Chapter Text
Shouta wakes in the early morning hours, and realizes that the bumbling blonde idiot didn't tell Izuku a time for them to meet. He stretches and feels his spine shift. He turns to the kid and paws at his face. "Come on, kid. You need to eat something before you meet with All Might," the cat meows.
Izuku grumbles in his sleep, before swatting at the paws. "Five more minutes," he pleads.
Shouta's tail swishes in anger before it nails the kid in the nose. An amused sound slips out when the kid's eyes fly open. He paws Izuku's face one more time. "Think, kid, what happened yesterday?" The caw mewls the question.
"Food, then Beach. I can't believe All Might is going to train me," the boy whisper shouts. He climbs out of the bed before promptly tripping over his own feet. Face flushed from embarrassment, he rushes off to the bathroom.
Shouta shakes out his fur. Yesterday could have been worse. The kid could have not let me distract him and continued with his life ending ritual. I'm just glad he's still here. He jumps off the bed and waits to see if the coast is clear at the door. Hearing just the kid's heart beat he moves to sit outside the bathroom door.
His tail swishes against the floor, the fluffiness of it makes him wonder just how fluffy he is. He has to be rather long-haired, which makes him worry. How is he supposed to take care of his coat, as he doesn't know the first thing about cat fur? Most of the strays he cares for are short-haired. Maybe Izuku could buy a brush? He shakes the thought from his head, he won't be telling the kid how to spend his money again, not with the Red Shoe "Tax" existing.
He must have been absorbed in his thoughts, as he didn't notice the bathroom door opening until Izuku carefully steps past him. His eyes snap to focus, and he has the sudden urge to attack the kid's feet. He pushes that feeling down, and steps into the bathroom with his tail held high. He bats the door mostly shut so he can use the facilities in private.
It takes him a second to figure out how to position himself on the toilet to properly relieve himself. Once done he flushes the toilet which is easy since it's a lever flush.
He hops up on the counter to look at himself in the mirror. He's honestly a larger cat than he thought, though lighter than he looks. He is definitely, as Hizashi would put it, a fluff ball. He hops off the counter and hooks his paw under the door to pull it open.
The cat does his best to pull the door shut behind himself, causing the door to click shut with a hard enough yank. With the door now closed, he walks to the kitchen to check on the kid.
Izuku is humming to himself as he scrambles some eggs in a frying pan. Shouta hops up on the table easily to watch the kid as he cooks. The scene feels very domestic. Hizashi would love the kid.
Izuku splits the eggs between two plates. "Oh, you're already here! I forget how quiet cats can be, especially since you've been screaming at me since we met. Ah- well, screaming isn't the right word, but you get what I mean. You've been a rather loud cat, no offense," Izuku rambles as he sets the plates on the table.
Shouta finds it enjoyable to hear the way the kid's brain works. He is reminded of Nedzu; if the cat didn't know better he would think the kid had an intelligence quirk. The eggs appear to be lightly seasoned with just salt and pepper. Eggs are one of his favorite foods, as they are simple and easy to cook. He can't seem to wrap his head around why you would want to burn more calories making a meal than you get from eating it.
"Do you not like eggs? I can get you something else if you want," Izuku offers.
"No, eggs are fine," Shouta mews before he starts eating the eggs on the plate in front of him.
Once they finish eating, he jumps off the table. He's ready to go see what All Might has in store for the kid's training. He saunters over to Izuku's backpack and bats at it.
"You're coming with me? I thought you'd want to stay here and maybe catch up on some sleep." Izuku picks up the bag. "Let me just clear this out a bit, I don't want you getting squished." He pulls out a few textbooks as well as a bunch of loose papers. "I should grab a new notebook for analysis, since Kacchan ruined this one. I'm not throwing it out since All Might signed it, but all the more reason to leave it home. I'll be right back, then we can head out."
Shouta watches as the kid rushes off to his room to retrieve a new notebook. The thought of just how good his analysis might be flits across the cat's mind. "The Rat is going to want to get his paws on you if you do a good job with analysis. Having been his student, I fear for you," he mewls.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming Eraser," the kid says as he steps back out of his room. "New notebook, pencil case is still in the bag, just need you to hop in and we'll be off. Oh and the gloves!"
Shouta gets into the backpack and blinks slowly at Izuku before meowing, "Don't do anything stupid on the way."
"Okay, stay still." Izuku zips the bag carefully submerging the cat is darkness.
Shouta having slept a majority of yesterday morning and last night is able to stay awake most of the walk through the apartment building. A few neighbors wish Izuku a good morning, and one asks him about his mother. The cat focuses on that conversation enough to understand what they are saying.
"It's fine, she pays the rent and gives me money for food. I'm fine," Izuku says.
"Izuku-kun, your mother shouldn't be leaving you unattended like this. What happens if you get hurt? Most hospitals don't take quirkless patients. The only reason you get seen is because your mother works there." The neighbor sounds very kind.
"I know. Now I have somewhere to go," the kid says. The cat can feel the bag shift as the kid bows. "Apologies but I must be leaving."
The sound of a door opening followed by an increased pace of the bag swaying tells Shouta that Izuku is running. When the kid finally stops and lets the cat out of the bag he's panting.
Shouta steps out and he can see that they are a few blocks from the apartment building. "Sorry, I forgot about you for a bit. Dagobah is about three blocks from here," Izuku explains.
"Let's get going then," the cat meows. He starts in the direction away from where they just came.
"Right, I'm coming." The kid falls in line with Shouta.
The walk is quiet when suddenly Izuku stops, and the scent of fear fills the air. He stiffly moves into the nearest alley and relaxes slightly. He tucks himself behind a dumpster and whispers, "Let me know when they pass."
Who? Shouta almost asks, but then the sound of laughter catches his attention. Three boys, he could hazard to be Izuku's age, are walking down the street. One of them is the blonde from yesterday, who seems to be angry about the jokes from the other two boys. The cat watches them until they turn at the end of the block before signaling to Izuku that the coast is clear.
"Thanks. I really don't want to be late to the meeting, nor do I want you to see me getting beat," the kid says as he pulls himself to his feet. "Let's hurry up, I don't want to risk running into them again."
Shouta nods and starts off in the direction on the beach, which he can already smell from here. The smell of rotting garbage and sea water wafts down the street pushed further by the summer's breeze. He bites back the urge to vomit up his breakfast, pushing forward towards the inevitable meeting with All Might.
Izuku seems to brighten as they get closer to the beach. "Can you believe 200 years ago they didn't really have quirks? It makes me wonder what it would have be like to be born when quirks didn't exist yet," he rambles.
Shouta hops onto the kid's shoulder as the beach comes into view. "Look alive, kid. Your destiny awaits you," he mews, interrupting the kid's current train of thought.
"I should have tried to do some research on him. It's going to be weird calling him All Might all the time." Izuku sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. "Kami, this is embarrassing."
"My boy," the hero booms from a truck parked near the stairs onto the beach. "Over here."
Izuku nods and turns to approach All Might. "Good morning, Mr. All Might, sir," he says stiffly.
"Oh, your cat tagged along again?" The bumbling idiot asks.
"He's not exactly my cat, he's just Eraser," the kid says, giving Shouta an out if he needs it later. Not that he plans to use it.
"Just get on with it," he meows.
"Right! Anyways, here's my plan for your training. Sundays are rest days, Monday through Friday, you'll run in the morning and come pick up the beach after school, and Saturday you'll run in the morning ,ending here, to pick up trash. After that, we'll do some sparring. I also have a diet plan for you to follow, so please try to stick to it as much as possible." All Might thrusts a packet of paper with a clearly more detailed plan of action than his rough explanation. "We have to get you ready by the time of the entrance exam, so we only have ten months to get you ready to inherit my quirk."
Fucking hell, I'm going to have to read through this and hopefully make improvements. As a cat. All because of the bumbling idiot named Toshinori Yagi. Shouta's fur bristles, but Izuku's hand buries itself in his fur and the cat settles.
"Are you sure he's not yours? The way you calmed him down just now would be surprising with a stray cat." Yagi frowns, his eyebrows scrunch up in confusion.
"He's not mine, and he's not a stray either. He's Eraser." The kid's hand moves to the cat's ears.
"I don't understand what that means. He seems to be your cat to me, especially considering yesterday's events. Anyways." The hero claps his hands. "Let's get started then?"
Shouta watches as Izuku pulls on his gloves and starts hauling trash to the truck. The repetitive motions become boring to watch, so the cat decides to take a nap, expecting All Might to be able to protect the kid should the need arise. His eyes flutter shut and he dreams of himself and Oboro, both cats, chasing butterflies together.
Shouta is gently roused from his sleep by Izuku. Slightly saddened by the loss of the dream, but not upset with the kid. "Yes?" he questions.
"All Mi- Yagi-san went to pick-up some lunch for us. He praised me for thinking ahead and bringing gloves. Said 'I should have thought of that.' He's not exactly how I saw him as a kid, but I think it's better this way. I'm not so upset about what he said yesterday." Izuku pulls the cat onto his lap. "He's more human than I ever could have hoped, and maybe, just maybe that's a good thing?" The kid seems hopeful about his future for once.
"If it makes you happy, I'd say it's a good thing," Shouta meows as he presses a paw to the kid's chest. His tail swishes behind him as the excitement of messing with All Might's training lingers in the back of his mind. "And don't you worry, I'm going to fix up that training plan of his real good. Even if it takes me all week because I'm currently a cat."
"I think you're excited too, huh, Eraser?" Izuku asks, mostly nailing the cat's thoughts. "The meal plan does look a bit out of budget, but I'll do my best."
"A kid your age should not have to worry about budgeting for food. If I ever meet your mother I'm going to read her the riot act." His tail thrashes in anger.
"My birthday is next month, can you believe that? Most quirkless kids don't make it past twelve, and here I am turning fifteen. I haven't really celebrated my birthday in a few years, money has been tight and," Izuku cuts himself off as the rumbling of All Might's truck increases in volume.
The blonde comes over to join the kid in the parking lot. He sits at an abandoned picnic table that hadn't been thrown onto the piles of trash. It had been here a while if the chipping paint and rusting screws were any indication of time. Shouta knows that salt water can speed up the aging of some things, so he wouldn't be surprised if it was newer than it looks. Yagi sets a bag on the table and motions for Izuku to join him. The cat yawns and stretches before stepping off the kid and walking to the table to jump on it.
The green-haired boy scrambles to his feet. "Coming, sir!"
"I can't really eat much of this, so feel free to take the leftovers home. I'll just be teaching you a fighting stance today, so you should be able to get home soon. I don't think your cat should be out much longer in this weather. The heat can't be good for them," the blonde says once Izuku sits at the table.
The kid is the only one who really eats anything, but he occasionally passes the cat a bit of meat or some rice. Yagi just drinks a protein shake that has to be warm by the time he finishes. Izuku packs up the uneaten food into a bag handed to him by the blonde.
Once the food is put away, All Might instructs the kid on how to get into a fighting stance. Shouta watches and picks up that Yagi really doesn't know how to teach someone to fight. He has Izuku spread his legs too wide and the cat can't take it anymore.
"No, no, no. Not like that," Shouta yowls. He moves closer and bats the kids shoe. "Move this back towards your center a bit."
"Like this Eraser?" Izuku asks moving his left foot to be more in line with his shoulder.
"Yes, good. Now for the other foot." The cat repeats the process with the kid's right leg.
"Your cat seems to know fighting techniques…?" Yagi says, confusion evident in his voice.
"He's not my cat," Izuku says.
Shouta is trying to figure out how to tell the kid how to adjust his arms when an explosion rings out several blocks to the south east. All Might snaps to attention, ready to respond to the danger. "Get home safe, Young Midoriya. It seems we have to end our lesson here for today."
"Oh, uh. Take care Yagi-san. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble on the way home," Izuku shouts as the blonde flies off.
"Let's get that food back to your place kid." Shouta paws at the bag of food. "It probably should get refrigerated quickly, so it doesn't go bad."
"I'm surprised at how much food he got if he can't eat it. I'm glad he said I could have it, but honestly this will last me all week." Izuku picks up the bag and motions for the cat to jump on his shoulder.
Shouta makes a questioning noise.
"I'm taking a slightly different path home and I don't want you to get lost." The cat must look appalled because the kid starts waving his hands around. "Ah, no. I didn't mean it like that. I know that you are capable of getting there yourself, I just enjoy your company." Izuku looks like a strawberry from how red his face turns.
"Calm down, kid. It's okay," Shouta mews. He stands in his hind legs and presses his paws into the kid's legs.
"Well? I guess we should hurry. I need to stop at the stationery store on the way home. I'm out of notebooks," Izuku says as he starts walking.
Shouta manages to convince the kid to let him into the backpack for the trip to the store. He manages to stay awake most of the time they're in the store, only falling asleep once Izuku checks out.
Shouta dreams of Hizashi carrying Izuku into the guest bedroom of their apartment. Shouta follows and tucks the kid into the bed.
He is dragged from his dream as Izuku enters his apartment building. The slamming door reverberates in his ears, and he has to do his best not to flinch. A few "good evenings" later and he hears the jingle of key followed by the scrape of a key sliding into a lock. However, before the sound of the pins being turned there's a sound of paper being removed from the door, if the sound of tape means anything. The quiet mutter of, "Fucking bullshit," follows as the kid finally turns the key.
"I'm home," Izuku calls to an empty apartment. The bag shifts and Shouta finds himself being placed on the floor and released from the confines of the yellow backpack.
The cat watches the kid as he goes about putting the food away. His tail swishes in anger when he can't find the paper that upset the kid so much. He's pretty sure he knows what it is, but he has to be sure. Come on, kid. I need to see that paper, please.
He follows Izuku all night and never spots where the kid put it.