Chapter Text
“Maybe you should look into getting an animal companion, Aizawa.”
Shouta blinks once. Twice. Three times.
“I already have two cats. Tora and Miruku.”
“Yes, well...” His therapist gives him a funny look, tilting her head. “Have you considered adopting a hybrid? They’re more expensive, but if you need company they’re highly recommended. They’re to take care of than children, because they’re quick learners, and friendlier than pets, because they’re partially human. Lots of heroes have them nowadays.”
Shouta’s nose twitches. He’s... aware of hybrids. Nemuri has one, a little blonde kitty named Toga that bites too often and laughs too maniacally for Shouta’s taste. Hizashi’s talking about getting one for himself, a more grown one to help with his nightmares. But he’s never thought about adopting one for himself.
It’s not that he dislikes hybrids, per se. He’s personally taken down enough illegal breeding houses and rescued enough (and most of the time, far too young) hybrids from sexually abusive owners to know that they’ve got it rough, and he’s not one to judge in the first place. It’s just that hybrids are more human than he cares for. He’s not a big fan of humans. If he were to get another pet, he’d look into the possibility of getting a nice bengal cat, or maybe a snake.
Not a hybrid.
“What makes you think I need a companion?”
Her pen gets set down. Then her clipboard. Ah, a face-to-face talk. Shouta hates those.
“You need someone, Shouta. Being alone isn’t healthy for you anymore. You’re too isolated, too anxious, and it’s making you spiral again. You’re unwilling to go to your friends for help, and you keep putting off our sessions. You ignored my calls for weeks. I was about to find someone else to fill in your slot.”
He stares at her blankly.
“I won’t be institutionalized. I have work.”
She sighs.
“I wouldn’t recommend that unless you were in crisis mode, which is exactly what I’m trying to prevent,” she tells him. “Just think about it, alright? Obviously you don’t need to go the pet route. Maybe just try going out in public a little more often. You said you’ve been housebound whenever you’re not at work, that’s not healthy. It’ll be your homework for the week.”
Shouta huffs through his nose.
“Very well.”
He ends up going to a hybrid rescue shelter with Hizashi. And before you even start, yes, he’s aware of the irony of that.
“This is Hitoshi,” the man leading them through the shelter says, stopping in front of the pen that contains a mangy-looking cat hybrid with long, purple hair sleeping on his bed. “He’s new here, and he’s got a bit of an attitude, but he’s very gentle and trusting once you get to know him. You’ll need to stock up on catnip, though, he loves the stuff!!”
“He looks so sweet,” Hizashi coos, eyes melting at the sight. “Ah... I’d love to, he really seems like my type... reminds me of my best pal here, actually.”
He nudges Shouta’s side playfully, which earns him a nasty glare.
“Unfortunately, though, I’m looking for someone a little bit older... and possibly experienced with, ah, PTSD? I get nasty nightmares, heh.”
The man’s eyes light up at that.
“Oh, we’ve got someone perfect for you then! Right this way. Her name is Fuyumi, and she...”
As they’re lead away from Hitoshi’s kennel, something catches Shouta’s eye and makes him pause.
Two somethings, actually.
Two kennels, side by side, with the hybrids in each one of them glaring at each other from opposite ends of their pens.
One of them, the larger of the two, appears to be an albino wolf. He’s much too big to still be a pup, but far smaller than the other wolf hybrids Shouta’s seem. A runt, most likely. And a feisty one at that, if the way he snarls and bares his teeth at the other hybrid is any clear indication.
The other one is a dark green lop bunny, with long, floppy ears that hang to his elbows and a twitchy little nose. Despite his smaller stature, he glares back just as hard at the wolf hybrid, with a look of determination like Shouta’s never seen. He isn’t a cute little bunny like the hybrid boy out front (“Koji,” Shouta thinks), he’s a fierce fighter rabbit.
“- lthough her brothers aren’t going to be happy with her leaving, so you might deal with some separation anxiety issues. Maybe have them visit each other from time to time- Oh, Shouta-san, have you found one you like?”
Shouta’s brow furrows.
“What’s the deal with these two?”
The man’s face pinches up.
“Ah, Izuku and Katsuki... they don’t get along very well, as you can probably tell, but they grew up in the same breeding house and get very anxious without the other around. They’re a package deal, and a difficult one. Why don’t we keep looking for now? I was just about to show Yamada-san our lovely Fuyumi.”
Shouta spares one last look at the two intriguing hybrids, then follows him out.
Fuyumi is a big, lovely cat with red and white patched fur and a charming little pair of eyeglasses. She’s very polite, quick to shake Hizashi’s hand and answer all his impromptu interview questions with a sweet smile.
“I hear you and your brothers are close?”
“Yes, I... like to keep them safe,” she says, and it’s the first coy answer she’s given him.
“Will it be a problem if you have to leave them?” He asks, concerned.
“I don’t want you to leave, dam,” a quiet voice calls out, and Shouta and Hizashi both turn to the source of the outburst.
A younger boy, likely no older than twelve, with the same patched fur as Fuyumi’s, although his is manged and growing oddly over his left eye, where clear scar tissue is evident underneath. His chin wobbles and his little fangs dig into his bottom lip and he reaches through the bars of his kennel to grab Fuyumi’s skirt. She crouches down next to him and gives Hizashi an apologetic look.
“Sorry, this is my youngest brother. I’ll just be a moment,” she explains before stroking the boy’s head soothingly. “Shouto, it’ll be alright. Yamada-san is a very kind man, and I’m sure he’ll let me visit you if you get lonely. And you’ll still have Dabi and Natsuo here, remember?”
Shouto’s eyes well up with tears.
“But I only want you!” He wails before bursting into sobs, shaking and whimpering.
“Oh, dear...”
“Shouto is a... special case,” the man tries to explain to Hizashi. “All of the hybrids in their pack were rescued from an especially abusive household. I won’t go into details, but Shouto got some of the worst of it, and without a proper mother figure around, he latched onto Fuyumi as his dam. He’s very attached to her.”
“Oh, that’s awful,” Hizashi sighs. “Poor thing. He looks so young, too...”
“They’ve all been exposed to harsh treatment since birth, but Shouto’s older than he looks. He’s really fifteen, almost sixteen, he was just so malnourished when we got him that it stunted his growth.”
“Ah... I really don’t want to separate them,” he says softly, biting his lip. “Is... there a limit on the number of hybrids you can adopt here?”
“Five per person,” he answers quickly. “Of course, that’s only if they can pass our extensive background checks, but considering you’re Present Mic... I think you’ll be alright.”
“I want to take both of them,” he says, setting his jaw. “Fuyumi and Shouto. That way he won’t have to be without her, and she won’t be all alone while I’m away. Does that sound good?”
“Oh, Yamada-san,” Fuyumi gushes, standing upright. “That’s so kind of you!”
“Whatever you need,” he promises. “Do you want your other brothers with you too? I’ve got three more slots I can fill. Money isn’t an issue.”
“Er, about the others, Yamada-san-“
“O-Oh, Dabi and Natsuo will be alright-“
“Them too,” he says, turning to the man. “Dabi and Natsuo. I can deal with any health issues or other needs. I want them to be together.”
“Jeez,” Shouto mumbles.
“A-Alright then! I’ll introduce you! Fuyumi, Shouto, gather up your things, Yamada-san will be taking you home tonight!”
In all the excitement, Shouta gets left behind. He feels rude watching Fuyumi gently guide Shouto through packing up his things, so he wanders off, hoping to maybe come across a sweet cat hybrid that will let him pet them.
Instead, he ends up in front of Izuku and Katsuki again.
They seem to have put an end to their silent showdown, as Izuku is gently cleaning his ears and muttering to himself and Katsuki is flipping through a book on his bed.
“What do you want, old pervert?”
The baritone of Katsuki’s voice startles Shouta. He seems so small for his kind, he wasn’t expecting such a deep voice.
“I’m not a pervert,” he says evenly. “I’m a hero.”
“Heroes can be perverts,” Katsuki insists, briefly looking up from his book. “That guy you were with is adopting Fuyumi and her shit litter, right? Just ask them about it.”
Something about the way he says that makes Shouta’s stomach churn, but he doesn’t react.
“What are you reading?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Sure it does,” he says. “Is it any good?”
“It’s shit.”
“It’s his favorite,” Izuku speaks up from the next pen over. His voice is definitely more suited for him. “It’s a romance manga about-“
”CAN IT, DEKU!!”
The book gets chucked at Izuku’s head so fast that Shouta doesn’t even have time to react to the odd nickname.
“Katsuki!” A voice shouts from the front. “Knock it off, or I’ll grab the spray bottle!”
“You can it too then, Four-Eyes!!”
“Kacchan, you shouldn’t be so mean to Tenya,” Izuku scolds him. “He’s only trying to help so you can get adopted.”
“I can get adopted just fine!”
“Then why haven’t you yet?”
“Maybe because of you, nerd,” he growls, stalking off his bed with his hackles raised. Izuku’s ears perk up. “I could eat you right now, you know. I should. I’d be better off without you.”
To Shouta’s surprise, Izuku stands up to his full height and narrows his eyes.
“I’m not scared of you, Kacchan.”
The whole ordeal has Shouta’s head spinning with intrigue, but before he can process any of it, Hizashi’s voice pulls his attention away.
“WAIT! I want Hitoshi, too!!”
Shouta is back the very next day.
“I want these two,” he says, pointing to Izuku and Katsuki.
Protests arise immediately.
“Oi, you don’t even know us!” Katsuki.
“E-Er, can we speak in private first?” Izuku.
“So you are a pervert after all! I fuckin’ called it, didn’t I?” Katsuki.
“Th-There’s just some things you should know about... my health a-and... um...” Izuku.
“Aizawa-san, I told you these are a difficult pair,” the man says. “They’ll fight, they’ll take a while to adjust to the new living situation, and they both have some concerning health issues.”
“I don’t care,” Shouta says sternly. “I have the money. Give me your speech, let me talk to them, then I’ll sign the papers and take them home. I took the week off already.”
The man gives him a withering look, then the boys, then him again, before sighing.
“Come, follow me. I’ll explain everything I can.”
It’s pretty standard stuff, and honestly not as bad as Shouta was expecting. Izuku is autistic and struggles with osteoporosis and digestion issues, including painful bloating and constipation if he doesn’t stick to a proper diet. Katsuki has PTSD from a neglectful and physically abusive dam, as well as urinary incontinence issues, but as long as he takes his medicine he should be alright.
But here’s the kicker: they want to be heroes.
Apparently, both of them have been training their whole lives to be heroes, which can probably attribute to most of their closeness, since it certainly doesn’t stem from them being close friends. Unfortunately, because of their health issues and their hybrid statuses, they haven’t been able to get proper training or education beyond the public hero laws.
It almost makes Shouta change his mind.
Almost.
Because even though he doesn’t want to even think about putting these two young boys into the unforgiving job of a hero, even though he couldn’t stand the thought of them getting hurt (or worse), even though his body is screaming at him to turn back now-
He’s drawn to them.
He doesn’t want a little hybrid kid to raise. If he wanted to take care of a child, he’d adopt one of his own. He also doesn’t want a hybrid partner. He can barely stand the thought of a human mate, and the consent laws for hybrids are still too weak and overlooked for him to feel comfortable with.
But a pair of feisty, take-no-shit teenagers with drive and volume that are sure to nip this whole isolation issue in the bud?
Well. He’s been thinking about taking up teaching anyways.