MHA: A Cat's Way

Ch 74 Negotiating Eri

(Nezu)

"Remember now," I say to the assembled heroes consisting of Aizawa and Nighteye, having decided that it would be best to limit who'd be present after failing to obtain the presence of the final person I wished to be here. "This meeting shall only be regarding the Cult of Nya turning Eri over to our custody. We will be discussing other events afterwards."

It's only been a day since the raid ended, but it's been rather hectic.

The spy that had infiltrated the Shie Hassaikai murdered Overhaul. Little Eri had been taken in by the Cult of Nya sometime during the raid. Arranging things for the new hires to UA's staff. Fending off the HPSC for whatever it is they wished to try and demand this time.

And young Catia has isolated herself in her room.

I sent Aizawa to retrieve her in the hopes her presence would cause the meeting to proceed smoothly, but she refused to leave. He even offered her catnip, which I authorized, as an incentive, yet she still refused. I was told of what the spy, a girl who attended the same middle school as Catia, said, and it raised some concerns. More than I already had.

I suppose I will have to proceed with employing an outside specialist to attend to her. It's a shame I cannot have Hound Dog help her.

They had crossed paths once, while walking through UA's halls. It should not have been an interaction that would take more than a few seconds to pass without incident.

Instead I had Recovery Girl request that they be given trackers so that they can avoid running into each other again. And Hound Dog discovered that there is, in fact, a product capable of regrowing hair. Or in his case, fur.

But that is a consideration for later. For now, I ignore the grumbling of the two heroes as I push a button, turning on the projection screen so that the video meeting can start. A shame it could not be done in person, but their organization did attack the school alongside the League of Villains, so it can't be helped.

On the wall appears an image of the apparent leader of the Cult, Nekomura Iroha. Records of her true name have long been erased, so only the name she used as a child idol remains. Though from what I was able to uncover it is clear that she killed her manager before going into hiding. Unfortunately, for something that occurred so long ago and was deemed minor by the authorities, there are not enough records to determine what her motive might have been.

Of course, this was not the conclusion the police came to, as they failed to consider that the child could have killed him. Especially as she had an alibi during the time he was killed. Regardless of their own beliefs about the event, the result was that the man had not been investigated too deeply. So any motives, much less proof at this point, are unable to be forced to light.

The girl is sitting at a desk, and I can see that she's wearing a red shirt and a black cat-eared headband with a bow at the front. Next to her is a woman a few years older than her with the appearance of a tiger.

"Greetings," the tiger woman starts. "We are here to discuss releasing Eri into the custody of UA highschool. Specifically, under the supervision of Shota Aizawa."

"Huh? Why me?" The man in question looks genuinely surprised, no signs of his near constant irritation anywhere on his face. A rare feat indeed.

But I must confess that I am just as taken off guard as him. Though I do find their wording to be interesting.

"Your quirk can ensure that Eri is able to train her quirk in peace." Nekomura says, letting Aizawa's glare bounce right off her. "More than that, we believe that mew will keep her best interests at heart."