Archive of Our Own ^beta

Katsuki has a pet you wouldn't see in a regular suburban home. Really, you'd probably only see it in the wild or in a fucking zoo. In his and his family's defense, they found it in a back alley, looking to be only hours old, tiny, and starting to starve. At first, it looked like a regular house pet baby, until it grew...and grew...and grew.

That's how Katsuki ended up with a black panther named Izuku.

Yeah. You read it right, black panther.

In his defense, the poor thing looked like a tiny malnourished kitten starving and dying in a back alley. It was dark, raining, and Katsuki has a giant love for animals, especially when he was ten, when he found Izuku. It was raining the entire afternoon, and the children had to stay after school to wait for the rain to stop or die down. So it was around five when he got to leave, and it was dark and stormy. The streets were flooded with at least a few inches of rain, and it was cold.

When he heard the pitiful cries of a kitten who'd be dead by sundown, his animal-loving heart lurched, and he found the poor thing laying on moldy cardboard, soaked to the bone and defenseless. Acting quickly, he had bundled the thing in his hoodie pocket hidden under his raincoat and umbrella and trudged home, one of his quirked-warmed hands cradling the small creature to warm it.

He was terrified it wouldn't make it home. But Izuku did. When Izuku opened his eyes for the first time, Katsuki would deny it to this day, he and his family cried. The beautiful cat's eyes were the deepest shade of emerald, and Izuku latched onto Katsuki. Izuku was very kind and never tried to chew on Katsuki or anyone when he was teething. Although he did scratch up a few couch sides, that was until they got him a ceiling-high scratch post with high quality, industrial ropes. It was also anchored into the ceiling, so it wasn't budging. They had also made a few platforms for Izuku to jump onto.

They realized quickly that Izuku was not a fucking house cat but a fucking panther! When his mother realized it, his father nearly fainted. (Kind of a funny sight, but alas) Katsuki was both in awe and felt sadness creep up in his heart when he found out. They'd have to give Izuku to some sort of rescue.

He was heartbroken. He remembered nights where he couldn't sleep, and Izuku would bully his way into Katsuki's arms and knead his chest (without his claws, thankfully) and purr till Katsuki would fall asleep and wake up with Izuku in his arms.

When they tried to take Izuku to a rescue, Izuku yowled and hissed, growling with absolute fury in his tiny hisses, clutching onto Katsuki and refusing to let go. They tried two more times before eventually giving up and getting a big cat permit for the entire family, so it was actually legal to own Izuku, and it's been like that ever since. They also figured Izuku had a fucking quirk!

Not only could Izuku actually understand them, but he also found out Izuku has some sort of pyrokinetic quirk (It was really fucking weird when Izuku just breathed fire for the fire time.)

They've been best friends ever since he found Izuku in the alleyway, and it's also why Katsuki is bringing Izuku to school for 'Bring your pet to school day.' Yeah.

Who said this was a good idea?

--------------------------

Katsuki watched Izuku take the last lap of his water before licking his chaps, brushing off the last of the water out of his fur, and walking towards him. Izuku's large, warm head butted against his thigh, purring softly as Katsuki scratched him behind his ear.

"Ready, bud?" Katsuki asked softly, getting a 'mrrp' in confirmation. Katsuki nodded and pulled on his shoes, opening the door as Izuku launched himself up onto Katsuki's back, latching onto him, starting to preen Katsuki's wild, spikey hair as the blond closed the door behind him, screaming back a "BYE HAG," to his mother.

Izuku wasn't light in the slightest, but Katsuki has years of carrying the big cat, who was a little smaller than a normal male black panther. Izuku had his food for the day, and when they got home, he'd feed Izuku his nightly food.

The two trudged through their neighborhood, getting waves from the people who lived in the houses surrounding them and weird looks from people on the street. It was around a ten-minute walk to the U.A. campus, so Katsuki made idle chatter with Izuku, who huffed or chittered back. Katsuki knew all of Izuku's odd sounds and what they meant. So it was more a two-way conversation than Katsuki looking like a nutjob, talking to his pet panther on his back.

The scanner accepted his student I.D, and Katsuki walked in. Some had brought their dogs and other animals. A few that he could see brought parrots, parakeets, cockatoos. Some brought turtles; others brought lizards and bearded dragons and snakes. They all looked at him like he'd grown two heads, and for a good reason. He has a pet panther.

Who wouldn't stare?

(I would.)

--------------------------

By the time he got into U.A., he'd been given looks that looked like people were questioning theirs and his sanity. He opened the door to 1-A, and only Aizawa was present, along with Tokoyami, who was petting Dark Shadow. Both looked over, and their eyes nearly bulged out of their heads at the sight of the big cat looking curiously at them. Tokoyami nearly flew out of his seat, eyes glowing from their usual dull red. He looked so excited. Aizawa looked like he wanted to jump out of the window and pet Izuku.

Izuku carefully hopped off of Katsuki's back as Katsuki closed the door. Izuku walked to Aizawa, standing on his hind legs, front paws on the scruffy teacher's shoulders. Katsuki smirked softly, walking to his desk and setting his bag down. "You can pet him, you know? He doesn't bite." Katsuki spoke, sitting down, watching his stiff as a block teacher carefully reach out to pet Izuku's large head. The big cat's pupils extended and leaned into the hand, purring loudly.

Tokoyami approached carefully and stroked Izuku's back, the purrs getting louder as Izuku's teeth clacked together from the vibrations of his own purrs. Katsuki whistled, and Izuku's eyes carefully peeled open, staring at Katsuki, who made a slight hand gesture. Izuku pressed into Aizawa's hand before carefully going back on all fours, stalking over to Katsuki, sitting next to his seat. The blond cooed and rubbed Izuku's ears, hands heating up, Aizawa and Tokoyami watching the big cat melt into a puddle of purring goo.

Izuku's head smooshed against Katsuki's arms, and the blond opened his arms, allowing Izuku to sit on his lap, leaning against his chest, resting his head on the blond's right shoulder, closing his eyes in peaceful bliss. Aizawa and Tokoyami (who were staring, jaws still on the floor in shock) watched as Katsuki pet the panthers back, kneading his fingers through the big cat's fur. "Bakugou," Aizawa called out, watching Tokoyami out of the corner of his eye slink back to his seat, getting a grunt in response from the blond. "H...How?" Aizawa asked in an exhausted exasperation, still slightly gaping at the blond, who didn't seem disturbed at the fact he had a fucking panther as a pet.

"I found him when I was ten, barely hours old, starving and soaked to the bone in an alleyway when it was pouring. If I left him, he would be dead by sundown. We didn't even fucking figure out he was a panther till he was a few months old and kept growing," Katsuki looked slightly worn out when he kept softly muttering, 'and growing and growing,' all while leaning his head onto the pather's where it rested on his shoulder.

"If you're asking if he's legal to own, we have shitty permits. When we realized he was a big cat, we tried to take him to a rescue," Katsuki stopped momentarily, brows once creased were relaxed, eyes glazed over with something akin to fond (as fond as Bakugou Katsuki can get), "He threw a few all three times, yowling and latching onto me for dear life. He was distressed, and eventually, we just caved and got the fucking permits." Katsuki snorted softly, looking over, watching the door fling open, the self-proclaimed 'Bakusquad' entering.

Kirishima had a pretty big golden retriever trudging behind him, looking as peppy as the man himself. Kaminari had a ferret dead asleep in a sling wrapped around his chest; the fabric was Pikachu-themed. Sero didn't seem to have a pet, neither did Ashido. They all looked over and froze in their spots, along with the rest of the class, looking at the giant fucking cat in Bakugou's lap. Ohmygodisthatafuckingpanther?

Katsuki was internally snickering while Izuku stared at the frozen bodies of class 1-A, eyes wide in fear, horror, or confusion; Izuku couldn't tell. Izuku carefully slinked off of Katsuki's lap, footfalls silent as he walked up to the group. Kirishima's golden retriever leaned forward, sniffing the big cat's nose, eliciting the big cat to do the same, pupils wide with confusion and curiosity. Kirishima and the others were staring at the big cat who looked like he could one-shot the dog, but who merely pawed carefully at the dog's head, who 'boofed' in return.

Izuku turned to Kirishima, standing in front of him, red eyes wide in confusion and mild horror. Izuku simply plopped down and placed his paws (carefully) on Kirishima's chest, chittering softly, tail swaying with delight. Katsuki openly snorted as Kirishima let out a strangled sound. Katsuki, for the sake of more entertainment and Izuku getting pets, interjected, "He wants you to pet him, rock-for-brains. He doesn't bite, but will lick you." Kirishima looked up at Katsuki, seeking help and confirmation, eyes wide, before carefully placing a hand on Izuku's head, stroking it.

The response was instant. Izuku nudged up into Kirishima's hand, breathing softly out of his nose, purring. The purrs seemed to shock everyone out of their stupor; all taking turns to pet the panther, who was a puddle of furry goo on the floor, as everyone cooed and baby talked to him, all while petting his belly and head.

Izuku is a very happy kitty.

--------------------------

They had all decided to go to an open field to play with their pets, and chat. Teachers also came to see (and pet) Izuku, who was fucking real. He was not a baseless rumor; he's not some fucking robot. Izuku got many pets from Midnight and Mic, who looked about ready to scream when Izuku carefully groomed his face, rubbing their faces together. It was a good time. They got to eat out in the field, play with their classes pets, Izuku, and goof around.

It was safe to say they did not expect on Bring your pet to school day, was for someone (Being BAKUGOU FUCKING KATSUKI OF ALL PEOPLE) to bring a real ass panther to school. They also didn't expect the fucking LEAGUE OF VILLAINS to attack!

A swirling portal swarmed and festered in the middle of the field as everyone backed away. Shigaraki, Dabi, and Toga stepped out. ("The portal was fucking purple. Handman, shigaraki or something, had dry as fuck hair and skin. His hair was kinda pale, like pale fucking blue. He had these fucking hands all around his body. Dabi had black hair, spikey like mine, but mine is better, and I don't fucking know, stuff that looked like skin graphs that were on his lower face, ears, and they were purple. He also had stables pulling them together-")

Izuku's blood boiled. 'So these are the people who kidnapped my Kacchan...' Izuku's eyes grew dark, ears flicking back, staring Shigaraki and the others down like feeble prey in his domain. He stepped forward, at the front of everyone, slightly in front of Aizawa. Katsuki whistled, and everyone's attention went to him, who viciously smirked, staring at Izuku.

"Hunt, Izuku," IZuku's eyes glowed, pupils, slitting. Aizawa and everyone looked at the panther, confused as he stalked forward, head down, jaw open. Izuku's head rose, eyes glowing red as he lunged forward, fire sparking and roaring out of his mouth as he roared. The fire took the shape of two different hellcats on either side, his body catching ablaze, turning into the largest hellcat of the pair, hurling towards the villains.

The three hellcats let out bellowing roars as the two flanking Izuku turned off, engaging fight in Dabi, who was about to encase the students on his side in fire, and Toga, who had started to rush forward, knives out, with a manic flush to her cheeks. Izuku went for Shigaraki. Flickers of blue flames roared along Izuku's flame-encased body, the grass under him burning and charring as he blasted forward, swerving to dodge Kurogiri's portals. He jumped, claws out as he made contact with Shigaraki. His claws ripped through his hoodie, slicing through skin like a hot knife through butter. Shigaraki reeled back in pain, screaming as he stumbled back. Blood started to pool out of the large claw marks on the villain's chest, soaking his black hoodie.

Shigaraki could already feel the wooziness of blood lost take place, sloppily dodging flame-encased claws. Shigaraki stumbled and hit the ground hard, Izuku instantly pinning him, one flame-encased paw next to the man's face, the other digging into the flesh right above his chest, skin smoking and burning away, leaving the smell of burning flesh to waft into the air.

Fire slowly receded into Izuku's body, claws still the color of hot metal, searing into the flesh of the man below him, teeth slippery and dripping saliva onto the other's face, red eyes glowing in a blazing fury. The creature loomed above him, glaring into his soul as Kurogiri finally acted, opening portals under a burnt Toga and clawed up Dabi. Shigaraki sunk into the portal, Izuku's claws leaving his body with a sickening popping noise before the warp gate closed.

The fire-made hellcats fizzled out, leaving Izuku in a mildly burnt field, steam and smoke expelling through his nose, the sparks of dying embers glowing in the smoke vented out of his nostrils. His eyes slowly turned back to green, walking back, body still smoking slightly, some of his fur frayed or the tips burnt. Izuku sat down in front of Katsuki, big doe eyes looking up at him like he didn't just attempt murder. Katsuki crouched and eased the tension out of Izuku's face, the big cat letting out a big yawn, tongue lolling out as he started to lap the blood off of his paws, leaving everyone shell shocked.

--------------------------

Bring your pet to school day would be fun, they said.

Aizawa would get a raise, Nezu said.

That raise never fucking came.