A Hero and a Villain

Scene 22: What Meow?

[Shinso]

Andeddo wasn't answering any of his calls or texts, and his protective boyfriend mode was starting to kick in.

He took the opportunity to tell the agency he would be taking a vacation day today. He considered employing Izuku's help in the search, but decided it would be better for him to go alone, in case Andeddo was doing something..........less than legal.

He donned his usual casual clothes and stuck his support items in his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder as he headed outside. He started making his was through the city on his bike, looking for any sign of Andeddo or his car. But despite several hours of searching, he found nothing.

He stopped to take a break at a water fountain, when a most unexpected thing happened.

There was a loud crash from a building just down the street, and someone burst out the door of the nearby pet shop, followed by a stream of loose animals.

The person was a pale black-haired girl with blood red eyes and slits for pupils, dressed in a tight black dress shirt with a red tie, a red skirt, black fishnet stockings, and a pair of black heels. A black tail poked out from under her skirt, and a pair of furry ears sat atop her head, twitching like crazy. Her nails were elongated claws, black as charcoal. Overall, she didn't look much like a villain, but as he knew well, looks could be deceiving.

The moment she spotted Hitoshi, she turned tail and ran. He went to follow her, but a huge cloud of black smoke appeared out of nowhere and swallowed her like a void, making her disappear from sight. When it cleared, she was gone.

Everything from puppies to parakeets was running rampant on the streets, and most of the citizens were wise enough to evacuate. Hitoshi managed to rope a few of the animals in with his Binding Cloth, but he would have to leave the rest to the Pros with quirks more suited to the situation. Eventually, he had to drag what he caught all the way back to the pet shop.

When he walked inside, he took a mental note of the state of the place.

The shop itself was completely untouched structure-wise, but the floor was littered with papers and pet toys, as well as several small items such as lamps and boxes. On the other hand, every single cage, tank, and/or kennel was standing wide open, all of them empty.

All except one.....

A medium-sized cage in the back, probably meant for a dog or something, was still locked up, and there was an animal inside. As Hitoshi got closer, he realized it was large slender cat with long legs and smooth black fur.

It was yowling and and pawing at the lock with inch-long claws as sharp as a knife, its fangs bared in anger. Hitoshi inched closer, and suddenly it looked up and froze, staring at him. It started meowing loudly, almost pleadingly, and heatbutted the door of the cage, making a loud clanging noise.

Logic was telling him not to open it, but something in his gut overruled that.

He slid down the bolt lock and the cat immediately rammed open the door, knocking him back. The cat then jumped onto the floor and climbed its way up his leg, making him stumble back in surprise.

He almost lost control of the Binding Cloth for a second, but he ignored the cat and concentrated on putting the animals back in their respective places, locking them in. Then he turned his attention back to the black cat, which was hanging onto onto his pant leg for dear life. He bent down and held it just under its forelegs, urging it to relax. It reluctantly released its claws and he raised it up to eye level.

The cat had soft, round eyes, and beautiful jade irises. Actually, upon closer inspection, they were closer to a pine green..... As he stared into them, something familiar caught his eye.