Rain.
Momo loved when it rained.
A small cafe rested in between the large corporal buildings of Shizuoka, it looked rather out of place given its small, warm, rustic appearance against the monochromatic, glass prisons of the office buildings lining up the streets. The buildings seemed endless and blocked off a clear view of the clouds. Like one large box full of intricate mazes. Momo had grown to hate the sight of these buildings after years of being in her parents' corporal grasp. She felt trapped.
Momo parked her black Sedan across the street and rushed over to the cafe, making sure to not get too wet. Her heels hitting small puddles and kicking up water as she went. Taking hold of the heavy, wooden door, she opened it quickly. The loving embrace of warmth and smell of coffee immediately hit her. The feeling of walking into the cafe always reminded her of why she loved this place. Almost like a wave of nostalgia to her days of college where she would visit religiously for hot drinks and breakfast. Even now she still comes to the cafe frequently just before heading to work.
Momo walked over to the woman at the counter, making sure her back was straight while a gentle smile plagued her lips. She'd gotten to know every employee over the years and enjoyed the company of all of them. To the point where she felt more comfortable around them, than her own parents. Which didn't really count for much but still.
The women at the counter looked towards her. Her face immediately twisting into a larger smile, beaming happily in Momo's direction. "Oh Yaoyorozu-san! What can I get for you today? Your usual?"
"Yes please, how have you been Kendo-san?"
Kendo rushed off to prepare Momo's drink, her usual was a lavender tea which seemed perfect to sit with while watching the rain fall beyond the glass windows. "Coming right up! You can go sit at your table and I'll bring it to you in a moment. I've been good, me and Monoma finally moved in together last week. How have you been?"
Momo's eyes went slightly downcast at the mention of Kendo's boyfriend, she felt a twinge of jealousy through her chest but quickly discarded those thoughts and instead headed to the booth nearest the window while talking back to Kendo. "I've been fine. The office has been more busy lately, my father plans to open a new business across seas so I'll most likely be away over seeing the plans in person for him." She sat down at the booth looking out as the rain hit the glass. She loved the sound of the rain, it gave a sense of peace and a nice ambiance to listen to.
"Oh I see, I'm assuming you won't be at the cafe for a while then?" The disappointment was clear in Kendos voice. "Going away and getting to see a new country for a bit does sound exciting though. Hopefully you'll get some time to yourself to explore a bit." Her voice cheered up a bit at the idea of Momo being able to relax away from home. She brought the raven haired girl's drink over in a take out cup in case she had to leave. Momo had a bad habit of losing her sense of time and often had to leave her cups half full. Kendo quickly learned this and started to always give her the takeaway cups.
Momo thanked her and picked up her tea without her gaze ever leaving the window, her head resting on her free hand. "Yes, but my trip isn't for the next couple of months. I'll let you know when I'm leaving. Knowing my company there will be no chance for sleep let alone time to explore unfortunately." She spoke softly. Her gaze lingered over the droplets of rain falling down the glass while taking her first sip of the hot beverage.
The door's bell chimed as a short, brown haired girl walked in. She was half drenched in water with a large hood covering the majority of her face. Kendo walked away from Momo's table to greet the girl and brought her over to the counter to take her order. The girl peeled off her leather jacket to reveal a hoodie for a band the raven haired girl had never heard of before. As the girl turned around her brown eyes immediately met with Momo's black eyes as a smile creeped onto both their faces. Uraraka Ochako!
"Momo! It's been forever since I've seen you, how have you been? I've missed seeing you around!" Ochako's smile widened as her eyes sparked. She threw her arms excitedly into the air and quickly ran over to wrap Momo in a tight hug. Squeezing all the air out of the taller girl's lungs.
The raven haired girl threw her arms around the girl's waist. "It's lovely to see you, Ochako! I've been fine and busy as always. How have you been?" She let go and gestured for the shorter girl to sit in the booth opposite her. The brunette looked quite different from her days in high school. Her hair had grown slightly longer just past her shoulders and she had noticeably more makeup on. The biggest difference was her outfit, she took on a more alternative style. She was wearing a pink plaid skirt that went just above her knees with black fishnets underneath. Pink platform, heeled boots came up around her shins. Momo got the chance to look at her hoodie better as well. The hoodie was a deep black with the words 'League of Villains' sprawled across the chest, underneath the name was a skull and crossbones. The band's name ran down the side of the left arm as well. Her eyes went back to the other girls face as she thought to herself 'She looks really pretty in those new clothes, I really do have a type.'
The brunette quickly took her seat as Kendo walked over, laying a mug filled with coffee in front of her. She took the cup and started to blow the surface of the liquid to cool it down. "I've been great! So much has happened since high school, I'm heading to a gig later but meeting up with some of the band members first." She took a sip of her drink, her face scrunching up at the sudden burn on her lips. Momo giggled a little while taking a sip of her own drink. "You're working at your family's company, right?" She asked, already knowing the answer.
Momo's brow quirked up. "I hadn't taken you for the kind of girl that went to music shows, sounds like you've got an exciting day ahead of you. Your outfit looks lovely. I'm assuming you're going to see the band of the hoodie you're wearing?" Her eyes once again gazed outside the window before replying to Ochako's question. "Yes, I'm working at their company. I started working right after college ended."
The brunette giggled "Me neither, it's my girlfriends band" She replied while smiling softly down at her hoodie. "She's the lead guitarist, this is actually her hoodie, I kinda stole it for the show." She blushed bashfully while scratching the back of her head with a wide grin on her face. "Thank you, I really wasn't sure about this outfit since it's not really my style. I just know she'll be excited to see me in something like this."
Momo frowned, her brows furrowing slightly while looking down at her cup. Ochakos girlfriend sounded similar to someone else she used to know, the feeling of jealousy was rising again. 'It's been years, I need to stop acting like a love sick puppy. I should have moved on by now.'
"Would you like to come see the show with me later?"
Her eyes snapped up, being pulled out of her thoughts. "No, I can't possibly come with you, I wouldn't want to intrude on your time with your girlfriend. I'm not sure I even own an appropriate outfit for such an event."
"I see her all the time, you wouldn't be intruding on anything. Lots of people will be there anyway, so even if you don't come there will be plenty of other people to bother us." Ochako laughed. "Please come, I'd love to spend more time with you. Maybe we can go outfit shopping just before the show if you really need something else to wear."
"If you're sure then yes, I'll go to the show with you. I should finish work at around 3pm so we should have enough time to go shopping. What time is the show?"
"It should start at 7 pm so we'll have plenty of time to go out and get ready before. I'll be hanging out with the band until half three so let's meet up at 4pm at the mall."
Momo lifted up her wrist to check the time, her heart almost stopped beating when she realised she only had 2 minutes before work started. She looked up at Ochako and hurriedly got out of her seat. "Sorry I have to cut the conversation so short. I just realised I'm running late for work, I'll meet you at the mall later. See you later Ochako, it was really lovely seeing you." She left a few notes on the table for her drink and said bye to Kendo before jogging over to her car.
___________
Momo arrived at the office..two minutes late.
Which wouldn't be a problem if her father hadn't noticed her.
He called her over to his office and proceeded to give her a lecture on being on time or early. That her actions not only reflected on the company but most importantly on her family. That if she couldn't at least get married and start her own family that she at least make an effort to take over the company.
Needless to say she was already sick of today and wanted to crawl back into bed.
She returned to her office and exhaled a large sigh while her body leaned against the door. She balled up her fists before sitting down in her seat and staring down at her computer monitor. She had an abundance of emails waiting for her to sort through and a hefty amount of paperwork. Most of it was to do with the new clothes manufacturer her father wanted across seas. The majority of the work had been pushed onto her and the team she was managing.
'Today's going to be a long day.'
___________
"You look tired."
The raven haired girl looked up from her desk and noticed Tsuyu stood in the door frame, Momo had almost finished the last bit of work she needed to do before heading off to meet Ochako. She gestured for the shorter girl to come in and take a seat at her desk. "That's because I am, but I have somewhere to be after work tonight." She smiled at the thought of going out for the first time in awhile. She usually only went out for business reasons these days.
"Would you like some help getting your work finished?"
"That would be very kind of you if you could Asui-san, thank you." Momo handed the girl a small pile of documents to go through and check. They sat in comfortable silence for a while as they worked on their own tasks. 40 minutes later they were finished.
"Thank you again for helping me." Momo stood up and smiled at the girl as they both left her office. Momo was certain if she didn't have her help today she would have been late for her day out with Ochako.
"It's alright, Yaoyorozu-sama. You looked stressed today, I saw you leaving your fathers office looking upset earlier."
The raven haired girl frowned, Tsuyu had always been very observant but Momo had hoped nobody had seen the incident with her father this morning. She sighed. "I was hoping you didn't see that, I lost track of time while talking to an old friend. He noticed my absence and dragged me into the office first thing." Momo walked into the elevator with Tsuyu following her in.
"You do have a problem with managing your time, perhaps you should set alarms on that digital watch of yours." She replied blankly while staring up at Momo.
The taller girl's head snapped towards the shorter one. "You can do that? I've mostly just been using this thing to check notifications, I wish I knew that sooner!" Momo has never been very good with technology, she can manage her phone and the computers at work well enough but that's where her technical prowess ended. She preferred things to be done by hand rather than letting machines do all the work for her; so she never really bothered to learn much about them.
"I'll teach you how to do that next time we're in the office together."
They exited the elevator and said their goodbyes as Momo profusely thanked the girl once again for offering her help today. They went their separate ways as Momo got into her car. She sat there for a bit just enjoying the quiet before turning on the engine and driving down the street towards the mall. The streets were full of traffic around this time since most of the workers in the surrounding buildings all finished around this time.
After about 30 minutes of being on the road, Momo finally made it to the mall and headed over to the entrance. She realised that she never decided where to meet so she hoped to spot Ochako from the outside. She checked her watch and the time read 3:50pm so she was a bit early. She got her phone out and started to read a book while she waited.
"Hey Momo."
Momo turned her head around and jumped at seeing Ochako right next to her ear, the girl must have snuck up to surprise her. The shorter girl smirked and laughed at Momo's reaction. Momo lightly pushed the other girl away while using her other hand to hide her face as she laughed, blushing at how close Ochako was to her. "Why'd you have to scare me like that? You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Ochako was laughing with her arms wrapped around herself now. "I just thought it would be funny to see how surprised you would get, you seemed a little sad earlier at the cafe so I wanted to cheer you up by making you laugh."
Momo smiled 'It's like we're still in high school together, I'm glad she hasn't changed since then.'
"What shop do you suggest we go to? I'm not sure I know of any stores that sell clothes appropriate for a rock show."
"Just follow me, there's a new shop that opened up that my girlfriend goes to all the time. It's become her favourite place to go." The brunette began walking, signalling for Momo to start following her. There weren't very many people in the mall due to the late time and it being Friday. Most people just wanted to get home after a long day of work rather than go out shopping in the middle of the afternoon.
They eventually stopped outside a store called 'Blitz' a white LED sign greeted them which made for a nice contrast to the black stone exterior of the store. As they walked in the lights were noticeably dull creating a moody atmosphere that went well with the theme of the shop. Instrumental metal music could be heard playing at a low volume from the speakers around the shop. The walls were lined from floor to ceiling with numerous foreign metal, rock and punk band t-shirts. In the middle were rows of accessories ranging from chains to rings. At the far back wall was where the jeans and hoodies were kept.
Ochako gasped from beside Momo. "I completely forgot I had something for you until I saw all these shirts! One second let me get it out of my bag!" The girl started digging through her bag as she pulled out a black shirt and handed it to Momo. "I said to my friends from the band that I'd be bringing a friend that's new to punk music so the drummer insisted that I give you one of their shirts to support the band."
Momo took the shirt from her and opened it up. Revealing the same skull as the one from Ochakos hoodie but instead of crossbones it was wearing a tricorne with a large ship in the background. At the top read the band's name in red lettering. "I love it! Thank you Ochako, tell your friend I said thank you as well."
"It's no problem, we thought it would be better to give you a more personal shirt then just getting any random one. The only thing you need now are either a pair of jeans or a skirt and maybe some accessories. Maybe some sort of jacket in case it gets cold?"
The taller girl hummed to herself thinking of what would look nice together as she wandered around the store. She ended up picking up a skirt similar to Ochakos but in red instead to match the text of her shirt. The brunette then suggested that she either wear tights or fishnets with them. The raven haired girl felt a little too embarrassed to wear fishnets so she opted to wear some tights that she had at home. She looked over at the jackets which seemed to be a mix of denim and leather. After taking a look through all of them she picked out a cropped leather jacket with spikes across the shoulders.
"Maybe if you like the band we can get you a patch to put on the back of that jacket at some point! I think we have a couple lying around at home."
"That would be nice." She replied happily. At first Momo wasn't sure about changing her style and buying new clothes but now that she was out looking at them she really loved the look of everything the store had to offer. 'It reminds me of her, I've always loved her unique style.'
"One second, I think I have the perfect thing to finish off your outfit." Ochako rushed off to the centre of the store and returned holding out a two piece chain. "I think this would look great on your skirt and really tie your outfit together. Everyone loves a good chain."
Momo took the item and inspected it for a moment. "Thank you, I think it'll look great with the rest of the outfit! I think we have everything now so one second while I go to pay at the counter." She walked over to the man behind the till. He was a friendly middle aged man, you could tell he was passionate about music and about working at the store. She thanked the man after paying for her items and left the store with the brunette in tow.
"Thanks for today, I really needed a day out. I don't think |I've been out with a friend for a while. I'm excited to see the band with you later, though I'm not sure how I'll feel about the music" Momo smiled down at Ochako. While walking over to the exit.
"It's no problem, we should hang out again soon. I really enjoyed having your company" The brunette smiled wide before stopping just outside the building's door. "I'll send you the address of the bar in a second, see ya later Momo." She gave Momo a quick hug before running down the road towards a car on the pavement. She turned around and waved before getting inside the car.
___________
Momo arrived at the address Ochako had sent her, she arrived just before 7 to make sure she'd be in time to watch the band come on stage. From the outside the bar looked very out of place, it didn't look like any kind of japanese bar. It looked more like something straight out of the UK as though she stepped through a portal and ended up halfway around the world. At the top the sign read 'The Black Hound' in english. As she walked closer she saw a familiar head of brown hair waiting outside the front door talking to a large man, he was dressed in all black except for his hair which was blonde and slicked back loosely. He was laughing at whatever Ochako had said to him. She noticed that he was holding a clipboard in his hands. 'He must be the bouncer for this place.'
"Ochako!" Momo called out, waving her hand slightly in greeting. The other girl turned around along with the blonde man. She smiled at her before running over to greet her.
"Momo! I'm so glad you came." She grabbed Momo's arm and dragged her over to the man who smiled brightly down at her as they walked closer. "Momo, this is Hawks. Hawks, this is Yaoyorozu Momo, the friend I was telling you about!"
The man, Hawks, held out his hand for Momo to take. She took it and they began to shake hands for a moment. "It's nice to meet you Yaoyorozu-sama, I've heard a lot about you from Ochako today. She won't shut up about you, she's very happy you're here today."
The short girl's face turned bright red out of embarrassment as she hit Hawk's back. "Shut up, I've not talked that much about her!"
Hawks and Momo both looked at each other before laughing at the girls outburst. "Well, it's nice to meet you too, Hawks. I hope you've only heard good things?"
"Yeah definitely only good things, you two should head inside now I think the show's about to start. I hope to see you again Yaoyorozu-sama." He stepped aside, ushering the girls inside.
The smell of beer immediately hit Momo's senses as she looked around the bar. Next to the entrance was a large counter surrounded with people taking up the stools and buying drinks. The lights were dulled, shining a spot on the stage at the opposite end of the building. All the tables and chairs had been moved to one corner of the room leaving an open space for the crowd of people. Around 150 people stood around the space, drinking, talking and laughing together. Waiting for the show to start. From what Momo had gathered two bands were playing together, one called 'League of Villains' and the other 'Hero's prophecy'.
Ochako dragged Momo over to the stage, staying further away from the front but in a spot that still gave the perfect view of every spot on stage. A large banner ran across the wall behind the drum kit of a black pirate flag. As they stood around waiting the lights on stage started to change from white to orange as 6 people walked on stage. The crowd erupted, cheering on the people on stage as they started to pick up their instruments and give them a quick test. Everyone on stage were wearing pirate themed outfits which didn't really surprise Momo given everything she's seen of the band so far. Only one woman stood on stage surrounded by men so Momo took the educated guess that it was in fact Ochako's girlfriend. She was holding up a guitar and she gave it a light strum to check one last time that it was working and in tune. She proceeded to give the man in the middle of the stage a thumbs up.
On stage there were two men on the left holding brass instruments. The one with the trumpet had a white bandana wrapped around his head, holding back his wild purple hair. While the other man next to him held up a trombone, his dark curls were partially covered up by a tricorn resting on top of his head. On the right of them was the girl on guitar. She had wild blonde hair tied up in two buns either side of her head. She was wearing a large red skirt, cream coloured blouse and corset over top. She smiled in Momo's direction and waved at Ochako briefly. To the back sat the drummer, his blonde hair was pushed back and messy. It showed off the large scar running down his forehead. Stubble lined his chin and upper lip. The bassist stood far to the right, his light blue hair pulled back into a half up bun, he stared down at the floor as the lights made it hard to see his face. Lastly at front and centre stood the singer, holding up his own guitar as well. His hair was black and unkept. Strands of hair split off in different directions. Piercings adorned his face and ears. His neck was covered in an intricate patterned tattoo. 'That looked like it hurt.' He was the only one on stage wearing a coat. The frock coat was loose and an inky dark black. He got up close to the mic and started speaking.
"Thank you all for joining our crew tonight, we're the League of Villains from downtown Musutafu. How are you all doing tonight?" He spoke with a raspy deep voice, smirking down at the crowd as they cheered and whistled in response.
"I wanna fuckin' hear you guys joining in with our first song, I know you guys have heard this song enough to know the lyrics so let's get started! A one, a two, a 1, 2, 3, 4!"

A trumpet started blaring, with the guitarist and bassist following shortly after. The crowd erupted once again as the song reverberated across the walls. It was nothing like Momo had ever listened to before. She quickly started to enjoy the song while her face lit up with excitement. After a few beats the singer started to join in.
"The night was dark"
"The seas were rough"
"The port lay straight ahead"
The singer's voice was electrifying, his voice went raspier than before and took on a west country English accent as he sang. Giving the song a real celtic folk vibe. If Momo was being honest, she wasn't sure if she would enjoy being out today or if she would even enjoy the music but she was glad to be proven wrong and glad for the invitation.
"The booze ran out"
"The men grew tired"
"And this is what they said:"
The crowd began to join in with the singer, playing the part of the captain's crew. Ochako next to her joined in as well. Momo wished she knew the lyrics as well to join in with everyone but she was happy enough just watching and listening to everyone else.
"Captain if you cannot find a place to set her down
Then you'll be sleeping right along with this vessel in the ground!"
The instrumental continued as the singer played the guitar before continuing to sing the next lines of the song. The crowd was jumping to the tune of the music. Invested in every note the band played.
"Well the Jolly Roger pulled through"
"And made it to the land"
"We disembarked"
"Went into town with vengeance in our hand"
"The children cried"
"The woman sight"
"The men would turn their heads"
"So with a smile we chanted loud and this is what we said:"
Once again the crowd got ready to join in with the band's singer, only this time a few of the band members also chanted into their own mics as the song reached its chorus. The whole stage was grinning and smiling at the crowd. Enjoying their enthusiasm as the song continued.
"Oh oh
Raise 'em in the air
We'll knock you up
And slap you down
And never seem to care"
"Oh oh
Another one for me
we're the filthy vermin
That will set you people free"
The woman on guitar, walked over to where the singer was standing as he moved over to the side to make space next to his mic. She grinned up at him before her eyes turned to look down at Ochako. She quickly winked and blew a kiss to the brunette. Ochako stood there dumb struck as a blush spread across her face before remembering Momo was standing next to her. Once she realised she quickly threw her hands up to her face, hiding her growing blush. The girl on stage suppressed a laugh before joining in with the singer for the next few lines of the song.
"With nothing left for us to drink"
"The night was windin' down"
"But still the girls kept swaggerin'"
"And still hangin' around"
"Oh! mister can you tell me where I can find a man"
"The only thing that you'll find's the backside of me hand!"
One last time the crowd joined in for the final chorus. The singer pointed his finger at the crowd, his eyes darting around the room, Scanning everyone present, as if he were commanding everyone to join in for the final time. His hand went back to his guitar as he angled his face close to the mic.
"Oh oh
Raise 'em in the air
We'll knock you up
And slap you down
And never seem to care"
"Oh oh
Another one for me
We're the filthy vermin
That will set you people free
We're the filthy vermin
That will set you people free"
The crowd cheered and clapped as the guitars rang out. Congratulating the band for their performance. Despite it only being their first song of the set, the excitement was already extreme. Everyone was smiling brightly, enjoying the atmosphere the band had created. 'This band will be a success in no time, I'm surprised there aren't more people here already'. Momo thought to herself. Ochako turned to the taller girl saying she was going to get some drinks for them.
The singer continued talking a bit before continuing with his next set of songs. Each just as good as the last. It felt impossible that a band like this hasn't already been picked up by a record label yet. While the band played, Momo and Ochako enjoyed drinking together and chatting about the band. Later the band thanked the audience for coming to the show and left the stage, changing the banner and helping set up the other instruments with the bar's workers. Getting the stage ready for the final act of the day.
"What kind of music does Hero's Prophecy play?" Momo asked while watching the stage, getting ready for the next performance. She took a sip of her drink. Not being exactly sure what it was that she was drinking but whatever it was had a nice wild berry flavour.
"Their a pop punk band, we actually went to school with the members." Ochako said excitedly. "Both bands hang out a lot and perform together so I see them play all the time."
"Oh really? Who are the members? Were they in our class?"
"Yeah! I don't think you talked to them much but it's-"
Ochakos next words were drowned out by the sound of cheering. The soft sound of a bass and guitars filled the compact building. The stage was dark as they played. Leaving a sense of mystery to who it could be playing. When the singer began, Momo felt the sinking feeling of recognition slap her in the face. She gasped as her eyes widened and jaw hanged 'It can't be, not right here. Not right now. No, no no.'
"Think of me when you're out, when you're out there"
"I'll beg you nice from my knees"
"And when the world treats you way too fairly"
"Well, it's a shame I'm a dream"
Momo's head started spiralling, feeling sick to her stomach as she stared hard into the darkness of the stage. Trying to make out anything or anyone on the stage. To tell herself that it wasn't actually her. That it couldn't possibly be her of all people. Not right now. 'God, please let it not be her.'
"All I wanted was you"
"All I wanted was you"
As the drums came crashing down, the lights suddenly illuminated, blinding Momo briefly as her eyes adjusted to the influx of white, burning light. She struggled to see for a few beats. As her eyes became clear she saw a purple head of hair staring down at her from across the room making eye contact with the raven haired woman. A look of sheer confusion and anger plastered on her face as she strummed the cords of her bass. An all too familiar bass, the same one that she used to write songs for Momo with.
"Oh. Fuck"
Authors Notes:
This is actually my first time writing a fanfic so let me know what you think, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out but I'm hoping for it to be finished in the next 2 weeks. I've never written a multi chapter story before so this'll be interesting.
Feel free to follow me on Tumblr, I'll probably post updates there. You can find the link to my account on my profile under the websites section.
Thank you to my girlfriend and friend who helped me correct problems and offered suggestions. And thank you to the readers for giving my story a shot and reading it. Means a lot.
Bonus artwork by me :3