Chapter Text
One villain lair raid later, Shouta found himself one cat richer. He had found it in the office connected to a lab after capturing the doctor working with this particular villain group. It was a little odd, but it was in a villain’s lab. He couldn’t really hold anything those bastards may have done to it against the poor thing.
The police on site after the raid gave him weird looks when he asked if he could keep it. Their hesitant stares persisted even after he explained that he had a cat at home so he had experience caring for them. They agreed though, so he was headed home with a new cat.
“You’re going to like my roommates,” Shouta told the cat. “They always buy stuff for Mochi. Mochi’s my other cat. She’s usually good with other animals. I hope you get along.”
The cat blinked back at him with bright green eyes. Every street lamp they passed under made its black fur seem almost green. Not an uncommon color to see in the sheen of black-furred, scaled, or feathered animals. It was the cat’s size that was weird. It was somehow scrawny and stocky at the same time.
“Maybe you’ve got some Maine Coon in you,” Shouta mused aloud. “That breed gets pretty big.”
“Sho, you’re back!” Hizashi called as he pushed open the door to their shared apartment. When they graduated, they and their friend Nemuri decided to get a place together. It was a logical choice to share expenses while they worked toward their goal of opening an agency together.
“How’d the raid go?” Nemuri asked, standing up from the couch to approach him.
“I found a cat,” he told her, holding it up so she could see. She froze a few feet away.
“Uh… Hizashi?” Nemuri called into the kitchen.
“What?” Hizashi and Shouta asked in unison as Hizashi popped into the room.
“Hizashi is that…?” she trailed off pointing at the cat in Shouta’s arms. Hizashi paled.
“Whatcha got there, buddy?” Hizashi asked nervously.
“A cat,” Shouta replied flatly, starting to grow defensive of his newest rescue.
“Sho… that’s not a cat…” Hizashi said in a strained voice. Shouta frowned and looked down at the cat in his arms.
“Yes, it is,” Shouta argued. “It has whiskers and everything. It’s definitely not a dog.”
“A big cat, maybe,” Nemuri offered weakly.
“Are you... body shaming my cat?” Shouta asked incredulously.
“No, she means a literal big cat. You know? Jungle cats? That’s a baby panther, hun” Hizashi explained. Shouta looked at the cat again. The size, the obvious youth, the massive claws clinging to his shirt.
“Oh.” It was so sweet though. “Can I keep it anyway?”
“It does seem rather tame,” Hizashi relented as Shouta fed the creature bits of raw chicken.
“I found it roaming free in the office of one of the villains. No cage or chains or anything,” Shouta explained. “It was really calm, came right up to me, and had no objections when I picked it up.”
“But these get big,” Nemuri protested. “Even if it’s tame, it could accidentally hurt one of us once it’s grown.”
“I think a few pro heroes can handle a dog-sized kitty,” Shouta argued, bitter that she would ever accuse such a sweet creature of that.
“Dog-sized--” Hizashi laughed, looking at his phone. “No. Try wolf-sized. Maybe a little bigger. Depending on the exact kind, it could be anywhere from 68 lbs to 210 lbs.”
“Do you know what kind it is?” Shouta asked, peering over his shoulder at the phone.
“Well, it says panthers aren’t actually a species for one. That’s the genus. We’re actually looking at either a jaguar or a leopard. Just a melanistic one. Jaguars are bigger and stockier than leopards but it doesn’t say how to identify a cub,” Hizashi informed them. “Maybe the markings but this little one’s spots are hard to see.”
“If you really want to keep it, we should probably reach out to someone so that we know what exactly we are dealing with. How about we keep it for now and then make an informed decision once we know what it is?” Nemuri suggested.
“Deal,” Shouta agreed. The cub in question made a sound of discontent when Shouta ran out of chicken for it. “Sorry.”
“If you found it in a villain’s lair, you should probably check it over for injuries. And find out if it’s a boy or a girl while you’re at it. I feel mean calling it an it,” Nemuri said as she went to cut up more chicken for it.
Shouta placed the cub on the counter so that he could check it over easier. It sat surprisingly still while he checked its paws. It let him coax it into a laying down position so that he could check its belly and chest. Its spine and tail seemed fine. It licked at his fingers when he cautiously checked its teeth and gums. “It’s uninjured and it’s a boy,” he declared after a bit.
“Fantastic. Mochi and I are outnumbered again,” Nemuri said sarcastically.
“There’s an exotic animal sanctuary in Fukushima,” Shouta said, reading from his laptop. “It’s kind of far but I can call tomorrow and ask if they could identify him from pictures.”
“If they can’t, we can just drive up there on our next day off,” Hizashi replied. The cub in his lap butted his head into the man’s stomach to encourage him to start petting him again.
“Whatever he turns out to be, he’ll need special care,” Shouta mused. “I might need a license to be allowed to keep him. My hero work might make that difficult.”
The cub curled up on the Hizashi’s lap, content with all the ear scritches he was getting. “You know, when he’s bigger, you could train him to work with you,” Nemuri suggested
“Oh, yeah!’’ Hizashi exclaimed. “Hero Animal Companions. They’re a bit like the K9 unit that works with the police. Then you don’t have to worry about not having enough time. He’d always be with you.”
“Villains might sue if they get attacked by a panther, though,” Shouta grimaced. “That’d be a lot of paperwork.”
“Train him to just intimidate then. Or track. Maybe panthers are good sniffers,” Hizashi shrugged. “He can be your own kitty sidekick and offer support.”
The cub let out a high-pitched trill that almost sounded like a confirmation of what Hizashi said given the timing. But that would be ridiculous, right?
Last night, Shouta set the cub up in a laundry basket with a pile of blankets. He woke up with the cub on his bed and curled up against his neck and chest. So much for giving him his own space. It seemed the cub liked cuddles. Well, it’s not like Shouta would deny him.
He stayed in bed an additional twenty minutes before Hizashi interrupted. “Sho, wake up! You’re going to be-- Oh.”
Shouta glared at the early riser as the cub stirred due to the noise. “I was trying not to wake the cub,” Shouta grumbled.
“Aw, he crawled into bed with you,” Hizashi cooed. “He must have done that after Nem and I left. He was still in the basket earlier. I guess he doesn’t like us.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like you because you’re noisy,” Shouta teased, petting the cub as the creature stretched, gently kneading the sheets with his claws.
Hizashi pointedly ignored him. “It’s almost noon. You have that meeting with Tsukauchi at 12:30. You should get up now or you’ll be late.”
“Do you want to meet a detective?” Shouta asked the cub, lifting him up to face level.
“Sho, no. You can not bring a panther cub to the police department,” Hizashi chided, putting his hands on his hips.
“I don’t see why I can’t,” Shouta replied cheekily. “He’s not so big that he won’t fit in the building.”
“Because! He’s a wild animal, Sho!” Hizashi exclaimed, exasperated. Shouta pouted and looked at the adorable creature in his arms.
“Does this look wild to you?” Shouta demanded, hugging the cub close and pressing his cheek against the top of his head. The cub wasn’t even bothered, nuzzling back and purring loud enough to rival a small car. “He’s just a sweet little baby.”
“Fine! Bring him. I’m not bailing you out of jail if something happens,” Hizashi huffed, turning on his heel and stomping out of their room.
Shouta lifted the cub again. The cub chirped and batted at Shouta’s cheek. “You’re not going to be any trouble, are you?”