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

Chapter 28 | Alone

 Todoroki's Pov.

    The rain was still pouring. He was always questioning why he wanted to be alone with Yaoyorozu, but then the times when they were alone, he just wanted to leave. Perhaps that last part made sense. He was trying to get away from her. But then... There was always something drawing him to her. Maybe he should try to actually stay alone with her instead of running away? But then that might increase his affection for her. That was something he didn't want. 

  At the moment he was watching the campsite from afar at the edge of the forest. It might be midday, but he couldn't tell with all the clouds in the way. 

  "Hello, Todoroki," a voice greeted him.

  He glanced at the raven-haired girl who was speaking to him. 

  "Something seems to be on your mind," she commented.

  "No," he responded.

  "Why else would you be over here?" she wondered, "When you're alone, you don't think of nothing. Your mind always thinks about something. So what is it?"

  "Nothing of your concern," he replied. 

  Then he realized: This was his chance to be alone with her. Test out talking to her. He should at least try sticking around for longer than a few minutes.

  "Well, okay," Yaoyorozu started to turn and leave, but he decided to stop her.

  "Wait," Todoroki said, and she stopped walking and turned back to him.

  "What is it Todoroki?" she asked.

  "I wanted to thank you for this umbrella," he made that off the top of his head. He wasn't sure what else to say in this situation. 

  "Oh, you're welcome Todoroki," she smiled at him and it made his heart beat faster. 

  He wasn't sure what else to say... There was a silence handing over them for a moment before he said something else to try to keep the conversation going.

  "Your book... Did you ever get around to finishing it?" he pondered. They weren't getting anywhere with this conversation. What could he do?

  "No, still no..." she sighed, "I hope to though."

  More silence.

  "Did you want to talk to me?" she tilted her head to the side.

  He didn't know how to answer that. If he said "yes" would she laugh? But if he said "no", he wouldn't get to talk to her alone.

  "Perhaps," he looked away from her, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

  When Todoroki turned his face back, he saw only happiness gracing Yaoyorozu's features. Her onyx eyes were sparkling. The corners of her soft peach colored lips were curved up into a smile.

  "I'm glad, I wanted someone to speak to too," she admitted.

  He leaned stood there, feeling like an idiot for a moment. He had no words...

  "Are you going to tell me what you're thinking about now?" Yaoyorozu asked.

  He couldn't tell her that... After all, he was thinking about his feelings for her and knew he couldn't tell her that. Maybe he could just make up a lie and hope that she believes it. 

Momo's Pov.

  "Are you going to tell me what you're thinking about now?" she questioned. 

  She wanted to know. Maybe it could give a hint about how she could get closer to him. But perhaps she shouldn't push this. Especially when he just confessed that he wished to talk to her. Would she have to ask now if she was ever going to know what was going on in his mind behind his unreadable visage? If she tried to know... Would he try to leave?

  "I'm thinking about..." he paused, he might have been hesitating to tell her, but she couldb't tell, "If we're going to pass this or not."

  Were the rest of her classmates going to pass? She knew for a fact that she and Todoroki were going to get at least passing grades because she created almost everything that her peers were using and Todoroki was contributing to the water supply with his ice... But was she letting her classmates rely on her too much? 

  "Do you think I'm allowing everyone to lean on me too much?" she pondered.

  "Midoriya's leaning on you?" it seemed that Todoroki took that literally. He narrowed his eyes at her and she started to feel pressured under his intimidating gaze. 

  'What does any of this have to do with Midoriya..?'

  "N-No," she stuttered when she could muster the words. 

  "Good," he looked away from her and she breathed a silent sigh of relief. It may be so that she had feelings for him, but he was certainly threatening when he wanted to be. 

  "I meant figuratively..." she trailed off, "Am I using my quirk so much that the others might fail?"

  "I'm not sure," Todoroki answered finally, "We don't know the standards. Perhaps the goal is that we all survive without their help and it's as simple as that. However, if I'm wrong then you, Iida, and I might be the only ones passing."

  She let out a gasp.

  What if that was true? Would everyone be mad at her if they failed because she helped too much?

  "I imagine it may be something in the middle," he went on, "It may depend on how much everyone contributed. Youand Iida are most likely getting the highest grades out of our class because you're helping the most out of everyone."

  "I guess that makes sense," she nodded her head in agreement. 

  At least she knew what was on his mind, even if it was only about school.

  "Should we go back in our tent?" she questioned, "I don't think we should stay out in the rain this long."

  "I agree," he responded.

  "Anyway... Why did you mention Midoriya earlier..?" she wondered.

  "Because Midoriya was the first name I thought of," Todoroki answered, "He doesn't have anything to do with leaning on you or anything about you so I used him as an example."

  She giggled.

  'I've never seen him like this. Is he jealous of something Midoriya has?'

  "You're right. He has nothing to do with me besides having a crush on my friend."