Momo sat on the grass of the park next to school, where she remembered how much fun she had with Mina the past Friday, teaching her how to skate. Everything she did, everywhere she went after the fight, something reminded her of Mina. 

She wished she had apologized first. Maybe if she had, it would have never escalated to the point that Mina said those hurtful things to her. Momo couldn't avoid blaming herself for the stupid, juvenile, petty argument they had. What was she thinking, yelling at Mina like that?  

Actually, Mina had yelled at her first, back in the locker room, and she still had no idea what she did to her to set her off like that. Whatever she did in the locker room might have been the reason Mina acted like that during practice. She wouldn't know if she didn't ask. 

Momo hopped on her bike and the engine, with one place in mind: Mina's house. There was no way she was going to keep letting the thoughts of Mina and her doubts about what happened or didn't happen torment her any longer. If Mina slammed the door in her face, well... at least she would have tried something. 

Momo raced through the road, her heart pounding in anticipation and hope she would reach her destination as fast as possible. However, she couldn't move as fast as she wanted to under such a dark night sky and so many broken street lights. Slowing down as she approached a red light, something caught her attention. There was a middle aged man, towering over a girl, whose posture was tense and small, a short distance between his face and the girl, who faced downward. Momo didn't need to be a genius to understand the girl needed help. 

Momo parked the bike on the sidewalk, hoping nobody would attempt to steal it, and tiptoed in their direction, wary not to startle any of them. Momo's knees trembled more and more, threatening to fail her, as she approached and started to recognize the features on the girl's face. She had long, red hair. The blood in her veins boiled up as she watched the man reach for Mina's arm, digging into her flesh. Mina stepped back, avoiding his eyes.   

No. Nothing in this world, living or not, was ever going to hurt Mina in Momo's presence. Momo's body moved towards them in an instinct, her steps so heavy with anger they could break the stone ground. When she was about to step in, the man grabbed Mina by her shoulders, shaking her and talking right in her face. Momo's fists balled, her fingernails digging into her own hand. She had seen way more than she needed to want to use them.  

"Take your hands off of her." Momo said, her voice aggressive and firm, grabbing his arm with such force she was positive she hurt him.  

"M-Momo-senpai?!" Mina jerked her head towards her, chin dropped.  

"Who do you think you are to touch me?" The man said slowly, his eyes wide, so intense with rage Momo felt like they could burn a hole in her skin.  

"And who do you think you are to touch her like that?"   

The man let out a weird, creepy chuckle, shaking his head. His hands were still gripping on Mina's shoulders, and Momo didn't like that.  

"I said... Take. Your hands. Off. Of her." Momo repeated, swatting his hand off Mina's shoulder and shoving him away by his shoulders. 

The man didn't expect such strength coming from a girl half his size, so he stumbled back, almost falling on his . Momo grabbed Mina's hand and stepped in front of her in a protective shielding gesture. 

"Let me tell you this little girl, I don't really like when people interrupt my business, and much less when I'm physically harassed-"  

"You were the one harassing her! And I don't give a single about your business, I'm not letting you touch her anymore!" Momo interrupted him.  

Momo sure was full of confidence, adrenaline and courage, but she didn't expect the guy to take a step towards her and slap her in the face with the back of his hand, making her almost fall to her side. The sound echoed in the air, along with Mina's horrified screech. Momo collected herself and her eyes burned with rage, looking straight into his. In the next second, her fist was on his face, punching him so hard she knocked him over. He tried to get up, but Momo smashed his knee with her foot, making the man wince in pain and curl up on the ground. 

"Don't you dare ever touch anyone like that again." She said, kicking the same leg she had hurt.  

"Momo-senpai, that's enough, let's just go!" Mina grabbed her hand, snapping her out of her rageful trance. 

Momo looked back to find her squatting, tears were streaming from her eyes, down to her chin, falling to the ground. Her face was filled with fear.  

The man was still on the floor, trying to get up. Momo would kick him again and again if Mina hadn't asked her to stop.  

"Don't you dare go near her again." Momo threatened before grabbing Mina's hand, dragging her to where her bike was parked. 

Momo hopped on and Mina followed, gripping harder on Momo's waist than usual. The man managed to get up, but it was too late for him to try to catch up. The bike was already moving away fast, leaving him cursing and kicking pebbles on his own.  

--- 

Mina tried to open the door as fast as she could, but her trembling hands only made her drop the keys to the floor. Momo rushed to pick them, stepping in front of her to open the door herself. She could tell Mina was still in panic. 

Nobody was home. Momo let herself in first, taking a look around the small, cozy living room. Momo heard the door close behind her and felt a sudden, light push against her back, trembling arms around her waist and a forehead resting on the back of her neck. Her breath got stuck in and her heart skipped several beats. Mina's whole body trembled. Momo stood still, hearing her quiet sobs, feeling the warmth of her body. Her fists curled up again as she bit her lower lip, as the face of the disgusting creep that approached Mina popped in her head again. How dared he make her cry?!  

Momo let Mina cry and squeeze her how much she wanted and needed to, without a word shared between them. Then, the warmth on her back disappeared as Mina let go and grabbed her hand, dragging her towards what looked like the bathroom. 

"Y-You need to clean your wounds." She said, her voice husky from all the crying and sobbing.  

"There's no need to, I'm oka-"   

Her voice faded out as soon as she saw herself in the bathroom mirror. Her right cheek was puffy and slightly purple, and her lower lip cut, with a thin string of dried blood running down from it. The man hit her that hard?   

Mina fetched a stool for Momo to sit on, while she rushed to the cabinet to grab the first-aid kit. She grabbed a bandage and wet it with water, turning to Momo, meeting her eyes.   

"Stay still." Mina whispered.   

Her trembling hand gently grabbed on Momo's chin, pulling it up a bit, and she started cleaning the dry blood on it with the wet bandage. Mina's touch was so gentle, so caring, it made a shiver run through Momo's back. Even though it was painful to look at Mina's red eyes, Momo couldn't look anywhere else. She was under that spell again, but this time felt even more intense. 

Momo hissed in pain when Mina touched the cut on her lip.  

"S-Sorry." Mina whispered, meeting Momo's eyes once more.   

They stared at each other for who knows how much time. Then, Mina's eyes wandered slowly through Momo's face. Her hand cupped her bruised cheek, caressing it with her thumb, breaking out in tears again.   

"I'm s-so sorry, Momo-senpai... This is all my fault..." Her head dropped, making her tears fall directly on the floor. 

"How is this your fault?" Momo's eyes faced her hands on her lap. "It's that disgusting creep's fault. If I see that crazy bastard again, I swear to God..."   

"It was my father."   

Momo's features softened and her eyes widened, as she moved her head upwards to face Mina. It was her... father? 

"Even though he knows he can't go near us, he still went after me... I'm scared, Momo-senpai, I'm scared of my own father..."  

Momo couldn't bear the sight in front of her. It was destroying her inside, making her feel things she didn't think she could feel. A mix of fury, rage, desire to kill the person that made Mina like this, and panic, discomfort, about seeing her cry. 

Without thinking about if she should do it or not, about if it was correct or awkward or not, she stood up, launching herself to hug Mina with her with her arms around her neck. Mina stumbled back, hitting the sink with her lower back. She instantly stopped sobbing, her eyes widening, and her hands lost strength, dropping the bandage she was still grabbing to the floor.  

"I swear I won't let him near you, Myoui-chan." The words Momo wanted so much to say finally escaped from her lips, as she closed her eyes, breathing in her scent and squeezing her body against her own.   

Mina didn't say a word. Instead, she hugged Momo back by her waist and rested her head on her shoulder. If Momo knew how comforting and warm hugging Mina like this would feel, she would have done it a lot sooner. 

--- 

Mina asked her to stay with her until her mother arrived. She didn't need to ask, because Momo had no intention of leaving her alone.  

After what happened, the fight they had earlier didn't matter anymore. But even so, Momo apologized for yelling at her and leaving the practice like that. Mina also apologized for making her feel bad about her dancing and for being too hard on her. Mina also asked her if she had been injured because of it. In fact, Momo's ankle burned a bit, but she lied, saying she was fine. That pain was nothing compared to the one she felt inside seeing Mina cry in panic, and she absolutely didn't want to make her worry about it at such a time. 

A while after sitting on Mina's couch in silence, watching TV, Momo noticed there was still something she was puzzled about – the reason Mina yelled at her in the locker room.  

"Myoui-chan... I'm sorry about bringing it up again, but there's something I really need to know." Momo gulped. "What did I do in the locker room that made you so upset?" 

When she saw Mina's eyes wandering around and her body fidget in her seat, as if she was trying to think about an excuse, Momo understood it was a bad idea to ask about it.  

"I'm sorry, forget about it."  

A few seconds of silence. 

"I'm the one who should apologize for it. I'm sorry for yelling at you." Mina said, making Momo move her head so she could look at her. "It's just that..." 

"I scared you, right? It's fine, I understand." 

"No, it's not that." Momo frowned, waiting for Mina to continue, but it took her another few seconds to gain courage. "I don't like my body and I wouldn't want anyone to see it, so I panicked when I realized you... saw it." Mina admitted, not returning the look and feeling her face burn up. 

Momo's hunch was right after all. But to her, it didn't make any sense. 

"W-Why?"   

Mina gulped and took a deep breath. 

"When I was a kid I, was... kind of fat. That's why I started dancing and enrolled in ballet classes. The kids laughed and made fun of me, but I practiced so much and so hard that I lost weight pretty fast. And that left... marks on my skin." 

Momo wanted to say that with or without marks, Mina was beautiful. But of course she could never bring herself to say something so straightforward, invasive and embarrassing. She tried to come up with an alternative, but when she was about to, the door opened and Mina's mother let herself in, announcing she was home. Mina got up in a jump while Momo stood up awkwardly, her mother tilting her head at her in curiosity. Mina introduced Momo to her and explained everything. Her mother thanked Momo for what she did and even offered to go to the hospital with her, but Momo refused, saying she was okay and that Mina had already treated her wounds. Her mother was an elegant lady that radiated an aura of peace and kindness. Momo felt sad that she had to meet her under such circumstances.  

They went straight to the police station to report the situation. Momo, of course, had to be there too, as she witnessed it first-hand. The police officers guaranteed they would be on the road to look for him, and that if they see anyone who resembles him, they should report it immediately. They also recommended them to keep close company at all times, especially outside and at night. Momo didn't need to hear this, because she had already decided she wouldn't leave Mina by herself, at least not until this was all over. It was unfortunate that, at the time, Momo didn't know who he was and that Mina had a flight reaction. Or else, Momo thought she would have been perfectly capable of keeping him immobilized and calling the police. 

--- 

"I'm home." Momo yelled, closing the door beside her and taking her shoes off. 

It was almost dinner time so Sana was home for sure. 

"Welcome home!" Sana yelled back from the kitchen, without looking at her sister. 

Momo leaned against the kitchen counter, looking down at the floor. 

"I'm almost done with dinner, I'm sure you're starving! Where did you go after Project class? Were you with Min-" Sana was ready to tease her, but when she looked at her sister, the knife and the tomato in her hands fell to the sink, as she took off in a run to her. "Oh my god Momo, what happened?!" 

Momo met her sister's eyes and her shoulders tensed. She let loose the tears that were threatening to run from her eyes for hours. 

"Myoui-chan... She..." She struggled to say.  

"Mina did this to you?!" Sana asked in disbelief, cupping Momo's cheeks, carefully touching her bruised cheek and wiping the tears away. 

"No, of course not! Her father did!" Momo unconsciously grew angry just thinking about it again. 

Sana froze on the spot. 

"What do you mean... her father did? 

Momo could see the shock and confusion in Sana's face, so she explained everything. From what happened with Mina's parents when she was still a child, what happened earlier that day on the lockers room and Project class, the reason why she went to apologize to her on her house, and what ended up happening after she spotted them and stopped her bike to intervene. 

"You punched Mina's father?!" 

"And kicked him too, twice." Sana's chin dropped even lower. "But I didn't know it was him! If I did, I would have hit him even harder and I would have known to call the police. He slapped me and called me little girl! And he was clearly trying to intimidate her. Apparently, he wanted to start from scratch and try to be a part of the family again, but did he really think that was a good way to go about it? Way to show you've changed..." 

Momo huffed and wiped her forehead. 

"She was so scared Sana, I don't want to see her like that ever again... She was crying and sobbing and shaking so much..."  

"Everything's alright now, Momo." Sana hugged the crying girl, caressing her hair. "She's home and safe now, because of you. I'm proud of you for protecting and standing for her like you did." 

"And I'll continue protecting her. I won't let him even breathe the same air she does."  

Sana's lips curved up. Who knew Momo would care about Mina to the point of getting hurt in order to protect her?  

Momo had given up trying to convince herself Mina was just a friend or a classmate. Deep down, Momo knew she meant something more, something unknown to her. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that seeing her cry made her heart ache in such an unfamiliar way that a desire to protect her and stop that feeling at all costs burned deep within her. And so, Momo promised herself she wouldn't let Mina cry - ever again. 

--- 

A/N: YAS MOMO! omg I love fight and crying and emotional scenes fisdhbgiusdhga I hope you liked this chapter, I LOVED writing it! Thank you for the comments, subs and votes guys! <3 
MORE FLUFF ON THE NEXT CHAPTER HEHEHEHEHEHE