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For as long as Yuji could remember, he spent his life at Sugisawa Hospital as a registered therapy dog for a cranky old man named Wasuke Itadori. He was a good golden retriever, staying by his owner's side to make sure nothing happened to him. But then, tragedy struck on June 2018. Yuji did his best to be friendly and keep Wasuke in high spirits, but he had become significantly weak.
"Yuji. You're a good-hearted dog, so try to help others. Save other humans if you can, even if it's only those closest to you. It's okay if you lose your way and don't worry about whether they'll thank you or not. Just save as many as you can, even if you could only save one. When you die, you should be surrounded by others. Don't end up like me."
Those were the last words Yuji heard Wasuke say before he fell asleep. What happened next was confusing. Hospital workers came in and escorted him out of the room. Confused, Yuji started barking and whimpering. What were these people going to do with his human? He's just sleeping. Surely he'll wake up and things will go back to normal.
Unfortunately, that never happened. Once Wasuke was gone, Yuji was brought to the reception desk and he was greeted by familiar men in orange jackets. These were the people who looked after him when he was just a puppy. But if they were here, did something happen to Wasuke? Was he never going to see him again?
Yuji soon found himself in an adoption center. His old home, to be exact. There were a lot of new dogs he never saw before and it seemed his old friends were long gone. He felt so lonely without his usual company. All he could do was wait for the men in orange jackets to assign a new human to him.
That is, until one fateful encounter...
Three months had passed since Wasuke fell asleep and as usual, Yuji was bored. He spent most of his days eating and sleeping. There wasn't really anyone he could click with, as it seemed the other dogs had a shared history. Could this be his fate, being stuck like this after years of living in the hospital?
But then, a white-haired man wearing an orange jacket entered the play area. "Yuji!" he called out. "Come here, boy!"
Yuji's ears perked up and he instinctively walked over to the white-haired man. He liked this man. He was the one who decided to take Yuji in when he was just a lost little stray and personally trained him to be a therapy dog. What was going to happen to him now? He looked up at the friendly human and tilted his head as he whimpered.
"I get that you were attached to Wasuke Itadori, but I want you to be on your best behavior," the white-haired man said. "We've got a woman visiting from Kawasaki and she took an interest in you."
That surprised Yuji. "Me?" he thought. "I'm getting a new human?" He barked once.
"That's right," the white-haired man reassured. "She called this morning and wanted to adopt a dog who's friendly with cats. I figured you would be the right fit for her."
Yuji didn't understand all those words, but he didn't care. After months of loneliness, he was going to a new home! He couldn't help but wag his tail out of eagerness to meet his new human.
The white-haired man chuckled. "Glad to see you finally perked up," he said as he scratched Yuji beneath his ears. "She should be here any minute, so how about you come with me so you can meet her?"
Yuji barked in response as his tail continued to wag. He couldn't wait any longer! He had to meet his new human!
It didn't take long for the new human to arrive. Unlike Wasuke, this one appeared to be female and noticeably much younger. Yuji barked and tried to run towards her, but the white-haired man put him on a leash. So alas, all he could do was continue barking as he wagged his tail.
"Oh my!" the female exclaimed. "Is he always this jumpy?"
"Ah, don't mind him," the white-haired man reassured. "This guy's super-friendly around humans. Plus he hasn't been the same since his previous owner died, so he's a little starved for affection."
Once the female was in close proximity, Yuji looked up to see her. She was tall and thin with dark wavy fur on her head. But her scent was very unusual. It seemed she was already imprinted by another animal. An alpha, to be exact. That made his ears droop a bit. It might be hard to tell given how big and strong he was, but this golden retriever was actually an omega. What if this alpha was too intimidating?
"Does he have a name?" the female asked.
"His name's Yuji," the white-haired man answered.
"Yuji, huh?" the female repeated. She scratched underneath the lovable dog's chin. "I think you'll make a great addition to the family, Yuji."
The card ride was unusually long, which could only mean Yuji was going to live far away from his home. But he didn't mind. He was more preoccupied with his new owner's chattiness. Apparently she was called Nagi Yoshino and she wanted some companionship after what seemed like her mate left. She then went on and on about this cat she adopted a few years ago and how she thinks this cat was going to get along with Yuji. But during this rambling, only one question popped into his head.
Was this cat the alpha who imprinted on his new human?
Eventually the two arrived at a house. Nagi brought Yuji inside and she took off her shoes. That seemed to be something humans always do, so Yuji never questioned it. What he did question was the sound of little pitter-pattering on the hard floor.
"Meow."
That soft sound came from a male black cat, one who appeared to have short black fur yet there seemed to be a longer amount of fur covering his right eye. His tail was standing straight up as he rubbed his head and body all over Nagi's legs. His scent was also familiar, which could only mean this meek-looking cat was the same alpha Yuji detected earlier.
"Nice to see you too, Junpei," Nagi told the cat as she knelt down to scratch his neck. "Did you keep a good eye on the house?"
The black cat, who was apparently called Junpei, meowed again. "That's a good kitty," Nagi complimented. She withdrew her hand and stood up straight. "I was gone for a long time because I was picking up a new friend from Sendai." She patted Yuji on the head. "This is Yuji. Make sure you get along with him."
But upon seeing the golden retriever, Junpei's tail instantly drooped and his body hunched over. Very different from how alphas usually act. But then again, Yuji was a strong dog, which wasn't typical omega behavior. But he knew his nose wouldn't trick him. That was clearly an alpha's scent coming from that cat. Now that he knew this alpha wasn't intimidating, this dog was determined to befriend him.
Not much happened for the rest of the day. Yuji was getting used to his new surroundings and trying to memorize as much as his nose could handle. It was clear Nagi was more familiar with cats than dogs, given how there wasn't a lot of things for a golden retriever to do. Way too many cat toys and play areas that involved climbing, something that Yuji wasn't capable of doing.
But that wasn't a concern when the lovable dog was more preoccupied with Junpei, who was currently sitting in front of a TV with his eyes glued onto the flashing images. Yuji was amazed with how still the dark cat was. His eyes never blinked and his ears were on high alert. It seemed these images were showing a woman who created a strange-looking man out of small gooey things. It looked a little disturbing, but Junpei was still staring.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try and talk to him...
Yuji walked over to Junpei and sat next to him. "So what's this you're watching?" he asked.
No response. Yuji looked over at Junpei and noticed he had become very tense. "Somethin' wrong?" Yuji wondered.
"What do you want?" Junpei hissed, his eyes never leaving the big screen.
Yuji was surprised by the aggressive tone, but he didn't falter. "We're gonna be living together from now on," he pointed out. "Can't we be friends?"
"Why would we?" Junpei spat. "I've seen animals like you. You're here to steal my territory."
"Why would I do that?" Yuji asked. "I'm just glad to finally have a new human."
"I'm not dumb," Junpei continued, still sounding annoyed. "You're this big, tough alpha who isn't afraid to fight someone like me, a weak little omega you can walk all over."
That made Yuji's ears perk up. "...Did you just call me an alpha?"
"You heard me," Junpei repeated. "A big, tough alpha. Now leave me alone so I can watch this movie in peace."
Yuji didn't budge, but he chose to stay silent. Why would Junpei assume he was an alpha? If anything, things were the other way around. Sure he was big and strong, but he was kind at heart. There was not a mean bone in his body after spending most of his life training to be a therapy dog. That accusation made him even more curious about Junpei. Why would this very obvious alpha think of himself as an omega?
Things were silent for a while as Yuji chose to watch the movie alongside Junpei. The plot was a little confusing to understand. Why was this woman so scared of her creation? Was she trying to kill the strange man? Eventually things fell apart when the man killed the woman instead, which lead to the movie ending abruptly. Yuji never really saw movies back at the hospital, so this was his first time watching something so strange. He laid on his stomach as weird text suddenly appeared on the screen, noticing how alert Junpei was the entire time.
"You like that human stuff?" Yuji wondered. He knew it was pointless because of how rigid and cold Junpei was to hi-
"Kind of."
Yuji's ears perked up once more. "...You do?" he carefully asked.
"Mama likes these movies," Junpei explained, referring to Nagi. "Sometimes she lets me watch them with me. I don't really get what's going on, but I know mama likes them."
"That's what you call Nagi?" Yuji noticed. "I didn't know humans go by those words."
"I've known mama ever since she rescued me," Junpei clarified, still on guard. "She picked me up from my previous home and took me here. She's been very nice to me." He noticed Yuji was staring at him. "What's with that look?"
"You really are different from other alphas," Yuji blurted out.
"Other alphas?" Junpei hissed. "What, like you?"
"Nah," Yuji reassured. "I was talking about you."
Junpei froze up. "I'm...not an alpha," he corrected.
"Yes, you are," Yuji insisted. "I can recognize your scent. I know an alpha when I smell one."
"You're wrong," Junpei insisted. "Alphas are supposed to be big and intimidating. They take over other territories and scratch at you until you nearly go blind. That's not what I am. I've always been an omega."
Yuji lifted his head. "You're the one who's wrong," he corrected. "I might be strong, but I'm an omega deep down. If anyone's the alpha, it's gotta be you."
"What makes you so sure?" Junpei asked.
"My nose never lies," Yuji explained as he briefly lifted his paw to tap his nose. "You've got this scent I recognize from other alphas. So if my nose says you're an alpha, then that's what you are."
Junpei wordlessly stared at Yuji. Then without warning, he got to his feet and ran towards a climbing area in the room, getting into this soft-looking box with a hole on the side. He stuck his head out of that same hole. It looked so cozy inside.
"So what if I am?" Junpei asked. He seemed comfortable in that box. "I already told you what alphas are supposed to be. I'm nothing like that. Just a broken alpha who acts like an omega. So can you just drop it and leave me alone?" He closed his eyes in an attempt to go to sleep-
"I don't think you're broken."
Junpei opened his eyes once more and peered down from his little hideaway spot. "Why would you say that?" he asked.
"You're not broken," Yuji repeated. "I can still smell your alpha scent even if you don't act like one. It doesn't bother me at all."
"...It doesn't?" Junpei checked.
"Nope!" Yuji reassured with a bark in his voice, all while his tail wagged. "You're still an alpha deep down. Nothing you say or do will change that."
Junpei let out a tiny laugh. "You really are a strange dog..." he muttered.
"Junpei! Yuji!" Nagi called out from the kitchen. "Dinner is ready!"
"Dinner?!" Yuji exclaimed as he got to his feet. The moment he smelled something good, he immediately bolted towards the delicious scent. Junpei left his little tower and followed him, also glad it was time for dinner.
What followed was a very content dinnertime. Nagi was eating people food consisting of noodles in some kind of water, while Yuji and Junpei were eating soft meat in their respective food bowls. Yuji was amazed by how good this food was. It tasted so different from what the hospital workers used to feed him. It was all hard and crunchy, certainly not this flavorable meat he was chowing down.
Nagi laughed softly. "Guess someone's hungry," she noticed. "Do you want seconds when you're done, Yuji?"
Yuji briefly lifted his head to bark out a yes before resuming his dinner. But as he ate, he glanced towards Junpei, who took a huge chomp out of his own meal. He was so different from typical alphas, but he didn't mind. He wanted to be a good friend towards this black cat even if he tried to shoo him away. Yuji didn't care how long it would take. Junpei was part of his pack now. This house was his domain. He will do whatever it takes to make sure he was a good part of this little family of three.