maneuvering through

Snap!

September swept away unnoticed.

And Momo missed more than the view of the spider lilies.

The first week of October ticked impatiently by, it felt like she sleep through the ordeal of switching days. As for her provisional appointment with her agency, her contract was nearing expiration, and Momo was in between introspection on whether to stretch her employment further. The decision would have been easier had she not received a rather tempting and advantageous offer. It was unexpected, to say the least, she did not suppose her six months of service nor the few weeks of her commercial feasible to acquire a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was baffling. Considering the offer had come from a top-notch and distinguished hero agency abroad, the brief yet concise deliberation the offer entails remained in her email, and a hard copy of the offer was now folded neatly in her hands.

Her phone in the other.

"Have you thought this through? Yaoyorozu-san?" Best Jeanist asked, looking up from the sheet of paper she gave him. His office benefitted from the ample light filtering through the drawn blinds, creating a soft slope of rays afloat with dust particles.

Momo vividly remembered the first time she was here alone in Best Jeanist's office, it felt like yesterday.

"I have, Best Jeanist-san."

She smiled off the minuscule sting of guilt, even though she had thought it through, for the past days.

"Opportunities such as this rarely find a Japanese hero's career path. This would be beneficial to add to your work experience," leaning forward, the hero added, " As much as I wanted to keep you here, Yaoyorozu-san, I won't deprive you of a new experience in an entirely different environment. Thrive wherever you are, I say. And if you ever find Japan fitting to your work ethic, then feel free to contact me. I will gladly welcome you with open arms."

"You flatter me, Best Jeanist-san, working with you taught me a ton of things theories can't. I'll be more than happier to return under your helm if you'll have me."

"Of course! Don't hesitate to come to me if the agency abroad wished for something I could provide. They'll be fortunate to have you!"

"Thank you, I'll never forget your professionalism and kindness."

"Wow! Yaomomo! That's... that's great..." Jirou's exhilaration dwindled into a concerned mumble, like her announcement somewhat simmered into her mind while verbalizing her delight. Her brows clashed which pretty much explains how confused she was. And as it fully came over, her expression morphed from puzzled to utter surprise. "Seriously! Yaomomo! Wh--When-why?!" Her frantic firing off questions left no room for explanation, and when Jirou bent and lean closer to her eye level with all seriousness and focus an examiner would her mouth gaped to a question Momo knew was coming, "What about Todoroki?"

"Whatever you do, reflect on it seven times over."

Days following Momo's birthday, Shouto had been around the clock dealing with mission after mission. He surmised he needed to work twice for the plan he have been sheltering inside his head. The---end of his long-awaited six-month is finally at hand. And it wasn't some another yesterday's promise he would just easily shove to the side until ultimately forgotten. He wanted it with her. So badly, like he never had wanted something so devotedly before.

He failed to do so during the night of her birthday, pressing his lips shut at the memory.
He knew she had a lot going on after her conversation with her grandmother and he wasn't a massive idiot to ignore the possibility that it could have been because of him.

Either way, Momo, having been reunited with her grandmother for the first time again after years had been persistently causing a stir in the back of his mind. The grandmother reminded him of his father, at the peak of his ambition to surpass competition. She was someone who could turn the tables in her favor beneath everyone's noses even in unfavorable circumstances.