"Hey, Momo… wh-why'd you ask me to come up here with you to the pool?" Kyoka asked with her voice quiet and laced with slight unease.
Momo slowly turned her head to face Kyoka and flashed her a soft and gentle smile "I just wanted to spend some time alone with you… maybe gaze at the stars together if you're willing". she turned her head towards the sky as she slowly laid down onto the picnic blanket she set up.
Kyoka nodded and did the same as she nervously tapped her jacks against each other while pursing her lips. Her eyes traced the clear summer skies and followed the imaginary lines between each star rapidly as she began to feel anxious. She cleared her throat to disrupt the tense and awkward silence that sat between them. "The skies are really clear tonight, aren't they? Hehe…" Kyoka said with an awkward chuckle that slowly faded away as she turned to face her classmate.
Momo was staring right into Kyoka's eyes; her eyes sparkled with the moonlight reflecting off her glazed eyes as it also illuminated her now rosy cheeks "Yeah… I can only think of one thing clearer-". Momo slowly turned on to her side to face Kyoka directly while resting her head on her folded arms "Do you wanna know what that is?"
Kyoka's breath slowly quickened as she felt her heart race; she couldn't help but let the blood rush to her cheeks as her stomach turned with unease. Kyoka couldn't find the words and replied with a small, simple nod accompanied by a deep gulp. She wanted to look away from her dear friend's face, but she just couldn't. Her chest filled with worry because she knew exactly what Momo was talking about.
"My feelings for you, Jiro…" Momo whispered with a meek smile spreading across her face. She slowly unraveled her arms and gently nudged herself closer to Kyoka. "For the past three years that we've been classmates, I've held them back, hoping it wasn't true and it was just a phase!" Momo's voice slowly deteriorated into sniffles and deep breaths as tears started welling up in her eyes. She slowly rolled onto her back once more and stared into the clear night sky while taking a deep breath "But like the summer night sky right now… my feelings for you are clear."
Kyoka quickly sat up and stared at Momo with glassy eyes "I-I-Momo… I-I… " she stuttered and stammered while her words failed to leave her mouth coherently, her earphone jacks curling up as she gripped at the picnic blanket. Kyoka's eyes slowly glazed over as her knuckles turned white, and her entire body trembled.
Momo sat up on her legs and smiled at Kyoka with teary eyes and flushed cheeks "I know, Jiro! It seems sudden and out of nowhere, but I promise you it isn't!" she gently reached for Kyoka's damp cheek to cup it "Jiro, I love yo-."
Suddenly a loud, sharp sound rang through the night air as Momo winced in pain, her trembling and aching hand frozen, cupping nothing but air to the side of Kyoka's left cheek.
Kyoka's hand was in front of her face with its palm slightly reddish as she stared at Momo with wide, glazed eyes and rapid breaths.
Momo slowly lowered her still trembling hand "J-Jiro, I don't understand. Why-why?". Her lip quivered, and tears began to flow down her cheeks as she drew her hand back and held it close to her chest "I-I'm trying to tell you I-"
Kyoka drew her right hand to her chest and suddenly struck Momo's right cheek with the back of her hand "Don't you dare finish that sentence, Momo! Just don't!" she screamed at her as she pushed herself off the blanket and rushed towards the stairs that led back inside. "I knew this was a mistake. What was I thinking? I knew exactly what you were going to do, and I still went up here! Stupid!"
Momo sniffled and winced as she wiped the tears off her stinging cheeks, her lips trembled, and her breath hitched "J-Jiro co-come back." she stammered out with her voice unsteady and barely audible. Momo slowly turned around and stumbled towards Kyoka while gently rubbing her slightly bruised and swollen cheek "Jiro… Jiro stop, please stop." she pleaded with her voice cracking and squeaking with sadness and desperation. Momo begged as she shuffled towards Kyoka "I need to tell you something! Please, Jiro, just stop and listen to-"
"No!" Kyoka screamed as she stomped to a halt just a few feet from the door. She clenched her fists and spun around quickly on her heels with her head hung low. Kyoka slowly raised and pointed one of her jacks at Momo "Don't say it! Please! Don't say it, Momo, I'm sorry I hit you but…" she slowly raised her head, showing all the emotions Kyoka was feeling right now. Her eyes filled with tears, her breath rapid and panicked, and her face contorted into a grimace filled with regret "Please, for the sake of our friendship, don't say it; because… I don't feel the same way!"
"Wh-What?" Momo squeaked as she fell to her knees; her body became heavy as her feelings were slowly crushed by the realization of what just happened to her. Momo cried out with a silent wail as rivers ran down her cheeks while she ran her fingers through her undone hair and pulled on it "No, this can't be happening! This isn't how it's supposed to go!" Momo mumbled to herself as she gasped for breath.
Kyoka grimaced in frustration as she covered her face with her hands and took a deep breath to gather herself "Damn it…" she grumbled under her breath. Kyoka huffed in frustration as she watched her best friend break down in front of her; she glanced towards the door briefly before slowly making her way towards her friend "Momo, please calm down. Just because I don't feel the same way doesn't mea-"
"Ho-how long have you-" Momo tried to ask, but her voice suddenly cracked and broke as she slowly lowered her head to the ground and continued to pull at her hair, breaking into a mess of tears and sobs.
"I-Two years... I've known for two years, Momo." Kyoka sighed as she reluctantly knelt beside her; unsure of what to do, she reached for Momo's cheek with her jack and gently caressed it "Ho-How's your cheek?"
Momo let out a muffled wince and flinched away from her at the contact. After a brief silence, she softly brushed Kyoka's jack away "Like my heart… i-in a lot of pain. Why-why would you care? You don't feel the same way about me anyway!" Momo said with her voice weak and shaky, being interrupted by her sobs.
Kyoka slowly retracted her jack away from Momo's cheek as she sat down on her legs "I care because I do love you, Momo, bu-" she gently peeled Momo's fingers away from her hair and tenderly intertwined their fingers.
"Is Momo okay? Did you tell her your-our secret Jiro?" Denki interjected softly from the doorway with a sigh as he walked towards them with his head hung low and his hands inside his pockets
Kyoka silently shook her nod while she gently ran her thumb across Momo's hand to try and soothe her "No… she told me hers." Kyoka replied while carefully pulling her best friend off the ground.
"Ka-Kaminari? What are you doing here?"
Denki let out a long drawn out sigh as he squatted down beside the both of them "Before Jiro went up here, she told me you asked her to come up here with you, alone. We both figured you were gonna tell her your secret, but we thought it'd be best if we told you ours first so you wouldn't be as heartbroken because you would've never been able to say it. But as I can tell, things didn't go to plan…"
Momo's eyes snapped to Kyoka's as they welled with tears "Don't tell me…"
Kyoka slowly let go of Momo's hand and gently leaned her head against Denki's chest. "It's not you, Momo… trust me. You're a wonderful person, you're kind, sweet, gentle, and I know you'll make someone very happy someday but-" she paused as she averted her eyes away from Momo's gaze "it's never gonna be me!" Kyoka said in a whisper, her voice laced with regret as she forced herself to look away from Momo's stare.
Momo gasped and covered her mouth to muffle her cries and whimpers as her tears began pouring out once more.
Denki sighed and planted a gentle kiss on Kyoka's forehead "Jiro, don't you think that was a bit harsh?" he said in a quiet voice while gently caressing her shoulder and back.
Momo forced herself off the ground and slowly stumbled backward and toward the rooftop pool. She whimpered and cried out her pain while clutching at the collar of her pajamas tightly as she heaved in grief.
Denki glanced up from Kyoka to look at Momo; he sat up straight and extended one hand towards her "Hey, be careful there Momo, you're at the edge of the pool there!" he spoke gently with a slight tone of sadness in his voice and regret on his face.
Momo stopped stumbling backward as she realized that they were trying to let her down easily; they were trying not to hurt her feelings by having Kyoka tell her before the confession. Momo looked down at her feet and slowly released her tight grasp on her pajamas' collar and took a deep breath to calm herself "I love Jiro, and I want her to be happy!" she whispered to herself with a smile slightly crooked and quivering. "Even if it's with…someone… else…" Momo's eyes slowly looked up, and her eyes widening at the scene right in front of her "D-Denki Ji-Jiro, what are you tw-"
"Oh, shut it, Momo! I'm trying to make out with my boyfriend here, you know?" Kyoka snarled at her with glee. "Did you really think I'd ever love you back-" She grinned at her as she jabbed a jack in her direction "scared little Momo Yaoyorozu? You can't be serious!" Kyoka let out a low chuckle of amusement as she and Denki got off the floor.
Momo shook her head violently in denial and grabbed at the side of her head as she let out a loud cry of anguish.
Denki sneered at Momo as he placed his hand on Kyoka's hip while they slowly made their way towards her "Why would someone as punk rock and cool as Jiro ever love a wimp like you? Because you got big "assets", and a lot of assets?" he smirked, clearly amused with himself.
"N-no! I wanted her to love me because I'd treat her right every day! I'd love her every day like it was the last day on earth!" Momo screamed back while still violently shaking her head in defiance while her lungs burnt and tear ducts dried from all the crying. "A-and because I-I lo-love her with all m-my hear-" She quickly looked up when she felt something rub against her sensitive cheek, which was still swelling from Kyoka's slap.
Kyoka smirked as she gently brushed her jack along Momo's face and leaned into her ear "Head up dear Momo, just know that no matter what…" she whispered the last bit so quietly it was barely audible while she tenderly wrapped her arms around Momo.
Momo hesitantly hugged Kyoka back "Y-you'll always love me as a best friend?" she painfully said with a sorrowful false smile of hope.
Kyoka snickered with a wide grin "No."
Momo screamed in pain as her brain was suddenly hammered by a barrage of sound waves that echoed within her head, her horrified eyes strained as they followed the connecting tissues of Kyoka's jacks to the back of her head. Momo cried out in pain as she tried to reach for the jacks, but Kyoka just hugged her tighter, pinning her arms in place. She soon collapsed to her knees in pain and agony; Momo stared at Kyoka with pleading eyes.
Kyoka just spat at her face in return "I said… know that I would've never loved someone as weird and pathetic as you Momo! Besides, I don't even like girls, you lesbo!". Kyoka removed her jack and grabbed Momo by the collar, and hung her over the edge of the pool "Why would you ever think that I liked girls? Pfft, to think our class vice-representative is a disgusting dyke!" She snarled at her.
Momo whimpered and weakly grabbed at Kyoka's arms as her tears and snot had finally run out, leaving her painful cries dry while she dangled over the pool "I-I'm bi! J-Jiro, p-please st-stop… I-I love you!" she screamed out weakly in one last attempt to get her full confession out.
Kyoka sighed before pulling Momo up a bit "Oh Momo…" she closed her eyes for a brief pause before smirking and harshly shoving Momo into the pool without another word.
Momo felt her weakened body crash through the surface of the water, her skin slowly being enveloped by the cold numbness as her eyes drifted close. She didn't fight against the water and just let herself slowly sink further into it, for she had poured her heart out for her love, and she, Kyoka Jiro, had crushed it into a million pieces. "Why would you ever love me, Jiro…"
"Ms. Yaoyorozu," A muffled female voice called out to her "You need to wake up."
Suddenly the sensation of her slowly sinking into the water came to an abrupt end; it was instead replaced with the rough impact against a hard wooden floor. Momo groaned softly in pain and squinted while her eyes adjusted to the light "H-Huh? What?" Momo slurred out with a yawn as she groggily rolled over onto her back, rolling herself up inside her comforter.
A blonde-haired woman dressed in a maid's uniform leaned into Momo's view, her face was stoic and eyes blank "Ms. Yaoyorozu, you need to get ready for school… but I suggest you use this first." her mouth ever so slightly curved upwards with a subtle warm smile as she gently placed a box of tissues onto Momo's bust.
Momo stuffed her hand inside the cardboard box and yanked out a handful of tissues "Was I talking a lot in my sleep Fushōjiki?" Momo asked gently while slowly sitting up, her comforter still wrapped around her, lifting with the motion.
While Momo gently dabbed at her damp cheeks with the tissues, Fushōjiki walked behind her and began pulling the loose strands of hair that clung onto Momo's face "No-"
Momo let out a long sigh of relief before blowing her nose into a handful of crumpled up tissues "That's a relie-"
"it was mostly crying." Fushōjiki gently pulled all of Momo's hair back before letting it fall flat onto her back "You didn't let me finish."
Momo let out a low, frustrated whine as she threw the ball of used tissues at a trash can across the room before falling back into her maid's arms. She huffed while staring at the ornate ceiling of her bedroom "Maybe I should have the trip canceled. I mean, what could I lose by not going forward with it?"
"Jiro, you could lose Jiro forever, Miss." Fushōjiki quickly replied, snatching the box of tissues away from Momo and placing them on the nightstand behind her "You've spent the last two years getting closer and closer to Jiro, you held your study session with her here, you played with her in a band, and you even got your hero license with her. Don't waste it."
Momo nodded with a smile and immediately sat up "You're right! I planned all this, and I shouldn't let my efforts go to waste! I love her, and I'm going to tell her how I feel! It doesn't matter if she reciprocates my feelings or not. I need her to know the truth.". Momo pushed herself off the floor and closed her fist with a grin "Ready the car! I'm going to school, and I'm going forward with the plan!"
Fushōjiki stood up from the floor and straightened out her skirt with a small grin on her face "With pleasure Ms. Yaoyorozu."
Seven hours had passed since that moment where Momo was reinvigorated with determination to confess her love for Kyoka. Her day was relatively uneventful, with Momo trying her very best to seem normal to her classmates, which she was able to hold up until their last period of the day, Mathematics.
Momo was softly humming along to the melody of a song she had performed two years ago, occasionally mumbling the lyrics as she scribbled a formula on a small piece of paper "-try, To say your dream's dumb, don't listen, ". Momo paused on the lyric and her pen doing the same as she stared at what she just wrote down. She clicked the ballpen off and gently dragged her pen along, tracing the lines of ink "9x minus 21u is greater than 9x minus 7i… Jiro."
"What about Jiro?" Mina asked as she stuck her head into Momo's face out of nowhere, glancing at the paper "A formula?" she murmured.
"Y-yeah! I just wrote some formulas to help Jiro practice her math!" Momo let out a nervous chuckle as she hastily and haphazardly shoved the paper into her right jacket pocket "Yeah, that's totally what it is!"
Mina let out a whiny groan as she leaned backward against Todoroki's desk. "Why are you thinking about school stuff? It's gonna be summer break, and we're third years! We need to have some fun, like go to a beach, meet some cute boys, get a little drunk, and maybe… do stuff with said boys." she said with a suggestive smirk stretched across her face.
Momo tried to stifle a laugh and shook her head as her cheeks slowly grew a reddish hue. Her vision coming out of focus and her mind wandering off to the lips of a certain purple-haired girl, she couldn't help but wonder if she could do those with her one day. Momo let out a little yelp when out of nowhere, she heard Iida call for her and Mina frantically waving her hands in front of her face.
"Yo, are you okay, Yaomomo? Iida's been calling you, but you spaced out for a good minute, and… your face got all red? Are you sick or something?" Mina asked while rubbing her chin and looking at her with curiosity.
"If you're feeling sick, Yaoyorozu, you should head to the nurse's office right now. I can make the announcement if you're not feeling well." Tenya stated while chopping his hand towards the door "We can't have the event you arranged for us if you're sick! We must ensure you're in perfect health!"
Momo sunk into her chair as she felt surrounded by embarrassment. Her cheeks turning from a rosy pink to a deep scarlet red as her classmates voiced their concerns for their beloved classmate, but to her, one voice instantly stood out, Kyoka's "I think she looks fine," she said with a sly grin staring straight at Momo, raising her jack as if to give her thumbs up.
Suddenly Shoto, who was in the seat to her right, placed the back of his hand against her forehead.
Momo became flustered at the light contact.
"Hmm… she is fine, but, if you do feel unwell Yaoyorozu, I can show you this nerve point-" Shoto said as he was about to stand up before Momo abruptly stood up from her chair.
"N-no need, I-I'm absolutely fine! I just got distracted, is all." Momo let out a nervous breathy chuckle as the class calmed down, and she immediately rushed over to the front of the classroom.
Mina returned to her seat with her hand still rubbing at her chin in curiosity while pondering what type of sickness could make Momo space out like that.
All the while, Shoto stood there staring at Momo with a confused look, his eyes tracking her as she ran to the front of the class. Their eyes met momentarily just before she made it to the front.
Even if it was only for a split second, this was enough for Momo to get sidelined slightly, and without warning, a loud bang went through the classroom.
"Hey, watch it!" Katsuki shouted as his desk was bumped forward.
"Fuck!" She bent over, placing her right hand on Mezo's shoulder, and winced as an aching pain slowly came through her hip. She had run into the corner of Katsuki's desk. Momo massaged her hip and waist as she slowly raised her head to see everyone's looks and realized what she just shouted.
But before she could even get a word out, Denki burst out laughing "Yaomomo just said fu-eeehhh!" a shriek quickly replaced his laughter.
Kyoka had plugged her right jack into Denki's head "Are you okay, Yaomomo?" she asked with a concerned look, placing her hand on Momo's waist "You might've gotten a bruise."
Momo clenched her mouth shut as blood quickly rushed to her cheeks, frantically she pulled out a handkerchief from her right jacket pocket to cover her face and blush "I-I'm fine! I'll take over for the announcement Iida!" she hurriedly stepped to the front of the room with the handkerchief still over her face.
Tenya adjusted his glasses with a confused look but nodded as he stepped back to let Momo take the spotlight.
Momo took a deep breath to calm herself. Slowly she felt the warm feeling in her cheeks subside, letting her take a sigh of relief. Momo brought her handkerchief up to wipe away the nervous sweat she had apparently gained from her forehead "So as you guys know, Mr. Aizawa is letting us have this summer break all to ourselves and that we all decided we should spend it together because it's our last year here at U.A. and we're graduating."
Eijiro raised his hand and waved frantically to grab her attention "But we haven't decided what to do yet, and summer break starts tomorrow!"
Tenya nodded with a confident smile "About that Kirishima, continue Yaoyorozu."
"Thank you, Iida. Yes, we haven't decided officially, but I proposed something to Iida last night in the dorms that I'm sure you'll all love! I suggested we could stay at our-"
"Private yacht?" Denki shouted with excitement.
"Private beach?" Mina and Toru followed up eagerly, Toru pulling out a swimsuit from her school bag as she did.
"Ummm… why did you have that in your bag, Hagakure?" Mashirao asked with a look of concern and confusion all over his face.
"Oh, is it a private resort?" Eijiro asked, pumping his fist into the air "That would totally be such a Yaoyorozu thing!"
Kyoka let out a chuckle "Oh please! It's probably a private island if anything!". She gave Momo a playful grin "Yaomomo wouldn't settle for anything less."
"Guys, I know Yaomomo's rich, but I don't think even she would have a private island!" Ochako interjected with a smile and shaking her hands, trying to dismiss her classmates' suggestions.
Momo pursed her lips as she clenched her hands together, looking down and swaying side to side shyly "Well, actually… you guys are all correct." she brought her head up to show a sheepish smile.
"What is your life~," Ochako said with slurred speech as her eyes went wide, and she slowly leaned to her left and fell off her chair. With Koji and Rikido fanning Ochako with their jackets as she laid on the floor unconscious.
Momo brought her clasped hands up to her chest and gave her classmates a broad smile "We're all gonna spend summer break at my family's private island on our private resort and have access to our private beach, and I'll handle the transportation with our private yacht! I tried getting our bigger boat, but I know it's still gonna be so fun!"
A short awkward silence came over the class before everyone suddenly erupted into cheers.
Tenya was running around the class, trying to calm everyone down.
Izuku was by Ochako's side, trying to shake her awake from her shock.
Eijiro was by Katsuki and trying to hype him up for a beach trip.
Mineta, of course, was drooling and muttering to himself on how he'll get to see all the girls in their swimsuits.
Mashirao then walked up to Momo, shyly rubbing the back of his head while trying to forcefully shove Hagakure's swimsuit back into her bag with his tail "Hey, Yaomomo, thanks for setting up this vacation for us. You're so kind!"
"Oh, it was my pleasure! We've all worked so hard to become heroes. I thought our class deserved this at least!" Momo replied with her attitude being bubblier than usual even though she technically just lied to her class "I mean, I do appreciate them, but this is really for me. At least they do get to have some fun, though."
As Momo was heading back to her seat, she felt a light tap on her waist. When Momo turned around, she saw Kyoka. Her usually white skin had a slight reddish tone to it on the cheeks. The corners of her lips were curled up in a shy smile "So, you do actually have a private island. You know I was joking, right?" her voice was a bit shaky as she spoke. She had small beads of sweat rolling down her forehead and fiddling with a small silver ring on her right thumb.
Momo giggled and nodded as she turned to Kyoka and wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead "Of course! I'm so excited to see you guys there. We usually only invite relatives over, so it'll be great spending some time there with my best friends and classmates!"
"Everyone, it is 3:10 pm. You are all free to leave. Make sure to have your things packed and ready by Monday and meet us at the front of the school by 10 am." Tenya calmly announced as he waved a stick of smelling salt over Ochako's nose "Uraraka, don't pass out here! Pass out in Midoriya's room instead!" he shouted as he picked her up and gently shook her shoulders to try and wake her.
"W-wait why does Uraraka have to be in my room, Iida?!"
"Oh, I need to go!" Kyoka said as she abruptly stood up and grabbed her bag "I actually have piano lessons at 4 pm, and I don't wanna be late!"
"Oh, so that's where you've been sneaking off to after classes, Jiro. I was starting to think you had a boyfriend or something." Momo joked with a soft chuckle.
Kyoka hurriedly shoved a stack of papers in her school bag, almost leaving a scrap of paper on her desk before realizing it and immediately grabbing it with her jack in what seemed like a panic "Me? A boyfriend? N-no way!" she let out a nervous chuckle "I decided to take it up because of you. I just thought about how I always play punk or rock songs, and I wondered what if I played something a bit more graceful.". Kyoka paused for a moment to slow down and looked at Momo with a slight sparkle in her eyes "Then I remembered how graceful you seemed playing keyboard in our concert when we were first years so..." she grabbed the piece of paper from her jack and held it tight in her right hand "I asked your parents who taught you how to play piano, so maybe I could learn to play like you."
"Well, I'm sure you sound amazing already. Maybe you can demo your skills on the yacht! We have two grand pianos in an auditorium my parents had built so I can perform for guests! It'll be like our own personal concert!" Momo said with a bright, confident smile; however, internally, her brain was shrieking "Oh my lord Momo Yaoyorozu! Stop! In the name of all that is bisexual and gay crushes, stop! How is this even happening! She is so not gonna say yes to this. It's too random, yeah. My crush won't say yes because it's too sudden, and she'll get embarrassed about performing! Wait... my crush is Jiro… I'm so fucked."
Kyoka's cheeks slowly turned to a darker shade of red "Sounds like a plan. I'll be looking forward to it, Yaomomo." she said before turning to and walking out the door with an unusual bounce in her step "I'll see you tomorrow!"
Momo waved Kyoka out with her handkerchief with a chuckle "Alright, see you later!" she began to walk back to her chair as the rest of the class left the room. At the same time, Momo pushed her handkerchief into her right jacket pocket "How did I just do that? Maybe Fushōjiki was right, and everything will be just fi-wait." she frantically emptied her pockets and patted herself down, realizing something "Where's the formula?!"