A man shuffled by in front of her, and Momo shrank back in the movie theater seat to make room for him to walk by without touching her.

"This seat is taken," she said quickly when he began to lower himself into the vacant seat beside her, then her mouth puckered into an O of surprise as she saw him.

"I took a page out of your book," Aizawa said, a self-satisfied smirk on his lips.

"Is that eyeliner?" Momo asked with disbelief, leaning in closer to see him better in the dark theater.

She had come in disguise again herself, but so had he. He wore a beanie and the ends of a blonde wig poked out from underneath. He had on square black frame glasses, and he was in streetwear. Baggy black pants and an oversized green hoodie, with a chain and pair of headphones around his neck. He had a black N95 mask over his face — not unusual, now that the seasons were changing and more people were falling ill. It cut high on the sides to cover the distinctive scar under his eye. He looked like a fashion model, or a young J-pop star trying to lay low. It took her a moment to remember that, even though he was older than her, he was still young. Only thirty. He put a soda in the cup holder, and took a box of candy from the pocket of his hoodie and handed it to her.

"You have some explaining to do," Aizawa said instead of answering.

"So do you."

The previews and commercials finished playing on the screen in front of them, and the music for the movie began to play. It resonated around them powerfully in the almost-empty theater. Momo and Aizawa stared at each other before he unhooked his mask and let it hang from one ear.

"What was in that pen?" Aizawa asked, leaning on the armrest, edging in closer to her and dropping his voice low.

"Mina's acid."

"How the hell did you get your hands on Mina's acid?" he demanded, blinking in obvious surprise.

"Well, it wasn't her actual acid," Momo said, feeling her face grow hot. She held onto the box of candy, fingers digging into the thin cardboard. "UA offered counseling to the students after you were arrested — I got permission to attend. I went to see Hatsumi Mei in the support department while I was there and, while I was hanging out while she worked, I accessed the records they keep on file. They had a completely molecular breakdown of Mina's acid — so that everything they make for her can be resistant to it, of course. Once I knew the structure…"

"How did you get the pen in Majestic's binder?"

"I didn't." She shrugged. "It had to look like it came from him to allay suspicion about it though. I had my pen up the sleeve of my suit jacket, it only took a moment to switch them out."

Aizawa watched her with deepening consideration. She shifted slightly under the weight of his complete attention.

"I'm sorry I wasted my energy saving such a spineless, unintelligent girl," he murmured at last, and he smiled as the words left his mouth. "I knew you had something up your sleeve, but I wasn't prepared for it to be that."

"Tell me what happened after we left," she said, beaming at his praise.

"I went through the folder but I couldn't find anything," he said, shaking his head. "It didn't occur to me it was the pen. The warden breathed down my next for days to get that paperwork done though, and when I finally started it, the paper just disintegrated as soon as I began writing."

"I may have adjusted the composition of her acid slightly," Momo admitted. "Once I saw the formula, I was able to tweak it for potency, since I knew I wouldn't be able to pass you any large quantity."

"What the hell are you doing wanting to be a Hero," Aizawa said abruptly. "You could be curing cancer, or landing a shuttle on a foreign planet. You're too intelligent for Hero work."

"The news reports haven't said how you escaped," she whispered, "and Majestic had been keeping all incoming information under lock and key."

"They were actually going to transfer me to another facility — higher security. I used it on my restraints in the back of the transport, subdued the guard who was supposed to be supervising me, then used the acid to create my exit point." He pulled up the sleeve of his hoodie and showed her his forearm. It was torn open and beginning to scab over, his tattoos almost indistinguishable. Momo sucked in a sharp breath. "Got that jumping out at a hundred ten KPH, and there's more of where that came from."

"Oh my god—"

"I'll recover," he said. "You know, I'm breathing fresh air because of you. No one else. Only you."

"I—"

"No. Shut up and take the praise," he said harshly. "You are not a person that can be found every day. You are insightful, sharp-minded, tactical, and — more than anything else — loyal.

"I think you know I would've done what I could to keep you out of the line of fire even if you didn't raise a finger to help me — you had no obligation to, and you were in a position of high scrutiny where a single misstep would have put you in prison, too. I did not expect you to go to bat for me in front of Majestic and Dropshot, but you did — on two separate instances. I never would have expected you to try to aid me in escaping, and you did it. Twice."

He had killed anything she might have said in response. Her mouth was still open from when he'd cut her off, but nothing was coming out. Tears welled up in her eyes and she blinked rapidly to wish them away. On the screen in front of them, a helicopter was crashing in the might of a storm.

"I want you to know I'm not going to forget this. Ever," Aizawa continued, dark eyes focused on her. "I owe you my freedom."

"I—It's what was right," she stammered, and he gave a clipped, hushed laugh.

"No, it wasn't. I am a bad man, Momo, and I deserve to be in jail. You know that — better than anyone outside of Yakuza, in fact." He tilted his head back to relax into the seat. "I knew I was right about you."

"What do you mean?"

"That you can live with the guilt of duplicity."

He took a sip of his soda, then laced his fingers behind his head. Momo's attention went back to the screen. A woman was deciding to break off an arranged engagement. She and Aizawa settled in to watch the move, and while they watched, she grieved. Because after this he would leave — and he would not re-emerge in Hero society. He would leave this place a villain. An escaped murderer. A Yakuza oyabun. She would leave exactly as he said: living with the guilt of duplicity, and it was a burden she was now glad to bear. It made her stronger.

Aizawa sat up straighter in his seat and pulled his mask back on before the movie reached its conclusion. Momo reached out, cautiously touching his forearm. He looked at her, waiting.

"What if I need you?" she asked. "What if I need your help, or need to reach you?"

"You won't be able to," he answered honestly. His gaze softened. "And you won't need to. You're strong enough now on your own from this point."

"If you ever come to see me, I can keep it a secret. I won't turn you in."

He reached out and slid his thumb across her cheek, but her eyes were dry. "I know. You're going to be a great Hero, Yaoyorozu Momo." He paused, considering. Then, "But you'd make a better villain."

He stood and began walking away before she could answer, hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Momo watched, silent, as he disappeared around the corner to exit the theater without looking back. On the screen a man was cutting off his air support. Momo leaned over and took the cup of soda Aizawa had left behind, and took a sip.

This was the life her father had wanted so badly to shield her from. He had wanted to keep her away from the path he had once walked, but she had found it anyway. She wouldn't return to it, but the view had been…striking. She knew the world better now. She knew herself better now, and what she was capable of. Aizawa had showed her how to find it. He was carving himself out of her life now, and leaving her without so much as a mark — but she would remember.

She opened her phone to look at the message she'd gotten that morning from an unknown number on the screen.

Godzilla 4:30 showing today.

She would go through the rest of her life living with this duplicity, but it was not the burden she had once imagined it to be. Instead, it tasted of freedom. Sweet. She wondered, for a moment, what his new freedom tasted like to him — now that the guilt of duplicity belong to her and her alone.

She smiled privately at her phone. The message was Aizawa's last tie to the Hero world.

She deleted it.

Part 2 will be exclusively on AO3, and is available now:

Five years ago, Yaoyorozu Momo discovered Yakuza boss Danchou was really her teacher and Pro Hero Aizawa Shouta. He forged a path of blood to protect his secret, and her — and she repaid the favor by aiding in his escape from authorities.

She's a Pro Hero now, and preparing for an engagement to the Number 3 Hero, Todoroki Shoto — but her duplicitous past isn't ready to be forgotten. Aizawa has resurfaced and, now that he knows what she's capable of, he's ready to make her an offer of his own:

A place in his gang.

/works/35697913