Chapter 24: First Impressions

The SREU left in less than two hours, all right.

After receiving a letter from the literal royalty of the Todoroki Empire, they all immediately packed their essentials, tossed everything into the airship, and flew north-west.

Flying at top speeds, they made it to the city of Endeavor with a few hours to spare.

Well, technically, they didn't land smack-dab in the middle of the city. They would have probably been shot down by the local law enforcement the second they were spotted. Plus, even if they weren't, the second they saw JSDF uniforms, the Imperials would have opened fire.

So, they landed the boat at the outskirts of the city. In the middle of a forest.

Stepping out of the forest, Momo looked towards the horizon to see how the Todoroki Empire looked. The best way she could put it was… dichotomous. The small houses and stone walls that surrounded the city looked somewhat standard for their technological level, but…

Inside was a different story. Even with binoculars, there was only so much Momo could see, but even with that little information, she could tell a few things, given that the city seemed to be built on an elevated plane, so she could see a few things past their defensive walls.

Hmmm… Momo analyzed what she saw. Given the different kinds of architecture, I'd wager that they separate the communities between social and economic classes…

"Uhh, Lieutenant?" Kirishima called out to her. "What do we do now?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Momo looked back at the rest of her team. "Well, unless the Ranking happens in the middle of the day, then we probably still have a few hours before it begins. We should probably figure out how to establish contact with the –"

"Hello."

"JUMPING JELLYBEANS, WHAT THE –?!"

Quickly brushing off the near-heart attack she just had, Momo took a look at the newcomer. A woman with green hair, wearing silver armor, and carrying a spear. How the hell was she so sneaky?! And better question, how did no one see her coming up from behind?!

Momo decided to play the diplomacy card. "Who are you?"

"Interesting choice of accent," the newcomer softly said. "Ahem, anyways! I am General Moe Kamiji… and I'm assuming you're the Momo Yaoyorozu, the Night-Haired Warrior, yes?"

Great, that nickname again. Momo suppressed the thought, as she said, "Yep, that's me. First Lieutenant Momo Yaoyorozu of the JSDF. And over there behind me is my crew."

Kaibara waved at the green-haired woman. "Hey, were her crew. 'Sup?"

"Hey, Melissa, quick question: Why didn't you let me know she was here?"

"I didn't detect any malicious intent from her," the angel told Momo. "And besides, I already met her once before, when she delivered the letter back at the Collibus Hills. So, she's cool."

"Hm? Oh, I see…" Kamiji gave everyone a look-over, before her eyes settled on Melissa. "Fascinating… an actual angel. I thought I was seeing things when you had your blade on my neck, but I guess not. It appears that there is indeed some truth to the rumors going around."

Melissa yelped slightly, before using her magic to hide her wings.

"Yes, excuse me, about those rumors, we've only heard a fraction of them," Aoyama cut in. "Maybe you tell us some of them? You know, figure out what's true or not, yes?"

"Well, they say that you were captured by Usagiyama's tribe of warrior-bunnies, impersonated a few local deities, accidentally summoned a Demon Lord, sexually harassed a medusa, stole a number of magical artifacts while nearly destroying Yuuei-Shiketsu City…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rin shouted. "We didn't even do half of that shit!"

Yeah, while some of those rumors were blatantly false, Momo could see how they could come to exist: A few local "deities" were probably the Arms of Fire, but they were mistaken for those guys, her team didn't willingly impersonate them. Accidentally summoning a Demon Lord and the looting of magical artifacts was probably something that happened while they were busy fighting the possessed Sato, and her team ended up getting the blame for it.

But the rest of that stuff? Ehhh, there might have been some more truth to those.

Shaking her head, Momo decided to get back to actual business. "So, Kamiji-san; I suppose you're the one representing Princess Fuyumi and Prince Shoto Todoroki out here?"

"That is correct, madame," the green-haired woman said, as she pulled a sack out from behind the bushes. "I'm here to sneak you and a few of your companions into the city."

"And how do you plan to do that? Also, what's inside the sack?"

As it turned out, Momo's answer to both her questions was "disguises."

Inside the sack were a handful of outfits that the upper-class of the Todoroki Empire wore. The base outfit was a bunch of white togas with some patterns, followed by a secondary, more colorful, sash worn diagonally around the body, and a leather belt keeping the outfit together. While they couldn't exactly bring any heavy weaponry with them, the togas were at least baggy enough to let them hide their hand-held radios, handguns, and knives, so small mercies.

Unfortunately, General Kamiji was only able to sneak out about seven outfits in total, meaning that, aside from herself and Monoma, the rest of Momo's team would have to draw lots.

The other five people joining them would be Bakugou, Komori, Awase, Sato, and Tsuburaba. Melissa had also insisted on coming, saying that her armor could allow her to play the role of a foreign bodyguard to "Lady Yaoyorozu and her entourage." Her words, not Momo's.

Eventually, Momo relented, allowing the angel to join them, wearing the disguise she used to hide herself back at Yuuei-Shiketsu City. Kendo was now in charge of making sure the airship and the rest of the team was fine within the forest, while the others headed into the city.

The trip inside was already planned out. Kamiji had brought a beast-drawn carriage out of the city to bring in Momo and her small team, and a fancy one, at that. Their base color was a fancy red, with some black and gold lacing the outside. And the inside was covered in comfortable pads to sit in! As a Yaoyorozu woman, Momo knew quality when she saw it.

All they needed to do now was enter through the main gate.

"These boots are way too loose…" Bakugou grumbled next to her.

"You could have gone with the sandals," Awase said.

"And risk getting a rash on my feet? No, thanks."

"Stop talking, both of you," Monoma ordered. "We're almost at the checkpoint."

Momo looked out the open window, and sure enough, she could see the walls of the city right in front of her. She stayed quiet, as she saw an Imperial soldier approach the carriage. She trusted Melissa and General Kamiji would be able to get them inside with their words alone.

"General! Good afternoon. Uh, who are these people you're escorting inside?"

"At ease, soldier. This outskirts countess is a dear friend of Princess Fuyumi. I am escorting her and her entourage of lesser nobles so they may attend this evening's Ranking."

"I see. And the, uh, armored woman next to you?"

"The countess's personal bodyguard. She insisted on coming with us."

"Very well, then. Please proceed inside."

"Thank you."

The inside of the city was nothing short of astounding.

As the horned horse pulled the carriage, Momo and the others could see all around them various architectural marvels. Despite using less-advanced materials than Hatsume's kingdom, let alone the modern world, the Todoroki Empire had managed to make their capital city look just as aesthetically pleasing, if not even more. And this was still the commoners' district!

The bridges alone looked to be made of marble, their bottoms curving upward to serve as tunnels beneath, while the buildings all around them had painted roofs to signify where they were. And the closer they got to the palace, the fancier the structures got!

Massive green towers, rounded blue homes, street gardens, aqueduct systems, decorated walls, hell, Momo was pretty sure she saw a replica of the goddamn Colosseum! And all of these were appetizers compared to the main course of the palace their eyes were receiving!

The home of the Emperor of Flames was a mix of white and gold, with the main building having a massive round dome, multiple spires, and columns upon columns stacking up on one another. And that was just the main attraction! All around them, there were mansions connected to the big castle, every shape of non-euclidean geometry used to build these golden palaces! If Momo had to guess, the value of this place eclipsed her family fortune a hundred-fold!

"Holy shiitake…" Komori whispered.

"These guys are fucking loaded…" Tsubuaraba whispered.

Momo remained silent as she marveled at the structures out of her window. So much so, that she didn't even notice they had arrived at their destination until the carriage stopped.

"We're here!"

Stepping out of the carriage, everyone looked around at their new location. A large grassy field next to the palace, with a lake on the other side. Perfect for garden parties.

"Momo Yaoyorozu?"

Turning back around, Momo saw a woman around Kamiji's age approaching them. She wore a pink-and-gold vest, showing off her long white sleeves, as it trailed off into a white dress. A silver tiara adorned her head, but the most eye-catching thing about her was her white hair mixed with red streaks, and the gray eyes behind odd spectacles she wore.

"That would be me. And you are…?"

"Ah, of course! Where are my manners? I should have known you wouldn't be able to recognize me…" the woman said. "I am Fuyumi Todoroki, princess of the Todoroki Empire. Hi there!"

"I must admit, when we first heard about how your armies decimated our men, we feared that we had unleashed a great evil!" Fuyumi cheerfully said, as the others followed her and Kamiji through the halls of the palace. "But I am glad to see that wasn't the case!"

"Uh-huh. Yeah, about that, you said something in your letter about wanting to bring our two nations together?" Momo asked. "Were you serious about that?"

"Oh, very serious! Both myself and my brothers want nothing more than for our father to stop his constant expansion within the continent! Do you know how many kingdoms –"

"Sister?"

Fuyumi turned to look towards the adjacent corridor, as did everyone else, to see the owner of that voice. "Ah, Shoto! You're right on time! We have some very important guests!"

As the younger brother talked to the older sister, Momo couldn't hear anything. She was too busy focusing on the man's appearance. Clearly, he was around her age, and wore a similar outfit to Fuyumi, just instead of a pink vest, it was blue, and we wore white pants instead of a dress. Oh, and he wasn't wearing any glasses like his older sister.

But his eyes… wow. They were heterochromatic, one of them gray, the other blue. Aside from that, his hair was split down the middle, with one side being pure white, and the other, completely red. All in all, he was quite handsome… but what drew Momo's interest the most was the scar on the left side of Shoto's face, smack dab on top of his blue eye.

SMACK!

"Ow! What the –?!"

"Girl, focus," Melissa whispered. "They're talking."

"...I apologize, but it seems like Natsuo needs some help with tonight's preparations," Fuyumi said. "Not to worry, you're all in good hands with Shoto! I'll see you all again in a few hours!"

And with that, the SREU was left alone with Shoto Todoroki.

"So…" Shoto started off. "I take it that you're the infamous Momo Yaoyorozu."

"Who? Me?" Momo's cheeks turned red. "Well, I wouldn't use the word "infamous", but…"

"It was a simple "yes" or "no" question."

"Oh, okay, wow. No need to be rude about it…"

"Oh. I… apologize. Social interaction is not one of my strong suits," Shoto said. "Anyways, we can continue this conversation as I escort you to your temporary quarters."

"Sure thing," Awase said, as the group followed the peppermint-haired prince. "So, you can't talk well? I guess then your looks are double-useful, keeping all them ladies distracted…"

"Actually, I'm quite single. In fact, all of my siblings are, at least to the public. My father doesn't know this, but my sister and General Kamiji are in a secret relationship."

Momo thought over what he said. Given that Fuyumi apparently went behind her father's back with that relationship, it made it sound like it was unapproved. She needed more intel. "So, Todoroki-san, is there any reason that you and your siblings haven't been married off yet?"

"My father respects personal strength above all else. He isn't going to make us court some other country's nobles for the sake of an alliance when he can simply conquer that country."

"No wonder your country's one of this continent's superpowers," Bakugou grumbled.

"Yes. Every time he wants to expand his borders, he challenges the strongest warrior of that country to a duel. That's how he conquered my mother's homeland."

Monoma sweated a bit at that. "He can't be that bad, right…?"

"Hmph. If my father were to find some foreigner of both great status and personal strength wanting to marry one of us, he wouldn't hesitate, just to gather even more power."

"Jesus, talk about father of the year," Awase joked.

Momo thought over what the younger Todoroki just said, while cross-referencing it to everything else she knew about the Todoroki Empire, and it painted a bleak picture: The Emperor of Flames valued personal strength above all else. Whether he personally acquired it within his family or nation didn't matter, as long as it was under his command. And the only way he'd let his kids marry was if their suitor was someone whose genes were good enough.

Now it made sense why his own kids were now willing to talk with the "enemy." And the answer was kinda depressing. Right now, Momo felt like giving Shoto a hug. Poor guy.

"Hm? Hey, uh, what's that frozen spire over there?" Komori asked.

Everyone looked towards where the botanist was pointing, to see one of the gold-and-white towers of the castle, except… it was frozen. The main body was covered in ice, while the main chamber on the top had spikes of ice shooting out through its roof. If Momo had to describe it, it was like the Fortress of Solitude was trying to break out from some tight space.

"Those are the quarters of the most powerful ice user in the Empire," Shoto explained. "A woman said to have been struck with madness by the Emperor and locked up in that tower."

"He locked her up just because of some mental health issues?" Sato asked. "That ain't right."

"No, he locked her up because she poured boiling water on my face."

Everyone choked on air as soon as Shoto finished his sentence. "WHAT?!" Tsuburaba shouted. "Why would they let a sociopathic woman like her near you in the first place?!"

"She's my mother," Shoto deadpanned.

"OHHH… oops."

The peppermint-haired prince remained quiet, as he stared at the meteorologist.

"Please don't chop my head off," Tsuburaba asked.

"I wasn't planning on doing that," Shoto said. "Anyways, once you're all settled into your quarters, you'll be given some evening wear to change into for the night."

"We're attending the Ranking?" Momo asked. "I thought this was strictly business."

"It is," Shoto said. "But for now, we need to keep up appearances. Plus, I'm not exactly sure how to explain to my father why there are a bunch of complete strangers in the guest rooms.

Made sense. They needed to pose as nobles, so they needed to attend the event. Plus, Momo wouldn't mind knowing how Shoto looked in some nicer attire, so… win-win, in her book.

The sun was setting within the borders of both the city of Endeavor and the surrounding woodlands. As the walls encircling the capital of the Todoroki Empire lit up by the torches, the SREU kept their lights off, as per Kendo's instructions. No need to draw attention.

And besides, even once the sun was gone, there was still plenty of light for them to see. Eijiro could still see the forest he was patrolling perfectly fine. No need for flashlights yet.

Still, it would be pretty dark soon. The artificial redhead knew that Kendo had ordered him and the others to maintain a perimeter around the airship until Yaomomo got back, but…

Suddenly, Eijiro heard something. Whistling? Looking around, he didn't see anyone doing anything of the sort, but then he heard more. Like chirping? Dust spreading around? He didn't know how to describe it aside from the fact that it was faint, like a whisper.

Eijiro looked around for the source of that sound, when something lunged out from the forest. It almost gave the soldier a small heart attack, but he calmed down as soon as he saw what it was. It was small, no bigger than a segment on one of his fingers, floating around in the middle of the air, shining brightly, like a firefly. Except… even he could tell it wasn't one.

The aura around this thing was red, a soft glow, like a light. But he could see that this thing's "physical" body was white, just a tiny ball of pure white. Was this thing completely made of light? Was this a spirit? He had overheard Melissa saying once that spirits were creatures made of mana, completely different from ghosts. He took a closer look at the little guy…

THWIP!

…only for it to fly off into the forest.

"Hey, wait up!"

He didn't know why, but Eijiro followed the small red light. He could still hear whatever weird chirping it was making as it flew, but he could also now hear… music? It was soft, like someone was playing a violin… No, it had more life than that, like someone was playing an… ocarina…

As Eijiro kept chasing the little red spirit, with music now in his ears, a second spirit appeared, a blue one, that flew alongside the red one, making Eijiro run faster after the two of them. The music in his ears continued to grow, now adding soft percussion into the mix.

The soldier kept running after the spirits, only for more of them to appear. Green, orange, purple, yellow, an entire swarm of these dancing lights appeared, one by one, until he there were so many of them he was chasing, that it looked like he was going after a swarm of multi-colored fireflies, and as he kept going, more sounds were added into his ears.

Charango, clarinet, angklung, guitar, mandolin, woodwinds…

The Japanese soldier dropped his heavy weapon and took off his helmet and threw away his padding, they were all slowing him down. The only things that were still on him were his green camo clothes and the boots on his feet, as he kept chasing after the spirits.

All around him, the forest was glowing, as if it was alive. He didn't know whether it was supposed to be like this, or whether the spirits themselves were making this place glow as if it was bioluminescent, but he didn't care. He needed to keep following them.

As Eijiro kept chasing them, more and more spirits appeared around him, but they weren't the balls of glowing light as before. They were older, of a higher plane, they had bodies. They had limbs, eyes, tails. They could have resembled anything, from flaming horses, to cats, some of them could even pass for humans. It was like something straight out of Avatar!

The spirits kept guiding the soldier, until they had made it to the center of the forest. There, he came across a steep slope in all directions, leading to a bottom. If it wasn't for the fact that there were plants and water all around this decline, Eijiro would have been reminded of the Blood Snake's Pit. There were even tree trunks acting as bridges encircling the entire thing.

And then, in the center of the pit, standing on one of the wooden bridges, she was there.

It was the girl in the red mask. She was there, in the center of it all, no longer carrying her spear, but now playing an ocarina. She may have been playing an instrument, but she was the maestro, the composer of this symphony. She danced and swayed on top of the natural bridge, glancing between Eijiro and a few oddly-shaped stumps located on the trunks.

Eijiro slowly climbed up to the horizontal tree trunks, examining the shape of these odd trunks, somewhat flat at the top, but wide, like cones. As the music softly played up, realized what he was supposed to do with them, as he raised his bare hands up, and slammed them down.

BOOM!

His hands sounded like thunder, as they kept slamming onto the drums in rhythm with the rest of the music, the masked woman's ocarina making it sound like the wind was all around them, the rest of the instruments of the first making Eijiro forget about everything but this moment. The two of them were here, playing for all the spirits of this forest to watch.

As the violins of the forest ramped up, Ejirio slowly stopped beating the drums, as he climbed even higher up on the bridge, hearing the sounds of the ocarina die down. He approached the masked woman, holding her as she spinned the two of them around, and then…

…he removed her mask.

The sclera within her eyes were black, her irises yellow. Her skin was a bubblegum pink, her hair was an even lighter shade of that pink. She was in no way human, her pointed ears, the curved yellow horns in her hair, and the long lizard-like tail decorating her behind, those were just a few more features that gave away her true nature, along with her eyes and skin color.

But Eijiro didn't care.

To him, she was beautiful. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever encountered. The woman he spared back in Musutafu, who had followed as he went into this strange and wondrous world, ensuring that he and his comrades remained alive. The woman who wore a red mask and fought with a spear, but still had so many more secrets for him to share.

But for now, there was only one secret the Japanese soldier cared for. Looking straight into her black-and-yellow eyes, he softly smiled, as he opened his mouth, and said…

"Eijiro Kirishima."

The pink woman smiled at those words, as she also opened her mouth.

"Mina Ashido."

And with that, the two of them kissed, surrounded by the spirits of this forest. They embraced one another, knowing that they would no longer remain apart from this night onward.

Momo adjusted her dress as she made her way into the grand hall.

The new dress she was given by the maids was a pretty fancy one, which was appropriate, given the event she was attending. Red base color, with a purple-and-gold corset, along with some orange decorations on the side and, of course, a boob window.

Because why not?

"Alright, stay frosty, boys and girls." She looked at the rest of her crew, and saw that everyone else, sans Melissa, was wearing fancy, but far more simple, outfits. "Just because we're not in our usual gear, doesn't mean that we can't still come prepared. Is everyone armed?"

"Yep." Monoma nodded, his outfit making him look more like a butler than a guest. "We've all got our sidearms concealed. If things get violent, we should be able to handle ourselves."

Momo nodded. "Good. Alright, soldiers, let's… go mix and mingle."

The grand hall itself was massive, big enough to fit dozens of guests, along with whatever catering they were providing. Limestone-colored tile floors, mahogany walls with portraits all over them, massive marble statues, potted plants, tapestries, and a throne right at the end of the room, this place just screamed wealth. And yet, it still wasn't the throne room.

Just a place to host guests.

This has definitely got to be some kind of subtle power play, Momo thought to herself. Enji Todoroki was a rich and powerful man, and he made sure the rest of the world knew it. Gold, status, power, military strength, magic skills, this man had it all in spades…

Suddenly, the talking crowds instantly died down, as trumpets could be heard playing. From where Momo was standing, she could see General Kamiji again. She guided her hand to the main entrance, and… oh, shit. She was rolling out the figurative red carpet.

She saw both Fuyumi and Shoto enter the room, along with who she presumed was their brother, Natsuo. Their outfits were fine, but Shoto's especially… hot damn. But they quickly made their way to the sides of the throne, as the big kahuna himself entered.

Emperor Enji Todoroki was, as Kaibara and Tsuburaba would say, an absolute unit of a man. He was easily the tallest man Momo had ever laid eyes on, and definitely the bulkiest. But all of that muscle was hidden beneath the man's red-and-black robes. Odd choice of colors, as that did make it look like he took a dip in a volcano. Maybe it was an intimidation thing. That would definitely explain the crown full of metal thorns that was adorning his head.

The Emperor of Flames made his way towards his throne slowly and gracefully, and once he sat down, people applauded. Sure, Momo had seen videos of dictators having their cabinets applaud when they performed some minor athletic feat like they were Superman, but come on.

The big boss of the Todoroki Empire slowly raised his hand, and the entire court went silent. "I thank you all once again for being here. As the ruler of our great land, it is good to see our people so dutiful in our want to grow stronger, to become the best of the best!"

Momo clapped along with the rest of the nobles, as she took in what the Todoroki patriarch said. A collective want to grow stronger? She'd like to see that up close in person. Speaking of which, it seemed like Shoto was having a hard time maintaining a straight face around his old man. But given what she had heard about him, that was perfectly understandable.

"We shall begin the Ranking soon, but for now, I ask you to remain patient as the last of my vassals arrive. In the meantime, please, enjoy the banquet prepared for… you …?"

Momo's blood went ice cold as she saw Emperor Todoroki's gaze stop on her. His speech slowed to a halt as his turquoise eyes squinted towards her, as if he was trying to figure out if he had seen her from somewhere before. Shit! She was so stupid! She should have stayed hidden behind the crowd like the others, but her curiosity got the better of her –

"And remember, even for tonight, our works shall never be done! We will keep finding new ways to go further beyond! We are the destiny of this world! WE ARE THE TODOROKI EMPIRE!"

…and just like that, it was over. Momo felt like she could breathe again, as the Emperor of Flames stopped looking at her and finished his speech, to the cheers of the nobility. Despite that, she knew she needed to get out of the room. She needed to go, now!

As the nobles all around her scattered to either grab food or socialize, Momo immediately power walked towards the door. She knew she couldn't run, that would instantly blow whatever cover she had left. If Shoto and Fuyumi could figure out that Momo was the "Night-Haired Warrior," then that meant there was a good chance that their father –

"Excuse me."

Fuck. Even without turning around, Momo knew who that deep voice belonged to. Slowly, she put a smile on her face, and turned around, as she came face-to-face with Enji Todoroki himself. From the corner of her eyes, Momo could see that Melissa, her team, and all three of the Todoroki children were all staring at her motionless, not knowing what to do.

But their expressions all said the same thing: You're fucked.

"I don't recognize you," he said. "Do you have an invitation?"

"Uhhh…" Momo could feel the sweat coming down onto her brow as she tried to think up an excuse. "Like, on me? No. I mean, have you seen how small dress pockets are?"

"Right…" Emperor Todoroki wasn't buying it. "Let me rephrase: Who invited you?"

"I did!" Both Momo and Enji turned around to see Shoto quickly run up to the raven-haired woman. "She's the daughter of a noble, who I'm interested in courting, so I invited her."

Hold up… courting?! That was oldspeak for trying to get with someone romantically! Sure, Momo thought Shoto was a good-looking guy, but… wasn't this going a bit too fast?!

"Oh, really? Is that so?" Enji asked. "What house is she from?"

It was now Shoto's turn to realize that he fucked up. Momo hated bad guys that actually looked over their paperwork. They couldn't bullshit their way out of this one, so…

"Nunya," Momo simply says.

Enji, along with everyone within earshot, gives her a funny look. "Nunya?"

"Nunya business." Everyone stared in silent horror at what Momo just said, as she just continued rambling. "I mean, does it matter what house I come from? Shoto loves me for who I am, and that's something that is far more valuable than any title or house name."

Shoto stared at the black-haired woman in amazement. His father, meanwhile, stared at the black-haired woman as if she was a problem. "Are you being serious right now?"

"About as serious as your horrible international policies," Momo mumbled. She immediately realized that those words were still audible to the two Todoroki men, and…

"Heh. Heh-heh," Enji laughed. "I see. You're no noble. You're a comedian."

He was laughing. Enji Todoroki, ruler of an entire empire, was laughing. Momo internally breathed a sigh of relief. Her cover was safe. She could use this to get on his good side –

"Guards! Send her to Tartaurs."

Fuck.

"Oh, my God, his sauce is fucking amazing," Sato said, as he kept dipping the bits of his beef into the bowl. "Anyways, you're Natsuo, yeah? The second-youngest prince, or something?"

"Uhh… your leader is being hauled off by my father's guards," the prince said.

"Yeah, yeah, later. Dude, you gotta tell me, do you know how your cooks made this sauce?"

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Alright, so in terms of inspirations, the city of Endeavor was modeled after the capital of the Empire from the GATE anime, while the clothes of the Todoroki family were modeled after some fantasy art of them I found on Pinterest. But that's all small potatoes. The real main course with this chapter was the dance between Eijiro and Mina. For those wondering, the entire scene was based around the song Woods of Mystery (Lost Woods) by ThrophanyRemix. If you want to time the music to the scene, the 3:19 minute mark would be when Eijiro slammed his hands down on the drums. Here's the link for y'all, watch?v=5niOf54X_iM, and now for the comments!

VinHD15: Dude, we were there when Infinite made that reference during our writing role plays. Then again, it was several months ago, so it's understandable you forgot. And if you don't believe me, you can always check our message logs.

valkrus: Fixed all the spelling errors.

Honey- (Guest): You were right about the last chapter being the calm before the storm, as the storm has officially arrived! Momo and friends listened to the letter, and looked at how that went! We'll be seeing more of everyone's favorite Demon King and angel soon, same with Eri and her soon-to-be boyfriend! But until then, see you next time!

MostOfYouNeedTherapy: Okay, yeah, Japan definitely committed multiple atrocities during the second, but given that he's more a man of science than military, he'd think of it more through a humanitarian lens than that of a strategic one.

Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…

I'm pretty sure as you all know now, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out, /ErnaloreProf is the link.

If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules.

Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!

- Ernalore