The title for this chapter won't really make sense until the last sentence of the chapter.
The elimination will be REALLY obvious from the start. Some people in the comments made guesses as to who it might be, and I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that no one guessed it??
Enjoy!
* * *
Momo really should've been expecting her sudden elimination.
It wasn't even all that sudden, really. She'd admitted openly to Katsuki that she wasn't particularly fond of him. He'd taken the news gracefully, admitting he'd only eliminate her if it were absolutely necessary. Knowing his parents, that was probably the case at this point.
The only other people that she thought might not be there entirely for Katsuki were Shoto and possibly Neito, and after the showdown between Izuku, Shoto, and Katsuki, Momo could understand Katsuki's reluctance to send Shoto back home. That left her as the most obvious choice. At least Katsuki had been kind enough to warn her of what lay ahead. It gave her plenty of time to tell Kyoka how she really felt.
"Kyoka," Momo said with as much confidence as she could muster. "Can we talk in private?"
"Sure," Kyoka agreed without hesitation. Momo led her through the crowd, holding Kyoka's hand firmly in her hand along the way. If Kyoka was uncomfortable with the gesture, she didn't show it. Only squeezed Momo's hand comfortingly and allowed the raven-haired girl to lead the way.
As soon as they were alone, out of earshot from any unsuspecting partygoers, Momo turned on Kyoka. She hadn't exactly thought over what she wanted to say—really, she never thought she'd be in this situation. But Momo couldn't possibly bear to leave the palace without at least telling Kyoka this.
"What's up, Yaomomo?" Momo wished Kyoka would drop the nickname—use her real name. She longed to hear Kyoka say her first name, without the additional syllable.
Momo wasn't sure how to answer Kyoka's question. She hadn't thought much past 'grab Kyoka and go', and here she was, tactless and hopelessly head over heels in love with the girl in front of her. Her brain, being the unhelpful thing it was, clung to the phrase 'in love' and refused to let go.
"I'm in love with you."
Kyoka looked as shocked as Momo felt. That was not the way she'd wanted this to go—maybe a build up to those words, at the very least. Confessing her undying love to her best friend without as much as a word in warning? Not her smoothest moment.
"But—but—Yaomomo—" Kyoka spluttered desperately, floundering for the right words to describe how she was feeling. Momo refused to make eye contact. "But, you're—you—you're one of the Elite. You can't be in love with me!"
"I'm being eliminated later tonight," Momo revealed. Kyoka drew in a sharp gasp. "Prince Bakugou warned me ahead of time. I—I wanted to tell you before I had to leave. I needed to tell you. If you—well, I understand if you don't return those feelings. But I couldn't hold it in any longer."
Kyoka's next words were hardly a whisper, but Momo heard them all the same. "I love you too, Yaomomo."
"Momo," Momo breathed her correction. "Call me Momo."
Kyoka grinned, soft and sweet. Momo felt as though she were falling in love all over again. "Only if you call me Kyoka."
"Okay. Kyoka," she added, almost as an afterthought.
Kyoka let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her cheeks flared in an intense blush after hearing her name come from Momo's mouth. Her voice was like silk, smoothly caressing every syllable.
Kyoka felt the sudden urge to kiss her.
Momo laughed, "I want to kiss you, too." Fuck, did Kyoka say that out loud? Midoriya must've been rubbing off on her. "But—well, to everyone else I'm still a member of the Elite. Let's save that for another time?"
Kyoka nodded, then paused, suddenly, a realization coming to mind.
"What's wrong?" Momo asked, concern lacing her tone.
"I just realized—how is this going to work? I live in the palace full-time, now. What if we—"
Momo cut off her rant before it could even begin, "We'll figure it out. I could always try and find a job here at the palace, or in a neighboring village. We could live together—if you'd like, that is."
"Yes," Kyoka breathed, subconsciously tugging Momo closer towards her. "Yes, I'd love that."
Momo smiled, "Me too."
"I love you," Kyoka repeated, one more time to make this moment feel all that much more real.
Momo's grin only grew, "I love you, too."
* * *
Katsuki's feet were practically going numb from all the dancing he'd done that night.
He felt an odd sort of obligation to dance with every member of the Elite that night, leading up to numerous dances with each of them. Neito vehemently refused to part ways at Katsuki's suggestion, leading them through a solid ten songs before allowing Katsuki a break. He didn't mind Neito's presence, but he was on a bit of a time crunch. Telling the blonde man this was the only reason he seemed to let up.
It seemed as though Mina had been waiting for him during that time. She practically pounced on him the moment he was free, offering to go get refreshments together and allow him time to rest his feet. As soon as he felt fit enough to continue dancing, she'd grabbed his arm and tugged him to the center of the crowd, dancing metaphorical circles around him as she tried to lead him through one complicated maneuver after another.
Hanta sought him out afterwards, but let Katsuki off the hook after one measly dance. He confessed to wanting to spend more time with his family—mostly his mother, he'd sheepishly revealed. Katsuki wasn't too upset about the fact—he liked Hanta, he really did, but social interaction of any sort were not Katsuki's thing. He wanted this night to end as quickly as possible.
He weaved through the crowds, ignoring the minor ache in his feet, and got himself a cup of water. Out of the corner of his eye, he could spot Izuku and Shoto happily dancing together. Izuku was horribly off-beat, and Shoto seemed to be trying his best to correct him. Katsuki felt a twinge of sympathy pain for Shoto's toes.
Being the not entirely an asshole he was, Katsuki offered to take Izuku off Shoto's hands—or feet—for a while. Izuku was all too eager to dance with Katsuki, hugging Shoto tightly before grasping Katsuki's hand and making an odd attempt at dancing along to the rhythm of the music.
"No, you dumbass, you're way off beat."
"I am?"
"Yes," Katsuki growled, trying his best to correct Izuku's movements without breaking his own formation. "Just follow my lead, nerd."
Izuku still didn't get the hang of it after that. He was hopelessly doomed to a life with absolutely no rhythm to speak of whatsoever. Katsuki spent more time than he'd like to admit just trying to teach Izuku the basics—a fruitless endeavor.
Katsuki gave in after about seven songs, shoving the greenette into Mina's hopefully capable hands. After explaining how utterly hopeless Izuku was, the pink-haired girl seemed all too eager to show him the basics. The moves she was showing him were anything but ballroom, but Katsuki was too tired to call her out on it.
Ochaco sought him out next. Somehow, she was still so full of unblemished energy even this far into the night. She didn't even bother asking for a dance, just looped her arm around Katsuki's and started dancing. Katsuki joined in after a moment of initial shock, his movements notably sluggish compared to Ochaco's own.
Shoto waved Katsuki away when he offered to dance, to Katsuki's utter relief. That meant he could skip right to dancing with Eijiro, which he knew would be enjoyable regardless of how worn out he was.
His initial thoughts proved correct. Katsuki wasn't sure how Eijiro managed to carry a mostly one-sided conversation and dance somewhat decently at the same time, but Katsuki wasn't complaining. He was perfectly content to listen to Eijiro's rambling about everything and nothing until the clock chimed down to 1, and it was time to announce who he'd be sending home.
"Listen up," he called, voice ringing out clearly across the wide space of the Great Hall. The crowd turned to face him, suddenly at attention.
Katsuki felt bad announcing this elimination so publicly. He could see reporters standing amongst the crowd, cameras flashing in his direction. It was humiliating—not for him, but for Momo. But, after noticing the girl standing a ways away, hand intertwined with Kyoka's, Katsuki had the distinct feeling she wouldn't mind too much.
"Thank to everyone who came tonight. I hope you enjoyed your evening." Katsuki hated talking in this overly formal tone—it was nothing like him. Katsuki felt like he were lying to everyone there. "Tonight, I'll be making an elimination of one of the Elite."
Complete, utter silence befell the room as everyone waited in anticipation for who would be going home. Katsuki took a deep breath.
"Momo Yaoyorozu," he said, the name feeling like a death sentence with how anxious everyone seemed. "Thank you for your time. You are dismissed."
Katsuki walked briskly away from the roaring crowd, the door to the Great Hall slamming shut with brute force behind him.
* * *
Denki couldn't stop staring at his ring.
Hitoshi was still searching for a good place to sell it—one who would buy it for a fair price. After that, they'd buy their way up a caste—or two, if they're lucky—and immediately start saving up for a decently proper wedding. A house was the number one priority, of course, meaning a wedding might be a long ways away.
Denki didn't mind. He didn't care if they got married in some random, dark alley with nothing but straws of twine twirled together as makeshift rings, it'd be okay because his groom was Hitoshi.
When Denki heard those words from Hitoshi—will you marry me—there hadn't been a doubt in his mind when he said yes. Hitoshi was the love of his life, he was certain. He'd be a fool to give that all up.
Aizawa had offered calm words of congratulation. He promised to be there when they did get married, no matter what. Denki had immediately asked if Eijiro would be his best man if at all possible. Eijiro had simply broke down in tears, nodding that he absolutely would.
Midnight and Mina had surprisingly similar reactions to the revelation. They'd both started squealing with delight, pulling the couple into a tight hug and squeezing so hard Denki felt his ribs bend beneath the pressure.
He was so happy. Denki had originally been worried things might've been hard between him and Hitoshi after everything that happened. With them being essentially homeless and struggling to make it from meal to meal, he really hadn't expected things to have gone this smoothly.
Yeah, nothing about their situation was necessarily smooth. But Denki was happy, and he had Hitoshi to thank for that.
Even his utter fixation on his absolutely stunning ring couldn't have distracted him from the sound of Hitoshi's voice. Hitoshi had dashed off only a few minutes before, muttering something about needing to piss. Denki had agreed to watch the stuff, trying not to get too lost in thoughts about his and Hitoshi's eventual wedding.
Emphasis on trying.
Sure, Hitoshi could simply be muttering to himself about this or that. Denki was pretty sure at least half of the Selected had managed to pick the habit up from Izuku at some point, himself and Hitoshi included. Although, this sounded too loud, too clear, to just be muttering. And—yeah, there was definitely a separate voice responding. The voice sounded oddly familiar, though Denki couldn't seem to place where he'd heard it.
He stood, making his way in the direction Hitoshi had disappeared before. Denki doubted this was another Eight coming to ask for some spare food—which happened surprisingly often—since the tone sounded too formal for the usual Eights that came by.
"Iida?" He called in surprise after turning the corner. "Hatsume? What're you guys doing here?"
Tenya rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, offering Denki a curt smile. "Good to see you're alright, Kaminari. Mei and I were just heading over to a neighboring village to find this exquisite bakery she told me about. We're taking a shortcut through here."
"Why not ride there instead?" Hitoshi asked, monotone.
"Mei was adamant against it . . ."
"Exercise is good for the soul!" She insisted, hip-checking Tenya. "Besides, I've been putting on a lot of weight recently!"
"You look great no matter what, Mei," Tenya persisted.
She waved him off, "You're too sweet, Tenya. Ever think I might want to lose a little weight for me?"
Tenya sighed, although he couldn't hide his smile.
"So, you two're a thing now?" Denki asked, waggling his eyebrows.
Tenya blushed, stuttering over his response. Hatsume, completely unabashed, replied, "Yep! We're getting married."
She lifted up her left hand, wiggling her fingers to show off the shiny silver ring adorning her ring finger. After a delay, she yanked up Tenya's hand as well to display his own.
"Nice," Hitoshi complimented, nodding his acknowledgement. "We're planning to get married too, although we're not really sure when."
Denki could've melted into a puddle in the floor right there with how flustered he was. How could Hitoshi just talk about their getting married so casually like that? Denki felt like imploding whenever Hitoshi so much as flirted lightly with him.
"I, uh, think you just killed your fiancé, Shinso," Tenya interjected. What a saint.
"At least I can die happy," Denki squeaked out, burying his face in his hands.
"Wait until at least the wedding," Hitoshi teased, drawing Denki up into his arms for a light kiss to his temple. Denki absolutely melted into the touch, pressing himself up against Hitoshi's side.
Tenya cleared his throat, drawing the couple's attention back to him and Mei. "Well, we should be on our way. My parents are understandably uncomfortable with me being out for long."
Mei grinned, "You two could join us! We're trying to pick out a wedding cake, but you both look like you could use a decent meal."
Hitoshi smiled wanly, "Honestly, we'd probably both get sick if we ate something that rich."
Denki nodded, frowning slightly. "Not to mention, we kinda have to guard our stuff so it doesn't get stolen . . . the offer's appreciated, though! We should definitely catch up sometime, now knowing you two are in a nearby area."
"Of course, that sounds wonderful," Tenya agreed, smile polite. "We'll bring you both back something, regardless. I'll keep it small, however. It was good to see you!"
Denki went right in for a hug, surprising Tenya. He reciprocated nonetheless, awkwardly patting Denki's back. Mei was waiting for him, arms open. He squeezed the girl tight, her giving just as good as she got. It was a testament to just how much weight he'd lost that she very nearly lifted him right off the ground on accident.
Hitoshi offered a mere wave of his hand in lieu of a goodbye. He wrapped his arm around Denki's waist as the blonde returned to his side, kissing the crown of his head. Denki leaned into the touch, waving enthusiastically at the retreating couple as they went.
"Bye!" He called, enthusiasm dripping from his tone.
"See ya!" Mei returned, easily matching Denki's volume and jovial tone.
Hand in hand, Mei and Tenya continued down their path, curving around the bend of a building. With a flourish of last minute waving and a formal, yet final, goodbye from Tenya, the couple completely vanished from sight.
When Denki went back to check on their things—feeling bad that they'd left it all alone even if only for a solid ten minutes—everything was gone.
* * *
I love Momo, but I felt like she was the best choice to eliminate. It was either her or one other person (who I'm not naming because they might be the next elimination) who is still kinda valuable for Katsuki to keep around. Plus, I can finally write open momojirou thank g o d
I was going to end the chapter with Tenya and Hatsume vanishing from sight, but then I just thought 'what if all their stuff went missing' and here we are >:)
Here's the list of the 7 (f i n a l l y) Elite, plus their caste:
Kirishima Eijiro – Seven
Midoriya Izuku – Six
Todoroki Shoto – Two
Ashido Mina – Five
Monoma Neito – Two
Uraraka Ochaco – Seven
Sero Hanta – Four
Next chapter is... I don't even know. I've been so focused on finished Valentine's day I haven't bothered thinking past that. probably just a date, or wedding preparations for either miritama or tenya and hatsume (because I have no clue what their ship name is). I'll have that chapter out on Friday!
On a completely random side note, everyone's been raving about among us and I'm wondering if it's really worth the hype. Is it really as good as I've been hearing, or just kinda overrated?