Hello, Heroes! Welcome to Cat Nap Tails, my new project for My Hero Academia! It's a little something that's been in the works for a little bit and with a little prompting from some friends in Discord, I manage to whip this little starting piece for the work. This is the beginning of a collections of oneshots akin to Green Tea Tales and Domestic Heroes, but unlike those, this one is going to be focusing on the pair Shoto Aizawa and Shino Sosaki, AKA Eraserhead and Mandalay. I've come to appreciate this ship a lot lately, especially after the confirmation of Aizawa being Eri's caretaker and the little angel now residing in UA. This first piece here is a short and simple one, but hopefully it's still enjoyable enough to read. With that said, have a good time, Heroes and I will see you all in the author's notes!

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction in dedication to a much grander work. As such, the author does not own the rights to any characters within this story, and any correlation between any original characters that may appear and people in the real world are merely coincidental.

My Hero Academia: Cat Nap Tails

"Actually… I just missed you."

"Hmm… Looks like the kids have been improving somewhat. That's good. With all that's been happening ever since All Might's final fight, they'll need to get as strong as they can in order to defend themselves."

Aizawa let off a tired sigh in his desk at the teacher's lounge as he shifted through his paperwork regarding his students; grading their papers and evaluating their performance records to see how well they were doing on their studies. For the past few weeks he has been working his students hard in order to make sure that they were ready for the trials that he knew were going to happen. After everything that has happen in the past few months alone, from the attack at the USJ to the incident with Endeavor and the strange Nomu he faced, the erasure hero, along with the rest of the staff, were not taking any chances. They doubled down on the practical lessons for their students and collaborated more with the other schools like Isamu Academy and Shiketsu High to make sure that all the future heroes will be ready for anything…

"Hmm… Looks like Uraraka's grades and overall abilities have been improving as of late. And Midoriya's finally learning a bit of self control and not trying to break himself every training session. Interesting," The man mused as he stared at the paper that held the statistics of the two heroes-in-training, a hint of a smirk on his face as he shook his head. "Seems like their newfound relationship has helped them improve in certain areas. That's good. I was a little worried that they might lose focus on their training and duties in favor of exploring themselves, but it seems I had nothing to worry about. Here's hoping the others follow that example if they ever decided to get into a relationship themselves."

The man let off a soft chuckle as he began going through his papers again. He didn't really find anything wrong with having a relationship per-say, but he knew that heroes rarely, if ever, led lives stable enough for one. Hero business was a dangerous one, after all, and more often than not, those who are together with one will end up dealing with the fact that their significant others had a responsibility for people other than them, a responsibility that they may very well die for. It was a harsh reality, sadly, and the pair knew that very well, but they were still willing to make their relationship work despite it and not allow their feelings cloud their judgement while on duty. It was commendable, admittedly, and he could easily see the two remaining together even after graduation…

"...Here's hoping that those two don't end up like Water Hose. They're strong, but anything can happen. I hope they're prepared for the consequences should the worst happen." The man muttered somberly as he let off a deep sigh, recalling a certain child who's lost their parents at a very young age on the line of duty. A child who, as of late, started appearing frequently after meeting and befriending his ward when his aunt and her teammates arrived for a visit.

*knock knock*

"Hello? Aizawa? It's Sosaki. May I come in?"

Speak of the devil… Aizawa mused, a hint of an amused smile on his face before quickly vanishing as he turned his head towards the entrance. "Go ahead. The door's open."

"Thank you, Aizawa. I'm coming in."

The erasure hero nodded wordlessly before turning his attention back to his papers, hearing the lounge door open and even bothering looking up when he felt a presence standing beside him. It was only when he felt the couch sag a little did he turn his head slightly to see the casual form of Shino Sosaki, also known as Mandalay of the Pussy Cats, making herself comfortable while holding a small paper bag.

"Hey. Heard from Thirteen that you were in here working on your student reports, so I thought I drop by to give you something to snack on. I remember you saying you like this stuff, so I picked some up on the way here," The cat-woman said with a gentle smile as she handed the stoic man the bag, who accepted it with a grateful nod before rummaging through it.

"...Salty licorice. Haven't had this in a while. Thanks, Sosaki." Aizawa said before he began munching on the candy stick, returning back to his work as he saw Shino relax into the couch from the corner of his eye.

"Don't mention it. Consider it thanks for introducing little Eri to Kota. The two have gotten along really well since they first met and he almost always begs me to bring him here so that he could play with her. It's really sweet, if you ask me," Shino said kindly while leaning back, letting off a relaxed sigh as she did so.

"Think nothing of it. I should be thanking you instead for bringing Kota in the first place. Eri needs friends her age and while your nephew is still fairly abrasive, he's a good kid who will no doubt help her grow as time goes on. The two were bound to meet up eventually due to their shared admiration to Midoriya, anyways, so it didn't hurt to expedite the process," Aizawa stated with a shrug, hearing his seatmate hum in agreement.

The two of them have gotten fairly close in recent times thanks to Kota and Eri's newfound friendship, and Aizawa could honestly say that he enjoyed the time he spent with her. The two have quite a bit in common and would often spend their freetime together either chatting aimlessly about cats, their wards, or even nap, which the man was more than happy to do. He found her presence both enjoyable and soothing, and even though they haven't really interacted much in the past, he could honestly say that the telepath beside her was a pretty good friend and was...pleasant to be around with.

'I think you're pleasant to be around too, Aizawa.'

Aizawa couldn't help but jump at the sound of a familiar voice echoing his head. He was quick to recompose himself, but the sound of giggling did make an eye twitch in irritation.

"Sorry, Aizawa. I could tell what you were thinking and I couldn't help but respond to you like that. You don't get frightened easily so seeing you jump like that was a treat in it of itself," The telepath stated with much murth in her tone, her eyes shining in amusement even as Aizawa glared back at her for her actions.

"...Don't tell Hizashi what you saw and I promise to take you to that cat cafe you like whenever you want. Deal?"

"Deal." Shino nodded, a cheeky grin on her face as Aizawa let of a disgruntled sigh.

"So… Any particular reason why you're here for a visit outside of dropping off candy for me? Kota should be in school right now and Eri's off with Midoriya and Uraraka in the city. I would've thought you'd be out with your comrades enjoying your time off or something instead of hanging out with me."

"Well…there's no real reason, actually. I just missed you." Shino confessed, causing Aizawa to turn to her with a quirked eyebrow as he waited for her to continue. "I've come to like and appreciate our friendship as of late and I have actually been thinking of more ways for us to hang out on our free time. We don't really have much time off together, so I want to make the few times we are able to meet up memorable, even if it's just to talk or nap, which we both know we'd more than enjoy. I know you like spending time together as well, I can see it in your eyes, so if you don't mind me asking, can I take you up on your offer and ask you to come with me to the cat cafe next time we have time off together?"

Aizawa stared at the woman beside him with a slight look of surprise on his face, not expecting her to be so forward. Then again, he suppose he should've expected it. The two of them have been spending a lot of time together and he really did enjoy her company. They were initially mere acquaintances at first, but recent events have made their relationship evolve into a relatively close friendship, one that he was starting to treasure alongside others that he made over time. He wasn't exactly sure where it will go or how long it will last, especially with the rise of villain attacks and Nomu appearances as of late, but he supposed that it would be worth the effort to spend a bit more time with her in the future.

He doubt he would find another friend who likes cats and naps as much as he did anyways…

"Sure. Just let me know when you want to go and I'll inform you if I'm available. Hizashi's been wanting me to go out more anyways, so hopefully this will shut him up for at least a little while." Aizawa agreed with a shrug, digging in on another licorice stick as Shino let off a gentle laugh.

"Sounds about right. Him and Kayama might misinterpret our outing as a date as well, knowing them," Shino pointed out, causing a groan to escape from the man.

"I can hear them making assumptions already. How many times do I have to tell them that I am not in a position to date before it sinks in? We barely have time to go to the bar these days with how busy we've been and now I'm pretty much a father to not only a bunch of superpowered teenagers, but also a little girl that can rewind a person out of existence. I'm too busy to do anything at this point…" The man admitted, letting of an annoyed sigh as Shino placed a hand on his shoulder in a supportive manner.

"There, there. Hopefully things will slow down soon. Then you can relax and nap to your heart's content," The telepath said in a comforting tone before looking down at the papers curiously. "You know, I still have a bit of time before I have to back to the others. Do you mind if I help you out with your evaluations? Kota's been telling me about your students and I supervised their training a couple times whenever I visit. Maybe I can offer some input."

"I would like that. Thanks." Aizawa said, shifting a few papers over to Shino to get her started before returning to his current paperwork with a slight smile on his face.

With that, the two went to work in comfortable silence, talking every so often for advice and suggestions. It was mundane for the most part, but it worked for them. They were both friends and professionals, after all, so they didn't need much. Whether or not it will grow into something more only time will tell, but for now, they were content with what they have. Whether they remain as friends or become a couple in the future is unknown, but no matter the end, the two will be happy with each other nonetheless…

They have a strong bond now, and it was something that neither of them want to break.

Author's note:

And that is the first Cat Nap Tail for you all to enjoy! Hope it was a good enough read for you all! I'm looking forward to writing more content involving Aizawa and Shino. There's not a whole lot out there, admittedly, so I'm happy to provide more content involving these two. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with more ideas for these two in the future. With the ideas the discord shared, I'm sure I'll be able to cook up a few decent oneshots. Got some more plans later on, including a new Domestic Heroes fic and fixing up more of Trials of the Tricksters. With that said, thank you so much for reading my new work. I hope you all have a wonderful time and I will see you in the next one.

Until next time, farewell, and remember: Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!