Chapter Text
“Atsushi!”
“Jinko!”
Two voices rang out in the almost empty warehouse, both drenched with worry and fear. The speakers rushed forward, the same mission blaring in their mind, to reach Atsushi as quickly as possible. Akutagawa was obviously much faster than Dazai, using Rashōmon to propel himself forward while Dazai had to simply rely on his long legs. He cursed to himself, this wasn't supposed to happen.
Mori had been breathing down Fukuzawa’s neck about continuing to build Atsushi’s and Akutagawa’s partnership, so they decided to allow ShinSoukoku to aid Dazai on a mission that he was to originally take with Kunikida. Dazai protested a bit, he had an itching feeling things were not going to end well but Mori insisted. Normally he wouldn't listen to anything coming out of Mori’s rotten mouth but the bastard was holding the alliance over the ADA’s heads therefore they truly didn't have a choice in the matter. Dazai was right in the end, he always was, this was not going to end well.
The goal was so simple, so low risk, so easy. All they needed was to find an ability user who had been stealing resources from major company warehouses. Ranpo had provided the information that their power allowed them to teleport items to wherever they wanted as long as they had a clear mind.
Knowing this, it would be best to surprise them to stop them from using their ability. It was unclear if they could or could not teleport other humans or humans in general as they hadn’t even teleported themselves anywhere, their getaway was always a vehicle they parked close by. Though, most likely they could use this power on people but have not done so yet which is why Dazai was here, to cancel the ability before it can even be used. Unfortunately, their luck was never good.
It turns out the reason they never used their ability on living things was out of fear, they were scared of messing up and ripping themselves apart, teleporting their head one spot but the body a different one. They never tested it on any living animal, not wanting to hurt an innocent creature or accidentally kill other humans. They only used it on things to steal and to bring their escape vehicle to their location.
Now, they had opened a portal, large enough to swallow Atsushi into it, they looked afraid, unsure of what to do. This was clearly an accident, they had never engaged in direct conflict or fought, their poorly put together battle stance was enough evidence of that. They must have felt the rush of fear fill their senses, causing them to impulsively use their ability on a living being. Most likely thinking they had no choice but to do so as there was no clear way out of this corner they backed themselves into.
Atsushi roared, trying to use the tiger in him to jump up and grab onto one of the steel bars above, his hand almost reached, he was so close but couldn't make it. He fell downward, the portal growing in size. It felt weird, like mud, sucking him down. He shouted again, “Akutagawa! Dazai-san!” he struggled against the portal, even his enhanced strength couldn't help him.
Dazai rushed forward, dipping his hand into the edge of the gaping hole, hoping to cancel it out but failed. No Longer Human did nothing, it was just keeping Dazai from getting engulfed, he cursed, “Akutagwa, I need to get close to them,” he called out, trying to find an opening. Akutagawa nodded, “Rashōmon!” the tentacle-like appendages wrapped around a large metal bar, throwing it into the portal, creating a temporary bridge for Dazai to cross. Once he did that, he focused on using Rashōmon to tug Atsushi out.
Dazai crossed the makeshift bridge, keeping his eyes on their enemy. They looked to be attempting to force their hands into a fist, the portal pulsing in response. It must be controlled by the position of their hands, though now it was too strong to be shut down. He heard Akutagawa shout, followed by Atsushi telling him to watch out. The ability user huffed, thrusting their arms out, more and more portals began to appear, every part of the warehouse was being covered in them. “Crap!” Atsushi was neck-deep in, Akutagawa not doing any better as he was up to his torso, and Rashōmon was trapped along with him.
Dazai picked up his pace, ignoring the yells and destruction going on behind him, just as he reached his goal, the user stepped backwards into a portal, taking themself and his two prodigies alongside them. The holes all shut, leaving a deadly silence to flood the room. Dazai stared at the spot the enemy had been, he was too late. He failed them, he was so close too... If only he had been faster… Dazai dug his nails into his palms, the prickling feeling grounding him as he slowly left the building, he stood outside and pulled out his cellphone, dialing Ranpo to explain the situation and find a solution.
Hopefully, they could work fast, Dazai was sure the two could handle their own in a fight but when faced with an ability such as this one, No Longer Human was a very important member of the party to be present during the battle. Though he had no clue how they would achieve this, he couldn't enter the portals himself… Once he sat down with Ranpo, they could bounce ideas back and forth to formulate a perfect plan.
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The last thing Atsushi remembered was the chaos of everyone screaming and the sound of the whirling wind around him… now, he was completely confused. On the bright side, he wasn't alone even if it was Akutagawa he got stuck with. He was a cat… a tiny black striped white kitten. In a box. He was in a box as a kitten with Aktugawa who was also a kitten. What the hell? At least he was accustomed to four legs and the body of a feline, it was like his tiger form but… smaller and cuter. He did get a good chuckle out of Akutagawa stumbling over his legs, it was kinda cute.
Both of them were at a loss as to how this happened, because really… How did a transportation ability change them into cats? And send them to what was definitely a weird new dimension? Akutagawa did make a really adorable kitten, he was a black cat with white paws. Mitten paws! His ears were white and fluffy on the top like how his normal hair was white at the bottom, his tail had a white tip and his chest had white fur as well.
Atushi commented on how he was a cute kitty to only get hissed at as a response, rude… it wouldn’t hurt to say thank you. After some meowing, which was now how they would have to have conversations, they found out both of them still had their abilities. Atsushi could feel the tiger humming inside him, he didn't test it but he was pretty sure if he activated his power, it would make him grow in size and not be an adorable kitten. Aktugawa said Rashomon was still there but he needed some sort of cloth to wear for him to use the ability. After getting clawed at for telling Akutagawa to wear a ribbon with a bell, the two sat in silence.
It was weird to be in this form. Sure, he did turn into a huge cat often but he could always turn back. It must be even worse for grumpy pants over there. Why did the box have to be so tall? Even working together they couldn't turn it over to get out. Atsushi was kinda hoping someone would think they were cute and take them home. If they got separated though, that would be a problem. He had no doubt he could sniff Akutagawa out but knowing him, he would cause a disaster. The guy had a reputation of acting before thinking.
The box was shoved next to an alleyway so it was starting to look unlikely anyone would actually bother to look inside. So, like the smart thinker he was, Atsushi started to loudly meow and whine. Akutagawa was not amused by him, the black kitten curled up in a corner and kept glaring at him, unfortunately for him, the narrowed eyes of a literal baby cat wasn't as frightening as a full grown Akutagawa stare. Atsushi shoved away any feeling of shame, after all, you gotta do what you gotta do. His humiliating actions paid off as the box was opened at the top and a boy with half red and half white hair peeked in. Atsushi meowed even louder and stood on his hind legs to try and paw at the teen. The boy was about to reach into the box when a loud voice of a man yelled then walked over.
“Shoto, what are you doing?” the man was really big! Geez, why was he built like that? “There’s a kitten.” the teen pointed at the box. The man, probably the kid’s father, stared Atsushi down. Well, this guy definitely looked scary… but he had to get taken in! This was his chance so tried to jump up to swipe at the guy. The man stared down at him but decided to entertain the cat by picking it up by the scruff. Atsushi hissed lightly at the rough treatment but otherwise stayed calm. The father patted Atsushi’s fur, “Shoto, what kind of cat is this?” he asked. His son stayed silent but opened his phone to start searching the internet. After some taps, he answered, “it looks like an Asher cat... Those are an expensive breed.” With a nod, the man dropped Atsushi into his son’s arms. “We’ll take it home, this cat has the eyes of a number 1 hero.” What the hell does that even mean?
Atsushi meowed in agreement, see Aktugawa! He was smart, suck on that. Atsushi quickly gave a string of meows to inform his box buddy that he would come to find him later and behave to get taken in by another human. The walk back to this teen’s house was mildly uncomfortable as Atsushi was being held in a very awkward position by the kid, geez, did this dude ever hold an animal before? At least the strokes to his fur were nice, soft, and careful. The house was really nice too, it made his shared apartment look like crap.
The kid took him up to a bedroom and dropped him carefully onto the bed and sat next to him. The kid’s father yelled that he would return with cat stuff and stay put. The door slammed shut and now it was just Atsushi and this kid staring at each other. “Hi, kitty. My name is Shoto Todoroki, that guy is my shitty father... He’s also the number two hero right now…” Atsushi pawed at Todoroki’s leg, “mrrew?” what's with all the kids with shitty parents? It seemed like everyone from the ADA was a magnet for orphans or kids with issues.
Todoroki tilted his head, he ran his finger down the kitten’s back as lightly as possible. “He probably only took you in since you're worth so much. I hope he lets me keep you, you're very cute.” Atsushi began to purr at the pets as he listened, “I wonder what I should name you… I'm not very creative with names. Do you have any ideas, kitty?”
Atsushi licked Todoroki’s finger, man… he better not get stuck with a stupid name. Though… maybe Aktugawa would get named Fluffy or maybe even Oreo. Some time passed before Todoroki’s dad came back, he called the teen to come down for training and after that, they would set up the cat stuff. Todoroki huffed, “I'll be back, kitty.” Todoroki got up and headed to a huge gym the house had, Atsushi trailed after. What kind of training would they even do? And what the hell was a number two hero? Was his dad like… a party entertainer or something?
Todoroki and his father got into fighting stances before going at it. Atsushi almost gave away his hiding spot when the guy literally bursted into flames. Dear Lord, he won't ever escape insane ability users, will he? A ball of fire was heading straight at the kid and it didn't look like he had the time to dodge, Atsushi’s eyes widened and he proceeded to activate his ability to block the blast. The father’s eyes were wide and his mouth hung open as he stared at the large white tiger standing protectively in front of his son.
Atsushi’s tail flicked as he growled loudly, his sharp teeth proudly being shown. He hadn't the slightest clue as to what was going on but acted on his instincts to protect. Todoroki stuttered a curse under his breath, the usual ‘what the fuck?’ and then tried to calm Atsushi down. “Kitty, it's fine… um, it's just hero training. Uh, go back to being small? Please?” Atsushi huffed before shifting back to the kitten form, it felt weird, like he was meant to be human but wasn't. he sat in front of Todoroki, tilting his head and meowing.
“A quirked animal…” literally what the hell is that? Is that this place's word for ability? Atsushi decided to purr as a form of agreement “cat, can you understand me?” the man asked, Atsushi meowed. “Shoto, go set up the cat’s things and try to talk to it. I’m going to contact the head of the quirked animal department to get it registered… it seems to have taken a liking to you already...” What a predicament he had gotten himself into.
“Yes, father.” Todoroki carried Atsushi to the living room and placed a laptop in front of him with the notes app open. “Hopefull this will work… so, what’s your name? Unless you don't have one… then I’ll come up with a name” was the first thing he asked, that was an easy question! It was kinda hard to type with paws but he managed. “Atsushi? Okay, kitty… can you control your quirk?” After a small Q&A, Atsushi was definitely going to be staying at this house. He had played himself at a lower intelligence than he really had just to keep up the lovable kitten look. He could understand humans and basic commands and answer questions but that was all, pretty much what a child could do but it was good enough. Any intelligence in an animal was already impressive.
That night, Atsushi was laying awake in his new comfy cat bed in Todoroki’s room. He was supposed to get registered or something like that, whatever. He wondered, Hmm… What was Akutagawa up to? He sighed, he doubted that the mafioso was behaving, Atsushi kneaded the bed, he’d deal with all that tomorrow.