5 p.m. on a Saturday at U.A. Usually meant students socializing in the dorm lobbies or enjoying the campus' numerous facilities for training and therapeutic recovery. With midterms within a week however, the campus' study hall and library were packed with students studying the academics behind hero work. The written exams for class 1-A would take place on Thursday followed by the practical exam on Friday.
Momo was gathering her studying materials in her room when a certain demonic lord of overprotection bared their fangs. The initial shock of seeing Jiro in her room had worn off and somehow she had expected this. As bad as it seemed to her friend, Momo knew the shower situation had arisen from Todoroki's fugue state after his fight with Bakugou. Everything after that had been the result of Momo trying to save Todoroki the embarrassment of being found in the women's locker room.
"Jiro it's really not that bad-"
"He was the in the shower with you… were you naked!?"
"No! I wasn't ever… oh well actually-"
"WELL ACTUALLY? What has he done to you!?"
Momo opened her mouth to respond with a slight smile on her face. Jiro's powers of overprotection showed how much she cared for her but… Momo didn't respond. Her emotions were caught in her throat. She felt the smile slowly slip from her face.
"Momo I was right, wasn't I? Todoroki did something inappropriate right?"
Flashes of the last few days flew through her mind. His face framed by beautiful flowers in the greenhouse, His body pressed into hers in the lockers, His hand against her cheek…
"I won't let him keep doing this to you! Let's do something to…"
Jiro's dark aura reeled in all at once. There was a pressure coming from her left arm which was on Momo's shoulder. A hand was gripping her wrist tightly. Jiro looked back at Momo and saw a pained grimace on her face. She was looking down at the ground.
"You need to stop Jiro, you're misunderstanding things."
Jiro was shocked as she realized how tightly Momo was gripping her forearm. She was clearly upset and the fact that her anger was directed at her hurt deeply. Jiro took a step back while at a loss for words. She was torn between her own feelings of worry and her need for her best friend to be happy. She sat on the bed behind her before speaking.
"Momo, I'm sorry for always yelling about these things. It's just… Can you help me understand exactly what you're thinking? I'm scared for you."
Momo finally looked up. She didn't mean to hurt her trusted friend. Perhaps the fact that emotions and experiences could be easily exchanged through her bizarre connection had made it harder to express them verbally when needed. She sat down on the bed next to Jiro.
"I didn't mean to hurt you Jiro, I will help you understand if you can accept one simple fact."
"Ok, I'm all ear jacks"
"Todoroki is not doing anything consciously to hurt me or get closer to me in any way that would be deemed inappropriate."
"...Consciously? So what about unconsciously?"
"I say consciously because after a fight between him and Bakugou, he was in this kind of dreamlike trance that brought him to me in the locker room. Our connection led him to me without him even realizing. Everything after that fact was me covering for him."
"...Seriously?"
"Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. I experienced everything he felt through our connection so I know for a fact he's not lying about anything. My mom always told me that a hero should help those in need regardless of the situation. Even if it comes at a great sacrifice to oneself. Selflessness is the fuel that ignites heroism. I want to be a hero like my parents and so that is what I'm doing: helping someone in need."
"Well… when you put it like i mean…"
"But Jiro, do me a favor and forget about the whole shower situation. Even if I was helping someone out, my Mom would probably disown me if she thought I was fraternizing with a boy."
Jiro let out a deep sigh.
"Look, You don't have to worry about me saying but imagine if Mina had found you guys. Your mom would have been on a helicopter to bring you back home within the hour."
The pair let out a shared laugh. The tension in the room had dissipated and they were back to normal. Jiro smiled warmly at her best friend.
"So now that I'm looking at this rationally, it seems like Todoroki isn't trying to take advantage of you. I'm happy about that, but what about your feelings? Are you doing ok?"
Momo took a second to formulate her response. She remembered her walk with Todoroki to the hospital earlier.
"I'm doing good. There was a moment when I thought that Todoroki saw me in a different way but I think he's too serious to focus on things like romance. When I realized that I decided that it was for the best if we kept things as they are. Minus any locker room business."
She giggled and turned to Jiro. Rather than smiling, she had almost a sad expression on her face. Jiro came closer to Momo and put her head to her bosom in a warm embrace.
"I'm glad you're ok Momo, but don't try to hold back your feelings too much. I'm always here to talk you ok? And I promise I won't freak out again like I have been. I want you to be happy."
Jiro looked up with her world class puppy eyes, making Momo's heart squeeze.
"How could I not be happy with someone as cute as you as friend?"
"Oh Momo, save those lines for Todoroki."
"Im serious! I'm sure one of the boys will fall for you eventually."
"No! Mina is enough to listen too, I can't let my innocent maiden tease me about love."
Jiro's face blushed as she stood up from the bed.
"Come on, we have to go be heroes and save a helpless alien from failing her midterms."
She made her way to the door but Momo's statement stopped her.
"Hey Jiro, I want to tell you everything that happens with me but in turn I want you to confide in me. I feel like I never get to hear about what you go through. I'm here for you too Jiro."
Jiro stopped and turned to her friend. Her face was full of appreciation.
"Momo… you're gonna make me cry and tackle you like our pink haired friend. Thank you my pretty lady."
The pair gathered their things and made their way to the lobby. On the way they picked up a glob of slime on the floor that had once been the shape of Mina. Stress from tests usually caused this kind of reaction from her. Once in the lobby they each grabbed a side of the pink blob and pulled until-
"Oh hey guys, Oh man that was a good nap."
They both sighed and looked at their friend who was now stretching her now normally shaped legs on the lobby floor. The other girls from their class had either retired to their rooms or gone to the library for more studying. Momo found a nice comfortable table near a window and set down her things. She offered to make tea while Jiro got started on running Mina through the basics of their coursework. Momo placed the teapot on the burner with a smile. Somehow the thought of tea immediately transported her to that night in Todoroki's room. The smell made her think of them sitting together, understanding each other more and more. Maybe that was the first time that she… no maybe even before that. She was lost in thought when the whistle from the pot brought her back to earth. She hurriedly pulled it off the stove. Mina had actually taken some notes down when Momo arrived with three cups of tea.
The trio from class A-1 studied diligently until the sun dipped into the horizon. The light from the window next to them began to fade and street lamps around U.A. turned on. Momo was using her phone on the table to time them all on a set of practice problems that were sure to be on the exams. The timer sounded and the group let out a collective sigh. Momo was only exasperated because she had elaborated her response questions with enough information to fill the entire page. Her constant studying since the beginning of the year was paying off.
"Jirroooo, How would you even start with this question?"
Jiro began explaining as Momo decided to clean up the table. She brought the empty cups back to the kitchen and began washing them in the sink. Momo tried to do menial chores that she never got to do in her maid filled estate whenever she could. She liked feeling confident in her ability to take care of herself. That applied to studying, hero training, cleaning up after herself, and… being independent.
Recently she had been dependent on Jiro to talk out her feelings and that all started because of a connection with Todoroki that required them to be close at least once a day. The thought that she might be in danger if she spent even 24 hours away from him was terrifying. Would she really be able to be a normal person with such a bizarre condition plaguing her? Her breathing became labored. What if people found out? What would happen to the Yaoyorozu name if people thought she was just messing around with boys instead of training to become a hero? Her mother's face flashed in her mind as it sneered and mouthed the word disgusting. Momo put her hands on her stomach. She felt sick and couldn't control her breathing. Everything was hitting her all at once. Her vision started to spin.
"Momo, Momo! Hey snap out of it, what's wrong?"
She was looking at Jiro's concerned expression. They were both still in the kitchen where Momo had been cleaning the cups in the sink. She shook herself out of her negative thoughts while ignoring the sick feeling that lingered.
"I-I'm fine. Just a bit tired i suppose haha."
Jiro could tell she was a bit off but before she could respond they were distracted by a mischievous giggle. They both froze. The sound was something like a gremlin in a horror film stalking its prey. Their heads slowly swiveled to the table in the corner of the room. Mina was smiling creepily with a cell phone in hand. They already knew what that sound meant.
Mina had once played a prank on some upperclassmen who had tried to intimidate Momo because of her family name in the beginning of the year. Momo had just begun talking to Jiro then and when they heard about Mina had done for her sake, they immediately went to thank her. Mina told her side of the story in which she slimed the two girls shoes and school bags to such an extent that it took them hours to pick them up off the ground. Momo didn't necessarily approve of such behavior but saw that Mina meant well. Just as she was about to shake her hand, Mina ended her story with a sinister, chilling giggle.
Momo and Jiro hadn't heard that sound until this very day. They had passed it off a misunderstanding as their impression of Mina as a silly pink airhead began to sink in. She joined their inseparable friend group and everything seemed perfectly normal. Little did they know that Mina's inner demon was lying dormant just like Jiro's had. Mina's eyes flashed towards the kitchen, her horns much more noticeable than usual through her curly pink hair.
"Hey guys… we're best friends riiiight?"
Momo and Jiro immediately shook their heads up and down.
"And we trust each other completely riiiight?"
More vigorous nodding. Mina stood up with the phone in hand. Momo realized it was her own phone… and then it hit her.
"So would you guys would tell me if you were dating someone right? I mean I'm just wondering since I'm pretty sure Momo just got a text from… SHOTO, I repeat, S-H-O-T-O… saying to meet with him in their usual spot at 7:30."
Jiro's panicked face turned to Momo who was simply at a loss for words.
Uh-Oh
"By any chance you guys did withhold any information from me, your dear friend? I decided some retribution was in order. I answered the text myself in the most amusing way possible. I do hope you have a lovely time tonight…"
Mina had maintained a frighteningly cool facade during this exchange but her emotions began to slip out as her eyes watered.
"I can't believe you guys didn't tell me anything! Jiro told me over and over to mind my own business and I did! But you guys really didn't…. MEANIE MEANIE MEANIE BUTT FACES!"
Mina dropped Momo's phone on a nearby couch and dashed out of the room. Momo and jiro were left open mouthed with shadows over their eyes. They were trying to fully understand what in the world had just happened to their good natured friend. Jiro was the first to react.
"I'm gonna go after her and try to help her understand the situation. You think it would be ok if I told her the gist of your connection with Todoroki? I think she'll understand why we didn't say anything when she hears about. Momo, don't feel down about this I'll be sure to bring back our Mina chan."
Momo nodded and Jiro began jogging to the staircase Mina had run into, but she stopped and turned slowly.
"I'll take care of Mina but… I hope you can deal with whatever she texted Todoroki. Good luck with that pretty lady."
She left the room and Momo let out a deep sigh. She didn't mean to harbor any secrets it's just that nature of them were so ludicrous that it was hard to talk about. Jiro would help communicate that to Mina. The sick feeling in stomach turned to worry as she made her way to the couch with her phone on it. A response popped up on the lock screen as she grabbed her phone.
Shoto: If that's how you feel than let's discuss it when we meet tonight.
It was a simple reply. She got her hopes up that Mina hadn't written anything to absurd in her message. Momo opened the messenger chat and clicked on Shoto.
Shoto: Let's meet tonight at 7:30 at the usual spot to continue our conservation like I promised.
Momo: The usual spot? Then I hope you're ready. I've been holding something deep inside me that can't wait to be unleashed. You've teased me more than enough my prince. I want you to give me everything.
The body of Yaoyorozu Momo stood lifeless as her soul emerged in the spitting image of the famous painting The Scream. An unearthly moan escaped her ghastly mouth. It was true that she hadn't told Mina everything that was going on but… this was just cruel. The humiliation of that single message almost erased her from existence. She begrudgingly returned to her corporeal body. The way… Shoto, had responded made her grateful for his ignorance of romance. He probably just assumed she also had a secret to tell him. Momo nodded to convince herself of this alternative. Anything was better than the obvious interpretation of the message.
She reeled in her thoughts and saw that there was only 10 minutes until their meeting. Momo collected her study materials and left them in the corner of the table to grab when she came back. As she made her way out the sliding glass doors of the dorm, thoughts of Todoroki filled her head. He had promised to tell her something that he didn't talk about with anyone. She was feeling a mix of anticipation and dread. Maybe what he was going to tell her could lead to them understanding the mystery of their condition. It was something extremely personal, she knew that for sure.
The cobblestone U.A. path led her through the dimly lit campus. Somehow this path had led to several dramatic confrontations with Todoroki, starting at the edge of the boys dorm. It felt like a month ago that had happened but not even a week had passed. All the experiences she had seemed exponential since she had seen Todorok's visions and felt his emotions everyday. Everything happening around her was hard to comprehend and the sick feeling she had from earlier settled into her stomach. She just wanted to talk to Todoroki; being around him had always helped her feel more relaxed than she could have imagined.
Momo approached the spherical greenhouse. Inside was the same plant life as usual but illuminated by LED lights that ran along the ground around the rows of plants and along the middle path. The stars in the sky were clearly visible through the curved glass of the structure. Todoroki was sitting in his usual spot, looking towards her as she arrived. She took her place on the bench next to him as he reached for something. He pulled a silver thermos from his side and unscrewed the lid. The familiar smell of Todoroki's favorite tea filled the air. The lid of the thermos separated into two cups and he offered one to her.
"I didn't want to risk falling asleep away from the dorm, and I figured tea would be nice for the both of us."
Momo smiled at his honest statement while the aroma that reminded her of Todoroki's room calmed her down. She was gazing at his face as he was about to pour tea into her cup.
"So what did you want to say before I start? Something about you having something deep inside you? Are you feeling OK?"
She thanked everything holy for his complete social ignorance at that moment. She managed a chuckle to hide her embarrassment. Todoroki finished pouring her cup before she continued.
"Yes I'm feeling just fine. That message was just a little prank Mina played on me. You see, I hadn't told her much about what's happening to us and she got the wrong idea from the text you sent. She thought that I was… in a relationship with you and hadn't told her about it. Obviously the situation is much more complicated."
Momo looked down at the steaming cup in her hands. Her thoughts were scattered as she thought of the pained expression on Mina's face. She was wrong not to trust her with the full story. Her alien friend was just as important to her as Jiro and even if she was a bit loose lipped regarding gossip, she trusted her enough now to tell her everything.
"If it makes you feel better, I hadn't told anyone about our condition until today. It was a mistake, and Bakugo was hurt because of it."
His eyes sharpened with regret as he looked towards the ground.
"I talked to Midoriya, Lida, and Bakugou in the hospital like Recovery girl suggested. I suppose it was nice to open up about what's been happening between us."
Momo blushed at the thought of the other boys reacting to their condition. At least the boys he told were more serious and responsible than certain others in their class. The thought of a purple headed deviant caused her to shudder internally. Tordoroki paused for a moment and took a sip from his cup of tea. Momo did the same, waiting for him to continue.
"I promised earlier that I would tell you some things that I haven't spoken about to anyone. Memories from my past, and of my family…"
His expression hardened. The lighting in the greenhouse cast a shadow over his he leaned forward with his hands clasped around his cup. Momo had always wondered about this side of Todoroki that he had always kept hidden. Ever since getting to know him his family has been a topic he resolutely avoided. She took another sip from her cup.
"You saw the image of a man when you experienced my fight with Bakugo. I'm sure you also remember the feeling of hatred that came along with it. That man was my father, Endeavor, and the feeling I felt then is the hatred I've always felt towards him."
His face was angled down so his hair hid his eyes from sight. Momo could feel the tension in his voice as he tried to remain calm.
"Growing up, I endured my fathers 'training'. I was alienated from my siblings because my quirk was the ideal creation that my father wanted. I was created to fulfill his dream, that's what he always told me. Every day after I could barely move, that was the explanation he gave me. But I knew I could survive, even if my father used me like a tool. I could survive because I had my mother. For every horrible thing my father told me, my mother would tell me something she loved about me."
Momo didn't have any words to respond. She was frozen in place listening to his heartbreaking story. His grip tightened around the metallic cup in his hand.
"My mother was like an angel. She was the kindest person I had ever known… But he changed her. My father's mental and verbal abuse was constant. He never let her have a moment to breath. Everything came down to making me into the hero that could defeat All Might. Her kindness became strained. I think she began to think of me as less of a son and more of a being that she needed to train. One day, I saw fear in my mother's eyes. She looked at me the way she looked at my father… and she reacted. My scar doesn't hurt anymore, but knowing that my mother was abused to the point where she would hurt her own child…"
Tears filled her eyes as she saw his hands begin to shake. She had no idea that his upbringing had been so awful. Suddenly everything about who he was made sense. He was a truly honest and good person who's view of love and emotion had become completely dismantled. His whole world must have crumbled after his own mother did something like that.
"My mother is in a mental care facility and my father refuses to let her come back home. Even after everything he did to her he still acts like a person who deserves to be a hero. This part of me that uses his flame quirk, I truly hate… I hate...I hate…"
The cup of tea in his hand splattered across the floor. His breathing intensified and the sound from his wrist indicated that a sedative had just been administered through his bracelet. Momo immediately embraced him from the side as tears flowed down her face. She spoke between her sobbing, unable to control her empathy for the boy at her side.
"Shoto please stop, It's okay. Just breath, everything is going to be okay."
She laid her head on his shoulder and gripped the other with both hands. Todoroki's breathing eased up slowly as he lifted his head up. He had been close to losing himself in his anger again. Momo was quietly crying into his shirt when Todoroki regained enough composure to speak.
"Momo… please don't cry. I would have lost to my anger if you hadn't helped me. Thank you. "
She shook her on his shoulder.
"No, thank you Shoto."
She lifted her head to meet his eyes. The tears had stopped but her face was still damp with tears.
"Thank you for telling me about your past. I know it must have been hard. I'm so sorry you had to live through that."
Her eyes conveyed the overwhelming sadness she felt in her heart after hearing his story. Todoroki held her warm gaze for a moment that seemed to never end. His face softened as he brought a hand to her face. With a gentle touch he brushed away the dampness from her face. Momo couldn't look away from him.
"Well I'm sorry for making you cry. I don't like seeing someone I care about cry because of me."
His hand returned to his side as he stood up and knelt to pick up the two cups of tea that had dropped to the floor. She watched his every movement. Her gaze followed every feature of his face. Hearing him say such simple thing didn't make her flustered, instead it evoked a much stronger feeling from within her chest. The satisfaction she felt spread to her face and brought with it a truly genuine smile.
"Shoto…"
He had just finished collecting his thermos when he turned to her.
"I care about you too."
She spoke with the poise and confidence of someone who lived up to the family name, Yaoyorozu. Todoroki's expression was surprisingly flustered as she continued to smile at him.
"W-We should head back it's almost curfew."
He walked forward a bit and turned to wait for her but he kept his face turned away from her. Momo couldn't help but giggle internally at his apparent embarrassment. She couldn't blame him for feeling a bit off after talking about his close kept secrets. Still, seeing Todoroki embarrassed definitely made up for making her cry. She followed closely beside Todoroki as they left the greenhouse.
They made the familiar walk back to the dorms from their meeting spot in complete silence. Momo was too lost in her thoughts to speak and Todoroki still seemed a bit flustered. She was trying to rationalize with herself that she hadn't really confessed her feelings. He said he cared for and she simply said the same. She cared for Jiro and Mina… but she knew that the way she cared for Todoroki was different. The question was, did he know what he meant when he said those words? The thought stuck in her mind until the girls dorm was within view.
"Momo..."
She took several seconds to register he had spoken and then turned to him with a jolt.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"..."
He looked like he wanted to say something but then looked to the ground. He had stopped walking and was failing to maintain eye contact as he spoke.
"You know how I mentioned that I spoke with Bakugo, Lida and Midoriya about our connection? Well after speaking with them, they helped me realize something. I think I need to tell you about it now."
Momo could only stand still and listen.
"When I told them about our meetings, they asked how you felt about it. I told them that you were willing to help and that I was extremely thankful for that. Then they asked how I felt about having this connection with you… and at first I could only mention my feelings of guilt for having involved you in the first place. Then Midoriya asked me something… he asked what I would do if you were hiding your true feelings about the whole situation? What if you were acting out of kindness but couldn't bear the weight of this burden for a second longer? "
His embarrassment turned to resolution as he finally met Momo's gaze and spoke,
"I felt something that truly scared me in that moment. When I thought about you hiding your pain behind a smile… I… couldn't stand it."
He moved closer to her, so close that Momo's face blushed immediately.
"What I realized then was that I want to protect you more than anything. I don't want you to feel scared or sad, and I don't want to see you cry unless you're laughing too hard."
He closed the distance between them and gently embraced her.
"I don't want you to feel burdened Momo, please tell me whenever you need me to help. I'll be right by your side."
Momo's eyes widened as she felt his warmth around her. Everything else faded away around her. She raised her arms and held on to Todoroki's firmly built back. For all the times she had comforted him, Todoroki had found a way to repay her with a single action. Any feeling of worry that had been lingering within her disappeared. She smiled as her head leaned against his, all the while wishing this feeling could last even longer. Eventually Todoroki pulled himself away with an adorably flushed expression on his face. Momo truly appreciated his desire to help her, but there was something she had to say.
"I think you may have forgotten Shoto, but I told you that night in your room that I'm a hero. That means I help people who need it. I swear to you that if I ever feel overwhelmed about all this then I will tell you, but remember something,"
She took hold of his left hand as she spoke.
"I'm helping you because I'm a hero, but I'm also helping you because I care about you. Please don't think I feel uncomfortable around you or that I don't like our daily meetings because… that's not the case."
"I'm glad, I feel the same way."
"..."
"Do you?"
She let go of his hand and nodded to him with a small smile.
"Goodnight, Shoto. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Momo"
She headed down the path towards the girls dorm but turned halfway to watch Todoroki until he was out of sight.
