Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All characters and ideas are property of Kohei Horikoshi. Thank you.

A/N: So the warning will still stand. As it's been brought to my attention that one of the main points of my story ends up actually being a reality in the latest updates of My Hero Academia in chapter 260. In fact it hints towards several predictions that I have that have been implemented into this fantiction. Honesty I should just be a fortune teller at this point. So before anyone complains, THIS FANFICTION IS CONFIRMED TO HAVE SPOILERS. Read at your own discretion, and if you do decide to continue, then I thank you for reading. Enjoy :)

-0-0-0-0-0-

Trust

Plans to hang out quickly fell apart.

Mostly due to short notice of said plans.

As it turned out, Ochako's parents wanted to spend one last day with her before her schedule started getting hectic, whereas Iida and Kirishima were brought back by an ever-unemotional Mr. Aizawa who informed them of a request for an unexpected surprise internship with Fatgum.

"Wow you guys are lucky! I wish you the best!" Izuku had told them.

Although Kyoka wanted to go, she found that her bass guitar needed new strings. She had decided to head out already to get replacements, promising to join up with them later if she had time or saw them out and about.

"Well if no one's gonna be there I'll just let Shinso know we'll go at a different time. I want him to have an experience with all of us, and I don't think he'll have too much fun if hardly anyone goes. Also he's kinda only giving me one shot to get him out of his shell so I gotta time it right!" Mina laughed as she spoke over the phone with Momo.

Now, it was only Izuku and Momo with open schedules, and the former wasn't even sure if Momo would agree to go at this point. Either way, he needed to get out and do something, whether it be with someone else or just by himself. He needed a distraction from the water park his eyes had decided to turn into today.

He picked up his phone and laid back in bed, scrolling through his contacts until he came across the one he was looking for.

Yaoyorozu

He hesitated, his thumb slightly hovering over the call button, hands clammy with sweat. His body started trembling, yet he couldn't tell if it was out of excitement or nervousness. Possibly both, as the anxiety of talking to a new girl always seemed to get to him. Finally, he made up his mind, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing the call button.

After a moment he opened his eyes, realizing what he had just done. 'Oh crap what do I say? Oh crap! Oh crap!'

Connecting…

'Maybe her phone is turned off and she can't receive calls,' he sighed.

'And I worried for noth-"

Ringing…

'CRAP!' he thought as he dropped his phone on his face in panic. He scrambled for the phone and pressed it to his face just as Momo picked up.

"Hey Midoriya! What's up? Is it about our plans today?"

"Uhh. Ummmm…"

...

"Midoriya?"

"SORRY! I mean, sorry. Uh yeah no one's going anymore, they all were busy… well… except for me and you. I-I understand if you don't want to go anymore since it would just be us two, I'm sure you'd rather go with more people-"

"Nah I'm still good for today," Momo said, stopping his rambling before he lost control, "I've got nothing to do and I think it'd be a good chance to get to know each. Remember what I said earlier? We're gonna be working together often from now on, so the sooner we get familiar with one another the faster we can start working together effectively!"

"Oh! Yeah that of course! Ha! Umm, well since it'll just be us two, did you have anything in mind?" Izuku asked curiously.

"Hmm, sure! I know a good sandwich shop down the road from campus, we'd easily be able to make it back by curfew even if we left late."

'Wait, that sounds like…'

"We'll just call it a friendly date!" Yaoyorozu said.

"A d-date?" he asked, his stomach did a flip. No, make that two flips. Maybe three.

"Uhh, Midoriya? Is there a problem? Will you be able to go today?"

"Oh! Yes! I can go! Umm… yes!" Midoriya confirmed. He couldn't help but break down into a nervous wreck. 'Calm down Izuku, she very clearly said a friendly date!'

"Well I'm gonna get my studying in for the day. I'll come knocking on your door when I'm finished. Does that sound good Midoriya?"

"Yeah, and umm… if I don't answer I'm probably just asleep. I'll leave the door unlocked if that's the case and you can just wake me up."

They both laughed at how likely that was about to become.

"Alright, well I'll be waiting until then," Izuku said.

"Talk to you in a bit Midoriya," she replied as they ended the call.

Sleep came easy for Izuku, the emotional exhaustion of the day finally catching up to him. His eyelids had been feeling heavy throughout his phone call with Momo and he was practically falling asleep anyway.

He succumbed to darkness, and then suddenly Izuku found himself just outside of the Liberation Army's hidden base, along with nearly every hero in Japan's hero agency, and the rest of class 1-A.

"All high tier pro heroes who specialize in heavy combat will take the frontlines! We'll deal with the big guns while the rest of you keep any of the little guys from escaping. Do NOT! Under ANY circumstance! Let the students enter the main conflict! Am I understood?" Endeavor announced as everyone nodded, prepared to invade.

Izuku observed as everyone around him, namely his classmates, began sweating and fidgeting nervously. However, they weren't alone. Other pro heroes were becoming nervous wrecks as well, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that this large scale invasion entailed far more danger than class 1-A was being told about.

'Something's not right here…'

He felt a hand on his shoulder from behind, "Midoriya," it was Shoto, "am I alone when I say I have a bad feeling about this?"

"No Todoroki, something here feels terribly wrong."

As if on cue, a thunderous boom was heard as a winged man soared up through the smoke of a fresh explosion from deep within the base of run down buildings. Feathers flew about at incredible speeds, deflecting projectiles from all directions as the man performed aerial maneuvers that put fighter jets to shame.

Everything moved in slow motion as the realization hit. The man out in the distance, deflecting and maneuvering through heavy enemy fire, was none other than the number two hero, Hawks.

"That's too much for him to handle! I'm going to help him escape! Everyone stay here!" announced Endeavor.

However his lift off was cut short as a massive hand the size of an entire house protruded from the ground.

It all happened too fast, and everyone watching could only stand and observe as the hand shot forward, it's fingers grasping over Hawks's body as he tried to evade it. What followed were the crunch of his legs and lower abdomen as the giant's fingers slammed shut on top of him, and like a fly being squished by a swatter, Hawks's blood was visibly seen spewing through the air as he let out a blood curdling scream.

Without a second thought, Izuku found himself launching towards the hero at fifty percent Full Cowl, reinforcing his legs with Black Whip, and letting his insane momentum carry him with Float.

"HAWKS HANG IN THERE!" he screamed as he flew towards him. The pro hero was in a fight for his life as he gathered all of his feathers and spun them like a buzz saw all around the giant's hand, leaving it a mangled mess as it released him.

Izuku braced for impact as he caught Hawks out of the air, "Hawks! I'm gonna get you to safety! Just stay with me!"

A trail of blood was left behind them as Hawks' destroyed lower body dangled in the wind. He coughed up copious amounts of blood as he spoke. "Kid, I think I'm a little too far gone for saving, get out of here!"

"What the hell are you talking about! I'll save you! Just stop talking and conserve your energy!"

"Deku, I've heard of you, and while I can understand your resolve, don't let your emotions cloud your vision."

"What?!"

"You'll make a fine hero some day…" and with that, he shoved Izuku away, using the rest of his remaining feathers to propel the two from each other. Izuku fell through the air, and could only watch as a torrent of projectile quirks from the surrounding villains on the ground made their way to the man who had just pushed him out of harm's way. He was broken beyond repair, beaten up and bloodied, and his insides hung out of his crushed abdomen. Yet the pro hero had valued Izuku's life over his own all the same.

Then blood splattered as the number two flying hero was torn to literal pieces right in front of Izuku's very eyes.

"NOOOOO!"

Izuku awoke with a start.

"HAWKS!"

His breathing was heavy, and his clothes were soaked in sweat. His right robotic arm, instinctively reinforced with Black Whip, was outstretched.

"Midoriya please answer me!" he shook himself out of his thoughts as he felt a hand laid gently on his metallic bicep, black tendrils lightly lapping at Momo's fingers.

He slowly looked up to see her fighting back tears as she tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she said as she suddenly embraced him. "I don't think any of us had any idea that this was what you were going through…"

Midoriya tensed, still feeling the adrenaline of his nightmarish recollection from the events of the Liberation war. After some time he relaxed and gently hugged Momo back, his eyes stinging and his body shaking violently as he finally let out what he had been holding in all day. He sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder, a pitiful cry of an emotionally scarred warrior who hadn't even reached adulthood, but had seen everything it had to offer and so much more.

Momo's heart wrenched. She had seen Izuku cry before, but never had she heard him sound so… broken. To feel responsible for so many deaths, for someone who spoke of how he'd save everyone! Reality had caught up to his ideals, and losing his arm was a constant reminder of how harsh the world really was. She couldn't even imagine the pain he was going through.

It took several moments for Izuku to finally take control of himself, his face still buried in Momo's untied hair.

"Sorry… that was kind of embarrassing… I doubt you wanted to see that…" he laughed.

"Izuku, we could all tell that you were hurting, so don't apologize for being human. If anything it relieves me to know that you haven't shut everything out, and that you're still willing to grieve. It means you're not too far gone," she explained as she pushed him away to look into his glowing green eyes. His eyelids had become pink and puffy, gleaming with drying tears.

Izuku simply nodded in understanding, "Yaoyorozu?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks," he chuckled again lightheartedly, letting her know that her emotional support had worked, and it was appreciated.

"Of course, and hey. What did I tell you earlier? If you ever need someone to talk to, or just someone to vent to, just give me a call or text. I'll be right over to help you. It's the least I can do," she said smiling.

Izuku smiled as well before Momo stood up, "now go take a shower and get ready to go eat! I'm taking you to that sandwich shop and you're gonna feel better whether you like it or not! Let's go! Grab your towel and and your three-in-one shampoo crap!" she said, dragging him to his feet and pushing him out the door. She, sighed heavily, relieved she was able to help out a friend in need, especially when said friend had gone through so much to save her and the entire class. How he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders without submitting to the pressure was beyond her. She couldn't understand it, but regardless, she found it an extremely admirable trait of his.

'Jeez Midoriya, how do you do it?'

-0-0-0-0-0-

After getting ready to go eat, Izuku followed Momo out the gates as she led them down the road to the local sandwich shop.

"Well I think I see why you like this place," he said, noticing Rozu's Shack being the name of the restaurant.

"Yeah my family owns a small chain. We try to keep it small because we want to keep it all gourmet. Ya know? We don't want to industrialize our food."

"Oh that makes sense, I imagine the food here is good then?" Izuku inquired.

"I'd say it is, but I'm a bit biased so I'll let you decide that," she said with a laugh.

Upon entering the shop, a waitress was quick to greet Momo by name before sitting them down at a booth.

Izuku sat across from Momo at the table before asking, "this may be a dumb thing to say, but I noticed that everyone seems to know you here."

"Well, I mean… c-considering my family o-owns the chain… yeah…" she said, trying not to sound arrogant.

Izuku just laughed at her sudden adorable change of character, "I've never seen you trip over your words before!"

Momo rolled her eyes and smirked, "at least I don't trip over my words as often as a certain someone I know…"

"Hey! I'm at least getting better about it! Oh yeah? What about you when you…"

The banter continued, and Momo was happy that she could distract Izuku from what was eating him up inside. It wasn't pleasant to observe his internal struggles, and she knew that at some point he would have to face his problems, but right now, what he truly needed, was a way to relax before he became unstable.

No one except for Todoroki had really been hit as hard emotionally as Izuku from the battle, but Todoroki by far had better control over himself when it came to making sound decisions. The one who needed guidance to keep from self destruction was the wielder of One for All. Not that she knew that, but to anyone who looked at class 1-A, it became clear that Izuku had the strongest, yet most self destructive, quirk out of all of them.

It became that moment, as they sat, making fun of each other and eating their sandwiches, that she was determined to save Izuku from none other… than himself.

"Hey Yaoyorozu, thanks for taking me out to eat today, you really did help me quite a bit by doing this."

"It's not a problem Midoriya, it's what friends do," she replied.

Although his time had been a blast hanging out with his new friend, one thing that kept occurring every now and then that he couldn't help but notice was the way she kept glancing at his new arm, whether it be from concern or curiosity he wasn't sure. Either way he knew she was interested in it, and decided he'd give her a treat.

After paying for their meal, they found themselves walking along the busy street back down to campus. "Yaoyorozu, I noticed you kept looking at my arm…"

"Oh? Uh- Y-yeah I'm sorry that was rude of me, I'll stop-"

"N-no it's fine seriously…" he said, easing her sudden guilt. "Umm… do you wanna see how it works? You'd be the first to know. Well, besides Hatsume at least since she kinda made it..."

"Really? You'd show me?" Her eyes glowed with excitement, her inner nerd oozing out as she looked at him expectantly.

"O-of course! Just think of it as repayment for the whole 'cheering me up' thing!"

"Awsome! I've been wanting to know how it works since I first saw it this morning!"

"Well if you look up here," he said, pulling up a sleeve to reveal his black shoulder as she gasped, "you'll see that I have to have black whip active at all times to keep it running. Trust me it's not bruised or anything, it's just my quirk showing," he laughed as Momo's face turned back to one of curiosity after her concern was quelled. "While I c-can't take it off to show you how the inside works, it would be best to imagine my Black Whip a-as wires, and the electricity I generate as its power source."

"But wouldn't that just drain your energy?"

"In a sense yes, but my arm doesn't have to rely on metabolism to work anymore, so the trade off leaves it relatively the same."

Momo facepalmed at the actual simplicity of its energy use, almost disappointed in herself for not seeing that earlier. "Tell me more, like, isn't it more fragile than your arm? Considering it's a machine now?"

"Yes and no, the structure of the design is dependent on the intensity of the amount of Black Whip I put through it. In a sense, think of my tendrils as muscle fibers within my arm. The arm itself has metal coiled high density fiber cables that my Black Whip surrounds like muscle over bone, so the stronger my Black Whip becomes, the stronger my arm is. I got the idea from when I fought Muscular and how his quirk worked."

"Oh wow, that's actually… REALLY smart! No wonder people call you the quirk genius! I just thought you had an obsession with taking notes if I'm being honest, sorry for misjudging you," Momo said, feeling slightly guilty.

"O-oh I would be lying if I said I wasn't obsessed with quirks," Izuku said as the passed through the campus gates, "considering I was thought to be quirkless for a time it was all I could really do to keep up…" he explained, then chuckled, "and besides, these quirks that I have are dangerous, I've been told that if they had manifested at a younger age I could've ripped my body apart."

"Yeah that wouldn't have been a pretty sight," she said, opening the door to 1-A dorm building for him. He muttered a quick thanks before realizing he was about to go back to his room.

"Well umm…" he began to say, "I had fun."

"Y-yeah me too…" she replied, not really wanting to end their time together.

As dense as Izuku was, the tension was quite obvious. Neither one of them wanted to separate yet. "Y-You know, n-now that I think about it, we're a lot more alike than I thought we'd be. I-I'm kinda surprised we haven't talked more," he stated.

"I know, I was pretty pleasantly surprised as well, I didn't expect it but, you're really fun to talk to…"

Again, tension.

You could cut it with a knife.

Izuku looked at the clock on the wall and finally decided to gather the courage to speak up about the elephant in the room. "Umm, there's still a few hours until curfew, d-do you w-wanna, I-I don't know, look at some notes I have o-on everybody's quirk?"

"Yes!" she said all too quickly. She realized her obviousness and started to blush while looking down at her feet sheepishly. It wasn't that they felt romantic tension, it was just a new experience to find someone so willing to be open to. All their lives they had to suppress who they really were, and the two felt as if they could talk about anything and everything without the fear of being judged with one another. They were comfortable, and in a world where many people look only for your quirk, or in Momo's case, wealth, it was refreshing to see that someone appreciated the other for who they were as a person.

Izuku beamed at Yaoyorozu, smiling and saying, "c'mon, I've got a lot to show you."

"Alright, lets see what you've got!"

"Just one thing," he said as they climbed the stairs to his room.

"What's that?"

"I'm not finished with your entry yet in my journal, your quirk has so many potential uses that I haven't quite finished it," he explained, "b-but I promise to show you as soon as I think it has a good amount!"

Momo giggled, "alright, I won't look."

The next few hours had been spent showing her different quirks he had taken notes on, ranging from pro heroes, to villains, to all of their classmates. However, he stopped when he reached the page of a certain red haired, hard headed classmate.

"Lately I've become really interested in Kirishima's quirk. I'll have to look into it more, but if I'm right, his quirk will have outlandish potential. I was able to test it a little bit when I shared my enhancement quirk with him, but his skin had hardened and become so dense I thought I could feel a gravitational pull to him. It might've just been my imagination, but I REALLY want to find out if my theory turns out to be true," he said, ready to go on a full rant.

As he continued, Momo couldn't help but admire his knack for figuring quirks out, and was both surprised and impressed with some of the applications he had come up with for their fellow classmates. 'Wow, not only does he want to improve himself, but everyone else as well…' she thought. It seemed the more she got to know him, the more her admiration for him, not just as a hero, but as a person, grew exponentially.

"Midoriya I really don't know if you know this," she said, "but you're really amazing…"

Izuku couldn't stop the blush from spilling out onto his face as he quickly turned away, "o-oh uh, thanks. W-what brought that on?"

"You not only focus on your own training to rise up by yourself, but you help us as well. You have a whole list of how every one of us could improve our quirks and it's simply amazing that you would take the time to do that."

"Oh it's more just a hobby than anything…"

"Midoriya, you've shown all of us your selfless acts, and you constantly put others before yourself in almost any situation I've seen you in. You do all these amazing things and go through more suffering than I could ever endure, yet somehow come out as humble as ever! If that's not amazing then what is?" she said.

"Th-thanks, I really appreciate that you think that of me, b-but don't sell yourself short either. You're the Vice President for reason, and you helped the entire class in getting to pass the hero course last year at all to begin with. Without you, half of our class wouldn't have even made it," he exclaimed laughing, "and you're actually one of the main reasons why I started tackling my academic studies so hard as well. You were my main goal to catch up to and surpass in that regard. I mean… I still haven't caught up to you, but you better believe I'll still try!"

Now it was Momo's turn to blush, "you really see my nerding out as impressive?"

"Yaoyorozu, you pretty much just said you found my nerdiness impressive, s-so what's the difference?" Izuku said, almost defiantly.

Momo's lips began to curve into a smile at the praise she had been waiting to hear for most of her life.

"Momo," she said.

"W-what?"

"I said call me Momo. No one's ever complimented me like that before except for my family, so I feel close enough to you to have you call me by my first name."

"AH OKAY!"

"You're shouting!" she laughed, loving his reaction to her request.

"OH I'M SORRY MOMO-" his face blazed with a fiery passion as he realized what he just said. "AH- UHH! I'M STILL YELLING AREN'T I?"

"YES VERY MUCH SO!" she yelled back as she began to double over from laughter.

It took her awhile but she had managed to calm him down. They had both looked at the clock, seeing that it almost read nine o'clock at night. In what felt like thirty minutes, they had spent the last three hours enjoying each other's company. 'I guess time passes fast when you spend it with someone you like,' thought Izuku, completely oblivious to the fact that he just stated his feelings right then and there in his own head.

"Well I better head back to my room, Mr. Aizawa would probably get the wrong idea if I stayed in here any longer."

They both were hesitant to leave the other one, so Momo broke the tension by squeezing Izuku in a hug. "Thanks for opening up to me, I appreciate that you trust me, even if we have only just started getting to know each other. It's kinda weird actually, I feel like we've known each other for years now!"

Izuku stood frozen before hugging back, "thanks. You know, for wanting to be my friend uh… Mo… Uh, M-Mo," he squeezed her harder and buried his face in her neck in embarrassment, "Momo…"

Her face was glowing brightly at this sudden action. He had only done it to hide his embarrassment, but in all honesty it was quite a bold move. Momo couldn't help but somewhat relish as she felt his powerful arms wrapping tightly around her.

After a hug they both knew to be much longer than one for normal friends, they parted.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, we gotta get some sleep for class tomorrow," Momo said.

"Okay, goodnight Momo."

"Goodnight… Izuku," she said as she closed the door.

Izuku proceeded to pass out from embarrassment.