Chapter Text
Barks, whines, and several other calls erupted from cages, causing Akashi to grimace from the noisy atmosphere. How did Momoi manage to convince him to do this? He thought irritably as he rubbed the crease between his eyes. He sighed as he continued down the hallway, inspecting the animals in their confines. The power of human determination was something he should never underestimate.
A few days ago, Akashi had a small reunion with a few of his companions: Momoi, Midorima, Murasakibara, and Kagami. Though, he wasn’t expecting them to bring extra company. They had all brought along their hybrids, which was an increasingly popular type of pet. Hybrids were humanoid pets whom still retained animal like features such as their tails, ears, and some natural instincts. But with the right training, they could behave like any normal person.
Momoi befriended a panther hybrid and named him Aomine Daiki, who was usually lazy and spoke vulgarly. He dislikes listening to people and has a short temper; however, he is very protective of his friends and family. Aomine still retains his speed, agility, and also his ears and tails.
Midorima had recently adopted a hawk hybrid as his companion and named him Takao Kazunari. He had an easy going and positive personality and likes to get along with anyone. Due to being a hawk hybrid, he is very perceptive and likes heights.
The station where Kagami worked at takes care of a golden labrador hybrid, Kise Ryouta. Just like any other dog, Kise is very friendly towards people and becomes easily attached to those who treat him kindly, though some people complain that he whines a bit too much.
Murasakibara found a stray wolf hybrid named Himuro Tatsuya. Himuro was courteous and has a calm demeanor and is one of the few who could control the taller adult. Though, he also is prideful and dislikes losing.
Momoi noticed that Akashi still didn’t own one and constantly urged him to get one over the past few days. On the fifth day of her reminder, Akashi responded that he would go visit an animal shelter to see if he would like one. After all, having a pet is a large responsibility, and if he did decide to get one, he planned to spend some time bonding with it.
And that’s the reason why he was here now. He had heard that animal shelters had recently started accepting abandoned hybrids, so he decided to check it out first. So far, he had yet to see a hybrid as he continued walking down the hallway full of caged cats and dogs. It wasn’t until his eyes caught a silent cage that he stopped.
Was it empty? No that’s not right, otherwise it would have been filled with other strays. Peeking through the bars of the small confinement, Akashi saw a flash of teal. Cyan orbs continuously stared at heterochromatic ones. The redhead moved closer to take a better look causing the hybrid to panic and squirm deeper into its cage.
Seconds passed before Akashi moved: He entered his finger inside the cage in an attempt to coax the creature into the light. The hybrid inside made no attempt to move; in fact, it stayed in that position as if frozen in place. He didn’t know why, but he felt a certain attraction towards the hybrid inside. Maybe he’ll adopt this one, Akashi mused.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway, causing Akashi to turn toward the source and the the hybrid to shift its defensive stance.
“My name is Riko. May I help you?” It was a volunteer from the shelter. She was a brunette who wore a muddy brown chewed-up apron that was bulging from all of the supplies it carried.
“I was just wondering if I could open the cage. It’s a bit hard to see what’s inside,” Akashi reasoned.
Riko looked at the cage before sympathetically saying, “I’m sorry, but that kid is easily frightened. He was born in a hybrid pet mill, and then sold to an abusive owner. He was recently transferred to this shelter, so he doesn’t feel comfortable with anyone.”
“I see,” Akashi acknowledge the hybrid’s gender. Hybrid pet mills had become a recent problem in terms of animal cruelty. They breed hybrids just for commercial use and prioritize profits over the hybrids’ welfare. They are known for unsanitary conditions and animal cruelty. Even with that knowledge, Akashi wasn’t one to give up. “I was already considering to adopt the hybrid, and I just want to see what he looks like.”
“Are you sure, sir?” She asked hesitantly. “This hybrid is also untamed, so there’s almost no way you can reason with him.”
“I’m sure. Now could you please let me see what he looks like?” Akashi pressed on. The volunteer sighed before taking a leash out of her apron and headed towards the opening of the cage.
“He’s sometimes pretty easy to miss, so I’ll attach the leash onto his collar. Then we’ll go into the behavior room over there,” She informed him as she pointed to one of the doors. “He can become a bit wild, but he doesn’t have that much endurance, so it won’t take too long.”
The cage door creaked as it opened causing the hybrid inside to be alarmed. It wasn’t until she stuck her hand inside that the boy inside cried and yowled. As he shifted out of her attempts to leash him, his body banged against the metal confines as he tried to escape. In the end, Riko successfully managed to leash him and proceeded to take him out of his cage.
Akashi watched the shelter volunteer struggle as she tried holding the boy. Now that he was outside, the redhead was able to identify the child as a cat hybrid. The boy looked no older than 10, but he was probably years younger than that; hybrids don’t age like normal people. His skin was pale, but it was difficult to make out any other interesting features when he continuously moved haphazardly.
In the corner of his eye, Akashi saw something fall, but Riko was too busy with the hybrid to notice. It was a small husky plush. She was already carrying the boy into the room, leaving Akashi outside. Despite the irrational feelings, Akashi thought it was best if he took the toy with him and so he did.
In the room, Riko was still trying to suppress the hybrid’s panic attack. Wailing loudly, the cerulean boy continued to thrash around before eventually escaping the woman’s hold and fleeing towards the safety of the corner. It wasn’t until then that Akashi noticed that the teal haired boy was dressed in only boxers.
His eyebrows furrowed in disbelief and frustration when he inspected the hybrid. Bones protruded against his skin due to malnourishment. Fading hues of purple, brown, red, and even blue garnished pale skin. There were scars of all kinds: uneven ridges made from nails scraping against skin, straight medical incisions that were professionally sewn together, and even burns which had overlapped the intense bruising. It was no wonder the boy was afraid of people.
A loud sigh caught Akashi’s attention as he turned toward Riko. “You see? He’s way too scared,” She huffed irritatedly. Well who could blame her after all of that?
“Thank you for bringing him here. Hopefully I’ll be able to bond with him a little,” Akashi thanked gratefully, earning a sigh from the older woman.
“If you’re so determined to do that, then I might have something that could help,” Riko responded. She was about to leave but turned around and addressed the redhead once more. “You know, you’re not the first who wanted to adopt him, but you’re the first to stay after seeing how unstable he is. His name is Kuroko Tetsuya, and be careful. Even though he looks older, he’s actually a baby.”
And, then she left them alone. Kuroko was restless, whimpering in fear and frantically searching for a way out, while Akashi stayed still, only observing him. Moving slowly, Akashi attempt to approach the cerulean boy and stopped the moment Kuroko flinched or tensed too much. Eventually, Akashi stood a little more than a meter away from the cowering boy.
“...Mew… uh…” A pathetic whimper escaped from Kuroko. He was about to curl into an even tighter ball, until a flash of black and white caught his attention. His eyes were immediately locked onto the plush toy. “...Mew... Meow?...”
Noticing the bluenette’s change in attention, Akashi held the stuffed husky out. “Do you want it?”
“...Mew?” Kuroko’s eyes repeatedly flitted from the redhead and the doll. Suspicious of the man before him, the bluenette’s ears continuously twitched.
“Come and take it. I won’t hurt you,” Akashi cooed gently. He stretched his arm a bit further as encouragement.
“....”
At first, Kuroko didn’t move, but with Akashi’s constant coaxing, the bluenette slowly extended his arm. Even though every sudden movement from the redhead caused the hand to go straight back into safety, Kuroko was able to outstretch his hand fully towards the toy. However, that wasn’t enough. He needed to move in closer, but he didn’t want to: it was scary.
Sensing the bluenette’s hesitance, Akashi decided to help motivate him. He took a step back.
“UWAH!” Both of Kuroko’s hands shot out instinctively, and soon he was on his hands and knees gradually crawling towards the redhead. He found the bluenette’s pursue endearing and continued the cycle all over. Whenever the moment the bluenette got closer, Akashi moved even further back, which then caused Kuroko to slowly crawl after him. It successfully got Kuroko to fear the redhead less, but what Akashi didn’t know was that it caused Kuroko to distress even more.
The bluenette was once again close to obtaining his rightfully deserved plush toy but was once again met with anguish when Akashi moved away… again. Instead of following the redhead, Kuroko just collapsed on the floor and started bawling.
This was not what he expected to happen at all. Akashi hurried to the bluenette’s side and held his shoulders in an embrace. Though, Kuroko didn’t notice him at all and continued crying. Awkwardly holding the limp boy, Akashi tried calming the bluenette down like any mother would to her wailing baby. He held the plush toy in front of the bluenette’s face, but Kuroko showed no sign of want it anymore. In an attempt to soothe the sobbing boy, Akashi tried patting Kuroko on the back, gently rocking him, he even tried using his pinky as a pacifier. All of those attempts had failed, hilariously too since Akashi was panicking.
The door opened and in came Riko with arms full with bags. Although she didn’t expect a lot of progress with their bonding, she was definitely not expecting Akashi to be holding a wailing Kuroko. “What the hell did you do?!”
“Instead of asking me that now, help me calm him down!” Akashi retorted as he changed the bluenette’s position. He continued to rock Kuroko up and down as the bluenette wrapped his arms around Akashi’s neck.
“Here, give him some of this,” She shouted as she tossed a small packet to the redhead. Akashi ripped the small bag and popped the contents into Kuroko’s mouth, successfully stopping the bluenette’s sobbing episode. Though, a few sniffles and teary eyes were still present.
Riko and Akashi gave a sigh of relief the moment he stopped. “Well, that was one heck of a bonding you two did there,” She sarcastically joked.
“... Yeah,” Now that the urgency had disappeared, Akashi inspected the wrapper. “...Vanilla candy?”
“Yep,” Riko stood a few feet away from Akashi and stared at Kuroko’s sleepy face. “I heard that he likes anything vanilla flavored.”
“I can’t believed that was all it took to calm him down,” He sighed in disbelief. Unexpectedly, Kuroko tightened his grip and began rubbing his face into the crook of Akashi’s neck before peacefully dozing off. It was barely audible, but Akashi was able to hear the boy murmur the word “mama” before snuggling closer. After all that had happened, the sleeping face of the bluenette was very rewarding towards the redhead.
“I’m glad he seems very comfortable with you,” She smiled. “So would you like to adopt him now?”
“Let’s go,” And they left the room, with Riko leading and Akashi carrying Kuroko.