The vet brought Fearless out from the back of the office in a cardboard carrier. When Shota looked inside to check on the cat, the first thing he noticed was that she was missing her left hind leg and wearing a cone. The second thing he noticed was how pretty she was. With her fur washed of all the dirt and grime, she had a smooth, blue-gray coat and an extremely poofy tail that reminded him of a featherduster. Her eyes were a bright, vivid yellow.
The vet explained what had happened where she stood behind the counter. "She's doing very well, but we had to amputate the leg. She's spayed and up to date on all her shots. We microchipped her. You'll need to change her bandages and give her pain medication as directed on the instructions. Keep her in a quiet, comfortable space." He was passed a sheet containing more detailed care instructions- and the bill was stabled to it, too. "Do you have any questions for us?"
"No. Thank you."
Toshinori hadn't been feeling well enough to get out of the car, but he had given Shota his credit card so he could pay the vet bill with it. Shota stood there, holding the card in his hand, a lump in his throat. He had accepted the offer yesterday, but now, he wasn't sure he could follow through in good conscious, knowing how poor the former hero really was.
Shota put Toshinori's card back into his pocket, and swiped his instead.
He brought Fearless to the car and opened the passenger side door. "Do you want to hold her carrier?" He asked Toshinori as he passed over his credit card.
"I think I can manage to, yes." Toshinori stuck his card back into his wallet. In the brief moment that the plain, faux leather wallet was open, Shota glimpsed a photograph of Toshinori and Midoriya posing with peace-signs on a pristine-looking beach. Just how well did those two know each other, anyway? Were they related? Father and son? Uncle and nephew? Cousins?
It would explain why Izuku's quirk behaves so similarly...
Shota pushed it out of his mind and placed the cardboard carrier in Toshinori's lap. He opened the top of it so he could look down at the cat. Fearless poked her head up, squirming, looking for an escape route. Her eyes were wide and confused, ears pivoting in opposite directions. Toshinori's skeletal fingers lowered to smooth back the fur on her head and stroke her down her back. As he stroked her, this seemed to calm her down. At the very least, it kept her from trying to make a daring escape from her confusing cardboard prison.
Shota seated himself in the driver's seat and started the car. "Do you still want the cat?"
"Yes, I do."
"After we drive by the pharmacy, I'll go to the store and get stuff for her. Litter box and food and toys and everything."
"That would be nice. Thank you."
"She's got a lot of needs right now. Has to have her bandages changed, and she's on pain medication. I'd say she's a kindred spirit with you." Shota explained as he drove. "I'm not sure you can do that yourself in your current state."
"No, I probably couldn't."
Shota swallowed thickly, his eyes fixed on the road. They were twenty minutes away from the pharmacy where Toshinori had his prescriptions filled. "Have you thought about who you want to replace me?"
"Pardon?"
"As your caretaker."
"Oh."
Silence.
"I don't know, Shota."
More silence.
"Honestly, I just want to be alone right now. But my doctor said that someone should stay with me to make sure there's no unexpected reactions to the new drugs."
"I understand. I can ask around U.A.-"
"No." Toshinori sounded unexpectedly stern. Then, he said again, softer. "No. It's too much of a pain. Like I said earlier. It was comfortable for me to exist in the same space with you. And you're already here, so it feels like a waste of time to kick you out now."
"I see. So you're alright with me staying, then?" Shota was unable to prevent a hint of hopeful desperation from leaking into his tone. His throat was tight.
In his peripheral vision, Shota saw Toshinori's glowing eyes point in his direction. "It sounds to me like you're… pretending not to care, Shota."
Familiar words. He accused Toshinori of that once. It felt like an eternity ago. Shota remembered that tiny box he buried inside his head. It was rumbling, trying to escape.
"Be honest with me, Shota. I think you owe me that much. What's on your mind?"
The locks were flying off, one by one. He couldn't stop it. The box opened, just a little. Just a crack. Enough for a single, small admission to slip into the light.
"I liked getting to know you. I do want to stay and help you and Fearless out." Shota said, his eyes fixed on the road, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "It's… depressing to be alone. It's not much different for me. To go home to an empty apartment. So I think… I found a kindred spirit in you, too."
Shota fell silent for a moment, trying to put together his thoughts. It was hard to speak so frankly about his feelings, when he was so accustomed to believing he didn't have any at all. It was hard to feel like he mattered to anyone, when the people he should have mattered to in the first place decided he wasn't worth the life he had. It was hard to let go of those four years living in a villain's cell, being treated like a tool without emotions or needs. It stuck with him. Invisible scars that no one could see but him. It was hard to realize the humanity in himself.
"I screwed up. I did something stupid. I thought it would help you. Maybe it still has a chance to help, but I shouldn't have gone behind your back. I'm sorry, Toshinori."
It was the first time he had actually apologized to someone in a very, very long time.
Toshinori seemed to notice it. His eyes softened. He turned away, facing the window. "I forgive you."
Shota blinked rapidly. If his eyes weren't so dry, he might have teared up. Toshinori was so quick to forgive. He didn't even take any time to think about it. Shota had wronged him only hours ago, and he had already chosen to forgive.
"I can stay out of your way and give you space. I can stay in another room." Shota offered quickly.
"Yes, that's fine."
"And I want to earn your trust back. I recognize it's not going to happen overnight." He drew in a sharp breath. "I realized how much I've valued you as a friend, all this time. I think… all semester, I was the one in denial about that. I didn't want to admit that I respected you, despite our differences."
Toshinori didn't reply for several moments. Then, he said, "yes, I value you as well. I don't want what happened today to ruin our friendship, especially since we just now got to this point." He rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "At the same time, there's a lot I have to grapple with now. That's why I want some time alone."
Shota nodded. Thinking about it, he realized just how level-headed and gracious Toshinori was being. If it were Present Mic who was in this situation, Shota was sure he would've blocked him on social media, kicked him out of his life, and refused to ever speak to him again. Toshinori had calmly communicated his feelings, expressed his boundaries, and forgiven him all in one go. Granted, he was a good twenty years older than Shota and Mic and had a hefty chunk of life experience under his belt, but Shota had a feeling that age had little to do with it. The man was, plainly and simply, good.
He remembered something as he drove, swallowing thickly. "Oh. You should know. Iida messaged me. He wants Class 1-A to discuss how to go about it. I think his primary concern is making sure your feelings are addressed and respected, so that the school knows how to approach it." He paused a moment. "If... if you're feeling well enough on Monday, if these new meds work out for you, I think you should go in and address this. In your own words. I know it's a lot to ask you, to clean up the mess that I'm responsible for making, but… it gives you the agency to handle this how you want to. I don't want to be the one to speak for you."
"No, I think that's ideal." Toshinori agreed quietly, drawing in a deep breath, his hand resting heavily on Fearless's back. "With luck, my doctor's got me set up on something that'll work."
/hey, Mic./
/Present Mic: ?/
/can you feed my cats for me. and scoop the litter boxes/
/Present Mic: why are you asking me eraserass? i'm still way mad at you, dude/
/because you're the only other person who knows where i live and i wont be home this weekend./
/Present Mic: why, are you trying to leave the country out of shame?/
/no, im still with Yagi/
/Present Mic: wait, he hasn't kicked you out?/
/no, he hasn't./
/Present Mic: you didn't tell him?/
/no, we talked about it. he knows./
/Present Mic: he's either crazy forgiving or crazy out of options. Just tell him Midnight would be perfectly happy to take care of him!/
/i already asked him if he'd prefer anyone else. he didn't come up with anything./
/Present Mic: ?/
/anyway, while you're at my place, bring me a change of clothes or two to this address./ Shota texted him Yagi's apartment number.
/Present Mic: what am i now, your errand boy?/
/you're wasting your energy staying mad at me over something that's between me and Yagi. you already got your revenge. The media has been hounding me all day and it's obnoxious and annoying. Are you satisfied?/
It took an uncharacteristically long time before Present Mic responded.
/Present Mic: fine. I'll stop being mad./
/Present Mic: i just want things back to normal./
/Present Mic: but we do have to figure out what to do next. The faculty got together over lunch break today to talk about it. Beyond being super mad at you, most of us had no idea how much pain AM is in. but we don't want to treat him any differently and we don't want to embarrass him or make a big deal over it./
/i'm not going to make the mistake of speaking for him again. If yagi is feeling better by monday, he wants to come in to school and discuss how he wants to be treated going forward./
/Present Mic: i guess that's the best we can hope for./
/Present Mic: i'll take care of your cats this weekend. And i'll come by in a few hours with your clothes./
/thanks, mic./
Present Mic sent him a thumbs-up emoji.
Shota put his phone away, exhaling slowly. At least that was one less person who wanted to roast his ass on an open fire. For now, he had to focus on the task at hand: shopping for cat supplies. He took a cart with him, even though he wasn't planning on buying much, but a bin of cat litter was a little bulky to drag around with him through the entire market. He left Toshinori in the car with Fearless, so he had to make it quick.
He got some cans of wet cat food, and a bag of dry food. He found a few mouse toys filled with catnip, and a little ball with a bell. He found a litter box, and a large bin of litter to go with it. He threw in a brush and some nail trimmers. Lastly, he inspected a selection of detachable cat collars, debating on what color to get.
Toshinori always wears stupid, gaudy suits. I've seen him wearing a freaking leopard print tie. The man has absolutely no taste.
He grabbed a pink collar with a goofy floral print and glitters.
He picked up a few things to make for meals, too. He had originally planned on sticking around with Toshinori for one day, but it seemed one had turned into four. Thursday came and went, he was halfway through Friday, and now he had Saturday and Sunday to worry about.
As he picked up a cup of instant ramen, he found himself realizing how normal and domestic this all felt. He didn't see himself wanting to take care of the ailing ex-hero at first, but now, he was actually looking forward to going back to his apartment, making him dinner, and sending him funny cat videos. He liked doing it. It gave him purpose. For as sad and miserable as Toshinori was, it wasn't as if his company had been unpleasant.
He's pretended to be happy and strong and healthy for years, only to come home to bleed alone. I might be the first person who's ever seen the depths of his loneliness. I'm not sick like he is, but I know what it's like to bleed alone.
Shota finished shopping for groceries. The checkout line was long, so he busied himself by glancing through the stupid gossip magazines they always kept near the front. It was long, however, before his ears picked up gossip that made his blood run cold.
"Did you hear about what happened on Present Mic's radio show?" He heard from the man standing in front of him.
"No, what?" Responded the woman who was with him.
"Some pro hero I've never heard of got on the show to talk about All Might's personal life. Claimed he's his caretaker or something."
"Oh really! What did he say?"
"All Might is actually really sick. Based on what he said, All Might's been sick for years, and nobody knew about it. He's just… been suffering in silence this whole time. But he kept saving lives and fighting crime anyway."
"Oh, that's horrible. What is he sick with?"
"I dunno, he didn't say. I mean. I feel really twisted up about it. We all just took All Might for granted. And I know we should leave him alone and everything, but. I kind of want to send him fan mail or something now. Just to thank him."
Shota kept waiting to hear something more about Eraserhead, about how horrible it was that he had betrayed All Might by sharing that personal information, but nothing else came of it. The couple in front of him checked out. Shota put his groceries up on the conveyor belt, feeling confused.
Would Toshinori mind getting letters from concerned fans thanking him for his service? Was it something that he would find invasive, like they were treating him differently now that they knew about his condition? Or would it make him happy to know people valued him, and thanked him for his sacrifices, instead of blaming him for the collapse of hero society and the rise in villain activity?
Was Shota seeing something good come from his actions, or was it merely the start of more pain for Toshinori?
He headed out of the store, his arms weighed down with plastic bags. He returned to his car and popped the trunk, unloading his cargo into the back. He headed to the drivers seat and opened the door.
Fearless was in his chair, out of her box. And she jumped out of the open door. For a three legged cat fresh out of surgery, she was fast.
Shota reacted on instinct, in a split second. His quirk activated. His vision went red. His hair flowed weightlessly. His scarf unraveled, shooting out to grab the fleeing cat before she could escape. When the animal was safely restrained, he withdrew the scarf towards his body and dropped the cat into his arms, holding her firmly. Her cone was knocked askew. She was squirming, unharmed.
Shota blinked. His quirk deactivated, and he felt his hair fall around his shoulders. Using his quirk to catch her was probably overkill. But his reflexes were too well-honed over years of hero work. His eyes burned. But he didn't have time to get his eye drops. A fresh concern had to be addressed next: why wasn't Toshinori holding Fearless?
Shota looked into his car towards the man seated in the passenger seat, dread blooming in the pit of his stomach. He saw Toshinori leaning forward, rancid-smelling blood on his hand, on his shirt, on his thighs, on the seat. He was looking wearily in Shota's direction, the wrinkles deep on his brow, his eyes nearly screwed shut with pain.
"S-sorry, Shota," he wheezed. "I puked in your car." And all over himself.
"It's fine. Are you okay?" Shota asked as he took a seat, shutting the door. He still had poor Fearless in his arms.
"It just hit me suddenly. I was holding Fearless. Couldn't put her down and. Get to my trash can in time."
"It's fine. Let's get you home." Shota looked for the cat's discarded cardboard carrier. He placed her inside and handed the carrier back to Toshinori. "Think you can hold this on the way back?"
"Y-yeah." Toshinori took the carrier and closed the top of it. Poor Fearless would have to wait a little while longer to see the light of day, and Toshinori had the frame of mind not to try petting her with his hand covered in blood.
Shota returned to the road. "When can you start on your new medication?"
"Six hours."
"Think you can hold out? You look like shit."
"I'll try." Toshinori tilted his head back against the seat, his eyes drooping shut, clearly miserable. "I'm… really tired of this."
"Yeah. Me too."