A/N: Images used is just found from google searches (unless otherwise stated as fan art given to me).. I don't art well

"Sho-chan! I found you!" A bright bubbly voice cried from somewhere above, nearly startling the young boy of five with the two-toned hair, the left side was a deep red color the right side a pale white with a faint silver hue. Young Shoto Todoroki was supposed to be meditating before training. He chanced a glance up in the rafters of the giant training hall his father had confined him to for the day while he was away on hero business. His mismatched gaze scanned the dark rafters above trying to locate the bubbly cat girl that often snuck into the Todoroki compound to play.

A young girl of five dropped from the rafters above with a squeal. She landed swiftly before him in a low crouch, her bright golden eyes glowing in the dim light. Her eyes were catlike, everything about her was cat like due to her quirk. Two fluffy leopard ears poked out of her long unruly ebony hair and she had a leopard print tail swishing behind her back indicating her playful mood. Young Nikita Nida had been sneaking into the Todoroki compound for months now. Her parents were sidekicks for Shoto's famous father, the second highest ranking hero, Enji Todoroki, hero persona: Endeavor.

"Niko, what are you doing here?" Shoto asked the cat like girl curiously staring in awe as her ears and tail shifted to that of a snow leopard pattern. Not only did she have a mutation quirk, but she could also use transformations, turning her ears and tail into that of any type of cat to utilize their special skills.

"I came to play, silly." Nikita giggled.

"How'd you get in? The doors are locked." Shoto noted, he knew because he'd tried to escape but he wasn't allowed to leave until his father returned and he was able to demonstrate something he'd learned through his self-training while his father was away.

"Oh, I guess I could have tried the doors." Nikita giggled, "I came in through there." She pointed up in the rafters to a single skylight that was cracked open. "Come on, let's play!"

Nikita blinked back tears as she thought back to her happy childhood. Why did she think of him now? She hadn't seen him in ten years. He probably didn't even remember her. Her green flecked golden cat like eyes looked to the graves of her parents. The funeral had gone by in a flash. People had tried to talk to her, with empty words that it would be okay, that she was strong and could get through this and her parents would be so proud that she'd gotten into the best academy for heroes, U.A. High School.

There was a procession of heroes and civilians who'd worked closely with her parents uttering her their condolences, more empty words. She felt numb as she accepted everyone's condolences, hugs and well wishes with a forced smile thanking everyone for their support, running on autopilot. Had they not moved here ten years ago, had Endeavor not forced her parents to join a different agency to tear her away from his precious son, they wouldn't have died.

Today was supposed to be a happy day. She was supposed to start classes today at her parents' alma mater. Her parents had been so excited, they planned to leave the day before to drive her to the city and set her up in the apartment they had secured that was closer to UA, they were going to make a day of it go shopping, draft up some new costume ideas and think up fun hero names for her, but they got called away for an emergency as they were getting ready to leave.

When she'd gone to take the exam, her parents went overboard as they drove her to school, they stood out front of the school entrance cheering her on until they got shooed away by some of the teachers and had embarrassed her in front of all the other applicants. She'd give anything to have them back now, even if they embarrassed her everyday for the rest of her life.

Once the procession of mourners passed, everyone offered their condolences and she was hugged by hundreds of strangers, she was left alone in the cemetery. Her heart was heavy as she trudged out of the cemetery. There was a faint rumbling in the distance. The sky opened up above her and a downpour of rain pelted her as she made her way to the station. Before her parents had left they told her to hire movers to take all of her stuff to her new apartment so they could unpack it when they got back. All of her belongings were waiting for her in Musutafu.

People milled about on the sidewalk around her opening umbrellas and trying to run out of the rain. Nikita kept up her slow shuffling pace, the simple black dress she'd worn to symbolize her mourning was soaked and weighed her down, her usually unruly ebony hair was dripping wet, and finally laying flat, the black panther ears atop her head were folded down from the rain and her grief as she sloshed through the downpour to get to the station.

Passerby stared at her as she purchased her ticket. They whispered about her in hushed tones, but she could pick up every word thanks to her heightened sense of hearing. Tuning everyone out, she made her way to the train before it could depart. She managed to get a window seat on the train and focused her gaze out the window to avoid talking to the other passengers as she allowed herself to reminisce.

Young Nikita scaled the giant wall surrounding the Todoroki compound as she often did with the help of her feline quirk. Utilizing the leopards versatile jumping and climbing abilities. She peered into the courtyard from atop the wall to make sure the coast was clear. She spotted her friend, Shoto, crying on the steps near the side entrance closest to the training hall his father often confined him to.

Nikita sprung into action leaping from the wall, she landed in a forward roll, once she hit the ground her ears and tail shifted into that of a cheetah pattern and she tore across the courtyard. Her surroundings blurred as she sprinted to Shoto's aid.

"Sho-chan!" She dove toward him, tackling him to the wrap-around porch surrounding the entire compound.

"Niko?" It was the name he'd given her, a shortened cross between Neko and Nikita, a special name just for her that only he called her.

"What's wrong, Sho-chan?" She peered up at his face only to feel her heart drop, he had a black eye and a busted lip, no doubt from his father's ridiculous training. Her parents were sidekicks for Shoto's father, she'd only met him a handful of times, he didn't seem like a nice person, he was self-centered and only cared about being the best, it wasn't the kind of quality she thought heroes should have. Nikita looked up to her parents, they were content being professional sidekicks, they didn't want fame and glory they truly only wanted to help people, they didn't care if they got recognized for their feats. That was the kind of hero Nikita wanted to be. The kind of hero that saved people to save people. Not the kind of hero that saved people just to be in the spotlight. "What happened?"

"It's nothing." Young Shoto dried his eyes and disentangled himself from the clingy cat girl trying to reassure her that he was fine. His father expected so much from him, but he didn't want to be like his father, a bully. That wasn't the kind of hero he wanted to be.

"We've arrived at Musutafu station." A voice rang over the train's intercom.

Nikita shuffled off the train, finally somewhat dry only for the sky to open up above her once more. It was a torrential downpour. Sighing she pulled out the piece of paper with the address of her new apartment scribbled on it and the poorly drawn map her dad had made her. Tears welled in her eyes as the rain soon turned it to a soggy mess causing all the ink to run. She wandered through the pouring rain as darkness fell following the map out of memory as the soggy page in her hand was now indecipherable.

Thunder roared overhead causing the passerby in the street to scatter and seek shelter. Nikita continued sloshing along through the downpour. In the back of her mind she could hear her parents' voices as she remembered a time they'd gone grocery shopping as a family in the middle of a storm and had to walk back. She could hear her mother squealing as she tried to hang on to the bags she was carrying only to lose them to the gale force winds. Her dad was howling in laughter as he carried a young Nikita to keep her from blowing away. They had to eat plain rice that night because they'd lost all the groceries in the storm save for a can of tuna which her parents made sure she got to eat as it was one of her favorite treats.

A single tear slipped down her cheek as she thought back on all the happy memories she had with her parents. It was all she had left. She reached the apartment as the rain began to ease up. It wasn't in the fanciest neighborhood, a little run down and shabby but it seemed like a nice neighborhood there wasn't any signs of crime, no broken windows or busted doors anywhere. The cars along the street while not expensive were all in fair condition, no sign of break ins or violence.

She looked to the apartment building, it was small and housed about 12 tenants, six on the lower floor and six on the upper floor. Her apartment was upstairs all the way at the end on the back side of the building. As she climbed the somewhat rickety steps, she heard a door open below. Pausing she looked through the wide slats in the stairs, definitely a safety hazard, and spotted a woman in her fifties with dark brown hair and amber eyes.

"Are you, Nikita?" The lady asked the soaking wet girl swathed in black with black cat ears and a black tail hanging limply behind her.

"Yes. Forgive my rudeness for not checking in with you, it's late and I didn't want to disturb you."

The woman smiled at this, it was a sad smile and there was pity in her gaze, "It's alright dear, I had a feeling you'd be late because of the..." She shook her head not wanting to dwell on things that might upset the teen, "Anyway I made the movers set up your bed for you at least so you won't have to worry about that. If you need anything at all dear, don't hesitate to ask, I'm in Apartment 1. Call me Hana."

"Thank you." Nikita bowed politely before retreating up the stairs. She made her way around the worn deck surrounding the upper floor until she got to Apartment 12. Fishing for the keys from her small black bag in the shape of a cat head, she held her breath as she slid them in the lock before pushing the door open.

The apartment was small, the walls were thin, everything was a little outdated, but it was warm, dry and her stuff was all here. And with her parents gone, that made this home. Her green flecked golden cat like eyes fell on a small basket sitting atop a small patch of counter space in her miniscule kitchen. It was filled with fresh fruit, some packaged snacks, cookies, some simple toiletries and a cute little plush bear. There was a card attached to the basket. She hesitantly opened the card to find a sympathy card offering her condolences on her loss and simultaneously offering her support from all the other tenants. They'd all signed it with their names and apartment numbers. Though they were strangers they'd all pitched in to put together a little welcome basket for her and offer her their support.

"Thank you." Nikita sniffled quietly as she placed the card atop the counter. She plucked the plush bear from the basket and was about to step past the scattered boxes to her bedroom but paused as she noticed a note next to the basket.

'Your school uniform arrived. I hung it in your closet. Hope you don't mind...Hana.'

Nikita smiled softly as she hugged the plush bear close to her chest and stepped through the obstacle course of boxes to get to her room. It was tiny, barely big enough to hold her bed and a dresser, she'd have to put her desk in the living/dining room. She scanned the boxes trying to find the one with her clothes in it so she could change out of her sopping wet clothes. Her dad had insisted on labeling each box with one of his poorly drawn sketches. Sitting at the door of the closet was a box with what looked like a poorly drawn hook hand, which she assumed was a hanger.

Her nails elongated into claws and she easily sliced through the tape keeping the box shut. Luckily it was the box she needed. She rummaged through it quickly and found an oversized UA t-shirt she'd been wearing as a night shirt, it was her dad's old shirt. Dumping her sopping wet dress in the compact bathroom next to her room, she pulled the shirt over her head. It still faintly smelled like home. Hugging the bear plush close she flopped atop her bare mattress and cried herself to sleep.

Video- "Coming Home" By Falling in Reverse