Aizawa was done.

I could see it in the way his shoulders sagged, in the way his eye twitched, in the way his very soul seemed to be questioning every choice that had brought him here.

He exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples before leveling me with a dead-eyed stare.

"Fine. Keep him," he repeated.

"WHAT?!"

Todoroki nodded, as if this was the most logical conclusion. "That seems fair."

"FAIR? HOW IS THIS FAIR?"

The cat purred, snuggling deeper into my arms like he had just won the ultimate victory.

Aizawa's glare darkened. "But only for today."

I blinked. "Huh?"

"You're keeping him for one day." Aizawa's tone was stern, unyielding, the kind that promised a slow and painful demise if ignored. "You will bring him back in the evening."

The cat purred louder.

I stared. "But—"

"No buts," Aizawa cut in. "This is not up for debate."

I opened my mouth—

"And if you don't bring him back," he continued, his voice dropping to something much more dangerous, "I will find you."

My mouth snapped shut.

Todoroki hummed. "That sounds reasonable."

NO, IT DIDN'T.

Aizawa took a step closer, his eyes narrowing. "My cat or else, Midoriya."

"Or else what?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Aizawa's smile was sharp, terrifying, and vaguely homicidal.

"Or else you'll be running laps until your legs fall off."

I gulped.

"Understood?"

The cat, the absolute menace, looked up at me with his big, innocent eyes.

"...Understood," I muttered.

Aizawa grunted, giving me one final, soul-piercing glare before turning on his heel and stalking off.

The cat stretched luxuriously, smug as hell.

Todoroki patted my shoulder. "Good luck."

I stared at him.

The cat nuzzled my chin.

I was so done.

I stared at Todoroki, my brain short-circuiting from sheer disbelief.

"Is this real?" I asked, voice flat. "Like, actually real? Did I just get threatened into temporary cat ownership by our homeroom teacher?"

Todoroki nodded. "Yes."

I blinked. "No, but like—really?"

Another nod. "Yes."

I pointed at the cat, who was now grooming himself like he wasn't the source of all my current problems. "So this little menace just waltzed into my life, declared himself my problem, and Aizawa is just okay with that?"

"Yes."

I rubbed my temples. "I feel like I should be more surprised, but honestly? This might be the least weird thing that's happened to me this week."

Todoroki tilted his head. "You did turn Bakugo into a magical girl."

"Exactly." I gestured wildly. "At this point, I should just accept that reality is broken."

The cat meowed sweetly, like he wasn't a full-fledged agent of chaos.

I exhaled through my nose, my grip tightening around the furry little traitor.

"Todoroki," I said, completely serious. "Be honest with me. Am I having a stroke?"

Todoroki frowned slightly, considering it. "...I don't think so."

"Damn." I sighed. "So this is actually happening."

The cat purred louder, pressing his face into my chest.

I was so, so done.

I barely had a second to process the absurdity of my life before the cat—my new, temporary problem—spoke again.

"You really should take this more seriously," it purred, nuzzling against my chest like it wasn't foretelling the apocalypse.

I nearly dropped it. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? AGAIN?!"

Todoroki, as usual, remained unbothered. "What kind of doom are we talking about?"

The cat flicked its tail, eyes glowing slightly in the dim light. "Magic finds magic. You know what that means."

I did not. "I actually don't know what that means! Would you like to elaborate?! Maybe use normal, non-mystical, not-threatening words?!"

But no. Instead of clarifying anything, the cat twisted like liquid in my arms and launched itself out of my grip, landing gracefully before bolting full-speed down the street.

For a moment, neither Todoroki nor I moved. We just stared at the spot where the cat had been, our brains trying to catch up to the chaos.

Then it hit me.

Aizawa.

Aizawa trusted me to bring his cat back.

And his cat was now escaping.

"Oh—OH SHIT! TODOROKI, GET IT—"

We sprinted after it.

The cat was unnaturally fast, darting between students, weaving around pedestrians like it was some trained acrobat. I barely avoided slamming into a lamppost as I turned the corner, skidding slightly on the pavement.

Todoroki, because of course he was Todoroki, wasn't even breathing hard as he kept up beside me. "It's a cat. Why are you panicking?"

I gawked at him mid-sprint. "Are you DENSE?! If I lose Aizawa's cat, he'll kill me. I'll wake up tomorrow in the obituaries!"

Todoroki hummed, which was not the reaction I wanted. "That's fair."

Before I could yell at him, the cat took a sharp left, slipping through a narrow alley.

I didn't think—I just dove after it.

Bad idea.

Because instead of catching the cat, I tripped on literally nothing, stumbled, and crashed right into a stack of garbage bags.

Beautiful. Fantastic. Exactly how I wanted to die.

Todoroki stopped at the alley entrance, blinking down at me like I was the biggest disappointment in existence. "Are you okay?"

I groaned, peeling a soggy piece of newspaper off my face. "Physically, yes. Emotionally? No."

Todoroki sighed and casually strolled over, like this wasn't an emergency, bending down to help pull me up.

The cat, meanwhile, sat just a few feet away, watching us like this was the best entertainment it had all week.

I pointed an accusatory finger at it. "You. Are. A menace."

The cat tilted its head, feigning innocence. "I am simply testing your commitment."

I nearly threw a garbage lid at it.

Todoroki, the traitor, smirked. "Maybe you should try talking to it nicely."

I shot him a glare. "Or maybe you should freeze it in place with your ice."

"I could." He shrugged. "But this is more fun."

I hated him.

But before I could physically express that hate, the cat suddenly hopped up, its fur bristling. Its ears twitched, like it was sensing something.

Then it turned to me, and for the first time... its expression was serious.

"Something is coming."

I felt my stomach drop. "What kind of something?"

The cat's tail lashed. "The kind that will turn your world upside down."

And just like that—it bolted again.

Todoroki and I, cursing the heavens, took off after it.