One weekend, Tsuna's house received a slightly odd and unexpected phone call from their vet.
Shamal was unusually cryptic as he recommended that Tsuna get in touch with the Vindice shelter that had visited them not long ago.
Tsuna did so, partly out of curiousity, and partly out of fear of what might happen if he didn't. The fact that they seemed to be expecting him just added to the strangeness.
"There's an animal here we would like to discuss with you at your earliest convenience. Should you find the time please pay us a visit", Jaeger told him down the phone line.
Tsuna fiddled nervously with the business card he'd used to make the call after Nana had shoved it into his hand and insisted he do it himself. "Um, sure, we can do that. Is this afternoon too soon or…?"
"Not at all. Feel free to come straight in. Just give your name at reception and I'll come to meet you."
"Sure, got it. Uh, see you soon then, I guess."
"Until then."
Nana had been hovering in the background as they talked and Tsuna turned to her as he hung up. "They want us to visit. Something about an animal they wanna talk about?" Tsuna relayed uncertainly. He gave the phone a bemused frown, as though more answers would be forthcoming if he stared long enough.
"Oh, my, that sounds interesting", Nana said cheerfully. "I'll grab my coat then."
The outside of Vindice Animal Shelter was kind of dark and gloomy. If Tsuna was being honest it reminded him of a prison, more than anything, and he probably wouldn't have realised it was a shelter if he hadn't already known.
Maybe that's why walking into the reception was such a shock to the system. It was reminiscent of that one flyer. There were cutesy animal posters plastered all over, and one wall was dominated by a very large, very colourful noticeboard overflowing with what appeared to be photos of animals adopted from the shelter itself, as well as flyers for everything from puppy training to bird watch.
The waiting room chairs were as uncomfortable as any other place's, but the atmosphere was bright and welcoming enough to distract you from that.
The giant TV hanging in one corner also helped.
As promised, Jaeger came to meet then less than 5 minutes after they'd walked in.
Nana, in one of her usual shows of whimsy, turned down the offer to go with them and said she'd wait in reception. So a nervous Tsuna went on alone, steered away by Jaeger who either didn't find the situation odd or was reserved enough to hide it if he did.
"We'll be going to the medical wing from here", Jaeger explained as they went further into the compound.
"Is that where the animal is?" Tsuna asked uncertainly.
"It is." Jaeger nodded. "A short while ago we acquired a stray cat. Since one of our regular vets was absent, Shamal was brought in as a consultant and he believed the animal matched descriptions of one you had encountered before. A white bobtail with black patches and heterochromia."
"Oh, yeah, that sounds familiar. How did you catch him?"
They paused in front of a metal door with a long window of diamond patterned glass. Jaeger reached out to open the door for him and Tsuna ducked through with a quick grateful smile.
Jaeger followed after him and the door closed behind them with a heavy sounding thump. He answered while they walked down an aisle of mostly empty cages. "We picked him up from a trap after receiving an anonymous noise complaint."
Tsuna, who had been observing the surroundings, glanced over with a bemused frown. "A noise complaint…?"
Jaeger nodded. "He had been yowling continuously for a number of hours so the caller was concerned about the animal's welfare. The trap itself was set up in the back of a property, the owner of which was reportedly away on vacation. So we're not sure exactly how long he was in there but we assume a day or two at least."
Tsuna made a concerned sound but the conversation stalled as they reached the end of the hallway and another door. Jaeger once again held it open for him.
The room they entered was small but not cramped. This was mostly due to the complete lack of furniture, save for a low stack of uncomfortable looking metal chairs in one corner. There were cages here too, but unlike the hallway behind them, they took up only one of the walls, were smaller, and lined with soft bedding.
If Tsuna hadn't already been told that they were heading for the medical facilities end of the compound, the stark minimalism and overall cleanliness of the place probably would have tipped him off.
Jaeger gestured to the last row of cages at the far end of the room.
Tsuna took a step forward and then paused when he realised that Jaeger wasn't following him. He glanced back nervously in question but Jaeger only nodded silently in encouragement, so he continued walking over on his own.
There was a cat curled up in the middle cage of the very last row.
When Tsuna leaned over to peer through the door, a pair of distinctive, familiar heterochromatic eyes glared out at him.
Tsuna drew a deep breath and sighed. "We meet again", he murmured with a sardonic smile.
One of the cat's ears flicked as they swivelled forwards at the sound of his voice.
"You can confirm then?" Jaeger asked Tsuna. "This is the same cat you saw before?"
Tsuna nodded. "Yeah, this is the one." He turned his head to look at Jaeger. "What's wrong with him? Is it 'cause of being in the trap or…?
Jaeger shook his head. "No. It's because he's not been eating, even after arriving here. That's why he's still in medical. He refuses."
Tsuna frowned in concern and looked back at the cat. "He's not sick or anything?"
"No. Apart from that, physically he's fine. This seems to be more of a mental issue. We believe he's not coping well with a shelter environment, which is not uncommon, but this seems to be a rather severe case." Jaeger tipped his head towards Tsuna. "That's why I was hoping you would agree to foster him."
Tsuna straightened out as he glanced back at Jaeger again, startled. "Us? Foster him?"
Jaeger nodded.
Tsuna frowned. "That might not be a good idea. I already have a cat and he, well, to say he didn't get along with this one would be an understatement." He laughed nervously.
"They've met before?" Jaeger asked curiously.
"They have." Tsuna nodded. "They fought." He shifted his weight and glanced sidelong at the cat in the cage. "Rather violently."
Jaeger hummed in thought but didn't seem deterred. "That's not surprising. Cats are territorial. They may get along better if you were to introduce them gradually, as is recommended whenever introducing a new pet to a household."
"I don't know…", Tsuna said uncertainly.
"Of course you are free to decline" Jaeger reassured, sensing his unease. "I have no intention of forcing the issue. However, I would like you to at least consider it, please. Our regular foster families have already been dissuaded by his hostility and this is the calmest I've seen him since he arrived here."
"It is?" Tsuna asked, bewildered, and turned to look at the cat again. The cat caught his gaze and after a moment it slowly squinted its eyes shut. Tsuna blinked back in surprise. "Huh."
Jaeger asked again, "So, would you consider it?"
"Yeah…" Tsuna agreed slowly, still watching the cat. "I think we will."
Trying to introduce Mukuro to their household was a task and a half. Even Reborn seemed hostile towards him, which was pretty unusual. The only other time Tsuna had seen him so prickly was that day they met Skull and Colonello.
Although, to be fair, Mukuro wasn't doing himself any favours. The cat seemed to enjoy antagonising others. They had him sequester away in the last spare guest room but that didn't stop him from hissing and growling whenever one of the other animals passed by the door. In particular, he liked to wriggle his little black and white feet under the gap at the bottom to swipe at Kyouya, a challenge the black cat never failed to meet.
A few weeks in with little to no progress, Tsuna was starting to wonder if they'd made a mistake.
The thing that kept him trying was the thought of the still underweight cat being sent back to the shelter and going through the same cycle of home to shelter to home and back again until he wasted away, lying in a cage and refusing to eat. Because although Mukuro still couldn't be left in a room with any of the others, he was eating; carefully regulated high calorie foods designed to get him back to a healthier weight.
The cat's medium length fur hid his true size so they hadn't realised how bad things were. Tsuna was shocked when he cautiously tried to pet Mukuro for the first time and he'd been able to clearly feel the ridge of the cat's spine and hip bones.
Now though, Mukuro had started to put some meat on his bones, and had some heft to him when they picked him up whereas before he'd left like almost nothing.
It was great progress, at least on one front.
Tsuna sighed in exasperation as he pried Mukuro away from the door where he'd once again started a swipe-off with Kyoya and scooped the cat into his arms.
"Must you?" he asked the cat.
Purring was his only answer.
Tsuna sighed again but adjusted Mukuro in his arms so he could rub at one of the cat's cheeks with his thumb. He wondered idly if maybe this was the reason they'd made so little progress. He couldn't bring himself to punish any of his pets in any meaningful way. But did it count as encouragement if he was cuddling them all the time anyway?
Tsuna heard Nana giggling from the other side of the door. "Ready Tsu-kun?" she called.
"Yeah", Tsuna called back, and adjusted the cat in his arms again, making sure he had a good hold. "You can open it."
Nana swung the door open from her side and the moment there was a gap big enough for him to squeeze through Kyoya slunk into the room, eyes alert and tail swinging in agitation.
He circled Tsuna twice before he sat down near his feet and glared up at them balefully.
Mukuro let out a quiet noise of challenge.
Kyoya hissed in reply.
Mukuro made another sound and Tsuna watched warily as Kyoya's ears pinned back. He gently jostled Mukuro to get him to quit it before Kyoya decided scaling him to get at the other cat was a good idea. Amazingly, it worked.
Kyoya glared for a few moments longer before he abruptly flopped onto his side. His tail slapped the ground in irritation but this meeting was already going better than all of their previous interactions.
Nana hummed thoughtfully. "It's going well today."
"Mn", Tsuna agreed. He glanced towards the chair set against the wall and decided to try something different.
Kyoya watched keenly as they moved away but he stayed where he was.
Mukuro squirmed a little as Tsuna sat down with him.
Tsuna huffed. "If you think I'm putting you down you've got another thing coming."
He cautiously shifted the cat so that he was settled on his lap but still in a position where Tsuna could easily grab him again if he tried to jump off. After a few tense moments Tsuna concluded that Mukuro wasn't going to try to escape. He glanced between the two cats.
"There, not so bad is it."
Kyoya flicked an ear and rolled onto his other side.
Mukuro purred as Tsuna started petting him.
Maybe this wouldn't be impossible after all.
A/N:
Mukuro: japanese bobtail
Hibari: domestic shorthair