satoru feasting on his remains, the penthouse a wreck. paired w a difficult personality and the expensive needs of a high calibre breed, no normal person out there could possibly want him. but yuuji, frequent hybrid foster parent, sees him exactly for what he is:

a too young cub trapped at home with the body of his deceased owner, desperate to survive with no other choice before being shoved into the system. yuuji takes satoru in. it’s easy enough with government allowance, plus with yuuji’s mountain of experience, authorities

were more than happy to let satoru go if only at least for a little while. now satoru, despite 24 years of living, could probably be mistaken for less than a child with the way he acts. fuck baths, fuck the food, fuck the clothes, fuck the toys too actually.

but fuck itadori yuuji most of all. the poor son of a bitch is just barely hitting the minimum of his needs, and the way he looks at him, like hes some pitiful wretch that needs all the help he can get, makes him sick. who does he think he is? satoru could easily kill him.

and boy does satoru remind yuuji of this everyday- snarling when he gets close, swiping at any skin he can reach, never showing an ounce of vulnerability. after 3 weeks of attempting to get close, yuuji decides to switch tactics and leave him alone, letting the hybrid approach

only when he wants to, going off of what satoru himself initiates. act nonchalant, put zero pressure on his shoulders to be neither “good” nor “bad”. yuuji lets satoru observe what hes doing according to his own comfort, leaving food on the table for satoru to take as he likes.

the amount of direct interactions have lessened considerably since, but it proves to work as satoru seems interested in him now, even if from afar. his piercing blue eyes are always on yuuji, tail swaying- a predator lying in wait (though he hides the moment yuuji looks back).

their dynamic of merely…existing together goes on for a while, satoru having adjusted enough for yuuji to even talk to him sometimes without the other snapping at him. though…yuuji might have overestimated his progress after all. he didnt think much of it at the time-

he simply had things to do, people to meet, and would be back late. he didnt think satoru would care nor ask and so never warned him of it, yuuji’s only sign being to leave some extra food behind and that was that. so when the door clicks open, yuuji doesn’t expect to be slammed

into the wall, and then the floor, fully grown hybrid weight planted on his chest with sharp feline claws slightly digging into the skin of his neck enough to sting. “s-satoru?” yuuji winces, “whats wrong—” “where were you? where the /fuck/ were you?” satoru growls,

barely comprehensive. his electric blue eyes are the only things yuuji can discern in the dark- he hadn’t even turned the lights on yet. “were you gonna leave me here? huh?!” satoru slams him on the wooden floor once more for good measure, hard enough that yuuji is starting to

feel lightheaded from those 3 hits alone. take it from him- hes not an easy guy to overpower like this. “i knew it. i fucking knew it,” the hand on yuuji’s neck tightens, and instinctively he grabs at the thick wrist choking him, killing him, and thats when yuuji feels it.

“i should’ve just killed you the moment i got here,” satoru spits. “youre useless. all of you are. irresponsible, uncaring. you leave when you want-” “s’toru,” yuuji rasps, the most he can do with the pressure ‘round his neck, a slight tremor to its fingers that shows itself

despite all the righteous displays of anger. “you were scared weren’t you?” the sentence shocks the hybrid to loosen his hold ever so slightly. “what.” “m’sorry,” yuuji murmurs, dizzy with the lack of oxygen, the pain in his head. he’ll pass out, probably. still, he

reaches around to pet at satoru’s back to the best of his ability. “m’here now. s’okay. it’s oka-” the oxygen rushing to yuuji’s brain has him gasping as satoru scrambles to get away from him. immediately yuuji is coughing, retching, clutching his stomach with every

lungful of air he’d been deprived. he’s gasping. and around the corner, satoru disappears. since then, satorus been…clingier? at least, he checks rooms yuujis been in, waits by his plate for food, and hes been more likely to approach, going as far as to sit next to the couch.

it’s a huge improvement for sure, but it’s a different feeling of ‘warming up’ compared to his other fosters. satoru just…watches. and watches. and watches. careful curiosity now instead of resentment, that fight or flight instinct. yuuji shrugs his shoulders. perhaps satoru’s

apologetic about the whole almost-killing-his-caretaker thing. which isn’t a big deal— yuuji’s known he wasn’t capable of actually killing anyone. he hopes it doesn’t weigh on the hybrid too bad, being as friendly as possible now that satoru isn’t as jumpy as before.

though a new development has also been added to his repertoire of odd behaviours. satorus been scratching at the door in the middle of the night, begging permission to be let in before sitting in the corner, awake and far away from yuuji as possible. this, is new. it also makes

it harder for yuuji to fall asleep. satoru doesnt even stay the night- running out the door with a bang the moment yuujis breathing slows, tithering the edges of dreamland. and then- yuuji hears- feels soft breathing by his ear and an even softer tail brushing against his hand.

“satoru…?” yuuji murmurs into the dark, eyes slowly shifting open to see two perfect moonlit circles of blue staring right at him. his silver hair, the fur along his back, are just barely brushed with light too. “…yuuji,” satoru whispers. “mm?” “you’re sleeping right?”

yuuji’s brows furrow in silent question. “yes..?” “/just/ asleep?” ah. yuuji understands now. “yes, just asleep.” his answer is sure this time, firm. grounded. it seems to be enough for the hybrid however as wordlessly, he climbs into yuuji’s bed, shoving him further against

the wall before curling into himself for as much as physically possible into the much smaller human’s side. half awake, barely conscious, yuuji assumes hes dreaming. there is no world that exists wherein the traumatised, aggressive, anxious, /cantankerous/ snow leopard hybrid

hes taken in could possibly tolerate him enough to sleep soundly by yuuji’s side. there is no world except, apparently, for this one. once again yuuji’s arm, trapped between the mattress and his hybrid, uses all its effort to reach for satoru’s back, petting at him.

this does it, yuuji thinks hazily. satoru is definitely a foster fail. [end ♡]

// this was super rushed but does anyone get the vision. oh the horror of being young and eating the first and only person who’s taken care of you after being trapped w their corpse. oh the horror of being a monster ever since, for so long that you start believing it. i basically

wanted a traumatised gojo. for anyone who didn’t get the ending bit, satoru wants to cuddle but is reminded of how…Not Alive yuuji looks while asleep :’) also ik it’s weird that hes old but still fostered but think of him less as part human and more like those parrots that live

very long. there is no concept of maturing, just instinct combined w human intelligence if ykwim..ik i said i’d continue the boxer au but :P GIVE ME A SEC IM WORKING ON IT KDJDKJD