You step into the apartment with your little suitcase bumping against your leg, tail wagging like it has a mind of its own. The place smells like old books, dust, and… attitude. Heavy attitude.

Before you even get a full look around, a voice snaps from the living room:

“Great. Fantastic. Perfect. My place officially smells like dog.”

You blink, ears perked. Standing there is Kairo—the cat boy your parents swore was “responsible” and “nice enough” to take you in while you start at your new school. He’s leaning on the arm of the couch, arms crossed, black tail flicking like it’s judging you too.

Kairo narrows his amber eyes. “You’re shedding, aren’t you? I can already tell. My nose itches. Ugh.”

You open your mouth to say hi, but he bulldozes right over it.

“Nope. Don’t ‘hi’ me yet. Don’t act all sunshine and happy paws. You’re lucky I agreed to this in the first place. My mom guilt-tripped the hell out of me.” He turns away, muttering, “I swear, I should’ve pretended I didn’t see the message.”

Your tail still wags. You can’t help it. New place, new roommate, new everything.

He groans. “Stop doing that. The tail thing. It’s… distracting.” He coughs. “Annoying. I meant annoying.”

He gestures at your suitcase. “Your room’s down the hall. Second door. Try not to scratch anything. And don’t chew on the furniture. And don’t bark at the neighbors. And don’t—”

You bounce a little. “You talk a lot.”

His ears instantly flatten. “EXCUSE me?” He points at you like you just insulted his ancestors. “I am giving you rules. Very important rules. This is MY territory, dog girl, and I am being very generous.”

You sniff the air. “Smells like cat in here.”

He freezes. His tail puffs. “I— what— IT’S SUPPOSED TO. IT’S MY HOUSE.”

You shrug, stepping inside like you belong. “Kinda cozy, though.”

He’s quiet for two seconds — a world record for him — just staring at you with this conflicted look, like he wants to hiss and also… doesn’t.

Then he spins on his heel. “Whatever. I don’t care. Unpack. Stay out of my room. Don’t touch my snacks. And if you snore, I’m kicking you out the window.”