Interlude: Momo Yaoyorozu – "Refraction"
"A… sleepover?" Her mother's eyes narrowed just a fraction of a millimetre, but it was enough to send chills down her spine. "At your classmate's house?"
Momo suppressed the urge to fiddle with her fingers, not that it would directly help in this situation, but it would have still been better than having her hands hang by her side, unsure of what to do. She cleared her throat nervously. "Yes, Camie is having trouble keeping up with the curriculum and the supplementary lessons at the same time. As her friend and the vice-president of our class, I have certain duties…"
Her mother raised a brow sceptically. "Why can't she come here, like she did before? I'm sure we have better facilities to accommodate a sleepover…"
Because you would never approve of a party. But Momo couldn't say that out loud. She had tried hinting towards it over the past few days, but the idea of a "rambunctious party" always put a grimace on her mother's face, and her father didn't look much more thrilled. They had held a formal event for her birthday like every year, but it just wasn't the same as what Camie had talked about…
As much as Momo valued her parents and their lifestyle, sometimes, just sometimes, she wanted to be a normal teenager too. And even if it was just this once, and even if it meant deceiving her mother for a bit, she wanted to experience this.
After trying to talk to her parents ended in failure, she, Camie and Todoroki had agreed on moving the party to Camie's house since she had the house to herself for the weekend.
All that was left was this final step. Convincing her mother it was just a normal sleepover.
"W-Well, with her most recent injury, it's better for her to stay in a familiar environment, and her parents don't want her travelling around too much for now…" It was a lie. A small one, but still a lie. Momo didn't consider herself a good liar.
Her mother brought a hand up to her chin. "Let me think about it…"
"That list looks a bit long." Todoroki commented as he watched Utsushimi unfurl a long strip of paper. "Are you sure we need so much?"
"You've never been at a sleepover with Yaomomo, have you? So, you don't know how much she can eat." She mumbled as she scanned the list for something in particular.
Todoroki wasn't sure what, after all Utsushimi had texted him this morning that she needed his help to carry all these things back to her house. He scanned the area, taking in the various stores he had never paid much attention to in the past, wondering exactly what this party was going to entail.
"Okay, let's see, first we'll go there, … then over there… oh shucks, then we'd have to come back over here, no, so maybe there first?" Utsushimi mumbled in the background, the rustle of her eternally long list accompanying her words.
After a few minutes, Todoroki plucked the list from her fingers and furrowed his brows. "You do know we have a limited budget, right?"
"I know, but it's exactly for moment like these that you save up your precious allowance, though." She held up a finger and looked at him smugly, as if she had just managed to cure cancer.
It was true that they'd agreed to put a good portion of their allowances together, but unless then stock market crashed while he wasn't paying attention there was no way their budget would cover all this.
"We're still going to have to cross off half of this list."
Utsushimi sighed heavily. "…I know. Let a girl dream, 'kay?"
He did feel a bit bad for ruining her mood, but she jumped back to full vigour soon enough. "Okay, we're gonna prioritize foods and drinks. If you're craving something unhealthy, now is the time to speak up! Junk food, sweet drinks, parties are the best excuse to have mountains of those!"
"…if the budget allows it."
"Dude, stop pointing out real world problems!" She cleared her throat. "Now, back to planning. We should have a good amount of party deco, like balloons and confetti, and then we'll put the rest of the money into food, drinks and her gift."
The gift part was probably going to be the most difficult part, and they agreed on that. Yaoyorozu was a girl who could have everything she wanted to have. Hell, she probably already did have everything she wanted. So far they had agreed on something that had to do with literature, but it was shaping up to be a lot more difficult than intended.
He had even asked his mother for advice in a roundabout way, but she had merely said it'd need to be something 'from the heart'. What did that even mean?
":..let's focus on the things we are sure of first. Once that is out of the way, we can concentrate on finding her a gift." He suggested.
"Yeah, let's do th-" She swerved on her heel, pausing when her eyes fell on something in the distance. A grin spread on her lips. "Hey, Todoroki… there's a sale going on in that store over there."
Something about her sugary voice spelled doom for him.
He could always consider this training… somehow. He let out a muffled grunt when he finally got to set down the mountain of bags in his arms, his limbs sighing in relief along with him. It was a good thing Aizawa never considered making his students carry his groceries as a punishment.
Utsushimi was humming to herself as she dug through her incredibly small purse, eventually pulling out the keys to her front door. A few seconds later, the door swung open and she held it for him. "Come in, you can set the bags down in the kitchen."
He followed her vague motions to the room in question, setting their shopping on the fairly empty counter. After glancing around, he found that the entire kitchen was oddly clean and empty. "Do you not cook often?" He asked when Utsushimi appeared back in the doorway.
"Nah, not really." She muttered, looking to the side. She hadn't bothered removing her shoes yet, nervously tapping the tip of her right boot against the immaculate floor. "It just feels… weird to only cook for myself."
"I understand." He answered quickly, memories of lonely dinners nagging at the back of his mind. "Let's get going again, if you're ready."
A flicker of gratitude flashed across her eyes, followed by her usual grin. "Yeah, let's find Yaomomo a super-duper awesome gift!"
"This one, it just has to be this one." Her fingers already reached out to take the object into her hands, before holding it up against the light dramatically. "Yes, this is the perfect gift."
He'd have agreed either way, so the whole spectacle was a bit unnecessary in his own humble opinion. Now he could only hope that none of the people staring at them as if they were crazy bothered remembering their faces.
Reaching up, he plucked the object from her grip and made a straight line for the cashier before Utsushimi felt the urge to live out more dramatics.
Momo gripped the handle of her overnight bag a bit tighter as she watched the blurred lines of the city rushing past her. Her mother had somehow approved of the sleepover, and while the guilt still hacked at her heart, the growing seed of excitement within her was doing a good job of counter-balancing it.
Todoroki had applied for free time in advance, and as long as he returned to the dorms before midnight there wouldn't be any problems.
Camie's parents were absent, but she was determined to make sure nothing happened that could possibly make them worry.
"Well, due to a resource problem, our OG plan fell kinda flat, but never fear!" Camie flipped her golden hair over her shoulder, then stemmed both her hands on her hips. "I, the queen of improv, am here!"
Momo wasn't sure if that was supposed to be an All Might quote or not, but Camie seemed confident. Her proud pose and wide grin left little space to question her decision, and from the sound of it, Todoroki had approved of whatever new plan she had come up with. (His judgement could not always be trusted, but the faith she did have in him overruled that for now).
"Since when are you the queen of improvisation?" Todoroki questioned, seemingly confused. So much for him approving of the mystery plan.
"Have you already forgotten?! Not cool, man." Camie puffed up her cheek. "You forgot about my ingenious idea?! It was perfect."
He furrowed his brows in thought, grinding through his memories for a few seconds. "Ah, you mean that."
"Well…, erm…" Momo interrupted them. "Is it… dangerous? The two of you can be… reckless at times." She chose her words carefully, eyes shifting between her two friends. "Like, what does it involve?"
"It involves you putting on your shoes and jacket. It's also the reason I told you not to wear a skirt today." Camie held up two fingers, shaping a "v" with them.
"We're going somewhere? But it's pretty late and dark outside…"
"Shhht, just listen to your totes fab coordinator Camie and do as she says." The bubbly blonde had been injected with new vigour and energy, pushing her towards the corridor already, Todoroki following right behind them.
"E-erm, okay…" Momo fumbled to catch her boots that her friend practically threw at her, putting them on shortly after. "So, can you at least tell me where we are going?" She directed the question towards Todoroki, who was more likely to answer her in this situation.
"The park."
"The… park? Wait, why do I have a bad feeling about this…"
"Don't worry about a single thing." Camie pushed a pair of boots into her arms. "We got this."
"I knew I had a bad feeling about this." Momo stared at the lake in front of them. "I feel like I know where this is going…"
"Giant waterslide for. The. Win." Camie folded her arms in a self-satisfied manner. "It had to be this late cuz of quirk regulations and yada yada, but now it's time for Todoroki to work his magic."
"Wait, Todoroki, please, you don't have to do th-"
"Yaoyorozu, you've never been to a playground before, have you?" He interrupted her. "We're technically still children, depending on how you see things. It's perfectly fine for us to do these kinds of things."
"… that sounds like something Camie would say as an excuse."
"Hey! It's perfectly reasonable!" Camie stuck out her tongue.
"That doesn't matter, does it?" A hint of a smile crossed his face. "We all had to grow up quickly, there's nothing wrong with being childish and making excuses every now and then, right?"
"Todoroki…"
"Water slide, water slide!"
He crouched down, touching the water surface with his right hand. She had seen it before, but there was a different atmosphere in the darkness of the night as the ice structure gradually grew into a giant slide.
"We were gonna go to the pool at first, but it's kinda hard to explain the whole giant slide part, so I brilliantly came up with this solution instead." Camie gestured towards the slide with a proud grin. "We'll have to watch the time though, if we stay too long, we might get noticed..."
Momo did her best to push away the worry within her gut, flexing her wrists in an attempt to loosen up. Honestly, their idea could have been a lot more reckless and dangerous, so she was grateful for that much. They were doing this from the bottom of their hearts, for her, because they wanted to.
That sentiment alone was enough to cause a seed of happiness to bloom in her chest. "Thank you."
"You haven't even ridden it yet, you can't thank us yet! Time to test out Todoroki's slide!" Like a whirlwind of gold, Camie had already started pulling her towards the top of the construct. "Come on, Todoroki, you too!"
"I'll be right behind you." He confirmed.
The ease with which he agreed to every one of Camie's schemes was both touching and concerning, to be honest, but the rare smile he was sporting today made up for everything. Todoroki wasn't one for things like this, so seeing him loosen up a bit as well was… nice.
"Okay, time for some basic rules. One, as much as we'd all like to scream when riding down, it's late and we don't want to wake any of the neighbours, so all screaming will have to be done quietly. Two, having fun tonight is mandatory. Three, if it isn't fun enough, we blame Todoroki."
"Something's off about that third rule." Todoroki pointed out.
"It's your imagination." Camie said quickly, using the moment to push Momo down the slide. An unwanted yelp escaped her lips as gravity and the frictionless surface pulled her downwards at an unexpected speed, the wind rushing past her ears as she clammed her hands over her mouth.
Her feet touched solid ground way too soon, the exhilaration of the slide having just started growing on her as it came to an end.
Camie came soon afterwards, whispering "Whooooohooo!" as she stretched her arms upwards. Momo sputtered laughter at the ridiculous sight, but it came out as an odd mix out of coughs and wheezes.
"So, what do you think?" Camie was still sitting on the end of the slide, smiling up at her. "It's totes fun, isn't it?"
"It is." Momo cleared her throat, letting the giddiness get to her. "I… I really want to go again…"
"Perfect, we have plenty of time for another two or three rounds!"
Just as she was about to be dragged away once again (how many times had it already been today?) she glanced back. "Wait, what about Todoroki?"
"He's keeping an eye out for by-passers." Camie explained, giving her a thumbs-up. "If somebody comes, he'll just melt all of this in the blink of an eye. Smart, right?"
"Camie, are you telling me you came up with a back-up plan?" Momo gasped. "I'm… I'm so proud of you!"
"Heh, I have my moments."
"Mayday!" Camie whisper-shouted. "Mayday! Man overboard! No, wait, not overboard, but – ugh, there's a person coming our way!"
Todoroki reacted almost immediately, pushing both of them down. "You might get a bit wet." He added as a hasty warning, joining them a few seconds later. Momo glanced upwards, watching the slide dissolve behind him under the flicker of his flames. He gritted his teeth suddenly. "We're at a height where we can jump into the lake, jump now!"
Momo felt herself being hauled over the side of the slide, meeting the cold lake water sooner than expected. She resurfaced with a gasp, coughing as her lungs filled themselves back with oxygen. Camie was next to her, mirroring her actions.
"Stay low." Todoroki whispered from her other side. When she glanced around, she realized that the slide had disappeared completely, the rise of the water level the only trace it had ever been there.
A speck of light passed the lake, probably a guard with a flashlight, and all three of them made sure to remain as silent as possible until he passed.
"I think the coast is clear now." Camie spoke up after a few more minutes. Todoroki nodded in agreement.
"You know…" Todoroki began again after they climbed out of the water. "Somehow, us going out like this always ends with at least two of us drenched in water. It's like… a curse."
Camie was practically cackling at this point, clutching her stomach as she rolled from side to side, short wheezes sneaking between her laughter whenever her breath fell short. "A… a curse! It has to be!"
"I'm serious, Utsushimi."
Momo could only stare at her actions in awe. They had used a quirk without permission, and had ended up soaked in lake water as a result of it. The chilly breeze really wasn't helping, but she found herself joining Camie's laughter anyway. It was almost infectious in a way.
Even Todoroki dropped his stern expression in favour of a more relaxed smile, his quiet chuckle joining in, and the three of them just… laughed.
Life could be strange sometimes. A good kind of strange. As Momo's abdomen started hurting, she had to force herself to calm down, and even with her blood still pumping in her veins as if she had just fought a hard battle, the smile stretched across her lips never died down.
Her life had been refracted, like a beam of light exiting water for the first time, and she couldn't wait to see where else her future with these two would take her.
"By the way, we got an awesome gift." Camie grinned at her, towel wrapped around her hair. "Todoroki helped me pick it out, well, actually, it was kinda his idea…"
"You really didn't have to get me anything… I appreciate it, I really do." Momo clutched her hands together, a small sliver of excitement building up in her. Unfortunately, Todoroki had already returned to his dorms, but she would make sure to thank him as soon as possible.
"Tada!" Her remaining friend whipped out a small, long envelope. "Open it! I wanna see your reaction to it!"
Slowly, Momo took the item, opening it carefully. There was something thin, but firm, inside, and she slid it out with ease. "A… bookmark?"
"Yeah, isn't it pretty? I picked this one out for you!" Camie leaned over, putting her chin on her shoulder. "We thought about getting you a book, but we weren't sure which one to get."
Momo held up the bookmark against the light. It was translucent, with a small array of painted flowers at it's centre. "It's… beautiful. Thank you… Thank you so much…"
"Omg, Yaomomo, are you crying?"
"I'm just so happy. Everything the two of you did for me today, I'm so grateful…"
"Oh Yaomomo, you're so cute." Camie wrapped her arms around her in a tight, secure hug. "We're your friends, anything less would be a joke."
AN: wow, it's been quite some time hasn't it? Well, here's another interlude :))
I'll be honest, I haven't read the past seven or eight chapters of bnha yet, but I've heard that there's a timeskip and that Todo and Baku pass their license exams, which basc means that I have a lot of space to let my imagination run in regards to the supplementary courses (lowkey sad about the lack of Camie content tho)
I'm still dealing with uni and exams at the moment, so I can't promise anything, but I can say that the next chapter will be mostly bridging over the winter months in order to catch up again, or maybe another interlude (I have a few super short/drabble-like ones that I'm keeping on standby), but rest assured I'll get around to it when inspiration strikes :muscle: