13 faults

by it's simply me

It was hard enough studying at UA. Befriending Shouto Todoroki was even harder. Throw in some family controversy, and you have yourself chaos only a Hero of Creation can fix. Eventual TodoMomo.

12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. I had this written out for a month. Can you believe it? And I always felt like 'tomorrow I'll send it to jil, tomorrow, tomorrow', and somehow time just zoomed away. But it's finally here! Hopefully the length of the chapter makes up for it!

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The Twelfth Fault - Distance

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Todoroki was furious.

Any progress he had made had officially been thrown out the window. After all of the chaos of the past several days, he had finally managed to gain some peace of mind. But Yaoyorozu couldn't let it last for even a few hours. She had gone on one of her whims again, reining him in alongside, like some obedient pet. In one sweeping motion she had managed to destroy his composure, throwing him back into turmoil far worse than anything he had ever experienced.

All he could hear were the echoing, hollow words of his mother, talking in agonizing detail about how his father had abused her.

All he could think of was dark hair, soft lips and warm hands, hypnotic eyes and silky sk-

With a self-disgusted grunt, he gave the seat in front of him a vicious punch.

"Dude, that's the third time now, quit it," the passenger ahead snapped, popping his head over the top to shoot him a glare, which Todoroki returned, twice as angry and far more simmering. The young man lowered himself back down, muttering curses under his breath which Todoroki didn't hear, still trapped within the tumultuous storm of his own mind.

To show him his mother in that sort of light; to rip apart the very threads that were barely holding his family together – it was cruel. Merciless. To bring him there, to try and change his mind, contort his ideas into something she knew they weren't, to try and persuade him using tactics; tactics of gentle voices and caring touches, full of feeling and sincerity - it was manipulative. Washing him over with waves of soothing delicacy, with rays of light and hope trailing behind wherever she touched-

"It's your stop."

The same man in front was shooting him a disgruntled look over the top of his seat, and Todoroki realized with a start that the bus had come to a stop. He got up, seeing every passenger had turned to stare at him, and he wasn't sure if it was because he had made everyone wait for too long or because of the news.

"You deaf or something?" The driver asked him as he got off, but Todoroki hardly noticed.

As the bus pulled away, the young hero began taking those familiar streets, not noticing as quaint houses turned bigger and more elaborate, the roadsides turning more and more green, full of trees and large gardens only the very rich could afford to maintain. And as he turned into the final street, Todoroki realized how big the scandal actually was.

The entire entry way of the Todoroki household was swallowed by decently sized mob of reporters, like a swarm of flies churning over a decaying fruit. With some apprehension, Todoroki approached, trying to formulate the best way through. He was in no mood to answer questions, and least of all trying to be polite while doing so. His best bet was to simply keep his mouth shut and shove his way through.

Todoroki was almost 20 feet away when the first one spotted him.

"Shoto Todoroki!" the reporter cried and began rushing towards him.

Like iron sand to a magnet, the crowd rolled towards him, shouting over one another, to the point where words lost all meaning, reducing to something akin to battle cries. The young hero began the task of shouldering his way through. Pens and notepads were shoved in his face, and he had to squint and dodge as a sharp nib came dangerously close to gouging out one of his corneas.

He had always hated crowds.

"Shoto, what brings you here? Aren't UA students supposed to be at the dorms?"

'Blame Yaoyorozu for that,' Todoroki thought to himself.

"Is it because of your father?"

'Apparently.'

"Satomi Yaoyorozu defended him on multiple occasions before – what do you think now that she's charging against him?"

'She's ruthless.'

"What do you think about your father's charges?"

'I don't know.'

"Do you believe he's guilty?"

'I don't know.'

"This isn't the first time your father has been charged with a crime. Why do you think this keeps happening?"

'I don't know!'

"What do you think about you father's alibi?"

Finally, he reached the gates. Usually, they were left open, but today, their gatekeeper was manned in position, making sure none of the chaos poured onto Todoroki property. The gatekeeper recognized the young heir, and with a small bow, opened the gates, just wide enough for Shoto to slip through.

That last question stuck with him as he strode his way down the gardens of the estate, breathing deeply, glad to have his personal bubble back. Like a small thorn in his side, the word 'alibi' kept poking at him, injecting doubt into his cloud of anger and frustration.

But as the buzz of the reporters faded away, other thoughts resurfaced. Those of dark eyes and soft hands and warm lips. And that of his mother, talking in a hollow monotone through the small screen's speakers, as if she were reading off a paper, recounting every horrible event that had ever happened to her, and that small sting of doubt washed away.

The house was still as he walked inside. Shoto kicked off his shoes carelessly, the nostalgic smell of hinoki calming him – a deathly calm, like the one before a storm. Shoes were piled up in the entrance, hinting at a full house. He eyed the dim hallways, the shadows of twilight creating an eerie cloud of apprehension. Shoto swallowed heavily.

He strode down the silent halls, eyes focused and crackling with a suppressed fury, tunnel vision blinding him from everything except the door at the end of the hall that led to the house's central courtyard.

"Well, well, look who decided to come home."

Shoto froze instantly.

Like the drop of a curtain, his peripheral vision opened up and he spotted his brother stepping out from a neighboring room, staring at him with glistening, crazed eyes and a sharp smirk. Shoto felt the pit of his stomach drop. His brother was usually in a horrible mood at home, where the silence bored him to tears, where no one spoke unless an order was being given.

Most of the Todoroki siblings had been secluded from the world, their hours instead spent on honing skills. So none of them really had any kind of social life. Except Natsuo - the second eldest Todoroki son was a free spirit. He spent most of his time outside, which Endeavor hated, and in return had made it very obvious that Natsuo's presence was unwelcome. And once their mother had been taken away, Natsuo no longer had a reason to stay, and left on his own path.

Toya had been a different story. Always wanting to be the favorite, Toya would jump into Shoto's spar sessions. At first Endeavor had kicked him out, but Toya's tenacity wore even Eiji down. And once Shoto had started creating a distance between him and his father, Toya became the ideal son by default. He would train with Endeavor for hours, which meant the necessary sacrificing of real friends.

Any free time he had, Toya spent on the Todoroki property. Very soon, Toya had befriended most of the hired Todoroki staff. This past-time gave him a closeness over the employees Endeavor didn't have, and so it fell on Toya to pass along any of orders. And ever since his graduation, Toya chose that command over Todoroki employees as his full time job – boss people around while getting to leave the house and socialize? Two birds with one stone.

Shoto's teeth grit tightly together. Of course Toya picked to not accompany the staff on the one day Shoto came to visit. But after what had transpired when the two of them last met, Shoto wouldn't be surprised if his older brother hadn't left home since, in wait of him. And Toya looked...feral. There was no way his brother would simply let him pass through.

"What, not even a hello?"

Shoto frowned. He was not in the mood to deal with was his older brother.

Toya stepped out, leaning against the doorframe imposingly. The younger brother paused, watching him wearily. There was something off about the older Todoroki. He seemed even more on edge than usual, like a rabid animal itching for a kill. There was a subtle fury behind his brother's icy blue irises; it was unnerving, like looking into the eyes of a cobra. Shoto met Toya's gaze steadily. He felt his mind switch to high alert, digging into his rather thinned out energy reserves. There was clearly no getting out of this one.

"Toya," Shoto said, his voice imperceptibly hitching a bit at the end, laryngeal muscles tight, like the rest of his body. "Move."

Unsurprisingly, Toya didn't budge. Shoto eyed his brother, not moving, hardly breathing, muscles tensing more and more with each passing second.

"I told you I'd be waiting for you to come home, remember?" Toya said, voice light, hiding all the reserved anger that was festering blatantly in his eyes.

A striking silence.

Shoto gave Toya the hardest look he could muster and stepped forward. "Move."

It was like a spell broke.

In a flash, his older sibling's arm had shot forward, slamming against the wall right by Shoto's neck, and the young UA prodigy found himself unable to fight the urge to jump in surprise.

"So why did you reach the dorms so late that night, huh?"

A pause. He was talking about the night of the festival. How had he known? With a thick swallow, Shoto was suddenly glad Yaoyorozu had gone home that evening. A vicious smile ripped wide across Toya's face.

"Ah. Late night with our pretty little Momo, right?" Shoto bristled, his pores bursting with held-back fire. "So tell me," blue eyes crackled. "Did you get some?"

Wrong choice of words.

A blast of wind rushed between them as opposing temperatures flared, and a blink later, large, razor sharp icicles had sprouted from where Shoto had slammed his hand against the wall to his right, stopping only a hair's breadth from his brother's neck. He was not in the mood.

"Oh wow," Toya's hand lifted, swatting away the shards of ice like they were toothpicks. "You're seriously into her, aren't you? Interesting," and a chill of dread ran down Shoto's spine as his brother drawled out the last word. "No wonder you got so cocky that day," he let out a laugh at his double entendre. "I almost commend it. Almost."

Shoto didn't reply, choosing to continue his icy glare.

"You know who knows a lot of interesting things?" Toya asked, staring his little brother down the bridge of his nose, using his height to maximize the intimidation factor. "Mo-chan. Maybe I should pay her a visit-"

Shoto flung his arm forward, trying to forcefully knock away Toya's that was blocking his path. At the last moment, Toya moved, whirling his arm around to lock Shoto against the wall. Toya's other hand came up to clamp tightly at Shoto's collar.

"So eager to fight. Just like last time. Why can't we ever have a civilized conversation, huh?" with the last syllable, Toya flung his younger brother down the hall.

Using the momentum, Shoto rolled, and then flipped himself with one hand, a move he had perfected in his many spars with Bakugo. As he launched himself off the floor, he brushed his hand backwards, throwing up a wave of ice behind him, just in time to meet his feet. In an arc of practiced elegance, Shoto leapt off, catapulting himself in a jump that twisted to a roundhouse kick.

Inches from his head, Toya grabbed his leg. Anticipating that reaction, Shoto instantly threw up his left one, getting a solid hit to the side of his brother's skull. With both legs on either side, Shoto spun, sending them both tumbling to the floor. Shoto tried scrambling up, only to have Toya grab a hold around his ankle, slamming him back down onto the floor.

"You think this behavior flies, going against your own blood in public?" Toya hissed, crawling up to look Shoto in the eyes, his thick forearm pressed up against Shoto's neck, digging into his windpipe. "What do you think people would say?"

Shoto couldn't contain his sneer. "That I'm related to a piece of shit-" no sooner had he choked the words out than Toya raised a clenched fist high above his head, ready to slam down with a force large enough to shatter a watermelon. Quickly, Shoto raised his right hand, catching the older Todoroki with a face full of ice.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Shoto scrambled upwards. Then, with the full might of both his legs, he pushed himself of the ground he'd been pinned against, catching Toya around the neck. With a large shove, he managed to throw Toya off balance, and they both fell to the floor.

His brother largely outmatched him when it came to brute strength; he had inherited Endeavor's bulky build while Shoto had received his mother's leaner frame. So very often, their brawls turned into a match of wits and ice – fire had no effect on Toya (though that didn't stop Shoto from trying), and he could never land a punch hard enough to actually throw off his bear of a brother.

Without missing a beat, Shoto scrambled back to his feet, trying to create distance for effective use of his quirk, but Toya grabbed him by the ankle once more and tugged. This time, the half-n-half hero crashed down face first, landing with a dull crunch.

"You know what, I was going to be nice when I paid your girlfriend a visit," Toya hissed, dragging his younger brother back like a rag doll. "I was going to be a gentleman about it, and take it nice and slow. But you've succeeded in pissing me the hell off, so I'll make sure to be as rough as possi-"

A dull crack resonated down the hallway as Shoto's ice-coated fist connected to the side of his brother's face. With a howl of rage, Toya's upper half lit up, doused with flames of intensity rivaling Endeavor's.

"Enough!"

A deep, baritone voice reverberated down the hall, louder than anything else that day. A large hand plucked Toya straight off of Shoto, and another grabbed the latter by the scruff of his collar, standing him upright. A thick, warm wetness dribbled down his lips and Shoto realized his nose was bleeding.

"What have I told you about fighting outside of the spar room? It is forbidden," Endeavor's voice was dripping with rage. "Toya." The eldest Todoroki brother instantly froze, a classic effect their father had over him. "I've told you; you damage Shoto in any way, you will pay, two times over."

"Fa-"

Before he even finished the sound, Endeavor's fist came slamming in with the force of a sledgehammer, crunching into his eldest son's face. Toya stumbled as the hold on him released, clutching at the wall, gripping his now skewed nose.

"Shoto," the boy in question stilled as the attention turned to him, ice clutched to his face, waiting for his half of whatever punishment lay in store. He looked at his father through one bleary, half lidded eye. "Who started it?"

Shoto didn't blink. "Toya."

Toya visibly fumed. "You little shit-"

Endeavor reared back on his eldest son, cutting off any words Toya was saying, holding him clean off the floor by his shirt, his entire hand enough to wrap around his son's neck. Despite having a larger build than Shoto, Toya looked frail in comparison; Endeavor's girth was nothing to be sneered at. "What could have possibly possessed you?"

Toya remained strangely silent, gritting his teeth, the blood flowing quite steadily, coloring his teeth grotesquely, a steady stream dribbling down his chin. Shoto watched them, noticing again just how alike the two looked. Icy blue eyes and dull, flaming red hair, complete with broad shoulders and a wide build.

Shoto stepped forward.

"He said he was doing research for your trial," he said, voice muffled by the wad of ice he was holding to his nose, eyes watching closely for any reaction from his father. However, instead, Toya threw a ferocious glare his way, eyes wide, and it became instantly obvious that he had not wanted Endeavor to know. Shoto frowned curiously at this.

"Why?" Endeavor asked.

Shoto shrugged, interest hiked. So his father hadn't sent Toya? So why would his brother even bother? Usually, all he ever did was what Endeavor told him. Their father, however, pointed his chin at the still pinned-to-the-wall adolescent. "And you go about this by breaking your brother's nose?"

Toya remained silent.

"Answer."

Toya spat out some blood thickly, coughing tightly through the tight grip around his neck. It was an incredibly rancid sight. "I'm sorry."

A ringing silence.

"Is that alcohol?"

Again, no response. "Toya. Exhale."

With obvious reluctance, he exhaled, and Endeavor instantly reeled back. "Filthy wreck," he hissed, releasing his grip, dropping Toya like a rage doll. "Get out of my sight. There will be repercussions for such barbarianism. Shoto," with a heavy, ominous glare, the strongest hero of Japan fixed his attention to his youngest. "Why are you not at your dormitory?"

Shoto didn't stutter. "I need to talk to you."

The flash of surprise on his father's face was wiped away before it could even surface. A trait Shoto had learned from him.

"Very well. Into my office."

He left the hallway, but before Shoto could follow, Fuyumi, who'd been peering at the entire spectacle from around the corner, rushed towards him.

"Honestly, you two…" she whispered, loud enough so only he could hear. She quickly checked over his nose with gentle, feather-light touches. After making sure he was properly cleaned up, Fuyumi turned her entire focus to the eldest son.

"The hell do you want to talk about?" Toya snapped before Shoto could move. Shoto looked down at his older brother.

"Why would you care," he said back.

Toya clicked his tongue in frustration before Fuyumi yanked gently on his elbow, cracking Toya's nose back into place, ignoring the irritated growl he shot at her. Shoto watched his sister work, just staring, mind whirring numbly, feeling almost disconnected from his body, trying to piece together what had just happened.

Toya had been acting alone. What did that mean? Was that as an act to impress their father, by showing initiative? No, but why would Toya have shot him such a viciously angry look when he'd told Endeavor? Wouldn't he want him to know that the task had been done?

His older brother had averted his eyes, clearly avoiding Shoto's calculating gaze, wincing as their sister dabbed with a damp cloth at the mottled skin. After he'd been staring for a few minutes, his older brother shot him a desolate, heavy look. Shoto's scrutinizing gaze didn't falter.

"You're involved in this, somehow," he said finally.

"Get the fuck out of my face, Shoto," Toya hissed.

He didn't need to be told twice.

---

Endeavor's study had always been a forbidden space.

Very few were allowed inside, and even those few were called in on only a handful of occasions. Shoto had only been in there twice. Once when he was much younger, and far more naïve, and had flung open the door to ask if his father would play with him (back then he had thought of their training sessions as father-son play time. He had very quickly learned otherwise.)

The second was when he had announced his admission into UA.

The room was essentially Endeavor on display. It was very different from the rest of the Japanese themed house; dark, with crimson overtones, lit by glowing orange lamps in every corner and by an extremely large fireplace roaring behind the main desk, casting shadows on the already dimly lit hero. Dark, Persian rugs coated the floors and blackout curtains remained drawn shut. There was a saying amongst the servants; men would be bats if not for the women. Of course, he'd banished his woman. The brightest part of the room lay on the wall facing him; a large floor-to-ceiling display of every award, certificate or medal he had received, every shelf lit to draw detail to each piece.

Enji's head shot up from his computer screen upon his youngest entering, two eerie, piercing blue eyes locking onto him. Shoto's father gave him a once over, eyes narrowing to reflect with alarming accuracy the expression on his own face.

"Well?" Enji asked.

Shoto walked over to sit in one of the large, leather chairs in front of the mahogany desk. He had always hated the chairs; they were too large and made him feel uncomfortably small. Of course, that was probably the intention. His father studied him, concentrating mostly on his recently injured nose.

"Are you in pain?" he asked.

"No," Shoto answered, not in the mood for small talk.

His entire 'encounter' with Toya had thrown off his senses. His heart was still thrumming uncomfortably from the adrenaline, and his mind buzzed with everything Toya had said; every insult, every slur. His skin still tingled uncomfortably at the memory of Toya mentioning Yaoyorozu, and he still didn't know why. But the rage he felt was still buzzing somewhere deep inside.

Yaoyorozu.

It had only been a few hours since he'd seen her, and yet it felt like eons ago. He had gone from her mansion straight to his, drowning in anger and fury, and he couldn't remember a time when he didn't feel this way. His lips tingled with the recent memory.

The conference room.

And then he remembered everything. A wave of anger washed back over him – a different kind of anger, cold, stale, and he felt himself go rigid. His eyes refocused, looking back at his father.

"I need an explanation."

His father leaned back, threading his hands together over his lap. It was unnerving, how much this man observed. But after Satomi Yaoyorozu's calculating, intense gaze, this hardly affected him.

After a few moments, Endeavor replied, "About what?"

Shoto's eyes narrowed slightly. Good question. "The news."

Endeavor straightened in his seat ever so slightly, shifting his arms to the armrests and leaning ever so slightly to his left, his mouth pressing itself into a tight line. Shoto studied every motion like a hawk. His father held him in a frosty gaze, gripping the front of his chair tightly, before his eyes then dropped to focus on a spot on his desk in front of him. There was a long silence where the pendulum clock and the crackle of the fire were the loudest sounds.

"What have you heard?"

"That is irrelevant," Shoto said shortly.

"I want to know."

"Again, irrelevant," the young Todoroki was starting to lose hold on his patience.

"Shoto," it seemed like the same was happening to his father. A pair of blue eyes had snapped up to meet his. "Do you believe I am guilty?"

Shoto held in a snarl. "I want to hear it from you. You can grant me that decency at least."

His father's gaze turned sharp, a churning inferno of subdued enmity, like two vortexes of endless fire. It was a look Shoto was very used to. He looked back with a look of calm frostiness, eyes like a deceptively calm sea with raging currents underneath. This small unspoken battle of wills continued for half a second longer when Endeavor closed his eyes and let out a long breath through his nose.

"It isn't true," he said in a deep, rumbling voice. "Do you believe me?"

No.

That was what he wanted to say. It teetered on the edge of his tongue, but for some reason, he couldn't say it.

It was something in the look his father was giving him. His brows were furrowed, not especially unusual, however the crease in the center was a rare show of concern, like what Shoto said mattered, and that had never happened. Enji's eyes were mellow, a dull shimmer to them with something akin to hope mixed in with wisps of worry, all coated by a fragile, transparent cover of strength and fortitude. But Shoto had seen what strength really looked like in Endeavor's eyes, and this wasn't it. And that's when he realized.

His father was scared.

"They have evidence against you," Shoto said finally, not really answering, the tiniest knot of doubt growing in his gut. His father huffed and leaned back in his chair, raising his hand so his fingers covered his mouth, clearly lost in thought. "Swaying evidence."

Enji's eyes snapped back onto him. "How would you know?"

"The defense attorney's daughter is my… my classmate," he winced at the slight hesitation, but his father was uncharacteristically too distracted to notice.

"I see…" his father drifted back into thought, and once again, Shoto saw a glimpse of a side of his father he had never seen.

He pressed on. "There's a testimonial against you of crimes against your own family. They're probably-"

"'My own family'?" Endeavor repeated. "What could anyone possibly know? Or did you break the sanctimonious trust of this household-"

"No," Shoto cut across sharply, any semblance of his patience now nonexistent. The images from a small conference table screen played on repeat in his head. "But there is someone you kicked out, shunned, never to be part of this household again."

"Hah, that old broad?" Endeavor sneered, confidence back in his voice. Shoto felt his blood broil as his father spoke. "Who would believe a demented psychopath locked up in the mental ward? An irrational kook who burned her own son?"

"Is it true?" Shoto breathed. "What she said in that testimonial? All those things you did to Mother?"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't heard what was said," his father replied, any inkling of worry and doubt completely gone. "But I will say this – everything I have ever done was for the sake of this family."

"Bull shit," Shoto hissed, leaning forward, banging his right fist on the handle of his chair, flecks of snow raining down in a nonexistent breeze.

But no sooner had the words left his mouth that a loud blow echoed around the room as his father mirrored him by smashing a fist on the table. "Remember who you are speaking to!"

"Since when has this family ever been your priority?" Shoto was on his feet now.

"After everything I have done for you, you ungrateful-"

"The only thing that has ever mattered to you was becoming number one."

"If that doesn't matter to you, then I have raised you wrong."

"And thank God for that," Shoto spat. The flames seemed to grow in intensity behind Endeavor, crackling even brighter, making Endeavor appear darker and more menacing than before. But he continued, unfazed. "You did it, didn't you?"

"Shoto-"

"It all makes sense. If you can do something like that to your own wife, what's a helpless stranger-"

"Enough!" Endeavor had finally risen to his full, impressive height, flames blazing on his arms in rage. "Nothing I did was out of a lack of control. She was my wife. Everything that happened was my right. As my wife, she should have seen the necessity at creating the ultimate hero-"

"You make me sick," Shoto snarled at him.

All the fire lighting up the room had risen the temperatures to uncomfortable levels, but the occupants hardly noticed. As father stared down son, silence crept between them, and with everything that had been pent up inside now out in the open, Shoto felt exposed. As if defenses had been stripped away and he was left quirkless.

"Think about it, Shoto," Endeavor said, voice reigned in, now far more controlled. Almost kindly. Almost. "I know you are capable of rational thought. Why would I compromise my chance at being the ultimate hero? Everything I have done, everything I have sacrificed, has been for that sole purpose."

"Including your family," Shoto replied heatedly.

"Including my family."

And that did it.

Endeavor agreeing with him shifted something inside. Like his father had finally started telling the truth. And suddenly, it dawned on him; not once had his father appeared openly worried about the accusation. Every worried look, every churn of hope or glimmer of concern was of what Shoto's response was going to be, of what his son's perception of the situation was, whether the son he had raised so controversially was going to stand by him or not.

"You didn't do it…?" Shoto said, almost to himself, tone somewhere between a question and a statement.

"No."

So Shoto threw out the final piece of the puzzle that just didn't fit. "They have a picture," he said. "Of you at the crime scene."

"Impossible," Endeavor, for the first time, looked openly confused. "I have an alibi. I wasn't physically there."

They shared confused glances. "How strong an alibi?" Shoto asked.

"Strong. Plenty of witnesses," Enji answered. "I'm being framed."

There was a silence. Shoto analyzed his father thoroughly, watching as the older man sat back down, staring down in thought. It ate at Shoto inside, what his father did to his mother. The amount of cruelty he had displayed to his own family baffled him, especially when he saw examples of what a real family should look like with his classmates.

"What you did to Mother…" Shoto started, without really meaning to, his mouth moving on its own. He then paused, realizing he didn't know what to say. This was unchartered territory. They had never discussed her. Ever. Endeavor, however, said nothing, and Shoto took that as a good enough sign to continue. "That is unforgivable."

The look his father gave him then was strange. Depending on how you wanted, you could see an array of opposing emotions. On one hand, it could be anger and impatience. But on the other, it could be guilt, with a hint of apology and, dare he say it…compassion. How Endeavor managed such polarizing emotions was beyond anyone. There was a pause where he appeared to be mulling over his words.

"I wanted children," he said finally. "She did not."

Shoto swallowed. And then his father added something he never thought Endeavor was ever capable of saying.

"I am sorry it appears the way it does."

There was so much hidden behind those words. It was both an apology and an explanation, and at the same time, hinted at a relationship between his parents that went so far beyond whatever Shoto had thought he'd built with his mother over the last few months. Shoto was starting to realize that, although he probably wouldn't be able to fully forgive his father, not for a very long time, his father had done what he genuinely thought was right, in his mind.

This whole thought process was so entirely complicated and so raw that it was making him dizzy. Shoto sat back down. He would think it over at another time. Perhaps with Yaoyorozu-…

And then something occurred to him. Something that had been buried so deeply with everything that had been going on, he was almost embarrassed to resurface it.

"Toya came to the school festival," Shoto said. He looked up to meet his father's eyes. "He came to threaten Yaoyorozu's daughter. Perhaps even physically."

His father's gaze looked a little glazed over, and wasn't directed at him, but Shoto could tell he was listening to every word with incredible intensity.

"He said you sent him to do it."

Endeavor straightened at this. Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into its disturbingly accurate place.

Their frowns mirrored perfectly.

---

Going to school was pure dread.

Momo found her hand motionless at the daily student council meeting, note-taking seeming like the most unimportant chore in the world. Her mind was miles away from the room. All she could think about was how, in a few minutes, she'd have to see him. Luckily Iida carried most of their class' reporting, and nothing was really left for her to input, which was great since she hadn't spared them a thought the whole session. Momo glanced at the clock. Since when had it ticked so fast?

The bell ringing felt like a drill to her heart, and slowly, she gathered her untouched belongings and walked towards the classroom. Iida strode next to her, giving a summary of the talk they'd just had, walking at a pace much higher than she was comfortable with. She understood speed came naturally to him, but honestly, he needed to understand not everybody walked that fast. As he entered the classroom, Momo stopped, pausing at the doorway, staring at the empty teacher's desk ahead. No teacher meant technically, nothing had started yet, and hence, no real obligation to be there.

"Is there a problem, Ms Yaoyorozu?"

With a small jump of surprise, Momo turned to see Aizawa sensei standing behind her, face as blank as ever, shooting her with a lazy stare.

Swallowing thickly, the vice president stepped into the classroom, speeding towards her desk. Her eyes instantly found the hero she had very avidly been trying to forget existed. But it was as if her gaze drew attention, because she saw Todoroki begin to look up. An electric pulse of surprise went shooting through her body, paralyzing her muscles, and everything in her arms went crashing to the floor.

Well, if he wasn't looking at her before, he was now.

"Take your time Ms. Yaoyorozu, plenty of it in the world," came Aizawa's drawl from behind, and Yaoyorozu felt the burning flush of embarrassment creep up the back of her neck, and the class let out a small wave of laughter. Her only consolation was that so many eyes were on her that she couldn't fine tune into a pair of mismatched ones. After several agonizingly long minutes, during which Aizawa had begun addressing the class, taking the attention off of her thankfully, she finally lifted all her things to the table, sliding herself in, trying to be as small as possible.

Classes started, and Yaoyorozu found herself highly tuned in onto everything, eyes fixed straight on the board, unmoving, back rigid, every inch bristling with sensitivity, hyperaware of the boy sitting to her right. The overload of senses meant that no matter how hard she stared, she simply could not focus.

What was worse was that Todoroki was looking at her. She could feel it. She never actually dared to look, lest they make eye contact and her heart stop. But she swore she could feel his eyes on her, like burning rods of hot iron embedding into her skin.

The second the bell rang for lunch break, Momo shot up from her chair as if she'd been electrocuted and made a beeline for the door. She had been preparing for her quick escape for the last hour. She had slowly drawn up her lunch box to the top of her bag, making a space just big enough to quickly drop in her stationery, and her books were positioned so when they closed, they would fold on top of each other in a neat pile.

She didn't stop her dash for the gardens outside until she made it. It couldn't have been her imagination. She could have sworn Todoroki had turned in his seat, on the brink of saying something before she had zoomed away.

"Momo!" a voice called behind her and she turned to see Kyoka approaching. "Dude, what the hell, slow down for a second wouldja?"

"Sorry," Momo replied sincerely as the other girl caught her breath as they made their way over to the bench they normally occupied.

"So are you going to tell me, or will I have to beg," Kyoka asked once they were comfortably seated.

"What do you mean?"

"Begging route it is," the musical hero sighed, before shooting her friend a leveled stare. "What's going on?"

"Again," Momo replied. "What are you talking about?"

"The dash out the door for starters. Not to mention the jitteriness and dropping of things very unlike your normally elegant, composed self. Or," Kyoka pushed on as Momo opened her mouth to interject. "The fact that you didn't even glance away from the board, even though I had to have flung like, 6 paper planes at you. Hell, I don't even think you blinked."

The vice president didn't reply, and Kyoka reveled in the victory. She popped open her lunch box and put a bite of her lunch into her mouth before continuing. "So what's up?"

Momo picked awkwardly at her food. "Nothing… I was just feeling slightly claustrophobic, that's all."

"It's Todoroki, isn't it?"

There was a soft splat as the meatball Momo had been bringing up to her mouth dropped to the floor. Momo hardly noticed as she fixed a bug-eyed stare at her friend. After a few seconds she realized she'd been gaping and clamping her mouth shut.

"Wh- no, no, not at all, what? No, preposterous-"

"C'mon, don't deny it, Momo, it's so obvious."

"Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

Kyoka raised an eyebrow. "Really? Yaomomo doesn't know something everybody else knows about? I find that hard to believe."

"Everybody?" Momo echoed, her voice disturbingly high pitched, her blood running cold. Everybody knew? How? Her mother? Was this some sort of messed-up punishment; you reap what you sow?

"That's right. You ready to start talking now?"

Momo shifted in her seat, feeling exceptionally uncomfortable, still trying to wrap her head around how people had found out. "I suppose so…"

"I'm guessing this mad dash was probably you trying to avoid him," Kyoka said, and Momo simply nodded. "Look, I get that you're maybe following orders your mom gave you, but isn't that being a little harsh?"

"You really think so?" Momo asked, biting her lip in self-doubt. Was she actually in the wrong here?

"Yeah! Look," her friend had somehow managed to be nearly halfway done with her meal whereas she had hardly touched hers. "Family is one thing, but it's kind of unfair, dontcha think? Todoroki hasn't done anything, so why should he have to get shunned for the actions of his dad?"

'Dad'? Gears turned and suddenly, it fell into place what Kyoka was referring to. "The Endeavor case. Right, right," Momo mumbled in quiet agreement, while the pieces starting fitting together almost conveniently. "My mother doesn't approve of him."

"Who can blame her, being a mother, knowing what she knows," Kyoka said sagely. "But I dunno, watching Todoroki stare at you sadly as you ran away kinda made me feel sorry for Mr Frosty-Face."

"I don't know Kyoka, I'm going to have to think about it," Momo said, suddenly grateful for the horrible crime finally having something akin to a silver lining.

"Yeah, just my two cents," Kyoka shrugged, finishing off the last of her lunch. "So the other day, Kaminari and I discovered something pretty cool. If he keeps it low, and shoot his electricity into one of my plugs, I'm able to control the output of it with the other."

Momo listened with relative interest, always a fan of developing and experimenting with one's own quirks. Kyoka had a rare ability of distracting her, or lightening her mood. It made her realize she should come up with cover stories more often to tell Kyoka, which would let Momo get some of the advice without giving away too much. A distant memory popped up – a promise of telling Kyoka if a certain something occurred between her and a certain someone.

Momo flushed. Ignoring the pang of guilt, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

It would have to wait.

---

Returning back to the classroom after lunch with Kyoka was easier than it had been that morning. Todoroki wasn't at his desk, allowing her to easily sit back, and feign intense focus in her textbook when he finally arrived after the bell. She had to have burned the pages with how hard she was glaring. The last two lessons of the day passed by quite seamlessly, and Momo was starting to build hope that she would possibly be able to continue this charade for the rest of her life.

However, hope made her careless. She had forgotten to zip up her pencil case, and so when she slid it into the space designated for it in her bag, it bounced once before spilling its entire contents across the floor behind her desk. In the commotion of scraping chairs and zipping bags, her clumsiness was largely overlooked. Bending over, Momo speedily started the task of retrieval. She was still in the clear. No one had noticed. Now if she could just-

"Yaoyorozu."

Momo almost toppled over.

She swore her heart stopped. It was hard to think over the pounding of her heartbeat, and it had to have become ten degrees hotter suddenly. She couldn't do this. She hadn't planned for this conversation, or even started to practice her expression when she eventually faced him. Those were things she hadn't thought would happen for a very long time. She was not prepared.

In her frozen state, a mysterious hand came and began helping her collect her equipment, placing them back in their container, effectively completing the job for her.

"Yaoyorozu, I need to talk to you."

Momo swallowed heavily against a giant ball in her throat. 'You are a hero,' she told herself. 'You have to get used to looking fear itself in the face. Do. not. break.'

With a huge inhale, she stood up and turned around.

No one told her fear would have such hypnotic eyes though.

There he stood, in all his usual Shoto Todoroki glory. Some might say he was more unkempt than usual, and had an edge of fatigue to him, but all Momo saw were his vivid eyes, looking straight at her. It was so easy to remember why what happened, happened. His eyes were intense and for that final spark of finesse, a small breeze blew through the classroom, stirring the bangs into his eyes.

Her heart gave a hiccup.

Momo finally realized she had been staring at him for far too long and gave herself a mental shake. But almost simultaneously, with a start, she realized Todoroki had been quiet for just as long as she had.

"Yes?" she prompted. He blinked, and she could see focus return. That gave her some confidence.

"Yaoyorozu," he said, almost wistfully, and she dimly realized he had basically just said her name three times. But then he gave a slight shake of his head before turning to glance around the classroom. There were still a couple of people hanging around. He leaned in closer, and any confidence she had regained escaped her completely.

"I want to meet the victim."

She blinked. Once, and then three more times. She hadn't known what to expect when he said he wanted to talk, but this certainly wasn't it.

"What? Why?"

Todoroki was staring at her, hard, like she had something sprouting out of her eyeballs. When he still said nothing, she raised her voice slightly. "Todoroki?"

He gave a sharp inhale, diverting his gaze out the window, touching the palm of his hand to his eye and straightened.

"Something isn't right, and I need to get to the bottom of it."

It was then that she noticed the subtle lines of sleep that were lacing the soft skin under his eyes. She sighed softly.

"There's no way I'm convincing my mother of anything. She isn't exactly impressed with me right now," Momo gave a slight cough to clear her suddenly tight throat. "So I'm not entirely sure how I'd be able to help."

"Please Yaoyorozu. I wouldn't have asked if I felt like you couldn't figure it out," he said, and Momo had to stop herself from slapping her hand to her face. Well, when he said it like that… "I also need to see that image of the time of the crime."

"What? Todoroki," she'd almost forgotten how impractically pushy this guy was. "I can't. My mother wouldn't give them to me before, and I doubt she'll give them to me now. Besides, it's not my place."

Todoroki leaned forward, looking at her unblinkingly. "Please Yaoyorozu. It's important."

Goddamn those eyes. They'd be the death of her.

"My mother is never giving me these things."

"So don't use your mother," he replied simply. Yaoyorozu shot him a lukewarm glare, about to chew his ear out on appreciating other's limits and asking for too much when the time doesn't call for it, when a proverbial light bulb lit above her head.

"My father," she said.

"Exactly," he nodded. "Thank you Yaoyorozu."

And before she could say another word, he was walking away.

---

That was how Momo found herself entering her father's lab that afternoon.

"Hello Sweetheart," her father had instantly spotted her before she did, his voice resonating from somewhere deeper in the vast expanse of the lab. He appeared soon after, wiping some grime off of his hands before giving her a one sided hug. "How was your day?"

Momo saw her opening. "Well, honestly," she started. "I keep thinking about the case."

Her father sighed. "I knew telling you wasn't a good idea. But your mother insists knowledge is power. Especially considering these are people you are probably taught about in school."

She felt a slight stirring of gratitude at her mother. Only a slight stir though. "Well, I agree with that reasoning," Momo said, and her father gave a small laugh.

"Yes I bet you do."

"I just can't stop thinking about her…what was her name again?"

"Aki Hideyoshi," her father replied, nodding his head as Momo took a seat at his work bench. "I still think this isn't something a teenage girl should have to think about."

"Dad," Momo said gently. "I'm becoming a hero. I need to be aware of what's out there."

Her father sighed, ruffling his hair slightly. "I just don't like any of it. I hope that bas- horrible human being," his father corrected with a quick glance at her. "Gets the justice he deserves."

"Absolutely," she agreed, and there was a silence where she truly hoped whoever was responsible got what they deserved. But only whoever was responsible. "When's the trial?"

"Next Friday, I believe."

"Sir, we need you over here for a moment," one of the lab techs called.

"Give me a minute, Momo," her father excused himself.

Instantly, she began rummaging through his front drawer, searching for his phone. It was very likely her mother had already disposed of any evidence, but any chance it was still here, she had to try. The large compartment was filled with stack upon stacks of scattered papers and documents, and a few lonesome pens, but no phone. But as soon as she pulled open the side drawer, she found it.

"Yes," she breathed excitedly, but instantly frowned as she realized it was locked. Knowing her father, it was probably a combination of numbers he used somewhere else. The house alarm, perhaps. But no, that didn't work. Momo bit her lip, wracking her brain. She only had a few tries before her father's phone locked itself for a half hour. His license plate number? No, that made no sense.

"Sorry about that, Mo, we're just working actively on an order."

Her father was back, and she discreetly slid the drawer shut, careful to not make a sound. "That's completely fine, no worries. Hey Dad," she said, as nonchalantly as she could. "Can I see that picture you took? Of the crime scene?" Before he had a chance to respond, she sped ahead. "Because I've been thinking, maybe I could help spot something? More brains are better, right? And I'm also interested in seeing how well a picture can be taken under pressure, like you did, because maybe that should be included in some witness awareness lessons we conduct."

"You have to let this go, Momo. Your mother is the best in her field, especially at spotting discrepancies, and picking on whatever is best suited for the case."

"Yes, but I'm curious," she said, starting to lose hope.

Her father frowned at her. "They're quite disturbing pictures, Momo."

"Dad, I've seen disturbing. It's my future field," she pushed, hoping he would somehow agree.

He sighed. "You'll have to ask your mother. She has hardcopies of the whole case."

Momo mentally rolled her eyes. Of course her father would turn her over to her mother. Time to try a different approach. "No, I was just curious. See," she lowered her voice slightly so the other lab personnel couldn't overhear. "One of my classmates is Endeavor's son, so we see him a lot, and I was just wondering if I could recognize some family resemblance."

"Well, I'm sure your mother has double checked it all," her father said slowly, shooting her a long look. He finally sat down, and Momo felt a foreboding. "Momo, your mother told me about what happened."

Momo felt something cold drop in the pit of her stomach. Of course her parents would choose now to start telling each other everything. "I- yeah I- I know. I'm sorry, I wasn't really thinking clearly and-"

"Of course," her father uncharacteristically cut her across. "I knew it. Like father like son. He took advantage of you, didn't he? Using your kindness. This kind of thing supposedly runs in the family, Momo."

The young heiress felt horrified. "No, no, Dad, that's not how it was! He is nothing like his family! In fact, he said if there is some truth to this mess, he would be the first to turn them in-"

"These are all tactics, Momo," her father said, in a way that made her feel like he thought she didn't understand anything at all. "I'm with your mother on this one, Sweetheart. And I believe even more strongly that you should just stay as far from this whole mess as possible. And you know," her father hesitated slightly, almost as if knowing what he was about to say wouldn't go too well. "Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to come straight home with the driver."

"Dad-"

He raised his hand. "Just a thought I'm throwing out there Momo. But we need caution, especially after what I've witnessed."

Keeping herself quiet just then was one of the hardest things she had ever had to do, so much so she found herself actually biting her tongue, dropping her head onto her folded arms, focusing on the pinching pain. Arguing with her parents would do no good at this time. It was far too soon, and she would later admit to herself that they were fully justified. If she was a parent she would probably do the same.

However, right now, she was determined to get to the bottom of this. Or at least aid Todoroki in doing so. Her father had been a rather disappointingly empty canister for information, but she should have expected as such. It was time to change tactics entirely.

"Right. You're right," she nodded stiffly. "Well, not about the driving home. But I understand what you're saying, from a safety perspective. I'll try to stem my curiosity."

Her father nodded, encouraged and apparently relieved that she wasn't throwing a full blown tantrum. Momo paused for effect before continuing. "Anyway, what I really came here for was a phone check, Dad. I learned at school that there are villains with the ability to hack into systems, and it can be somewhat avoided if we check our systems properly."

"Oh really?" her father asked.

"Sir, we need you here again. The prototype is malfunctioning," a perfectly timed call from one of the lab technicians chimed in.

Momo pressed on, taking full advantage of her father's now split attention. "Can I quickly check your phone is in the clear, Dad?"

"Sir?"

Her father quickly moved around the table, pulling out his phone from the drawer, unlocking it with a quick fingerprint and handed it to her. "Here. I'll be right back."

Momo's heart was beating rapidly. That worked flawlessly. If only she had tried this strategy from the start. Ignoring the thumps of guilt, she quickly opened his photo gallery, scrolling past hundreds of pictures of documents, receipts and gadgets.

Her breath got stuck in her throat.

There, in blurry darkness, were the pictures she had needed.

With a quick glance to make sure her father was still busy, she pulled out her phone, starting the slow process of sending them over to hers. Luckily, there weren't that many. While the transfer ran in the background, she quickly went to settings, to try and find something that would pass for what she had told her father she would do. Almost too conveniently, there, halfway down the options menu, was a section labelled 'device security'.

"Sorry about that, busy time," her father came back, and with a glance at her phone, she watched the bar signaling the transfer complete itself. With a quick, subtle swipe, Momo erased the completion notification.

"You know, I should get out of your hair. Bad timing on my part, sorry Dad," Momo said, stuffing her phone back into her pocket.

"Did you manage to check the settings?" he asked. "Show me as well, so I can keep an eye out myself."

Momo held in a smirk, hoping he would ask.

---

"Aki Hideyoshi," she reported, an edge of pride to her voice.

It was the following day, once again after school, except this time Momo had openly turned to Todoroki herself.

He nodded. "Address?"

"I couldn't get that," she said apologetically, biting her lip, hoping he wouldn't push it. There was no way she was getting anything else out of her parents. Luckily, he nodded again, typing something into his phone. Taking the cue, she pulled out her own, opening up the pictures and then waited for him to finish whatever he was doing.

It was strange with Todoroki now. They had started talking again, but the elephant was still in the room, and it made it extremely hard to be anything but formal with him. It was disturbing, and Momo realized it was true, how romance ruined friendships, and she would give anything for things to just go back to the way they were.

She frowned. Well, in her defense, she had tried really hard to keep it that way. For how long she had managed on being successful deserved a prize on its own. After successfully accomplishing her mission with her father, Momo spent a while wondering why she had even listened to Todoroki. She eventually concluded that the boy had her hopelessly wound, and that she had simply been happy just to be able to talk to him again, however formally. That thought alone made her gut clench uncomfortably.

But it was done now. And she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Todoroki was definitely one of the good guys. Unlike what her parents thought, he would never abuse this information. No, those doubts quickly left her mind, and all she could think about was what he felt. She wanted to talk about what happened between them.

With a start, Momo tuned back in as Todoroki looked up, fixing her with a blank stare. Clearing her throat, Momo held up her screen, heart thumping erratically. "Here are the photos. I can't give them to you – technically even showing them to you is against the law."

"You don't trust me?" he asked her, furrowing his eyebrows.

"You know that's not what this is," she said, giving him the device for a closer look. "It's supposed to be lawyer-client confidential, and we're impeaching that."

But it didn't look like he was listening as he stared intensely at her phone, eyes intense, and she wondered if he could see anything. "It's very dark and blurry. It's hard to really tell," he said, and she nodded at her unspoken question being answered. "But it honestly…doesn't look like my father."

She stared at him in disbelief. "What? Todoroki, after everything that happened, how can you still be saying that?"

"Because I can see clearly," he responded as if that was all the explanation necessary.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked flatly. But he didn't reply. "Todoroki…" she started, but then drifted off, as he handed her phone back.

Gingerly taking it, she figured it probably wasn't her place to tell him how to feel. After she had heard him quiveringly mutter 'mother...mother...' over and over she was sure he would be done with this whole debaucle. But his family dynamic was among the most complicated she had ever heard of, and to claim she had any idea of what was right or wrong was just presumptuous on her part.

"Well, if you're okay with it..."

He nodded.

Putting her issues with Todoroki's strange motives aside, Momo bent over the side of her chair, packing away the last of her books in preparation for heading straight to the dorms. She had managed to convince her parents to let her stay at the dorms, but on the condition that she never wandered far from campus without their permission first.

Straightening back up again, Momo couldn't contain her yelp of surprise.

Todoroki hadn't moved. Momo looked up at him, breathing levelly to calm her heart back down. "Do you need something else?" she asked.

"I'm waiting for you," he replied simply. Her heart did a strange little motion, swelling by how softened she was at the statement and simultaneously hurting with the guilt at having to turn him away.

"O-oh," she stuttered. "You found the address?" He nodded. "How?"

"Family ties," he said.

She let out a hesitant chuckle. "What, like you have a line of hitmen and spies at your disposal?" When he didn't respond, only continued to look at her with that confused look, she froze. "Wait, really?"

He gave a half nod, where his head tilted towards where his right shoulder gave a small shrug. Momo took a second to process this information, but stopped when she saw Todoroki turn and motion for her to follow him.

"Oh, Todoroki, I can't," she said gently. "My parents both want me staying as far away from this as possible."

"Oh," he replied, and then paused, raising his hand to the back of his neck. "I see…" There was a short, awkward pause. "Okay then."

"Yeah," she said softly, watching him walk away. Why was this making her feel so guilty? "Todoroki?"

He turned around.

"I'm sorry."

He gave a small sigh, shoulders dropping ever so slightly, but then almost simultaneously gave a small shrug, the tiniest of smiles shadowing his lips, as if saying 'What can you do'. And as he left, her heart left with him.

---

Momo saw him the next morning, after her daily student council meeting, already seated at his desk like always.

Taking her seat next to him, she turned. "So how did it go yesterday?"

"I couldn't meet with her," he replied. She frowned, but just as she opened her mouth to ask, Aizawa began his morning announcements, and she froze. Todoroki continued, "I'll update you later."

And later it had to be, since during their lunch breaks, Todoroki had his prelim license training with Bakugo and everywhere in between they had classes. It was almost like their starting days, before they were friends, or in the dorms, or had each other's phone numbers for that matter. Momo's shoulders sagged ever so slightly. Yes indeed, it was just like everything had reset back to those times.

Like everything else after had never happened.

It was now the end of the day, and Todoroki had waited for Momo to leave the classroom and dragged her further down the hall, where it was more quiet.

"I need you to come with me this time, Yaoyorozu."

The vice president found herself blinking at the sudden statement. "Wha- why?"

"I went yesterday, and they wouldn't approve my entry. Apparently they have her place guarded," Todoroki said, an unhappy frown on his face, like the experience had left a bad taste in his mouth. Momo quickly tried assembling herself. He was obviously talking about meeting the victim yesterday. "So I told them I'd bring you, as proof that I'm not a threat. I could have blasted my way through, but that wouldn't have been right."

"No kidding," she muttered, but then realized what he said. "Wait, no, Todoroki, I told you, I can't go."

"It'll be fine, you only have to accompany me," he said.

"No, Todoroki, I promised my parents-"

"They won't know, Yaoyorozu, please-"

"No Todoroki, it can't go your way this time," she said, her tone coming out in more of a snap.

"My way? When does anything go my way?" he responded, an edge building in his voice.

"Are you kidding? Trust with my parents is hanging by a thread thanks to you," Momo told him, her frustration flood gates opening. But just as she said that, he seemed to lose his edge.

"Yaoyorozu, this is important," he took a step closer. She eyed him warily. "Incredibly important. My father will go on trial, plead innocent and succeed. He has an alibi, Yaoyorozu."

Momo blinked. "What? No he won't walk away. My mother would never have overlooked something so obvious."

"Perhaps not, but he didn't do it," Todoroki said again, and Momo felt her patience slip. It was like the battle of the parents, and they were on opposing sides.

"How can you keep saying that?" she asked him sharply. "Do you not remember how you reacted when my mother showed you what she did?"

"Of course I remember," he snapped quietly.

"Then how can you turn a blind eye? How can you ignore so easily-"

"Do you even know what your mother showed me that day?" he asked her, and Momo felt words escape her for a second.

"W-well, no, but-"

"Then you know nothing," he hissed, not backing down in the slightest, and she swallowed. They stared at each other, frustration building with every passing second.

"I just want to understand," she said quietly. "Because right now, nothing makes sense."

"That's what I'm trying to do, Yaoyorozu. You have to come with me," he was looking at her with those eyes, eyes very similar to the ones she had seen that day in her family conference room, and her mouth went suddenly dry. "If you don't, this case will be closed forever, without ever catching whoever did it."

"No."

He blinked. "Huh?"

"No," she repeated. "No I won't just come with you. The only way I would, against the will and promises to my family," Todoroki opened his mouth, possibly to tell her family promises meant nothing, but she cut across. "Is if we talk about what happened."

He stared at her confusedly. "Talk about what?" he asked.

Momo stared. He couldn't be serious. "What happened after my mother showed you what she did."

Todoroki's eyes were tight. "I thought you didn't want to know the details of what my mother-"

"Not what your mother said," Momo pushed. "About us. About what happened between us. About why we stay so rigid when we're together, why we don't stray from the topic, and why we leave as soon as a conversation is over."

"You're the one that leaves," Todoroki mumbled, looking away. He then swallowed, and she watched his Adam's apple bob in the process, her gaze then raking slowly back up to his eyes again.

"I didn't know there was something to talk about," he said finally.

Momo didn't know such a small combination of words could hurt this much. But her flood gates were cracking under the pressure and her patience was near gone. "Then I guess there's no need for me to accompany you," she said softly, eyes overly bright and voice sharp, before turning to walk away.

Momo had hardly taken a step when she felt a strong grip wrap around her elbow.

"I didn't know there was a conversation to be had after something like that," she heard Todoroki say, and she angled herself slightly to glance at him. "I thought it was like a battle – you have one, then move on. You don't really discuss it."

She sighed softly. "What about discussing improvement points? Revenge strategies? Alliance plans?"

"My analogy wasn't perfect," he responded, but she could see the unwanted smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Can we walk and talk?"

Momo nodded, and they headed out, a disturbing silence between them. They had had awkward silences before, but nothing like this. Those were something she knew could be fixed; minor issues that when one of them got tired enough would admit to. But this situation they were in now, it was one where Momo feared that even they were to talk about it, even if she shared her inner thoughts, things would only gets worse.

And so, despite her moaning about them needing to talk, all words evaded her. Hundreds of questions and thoughts were swirling around inside, and yet when she tried vocalizing any of them, they disappeared before being materialized.

"You'll have to start Yaoyorozu, because I'm not really sure what to say."

Desperately, she searched her brain for the starting line. It wasn't like she didn't know what she wanted to say, because goodness knew she had question after question for him; had he liked it? How had it made him feel? Did he want to do it again? Did he feel any different? Was she still a friend to him?

But how to start that train of conversation eluded her. Trying the find a way to phrase her concerns without destroying everything they had was beyond her. Because maybe there was a sequence of words that wouldn't hurt them. But the harder Momo thought, the more she focused on the fact that she wasn't talking, and that Todoroki was waiting for her to say something, all attention on her, and the vicious cycle of silence continued.

"Well?" Todoroki asked finally, voice deadly quiet.

Momo snapped. "Now that I'm thinking about what to talk about, I can't think of anything! We're supposed to just talk about it, without thinking about talking about it!"

"…Huh?"

Todoroki's response was less than ideal. Momo clenched her hand in frustration.

"This just means there's nothing to talk about," he said.

"Not true, I have things to say," she retorted indignantly.

"So say them," he responded, an amused smile on his lips as he walked on.

Momo's frustration grew. "I have things to say, I just don't know how to say them."

"Look," Todoroki said. "If you had things to say, they would come naturally. You can't force yourself to speak, that's unnatural."

"Now I know why you never speak," Momo mumbled. "Because you never try."

"Exactly," he said, not at all insulted. "I find that just leads to misunderstandings."

"Don't you think what happened between us is a misunderstanding?" she asked back.

"Perhaps," he replied, and Momo didn't know what to think of that answer. "And that's why I think we should just try to move past it."

Momo paused. "Like nothing happened…?"

Todoroki didn't answer for a moment, and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Not exactly," he answered finally.

Momo sighed. She understood Todoroki was probably trying to fix things, in his own way. In his mind, maybe he was in denial, or perhaps this was his coping mechanism. But she simply wasn't the type of person to move on from something without an explanation or a full understanding of the situation. A lack of understanding meant more mistakes in the future and a total loss of potential at learning something.

They reached the outside of the campus, and Todoroki stepped towards the side of the main road, peering down as if expecting something to arrive.

"I can't do that Todoroki," she said quietly, so quietly she wondered if he even heard her over the traffic. But he turned, and she had to assume he had. Drawing on some internal source of courage, Momo took a few steps towards him, keeping a safe couple of feet distance between them. She looked him straight in the eye, packing as much sincerity into her words as possible. "I can't pretend like nothing happened."

He swallowed. "I-" he croaked, and quickly cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze. "I'm just saying we move past it."

"I can't," she breathed, and Todoroki finally looked up.

"Why not?" he answered just as low.

"Because something did happen," she said, and she took another step closer, heart beat increasing as she did. Not once had they looked away from each other. "And I want to know what that meant."

"I don't know what it meant."

"That's why I want to talk. To find out," Momo said. "Besides, can you move past it? Tell me how, if that's the case."

There was a pause. He still hadn't looked away. "…I don't know."

There was a loud honk, and the both of them jumped to see a cab had pulled over next to them.

"I got us a ride," Todoroki mumbled, almost to himself, pulling open a door. He waved her inside before hopping in. He gave the driver an address, and the car pulled away.

---

The drive was painstakingly quiet.

Almost a half hour passed and all it consisted of was the two of them staring out of their respective windows, the silence drilling, grinding, feeling much, much longer. The driver was just as quiet, wireless headphones plugged in, trapped in his own little bubble. Momo was grateful for the silence. Words escaped her, and as the drive continued, pangs of guilt flashed through her mind, growing with intensity.

Her parents were far from perfect, no doubt, but never had she flat out rebelled against them. It just wasn't like her. The most rebellious thing she'd done was refuse a driver to go to school. If they found out where she was going, and with whom, she would never hear the end of it – and for good measure. One of the reasons she felt so guilty was because, if the roles were reversed, she would feel extremely hurt that someone had thought a promise to her was so easy to break.

And Momo hated being a hypocrite.

Perhaps that was the reason for why she was so determined to discuss things with Todoroki. She had always preached to her friends, especially Kyoka, to face those social problems, even if they were so difficult. And now when she was thrown in the same situation, here she was, avoiding them, just like everyone else.

Momo frowned.

The air was so thick in the car she couldn't breathe. The last conversation with Todoroki rung clearly in her head, spinning in a loud vortex of 'mistake, forget, move on'. Momo pulled out her phone, and opened up her messages. For a long while she stared at the name 'Shoto' still shining near the top of her screen, under 'Kyoka' and 'Mother'.

Her thumb quivered over it in hesitation, but finally, she clicked on his name. If she couldn't speak her thoughts, she'd type them.

But that ended up being a challenge in and of itself. Again and again she would type a few words before erasing them completely.

'How can you move on?'. Erase.

'I can't stop thinking-'. Erase.

'Teach me your way-'. Erase

'I don't know why I'm here.'

"You're here because I need you here."

Momo twitched so suddenly she was surprised the whole car didn't jerk with her. She looked up to see Todoroki looking over at her, and she felt her face burn. How long he had been watching her? She turned away with a flick of her ponytail, clicking off her screen.

"Reading over someone's shoulder is rude," she huffed, eyes thinned, peering out the window.

"I wasn't trying to," he replied quietly, and she was suddenly very aware of the driver sitting up front. Thank goodness for his headphones.

Momo's grip tightened on her phone, still not looking at him. "Sure," she said softly.

Another silence fell over them, and Momo was certain that was all the words they would exchange for the rest of the drive. So she was especially surprised when Todoroki spoke up again.

"I haven't stopped thinking about it either."

This made her turn. She looked at him, but now his gaze was averted out the window. However, the tips of his ears were red – something she had only recently discovered happened when he was embarrassed. He obviously hadn't been embarrassed much before. Again, snippets of the conference room flashed through the back of her mind. Momo gave a thick swallow, leaning back, suddenly unable to look at him, staring at the seams of the driver's headrest. That deafening silence was back, in roaring vigor.

"S-So," she started hesitantly, her voice torn, breaking between loud and trying to keep quiet. "Why do you want to move past it then?"

In her visual periphery, Momo watched his fingers thread together. "Because I don't know what else to do."

His voice sounded so quiet, so desolate, so scared, so lost, that Momo couldn't help but chance a glance up at him. He was right there, a few measly feet away from her, wholly, healthily, solidly Todoroki. She knew what she wanted to do.

Momo studied him closely, properly, for the first time since this weird atmosphere had started between them. He was leaning back against his seat as well. His face was turned away, just the odd flutter of his eyelashes visible over the curve of his cheek. His hands had found the hem of his scarf (a necessity in the late November cold), and was fiddling with it absently.

Then, as if sensing her gaze, he turned to look at her as well. Momo felt her voice clam up, but something kept her gaze steady.

They stayed that way, just leaning back against their seats, quietly looking at each other. Momo wondered what he was thinking about, because all she knew was how badly she wanted to recreate the experience of the conference room. But she knew enough about Todoroki to know how far he was from the place where she currently was. This whole happenstance was so far from his norm, and suddenly, she felt so incredibly sorry for whatever the boy must be going through. Because of her. Because of her selfish wants.

But, something in the back of her mind chimed in, he hadn't pushed her away.

"This the street?"

Momo felt her heart jump at the driver's voice suddenly cutting through. She blinked rapidly as Todoroki leaned forwards. They had stopped on a rather narrow one-way street, a congested, murky looking area that didn't scream the better part of town.

"Yeah, here is fine," Todoroki answered, getting out. Momo followed suit. As the driver pulled away, awkward silence settled back between them.

There weren't too many other people on the street, although it still gave the strange appearance of being deserted. Seeing places like these always gave her a wake-up call; a strong reminder that not everyone lived the way she did. And she had learned from her internship that these were the places where crimes tended to happen most. Momo felt her skin tingle, alert, on the brink of Creation should need be.

"This way," Todoroki said, starting to walk down the sidewalk, Momo closely behind, scanning the small stores lining the sides.

"We should take something with us," Momo said suddenly.

"What? Why?"

"You know, respect. Courtesy. Etiquette," she answered.

He turned to give her a narrow-eyed look. "Are you suggesting I have none?"

Momo shrugged, shooting him a tiny, almost shy look as he gave a disgruntled frown, looking back ahead. She continued.

"No, but seriously think about it. We just barge in, demanding she talk about possibly the most traumatic experience of her life? Or, we soften her up with some…I don't know…- Pastry shop!" she cried, spotting one a few steps away. She strode towards it, beaming inexplicably at Todoroki as she walked passed. There was just something about a bakery that made her so happy. "Who doesn't love some free cake right? And who knows, we might get her to open up faster."

Todoroki followed her silently as she swung open the door, the little bell chiming as they entered.

It wasn't the fanciest of places, and it seemed to sell far more than just pastries. The inside was a drabby yellow, some of the tiles cracked, the corners gathering dust. The cakes themselves looked alright, but Momo wished she had known earlier and she would have brought some from elsewhere. This really wasn't the best representation of Momo Yaoyorozu's hospitality.

"Why is it that whenever I go somewhere with you, we end up shopping?"

Momo looked over at Todoroki's unexpected comment, and suddenly, she let out an array of small, quiet giggles. Todoroki offered her a small smile back. She turned around, still smiling, watching the lady pick up their selections. A few minutes later the two of them left, bag in hand.

As they walked, that same smothering silence befell them again, and Momo's thoughts drifted back once more to the boy accompanying her. She couldn't change the way he perceived the whole situation, and she would try to be understanding. But for the sake of her own closure, she had to be honest. Maybe playing the ignoring game worked for a while, but she knew that wouldn't last long.

"That's her apartment building," Todoroki said, pointing at a small complex not so far ahead. They continued walking down the lane.

"Todoroki," Momo started, matching his pace, heart thumping against her rib cage. "I'm sorry."

He shot her a confused glance. "You don't have anything to be sorry about."

"For putting you in this situation," she elaborated. "For forcing you to discuss something you don't feel comfortable talking about." He didn't respond, so she continued. "For putting you in a situation you never wanted. So I'm not going to ask you to say much. But I need to say some things. I just have to."

"I know," he said with a sigh, shooting her a dejectedly amused look. "You can't help yourself."

She smothered a self-conscious smile. "Todoroki, you're one of my closest friends, if not the closest. Having you be there for me has meant more to me than you can ever imagine."

Todoroki didn't say anything, continuing to walk in silence.

"How much you mean to me didn't stop growing. It continued, to the point where you mean so much to me- No," Momo shook her head, reminding herself of what she wanted to say. "No. My point is, what happened in the conference room was unfortunate timing, and I didn't in any way mean to undermine what you were going through."

"You didn't, Yaoyo-"

"But I don't regret it, Todoroki," she kept her eyes focused straight ahead, unable to look at him, unable to bear whatever expression he was wearing. "I don't know what this means either, but…I'm glad it happened." At this point she was hardly talking, muttering to floor as her head tilted downwards, a subconscious reaction at trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Yaoyorozu," Momo felt a gentle tug, pulling her to a stop. She turned at his touch, and when he didn't speak straight away, her heartbeat reached uncomfortably high levels.

Finally, he spoke. "I can't say I'm glad." Momo felt her stomach drop, like she missed the last step on a staircase. But Todoroki didn't notice, struggling to find words of his own. "…I'm more...confused. I don't know what this means. ...And I don't know what to do."

"…Me neither," she replied.

"And when something has no solution, one should move past it," Todoroki said.

"Todoroki-" she groaned. The last thing Momo wanted to hear was logic. But he cut her off.

"But I don't want you to apologize," he said. Momo blinked. "In fact, I believe..." he wasn't looking at her now, his hand now rubbing awkwardly at his neck, although his eyes did flicker over to her at times. "I believe I'm the one that initiated...whatever happened."

He was admitting it? She had thought she'd just imagined him leaning in, but now... Momo tried her best to stop her lips splitting into a wide grin.

"So it wasn't your fault..." Todoroki continued, unbenownst to her pounding heart. "And I also want you to know I didn't hate it. Actually, I-"

Suddenly Todoroki froze, in a way that instantly destroyed the moment and set alarm bells ringing in the back of her mind. His eyes were focused on something over her head, but just when she was about to turn to look, he whirled around to lock somewhere to the left, across the street, on the rooftops. He took a step towards whatever it was he had spotted. Yaoyorozu watched him closely, eyes darting between him and the rooftops.

Todoroki took a stance, right foot thrown back, pressing for firm contact with the ground. His left hand pointed ahead of him, raised slightly, and she could see the air above his skin shimmering. As quickly and quietly as she could, Momo dropped the bag she was holding, pressing her palms together to create the head of a bo-staff. And like that she stayed, waiting for the smallest signal, eyes on Todoroki, skimming their surroundings every few seconds, waiting for his green light to jump into action.

And then the moment passed.

"Something isn't right," Todoroki muttered while relaxing his stance.

"Did someone follow us?"

"Perhaps."

"They could be the guards my parents have assigned for her protection," Momo suggested, dropping the head of the bo-staff she had created into her pocket. She couldn't dematerialize what she had already physically formed; another reason why she didn't create things unless absolutely necessary – storage became a problem.

"I hope so," Todoroki said, ushering her forwards, eyes still scanning their surroundings. "Let's get this done. The sooner we leave the better."

The entry up to the rather worn down building appeared unmanned. Completely barren, and quite unnoticeable, unless someone was actually looking for it, which was surprising. The place should have been guarded, according to Todoroki, not to mention flooded with reporters. She supposed the latter was because her parents had kept the anonymity of the victim preserved well. It would be a different story once the trial played out.

"I would have thought my parents would have had some sort of security set for her-"

No sooner had Momo started forward when two men appeared, one to her right, and the other materializing in front of her.

"Who are you?" One asked.

"This is Yaoyorozu. I told you I knew her," Todoroki said from next to her.

So these were the guards Todoroki had told her about. Despite the sudden onslaught, Momo felt a wave of relief wash over her; it was good to know the girl wasn't alone.

She pulled out her hero license and UA ID. "Momo Yaoyorozu, daughter of the lawyer in charge of her case. Also daughter of the man that rescued her."

"I see…"

"We need to confirm some things with the victim, so we need to pass through," she said with an air of command she could only have picked up from her mother.

The man backed off slightly, still watching them. "I see you're back," the other one, Two, nodded at Todoroki as he drew closer.

"He's with me," Yaoyorozu was already climbing the narrow staircase, trying to feign confidence, like they were meant to be there. "My mother also knows about him being here."

Todoroki had hardly stepped forward when one of the men threw an arm out in front of him. "No, hang on. I did some reading up on you. I recognize you."

"Right, something Todoroki."

Yaoyorozu watched in growing panic as Todoroki's brow twitched.

"Listen kid, you can't pass-"

It was instantaneous.

The man had only just raised a hand, ready to grab Todoroki's upper arm, when, within a blink, the half-n-half hero had grabbed it, twisted him around and slammed him against the wall in a simultaneous wrist hold and back choke.

"Was that you, watching us a few minutes ago?" Todoroki growled at him.

"No," One grunted out, puffs of breath condensing against the wall, which muffled his voice slightly. "We haven't left our posts."

Momo felt the ground vibrate ever so slightly and followed its source to Two, the guard still free behind them. He pointed his gun. These were elite bodyguards – heroes with quirks not particularly adaptable enough to support them in the superhero field. But they compensated for that with their license and intense training with weapons. People were ranked according to ability; those with quirks together with weapons training were especially sought after. Her mother had hired only the best.

Before she could even process what was happening, Momo found herself between the gun and Todoroki.

"Step back, Miss. We can't have you getting hurt," Two said.

"No," she replied, as calmly as she could manage. "He's with me, I already told you. You're free to report this to my parents if you'd like, but he's with me. Can you confirm you weren't the ones spying on us less than five minutes ago?"

"The two of us have been inside this building for the last two hours," Two replied, and Momo nodded. "But it could have been some of the others who have been posted around here. I can't account for them."

"So there's more of you?"

"Put simply, yes."

Momo slowly moved her arm behind her, eyes still locked with the guard holding the gun, to where she thought Todoroki's shoulder hold would be, but she bumped into something soft (probably his cheek, she thought as she swallowed dryly) and instantly redirected to finally settle on his shoulder. She squeezed.

"Todoroki, let him go," she said softly. There was a pause where she was certain he was throwing her a disgruntled look at having to give up first, but he did. Just as she knew he would. One doubled over in a coughing fit. All the while, Momo hadn't once looked away.

"Please let him through," she asked once more, turning back to face Two. "We're going to be here for half an hour, at the most. Please," she said, eyes burning with intensity. "He's as involved in this case as I am, if not more. He deserves to be here just as much."

A second. Then another.

"She checks out," One called from behind her. Apparently he had looked into Momo's identity as soon as Todoroki had let go of him.

That seemed to be enough. Finally, Two lowered the gun. "Alright. Half an hour, and that's it. Then we come up there."

Yaoyorozu let out a large breath, finally letting her guard drop. "Thank you," she said. Todoroki began climbing the stairs with a huff.

"We're keeping these until you come back," the guard said, waving her licenses.

Momo nodded. "Listen, I know you're doing your jobs, and I'm heartened to see you doing it so well."

The man sighed. "It's not just us two here. Everyone posted here will be watching you."

Yaoyorozu smiled at his unspoken agreement. "I'm glad to hear it," she said, before climbing to meet Todoroki, who had paused in wait for her near the top of the first set of stairs, patiently watching the conversation.

---

"Who is it?"

A soft, meek voice came muffled through the worn, wooden door.

"My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. You're Aki, right? Aki Hideyoshi?"

"Yes?" came the tentative answer. Momo kept herself composed as Aki no doubt studied her through the safety of her peephole. "Yaoyorozu?"

"That's right," Momo replied gently. The ordeal this girl had gone through wasn't to be undermined, and Momo wanted to be as caring and empathetic as she could. "My parents are helping you on your case. If you don't mind, I just want to come in and talk a little bit more."

"How do I know you are who you say you are?"

Momo had to hold in a sigh. "The guards wouldn't have let me up, for starters," Momo began, persuasive mode on. "If it was forced entry, you would have heard a lot of banging and explosions. Second, my licenses are downstairs, but you can search through our bags, if you'd like? We really appreciate the opportunity to talk."

The door opened a crack, and Momo saw the sliver of a girl, pale skin, dark hair, and looked to be only a few years older than herself. From the way her eyes flickered between Momo's eyes to her hands where she was holding her bag out, the young heroine realized that was probably her cue. She handed the bag over.

"I'm still a UA student," Momo said as Aki studied some of her books. "I'm actually vice president of our year."

Maybe it was her imagination, but she swore she heard a sigh coming from where Todoroki stood behind her. Momo straightened. It was important to let Aki know they weren't here to mess around. Another minute passed, and Aki still hadn't given a response.

"There's only a few details we're confused about, Aki, if you'll let us in for just a few minutes?" Momo asked, an edge of hope to her voice.

"'Us'?"

That was when Aki spotted Todoroki, who, purposefully or not, was standing a good margin away, looking off to the side, angled so his hair looked mostly white.

"Yeah, he's with me, Aki. He's actually the one who thinks there may be some discrepancies to the case," Momo explained.

"...Can I see his bag too?" At least the girl was cautious. Perhaps that was just a side effect.

After Aki had spent a while behind her door examining Todoroki's belongings, Momo stepped forward.

"We brought you some things as well. As a thank you for lending us some of your time," she said through the door. Aki poked her head around the door. Seeing the apprehension still evident on the other girl's face, Momo raised the bag of goods she was carrying for good measure.

That seemed to do it. With only the smallest hesitation, Aki finally opened the door open, signaling they could walk in.

"Thank you," Aki said, taking the gift from Momo and setting it on a table, where her and Todoroki's now Aki-approved bags also lay.

The apartment was small, smaller than the average studio. The ceiling was mottled like popcorned cottage cheese, and there were small cracks running in the corners. Paint had started chipping in some areas near the floor. Aki had done what she could with the room, putting up a divider to wall off the bed, and had a small, round table, probably acting as a dining table, and a couch positioned near an old CRT TV.

Both girls sat on the chairs around the table, Todoroki always remaining a few feet away. Momo was starting to realize Aki wasn't fully comfortable with the boy being there, with the way she kept shooting him glances, and Momo appreciated his tact at keeping his distance. His red half had come into field of vision, and Aki was eyeing it apprehensively.

"So what doesn't make sense?" Aki asked quietly, still throwing glances at Todoroki, who had made his way to the windows and was carefully scanning the streets outside. Momo also turned towards him. This entire venture was his idea, so it was only right he ask what he wanted now. She cleared her throat and he turned around. Momo cocked an eyebrow at him, and he cleared him throat, getting the signal.

"I think the person Mr. Yaoyorozu identified as the one responsible ... may not be the actual perpetrator," Todoroki started, doing his best to stay sensitive. "I may be wrong, but I need to make sure we don't sentence the wrong man."

"What? Why?" Aki asked quickly. "What makes you think it isn't him?"

"He has an alibi. Apparently several witnesses can account for him as well," Todoroki explained.

"But…" Aki glanced at Momo. "Madam Satomi told me she could side step that problem."

"Hm," Todoroki paused, but only for a second.

"Why would you think it isn't him?" Aki's voice had taken on an edge. "Mister Souma promised me this would work out. You haven't caught him? I should have never agreed to this-"

The panic was now fully settling into her voice. That wasn't good. "No, Aki, don't worry, it's nothing like that-"

"So then why are you having doubts?" the girls question was valid, and Momo honestly didn't have a good answer for her.

"I have a feeling," Todoroki said, and Momo almost flinched at the rather misguided tone he was using. "Can you describe what he looked like?"

Aki looked down at the table, hands fisting in her lap. Momo slid over towards the girl, gently placing her hand over hers.

"I know it's hard, Aki," she said softly. "But this is important. Try looking at me when you talk. Pretend you're reading from a book. Disconnect yourself." The girl still said nothing. Momo continued. "This will help us confirm that we have the right person once and for all."

"I've already described everything. If they're really your parents, shouldn't you already know?" Aki asked.

Todoroki answered before Momo could speak. "Client confidentiality," he said. Aki glanced up at him as he continued. "We're here to build on a lead we may have. If it goes somewhere we'll inform your lawyer. Yaoyorozu here simply wants enough evidence, and that's what we're here for."

Momo was sure that wouldn't be enough, but to her surprise, the girl nodded. "He had blue eyes," she started. "Even though it was dark, I could tell. They were probably bright blue, giving how they picked up color. Dark hair; the way the light hit it looked red, although it could have been brown. Tall, broad shouldered…"

Aki looked back down, biting her trembling lip. Momo ran her thumb comfortingly over her fingers. Every part of the girl was tense and rigid, and her head was lowering, like she was trying to shrink and disappear.

"And?" Todoroki pushed, and Momo shot him a small glare he didn't see. "This is general, vague information, we need specifics-"

"How is red hair and blue eyes not specific? How many people can there be like that?" Aki suddenly snapped, looking up at him, this time, her gaze locking on Todoroki's blue eye and deep crimson hair.

He took a step forward, unfazed by her steely gaze. "What about smell? The way he talked? Something past physical features."

"He smelled like alcohol…" Aki breathed, and then suddenly clamped her hand to her mouth, tears brimming her eyes. Momo rubbed her back, concerned at how badly the poor girl had started shaking.

"What about the way he talked?" Todoroki pressed. "Did he stress on-"

"Alright, that's enough," Momo cut across him quietly.

"We're starting to get somewhere," he pushed, now leaning on the table. He looked quite intimidating, towering over them like that, eyes wide and piercing and if Momo didn't know any better, she would have been truly frightened. Momo tried again to steer Todoroki away.

"Give her a moment, Tod-"

"What about his hands?" Todoroki suddenly asked, newfound fervor. "He has a -"

"Todoroki, stop!" Momo yelled, and finally, he blinked, seemingly snapping out of whatever cloud had been obscuring his mind. "Just give her some breathing space, okay. Honestly, can't you understand what she's going through-"

"'Todoroki'?"

At the quiet voice, both heroes turned to the other girl, who had suddenly gone rigidly still. Her eyes were large and unblinking, staring straight down at the crevices running through the table. Momo leaned back away from her ever so slightly, trepidation creeping in.

"You're related to him…" Aki breathed, and Momo felt a chill run through the room, and suddenly, she realized everything was moving back, ever so slightly. "You look like him." There was a pause as Aki slowly digested all the details. And then she looked up. "Get out. Get out. Get out. Get out!"

With a final cry, she was on her feet, and the speed at which she stood wasn't enough to send her chair flying back with the force that it did. Some unseeable force pushed Momo back an inch as well, and suddenly, the Yaoyorozu heiress realized this was Aki's weak quirk in action – the ability to move objects, slightly, and only activated when in severe distress.

"Todoroki," Momo said levelly, eyes flickering between him and Aki, preparing herself for any surprises. "You should probably leave."

He swallowed and nodded mutely. He slowly backed away, hands raised slightly, signaling he meant no harm. As soon as he left, Aki turned on her.

"You brought him here," she cried. "You tricked me."

"No, no, Aki," Momo stood up as well, trying to meet her eye level. "You're misunderstanding things-"

"I need you to leave as well," Aki snapped, pointing at the door. "Out!"

"Okay," Momo said, softly, trying to calm her down. "Okay, I'm leaving. Please don't worry."

Aki clamped her mouth shut, tears streaming down her face, glaring at her as Momo walked slowly towards the door. But a few feet from it, Momo stopped.

"Just so you know, Aki, he's my classmate," she said. Momo wasn't entirely sure why, but suddenly, the need to defend Todoroki preceded anything else. She turned. "I know him very well. And there probably isn't anyone who hates his family more than he does himself." Aki didn't say anything, so Momo pressed on. "He himself was tortured by these very people. So please, if nothing else, please don't think he is anything like those people that attacked you."

Momo turned towards the door, ready to leave before Aki spoke up.

"Why is he saving them, then?" she asked.

Momo looked her dead in the eyes, hand clenching tightly around the strap of her bag.

"Because more than anything, he believes in justice."

---

Fifteen minutes later, Momo climbed down the stairs to rejoin Todoroki, only to find him engaged in conversation with the two guards they had met with earlier. They were gathered around the bottom step, one of the guards sitting, one perched on the railing and the usually unapproachable teen leaning on the pillar a foot ahead.

"Yeah man, I couldn't sleep for weeks," one guard was saying.

"You're saying that's as messed up making me run so far my breakfast ended up trailing down the front of my shirt? And still have me keep on running?" the other one added in passionately.

"Why are father's such asses?"

"Maybe it's a hero thing," Todoroki put in.

"I just think they're after the first son man."

"I'm not first son though," Todoroki answered.

"Yeah, you got me there. Sorry bro."

Momo felt the words get knocked right out of her. How they could go from almost beating each other to a pulp to bonding over horrible fathers in less than half an hour was beyond her. She descended the last few steps as loudly as she could, breaking up whatever in God's name was happening there. Three heads snapped up to look at her.

"What happened?" Todoroki asked her, pushing himself up straight. He had probably realized that her not following him immediately meant she had made some sort of progress.

"Well…nothing, but something," she said, shrugging slightly. She turned to the two guards. "Thank you very much for letting us in."

"Shoto here told us what the rumbling we heard was," one of the guards informed her. She raised her eyebrows at them. 'Shoto'?.

"She had personal issues," Todoroki stated simply. How in the world that explained anything, Momo would never know. With a smothered sigh, she descended the last few steps.

"Right, well, I'll let my mother know what a great job you're doing."

"Just doing our duty, Ma'am."

Todoroki nodded at the two of them as he followed his classmate out of the building, matching her stride.

"Well?"

"You think it's your brother, don't you?" Yaoyorozu asked, jumping straight to the point, and Shoto sighed. Well, it wasn't like he was hiding it, and of course she would catch on, perceptive as she was.

"It's a hunch," he said. "I went to talk to my father, after I saw that tape," as he said that, he felt Yaoyorozu's concerned glance rake over him. "And Toya. He was…uncomfortable that I did. I found it very strange he would even care." Momo hummed in agreement. He continued. "He also mentioned talking to you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. What bothers me most is how he came all the way to the festival, to 'talk' to you," he motioned air quotes with his right hand. "And now I'm thinking-"

"Maybe it was because he wanted to know my mother's progress on the case," Yaoyorozu finished, catching on. He simply nodded. She raised a hand to rest under her chin in thought. "I can see why you might suspect him. Of course, he could have just been doing scout work for your father."

"I asked him. My father said he never ordered such a thing."

"He could be lying," Yaoyorozu pointed out.

Todoroki shrugged a shoulder. He could say that he didn't think his father was lying, but that was only a gut feeling, and there was no way to portray a gut feeling unless the other person felt it themselves. Nor was it enough to convince Yaoyorozu. The girl in question was silent for a moment, and Shoto decided to let her be, knowing she would speak up when she had processed everything.

"Aki didn't say much else," she said eventually. "She said that he did indeed smell like alcohol – why would you ask that, by the way? He's a drinker?"

"Yes. And my father isn't. He hates how it takes away his focus."

"Interesting," she mused. "...She said there was another person there."

"What?"

"Yeah," Yaoyorozu continued. "She said she felt like a there were multiple footsteps chasing after her. But when they finally caught up with her, it was just him."

"Hm," Todoroki said, deep in thought. "She didn't even catch a glance?"

"She said she'd forgotten about it because she thought she'd imagined it at first," she said. "But she said she had a chance to think about it, and that when the camera flashed, again, it sounded like many footsteps ran away. But the picture didn't catch anything, so she never mentioned it. There wouldn't be any way to catch this mysterious extra person anyway, seeing as they did nothing, and there's no evidence they were ever there."

"Another person…" Todoroki went quiet for a while. "Anything else?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Hm," Shoto had hoped for a bit more insight, maybe some sort of unwavering detail that could pin Toya down. But he supposed life wasn't so convenient. There was a silence as the both of them processed the information, trying to form some sort of bridge for their theory. Yaoyorozu was the first to break it.

"Todoroki…" she started, clearly hesitant. "Can I tell my mother? About this interaction with your brother? Maybe she'll be able to use it somehow."

He thought this over. Shoto couldn't fathom how Mrs. Yaoyorozu could have any use of that information. And furthermore, he didn't know if he wanted that woman to know any more about him than she already did. But pushing those biased thoughts aside, he supposed there was no real downside. His father was already being prosecuted next week, so there wasn't really much to lose. "I suppose so."

She smiled gratefully at him, and he felt that now familiar wave of warmth spread through him at having made her happy. A thought occurred to him.

"How did you calm her down? Hideyoshi, I mean?"

Yaoyorozu smiled, and with an elusive shrug and strange sidelong look, said, "I have my ways."

Her smile was contagious. "Like I said, you always get your-"

Todoroki paused. Then turned.

It was sudden.

It was like a switch had been flipped. Then, everything slowed down.

He heard it before he saw anything – a searing, almost whistling sound, like something was ripping apart air itself, from a darkened corner just southwest to where he was standing. Shoto felt something shove him to the ground. The car parked right in front of them shattered, glass shards flying every which way, and a split second later, he felt the whisper of something shoot past him, just missing him.

His brain instantly switched to attack mode.

Jumping to his feet, energy coursing through his body, opposing elements flared through opposite hands. The direction of attack meant the shooter was across the road, probably on the roof. A surge of ice blasted upwards from the ground below the half and half hero and a pillar of frosted glass elevated him through the air. Within seconds he was level with the rooftops.

And sure enough, there was the perpetrator, stumbling back in surprise.

Without missing a beat, Shoto jumped onto the solid brick of the building. The man had turned, mask obscuring his features, and made a run for it. A blast of ice made its way under his feet and the man tripped, and a dull crunch sounding as he fell face first. Just as Shoto was about to launch the fireball whirling around his left fist, the man groaned, pulling up his mask up slightly, clutching his nose as thick dollops of bright red fell to the concrete.

Todoroki paused, eyes narrowed.

Wait…

But before he could investigate further, a black blur shot from deep right and essentially slammed into the groaning man on the roof, catapulting him out of sight. The only proof of the man's existence was the small spillage of blood on the exposed brick.

Shoto straightened, relaxing his fighting stance, fire fizzling out, eyes narrowed in thought. He let out a small puff of icy air, turning around, staring at the place where the man had disappeared between buildings. He frowned.

After another few seconds of thought, he shook his head and turned.

It was as if the man had never even been here, and all that suggested anything had happened were towering icebergs of Shoto's own creation. He sighed. He wasn't looking forward to the clean-up. But he'd deal with that later. In one smooth motion, he sled down a new arc of ice. He'd regroup with Yaoyorozu first, knowing having her think this through with him would be much faster.

"Yaoyorozu?" he called, shoes crunching over the shattered glass and chunks of ice. He couldn't see her through the broken windows of the car. She gave no response. He gave a brief scan up and down the street.

It was deserted. Nothing moved. Todoroki's eyebrows furrowed. Yaoyorozu could never have run from a threat.

Something was wrong.

Instantly his senses flared in and he called again, this time, with much more force. "Yaoyorozu?"

In two large strides, he moved around the car, now on the pavement where him and Yaoyorozu had been standing less than five minutes ago.

The first thing he saw was shattered glass, dusting the sidewalk like crystalized glitter. The second was blood, thick, still spreading in a slowly growing pool. Blue-gray eyes widened as they followed the blood to its source. He stepped closer, growing colder with each step towards the still body.

The third thing he noticed was that the motionless body was Yaoyorozu.

In a fraction of a second, he was by her side, instantly dropping to his knees, not even noticing the warm blood instantly seeping through his jeans. She was lying face down, one arm crushed underneath her. Her eyes were clamped shut, so tightly most of her eyelashes had been swallowed by the folds of skin, making it impossible to check whether or not her pupils were dilated. Sweat dripped down her face in cold, clammy rivulets and she was so ridiculously, insanely, inhumanely pale.

Hesitating for only a second, he bent over to check her pulse, which was slightly weak, and rapid, but still steady, and he finally felt breath re-enter his lungs.

Todoroki swallowed, throat clogged. His mind flared with blaring commands; 'Hold her. Pick her up. Stop the bleeding!' But he didn't move. All he could seem to do was stare at the blood, watching the outline spread further and further outwards. He watched in gruesome entrancement as an ant was engulfed by the thick, vivid fluid.

What was wrong with him?

He gave a painful swallow and, with hardened resolve, he rolled her over. Suddenly, she gave out a groan, and everything in him refocused back to her face.

"To...do..." she breathed out, so quietly he probably imagined it.

"Yao-" he croaked, voice catching somewhere in his throat. She was the voice of reason, the source of solution. She thought of the plans and he carried them through. "What do I do...?"

The words gave up somewhere before reaching his tongue, and it took him a while to realize that the choking sensation around his neck was Yaoyorozu tightly gripping his collar. The hand clutching at his shirt was red and trembling and bloody. His pants were now a deep crimson from kneeling in the large pool, and the white of his shirt started to turn scarlet too.

"Yaoyorozu, can you hear me?" His eyes jumped all over her face. "Yaoyorozu?" her grip relaxed, hand dropping from his collar, large, bloody stain left in its wake and her expression went lax. He grabbed the side of her head in support, looking for any indication she was still ali-...conscious.

There was a very obvious hole in her abdomen. Blood gushed out, not like a hose, but like a waterfall, pouring in gentle waves, no end in sight. Those frayed edges- were those her intestines?

Todoroki felt bile rise up to his mouth and he felt himself gag. He clamped a bloodied hand to his mouth, not thinking twice about how blood was now smeared all over his face. Blood. Blood, blood, blood. Everywhere.

He had to stop it. Numbly, he pressed his right hand to her gouged out wound. It was hot, boiling and without thinking, he froze it. Nothing should be that hot. Anything to stop this endless torrent of blood.

"Hey, kid, you've got to-"

Todoroki whirled around, eyes wide, shielding her limp body from view. One of the guards from earlier had arrived, and was now kneeling down to peer at them and looked to be saying something.

"An ambulance is already on the way-"

With a large rumble, layer after layer of ice shot up, creating half of a small, icy cocoon, separating him and the dying girl from whoever had dared come close. The thought of anyone touching her right now was unpalatable.

She was breathing in short, rapid breaths, and her pulse had gone incredibly rapid. Yaoyorozu's cheek that had been pressed down into the pavement was mottled with dried, crusty blood. Soundlessly, Todoroki wiped it off. He had never seen so much blood before, and to know that this was hers… Todoroki's hand found hers and grasped it, eyes never once leaving her face.

She was dying. She was dying and there was nothing he could do.

Suddenly, something reached through the opening of the cave and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey," the man in brilliant white said. "I've got to take her."

The emergency team had arrived. He stared at the paramedics, shooting them a look as if the man had lost his mind.

"Listen," the paramedic tried again, gently reaching out to them. Shoto pulled away. "You did good, taking care of her. But if she doesn't get treatment now, she'll die."

Todoroki stared at both of them. Die? Momo nonexistent? Never see her again?

That did not compute. What he wouldn't give for super speed right now…

"Recovery girl can fix this..." he murmured. Hope exploded in his chest, blooming like rays of sun after an eclipse. She could still live. No, he would make sure she did. "Iida. Te- Ingenium. Call ingenium, now."

"There's not enough-"

"There is," Shoto snapped. "She needs to be taken to Recovery Girl, now."

"Hey," a lady paramedic answered softly this time. "We'll take her to the hospital and from there, we'll call Recovery Girl. Does that sound okay?"

Todoroki felt a spike of anger. This was not the time for them to be trying tactics with him. Without a word, he turned around and, as gently as he could, he passed an arm under Momo's neck, and hooked the other under her knees. Gently, ever so gently, he stood up, backing out of the small icy cave he had created for her.

"Atta boy, now just lay her-"

"Move."

The lady blinked as a steady, seething glare was sent her way. Without another word, he began walking around the stretcher that had been pulled out.

"What are you doing?" she yelled at him. "You're wasting precious time!"

Shards of ice forming threateningly at the base of his foot, pointed at any onlooker in a 10 foot radius. Shoto snarled. "Anyone who gets in my way will be remove-"

"Todoroki."

A voice rang out to his left and Todoroki whirled around.

Kirishima.

"We called Recovery Girl," the Red Riot said, before Todoroki was able to voice his confusion.

A silence rang and nobody moved as Todoroki took a second to digest it. He blinked, once, then twice. "Recovery...?"

Kirishima walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She'll meet them at the hospital. These guys can get her there faster than anyone."

And then finally, Todoroki nodded, jaw clamped shut tightly, swallowing, hard. He nodded again, and then again, and found he couldn't stop. This time, Todoroki didn't resist as the strangers took the limp girl from his arms, not letting go until all he held was air. He watched as they loaded her onto the stretcher and wheeled her away, lifting her up onto the vehicle. It was only when she was out of sight, inside the ambulance, that Shoto thought to speak, stepping forward.

"I'm going with her," he said.

But a tug held him back.

Kirishima didn't budge at the fiery glare thrown at him. "You need to stay and tell us what happened. Because-" he pushed on as Todoroki opened his mouth to argue back. "You don't have your hero license yet. Because you witnessed everything, and are the only one who can help us catch whoever did this."

Todoroki stepped back, and after a few seconds of thought turned away, watching as the ambulance pulled away, sirens blaring. He didn't know how long he stayed that way. How this happened. What had gone so horribly wrong? Just minutes ago, they were fine. Just minutes ago, she was with him, buying gifts-

"She'll be okay."

Kirishima's voice cut through his thoughts. The redhead was still there.

"How can you know?" Todoroki croaked, still facing the corner where the ambulance had turned and disappeared.

"Because we're the good guys."

That earned Kirishima a lackluster look, and the Red Riot managed a crooked smile. He gave Todoroki a punch in the shoulder. "Listen man, don't worry about the ice, we'll take care of it. If they see you using your quirk for something other than self-defense, there won't be anything we can do for ya. Fat Gum's here, and he can probably work off the explanation for now.

"You just stay put until Forensics get here. They'll be able to find DNA from the sucker, and we'll get him."

And with that hopeful thought, Kirishima walked away, arm already hardening, and began chopping away at Todoroki's personal iceberg. The motion was almost hypnotic, and Todoroki found himself zoning out.

The man on the roof. There was blood up there. Forensics could possibly use that. However, that unique quirk … was something he knew of. He had never seen it in action, however he had heard of it. Todoroki swallowed. He had heard of it from Toya.

The Todoroki hitmen.

Thoughts cascaded through his mind. The alcoholic breath. Icy blue eyes and red hair. The alibi. The festival. The fight. A new theory formed, something that explained what he had been suspicious of from the start; something that made sense and filled in all the missing gaps...

"Kirishima," Todoroki heard himself call out. The loud whacking stopped as the boy in question turned to look at him.

"Whassup?"

Todoroki looked him dead in the eyes.

"I know who did it."

---

A/N: A little tidbit: I originally had Bakugo come instead of Kirishima. It was a super fun scene to write out, and everyone loves a good ol' Todoroki-Bakugo interaction. But alas, it didn't make much sense for him to be there without a license Dx

I have to say, I love the Endeavor support XD After the last chapter, I was absolutely swamped with reviews telling me how Endeavor wouldn't do it. From the start, I've never pinned him as a villain, just an antihero. What was extra sweet was that you guys would then add 'But if you're writing it, I'm sure I'll like it, whatever you do.' X3 I have the best readers! Be sure to let me know if I redeemed myself xD