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Some feelings are destined to stay locked away, buried deep — until something completely unexpected comes along and nudges them into the open. Something like a selfish, almost animal craving for warmth and safety.
The world had suddenly become a different place — too vast, too loud, flooded with trails of scent and tracks.
Satoru's small, predator's body moved on its own, drawn toward the safest place he knew. His heightened senses guided him without hesitation — to the college, to the dorm, to the room of his one and only best friend.
It wasn't that Satoru was afraid of what had happened to him. He knew things would return to normal sooner or later. He was the strongest after all — he could handle anything. But it was only when he was near Suguru that his body finally stopped fighting and surrendered to stillness. He breathed in deep, and countless receptors in his nose and throat lit up with familiar yet entirely new sensations. Suguru smelled of sweat, skin, hormones — sharp and vivid. Pleasant. Delicious.
Unable to resist the instincts that had awakened in him, Satoru pressed himself into Suguru's hands — those large, warm, impossibly safe hands. In that same instant, he felt the urge to claim Suguru as his own, to mark him as territory. He began rubbing his face against Suguru's face and shoulders, leaving his scent behind. Suguru, sweet and clueless, had no idea what was happening. He just kept laughing and murmuring something soft and incoherent — words that made no sense but felt like everything.
It was strange. Suguru had never spoken to him like this before. He had never held him, or pulled him close, or lifted him into his arms. Well — maybe sometimes, just a little, buried in the margins of their usual banter.
And Satoru loved it. He loved it so much it scared him. So much that he had no idea how he would ever live without it. But for now, he pushed that thought away. For now, he simply let himself enjoy it.
Because, somehow, impossibly, Satoru Gojo had turned into a cat.
***
On that sun-drenched spring afternoon, nothing seemed capable of disturbing the peace, and Suguru decided to use the rare quiet moment to study for exams. But productivity, as it turned out, wasn't in the cards. Through the open window, an unexpected visitor slipped into his room.
With silent grace, a large white cat leaped onto the windowsill from the garden. His fur was so dazzling it looked as though flower fairies had woven it from sunlight itself, and his sky-blue eyes held an awareness that was almost disturbingly human.
Suguru stared at the creature, which had already jumped down and begun calmly inspecting the room, sniffing at everything with unruffled composure.
"Hey... hello there. What are you doing here, little one?" Suguru asked, as if expecting an answer.
He held out an open palm, and a damp pink nose pressed briefly against his fingers. Having properly introduced itself, the cat looked Suguru straight in the eye and let out a long, insistent meow. Suguru shook his head, smiling.
"Don't you know they leave food for the strays near the cafeteria?"
Deciding to take a closer look at this uninvited guest, Suguru scooped him up under the front legs and lifted him to eye level. The cat was heavy, well-fed, and hung limp in his grasp without resistance — clearly not a stray. His fur was really soft and well-groomed, and... those eyes. Those hauntingly familiar eyes that seemed to say, "How long is it going to take you to figure it out?" Only one person in the world looked at him like that.
"You're not really a cat, are you?" Suguru murmured. "S-Satoru? No way. You couldn't have turned into a cat."
But in the world of jujutsu, for better or worse, anything was possible.
"Satoru" flicked his tail in annoyance and meowed again, and even that indignant sound carried something familiar — the same petulant tone Satoru used when complaining about exams, assignments, the ridiculous elders, or when he simply wanted attention. And then there was the cursed energy Suguru could sense coiling faintly around that fluffy little body.
"I get it now," Suguru sighed, setting the cat-Satoru down. "You've been cursed."
The cat nodded — actually nodded — and Suguru lost it. He burst out laughing, the sound filling the room.
The strongest sorcerer in the world stood before him in a cat's body, swishing his tail irritably as if this were somehow Suguru's fault.
"Oh, Satoru... you really know how to get yourself into trouble."
Satoru let out a huff of air. He clearly understood that he'd never live this down. But what choice did he have?
Still chuckling, Suguru got up from his desk and scooped Satoru into his arms again, cradling him like a child.
"We should talk to Shoko. See what she makes of this."
Satoru didn't argue. He simply settled in, tucking his head against Suguru's shoulder. White fur immediately coated Suguru from head to toe.
When Shoko saw them at the door of the infirmary, she raised an eyebrow in disapproval.
"No animals allowed."
"He's not an animal." Suguru placed the cat on the examination table. "It's Satoru."
"What?"
"See for yourself. He's been cursed."
Shoko, well accustomed to pranks and naturally skeptical, nevertheless took a closer look at the cat. She peered into those unnaturally intelligent blue eyes — identical to Satoru's — then ran her hand over his fur, reading the familiar signature of his cursed energy. The skepticism on her face melted into bewilderment.
"Well, I'll be damned..."
She finally believed it.
"Any idea what to do about it?"
"Not a clue. I'm not a vet, you know."
She reached out again to examine the cat, but he'd apparently run out of patience. He squirmed, twisting away — even swiped at her with sharp claws.
"Satoru," Suguru chided firmly. "Behave, or we won't be able to figure out how to help you."
Satoru reluctantly stilled, adopting an expression of long-suffering submission. Only his fluffy tail twitched, broadcasting his displeasure. He clearly hated being touched by just anyone — though Suguru, for some reason, seemed to be the exception.
"His cursed energy is circulating evenly," Shoko reported after finishing her brief examination. "But some of it feels... blocked."
Satoru immediately scrambled back onto Suguru, settling into the crook of his arm like a child in a cradle. Suguru's fingers instinctively buried themselves in the soft fur. He felt tiny claws gripping the fabric of his uniform and the faint vibration of a purr rumbling through that small body. Satoru was purring — completely, unconsciously feline — and it was so absurd that Suguru couldn't help but smile.
"It's definitely a curse," Shoko continued. "And I think we could trace its source if we followed the residual cursed energy."
"I thought the same." Suguru nodded. "But Satoru's own energy has almost completely erased any trace of the foreign magic."
They both fell silent, turning the problem over in their minds. Shoko leaned back against her worktable, watching the cat, who seemed to have forgotten his predicament entirely as he luxuriated in the scratching behind his ears.
"He doesn't exactly look miserable," Shoko observed. "Quite the opposite, actually. Maybe we should just leave him like this."
Satoru cracked one eye open. Suguru smirked.
"Why not? He's way cuter this way."
"Yeah, and he's not talking."
Satoru let out an indignant meow but made no move to abandon his warm spot on Suguru's chest.
"Why does he keep clinging to you like that?"
Suguru shrugged.
"Guess his cat instincts kicked in."
Looking down at the impossibly cute furry head nestled against him, Suguru caught himself thinking that he actually liked this — holding Satoru like this. So small and vulnerable, trusting him completely. Without his Infinity working in this animal form, Satoru probably felt safe only with Suguru now. Only Suguru was worthy of his trust, his care, his very life...
"I thought cats were supposed to be independent," Shoko remarked, jolting Suguru from his trance before he could do something embarrassing like bury his face in that soft fur.
They racked their brains for a while, but none of the three could come up with a clear solution for breaking the curse. While Suguru tried various methods to dispel the foreign energy, Satoru either ate, chased sunbeams, or dozed blissfully in his lap, belly up and begging for pets. As night approached, he migrated to Suguru's bed, curling into a tight ball right on the pillow.
"Planning to sleep here?" Suguru asked, unsurprised when he got no response. "You do have your own room. Your own bed."
No reaction.
Well. Satoru had apparently fully committed to the cat thing. In the end, Suguru simply changed into his pajamas and lay down beside him, pushing aside any thoughts about how close their bodies actually were.
But Satoru was just a cat right now.
When Satoru turned back — would he remember that they'd shared a bed? Suguru didn't have time to decide how he felt about that, because the steady rhythm of feline purring lulled him to sleep faster than he'd expected.
Drifting somewhere between consciousness and dreams, Suguru felt a rough little tongue lick his cheek. But maybe that was just wishful thinking.
The next morning, Suguru woke to find himself wrapped in human arms — decidedly not feline ones. Satoru's limbs were tangled possessively around his body, and he was snoring softly right into Suguru's ear. For a moment, Suguru felt a rush of relief: the curse was gone!
Then his heart stuttered for an entirely different reason. Satoru was completely naked. Naked and brazen, he pressed close, leaving no space between their bodies...
Suguru carefully extracted himself from that iron grip. Satoru grumbled in his sleep, reaching out to pull his warm, comfortable Suguru back, but his lazy hand found only empty sheets. Without opening his eyes, he rolled onto his stomach and hugged the abandoned pillow instead.
Sitting up, Suguru looked down at Satoru and confirmed what he'd glimpsed a moment ago — the ears and tail were still there.
Why? Did the curse need more time to fully wear off?
Suguru snorted into his fist, then his gaze accidentally wandered from that long white tail to the curve of Satoru's buttocks, the elegant line of his spine, the powerful muscles of his back highlighted by the soft morning light. Satoru's face was utterly serene, still snoring quietly into Suguru's pillow; his pale lashes fluttered with his dreams, casting tiny shadows on his flushed cheeks, and a tiny bead of drool glistened at the corner of his parted lips.
He looked like a deity. A powerful spirit of mountain and forest, drowsing after a successful hunt. Suguru, mesmerized, no longer felt like laughing. He reached out, barely brushing Satoru's hair — still as soft as the fur had been.
Smoothing down the rumpled strands, Suguru's fingers found the white cat ear. It was delicate and velvety, pink inside — thin skin and cartilage under his fingertips... The sensation was so intimate, so surreal, that Suguru's head spun. Then the ear twitched at his touch — though Satoru showed no sign of waking. Suguru called softly:
"Satoru..."
Satoru just wrinkled his nose. His tail flickered to life, lazily swishing across the bed.
"Hey. Wake up." Suguru ruffled his hair. He needed to figure out this strange situation, and he couldn't do it alone.
"Mmm... five more minutes..." Satoru rasped, clearly not registering where or who he was. He nuzzled into Suguru's palm exactly as he'd done yesterday as a cat, demanding affection. And Suguru couldn't resist petting him again. Satoru's lips curved into a contented smile, eyes still squeezed shut as he soaked up the attention.
"You turned back into a human, Satoru. You know that?" Suguru informed him, fingers threading through his hair, massaging his scalp.
"Really? Good for me," Satoru purred, with the tone of someone who couldn't care less.
Oh, Kami. He was purring again.
"Not all the way, though..." Suguru added.
Now Satoru opened his eyes, and Suguru forced himself to withdraw his hand from those soft locks and ridiculously cute ears...
"What do you mean?" Satoru propped himself up on his elbows, examining his perfectly normal hands. Then he looked down at the rest of his body — and launched himself out of bed like he'd been burned. "What the fuck?!"
He lunged for the mirror, twisting and turning, poking at the alien ears and tail. Suguru was still fighting his own racing pulse and burning cheeks, so he covered his eyes and rubbed his temples.
"For god's sake, put something on," he muttered, sneaking peeks at the play of muscle across Satoru's athletic frame. The ears and tail didn't ruin the view though. Satoru clearly disagreed.
"How am I supposed to go to class looking like this?!" he wailed, ignoring Suguru's request entirely.
"It's temporary I guess," Suguru said, valiantly not staring at Satoru's ass or his long, lean thighs. "The curse just hasn't fully worn off... Actually, explain something. How did you even get cursed in the first place?"
Satoru turned to face him, hands on his hips like he was posing for a photoshoot. Suguru swallowed hard and looked away — out the window, anywhere. Unbelievable. At least Satoru actually looked focused and serious now. Nudity, apparently, bothered him far less than cat accessories.
"I was attacked on a mission." He frowned, piecing together the previous day's events. "They set a trap. I didn't see it coming."
Suguru tensed immediately.
"Attacked? Who dared attack you?"
Satoru shrugged.
"No idea. Guess they're still the type who want my head." He smirked darkly. "As a cat, yeah, they probably could've killed me. But obviously I got away."
Suguru got up and crossed to him, peering anxiously into his eyes.
"Are you okay?" He reached out, smoothing his palms over Satoru's shoulders. "Did they hurt you? Are you in pain?"
He could see no wounds on Satoru's body — hadn't seen any yesterday either — but the attack itself could have...
Satoru's expression softened as he met Suguru's gaze.
"I'm fine. I'm the strongest, remember."
"But they could have—" Suguru's anger was rising. "We need to tell the teachers. I'll find those bastards myself. If they managed to catch you off guard..."
His fingers tightened on Satoru's shoulders, driven by a deep, primal need to never let him go anywhere again — never let him face missions where people hunted his precious, irreplaceable head. This whole cat thing suddenly wasn't funny at all.
"Suguru." Satoru stepped closer, covering Suguru's hands with his own, stroking them gently. "Relax. Everything's fine now. Really."
"We should have gone together on that mission. But you convinced me you could handle it alone."
"Well, I did handle it." He smiled carelessly, flashing a hint of fang.
"No, you didn't. You got cursed."
Suguru sighed and stepped back. Getting angry wouldn't help. No point dwelling on 'what ifs.' They had a new problem now — finding the attackers.
"And put some clothes on already," he grumbled.
Satoru laughed.
"Oh, am I making you uncomfortable?"
"Your tail is making me uncomfortable!" Suguru grabbed a random shirt from the back of a chair and hurled it at Satoru's smug face.
Satoru caught it and pulled on without hesitation.
"You don't like it?" he murmured, a teasing lilt in his voice. "You let me sleep in your bed, after all..."
Suguru felt the heat rising to his cheeks again, traitorously.
"I let you because you were a cat..."
"But I'm still a cat, aren't I? So we're sleeping together again tonight?"
He'd moved from denial to acceptance remarkably fast.
In your dreams, Suguru wanted to say. Instead, he schooled his features into the most neutral expression he could manage and replied:
"Sure."
That seemed to catch Satoru off guard. One eyebrow arched, smile still firmly in place.
"Then I'll hold you to that."
Looking at him now, Suguru couldn't unsee the cat who had so openly demanded his protection and affection just yesterday. And Suguru was ready to give it — all of it. His protection, his tenderness, his very life laid at Satoru's feet.
Any curse can be exorcised, reduced to dust. But there is one curse — the most beautiful and the most terrifying — that lives on even after death. Suguru had fallen victim to it long ago. And he had never once wished to be free.