Author: undefmidi
2018
Boku no Hero characters, original story, and everything belongs to Kohei Horikoshi, the author of said series. I only own the Plot.
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Chapter 15 – Nejire vs. Momo
Nejire wasn't expecting Izuku to come to the rescue.
He had flung himself out of nowhere, grabbing Todoroki out of battle. Thanks to him, she could properly fight without minding two people attacking her at once.
Todoroki, who was the biggest threat for her, was taken out of the equation - but that alone wouldn't atone for her lack of rest. Her sluggish motions and heavy breathing only proved that further.
"Nejire," Momo's gaze had an underlying meaning that Nejire couldn't understand. "I will not go easy on you."
"... Neither will I," She responded nonetheless.
Both of the girls prepared themselves for undeniable combat.
Nejire breathed in and out, clinging to any sort of calmness and rest she could achieve before fighting. Her quirk allowed her to exchange vitality into shockwaves, however, tiredness loomed over her lack of rest.
Momo, on the other hand, gazed constantly at Nejire's eyes. An uncanny shade of seriousness reflected on her usually round, bubbly face.
The strong incense of rust encrusted the battlefield as the two girls wordlessly assumed their stances. The thick atmosphere permeated through the arena.
A bird flying overhead was the signal! - Momo kicked the ground with an unnatural heap of strength.
She wouldn't let Nejire, an outsider, get closer to her objective, no! She had worked far more than her in that aspect, so why should she give up to her?
Momo's stride became stronger with each step. A heap of unsaid bitterness clawed up her throat as she activated her quirk. Those bitter words had contaminated her mind over the years, being chained by uncertainty.
Nejire, however, couldn't understand the reason for her furious impetus - but that didn't mean she wouldn't fight back: Quick-wittedly, her quirk activated with a bang. In an instant, her body was launched overhead of Momo, landing right behind her.
Using her momentum, she kicked her-
"!"
However, Momo was faster: with the flick of her wrist, a wooden staff finished creating. Before Nejire's kick hit, she turned around and blocked it.
Her blood boiled with action and bitterness. With every beat of her racing heart, adrenaline pumped. She had never felt like this in her entire life.
The clueless look on Nejire's face irritated the usually calm Momo.
How can she not know?!
Using her newfound sentiment, she swung the staff with a might she didn't know she could muster.
Nejire blocked the incoming strike with a well-placed shockwave. Momo wasn't ready for that quick reaction - the staff rotated in the air before rolling on the ground multiple times, far away from them.
But she wouldn't let that be the end! Using an opening, Momo grabbed Nejire's hanging leg and used her weight to throw her off-balance, successfully throwing her on the ground, and mounting on her back.
Momo kept Nejire at bay with her arms and legs.
"Why?!" Her voice cracked. She couldn't contain it anymore.
"Huh?" Nejire didn't understand one bit.
Just as she was about to use her quirk-
"Why him?!"
Him? Who is she talking about?
"I don't-"
"You don't understand, yes!" Momo interrupted. "Out of every student in school, why him? You have enough influence to get yourself any boy you want!"
"I still-"
"Izuku Midoriya..." Momo said sourly, face hidden in between hair and shadows.
"!"
Ah... She understood it, finally.
Why Momo was so aggressive, why she constantly felt stares constantly piercing her during classes... It all made sense...
Momo was jealous.
Of course, she would be aggressive. No matter who it is, be it the most saint of people or else, everyone is subject to jealousy, even more so when it comes to love.
Nejire herself was just able to come to terms that she had some sort of feelings for Midoriya, even calling it 'love' in the heat of the moment.
Yet that same pleasant feeling drove such bitter glares, such sour words... 'What is love anyway', Nejire thought to herself.
She didn't feel time passing, it was only her and her own thoughts...
'Love, a strong feeling of affection for somebody that you are sexually attracted to', was the textbook definition she read countless times. But no matter how much she tried to, she couldn't understand it. That created a life-long heap of curiosity that kept snowballing, year after year.
However, her knowing Midoriya - that plain, indecisive, and sometimes weak person - did something to her that she couldn't imagine: answered her life-long curiosity.
It was a warm, sometimes painful feeling. It permeated her body countless times when near him, even if there was no apparent reason.
Constantly, her attention was lost in class. Her gaze always landed at the same, green-haired place, not leaving for entire minutes. Yet he never seemed to notice those things, just as if his surprising intellect was only effective on quirks, superheroes, and battles.
Her usual curiosity skyrocketed when near him. Things she would normally ignore - since there was just so many more interesting things -, if about him, were high-priority. 'Why would I ask him what's his favorite food?', the thought appeared in her head, over and over again while contemplating asking it.
Momo, however, also liked that same boy. The confusion and lack of knowledge brought her to that point where her jealousy couldn't be contained.
Nejire would say she's never felt jealousy herself, but that scene in the nursery came back to her. She had unconsciously "protected" him from Uraraka. Back then, it didn't make the slightest bit of sense, but after a second thought...
It was jealousy.
The small pieces of information and memories connected with each other and a giant rush of realization ran through her mind.
She understood her. After all, she was the same...
"Yaoyorozu."
"What?" Momo kept pressing her against the floor.
"I'm the same as you," The ground began to rumble as Nejire fought against Momo's grip.
"!"
"And I will not hand him over!"
BANG!
Momo was thrown across the battlefield, rolling repeatedly on the ground. Before hitting any structure, she stopped. Dazed, her legs could barely let her stand up. Her vision was blurry, and her surroundings spun. A warm, thick liquid oozed off of her.
Nejire's breath was ragged. She overexerted herself due to her emotional burst. Falling on her knees, she did everything she could to stay awake.
No... energy left.
Nejire had used up everything she had, not only on this fight with Yaoyorozu, but also with flying, fighting others, and cooperating with Izuku. That final blast was just the cherry on top.
Surely, if both of them fought under normal conditions, and if they had their emotions in check, it would be a one-sided fight. Nejire would win without breaking a sweat - but those conditions weren't normal.
It wasn't a battle of skill...
It was a battle of feelings.
But it wasn't over. The true war had just begun.
Izuku, you poor soul... You don't know what's coming.
Thank you for reading!
Please be sure to check out my original novel, "Talentless Beast Knight", currently being posted on the Raising The Dead group!