I don’t get to blow off much steam during my midnight hunt - just some random thugs I run across and the odd hero who chases after me. Unfortunately my conversation with Gentle Criminal took up too much time for me to get a quick match in at the Masquerade, so I had to make do.

Didn’t kill anyone though, which is an odd feeling. It’s pretty rare for me to go hunting and not cause any deaths. There’s just something…relaxing?... about having coated my claws in someone’s blood after a proper hunt.

It’s not like it’s necessary though so I shrug it off. Instead I head back to UA and get a more reasonable amount of sleep than I’d originally been planning. Who knew that being able to put Nezu’s offer to the test without any real risk would help settle my emotions?

So it’s with a rested body that I walk into the dorm’s common room in the morning. And it’s in the common room that I see the entire class sitting in a half circle facing me. Reminds me of an intervention, I think. Not that I’ve ever had one of those of course! It’s totally just because of tv and movies! People definitely haven’t tried to have interventions for my catnip add- *cough cough* enjoyment. I totally don’t eat or smoke enough of it that it could be called an addiction!

Anyways, I don’t think this is an intervention for something totally unrelated to me due to one simple fact: Most everyone is glaring at me. Obviously Minya nd Tormew aren’t, and some of them look like they don’t really care, but one person is unsettling.

Bakugou, of all people, is smirking at me with a huge thumbs up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him happy when he wasn’t blowing something up, and judging by how not even his own clan is sitting with him I’m not the only one. Creepy.

“Um, Catia,” Uraraka starts the conversation. “Don’t you think you were a little harsh with Midoriya yesterday?”

I tilt my head while my ears twitch in confusion. “Harsh about what, nya?”

A round of disbelief goes around all of their faces while Bakugou looks like he’s going to laugh. “She’s talking about how you threw up when he asked you out, kero.”

My head tilts the other way at Tsu’s answer before I bop my fist on my palm. “Oh, it’s that, nya!” I sheepishly scratch at my ear. “Yeah… something was going on with my quirk so I actually didn’t hear what he was meowing at me.”

I get deadpan looks and an awkward silence fills the room, broken only by Bakugou’s snickers. It’s only now that I notice that Midorinya isn't actually with the group. I guess he really wanted to go out and eat…

I clear my throat. “So… where is he, nya? I should purrobably apologize.”

They stare at me intensely, the continued silence starting to make me uncomfortable. Eventually though Tsu, Momo, Tormew, and Minya stand. “We don’t have class today, so he said he would be spending the day in the support studio working on some equipment for the festival.” Momo explains.

I nod and the five of us head out. But a sound causes me to look back, seeing Bakugou following us. At my raised eyebrow he smirks. “There’s no way I’m missing out on seeing how badly this turns out for the nerd.”

I roll my eyes, deciding to ignore him.

On the way I question them about why we don’t have class and they explain that Nezu is having a meeting with the teachers to discuss something that’s happening soon. Probably to talk with them about the raid that’s going to be conducted on the Shie Haissaikai.

Which reminds me, I need to talk to him about getting in on that.

There’s absolutely no way that I can physically join of course, but mentally is another matter entirely~. Have to make sure that Himi and Gentle Criminal don’t end up getting taken into custody.

We reach the support studio just in time for an explosion to blow the door off its hinges, embedding into the wall across from it. After exchanging wary glances with the others, we tentatively poke our heads around the corner to see an unusual sight.

Midorinya is yelling at someone.

“I told you that you needed to wait for me to check the programming! You know you’re horrible at that!”

“But how was I supposed to know that it wasn’t right when I tested it? That’s how you find out if your baby works or not! Not through a screen, but by bringing them to life!”

Given how my own terminology tends to be a bit off, all of us are aware that the pink haired, soot covered girl is talking about her inventions and not trying to actually create life.

Midorinya throws his hands in the air in frustration. “I knew because half of the code you wrote for the invention you made the other day was horrible! I’m surprised you can get any of your ‘babies’ working!”

She gasps. “Rude! At least I can actually put my babies together! You barely managed to stick some wires to your glove! Singular! Glove! Not even a full pair! Too obsessed with ‘getting it just right’! Don’t you know that you have to give your babies enough freedom to express themselves!? You haven’t even caused one explosion since you’ve been here! Not one!”

“That’s because explosions are bad! And inventions are supposed to be made exactly to the blueprints! If you randomly change them while you’re working then you run into problems like this!” He gestures to the previous location of the door.

“Explosions mean that once a baby works out their kinks that they’re going to be awesome! Baby Stifler!”

“Boom Girl!”

“Lady Finger!”

“Bubblegum!”

*Stare*

Suddenly they turn to us, our stares apparently managing to draw them out of their yelling match. They look at us with their faces practically smooshed together, having gotten in each others’ faces during their argument.

Seeing me, Midorinya’s face flushes and he turns away, focusing on a table covered in… inventing things. I sigh, walking forward and putting a hand on his shoulder. He ignores me, fiddling with some wires and a set of tweezers.

“I heard almost nothing mew said to me yesterday. I didn’t vomit because of mew.” Being upfront is the best policy for situations like this. It’s not good to leave any room for misunderstandings, so I keep it short and simple.

And it seems to work since he startles and whirls on me, a spark of hope in his eyes. “Really!? So you aren’t viscerally repulsed at the thought of being with me!?”

I blink, my tail tip flickering. “Nyo? Mew do know that we’re friends right?”

He nods, even as an uncertain look comes over his face. “Y-yeah. Friends…” His eyes become downcast for a few seconds before firming up and meeting my own. “Yesterday, I asked you out on a date. Would you like to do that?”

I blink. “Nya.” So that’s what it was. It wasn’t just to hang out? He’s not going to like the answer…

“I’m gay, nya.”

He blinks for a few seconds, as if the thought is so foreign that he needs time to process it. In the background I can hear Bakugou laughing, and a sound of embarrassed surprise from Momo.

“I thought that was kind of obvious, kero.”

Tsu’s words seem to be just what Midorinya needs to hear to snap out of his daze. He flushes and turns around. “Oh.” Is all he says, causing me to sigh. I turn him back around and grab his shoulders to make sure he doesn’t retreat again.

“It has nothing to do with mew, I realized that a long time ago. I just don’t think it’s necessary to yowl about it.” I shrug. “But we are still friends, and we’ll always watch each other’s furs.” I smile, holding out a fist for him to bump. “Nya?”

He stares at me for a few seconds before letting out a small chuckle and lightly tapping it. “Yeah. We’ve got each other’s furs.”

I smile, draping an arm around his shoulder and guiding him to a seat. “As an apurrlogy, I’ll explain why I threw up, and why I always meow about my plain cats looking normal.”

“I actually meow them spy cats…”