𝐃𝐎𝐊𝐈 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒

9

Mana looked down at DogDay who was shivering in her embrace. She gently fed him some warm chicken soup to comfort him. "DogDay, I don't think you'll be able to come with me," she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

DogDay looked up at her, about to protest, but she sighed "...If you find CatNap say hi please?" She then spoke after him. "But don't worry, I promise today will be good and I will," she said with a reassuring smile. DogDay smiled softly as his ears flopped down as he continued to drink the soup.

Mana got up, carrying her bag as she smiled. She waved goodbye to her parents as she left the house. After shutting the door, she turned around and was surprised to see Aguri standing there with a tilted head. Mana blinked a few times before Aguri spoke up. "Hey, do you want to come with me to buy the medicine?"

Aguri asked calmly. Mana's face lit up with excitement. "Sure!" she said without hesitation. Aguri returned the smile and the two friends started walking together towards the pharmacy.

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As Chattering stood in the pharmacy, Mana wandered down the aisles in search of medicine, a pout on her face as she muttered to herself. Then, Footsteps were rushed as Aguri hurried into the aisle, looking slightly worried. Bobby, who was with her, looked pale and was wheezing, and she was carrying her, with her head resting on Aguri's shoulder.

Mana gasped, "She's sick too?!" She looked around to ensure no one was watching before returning to Aguri, who nodded in response.

"Alice called me earlier and said that Rikka and Makoto called her too, all of the critters are sick!" she explained. Mana blinked in surprise before setting her mind on a solution. "Then let's buy medicine for all of them!" she declared. Aguri's eyes widened in surprise before she smiled and nodded in agreement.

- -

As soon as Alice opened the door, she greeted Aguri and Mana, who were carrying bags full of medicine, with relief. "Thank god you're here!" she exclaimed before leading them up the stairs to where the patients/Critters were resting.

"I have them resting in bed right now... so that should keep them stable for a while," she explained. Upon entering the room with a large golden plus on the front, they saw several beds and medicine bags on the counters.

Rikka rushed up to Mana and expressed her gratitude that she was there to help. "Thank goodness you're here Mana!" Mana, taken aback, asked "Wait, what?" but Rikka did not give her time to respond before dragging her to the counter to put her bags down. "DogDay over there.." Mana nodded as she walked, Makoto was making soup for The Critters.

As Mana approached, she saw that DogDay was cuddled under the blankets. She gently pushed them away before DogDay sat up, his tail wagging. "Mana," he stuttered, surprised to see her. He hugged her tightly, purring silently. Mana chuckled to herself and hugged him back.

Meanwhile, Makoto tapped her on the shoulder "Mana...We need to find out how they got sick..." Mana nodded in agreement.

"...I know... I will be here with them..." and looked at DogDay, still hugging her tightly. Makoto couldn't help but Smile as Aguri stood beside her.

(Eyecatch 5: Picky was walking with a Shortcake before slipping as she fell then Mana fell with a headache as she gripped her forehead. Makoto peeked in with a worried look as Catnap hung from his tail as the Iogo appeared)