Dog Bones and Rain

The Dog?

Hey all! The finished redo of the first chapter is here :')  I hope you enjoy. Comment and let me know what you think!
 
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     There was an old fairy tale that Watari had told Yahaba when they were younger.

Though childish it is still one of his personal favorites. Not because of the stereotypical 'good' ending, or the battles itself- it was the premise that the story surrounded itself with. The theory that shifters were just like humans.

Yahaba remembered listening to his best friend excitedly ramble on and on about how the princess was saved by the mighty hero, slaying each monster that dared to trample along their path. How the man was gentle and caring with her despite his rough exterior. Even with the scars and ragged clothing, underneath all of the blood and hostility there was really a being that cared enough to risk his life for the one he loved.

The very end the hero revealed himself to be a wolf shifter to the princess. And she didn't even mind. What could stop true love? After all, he had saved her. He had gone through so much just for her. And not once had he harmed her. That was all the proof she needed to know he was the one.

Yahaba was fascinated by the idea. They were so different he thought, media and television programs all portrayed them as unnatural. That they cared only about each other and disregarded human law. His parents had firmly insisted that they were not to be trusted.

It made his world spin around in place at the young age of 8, clutching the volleyball to his chest as he urged Watari to tell another one. Watari's outspoken views on them being equal and the story only fueled his curiosity.

As a result Yahaba had slowly learned to accept shifters. It was his and Watari's secret to keep from their parents, a pinky promise that they would never break.

If only changing others mind's was that easy.

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A loud crack of thunder startled Yahaba as he trudged to the couch, nearly spilling his hot tea on his sweater. He scowled and brushed the front of his chest with a free hand, sitting carefully on the plush cushions with a sigh. The sudden downpour was normal to him at this point. Seems moving into the city made the rain come with it. Just an hour prior he had been laying his laundry on the terrace rail to dry when his phone pinged to let him know.

Another rumble shook his small apartment, making the glass bottles along his windowsill give a little tinkering noise in the otherwise quiet room. Yahaba took a moment to sip his tea listening to the rainfall.

Perhaps he should take the glass decorations down from there he thought. Storm season was picking up. It would be a shame for Daichi's gifts to tumble off and shatter. But the colored glass looked so nice when the sun was shining through them, dappling the floor and walls with a pretty red and golden glow.

Yahaba shrugged and picked up his phone off the coffee table. If one of them fell then he would consider it. They seemed to be doing just fine at the moment.

He scrolled through his feed for a while until he came to a halting stop, seeing his work had posted a new photo. He worked at a small cat cafe as a barista near home. It was a cozy little place that paid the bills reasonably. Yahaba slowly grimaced. Of course. The photo was of a scruffy looking black cat, sitting proudly beside a not amused tan calico. The black cat was ever a fan favorite, the comments gushing on how much they loved him. People came in to see him more often than not.

One comment read: "came in the other day and he crawled right in my lap. such a well behaved kitty :') "

He would never understand why. Kuroo was a brat. Kenma was surely more well behaved than that heathen. Even Lev for goodness sake. Always insisting on being held and then getting grumpy when you tell him to get off the barista counter. That's why he was a dog person.

Cats should not be on the counter. It was a rule Yahaba firmly believed in. As cute as he could be sometimes it was just unsanitary.

But rules don't apply to Kuroo, do they?

A loud, heavy thud sounded from outside and he startled again, what was left of his tea spilling onto the cushion he was holding. Yahaba sighed heavily.

Throwing the cushion near the laundry room as he stood, the young man stretched leisurely before going to his sliding door. He squinted to see the source of the noise through the dark storm.

There was a flash of bright lightning that illuminated the small platform and an object. A large object. Laying in the middle of the concrete. Yahaba arched a perfect eyebrow in confusion. "Trash?" he muttered.

Bracing himself for the whipping cold and rain the man slowly slid the door open. The noise made a low, creaking whine.

It moved.

Yahaba shrieked and shut the door nearly slamming his foot in the process. Hold the fuckin' phone- Why was it moving. Was it an animal? Was it a person? Wait no, it was too small to be a person. An animal. Right? Right.

Slightly freaked out, Yahaba watched as it slowly stood, another flash of lightning illustrating the features of said being.

A dog. It struggled to get up, leaning heavily against the wall to brace itself.

Yahaba stared. He flicked the terrace lamp on and watched as it looked wildly around, ears flattened against it's skull. It couldn't see due to the pelting rain, blinking water out of its eyes. How in the hell did it get up here? Yahaba felt his heart clench as he watched the animal. It looked hurt.

Against better judgment, Yahaba slowly creaked the door open again. It was a dog. They like humans. Usually. Hopefully. God don't let this be a mistake. But he couldn't just leave it there.

"Hey buddy," he called over the wind. The dog flinched and glared in his direction. "What- uh, whatcha doin'?" The dog of course didn't answer. It stood its ground and gave him a look that almost dared him to come closer.

"I won't hurt you." He tried to sound soothing. He held out a hand slowly. "It's alright."

The dog looked up at the dark sky, to his hand, and down at its paws. Yahaba felt a weird sense. It looked as though the dog was actually debating on it. Or maybe it just had rain in its eyes. What seemed like minutes went by as he waited.

Yahaba sighed and retracted his hand. His patience was starting to run thin. "Look. You're cold, I'm cold, my house is getting cold, so why don't you come inside already." The dog flinched at the commanding tone and whipped its head to look at him.

A few seconds passed and to Yahaba's surprise it worked. As the dog slunk cautiously closer Yahaba slid the door even wider to allow it to pass without brushing against his leg. He savored his leg being attached thank you very much.

Once inside Yahaba slowly realised this could indeed be a bad mistake, but the tired expression on the dog's face told him that it wasn't going to do anything anytime soon. Water from its thick coat dripped onto his now wet wooden floor, the tired blink a telltale sign that the warmth from the room was making it drowsy. If the dog wasn't used to humans it would have bitten his head off already.

"Uh, stay. Right there." Yahaba put a hand out to signal, unsure if the dog understood basic commands. It blinked at him. Well. He will take that as an okay. Yahaba came back quickly with a large towel. "C'mere doggy."

As he approached with the towel the canine suddenly growled taking a step back, head low. The stance was one of fear. Yahaba frowned and retracted. "I'm gonna dry you off asshole, you're getting water all over my apartment." Before the dog could react he flopped the towel on its body and started to scrub thoroughly. The dog was stiff underneath his hands.

Once finished he took a step back, smiling. "See! There you are. Nice and dry." Chucking the towel on top of the puddle that had formed, Yahaba crossed his arms.

The dog licked it's chops with an annoyed snort, sniffing the air around them with a furrowed brow. It was weirdly... expressive. Yahaba pursed his lips. It was a boy for sure. What breed was he? It's fur was thick and plush soft, a light tan with subtle black smudges on its face and back. It's brown eyes were almost golden like dark honey, searching the house but not yet moving. He was about the size of a fairly large malamute.

He was a beautiful dog. Yahaba felt slightly bad. Someone must be heartbroken knowing their dog was missing. It had to be a housepet, judging by the solid muscle and weight it carried. Well fed and probably loved somewhere else. How in the hell did it happen to get on his balcony? He was on the lowest floor sure- but it was a decent climb to get up.

The dog suddenly paced forward towards Yahaba, and he blinked. "Hmm?" He hummed, squatting down, holding his hand out for it to sniff. "You hungry?" The dog looked up with a prick of his tall ears, eyes slightly brighter.

"I'll take that as an affirmative," he laughed.

Yahaba rummaged throughout his house with the dog at his heels, reading boxes and packages wondering if the dog was able to eat any of it. He had never owned a dog before. They like meat, right? Opening the fridge he brought out deli packs of salami and ham. He held them out for it to sniff.

The dog took a paw and swiped the salami. Yahaba felt his heart skip a beat, holy shit- this dog was smart. Kinda freaky. But also cool. Mostly freaky. "Okayy then. Salami it is."

Watching the dog eat, Yahaba bit his lip in thought. Tomorrow was his day off luckily. Otherwise he wasn't sure what to do with a dog in his apartment for hours. He should make flyers maybe. Take a couple pictures and post them to see if it's owner could be found. The dog was easily recognizable by its unique coat. Surely someone knew who it belonged to.

Yahaba took his phone out and checked the time. It read 1:25 AM. It was later than he thought. He would sleep and call Daichi in the morning on what to do. Filling a bowl with water in the sink he placed it near the kitchen for the dog to drink.

The dog finished eating seemingly content to pad around the small house, sniffing and observing its surroundings. Yahaba followed to make sure it wasn't going to chew on anything it wasn't supposed to. Considering Oikawa's pomeranian he knew they liked to do that.

It found the couch and leaped up, circling twice, before flopped down heavily on top of the cushions with a sigh. "Well make yourself at home, sure, be my guest sir." Yahaba deadpanned and turned off the light. "Just don't mess shit up." He laughed.

The dog snorted. Again. Freaky. But he decided to ignore it for now. He waved to the dog with a smile. "Night doggy. See you in the morning." It lifted his head.

It's tail gave two taps against the sofa in response, the most friendly Yahaba had seen it yet. The weird feeling tingled through him as he closed his bedroom door, running a hand through his hair. 

Weird.