The Purrfect Companion - Chapter One [Bakugatsu Day 15]

They'd just finished a particularly long English class, and Bakugou was desperate to escape. He practically ran from the room when the bell rang, ready to confine himself to his dorm room and not see another damn face or hear another stupid voice for the rest of the night. They were infuriating – every single one of them – and should be kicked out of the damn class. The school. The city.

Sparks popped off in his hands, a satisfying way to vent some of his frustration, but he froze when he heard the faint noises. There was a small gap between two buildings, narrow and dark, and from within it he could hear a quiet shuffling. He approached cautiously, peeking around the corner, ready to blast an asshole in the face if they were daring to try to sneak up on him, but instead he found a tiny, quivering ball of dirty fur.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, crouching down to get closer. “Oi, you lost?”

The ball shied away from him, but he heard the faintest of mews come from its lips, and something about it made his chest ache.

“C'mere,” he instructed it, peeling off his blazer and laying it across the ground. “Let me see you.”

It didn't move, and with a sigh he reached into his bag, digging out half a sandwich he hadn't gotten around to eating at lunch. He waved it at the creature, setting it down beside his jacket, and tentatively it approached.

“You must be starving,” he mused, eyeing the skinny frame and matted brown fur. “Go ahead and eat it. You probably don't like bread, but there's good meat inside.”

He pulled out his phone as it nibbled at his food, searching for local vet clinics, only looking up again when he heard another tiny mew. The kitten had come closer, sitting in the middle of the jacket, and when Bakugou reached out a hand it didn't even flinch. Gently he touched its tiny head, scratching its ears, jolting when he heard a low rumble inside the tiny body.

“You like that, huh?” he asked, as it rubbed at him and purred. “Alright, come on you little shit, there's a vet a few blocks over.”

He bundled it up and held it carefully in his arms, leaving enough room for it to see what was going on, but hopefully not to jump out and take off. He was no cat expert, but he was pretty sure the one in his arms needed some help.

The kitten stayed perfectly still, purring quietly, for the entire trip. He crossed roads, squeezed between people, wove around bicycles, but still it just waited patiently. The building was almost empty when he arrived, just a lone caged bird and a dog on a leash sitting around with their owners, so he took the bundle up to the front counter and turned so the lady could see.

“I found this thing at school,” he explained. “It looks like it needs some food. And maybe a bath. I don't know what else.”

“Have a seat Sir, I'll see if someone is available to take a look.”

He moved to the seat furthest away from the dog, to keep from spooking the tiny thing, but before long there was a lady in blue scrubs approaching, bending down to see the furball.

“Probably a stray,” she told him, petting its ears lightly. “Come on through, I'll check for a microchip and do some tests.”

The kitten cowered when he set it on the exam table, and he found himself reaching out, stroking its head lightly again as the vet pulled out a scanner. He didn't even realise he was speaking until he caught the vet smiling to herself, blushing when he heard the reassuring little whispers coming from him. Who the hell even was he?

“No chip, not surprising.”

He watched as she checked its ears, its feet, its messy fur, wiping it down with a damp cloth as she checked for fleas. Its fur wasn't nearly as dark as Bakugou had initially thought, more of a creamy colour under the dirt, and he wondered just how long the thing had been alone for.

“Female, about three weeks old, obviously been apart from its mother for a while. Abandoned. It's a good thing you found her. I'll give her a quick bath and some shots, then we can decide what to do next.”

“What to do next?”

“I can contact some local shelters and see if they have space for her. Unless...?”

“Unless?”

“Well, if you'd like to keep her, that can be arranged too.”

“I can?”

He asked the question before he'd even thought about it, scowling at his stupid reaction.

“That's up to you. Raising a cat is a lifetime commitment, a lot of financial responsibility too. If you think you and your parents are up for that, then by all means.”

“I don't live with my parents,” he frowned, gesturing to his uniform. “I can handle it. Just gimme a list of what I need to buy for it. For her.”

He typed the list out on his phone as she gave it to him, still stroking the tiny ears as he worked, and finally when it was complete, he sent it to the group chat he rarely deigned to touch.

“Buy me these things as soon as possible. I'll pay you back so get the good shit. If you don't screw it up I'll buy you all pizza tonight.”

“On it!!”

When everything was done and the kitten was clean, the vet produced a little carry cage with a piece of old blanket tucked inside. She ushered the kitten in, despite the pathetic little mews it produced, and he found himself poking his finger through the vents to reassure her. She nuzzled his finger sweetly, and he blushed again when he caught the vet smiling fondly, grumbling as he picked up the case and carefully carted her out to the front desk.

“If she eats kitten food that's great,” the vet continued, producing a little paper bag of more items. “If not, she might need to feed on formula a little longer, so you can use this bottle. The instructions are on the formula box.”

“Okay. Um, thanks.”

She bent down to say goodbye to the kitten, but shook her head when Bakugou pulled out his wallet.

“The first one is free,” she informed him. “Bring her back in a few weeks for a check-up and we'll talk about getting her spayed.”

“Oh, okay. Uh, yeah, I guess we'll see you in a few weeks, then.”

With the kitten tucked under his arm, still mewing pitifully whenever he was out of sight, he started the trek back to the dorms. He was already dreading facing his friends, with their over-enthusiasm and general noise, but at least they were good enough friends to not ask questions about buying him cat gear.

Sure enough, when he arrived, there was a collection of boxes outside his room, and he could hear voices from Kirishima's room next door. He pulled out his phone, opening the group chat again, and frowned as he contemplated his words.

“If you shits spook her with your noise, you're dead to me.”

The door opened immediately, four faces peeking out at him, and he cursed himself for the way he instinctively clutched the carrier closer. He turned himself to let them see the grate across the front, rolling his eyes when Ashido clapped her hands over her mouth to cover her coos.

“She's so cute!” she gushed. “She kind of looks like you.”

“Yeah!” Kirishima laughed. “Fluffy and blonde.”

“Shut up.”

“What's her name?” Kaminari chimed in.

“Cat.”

“Cat?”

“I found her after English class. Plus she's a cat.”

“Not, like... Princess Explosion Murder?”

“No, just Cat.”

“Like Catsuki,” Sero grinned, nudging Kaminari with his elbow. “He named her after himself.”

“Shut up,” Bakugou grumbled. “I need to set shit up in my room. If you want to see her you gotta come one at a time, she's still nervous.”

“Dibs!” Ashido announced quickly. “Here, let me give you a hand carrying stuff in.”

“Yeah dude, unlock your door and we'll handle it,” Kirishima agreed. “You hold Cat.”

“Ah, yeah, okay.”

He pulled his key out and jammed the door open with a shoe, sitting down on the bed with her cage in his lap as his friends grabbed a box each and began tearing off the cardboard. Within minutes he had a full litter tray in his bathroom, a bowl of kitten kibble and another of water in the corner, and the softest cat bed in the world sitting at the end of his own. He waited until the door was closed and his friends were back in Kirishima's room ordering pizzas before he opened the carrier, letting her boldly poke her head out to look.

She immediately went for Bakugou's leg, climbing up to sit on his thigh, and he hated himself for the dopey smile that stretched across his lips when she mewed at him. He reached for her and this time she didn't shoot away, letting him stroke the length of her back with a hand as big as she was. After a minute she lay down, rolling onto her back, and he grinned as he rubbed her tummy with two fingers.

“Bakugou? Can I come in now?”

“Yeah, just be quiet.”

Ashido sneaked through the door, sitting down at his feet, and squeaked again when Cat turned to look at her. She had big grey eyes that stared at Ashido nervously, retreating back under Bakugou's hand, but Ashido didn't push her luck.

It wasn't until she produced a tiny pink mouse from her pocket that Cat began to truly pay attention, eyes darting back and forth as Ashido swung it. When the hand came closer, she tentatively batted at the toy, and Ashido grinned.

“Oh no, you caught it! What a fierce hunter!”

She let go of the toy and let Cat snatch it, bring it close with her paws and gnawing on the head. Bakugou couldn't help but laugh, and Ashido grinned at him, reaching out to ruffle his hair as she stood up.

“The others are dying to come visit, I'll show myself out. For now. I'll be back, mark my words.”

“Yeah.”

“You're a cute little Catdaddy. Take good care of her.”

“Shut the hell up.”

Within seconds of her leaving, Kaminari was in her place, grinning eagerly as he held out a hand. She cowered from him, but he waited patiently, letting her sniff at him for a minute before she approached, her new mouse dragged along by its tail, and nosed at his finger lightly.

“You're so soft,” Kaminari praised. “Bakugou better be careful or I'll steal you.”

She dropped her mouse in favour of biting down lightly on his fingertip, and Bakugou smirked as he stroked her ears.

“That's my girl.”

“Oh no, Bakugou is gonna be such a bad influence on you. Good thing Uncle Denki is here to save the day!”

“Keep your filthy hands off my cat.”

“Relax, man, I'm not gonna steal your baby.”

“Shut up.”

Kaminari leaned in to kiss her ears, getting a nip on his nose in return, and laughed as he stood up again to retreat.

“I'll be back, Kitty Cat. Don't forget about your Uncle Denki.”

“Good riddance.”

For a minute the room was silent, Bakugou stroking the fluffy kitten and feeling her purr under his touch, feeling just how soft she was against his skin. She was the softest thing he'd ever felt, and he was god damn addicted.

“Uncle Eijirou is in the house!” Kirishima declared in a whisper, as he slipped through the door. “How's she doing?”

Cat took to him immediately, and for a moment Bakugou was oddly jealous, pouting as she ran down to his knee. Kirishima held a hand out in greeting, but when the claws sank into him he yelped.

“What was that for?!”

Bakugou laughed, but Cat just continued whacking him with her claws, elated when Kirishima hardened his hand beneath her. She scratched at him endlessly, clearly loving the feel of his hardened skin, and after a long pause Kirishima sighed.

“I guess it's better than running away,” he acknowledged. “Silly Cat, I'm not a scratching post.”

“I guess I'd better buy her one,” Bakugou mused. “Unless you wanna be her official Uncle Scratching Post.”

“Believe it or not, I think you should buy her one of her own.”

“I'll consider it.”

When he finally took his leave, parting with a confused little squeak from Cat, Sero finally got his chance to burst in the door, full of enthusiasm for the tiny ball of fluff.

“Hey, look at this!” he began, shooting a stream of tape from his elbow. “You want it? Come get it!”

Feeling a little bolder, Cat whacked at the tape, eyes widening when it moved under her touch. Bakugou laughed, a bright and rarely genuine sound, and Sero shot him a grin before he returned to waving his arm lightly.

“Used to play with all the cats around home,” he explained. “They all love it.”

Soon Cat was slowing down, growing tired, but still she tried desperately to chase the tape. Sero cut it off at his elbow, letting her pull the piece in, and immediately she was curling it into her arms, resting her head on it to sleep. The two of them shared a laugh, but a quiet knock on the door quickly woke her again, sending her shooting back into Bakugou's arms. 

“Pizza's here,” Kirishima told them. “You coming?”

“I'd better stay here,” Bakugou said quietly, curling an arm for Cat to hide in. “You guys enjoy.”

“I'll send you some,” Sero promised. “She's super cute, take good care of her.”

“Yeah. You should come play again tomorrow or something.”

“I will.”

With the last of them gone, Bakugou finally stripped off his school uniform, casting it aside in favour of sweatpants and a baggy hoodie. Cat immediately took a shine to it, crawling into his pocket and curling against his stomach happily. He could feel her purring against his abs, and with a little smile he stood up carefully, rearranging his pillows and grabbing his laptop from the desk. With Cat snoozing against him he settled in, occasionally reaching in to stroke her ears, only looking up when Kirishima returned with half a pizza for him.

“Send me the bill,” he instructed, as Kirishima turned to leave. “For the pizza and all the stuff.”

“I will.”

“And, um, thanks. For doing it all in such a hurry.”

“Any time, man. That's what friends are for.”

“Yeah. I appreciate it.”

Cat ventured out to sniff at his food, and Bakugou took the opportunity to show her to the corner, to where her kitten food lay in wait. He dropped in a tiny piece of meat from his pizza, and soon she was scoffing from the bowl, the two of them sitting side by side on the floor as they ate their dinner.

“You sleepy?” he asked, when she crawled back into his lap. “I'll show you your bed.”

He carried her to the plush basket waiting on the floor, watching her sniff every inch of it, but soon she was back in his lap, squeaking at him for pats.

“Alright,” he conceded. “You can stay with me for now, but when I go to bed, this is where you sleep, okay?”

He held his pocket open and she dove back in immediately, snuggling against him with the same enormous purrs as before, and he returned to his pizza and movie on the mattress.

When Sero peeked in to check on them, he found Bakugou sprawled across his blankets, sound asleep, with a tiny blonde kitten curled up against his neck. His laptop was cast aside, an empty pizza box on the floor beside them, and neither stirred in the slightest when he took a few steps inside. He moved the laptop safely to the desk, retrieved the pizza box to recycle, and reached over to stroke a pair of tiny ears.

“Goodnight, you two,” he grinned, when Cat cracked her eyes open to look. “Sweet dreams, Cat.”