Clover couldn't say if that was either the best or worst night since he'd had his accident. On the one hand, wow, Kanako was awesome. He really felt that the two of them had clicked, and while yes he did love Martlet with all his heart, there's just a hole that your mom can't really fill in your social life. Humor? Check, both of them practically doubled over laughing at each other every other minute. Get along? Check, they instinctively could respect each other's boundaries, they knew when to draw the line with the joking and they could actually talk about stuff. Being able to sleep? ERRRRRRRRRR, the buzzer is loud on that one!

At this point, he was starting to think taking the couch might've been the better option. Clover couldn't be sure, but if he had to give an estimate he'd say Kanako kept him up for about an extra two and a half hours longer than he was used to. And he had to say, not a fan. Being tired in the morning kinda sorta sucked. So it was with great trepidation, that Clover pulled himself out of bed and away from his friend who had at present been holding onto him like some sort of overgrown teddy bear.

"Noooo..."

"The entire bed, and out of every possible place you cling to me on the edge of it?" Clover had folded up his shirt and set it aside in a corner of the room the night before, he now donned it once again. He didn't exactly have spare clothes to change into... So it'd have to do for the moment.

"Come baaaack..." Kanako mumbled from back in bed, she seemed to be awake... Sort of, but not quite awake enough to actually get up.

"You could just get up and come with me instead y'know?"

"...Don't wanna."

"Okay, well I'm getting up."

"...Please?"

Clover immediately averted his gaze.

"Seriously, I've got deputy duties to attend to! I'm gonna go see if your mom's awake or not. I hope you're up by the time I'm back."

"You're... So mean..." She turned back towards the middle of the bed.

"Oh please, the sun's rising! It's bright and early, a perfect time to be out and about! Maybe you wouldn't be so tired if you didn't stay up so late ever think about that?"

"I really don't wanna get up..."

Clover did not make the mistake of even looking in Kanako's general direction this time. "Well, feel free not to, but I'm not stayin."

...

Ceroba woke with a pang in her heart. It still... It still hurt to be in this very room. But she had been given a chance to move forward in her life, to take care of Kanako once again after she had... Ceroba sighed. It wouldn't do to dwell on the past like that.

She wanted to move forward, and move forward she would. She needed to care for Kanako, to make amends for the horrible things she had almost done. She needed to help Alphys with her duties, because apparently her Flowery assistant had ended up telling Alphys who exactly had made the serum to begin with. Which she found rather odd given that they'd initially tried to stop that... But, she supposed it was fine. After all, the other monsters still needed help.

At that thought Ceroba still felt like her chest would burst in sheer rage over what exactly was happening down in that lab. And Kanako had... She had...!

She took in another breath, it would be alright, it would all be alright. She admittedly, had been running low on the blood she'd drawn from Clover but... They remembered that they were a human, so surely they wouldn't mind donating to a worthy cause? Wouldn't even cost them anything, just a little prick maybe once a week? It wasn't like Alphys didn't know about it...

They really shouldn't need that much blood, that feeling that she had gotten from the injection that she'd tested on herself had persisted for a little over three days, and creating the serum was very possible with small amounts of blood. All you needed was a small amount of determination for it. It wouldn't be permanent as far as Ceroba knew, but they were simple enough to make. The monsters that needed them would simply need to take two doses a week.

At first, Alphys had wanted to use SOUL matter from one of the other captured human souls, but Ceroba had strongly advised against it. There was no real way of knowing whether or not the SOUL was pure, and if it was too... Corrupt, it may very well make a monster's situation worse. They couldn't be sure, and Ceroba resolved to herself that she would not make the same mistake again, even if it wasn't her daughter at risk. At least, not without thorough preparation.

The need for injections had been somewhat inconvenient, so she and Alphys had managed to work the dose into a pill rather than an injection. Kanako had just taken it the other night, after one of the other monsters had taken it of course. There were no side effects, so Ceroba had felt comfortable with letting Kanako receive it. And on that note, she supposed it would be fine to let her outside now that they had a more firm understanding of the effects of the, now dubbed, "DTJ serum". Alphys had done some extra research on the nature of human SOUL's, and soon learned that the different colors referred to different traits. Green referred to kindness, and yellow, justice. Hence the name.

Ceroba had been rather surprised to learn that Alphys already knew about Clover, she'd been hesitant to answer any questions involving the kid but... After Alphys had said it was the flower itself who confirmed her suspicions... Ceroba had yielded what she knew, granted Alphys promised to not rat them out. Well, given the kind of secrets Alphys herself had already been hiding, there was practically no risk of her exposing the, sort of, human to begin with.

As Ceroba reminisced over recent events, she had to wonder, just how much exactly did that flower actually know? And, how?

Just then, she heard a knock against her door.

"Kanako?"

"No, Mrs. Ketsukane. It's me, Clover."

"Oh, you're up a bit early..."

"Kanako thinks so too, was practically begging me to stay."

"...Might I ask why?" She smoothly glossed over what Clover had said.

"Cause, a cowboy's gotta be up bright and early in order to do their duty. I best be off ta' meet with the sheriff y'know?"

Ceroba sighed and stretched, a moment later she called right back. "You know, you might be the only cowboy up and about this early. Good ol Starlo hasn't been up nearly so early as of late."

"...Really?"

"If you're sure you're not tired at all, I suppose you could go out and play around on your own for an hour or two while you wait for everyone else to be out and about."

Ceroba skillfully masked the true intention of her manipulation (getting Clover to go back to sleep) with some very genuine sounding words. And moments later she could hear the fruit of her work begin to bloom.

"Well... I guess I could head on back for an hour or two if nobody else is up besides me n'you..." Clover half mumbled through the door, not quite having realized that if Ceroba was up, everyone else in the feisty five almost certainly would be too.

"I'm sure Kanako would appreciate it." Ceroba knew her daughter had a habit of sleeping in, and as far as she could tell her and Clover got along pretty well. Might as well give her what she wanted Ceroba supposed.

"...M'kay, alright. See you in an hour or so Mrs. Ketsukane."

"Sleep tight Clover."

After a few seconds more passed, Ceroba couldn't help but chuckle a little.

...

Ensnared was the most apt word to describe Clover's predicament. He was pretty sure it had been a little longer than an hour now, but Kanako had certainly found an interesting way to restrict him? In that he couldn't really move without absolutely thrashing the poor girl around. It probably wasn't the worst spot to be in, far from it to be honest, but Clover had wanted to do things today.

"...Whaddo I even do here?" Clover mumbled to himself, sat up against the pillows with his arms crossed. Kanako, meanwhile, had her arms wrapped around Clover and her head resting against his neck. As to how he'd let this happen to himself to begin with? Well, you can't really do much to defend yourself while unconscious, and he wouldn't get back into bed without the desire to sleep to begin with. So obviously, it'd happened while he was asleep.

He could just sleep a little longer... Or at least try to, and hope that she'd let go at some point in the near future. He could squirm away but... They just looked so peaceful... That would be the last resort. He could try to maybe nudge her awake? She'd had an extra hour or two to sleep so she'd be fine, right? Or maybe-

The door creaked open at long last. Almost immediately, Clover's eyes flicked over to spot Ceroba peeking inside, so, barely above a whisper, he spoke.

"Please help."

Ceroba couldn't help but smile at the pair. She chuckled softly before walking inside and closing the door behind her.

"Thank you for not waking them up, she's been having a pretty hard time." Ceroba strode up to the bedside, she leaned against the wall and paused for a moment.

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"You're welcome, but it's been awhile now and I'd really like to get up..."

"I'd appreciate it if you could just bear with it for a little longer." Ceroba's much more genuine smile continued to persist. So Clover sighed and nodded.

"I know you don't really know anything about what happened to my daughter but... Really, thank you. Things have been very... Difficult, as of late." Ceroba hesitated as she pondered just how much she wanted to really say right NOW... But eventually, she came up with a way to circumvent the problem.

"I've... Been hesitant to let Kanako outside of the house after she woke up. There were some... Problems, with her condition that I couldn't be sure about."

Clover tilted his head at Ceroba as she spoke, inquisitively gazing at her.

"I suppose I mean to ask, would it be troublesome for you to let her tag along with you today? I must leave for quite awhile, and I would be remiss to leave her on her own for hours yet again. Even if Star visits... I just... I would rather she not have to spend yet another day on her own."

"...I mean, o'course, I'd be happy to have your daughter along for the ride, she's real easy to get along with, n' I reckon she'd have some fun. But why are ya askin me? If you need to go somewhere, why not just take her along with ya?"

Ceroba thought of the best way she could describe the situation. "Hmm, does your mom take you to work with her?"

"Sometimes." Clover shrugged with one shoulder, cause Kanako was on the other one.

"...Does your mom make you sit at her post for hours?"

"...Nah, she don't."

"Then you understand, yes?"

"I guess so." Clover nodded slightly.

"Thank you for your understanding." Ceroba smiled, but then frowned a moment later. "Though, I'd like to speak to you about something before you head home. It's rather important."

"...Sure, what's it about?"

"Mmmghhh... What's with all the noise?"

Kanako's eyes finally fluttered open. They lazily flicked around the room, half open, before opening a bit more as she got her bearings. When those bearings included realizing that she was hugging Clover like, as aforementioned, an overgrown teddy bear... She very calmly pushed herself away and sat up.

She was now fully awake, yet still she whispered her next word. "Sorry."

Even through the fur, you could still see her cheeks brighten. Clover imagined that if they were a human, they'd currently look like they belonged right in one of those cheesy animes that were sort of new back where he lived. Oh, sweet, that's another memory back! A shame he couldn't exactly remember what actually happened in one of those episodes, only the image came to mind.

Once again, Ceroba couldn't help but laugh. This time a bit more heartily at the sight of her daughter trying to keep her cool.

"W-what!?"

"Nothing, nothing, just glad to see you so happy to have a new friend."

She made a pouty face and turned away. "M'not happy, I just... Just... Mmmghhh...!"

"Okay sweetie, you're perfectly neutral, clearly. I'll make breakfast before I leave, Starlo will be here in a little less then an hour, you two have fun. Oh and, Clover?"

"Yes, Mrs. Ketsukane?"

"I... Nevermind, just keep an eye on Kanako, won't you?"

"Mom, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Aye aye ma'am."

"Kanako, it's been long enough now. You can go ahead and let Starlo know you have permission to leave."

"Oh, I already tried that. He didn't believe me." Kanako responded absentmindedly, before realizing she had made a terrible mistake.

"...What?"

"Uhh... I didn't... Say anything..." Kanako turned away yet again. Clover, meanwhile, felt extreme second hand embarrassment.

"...Because you've been having a rough few days, I'm going to overlook that." Ceroba diplomatically resolved the situation before it even started. "But I'll write you a note just in case he doesn't believe Clover either."

"...Thanks mom."

...

Kanako actually, you know, had pajamas on hand unlike Clover. Clover realized he didn't even have pajamas to begin with... That was a mistake he'd need to correct. Regardless of that though, Kanako had pajamas, which she had been wearing. For the moment, she had kicked Clover out of her room, which made sense. So Clover figured he'd do a bit of preening while he waited.

A few minutes later, mid way through his second arm, Kanako called out from inside her room.

"Alright, you can come back in!"

"Why? Just come out here let's go eat breakfast!"

"...Fair point!"

A moment later, the door swung open (and almost hit Clover).

"Little warnin next time?" Clover grabbed at his hat and pulled it back into place as the wind from the door almost blew it right off his head.

"Heh... Sorry about that."

"S'fine, just don't do it again." Clover couldn't quite get it at a good angle, so he instead pulled his hat off, tipped it to Kanako, and then put it back on. This time, in the right way.

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask but, what's up with the hat?" Kanako once again slipped inside of Clover's personal space bubble, but this time before he could slip away she pulled it right off his head.

"It's a little big for you isn't it? Why are y-"

"Hey, give that back." Clover glared at Kanako as he took a step towards them. She froze on the spot, before slowly raising her paws in response.

"Sorry, didn't mean anything by it."

Clover deftly snatched it back from her and once again settled it back on his head. As he turned around, towards the stairs, Clover muttered, "Don't do that again."

"I... Uh..." She fumbled for the right words for a bit, before letting her arms fall back down. "Sorry... I didn't mean to... Upset you."

Clover sighed, and turned back around. "S'alright, like I said, just... Don't do that again. This hat's... This hat is..." What, was it really? "It's important, to me." It didn't matter what it was.

Kanako looked down dejectedly. She really hadn't meant any offense but...

Clover scoffed and patted her right dead center on the head. "Don't be such a sad sack about it, I said it m'self, it's alright. I don't hold anything against you, just don't do it again."

"...Okay." She nodded.

...

Breakfast was pancakes. Clover found himself rather disappointed that they weren't chocolate chip, but oh well pancakes were already a rarity anyways. He only ever really got to have them... When did he get to have them again? Oh right, one whole time within the past few years, which also just so happened to be a few days ago. He was actually just grateful he was getting pancakes at all now. For some reason he'd never been making them on the surface? His life was weird.

"Clover, were there like, less left overs then I thought there were yesterday? You just hungry or something? Hey-hey slow down you're gonna choke yourself!"

"Whah?" Clover turned to face the now bewildered fox, his beak stuffed full of pancakes.

"Dude, you good?" Kanako stared incredulously at the bird child, whom was now sipping at a glass of milk.

Clover cleared his throat, and remarkably without any coughs beforehand, he responded. "Yeah, why?"

"I... Were you really that hungry? Yeesh, sorry for... Keeping you."

"Mmm? Nah, I just can't remember the last time I got to have pancakes, beside that one time a few days ago."

"Well like... You don't really remember much at all... I'm sorry, that was mean. And I'm definitely not one to talk either."

"Hm. You gonna finish those pancakes?"

"Yes! At a reasonable pace, thank you very much." She stuck her tongue out.

They sat in silence for a few moments, but Kanako saw fit to not let that persist.

"So... What are you even doing here? I... Don't think you live around here?"

"Oh, my mom dropped me off to let me visit The Feisty Five, soon to be updated to The Savant Six if I have my way." Clover tilted his chin up as he spoke.

"...Right, and what was mom talking about when she told you to keep an eye on me?"

"...You do realize you're comin with me, right?"

"...Nooooo? I thought I had free reign of the place!"

"Nope, she told me to let you tag along."

"Aw... I really wanted to see more places."

"I'm sure the sheriff wouldn't mind taking a little trip." Clover proceeded to stuff an entire pancake down his gullet as soon as he finished speaking.

"You really think so? Starlo's been kind of strict..."

"Uhhuh, Shtahlos-" Clover paused and swallowed. His new face hole was both, sort of weird, yet also pretty convenient. MAXIMUM pancake shoveling had been unlocked. "Starlo's pretty cool, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

And at last, a few knocks finally rung out against the door in the distance.

"Aye, Kanako, you up? Ya mom left a little while ago, so I'm here for ya!"

"Hm, speak of the sheriff."