It's finally time for the hearing that Momo's been dreading for so long, it'll be clear why she's felt this way soon enough. Let's dive right in.
Disclaimer: My Hero Academia doesn't belong to me.
Chapter 8: Attack on all Fronts pt1: Small Victories...
Momo woke up with a heavy heart on Saturday morning. It was finally the day she'd been dreading all week. The day she'd have to face Tasuke and Kosuke in her hearing and more importantly, the day she'd have to face her father.
As she moved about her apartment getting ready, the news played in the background. There was no point in trying to hide from it anymore, especially since this would be her first proper public appearance as a hero since Tasuke's story began. She needed to be prepared for what was waiting for her at Commission HQ.
The news channel showed a large crowd of people outside the building, a lot of them carrying signs and posters continuing the 'no women in the top ten' sentiment. While others completely opposed, held up their signs in support of Momo and all the women who were in the top ten.
Momo wasn't expecting that. She'd been so disconnected from social media that she'd had no idea that there were people out there fighting for her and her friends. Maybe the situation wasn't as hopeless as Tasuke had been trying to make it seem. The outcome of today's hearing could very much influence public sentiment, potentially even outnumbering those affected by Tasuke's White Lie.
That alone gave Momo a little more motivation. She would not go quietly and she certainly would not let Tasuke win without her putting up a fight.
After tying up her hair in its usual ponytail, Momo gave herself a final once over in the mirror. It had been a while since she'd worn her suit. Different from the suit she'd had in high school, Momo's signature red leotard had gone through some changes. For one, Melissa had made the same modifications on this suit as she'd done on her winter one. Made from a very durable material that didn't wear or tear easily and resistant to fire, the red fabric was also woven together with her hair making it able to stay in tact as she made her creations. Her arms and legs were still exposed for any of her larger creations that needed to be made quickly but her entire front was covered up while her décolletage section of her suit was sheer, but that was more of a stylistic choice.
The suit fastened behind her neck similar to a halter, leaving majority of her back exposed so she could create without her opponents knowing what it would be.
She'd also in recent years added in elbow and knee guards. One too many injuries from her sparring matches with her friends had convinced her of their necessity. And as for the book she used to carry with her into battle, in case she needed to reference materials to create something she was unfamiliar with, all that information had been transferred to her smart watch. Not that she used it that often anymore though, she'd learned everything she'd needed to know, especially about her regular weapons she used in battle and she could recall most of them by memory. Her boots were the same design although the heels were flatter and had better grip, but still the same red as her suit.
Once she felt she was ready, Momo took her keys and headed out.
"This is fucking ridiculous! I've better things to do on a Saturday morning than be at HQ!" Bakugō grumbled as he, Izuku and Shōto made their way to the main hall where the proceedings were going to take place.
"You know the top three always has to be present for hero hearings, Kacchan." Izuku tried to placate him.
"I don't care! It's not like this is a proper hearing anyways."
"That much is clear," Shōto added.
"How is Momo doing, Shōto?"
"She been trying to keep it together and its worked out for her so far, but after today, who knows?" he answered honestly, still remembering their conversation last night. She still had to deal with her father after this.
"We've all had experience with… inappropriate fans before but this is something else. Ochako told me her theory about Tasuke's quirk and how it could be completely out his control even, why would he go this far?"
"For one, none of us have had delusional nepo-babies come after us, and that brat's probably never been told no in his life so he feels entitled to her." they turned the corner to enter the elevator that would take them to the top floor. There were cameras everywhere and they'd passed a few members of staff from the Commission on their way over but Bakugō didn't give a damn about being overheard. "If you're not a complete moron, it's easy to figure out what that messed up family is using this hearing for."
Shōto had figured out the reason long ago too, it was just a matter of filling in Izuku. The silence in the elevator lingered as the floor numbers rose and they drew closer to the top floor.
Bakugō narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, "It's basically a humiliation ritual. Tasuke and his father are trying to get her out of the top five, probably even the whole top ten." saying those words made him even more pissed, how dare they use him for their own sick game. And against one of his former classmates, damn it!
Sure, the two of them weren't best friends but he held her in high regard and had utmost respect for her. He wasn't even surprised when the news dropped that she'd gone from the number seven spot straight to number four, all those years ago. She definitely deserved it and it was beyond annoying that this immature punk was going to take that away from her.
"Tch, she doesn't deserve this shit." he clenched his fist as the elevator chimed and the doors opened. His friends silently agreed. The trio walked out and entered the large hall, they were the first ones to arrive. "And if you tell her I said that, I'll kill you myself!" he yelled out loud, "Especially you!" he pointed sharply at Shōto before he plopped down in one of the seats at the back. The hall was set up more like an auditorium. The back seats being the highest up and slowly descending lower towards the front seats. A large table sat in the centre of the room where the board members would be sitting and Momo would be standing before them, although there was also a smaller table opposite the large one.
"Don't worry Bakugō, no one will know that despite your 'uncaring as a block of wood' act, your new heart is fragile as wet paper." Shōto teased, with the most neutral look on his face. And that annoyed Bakugō even more, he wasn't even smug about making fun of him. He did it as if it was the most natural thing to do.
"The fuck you just say—
"Guys, it's too early in the morning for this." Izuku sighed, it was like being back in high school all over again.
"Is that any way for our nation's top heroes to be behaving?" Tenya walked in, his entrance had stopped them both. Bakugō rolled his eyes.
"Nothing wrong with a little fight between friends, pres."
"So you admit we are friends?" Shōto carried on, this time he was smirking though.
"Why are you so insufferable right now?" Bakugō grabbed him by the collar before releasing him. "Anyways, anything's better than this waste of time of a hearing."
"I agree." Teny took a seat by his friends and put his mask down, "Whatever happens here today will change how people view The Commission and how they view Momo. And more than anything, how she defends herself here will set the stage for how the rest of the hearing goes. And no matter what, a vote will be held, probably to her disadvantage." Tenya explained.
"But it matters that we're all here." Izuku joined the conversation, "Even if the entire board votes her out or decides a completely unjustified penalty for her, the top three still have some pull in this. Kosuke can't act with complete impunity. He may be using this hearing to his advantage but if he doesn't want the corruption to be glaringly obvious, he can't completely disregard us."
"We can only hope." Tenya and the others had serious looks on their face.
Momo parked her car at the back of the building. On her way over she could already see the crowds surrounding the entrance, security struggling to keep them all back. It was going to be a long morning. As soon as she opened the door to leave the car, the cries and chats of everyone could be heard. It made her heart race but she didn't waver.
She felt a silent relief when she walked into the building, all the noise from outside seemed to wash away as the doors closed behind her. Thank goodness for soundproofing.
Momo kept her head high as she walked down the hallway towards the elevators. And while every employee she walked past gave her a look, she made it a point not to let it bother her. She was glad to be alone in the elevator and at least when she finally made it to the main hall, she'd see her friends. Tenya had already texted her that he'd arrived and Kyōka was a few minutes out. She'd have her support system with her and that was enough to keep her going.
As the elevator doors opened to the top floor, the worst possible outcome stood before her. Tasuke had been waiting for her just behind those doors.
"Well, if it isn't my princess at last." he said smugly, "How's it going? Haven't seen you since the night you blew me off." his smile disappeared. Momo kept her face neutral. "But you're in luck, we both don't want to be here and, I'm such a forgiving person that if you apologise and promise to be mine, I'll make all of this stop. So, what do you say, babe?" he held out his hand to her.
"Are you done talking to yourself?" she looked him dead in the eye, "You're always so busy stroking your own ego, I'm surprised you talk to anyone else at all." she looked right past him and started walking to the main hall.
Tasuke didn't like being ignored. "Where the hell do you think you're going? I wasn't done with you!" he grabbed her wrist.
"And haven't you learned from last time not to touch me!" she firmly pulled her wrist from his grip, not bothering to create anything to free herself from his hold. "You think you can just interfere and ruin other people's lives then snap everything back to normal when it doesn't suit you? That's not how it works, babe. If I have to go along with this farce then so do you." with one last glare she turned and carried on towards the hall to meet her friends.
Phew, that was finally over. That conversation, if it can even be called that, was one conversation too many. But now that she'd dealt with Tasuke, she could focus on the main reason for being here. The Commission Board was going to decide her fate because of Tasuke's video. That meant that the Commission Board was going to attack her as a woman, not as a hero and because that was the case, Momo already had an idea of the kinds of questions they were most likely to ask her.
When Momo reached the hall and entered the room, seeing her friends filled her with so much happiness she could cry. A few seconds in and they hadn't noticed her yet, but she was in no rush to announce herself. Just seeing them all there, knowing they were there for her meant the world to her. She couldn't help the smile on her face.
It was then that Shōto looked up from the conversation and noticed Momo, his eyes seemed to light up at the sight of her. "Momo." he said to be sure the rest of the group knew she was there.
The rest of the guys turned to see her.
"Hey guys," she waved, suddenly feeling self conscious with all the stares but that feeling disappeared soon after. She walked in properly to greet everyone.
"Thanks for coming, Tenya." she hugged him.
"Anytime." he hugged her back, "Mei also says good luck, although her specific words were 'kick ass.'"
"Typical Mei" Momo chuckled.
She also hugged the top two, surprised Deku had been back in time for the hearing. He'd been on a mission far out of town recently. Momo was also surprised that Bakugō had hugged her back. She always knew he cared about them all but he was never blatantly steadfast in showing it.
"I always knew I was your favourite." she teased when their hug ended.
"I prefer you over your boyfriend any day." He gave her a knowing look when she made no move to correct him about the status of her and Shōto's relationship. Wait a second… had something changed between them? He asked himself but kept his thoughts to himself.
And speaking of Shōto, it definitely wasn't intentional on her side to save him for last but that's how things had turned out. Ever since she'd realised her feelings for him, she felt very aware of him, so when they hugged, it felt more intimate than usual. She was keenly aware of his arms wrapped around her, his hair tickling her neck and how he held her slightly tighter than the others had, as if to console her. It felt like time had slowed down.
The rest of the friend group noticed it too because they were all silent when their hug ended.
Yup, something had definitely changed between them.
It wasn't long after that that Kyōka had joined them and Momo had been her happiest to see her. Just when things were starting to get fun and the group was chatting, a staff member from The Commission came to address them.
"Creati, it's almost eight, please make your way to the front so the proceedings can begin." the mood in the room immediately changed, the airy light-heartedness of just a moment ago was now replaced with seriousness, the friend group feeling protective of Momo and weary of what was to come.
Momo took a deep breath, gave her friends one last look before following the staff member down.
Not too long after, the room began to fill up. More members of the Commission, only two media press teams were allowed inside, a few more of Momo's former classmates arrived, including Denki, who'd come with Kyōka and Ochako who'd come with Izuku. And of course, the remaining two women in the top ten that also faced forms of harassment since Tasuke's video went out, Setsuna and Ibara.
"How you feeling?" Shōto asked as he'd walked down with her.
"I'm about to face the man who has the power to end my hero career in a heartbeat, couldn't be better." she tried to smile jokingly but couldn't.
"He won't win that easily, we won't let him."
Momo looked back at the rest of her friends. He was right, standing up to injustice was what they all did best.
By 08:00 everyone who needed to be present had arrived. The last to enter the room was the Commission Board and, of course, the president Kosuke Fuji and his son, the one behind this whole mess, Tasuke, walked in.
The room was silent as the group entered, it's as if no one dared to breathe until the first words of the proceedings were spoken. All the members went and sat at the large mahogany table that sat at the far end of the room, Momo on the other hand sat alone at her table that faced theirs.
It looked like a military set up, two opposing sides facing one another before battle, meanwhile the attendees looked on from the slightly raised seating area. Those in the centre were meant to be watched.
Kosuke got up from his centre seat and looked around the room before his eyes settled on Momo at last. His scrutinising gaze could be felt all the way across the room but Momo refused to let him intimidate her. She'd faced far worse than men in suits at a hearing.
He cleared his throat before speaking, "We all know why we're here, correct? Then let's get right down to business. Creati, if you would..." he gestured to the centre of the room where Momo was to stand and face the board during the hearing.
Momo wordlessly got up and went to where she needed to. Kosuke shuffled through some documents before him and then spoke once more.
"Good morning to everyone present, as communicated in the email sent to you all, The Hero Public Safety Commission could no longer sit idly by and watch the public descend into further chaos at the scandal caused by the number four hero. Yaoyorozu Momo, known as Everything Hero: Creati, you have been summoned before the board to discuss this situation, potential penalties and ways to move forward. Is that understood?"
"Understood." she replied, neutral expression still on her face.
He nodded and handed over to the board member on his right. Tasuke who sat at the very right end of the table, had been staring at Momo the entire time, barely registering his father's words.
"Creati, as is standard procedure please state your quirk ability and when you became active."
"Of course," she stood to attention, "As mentioned, I'm Everything Hero: Creati. My quirk abilty is Creation, granting me the ability to create any inorganic object or material from my skin by changing the molecular structure of my lipids. I studied at U.A. for three years, participated in the war against heroes in my first year along with my classmates and began active hero work as an independent pro hero after graduation."
"You're currently ranked as the number four hero, and with that comes a lot of responsibility. Suffice it to say, all the heroes in the top ten carry a heavy mantle and set examples for society, that applies even more to the top five. So when news broke out two weeks ago about your dishonesty in pursuing a relationship with the complainant here today, it left a lot people shocked." he motioned around the room for dramatic effect.
"The video that went viral was nothing but a lie. The only parts that were true was that Tasuke, the presiden's son, was present at the photoshoot I was involved in and that we took a photo together. That image with a lipstick kiss on his neck and the so called "promise" I made was fake as well."
"But there was no one with you at the time to corroberate your story, isn't that correct?"
"Was there anyone around to corroborate his? Did anyone see him with the kiss mark on his neck or wonder where he'd been the time he was supposedly with me?" Momo crossed her arms over her chest.
"The other three contestant winners all submitted their testimonies in writing." Kosuke took over the conversation and held up three pages, all three signed. The same ones Tasuke had paid off to help sell his story.
The room murmured in reaction to the signed documents. Everyone watched this back and forth going on, completely engrossed in the events. It was like watching a tennis match, each time one offered new information, the other would shoot it right back.
Shōto in particular made his feelings about the whole thing very clear to see. Tenya who sat right beside him could see the utter frustration on his face as the Commission tried to bury their friend in this scandal. He let out an irritated sigh, a puff of white escaping his lips. His icy half of his quirk was slowly creeping in.
"Mr president, if I may..." one of the board members with short red hair stood up to interject. A sharp stare pierced Momo, and there was something dark behind those eyes. Tanaka Keiji was his name, and he was closest to Kosuke, he knew if things continued as they were, the hearing would look more and more biased in favour of Tasuke. He intended to bring the question of her validity back into play.
"Creati, correct me if I'm wrong, but with an ability such as yours, would you not thrive in sectors such as support item creation and study, production and construction?"
"My quirk is flexible so it could work in a number of industries, so yes."
"And you say your exposed skin and understanding the molecular structure of what you create is paramount, yes?" Keiji persisted.
"Originally yes, but thanks to alterations in my suit, I still have the same level of ability even in my winter suits. My creations pass right through without damaging my costume."
"I'd say by how fit you look, you're obviously very good at what you do." his voice went a little deeper and his eyes remained focused on her body.
"Excuse me?" Momo felt a disgusted chill run down her spine at his words.
"I wonder if you can create objects from any part of your body, even those currently covered up."
"That's hardly appropriate to ask." she could tell he was undressing her with his eyes.
"Then perhaps a demonstration would suit you better. I'm sure a lot of us here would love to see what can come out of you." Keiji leaned back in his chair with a smirk, knowing he'd struck a nerve. A nerve that could potentially throw her off balance, enough for Kosuke to pull the rug right from her feet. "You're young and beautiful, is it really necessary for you to put yourself in harm's way like this? Have you no aspirations of marriage or family?"
A few of the men in audience made unsavoury remarks and had to be reprimanded by security.
Momo wasn't really one to swear, but this moment nothing less than a 'what the fuck' kind of moment because what on earth kind of question was that?
Shōto, who'd barely been restraining himself as soon as Keiji asked his ridiculous questions, started to freeze the ground beneath his feet, involuntarily so.
"Shōto, you need to control yourself." Tenya put his hand on Shōto's shoulder to get his attention.
"You expect me to be calm when he's— Shōto snapped in an attempted whisper tone.
"I know, I'm upset too but you need to calm down before you freeze the whole room over." Tenya knew just how deep Shōto's anger could go, especially when in defence of Momo. But even in general most people assumed that Shōto's rage was connected to his flames, but that wasn't the case. Quite the opposite in fact.
His passion, his care, his love lay in the warmth and sometimes sweltering heat of his fire.
His bitterness however, was a blizzard, his stoicism lay within his ice, his contempt cold. His fury frigid.
But that wasn't all there was to Shōto, over the years Tenya had gotten to know him and even before Shōto created Phosphor, Tenya knew his friend could also be a mixture of both. That underneath that cool exterior was a person who cared very deeply and warmly.
The room returned to silence, it was Momo's move in this twisted game between herself and the board. They were trying to pressure her into a corner, but she wouldn't budge. If they wanted to test her, she was more than willing to play along.
"You know what? You're right. Let me show you exactly what I can do." she said confidently, the familiar shimmering of her skin glowing on her back as she created. "Any volunteers?" she asked sweetly, enjoying the discomfort on their faces.
"What are you trying to do?" Kosuke asked first.
"You said you wanted a demonstration." she created a red bow and a few arrows from her back.
"You think we'll just sit here and let you take aim at us—
"If the Commission can't trust its own heroes, the very heroes they employ and give orders to, then what reason does the public have to follow either of us?"
Murmurs of agreement floated across the room.
Momo smirked, pulled back the string of the bow until it was taut, the arrow in her hand.
"So, who's first?"
Momo is so ready to fight back! Hope you've enjoyed ch8, just the first part of her hearing, obviously still more to come in the next chapter.
Well that's it from me-
Until the next chapter:
Ketsui Tasogare :-)
