"You okay there, Shino?" An energetic voice asked, belonging to a long, green haired woman with yellow eyes, known to the public as Ragdoll. She had a red circle around her right eye and three red whiskers painted on either cheek. She was pouting, walking in front of her friend and constantly circling her, unable to just stay walking on a straight path like a normal person. "You're looking down!"

"Huh? Oh I'm fine, Tomoko…" Her friend, a medium-length brown haired woman with equally brown eyes known as Mandalay, who has two red painted crescents under each of her eyes. She was frowning, her eyes dim.

"Ya sure? We can go back if you want." Tomoko offered, hopping over to the brunette and putting a hand on her shoulder with an understanding look. "I can take Yawara or Ryuko with me if you wanna stay with Kota!"

"Thanks, but I'll stick it out." Shino assured, patting her friend's paw.

They were both in matching outfits, with red utility belts that had paw emblems at the centre on their somewhat puffy skirts. They wore boots with steel soles that had furry tops, and vests with white centres that had red lines running over them, as well as bells around their collars and cream coloured outlines. Mandalay's outfit was mostly red, while Ragdoll's was primarily yellow. They also both had tails in line with their colours and white paw gloves with real claws at the ends of them, as well as headphones that were like large cat ears.

"I've been with him nonstop since he arrived, so it might be better if we both have a little bit of time away from each other. It might help me think of a way to try to make him feel a little better if this movie idea doesn't work out. Besides, Ryuko has got to stay behind in case they call her."

"Oh yeah!" Tomoko said with a slight laugh, only just remembering and rubbing the back of her head with her paw as they continued onto the fringe of the city they were in. Musutafu. "Kinda forgot about that."

"You forget about a lot of things." Shino said fondly, managing a small smile before looking forward and dropping back into a more serious expression. "Plus, it isn't fair if you and Tiger are doing all the work keeping our patrol quotas up. We're all supposed to be pitching in while we're in the city technically."

"Yeah I guess, but man it's boring!" Ragdoll said, starting to skip instead of walk, pouting. "Where's all the villains? They said this town is supposed to be overflowing with them!"

"Well actually they said the crime rate was higher than average. Not necessarily villainy, I mean we caught a few robbers in the act earlier." Mandalay pointed out, remembering how easy it had been even for the two to deal with the situation. There wasn't even any reason to have to use their quirks, they were just the first ones on the scene. "The heroes in this city are mostly newbies or low ranking heroes. They tend to have issues when more serious villains show up. That's why they ask us to patrol when we come into the city, in case an actual villain shows up."

"Ugh… I know but I wanna fight for once!" Tomoko complained, running around her friend. "It's too boring and peaceful! I'm too energetic!"

"You're never not gonna be too energetic, Tomoko." Shino chuckled, grabbing her friend by the arm, setting her back on track. "Behave and I'll spar with you once we get back to the office."

"Okay!" The green haired woman said excitedly, perking back up. Her brunette friend rolled her eyes, amused at her antics. "Still, you'd think we'd have run into at least a small time thug or something by now."

"Maybe they heard the Wild Wild Pussycats were in town, turned tail and fled for their lives." Shino joked, as they started walking along a pier, various warehouses to the side of them.

The two women were part of a fairly well known four-person team of professional heroes known as the Wild Wild Pussycats. Alongside Mandalay and Ragdoll, there was Ryuko Tsuchikawa more commonly known as Pixie-Bob and Yawara Chatora, known to the public as Tiger.

The other two members of the team were currently at their office they had in the city. It was a small place, not quite on par with their forest hideout but they didn't need it to be. It had been in their possession for a while, as the city was close to their forest hideout where they preferred to reside usually.

The two missing members were at the moment babysitting one Kota Izumi, Shino's nephew. She went back to frowning, looking ahead with a quiet sigh. The child had been orphaned just a short few months ago, his parents killed by a monstrous villain for nothing more than sick kicks.

Ever since it had happened, Kota had become understandably depressed and withdrawn, bitter with the world and blaming heroes for it all. He hated the line of work with a passion now, it seemed. A sad fact Shino couldn't do anything about no matter how hard she tried.

She couldn't blame him of course, she was still depressed herself, having lost a sibling in that attack. Her fellow teammates, her best friends could sometimes coax a few smiles or giggles out of her for a few moments like Ragdoll did earlier but the pain didn't go away. Sometimes she just wanted to grab Kota, hold him close and never let go.

In fact, they were only even in Musutafu for yet another attempt to try to cheer the young boy up, even briefly. One of their off-duty teammates, Pixie-Bob, had been given tickets to the premiere of a movie she had a cameo in as a secondary role.

Studios often requested popular heroes and heroines to cameo in the movie, it wasn't really any secret that it was a way of making more money from the films, much like big name actors appearing in small scenes or as voices of CGI characters. Still, Ryuko had been eager to see what it was like to be in a movie so she had agreed to show up.

The movie has nothing to do with heroes and the pro heroine had convinced the studio to give her tickets for the entire team plus one, so they'd decided to bring Kota along, arriving early to prepare for it. It was at least worth a shot to try and make him feel better, seeing as nothing else was working so far.

She just hoped-

Before she could continue down her somewhat depressing train of thought and before Ragdoll could do anything to pull her out of it, having noticed her face again, both were surprised when the sound of a guitar began to carry through the air.

Both heroines' gazes turned to the warehouse beside them where the noise was coming from, it looked more worn down than the rest, like it had been abandoned.

Then a voice started singing

"I caught a chill, and it's still frozen on my skin

I'm alone, by myself

No one else to explain

How far do I go?

No one knows…

If the end is so much better why don't we just live forever?"

The two cats traded concerned glances at the lyrics, Mandalay suddenly hurrying on inside before Ragdoll could react. She started weaving in between boxes and crates, soon reaching the centre of the room where there was a curly, green haired young man with freckles on his admittedly cute face who was clad in a high school uniform. An eighteen-year-old, if she had to guess.

What concerned her though wasn't the sad lyrics themselves but how he was singing them. He was pouring his all into every word, looking so small and sad as his soul came out with every lyric he sung. He was a rather good singer at that too, she had to admit.

Then the tears came, as he continued on.

"'Cause I feel like I'm breaking inside

I don't want to fall and say I lost it all

'Cause baby there's a part of me that hit the wall

Leaving pieces of me behind

And I feel like I'm breaking inside…"

Her heart hurt for this kid for a reason she didn't understand, seeing how much emotion he was pouring into the song. Almost similar to how she felt with Kota, she felt a need to protect him and make him feel better even though she had no idea who he was or if he even needed it.

"Shino?! Wait up girl!" Tomoko's voice suddenly shouted loudly, startling the green haired teenager who looked up in surprise, his face going slightly pale and his eyes shrinking to pinpricks at what he saw.

"Uh… Hi?" Shino waved awkwardly, not sure what to say. He blinked in shock.

"Y-Y-You're Mandalay…" he stated, getting a nod from the brunette.

"That is what it says on my hero license, yes."

"Y-You're a-actually h-here right n-now?" He confirmed, getting another nod from the woman.

"There you are!" Tomoko shouted, appearing around the corner before spotting the boy. "Oh, so this is who was singing? He has a good voice!"

The teenager, Izuku Midoriya's eyes widened as a single thought went through his head. 'T-T-They like m-my singing… t-two of m-my f-favourite heroes a-are here and they l-like my singing…'

Immediately after that, Shino's worry spiked again as Izuku's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted.

"Ah! Tomoko quick, you have smelling salts right?!" The brunette asked, as she hurried over to Izuku and repositioned him onto his back, checking his pulse and confirming he was still breathing.

"Right here! Wonder what that was about." Tomoko hummed as she opened one of her pouches and held out the smelling salt, waving it under the green haired boy's nose.

"Ugh…" he groaned as he awakened, slowly sitting up.

"Are you alright mister? What's your name?" The green haired heroine inquired, tilting her head to the side. Izuku looked over, his eyes going wide.

"W-What… I mean, y-yeah I'm fine. I-Izuku Midoriya…" He said, blinking and shaking his head as if trying to dispel something from within, looking between the two woman with a slight blush and surprised eyes, that started to light up after a moment. "Y-You're the W-Wild Wild Pussycats…"

"Well, half of them. That was quite a sudden fainting spell, you're sure you are okay?" Shino asked, concerned.

"O-Oh yeah… it's a h-hereditary thing, nothing serious. It d-doesn't happen that o-often anymore…" He waved away the issue, making the brunette pro frown. Something about the way he phrased it didn't sit right with her. "Um… I h-hope this doesn't s-sound rude but w-why are you h-here? Is t-there a villain a-attack going on?"

"Not at all. We were in town, on patrol when we heard your rather good singing voice." Shino assured with a slight smile, watching his blush become a little more intense. "We simply got curious is all. Apologies if my sudden appearance frightened you."

"O-Oh… i-it's okay. I-I'm just surprised two of m-my idols showed up s-suddenly…" He admitted, before his eyes went wide and he blushed. Both Wild Wild Pussycat members giggled, finding his reaction rather adorable.

"Idols huh, kitten? You gonna ask for an autograph now? 'Cause I don't got a pen!" Tomoko laughed, putting her hands on her hips as she stood up tall. "What are the chances though? So you know us well then?"

"Um… y-yeah… M-Mandalay and R-Ragdoll, r-real names S-Shino Sosaki and Tomoko S-Shiretoko… Q-Quirks, Telepath and S-Search. Mandalay can send messages to anyone within a certain range telepathically. Ragdoll can observe and monitor up to one hundred people at least, including knowing their location and weak points! There's also Pixie-Bob, also known as Ryuko Tsuchikawa, who can control earth freely with her Earth Flow, for all manner of uses and Tiger, Yawara Chatora whose quirk, Pliabody makes him basically elastic, able to bend in ways no other human can! You're all amazing twenty-nine-year-old pro's, who formed to become one of the most amazing skilled pro heroes teams around!"

'Well, on the bright side it seems a topic he's passionate about will get rid of his stutter, but…' "K-Kinda sounds like you're reading straight off a Wikipedia article." Shino chuckled nervously, scratching her head.

"Yeah, creepy as heck!"

"Tomoko!"

"What? It is!"

"A-Ah! I'm so s-sorry! I just… I g-get very excited a-about pro heroes and q-quirks. I'm a-actually r-reciting f-from a notebook series I k-keep notes in." Izuku apologized, blushing and looking down. "I'm s-sorry if it's w-weird! It's just 'k-knowledge is a p-power in of itself' a-and well... I w-want t-to be a pro as well so…"

"Hey, that's my quote!" Tomoko pointed out, humming. Then a smile formed on her face. "Well good reasoning then. I take it back, it's only mildly creepy!"

Mandalay sighed.

"You'll have to excuse Tomoko, she's a... wild one." She said, unable to hide her smile at the pun. The green haired heroine groaned but Izuku had a small smile on his face after hearing the joke. "It is a good sign you would be taking it seriously if you applied to be a hero. Too many people just don't understand what it means to be a hero."

For some reason, a pained look came over Izuku's face, which didn't escape either women's notice.

"Y-Yeah…. A-And y-yes that was your q-quote Ragdoll… I um… w-when I said your t-team were i-idols of mine… I d-did mean you as whole but um… t-this is embarrassing." He sighed, scratching the back of his neck and looking up to them with an ever deepening blush. "W-Well, you two s-specifically were m-major inspirations for me g-growing up."

"We were?" Shino asked, raising a brow in surprise. She could sense there was something more than just a general love of heroes there behind this, making her curious.

"Y-Yeah. I s-started keeping my n-notebooks as a kid after I s-saw how m-much Ragdoll w-was able to do in the fight against the villain Terrorformer when I was four years o-old. She only had a few small bits of information on him, yet she single-handedly took d-down a villain that multiple more p-powerful pro heroes had struggled with. I've a-always valued information e-ever since then." He said, a small and shaky smile coming onto his face as he recalled watching that fight on the news.

"Smart kid you are then!" Ragdoll chirped, hopping over to him and making him let out an adorable surprised squeaking noise as she started patting his head, making him go nuclear. "What about Mandalay over here? You said she was an idol of yours as well!"

"Y-Yeah… um…" He let out a quiet sigh, clasping his hands together and twirling his thumbs around one another, flinching. "H-Honestly… you w-were p-probably one of my b-biggest idols growing up b-because of y-your quirk…"

"Oh, how come? Do you have a telepathic quirk?" Shino inquired, before feeling horrible when she saw the much more violent flinch that came over him. Tomoko didn't miss it either, worry appearing on her usually relaxed face.

For a brief moment, she saw a younger her in his place.

"I'm a-actually…. I'm quirkless." He sighed, both heroines sharing shocked and worried looks. "I… I know it s-sounds silly, someone w-with no quirk t-trying to be a h-hero but…."

He took a deep breath, looking up with as much confidence and determination as he could muster.

"Ever since I w-was just a kid, all I've wanted to do is save people. To make them f-feel safe, like I want to feel. To help others. E-Even if I'm 'weak', I want t-to do everything I can to be a h-hero!" He said, a clear passion in his voice. Again, the image of a young Mandalay flashed through the brunette's mind.

"You can't even get messages back?! That's so lame! What's the point in a quirk like that, it's useless!"

She shook her head. She didn't need to dwell on that, kids rarely knew what they were talking about and she'd proven them wrong. A part of her couldn't help but wonder if Izuku had his own naysayers like that.

After all, the feline based heroine group were no strangers to the quirkless and how they were treated…

"I looked up to y-you because you were the c-closest thing I knew of to a q-quirkless h-hero. T-Telepathy is n-not really rescue or c-combat oriented overall. It can help in minor ways but in terms of s-skill… that's why you w-were such an i-idol for me." He explained, actually managing to make Shino blush. She'd had people say they looked up to her before but never to that degree. "Um… I d-don't normally ask t-this of pros b-because I know the answer usually b-but… I h-have to ask you of all people w-while I have the chance. C-Can I… "

Shino could already see the question coming. Tomoko looked to her worriedly, tilting her head. She was curious of the brunette's answer, giving no input of her own. Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Can I be a hero, e-even if I don't have a quirk?"

In that moment, two different sides of Mandalay were screaming at her. One side, protective, having lost family recently, having seen what was happening with Kota, the moments of deep sadness brought to her by this career and her earlier feelings that had flared up when she'd heard his emotional singing all combined into one staggering, powerful 'No!'

But… that wasn't the side that won out. The side that won out was the one that remembered her own childhood before she met Tomoko, Yawara and Ryuko. Remembered the bullying, the taunts and jeers, the simple fact that she just wanted to do some good and was being ridiculed for it because of her 'weak' power.

The side of her that remembered his lyrics when she had arrived. The side that knew the harmful effects bullying could have and some of the signs to look out for. She couldn't know for certain it was happening, but she was confident something was.

On top of all of that, there was the simple fact of how pure his motive was. So many would talk about the fame, the glory or in some cases there were weirdos obsessed with getting into fights.

Izuku's reasoning was nothing like that. It was simple, pure. The simplest, yet most heroic reasoning possible. It was because of that that Mandalay's answer came almost as easy as breathing, despite the situation.

"Yes. With the right training and discipline, I think it would be possible." She said, standing up tall. His eyes lit up, as if a fire was suddenly lit and hope began flooding through him. Tomoko looked between both of them, curious and surprised.

"You're kinda small and skinny, no offense Midoriya. You need to be stronger, faster and always more agile. That's the way I always saw it. You can't stop getting better, you need to be the best possible version of yourself you can be. The smartest, the strongest, the fastest, the best. You should work out, and maybe look into tools, like how us pussycats have our gloves, boots and headphones."

"Woah, then… Y-You really think I can do it?!" Izuku asked, jumping to his feet. Shino nodded, fixing him with a serious gaze. "Y-You don't think I'm too weak?"

"So long as you keep up with training and do your best, you can at least attempt the entrance exams for various hero schools. I can't say more than that, because then it's up to you but…. There are pros who would flat out tell you not to try, when those tests would be more than enough to test you. I think you've got the heart, Midoriya… You just need the body."

"Woo! Yeah, go Shino! Motivational coach is a new career path we can look into for you now if this hero stuff ever falls through!" Tomoko started cheering, making the brunette slap her palm against her face. Shino turned her gaze to Izuku.

"Anyways, I hope that answer is good for you but Ragdoll and I need to go now. We're still supposed to be patrolling, this was a detour of sorts."

"O-Oh, I understand. I'm s-sorry for getting in your w-way!"

"You didn't do any such thing. Don't worry about it, Midoriya." Shino smiles kindly, making him blush bright when she patted his head. She grinned, before looking to her energetic long haired friend. "The others will be expecting us back soon. We really do have to leave."

"Aww, I barely got to say anything though!" Tomoko pouted, before sighing and running to her friend's side. "Oh well, bye Midoriya! Keep that cute singing voice in check!"

"Yes, you don't want to lose that nice voice."

"A-Ah, I w-will, thank y-you!" He said through a massive blush, before covering his face as he suddenly began muttering. "OhmygodohmygodMandalayandRagdolllikemysingingican'tbelieveitohymygod-"

Both pro heroines giggled at the teenager's reaction as they left, leaving him behind. Before they got too far away from the warehouse, Shino turned to Tomoko.

"Uh… this might sound odd but would you mind keeping an eye on Midoriya with your quirk for now?"

"Huh? Why, did the kitten catch your interest?" The energetic woman asked excitedly and teasingly, making the brunette blush slightly as she rolled her eyes.

"Just do it please. I'm checking a theory, if I'm wrong then we can just pretend he was never on your radar."

"And if you're right?"

"…We'll see."

Izuku was grinning like an idiot as he hurried into the streets of Musutafu, beaming bright with an energy that had been missing for years now.

Someone had finally done it! Someone had finally told him he could be a hero, and it was one of his idols! He couldn't be more ecstatic.

He regretted not getting their autographs, the situation having distracted him. Still, getting to actually talk with his idols one on one? He'd lucked out majorly on that one!

He'd have to record the experience when he got home to be safe, then start looking into seeing if the cat's training regimes were publicly known, even partially!

In all his excitement and newfound energy, Izuku had gotten distracted again, his focus diverted as he ran out onto what he had thought was an empty road.

BEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP!

"KID, LOOK OUT!"

Izuku's eyes widened as he looked over to see a car coming straight at him, moving too fast to stop before it would hit him.

Instinct took over.

Instead of trying to run away or dodge, he threw himself at the car, hand landing on the bonnet and pressing down into the hood. He sprang from that hand, over the side of the car and landed on his feet, stumbling back and tripping over the pavement, falling on his butt with wide eyes.

'Holy crap…' He thought, blinking and gaping as the driver started yelling at him to be more careful and to stay out of the streets. 'That was like a scene out of a movie or something, the chances of that happening were like a million to one…. Talk about some serious luck, today! Meeting Mandalay and Ragdoll and now this?'

Shaking his head, he stood up and brushed himself off. Everything seemed to be okay, aside from the shock of almost being hit. Once he was satisfied nothing was too badly banged up, he turned and ran off, wanting to get home as soon as possible to tell his mom about his meeting and record it.

He did bother to wait for the green lights the rest of the way home now though.