Title: maybe ill go home and forget about today...
Rating: T
Pairing: N/A. Gen
Summary: Shinsou Hitoshi is a bitter, determined Gen-ED student with an attitude and a lot to prove. He's no All Might - yet - but hey, at least he's got his cats, right?
Hey so… the first actual bnha fic I've written… it is TIME for me to FINALLY write for my main fandom. I don't really know why it took me so long, I've had a shit ton of ideas and cool concepts I've been playing with. Hell, I've been considering a few shindeku vignettes and even a chat fic! (mostly for improvement purposes but eh.)
EDIT: I went ahead and made that chatfic lol
I know that the content I'm making has a recurring theme of "(insert character here) deals with cats for the duration of the one-shot" But this is the last one I swear.
There are honestly just so damn many characters who perfectly fit the "loves cats" trope,,, and it's also just that I love cats and they're such comfort animals. Many of these guys need them tho lmfao
god, they're all so traumatized.
But, anyway, I knew I wanted to write something surrounding shinsou since I've been needing to practice writing him, due to a fic im going to be writing and publishing soon, which is, to say, fucking massive.
I'm not even sure I can fit the entire story into one fic! I mean, jesus christ? I really didn't mean for this to happen, and idk why I'm like this. (If you must know, it's a fic I'll be posting solely on ao3, and it centers around a quirklessvigilante!izuku. Because I need that and I'm tired of seeing the idea go unexplored.) So, with that in mind, enjoy! If you feel so inclined, leave a comment and tell me what you think!
'Everyday is the same.' Hitoshi grouses. It's not surprising, really. Since he'd failed the entrance exam for the heroics department and was then shoved off into gen-ED, nothing they'd done had really been of any interest to him, or really related to heroics at all.
At first, it had made him seethe in rage. Hitoshi did not work his ass off and get into UA to be treated like an average high school student. He was here to be a hero, and every moment he went without training or any progress in that area, the farther away that goal became.
Soon, if things continued the way they had, Hitoshi would find his dreams out of his reach.
Now though, walking home from another day at UA, he only felt tired, his energy levels finally matching the bags under his eyes as he yawned. Hitoshi absently kicked a small stone with his foot as he made his way past it. Hitoshi was a bit childish, he could admit that.
His musing was interrupted when a crash resounded behind him, causing the teenager to whirl around, clearly startled.
Hitoshi was fully prepared to be forced into provoking an attacker and escape, but when he faces the area where he'd heard it, he only finds that a trash can had been knocked over, the lid previously on top laying on the ground nearby. Relieved and feeling just a little bit foolish, Hitoshi grumbles and steps forward. The metal can is grimy to the touch, causing Hitoshi to grimace as he hauls the thing up and rights it.
He picks up the top in order to place it back onto the trash can but stops when a small sound catches his attention, the lid still in hand.
Hitoshi knows that sound, he hears it every day.
A cat. There is a cat somewhere near, and it's obviously looking for attention. Quickly, Hitoshi places the lid onto the can, stepping into the crevice between two buildings to investigate. He squints a bit, rubbing his eyes again in hopes of clearing up his vision, and in there, tucked away and curled tight around itself, is the cat.
A kitten, specifically.
Now, Hitoshi has seen and met quite a few strays, but only rarely does he find a kitten. And never does he find one that seems to be completely and utterly alone.
To top it all off, it blinks at him with wide, rounded eyes and meows at him. And that's all the persuasion Hitoshi needs. The teen crouches down, holding out one hand for the kitten to sniff, keeping his other hand on his knee for balance.
The kitten, which he could see more clearly now, was entirely black, and its short, scraggly fur was dirtied and matted. The kitten shakes and quivers, poking its head out and hesitantly investigating Hitoshi's offered hand before it shrieks, uncurling from its fearful position to rub its head against his hand.
With his offer of friendship accepted, Hitoshi takes the opportunity to scoop the creature up and carefully tuck it into the jacket of his uniform.
Hitoshi was playing by himself at the park. He'd brought his favorite ball, hoping that there would be someone he could throw it to, but was unable to find anyone who would really approach him.
Ever since he'd gotten his quirk... no one wanted to play with him anymore. But, that was okay, because there were plenty of things he could do all by himself, right? He was going to be a hero, and when he was, plenty of people would want to be around him, so being alone was fine for now.
One day, it'd all change. So, just for now, Hitoshi would bounce his ball by himself, and try to enjoy it.
It's with that train of thought that Hitoshi ends up dropping his ball, reflexively attempting to catch it while it rolls away to no avail, so he simply watches as it crashes into some bushes before he goes to chase after it.
… Sometimes Hitoshi wishes he could control things instead of people. It'd be a much cooler power, and way less scary and villainous.
Even though he wasn't a villain, and was never going to be one! He'd use his quirk to help people, he swore it!
Nevertheless, speed walking over to where the ball had stopped, Hitoshi bends down to pick it up. He stops, leant down halfway because, under the bushes, Hitoshi spots of a blob of orange.
Curious, the boy decides to get to get a closer look, ending up getting dirt on his hands and knees as he peers under the bushes.
The cat is small. Its short orange fur and compact frame telling a tale of homelessness and a lack of human kindness.
Shinsou reaches his hand out towards the animal, cautiously hoping he won't scare it away, only to flinch back when the cat hisses at him, ears flat against its head and sharp teeth bared.
The feline had arranged itself to look twice as big as it really was (even though, unluckily for the cat, Shinsou could tell it was still small), and with guarded motions, promptly retreats. It bursts from the protection of the bushes, bolting right past Shinsou and away from him.
"Hey- wait!" Shinsou cries, reflexively reaching out towards the fleeing animal with his quirk. "I'm not gonna hurt you!"
The cat, however, is already gone; having hidden itself once again.
The very next day, Shinsou was back at the park again. While it had been cloudy yesterday, the clouds dark and blanketing the sky, blocking out the sun.
The cat from yesterday had only left a vague imprint of disappointment upon his mind. Hitoshi wasn't particularly sensitive to these things, and he knew the cat had probably been afraid of him, seeing as it was a stray. Hitoshi understood, and it was just a cat. So it was with ease that Hitoshi promptly put it out of his mind and returned to playing with his ball.
However, the cat was here again today. It was no longer hidden from him, now curled up on a park bench, it's tail swishing as it napped in the warm sunlight. Hitoshi gasped, making to run towards it but forcibly calming himself down after remembering how skittish and scared of him it was the day previous. Tip-toeing over to the orange feline, Hitoshi cautiously slides onto the bench next to the cat.
In response, the cat merely flicks its ear at him and side-eyes him for a moment, before going back to its nap.
Hitoshi is delighted, smiling wide.
The boy simply continued to sit next to the cat, as quiet and still as he can be. But, Hitoshi is still six-years-old. Soon, Hitoshi begins to fidget, quickly growing bored. The child picks at his fingers, and eyes the cat resting peacefully next to him.
'It should be fine to pet it now, right? It's let him close up until now so…' Hitoshi thinks.
Hesitantly, he reaches out towards the cat, fingers splayed out. Then, Hitoshi scratched the cat behind the ears, marveling a little at how soft its fur was. The cat, however, is not pleased by the contact. Instead, it jolts, hackles rising. It scoots itself away from his hand almost immediately, and Hitoshi is surprised and slightly disappointed when the cat starts to growl at him again, hopping off of the park bench and skittering away from the purple-haired child. Again.
Hitoshi simply sighs, brows creased and pouting.
Somehow, Hitoshi finds himself determinedly begging his mom to let him go to the park again the very next day, hoping to enact his new plan.
His mother requires some convincing, and Hitoshi has to eat the entirety of his lunch and rinse his plate off himself before he's allowed to leave. His mother was nice but… somehow distant. It had been that way since the incident when he'd quirk.
…That had been a bad day, and Hitoshi usually tries to just focus on using his quirk to help people. One day, he'd be a hero and everything would be fine. One day.
He arrives at that same park once again. It was a fairly mundane playground, boasting only the standard equipment, the plastics colored in reds and blues. There was a small sandbox as well, surrounded by neat bushes and a few benches for parents to watch over the4ir children from.
Hitoshi, of course, takes it upon himself to scour the park for the cat, hopeful that it lived there and that he could find it again.
He really hoped he could be its friend, it had really soft fur…
Hitoshi wished he could have a cat of his own, just a bit. He'd already asked his mom about it, but his mom had put her foot down and refused him. Maybe if he got this cat to like him and trained it, somehow, he could keep it? Maybe? He might have to be extra good to convince her… but it was worth a shot, right?
'Oh! There it is!' Hitoshi mentally exclaims. The small tabby was once again snoozing on one of the park benches, and Hitoshi, embarrassingly enough, felt that the cat was waiting for him, specifically.
Maybe that meant he was already friends with the cat? Maybe it just didn't like when people got too close to it?
Nevertheless, Hitoshi once again climbs onto the bench. And again, Hitoshi sits directly next to the stray. This time, however, Hitoshi had brought a present. So, the six-year-old shrugs his backpack off of his shoulders, settling it into his lap and unzipping it. The sound startles the stray, who lashes its tail at him a couple times, but quickly settles back down. Even if it adjusts its position to be further down the bench from the boy before going back to its nap. Then, Hitoshi fishes out a small bag of cat food ad a plastic bowl from his bag. It usually only contains his school things and lunch, but it now been emptied in favor of things Hitoshi found fun and/or useful.
Then, Hitoshi sets the bowl down next to him. He struggles with the tab but manages to get it open enough that he can pour the kibble into the bowl and slide it towards the creature sharing the bench with him. The action startles the cat, causing it to leap to its feet with wide eyes, but the smell of the food is a curiosity to the stray, and it is quickly distracted in favor of investigating the substance.
Its tail stands at attention as it stretches its neck out to sniff it, nose twitching. Hitoshi watches all of this avidly, hoping that the cat would accept his offerings.
It does. The stray eyes him for a moment and digs into the kibble with fervor. The kibble being chewed make very crunchy sounds that worry Hitoshi a bit, but he settles down when the cat looks very pleased with the meal. Hitoshi had filled the bowl up to the very top of it, and he didn't know how long it would take before it finished, so he slid off of the bench and went to go play on the slide in the meantime.
Of course, Hitoshi kept a careful eye on the feline the entire time, checking to make sure it hadn't run away yet. The cat eventually stopped eating from the bowl, and Hitoshi looks that as his cue to approach.
This time, instead of ignoring him, the cat meowed, obviously expecting a second helping. Hitoshi would gladly supply more cat food for it, but there was first something he wanted to try.
The child unzipped the cat food bag again, and dug his hand into it, scooping out a fistful of the kibble, which he then offered to the stray.
The tabby sniffed Hitoshi's hand cautiously, backing off and then stepping forward once again to check it. Then, it snapped up some of the kibble, ears twitching as it did so.
"Good kitty!" Hitoshi whispered, joyfully. He hadn't really expected this to work, but he was glad it did!
...since it was eating out of his hand… does that mean he can pet it now?
'Time to find out I guess.'
The cat's fur was still as soft as it was the day before, and Hitoshi was absolutely ecstatic when the cat just twitched at the contact, but let him pet it.
"I did it! We're friends now!" Hitoshi said.
The cat just ignores him.
Hitoshi determinedly keeps up his newly founded routine, showing up day after day to play and feed the cat.
It eventually gets used to his presence, and instead of shying away, it begins to seek it out, creeping over to him whenever Hitoshi arrives at the park again. It usually just demands food with loud cries, but Hitoshi is just fine with that. He has a friend!
Hitoshi showers the stray with affection, chattering at it in whatever tone of voice he pleases, and is glad that his quirk doesn't work on animals. He doesn't think he'd really be able to befriend the animal if he just went and used his quirk on it.
Though Hitoshi knows that if his quirk only worked on animals, people would probably like him more, and his mom would be less distant.
The boy quickly shakes the thoughts out of his head, telling himself firmly, 'It's best not to think about that!' and tries his best to focus his thoughts back onto playing with the cat.
He'd only met the tabby a little over a week and a half ago, though it'd felt like it'd been a really long time since he'd first seen it. He didn't want to give it a name since his mom wouldn't let him keep it, so Hitoshi found there to be no point in doing so, since it wasn't really his to everyone else, just a stray that lives in the park.
The six-year-old, to make up for it, just tried to spend as much time with his feline friend as he could manage, bringing plenty of food and lavishing it with attention.
And, today, Hitoshi had stepped up his game and brought something new.
Today, Hitoshi had brought a cat toy along with him. It was cheap and simple, just one of those plastic stick-and-feather types, but the stray was having an absolute blast with it, and Hitoshi was, too. He couldn't help but smile and giggle loudly as the orange cat leaped and chirped and hunted the feathered toy, batting at it futilely with its paws.
Hitoshi, of course, gleefully made sure to keep its prize out of the cats reach.
However, as cats are wont to do, it eventually grows tired of the activity and subsequently ceases its attempts to catch the fake prey. It does not leave Hitoshi or demand food once it is done, though.
No, the cat yawns wide, showing off its pearly white teeth,n before it crawls onto Hitoshi's lap and makes itself comfortable. The animal tucks its paws underneath itself and closes its eyes.
Hitoshi finds the action very out of character for the cat, and it makes him freeze for a moment, somehow expecting it to lash out at him or simply get up and leave, but it does not. The cat only begins to rumble, its broken and kind of hoarse purr showing that it's clearly happy with where it is and who it is with.
It makes him want to cry a little, but he restrains himself with some effort and channels his gratitude into petting the cat behind the ears, giggling a little when it butts its head against his hand.
Hitoshi and his cat grow closer, Hitoshi bringing his bag full of food and toys and pure affection, and the cat with its newly found friendliness and companionship.
Until, one day, Hitoshi arrives at the park, and his little orange cat suddenly isn't there anymore.
Hitoshi searches everywhere for it. He scours every inch of the place, examines every bush, makes his voice hoarse calling for it, each shout rising in pitch when that little orange tabby doesn't reveal itself.
He goes home crying. He comes back every day for a solid week, hoping desperately that this time it will be back at the park, and everything will go back to normal again, and that everything would be okay again. That having no friends wouldn't matter, that the gap that was widening between him and everyone else would become less noticeable.
He never sees that cat again, and eventually, he gives up searching for it. Hitoshi gives up waiting for it, if reluctantly. Hitoshi cries and cries and cries, but it never comes back. He's in a bad mood for weeks due to that, but gets over it with time, even if he finds himself doubly lonely.
He still finds himself unable to connect with his peers and family, and turns his attention towards wanting to be a hero with all his heart.
The cat is long gone, but it does leave behind a very strong fondness for cats, if anything.
Hitoshi is laying in bed and boredly scrolling through social media. The cat he'd saved earlier was sleeping on his chest, curled up and calm. Hitoshi tries his best not to breathe too deeply, he wouldn't want to disturb it, after all. He smiles slightly, despite himself.
The time was currently 3:23 am, and it was turning out to be yet another night where he found himself unable to sleep. He tried, as he always does, to get comfortable, tossing and turning and even getting up to adjust the temperature of the house and drink a glass of milk, to no avail. He stayed firmly awake and became increasingly frustrated as the night wore on, the time for his alarm to go off for school steadily approaching.
The cat was a great comfort for him, in all honesty. There was something so relaxing about cats, Hitoshi found. They were so simple, yet full of complexity and bursting with life and energy.
…There's also how Hitoshi would not control them with his quirk, even if he tried. Yet, somehow, he usually managed to get them to like him. That was definitely a factor, too.
But there was how the little, pure black cat laying on his chest was misunderstood, just like Hitoshi was. He had no doubt that it had probably been abandoned due to the stigma surrounding the color of its fur. Hitoshi understood what that was like, on some level, and it made him furious for both him and the cat.
He might be stuck in Gen-ED for the time being, but he'd show them, he'd show everyone. He'd become a hero, somehow, by some way.
It's to that thought that the insomnia holding him captive gives way, and sleep sinks its claws into him, shallow and fitful it may be.
And it's too his mother that Hitoshi wakes up to, and the fuzzy weight resting on his chest now gone.
"Hitoshi. Explain." his mother says. Her voice is toneless as she stands beside his bed, but she has one hand pressed into her hip, and the cat he'd smuggled home cradled in the other. Her eyebrows are raised and her expression tells him that she's sitting firmly in the emotion of "exasperation".
This had happened several times before, and the outcome was always the same, so Hitoshi made no move to retrieve the cat or defend himself. Also, he was exhausted, and if he could get this over with quickly and somehow get the extra hour of sleep he felt he was entitled to, that would be fan-fucking-tastic, thanks.
Hitoshi does not get that extra hour. Instead, Hitoshi is made to get up, and then receives a brief scolding from his mother before the cat is dumped into his lap, and the both of them discuss a visit to the vet and ponder over what they should name it.
They eventually decide to name it after some hero his mom likes, and within days it dons a collar with the chosen name inscribed.
Hitoshi does errands for his mom a lot. He knows she's busy, so he really can't find it in himself to deny her.
So, when his mother asks him to swing by the convenience store and pick up a few things, he simply nods and holds out his hand to receive the list.
'Eggs, cheese, bread… standard stuff.' Hitoshi muses as he travels down the sidewalk and towards the store he and his mother visit frequently for things like this. He's about to turn the corner and head straight down another street, but a small cafe catches his eye.
There's a cat at the door of the place, which is propped open with a door stopper. It meows up at him, enticing him into entering the small shop and hopefully buying something. He knows this tactic, and... Hitoshi, without thought, backtracks. Then he finds himself leaning down to pet the cat.
...Damn it.
A voice appears above him, as he's petting the cat under the chin, "Ah, a cat lover, are ya? That's beans. She was a stray we used to feed, but she's kinda a member of the staff now."
Hitoshi hears the cats name, and he already knows he's sold. Still though, if just to keep up appearances, he nonchalantly replies back, "Not particularly… but you guys seem like you've got some good deals, so I thought I'd take a look."
The owner of the shop just raises an eyebrow, seeming nonplussed. "Uh-huh… Well, I'll show ya to a table and let ya see if ya want anythin'."
And with that, Hitoshi enters the building, beans following behind.
He's sat down at a small wooden table meant for two, and a menu is set in front of him. It's cute but simple, and Hitoshi just peruses the options while trying to pick something within his budget. He still had to get those groceries his mom asked for, so he couldn't spend all his money here, even if it was tempting.
In the end, he winds up getting some tea. If only because it's one of the cheapest things on the menu.
He has his tea, looking out of the large glass window absently, peering out into the street where plenty of people go about their business. Beans lounges on the other end of the table, begging for pets. He gives her what she wants, scowling slightly - if only for show.
He quickly becomes a frequent customer.
This is bad, really bad. Hitoshi would rather be anywhere else than where he was at the moment.
He'd stepped into his now favorite café after a hard, exhausting day at UA, patted beans on the head (who had meowed at him in greeting), and sat down to order his usual selections.
It'd been fine up until then, good and relaxing, even. But, now? Not so much. They always ruined things for him, even outside of UA's halls.
Sitting at the table next to his, was several UA heroics kids, including Midoriya, who absolutely did not, under any circumstances, want to encounter right now. At least, not until Hitoshi had gotten strong enough to defeat him.
Not yet, and certainly not here.
Along with Midoriya was a kid with sharp teeth – Kiri-something? – the girl who could make things float and a girl who looked heavily like a frog. They were sitting at a table for four, chattering away and being obnoxious with their happiness as they talk about class and heroics.
Hitoshi's not really sure if he wants them to notice him not, or which of the two would make him angrier. He settles for trying to stifle his presence, hastily attempting to finish his meal while hiding his face from the people across from him
He's banking on those four thinking him insignificant enough to have easily forgotten, but with Midoriya's… Midoriya along, he's not sure he even has a chance of pulling this off.
Midoriya seemed determined to be friends him, even though Hitoshi had demeaned him and used his villainous quirk against him. He, by all rights, should hate him. And Hitoshi hates that he doesn't.
Hitoshi isn't really sure exactly what he wants from Midoriya, but until he figures that out, he'd prefer it if Midoriya stayed out of sight and out of his life.
Unfortunately for him, that is not meant to be. Right as Hitoshi thinks about simply getting up and leaving, they recognize him.
Fuck, it seems this day could get worse after all.
It's the frog-like girl who calls their attention to him, her words beaming onto him like a spotlight in a dark room.
"Isn't that the person you fought during the sports festival, ribbit?" she says, eyeing him curiously.
Midoriya looks at Hitoshi, beginning to sweat a little but appearing oddly hopeful. Hitoshi knows that he's trapped, and resigns himself to his fate.
The green-haired boy blinks with his wide, expressive eyes for a single moment, and then takes the opportunity to call out to Hitoshi.
"Um, S-Shinsou-san? Is that you?"
Hitoshi, benevolently, gives them all a cursory nod and goes back to eating his meal.
His fingers twitch slightly. God, he really wants to leave.
Midoriya is once again seemingly undeterred by his curt response, actually rising from his seat to approach him. He comes to stop in front of his table, and Hitoshi eyes him suspiciously. The heroics student then bows ridiculously formally, stuttering out an apology. "I didn't mean to make it seem like I was looking down on you, back then! I'm so sorry! I hope I hope you can forgive me for offending you," Midoriya, face bright red, then takes a deep breath, and finishes his long winded apology. "I hope we can be friends sometime in the future!"
'Well, damn.' Hitoshi thinks, his face carefully blank. He's unsure how to approach this, usually, his attitude and quirk are enough to scare people off, so he hasn't exactly had to deal with too many apologies.
Is… is he holding his breath? Is he so childish that he'd just… stop breathing while waiting for him to respond? What the fuck. Quickly, and with as much deadpan as he can muster up without betraying just how uncomfortable he is, Hitoshi dismisses the apology.
"No," He says, firmly. "I was bitter and took it out on you. You're not that Bakugou guy, so don't worry about it. Now, with that over with, kindly leave me alone."
There. He said it. Maybe they'll get the hint and stop talking to him, or better yet, feel so awkward that it causes them to move tables and Hitoshi could finally be at peace.
They, somehow, are not deterred. Well, the other three aren't. Midoriya looks like he's about to cry, and is clearly about to do as he says and leave him the fuck alone.
The one with red hair grins at him. "Hey, you're familiar with this place, right? This our first time here and all so… you got any recommendations?"
Hitoshi is a regular here, but no one except the staff and owner of the place should know that. He scowls, lips curling upwards slightly. "How would you know that?"
The kid just laughs, casually exposing him in one, godforsaken retort.
"I dunno," he laughs, "You just seem like the type, is all!"
Wow. Hitoshi doesn't know what this kids name is, but he really wants him to fuck off. Harassing him like this should be illegal.
Damned heroics kids.
Outwardly, Hitoshi just sighs. "This place has good pastries. Try those."
The red-headed kid brightens at that, chirping a peppy "thanks!", while the floaty girl gasps.
"I was wrong about you!" she cries. "It seems like you're a good guy after all!"
Hitoshi, just because he can, and because he hates himself and when people look down on him, intentionally quirks an eyebrow, looking questioningly at her. "Oh?"
She takes the bait easily, smiling at him. "Yeah-"
Hitoshi strikes, grabbing control of her with his quirk. "I've still got a "villainous" quirk. You'd best remember that."
Then, without pomp or giving anyone else time to retaliate, he relinquishes control of her.
She blinks for a moment, shocked.
The expression on Midoriya's face is priceless, really, he splutters incoherently, appearing panicked.
The rest of them stop speaking directly to him after that, and Midoriya remains the only one to be undaunted by his quirk and what it can do.
Then, Beans saunters into the shop. She heads not towards the four heroics kids, no, but towards him. She then proceeds to rub against his leg, obviously begging for pets.
Hitoshi is, of course, a fool. He cannot refuse her request, and so without looking at the people sitting just a table over, reaches down to give her a good scratch under her chin.
Apparently, giving a cat a pat boosts his approachability, and Midoriya attempts to bother him once again. "S-so, um… You said you wanted to be a hero, right? Um, what kind of hero were you thinking of?"
It's a question no one has asked him before, and the way he says it is so earnest.
Everything about Midoriya is so welcoming, he makes you want to be the best you can be, even when he's beating you into the ground. It makes Hitoshi furious, and if he's honest, a bit scared. People this naïve shouldn't exist, but they do, and it makes them obnoxious and unavoidable.
Encountering one of them is fate, and the universe then laughs at all the embittered kids who are sucked into their orbit.
He may as well get this over with and at least give him an honest answer. He deserves that much. "Don't really know yet, probably a rescue hero, since my quirk isn't exactly combat-oriented."
The other table looks considerate for a moment, and then nods. They don't say anything, but they do look surprised at his choice. Midoriya, on the other hand, mumbles up a storm, theorizing about his quirk with concerning speed and accuracy.
He'd heard that he was smart, but all the heroics kids were smart on some level. He hadn't put much stock in it, even though he now knows he should've.
The mumbling dies down eventually, the conservation dying off, so Hitoshi takes that as his cue to leave, getting up and placing his bill down on the table. He gives beans one more pat and says his goodbyes to the staff.
Damn it… now he feels even more drained than before. So much for a relaxing stop at one of his usual haunts.
He steps outside of the building, yawning wide. He really needed a nap.
Only, something moving out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, similar to how it did the first time he came across this place.
A… box of kittens? There's only two inside, but it makes Hitoshi's eyes widen slightly. His anger ratchets up a notch. Only true assholes pulled shit like this, and Hitoshi knew that without a doubt that they'd been placed here because Beans lived her, and that th3e owner of the place would be forced to take care of them.
Hitoshi scowls and promptly picks the box of kittens up.
He goes home.
He's working on math again, his least favorite subject. He has one cat resting on his lap, and another attempting to bite his pencil as he studies.
His cat bats at Hitoshi's pencil, causing Hitoshi to make a stray mark that streaks across the page. Hitoshi simply raises his eyebrows, picks the annoyance up, and puts him on the floor as punishment for his crimes.
His cat just jumps back up onto his desk, and for a moment, Hitoshi pretends to be mad and aggravated by it. However, it quickly gives way into a smile, and he ends up chuckling when he meows at him.
Hitoshi turns back to battling his homework, reaching out to ruffle the cat's fur the wrong way in retribution.
He really had to ace this, if he doesn't get well enough grades, even if he wins the next sports festival, there was no way he'd get into heroics.
"Mommy, look! It's a kitty!" A little girl cries, pointing towards a small orange cat.
"Yes, that is a kitty, it's very cute." Her mother replies, smiling fondly down at her daughter, who looked very excited to have spotted it.
"Can we keep it? Please? It probably doesn't have a home or anyone to love it! Please?"
The mother looks considering at the animal for a moment before she nods. "I don't see why not! But you'll have to take good care of it, okay?"
"Yes! I will! I will! I definitely will!" She crows, beaming up at her mother.
Soon after, a small orange stray finally finds a roof over its head.
Bonus:
Hitoshi scowls at the cat in his lap.
"Mittens, off."
She does not get off his lap. Instead, she peers up at him with wide, dilated pupils.
"No. Don't you dare-" Hitoshi reprimands, but ultimately, it is futile. Mittens has already nabbed a piece of chicken off his plate.
He can only sigh as he watches her skitter away with her prize.
Damn cats.