I'll be your island in the raging storm

- Chapter 61 -

-Izuku- 

He has been thinking about how to catch this cat for ten whole minutes, only to come up with nothing. He's even tried trying to find the stream and catching some fish, but after finding it, he realized that no fish were in it. 

This cat has been evading him expertly, even when trying to track its footsteps, it would go to a dead end that Izuku had a hard time making out. There is no wonder the little kid couldn't catch Mr. Salmon themselves and had to put a job out on the board in town. But he won't give up!

 Katsuki and him need that money, and he is going to get it! He makes sure his footsteps are quiet, not even risking stepping on the twigs on the ground. His breathing is calm, and his ears are listening for any sound he can hear. Cats are like bunnies, his brain supplies. 

He has caught tons of bunnies before. He has to be quiet, not make any noise. He can't run up to it, he has to watch and wait. The only difference between catching a cat and catching a bunny is that he doesn't kill it this time. 

The snow being gone is somewhat of a problem, so he will have to adjust his speed so that he isn't so fast. His heart skips a beat. This is almost like being home. In the middle of the forest, needing to track something down to bring back. 

He continues to walk, his shoes cushioning his footsteps. The chirping of birds and insects are filtered out, his focus down to one sound. His hand twitches to get his blade out of habit, but he stops himself. He can't kill a kid's cat, he can't kill a kid's cat, he can't kill- 

There is a small sound, if he had been breathing hard, he would have definitely missed it. Bushes rustling only a couple of feet away. He turns and follows the direction of the sound, making sure not to speed up. He guesses that the cat can hear better than him, since its ears looked so big.

Every single part of his body feelings like its singing, all in sync. His vision focuses only on the direction he needs to go towards. He stops when he hears more rustling, eyes landing on the bush in question. 

He sees a yellow tail swishing back and forth, before it disappears into the bush. He gets into his normal hunting position, one foot slid slightly forward, knees bent, ready to spring towards his target the moment there is an opening. He waits for that opening with bated breath, the whole forest feeling still. 

Then, the little menace's head pops out from the bush, facing right at him. At that moment, he kicks off the ground and sprints towards the bush, tackling it. The cat almost gets away, hissing and squirming, but with his arms outstretched, he catches it by the midsection, its warm belly against his hands. 

His coat protects him from the thorns of the bush, and he quickly stands up, looking down at the cat with victory gleaming in his eyes. Mr. Salmon glares at him, pupils still slit. 

"I got you! You're not going to escape this time Mr. Salmon!" 

This seems to make the cat more aggressive, because then instead of trying to get away, the cat yowls, claws coming out of its paws. Izuku tries to hold him away from his face, but the cat is already clawing at him. 

"I told you!" 

The cat continues to try and scratch his face off, clearly angry. 

"I'm not letting you go! You're going home!" 

The cat doesn't want to go, either because it's Izuku that's getting him, or he doesn't want to return home. He continues to claw at him, hissing and even biting his hands. He keeps his grip firm and starts to walk towards the location he's supposed to take Mr. Salmon. 

He can't find anything sweet or kind about this animal, but it is pretty soft. Its fur kind of looks like the color of Kacchans hair. Izuku guesses they do act the same, and he's even got red eyes! The cuts on his face sting when the air hits them, Mr. Salmon not giving up at all. 

"What's so great about being out here when your owner has been looking for you?" 

Mr. Salmon's claws are deep into his hands, small spots of blood coming from the tiny wounds. The cat's eyes never leave Izuku's, and he stares back. 

"Hm? What?" 

Mr. Salmon retracts his claws, leaving only soft paws. Izuku blinks, surprised. Then, he slowly uses his other hand to touch the cat's paw, feeling the warm pads of its arms. It feels kind of like Fenrir's, and he pets it more, watching Mr. Salmon's claws come out and then retract with the movement. 

His pupils are no longer slitted, but wide, making him look cuter. He stares at him, unable to hold himself back. He holds the cat up and puts his face against its belly, the cat going limp as he stares at him. 

"It's so soft." 

Izuku pulls back and holds Mr. Salmon close. 

"You're not a mean cat, you were just scared huh? Let's get you home." 

He pets Mr. Salmon, and the two of them start to walk again. There are tons of scratches covering his face and hands, but seeing the cat safe and sound, Izuku doesn't mind that he got all scratched up. Mr. Toshinori would love to see one of these.

 The dogs would probably scare it a bit, but when they get used to it, then Izuku feels like they would be pretty good friends. Mr. Toshinori would probably like to have a companion other than the dogs when Izuku is out hunting. 

He looks at Mr. Salmon and pets his fur again. When he brings down all the people who hurt his mother, he can go back to them all, and tell them all about the things he's seen. Homesickness settles into his gut.