Chapter Two:
While young Midoriya had gone home to visit his mother, he'd asked Toshinori to carry out a very important task: feeding and giving a bath to his cat. For his second encounter with Furry Might, Toshinori had come prepared. He'd read everything on the internet about befriending cats. He'd brought along toys, catnip, and treats. He'd also put on a full suit of armor.
Toshinori opened the door. "Here, kitty kitty!"
Furry Might snarled and lunged. His claws left deep marks in the steel armor.
Toshinori's visor fell over his face. He picked up the cat and wrestled him toward the basin full of warm water. "It's time for your bath! It's good for you. You'll feel better afterward, then we'll become great friends by the time young Midoriya gets back."
Furry Might howled like a chorus of damned souls.
In minutes, Toshinori lay on his back on the floor. His armor had been ripped to shreds. The entire room was soaking wet. Only Furry Might remained completely dry, sitting on a toilet and licking his paws.
Covered in scratches, Toshinori moaned, "I failed young Midoriya…"
Not for the first time, Izuku wandered the halls of the dorms, asking, "Has anyone seen my cat?"
Furry Might had seemed grumpy after Izuku's brief visit home, clinging to him for a week. Then the cat had gone back to escaping every day. Izuku had repaired the latch on his window, and his cat had broken it again. Furry Might could probably break a door if he wanted out badly enough. It was difficult to prevent fifty plus pounds of cat from going wherever he pleased.
Passing by in the hallway, Fumikage said, "I believe I saw the creature of darkness headed toward the kitchen."
Izuku sighed. "Probably begging for food again, as if he needs to grow even bigger."
"I will follow the trail of ancient, evil vibes and find him." Fumikage turned and gestured Izuku to follow.
Izuku wasn't sure if Fumikage called all cats "creatures of darkness" or just his, but there was no denying that Fumikage was good at finding Furry Might. Fumikage led him straight to the living room, where Tsuyu sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Furry Might, unblinking.
Cat and girl stared deep into each other's eyes. Were they in a staring contest? Was it on-purpose or by accident?
The moment was broken when Furry Might leapt up and pounced on Dark Shadow.
Screaming, Dark Shadow dematerialized and fled along the wall. Furry Might pounced at the shadow, leaving scratches on the paint.
"The evil is upon us!" Fumikage and Dark Shadow screamed together.
"He's just playing," Izuku said weakly, then went to grab his cat.
Mina had forgotten her textbook, and now she was late to class. Using acid to glide, she ran down the dorm stairs clutching her book.
As Mina opened the dorm door, two white-silver eyes fixed on her. A tail lashed. Mina recognized the look of a cat who wanted to get outdoors. She tried to squeeze sideways through the door, cracking it too narrowly for him to escape.
Furry Might butted her legs.
"Aw, what a fluffy kitty." Mina reached down the pet him. She let go of the door. Furry Might pushed it open with his head and ran out.
Mina ran after him, screaming, "Come back! You're supposed to be a secret! Midoriya will be very worried if I don't bring you back!"
Gigantomachia was very fond of the pink-haired girl who smelled of acid. He remembered meeting her many years ago, when she'd tried to help him. It was a shame she had no sense of direction, but the thought counted.
Apparently she still hadn't learned directions. It was currently schooltime, but Gigantomachia had watched her from the window as she ran toward the dorms instead. The poor girl looked frazzled. Thus, Gigantomachia had taken it on himself to guide her safely to her classroom.
The pink-haired girl ran after him, screaming. She did not seem to understand that he was guiding her. This pitiful girl didn't even realize she had no sense of direction. At least Gigantomachia knew he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed—that was why he had master.
At the classroom, Gigantomachia received pets and a treat from the baggy-eyed tree expert who smelled of caffeine. He accepted this as his rightful due for guiding a lost child to class. The teacher had become Gigantomachia's next favorite after the masters on account of his endless supply of cat treats and knack for scratching the right spot behind the ears.
Afterward, Gigantomachia wandered the school grounds. Little Lord had been upset with Gigantomachia for attacking his bird friend. Gigantomachia wanted to bring back a gift as an apology. The Lord always loved gifts. Surely Little Lord would be the same.
When Gigantomachia detected the scent of the Great Enemy All Might, his ears flattened and he growled. A skinny man sat on a bench, reading. Even without his muscles, Gigantomachia knew the man by his hated smell.
Little Lord seemed very fond of images of the Great Enemy. (In retrospect, the All Might merchandise that Gigantomachia had often been sent to steal over the years had probably been gifts for the Little Lord.) Perhaps Little Lord would appreciate a token of the real thing to add to his collection—and arm or a leg? The master's doctor had always liked fresh corpses.
Gigantomachia silently climbed up the nearest tree, then launched himself at the Hated Enemy peacefully reading below.
All Might screamed as a cat landed on his head.
When Izuku returned to his room, Furry Might lay curled up in a sunny spot below the window. The cat immediately leapt up and nudged the offerings spread across the floor, meowing.
"Did you get me gifts?" Izuku stared at the pile of All Might T-Shirts, figurines, cups, keychains, pins, and pens. "You didn't have to. I'm not angry that you attacked Dark Shadow—I know it's your instinct to chase birds. Wait, where did you get all of this?" It wasn't as if a cat had a wallet. Oh, dear, was Izuku going to get into trouble?
Furry Might dropped a yellow lump at Izuku's feet.
Izuku knelt down. "Is this…hair? All Might's hair?" He poked the blonde strands. "Is there blood on it?"
An explosion sounded down the hallway. Katsuki screamed, "When I find out who stole my All Might collection, you're DEAD!"
Izuku quickly shoved all the merchandise that he must have forgotten buying into his closet.
Monoma arrived at the 1-A Dorms on a bright and early morning. Pushing back his hair, he cried, "I heard that Class 1-A has a cat."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Izuku said, shoving Furry Might's bulk into the hallway closet behind him.
Monoma sneered. "I'm not here to tattle. Such behavior would be beneath me as your rival."
"That's surprisingly good of you," Izuku said, giving up on holding the closet door closed. Furry Might lurked in the shadows behind him.
"I'm here to brag! Behold!" Monoma whistled, and a golden retriever bounded forward. "Since Class 1-A got a cat, I nagged Mr. King until he agreed to let Class 1-B have a dog." Monoma placed his hand to his mouth like an anime villainess and cackled. "Finally, we've beaten you! Dogs are the superior animal! Dogs always beat cats in a fight, just like how Class 1-B will always triumph over Class 1-A. Every time our dog chases your cat up a tree, you will choke on the tears of misery and defeat!"
Furry Might stepped out of the closet.
Monoma's eyes widened. In an uncharacteristically subdued voice, he said, "That's a lot of cat."
Furry Might chased Monoma and his dog up a tree.
Gigantomachia dashed down the sidewalk as the pink-haired girl ran after him, screaming in her usual incoherent fashion. Having found her wandering around lost in the dorms again, he had taken up the duty of guiding her. Too late, he'd realized he didn't know where she was going, but at least they were both getting exercise.
The Little Lord sat on a bench outside school playing a handheld game with a small boy. The child had short, spikey black hair. Gigantomachia leapt onto the bench (causing it to tilt) and offered up his head for pats.
"How did you get out?" Izuku asked as he rubbed behind Gigantomachia's ears.
Mina staggered over, deadly sweat dripped down her forehead. She was barely able to speak between her pants. "I swear…he came out of nowhere…and slipped out the door…"
Izuku looked up with a scowl. "Did you let my cat outside again?"
Mina whimpered under the death glare. "I'm sorry."
Gigantomachia had successfully led the lost pink-haired girl to someone who could give her directions. He had helped! He fluffed up proudly, his sparkling eyes demanding praise.
Izuku said, "After Kouta leaves, I will teach you how to open a door without letting Furry Might out. No one else has this problem. You'll get it right next time." Or else went unsaid.
Mina stumbled off, moaning, "I'm so dead…"
Gigantomachia meowed, a little annoyed that she hadn't even thanked him for helping her.
The boy peered over Izuku's shoulder. "Whoa! I've never seen a cat so big! And I've seen a lot of cats."
"Do you want to pet him, too?" Izuku smiled. "This is Furry Might. Furry Might, meet Kouta."
"As expected, Big Brother Izuku would have the coolest cat!" Kouta eagerly petted Gigantomachia. Since this boy had proper respect for the Little Lord, Gigantomachia decided to allow it. He would forgive this child for having spikey hair just like the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Brother Thief.
Kouta said, "My family has a lot of cool cats, but none this big. Can I take a picture and send it to Mandalay?"
"Of course," Izuku said. Gigantomachia struck a pose and bared his fangs at the phone camera.
Not only Mandalay arrived to pick up Kouta, but all the other Wild, Wild Pussycats. "We're here to see the cat," Pixie-Bob said with a gleam in her eyes.
Izuku smiled, pleased that Furry Might had received more adoring fans. "Sure. I put him in my bedroom since he keeps running off."
When Izuku opened the door, Furry Might lay asleep on his bed.
Mandalay gasped and clutched her cheeks. "That is the single most magnificent cat in existence. The King of Cats. No, the God of Cats."
Pixie-Bob glomped Izuku. "I knew you were a talented rookie, but I'm even more impressed that you tamed such a rare beast!"
On the bed, Furry Might cracked an eye open and growled. He did not seem happy with Pixie-Bob clinging to Izuku.
Pixie-Bob immediately dropped Izuku in favor of petting Furry Might. Tiger and Ragdoll swarmed over too. Izuku was briefly worried, but the Pussycats clearly knew how to handle cats and soon had Furry Might purring.
Mandalay whipped out her checkbook. "We must have him. He'll be the ultimate sidekick for our team. Name your price."
Izuku shook his head. "I'm sorry, but Furry Might is not for sale."
"One million yen."
Izuku briefly considered how much All Might merchandise he could buy with that, then shook away the treacherous thought. "Not for any price."
"Five million yen," Mandalay said. Her eyes gleamed with desire. On the other side of the room, Tiger and Furry Might had gotten into a staring contest. Izuku couldn't tell if they were getting along or if he'd need to intervene.
"Everything okay?" Izuku called. Furry Might's ears were relaxed so it was probably fine for now. His tail would start lashing before he went for the throat. Izuku turned back to Mandalay. "Err, like I said, my cat isn't for sale."
Mandalay held out her checkbook. "Write down any number you want."
Izuku gently pushed away the checkbook. "Furry Might is a member of my family."
Mandalay's shoulders slumped. "I understand. I apologize if I've offended. In the face of such incredible beauty, I forgot myself."
Izuku was weak to flattery for his cat. "I could let you use him in your ads?"
Mandalay beamed. "We'll be happy to pay you for the privilege."
"Thank you," Izuku said. "I need the money. Mr. Aizawa said I had to reimburse Kacchan for his All Might merchandise after Furry Might destroyed it." Izuku considered this barely a lie since even if the merchandise was in his closet, it was definitely never going back to its original owner. It was compensation for all his belongings that Kacchan had destroyed when they were children.
From an adjacent dorm room, Katsuki screamed, "I know your evil cat stole my All Might merchandise, nerd! I don't want money, I want revenge—and my shit back!"
Izuku whispered to Mandalay, "He's in such a state of shock from the loss of his collection that he can't accept reality. It's tragic."
Aizawa stood in front of the blackboard, erasing the writing from today's lecture. A brown cat in the window meowed. Outwardly, Aizawa did not react. If he acknowledged the cat then he might be expected to allow other pets in the dorms, which simply wasn't happening. Aizawa only granted special treatment to felines. However, he did pull a cat treat from his pocket and slip it under the cracked window, a tribute for the King of Cats.
Furry Might happily leapt on the treat. Aizawa looked around. No one was watching. He reached out to pet.
Toshinori pushed open the classroom door. "I am here!" His eyes fell on the giant cat. "There you are! I brought one of every type of cat treat in Japan!" He held up his overflowing arms. "Now you must like me!"
Furry Might sneered and leapt down from the windowsill.
"Why?" Toshinori cried, collapsing in a pile of tears.
"I guess you can't be number one at everything," Aizawa quipped smugly, before remembering he was supposed to pretend the cat didn't exist.
Hisashi hadn't worried about Gigantomachia in centuries. He knew his bodyguard was more than capable of taking care of himself. Gigantomachia left disaster in his wake but remained untouched by it, like a force of nature.
When Hisashi had visited the mountain to replenish the cat food, he'd been surprised but not too worried to see it mostly untouched. Hisashi had assumed the quirked cat must be hunting for himself. But he'd expected his biggest fan to immediately come running to greet him. Gigantomachia could smell his master from miles away. It wasn't like him to remain hidden. Had Gigantomachia gotten lost? That was the most likely possibility.
Hisashi would have immediately launched a search, except he had promised to eat dinner with his family that evening. It would have to wait until tomorrow. Hisashi flipped through the reports from his U.A. spy on his phone as he walked down the sidewalk. This was how he kept up-to-date on his son's life. Apparently Izuku had gotten a pet that the spy described only as "bête horrible." There had also been frantic questions about if the doctor might have misplaced a Nomu or a science experiment. The spy had always been a wimp, so Hisashi assumed his son had gotten a hamster.
Putting away his phone, Hisashi pushed open the front door. "I'm home!" He'd used a quirk to disguise his scarred face, as he always did when visiting his family. He was still blind, but he used his various enhanced senses to compensate. So far no one had noticed except for that one time he poured salt into his coffee.
Gigantomachia lay on the carpet with Izuku and Inko petting him. Izuku looked up. "Dad! Meet my new pet cat, Furry Might. Isn't he adorable?"
With a happy yowl, Gigantomachia leapt up and launched himself into Hisashi's arms.
"Aw, he likes you already." Izuku smiled.
Into the cat's ear, Hisashi muttered, "I gave you the quirk so you could hide from heroes, not get named after one, you little traitor. Just look at you! You're wearing an All Might collar!"
Gigantomachia licked his face.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: The League of Villains' Non-Battle
Tomura: Here's where we'll fight with All for One's bodyguard and convince him to join us.
Spinner: There's no one here.
Toga: I see a cat up a tree! Here, kitty kitty!
Tomura: I think the doctor was just messing with me.
#
Omake: Incorrect Quotes, Star Trek TNG
Izuku: I'm trying to train my cat, but he won't do what I say! Maybe cats can't understand the point of specific commands for an action.
Gigantomachia: (Meows in a specific way.)
Izuku: Oh, here. (Gives Furry Might a cat treat.)
Jirou: I don't know about Furry Might, but your training is going quite well.
#
Omake: Class Baker Versus Furry Might
Sato: I swear I will cook enough to satisfy your appetite!
Gigantomachia: Meow! (Translation: Challenge accepted!)
Later:
Sato: I have failed…
Izuku: How did Furry Might get twice as big? At this rate he won't fit on my bed.
#
Omake: Sir Nighteye Versus Furry Might
Years Ago:
All for One: My son wants nothing but All Might merch for his birthday (sighs) again. I'm not giving the money that I stole fair and square to my archnemesis. Gigantomachia, I order you to steal All Might merch for me.
Gigantomachia: As the master commands! This time I won't destroy it!
Present Day:
Sir Nighteye: Your merch looks suspiciously similar to some valuable items that were stolen from me…
Izuku: Excuse me? I've had my collection since I was a young child! This is not your merchandise!
Katsuki: Yeah, it's my merchandise that your freaky cat stole from me!
Author's Note: I credit Gfan97 for giving me enough ideas to write a second chapter. Also, many thanks for the Star Trek omake!
Credit also goes to redoaktreehill for drawing art of my original AU that inspired my ending (and inspired me to write this fic.) Delete the spaces to get the tumblr link:
redoaktreehill.
tumblr.
com/
post/691570449343283200/the-cat-that-walked-by-himself
