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He was seven years old and still cannot shift properly (unless he is being brought to Were-people clinic and exposed to certain amount of another Were-cat pheromone, which more on the expensive side) when both his parents decided that it was enough.
Enough for them as common people to care for their son, who were not born the same species. Enough for them to engage themselves with a son who cost them much money.
Just.. enough.
And Takemichi understands.
Were-people were born with the intelligence twice the amount in common people not for any other reason, after all.
So, Takemichi understands. He understands that after seven years spent so much money just so they could interact with their son, yet their son still could not shift into human properly, they must be tired. Resulted in him being abandoned in an unknown street. Takemichi understands.
He already imagined himself would be brought to the police office, or government association specifically made for Were-people, once anyone noticed him in his cat-cub form, being abandoned by his parents.
But no.
The one who had found him was an elementary school boy— which looked like the same age as him.
"Huh, a cat." The boy said. Crouching down in front of Takemichi and the box his parents left him in. "I thought a new bakery opened up since I could smells taiyaki from far away." He continued, a second later and the boy grabbed Takemichi by his neck, brought Takemichi closer, and.. sniff him.
Ah, Takemichi thought, this boy does not know that I am not just a cat.
"Why do you smells like taiyaki?" Should Takemichi knows what kind of pheromone does his body produces?
"I do not know if I like pet or not but since you smells like my favorite snack, I will bring you to my home."
That was how he met Mikey, Sano Manjirou.
He was brought to Sano's family house. Met Shinichiro. This young man, unlike his younger brother, seemed to notice the fact that Takemichi was a Were-people.
That time, Takemichi was sure that he would be brought to police office, with how Shinichiro acted.
But then again, no.
Shinichiro asked Takemichi, even though he should know that Takemichi could not give any answers to him.
His heart warmed at how Shinichiro looked genuinely fighting whether he should or should not give Takemichi away to police office. It all stated in his expression. Even his parents never looked at him as genuine as Shinichiro had.
So Takemichi, following his Were instinct, did not want for this warm feeling he felt disappear just like that. That was why he responded to Shinichiro's asking him with snuggles himself deeper into the olders' cradles.
Almost a month from Sano's grandfather formally adopted him, Takemichi began to notice that Emma, the youngest out of the four of them, and Shinichiro studying about himself. About Were-people.
Mikey, he was not so bright when it came to studying by book, so he couldn't help the other two. But Mikey always made sure to have time for Takemichi. And Takemichi content with just that.
From there, bit by bit, day by day he learned about himself from any book about were-people collected by Emma and Shinichiro. What is were-people, how to shift properly into human form, how to differentiate pheromone with other scents, how to control pheromone and such.
Three months was all he needed to finally able to shift. Without the need to expose himself with another were-people's pheromone. This was the proof that, even though his parents were both showered him with money, they did not really care enough for him to learn about were-people to help their child.
But still, it was not fully their faults.
Controlling his pheromone was the hardest part to learn about. Even after almost two years had passed, he still could not control his pheromone properly. Sometimes it resulted in Mikey did not want to leave Takemichi alone, got clingy on Takemichi because apparently, his pheromone smelled like taiyaki for Mikey. And taiyaki.. was always Mikey's lifeline.
Nothing sexual because he did not even had his first rut yet.
Ah talking about rut, Takemichi also learned something; about it being the time where cubs would finally began their adulthood. About it being lustful, painful and hard for some were-people, yet it was nothing but making you feels really sweaty for some other were-people.
Takemichi hoped for his to be the later.
After two years had passed, he met his kind for the first time in his life. That was when he was brought to Shinichiro's garage for the first time.
The man he met is a snow leopard kind, Takemichi learned. The man's name is Wakasa. The man told Takemichi not to call him by honorific, but as far as Takemichi learned, it is taboo and ill-mannered for him as a mere Persian breed cat to act casually to those from the genus whose sat on top of food chain.
He jumped to 'onii-san' rather than '-san'. He almost wanted to apologize when Wakasa looked so content with the way Takemichi called him. So Takemichi beamed, felt his Were got much more relaxed than before.
His parents might left him, abandoned him. Yet Takemichi somewhat feels grateful for what they have done. As it makes Takemichi learns that families are not all about blood. It is about the ties between people in general.
And Takemichi contents with how he get new families— ones that he loves and loves him back.