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As Shouto hunches over the sink, letting the cold tap water wash over his forearms, watching as the water stains pink before it curls down the drain, he wonders if he may have bitten off more than he could chew.
He was still shuddering even though he had long since peeled off his soaked clothing and drowned himself in layers of sweaters and jogging bottoms warmed with his quirk.
His nose is dripping too, and as his head becomes heavier, he knows he's in for one hell of a cold.
When the blood flow finally seems to start slowing down, he pulls his arms back from the sink, turning off the tap and grabbing the first aid kit he’d left on the counter before sliding down the wall and slumping against it with a sigh. The scratches aren’t too deep, but they do appear disturbingly self-inflicted, and he knows that that would be the conclusion his classmates would jump to if they saw them. But he can think about a workaround later; all he needs to do right now is stick on some plasters and figure out what the hell he was supposed to feed the cat.
—----------✧༺♥༻∞—----------
Shouto knows that he must have done something to offend and anger this cat on some kind of spiritual level because there is no other explanation for the unbridled hatred in its big mismatched eyes.
It looks unnervingly similar to him, and it makes him wonder if maybe this was how he appeared to everyone at the beginning of his time at UA—cold, judgemental, and afraid.
The cat yowled at him again, its hackles rising once more as Shouto flopped onto his side, coughing as he buried his head in his sheets. He was already starting to feel feverish, his body aching and his skin hot. He reached up to wipe his nose as he sniffled into his duvet—he hated being sick.
He didn’t notice the cat closing the distance between them until he heard the soft mewling from the bottom of his futon. He pushed his weakened body up and looked down at the calico, standing hesitantly by his feet, eyeing him as though trying to figure out if he was weak enough to be considered a non-threat.
“I won’t hurt you,” Shouto choked out, trying to put on a comforting smile that he knew would fall flat. He couldn’t manage a convincing smile on some of his best days, let alone now when he was sick in bed, covered in cuts, bruises, and those damn Endeavour plasters he’d forgotten to replace in his first-aid kit. The cat tilted its head knowingly and then tentatively padded closer and then very slowly reached up and dragged itself onto his futon.
Shouto stayed stock-still as the cat stared at him, only a few inches away from his body, and Shouto wondered distractedly whether he should reach up to protect his face just in case the cat was back to finish off its attack while the young hero was weakened. But before he could make his move, the cat turned around and nestled down at his feet.
And oh, that was cute–
Suddenly the forced smile on his face felt much more real than fake.
Maybe he was a cat person; he’d never really known since he had never interacted with dogs either, but something about this cat’s silent, calming energy was practically working magic as he started to feel his eyelids getting heavy. Sleep was never this easy for him. He wasn’t even that comfy, the lights were still on, and he hadn’t checked the locks, yet there he was, drifting off, completely at peace with a soft, serene smile still on his face as the cat started to purr.
—----------✧༺♥༻∞—----------
He comes around again to a soft but persistent knocking at his door, and all he can do is groan as the bright light of his lamp and the loud mewling of the cat stab through his head like white-hot knives.
Wait.
Cat.
“Fuck!”
“Todoroki!” Sero called out, sounding concerned as he kept knocking on the door. “Let me in already.”
Sero. This was fine, better Sero than any of the other 1A students. Midoriya would mumble for hours and fuss over him like he was a baby, Bakugou would just laugh at him as he told Eraserhead that Todoroki had not only broken a dorm rule but also managed to get himself sick in the process, and god, he’d never be able to get Shinsou to leave knowing how much the other teen adored cats.
“W-Wait,” Coughed out, blinking stars out of his eyes as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “I’m coming. I’m coming.”
He shakily managed to drag himself to his feet, leaning heavily on the balcony doors as the lightheadedness swarmed his vision, leaving him blinded as his legs started to buckle. The dizziness passed after a second, and he quickly stumbled over to the door stubbing his toe and knocking his elbow on the way over.
As soon as the handle was within reach, he yanked it open, not even taking a second to look at Sero as he grabbed him by the front of his sweater and dragged him into his room.
“Woah,” Hanta gasped, laughing nervously as he tripped over a bit of loose tatami, barely catching himself as Shouto slammed the door behind him. “You okay?” He pried gently as he turned back to him. Shouto waved him off weakly as Hanta reached out to help him back to bed.
“You can’t tell anyone!” Shouto said weakly, looking up at Sero with wide eyes. “You have to promise, Okay?” Hanta stared back nervously, taking in the plasters scattered all over Shouto’s hands and the sickly pallor of his skin.
“Promise what?” Hanta frowned, his mind jumping uncontrollably from one possibility to the next, each thought getting increasingly unsettling. “Are you okay?”
It’s then that the cat decides to start screeching again.
Shouto spun around quickly, nearly tripping forward in his rush back to the futon.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” He begged, putting his hands up as he crouched to make himself appear as non-threatening as possible. “It’s all going to be fine.”
Hanta blinked a couple of times as he processed the scene in front of him. Todoroki is covered in Endeavour plasters, wearing way too many layers for somebody inside a heated building. His usually unnervingly perfect hair is in a messed-up cowlick, which he thinks makes Shouto way cuter than anyone has the right to be. But the real kicker in this situation is that the usually calm and stoic boy is crouched on the ground, manically trying to bargain with the tiniest kitten Sero has ever seen.
He snorted, trying to choke down his laughter, catching Shouto’s attention. The other boy looked back at him, and the utter desperation in his eyes killed all the self-control Hanta had desperately been holding onto.
Shouto watched on at a complete loss as Sero fell forward onto his knees, bursting out in the kind of manic laughter that left a person dizzy and gasping for air.
“I-” He snorted, burying his head in the crook of his elbow. “S-Sorry.”
Shouto stood frozen as his mind unhelpfully flashed back to the Mr Smiley incident ™.
“I-Is something wrong?”
“No!” Sero yelled, pinching the back of his hand as he tried to get his laughter under control. “I-Its fine.” He said, smiling stupidly up at Todoroki as he finally managed to stop cackling. “That just really got to me.”
‘What did?”
“Nothing, nothing.” He grinned, his eyes going soft as he watched Todoroki flush nervously. “You gonna tell me where the cat came from?”
Shouto shifted from foot to foot as he visibly floundered, mouth hanging slightly open. It took all of Hanta’s willpower not to break down in another round of hysterics.
“W-What cat?” Shouto stuttered as he stumbled to step in front of the cat, obscuring it from view. The action is rendered pointless as the small creature screams behind him even louder as if it's purposely trying to be spiteful.
Sero snorted miserably at the abysmal attempt as a surge of warmth and adoration cut through him at the sight.
“Does the cat that doesn’t exist have a name?” He smiled gently, and Shouto’s cheeks flushed an even darker pink as he bit his lip.
“Sobacat?” He whispered awkwardly, not sounding at all certain.
Sero’s smile widened.
“So-ba-cat–?” He sounded out skeptically, smiling at just how endearing Shouto’s childishness could be. He leaned around so he could actually see the kitten, and yeah, he gets it, the mismatched eyes, the odd combination of orangey-red and greyish-white fur. Honestly, they may as well just call it ‘Shoutocat’. “Yeah, I mean, if it looks so much like you, it’s got to love soba, right?” Hanta stepped past Shouto, who grabbed onto his sleeve nervously as he made his way over to the futon. He pulled Shouto along with him as he crouched down at the edge, making sure to look down at the ground as he raised his hand towards the kitten. He waited until he felt a cold, wet nose bump into his fingers, followed by soft fur rubbing against them.
“How did you get it to like you so quickly?” Shouto gasped gently beside him, and Hanta looked over to see Shouto, his wide eyes fixed on the kitten with a soft excited smile on his face.
“I don’t know. I was hanging with Koda earlier, so maybe he passed some of his animal whispering magic to me. Come here. Let me help you.”
Todoroki blushed as Sero grabbed his hand and slowly extended it out towards the kitten, who surveyed it suspiciously for a few seconds before stepping up and leaning into Shouto’s fingers, purring at the warmth as it brushed up against him softly, headbutting his hand until he stroked up behind its ears.
It’s then that another wave of dizzying nausea hits him, and he tips ungraciously into Hanta, who steadies him easily.
“Woah there.” He laughed nervously, pulling Shouto into his lap as he sat down on the futon. The cat hissed a little at their intrusion on its personal space, but Hanta was too caught up checking Todoroki over to offer any comfort. “Now, do you wanna tell me why you’re sick, covered in ugly plasters, and harboring a fugitive cat in your room.”
Shouto furrowed his brow, blinking aggressively to try and keep himself awake.
“It rained this morning.” He said weakly, too tired to think of anything else to say.
“Oh, yes. That explains everything,” Hanta sighed, his cheeks flushing as Shouto nuzzled closer to his chest. He can really feel the heat burning into him now, though. “Hey, you’re really sick.” He said softly, reaching up to tentatively check his temperature. He has to pull his hand back quickly, Shouto’s fever burning far hotter than someone without a quirk like his would be able to handle. “Come on back into bed with you.”
Sero gently maneuvered Shouto back into his bed, trying and failing to tuck him back in without angering Sobacat any further. The kitten hissed angrily at him until he stepped back and stopped fiddling with the sheets.
“Get some sleep.”
Shouto hummed softly and then dropped off, dead to the world.
—----------✧༺♥༻∞—----------
“It’s good you called us here,” Recovery Girl smiled at Sero as she put a cold pack across Shouto’s forehead and behind his neck.
“Is it bad? His fever just kept going up.” Sero said, chewing awkwardly on his lip as he watched Shouto’s chest rise and fall.
“No, nothing bad, just cat scratch fever. He’ll be fine.” Recovery Girl said as she retook Todoroki's temperature. “Your sensei has often come to me with kitten fever, so I’m very familiar with it.”
Aizawa grumbled from his spot, leaned up against the wall, and Recovery Girl chuckled softly.
“Where and when did he get the cat?” Aizawa groaned, looking over at the kitten tucked up tightly in the corner.
Hanta shrugged as he tried to remember what Shouto had told him before.
“He just said ‘In the rain.’ when I asked, so probably this morning when he was out on his run.”
Aizawa huffed, massaging his temple as he slipped further down the wall.
“He does know that the gym in your dorm has a treadmill, right?” He sighed, exasperation bleeding through his tone as he glared over at Todoroki, his eyes too soft for it to be bitter.
“He hates it in there, though.” Sero grimaced, frowning a little bit. “He gets pretty on edge in there, especially with all the rest of us being, you know, loud and shit.”
Recovery Girl hummed and started gathering all her stuff together.
“I’ll have to head back to my office, but call me if you get concerned, alright?”
“Thank you,” Hanta said, forcing a smile as Recovery Girl ruffled his hair. She made her way out of Shouto’s room, leaving Sero and Aizawa alone with a still unconscious Todoroki. They stand in awkward silence for an uncomfortably long time.
“So about the cat.” Aizawa finally coughed out, looking back at the kitten. Sobacat was hissing quietly at them, looking between them and Todoroki anxiously.
“Yes?” Sero muttered quietly, wondering if this was a big enough infraction for an expulsion threat. Knowing their teacher, the answer was definitely yes. “What’s gonna happen? Is Shouto gonna be in trouble?”
“No, I’m not heartless.” Aizawa sighed, and Sero let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “He did a nice thing, I’m not going to punish him for it, plus that would also make me a hypocrite, considering me and my friends did the same thing when we were your age.”
“Really?” Sero gasped, eyes widening.
“Yep,” Aizawa said bluntly, shutting down Sero’s hopes of a backstory. “But I will be taking the cat.”
“Yeah, I kinda figured that,”
Aizawa nodded and turned back to the kitten pulling a little baggy out of his pocket as he approached. The cat continued to hiss and squished deeper into the corner until Aizawa knelt down and non-threateningly held out the bag. The hissing gets a little less aggressive. As soon as Soba went quiet, Aizawa swept in, pulling the kitten up into his scarf.
Sero would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed.
“You guys can come to see him at my apartment in the teacher’s block. Just ask Hitoshi to bring you up and come prepared for Eri to force you into playing heroes and princesses.” His teacher drawled out gently.
“Sounds great.” Hanta smiled, stepping aside so Aizawa could move past him to the door.
“Can I trust you to take care of him?” Aizawa asked apprehensively as he reached the door and back to Shouto.
“Of course,” Hanta said as reassuringly as possible, absentmindedly reaching up to nervously rub the back of his neck.
“Alright, I know you’ll be fine. I’m gonna take Soba to get settled. Message me when he's on his feet or if anything else happens or you get worried.”
“Yes, sensei,” Hanta said softly, and Aizawa nodded before he headed out of Shouto’s dorm, careful not to let the door slam behind him.
Now they were finally alone, Sero noticed that Shouto was snoring lightly, and He couldn’t help smiling gently at the sight of him so peaceful.
He had nothing to stress about; he’d make sure Shouto was okay.