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Hitoshi settles neatly into his life with Yamada and Aizawa. There have been hurdles, like his habit of hiding weapons in everyday places, but overall, it has been good. They care, which was more than he could’ve hoped for.
Going to school again is…annoying, but there’s no getting out of it. At least there’s a stray dog near the campus that he can visit when he’s out. The shelters in the area are packed full, so the best he can do is make sure it’s well-fed.
He’s always loved dogs. They’re loyal companions, and he’s had them by his side ever since he was a child. They’ve brought him back up from his lowest points, so he has his own loyalty to them.
In other words, he prefers dogs to cats.
He doesn't hate cats. He likes the company that they can bring, but they’re skittish and inconsiderate and would leave him to die if it served their interest.
He may have had bad cat-related experiences in the past, but he would never bring past resentment into a new life.
Sashimi is the exception. That cat can feel love, he knows it. The other’s, he’s not so sure about.
He may be acting dramatic, but he has the right to be. He’s mourning. It’s been 14 years since he last saw his dogs. Since he last saw any of his precious people at all.
He misses them, and right now, he misses his dogs the most.
Yamada and Aizawa have noticed his love for dogs, he’s sure of that. Months ago, Hitoshi was walking with Yamada when they encountered a stray dog. He must’ve come across as familiar with them, because Yamada asked him if he had ever owned one. He replied that he’d always cared for strays.
“It’s too bad that the cats despise dogs,” Yamada sighs. “Otherwise I’d help you convince Shouta to visit a shelter.”
It was a nice thought, but Hitoshi had already come to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be getting a dog while living with them. Once he moves out, he’ll find an apartment that allows multiple dogs, and that’ll be that.
Upon arriving home from school, he notices there’s food waiting for him on the stove. In the living room, Yamada and Aizawa are sitting and watching…a TV drama. Yamada’s idea, no doubt.
Aizawa is wrapped in at least three blankets on the couch. He takes out a hand and waves it in greeting, “Welcome home.”
Yamada looks at him across the room and pats Sashimi, who’s lying on his lap. “Wanna watch TV?” He gestures at the screen, which clearly displays some kind of teen drama.
He looks at Yamada skeptically. “Doesn’t look like my thing.” He’s sure it’s the sort of show that people watch even though they know it’s bad. He’s never understood the appeal of that. “I’m going to eat in my room.”
“Have fun,” Aizawa replies, dryly. “And don’t forget to put away your leftovers so the cats can’t get into it.”
He gives Aizawa a look and walks to his room. He reminds him almost every time he eats in his room, and it’s getting old quickly. Make one mistake and you’re haunted by it.
He quickly finishes his food, but that leaves him with a dilemma. He knows that he should throw away his plate—that’s why he grabbed a paper plate instead of a washable one—but he doesn't want to leave his room. Leaving food set out means the cats have a chance to get into it. However, on the other hand, he’s really comfortable right now.
He sits there for a minute until a terrible idea strikes him. He’s wondered for a while if his Sharingan’s ability came with him to this new world. He hasn’t attempted it yet, because the opportunity hasn’t come up, but why not now?
He won’t need to throw away his trash if he can hurl it into an alternate dimension. It’s the perfect plan.
Kamui is a silent technique, so he can use it inconspicuously as long as he’s out of someone’s range of vision. He was confident in his ability to control Kamui back home, so he’s not worried here and now.
It could still be a bad idea, but…he’s been putting it off for long enough already.
He activates Kamui and it feels the same as ever. The feeling is almost nostalgic. Pressure grows in his head and the air swirls around the target. His trash is consumed by the space surrounding it.
Normally, the technique ends quickly once it’s finished transporting the subject, but when nothing’s left, it lingers there. The moment lasts slightly longer than is comfortable, and Hitoshi starts to worry it won’t end at all.
Until a figure drops out of the vortex, and the technique dissipates.
It drops only a foot or two but lands perfectly and naturally on its four legs.
“...Pakkun?”
“Hi, boss.”
—————————
He can’t let his foster parents know about this.
They’re pretty reasonable people, but that’s the problem. There’s no way they’ll let him keep a dog. They already established that they won’t be getting one, so he has no right to ask them to change their minds on that.
Even Yamada, who likes dogs, said it wouldn't be happening. Normally he’d accept that and work it out in the future, but this isnt just some dog. It’s his dog. They’ve known each other for years. And sure, Pakkun could fend for himself out there, but he deserves an indoor home.
He’ll risk his relationship with his foster parents for his pack any day.
First things first. Food. Pakkun can eat some human food, but his diet is more particular than most humans. It’d be safest to get dedicated dog kibble, but that’ll be hard to sneak past the parents.
He’ll have to be sneaky about it, which is easy enough. He’ll just shop for it when he’s out of school and carry it in his backpack. He could even store it in another location to minimize suspicion.
Next, the cats. He leaves his door closed most of the time anyway, but he’ll have to be more careful about that from now on. If the cats spend too much time in his room, where Pakkun is staying, they could give him away.
Another obstacle is getting Pakkun the exercise he needs. Luckily, he can walk himself, unlike most dogs. Hitoshi will have to bring him outside every once in a while, but Pakkun can handle the rest.
If he can keep this up, then they’ll never even know that a dog is staying in the house. Pakkun is a ninken, so it’s not likely he’ll be caught through any normal means, and he won’t give himself away either.
The plan is in motion. Pakkun will hole up in his closet during the riskier hours of the day, and during others, he’ll be let outside and given food to eat, as well as necessary enrichment. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
—————————
Hizashi sits on the couch at home. He doesn’t normally get there before the other two, but Shouta had some business left over at school and stayed behind, and Hitoshi has been taking time to exercise after school. Hizashi never really knows what to do with his time alone, so he defaults to putting on a show and playing with the cats.
Hitoshi has been closing and locking his door more often recently. Shouta has brought it up with him, but there’s nothing to be done if he wants more privacy. They’re not about to require that he keep his door unlocked at all times. That’ll just lead to resentment and anger.
It’s important that he feels trusted, and his privacy respected. However, the cats seem to miss him. They keep pawing at his door, even when he’s not inside. Even now, as he sits on the couch watching a trashy reality TV show, Sashimi sits patiently at his closed door.
Maybe he can just…open it for them. If Hitoshi doesn’t want them inside when he gets home, he can throw them out and close the door.
So, he gets up and gently cracks the door open. Both cats slide inside immediately, and Hizashi goes back to the couch.
After a few minutes, he notices hissing coming from the room, which worries him a bit. Maybe letting them in there wasn’t Hizashi’s greatest idea. They might’ve gotten into something, and that would be one hundred percent his own fault.
He quickly gets up, intent on removing the cats from the room and cleaning up whatever potential mess they’ve made.
He pauses when he notices that the cats have company in the room. They’re chasing around a…dog? That’s definitely a pug. There's a tiny dog in his son’s room.
He’s snapped out of his stupor by the cats’ hissing and that dog’s defensive stance.
“Uhh,” he verbalizes. He’s not quite sure what to do. He decides to walk past the cats and pick up the dog for now.
He observes the animal and, yep. It’s definitely a dog. Not that he needed that confirmed, because it was obvious from an initial glance.
Sighing and closing the bedroom door behind him—with the cats still inside—he settles back onto the couch. This time, with a strangely calm, small dog on his lap. It’s looking at him weirdly and he doesn't like it.
Ah, he should let Shouta know about this. He may be at work still, but it's important that he hears about this. Based on all of the information he currently has, he’s pretty sure that Hitoshi has been hiding a dog, which is crazy, and he has no idea what to do with that information. He had no idea what to do with the dog. It’s just sitting there, menacingly.
Right, calling Shouta. He selects his husband’s contact and the phone rings for a while. He feels guilty interrupting Shouta at work, but this is important, so he’s not that guilty.
It picks up. “What is it?” It’s his slightly annoyed by the interruption, but genuinely curious about what would cause it tone. Hizashi would know it well.
“There’s…a dog. Did you know that there was a dog? There’s a dog.”
“A dog,” Shouta repeats.
“It was in Hitoshi’s room.”
“There was a dog in his room.”
“Yes.”
“...I’ll be there in twenty.”
—————————
Hitoshi walks through the door ready to head straight to his room, but the instant he locks eyes with Aizawa standing in the hall holding a bowl of dog food, he knows that all of his plans are down the drain.
Looking over at the couch, his fears are further confirmed when he sees Yamada sitting with Pakkun. Aizawa, who had halted in place when he noticed Hitoshi enter the house, resumes walking towards Yamada and Pakkun.
“Hitoshi, care to explain?” Aizawa asks straightforwardly as he places the bowl on the floor.
Clearly, there's no point in denying Pakkun’s existence at this point, but he can’t give the full truth either.
He opts for silence.
“Why were you keeping a dog in your room?” He somehow manages to sound more unamused than before.
He stands stiffly and tries to articulate a response they’ll accept. Problems arise when he discovers that no explanation he’d be able to think up would fully excuse his actions.
What would they want him to respond with? Some explanation of how he found a stray and couldn't bear to leave it outside, living on the street? That would be a complete lie It doesn’t even sound like something he’d do, so that’s off the table.
The silence stretches on. He’s stuck. They can’t move on until he explains, but it’s impossible to explain.
In the lapse in conversation, Pakkun hops down from his place on Yamada’s lap and trots over to Hitoshi. He’s not sure what Pakkun is planning, but he can tell the dog’s expression that there’s something brewing.
Pakkun leaps from the floor onto Hitoshi’s unkempt hair and speaks. “So boss, these are the foster parents I've heard so much about?” He raises a paw at them. “They’re a bit different than I was expecting if I’m being completely honest.”
“...What were you expecting?” He asks, half out of genuine curiosity and half to fill the odd silence. He tries to avoid meeting eyes with the other two adults in the room.
The dog huffs. “I was expecting them to be more intelligent, for one.”
Meeting eye contact with someone sitting on your head is hard, but he still attempts it. “Well, most people wouldn’t jump to talking dog as a reasonable explanation for sudden dog acquisition.”
“Hmph, I thought they were supposed to be professionals.”
“That’s true…” he trails off. Hitoshi looks at his foster parents for the first time since Pakkun walked over. They’re staring. “Ah. Yamada, Aizawa, this is Pakkun.” He gestures awkwardly to the pug sitting on his head.
Yamada takes initiative after sharing a look with Aizawa. “It’s nice to meet you, Pakkun. We didn’t realize you could…talk.”
“That much is clear.”
“You're...an animal with a quirk?” Aizawa asks.
“I’m a dog and I can talk. What does that tell you?” Pakkun replies. His reply is barely an answer, which seems to frustrate Aizawa.
“How long have you two known each other?” Yamada pipes up.
“Dunno. A while. I don’t have the greatest sense of time, you see.”
“Hitoshi?” Aizawa looks at him expectantly.
“It’s been years,” he starts. “I thought that when I…moved…I’d never see him again, but then he showed back up, and I couldn't leave him behind again.” It’s as close as he can get to the truth.
Aizawa sighs and walks over to him. “You’ve been taking care of him yourself all this time? Feeding him?”
He nods. “I take him out for walks, too. I’m not a monster.”
“Good. Because I won’t be responsible for taking him on walks, understand?”
Hitoshi stares at Aizawa in disbelief. “Huh.”
He looks to Yamada, who is smiling softly with a hand supporting Hitoshi’s shoulder. “You really should have told us about this a week ago,” he says, faintly exasperated, “but we aren’t about to send Pakkun away. You clearly care about him a lot.”
Aizawa eventually moves away from their spot in the living room. “Hitoshi, I still have words for you, but for now, you’re free to go.” Aizawa walks over to the kitchenette area. “Oh, and dinner will be ready soon.”
“Thank you.” He gives them one last glance and heads to his room, with Pakkun trailing behind him.
It feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Whatever tomorrow brings, at least he has his most loyal companion with him.