In the days that followed, every free moment that Momo got seemed to be spent with her eyes focused on text in whatever book she'd checked out from the library, or in a textbook as she revised over the foundation subjects for the fifteenth time. The upcoming exams weighed heavily on her mind, her only freedom from thinking of the tests being the moments of sleep she managed to acquire when she was home.

Like everyone in her class, she was eager to pass and retain the opportunity to go on the Training Camp trip. The opportunity to see exactly how far she was able to push herself was one that she wanted to take. And the social aspect certainly wasn't a downside by any means. Going on a camping trip was something that she hadn't gotten to do before.

Certainly nothing like what Yuuei seemed to offer. On family holidays where she and her parents would actually leave their home, they always seemed to stay in the highest quality hotels and lodges that seemed to be available in the area. Prior to that, the only real experience Momo had was that which she saw from the movies and television shows she saw online. While common sense told her that this was an exaggeration of what actually happened, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing out on part of the experience with the way her family did things.

So the prospect of actually getting to see what the real thing was like, as well as further hone her abilities as a Hero made her feel a surge of excitement whenever she thought about it. It motivated her to do better than she had been doing.

The USJ was a good place for practicing with ones Quirk. For many, it was to see how much stronger and faster they were, and how much raw power their Quirks could provide for them. For others, it was a place to hone the body, and train it to be study and durable to take on whatever was thrown their way.

For Momo, it was a place where she could practice creating the various items she had studied.

She muttered quietly to herself as she flipped through one of the many encyclopaedia's she had brought, looking for something to try and create. She wanted something that she thought could be useful in a fight if she got into one, but would also be useful outside of combat. Since no one knew what the practical exam would entail, having something that would prepare her for any sort of scenario would no doubt be the smartest thing to do. It would pay to have something that she could rely on no matter what.

"Hmm… A kusarigama could be useful…" She decided, as she scanned over the information on the pages, studying over what it was made up of, and any additional information her book was willing to offer, before she placed it on the ground behind her once she had everything.

The kusarigama was an old Japanese traditional weapon used during the Muromachi period. They were shaped similarly to ice-picks, and while a deadly weapon in its own right, it could double as a grappling hook. Depending on the circumstance, such a weapon could be rather useful. More so than just a grappling hook on its own, or a melee weapon, as it gave her some range, something she often lacked.

Traditionally, they were made up of iron and steel, both of which weren't particularly difficult for the raven-haired girl to produce. All she needed to do was mentally think of the weapon in her mind and activate her Quirk. The handle suddenly jutted from her exposed stomach as the object came into being. As it extruded out from her, she placed a hand on the handle, preventing it from falling as the rest of the object formed itself.

It took less than ten seconds before she was holding her created weapon in her left hand, and it's accompanying chain in her right. She saw no real faults with the weapon as she inspected it. An impressive replication, especially for an object that she hadn't made before. She couldn't help but sigh though.

Would something like this even help, at the end of the day? While a dangerous weapon, and in the hands of the right person, a ruthless device for combat… What mattered wasn't the weapon itself, but the person who was holding onto it.

Was she going to be good enough with such a weapon? That was what this was going to amount to at the end of all this training. Was she going to be good enough?

She didn't know.

Around her, her classmates were also in training, pushing their Quirks as much as they could. It was their final class of the day, and they had been packing in as much training, practice, and improvement as time their short two-hour Hero training class would allow them to. They were in the final few moments of their allotted time allowance for today, so many were putting in last ditch efforts to push themselves beyond their limits.

Evidence of her own training and testing surrounded Momo. Shuriken, nets, rope, constructs and the likes were plentiful around her. The area looked like the home of the worlds most erratic hoarder had been bombed. Yuuei had automatic robots whose job it was to clear the mess the students made with their Quirks, so she didn't feel too bad about the mess she had made. Still, she did admittedly feel a little guilty.

And very hungry. Thanks to her Quirk's function, and how it converted her fat into the matter that made up her creations, she was rendered famished after using it for a while. She was already at her limit when she had created the kusarigama and doubted that she could create anymore.

She didn't get the chance to test if she could anyway. Before she could think up another thing to attempt to create, the sound of the claxon's alarm, informing the students their time was up and that they now had to leave the USJ. A bus would be there to collect all the students and retake them back to the main school grounds.

Quickly, she gathered the majority of the things that she made; at the very least, the ones that were within eyesight, and moves them all into one big pile so they'd be easier for the robots to clear, before zipping up her sports uniform jacket and making her way towards the exits. As she walked, she passed by several of her classmates, most of which looked pleased with their efforts, or exhausted beyond all measurable. Kirishima and Bakugou seemed to have their permanently etched on grins of victory from whenever they achieved their goals, Jirou seemed to be satisfied with her efforts, and Midoriya and Ashido…

Well, amusingly, Ashido seemed to have slipped on her own Acid. Presumably she had been trying to use her Quirk to slide along the ground and collapsed onto up when she heard the siren to leave, with Midoriya trying to help her up. Ashido wasn't making any efforts to stand up though, instead allowing an awkward Midoriya to attempt to pull her onto her feet.

Their relationship was amusing, yet difficult to pin down sometimes. They were the topic of quite a lot of discussion as of late, which was to be expected, given how totally different they were, but there was something about them that just seemed to work. It wasn't Momo's place to make any real judgements about their relationship, but she did find them to be rather adorable in their own silly way.

Though she would admit to feeling a bit bad for Midoriya. He was an awkward boy, and to so suddenly be thrust into the eye of his class over something that was supposed to be a mostly personal matter between him and Ashido, he would no question be uncomfortable. He dealt with it in stride though, putting one foot in front of the other no matter what. He was commendable for that, certainly.

Momo made her way past through the USJ training area, and onto the buses provided. She wound up being one of the first people on, Hagakure, Shoji and Rikido being the only ones who had gotten ahead of her in that regard. The rest of the class was behind her, far more enthusiastic about their progress than she was.

"You alright, Yaomomo?" Hagakure seemed to sit up a bit straighter when she saw the look on Momo's face. Telling her expressions usually tended to rely on her voice and body language. The tone the invisible girl used seemed to indicate concern.

The tall girl more or less collapsed into the seat nearest Hagakure; on the edge of one of the seats that was set along lengthways of the vehicle as opposed to the width, and let out a sigh. "I'm alright, Hagakure, thank you."

"You sure? You look kinda pale."

"I'm sure." Momo smiled reassuringly towards her concerned classmate. As she spoke, her stomach began to groan and rumble as if in direct protest. The creation Quirk user let out another sigh, though this time of mild embarrassment. "I think I may have overdone it with my Quirk somewhat."

Her answer seemed to make Hagakure feel better that there wasn't anything serious wrong with her friend. She slumped back into her seat, and her collar seemed to crumple as she tilted her head. "I don't have anything on me, sorry."

"Oh, no, I'll be fine. I appreciate the thought though."

"Hey, Tsuyu, you have any snacks or something on you?" Hagakure leaned and seemed to wave towards the Frog Girl, whom had just began to walk onto the bus as she was called out to.

"Nope." Tsuyu said, as bluntly and as flatly as one could normally expect from her. "Why?"

"Just tryin' to make sure Yaomomo doesn't pass out."

"I just pushed myself a bit too hard with my Quirk." Momo explained again as she turned to face Tsuyu.

The green-haired girl nodded in understanding as she took her seat next to Hagakure. Compared to both of them, she didn't look like she'd even broken a sweat. A testament to how strong and hwo much stamina she had to work with. "I could see from where I was. You were really trying pushing yourself today."

It didn't take long for the bus to begin to move once everyone had gotten on and taken their seats. Quickly, conversation erupted between various groups of people, some large, and some small. Larger groups that composed of Kirishima, Sero and Kaminari, who seemed to involve Bakugou more against the Explosion Quirk users will rather than actively involving him. For the most part, he remained quiet.

Iida and Uraraka seemed to talk with Todoroki, Rikido and Ojiro about their recent training exercises. Had they been training together, Momo had absolutely no idea.

While they sat close to them, Midoriya and Ashido didn't seem to be taking active part in their conversation. Occasionally, they would speak up if something caught their attention, but they seemed mostly to be speaking between themselves for the time being. It wasn't all that surprising, since their relationship was still recent, and they were trying to figure everything out. Still, for such a recent development, they got along amicably.

"I still find it kind of… I dunno, surprising, I guess, that Mina and Midoriya hooked up." Hagakure said absently, making small talk.

"I thought you said you caught on quickly." Tsuyu responded, glancing towards her bubbly girl. "You said you'd noticed them looking at each other, didn't you?"

"Yeah, doesn't mean I expected it though."

"It was a rather..." Momo bit her lip and rolled her eyes towards the ground as she tried to find the right words. "…Sudden, development. Especially for Midoriya."

"Uh huh." Hagakure made a noise of agreement before leaning in closer. "Mina, I can understand, but I didn't expect to be behind on relationships to Midoriya of all people. I mean, did anyone really look at him and immediately think 'Boyfriend material'?"

"Ashido did, apparently." Said Tsuyu.

"I imagine their relationship is a bit more personal that something like that, Hagakure."

"Yeah, but you know what I mean, right?"

Hagakure's meaning certainly wasn't lost on Momo, and she nodded in agreement. Simply put, while no one had come to Yuuei with the intention of entering relationships, it certainly wasn't absurd to think that they would end up happening anyway. And in that vein, certain people would probably be naturally more successful in that regard. Look towards Midoriya however, and nothing about him even indicated slightly that he was going to be a class heart-throb of any description.

It wasn't his looks that were the issue, although to some, that could be pointed at as part of it. Rather, it was his awkwardness and social anxiety that made him seem like an odd fit for such a role. And he certainly didn't act like someone overly interested in relationships. Evidentially he was, shown by his relationship with Ashido, but it seemed more likely that Ashido had pursued him, rather than the other way around.

While Midoriya certainly was an impressive individual and destined to be a fine Hero, Momo herself had held no interest. He simply wasn't even close to her type. That being said, she could certainly understand both Ashido and Hagakure's perspectives on him.

"Kinda makes you wonder who'll be next." The energetic invisible girl commented, her clothes twisting as she turned to look behind her and scan over the room. "Anyone here got their eye on someone?"

"Not really." Tsuyu answered honestly. "I'm not really focused on that sort of thing right now." Somehow, that wasn't at all surprising to any of the girls there.

"I agree." Momo replied, speaking frankly and truthfully. "No one's got my interest either. Right now, I'd prefer to focus on my studies."

She wasn't lying in the slightest either. There had simply been no one to capture Momo's attention in a romantic sense quite yet. The biggest attention taker right now was on just getting through her semester finals. With no one catching her eye and no real interest in a romantic relationship at this time, Momo simply hadn't even given the thought of being in one the time of day.

Had Hagakure's face been visible, Momo guessed that she would have been pouting. Her arms seemed to fold up as she turned around, and creases in her chest and torso suggested her chin was now buried into her upper neck. "You two're boring."

Conversation had varied as the class was taxied back to the main school building. It jumped between more or less anything that came into the girls' minds. A lot of what Hagakure said seemed to revolve around romance and that particular topic. Since she was good friends with Ashido, it wasn't at all much of a surprise that she had a lot of thoughts on it. It wasn't the only topic, but it was the one that stuck out to Momo the most.

While she had no interest in it right now, she did wonder about it from time to time. They were teenagers. They were young. And they'd already seen the face of death at the USJ invasion. Some had seen it more than once. Everyone thought about it. About meeting someone who made that all seem like a distant memory.

It wasn't possible to just not think about it. She imagined it sometimes, and had fond thoughts about the possibility of meeting that special someone if they existed out there. But she never put any special focus in on it. Right now, her schoolwork was far more important than a romance.

Once they all arrived at Yuuei and changed out of their sports clothes and into their uniforms, Momo said her goodbyes to her classmates with a smile. While she normally would walk with her friends to catch the trains, her stomach was simply refusing to quieten down, and it was getting to a point of physical pain for her.

She decided that she's get something to eat beforehand, even if it was just something small, before she would head on home. Missing a train wouldn't be a big deal. She had her books to keep her preoccupied. And it was better than spending an entire journey in actual pain.

That was really one of the biggest downsides to her Quirk. She had to eat a lot in order to utilize it fully, and overdoing it left her half-starved and thinner than beforehand. In order to fully utilize her power, she did have to eat more than the average person, and that ended up making being hungry even worse.

Not far from the train station, she knew there was a fast food restaurant that several of her classmates talked about, so she decided to head there. There certainly wasn't any reason not to.

The building wasn't exactly large, but it had enough space for a reasonable number of people to sit down. Many students were within the building, hungry after having worked as hard as students of Yuuei were famous for doing. It almost looked like one of the social gatherings Momo had been made to attend when she was a child, surrounded by tall and wealthy people for charity causes or important representatives or whoever else was on the list at the time that her parents needed to see. She had found herself lonely in those scenarios, and somehow, she suddenly felt alone here.

"Yaoyorozu?"

Momo turned her head at the mention of her name, half expecting to see that one of her classmates had entered the same establishment as she had and was calling out to her.

It wasn't someone from her class, but it was someone she knew.

"Kendou?"

"Hey." Itsuka smiled as she greeted her friend from her sister class. The slightly shorter girl had a small paper bag in her left hand, showing she had ordered from the restaurant just moments ago. With her right hand, she gave the Creation Quirk user a very small wave. "Didn't know you came here."

The black-haired girl returned the wave in lieu of a proper greeting and offered a small smile. "I don't, normally. It's honestly the first time I've been in a place like this."

"Seriously?" Itsuka blinked. "What brought you here then?"

"I overworked my Quirk." Momo answered simply whilst she scratched the back of her head. "I made myself hungry."

"Fair enough." Itsuka nodded, before glancing behind Momo, spying a set of seats nearest to the window. "Hey, you wanna grab something and sit with me? You look totally lost on your own. No offense."

"None taken." Momo gently laughed. Honestly, Kendou had hit the nail right on the head. "That sounds like it would be rather nice, thank you."

The green-eyed girl smiles and made her way past Momo, claiming the nearby seats and saving one for the taller girl.

Momo couldn't help but smile, and feel a bit less lonely already.

It's a bit shorter than usual, but honestly, I don't think it's an issue since there's not a lot about this chapter I could go into anyway. I felt this was more natural and a bit more realistic in the grand scheme of things, and I wanna portray this relationship with some authenticity. I like this pairing and I want this story to be great.

I also want to portray this kind of relationship in a good way. It's going to be a challenge since i'm utterly out of my depth with this kind of thing, but I think it's going to be fun and if i can do it well, ill consider that an enormous victory. Theres a lot of focus on Izuku and Mina simply because this is linked to AE, and AE is their story. Expect to see more of those two. I have some ideas I think will be really neat for linking Ae and HandCrafted.

Reception to this story has been warm so far, which is awesome! Thanks so much for the support guys, I really do appreciate it!

I don't really have a whole lot to say about this one, since it's a shorter chapter and is pretty straight forward, but I do hope that you've enjoyed it, and that I'll see you again next time. See ya!