Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He didn’t have a name.

If He did at one point, then it was lost with time and the absence of his loved ones. He barely remembers his mother. She was a black cat, like Him. She always made sure all her kittens had enough to eat and were groomed to satisfaction. She was warm and fluffy and was always there to take care of Him and His siblings. Until she wasn’t.

He isn’t sure what happened to her, only that He heard her hissing before a yelp after a bit thug. Then there was silence. The silence scared Him. She was always purring to comfort Him and His siblings. She was never silent. Then these white hands grabbed Him and put Him in a tiny cage. Since that day He has been surrounded by people in white coats who smell like acid.

They called Him Experiment 121. They liked to poke and prod at Him. They made Him drink weird smelling things and eat the bare minimum to survive. They didn’t care when He yelped in pain or when He hissed in anger. They just taped His jaw shut and continued. He learned to keep silence. The tape hurt when they tore it off Him for Him to eat. Maybe that was what His mother had learn and why she was silent.

When the men in white left, He would finally let out meows trying to call for help, for His mother to come find him. In the beginning He heard the meows of His siblings. He would call back and they would all talk and try to figure things out.

“Was this normal? Would Mama ever come back? It’s cold. Where is Mama? Who are these people?”

They had a million questions, but no answers. They didn’t even know their own names. They were too young to remember what their mother called them. They just refereed to each other by their number or order they were born. He was the runt.

Then, one by one His siblings started to disappear. The men in white would take them out of their cage and take them into the room next door. He couldn’t see what was in that room, but one of His brothers did, Experiment 116, the oldest. 116 said the room was full of sharp looking things, bottles with a needle on the end, bottles with weird color liquids in it and other meat things, and table at the center.

When the door opened again, the men in white had red on them. It smelled like iron, but also like the sibling that was taken.

Their sibling was limp in their hands. They made no movement or noise. They were perfectly silent. The men in white would throw them into a bin that they throw their trash in, and that was the last time they ever seen that sibling again.

He hated the silence.

Soon, only He was left. He was the runt no one wanted. He heard the doctors say, “It is doubtful the experiment will be successful with 121, He is weaker than the others. We’ll do it anyway, Sensei’s order, but then we need more specimen to experiment with.

They took Him into the room. 116 was right, it was full of weird things. It smelled like alcohol, all sterile and harsh, but there was also the faint smell of iron, of His siblings, and others that came before Him.

They put Him on the table and cut into Him.

Even though He was only alive for a short time, being on the table was the worst experience that ever happened to Him. There is no way to describe the pain He felt. He could only howl, yelp, and cry, but they took no mercy on Him. They cut at His body, peeled away skin and muscle. They were tearing Him open. They broke Him and rearranged Him into what they wanted.

He felt himself going limp a few times, like how His siblings were limp when He last saw them before they were thrown into the bin. His thought then were, “Maybe now I’ll be with my family again,” but something brought Him back each time.

He didn’t know how long he was on the table, but eventually it ended.

“He is a success! He is a SUCCESS!” They cried with joy as He laid on the table. As he faded in and out of consciousness, listened and tried to hear the purring of his mama, Instead, all he heard were words like Nomu, quirks, and Sensei.

He doesn’t know what a Nomu is, but apparently He was one now. All He knew was that He felt pain and He felt different. He wants Mama. He wants to her. He wants to cuddle against her as she licks his head and sleeps with his siblings all around him.

They picked Him up and held Him like He was made of gold. They put him into a different cage, slightly bigger, and with a little blanket in it. His whole body hurt, so did His head, but the blanket helped. It was black and soft, like Mama.

In the future He would escape. In the future He would be free. In the future He would have a name, a name that a loud blond human gave Him. In the future, he will be a hero, but for now He was just in pain and tired, so He slept and dreamed about His loved ones.

Chapter Text

It has been a few months, or perhaps even a few years, since the men in white cut Him open and rearranged Him. He felt different. He was the runt, the weak link, but now he felt stronger. He wants to test it out, why he feels the slight strain in his muscle, but the cage doesn't give Him much room to move around him. The white coats say He is too precious to lose, so they keep Him in a small cage.

Unlike the one that He and His siblings were kept in, this cage was cleaned daily and had a black blanket in it. It also had this weird bottle that hung on the side of it that dripped water. The men in white kept laughing at Him every time He drank from it. They kept calling Him a hamster. He doesn’t know what a hamster is exactly, but He feels like it is an insult.

He is a cat. He will always be a cat. Even though the men and white messed with his body, He is still a cat...Right?

Everyday after the surgery they watched Him. Everyday they poked Him and drew His blood. Every day they feed Him this gross mush. He learned early on that if He didn’t eat it, they would force His mouth open and stuff the mush into throat. It hurt, made Him throw up the mush, but they didn’t like that. They would stuff the mush back into His mouth. It was better to eat it Himself than for that to happen.

While they watched Him, He watched them. He has nothing else to do because He is kept in the cage, so He watches and learns. He is starting to get a grasp on their language for example. He now knows why they call Him Experiment 121, because he was the 121 animals that they took into the back room. 121 seems like a big number because they talk about the loads of failures before Him.

He also has figured out the leader of the men in white is called Sensei. They talk to Sensei about Him. They give him all their research and data. They say he is very busy with other, more useful and active Nomus, so he hasn't visited this little lab yet. He is glad for that. He doesn't want to meet this Sensei.

He will watch and learn. He survived whatever they did to Him, but His siblings didn’t. He has to go find Mama and tell her what happened. She must have been so worried about them. Maybe being with her will make her purr again. She always seemed so happy when she purrs, He wants to learn. He will figure out how to leave and how to find her again. He has nothing but time on His hand to plan things, the only benefit of being kept in the tiny cage.

One day things were a bit strange. All the men in white were on edge, like they were waiting for something to happen. He didn’t know if it would be a good thing or a bad thing, but based on how His life has been since He has been in the men in white's hands, He was pretty sure it would be a bad thing.

Then a man entered the room. He wasn’t wearing white. The men in white called him Sensei. They told him about their success with the animal Nomu, and pointed at Him.
To them, He wasn’t even a cat anymore, but a Nomu, whatever that was. He didn’t like it, He wanted to be a cat just like His mother and siblings.

His thoughts were interrupted when Sensei walked over to His cage and just stared at Him with these empty sockets. He thought He was used to being stared at all the time, but when this man, when Sensei did it, He felt like he was being torn apart all over again. It felt like all He is, His essence and being, were being laid out bare for this man to see. It felt that Sensei was looking right through Him.

“He is a small thing, isn’t He. I bet He could fit in my hand. His eyes are quite big though. Did you put new ones in, or are they natural?”

“They are natural, sir.” One of the men in white answered.

“Interesting. I like His eyes. I think I know just the quirk to give this Nomu. Now, let us see if an animal can take a quirk. Open the cage. Let me touch Him.”

“Yes Sir!” The men in white quickly went about following Sensi’s orders. The top opened up and one of the men picked Him off his black blanket and held Him out to Sensei.
Sensei then put his hand on his Head.

From the moment Sensei touched Him, He knew this was a bad thing. Something was forcing its way into Him. This force crawled from Sensei’s hand and into His body. It filled Him and engulfed Him. His head started to pound. His eyes burned and it felt like they were being set on fire from the inside out. It was hell. The men and white rearranged Him, but Sensei recreated Him.

Since His last sibling went limp and thrown into the bin, He hasn’t made any noise. His loved ones weren’t there to answer back, so why cry out for them. His mother went silent, His siblings went silent, so it only made sense for Him to go silent as well.

Yet once Sensei touched Him, He yelped and cried in agony. It hurt so bad. He just wanted to go silent again, silent and limp like the others, but His body felt stronger than ever. He felt betrayed by His body. Why did something that hurt so much, something that changed His being, make Him feel so powerful?

Sensei took his hand away, but the force was still in His body. It rested in His eyes, made them burn.

“He is still alive. Perfect. Let us see if He can use the quirk. You there, your quirk lets you magnetize your body. Activate it, then step in His line of vision.”

The man in white that was spoken to by Sensei activated his quirk. Metal tools and other small objects flew from their spot and attached themselves to the man. When He turned His gaze to look directly at the man, it felt like something activated in His mind as well. He felt the of fur on His float up and His tail puffed up, like He seen His mother do before the men in white grabbed Him and His siblings. His eyes also felt strange. It tingle a bit and burned slightly. Right when He looked at the man, the objects fell and clattered to the floor.

“The quirk works. This is perfect, absolutely perfect. Use Him and study Him. What makes Him more special than the other animals we have tried. I want to know more. We need to know more. Once we know, we can create better Nomus, more dangerous one. Imagine, a tiger with a strength and voice amplifier quirk. Ah, speaking of voice, can He talk? Did you alter the vocal cords as well.”

“Yes Sensei, we will study Him further! As for voice, He should be able to speak and communicate with us. We just need to teach Him.”

“Oh, don’t bother with that then. This Nomu is a runt. I gave Him one of my weaker quirks, I have other erasure quirks anyway. This one is only able to be used in direct eyesight. Both the quirk and the animal are replaceable. I want you to study Him and see how the quirk affected His body and brain. Dissect Him and get my info.”

“Yes sir! We shall study His brain waves tonight and then tomorrow we shall take Him to the back room and dissect him.”

He likes to take a bit of pride in being a quick learner. Through His stay with the men in white, He has picked up on their language. He didn’t know what exactly dissection means, but He knows He doesn’t want to go to the back room. He never wants to go back there. Also, with the way Sensei was talking about Him being useless makes Him think they don’t want him around. Last time He heard something being called useless, the stapler ended up in the same bin as His sibling. While He wants to be with his siblings, He knows that them being silent and limp isn’t a good thing, but if they take Him back into the room, then He might end up like that.

He can’t let that happen. He needs to get out and find His mother. They need to be together again.

Tonight, He’ll deal with their test, with their poking, and with their prodding, but then He will escape. He will leave this place. After all, even after all they done to Him, He is still a cat, and cats are sneaky and master escape artists.

Chapter Text

“Alright, is everything all set for the dissection?”

“Yup, all we need is 121.”

This is it. When they take Him out of the cage, that is when He will make a move. It is His one and only chance. If He fails, then he will become limp. He knows it.

His chance is in three

“Alright, come on you ugly thing.”

Two

A man in white opened the cage door.

One

The hand is reaching towards Him.

NOW!

He bites the hand as hard as He can, that makes the man in white back up.

“The ugly fucker bit me!”

Before the man could move back towards the cage and block Him in, He bolted.

He ran and jumped as far as he could and landed perfectly on his paws.

He was fast! His legs moved quickly and his leaps were long.

“AFTER HIM! If we lose the fucker, than Sensei will make us into Nomus! DON’T LET HIM ESCAPE!” The man that was bitten yelled and made all the other men in white unfreeze and chase after Him. He ran as fast as His little legs let him. For once he was glad he was a runt. Since he was so tiny, he was hard to grab. He ran through the gap in the door that lead to what seems like a hallway. Anything is better than the back room.

Slam! It seems they were in such a rush to grab Him, they forgot to open the door. This earned Him another couple of seconds.

“FUCKING GET HIM!!!”

They were getting angry, but He was getting tired.

He never had a chance to exercise and build up His muscles and endurance levels. It was only the fear of death and the hope of seeing His mother again that kept Him going.

Ahead of Him was a closed door and a right turn to more hallways.

“Lunch time for me.”

A man with glasses just opened the door at the end of the hallway. What luck! He heard the men in white joke about back cats being bad luck, but this didn’t seem to be true.

The glasses man didn’t notice Him, he was too busy looking at his phone, so He ran inside right as the door closed behind him.

He heard the door to the lab open, it seems that the pile at the door from everyone running into it ended. He ran behind a large, potted plan to pause and catch His breath

“Jones! Where is Nomu C?”

“Nomu C? The cat one? Why should I know. I don’t work in the labs, just the office.”

“He escaped and ran here.”

“Well, I just left my office and didn’t see it, so the Nomu must have ran down there.”

There was a shuffle of feet and the men in white, plus now Jones apparently, took a right and ran down the hallway.

He was safe, for the moment, but now He had to leave this place and head outside. He looked around and saw a broken cover to an air vent that he could squeeze into, however, it was too high for him to jump to.

He tried anyway, but His paws just couldn’t reach it, even with a running jump. He took back being grateful for being a runt.

He tried one more time, but He still missed the vent. He can’t let this stop Him though. He has survived through so much, even through things that others couldn’t bear through. He can’t let this stop Him, He won’t!

One habit that He developed from being kept in a small cage was pacing. It was a way to move and stretch His joints. While he was thinking about that to do, He bumped head first into the potted plant. He looked, and the pots edge would be perfect both to jump on, and then to jump to the air vent.

“WHERE IS THE FUCKER!”

Oh no, they were coming back. He had to move, quickly.

He jumped to the potted plant, then used that stop as a base to jump to the air vent. He made it!

It was dark, but that didn’t bother Him much. He moved deeper into the vent.

He quickly realized that the vent was a bit like a maze that the men in white put him in before he went to the back room, before they changed him. He was able to find the exit point sniffing the air and following the scent of the prize, a bite of meat. He had his nose, ears, and brain to figure out this maze. He can find the exit.

After a while, and a few times of retracing His steps, he found a room that had an open window that led to the outside world. There was His exit.

Unfortunately for Him, there was a man in the corner of room sitting at a desk that was facing the window and messing with this piece of metal. The metal was floating in the air while he turned it around and put other metal pieces together. The man had to be using a quirk to make the metal pieces float. That means He can use it to confuse the man and hopefully make him leave so He can jump onto the floor, climb up the curtains, and then finally through the window.

He spent the time after Sensei left to test and learn about His quirk. Each time He looked at someone, He felt in His mind that there was a switch. When He felt that switch first time, he turnd it on and the metal tools fell off the magnetic man His. He guess is that turning on the switch means that He erases their quirks.

He looked at the man, and the metal fell and pieces of the contraption scattered all over the flood under the desk.

“What the?” The man bent down to pick up the pieces. He took that chance and jumped to the curtains.

He was halfway up them when he heard the floaty man gasp. He has been seen.

“Wait a sec!” He heard what sounded like the man getting up, but He couldn’t focus on that now. He needed to keep climbing.

“Here I co-OW!” He heard a thud from the man. The man must have tripped over one of the pieces from the contraption. That gave him the precious few seconds He needed to reach the window ledge and he jumped.

He was free!

Chapter Text

He was outside. He was free. Still, He should probably keep moving. Standing outside the building full of people trying to kill Him does not sound like a good idea.

The outside world was strange, and smelly. The source of the smell was this large green bin that was full of stuff. He walked towards the large opening that was passed the bin. He pressed as close to the wall as He could. He needed to be cautious. While the lab was behind Him, only he unknown was in front of him.

He made it to the opening and looked out. The outside was full of people. He tried not to focus on a single one in particular. He didn’t want to accidently activate His quirk and be noticed. Humans are the enemy. Since He has been alive, not one human has been nice to Him, so the outside was full of enemies. He needed to find somewhere quiet and private. Because He grew up in a sterile environment, all the smells, sights, and noises were started to get to him.

Since He had no idea where to find a nice place to pause and think about His next move, He decided to turn right out of the alley. Going right has always worked out in the end for Him when He was placed in the mazes, so it should work here.

He was practically rubbing the side of the buildings with how close He was walking next to it. He didn’t want to be noticed, so being in the small shadow caused by the building was his best bet on being safe. Plus, all these humans were huge and He was just a runt. They could easily step on Him.

“Mommy mommy! Look look it’s a kitty! Kitty kitty!!!” He jumped slightly at the loud voice that was suddenly near Him. He made a side glance and saw a tiny female human holding the hand of an adult female human. The tiny human was pointing at Him and jumping up and down.

“Can I pet him, please mommy!” The tiny human let go of the adult's hand and made a beeline towards Him, her hand reaching out.

He was startled and scared, so he did what His instinct said, He bit the hand that was right in His face.

“OWWWW! MOMMY MOMMY HE BITE ME!”

The adult sprang into action and proceeded to kick Him away from the girl.

He yelped in pain as He landed a few feet away.

“There there the mean cat is gone now, ok? Come on, let’s go to the doctors. Who knows what sort of diseases it was carrying.”

He heard the two walk away and got up. His side hurt and His leg stung. He must have gotten a scratched when He landed on the sidewalk.

Just as He started to slink back towards the wall, a foot landed close to him. He was right in the middle of the sidewalk, right in the perfect place to get stepped on, and the humans kept walking.

Adrenaline fills His system as another foot lands close to Him, almost landing on his tail. He runs and doges and just tries to find somewhere safe, somewhere that He can just rest for a few minutes and figure things out. He manages to duck into another alley.

Being in the main street and sidewalk was obviously a bad idea for a runt like Him, so He started to walk deeper into the alley.

The adrenaline wore off and he was starting to ache again. His side still hurt, His head was pounding, and his eyes felt strained. He wasn’t sure how much longer He could keep moving.

He was behind the buildings now. He looked around Him and saw to His left that there was a giant metal staircase. Going right last time turned out to be a bad idea, so maybe going left this time is the right choice. He reached the base of the staircase and looked up. It was so tall and big. It would take a lot of effort to climb the stairs, but it seems like the staircase leads to the roof, and from the roof He could take a look at his surroundings and make a game plan.

Even though He was already so exhausted, going up the staircase made the most sense. It was the logical choice. He started to climb.

He was almost there, almost at the top, about a few floors away. It took about an hour for Him to reach this height. He had to stop a few times and just catch His breath, but luckily there were no humans around. He was about to take leap up onto the next landing and take another break when the door to the building opened.

“My show isn’t on for like 15 minutes and I just got back from UA. The kids were crazy today! I swear it will be a full moon tonight. I’m going to take a breather for a few minutes, ok.”

He froze. It was a human, though this human was oddly shaped. His hair was slicked up and standing tall. Maybe it was part of his quirk. He couldn’t look at him then, or else the human would realize he wasn’t alone when his quirk disappeared and his hair fell down.

He stood as still as possible and hoped the human wouldn't notice Him.

Luck wasn’t on His side right now though.

“Huh? Oh hey, what are you doing here kitty kitty?”

Chapter Text

He froze. He was spotted. What should He do? If the human kicked him off the stairs at this height, He would certainly die. Cats always land on their paws, but even they can’t survive a fall from this high up.

“Kitty Kitty, come here Kitty Kitty! Oh, you smell kitty, were you playing in the garbage? And you are black...black swamp kitty. Zawa! Here Zawa here!”

Zawa? Was the weird human giving him a name? Who does he think he is to give Him a name? What if He already has a name?... Well, He doesn’t, but still. Humans are strange beings that think they own everything. 

Throughout this whole time, Zawa (He is keeping it for now until he thinks of something better or find someone He trusts to give Him a name) was trying to figure out what would be the next course of action.

“I think I have some salmon rice balls in my snack stash. Want to eat?” The human with the tall blond hair was kneeling down and held his hand out to Zawa.

Biting did not work last time, so running is Zawa’s best option for getting to safety.

Zawa reached deep inside and gathered the rest of his energy. He used the rest of the strength in his legs and bolted up the rest of the steps.

“Ah! Wait Zawa!” He heard the human call out to him, but proceed to climb the stairs.

He reached the roof and looked around. There wasn’t much up here. And he couldn’t really see that well since there was there were the tall walls blocking his view. If he was a human, Zawa figured he would be at the perfect height to lean against the wall and look around, but he was just a little cat, a runt.

The only thing he that was caught his attention was this small hole that reminded him of the vent he escaped the lab from that was embedded in the wall. That must lead to somewhere, but it isn’t worth investigating. 

Zawa decided the most logical thing to do was wait until the weird hair human went back into the building that way Zawa can climb down the staircase in peace. 

“Zawa, are you ok? You bolted?”

Shit, the human followed him. He was up on the roof  with the stairs blocked by a human. The only chance he had for escape would be to try and go run past the human and go down the stairs, but he was way too tired and doubted he would be able to safely run down the stairs. He could take his chances with the vent like circle in the wall.

Circle it was.

Zawa turned around and faced the human directly. His eyes started to itch and he fliped on the switch while his tail puffed up.

The human was shocked. “Wait, is that a quirk? There is an animal with a quirk beside Nedzu?”

Before the human could move forward to grab or kick him, Zawa ran towards the circle and dove inside. 

“ HOLY SHIT ZAWA NOOOOOOOO !”

Wow that human is loud, like, REALLY loud . That was all Zawa thought about as he slid down this giant circle vent. He was going fast and he hoped that landed on something soft.

The end of the circle was coming and Zawa practically flew out of it and head-butted something. Before landing on the ground in between two humans. One was doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach. He was blond with spiky hair, and the other was sitting on the ground watching the screen in shock.

“OW!” Apparently he head-butted the stomach of a human.

“What the fuck, Deku? Ow, shit!” The spiky hair one was apparently caught off guard.

“I-I-, what?” The green haired one, Deku, was also very confused.

“Che, you aren’t worth it right now. I’ll get you tomorrow, you hear that! Fucking Deku and the fucking cat thing.”

The spiky hair kid kicked Deku in the chest before walking away. Was Deku also picked on and abused like him ?

“Ow, sheesh, Kacchan is as brutal as ever.” Deku’s eyes landed on the figure of Zawa who still hasn’t moved. 

Zawa was out of energy, his head hurt, his stomach growled, and he was so thirsty.

“H-hey, you ok? Kitty?” Deku inched closer to Zawa and his hand reached out toward him.

This is it , Zawa thought, this is how I get killed .

Instead of being hit and slammed into the ground until he was dead, the hand was very gently petting him.

This human, Deku, wasn’t hurting him.

Zawa looked up to Deku and saw no intent to harm in his eyes.

“A-are you ok?”

This human was strange. He was also picked on. He didn’t hurt him, nor did he even be disgusted by his appearance like the other humans.

Maybe this one he can trust a bit. With that thought, Zawa let the exhaustion take over his system and he passed out.

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At the same time.

“Yeah, no Nedzu, I’m telling you! This cat was mini and his eyes turned red. RED I repeat RED! When he looked at me, my throat closed up and something was missing from me. Zawa must have a quirk!”

Hizashi Yamada, also known as pro-hero Present Mic, was recounting what just happened with his boss, principal of the most prestigious hero school in Japan, Nedzu.

“How interesting. Is there anything else about him that was strange.”

“He was limping and looked scared as hell. Actually, I do have a camera up here. I'll send you the footage.”

This furthered interested Nadzu. Based on the details, a cat that was clearly terrified and weary of humans, sounded exactly like him. Was Zawa also a poor animal with a quirk that was experimented on by humans? Nedzu immediately wanted to meet this Zawa and talk to him. He knows what Zawa is going through, and Nedzu wants to be there to help. Nedzu wished there was someone there to help him back when he got free.

“Please bring this Zawa to me. I wish to speak with him. Plus Recovery girl can take care of his injuries.”

“Well, see, that is going to be a problem. I think I scared the little guy and he uh, he, jumped off the roof of my radio station.”

“...what?”

“Well, technically he jumped into the gutter, but still. I figured it would be best to call you. Zawa is a speedy little kitty! By the time I would make it to the ground, he would be long gone. I figured it would be best to contact you and give you as much detail as I can...Plus my show is in like 5…”

Present Mic could practically feel Nedzu’s annoyance and disappointment through the phone. Nedzu is a great boss and friend, but man is he scary sometimes.

“I see. Well then, I’ll alert all heroes to be on the lookout for an injured black cat-”

“Smelly cat too. And tiny. Zawa could probably fit in my hands he is so itty bitty!””

“-....smelly, tiny cat... It isn't much to go on, but let us see what we can uncover.”

“Alright! Got it! I’ll be on the lookout too! Anyway, gotta go, show is about to start. See ya my mouse-dog-bear buddy!”

Hizashi hung up the phone and made his way back to his studio.

Zawa really intrigued him. He hopes to meet him again. He has a feeling that there was something very special about him. 

Chapter Text

Izuku had a feeling when he woke up today that something would happen. What? He didn't know, but something special would happen. All he was hoping for was that his old friend, Kacchan, would leave him alone.

Unfortunately that didn’t happen. School has ended a few minutes ago, but instead of being on his way home, Kacchan decided that today he wanted to spend some “quality” time with his old friend. 

Instead of heading home, Kacchan decided the two needed a change of scenery, so they went for a walk around the nearby city of Musutafu. Once the two were away from anyone who would recognize them, Kacchan dragged Izuku into an alley and proceeded to push the other to the ground before sparking up his hands as a threat. 

Izuku was expecting to be beaten and burned a bit. It was nothing he hasn’t been through before, but that doesn’t mean he looks forward to it.

What he didn’t expect was a little blob of black flying out of the nearby gutter and hitting Kacchan directly in the stomach.

“OW! What the fuck, Deku? Ow, shit!” 

“I-I-, what?” 

“Che, you aren’t worth it right now. I’ll get you tomorrow, you hear that! Fucking Deku and the fucking cat thing.”

“Ow, sheesh, Kacchan is as brutal as ever.”

With that Izuku turned his attention back to the random flying blob and upon closer inspection it turns out to be a little black cat.

“H-hey, you ok? Kitty?” 

Izuku reached out to give the cat a little pet. Only then did he realize how small this cat actually was, and how weak it seemed. The cat was shaking and looked a little worse for wear. The cat’s fur, though a bit matted, still had a softness to it.

When Izuku started to pet the cat, it looked him right in the eye.

“A-are you ok?” The cat was black with a pink nose and paws.

The cat stayed quiet and seemed to have analyzed Izuku for a bit, before passing out.

“Oh geez! W-what do I do? The cat passed out!” As gently as he could, Izuku picked up the kitty and held it close to his chest. He easily held the cat with only his two hands. The cat also felt light, like it wasn't being fed properly, which makes sense since the cat doesn’t look like it has been taken care of very well.

“I don’t think cats are allowed in the apartment, but I can’t just leave him out here...or her? I don’t even know the sex. Well first thing first is to take him or her home. Maybe if I sneak in the kitty no one will ever know. Mom comes into my room sometimes, but always knocks before entering. That should give me time to hide him or her… I should give them a name, but I don't know the sex and don't want to move the kitty around to much while they seem in pain.

One thing that Izuku is really good at is mumbling to organize his thoughts and overthinking. This case of the mysterious headbutting kitten was no difference. Luckily while he was lost in thought, his body went on autopilot and started to walk home.

Halfway home Izuku realized that the cat was starting to move and shift a bit in his arms. The cat was waking up. 

“Um, hi kitty kitty. Please don’t be scared, I’m just taking you home so you can rest. I mean, it only seems fair, because you helped me out with Kacchan. Ah! Kacchan was the guy you headbutted in the stomach. Wh-which, now that I think about it, was pretty funny. Anyway, y-you seem tired and hurt, so um, so I thought taking you home would be the b-best.”

Through his speech, the cat only briefly glanced up at him. It seemed to be distracted by the warmth he was giving off. At least that is what Izuku assumed was the case since the cat was trying to wiggle its way into Izuku’s school jacket. 

“Anyway, you have a really cute little pink nose! The color reminds me of an eraser! Especially since you are a black cat, so, you look like the little bits the eraser makes when you erase pencil marking, did you know that? Plus you made Kacchan disappear, which is a feat in itself! I can’t keep calling you kitty, so how about Shouta! Cause Sho, you made Kacchan disappear, neutralize him like an eraser, and ta cause you have thick fluffy fur and or hair. Is that a good name? Shouta?”

The cat, now dubbed Shouta in Izuku’s mind, made no real response to its new name, so Izuku decided that means they liked it. 

With that in mind, Izuku continued on his way home.

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Zawa woke up from his brief cat nap because of the consistent talking of the person carrying him, Deku if the remembered correctly. 

From listening to the boy, he learned that the guy he headbutted was Kacchan and that Deku planned on giving him a place to stay for a bit. While he didn’t really want to stay with a human, he was still hurt and lost, so staying with Deku might be the best plan of action for now. 

One thing Deku was good for was warmth. Zawa was trying to make his way underneath the boy’s jacket. The warmth was much better than the cold metal cage with the thin blanket that he was used to. Zawa tries to soak up the warmth as much as he could. Who knows when else he would get to warm up his little body. 

Zawa was half-listening to the boy when he heard Deku give him a new name, Shouta. Shouta Zawa, not a bad name, but something still sounded off, like it was incomplete. Well, that doesn't really matter right now. He will have a chance to ponder over it later. Besides, these names were only temporary. Once he found his mom, he was going to go by the name that she gave him when he was born. The outside world is huge, but he will find her. He needs to tell her about his siblings and how they went silent just like she did. Zawa hoped when he returns she will purr and make some noise for him again. He still doesn’t like the silence. It reminds him too much of the lab and of his siblings being limp before being thrown into the trash bin.

Zawa was lost in thought he didn’t even realized that Deku stopped moving before he was put down on a very soft thing.

“Here we are,” Deku said,  “This is my bedroom. You can stay here for a bit. T-thanks for helping me before. I was saved from a beating by Kacchan. He is a little rough, b-but he will be a great hero one day! Heroes are amazing. I’m going to be one too! A hero who smiles to makes others feel better. Ah! You must be tired, here,” Deku lifted up the blanket of the bed he was on and motioned for Zawa to go under it. “I’m going to go to the store to pick up some cat food. I don’t have any here, and I don’t want to give you something that will make you sick. Rest here for a bit, ok? I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

Zawa was studying Deku’s smile. Huh, maybe Deku was a hero and just didn’t notice. That smile did make him feel a bit better.

Deciding that there was no better option and that being under the cover sounded like a very tempting offer, Zawa crawled under the cover.

Ah, this is heaven

With that, Zawa fell back to sleep as he laid in the most comfy and warm place he has ever been in his short life.

Chapter Text

“Shouta. Hey there Shouta. I brought you some food. I don’t know what you like, so I bought a small variety.”

Zawa crawled from his place under the covers to answer Deku’s calls. Deku brought him food, so it was the least he could do.

Deku placed four containers of small metal tins on the bed and seemed to be waiting for Zawa to make a choice.

How does he expect me to know what is in the cans? I can’t read very well. 

Zawa looked up at Deku and tilted his head a bit to convey his confusion.

“Ah, w-well this one is tuna, this one is chicken, this one is salmon, and this one is beef with gravy.” Seems like Deku understood what he meant, which was a good thing.

Zawa looked at the chicken one closely. The shapes of what he assumed was the world chicken matched the shapes of a store he passed by right after he escaped. The store smelled amazing, so this chicken must be tasty.

This one.

Zawa placed his right front paw on the metal tin of chicken to show Deku he made his choice.

“This one? Alright then, let me open it real quick!” With that Deku pulled out this weird tool that he used to open the sealed metal tin. Right when he opened it, the smell of chicken poured out of it.

Smells a bit different than the chicken store, but still very appetizing. Besides food is food and I am hungry

Deku placed the opened tin in front of Zawa. Zawa immediately dug in.

“Here you go. Eat up! You are so small, are you a kitten? If so, you need to eat and get bigger. If not... then what if it is because you have a quirk? There are humans with quicks that affect their size, and as we know animals can have quicks as well. Though that is very rare. Right now, Nedzu is the most famous animal with a quirk in history! Ah, Nedzu is an amazing Hero as well! His quirk is high specs and lets him think of all the possible outcomes of situations. He is the smartest beings on Earth and that is amazing! Plus he is the principal at UA. UA is the best Hero school in Japan. All Might went there! The All Might! It is my dream school.”

This Deku does talk a lot, but I guess it is better than the silence that has plagued my life until now. 

One thing that Zawa noticed was that when mumbling by himself (Zawa doesn’t think he counts since he isn’t making any verbal noise to reply to Deku) he doesn’t stutter. However, even when addressing him, a cat, Deku starts to stutter and become unsure of himself. 

Deku probably has had negative attention on him throughout his life if he develops stuttering speech patterns when talking to another living being. This also explains the interaction with Kacchan where the boy was clearly trying to beat up Deku. He needs some better socialization. That is what the men in white said about me when I didn’t interact with them they way they wanted. Maybe they two could work on socialization together. Not that I need it, I don’t plan on staying with humans long, but it would do Deku good and he is feeding me, so I owe him just a bit.

With that thought Zawa finished his fill of the chicken in the metal can. He licked his lips and gave a slight meow of thanks to Deku.

“Aww you are very cute. A-are you saying thanks?”

Zawa nodded.

“Wh-what? Did you just nod?”

Zawa nodded again.

“...I think maybe I hit my head wh-when Kacchan pushed me. That must be it.”

No Deku, I understand you. Stop being silly and let me socialize you so I can leave.  

Zawa made a little series of quiet chirps and murps trying to communicate with Deku.

“I don’t think it is normal for cats to understand humans, right?” Deku looked at his phone about to google it when he got distracted by the time. “...Oh hey, Present Mic’s radio is on right now! Oh gosh I’m missing it!!! I forgot all about it due to Kacchan and Shouta!!! If I hurry I can listen to the last few minutes!”

Deku almost fell off the bed in his haste to reach for his radio and turn it on to his favorite Radio Show.

Deku is a problem child.

Zawa watched this display with mild humor before getting distracted by the voice coming from the radio.

And that about wraps it up for today! 

Zawa froze, he knows that voice. It was their weird haired loud blond man that chased him to the rood of the building.

Thank you for turning in this lovely Thursday to Put Your Hands Up Radio! I love chatting with you listeners and answering your questions on quiet Thursdays.

“Aww man, I missed it.”

I’m going to end this show a little differently. You see, on a personal note, a little kitten has run off. We were playing on the roof of the radio station and he fell down the gutter. I sent a few of my interns to bring him back in since the radio show was starting in 5, but he was gone. If anyone sees a very tiny but fluffy black kitty with a pink nose please contact the radio station and help bring my little buddy, Zawa, home. He is probably very scared and hungry. 

“Wait, is that, d-does he mean… Zawa?” Deku questioned as he glanced at Shouta for his reaction. Once He said the name Zawa, Shouta looked at him.

“You must be Zawa. O-oh my god, I stole Present Mic’s cat! OH MY GOD I AM A VILLAIN!!!”

While Deku was having a freak out, Zawa was pondering why the loud blond who’s name is apparently Present Mic, wants with him. The only answer he has is that he is somehow aligned with the men in white.

That doesn’t feel right though. The men in white are cold and scary. The loud human didn’t have the same aura, but then what does he want with me? When he yelled when I ran into the circle, he didn’t sound angry, but rather concerned. Could he be an ally? Clearly he has a lot of fans if he can broadcast his voice over a radio and calls people his listeners. Maybe with his influence he can help me find mom. 

With that Zawa decided he wants to meet with is Present Mic to properly study him before he can declare him an ally.

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe I stole a cat! I didn’t mean to, Shouta, oh, I man Zawa, looked like he needed help! Wait, If Shou-, Zawa, if Zawa is a pro’s hero cat, then maybe he is a hero as well? I mean, it sounds ridiculous, he is so tiny after all, but Nedzu is an amazing and I mean amazing hero! It isn’t impossible for a hero to be an animal. Plus Sho- Zawa seems to understand what I am saying, which means he must be intelligent. N-Not that animals aren’t smart naturally! It’s just, interesting.”

Zawa was watching Deku pace around his room and mumble to himself. It was a rather interesting sight to see, but he was getting tired. He had a full stomach and was on a soft bed. Based on the lack of sun outside (he has heard the men in white talk about the weather before he so has a bit of an understanding about both time and seasons), it must be nighttime. When it was night time, the men in white decreased in numbers and left him alone more often than in the day time. Back in the lab, he would use the time to plan and sleep.

Sleeping is one of Zawa’s favorite things. Perhaps it is a natural part of his cat heritage, or maybe it is because at least asleep time would pass faster and he was safe from the men in white’s prodding. 

Sleeping was always a gamble though. He has many times woken up with a jolt of fear caused by whatever he was dreaming, but the pros outweigh the cons of sleeping. Nightmares weren’t enough of a detergent to stop Zawa from sleeping. 

With his resolve to sleep cemented, Zawa found an opening on the soft bed he was on and buried himself beneath it. He was instantly surrounded by warmth and softness, and for the first time in a long time, he purred as he fell asleep.

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“-and it was an honest mistake. I’m sure someone as friendly and cheerful as resent Mic wouldn’t throw me in jail for an honest mistake. Right? Well, it is late now, so tomorrow after school I’ll hurry back home, grab Sh-Zawa, and make my way to Present Mic’s studio. I can’t believe I was so close to it before and didn’t even notice it! Ah! I need to being my notebook too! Maybe two, just in case Kacchan burns one. It would be really awesome to get Present Mic’s autograph! Hey, Shouta? Do you think your human would give me an auto-, eh? Shouta?”

Izuku turned to look at his bed where previously the possible hero cat in question was resting, only to find it empty.

“Oh no, ohhhhhh no, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh no! Shouta! I m-mean, Zawa, Zawa where are you? Please don’t be missing!”

Luckily for Izuku, he was only a bit into the start of a panic attack when he heard the slight purring coming from his bed. 

Right under the blanket near the top of the bed was a little bump. Carefully, Izuku lifted the blanket, just a smidge, so he could see what was under it, and to his relief, he found the missing cat fast asleep.

Quickly and quietly so as not to wake the slumbering kitten, Izuku took a few photos on his phone. The sight was too cute not to take a photo of! No one could resist the cuteness of a sleeping tiny kitten, especially one the was curled up into a ball with their tail touching their nose. 

Izuku decided that tomorrow will be an exciting and amazing day if he gets to go inside Present Mic’s radio station and return his cat. Maybe, just hopefully maybe he could even meet the pro-hero!

For now, he needs to sleep. He doesn’t want to look like the walking dead in front of a pro after all. 

Izuku quickly got changed and carefully climbed into bed. He counted his blessings that Zawa did not wake up. For once in a long time, Izuku was excited about what tomorrow would bring.

Chapter Text

Sometime during the night, the nice and warm comfy spot in the blanket became too warm for Zawa’s taste due to the added heat from Deku’s body. 

Begrudgingly Zawa got up and hopped down for the bed to find another sleeping spot. In the dark his cat eyes easily spied a little fabric cave of sorts. It was full of notebooks, but the soft kinds so it wouldn’t be bad to sleep on. He has slept in worse places before, so with that Zawa made his way inside the cave and made himself a comfy spot to sleep.

 A few hours later Zawa was woken up by a knock on the door.

“Izuku? Izuku, sweety, are you up? You have school today.”

“Hmmmmmmm I’mmm up, I’m up.” Answered Deku as he tried to fight the urge to go back to sleep. “...wait, what time is it?....Ohhhhhh no oh no I’m going to be late!!!!” With that Deku threw himself off and ran around the room trying to get ready.

Well, I don’t want to be in the middle of that. I’ll just stay here in my cave.  

Zawa tried to ignore the hurricane that was Izuku, so he hid further into the little fabric cave. He was almost back asleep when all of a sudden the cave was jerked upward, slammed into a hardish but warm object, and was moving at a rapid pace.

“OK MOM, I’M LEAVING!” 

Izuku’s voice was way closer than he had heard it before. Zawa had no idea what on Earth was happening, but all he knew was that whatever will happen will result in chaos. That was just how his life was, and he might as well start expecting for that to happen. As long as he doesn’t end up in the White Men’s hands, then he can’t complain about anything.

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“Got to hurry! Got to hurry! I don’t want to be late!”

Izuku was running to reach his school in time before the gates closed. He has a perfect record of both being in school on time and perfected attendance. Well, practically perfect record. There were times where Kacchan and his friends prevented him from getting to class on time but tripping him, trapping him, and even one time locking him in the janitor's closet. Izuku refused to count these times against his personal record since they were not his fault. However, if he was late today, that would be entirely his fault and there goes his record.

Luckily for Izuku, Kacchan and his friends were not waiting for him at the school entrance and he was able to make it to the classroom before the bell rang.

Izuku was panting in his seat when he took off his book bag to grab his notebooks and start getting himself ready for class to start. Instead of the usual green notebooks being the main things he sees, today there was a pair of angry black eyes glaring up at him from within. 

“AHHHH!” Izuku dropped his bag on the ground as he let out a startled yell. There was a monster in his bag.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP! Damn Deku making so much noise in the morning.”

“Ah! S-s-sorry Kacc-chan!” Izuku carefully picked up the bag and saw that it was not a monster ready to jump out and eat him, but rather a very disgruntled Zawa.

“Oh no.” Izuku had a pro hero’s cat in his bag. The bell rung. The teacher is coming. Kacchan was glaring at him. Zawa was glaring at him. 

What on Earth was he going to do?

Chapter Text

There was a cat in his bag. That was not a euphemism for anything. Izuku literally had a cat in his bookbag... Well, now what should he do?

The teacher was going to enter the room any minute, Kacchan seems a bit angry this morning so anything will set him off, and again, he had a cat in his bag that he didn't know what to do with. Could Shouta stay in his bag all day? He was a quiet and calm cat, but really, a whole school day in the bottom of his bookbag? If he was a cat and was in a bookbag, Izuku knew that he wouldn't last long in there. Blame the janitor closet incident, but being in a small, dark space for hours at a time is not fun! Plus what about going to the bathroom? Izuku was lucky in that he has a strong bladder and when shoved struck in small spaces for hours he has never had an accident. But this is a cat. A cat who might pee on all his notebooks. Out of everything Kacchan and his friends have done to his stuff, peeing on them has not happened and Izuku plans to keep it that way! But how do you tell a can not to do its business on his stuff? Should he take everything out now? Would he look suspicious with everything on his desk? Maybe he could take out th---

"Alright class!" The door to the classroom shut as the teacher walked in both ending Izuku's train of thought and his chance to escape or at least do something with Shouta. 

The bell rang, The class stood up on cue with the class president, Shouta was in his bookbag, and Izuku was at a loss of what to do.

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Ever since he escaped the White Men, Zawa’s life has been completely crazy. 

Take now for instance. Here he was, sleeping away in a little fabric cave only to have it uplifted and shift around like he was out of control on a the hamster wheel the White Men put him in once in a while. 

When the cave finally opened back up Zawa glared up at whatever did this to him. 

Then Deku screamed and he fell to the floor in the cave.

Great, just great. Well, at least with the cave on the ground and opened a bit, he could take a quick look around.

He seemed to be in a room full of a bunch of humans around Deku's age. 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP! Damn Deku making so much noise in the morning.” Well, it seemed like the Kacchan is here as well.

His cave was once again lifted to Zawa's annoyance, so he once again focused his glare on Deku to express his displeasure. He knew he needed to socialize the kid and get him around other humans, but this was not his preferred method of travel. 

The annoyance didn't last long as he quickly realized that the cave was shaking. Zawa quickly looked around, or looked around as much as he could in the mostly closed cave, and quickly Zawa picked up on the fact that Deku was the one shaking. 

Zawa has shaken like this before, long ago back when all his siblings were together in the room. He was cold and frighten, so his body shook as he tried to find a way out of the cage to be with his siblings. Of course that never happened, and all too soon he was the only one left.

Lost in thought, Zawa jumped a bit when he heard a door close and something about class starting. When another called out for everyone to stand, the cave was once again lifted.

Through the walls, Zawa noticed that he could rest his head against the warm solid wall and hear a fast heartbeat.

Deku was scared. His heart was beating fast, he was shaking, and when he looked up through the small gap in the cave, he could see that the boy was very pale.

Deku was the one who took him someplace warm, gave him food to eat, and even said he would take him back to the loud man.

Deku was scared and Zawa wasn't going to let that last. 

He waited till Deku was once again sitting and for the cave to be in his lap before he made a move.

Zawa started to crawl out of the cave to lay directly on his lap so he can purr and calm the boy. Purring always calmed him down. His mother purred for him and his siblings and that always made him feel much better. He is a cat! He could meow he could purr and he will purr for Deku.

As he started to crawl out of the fabric cave, a hand entered Zawa's path and started to push him BACK INSIDE. Why on Earth would he want to go back inside? He has a mission to do! A Deku to purr to and make him stop shaking!

Zawa tried to make his away around the hand, Deku's hand in fact, but it just kept pushing him back.

Zawa has escaped a whole building of men before, one hand from a shaking boy will not stop him.

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Izuku's heart almost stopped when he felt the little cat in his bag try to walk out of it. He knew this would happen. Of course Shouta would try to get out, but he can't! Izuku is in the middle of class and if a cat pops out of his bag not only will he be in trouble, Shouta would be taken away. Izuku promised himself to protect the cat until he was safely given back to his owner, Pro hero Present Mic. He was not going to let the pro hero's cat, the one who saved him from a beating be taken away by the school and end up who knows where! Izuku has had plenty of things be taken by the school for "interrupting class" only to never see it again. He still misses his All Might watch. It wasn't his fault that Kacchan pressed the button that will tell the time in All Might's amazing voice. However, since it was an interrupted the class, the teacher took it away and that was that.

Izuku quickly put his hand in the opening to stop the kitty from leaving his bookbag. However, if the little glare that Shouta (or actually Zawa, the cat's actually name and not the name that Izuku gave him) was giving him meant anything, it was that Shouta was not a happy kitty who was willing to spend 8 hours quietly in a tiny bookbag.

Shouta was persistent, Izuku would give him that. Maybe it was a trait that Present Mic passed on to his cat. Pro heroes were know the be persistence. They kept on working and chasing the villains until everyone was safe. Although, in this case the persistence would not save lives but rather get Izuku in a lot of trouble.

"Shoutaaaaaa, please stay in the bag, Please stay in the bag. Pleaaassssseeeeeee stay in the bag." With clench teeth and as loud as he dared, Izuku pleaded to the kitty to do what he asked.

Shouta looked up at him through the gap in his fingers and for an instant Izuku thought they had an understanding.

That all came crashing down when Shouta made a quick little dodge and jump maneuver and the cat was out of the bag. Literally.

Chapter Text

The world was not kind to many people. Izuku knew all too well. When you are born quirkless in a world that is obsessed with them, you see the worst of it all to easily.

Still, even after all that he has been though, Izuku was not prepared for this moment. Shouta Zawa, the cat that headbutted his childhood friend in the stomach, has jumped from the safety of his bag. Despite all of his efforts on trying to plead with the kitty, Shouta did not seem to listen and did what he want. Which, while that is the nature of a cat, was not very helpful at the moment. The cat was out of the bag and in the classroom full of people to hate him.

"Ohhhhhhhh goodness oh gosh oh nooooooo, Zawaaaaaa whyyyyyy" The teen was whispering through clench teeth as he started at the little black cat that was standing on his lap. Said kitty only flicked his tail in responded and looked way to satisfied with himself. The two started at each other as the teacher droned on in the background about something or another. Right now, Izuku was glad that Shouta was such a tiny cat that even standing in his lap he was not very noticeable to those around him, especially with Izuku hunched over himself.

Deku must be feeling worse that I though. Even though I moved on his lap and out of that cave, he does not look better. He is still pale and sharking. He must be worse at socializing than previously though. While I did plan to go about this a different way, one that did not have me be thrown about in a fabric cave, I am here now and might as well make the best of it. The first step though is calming Deku down.

Before Deku could react, Zawa jumped and land perfectly on the boy's head. He curled in on himself and started to purr.

Immediately Deku stiffed, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted, so he bopped his head with his paw to remind the human child to focus on him and the purrs. Even though he has only know Deku for a short while, Zawa knew that Deku was a problem child that requires his attention. If he didn't calm Deku down, who knew what would happen to the boy! 

One of his brothers, Experiment 120, was the nervous type too. He was always whimpering and scared out of his mind. The Men in White didn't like that and would often bang on his cage and shout phrases like "Shut up you mangy shit!" That didn't help his brother at all, but the Men in White didn't care.

Their cages were right next to each other, so when Experiment 120 was really nervous, he would reach out of his cage and meow to show that he was there as well. Sometimes, if they stretched reallllllly far, they could briefly touch paws.

Since 120 was older, he went to the Back Room first, and like all the others, when he went limp he was thrown into the trash.

Zawa couldn't help his brother, but at least he can comfort Deku.

Well, now there was a cat on his head...now, all he had to do was wait for the impending yelling, detention, beating, and all that fun stuff to start since once again the cat was out of the bad and now on his head.

.....

Why was there no yelling? Where were the taunting and laughs as the teacher yelled and Kacchan both physically and metaphorically exploded?

"Midoriya!" Ah, there is was.

"Y-YES SENSEI!"

"Stop daydreaming! We are in the middle of class! I expect you to be taking notes and not staring into space!"

"Hahaha Deku got in trouble!" "Why does he even need to pay attention? It is not like he can go anywhere in life?" "Heh he really is worthless!"

Well, that was something but not what he expected. "W-what?"

"Really, Midoriya! Do not talk back to me! Now, back to the listen, and I expect everyone to be paying attention..."

Izuku quickly pulled out his notebook and started taking notes while he felt Shouta vibrating on his head. While mindlessly writing what the teacher said, it dawned on him that he has fluffy dark hair. Shouta was a tiny black cat. With that combination, no one was aware of the blatant elephant in the room!  Well, technically a purring cat, but still.

With the realization that right now he was safe, Izuku Midoriya relaxed and went though the motions of a normal day.

All in all, the day could have been worse. With his mind half on the teacher and half of Shouta, Izuku did not mumble much at all throughout the day. That means that no one really paid him much attention and he had a very peaceful day. Well, mostly peaceful. He still had to suffer though Kacchan's glares throughout the day and the taunting of his peers when they do notice him. Still, whenever he was feeling bad, Shouta would up his purrs and remind him that for once, he was not alone in the school. He had a friend. 

Lunch was by far Izuku's favorite part of the day. The two hid in the courtyard behind the tree and shared a vending machine bun. Shouta licked his fingers when the food was done and gave him little meows and murps (Which were to cutest sounds he has ever heard!) when he was in a hero ranting mode. Never before had Izuku actually felt that someone was fully listening to him! His mother does her best, but Izuku knows she doesn't care much for his hero talk. She always looks a little sad when he talks about his analysis, so over the years Izuku talked less and less about his hobby to her until it has been months since he showed her his beloved notebooks. 

Shouta listened and Shouta cares! That has been something Izuku has been missing from his life for so long that during the lunch period he almost started to cry. Shouta immediately curled in his lap and purred. He is such a good kitty!...A good kitty that wasn't his kitty. A good kitty that had a human who was probably worried out of their mind. A good kitty that had a pro hero as their human which is someone Izuku could never compete against. A good kitty that had to leave soon...

Chapter Text

Zawa was laying on the grass and enjoying the feeling of the sun on his fur. While today started as a bad day, right now, things are going pretty good. He was able to help socialize Deku and had a tasty treat of something called a red bean bun that Deku shared with him. He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard the quiet sound of someone crying. He immediately opened his eyes and saw Deku crying as he clutched his notebook.

"Nyaaa!" Zawa dashed over to his problem child and hopped onto is legs. "Nya? Mwuuu mew" What is wrong? Why is Deku crying? I thought he was feeling better? Is there a threat around?!? With that thought Zawa then jumped higher onto Deku's head to frantically look around. Fur waving slightly, tail puffed up, and eyes bright red, he was ready to draw his claws out and protect the child who took him and gave him food. 

Izuku has been having a great day so far. Sure he was almost late for school and he almost passed out when Shouta jumped out of the bag and on his head, but nothing happened and this was the best lunch he has had in ages! though, Shouta would be given back to Present Mic soon and then Izuku would be all alone again. Sure, he had his mom, but she wasn't that easy to talk to and was always so busy trying to provide for a Deku like him. He hasn't spoken to his dad in ages. Kacchan, while once a dear friend, isn't really once anymore. He can't really think of a time the two had a civil conversation once they both turned four and his quirk just never showed up. 

Tears started to drip down his face and onto his notebook at the thought of being alone again. He clutched it to his chest just for the comfort o having something, anything near him. He started to cry harder once Shouta, the quietest cat he had ever met, yowled in alarm and quickly came over to him. 

"I-I thought I was used, used to being alo-alone! But, but I don't want you to go! Shoutaaaaaa!"

He must really be a Deku. Here he was, the school bell ringing in the background signaling the end of lunch and he is crying his eyes out at returning a cat back to their human. Kacchan was right, he is nothing but a useless waste of space.

"D-Dddeck-kuo. Deckuo..Deku!"

...

Did Shouta Just talk?...Did the cat, an actual cat, just speak to him? What did he just say?.....

Izuku immediately froze up from his crying fit as Shouta jumped off his head and onto his lap.

“Deckuu, why c-cryyyyyy?” 

“Yup, Shouta is talking? Why is he talking? Is it a quirk? It must be a quirk! Oh my gosh! An animal with a quirk! Of course we all knew this was possible, Nezu is a prime example, but wow, I never thought I would meet a talking cat before to be honest! Is that why Present Mic is your human? It makes sense that the loudest and most talkative hero would have a talking cat. Also, Present Mic is a hero that teaches at THE UA. He does comment on the sports festival every year. UA is also home to Nezu. Wow, UA has two quirked animals in its wall, that is amazing! Quirk animals are few and far between. Have you met Nezu before? What is Present Mic like? What else can you say and why haven’t you talked before? Oh! Were you being careful? Quicked animals are rare and villains would do anything to try and capture you. No wonder you are quiet! Your voice does sound like it isn’t used much though. Maybe that is the downside? Does it hurt for you to talk? WAIT! Don’t answer that! Nod if it hurts and shake your head if no, it doesn’t hurt to talk!”

Wow, Deku sure has a pair of lungs on him. Did he even breathe between asking all those questions? Here he was, trying to calm down Deku and figure out what is wrong and he gets bombarded with a ton of questions.

Zawa just blinks up to the excited boy. The tear tracks left on his face are the only clue he has been upset only a few moments before. Now his eyes are shining, notebook out, and pencil flying across the page. Once he stopped talking, the last question hung in the air. Zawa, who tumbled off his lap once the boy almost jumped up in excitement, sat down in front of Deku and gave him a shake of the head. While speaking the language of the humans felt a bit odd and would take some time getting used to, it didn’t hurt to use it. He thought those Men in White did something to his neck and tongue too. Talking the human language just proved it. 

“Oh wow! That is amazing! You are sooooo incredible Shouta! Ah, or should I really call you Zawa. Sorry I went ahead and gave you a name. Oh gosh, you must be so mad at me! I’ve been treating you like any other cat when clearly you are intelligent. Sorry!”

“Calm, Deku, calm.” Zawa gave the boy a blank stare and patted his leg. 

“Ah, w-why do you call me D-deku?..Do you also…also think I’m…useless?” By the end of the sentence, Deku spoke in a whisper. His head hangs low, he gripped his notebook tighter, and tears were starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

“Deku? Your name, yeah? Kacchan called you Deku.” 

Was I wrong? Did I mishear? My ears were ringing a tad due to Present Mic’s voice. Perhaps my pronunciation is off? There might be nuances that I did not communicate  well enough. I need Deku to stop crying. This problem child will need a big drink from the hamster water dispenser after this. 

“Oh yeah! We first met because you saved me from Kacchan. Yeah, he called me Deku. It makes sense that you would think that is my name. I’m Izuku Midoriya and I’m aiming to be a Hero! Ummmm,...Deku means useless…Kacchan called me that cause he says I’m useless cause I’m quirkless. I’m just a waste of space with my stupid mumbling and my stalkerish notes. I mean, I’m even missing class right now, which is something I’ve never done before…..sorry, I must be annoying you by now with my chattering.”

Useless? Kacchan calls this boy useless? Sure, he is a problem child and needs more socialization, but he is far from useless. He fed me and gave me a place to sleep.

“Izuku, you are not useless. You feed me chicken and bun. You smart. You notes is interesting. I may not understand much, but you not useless. Not Deku.”

De-no, Izuku started crying again and before Zawa could try and comfort the boy, which is apparently hard to do since he just keeps crying , Zawa was picked up by Izuku and pressed tightly against his chest.

Well, my fur is now wet. I definitely can’t take a nap like this with Izuku shaking and crying. Something tells me that these are different tears than before, so I’ll let him keep crying for now. I don’t know many humans, but this one is definitely proving to be a problem child. Even when I meet up with Present Mic who will hopefully help me find mama, I need to keep in touch with Izuku. 

After his crying session, a good one for once, Izuku Midoriya decided to do the unthinkable. He was going to skip the rest of the school day. He knew that he was going to drop Zawa off to his human soon and he wanted to make the most of the time they had left. Plus, he already missed a bit of class. If he enters back in now he is sure things would be worse. However, his bag and the rest of his things are still in the classroom, so he would have to go back at some point. In the meantime, he was going to hang out with the first friend he has had in a long time and enjoy the moment.

“Oh, look at this Shouta! It says here on HeroNews that a new hero made her debut today. Mount Lady. Ohhhh she has a giantess quirk and took over the takedown that Kamui Woods was doing. She has to be careful. Based on her quirk she has the potential to cause a ton of property damage. Though, based on this video, you can tell she tenses up every time she makes big gestures, so she is already aware of this fact. That is good. We don’t need another Endeavor around… Wait! This would have happened right on my way to school if I didn’t sleep in! Awww man, I missed it. 

Izuku was writing in his notebook while laying down on the grass and watching the Mount Lady debut on his phone. Shouta was curled up next to him in loaf form while watching him write and actually listening to him, which again has not happened in a long time.

Now and then Shouta would ask a question or give an interesting viewpoint that Izuku would not think of before. It also seemed the more he spoke, the better Shouta was when he spoke. Shouta may have an intelligence quirk that leads to him being able to speak. It is interesting that Shouta wouldn’t already be a perfect speaker since he is the cat of Present Mic. Plus, now that he thinks of it, Izuku could not think of a single interview or radio segment where Present Mic spoke of having a cat. Perhaps this was a recent development? One thing is for sure though, while Present Mic is a hero, and one of his top 5 favorites, he will definitely be questioned before he hands over Shouta, or rather Zawa. Shouta Zawa is his friend and he will protect him!

Before the two realized it, the bell signaling the end of day rang out over the middle school campus. Izuku gathered up his notebook, pencil, and phone and carefully placed Shouta in his hair, before he made his way back to the classroom to grab the rest of his things before he heads to Present Mic’s studio. 

Izuku Midoriya carefully made his way to his classroom. His years of trying to be unnoticed seemed to be paying off for once. The classroom was empty. He put Shouta in his bag so he won’t have to worry about a cat falling off his head. Right as he was about to put his bag on the door slammed open.

“Well well well, I was wondering where your worthless ass went. Che, you fucking Deku.”

“K-Kacchan!”

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya was hoping that he wouldn’t run into his childhood friend today. He knew that Kacchan was going to try to corner him soon. His last beating was interrupted by the appearance of Shouta, but Izuku at least hoped the headbutt gained him a few days of being injury free. Though, if he had to guess, skipping the rest of the classes for the day may have angered Kacchan. The blond hates it when Izuku stands out in any way, so doing something he has never done before, ie play hookie, would be enough to trigger the boy and cause an after school meeting. 

I should have realized that skipping class wasn’t the best idea. But I really wanted more time to spend with Shouta! 

“Ah, hey Ka-Kacchan…” Izuku stiffened when he felt the tiny cat on his head shift a bit. This was not good. Being burned a bit was fine. He was used to it and had supplies back home to help, but he had Shouta on his head. If he gets hurt, then so does the black cat that not only has quickly become one of Izuku’s favorite beings on the planet, but also the cat of a pro hero.

I can’t let Shouta get hurt! Not only will Present Mic be disappointed I couldn’t protect his cat, but I could never forgive myself for letting my first friend in a long time be hurt! Now would be the time to pacify Kacchan. He is between me and the door so escaping is not an option. At least it is only just Kacchan and not his friends. When they are around they tend to make things worse. Plus with more people there is a higher chance that someone would notice Shouta on my head. I have to stay calm and not make Kacchan any more mad.

“Don’t HEY me you fucking piece of SHIT!” The blond was practically growling as he marched over to the greenet. “Teach was talking about high schools today. He says that a quirkless nobody had the fucking adacity to put U. A as a choice. What do you have to say about THAT?!”

“Well, I I just want to app-pply. I want to be, to be a h-hero!”

“FUCK WHAT YOU WANT!” Izuku flinched and took a few steps back as his childhood friend slammed his hands on the schooldesk. By the slight smell of caramel and smoke in the air, Izuku knew he was going to have some new burn marks on his desk. “Listen here you damn, the BEST heroes have great origin stories. What would be better for the next Number 1 to graduate from a shitty middle school such as this and be the ONLY one to make it into UA? That sounds GREAT and that WILL BE what happens. GOT IT! You are only a useless Deku. Keep that mind mind and know your fucking place!” Kacchan made his point by raising his hands and slammed them on Izuku’s desk while letting off explosions. 

Izuku was frightened. He was used to being scared. That was a constant feeling throughout his school days. He was used to Kacchan yelling at him. He was even used to the smell of burnt caramel and the pain that came with it. 

He opened his mouth to say he understood, but then he felt Shouta Zawa shifting on his head. The little cat’s claws were out as if he was ready to pounce on Kacchan and cause some damage. Shouta told him that he was not a deku, that he was not useless, but wouldn’t he be useless if he let Kacchan walk right over him as he let a cat fight his battles? What kind of future hero would he be if he allowed that to happen?

Izuku shifted and felt his open bookbag behind him. The bookbag Shouta was safe and sound at the beginning of the day. 

He shook his head slightly to try to convey the fact that Shouta should not attack and he turned his head so that Shouta could jump from the back of his head into the book bag before staring right at Kacchan.

“...N-no…” 

“What? Want to run that by me again?”

“I-I said no! I am going to app-apply to UA. I’m going to tak-take the entrance exam. A-and I’m g-going to be a hero. A HERO!” Izuku watched as Kacchan’s eyes widened at the smaller boy’s declaration. 

For a moment, time seemed to still. The two childhood friends stared at each other. The silence was broken by an angry yell from Bakugou as he raised his hands preparing to strike the other. 

“FUCK YOU!” Explosions were dancing off Bakugous’s hands as Izuku prepared for the hit. He leaned his head back hoping that Shouta would get the hint and jump off and into his backpack for safety before he too got hurt. 

But the explosion stopped. 

“What the?.. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?!” Bakugou flexed his hands and focused on his quirk, on finding the familiar feeling of power and heat, but nothing happened. The feeling was gone and Bakugou felt like a piece of him was missing.

“Kacchan?” Izuku had no idea what was going on. This has never happened before in all their years of knowing each other. Izuku was there when Kacchan got his quirk. He was there to see his friend let off tiny explosions in his palm for the first time. But now for the first time, Kacchan seemed to be unable to use his quirk. For the first time in just as many years, Izuku also saw fear in the red eyes.

The last time I saw that look in his eyes was when Kacchan fell from the tree branch all those years ago. I haven’t seen anything besides anger in a long time, but fear was not something I wanted to see again.

If Kacchan took a second to look at Izuku, he would have seen a glowing pair of cat eyes glaring at him from behind the green hair.

For a split second the two saw a spark from the blond’s hands, but it was gone just as quick.

“FUCK!” Bakugou slammed his hands down back on the desk, seemingly giving up for now.  The red vanished in the green before anyone even noticed it was there in the first place. Bakugou finally turns to look at Izuku, but the worried look on the boy’s face only increases his anger.

“THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT!?!”

“A-are you o-ok? Has this happened before? C-clearly not with that react-reaction. Is it because of the table? You’ve burned a few desks before, but never kept your smoking hands on them for that long. Though the concentrated heat should have made you sweat. Perhaps it is due to anger. Did you finally reach a threshold of anger that for the safety of your body your quick effectively shuts down? There have been cases of the body’s unconscious decisions to keep itself safe by-”

“STOP MUMBLING YOU DAMN NERD! This was just a fluke, GOT IT! Stop trying to dissect my quirk! Use your own! Oh wait, you fucking can’t you quirkless piece of SHIT! If you want to study your own quirk that take a fucking swan dive off the roof and pray you get one in the next life!”

In one final move Bakugou grabbed the notebook that Izuku was still holding to his chest and threw it out the window before heading to the door and kicking everything in his way. He slammed the classroom door shut leaving behind a childhood friend and the cat that he never noticed.

Chapter Text

“Izuku ok?” Once the blond boy stormed out of the classroom in a fit of confusion and rage, Zawa poked his head from his green hiding place to look at Izuku and glance around the room to see if the danger had passed. His opinion of this Kacchan goes down each and every time he sees the boy. He is violet, loud, and has too much of an ego. 

“Shouta! Thank g-goodness you stayed hidden! I don’t think I could forgive myself if-if you got hurt! Plus, I would have to tell P-Present Mic! Oh gosh, there goes my chances of getting into UA! One word from him and-and my hero career is doomed!!!”

“Calm down, Izuku. Be logical.” 

Be logical. That was the one phrase that he is thankful he learned from the men in white. Be logical, they said when they went to hurt him more. Hurting him now will not be logical due to the damage it would cause the subject and the lasting effects it would cause. Be logical, they said. The subject needs to eat or else he will die, and there goes our data. Be logical, they said. Sensei says to dissect him tomorrow so he can be here. We will wait and do what Sensei says. Be logical, think about the future and how everything connects.

“We should go. Get your notebook.” Zawa stays on his perch on the boy’s head. Izuku’s hair covers him well enough and he can use his quirk to stop trouble. 

“R-Right! Let’s go, Shouta!” Izuku picked up his bookbag and made his way to the courtyard of the school. As he walks, he thinks about what happened to Kacchan. How can a quirk stop working all of a sudden? The boy has never seen that before. What made today different? Did Kacchan not get enough sleep? He always goes to bed at a set time and is very serious about getting a healthy amount of sleep. Could sleep affect his quirk? Maybe the potency of the nitroglycerin in his sweat correlates to the amount of sleep he gets? But if that is true then it would not stop all of a sudden. Instead the explosions would gradually get weaker. That did not happen though so it must be something else! But what? Maybe anger does play a role? Or perhaps-

A bop on his forehead stopped Izuku’s train of thought. He was so lost in thought that his body went on autopilot. As he looked down he saw his beloved notebook floating in the fish pond.

“Ahhhh, silly fish, that’s not food.” He picked it up and carefully shook it out for it to dry. The notebook was soggy, and the pages were damaged. The ink ran and the notes were extremely hard to read.

“Izuku…”

“Come on Shouta, let’s get you to Present Mic…”

The duo made their way away from the school and headed towards Present Mic studio. 

Present Mic is the creator, main host, and producer of the station and is also the number 21 ranked hero in Japan. As started in HeroWiki, Present Mic is a likable hero. He has a charming personality and can have anyone relaxed and laughing in no time. Present Mic is often seen on his patrol helping others in mundane tasks, but is always quick to respond to a nearby scene and provide a variety of help from distraction to powerhouse. He has great control of his quirk. While such a powerful quirk could cause terrible damage to both nearby citizens and buildings itself, the voice hero is always cautious and uses his directional speaker to minimize such damages. He is a teacher at U.A and is very intelligent. He is an all around great and reliable hero that you want on the scene! 

Put Your Hands Up radio station is the most popular station in Japan. They play a variety of music based on the time of day and the votes of the listeners. They are one of the only radio stations to play pre-quirk era music. They have a reliable news hour that brings in the breaking cases, but also provides happy news to balance everything out. They are open 24/7 and their website lists the station’s schedule. They have something for everyone and available to all. 

Present Mic’s time as the main host is always the most popular section of the radio station. Not only does he have topics listed beforehand on the website that he talks about, but he also takes questions from social media as well as calls from the public.

Put Your Hands Up is also famous for having a variety of hero guests stop by and co-host with Present Mic for a while. Heroes from Midnight, Best Jenist, Gang Orca and more have had their time on the show. Even loner hero Mirko made an appearance with Hawks! Though the most famous guest hero has to be the number one hero himself All Might! The two chatted for an hour and even gave the listeners a mini English lesson when talking about All Might’s time in America.

Put Your Hands Up is an amazing station led by an incredible hero and Izuku was heading to go meet the hero himself. 

If only he decided to not take that shortcut under the bridge.

Chapter Text

Izuku was walking as carefully as he could since Shouta had decided that staying on his head and getting a free ride to Present Mic's studio was the best option. Shouta was so tiny that Izuku was afraid that he would lose the kitty if they walked side by side. Plus with the cat hiding in his hair, no one bothered to stare at him. He knew that if he held the cute little Shouta that people would flock to pet the kitty, which sounds like a pain. He does not like crowds and it seems like Shouta tends to feel that same. He thought that Shouta would stay on his head the whole time, but when they reached the tunnel under the bridge Shouta stiffened and jumped from his head to the ground.

"Shouta? What's wrong?" The teen turned around and watched as the cat's ear kept twitching and changing directions. His notebook was hanging loosely in his hands and he stood in place.

"...I hear something...under us?" The ears stopped moving as the cat seemed to locate the source of the noise. Shouta walked forward to the average manhole that was a few feet away from the pair when all of a sudden it flew in the air and a green glob emerged from it.

"Ah! Perfect! A nice flesh suit right here in front of me. Am I lucky or what? HA! Now, stay right there kiddo. It will be over in a second!"

The glob rushed towards Izuku, completely ignoring Shouta's existence, and engulfed him. It all happened so fast that Izuku was jaw-dropped and unprepared. Unfortunately for him, that worked perfectly for the villain. The green jelly man forced himself down the boy's mouth all while laughing with the floating mouth in the sludge.

"Haha! You are a great kid! A true lifesaver! Now, be still and you'll be my hero!" Two eyes turned inward on himself to watch as the boy suffocated on his being. 

He was drowning in sludge. He was drowning and now he is someone’s hero. This isn't what he wanted! 

Izuku thrashed around as much as he could, but it was no use, he could feel himself losing consciousness. It was like he was floating in endless nothing and was about to go under.

"Ha! Stupid cat, stop clawing me! You aren't doing anything!"

Cat? Why would a cat be here...Shouta! Sorry Shouta, I can't take you home... Tell Present Mic hello for me ...........

..........

.......

.....

...Someone was slapping him...

"Come on kid, wake up..." 

Someone was talking to him. Why was his voice familiar? He felt floaty and unfocused. What happened?

"...OW!" Izuku bolted up and pressed a hand to his cheek. He felt a little blood leak from his new cuts. "Shoutaaa? Why???'' There right next to him was the tiny kitten who looked all too smug.

"My boy! Glad to see you up! You have me worried for a minute there!"

It all came rushing back. Shouta jumped off his head to give a warning, but it wasn't enough and a green sludge man attacked him. He almost died, but someone must have saved him. Who? He turned and finally looked at the man who was slapping him.

"OHMYMIGHT!!! IT'S ALL MIGHT!!!"

Kneeling before him was the number one hero himself, All Might. All Might saved him. All Might! Izuku, noticing his notebook was next to Shouta, reached to grab it, but stopped when the hero patted him on the head. 

"HA HA HA! It's always nice to meet a fan. Alright, time for me to get going. I saw your notebook and put my name in there just for you!"

All Might stood up and attached some nearby soda bottles containing something green in them. When an eyeball glared at him, Izuku realized this was the villain that almost killed him.

"WAIT! I HAVE A QUESTION! MR.ALL MIGHT SIRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!"

A few things happened all at once. All Might squatted down in preparation for leaping in the air, Izuku leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his leg, and by wrapping his arms around his leg, Izuku accidentally loosed the bottles tied to All Might's waist that held the green glop villain.

All Might blasted off into the air with a loose bottle and a green teen holding onto him for dear life leaving behind a damaged notebook and a black cat.

“...Izuku just flew away…” 

Shouta was with Izuku to head towards this Present Mic guy who could help him find his mama. Everything seemed to have been going well. Izuku gave him good food. In return  Izuku seemed to now be happy and socialized. He saved Izuku from this Kacchan twice. But now Izuku was flying through the air with this All Might guy.

Well this is just great.

He couldn’t follow the Might Guy. He is traveling so fast in the sky that he couldn’t follow from the ground. He is assuming a quirk is causing it, but once it wouldn’t be safe for them if he erased it while they were in the air. 

Plus, Izuku left his notebook here. Izuku looked so happy with his notebook while they were watching lunch together. He couldn't just leave it behind.

I saw what direction they were going in, I might as well head in that direction and keep my eyes and ears open.

Shouta carefully maneuvered the notebook until it was face down and open. Then he shimmied under it and stood up. The book’s spin rested against his own. Luckily he was just big enough that it only slightly dragged on the ground.

With that, Zawa the black cat headed off to reunite Izuku and his notebook.

Soon I will be able to reunite with Mama too…

Zawa kept to the sides of the buildings as much as he could. He didn’t want anyone to stop him nor to take the notebook on his back. He walked for what felt like a long time. The ground was hot and his paws were starting to hurt. The more he walked the heavier the notebook became as well. 

Despite keeping his eyes peeled and ears straining to hear a familiar voice, Zawa could not locate Izuku or All Might. 

What should I do? Logically it would make sense to go back to the school and wait there, but something is telling me I shouldn’t.

Boom…BOOM! 

Something was exploding a street over. Zawa could hear people yelling. What caught his attention was the laugh and a yell of two familiar voices; the green sludge guy and Kacchan. While they weren’t the ones he was searching for, they would do and possibly lead to Izuku.

“Be realistic, he said. It is ok to dream, but be realistic…realistic…”

After waiting for a good couple of minutes for someone to hear his knocking, Izuku is now walking on the sidewalk heading back to the tunnel. 

He just wanted to ask All Might if someone like him could be a hero. That is all he wanted. Just an affirmation that he too can be a hero and his life does have purpose. Instead he almost falls to his death, learns that his hero is dying, and gets his dreams crushed. 

“Police officers require quirks. Hospital requires quirks. Colleges ask about quirks in their applications. Most jobs ask about quirks. There aren't many options for a quirkless person in modern society. Should I have stayed on the roof?… take Kacchan’s advice?…”

Izuku was just walking. He didn’t have a destination, he wasn’t following directions. He was just walking aimlessly trying to sort his thoughts and think of what his next step should be.

Everyone was steering clear of the dirty, mumbling kid, so it surprised him one someone almost knocked him over as they were running.

“What?”

With his attention back on his surroundings, he noticed the sound of screams and explosions that he had heard everyday of his life since he was four years old.

He ran towards the sound. His yellow backpack was bouncing against his back the whole time. In front of him was a crowd of people. For once he was happy about being small as he squeezed through the people to the front of the crowd. 

There, in the midst of the chaos was the Green Sludge that All Might rescued him from, and he had another person in him.

“Kacchan!”

The sludge is using Kacchan like a puppet. The explosions were making all the heroes on the scene stay away. Kacchan was being held against his will and no one was doing anything. Why isn’t anyone doing something to save him?!?

Before he knew it, Izuku’s body moved on its own and he dashed under the heroes’ defense line and headed straight for Kacchan.

The villain’s body has a jelly- like consistency that deflect all attacks as shown when Shouta was trying to save him. However, his eyes and mouth are the only part of his body that isn’t jelly which means they can be hurt!

Izuku took off his backpack and threw it right into the villain’s eye.

“AHHH! YOU LITTLE SHIT!”

With the villain distracted from the pain, Izuku was able to make it to Kacchan due to the temporary stop in explosions. He reached into the sludge and pulled until Kacchan’s face was out and he could breathe again.

Good, good, Kacchan can breathe again. I don’t want anyone to suffocate like I almost did.

“YOU FUCKER!” The villain was angry and forced Kacchan’s hand to point towards Izuku. Being around Kacchan since the bling got his quirk, Izuku could tell that a big explosion was brewing in his palms. The explosion would hit Izuku dead on and chance of survival was slim. 

It isn’t a swan dive, but I hope this helps you get free, Kacchan…

Right when normally a huge explosion would burst from the blond’s hand, nothing happened.

“DETROIT SMASH!!!”

~~~~~~~~~~..........~~~~~~~~~~~..........~~~~~~~~~~

All Might arrived to save the day. He blew the sludge villain away with a mighty punch before he disappeared once Kacchan and Izuku were pulled away by the nearby heroes. 

The heroes did nothing but scold him for daring to help. What he did was stupid, reckless, and endagering. He knew that, but Kacchan was dying and no one was helping! Then Kacchan yelled at him and called him a “Shitty Deku” so yeah, that was great. Also, he lost track of Shouta a long while ago and he has no clue where he is, so not only did he fail another pro hero, but he also lost his friend. 

“Izuku!” 

Speaking of Shouta, that sounded like him. Izuku looked around but couldn’t see the black cat. He did see a notebook running towards him.

“Huh? Shouta?” He ran towards the notebook, picked it up, and saw the talking cat underneath. “Di-did you look for m-me? My no-notebook?”

“It means lot to you, right? I carried it and heard booms. Saw Kacchan and then you and followed you. You alright? You did good. Saved him like saved me.”

“Shouta…..” Izuku picked up the cat and held him to his chest as tears fell from his eyes.

Someone finally said I did good. I’m good. I’m not worthless.

“There you are my boy! I was looking for you!” From the sky fell All Might in all his glory. He stood in his iconic hands on hip pose before he coughed up blood and shrank in a puff of smoke.

~~~~~~~~~~..........~~~~~~~~~~..........~~~~~~~~~~

“You are worthy of taking my quirk! This is your chance, Midoriya!”

“All Might!” Izuku fell to his knees in tears and he looked up to his idol in awe and relief that finally, FINALLY someone believed in him! He could be a hero! 

“....What?” 

A third voice startled the pair and ruined the moment. With All Might’s speech Izuku completely forgot that he was holding Zawa who heard and saw everything.

“D-did the cat just talk?”

“Ah, yeah. Ummm, this is Shouta, I-I mean Zawa. He is Pro-Hero Present Mic’s talking cat…”

“... Shit !”

Chapter Text

“Soooooo… A talking cat...I did not expect that to be honest. Not at all…”

“Yeah, I was surprised when I first heard him talk too, Bu-but! He is r-really nice! And he has he-helped me a lot too! He is a good kitty!”

Izuku Midoriya and All Might, who told him to call him Yagi while in his small form, were walking together. They were heading to Present Mic’s studio to drop off the talking cat. The kitty in question was currently back in Izuku’s open bookbag napping away. Searching an entire city for Izuku with a notebook on his back must have been very tiring to the kitty. After he startled All Might, Zawa, not wanting to deal with the two humans,

“Thank you, my boy, for letting me accompany you to see Present Mic. Since his cat heard and saw everything, it would be best to meet him in person and urge him that this must stay a secret!”

“O-of course! It is the least I could do!”

Izuku still felt very bad. The shocking realization that he told his big secret of both his physical state and quirk to a talking cat that belonged to a pro hero caused All Might to cough up a lot of blood. Izuku knew All Might was in poor health by the physical state of Yagi and when he saw the wound on All Might’s side up on the roof of that building, but the sudden spurt of blood was very startling. He accidently tossed Shouta in the air to grab a handkerchief from his backpack, and if the glare he received meant anything, Shouta was not happy about his short flight.

“I did not know that Present Mic had a talking cat. Though, I only worked with the man a handful of time before.” Yagi was peering into the backpack in Izuku’s arms to see the curled up little kitty. “He is very tiny. A kitten?”

“I’m not to sure myself. I found Shouta, ah! I mean Zawa, by chance. I took him home because he needed he-help. Only later when I was listening to Present Mic’s Radio Show did he, ummm did he mention losing his little black cat. When Shouta responded to Zawa, I knew this must be the missing cat.”

Izuku was glad he was able to help reunite the pair, but he was rather sad. Despite the short time together, Izuku would miss Shouta. The kitty was the first person in a long time to listen to him and respond kindly. If Shouta didn’t already have a person who was missing him, Izuku would have beg his mom to keep the kitty. He would have made a presentation if it would help him keep his friend. However, knowing that someone was out there probably worried sick stopped that train of thought. That someone was a Pro Hero too. A valuable person to society defiantly deserved a cat friend compared to a little quirkless kid.

“Well, I’m glad you found him, young Midoriya. HaHa! Look at you, already on your way to be a splendid hero! I remember rescuing my first cat back in America. His owner, a little old lady, came rushing at me to help her Mr. Whiskers. She almost cause a traffic accident trying to get me because I was across talking to the police due to the aftermath of a bank robbery I caught. He little cat was stuck up a tree and was too scared to get down. Luckily A jump later and he was in my arms and safe. Mrs. Sarah, his owners, was so sweet. She gave me a little candy she had in her purse.”

The praised cause Izuku to turn bright red. He wasn’t use to it, especially from All Might of all people! “No-o-o! I just! I...t-thank you, All Might…”

“Call me Yagi.”

~~~~~~~~~~……….~~~~~~~~~~……….~~~~~~~~~~……….~~~~~~~~~~……….~~~~~~~~

Before long, they were in front of Put Your Hands Up station. It was a tall building. The top floors of it held the studio itself and Present Mic’s office.

Izuku and Yagi walked into it and the first floor held the lobby and a small gift shop dedicated to Put Your Hands Up, Present Mic, and a rotating merch of heroes who have been or will be a guest on the radio show.

Right now, there was a Gang Orc section since the hero himself be an invitee early next week. Izuku was looking forward to that show. While Gang Orc is intimidating in appearance, he actually is a very nice guy. The day before Gang Orc’s first time on Put Your Hands Up, Present Mic did a whole segment on how you can’t judge a book by its cover. Apparently, some parents sent in complains tell Present Mic off for letting such a scary guy be a cohost. The show with the hero himself was spent discussing the importance of the environment, the seas and river systems especially. Gang Orc knows a lot of facts about the ocean, and even shared a cute story on how he traded a little octopus’s plastic cup with a clam shell, which provides much better protection. The hero’s rating went up a level after the radio show aired.

The pair made their way further in the lobby towards the desk. Typing away at the computer was a receptionist, that while looking professional, also had a bit of a rock flair with her neon sunglasses and the dozen rings on her fingers. When they got closer the desk, the lady greeted them with a smile.

“Hello there! Welcome to Put Your Hands Up station. My name is Roxanne. How can I help you today?”

“Ummm,” Izuku stepped forward and held out his bookbag. The flap was open just enough for her to see a little black blob at the bottom of it. “Well, I found this kitten y-yesterday. Th-then when I was l-listening to the, um to the show, Mr. Present Mic sir said t-that he was miss-missing Zawa..,and the kitty r-responded when being called Zawa!”

Roxanne straightened up and smiled brightly at the pair. “He has been looking for the little kitty! He told us all about it and to let him know if someone came by.Thank you! Present Mic is currently out, he is picking up some paperwork from U.A, but he should be back in a few minutes. If you don’t mind waiting a bit he will be back in a jiffy!” Roxanne waved her hand to the seating section of the lobby.

“T-thank you Ms.!” Izuku did a shallow bow since he was still holding the bookbag to his chest.

“Awww, well aren’t you sweet and polite! Hehehe, Mr. Present Mic sir,” and oh she was going to tell the rest of the stations staff cause how could they not tease their boss with that, “usually comes in the back entrance, so I’ll call him once he is back in the building.”

The duo took their seat and waited. Yagi was looking around and he liked the atmosphere of the place. It was decorated with music notes painted on the ceiling and the walls held photos of Present Mic and other heroes. Some of the more stand out were contained, Best Jeanist, Hawks, Recovery Girl, Midnight, and even Nedzu!

That was one of Izuku’s favorite radio episodes. Nedzu is such an amazing individual and the discussions they had were really cool. They talked about U.A, quirks, and even told riddles to each other. Due to his happy and loud persona, people tend to forget that Present Mic is actually very intelligent. He received top grades all through UA. In the radio show, Present Mic confessed that he also takes online college and university classes in his spare time. That episode received controversial responses. Some, like Izuku, were trilled and enjoy every minute of it. Others thought that it was hard to follow and that they couldn’t enjoy it. A minority even based Present Mic for letting an animal be a cohost. Immediately Present Mic and his team released a statement that discrimination would not be found on his station and while Nedzu is a quirk animal, he is Pro Hero Nedzu, a super intelligent being that deserved respect.

Izuku was lost in thought and Yagi was softly singling along to the lobby music, a prequirked era English song called Sweet Caroline by the Neil Diamond, when they heard Roxanne talking on the phone.

They glanced up when she hung up. Roxanne turned to face them and gave them a big thumbs up “Alright boys, he is on his way! Thanks for being patient and remember, Put Your Hands Up and have a good time!”

A moment later, the door to the right of the lobby opened and out stepped Present Mic. He was in his hero outfit which was mainly leather (When he worked with Present Mic during a summer operation, All Might was sweating just looking at the man), with his hair in its famous updo. Present Mic saw them and walk towards waiting area in his lobby. He walked to beat of the current song playing and greeted the pair enthusiastically.

Izuku immediate stood up. His face was a big red cause Present Mic was walking right towards him. To his left, Yagi was much calmer and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder to help calm and ground him. He knew that Izuku was a hero fan the way he reacted to him in his All Might form, but it was a bit funny to see him turn red like a strawberry. The green hair and freckles completed the look.

“Hey there! Nice to meet ya! I heard you guys found Zawa?” His voice was loud and cheerful, just like his outfit.

“Ye-ye-ye-e” And it looked like Izuku froze. Between being attacked, meeting All Might, flying in the air at high speeds, having his dreams shattered, saving Kacchan, meeting All Might Again, and the having his dreams refreshed with the promise of a quirk and a mentor, meeting Present Mic just broke him momentarily. All he could do was trust his arms forward to present his bookbag to Present Mic.

Luckily Yagi saw this and stepped forward. He held his hand out and shook Present Mic’s hand. “Hahaha what Young Midoriya is trying to day is that he did find a black cat that response to Zawa. I am Yagi. We do have something to discuss. Your cat heard a little bit of a secret, and I figured it would be best to explain in person than you to hear from Zawa. Very amazing cat by the way. He almost gave me a heart attack when he talked! Hahaha!”

“Wait…what?” Present Mic peered into the bookbag Izuku was holding out to him and saw the little black cat sleeping at the bottom. Yup, that’s the same one I saw. Still a tiny little cutie pie. Hopefully Nedzu will have time to meet me soon. We talked a bit earlier when I picked up some plans for classes, and he was eager to meet Zawa. “Talked?”

“Why yes, your cat talks...” Yagi looked at the younger hero with confusion. Was Shouta that Izuku found not the missing cat, Zawa? Yagi only entered the situation recently, so he did not know anything about Shouta or Zawa to help identify the cat. Izuku was still out of commission right now, so he couldn’t help either.

“…WHATTT?!?”