Cat's Rule the world.... since when?!

Old Friends, Fuzzy Memories, and a Whole Lot of Confusion

Okay, stay calm. 

They're bringing the boss. 

Everything's fine. 

Totally fine.

The pink-haired girl, Mina, I think, was still trying to keep things light. She kept flashing me these awkward smiles, like she was trying to reassure me that I wasn't about to be shot. Which, you know, wasn't totally comforting, considering the situation. Meanwhile, the other two—Denki and Sero—were still standing guard, their ears twitching like they were waiting for me to make a move.

I'm not doing anything stupid. 

You've got guns. 

I'd prefer not to get shot.

Then I heard footsteps. Heavy, determined footsteps. And when the bushes parted and I saw who it was, my brain did a double-take.

Wait. 

No way.

There, walking in like he owned the place, was Kacchan—or, at least, someone who looked a lot like him. Blonde, spiky hair. The same scowl that said, "I'm better than you." And—get this—cat ears and a tail.

What?

The moment I saw him, it was like everything clicked into place in the weirdest, most confusing way possible.

"Kacchan?!" I blurted out, not even thinking about it.

His eyes snapped to me, narrowing as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing either. He took a step closer, and for a second, we just stared at each other, both of us trying to make sense of what was happening. Because this was insane.

I wasn't just seeing things. This wasn't some random lookalike. No, I remembered him. I remembered playing with him when I was a kid—a boy with cat ears and a tail. I thought it had been a weird dream, something I'd made up in my head. But no, it was real. He was real.

Kacchan... and the cat...

The memories flooded back. The boy who'd shown up in my backyard one day, curious about the human world and talking some gibberish, but too shy to stick around for long. And then, there was the cat—the stray I'd found with a chipped ear, the one I'd named Kacchan after him because they both had the same fierce attitude.

Oh my god.....

He's the cat.

"Deku?!" Bakugo snapped, his voice full of disbelief. His ears twitched, his eyes widening as he finally recognized me. "What the hell are you doing here?"

I couldn't speak. My brain was doing too many flips, trying to piece everything together. He was the cat. The cat. The one I'd carried home, fed, tried to keep as a pet before it mysteriously disappeared one day. Except he wasn't just a cat—he was Bakugo. Or, at least, some version of him from this... world?

What is happening right now?

"I—" I started, my voice barely working. "You... I mean, we played together, right? When we were kids. You had cat ears... and a tail. I thought it was just a dream."

Bakugo scowled, but there was a flicker of recognition in his eyes. "Yeah, and you were the damn kid that wouldn't stop following me around."

Yep. 

Definitely Kacchan.

He crossed his arms, his tail swishing behind him as if he was trying to process it all too. "I was curious about the human world back then. I got lost, and you found me. Took care of me when I was hurt."

Me: "You were hurt?" 

The memory was hazy, but it started to come back. I remembered a boy, scratched up, limping around in the woods near my house. "You disappeared after that. I thought... I don't know what I thought."

Bakugo's eyes narrowed, his ears twitching again. "I wasn't supposed to be there. The human world's dangerous for people like us. I got dragged back pretty quick."

People like us? 

Wait... this is too much.

"So you were..." I paused, trying to wrap my head around it. "You were the cat I picked up?"

Bakugo's face flushed, his ears flattening slightly, and he growled under his breath. "Yeah, whatever. Don't get all sappy about it."

This is officially the weirdest day of my life.

Meanwhile, Kirishima, who had been watching this whole exchange, walked up with a slightly sheepish grin. "Uh, so... you two know each other?"

Bakugo shot him a glare. "Shut up, Eijiro. This is Deku. He's... complicated."

Complicated. Yeah, that was one word for it. My heart was still pounding in my chest, skipping way more than just a beat now. My head was spinning with a hundred different questions, none of which I could even begin to ask right now.

And then I realized—Bakugo wasn't holding a gun. None of them were pointing weapons at me anymore.

Okay, small win.

Still, the confusion wasn't going anywhere. Bakugo was the cat? This whole time? And this world, this place—cat people with guns—what even was this? Was I still alive? Was this some kind of alternate universe? Or was I just dead, and this was some weird afterlife?

Okay, just... ask. You need to ask.

I swallowed, my throat dry. "Is this... hell? Or heaven? Or... something in between?"

Denki blinked, clearly thrown off by the question. "Uh, yeah, no clue, dude. That's, like, way above my pay grade."

Sero rubbed the back of his neck, looking equally unsure. "Yeah, man, we just live here. No idea what this place actually is besides home."

I turned back to Bakugo, hoping for some kind of answer, but he just shrugged. "It's not hell, dumbass. Trust me, you'd know if it was."

Well, that's comforting... sort of.

Kirishima, ever the optimist, smiled and patted me on the shoulder—gently, thankfully. "Hey, man, don't worry. We'll get it all sorted out. You're not dead. Not yet, anyway."

Not yet? 

Oh, good. That's not ominous at all.

I stared at Bakugo, my mind still racing. He was here. He remembered me. And I remembered him. But what did that mean for me now? What was this place? How did I end up here, and why did I feel like I'd been thrown into the middle of some bizarre, upside-down version of my life?