MHA: Absolute Telekinesis [45] Heartbeats

(Momo POV – Outside Shopping Centre)

A lot of ti had passed while we talked. The sun had long since set before we decided to call it a night. Now we were just waiting for my driver to arrive.

I sneak a glance at Kata, who calmly carries a sleeping Eri in his arms as we stand outside the shopping centre.

"You don't have to wait with ." I say with a smile.

'I'm happy he's here… but he probably wants to go ho too.'

"How could I just leave you alone? At the very least, I should make sure you get ho safe," he replies casually.

I feel my cheeks warm. 'I can take care of myself, you know…' But I don’t say it.

"Thank you for keeping safe, then," I say softly, smiling again as a comfortable silence settles over us.

"...Today felt like a date," I murmur absently.

Kata’s expression doesn’t change at all.

'He must not think the sa,' I think with a bit of disappointnt.

"I suppose it could be seen like that," he says contemplatively. "If it were… would it have been a good one?"

He asks the question, seeming more curious than hopeful.

I open my mouth to reply, but a soft groan cuts off as Eri stirs. Her sleepy eyes blink open, her head still resting against Kata's chest.

'Cute!' I squeal internally, letting out a small giggle.

Despite the noise earlier, she had sohow stayed asleep. But what happens next steals my attention.

Eri blinks blearily, scanning the area before frowning slightly as she nuzzles back into Kata.

"Kata..." she mumbles. "Why is your heart beating so fast and loud?"

I freeze. 'Wait—what?! Is he nervous?'

Maybe she’s just thinks his normal heartrate is fast and it’s not a big deal...

"Isn't my heartbeat normal?" Kata asks, seemingly confused.

Eri shakes her head against his chest. "It's normally much slower."

He doesn’t respond, and my thoughts race. 'Could it be because I said it felt like a date...?'

My own heart rate spikes at the possibility, and I feel heat flood my cheeks. 'Was he hoping I'd say it would've been a good date?!'

Unfortunately, Eri, with her usual impeccable timing, finally notices . Her eyes flicker from confusion to realization... and then to determination.

'Oh no.'

"Is Momo going ho?" she asks innocently.

"Yeah. She'll be going soon," Kata says gently.

Right then, my phone buzzes—my driver’s here. Perfect timing... or maybe not.

"Looks like my driver has arrived," I say with a smile. "I'll be leaving now."

Eri's eyes light up and she waves Kata down to whisper sothing.

"I don't," he replies simply, and Eri beams, turning to .

"Can I get a goodbye hug?" she asks sweetly, her voice small but hopeful.

"Of course," I say, touched by her sincerity.

Kata shifts to lower her, but she tightens her grip, holding on.

A flicker of realization crosses his face—and then he freezes, while Eri smirks triumphantly as she waves over.

I approach, still a bit lost. "How will I hug you if you don't co down, Eri?" I ask softly.

She grins. "Kata said he doesn’t hate hugs, so can you hug us together? I don't want to get down."

Then she leans toward and whispers, "I'm helping you, rember?"

I blush furiously, glancing at Kata. "A-Are you fine with that?"

He’s probably not. He couldn’t be...

"...I did say I don't mind hugs," he says, eyeing Eri’s smug face with suspicion. "... And I don’t really mind."

'Wait… is this really happening? This… this must be what she ant when she said she’d help .'

I did want to hug him earlier—to comfort him after hearing his story, and for… other reasons—but this feels so soon. Too soon?

Still, I look at him one more ti. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" I ask, genuinely worried I'd make him uncomfortable.

He nods, face as neutral as ever. 'Of course he's not...'

I’m just about to step away when I notice it—his neck and ears are faintly pink, and he’s avoiding my eyes.

"Your heart’s beating fast again, Kata," Eri says with confusion and a bit concerned. "Are you okay?"

And that blush spreads.

"I'm fine, Eri," he says with perfect composure.

But now I’m sure—he’s embarrassed.

I giggle before I can stop myself, which only deepens his blush.

With a quiet smile, I step forward and wrap my arms around the both of them and Eri is happily, and gently, squished between us.

She giggles in delight, but my attention stays on Kata. His face is flushed now, and he still won’t look at .

I can faintly feel his heartbeat. It's rhythmic and fast. I find it comforting, causing to smile sweetly.

Worst of all, I can hear my own heart beating just as fast!

And despite the embarrassnt, I try to savor the mont, with the hug lasting longer than it probably should, but none of us say anything.

Then my phone vibrates again, snapping back to reality. I quickly let go, eyes on the ground, drowning in embarrassnt.

"Kata, you're turning red," Eri says with glee. "You too, Momo!"

I cover my face with my hands. 'I’m never going to survive the sha!'

I peek at Kata, and he's watching with a small smile. For a brief mont, it feels like it’s just the two of us.

'I wish this mont could last forever...'

But the spell breaks as my phone buzzes again.

"I guess that’s my cue to leave," I say with a smile, trying to compose myself. The blush clinging to my cheeks, however, refuses to fade.

"Goodbye, Eri," I say softly, looking at the little girl.

She waves her small hands. "Bye bye, Momo."

"And... goodbye to you too, Kata," I add, a bit more shyly.

"Goodbye," he replies. "I’ll see you again once classes start."

Then he gives that small smile again—the kind that makes my heart flip in my chest.

I nod, unable to say anything else, and turn to leave.

"Get ho safe," he calls after .

I glance back and wave while smiling like an idiot, and climb into the car.

And as the door shuts behind , I press a hand to my chest, feeling the quick drumming of my heart.

(Kata's POV – Outside Shopping Centre)

I watched quietly as Momo’s car pulled away, then glanced down at the mastermind behind this whole setup—smiling up at with smug satisfaction.

Eri looked far too pleased with herself.

'Eri can do no wrong.' I thought and sighed as I gently patted her head.

“Let’s go ho,” I said softly, finally managing to calm myself, despite the warmth in my chest.

I hadn’t expected Momo to hug . It caught completely off guard. And while I was definitely embarrassed... I couldn’t say I hated it either.

We started walking when my phone buzzed. I checked it and it was a short ssage from Momo.

Momo:

If it was a date... It would have been an amazing one.

I stared at the ssage for a second longer than I should have, the corners of my lips pulling upward on their own.

Eri noticed. “Why are you smiling like that?” she asked, tilting her head with innocent curiosity.

“Momo sent a ssage. She said she had a lot of fun today,” I replied calmly.

“I had fun too!” she giggled, her smile bright as we headed ho.

(Kata’s POV – Rumi’s House)

When we got back, I had managed to both put Eri to bed and escape Himiko’s relentless interrogation. She was a bit too curious about where I’d been, who I’d been with and especially why I now smiled so much... But I survived.

Now, I stood facing a different kind of problem.

'The Hosu incident is today.'

I’ve already decided I would intervene. Partly to make sure no one dies due to any butterfly effects, and partly because I can let loose on the Nomu.

But there was one problem.

'I can't do anything, legally, without Rumi being there, and I'd need to convince her to go with .'

I looked toward Rumi’s door, just as she steps out, cracking her knuckles, that wild grin stretching across her face.

“I was starting to think you’d run away,” she said, eyes with a gaze promising murder.

'Huh?' Her enthusiasm threw for a second before I rembered what happened yesterday. 'She's holding a grudge.'

“Why would I?” I asked simply. “I’ve got no reason to run.”

“Good,” she replied, her voice low and dangerous. “Because I’m about to give you one.”

And just like that, she lunged.

She ca at like a bullet, aiming a vicious spinning kick at my head.

I raised a hand and caught her mid-air with Telekinesis.

'Actually, this is good.'

“I get why you're angry ?” I say calmly, watching her twist and glare at midair. “I apologize for calling you weak yesterday. I was wrong.”

“Yeah? You think I’m gonna let you off that easy?” she snarled.

I sighed, ignoring her outrage. “You're definitely strong. I just ant you're too weak to beat specifically.”

The silence that followed was... tense.

Then I watched her grit her teeth, seething.

“Let down and I’ll show you weak!”

I shrugged, and let her drop.

And then, I let her attack .

I blocked her kicks with barriers, phased through a few, and dodged the rest. I didn’t strike back even once, which only seed to piss her off more.

After a few minutes, she stopped, looking even more pissed with eyes narrowed. “Why the hell aren’t you fighting back?”

I gave her a teasing smile. “Like I said... you’re too weak to hurt .”

That word—weak—really lit the fuse. She tensed, already preparing to launch herself at again. In so ways, she's really easy to provoke.

“So what if I could help you change that?” I offered smoothly.

She paused, clearly suspicious of . “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

‘She hasn’t lunged yet, which is a good sign.’

“I can make you stronger, if you agree. I did the sa thing to myself. That's how I'm so strong even without using my quirk."

She narrowed her eyes further. “How?”

I gave her the short version, which is how I used my quirk to optimize my body. No need to get into the scientific details or she'd quickly lose interest.

“The only thing I’m unsure about,” I admitted, “is whether your quirk would enhance your new strength as much.”

That caught her attention.

The real question was: if her base strength is 10, and her quirk brings her to 20—does it just add 10, or double it?

“What’s it change?” she asked, arms crossed.

“Just how strong you’d get. At worst, you'll be twice as powerful. At best, way stronger than that.”

She scoffed. “Listen, kid. I don’t take handouts. Not from you, or anyone else. I’ll get stronger my way.”

That feral grin of hers returned. 'Just as I hoped.'

“I admire that,” I say genuinely. “But it’s not a handout. I actually want sothing in return. Also… training takes ti."

She gave a look. “So? What do you even want?”

I exhaled. “To patrol Hosu. I think we’ve got a good chance of running into the Hero Killer, and taking him down.”

Her expression becos contemplative and even slightly excited. “That’s… reasonable.”

“And while you might get stronger through training, it won’t be now. And the internship end in 3 days. If I want our fights to stay interesting for , I’ll have to hold back.”

That catches her off guard. Her eyes widened slightly before narrowing again.

I tilted my head. 'If she refuses, I could find another way, but it’d be harder to convince her to take to Hosu without giving her info about the attack.'

She went quiet for a mont.

Then ca that grin.

'Damn it.'

If she smiles when not fighting, it's never good.

“Alright,” she said, practically vibrating with excitent. “I’ll take you to Hosu, but keep your weird strengthening crap to yourself.”

I frowned. “Then what do you want?”

She looked at like I was stupid. “Simple. You keep coming here to fight, even after your internship ends.”

'So that's it. She just wants to keep fighting .' I sigh internally.

I do feel kind of stupid now. 'I was trying to use reason on crazy.'