Chapter Text
Aizawa Shota has a cat.
Not a lot of people know this fact.
It’s not like he advertises it.
But the street cats in his neighborhood seem to know, as they swarm around him whenever he walks past.
Maybe he’s a cat whisperer.
The cat treats in his pockets could also, maybe, play a part in it.
Kumo has gotten a lot bigger in the few years Shota has had him.
Probably because of how spoiled he is, every time his friends come over they never come empty handed anymore.
Hizashi having found yet another new flavor of cat treat, this time quirk infused in some way or the brand new strawberry flavored cat treat, though Kumo never seems to notice a difference.
Shota has had a long shift again, because when are his shifts not long these days.
This time he had to meet up with Tsukauchi right after patrol, so he hasn’t been home in what feels like days.
The walk home is peaceful at least.
Barely anyone is on the streets, most apartments having their lights off. Everyone’s asleep.
Soon he can too.
Now to take a nice nap, hang out with Kumo and finally rest a little. The last few patrols have been a little too eventful, and while it is part of the job, it’s starting to take a toll on him.
As he’s fumbling with his keys in the dark to get into his apartment, he hears voices inside.
Immediately, he’s on high alert.
Who the hell got into his apartment at five in the morning?
With capture weapon in hand, he silently makes his way inside.
And immediately puts it down.
He really needs to confiscate their spare keys. Or change the locks. Maybe even move houses.
“SHOTA! You’re home! Finally!”
There, in the middle of his living room, stand Hizashi and Nemuri, the banes of his existence.
“What are you doing in my house”
“Can’t we hang out at our friend’s house?” Nemuri teases.
Shota stares.
“Fine, fine, we have a surprise!” Hizashi exclaims
Shota squints his eyes now.
“What is it??”
“I’m sure you’ll like it” Nemuri chimes in
Before Shota can question them further, he sees something behind his friends, something that hadn’t caught his eye in his haste.
A cardboard box.
That’s quite strange.
“What is that?”
“The surprise!” Nemuri and Hizashi somehow say in unison.
Shota doesn’t even react as they move to show him what’s in the box.
A cat.
Which normally wouldn’t be strange, because as you know, Shota has a cat. A cat that adores cardboard boxes, no less.
What is strange, is that it’s not his cat.
“We found this poor little guy in an alleyway all injured. It seems he was attacked by dogs or something…”
Shota just stares at the little kitten who’s staring up at him from the box.
It’s very small, obviously still a kitten. He has brown and white fur, but it’s all matted. It’s all huddled up in a corner, yet still trying to intimidate him by puffing up.
What catches his eye the most, is the kitten’s chin. Or lack thereof.
Hizashi rattles on “Since Sushi can’t live with other cats due to his allergies and my apartment doesn’t allow pets… we thought Kumo could use a buddy?”
Now both Hizashi and Nemuri stare at him expectantly, awaiting his reaction.
“You want me to take care of this cat?”
They both nod immediately.
“Well…” he pauses to think “I guess Kumo has been eager to have a friend at home…” He says matter of factly.
But before he can even fully finish his sentence, his friends erupt into cheers.
“Okay, okay, so it seems like the little buddy got his chin injured in the fight, we’ll probably need to disinfect it and help him eat. Maybe take him to the vet tomorrow. But first give him a bath and let him rest before introducing him to Kumo.” Nemuri rattles on.
“Okay,” Shota says. “we can do that.”
He moves to offer his hand to the frightened kitten, who immediately starts hissing at him.
This one is certainly a lot more feral than Kumo was.
He keeps his hand where it is, and lets him calm down before moving any closer.
Quite the temper for such a small kitten.
Slowly, the cat moves to smell his hand, before immediately retreating.
Still progress.
Over the next hour and a half, Shota stays right where he is, keeps his hand still in the box. All the while, Kumo comes out of the depths of who knows where and curiously checks out the new addition. Nemuri goes out to buy some disinfectant, while Hizashi moves to make some coffee, as Shota, and the rest, are not getting any sleep, again.
Cats seem to equal even more sleepless nights for Shota. But honestly, he can’t even complain, with how much of an unmissable figure in his life Kumo has become, and this kitten will be the next one, it seems.
Well, if he’s going to miss sleep, let it be because of cats. He’ll gladly take it.
When Nemuri comes back, with a lot more than just disinfectant, they get to work.
Upon closer inspection, the cat does have a chin, it’s just injured.
Shota cleans the wound with warm water and some saline from his first aid kit, a must have as an underground hero, of course. And handy, even if it is for an injured cat. They give the little guy a little bath, but it takes some teamwork. Teamwork makes the cat less stinky, or something like that.
Nemuri takes one of the many antiseptic creams she bought, and she applies it to the wound while Shota chugs his coffee.
Nemuri, the forward thinker she is, bought some kitten food as well, soft as to keep it easy on his jaw, as Kumo has long since moved on from kitten food, and thus there wasn’t any left at home.
The poor kitten can’t feed himself, so they help him eat, and it’s clear he’s hungry, so much so that he doesn’t shy away this time. Meanwhile Kumo just watches the kitten curiously.
Again, Hizashi and Nemuri are the ones to name the little guy, and they eventually settle on Toshiko, something about him being smaller than Kumo, and of course, being a very alert little guy, not even taking his eyes off them for a second since he’s been there, though he hisses less now.
Once the sun has risen, Hizashi makes a proper breakfast for the three of them, probably the first Shota has had in quite a while. Then they immediately make their way to the veterinarian with the little guy in tow.
The vet takes a good look at Toshiko, cleans the wound thoroughly once again and checks for any signs of a jaw fracture. It seems to just be a bite wound on his chin, but luckily the bone seems just fine. She prescribes some antibiotics just in case, says they can’t be sure how healthy the dog was.
Toshiko goes home.
Kumo now is just curious and comes over to smell him once in a while, and while Toshiko hisses back, Kumo pays it no mind. Over the next few weeks they slowly get used to eachother. Kumo faster than Toshiko, but it happens all the same.
Shota Aizawa now has two cats.
And two make a pair.