I woke up hours later in a fit of panic. I looked around the dimly lit hospital room but no one was around. A piece of white paper caught my eye, it was sitting on top of my phone, on a chair that was next to my bed. I shakily picked it up. On it was a note and a phone number.

Call me anytime you need.

I smiled and put the piece of paper back down. I didn't need a signature to know who it was from. At least now I could contact him. I laid back down and closed my eyes.

Black. Everything was black. Then I noticed the fire. The street was on fire. The sludge villain from earlier was on the rampage. Only this time the heroes were nowhere to be seen.

"Katsuki!" I called.

He didn't answer me. The villain didn't even stutter. I ran forwards and tried to claw at the villain. Every handful I scooped out twice as much returned.

"Neko,"

I clawed at the villain trying desperately to get to Katsuki. Nothing worked. I couldn't get to him. When the heroes finally arrived it was too late. We lost him.

I woke up screaming, grasping at thin air. I scrambled for my phone and the piece of paper. I quickly entered the number, double-checking that I had everything correct. It rang a few times before someone answered.

"Who the hell is calling me at 2 am?" Katsuki growled.

I practically sobbed in relief. "You're okay."

"Koneko? Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I had a nightmare. It felt so real. I thought I lost you."

Katsuki fell silent. My chest tightened when he didn't come back with a sharp remark.

"Did you..." I swallowed my fear. "Did you have a nightmare too?"

I heard him let out a shaky breath.

"Yeah,"

"The sludge villain?" I already knew the answer.

"Of course."

"Now what do we do?" I asked quietly.

"I could stay till you fall asleep." He suggested.

"Yeah, that could work." My voice cracked. "I don't know that I want to go back to sleep."

"Me either."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"We should at least try, shouldn't we?" I whispered.

"I guess so." He fell silent.

I stared around my hospital room, my chest tightened as visions from my dream flashed across my mind. I couldn't stop the sob from escaping my lips.

"Koneko?" He sounded scared.

"I–I'm okay, I think. Just a little scared, that's all." I whispered. "It's dark here and lonely."

"I could come over." I heard rustling.

"No, they wouldn't let you in. Besides the nurses come and check on me."

"Maybe tomorrow."

I raised a brow. "Oh, what's this? Are you planning to sleep with me?"

I heard a sharp intake of breath on his side.

"No! I meant like a sleepover, you know with our parent's permission."

I laughed and made a strangled sound.

"Hey, are you alright? No laughing, you'll hurt yourself even worse."

"I'm fine. Or I will be." I breathed. I heard the soft sound of footsteps coming towards the door. "Someone's coming." I stuffed the phone under the pillows.

A nurse walked in. "Oh, you're awake."

"Yeah, I just woke up." I glanced around the room.

"Your medicine must have worn off." She walked over and messed with something on the IV bag. "There you go, you should go back to sleep soon."

"Thanks," I smiled.

She hesitated a moment. "Are you okay? I was watching your monitor and your heart rate jumped. It's done that several times tonight."

"Oh," I looked down, ears flattening. "It's nothing, just nightmares. I'm okay now."

"That's good." The nurse smiled. "Just call if you need anything." She gestured to the remote.

"Okay." I nodded.

She gave me another smile then left. As soon as she was gone I scrambled for my phone.

"Hey, are you still there?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm guessing you got your next dose of medicine."

"Yeah, I did." I fiddled with the edge of the sheets. "Which means..."

"You'll fall asleep soon." He finished.

I nodded, forgetting he couldn't see me. We were both quiet for a moment. I yawned.

"Hey don't fall asleep on me."

I smiled, it was so different hearing him speak softly. "I'll try not to."

We fell silent again. He took a shaky breath.

"Hey Katsu, you should try to get some rest," I whispered.

"I guess so." There was more rustling.

"I'll stay on till I fall asleep, which won't be long."

"You don't have to, you know. I'll be fine on my own." He muttered.

"Of course you will." I smiled. "But what if I want you to stay on?"

"Then I'll stay."

I yawned. "Thanks, Katsu."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" He huffed.

"Because it's cute. You have a nickname for me." I replied.

"Fine. But don't you dare call me that in public."

"Okay, I won't. It'll just be between us." I laughed quietly.

"It better be." His voice lacked its normal venom.

I felt my eyelids begin to droop. My body felt heavy like I couldn't move. I sank back against the pillows, eyes closing. My phone tumbled out of my hand and onto the bed. I felt my body slowly slip into unconsciousness. The last thing I heard was Katsuki calling my name.

I woke up the next morning to soft voices. I could make out my mother's and someone else's, I couldn't place them. I opened my eyes, my whole body hurt like I had been hit by a truck. I groaned as memories of the previous day flooded my brain. One memory, in particular, came to mind. Katsuki had confessed. Was that a dream or was it real? Everything was a blur. The one thing I knew that was real was the pain. I should have gotten my next dose while I was asleep. So why did everything hurt?

"Mom?" I managed.

Mom came rushing over. "Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling?"

"Bad." I croaked. "Why does everything hurt?"

Mom glanced at the other person. "I guess we should put you back on your meds."

"You took me off?" I groaned. "Why?"

"We were trying to get you to heal naturally. But if you're in pain we'll put you back on."

A nurse walked over and messed with the IV. "There you go. It'll kick in soon."

"Will I fall asleep soon?" I asked. I didn't want to miss seeing Katsuki.

"No, we took that medicine off." Mom shook her head. "It worked a little too well. Your heart tried to stop."

My ears laid back. "It did?"

"Yes, the nurse said that the first half of the night your heart rate was skyrocketing. Then after she came and checked on you, it dropped too low. I was called in after that."

"I almost died?" The thought scared me.

"No, we had under surveillance. You wouldn't have died."

"But I could have. In any other circumstance, I would have."

Mom stroked my hair. "You're okay now. Don't worry about those things."

I nodded even though the thought was still there. I could have died.

"In other news." Mom started cheerfully. "You can go home today. And you're free from school till you're healed. Of course, you'll probably have homework."

"Izuku or Katsuki could bring it." I murmured. "Izuku! Wait, is he okay?! He ran into that fight too!"

"He's fine. I talked to his mother. He was concerned about you." Mom smiled. "He said something about still wanting to see your notebooks."

I sighed. "Yeah, we were supposed to meet up before the fight happened."

"Well if he wants he can come over later."

My phone buzzed beside me. I glanced over. I didn't recognize the number at first glance.

I'll be there soon

As I read the text it hit me. Katsuki. I didn't have him programmed in yet. I picked up my phone and entered a new contact. Cat-suki. I giggled, he wasn't going to like that. Mom looked over.

"What are you giggling about?"

I looked up. "Nothing."

"Okay." Mom went back to reading my report.

I scrolled through my phone as I waited for Katsuki to arrive. I had several messages from Izuku. I quickly replied.

Me:

Hey Izuku, don't worry about me. They're sending me home today. You can still come over and see the notebooks if you want.

A few moments later came the reply.

Izuku:

Really? Don't you need to rest?

Me:

I'm fine. Don't worry.

Izuku:

Okay, I'll see you later.

I looked up as the door opened. Katsuki walked in with his mother trailing close behind. He walked over to my bed.

"She insisted on coming." He muttered.

"It's a mother thing." I smiled.

"So uh how did you sleep?" He sat in the chair.

"Apparently too well." I laughed lightly.

"What happened?" Katsuki seemed worried.

"Well uh, apparently my heart tried to stop." I rubbed the back of my neck.

"What?" He stood up, gaining the attention of everyone else in the room. Glancing around he sat back down. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I mean they took me off of my meds for a little so I'm kinda sore."

"Neko, if you hadn't been hooked up you could have died."

My ears laid back. "I know."

We fell silent, the only noise was the heart monitor. I guess our mothers had left earlier.

"Hey Katsuki," I whispered. "Did you actually confess, or was that just a dream?"

Katsuki looked surprised. "You don't remember? Of course, I actually confessed."

I let out a sigh. "That's good. Sorry, everything's just a blur."

"You did hit your head pretty hard." He reached over and brushed my head.

I immediately leaned into his touch, purring quietly. He seemed surprised but continued to pet my hair. My purring grew louder.

"I didn't know you could purr."

"I'm a cat. Of course, I can." I practically melted.

"Got any other cat-like tendencies?" He slowed his scratching.

"Like I'll tell you." I scoffed.

"Fine, I'll just find out myself."

"Mmm, good luck. Izuku has no idea and he's been studying me for a couple of years now."

"Huh? Deku?" Katsuki growled. "He may have been watching you but he isn't as close to you as I am."

"True. But I won't give up my secrets so easily."

"Koneko," Mom walked back in.

Katsuki immediately pulled his hand away. I almost whined at the loss of contact.

"The doctor will is going to give you one last check-up and then you'll be free to go."

"Okay." I nodded.

Mom looked expectantly at Katsuki. He sighed and stood up.

"Yeah, yeah I'll leave." He brushed my hand as he left.

My heart skipped a beat and the monitor beeped. I silently cursed it, for once could my emotions be hidden? Mom glanced at me then at the door that Katsuki just disappeared through. Before she could interrogate me the doctor walked in.

"Alright Koneko," She started. "We need to go over a few things before we can send you home."

She started to give me a list of things to do and not to do. No exercise, try to eat only healthy foods and so on. I knew my mother would keep me in line so I didn't really listen.

"Try not to wear anything tight around your ribs. So no sports bras or anything like that. If possible try to avoid wearing bras."

I inhaled sharply. "But I can still wear bras, right?"

"Yes, but preferably loose ones."

I sighed, at least that wouldn't be awkward. The doctor went over the last few things then I was free to go. Well as soon as they unhooked me from everything. I swung my legs over the side of the bed. Just before I stood up Katsuki appeared at my side. I carefully stood up and took a step forward. I tripped over myself and would have landed on my face if Katsuki hadn't caught me. I sucked in a breath. Was my tail broken? Or could I just not walk? I flicked my tail experimentally. It didn't hurt but I wasn't sure.

"Are you okay?" Katsuki still had his hand against my back.

"I'm not sure." I turned to look at my tail. "Hey, mom?"

Mom looked up from where she was talking to the doctor. "Yes?"

"Is my tail okay?" I flicked it again.

She frowned. "I don't see why it wouldn't be. Do you think you hurt it?"

"I don't know but I can't walk."

"Hmm," Mom walked over and ran her hand down my tail. "I don't feel anything. Does it hurt?"

"No," a shiver ran down my spine.

"Then you probably just can't walk."

"Oh, I guess that's good?" I cocked my head. "I mean better than my tail being broken."

Katsuki wrapped my arm around his shoulders. I knew that was his way of saying that he'd be there for me. A nurse brought a wheelchair in and Katsuki helped me in. They brought me out to the car and helped me get in. My dad was already in the car, waiting for me. Mom had to stay at the hospital and work a little longer. Katsuki stayed behind and drove home with his mother. They met us at the house. Katsuki was at my side before the door was even fully open. He grabbed my hand and helped me out of the car.

"Thanks." I murmured as he helped me inside.

"Don't mention it." He helped me to my room.

I sat down on my bed, taking careful breaths. Katsuki looked around my room and I realized that this was his first time in my room. I flushed realizing that it wasn't very clean.

"Um sorry about the mess. It's uh been a busy couple of days." I glanced around.

"Makes sense." Katsuki looked back over at me. "What are you doing the rest of the day?"

"Well, nothing. Izuku is coming over this afternoon." I fiddled with my bedsheet.

"Deku?" Katsuki growled. "Why is that nerd coming?"

"Because, Katsuki, he is one of my friends. And he wants to look at my notebooks."

I gestured to my bookshelf.

He ran his hand along their spine. "Geez, how many do you have?"

"Uh, a lot? Four shelves full." I shrugged. "I have to know the quirk and what fighting style is best. I have to know their weakness and strengths. Their recoils and what happens if you overuse it. Or if a mutant quirk or not."

"That's a lot of information." He pulled out a notebook.

I recognized it instantly. "Wait! Don't open that—"

Too late. He opened it. I groaned and buried my face in my hands. I heard the rustling of pages as he flipped through the book.

"Is this…" he paused. "Is this all on me?"

I peeked between my fingers. "Yeah. I was fighting with you directly and was handling your quirk for myself so I have more information on you."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He muttered something under his breath. If I had regular human ears I wouldn't have heard him. But he wasn't dealing with a normal human.

"You know you could just give up. I know you want to." I grinned, removing my hands from my face.

He looked surprised. "You heard?" He cursed. "You and your hearing. I'm not going to give up so easily."

"Fine. More of a challenge. That what I always liked about you, your determination."

He growled. "I swear if it weren't for that stupid bet I would kiss you senseless so you wouldn't have any breath left for your stupid remarks."

"Oh, so you want to kiss me?" I smirked.

He glared at me but didn't answer.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"If you weren't injured I would tackle you to the floor."

I placed a hand against my chest, faking hurt. "Just because I'm injured you're holding yourself back?"

"Of course." He lowered his voice. "I know well enough that you can handle yourself."

I was speechless. Katsuki saw me as an equal? I guess that makes sense. That would be the only way he accepted me. I was just about to say something when my dad walked in.

"I have some food for you if you want."

"Oh, thanks." I suddenly realized that I hadn't eaten since yesterday.

I managed to stand on my own and walk a few steps before I lost my balance. I grabbed the doorframe for support. Katsuki came to my side but I waved him away. I was going to do this on my own. I managed to get to the kitchen on my own and I was steadier. Dad had a plate of food and he set it down in front of me. I quickly finished it. Katsuki and I were just about to go back to my room when there was a knock on the front door.

"I'll get it." Katsuki stood up.

He disappeared and a moment later I heard the door open.

"Deku?"

"Kacchan?!" Izuku exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Or did I come to the wrong house?"

I sighed and managed to get up. I shakily walked over to the front door. "No, Izuku you're at the right house. Katsuki was just checking up on me."

"Oh uh, that's good." Izuku squeaked under Katsuki's gaze.

I swatted Katsuki's shoulder. "Leave him alone."

He growled and walked back inside. I gestured for Izuku to come inside. He hesitantly followed me inside. Katsuki was sitting on my bed, reading one of my notebooks. I walked over to my bookshelves and pulled down the several notebooks I had on Katsuki.

"Here you go. Did you bring any of yours?" I sat them all down on my desk.

"I brought a few." Izuku opened his bag and took out a few notebooks. "My collection is nothing like yours."

I rubbed the back of my head, ears flattening. "Yeah, well, when you have a quirk like mine you need to know all you can."

He nodded. "Yeah, I totally get that. I mean I've kinda studied you too. Your quirk is so cool and your fighting style is amazing. It's so unique."

"Thanks. I guess I've just picked up different things over the years." I could almost feel Katsuki fuming behind me. I carefully made my way over to the bed and sat down. "You can go through them if you want."

Izuku grinned. "Thanks!"

He sat down at my desk and started going over the notebooks. I leaned into Katsuki's side.

"You don't have to be jealous, you know? Izuku sees me as a friend nothing else." I stroked his arm with my tail.

"And you?" Katsuki refused to meet my gaze.

"Me?" My ears laid back. "You know where my feelings lie." I glanced at Izuku but he wasn't paying us any attention.

"Have you..." Katsuki swallowed. "Have you ever liked him?"

"At one point, yes. But it quickly became apparent that he didn't like me." I curled my tail around his arm. "Then I found you. I admired you from afar, then I actually met you. Honestly, I thought you were a jerk at first but it slowly became apparent that it was just a cover. A cover for a boy who wasn't sure what to do. But I saw you evolve. You became the best and you're still going."

Katsuki immediately looked over at Izuku but the boy still wasn't paying attention to us.

"You wouldn't believe how hard I'm resisting the urge to kiss you." He whispered.

"You can. Nothing's stopping you."

Katsuki scoffed. "You're kidding. Deku is literally sitting in front of us."

Izuku looked up at his name. "What?"

"Mind your own business Deku," Katsuki growled.

"Sorry, Kacchan." Izuku squeaked and looked away. He hesitated then looked back. "Sorry, I couldn't help but notice how close you two are."

"So what Deku?" Katsuki shifted but didn't move away from me.

"I was just wondering if you two were dating or something?" Izuku hid behind a notebook.

"What?!" Katsuki exploded... literally. His palms crackled with small explosions.

"Katsuki!" I stood up, wincing at the sudden movement. I grabbed his shoulder. "Calm down. It was a simple question."

Katsuki pulled away. "It's none of his business."

"It's not but he was just curious." I wrapped my tail around one of his hands.

He relaxed slightly. "Well, he can be curious somewhere else."

Izuku looked between us. "So..."

I quickly cut him off. "We are not dating. We're just friends. Training buddies, you could say."

Izuku looked intrigued. "How well do you do against him?"

"Well I say I can hold my own but that's just me," I smirked at Katsuki.

He just glared. "She's not terrible."

Izuku gasped. "That's a compliment Kacchan!"

"Shut up Deku!" Katsuki's palms cracked.

I stepped in front of the boys. "Okay, that's enough. Katsuki I'll be fine for a little. Izuku, take as many notebooks as you like."

"Neko, are you sure?" Katsuki looked hesitant.

"I'll be fine Katsuki. Go home. You need to rest too." I touched his shoulder.

He stared at me for a moment. "Fine. Only if Deku goes too."

I looked over at Izuku. "He will."

Izuku nodded quickly. "Yes, I'm sure Koneko needs rest."

I sighed. I would need to take a week long nap after dealing with these two. Izuku quickly put a few notebooks in his backpack.

"I'll see myself out. Bye." He gave me a smile then left.

Katsuki started to leave, I grabbed his hand.

"I'll ask my dad, you ask your parents."

He looked confused for a moment then nodded. "Okay."

I let his wrist go. "I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," he smiled then left too.

I sat down on my bed with a sigh, I was exhausted and it was barely noon. I stood back up and made my way to the living room.

"Hey Dad," I called.

Dad looked up from his spot on the couch. "What's up kitten?"

"Could Katsuki and I have a sleepover tonight?" I leaned on the back of the couch, tail flicking anxiously.

He thought it over for a moment. "I'll have to ask your mother but I'm okay with it. As long as it's fine with his parents."

"Okay, thanks." I smiled and walked back to my room.

I quickly texted Katsuki then laid down for some much needed rest.