Saturday morning arrived with Ren feeling exhausted after a successful night patrol with Midnight. He rolled out of bed around 10:00 a.m., stumbling toward the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. After brushing his teeth and pulling on some comfortable pants, he collapsed onto the sofa with his phone. Out of habit, he opened Instagram and began scrolling through the usual updates from his classmates.
Then, he remembered.
Last night, after the patrol ended and Midnight dropped him off at UA, he had summoned the courage to ask for her contact info. She seemed amused by the request; she pulled out her own phone and typed her username into his with a knowing smile.
"I'm warning you," she had told him with a wink, "my social media might not be what you expect."
It's time to see what the R-rated hero posts online, Ren thought, heading to his follow requests.
Kayama_Nemuri has accepted your follow request.
He clicked on her profile immediately, expecting to find exactly what one would expect from someone known as the "R-rated Hero." Suggestive selfies, photos in revealing outfits, perhaps some provocative images that pushed the limits of Instagram's community guidelines.
What the hell am I looking at?
The profile picture showed Midnight wearing a headband with cat ears, making a peace sign with both hands and wearing the most innocent, adorable smile he had ever seen on her. Her bio read: "Pro Hero ✨ | UA Teacher 📚 | Cat Mom 🐱 | Lover of all things cute 💕"
Cat mom? Ren's brain struggled to process the information. Lover of all things cute? He scrolled through her posts, and his confusion grew with every image.
Cats. So many cats. Midnight at a cat café, surrounded by at least seven felines. Midnight holding a tiny kitten that looked absurdly small in her hands. Midnight's own cats at home: a fluffy white Persian named "Princess" and an orange tabby named "Marmalade."
Photos of Maid Cafés. They were photos of her as a customer, wearing ruffled headbands and holding elaborate parfaits decorated with excessive amounts of whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate kittens. Photos from idol group concerts. Specifically girl groups. The captions were enthusiastic and filled with heart and sparkle emojis: "AMAZING SHOW!! 💕✨ They were so cute I could die!! 😍"
And selfies. Many selfies. But not the kind Ren expected. They were photos of Midnight in pajamas: pink ones with teddy bear prints; blue ones with clouds; purple ones with stars and moons. They all covered her body completely, from neck to ankles, leaving no trace of the curves her hero costume shamelessly displayed.
Where did her chest go? Ren wondered, genuinely confused. How can someone with that body manage to hide it so completely in every photo?
The most recent post was from that very morning: a photo of a latte with an elaborate cat face drawn in the foam. The text read: "Post-patrol treat! ☕️ I worked hard last night with my new partner! He's such a good, responsible boy! 😊💕"
He was about to leave a comment when another notification appeared.
Yaoyorozu_Momo has posted to her story.
Ren's thumb moved automatically, clicking to view it before his brain could even react. Momo was standing in what looked like an elegant hallway, likely at some formal event. She wore a tight black dress that highlighted her figure in all the right ways without being inappropriate, her hair styled in an elaborate updo with a few artistic strands framing her face.
The text over the photo read: "Family gathering. Trying to maintain proper etiquette while dying of boredom. 😅"
She looks incredible, Ren thought, staring at the photo longer than was probably appropriate. And she's definitely not having fun, if the caption is accurate.
He stared at the image for a good while. In the back of his mind, he could hear the voice of every generic anime protagonist ever created telling him to admire her from afar, not to make things awkward, and to maintain the status quo like a coward.
To hell with that, Ren decided firmly. This is a new life, and I'm going to live it.
He opened a direct message and typed quickly before he could regret it: "You look truly beautiful, Momo. I hope the family event isn't too terrible."
His finger hovered over the send button for an instant before pressing it. Done, he thought, feeling his pulse accelerate immediately. No turning back now.
He watched as the message status changed to "seen" almost instantly. She's on her phone, he realized. She saw it right away.
The three dots appeared, indicating she was typing. They disappeared. They appeared again. They disappeared.
Oh god, she's trying to figure out how to reject the compliment politely without things getting weird, Ren thought, and his anxiety spiked. This was a mistake. I shouldn't have...
A message appeared.
"Thank you, Hayashi-san! That's very kind of you. And yes, it's quite tedious. My uncle's business partner's retirement party. Very formal, very boring."
Ren exhaled in relief. She hadn't rejected him; if anything, she seemed receptive.
"Sounds like the kind of event where you have to smile politely while your soul slowly dies."
"That is an extremely accurate description! 😅 I've been here for almost two hours. At least three more to go. Please send help."
"I'd rescue you, but I'm currently dealing with my own Saturday crisis. I can't decide if instant ramen counts as a real meal or if I should actually cook something."
"Instant ramen is NOT a proper meal, Hayashi-san! You need real nutrition!"
"But it's so practical. And it has vegetables. Dehydrated vegetables are still vegetables, right?"
"That doesn't count at all! You have to promise me you'll eat something more substantial today."
"Only if you promise to survive your boring party without falling asleep during a speech."
"Deal. Although I can't guarantee staying conscious during my great-uncle's presentation on market projections."
They continued chatting back and forth; the conversation flowed with a naturalness that surprised Ren. Momo was different over text than she was in person: less formal, more relaxed, willing to joke and complain about things she would never mention at school.
After about fifteen minutes of conversation, there was a brief pause. Then a new message appeared, this one with a photo attached. Ren opened it.
It was a selfie taken in front of what looked like a bathroom mirror. You could see Momo's face, her cheeks slightly flushed and her perfect hairstyle still intact despite the informal setting.
Crap, Ren thought, looking at the photo. She sent me a selfie.
"I had to escape to the bathroom. Everyone is asking me about my future plans and if I have a boyfriend yet. It's exhausting."
Ren looked at his phone, fingers over the keyboard.
"Well, do you? Do you have a boyfriend?"
There was a longer pause this time. The three dots appeared and disappeared several times.
"No. I don't really have time for those sorts of things. Besides, most boys my age are quite immature."
"Most boys? Not all?"
"You're looking for a compliment, Hayashi-san."
"Maybe. Is it working?"
"Perhaps. 😊"
Ren grinned at his phone like an idiot. This was going better than he had dared to hope. They kept chatting. Momo complained about her relatives' invasive questions, and Ren told her about his patrol with Midnight.
Ren had just stood up to start preparing that questionable instant ramen when his phone vibrated with another photo from Momo. He opened it without thinking.
This photo was different.
It was taken in front of the bathroom mirror, but the angle had changed. The camera was positioned lower, focused on Momo's torso instead of her face. The elegant black dress she wore had a high, modest neckline, but from that angle, Ren could see the elegant curve of her collarbones and the line of her neck.
And her chest.
The dress clung to her figure perfectly, and from that specific angle, Ren could see the contour of her breasts pressed against the cut of the fabric. They were large, full, and the dress highlighted them in a way that was both elegant and incredibly attractive. A delicate silver necklace hung between them, with a small pendant resting in the valley of her cleavage, catching the bathroom light.
The accompanying message said: "Look at this necklace my mother gave me for my birthday! Isn't it beautiful?"
Ren stared at the photo.
She's showing me her necklace, one part of his mind tried to rationalize. This is innocent. She's just sharing a gift from her mother. The prominent display of her breasts is completely incidental and not the point at all.
That's nonsense, another part of his brain argued. Yaoyorozu Momo just sent you what is essentially a cleavage shot disguised as a photo of a necklace. She knows exactly what she's doing.
Ren was about to reply when he noticed something right at the edge of the photo, where the neckline of the dress met her skin. Wait. Is that...? There was something pink. The edge of her bra, maybe? Or...
His phone vibrated with a new message before he could analyze further.
"Please delete that photo right now."
Then another message appeared immediately.
"I am so sorry, that was completely inappropriate of me."
Before Ren could even process what was happening, the photo disappeared from the chat. Deleted. She deleted it, Ren realized, looking at the empty space where the image had been. She sent it, panicked, and deleted it.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom of her uncle's house, Momo was having a total meltdown.
What was I thinking?! she thought frantically, staring at her reflection in the mirror with wide eyes. What on earth possessed me to take that photo?!
Her hands were shaking as she looked down at her dress. When she had positioned the phone to take the photo of the necklace, she had pulled the neckline down a bit to get a better view. Just a small tug to make sure the pendant was visible.
Except she had pulled it down further than she realized. Looking in the mirror now, Momo could see that the top edge of the dress was dangerously low on her chest. So low that the pale pink lace edge of her bra was visible. And worse, much worse: a tiny sliver of her areola was visible on the left side.
I sent Hayashi-san a photo where my nipple is partially visible, Momo thought, her face burning with mortification. Oh my god. OH MY GOD. What is he going to think of me?!
There was a knock on the bathroom door.
"Momo, dear? Are you alright in there?" her mother's voice called from outside. "You've been in there quite a while."
Momo jumped, nearly dropping her phone.
"I'm fine, Mother!" she replied, her voice a bit higher than normal. "Just... touching up my makeup! I'll be out in a moment!"
She heard her mother's footsteps recede down the hall. Momo looked back at the mirror, pulling the neckline of her dress back up to its proper position. Her face was bright red, and her breathing was fast and shallow.
He's going to think I'm some kind of... of exhibitionist! she thought, mortified. My first real male friend, someone I can actually talk to comfortably, and now he's going to think I'm that kind of girl!
She looked at her phone and opened the chat with Ren. A message from him appeared on her screen.
"It's deleted. Don't worry about it. By the way, the necklace looked great."
Momo felt a wave of relief wash over her. He's being a gentleman about this, she thought gratefully. He's not making it weird or trying to make me feel worse.
"I am so embarrassed. I don't know what I was thinking with that photo."
"You were thinking you wanted to show me a gift from your mother. There's nothing wrong with that. Though I have to ask, is everything okay? You seem different than usual today."
Momo considered the question carefully before answering.
"I am in the bathroom of a boring party, messaging a boy I barely know outside of class, and I just sent him a photo that was much more revealing than I intended. 'Different than usual' might be an understatement."
"For what it's worth, I'm having a much better time chatting with you than doing anything else right now."
"Really?"
"Absolutely, you're interesting."
Momo stared at the message, reading it three times to make sure she had understood it correctly. He said I'm interesting, she thought, feeling something warm bloom in her chest.
"That might be one of the nicest things anyone has said to me in a long time."
"Then people aren't paying enough attention."
Momo bit her lip, trying to suppress the smile that threatened to take over her entire face.
"I should probably get back to the party. My mother knocked on the door earlier asking if I was okay. She's probably worried I'm having some kind of crisis in here."
"Are you having a crisis?"
"Maybe a small one. 😅"
"Well, if you need to escape later, feel free to message me. I'll be around."
"Thank you, Hayashi-san."
"Call me Ren."
Momo's heart gave a little skip at the informal request.
"Then you should call me Momo."
"Deal. Now go survive the rest of your party, Momo."
"I'll do my best, Ren. 😊"
Momo took one last look in the mirror, making absolutely certain her dress was properly in place and nothing inappropriate was showing, before finally stepping out of the bathroom.
Meanwhile, across town in his small apartment, Ren stared at his cup of instant ramen as the water boiled. That was interesting, he thought, replaying the conversation in his mind. I wonder what she saw that made her panic like that, he mused, pouring the hot water into his ramen cup. It must have been something she didn't intend to show.
*******
Author's Note: Hey everyone! Is this the start of the spicy era? I'm thinking about Momo sending Ren some risky photos... or maybe even videos? What do you guys think? Should we lean into the NSFW texts or scrap the idea? Let me know in the comments and drop a like if you're on board! Thanks for being so patient with this chapter!
You can find chapters ahead on: P @ t r e o n.com/itszeroo