Paws pad against the hard city sidewalk, every so often splashing into a puddle and wettening the fur even further.
A black cat was currently in a rush, chasing the scent of another cat- specifically a kitten, and racing against the rain washing it completely away.
Shouta Aizawa, a tired pro hero, was currently in cat form and fucking pissed.
First off, the cat form was not his choice. A villain with an animal transformation quirk hit not only him, but the kid that came out on patrol with him for the practice. As well as get points on his project the teacher was making them all do which included collecting points in hero experience and writing about said experience.
Izuku, the one who came with him, asked to come with him because the boy was unsure if he wanted to actually be a daylight hero or an underground hero. Aizawa was a bit surprised, after all he thought for sure Izuku would want to be out in the public and saving others in the day. But with how anxious the kid could be- maybe he's not as surprised as he thought he was.
Going underground would do wonders for the kid's confidence, not having to worry about others being in your face and saving others without judgement. Then perhaps later when he's been in the underground for a while he could move up a little to daytime.
Right now however, Aizawa truly hopes Izuku wouldn't doubt wanting to be an underground hero just because one motherfucking villain decided to immediately strike and not only turn him and his sensei into cats, but then kidnap only the student and leave the adult behind.
So yeah, Aizawa was pissed. He woke up from getting knocked out a few minutes ago, and while Izuku's scent was faint- he still caught a trail and was booking it down the street. He's glad this dumbass didn't take a car and it seems like they didn't even go that far.
He still took his fucking kid and Aizawa adjusted fast as fuck because if he didn't god knows what'll happen to his kid.
He follows the scent into an open garage down some alleyway and almost immediately his ears perk up at the sound of a distressed mew.
Aizawa follows the sound to the corner of the garage, fur standing on edge as he's literally in a suspicious as hell area searching for Izuku who sounds very upset. He's constantly aware of what's around him- but it seems like this villain just took Izuku back to his place and dropped him...
In a fucking crate. Okay. Aizawa hisses to himself when he spots Izuku inside of a dog crate and weakly pawing through the bars to try and reach the lock but struggling immensely.
"Izuku," Aizawa meows out, making the kitten freeze and look over to the black cat with wide eyes. Then, realization seems to strike him and he lets his paw fall down, the kitten starting to meow more in distress. Aizawa's eyes narrow slightly, and he stalks forward closer to the trapped kitten to help out and get a closer look.
And oh. Aizawa is killing the villain. The villain is so fucking dead.
Tape is pinning Izuku's front paw that wasn't free to his chest in a very awkward manner, and if
Aizawa looks over the kitten he can see Izuku's back legs taped together rather tightly with duct tape as well. The kitten's fur was definitely going to get pulled off, not only that but it looks like the tape was covering up fresh injuries that was most likely a result from Izuku possibly struggling to get free. That or, the villain just fucking injured him.
It didn't matter, because the villain still fucking put tape over open wounds.
Aizawa inhales, he was wasting time- who the hell knows when the villain was coming back. He quickly paws at the lock, growling when it doesn't immediately release. He has to use his teeth to unlatch it and he immediately gets the bars open and steps into the crate. The big cat acts quickly, grabbing his kid by the scruff and carrying him out of the crate very carefully.
The poor kid was a mess between whimpering, mewing and purring at being helped. He must've been hurting for a little while now.
Aizawa hurries back out of the garage, and while he didn't want to go into the rain where Izuku is very likely to start shivering- like hell was he going to stay in the garage of a psychopath.
He starts running at an even pace, being as careful as he can be as to not jostle Izuku too much. He knows he'll need to stop at least within the next few minutes, Izuku needed to be out of the tape and immediately warmed up. Injuries were one thing, but getting sick along with those injuries..
Aizawa recognizes the area after risking a few extra minutes of running, and he feels almost relieved at that. This is where they were heading to on patrol- which means if someone were to come looking for them this is where they'd look first.
The big cat turns into a local store with their door open, not caring if the store owner sees him or not. Izuku needed warmth and an alleyway or the side of the street was not warm. Aizawa ignores the eyes on the back of his head and he jumps onto the window seal of the store inside, laying Izuku down very gently and immediately getting to work. While he takes care of Izuku- since they're in the window, they should be seen by anyone who may be looking for them.
A big black cat with a scar under his eye and a small green kitten injured should be pretty obvious as to who they are. If it's not, Aizawa is not only killing a villain, he's killing some dumbasses.
Aizawa licks Izuku's cheek with care, the kitten having gone silent during the run to this store and making him worried. When the kitten lets out a small, weak little mew in response to the lick it makes Aizawa sigh in just a little relief.
He does wonder why Izuku hasn't tried speaking to him, but getting turned into a kitten and immediately injured would probably frighten him quite a bit. He might not even realize yet that he can talk to him.
"Izuku, I'm gonna get the tape off of you, okay?" Aizawa murmurs, not really expecting much of an answer and just nudging Izuku onto his side. The kitten mews out a whine, in which Aizawa quickly gives his head a small lick in response to. He wants Izuku to be comfortable, but getting the tape off... Was going to hurt.
Aizawa sighs out, he doesn't think he was going to be able to take the back tape off. Not without making the injuries worse, but the front tape however... It was only covering what looks to be a cut, and it wasn't on that tightly. Aizawa grabs the end of the tape with his teeth, holding Izuku down without any real pressure and preparing himself to have to rip the tape off-
"Wait!"
Aizawa immediately lets go, covering Izuku with his body and hissing at the source of the voice which seems to be a woman... With cat ears.
"I'm not here to hurt you, I just want to help. I can get the tape off with some scissors, yeah?" She speaks in a very friendly voice, the same way someone would speak to their pet in a baby voice.
It reminds Aizawa that she probably doesn't know that he's not actually a cat, but...
"I'm the store owner here, and I saw you walk in with your lil baby. He's real hurt, isn't he? I'd really love to help him,- I even have some blankets for him. And as soon as I get the tape off I have some medical bandages here too- as well as some disinfectant. It says it's good for animals too! So I made sure to get the right ones and-"
She... Was certainly rambling. Aizawa thinks, but she seemed genuine. He slowly takes a step back, and lifts a paw to gently nudge the girl's arm.
"O-Oh! Do you... Ah, nevermind. Let me..." She immediately takes the taped front of Izuku into her hand, being very gentle as she maneuvers the scissors in order to cut around the fur and tape so it won't hurt him.
Izuku isn't too happy about this, it seems. The kitten letting out constant distressed mews and trying to move away with his one free paw. He wasn't getting anywhere however, as his movements are weak and all he has is just the one paw. He realizes this rather quickly, and instead just mews louder.
Aizawa sighs softly, laying down very close to the kitten and licking the top of his head to try and get him to quiet down. It works somewhat, the kitten leaning his head into Aizawa's warmth and mews lowering down to quiet, pitiful whimpers.
When the tape comes off and Izuku's paw doesn't move, Aizawa gets concerned. The girl too looks at it with a frown, picking up the small paw and whispering out an apology before she presses down on it.
Izuku doesn't react, he just continues his little mews. Aizawa silently fumes and the girl does too.
She disinfects the front paw with a concentrated expression, trying to hide how angry she truly was by taking care of the kitten. She wraps up the front paw and decides last minute to secure it into a little makeshift cast, as having it stay up and off the ground is the best option right now. She then moves onto the tape in the back, and Aizawa can see her eyes flare up in anger even further. But she persists on, cutting the tape with not much ease- but she manages. This time, the back feetsies start to fidget and move almost immediately once released.
Both her and Aizawa exhale in relief.
She wraps each back leg after cleaning and disinfecting them, then checks the rest of his body for any other injury. When she finds just a few cuts and cleans them, she tries her best to dry Izuku's fur off with a towel and gives the same treatment to Aizawa, who accepts it reluctantly.
He's very thankful for this girl, he thinks as she wraps Izuku in a small blanket before handing him back to Aizawa who immediately extends his paw and holds Izuku to himself very closely. The kitten is still shivering, but it's slowing down as the kid absorbs the bigger cat's warmth.
"That's a lot better, hm?" The girl smiles, going to pet Aizawa on the head but immediately
retracting her hand when he lets out a warning growl. "Ah, sorry, you have your limits, I know."
Aizawa ignores her and starts licking the top of Izuku's head again, quieting the mews escaping the kitty finally.
"Hm... Y'know I.. If A cat allows me to, I can understand them. Could you... Tell me what happened? Who did this to your baby?" The girl questions, her own cat ears twitching as she stares at Aizawa who pauses his grooming and looks up to her.
That was.. Convenient, Aizawa thinks.
"Again you don't have to, I know you might not really trust me completely but-"
"I'm not a cat," Aizawa interrupts her, making her startle then look utterly confused.
"You're not.. Huh?"
"A villain hit me and my kid while we were out, he took my kid and I found him like this." Aizawa grumbles, licking the top of Izuku's head again when he lets out one of the quietest mews ever.
He gets the message however, the kid didn't want the comfort to stop.
"O-Oh... That's... Wow, that kinda pisses me off a lot, actually." She whispers, and it makes
Aizawa almost snort. He liked this girl.
"Do you need me to call someone for you?" She asks then, already taking out her phone and opening the call app.
"...Yes." Aizawa has to nuzzle the side of Izuku's head and get him to settle down when he even tries to start up his mews. "...Call UA."
"Eh?! The hero school? Why?"
"I work there." Aizawa grumbles, "Tell them the situation and they'll send someone to get us."
"O-Okay, um..." She quickly looks up the number to UA, and dials. She stands up to step off to the side to talk to whomever answers, leaving Aizawa to comfort his kid.
A few minutes go by, the girl has to go back to working the counter but she promises someone was on their way. Aizawa asks for her number so he can come back to this store, and she laughs at that- waving the big cat off. She didn't need his thanks, she'd always be happy to help any animal- even if that animal was just a hero turned cat along with his kid.
Aizawa meets Izuku's eyes when the kitten actually looks up at him and stops whimpering for his attention, instead the kid raises a his uninjured paw and swipes very lightly at the big cat's face.
"...Izuku." Aizawa sighs out fondly, and the kitten surprises him by stopping and staring at him as if he just said something surprising. "Izuku?" Aizawa says again, and Izuku responds by just dunking his head forward into the massive amount of fur Aizawa has on his chest.
...Right, well- "..a.. Aizawa."
Aizawa freezes, then, "..Kid?"
Izuku's face stays hidden in his teacher's fur and he lets out a little whine, in which Aizawa is quick to shush softly and lick the top of his ears. "Don't be ashamed about this, okay? None of this is your fault and I don't doubt you need the comfort right now, hm?" Aizawa says in a very soothing voice, nose nuzzling Izuku's face out of hiding and making the kitten look up at him. "It's okay to accept help, kid and what that villain did to you was cruel. If you're distressed then you're distressed, I get it, okay? You're still a kid and I'm not expecting you to brave through everything. Don't be so hard on yourself."
Izuku's ears flatten against his head at that and he goes silent. It worries Aizawa, but then after a minute Izuku starts to mew again and lean forward. Aizawa sighs in relief and quickly comforts the kitten, holding him close and grooming the boy.
He spends the next thirty minutes waiting for whomever is coming for them from UA and smothering Izuku until the kitten ends up sleeping. He glances up when someone walks through the shop's door that isn't a customer and meets the eyes of his husband who instantly softens upon seeing him and Izuku.
"Thank god." Hizashi breathes out, walking over and immediately pets the top of Aizawa's head, the big cat letting out a satisfied purr and leaning into the hand.
The girl that tried to pet him earlier pouts, but neither of them see it.
Hizashi inspects both kittys to make sure they're okay, frowning deeply when seeing the wraps around Izuku's wounds and casted front paw. He lets out a soft sigh, "Let's get the baby to recovery girl." Hizashi hums, picking up the sleeping kitten after rewrapping him in the blanket given to him by the girl and holding him close. He offers to pick up Aizawa too, but the big cat just ignores him and jumps off the window seal to walk without help.
"Alrighty then." Hizashi chuckles, waving once to the girl at the counter with a 'thank you.' and leaving the store with black cat in tow.
The girl waves back, not saying anything but watching them go with a long exhale. She failed to mention how her scent is exactly like a cat's but almost ten times better. And how she could still smell the villain that handled Izuku so badly on the kitten. And how she was a known vigilante that kills animal abusers at night.
But they didn't need to know that. They were kind people. ...
When Izuku wakes up at UA in Recovery girl's office without Aizawa by his side he immediately starts mewing out in distress, crying out for the bigger cat.
And when he doesn't immediately get what he wants he whines and goes a little quiet rather than practically screaming out and just letting out tiny pitiful mews. There's a voice trying to reassure him that sounds like Recovery girl's, but he's too upset to pay any attention to it. He just continues mewing quietly.
He wants...
He wants...
His Dad.
He wants his Dad.
His mews got a whole lot louder after that thought, and Izuku tries to stand up but immediately falls back over when he forgets he only has one front paw working at the moment and his back legs were wrapped up making them stiff. He continues to try standing up while letting out his loud mews, desperately trying to somehow summon Aizawa to his location or get to the bigger cat very slowly.
He doesn't hear the soft sigh from the side, or see recovery girl stand up and go over to the door to yell out of it.
What he does hear is the meow in response to his own, which makes him immediately call back out with his loud mews. Izuku almost falls off the bed with his squirming towards the side in order to see if he can see if Aizawa was entering the room, but Aizawa himself catches him by the scruff and jumps back onto the bed with him. Izuku is immediately held close by the bigger kitty, face getting nuzzled and body basically getting covered by a warmth that is Aizawa's furry body.
His mews are instantly stopped and he lets out a tiny whine of relief. He shuts his eyes and buries his head into Aizawa's chest fur, almost immediately starting to snooze again.
Aizawa sighs slightly when Izuku's breaths even out and the kitten is effectively passed out again.
He makes a mental note not to leave the kitten alone again. Stress was too exhausting and wouldn't do the kitten's healing any good.
"Is he okay?" Hizashi, who followed Aizawa pretty quickly back to the nurse's office, questions in a quiet tone. Which is rare to see- or well, hear. Considering how loud his husband could be.
To Aizawa however, is wasn't that rare. Infact, it was quite normal to him.
The big cat just meows once in response, curling up around Izuku and staring up at Hizashi with a frown.
"Hmm.. Well, if recovery girl is okay with it, we could go back to our apartment in the dorms and get him more comfortable." Hizashi hums, gently stroking behind Aizawa's ears and looking over to the elderly woman who exhales slowly in response.
"Just keep an eye on that front leg, I already healed him once but I cannot do much because of how small he is right now. If you're not careful, he may accidentally break it again and paralyze it for real this time. We have no idea what that could do to him when he turns back eventually, so avoid that preferably please." She instructs sternly, "Make sure he eats and gets plenty of rest. Avoid too much walking too."
"Gotcha." Hizashi ruffles the top of Aizawa's head one more time before gently pushing him away from Izuku and scooping the kitten into his arms. Aizawa grumbles lightly at that, but it was better than waking the kitten up by picking him up by the scruff.
They head to the dorms and get Izuku comfy in one of the cat beds they already own for their own cats.
The cats in question are very confused, but they seem to know exactly who Aizawa and Izuku are.
They stay clear of Aizawa when the big cat lets out this growl when they get too close to Izuku.
He loved his cats but he wasn't going to have them messing with the kitten.
Speaking of Izuku, he wakes up ten minutes after being placed in the bed and he immediately lets out a mew, sitting up on his one paw and staring down Aizawa who's sitting down next to the bed rather than in it and giving him the most scandalized look essentially asking 'Why aren't you holding me? :('
It makes Aizawa let out a snort and step into the bed alongside Izuku, laying down lazily and staring back at Izuku who watches him with wide, pleading eyes. The kitten immediately just lets himself fall onto Aizawa's side and mews out of satisfaction.
Aizawa lays his paw on top of his kid and lazily licks his cheek, purring to the kitten when Izuku starts purring himself.
Hmm... Yeah, they'd be fine.
And when the villain that did this to Izuku is found dead days later, while Aizawa isn't too happy
about the outcome- he certainly doesn't look into it.
It's not his job at that point, after all.
His job was just taking care of his kid and he's going to do one hell of a good job.