So, I've already written up to chapter 9, so I'm just gonna be posting these three chapters and then carrying on with writing chapter 10. Now that I've got some more time on my hands, I can finally go all in and write as much as I can for this fic. Can't wait to share the rest of this story.
Disclaimer: My Hero Academia doesn't belong to me.
Chapter 7: Set in Motion
Less than forty-eight hours away from her hearing, Momo sat at the police station in an unoccupied boardroom. Momo looked around, there was a projector on the ceiling and a screen at the far right of the room, beige blinds on the windows that could be adjusted to make the room darker. The large mahogany table she sat at had 10 chairs and a white board sat near the door with different notes and some parts wiped out. It had clearly been used fairly recently. Momo guessed this was where police teams would discuss cases they were investigating.
The room was silent, save for the clock behind her ticking away the seconds as she waited to discuss the reason she'd been asked to come to the station in the first place. It was still difficult to leave the house without attracting too much attention, especially with her hearing coming up. The media was even more frantic now, because the police refused to allow any members of the press inside the room when the hearing was going to be held. Instead, the hearing was going to be broadcast online, that was the only compromise they could reach with the Commission. Momo looked at her reflection in the window, she was wearing a disguise similar to the one she'd had on when she went to the store and saved Makoto when she'd been attacked. That had been three days ago.
"I apologise for the delay," Tsukauchi walked in with a cardboard cup holder with two drinks in them, a coffee for himself and a tea for Momo, "We basically run on coffee around here so I had to go to the bakery next door to get your tea." he placed her warm beverage in front of her and took a seat.
"You really didn't have to go to all the trouble, detective." she smiled and took a sip from her cup.
"I did ask you to come here today, considering how difficult that is, the least I could do was get you something to drink." Tsukauchi took a sip from his own then closed his eyes as if to gather his thoughts. "Firstly, I must apologise for the perceived lack of action on our side regarding this whole mess that's been going on for ten days. The Fuji family isn't one that can be dealt with so easily, and part of the reason I asked you here today is to talk to you about Tasuke and prepare you for what's to come on Saturday morning."
Momo's heart began to race, she was already on edge for her hearing, but learning that there was more to the family than she thought, made her worry more.
"Kosuke Fuji's journey to becoming the President of the Commission wasn't exactly a clean one. During his time as a board member, allegations of corruption and abuse of power began swirling around him. Of course, none of the charges stuck and ended up dismissed but the sheer number of them was cause for concern."
"With all due respect Tsukauchi-san, why are you telling me all of this?" this sounded like classified information, and while yes she was a hero, and now involved with Tasuke's family, it still felt premature to tell her all this.
"Because if you're going to face that family, especially if Kosuke's getting involved, then its best you know as much as possible."
"If he's had so many allegations brought up against him, how can he still be president? And how can Tasuke freely use his quirk as he's been doing? He's no different than any villain on the streets using their abilities for personal gain." the frustration was clear in her voice.
"Tasuke's case is a tricky one. As you know, according to the law, parents or guardians need to have their child's quirk registered as soon as it manifests, unless of course, its a mutation type that distinctly changes their features. Those are registered immediately. Families can face heavy penalties for not registering their child's quirk, especially if the child has a powerful or high risk quirk that's left unregistered for years. Quirk information is part of official records."
"Are you saying Tasuke is an unregistered quirk user?"
"No, his White Lie is on record, just not the public records like everyone else. His father claim's its for Tasuke's safety if everyone just assumed he was the quirkless, rich son of the Commission President, as opposed to someone like that with a quirk that powerful." Tsukauchi took another sip from his coffee, if only to give Momo time to digest all this information.
"That act of omission should still be considered illegal. If everyone assumed he's quirkelss, it's the same as him not being registered at all. I know the police and the Commission are separate entities that collaborate most of the time, but not being able to hold the Commission accountable for stuff like this can't keep going."
"The fact that the registration document exists means on a technicality, no law has been broken. There is an independent body that runs separate from the police and Commission that audits both entities on an unbiased basis, but as you can imagine..."
"You have reason to believe they might be on Kosuke's payroll, hence this mess getting out of hand as much as it has." Momo's mind put the pieces together, she sat back in her chair and thought it through. It would make sense if they were, it would essentially mean that Kosuke Fuji was in charge of two entities that gave him both power and immunity.
"Exactly. We've submitted evidence and the records of Tasuke's quirk to the independent board but nothing's being done about it due to "circumstantial evidence." According to them, the life of a hero is no different to that of a celebrity, scandals happen all the time and this instance doesn't prove Tasuke is manipulating his quirk."
"That's ridiculous. Even if he wasn't using his quirk, this is still defamation, harassment, inciting violence and countless other regular crimes." how far up did this corruption go, it was baffling that things were still this bad. Had these people learned nothing from the villains the country has had to face before?
"That's what the chief has been trying to get across, but so far, nothing."
Momo sighed and got more frustrated the longer she listened.
"Okay, so what does all this have to do with Saturday?"
"With the way things have been playing out, we think Kosuke is using this hearing as a means to officially get you out of the top ten." the words were heavy as they left his mouth.
"What?!"
"Every hearing concludes with a vote of all the board members present to make a decision about the consequences of the hero at the hearing. Tasuke is absolutely going to be there, playing the part of the victim in all this. And his father is going to make a judgement in the best interest of hero society and the public, or at least the ones being manipulated."
"And what about my friends, the other women in the top ten who have nothing to do with Tasuke yet still face harassment? What happens to their side of the story?"
"They're all going to be there. Kosuke sent communication this morning that he wants extra security at Commission Headquarters for when all of you arrive. Honestly, he's set the perfect stage. Since he couldn't get you to willingly drop out of the top ten and separate you from your friends, this was his next best move."
"There's no way Tasuke thought of all this on his own." Tasuke was a lot of things, but cunning like this, definitely wasn't up his alley.
"That's why I went to the effort to explain his father to you. The head of the Commission couldn't ignore something like this forever. But the only question left is why he's stepping in this time?"
"That's true, Tasuke's been after me for years but he's never had so much support before. What's different this time?"
Xxx
At the Fuji estate, Kosuke and Tasuke were being fitted by the family tailors. With Saturday's hearing fast approaching, the two men of the house were in the process of making sure they looked as rich and powerful as they were. Only the most high quality designer suits could adorn them. Kosuke stood on a stool while two ladies neatened up the suit he was wearing. He liked how he looked in the 3 way mirror, showing every angle of himself in the expensive black suit.
"Pride, son. It's as simple as that. I'm not doing this for your sake but for the pride of this family. No one gets to make a fool of us, certainly not a woman. This is the last time I'm stepping in to help you, Tasuke. Once Creati is out of my Hero Billboard Chart, and she's lost it all, do with her as you please." Kosuke had answered his son who'd finally worked up the courage to ask why his father was continuing to help him. This went far beyond the realm of 'helping hand' his father had initially mentioned to him.
And while he was grateful for the help, it still bothered him that his father didn't trust him to do this on his own. But as long as he got his prize Creati, then maybe none if it mattered in the end.
Tasuke had finished his fitting and was headed back to his room. As soon as he left, he almost walked into Akemi, who'd been standing by the door.
"You heard all that?" he asked dismissively and walked past her, heading to his room.
"Don't you think this is going to far? I thought you were just going to spread that lie about you two dating, this seems..." she kept pace with him as they walked back.
"It seems what?" his tone changed immediately from disinterested to threatening. "You think you know what's best? Think you can tell me what to do? When I'm this close to having her!"
Akemi was filled with fear as she took a few steps back. Tasuke noticed this and tried to calm down.
"Listen babe, we know what we're doing." he kissed her on the cheek but she flinched. "This will all be over by Saturday and then I'll have you and Creati at my side and everything will be the way it should be." he gave one last smile before walking away, leaving his girlfriend on the spot.
Xxx
It was early evening as Momo sat at the living room table reading article after article about the Fuji family, and Kouske more specifically. There wasn't much about Tasuke apart from his social media presence, most of his posts were him flaunting his wealth. Although, one thing that did surprise Momo was his girlfriend, Akemi. Daughter of a well known clothing designer and started her own line as well. In fact Momo owned a few of the outfits from that very line but she'd had no idea it was Akemi's family brand, her social media presence was almost non-existent. She mostly appeared in Tasuke's posts and in a few launch posts from her line but otherwise she was mostly quiet online.
So Tasuke was living off his father's wealth and if that failed he still had his girlfriend to benefit from.
From the pictures of them together, Akemi looked happy and so did Tasuke. If she didn't know him at all and saw these posts for the first time, she'd have assumed they were a happy couple. So why would he be going to all this trouble if he was already in a relationship? Yes, he was a Creati fan, but since the beginning he'd been trying to pursue her romantically—in his extreme and criminal ways.
Was Akemi okay with this? Was he just interested in having as many girlfriends around him as possible or was there something more going on? She supposed she'd get some of her answer on Saturday.
Momo shut her laptop and closed her eyes to think. Not only was she summoned for this ridiculous hearing on Saturday, but she also had to face her father as well. And to be honestly she was way more worried about dealing with him than with Tasuke.
So many painful childhood memories to choose from where her father reminded her constantly how she wasn't good enough. Even though she'd been top of her class her entire life, it was never enough for him.
The only time he'd been actually supportive of her was when she told her parents she wanted to go to U.A. But even that had more to do with the prestige that came with attending that school. It was another thing he could boast about, but never actively tell her she was doing a good job.
"Look, dad! I got the highest score in my class for out test!" a ten year old Momo ran excitedly into her father's study, eager to show him her results. Her mother had sung her praises and gave her the biggest hug, telling her how proud she was. Momo wanted to make her father proud too, she loved to celebrate and be happy with her parents.
But her father never gave her that chance.
"Why didn't you get a perfect score?" he looked at her over the top of her test which he was now holding, a stern look on his face.
"You're going to have to do better than a ninety-seven. Momo, it's not enough that you got the highest in the class, you should've gotten full marks. That's something to be celebrated. I'm very busy so only bother me when it's important." he handed back her test and went back to typing on his computer.
Momo's smile faded immediately, her excitement completely snuffed out and replaced with a pain so heavy she couldn't bare it. She hung her head and walked out of his study, tears blurring her vision.
That afternoon was sixteen years ago and yet Momo could recall it as if it happened only yesterday. It's because from that day onwards, Momo strived to be the best. Before meeting her friends at U.A. she'd been alone, never making friends or socialising but only studying to get the perfect scores and training her quirk as best she could.
But despite all the ten-out-of tens, one hundred percent scores and academic achievements, her father had never stopped once to genuinely congratulate her. She'd confessed all this to Kyōka at some point in their friendship, knowing she could trust her best friend with her pain. Kyōka had consoled her and supported her as best she could that night Momo told her everything. Momo even remembered her words: "If your father won't recognise how incredible you are then he doesn't deserve you."
Momo smiled at that memory, she really had the best friends. But as much as that memory had lifted her mood, she still felt apprehension. There was so much to scrutinize her for, especially since her father always found a way to make the situation about how it would affect his reputation in the business world. As if her pain and suffering didn't matter at all.
Momo shook her head to dismiss those thoughts, she didn't want to show how much all this was affecting her especially if she was going to confront Tasuke so soon. She unlocked her phone and scrolled through her recent contacts and pressed dial. The call rang three times before going through.
"Hey, Momo." Shōto greeted.
"I know this is kinda random, but are you free right now?" Momo walked into her bedroom and headed to her closet.
"I was about to have dinner but other than that, yeah I'm free."
"Perfect, dinner's on me. I've been sitting at home for too long and I could really use some air right now." she picked out a red formal jumpsuit.
They both agreed on the restaurant and Shōto offered to pick Momo up. Starting off with a slow drive out the city towards the open countryside, away from all the noise and chaos and unwanted attention. It was just the two of them and the starry sky.
The drive was a quiet one. Once Shōto parked the car on a hill high enough that the city could be seen in the distance, Momo felt like she could relax. The night air and the sounds of nature around them were very needed.
"Your mind racing again?" Shōto started,
"I've got a lot to think about." Momo offered a small smile, "There's the hearing, my father, everything I found out this morning from Tsukauchi-san… amongst other things."
"Did he call you in to talk to you about Tasuke?"
"More like warn me about what I'm in for, facing that family." she sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes.
"And your father?"
The air in the car felt heavier for her. Momo still hadn't bounced back from remembering her younger days with her father. She could feel Shōto's gaze on her.
"He called me last night." she looked ahead, opting to look out the front, "Before I could get a word in, he was already upset that I 'let this Tasuke situation' get this bad."
"He's blaming you for all of this?" the disbelief clear in his voice.
"Basically." she said in a resigned tone.
"That's ridiculous, that's…" he genuinely couldn't find the words.
"How my father's always been. It hurts but at the same time, I'm not really surprised. I could never convince him otherwise. Oh, and I forgot the best part," Momo added sarcastically and sat up, "I have to go home this weekend after my hearing and explain myself to him, because apparently all these lies, hate and public scrutiny I'm being exposed to is bad for the family name. I'm a disgrace to my family." Momo was breathing harder, all the frustration she'd been holding back had slipped through her words.
"You know that's not true."
"It's kind of hard to feel otherwise when everywhere I look, there's the most derogatory, dehumanising words being said about me. It's really hard to stay positive when when there's all this hate and resistance suffocating me, some of it coming from my own father." she brushed her hair back and let out a heavy sigh.
"He doesn't know how strong you are, how much you've done for yourself."
"And what if I'm tired of being strong, Shōto?" her eyes looked almost pleading, as she finally looked at him.
"That's why you've got me," he held out his hand and closed it around hers when she held it, "If you're tired then lean on me for as long as need, until you're ready to get back up again." his eyes seemed to shine in the almost dark, the moonlight making his features look softer. He looked beautiful in her eyes.
Something in Momo stirred when he said those words, they felt like a promise. A promise that he'd always be by her side when she needed him. A promise she really needed to hear at that moment because at least even though she'd lost so much, she'd gained so much more. Words they'd always meant but hadn't been said enough. They'd always be there for each other.
After their conversation, the two decided to head back to the city for dinner. There was only one place Momo could go and not have to worry about people trying to harass her while out in public. It was a high end restaurant in town, and the top floor where Momo had managed to book, even though it was very last minute, was even more exclusive.
It was one of those fancy places that had a dress code, not necessarily a black tie type of fancy but still polished and put together enough that didn't allow casual-wear.
A night out with Shōto was just what she'd needed. As they sat together under the golden lighting on the balcony of the rooftop eating area of the restaurant that reminded her of the deck of ship, overlooking the city, Momo felt so much better.
Her heart hadn't felt this at ease in a while since this all began, but Shōto always gave off this comforting energy. And as tumultuous as his life had been, she felt an indescribable calmness whenever they spent time together, and tonight was no different. Sharing a meal, just the two of them, talking and laughing about anything and everything and the mood music playing in the background. It felt like things were returning to normal. Even if she knew things were only good for now, she was glad she could find content in this moment.
As Shōto looked out at the city lights, a gentle breeze swept over them, slightly tousling Shōto's hair. It was getting a little longer than the usual length he kept it, Momo kept her gaze focused on him as if noticing something new about him. Nothing had changed about him, and she'd seen him in formal wear before, but something about this moment, about this night out together, had her feelings for him deepening, a feeling she'd considered but never given too much attention to. Deciding it was just her mind playing tricks on her, but her heart was certain of what she'd been denying for a long time now.
Momo was falling in love with Shōto.
Or maybe she'd already been in love with him and was only letting herself acknowledge it now. She then turned her gaze outwards, also taking in the beautiful city view below them.
"Hey..." she reached out and held his hand, he turned to look at her. "Thanks for this, I really needed to get out of the house."
"Whatever you need, I'm your guy." he put his other hand over hers. She couldn't help but smile at that, butterflies in her stomach.
Talk about terrible timing.
Why did she have to feel this way now? There was still so much going on and still so much left to do, not to mention the fact that she didn't even know if Shōto felt the same way about her.
And heaven forbid the press figure out she was out with Shōto, this whole mess with Tasuke would probably get ten times worse, especially since Tasuke had the biggest issue with Shōto. He'd find a way to drag him into this and make him suffer as well. Momo knew she'd never forgive herself if she got him involved in all this.
It would be best if he never finds out.
That's what she told herself over and over again but she never felt any better after saying it.
At least she could enjoy their night out together at a place where it was just the two of them in their own world.
If only they could have stayed that way for longer.
And that's ch7 done! Hope you enjoyed it, we're getting closer and closer to the hearing and it's going to get even more intense.
Well, that's it from me...
Until the next chapter:
Ketsui Tasogare :-)
