Work Text:
It all happened in a flash.
One second, Izuku Midoriya walked down the street, holding a bag of groceries. His mother had asked him to pick them up on his way home from U.A. According to her, they were having hot pot to celebrate some surprise she refused to reveal.
The next second, a burly man grabbed him from behind and lifted him up in the air. A gruff voice shouted, “If you value this child’s safety, stop!”
Ryukyu screeched to a halt. Her wings spread out behind her dragon form. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Izuku couldn’t help but fanboy about being so close to one of the top ten heroes and speculate about what materials allowed her costume to change sizes with her.
The Dragoon Hero raised her hands. “Jewelry robbery isn’t nearly as serious a crime as harming a child. Please surrender peacefully.” Her worried eyes met Izuku’s.
At U.A. Academy, Izuku had received training for dangerous situations. He wasn’t the type to panic. Instead, he carefully waited for the right moment to summon One for All.
But the villain panicked first. Someone in the crowd took a photo with a flash. The man holding Izuku screamed. His hand glowed white as he activated his quirk.
A voice sounding like the First One for All User’s shouted, “Nineth, look out!” For a brief moment, Izuku glimpsed a thin young man with shoulder-length white hair standing in front of him. Then the light consumed his vision.
When he opened his eyes, Ryukyu had knocked the villain to the sidewalk. She held Izuku up protectively in her claws. And Izuku held a white kitten with green eyes.
Izuku blinked. The kitten blinked back, seeming equally surprised. Those eyes were the exact same color as the First’s.
Afterward, Ryukyu told him that she’d been chasing a villain who had the power to transform people into cats. She asked Izuku if he had any idea why the quirk hadn’t affected him—or where that cat had come from.
Of course, Izuku played dumb. He insisted that the villain had released his collar right before activating his quirk. The kitten had leapt down from a tree along the sidewalk. He couldn’t let the existence of One for All be revealed. Ryukyu seemed to believe him.
Izuku made a quick stop to replace his fallen groceries. He needed to put his mother in a good mood, if he was going to persuade her to let him adopt a pet. Fortunately, according to Ryukyu, the quirk wore off after a few days. In the meantime, Izuku couldn’t let poor First be abandoned on the streets or dragged off by people who would treat him like an animal. Especially not when clearly the First had blocked that quirk to protect him.
As he walked toward his home, Izuku asked the kitten, “What happened, anyway?”
The First shrugged, suggesting he wasn’t certain either.
“According to Ryukyu, that villain had to touch someone to turn them into a cat. Technically, since all the vestiges are inside me, does that mean he could have gotten any of you?”
After a moment, the First hesitantly nodded.
“I know you tried to block the blow for me. Thank you.”
The First nuzzled his hand. Maybe this was a rude thing to say about a venerable predecessor, but he looked absolutely adorable. Those big eyes, tiny paws, and soft white fur made Izuku’s fingers itch.
“Would it be rude to pet you? Sorry. Maybe asking that question is rude.”
The First made a little mewing sound that Izuku took as affirmative. He stroked the cat’s chin. The First purred. It was a delightful sound specially evolved to release dopamine into the human brain.
Izuku decided it would be quite nice to have a cat around.
As Izuku pushed open the door, he called, “Sorry I’m late, Mom. I dropped the first bag of groceries.” He hesitated to tell the full story to his mother, since he knew she worried about his hero work. “I, uh, I have a surprise for you.”
From the kitchen, Inko called, “I have a surprise, too! You’ll be so delighted. Go straight to the living room, dear.”
“Sure,” Izuku said, curious. Holding his cat, he walked down the hallway.
From the living room, the television played. A newscaster said, “—disturbed by reports that the villain All for One has escaped from Tartarus after stealing a regeneration quirk.”
Izuku froze. His heart hammered. He was about to call All Might when something completely distracted him from the stunning news.
His father, Hisashi Midoriya, sat on the couch holding a coffee mug. He turned around, revealing curly white hair, freckles, and a big smile. “I’m so glad to see you, Izuku.”
“Dad!” Izuku cried. He hadn’t seen his father face-to-face in so long. Joy filled his heart. Setting the First down, he ran over to hug him.
Hisashi swept him up into his arms. “I’ve been transferred back to Japan permanently. I’m home for good.”
“That’s so wonderful.” Izuku squeezed harder.
A low hiss came from the First. The cat’s fur had completely puffed up and his tail stood raised angrily. His eyes fixed on Hisashi as if spoiling for a fight.
Izuku laughed nervously. “Uh, I found this kitten. I’m hoping to persuade Mom to let me keep him. It’s sorta important for complicated reasons. Normally he’s much tamer than this.” Leaning over, he picked up the First and whispered, “Stop that. We need my dad to like you.”
The cat snorted, but stopped hissing.
Hisashi stared. “That kitten…has the most beautiful eyes.” His voice sounded distant, almost dazed.
Since First’s green eyes were the exact same shade as Izuku’s, he thought it might sound narcistic to agree. Maybe that was why his father liked them. This could be useful. He asked, “Will you help me persuade Mom?”
“Persuade me about what?” Inko poked her head into the room.
Izuku fastened his most charming smile on his face. “This poor, abandoned kitten needs a home.”
“Really?” Inko sounded neutral, not entirely opposed or convinced.
“That hate-filled glare is so familiar too,” Hisashi mumbled. The kitten sneered at him.
Inko asked, “Does he or she have a name?”
“His name is—” Izuku couldn’t think of anything off the top of his head. “First.”
Hisashi spewed coffee out his nose.
“Dad!” Izuku cried. His father seriously seemed to be choking. He ran to fetch a cup of water.
The First made a discontented growl in his arms. Izuku glanced down. “I’m sorry if you don’t like the name. I don’t know your real one. Does it matter? It’s not like you’ll be here long, just until the quirk wears off.”
The cat snorted at him.
Strangely enough, his father turned out to be his firm ally on keeping the cat. Hisashi had never been an animal person, but he’d immediately gotten attached to this particular kitten despite the clear hostility toward him. Under the face of both of their enthusiasm, Inko gave in. Izuku lied that the kitten already had all necessary shots since he didn’t want to subjugate a human to a vet. Imagine if they tried to “fix” him…
His father also insisted that Izuku stay at home instead of living at the dorms. Under other circumstances, Izuku might not have been willing, but at the moment he didn’t want to be separated from the First. Besides, it would be nice to spend more time with his newly returned father. Somehow, Hisashi had procured the necessary paperwork to excuse him already, including a signature from the Prime Minister. His father always did have a lot of political connections.
The next morning, Izuku went downstairs for breakfast. His dad had backed the First into a corner. The kitten’s tail had puffed up. He growled.
As his father’s hand reached forward, Izuku called, “Don’t! He clearly doesn’t want to be touched.”
Hisashi turned around. “I’m trying to help him get used to me.” There was something false about his smile.
“If you try to pet him while he’s so angry, you’ll get scratched.” Izuku didn’t want trouble on the very first day. What if his mother changed her mind? “How long have you been pestering him like this?”
The cat’s tragic stare said, Hours. Days. Weeks.
Hisashi said, “Five minutes. I’ve almost gotten him a couple times—” His hand swooped down.
The First yowled and scratched his hand.
“Dad! I told you to stop!” Izuku ran to the rescue, scooping the First up. The kitten immediately turned docile, rubbing his cheeks with soft paws.
His father exhaled and put a hand over his shallow cut.
Izuku glared. “You’ll get no sympathy from me. I told you not to bother him.” He kissed the First’s nose. The kitten mewled and snuggled him.
Hisashi took advantage of this distraction to pet the white ears from behind.
The First’s eyes shot open. He tried to bite the hand, a little too late.
“Knock it off, both of you.” Izuku sighed and went to pour cereal. He fetched a bowl for the First too, since he didn’t have cat food and doubted a human would like the taste, either.
At the gates of U.A., Izuku reached into his backpack for a comb. His hand touched soft fur.
He opened his bag to see a white kitten blinking up at him.
“Don’t give me that innocent look. I’m not allowed to take animals to school.”
The First made a truly heart-wrenching sound. Big green eyes widened pleadingly.
“Why do you want to come with me so badly—wait, are you trying to avoid my father?”
The First nodded.
“Can’t you try to get along with Dad? Just for a short time?”
The First fixed him with a look of disdain only a cat could manage.
“What’s your problem with him, anyway?”
Judging from the nonstop angry meows, the problems were numerous, extensive and unsurmountable.
Halfway through class, Izuku’s mechanical pencil ran out of lead. He reached into his backpack for more.
The First hissed in protest as he was jostled.
“Sorry! Please be quiet!” Izuku whispered. He glanced at the blackboard.
Aizawa went rigid at the sound. His chalk stopped moving. He turned around. Dark eyes scanned the classroom.
Izuku used refilling his mechanical pencil as an excuse to avoid that piercing gaze.
With unerring instinct, Aizawa marched over and opened the backpack. “Midoriya, did you bring—oh. What an angel!”
The First peered up with sleepy eyes.
“He’s beautiful,” Aizawa murmured. “Can I pet him?”
“If he agrees,” Izuku said, wary of what had happened that morning and wondering why his teacher hadn’t flipped out yet.
With the grace of a king granting permission, the First nodded.
Aizawa reached down and stroked the kitten’s chin. “I’ve never seen such intelligence in a cat’s eyes before. You have a rare treasure there, Midoriya.”
Without further comment, the teacher returned the blackboard. Izuku’s heart finally resumed beating. Somehow, he’d gotten off the hook.
Koji raised his hand. “Can I bring my rabbit to class tomorrow?”
“No pets allowed at school,” Aizawa said.
“But Izuku brought his cat! And you didn’t mind at all!”
“Cats go where they please, Midoriya can’t be held responsible.”
Toshinori sat in the teacher’s lounge grading papers when a kitten sauntered through the cracked door and leapt into his lap.
“Oh!” Toshinori looked down at the white bundle. The cat yawned and went to sleep. “There’s…a cat? Why? How?”
“You’re so lucky, All Might.” Aizawa sighed. “That kitten is a difficult one. He doesn’t show affection easily. I wonder why he took to you immediately?”
Plaintively, Toshinori asked, “But how did a cat get into U.A.?”
“It’s Midoriya’s pet. You can ask him.”
“He’s so warm.” Toshinori froze in place. His big hands hovered in the air as if afraid to touch the tiny, precious creature. “What do I do?” His gaze on Aizawa pleaded for help.
“Nothing. Just relax and let him nap. You’ll be stuck there for a while, though.”
The cat purred in his sleep. Toshinori’s face melted into a helpless expression of happiness.
From the doorway, Izuku bit his nails and wondered if he should tell his mentor the truth or just let it be.
At home, the First stuck to Izuku like a second shadow. It quickly became obvious that his cat was determined to avoid being alone with his father, who followed them both around everywhere. It got quite annoying real fast.
As he tried to do his homework, Izuku called, “Dad, do you need anything?”
“It looks like your new cat is distracting you from your schoolwork,” Hisashi said from the doorway. “Why don’t you let me take him out of your room—?”
The First hissed.
“It’s fine. He’s not bothering me.” Izuku reached down to stroke the kitten’s ears. “Maybe if you’d stop pestering him, he wouldn’t be so hostile toward you.”
“Nonsense. I’ve done nothing wrong,” Hisashi said.
The First made a sound better-suited to a tiger than a kitten.
Izuku closed his door in his father’s face and locked it. He looked over his shoulder at the First. “Maybe if you let him pet you once, the challenge will stop being so irresistible.”
The First snorted.
“You act like you’re afraid that if you’re alone with him, you’ll never be seen again.”
The cat nodded frantically.
Talk about melodramatic. Whatever the joke was, Izuku didn’t get it.
At dinner, the First leapt onto the table and seating himself before one of the plates.
“He certainly is a strange cat, isn’t he?” Inko sounded more amused than bothered. She let the First take over Hisashi’s place and added a fourth plate to the table.
Izuku was grateful for his mother’s tolerance. He doubted the First would be willing to eat out of a cat bowl, and certain behavior in past visions suggested he could go longer than healthy without eating.
The First took a bite of bulgogi, then meowed.
Inko stared. “I would swear he just thanked me for my cooking.” She laughed as the First wiped his paws on a napkin. “If I took a video and uploaded it, everyone would say it was doctored.”
The First tipped over a water glass to drink, each movement elegant. Inko watched in awe. She muttered, “I supposed I’d better research safe foods for cats to eat.”
It had to be the power of cuteness. If another animal jumped on the table, his mother would simply shoe it off. But the First only had to turn those big green eyes on a human, and they melted.
Hisashi walked into the dining room. “Sorry I’m late—it smells delicious. Hey, why is he in my spot?”
The First glared. His lashing tail promised violence to any fool who attempted to remove him from Hisashi’s usual seat. Tiny fangs flashed. A low growl emerged from his throat. Though no one present could speak cat, they could all read the message in his eyes: Your family belongs to me now. Challenge me and die.
“It’s a shame the cat hasn’t taken to your father,” Inko said. “Maybe we should try pet therapy?”
The pet therapist had met numerous strange clients over the course of her career. For example, the woman who was convinced her dog was the reincarnation of her dead husband. Or that nutjob who thought his rabbit was trying to kill him.
But she’d never before seen a cat stare at her with such human boredom. How did it even understand what she was saying enough to be tired of it? The contempt in that green gaze was entirely feline.
Finishing her psychobabble, she got to the point: “I recommend that you force your cat to cuddle your husband several times a day until he gets used to it. Use of force is entirely acceptable.”
This was total nonsense, of course. No reputable pet therapist would advise such a thing. But Mr. Midoriya had offered her a million yen in order to say it. That definitely made him one of her craziest clients yet, but she had student loans to pay off.
Mrs. Midoriya looked doubtful. “That sounds abusive.”
“It’s expert advice, dear,” Mr. Midoriya said.
Had the cat just rolled his eyes at her?
Izuku hadn’t been able to attend the pet therapy session due to school, but his mother had told him it had been a total waste of time. She’d even muttered about the suggestions sounding suspiciously like animal abuse. She was looking into a different provider.
In the meantime, his father and his cat had managed civility over the dinner table, which was an improvement. Although Izuku found something odd about how intently his father had watched the First eat.
His bad feeling intensified when he realized the First wasn’t trailing after him as usual.
He searched through the house until he found Hisashi sitting in an armchair with the kitten in his lap. His dad petted the white fur. The cat purred.
Izuku stared. “What? How?”
“Looks like he finally warmed up to me,” Hisashi said with a bright grin.
Izuku’s suspicions intensified. He stalked over and took a closer look.
The First had bugged-out eyes. He rocked back and forth, making bizarre yodeling sounds.
“You drugged him with catnip!” Izuku shrieked. “That was why you acted so fishy over dinner. It must have been in the food. For shame, Dad.”
Hisashi’s eyes widened with innocence. “It was prescribed by the pet therapist. A completely legitimate technique.”
Izuku snatched up the First. “This is completely unacceptable.” He took deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. His father had no idea that his cat was actually a human, because surely he would never drug a person without their consent. This was all a misunderstanding.
Hisashi stretched up his arms. “Just let me have this for a little longer? Pretty please?”
“Look, you couldn’t have known this, but the vet told me that catnip is bad for him. For…reasons.”
The extremely high feline kept rolling around in his arms, making a sound like a giggle.
The First was furious after the mellowing effect wore off, and Izuku couldn’t blame him. He resolved to try harder to keep the cat and his father apart.
As soon as Izuku walked into Toshinori’s office, he noticed his mentor’s eyes darting around, looking for the kitten.
Izuku said, “The First finally vanished this morning.”
Toshinori nodded. “The quirk wore off? We knew it was coming soon.” After Izuku had told All Might everything, he’d researched the villain’s quirk and gotten an approximation of the time limit.
“I don’t know what to tell my mom.” Izuku sighed. “She’s gotten so attached. I’m almost as afraid of Aizawa’s reaction.” The entire class 1-A had adopted the kitten as a mascot. All of them would shower him with questions when he showed up empty-handed.
Toshinori suggested, “Why not say the kitten’s original owner tracked him down?”
“That sounds happier than claiming he ran off.” Izuku heard a meowing. He looked around. “What’s that?”
A sheepish smile crossed Toshinori’s lips. “I got rather attached to having a kitten around. So…” He stepped aside to reveal a small white kitten with copper eyes nuzzling his ankle. “I adopted her from a shelter. I haven’t picked out her name yet.”
“Aw.” Izuku knelt down to pet the tiny cat. “You even found one that looks like him,” he said knowingly.
Toshinori coughed and flushed.
Hisashi timed his attack for when his son and the other students would be holding a training exercise. A stealth ability let him slip into the teacher’s lounge. As soon as he spotted a white kitten napping on All Might’s chair, he swept her into a cat carrier.
The movement as he retreated out the window woke up the cat. She hissed, displeased at having her nap disturbed.
“I know you’re angry at me, but you can’t avoid me forever.” Hisashi stopped and set the carrier down. “We need to talk.”
The kitten inside stopped thrashing. Hisashi took this as a good sign.
“The last time we fought, I didn’t realize you’d lost One for All. That’s why…I was rougher than I should have been. It was an accident. This is hard for me to say.” Hisashi took a deep breath. “I’m extremely sorry about killing you.”
The cat purred.
“Does this mean…that you forgive me?” Hisashi took the kitten out. The cat crawled all over him, purring and rubbing against his cheeks. He beamed, petting the white fur. “I’m so happy! We can be a family again!” He met the cat’s eyes.
The cat’s copper eyes.
“You’re not my brother.”
Toshinori’s new kitten kept purring, oblivious to the sudden shift in reception.
“I just apologized to a real cat! Aargh!” Hisashi threw the kitten across the lawn.
All Might’s cat landed on her feet, hissing in shock at the human’s sudden, cruel betrayal. She ran off, forever to hold a grudge against All for One to equal that of her master.
Back in the void, Yoichi sprawled on a throne with his legs crossed. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I got out of there just in time. By the last day before that quirk wore off, I could barely avoid him.”
“I’m so jealous,” En groaned from his own throne. “You got to be alive again.”
“Sure, but as a cat.” Yoichi shrugged. “It had good parts, I suppose, but it wasn’t worth dealing with my brother. I narrowly avoided The Vault 2: Cat Kennel.”
“I gotta say, man, I’m disappointed in you,” Daigoro Banjo called. “Screw running away. You should have tripped All for One down the stairs.”
Yoichi snorted. “Like that would have done anything to the indestructible bastard?”
“It would have been funny to watch,” Banjo said.
Nana grumbled, “I’d love a shot at killing All for One. I bet I could have given it a real go, cat or not.”
“Everyone’s a critic.” Yoichi rolled his eyes. “If Nineth gets hit by that quirk again, feel free to take my place next time. But I don’t think that’s very likely.”
At Tartarus, two guards stared at an enormous hole in the wall.
The first guard said, “I don’t get it. He just broke out of Tartarus. Why would he come back?”
The second guard pointed at the broken cell with the dead prisoner inside. “Presumably to steal that guy’s quirk.”
“A quirk to turn people into cats? The hell does a supervillain want with that?”
The guard shrugged.
“This is so embarrassing for us. Does All for One think that Tartarus is his own personal shopping mall?”
Hisashi stood over his sleeping son, holding up a cat. An Egyptian hairless cat with small, beady eyes. “You’re not my brother, either.”
Banjo’s lips peeled back in a snarl.
“Which one are you? Never mind, I don’t care.” Hisashi raised his hand, summoning the quirk again. “You’d better come out this time, little brother, or I’m going to break your friend’s neck.” White light shot forward to touch Izuku’s sleeping body.
As the light cleared, an elegant black cat appeared perched on the headrest. Her dark eyes burned with hatred as she floated upward.
Hisashi’s eyes widened. “N-nana Shimura? You can still use your quirks?”
In response, Black Whip yanked his hands behind his back. Banjo twisted free, landed on the ground, and bit his ankle.
Nana launched herself at his eyes.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: A Future Conversation
First: I can’t believe you gave my identity away to my brother within the first five minutes. What kind of pet name is First?
Izuku: Maybe you should have told me that my father was All for One, then.
First: Whelp, I see mistakes were made on both sides here. Let’s drop the subject.
Izuku: Let’s not. I still want to know why you didn’t tell me that my father was All for One.
#
Omake: Double-Standards
Hisashi: Why did you leap onto that fool All Might demanding cuddles, but I have to drug you before you’ll let me do it?
First: You answered your own question with the “drug me” part.
Hisashi: I don’t understand.
First: I know you don’t, that’s kinda the whole problem.
#
Omake: Nana was Doing a Great Job Trying to Kill All for One, But the Unfortunately for All Parties Concerned, the Noise is About to Wake Izuku Up
Izuku: Whaz? Dad, what’s going on? Where did those cats come from?
Hisashi: (Trying to peel Nana off his face and Banjo off his leg.) Uh…I have no idea…I came in here because I heard meowing sounds.
Izuku: (Mumbles) Who would have known that villain’s quirk had a delayed effect? Fascinating.
Hisashi: Ha-ha…I can’t believe I got away with that excuse…Ow! Get off!
Izuku: You two, stop attacking my dad. I don’t know why he’s such a natural enemy for cats, but you’re going to have to learn to get along since we’ll all be living together from now on.
Hisashi: Since we’ll be what?
Nana and Banjo: (Yowl in equally confused shock.)
#
Omake: Pre-Reveal
Izuku: Why do all the vestiges hate my father? Am I missing something important?
All Might’s pet cat mauls Hisashi’s leg.
Izuku: Nah, I guess Dad is just universally hated by cats. Time to go rescue him again.
