It all felt wrong now.

It started in her first year at UA. The loss of confidence was staggering to Momo Yaoyorozu. It crippled her performance as a hero, both mentally and physically. Sure, she was a painfully smart girl with damn good instincts and a powerful quirk. That didn't change how little faith she had in herself. Others had no problem placing their hope in her, casually handing their lives over in times of crisis. After all, she always had a plan, always had the gears in her mind turning over and over again. All of that faith just felt so misplaced as she continued to grow.

Some could call her cynical now. She certainly would, but the brave face she put on every day did wonders to convince most there was nothing wrong. Few knew better. She could barely count them on a single hand, after all. Not many got close enough to recognize the mental flailing she did. Hell, only two people seemed to know her best. Kyouka being one, Todoroki being the other. The rest... Well, they were either observant or just ignorant. The majority were ignorant.

She couldn't blame them, truthfully.

If Momo were someone else, she probably wouldn't want to ask what was wrong either. It wasn't that she wasn't worthy of having people care about her, it was frankly just that she couldn't let her guard down long enough to show others a glimpse in. She was let in on recommendations after all. She had to be strong or she would simply fall behind. Momo had to prove herself time and time again, especially with Todoroki always at the top looking down upon the rest of them. She felt stuck at that thought. No matter what, he would always beat her. She would never be able to proudly say she had bested him.

His plan against Aizawa was good during their first year exams. Sure, hers had ended up proving to be victorious, but she had lacked the confidence to even bring it up in the first place. What kind of hero could do that? Hold their tongue and not speak about the best course of action? It was pathetic. She had always held herself in such high regards as far as strategic skills went and yet, she couldn't even believe in her stupid plans now.

Currently, she was already past the halfway point of her second year at UA. Her self doubt had reached a bit of a new low by that point. It wasn't that she couldn't hold her own, it was just simply the fact that she wasn't as skilled as the rest of her classmates anymore. They had all grown into their quirks by the beginning of the second year and she felt left behind. Everyone was amazing, painfully so, and then there was her. Plain ol' Yaoyorozu.

With a sigh, Momo dragged herself from her hurricane of thoughts at the sound of the lunch bell. She hadn't even been paying attention the first half of class. Somehow this had become the new normal for her. She would daydream half the class away and force herself to take impressive notes for the rest. The notes were always sufficient enough to not cause any major impact to her standings in the class, but there was always little snipets she would miss in the beginning that always came back to bite her in the ass.

The classroom had cleared out by the time she had managed to neatly pack her belongings away. Left behind, she muses to herself. Typical.

The walk to the cafeteria was short, students happily chatting with their friends as she passed. Part of her wished she had packed a light lunch before leaving the dorms this morning so she wouldn't have to deal with the noisy atmosphere but she couldn't just hide from everyone. They expected her to always be a team player, always there for support. Perhaps she just needed a little support of her own for once...

"Yaoyorozu."

Her head jerked up at the voice, eyes wide with surprise. Standing before her was none other than her seatmate with his aloof expression and empty voice. His hands were shoved into his pockets nonchalantly and she briefly wondered why he did that so often. Was it a habit or did he do it to look cool? No matter, it wasn't much of her business.

"Todoroki," she greeted with a small smile. "I'm a little surprised to see you without Midoriya or Iida." They were basically joined at the hips now, quickly forming a very strong friendship since their first fight together last year.

"They went ahead." His mismatched eyes narrowed slightly, scrutiny swimming in them. "I wanted to ask you something, anyway." She felt exposed beneath his piercing gaze. Something about those eyes... A weird combination of excitement and stress mingled beneath her skin and she idly fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to fully meet his eyes.

"What do you need?" She flinched a bit at her short tone. "Is it about class?" Momo forced herself to make eye contact with him then, her smile still firmly planted on her lips.

"Sort of," he mumbled. "I... I'm not sure how to say this in a way that isn't offensive." Shouto had freed a hand from one of his pockets while he spoke, raising it to rub awkwardly at the nape of his neck. She chuckled to herself at this, all too familiar with this nervous tick of his. After all, he seemed to especially do it around her for some reason. Maybe her presence made him uncomfortable? She truthfully wasn't quite sure what was wrong with her to produce that kind of nervousness from him but she never had the courage to find out.

"Go ahead," she paused to widen her smile. "I don't mind."

"Ah," he cleared his throat before brushing a few stray strands of red and white hair from his eyes. "You doing okay, Yaoyorozu...?" The question elicted a soft gasp from her lips and as she locked eyes with him, she was startled to find genuine concern swirling in those surprisingly expressive eyes. Immediately, her teeth clamped down onto her bottom lip and tore gently at the skin there. She was slightly aware of the metallic tang slipping from her lip to her mouth but her mind was too preoccupied with finding an acceptable answer for the man before her.

"I... Yes. Thank you, Todoroki, for your concern." Part of her knew her tone was a little too cold to be convincing but she merely patted him on the arm and tossed another smile in his direction. His gaze drifted briefly to her lips, where a mixture of something akin to desire and concern lingered. She merely swept her tongue across her slightly bleeding lower lip before stepping away and offering a small wave.

"I'd better go find Kyouka now! See you in class," she retreated then into the mass of students in the cafeteria and left the icy hot hero behind in the hallway. If she had bothered to glance back at him instead of fleeing as quickly as possible, she would have seen the worried expression that morphed onto his handsome features.

The rest of the day flew by her in a blur of notes and questions. She managed to keep herself from drifting away from the lesson for the remainder of class. After all, she could feel a pair of eyes watching her almost a little too closely.

Todoroki had checked out of the lesson and into studying the girl beside him. It was strange to see her barely paying attention for most classes. Something about it bothered him. Maybe it was the smiles that didn't reach her eyes or the distance she was keeping from everyone, especially him. He had thought they were close friends after the trials of their first year but perhaps he was misreading the cues. With a soft sigh, he made up his mind to get to the bottom of it no matter what. She would do the same thing for him which just so happened to be something he greatly admired her for. She was kind, considerate, every bit as much of a hero as she wanted to be without even trying...

"Class is dismissed. Go home." Aizawa grumbled from the front of the class before zipping himself into his sleeping bag and wiggling behind his desk. The rest of the class quickly rushed from the room but not Momo. She lingered in her chair, taking a bit too long to pack her things. Her mind was back to swirling black clouds, her thoughts running rampant like a horde of wolves. She had never even noticed his presence until he loomed over her shoulder, carefully watching her elegant fingers drum against the top of her desk.

"Yaoyorozu..?" He sounded unsure, as if he wasn't positive she would even respond. Her eyes drifted to connect with his, her body rotating slightly.

"Yes, Todoroki?" Momo began to pick up her pace then, eyes immediately dropping back to her task. He fell into a moment of silence as she hurriedly finished ushering her belongings into her bag.

"I was gonna ask if you wanted to walk back together," he rubbed at the back of his neck again and a soft genuine smile rose to her lips. She nodded in response and slung her bag over her shoulder before leading the way outside, Shouto falling into step beside her.

"Thank you for accompanying me," she glanced sideways at him. "I forgot Kyouka doesn't like to wait much." Her laughter sounded a bit forced and so she let it die after a few seconds, lost to the gust of wind that blew against them. He nodded his dual colored head in response, his own short chuckle coming out as soft wisps of air. He was never much of a laugher but when he did... Oh, did it make her heart skip a beat. Part of her had almost forgotten the sound after how long it had been since they were able to spend more than a few minutes together. In the back of her mind she knew it was quite possibly her favorite sound.

"She's a bit impatient it seems." Her soft snort and eye roll was enough to cause a smirk to grace his features. "Her loss," he continued with a shrug as her cheeks flushed slightly.

"I suppose so..." She mused, eyes lingering on his upturned lips.

"Anyway... I, uh, wasn't convinced earlier." She paused at his words, her feet coming to a stop. "You don't seem yourself, Yaoyorozu." If she wasn't so touched by his observation, she would surely curse under her breath. Perhaps she had been a bit too careless in her facade.. No, she knew that wasn't it. He paid more attention to her than most people, after all. If she was being completely honest with herself, she would have realized he would be the only one to pick up on her silent cries for some sort of help. Kyouka would have eventually, but the earphone jack girl had a lot on her plate with Kaminari and their studies.

He was the only one who fully understood how deep it went. After their fight with Aizawa, he had begun to pick up on her doubts a bit more. By now he had surely mastered it. Part of her should be angry that he was pushing the subject, that he was basically cornering her into talking about it. She, however, couldn't stop the wave of adoration that washed over her. To have him pick up on her feelings and try his hardest to get to the bottom of it... Well, those were only part of why she had developed such a strong liking for the half and half hero.

"Privy as always," she mused with another snort. "I appreciate your concern." Her hand brushed against his as she spoke, her cheeks deepening in color. His fingers clutched at hers before she could pull away and her breath caught in her throat. Heat rose in her body, her skin feeling a bit too much like his fire as every nerve ending sparked to life.

"You know I'm here, Yaoyorozu." His words were firm, factual. Of course she knew. If it wasn't her body basically turning to jelly in his presence then it was his surprisingly kind gestures or his vast knowledge of all things Momo. Beneath her many doubts and issues, she knew he wasn't going anywhere. The connection was a bit too strong now, anyway, for him to just waltz away.

"Yeah," she breathed out. Could he feel the sudden rise of her pulse in her fingers? Perhaps. "It's a lot to discuss, I guess. Um, I can make tea later and tell you about it?" Her eyes dropped to their still joined hands, his warm fingers squeezing gently at her words.

"Sure. Your room or mine?" Momo's cheeks burned a bit hotter at his words despite their innocent meaning. Mind out of the gutter, Momo. Now! She knew he didn't mean it that way in the slightest but recalling the excitement that rose beneath her skin earlier at just the mere look in his eyes... Well, a girl could dream right?

"Uh, yours..?" Her voice cracked a little, hidden by a slight cough into her free hand. "You still have that tea set I got you?" His nod brought another smile to her lips before she began to walk forward again, his long legs keeping up with hers. Between them, their intertwined hands swayed slightly at their motion.

Silence fell over them for the remainder of their short walk to the dorms. Beside him, with his hand fitting snuggly against hers, the problems that have been plaguing her mind seem less important now. Sure, they would merely come back with a vengence, but perhaps talking with him would actually help a bit. He had restored a bit of her confidence before. It couldn't hurt to try, right? Besides, if anyone could help her, she knew it would be him. He understood her, had seen her problems first hand. He, of course, had his own problems just like the rest of them but here he was, willing to listen and be there for her. Momo knew then that she was too far gone in terms of her budding feelings towards Todoroki. It was painfully obvious at this point, possibly to everyone but him. Something deep in the back of her mind knew that wasn't the case but she wasn't ready to tread those waters yet. Not with her current mental state.

"Thank you again, Todoroki." She reluctantly slipped her hand from his once they arrived at their dorms, suddenly very self conscious about wandering into the common area in such a state. If the girls had seen that... Oh god they would never stop teasing her! Momo offered a slightly apologetic smile, making a note of his pink cheeks and assuming it to be embarrassment. The boys would harass him to no end, especially Mineta, and she couldn't do that to him. Not when he was just being so nice...

"Anytime," he returned her smile with his own small lopsided one. He wasn't a man of many expressions, but she knew her favorite was always his smiles and it wasn't just because a vast majority of them were usually directed towards her. "I'll see you later. Text me when you're going to head over..?" He lingered by her side until she nodded in response before reaching his hand out one last time to give her fingers a gentle squeeze. With that, he hurried up and into the doors of their dorms to disappear until she would seek him out later.

Momo let out a soft sigh, probably for the twentieth time today, before slowly following in his wake. Without his presence, she felt her mind cranking back into her previous thoughts of doubt and loathing. He was almost a buffer against them, truth be told. Perhaps it was because of how he held her in such high regards. If only she could see herself in the same way...

Momo Yaoyorozu knew many things, but she didn't quite know how someone as incredible as Todoroki could see her as his equal. In time, she would come to understand and in time, with his comforting presence, she would come to believe all the things he saw in her.

Notes • This one really got away from me but hopefully it makes some sense~ Thank you so much to everyone who has read these and I hope you guys enjoy this next one! I should really be working on the next chapter of let it burn but i have so many ideas for drabbles~

I might add a part two to this one but I haven't quite decided yet so keep an eye out for that!

See you all next time~