Night Out!

"This is so amazing..." Momo said as she gazed at the mesmerizing view in front of her. 

Normally, it was hard to impress someone like Momo, who has traveled to various places and has seen numerous wonders of the world. However, for Momo, nothing could compare to flying through the night sky while watching the illuminating city from above.

Then she glanced to her side and caught sight of Izuku, the boy who had made it possible for her to experience this, smiling at her, taking joy in her excitement. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Momo replied, returning his smile before turning her gaze back to the breathtaking view in front of her.

As the cold night air hit her face, Momo couldn't help but smile as both of them flew through the air, and once again, she was reminded why she had wished for wings as a child. Just as she had imagined, the experience of flying through the air was quite liberating, making her forget all the worries and bad memories she had prior to this moment.

After a few more minutes of flying, they finally took a break as Izuku landed them both on top of one of the towers of Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge.

Normally, Momo wouldn't describe herself as having a fear of heights. However, in this instance, as soon as Black Whip vanished from her waist, Momo instinctively grabbed Izuku's arm and pressed herself against him. A moment later, her face flushed with embarrassment as she realized what she had done. However, since Izuku didn't object or make fun of her reaction, she decided to go with the flow and rested her head on his shoulder.

As they enjoyed a quiet, peaceful moment together, Momo couldn't help but be fascinated by the constant stream of vehicles coming and going out of Tokyo. "How awake is this city? It's like this place never sleeps," Momo thought out loud. "I wonder, where are all these people going? Why are they out so late at night? Why don't they go home and sleep?" Momo couldn't suppress a smile, while Izuku failed to hold himself back and burst out with laughter. "This city is really a crazy place."

"Hate to break it to you, but we're one of those crazy people now," Izuku smirked at her.

Momo turned towards him with a bright smile. "I know, right?" she said with childlike excitement in her voice.

Then she turned her attention back toward the traffic and sighed. "You know, I would love to come here every day," she mused with a smile.

"Every day, you say," Izuku shook his head with an amused smile. "Aizawa-sensei will have my head for corrupting one of his most diligent students," he said as they shared a hearty laugh.

After they both regained their composure, Izuku produced a strand of Black Whip and wrapped it around Momo's waist. "Come on Momo. let me take you to another one of my favorite spots," he suggested before lifting them off the ground and taking flight. They soared through the air until they reached a quieter area of Tokyo. Landing in an empty alleyway, Izuku started walking with Momo by his side.

Momo looked around curiously as they weaved through the quiet streets. Most of the shops were closed, and only a few windows showed any signs of life with lights still on inside. "Where are you taking me, Izuku?" she asked.

"Just a little further, I promise it's worth it," he replied with a grin as they arrived at a small shokudo. Taking Momo's hand in his, he led her inside and greeted the man behind the counter, "Hello, Masato-san."

The man turned towards him and beamed, "Ah, Deku! Hello to you as well," he said. "And it seems you have brought a lovely lady with you?"

"Indeed, Masato-san, this is my dear friend Creati, and I brought her here to give her a taste of the second-best Katsudon I have ever tasted," Izuku replied.

"In that case, I will have to do my best to not disappoint my best customer," Masato laughed before turning to get their orders. "Well then, please take a seat, and I'll bring your food out in no time," he said while Izuku nodded at him and guided Momo to one of the empty booths.

Once they were settled down, Momo asked, "It looks like you are quite a regular here," she said.

"Yeah, I come here whenever I crave a good Katsudon that is not made by my mother," Izuku explained. "Mostly on weekends, though, when I stay up at night."

"I should have guessed that this is not the first time you have left the school for a random stroll like this," Momo said, shaking her head with an amused smile. "By the way, just out of curiosity, how often do you leave the school grounds to take these late-night strolls?"

"Not as often as you are thinking right now," Izuku said. "I hardly leave twice or thrice a month."

"That's a lot for us students who are not supposed to leave the school at all," Momo pointed out. "And how did you avoid getting caught by any of the teachers, especially Aizawa-sensei?"

"You are assuming that he and other teachers don't know about my nightly ventures," Izuku grinned cheekily and winked at her, "Trust me, Momo, saving the world does give me some privileges, not that I will ever take advantage of them."

Just then, Masato appeared with two bowls of piping hot Katsudon and set them down on their table. "Please enjoy your food," he said as he walked away, leaving them in peace. However, for some reason, Izuku noticed Masato wink at him before disappearing from view, briefly leaving Izuku confused before he returned his attention to his friend.

"Wow, I'm really about to eat Katsudon at 2 in the morning," Momo mumbled to herself as she stared at the bowl in front of her.

"I really think you should start eating before it gets cold," Izuku reminded her, snapping Momo out of her thoughts.

After giving Izuku a brief nod, Momo took her first bite and immediately widened her eyes. "This is so good!" she exclaimed, taking another bite. Meanwhile, Izuku just grinned at her with a wide smile across his face and continued eating as well.

"Hey, Izuku, do you mind if I ask you something?" Momo said between her bites.

"Sure, go ahead," Izuku replied.

"I was just wondering about the telescope your mom gave you. Why didn't you bring it with you to U.A.?" Momo asked, but immediately regretted it as she noticed his expression darken. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

"No, no, it's all right," Izuku waved his hand dismissively. "It's not that big of a deal. It's just... not the best memory."

"You don't have to share anything you don't want to," Momo said gently.

"It's alright," Izuku shook his head. "You shared something really personal with me earlier today, so I think it's only fair for me to do the same."

Then Izuku took a deep breath and began. "The thing is, I don't have that telescope anymore," he said with a sad smile. "One day, I took it to our local park, thinking that if I showed it to other kids, they would want to be friends with me. But unfortunately, it backfired, and they started making fun of me for having a useless hobby like star-gazing." He sighed and took a bite of his Katsudon before continuing. "Then Kacchan and his 'friends' showed up at the park and joined in on the mockery. But then one of Kacchan's followers tried to take my telescope, and I fought against it until it fell and shattered into pieces." Izuku shrugged. "That's basically it. They all laughed at my broken telescope and left, while I couldn't bring myself to tell my mom how I ruined her gift. And that was the end of my stargazing hobby."

"I'm sorry, Izuku," Momo said sympathetically as she placed her hand on his own.

"Don't be," Izuku said firmly. "It's my fault for not standing up to them."

"But you were just a kid," Momo argued.

"As were they," Izuku retorted. "Momo, it took breaking my bones and almost dying a couple of times to grow a backbone and realize my self-worth. Something that little Izuku could have used a lot."

Momo let out a sigh and dropped the topic, no longer wanting to push any buttons with him. But there was another question that had been plaguing her for some time now. "I do have one more question," she said, locking eyes with him. "How did you do it? How can you forgive Bakugo after everything he put you through and go back to being friends with him like your entire childhood didn't happen at all?"

This was something that confused not just Momo, but also many others in their class. Now, let it be known that Momo didn't hate Bakugo, and could even admit that he was one of the most skilled combatants in their class and a competent hero. But that didn't mean he was easy to be around. Even now, when he was much calmer than before, they still had to be careful not to set him off.

Momo's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a chuckle from Izuku. She looked up to see him smiling at her.

Noticing Momo's confused look, Izuku quickly clarified, "Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you or your question. It's just amusing to me that your question is based on incorrect assumptions that I forgave Kacchan or that we're friends."

Then Izuku laughed once again as he saw a shocked expression on Momo's face. "Okay, tell me, Momo, have you ever seen me and Kacchan do things that friends do? Have you ever seen us hang out together, or play video games, or hell, even sit next to each other in the living room?" he asked, while Momo shook her head, unable to recall a single memory of that.

"Kacchan and I have this weird relationship where we can trust each other with our lives on the field. However, outside of that, we can't even stand each other for more than a few minutes," Izuku continued. "And as for forgiveness, no, I didn't forgive him. In fact, I don't think I ever can. Instead, Kacchan and I both acknowledged our past and decided to move past it."

"But that's not fair to you," Momo said.

"Nothing ever is, you know?" Izuku replied with a shrug. "But honestly, I'm too grateful for what I have right now to ever give in to that small part of me that is blazing with anger and hatred."

Momo stared at Izuku for a moment before she smiled and accepted his answer as they finished their meal and walked out of the shop together.

Then they started walking again as Momo couldn't help but wonder where their next destination would be. However, their journey came to an abrupt halt near a bus stop when Izuku suddenly stopped and gave her a serious look. "Momo, here, take this," he said, handing her 250 yen.

"Huh?" Momo questioned, confused as to why Izuku was giving her money all of a sudden.

"Listen carefully," Izuku instructed. "You can catch the number 88 bus from here, which will take you straight to our school. So please do that, and I'll see you in the morning," he said before flying off.

"Izuku! Izuku!" Momo said in a momentarily panicked voice. However, a moment later, she just huffed and stood there with her arms crossed and a pout on her face as Izuku returned to her with a big grin on his face.

******

Izuku and Momo returned to the U.A. and landed a short distance away from their dorms.

"Izuku, why did you do that?" Momo griped as she swatted his hand, but Izuku just laughed and continued walking. "Izuku, stop! I'm talking to you!"

"Okay, what's wrong? What did I do this time?" Izuku stopped and turned to face her.

"You left me all by myself at the bus stop!" Momo glared at him.

"But I gave you 250 yen, didn't I?" Izuku argued with a smirk, causing Momo to gasp in disbelief. "And I told you the number 88 bus would come to pick you up in the morning."

"In the morning? And what was I supposed to do until then?" Momo asked, once again widening her eyes with a familiar incredulous expression. "Izuku, you're too evil for doing this to me!" Momo said as she turned her face away with a pout.

"Come on, Momo," Izuku turned Momo towards him. "If the situation had really called for it, I would have slept there on the sidewalk or stayed with you all night, but I would have made sure that you were safe," he said, and Momo couldn't help but nod, agreeing with his words, with a little blush and smile on her face.

Then they walked for a few minutes in silence until they were in front of their dorm building. Just then, a thought came to Momo's mind. "Izuku, normally you're this kind and sweet boy who minds his own business unless someone needs help. But even you have this sarcastic or sadistic bone inside of you that likes to prank people and laugh at people's misery," Momo said as she leaned forward, getting into his personal space. "I got that right, didn't I?"

"Oh no, this is not how it was supposed to go. You weren't supposed to figure me out," Izuku moaned, exaggerating his distress while Momo rolled her eyes at his theatrics. "You know I only told you the pros of staying up at night, but I never told you the cons of it."

"Well, you can start now," Momo suggested.

"You know, the biggest con of staying up at night like this is that you forget all of your inhibitions. You start speaking out whatever comes to your mind," Izuku sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Your words, your thoughts, you lose that social filter from all of them."

"Besides, I'm not the only one with a secret personality bone," Izuku grinned at Momo, who looked surprised by his words. "You, Momo, who is one of the kindest and caring people I know, have that high-class, haughty personality hidden under that angelic smile, isn't that right?"

"Oh, and how can you be so sure of that?" Momo asked, arching her brows.

"Remember the first week of our first year here at U.A.?" Izuku said, noticing how Momo's face cringed. "Yeah, I noticed how you acted high and mighty during that entire week until the USJ attack. After that, you started mellowing into the person that all of us know."

Momo chuckled softly to herself and agreed, "You're right. I did put on a mask in the beginning, didn't I?" She shook her head, reflecting on her past actions. "In hindsight, it was a silly thing to do."

"Mask?" Izuku asked.

"Just like you wear a mask of that stupidly bright smile when you don't want to show people that you are hurting. Similarly, I wear a mask of arrogance and superiority when dealing with people from my family's social circle," Momo clarified.

"I don't get it," Izuku furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why would you want to pretend to be something you're not?"

"Why do I feel the need to pretend? Now, how do I explain this to you?" Momo said as she sat on the porch, rubbing her chin. Then she looked up at him and continued, "You know, Izuku, when you grow up in an environment where everyone around you constantly pokes holes in your self-confidence by telling you how you're not eating, walking, or doing things the 'right' way, you only have two options in front of you: You either become withdrawn and sensitive or haughty and arrogant, and I chose the latter option myself, by my choice."

"Honestly, I don't see what's so bad about it," Momo continued with a faraway look in her eyes. "People tend to keep a hand's distance from these kinds of personalities, especially the people you don't want around you."

Meanwhile, Izuku sighed and sat next to Momo. "What you said might be true, Momo, however, one can't keep hiding their true nature," he said as he offered Momo a kind smile. "Especially you, Momo. I don't think anyone could look at you and say that you are anything like Draco Malfoy or those other snot-nosed rich brats from those fictions."

Momo raised an eyebrow at his words. "Are you trying to flatter me, Mr. Midoriya?" she asked playfully. "Just you wait, Midoriya, my father will hear about this," she teased before bursting into laughter, and Izuku joined in as well.

Then Izuku got up and started walking towards the dorms. However, when he reached the door, he noticed that Momo was still standing on the porch, looking at the sky. So he walked back towards her and asked, "Don't feel like going back?"

Momo shook her head with a tiny smile. "Everyone must be sleeping right now, right?" she asked, to which Izuku nodded his head. "They will never know the fun of staying up late." Then she turned towards Izuku and smiled, "They will never know the magic of the night," she said while wiggling her fingers like a witch.

To be continued...