While Sherwin and the two Felynes were listening to Hua Mei Meow lecture, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the sky. Moments later, bean-sized raindrops began pouring down in a relentless downpour.
Sherwin quickly pulled out the umbrella stored in his bag, shielding the rain from himself and the Felynes.
"The arrival of this new companion seems a bit too dramatic, meow…" Sanji Meow tilted his head up at the sudden torrential rain, muttering, "Even more grand than when little sister Klee first showed up, meow."
Sherwin, on the other hand, was deep in thought, trying to recall who could be connected to both rain and medical skills.
After thinking it over, the only one who vaguely fit was that idiot goddess Aqua…
Serves you right for jinxing it!Sherwin remembered how smug he had been earlier, thinking that with Hua Mei Meow around everything would be fine, and now he couldn't help wanting to slap himself twice.
But before he could act on that impulse, there was sudden movement in the bushes ahead. Amid a rustling sound, a Felyne in a white lab coat stumbled and tumbled out.
"Phew…"
Sherwin let out a long breath—thank goodness it wasn't Aqua Meow!The newcomer also visibly relaxed upon seeing them.
Then, as if a taut string had suddenly snapped, the Felyne collapsed forward stiffly.
Sherwin immediately darted forward, catching them and carefully lifting them into his arms.
"Klee, give me a hand."
"Okay, meow!"
Klee Meow raised her little paw and released a small stream of flame toward the Felyne in Sherwin arms.
The fire quickly spread across the Felyne body without igniting anything, and soon, wisps of steam began rising as the rainwater was dried away in an instant.
When she withdrew the flames, Klee Meow quickly scampered up onto Sherwin, poking her small head out from his shoulder to look at the Felyne in his arms.
"Sherwin-nii, is this big sister okay, meow?"
Big sister?
A white lab coat didn't exactly hint at gender, so Sherwin hadn't figured out whether the Felyne in his arms was male or female.
Since Sanji Meow hadn't reacted much earlier, Sherwin had assumed it was a young tomcat… Could the little pervy cat have changed his tastes?
Sherwin glanced at Sanji Meow in puzzlement.
"What're you looking at, meow?!" The yellow cat glared fiercely at Sherwin, then pulled out a sausage he'd made himself from his paw bag.
"Give this spicy sausage to the new little sister. It should help her feel a bit better, meow."
Ah, so that how it is…
Sherwin instantly understood.
Turning his gaze back to the Felyne in his arms, he examined her more carefully. Sure enough, he noticed a few kitten-like traits in her face. Judging by her size, she was only slightly taller than Klee Meow.
She still seemed a little out of it, unsure of what was going on. There was a faint timidity in her eyes, and her body trembled slightly… A reaction Sherwin was quite familiar with—many stray cats brought into rescue centers behaved the same way.
So instead of immediately taking the spicy sausage from Sanji Meow, Sherwin loosely cupped his hand and slowly brought it near the Felyne nose.
After lightly touching her twice and seeing no sign of resistance, he began gently scratching under her chin while speaking softly,
"Are you alright? Don't worry, we won't hurt you."
Under his reassurance, the trembling in her body gradually subsided, and the slightly vacant look in her eyes began to regain some liveliness.
"Hunter?" the little Felyne voice was a touch cool. She tilted her head, trying to avoid those nimble fingers under her chin—clearly, she wasn't used to such close contact with people.
"Just call me Sherwin."
Different Felynes had different personalities, so Sherwin didn't press further. Instead, he withdrew his hand cooperatively and asked, "What your name?"
At the same time, he examined her appearance…
As a doctor, wearing a white lab coat was perfectly reasonable. But for that very reason, it was hard to identify her just by clothing alone.
Her fur color wasn't unusual either—brown and white in a mask-and-cloak pattern, a very common coat.
If the brown were replaced with yellow, she would have been a prized ancient breed called "gold on silver bed." Her blue eyes, while less common, were still a natural feline eye color.
As for her breed… she seemed like an ordinary domestic shorthair, though the shape of her head and ears had a slight resemblance to a British Shorthair.
Sherwin didn't know much about cat breeds his judgment came entirely from experience volunteering at shelters in the past.
But when he combined all these traits together, a single name popped clearly into his mind—
"Haibara Ai. That my name, meow," the little Felyne in his arms replied weakly.
So it really is you… Sherry…
Rainy day, white lab coat, kitten form, blue eyes, tea-brown hair, Japanese-English mixed blood—it all matched Haibara Ai perfectly, right down to the detail of being on the run.
As for medical skills, while Haibara Ai wasn't exactly the medically specialized character Sherwin had imagined, she was a genius scientist capable of creating a drug that could turn people into children.
Naturally, her talent in medicine wouldn't be lacking. At worst, he could have Sherry Meow read more of this world medical texts in her free time.
And with the advanced technology in the world of pirates, she might even double as a shipwright or gadget maker.
When it came to squeezing every bit of labor out of a Felyne, Sherwin never acted like a decent person.
After saying her name, Haibara Meow began to squirm in Sherwin arms, trying to break free. Sherwin quickly put her down, then took the chance to introduce the other Felynes.
"This is Klee , Sanji , Li Huamei, and Hiko Seijuro. From now on, we're all companions."
"Hello, Sister Xiao Ai, meow~" Klee Meow was the first to rush forward, hugging Haibara Meow and rubbing against her affectionately.
Just like how all the Felynes here were a bit younger than their original human counterparts, Haibara Meow age after being "shrunk" was even younger than the original Haibara Ai.
Klee Meow, having finally met a girl close to her own age, was naturally overjoyed.
Whether Haibara Meow had gone through the same kind of age-reducing sci-fi experience as in the original story was unknown, but judging by the fact her name wasn't Miyano Shiho, it didn't seem very likely.
Come to think of it, a healer-type kitten… Haibara Meow really was a true "little milk cat."
Although she wasn't used to being so close with others (or other cats), faced with the enthusiastic and adorable little sister Klee Meow, Haibara Meow ultimately couldn't bring herself to refuse.
With a helpless expression, she simply let the little ragdoll cat rub and lick her all over.
Once the introductions were done, Sherwin followed his usual habit and began explaining the world and the Felyne Investigation Team to the new arrival, Haibara Meow.
After hearing Sherwin explanation, Haibara Meow sighed in a tone far too world-weary for her apparent age. "An Investigation Team from another world, meow… That fine too."
It was obvious that even if Haibara Meow life hadn't exactly mirrored Miyano Shiho, her past still hadn't been particularly happy.
Sherwin didn't immediately pry into her past. After all, with Haibara Meow personality, it would be better to deepen their understanding of each other gradually over time.
He simply didn't believe that, with his own skills as a "Kato Cat," combined with Klee Meow friendliness, Sanji Meow cooking, and Huamei Meow leadership, they wouldn't be able to open up Haibara Meow heart.