Then
It had started a little collection. An... assortment of items he managed to find.
He first got the idea after seeing that purple haired two-leg carrying a big glossy square... thing.
He liked how it looked, and the feel of it under his fingertips. The strange pictures were also nice to look at.
So, he sat it in his little clearing that he had found for himself. It was protected enough by treetops and brambles surrounding it that he felt safe enough to call it home. It felt barren and exposed with just him there, though, a problem he never had when he lived with the cats and their several numbers.
He shakes his head clear of the thought.
Back to his "collection."
It wasn't really one, just yet. It was still small! He only started it!
But so far, he has one other "two-leg" item and a few shiny rocks he found that he thought were nice. They sparkled unnaturally in the sunlight and he thought that was neat!
Next, he has a small white cat—wait.
[ "Um," ] he gapes at the cat. Catching a quick whiff of it's scent he determines it is a male and also, very, very young. [ "...Where is your mother," ] he asks, because that is probably the most important thing right now. He might have called the foxes off but there are still other animals out here that would snack on tiny kits wandering away from their parents.
[ "Are you the one who used to live with everyone? The green two-leg who could turn into an even bigger green thing?" ] The kit squeaks at him, completely ignoring his question as it trounced near.
[ "...Yes?" ] He answers, bewildered. It's been several seasons since a cat even came in the direction and the boy couldn't wrap his head around why this kit would. The only times he sees other cats nowadays is if they cross paths at the cream-and-food spot.
The kit tilts his head, blue and green eyes studying him carefully.
[ "You don't... look dangerous." ]
[ "Why would you think I was?" ]
[ "Because everyone says so," ] the kit replied as if it was obvious.
The boy frowns.
Why would they say that? His chest twists painfully, he doesn't understand.
He looks down at the kit, who was now sitting patiently in the grass. [ "Why are you here?" ]
[ "I thought it was obvious!" ] The white kit announces, taking a bold step forward. [ "You're going to be my friend!" ]
The boy's bewilderment swiftly melted away like snow in new-leaf. Grinning down at the kit, the boy could hardly get his reply out fast enough as he vibrated with excitement.
[ "Okay!" ]
Now
Shouta grunts awake as a weight suddenly crashes on top of his face from above.
He looks down at the black menace in annoyance. The damned cat even had the nerve to blink ice chipped eyes innocently at him as if he had found no fault in his action.
Bastard then looks away and leaps back onto the green mounded hill next to the man.
And for a second, Shouta is confused. Where did this giant mass come from...? He certainly does not remember having something like it in his apartment.
But as he rapidly blinks the sleep out of his eyes, he realizes what he is looking at and fights off a groan.
That kid.
No matter how hard Shouta had tried to convince and coax the kid to take his bed to sleep on, as soon as Shouta would turn away perked rabbit ears would be right on his heels. He could tell the kid was tired as hell, not even fighting back yawning several times a minute as he followed Shouta around the apartment.
But it seemed the kid refused to sleep alone.
So Shouta eventually gave into his fate and dragged out his yellow sleeping bag. He picked up the kid and placed him onto the couch along the wall, as well as a pillow and a blanket.
When Shouta walked away, the kid perked up once again as if he were about to slip off the couch, but Shouta didn't go far as he stepped into his sleeping bag and plopped onto the second couch himself.
He could hear the rustling of fabric on fabric for a few moments before it settled down. Shouta hoped the kid finally got the picture and would go to sleep.
His own eyes were already drooping as he felt himself drift off nearly right away.
How on earth the kid managed to slip off and lay right next to Shouta's couch while in that huge form, he had no idea. He cursed himself for not being more aware of his surroundings and made to awkwardly get off the couch without awakening the large green mass of fur and scales.
He saw that all three of his cats had made their own bed on the kid, nestled snugly in his long curly fur.
Shouta couldn't help but think it was a bit strange they had all taken to the boy so quickly.
Mocha isn't too much of a surprise, but Juice Box usually takes a while to shine to new people. And Bastard is, well.
He is pretty sure Bastard doesn't like anyone. Shouta certainly hasn't seen it.
And yet, there he is. Already asleep while cuddling into the boy. Weird cat.
Shuffling into the kitchen, Shouta catches sight of the time. It was nearly six in the morning. If he had work today, he would have to be leaving here soon. But, thanks to Nezu, he was granted an additional day off. Woohoo.
He gravitates to the coffee maker like a dying man discovering a river of life saving water for the first time in three days. As a result, the kitchen is filled with the smell of coffee soon after.
Either the smell of the caffeine or perhaps it was Shouta's absence, but soon enough small clanking on the hard kitchen floor makes itself known as scaly feet enter the room.
He stumbled in, tiny balled up fists rubbing at his eyes trying to banish the sleep from them. His already normally wild hair was even messier in its bedhead state. His rabbit ears were currently nowhere in sight.
One by one, Shouta's three cats trail into the kitchen after the kid. He watches as Juice Box makes a beeline for the newly deposited cat food, and as Bastard jumps onto the table blessedly ignoring Shouta's scowl at the action. Mocha seemed content at rubbing against his ankles.
One green eye poked open, upon seeing Shouta he perked up visibly and bounced to his side by the table where he was sipping away at his coffee.
He tugged at his sleeve, standing on the tips of his toes. A trilling kind of noise leaks out of the kid that reminds Shouta's of a questioning tone.
"This is my coffee," he tells him, tipping the mug forward a bit to show off the liquid inside, "it's not for kids." He is pretty sure caffeine is the last thing this kid needs. Shouta is pretty sure he himself wouldn't survive the fallout of that incident.
"Min cougfvee ntfur keeds," he repeats back terribly, reaching out for Shouta's mug as he lifts it out of his small reach.
"That's right," he confirmed, smirking slightly as the kid puffs up with indignation at being denied the drink that would lead to Shouta's inevitable destruction.
The kid, honest to god, clicks rapidly at him high pitched, leaving the man wondering just how he was able to make that noise with his mouth.
Bastard takes that moment to pipe up lazily, pausing in his grooming.
And the kid? The kid tilts his head and looks over at the cat, and Shouta swears he was replying back to it. And that the cat understood .
Nope, nuh-uh, there is no way this kid is holding an actual, real conversation with my cat, nope. He refuses to believe it. There should be no way that would be possible.
But as Bastard flicks his tail at Shouta's mug and watches as the kid follows its movements with eyes lighting up in recognition, Shouta could feel his sanity slipping.
He looks down at Mocha who was still residing near his feet. "You'd tell me if the kid could speak cat, right?" He asks weakly.
Mocha blinks up at him, and he nods. "Right, thank you," he says.
And with that, he dunks down the rest of his coffee and stands up. He has a kid to feed.
After flooding his bathroom yesterday, Shouta knew he needed to keep a closer eye on the kid if he wanted to prevent anymore disasters.
Not that it was a problem.
In fact, it was easy.
The kid wouldn't leave the hero's side.
If Shouta got up, so did the kid. If he sat down so would he. Staying still for too long would lead the kid into poking and prodding Shouta, tugging on his sleeves, grabbing his arms before letting them go.
"What are you doing, problem child?" He'd ask him, and as an answer Shouta would receive some range of a click, trill, or another high pitched noise.
How long has it been for the kid in seeing another person? How long has he been on his own? Shouta's heart twists. What happened to his parents for things to turn out like this? Did they know? Were they dead? Are they the ones who dumped him off?
Placing a hand on top of the sea of curls, the kid pauses under it and looks up at Shouta with big green eyes. His rabbit ears were still not showing themselves, but Shouta could see a hint of pointed ears peeking from his hair, slightly furred black.
"Hey, kid, you have a name, right?" The hero asks, watching as the green bundle of energy tilts his head to the side, slitted pupils dilating.
Huh.
"You only lived here for a day, but I'm already getting tired of only referring you as "kid" all the time," Shouta moves the hand on the boy's head and starts shaking it side to side gently, causing a stream of giggles to venture out from the kid. "You mind telling me what it is?"
He obviously didn't understand the question, but Shouta wasn't expecting him to. Still giggling, the kid reached up with his own hands and grabbed at Shouta's. Like before, the hero was taken slightly off guard at the amount of strength the kid grabbed him with. He was frighteningly strong for someone who probably weighs less than a sack of potatoes.
The grip softened as the kid let go, but Shouta was still determined to get an answer from him.
Another route then.
Shouta introduces himself. Maintaining eye contact, he points to himself. "Shouta," he slowly announces. He repeats his own name a few times, punctuating each time with a jab at his chest.
It didn't take long for the kid's eyes to light up in realization.
"Sho'ta!" He crowed. And, well, that's close enough.
"Sho'ta," he echoes, tail curling.
"That's right," Shouta nodded, "my name is Shouta." The kid grinned up at him, pleased with himself.
"Now, what is your name?" Shouta inquires, now pointing at the kid.
He frowns at his finger, questioningly.
Then slowly, shakes his head.
Shouta feels himself frowning.
"You don't know?"
The kid continues shaking his head, trilling. And, Shouta supposes that makes sense. How is a young child to remember their name if they lived alone for most of their life? He hopes that he had one, at least.
He'll just have to wait for Tsukauchi to contact him again with more information, and hopefully, a name.
He sighs, leaning back on the couch. From the corner of his eye he can see the kid looking at him anxiously.
"Sho'ta?"
"Don't worry about it, kid," he waves a hand, reassuring, "we'll figure out what to do later."
Across from the duo, the tv sits quiet. Shouta figures he may as entertain himself on his given day off.
As it flickers to life, the kids head snaps towards it with a muffled gasp. He scrambles to get his feet under him, the couch slightly bouncing under his weight.
The tv was showing a mediocre news story, but the kid was shouting in amazement, pointing and gesturing wildly. At that moment, Shouta really wishes he could understand just what he was saying. The sight made him smile, nonetheless.
It wasn't until a few hours later of lazing around watching tv and munching on a few sandwiches (several in the kid's case) for lunch, that the kid hopped off the couch and bounced to the bathroom.
Shouta let him go. After an uncomfortable an awkward session yesterday, he managed to teach the wild boy how to properly use a toilet so there wouldn't be... unfortunate mishaps later on. Thank god the kid was smart enough to quickly figure it out, Shouta would rather not ever do that again.
He still kept an ear out, however. He did not need a repeat of yesterday. Or his downstairs neighbors to murder him.
When he doesn't hear any rushing water, he figures everything is probably fine and he tunes back onto the tv.
After nearly five minutes, Shouta gets a bit worried. Surely, he should've been done by now?
Did something happen?
Actually, did he remove the pill bottles from the cabinet behind the mirror? Shouta can't seem to remember. He did, didn't he? But what if he only thinks so, and the kid found out how to get past the child lock on the lids? What if he unknowingly ate them? Oh god, he has made a terrible mistake—
But before Shouta could leap from the couch and rush into the bathroom expecting to see a twitching, writhing child on the bathroom floor after overdosing on painkillers, the kid happily trots out of the bathroom. A trail of shredded toilet paper was stuck to his foot, and a few shreds littered his green hair.
Closing his eyes, Shouta breathes in deeply.
He gets up and slowly peeks into the bathroom.
It was hell version 2.
Shredded toilet paper covered nearly every surface of the floor, the tub, and stuffed into the toilet. There was way more than what one roll should be capable of. That is when he notices the cabinet under the sink was left wide open and sure enough, the extra rolls of toilet paper were missing—added into the disaster.
He opens the cabinet behind the mirror. No pill bottles greeted him.
Well, at least that part was good news.
Poking his head through the door, he stares back to the kid, who happily looks back, rabbit ears now visible and pricked forward.
"Do you have something against my bathroom or what, problem child?" He questions, resigned.
The kid only yells back Shouta's name.
By the time Shouta surfaces out of the bathroom he had to clean for the second time within 24 hours, the kid was fast asleep in his larger form, sprawled out on his back with his paws in the air extremely similar to how he catches his cats sleeping from time to time.
It was kind of cute.
Shouta has the fleeting urge to take a picture as if he were one of his cats, to show off to Nemuri and Hizashi, but he stomps it down.
Although... the expressions on their faces if he were to oh-so casually drop one in during a conversation and passing the kid off as a new monstrous cat sounds tempting.
Carefully, he slides his phone out of his pocket and snips a quick photo.
Juice Box is snuggled close to the kid, really showing off his massive size. Shouta smirks at himself and saves the picture.
Now, he is faced with a new problem.
They need more toilet paper. Desperately.
Most of what the kid shredded was unsalvageable, too finely torn.
While tomorrow, both him and the kid would pass by the store on the way to UA and back, Shouta was not keen on taking him inside a store just yet. The kid would probably want to touch anything and everything he could get his tiny little hands on and eventually cause some disaster that may get them both kicked out.
Shouta would rather that not happen, as he likes that store. It's the most convenient, being only around the corner of his apartment, so he never has to walk far.
He looks back at the sleeping figure.
Yesterday the kid took two naps throughout the day and both lasted roughly an hour or so.
He shouldn't have been asleep for too long yet... if he left now Shouta could be in and out of the corner store in ten, fifteen minutes. Arriving back home with time to spare.
Still, he hesitates.
He would rather not leave the kid by himself.
I won't be gone long, he tells himself.
Shouta was not too worried about the kid slipping out of the apartment, not when this building was made with sturdy reinforced windows and doors. It was a hero building, after all.
Turning the tv down low, he quietly slips on his shoes and swipes his wallet. Then carefully, so slowly, he opens the apartment door. As he leaves his eyes does not leave the mass of fur, looking for any signs of wakefulness.
But the kid stays asleep.
After locking the door, Shouta stands there for a few seconds more, listening.
When he hears nothing on the other side, he leaves.
Please let him stay like that until I return.
When his eyes first slip open, he isn't sure what woke him.
He turns over, stretching his long limbs out.
He tastes the air, searching for any nearby differences. It did not really help much; he wasn't quite used to the new surroundings to pick those apart.
But he did notice Shouta was not in the room with him.
Shrinking down into his smaller form, the boy hopped up onto his feet, ears pricked.
He first checks the water room, Shouta was spending a lot of time in there before he got tired of watching him and dozed off. But popping his head inside shows no signs of the two-leg.
That's ok. There are still several more rooms! Shouta likes to move around a lot from what he noticed. He visits the kitchen a lot, where all the food is (and then Shouta gives him food!) Maybe that's what he's doing now!
Ducking his head out of the water room he bounced excitably to the kitchen with his tail held high.
But the two-leg wasn't in there, either.
His heart stutters.
"Sho'ta?" He calls. Other than the noises from the moving pictures box, he hears nothing.
That's—that's ok! There are still two more rooms. Shouta would surely be in one of them!
Shouta was not in the two rooms, he was not in any of the rooms. He wasn't even hiding in the hidey holes near the kitchen roof! Or in the one in the water room! He made sure to double check those places—and still nothing! Shouta remained to be missing!
To be gone .
Panic was shoving itself into his throat. He didn't understand where Shouta went or why is was gone in the first place.
He was pacing fast around the den, still going from room to room hoping he just missed something and Shouta would suddenly show up again. But every look yielded in nothing.
The cats were trying to grab his attention, but he could hardly hear them over the rushing in his ears. Tears were stinging hot at his eyes as everything started to become blurry.
Shouta didn't leave him, did he? Did he do something wrong? Was it that funny soft paper in the water room? Did Shouta get mad at him for playing with it? He was only having fun! He won't do it again!
"Sho'ta?"
He wails, [ "please come back! I'm sorry!" ]
Something heavy slams into his shoulder, sending him sprawling onto the floor with a choked gasp.
[ "What—" ]
A voice hisses into his ear, [ "kid you need to calm down and listen to us." ] That was bastard.
Sniffling, the boy turned his head, facing the feline.
The cat looked annoyed. His tail was thrashing behind him with jerky movements. The boy laid there, patiently waiting for Bastard to explain himself.
However, it wasn't Bastard who spoke up.
[ "Shouta leaves here almost every day," ] Mocha dipped her head, [ "he always comes back, though, don't worry." ]
The boy stares at her. [ "How can you be sure? What if he doesn't?" ] Bastard snorts from his spot on the boy's shoulder and mutters to himself. He thought he heard something along the lines of " Wouldn't that be nice?" But before the boy can question the cat, Mocha pipes back in to reassure him.
[ "I wouldn't lie to you. And besides, you have us until he returns, if that puts you at ease." ]
He had to admit, that did make him feel the tiniest bit better.
Bastard jumps off from his shoulder as the boy relaxes and slumps farther onto the floor. He was exhausted after his little freak out. He didn't even get to finish his nap! Letting out a long sigh, he wished he could go back to sleep. But he knew he wouldn't be able to catch even a wink until Shouta came back.
He had to be sure he would.
The idea that Shouta left every day didn't appeal to him. Even more so when it was still a strange place he was being left behind at.
He could hardly even stretch his legs here! It was too tiny for any real exercise, and there was no live prey in the den for him to chase. He longed for the outside air and wind against his pelt and the trees above his head and grass under his paws.
He also longed for Shouta to come back already.
[ "How much longer?" ] He whined.
[ "Kid, it hasn't even been a minute yet." ]
[ "But—" ] He cut off, ears perking. There was a loud voice coming from the other side of the door he was never able to open.
Every muscle in his body tenses as it gets closer and closer.
Throughout yesterday and today, he would hear soft footsteps and quiet voices, but they would always pass and fade—paying no mind to Shouta's den. At those times, Shouta didn't seem to be worried about them, so he forced himself not to be either.
But Shouta wasn't here right now, and the loud voice has stopped right by that unopenable door.
He could feel his fur prickling and scales popping into existence under his panic. But it was, ok. If he couldn't get that door to open, then neither could an intruder. They'll give up and leave.
Breath caught his in throat, he watched with tensed muscles as the knob rattles and shakes.
And clicks.
His vision goes red.
His phone goes off as he steps out of the corner store with a large plastic bag.
Not wanting to waste time, Shouta answered it while keeping a fast pace back home.
Before he can even muster out a simple hello, a loud obnoxious voice greets him.
"Shoooouta! Where were you today?! Why did someone else have to cover for you? If you were going to bail out on work today, you could've at least told me! So not very Plus Ultra of you!"
Shouta grimaced, holding the phone away from his abused eardrums as his friend continues to shriek through the receiver with no concept of how volume control on phones work.
School must be over then if Hizashi is calling, did he really spend most of the day doing nothing?
Grunting, Shouta replies, "did Nezu not say what is going on?"
"Why would he? You better not be trying to bail out on us only after a year of teaching, Shouta!" A pause, "and you better not be hurt, either! Or I'll be the one who's hurt that you didn't even say anything!"
"Why did you jump to those conclusions? No, I am not leaving nor am I injured. I had to take care of—"
"I'll have you know I have a very good reason to suspect you getting injured without saying anything, and that is—because you do it all the dang time! You keep overworking yourself, and then refuse to let your body heal over or to give it the proper nutrients it deserves! You can't keep surviving off of those jelly packs."
A shuffling on the other end of the line and the crinkle of plastic on plastic could be heard as Shouta rolls his eyes and turns the corner. His apartment is in sight now.
Hizashi hums. "Anyway, it's good that you're not hurt this time, it would have sucked if I had to turn around and race to the hospital when I'm already at your front door."
Shouta's steps freezes. "You're what," he picks up the pace, cursing, "shit, Hizashi do not go in there!"
"Why not? Are you not wearing any pants yet?" Hizashi jokes, and Shouta could hear a pout in his voice as he continued. "Tsk, tsk, Shouta, it's already almost evening! You can't laze away foreveEEUGH—"
A snarl and a splitting shriek cuts off as the line goes dead. Shouta curses, now sprinting down the sidewalk as he bursts through the lobby doors.
The elevator would take too long, so he dashes up the stairs, two steps at a time.
When he reaches his floor, a thunder of noise cascades all around him in pure chaos.
In front of his door was Hizashi, screaming curses through his doorway. A few more resident heroes dressed in normal clothes, are stalking forward, quirks and weapons at the ready. Every time they got too close a feral inhuman snarl would split the air, a green massive paw swiping at the crowd—forcing them backwards again.
Rage filled Shouta.
Hizashi built up another scream but ended up choking on air as his voice spontaneously died. A startled look flashing his face before he whips around, catching sight of very pissed off red eyes flashing in his direction. A snarl escapes his lips as he stalks forward, not unlike the beast the group had been facing.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!"