Chapter Text
Why did it seem like the second you think, done with work, it was a good day and now time to head home to see the family for peace and quite, something happens? You would think that Hizashi would have known better. He was a pro-hero after all.
Hizashi walked down the sideway, just finished his Friday night show of Put Your Hands Up Radio. It had been a good night. His show was slowly gaining in popularity. He whistled under his breath as he thought about getting home to his family. He hadn’t seen them since that morning. Okay that wasn’t true, he did see Shota at his other job this morning. He just hadn’t seen Oboro since they all had left for work that morning.
A
yell and what sounded like an animal scream interrupted his thoughts. He looked
around, spying an alley as another scream ripped through the night air. He looked
down the alley to see a group of 4 teens gathered around something they had
cornered between some boxes and a trash dumpster. Before he could say or do
anything one of the teens kicked at what they had cornered. The animal, cause
what else could it have been from the sound, screamed and hiss.
“Hey!” Hizashi yelled. He didn’t put his quirk into it. He didn’t want to hurt or scare the poor creature.
2 of the teens jumped back and looked to see him standing there. The other 2 paused but not for long. One went to kick the creature again, but by then Hizashi had made his way to the group. He had pulled his hero license from his coat pocket. He flashed it to the 2 who had turned to look at him when he yelled. Their faces turned white when they saw that it was a hero who had yelled at them. One teen poked his friend who finally turned and saw the hero. He in turned grabbed the last teen’s arm, forcing him to turn.
“I strongly suggest that you stop what ever it is you are doing. Leave that poor animal alone.” Hizashi said in his Present Mic voice.
“What’s it to you? Its just a stupid cat.” This was from the last teen to have turned toward him. It seemed like he was the ring leader.
“Its wrong to hurt innocent lives like alley cats.” Hizashi said.
“Its just a stupid cat.” The teen said again.
“Then leave it alone. This is the last time I’ll tell you to leave it alone.” Hizashi didn’t like the teen’s attitude.
The group shared a quick look at each other before the ring leader mumbled under his breath once more about it just being “a stupid cat” before pushed his hands in his pockets. He nodded his head at his followers, pushed past Hizashi and left the alley.
Hizashi watched them leave before turning back toward the animal. He found a little ball of fur that had pushed its self into a corner next to the boxes. He thought that the cat couldn’t have been more then 6 months old it was so tiny.
“Shh. Its okay baby. They’re gone. I won’t hurt you.” He softly whispered to the animal. He already knew that he would be taking them home with him. He couldn’t leave the little baby out here in the cruel world. Not to mention if Shota found out that he left a cat/kitten in an alley after running off the bullies, he would never hear the end of it. He crouched down as he spoke.
The little kitten slowly popped their ears up and raise their head. They looked around before finally looking at Hizashi. They uncurled themselves a bit, still watching Hizashi. He didn’t move. He knew that some cats would come to those who waited. He wanted to scoop the kitten up and rush home, but he forced himself to wait.
“It okay little one. You’re safe. Come on. Can I pet you?” Hizashi kept his voice low and smooth.
His knees where starting to get stiff but he stayed like he was. Not moving. He kept telling the kitten that they were safe and he wasn’t going to hurt them. He was rewarded for his patience when the kitten bumped their head against his out scratched hand. Hizashi could tell that the fur was soft under all the dirt.
“I’m going to pick you up. Lets go home. I bet you’re hungry.” He made his movements slow and open. The kitten let him pick them up.
He was right with it being just a baby. As he left the alley and walked under some more powerful street lights he saw that the poor thing was covered in dirt, mud and just street muck. He tried to brush off as much dirt and dried mud as he could. He was only a block and half away from home when his phone rang. The loud noise jolted the kitten from it’s half doze. They were enjoying being warm and the strokes that Hizashi had been using was nice. The little claws dug into his arm, well his leather jacket so he didn’t feel it. He quickly dug his phone out of his pocket with his other hand while curling his arm around the baby.
“Zashi! Are you okay? Where are you?” Oboro’s voice called out through the phone speaker.
“Obo I’m fine. I’m almost home. Just a few more minutes. There was something I had to help with. You’ll see when I get home.” Hizashi picked up his pace. He could see the front door to the apartment building down the street.
“I was about to call Sho and have him do a swing by your work.” Oboro said.
“He’s on patrol. Leave him alone. I promise I’m fine. I’ll be up in a moment. Coming through the doors now.” Hizashi quickly hung up as he opened the door to the building.
He would normally take the stairs but he wanted to get up stairs to the apartment he called home quickly, so he opted for the elevator this time. Getting in he pushed the button for the top floor. As the doors slide close he cradled the kitten closer to his chest. He could feel the little one’s heart beating like crazy against his hand.
“its okay. That was just my husband, my Oboro. You’ll get to meet him in just a moment.” He cooed to the kitten.
The kitten seemed to clam down a bit when he told them what was going on. The doors to the elevator opened and Hizashi stepped out. He was just getting ready to put his key in the lock when the door opened.
“Zashi! There you are!” Oboro threw his arms wide and was about to crush Hizashi to him when the kitten hissed at the sudden noise. Oboro stopped. “Oh, oh so that’s what happen. You picked up another stray.”
“I did. Couple of blocks from the radio station I heard some yelling and then a scream. I found this one cornered by some mean teens. I got them to stop.” Hizashi took off his shoes, setting them aside with the other pair of boots that where already there. “I couldn’t leave them out there. It wouldn’t have been safe for the baby. Not to mention Shota would have had my head for doing so.”
“Poor little baby. True on the Shota thing. What’s one more cat?” Oboro shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the little kitten in Hizashi’s arms. “The baby is covered yuck. Let’s get it bathed and cleaned up before we feed them.”
He walked down a hallway toward the bathroom, flicking on the light as he went. He gather some towels and the cat shampoo they had on hand. He started to fill up the sink with some warm water as Hizashi came into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. They both knew from experience that if a wet cat got out into the rest of the apartment it would be next to impossible to catch them before they hid under something. But before he placed the now shaking kitten in the warm water he took a quick before shot of the baby. He wanted to show Shota what the kitten looked like when he first brought them home.
After taking the picture and putting his phone in his pocket, he turned toward the sink. He looked at Oboro, who had the shampoo ready. Oboro nodded his head letting Hizashi know that he was ready to go. Hizashi nodded back, but as he was just lowering the kitten into the sink they both got the surprise of their life. A puff of blue and yellow smoke and a small popping sound filled the bathroom. The weight in Hizashi’s hands grew. When the smoke cleared he was no longer holding a kitten. He was holding a small child. A child who had a tail and cat ears on their head.