Stray [BNHA]

Chapter Four

Takara's POV

I woke up sprawled across the bed in my savior's room. From the position of the moon in the sky out the window, I knew it was very late. The bed felt big and empty without him, I'd grown accustomed to snuggling with him as a cat. I stretched to my feet and realized my vision was clearer than normal. I no longer felt like I was in a haze. Did that mean I could transform back now?

Nori hopped up on the bed beside me, "you seem to be feeling better."

I activated my quirk and shifted back to my 'natural' form. My lips twisted into a smile and I sprawled across the comfy bed. The blankets were soft and felt good against my bare skin. I reached over and gave Nori a scratch behind his ears. He purred and laid beside me on the bed.

"Thanks for keeping me company these past few weeks, Nori. I appreciate it." I smiled down at the black housecat.

"Are you going to leave now?" He asked somewhat sadly.

"I think it would be for the best, strays run away all the time. I'm sure your human will get over it quickly." Even as I said it, my chest ached. I tried to convince myself it was just because my ribs were still tender, but I knew that wasn't the reason.

Nori seemed unsure, "I think he'll be sad."

"Well, I'm not really sure I can handle the 'so hey, I'm not a real cat, but thanks for taking care of me and now this is super fucking awkward' conversation." I sighed as I found Nori's favorite scratchy spot. His purring got louder.

"I don't think he will mind. It will hurt him more if you leave." Nori pointed.

"You're too smart for a cat." I sighed as his guilt trip started to make me feel bad.

"I observe my human." Nori said with the cat equivalent of a shrug and bumped his head against my hand.

"He's a good human." I agreed with a smile. Normally I wouldn't think twice about just bailing on someone after they'd taken me in, but Aizawa was different. I felt bad about the idea of leaving without at least saying goodbye. Part of me didn't want to leave at all.

It wouldn't be so bad living my life as a spoiled house cat, but I knew that wouldn't last. He'd get suspicious once I'd exceeded the life span of a cat if not before then. I also felt like I didn't want to hide my true self from him. I wanted him to see the real me. I glanced over at the alarm clock on his nightstand, it was nearly 4 in the morning. Something wasn't right. He never stayed out this late before.

Nori followed me as I moved toward the window, "don't leave." He was concerned I was going to abandon them. He was a sweet cat who loved his human very much.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on leaving, yet. I'm just going to look for him, it's late, I'm afraid something is wrong." I reassured him as I opened the window and stepped onto the fire escape.

Nori paced nervously inside as I shut the window behind me. I transformed back to my cat form and scampered down the fire escape. Sniffing the air, it took me a moment to catch his scent. I took off at a run following his scent into town. After a few blocks, I heard his voice.

"This is exactly why I don't like going out." Aizawa sighed. He sounded exhausted and annoyed.

I turned into an alley, ducking behind some cardboard boxes, and scowled as I spotted Aizawa half holding up a clearly very inebriated blonde man, the annoying one who he called idiot. The annoying blonde was too drunk to walk and stopped to throw up in a cluster of garbage bins. Aizawa shook his head at his companion before jumping slightly and looking down at his phone. He seemed intoxicated but nowhere near as intoxicated as the obnoxious one.