Chapter Text
Five days pass and as soon as Yuuji crosses the front door of the patient’s wing the boy is tackled to the ground by a 120kg dog hybrid, squeezing the air out from his lungs with a wheeze.
“S-Satoru?”
Said dog stared at him for a few seconds, nostrils flaring before biting Yuuji's cheek. Hard, but not to rip off his face as he sure could but enough to leave a mark. Before Yuuji can even react he jumps and runs away to his dorm.
“Are you okay?”
Panda, one of the bodyguards of the center appeared as Maki’s screams could be heard at the end of the hallway.
Helping him to stand up, Panda explained what happened.
“Satoru has been acting odd lately. He gets really anxious at this hour of the day and Maki wanted to give him something to calm down, considering he destroyed a couch in the living room yesterday…”
Yuuji pressed his lips in a thin line, feeling responsible for the trouble his assigned case was causing.
“YUUJI, GET YOUR ASS HERE NOW!”
“Fuck.”
- - - - -
Yuuji ran in the direction of Maki's voice, finding Satoru against a corner growling at the syringe in her hand, stopping in a fraction of second when he noticed the human arrived. Feral face changing to a whimpering one with the dexterity of an actor, Satoru started to cry a bit.
“Yuuji! This bi- uh girl is trying to attack me!”
Maki took a deep breath, teeth gritting in anger. She was a dog hybrid as well, a certified hybrid nurse who had handled some of the worst patients of the center. But something about Satoru made her instincts flare up.
“Whatever. You are in charge now. Control him or I'll sedate him for real.”
She walked away, closing the door with a slam, going to do whatever Maki-san did to calm down. Yuuji felt sorry for the trouble his absence had caused, sighing as he stared at Satoru, who climbed on to his bed and stretched, acting as if nothing happened.
“Satoru.”
Said hybrid hummed, resting his head on one arm.
“Did you behave in my absence?"
His smile flickered a bit. Barely a fraction of a second.
“Yes!”
Yuuji crossed his arms. “Did you really?”
Satoru didn’t look Yuuji in the eyes, tracing the bedsheets' wrinkles with one finger.
“...No.”
“Why?” Yuuji took a chair and sat by Satoru’s bed, who licked his lips uneasily. A whole minute passed before Yuuji pressed again. “Satoru.”
“...I wanted to see you. But no one let me go even if I asked! You took too long!”
“That’s why you destroyed a couch?”
“It was Nobara’s fault! She was making fun of me!”
That made Yuuji frown. It wasn’t unusual for Nobara to have a…feisty behavior, even knowing she was dealing with a giant, dangerous fighting dog. Saying that though, she was still smart enough to not make Satoru genuinely angry, so he wondered what happened from her point of view.
The dog hybrid sulked against the pillow, pressing it against his face. Yuuji rubbed circles on his arm.
“Did you apologize to Nobara?”
No response.
“Please?”
He heard a muffled whine before Satoru lifted his head.
“...Fine.”
- - - - -
On their way Yuuji asked Panda for more details, knowing Satoru’s story was a bit too biased to trust. Apparently Yaga-sensei, the director of the center, had already scolded both Satoru and Nobara, giving them the punishment of helping with the repair of the living room. The fight started right after Nobara showed something to Satoru on her phone, causing him to grab the phone and slam it against the floor, breaking it into pieces. The cat hybrid got furious, being her most precious property, scratching him on his forearm. Before anyone realized what was happening the room was a mess or decorations broken, furniture flipped down, scratches and marks up the walls. The poor couch was broken and ripped, and the TV got hit so only half of the screen was working.
“That was Nobara! She threw a flower pot directly to my head! Now I can’t watch any of my movies…” Satoru cried a bit.
“Satoru…What did Nobara show you to make you lose control like that? I know you are better than that.” Yuuji said with genuine concern.
The dog hybrid blushed, ears flat against his head.
“Nothing.”
Instead of pressing him further, he asked Panda for Nobara. She got a few bruises but nothing as bad as Satoru himself, who wasn’t far from an owner of a spicy domestic cat.
- - - - -
They went to talk to the cat hybrid in the workshop area of the center, finding her trying and failing to fix the couch with nails and a hammer. It looked very uncomfortable, the wood structure patched up with nails protruding everywhere, even where you were supposed to sit, and the leather was patched with fabric using glue.
“Yeah, I know. It isn't even worth it as a scratcher.” She huffed as she left the tools in place, giving up the idea of reducing the debt with the center.
Nobara leaned against the work table, facing them both as she waited for what they had to say. She wasn’t scared or angry, more expectant.
“So?”
Yuuji nudged Satoru’s shoulder, encouraging him.
“...” He held his tail between his hands, breathing in deeply. “...I’m sorry. You made me angry but I shouldn’t have attacked you.”
She smiled softly for a second, before sighing. “Sure. My ass still hurts and my manicure is ruined but I know you could’ve killed me if you wanted. I accept your apologies.”
Yuuji stared at her, making her sigh louder.
“And sorry for teasing you. I touched a nerve. My fault.”
The human smiled at them, before remembering something important.
“Nobara, what did you show Satoru on your phone?”
Her tail flicked behind her, betraying her poker face.
“I’m not telling you.”
- - - - -
The next day wasn’t easy. Satoru came and tackled him to the ground, again, under Panda’s supervision, because it was better than making him wait for him somewhere else and risk destroying something. The dog hybrid didn’t bite this time but he sat on Yuuji’s chest as he complained about his day and how exhausted he was to work fixing the wreck he had caused. Of course it was a bluff. Yuuji knows his schedule, which usually starts at 9am and the only obligation he has is attending his class for four hours and then he’s free to do whatever he wants until Yuuji arrives. Maybe, just maybe, Satoru should be busier, so he has less time to annoy other residents and get into trouble.
After he finished they went to the crime scene, where Ijichi-san, the one in charge of the facility maintenance (whose work had increased since Satoru’s arrival) was waiting for them with Nobara.
He explained that everything, broken and whatever got untouched from the fight was moved and the walls got filled by the scratches, so for that day they would need to paint the walls.
Simple.
He gave them some disposable overalls of their sizes to protect their clothes and fur, as well as the paint and tools they needed. He quickly left, and Yuuji couldn’t blame him, because soon the hybrids started to complain of how uncomfortable it was to stick their tails inside the uniform. After that they started with their task, Yuuji giving them instructions and leading each step. More than once he had to scold Nobara for getting distracted with her phone, making Satoru giggle, then Satoru would “accidentally” use the roller with too much paint and splat paint on Nobara’s face. It was a back and forth between the dog and cat hybrid, and Yuuji more than once had to place himself in the middle of an argument.
After half an hour of silence, Yuuji thought peace finally arrived, so he went to grab a few drinks because the girl kept sighing how thirsty manual labor makes her feel.
Not a minute since he left, Nobara snickered at Satoru.
“Stop being a brat, you are a grown mutt.”
The dog gasped.
“I am a purebreed, thank you! I come from an important lineage descending from mountain dogs with skills to hunt and fight. I’m one of the strongest hybrids in Japan for sure!”
“Tsk, whatever.”
Before he could retort, Yuuji came back with two cans of soda and one of strawberry milk.
“You two are behaving, right?”
“Mph.”
“Yeah.”
- - - - -
The trio finished their task and went to take a shower before going for dinner at the common room, being received with chicken and cabbage simmered in milk, drawing delight on both hybrids who quickly sat down on a table alongside Megumi. Yuuji barely had time to remember them to give their thank you before scarfing down their bowls.
Satoru licked his lips, humming with satisfaction. It was warm and a bit sweet, sitting comfortable on his belly after the hard work. He knew it was far from the body strain after a fight, the exhaustion once the adrenaline fades and just got cold meat slop to eat before sleep.
He was getting softer. More sensitive. Too picky. Greedy.
He looked at Yuuji, who looked back at him with a smile.
Feeling his tail wag softly he barked, startling everyone near.
“I want seconds, please!”
Yuuji’s wide eyes blinked twice, before taking Satoru’s bowl and standing up to serve him more soup.
Megumi and Nobara stared at him but said nothing about how the top of his ears were bright pink.