Chapter 24 - CH 19: FIRST DECLARATION OF WAR

A few minutes earlier:

The party was going in full swing. There was a band that was really good.

People mingled and spoke happily to each other. It was a Christmas party.

Momo was with her parents. They wore beautiful clothes made by one of the greatest tailors in Japan. Her mother wore a long red gown with a long slit on the right. It was a very s.e.xy gown that showed her generous curves.

Anyone who saw her would immediately understand why Momo had a body so developed.

Her father, on the other hand, wore a standard black suit with a watch on his left wrist. He also had a pair of rectangular glass on his face, giving him a particularly sharp look. The first time he and Nighteye meet, the two of them immediately become friends.

Despite how they dressed, they didn't comment about her cosplay at all. You could say that they were pretty open minded.

After all, even though they were from the upper class, their fortune came from being heroes generation after generation from her father's side. Her mother never disclosed her past. But she should also have a great origin.

They raised her well and had confidence in her maturity, so they generally didn't impose too many restrictions on her.

The mother looked once again at what her daughter was wearing before grinning.

"So? Did he like it?"

Momo blushed, her mother knew about her feelings for Kuroha. She even supported it. After all, she knew him since he was nine. Momo couldn't hide anything, so she nodded and shyly answered,

"Yes, he complimented me about it."

Cough!!!

The one who interrupted their conversation was her father. He might be a little cool with most situations, but no father would either like discussing about the boyfriend of their daughter.

Momo laughed a little when she heard him coughing. He really liked Kuroha, and would heavily compliment him. But each time he saw Kuroha, he would put a stern face with absolutely no smile.

Her mother completely ignored the interruption and continued

"Why are you still with us? You should search for Kuroha. I always told you that Love is war. If you become too passive, that girl from the Toga family will take your prey."

TOGA HIMIKO. Momo didn't know why, but she always felt uneasy when she was near her. It wasn't just because they were fighting for the same man. No, it was for a greater reason than that.

The first time she meets her, she felt like she was being glared at by a poisonous snake. Even though this feeling only lasted for a few seconds, and it never appeared since then, she couldn't help but feel that Himiko Toga was hiding a big secret.

The moment she began to think of her, she saw her Himiko move from the corner of her vision.

Why did she act as if she was sneaking out? She decided to follow her in order to find out. As such, she gave an excuse to her mother.

"Mother, you're right, I will go search for Kuroha. See you later."

Her mother gave a satisfying nod before taking her disgruntled husband by the hand and dragging him toward other people.

Momo, now alone, took the road Toga previously took herself. After following along corridors, she finally saw Toga back and began to follow her while hiding.

Momo thought that she was being sneaky, sadly, she wouldn't have thought so if she saw the sly smile on Toga face. It was the kind of smile people let when their plan was correctly and successfully being carried out.

----

Present time:

Momo was feeling incredibly awkward right now. While she didn't see everything, she was clear about what happened. She didn't know what kind of quirk Himiko exactly had, but even if it made her need to drink blood, she didn't think that she would do it in such a way with anyone.

In the same way, with how wary Kuroha was of people, she didn't think that their relationship was simply that between friends.

Tears began to gather in her eyes as she looked at the slightly disheveled Himiko and Kuroha who had his shirt wrongly buttoned.

Her mind was a mess. Why did this happen? Did she already lose? What should she do right now? She let a trembling smile as she said

"I-I am so-sorry... se-seem like I disturb-disturbed you."

She couldn't correctly form her sentence. The more she tried to speak, the less clear she becomes.

She turned back, as she staggeringly tried to go away. Sadly, her body didn't seem to listen to her. The more she thought, the more her mind had a hard time processing the situation. In the end, she blacked out and feel in Kuroha arms.

---

Kuroha looked at the girl that passed out in his arms. Frankly, while he was surprised to see her, he didn't have much of a reaction.

It wasn't that he was being cold. It was just that he didn't think he needed to explain anything to her.

Be it Himiko or Momo, in the end, they were nothing more than friends. No matter how e.r.o.t.i.c their relationship was. At least, he thought so.

Still, thinking of the distressed face Momo had when she tried to go away from him made him strangely feel bad. He sighed and took her in a princess carry before reentering the room.

Himiko who had been strangely silent tried to follow him, but a stare from him stopped her. He didn't seem angry, just exhausted.

"I understand your feeling for me. But please, never use such a disgusting move, otherwise, I would look down on you."

Kuroha wasn't stupid. It was only in manga that the main Protagonist would always fell in a situation that caused numerous misunderstandings.

Real-life didn't work like that. The only reason Momo would come to this room was If someone made her come. It was clear who he culprit was.

At the same time, he didn't lash out at Himiko. He wasn't a hypocritical bastard who didn't understand that this situation was born out of his wishy-washy way of doing things.

He wanted to wait, but other people wouldn't necessarily wait for him to make a decision. They had their own personalities. He continued,

"Please, inform her family that she isn't feeling well."

He closed the door as he sighed, seem like the time to make his mind was coming close.

----

Himiko looked calmly as the door closed and keep her out. Frankly, she wasn't worried. She knew how Kuroha worked. As long as she didn't step past the line, he wouldn't stay mad at her for too long.

This move from her may have been dirty, but it was something Momo would have to discover sooner or later. If this knowledge made it so that she backed out, all the best for her. She didn't care about other people's feelings. Only Kuroha mattered in her eyes

Kuroha though that he understood her, but he didn't, at least not entirely. He could never understand how deep the love she had for him was.

Even if all those close to her died. Even if all humanity was exterminated, she would still smile as long as Kuroha was with her.

Since the day they meet, Her gray world truly began to become a colorful world. Every day was full of happiness. She would stop at nothing to keep this new world.

She hummed a Christmas song as she walked toward the room where all the people were. She needed to follow Kuroha order.

-----

A few minutes later:

Momo slowly began to regain consciousness. The first thing she felt was that she was laying down. The second thing she felt was that a hand was slowly and gently stroking her head.

When she completely woke up, her vision was a little blurry at first, but once it refocused, she began to blush, her face becoming as red as a tomato.

Right now, her head was obviously on a Kuroha lap. It was without a doubt a lap pillow.

Her eyes looked at Kuroha who was silently stroking her head. She saw as his hand stilled and he looked down at her with a gentle smile.

"So, the sleeping princess is awake?"

If it was possible, her face would have become redder. She tried to get up, but a simple hand from Kuroha was enough to put her head down on his lap once again. He simply smiled and said,

"Stay like that, you should take a rest."

Momo silently stayed as he said for a few seconds, before saying,

"I should really get up, I don't want your girlfriend to misunderstand."

"Himiko and I aren't going out."

Momo didn't know when her body tensed, but her body suddenly became more relaxed. It looked like his answer managed to calm her anxieties.

Still, this wasn't enough. She opened her mouth, she wanted to say something, but Kuroha put a finger on her mouth.

"Let me speak..."

She nodded, he continued as he lifted his head and looked up at the ceiling.

"Firstly, I am an orphan. Nighteye isn't really my father. My life before meeting him and All Might was... Let just say that it wasn't easy. They saved me from a situation that was akin to hell, for that, I will eternally be thankful to them. But you know, even now, the events I lived back then, let their trace on me."

Momo was shocked to hear this. Kuroha never really talked about his family.

He continued to speak as if he didn't care about her shock. He began to speak about Himiko and their relationship.

"Himiko is a little like me but at the same time different. I won't go too deep but her quirk made life really hard for her. She doesn't need to drink blood, but not doing so for a long time generally affects her mental well-being. You could say that I'm her blood supply At the same time, I'm her friend."

He let a series of chuckles and continued,

"It may be a little arrogant coming from me, but I know how you two feel about me. Frankly, I'm not indifferent towards your charm, but as I am now, I am unable to enter a true relationship. That why I want to ask you..."

He dropped his head and looked at her in the eyes, a soft light flickering in his.

"Please, could you give me a little time?"

Momo was silent, she lifted her hand and cupped Kuroha face before she slowly brought it down before her.

Just as it was a few centimeters away from her, she suddenly headbutted him before pushing him away and rapidly getting up,

She winced a little before saying,

"That was for asking a beautiful girl like me to wait for you because you're too indecisive to give an answer."

She came close to him and raised her hand as if she was about to slap him

Kuroha, who by the way didn't even felt hurt from the headbutting sighed before closing his eyes.

He didn't try to defend himself and simply waited for the slap, but after a few seconds, what he felt wasn't a burning sensation on his cheek, but rather a moist one on his lip.

He opened his eyes in shock to see Momo rapidly getting away from him once again. She put a hand to her lip before bashfully smiling as said

"That was for having shared a part of your past with me."

She didn't say anything before turning back and going toward the exit. Once she opened the door though, she didn't immediately go out, but said,

"I will not simply wait for you. Love is war. No one wins a war by simply being passive."

Those were the last words she said before leaving the room.

Kuroha, now by himself simply sighed. The girls were so troublesome. How could anyone wish for a harem when only one or two girls were so hard to handle? Thankfully, it didn't seem like he would fall into such a deadly situation...Right?

He tough about it, before wiping his sweat in relief. Yeah, he had nothing to worry about. No matter how much they loved him, there no way they would accept being in a harem.

----

The moment Momo went out, she took a few steps out of the corridor before her face suddenly became so red that steam seemed to come out of it. She would have never thought that she could act boldly.

She crouched down in embarrassment as she began to scream in her mind

(KYAA!!! WHAT DID I DO? WHAT DID I DO? HOW COULD I ACT LIKE THAT? DOES HE HATE ME NOW? SHOULD I GO APOLOGIES FOR HEADBUTTING HIM?)

After a while though, she did a complete turn and began to curse Kuroha. About everything was his fault, how much of blockhead he was etc.

She only managed to calm down once she saw two feet suddenly appear in her vision. She slowly got up and put a dignified expression. In front of her stood Momo

Momo, seeing her face, clicked her tongue in exasperation,

"It seems like this wasn't enough to make you give up."

Momo immediately understood what happened. Still, she calmed herself and didn't erupt in anger. It was her fault for following Himiko.

"Yes, it didn't work. On the contrary, it made my relationship with him firmer. I should really thank you."

Himiko controlled her urge to use her knife and stab this c.o.c.ky girl. The tension was growing between the two, suddenly, They took a deep breath and said at the same times

"THE WAR BEGAN!!!"