It was Saturday morning after the dinner party, and Mei was cocooned in bed.
She couldn't sleep after her nightmare woke her, and fear was grasping at her throat and making her suffocate.
A knock on the door made her sit up, and her mood didn't get any better when her grandmother popped her head inside.
"Mei, get up, it's late already." said Kaede Shinomori.
"Forgive me, grandmother, I didn't sleep well." Mei said, looking down.
"Don't think I didn't notice you leaving the party early, young lady. And taking the Todoroki boy with you."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, we were just--"
"I don't care what you were doing, but need I remind you about how important it is for you to keep things professional with that boy, Mei? You don't want him to end up like Nini, do you?!"
That name was like a stab to Mei's gut.
"N-no, no. Never, grandmother, I'm sorry."
"The wedding arrangement is strictly a means to an end, and that's how you must maintain the relationship between you two."
"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
When Kaede closed the door, Mei fell back into her bed.
A few minutes later, she felt her cellphone buzzing amidst the sheets.
"Hello?" she said, holding the phone up to her ear.
"Mei! Good morning." said Yaoyorozu.
"Hey, Mo."
"You don't sound too good, something wrong?"
"No, I'm fine. What's up?"
"I was packing for the camping trip on Monday, wanna come over and help me?"
Mei wasn't exactly in the mood, but she knew that if she stayed home she would have to hear her grandfather lecture her about the fact that she left the party early.
"Yeah sure. I'll be there in 10."
-————————
"What about this?" Momo asked, holding up a pair of shorts and a shirt together.
"Yeah, that's better." Mei nodded.
"Have you packed yet?"
"Nah, but I'll just do it tomorrow night."
"You're bound to forget something that way, Mei."
"Yeah, but that's why you always bring two of the important things." Mei smirked.
Momo rolled her eyes and threw the clothes at her friend, who folded them and put them in the carry-on bag.
"You never told me how it was with Todoroki last night." Momo pointed out.
"I-- He-- it was... fine." Mei remembered how her heart wanted to fly out of her chest into his arms when he read her his favourite passages from Hamlet.
Momo then burst into laughter.
"WHAT!?" Mei asked, embarrassed. "What's so funny?!"
"Oh god you should see your face, you're blushing so much! I swear Mei, before we got into U.A. I had never seen you blush. Now its like every time that boy-"
"Stop!" Mei interrupted her friend, while she covered her red cheeks with her hands. "Stop, that's not true!"
"Mei, time to stop playing games. You have a crush on Todoroki, don't you?"
"The only crush I have is the crushing weight of my existence...." said Mei, falling back onto Momo's bed. "....and Todoroki."
"I KNEW IT!" said Momo, standing up and dramatically pointing at her friend. Shen then sat back down and poked her friend's face. "But this is a good thing, you dingus. He obviously likes you too!"
Mei's heart sank.
"No, Momo. He can't."
"Shinomori, don't start."
"I'm not starting. I'm ending. I don't want to talk about this."
"Mei, I'm tired of this! Whatever reason you have to push everyone away needs to come out right now, or I will walk away too."
"No, please, you can't--"
"Then tell me! Tell me, Mei, because it can't possibly be that bad! And I can't stand watching you torture yourself like this!"
"I can't. I can't tell you. Or anyone."
"WHY?!"
"You'll leave. Everyone will."
"Mei, what are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere."
"You shouldn't say that. Not before you know what I have to say."
"Mei, you're scaring me..."
Mei took a deep breath and tried to push down the lump on her throat. "I told about my dad before, didn't I?"
"Yeah, once. You didn't say much, though. Only that he was a major a-hole, and you would do anything not to become like him." Momo said, pensively. "Your grandparents also often say that you look a lot like him."
"Momo, do you know how my mom died?"
"Y-your mom?" the girl replied nervously. "She got sick, didn't she?"
"Yes, but it wasn't so simple." Mei shook her head. "My father killed her."
"But... didn't she get admitted into an institution?"
"Yes, but because of what he did to her."
".... w-what did he do?"
"My father's name was Hiroji Kishimoto." Mei said, looking away. "He's been in a high security prison since I was four."
"Oh my god, Mei, I--"
"You've probably never heard of him, since my grandparents did their best to make any trace of him disappear. They didn't want anyone tracing him back to me."
Momo didn't say anything. She just stared at Mei in disbelief.
"His Quirk was known as Parasite. He could control and feed off the energy of people who loved him." Mei continued.
"What?" Momo whispered. "That's..."
"Twisted, I know. The worst part about it is that using his Quirk slowly drove the victims insane. And that's what happened to my mom." Mei tucked her hair behind her ears. "People would slowly deteriorate, and by the time they noticed anything was wrong they would already be lost."
"I- I don't know what to say." Momo's eyes filled with tears.
"Momo, the reason I keep people away is... there is a chance I have this Quirk as well."
Yaoyorozu paused and stared at her friend. Then, she lifted her arm up and smacked Mei in the back of the head.
"OW!" Mei asked, rubbing her head. "What did you do that for?"
"Are you dense? Mei, of course you don't have it! If you did I would be long dead! And so would your grandparents!"
"Actually, no." Mei shook her head. "The Quirk doesn't work on people who share the holder's blood."
"Mei, we are not related."
"That's where you're wrong." Mei got up and headed to her desk. She opened a drawer and pulled out an envelope filled with records and birth certificates. "My grandparents made sure of it when they introduced me to you. They would not have let me befriend someone I could hurt."
Mei gave Momo the envelope.
"What's all this?" Momo asked.
"We are distant cousins." Mei explained, pointing to the records. "Your great-grandma's sister married my great grandfather. Not too surprising considering how freaking inbred rich people societies used to be."
"Wait." said Momo, sitting on Mei's bed. "This is a lot of information to get at once. So, you're telling me your grandparents introduced us because they knew we were distantly related?"
"Yes. I know it's a lot, I'm sorry. They couldn't let anyone get close to me, but they didn't want me to be alone. I was lucky they found you."
"Mei, this is ridiculous. We are so distantly related that there's probably a minimal fraction of shared blood between us. How could that be enough to stop... whatever it is your father's Quirk does."
"Well, we're not sure." admitted Mei. "It's just a theory. We don't know much about the Quirk, since my psycho father didn't exactly give us an instructions manual."
"The fact that I've been fine this whole time probably just means you don't have it, Mei." argued Momo. "Its madness to have you live like this based on a hunch."
"Its not a hunch." Mei looked down at the floor.
"How do you know? Did something happen?"
Mei nodded. "Yeah."
"What happened?" Momo moved closer to her friend.
"After my mom passed, my grandparents hired a nanny to take care of me. Her name was Nini, and she became the only person who was allowed to get close to me. I loved her, Mo, and she loved me too." Mei's voice became shaky and choked up. "We found her hanging in her room only a year after she started working for my family."
"Oh my god." Momo looked horrified.
"I understand if you want me to leave now." Mei said, avoiding Momo's gaze.
Momo was quiet, with her mouth slightly open. She stayed like that for a few minutes, which was making Mei want to rip her hair out.
"Momo, please say something."
"So... you being mean to Kyoka? Monoma? You were trying to save them?"
Mei nodded. "Save them is a strong word. Not kill them is more like it."
"I'm so sorry I spent 10 years thinking you were just an ass." Momo chuckled.
"Well, I kinda am. At this point it's part of my identity." Mei shrugged, smiling.
Momo suddenly frowned. "So, Todoroki..."
"I can't risk it, Momo. I can't hurt him. The effects of the Quirk are irreversible. As soon as he loves me, he's lost. Could happen slowly, take years. But it would happen nonetheless."
"So wait. Your grandparents set you up in an arranged marriage knowing loving you could kill him?"
"I was given instructions to ensure he didn't love me. I was supposed to use him, not be with him." Mei explained. "You know about his parents, right? A Quirk marriage? His father just used his mom for having children. No love. That's what our marriage was supposed to be like."
Momo looked away with a shocked expression on her face. "Wow." she whispered.
"What?"
"This is so dramatic." Momo said. "Sorry, I know this is probably so hard for you, but I feel like I'm living in a soap opera."
Her comment made Mei burst into laughter. "Oh Mo, you're the only one who can make me laugh after all this."
"This is so... wrong. When your dad was out, couldn't people just have been warned about it, so they'd stay away?"
"It's love, Momo. That's what makes the Quirk so dangerous..." said Mei. "Human's can't seem to get away from it... love could be labelled poison and we'd drink it anyway."
Momo looked at her friend with sadness written all over her face. "I'm so sorry Mei."
"Yaoyorozu, take that back, you have nothing to be sorry for! I'm the one who should be sorry. You were unknowingly dragged into this. My family used you, in a way, and it's disgusting. There was a point where I wanted to keep you away too, for your sake. But I was too selfish to go through with it." Mei looked away. "I thought I could just get used to the loneliness. But in the end..."
Momo then tackled her friend into a hug.
"Mei, I love you. Yes, being your friend hasn't always been a bed of roses, but you are my family. I'm so glad I was able to be there for you. None of this is your fault. None of it."
Mei began to cry, and it felt like something popped inside her and feelings began leaking everywhere. She had never cried in front of anyone, so this was a weird experience for both of them.
"Look at you!" Momo smiled, with a hint of tears in her eyes as well. "You're human!"
"Shut up. God, how do people do this all the time?" Mei said, wiping her tears. "It's so embarrassing."
The two girls laughed and held each other for what felt like an eternity.
-———————
About an hour later, Momo and Mei were sprawled in bed looking up at the ceiling.
"I mean, you have to see the irony in all this." Momo argued. "You and Todoroki, both with crappy fathers, attempting to escape the inevitable fate of becoming exactly like them. Except in your case, people can actually die, which kind of sucks..."
"Momo, are you okay?" Mei said, sitting up to look at her friend.
"Yes, of course." Yaoyorozu chuckled. "It's just ridiculous."
"Welcome to my life."
"Mei, you have feelings for Todoroki. What are you gonna do?"
"There's nothing I can do."
"I'm so sorry."
"I'm used to it, I'll be fine." Mei sighed. "And I'll say this only this once, and you are never allowed to bring it up again."
"What?"
"Having feelings for Todoroki actually makes it easier to keep him away. Because now, I care about him. I just want him to be safe."
Momo looked shocked. "My god, you just--"
"Zip. That's it, I said it, case closed." Mei put her hand over her friend's mouth to stop her from talking.
"Mei, there's just one problem..." Momo frowned.
"What is it?"
"What if Todoroki is already in love with you?"
Mei felt a sharp pain in her chest. "He can't be. Why would you say that?"
"I just feel like--" Momo frowned. "I never told you this, but after you guys fought the hero slayer during our internship week, he stayed by your side the whole night after your surgery."
"What?!"
"Yeah. After he got cleared to go home, he stayed in your room with you while you were asleep. When I went to visit you, he was there."
"No."
"Yes, Mei, why would I lie about this?"
"Oh my god. What do I do? Momo, please I have to know that isn't true! Because if it is, he's clock is already ticking!"
"I- I don't know!"
"What do I do?!"
"Tell your grandparents! Maybe they can--"
"If they find out what I did they will send me away or lock me up or something! But maybe it's the right thing to do."
"You didn't do anything, Mei!"
"Yes I did! I let this happen!" Mei stood up and started pacing around. "This is on me, Momo!"
"Okay, listen." Momo said, clearly trying not to laugh. "Blaming yourself won't help Todoroki."
"Maybe I should tell him."
"What?!"
"I just think that he should know if he is slowly going to lose his mind then die!"
Momo froze. Mei was right.
"But then what, Mei? His father breaks off the wedding arrangement, ruins your family, you get locked away, and Todoroki dies anyway."
"But at least there is a chance they could figure out what to do." Mei said, softly. "At least he might be okay."
"Mei--"
"Maybe he's not in love, Momo. Telling him could keep him away." Mei's eyes were sunken and devoid of all light.
Momo was heartbroken. She couldn't imagine going through what Mei was going through. Never being able to allow people to care about you.
"It's your decision, Mei. I'll be here for you, whatever you decide."
The two girls set together in silence for a while, letting the weight of the world fall on them.