Nejire Hado wasn't lying when she said she would meet him tomorrow, but it wasn't under good circumstances. Uraraka, Kirishima, Asui, and Izuku received an invitation to attend Nighteye's funeral early in the morning. All Might and Aizawa received invitations as well. As for the Big Three, they also tagged along because of their involvement in the raid.

But the Big Three had to take a separate car since the car borrowed from the school was too small to fit everyone.

Despite the heavy atmosphere, his teacher, mentor, and friends continuously glanced at him during the drive to the funeral, creating mixed emotions of mournfulness and curiosity. And he couldn't blame them.

When they arrived at the funeral, they paid proper respects to Nighteye. Throughout the car ride, Izuku feared his cat ears would detract from the respect they would pay Nighteye, but nobody cared about it the moment they stepped out of the car.

Not even the other heroes at the funeral considered it. And it was all for the better.

After the funeral, an announcement informed them that the collaboration between the hero agencies and the students from U.A. High School was discontinued. And so, everyone separated to bid farewell to their respective mentors until the work-studies continued at a suitable time.

Izuku watched as Mirio did most of the talking with Centipeder and Bubble Girl. They acknowledged him, but they knew Mirio personally, so the conversation leaned in his direction.

Izuku glanced at his friends, talking to their mentors. Then his eyes landed on Nejire, the last person to earn his gaze. She was busy talking to Ryuko and embracing her.

Izuku refocused on the conversation at hand but found Centipeder and Bubble Girl facing him with patience. Izuku froze in fear. Had he missed what they were saying to him, or were they waiting for him for a long time?

"S-Sorry, were you saying something?" Izuku asked.

"No, I have said nothing yet," Centipeder said, slinging something off his shoulder and handing it to Izuku. "Here, this will be safer with you."

It was a poster tube. For a moment, Izuku hesitated. What was it for? But then it clicked in his brain. It was the tenth anniversary All Might poster.

"I apologize, Centipeder... I don't remember asking for this?"

Centipeder inched it closer to Izuku's reluctant grasp. "You didn't have to. Your actions justified it. After all, Nighteye told me you wanted it."

"Keep it safe for Nighteye, will you?" Bubble Girl said with a warm smile.

Izuku accepted it in his hands. It didn't feel like it was his, but he would not deny something Nighteye wanted for him. "Thank you. And I will," Izuku said with a smile of his own.

He was going to treasure it until the day he died.

Mirio and Izuku bid their farewells to Nighteye's assistants. Izuku watched them walk off. When he turned around, he found Mirio had already disappeared from his side. Izuku scanned the room and found Mirio with his friends; the other members of the Big Three. The somber looks between the three were enough to convince Izuku to not interrupt them.

But as he was staring at them, Nejire caught his glance. She smiled but returned to talking with the others. Izuku could feel his cheeks burn from embarrassment. The thought of Nejire touching his cat ears and calling him cute was still fresh in his mind.

Izuku avoided her gaze and walked to the car, where he stored the poster in a safe place, which was in the backseat. However, when he turned around, Nejire was right there, next to him.

Izuku flinched, his cat ears doing the same by pointing straight up, then drooping downwards to match his shocked emotion. How did she sneak up on him like that? "N-Nejire? I thought you were talking to Mirio and Tamaki?"

"Well, not anymore. I'm going to talk with them more later, but I wanted to check how you were holding up. I figured this would have a bigger impact on you since you've known him personally more than I have. So... Are you doing fine?"

"I... I am. Thanks for asking, Nejire." Izuku said, smiling to back his claim.

Nejire smiled. "Then I'll see you around, okay?"

Izuku returned her smile and nodded his head. He watched her leave to walk toward Mirio and Tamaki. Izuku didn't know, but the question she asked was comforting. It was nice when someone checked on him out of kindness. Still, the thought of Nighteye's death was going to weigh heavily on his mind.

That afternoon, when Izuku returned to the dorms, various members of Class 1-A worked up the courage to knock on his bedroom door. Or should he say, the ones who were extremely interested.

Izuku lay on his bed, snuggling with the blanket and scrolling through his phone with mild interest, when he heard several voices outside of his door. There was no further action that needed to be done. Izuku already knew why they were there.

Izuku quietly groaned to himself and pulled the blankets above his head. It didn't cover his cat ears since he wasn't used to the addition of them, but the yearning to disappear never felt stronger.

A knock at his bedroom door.

Izuku groaned again.

Another knock resonated at his door.

Along with a call of his name from Ashido. It coerced him to answer their curiosity.

Izuku sighed and rolled off his bed, delicately landing on his feet without making a sound.

He crossed his room and opened the door to peek out from the crack. From there, he saw the girls from Class 1-A standing outside. And when Izuku meant the girls, he meant all the girls.

Izuku's heart jumped and took off for a loop around the world. What were they doing here?

Izuku was about to close the door, but Ashido noticed the door ajar while the others talked to each other.

"Midoriya, it's nice to see you again after you avoided us for this long!" Ashido exclaimed, forcing the door open.

Izuku yelped in shock and lifted his hands to his head to conceal his cat ears. Because of the noise he made, six pairs of eyes locked onto him. They traveled around, fixing their gaze on him, then shifted their attention to the top of his head where the cat ears were supposed to be visible. Luckily, his hands protected him from their eyes.

"Um, c-can we not do this today? This is embarrassing..." Izuku said, praying they would leave him alone.

But it seemed like Ashido came prepared. "Nah, think about it like this, Midoriya! You were going to have to show us your cat ears eventually when school resumes. But don't you think it would be better to do it in front of a small group first before everyone else finds out? It's like gradual exposure!"

"B-But there isn't a single man here!"

"Oh, come on! This is better because we're going to be more forgiving than the boys! I'm sure they're going to harass you a bit, but we're going to cuddle you instead!"

"C-Cuddle?" Izuku stuttered, his mind spiraling in panic. "Y-You guys know I'm not actually a cat, right?"

Hagakure cut in before Ashido could respond while tugging on one of Izuku's arms. "We know! But come on, Midoriya! Don't be such a party pooper! All of us are here just to see your cat ears, so stop hiding them!"

"Wait! Please wait! My heart's not ready for this!" Izuku exclaimed.

But his protests fell on deaf ears as Ashido and Hagakure wrangled his arms until they were down by his side. Or rather bunched up in front of himself in an embarrassed mess.

Izuku understood their point, but he couldn't help but feel embarrassed about revealing his cat ears to anyone, regardless of the situation. Perhaps it was better they did it for him, but it still didn't decrease his humiliation any less.

Still, he couldn't tell. Were they trying to cheer him up after a tough day at Nighteye's funeral? He knew Uraraka and Asui were also in the raid, so maybe they needed an escape. And his cat ears provided the perfect distraction.

"Woah...! He actually has cat ears..." Jiro said. "I thought it was a lie everyone made up..."

"I also didn't believe it too, but it looks like it's true..." Uraraka said. "Sorry to ask this, Deku, but is it part of your body?"

Izuku nodded his head, and when she gained enough courage, Uraraka walked to his location and touched his ears. She even tugged on them to ensure the authenticity of them. Izuku closed his eyes and went along with the tugs, aware she would not perform it forcefully, but still worried she might.

"Uwah... They really are real." Uraraka confirmed.

"I believed it was fake when I first saw it, but when Midoriya didn't come out of his room for the entire day yesterday, my suspicions grew. But seeing it up close is a different story... It looks cute?" Momo pondered, a hand resting on her face.

Izuku blushed at her compliment. "Um... Thanks?"

As for Ashido and Hagakure, they messed around with his cat ears after Uraraka, experiencing the fluffiness to their heart's content. However, it seemed like Ashido was the one who missed his cat ears the most because she scratched behind his ears, touched the ear fuzz, and poked it. Much to Izuku's detriment, Ashido was indulging herself a little too much.

"O-Okay, Ashido... I think you guys all know I have cat ears now..." Izuku said.

Asui raised a finger to her chin and stared at him. "Midoriya, when did you grow cat ears? Wasn't your quirk super strength? Kero."

As Izuku answered Asui, Yaoyorozu and Jiro shuffled over to get a feel of his cat ears through Ashido's invitation. "I, um... This is going to be awkward, but you know the day I went out to get some supplies and snacks for us yesterday, right?"

Asui nodded.

"Well, I saw a villain steal a woman's purse and gave chase. When I caught him, he threw some pink powder on my face, which helped him escape while I was confused. I felt nothing different, but maybe it was my adrenaline. And on the way back, the cat ears grew. So that's the condensed version of my story. It's kind of annoying, despite what others might say..." Izuku trailed off, his ears flopping downwards to mirror his emotions.

Jiro and Yaoyorozu flinched from the movements. They knew Izuku could control his cat ears to move, but not to such an extent. Jiro poked it, mirroring what Ashido had done, and watched it flicker to her touch. A smile crossed her face, but she said nothing to Izuku directly. And it wasn't like he could see behind himself.

"Does this mean you also have a cat tail?" Yaoyorozu asked.

Instinctively, Izuku reached behind himself and tugged his shirt downward just in case one of them reached over without his permission to check. Izuku shook his head, his ears swishing around with him.

"N-No, I don't have any... And I would like it if nobody checked. I'm just hoping it doesn't grow later... If it does, I don't know what I would do with my life."

"Have you ever thought of asking Aizawa sensei to erase the quirk?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Well, yes... But I don't think it would work. The physical components would remain after Aizawa sensei erases the quirk. So it wouldn't help with anything..."

"Yes, I know... I'm just suggesting some solutions here. It seems like you're not fond of the cat ears, so here's hoping we can somehow get rid of it in a way that isn't painful. Unless the only solution is it goes away in time?"

Izuku considered her response. "Yeah... Sorry, if it looked like I lashed out a little. I'll still go to the teachers and consult them on this quirk, but as I get more comfortable because I don't think I can face them right now!" Izuku exclaimed, covering his face with his hands. This resulted in his voice coming out muffled, but the girls understood him just fine.

"Aww, Midoriya. Don't you worry about a thing! We'll be there to defend you if they ever attack you!" Ashido said, comforting him by hugging him in front of everyone.

Izuku blushed, opting to stare at the floor so he didn't have to see everyone's reaction. Why were they being so kind to him? Was it a superficial reason? It was definitely because he had cat ears, wasn't it? Now it meant he looked cuter and appealing to everyone.

How embarrassing.

"Hey, so what should we call ourselves? Do you think the name Midoriya Protection Squad works? MPS for short?" Ashido asked, glancing at everyone for a consensus.

"Wait, what? No, you don't have to go that far!" Izuku protested.

But Ashido wasn't willing to listen, winning the attention of everyone to create a squad that'll protect Izuku if he was bullied for his cat ears. In all fairness, it was a good idea considering people might tease him, but he didn't want to see the other side of the coin where the girls of Class 1-A followed him wherever he went just to protect him from any snide remark.

On one hand, things were looking up for him, like obtaining the interest of Nejire Hado and a renewed influx of attention from his female classmates. But he would have to face the boys of Class 1-A soon and his teachers. And the entire U.A. high school. And villains if he ever did another work-study. And... Oh gosh, was he going to have these cat ears forever?

Why were there so many complications just for possessing cat ears?

Author's Note: Maybe Izuku should just act like a cat and rub his head on any of the girls of Class 1-A or Nejire Hado.

Boom, no more story! We have an ending. They fall in love with him, roll credits!

But that would mean, I wasted my time writing this story, haha XD

With love from your favorite writer, Out4Lunch!