MHA: A Cat's Way

Ch 57 Suspicions

(Nyamuri)

I really can't help but question why Catia would allow such a suspicious man to take the child with him. The threat in his voice was obvious, even if the words themselves weren't. Which is rather unfortunate considering it would have been enough for me to place the man under arrest right then and there. And it would have held too, since I've been recording everything on my phone ever since I put it in my pocket.

Heroes must always be ready to spring into action, even when they're 'off the clock', so to speak. As such, all of my clothes are made out of easily breathable fabric that allows my quirk to escape. Though they obviously aren't as effective as just tearing my hero suit. It would still be enough for me to at least stall and call for backup. But this particular clothing set has several cleverly concealed holes stitched to allow various hidden cameras to record what's happening around me when I'm told to gather information or catch someone with influence in a criminal act.

Now, since this was meant to be a simple outing, I don't have any of the usual spying devices. But the hole in my pocket was big enough for my phone's camera, so I made it work.

But anyways, after the man leaves I turn to question her only for my eyes to widen as she stands while hissing. My eyes are firmly on where she's holding her side, which means they're firmly on the spot where red has clearly seeped into her shirt. And it's spreading!

"Catia! You're hurt! When!? How!?" I quickly take out the emergency first aid kit in my pocket, thankful that I never bothered to take it out when Shota told me I might need it one day.

As I take out a tiny bottle of antiseptic and the bag of cotton balls Catia chuckles. "The kitten did run into me-ow know. And her horn was sharp, even if it was small, nya."

I'm not distracted from my goal of tending to her wound, even if her cat puns are adorable. After lifting her shirt enough that I can see the wound, I wince. It seems like the horn was pulled up and out, so instead of a single hole it's more of a gash. But she's right that it was small, which means that the gauze patches are big enough to cover it.

Still though, "We'll need to get this checked out by Recovery Girl back at UA. You'll need it gone by the morning if you want to be able to participate in your heroics class." Not to mention that she'd beat me with her cane if I didn't take you to her right away. She's scary with it.

She makes a noise of agreement, and I look up as I pull her shirt back down. Her gaze is focused on the alley the two had disappeared into with her three cats in tow. There are a myriad of emotions swirling through those eyes, but the most predominant one is guilt. One that I can fully understand. Though its presence assures me that she knows she likely just sent that girl back to an abusive home, which means I will be questioning her.

I motion for her friends to walk and we start our way back to UA, the two I can see shooting her worried glances as she sways a bit in her movements. Despite the pain she's in though, her walk still raises the hair on the back of my neck. It's silent, her legs automatically finding the quietest path forward. Even as I watch, her foot drifts slightly so that she steps just next to the puddle in front of her. I'm not sure she even noticed it was there.

More than that though, she kind of... prowls, instead of outright walking. Her feet don't leave the ground farther than they have to for her to move, and her knees never quite unbend fully. Like she's always prepared to jump in any direction. The other teachers have noticed it as well, even if she herself doesn't seem to realize it.

It's not the walk of a person. It's the walk of a hunter.

I shake my head free of my musings, instead focusing on the conversation we're about to have. Or in Nezu's words-