Need You (ShinDeku)

Ch. 74 - Protect

A/N: almost forgot to post this... I have nothing to say for myself. Alternative  chapter title: Crime.
Have fun reading!

Midoriya POV

I kept my gaze away from Hitoshi as I tried not to think about his lips and our faces so close together. I tried to go back to appreciating the view of campus but it was hard when all I could think of was the fact that I almost kissed Hitoshi. It might not have been his intention, but if I had been left just a few seconds longer to stare at his lips, I might have just leant in and done it.

Okay I really have to stop thinking about it or I might just spontaneously combust.

Movement at the base of a tree caught my attention and I looked over. A white cat with brown spots and green eyes stood there, looking at Hitoshi and I.

"Hitoshi, it's the cat!" I whisper yell, relieved that I had something to end the awkward silence and to keep my mind away from the maybe-almost-kiss. "It's the one I saw the other day, when we were going to class!" I'm almost too happy to have something else to focus on.

Hitoshi perks up immediately, searching with his eyes until he spots the cat. He looks over at me, and this might just be the most excitement I've ever seen on his face. It's somehow adorable, the way he bunches his hands into fists and straightens his back. The usually stoic, pessimistic, exhausted mini-Aizawa looks like a little ray of sunshine, and I wonder if he looked this way when he was younger, before the world beat him up over his quirk. The thought makes something bubble up inside of me. Protect, it says.

"Do you want to-?" He looks hopeful, but doesn't dare finish his question. He looks down at his lap before peeking over at the cat again. He's already throwing up his walls, trying to guard himself again from his moment of 'weakness'.

"We can go down and say hi. You said you have cat food right? Maybe it's hungry." I smile, wanting to see more of that excitement on his face again. I wanted to see the cat too. Something was pulling me to it.

"It's okay." He didn't dare get his hopes up again, looking longingly at the poor cat, who stared right back. "You said you're tired, right? Your legs must be sore too. We should just stay here and take it easy for tonight. Maybe we'll see it again another day."

I stood up, reaching to pull him with me. "Come on, it'll only be for a few minutes. I wanna go say hi too." He suddenly looked flustered and dazed as he let me pull him into our room so we could get our stuff. I had a sudden thought that if I didn't know any better, it would look like he'd just fallen in love, the way he was looking at me. I hold back my laughter at that. He would fall in love with someone who took him to go see a cat.

"We gotta hurry before it leaves." I tell him, and he seems to come to his senses as he pulls his hand from mine.

"Right, uh, let me grab a can of food." He crouches down and reaches under his bed for a small bin, pulling a can out. "Let's go?" He's more reserved now but some of that brightness is back, anticipation creeping onto his face.

I smile at the returning excitement. "Let's go." I affirm with a nod.

The cat sits at the base of the tree regally when we arrive, looking like it was waiting for us to come. It probably was.

"Wow, she's beautiful." Hitoshi remarks, slowly coming closer. "Hey kitty, you got a collar on you?" He directs his attention solely to the cat, talking to her softly. She looks over at him with interest, tilting her head slightly.

"You look well taken care of, don't you? Are you a stray or do you belong to someone?" The cat seemed to meow in response, standing and closing the distance between herself and Hitoshi, who was now crouched down to be closer to her level.

I watched the cute interaction between the two as she rubbed against his leg. He looked back at me with a smile as she allowed him to scratch under her chin, and the cat looked over to me as well. After a few moments of consideration, she scampered over to me, circling around my walking stick and nudging her head against my leg. I knelt down to pet her long, soft fur, my knee giving a quiet crack in protest.

"She looks like a ragdoll, except ragdolls don't usually have green eyes. Maybe she's a mix, or a quirked cat." Hitoshi kneels next to me, and she seems to love the dual attention. "So friendly too."

I hum in response, looking down at her face. There was something so calming about her as she looked back up at me. In a way it felt familiar too. I almost stumbled back when it hit me.

"They remind me of my mom." I whisper, and the cat purrs against my palm obliviously.

Hitoshi looks at me with a small smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." I sigh, looking back at him.

The cat pulls away from the two of us, taking a few steps and looking back with a meow.

Hitoshi and I look at each other in confusion. "You think she wants us to follow?" He asks, looking between myself and the cat.

I shrug my shoulders, standing back up. "Maybe."

We follow behind her as she leads us across campus, occasionally stopping so we can catch up or looking back to make sure we're still following. She brings us around the back of one of the training grounds closer to the student dorms, and waits expectantly by the bushes that line the back of the building. She meows.

"What is it?" Hitoshi asks her, crouching down by the bush. There's another meow and this time it isn't from her. I bend down next to Hitoshi, peering under the bush. A small kitten lays there, looking tired and a little bony. Hitoshi and I exchange shocked glances.

"What do we do?" I ask, a little worried. I don't know all that much about cats and I've never taken care of one before, but that one definitely looks like it needs some help.

The little thing opens it's eyes with a mighty yawn, peering curiously at us.

"Let's see if he's hungry. This kitten definitely isn't her own because they're completely different breeds but momma cat over here seems to want us to help him." He gives the ragdoll a scratch behind the ear before digging into his pocket and pulling out a can of food.

He peels back the top of the can, lowering it slowly to sit next to the kitten. The ragdoll leans over and sniffs the canned food, looking expectantly at the kitten. The kitten in turn slowly sits up, and after some hesitation, begins to eat.

Hitoshi watches on with concern and care, encouraging the little kitten to eat more when he starts to slow down after only a few bites.

"I should have brought water." He sighs, looking annoyed with himself as he threads a hand through his hair.

"We could bring him back to the dorm?" I suggest, looking over at the ragdoll.

Hitoshi looks at me in surprise, as if he hadn't expected me to suggest that. "You know I'd gladly sneak a cat in but are you aware that animals aren't allowed in the dorms without special circumstances?"

"Yeah?"

"And you kind of have two staff for parents now?"

"Yeah..."

"And you could probably get in a lot of trouble if anybody catches us?"

I nod in confirmation. As long as it's a cat, Aizawa would probably forgive me.

"Partners in crime?" I offer.

A huge smile breaks across his face. "Partners in crime." He confirms.

I've committed. I've been committed since I saw that excited look on his face. I've come to the conclusion that that is a very dangerous expression, one that I would do very bad things to see, and I can't bring myself to mind.

So we're off, sneaking cats into the 1-A dorms.

1386 words.