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That old hag had no damn idea what she was talking about. Hell, she’d definitely gone crazy. Shit, and Momo was related to her. Did that mean she was destined to go psycho too one day? Momo spat at the sidewalk as the beige exterior of Aldera preschool loomed in front of her. Public school. Disgusting.
Momo’s backstraps steamed as the chauffeur shoed her toward the entrance. Scowling, Momo half-heartedly conceded because she didn’t want the old hag yacking at her all over again. After all, Momo had better things to do than listen to that hag lament. Like watch All Might videos.
Kicking up pebbles, Momo stomped through the doorway. She didn’t have a damn attitude problem. And even if she did how was a small crappy building full of snot-nosed brats going to help? If her private tutors hadn’t been such wimps, they wouldn’t have quit.
The teacher ushered Momo to a small plastic table where a green-haired and a blonde boy were sitting. Bile crept up Momo’s throat as she stared at the green-haired boy. How on earth did someone look so plain in real life? Sure, he had freckles but in terms of distinguishing features that was pretty much it. Hell, he looked like a background character in a cheapo anime.
Not that Momo thought the blonde was much better. The way he kept looking at his shoes and kept blinking all shy made Momo want to punch him. But the hag had threatened to take Momo’s favorite All Might plushie away if she hit any of her classmates. And worst of all the hag had glared at Momo like she didn’t expect her daughter to even be able to hold it together for a single day. How dare she look down on Momo!
Clinging onto a red crayon with a death grip, Momo narrowed her eyes. Come hell or highwater she was going to prove the hag wrong.
The crayon splintered as Momo ran across the page. She kept drawing faster and faster. The green kid was almost done with his doodle of a pro wrestler with the word “manly” written at the top of the page. At least, Momo assumed it was supposed to say manly since it wasn’t spelled like anything in an actual dictionary.
Momo let out a tch as she reached out for the crayon box. She gripped as many crayons as her tiny fists could hold and started drawing with all of them at the same time. There was no way in hell that she’d let that green extra win by finishing his drawing first.
Bang. The sweat that had built up in Momo’s palm ignited and tore all the crayons to pieces. But amid the dust and half-molten wax lay Momo’s finished drawing. It was a tempest of red and orange. No clear lines or direction. Only a whirlwind of sorts. Momo stared at the remnants of the explosion and marveled over how strong her quirk was even though she’d only had it for a year.
Behind her, the teacher trembled a let the dustpan fall. Wearing a plastered smile, she turned toward Momo. “That’s a very nice picture.”
Snarling, Momo sent her a death glare. Of course, her art was great. But was that idiot teacher blind? Couldn’t she see how strong Momo’s quirk was? Why hadn’t she mentioned how impressive Explosion was?
A thud sounded from the other end of the plastic table and the teacher’s eyes lit up like lanterns. The blonde boy clutched onto what looked like one of those Russian dolls. Was that the kid’s quirk? How weird. Scoffing, Momo could envision anyone becoming a hero with a garbage quirk like that. Momo furrowed her brows and felt the sudden urge to burn all the dolls in her mother’s glass cabinet.
“Aww, Bakugo. You’ve gotten so good at using your quirk,” the teacher cooed.
“Thank you, Sensei.” The blonde extra blushed feverishly like he couldn’t quite believe her. Which was fair enough considering how the teacher’s praise was probably empty considering that Bakugo’s quirk wasn’t even half as impressive as Momo’s.
Frustration built up in Momo’s chest like smoke as she stared at her drawing. Her dark eyes burned like coals as they turned toward Bakugo’s doll. Pumping a fist in the air, the green extra grinned at the blonde kid fondly. Huffing, Momo stood taller at placed both palms on the table. She didn’t feel threatened by Bakugo, okay? But someone had to put him in his place before he got full of himself and started thinking his quirk could even come close to hers.
“Don’t think you’ll ever amount to anything with a pathetic quirk like that?” Momo snarled.
The green extra eyed her defiantly. “Hey! Talking like that isn’t manly at all. Bakugo’s going to be a great hero.”
Swiping crayon dust off the table, Momo rolled her eyes. “Like I give a shit about what you have to say. I’m going to become the greatest hero of all time someday just you wait.”
“Not if you talk down on people! Especially one’s who are cool and manly like Bakugo.”
As the green extra crossed his arms, Bakugo tugged on his sleeve and cupped a hand around his mouth. “Izuku, please drop it. She’s right. My quirk really isn’t all that great.”
Smirking devilishly at Izuku, Momo gestured toward Bakugo. “See your friend gets it. He knows exactly how worthless he is.”
“Don’t you dare say that about Bakubro,” Izuku hissed.
The skin around his knuckles hardened as he leaned across the table toward Momo. She almost laughed as she flexed her fingers in preparation for activating Explosion. A defensive quirk, huh? Finally, a chance to go all out.
But then, the green extra paused. He ran a finger over a scar crossing his eyebrow. Then, he stared at his hardened knuckles and flinched away as if his quirk had burned him. Retreating from Momo, the green extra placed a hand on Bakugo’s shoulder and led him toward the playmats with blocks.
Sighing, Momo sunk against the back of a plastic chair. What a letdown. She thought that the green kid would actually be a challenge for once. Sure, beat all the times Momo had convinced the butlers in the mansion to fight one-on-one with her. But that green kid was all bark and no bite. How pathetic. Why had she ever expected anything else?
It wasn’t her freaking fault that everyone else paled in comparison to her. She let a spark crackle on her left palm and grinned in satisfaction over the sharp scent of sugar that filled the air. Yeah, she was going to be number one someday – no doubt about it.
Writing down the equation for nitroglycerin on a sheet of construction paper, Momo ignited it with Explosion. Of course, she stomped out the flame before the fire got out of hand – because she had some damn self-control. Wouldn’t be much of a hero if she couldn’t control her quirk, eh?
As a kid with extended fingers and another with dragon wings, Momo avoided looking those extras in the eyes. Even when they let out an awestruck gasp over the sparks on her fingers she paid them no mind. In front of her, all the children playing with legos and blocks morphed into ants. Insignificant. Worthless. Small.
The opposite of her.
With a deep breath, Momo stretched her face into a manic grin. All she had to do was bide her time. And soon enough she’d be fighting villains or extras that actually gave her a run for her money. God, she couldn’t wait to get out of Aldera.