Before you get into this chapter, you should probably know that I've gone back and edited all of the existing chapters, to the point that the word count prior to posting this chapter has jumped from 52,489 words to 66,343 words. That's... not a small amount of change. Some chapters have scenes swapped, some chapters have new scenes, all chapters have expanded scenes. All Might tries to lift Stormbreaker at one point. All kinds of fun stuff. Highly recommend that you go back to the beginning and poke through the story anew but your mileage may vary.


Joe's Note: This is another chapter that is new to the third revision of this story, like Chapter 9's exploration of Izuku's powers. I decided that given the hate that Momo got in the second revision, I definitely wanted to double down on what I'd done to her character and explore her more thoroughly. So this chapter was born. If you're at all curious - or more accurately, have been since her first appearance back in Chapter 3 - Inazuma is a 'stage name' for the particular maid and is literally the Japanese word for lightning, specifically lightning that strikes the ground. And before you can ask, the new maid debuting in this chapter's name means 'panther queen', while the real name that she provides Momo with means 'she who is educated' in Xhosa. Etymology has always been a subject that I've loved, and coming up with names for new characters is one of my favorite things about the world building process.
Dedications & Thanks: To Nicholas, Howard, Jade, Alexander, Tibor, Alonsis2, Daniel, Clark, Adrien, erlking, ridillin, Haematite, Charles, Jacky, Edward, Andrew, Roofcrawler, Wil, PbookR, Samuel, Mikey, Beverly, Daniel, Charles, Crygon20, Subtle, Christopher, Stephen, Fablesrogue, Morgan, Joseph, Jason, RileyWestfall, bloodylord, Marc, Ziryo, Chris, George, Koby, William, Devin, JJbelle, David, Gavin, TheTenthAncestor, Lookshy, Mauday, John, Roman, Warren, and Jess for sponsoring me on Patre0n, and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing.


"Imibuliso!"

Momo slowly looked from the waitress standing in front of them to where Izuku was smiling at her encouragingly and then back to the waitress. "It's because I'm black, isn't it?"

Smile remaining as bright as when she first approached them, the waitress shook her head vehemently before gesturing up and down at Momo. "You're joking, right? Your mother is practically a legend among young women in the Golden City. I've followed her on social media since I was old enough to have a phone, and followed you since you were old enough to have accounts. You're not going to find a Wakandan in Japan who doesn't recognize you, Yaoyorozu Momo."

"Oh. Well then. My apologies for assuming. I didn't know I was that famous among, what, all five of you?" Momo smirked faintly at her own joke even as the clearly Black Panther themed waitress let out a soft snicker. Izuku had never seen her before in his multiple trips to the café but given that he only had eyes for exactly two members of the staff, that didn't mean much. "You're from one of the core three tribes, then? If Xhosa is your go to language, you must be."

Nodding, the maid tugged her lower lip down to display a glimmering tattoo. Before Izuku could get a good look at it, she released it and answered Momo's question. "Mining tribe. Are you... not? Much of your mother's life before leaving the country remains shrouded in mystery, even to those of us who wish to follow in her footsteps..."

Even as Izuku pulled out his notebook and began taking notes - he knew very little about Wakanda other than that it was home of the Black Panther - Momo shook her head. "Mountain tribe."

"Oh! My apologies. I just... well, you perfectly understood me so I suppose it wasn't wasted. Well then, kú ìrọ̀lẹ́! My name is Hyojoo and welcome to AtHome Musutafu." Hyojoo turned and gestured to the café itself before smiling brightly at them. "Would you prefer to be seated with me, or does one of the other maids interest you more?"

Izuku glanced over at Amora questioningly, not entirely sure that his input was being requested. She shook her head and gestured to Momo, to which he nodded. This was her first time. As much as he wanted to see if Kenko was working today - and knew that Amora wanted to subject Loki to Inazuma - this was Momo's first foray into the wonderful world of maid cafes and Amora was content to let her chart her own course.

Unsurprisingly, Momo offered a bright smile in response and gestured back at Hyojoo. "I'll patronize your section in exchange for your real name. I'm afraid I won't be able to keep a straight face, calling the Black Panther themed maid 'panther queen' all afternoon."

Rather than be offended, as Izuku feared, Hyojoo merely laughed before leading Momo deeper into the café. "These are all characters that we're playing, nothing more, nothing less. If you insist, though, my name is Fundiswa. As long as we're getting personal, would you like my number and LINE information too?"

The back of her neck darkening told Izuku that Momo was blushing again, bringing one hand up to her mouth. "I wasn't attempting to be flirtatious, I just... oh my, I suppose it was rather forward of me to insist on your real name, wasn't it? Although... I've read about places like this. Isn't it against the rules to ask a maid for her contact information?"

Hyojoo - because he certainly hadn't been given leave to call her by her real name and Izuku's mother had raised a proper young man - just smiled sunnily in response. "It's not asking for it if I'm giving it to you freely. Do you want it?"

Glancing back at Loki uncertainly, Momo waited until her girlfriend shrugged uncaringly before turning back to Hyojoo and drawing herself a little taller. "I wouldn't object to another Wakandan friend here in Japan if you're serious about exchanging information. Although I am a bit younger than you. I'll be going into high school next year and I presume you're here for college?"

"I am. The king remains perpetually curious about how fast the rest of the world is advancing, or more accurately, how much they may or may not remain stagnated. I'm a sophomore at Tokyo Tech right now, going for a bachelor's in engineering. Top of my class, not that it's hard considering I learned at least half of what they teach here in college before I left Wakanda." Arriving at their destination, Hyojoo moved to stand at the head of the table before gesturing to the seats on either side. "Please be seated."

Pulling out the chair closest to Hyojoo on the left, Momo stared up at her fellow Wakandan. "Are you looking to return to Wakanda after you graduate, or are you taking a longer term assignment in the outside world?"

Hyojoo shrugged faintly before handing Momo a menu, likewise distributing them to Amora, Loki, and Izuku after they seated themselves at the table. "Wakandans don't qualify for the ABE Initiative, so I suppose it depends on whether I'm given continued backing to attend a graduate program or if I'm needed elsewhere. I'd like to be allowed to stay, I've grown a bit attached to Japan over the last two years." She twirled, showing off her black maid outfit resplendent with purple embroidery and accents. "Where else can I dress up like our national hero and chat with people about them and get paid for it?"

From her spot next to him, Amora grinned and nudged Izuku with her elbow. "It's a pity that butler cafés never really caught on with the populace here in Japan. If there was a male equivalent of this place, you could earn hero merchandise money talking to women about All Might every day after school."

That... would actually be a job that he'd be qualified for even before lifting Stormbreaker. After all, you didn't need a quirk to server tea and snacks to young women. Izuku slouched in his seat a bit. On the other hand? "It would require me to talk to girls, Amora. And be charming. I'm barely passible at one, and completely inept at the other. I'd never make it at a butler café."

"You're not wrong. Working in a maid café requires a certain level of social energy that not everyone possesses." Hyojoo gestured across the room to where Kenko was perched on the arm of a patron's chair, leaning down to speak quietly with the just shy of middle aged salaryman at her table. "You're equal parts waitress, actress, and therapist. It's a harder job than you think. I suppose that's why AtHome pays us so well. You can't just pull a random girl off the street to do this job."

Nodding agreeably, Momo held her left hand over her right forearm and Izuku watched with rapt attention as her skin sparkled brightly. One by one, a string of kimoyo beads emerged from the sparkling spot on her skin. Once it was complete, Momo offered it up to Hyojoo. "An accessory for your work outfit? They're purely ornamental, so you don't have to worry about anyone getting too close to them."

Hyojoo gasped, bringing her hands up to her face before reaching down to accept the proffered bracelet. "Oh! Thank you! I was going to add a bracelet of plain black beads to my outfit but I couldn't find one the right size. I don't know if anyone outside of our kind even knows these exist but... authenticity? Yay?"

"Yay." Loki's dry tone made Izuku look over at where the dark-haired Asgardian looked severely unimpressed with what was going on. "I'll have whatever the most alcoholic thing on the menu is. Two of them." Before Hyojoo could request her identification, Loki conjured a small clutch out of thin air and pulled out a bright pink identification card of some sort. Izuku leaned forward, curious about it, only to have Loki scowl at him and pointedly present the card directly to Hyojoo. When the waitress returned it, she tucked it back into her clutch and vanishing the whole thing once more. "Like I said, something strong. Twice."

Scribbling down Loki's order, Hyojoo turned to Momo. "We actually added it to the menu when I started working here because I shared my personal stash with a few of the other maids and they liked it. But if I could be so bold, I'd recommend the rooisbos. Single origin, organic, fair trade certified."

While Izuku had seen the option a few times on the menu and been curious but never curious enough to ask, Momo seemed positively excited about the option. "That's my favorite kind of tea. Absolutely, yes, I'll take some rooisbos."

"I'm always a sucker for chocolate but it's a bit too warm out for hot chocolate." Closing her menu, Amora handed it back to Hyojoo. "Iced chocolate for me. And since my boyfriend is roundly terrible at talking to girls who aren't me and Koli... hmm. Let's get him to be adventurous today. Muscat tea for him."

As Hyojoo bowed before turning and hurrying off to give their order to the kitchen, Izuku raised an eyebrow at Amora as he racked his brain. "I have no idea what you just ordered me. I mean, it's tea obviously but 'muscat' isn't a Japanese word so I'm very confused as to what it might possibly be."

Amora just smiled at him before leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder. "I haven't the foggiest. I assumed it was short for muscatel, which is a varietal of Darjeeling tea known for its distinct grape notes. You have a reasonably adventurous palette so I figured I'd get you to try it. If you don't like it, I'll pay for something else."

That seemed fair. Izuku turned back to their companions, only to find Momo and Loki eyeing each other uncertainly. Before he could ask what he'd missed, Momo rolled her eyes and covered Loki's hand with her own. "I wasn't flirting, I was just excited to run into a fellow Wakandan here of all places. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, she's too old for me."

Loki shot Momo a deadpan look at that statement. "She's what, nineteen? Twenty? I'm over three hundred years old. Please, though, continue to try and convince me that age would be a barrier in this instance, though."

"Will you stop?" Shaking her head, Momo gave Loki's hand a squeeze. "By Hanuman, you're the one who keeps encouraging me to get a girlfriend since you already have a wife. How am I supposed to meet someone if this is how you react to me being polite to another girl?"

Given that his mother had always raised him that private business should be conducted in private - and this was definitely none of his business - Izuku found himself squirming uncomfortably in his seat. Casting about for something to change the subject, his eyes landed on Momo's bare forearm. "So, uh, what does your quirk actually do? Some sort of pocket dimension access? And you were summoning beads that you put into your pocket dimension at some other time?"

Momo turned to Izuku, a bit startled at his question, before smoothing her expression into a slightly mischievous smile. "An understandable guess, but not quite right." The skin of her forearm sparkled again, this time heralding the arrival of a bright orange prescription pill bottle, complete with a very authentic look label. "Koli has told me very little of substance about you, but she did mention that you seem like a very anxious young man. I'm not a licensed proscriber, but I can offer you a free sample of Yaoyopirone."

Taking the bottle uncertainly, Izuku held it up and stared at the small white pills inside. His mother had been trying to convince him to go to a therapist for a few years now, convinced that there might be some underlying cause other than his quirklessness to explain why he fit in so poorly with his peers. Now it turned out that evidently Loki thought the same of him, and Loki's girlfriend was going so far as to offer him medication? Izuku wasn't sure how to feel about that. "Honestly, I'm not sure if it's an anxiety disorder or a completely normal reaction to being bullied and roundly mistreated by society as a whole for ten years. I appreciate the thought, though. So if your quirk isn't a pocket dimension, is it some sort of warp quirk? You're warping stuff from somewhere you store them to our location?"

Still grinning mischievously, Momo shook her head before handing the bottle of pills off to Loki, who made them disappear with a puff of unnaturally green fire that left behind an awful stench. Incinerating plastic probably did that, though. "Also off the mark. Your problem is that you assume that these things existed before I need them and so you're trying to figure out how I'm moving them about. The truth is that I'm creating them myself. Medicine is a large proportion of what I've learned to make lately, to be truthful, and an extensive percentage of what I have been creating with my quirk. I've actually set up a blossoming supply train that brings the genericized medications that I can create to clinics in disadvantaged neighborhoods and distributes them for a very reasonable fee. While I'm not one to brag, I'm very proud to think that I'm the cause of Biocon's point five percent drop in gross profits last quarter."

"That sounds grossly illegal. On more than just quirk use grounds." Izuku regarded Momo warily as she shot him an amused look. This was the girl that Loki was choosing to date? The appeal was starting to fade. Sure, she was gorgeous and rich and brilliant, but she also had a clear disdain for the law... kind of like Loki. Hmm. Maybe that was her appeal? "What if you get caught? I assume you did it at home so it's not public quirk usage, but... I can't imagine that using your quirk to create drugs and distributing them is in any way, shape or form legal. You'll be banned from enrolling in most anywhere's hero program. Or at least, most anywhere reputable. Definitely UA."

Momo offered an uncaring shrug. "Then instead of being the hero Creati, I become Comrade Creati, champion of the downtrodden. I appreciate that we exist in a society of laws, Midoriya-san, but we also exist with gifts that allow us to help our fellow man. What kind of hero hopeful would I be if I turned my back on the suffering of the sick? Especially when I can do something for them? It costs me approximately a piece of pasta to create the amount of insulin that someone would pay fifteen thousand yen for. In return, I ask for two thousand five hundred yen. One-sixth the price, leaving them with their condition properly managed and considerably more money to spend on the rest of life's needs. And the money that I make is used to pay off the costs of my supply chain, with a little left over to donate to the clinics that distribute my drugs. What about that isn't heroic?"

When she put it like that? While intentionally breaking any number of laws wasn't terribly heroic, her intent clearly was. It was like... being a medicinal vigilante. And given that he was hoping to exploit the quirk usage requirement loophole in the country's vigilante laws once Amora thought he was ready to try patrolling the streets... could he really condemn her without being the mother of all hypocrites? Sighing deeply, he decided that discretion was the better part of valor and that arguing quirk use morality was a bit too deep for the first time they hung out. "So you have a creation quirk of some sort? Would you be willing to tell me more about how it works? I'm endlessly curious about quirks, not having one of my own and all."

"Quite simply, I can create anything that I understand the structure of." Momo gestured to Loki's hand, which was still hanging awkwardly in the air from when she had disposed of the pill bottle. "So in that case, I understood the structure of buspirone, polypropylene, cellulose, the adhesive to affix the label to the bottle, et cetera. I combine it all in my head, and a bottle of pills comes out. In essence, the only limit to my quirk is my own intelligence. The more I know, the more I can create. Koli wants to teach me how to make uru, but she's yet to find a definitive atomic structure for it in any of her readings."

That was fascinating! And theoretically limitless! If Momo went into space, she could come back to Earth with the knowledge to make materials beyond what human science was capable of creating. She could - as she was trying to learn - someday create uru, the metal that made his hammer so formidable. Although... she was Wakandan. Her parents sold vibranium free adapted technology. But... "Can you make vibranium?"

Momo winced before nodding slowly. "I have... an understanding with the king. I may create it for personal use only, and must submit a thorough accounting of every gram of it that I create at the end of each quarter. If an amount of vibranium in excess of a hundred grams leaves my direct possession, I am to report it to the Council immediately. The Dora Milaje have been dispatched twice in my lifetime to correct my failings. It is... not how I would have preferred to meet them."

Given how jealously Wakanda guarded its most precious resource, Izuku somehow doubted that the government had been thrilled with Momo for managing to lose vibranium. It did make him curious how she managed to get away with walking around Japan with it on her person. What if someone stole her hair tie? Then again, considering she could probably create a taser - or something worse - to defend herself against a common variety mugger, maybe it wasn't that great a risk?

Before Izuku could ask another question, Hyojoo came bustling back over with five drinks on a tray. "I have no idea what this is but I told the staff the same thing you told me, so... enjoy?" Placing two identical mystery drinks in front of Loki, she quickly distributed the other three drinks to the person who had ordered them before bowing. "I'll be back to check on you shortly."

"So, given that I've read that maids are professionally disinterested in patrons' conversations and that we can speak freely enough..." Momo paused long enough to take a sip of her tea, making a noise of satisfaction before turning to look at Loki. "Koli-chan, you said that you had thoughts about how you might be able to join me at UA High?"

Bringing her hand up to her hairline, Loki went to transform herself again before evidently thinking better of it. Speaking quietly about sensitive matters around people who were paid to pretend they heard nothing was one thing. Shapeshifting in the middle of the café was something else entirely. "Izuku came up with the idea for Sylvie and expanded it to include me. He wants me to apply for UA as a Japanese girl with a quirk."

Momo took another sip of her tea, eyes bouncing back and forth between Loki and Izuku. "I see. So I would be unable to claim the distinction of dating an Asgardian, in exchange for having you at my side throughout my high school education." She considered it quietly for almost a minute, Loki staring at her uncertainly the entire time, before offering a soft smile. "I'm not averse. You haven't met literally anyone that I know yet so it wouldn't be difficult to phase Koli out and replace her with... how far have you developed this plan of yours so far?"

"I've been told that I'm terrible at picking names for things, so I was going to accede to Izuku's suggestion and call myself Aoichi Shimoko." The corner of Momo's mouth quirked a bit higher and Loki sighed. "It's a terrible name, isn't it?"

Momo shook her head in response, covering Loki's hand with her own. "Oh, no, I was just amused by the fact that you openly admit you're terrible at naming things. It's especially amusing given that you honestly thought an anagram of your real name was a good disguise at some point in your very long life."

That certainly got Izuku's attention, but not as much as it did Loki and Amora. The two Asgardians bolted upright in their seats, exchanging borderline terrified looks. What Amora had to be worried about, Izuku wasn't quite sure; her disguise would probably remain intact even if Momo had figured out the truth about Loki. The dark-haired Asgardian fidgeted in her seat, reaching up to play with her hair nervously. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Two points on Momo's temples began to sparkle and Izuku watched in rapt attention as horns slowly emerged from her forehead, growing and curling upward before the sparkles spread to a large enough swath of her forehead that the bridge of Loki's tiara could emerge. Turning to her girlfriend, Momo offered an exasperated look. "Really? Koli? You have no idea what I'm talking about?"

Doing her best to look innocent, Loki looked from Momo to Izuku and Amora's side of the table and then back. "So what, I like horns. They've very regal looking. Most of Asgard's royalty was known for headwear with things sticking off of it. I don't see what you're getting at."

Creating a piece of paper and a pen, Momo calmly wrote out 'Koli' in English. Then she added 'Loki' just below it, and drew arrows connecting the letters of the anagram. "I'm sorry, you were saying?"

"I'm not denying that I've patterned my persona after the God of Mischief, darling." Doing her best to look innocent, Loki ran her finger along the rim of her glass as she avoided Momo's skeptical gaze. "I'm merely denying that I am in fact the God of Mischief."

Crumpling up the ball of paper, Momo stuffed it into her purse before pulling her kimoyo beads off of her ponytail. Fiddling with them, she projected a hologram of... Izuku recognized a DNA helix but all of the words floating around it were backwards and therefore impossible to make out. Also, whatever language they were in clearly wasn't Japanese or English, so even being on the right side of the projection likely wouldn't have helped him. "Remember that time you accidentally cut yourself trying to cook in my kitchen? I sent your blood out for a few tests. After paying handsomely for a blood sample from one of Sylvie's companions, not only can I conclusively say that you are not in fact the same species, but your telomeres point to you being significantly older than them. But please, by all means, continue this feeble attempt at lying to me."

"I should probably try harder to convince you otherwise at this point, but part of what attracted me to you was that you were a very intelligent young woman." Loki sighed, slouching in her seat a bit as she picked up her glass of mystery alcohol and sipped from it. She made a face at the flavor but then took a bigger gulp, so it couldn't have been terrible. "How long have you suspected?"

Momo offered an uncaring shrug as she threw her arm around Loki's shoulders. "Since I saw your profile at the Universe Club. I mean, let's be serious here. Black hair, green eyes, dressed in green and gold, with a horned headdress, and your name was Koli? How could I not?" Amora let out a snort before succumbing and dissolving into laughter, only to be brought up short by Momo turning her attention to the blonde. "I don't see what's so funny, Amora. At least Loki put some effort into a disguise."

Straightening up, a wide eyed Amora looked from Momo to Izuku and back. "I beg your pardon? My name is Lushton Sylvie and while I may in fact have patterned my current appearance after a noteworthy Asgardian, I assure you that-"

"Your facial biometrics - when adjusted for a roughly human-like aging process - are a ninety-seven percent match for Amora the Enchantress based on vintage 2025 media that I was able to acquire." Momo arched an eyebrow as she stared at Amora over the top of her tea cup, sipping from it slowly. "Also, you're literally wearing the same outfit that Amora was repeatedly publicly seen in."

Amora stared at Momo in silence for several seconds before reaching across the table and stealing one of Loki's glasses. "Well shit. We're fucking terrible at this, aren't we?" Turning to Izuku, she offered a curious expression. "Why didn't you tell us that our cover identities were so bad?"

Shrugging, Izuku flipped back several pages to his notes and designs for Miwaku. "I mean, I kind of did? Remember? That was why we were going to create completely new - and very different - identities for you before you attended UA next year?"

"To which we've both agreed, but at the same time..." Trailing off, Amora gestured down at herself and then over at Loki before turning to her fellow Asgardian with a horrified look. "Do you think Brunnhilde knows?"