Even after witnessing Shu's past memories, even after spending so much time with him, and even though she already had a strong intuition regarding Shu's underlying struggles.
Truthfully, Kiana still couldn't pinpoint exactly why Shu was having these problems.
It wasn't until just now, watching Shu stand helplessly in a completely unfamiliar environment, facing an issue he had never encountered before, that Kiana finally understood exactly where Shu's problem lay.
He thought too much. He thought too fast. So fast that he could fully analyze the situation in front of him in a single second, and then branch that situation out into countless "what-ifs."
Honestly... I should have realized this sooner...
Kiana suddenly felt a pang of self-blame.
Shu's problem had actually been apparent to her very early on. Back in Nagazora City, Shu had already exhibited signs of extreme indecisiveness. She should have done something back then...
Wait...
How did Shu solve problems back then?
Kiana reached into her pocket.
Then, she pulled out a slightly worn, one-yuan coin.
The coin was polished to a shine, clearly something that was carried around constantly.
Shu froze when he saw the coin.
Cash... a coin, no less.
He hadn't seen a physical one-yuan coin in ages... the arcade tokens from yesterday didn't count.
"This is..." Shu looked up at Kiana, bewildered.
The issue wasn't the coin itself. The issue was, where did Kiana get it?
Did she have her own money?
"This is my lucky coin!" Kiana flashed a brilliant smile. Right in front of Shu, she held the coin tightly in her palm and pressed it against her chest.
"Back in Nagazora City, you told me to use it to decide where we should go look for Aunt Himeko and the Principal. Later on, I even used it to look for you, and it actually worked!"
"I'm telling you, this coin is super effective!"
Shu's face contorted into a giant question mark as he desperately tried to recall the memory.
What the heck is she talking about? He didn't understand a single word.
But Kiana didn't care about that. Just because Shu couldn't remember right now didn't mean he wouldn't remember in the future.
And even if he never remembered... that was fine too. She would remember it for him!
"What I mean is~" Kiana placed the coin on her thumbnail, getting into position to flip it.
"If there's ever a problem you can't decide on—just flip a coin!"
Shu stared at the coin, dumbfounded and speechless.
He wanted to say that this wasn't a problem that could be solved by flipping a coin. This concerned Rice Cake's health; they couldn't just leave it up to chance.
But Kiana had already put the coin away.
"Though we don't need it right now," she said.
Shu blinked.
"What?"
"Flipping the coin," Kiana stated righteously. "For something like this, we don't need to flip a coin."
She looked down at Rice Cake in her arms.
"Right, Rice Cake?"
Rice Cake let out a confident "Meow."
Kiana smiled. She set Rice Cake down. The kitten immediately raised its tail, strutting around with an air of absolute arrogance. Shu had no idea how he could perceive such a palpable sense of impatience coming from a cat.
"Go get 'em, Rice Cake!" Kiana crouched down, cheering the kitten on. "For your future meals!"
"Meow!" Rice Cake let out an excited cry, then began pacing back and forth in front of the shelves, as if it were genuinely inspecting... Wait, was it actually inspecting them?
Shu felt Rice Cake was entirely too smart.
The two humans followed the kitten like two little lackeys as it patrolled all the different varieties of cat food. They watched as Rice Cake raised a paw and tapped one cat food bag after another.
Kiana earnestly memorized the varieties Rice Cake tapped.
There were domestic brands and imported ones...
There were coat-enhancing formulas and general health-focused ones...
There were kitten-specific ones, and natural ingredient ones...
All sorts of shapes and sizes. After following Rice Cake around for a full lap, Shu still couldn't figure out exactly what the kitten's preferences were.
Finally, as this back-and-forth selection process came to an end, Shu was just getting ready to pack up the bags Rice Cake had picked out when the kitten turned around and shook its head at them in a highly human-like manner.
"Uh..." While Shu was still confused, a troubled expression had already appeared on Kiana's face.
"I don't think that's a good idea..." Kiana tried to reason with Rice Cake.
"Meow!" Rice Cake was resolute.
"But it's going to be so expensive!" Kiana glanced at the shelves, her expression growing even more troubled.
"Meow—" Rice Cake sounded almost accusatory.
"W-well... I just lost control, okay?! It was just that one time, I won't do it again!" Kiana's face flushed slightly red, as if her weak spot had been hit.
"Meow~" Rice Cake mocked her.
"What do you mean, 'then you get to make a mistake once too'?! No way, I absolutely won't make that mistake again!" Kiana was getting flustered. "I... I'll make up for my mistake! So you absolutely cannot make one!"
"Meow, meow." Rice Cake was starting to act shamelessly.
In the next moment, the crouching Kiana and Rice Cake turned their heads simultaneously, looking at a dumbfounded Shu.
Wait...
What just happened?
Did humans evolve, or did Rice Cake evolve? Who is the good guy and who is the bad guy? Why are they communicating?!
Are they actually sisters?
Shu didn't even know if Kiana was just incredibly perceptive, or if Rice Cake was just incredibly smart, to allow for this completely barrier-free communication between them.
So, did Rice Cake dislike him because he didn't speak "cat"?
Good thing he understood human language... By piecing together Kiana's half of the conversation, Shu could roughly deduce what Rice Cake had been saying.
"So... Rice Cake wants..."
Shu feigned calmness, acting as if he had also understood the gist of it.
Kiana pouted and nodded indignantly.
"Yeah. Rice Cake said it wants everything except the ones it just picked out."
"Hiss~" Shu sucked in a sharp breath. Not because of Rice Cake's massive appetite, but because Rice Cake's demands were actually exactly what he had deduced.
"See?! Rice Cake, this is way too much!" The moment Kiana saw Shu suck in a breath, she felt as though she had received backup and immediately launched into a tirade against the kitten.
Rice Cake let out a pitiful wail, turned around, and threw itself onto the nearest bag of cat food. It clung onto the bag for dear life, looking like a martyr bravely facing its doom.
"Meow!"
"What?!" It was obvious Rice Cake had said something incredibly offensive, because Kiana's hair instantly puffed up just like a cat's. "Rice Cake! You little..."
"Let's just buy them." Having finally parsed the situation, Shu cut into the human-feline argument.
"MEOW!!" Rice Cake's turn and leap was as smooth as silk. It scrambled up Shu's hastily extended arm, climbed right onto his head, and let out two smug meows at Kiana.
Kiana was furious.
"Shu! You spoil it way too much!"
Shu smiled.
I'm happy to do it.
He said in his heart.