CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Rio made his way back to his spot in the corner, ignoring the subtle glances and whispers from the other kids in the room. Momo trailed behind him, her brows still furrowed in confusion. Once seated, she wasted no time in voicing her thoughts. "I thought you didn't care, thanks for handling that. I don't think I could have done it as well as you did," Momo said as she plopped into her seat.
Rio chuckled and leaned back lazily into his seat. "I could be wrong, but I don't think you were ever in any danger." He could have sworn he saw one of the waiters reach towards his waistband when Momo approached those kids.
"No, not me, the Clown-san. He seems much happier now." And he was, smiling brightly as he performed his tricks; the thought of the compensation he would be getting was probably getting to him.
"I'm not a bad person, I can still tell right from wrong, it's just that most of the time I can't be bothered to intervene." That statement had Momo scrunching up in discomfort, but she refrained from saying anything else. Seeing that they both had different views on the matter, he dropped the matter—they didn't have to agree on everything.
"Happy birthday, by the way." By her name, it was quite obvious who the celebrant was.
"Why, thank you, my good sir." Momo bowed in an exaggerated curtsey, which prompted a laugh from both of them.
"So," he gestured toward the hefty book she'd brought along and dropped in the corner earlier, "what's up with that encyclopedia-sized present you've been lugging around?"
"Oh, that?" Momo's entire face lit up. "It's my birthday gift. It's a comprehensive encyclopedia of all known materials in the world—atomic compositions, descriptions, names, everything."
Rio blinked. "That's… a weird gift to get for a nine-year-old."
"I asked for it," she said proudly.
He stared at her for a second and smirked. "Nerd!" Momo just slapped his shoulder at that while she smiled brightly. "No, seriously though, who asks for an encyclopedia on their birthday? That's just weird."
She puffed her cheeks in protest at that bit. Rio leaned in and then asked, "It can't possibly be all known materials, right? I know for a fact that there are some rare alloys and controlled substances that are state secrets or the lifelines of some companies. I don't think they would take lightly the fact that a book like that exists somewhere." Rare materials like Condenium that were only manufactured in I-Island, as well as certain radioactive substances that had been synthesized—hell, not even something useful like that, just an alloy of copper that conducts electricity a little better—qualified to be held as corporate secrets.
"Well, it's not everything," Momo said as she pushed Rio back a bit. He ruffled his hair nervously because he just noticed he was invading her space.
"It has everything they could possibly gather," Momo explained. "According to Dad, some institutes were very stubborn no matter how much money was thrown their way, but still, we got a lot. The information on some materials is strictly controlled, like Condenium. Others are just impossible to even hear of. But this book covers what's publicly and semi-publicly known."
"Woah! Can I see?" Rio said excitedly. Momo hesitated for a bit, but then finally handed the book to him. He took the book from her hand and marveled at its weight.
"Why is it so heavy?" Rio wondered how strong Momo was because she had been lifting it casually all along. The stuff had to weigh at least 5kg.
"There are samples included inside as well, don't touch them though."
Rio just browsed through the book as he flipped through the pages quickly. In a couple of seconds, he was done reading through it, but he made sure to keep a poker face on so she wouldn't see through the fact. It wasn't every day you got contact with likely classified information. Even if he may not have any use for it now, it would be good to have just in case.
"This is cool, I'm not gonna lie, but why exactly are you studying this?"
Rio was sure as hell that physics and chemistry were the coolest subjects known to man, but not everyone shared those exact sentiments, so he was curious why this third grader was so interested in something so advanced.
Momo fiddled with her fingers a bit before speaking. "It's to better use my quirk."
His interest piqued. "Mind if I ask? What is your quirk?"
Momo suddenly looked shy. "It's not flashy or anything. It's… creation."
Rio leaned in. "Come again?"
"I said it's creation. I can… create things."
Rio just stood awestruck. "That's just… wow!"
What more could he say? Of all the meta abilities he had encountered so far, hers seemed to have been the strongest. Creation as a power had already started encroaching on the domain of god. It couldn't be that convenient, or she could have taken over the world by now.
"Like from thin air?"
"Sort of… as long as I know the atomic structure of it, I can make just about anything."
Knowing that information, it wasn't as convenient—but still, he needed to ask one question. If she could do that, then Momo was infinitely more terrifying than she imagined.
After a long pause, Rio leaned in, his voice barely a whisper. "How does that work exactly?"
Momo looked away as she shifted nervously. Rio realized that he had once again overstepped. Most people didn't like having the workings of their quirks analyzed. It was jarring. Knowing that someone could use that information to analyze all your weaknesses, schools usually taught the importance of not doing exactly that. But some people were confident enough in themselves or had such simple or obvious quirks that they didn't mind sharing.
"Sorry, I know that's private. How about this? Fair trade. You tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine."
She perked up a little at that. "Okay, but you go first."
Rio nodded. "It's called Speed Force. I move fast—really fast. But it's more complicated than just running. My mind and perception speed up with my body. My reflexes, too."
Momo listened intently, clearly intrigued.
"And yours?"
Momo took a deep breath. "As I said, I can create anything… if I understand its atomic structure."
She didn't say the cost. Fair game, though—he didn't mention his either. One thing he noticed was that almost everyone had a fatal flaw or serious limitation to their powers; otherwise, even something as simple as Float could be world-ending.
Rio's expression became serious. "Can you create organic matter?"
That was the question he had been nudging toward ever since. If she couldn't, she could be a logistics supplier at worst, or create bombs that could destroy the world at best. If she could create living things, though… that… that would count as hax.
She tilted her head. "I don't know. I haven't tried it yet. I guess something simple like a hair or fingernail might be possible."
Rio pondered that for a moment. "You don't know their structure though, right?"
She shook her head. "Not yet. I can do this though."
She said as her hands shimmered with a pink hue and a second later, an item popped out.
Rio curiously picked up the object to inspect it and just chuckled dryly. "A Russian matryoshka doll?"
Momo just nodded proudly. Rio shook his head as he dispelled the unreasonable thoughts that were popping up in his head.
I should have expected something like this, she's only nine after all.
Momo had been well-articulated and very knowledgeable—so much so that Rio had nearly forgotten she was a girl his age. He would have to scrap his budding plans for world domination, unfortunately.
Momo snapped her fingers at him to get him out of his reverie, but Rio just waved it off.
"Forget it. Let's just talk."
And they did.
To his surprise, Momo was smart. Not just book smart—sharp. She was well-read, had insight into complicated subjects, and clearly had a knack for learning. It made sense. If her quirk required her to memorize complex structures, then maybe her brain had adapted to handle massive information loads. That line of thought gave Rio pause.
'If her quirk gave her better learning capabilities to handle complex information better, does that mean that everyone's quirk does the same? Like, for example, a flame user having a flame-resistant physiognomy, and a lightning user being a natural conductor of electricity without harming themselves?'
This was a train of thought that Rio should have reached ages ago, but it was gratuitous that he had at least finally realized it. Rio felt that it was an interesting avenue to explore in his free time. If what he was thinking was true, most people's superpowers acted like the amalgamation of two or more lesser-ranked superpowers. Maybe quirks weren't as straightforward as he had thought. Maybe abilities evolved, adapted, and changed the host more deeply than anyone had realized.
His thoughts were cut short when Momo tapped his shoulder and pointed toward the hall doors. The party was winding down. Adults had begun filing in to pick up their children.
Rio was surprised that the time had gone by so quickly. He rose from his seat and offered his thanks. "Thanks for the hospitality. I should get going."
Rio had spotted his grandma Yuki waiting at the entrance, staring impatiently at her watch—that was his cue to get moving.
Rio finally made his way to his grandmother, who still seemed so pristine. "Did you have fun?" Yukina asked with a warm smile.
Before he could respond, Momo came running up behind him.
"Wait!" she said, cheeks pink. "C-Can I have your number?"
The question caught the attention of almost everyone nearby. As the host of the party, her request turned more than a few heads.
Rio smirked and handed her his number without hesitation.
As he turned to leave, Momo called out again. "Does this mean… we're friends?"
Rio looked over his shoulder and smiled.
"Of course we are."
Momo beamed as she skipped back toward the center of the hall.
Yukina raised an eyebrow at Rio, clearly amused. "Looks like you had a much more interesting night than I did."
Rio sighed with a grin. "I'll tell you about it in the car."