Caged Bird - BNHA Band AU

[22]

-feel free to listen to the music while you read-

Izuku's eyes shot open open as dim sunlight shon through his balcony door and a cold breeze shook his body. He hadn't remembered falling asleep yesterday, but he had remembered the nightmare he had. The way he couldn't wake up from it, how the constant ringing sent shivers down his spine. But the worst part by far was the darkness, the pitch black darkness, the only hint of another colour being the figure in the distance, dark grey technically invisible against the black. It didn't help that after the whole cat situation, everything else from the previous day seemed to blend together in a blur. He had a slight headache and seemed to be sleeping on the couch, the cat asleep soundly on his chest. He rubbed his temple, looking down at the cat with a smile. It's coat was a pure white and seemed fairly fluffy, if he didn't know any better he'd think it was a tiny puppy. 'If only I could remember...' he thought to himself, but the more he thought about it, the bigger his headache became. "Morning," he heard the familiar voice of Shinso from the kitchen doorway, "sleep well?" He asked. For a second, Izuku's mind went blank. "U-uh yeah, I guess, you?" He asked groggily, sitting up and wiping the sleep from his eyes. Shinso nodded, "I got like three hours of good sleep," Izuku gaped at the taller boy, his mouth twitching with worry. "Three hours?" Izuku asked suspiciously, Shinso nodded. "Three hours," he clarified plainly.

Izuku shook his head, watching as the cat woke up, staring up at him. "What are you gonna do with the cat?" Shinso asked, eyeing him hopefully. Izuku turned back to the purple haired boy, "I'm gonna take them to the vet, then see if they have an owner," he shrugged towards the older teen. "And if it doesn't have an owner..?" Shinso asked sceptically, "then I'll be their owner, if that's ok with you guys-", Shinso interrupted, "heck yeah it is!" He had a childish gleam in his eyes. "Okay, you wanna come to the vet with me?" Shinso nodded, less enthusiastically then before, attempting to recover from his childish outburst, "sure, we should tell the others before we leave."

"Tell us what?" Kirishima popped in form around the hall corner, a small smile gracing his lips. "The cats still here? Thought it's owner was gonna pick it up..." Kirishima gave the cat a weird look, as if he were trying to read its mind. "Uh... no, we don't know if it has an owner," Izuku replied, petting the cat gently. "Well, you could always ask the reception lady-" "NO!- I mean, I already have!" Izuku shuttered at the thought of having to talk to her again. Kirishima gave Izuku the same look he gave the cat mere seconds ago, "ok then..." Shinso perked up, "we're gonna take it to the vet, it has a sore leg and they might know something about it's owner." Izuku nodded, snapping out of his thoughts, "yeah, and if it doesn't have one, we- I'll take it in." Kirishima nodded, turning around and wandering into the kitchen in search of a snack and coffee, "could you tell the others when they wake up, we'll be back sooner or later," Shinso started pulling Izuku past the kitchen and out the door, waving goodbye to the red haired male.

The car ride was pretty uneventful, there was light banter as the cat rode in Izuku's lap, flinching at the slightest bump or rattle. "We're here," Shinso turned to the winged teen, who was staring at the building, it seemed like a comfy, soft, homey area, so he didn't feel particularly anxious about dropping the cat off. "Ok then," Izuku replied, picking up the cat in his arms and jumping out of the car. He then curved his wings in a pouch like way, placing the small cat inside, smiling as it curled up in a small ball. "Stop gawking and let's get this over with, I wanna spend time with the cat back at the apartment," Shinso complained, staring at the cat with longing in his eyes. "Righty, do we just ask them to check up on them?" Izuku asked, holding open the glass door so Shinso could enter, "I'm pretty sure that's how it works," the insomniac replied, observing the blonde male behind the counter. He had a pair of pastel blue glasses and crystal blue eyes, he wore a bright smile as he welcomed us in. He glanced from Shinso, to Izuku then to Izuku's wings, his eyes shon at the sight of the feathery muscles. "I-is that you're quirk?" He pointed meekly at his mint green wings, causing Izuku to nod, "yeah, but that's not the problem," the kids eyes darkened a bit before instantly glowing again, his smile faltered a little at the answer but Shinso and Izuku shrugged it off.

Izuku showed the boy the cat and explained what had happened, the boy listening intently, apart from the occasional glance at Izuku's wings. "So you'd like me to do a health check? It won't be too long, if it's serious, an hour at most," the boy carefully picked up the kitten, he observed it closer. "I haven't seen this cat around before, is it new?" He looked back up at Izuku, making eye contact. "I'm not sure, I was hoping you'd recognise it, but if you don't, then I'll adopt it." The boy smiled, "okie then, I'll do a check up, gather all the details I can on the cat and see if it's in the files, as I said before, won't take more than an hour." Shinso and Izuku looked at each other, sitting down on a couch in the empty lobby, "now we wait?" Shinso asked, staring suspiciously at the door the kid had gone through. "I guess so," Izuku responded, fiddling with his wings self consciously. Ever since the kid had mentioned his wings, he felt uneasy and anxious, he hated it, but if this helped the cat, then he was willing to go through it.