Chapter Text
Momo woke in a hurry, her body jolting against the chains that held her in her nightmares. It was so real, so visceral that it took her a moment to realize she was not wrapped in chains, but Izuku’s arms. She was warm in his bed, curled up against his chest.
She had never realized just how big his arms were. She was a few inches taller than him, but her smaller frame felt tiny next to him. It made her feel safe, like she could be hidden under his arms.
“Hmm…” she purred like a cat, rubbing against his burning hot skin. In the cold morning, it was the perfect reason to fall back asleep. And she totally could have, even with all the All Might posters staring down at her. But her affection wasn’t unnoticed, as Izuku began to stir.
“Morning.” Izuku mumbled as he woke, looking down at the onyx-haired beauty resting in his bed. It was such a stark difference to his usual wake up that he assumed he would be panicked and flustered, but he found strangely at peace. There was no awkwardness, it was just Momo.
Granted he was still a little red faced when her negligee slipped and her cleavage was largely exposed.
Momo giggled at his flustered face, a sound that could’ve purified swamp water. “It’s okay. You’ve seen… just about all of me already.”
“Well um… I mean… it’s still…”
“My boobs?” She said, her tone causing Izuku to bark out a ridiculous laugh, which Momo reciprocated, sending them into uncontrollable giggles. When one stopped giggling, the other would look at the other and it would start all over again.
“Hey! Hey! It’s early, what’s all the… fuss?” Kei burst through Izuku’s bedroom door, stopping in her tracks as she laid eyes on Momo covering herself with the sheets.
“Kei, it’s not what you-“
“It’s about goddamn time, you idiot!”
“Wha-What?”
“You’ve been gushing about her for months, I was wondering if you were ever gonna court her… oh by the way nice to meet you finally! I’m Kei,” She said, offering a small wave.
Strangely that was what it took for the two of them to turn bright-red with embarrassment.
“Gushing about me? For months…?” Momo tried to keep the school girl grin off of her face as Izuku panicked.
“I-It’s not like that! Don’t make me sound like some creepy obsessive stalker!”
“It’s flattering, doofus, go along with it!” Kei rolled her eyes, “Sorry, he’s new to all this, please forgive his idiocy.”
“Wha- Hey!”
Momo laughed at the sibling banter, her heart filled with a joy she’d never known. No siblings, no parents. Now she had Izuku and, by association, Kei.
“I’m very forgiving,” Momo assured her. “I promise to take care of him.”
“Good! He needs it!”
“I’ve been the one taking care of you, Missy!” Izuku said, pointing to his sister.
“Well duh, but you can’t take care of yourself for shit!” Kei winked at Momo. “Anyways I’ll let you two doves get back to it! See ya!”
“Get back to what?!” Izuku called after her as she closed the door behind her.
“That’s actually a good question,” Momo prompted. “What do we do next?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… we’re S-Ranks now, possibly even XS-Rank if you consider our special abilities.” Momo shrugged, “Kinda feels like peaking.”
Izuku nodded. “There’s always becoming a National-Rank,” He joked, but the sideways glance she gave him sobered up his answer. “UA starts soon. So we’ve got school. Whether or not we’re stronger than our classmates, we’re gonna need UA if we want to start an Agency. Or really just if we want other opportunities in life.”
While UA was a Hero college, graduating from such a place guaranteed you more positions than just at an Agency. It was that prestigious.
“Izuku… do you remember the last time an XS or S-Rank was up for grabs? The agencies started a bloodbath to sign a contract with them.”
Hawks, Miruko, Ryukyu and Endeavor were the most recent S-Ranks in Japan, with Hawks and Endeavor earning XS-Ranks when their Quirks appeared. Miruko and Ryukyu had their own Quirks, but didn’t get rated XS as they just didn’t have the same versatility or raw power as Endeavor or Hawks according to the Hero Safety Commission. Ironically, someone like Nejire had Awakened her powers almost immediately after birth, making her an S-Rank before Endeavor, something that no doubt pissed him off.
But when those four appeared, it was, as Momo said, a bloodbath. Many Agency members quite literally came to blows trying to recruit them. In the end, only Ryukyu and Hawks were signed to Agencies. With Ryukyu fittingly part of the Wyrm Agency, and Hawks becoming part of the less excitingly named Raider Agency.
Miruko went on to become a solo Hero, filling gaps in Raiding parties whenever they needed someone, and Endeavor starting his own Agency named after himself.
“Two XS-Ranks that are a pair?” Momo shook her head. “We could extort any contract we wanted out of any Agency!”
“Extort?” Izuku asked with a teasing smirk.
“Hey I’ve taken business classes, I know how this works.”
“Well, we are the first XS-Ranks to appear in a couple of years, it would definitely cause a big stir.”
Even if the two were rated as S-Rank, which was unlikely, but possible, it wouldn’t matter. Japan had plenty of S-Ranks, a few XS-Ranks, and even a National-Rank in the form of All Might. Compared to some other countries, they were “stacked” so to speak. South Korea only had a few S-Ranks and only one of them stood a chance of going toe-to-toe with someone like Endeavor. That being the Blade Dancer herself, Cha Hae-In.
Even with all of that, S-Ranks were still Gods amongst the populace and the Agencies. An S-Rank like Nejire would get scooped up the second she was out of UA, without a doubt. There were more Gates to handle then there were competent Heroes, always, which meant a country never had too many Heroes of high ranking.
“It’s up to you,” Momo said.
“Are you kidding? We’re partners, we decide on it together.”
Momo laid a hand on his chest, leaning onto her pillow. “Izuku, for the first time in 18 years, I don’t dread tomorrow. I’m happy to move forwards in whatever direction, just so long as I get to stay with you.”
Izuku couldn’t help the dumb grin that spread across his face. “Okay. Then in that case, I kinda want to go back to school.” Having barely passed high school, Izuku felt like this was a chance to redeem his education, and go beyond just getting by. “Besides, it'll give us access to plenty of Gates on its own.”
Momo nodded. “Great! I never really got to enjoy school before, so this’ll be a fun experience!”
Izuku chuckled, “Same. Too busy taking care of that crazy girl.”
“You two seem close.”
“Sometimes I think she looks out for me more than I look out for her.” Izuku sighed. “At least now I don’t have to worry about money. Can finally catch up on medical bills.” He scratched his head. “I haven’t visited my mother in a while… things have been so crazy. Do you mind if I head out to see her?”
“Would it be… okay if I come with you?” Momo asked.
“I don’t think there will ever be a time I say no to that question,” He joked, waving his hand to pull up the System. “I guess we’re really sharing the System now, huh?”
Momo didn’t have a Stat page of her own. It seemed that she shared the same boosts and Stats as Izuku, aside from maybe his armor, but it was hard to tell without the System clarifying for them. Not much had actually changed in the System, except for the addition of one Quirk and one Skill.
*******
[Skill: Shadow Empress]
- Job Specific Skill
- Mana Cost: Dependent on how much damage the Shadows need to regenerate.
- Description: Momo Yaoyorozu has now been truly integrated into the System. She can call upon Shadow Soldiers and command them as she sees fit. If a Shadow is given conflicting orders by both the Empress and the Monarch, the Monarch’s order will take priority. She can also use her Mana to help Shadows regenerate. She will benefit from all baseline Stats of the Monarch, but will not receive weapon or armor buffs unless the Empress herself is wearing them.
*******
[Quirk: Shadow Genesis]
- Quirk Class: XS-Rank
- Cost: Mana cost varies based on the things created or modified. Can create non-magical items with very little Mana or can create potent magical items with a high Mana cost.
- Description: Can create anything so long as the user knows the chemical composition. Can create temporary Shadows to fight alongside the user. Shadows will constantly consume Mana and will fade once the user stops feeding them Mana. Shadows created this way are apart of the System but are not permanent, nor can they be stored with Shadow Extraction. User can also use Mana to modify and enhance existing Shadows once per week. This change can be reversed.
*******
“Well that clears up the armor thing,” Izuku said, looking over the Shadow Empress Skill.
“Modify and enhance Shadows?” Momo read out. “Now that’s something we have to try, right now.”
“Igris,” Izuku called out, causing the Shadow Knight to appear at the foot of their bed, kneeling, obviously. He held his fist to his heart, then pointed to Momo, mimicking the same action he had done when Izuku had first met him.
Izuku grinned, “It means he likes you.”
“Uhm… maybe we should test this out on a different Shadow first, maybe one that isn’t so important? If I screw it up…”
“Then you can reverse it,” Izuku pointed out. “Also, he’s kinda the unofficial leader of the Shadows, I feel like he should get the first modification.” Arguably, Tusk was the strongest, thanks to his many spells, but Izuku trusted Igris more. He had helped him deal the final blow on Tusk and in such perfect sync that it only felt right that Igris became the head of the Shadow Army. Also the modification had a cooldown of a whole week, so he’d rather it start with the strongest, rather than test it on the weakest.
Igris rose from his position to kneel once more at Momo’s bedside, offering his hand, palm up, for her to take.
“A-Are you sure about this?” She asked, directing the question at Igris. It made Izuku happy to see her ask Igris rather than himself. An army with no compassion was no army at all.
Igris nodded deeply, so Momo took a breath and placed her hand atop Igris’s palm, concentrating her Skill.
[Shadow Igris is being augmented by the Shadow Empress.]
The alert came as Igris’s shadowy body became an amorphous blob, his armor and mass shifting as Momo closed her eyes, imagining his enhancements.
The inky splotches began to harden, coalescing back together into the general shape of Igris. But it was different, sharper, more angular, almost geometrical. The lines of green energy running through him were no longer wild and wispy, but perfectly straight lines that accented his body well. His cape still flowed like a cloud of shadows, but his body was made anew.
[Igris has become, Mechanized Knight, Igris Lvl. 17 - Captain Grade.]
Igris now, for all intents and purposes, looked like a robotic version of his past self. Still noble in appearance, but sleek in his strength and speed.
“Captain Grade, so that’s gotta be like high S-Rank,” Izuku mused, looking over his new Shadow, who was also admiring his body. “You did great!” He said, praising Momo’s efforts, to which she smiled back, happy that nothing went wrong.
“I can’t believe it takes a week to be able to do that again,” She said, looking exhilarated by her success, almost like it had refreshed her spirit.
“Well it would be pretty broken if you could just upgrade him continuously, I suppose.” And it was already an understatement to call Momo “broken.”
With her new baseline Stats thanks to the System, as well as Skills, increased Quirk output and versatility, and interactions with the Shadows, she was possibly stronger than Izuku.
“Wanna arm wrestle?” Izuku asked out of curiosity.
“Uhhh, sure?” Momo said, holding up her arm. She had no idea where the question came from, but Izuku rarely did such things for no reason.
Izuku quickly unequipped his armor and took her hand. She went at it with full force, but Izuku didn’t have to exert all that much effort to hold her back.
“So it seems like the System is differentiating us. I’m more of a melee fighter and you’re more ranged.”
Momo rubbed her wrist. “Seriously? That’s what you wanted to check?” She asked with a teasing smile. Her head then whipped through the air, aiming itself at the hallways of the apartment complex. “Wow… is this what it’s like with the Sense Stat?”
“Yeah, if you focus you can kinda hear everything.”
Momo must’ve been hearing the same thing as Izuku, a man walking towards their unit, repeating something to himself, including Momo’s full name. The only reason they didn’t panic was that the man had no magic at all. He was as normal as they came.
“Hmm… business suit…” Momo muttered.
“You can tell what he’s wearing?” Izuku was flabbergasted, as he’d never been able to discern details like that.
“The way the fabric moves and rubs against itself. My Quirk revolves around materials and their composition. I spent a lot of time learning things like this,” Momo hopped out of bed, Izuku instinctively averting his eyes as her negligee shifted just enough to see her undergarments.
She laughed. “You can look now.”
When Izuku regained his confidence, he turned to see Momo dressed in a stylish, black off-shoulder shirt and a long red frilly skirt. She was already tying up her hair as well, whilst Izuku hadn’t even gotten out of bed.
“He’ll be at the door soon,” She cautioned, grabbing a few things from his closet and tossing them at him. They were more coordinated than the clothes he usually picked out for himself.
“Izuku!” Kei called out as knuckles rapped against their apartment door.
“Coming!” He shouted, pulling on his pants as he hopped out of his bedroom.
“I’m looking for a Momo Yaoyorozu? I was told by Miss… er… I was told by Nejire-Chan I could find you here.”
“Yes, I’m her,” Momo responded as Izuku came around the corner to see a sharply dressed man holding a briefcase. He sported snow-white hair and cool-gray eyes.
“I am Natsuo Todoroki. I was asked by my father, who was a friend of your parents, to deliver you their will.”