106"Mukuro!" Tsuna yelped in surprise. It was a reaction he felt he had a lot around this particular animal.
He had just gotten off the bus on his way home from school and as the vehicle rolled away it revealed his cat, standing on the opposite side of the street.
Mukuro knew full well he wasn't supposed to leave the property, yet here he was, casual as you please. The cat chirped, unrepentantly cheerful as he trotted across the road to meet him.
Tsuna frowned down at Mukuro as the cat bumped into his shins and twinned around his legs. "You know you're not meant to be out here," he admonished even as he crouched down to run a hand down Mukuro's spine in greeting. Tsuna sighed. "What am I gonna do with you."
Mukuro purred as he placed his front paws on Tsuna's thigh and stretched up to ram his head under his chin.
"Bghf." Tsuna narrowly avoided biting his tongue.
"AH!"
Both Tsuna and Mukuro jumped at the sudden shout from down the street and Tsuna flinched twice over as the cat's claws dug in on reflex. When they turned to look for the source of the disturbance they found a pair of students in a uniform Tsuna vaguely recognised from somewhere but couldn't place. One of the students, a blonde haired boy with a pretty wild appearance, had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk while he pointed emphatically in their direction.
Tsuna gently nudged Mukuro back before he rocked cautiously to his feet and grabbed the strap of his messenger back.
The other student, a tall dark haired boy with a beanie and a deadpan expression, sighed as he tapped his friend's extended arm. "Ken, pointing is rude."
"That's Mukuro-san!" the blonde boy, Ken, shouted in answer.
Tsuna's glanced between them and his cat with round eyes. He licked his lips nervously as the students got closer. "Y-You know Mukuro?"
"Yeah, we do." Ken scowled at Tsuna as though offended he had to ask in the first place. "We named him."
Tsuna blinked in surprise. "You did?"
"Yeah!" Ken snapped, making Tsuna cringe back.
"Ken," his friend sighed again and then explained for Tsuna. "This cat used to hang around our house when he was a kitten. I guess he remembered us 'cause when we saw him again at the shelter we volunteer at, we were the only ones who could get near him, so they let us name him."
Tsuna perked up in interest. "Would that shelter happen to be Vindice?"
The beanie kid nodded.
"Huh." What a funny chain of coincidences. "Why 'Mukuro'?" Tsuna asked curiously.
Beanie kid glanced at the cat and smiled faintly. "He used to leave us a lot of dead mice and stuff."
And stuff… Tsuna decided not to ask.
"Plus it sounds cool!" Ken butted in, scowling as he crossed his arms. "Why is Mukuro-san with you?"
"Um," Tsuna said, "well, he's mine? I mean, ours. He's our cat."
Ken's eyes widened and he leaned forwards, looming over Tsuna. "You adopted him?" he asked, kind of intense.
Tsuna nodded and tried to subtly lean back.
Ken and his friend exchanged a weighted look before Ken turned back to Tsuna. "The only reason we didn't take him in is 'cause our hardass landlady doesn't allow pets," he said and narrowed his eyes dangerously. "So you better be taking damn good care of him."
"Oh," Tsuna said in understanding and glanced down at Mukuro. He smiled as he glanced back up and met Ken's glare straight on. "Don't worry, I am."
Ken held his gaze, measuring the weight of his sincerity before he clicked his tongue and looked away. "Good."
Having gained their approval, Tsuna leaned down to scoop Mukuro into his arms. "Anyway, sorry but I need to go," he said, planning to leave, though after he straightened up he paused when he noticed the startled looks they were giving him. "Um."
"He lets you pick him up?" beanie kid asked softly, half question and half stunned observation.
"Well," Tsuna glanced at the cat in his arms, "yeah?"
Beanie kid seemed to shake himself out of it and ducked his head in a shallow bow. "We leave him in you care," he said, oddly formal, and nudged his friend as he turned to leave. "Come on, Ken."
"Yeah," Ken said distractedly but followed after beanie kid, glancing back as he went.
Tsuna watched them leave, bemused. That whole encounter had been weird from start to finish.
Mukuro's claws lightly pricked him as he kneaded his arm.
"Right." Tsuna shook his head. "Let's go home."
The rainy season was certainly living up to its name, Tsuna thought with a sigh, propping his chin up on the heel of his palm.
He had been planning to meet Kyoko and the others in town but they'd had to cancel at the sudden onset of this storm – the result of a typhoon just off the nearest coast. It was summer break right now so they hadn't seen each other in a while and everyone had been looking forwards to caching up. It was disappointing that they couldn't but this was just bad luck. There was always next time.
At least Lambo seemed to be having fun. Tsuna snorted in amusement as he spotted the calf sticking his head out the open top half of the barn door and trying to catch the rain dripping down with his tongue.
A particularly violent gust of wind blew a fresh sheet of rain against Tsuna's bedroom window. Tsuna lazily watched the path of the resulting rivets as his gaze trailed down and out to the yard again.
An animal of some kind darted out from the garden and towards the house, disappeared from view again as the eaves of the roof blocked his sight.
Tsuna sat up at attention, blinking rapidly in surprise from what he'd just seen.
To be honest, he was already pretty used to running into random animals at this point. But for one to be out in this weather was unusual, and worrying.
Whatever the circumstances, it was obviously looking for shelter and he wasn't going to ignore it.
Takeshi, who had been taking a nap nearby, made a curious sound when Tsuna suddenly stood up. The dog turned his head to watch him as he hurried across the room for his house slippers.
"There's a guest outside," Tsuna said absently and then squeaked as he nearly unbalanced trying to pull his left shoe on.
Colonello poked his head around the doorway with a soft bark for attention.
Tsuna straightened up. "Did you see them?"
Colonello nodded and backed out of the way to let him from the room. He followed after Tsuna as he headed for the stairs and descended.
Tsuna paused thoughtfully once they reached the hallway and made a quick detour to the linen closet. Gathering what he thought he'd need, he then turned to the patiently waiting Colonello and gestured with an armful of towels. "Which way?"
Colonello wuffed softly and trotted in the direction of the living room.
They made their way up to the sliding doors leading to the back yard and Tsuna looked out in the direction Colonello indicated with a tilt of his head.
There was a dog on the far corner of the porch, curled up in a tight ball and visibly shivering with its long white and pale brown fur absolutely soaked through. Tsuna made a sympathetic sound and dumped the towels on the floor before opening the door.
The dog's rain drenched head jerked up and it whipped around to stare at him with wide eyes.
Tsuna froze and then raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Hey," he spoke softly, trying not to startle it further while he slowly lowered to his knees. "Would you like to come in?"
The dog ducked its chin and eyed him nervously. Its gaze flickered to Colonello when he leaned out as well.
Tsuna placed his hand on top of Colonello's head and glanced between the two. He gave the dog on the porch an encouraging smile.
"No tricks, promise. I'd just like to get you dry and you can stay for as long or as short as you like. That's all." Tsuna beckoned. "Please, come in?"
He waited patiently and was rewarded when the after a moment of regard the dog stood up and slowly began to make its way over.
Tsuna smiled again and nudged Colonello to move him. The dog obliged with a huff and Tsuna shuffled awkwardly back through the doorway. He sat on the living room floor and crossed his legs as the small dog stopped uncertainly in the entrance.
Colonello leaned over and passed Tsuna one of the towels.
"Thanks," he murmured and held the towel open in invitation. "Come on then," he called to the smaller dog.
The animal took another moment to scan the room before it stepped forwards, hesitated slightly, and then finished its journey over the threshold.
Tsuna carefully telegraphed his movements as he wrapped the dog up and then began to scrub vigorously with both hands. The dog's body swayed with the force of the actions but it accepted the treatment without fuss. When Tsuna moved onto its legs it even shifted to accommodate him, obligingly lifting up its damp little feet.
It took a bit of work and two thoroughly dampened towels but eventually the dog was dry enough for Tsuna's satisfaction and he leaned back with a nod. "Better."
He grinned when the dog glanced up at him and wagged its feathery tail in agreement.
Rain. Again. The sound of it was all around him.
It was thundering against the sidewalk, bouncing off the canvas of his umbrella overhead, and hitting the bus stop sign next to him with a light metallic tinkling.
The sun had set not long ago but besides the occasional car or two there was no one else to be seen. It was just him, and his umbrella, and the rain.
The sky was clouded over and pitch-black but the street was well lit and Tsuna felt oddly serene, standing alone in the rain at night, waiting for the bus. At their old house, everything had been more or less within walking distance so this was a first for him and the somewhat novelty of the experience made it more fun than one might've thought.
He twirled his umbrella slowly, gazing up at the opaque top and watching the shadows of water droplets run together.
A flash of movement in the dark caught his eye and Tsuna lowered his head, peering curiously across the street.
He then ended up staring disbelievingly as a large, white, three-legged cat crept out from the bushes. It paused, swivelling its head from left to right, clearly checking for cars before it darted out into the road and headed his way.
Tsuna's eyes widened in surprise - the cat could move amazingly fast for an animal that was missing a limb.
He shifted his hold on his bag of groceries and warily watched the cat's approach. He was honestly prepared to make a run for it if needed but it couldn't hurt to wait and see. His luck with animals seemed to be on the up lately after all.
The cat made straight for him and slowed to a quick trot as is got closer. Tsuna barely refrained from jumping back, surprised again when it didn't stop and instead crowded up against his legs, quickly hunkering down in the space between his feet and curling in tight. The poor thing was absolutely drowned and looked quite miserable for it. Tsuna could already feel the water from its long, bedraggled fur soaking through the material of his pants.
A shiver worked though him and Tsuna carefully shifted his footing, stepping back just enough to not bump the cat with his legs as he crouched down to give it better coverage with the umbrella.
"Hey," he greeted. "Awful weather we're having, huh?"
The cat turned its head to eye him and flicked one of its damp ears unhappily.
Tsuna gave a friendly smile. "If you're looking for better shelter you could come home with me for tonight," he invited, shifting his hold on the umbrella as a small gust of wind made it wobble above them.
The cat gazed back at him for a long moment before it turned its head dismissively. It stayed exactly where it was though, so Tsuna didn't take that as an outright 'no.'
After a while the distant rumble of a vehicle broke through the quiet of the night and Tsuna tipped the umbrella back just enough to glance down the road. The glare of headlights shone through the gloom, reflecting off the wet surface of the tarmac and illuminating the front of the bus.
Good, his calves had been starting to get sore.
Tsuna gave the cat a contemplative glance before he carefully propped his umbrella against his shoulder and reached for his jacket.
The sound of the zipper had the cat looking back at him again and it went still at the sight of his jacket opened in obvious invitation.
"So…" Tsuna said leadingly, nodding his chin at the gap. "Now or never."
The cat gave him another inscrutable look before it stood up and turned towards him.
Tsuna smiled happily and shifted forwards onto his knees, not particularly minding as they became soaked from the ground. He was planning to take a bath when he got home anyway. He held the bottom of his jacket close to his body in preparation.
The cat eyed him, tilting its head and clearly contemplating logistics before it placed its paw on his thigh and stretched up. It ducked its head into the gap and then pushing off, letting itself tumble in. The cat ended up curled up on its back, pressed against his front and partially supported by his thighs.
Tsuna kept using one arm to cradle the cat while he wriggled the other hand free by letting the shopping bag slip down to his wrist so he could zip up. He then took hold of his umbrella again, still carefully balanced on his shoulder, and clicked the release as he gingerly stood up.
"Off we go then," he murmured, and hailed the bus by raising the partially closed umbrella.
The driver gave him an odd look, suspiciously eyeing the very obvious lump in his jacket before letting it go with a shake of his head and waving them on.
There was only one other person on the bus; a little old lady with perfectly styled hair and a bright multi-coloured raincoat who smothered a smile behind her hand at the sight of him and glanced out the rain streaked window.
Tsuna flushed self-consciously and ducked his head as he passed her, headed to the very back to settle in.
He propped his umbrella on the seat beside him and let the grocery bag rest on the floor, held in place between his feet, then lightly placed his hand over the lump in his clothes.
"Alright in there?" he whispered, watching the blurry scenery as they began to move.
The inside of the glass was fogged over and it was too dark to see much besides, but every now and then a lamp-post or set of headlights would illuminate the street enough to catch sight of houses and trees and such in passing.
The cat stayed silent at his question but shifted slightly. It tapped its single front paw against his chest and then left it in place, curling its claws just enough to grab the fabric of his shirt without pricking skin before letting go.
Tsuna took that as a 'yes' and smiled slightly, smoothing his hand down the cat's side and cradling it with both arms for the ride.
When Tsuna passed the living room he stopped and did a double-take at the cat lounging on the back of their couch like it owned the place. He'd never seen it before in his life and he was pretty sure he would have remembered if he had. It was absolutely huge - so much so that the only way for it to lie comfortably on the spine of the couch was to sprawl out with one of its hind legs dangling over the side, like a leopard on a tree-branch. Also, it had the angriest resting face he'd seen on any cat ever, bar maybe Grumpy Cat himself.
The black and brown tabby glowered up at him with reddish-brown eyes. Its tufted ears swivelled in his direction while the end of its fluffy striped tail ticked in agitation at some unknown slight.
Tsuna blinked back at the cat in utter bemusement and glanced around, wondering where it had come from. God help them if the others animals stumbled upon the intruder. He could all too vividly imagine what a disaster that would be.
Nana's arrival drew both of their attention as she entered the room from behind Tsuna. "Oh," she said, "you've met Xanxus then."
"'Xanxus'?" Tsuna repeated, pivoting to address her.
Nana smiled and shifted the washing basket on her hip. "Yup! Apparently he belonged to one of your father's co-workers but unfortunately they couldn't look after him anymore, so Iemitsu had him sent over."
Tsuna frowned at the vague explanation. He glanced over his shoulder at the cat and found it staring back at him, intently watching their conversation.
Tsuna shook his head and turned back to his mother. "Is this gonna happen often?" he asked incredulously, quickly working his way up to indignation.
It might sound a little hypocritical of him to be reacting this way -what with his own track record of picking up strays- but this was different. At least when he did it there was an opportunity for Nana to tell him 'no'. The presumptuousness of this whole thing rankled.
Nana smiled in the cat's direction and hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think so," she said, not seeming to have any issues with the situation. "How often could something like this happen anyway?"
Tsuna pressed his lips into a thin line and sighed through his nose, silently relenting. She had a point and he didn't want to start an argument over this, especially since his mother wasn't the one in the wrong here. Besides, he could admit, what was one more animal at this point?
"He is a very handsome cat though, isn't he?" Nana said as she walked around Tsuna towards the couch.
Handsome… was not really the first word that came to mind but she wasn't wrong.
Tsuna watched nervously as Nana reached out and ran a hand down the cat's fluffy side. Her fingers visibly sank into its plush fur. The way the cat's eyes narrowed and its tail slapped the side of the couch made Tsuna briefly fear for the safety of her arm but thankfully the cat allowed the contact. Tsuna sighed silently in relief as Nana continued on to sit on the opposite end of the couch, un-mauled, and began to sort through the washing.
"While you're here, Tsu-kun. Could you do the socks, please?" Nana asked, not looking up from what she was doing.
"Um." Tsuna looked between the open space on the couch and the cat just above it. He swallowed. "Sure…"
Xanxus's head turned to follow Tsuna as he circled the couch and perched nervously right on the edge of the cushions. The back of his neck prickled from where he could feel the cat's unnervingly intense gaze. Tsuna had never done laundry while feeling like he was being held at gun point before but he guessed there was a first time for everything.
"Thank you, Tsu-kun." Nana smiled as she handed over the first of the socks to fold.
Tsuna smiled back wanly. "No problem."
Of course, in this household, even a task as peaceful and mundane as folding washing couldn't stay that way for long.
"MROW!"
Tsuna shrieked at the window rattling-ly loud meow that came with no warning. His most recently folded pair of socks went sailing across the room and even Nana jumped.
"My goodness-"
They both turned to see what the cause of the fuss was and found Squalo standing in the doorway, frozen in place, fluffed up like he'd been electrocuted with his tail standing straight in the air. His eyes were locked onto Xanxus - pupils dilated with shock.
"What's wrong Squ-chan?" Nana cooed, recovering quickly. "What an awfully loud meow that was."
No kidding, thought Tsuna.
Xanxus seemed to agree, looking just as unhappy with the disturbance as they were as he gave an astonishingly emotive hiss, ears pinned back.
Tsuna eyed both of the cats incredulously. He'd never heard a domestic cat make a sound anything close to either of the ones they'd just let out. He knew from the moment he laid eyes on Xanxus's grouchy, grouchy face that there was going to be some drama in the future, but he hadn't thought it would happen so soon.
Squalo hissed back at Xanxus.
Tsuna tensed, ready to leap between them if need be, despite having flashbacks to the last cat fight he'd intervened in and how poorly that had ended for him. But thankfully it wasn't needed. Neither of them made any moves to actually start fighting. They just glowered and growled at each other from across the room for a long tense moment before Xanxus turned his head dismissively.
Shortly after, Squalo unfroze at last and paced around the couch. Xanxus gave another quiet hiss when the white cat leapt up onto the couch between Nana and Tsuna, which Squalo returned.
Tsuna pet Squalo, half to sooth him and half to try and keep him in place. "No fighting. Please, no fighting," he muttered.
Nana giggled and went back to the washing.
Squalo circled on the spot, arching into Tsuna's hand before he settled down against the side of his leg.
Tsuna sighed and also went back to the last of the socks.
Never a dull moment.
AN:
Mukuro: japanese bobtail
Squalo: norwegian forest cat
Basil: shetland sheepdog
Xanxus: maine coon (a few people already called this lol)