The sun was shining with a gentle light. The period of exams was coming soon. Most schools were on holiday. This period was extremely stressful for 3rd-year middle school and high school students.

A tall girl was walking outside on the street. Her long black hair was flowing freely, her large black hat and her beautiful black dress gave her the look of a young lady from a noble family who was walking toward a cemetery.

The way she walked showed power and confidence in herself.

*Cling* *cling*

The light sound of the bell when she opened the door filled the cafe she was entering. On the door, the words Yao-cafe could be seen.

When she entered, she took a look around and was satisfied when she remarked that outside of a single barmaid and a blonde girl, the cafe was empty.

Why would the owner of a cafe be happy that there's no costumer? Simply because she reserved the whole cafe.

She walked steadily and calmly and silently took the seat that was facing the other girl.

The girl in question had beautiful long hair that was well-groomed. She was wearing a hotpants and a red tee-shirt. She added another layer with a black pullover with a red skull painted on the back.

She frowned a little in displeasure when she saw this pull. She knew that it didn't belong to the girl in front of her, but to the young man she fell in love with. Those were his old clothes from a year ago that he had completely outgrown.

While Yaoyorozu Momo watched her old rival silently, the barmaid, without being asked, came and gave her a coffee before walking out and leaving the zone. Now, the only one present was her and the blonde girl, Toga Himiko.

Momo took a sip of her coffee. She liked sweet or tea more, but she wanted to become more mature.

"Hello! hello! Momo-chan!! Why did you want to meet me?"

Himiko began the discussion. Momo frowned. She hated it when this girl talked to her so casually. Momo-chan? Even Kuroha never added a -chan to her name when calling her. Still, she smiled elegantly and said,

"Good day to you too miss Toga. Also, could you stop adding a chan to my name"

Himiko, hearing Momo answer simply pouted before saying with a grieving voice

"But Momo-chan, I thought we were closer than this."

Momo nearly crushed her cup, but she held herself in. She drew a large breath, and then slowly released it. She kept comforting herself in her mind.

(Let it go, let it go. I am a young lady. I must stay calm at any moment.)

She didn't have time to calm herself before she heard,

"Momo-chan, could you hurry up? I have a date with Kuroha today."

Those words made Momo close to the breaking point. She had to give her all to not simply scream and flip the table. Finally, she said with a serious expression.

"Please, stop playing around. It's about Kuroha."

The moment she said this, the atmosphere of Himiko completely changed. There was still a smile present, but if before it looked like a little fake smile to anger her, this one was so perfect and beautiful that it was disgusting.

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This wasn't the kind of smile that anyone could create. It was a fixed smile. The smile of a doll.

Momo didn't seem surprised by this even though she shivered a little. She nodded before continuing,

"Your mask is as creepy as always."

"Who said that this isn't wasn't a genuine smile of appreciation?"

"Don't make me laugh. If I wanted to see such a creepy smile in my spare time, I would simply watch horror movies."

Himiko simply shrugged and stayed silent. Momo didn't it let it phase her. She knew that Himiko was a very whimsical girl. It was impossible to know what she thought. She asked with a little curiosity

"Aren't you tired wearing so many masks?"

Himiko answered with a somewhat emotionless tone,

"If you want to say something and have people listen, you have to wear a mask. In our world, honesty isn't a virtue, it's a weakness, therefore, it's a sin."

Momo sighed and didn't ask more. She knew that Himiko was right. Ordinary people look at the rich and envy them. They don't know how stressful it can. [Trust no one, never give your back to anyone.]

Finally, she decided to speak about her main motives. She wanted advice. But her pride couldn't let her speak about it so directly, so decided to begin with simpler questions,

"If I asked you to give up on Kuroha would you?"

Himiko's sole answer was to look at her. She didn't speak, didn't smile nor did she even blink. Momo, seeing this wasn't particularly disappointed. If it was so easy, they wouldn't be here.

"You know, I have always been jealous of you."

Himiko didn't answer. She simply looked at Momo with a calm smile.

"You are closer to him than I could ever be. No. More than that. You're without a doubt the closest one to him."

Himiko smile this time became a little more genuine. She cared for a few things in this world and Kuroha was the most important.

The more Momo spoke, the more agitated she became.

"I am jealous. So jealous. Why isn't it me? Why doesn't he live me? Even though we went on many dates since our first one, I can feel it, in his eyes I'm nothing more than a very good friend he cares about. Tell me please. Why? "

Momo was really depressed as she said and she sagged a little in her seat.

She still remembered the white-haired boy she met so many years ago. That day, he became her knight in shining armor. She loved him. She became obsessed with him.

But the more she loved him, the more desperate she became. She tried hard.

She changed her style and color of clothes. Her way of speaking and acting. She trained and absorbed knowledge madly in order to become more useful to him.

Despite that, despite everything she did, he never looked at her the same way he looked at Himiko.

Why? What did she lack? Sometimes she even wondered if it was worth it. Why suffer so much pain for someone who didn't love you back? Then, she will meet him and one smile from him would be enough to make all her anxiety melt away.

Himiko looked at Momo. She could see the pain and sadness in her eyes. She could also feel the deep love and devotion in it. But she could also feel the desire to give up...

For a very short moment, she thought of manipulating Momo, crushing her hope. Kuroha was her and her alone. She didn't want anyone else to snatch him. She didn't want to share him. As Momo was right now, she only needed one little push...

But this thought didn't last. She then fell deep in thought. She wasn't swayed by her emotions. Frankly, even if Momo broke down and cried this wouldn't matter much to her. But she cared about Kuroha and his future. Kuroha situation was really dangerous.

Until now no one ever caught them, but anything could happen. At such a time, what they would need would be connections.

The Yaoyorozu was a top family in Japan. Frankly, they had enough influence to sway the government. Such backing isn't something that could be given up.

That's why she decided to give her a way. As it stands, Momo use to Kuroha was larger than her own. She couldn't let her own selfishness harm him.

Kuroha was her world, her everything. If in order to protect him she had to share him or even give up on him, then so be it. As such, she began to advise Momo.

"You see. You went at it wrong."

Momo tilted her head in wonder

"Where did I grow wrong?"

"You changed for Kuroha. You become colder, more serious and more distant to the others. But you see, since when did Kuroha say that he wanted you to change?"

"You mean…"

"Exactly. You basically self-destructed. What Kuroha feels for you right now is basically guilt. Kuroha knows your feelings for him. The more you force yourself to change, the more guilty he will feel. As time passes this guilt will create a gulf between the two of you."

Momo hung her head in shame. Perhaps she was really a little too zealous. Himiko continued with an enamored look on her face

"Kuroha is different from most people. He never judged me, nor looked at me with disgust. He always catered to my weirdest whim and always acted to make me feel appreciated."

"..."

"Someone like you with such a beautiful quirk could perhaps never understand the discrimination some kind of quirk can create. Frankly, if I didn't meet him all those years ago, I don't know what I would be doing right now. Perhaps I would have become a villain."

Himiko said this seriously. Now that she was old enough, she could clearly understand her own tendency.

If she didn't meet Kuroha back then, she wouldn't just be acting as a vigilante. She would be a full-fledged villain. Her infatuation with blood was simply too powerful back then.

Now, though, any blood outside of Kuroha one feels disgusted when she drank it. If it wasn't needed for her quirk, she wouldn't even drink anyone's blood apart from his.

"Your greatest mistake though lay in your lack of understanding of him."

"What?!!"

Momo couldn't accept such words. She slammed the table as she got up and glared furiously at Himiko.

"Calm yourself. True you know some of his habits but that's all. You never really knew what was hidden in the depth of his heart. You never tried to understand his way of life and his pain."

"But I…"

"You want to say that you tried? True. You really tried. Simply not hard enough. You know that he dislikes white. But do you know why? You know that he dislikes hospitals and doctors, but do you know why? Do you know why he was adopted? Do you know what he went through before being adopted? No, you don't… "

"... "

"If you really love him. If you want to be with him, make him reveal some of his secrets. Only people he really trust can do it. If you can't, then you should give up."

After saying this, Himiko slowly rose from her seat and began to walk away.

"Your test is in two weeks. You should try to relax a little in order to avoid stupid mistakes."

Then, as if the serious expression she had until now was a lie, her face suddenly became a little rosy as she smiled brightly and said with a wave of her hand

"Bye-bye Momo-chan. I hope you make progress."

It's with those words, that the girls talk finished.