Chapter Text
College had been a fresh start for Yosuke Hanamura- no one knew him as Junes Boy here. No more dirty looks or harsh comments directed towards him for things that were out of his control. Yosuke had basically cut himself off from his old life, aside from keeping in contact with the few actual friends he had made back in the small town of Inaba. Even then, they were busy with their own lives as was he, so social interaction was something Yosuke was lacking yet desperately craving.
The college student let out a soft sigh as the brisk chill of the fall air prickled at his skin. It was nearly seven in the evening and the sun was on its way down, sinking below the horizon and painting the sky with pale oranges, pinks, and purples. Why the hell had he decided to take an evening class again? Sure, sleeping in was good and all, but he had no free time to relax, cook dinner, play a song on his guitar— not that he knew how to cook or anything, but he sure didn’t have time to.
Due to this, picking up takeout had become a common occurrence on the nights Yosuke had late classes. Tonight he was having some sort of chicken and rice dish with vegetables he had decided earlier in the day, so that’s what he got. Sure, it wasn’t exactly healthy, but it was convenient and he didn’t have to waste time cooking or cleaning dishes. That’s what he told himself anyway.
After thanking the cashier, Yosuke exited the convenience store, hearing the familiar jingle of bells as the door closed behind him. The trek home wasn’t bad, usually he had his bike, but it had recently popped a tire and the copper haired college student had yet to get it replaced. He would have to walk today. He set a good pace, as the weather was only going to get more cool and he didn’t want his dinner to get cold before he could eat it. Reheated rice wasn’t very good in Yosuke’s opinion.
He was a good way into his walk, losing himself in his music. So much so that he almost didn’t notice the cat that had emerged from the alleyway beside him. Yosuke let out a yelp and stumbled out of the way so he didn’t step on the thing, nearly falling over in the process but he managed to regain his balance and save his dinner from belonging to the sidewalk. Yosuke looked back to see if anyone saw that, but the only thing that caught his eye was the cat he had just tripped over.
Instead of fleeing like one would expect, the cat had sat down and was grooming itself. It had short grey fur that looked quite clean, which made Yosuke doubtful that it was a stray. It didn’t seem to be nervous around people either. It lacked a collar, but he assumed it belonged to someone.
Yosuke brushed himself off and let out a sigh. The commotion caused the cat to look up at him with piercing silver eyes. “You need to watch where you’re going, little buddy… nearly stepped on ya,” the prince of Junes murmured, as if the cat would understand. The cat curiously approached him, and Yosuke felt compelled to kneel down and extend a hand. The feline gave his hand a sniff before rubbing its face against it gently. Maybe it just wanted some attention? Yosuke’s expression softened as he scratched its chin, which seemed to please the cat. “I’m not really a cat guy, you know. But I guess you’re not so bad, huh?” he mused to the creature.
The cat allowed Yosuke to pet it for a few more moments before it brushed past his hand and sniffed at the plastic bag holding Yosuke’s takeout curiously. “Oh? Did you just want some food off of me then, huh?” he questioned. “You’re lucky that I’m in a good mood, you…” he gave up almost immediately, retrieving the takeout box and plucking out a couple pieces of chicken from it, which he dropped in front of the grey cat. It eagerly sniffed them before beginning to eat, seeming quite pleased. Yosuke couldn’t help but smile as he put the container away. With one last pet, he stood up and got ready to walk away. “You stay out of trouble, now…”
With that, he turned and walked away, resuming his walk back to his apartment. The rest of the night proceeded like normal, the thought of the silver cat encounter easily drifting out of Yosuke’s mind.
That was, until he began encountering it more frequently on his walks home. It had begun showing up in places closer to his apartment. Maybe it lived around here? Whatever the case, stopping to pet the cat on the odd days it appeared on his walks home became integrated into Yosuke’s routine.
He didn’t think much of it at first, as he probably had just never noticed the cat until that one night. But as the weeks passed, Yosuke felt like the thing knew his schedule. It was probably his fault since he always gave it food and attention every time he saw it, he’d probably accidentally conditioned it to this schedule. So when Yosuke stopped seeing the cat on his walks home during the cold month of December, he started to grow worried about the little thing.
It surely had a home and was just choosing to stay inside where it was warm, right? But there had been multiple occasions where it was straight up pouring outside and Yosuke had found the cat waiting for him under a tree or some other form of cover, not seeming to mind the storm at all. How on earth had he managed to grow so fond of a random cat on the street? Regardless, he hoped it was safe somewhere.
Yosuke’s evening class was let out early on account of the forecast calling for snow so that the students could make it home safely. No matter how old he was, it was still exciting to be let out of class due to the weather. It made him feel like a kid again, in a good way. The copper haired boy zipped up his puffy jacket and slid on his headphones and gloves before embarking on his walk home. He definitely didn’t want to get caught outside while it was snowing and then get home cold and wet.
Of course, it was just his luck that it would start snowing anyways. His face burned as the snowflakes hit it. Some warm, brothy ramen would be fantastic right about now…
Wait, what the hell was that?
As Yosuke got closer to his apartment, he could see a lump on the sidewalk. Snow? No, it was… grey!
The brunette quickened his pace, the lump getting clearer and clearer until he was right in front of it. “Oh shit..” he murmured through his chattering teeth. It was none other than his cat friend, lying motionless on the ground. It’s fur was wet and matted from the snow. The poor thing looked like it was freezing. What could he do? He didn’t know where a vet was, and he was pretty sure nothing was going to stay open for long in this kind of weather. Pets weren’t allowed at his apartment, but… what other choice did he have? He couldn’t just leave it here to freeze.
Yosuke unzipped his coat before he gently scooped up the cat in his arms and cradled it into his chest before taking off down the sidewalk. “Just hold on..!”
Yosuke didn’t know anything about pet care. He’d never had a pet before. But now he was tasked with nursing a half frozen cat back to health. He first started with wrapping it up in his heated blanket on the couch. It had warmed up a little in his arms, but not much. At least he could tell it was alive though. If it had an owner, they sure were an asshole for not making sure their cat was inside before the cold weather hit.
While he was waiting for the cat to warm up, he prepared it some food and water. He didn’t have cat food or anything, but he did have leftover chicken that he tore up into little pieces for it if it was hungry. He set the small dishes next to the cat before giving its ears a rub to help warm them up. “Hang in there, you’re gonna be alright.” The cat scrunched up its features for a moment before relaxing, its chest steadily rising and falling. Had it fallen asleep?
Yosuke let out a soft sigh. Was he doing this right? He couldn’t tell what it’s condition was, but at least it seemed more comfortable. Only time would give him the answer he was looking for, though.
The college boy stood up after making sure his newfound company was as comfortable as it could be before he decided to go and take a shower before the pipes got too cold. This apartment complex definitely wasn’t the nicest out there, but it was fine.
The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. The cat had awoken briefly and drank some water before going back to sleep, so hopefully Yosuke could get it to eat something in the morning. He decided to camp out in the living room, making use of his kotatsu for once while the cat was on the couch so he could keep an eye on it. Snow made things so oddly quiet, it was almost surreal.
Much to his relief, when he woke up, Yosuke saw the cat had gotten up and was grooming itself. “Good to see you’re alright…” the college student breathed sleepily as he sat up and stretched. The sudden movement caught the cat’s attention, it’s head raising from where it had been grooming its belly to look at him. “You hungry?”
Of course, he had no cat food and the weather was way too bad for him to go out and get some unless he was trying to become a popsicle. A quick google search on his cellphone revealed that cats could eat cooked eggs. “Looks like we’re having scrambled eggs for breakfast.”
Yosuke was no cook, but he could at least make eggs without burning them. When the task was done, he shoveled a portion onto two plates and brought them into the living room where the cat remained seated on the couch. He placed one in front of it while he sat down and began eating his portion. The cat sniffed it curiously before beginning to eat and Yosuke silently cheered to himself. He’d nurse his little cat friend back to health and see if someone had lost it. He sure was going to tear them a new one about almost letting their cat die in the cold though.
-
A few weeks had gone by, and the cat had seemed to regain its energy. It was extremely well behaved, not clawing up any of Yosuke’s cheap furniture or smacking things off the counter. It was quiet too, the only noise coming out of it was the occasional purr when Yosuke scritched its chin just right. The cat had settled in well, like it had always been a part of Yosuke’s home. Of course, Yosuke’s search for an owner had started off strong, but with time he was losing hope that anyone would come forward to retrieve their pet and he was growing attached. A voice in the back of his mind nagged at him, reminding him that he could get in serious trouble if he was caught having a pet, but it was so well behaved that it would be nearly impossible to suspect it was even there.
This silver feline did have its quirks, however. It wouldn’t eat any cat food, wet or dry. It would only eat human food. It especially liked chicken, omelettes, and tuna. Yosuke didn’t mind it, some cats were just picky like that, and it did save him the trouble of having to go get cat food when he could just share his own. It also made no attempt to leave the apartment, even when Yosuke left the window or door open as an experiment. Well, it was still rather cold out.
It also liked to sleep with him at night, always settling down on his pillow, by his side, or on his chest. The college student didn’t mind, in fact, he had grown rather used to the warm, soft presence near him when he slept. Yosuke had neglected to name it so far, on the chance it did have an owner that would come to retrieve it. Once he gave it a name, it was his cat.
“Ah… screw it,” Yosuke murmured to himself one morning as he sat at his kotatsu, sipping on some coffee before he had to leave for class. He wasn’t much of a breakfast guy. The cat perked up its ears from where it was curled up on the couch. “You’re something else, you know that?” the brunette hummed.
That afternoon, after his classes got out, Yosuke stopped by the pet store and picked out a collar. It was a pale yellow color with a bell. Yosuke didn’t know why he picked that one, he just felt like it suited his feline companion. He didn’t get a name tag, as he wasn’t sure what he wanted to call the cat yet, but he could get one another time.
“Fits like a glove, hell yeah,” Yosuke beamed after stepping back to give the cat with its newly adorned collar a look over. “Whaddaya think?”
Of course, the cat did not answer because it was just a cat, but it didn’t seem to mind the collar. It wasn’t trying to paw it off or anything, so that was good, right?
“Guess I have a cat now, huh?” he mused as he knelt down to stroke the soft fur of his new pet’s head. “Was that your plan from the very start? You know about my connections to Junes, don’t you? You know I can hook you up with all the tuna and chicken you want.” The cat flicked its tail and closed its eyes, bumping its head into Yosuke’s palm in request for more pats, to which Yosuke happily obliged.
His apartment felt way less lonely now. All he had to do was finish up this semester with the cat a secret and he could move somewhere that allowed pets. That was manageable, right?