MHA: A Cat's Way (Ch 96) (Patreon)

Mirko and I are making our way down some back alleys, both of us wearing disguises so we don’t get recognized. Well, as much as masks and casual clothes can be considered disguises. When I asked why she had clothes sized for a high school girl, she said that she never got around to throwing away her old clothes from when she was in school. Didn’t explain why they were clean and in such good condition, but if she wants to lie so badly about something so small I guess it’s fine?

At the very least I feel like it would have been awkward to point out that I brought my own clothes after she handed them to me. Did she think I would have only brought one change of clothes?

…

Why does it feel like she’s projecting a bit?

I didn’t really have the energy to say much on the topic anyways after spending an hour getting kicked down her stairs/slide anyways. I’m pretty sure I only even managed to pass whatever the test was due to two major factors. Her getting tired, and me throwing my suitcase at her face. The mixture of pain and surprise threw off her aim, so instead of kicking me in the chest she kicked me in the arm. Still painful, but I didn’t go back down the slide again, which is the important part.

It’s a shame my stuff didn’t break her nose like she did mine, but I guess you can’t have everything.

Apparently it took me longer to get past her than she thought since she threw my current outfit at me and pushed me inside the bathroom to get changed quickly then dragged me out almost before I managed to get everything on. I still haven’t gotten any explanation on why we’re currently walking through clearly suspicious areas, but at least my outfit is nice!

A red t-shirt under an open button with differing shades of blue and purple criss crossing across it, and a pair of black pair of skinny jeans. Meanwhile, Mirko has a pair of denim jeans that cuts off just past her knees and a tight-fitting short-sleeved white shirt that shows off her muscles. Around her waist is a black leather belt with a gold buckle with some kind of design on it, though I haven’t gotten a good chance to really see it yet.

It’s not just my outfit that I like~.

Of course, the things that tell anyone who isn’t stuck staring at our outfits are what we’re wearing on our heads. Mirko has an orange tiger wrestling mask with holes for her ears. And for some reason, I’m wearing a wooden rabbit mask to cover the upper portion of my face and a beanie with lenses sewn into a flap on the front that can be unbuckled to lay over my eyes. It also includes holes for my ears.

Finally getting tired of the silence we’ve been walking in for the past ten minutes, I ask her where we’re going. “Where are we heading, nya?”

Instead of an answer, I get a question. “How long have you been making puns?”

My ear twitches at the question, which isn’t as easily answered as she probably thinks given that I’m not the one who first noticed me making them. Midorinya is the first person who mentioned them, but Himiko started to make cat puns earlier which I’m pretty sure she did because I did. Which means…

“Purrobably around a year? Bite less, maybe half of one?” That’s the best timeline I can give on it since I’m pretty sure I wasn’t making puns before Midorinya’s first encounter with All Might.

She hums in response. “How often do you let your instincts run wild?”

My head tilts in confusion as I raise an eyebrow. “I… don’t, nya? The Spurrts Festival is the closest. Meow else people would die.”

She doesn’t reply, just nods her head. “Like I thought.”

I wait for more, but she just keeps walking. My eyes narrow when I see her lips twitch. Is… She’s totally doing this on purpose!

I huff, crossing my arms while considering whether or not I should bother trying to get more information. I doubt I will if this is how she’s going to act, but I should still get something as long as she replies in some form.

Before I can though, she abruptly stops, causing me to do so as well, in front of a gray metal door that blends in with the brickwork around it. She raps on it with the back of her knuckles, using her other hand to raise a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture as the sound echoes inside the building.

I’d raise an eyebrow at the secrecy, but it would be hidden behind my mask. So instead I just let my tail lash the air to show my annoyance at being left in the dark.

It doesn’t take long for a short rectangular window to open in the upper portion of the door and someone with large, multifaceted eyes to look through. They make some sort of high pitched trilling noise that has my ears flattening and Mirko’s bending away. I have no idea what they’re saying, but Mirko seems to understand.

“Fuck you Tobubagu, just open the damn door.” There’s another trilling noise that causes Mirko to scowl. “Do that again and I’m kicking the door down, then kicking your ass then kicking your parents and bosses in the face.”

The now named Tobubagu stares for a moment before slamming the window closed. I glance at Mirko and see her tapping her foot with her arms crossed. Though for some reason there’s also a small smile on her face. But it vanishes once a loud clanking sound makes its way out the door, being replaced with a scowl. It swings open to reveal that Tobubagu is someone with a fly mutation, their skin gray with bristles dotting their face and trailing across their exposed arms. But the majority of the upper part of their face is taken up by their large multifaceted eyes that are easily bigger than my closed fist.

Fast buzzing wings keep their short body afloat, and they scowl at Mirko with their normal mouth. “Fucking hell, why can’t you just give me the password? You’re always threatening me! It’s not even a hard password to remember!”

So that high pitched noise was just to annoy us then?

If they do that every time Mirko shows up, then I would want to beat them up too.

The hero in question looks at him deadpan. “There is absolutely no way in hell anyone would ever willingly tell you that you’re a ‘pretty pretty princess’.”

Tobubagu huffs, crossing their arms and looking away as they make a much lower pitched trilling sound that doesn’t hurt my or Mirko’s ears. “My parents do…”

She snorts, patting the fly-quirked individual on the head as she walks past, me only a step behind her. “Yeah, but technically, your whole family are criminals. The HPSC sanctioning this place doesn’t make it any less illegal. Just be happy about being a princess of the ring.”

We head deeper into the dimly lit building as their angry shout echoes behind us. “But I want people to tell me I’m pretty!”

I side-eye Mirko as she chuckles. “So… was that purrson a queen or a tom?” She raises an eyebrow in a silent question and I roll my eyes as I focus on my words to make sure my mouth actually says what I want it to. “Were they male or female, nya?”

She hums, looking at me appraisingly for a moment. “Female. Appreciate you waiting to ask until we were out of earshot, she’s self-conscious about how her quirk makes her look.”

This time it’s my turn to raise an eyebrow at her in a silent question, which she immediately picks up on and waves a hand dismissively. “She knows I don’t mean anything bad about my teasing, and I made sure that she knows to tell me if it starts bothering her. It’s less me poking at her appearance and more her insistence on making her ‘password’ someone telling her that she’s a pretty pretty princess.”

I snort at that, idly wondering what age the fly girl actually is just before Mirko pushes open the door at the end of the hall. All at once I’m hit by a wave of noise, but it isn’t painful like Tobubagu’s trilling earlier. Instead, it’s comforting.

And familiar.

Mirko sweeps out an arm to show off the large open space, at least it would be open if it wasn’t filled with people to the point there’s almost to room to advance. There’s shouting, cursing, and cheering all combining into a chaotic sound wave where you can barely even hear yourself think, let alone say.

I take a deep breath in, tension I didn’t even realize I was carrying leaving when I breathe out. Along with the scent of desperation and blood thirst as Mirko gives and introduction that’s not needed.

“Welcome to one of the few HPSC sanctioned fighting rings: The Spectacle Stadium!”