Perhaps what was most disappointing of all was that for all that had happened in her life over the last few weeks, the rest of the world remained unchanged.

When she arrived to Class 1-A's homeroom, most of her classmates were already there, and it was only there that she learned the full extent of her parents' punishment. Mina had grabbed her up in an excited hug and asked if she was feeling better — and it clicked that her classmates had been calling her, and her parents had been running interference on them telling them she was sick. She could take it on the chin, or be salty.

"I am, thank you. They let me know you were all wishing me well."

Everything else went the way she'd expected from there. Tenya had given a bow and congratulated her on healthy return, and Deku had started on about colds he heard were going around, and some Hero or another was also sick from it. Shoto turned to her, not quite face-on, and said he was glad she was better, which almost had her blushing.

Then Mr. Aizawa walked in, and she forgot about Shoto. She saw, hidden beneath Mr. Aizawa's haze of tiredness, amusement. Their eyes met and held for a breath. It took only that moment for a new, sickening feeling to take hold of her. Kinship.

This was no longer "just" that she found out her teacher's most closely guarded, private secret. They had been through something together and come out on the other side, and they would each carry that with them for the rest of their lives. She had gone to him — not Aizawa, but Danchou — for help, and he had done what it took…whatever that had been. Her entire body felt tight and rigged with uncertainty.

I know you're capable of living with the guilt of duplicity. You have the rest of your life to learn to live with it.

And it had been nothing for him to do it. He'd already moved on from her with that facade of disinterest, tapping his papers together to neaten the stack. The more she was around him in both natures, the more she had to accept the perfect duplicity in which he lived. He harbored two separate beings within one exterior, and moved between them seamlessly. Finding out his truth had been chance, nothing more. Her classmates suspected nothing. She hadn't been looking for him when she found him. No one was.

"There's only one week left before your final exams begin. I'm sure you're all studying constantly, right? Don't forget to keep training. The written exam is only one element. There's also the practical portion to worry about. Good luck."

Then he sat, unceremoniously, and began going down the list for roll call, shutting them all out as the room erupted into chaos. Their responses were on the low end of the spectrum, and Momo understood why — their semester had been chaos, speckled with encounter after encounter with real, serious villains. And her issues with one specific villain felt like an almost daily problem now.

"We've still got time to study!" Deku chimed in, and Tenya immediately followed up with his serious but optimistic whimsies. Everyone was talking except her, and slowly eyes started to turn in her direction as the rest of the room realized it. She was the top student in the class at midterms and now she felt the tangible build of expectation.

Momo relaxed her face and put on a compassionate, understanding smile. "Hey, don't worry about it, you two. I can catch you up to speed on the important topics if you want!"

Then Jirou was approaching her to ask for help, then Sero and Ojiro. She felt overwhelmed as they gathered around her desk, but she raised her hands in front of her demurely. "This is wonderful! Yes, let's do it!" She shoved herself up from her seat. "Okay, then. We can hold a study session at my residence over the weekend."

They cheered, elated and relieved — she had the highest score from the midterm exam, and they showed full confidence in her ability to tutor them. They had no idea it was the last thing she wanted to do. And she saw in that moment that this was duplicity. Momo glanced to the front of the room, and caught just a momentary flash of Aizawa's eyes lingering on her, and he looked away with a private smile. As though he saw and knew.

There was no way out but forward though, and she let herself lapse into Deku-level excitement about making arrangements to accommodate the class until she was muttering to herself. And only then, when they had all turned away, put off by her demeanor, did she allow herself to lapse into a pool of self-pity as she thought about the practicals. The feeling didn't lift by lunch either, when Hagakure said the most they had learned about the practicals from Mr. Aizawa is that it would be a comprehensive test of everything they'd learned over the year. She was able to deduce on her own that meant it would cover combat, rescue, and basic training. She had full confidence in her ability to answer every problem when it was laid out on paper, but when she thought about being in the middle of the fray, doubt ate her alive.

The study session went smoothly. Her parents were accommodating and said nothing to raise any alarms that anything outside of the ordinary had transpired over the past week. She tutored and explained everything step by step, one topic at a time. She'd made study packets and practice quizzes, and overcompensated as a host until she was certain that no one would be able to see through her trepidation over the upcoming practicals.

She flew through the three days of written exams with ease, even forgetting about Aizawa's secret double life as she let the questions blind her the same way she'd blinded her classmates. But when they arrived for the practical, she felt only dread as she saw all the teachers lined up in front of them. And, when Principal Nezu emerged and explained the new formula for this year's exam, she let her head hang for a moment while she wallowed in the taste of self-pity.

"Additionally your partners and your opponents have already been chosen," Mr. Aizawa was saying. "They were determined at my discretion based on various factors, including fighting style, grades, and interpersonal relationships."

Oh no.

"First, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki are a team. Against me."

Oh no, no, no.

Immediately, her first thought was that this was a good opportunity for him to kill her. It would not be the first training accident that ever happened at UA. There would be a beautiful funeral for her, and her parents would reassure Aizawa that it wasn't his fault, that he had done everything right — after all, he'd shown them that he would go above and beyond for her when their family had been blackmailed. Shoto would be burdened with guilt that there was something he could've done differently, and it would nestle and fester inside him for the rest of his life. He would always look back and remember her with grief and guilt; the classmate lost too soon.

No, he wouldn't try to kill her. The lengths he'd gone through for her over the past week, whether she agreed with what he'd done or not, had proven that. And he wouldn't invite in the media spotlight like that — he was someone who stayed away from cameras. Killing her here would get him a lot of attention. Okay, so he wasn't trying to kill then then. So what did he want?

She could see why she had been paired with Shoto. Their styles were extremely different, and not necessarily complementary. He was fire and ice — he could wield immense, raw power at the drop of a dime, while she had to use hers in a tactical way that often put her at a disadvantage when time was tight. But why against Aizawa instead of the other teachers? Momo's eyes went down the line, measuring them all up mentally one by one before having only the obvious answer left to face: with his quirk-erasing ability, Aizawa was simply the best opponent to face against their combination.

She spent the time waiting for her turn thinking, and didn't hear Shoto at first when he said her name. Then he asked if she was nervous, and she managed to pale instead of pinken for once. Yeah. She was nervous.

"No," she lied.

Then he said he had a plan, and her tongue went thick. It felt impossible to speak around it. She'd been on the verge of an idea. She could feel it there at the edge of her mind, not quite in reach but close enough that she could brush her fingertips against it as she stretched in its direction. It was close. But Shoto was moving and he said he already had a plan so, against her better judgment, she followed him.

She had to give it to him though, the first step of his plan had merit. He wanted her to create small, insignificant objects to track when Mr. Aizawa was close to them — it stood to chance that the first thing he would do would be erase their quirks. She had no objection to that. But then he kept talking.

"Our success depends on which one of us finds the other first. Once we spot him, I'll draw him to me. Then you can run to the escape gate and win this thing for us."

A line from an old movie she'd seen ran through her head unbidden; "Run for it? Running's not a plan. Running's what you do when the plan fails." And his plan really missed the heart of the practical, at least in her view. Yes, getting to the escape gate was valid, but to default to it as their only plan in order to win was without merit. It was, frankly, a bad idea. But her tongue was still thick and he was so confident in his words that she didn't raise a word in objection.

"Cmon," he said. "Hurry up and start making things."

"Sure. No problem."

She had sounded as confident as she felt when she answered, but Shoto didn't seem to notice. As they ran through the training area, she had to compliment him. "You were able to come up with a plan to use against Mr. Aizawa so quickly. You knew exactly what was best as soon as we started."

"This is nothing."

It wasn't. She told him as much. "As students who got into UA through recommendations, we started from the same place. But in terms of the practical skills that a Hero needs, I haven't managed to do anything that stands out."

She was talking, not focusing, and it was Shoto who noticed she'd stopped making the dolls.

"He's coming!"

"If you know I'm here, then you should be acting. I would suggest that you prioritize evasions since I've taken your power from you!"

Aizawa came down from the power lines above them, like a spider or a phantom, and landed in front of Shoto in a crouch.

"Yaoyorozu, go!" Shoto shouted, swinging a leg in Aizawa's direction, but the teacher avoided it effortlessly. Close-quarters combat was Aizawa's specialty, she'd seen him prove that at the training center when the Nomus had attacked. These were not circumstances that would lead to their success. She balked, hesitating, but only for a moment before deciding it was best to follow Shoto's plan — and Aizawa's advice. Evasion might be best.

"Is that what your plan it?" she heard him saying behind her. "Then this will be simple. I was always going to catch you first—"

Aizawa had Shoto then. She ran for the gate. Her thoughts were busy inside her head, a thought for every footfall. How much further? Was there a faster route? Was Shoto okay? Is this right? Her anxiety ticked up with every passing moment. This wasn't right. This wasn't the plan that they should've gone with, and she should've spoken up sooner, and because she hadn't they were both going to fail — imagine that, both students who'd gotten in on recommendations failing the finals.

She heard something behind her. It wasn't much, it was a whisper of air that didn't seem quite right. Momo dared to look behind her, and there he was. It was a snapshot in her mind. He bounded through the air, assisted by his wraps, effortlessly. His yellow visor hid his eyes sufficiently. He had the essence of a villain in that moment, and she tripped over her own feet for a moment as laughter and hysterics threatened to bubble up. She felt his wrap tighten around her upper arm, countering her tangling feet, and he pulled. The movement set her right, but she knew he had the upper hand.

"You thought I might kill you, don't lie," he said abruptly, with no preamble. "The paperwork would've been more troublesome than you are."

Her eyes darted around them, shocked that he would say something so bold on campus grounds with other Heroes present — but realized the side street she'd led him through was one without cameras. If he wanted to kill her, she'd brought him to the right place.

"Everything has a price," she gasped out. "My family can arrange for you to leave the Yakuza, whatever that cost may be."

"I don't want my way bought out."

He sounded almost offended.

"You are a great Hero — the most capable Hero I know, even if you are a villain. As an aspiring Hero, I cannot stand by and watch you continue down that path!" Momo declared, willing that he hear her conviction in her tone. But his response was equally uninterested in what she had to say.

"Then turn me in," he shrugged. He pulled, and she gasped — it felt like he'd almost pulled her arm out of the socket, and if she'd resisted it probably would've. "What's wrong, Hero?" Aizawa taunted. "You know it's the right thing to do, so do it."

"You're a good man, Mr. Aizawa. You saved me, Jirou, and Mina that night when you didn't have to. You could've turned a blind eye to us, but you didn't! I have faith in you, that you can — and will — turn your back on this. No one else needs to get involved."

"You're so invested in my salvation, Ms. Yaoyorozu." He leapt down from his perch — giving up the high ground, and some of the tension in his bindings. Her quirk wasn't nullified now. She quickly, subtly, began to build a bracelet underneath them in that split second before he tightened his grip and pulled them taut again. "Why does it matter to you?"

"Because you matter to me. I look at you and see a man who needs to be saved, no different than any bystander caught in the mayhem."

That was not entirely true and she knew as much, but this was her first opportunity to do this: to ask him to stop. She had to keep him talking. As long as he was answering and not shutting her out, maybe there was a chance she could get through.

"I am the mayhem. The way I live is just two sides of the same coin. You, more than anyone else in this school, should be able to understand that."

It was a verbal slap to the face, and it stung. She decided to hit back.

"How do you think this is going to end? If I found out someone else can, too. You'll be caught and sent to jail for the rest of your life, or you'll be killed by someone in a power grab. There are no old, free gangsters, Danchou."

She saw his lips turn downward in a deep frown.

"I'd ask how many retired gangsters you know, too, but I'm aware I'd be asking the wrong person." Momo bristled. "I won't go into hiding, looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I'd rather rot in prison."

"Those aren't the only options," she countered. "Let me help you."

"To what end? What would I do? Marry some rich girl and follow the way of the househusband?"

His words shocked her into total speechlessness. Was he insinuating what she thought he was? She imagined having to marry him, having to go through with a wedding. Having to go to his bed every night. She remembered the night she went to his apartment and how she'd seen him. Shirtless and covered with tattoos, only a line of bare, unmarked skin down his sternum. She swallowed hard.

"Is that what it will take? Is that the price for you to walk away a Hero?"

"Don't be absurd and don't flatter yourself. You're a decade too young to be my type."

She felt mortified with embarrassment now. Foolish even. "Then what will it take?"

"Pass your final and maybe I'll think of something."

Momo sent all her energy into the band she'd been quietly building while they went back-and-forth, and it exploded in size. It forced his wraps off her arm, and the hollow around her arm grew with it, enabling her to slip free. She bolted in the direction he'd come from, legs pumping and heart pounding. She knew better than to believe him, but she wanted to all the same. That maybe, just maybe, he would give her the key if she could get through this.

But to do that, she needed Todoroki.

"Todoroki!" she called when she saw him, dangling from the electrical lines like a fly in a spider's web.

"Watch it! Mr. Aizawa's coming!"

Momentary panic, and she turned and got their teacher in her sights. Behind her, Shoto was talking. "Yaoyorozu! You've got a plan, don't you? Sorry, I should have asked before and not told you what to do. But you have an idea, right?"

"Your plan didn't work so there's no way mine will be any good," she lamented — and it was the knife in the heart of her hopes for Aizawa.

"Spit it out already! I'm saying that you're the one who's better at this kind of stuff, not me!"

Her lip quivered at his confidence in her, grateful for it, and willing herself to own it as her own.

"Giving up?" Aizawa asked above her.

"Not yet." She reached for her belt and the small Russian nesting dolls she'd been making at the beginning of the course. "Todoroki, close your eyes!"

Momo flung them upward, and Aizawa didn't have time to react before they went off in mid-air, surrounding him on every side. She was already moving, lowering Shoto by releasing the other end of the wrap gradually. He came down safely, avoiding the stars Aizawa had scattered under him.

"You're right, I have an idea!" Behind her, Aizawa had raised his visor and he was rubbing his eyes. He turned at the sound of her voice, pinging her location from it, and he met her gaze. A corner of his mouth turned upward in a broad grin as she and Shoto stood their ground across fro him.

"Just tell me what to do," Shoto said.

It was time to take back the exam. She had a reason to win now. A real reason, more important than just a grade or the promises of training camp. Maybe, just maybe, he would follow through with his words. That was a chance she couldn't let slip by.

She explained as they ran. "Since he was injured, his quirk has become unstable. For now, we just need to get out of his field of vision. It's all a matter of timing."

"Not fast enough, kids!" Aizawa called from behind.

He's wrong to think he'll be able to keep our powers erased the whole time, she thought to herself. There will definitely be a single moment — a brief interval when Mr. Aizawa blinks before he can use his quirk again.

Shoto launched his ice wall behind them, and she got busy making a copy of Mr. Aizawa's scarf, and a trebuchet. When they were ready, she produced large sheets to cover themselves with — to hide them from his quirk until the moment was right. She and Shoto ducked under them and made their move, making a run for it.

She heard Mr. Aizawa coming, and steeled herself. This was it. He lassoed the mannequin in her hand, her decoy that had been covered with the sheet along with her, and yanked it out of her grasp — but only to his surprise. She launched the catapult, throwing the tangles of scarf material she'd made up into the air.

"Todoroki, blast your flames now!"

And man, did he. It was sweet to watch the fire leap up into the air, dancing around their teacher. In the moment she wondered for the first time whether she could actually take on Aizawa herself if it came to it.

"Tell me something," she called, "have you heard of nitinol alloy?" she asked, watching as the wraps she had made warped in the air around him. "When heated it returns to its original shape in an instant. It's a metal with shape memory!"

The binds locked in around him, drawing tight to lock his arms at his sides — capturing him. She looked at him, triumph in her eyes, as she they approached the put the cuffs on him. Their gazes met, and she saw only approval.

"It went exactly according to your plan. It was almost a little too smooth," Shoto said at her side.

And she had to agree. There had been a moment when she'd reached for the lever to launch the scarf that she'd missed it at first. It could've been a major interference — if Aizawa had wanted it to be. He could've taken advantage of that split second mistake, but he hadn't. Aizawa was on his knees in front of her, hands secured behind his back. His hair was disheveled from the fight and his visor sat crooked on his head now. He just watched her, gaze deceitfully blank.

Maybe, just maybe, she hoped, he'd wanted her to win.