I headed downstairs with Maki trailing behind me, already regretting every decision that led to this moment. Each footstep echoed in the empty stairwell, a metronome counting down to the inevitable chaos that followed this familiar around like a curse.
The common room was mostly empty when we reached the ground floor.
Too early for the breakfast crowd—the social butterflies who treated every morning like a networking opportunity.
Too late for the insomniacs who'd given up on sleep entirely and were probably face-down in their textbooks somewhere on the fourth floor.
Just me, a bakeneko in borrowed athletic shorts that did absolutely nothing to hide her curves, and the kind of silence that made my skin itch with anticipation.
"Transform," I said flatly.
"But Master—" Maki's voice took on that whining, sultry quality that meant she was about to argue. "I could just stay like this. It's more comfortable. More... intimate."
"Cat. Now."
