Three Orchids

Chapter 6: Yaoyorozu

Kirishima and Momo made their way towards the front of the school. There was only one exit in and out of UA due to its heightened security. Although this school year had fewer restrictions than the previous 2 years, the school was still on high alert. Students could only leave the campus without faculty supervision on Sundays and that was only as far as the nearby market. Most students craved freedom so the market with its many small, locally-owned shops was a popular site for UA students on Sunday.

"So you and Bakugo are going to the formal, huh?" Momo's empty stomach was now doing backflips. She felt nauseous. Kirishima surprised her with his boldness. Especially since up to this point he had not alluded to anything between them since they met up at Gym Gamma. He glanced at her while they walked. "Sorry, Momo. Didn't mean to put you on the spot. I think in some ways I'm relieved. Bakugo's been acting... off the last couple of weeks. Now I think I know why. Guess he was preoccupied with you," He grinned. Momo didn't know what to say. "Sorry, I'll drop the subject," Kirishima replied.

"Actually, I don't mind," Momo really meant this. Kirishima's interest seemed to lie more on looking out for his best friend Bakugo than it did on just wanting the latest gossip. Also, Kirishima and Momo had a much deeper friendship than most of the class realized. They had both taken the death of one of their teachers, Nemuri Kayama, better known by her hero name Midnight, pretty badly at the end of their first year. Even though Mina and Sato had also gone through similar trauma, it had affected Kirishima and Momo in a way that they had taken comfort in talking about it with each other. Even though Momo was much closer to the girls in class A, she felt Kirishima was her closest friend out of the boys. She often wondered if he valued their friendship as much as she did. He was close to many of the members of their class due to his overwhelmingly supportive and uplifting personality. He was very extroverted and always lead many of the group activities, even getting Bakugo and Todoroki involved.

"Really?" Kirishima turned to her with an expectant look on his face. "We can talk about it??! So then you guys training today? How was it? I have to admit, I'm super jealous because I've always wanted to try using one of his gauntlets! I mean, he's given me a lift in battle and training so I've flown about with him tons, and crash-landed with him. But it'd be cool to do it solo with the gauntlet."

"It was pretty fun. Bakugo's surprisingly a good teacher. He was actually pretty patient with me."

"Yeah, that's an anomaly! He's constantly irritated with me when we train or study together! He must really like you."

Momo blushed.

"So Momo, you've been crushing on Bakugo a long time, or is this a sorta sudden thing?" Kirishima asked.

Before she could stop herself she answered, "A long time." Momo was surprised by her own brazenness. It was because it was Kirishima alone that she answered this way.

They walked in silence for a bit. "You're full of surprises, Momo. Why didn't you ever say something to him sooner? Or to me, I would have been more than happy to play the middle man! We got like, 5 months left of school. And you and I will be in Esuha City with Fat Gum and Hot Head will be in Tokyo with Best Jeanist 600 miles away."

"I guess because it wasn't something that was forefront in my mind the last couple of years. We've spent so much time fighting for our lives. Fighting for others' lives. Fighting for our country. It leaves very little time for thinking about love and romance. Midoriya and Ochaco have been an item for over a year and that shocked everyone as far as them even having time for that sort of thing. Especially Midoriya with everything he's gone through. And to still be going strong. They'll be opening up an agency along with Mirio Togata when they graduate. They have everything figured out."