Eri spotted Momo's red car, though calling it a car was a disservice, as she came to pick her up in a red Maserati, seemingly an SUV, which attracted a lot of attention from students, as Eri could pick out one in particular.
"If you wanted to look at something red you could just look down at your shoes." She suggested, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Eri?" Kota asked, turning to face her, and then instantly turning back to the car, "Yeah, calling that something red is like calling you a mammal. That's a brand new Maserati Levante. It has all-wheel drive, sensors all over the car, a three-litre engine and like, over four hundred horsepower!" He exclaimed.
"I forgot how much you geeked out over cars. Do you know whose car it is?" She asked playfully, wondering why Momo hadn't gotten out yet, though she quickly realised that having a bunch of teenagers staring at her probably didn't help.
"What, yours?" Kota joked.
"Actually yes, Izuku sent it for me" She said with a grin, walking towards the car, with everyone at least maintaining a safe distance to look from afar, well, everyone but a shocked Kota, who ran and caught up to her.
"What do you mean by that?!" He asked, watching as the passenger door opened.
Like a scene from a movie, Momo got out of the car, dressed in a light purple mini pencil skirt, and a yellow sleeveless camisole, taking off her sunglasses, and avoiding eye contact with anyone but Eri.
"Isn't that the girl from that party?" Kota whispered, blushing a little, and not from the sunlight.
"Yup... that's my brother's girlfriend." Eri said with a sigh, leaving Kota standing there with his jaw agape, as some of the other students began to shift their attention away from the car and to Momo herself.
"Hi Yaoyorozu, sorry about this, Izuku's usually not this disorganised." Eri explained, a little nervous standing in front of her now, especially considering the last time she saw her was the first time they'd met, and they'd hardly said a word to each other.
"I know, there's some summer research project with Toshinori Yagi happening, so Izuku asked Mirio and Tamaki to help him with it, otherwise he'd be here too." She replied softly, having to look down at Eri a little, as she was a little shorter than Izuku, who was already a good two inches shorter than Momo.
"Makes sense he'd stay behind then." Eri said with a chuckle, looking up at Momo, and seeing her gentle smile. Her nice clothes, that not only fit her perfectly, but made her look even better than she did at Ochako's birthday. The way she stood, the manner in which she spoke, all of it seemed... so ideal.
"Is that your friend from the party?" Momo asked, looking over Eri's head at Kota, who just stood in the middle of the pavement.
"Yeah, that's Kota, he needs to catch the train home, I'll just say bye to him." Eri said, turning around to face her friend, though once she did, Momo placed her hand on her shoulder and took two long strides towards Kota.
"Hey, you're Kota right? Do you want me to drop you home?" She asked, as all of his friends began to freak out, and even some of the girls in his class began to take notice of him.
"U-uh, ye-yeas- yeah sure, that'd be a big help. Thank you" He said, managing to get his nerves under control.
"Come on in then." She said, gesturing to the car, walking up to it and opening the passenger door, as he got in first, followed by Eri, and then Momo, who shut the door, the teenagers outside of school unable to see anything due to her tinted windows.
"Just type in your address and hand it to Nao-san, she'll take us there first, then we'll go back to your place Eri." Momo said, as they began to drive along the road. Giving Kota her phone, he did just that, handing it to the woman up front, who smiled back at him briefly.
"I didn't know we were running a carpool service" She joked.
"We're doing Izuku a favour Nao-san, it's fine. Besides, don't tell me you'd rather be stuck at home instead of driving your car for once." Momo replied with a giggle
"Her car?!" The kids thought in unison, as they gave each other a surprised look during the conversation.
"Hey it's not every day I get to take her out for a spin, and I don't have much to do at home besides research." Nao pointed out.
"See? This is so much more fun." Momo stated, before turning back to Eri and Kota.
"So, how was your day?" She asked.
"Not too bad, we got some test scores back, and Eri did better than me, again." Kota said apathetically.
"Well that's not a surprise, considering you've never gotten higher than me in anything." She teased.
"I get higher than you in PE." Kota said defensively.
"You also get more injuries than anyone in PE. I don't think it's worth the tradeoff." Eri said with a smirk.
"As long as you pass it's fine, though I'm surprised they have exams like that in the middle of the semester." Momo interjected.
"It's a diagnostic thing, we get put into different classes based on how high we score." Eri explained.
"Ahhh, that makes sense. We never had that in my school, since the classes were really small." Momo replied.
"Where did you go to school?" Kota asked.
"Mustafu International Tech" Momo replied nonchalantly.
Kota just scoffed and laughed, "Yeah right, that place costs two million yen every year."
"Two and a half actually" Momo said smugly, watching Kota's dismissive expression change.
"You didn't meet her properly, did you?" Eri said with a sigh, "Kota Izumi, meet Momo Yaoyorozu."
"Wh- As in the Yaoyorozu family? Like, the big one that's-" Kota exclaimed, unable to control his voice or excitement.
"Yes. I think the car makes more sense now?" Momo asked rhetorically, as Kota just nodded, and looked out of the window in shock.
"This happen often?" Eri asked.
"What? I end up shell-shocking a fourteen-year-old boy in my old babysitter's car? If it happened often I'd be worried." Momo joked, causing Eri to laugh a little, before wincing in pain a little, her hand instinctively going to her stomach.
"You okay?" Momo asked.
"I'm fine, just a bit of a stomach ache, I had Onigiri for lunch and it didn't sit too well." Eri lied.
"If Izuku sticks around for a while I can cook you something when we get home, it's a shame my mother's not in town, otherwise I'd take you to mine." She said sincerely.
"You don't need to do that, I'll be okay." Eri said, watching as they got turned into a massive intersection.
"You live quite far away, don't you?" Momo asked, as Kota was still staring out of the window.
"Huh?" He said, breaking out of his trance, "Sort of, it's just out of the way of the city, so the train is the easiest way to get home. Which works well since my Aunt doesn't get home until the evening." Kota replied.
"Do you usually go out with your friends to kill time?" Momo asked.
"Yeah, we'll go to a mall or the manga cafe, and sometimes karaoke." He replied.
"Karaoke? Do you bring any girls around with you?~" Momo asked teasingly, as that was usually the only reason a boy in high school would subject themselves to karaoke.
"N-no it's not like that, we just like to hang out in the rooms, and it's fun" Kota replied meekly, as his nerves got the better of him, and he couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"S-so, you're dating her older brother?" He asked, as Eri gave him a sideye.
"Y-yeah, I am. Why do you ask?" Momo replied, laughing a little sheepishly, as she caught Nao trying to hold back laughter, able to see the reflection of her face in the rearview mirror.
"Well... I mean, you're you. Why would you go out with someone related to her?" Kota asked, gesturing at Eri.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, calming down as Momo placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Now now, you shouldn't be mean to Eri, what's gonna happen the next time you need help preparing for an exam?" Momo asked rhetorically, before carrying on, "As for why I'd go out with Izuku... I like him, there's not much else to it." She answered, aware that Eri would probably be listening in.
"You like him enough to pick up his family and friends in a car?" Kota asked.
"Of course, I'd do that even if we were dating or not. Besides, Nejire, the girl who picked you up last time, was busy, he asked her first." Momo said.
"He asked Nejire first?" Eri inquired, seeming quite surprised.
"Yeah, I offered to go myself, after all, I didn't really get to know you the first time we met." She replied.
"You went out of your way just for that?" Eri asked, almost in awe of the woman in front of her.
"Like I said, I'd do it regardless." Momo stated as they pulled up into Kota's street.
"Thanks for the ride, I'll see you tomorrow Eri!" Kota exclaimed, hopping out of the car and heading home, as Eri shifted into Kota's now vacant seat, happy to no longer be sitting in the middle, watching Kota walk into his house whilst she put her seatbelt on.
"Your boyfriend seems nice~" Momo teased, as the car gently started rolling.
"Wh- He's not my- Did Izuku tell you to say that?" Eri asked, a little red in the face.
"He didn't say anything specific, just that it's a running joke." Momo replied, grabbing her phone and messaging Izuku.
Momo
Hey, I dropped off Eri's friend, and we're headed home now. Do you know when you'll be home
Izuku
Not too sure yet, I'm working on a cover letter, and all of the stuff I need for the application. Ochako should be home in the evening, she's busy right now though, so it's just you two. How's Eri?
Momo
She's fine, I'm just teasing her about Kota. I'll see you later, good luck with the application.
Honey~
Izuku
We're at the pet names stage?
Momo
I can call you something else if you'd like, sexy~
Izuku
Save it for when I'm back at yours~ Anyways, I'll talk to you later. See you soon!
Putting her phone away with a big smile, Momo turned back to Eri, who was on her phone, as she spoke up a little, "So, how did you do in your exams? I know Kota said that you did better than him, but what did you end up getting?" She asked, wanting to make Eri feel as comfortable as possible.
Eri put her phone down after she was done typing, and put on her best poker face, as her headache which felt like a flicker in the morning had worsened, especially since she made the mistake of using her phone in a moving car.
"I did pretty well yeah, I got nineties and eighties in all of my subjects, but apparently Izuku still did better than me when he was there." She admitted.
"Oh right, you go to the same high school he went to." Momo replied, remembering a little of what Izuku had told him, "Is it weird? The teachers seeing you and remembering him?" She asked.
"A little, yeah. It's like he's still at the school without him actually being there." Eri replied.
"Well I wouldn't worry about it, we had class rivalries all the time, and the competition was fierce. I think for the last year of high school my lowest test score was ninety-four, and there were plenty of hundreds thrown in too." She said, her voice filled with pride.
"Th-that's really impressive... you got perfect scores?" Eri asked, in complete shock.
"You reacted the same way Izuku did" Momo replied, giggling a little, her smile seemingly as bright as the sun outside, "He found it impossible to believe since Mr. Smarty pants has never gotten a perfect score either."
"Yeah same here, getting a perfect score on an exam is like, impossible" Eri said, laughing a little as she spoke, in a state of utter bewilderment.
"It's not hard if you know what you're doing, and I mean, I am pretty smart myself~" Momo said playfully, "I'm sure you'll do the same though, Izuku's constantly on about how smart you are. Honestly, he seems more like a doting parent than a brother." She teased.
"Izuku talks about me to you?" Eri asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Well I mean I have to get to know him, it's kind of how dating works, and you're a very big part of his life. He also refuses to bring up how he met everyone else, just stories from after they were all friends. Plus, I'm an only child, so it's kind of interesting to see his perspective." Momo explained, a twinge of guilt striking her chest as she spoke.
Eri just laughed as she heard Izuku's refusal to tell her the group's "origin" story, "Yeah, I think he'll have the "formal introduction" soon enough."
"See this is what I mean! You both make it sound like a cult!" Momo exclaimed.
"Oh it is a cult. Make sure to drink the Kool-Aid by the way" Eri said sarcastically, getting quite a hearty laugh from Momo, as Eri also began to laugh along with her.
Eventually, they made it home, as Nao-san drove off, and the girls walked up the stairs.
"Okay just tell me how he met Nejire then!" Momo pleaded.
"No way, even if I could tell you, which I couldn't, that's the most boring story of all." Eri joked, opening the door with her keys, and letting Momo in.
"I still don't get why he gave me keys when you have your own." Momo commented, taking off her shoes, making sure the door was locked.
"Because he's paranoid, come on, you're dating him, you should at least know that" Eri teased.
"That's true" Momo replied, sitting down on the sofa next to Eri, looking over and realising she was still in her uniform.
"Don't you want to get changed?" She asked.
Eri sighed, not wanting to get up, but it would be comfier if she heeded Momo's advice, "Fine... god you already sound like him" She joked, as Momo just rolled her eyes.
Getting upstairs, Eri put her school bag down next to her bed, and fell face forward onto her mattress, the tiredness she'd felt all day finally catching up to her.
She could have fallen asleep right there, but the world just had to deny her what she wanted.
Within seconds, she felt the fabric of her clothes pulling at her uncomfortably, and constricting her skin where it shouldn't have been constricted. Right as she felt like ignoring it, her phone went off, forcing her to pay attention to it, fishing it out of her pocket and looking at it, seeing that Mitsuki had replied to her message.
Aunt Mitsuki
Sorry, I'm out of town for the week. I can go with you at the weekend though.
Eri
It's fine, I'll ask someone else. Why are you out of town though?
Aunt Mitsuki
Masaru's parents went to Okinawa, so we decided to see them. Do you want to see some pictures? I'll send them later.
Eri
That'd be nice. I'll speak to you later okay?
As she sent the final message, Eri put her phone down, getting up, also remembering that Momo was on her own downstairs, and she didn't want to leave her alone in her home for too long.
Taking off her blazer, she opened her wardrobe and hung it up. Her shirt also came off, as she finally unclasped her bra, as it almost fell to the ground. Able to breathe properly now, Eri inspected the strap, realising how worn down it was, throwing it at the bin she kept in the corner of her room, though she missed, only adding to her misfortune.
Grabbing a t-shirt and some black leggings, she threw them on and shoved her skirt into a random part of her wardrobe, walking back downstairs, using a hairband to tie her hair up a little, able to feel the wind circulate a little on the nape of her neck, which felt nice.
"Took you long enough, I thought you fell asleep." Momo called out, hearing her walk down the stairs.
"It's just been a long day, plus I didn't sleep too well" Eri said, yawning a little as she sat down next to Momo.
"If you want to nap it's fine, I'll be okay on my own." Momo offered.
"Don't worry about it, if I sleep now I'll just mess up my sleep schedule." Eri declined, trying to find the remote so they could put something on.
"Izuku said you two play a lot of videogames." Momo pointed out, handing Eri the remote, as it was on her side of the sofa.
"Yeah, when we can. He played a lot of this one game, Heroes Justice, with Katsuki, and then as I got older I joined in." She replied, turning the TV on, and flicking through various channels.
"Okay, here's a question. Why is it that Izuku calls him Kaachan, and everyone, including you, calls him Katsuki." Momo asked, her curiosity still at an all-time high.
"It's a childhood nickname. Katsuki couldn't pronounce Izuku, so he called him Deku, and Izuku couldn't pronounce Katsuki, so he called him Kaachan. It just stuck" Eri answered.
"Right, but you grew up with them too, so why don't you call him Kaachan?" Momo pointed out.
"Well... do you want the actual reason?" Eri asked playfully, seeing Momo's face light up as she nodded her head furiously.
"It's sort of like, a pact between them, or like a show of their friendship. There's no one who's closer to Izuku than Katsuki, not me, not Aunt Mitsuki, or Nejire. Even if they don't show it, they're basically brothers. So they use the nicknames as a way of showing that they're still the person who knows the other best." She explained wistfully.
Momo was a little taken aback, as she expected a reason, but not one so... deep.
"Well Katsuki has a girlfriend right? What about her? You're telling me Izuku knows him better than his own girlfriend?" Momo asked, looking at Eri much more attentively now.
"I'd say so, yeah. Even if it isn't the case, it's more so that they're the closest person to the other. It's a big thing for them to use those childhood names... it feels, intimate. That they know the other's real self, how they actually act and think." She replied, her words laced with more emotion and authenticity than she intended.
"Do you think... he'll let me call him Deku?" Momo asked meekly, having done a good job of hiding her insecurity so far, but she wasn't quite as good as she imagined.
"Who knows? If you two stay together for long enough, maybe. But for that, you have to be the closest person to him, and for someone like Izuku, who cares about people as much as he does... It's a lot." Eri said, a faint, yet incredibly prideful smile appearing on her face as she spoke about Izuku.
Momo couldn't help but notice her look, as it was the same one Izuku had whenever she praised, or even just mentioned Eri's name. It was enough to pull her out of her own feelings of self doubt and despair, which were heightened after last night.
"You really admire him, don't you?" Momo asked, breaking Eri out of her trance.
"I... yeah. Sometimes I feel like we're both best friends, and at times I feel like I'm always looking up to him, but... he's my brother. And he's the best brother I could have ever asked for." She said, getting a little more emotional than usual.
"He feels the same way about you, trust me. Even if he hasn't said it explicitly to me yet... he believes in you so so much, and he wants the world for you. Just... don't forget that. It's even rubbing off on me, I feel like... I'm also watching you on your journey, you know?" Momo said sincerely, shuffling closer to Eri during her pause, biting her tongue as she almost went too far with her words.
Eri knew she was trying to be nice, hell, she was being nice. More than nice. She'd picked her up from school, kept her brother company, and was watching over her too.
But she couldn't get rid of that unsettling feeling in her chest. No longer caused by the fabric she had on earlier, it was all internal, and invisible to everyone but her.
"Thank you Yaoyorozu... I'll... I'll do my best to live up to that." She replied, unable to say the word out loud.
If she said it, it would become real. She didn't want that. She didn't even want to acknowledge their existence.
She wasn't ready.
She wasn't prepared.
She wasn't able to understand these... Unexpected expectations.