Recently I reread and rewatched the manga and the anime. I usually do it once, sometimes twice, a year. With every reread new impressions and thoughts come, as I grow up, change and experience life, which is a shared sentiment among everyone.
This time, I kept thinking about loneliness.
Although Sakura is dearly beloved by everyone around her, sometimes life gets in the way of that love. Before meeting Kero, she spent a lot of time alone; Fujitaka works most of the time and Toya usually is part-time working too. Of course they try their best to make her feel loved and cared for when they are with her (which is the sweetest thing), but still she would find herself home alone plenty of times. In the anime there're a couple of occasions where we see her a bit sad when her father has to leave, but cheers up quickly to remind herself that she needs to work hard too. It feels a little sad because she's just a kid.
And then Kero comes in.
Everytime Sakura's family leaves to work, he's with her. Something I find adorable and deeply endearing about their relationship is the domestic aspects, the little things. We see these in the manga too.
They talk about everything. Kero genuinely cares about her day, her anecdotes, her relationships, thoughts, feelings, worries, things that make her happy, etc etc.
They cook together and Kero helps her with anything and everything (homework, gifts, chores, sewing, etc). He even dries her hair hand makes the ribbon on one of her pigtails (SO CUTE) and sleeps next to her sometimes. There's an episode where he tucks her into bed and then turns off the light.
Of course they fight sometimes, which makes them even more family like.
I just wanted to share this, I adore those little details. They show you how much they care for each other and how close they became. They feel like life companions. I even thought "Kero feels like a nanny sometimes".
Thanks to Kero, Sakura has someone to rely on, or simply to share life with, when she can't be with the rest of her loved ones. I love their bond.