The morning light came pouring, making Nico stir a little. Looks like I survived the spring cycle without a call home. She thought, stretching her arms out as she made her way to freshen up. I still have to call auntie to find out why Katsuki's scent helped, but that can wait for later.
It didn't take her long to realize that she wasn't in her own room, starting with the fact that none of her face products were in the washroom. Looking around Nico wasn't sure where she was, Oh boy I'm not in Kansas anymore. What the hell is going on? She closed her eyes and tried to remember what happened after Bakugo left her the night before but it was a blank.
All her instincts told her she wasn't in any kind of danger and that she was still in the dorm. A knocking on the washroom door sent her into a panic, and Nico went into defence mod as she opened the door.
"Oi, what the hell has gotten into you." Bakugo demanded as she swiped at him. "Clearly you're back to being yourself, somewhat."
Relaxing a little, Nico dropped her hands. "What the actual fuck, care to tell me what happened and how I ended up here?" she turned her panic into anger.
"Why you pissed with me? You're the one who snuck in here." he snapped back at her, "You nearly took Deku's face when he got too close to you."
"I'm pissed because I don't know how I ended up in your room. The last thing I can really remember is you saying good night before I turned in for the night." Nico could see her confusion mirrored on Bakugo's face. "I'm going to get changed and then we can figure out what the hell happened last night."
As she pushed past, Bakugo caught her by the arm. "You really don't remember anything?" he asked as she shook her head.
"I wish I could, but it's a giant blank. There's only one other time that I have a gap in my memory like this but I don't think you put catnip on my pillow." she pulled her arm free, "Just what did I do?"
"You showed up at my window like some crazy demon stalker. I called Deku to get a little backup in case you went all psycho, as it turned out, he was the one that needed the help. You took a couple of swipes at him and you even managed to land a few scratches. Then you turned into your cat form and passed out cold." Bakugo said as Nico looked at her nails and there was a little blood under them. "Don't worry, you didn't hurt him too bad."
"I did what?" she looked at him, scared of what kind of damage she had done.
Bakugo took Nico's hands in his, "Just a few little nics on his arms, nothing too bad." he tried to put her at ease, but it didn't look to him like it was working. "I managed to get between the two of you before you could take his head off." he turned his face and Nico saw four faint lines on his cheek.
"I got you too, let me see." Nico went to reach for his cheek but he wouldn't let go of her hands. "Don't go acting like it's nothing, that has to hurt."
Bakugo leaned forward and put his forehead on hers, "I don't even notice them, I'm just happy to see you're back to normal. I think Deku called your aunt already so she should be showing up…" he didn't get to finish his thought because a loud growl cut him off.
"Nicole I thought I told you to call if anything happened." Nina shouted from the hall. "I should have been woken up this morning to a panicked voice mail from the green haired boy."
Slipping away from Bakugo, Nico went to confront her aunt. "I was going to call you later today." she snapped crossing her arms in front of her. "There's no need to be a bitch."
"Kit I will let that one slide, but I am warning you not to take an attitude with me." Nina didn't back down from Nico's challenging presence, "I am still you aunt and I am not going to put up with it." she warned Nico as the teen growled.
"You come into my territory and start trying to pull rank with me," Nico dropped her arms and started to circle Nina. "I thought you knew better than that." she continued to growl as Nina moved along with Nico, not letting her get behind her.
"What did you do to her?" Nina snapped at Bakugo, "I need to know everything that happened in the last week."
Nico took a swipe at Nina when she thought her aunt wasn't paying attention, but the older woman stepped out of the way. "I wouldn't take your eyes off of me if I were you, I've gotten faster since the last time we fought." Nico snarled, taking another swipe. "You may be a cheetah on the inside, but I've been keeping up with my training." Bakugo caught sight of Nico's eyes, they were darker and more animal like than usual.
"Nothing out of the ordinary happened until last night, when she started acting like this." Bakugo answered, watching them dance around each other. "She says she doesn't remember what happened."
"Fine then, go over with me what happened yesterday. Start from the morning and walked me through everything." Nina was just barely able to keep herself over of Nico's reach, she was a little proud that Nico had managed to keep her on her toes but now wasn't the time for such thoughts.
"I went to see her after I got a message telling me to stay away, got dragged away but then Uraraka let me see her for like five minutes when I left her my shirt." Bakugo talked fast because it looked like Nico was getting the upper hand. "She said that the way I smelled was soothing."
"Was that the last time you saw her?" Nina was starting to get an idea of what was going on, "Boy this is important, did you spend any more time with Nicole after you left your shirt?"
"Yeah I brought up dinner and we ate together." he watched as Nina grabbed Nico's arm and held it against her back. "She sat in my lap the entire time."
"Alright so it's your fault then." Nina tripped Nico and slammed her into the floor, pinning her with a knee in the middle of her back. "I had a feeling this would happen, I just didn't think it would be the first time. Unfortunately you triggered the animal within without realizing it, we're going to need to get her outside." she hit a couple of pressure points in the back of Nico's neck making the thrashing girl go still. "And you will be keeping your distance for the rest of the day. There will be no negotiation about it, I should have made her come home." Nina picked up the sleeping girl and left Bakugo wondering what he had done.
An hour later Nico finally woke up, "Owie, why does it feel like I got run over by a train." she rubbed the side of her face that had made contact with the floor.
"I wouldn't say train," Nina said from beside her, "but I'm just as fast. Feeling any better?" she watched Nico sit up stiffly.
"Auntie? When did you get here?" Nico asked as she looked around, seeing that they were in the little courtyard of the dorm. "And when did I get outside? It happened again, didn't it?"
Nina nodded, "You heard me and it sent you off the deep end. Unfortunately I didn't know the full extent of what was going on." she smoothed out some of Nico's hair, "I had to put you in your place, but that boy's scent woke a dormant part of your cat and sent it into overdrive."
"You have got to be kidding me," Nico groaned, burying her face into Nina's shoulder. "Just kill me now, and here I thought I just got lucky and nothing went wrong."
Nina struggled not to laugh at Nico, "I know Kit, but it was on the last day so you did have a little luck. Just imagine how this could have gone if this had happened in the middle of the week."
"I don't want to think about that. Oh god I hurt Izu while in a frenzy, have you seen him, how bad is it?" she started to panic hoping that she didn't hurt anyone else.
Nina put her arm around Nico, "Don't worry Kit, he's fine. If it hadn't been for the blonde idiot jumping in when he did, it would have been worse than a few shallow cuts." Nico leaned into her aunt, "This mess is my fault, I should have made you come home until this was over. On top of that I might have to pay to fix the floor, I might have put you down a little harder than necessary."
"Well that would explain why my head is killing me." Nico laughed a little, "Thank you for coming when you did, I could have turned into a total psychopath." she said as someone tapped on the glass door.
The cats looked over to see Izuku waving, Nico flattened her ears down on her head feeling guilty about all the bandages on his arms. "Kit, it wasn't your fault, you weren't in control of yourself. It doesn't look like he blames you." Nina tried to make her feel better, but when she saw that words weren't working she wave Izuku over.
"Good to see you're finally awake." he watched as Nico slid behind Nina, "Are you feeling better?" Nico nodded from over Nina's shoulder, retreating farther behind her aunt.
"Nicole, don't be a scaredy cat. You are not a child, I will not have you hiding like one." Nina scolded her, "I'm going to see if your room has been properly aired out, we don't need you going into another frenzy." Nina got up and let Nico with Izuku.
"Auntie," Nico whimpered as she helplessly watched her leave. "I'm so sorry I hurt you." she looked down at the ground, trying not to cry.
"You weren't yourself, Nina explained what happened to you." Izuku said as he went to sit next to her. "Did Kacchan tell you what happened last night?"
"Not really, he called me a crazy demon stalker so I take it I was totally batshit." she shifted a little to keep her distance from him. "Care to add the story."
"It was almost ten when I got a message from Kacchan that you were acting oddly." Izuku pulled up the message for her, "By the time I got up there, you were perched on the balcony railing just watching. I have to admit it was really creepy how still you were sitting, and your eyes were so dark and more cat like than normal."
"My cat was hunting, this is so much worse than the time Nagisa and Nori coated my pillow with catnip." Nico curled up on herself, "I could have done some serious damage if it hadn't been for Katsuki. I'm dangerous, I shouldn't be living here." she dropped her head onto her knees and sniffled back her tears.
"No one has complete control over their quirk right away." he moved close and pulled her into a side hug. "And while we're here each of us is learning how to get a better control over our powers. What better place to find out flaws than is a place that has so many eyes, just think of what could have happened if you lost your mind somewhere else." Izuku realized that he wasn't helping when she curled in tighter, her tail wrapped across her legs.
"I leave you for ten minutes and you make her cry." Nina said as she came back to a stack of clothes. "Kit you are going for a bath and then we're going out. Clearly being around here right now isn't helping."
Nico got to her feet and took the pile, "Yes, ma'am." and she dashed inside without another word.
Nina turned to Izuku, "Please keep trying to get through to her, you and the other one. While I won't say this to him but the pair of you are good for her, I haven't seen her so happy in a long time." she said as Izuku got to his feet, "I don't want this incident to set her back, not with how far she's come."
"We won't let you down, if it comes to it we can just get Denki to go full stupid and that should get a small laugh at the least." Izuku promised, "But you might want to tell Kacchan that he isn't in the dog house anymore. He looks so heartbroken." he pointed up to the window overlooking the courtyard where they saw Bakugo watching them.
"I'll let him suffer a little longer, while I appreciate what you two did last night, it doesn't mean I accept him like my brother does." she turned back to Izuku, "I will bring Nicole back later, hopefully I can get her to stop feeling bad about what happened."
"Why don't you try to come back for dinner, it's Kacchan's turn to cook and I know he'd love it if you joined us." Nina narrowed her eyes at the boy, "It wouldn't hurt to give him a small chance."
"We'll see, but for now I'll let him stew." she turned, giving Bakugo one last look before going to check on Nico.
Nina took Nico for a wander around the mall, "Is there anything for school while we're here?" she tried to get Nico to say something, "Or is there anything you want to get? I know I scold Nicolas for spoiling you but I think it's my turn."
"I'm fine, I came and stocked up on everything last week with Katsuki." Nico quietly answered. "You don't have to do this if there's somewhere else you need to be. I'll be fine by myself."
"I made sure that I didn't have to go into work today, so you have me all to yourself for a change." Nina said as she spotted a small ice cream parlor. "I know something we haven't done in forever." she grabbed Nico's hand and pulled her along. "You get us a table and I'll get the ice cream."
"Alright auntie." NIco trotted of and round a table near a window so she people watch while she waited. It didn't take Nina long to come over and sat across from her.
"Anything you want to talk about?" Nina asked, watching Nico play with her spoon. When she didn't answer, Nina put a hand over Nico's. "I think I have a story that might help you understand what happened."
When Nico didn't object, Nina launched into her tale. "Many moon long since past, there was an alley cat. Now this cat thought that she was the best of everything and there were very few that could prove her wrong. She was so proud that there wasn't anyone who could best her in a race that she would take on anyone." Nina noticed that Nico was paying close attention now.
"So one day a young track star came along and beat the alley cat in a race, now instead of being upset that she had lost like everyone thought she would be, the alley cat started following around the track star. She had fallen in love with him and his scent that reminded her of the wind itself, but there was a problem, the track star did not love her in return because he had someone else already."
"What happened to the alley cat when she found that out?" Nico asked, "It must have crushed her to have fallen in love with someone but not to have the feeling returned."
Nina nodded, "It did, it made her feel like her heart had been shattered into a thousand pieces. But that wasn't the worst of it, as the time passed it only made the ache in her heart worse and by the time the winter cycle had come around, the alley cat lost her mind to the hate and pain that she went off and did something horrible." she had to pause, it wasn't an easy story for Nina to retell. "She got lost in a frenzy and ended up hunting the girlfriend of the track star. It wasn't until the morning when the alley cat woke up in the snow, covered in blood did she realize what had happened."
"Did the other girl survive?" Nico whispered, it was clear on her face that the story was hitting home.
"Barely, but it was after that did the alley cat start to fear herself and the very real treat she was." Nina took Nico's hand between hers, "She became very afraid of going through her cycles surrounded by people, in case that another frenzy would grip her so thoroughly that there would only be the beast left. She would often sit up and think of every possible terrifying scenario that it almost drove her mad. I don't want you to become like the alley cat, she didn't let people in when it was clear that she needed help."
"But how do I keep from losing myself, I don't want to be a treat to my friends if there's a chance it could happen again." Nico watched Nina run a finger along the lines on her palm. "I hurt Izu, while it wasn't too bad it could have been much worse."
"That's why you need to let people in, as soon as your cat doesn't see them as a treat to you, it will calm down." Nina said, placing her finger tip on the center of Nico's palm. "What happened this time was because you found the scent that calms you and you overdid it taking it in. Do you remember when Nagisa played that horrible prank on you? It was just like that, too much stimulation and your cat reacted."
"So I would have been fine if I hadn't taken Katsuki's shirt?" Nico tried figuring out just where she had gone wrong and would do her best to avoid doing it in the future.
"I think the shirt was fine, I think it was you sitting in his lap and being close like that was what triggered it. You can be in the same room as long as you are aware of your limits, at least you'll know for next time." Nina said as Nico's ears picked up a little. "I will admit that I didn't like the fact that it was a mixed dorm but I see now that it is a good thing, you were going to have to deal with this eventually."
"But you're not going to accept Katsuki just yet, are you?" Nico asked with a smile, she knew that Nina wasn't going to roll over as easily as Nick had.
Nina let out a small humorless laugh, "I am not Nicolas, that boy needs to earn my respect. I am allowing him a chance tonight when I return you back to school, your friend Izuku offered for me to join you and your classmates for dinner."
"I do have one question about story, did the alley cat ever talk to the track star after what happened?"
"Every once and awhile," Nina answered, turning to watch the crowds. "Last she heard he had become a teacher at some big name school."
"Well maybe if the alley cat goes to visit her niece every so often, she might just get to see the track star." Nico turned her attention back to her ice cream to avoid the glare from her aunt. "Just a suggestion, it's not like I would be telling the alley cat that if she really wanted to talk with him that using her niece as an excuse would be a good way to do it."
"Kit you're treading on thin ice." Nina warned her, but it didn't carry much weight because of her smile. "I will warn you not to meddle in affairs that are not your own."
Nico gave Nina a look of mock hurt, "I would never, who do you take me for?"
"I think you are your mother's child and will stick her nose where it doesn't belong." Nina rolled her eyes, "How about instead of plotting, you eat up so we can make it in time for dinner."