"A stray dog did this."

We were behind the Black Cat Pavilion where a wooden trash box had been built.

The ground was littered with banana peels, eggshells, and other bits of garbage.

Newspaper scraps were hanging out of the half-open lid.

"Maybe the lid wasn't closed tightly."

I swung the lid and the hinges squeaked with rust.

The lid didn't quite close all the way, so the dog must have been able to slip its snout in through the gap.

Haizakura: "I'm sorry, it was my job to put out the trash yesterday...."

Haizakura looked sadly apologetic.

"It's no big deal, we just have to clean it up a bit."

Haizakura: "I'll go fetch the cleaning tools!"

And with a flutter of kimono sleeves, she hurried back into the cafe.

I squatted down to begin gathering up trash.

Something bumped into me.

It was Gekka.

She pointed at a medium-sized dog with messy, disheveled fur.

It was watching us from a distance.

"Aah, so that's who did it."

Looks like he returned to the scene of the crime.

"Shoo! Shoo! This isn't for you!"

I made a shooing gesture, but the dog didn't budge.

"Gekka, could you chase it off?"

The black ribbon in her hair shook as she turned to look at me.

Her eyes were wide and round. She was clearly shaken.

"Um...."

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!!"

It began to bark.

Gekka had managed a step forward, but now she came back.

"Gekka, here."

I handed her a half-chewed sausage.

"It must be hungry. Toss that to it."

She took it and began to aim.

She threw it and the dog immediately ran after it.

In the distance it began to eat the sausage.

"Let's add a padlock to the garbage box from now on."

Gekka replied with her normal calm expression back in place.

Haizakura: "I'm back~!"

Haizakura came back with a broom, dustpan, and fire tongs.

Shano the black cat had come along after her, apparently curious to find out what all of the fuss was about.

Gekka picked up the cat and returned her to the cafe.

It was a funny sight.

Haizakura: "Why are you laughing?"

"It's just funny that she isn't scared of the cat."

Haizakura: "Myu?"

"Let's clean this up then, shall we?"

Gekka came back and the three of us began to clean.

The stray dog seemed to be satisfied with the sausage and left.

Once the cleaning was finished, I'd need to begin preparing the kitchen.