There they were, standing in front of Aizawa’s door, a half-conscious villain slumped at their feet. Their wide, gleaming eyes looked up at him expectantly, as if awaiting praise for what they clearly considered a job well done.

Shota let out a weary sigh, already feeling the beginnings of a headache.

It wasn’t that he could complain too much—after all, the creature technically wasn’t breaking the law. But this strange, experimental hybrid he had taken under his wing was turning his already complicated life into a circus.

Ever since the police raided that villain’s lab and unearthed the "cat experiment," Aizawa had agreed, against his better judgment, to take responsibility for them. What he had expected was a cat—an actual cat. What he got instead was… this. A humanoid being with feline features: ears, a tail, sharp reflexes, and an unrelenting penchant for chaos.

They acted like a cat, sure—bringing back "gifts" to the house. Only, instead of dead birds or mice, their gifts came in the form of petty criminals and low-level villains, most of whom were barely breathing by the time they arrived.

Shota pinched the bridge of his nose, suppressing the urge to groan aloud. "Why… why do you keep doing this?" he muttered, more to himself than to the creature.