A shopping trip with Momo.
It had seemed like a great idea in concept. Momo was wealthy. Incredibly wealthy. Going out to spend time with her while she made her way through a shopping mall getting all the things she liked, it seemed like something she would enjoy. Thus, making it an easier time for them to enjoy each other's company. Sure, being a tag-along to a girl going crazy for fashion and jewellery and such things that he had no idea about would be considered a trial for most men. But Saiki was no stranger to boredom, nor to hiding it. He had thought it would be easy. They had done it before, after all. Before that disastrous training camp. That had gone just fine.
It turned out, the promiscuous young man had maybe underestimated Kyoka's contribution to that trip. Someone who could play mediator between himself and Momo.
He hadn't realised the struggles that would arise.
It had started poorly. As he had known, Momo was wealthy. She was used to the finer things. As such, she had wandered into the ritziest, most upscale clothing store maybe in the entire ward. She had gone in without a second thought, a big smile on her face that would have made it worth it to be around clothing that probably cost as much as his entire bank balance. But the moment he had entered, a member of staff seemed to swoop down on them like a resplendent eagle seeking prey. With a hairstyle to match. She had smiled at Momo, promising to be right with her, while fixing Saiki with a customer service smile. Politely informing him that theirs was an upscale establishment and suggesting he might have a better shopping experience at the discount fashion chain store down the way.
Momo had rescued, well, 'rescued' the situation. Informing the staff member that he was with her, giving him a reprieve from the judgement for being a poor. Even so, her angelic, beatific smile had fractured slightly. And once again, Saiki was living through a familiar scenario. Someone pointing out just how far below her station he was, sullying both of their days with the accusation. And once again, he found himself nowhere near as angry for the insult to himself as for infringing on Momo's happiness. He had suggested this to make her happy, and now it was backfiring.
It didn't get better from there.
Momo Yaoyorozu was who she was. A kind-hearted girl, a problem solver, someone who lived to uplift others in any way she could. And so, when her boyfriend had been judged for his less than affluent appearance and mannerisms, she had resolved to at least solve one of those problems. She had completely eschewed shopping for herself. Instead, she had taken the position of his fashion consultant. She had led him through the clothing on display. She had shown him a button-down shirt and slacks, with matching dress shoes. To him, they looked like they were a nice enough outfit but apparently they were woven with diamond thread based on the price marker.
"Here, try this on! I promise, with your physique it'll look great on you!"
And so he had gone into the changing room the store clerk directed him to. Put on the outfit. It fit perfectly. Momo's eyes for an object's dimensions evidently extended to people. Right, she had done the same thing for Kyoka and Izuku with their swimsuits that one time. She had been absolutely right. He looked great. A tie, a suit jacket and a hundred hours of classes on presenting himself as an upper-crust snob and he could almost pass as one of them.
"Saiki, are you ready?" he heard his girlfriend ask.
He sighed. This wouldn't go well.
Momo clapped her hands together, beaming at him as he emerged. "You look great, Saiki! We have to get that for you! I had the clerk get a couple more, on in navy and one in–"
"Momo," he interrupted her. "I can't afford this."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that!" she assured him. "I can pay for it! Something like this isn't a problem at all, ah–... Saiki?" Her voice grew hesitant, her smile falling from her face.
And this time he had no one to blame but himself. No matter how much he wanted to hide his reaction, he couldn't. Not for this.
"Oh, no, did I mess this up?" she asked, the slightest quaver in her voice.
"No," he answered. It could have been called reassuring if it weren't for the tone in which he said it. "You didn't do anything wrong." He chewed his lip, cleared his throat. "I'm gonna go change." He returned to the changing room, changed back into his ordinary clothes. The moment he did he felt much more comfortable, even as he raged at himself and his stupid pride. "Let's go somewhere else, okay?"
"Okay..."
They left the store quietly. Walking together with just the slightest bit more distance than before, both of them feeling the tension.
"I'm sorry," Saiki said before anything else. If he let this hang over them it would only make it worse.
"I just wanted to do something nice for you." Her voice was quiet. Hurt.
"I know." How could he not?
The very first time Saiki saw her. Those months ago when he first walked into the 1-A classroom. She was one of the girls he picked out as interesting. And the reason? Because she was wealthy. Because she had the poise of a girl with privileged upbringing. He saw Momo and he saw a girl he could wrap around his finger. Just by playing his cards right, he would be able to live on easy street. A beautiful rich girl for him to use and exploit. Enjoy her body. Enjoy her wealth. Use her to raise himself out of his own circumstances. It had only seemed easier when he found out just how earnest and accommodating she was. That being his goal back then, this would be the perfect culmination of it. Momo going out of her way, with no prompting whatsoever, to provide him with the finer things in life.
But he was no longer the same as back then. Hell, even if he was, would this experience still have tasted so sour? He believed it might have.
"I've had to work," he said finally. He had to explain. He didn't believe she would be able to truly understand, but he had to try. "For everything I've ever gotten. I had two advantages in life. My folks, on my mom's side that is, they at least did more than leave me to fend for myself completely. That at least gave me the chance to work hard to make something of myself instead of just to survive. The other was my quirk and for that if I wanted to make something of it I had to work even harder. Push myself even more. Aside from that, I never had a single thing handed to me."
"I'm sorry." There was despair in her voice. He was only making it worse. "I know I don't understand that. I've been trying. I spend time with Uraraka, so I can understand better, so I can help people less fortunate than I am–!"
"Please stop." He moved in front of her, holding her by the shoulders. "Really, I promise this isn't you. It isn't your fault. Will you let me finish?"
She looked up at him, fear in her eyes that she had ruined something, even as he told her she hadn't. She gave a shallow nod.
"Do you remember when we all went to the mall before the training camp?" he asked her, not waiting for an answer. "It was right after I-Island. Right after we got paid for what we did there. It was money we earned, that I earned. And it was enough that I could afford to be a little less frugal. That... I didn't tell you. And I didn't want to make a big deal about it. But that was maybe one of the proudest days of my life. Me, buying brand new clothes. Not ratty cast-offs from a thrift store." He put a hand on his polo shirt, pinching to tug at the fabric. "Just a little bit of extra comfort, but it was mine. It was my actions that made it possible. It's stupid–"
"No, it's not!" she denied him, that same earnest resolve that he had come to recognise as entirely Momo was lacing her words. "It's not stupid to feel proud of your accomplishments and what they can bring you!"
"It isn't," he agreed, taking her hand and raising it between them. "But this is. This right here and now. Because then it was a good thing. A reason to feel good about myself. But now? I know you just wanted to do something nice for me, Momo. And that's why I know the same pride that was so fulfilling back then is so stupid now. All it's doing is making me an asshole for not being able to accept a gift from my girlfriend. I didn't belong in that store. I know it, that clerk knew it–"
She was very rude," the rich girl murmured with a pout as she looked away.
And with a finger, he pulled her chin so she would look at him again. "And I think you knew it too. You were just ignoring it."
She grimaced. "That might have been a little bit true. But I don't believe that should matter!" she insisted. "Just because you didn't come from a wealthy family doesn't mean you don't belong in that store!"
"Sure it does," he argued back with a smile to show he wasn't hurt by that fact. "A single outfit from there would take a huge chunk out of my savings. The only way I fit in there is as your kept boy. And while it would be cute for you to try to be my sugar mama," he grinned at her flushed reaction. That was a context she probably hadn't considered when she did it. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be your tagalong that way. I don't belong there right now. But I want to earn the right to waltz in there and slap my gigantic money dick on the counter so they can rush to please it."
Momo reared back, her face scrunching up even as she failed to hold back a laugh. "That's so crass!"
"What can I say? Ain't got no proper upbringin'," he joked. His expression softened. "How about a compromise. We go somewhere a little less upscale and we get some things for each other."
The heiress wiped her eyes of unshed tears. "Yes. I think I like that idea."
Once again, boy and girl walked through the shopping centre, his arm around her waist.
"Hold on a second. Is this just another excuse to get me another skimpy swimsuit?"
"I mean you can get me one too if you like. I'm not opposed to speedos. Besides, if you're good for swimsuits, we could try a lingerie store. I'd love to see you in something crotchless."
"You're terrible!"
"That doesn't sound like a no."
-(-)-
"Well well," Power Loader said, pre-empted by a whistle. "Hatsume, I gotta give credit where it's due. Great work."
"Mm-hm! Mm-hm!" the pink-haired engineer accepted the praise with a close-lipped grin. "It's perfect! Exactly as I imagined it!"
"It's better than I imagined it," Saiki admitted, astonished by the quality and the image of what he was wearing.
Mei had practically dragged him to the development studio, he was fairly sure the moment she considered the costume complete. She hadn't even given him the illusion of privacy. Treating his body as casually as she did her own, stripping him down in front of Power Loader, Melissa and Kaminari who was also there for a similar reason. The electric student's own costume upgrades also completed.
But a little embarrassment (and to be fair, it wasn't all that embarrassing to show off how good he looked near-naked for another pretty girl) was a small price to pay for this.
The suit was tight to his body, the same standard material used for most skintight costumes coloured black. However, added to the fabric were armour plates. They weren't worth much in terms of protection, not compared to his own body. But with the shape of them, they resembled an exoskeleton, letting him play into the theme he was going for. Most importantly, however, they also played into the feature he had once discussed with Mei. Unlike the dark under layer, the exoskeleton was rigged up to the lighting system, meaning it changed colours with the flick of a switch on his chest. The harness that had been built for his wings had been altered to be incorporated into the costume. Over his chest there was a raised section of armour emblazoned with a dragonfly emblem. A concession to a future upgrade.
Apparently they were still playing coy about what exactly that was, even though Aizawa had already told him. Not that it mattered.
"How about the thing we talked about before?" he asked. "The wing dispersal system?"
"Yeah, you're not getting that yet," Power Loader answered before Mei could. "There's no time at all until your provisional license exam, right? Even if we finish it in time, we won't be able to calibrate it for your use or leave you with time to practice with it. That'll have to wait until after. Sorry."
That was disappointing. Still. He leaned over to Mei, giving her a kiss on the cheek, then on the forehead. "You did amazing work, Mei. Thank you."
"Of course!" she preened at his praise. "I am a genius after all!"
"I guess it looks good," Melissa allowed. "And this one didn't blow up so that's certainly an improvement."
Saiki didn't really know where the cattiness from Melissa came from. Maybe it was just competitiveness of people in the same field? "Hey, Kaminari, your new gear looks great."
The blond blinked in surprise. "Thanks, man."
"Yeah, Melissa, you did great work."
She gave him a strange look, like she thought he was angling for something. "Thank you?"
It had been weeks. Why was everyone still so weird about it when he was trying to be nice? Had he really been that bad? It wasn't like he went out of his way to be a jerk like Katsumi did.
Putting it out of his mind, he returned his attention to Power Loader. "So I can use this in the exam, right?"
"Sure, I'll verify the schematics as your new costume. You're good to go. You too, Kaminari."
"Thanks Mister Power Loader!"
With a pat on the head for his pet mechanic, Saiki followed Kaminari out of the development studio, planning to go to the training gym. After all, there was still time before the exam and he wanted to get a feel for his new costume. "Hey, Kaminari," he spoke up as the two hero students happened to walk together for going the same way. "What's Melissa's deal? She's kind of, uhh..." He tried to come up with a world that would be appropriate for what he needed to say without coming off as insulting. "Aggressive?"
The electric blond winced. "Yeah, look, don't tell her I said anything. But you remember she didn't come here in the best circumstances, right?"
"Yeah, with her dad and everything."
"Yeah, so that didn't help. Plus, well, she came here from I-Island's support course. Think about it. UA is to heroes as I-Academy is to engineers. It's for the best and brightest. So when she gets here..."
"She meets Mei," Saiki nodded along, getting the picture. "A genius with a crazy work ethic and no restraint."
"Yeah," Kaminari shrugged. "Besides, they were probably never gonna be friends, right? People who wanna stand at the top, they're gonna butt heads. You know how it is, well," the blond sent his classmate a glance, "You definitely know how it is."
"Guess so." That was basically the entire crux of his and Katsumi's relationship. "Well, it's probably fine. And hey, I never said, good for you, man!" the blue-haired boy grinned. "She's cute."
Surprising Saiki, Kaminari let out a worried sigh. "Yeah. Look... I know we're not really friends or anything but could you just not have sex with my girlfriend, please?"
The comeback hero blinked in confusion. "Uhh... What?"
"Look, I get it. You're banging Jiro, and Yaoyorozu, and Hatsume, and Bakugo, and Midoriya–"
"I'm not banging–" Saiki shook off the reflexive sentence. "Izuku and I aren't together."
"Whatever. Point is, you're basically a real life NTR antagonist so I'm asking, man to man, don't steal my girl." Kaminari stopped, turning to his classmate and pleading with his hands together. "Please."
The playboy hero student's mouth opened and closed as he tried to figure out a response to such an earnest yet bizarre plea. "Okay, first off," he ticked off on a finger, "Begging a supposed 'NTR antagonist' not to steal your girl might as well be asking to have your girl stolen."
"Come on, man–!"
"Second, I'm pretty sure she really doesn't like me for some reason. I don't really know why, but that's how it is. She's not interested in me. Why she's interested in you eludes me but hey, she is. So have a little more faith in that."
"Uhh... Okay?"
"And third, why do you think I would even do that to you?"
It was the blond's turn to look confused. "Uhh, because you're you? I mean come on, Saisei! It's not exactly a secret that you pretty much don't give a crap about the guys in our class."
"That used to be true to a point," Saiki allowed. He wouldn't deny he had been pretty self-involved in the past. "I'm trying to be better about that. But at the same time I'm pretty sure I've never gone out of my way to steal from anyone or screw anyone else over. Especially not you."
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"
"I guess I never bothered to say it. Self-involved and all," the near top student shrugged. "I actually respect you a lot. Have since the first week of class."
"Wait, really?" The near bottom student treated the statement like it was some absurd revelation. "Why? Not to seem like I'm fishing for compliments or anything. I really don't get it."
"Do you remember the first hero class? We were paired off and fought in–"
"Hero and villain teams, yeah. I was a hero with Jiro."
"Right. Do you remember what you said then?" Saiki waited for an answer, didn't receive one. "Gekokujo. The concept of someone at the bottom overthrowing someone at the top. The very first thing you said to me was a declaration that you'd beat me." He almost laughed at the memory. Not mockingly but fondly. "Ignoring the brass ones it takes to shout that out to a stranger. The very first thing you ever said to me is pretty much the driving principle of my whole god damn life."
"Wow..." Kaminari murmured, letting out a weak laugh as he scratched his neck. "I, uhh... I kind of forgot I said that."
"Of course I still respect you for the more boring reasons like being a good hero and being self-sacrificing and all that crap. I mean using your quirk always leaves you pretty much helpless but you always do it without a second thought. But you also work your butt off for the things you want, which I relate to. I mean your temp job on I-Island was a little more laid back than what I used to deal with but the spirit is the same."
"Huh." The blond fell into a stunned silence for a good few seconds. "Guess I was worried for nothing. Man, I don't even know what to say to all that."
"How about taking back that part about us not being friends?"
The blond stared at his classmate, the one that had always seemed to be at best putting on a show of politeness. He smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I can do that," offering and receiving a fist bump before the two of them continued on their way back to the gym.
"So how's Melissa in bed?"
"Dude, I am not telling you that!"
"Heh, you just told me plenty! I didn't even know you were fucking!"
"Oh, man, she's gonna kill me!"
"Come on, let's swap stories! I'll tell you about Mei!"
"Yeah, but the difference is Hatsume won't build something to torturing your balls if she finds out!"
"Ooh, so Melissa is a kinky dom into toys, I'm learning so much!"
"Stop jumping to your own conclusions!"
-(-)-
A/N: This chapter seen early by my supporters on THE GREAT FORBIDDEN P! Fear the P! Love the P!