AN: thank you for the favs, follows, and reviews! It's always nice to see readers enjoying my work. Pantera is very light hearted, fun, and simply meant to bring enjoyment to whoever was curious enough to spend a few minutes reading it. Thanks again for your support!
Kae's squealing was as exasperating as it was endearing to the rest of the class as they watched her hold the invitation close to her chest and kick her feet girlishly. "Yatta! Try and beat that Iida and all you 1-A losers!" Standing atop her seat with one foot on her desk, Kae held a triumphant fist in the air as she grinned broadly.
Kaibara eyed the cat girl with doubt, unbelieving of their turnout. "I can't believe you managed to get an invitation from a top 10 pro..I'll never forgive you for this Monoma."
"Yo congrats Kae!" Honenuki cheered.
"Yeah congrats!"
"Thanks for all your hard work, Itoyo. Lets see 1-A try and beat that." Shoda encouraged her.
"That is pretty impressive, Kae. Make sure you do your best to represent our class well," Kendo added.
Kae wilted from atop her pedestal, her ears and tail drooping simultaneously. "It's like you guys didn't have any faith in me..."
Awase, as per usual, cut right into the conversation with blunt words. "C'mon, don't act as if you were sure you would get this kind of prestigious invitation." This time Kae actually stomped her foot.
"Awase! Quit raining on my parade, you're being harsh again!" He didn't bat an eye at her exposed fangs but did back off.
"He's as fun as ever," Setsuna mumbled to Yanagi. Kae turned to look at the other girl, her teeth bared in a playful manner.
"Ah well it's not like i can blame him, he didn't get an invitation from a top 10 hero after all~"
Awase rolled his eyes at her. "I'm really not liking the superior attitude, Kae."
Pretending she hadn't heard him at all, she continued to speak haughtily. "As a matter of fact, I think I'm gonna go show off! Wonder how class A feels now that they're not the only ones getting special attention~" Monoma, predictably, quickly offered his support.
"Exactly, show them how much better we are than the-"
"Absolutely not. Kae, Monoma, sit down." Vlad was at the front of the room and stared both troublemakers down with a stern glare. Thoroughly reprimanded, Kae's tail went between her legs.
"Yes sir," she obeyed and sheepishly looked down at her desk. Beside her, Rin Hinryu whispered conspiratorially, "You did well. Congratulations, Kae." He was rewarded with a bright grin from the cat girl. "Thanks, Rin! At least you believed in me." He didn't talk much, but always offered her support like that. Kae found it was incredibly kind of the boy.
He smiled at her softly. "Of course I do. You worked hard for it."
Vlad's voice cut into the air, reminding them of this week's importance. "Now then. Let's move on with today's order of business. Or did you think this small victory over class A would be enough to become great heroes?"
Kae and Rin faced forward and spoke along with the rest of the students. "No sir Mr. Vlad sir!" The class chorused. Vlad congratulated them for their hard work but implored them not to get complacent if they wanted to be able to compete with 1-A. "Onto serious business, you'll be picking your hero names."
"Alright!"
"Take your time, kids. Whatever you pick today might stick with you for the rest of your career."
Present Mic had also joined them, eagerly handing out writing boards and markers, of which Kae tapped against her mouth thoughtfully. Class 1-B was uncharacteristically quiet as each student took care choosing their new code names. All the way in seat 15, Kae could feel a slight tension beginning to form in the air as they struggled. What to pick what to pick ...something cool, something intimidating, and catchy and unique! To set her apart from all other heroes!
A name popped into her head, one so cool it was her first and only choice. "This is definitely the name of a hero who'd work at Edgeshot's agency..."
"Picked one so soon?" Rin asked curiously as she furiously scribbled on her board. "Mm! This'll definitely impress everyone. In fact, I volunteer to go first!" She turned to look at Vlad and Mic at the front with her left hand raised high. Present Mic waved her over.
"Alright! C'mon up!"
Making her way up with an excited smile, Kae carefully hid the characters against her chest until she stood proudly at the podium. Looking at her peers expectant faces, she introduced herself with the name worthy of a pro with a charismatic smile, "I've got it! A name that'll stop villains in their tracks and put hope in the hearts of citizens. Serious and intimidating, it's me, your hero, Hellcat!" She slammed the board on the podium and looked out triumphantly.
She was met with stunned silence before a scattered polite round of applause sounded across different points of the room. But of course, someone broke the kind atmosphere.
"Hellcat? That's actually cool. Who knew you could pick something like that?"
"Awase you're doing it again!" Kae's ears flattened atop her skull and her cheeks grew hot in embarrassment.
Kendo put a finger to her cheek. "I have to agree. Kae definitely seems the type to pick something cute."
"Oh cmon, Kendo, not you too," Kae groaned. She looked to her closest friend and only ally. "Testu, tell them!"
Her best friend gave her a thumbs up. "It's a totally cool name, Kae. Great pick!" Even Rin in the back nodded his assent.
"I have to agree!" Present Mic added, trying to draw attention back to the real topic at hand. "Picking a name a little more mature could help make you seem more serious in the public eye. Better watch out, though! Too serious and you won't have any fans and your ratings might tank."
Kae took the advice gratefully, and nodded at their acceptance of her hero name before making her way back to her seat to allow others to announce their own picks. It went about as smoothly for others as it did for her but otherwise went off without much fuss.
During their small break Kae started a small argument between Monoma and Kendo to give her a chance to sneak into class A. Rin gave her a look for it but didn't say anything even as she stepped away from her desk. Slipping out undetected was getting easier and easier the more time she spent with her friends. The longer they got to know each other, the more she learned about who they were as people, what made them tick, what they were interested in, what they hated...simple things they thought nothing of and in turn made them think nothing of her. Kae was a simple busybody in their eyes.
Her mother taught her a lot about people, as a beauty queen she worked with so many different people, had to be knowledgeable in so many different areas, and taught Kae the importance of retaining that information. Networking, especially, required confidence and memory that Kae had down pat.
It was a little hurtful to think they didn't perceive her as serious competition, but just like how she upstaged them in the festival and her internship list, she was fine with letting them think she wasn't a threat. It kept their eyes off her and she got more out of them than they did her. Sure it was a little shady, but all's fair in love and war.
And Kae was going to champion both.
1-A's door was ajar and it was more than enough space for the cat girl to slide through, bright colored hair in every corner and she could spot two that stood out. Red and blonde. Excited chatter filled the room and not a single student took notice of the hidden stranger in their midst. Kae stuck to the walls and took care not to alert anyone in the class to her foreign presence. She crept along until she was in a direct line towards her designated victim. Stalking forward, she closed the distance, peering closer and closer until her mouth was right behind the shell of his ear and...
"Hey, Kaminari."
"Agh!" Jumping out of his skin, Kaminari turned to face the voice of the cute girl he'd somehow managed to exchange numbers with and even score a date. "Itoyo! Geez did you have to scare me like that?!" She flashed a disarming grin and chuckled to herself, enjoying his reaction and taking note of two others pairs of eyes she'd caught the attention of.
"Sorry, sorry, you're just so cute when you're scared~" Kae enjoyed the way a light dusting of pink formed across his cheeks. "What are you doing here?" He asked quizzically.
"Yeah what the hell're you doin' here cat ears?" At the sound of a stranger in their midst, Bakugo was quick to zero in on the threat, red gaze instantly locking on the dark haired cat girl right where she stood behind Dunce Face. He didn't notice her when she snuck into their viewing section at the sports festival, nor did he notice her when she snuck in his goddamn classroom. His turf. While he was sure she wouldn't be much of a challenge in a fight, it only served to put her on his radar.
But the girl shook off his intimidating glare like water off a duck's back. Rolling her eyes goodnaturedly, she turned to the other blonde in front of her, expressly ignoring the red head beside Bakugo. "I'm here for Kaminari obviously . Wanna compare internship invitations?" she asked him roguishly, silently waving her list of invitations hoping to peak his curiosity. "Aw man, you're here to show off because you beat me aren't you?" He moaned as he threw his onto his desk.
"Maah, mah, what's a little teasing between friends?" she giggled as her tail waved playfully behind her back.
Kaminari knew he couldn't refuse her. Not with that cute look on her face. With an indulgent sigh, he agreed. Lifting his head, he held out a palm. "Sure, why not? That date you promised me might be enough for me to forget about my humiliation."
"Great! Here let's trade." Kae handed her papers over with surprisingly gentle hands, delicately avoiding an accidental nick of Kaminari's hands while doing so. They were both quietly going over each other's invitations, paying no mind to the others around them who also waited to hear where they'd been invited to, but kept a respectful silence for the two unlikely friends.
Kae read over Kaminari's sheet, absently noting the pros interested in mentoring the boy, idly biding her time until-
"Edgeshot?! You were invited to intern with Edgeshot?!"
She dropped her careless pretenses (and his sheets) and grabbed his hands, staring into him with intense excitement. "I know isn't it amazing?!" Kaminari's expression didn't change from its openmouthed gape even as Kae's took on her happy, starry eyed look, though he did blush the slightest bit.
"He's totally my idol and he noticed me!" Her voice gradually heightened in pitch until it was little more than a barely identifiable squeal. "No way. There's three first years interning with a top ten pro, and I didn't score anyone in the top 50," Kaminari groaned. Kae's ears pricked forward, the rest of her friends would want to hear about this information.
"Oh really? Who else? I'm the only one in class B that snagged one."
"He's talking about me, cat ears. I got over 3,000 invitations and one of them was from the number three hero himself!"
"Wow, congrats! You definitely impressed the pros," Kae smiled. Of course one of them was Bakugo. No matter how poor his personality was, he still put on one hell of a show. Kaminari let out a snort.
"Yeah but Todoroki got one from the number two hero." Kae simply hummed in acknowledgement. She could have guessed as much. Still, Bakugo was foaming at the mouth at the mention of the other boy.
"Shut up!" he growled. Wow, she mused. His teeth could rival Tetsu's. "That half and half bastard only got invited cuz he's his old man!"
"Nepotism huh? Well can't say it doesn't get you places," Kae shrugged. Kaminari turned to Kae, "Todoroki even got more invitations than Bakugo. Over 4,000!"
Kae's brow's raised comically. "Whoa, really? 4,000 invitations?" No one in her class had gotten anywhere near that many. Over one thousand more invitations than Bakugo who won the tournament!
"Shut up!"
Still in shock, Kae decided to congratulate the boy. Looking to him with her brows in her hairline, she was noticeably impressed. "Crap, Bakugo, 3,000 invitations is still a shit ton of-"
"Don't patronize me!" Kae's ears began to flatten and twist, and her tail lowered and hooked at the end defensively. No one else in the room seemed to think much of his outburst, but Kae was instinctively beginning to feel a little wary and her own aggression leaked through as a result. Hackles raised tentatively, because she did not want to cause a fight or she'd never hear the end of it from anyone, she was about to retort when someone else beat her to it.
"C'mon, man, calm down. She's just trying to congratulate you on a job well done."
Kae's eyes flickered over to the red head she'd been avoiding the entire time was in his class and was taken aback by his calm demeanor. His voice was placid and empathetic, expression understanding but all the while stern as he redirected the explosive blonde's attention to the real intent behind the cat girl's words. He held his hands against Bakugo's chest, putting himself between the two and cut Kae from Bakugo's line of sight. Kae's breath stilled and her eyes widened at the scene, because in that moment, Kirishima was suddenly the same boy who offered her a handkerchief all those weeks ago.
Time resumed when Kae finally noticed that Bakugo looked like he was going to jump her over Kirishima's defensive posture, but over all the noise, Aizawa entered the room and quickly diffused the situation. He took one look at them and didn't make any comment other than a tired, "You're one of Vlad's kids. Go back to your class."
The cat girl jolted as she regained herself, inhaling sharply as she saluted the man. "Sir yes sir, Mr. Eraserhead!" He gave her a tired look. "Try not to cause a ruckus over there either." She nodded and a nervous chuckle escaped her lips as she hurriedly made her way back from whence she came, but not pausing at the door. Breathless, she turned to call out to Kaminari, taking care not to look anywhere but him.
"Meet me for lunch, 'kay?" She ran before he could give her a response.
AN: I know I keep cutting off right when things get interesting, but I can't help it! I need *something* to help me start the next chapter and I don't want to give too much away too fast.