Thanks for the positive response on the first chapter.
Just to clarify: no, this story does not split off from a specific point in my other story, Everywhere at Once - Rewrite. It is an alternate universe with the same character and certain similar situations.
Now on to the chapter.
The bell rang, and Class A began to rustle and pack up en masse, getting ready to leave the classroom.
"Yaoyorozu, Katayama, stay behind a moment," Aizawa announced over the din.
Doko looked up in surprise. Aizawa almost never addressed him, let alone having him stay after with…Yao-momo? He glanced over at the dark-haired class president, who met his confused expression with one of her own.
When they realized they were looking at each other, they both blushed and averted their eyes. What's the big deal? he thought to himself. God, stop blushing! Stupid, stupid!
Mina Ashido, who sat behind him in class, slung her bag over her shoulder with a glint in her golden eyes. "What could this be about, Dokoooo?" she sang, grinning at him. "Are you two in trouuuuble?"
Aizawa overheard. "That remains to be seen." He raised his voice to the other students as they began to walk out of class. "Need I remind you all that certain areas of the dorm that are not your private space have cameras in which we can see everything you do."
Mina gasped.
Suddenly, like fourteen pairs of eyes all turned toward Doko and Momo. "Wait…" said Kaminari, his voice rising in alarm. "What the hell were the two of them…?"
"Yaoyorozu?!" Iida shrieked. "Katayama?! You…"
Doko was panicking, as Mina began to laugh maniacally behind him. WHY WOULD HE SAY IT LIKE THAT? OH MY GOD!
The class turned into an uproar, as several people swarmed the two of them.
"HOW DID YOU DO IT?!" Kaminari demanded, shaking Doko by the shoulders. "TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!"
"I thought you said you didn't have time for boys, Yao-momo!" Mina exclaimed, her grin practically reaching her ears.
"QUIET!" Aizawa roared, and the class fell silent.
Slightly frightened, they all slowly turned back to their homeroom teacher.
The pro hero pinched his eyes between his fingers and sighed in exasperation. "They were doing nothing of the sort that is going through your heads. Now, let me talk to them in peace. To the two of you, I'm sorry I subjected you to this nonsense. I ought to have you all punished."
"Sorry, sensei…" a bunch of them mumbled in sync.
"Now, get out of here."
Mina and the others began to glumly file out. Doko carefully and deliberately removed Kaminari's hands from his shoulders. "Don't touch me again," he growled.
The blonde boy's eyes widened, and he nodded with a squeak, retreating in terror.
Doko sighed. That was so bloody annoying. Kaminari could be funny sometimes, but overall Doko found him very hard to tolerate.
When the class had emptied, he and Momo went up to the front desk. They both now knew what he wanted them for, of course.
"Why were the two of you sitting out on the steps so late at night?"
"I couldn't sleep," Momo explained. "I went down to the common room to make some tea, and then saw Katayama outside."
"And you reprimanded him for being outside after curfew?" Aizawa questioned.
Momo blushed. "No. I made him tea as well, and we talked for a bit."
"Hmm." Aizawa turned to Doko. "And what were you doing?"
"Watching the stars, sir. I have done it before. Why are you bringing it up now?" Doko was still frustrated from the prior debacle, and couldn't keep the anger out of his face.
Aizawa raised an eyebrow at his testy tone. "I don't need the attitude."
"Sorry. I'm a little annoyed after what just happened."
"I understand well enough. To tell the truth, Katayama, I knew you'd been going out there for a while, but it was minor enough of a rule infraction to where I thought you might come to your senses and stop. But now you've dragged Yaoyorozu into it, who normally never breaks the rules. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Doko's eye twitched. Are you telling me I'm…a bad influence on her? He felt his anger rise up even more, and forcibly swallowed. "Yes, sir," he growled. "It won't happen again."
"Wait!" Momo cried, catching on. "That's not fair to Katayama at all! I went out to join him on my own choice!"
"But you wouldn't have gone out if he hadn't been there," Aizawa said plainly. "Minor rule infractions can lead to major ones if you continue to get away with them. I'm nipping it in the bud here. Stay inside the dorms at night. It's that simple. This is for your safety, not your oppression. Keep that in mind. Or need I remind you of the multiple villain attacks you've endured?"
"That won't be necessary," Doko muttered.
Aizawa gave him another look. Probably thinking he's gonna have to keep an even closer eye on me now. Great. Just fantastic.
"Are we dismissed?" Momo asked, somewhat curtly.
Their teacher sighed. "Yes."
"Have a good day, Mr. Aizawa." She whirled on her heel and walked out of the room.
Doko followed behind a bit more slowly. He half-accepted the pro hero to give him some sort of parting warning, but that didn't happen.
Surprisingly, Momo had waited for him out in the hallway.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," she said, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "It wasn't fair at all."
Doko looked at her blankly. "...Yeah."
Then, he turned and walked away.
…
Lunchtime.
Doko carried his tray over to his usual table. Mina, Kirishima, Sero, Tsu, and Hagakure. But on his way there, he passed a different table, where Momo sat with Jiro, Shoji, and Koda. He realized his eyes lingered on it for a moment longer than he meant. Momo wasn't looking at him.
I shouldn't have blown her off earlier. But I wasn't in the best mood. Ugh. The moment they'd shared the night before had stuck with him all through the morning, and had actually lifted his spirits. She was going to tutor him, and they were getting along. Everything would be fine.
But then, that chaotic classroom moment just had to come in and ruin everything. No, I should be able to deal with shit like that. I shouldn't LET it ruin things. I should just put on my normal face and take it like a hero.
As Doko sat down at the table, the look on Mina's face told him everything he needed to know.
"So, Doko," she said, leaning forward with a mischievous smirk, "what did Aizawa need you and Yao-momo for?"
"He was complimenting us on being the most talented, least annoying people in class," Doko replied dryly. "Oh, and also the best-looking. That too."
Mina pouted, while Hagakure giggled.
"Come on, man…" Kirishima said in a good-natured sheepish tone. "You can't help us being a little curious."
Tsuyu put a finger to her chin, a trademark gesture. "If it was about the dorm cameras, perhaps Yaomomo-chan and Dokkun were both up late at night doing something outside the curfew zone. It doesn't even imply that they were together."
"Thank you, Tsu. Thank you." Doko smiled at her approvingly. "With that being said…we actually were together. I was doing some astronomical observations. Yao-momo stayed up to make tea, and joined me on the stoop."
"Sounds romantic…" Hagakure breathed.
"She has a point," Tsu said flatly.
Doko frowned. "I thought you were on my side here."
"Your space thing is kinda weird, dude," Sero put in, chewing his food. "I mean, is this the first time Aizawa has said anything about it?"
"Yeah," Doko muttered. "He said he was waiting on me to stop on my own, but he decided to speak up when I got someone else involved."
"That's kinda stupid," said Kirishima. "I mean, you didn't ask for Yaoyorozu to join you, did you?"
"She told him as much. Said it was her choice. Don't think he really got the picture." Doko sighed, and twirled his chopsticks through his bowl. "As smart as Aizawa is, sometimes he frustrates me a lot."
Mina's grin faded for a split second, and then returned. "Did you just call her Yao-momo?"
"Huh? I didn't say her name." Doko darted his eyes to the left in panic, trying to play it off.
"No, before."
"When?"
"Earlier!"
"What did I say?"
"You called her Yao-momo! Only the girls call her that!"
"Kaminari calls her that."
"Yeah, because he likes her!"
"Oh. I wasn't aware."
"Don't you play dumb with me, Doko." Mina leaned in closer, practically throwing herself across the table. Her shadow fell over his food. "If you two are getting close, and you're keeping all the juicy details from me, there will be hell to pay."
"What, just because we're friends, you have the right to know of everything going on in my life?"
"Yes!"
Doko sighed.
Tsu blinked her large eyes. "You did say earlier that Yao-momo was the best-looking person in class."
"Huh? Wait! That was part of a larger joke!"
"Still…" Tsu looked back down to her food. "...you did say it, ribbit."
Hagakure giggled. "The best jokes have a bit of truth in them! Face it, Katayama-kun! No matter how many stars you watch, you can't beat Tsu's observational skills!"
"Listen, even if I do think Yao-momo is good looking…" Doko coughed for a moment, refusing to retreat deeper into those thoughts. "...I mean, she kind of objectively is, regardless of my feelings. I could be gay three ways to Sunday and still think that."
"He has a point," said Kirishima, who was himself gay.
"And I have the right to call anyone good-looking if they are, anyway! Look, all of you are good-looking! Mina, Tsu, you both look very nice today!"
"Thanks, ribbit."
Mina made a show of gasping and fluttering her eyelashes. "You really think so?!" she asked in mocking falsetto.
"What about me?" Toru complained.
"...Sure, you're good-looking, Hagakure-san. Probably."
"Yay!"
"Hey man," spoke up Sero. "If it was me, I'd be showing that I was comfortable with all this, instead of trying to protest it and make things worse. I mean, this is Yaoyorozu we're talking about here. She's hot as hell. If it was me I'd WANT people to think there was something going on."
"Yeah…" Doko mumbled. "...but that's kind of sleazy, Sero bro."
He shrugged. "I'm a man of simple taste. And like I said, just accepting it will get these witches off your ass for a little while." He pointed sideways at the three girls.
"Don't call me that, ribbit. I'm a frog, not a witch."
"Well, you can call ME anything you like," said Toru.
Kirishima's eye twitched. "Stop. That has weird implications."
"I'm only being so nosy because you've never talked about girls before, Doko!" Mina protested. "It's super interesting that this has suddenly happened! Are there emotions in that head of yours, besides cynicism? I want to know!"
"Well…" Doko swallowed a bit of food, clearing his throat. "...Let me get back to you on that."
…
"Did he seem overly angry with you?"
Momo sighed, tucking her cell phone in-between her chin and her chest as she gazed into the mirror, brushing her silky dark hair. "No, Mother. It was just a warning is all."
Other teenagers might be inclined to not tell their parents about getting into trouble with their teacher, but Momo had been raised to let hers know about such things. Especially at a school like UA where they were often in danger.
"Well, I hope the curfew won't interfere with the gala this weekend. You will be attending, no matter what that school might say."
"That's going to be fine, Mother. As long as I get advanced permission, there's no issue. You won't need to stir up a storm with Principal Nezu or anything like that."
"Momo, darling…you are aware of the gala's theme, correct?"
"Father has struck a deal with another company to form a conglomerate."
"Honey, that's the REASON for the gala. The theme is that you bring a partner. Have you decided on who to bring?"
Momo blushed, nearly dropping the phone. She'd admittedly forgotten about that. "I…I don't know who I would feel comfortable asking about that…"
"One of your classmates, of course. Several of them have come to the house before, haven't they? Surely you are close with them."
"Well, I…I guess…"
"You can bring another girl who is a close friend, if that's easiest."
"Ah. Right." Momo's mind immediately jumped to Jiro, but it occurred to her that Jiro probably wouldn't enjoy a gala at all. Mina and Toru were too chaotic. That leaves Tsu or Ochaco. But which one of them do I ask?
"But also, Momo…don't be afraid to ask a boy. Surely there are some nice boys in your class."
"I thought you didn't approve of me dating."
"It's not necessarily a date, sweetheart."
"Oh yes, of course. Just a prestigious gala where we dress up nice, are classified as partners, and spend the evening together. Not a date at all."
"Lose the sass, young lady. You don't need to tell me who now, but do let me know by tomorrow. Whoever you're bringing will need to be added to the guest list and be given a table placement. Also, I assume you'll need to get permission for them to leave the dorm as well."
"Yes. Alright. I'll try and let you know tomorrow or even sooner if possible."
"Good. Goodbye, sweetie. Love you."
"Love you too, Mother."
Momo hung up and finished brushing her hair, setting her phone down by the sink. She supposed she could flip a coin between Ochaco and Tsu. Actually, let me toss Jiro in there as well. It's wrong to just assume that she won't want to go.
There were those randomizers on the Internet. She could put their three names in one and whichever came up, she could ask. If it turned out to be Jiro and the rocker girl said no, she could just flip a coin for the other two. Not hard. Simple.
A knock on the door roused her from her thoughts. "Coming," Momo sang, instinctively straightening out her long hair with her fingers a little.
She opened the door, and started in surprise. It wasn't the first person she'd expected to see…but not the last person, either.
Katayama grinned sheepishly. "Hi. Sorry, am I interrupting anything?" His purple eyes seemed to briefly dance past her shoulder into her room, just for a flicker of a moment, before returning to her face.
Momo shook her head. "No, just a little surprised to see you is all."
"Oh, well…" he averted his eyes and coughed, as if he was embarrassed. "...I was just thinking, like…if you're going to tutor me…we should establish when that's going to start…"
She raised her eyebrows. "Right, of course! Come in! Do you have my contact information?" She went back toward the sink and picked up her phone. When she turned around, Katayama had taken a few tentative steps into her room, looking around carefully.
"I don't have it," he told her plainly, giving her an enigmatic lavender gaze.
Momo blinked, feeling her cheeks burn a little. "R-right." She handed him her phone. "Just put yours in there. I'll shoot you a message."
"Okay." He added himself as a contact in her phone. While he did that, there was silence between them.
Momo rocked back and forth on her toes, unconsciously looking around the room to make sure she didn't have anything embarrassing in sight. Do I care about what Katayama thinks of me? I do? Great.
He looked up and handed her the phone. "Thank you. Shouldn't we figure out a time for the first session now? N-not trying to be pushy or anything!" He waved his hands in denial. "But…while we're face-to-face…"
"Umm, y-yes…" that strand of hair fell in front of her face again, and she tucked it behind her ear. Why can't I look him in the eye? "I can help you out on Sunday afternoon, if that works for you. Do…do you go home on the weekends?"
Something dark passed over his expression. "Nah. Not usually."
"Alright. Th-that's good, then." She took a deep breath. "Katayama, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is it that you need help with?"
"Mainly math and English."
Right. That makes sense. Since Katayama did a lot of nonfiction reading, he was much stronger in subjects like history and science.
"Well, isn't that convenient. Those are my strongest subjects." Momo smiled. "I'm sure we can work well together."
"Right. Yes." He coughed again. "Well, I'll be going now."
"...Alright."
He slowly and awkwardly turned and walked out of the room. Across the threshold, he threw one last violet glance her way. "...See you later, Yao-momo."
"...Bye…" she half-whispered. He took the liberty of closing the door behind himself.
Momo gulped, falling back onto her bed and sinking into it. That was unbearably awkward, but why? What's gotten into me? What's gotten into him?
Hopefully, the actual tutoring session wouldn't be like that.
Could he be just trying to get me to tutor him to get closer to me? ...No, Katayama isn't like that. I don't know him very well, but I know he wouldn't do that.
He does actually need help with something. But it's not all grades related. He's in pain about something else.
As class president, isn't it my duty to help my classmates?
But make a wrong move, and he could end up hating her. She didn't want that. In fact, she was terrified of it.
Why am I so worried about what he thinks of me? We both already agreed to accept the other's positive, admiring feelings as genuine.
Momo opened her laptop, and found herself going to the randomizing website.
The gala. Think about the gala. Don't think about Katayama, she told herself.
In the input box, she typed KYOKA JIRO, TSUYU ASUI, and then OCHACO URARAKA.
Her mother's words flashed back to her. Don't be afraid to ask a boy. I'm sure there are some nice boys in your class.
Her fingers seemed to move on their own. DOKO KATAYAMA.
"It's fine," she mumbled to herself, mousing down to the RANDOMIZE button. "It's only a twenty-five percent chance. More than likely I'll just get to ask Ochaco or…"
The new page loaded. Sitting on her screen in big letters was DOKO KATAYAMA.
Momo blinked, and then clapped her hand over her mouth, nearly letting out a squeak of shock.
He…no, I…
A blush spread over her entire face without her permission. She was asking him to the gala. The gods of randomizing Internet websites had spoken.
How…how on Earth am I going to do this…