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There is a cat that roams the grounds of Yuuei. No one is quite sure how it got there, nor where it came from. There are things, however, that the students of 1-A know. Facts that are undeniable, that are known and understood well. Five simple facts that make up the basis of this cat.
The first fact is simple. The cat is white with green eyes, with a coat that somehow looks silky and smooth despite the obvious dirt on it. Dirt which leads people to understand the second fact.
The cat is a stray. It has no owner, no collar marking it, nothing but dirt-matted fur and a glowing green gaze that seems to bore into the eyes of whoever it locks sight with.
The cat is a girl. This is found out when Kouji Kouda first manages to talk to her, when she approaches him on a day where he is sitting alone during lunch. It is a day when Kouda is simply far too overwhelmed by life, his introverted, timid nature driving him outside, away from his peers. She has the voice of a mother, wisened with age and experience.
The cat has a Quirk. This is the fourth known fact, also learned by Kouda. A minor empathy Quirk, that allows her to feel the emotions of those nearby. With no kittens of her own, she finds them in people, temporary ones. She has never had a permanent one, admittedly, most people only needing her comfort for a day or so. Still, she finds her purpose this way, receiving attention and offering her unconditional love to those who need it. She seeks out those who are saddened, whether it is a current emotion or one that hides underneath, and she acts as their caretaker.
And this leads to the fifth fact.
The fact that this white haired, green eyed, caring cat has recently found someone who she has yet to leave. A permanent child of her own, the one who she has chosen to raise. A child who is hurt, who hides their pain beneath a kind smile and endless passion.
Izuku Midoriya is this child, and the only one who does not know the fourth fact.
And oh, is it painful to see…
Because just like how there are five simple facts about this cat, there are five times that Midoriya’s sadness is given away to 1-A before the boy realizes that his secret has been revealed.
-----
The first time, it is just one week after Kouda learns the truth about the cat and her Quirk, and one week since Kouda told the class, minus Midoriya, who was doing some additional training, about her Quirk.
Now, the class is gathering at Training Ground Beta, ready to do some Quirkless sparring.
Well, almost ready, because all but one student has made it to the designated spot.
“Where’s Midoriya?” Aizawa asks, and the sound of footsteps can be heard immediately after, as if perfectly cued.
“Sorry!” Midoriya exclaims, looking bashful as he approaches. “She wouldn’t stop following me, no matter what, and I was trying to get her to stay back at the locker rooms but she kept meowing, and her cries sounded really sad, so I may or may not have stopped trying to keep her away and uh...is it okay that she’s here?”
‘She’, of course, is the white cat that quickly catches up to Midoriya, until she’s standing right by his side. From the way she positions herself, it’s clear to 1-A what the situation is, even as Midoriya gives a bashful smile.
He’s upset.
Unfortunately, Aizawa doesn’t seem to understand, and Kouda is the one to spot how the man starts to shake his head. Quickly, Kouda waves his heads, gathering his teacher’s attention.
‘Don’t, please,’ Kouda mouths, and then, when Aizawa’s eyebrows narrow, ‘I’ll explain later.’
Aizawa nods subtly, then turns back to Midoriya.
“She can stay,” Aizawa relents. “So long as she isn’t in our way. Then you need to find a way to send her off, Problem Child.”
And something must happen, when Aizawa says that name, because the cat shifts closer, tail lashing angrily as she steps in front of Midoriya, winding around his legs, brushing against him protectively until the green haired boy relaxes.
Kouda, and the rest of 1-A, hadn’t even noticed how he had tensed. Neither had Aizawa, apparently, because the man hesitates for a moment before calling out the first pairing.
“Bakugou and Kirishima,” Aizawa says, and Midoriya relaxes even more when Kirishima’s name is called, the boy usually paired up against Bakugou for sparring matches.
The cat doesn’t leave Midoriya’s side except for when the boy spars, and even then, she stays close by.
Midoriya’s friends do their best to cheer him up, and by the time that they reach the dorms, the cat is gone.
But not for long.
-----
The second time that 1-A realizes just how sad their friend may be, it is three days later. The students of 1-A are all rushing to get to class at the same time, thanks to an electricity-related Quirk incident that left all of their alarms knocked out. So now all twenty students rush at once, trying to exit the dorms and get to school.
And when the class steps out of the dorms, the cat is waiting there.
And she only moves forwards when Midoriya steps outside, rubbing against his ankle before walking by his side.
“Huh,” Midoriya murmurs, voice soft. “She’s been showing up in the mornings since she first followed me- do you think it’s because I fed her a few days ago?”
It’s not, they all know, but they don’t know how to tell Midoriya that the cat follows him because she knows about his sadness, about the pain that he is hiding behind a perfect smile that they can’t even see the cracks in. They don’t know how to digest the fact that Midoriya has seen her for three days, either, how to deal with his sadness that they never noticed and never knew was there. And so his peers shrug, giving half-worded answers and letting him believe in his own theory.
Either way, Midoriya is content as the cat strolls alongside him, all the way from their dorms to the main building of Yuuei, smiling as she moves in tandem with him.
When they reach the school, his friends see how gentle he is, when he leans down, pets the cat’s head, and says, “You have to stay outside, okay? I’ll come bring you food at lunch, got it?”
The cat meows, and then she sits. Delicate, protective, she watches as Midoriya enters the school.
It is only when he is gone that she turns away, disappearing once more.
And the students can’t help but hope that she will stay away, for as much as she brings him joy.
They hope that he won’t need her to bring joy.
-----
But the third time comes quickly, too quickly, and the cat is waiting outside when Midoriya moves to find her. This time, it is not all of 1-A who comes with Midoriya, but simply his closest friends, although the rest will hear about the encounter soon enough.
And so it is Todoroki, Iida, Tsuyu, and Uraraka who see how the cat is waiting for Midoriya, patient and calm as the green eyed boy approaches her, smiling brightly as he makes his way.
“I brought food!” Midoriya says to the cat, and she chirrups in response, a noise that makes him smile even wider. How true that smile is, his friends no longer know, but still it brings them relief as he sits beside the cat, showing her his bowl of katsudon before laughing as the cat tries to shove her head in the bowl.
“You can’t have it all,” Midoriya chides gently, lifting the bowl out of reach. “I’ll give you some pork, but you can’t eat it hot, okay? Wait until it cools down, at least.”
The cat meows, and Midoriya happily sets some pork on a napkin. For a moment, his friends assume that she’ll try to eat it immediately, but the cat seems content to curl up next to Midoriya, eyes closing as he pets her with his free hand.
“She’s very obedient,” Iida notes, and Midoriya grins.
“Yeah! I wonder if she was a house cat first, or if she’s got a minor intelligence Quirk of sorts. She seems to understand me whenever I speak, it’s really cool!”
“Maybe she does have a Quirk,” Uraraka says, as if she doesn’t know the truth. Midoriya lights up at the agreement, and for some reason, it hurts.
Perhaps because they know it is a mask, at least somewhat.
But they do not know how long it has been one, and if it was ever real.
Nor do they know just how much he is hurting.
The rest of lunch passes in a subdued manner, Midoriya more distracted by giving the cat the attention she wants, his friends more distracted by his hidden feelings. And so when lunch ends, it is a dazed sort of way, with Asui slowly saying, “We need to head inside.”
“Alright,” Midoriya agrees, although his smile seems ever so slightly dimmer as he does, fading a bit as he stands. “Bye, little cat.”
“Do you not have a name for her?” Todoroki asks, and Midoriya frowns.
“No?” Tilting his head, Midoriya points out. “She’s not mine, I don’t think...I don’t think I have the right to name her? She’s going to wander off eventually, most likely, and then she’ll have a different one to learn. It’d be silly to get attached, only to see her go, wouldn’t it?”
His smile is even more faded, eyes losing their shine as he says this.
It’s almost like he means something else, remembers someone else, when he muses over this hypothetical situation.
And so Uraraka hums and says, “No, I don’t think so.”
“You don’t?” Midoriya asks, and Uraraka shakes her head.
“No way! Deku-kun,” the cat moves closer, ever so slightly, and Uraraka tries again, “Midoriya! She’s clearly bonded to you, there’s no way she’ll leave!”
“She’s practically chosen you as her owner,” Todoroki says, and Midoriya blinks in surprise.
“Really?” Four nods are the immediate response, and so Midoriya looks at the cat with a thoughtful, curious expression. “Do you want me to name you, then?”
A loud meow makes him laugh, and Midoriya hesitates before asking, “How about Catsudon?”
Another meow, and Midoriya’s smile returns, and his friends come to a realization.
Maybe Midoriya does need Catsudon in his life, to make him happier...but does that have to be a bad thing?
No, they think. No, it does not have to be.
-----
And so when the fourth time comes, it is not too bad.
No, it is more just...amusing. At first, at least.
Because when Midoriya comes downstairs in the morning, on a normal, sunny Sunday, he is holding Catsudon in his arms, wearing a perplexed expression.
“She was in my room,” Midoriya explains, looking just as confused as his peers feel. Especially when he adds, “My door was locked...my window wasn’t. But I’m on the second floor?”
“She must have wanted to be with you,” Sero says, voice thick, and he can’t quite make eye contact with Midoriya. No one can, not when Catsudon is pressing her face into the boy’s hand so insistently, as if trying to distract him.
Not when they glance at the boy’s face again, only to see how his eyes seem red.
The fact that Catsudon had felt the need to be there for Midoriya at night, when the boy should have been free from bad feelings and simply allowed to rest ...it is a realization that pierces the hearts of quite a few students.
And so they encourage Midoriya to keep her, even if it means disobeying a rule or two.
As if they’d care about rules more than their sunshine friend’s happiness.
-----
The fifth time that Midoriya’s secret sadness is pointed out, it is not so much the cat’s presence that strikes 1-A, but rather an announcement from their teacher.
“I will tell you this now, while Midoriya is busy,” Aizawa says, just moments after he sent the boy to bring some papers to Yamada-sensei, Catsudon trotting after him despite the school’s rule against having pets inside the halls. (As if Nedzu would ever truly force an animal off of his campus.)
“Catsudon, Midoriya’s cat, is being registered as a therapy cat.” Ignoring the nineteen pairs of eyes that stare at him, Aizawa adds, “Midoriya has been told that the cat is allowed to be with him, but we didn’t tell him about the cat’s Quirk, or the fact that we know about his...mental wellbeing. We will be talking to him, soon, so do your best not to spring this on him. Got it?”
Quickly, the students of 1-A agree, and just in time, as Midoriya returns just a few moments later, the trip short and efficient.
“Sorry I took so long,” Midoriya murmurs, as if he took long at all. “Catsudon tried stealing Yamada-sensei’s pencils to give to me, I had to keep returning them.”
Catsudon simply purrs in acknowledgment, now draped around his neck like a satisfied, sentient version of Aizawa’s capture weapon.
Is that what she is? Maybe so. They share a similar purpose, after all, being made to protect their owner.
Maybe that’s what a therapy pet is, in the end. Protection.
If so, the students of 1-A welcome Catsudon with open arms, because Midoriya deserves all of the protection that he can get.
Even if it’s from his own thoughts.
-----
It is just over one month from when Catsudon first arrived into Midoriya’s life that the boy finds out the significance. And it’s not because one of his peers explains it to him, nor because Aizawa sat him down.
But because of a blonde from 1-B.
Surprisingly, it is not Monoma, who undoubtedly would broadcast Midoriya’s underlying pain to the world. No, it is Pony Tsunotori, the girl from America who does not always say what she means to, and sometimes says more than she meant to.
And she lets it slip.
It’s when she passes Midoriya in the hall at the end of a long day, only to pause, seeing Catsudon perched on his shoulder, keeping a watchful gaze on the halls.
“Oh!” She cries out. “It is the empath!”
“I’m sorry?” Midoriya asks, and Tsunotori beams.
“The empath! The cat is Quirked! She feels sadness.” Tilting her head, Tsunotori asks, “Are you sad?”
Midoriya doesn’t answer.
No, instead, Midoriya turns around, going back the exact way that he just came, right back to his classroom. Instead, Midoriya opens the giant door to 1-A, eyes instantly locking on Aizawa’s form, the man still at his podium, organizing papers.
“Yes?” Aizawa asks, and then his eyes widen ever so slightly when he sees Midoriya in the doorway, Catsudon’s tail flicking back and forth, ears swiveling with worry.
Worry for Midoriya, who looks unsure, hesitant, scared.
Betrayed .
“She feels emotions,” Midoriya murmurs, and Aizawa’s eyes widen even more, too noticeable to be brushed off. Voice dropping even more, Midoriya repeats, “She feels emotions. She goes to people...who are sad.”
“She does,” Aizawa agrees, voice more gentle than it usually is, cautious, caring.
“You know?” A shake of his head, disbelieving, and then, “You all knew, didn’t you?”
“We did,” Aizawa agrees.
“Were you going to tell me? That you knew? For- for a month?”
“I was going to bring it up this weekend,” Aizawa admits. “Your friends are worried, Midoriya. We all have been.”
“Why?” Midoriya asks. “I’m- I’m fine.”
Catsudon bats his head, lightly, then nuzzles into it. Midoriya’s face drops even more.
“You don’t have to lie,” Aizawa says, still gentle, still soft. “Kid, it’s okay to be sad.”
“But I shouldn’t be,” Midoriya protests. “I’m happy! I have friends, I go to Yuuei, Catsudon is wonderful, my life is good now.”
‘ Now? ’ Aizawa thinks, but that’s not what he says. Instead, what comes out of his mouth is, “You can be both at the same time. Current joy doesn’t erase old wounds, kid.”
“But it doesn’t make sense.” It doesn’t, not to Midoriya. Why should he still be sad, when things are good now? Shouldn’t he just...move on? Forgive and forget, right?
Why can’t he forget ?
“It’s not always easy to forget,” Aizawa admits, and Midoriya wonders if, between Catsudon and his mumbling habit, he’s ever been able to hide the underlying pain he feels almost constantly. “But it’s okay.”
“It is?” Midoriya asks, because how can it be okay? If he can’t forget, can’t move on...is he not broken?
“You’re not broken,” Aizawa says, and Midoryia wonders if the light is tricking him because Aizawa’s eyes look teary, and that can’t be right. “Kid, you’re not.”
“Shattered, then. Dented,” Midoriya offers, and Aizawa shakes his head.
“You can’t get through life without marks,” Aizawa says, but then, stepping closer, putting a hand on Midoriya’s head and ruffling his hair, “but you can patch them up.”
“How?” Midoriya asks, and Aizawa offers him a grin.
“Support. Luckily, it seems like you’ve got quite a lot of that.”
And...maybe he does. With Catsudon still nuzzling into him, and his friends to make him smile, and his teachers to...to look after him, too?
Maybe they’re right. Maybe Midoriya can be sad, and be okay at the same time. And then, when he forgets, or even if he never does, he’ll be happy.
And even if he is, he knows that Catsudon won’t leave his side, and neither will anyone else.
And that...that’s enough.
(Sincerely, truly, Midoriya beams .)