Chapter 18: Part 2

Momo's residence was bigger than I expected.

Well, I already knew she was rich as hell. But the private gate, the brick perimeter stretching farther than I could see, and the pristine walkway lined with street lamps? That was on a whole different level. 

She led me through the massive front doors into what she casually called The Great Hall.

And that was not an exaggeration.

The room featured a long wooden table that stretched across most of the room. Then there was a chandelier, an actual fucking chandelier, hung above the table. And let's not forget about the stone fireplace built into one wall.

I'm not someone who cares that much about wealth. My family isn't doing too badly, with my dad spending all his time working, he's only just started cutting down on his hours. But this level of wealth is way too much.

Actually, no. 

I do care about money. I'm just criticizing it because it's not my money. I know that once I become a top hero, money will naturally come to me. But even now, I felt way too aware of my shoes on the carpet. I want to experience this level of wealth and luxury every single day.

A maid wheeled in a serving cart topped with an ornate tea set and a small tower of pastries. All this just for a casual work session? I don't even drink tea. But it's probably some high quality stuff, maybe it'll be good. 

I sat down next to Momo, flipping open my laptop while the maid set everything down. Momo thanked her with a polite nod, "Thank you, that'll be all," and the maid bowed before exiting the room.

I looked over at Momo while cracking my knuckles. "Alright, let's get started."

Once my laptop had fully booted up, she took a sip of her tea and looked over. "So, how do you want to approach this speech?"

I shrugged, drumming my fingers lightly on the table. "I've got a few ideas bouncing around in my head, but I'm not sure how solid any of them are yet. I don't want it to come off forced."

"Have you watched any past Sports Festival speeches?"

"Sort of," I shook my hand. "I've watched the events when they aired on TV. But I always tuned in for the competitions, not the opening speeches. Pretty sure I zoned out during those."

"Then maybe that's where we should start. I have a small theater downstairs. We could watch them there, on the big screen." 

Of course she has her own theater. Just another Tuesday for her.

"Nah, this works fine," I patted my laptop.

She nodded, scooting her chair a bit closer to me. "We can look at a few and see what kind of tone they usually go for."

We spent the next hour looking through archived footage of the last ten years of U.A. Sports Festival opening ceremonies, skipping to the student speeches from all years.

They weren't exactly riveting.

Most of them followed the same basic structure. 

A student standing center stage—sometimes nervous, sometimes confident, and sometimes trying way too hard to sound cool. But every time they would thank the crowd, remind their peers to do their best, and end with some variation of "GO BEYOND, PLUS ULTRA!" The phrasing changed slightly year to year, but the structure didn't. Three to five minutes of motivational fluff.

They weren't bad, just a touch too formulaic.

"They really do all say the same thing," I muttered, halfway through another clip. "Change the face and the voice and no one would notice."

Momo nodded. "There's a sense of tradition, but it's a little uninspired, isn't it? They all blur together."

We reached the footage from seven years ago.

It was a sharp contrast. The camera panned to the main platform, where a white-haired girl with a wild grin stood. No formal introduction. No script. Just a single line delivered with fire.

"Try to beat me. That's it."

Then she walked off.

"That's Mirko, right?" Momo asked, a little surprised.

"It is. I remember she won that year."

She leaned back slightly, a thoughtful look on her face. "Well, that's one way to make an impression."

I chuckled. "Seems like something Bakugo would say if he was the one giving the student pledge."

She let out a soft laugh. "You're not wrong."

Unfortunately, it didn't help; it works well for the brash type, the ones who focus solely on strength and battling. That's not the image I want. 

We continued watching the last few videos. After we were done, Momo turned slightly, folding one leg over the other. "So, what kind of message do you want to give? Do you want to model it after the ones we just watched? I think they were a little repetitive, but there's safety in that. No one can really criticize something so tried and true."

"That is an option," I leaned my chin on my fist, "But I want mine to hit differently. I was thinking of mentioning the USJ incident, and talking about how no one in our class gave up after what happened."

"That's a bold angle."

I exhaled softly, putting just enough weight behind the words to sound genuine. "Did you know I was actually considering transferring to a different university after the attack? Shiketsu, maybe Ketsubutsu if I didn't get accepted." 

She blinked at that, clearly surprised. "Really?"

 "Yeah. Our class was attacked. There were real villains, real danger. It scared me. I'm sure it scared others too. But the thing is, not a single one of us walked away. Everyone stayed. And I think that's incredible."

I wasn't being entirely honest, of course. I simply thought it would make for a good topic to talk about that would differentiate me from the others before me.

Momo sat quietly for a moment, then smiled faintly. "You're right. I think that's the perfect thing to talk about in your speech. It's sincere and would really resonate with people. You'd be connecting the speech directly to your class's experience, reminding everyone how serious this is."

"Exactly what I'm going for," I said. "I want the speech to shine a light on our resolve. That even with how terrifying that attack was, every single one of us came back stronger. We're the next generation of heroes, and we won't let them down."

I took a deep breath, closing my laptop. "Anyways, I think that gives me a solid foundation to work off. Something to build around. I've been toying with another angle too. What do you think about giving it a more philosophical tone?"

Momo cocked her head. "A philosophical tone? That's an interesting choice. What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I don't mean going off on some long lecture," I clarified. "Not about being a Pro Hero either. I want to talk about what it means to be a hero, in the broader sense. Like in the service of humanity. That kind of thing."

"Go on." She blinked, intrigued now.

I rested my arms on the table, looking down for a second before meeting her gaze again. "It's not about power. Or costumes. Or being flashy. A hero can be anyone—a teacher, a doctor, a firefighter. Hell, even a regular person on the street who chooses to help someone when no one else will. We've built a beautiful world together, and we've done it by helping each other."

"Hmm… So something about how people find the will to struggle because others stand with them?"

"Exactly!" I snapped my fingers. "That's the perfect way to say it. The will to struggle, and the will to succeed. It's about how success stories are built on encouragement. How many of us stand on the sacrifices of our parents and grandparents. How adversity gets overcome because people cared."

Momo chuckled, shaking her head a little. "You have so many strong ideas already. Did you really need me here for this?"

I grinned. "Of course I did, because everything I just said applies to you too. Your encouragement is helping me create something amazing at this very moment."

She looked away while smiling. "You're ridiculous." 

Then her expression turned thoughtful. "A philosophical speech might be a bit difficult to pull off at something like the Sports Festival. Most of the crowd is there for the excitement of the event, not reflection." 

"True, I'd have to find a way to weave it into the energy of the event."

"But…" she continued, "I think if anyone can make it work, it's you."

I nodded, feeling more sure of the direction. "Thanks, Yaoyorozu. We can call it a day here."

She stood up, smoothing her skirt. "Would you like to stay for dinner? It's no trouble at all."

It was a generous offer, and maybe on another day, I would've taken her up on it just to experience what a five-star meal tasted like. But I shook my head with an easygoing smile. "Thanks for the offer, but I should head home."

"Very well," she walked me to the door.

At the entrance, I turned to her. "Thanks again, Yaoyorozu. I'll handle writing the rest of it on my own. Is it cool if I send you drafts as I work on them? For feedback."

"Of course," she said warmly. "I'd be happy to help."

I gave a casual wave and stepped outside.

This speech is gonna go so hard. I've been thinking about the best way to do it since the moment I got the top score on the entrance exams.