Archive of Our Own ^beta

Shouta hangs up the call from Nedzu and immediately puts his head in his hands.

Fucking. Goddamnit. This class is going to be the end of him. He needs to start threatening them with expulsions again if they're going to keep getting in trouble. (Unfortunately, he already knows they won't believe him, and probably for good reason. But maybe the threat of it will be enough for his kids to stop giving him grey hairs).

"That didn't sound too good," Sekijirou quips, raising his eyebrows over his book.

"It was Nedzu, of course it wasn't," Shouta huffs, digging his fingers into his scalp slightly. God. He can feel the stress compounding down on him already.

"And?" Sekijirou drags out the word, like a damn hound who's intent on chasing a bone now that he's gotten a whiff of it.

Still, Sekijirou's lightened up a little with their whole class-feud thing when it's just the two of them, at least, so Shouta doesn't need to think about what ammunition he's giving him when he decides to answer. Sekijirou keeps it up for the kids, because that friendly kind of rivalry is a good sense of normalcy that they all deserve to have, and it's a good way to keep them fired up without any real consequences.

"It was a courtesy call to let me know that Midoriya is going to be out of class for the next goddamn week," Shouta grumbles. It's only Monday, for god’s sake, and Midoriya had just been doing one last patrol for his work studies assignment.

Sekijirou looks concerned before he looks amused, which probably says enough about the kind of trouble everyone expects Shouta's class to get into.

"He alright?" Sekijirou asks tentatively. He's surely gathered that Shouta isn't as worried as he is just disgruntled, but he's decided to be cautious anyway. Maybe he thinks nothing can phase Shouta anymore, and he's mentally preparing himself for some sort of horrid scenario.

Honestly, Shouta's not too sure where his emotional responses rank anymore. On the scale of one of his students being All Might's successor to something like that same kid losing life and limbs right in front of him, he doesn't quite know where to rank this one.

"He's a cat, so," Shouta replies.

Sekijirou blinks at him. "He's— what."

"A cat."

"Okay," Sekijirou says, voice surprisingly high in his shock. "Want to explain why?"

"Because it's Midoriya," Shouta grumbles, waving his other hand in the air like that explains it. And it does, really, because of course it's Midoriya. The universe has decreed that if there's trouble in Shouta’s life, then Midoriya is going to be at the heart of it.

"Midoriya is not usually a cat," Sekijirou points out.

"No, but he's somehow always in the damn middle of these things," Shouta replies. "Seriously. Even if I stuck the kid in a damn five-metre-square room, he'd still be able to find trouble."

"Doesn't need to find it when he's the trouble himself, hm?" Sekijirou laughs, though it's still a cautious sound. His face turn serious, still not quite sure how to take the news and trying to find out more. "But, seriously, what'd the kid get into this time?"

"Rescued a kid with a backfiring quirk. Seems that he ended up turning into a cat of all things," Shouta huffs.

"That's it?" Sekijirou asks tentatively after a moment of pause.

Shouta blinks. "He's a cat. What do you mean 'that's it'?"

Sekijirou's laughter is lighter, now. "Eraser, this is the most normal thing that's happened to this kid his entire U.A. run. It seems like a little quirk accident out on the field, and this isn't even the first time we've had a kid turn into an animal for a few days."

Shouta stares at him. "Vlad. He is a cat. This doesn't mean he isn't still Midoriya. Do you know what this means? It means we've got a kid — one that has trouble finding him — as a four-legged, furry little creature with more power than All Might. Please enlighten me as to how this is going to be easy."

"You worry too much," Sekijirou says, pointing at him like he'd poke the frown lines between his eyebrows if he'd been any closer. "He's a good kid— he'll be, uh. A good cat, too, I'm sure. You're too stressed, really."

Maybe. He doesn't think he's stressed enough, actually. Nedzu has only passed on the bare minimum details, which seems to be as much as even he knows at the moment, because this is a rapid turn of events they're trying to get ahead of before it reaches the public. The bare minimum details do not include if Midoriya has retained any of his own self, thoughts, or if he's just become a cat who's probably overwhelmed and confused about finding himself handled by people.

Yeah. He's not stressing enough.

But if he's stressed, then...

Shouta huffs. "If you think I'm worried about this, then I'm eager to see what you'll think of Yagi when he hears the news."

Sekijirou's eyes widen, then, somewhere between fear and delight. "Oh, you're right. Where is he? I need to see this."

"He's probably on campus still," Shouta says, tapping the side of his head as he thinks. "I believe he's Midoriya's second emergency contact though, so he might have already found out."

There's a timely knock on the staff lounge door. Sekijirou and Shouta both turn their heads and see Yagi standing in the doorway, raising a hand in greeting.

"I am here," he says, his usual greeting, though at some point over the last couple of years it's become less of a booming declaration and more of a simple statement. Shouta's not sure Yagi's ever going to shake the habit, but this version doesn't give him a headache, so he hardly minds it as much.

Shouta looks him over quickly. There's a small, polite smile on his face, indicating he's sheepish at interrupting. Despite being a teacher for a while now, he still hesitates like he isn't quite sure how to fit in with the faculty when he's in his usual form. It's good, at least, that Yagi is checking in with them first. It means Shouta doesn't have to concern himself with Yagi doing something rash just because Midoriya is involved.

There is, however, a line of tension in Yagi's figure as he steps through the doorway. A clench to his jaw indicates his simmering frustration, bottled up somewhere deep down that he rarely shows in front of most.

Shouta understands that feeling, at least. He'd felt the same when Nedzu had told him that Midoriya had been involved in another incident, and he'd wondered if this was going to be the final hit before Midoriya stopped getting up. Even someone as spirited, as dogged, had to have a limit somewhere, and — once again — the adults in his life had failed to stop the hit from happening. Sekijirou, to some extent, is correct about this being a more light-hearted event during his U.A. run. At least Shouta doesn't think he needs to mark 'turning into a cat' highly on the list of traumatic events that Midoriya has experienced, but the kid has surprised him before.

"Yagi," Shouta greets. "You've been told."

"I have," Yagi agrees, walking over to take a seat midway between Sekijirou and Shouta.

"His mother?" Shouta asks.

Yagi rubs a hand over his eyebrows. "I called her just a moment ago, but she was the first to know."

Shouta waits for more information, but Yagi offers nothing, so he huffs. "Is she demanding that he come home?"

"What?" Yagi asks, looking at Shouta in surprise and confusion.

"Is she demanding that he's pulled from U.A.? That he can no longer pursue being a hero?"

"What? No, no. She's not like that," Yagi replies.

Shouta sighs, tired of waiting for Yagi to realise that he's exaggerating in the hopes of an explanation. "Then what's with the expression?"

"Mine?" Yagi asks, and then stammers when Shouta gives him a dry look that means obviously. "It's nothing— it's not bad. She just said she entrusted me to take care of him."

Shouta blinks. "Is this somehow new to you?"

He'd managed to pry the story from Yagi after the battle he'd lost his eye and leg. As far as he knows, Yagi had been entrusted to look after Midoriya for many months before that fight.

"She entrusts me to look after him as a cat," Yagi replies. "Which, yes, is a new development, in case you didn't realise he wasn't a cat prior to an hour ago."

Shouta finds the corner of his lip rising. It's always fun being able to get Yagi to reply dryly back to him.

"Of course. It's logical that she's asked you," Shouta says with a lazy shrug. "She's probably saving up her my-kid-is-in-U.A. leave from work for incidents she's truly needed. But I don't believe the Midoriyas have a cat, so she'd have no means or supplies to look after him right now. He is also in a vulnerable condition, and if this has been noted publicly, then villains are absolutely going to try their luck against a cat. You are the most reasonable person to look after him, and she knows that."

Yagi hesitates, then. "Actually..."

Sekijirou suppresses a huff of amusement in the corner, though he hardly tries. Shouta glares at him, because he has a feeling as to why Yagi is hesitating, and Sekijirou very likely knows too.

"No," Shouta says sharply.

"I also don't own the supplies to look after a cat," Yagi says, voice a little softer in his caution.

"No."

"I can watch him during the day! But it's just at night, that's all."

"I am not taking him," Shouta says firmly.

Yagi lets out a breath. "It would be better to ensure he remains on campus as much as possible with U.A.'s protections, and you already have the supplies to look after a cat."

"A normal cat," Shouta replies. "Not a Midoriya-cat."

"I'm sorry to ask this of you, Aizawa," Yagi says it like he's truly morose. And then, Aizawa realises, he is. The biggest, bleeding point of his worry is not that Midoriya is a cat — it's the worry that he can't take care of him.

"No," Shouta tries, just one more time, but it's useless and they all know it.

"When young Midoriya comes over to my house, I do my best to host him. But... there are things I don't want him to see, Aizawa. Difficult things, things that I don't want him to see while I can still help it. I want to protect him from some things while I still can. And if he gets into trouble, I will hardly be in a condition to help him. If I could, I would have him in a heartbeat. I am sorry to ask of it, Aizawa, but I need your help."

Yagi has never admitted this before. Shouta's taken note of Yagi's deteriorating health, and there are some things he can't quite hide though he does his best, especially In front of Midoriya. But Yagi has never admitted to actually struggling with it, that it's hard when he's in the privacy of his own home and not in anyone's gaze.

Shouta lets out a deep breath. Of course, he'd known this was going to be the result the moment that Yagi's voice had turned softer. Of course. Because he'd also known that Yagi would take Midoriya if he were able to. He'd buy whatever he needed just to make sure of it. But this is beyond just needing cat supplies — it's needing someone capable of defending Midoriya, if that's what it comes down to.

"Fine," Shouta says.

"Thank you," Yagi replies, voice all too full of his emotions.

It feels a little too much like Shouta is doing something admirable. But this — this is the bare minimum, really, when it comes down to what he can do to help. He might be disgruntled about it, because this whole situation is ridiculous, but he knows that Yagi is being logical, and Shouta can respect that.

Sekijirou looks awfully smug in the corner, so Shouta thinks about all the ways he can try and get Midoriya to work with him in a plan against 3-B.

(Shouta's never said he's beyond a little class competition.)

It becomes a waiting game as Midoriya is escorted back to campus. Sekijirou decides to go home for the evening but wishes Shouta luck as he goes, so Shouta naturally thinks about the luck that Sekijirou and his class are going to need when they're up against Midoriya. He'll make it work, just as long as Midoriya has retained enough consciousness to — well, be Midoriya.

He exhales as he shoves his hands in his pockets. He's been with Yagi the whole time so there's no point in asking him if he knows any more information, but Shouta is a little antsy about the fact that they haven't received any further updates. He looks at Yagi and he hums.

"What?" Yagi asks, a little defensive as Shouta regards him.

"We should be able to work out how much of Midoriya is still in control by how he responds to you," Shouta tells him.

"Just me?" Yagi asks, eyebrows raising.

"Midoriya will go straight for you if he's the one in conscious control. Your, er, stature is likely intimidating to most cats, though."

"Ah," Yagi says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Actually, cats tend to like me. I think they believe I'm of, uh, flora nature."

There's a moment of pause. Yagi coughs.

"They think you're a tree," Shouta realises, bemused.

Yagi's ears turn a little red. "I believe so."

Shouta laughs, a breathy sound in the evening air. Some of the worry seems to lift from both of their frames as they stand together.

For a moment, he almost considers that maybe, perhaps, this will be alright. All he'll have to do is look after Midoriya, and make sure he has ample time to catch up on his studies once he's back to normal, and also keep the rest of the students in line — not more of an ask than usual.

But if he considers that, he fears it might bring about a jinx, so he subtly shakes his head free of the thoughts. Very few things have ever been easy when it comes to Midoriya. Or rather, his safety is a hard thing to ensure, and Shouta's definitely asking for the universe to humble him if he pretends otherwise.

And he's proven right, for not even three minutes later, Takami — Hero Commissioner himself — walks towards them. He's got something bundled in his arms, and Shouta narrows his eyes.

"Ah," Yagi says, only showing minimal surprise at Takami's appearance. Takami's appeared at the school a few times now, between visiting Nedzu and visiting the students themselves. Shouta hasn't interacted with him much, but he knows there's a sharp edge hiding between his easy-going smile, and he's not sure how reassured he feels by Takami's appearance in the midst of all of this.

"Heya," Takami greets when he's in range, raising his shoulders like he's trying to wave even though his arms are holding onto something. "Decided to get right in the middle of this one. His supervising hero was a little flustered, as you can imagine, so I decided to dispatch myself to help out."

"Because your presence is very inconspicuous," Shouta tells him, unimpressed. Takami has been swamped with tasks since starting his role as Hero Commissioner, but whenever there's a glimpse of him in public there's always a media frenzy.

"Ah, Eraserhead," Takami laughs, eyes crinkling as he does. "I understand your concern, but I'm sure you can appreciate that I know how to handle some situations discreetly."

It's a stark reminder. Even with his easy, pleasant nature that he's displaying right now, there is still the fact that Takami had been their best infiltrator into the League of Villains. And he'd helped Midoriya out when he was on the run, and he would've been one of the only heroes able to keep up — would have been able to do it alone, most likely — if he was in working condition.

"Hm," he says, as close to an admission as he'll let slip. Takami beams at him like he knows how much respect he's just been given. Goddamnit, is Shouta becoming so transparent?

"So you've got him?" Yagi asks, though they all already know the answer. Takami's handling the bundle in his arms carefully, keeping it covered with the blanket.

"A carrier would've been fine," Shouta tells him, raising his eyebrows. It would have been the logical way to carry a cat, especially if they don't know how said cat is going to react to his surroundings. Especially with someone who has a very striking similarity to a certain animal that cats like to hunt.

"Ah, Eraserhead, no," Takami almost damn near pouts at him. "He's stayed nice and still the whole time, hasn't minded being carried this way at all!"

That's good, Shouta thinks. It likely means Midoriya is in conscious control of his new form, which makes this a lot easier to deal with.

"I mean, he does have a whole thing about the feathers, but seems like he can't really help it," Takami says, giving his wings a little shake in demonstration. Then, suddenly, a little furry head pops up from out of the blankets, and a paw swipes up at the air as one of Takami's feathers dances around near his shoulders.

Takami lets the cat paw at it with a tap that's gentle in nature, before he tucks the feather away. This is when the cat — Midoriya, with dark, black fur — realises he has an audience.

He's so black he's tinted green, Shouta distantly realises, as Midoriya turns his head and his wide eyes settle on the two figures before him. Then he figures that Midoriya is tinted green, some of his natural colour seeping through into the dark fur.

Midoriya lets out a little meow, which sounds incredibly sheepish. Yagi makes a choked noise in his throat. If the fur wasn't enough, the sound and the personality alone are enough for Shouta to be sure. This is, one-hundred-percent, Midoriya Izuku.

"Hello, problem child," Shouta sighs.

Midoriya meows again in response, then ducks his head back down lower in the blanket.

"He's pretty aware of things," Keigo says, though it's evident enough to see. "We got him all checked out. He's healthy, and the Quirk should fade in a week. The worst side-effect, other than the whole cat thing, is that he'll be dealing with some instinctive animal nature, but that shouldn't linger for more than a day once he shifts back. Obviously, this is going to be a bit delicate to deal with, but I've been reassured he'll be just fine."

Yagi takes a step closer, and Midoriya blinks at him, pupils wide and blown out. He recognises Yagi, though he does scan up and down his figure, and Shouta thinks about Yagi's tree-like stature with amusement.

"The media?" Shouta asks Takami as Yagi reaches his arms out and takes the bundle. Midoriya goes easily, bowing his head as best as he can to Takami before he seems to settle himself right into Yagi's hold. Takami passes over a bag to Shouta, and a quick peek inside shows it's full of all Midoriya's personal effects.

With his arms free, Takami reaches out and scratches the top of Midoriya's head fondly before he shoves his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels casually.

"Some bystanders that were close to the scene did get some photos, but we made sure the story wouldn't break until... 'round about now, I bet," Takami answers. "It will cause a fuss, of course, but there shouldn't be any reverberations felt here."

And even if there's wind caught about Midoriya being on U.A. grounds, it won't mean much. After everything, everyone knows how much of a stronghold U.A. is — no one will be getting in without permission, and very few even bother to try.

"We've got protection on his mother," Takami adds, a little whistle added to the end of his sentence.

"Do you?" Shouta asks, voice a little sharper with the edge in his voice. It will be the thing that Midoriya is most concerned about, undoubtedly, and Shouta isn't someone who'll be able to help a whole lot when he's stuck on the grounds.

Takami gives him a small smile. "Officially, I'm not involved in that. Unofficially, well."

His feathers give another rustle. Shouta nods, placated enough. Most people should know not to mess with Inko, anyway, if they manage to somehow get any information. And if they don't learn that lesson, then Shouta is sure that Takami will ensure that they do.

He's trying very hard to ignore what's happening in the corner of his gaze, though it's demanding his attention. Yagi is cooing as he scratches Midoriya's head, and Midoriya is pleasantly butting up against his hand, eyes closed in content.

Cute, he thinks, and then almost scowls outwardly. God. How is this his life?

Then, with a feeling of dread, he thinks fuck. The 3-A class.

They're going to be cooing over this all damn week. He suppresses a groan. It's fine — it's fine, the kids will be fine. A cat is hardly the worst thing to be bestowed onto them. At least, if the news breaks while school is out, they'll have the evening away from campus to come to terms with it.

"Is there anything we need to watch out for?" Shouta asks, tilting his head to indicate he means Midoriya.

Takami hums. "There'll be a report coming through that'll help detail this, but basically, you're fine to keep him on cat-friendly human food. Probably better to keep him off the cat biscuits. Oh, and he shouldn't use his Quirk."

"Can he?" Shouta asks.

"They think so," Takami replies. "But probably best that the power of One for All doesn't run through the limbs of a cat."

Midoriya makes another noise, then, like he's agreeing. Shouta looks over at him then, and his heart does a little twist as he spots Midoriya's whiskers twitch as he nods seriously.

"He's cute," Takami smiles.

"We'll see," Shouta replies, making sure his tone is as exasperated as possible.

Takami laughs. "I'll leave you to it. Bye, Midoriya!"

Midoriya raises a paw and does his best to wave. Yagi drops his head back like he's thanking the heavens that he gets to witness the sight of it.

Takami walks off the grounds, and Shouta walks over to Yagi. Midoriya's almost at eye level, tucked in Yagi's arms.

"Alright. Have you been told any of the plan, problem child?" Shouta asks.

Midoriya tilts his head in response, one ear twitching. Shouta smothers the way his lips want to rise up, and instead glowers as he looks at Yagi. "Couldn't you have done that instead of cooing over him?"

"Aizawa," Yagi says, completely in disbelief. He raises his arms in demonstration. "How could I?"

Shouta groans and lets his head tilt forward, staring down at the ground as he tries to accept the fact this is going to be his life for the next week. No one is going to listen to a damn thing anyone says around here if they have Midoriya in their arms.

He feels a faint pressure on his head. He looks up and realises it's Midoriya's arm outstretched, paw gently resting in his hair.

Well. Not like he can blame Midoriya for this fact, even if he does have a lecture in mind. He supposes that can wait. They have more important things to deal with.

"You'll be staying with me on the grounds. During the day, I'm sure All Might is going to kidnap you, so just try not to be a distraction, alright?" Shouta tells him, meeting his eyes.

He's never seen a cat stare so intently, trying to desperately convey that yes, he understands. He'll do his best. Plus ultra!

God. He can practically hear Midoriya's voice in his affirmative meow. This week is going to be something alright.

"Kidnap? More like catnap," Yagi mutters with amusement, all too pleased with himself for the joke.

"God help me."

Yagi is almost reluctant to leave the campus, but Shouta makes him go with a pointed reminder about their agreement and why Shouta has agreed to do this. So Yagi passes Midoriya over with great reluctance, and Shouta ends up with a bundle of blanket and one boy-turned-feline.

Just Shouta and Midoriya. Midoriya the cat.

Fucking hell. His life.

"Alright," he breathes out, looking down at Midoriya. "Eri should handle you well enough, and you'll handle her well too, right?"

Midoriya nods, eyes glimmering with sincerity. Shouta nods back in reply.

"I also have another cat. You know this already, right?" Shouta asks, walking towards the elevator.

He hasn't told the class about Sushi, but he's sure they've gathered it. Midoriya tilts his head in interest, but he nods when Shouta stares at him and waits for a reply.

Shouta hums as he thinks. "I have no idea how Sushi is going to react to you. If it's unfavourable, I'll have her stay with Hizashi for the week."

He's hoping it'll be fine, as Sushi has always been well-mannered and good with whoever walks into Shouta's apartment. But Shouta hasn't exactly tested Sushi with newly-turned-cat, so. There's always a possibility it won't go so well.

Midoriya meows in something like protest, and Shouta raises his eyebrows, pausing in his step.

"What? She's a good cat, but I haven't exactly had her exposed to newly-turned-cat-boys, so," Shouta replies.

Midoriya meows again, this time more insistent. Shouta furrows his eyebrows, understanding that's not the concern that Midoriya is trying to express, but not sure how to communicate with him about it.

"Are you worried about not getting along with her?" Shouta asks.

Midoriya's expression seems to indicate it's something close to it, so he goes with it for now, figuring he'll get to the heart of the problem one way or another.

He shakes his head at him. "You can't blame a cat for their instincts. Because it's a quirk incident, she might not be favourable to it, and there's not much anyone can do about that."

Midoriya huffs in something akin to defiance.

"Not even you, problem child, can have everyone like you all the time," Shouta tells him, finally reaching out to hit the call elevator button. "Though you do a surprisingly decent job at it."

The praise isn't enough to distract Midoriya, though, and he still seems unsettled. Shouta huffs at him, adjusting his arms to remind Midoriya he's still in his grip, and he doesn't appreciate being jostled.

"Really, at worst, she'll be fine with it. She likes Hizashi — going to his is like a holiday for her," he grumbles at Midoriya, which seems to do the trick at making him settle.

"Please tell me you were not worried about Sushi being with Hizashi when you're the one who's just turned into a cat," he huffs.

Midoriya looks away, guilty. Shouta sighs and steps into the elevator as it opens, and rides the way up.

"Have you tried walking yet, or were you bundled up before you could try?" Shouta asks him.

Midoriya rocks his head side-to-side in a motion that seems to indicate he might've given it a small try, but he was probably tucked away quickly.

"I'll keep hold of you when Sushi comes to the door," Shouta tells him. "Depending on how she reacts, we'll see how we go from there, alright?"

Midoriya nods again, looking alert. Shouta readjusts him slightly as the elevator doors open so that he can keep one hand free in case he needs to reach for anything. He steps up to his apartment door, making a bit of noise before he approaches so that Eri knows he's come back.

Sushi greets him at the door, though she stops before her usual rubs against his legs and regards the bundle in his arms instead, standing just beyond the genkan. He feels Midoriya tense, and he also pauses, letting both of them stare each other down. Not a great sign that Sushi isn't approaching him, but she hasn't arced up or scampered away, so she's probably trying to decide how she feels about the new presence.

"Aizawa? You're back?" Eri's voice calls out, breaking the stalemate in the doorway.

"Yeah," Shouta calls back, though keeps his voice a little lower to not startle either of the cats.

Eri doesn't try and wait for him long, and he listens as her soft footsteps pad across the apartment until she turns the corner to see down the hallway.

"Hi," she greets with a smile, and then her eyes widen as she realises Shouta's holding something. "Oh, what do you have there?"

"Midoriya," he says.

She stops, her expression of wonder melting into confusion. She looks around, peering around Shouta's figure like she's looking for him. After a moment, when Midoriya — the boy — does not appear, she looks at him for an explanation. "Huh? Did you say Midoriya?"

"I have Midoriya," he explains.

She blinks at him. Looks down at the cat, then back at Shouta.

Midoriya's attention is still mostly on Sushi, but Shouta feels him finally look up and regard Eri.

It only takes a second for it to register. Even as a cat, he is certainly recognisable.

"Midoriya?" She exclaims, moving forward in a rush. She stops right before she can reach out for him, looking at Shouta for permission.

She's broken Sushi and Midoriya's line of sight, so he watches beyond her for Sushi's reaction before he moves. But Sushi just takes a step to the side so she can see, and she watches the interaction with wary eyes.

He holds Midoriya out slightly, and Midoriya leans his head forward. Eri gasps as she reaches out and pets the top of his head, fingers gently settling in his fur.

"What happened?" She asks, close to a whisper, like she's nervous about this suddenly disappearing.

"Quirk accident while he was finishing up work studies," Shouta explains. "He's going to be like this for a week, so I'm looking after him."

"Ah!" She replies with a gasp, then hesitantly reaches out her arms in question. Shouta figures Midoriya is more than fine with being with Eri, but it's Sushi he's still watching.

Midoriya makes the decision, though, untangling himself from the blanket and reaching out for Eri. She's nothing short of delighted as she holds him close to her chest, swaying side to side in happiness. Sushi, still where she was, seems to relax after this interaction. She sits back, watching the scene with her tail swaying languidly. Not exactly approving of Midoriya, but she's not going to attack, and Shouta's sure that's more than enough for Midoriya to close the distance.

"You're so cute!" Eri says to Midoriya, voice still careful and soft. Then, like she realises something, she pulls back and looks into Midoriya's eyes firmly. "You're not in pain, right? This is okay?"

Midoriya just purrs and leans into her, nuzzling under her chin, and she seems to barely refrain from squealing in delight.

Eri follows him into the kitchen, keeping Midoriya cradled in her arms. Shouta figures they're both fine with the arrangement, so he doesn't need to watch them closely, and he focuses his attention on digging out a jelly pouch from his stash. He's been trying to eat better for Eri's sake, but some days deserve a lazy indulgence. This is absolutely one of them. In fact, it deserves two.

Sushi trods into the kitchen as well, though she stays pointedly out of Midoriya's line of sight even as she has the advantage of watching them. Like himself, she's probably thinking about the fact she deserves extra treats for putting up with all of this, so he resigns himself to sneaking her some later.

"Can you understand us?" Eri asks Midoriya, patting him softly. He nods, and she beams at him. "Don't worry, we'll look after you!"

He gets to making some actual food, but it’s still just a simple meal that's easy enough to make. Eri's arms will probably start hurting if she keeps holding up Midoriya for much longer — he's small, almost like a kitten, but he's still got some weight to him that'll surely start feeling heavier as the minutes go by. She keeps him company in the kitchen, talking about all of her class lessons throughout the day, making sure she gives equal attention to Shouta and Midoriya like she's making sure neither of them is left out.

"You hungry, problem child?" Shouta asks Midoriya as he finishes plating the meals. Midoriya hasn't seemed all that interested in Shouta's cooking, but Shouta knows the kid usually eats quite a lot to keep up with the demands of his training.

Midoriya doesn't seem like he knows the answer, either. Shouta supposes being in a whole new body will likely make some things feel strange.

Shouta pours some tinned tuna onto a plate, then debates between putting it on the floor — where Sushi usually eats from — versus the counter, which is probably a little more dignified. But Midoriya also likely hasn't had to jump anywhere yet, and it's probably safer for now to keep it down at ground level. He puts it down in the kitchen, because Midoriya will at least have the privacy to eat away from their eyes if he wants to.

Eri puts Midoriya down carefully and Shouta watches him stand stiffly on his four legs. Then he lifts each of his paws, like he's getting used to where they are, before he nods with determination. He takes a step forward, looking as dignified as possible, which is why a surprised snort escapes his lips when Midoriya ends up going tumbling over himself.

"Oh!" Eri exclaims in surprise, quickly hurrying to pick him up and put him back on his feet.

Midoriya seems a whole lot more embarrassed now, looking between Shouta and Eri. Sushi pads herself over, then, and sits back down in Midoriya's view, licking one of her front paws smugly.

"Oh. Midoriya," Shouta says, an idea coming to mind. "Can you communicate with Sushi at all?"

Midoriya's eyes widen, distracted from his task of trying to take a step forward. He locks his eyes on Sushi, tilts his head, and then lets out a meow.

Sushi tilts her head too, ear flicking, but then she goes right back to licking her paw.

"It's alright," Shouta says, trying to ease whatever Midoriya's reaction might be. Whether it's defeat by the lack of reply, or that usual determination coming through that means he won't quit until he gets it, which is perhaps too much of a distraction right now. "We'll have to wait and see."

Midoriya seems like he might try and protest anyway, but then he looks down and remembers his original task, so he refocuses on walking. He's slower and more cautious with his movements and manages to make his way over to the plate without tumbling over himself again. He regards the food, though he doesn't seem too interested in actually eating it, but Shouta leaves him be for now. He puts out Sushi's meal on the other side of the room and then goes to sit down with Eri to eat theirs.

"He's definitely not hurting, right?" Eri whispers across the table.

Shouta shakes his head. "He got checked out, they said he's okay. Just has to make sure he doesn't use his quirk is all."

Eri nods, satisfied. She eats her meal quickly, unsurprisingly, as she hurries to get back to Midoriya's side.

"Ah, you should eat!" She lightly scolds him, which is so bemusing that Shouta ends up smiling as he eats. Eri's confidence has grown a lot, though she's never quite used this tone with Midoriya before. Now that he's smaller, it seems that she's taken it upon herself to make sure he's looked after.

Shouta washes up the dishes, including Midoriya's empty plate of tuna, then goes to wash himself up. He comes back out to see Eri working on her homework, Midoriya curled up in her lap and currently dozing off. Sushi has moved a little closer, but she's still keeping a respectable amount of space between herself and Midoriya.

"I showed him where the water was," Eri whispers to Shouta when she notices him standing in the doorway. "And everything else that Sushi uses."

"Thanks," he nods at her.

"Can he stay with me tomorrow?" She asks, eager.

Shouta shakes his head at her, even as he's reluctant to squash the hope in her eyes. She's working with private tutors for now, organised by U.A., until she's going to be of age to attend their classes. Her quirk still fluctuates at times, and she also seems to prefer the quieter atmosphere for her learning, so they've let it be for now.

"You'd have to fight All Might for the position to keep him during the day," Shouta tells her.

She puffs out her cheeks like she's thinking about the fact she can definitely try. Maybe Yagi will let her have Midoriya if she pulls out her wide eyes and wobbly lip...

But Shouta would prefer to Midoriya to be closer to him during the day, too. A lot less chance for him to get into trouble if he's being monitored by adults, at least. And god forbid it happens, but if Eri's quirk does activate and she's holding Midoriya — well, the rewind probably won't be advantageous as a cat. Midoriya is probably close to a kitten, and rewinding even a few days might be too dangerous.

"You'll see him straight after school," he says, trying to satisfy her enough that she doesn't try and manipulate Yagi into letting her take him. She's still pouting a little, though, so he adds, "You can come visit him at lunch. And I'll even let him sleep with you. How about that?"

"Okay," she agrees with a smile, stroking down Midoriya's fur. He stirs a little, but is back to dozing off within seconds. It is, admittedly, a cute sight. He's sure he'll have plenty of photos given to him by the end of the week, though. He's almost surprised that no one has come knocking already, but it might be that Midoriya's whereabouts are still being hidden for now. Once it hits the campus though, there will be no escaping it.

They sit out in the room together, Eri working on her homework while Shouta works on grading some papers. Eri looks over at him in question at one point, and he raises his eyebrows at her to signal that he's waiting.

"Will Midoriya have to hand in his homework?" Eri asks him, worried.

Shouta taps his pen down on the paper he's currently reading. Ironically, it's actually Midoriya's, which she probably noticed too.

"Not this week, no," Shouta answers, and he swears he hears a relieved puff of breath from under the table.

"Ah," she laughs breathily. "Okay. That's good."

"We've had similar situations before," Aizawa explains, because he wants her as reassured as possible — mostly so that he doesn't experience any of her disappointed expressions if she thinks something isn't fair to Midoriya. A lot of things in life haven't been, but Shouta tries his best to not be one of those too much. "And it's not like a pro-hero would be expected to work under these conditions, either."

"He probably wouldn't be able to write much with paws," she hums.

"I don't know," Shouta muses, "if he had to, he'd probably be able to do it."

There's a softer meow under the table, which may or may not be a confirmation, and Shouta's lips tilt up as he shares a smile with Eri.

They settle back into working quietly amongst themselves, until Eri starts to rub at her forehead and Shouta mentions that she should start getting ready for bed. She's about to help Midoriya get down from the chair when she goes to stand up, but he jumps down gracefully before she can.

He looks a mixture of proud and sheepish when he turns back to look at them, unsure if he should show off the fact that he'd been able to leap on his own, which is an interesting attitude for a cat to portray. Eri just beams at him though, scratching him behind the ears, and some of that sheepishness disappears.

Midoriya stays around with him as he packs up their stuff and Eri goes to wash up. He's still getting used to his form, stretching his limbs out and spreading out his paws, but he's starting to look like he's wanting to test his limits.

"You can jump wherever you can reach," Shouta tells him when he sees Midoriya's eyes trailing around the sofa and the tables. "But if you knock anything over, you can fix it. With your paws."

Midoriya regards him with a steady gaze, and Shouta just gives him a half-hearted shrug and turns around to leave him be. A moment later, he hears Midoriya land softly on the chair. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Sushi heading a little closer, shortening some of their distance on her own.

Eri comes back out in her pyjamas, and she crouches down in the hallway and opens up her arms.

"Midoriya," she says, her hands beckoning him closer. "Do you want to come sleep with me?"

Midoriya looks back at Shouta for a moment, but he seems to realise it's up to him to make the decision. He heads over to Eri, butting his head against her fingers. She smiles and straightens up, and Midoriya presses against her leg to stay close.

"Goodnight, Aizawa!" She says, waving to him.

"Goodnight, kid," he replies with his own smile, and then lets it drop as he meets Midoriya's eyes. "And you. If anything weird happens during the night, you come wake me. Got it?"

Midoriya nods so much that Shouta worries for his neck. Figuring that there isn't much else to say or do tonight about the whole situation, he gestures for both of them to go to sleep, and Midoriya pads next to Eri comfortably as they head to her room. They both leave their bedroom doors open at night, so Shouta doesn't need to worry about Midoriya trying to figure out how to open a door if he needs to — Shouta's sure he probably could, but he's not going to put it to the test right now.

He finishes up his marking for the night and heads to bed a couple of hours later, silently walking past Eri's room and peeking his head in. She's fast asleep, and Midoriya is too, curled up on top of the blankets and resting right near her stomach.

Sushi winds around his feet as he walks to the bedroom, and he doesn't bother pretending anymore that he's disgruntled by her presence on his own bed. Some nights she sleeps with Eri, but she'd shown no sign of trying to sneak into her room, so Shouta figures there's a quiet agreement in place as to which bedrooms the cats will be staying in for now.

"This is ridiculous," he whispers to Sushi, stroking down her back as he lies down.

She huffs at him like it’s an agreement.

Shouta wakes up first, as is the usual these days. Night terrors haunted Eri for a while, waking her up at all sorts of hours, but she has slept through the night more often than not recently. She tends to sleep through Shouta moving around as well, which is a big change from the way she'd startle awake the moment she so much as heard a breath.

Sushi stays curled up on the bed, but she's eyeing him off like his next move better be to get her breakfast, so he quietly heads into the kitchen first. He pauses in the doorframe as he realises there's a set of eyes watching him, the last of his bleariness disappearing as he focuses on the presence.

With an exhale of barely-contained relief, he recognises that it's Midoriya sitting on the arm of the couch and regarding him. His eyes are glinting with the reflection of the lamp, the sun not yet high enough in the sky to properly light up the apartment. They lock into a staring contest until Midoriya tilts his head and slowly blinks, breaking their strange interaction that is way too early for Shouta to decipher.

He glances back at Eri's room, but there's no sign of movement in there, and he furrows his eyebrows as he looks back at Midoriya. It's cold out in this room, the chill of the morning and the winter creeping in through the windows and meeting no resistance. It's certainly warmer in the bedrooms, where there is body heat and blankets and all sorts of things cats usually like.

He walks over and reaches out his hand, and Midoriya has that odd look in his eyes again as he watches him, but he lets Shouta reach out and rest a hand on the top of his head.

"You've been out here a while, huh?" He asks, a chill to Midoriya's fur giving him away.

Midoriya ducks his head, no longer letting Shouta touch him, but he doesn't move away from his spot on the couch. Shouta frowns and crouches down, meeting his eyes.

"Hey. Do you feel sick?" He asks, serious.

Midoriya blinks at him, then shakes his head in disagreement.

Shouta relaxes a little. Not a fever, hopefully. Not his body fighting against the fact he's now a cat. He probably won’t have to disturb Shuzenji just yet then.

"Do you feel okay?" Shouta asks.

Midoriya nods.

It's going to be a long game of questions if Shouta keeps trying to figure out the reason Midoriya's out here. He sighs in something that feels a little like defeat.

"Alright," he decides. Midoriya's a little more forthcoming these days, and Shouta figures that he's just going to have to hope that it still holds up this week as much as possible. "Hungry?"

Midoriya's head tilts in interest. Shouta nods and stands up, heading to the kitchen. Midoriya stays where he is, but his gaze never leaves Shouta's figure as he moves around. He puts out Sushi's food, and she comes slinking out not a second late, heading straight for it. Midoriya is barely a moment behind, which reassures Shouta that he actually is alright.

He starts making pancakes for breakfast because they're easy enough, and Eri has taken a liking — a craving, really — to them. Eri's alarm goes off just as he starts flipping the first batch over, and it takes her a couple more minutes to come out to the kitchen, her eyes already searching.

"Eating," he remarks to her, head gesturing to where Midoriya's plate of food is, knowing what she's looking for. "Here, take your plate and eat as well."

She hums happily and thanks him as she takes her plate to the table, but she waits to eat until Shouta sits down with her. They don't have long before they need to head out — Eri uses one of the classrooms on campus for her lessons currently, though Shouta thinks she's gotten enough control of her Quirk to think about heading to a proper school in the coming year. For now, though, it's convenient for both of them to walk to the campus together.

"Alright, problem child," he tells Midoriya, crouching down near the front door as Eri finishes filling her backpack for the day. "You ready to head out?"

Midoriya nods at him. Shouta gives him a thumbs-up and stands up, gesturing for Midoriya to follow. "Stay close. Another hawk might just pick you up and carry you away when you're this small."

Midoriya's indignant meow, closer to a mrowh, is amusing enough to make Shouta snort. Eri huffs herself, slinging her backpack over her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Midoriya, I won't let it happen!" She declares, placing her hands on her hips in determination. He seems to appreciate that sentiment a lot more, as his nose bumps against her leg and he ends up sticking closer to her as they head out of the building.

He keeps an eye on both of them as they step out into the fresh air, because the world is probably a whole lot different to a cat's perspective compared to the body of a 17-year-old boy. But Midoriya seems more curious about the world than overwhelmed, so he doesn't worry too much as he sends a reluctant text to the teacher's groupchat to let them all know about the situation. He's sure everyone will be able to put two and two together the moment Yagi is holding a green-tinted cat, but more obvious things have slipped their notice before.

Eri's talking to Midoriya as they walk, telling him all about the subjects she's got lined up for today, and he happily stays close and seems to keep his head tilted to listen better. Shouta catches signs of his ears twitching and his nose scrunching, but he seems to be taking his new senses in relatively good stride.

Shouta's had a slower pace for a while with his leg, but he doesn't mind the extra couple of minutes he gets to spend listening to Eri talk about the plans for her day. It's also better for Midoriya's pace, for once — after he learned to run with One for All powering his legs, he's always been too fast for Shouta to ever try and call back to the lines of safety. He's always felt too fast, too quick to slip between Shouta's fingers whenever he needs to reach him. But now, Midoriya's little legs are working hard to keep up, and it almost feels like they're back on equal ground again.

The side of campus for Eri is a little quieter, so Shouta lets Midoriya keep walking with his own feet — paws, seriously, his life — until they drop Eri off at her building. He crouches down in front of Midoriya after they both wave her goodbye for the day, reaching out a hand and beckoning to him.

"Come on, problem child. The halls are going to be too busy for you to be underfoot," he says, using his other hand to tug at his scarf in opening. He knows that Midoriya catches the meaning immediately, as his students are used to seeing Nedzu taking hold of it when he decides to perch on him.

Midoriya sits back, assessing him. Shouta thinks he's trying to figure out the best way to get up on Shouta's shoulders, but then he takes a little too long to start moving. When Shouta goes to open his mouth again to question him, Midoriya glances down at his paws, and Shouta takes a guess. He'd seen Midoriya try and use his claws on the walk over, turning his paw over to assess his body when he could, but Shouta hadn't let them delay too long.

"You'll work it out," Shouta tells him.

Midoriya tilts his head, his ears twitching. He looks displeased, then defeated, but stands back up to pad closer to Shouta. Still, though, he hesitates when he's within reach of just making a small jump up to Shouta's frame to start climbing. He turns his paw over again, staring at something that Shouta can't ask him about, but he gets his answer when Midoriya meets his gaze. Even now, Shouta can read him.

"You won't hurt me," he says, voice measured, but he's confident in his belief.

Midoriya still hesitates.

"Your claws aren't going to do any damage, Midoriya," he presses.

Midoriya drops his paw, then shakes his head, adamant about his decision now. Shouta sighs, but he supposes he's probably pushed Midoriya's disconcertment with his current form far enough for the moment — he's likely just working through all of his different senses, and while Shouta trusts him not to seriously hurt him, he supposes the idea of doing it accidentally is too unsettling.

"Fine, then I'm going to pick you up. Do not squirm," he tells Midoriya, waiting a moment before reaching his hands out and getting under Midoriya's legs, hoisting him off the ground and close to his chest. Midoriya makes a small noise that Shouta can't quite discern, but Midoriya goes boneless and loose until he reaches out a paw to Shouta's scarf and grabs onto it. He winds himself up around Shouta's shoulder, settling around his neck and holding on, his tail brushing against Shouta's shoulder blades.

Quietly pleased that Midoriya's settled easily, he heads to the main campus.

He can feel Midoriya tilting his head around, taking in the world around from his new height, but he remains balanced and still enough to be steady on Shouta's shoulders.

He pulls out his phone to text Yagi, making the decision that he'll be the one to brace the class for Midoriya's current form, and then Yagi can take him for the rest of the school day.

He trusts Yagi a whole lot more, but he doesn't exactly trust his chances up against twenty kids with one of their own — not when he's, probably in their words, cute. Shouta's not even sure if he stands a chance, but it's better than Yagi's, so he mentally prepares himself for the chaos he's going to walk into. He relays the plan to Midoriya, who doesn't have a whole lot to say about it, but he shifts slightly on Shouta's shoulders. He doesn't seem too nervous though, so Shouta walks in silence to the campus.

He pauses outside the door, glancing to the side as he feels Midoriya shift slightly to lean forward as well.

"You ready?" He asks.

Midoriya gives him a determined nod. Shouta huffs and opens the door, eyeing the classroom with a critical eye as their conversation suddenly dies.

They fall into complete and utter silence, stunned by the sight before them. Shouta raises a hand when he hears someone let out a wistful-sounding oh, and knows the chaos is about to begin.

"Yes, Midoriya is the cat on my shoulders," he says, voice raised to get all of their attention. "He is only here with me right now so we can get it out the way, but after this is over I expect you all to focus. Let's also get some earlier questions out the way: no, he is not expected to keep up with his classwork, and he will be caught up with lessons after he transforms back in a week. Yes, he is still of mind and understands what we're saying to him. Ah, actually on that note: Kouda, let's see if you can understand him."

Shouta ignores all of the wide eyes on him and looks straight at Kouda. The class is still in hushed silence as they wait, and Midoriya lets out a small meow.

Kouda blinks, then frowns slightly.

Damn. He feels Midoriya wilt too.

"Sorry," Kouda says, shaking his head. "It sounds like... just a cat meowing. I can't understand him."

"That's alright," Shouta says, hand rubbing at his jaw. "It's a Quirk transformation, natural rules don't apply here. I didn't expect to be so lucky anyway."

Midoriya meows in something that might be disagreement, but he ignores it. If Midoriya thinks are ever simple when it comes to these things, he's got plenty to learn yet.

Noise starts to fill up the class, and he holds up a hand to silence them.

"One question at a time," he threatens. The class sheepishly quieten down, and hands start to rise eagerly. He looks at Iida first. "Go."

"We have a quiz tomorrow with Present Mic. I fear that even if it's pushed back, Midoriya won't have the adequate time to remember his studying-"

Shouta sighs and holds up a hand again. "We have protocols in place for these kinds of incidents, Iida. Exceptions will be made. Leave us to worry about his grading."

Iida's mouth turns down, a sign he's going to start arguing — he's a great kid, an even better leader, and stubborn when it comes to his friends. These combinations of things does, unfortunately, mean he will argue with teachers.

"If you have concerns, please take it up with us closer to the end of the week," Shouta requests. "We'll have a more definitive plan in place then, and you can pick it apart to your heart's content when we do."

Iida is satisfied enough for now, and he nods. Shouta quickly looks at another hand raised, and he gestures for Todoroki to speak.

"Will he be staying in the class with us?" Todoroki asks, head tilting, eyes looking right at Midoriya.

"All Might has already claimed him for the day," Shouta tells them all. Hands drop and a few groans echo around the classroom.

"Even when he's teaching heroics?" Uraraka asks, voice raised politely but Shouta knows how to tell when she's angling for something.

"Yes," Shouta drags the word out. "Because heroes shouldn't be anywhere near the field if they're going to be reckless around the vulnerable."

"But even with the first years?" A voice cries out in the classroom, with a few sounds of agreement.

Shouta's lips almost rise up, then. Yagi's going to have a hell of a time fending these kids off.

"The first years, I imagine, will also be very careful. I also imagine that Midoriya might just enjoy getting the time to see new Quirks in training, so I would like you all to think about the fact you will have to convince All Might and Midoriya," Shouta says.

A few people groan louder at that, while Midoriya perks up. Maybe this will be interesting to see if they can manage to do it, but Shouta almost doubts it. His kids are capable of a lot, but convincing Midoriya to walk away from Quirk analysis might be beyond their skills yet.

"Is he staying in the dorms, at least?" Kirishima asks.

"What do you mean 'at least'? No, he's staying under my supervision," Shouta replies.

"Lunch?" Someone asks then, a little desperate.

"Eri has already claimed it," he answers, amused.

The loudest groans yet. He hears a despaired we're never going to be able to convince Eri.

Not because they can't, but because no one feels up to the task of trying. Shouta can't blame them, really. He has an embarrassingly hard time telling her no to anything.

"Can we pet him?" Kaminari asks, and Shouta has a moment of pause to mourn the fact they've already ignored putting their hands up to speak, but thankfully they all remain quiet as they wait for an answer.

"Midoriya is of mind," Shouta replies. "You can figure it out with him."

The class goes still, then, all of them looking at Midoriya with pleading eyes. Midoriya shifts a little on his shoulder but has no indication he wants to get down.

"Midoriya," Uraraka calls out, slowly standing up. "Can I?"

"It's like none of you have seen a cat before," Bakugou mutters, arms folded. Midoriya meows then, and Bakugou raises his eyebrows at him. "You can't argue with me when you're a cat, dumbass."

Midoriya meows again, indignant, shifting like he's about to leap down. Shouta reaches up, ready to catch him, but Midoriya settles again with another pointed meow.

"Don't give me attitude," Bakugou says, finger stretched out and pointing at him with a scowl. "Maybe try and not get caught up in a Quirk that turns you into a cat next time, how about that?"

"It wasn't his fault," Uraraka cuts in, taking a step closer to Shouta as she looks at him. "Right? That's what we were told, anyway."

"I think he's learned a lesson in paying more attention to all people around him," Shouta says, in neither agreement or disagreement. Midoriya makes his choice, then, and pats Shouta's shoulder to signal he wants to get down.

Shouta takes hold of him and puts him on the ground, and the class make noises all too damn close to cooing. Uraraka crouches down, hand outstretched, and Midoriya pads over to her and lets his face bump against her fingers.

She's careful to keep her pinky tucked down as she reaches out and gently smooths down his fur.

"Oh, you're so soft," she breathes out with a joyous laugh.

Everyone else is sitting on the edge of their seat, no one wanting to rush forward and create a crowd, but everyone is eager to try and pet their fingers through Midoriya's fur.

It's just as Ashido is about to get up anyway that the bell goes, and barely a second behind is Yagi, pulling open the door.

"I am here! To collect young Midoriya."

The class groans again, their chance for the morning lost.

"Focus," he reminds the class, gesturing for Uraraka to go sit back down.

Yagi crouches down in the doorway, and Midoriya immediately goes over to him, head brushing against his fingers before Yagi hoists him up.

The class's groans turn into coos, as everyone admires the sight of All Might — even as Yagi's thinner self — with a cat. Shouta rolls his eyes.

"Eri will be waiting in the teacher's lounge for their lunch together," Shouta tells him. Yagi usually eats with them, though some days he has a habit of disappearing. Shouta doesn't care to find out what for, but he doesn't need it suddenly popping up now.

Yagi gives him a thumbs-up. "I won't forget! See you later, everyone!"

The class are dejected about losing sight of Midoriya, but it seems no one can be too down in All MIght's presence, as most of them wave cheerily and exclaim they'll see him later.

Only a few seconds after Yagi steps out of the room, he seems to run into Yamada in the hallway. The entire class hears Yamada loudly exclaim about 'how cute this little guy is! Midoriya, you make a mighty — ah, haha — cute cat, I'm sure those little kitten eyes will work wonders on Shouta!'

Shouta glowers at the class for good measure when their heads all turn to him. He dares them to try and use Midoriya's eyes against him — he's already got plans to use them against Sekijirou, he isn't going to be outdone and undone by his own scheme.

Yamada takes a couple of moments longer than he usually does to burst through the door. Shouta immediately looks at it with a warning.

"Do not distract my class any further, Present Mic," he threatens.

Yamada throws up his hands innocently, and Shouta already knows he's lost the attempt at control. He huffs and waves his hand at the class.

"See all of you later. Behave, for the love of god," he says, and passes Yamada who is trying all too hard to pretend like he isn't going to be gossiping about Midoriya as a cat for the next fifteen minutes.

After that, at least, Shouta's day passes relatively normally. There are whispers amongst each of his classes, and some with students daring enough to go up and ask him is it true, sensei? Is Midoriya really a cat?, but other than that, it is blissfully and thankfully a standard day.

He gets held up a couple of minutes at lunch, and by the time he heads to the teacher's lounge, Eri is already sitting on a chair, her legs swinging. Yagi is in the room too, but Shouta doesn't immediately see a cat. Before he can ask, Yagi gestures to the corner of the room.

"He's eating," Yagi says, which does, annoyingly enough, do wonders to calm down the sudden worry.

All of the teachers are doing their best to give Midoriya some privacy, all of them acting like they are immune to how cute Midoriya's form is. Shouta's sure they're all going to slip up if they haven't already, but he figures Midoriya can always swipe at them if he gets sick of it. He won't, but maybe it'll teach him to set boundaries or something. Shouta can hope for a miracle or two sometimes.

The moment Midoriya is done eating, a hushed silence fills the room. They all try and beckon him over with subtle hands, but Midoriya just walks right on over to Eri when she shuffles on the seat and pats it to share. He leaps up gracefully, and she smiles, but otherwise she lets him settle without touching him.

Some of the teachers ask to take photos, and with Eri and Midoriya's permission, the teachers' groupchat is now flooded with different angles of the scene. Shouta sighs and mutes it.

Midoriya ends up sleeping through most of lunch, though he's moved to settle properly in Eri's lap as he dozes. She pouts when the bell goes for the end of lunch as it wakes him up, but she parts with him with a big smile and a promise she'll see him after school.

Yagi picks up Midoriya, the movement easy between the two of them already. Shouta walks with them to go to the next class, as they share the heroics lessons, and his presence is enough of a deterrent to stop students from approaching as they pass them in the hallway.

"Hah," Yagi laughs. "That's the easiest I've gotten anywhere yet today."

"You're too friendly," Shouta grumbles at him. "The students don't think better about interrupting you."

Midoriya is all too friendly as well. He welcomes everyone's little whispered coos with wide eyes and head tilts, acting all sorts of cute. It's no wonder that Yagi likely hasn't made it on time to any of his classes today.

They meet with Class 3-A, and Shouta runs over the lesson plan with them. He had to adjust it slightly during lunch, as his plan for search-and-rescue will move later in the week now, so he ends up settling on a loose challenge around capture-the-flag.

With an uneven split, he proposes two rounds of it, with two different students sitting out. A couple more hands than usual volunteer to sit out, and he narrows his eyes at the class.

"You will not be sitting with Midoriya if you are not in the round," he warns. They sheepishly lower their hands. They end up drawing lots, and Iida ends up out for one, Bakugou for the second.

Midoriya starts getting restless when the round begins, shifting in Yagi's arms as they watch the screens. Shouta glances at him when Yagi has to readjust himself, distracted by the movement.

"Ah, my boy," Yagi whispers. "I know, but you'll be back out there in no time!"

Not even Yagi can quite calm him down, it seems.

"Midoriya," Shouta says, which manages to make him pause in his movements.

"Sensei," Iida suddenly says, pushing his glasses up as he leans over to look at both teachers. "If Midoriya doesn't mind, I can take him. The class will benefit more from your attention than mine."

Shouta narrows his eyes at Iida, because while it sounds reasonable, Iida has also learned to be sly sometimes. A habit, undoubtedly, learned from his friends. Still, he makes a reasonable point, and Shouta waves a hand to show he doesn't care how it's handled.

After a moment of deliberation, Yagi passes Midoriya over. Iida's stiff in his movements, not completely used to holding a cat, but Midoriya lets himself be adjusted however Iida wants him to be. Iida takes a couple of steps away, talking quietly to Midoriya but keeping his eyes on the screen. Midoriya's reacting but he's not as restless, so Shouta figures it's a success.

"He's a force of nature, that boy," Yagi sighs at one point, both of them watching Bakugou fly across the screen.

"He's also worked up," Shouta points out, running a hand down his face. If the other team is smart enough to figure that out they can probably exploit it, but it's a volatile, delicate thing to try. Midoriya would typically be the one to do it, but he's also the entire cause of Bakugou's energy right now and unable to speak — which is probably what's pissing Bakugou off so badly — so it's up to someone else to try.

Uraraka does realise it, but she's on his team, and she keeps most of her jabs back. Shouta makes a note to himself to keep them on separate teams for the rest of the week.

The first round ends and Iida passes Midoriya back over to Yagi — none of them, it seems, quite trust that Midoriya won't go running into the middle of the exercise if they give him the chance. He's a lot calmer now, but as Iida tags in and Bakugou tags out, he starts to squirm again.

"Take him," Shouta tells Bakugou, jerking his thumb back to Midoriya to make it clear who he's talking about.

Bakugou stops in his tracks, the smug grin he's been wearing at winning disappearing in a second. "Absolutely not. Didn't you say those sitting out weren't stuck with him?"

"He's distracting," Shouta replies, smothering down his bemused smile when he notices Midoriya stop dead in his movements as he overhears.

Bakugou turns to Yagi, raising his eyebrows. "You can't handle him as a furry little four-legged critter? Really?"

"He's, ah, a little upset about missing class," Yagi says sheepishly. The next round begins as Iida gets into position. Yagi holds out his arms. "Please, young Bakugou."

"No," Bakugou says, folding his arms and shaking his head. "No way. I'm not cat-sitting."

Midoriya hisses at that, though his expression isn't too disgruntled when Shouta glances over at him. It's comparable to an annoyed hey! in protest, which Shouta can hear in the back of his mind in Midoriya's voice.

"Bakugou, there will be plenty of times you will deal with misplaced animals," Shouta says.

"Midoriya is not displaced," Bakugou retorts.

Fair, but the round is starting, and Shouta needs to focus. "Bakugou."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Bakugou huffs, relenting. "Come here, don't you dare scratch me, asshole."

Bakugou hefts Midoriya into his arms, and confident that they'll both behave enough until the end of the round, Shouta turns back to the screens. Only to be distracted a few minutes later when he hears a low rumble.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Bakugou resting a hand on Midoriya's nape. Midoriya's eyes are closed, and he's purring.

"What the hell," he wants to mouth to Yagi, but then shakes his head and stops himself. He's given up trying to understand Midoriya and Bakugou — every time he thinks he has a handle on them, they like to change it up on him, and trying to understand them is like trying to understand how the world works. It just makes his head hurt.

When the round ends, Bakugou passes Midoriya back over to Yagi before the class can circle back to them. Midoriya's all boneless, barely responding as he settles back in Yagi's arms, though he's starting to wake up more as he realises he isn't still in Bakugou's arms. Shouta looks at Bakugou, and though he's not asking, Bakugou huffs and answers anyway.

"It's the heat," Bakugou says, hands raising in demonstration. "Old man has no circulation, he's cold as shit all the time."

"Hm," Shouta replies, considering it over before he nods. Bakugou turns his back and folds into the class as they all stand and wait for feedback. He lets Yagi take the lead on it, thinking about how he's going to address some of the issues that Yagi raises when it comes to some of their strategies against each other. Most of the class seems to be listening, even if Yagi still has an armful of Midoriya.

The school day finishes shortly after, and Yagi passes Midoriya over to him as they walk through the school grounds.

"See you tomorrow, my boy," Yagi says, all too fondly, and Shouta just sighs and lets Midoriya tangle himself up near his capture scarf. Bakugou's comment lingers in his mind, but Shouta's not the warmest person either, so Midoriya probably finds better comfort in the scarf than anywhere else on his body.

Eri meets them halfway back to the dormitory building, and it's quiet enough now on the campus that Shouta lets Midoriya walk on his own. He winds through Eri's legs, making a careful game of it as she laughs and plays along, and Shouta keeps his gaze ahead, knowing Midoriya won't be reckless enough to trip her.

He orders food as they walk, knowing he's got too much work to catch up on tonight to bother with attempting to cook. He sends a message to Lunch Rush after he orders, asking if there's any chance he can set up some boy-turned-cat-friendly meals for the week. Lunch Rush replies back enthusiastically and says he'll be able to drop something off within the hour.

Thank god for that, at least. He relays the arrangement to Midoriya, who lets out a meow that is somewhere between sheepish and pleased.

"Trust me, kid," he says, "Lunch Rush wouldn't be happy if he found out your diet only consists of tuna this week."

Midoriya's next meow is a little less sheepish.

As Eri and Shouta settle in the dormitory at the table with their own coursework for the evening, Midoriya curls up on the windowsill, where the sun is just spreading the last of its light for the day. He stirs when Lunch Rush delivers the food, but he seems more interested in sleep than food, so Shouta puts it away to eat later. When the sun sets, Midoriya wakes up again to move, only to fall asleep in Eri's lap. She finishes her work within a couple of minutes after that, but she stays as still as possible for as long as she can to make sure she doesn't disturb him. She doesn't need to wait long, at least, as the food that Shouta has ordered for them arrives.

Midoriya's appetite has thankfully woken up with him, and Shouta's glad for one less concern. Lunch Rush will know what he's doing, so at least Shouta doesn't need to think about all the nutritional concerns of Midoriya's new body. He lingers out in the main room with Shouta as Eri washes up, though he follows her into her room when she goes to settle for the night. Shouta's stuck doing coursework for a while longer yet, though he ends up moving to the couch with his sleeping bag as he reads some teachers' meeting notes.

It's just as he's finishing up that he senses movement from the hallway. He looks over, half-expecting Eri to be stumbling out and rubbing her eyes tiredly, but he realises he has to look down a little further. Midoriya is silently walking out, slinking close to the wall as he heads out.

He realises Shouta is looking at him and he freezes, acting like he's been found guilty of sneaking around. Shouta raises his eyebrows, but purposely looks back at his tablet to make it clear he's not going to say anything.

Midoriya seems to come to the deduction that Shouta isn't going to scold him for leaving the room, so he continues on his trek. Shouta keeps his eyes on his screen until they burn, refusing the urge to look over and watch where Midoriya settles.

He can tell Midoriya is regarding the couch, but he jumps up on one of the dining chairs and curls himself up. He thinks about offering the couch but decides Midoriya probably won't like the attention, so he leaves him be.

He's still got just enough energy to get himself back to his bedroom, but he decides to put the tablet down on the table and roll over where he is. He's slept plenty of times on the couch, and plenty of other places that are far more uncomfortable, so it's hardly anything for him to crash here. Sushi seems to enjoy having the whole reign of the bed, anyway, so she'll be just fine in there alone.

Something is tugging at the back of his mind, too, finalising his decision to sleep on the couch for the night. Midoriya has shown he likes heat, but he'd still been out here alone in the chill of the morning despite having the option of Eri's bed. Shouta's not too sure what to make of it, but he decides he'd rather stay out here and try and piece together any information he can get.

He adjusts his position on the couch, just enough so that he can get sight of Midoriya out of the corner of his eyes if he looks. Midoriya is halfway asleep already, not taking much notice. It's just as Shouta's close to drifting off himself that he sees it — the twitching of Midoriya's legs, paws trembling.

He worries he's about to see green lightning zap over Midoriay's fur, so he waits and counts out his breaths, but Midoriya settles again. The twitching kicks up a couple of moments later, a small pained yelp escaping, and Shouta sighs as he realises what's happening.

Whether a boy or a cat, night terrors are not easily escapable.

He swings his legs around off the couch, and the rustling of the sleeping bag is loud enough to make Midoriya stir. He comes back blearily, not quite registering what's happening for a moment, before his head snaps up and he looks at Shouta.

"Easy, kid," Shouta mumbles, voice groggier than he thought it'd be. "Just me."

Midoriya watches him with unblinking eyes, catching in the low light, and Shouta doesn't let it bother him as he unzips his sleeping bag. He steps out of it, then walks over to the dining table with it and dumps it on top of Midoriya before he can think twice.

Midoriya lets out a startled noise that makes Shouta huff with amusement. Midoriya manages to find his way out of it, though it sits on his back as he peers up at Shouta with a confused gaze.

"Don't freeze out here," Shouta says, then turns on his heels and settles back on the couch, pulling up the blanket that he keeps tucked on the end over himself.

Midoriya doesn't move for a while, but Shouta finally hears him pat at the material, moving it until it's bunched up in a way that he likes. When Shouta manages another quick glance in his direction, he sees Midoriya curled up on top of it, his breaths deeper and more even than they'd been before.

Shouta stays awake a little while longer, listening out for any further sounds, but he falls asleep to a quiet night.

Eri doesn't ask about Midoriya's absence from her bed over the night, most likely because her concerns are forgotten the moment Midoriya heads straight to her room when they hear her waking up.

The day is mostly just a repeat of the day before — but Midoriya is already waiting to be picked up the moment they head towards the main campus after they drop Eri off, even though Shouta trusts that he's got enough of a handle on his new limbs to keep himself out of the way.

The class still coo when they see him, but they're getting used to him and aren't so desperately trying to get his attention, so Midoriya remains settled on his shoulder until Yagi bursts through the door to take him for the day.

Over the day, he hears whispers from students and teachers alike, as it seems like Midoriya has taken to also perching himself on Yagi's shoulders and it makes quite the spectacle to gossip about.

Midoriya still sits with Eri at lunch though, with Yagi just giving him glances to make sure he eats. Sekijirou takes a seat next to Shouta at the table, ignoring the pile of paperwork he's got stacked up so that he can stay ahead of his marking.

"It's like he's the kid of divorced parents," Sekijirou says with an amused snort, gesturing to Midoriya to make it clear.

"Hilarious," Shouta says gruffly, rolling his eyes as he moves the stack a little further back so that it hides more of Sekijirou from his view. Sekijirou just peers on top of it, the damn bastard, his stature enough to tower over it.

"So you've got the nighttime visitation rights?" Sekijirou pushes, still teasing with a grin. He'd been right there for Shouta's insistence against Yagi, and Sekijirou's all too smug about the fact Shouta's ended up in this situation.

"I've got papers to mark, that's what," Shouta replies, ducking his head down further. He reaches his hand back just to unwrap his hair tie, letting his hair fall in front of his face so that Sekijirou can't quite get into his view. Sekijirou sighs but lets it drop for now.

The lunch bell sounds, and Eri strokes her fingers through Midoriya's fur and scratches behind his ears in a quick goodbye as she heads back.

"You've got it wrong," Shouta decides to tell Sekijirou as he's packing up his paperwork.

Sekijirou tilts his head back and looks up, not quite bothered to stand up just yet. Their classes have gotten a whole lot quicker at suiting up, but they still usually have a minute to spare. "Hm?"

"Yagi’s the one with visitation rights," he says, a tilt to his lips, pleased as Sekijirou laughs too.

Midoriya settles on his shoulders again as they head to heroics class.

"I have a proposition for you," he says quietly, knowing Midoriya can hear by the way he tilts his head. "We'd like to try and do a search-and-rescue class in a couple of days. You, of course, are the one to search and find. I expect you to make it as difficult as possible for the entire class — and, quietly, even more difficult for Vlad King's. You up for it?"

He looks out the corner of his eyes so he can try and gauge Midoriya's reaction. Midoriya's eyes are wide, paws flexing from their grip on his scarf as he thinks it over.

"You can treat it like a stealth mission," Shouta suggests. "It won't go towards your grade — but, if you do a good job, I'll consider giving extra marks. Mostly, though, this is about giving a chance for your classmates to work with uncooperative, slippery targets."

The students are already good at most of these areas — they had to learn to be, during the war, learning all the aspects of being a hero while dealing with so much already. But Shouta thinks it's always good to give them some lessons that are intended for the level of students and nothing more.

Midoriya nods with determination, an almost unnerving smile on his features as he thinks it over. Shouta lowers his head to hide his own smile — he knows it'll be enough to unnerve students walking past the two of them.

"Thanks. I'll go through it with you tonight," Shouta says, and they're at the class by the end of the sentence.

Midoriya's not so restless today, sitting calmly with Yagi as they watch the class going over their skill exercises for P.E. He takes a nap in a sunlit spot closer to the end of the class, and the students are all careful to give him a wide berth to keep him in peace. Between focusing on the students in the class, Shouta wonders just how much sleep Midoriya had actually managed last night.

As the class finishes up and Shouta goes through his feedback, he takes notice of Midoriya winding himself around Todoroki's left leg, face brushing up against the costume's fabric. Todoroki looks like he is trying very hard to listen to Shouta and is not at all focused on Midoriya trying to suck up his warmth — to his credit, he remains stoic for the final three minutes of Shouta's talk. He only breaks when Shouta finishes, going to crouch down, but the movement snaps Midoriya back into awareness and he entertains only one scratch on his head before he sheepishly slips away and hides behind Yagi.

Todoroki looks disappointed but covers it quickly, and just gives Midoriya a wave as the class finishes up. Shouta's sure the rest of the class has noticed the entire debacle, and they thankfully follow Todoroki's lead and leave their goodbyes as simple as possible. Midoriya's a little more timid on the walk back, like he's trying not to intrude on anyone's personal space, but Yagi quickly picks him up and settles him calmly on his shoulders, and it seems to work wonders as he curls right in.

He sticks close to Eri when they're all back at the apartment. Sushi greets them at the door, though only gives Midoriya a cool look before she turns away and goes to find some solace.

The routine is easy to settle into. Midoriya takes a nap in the last dredges of the sunlight coming through the windows, and Shouta and Eri work on their own sheets until Shouta organises dinner.

His thoughts start to wind over the day, and he decides he's probably got enough cause to talk to Midoriya about sorting some things out.

It's as Eri's washing up that Shouta leans across the table and gets Midoriya's attention from where he's walking across the floor. Shouta gestures for him to come over, and Midoriya tilts his head inquisitively before walking to him.

Shouta turns to the side and bends down, looking in Midoriya's eyes.

"If you need to seek out warmth, then do that, Midoriya," he says firmly. "I trust that you know not to get up to trouble, so if you need to move at any point — in class or otherwise — then you should."

Midoriya blinks at him in surprise.

Shouta sighs. "Your friends are willing to help. And not unrelated, Todoroki loves cats. You'd be helping him, in fact."

Midoriya tilts his head, considering it, and Shouta figures that's as good as he's going to be able to get. He breaks their eye contact and sits back upright properly.

"This is the one time you can be in class and not pay attention," Shouta advises. "Believe me, I'd be more than happy to take the chance to nap while it’s there."

Eri comes back out, and Midoriya only hesitates for a moment before he curls up in her lap. She strokes down his flank with a gentle touch, and Midoriya's eyes slip closed in complete content. Eri looks at Shouta with wide eyes and a bright grin of disbelief as Midoriya starts to purr. It’s just as surreal as the first time he heard it.

"Take a photo," she mouths at him, careful not to disrupt Midoriya.

Shouta's hand is already halfway to his phone when she asks it, and he quickly pulls it open and takes a couple of pictures, but then switches to videoing, hoping he's close enough to get the sound of Midoriya's rumbling.

Eri sits there, completely happy to stay for as long as she can. Eventually, Shouta has to tell her it's bedtime. She pouts at him, the most resistant she's ever been, but he waits her out.

"He'll sleep with you in there," Shouta tries to reassure.

She hums, stroking Midoriya's back as she starts to stir with their voices in the air again. "I think he wants to stay out here. With you."

Midoriya properly wakes now, and he lifts his head up and tilts it back until he's looking at the underside of her chin. She smiles at him as she looks down, and Midoriya meows in something like protest. He jumps down from the chair and pads to the hallway, waiting in front of her room.

Shouta huffs in laughter. "Think he's decided."

She gets down from the chair, but looks back hesitantly between Shouta and Midoriya. "Are you sure?"

Midoriya meows again, indignant.

"I'll make sure to leave the door open," she tells them both, like she doesn't do it already. Even if Midoriya doesn't stay for the night, he's determined in his decision to stay with her as she falls asleep, and Eri seems to know when she's lost against him — it's not often, after all.

"Goodnight, kiddo," he says, raising a hand, and Eri smiles and waves back as she heads in for the night.

An hour later, Midoriya walks out of the room. Shouta's caught up to enough of his work to easily put his tablet down for the night and finish up.

"Come on," he whispers, standing up and gesturing for Midoriya to follow him into the bedroom.

Sushi's waiting on the bed, watching with slitted eyes, but she doesn't make a sound of protest when Midoriya hesitantly follows in a few steps later. Shouta organises the last of what he needs for the night, and the entire time, Midoriya sits in the doorway, not quite willing to step into the room.

"You can come up on the bed," Shouta offers, jerking his thumb to it.

Midoriya blinks at him. Shouta's pretty sure he can see the protest already on his lips.

"Or," Shouta offers, bundling up his sleeping bag and throwing it in the corner. "You can sleep there. The sun hits the end of my bed when it rises, but it should hit that spot on the floor too. Sleep wherever you want, but just know that I will sic your classmates on you if I find you freezing in the morning."

Midoriya glances between the bed and the sleeping bag, and then back out the door.

"You get the one warning," Shouta tells him before climbing into his own bed. Sushi stretches out her paws and curls in further, like she's showing just how inconvenienced she is about being disturbed right now.

He hears Midoriya settle into the sleeping bag, patting at it until it forms the kind of shape he wants it to. Shouta switches off his bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness, and while he hears Midoriya shift a little more, he's soon hearing deep and even little breaths.

He wakes once, during the night. Midoriya's distressed noises return, though quickly cut off when he seems to wake. Shouta stays still on the bed, waiting to see if he's needed. Midoriya moves out of the bedroom, and it's just as Shouta considers getting up to go check on him about fifteen minutes later, he hears Midoriya return. They both fall back asleep after that, thankfully, and the night continues undisturbed.

And when Shouta wakes up to his alarm, Midoriya is still curled up in the sleeping bag, soaking in the rays of sunshine that come through the window.

Shouta puts Midoriya down on the ground before he enters the classroom.

"Go where you want," he says. Midoriya looks up at him, tail swishing in the air — but even with the granted free reign that Shouta has just technically given him, Midoriya follows on his heels into the classroom, which is pretty much what he expects anyway.

But Midoriya's tail swishes against his leg as he diverts his path, heading down the rows of students until he sits beside Todoroki's leg.

Shouta greets the class, covering Todoroki's quiet and confused, "Midoriya?"

He takes attendance, and when he glances up again, halfway through the usual chorus of here!'s, he sees Midoriya curled right up in Todoroki's lap with Todoroki's left hand stroking through his fur. He's amazed that none of the students have missed their names as he's called them out, especially as all of them are trying to act like they're not staring adoringly at the sight. Or staring in jealousy, Shouta's actually not too sure.

Midoriya falls asleep in Todoroki's lap, and some of the tension that's been sitting in Todoroki's frame for the past couple of days seems to melt away. Todoroki's doing his best to pay attention, but Shouta doesn't have all that much to say to the class right now, so he leaves them all to their own discussions for the last few minutes. No one's voice dares to rise loudly, all mindful of the peaceful figures that Todoroki and Midoriya make in the middle of the room.

When Yagi comes through the door — he's their teacher for the first period today, one of the only theory classes he teaches during the week — the class quickly point at Midoriya to let him know the situation. Shouta takes the chance to slip out of the room to head to his next class, but he catches Yagi's surprised but all-too-fond smile as he takes notice.

Shouta passes Yagi in the hallway as they head to lunch, and he raises his eyebrows in mild surprise when he realises Yagi is walking alone.

"Ah," Yagi laughs sheepishly when he notices Shouta's stare. "Young Midoriya has been with his friends for the day. I don't believe he's left Young Todoroki's side. But they're under strict orders to have him back for lunch for Eri, don't you worry."

"I'm not," Shouta says simply, putting his hands in his front pockets as he walks. He thought he'd have to convince Midoriya a whole lot more about taking the warmth when he wants it, so it's a relief that it seems like he's already taken heed of Shouta's words.

True to their word, the students appear at the teacher's lunch room with Midoriya. All too many of them, really, to escort just one boy-turned-cat back, but Shouta just sighs at them and doesn't say anything. Midoriya is currently lying in Shinsou's arms, tail swishing back and forth lazily as it hangs down. He puts Midoriya down once he's in the doorway, letting Midoriya wander with his own legs, but Midoriya jumps right back up into Eri's lap before he can even search for his lunch.

"He's like a lapdog suddenly," Shinsou mutters, shaking his head, though Shouta knows damn well that Shinsou had been watching Todoroki in the morning with jealousy.

Uraraka laughs and threads her arm through Shinsou's own. "Aw, you miss him already?"

The students wave and head off to lunch together, Uraraka yelling behind her shoulder for Midoriya to make sure that he eats. But Midoriya stays on Eri's lap for as long as he can, until Yagi gently prods him to get him to eat before the lunch period is over. Yagi takes him back for the next lot of classes, and Shouta doesn't see him until the end of the day after that.

Midoriya is walking quickly and steadily enough — and most people know to look for a cat when they spot Yagi or Shouta — so Midoriya can walk in the halls without much of an issue now. Though he does almost get distracted by a student's undone laces, his paw reaching out to swipe at it as they pass by.

"Midoriya," Shouta says, getting his attention before he can make another grab at the laces. Thankfully, it works enough to get his focus, and he sits and waits as Sekijirou and Shouta talk over a couple of points about the lesson he has planned tomorrow for heroics.

He knows Midoriya will follow when he begins walking, but he's surprised when he suddenly feels a light pressure hit him. He realises Midoriya is making an agile climb, and he huffs and keeps his arms out in case Midoriya tumbles. He almost does, claws sinking into the material of the scarf, but he manages to snag a piece that unravels quickly and almost sends him tumbling right back to the ground. Shouta manages to catch him awkwardly, hefting him back up and wrapping his scarf a little more securely around his neck.

"Warn me next time, maybe," Shouta huffs at him, but there's no heat to his words.

Midoriya replies back with a little meow, but Shouta doesn't bother trying to figure out what it means. Midoriya settles, content with being on his shoulder even with the option to walk, so Shouta just lets him be. The walk back to the dormitory building is peaceful, and he lets his thoughts wander until he's back in the apartment.

Eri is already waiting for them, and this is when Midoriya finally lets Shouta know that he wants to get down. Eri scratches under his chin, and then he follows after her as she heads into the kitchen, though he turns his nose away when she holds up a can of tuna. Shouta's not too surprised — Lunch Rush is always meticulous with his quantities, and his meals are probably a whole lot better than just a tin of tuna.

Nothing really changes from the newfound routine. Midoriya sits with them as they work together, they all eat dinner, and he still follows in after Eri when it's time for bed. Shouta lingers out in the main room, finishing up his work alone, until Midoriya wanders out.

Shouta's still got a few more minutes of work, so he tries to gesture for Midoriya to head to his bedroom, but Midoriya sits and waits for him. When Shouta turns in for bed, perhaps a worksheet or two sooner than he usually would, Midoriya heads straight for the corner and settles into the sleeping bag that Shouta's decided just to leave there. He has multiple anyway, so it's not putting him out.

The night goes the same as it had the previous. Midoriya is settled until he isn't, and he leaves the room for a short while, though this time Shouta is more patient as he waits for him to return. Midoriya hesitates even when Shouta knows he's back in the room, not making the move to get back in the sleeping bag for a while.

Sushi adjusts herself, her head peeking up, and that's when Midoriya heads for the sleeping bag and curls himself up. His breaths even out a short while later, and Shouta is once again left with wandering thoughts.

Shouta arrives at the heroics class with Yagi beside him, but no Midoriya.

It barely takes a second before the class notices his absence.

"Sensei? Where's Midoriya?" Uraraka asks him with no sense of panic in her tone, just curiosity. Shouta pushes aside the feeling he gets from these students wholeheartedly trusting him before he can get distracted.

"Today, we are facilitating a search-and-rescue operation," Shouta tells them with a grin, watching all of their eyes widen. Some of them look around like they're expecting Midoriya to be skulking in the corners of their visions, but Midoriya is currently hiding away somewhere in the buildings behind them. "I don't believe I need to tell you what you are searching and rescuing. Now, Midoriya is under orders to act like a typical cat, so do not rely on knowing him to give you an advantage. It is an active emergency zone, so treat it as such."

"Knowing him, the asshole is going to make this as hard as possible," Bakugou grumbles, which makes Shouta look at him and grin wider.

"Indeed," Shouta says, making Bakugou groan. Those who know Midoriya the best are going to, perhaps, struggle the most.

"It's up to all of you if you'd prefer to work individually or as a group. If you manage to bring the cat back alone, though, you will get a higher mark today," he says, just to try and level out the field a bit more. Midoriya will do well, but it's a lot to ask of anyone against so many students, especially when they work together.

They all look at each other, sizing each other up, before Bakugou interlocks his fingers and stretches his arms.

"We've brought this bastard in once before," he says with a grin, commanding the attention of all of his classmates. "He's just smaller now. No problem at all, right?"

Choosing to work together, then. Shouta sends a mental apology to Midoriya in advance — Midoriya had definitely been hoping for them to split up to make it easier.

The class rallies and heads into Ground Beta, where it's been left in chaos from the second-year's by Shouta's request. They've got a camera following Midoriya as he walks through the rubble, keeping to the shadows and doing his best to hide himself.

A siren rings out, signalling the start of the mission, and Midoriya tilts his head and listens out, pausing in his movements. On the other screen, Jirou is currently listening out for him too.

Yagi hits a button, and a building rumbles and falls. The class are completely unfazed as Ground Beta comes to life with trouble, as they've learned to expect that things will always be harder for them than they're first led to believe when it comes to Shouta's lessons.

"If we could just ice him out, that'd be easier," Kirishima sighs, head bopping up and down as he scans through the rumble to catch a glimpse of Midoriya.

The class all hum their agreements, but they know better than to make a mess in an area Shouta has decreed an emergency zone. Even if they know here that Midoriya is the only one in the rubble, they know better in real situations. They won't take the easy way out just because it's a class.

"We can't do it on a big scale to flush him out," Asui says, finger tapping her lips in thought. "But we can use it to direct him."

"Need to find him first," Shinsou reminds them.

"Any updates?" Todoroki asks Jirou.

She shakes her head. "His heartbeat's too small if we're too far from him, and I don't think he's on the move. Can't hear him."

Yaoyorozu hands out communication devices that she's been steadily making over the past few minutes. "Here, everyone take one. We have a lot of ground to cover, so we should split up and report back to each other."

Everyone does as instructed, fitting the earpieces and testing them before they make quick work of dividing into teams. Some take to the skies, getting a higher advantage, with a ground team following them along as they head in different directions.

"Here, kitty kitty," Ashido sing-songs, making clicking noises with her tongue. Ojirou gives her a look, and she shrugs. "What? We're meant to treat him like a typical cat, right?"

"Typical cat..." Kaminari repeats in thought, then taps his forehead. "We should get a giant laser. He'd chase after it, right?"

Ashido blinks at him. Then she grins and presses her finger to the earpiece, relaying that idea to the rest of the class.

"No," Bakugou shuts down over their channel. On another screen, he's flying across the sky, looking over the destroyed buildings, eyes sharp. "Christ, are you guys even focusing?"

"I think it's viable!" Kaminari argues.

"He'd have to be in a spot to see it," Uraraka says, currently floating alongside Jirou as she continues to listen out. "We don't know if he is."

"A giant laser is also a big ask to make of Yaoyorozu," Iida chimes in. "We should rely on other methods to find Midoriya— er, the cat."

Midoriya has made himself small under a piece of debris, one that has exits he can use subtly to sneak out if someone comes across him. Shouta's pretty sure he's going to head straight for a building, in an attempt to keep some of them from using their Quirks when they're in an unstable area. It'll be hard for Midoriya to go anywhere once he's found, but most of this lesson is focused on the search part anyway.

The closest to him is Tokoyami's group including Shouji, Hagakure, and Shinsou. Midoriya seems to hear them as they talk to each other, ear twitching as he listens, but he remains rooted where he is.

A building rumbles near them, and the group stops and considers it.

"They probably wouldn't trigger a building that he's close to, right?" Hagakure asks, hands on her hips as she looks. "He is just a cat right now, after all."

"Probably not one that he's in," Shinsou corrects, regarding the building as he thinks it over. "Doesn't mean he isn't close by."

Kouda comes over their comms to report that the birds have seen Midoriya slinking around, but they moved the moment they spotted him on the grounds about fifteen minutes ago. He's explained the situation to them, and they're back up in the air, but they haven't seen him since. Midoriya takes note of them too, glancing up like he can see through the debris, but he's just out of their sight as they circle around the grounds.

Dark Shadow's taken a liking to Midoriya's cat form, so he's out looking eagerly too, weaving through debris and buildings. He's moving ahead, the distance from Tokoyami almost a street ahead now, and getting closer.

Midoriya tenses but doesn't move, waiting for something, like he's trying to engage all of his senses. He's got his gaze directed somewhere in Dark Shadow's direction, but Shouta realises that Midoriya can't actually sense him entirely. He can sense that there's something, but Dark Shadow is moving forward without Midoriya actually being able to tell how closely.

And then Dark Shadow phases right through Midoriya's piece of debris, and Midoriya jumps, his back arched highly as he pulls his lips back and prepares to snarl. But then he realises who it is and he quickly moves, putting his paw to Dark Shadow's lips, doing his best to signal for Dark Shadow to be quiet.

Dark Shadow cries out, "Cat! I found you!"

Midoriya nods desperately, trying to signal for Dark Shadow to be silent, but he hasn't quite got the words or the will to meow when that's what everyone is listening out for. Dark Shadow looks around, and that's all the notice Midoriya needs to know he's about to be given up. Dark Shadow swirls around him, then heads back to Tokoyami to relay the news, and Midoriya makes the sprint to the building.

Beside him, Yagi is being careful to avoid the detonation button for that particular building. He sets off another one near another group, but it doesn't make much difference in getting their attention. Dark Shadow gives them the news, and Shinsou shares it with everyone over their earpieces, and the game moves into the next phase.

Shouji catches sight of his tail slipping into the building, and they all hurry forward. Across their screens, all the other groups are moving quickly, everyone converging on one area together. They all wait until everyone's arrived before devising a plan.

Satou, Kouda, Kaminari, Shinsou, and Aoyama all make a formation around the building and cover the exits, making sure Midoriya doesn't slip out unnoticed.

Yaoyorozu makes a couple of flashlights and passes them out — while there's enough natural light slipping in for most of their path, Midoriya has been moving through the shadows, and they all seem to anticipate that.

"This building's unstable," Todoroki notes as they all head inside, brushing a hand against the wall with a frown.

"Everyone be careful with your Quirks," Iida orders, though they're all moving swiftly and carefully through the hallway already.

"He's moving up," Jirou relays, looking up at the ceiling with a furrow between her eyebrows as she focuses. "Not to the top floor yet, but he's close."

Sero and Ashido stay down on the ground floor, while the rest of them move upwards. Dark Shadow peeks through the walls as they move up the stairwell, double-checking the floors.

"He's stopped moving," Jirou says. "Top floor now."

"Well, not like he can float down," Kirishima mutters, but there's a frown on his face like he's not so sure he believes it. Uraraka waves her hand at him, and he huffs with laughter. "Well, yeah, but I mean on his own. Just an ordinary cat, right? Still, this feels kinda scary."

"You think him being a cat is scary, like, on the level with his whole on-the-run era?" Jirou asks, raising her eyebrows.

"I mean, kinda!" Kirishima defends, putting his hands up. "It's still Midoriya, after all!"

"He's right," Tokoyami agrees. "Don't let down your guard."

"Half-n-half, freeze the ceiling of this floor," Bakugou orders once they hit the landing of the second-highest floor.

Todoroki does as instructed, and the temperature of the building starts to drop slowly. Shouta changes his focus for a moment to Midoriya’s camera, showing that he’s sitting up high with his ears twitching as he hears them coming, but he doesn't move.

Shouta starts to realise something then, and he leans forward, studying Midoriya's body language.

"Ah," he says, leaning back with a blink, taken by surprise at the turn of events.

"Aizawa?" Yagi asks, looking over at him.

Shouta runs a hand down his face. "Midoriya probably had plans to get down from there on his own."

But Midoriya is frozen now, curled up on the high beam of the rafter, and tension is thrumming through his body. Midoriya's fighting a losing battle with his cat instincts — once he climbed high, on a thin ledge with only one way to get down, the cat part of him truly kicked in.

"Well, at least he's in character," Yagi says with bemusement. They both trust that the class will be fine handling it, but it'll just be a matter of them understanding the situation.

The group bursts in once they reach the top floor, fanning out across the room.

"Kitty kitty," Bakugou whistles as a taunt, looking around the room with his palms splayed.

Midoriya remains quiet, but they all seem to look up at once like they can sense him. He meows at them when they look, but the sound is sharp.

"Oh," Uraraka says. "Hey, Midoriya."

"His heart is going really fast," Jirou mentions suddenly, voice wary.

They all quietly study Midoriya for a moment.

"You're stuck up there, aren't you?" Bakugou realises, halfway between laughter and bafflement.

Midoriya's tail swishes, but the movement is agitated. His eyes are thin slits as he stares at them.

"I can coax him down," Todoroki muses, right hand coming up as ice starts to swirl around his fingers.

"Let's not scare him," Kirishima says. "I'm sure we can get him down without needing to force it."

"Yeah, I'll get him," Uraraka says, making herself float up to his level. She outstretches her hand with a smile. "Come on, Midoriya. Come here."

He hisses at her. She falters, lips pressing together for a moment before she softens her voice and tries again.

"It's hard up this high, huh?" She asks gently. "Come on, I'll get you down."

She reaches for him, but he swipes. His claws are out, and he realises it a moment too late. He backs up further, eyes wide now like he's guilty, but he refuses to get close to Uraraka.

"Oh dear," Yagi says beside him.

Oh dear is probably a good way to summarise it, Shouta thinks. It's not drastic, but it's definitely a hiccup that none of them actually considered happening.

She turns to look down and she hums in consideration as she plots, then points at Todoroki.

"You should try and come up," she says. "With your heat, I mean. He might go for that."

"Yeah, okay," Todoroki says easily, using a small amount of ice to come up to their level. Midoriya continues to back up, balancing precariously on the thin ledge. A couple of them move under him, ready to catch him in case he slips, but it only makes Midoriya more agitated as he's surrounded.

Todoroki creates a small flame in his palm, showing Midoriya the fire, and then extinguishes it. He beckons with his fingers for Midoriya to come closer.

"You're alright, Midoriya," he coaxes, his voice taking on a gentle tone he only slips on the rare occasion. "It's safe to come down."

Midoriya doesn't move towards him. Todoroki tilts his head, thinking, and then goes to reach out for the beam. Midoriya hisses again at that, and Todoroki regards him carefully, but only slows his movements as he situates himself on the beam.

"Careful," Asui warns, all of them listening out for the sound of the beam creaking. It remains steady though, and Todoroki hunches over as he sits on the end of it, his left side towards Midoriya.

The room is getting colder, with the ice underneath the flooring and Todoroki's ice structure now in the room. Midoriya's body shivers once before he tenses up.

"Bakugou," Iida says, turning to him, deciding who might be best to coax or catch him if it's needed. "Get near the other end."

"Here," Uraraka offers her hand out to Bakugou, who high-fives her and lets himself float up. Bakugou can keep himself up in the air with his explosions, but they all seem to note to keep the noise of everything down to a minimum in the small room. Midoriya's twitchy enough, they don't need it getting any worse.

Midoriya hisses at Bakugou as he comes up to the ceiling level, and he rolls his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, I got it," Bakugou says, putting his hands up.

Midoriya's lips pull up again. His tail is straight up in the air with aggravation, looking between Todoroki, Uraraka, and Bakugou warily.

"Let's try and do this quickly," Jirou says, mouth still pulled down as she notes Midoriya's heart rate.

"Might be better to just grab him now," Kirishima says, regarding the scene up above him with worry. "The sooner he's down, the sooner he'll relax."

Todoroki scoots a little closer. Bakugou uses the ceiling to move along too, both of them starting to shorten the distance Midoriya has on the beam. He's starting to regard the floor, but it's too far to jump even for him. One of the others will catch him, but it's going to be better to get him before he leaps.

"Midoriya," Todoroki says calmly. "You're alright. I promise."

Midoriya stares at him, barely blinking. Bakugou moves again, and Midoriya whips around and hisses again.

"Christ," Bakugou mutters. "And the class thinks you're cute? You're a feral goddamn thing is what you are."

"Bakugou," Kirishima despairs. "Bro, come on, he's hardly feral!"

"He's as flighty as when we dragged him back to U.A.," Bakugou grumbles at him.

"At least he smells better," Uraraka mutters. Bakugou snorts.

"How's it going up there?" Ashido's voice asks over their channel.

"He's, uh, stuck," Kirishima relays. "Typical cat things."

There's commotion over the channel until Iida cuts through it all. "Please do not come up here, he is already overwhelmed. We will have him down as soon as possible."

"Hey, Creati," Bakugou says, looking down at her for a moment. "Can you make a cat toy?"

She looks at him in surprise. "Um, sure. What kind?"

"Long, dangly, something for him to swipe at," Bakugou replies. "If he's going to act like a cat, then he's getting treated like a damn cat."

Yaoyorozu makes one quickly and throws it up to him. It's a long pole toy, with a feather dangling on the end of the string. Midoriya's eyes zero in on it immediately, head moving with the same motions Bakugou swipes it back and forth with.

"Come on," Bakugou says lowly, starting to move closer, but the action sets Midoriya off. He backtracks, eyes refusing to move from Bakugou's figure until he's almost within Todoroki's reach.

"Midoriya," Todoroki calls gently, reminding him he's behind before Midoriya gets startled.

Midoriya freezes, head whipping back and forth.

"You're alright," Uraraka says calmly with a smile. "Midoriya, you're alright."

He stares at her, and then the irises of his eyes slowly start to expand. He meows, rather than hisses, and her smile gets wider. He shifts his weight on the beam, and they all seem to sense he's about to leap. She opens up her arms, but he hesitates. She quickly drops her arms, but her smile remains.

"It's a bit of a jump, isn't it? I know. How about you come over to Todoroki, hm? He's a bit warmer than I am anyway," She encourages, floating over to Todoroki's side and beckoning him over. Midoriya slowly, carefully, makes his way across the beam.

Todoroki waits until Midoriya's close enough to him before he slowly raises his hand in offering. Midoriya looks at it, judging, before he butts his chin against Todoroki's palm.

"There we go," Uraraka sighs in relief.

Todoroki gets his arm around Midoriya and into his lap before he can think twice, and the entire group relaxes. Todoroki uses his ice to make a ramp he slides down on, keeping Midoriya carefully situated in his arms, quickly using some flames to warm himself up once he's standing.

Midoriya gets restless in his arms, coming back to himself, but Todoroki runs his left hand over his head.

"You're fine, Midoriya," he reassures.

"Very cat-like!" Iida says, hands motioning with enthusiasm. "It was good to experience the reality of what animals can be like in a rescue attempt!"

Uraraka releases herself and Bakugou, though Bakugou lands down on the ground with a grin. He moves the cat toy over Midoriya's fur, who bats at it but is glaring at the same time he does so.

"See, man? Totally cute!" Kirishima laughs, elbowing Bakugou in the side, who just huffs and tosses the toy to him.

"Midoriya's secured," Jirou says over the channel as they make their way down to ground level. Todoroki keeps Midoriya in his arms until the success chime rings out over the arena, and he then sets Midoriya down on the ground.

Shinsou catches sight of the cat toy in Kirishima's hand.

"You did not use that," he says dryly, though mostly out of disbelief.

"It didn't do Bakugou any favours," Kirishima reveals with a grin.

Everyone turns to Bakugou, who just huffs and turns on his heels. Midoriya looks around before he follows after him, and Bakugou stops and looks down. "What? What do you want?"

Midoriya looks up at him, and Shouta knows his eyes are wide and pleading.

"Oh, for fu-" Bakugou cuts himself off with a huff and then turns, pulling off his gauntlets and gloves and throwing them to Ashido to catch. "Fine. Whatever. Come on, then."

Midoriya leaps up into Bakugou's hold, nudging at his hands until he settles one over Midoriya's head, the lingering warmth enough to make him settle easily. Yagi and Shouta meet up with the class with them like that, and there's enough time for some feedback, as well as an extra exercise in the arena — not with Midoriya this time, though, as he's currently asleep in Yagi's arms.

It seems like Midoriya is still half asleep as class ends, so Shouta decides to just let him perch on his shoulder as they head back to the dormitory. He perks up a little as Shouta ends up on a call with Sekijirou, who asks to use Midoriya for his own class tomorrow, and Midoriya nods in agreement as he hears it over the speaker.

"Give 'em hell," Shouta tells him with a grin when he hangs up the call, and Midoriya does the best smile that he can in return.

When they get back to the dormitory, Midoriya curls up on the windowsill immediately and falls asleep, not even able to stay awake through Shouta's recap of the heroics class to Eri.

"He got stuck?" She whispers with worry.

"It's a cat thing," Shouta replies with a shrug. "He was alright, just couldn't fight instincts."

She looks over at Midoriya with concern, but he's sleeping peacefully, so she seems to let it go for now.

"Will he be okay doing it tomorrow?" She asks. "What if he gets stuck again?"

"He agreed to it," Shouta explains. "And besides, he'll enjoy thinking of ways to hide from that class. Different Quirks for him to work with, and none that quite have anything like Jirou's Quirk to listen for him. He'll have plenty of fun, I'm sure."

"Okay," she says, coming around to the idea without worry. "Oh, can I watch?"

Her classes end earlier on a Saturday — she's come along to watch some classes before when Shouta needs her to for convenience's sake, but this is the first time she's asked outright. She's more fond of 3-A than 3-B anyway, even when Monoma has become a usual visitor at the apartment.

"I won't be there for the class," he tells her.

"But you finish your classes earlier too, right?" She questions. "And you'll need to get him anyway after the class is over, right?"

He sighs. It's a losing battle and he knows it. "Fine, we can observe."

She cheers, keeping it down so that she doesn't disturb Midoriya. Midoriya only wakes up when Eri gently shakes him awake for dinner, and thankfully his energy levels seem to be back to normal. From there, it's the usual routine they have at night, with Midoriya ending up on the sleeping bag once more.

Though this time when Shouta wakes, something has him on edge. Sushi's sitting up with him, eyes alert, looking in the corner of the room. Midoriya's twitching in his sleep again, but he's not awake just yet.

The air in the room thickens. It feels like the moment before lightning strikes.

"Shit," he curses, leaning forward and using Erasure on Midoriya a split-second after green lightning appears on his fur. "Shit, Midoriya. Hey, wake up, come on, come on kid."

He moves quickly out of bed, though Midoriya isn't disturbed by the movement. He's still twitching in his sleep, and Shouta's eyes are irritated from waking up mid-sleep and he's not going to be able to hold onto Erasure for long. He scrambles to get to the corner of the room, and it's only once his fingers touch Midoriya's fur that he finally jolts awake.

Shouta holds onto Erasure until he finally sees recognition in Midoriya's eyes. Then, he finally lets himself sag, dropping to the ground with one leg tucked under him with an 'oof'.

"This happening frequently, kid?" He asks. Midoriya's night terrors have been happening every night, it's a wonder that he's staying awake in class if he's dealing with this when he's in his usual form.

Midoriya's ear twitches. He doesn't move otherwise.

"It's fine if it is," Shouta tries to reassure, but he sighs. He runs a hand down his face, feeling so tired suddenly. "Happens to the best of us. And you are, probably, the very best of all of us."

Midoriya lets out a small noise at that that makes Shouta's god-forsaken heart clench. He tilts his head back and looks up at the ceiling.

Sushi jumps down from the bed, and both Shouta and Midoriya turn to look at her. She flicks a look to Shouta, but she's focused on Midoriya, and she heads straight for him. Midoriya's eyes go wide, and he leans back, trying to stay out of her space. But she gets right up close to him, then noses at his side. Then his front paws, when he doesn't move.

Midoriya gives Shouta a confused look, but Shouta shrugs.

"You have a better chance of understanding her," he simply tells Midoriya, who looks at Sushi with complete confusion. Sushi's on a mission though, disregarding the looks she's being given, and nudges at Midoriya until he moves off the sleeping bag. He seems to think that'll be it, but he's surprised when Sushi nudges at him again, clearly guiding him in a direction.

"You should listen to her," Shouta says, amused. "Just get on the bed."

Midoriya is still confused, but he does as he's being instructed. He leaps up, and Sushi guides him until he's on the end of the bed, right where the sun hits in the morning. Shouta watches until Midoriya eventually curls up, and he makes his way slowly back up to the bed himself.

Lifting his head to look back at him, Midoriya seems a little restless on the end of the bed, but Shouta leans forward and strokes a hand through his fur.

"Like the class said, kid, you're alright," he says. "Just try and sleep."

He's too tired to try and decipher the expression that takes over Midoriya's face, but he thinks it's for the best. His heart can only squeeze so many times in his chest a day, he thinks, before something gives out.

Midoriya lowers his head, and he falls asleep, right there on the end of Shouta's bed.

The next day goes without anything too strange happening, thankfully. He hears through the grapevine that Midoriya stays on Todoroki's lap through most of his classes, then spends lunch with Eri and Yagi and the rest of the teachers in the lounge. He stays close to Eri when the bell rings, and Yagi, Sekijirou, and Shouta all make their way out with her to get to 3-B's heroics class.

Sekijirou takes Midoriya, talking lowly with him, into Ground Beta. It's a different layout now, but there are still plenty of destroyed buildings to facilitate the 'emergency zone' atmosphere they're striving for. Shouta stands with Eri and Yagi at the screens, watching them head in, and Midoriya regarding the environment around him to see where his advantages are.

Sekijirou comes back alone, class 3-B falling into one big group, and he reveals the exercise to them. They, too, work together, even when Sekijirou promises solo-victory if they want it. They use a similar strategy of combing through the debris in smaller groups — this time, there are added robots acting as civilians, combining Shouta's second exercise with the first he used yesterday. Some of them get caught up in helping the robots, only leaving a designated few to find Midoriya as he weaves through the city.

This time, when it comes to the rescue part, Midoriya remains in control. But he is no less difficult. He swipes, hisses, and bats away at arms as they reach out for him. When Monoma has him at one point, held high above his head in victory, Midoriya manages to shake his way out and scamper away.

"As wiley as ever," Sekijirou mutters, shaking his head.

In the end, class 3-B takes almost double the amount of time to secure Midoriya. He's more worn out by the end of it, breathing hard and his legs shaking as the objective is considered a success. Kendo sweeps him up in her hand, and plenty of hands stroke through his fur comfortingly and thank him for doing a good job.

Kendo passes him over to Eri, who holds him close to her chest and proudly declares that Midoriya is the best cat. The class all agree quickly, without any arguments — even Monoma keeps quiet with any opposing opinions, glancing at Shouta like he's scared of a scolding.

"Yes yes," Sekijirou says, but even he's reluctant to try and oppose Eri. He turns to his class, arms wide in encouragement with his booming voice. "He is also, most likely, the most difficult pet you will ever encounter in a mission. So you all did well!"

"I don't think he's ever met a cat in his life," Shouta whispers to Yagi, who almost chokes on his snort of laughter.

Midoriya rumbles with content, but he's pretty out of it now, so Shouta decides to head back with Eri to the dormitories. Yagi is quick to catch up when he realises they're leaving though, flagging Eri down, and he crouches down to get to eye-level with Midoriya.

"You've done well my boy. I'll see you Monday," Yagi says, pride too easily discoverable in his voice, but Shouta decides to just look away and keep it quiet.

Midoriya livens up a little, head falling into Yagi's palm as he scratches near his ear, then lets out the most pitiful sounding meow that Shouta has heard yet when Yagi turns to leave.

Yagi laughs, though, petting him for a moment longer. "You'll be just fine. Rest as much as you want tomorrow."

Sunday, with no classes, and then Monday — the last day of it, hopefully.

They head back, Eri having to shift Midoriya over to Shouta's arms when she struggles to keep a grip on him the further they walk. Midoriya is pretty boneless through the exchange, his exhaustion wiping him out, and Shouta puts him down near the windowsill when they're back in the apartment.

At night, Midoriya goes to make for the sleeping bag in the corner of the room again, but Shouta picks it up before he can. Sushi's right behind him, nudging Midoriya up onto the bed again.

It feels like a rare thing, winning against Midoriya, but he seems to know when to pick his battles. He goes without argument, though is still tentative to curl himself up and properly make himself comfortable. Sushi gets tired of it, pawing at him until he moves, and she curls around him, resting her head on the back of his nape.

Midoriya freezes then, but he eventually relaxes, letting Sushi's weight press him down into the bed. His eyes drift shut, and he falls asleep.

This time, when Shouta wakes during the night, he immediately sits up and looks at Midoriya.

But Midoriya is sitting up too, looking right back at him, head tilting and ear flickering.

It's not Midoriya.

Then...

It's been a while since Eri has had a nightmare, but they've yet to disappear. Shouta's not so sure they ever will. He goes to lift his blanket and get up, but Midoriya noses at Sushi to keep her lying down, then sits right in Shouta's lap and noses forcefully at his chest.

Shouta puts a hand on his back, mostly out of confusion. "Midoriya? It's alright. Just gonna get up a second."

Midoriya pushes more forcefully. Shouta resists, just because Midoriya really doesn't have a fraction of the strength he usually does.

"It's Eri," Shouta says. "I'll just check on her."

Midoriya adds his paw in his attempt to try and push Shouta down. He glances back at the door, then at Shouta, eyes wide and begging Shouta to understand him.

Shouta looks at the door, then back at Midoriya.

"Are you going to check on her?" He asks.

Midoriya nods solemnly.

Shouta thinks for a moment, then hums. "If you can't wake her, or if something's wrong, you come get me. Got that?"

Midoriya nods again, just as seriously. Shouta sighs and gestures to the door, not quite willing to lie back down, but no longer attempting to get out of the bed. Midoriya doesn't waste a second once he's got permission, and he leaps down and darts straight out the door.

He hears Eri's low voice for a few seconds, and his heart twists, but her voice remains low and sleepy. Sometimes she screams, but this — thankfully — isn't one of those kind of nights. Shouta waits a couple of minutes. Then ten. Twenty. At thirty, he stands up silently and walks down the hallway, barely daring to breathe in case he disturbs anyone. The door has been pushed open more, and he can peer inside without needing to touch it. She's got the lamp beside her bed on, softly illuminating the room in a warm glow.

On the bed, Eri's figure remains still, other than her deep and even breaths. She's on her back, which is a little strange, but Shouta quickly realises why. Midoriya's lying close to her head, his head tucked on her shoulder, rising and falling with every breath she takes.

Midoriya squints an eye open at him, but he looks comfortable and like he's not going to move, so Shouta just gives him a nod and steps away from the room. It's too early for him to stay awake, and he surprisingly feels more settled than he usually does after waking up from Eri, so he decides sleep might not be so elusive for him, either.

He gets into bed, and Sushi curls up next to his side, her breaths creating an easy tempo for him to focus on.

It usually doesn't happen, not on these kinds of nights, but Shouta falls right back asleep, knowing Eri is just fine.

Sunday is peaceful.

Eri and Midoriya come out of Eri's bedroom together, sleep ruffled and shuffling forward together. Midoriya's tail is either winding around Eri's leg to keep her balanced or to keep himself from walking into the wall. Maybe both.

"Pancakes?" He offers, because he's been pretty bad about making breakfast this week admittedly.

Eri wakes up a little more at that, which livens up Midoriya in turn. He can't eat them, but he enjoys his breakfast nonetheless.

"Do you want to go anywhere today?" He asks her over the table.

She looks at Midoriya in consideration, then shakes her head. "Being here is okay."

When she's reclusive, he usually worries, especially after a night like last night. But Shouta can understand this answer, so he nods. A couple of students stay on the campus over the weekends anyway, and he has a feeling Todoroki and Shinsou are likely two of them this time around.

"Okay," he agrees easily. "Maybe we'll take a walk later, though?"

She smiles. "Yes! Midoriya, do you want to?"

He nods as well, jumping up on a chair at the table, though he's too small to look over the table to actually see them.

So the rest of the day passes with something that is pretty much laziness. They walk around the campus together, Midoriya enjoying the time to get to explore everything without everyone else milling around. Shouta sends a text to Shinsou, and a few minutes later, just as he expects it to happen, Todoroki and Shinsou come wandering out and meet them. Todoroki passes Eri over a treat, telling her it's from Midoriya, as he hasn't been able to do it this week.

"It's okay," she reassures with a big grin. "He's been doing plenty this week to cheer me up!"

The sun's still out high enough that Midoriya doesn't head straight for Todoroki's left side, but as the sun begins to dip when they all take a break and sit around on some grass, Midoriya curls up next to Todoroki's warmth and dozes.

"Just one more day, right?" Todoroki asks, scratching through his fur.

"Yep," Shouta replies, leaning against a tree and close to falling asleep himself. He should've just worn his sleeping bag. "Sometime after school, or close to it."

They all lie there a little while longer until it gets close enough to dinner that a couple of their stomachs rumble. Midoriya's does, too, though he seems content to ignore it in favour of napping. Shinsou prods at him until he relents and moves, though he's glaring grumpily, which makes Shinsou laugh.

"I don't know if you're scarier or cuter as a cat," Shinsou tells him. Midoriya huffs at him, but Shouta can tell he's trying to fight his own amusement too.

They all part ways, because while Shouta thinks about offering for them to come over for dinner, Shinsou reassures that he's already got a meal prepared for himself and Todoroki. Eri and Midoriya curl up together on the couch, watching some show that Shouta is not following along with as he cooks dinner.

When it comes time to sleep, Midoriya stays in Eri's room and pads out much later than usual. Shouta had almost headed to bed without him, and he raises an eyebrow as he looks at Midoriya.

Midoriya seems sheepish, and somewhat guilty, so Shouta sighs and crouches down, reaching out a hand. Midoriya comes over to him, letting himself be pet.

"Nightmare kind of night again, hm?" He asks softly.

Midoriya just tilts his head a little further under Shouta's touch, not willing to try and reply. Shouta lets them both sit there a moment longer before he beckons Midoriya to follow him inside his room. Thankfully, Midoriya settles quietly on the end of the bed without complaint, and Sushi once again moves to be closer to him too.

Just as he's about to fall asleep, Shouta considers maybe it is time to get another cat. A proper one, this time, to keep Sushi company.

At lunch, Yagi gets a call from Midoriya's mother. Shouta accidentally gets a glimpse of the caller ID, as Yagi's left his phone sitting on the table in front of him.

"Excuse me," Yagi says, stepping out of the lounge so he can talk. Midoriya's head has perked up from where he's on Eri's lap, but his ears are twitching in a way that means he's probably not getting nearly as much of the conversation as he wants to.

When he walks back in, he's tapping his phone to his chin in thought.

"What is it?" Shouta asks, knowing something has got Yagi's thoughts in knots.

"We agreed that she would pick up Midoriya this afternoon," Yagi says, giving Midoriya an apologetic look. "But she's been asked to do a shift. And she says she'd rather keep him under surveillance if he's changing back."

Shouta looks at him. Yagi looks back.

"Fine," Shouta sighs, head tilting back, knowing it's just going to be a repeat of the day this first happened if they go back and forth. He's significantly more underprepared for a teenage boy than a cat, but he knows he will make do for the night if he must. He looks at Midoriya. "You good with that, kid?"

Midoriya nods. Eri continues to pet him calmly, bending down to whisper softly into his ears.

Shouta looks over at the bag he's got in the corner, which has Midoriya's personal effects in there that Takami handed over. They've been able to get a more accurate time on the Quirk first happening, so Midoriya would change back once they're back in the apartment, but Shouta's decided to have them stay back on campus and let Midoriya shift here instead. It'll be easier on the grounds in case — god forbid — anything goes wrong. But it's almost been an easy week, a few hiccups aside, so Shouta's not convinced they're out of the woods just yet.

And, also, it'll give Yagi the chance to see him. But Shouta's not telling him that explicitly, even if he smiles at Shouta like he knows.

The rest of the day seems to go by slowly, the tension in the classrooms thickening with every passing minute. Shouta dismisses his last class, collects Eri and then heads over to Yagi's classroom where they've agreed to meet — where he sees Midoriya pacing up and down on the desk, tail high in the air.

"He's a little, ah," Yagi explains, then laughs as he gestures at Midoriya's obvious habits.

"Mhm," Shouta hums, glancing at the time. A little over half an hour to go. They have enough time to head to Recovery Girl's office, so that's where they go. Shuzenji has been checking up on him when he's with Yagi, and it's clearly a familiar motion when she reaches out her hand for him.

She guides him into one of her private rooms, where they all follow. He's getting more anxious, circling and pacing relentlessly until Shouta is almost dizzy from it. Eri walks over to him, managing to soothe him into stillness, and he butts up against her hands whenever she pauses from stroking his fur. But as the final few minutes draw closer, not even Eri is enough to settle Midoriya now.

"You'll be fine, my boy," Yagi tells him comfortingly. "You are a very cute cat, but I have missed talking to you."

Midoriya meows at him in something that sounds a lot like agreement. Yagi takes Eri out of the room after she thanks him for everything he's done this week for her. He watches them go with wide, sad eyes, and Shouta throws the bag over in his direction just to try and get that expression off his face.

Shuzenji sighs but lets it go, gesturing for Shouta to remain where he is. One for All is rather reactive, and she's being cautious in case it doesn't respond happily to his transformation.

"I am going to turn around," he says, pointedly doing so, leaving Midoriya to sit on the chair of his own volition. "If you need help, or anything hurts, then you tell us. Meow, yell, whatever."

Midoriya makes a noise of assent. He hears Midoriya's paws hit the padding of the chair, then circles on it for a few seconds before he comes to a stop. He resists the urge to glance backwards, trusting that Midoriya will let him know if he's needed.

It's almost gorey, hearing the sounds of Midoriya's body changing. But Midoriya doesn't make a noise from his mouth, and neither does Shuzenji, not until everything falls quiet. Shouta is almost itching with the feeling inside of him, waiting and waiting, wanting to make sure Midoriya is okay. But he waits, his back turned, because he said he would.

"Oh," Midoriya says, the first sound out of his mouth that sounds human in a week. When Shouta goes to look, he squeaks, sounding a little similar to a cat again. "Wait! Wait, not decent!"

Shouta snorts and turns back around.

"How do you feel?" Shuzenji asks.

"Um," Midoriya says, unsure. Shouta hears him rustling through the bag, pulling on his clothes. Shuzenji's probably turned around too, and is relying on Midoriya's word just like Shouta is. "A little weird, honestly. Not used to feeling so big."

Shuzenji hums sympathetically.

"Yeah," Shouta huffs. "A bit of a different view down there, I imagine."

"Oh, yeah, for sure. You're good to turn around now," Midoriya tells him. Shouta and Shuzenji do, catching sight of Midoriya stretching out his arms in front of him, staring at his fingers and wriggling them. "Yeah. This is weird."

"It'll take a while for it to wear off. I believe Hawks mentioned a day or two," Shouta says. "But no pain?"

"No pain," Midoriya confirms. He then flickers up One for All, because of course he bloody does. Shouta sighs and tilts his head back, but lets him do it when Shuzenji doesn't do anything more than sigh as well.

"Do not go pushing at limits," Shuzenji lightly scolds him, poking at his skin. "When will you learn to rest, my dear?"

"I rested a lot yesterday," Midoriya replies with a grin.

Shuzenji sighs again. Shouta understands the feeling.

"Oh, about classes-" Midoriya starts, his mind somehow going straight into worrying about his grades apparently, so Shouta holds up a hand to stop him.

"We'll go over the plan for your schoolwork tomorrow. You won't take any catch-ups while you shake this off either," Shouta tells him.

"I can do it," Midoriya says, and Shouta's definitely sure he hasn't shaken it off at all. The eyes are too similar to a pleading kitten.

"Sure, but you don't have to," Shouta replies. "And you're not going to, either. Don't argue."

"Alright," Midoriya says. Then, "Thank you, sensei."

"Mhm. I'm going to let the other two back in."

Yagi and Eri almost tumble over each other when Shouta opens the door. Both of them beam, bright and wide, when they see Midoriya standing in his human form. They crash into him with a hug, and Midoriya laughs wetly as he hugs them back.

"I wasn't gone," he mutters to them, stroking the back of Eri's hair. "I was right here."

"It's nice to hear your voice again, my boy," Yagi replies with, and Midoriya doesn't quite have a counter to try and reassure them with when it comes to that. He just ducks his head down and lets the hug get a little tighter.

Eri continues to hold his hand even as they all pull away. Midoriya gives Yagi an enthusiastic wave with his free hand as they say their goodbyes for the evening, reassuring Yagi that he feels just fine.

Yagi ruffles his hair fondly, and the bounce in his step is ridiculously noticeable as he walks away, talking in low tones with Shuzenji as he goes. Shouta's given up on reprimanding him for having favourites long ago.

"Alright," he turns back to Midoriya and Eri after watching Yagi leave. He regards Midoriya for a moment. "Anything in particular you missed eating, then?"

"So much," Midoriya laments, shoulders hunching forward dramatically, which makes Eri laugh — likely his goal from the start. He grins back at her. "Is there anything you feel like?"

"Whatever you want! Things must have tasted strange as a cat, right?" Eri asks, rocking up and down on her heels.

Midoriya sticks out his tongue and drags it back through his teeth like he's trying to scrape off something. "It was so strange," he emphasises, shaking his head. "Cool, but different for sure. It was like-"

"Midoriya," Shouta cuts in, tone a little more gentle than he usually uses, to try and get him to focus. He's sure that Midoriya will go on forever about all of the different senses, but he can tell Midoriya is starting to flag where he stands. Shouta can imagine shifting species is a tiring experience. "Any preferences tonight?"

"Anything is fine," Midoriya replies, shaking his head. "I don't even know what I want to have first. I mean, mum's katsudon, but that's not— anyway. I promise, I'm not craving anything in particular."

"Alright," Shouta says, just as Shuzenji walks back into the room. She does a couple of check-ups, but Midoriya is declared a clean bill of health for once, which means Shouta's most pressing matter is figuring out dinner.

And walking, as it turns out, when Midoriya goes to take a step and his knee wobbles.

Eri makes a noise of surprise and does her best to act as a crutch to keep him upright. He doesn't crumble, not letting Eri hold too much of his weight, but it takes him a moment to get his legs under him properly again.

"Ah," he says, bending his knees like he's getting a feel for them. "Okay."

"Take it slow," Shuzenji says, cane tapping on the ground. "You're still getting used to standing on two legs again."

"Yeah," Midoriya laughs sheepishly. He bends until he shakes out his knees, then nods with determination. "I'm good, I'm good. I can walk."

He takes a step, and it's much steadier than the last. It takes him a couple more steps to actually get back into a normal rhythm, but he remembers it quickly, and Eri settles back into just holding his hand as they walk.

With that problem fixed for now, Shouta focuses back on thinking about dinner.

There's a restaurant close to U.A., which is a little higher in price than he usually goes with — which, typically, isn't very high to begin with — but it's definitely on the upper scale. He usually only gets it on the rare occasion, but he decides he may as well splurge a little tonight. Besides, getting takeaway is a whole lot easier than cooking, he reasons with himself. He's gotten better now that Eri's in his care, but he decides Midoriya's first human meal in a whole week probably deserves something a little more substantial.

So it's just logical. Really.

He orders as they walk, keeping half an eye on Midoriya. He looks a little disorientated as they step outside, nose wrinkling like it used to when he was a cat, but his expression settles quickly as he gets used to his senses again.

Now that they're out and walking, Eri prods at Midoriya with questions.

"What was it like, having a tail?" Eri asks.

"Oh, it was kind of just... there? I got used to it, it felt like it should be there," Midoriya replies.

"Like my horn?" Eri asks, hand coming up to touch her small bump.

"I guess so," Midoriya agrees. "It was just part of me."

"What about your claws? Were those weird?"

Midoriya hums as he thinks, taking the question as seriously as he can. "Actually, it kind of felt like Black Whip, in a way! When I first had it, I was scared to use it in case I hurt someone. It could be sharp and dangerous, and that's pretty much how it felt having actual claws. They were really handy to have though, once I could control them, and it made climbing so much easier."

"You could climb really fast," Eri says solemnly, nodding her head. "Was there anything really strange?"

"All my senses were different," Midoriya says, then goes into a little ramble about all of them that Shouta only half-catches as he grapples with the online delivery app. "—I mean, what was really strange was whenever I got the urge to knock things off desks. I did it to Kacchan's pencil once, and he wouldn't let me near him for the rest of the day."

Shouta huffs in laughter at the story, though Eri's sympathetic and slightly wistfully dramatic sigh covers it.

"It was fine!" Midoriya quickly reassures with a laugh, trying to save Bakugou from the lecture he'll be getting over this later. "Todoroki was plenty to keep me warm."

Shouta glances over and catches Midoriya turning his head away. His ears are burning red though, even through his hair, giving him away. Shouta huffs and looks away, reminding himself it is best he doesn't get too involved with whatever his students are up to sometimes. He's sure they'll figure it out. Eventually.

Midoriya's steady on his feet, but he hesitates when they're in front of the apartment door.

"Izuku?" Eri asks quietly.

"Ah," Midoriya says, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just a little different being here not as a cat, you know?"

"Mhm. You can have the bed," Shouta says, keying the code into the door and opening it up. Midoriya splutters behind him, almost tripping on his feet as he moves again. Shouta's not got any spare futons — he should know better, but he hasn't had a student crash with him in a couple of years, and when he moved apartments last year, he didn't bring one with him. He's got plenty of sleeping bags, but he'd rather his students take the comfier option.

"Sensei, no, no, really, the couch is totally fine! I don't want to put you out," Midoriya says frantically.

"I sleep in a sleeping bag half the time," Shouta reminds him.

Midoriya remains adamant, though, not letting Shouta's statement falter him. "I'll take the couch, sensei."

Shouta only agrees because he can tell that Midoriya will, most definitely, fight until his dying breath about this. He'll be more comfortable in the apartment on the couch tonight, so Shouta relents. "If you're sure."

Midoriya nods enthusiastically, promising that he is. Shouta gets a spare blanket he keeps, a sleeping bag, a pillow off his bed, and sets them up on the side of the couch for now. Sushi comes padding out with him after dozing on his bed, and she stops in consideration as she looks at Midoriya.

Midoriya crouches down silently, holding out his hand, and Sushi regards him for a few moments more before she heads towards him. She lets him pet him, an unusual standard for a first meeting with her, but perhaps she knows this isn't the first time with Midoriya.

"Thanks for taking care of me," Midoriya mutters to her, scratching right behind her ear. She meows in response, and he smiles.

The food doesn't take long to arrive, and Shouta leaves them in the apartment as he heads downstairs to collect it from one of the robots that have wheeled it in from the gates. When he brings it back up, Midoriya's eyes are locked straight on the bag, unable to tear his attention away from it.

Shouta stifles his amused smile and gets the food sorted as quickly as he can, because it seems like Midoriya's just been made very aware of his appetite again in his usual body. It's almost strange, having him sit at the table with them, but it feels familiar, too.

"Thank you for the food," Midoriya says, as sincerely as possible, and Shouta just gestures to the food to signal for him to go ahead.

And then Midoriya goes to dip his head straight down, but he freezes right before the bowl. Eri and Shouta pretend like they never see it, and Midoriya sheepishly picks up his chopsticks and eats.

Shouta expects the food to make Midoriya more lethargic, but it seems to give him a wave of restless energy. He's pacing, making circles around the couch with his fingers twitching by his sides, as Shouta finalises the plan to get Midoriya caught up on classwork. Eri watches him as well, tapping her pencil on her chin in thought before she heads to her room. She returns a moment later with a notebook and another pencil, then passes them over, asking if Midoriya might be able to draw something.

It gives him something to focus on, a release for all the energy he's suddenly got twitching through him, and it's enough to get him to sit down and stay fairly still. His fingers grip the pencil awkwardly to start with, relearning how to place his fingers when he's gotten used to paws, and his first few lines are rough and loose. He flexes his fingers and tries again, and it starts to come easier to him as he sketches out a drawing of Sushi.

Eri leans against him, watching with wondrous eyes and a smile on her lips, and Shouta may or may not have a few more photos in his camera roll as the hour goes by. Midoriya's so focused that he's taken by surprise when he yawns. It's dark out now, close to Eri's usual bedtime, and Midoriya knows that too. He passes the notebook back, gifting the drawing to her in return that she promises to head to sleep.

"I will too," Midoriya reassures.

"Will you be okay out here?" Eri asks.

Midoriya smiles at her, bright and beaming. "More than, I promise." She's dubious about leaving him, but Midoriya yawns and stretches up his arms, then laughs sheepishly like he hadn't done it on purpose to convince Eri. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Okay," she whispers back, then reaches out to put her hand on the top of his head. "Sleep well, Izuku."

His smile never falters. "You too."

Though Midoriya had timed his yawn to make Eri stop fretting, Shouta could tell it was a little too real. He packs up his worksheets and tablet as well, giving Midoriya the room to himself as quickly as he can. Tomorrow will undoubtedly wipe Midoriya as he gets used to himself again and then tries to catch up on classwork, so Shouta wants him to crash out as soon as possible.

"Same rules as every other night this week," Shouta tells him. "If you need anything, come get me. Alright?"

Midoriya nods, just as solemnly as he did as a cat. Shouta turns and heads to his bedroom after making sure Midoriya is good to set himself up on the couch, keeping his door open just in case. Sushi pads in after him, though she doesn't jump up on the bed like she usually does. She waits at the door as Shouta gets himself settled for the night, and still doesn't jump up even as he gets under the blanket.

He sits up, watching her, but she doesn't move. She just tilts her head, waiting for something.

"He's out there tonight," he mutters to her, but she only regards him with a flick of her ear. He decides to just leave it alone and lies down on the bed, though ends up scrolling on his phone.

He hears footsteps walking, and he knows who they are before he hears anything else.

"Eri?" Midoriya's voice mumbles. "What're you doing up?"

"Sh," she simply orders, which almost makes Shouta laugh as he imagines Midoriya's expression. Once she's set on something, she's stubborn with it, and Midoriya has no one to blame but himself. And Shouta, probably, but it's a trait she's definitely picked up more from Midoriya.

He hears shuffling, blankets being fluffed and moved, and then he hears Sushi's paws on the ground too. Midoriya and Eri's soft whispers, too low to properly discern, quietly fill the air for a few minutes until everything falls quiet.

He counts his breaths and makes sure he doesn't hear anything else for a while before he moves. He's learned how to move silently with his sleeping bag years ago, mastering the art of terrifying students, and it's a skill he's grateful to have. Silently, he makes his way out into the main room, careful not to disturb anything. The lamp has been left on, which is likely Midoriya's doing in consideration of Eri, meaning he doesn't have any problem seeing the scene in front of him.

Because there, not even on the couch but on the floor next to it, is a bundle of blankets and pillows. Underneath it all, Midoriya is curled up on his side, like he hasn't quite gotten rid of a cat's spine. Eri is lying next to him on her back, hair splayed out around her and one hand on her stomach, another in Midoriya's hair. And near Midoriya's face there is Sushi, tucked in as close as she can be to his shoulder. All their breaths are deep and even, their bodies still, with no sign of any hauntings or dreams that are closer to nightmares.

Sushi's eyes open and she looks at him, blinking lazily as they regard each other. Shouta goes to step back, happy to know they're all comfortable enough, but her ear flicks in annoyance. She looks, very purposely, at Eri and Midoriya. Then to the couch.

If there's one thing he's learned over the week, it's when to pick his battles. He decides this isn't one.

He makes a slight sound with the sleeping bag as he folds himself down on the couch, carefully trying to avoid stepping on any limbs, but it's only Sushi who takes notice of his movements. He still freezes, waiting to move again before he properly lies down, but Eri and Midoriya remain deeply asleep.

He breathes out silently in relief and lets himself lie down on the couch properly. Sushi watches him for a couple more moments, but lets her eyes slip shut when she seems satisfied that he's made his post for the night.

Shouta stays awake a little while longer, listening to all of the deep, even breathing in the room. Midoriya doesn't twitch. Eri doesn't make a sound.

He lets his eyes slip shut, and they all sleep completely through the night.