Chapter 7 - Chapter 6: Mistakes

"Momo, I am not going for another one," Izuku declared once again. Momo's protests had brought him to the same store multiple times, against his will."Just one more," she whined back."This is your fifth one.""Sixth." Fumikage corrected him."I am not moving from this spot," Izuku announced as he folded his legs to sit on the green bench next to him."Then we are going without you," Momo said as she turned back to them, expecting both of them to follow."Actually, I am staying as well," Fumikage spoke up."Really, guys," she said, stunned for a second. "Some friends you are.""Just sit and talk. You can do it without any sugar, can't you?" Fumikage asked before joining Izuku on the bench."I can't.""Yes, you can," Izuku responded."You are so mean." She was weighing her options; she didn't have many. She could stay or she could go without them, but that would be too out of line. Her hesitation made Izuku and Fumikage wait longer than they were supposed to for a simple answer."Izuku, did you finally decide on what high school you are going to?" Momo blurted it out moments after she sat next to them. "What about you, Tokoyami-san?"Izuku didn't have a response or an explanation, and he wasn't planning on making one up right now. He was ready to answer how it was, but Fumikage gave a simple reply before he could."UA."If he was being honest, that information disappointed him, but Izuku had a heart. He didn't want to hurt the teenager sitting next to him, so he decided to hide this emotion. Still, a small sigh escaped his mouth."Any alternatives if you don't get in?""No.""But what if you don't get in? They only have a 2% acceptance rate." Momo asked, intrigued, as the person she sat next to was willing to bet their future on such a slim chance."Then I can't afford to fail, can I?" He answered with a dull and monotone voice."I guess you are right," Momo said to herself, relating to Fumikage's situation, at least the part that was known to her.Izuku wasn't a person who usually noticed awkward situations, but this was too noticeable to miss. With silence rising by the moment, Momo was the second to notice and the only one to react."Then I hope we end up in the same class!" Momo exclaimed, "I know Izuku would get in if he tried a little. I wish you the best of luck to you Fumikage.""I am not sure if I am going.""You still haven't decided.""Why are you unsure?" Fumikage asked a simple question to which Izuku still had no answer, always struggling to find a solution"I am not really into hero stuff." This was the best answer Izuku had come up with within the last ten years when answering that same question."Why not?""No particular reason," Izuku said and he took a slight pause before he continued. "I was obsessed with them as a child; I guess I lost interest as I got older."The silence was all the response that Izuku received from the bird-headed boy before him. 'He didn't buy it' was the only thought on Izuku's mind, until Momo changed the topic to make her presence known again."He is now invested in Council Seven," Momo said as she flashed a wide smile towards Izuku. "He can't stop talking about them."'There must be more.' He thought, knowing that a smile like that signaled trouble."The public is supposed to know little about them, and yet Izuku knows what their favorite meals are, their birthdays, even their blood types."Momo wanted to divert all attention from past topics, so she chose one they hadn't talked about yet. She also took advantage of the situation to tease Izuku a bit, but to her surprise, Fumikage didn't react as she expected. "You like Council Seven as well?""Who doesn't? They are the seven strongest witches and wizards. They govern over all other witches and wizards and all aspects of the magic world that belong to us. Not to mention that current Council members invented more than 60% of the current spells in use.""Not just that, they were heroes of the Fifth Hidden War twenty years ago.""True heroes," Izuku said quietly to himself.Momo's eyes widened in awe as Fumikage spoke about the prestigious Council Seven. She had always admired their power and influence. Still, she didn't take much interest in them. "I didn't realize you were such a fan," she admitted."Oh, I've always been fascinated by their achievements and the way they uphold the traditions of magic," he confessed as his voice got quieter with each word as he realized that he said something that he would like to keep for himself."There is no need to be embarrassed. Izuku is fawning over them every day," she said, still holding her wide smile. 'And here comes the trouble.' Izuku thought, knowing that Momo would continue embarrassing him. She always did whenever she had a chance to do so, and unfortunately for Izuku, today was no exception. "You should also ask Izuku about Hidden Wars. He knows everything about them.""I think you've said enough," Izuku said as he jumped up in the hope of silencing Momo. Simply put, it didn't work. Momo would always avoid him playfully and state another fact about Izuku as he jumped around her."You should ask him about five war powers.""Or maybe about commanders of Council guards.""Maybe something about the research division."He managed to stop her rant when he jumped on her. His original plan was to climb onto her back and cover her mouth. It should've been easy, as Momo was almost six inches taller. His attempt ended in a far different result than intended. She was too light on her legs and too slow to move away, making her turn facing towards Izuku as he jumped on her. In the end, both of them lay on the ground, with Izuku on top of her.A complete silence struck. His emerald-green eyes met her onyx in a stare. While Fumikage stared in shock. They stayed like that for some time. Nobody moved—not an inch, not a millimeter—until Fumikage broke the awkward moment."I should go." He muttered as he picked up all of his stuff and checked all of his pockets to see if he had left anything.He only took three steps until he stopped; something was on his shoulder. Standing next to him was Izuku, his hand extended to his shoulder. After walking over from behind Izuku, Momo began to reach as well, replicating the gesture that Izuku made, but she pulled back soon after, hesitant."Is everything okay?" Izuku asked only one of the two questions, knowing well why he was leaving, but he wasn't bold enough to confront Fumikage and ask the second one, even though Momo was."You didn't interrupt us. It was just an accident; we aren't together. You aren't the third wheel."There was no response except red cheeks from both of them. Both of these passed unnoticed due to Momo being behind Izuku and Fumikage's face being covered with his quirk."No, for real, I need to go home." It was an obvious lie, but Izuku and Momo didn't protest; asking him to stay against his will would make the situation even worse.Before leaving, he checked everywhere to see if he had left something. Confirming that everything was there didn't take long. "See ya," he said as he said as he walked away from their view, not long after. The awkward situation became even worse after he left; it filled it with uneasy silence.To kill it, Izuku attempted to start the conversation. "How was dinner with your dad?""No, nooo, we have more important topics to discuss. What happened with Agatha?" Unfortunately for Izuku, the same conversation he started didn't benefit him much."There isn't much to tell.""There isn't much to tell?" Momo sarcastically repeated. "You basically cut off all contact with her.""You're exaggerating," he answered dully before he started moving inch by inch from Momo. His body started to appear smaller than it already was. Momo was getting the impression that he somehow managed to shrink into himself. Desperately trying to make his presence as small as he could in a foolish hope to avoid unwanted questions."I am not exaggerating it," Momo shouted in response, her voice significantly louder. "I literally quoted what you said to me. Word to word, nothing less, nothing more.""I kinda shouted at her, yelled a few inappropriate things at the elder, left without saying a word, and ignored her messages." His voice was icy and dead, not resembling Izuku. Izuku didn't engage in most conversations; he was always quiet around unknown people. Despite that, his eyes always had a lively spark, as did his voice. This is the first time Momo would describe them as dead. "I can go on."Momo possessed both common sense and logic, two blessings that many people lack. After hearing Izuku speak, most people would either blindly side with the boy or criticize him. Rarely would anyone question the cause of the problem."She mentioned Bakugo." She didn't need to question the root; it was already a known fact for her. It always was Bakugo; it always had been Bakugo. The only thing left was to pin down the exact reason."She praised him?" No reaction."Compared him to a hero?" Izuku released a slight that left Momo thinking. 'Warmer.'"She compared him to you?" A full scoff from Izuku and a bullseye for Momo."Izuku.""Yes.""We both know the relationship you have with him is complicated, to say the least." Momo said it in a calm and reassuring voice. She was contrasting his opinions, but she tried to be as relatable as possible."Still, don't you think it is too much to react like that after just hearing about him? For Agatha, it's easy. You can apologize, and everything will be fine." She took a brief pause to check if he was still listening. He did listen, with a distant look and a few nods here and there."Not solving that problem is going to be trouble later. Imagine doing that to a person you've only known for a few days; he won't forgive you. Too many outbursts at Agatha can be a problem as well. It isn't just Bakugo; there are thousands of people like him—everybody adores them no matter what. You can't change them, but you can change yourself.""There is no reason to chan-""There is no reason to change for the others. That is what you were going to say, Right?" Momo finished his sentence the second he uttered the first three words. She knew that sentence too well; it meant a lot to her. "That was the advice you gave when we first met.""Yes.""Different people, unique problems, unique solutions, different advice," she said, trying to make eye contact with Izuku, who was avoiding it completely."I guess.""Then tell me why you are holding onto something that isn't meant for you," she questioned him, her voice firm, but some of her usual softness still resided in it."But-""I am not asking you to change who you are. I am asking you to change your approach and to control yourself a little more."They remained silent for some time. Izuku didn't move an inch, while Momo just repositioned herself to lean her back against his, staying still in that position until one of them broke the silence.Bystanders and people passing by threw them many different looks, carrying different messages. It did not bother Momo, but Izuku's body continued to shrink."Do you want to call it a night?""Not yet." It took all will and strength for Izuku to keep his voice from breaking; he didn't try to hide anything on his face; he was facing the opposite of Momo, so she couldn't see him, and that was all that mattered to him in the moment."Dinner," he said, indicating for Momo to talk."There isn't much to say. He tried again to control my life, forcing his beliefs on me as usual," she said in a monotone voice, followed by a sigh.Momo didn't say anything else; she was hoping to end the conversation there. But a simple sentence crushed those expectations; it made her shake for many reasons. "No murder attempt. You aren't grounded for going against your father?""How do you know that?" she started before the realization hit her. "I didn't tell anyone," she said before she jumped from the bench, catching Izuku by his collar to look him directly in the eyes. She moved his green-black hair, hiding his lifeless look, to find a faint cobalt blue glow instead of his usual emerald eyes."You read my mind!" Her blood was boiling, her hands were shaking, and she desperately tried to hold him by his collar, but couldn't."Talk, or I can read the rest of it.""Unbelievable, you promised. You swore you wouldn't do it again. How can I trust you?!" A flustered shout came out, her shaking became even more visible, and her voice was becoming unstable, shaking every other word."And you promised you wouldn't keep these things to yourself, that you would talk to us about them, talk about them to me," Izuku said in a low tone so that only Momo heard."Still, that doesn't excuse you from digging through my head." Her legs were giving her up; she was barely standing, almost falling a few times with Izuku ready to catch her, but every single time she would avoid him and straighten up.'This isn't the time.' Izuku thought as he jerked his head around, looking to see if people were around. There were a few, but even they were leaving.The blood rushed through her ears. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her hands shook in a corresponding manner. It didn't take long before she gained vibrating vision. Her vision was disfigured, as if she were looking through a fisheye lens. She tried to utter something, anything, but she failed.It didn't take her long to finally lose consciousness and fall over. If not for Izuku's experience with past situations, she would have fallen to the ground instead of in his arms."Ad memorias impero," Izuku muttered under his breath, a memory spell linking his mind to Momo's. A faint blue glow came from his hand landed on Momo's right ear. A light traveled from eye to eye, ending at the upper temporal. As the spell lit her eyes one by one, it revealed the tears that started to build up, making Izuku stop for a moment. After jerking his head around a little and making his thoughts straight, he finished his linking process. He didn't link to her mind completely in order to keep his consciousness.The few people who were still there offered to help after witnessing her fall, raising a flood of questions."What's wrong?""Is everything okay?""Do I need to call an ambulance?""Is she fine?"He knew two ways to deal with Momo's panic attacks. The first was easy using magic, but that wasn't an option right now, and the second was either to treat her himself or to let a doctor do his job, which was the much harder one."She is fine; it's just a slight panic attack," Izuku shouted over the voices in the hope that most of them would leave, knowing that it wasn't anything special or important, but they crushed his hopes in a matter of seconds."Do I need to call an ambulance?" a tall girl asked, tapping Izuku on the shoulder."No, this happened a few times. She just needs time.""Are you sure?""Yes, I am sure. This happened before." Izuku flicked away all the surrounding people, receiving side-eyed looks. He gently laid Momo on the bench. No matter how many unpleasant looks others directed at him, he wasn't budging on calling the ambulance or her parents due to Momo's wishes. He may have invaded her privacy, but he still respected her.He considered calling his mother to help as usual; she loved and adored Momo. Inko learning about Momo's panic attacks hadn't made her appreciate her less, and she helped whenever she could. But the problem wasn't Inko; it was Izuna. She never understood the importance of the situation, and she would make Momo uncomfortable.Izuku had an idea for a simple yet effective solution."Vanum imagienem creas," he muttered under his breath, and as a response, a light blue mist from both of his palms swirled over the floor around them. As he continued muttering "venitas lucis," the mist slowly started to lose color and gradually became see-through. Soon after, the mist started to bend the image in many different ways. At first, it didn't shift much, but as the mist rose to surround them, the shifting of the image became more erratic, until it suddenly stopped.It was a light-instructed illusion spell; it bended protons, constructing the image to Izuku's will. The bystanders saw Momo getting better and starting to talk with Izuku. This simple illusion took quite a toll on the users' mana reserves; some people couldn't even cover a single glass table, but Izuku needed to cover the whole park if it wanted to make this act believable.Slowly, the mist that Izuku saw only as a blur of color started to expand, first floating over the small playground next to them, then the pathways, and finally grass on the edges. Soon after, the whole playground was engulfed. Izuku made two false figures of him and Momo moving, walking, and talking—everything normal.The only thing that was left for Izuku was to build enough mana to teleport. He thought over possible places for them to teleport that were within range, depending on how much power he had left, which wasn't a lot. The only thing that came to his mind was 'the roof'.The bright light that came from the teleportation went unnoticed due to the already-placed spell. Without a constant pumping of mana into the illusion spell, it would disappear. So Izuku paced more mana than needed into it so it wouldn't fall apart at the same moment.Izuku slowly emerged from it, carrying Momo and grasping the view of the city below them.