Fireworks ~ TodoMomo

||Chapter 13||

The car was stalled in bumper to bumper traffic.

Momo's eyes darted towards the clock on the driver's dashboard. Eight-fifty. Ten minutes until the fireworks.

Her fingers twisted together anxiously in her lap, and Momo drew in an unsteady breath, willing her heartbeat to stay calm. She was almost there. There was no need to panic.

Outside, pedestrians dressed in yukatas and cute summer outfits packed along the sidewalks as if it were rush hour on the Tokyo subway. All that was missing was the train master pushing people into place.

Momo swallowed and turned her attention away. It was only making her nervous.

She ran her hands over her thighs, smoothing out invisible creases in her yukata. In the back of her mind, Momo wondered if this was how Cinderella felt on the way to the ball. Had she been excited, having escaped her evil stepmother's house, or nervous and scared that it would all fall apart before the twelfth chime?

Momo forced herself to lean back against the plush leather seat. If only she hadn't forgotten her phone on her nightstand, she wouldn't be so anxious. At least then she would have been able to text Jirou that she was on her way. She sighed. It had been so incredibly unlike her to forget anything — most of all her phone. But, then again, the whole night had been unusual and so unlike her.

Momo's hands tightened in her lap. She still couldn't believe she had stood up to her parents. And more than that, it still felt surreal that they had let her go. They always were so proper and expected so much from her. Sometimes she forgot that they loved her as well.

The thought warmed her, chasing away some of the anxiety clawing through her chest.

Momo bit her lip. She couldn't let herself get down. She had conquered her first hurdle. She had done everything in her power to make it out tonight; she just needed her luck to hold out a little while longer.

In the distance, a loud boom sounded. Momo looked up sharply, her breath catching in her chest, but the tall buildings surrounding either side of her family's car blocked her view.

Her chest tightened. No, they were almost there! She couldn't give up. She had come so far–

"Young miss." Momo glanced to the front and caught the driver's eyes in the rearview mirror. "The traffic is bad. I don't think you'll make it in time if we wait..."

Momo nodded stiffly. "Thank you for your help," she said hurriedly, opening the car door.

A loud whine went off as she stepped out onto the street, followed by another echoing boom that shook the air and reverberated through her chest like a shockwave. She didn't remember it being this loud last year, but it also meant that she was close.

Momo curled her hands into fists and began squeezing through the crowd. Her heart pounded in time with the crackling explosions.

Oh, how she wished for the hundredth time that she had her phone. Now all she could do was pray to Kami-sama that everyone was at the viewing spot she had chosen for them on the bridge. If she could just get there and meet up with everyone, then everything would be okay.

Her geta sandals clicked on the pavement as Momo hurried through the crowd, apologizing as she pushed past families and young couples. The air was thick with the tang of gunpowder and the heavy heat of summer.

On either side of the street, stalls had been constructed in perfectly even rows for the festival. Momo didn't stop to look at what each booth contained as she ran towards the bridge.

The back of her neck was hot. And Momo could feel her yukata begin to stick to her as beads of sweat ran down her neck. Her side ached slightly, but she ignored it as best she could.

Almost there.

The booming continued in thundering sounds that made her heart race. The sky was dark gray with smoke. Between the buildings and tents, she could see flashes of color as multiple explosions went off.

If it were possible, the crowd seemed to grow denser. She apologized and pushed her way through. Her heart pounded frantically against her ribcage.

Almost there.

Almost there.

If she could just get to the bridge, everything would work out.

She turned around a corner and froze, her chest clenching almost painfully as she stared down the street.

The lights had flickered back on. There was no other sound besides people laughing and chatting happily as they walked towards her.

No.

Momo's knees buckled.

The fireworks were over. She had missed them.

A sob caught in her throat, and Momo swallowed it back heavily as she tucked into a side alley. She walked down the narrow street and slid behind a metal exit stairway, where no one could see her. Then she stood there, feeling empty.

All her efforts. All her planning and praying was for nothing. Kami-sama hadn't been on her side.

She curled her hand over her chest as she drew in deep breaths. The sound of people's shoes and laughter filtered through the narrow alley as the crowd started back towards the stalls and the rest of the festival.

Her chest tightened painfully. Momo drew in a sharp breath and dropped her head to hide her face as her eyes started to burn.

It was from the smoke and running in the heat, not because she was going to cry, she told herself. Ladies didn't cry, especially not in public.

Momo had done her best. She had defied her own expectations and stood up for herself. She had gotten all the way out here, and surely—if she searched—she'd be able to find her friends. They were probably still on the other side of the bridge, just minutes away, still excitedly talking about the fireworks.

Momo blinked as her vision blurred. She wasn't upset. Disappointed, yes. But she was going to swallow her feelings and then go meet her friends. She couldn't let them see her acting like this. She'd only ruin everyone's evening if she did that. Intruding on everyone's happy memories with her selfishness.

Momo's breath hitched. Besides, she couldn't be upset over something this small, it wouldn't make sense.

She didn't need to see the fireworks.

She didn't need to see them with Todoroki Shouto.

She didn't—

"I wanted to see them." She choked over a sob. "I wanted to see the fireworks."

"Then, I'll show them to you," a deep, familiar voice said.