Chapter 6- Rot Your Teeth
Inko couldn't quite believe her eyes as she watched the massive form of All Might flitter back and forth like a nervous school girl around Izuku as he slowly came to from his faint. Honestly, the man taught at this school- he worked with Izuku daily, how did he think Izuku would react to him bursting through the door. She hid a smile behind her hand as Izuku finally sat up rubbing his eyes. All of All Might's movements stopped and the man was cautiously peaking over his fingers as he tried to hide behind his hands.
"Mama, I had the craziest dream. All Might was there, and he knew my name! It was so…." Green eyes locked with electric blue. Inko sat back on her heels from where she had been hunched over her son, happy to watch the drama unfold.
"Ah- yes, well" All Might stumbled over his words, one hand reaching to scratch behind his head. "I did not mean to startle you, Young Midoriya, but- ah- I….am…. here?" The man trailed off, it had to be the most awkward introduction Inko had seen in a while and she couldn't help the laughter that spilled from her. This would be a very interesting morning.
When the contents of the box were revealed Inko immediately tried to return the items. Twenty limited addition All Might plush dolls some with matching blankets, was a bit too indulgent for one child. But All Might insisted and then Izuku was in the box gushing over them all and looking up at her with his big begging eyes. Almost simultaneously both she and All Might took out their phones and snapped a quick picture glancing at each other at the copied motion. Inko couldn't help the small smile and she let out a huff before turning to her son.
"This is a very extravagant and over the top gift, but since he is insisting, what should you say Izuku?" The little boy popped up inside the box, plushie in each hand and quickly bowed at the waste repeatedly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, than- "
"Quite alright my boy, as I said before your kindness to my…friend inspired me!" All Might was quite content to continue to spend the morning with the energetic little boy as he exclaimed over each plush and what era it was from only to discover the ones he didn't know and begin raining questions down upon the large man. The morning was cut short however by Recovery Girl who wanted to do a check up on the boy.
"Honestly All Might, you're a teacher now, shouldn't you be working on lessons or something? You don't really have the time to hang around an energetic fan all day." All Might felt a bead of sweat form on his head at her stern reminder of his time limit. "Ah, yes of course. Young Midoriya, if you would like to select a plush to hang onto, I can deliver the rest to your room for you?"
Izuku was quick to grab two that he knew he had owned before and a matching blanket. His shot him a curious look at his selection as they both thanked All Might again before heading off with Recovery Girl.
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They were guessing that the limit of the quirk he was under was between one to two weeks. A few of the other victims had turned back to normal, and they had led the officers to the villain's home. There they had found a very obscurely marked calendar that could have been a reminder to her about who needed a refresher to stay young and who didn't. But none of the dates lined up specifically to a certain number, just somewhere between one week and two. Recovery girl's offer of the dorm room space was extended for the remainder of that time because of some of the strange reactions of the other victims.
It seemed that some lost all memory for hours at a time, while others spontaneously sprouted injuries that correlated with a different point of their life. She wanted them to be close at hand in the off chance that any of Midoriya's many injuries decided to randomly reappear on his tiny body. Lord knows he had had enough just from the start of his time at UA who knows what other wounds he may have suffered in his other years. Inko happily agreed to keep the boy on campus until the quirk had worn off. They decided that he would attend his classes to allow Inko to continue to work during the week. He would be given tasks suited to his age to complete while the others were attending their own classes. This way no one fell behind or was left unsupervised.
"Alright Izuku-baby, so remember that because of the quirk you're under you may suddenly find yourself with a boo boo. You need to let someone know right away if that happens ok? "Inko stressed this point as she guided her son out of the nurse's office and they turned to make their way outside because Izuku had been a whole few hours without visiting the kittens. The young boy hugged the two plushies tight to his chest, the blanket he had chosen thrown over one shoulder and dragging just slightly on the ground behind him.
'Yes mama!"
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Inko should have known that her selfless boy had a plan in his selection of the plushies and blanket that morning. He had chosen two that he had remembered owning, asking her after they had left to make sure that yes, he had these packed away at home. As soon as he reached the kitten box he started letting the kittens play with the figures, pretending that they were chasing the puffed up All Might around. Most happily followed, pouncing at the cape that hung from one figure and batting at the long hair spikes of the other. The spare blanket he tried to fold into a neat pile to place in their box. Inko couldn't stop smiling as she helped him.
Now she watched as he lay on his stomach, idling swinging his feet back and forth while he conversed with a small black and orange calico kitten that was perched in the grass in front of him. Izuku would meow and the tiny kitten would meow back, it had been going on for about five minutes now. He seemed completely unaware of just how adorable he looked as a few of the other kittens climbed on him. There were two kittens on his back, one was a grey and black tabby making an attempt at grooming his hair, honestly it just looked like it was getting lost within the wild curls. Another kitten this one a soft cream-colored tabby was attempting to attack his shoe laces every time his swinging feet brought them within range.
Inko laughed while petting a tiny grey kitten with little white paws and one white tipped ear that had climbed onto her lap once she had sat leaned against the tree near the kitten's box home. There was such a strange mix in this group, there was another calico though it had splashes of white mixed in with the black and orange. Then two orange and white tabby combinations and another white and grey. All equally adorable, though they looked tuckered out after their play time with Izuku.
Out of the corner of her eye she caught two people veering from the walking path in order to approach the 'hidden' tree where they had chosen to place the kitten's box. It was just off to the side of the building, and the bushes lining the walking path hid it partially from direct view. Both had ash blond hair and she smiled as she recognized Katsuki, and someone who could only be his mother Mitsuki Bakugou who she hadn't seen since the boys were very young. Katsuki-kun was carrying a few shopping bags and what looked like a duffle bag while looking very flustered while his mother grinned shark-like from next to him.
"Inko Midoriya, it has been way too long!" Mitsuki beamed as they finally came to a stop near them. Inko stood up, carefully depositing the grey kitten with its siblings back in the box and stretched out a hand in greeting to her old acquaintance. "Mitsuki, it has been a while. I'm surprised to see you!"
"Yeah, my brat here finally filled me in on the details of everything that happened, including that he was helping out with watching Zu-chan! I was so shocked, it's been so long since I'd heard that name. Then when he told me about possibly adopting a kitten I had to come see! I've been trying to get him to get a therapy animal for ages, so Zu-chan is working magic!" She beamed at the young boy who was trying to look up at them without dislodging the kittens on his back. The problem was partially solved when the cream-colored kitten jumped off his back and hopped over to Katsuki to begin climbing him. Mitsuki watched with gleaming eyes, clearly trying to contain her excitement as her son tolerated the small animal crawling up him.
Katsuki stubbornly refused to look at his mom as he casually set down the bags he had been carrying, one hand coming up to hover behind the small animal's body as it continued to climb. Inko reached over and gently dislodged the black and grey kitten that was still buried in her son's hair so that he could properly get up and greet the new arrivals.
Beaming the little boy popped up, the black and orange kitten trailing at his ankles as he moved shyly up to Mitsuki. He bashfully smiled up at her. "Hi Auntie Missy." He waved a small hand and the woman practically gushed with the desire to scoop up the boy up. "Oh, little Izuku-chan, it's so good to see you again!" She couldn't fight the urge any more and the young boy found himself swept up into the woman's arms and rocked back and forth as she hugged him. Katsuki shot his mom a look, he had been trying hard to avoid letting it slip that he and Zu-chan hadn't been friends for a long time and if his mom kept on over re-acting he was going to get suspicious.
"Oh! I almost forgot, when my brat was bitching about how you got onto him about his cursing it made me remember!" She crouched down, releasing Izuku she started digging in the duffle bag that had been mixed in with the shopping bags. Both Inko and Izuku leaned forward curiously as they heard the sound of rattling change. Mitsuki pulled out three semi large mason jars each filled to the brim with change and set them down triumphantly before the young boy.
Young green eyes widened with disbelief before turning to Katsuki with a look of shock. The explosive teen huffed and crossed his arms, the cream-colored kitten having successfully made it to his shoulder to perch. "Kacchan! You filled up your No-No word jar all the way! N' then you gots two more! You' not spos' to fill them up, it's spos' to help you not say no-no words!" The little boy groaned into his hands, while Katsuki's mother elbowed him and laughed. "We had to stop after three jars because it only took him a few months to fill them, if we'd kept it up there wouldn't be a spare shelf in the house!"
"Oi, Hag! Don't forget that one of those fucking jars is yours! You filled that shit up in a week!" Mindful of the kitten, Mitsuki smacked the back of her sons head.
They spend the afternoon together, only going in to collect lunch in a picnic basic that they then returned to the kittens with. Mitsuki couldn't get enough of teasing her son as he tried to nonchalantly play with the cream-colored kitten that had claimed him. She also kept pinching Izuku's cheeks and cooing at him. Finally Katsuki unloaded the bags of supplies he had bought, informing Inko that the larger items were at his house waiting for when they were ready to take the kitten back to their apartment. The bags contents, a collection of wet and dry food, a few small pet beds, brushes, bowls, a collar, medicine against fleas and for injuries. It looked like Katsuki had thought of any and everything that the small pet might need, and he semi-patiently went over every item with Zu-chan while Inko listened in.
When Mitsuki finally deemed it time for them to go she had Katsuki repack most of the supplies, though they left fresh bowls of food and water for the kittens in the box. They laid a fresh newspaper down on one side to act as the litter box since the kittens couldn't very well hop out of the box to go do their business, then rearranged the blanket bed and food bowls on the opposite side. Thankfully the box was rather large, whoever had left the kittens had at least not wanted them to be smooshed too close together.
The Bakugous then helped to carry the supplies up to the dorm room with the Midoriyas, Katsuki all the while holding the cream-colored kitten that was going home with him today. Izuku had decided to leave the black and orange calico with the others in the box at least until they all found homes, that way he wouldn't be dividing his time between his new kitten hidden in the dorm and the poor kittens that had to stay outside.
"At least the weather has been freaking decent, and they don't have to worry about stray dogs or anything being on school grounds." Katsuki was making an attempt to cheer up Zu-chan who was feeling guilty at leaving the kittens alone. "But they sounded so sad when we put them back in the box…" The boy pouted, stealing glances back over his shoulder as they walked the halls towards the dorm.
"Izuku-chan, don't worry about them. They have each other to play with in the box, they'll be fine until the next time you come to check on them, and we can play with them again tomorrow, alright?" Inko soothed, running her hand through Izuku's wildly fluffy hair. The boy sniffed and nodded, a bright smile taking over his face as he turned to Kacchan.
"Oh! Kacchan, I saw All Might today!" Izuku danced in place, stars in his eyes. The teen found himself rolling his own eyes hard.
"Zu-chan, he fucking works here now, you see him every day at school. Please tell me you're not going to fan boy like this every time."
"He-everyday?" They all turned to the sputtering child just in time to watch him faint. Inko let out a helpless sigh. "Not again."
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The weekend passed quickly, between playing with the kittens and exploring the school Inko found that Sunday night had appeared all too soon. As she tucked in her little boy and his collection of plushie's she couldn't help the blissful smile that appeared on her face. Brushing back his hair to kiss his forehead she found herself grateful for this chance to see her little boy happy again. He had seemed so- not upset but not happy for the longest time. That had begun to change once he had finally gotten his quirk and started at UA.
Turning she saw that the bowls for their soon to be pet were wet up against the wall. Izuku had decided on the name Whisper today, because the small kitten's meows were so quiet, she was curious if she would live up to that name or if it would turn ironic as she aged. Tomorrow after classes Izuku and Katsuki were going to move the kittens back where they could be seen and hopefully find happy homes. Then Whisper would be coming up to share their dorm with them until the quirk wore off.
Thankfully Izuku had not had any of the symptoms that the other victims of the villain's quirk had had. It was just a waiting game now to see when it would wear off. This week would prove eventful for her little boy, she was so curious on how his classmates would interact with him. It's a good thing that she had all but ordered Katsuki-kun to get as may pictures as possible for her this week. With that final thought she crawled into her own bed after turning off the lights and insuring that her alarm would wake her in time for work.
-End Chapter 6-
Hey guys, sorry for the wait. Work really picked up on me. I can't wait for the next chapter and for the 1-A drama's to begin! The next bits are going to be more like snippits of moments put together to capture interactions between Zu-chan and the different people from his class rather than a continuous read but I'm going to try and have a bit of interaction with everyone :).