"Momo? It's not locked," Wu Xuan called out.
Click.
The door eased open. Momo Yaoyorozu stepped in, her signature high ponytail undone, her black hair cascading down her shoulders like a dark waterfall. Without the sharp styling of her hero-prep look, she possessed a softer, more intellectual beauty that seemed to fill the quiet room.
"Need something?" Wu Xuan asked, glancing over his shoulder.
He was lounging at a sleek Western-style bar table on the balcony. He had summoned [The World] to pour a glass of iced whiskey, the golden Stand shimmering faintly in the moonlight before vanishing. He pulled out the chair opposite him, gesturing for her to sit.
Momo bit her lip, sitting down stiffly. After a long, heavy silence, her brow furrowed. "Xuan-kun... have we committed a crime?"
"If you're sticking to that 'Quirk Management Law' nonsense, then yeah. Absolutely," Wu Xuan replied, sounding like he couldn't care less.
"I... I went back to the study and checked," Momo whispered, her hands clasped tightly over her chest, her voice trembling. "Based on the number of times we've used our Quirks to cause harm over the past few months... the law defines it as egregious misconduct. It's punishable by up to a year of criminal detention."
Wu Xuan let out a short, dry laugh. "So you're investigating my rap sheet now?"
Momo looked up, her eyes wide and intense as she stared at him. "Based on the extent of your actions alone, Xuan-kun... it should be more than five years."
"Terrifying," Wu Xuan drawled, leaning back in his chair with a bored expression.
"Aren't you even a little scared?"
Momo's voice cracked. For a girl like her—raised to be the perfect student, the "good girl" who aspired to be a beacon of justice—the reality of her own criminality was a crushing weight. When she was out in the field with Wu Xuan, the adrenaline and his sheer presence made her forget the rules. But the sight of Tsukauchi and All Might today had acted like a bucket of ice water.
"All I know," Wu Xuan said, his tone turning ice-cold and firm, "is that I have never done a single thing I regret."
He looked her straight in the eye. He sought power above all else. He wasn't a villain by trade; he didn't want to be a "rat" like All For One, hiding in the dark. He wanted to walk in the sunlight, to enjoy the world. But if the "Heroes" decided that his pursuit of strength made him an enemy, he wouldn't blink. That was his choice.
"What about you?" Wu Xuan leaned forward, his mischievous, predatory grin closing in on her face. "Regretting it already? Want to go turn yourself in? Maybe they'll give you a lighter sentence for being a 'confused victim.'"
Momo's heart hammered against her ribs. She struggled with the thought for a long time before she fiercely shook her head. "No. I don't regret it!"
Her mindset had shifted. She was beginning to realize that "Justice" was often just a word used by those who already had power. Without the brutal training she'd undergone with Wu Xuan, she would still be the weak girl Toga almost killed. They hadn't hurt innocents; they had taken down threats society was too slow to handle.
Was that really a "crime," or just fulfilling a hero's duty ahead of schedule?
It was pure sophistry, of course—the kind of self-justification that marks the beginning of a fall—but it was the only way she could find peace.
Seeing her internal struggle, Wu Xuan found her oddly charming. He reached out and took her hand. "Don't worry. My crimes are much worse than yours. From now on... we're accomplices."
"Accomplices?" Momo looked up, her confusion evident.
"Everyone strives to overcome fear and anxiety just to live with peace of mind," Wu Xuan said, his voice carrying an eerie, hypnotic confidence. "Whether you want to be a hero or a villain, it's all for the same thing: peace of mind. You want peace, and All Might wants peace. With me by your side, you'll always have it."
Momo stared at him, dazed. Slowly, she clasped her hand firmly around his. Was it the "suspension bridge effect," the bond formed through shared danger? Or something deeper?
She leaned in, the warmth of his breath making her skin tingle, until the space between them vanished. In that moment, the laws of the world outside the mansion felt very far away.