thank you so much for the positive feedback! please enjoy this chapter!

next chapter might be delayed a bit as i'm going on vacation for about 9 days. ^^

"Hi," Momo said, using a spoon to stir the hazelnut cream into her regular cup of coffee, "Mom." She readjusted her cell phone on her ear, picking up the hot drink and raising it to her lips. Kyouka had an early class that day, giving Momo free reign of the apartment. Not that she planned on actually making use of it, though. She needed to get on a call with her mom since the small window of freedom from her roommate didn't come as often nowadays.

"Good morning, Momo," her mother's voice filtered through the speaker of the phone. "Did you have a good first day at UAversity?"

Her gut twisted. Her mother did often ask how she was doing, but her wellbeing was a secondary issue. Momo knew what she really meant. The 'How are you?' was just a cover for 'Did you find the guy?'

"It was good. My classes are going well," she said instead. No use in humoring the older woman so soon. She'd have her way.

Her mother hummed on the opposite side of the line. "And? Any news?"

Momo sighed, rolling her eyes. She knew her mother couldn't see her, which made the setup all the more perfect. Momo didn't want to tell her anything, even though there was practically nothing to tell. Still, the small power advantage made her feel good about herself, even if only for a few seconds.

"What? Todoroki?" she asked, feigning innocence. "No, I don't have anything yet."

She could hear her mother's sigh perfectly well, but she decided to ignore it. She was going to put pressure on her anyway, even if she had found him. It was inevitable.

"Momo, what did I tell you before? As soon as you enroll, you are to start your search," her mother said. "Did you get the files? We need all possible leads, and-"

"Mother," Momo interrupted, silencing her cold. "You haven't given me anything to work with. All those files have are his surname and his age. Don't you know how he looks or something?"

"You know how the Todorokis are."

"No," Momo said, gritting her teeth. "No, I really don't. I don't know a thing about this guy that I'm supposed to be looking for besides his last name." How was she supposed to look for him?

Her mother sighed again. "If you'd like, we can schedule another-"

"No!" she quickly responded. "No need. I'll… I'll figure something out."

The line went silent for a few seconds. "Do not forget your place, Momo. You are a member of the Yaoyorozu family. Our heir. Do not involve yourself in any pointless gambles."

"Yeah yeah," Momo replied, her tone lazy, but unwavering. "I have a class to get to. Bye." She didn't wait for a response, clicking the button to end the call within seconds. Momo clenched her fingers around her cellular device tightly, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Our heir my ass."

Throwing her phone onto the counter, Momo brought her eyes to a close, her lashes fluttering as she buried her face in her hands.

Todoroki Whatever-His-First-Name-Is. She had to find him if she wanted to bring her family honor. The word 'honor' was used lightly, though. All her people wanted from the boy was…

Nevermind. It didn't matter. She didn't want to fall prey to such thoughts.

Gulping down the rest of her coffee, Momo shook her head roughly from the small caffeine high, and picked up her phone, slipping it into her bag and hoisting it up on her shoulder. She put on a regular pair of flats and let out a feeble yawn, opening the front door and stepping out, locking it right behind her.

When she turned around, she came face to face with the one person she wasn't in the mood to deal with. Scratch that, actually. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious about what he wanted to say.

"Good morning," Shouto Fukasu said with a nod, acknowledging her casually.

"Morning," she replied nonchalantly, walking a stride ahead of him.

His expression didn't match his words, though, and Momo knew he wanted to say something to her.

"What?" she asked, not amused. If he was going to talk to her, he should do it quickly. She didn't want to be late like the day before.

"Question," he said, holding onto his haversack and directing his gaze at her. He was silent after that, waiting for her response.

Momo almost groaned. "Shouto, please, I'm not in the mood." She was in the mood. She was definitely in the mood to show him up with a superb answer to his question, whatever it was.

"Did we have any homework in Anatomy?" he continued, ignoring her. At her baffled look, his eyes narrowed. "Well I'm sorry. I was too busy talking to you to pay attention to the assignment."

Ah yes, that was right. The dreaded conversation they had about pens and pencils.

She smirked. "I can be pretty distracting, can't I."

"Right," he said, his tone not failing to portray his indifference. "No, but, I'm genuinely curious, did we have anything due today?"

Smiling, she shook her head. "No. I don't think so, at least." It was the first day, and Maijima-sensei hadn't set out a concrete assignment for the class.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and say something, there was a loud bang, resulting in the door for apartment number fifteen opening and a boy stomping out with angry eyes and a displeased expression.

She recognized him. He was the same blonde boy with spiky hair who had swore at her after she bumped into him on her way downstairs yesterday. He was Shouto's roommate. This guy was Shouto's roommate.

She vaguely remembered Shouto on the phone with this boy. He had addressed him in two ways. First, as 'Bakugou', and second, as 'Katsuki'. Momo wondered which was his real name, or whether one of them was his first name and the other his last name.

"Fukasu fucking Shouto," the boy spat as he came closer to the duo. It was then when Momo realized that he was completely bare, save for a measly towel wrapped around his middle. His entire body was soaked in water, which gave her the impression that he had just stepped out of the shower.

Shouto furrowed his eyebrows, obviously not very pleased with his roommates attire of choice.

"Bakugou, why are you-"

"You used up all the hot water, shitface! Goddammit doesn't the word 'roommate' ring a bell in that stupid head of yours?"

Momo stared at the two of them with a grin face, almost feeling guilty for finding amusement in their situation.

She was going to like this guy.

"Calm down, Bakugou," Shouto said with a roll of his eyes. "Just wait for a few minutes and the water should be running fine."

"It isn't that fucking easy." His name was Bakugou. Momo was certain of this.

"Pray tell me, Katsuki. Why isn't it that easy?" Katsuki was his first name. It seemed more ideal that way, in any case. Katsuki Bakugou.

Momo smirked. This was far too entertaining for her liking. Shouto had a badass roommate who didn't have any problems swearing at him?

Gold.

"Because, unlike you, I actually have priorities," Bakugou replied, adjusting the position of his towel on the bottom half of his body. A very nice body, might she add. "I have a class and the teacher told us to not have a speck of anything other than skin on ourselves. Shit's fine, as far as- wait… who's the chick?"

Momo's eyes shot up to meet Bakugou's, trying to hide her smile as she bowed low.

"Momo Kurieiti," she said as her introduction, before rising. "I believe you were the one I bumped into yesterday."

"Hell right," Bakugou muttered. "Stupid girl thinking no end of herself."

Momo wasn't fazed, however.

"I told you," she started, "my name is Momo Kurieiti."

Her eyes darted to where Shouto was, not at all surprised to see him trying to suppress his laughs.

"Bakugou, play nice," Shouto said, smirking evenly. "Introduce yourself to the lovely Kurieiti."

"Yeah yeah," Bakugou said, rolling his eyes. Instead of bowing like she was sure he was supposed to do, he casually crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the hallway. "Name's Katsuki Bakugou. This is my shitty roommate, Shouto Fuck-asu."

She couldn't help but burst into a tiny fit of giggles at the stupid pun.

"Don't call me that, and this shitty roommate of yours is telling you to go inside and put some clothes on," Shouto shot back, glaring at him. "Control yourself. You're in the presence of a female."

Ah, so he did have some morals.

"Tch." Bakugou clicked his tongue, his face scrunching up into a heavy scowl. "Next thing you know, you'll be telling me to stop swearing like Deku does."

"Izuku has a sense of self respect and pride," Shouto replied instantly. "I admire that about him."

"Doesn't stop you from spouting shitty nonsense."

"Shut up."

Momo wondered briefly who this 'Izuku' person was, but decided it would be better if she were to find out in her own time. Glancing at her watch, which read almost seven o'clock, she reached out to tug Shouto's shirt, not even bothering to think about the implications that came with it.

Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice, though Bakugou certainly did. Said boy raised his eyebrows and his lips curled back to form a deep smirk. Momo quickly let go of Shouto, stepping back slightly to give him some personal space.

"We're going to be late," she offered helplessly, her shoulders hunching.

Shouto nodded, turning to offer one final wave to Bakugou.

"I'll see you later," he said, before rejoining Momo. She didn't bother looking back to see what Bakugou was doing, not finding herself caring as much as she knew she should have.

"Um, your roommate's…" she said as they entered the elevator. Momo glanced up at him, not at all pleased by her shaky conversation starter.

"A pain in the neck?" Shouto finished for her, shrugging. "Yeah. That's just him. He's always been like that."

"I don't know if I should feel sorry for you or not," Momo said slowly.

"You probably should. Things can get a little… hectic." He swallowed. "Oh, Bakugou's a freshman just like us. Chemistry major."

Momo blinked back her shock. That… person was in a science major? If anything, Momo expected him to be an athlete of sorts. He definitely had the body, that was for sure.

Then again, people didn't usually expect her to be an art major, so she wasn't one to judge. Her minor in atomic physics was what kept their expectations high.

"Interesting," she nodded as they stepped outside of the building and onto the sidewalk that would take them to the bus stop.

The two of them fell into a gradual silence, allowing Momo to contemplate her newfound friendship-of-sorts with this boy. If it could even count as a friendship. Honestly, she wasn't too sure yet, and she knew she had to confront him soon.

As they waited for the bus to arrive, Momo remembered something.

"Does Bakugou not take the bus as well?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Shouto shrugged. "He does, but he's constantly sleeping in. He always has to hitch a ride with that girl friend of his."

"He has a girlfriend?"

"No, not a girlfriend. A girl friend. She's just way too nice for her own good and for some reason, she's able to tolerate Bakugou. Almost as much as me."

"How do you tolerate him, anyway?" she asked as the bus rolled into the side of the street. They climbed in, saying a casual 'good morning' to the bus driver before going to the back of the bus where they got seats next to each other.

"I don't," Shouto said as they lowered themselves onto the hard, plastic chairs. "Not really. He was always picking fights with me during the brief time I was in high school."

That piqued her interest. "Brief time?" she questioned.

"I went to a high school abroad for my first year. You know the sister school of U.A. Academy?"

"Yeah. One of my friends, Ochako Uraraka went there."

"You know Uraraka?" he asked, surprised. "She's the friend of Bakugou's I was telling you about."

"Really?"

"Mhm." He redirected his gaze to the window of the bus as they pulled into campus. "My father decided to put me in homeschooling for my final years of high school."

Memories flooded back to Momo once he said that. The painful image of her mother rapping her head as she sat on the desk in her room, solving word problems and answering reading comprehension questions. Having enough and going to her father about it. Going to a regular high school.

She gulped back those thoughts, knowing that if she continued to think about it, Shouto would notice and probably ask her about why she was acting that way. She didn't think she was quite ready for that conversation.

"I was homeschooled too," she whispered, knowing she owed him at least that much. "I only went to a normal school for my last year of high school."

He stayed silent.

She coughed awkwardly, not having the heart to relish in their uncomfortable silence.

As the bus rolled into the parking lot and the students all bustled out, Shouto stayed besides her, much to her confusion. Yesterday, he had gone off right after they arrived. Why would today be any different?

As if understanding her thoughts, he raised an eyebrow. "We have Anatomy first block. It's better to stay together."

Ah. Of course.

"Right," she breathed, her eyes darting to meet his.

Shouto was looking somewhere ahead, his lips forming a thin line while his eyes were a bit wider than normal.

Curious, Momo followed the direction of his gaze, stopping at the sight of Ochako talking to a boy with curly green hair and specks of freckles covering his cheeks.

But it wasn't that exactly, it was the fact that Bakugou was behind Ochako, his hands in his pockets and a disdainful look directed at him. Ochako was speaking animatedly to the boy, blissfully unaware of the withering person behind her.

"What… what?" Momo murmured, looking back at Shouto.

"Oh. This should be good," was his only reply, and he quickly dodged her and walked up to the trio with Momo trailing closely behind him.

Upon approaching them, the green haired boy's eyes widened in delight. He offered a wave to Shouto, and a polite nod to Momo, though she was sure he had no idea who she was. She could instantly tell he was a nice person, just by that one action.

"Shouto-kun," he said, his voice lifting adorably. The boy smiled from ear to ear, which Shouto returned with a faint one of his own.

Ochako grinned, waving to Shouto. "Oh! Shouto! Momo-chan!"

"Hi, Ochako-chan," Momo smiled.

"Uraraka, Izuku," Shouto said.

So this was the infamous Izuku that Shouto and Bakugou were talking about this morning. Though Bakugou had referred to him as 'Deku'. Could that just be his first name or his last name?

"I'm Momo Kurieiti," Momo said, bowing towards the boy. "I'm Shouto and Bakugou's neighbor."

He grinned in return. "Hello! I'm Izuku Midoriya."

Izuku Midoriya. Midoriya.

That meant he and Shouto were on first name terms. They had to be close.

Bakugou made a sudden, weird sound with his mouth that sounded somewhere between a strangled yell and a light scoff.

"We call him Deku," he said, glaring at him.

"Kacchan, only you and Uraraka-san call me that," Midoriya said, his voice small.

"Yeah, the rest call you a fucking pain."

"Bakugou-kun!" Ochako said, her lips forming a pout as she crossed her arms. "Not nice!"

"Tch. Whatever."

That was astoundingly shocking. I'd Ochako was able to calm someone like Bakugou down like that, it had to mean something. She already knew they knew each other well enough. Why else would Ochako offer to take him to school with her everyday?

"Momo-chan, we're planning on going out for dinner today. Would you like to come with us?" Ochako asked.

She must have made plans with one of the boys already. Momo's cheeks instantly reddened. If she was going on a date, why did she invite her along too? Was it just to be polite, lest her finding out later? That was unnecessary. She didn't want to be a burden.

"Ochako-chan, you don't have to invite me!" she quickly said, her entire face burning brightly. "It's okay if you want some private time with-"

"What?" Ochako said, cocking her head to the side. Her eyes popped open in realization, and Momo could barely make out the large smirk on Shouto's face. "Oh!" Ochako exclaimed, catching on. "No no! I'm inviting Kaminari and Jirou too! Shouto, you come as well!"

Shouto's eyebrows narrowed. "What? You're inviting me?"

"You too, Bakugou-kun, Deku-kun," she continued, ignoring him.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Momo nodded. "Alright. What time, and where?" she asked.

"How about six at the All Might?" Ochako suggested. "It's that Italian place just off campus. We can walk together after our last classes."

Momo had heard about the All Might, of course. It was a UAversity tradition to go there after exams to chill with friends. That didn't mean it wasn't a regular hangout, though. Many students went for just a casual dinner with their peers and classmates.

"Sounds good," she replied, nodding. "I'll see you guys around." She turned to face Shouto, who was looking at the group oddly. Upon noticing her stare, he quickly cleared his throat and started walking alongside her. They had a class to get to.

"That was Midoriya Izuku," he started after a few seconds of silence. "He was… well, he still is, one of my best friends from high school."

She was right. They were definitely close.

"Oh? So the great Shouto Fukasu is capable of making friends?" Momo replied, teasing him.

"What? Are we not friends?"

That caught her off guard. Just yesterday he told her something about not being friends, and even went as far as to berate her of thinking of them as such. How could feelings like that change overnight?

"You… you tell me," she said, fumbling with her words. "You weren't exactly very nice to me yesterday when I called you my friend."

"Of course I wasn't," he said, a curious look on his face, "I had just met you that day. We can't be friends after only a few hours of knowing each other, can we?"

"By that logic, we shouldn't be friends right now, either."

"Why not? It's been more than a day."

"But the time of two people knowing each other doesn't decide the fate of their relationship."

"I didn't know you at all."

"It doesn't work like that."

He fell silent, prompting Momo to shoot a look his way. She sighed upon seeing his closed off expression directed at the ground, his features etched towards the middle of his face and his eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"It… doesn't?" he asked, clearly taken aback. "But how can someone trust someone else so quickly? Isn't friendship a gift?"

She paused, thinking this over. Was friendship a gift? Did you have to earn someone's friendship.

The answer was yes. Yes, you did.

"I've never really thought of it like that, but yeah, I suppose," she answered. "The thing is, if you do trust a person, no matter how long you've known them, then I think it should be okay for you to consider them as at least your friend, if not more."

"More?"

"Well, I mean, there are other relationships other than friendship. And anyway, if you meet someone and you instantly hit it off or something, wouldn't you consider them your friend?"

His forehead knitted tightly, almost as if he was thoroughly processing this. Almost as if this was new information for him.

"Did you consider me your friend right after I held the bus for you?"

Momo's teeth stretched forwards to take the flesh of her inner lip in her grasp. She bit down roughly, ignoring the stinging sensation that came right afterwards. It was a good question. After Shouto stopped the bus for her yesterday, did she think of him as a friend? He definitely earned a sense of respect from her, and she would be lying if she said she didn't immediately trust him more than she would have if they had met any other way. She had thought of him as a kind individual for doing something like that for her. But did that make him her friend right off the bat?

"No. Not exactly," she finally said, catching his attention again.

"But you just said-"

"Not yet, anyway," she interrupted him. "We hadn't spoken to each other yet. I didn't know anything about you. I couldn't consider you my friend till I actually had a proper conversation with you, see?"

"But then you're just contradicting your own words." The two of them had long ago reached the art building, and were now stupidly waiting outside their classroom's door having this petty conversation. "You said if you trust someone, you can consider them your friend. Did you not trust me?"

"I did," Momo said, her voice becoming quieter with each passing second. "Of course I did. You were admirable in my eyes for doing something like that for me. I trusted you. Plus, you didn't look sketchy. That was a bonus."

"Sketchy?" he repeated.

"Nevermind."

"Hm." He hummed through his nostrils. "We should get into class."

He wasn't going to confront what she had just confessed about him, but that was okay. It might have been a little weird, anyway, so she didn't really mind.

So, she followed him through the now-open doors of Maijima-sensei's class, slipping into her seat and taking out her notebook.

Day Two.

…

"Kyo, this is Shouto Fukasu and his roommate, Katsuki Bakugou," Momo said, standing between her best friend and the two boys. Kyouka stared between them all evenly, turning to Bakugou and lifting an eyebrow.

"Hey, I know you," she said. "You're that guy who's always yelling in the hallways when I'm trying to get to class."

Bakugou's eyes narrowed. "And you're that chick who's always threatening to punch me whenever I yell in the hallways," he responded. "You're annoying as fuck."

"The feeling is mutual," Kyouka said, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Well," Shouto cut in, "that's nice and all, but..." He trailed off, and Momo knew it was her turn to speak.

She twisted her lips into a frown. "Uh… right."

"So you two live in our building?" Kyouka asked, switching the subject.

"We're the sixth door to your right," Shouto said.

"Oh!" Kyouka exclaimed suddenly, her eyes widening. "Yes! That's right! You're that guy Momo was talking about. Fukasu, right?"

"I prefer Shouto."

"Shouto." She looked thoughtful. "Do you consider everyone your friend, then?" she asked. "I mean, you let them call you by your first name so easily, and right off the bat."

Shouto looked over to Momo in alarm, and the memory of their conversation from the morning came bubbling to the surface. Momo smirked, looking back at him and returning his gaze head on.

"Hey, you guys!" Ochako's voice came, startling everyone. The four of them looked over to see the brunette with Midoriya and Kaminari trailing close behind her. "Are we all ready?" The three of them walked up to the group, which made everyone present and accounted for.

"Yup," Kyouka nodded, sauntering over to Ochako and throwing an arm around her. "Say, Uraraka, where're we going?"

"Oh, didn't Momo-chan tell you?" Ochako asked, glancing over to Momo with a curious look.

"Was I supposed to?" Momo asked, rubbing her cheek sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's okay!"

"The All Might," Kaminari cut in, answering for Ochako and jabbing Kyouka's elbow. "No wonder someone like you didn't figure it out."

"What's that supposed to mean, coming from you?"

"Oi!"

"Guys," Bakugou said, his voice forceful and crude. "Let's just hurry the fuck up. I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Shouto muttered, but it was only loud enough for Momo to hear. She bit back her laugh, not wanting to cause another pointless scene. He noticed her look. "What? It's a fact."

"I bet it is," she snickered, looking back towards the road in front of them. The sun was fairly low in the sky, and she knew that it wouldn't set for another hour or so. This shindig would last for a lot longer than that.

"Shouto-kun," she heard Midoriya's voice behind them. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the green haired boy with his eyebrows furrowed, looking at Shouto. She felt his shoulders hunch from besides her, but she didn't know why. Wasn't Midoriya one of his best friends?

"Not here, Izuku," she heard him whisper.

"But I wanted to know if you found-"

"Later."

Realizing she was constricting him from talking about something with his friend, Momo glanced up at Shouto.

"It's okay, I can go talk to Kyo or something," she said, knowing she was the problem.

He didn't look at her. "No, no it's fine. Just something stupid."

"Alright." Momo tilted her head down so she was staring at her shoes, an uneasy expression clouding over her facial features. They walked in silence after that, though she didn't blame herself for it. Midoriya was still next to them, but by now even he was talking to Ochako about something.

She mentally groaned, not at all liking the awkwardness in the air.

"Hey, we're here!" Kaminari yelled, and Momo realized that he, Bakugou, and Kyouka were way ahead of them.

"C'mon, slowpokes!" Kyouka shouted right after.

Leaning forwards, Momo exchanged a glance with Ochako. The short brunette grinned evilly at her, both of them looking towards Shouto and Midoriya. The boys stared back at them in confusion, but not before Momo and Ochako gently tapped their shoulders, breaking into a run ahead of them.

"Last one to touch Bakugou's a rotten tomato!" Ochako grinned, racing ahead of them.

Momo heard Bakugou swear violently at her friend, just before feeling a slight breeze on her left side. Gasping, she saw that Shouto was right besides her within seconds, running calmly. Judging by his expression, this pace was merely a jog for him.

"How did you…"

"My father used to train me when I was a child," he said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I'm used to this."

Her gaze narrowed when she saw that Ochako and Midoriya were besides her as well, barely catching the victorious smirk plastered over Shouto's face.

"What?" she snapped as they caught up to the group ahead of them.

"Oh, nothing," Shouto said, though he hadn't smiled yet.

He hadn't really smiled in front of her, now that she thought about it.

"I win!" Ochako yelled before she trampled onto Bakugou's leg, clutching it with all her might. The blonde boy gaped at the girl hanging off of his foot, though the feeling was short lived when Momo too pounced onto his shoulders.

Midoriya and Shouto hung back, watching in amusement as Bakugou got run over by the two girls. When Momo looked back at them, she wasn't at all surprised to see Shouto looking at something on his phone, showing it to the shorter boy. They were talking under their breaths, so she couldn't make out what they were saying.

The scene made her remember what she needed to do regarding her mother. She glanced down at her own phone sticking out of her back pocket. She needed to call her mother soon to tell her she still hadn't found a trace of the Todoroki kid.

"Let's go inside," Ochako said, releasing her hold on Bakugou's leg and standing up, dusting off her clothes. "I made a reservation with Tsuyu-chan."

"Tsuyu-chan?" Momo asked as they walked into the restaurant.

"She's a marine biology major at UAversity," Ochako explained. "She has a part time job here as a waitress."

"Oh, I know Tsu-chan," Midoriya said when Ochako gave her information to one of the hosts that took care of finding reservations. "I met her yesterday."

"I heard," Ochako answered. She beckoned for the group to follow her, leading them to a corner circular booth with a short girl standing next to it. As Momo slid into the booth, the girl, who had a head of long green hair, put plates onto the table for the seven of them.

"I'm Tsuyu Asui, kero," she said, bowing low. She looked over to Ochako and Midoriya. "Ochako-chan, Midoriya-chan."

"Tsuyu-chan!" Ochako grinned, holding out her hand to point towards everyone. "You already know Bakugou-kun and Deku-kun, but this is Fukasu Shouto, Kurieiti Momo-chan, Jirou Kyouka, and Kaminari Denki. Guys, Tsuyu-chan prefers to be addressed by her first name."

Momo knew Tsuyu was going to be friendly.

"Nice to meet you all, kero," Tsuyu said. "What would everyone like, kero kero?"

As everyone ordered, Momo took out her phone, ignoring Shouto's apparent stare in her direction.

The first thing she saw were two messages from her mother.

Mother: Any news?

Mother: Any news that's worth mentioning?

She groaned, knowing she couldn't ignore it for too long.

Momo Kurieiti: nothing.

Mother: Momo, are you even taking this seriously?

Momo Kurieiti: yes, mother. i'm out with my friends right now.

She didn't get an answer, and she didn't exactly expect one. A warm hand brushed her side, making her turn to see Shouto staring down at the phone in her hands, his face knotted into an uncomfortable frown. Quickly, Momo clicked her phone shut, tossing it into her bag and coughing.

"It's rude to stare," she whispered quietly so that no one else could hear her.

Blinking rapidly, he lifted his eyes to look at her. Momo met his stare, silently telling him to drop it. He had clearly seen the conversation with her mother, and she could only hope he wouldn't bring it up out loud.

"Sorry," he muttered, his eyes flickering down to his lap before they redirected themselves to look at Kaminari, who was currently telling a story. She was relieved he had left it at that.

"-and obviously, I wasn't expecting that, so when I heard the noise, I was like-" Kaminari was saying.

"You must have cried like a baby," Kyouka snickered, covering her mouth with the back of her right hand.

"Hey!" he said, annoyed. "And excuse me, but I actually went over to help them clean up the mess."

"And then you cried like a baby," she responded easily.

"For the last time, I did not cry like a baby!"

"Is what you want us to think."

"Is what I want you to believe!"

"Believe? That word alone implies that you're lying."

"I didn't cry like a baby, Jirou!"

"Enough," Bakugou cut in, silencing the two bickering people cold. "I don't have time to listen to you two argue about pointless shit! Shut the fuck up!"

Momo snickered, watching in amusement as both Kyouka and Kaminari crossed their arms, holding their heads high and looking away from each other.

"A-anyway," Midoriya said, his voice trembling at Bakugou's forceful words. "What major are you, Kurieiti-san?"

"3D art," Momo replied, glad that the topic of the conversation had changed. "What about you, Midoriya-san?"

"Psychology," he said, his expression twisting into one of determination.

Momo's eyes widened at the unique major, wondering what made the boy take it. Judging just by how he held himself when talking about his interest showed his excitement for the subject.

"Oh, wow," she said, her voice low and almost breathy. "That's really interesting, actually." Momo placed her elbows onto the table, leaning forward so she could better look at him. "What field of psychology are you into? Why did you take it?" She had so many questions, and her excitement for getting answers was overtaking her in a thrilling way. At times like this, she didn't care to keep her inner geek private.

"I want to help people," he replied without hesitance. He looked down at his hands, smiling at them. "When I was younger, people told me I had a knack for that sort of thing, so I guess I just decided to go for it."

From besides her, Shouto sucked in a breath. "He helped me," he admitted quietly. Everyone turned to him, making him cower away. "I mean… yeah."

Midoriya's lips twisted awkwardly. "That was nothing. I'm glad I could do it for you."

Momo didn't miss Shouto tense up besides her.

"I was the one who pushed him into majoring it," Shouto continued, now addressing the entire table properly in his regular voice. "I'm glad it worked."

To say Momo was impressed was an understatement. She looked up at Shouto, her eyes trailing over to the left side of his face where the large red mark boldly sat. She briefly wondered if Midoriya's therapy was regarding the scar. That is, if it really wasn't natural like she thought.

"Hmm," she murmured. "Wow."

"Uh, Kacchan? Are you… okay?" Midoriya said, which made Momo tilt her head to see Bakugou, who was glaring at the table evenly, his breath puffing out in long strides.

"'Kacchan'?" Momo whispered, looking over to Shouto who undoubtedly held the answer to why Midoriya called Bakugou in that much of a familiar manner.

"They're childhood friends," Shouto answered. "Not exactly the closest when they were younger, had an… interesting relationship."

"I see," she responded, just as Tsuyu came back with their food. As the large plates were set onto the table, Momo allowed her mind to spin and wander off. The reminder that her mother was waiting for some sort of acknowledgement from her was still stuck in the back of her mind, but for now, she decided to focus on her new friends. It was clear that she and Midoriya would get along just fine, and it was also clear that she would soon learn to tolerate Bakugou just like the rest of them did. Not that she particularly minded him.

So, without another word, she settled for picking up her utensils and poking through her food, not at all bothered enough to notice the glances she kept receiving from the boy to her right.

…

Kyouka and Bakugou did not get along, and this was becoming more and more apparent during the time when everyone had to go home. Since Momo, Shouto, Kyouka, and Bakugou lived in the same building, it was decided that they would take the bus back to their apartment together.

Bad idea.

"I don't care about your fucking sleep habits!" Bakugou was saying on the ride back. "If I want to get out of bed, I will get out of bed."
"You can get out of bed without walking into the damn hallways and causing a ruckus!" she retorted right after. "I have morning classes!"

"Which means you should wake up on time!"

"And you have afternoon classes, which means you should be waking up later!" Kyouka said, groaning. "Honestly, who wakes up at four o'clock in the morning when their first class is at nine?!"

"That's only on weekends! Don't act like you know shit about me!"

"I know you enough to tell that you're freaking insane!"

"Jirou," Shouto said, effectively breaking into their petty argument. "If you think you have it bad, just remember that I live with him."

Momo grinned when her best friend's expression twisted into a pitying frown. "Oh, gosh, Shouto. I feel so bad for you."

"I feel bad for me too," Shouto whispered, but Momo could tell it was in a joking way.

"The fuck's that supposed to mean, Fuck-asu!"

"I told you not to call me that!"

Momo groaned. "Oh, Kamisama, why me?"

"Excuse you," Kyouka muttered back to her. "The better question is, why me?"

The bus rolled into their stop, prompting the four of them to stumble out in a very unorganized manner, Momo and Kyouka in the front, while Shouto and Bakugou trailed behind them. Playfully, Kyouka bumped her foot to the back of Momo's ankle, giving her a sly smile.

"You were having fun today," she grinned.

Momo smiled. "I was. It's… been a while since the last time I got to go out like that and just relax with people."

Kyouka nodded, understanding. Momo had already told her about the situation with her parents and their attitudes towards her, though, of course, she hadn't told her absolutely everything. Her being a Yaoyorozu and looking for the Todorokis would have to remain confidential, though she did desperately want to tell her about it all.

She couldn't, though. If anyone were to find out, she'd be dead.

As she and Kyouka waved goodbye to the boys and entered their apartment, Momo went straight for her room, sitting down on her bed and taking out her phone, scrolling down to find a response from her mother. She frowned as she read the text that had filtered into her messaging platform about thirty minutes ago.

Mother: I'm glad you're out with your friends. Be safe.

Without a second thought, Momo chucked her phone across her bedroom, barely even registering the small crash that sounded when it made contact with the wall on the opposing side.

She closed her eyes, bringing her knees to her chest and hugging them tightly, rocking back and forth on the soft, plush material of her bed's mattress.

She didn't want to do this.

But she had to.

next chapter: tenya iida wants to study and who's texting bakugou?