The chilly winds of the afternoon brushed raspingly against her exposed arm, sending a shiver coursing throughout her whole body. She attempted to shrug off the discomforting sensation, intent on recreating the image that had been planted in her head for the past two days while at the same time desperately trying to ignore the displeased stares of the person in front of her.

A metal device shaped like a sphere emerged from her arm, which was impatiently grabbed by Bakugou, making her feel the weird yet familiar sensation of his bare hand, sloppy and cold against her already cool skin. He wasted no time as he briskly faced the other direction, blasting off the device with his Quirk which flew towards a mannequin meters away from them. She felt her heart race as it reached a close enough distance, and upon Bakugou's signal (consisting of an obviously annoyed grunt), she swung her other arm in its direction, clicking the smaller remote in her palm. It emitted a puff of smoke before simply plopping against the target, falling down on the ground alongside her other failed creations.

Yaoyorozu bit her lip, her gaze shifting to his already shaking fists. It would only be a matter of time until—

"GOD FUCKIN' DAMN IT!"

There it was, the outbursts he was infamously known for.

"Why won't those freakin' shitty balls fucking explode?!"

She knew it was bound to happen at least once in the course of their project, yet she realized no amount of preparation would help her get used to such uncouth words. She shifted uncomfortably, summoning all her willpower to respond to him.

"I'm…I'm truly sorry, Bakugou-san."

Her words were spoken soft, devoid of any pride. No matter how much she modified the properties of the metal coating, it seemed impossible to obtain their desired outcome. Either she'd make it too brittle that it would explode upon being blasted by his hand, or it would be too sturdy that its coating wouldn't break off as soon as they activated the fuse on the inside.

He was still facing the other way, yet she could already imagine the expression of his face. An uncomfortable lump formed in her throat.

"Are you fuckin' certain you followed what's on my design?"

"Yes," she answered with no hesitation.

"Then what the fuck is wrong with it?!" He angrily pivoted, kicking some of the snow away from where he stood to stare at her with unconcealed frustration painted on his face.

Yaoyorozu held her breath, feeling the anxious beating of her heart. Theoretically, there was nothing wrong with his design. To put it simply, it worked like a cannonball grenade, except there was no actual cannon since his own hands would do the job. She knew it was his own way of coming up with something to overcome his weakness with long-ranged combat, so somehow she understood his increasing frustration of their failed attempts.

"I think it has something to do with the actual chemical properties of the device." She paused, hesitant in telling her next words, "I, I can't seem to come up with the perfect chemical formula for the alloy we used—"

"Well, are you sure you tried every fucking possible nook and cranny?"

"Yes," she repeated, staring blankly on the ground. In fact, she spent the last two nights staying up late just to recreate various prototypes, each with different metallic properties. Ever since she received the blueprints of the device, she had been trying hard to come up with different chemical combinations which she hoped would turn out successful, all while reviewing for tests scheduled for the previous days.

She could feel his strong gaze scrutinizing her yet she tried to ignore it.

"Well, you didn't try fuckin' harder."

The tone of his voice lowered significantly with his last words, yet the sharpness lingered; Yaoyorozu definitely felt a painful jab in her chest.

But instead of cowering further away, she straightened her back, firmly lifting her chin. This time, she looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Excuse me?" It came out as a harsh whisper. She tried to cease the hot tears forming in her eyes.

He didn't flinch with the sudden shift in her tone. If anything, her reaction only made his glare even more intense.

"I said, you didn't try fuckin' harder," he echoed, emphasizing the words even further.

She wasn't sure what came over her—whether it was out of sheer frustration to the difficult project, sheer frustration to her difficult partner, lack of sleep, or all of the above—but she rummaged her pockets, crumpling the neatly folded papers containing various formulas in the process, and throwing said papers right across his face, almost slapping him. For a brief second, she rejoiced at his look which said that he didn't see that coming.

"Since you're so brilliant anyway, Bakugou-san, why don't you try to come up with the formula? Maybe you'll be able to decipher it."

And she stormed off, not giving him time to respond. The snow crunched underneath her shoes as she made her way back to the dormitories.

The warmth from inside the building was welcoming as she opened the doors, somehow lessening the heavy emotions she felt within her chest. Several voices also greeted her, but were ultimately ignored as she briskly strode towards the elevator, hoping to hide the tears that stained her face.

She was suddenly too tired. All she wanted was to be alone for a while.

Thankfully she no longer encountered anyone on the way to her room. As soon as she closed the door, she sunk herself to her enormous bed, turning away from the piles of metal balls and hiding her face on her pillow as she sniffed pathetically.

Yaoyorozu was actually very sincere about cheering on each other wholeheartedly. It was her personal belief that heroes would attain their goals best if they worked in groups, especially if they learn how to harmoniously coordinate each of their Quirks. And what better way to start a group from a group of friends?

It was ironic if she thought about it, but she never really had any friends in middle school. She wasn't really sure why, too; was she simply too sheltered? Or perhaps she was too naïve for thinking that they'd treat her as their friend if she simply gave them various material possessions with her Quirk? She never really told anyone, but despite receiving the highest honors during their middle school graduation, she realized her happiness felt superficial. They often told her that Momo would definitely be one of the loved heroes with her useful Quirk, but how come she felt otherwise the moment she saw her classmates hugging each other from afar, bidding their farewells to each other? She felt absolutely left out.

How could she possibly be a hero when feelings like those stayed?

So as soon as she stepped into U.A., she wanted to change that. Perhaps, she should start reaching out more? That's what heroes do too, right? No matter what their differences were, she valued her classmates, her comrades, and she was dedicated in helping them every step of their way. Bakugou was no exception to that—never mind the fact that he was a major jerk. It was what ultimately led her to seek him out together with Midoriya and the others, despite knowing the possible consequences of their actions should they be caught.

Of course, despite what others may say, Yaoyorozu wasn't also perfect. In her first months in the academy, she'd be lying if she said she was eager to have someone like Bakugou as her friend. She actually admired Midoriya for trying to rekindle whatever friendship they may have had in the past. The truth was, she found him too rash, too violent to the point that it made her uncomfortable; it pained her to watch his battle against Uraraka in the Sports Festival. She couldn't imagine how it must've been in her place. Nothing good seemed to come out from his mouth either. She recognized his talents, but he seemed like a lost case in terms of manners and good conduct.

Being with Bakugou was similar to being with a time bomb, and Yaoyorozu wasn't certain if she would be able to survive it without the both them being blown to bits.

She unknowingly fell asleep, and by the time she woke up, it was 11:00PM already. She figured she should just fall asleep again—they had classes tomorrow after all—but her stomach protested, growling loudly. It wasn't surprising, since she skipped dinner after all, and when she left Bakugou she almost depleted her fat reserves with all her failed creations. She decided it was best to have a midnight snack.

She quietly maneuvered herself in the dim corridors, making her way towards the common elevator. She pressed the ground floor, closing her eyes as she felt the metal box moving in between floors. However, she felt it slowly coming into a halt almost too soon. Too soon for it to be the ground floor.

Yaoyorozu immediately opened her eyes, panicking.

Ding!

Her first thought was that it stopped on the fourth floor, thinking it to be Bakugou. Oh no, how awkward would it be…

But when she checked the floor on the digital screen, it said "3."

The door opened, revealing a blond boy, but not the one who she was expecting.

"Kaminari-san!" she greeted with surprise.

"Hey, if it isn't Yaomomo," the other responded back with his usual vigor, standing beside her as he entered. "Fancy meeting you this late at night. Never thought you're the type to go sneaking out after curfew."

She smiled a bit. "I don't plan to stay out long though." She paused, actually torn between telling him the truth of her little trip. "I, uh, just forgot something."

"Ohhh, you too, huh?" He placed his hands on both sides of his head as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Man, somehow, it makes me feel better that someone smarter than me happens to deal with memory problems too!"

She found herself chuckling. Technically, she didn't really forget…but perhaps it was better if he really didn't know the truth.

"So, how are you and that angry chihuahua Bakugou? I hope he wasn't too mean to you."

She grew quiet for a while. She knew he was among the people who greeted her when she entered the building earlier. Most likely a disgruntled Bakugo followed after her shortly, and it wouldn't take a genius to figure out what probably transpired between them. From Kaminari's voice, she knew he was trying to keep things from being too serious. She sensed him awkwardly shifting beside her.

Ding!

"Looks like we're here!" Kaminari exclaimed, as if forgetting he said anything, holding the "open" button when the doors separated. "After you, Yaomomo!"

She thanked him as she stepped out, waiting for him to come out as well. "Actually, we're not really on best terms right now," she admitted.

Kaminari heaved a sigh. "I knew it. What did he do this time?"

She narrated the story as they sat down on the couch. Kaminari said nothing, waiting for her to finish. She appreciated that about him.

"And that's it," she said, holding her hands together, "He's just too mean… How do you even manage to be friends with him?"

Kaminari laughed through his nose. "I dunno about Kirishima but I doubt that potty mouth even considers me as his friend! But anyway, here's the secret behind it, Yaomomo; learn the Bakugou-language!"

She looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"What I'm trying to say is that you should try to see through his words. Actually, it's kinda hard to interpret it at first since all you hear are rotten bull crap, but you know what, most of the time he actually means well. I learned about that during the provisional license test." Kaminari grinned. "You know what they say too, it's possible to find treasure even in garbage!"

She slowly nodded, trying to digest his words. Now if she thought about it, something in him changed after the kidnapping incident. The outbursts were still present—she did experience it first hand—but comparing the Bakugou from before to the Bakugou now… Somehow, he was strangely more approachable.

Kaminari bid her good night right after he retrieved his forgotten item. Apparently, it was his pair of slippers. She tried hard not to laugh.

"Hey, no judgement!" Kaminari said as he entered the elevator, "You sure you don't want me accompanying you to the kitchen?"

She shook her head, smiling. "No, I can manage. Good night, Kaminari-san."

"Actually, it's against my gentleman code to leave you here, but I'm only not accompanying you because I know someone's still there. I could feel the static energy from the opened kitchen lights." He winked before waving a hand. Before she managed to ask who he meant, the doors of the elevator shut close.

Yaoyorozu sighed. Not that she's scared, but doesn't he know that there's a double meaning behind his words? Good if it was a classmate, but what if it was an unwelcomed visitor? Or worse, what if it was Aizawa-sensei making rounds? Not that she had anything to worry about, she knew how to defend herself.

Just as she made a turn from the lobby, she realized Kaminari was indeed saying the truth. The kitchen lights were on. And she soon discovered the identity of the mystery person.

It was Bakugou, surrounded by a bunch of books while his head rested against some pieces of familiar papers on the table. He was sleeping soundly.

Somehow, a warm feeling surged within Yaoyorozu, and it wasn't similar to the anger she felt towards him hours ago. If anything, the anger faded away, and a hint of guilt pinched her heart when she remembered how she shoved the papers right on his face. Though he kinda deserved it for his hurtful words.

"Try to see through his words," Kaminari's voice repeated in her head.

After obtaining some snacks from the fridge, she turned back to him. Without thinking twice, she produced a pillow from her body and placed it right beside his head. She flinched when he suddenly moved upon contact with the pillow, but he simply shifted his arms and head, resting on the cushion much more comfortably. Yaoyorozu was convinced that he was still asleep.

The next day, she found the pillow at her doorstep, along with a new set of formulas just beside it.