Chapter Text
Yuuji hated waking up early since the day he was born. Whether it was for school or a job, he absolutely dreaded hearing his alarm blasting in his ears at the crack of dawn. However, today he was waking up early for a different reason.
He was moving to Tokyo.
After his grandfather, Wasuke, fell ill due to his cancer diagnosis, he didn’t have much of a choice. Wasuke had been transferred to one of the hospitals in Sendai, near Tokyo, to undergo further tests and treatment, and there was no telling when he would be discharged home. Despite his grumbling protests to stay in Sendai, Yuuji wanted to be close by for the time being rather than traveling back and forth to see Wasuke when he could.
The 5-hour drive felt agonizingly long, except for the brief stops Yuuji made for gas or food. Once he pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex, he shut the engine off and took a moment to take in a small breath. Yuuji tapped his fingers on the steering wheel before gazing into the passenger seat, leaning forward to see his cat curled up inside his carrier. He smiles softly.
“We’re finally here, Suguru. Wake up, buddy.” He coos, and his smile brightens when he hears a quiet mrow in response. Opening his car door, the pink-haired boy stretched his body, relaxing his tight muscles from driving, and pulled out his phone.
August 8th, 3:15 PM.
Landlord: 2 New Messages.
“Apartment 135… Key is under the doormat….” Yuuji read aloud, briefly scanning the numbers on the apartment doors in front of him before finding the matching room number. The building looked rather cozy, having about six floors, and some of the doors had their own personal touch to them. Some had a few potted plants, while others had a few clothes hanging from the railings, seemingly drying after a wash. The sight gave Yuuji a sense of comfort, seeing a glimpse of other people’s livelihoods. He noticed, however, that the apartment right next to his own, Apartment 136, was devoid of anything indicating a person lived there. Maybe they were more private? Or maybe that apartment was vacant too.
In a few quick strides back and forth to his car and up the building stairs, the pink-haired boy brought his boxes to his apartment door, along with Suguru in his cat carrier. Acquiring the key underneath the doormat, like the landlord’s message said, he unlocked the door with a small click and pushed it open, taking in his new living space. The interior was a one-bedroom apartment, with the kitchen on the left side upon walking in the door. Further into the middle of the apartment was the living room with a hallway to the left that led to what Yuuji could only assume was his bedroom, and then further into the living room was a balcony outside. The rest of the apartment was relatively bare, except for a few essential items, such as furniture and appliances.
Moving his boxes inside and onto the couch, Yuuji shut the apartment door and let Suguru out of his carrier to let him adjust to the new environment. With a big stretch and a small yawn, the black raggamuffin cat nuzzled against Yuuji’s legs and began to wander around the apartment, his brown eyes scrutinizing every little thing. “Don’t pee or poop anywhere yet. I need to get your litterbox.” Yuuji jokes as he finds a place to set Suguru’s litterbox and other cat necessities. Suguru meows almost in acknowledgment and saunters away into the living room. While he was rummaging through the boxes he brought, his phone began to ring in his pocket.
As he pulled it out, a fond smile appeared on his face at the person who was calling, and he slid the answer button, holding his phone up to his ear. “Hey Choso! What’s up, bro?”
“Hey Yuuji,” Choso greeted back over the phone, his voice calm yet content. “You okay? Made it to the apartment safe and sound?” Yuuji chuckles, letting his phone rest between his ear and shoulder as he grabs a box. “Yes, Choso. I’m fine, I made it here safely. You can quit worrying now.” He teases.
“I’m your brother; it’s my job to worry.”
“Yeah, fair enough.”
Choso lets out what sounds like a sigh and a laugh at Yuuji’s response and shakes his head even though he can’t see the 23-year-old.
“How’s the old man doing?” Yuuji asks a little quieter, a hint of concern in his voice. Choso huffs. “Sukuna and I stopped by the hospital earlier to bring him breakfast, and he almost threw it at us. Said something about how we shouldn’t waste food on someone who is on their deathbed.” Yuuji laughs softly, shaking his head. “Yeah, he’s feeling better, alright.”
“He kept trying to tell the nurses he didn’t know who we were, but with Sukuna’s attitude, they knew we were related,” Choso says with an exasperated sigh. Yuuji then hears a laugh in the background before he gets an earful of static, almost as if someone snatches the phone away from Choso. Then, Sukuna’s voice booms through the phone. “That old geezer was trying to get us kicked out. What was I supposed to do?” Yuuji can hear Choso groan in the background, and he snickers.
“Leave him alone, maybe?” Yuuji suggests playfully. Sukuna grunts. “Where’s the fun in that?” Yuuji rolls his eyes, but he smiles at his older brother’s words anyway.
“Okay, I’m gonna get back to unpacking my things for the apartment now. I’ll talk to you guys later.” He says, and there’s another crackle of static through the call as Sukuna and Choso bicker over each other to talk to Yuuji. Choso succeeds, taking his phone back, and his voice is much clearer once again. “Are you sure you’d rather stay at that apartment and not stay with me and Sukuna? You know we’d make room for you.”
“Speak for yourself, I’m not making room for that little punk!” Sukuna yells in the background, eliciting a laugh from Yuuji. Despite his many complaints, he knows Sukuna wouldn’t hesitate to make room for the 23-year-old. Yuuji switches his phone to his other ear as he finally finds Suguru’s litterbox, finding a proper place in the apartment to set it down.
“I’ll be fine, Choso,” Yuuji reassures his brother. “The apartment complex doesn’t seem bad so far. Nobody’s tried to kill me or steal my stuff, so...” Choso lets out a long sigh, and Yuuji swears he can see his unamused expression through the call. “I swear, I’m fine! Besides, it gives me a chance to live on my own for once,” Yuuji continues casually. “I gotta ‘leave the nest’ eventually, don’t I?
“No, you’re right, I just—“
“Oh my god, he’s not a five-year-old, he can surely live on his own for a few months. Quit acting like he’ll burst into flames the second the call ends.” Sukuna whines dramatically.
Yuuji silently questions how his brothers haven’t wrung each other’s necks living together for this long, and safely assumes that paying the bills together keeps their sanity at bay.
“Seriously, though. You need anything, just call us. You got that, brat?” Sukuna says, a small hint of protectiveness evident in his voice.
“Yeah, I got it. Thanks, Sukuna.” Yuuji says with a fond smile, even if they can’t see it.
He gazes at the living room and quickly notices Suguru is no longer in sight, and he panics when he sees the balcony door cracked open. Damn that black cat and his smart cat brain.
“Uh, I think Suguru just left… the apartment…” Yuuji says, dumbfounded, quickly scaling through the apartment. “I’ll call you back.”
A mix of, ‘Call us if you need anything!’ and ‘Don’t die, idiot.’ reverberates through his phone before Yuuji ends the call and walks through the balcony door. He panics a little more when he sees that his cat is on the balcony rail. Except he’s not on Yuuji’s.
Suguru is on the neighbor’s balcony rail.
“‘guru..! What are you doing..!?” Yuuji whisper-shouts at the black feline. Suguru licks his paws, seemingly unbothered by the current predicament.
“Suguru!” He whispers a little more sharply, trying (and failing) to reach his cat from his own railing. He really hopes nobody lives in this apartment, because how in the hell would he explain this?
It seems luck is in fact not on his side, because the balcony door opens and a white mainecoon steps outside, its owner quietly grumbling about, ‘Only five minutes outside..’ from inside. The person cuts themselves off when they see Suguru sitting on the railing of their apartment. Yuuji wishes the sun would just melt him right now.
The moment becomes a little tense when the fluffy white cat notices Suguru on the railing and hisses softly, its ears pressing onto the back of its head. Suguru stares back down at the white cat and emits a low growl of his own, but doesn’t move.
“Satoru, stop that. He’s not doing anything.” The person scolds the white cat, Satoru, before slowly walking out onto the balcony. Yuuji freezes as he takes in the boy, and his heart practically stops at the sight of him. His black hair looks a little tousled, almost as if he had just woken up, and he’s wearing a simple t-shirt with some band on it, paired with a plaid pair of pajama pants.
“Who are you, hm?” He asks Suguru quietly, extending his hand for the black ragamuffin to sniff it. Yuuji remains in place, silently watching the quiet exchange. Should he say something? Should he go back into his apartment and knock on the door? He doesn’t get a chance to make his decision because not a moment later, the black-haired boy looks at Yuuji, and they lock eyes. There’s an awkwardly long silence in the air as they both stare at one another, and Yuuji looks like a deer caught in headlights as heat rises on the back of his neck.
This boy is cute. Really cute.
“Uh..” He starts, voice quiet and embarrassed. He points at Suguru. “That’s.. That’s my cat.” Yuuji can only hope that he doesn’t look like an absolute buffoon right now. The more he stares at the guy’s eyes, the more he realizes how green and perfect they are.
The boy blinks a few times before he turns his gaze towards Suguru. He meows softly at the black-haired boy, as if in agreement.
“Oh, now you listen to me,” Yuuji grumbles, slightly annoyed.
The neighbor chuckles, and God does his laugh sound sweet. “I know that feeling. Satoru doesn’t listen to me sometimes either,” He says, gesturing to the white mainecoon on the balcony floor, still eyeing Suguru with a small flick of his fluffed-up tail.
Yuuji huffs out a small breath, a little relieved that the conversation took a more relaxed turn. “I’m trying to unpack, and my brother calls me to make sure I got here safe or whatever, and suddenly he’s gone! Out the door and on your balcony.” He says with a laugh and a small shake of his head.
The green-eyed stranger smiles faintly. “Let me see if I can grab him and give him back to you.” He attempts to reach towards Suguru, but the black cat shies away and lets out a low meow. His tail fluffs up with irritation and stares silently at the black-haired boy.
“Okay, never mind.” He says lamely, stepping away from Suguru and holding his hands out to show he means no harm.
“Suguru, that’s not nice,” Yuuji chides with a frown. “I promise he isn’t like this normally.” He says in an attempt to reassure the other male. He shakes his head in understanding, crouching down to grab Satoru, who meows softly. “It’s fine.” Yuuji watches as the white maine coon melts in the black-haired boy’s arms with ease, purring quietly.
“Come on,” He gestures towards the front of his apartment. “I’ll let you grab Suguru yourself so there isn’t a cat fight out here.” He jokes, and Yuuji can’t help but laugh softly. This guy is cute, nice, and funny. He might actually just die.
The pink-haired boy makes his way to the apartment next door and waits patiently until the door opens and he’s met face to face with those soft green eyes once more.
“Hey—“
“Itadori.”
The neighbor blinks. “..What?”
“My name,” He blurts out nervously. “That’s uh.. that’s my name. Yuuji Itadori.”
There’s a small twitch on the other boy’s lips, almost like a smirk, but it quickly disappears as he steps aside to let Yuuji in. “Megumi Fushiguro. It’s nice to meet you, Itadori.”
His heart jumps when his name rolls off Fushiguro’s tongue so carefully and casually. Yuuji mentally slaps himself at the thought as he walks into Fushiguro’s apartment. “Don’t mind the mess, I was asleep earlier.” He tells Yuuji, slightly embarrassed.
“It’s cool.” The pink-haired boy gazes at the apartment briefly and takes in the living space. It’s fairly simple, a few photos on the wall, Yuuji can only assume are friends or family. The TV plays a nature documentary, creating some background noise as Satoru lies on the couch, watching with curiosity. There are a few cat toys scattered throughout the apartment as well, along with a food and water bowl that Yuuji thinks might’ve been very expensive by the looks of it. Fushiguro’s cat was definitely spoiled rotten.
“I’m sorry if I woke you up,” Yuuji replies with a nervous chuckle. Was he that loud, trying to grab Suguru?
Fushiguro waves off Yuuji’s concern with a small smile. “Nah, it’s alright. Satoru was pawing at the door to go out onto the balcony when I woke up.” He side-eyes the blue-eyed feline now lying on the couch cushion comfortably. The cat lets out a soft mrow as if to say, ‘Whatever,’ and Fushiguro huffs with an eyeroll. “He’s a nuisance, but I love him.”
He leads Yuuji to the balcony door, and when Fushiguro opens it, Suguru is nowhere to be found. Fushiguro blinks.
“Oh, shit.”
Oh shit indeed.
“What the—“ Yuuji sputters. “Suguru!!”
Rushing out to the balcony, Yuuji’s thoughts begin to swirl with anxiety. Did he jump off? How is that possible? The apartment is on the second floor, which is too high. Where did he—
“Meow.”
Yuuji snaps his head toward his own apartment balcony, and lo and behold, Suguru is sitting on Yuuji’s balcony railing, watching his owner with curiosity. The black ragamuffin almost looks a little amused, as if seeing Yuuji chase after him was a little game. His tail swishes lazily as he watches Yuuji’s face grow red from embarrassment.
Fushiguro walks out onto the balcony and lets out a quiet chuckle when he sees the playful scene. Yuuji really wishes the sun would disintegrate him right now.
“Oh my god, this is so embarrassing,” Yuuji murmurs, slowly rubbing his face with his hand. “I’m so sorry about all of this.” He tells Fushiguro apologetically, and the other boy smiles softly in understanding.
“Really, it’s fine,” Fushiguro reassures. “It’s not the craziest thing that’s happened here at these apartments anyway.”
“Well, there goes my first impression,” Yuuji says with mock dejection, running a hand through his pink locks. Of course, his first impression of someone at his new apartment had to be with his next-door neighbor, of all people. Because of his own cat, no less.
“It was a little entertaining for me, yeah,” Fushiguro says with amusement. Yuuji groans dramatically.
“I’m gonna go before I make even more of an embarrassment of myself.” He says with a nervous chuckle, walking to Fushiguro’s door.
“Wait,” Yuuji pauses in his tracks, hand on the doorknob, and turns toward Fushiguro.
“Yeah?”
Fushiguro opens his mouth to speak, but he pauses, almost contemplating whether he should say his next words or not. “Just.. Welcome to the area.” He looks away, his green eyes seemingly focused on something else, and he scratches the back of his neck. Yuuji stares for a moment before he smiles and then nods.
“Thanks.”
With that, he opens the door and walks back into his apartment, feeling his heart skip a beat. Moving into this apartment might be the best decision he’s ever made.