"I'm so useless …"

These were the thoughts of a very dejected Momo Yaoyorozu as she wallowed in her self-deprecation. Why was she in such a state? Well she had lost her match in the UA sports festival, the students chance at making a name for themselves even before they would go pro, and she blew it, in simpler terms.

Her match against her opponent Tokoyami, and his dark shadow quirk was an absolutely one-sided affair. She didn't even put up a half decent fight. It seemed like the match ended when her classmate decided he had enough and wanted to end it.

"I'm so weak …"

Momo felt terrible, she felt powerless to do anything. It had always been her biggest insecurity in UA, the fact that she had very little to offer when it wasn't academic matters. Why couldn't she be more like her classmates like Todoroki, Bakugo … even Midoriya? They were all powerhouses, and the latter yes did have his drawbacks, but he had by far the most powerful quirk she had ever seen. If he could control it, he would be an unstoppable force. And she on the other hand, had … nothing …

"…rozu…?"

If only she was born with a more powerful quirk, something that could put her on the level of her classmates, and maybe even higher. Maybe her parents were right after all … she didn't belong in the hero course.

Her spirit was crushed, and her will was broken. She wanted to quit, to give up and go back to doing what she did best, or at least where she wouldn't be an absolute failure.

"Yaoyorozu!"

A voice snapped her out of her self-loathing, and her tired black eyes lifted to see the bright green ones of her classmate, Izuku Midoriya.

He had been watching her for a while now, and he understood what she was going through. He knew what that look on her face was, he knew it all too well. The face of someone who had given up, who had their courage broken.

"What is it Midoriya?" she asked in a dismissive tone. The last thing she wanted was to be seen in such a sorry state by someone else. It seemed like her tone was a bit harsh from how he seemed to wince and step back from her.

"S-Sorry if I'm a bother …" he said meekly, looking away, and re-thinking his decision to come and talk to her.

She didn't seem like she was in the mood to talk about anything, and he had never really talked to the class vice president before. Her eyes softened, as she regretted answering him so harshly. He did nothing wrong, only looking out for a classmate. She was just looking for a way to funnel out all her frustrations.

"I'm sorry for my earlier tone … I didn't mean to sound so rude to you" she apologized.

"I-It's fine" Izuku reassured with a nervous laugh. "I k-kinda expected that reaction" he said, scratching the back of his head.

Momo quirked a brow at his statement. What did he mean by that?

Izuku Midoriya was definitely something … she had always paid attention to how he interacted with people. At first his stuttering and nervousness seemed off-putting, or sometimes even annoying, but those resentments were put to bed very quickly.

It didn't look like it, but she held her green haired classmate in high regard. He had the mind of a true hero in her eyes, and didn't have ulterior motives. Izuku was … an open book, at least when he wanted to be. He was full of mysteries that she could never really seem to grasp, even down to his quirk.

It seemed like his quirk and his body were not made for each other. He would always break a limb whenever he used it. In her terms, he was a glass canon, terrifying firepower, but could only really take a single shot before falling apart.

"C-Can I sit here?" he asked in a small, nervous voice, not wanting to push his luck with his classmate even more. "…t-though I c-can understand if you don't want me to" he continued. "A-Ah! You know … I'll j-just leave, h-have a nice day" he squeaked, turning on his heels and rushing away.

"Wait"

He stopped in his tracks so fast you'd think he had broken a bone or something. To Momo, he had a look of "Oh no I pissed her off" or something along those lines at least. It brought a small smile to her face. She was feeling slightly better after all, even if he didn't know that he was the reason.

She patted the spot next to her gently with the same small smile. "Please sit" she said.

Izuku sat down, and kept his distance. Momo chuckled at how nervous he was, or almost scared. She could swear that he was trembling.

"I'm not a villain Midoriya, you don't have to be scared of me" she reassured.

Izuku seemed to eye her a bit warily, amusing her even more, and scooted closer to her. They both sat in a tense silence after that for a few moments, then Momo spoke up, voicing out her curiosity.

"Why are you so nervous?"

Izuku jumped at the question, but calmed down quickly, for a moment his nervousness vanished as he answered her.

"Well, we're not friends. So it's not my place to talk to you like this"

Her eyes widened at his words, and the boy panicked, thinking he had said something wrong, or rude. He mentally cursed himself and his inability to properly communicate with people. Now he had made her feel even worse than she did. Great job! Just freaking terrific!

"D-Did I say something wrong…?" he asked, looking away, not wanting to see her facial expression.

To his surprise the raven haired girl burst into laughter, in a manner he had never seen from her since they had been classmates. She was usually prim and proper. He scratched his head, wondering if he said something wrong, or something funny. He was confused, should he be relieved, or worried?

"No, you said nothing wrong Midoriya" she spoke up, after taking a few moments to catch her breath. "I just wasn't expecting you of all people to be so blunt about something" she added.

"Oh …"

"Usually people would go about it a different way, but I should've expected it coming from you. After all you are full of surprises" she said with another small laugh.

Izuku was truly confused, and a bit in awe. He had never seen this side of his classmate, and honestly didn't think she had a side like this to her. Maybe she was just a regular person after all.

"But it's true isn't it?" he asked. She nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I can't argue with that. I can't exactly call us friends…"

"Then that makes me the perfect person to be here" he said suddenly with a surge of confidence that caught her off guard.

"What do you mean?" Izuku paused, as if trying to put his words properly. "W-Well think of it this way … it's like talking to the wall. You can be as honest as you want to be. I'm sure your friends would want to comfort you, but there's only so much they can do.

They'll only try to make you forget about this, without addressing the main issue, which is what is making you feel bad in the first place. B-But with me … you can vent out, and I won't say a thing … so it's no different from talking to a wall. You can be brutally honest with me" he explained.

Her head went down at his words. In a way he was right.

Sure, her friends would do their best to make her feel better, but none of them would want to sour her mood even more by bringing up what happened. They would all just brush over it and make her forget about it, but what she needed at the moment was to face her weakness head on, for someone to talk to …

"You're right …" she said in a low voice, as her cheerful demeanor faded slowly. "I thought that I was getting stronger in my time at UA, and that I could call myself an equal, but this match was a reality check for me. I'm still too weak …"

Izuku listened, and didn't say anything, knowing that she had more to say. It was a good thing to let out you frustrations in one way or another. He knew that better than most people.

"I can't help but remember my parents telling me that I wasn't a good fit for the hero course. That I would fare better elsewhere, and at first I was angry, but now I'm starting to see what they were talking about. A quirk like mine can only go so far" she said getting up with a sad smile. "I've made up my mind Midoriya …"

"A-About what?" he asked with curiosity, and a bit of worry.

"I'm quitting the hero course …"

He blinked in surprise, then shot up like a bullet. "Y-You can't!" he yelled.

Momo shook her head.

"I know it seems like a rash decision, but it's what I believe is best. My spot can be taken by someone more … suited for the hero course" she said sadly, turning away from him.

"I'm really grateful for the help you've offered. You've at least helped me to clear my head. So thank you, Midoriya" she said walking away, but she was stopped by a hand grabbing hers.

"You can't give up so easily!" he said, his eyes burning with a passion that she had seen many times before. Izuku was being dead serious right now.

"I understand how you feel … maybe even better than you do yourself. I know what you're going through Yaoyorozu, but I will not you let you throw away everything because of one setback!"

Her eyes widened as he had never raised his voice at anyone before.

"What do you mean by that? How could you possibly understand how I feel?!" she asked, now glaring at him.

Izuku's eyes still held the soft, sympathetic light even against her now hardened onyx eyes. "The truth is … my quirk manifested during the UA entrance exams …" he said.

"What?" she asked in shock.

"It sounds unbelievable, but it's true. I've been treated as quirkless all my life, and I've seen how ugly life can get, so I know how it feels to be at rock bottom. I've been there my whole life. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be a hero like All Might, but life had other ideas, and at some point I gave up, and was where you are currently, that was until someone told me I could do it, and I got back my motivation.

Even when I knew I didn't have a quirk it didn't stop me from trying, and if I never did, I wouldn't even be here to begin with. I'm not telling you this so that you'll pity me, I don't need it. I just want you to know that things can only go up from here … this isn't the end Yaoyorozu"

Momo looked down at her clenched hands. He was right, she had no excuse to give up so easily, but she was still too weak. She was useless. What could she possibly do?

"I'm sorry Midoriya … but my mind is made up" she said with finality.

Izuku looked at her with a serious expression, his eyes burning with the will to help her, at any cost.

He was a hero after all. "Then let's make a deal" he said.

"A deal?"

"Yes, and you'll have to stay if I succeed"

She looked at him and sighed. "That seems fair … so what's the condition?"

Izuku clenched his fists, his heart racing wildly. What he was about to say was crazy, absurd, and even downright delusional, but to save a classmate … a friend, he would do it.

"I'll win the sports festival! If I do, then you stay"

A/N : I got some inspiration to write a short story. I'm just expanding on a one-shot st, so mind you this will not be a long story. Guess I'm not quitting with fanfics after all ...