Hello everyone who reads this. Things have been hectic but I am glad to bring you a new chapter. Thank you as always for taking the time to read this.

CHAPTER 5: A BET IS A BET

Momo's alarm was the first one to break the silence at dawn. Party had ended just a few hours ago, and any normal human being, quirkless or not, would've thrown the alarm out of the window. But Yaoyorozu's hand pressed the off button without hesitation.

She released a painful moan, caught by the surprise of the pain her wrist was feeling. Trying not to think too much about it, she grabbed her toiletries and went downstairs to the girl's showers. No more luxurious shampoos or soaps with exotic scents were among her belongings. Just a vanilla-scented hair wash and a basic no-fragrance soap.

A sigh of relief was heard by no one in the solitary showers as the warm water ran through her right wrist. Pale red marks surrounded it as a shameful bracelet, but maybe it would be gone by the start of the first class. A ball of nervousness playfully toured her insides.

After getting ready and putting on her uniform, she went downstairs for a cup of chamomile tea to start the day. This had to be one of her favorite times of the day. Just her cup of tea and her thoughts, sharing a private conversation about the errands of the day and whatnot. But this morning, a pair of red eyes were the only thing on her mind.

She sat down on the couch facing the window. There had been something so hypnotic about his eyes, behind the intimidating eyebrows and the menacingly floating hairpieces. Seen from a close distance, little specs of red irradiated light like the many faces of a precious stone being hit by the sun. The rim of momo's cup graced her lips, giving her the warm sensation of closeness.

Dear...what now? Will he expel me today? I can't afford to lose my scholarship. Maybe I should talk to him, apologize. Maybe I should stay after class.

The single thought of being left alone with that tall black-clothed vision made her clench her cup with her good hand.

Maybe I should just pretend nothing happened, as he said yesterday…

"Anyone in there?" Tsu's croaky voice startled her. "Woah, are you okay? Since when are you up? Did you sleep at all?" big, round, glossy eyes studied Momo's face.

"Yeah! I'm fine," the pony-tailed responded, a weak but polite smile nonetheless quickly made an appearance. Ochaco walked in the living room, her brown hair was all fluffed and disarranged.

"Of course Momo's the first person downstairs," she mumbled after a big yawn. "Already dressed and ready to kill this semester." with a caring smile and a wink, Uraraka left the living room to walk into the showers. A cordial giggle was all the response Momo could elaborate.

The noise the students were making downstairs woke him up before his alarm rang.

"I' should've expelled them the first day." were his first words that morning. After 20 minutes, silence reigned again the building. Students had probably gone off to pick their schedules, choose their lockers, and whatnot.

"MORNING DUUUUDE!" Present Mic greeted him as he walked into the professors' lounge.

"Silence. Coffee." Aizawa murmured back ignoring Yamada's lifted high-five.

"What would we do without professor Aizawa's warm welcomings every morning," Kayama rushed past the disheveled hero, a hand on her coffee. "Good luck today babes!"

How did everyone come up with a will to live before 8 am was beyond his understanding. He groaned back at her.

"Someone's sleeping bag wasn't snug enough last night," Mic casually mentioned. "What's with you today man?"

The flashback of a raven-haired female tied up and hanging from his ceiling made him pour coffee out of the mug. A blond eyebrow rose behind Yamada's exotic glasses.

"N-nothing. A...bug got in my room last night." Shota answered, feeling his cheeks get warmer by the second. "Didn't let me sleep. Anyway," he opened his folder, expecting to find something to change the subject. "I don't understand why I get such early classes, I'm not exactly a morning-" His eyes widened, he felt the blood going to his feet.

"person?" Yamada completed the sentence after an awkward pause.

"Fuck."

His eyes looked in horror at his folder, looking at the list of the names of the seniors he would be personally tutoring for their certification final exam.

-Aoyama, Yuga

-Uraraka, Ochaco

-Hanta, Sero

-Yaoyorozu, Momo

He slapped the folder shut, rolled his eyes, and headed to his classroom, leaving an even more confused Yamada.

"I still can't believe you barfed all over Bakugo's t-shirt." Mina tried to laugh with discretion, failing completely. Her musical chuckles filled the room.

"I know, I need to apologize for that too," Momo responded. Tsu, who had noticed the cloud of concern that fogged Momo's every glance, raised an eyebrow.

"Too?" she irrupted. "Who else do you need to apologize too?" all the girls surrounding her stared at Momo with curiosity.

"YAOYOROZU" the exploding tone of Bakugo invaded the room, making some students jump in surprise. Momo gulped anxiously.

"Listen, Bakugo I didn't mean to-"

"DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING TO APOLOGIZE, NERD." another explosion interrupted her attempt to make things better. "IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU CAN'T HOLD YOUR LICOR." great, now all Japan new what had happened.

"Listen, I'm sorry." she was not about to take more yelling from an idiot like him. "If you want, I can wash your t-shirt. But that's all I can offer. Take it or leave it, flameboy." she stood up. If there was something she wouldn't allow, was everyone thinking she couldn't defend herself.

"No, no, bookworm. Don't try to get out this so easily." the ashy blond's voice took a menacing turn. He had this way of owning the room with only a glance. "Everyone here knows you owe me money." his voice was getting louder. Momo's fight face broke when Bakugo blurted the word 'money'. "A BET IS A BET." his last statement made the windows tremble.

Momo's self-confidence was hanging by a thread at this point. This can't get any worse for me.

"I'm pretty sure all kinds of bets within the university's premises are forbidden, Bakugo." the unmistakable careless tone of professor Aizawa made everyone in the classroom turn to the door, where his tall, fit figure rested, taking a sip of coffee from his yellow mug.

Scratch that, it CAN get worse.

He didn't remember ever getting anxious about giving a class. Not even his first experience as a professor had made him nervous. He couldn't care any less of what students thought of his teaching methods. There was no reason why a thirty-something would worry about giving an introductory lesson to a bunch of young pre-heroes he already knew from years before, and yet, a fine layer of sweat covered the back of his neck.

Aizawa started talking about the general announcements and the syllabus, making the mental effort not to look at the last seat on the row beside the window. Almost everyone was taking notes on this semester's syllabus, so Shota took the liberty of walking around the students as he gave all the introductory information.

It would be weird if you didn't look at her.

The hero leaned against the window, looking outside. His uninterested, tired eyes roamed the room, making a pause so everyone could take notes until he realized one student's blank sheets of paper.

Yaoyorozu, one of the classroom's nerds, the girl who writes down every word said in the class...is not taking notes?

The girl's eyes were fixated on the landscape outside, completely unaware of her surroundings; it wasn't the kind of contemplation stare at a breathtaking view, was she avoiding him? Her hand gently brushed away the pieces of hair that wouldn't fall hostage of the tightest ponytail Aizawa had ever seen. Maybe she was avoiding her, but she was also absent, immersed in her thoughts.

"...sssso is the report on the tutoring sessions going to be weekly?"

"What? Yes." he jumped at Ojiro's question. The unnatural way he had answered, so contrasting with his usual casual and emotionless tone also took Momo by surprise. Her mind and sight got back into the situation inside the class. Why was everyone looking at her? She then realized that in front of her desk, Aizawa's tall, fit figure was standing, struggling to answer back at Ojiro. "I mean, no. Well, technically you should, but I find a report completely unnecessary." he cleared his throat and proceeded to return to the front of the class, collecting himself from what had happened. "Find a notebook where you can keep small notes and observations about your weekly progress. That should do." the class then followed as usual.

The rest of the class proceeded as usual until the bell finally rang. Momo made sure to take her things as quickly as her damaged wrist allowed her to. Right when she was about to cross the door, Eraserhead remembered he had things to discuss with her.

"Momo," he called for her, but his voice went unnoticed, for mina threw a bag of pretzels at the raven-haired student.

"CATCH!", Mina had yelled. Momo saw the bag in the air and lifted her left hand to get the bag, but Yaoyorozu's hand was not fast enough and the bag fell flat on the floor. Aizawa frowned at this.

"You called me, professor?" Momo asked in a low voice, approaching the desk. Her eyes showed how awkward this all was for her.

Charcoal eyes studied her whole figure, with a hint of annoyance mixed with concern. He realized all her belongings were held by her left hand, arm, and shoulder, leaving her right side completely free of any lifting.

"Odd…"

"What?"

"Nothing," he replied as if he had been taken out of his thoughts. "Are you done with classes today?" What the hell kind of question was that? It seemed she had thought the same, for her glance had turned puzzled.

"Uhm, no. We still have a training session with professor Vlad."

Even if his eyes seemed to be trying to tell her something, Momo's attention was focused on stopping her knees from trembling.

"Just...be careful." And without saying anything else, he left the room.

After quite a pathetic performance, Momo's suffering was over and professor Vlad had dismissed them. Class-A then returned to the dorms to hit the showers, have dinner, and enjoy the free time they had for the day.

The girls usually used their free time to share their notes and gossip in the living room, while some of the boys trained by themselves or watched some TV. Sometimes, Sato would share snacks and desserts of his own creation, while Jiro set a tranquil ambiance with soothing music for everyone to relax; for most of them, this was one of their favorite parts of the day. However, Momo knew that if she sat with her friends, there would be talking about her little adventure, so she decided to stay in her room and study.

Despite her efforts to put no attention to the pain on her wrist, along with her whining stomach, at 2 am she decided to go downstairs for some ice and maybe a midnight snack.

She tried not to make noise as she went downstairs. Luckily, the dorms first floor was designed as an open concept, meaning there would be no doors to open to get to the different common sections; from the kitchen's counter, there was a clear view of the living room, the tv couches, the studying common tables and the open entrance to the showers.

Momo's bare-foot steps would've been inaudible even for Jiro (if she happened to be awake). She headed to the freezer to get some ice, trying to make the least sound possible...however, a soft, manly voice made her instantly jump and leave out a weak, high-pitched shriek.

"someone there?"

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