Category: General Fluff
Fandom: My Hero Academia
Characters: Hitoshi Shinso
Hitoshi scowled when pounding rain, not pleasant sunshine, greeted him as he strolled through the glass doors of the convenience store. The small fabric awning shielded him from most of the onslaught, but the sheer volume of water falling from the sky was inescapable; the canvas overhead bulged with pooling rainwater, and a sheet of fat droplets cascaded from its edge. The force of the drops propelled them inward, leading them to splatter over the soft cloth of his white tee-shirt. Beyond the waterfall streaming from the awning, puddles blossomed in the streets, rippling with the continuous rainfall.
When on Earth did this storm blow in? he wondered with a weary sigh. He tossed the plastic bag of canned coffees and mochi snacks over his shoulder while using his other hand to scratch the tufts of his lavender hair thoughtfully. The weather report hadn't predicted a rainstorm, so Hitoshi had neglected to bring an umbrella. It wasn't a terribly long walk back to the U.A. dorms, but in this deluge, he would be drenched within ten seconds. He pouted up at the cloud-choked sky. There's nothing for it. I'll have to wait it out, he decided. He walked to the large glass window and eased himself down on the sill, pushing aside a small flowerpot of violets to make himself comfortable, then pulled out his phone to scroll through his social media feed.
"Bah," he mumbled. Ninety percent of the posts refused to load. The convenience store wasn't a dead zone, so he surmised that the torrential downpour deadened the signal. He closed out of the app and shoved his phone into his back pocket, then disinterestedly stared out into the street. Despite the storm, people were still strolling out and about. The air thrummed with splashing water and the smacking of raindrops against the rubber umbrellas. Occasionally a car would zoom by and throw up an impressive arc of the dirty rain puddles, sending it washing over the sidewalk like a great wave. When the car was going fast enough, the sloshing water would kiss the tips of Hitoshi's Converse.
Hitoshi raised an eyebrow as a little mew drifted into his ears. The lavender-haired boy searched for the source of the sound, but there was no animal in sight. He began to wonder if he had imagined it until another tiny meow floated out of the alleyway on the side of the building. Hitoshi eased off of the windowsill to creep along the brick wall, not wishing to startle whatever little creature was voicing its opposition to the pounding rain. His eyes widened, and he blinked confusedly when all that greeted him was a big green dumpster and some sodden flyers that had blown in from the street. Just as he was about to turn around and resume his perch, the mew sounded again. He glanced down at his feet.
"Oh. Well, hello there." The sodden white kitten toddled on its unsteady legs to paw at the equally white front of his shoes, then raised its bobbling head to meow curiously at him. Hitoshi grinned and squatted down to observe the wee creature. It was incredibly small, most likely too young to survive without its mother. "Where's your mom, little one?" The kitten responded with another miserable mew. "Gone, huh?" He concluded and peered down the empty alleyway. He spotted no mass of fur, nor any nook or cranny a mother cat could hide. "Unless some cruel person dumped you here," he muttered angrily under his breath.
Hitoshi glanced down when the stumbly kitten thumped its head against the hem of his jeans, leaving a circle of dark blue smudged with brown behind. The water streaming down the small incline of the alleyway crashed against the kitten's stubby thin legs, making it stagger and wobble in the current. It whined and jumped on its back two legs to sink its tiny, needle-like claws into the jean fabric and steady itself in the speedy flow. Hitoshi chuckled and gently rubbed its wet tummy, displacing the clumpy sodden fur. "Whatever the case, you're a long way from home, huh?" The kitten meowed sadly.
"First things first, let's get you outta this rain," Hitoshi smiled and plucked the kitten up by the scruff to cup it in his palm. The corner of the awning shielded them some, but the ferocity of the pounding rain and bubbling current from the overflow dampened them both. Hitoshi kicked his feet annoyedly when he realized his socks were soaked through with the dirty water, and similarly, the kitten shook itself. Hitoshi smirked as tiny little water droplets spattered down his front, leaving coffee-brown dirt stains behind. "You little asshole," he laughed and used his index finger to scratch it under the chin. The baby cat began to rumble with a thundering purr and tilted it's head back so Hitoshi could pet all along the column of its throat.
Hitoshi cupped the cat to his chest and returned to his perch on the windowsill. Now subject to the breezy wind, the little thing was beginning to shiver terribly. Hitoshi shrugged off his jacket and set the kitten down on his lap to wrap the thick cloth around its body several times. The kitten's head poked above the mound of material, sniffing the dark fabric with its small pink nose. "What do I smell like? Coffee? Mochi? Exhaustion?" He joked. The kitten meowed matter-of-factly and gripped the metal zipper in its pin-needle teeth, tugging on it fiercely and growling. "What a tiny little terror you are. First, you splash me, and now you try to destroy my jacket after I'm kind enough to give it to you." The cat stopped yanking on the metal piece and blinked up at him with big blue eyes. "Yeah, little man, I'm talking to you."
The cat went back to terrorizing his jacket zipper.
Ignoring the squirming cat warming up on his lap, Hitoshi glanced out at the street. The rain was letting up; it was dripping more slowly from the overhang, allowing him to see more of the road and stores across the street. The puddles rippled more peacefully, as smaller drops caused less of a disturbance. People were venturing out from within the shops to jog quickly to their cars or destinations. Squinting, Hitoshi glanced up at the sky; what were once ash-gray clouds were lightening to a light hue, and spears of sunlight punched through their wispy frames to beam down to the earth. Puddles of light began to appear alongside the water puddles, golden and warm and bright.
"Well, what am I going to do with you?" Hitoshi wondered aloud and glanced back down at the kitten. It was now purring loudly, near-asleep, and staring at Hitoshi with bleary squinty eyes. Smiling, the lavender-haired boy softly stroked the patch of fur between its ears, and its purring jumped in volume. The kitten then yawned, flexing its pink sandpaper tongue and squeezing its eyes shut. When it finished, it smacked its lips and stuck out a little paw to nudge at his finger. Hitoshi smiled at the flash of its small pink pads when it wound around his middle finger and pulled his hand across the bunched-up jacket so it could snuggle into his palm. "I guess there's nothing for it…" he sighed and used his phone to snap a picture. He sent it to the Class 2-A group chat.
Me: I've made a friend. His name is Tiny Terror.
Ochako: T. T. for short! He's adorable. :D
Fumikage: He doesn't inspire much terror just looking at him.
Eijirou: Tokoyami, I can see you grinning from here. You think he's cute, don't you?
Fumikage: Be quiet! :(
Tenya: You are NOT bringing that home.
Denki: He's got a name, RUDE. Come on, Iida! If you ask nicely I'm sure Hitoshi'll let you hold him.
Tenya: That's beside the point!
Tooru: He's so small! Did you rescue him from the rain, Hitoshi? How admirable~ \^u^/
Momo: I have some cream I can give him!
Izuku: I saw some DIY cat toy recipes on YouTube the other day! Let me find them.
Mina: Why were you looking at DIY cat toy videos?
Izuku: … I like to see the kitties play with them… /
Ochako: Aw, Deku, that's so cute!
Tenya: Why are we still discussing this? I said NO! Put him back!
Kyoka: Wow, way to be heartless. .
Katsuki: No one cares about your "orders," Four-Eyes.
Tenya: You guys are mean. :( … He is cute, I'll grant you that much.
His phone continued to ping with message notifications as the group discussed the newest addition to their lives. The rain was but a sprinkle now- certainly manageable enough to trot back to the dorms. Hitoshi bundled the tiny cat in his arms and stood up. The kitten peered up at him and meowed fearfully.
"Don't worry," he smiled kindly and bopped his little pink nose with a fingertip, "we're going home."