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Yosetsu had grown up in a rural family. Growing up near Tagami, his family owned a fairly sizable rice farm, which was their main revenue, alongside rice-related products such as sake, mochi, and senbei, which they sold in the town as well as Niigata, the capital of the province it shared it’s name with.
They weren’t poor, despite the rumours he heard circulate around him as he walked - just rural. His dad said so, his mom said so, and frankly, he was inclined to agree. Thus, he was always up for defending the status of his class, he was not poor, thank you very much, just rural. He didn’t necessarily need to keep that up when he moved in with his aunt and uncle, who lived in Shizuoka, so he could attend UA. Sometimes - he felt a bit out of touch, or lost among the giant skyscrapers of the city, but Yosetsu didn’t let that dissuade him one bit.
Of course, he couldn’t say that to someone like his girlfriend, because there was a clear distance of class between him and Yaoyorozu Momo. Momo, she was the girl of his dreams - smart, beautiful, kind, gentle, everything about her was perfect. The way she laughed, the way she looked at him, the way she blushed, everything from head to toe.
“My parents have been wanting to meet you, you know,” Momo had said one day, while they were eating in the cafeteria.
“Mhm-?” he had shoved a piece of omelette into his mouth, so he couldn’t respond immediately. “Is- Is that so?” his Nagaoka dialect slipped out unintentionally. Momo, bless her soul, took a slight moment to register his slip into localities, before nodding with a smile.
“Yes! In fact, they wanted to invite you to dine at our home, if you would like,” she made the offer like it was nothing.
“At- at your place? But isn’t that a bit, y’know. Rich?” he twirled his hands around slightly nervously, trying to make his point clear, but Momo’s eyebrows simply folded upwards in confusion. “For a person like me, I mean.”
“Nonsense,” she puffed her cheeks out slightly, annoyed that he would even suggest that. “You’ll do perfectly fine there, they’ll like you just fine.”
“And you’re certain about that because-?”
“My parents aren’t the kind of people to turn their noses on you just because of class! My mother might be a bit critical at first, but I’m sure she’ll love you.”
“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” he leaned forward, raising his hands to calm her down. “I just meant, how will I be able to, y’know. Behave responsibly? I’ve never been in a situation like this, so I just. I dunno.”
“Yosetsu,” she paused, looking down. “I’m sure it’ll be fine! Because even if you don’t do everything perfectly-“ she grasped his two raised hands, and pulled them together into a ball. “-you’ll still be perfect to me.”
And so, that was how his girlfriend got him to go eat a five course dinner with her parents.
- - -
The suit that Momo had picked out for Yosetsu was tight around his collar, and frankly, wearing a tie sucked. Not to mention it was a hot night, and the car that was to pick them up was late, so they had to wait for it outside the gates of the Academy. At least there was a good thing about this whole situation, namely, Momo.
“Are you nervous?” she asked as they waited in front of the UA Gate. Momo was looking down, fumbling absently with her handbag that she had brought with her.
“Am I?” he asked it as a question, but it was enough of an answer. “You?”
“Mhm. Very,” she shook her head. “But it’ll be fine. I’m sure of that.”
“Yeah,” Yosetsu said without hesitation, despite his own reservations on the issue. “I’m sure it will be.” He smiled over to his girlfriend, and Momo looked at him with a bright smile in return, one that was hopeful and covered up all that previous anxiety. It would be fine! He was sure of it.
The car - no, a limo - drove in front of them only a few seconds afterwards. The driver rolled up the window, and leaned out to speak. “Miss Yaoyorozu-san, and guest?” he looked over Yosetsu with keen eyes, as if judging him for everything he was doing wrong. He shifted uncomfortably.
“That’s us,” Momo said with a pause. “Thank you for picking us up, Hoshi-san.”
“Not a problem, my lady. Please, take your seats in the back and we can be off.”
The door opened then automatically in the back, and Momo grabbed his hand and pulled Yosetsu along with her into the limo’s backseat, which looked exactly like what you’d expect to see in a movie, except maybe a bit more dignified - beige seating with maroon red carpets, a bar for drinks, fancy lights. It felt surreal in a way.
“Holy shit,” Yosetsu murmured under his breath, hoping Momo didn’t hear him. She evidently did, because she made a small grumbling noise.
“You best not speak like that in front of my parents,” Momo said quite sternly, before her voice relaxed. “I’m quite certain the most rude word they’ve ever heard is hell.”
Yosetsu took a second to realize that she’d just made a joke, before laughing. Momo joined in, and he felt maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as he thought it could be. I mean, the most important person in his life was right next to him, so what was the worst thing that could happen?
He sat down in one of seats that were attached to the wall, and Momo sat down next to him, leaning in close to his shoulder. She looked up, and her hand moved to pick at the headband he’d picked for the occasion, a white one to match with his shirt. “I told you not to wear that, you know.”
“I will die before I let go of my insatiable need for a headband comfortably placed around my forehead. I’m sorry, Momo, but they’re too important for me not to.”
“Shame on you,” she puffed her cheeks again, before leaning upwards and kissing Yosetsu’s cheek lightly. “But I’ll forgive you.”
Yosetsu’s cheeks immediately heated up, and he felt the collar around his neck get even tighter. He tried pulling at it, but stopped after a second, not wanting to ruin his look before they even arrived at her home. So he simply leaned down, to kiss Momo in return, pecking her lightly on her forehead.
They talked more, about school, about their classmates, about news, about anything besides the dinner, actively steering the conversation away from that topic from then on forwards. Yosetsu held Momo’s hand as they talked, and she held his, their grasp light and easy. His hand tightened when he felt the movement of the car stop, and shortly after the driver - Hoshi - opening the door for them.
“Madame,” he said respectfully as Momo exited the limo.
“Sir,” he added, rather briskly. Yosetsu couldnt help but feel immediately out of place when he saw the mansion house of the Yaoyorozu’s. Large, built in a European style, and surrounded by several trees, as far as the eye could see. The car itself was in front of a rather unnecessarily large water fountain. Compared to his traditional, small farm house surrounded by rolling hills and rice paddies, it was quite a big contrast.
In front of the large door (God, everything really was going to be absurdly huge here, huh?) stood a man and a woman, probably Momo’s parents. Momo walked over to them with a slight skip in her feet, exchanging a few words with her parents, and Yosetsu awkwardly followed after her, trying his best not to make any awkward eye contacts with her parents- oh wait, he just did, as Yaoyorozu’s dad looked over at him.
“And you must be Awase-san. It’s nice to finally be able to meet you,” he said, with a light smile on his face, “My daughter has spoken so very much about you.”
Yosetsu took his hand, and made a short-but-not-too-short bow. “It’s nice to meet you too.” He paused. “Sir,” he added, a bit too late for it to not be noticeable.
“And ma’am,” he added, quickly bowing at Momo’s mother as well.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you to,” her mother smiled, before looking at her daughter. “It seems you have quite the catch here, Momo-chan,” Mrs. Yaoyorozu added, her grin turning a shade of wicked.
Momo’s face turned red with embarassment, “Okaa-san!” she shouted at her mother.
“I’m just teasing you. Don’t be so sensitive,” again, her mother laughed, and Yosetsu frowned, about to say something, but before he could do so, Mr. Yaoyorozu interrupted.
“Now that you two have arrived, why don’t we go to the dining room. The first course should be finished shortly,” he said, clasping his hands. His wife took a brisk step inside, and he followed after her.
Momo shuffled along after them, stopping only for Yosetsu. He walked a few steps, before reaching out for her hand, with their fingers interlocking. They then entered the building.
- - -
After they had finished the first course, which turned out to just be what Mr. Yaoyorozu called antipasto, an assortment of cold meats, cheeses, and vegetables served with light bread. It wasn’t nearly as fulling as he’d have expected it to be, and was practically sure Momo must’ve felt the same - after all, they both ate large quantities of food when they ate together. Once it had all been finished, their plates were taken away by an assortment of servants in maid outfits.
“So,” Mr. Yaoyorozu smiled as he leaned forward on the table, which was far too wide to be only used by four people who were all seated at the very end. “Awase-san, what do you exactly know about our family?”
Oh boy. Here it came.
He knew the questions would be occuring, or at least, had a suspicion that something like this would be coming. A father wanted to know that their daughter was dating the very best that was being offered, and he supposed a high-class father would be even more concerned about the status of their daughter’s lover. He glanced nervously at Momo, who seemed to be looking at him with the face of, ‘go on, you can do this’.
“Well,” he paused, for a bit, before continuing, “I know you’re a famous hero family who’ve got several important names in your legacy. Like, uh-” Another pause, as he tried to recount some of them. “- Knight Life! And uh, Astro-Jump.”
“Astro-Leap, actually,” Mrs. Yaoyorozu corrected as she moved her glass from side to side, the white wine inside it being slushed around.
“Astro-Leap was my father, actually,” Mr. Yaoyorozu added, a slight tinge of pride in his voice.
“Oh really? I wouldn’t have guessed that,” said Yosetsu almost immediately.
A pause. There was an awkward silence that filled the room as Yosetsu slowly realized what he had said.
“I mean, uh. Sorry, sir! I-“
“No, no,” he patted the air, smiling slightly. “It’s fine. I’m not a hero myself, anyways, so it’s not a bit surprising that some wouldn’t take me from being from a lineage of great heroes.”
“Otou-san is the head of a famous support company instead,” Momo smiled, her shoulders loosening slightly. “It’s the one where many of UA’s equipment for new students comes from.”
“Really now?” Momo had told him he was the head of a company, but never the exact specifics of what they did and such. He supposed now he knew better.
“And your parents? What does your father do, Awase-san?” Mrs. Yaoyorozu asked, before sipping her wine glass with a rather smug look on her face, though it couldn’t be intentional, considering Momo had promised her parent’s weren’t those sorts of people to look down on him. He trusted Momo.
“My parents own a rice farm near Tagami, in Niigata. We make mostly rice-based produce, so besides just normal rice we also make sake, which is the best in the area,” Yosetsu started explaining, and as he did he might’ve gotten a bit too passionate in his way of speaking, a bit too fast. “We also sell our rice in the city of Niigata itself sometimes, and it is very much sought after by local restaurants, including some very notable ones in the area, and the rice is very noted for their quality! Maybe you can, uh-” his voice drained as he noticed the elder Yaoyarozus staring at him with blank expressions, and suddenly he didn’t feel like expressing as much as he had been, “-try some, sometime.”
He finally stopped talking, and there was a long pause. Momo’s parents looked at each other, and then at nothing in particular, and then at each other again. Momo simply sat in silence, her head down, her face strained in concentration, and Yosetsu knew that was the face she made when she was planning on saying something and thinking about her words. He hoped she’d be okay with the disappointment he’d made of himself. God, he was such a fuck up, he wanted to practically throw himself out the window and run.
However, before any words could be said, several servants carrying trays of bowls and bread walked in, and Hoshi exclaimed that the second course was done. They drank their soup in silence.
- - -
Once they had all finished their soup, Mrs. Yaoyorozu perked up. “So, Awase-san, you’re from a farm community? That would be quite small, yes? Not exactly,” she paused, as if to emphasize the word, and it made Yosetsu’s skin crawl. “-proper for my daughter.”
“Okaa-san,” Momo interjected almost immediately, frowning at her mother. “Why would you say something like that?”
“Well, I only want what’s best for you, my dearest Momo-chan,” her mother tutted, placing her glass down and wagged her finger in such a condescending manner Yosetsu had half a mind to stand up and reach for it before he realized where he was and he couldn’t do that. So he simply sat there, in silence.
Momo looked over at her father, but he simply looked away, as if he didn’t want to see what was happening now, trying to evade the truth that was in front of him.
“Of course, you aren’t poor, Awase-san, do not get me wrong,” Mrs. Yaoyorozu continued as if there was no interruption, like nothing was wrong. “No, no, but your class wouldn’t be suitable for a daughter of mine-”
“And the hell is that supposed to mean?” Yosetsu snarled, nearly jumping out his seat. Momo looked at him with sympathetic eyes, and Mr. Yaoyorozu nearly jumped out of his seat. The only one who remained completely calm was Mrs. Yaoyorozu, who simply did that annoying tut, shaking her head only slightly, side to side, as if she was mocking Yosetsu for his outburst.
“See? That behaviour - such crass language, wouldn’t be suitable for a daughter like mine. My daughter deserves someone dignified, stoic, and more importantly,” she took a pause to take a sip from her wine glass, dragging it out as long as possible. Yosetu clenched his fists. “-someone of good stock and birth. So, my daughter is not looking for someone like you, not at all.”
Yosetsu looked down into his lap and clenched his hands tightly. He’d fucked up, he was a failure of a boyfriend, to not get the approval of his girlfriend’s parents, to be this god damn miserably garbage. His cheeks flared up in shame, so embarrassed that he could feel it in his nose.
“That’s wrong-“ Momo tried to say something, but was cut off.
“Be quiet when your mother is speaking,” her father interjected, although he didn’t look happy to do so.
“Listen to your father, Momo-chan,” her mother reaffirmed, and Yosetsu gritted his teeth.
“No,” Momo said quietly, enough to be heard by everyone in the room, slowly standing up from her seat, her fists clenching to the sides, shaking slightly.
“What was that, dear?”
“I said no!” she shouted, pushing her seat back slightly and pushing her fists into the wooden table. Mr. Yaoyorozu seemed surprised more than anything, his mouth agape, and meanwhile, his wife simply looked on as if nothing was wrong. But Yosetsu couldn’t give a damn anymore about them. He was simply focusing now on Momo, and she was so great, so proud of her, that is heart soared upwards and he straightened his back from a slump simply because of the emotions she was inspiring in him.
“Momo-chan,” her father tried to say something, but his voice drawled off into quietness once Momo glared at him angrily.
“Yosetsu is my boyfriend, and I love him, and you can’t just decide to say ‘no’ simply because his family aren’t ‘of the proper class’! That isn’t right!” showing the same fire that she might show when she talked of subjects like hero history or chemistry, but in a different sense, Momo continued, “You’re wrong, and you’ve always been wrong about what I want, about what I need. I want Yosetsu, and there isn’t anything you can do about that!”
“Momo…” Yosetsu said quietly, looking up to her and she looked down besides her to him, their eyes connecting. She seemed to be holding in drops of tears. That made Yosetsu feel like crying too, so he shut his eyes and looked to the side, wiping away at his face to avoid any teardrops from rolling down his eyes. When he looked back he saw Momo was crying, and and he couldn’t help but cry too.
“When have I ever said that I care about what you feel?” Mrs. Yaoyorozu asked, suddenly, and the whole room felt cold.
“W-what?” Momo’s head took a sharp turn to face her mother.
“You are my child,” she leaned in forwards, her fingers lifting momentarily to trace the edges of her wine glass. “You do as I say, you do as you are told, so you can marry in a good family, and continue the family legacy. You do not marry some rice farmer from nowhere, because you are a Yaoyorozu, and that means you’re better than dirt like him.”
“What did you just say?” now Yosetsu stood up, much less quietly than Momo, his teeth gritting as he looked at Mrs. Yaoyorozu with rage. He felt the tears from moments ago go down his cheeks and into his mouth, and he felt the salty taste of them. But he wasn’t angry about the insults at him, no. He was angry at the way that she spoke Momo.
“Is that what you think about your own fucking daughter, like, like, some kind of thing that you can dress up and play any role that you want?”
“It’s not like you can understand the complexities of raising a child in a higher class, Awase-san. It simply is too much stress, and you have to know that we do try-“
“Bullshit!” Yosetsu called out over the table, practically wanting to fling himself over and punch Mrs. Yaoyorozu in the head, the only thing stopping him was knowing it’d probably not be appreciated by Momo, because despite the pure amounts of vitriol that were being felt, it was still her mother.
“Excuse me?”
“I said that’s bullshit!” Yosetsu shouted again, this time pointing a finger at Mrs. Yaoyorozu accusingly. “And you know perfectly well that it is. You don’t give a shit about your own daughter, you just want to push her into a life she doesn’t want!”
“Why don’t we ask her?” the older woman pushed the attention to her daughter. Yosetsu clenched his grip once more, knowing there was little he could do from stopping the shift in attention from him to Momo.
“I-“ Momo looked utterly lost, torn between two different obligations, and Yosetsu hated it because he knew he was making Momo feel so confused, so distraught, and it honestly ate up at him. If only he’d been better, if only he’d actually been proper, if only, if only-
“She never wanted you to be a hero.”
“I- Wha-?” Momo spluttered, an utterly confused look at her father, who had just spoken up with something utterly confusing.
“She wanted you to be part of the business. She never wanted you to-“
“Stop talking, Rikuto,” Mrs. Yaoyorozu’s voice dripped into a melody, glaring at her husband who simply looked down at the table in absolute shame.
“She said, Momo-chan should be a good girl and not go out fighting, she isn’t ready for it, she isn’t capable enough. I said, but, no. My brother said the same. She pushed for it not to happen, she didn’t want it, she tried to stop you from taking the exam to be viable for recommendation. I-“ Mr. Yaoyorozu’s voice hitched, and he himself shook violently. “I’m sorry, Momo. I’m so sorry. I’ve- I’ve-“
“Shut up.”
With a short yet rather loud sound of flesh hitting flesh, Mr. Yaoyorozu’s head moved to the side, a hand mark etched into his face, red. Mrs. Yaoyorozu simply held her wrist, shaking it gently. “What the fuck?” Yosetsu said under his breath, as Mr. Yaoyorozu reared his head back, his hand rubbing his reddened cheek, his eyes wide in shock.
“You’re the reason why I’ve had to take charge in this family, despite my inclinations not to, and you should remember that! You’re too soft on your own daughter, making her go out fighting and behaving not like she should, living out your fantasies of being a hero instead of being safe and sensible,” Mrs. Yaoyorozu sniffed, as she held the top of the wine glass tightly.
“That’s wrong!” Momo shouted at her mother, and Yosetsu felt himself being drowned out in the middle of screams, and he wasn’t exactly sure what was going on anymore. He felt like he was in something that was building up for a while, and his presence had simply been a sort of catalyst to reveal it all.
“I want to be a hero, not because otou-san wants it, because it’s what I want. He’s not the one living out the life that he always wanted through me,” Momo paused, and Yosetsu noticed she was trembling. He put his hand on her shoulder, gently, and looked her in the eyes and she looked into his, and they shared a stare once again. Momo took a deep breathe, and continued. “You are the one who is treating me as a doll, to live out your fantasies.”
Suddenly, the glass shattered in Mrs. Yaoyorozu’s hands, and wine spilled all over the table. Fragments of glass etched into her skin, forming cuts and suddenly there was blood oh god what the fuck what the fuck-
“Shame,” Mrs. Yaoyorozu commented without much emotion, raising her hand and poking at one of the shards of glass in her hand, and then poking at it. “Look at what you made me do, Momo-chan.”
“W-what? I didn’t-“ she hesitated.
Alright, now it was definitely messed up. Yosetsu hesitated slightly, wondering if he had to step up and take action. Mr. Yaoyorozu now stood up out of his chair, taking several steps back away from his wife.
“This is the last straw! Get out! Get out!” Mr. Yaoyorozu screamed at his wife, who had little reaction besides a smug, contemptuous grin.
“You’ve stolen everything from me. My father’s company, my inheritance, my daughter. Now, you want to steal away my home and my duty as a mother?” Mrs. Yaoyorozu said in an unnaturally calm, before taking a plate and flinging it at her husband, who simply ducked.
“What the fuck? The fuck? What?” Yosetsu felt like a recording, but he wasn’t sure what else he could say besides mindless repetition. He just couldn’t understand this all, this vague and uncertain drama that he clearly had no part of.
“I’m calling the police,” Mr. Yaoyorozu said, in a slight amount of resolve that he seemed to lack when this whole messed up argument had begun. Momo pulled at Yosetsu’s arm, and she handed him some cufflinks that she had probably materialized from her body. Yosetsu nodded.
“Do this for me,” Momo whispered, careful to make sure that her mother was distracted with the current screaming match she seemed to have with her father.
“I will,” Yosetsu nodded. He wanted to kiss her right then and there, to hold her and say it would be alright, that everything would be fine, but this wasn’t the time. Maybe later, but not now.
And with that, he grabbed the cufflinks, and jumped on the table, dashing forwards. He felt the tablecloth move behind him as he tried to dig the tip of his feet into the table to balance himself. However, as the tablecloth moved behind him he felt himself fall forwards, but he raised up his arms, and tried to rebalance himself. Mrs. Yaoyorozu looked over at him, and Yosetsu tried to launch himself forwards at her.
With a quick crash, he managed to land onto Momo’s mother, and pushed her onto her back. He quickly grabbed her wrists, trying his best to move past the blood, and locked the cuffs on as quickly as he possibly could. He noticed that her hand’s wounds seemed to have healed rather quickly, with the wounds already healing, but with the glass seemingly being integrated around her hand. He figured it was her quirk, but god was it a disgusting one as he saw skin slowly grow over the glass.
“Call the fucking police!” Yosetsu shouted at Mr. Yaoyorozu, who nodded nervously and ran out towards the door. Momo let out a sigh of relief, and Yosetsu slowly got off of her mother, himself letting out a relieved sigh as well.
Suddenly, the door opened again, and Hoshi entered with a look of great concern of his face. He looked at the scene, the messed up tables, the blood splatter, and Mrs. Yaoyorozu handcuffed on the floor.
“I presume you won’t be having a third course, then?” he asked, uncertain.
Yosetsu started laughing, because it was so absurd, that this all started because of a dinner with his girlfriend’s parents, and it had escalated so drastically. Such a simple question, made him start bawling, because that was all he could do at this point. Momo started laughing as well, and they began walking towards each other, embracing each other, and laughing and crying, because that was the only thing they could do.
- - -
The police had arrived shortly and taken away Mrs. Yaoyorozu, and now they were all outside. An investigator was talking with Mr. Yaoyorozu about what had happened. Many of the servants and staff had been taken out of the large building. But that didn’t matter for Yosetsu.
He and Momo had managed to slip away from the general party that had gathered in front of the home, with permission from the police as heroes-in-training, to get some breathing room for themselves. They were seated a ways away in the forests surrounding the home, in a small patch that was unforested, allowing a view of the bright night sky. They sat on a bench, placed alongside the roads that covered the entire forest.
“I’m sorry that happened,” Momo said after they had sat down.
“Don’t be,” Yosetsu responded immediately, leaning his head onto Momo’s, and soon they were huddled together in the warm night, their temples connected, looking at the stars.
“But I invited you here, and this happened because I made it so.”
“And if this hadn’t happened, how long would you and your father be stuck in such an obviously abusive relationship?” Yosetsu countered his girlfriend, who seemed slightly surprised.
“I wouldn’t call it that,” Momo muttered, avoiding eye contact.
“Then what would you call it?”
“I-“ Momo paused, uncertain. “I don’t know.”
There was an uneasy pause that hanged over them as they looked at the stars, twinkling and vibrating like they did in Niigata. Wherever he was, wether it was at home, or here, the stars at least remained the same. Perhaps that was comforting, in some abstract sense. Or maybe it was all bullshit, and Yosetsu was just thinking too much about it.
“My mother, she-“ Momo paused until she was certain Yosetsu was paying attention, which he did by reaching down to grab her hand. “-she wasn’t the best.” It sounded less of a question, nor something she wasn’t going to continue on, but something firm and something that was certain, not to be questioned.
Yosetsu was uncertain how to respond. “Yeah,” he finally said. “Yeah, I think you might be right.”
They didn’t talk much besides that. Instead, they just looked at the stars.
“Yosetsu,” Momo eventually said his name, and he turned his head around and was caught by surprise with Momo looking straight into his face. “Thank you for being here tonight.”
She then leaned forwards slightly, shuffling her legs to be able to make herself comfortable. Pushing her lips towards Yosetsu’s, they interconnected, and soon he closed his eyes and focused only on Momo - not her family, not his social status, not the stars nor the earth nor anything other than the woman who made him feel perfect.
Finally, they broke the kiss, and Momo smiled as she did. Everything that had happened this night felt a thousand miles away for Yosetsu. They stared into each other’s eyes for a long while longer, not saying anything but embracing each other, supporting each other not through words, but through simply being right there.
“I love you,” Yosetsu said quietly, almost like a whisper.
“I love you too,” Momo said, equally as quiet.
For the rest of that evening, it seemed like the whole wide world was simply the two of them.