A/N: I'M BACK! That's right, I've been working on my bnha stories again! Woohoo!! Celebrate! I can't promise more consistent updates, but know that stories like Viridian, Swan Dive and Instinct are open in my tabs and being slowly worked on!

I did post a lil oneshot of my backstory for Lunch Rush, so if that interests you, check it out! Since it's my HC for him, you'll find that it's his backstory in ALL of my works. :3 Maybe you'll find mentioned easter eggs in some of my other fics, mm?

Other than that, I wanted an opinion from you guys on posting outlines that'll likely never make it as full stories. I've got over 30 bnha stories started, or in the outline format (outline for me is apparently other peoples' first draft, and can range from 3k words to 40k words depending). Most of them stop around the USJ arc, but if reading those is something that interests you, lemme know in the comments!

I've finally figured out where to go with this story! Know that there will be PLENTY of Dadzawa, but also Dadmight! Yeah, you read that right. DadMIGHT. Never seen that one from me before, have ya? :) And this'll also be my first time writing Izuku getting OfA, so be patient with me on that.

Reminder that fanart can be sent to [email protected]

◊◊◊Linelineline◊◊◊

Shouta woke up cold and hungry. This had become normal over the last few days. That first day or so, he'd practically blacked out from the lingering medication in his system, and he'd come to in an unfamiliar part of Musutafu. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out of it, but it was long enough for him to get completely lost.

Curse his short legs.

But he'd found himself adjusting well to his new form. Considering the fact that he could jump up to high places with ease, it wasn't too different from his nightly patrols. Though he'd learned the hard way that the extra speed he had as a cat wasn't worth the loss of fighting ability he'd had as a human.

He'd come across several muggings over the last few days and had been unable to do anything. The most he'd done was prolong the inevitable by clawing at the villains, who—at best—would throw him into a wall.

It was humiliating and frustrating. He was a hero and he just had to stand there and watch. It went against every fiber of his being. In light of this, he'd started moving about during the daytime in the hopes of avoiding further situations that he could do nothing to help.

He caught sight of his reflection in the window of a shop. He was a pathetic sight. Scraggly and dreadfully thin, he'd been neglecting his grooming too, so his fur was all tangled in knots. He wasn't a long-haired cat, thank goodness, but he wasn't exactly a short-haired cat either. The light cream around his neck was an ugly dirty brown color, and several patches of fur were clotted with blood from some nasty feral cat encounters he'd had—something that had quickly taught him how to move and attack as a cat.

Speaking of... He eyed a few ferals gazing at him warily from a nearby alleyway. They gave warning growls when he ventured too close, and he flicked his tail—still held high—to show them they didn't frighten him.

His ears went back when one of them ventured out into the sunlight, and he gave a warning hiss. The cat was a dappled cream with a fairly good chunk of his ear missing. The feral—Tornear, Shouta decided he'd call him privately (so what if it wasn't creative? Not like anyone could understand him right now anyways)—hissed out a territorial warning. He recognized it as such only by his cat-given instincts and years of experience with felines. Shouta glared back. This alleyway was the fastest route to a café he could spy on the other street, and if his enhanced vision was correct, there was some kind of map inside. He might be able to figure out a way to UA.

The flick of the feral's tail was the only warning he got before claws and fangs flew at him. He yowled loudly as he bit into whatever flesh he could find, clawing at fur and feeling the sharp teeth digging in dangerously close to his neck. He twisted, sinking fangs into Tornear's face, causing him to yowl loudly and angrily. The other cats looked like they wanted to interfere, but were unsure of how to go about joining in the ferocious tangle of fur and claws.

Finally, Tornear backed off, ears flat and tail held low. He held one eye closed as blood dribbled dangerously close from a set of fresh claw marks that went down his face. There was a tear in his other ear now, and the feral sported a new limp. Despite the sharp pains and aches, Shouta felt proud of himself. It was his first victory in a fight like this.

The other cats warily backed off, eyeing Shouta with fear and respect. He held his bloodied tail high as he confidently walked through the alley. These cats wouldn't bother him again.

He stopped outside the café, taking stock of his new injuries. A deep bite on his neck was the worst of it, and it stained his cream fur crimson, but it wasn't life-threatening. The image of himself in the reflection of the glass looked far worse than he felt. His observations were interrupted by the tinkling of the shop's bell as someone exited the building, bringing with them the smell of coffee and food.

He grimaced as his stomach rumbled again. Shouta hadn't eaten since he'd turned into a cat about a week ago. He'd tried rummaging in the trash a few times, but his nose picked up on something that didn't settle right with him, and he ultimately let it be. He couldn't take the risk that someone had poisoned the trash—as some people were prone to do these days. He had tried to beg from a few people at diners and cafes, acting as adorable and innocent as he dared, but the most attention he'd garnered was a broom from a shop keep.

Geez, didn't anyone care about cats anymore?! Was Shouta really the only person in all of freakin' Musutafu who bothered to feed stray cats?! He'd have to work on that, because this sucked.

His attention was pulled towards a couple who stood up from their table, leaving their to-go cups sitting there like the insensitive non-stray-feeding people they were.

They left their coffee there.

Shouta hadn't had coffee since he was turned into a cat. While he was quite sure coffee was bad for cats, he couldn't help but want it—it was an honest addiction that he had no intentions of sobering from. With a quiet grace despite his injuries, he leapt onto the table, sniffing at the cups.

One had him crinkling his nose—nothing but sugar and syrup. How people could consider such a monstrosity coffee was beyond him. But the other was a simple latte. It wasn't his preferred black coffee, but he was desperate. They'd also left a half eaten bagel sandwich behind, and he couldn't help but perk up.

Maybe today wasn't so bad after all. He went for the ham in the sandwich first, but before he could sink his teeth into the first bit of food he'd had in a week, one of the baristas came over.

He had no intentions of getting acquainted with her broom, so he reached for the ham and leapt off the table, but apparently that fight threw him off his game more than he'd thought (or perhaps the hunger was taking a toll), because he missed the meat and landed a little too hard on the concrete. He puffed himself up as he eyed the broom warily.

The girl stopped. "Oh, you poor thing." She tsked, gathering the items on the table. She pulled out the ham and set it on the concrete before heading back inside. Shouta stared. Had she...?

He cautiously stepped forward and snatched the ham, hardly bothering to chew as he ate. It was the first thing he'd managed to eat in a week, and damn that cheap ass lunch meat was one of the best things he'd ever tasted.

The girl came back out, and Shouta didn't puff up this time. He took a moment to get a good look at her. She was probably around Shouta's age, and had baby blue hair and spring green eyes. Her name tag read Saki, and Shouta wondered if the bags under her eyes were from sleepless nights or being severely overworked. She glanced over her shoulder before setting down a paper bowl. "Sorry I can't bring you more, kitty." She apologized, and Shouta cautiously sniffed the clear liquid before identifying it as water. "People like me are always on thin ice." She smiled sadly. "I should get back to work before they fire me."

Fire? Why would they fire her for taking a moment to feed a stray cat? He watched her head back in, and decided not to waste the first piece of human decency he'd found. The water was amazing—much better than lapping up dirty rainwater or other questionable clear substances he came across.

He would be lucky if he made it out of this without worms. He took note of the name of the place—The Press Café. He'd have to come back here, even if only for the company.

For a moment, he thought about sticking around and following Saki home to make sure she was okay—perhaps even glean some more food off of her, because that one piece of half-eaten ham wasn't nearly enough for him. But he quickly shook away the thought.

He had to get home. Zashi would be beyond worried. He glanced at the chalk-drawn map inside the café and winced. He was seriously lost. He was still in Musutafu, at least, but it looked like he was closer to the South Side than UA—the entirely wrong side of town.

But that was fine. He could find a subway and hitch a ride to the school. He didn't normally patrol this area of Musutafu, but he'd been there a handful of times. There was a subway around here somewhere.

With a tired sigh and a final few laps of water, he made his way down the street, hoping to come across a sign pointing him in the proper direction.

He hadn't been walking long when the laughter of children floated across the wind. His ears swiveled as he attempted to find the source of the sound. If there was a school around here, he could use that as a landmark to find his way to a subway station.

He rounded the corner and saw a low brick wall. The sign read Aldera Jr. High, and Shouta wracked his brain. He'd heard of the school once or twice. They were a rather crappy school dangerously close to the South Side—a very nasty area of town that even villains tended to stay away from. As far as he knew, no one from this school had ever made it into any high-end hero program.

The laughter got louder, and something about it sounded distinctly mocking. Curiosity got the better of him, and he leapt up to walk along the brick wall. It looked like they were on their lunch break. That ham hadn't been much... if Shouta was lucky, he might find some good food here.

A group of rowdy kids were gathered around something on the ground, laughing and firing off their Quirks without a care in the world. One kid with spiky blonde hair even had an explosive Quirk.

"Give it up, Deku!" The kid with blonde hair laughed.

A part in the crowd gave Shouta a look at what was going on. A boy, smaller than his peers and obviously very meek, was curled up on the ground. He was sporting a bloody nose and a bruise was blossoming from where his cheek had connected with the pavement. Behind him was a smaller child—a first-year, most likely—who had tiny lamb horns poking out of curly white hair. She trembled in fear, the only thing between her and the explosions was the green-haired boy.

"That's enough, Kacchan." The boy, Deku presumably, glared at the blonde through teary eyes as he struggled to his feet.

Shouta hummed lightly to himself. This kid had guts. If he was reading the situation correctly, Deku was confronting Kacchan about bullying the lamb-girl.

"Hah?" Kacchan gave off a small warning explosion from the palm of his hand. "You think a useless Deku like you can tell me what to do?!" The blonde moved forward, hand outstretched.

Shouta's eyes widened and he ran towards the fight. He tried instinctively activating Erasure, but it wouldn't come. Instead, he scratched at Kacchan's leg, causing his explosion to miss Deku by inches. The kid glared down at him.

Shouta puffed up his fur and hissed, leaping away from the blonde's kick. Unfortunately, another kid thought a game of 'kick the cat' was a grand idea, and he was suddenly blindsided by pain. He felt something crack as agony overwhelmed his tiny body. He hit the ground hard, and the blonde kid gave him a dismissive look.

"Damn cat." After a moment of looking between Shouta, Izuku and the unnamed girl, he shoved his hands in his pocket. "Whatever. I'm done here." He decided, sending Deku a harsh glare before he turned around and left. Shouta idly noticed that the lamb-girl had escaped while everyone was distracted—smart.

But the other kids seemed to have a different idea as they gathered around him, blocking any hope of escape. His ears flattened against his head as he let out a warning hiss, struggling to his feet and looking for some way out of this mess.

His feline body couldn't take damage like his human one. For the first time in a long while, Shouta felt fear settle in his gut. It'd been a few good years at least since he'd stared death in the face so intimately, but never did he think he'd stare at it in the form of a group of middle school children.

One of the kids threw back a leg, and he braced himself for impact. Instead of the kick, however, he felt something heavy settle around him and heard a pained grunt. He cracked open an eye to see the face of the green-haired kid. Deku was shielding him.

This boy was protecting a random stray cat with his body. Just what the hell kind of kid was he? "If I was a normal cat, you'd be scratched to hell, you know?" He muttered, and while the kid couldn't understand him, he smiled.

"Don't worry, kitty. I won't let them hurt you." He promised.

After several minutes, the bell rang and the kids reluctantly left. Deku stayed with Shouta, uncurling himself slowly with several winces. Shouta's ears drooped in guilt. The kid protected him because he was unable to protect himself. Because he'd been an impulsive idiot who'd jumped into yet another fight he couldn't handle.

"Thank you." Shouta dipped his head. The kid blinked at him in surprise before smiling.

"My name is Midoriya Izuku." He introduced himself. "You look hungry, want some food?" He pulled a bento from a bright yellow backpack and opened it. He set it on the ground between them, and Shouta's eyes would've watered if he had the biology for it.

"Kid, you look just as skinny as me." He winced as he limped towards the food. "You'll be sharing this with me. I won't let you starve after saving my ass."

"Is it good?" Midoriya asked, leaning against the brick wall behind them. "I'm sorry about Kacchan. He's... well, that's just how he is."

"A bully, you mean?" Shouta huffed, tail flicking in irritation at the thought of the violent blonde. He took another bite of the bento. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was some of the best damn food he'd ever had. He wondered how much of the taste was hunger and how much was the fact that it'd come from an honest act of human decency.

"You're hurt." Midoriya frowned, eyeing the blood on his neck from his earlier scuffle with Tornear.

"I'm fine." He flicked his tail dismissively, shoving the bento towards the kid. "You, however, need to eat." The kid stared at him for a long moment.

"You... want me to eat?"

Shouta nodded his head slowly, watching as Midoriya's emerald orbs widened in surprise.

"Are you one of those Quirked animals? You're really smart." He hummed as he finished off the bento.

Shouta shrugged. It was probably as close to the truth as they were going to get with this language barrier. "Well, I have to get going, kid. Thank you for your help." He carefully stretched. "When I have two legs under me again, I'll pay you back. I promise."

He turned to leave but Midoriya called out to him. "Wait." Shouta paused, turning to look at the kid. "At least... let me patch you up? I've... I've got some medical supplies at home."

Shouta blinked for a moment. He should say no. Recovery Girl could patch him up with no issues, and Zashi was no doubt out of his mind with worry by this point. He really should just get going, hit the subway and leave.

But he hesitated. There was a shine in Midoriya's eyes and an aching longing for some kind of companionship, even if it was from a stray cat. Shouta sighed and limped over towards Midoriya. Perhaps it would be better to rest a day or two anyways. Who knew how long it'd take him to find the subway? His sense of direction was all screwed up right now, and if he made a wrong turn, where would that leave him? Being lost as a cat was far more dangerous than being lost as a human.

"R-really?" Midoriya's eyes brightened as he carefully reached out towards Shouta. With a sigh, he walked into the kid's arms. It was more than a little disconcerting, being lifted off the ground, but it was nice to see the world at a more familiar height. "Come on, then. Let's get home."

"Damn, kid." Shouta sighed as he relaxed into the boy's arms. "You've sure got a way with people."