Zuku's Pet Cafe

A Box of Kitten and A New Friend

The planning for the cafe was in motion.

With only a few months to go before his middle school graduation, Izuku decided to contact his overseas father. He didn't really talk to his dad much, only over frequent letters and the weekly phone call on Sundays. He does send gifts from America during holidays and birthdays since he gets stuck with most of the work from his coworkers.

His father took it into his own hands to help with his dream cafe. Hisashi knew he couldn't do much for his son since he was working long hours to provide them with enough money to stabilize themselves. But he knew he could help them in different ways.

Hisashi called up his friend from middle school. While it was ringing, he looked at the photo on his desk.

The photo of his wife smiling as he made a silly face at the small smiling Izuku. He smiled at the picture before straightening up as a voice answered the call.

"Hello, Yukiko? I know I am the last person you expect to hear from, but it's about my son. And I need your help."

***
Izuku was putting on the last touches to his cafe in his notebook while he sat in the peaceful silence of the park. He drew out what details he wanted to place, since he didn't know the layout yet since his mom and him were still looking at some buildings for sale.

He was thinking of different colored chairs at round tables instead of booths for the more eating area for busy customers that just wanted to have a quicker experience. But the more interactive part will be open space with seating along the walls close to the floor, similar to beanbag chairs. He would put some playing areas for certain animals around places. He was planning on putting each animal's name, likes, dislikes, favorite foods, and what you can and can't do with them on a separate menu.

On the walls, he wanted to add some paw prints and outlines of certain animals on the wall. He was still wondering about the color. Should he do more of a light pastel for a more welcoming feel or a warm muted sunset colors that are more relaxing? Maybe a mix of what he saw online? Like a brown, dark brown, tan, mint green, and pink. Like neutral with pops of color? Ahh, he didn't know which direction to go into.

He looked up at the setting sun before his eyes widened at how late it was. Izuku shut his book and got up from the bench before heading on his way home. While heading on his way home, he heard a noise from the alley...

'Ahh, here we go again' Izuku thought as he looked down the alleyway toward where the sound was coming from. He heard mewls of what seemed to be kittens from a sideways cardboard box. He approached to find out that it as exactly what he thought young Japanese Bobtail kittens were crawling over each other mewling for their mother who wasn't there.

"Where's the mother?" Izuku said while looking at the kittens. He heard a louder mewling sound coming from one of the dumpsters a good ten feet away from the kittens. He looked at the kittens before heading toward the louder cat sounds. He walked carefully to where the sounds were coming from only to find that the mother cat was stuck between the dumpster and the wall. The mother cat was mewling and scratching trying to get unstuck.

Izuku hurriedly tried to pull the dumpster from the wall only to not move it that much. 'I need help!' Izuku thought as he carefully made his way back to the entrance if the alleyway he went in. He looked left and right before finding what looked like a shy boy and a tall woman walking down the street. The boy looked to have a uniquely shaped head while the woman wore what looked like a veterinarian would wear. The boy smiled in relief when he saw one of the animal shelter's names that were near there placed on her white shirt.

He glanced back at the kittens before heading toward the duo. "Um, Hello. I need some help! There are some kittens that need their mother. But their mother is behind a dumpster and can't get to them, so I need some help to get her unstuck for the dumpster-."

"Woah, woah! Slow down, kid. What do you mean?" The woman asked as the shy boy only caught the words 'cat' and 'kittens'.

"Umm. Just follow me," Izuku said before leading them to the alleyway. The woman narrowed her eyes upon the situation. "Koda, you help him get the mother free. I will stay here with the kittens to make sure they are alright." The woman got down in her knees to look over the newborns while Koda followed Izuku to the mother.

"Okay. On the count of 3. 1,...2,....3!" Izuku counted down before he and Koda pulled the dumpster away from the wall, allowing the mother cat to be set free. The mother cat slowly moved out of the way as they pushed the dumpster back against the wall.

"Thanks for your help." Izuku thanked as he watched the mother cat purr and move against their legs.

"...no problem." Koda said shyly as he watched the mother. "She says thank you."

"Huh?"

"The mother cat. She says thank you for saving her and her kittens." Koda responded with a soft smile. Izuku smiled and rubbed the mother's ears before allowing her to return to her kittens.

Izuku looked at the mother cat and kittens while rejoining the woman with Koda. The woman looked up at them before frowning in confusion at Izuku's face.

"Hey. What's your name kid?"

"Midoriya Izuku."

"Oh my god. You are Hisashi's kid! Wow, you look like him with that curly hair and freckles but the green color and smile is all your mother," The woman stated before introducing herself. "I am Hinata Yukiko. I am in charge of one of the animal shelters that rescues and provides rehabilitation for animals that have been abused, abandoned, and neglected. I am also a friend of your father. He actually called me today about joining forces with his son to help him with a pet cafe."

Izuku stared blankly at the woman before him. She had straight brown hair in a sleek bob, dark eyes hidden with glasses, and a kind smile on her face.

Koda looked on at the scene with confusion. Izuku laughed awkwardly before turning his attention to the kittens and mother cat, "Are they going to be okay?"

"Yeah we might have to keep them overnight just in case, but they will be alright before you know it."

"Thank you very much Hinata- San and Koda."

Koda nodded as the woman and him returned to the shelter with the cat and kittens in their arms. They agreed that Izuku will come back tomorrow to check in on them. Sooner than later, Izuku showed up to the shelter to find the kittens with their mother playing on the ground.

Yukiko said, "The mother is about 3 years old and the kittens are not that young. The kittens are each a month old. But according to their diet, they looked to be owned by someone up until two weeks ago. They are slightly malnourished, but enough food will bring them back to health."

Izuku played on the ground with the kittens for a while. Koda appeared from the corner and seemed hesitant to join. Izuku noticed him and waved him over with a smile. "Hello again, Koda. Do you want to join me in kitten playtime?" Koda smiled before he sat down next to the teen.

Izuku didn't want to leave them at the shelter, and from what Koda told him. Koda could understand that the mother cat and her kittens only felt safe with Koda and Izuku since they saved her and her babies. But Koda's mom was allergic to cats, which is why he has a bunny. Izuku looked back at the cat and her kittens and knew what he had to do.

***

Inko opened the door to her son holding a box of six kittens and a mother cat.

She rolled her eyes fondly at her smiling son. "I'll go buy the food and supplies, but make sure they get along with Kimi and Chieko before we adopt them." Kimi was indifferent toward the kittens and mother just like she was with Chieko. Chieko was just happy to see new friends. The mother cat was chill, but wouldn't allow Chieko to play roughly with her children.

Inko names the mother cat, Miyu

Izuku names the kittens of course. The one with white coat with black spots was Mitsuo. The one with white coat with orange spots was Masa. The one with a white coat only with orange spots near their tail and face was Masaki. The one with a white coat only with black spots near their tail and face was Manami. The one with a mostly orange coat with white spots on their face and stomach was Miwa. The last one that looked just like their mother was Miyako.

Their family was getting quite big.

And it will only get bigger.