A/N: Some of you are going to be pissed. But I HAVE MY REASONS!
And sorry for the wait. I wrote a second chapter to An Insecure Violet and another to the MizuTori week prompts. After that gauntlet of writing I took a few days off.
(Hours Earlier)
"Are you sure you guys don't want some?" Fatgum walked through the city streets with his apprentices, slurping ramen out of a 10 gallon bucket.
Kirishima and Momo both politely declined while Tamaki was silent. Momo shook her head, "I understand that eating is a large part of your quirk, but aren't you worried about your health?"
"Nah, my quirk protects me from most bad side effects from fats...mostly." He pulled an insulin shot out from his pocket and jammed it into his arm, pushing down the plunger. Ejirou and Momo looked at one another in shock.
Kirishima shook himself out of his stupor and changed the subject, "So, Midoriya is really tracking down a Yakuza boss? And he has to save his abused daughter? That's nuts."
Momo couldn't help but chuckle, "Izuku always manages to get into the oddest situations. I guess if it was action and experience he was looking for, he got it."
"We've only had one full day of these internships, and now everything's already gone insane. We went on patrol and found no one. I hope we get to try our hands at some bad guys too."
Tamaki looked down, "You guys are so tenacious. I wish Mirio was here. He would know how to handle your energy."
Fatgum slurped another long strand of noodles and looked over his shoulder at Amajiki. "You'll have that much energy whenever we fix that psyche of yours." Ejirou and Momo both watched as Tamaki clutched his chest in sorrow.
"You're not helping," He said with a wobbly voice. "Why do you always have to hurt me like this?"
Kirishima chuckled, "I'm pretty sure that's just his way of encouraging you."
"But, no matter how much he tries, I'll never be as cheery and positive as Mirio."
"I know how you feel. There's been a lot of times this year where I felt useless. Whenever things get bad, I feel like I can never do anything. At least, not anything of use. Hell, Yaoyorozu here has gotten my ass out of a lot this year. Academically and in the field. Like at Kamin-" Momo quickly put a finger over her mouth. "Uuuuh this one place. She managed to get everyone out of an extremely dangerous situation. I guess I just feel like I'm not a whole lot compared to everyone else. I'm being left in the dust. S'why I wanna learn a lot from this work-study. I need to close that gap and prove that I still have what it takes to stand alongside my friends and be a man."
Momo looked at the two boys and shared her story. "When I lost so quickly against Tokoyami in the Sports Festival, it hurt. I felt like I was so worthless and that I didn't deserve to be at U.A. I lost all confidence in myself. But, along came Izuku. He looked like a nervous wre-...Okay, even more of a nervous wreck. He cheered me up and tried to show me the good things about myself. My self-confidence was still at an all time low, but I was able to improve myself and feel like I actually belonged with Izuku's help. Even after all of that, he and I haven't been apart for anything since then. I was offered to go to his agency with him, but I want to see if I've actually managed to have gotten better and haven't been using Izuku's presence as a crutch of some kind."
Tamaki shook his head, "How are you first years so spirited?"
Kirishima nodded at Momo, "Ah, so that's how you two started up. I never actually knew what happened with you two. One day you guys were suddenly all over each other, and the class just kinda rolled with it. I'm not even going to bring up Jirou and Uraraka. I have no idea how that happened, and I'm not going to try to figure it out. I'll accept anything as long as Mineta doesn't get a harem."
Momo chuckled and continued. "What about you Kirishima? Are you infatuated with anyone? Perhaps a certain horned pink girl...or an explosive blonde?"
"Oh ha ha. Very funny" Kirishima said, rolling his eyes. "Look, I-"
"You bastard!" The group stopped and turned their attention towards a nearby alleyway. They all rushed to find two groups of 6 men standing across from one another. At the head of one of the groups, a man with dark eye makeup and tied back blonde hair was holding a briefcase and approached someone from the other group and got in his face. "Are you trying to cheat us? This is a way smaller batch than what was promised."
"There's been some complications from the producers. They're being watched. Distribution has to be limited for the time being."
"Bullshit! I know you have more!"
Two of the men were suddenly slammed into the building wall by a giant yellow mass. Fatgum grabbed two more and absorbed them into his fat, and bouncing them out into the armed men from the other group. "You guys can discuss this more in jail!"
The head of the group in makeup panicked and tossed the briefcase to a smaller, meaker thug. "Bro, take it and run! Get back to the hideout!"
"But-!"
"Just go!" As his brother ran off, he turned around to see Creati throw bolases at two of the other gang's men ankles, sending them to the ground. Kirishima tackled one to the ground, pinning him. And before he knew it, the blonde was wrapped up in octopus tentacles. SunEater lifted him off of the ground and held him. "Gah! God damn it!"
Kirishima smirked down at the gang member he was holding. "You guys are really so desperate for drugs that you do it in broad daylight? Doing drugs is already unmanly, but like this? It's borderline sad."
The little brother stopped in his tracks as he heard his brothers aggravated cries. He saw the teenage hero holding his brother up in the air.
He panicked and quickly opened up the briefcase and yanked out the gun inside, inserting the clip of special bullets.
Momo turned her head at the sound of the click of the clip, her eyes widening as she saw the weapon. The thug aimed his weapon at Tamaki. "Run for it Big Bro!"
*BANG*
All of the heroes' worlds slowed down as the bullet rocketed towards Tamaki. The third year was suddenly shoved out of the way, and Momo took his place. From behind her, Kirishima watched as the bullet made contact.
Momo's head shot back from the impact, sending her to the ground, spinning around and landing on face down. Blood began to pool out from under her head. If Momo didn't land face down and the wound was out in the open, Ejirou was sure he would've thrown up. Kirishima's world went dark, focusing in on Momo's body.
She was...shot.
In the blink of an eye, his friend was dead.
He thought about the situations they had been through together, whether as friends or as a class in whole. He thought about Midoriya and the absolute devastation he would see in his eyes when he told him.
The darkness of his vision was replaced with a blood red. The thug continued to shoot, but they simply bounced off of Kirishima's head. "C'mon! What isn't this thing working!?"
"YOU COWARDLY, UNMANLY MOTHERFUCKER!" The criminal looked back up from his gun to see the red haired hero charging at him full speed, slowing turning into an unbreakable and jagged monster.
"Oh crap!" He spun on his heel and made a break for it, scrambling through his pockets for his enhancer drug. Soon both were out of sight and gone from the crime scene.
Fatgum screamed out, "Red Riot! Waiii-and he's gone."
"I'll watch over her." Fatgum turned to his third year protegé who was leaning over Momo. "Go after him before he gets hurt." The pro nodded and ran off down the alley, already pulling out his phone.
…
"GET BACK HERE!"
Ejirou shoved his way through the crowds of people through the market area of the city. The man he was chasing was panting heavily as he tried to move around people, but he was losing ground. Kirishima was on his tail. He would be caught in only a few seconds. He couldn't keep it up.
He quickly pulled out the syringe from his pocket and jammed it into his arm. The drugs coursed through his veins and he could feel his power increase exponentially. The deviant was suddenly bashed to the side, crashing into trash cans. Before he could regain his bearings, a hard and sharp hand ensnared his throat and lifted him off the ground.
He looked down to see furious crimson eyes and grit shark-like teeth. "I-I was just trying to help my broth-ack!" The hand around his throat tightened.
"So you decided to kill her!? Is that it!?"
"Y-You... You'll never understand," he barely wheezed out.
*Shnk*
A flurry of blades shot out of the criminals stomach, rocketing into Kirishima's body. He smiled, ready to make his escape.
...Only for Red Riot to not only not be affected by the blades, but just get even more pissed off.
The blades shot into Kirishima's body and continued to shatter on impact. He tossed the criminal into the air and fired an uppercut directly into the man's chin, sending him and his broken jaw backflipping and hitting the ground.
The thug tried to scramble away, his blades shooting out again. But, Kirishima simply bulldozed through it.
"RED GUN TURRET!"
His fist collided with the man's stomach, and then the hero head-butted his opponent's nose breaking it in the process. Kirishima grasped onto the low-life and held him on the ground. "You're lucky it was me here. If you did that in front of her boyfriend, you would be begging to go to jail...Well, if he left you alive that long."
*Bam*
His gave one final punch, and the criminal was knocked out cold. Kirishima put a hand over his scratched and chipped stomach. The crowd behind him began to cheer, but he couldn't feel any pride in himself. He might've gotten the culprit, but his friend was still de...hurt. Just hurt.
'Please be just hurt .'
One: Because Momo was one of his closest friends.
Two: He would never be able to live with himself.
And three: It wouldn't matter if he couldn't live with himself, because Izuku would probably vaporize him.
"Oh God! Why was running invented!?" Ejirou turned around to see Fatgum had finally caught up to him. "Don't worry everyone! I'm here to-And it's already over."
Kirishima picked his downed opponent off of the ground and began running off. "We need to get back and check on Yaoyorozu!"
…
(Present)
Izuku fell back into his train seat, his head resting back and looking up at the ceiling. The day had been far more emotionally exhausting than he had planned for. All he had thought would happen would be they would find out where Kotaro was, either dead or alive, and Nana would get closure.
The possible murder of her son by her own grandson was not a part of that plan.
He couldn't even imagine the pain Nana was probably feeling. His own sadness for her was strong, but he could almost feel her spirit inside of him lamenting and crying out. Izuku couldn't help but feel guilty about it all.
He had pushed her to search for her son. Maybe it would have been better for her not to know. Some want the truth no matter how painful it can be, but…
Well, ignorance is bliss as they say.
The idea of losing someone close... Izuku didn't think about it. He had already pushed down the thoughts of All Might's possible death, so Nana's story didn't help keep those thoughts at bay.
Hopefully, he wouldn't have to deal with that anytime soon.
His eyelids began to feel as heavy as his heart, and he did his best to get comfortable. And soon, he was fast asleep.
…
(45 Minutes Later)
Izuku rubbed his eyes as he walked into the Nighteye Agency. He couldn't help but feel a spark of happiness in his chest as he remembered that Momo was going to be there. He couldn't wait to see-
"Mr. Midoriya!" Izuku turned to see one of the front desk worker running towards him. The man looked panicked. "You need to get to Futorisugi General Hospital right away!"
"What!? What's wrong?"
"Sir and All Might are already there. You're girlfr-"
*ZZZKRRCH*
That was all the worker could get say before the teenager in front of him was nothing but a green streak of light bursting out the door, shattering all of the glass he passed. The sonic boom slammed into the man's eardrums along with the wind into his body. The shockwave launched him back.
As he rolled and hit the front desk, he covered his ears in reaction to the ringing echoing throughout his head. He looked up to see every window and light shattered to pieces, and the front door now broken on the city street. Black scorch marks were burned into the ground, trailing out of the building.
…
(10 Minutes Later: Futorisugi City General Hospital)
All Might sighed in relief as he sat down in his hospital chair. "For a minute, I was terrified that she was dead."
Mirai and Mirio sat next to him on either side and nodded their heads. Togata pursed his lips, "Either way, Midoriya is going to freak out. From the little time I've seen them together, I can easily tell they're crazy for each other. I wonder when he's gonna ge-"
"WHERE IS SHE!?"
"HOLY SHI-"/"WOAH!"/ "CHRIST!"
All three men jumped in shock as Izuku was suddenly in front of them. All Might coughed up blood and clutched his chest. "I'm already missing my stomach! Do you want my heart to fail too? How did you even get here so fast!?"
*Sniff* Toshinori smelled burned rubber, and smoke was rising from the floor. He looked down to see Izuku's shoes slightly melted and smoking. His legs were red and bleeding. "...Oh."
"What happened? Where's Momo?"
Toshinori quickly stood up and grabbed onto Izuku's shoulders. "I would tell you to calm down and get one of the nurses to fix your legs, but I know that's not going to happen. She's alive. But...she was shot in the head." He watched the panic in Izuku's eyes increase tenfold. "She's in room 4-H. We don't know if she'll-" But, Izuku was already down the hall, counting the room numbers as he went.
"Come on. Come on. 4-E, 4-F, 4-G, 4-H!" Izuku bursted through the door to see his loved one in the hospital bed…
Looking completely fine.
"Izuku? When did you get here Darling? And...What happened to your legs?"
"Wh-...Y-You're okay?"
"Of course I am. What did All Might tell you? He didn't respond to her question. He simply walked his way over to her, and collapsed onto the bed, sobbing into her chest. His bleeding limbs were spreading their crimson liquid on the white blankets. "Izuku?"
Izuku finally spoke, his voice muffled by her body. "H-He said that y-you were shot in the head. I-I didn't-...I don't-" Momo wrapped her arms around her partner, and held him closer as he rode out his mental breakdown.
Throughout everything. From receiving the news that he was quirkless, from his mother not believing in him, from his dad leaving, from Katsuki turning on him, from all the punches and burns, throughout it all. None of it came even close to the amount of pain Izuku felt when he was told something happened to Momo.
And she wasn't even actually dead.
His heart hadn't simply dropped when he believed Momo to possibly be dead.
He had no heart at all.
Izuku knew he had accidentally hurt that worker. He also knew he caused a lot of costly damage from accidentally breaking all of the glass at the agency, and their front door. But, back then, he really didn't care.
Momo captured his heart, and if she was dead, then he was too. He had not even known Momo for a full year, much less dated her for that long. But, life without her…
That was no life.
It was at that moment that Aizawa's words to them the night they moved into the dorms truly sank in. He had completely pushed his words out of his mind, because it was something he didn't want to think about.
"What you really should be worried about is the dangers it can bring. Now and in the future, you're both now targets for the other's enemies. Anyone who hates you will go after your partner. Just watch each other's backs, or you'll regret it. Don't forget that."
People would go after her. Momo...could die. She was a hero, and their lives were on the line everyday. Izuku couldn't be around to protect her all the time, and she couldn't always be there to protect him either.
Whenever he was out fighting, he knew the consequences were life and death. He had even come close to Momo's possible death at the training camp when she was almost captured. But this time he wasn't fighting. He wasn't there to try and prevent it. He wasn't in costume being Deku.
He was just Izuku Midoriya. The kid who almost lost the one he loved. It wasn't like when he didn't have anything to lose.
He had everything to lose.
Momo carefully took his head and lifted him up to look her in the eyes, pressing their foreheads together. "I'm right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere. Now let me wrap up your legs so you don't anywhere either."
Izuku nodded and moved to sit next to Momo. She moved down the bed, creating bandages from her arm. As she began wrapping up his appendages, Izuku wiped his eyes. "Damn. I've been on such a good streak of not crying."
"If you were the one hurt, I would've been a mess. Don't feel bad." Momo quickly finished with the bandages, and took off his shoes. "What happened to these?"
"...They melted."
"Yes, Darling. I can see that. What I mean, is how exactly were your shoes melted?"
"I ran really fast to get here."
Momo smiled, "For me?"
"Who else for?"
Momo's smile only widened as she made her way back up to Izuku's face, deeply kissing him. "I adore you Izuku Midoriya."
"I adore you Momo Yaoyorozu. I guess we really can't stay away from each other for long, can we?"
Momo chuckled and put a hand on his chest to lift herself up and felt his heart. It was still beating rapidly. Momo looked down at his chest questioningly. "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm just still in shock. I thought...I-I thought you were dead for a minute with how urgent it all seemed."
"Everyone else did too."
…
(Hours Earlier)
Kirishima and Fatgum finally made it back to the alleyway where they left Momo and Tamaki. Police and ambulances were already on scene. The thugs from before were all being handcuffed and interrogated. "Got another one ya!" Kirishima dropped the man he chased down next to the police and looked around for his fellow students, but found nothing.
Fatgum approached one of the officers. "Excuse me, but where did my two students go? It's urgent."
"Oh, the boy and girl? The girl is being loaded into the ambulance."
The two ran passed the officers and made it to the ambulance. Tamaki was talking to one of the doctors, and Momo was...sitting down on a gurney looking alive and well.
Well, mostly.
The paramedic was checking her eyes for abnormal dilation, and she had bandages and gauze pads over her nose. Kirishima stopped in his tracks, and his eyes widened. "Y-...Yaoyorozu? You're alive!?"
Momo raised an eyebrow. Her voice came out stuffy from her clogged nose, "Of course. I-...Did you not check to see if I was alive?" She received no response as Ejirou picked her up in a big hug.
"Oh you're alive! Thank goodness. I was so worried. And now Midoriya won't kill me!" He set her back down and checked her over in disbelief. "Ho-...How!? I could've sworn that bullet hit you in the head.
"It did." Momo pointed at her forehead as it glowed a bright blue. A thick plate of kevlar appeared over it. "According to the paramedics, I have a concussion. It still hit quite hard."
"But what about the blood?"
Momo then moved her finger to point at her nose. "I, quite ungracefully I might add, landed directly on my face. My nose is also broken."
Fatgum fell to his knees and looked to the sky in relief. "You kids are going to give me a heart attack. First you get shot, and then Red Riot runs off after the guys with a gun. I thought I was gonna get two students killed."
Momo pursed her lips and turned to Ejirou. "Ah, I see. You ran off in a rage towards the deviant."
He rubbed the back of his head flustered. "Well, I was angry and scared. I thought you were gone. I didn't know what to do."
"Thank you Kirishima."
"Ah, it's nothing. Just being manly and all that."
Fatgum chuckled, "You should've heard him. He was shouting curse words and everything."
Momo smirked at Kirishima, "Inspired by a friend of yours I presume."
He nodded sheepishly, "I'll admit, Bakugou has taught me one or two things about using anger and pure force to my advantage...and cursing."
"Excuse me?" The paramedic got their attention. "We need to get her to the hospital to treat her concussion and nose properly."
Fatgum nodded, "Red Riot, you go ahead with Creati. SunEater and I can handle things here. We'll meet up with you as soon as possible. Great work you two." Both first years nodded and hopped into the van. "Oh, and by the way, I called Sir Nighteye. He should be on his way here. We'll give him the tracking device at the hospital."
Momo paled when she realized what that meant. Izuku was coming, which was wonderful.
...But he likely believed Momo to be dead.
"Oh dear." The ambulance doors closed, and the automobile drove off.
"Hey Fatgum?" The pro turned to one of the police officers at the crime scene. He held up a plastic bag holding a small bullet with a needle at the end of it. "You might want to take a look at this."
…
(Present)
Izuku looked down at his lap, "I guess I have gotten a bit overly emotional lately. Kirishima really thought I would hurt him?"
"I'm certain he didn't...possibly. But, it's okay. Like I said, I have no idea how badly I would react if our roles were reversed."
"I-I guess I've just never really thought about losing you. I mean, we've been in life or death situations before but...I guess it's just different not being there. I've never felt so caught off guard in my life. I wasn't in costume, ready for anything. I was just walking along, minding my own business when I got the news."
Momo shrugged and sat next to him, leaning into Izuku. "That's what happens. It always happens when you don't expect it. Have you never thought about this sort of idea? That we can be hurt or killed at any moment?"
"Well, yeah but...not like that. I guess since I wasn't actually fighting, I've always had this sort of sense of invincibility. Once we're out of life and death situations and being civilians, the sense of danger just kind of leaves."
Momo cupped one side of his face and turned his head to look at her. "You still wear masks Izuku. But now these masks are the ones that you use to deceive yourself."
"What do you mean?"
Momo put a hand over his heart, "You're separating Izuku and Deku. You didn't think about the danger because you weren't in costume. Deku faces danger, but Izuku doesn't. You have to realize that wearing a mask doesn't make you a hero. You're already a hero. All day, everyday, no matter what you're wearing."
Izuku couldn't help but replace the word "mask" with "smile" in her sentence. "Wh-What if I'm confused on what kind of hero I should be?"
"Hm?"
"Or, w-well more accurately I don't know how to approach it anymore."
Momo had confusion etched into her face. "I'm not following you."
"...It's been a long weekend."
…
(20 Minutes Later)
"So...Shimura is in your head?"
"Essentially, yeah."
"And she doesn't want you to follow in All Might's footsteps?"
"W-Well, she wants me to be the number one hero. She just doesn't want me to copy All Might's "Symbol of Peace" persona...I think. It's still really confusing."
"And Shigaraki murdered his family?"
"Possibly. I can't be completely sure."
Momo bit her bottom lip in concentration. "Well, what do you think you should do?"
"I don't know. Smiling has always been the key to everything. It's all I've ever known about heroes. If I'm not supposed to turn into this large symbol for people to follow, then what am I supposed to be?"
"She said that you were the one that needed to answer that question, correct? Perhaps she was alluding to you already having the answer, but not realizing it yet. It's strange to think about that kind of ideal. All Might's influence has been so strong over the years that nothing could ever be in the running to compete against him; not to mention all of the people that felt he was the only true hero out their like Stain and all of the other followers of his that could only see the bad in so many heros and-'
Izuku watched in awe as Momo muttered like him. "I completely forgot that you do that too now."
"Pardon? Oh, yes. One of your traits that rubbed off on me. Have you told All Might any of this?"
"I told him that Nana spoke to me, but I haven't told him about Shigaraki or what Nana thinks of my future. How exactly do you tell someone that their mentor/mother-figure no longer believes in your ideals, and that her child was murdered by her grandson who is also the leader of the League of Villains?"
"...Very, very gently."
*Knock* *Knock*
The hospital room door opened to reveal Sir, All Might, Mirio, and Kirishima. Sir spoke first, "Forgive us for taking so long. All Might was insistent on giving you two plenty of time to yourselves first."
Toshinori leaned towards his former sidekick and whispered, "You're the one that told me what they eventually do this week. I'm not taking any chances."
"You think they would get intimate in a hospital?"
"They've done it before."
"Fair enough." Sir turned back to the teens. "I'm assuming you two are okay now? If so, then if you're able Yaoyorozu, I would like that tracking device."
"Oh! Of course." Momo leaned over her bed to grab her hero belt. She opened one of the containers and pulled out the device, handing it to Nighteye. The sidekick turned it on and gazed at it for a few seconds before his eyes widened.
"Well what do you know? She's at the compound."
Izuku raised his hands in exasperation, "So we've been waiting to find out that she was at the estate we've already been watching the entire time."
Sir, Toshinori, and Mirio all looked at one another and then back at Izuku. "Yep."
Sir raised the tracking device to look at it again. "Finding out this way saved us days of investigation. And if the forensics on the bullet shot at Yaoyorozu Fatgum told me about turns out fruitful, then this rescue might go down much sooner than expected. Midoriya, you're off duty until the briefing with the rest of the heroes. You'll be called back then."
"Yes sir."
You as well Togata." The blonde nodded, and the former sidekick took his leave with his student.
Toshinori nodded his head out the door, "I'll leave you two be. I think I'm going to help out with this case a while longer. I'll see you two back at school. I trust you can get home by yourselves without nearly dying."
Momo chuckled, "I don't think we can make that promise." Toshinori rolled his eyes as he left the room. Momo leaned back and rested against Izuku's chest, her eyes closing. "I have one final check up soon before I'm allowed to leave. But I'm tired. The pillow didn't work out like I had hoped it would. The real thing far exceeds its feather-filled doppelganger in my personal opinion."
Izuku smiled as he rested back against the pillows. "I haven't gotten much sleep either."
Momo mumbled into his chest, "I'm assuming it's not for the same reasons as me."
"Yeah...Well, also the pillow thing. But, I keep thinking about Eri. I can't even imagine what they're doing to her."
"We'll save her. Don't worry. What did she look like?"
"She had white hair and red eyes." Momo's eyes widened for a second at the description, remembering one of her descriptions of their imaginary daughter. But, she decided to ignore it and see it as nothing but coincidence. "She had bandages all over her body. Her terrified face has been burned onto the backs of my eyelids since I met her. Seeing another kid so scared like that...it hurts. I'm afraid of what we're going to find about her living conditions."
"Are you afraid it's similar to your childhood?"
"I'm convinced it's worse. Bakugou isn't a Yakuza boss. He was just some punk kid. But, Chisaki... there's no telling. There's a big difference between a bully and a Yakuza boss."
Momo nodded, "True. Hopefully she can hold out a bit longer."
"I almost took her right then and there."
"Making good-hearted, rash decisions is your specialty."
'...Rash decisions.' Izuku chewed his tongue in contemplation, and continued. "When I spoke to Bakugou before we left, he tried to apologize to me."
"Did he?"
"Yeah, but I rejected him. Was that a rash decision?"
Momo looked up at him with a furrowed brow. "No, it wasn't. We've been over this."
"I-I know it's just...I feel like I'm not exactly stable at the moment. Well, I guess I've never really been stable. But now it's different. I'm getting angry far easier after the fight. I can't tell if anything I do anymore is based on actual reasoning or if I'm doing something out of spite or some other emotion."
The "Creation" quirk user leaned up and gazed at Izuku in concentration. "You have been thrown about every curve ball there is. You're also lost. Your goals and philosophies are being challenged, which they have before. But, you've always been quite stubborn about it. This time however, the one questioning you is the same person who created those philosophies. Your stress levels must be off the charts. We need to find a remedy for that. I'd prefer having your hair as it is instead of it going gray. Especially so young."
"If you have a way to ease this amount of stress, I'm all ears."
Her lips pursed, but then her eyes widened and a knowing smirk appeared on her face. "I have some ideas."
"What?"
He didn't receive a response as Momo simply laid back down and tried going to sleep. "You'll have to wait."
"Wh-...What's that supposed to mean?" Again, he received no response except for light snores. Izuku sighed and placed his head against the pillow, accepting that he wouldn't get his answer that day.
As the couple began falling asleep, a certain hero was outside of the room. Kirishima had just gotten back from being questioned by the police, and went to check on his friends. But, he heard something... interesting.
'...Bully?'
…
Ryukyu watched as the two giants rampaged throughout the city. She was proud to say the situation was actually a fairly easy one with Hado's.
...Well, if Nejire was actually out fighting.
The Dragoon Hero looked to her side to see Nejire simply standing next to her. "Wh-...What are you doing?"
"Hm? Oh, I'm not needed here yet."
"...May I ask why?"
A high pitched soundwave suddenly slammed into one of the ears of the giant's, causing him to scream and stagger. The other suddenly clutched his eye and began swinging wildly. The two then suddenly dropped directly into the ground, unable to move. Ryukyu's eyes widened as she watched Uraraka and Jirou walk out of the dust and debris.
"My turn!" Nejire flew up into the air sending shockwaves at the giants, knocking them unconscious.
Ochako pressed her fingers together. "Release!"
The giants' bodies were no longer being pushed down, and went completely slack. Kyouka and Ochako high fived and turned back to Ryukyu.
"...What just happened? And where's Froppy?"
"Right here." The teen's camouflage turned off and she appeared next to the group. "Ochako floated me up and I landed one of the giants. I was the one that took out his eye."
Kyouka raised her hand, "Soundwaves." She then wrapped an arm around Ochako, "And the key to it all."
Ochako pointed to herself, "Gravity increase."
Ryukyu nodded her head in shock, "Well...Great work. I'd say you've earned tomorrow off." She couldn't help but smile, 'These kids are full of surprises.'
The girls smiled and made their way off of the battle site. Ryukyu turned to Nejire and pointed to Kyouka and Ochako. "Are those two...you know?"
Kyouka, having heard it clearly, turned back and said, "I'm about as straight as a bowl of Fruit Loops."
"I guess that's my answer."
*Ring*
The Dragoon Hero checked her phone, and saw the number.
"Sir Nighteye Agency"
…
(The Next Day: Heights Alliance)
*Knock* *Knock*
Katsuki opened his door to see Stupid Hair looking at him. "Oh, when did you get bac-"
"Why would Midoriya describe you as a bully?"
"..." Katsuki sighed and opened the door wider. "This was bound to happen sooner or later. C'mon Stupid Hair. You're going to be here for awhile."
Kirishima was in disbelief at how easy it was to get Katsuki to agree to talk to him. He was expecting at least a little...Okay, a big fight from Bakugou. "Seriously? That's it? You're just gonna talk?"
"I won't if you stay outside for the next 5 seconds dumbass."
"Ah, there he is."
"Shut the fuck up and get in here."
…
Izuku yawned into Momo's hair as he woke up. The two had made it back to the dorms late the previous night. He was home with his girlfriend. He should've felt more relaxed than he had been in the past few days or even weeks. Yet something felt off. Like he was forgetting something. He just couldn't place his finger on it.
He tried to move his arms from around Momo, but she held them in place. "Mmph."
Izuku chuckled, "I have to train this morning."
Momo turned around and burrowed herself further into him, "Even on my birthday?"
Izuku's eyes shot wide open. His eyes traveled to the calendar Momo keeps next to her desk.
"September 23"
'Oh shit.'
*Bzzt*
Izuku's phone suddenly buzzed, and he leaned across Momo to pick it up off of the bedside table. It was a set alarm for the specific date.
"Izuku, this is a message you set for yourself two weeks ago. In the event that you forget Momo's birthday, don't panic. This isn't going to be some cliche sitcom episode. You already bought your gift, made reservations, and had the whole day planned out in advance.
You're welcome,
Past You.
"Oh thank goodness."
Momo suddenly got out of bed and made her way to her closet, grabbing her clothes for the day. "Actually, we should get up." Directly in front of Izuku, she took off her shirt and began changing. Granted, he had seen Momo in arguably less. Her original hero costume and her nightgown were the prime examples.
This just felt... different.
It was clear Momo knew what she was doing, and had a purpose behind it.
Izuku's eyes went wide as she stripped down to her magenta underwear and changed in front of him with no remorse or embarrassment. Once she was done, she smirked at her partner.
"Besides, it's going to be a big day."
*Bzzt*
Izuku looked down at his phone again to see another message.
"P.S. Momo likely has something planned to completely throw us for a loop. So if anything is suspicious, throw the whole plan out the window."
"...I'm going to die today."
A/N: Now, before anyone types COP OUT listen up. First, did you really expect me to kill Momo. Like, really? Also, I'm not doing a stupid amnesia plotline. And to top it all off, this fake out wasn't meant for you. It was a fake out for Izuku. You, the audience, already know that Momo is going to be just fine.
You know why?
Does the end of the chapter tell you anything? Or how about Nighteye's prediction a couple chapters ago? Momo has to be okay for that to happen. I wasn't trying to trick you. You already had your answer right in front of you.
And also, this Momo is far too skilled to be stopped by a bullet.
This was meant to 1: Be another event to cause the raid to occur quicker.
And 2: It's another addition to not only Izuku's stress, but his realizations about his future. The concept of sudden death and loss and what it means. It's also an eye opener for him to realize that it's another problem he ignores with his masks. Like everyone else he blocks away his problems. It's also for him to notice he separates hero life and regular life. It's a piece of his lack of confidence, and it'll play into the hero I'm going to make him.
