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Denki heaves a sigh from beside her as he combs his fingers through his hair, trying to shake out the dust. "Did that villain really have to throw me into a wall?" he grumbles. "Like, I showered this morning and everything."
"That was your first mistake," Hanta drawls from behind them, unraveling his tape from around the area. "Never shower before patrol, Denks."
Mina snorts and glances around, propping a hand on her hip and massaging her side. "At least you didn't get sucker-punched," she points out, eyebrow raised.
"That doesn't even- that doesn't compare!" Denki groans, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically and then immediately regretting it judging by the way his nose scrunches. "Ow."
Mina turns when Hanta doesn't crack a joke, confused momentarily. He's holding the end of a tape, the rest of it trailing into an alleyway. "What's wrong?" she whispers as she moves in, hands braced to sling acid if needed.
"Shadows are moving," he murmurs back as he gives the tape a testing tug.
Sure enough, something in the alleyway moves. Mina would be dreading an interaction if she wasn't exhausted; right now, she just wants to go ahead and get it over with. Like he knows what she's thinking, Denki takes her back, keeping a distance but close enough to help.
The alley is dark, but not too much so - light reflects off of the pools of old water from last night's storm, the silhouette of what was once a graffiti tag up on the wall she braces herself against.
"Is anyone there?" she breathes, finger twitching as she goes into a crouch. "I'm pro hero Pinky, and if you need assistance, please call-"
A meow cuts her off, and she shifts straight, confusion fogging her mind. "It's just a cat," she calls to the others with relief as she slowly creeps closer to the shifting shadows, more visible as a set of cat ears now. "Although it looks like it's stuck - Hanta, I'll need your help."
The man in question walks silently into the alleyway, slowly bunching the tape around his hands so as to not disturb the animal. "You're sure?" he asks, just to be sure. "How do you know?"
"Heard a meow," Mina nods in the direction it had echoed from, and right on cue, another desperate cry sounds. "It sounds like it's hurt."
"Might be caught in my tape," Hanta sighs, and she nods. "I'm going to assume that's why you brought me in. I'll get it."
"Be careful," she calls, stepping back and giving him space.
Hanta creeps forward until he stops, crouching in front of a nest of tape strung around a small form. He carefully undoes the glue with experienced hands, and when he finally turns after a few tense moments, there's a small kitten held in his hands.
It cries at Mina as Hanta returns to the alleyway entrance, the small thing's fur patched around its legs. "It was really stuck," he sighs, looking down at the kitten with an apologetic look. "If we hadn't found it..."
Mina pouts at the thought and reaches out to take it. "Poor thing," she coos as the kitten - tiny enough to cradle in one hand - blinks blearily up at her before meowing again, less insistent this time. An impulse settles in her chest, and she can't help but ask: "Do you want to come home with me?"
Denki gives her an alarmed look, tilting his head as he rummages through the pockets around his belt. "Do you even have anything for a kitten?" he asks, half amused and half curious.
"Well, no," she admits, lifting a finger to pet between its scraggly ears. When it sneezes, her heart melts, and Mina knows then that she's making the right choice. "But there should be a vet and a pet shop nearby, right?"
Hanta snorts, continuing to bundle his tape up before shoving it into a compartment in his suit - he can't dispose of it anywhere not intended for quirk products, hero or not. "I say let her have it," he shrugs, waving a hand flippantly. "I mean, we know she'll take care of it as best as she can. It'll be the most spoiled kitten in the whole world."
Mina sniffs, but she doesn't deny it; she's always had a soft spot for fluffy animals.
"I mean, I wasn't going to tell her no," Denki points out, watching as the kitten sneezes and Mina melts again. "I'm just saying we should probably offer some help, is all."
"Some help," Mina repeats, bemused as she gives Denki a pointed look. "Not because you love cats, or anything."
Denki sputters, eventually crossing his arms and pouting. "Katsuki said no animals until we're fully moved in."
"What a shame," Mina mocks, although she can't help but grin as she lifts the kitten to her face. "Such a pretty little thing," she coos, lowering her arms to cradle it to her chest. "We really should go to the vet, though."
"Your name," she whispers to the kitten once the other two are occupied. "Shall be Queen."
Denki doesn't let her leave the pet shop without several armfuls of bags that he insists on carrying so she can spend time with the kitten, who Mina swears is snoring.
Hanta trails behind them with a bag of cat food slung over his shoulder, bracing it with one hand as he presses the other to his comms. "Yes, we found a kitten," he drawls. "Yes, we've found a home for it. It was the end of our shift, anyways, I don't see why you're pressed about it."
"Probably because we're still in our hero costumes with a ton of cat stuff," Denki pipes up ever so helpfully. "I wouldn't be surprised if we've been recorded."
Mina shrugs; a cat is a cat.
"You should probably tell Katsuki that you aren't the one bringing a cat home," Hanta suggests, amused, once whoever is on the other end of the line hangs up. "He's probably watching the news."
Denki's eyes widen and he hurriedly passes the bags in one of his hands to Hanta to hold while he frantically searches his pocket for his phone. Once he finds it, he groans at the onset of missed calls and notifications. "He's gonna kill me," he whines before he dials the number.
"Hey," Denki starts, voice wavering before he speaks rapidly. "I'm not the one keeping it, that's Mina, I swear I only helped shop-!"
After a pause, he lets out a breath, Hanta and Mina sharing a fond glance before they keep moving. "Everything's fine," Denki grins once he puts his phone away. "He saw you holding the cat and figured, he just wanted to remind me that we were having dinner at his mom's tonight."
"Really?" Mina probes, raising an eyebrow as she smiles, the trio - plus the kitten - continuing their trek back to their cars. "That sounds good... I might have to break in and join you."
Denki squawks, and Hanta snorts. With a sleeping kitten on her chest and a friend flanking either side, Mina knows today is a day for the calenders.