BnHA Princess and the Pauper AU

CHAPTER 2: THE PAUPER

Yaoyorozu Momo walked through the cobble streets of her neighbourhood, a basket of freshly baked bread in her arms. The weather was a little too cold to her liking, and she hadn't brought a shawl with her, but she endured it a little further. Her workplace was close already, and regardless of how much she hated working in for the snobby Madam Ninel, at least there it was warm, and Jirou Kyouka, her best friend would be with her. At least she won't be suffering alone.

"Hey there, Momo-chan."

Momo gritted her teeth before sucking in a breath to calm her nerves and turned around to give a hesitant smile to the man behind her. "Hello, Monoma-kun."

Monoma Neito was a nasty piece of work in her neighbourhood. With this most arrogant look on his face and blond hair and empty blue eyes, Monoma loved to belittle people. For some reason or another he took a liking to Momo and Jirou Kyouka—and by "liking", that meant constant reminder that they were practically slaves. Monoma liked to think he was above everyone else in the area and disagreeable and sarcastic, and as much as Momo was a normally reasonable person, she was considering creating a Monoma-specialized gag that would prevent him from ever talking again.

Unfortunately for her, the guy could copy any quirk as long as he touched you so he'd probably find a way to counter it. Also, Monoma was a tattle-tale and wouldn't hesitate on telling Madam Ninel. Momo was not necessarily afraid of her, but if she didn't please her boss, she would suffer the consequences (such as locking her inside the sewing room for a whole night and then letting her work the next day without any meal breaks or naps, or not giving her pay of the day). So she had to suck it up and tolerate this man before she did something she would later regret.

Monoma sneered at her and looked down at her under his nose (even though he was shorter by an inch). "What's the little miss doing out here in the streets without a scarf? Are you an idiot? Or are you just purposely showing off your body to all the men here? What, hoping to score a dime with your body? What a whore!"

"No. I simply forgot to take it with me on my way to the bakery," Momo responded coolly while maintaining her smile.

Monoma's eyes seemed to go stormy, though his expression remained the same. "What's with you, talking like some prim and proper lady when we all know you're just some common bitch who's nothing special? Don't make me laugh, you filthy who—"

Before he could finish a hand chopped the back of his neck and he passed out cold. A girl with orange hair held in a side ponytail and teal eyes held Monoma by the collar. The girl smiled at Momo apologetically. "Sorry about that, Yao-chan."

Momo shook her head and returned the smile. "No worries, Itsuka-san. We all know how he is.

Itsuka looked at Monoma disapprovingly. "Yeah, all bark but no bite. Honestly I have to keep him on a leash every time. I don't know why he's so bitter to everyone."

"He doesn't seem to mind you though."

Itsuka enlarged her free hand until it was even bigger than her upper torso. "Nah he's just afraid of these babies. By the way, I passed by Madam Ninel's display—love the new dress you made, the blue one with the ruffles and floral embroidery."

Momo blinked. "How did you know it was mine?"

Itsuka rolled her eyes and waved a hand. "Oh please, who else could've done it, Madam Ninel? She couldn't even sew if her life were in danger! Jirou-chan's designs are wonderful too, but Yao-chan also has her own style as well. I'd have bought it if I could but—" she shrugged. "—I guess our common ground is that we're both broke. Anyway, I gotta haul this guy back to work and slap some sense into him. Again. You better get going, Yao-chan; it's getting colder."

Following Itsuka's advice, she scurried away after waving the orange-haired girl goodbye. The smell of the freshly baked cinnamon buns and egg tarts were enticing and Momo longed for a bite, but Madam Ninel forbade her from eating them, not until her work was over.

She went through the back door leading to the kitchen, placing the basket on the wooden table and rubbing her hands together for friction. Then she shook off whatever dirt her boots might've picked up from the street, straightened the skirt of her dress, and headed to the main part of the shop.

"Ah! Speak of the Dev—er, Angel! Momo-chan, come, come! There's someone who wants to speak to you!"

"Madam Ninel... what is the meaning of this..?" Momo asked, warily glancing at shady man standing beside her (who, in no way, even had the decency of pretending to not ogle her body... specifically her breasts).

Madam Ninel turned to her with a toothy grin. In her hand were a few pieces of silver coins.

Momo had a bad feeling about this.

"Oh, here comes my sweet little angel," Madam Ninel said with a glint in her eyes. Momo's bad feeling increased. Madam Ninel never calls her "sweet", much less "angel". "Here!" She tugged her towards the man (forcefully might I add) and jerked a thumb towards him. "Keep this nice man company for the night, will ya? The poor lad's been roaming from one village to another, says he's been cravin' for... physical attention."

With the way Madam Ninel said it, added to the fact that the man was even more blatantly ogling her, Momo easily caught up what her mistress meant by "craving" and "physical attention".

Shestared at Madam Ninel with obvious disgust and allowed herself to scream, "WHATDID YOU SAY?!"