Warning for character death.

Meiko's gaze softened at her son's words. "Oh, honey. We know you didn't mean for Shoto to get hurt. It was just what happened at the time. While it was poor planning on your part, I have a feeling when you meet Shoto again, he won't remember it at all."

"Won't… remember?" Sirius looked shocked, eyes widening. "Why not? Does he really hate me?"

His parents hugged him tightly, doing their best to comfort him. "Sirius, it's not that." Romulus began to explain. He knew that the other boy would suppress his memories, due to the trauma.

"Trauma affects people in different ways. But, the most common thing people do who've suffered a traumatic experience is to block bad memories away. So, in addition to not remembering the start of your friendship with him, Shoto won't remember you, either." Meiko clarified in a more detailed way.

Sirius nodded. The dog boy understood a bit better now. He realized that when he met Shoto again, whenever that would be, he would have to start again with his friend. One step at a time. His lip curled a little. This was all Endeavor's fault. The hero had to pay somehow.

Elsewhere, a girl the same age as Sirius and Hitomi was scrounging through food scraps in an alleyway. She had the physical attributes of a feline. Her name was Katherine Thomas and she was trying her hardest to look after both herself and her sisters after being abandoned by family.

What good is a family? She thought to herself. Adults were worthless. Heroes were worthless. No adult had done anything good in Katherine's eyes. She and her sisters starved almost every night because no one was generous enough to give them enough food to keep them full.

This was cruelty.

Finding only enough for her two sisters, Katherine sighed as she realized she would be going without tonight. At this point, however, she cared little for herself and more about her younger sisters. She would not have them starving if she could help it.

Kitty was always trying so hard.

Making her way back to her sisters in the alleyway the street over, Katherine 'Kitty' Thomas couldn't wait to tell them they could feed tonight. The cat Quirk user couldn't wait to see their delighted faces. The young girl entered the alleyway where her sisters were hiding, but stopped, her ears twitching.

Something was wrong. Where were their voices, their giggles? Swallowing back rising dread, Kitty's voice broke as she called for them. "Beatrice, Becky!"

Absolute silence. Not a peep.

"No, no… Please..." Kitty dropped the food and hurried to where she had left them.

Motionless.

Still as death and covered in blood. Their mouths had been gagged, which explained why she hadn't heard them scream for help. Katherine stared for an unknown amount of time. Eventually, the shock and grief gave way to anger, burning anger that her only kin had been taken from her.

"Whoever did this..." Kitty flicked her fingers and her claws came out, her voice broken but loud. "Is going to pay." She scraped her claws across a dumpster that was right beside her, the sound no doubt making people in the surrounding buildings jump a little and wince from it.

No one crossed Katherine Thomas and got away to tell the tale. If she had to become a villain to kill her sisters' murderer, then so be it. The young girl focused on the new task at hand and exhaled deeply to try and calm herself.

She wouldn't stay angry.

Kitty leaned down to take in a breath of the murderer's scent. She got a whiff of something foreign to her. It smelt like badger, but it was a badger scent she hadn't smelled before. Mixed in with it was the familiar scent of a human girl.

Her eyes narrowed.

A Japanese girl at that. Who was this human trying to fool? A flicker of fury crossed her face, but she schooled herself to look deadpan again while she sorted through the facts. She didn't know any native-speaking Quirk users, did she?

Not that she was aware of, unless… Maybe.

Katherine didn't know her personally, but she believed she knew who the culprit was. She often saw her working in the nearby cafe as a maid, with an explicit comment on her t-shirt before she switched to her maid's outfit.

Could it be her? Kitty wondered if she could investigate. It might be worth a shot, she deduced. But for now, she would give her sisters the burial they deserved. Taking the gags away from their mouths, she used two fingers to close their terrified, blank eyes. Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her at this point, but she wouldn't break.