Melting an Icy Heart ( TodoMomo ) | *Main bnha Series*

Chapter 13 | Mulberries

Momo's Pov.

  She sighed, exhausted. She was ready for lunch now. Even though it was too early for it... When the fish were passed out, she discovered that she got a larger fish than everyone else.

  "Huh? Wait, why do I get one to myself?" she asked Iida.

  "Because you'll need your energy for making more materials later," Iida sat next to her.

  "Oh..." she trailed off, looking at the ground. At least she had food to eat at all... She wasn't particularly excited about making so many materials though.

  Momo ate the fish, silently praying no one would accuse her of getting a bigger portion than they did. Instead, when they looked toward her they looked like they were just nodding understandingly. They knew what he quirk was, so they knew she had to eat more than they did for their sake in the end.

  "The Love Birds are back!" she heard Mina's voice call. She knew that the acid quirked girl was referring to Ochaco and Midoriya, though they weren't in a relationship yet, she continued to push them. She knew some of her classmates were annoyed at Midoriya and Ochaco for making a big deal out of it, while others were irked by Mina's persistence. Momo, however understood both sides of the playing field. Mina wanted them together so that they could be happy. Midoriya and Ochaco just wanted to be left alone. Perhaps so that they could confess more naturally. Either way, Mina was forcing the time that they were going to confess to be much less than it would've taken. Whether it was a good or bad thing, she wasn't sure yet.

  She sighed. If they confessed sooner, but not forced it would be best for both sides because that's secretly or in Mina's case: blatantly what they both wanted to happen in the end.

  Momo glanced at Todoroki. She knew that it was harder than it sounded though... You don't want to mess it up your current relationship in the end.

  "What are those?" Kaminari's voice snapped her out of her trance and she turned her head back to the pair known as IzuOcha, or as she liked to call them, Green Tea.

  "Mulberries," Ochaco told them, and then ate a handful of the purple-red berries inside of a basket. She was curious to have a taste of them.

  "Hey!" Toru protested, "Don't eat all of them!"

  Momo noticed that Midoriya was currently scooping a handful of mulberries out of the basket.

  "You're looking at the wrong person," Ochaco pointed to Midoriya, "He was eating all of them earlier."

  "They're so good though..." Midoriya rubbed the back of his head. Momo was sort of annoyed, but it faded after a moment. They were just berries after all.

  "Well anyway, let's just eat the berries," Toru picked up a berry and put it in her mouth, "It's so good!"

  "Really? Let me try," Kirishima ate one, and smiled, "They are good!"

  Momo reached in for a small handful. They were delicious. They had this sweet but tart flavor. The tartness nor the sweetness were overpowering, it was a perfect balance. She ate her handful, grateful for this small treat, and then noticed that her hands were stained red-purple from the berries. 

Todoroki's Pov.

  The berries were good, but they stained everyone's hands. He wasn't about to eat more because he had eaten enough, so he just walked to the river and washed the stains off. They came off fairly easily, so it wasn't a problem.

  "Hello, Todoroki," a feminine voice said his name behind him.

  When he turned to see the speaker, he recognized Yaoyorozu.

  "What are you doing here?" the words came out harsher than intended. Really, he didn't want to be harsh at all.

  "The same reason as you; to wash off the mulberry stains," she knelt beside him and washed her hands off.

  There was silence hanging over their heads, the only noises being those of the animals and leaves rustling when a breeze passed by. 

  His face flushed when he realized how close they were. He hoped she didn't notice.

  "Right, I wanted to talk to you," Yaoyorozu looked like she remembered something.

  He felt his cheeks turn a slightly darker shade of red. Why did she have to speak to him personally? 

  "Go on," Todoroki nodded to her politely, but turned his head slightly away from her.

  "This morning you convinced Iida to let me sleep in," Yaoyorozu acknowledged, "I wanted to say my thanks. It really did have an impact on my day."

  Todoroki didn't realize she eavesdropped on their conversation... How embarrassing... She must've heard his whole speech on why her sleep was so important...

  "I'm glad that it worked out for you," Todoroki replied simply, but then felt like he needed to ask a question, "Does that mean I woke you up?"

  "No, I woke up on my own," Momo responded, "But then I overheard your conversation with Iida."

  Todoroki just nodded. He felt his muscles relax a little bit. She seemed more thankful than trying to tease him.

  That was when he saw Ashido jump out of a bush on the other side of the river.

  Wasn't Ashido just with the others..? How did she get over there? Maybe she really was telling the truth when she said she was bush teleportation powers.

  "Will you just kiss already!?" she shouted.

  He tensed up and felt blood rush to his cheeks. It seemed like Ashido was going to "help" them get together whether he agreed to it or not...

  Todoroki didn't look over to Yaoyorozu or Ashido. He just stayed there, motionless. He felt his heart pounding, waiting to see what Yaoyorozu would do next.

  "Er... I'll be going now!" the black haired girl stood up and ran away.

  Well... That was sort of a relief... 

  He sighed, finally regaining his composure.

  "Ashido, what did you do that for?" he asked, irked by her actions.

  "That's how you stop the Hanahaki," he heard her voice beside him and took a step back. How did she get to the other side of the river..?

  "What do you mean..?" Todoroki questioned.

  "The way to resolve Hanahaki other than the surgery is for the person with Hanahaki and their crush to kiss. The only thing is that the crush in question has to actually love the person with Hanahaki or it's all for nothing," Ashido explained, "You'd die right on the spot if that's the case."

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Author's Note: Happy birthday Uraraka! December 27th is her birthday! Even though I'm kind of not able to give her a birthday chapter like I gave Deku because the time flows differently there, I'm happy to be able to say "Happy Birthday"!