinced that Mayuka loved that cat more than anything else in the world. Because she was her baby.

Riku had noticed that she never saw Yuki anywhere the other times she visited, but she figured the cat was just hiding or something. She never noticed this display until now.

Her heart is broken.

Mayuka then steps into the living room, pausing when she spots what Riku is looking at.

"You never told me Yuki passed away."

Mayuka's heart sinks,