Chapter Text
Dear Journal,
I have a confession to make.
I love my Master.
Though that wasn't always the case.
I should say, then, that I love my current Master.
Because before him…
Before him…before…
Before him.
There was pain. And despair.
And sadness. Abuse. Use. Violence. The haunting idea of death. Of murder.
And sure, Old Man Sojiro saved me, took me in, hid me away, and told me in that passive way of his how my old masters imploded on themselves until I need not worry about them anymore.
But the scars remained. On my body. In the way it reacted to certain things. In my mind. With the memories. The nightmares.
I was Masterless. A stray. An angry, wounded thing.
And then the bell above the door to Leblanc jingled one rainy afternoon, and a drowned dog had walked into Sojiro's place, my temporary home.
Not an actual dog, mind you.
He just…had that kind of vibe.
And I didn't even fathom it then. How precious he would become to me, and to my shock, I to him.
Page XX, The Cat With No Name
"Maaaan, just my luck I left my umbrella at home," a young man whined, running his fingers through short, dyed blond hair that was soaked through, the action getting water everywhere. "Sorry for intruding!" he called, looking around the little cafe he had run into to get away from the rain. He bowed to the old couple in a booth, then to an older gentleman who had been sitting reading his paper at the counter, and then…
He blinked at the young man behind the counter, his dark brown eyes unblinking at the sight of him. He took in two black-colored, fluffy, pointed ears atop an unruly mop of hair, and equally as black and unruly fur on his forearms, dressed in an apron, and a finely pressed white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show said forearms. The Felyne was delicately making a cup of coffee while giving him a great amount of side-eye.
"Need something warm, kid?" the man with the newspaper said, cutting through the moment while putting his paper down and staring the blond down with a heavy look that said 'buy something or I'll throw you back out into the rain'.
"Oh! Um, yes, please, have you got any hot chocolate?" Blondie asked sheepishly. "Coffee does not agree with me," he added bashfully, tapping his stomach.
"Akira, fetch him a towel will ya?" the man asked the black-haired Felyne, who seemed to debate the question in his head, as if weighing the worthiness of the request before he nodded and left, the newcomer's eyes still on him. "Take a seat kid, you look like a drowned rat," the man continued, folding his paper.
“Thanks, um, oh! I'm Sakamoto Ryuji, sir, pleased to meet you," the young man, Ryuji, greeted, putting a hand out. The older man smirked, shaking it.
“You look like a punk but you have manners, they really do mean it when they say don't judge a book by its cover," he said, amused. "Call me Boss, this is my cafe," Boss said, he then turned, having heard a small, hissed mumble coming from his helper. "And you, be nice," he warned the Felyne who simply blinked his gray eyes at the man, as if to say 'I'm always nice!'.
Ryuji snickered.
And got the towel thrown at him for it.
Boss sighed.
“Make his hot chocolate, and no funny business," the man ordered sternly, and only a small sigh and a nod escaped the Felyne, which was odd for Ryuji to see. As far as he was aware, all requests from a Master to their Felyne were always followed by a 'Yes, Master'. The Boss must have caught his look and sighed. “He’s not mine.” he added with a very stern tone of finality.
Ryuji simply nodded and moved to sit in a booth, setting his bag down, taking his jacket off and hissing lightly when his damp jeans touched the cool leather; he was tempted to kick his wet shoes and socks off, but this wasn’t his house. At least he could dry his hair and shoulders and arms with the towel he'd been smacked with.
Now settled, the blond checked that the rest of his belongings weren’t water damaged and was grateful for that little miracle: his booklets, papers and notebooks were fine, if a little cold. His wallet and phone too.
“Might as well get some work done,” he thought, starting to spread his things out on the table before him, towel around his neck. He had some theory exams for College to study and prepare for, might as well do it here where it was quiet, and oddly cozy.
It was only the smell of chocolate that eventually pulled him out of it, the Felyne apparently having taken his sweet time in making it. He absent-mindedly had heard something about Curry?
“Here,” he heard the man say quietly as he placed a green mug on the table that steamed sweetly, alongside a plate of the most delicious smelling curry he’d ever had the pleasure of sniffing.
“I-I didn’t order this…but I’ll take it!” he exclaimed, grabbing the plate back as the Felyne went to take it with him. “Thank you!” he smiled, the response to that being only a tilt of the head. “Uh…” but he wasn’t letting go of the plate.
“Stay,” the black-haired man ordered and was suddenly looking right into Ryuji’s eyes, and wow those were actually really grey colored eyes. The blond did as he was told, weirdly even keeping his mouth open in half a protest as he was scrutinized, then sniffed. “…you're not like me,” was the quiet comment, almost a question.
“Oh! Well, my Dad was a Felyne and my Mom was his human, and well, they fell in love and had me, apparently the Gene can just…skip a generation or something? Got nothing but these,” Ryuji admitted, grinning wide to show his pointed teeth. “People call me a Mutt, which is weird, cuz, well, y’all aren’t dogs,” he shrugged.
Silent Guy snorted.
“Surprised you didn’t call your Mom the Master…and that you called the Felyne Dad, for that matter,” Silent and Sullen Guy muttered.
Ryuji nodded in understanding, fiddling with his pen.
“Well, I was told a lot of the old stories, that Felyne’s are friends we meet when we need them most, who leave you when they're done, or keep you when you get close,” the blond replied, reciting words that Akira hadn't heard in a long, long time.
His breath hitched at hearing them.
“So, he's my Dad and she's my Mom and they’re my parents,” the blond shrugged again. “Got into a lot of fights defending them as a kid…” he chuckled.
“Where is he now?” Not So Silent but Still Sullen Guy asked.
“Died quite a few years back, got between Mom and one of those weird Anti-Felyne types, dude had a silver knife…” he shook his head, sighed sadly, looking up at Not So Silent Fluffy Guy. “I miss him sometimes, but well, at least I got Ma, thanks to him,” he admitted. “I’m Ryuji, by the way,” he added after a beat of silent staring.
“I heard…” Fluffy guy replied, then turned, turned back to him to leave some cutlery, and left, brown eyes following as the Felyne, who had a really long, well-kept tail and exposed, unruly furry legs below the knee, went to wash dishes.
“Don’t mind him, he’s skittish,” the Boss said, having openly eavesdropped on the whole exchange. “And not completely friendly, but…he seems to like you enough,” he chuckled.
Ryuji blinked, opened his mouth to retort, then thought better of it.
“Thank you for the meal!” he exclaimed, before tucking into his food. “Holy shit!” he said even louder, before almost choking on his curry.
The Boss went back to his paper with a grin.
Ryuji wasn’t entirely sure how much time he passed at Leblanc, but the rain had not let up, and he’d gotten a decent chunk of his work done, and had even gotten seconds from The Best Curry in the Whole of Japan.
He was roped into escorting the old couple to a cab that would take them home, and that got him another hot chocolate too, and an eyeroll and nod that he could dry off further in the little bathroom the Boss had to have since he ran a food type business. So he’d happily dried his feet, put his socks to dry on the radiator and freshened up some, flexing his bare arms at the mirror due to his good mood.
Yeah, today was going well.
At least until he heard a crash up the little stairs to a second floor he hadn’t noticed was there. He looked to the Boss who was also startled, who seemed to think, decide and sigh in the space of a second.
“Do you mind? I’m frankly too old to see what fresh hell he got into,” the man said with a sigh, and while he didn’t seem that old to Ryuji, he figured that he’d at least have the strength and movement to help out.
“Sure thing, Boss,” he said with a thumbs up before climbing up two stairs at a time. “Hey, uh…” he called, realizing that as much as he'd heard the Boss call the Felyne's name, he still didn't feel comfortable using it because he wasn't provided it by the man himself.
Who was currently splayed out in the middle of this dusty attic, with a very heavy looking box on top of them.
“Shit," the blond cursed, padding over quickly to take the box off the other man, and having to actually grasp and heave-ho properly, as it was very heavy. "Geez, what the hell is in here…" he groaned, setting the rattling box down, then kneeling next to the other man to check on him.
“Hey man, you okay?" the blond asked the Felyne, who was still prone, eyes half open, clearly dazed. "I'm just gonna check your head for blood, okay?" he said clearly, sliding his hand under his head of fluffy hair as gently as possible.
“Whoa, what's your hair care regimen?" he blurted out, marveling at how soft the man's hair was despite looking like a messed up nest. Despite the small distraction, he did check around the back of FuzzyHead's head and did find a small bump there, but thankfully no wetness. "Thank goodness," he sighed, lowering his hand from the back of his head, past his neck towards the top of his back. "Gonna help you up slow, ok?" he asked quietly, starting to push the Felyne forward until he suddenly had to grab a stabbing wrist, nails inches from his eyes. "Whoa!" Ryuji exclaimed.
A very angry hiss left the Felyne's throat, grey eyes now glossy and cloudy, hostility pouring from every pore as he was held by the newcomer, his thin wrist held tightly in his larger hand; it didn't help the situation any either, as not being able to defend himself, nor take his hand back, it just made him angrier, more defensive, and so he tried to swipe with his other hand but was easily dodged and grabbed, both hands now caught, arms pulled up and to the side of them both.
“Dude! Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you!" Ryuji called, eyes wide as he struggled with the man, who, for all intents and purposes should have been stronger than Ryuji by quite a bit. But he always kept the other blessings from dear old Dad to himself. You never knew when you needed a leg up.
FluffyHair was hissing, spitting and attempting to bite at Ryuji, trying to get away from him, but also trying to maim him, so as much as he wanted to let go, the blond was not about to let himself be scratched to bits over a very clear fight or flight response the Felyne was going through.
And then the maniac tried to lunge, and Ryuji fell back, the black-haired man now on top of him, straddling him, pushing at his palms, trying to keep him pinned and try to bite his nose off.
“This…..is….what I get…for saying…I'm having…a good…day…" the blond grunted out, now having to actually try and keep the other man off of him, a man whose fangs were getting too dangerously close to his nose.
And he liked his nose!
“Sorry about this!" he said then Ryuji lunged forward, surprise crossing FuzzyHair's face as he was forced to sit on the blonde's lap with his arms trapped by his sides, suddenly trapped in the vice that were Ryuji's arms. "Calm down! Hey! You're at Leblanc! The Boss is downstairs! Hey, Boss!" he finally yelled, trying to see if anything he said went through, but the man just kept flailing, trying to free himself, forgetting he could even bite Ryuji's face clean off right now.
And then Boss walked into their foreheads colliding, the man wincing in worry at the sound they made, with Akira falling onto Ryuji's shoulder while the blond somehow managed to continue to sit upright, but still likely seeing stars.
“What the hell happened?" Boss sternly asked, sighing at them both.
“Hell if I know! I just went to check on him, see if he got a concussion from a box falling on him, and he attacked me!" Ryuji exclaimed, noting the now unconscious man in his arms. "He has a really hard head under that fluff," he huffed.
“Oh, Akira, what am I going to do with you?" the Boss sighed, both worried and fond, and he walked closer, looking at the box that was out of place and glaring at it. "…oh, so that's why…" he mumbled, glaring around the room at whom he knew was looking; the feeling of his phone vibrating told him he was right on who the culprit was.
He sighed.
“I'm very sorry for all this kid, really, I should have at least warned you not to get too close, but I figured it'd be fine with how he seemed, at the very least, indifferent to you, I forgot…" the man admitted with a sigh, fingers itching for a smoke. "I'll get some water and pain killers for him, just lay him down on his cot near the window, over there," the man waved towards the spot, lamenting having partially almost caused an accident and also how he probably would have thrown his back out if he'd tried to help.
“Okay, wow, still seeing stars," Ryuji mumbled, blinking his eyes out. "And you're…out like a light, my bad, dude," he snickered quietly.
Ryuji managed to carry the surprisingly light man towards the cot, careful not to jostle his head and wound him further, and set him down as gently as possible, settling him down with his hands on his stomach and noting just how sharp his claws were.
“Geez, you really could have done some damage, huh?" he whistled in appreciation.
“Mmmph, what hit me?" came the question from the man of the hour, eyes half-open but firmly zeroed in on Ryuji, who was still holding one of his hands.
“Ah, that would have been me, but, but, to be fair, you just tried to seriously maim me, dude, so…uh…sorry," the blond stepped back, got to his knees and put his hands together, seemingly begging for forgiveness.
His face betrayed him slightly, as he seemingly wanted to laugh; his eyes were concerned though.
Akira sighed, closing his eyes to try and abate his headache.
“…I'm sorry too, I just…" he waved his hands as if to say 'it is what it is' and couldn't see how Ryuji just nodded, as he now sat cross-legged next to the cot. "And it's Akira, not dude," he added quietly.
His ears twitched at the amused huff that he heard escape the blonde's mouth.
“I apologize for meeting you under heavily violent circumstances, Akira," Ryuji said, and Akira found himself snorting, a small smile on his lips. "You have a little bump behind your head by the way, so take it easy, Boss said he's going to bring you some pain killers," he added quietly, a twitch of some fingers the only response from the Felyne on the bed.
They went quietly then, each in their own heads. And Akira couldn't quite remember the last time he had such an innocently violent first meeting with someone…especially someone who looked like Ryuji.
He had some lovely arms.
For his part, Ryuji kept sneaking glances at the unruly fur that Akira had on his forearms and legs, and felt his fingers itch to have his grooming kit with him; he imagined the guy would clean up real good.
“This was….oddly nice…" they both thought, lapsing into silence.
“Kid, your phone is going nuts downstairs and as nice as I am, I will be closing soon despite the rain not letting up, so…" they suddenly heard the Boss say and Ryuji gasped, standing up in a hurry.
“Crap, I totally lost track of time, thanks for the food boss, Akira, feel better, I'll come back!" he told them both in a rush, his bare feet slapping the floorboards as he ran.
“Nice kid, if a bit too energetic," Sojiro said to his charge on the bed, touching a glass of water to his fingers.
“You're going senile," Akira whispered to the man, eyes boring into him with questions and accusations as he drank it, and then the painkillers.
“The last time I tried to help you, I almost threw my back out, so excuse me for trying to get some cheap help out of an able bodied person," the man grumbled, tapping and fiddling with his carton of cigarettes.
A door closed downstairs, some more noise, some cursing and then a fleeting farewell and the bell to the front of the shop jingled.
“And Futaba has some explaining to do, I told her to keep her stuff at the house, in her room if she can help it," the man grumbled, glaring at the box that caused all this.
“It's not her stuff, it's mine," Akira admitted quietly, almost begrudgingly. "…I was…going to ask…if he wanted to watch some movies…" Sojiro's eyes widened at the grumbling, almost shy admission.
He wanted to laugh. He barely managed not to.
"Oh really?" he couldn't help sounding smug however.
Akira hissed at him.
"…he seemed nice, is all…" was Akira's final admission before turning away from Sojiro, tail and ears flicking away at him.
"Well, he certainly managed to handle you, and the curry did its job again, so, hopefully we have a new regular," Sojiro said before giving the man a pat on the shoulder. "Just…relax, all right? Rest, please," he added, squeezing his shoulder.
"…night…" he heard Akira say as he walked away, turning off the light from the attic.
And Akira, as he always did, listened to the comforting sounds of Sojiro tidying up, closing up, and slowly leaving, the three locks on the front door clicking shut soothing him as always.
And yet, he ached.
And not just because of the stupid bump on his head. Or the other probable lump from where his forehead struck Ryuji's.
No. Neither of those things bothered him.
It was the stupid Familiar with the blue eyes that had been watching him from the rafters, who had made him jostle the box and lose his footing and almost knock himself out in the first place, and especially so with the stupid box full of his few good memories.
The stupid Familiar and the words he'd uttered at him:
"Can't believe that stupid Mutt found you again," he'd said.
He wanted to ask what he meant by again, but those painkillers must have been the Drowsy kind, cuz he was slowly falling asleep.
There was sunshine behind his eyelids as he fell.
It was when Ryuji was taking his shoes off at the door to his and his Mother's apartment that he realized he left his socks at Leblanc.
Fuck!