The connection that bonds Momo to Todoroki allows for them each to go through what the other has seen and what emotions are evoked from these experiences in their minds. It happens in the instant the reconnecting kiss takes place. The kiss itself feels almost like an afterthought compared to the tsunami of exchanging information. It allowed for Momo to live through the terrifying and hellish experience that Todoroki had just persevered through. It was unbelievable to think that her vision had been his reality. The nightmare of not being able to control your own feelings or actions must have taken its toll on the boy. Not to mention the guilt he must have felt for harming Bakugou and involving Midoriyama and Lida in this bizarre situation. She understood everything that he was feeling, so much so that she knew exactly what she would see when her eyes opened.
Tears streamed down his face. An expression of equal parts confusion and horror flashed in front of her. Todoroki stumbled back from Momo, hitting the row of lockers behind him as he slid to the ground. He sat upright as he fumbled with his words.
"I'm s-so sorry, I don't know how… I didn't mean for any of this too…"
Momo didn't say a word. She felt an odd sense of calm within her. The sight of an emotionally distraught Todoroki hurt her heart but at the same time it relieved her of the burden of doubt that weighed so heavily on it earlier. The worry she felt from witnessing him threaten Bakugou. The doubt she placed in him once again as he entered the locker room. The fear she felt as he pressed himself into her with hatred etched into his face. All of it stemmed from the root of the problem; everything had been caused by a new symptom that manifested from within Todoroki. He had no control over the condition that plagued him. The relief she felt in that moment was almost too much to bear.
Todoroki tried to continue speaking but was stopped when Momo fell to her knees in front of him. She put her hands around his head and pulled him into her chest. The relief escaped her body through tears as she held Todoroki's head under her chin.
"It's OK Shoto, you don't need to speak."
His name rolled off her tongue with the full sum of her affection behind it. She could say it now because doing so encapsulated all her unspoken feelings for him into one single word. His shaky breath slowed as he succumb to the comfort Momo was offering. When he had calmed down enough, Momo brought her hands to the sides of his face and looked into his eyes. Todoroki gazed back, the eyes that had once held such contempt now reflected a sense of wonderment, as if he couldn't believe she was treating him so kindly.
"I could have hurt you Momo, you don't have to be so kind to me. You should-"
Momo had wondered about something for the past few days, ever since she realized how she really felt about the boy who stole her first kiss. What would happen if they were to kiss again after their connection was re-established? It was an experiment they had yet to complete; however, what she did next was in no way related to an experiment. Todoroki's lips kept forming unnecessary words and her own were unable to form the words in her heart. She communicated her words to him through action.
Momo leaned into his exposed body, her arms reached around his head as she pulled his lips to her own. The result was nothing dangerous, nothing extraordinary or bizarre. For as mentally simulating as there connection was, their first true kiss was equally as stimulating physically. Rather than a rapid exchange of temperature and experiences, this kiss was simply their bodies feeling the sensation of the other. The entirely new stimulation made Momo light headed. She felt his firm body on her skin as she held their kiss. The need for air caused her to unwrap her arms from his head and push her hands into his chest to relinquish herself from the heavenly feeling.
Momo was breathing heavily as she pushed herself up. Her hands felt the defined muscles of his chest. Her mind was in a euphoric haze as she met his eyes. She was lost in the heat of the moment. Todoroki raised a hand to her cheek. His expression was only making her more light headed. The always neutral faced Todoroki was now looking at her with a smoldering gaze. His flushed skin and parted lips showed that he too had felt the different kind of impact a normal kiss could have.
She felt his other hand press against the small of her back. He brought himself up to eye level with her. The hand on her cheek made its way through her hair as he closed his eyes and-
"MOOOOMOOOOO CHAAAAAAN!"
The door to the girls locker room swung open as a cheery Mina walked in alongside Jiro. They walked on a seemingly empty locker room. Mina looked around the lockers.
"Momo are you in here?"
They were met with silence until the sound of water of water splashing from the showers filled the room.
"H-Hey guys! I just stepped into the shower."
The instant she heard the door opening she had grabbed Todoroki by the arm and thrown him in the nearest shower. The closed curtain was now the only thing separating her friends from an almost nude Todoroki. She groaned internally as her day had just become even more complicated. Momo heard the two girls talking and using their lockers so she had a moment to think. She could tell him to leave when the girls entered their own showers but someone else could walk in at any moment. She had to clear a path for him to leave and until then they were stuck together once again.
Water from the shower landed in between them as if marking each of their territories. Her leggings were soaking wet and uncomfortable so she emphatically motioned for the boy to turn head to the corner of the shower. Her hazy mind had been completely cleared and now was painfully aware of the embarrassing situation she was in. The leggings fell to the corner of the shower as Momo stood with her back pressed to the wall. She was now dressed in only a white sports bra and an especially skimpy pair of white panties. Even though Todoroki was diligently standing in the corner with his eyes closed, she felt the desperate need to cover as much of herself with her arms as humanly possible.
Her face blushed brighter than the sun as she thought of how she had so lewdly pressed her body into Todoroki. Her mom would murder her! She remembered the time her mother had scolded her to no end for giving a boy a quick hug in elementary school.
"Sorry mom, your daughter has become a devilish vixen who preys on innocent boys… Although Todoroki isn't completely innocent."
Momo's thoughts wandered irrationally until her two friends entered the two shower stalls next to her. Mina raised her voice to be heard over the sound of falling water echoing in the locker room.
"Hey Momo, you feeling better now? I think everyone was a little concerned after Todoroki talked down Bakugou like that. But Jiro says it'll work itself out right?"
"That's right, there's no way Mister calm, cool, and collected would do anything that stupid. Especially on school grounds. Don't worry about it Momo."
"...Yeah."
She looked towards Todoroki who was now staring down at the corner in front of him with an expression of pain and regret. Momo was perhaps the only person who could understand how innocent Todoroki was in what had happened between him and Bakugou. Their classmates could easily find out about what happened that day and she didn't know what they would think of him. They would have doubts and misgivings just like she had for the past week. The special bond she shared with him made her the only person who could comfort him at that moment.
She didn't dare speak and risk drawing attention to her. Momo tried to ignore her own discomfort and nervousness for Todoroki's sake. She lowered her arms from their protective position and walked through the falling water. Todoroki noticed her but didn't look away from his spot on the wall. The red burns and bruising on his arms must have just as painful as the regret he felt in his actions. She wanted to ease his pain. Her hands reached around his head and covered his eyes for a moment. He seemed to understand since his eyes were closed as she removed her hands and took hold of his own.
Momo led the blind Todoroki into the warmth of the shower. He flinched as the water covered his wounds but his mouth opened in a silent sigh of relief soon after. The intimacy of the moment wasn't missed by Momo; however, she didn't feel as embarrassed anymore. She was the one who had kissed Todoroki even after their connection was reformed. The reason she did so was because… she cared about him. She wanted him to feel safe and unburdened by guilt.
"Hey you alright in there Momo? We're getting ready to leave."
Jiro's voice jolted her back to her precarious reality. She needed to think of a plan and quick. She reached for the curtain and peeked her head out from the side.
"Yeah, I'll be out in a second Jiro!"
She flashed a bright smile at the earjack hero before hastily retreating for a strategy meeting.
Todoroki was still standing under the water with his eyes closed to his credit. She tapped twice on his shoulder to silently get his attention. He stepped away from the stream of water and slowly opened his eyes. The moment he saw Momo's blushed, panicked expression along with her scantily clad body he did an immediate 180 degree spin. While she was glad he respected her privacy, this was no time for such courtesy. She immediately turned him back around grabbed his chin. His eyes opened in surprise as Momo motioned with her free hand touching her lips. She mouthed to him, stay here, be quiet, I'll come back for you. He had a flustered expression but he nodded in response. He also mouthed back a thank you but Momo had already enacted her plan. She poked her head back out from the curtain.
"Hey can one you throw me my towel from across the room? I must have dropped it without realizing haha…"
Her voice was a bit high pitched but Mina thankfully didn't feel the need to comment on it as she picked up the purple towel and tossed it to Momo's outstretched hand. Now came the tricky part for them both. She turned back to Todoroki who had been anxiously staring at the wall. He sensed her eyes on him and when he turned to look, Momo had an expression that would put any pouting tsundere to shame. Todoroki seemed to teleport into the corner of the shadow with eyes shut tight upon seeing such a sight. She quickly removed her soaked undergarments and dropped them on top of her leggings in the shower. While she knew Todoroki wouldn't dare open his eyes, she couldn't stop her heart beating wildly in her chest. Being naked so close to a high school boy was not something a lady of the Yaoyorozu name should be doing. She made a mental note to text her mom that she loved her later as she quickly stepped out of the shower wrapped in her towel. After making sure the curtain was drawn completely closed, she made her way to the lockers.
"Ugghhhh I don't want to keep studyingggg."
"Mina, you have the smartest person in our class helping you study. You should be grateful for the opportunity instead of running that whiny alien mouth of yours."
"At least I'm not always daydreaming about a certain blonde classmate of ours…"
"...Um, definitely not. My heart belongs to Momo."
"...same."
Momo was glad to see her friends preoccupied with entertaining small talk. Her heart was still going full throttle since Todoroki was going to be in a rough predicament until she could save him. She quickly threw on a new set of causal clothing from her backpack and got ready to leave.
"Lets head back you two, I may be pretty smart but it's because I study a lot and we have a lot of material to cover once we get back. And I love you guys too."
Both girls let out a deep sigh as they agreed and headed out of the locker room. Momo made sure to wait about two minutes before starting her rescue operation. They were about halfway to the girls dorm.
"Oh no! I seem to have left my phone in my locker! I'll just meet you guys in the lobby for more studying ok?"
Her two friends shared a curious glance before shrugging their approval. She started retracing her steps back to the lockers and as she broke line of sight with the girls she broke out into a fast jog. She was praying that no else had entered the room where a helpless Todoroki stood almost nude behind a shower curtain. The thought made her put her training to good use. While on the run she used her quirk to produce a simple white tee and a pair of boys gym shorts. She didn't see anyone around the lockers as she approached and she didn't hear a sound when she entered the room. She let out a sigh of relief as she headed towards the showers. She spoke after letting out a loud cough.
"Hey Todoroki, I think we're clear so let's get you out of here."
He emerged from behind the curtain and his state of undress made her avert her eyes and quickly hand him the clothes she had made. She reached into the shower and stuffed her wet undergarments into the sports bag she was carrying. She desperately tried to ignore the fact that Todoroki had been right next to her bra and panties for an extended period of time.
"L-Let's hurry"
Momo checked the hallway outside of the locker and they were free to escape. As they made it outside the training facility, they were home free. Momo let out a laugh.
"Did that really just happen? That could have gone so badly, in so many ways."
"... I'm sorry you got put in that situation because of me, and thank you for helping me."
"Todoroki… I know from your memories that you didn't have full control over your body. There was definitely some kind of new symptom causing you to act in that way. The hatred that I felt through you was something unnatural."
He was silent for a while after that. She eventually looked towards him and saw an anguished expression. She wanted to know exactly what he was thinking.
"We should definitely report this to Recovery girl right away but before that, is there anything you want to talk to me about?"
He looked downwards to a moment. His conscience was clearly weighing heavily on him for some reason. He slowly turned to her.
"We've become close very quickly Momo, and I think we know a lot about one another. But there are certain things about myself that I don't tell anyone. Whether its because I'm proudly overcoming the problem or shamefully running away it, I can't honestly tell. Momo… I have more trust in you than in any of our classmates. With what I've put you through you deserve to hear everything that I keep to myself. So, after we talk to Recovery girl I'll tell you everything."
The fact that he felt trust in her to that extent made Momo truly happy. She smiled from the heart and nodded as they made their way to the U.A. hospital. She grabbed her phone and sent Jiro a message basically saying that something had come up involving her connection with Todoroki and that she had to swing by the hospital. She felt bad about ditching their study group but at least Jiro could understand the importance in her meeting with Recovery girl.
Momo put her phone in her training bag and glanced at Todoroki. His usual neutral face was lit up by the afternoon sun. She realized that was the first time they had actually taken a walk together on the U.A. trail without the influence of their connection affecting them. It was comforting being with him without any outside pressure. When she thought about them spending time together, it filled her with an incredible sense of-
"So about what happened after we reconnected."
"...what?"
"You know, you stopped me from breaking down in the locker room."
"When I stopped you…"
Her mind went haywire as she realized exactly what he was asking about. How could she even explain to him what she meant by that when she couldn't even form words around the subject?
"I think I know exactly what you meant when you did those things for me."
"... Y-Y-Yeah? I… do you?…um…"
Momo was in a legitimate panic as to what she was going to say. Should she just confess right now? What if things went terribly and it became terribly awkward around Todoroki? What about her duty to be a hero and honor her family? Could she let herself feel this way and still become the ideal hero? She turned her face away and looked down as her heart jumped to her throat. Why was it so hard to voice her feelings outloud to him? She kissed him every day and yet… her chest tightened. Momo prepared herself to give an explanation. Her true feelings had been laid bare in the locker room and she should own up to them. She stood her ground and looked at Todoroki as he spoke.
"You were trying to comfort me and I truly appreciate it. You have a way of calming me down whenever I'm with you. I couldn't ask for a better friend to help me through this ordeal. Thank you Momo."
"...?...?...?...?!"
Momo took a reflective moment to herself. The socially inept ice prince had truly lived up to his reputation. Either he had decided to completely ignore her actions earlier or he had grown up on mars and hadn't heard of anything involving romance in his entire life. She was almost certain it was the latter as he had spoken so casually, as if nothing of note had happened. Her utter confusion and anger at the boys social incompetence turned into a boisterous laugh. She found it adorable that he was so clueless about certain things. She couldn't help but laugh off all her worries at that moment. Maybe this was for the best. Her feelings could wait until they had sorted out the mystery surrounding them.
"Sorry, sorry Todoroki, it's just that I didn't expect that kind of response. I'm glad that I can help calm you down when you need it. You do the same for me even if you don't realize it."
"I see. You know I usually hate when anyone outside my family addresses me by my first but when you said it earlier, it felt natural. So if you want to keep calling that when it's just the two of us then I wouldn't mind."
Momo paused. This boy. He was playing with the feelings in her heart like a kid on a see-saw. He didn't know any better, having grown up on mars and all, but maybe it was time for Jiro to teach him a lesson or two. She couldn't stay mad it him though. After all what he had said was truly heartfelt. She sighed internally as they entered the hospital.
They met with Recovery girl and quickly told her about their new experience and apparent symptoms. While they spoke a group of doctors scanned their bracelets and started analyzing the data from them. After about ten minutes they spoke to Recovery girl and she was ready to give her medical advice on the situation.
"Over the past few days you two were able to control your connection without a problem, that is, until today. Todoroki, you reported losing your senses to a feeling of hatred that was unnatural is that correct?"
He nodded in response.
"You also reported seeing a vision of light that resembled your father. I can't help but feel like that means he would know something about your situation. When can you contact him?"
"He'll be returning from his mission this upcoming Wednesday. Then I'll be able to meet with him."
Momo studied the expression on Todoroki's face but it was hard to read the conflicting emotions in it.
"Well in the meantime we've modified your bracelet monitors with a sedative. We recorded a new the highest internal temperature yet from the time period of your episode today. Now when either of your temperatures reach above a certain degree the sedative will inject itself immediately and that should help you greatly. Other than that, I want to ask you a question Todoroki, how well do you know those boys who came in with Bakugou earlier?"
"They are classmates whom I trust."
"Well if you do trust them I would allow you to explain your situation to them in confidence, especially to Bakugou. I think it would help smooth over this unfortunate event for everyone involved. All three of them are still here at the hospital for the moment. Bakugou will be discharged soon so you could meet with them now."
Todoroki took a moment and then agreed with the medical hero. She left the room with medical team after giving them both a reassuring handshake. He looked at Momo who gave him a nod of encouragement.
"I'll go explain things to them Momo, why don't you go meet up Jiro and the other girls. They need your help studying right?"
He gave her a warm smile as he finished speaking. He had obviously heard the girls talking in the locker room about how she was the"prodigal tutor". She smiled back.
"I think I'll do that. And I think it's a good thing that you'll have someone to talk to about our connection. Talking to Jiro helps me out a lot. So… I guess we'll have that talk you promised some other time then. Right S-Shoto?"
She scorned her nerves for making her stutter, but at least she had managed to speak his first name in a normal setting. He nodded towards her.
"I'll text you later tonight."
With that he turned towards the exit and left the room. Momo was feeling a bit too happy for only being told that she would get a text later. Somehow getting a personal text from the ice prince himself had a certain appeal of its own. Although considering his social skills she imagined she might receive a hilariously robotic message.
She remembered that she was desperately needed to be elsewhere and gathered her things. Hopefully Mina hadn't collapsed in a pool of her own acid yet like she usually did after studying. The walk back to her dorm was refreshing after a tense day. U.A.'s campus glimmered beautifully around late afternoon as the glass covered school buildings caught the light at the perfect angle. The reflected light shine over the large pond that covered the middle of campus. The U.A. Trail circled around it, giving numerous angles to appreciate the beauty of modern construction.
Momo arrived at the dorm to find only Uraraka and Tsuyu Chan in the lobby. Apparently Mina had made a scene again (a real shocker) and jiro and Toru had cleaned up the slippery mess, causing the urgent need for them to shower. She sighed and told the girls she would check on Mina and join back with them shortly.
She took the elevator up to her floor to grab the study materials in her room. She entered and dropped off her sports bag in exchange for school bag from beside her bed.
"Oh, hey there Momo!"
She froze, and turned her head. Jiro was laying on her side over Momo's bed and wearing an uncomfortably wide smile. Momo was a little taken aback by her face.
"Oh hey there Jiro… why are you in my room? haha."
She didn't say anything as she stood up and walked towards her, with the same wide smile on her face.
"You know Momo, I got into U.A. because of my unique quirk. My hearing is incredibly good and not only that… I can use my ear jack in a wall to count how many people are in a 4 story building just based on vibrations from their movements."
She stood in front of Momo and placed a hand on her shoulder. The color in Momo's face paled instantly as the air around her became devoid of oxygen. A chill rain straight through her soul as Jiro's wide grin slowly turned into an unholy scowl. The dark lord had emerged.
"Are you gonna tell why I heard the sound of clothing hitting the shower floor while you were in the stall with SOMEONE ELSE? And girl, I know damn well it was Todoroki. Just admit it so that I can kill him with a completely clear conscience."
This day just kept getting better and better for Momo.
