Chapter Text
This was it. Izuku was sick of heroics. The very second this quirk wore off he was leaving UA and taking up something less humiliating, like baking! Or he could become a full-time clown like the world seemed to want him to be. Steeling himself with a quiet growl, he wiggled out of the sea of fabric that was once his hero costume, glaring at his little green paws as if they’d greatly offended him.
A kitten. He walks back alone from Endeavour’s agency for the first time and he gets turned into a kitten? Quietly he swears to himself that he’s never letting himself get distracted by quirks again, even if that sidekick’s quirk had been really really neat –
No! Back to the matter at hand, there was still a villain here! Totally unable to fight back he chose the only course of action, one that would have made Aizawa incredibly proud had he been there to watch it – he sprinted away as fast as his tiny kitten legs could carry him. It was as fast as he would have liked it, but given that his fur had remained as green as his hair he blended into the undergrowth surprisingly well. It wasn’t long before the crashing sounds behind him faded away, leaving nothing but his own racing heart and quiet, bounding steps. Still, he didn’t stop running until he’d all but run face-first into the wall around UA.
Staring up at the suddenly dizzyingly tall metal barrier, he realised his second problem. His ID was in his costume. The costume he was no longer wearing because he was a kitten and his costume had been designed with a human in mind. He wondered if it would be possible to keep something like an alert bracelet or ID that shrank or changed form with him, especially if any of the past wielders quirks had anything to do with form changing -
“Well aren’t you a chatty one.” Izuku felt his ears flatten in embarrassment. It seemed his mumbling carried over even in cat form. Casting his eyes up, and wow that was a lot further up than usual, his eyes caught a tuft of purple hair and lopsided smile.
“ Shinsou !” He tried to shout, but it came out as a kind of ‘mrrp’ noise. The boy in question crouched down, extending a hand for Izuku to sniff. Completely ignoring the hand he all but bashed his head into the other’s leg, a purr rising from his chest unbidden. “ Oh thank goodness, please please take me inside I know you can’t understand me but it’s so good to see another UA student! I thought I’d be locked out here all night!”
Shinsou laughed delightedly at the violent affection, giving him a gentle scratch under the chin that had Izuku’s new tail twitching happily. The other boy paused in his affections, lifting Izuku with a single hand. Izuku tried not to let his irritation show. “Those are some nasty scars, huh kitty.” His pale fingers grasped Izuku’s front paw gently, causing him to hiss involuntarily in pain. “You’re bleeding.” Now that the adrenalin from before had worn off Izuku notice that yes, each of his paws actually did sting. Shinsou hissed in sympathy, bundling him into his jacket and all but jogging into UA.
Izuku gave a token mew of protest before settling in to enjoy the body heat the other boy was putting off. He smelt kind of like lavender, soap, coffee and faintly of Aizawa in a way that implied he’d been training with his teacher recently. It was comforting.
It seemed like he’d only just blinked and he was already in a room he’d never seen before. He refused to entertain the idea he’d fallen asleep. Nope. No way. Shinsou way just really fast. That must be it.
“I’m gonna have to wash and disinfect those paws.” Shinsou’s face looked incredibly pinched as he fished his first aid kit from under his bed, still carrying Izuku’s tiny kitten form under one arm. He all but jogged to the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind him. He filled the sink with water, mumming platitudes and applying as many pats as he dared to the ‘stray’ kitten. “Please don’t hate me, please don’t hate me.” Shinsou chanted as he lowered Izuku into the warm water.
Izuku couldn’t stop the delighted purr that left him at the warmth of the water. It stung, yes, but it felt clean and warm. He shook each of his paws in the water himself, screwing up his nose as the turned the water pink. Nastier than he’d thought then – turns out kitten paws and sprinting for an hour over rough ground didn’t mix. Izuku tuned back into the world around him at Shinsou’s relieved sigh.
“I can’t believe you didn’t freak, you are one weird cat, huh?”
“ Not a cat, Shinsou! ” He meowed back even as Shinsou giggled softly at him.
“Chatty kitty.”
He was fished from the nice warm sink all too soon, Shinsou carefully wiping each of his paws with an alcohol swab, wincing with him whenever he hissed in pain. “Poor little thing.” A quick go over with what he assumed was Shinsou’s hairdryer and he was good as new and toasty warm, if a little bit of a puffball. Before Shinsou could move to pick him up he sprung himself onto the other boy’s shoulder, settling down with a self-satisfied wiggle. Shinsou let out another laugh and it made Izuku’s heart ache a little. He’d never seen the other boy this happy before. He resolved again to make better friends with him after this -
that was if he could look him in the eye