Making a relationship official is merely the first step. Both Fu Li and Pardo were the type to feel too shy to immediately move in together on the first day.
They had lived together before, of course, but that relationship was more like stray cats huddling together for warmth. Now, with this new, special status between them, they were naturally too embarrassed to continue cohabitating.
"Well then, see you tomorrow, Pardo."
"Mhm, see you tomorrow."
Watching his face disappear as the familiar door closed, Pardo's leaping heart finally began to settle. She pressed her cat ears to the wood, listening until the sound of his familiar footsteps faded away.
Just as a pang of wistful loss struck her, a hand rested on her shoulder.
"Hey, Pardo. I did a pretty great job, huh!"
Startled by the ambush, Pardo jumped, but breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing a face identical to her own.
"Oh, it's you. You finally decided to show yourself?"
"Mm-hmm, that's right. If I didn't, you would have taken all the fruits of my labor for yourself."
Black Pardo stood with her hands on her hips, speaking with righteous conviction. "Let's be clear, I was the one who confessed. So Li's girlfriend isn't just you. I get a share, too!"
"Ah, this... that doesn't seem right..."
To be fair, Black Pardo's contribution to her and Li becoming a couple was undeniable, but...
"Naiyisi, listen. You might have been the one to confess, but I was the one who accepted the confession. When I was feeling anxious and flustered, you didn't pop out to share the burden! Therefore, Li's girlfriend is me, and only me."
"Ha! The two of us are one person, and you're trying to hog all the food?"
"What do you mean, 'hog all the food'! Even if we're one person, sharing a boyfriend is just too weird!"
The two cats glared at each other, as if protecting a precious meal, neither willing to yield an inch.
"Heh." Black Pardo's eyes narrowed. "Pardo, don't you forget, you have no way of restricting me now."
"So? What are you planning to do?" Pardo felt a sense of foreboding.
"Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Li is yours. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, he's mine. As for Sunday, we'll be with him together."
Black Pardo laid out her terms, then added a threat. "If you don't agree, you can forget about ever sleeping again. The moment you doze off, I'll go find Li... and I'll push him down!"
"You... you're despicable!"
Pardo was instantly fuming, but looking into Black Pardo's serious eyes, she hesitated.
After all, Black Pardo wasn't entirely human. If, under the weight of her emotions, she truly decided to throw caution to the wind and do something like that, it was a genuine possibility.
The most crucial point was that Black Pardo's existence had stabilized. There was truly nothing she could do to stop her.
Ultimately, the confrontation between the two cats did not reach a verdict that night. After all, both had reasons from which they could not retreat.
---o---
Meanwhile, Fu Li lay in his own secret laboratory, his face covered by a book.
This was a place that not even Mobius knew about. Here, he conducted his own research into other fields. Unfortunately, he lacked Mobius's genius, and his progress was slow.
Today, however, he was simply fretting over his romantic life.
[For a period of time, whenever you met with Pardo, Black Pardo would invariably leap out at the first chance to interfere.]
[To be specific, if you bought a scoop of ice cream, Black Pardo would immediately lean in and take a lick. Not to be outdone, Pardo would lean in and take a lick as well.]
[You were completely helpless in the face of this, simply allowing the two to carry on with their antics while occasionally mediating.]
[Perhaps because of their undisguised competition for your affection, even though you two never intentionally engaged in public displays of affection, the gazes from those around you grew increasingly peculiar.]
[Though you felt the news was spreading abnormally fast, you paid it no mind, focusing instead on maintaining the three-way relationship between yourself, Pardo, and Black Pardo.]
[Most people who knew would often gather, looking your way with eyes full of gossip or curiosity.]
[In their view, Pardo and Black Pardo were effectively the same person. So, rather than seeing a two-timing scumbag, they saw a man with a girlfriend who had a dual personality.]
[Because of this, acquaintances would often tease you, but you always managed to brush it off with a smile.]
[Days passed one by one. Finally, during your downtime, you received firsthand intelligence regarding Rin. You rushed over that very night, before the situation could escalate.]
Within the MOTHs' secret tribunal.
Fu Li, dressed in a pitch-black uniform with the two Pardos in tow, moved through the facility at top speed.
In a situation as grave as this, both Pardo and Black Pardo would set aside their old grudges and focus on the task at hand, careful not to cause any trouble.
At last, at the end of a long corridor, two MOTHs soldiers saluted them.
Forgoing any pleasantries, Fu Li cut straight to the chase.
"So, Dr. MEI's people haven't arrived yet, correct?"
"That's right, they aren't here yet, but..." The two soldiers glanced at each other. After a moment, the elder of the two spoke up. "But, Commander, someone else arrived before you did."
"Someone else? Who?" Fu Li frowned.
"It... it was Lady Sakura, Commander. Lady Sakura is also a Fusion Soldier; we were powerless to stop her!"
"Sakura? Why would she be here?"
Fu Li and Pardo frowned in unison, perplexed.
In previous cycles, due to various unavoidable circumstances, Fu Li had always rescued Rin long after she had already been imprisoned, while Pardo had been away on some mission.
Consequently, despite having saved her several times, he was completely ignorant of the events that transpired right after the Herrscher within Rin was discovered, but just before Dr. MEI's forces arrived to take her into custody.
But if Sakura had gotten to Rin before Dr. MEI's people, why would she have later allowed them to take Rin away?
After all, unless Kevin came in person, the ordinary soldiers stationed here would be no match for that imouto-con fox if she decided to go on a rampage.
It seemed there was a hidden truth here that they were unaware of.
Fu Li and Pardo met each other's gaze, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
Fu Li looked at the soldiers guarding the door. Using the crucifix he obtained from the Aponia simulation as a catalyst and a medium for his power, he spoke words imbued with his psychic energy:
"Tonight, you all slept soundly in your own homes. You were never here, and you know nothing of the events that transpired this evening."
As he spoke, the soldiers' eyes glazed over with confusion. To Pardo's amazement, they began to shuffle away like zombies, dragging their feet.
With the irrelevant personnel dispersed, Fu Li let out a sigh of relief. Seeing Pardo's curious expression, he said reassuringly:
"I'll explain later. For now, let's go inside and assess the situation."
With that, Fu Li reached for the door. But in the next instant, the cold tip of a blade shot out from the crack, stopping scant millimeters from his throat.
Author's Notes:
PS: This can be considered as filling in the latest plot regarding Sakura, meow.