Chapter 368

Without worrying too much about the interaction between the cat and the dog, Naoki Nagayama returned to the car and moved all the supplies for the cat inside and put them away.

Then, taking advantage of the fact that the afternoon sky hadn't darkened yet, he started assembling the entire cat tree while listening to music~

Come to think of it, this era didn't have the super modular assembly of the future; many assembly steps had to be completed by oneself using a hammer and nails, and even the thick rope wrapped around the supports was wound on manually, circle by circle...

Although it wasn't very tiring, it was very time-consuming.

Throughout the process, Meow Taro lay directly in the cat bed in the corner of the glass partition, as if he had already decided this was his new home, while Eitaro would run to Naoki Nagayama's side for a while, and then run to harass the ginger cat again.

"Ying ying ying~" The big white dog ran to Naoki Nagayama's side, feeling very aggrieved, and asked his master, who was busy assembling, for help.

Seeing a few white marks on the fine fur of his muzzle, Naoki Nagayama knew that this stupid dog had gone to provoke the ginger cat again and had been beaten back.

"You're such a big guy, why are you so cowardly?"

Naoki Nagayama patted the dog again, feeling very helpless; this situation had already happened several times. However, he also knew that the interaction between new partners was just like this, full of bickering, so that both sides would gradually understand each other's boundaries.

Sure enough, after a while, Eitaro went to tease the ginger cat again.

By the time Naoki Nagayama had finished installing the cat tree in the evening, Meow Taro only came over to sniff it; he completely lacked the curiosity of other cats.

Not wanting to cook in the evening, Naoki Nagayama ordered a steak and pasta from a nearby high-end restaurant. While waiting for dinner to arrive, he also set up a food bowl and an automatic feeder for the ginger cat, and poured out Meow Taro's high-end cat food from the newly bought bag.

Today was his first day here, so Naoki Nagayama also opened a can of cat food and poured it into the cat food as an extra meal for today.

The strong meaty smell stimulated Eitaro, who was on the side. He poked his head in, wanting to add a bite from the ginger cat's bowl, but was scared back by Meow Taro's hissing and raised paw.

After an afternoon, this dog also knew that if the orange creature in front of him made this move, the next thing might be a round of cat punches~

"Ying ying ying~" But this guy actually learned to act like a spoiled child toward Naoki Nagayama...

"Sigh... alright, alright~" Naoki Nagayama had no choice but to put some canned cat food in the dog food bowl on the other side, "Eitaro, this is just for you to taste, okay? You are a dog, you can't eat the same food as a cat!"

In his mind, he was thinking about whether he should buy some meat bones or something for Eitaro, for him to gnaw on occasionally.

Being a regular customer, Naoki Nagayama's dinner arrived very quickly, just in time for the end of the cat and dog's meal. Naoki Nagayama watched Meow Taro cleaning his fur and paws while watching Eitaro on the side, eager to lick a bite, and felt that life had suddenly become much more interesting.

No wonder so many people like to keep multiple small animals.

"Eitaro, don't be a 'lick-dog'!" Seeing the big dog lying on the carpet and quietly moving toward the ginger cat, Naoki Nagayama couldn't help but sigh.

"Meow Taro is a boy! It's impossible for you two!"

Summer nights were arriving later and later; by the time the sky was finally completely dark, it was already 19:00.

In the leisure time after dinner, Naoki Nagayama was sitting in the living room, watching the magazine he bought in the morning while keeping the TV on as background noise.

"Myojo" - Akina Nakamori~

Seeing Akina smiling happily in the small garden in the double-page photo, Naoki Nagayama sighed:

"As expected of a 17-year-old who is like a flower! By the way, it seems like Akina's birthday is next month, and she'll be 18! What gift should I give her?"

"Ding-a-ling~"

The phone next to him suddenly rang, startling Meow Taro, who was originally squatting on the sofa armrest, and he ran to the other side of the sofa.

"Hahaha, Meow Taro knows what 'The Ring' is now, right~" While mocking the ginger cat, he picked up the phone, "Moshi moshi, this is Shanyingyuan!"

"Moshi moshi, this is the Noboribetsu Hot Spring Inn in Sapporo. The guest's room reservation has exceeded the time!" A formal inquiry came from the receiver, "May I ask if the guest wants to keep the reservation?"

"Eh? I didn't book a room..." Naoki Nagayama was still thinking about whether they had dialed the wrong number, but he heard suppressed laughter and breathing from the receiver...

"Hold on... are you Akina?!"

"Hahaha, you found out!" Akina's voice returned to its original tone, sounding very happy, "Naoki-san, you were fooled!"

"Akina-chan, you're just using your good voice to fool people!" Naoki Nagayama said with a bit of amusement, "I thought the hot spring inn had dialed the wrong number! Noboribetsu Hot Spring Inn, are you actually calling me from there, Akina?"

"Hai! I thought of Naoki-san when I was here, so I called~" Akina Nakamori's voice revealed a sense of relaxation. Perhaps because she had just finished bathing, her head was also warm. When she mentioned thinking of Naoki-san, there was no shyness at all.

"The concert in Sapporo is over, and there's no other work today, so I came to the hot spring inn early. Have you been here before, Naoki-san?"

"I have been to Sapporo, that year I went skiing~" Naoki Nagayama straightened his waist, then moved Eitaro, who was leaning in, to the side, "I haven't been to the Noboribetsu Hot Spring Inn, though. We went to the hot spring inn in Asarigawa."

"But if you went to Sapporo, Akina, did you go to Hyosetsu no Mon to eat crab?"

"Hyosetsu no Mon? I haven't been there yet~" Akina Nakamori actually took the high-speed train to Hokkaido, so it took a long time, and she hadn't really walked around the city center much, "Is the crab cuisine there delicious?"

"Hmm, I went there once before, it's not bad~"

"Then I can't miss it!" Although she was coming back tomorrow, taking this opportunity to eat crab cuisine shouldn't be a problem. Akina is a little foodie, after all!

"What is Akina doing now?" Naoki Nagayama asked, "Have you finished soaking in the hot spring?"

"Hmm, my whole body feels soft and fuzzy... but I'm very energetic." Akina seemed to be lying on the bed, "What are you doing, Naoki-san?"

"I am..." He suddenly got stuck. If he just said he was looking at your magazine, Akina, would that feel a bit like a gentleman?

"? Naoki-san?"

"I'm watching TV~ 'Tsumiki Kuzushi' (The Collapse of Building Blocks)," Naoki Nagayama gave a very normal reason, then saw Eitaro going to tease the ginger cat that had just been startled, and hurriedly stopped him, "Eitaro, let Meow Taro go! Don't go and humiliate yourself!"

"Meow Taro?" Akina seemed very curious.

"Ah, I got a cat at home."

"A kitten? You actually named him Meow Taro? Is he a boy? What kind is he? How did he end up at your house, Naoki-san?"

Akina, who had transformed into a cat fanatic, immediately asked a bunch of questions.

"Uh... that's a long story~" Naoki Nagayama paused for a moment and began to tell the story, "First of all, Meow Taro is a ginger cat..."

He didn't expect that after talking about this topic, Akina would open up like a chatterbox.

"So, is it the Meow-san that often appears in the 'Cat's Eye' cafe?"

"Hai, because he is very affectionate, I had the idea of adopting him... I just brought him home today." Naoki Nagayama watched Eitaro, who was still eager to try, "Eitaro is very curious about the new member and always wants to tease him."

"Hahaha, did Eitaro suffer a loss? Did you just say 'don't go and humiliate yourself', Naoki-san?"

"Yeah, he's been bullied many times in one afternoon, and every time he runs over feeling aggrieved to ask for comfort!"

"Ha, he's such a big guy, is he really that timid?" Akina Nakamori said the same thing as Naoki Nagayama. It seems their impression of the big dog is exactly the same.

"He's been like that since he was little, a child who loves to act spoiled~"

When Naoki Nagayama talked about the two pets, it was like talking about his own children. Akina Nakamori on the other end of the phone was also actively offering advice, wanting to resolve the conflict between the two new members, such as cat teasers, dog teasers, pet toys, putting the cat bed in a high place, etc.

Akina, who had kept many small animals at her old home in Aose, was very experienced in dealing with pets at home.

"When will Akina return to Tokyo?" Naoki Nagayama asked.

"Probably around next week. It seems I have to detour to another city to participate in a program in the middle..." A top idol's schedule is very full and full of uncertainty.

"I see..." Learning that it would be a long time before Akina could return to Tokyo, Naoki Nagayama didn't have the idea of asking her out for a meal, so he could only make small talk, "Then, is there anything Akina likes very much recently?"

"Eh? Something I like very much..." Akina Nakamori was a bit strange about the sudden change of topic, "Why did you suddenly ask that, Naoki-san?"

"Isn't it Akina's birthday next month? So I wanted to ask what gift Akina wants..."

"Eh..." Akina's heart was suddenly a little flustered, mixed with excitement and joy, "Are you giving it to me?"

"Of course, after all, it's Akina's 18th birthday~" Naoki Nagayama said seriously.

"Ano..."

Telling Naoki-san what gift she wants for her birthday felt very shy, but if she didn't say it, it seemed to live up to Naoki-san's intentions. Akina, lying on the bed, was conflicted~

Just at this moment, the guest room door opened, and the assistant living with her, Maki Ueda, walked in.

"Akina-chan, I need to confirm tomorrow's schedule. Eh, are you on the phone?"

"Ah, hai!" With an outsider there, naturally, she couldn't continue talking to Naoki-san, so Akina hurriedly said to the receiver, "Anything is fine for a gift, but please give it to me as a surprise on the day~ The agency has something to find me for, I can't talk anymore~ Bye-bye~ Sumimasen~ That's all~"

"Bye~ bye~"

By the time Naoki Nagayama said bye-bye, the phone had already been hung up. He naturally heard the assistant's voice on the other side and understood that Akina hung up because she didn't want the agency to know about her private affairs, but...

"Anything is fine... as a surprise..." This is the highest requirement for a gift!

Naoki Nagayama, who opened his eyes again, had already felt the dazzling summer morning light, and there was a lump of orange-yellow object on the edge of the pillow.

Meow Taro didn't sleep in the cat bed, but instead slept in Naoki Nagayama's bedroom for the night, and Eitaro was also on the bedroom carpet; such a big dog couldn't get on the bed.

"Alright, the bedroom has become the base camp for the three of us~" He shook his head, having no way to deal with this.

After a simple morning exercise and breakfast, Naoki Nagayama didn't go to the studio today, but instead drove to Sumida Ward.

Judging from the previous phone call, Kaede Nagayama seemed to have done something incredible there.

So when Naoki Nagayama came to the sumo hall in Sumida Ward again, what he saw was Kaede Nagayama with a bandage on his head and some bruises on his body...

"Big Brother Kaede, did you really get into a conflict with the locals?"

"Yeah! They actually dared to come to the Yamaguchi-gumi's industry to collect protection money!" Kaede Nagayama said angrily, "These guys from the Inada-kai are provoking our Yamaguchi-gumi!"

"Big Brother Kaede... the Yamaguchi-gumi's sphere of influence in Tokyo is not in Sumida Ward..." Naoki Nagayama was helpless, "And even if it's the Tokyo Yamaguchi-gumi, it has nothing to do with your Shizuoka Yamaguchi-gumi~"

"... In short, collecting protection money on our side is not allowed!"

"Sigh... but Big Brother Kaede shouldn't have been beaten for nothing!"

Kaede Nagayama became excited when he heard this: "What do you mean beaten for nothing? I was one against five! Five! In the end, I relied on my perseverance to drive them away!"

"..." It was still being beaten for nothing; they were local bullies and there were many of them!

Watching Kaede Nagayama looking very proud, Naoki Nagayama sighed: "Next time, just pay the money according to the previous ratio~ Big Brother Kaede, Grandfather and Father asked you to come to Tokyo, really not to plant a flag and grab territory!"

"Hmph!"

A grown man acting spoiled... it's really an eyesore... In order to end his cousin's state, Naoki Nagayama decided to quickly find him something to do, for example, start the agency first and start by being an extra in the theater!

"Big Brother Kaede, have you recruited any underlings?"

"Of course not yet, who would defect to a guy with no fame!"

Naoki Nagayama scratched his head. At this moment, he suddenly remembered... he seemed to know two delinquents who wanted to join an organization and wanted to recognize him as their boss, Bunichi Imamura and Hokuto Nakazawa~

The two little punks who didn't know each other until they fought when he picked up Tsuruko, they seemed to have been idle since graduating from high school last year... He had met them several times during his morning run, and every time they bowed very respectfully~

"In that case, I'll give Big Brother Kaede two underlings first!"

"Eh? Do you have underlings, Naoki-san?" Kaede Nagayama opened his eyes wide.

"Hai, little punks I taught a lesson before, I don't know why they wanted to recognize me as their boss... they seem to think I'm from the Yamaguchi-gumi."

Naoki Nagayama smiled, "Both of them are delinquents who just graduated not long ago, they won't do great evil, and they don't want to work, so they can only live day by day~"

"So that's how it is... then will they recognize me as their boss?"

"Daijobu... if the little punks don't listen," Naoki Nagayama smiled very evilly, "Big Brother Kaede, just go and beat them up! That's how I subdued them!"

?!

Kaede Nagayama looked at his cousin in astonishment. Am I the yakuza or are you the yakuza?

Grandfather! Father!

There seems to be something wrong with this Naoki Nagayama in Tokyo!