maneuvering through

The "IT"

“So you’re jealous of that girl?”

Momo almost choked on her noodles. She was in the middle of slurping her ramen when, out of nowhere, her companion had decided it was the best moment to talk her out of the cause of her disillusionment. Retching over the possibility of a stuck noodle, she motioned for a glass of water.

Quickly, he attended to her, giving her a glassful which she emptied in a matter of seconds. Flushed, she cleared her throat, away from his distracting smiling eyes. He leaned in, propped his elbows on the wooden bar, his stare getting through her mortified, crimson face.

It was a quaint and humble noodle house that she frequented every time she got a mad craving for something with noodles. There wasn’t that much crowd to expel their interest to eat their hearts out. And it so happened that she was with someone who was an avid consumer of cold soba.

Regaining from her coughing fit, she felt his soothing caress on the length of her back.

“Can you breathe now?” He asked in concern.
She glared at him. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Of course not. I certainly never want to see you dying on me.”

She frowned.

He gave her that clueless look again. He could be the death of her. She chewed on the meat, and he waited until her mouth was free to ask her again. After a few minutes of quietude, he’s back in his brazen attempt to assert a theory.

“So are you? Of that girl?”

Momo had never wanted to knock someone’s lights out and the man had found a new amusement in teasing her. With a soft thud, she placed her empty bowl. Facing and braving those heterogeneous eyes.

“The fact that you kept referring to her as that girl made me think otherwise. In fact, I regretted every second I spend thinking you’re... seeing another girl other than me..”

It only stretched out the smirk on that irritatingly handsome face of his, and she hated that her shaky voice at the end was betraying her.

“Because for me, that’s all she’ll ever be... I don’t even remember her name.” He told her coolly, eyes wandering on her face. “I don’t think I’ll ever remember a girl’s name other than yours.”

Her heart fluttered. Darn it. ‘Is he always like this?’

“I—Is...” She cleared her throat. “... Is that an attempt to make me feel better, Todoroki-san?”
He knocked her off with his unlikely boyish confidence, “Sort of. Is it working?”

It astounded her. He astounded her. She looked away, her ponytail whipping in the air.

“You’re cute when you do that...”

She never had the intense urge to slap someone senselessly at the surge of giddiness coursing like an enraged river. This wasn’t the Todoroki she knew. But strangely, she liked this new Todoroki. No doubt about that. She loved how he was making her feel.

Fighting the impulse to smile, her eyes flew to his plate still half-full of his soba. And it’s supposed to be his favorite.

“You’re not eating that?”

He thought over her question, to which she wondered. “I’m quite full, would you like to have them?”

He was astounding her to no end.

“It’s yours. And also, what could you possibly have eaten to be quite full when you’ve only eaten half of it? Isn’t soba your favorite? Have you grown to like something else?”

He had taken her order close to heart and slurped a part of his meal, emptying his mouth before turning to her again.

“I deemed myself to only be loyal to the things I love, and soba is one of them... And also to answer your question, yes I may have myself full of something else... “

She dodged his gaze, unwilling to fall prey to his frolics.

“You don’t want to know what those things are?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’m quite alright knowing you’re not starving under my watch.”

He laughed, though it was nowhere close to a boisterous, loud crackle. And she thought this might be the first time she had heard his laugh. Like comically. It was far from a snigger, but the soft, almost noiseless puffs he was emitting were enough evidence of his mirth.

“How cold. And it’s coming from someone who just told me they have reserved a special place in her heart, special friend.” He stole a glance, before sipping his cup of tea.

It made her stare at him in disbelief. Gradually feeling awkward about being around his sudden playfulness without much to do. She suddenly craved some mochi to stuff her accelerating giddiness.

Momo resolved to close her eyes to alleviate the rush of blood in her cheeks, but it only made her aware of his stare.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“Hm?” She tuned back in. “What do you mean?”

“ Your mind is somewhere else.”

“Just because I shut off for a sec doesn’t mean I’m far off thinking about somewhere else, Todoroki-san.”

Silence.

“I hope so. I definitely would have felt the same if you were thinking about someone else now.”

Absently, he took another sip from his already emptied cup. Realizing this, she gestured to him to give her his cup and filled it herself before giving it back to him.

“Thanks.”

Her brows furrowed in deep thought.

She may have told him, in a way, what he was to her, and all along while in this noodle joint, she had been trying not to overthink, not to overanalyze, or read between his lines. All he was to her now was simply being her companion. But it had gotten too out of hand. She recalled he had put her in the same regard. So, what were they exactly?

Without much thinking, she flat out asked.

“Todoroki-san, W—what are we?”

She gave him a pensive look. And based on his reaction, he’s thinking too. What’s there to think about? All he did the entire time was throw her vague clues. She was just dodging them just in case they were just farces and were poor attempts at humor.

So to speak, Momo simply grew tired of beating around the bush.

Her jealousy.

And he admitted to having felt the same. So, the question on her lips sprang out.

“What are we?”

It was agitating and agonizing to wait for either a rejection or an affirmation. If anything, she’s content with what they were now. That was, she wouldn’t get jealous over those baseless rumors all over again.

Contrary to her expectations, he returned her gaze, heavy with intent. An arm propped on the bar, and another on his lap. She swallowed. She felt heat creeping back into her cheeks again.

In his deep, all too familiar voice he asked back, “What do you want us to be?...”

Leaning in closer to speak confidentially, his eyes wandered on her face, heart thrumming against her rib cage. “We can be... what you want us to be, just not the opposite of what we are now.”

‘Wha--?!’

‘I want... you’

“What?”

The inquiry was instantaneous. Like he was dreading it already. Ready to cling to whatever affirmation that'll come next.

“Hmm...” She mumbled, blinking at the question.

“What did you just say?” He asked, impatient to hear an answer, hands quick to wrap around her own. She gazed unblinkingly at their connected hands.

‘She said? What did she say? Did her big mouth speak her mind?’

His eyes glowed with anticipation and he'd gotten too close. She feared he could take a glimpse of her mind.

A distressed, sharp shriek.

They both perked up from the charged atmosphere. Todoroki, after one brief look of frustration from her, then outside, and by habit, soon removed himself out of the vicinity and right after a short command for her to stay. In a blink he disappeared, and on the entryway lies a trail of frozen air, the remainder of his quirk in action.

He was quick.

Slapping their fee on the wooden bar, Momo hastily followed after, keeping track of his ice while avoiding being thrown away by the panicking civilians. She noticed other heroes, fairly popular, close by stirring into action. She had been confined within the corners of her university and home, she had forgotten what it felt like to be around real action. But this was no time to be dazing and gawking.

A chase.

Whatever that villain’s quirk was, it made him quicker than the heroes who responded.

The police force had come to secure the perimeter, pushing her outside the barricade, along with the retreating civilians. “I’m a hero too!” She blurted against the restraining officer. The mistrust in his face was enough to sag her shoulders.

“Nice try, Miss, but we can’t afford any casualties, just stay back...”

‘Now, she just can’t argue with an officer, can she?’

Her heels moved following the commands of her mind. The crowd gasped behind her back, flipping her compact mirror, she spied the jagged movements of bright lights, flicking like light sticks into the air. Not moving far off, switching, and thrusting into spots.

Rounding into a corner, she sprinted into a narrow alleyway, leaping over crushed cans and rotten crates. Conjuring an item, she instantly fastened the creation around her wrist, then a knapsack to keep her creations. She skidded to a halt when a figure dashed from a round corner.

She backed another step, he looked up at her, a mixture of shock and terror in his bulging eyes. A young man, likely of the same age. He looked pale and sickly, yet at the way he instantly lunged at her, she speculated differently. He was quick and certain, flinging an arm to his side. Surmising it could be his quirk in activation, she created a medium-sized shield.

After a dull and what seemed like a creepy sound of flesh tearing, a sharp, sword-like object protruded from his right arm, swinging it without delay, straight at her. Gauging her instincts, she crouched down, air grazing the crown of her head, and with an acquired force, she took a stance. And heavily slammed her shield on the same arm at an opening, heaving the villain onto the cold, solid concrete. The impact had his sword clanging away from his flesh, and it left the part bleeding, profusely.

He fell, and just as though it’s a common occurrence, he recovered and steadied on his feet, a dull crunch after he cracked his neck. Momo repressed a shiver at the murderous intent corrupting his gray eyes. She observed closely as he summoned yet another sharp material from the bleeding part. Momo wondered, with a wince, if he had the same creation quirk as hers.

Retreating into a defensive stance, she studied his every movement and was idly tossing the dagger in his hand. She dodged the swing from her left and parried his dagger out of his grasp, his body staggered with it. Momo followed it up with a kick that pushed him to the wall, hitting his head hard.

She hovered above his disoriented state, procuring a quirk nulling handcuffs and conveniently strapped it around his wrists. Looking at his still bleeding arm, Momo produced bandages and antiseptic, settling the limp body into a leaning position on the wall, cleaning and wrapping it around his injured arm.

She didn’t notice the half-lidded eyes peering at her.

“You aren’t exactly dressed to be a hero?” He mumbled in a hoarse voice like it had been drained dry, slumping on his shoulders. He was deathly pale. As though he had used all his strength in that brief encounter. Then she recalled the ounce of blood he lost from his arm, its residual metallic pungent scent permeated her nostrils. She simply huffed a breath, tapping her phone to send her location. “... Do you always do this?” Referring to the bandage wrapped snugly around his arms.

Finally sparing the captive a glance, she answered, “Why not?”

He cleared his throat with a distinct groan of pain, tracing the bulge somewhere on his head that hit the wall. He closed his eyes for a brief second, dealing with the discomfort of a headache that had picked up.

“You heroes think you can save everyone.” He mocked, keeping out the twinge on his face, the least he could do to save face. “You just do your job because you were paid for it. Stain had always been right. This generation of heroes forgot the true essence of being a hero.”

She huffed, tapping over her phone for assistance. “You’re right. We can’t save everyone, but we can those we can reach.”

He snorted. “Well, because you’re paid to do it. Just admit it, without us, you’re nothing.”

“Have you been caught up frequently to decide that?” She fully faced him, holding a glare she rarely used on anyone. “Have you met all the heroes who were only there for the money? Have you not thought some actual heroes are willing to save anyone regardless of intentions? If you expect all heroes to wear capes, then think again.”

“Do you ever wonder why villains do what they do?” His stare was challenging, calculating.

“I haven’t talked to any villain to be sure, but you can enlighten me.” She retorted, giving off the same sharp gaze.

For a second she thought he would not humor her, but it turned out he had something to share. “My sister has been in a medical institution because of our quirk,” his eyes darkened at some sort of memory. “Our family had been in a financial dire strait, and they threatened to remove my sister if we miss another month. We don’t even choose to have this quirk, but it sent her away from us.”

“I guess she won’t be seeing me for quite a while...”

She heaved out a sigh. “I don’t know if you ever want to hear this, I am in no position to advise. But, as a random stranger to you, I’d say... Another mistake cannot make another right. It has always been universal knowledge, what’s wrong is wrong. No matter how it is spun with justification and your sister, I think she needed you more than the money.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that she needs it.” He snarled, looking away to end the discussion.

“You may find this hard to believe, but sometimes, we meet people for a reason...”


The authorities took over the situation, leading at least four captured men into the police cars, but before they could push Tetsuya inside, he looked over his shoulders and into the raven-haired girl speaking with an officer.

“What’s your name, Miss?”

Momo turned at the call, brows scrunching towards that direction.

“It’s...” An arm stretched in front of her before she could even speak, earning a frown from the captive himself.

“This miss here would like to keep her identity classified.” A statement enunciated in his familiar monotone, blocking the young man out of view as he was being steered into the police car.

“Todoroki-san!” She chided.

“Don’t like the way he looks at you.“

“What?! It’s nothing personal.”

“Not to me.” He looked accusingly at her like there was something she should know, but couldn’t tell. “You’re way too kind for your own good.”


He isn’t always like this.

That was clear to him.

Not until a massive wave of protectiveness knocked him hard on his face. He wasn’t always outwardly protective and vocal about anything at all. Past Shouto would have just kept his mouth shut or would have walked away when a superfluous situation evolved into something unfavorable, not telling people off and candidly exhibiting his belligerence. He flattered himself by being cool and collected, calm and calculating, rational and reserved and, most of all, professional. But all seemed to hang dangerously now by a thread.

Jealousy.

Saying it was one thing, but experiencing it himself, was something he had never prepared himself for. And it all started with the odd way the captured villain chances a glance at Momo. He didn’t like it.  Half of the entire time he spent keeping him off the raven-haired girl. He was being selfish, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. The villain looked like he had basked in Momo’s instinctive and motherly kindness. She’s way too kind for her own good.

He had been quiet the entire time, simply allowing her ramblings to get through his numbness. Theorizing and drawing hypotheses, muttering ‘what ifs’ if she had done differently.

Together they strolled the path they’d trailed that morning. It was his idea, to make a stop a few blocks so they could walk and talk about life the rest of the way. To which she happily obliged without question.

“I didn’t realize I lost three years not doing it. It’s beyond fulfilling.”

Her cheerfulness was contagious, it shut off his mind from further pressing the issue that had since pulled his attention away from her.

“It was. The first time was always worth reminiscing about.”

She nodded, brows rising at her interest being stirred. “Most times, we were put in search and rescue, medical response...anything except actual villain chasing.”

His gaze drew onto her. The soft flicker of the moonlight glossed over her face, making it hard not to stare. Something about the night made her distractingly beautiful. A dull ache of awareness that she wasn’t his to hold hands with.

He isn’t always like this.

A few days ago, she had only taken a fraction of his mind, now she wholly occupied an entire space. One can have a handful of reasons why Momo Yaoyorozu could make up a mind.

“I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” She mused dreamily, jutting her chin up to the round, silver moon.

‘What is he even waiting for?’

“Yaoyorozu, about that—”

He stops, clenched fists summoning the courage to ask.

She whirled her body back, face slightly tilted, like a subtle nod that got stuck in place.

“Would you like to --- consider going to...Endeavor?” His voice was hardly above a whisper, threaded with hope, as he slowly drew breath.

She was visibly awed to silence. But a small smile carved on her lips, and he was brazen to look steadily at her.

“That’s... that’s very nice of you Todoroki-san..”

At particular times, when Momo had to refuse something, it was through utmost courtesy and politeness. She would sing her praises before absolutely shutting it down. That’s just the kind of person she was. She always tried her best not to add fuel to the fire, but unwittingly, did just the same.

She never meant it.

And he was about to understand that’s how things sometimes work for her.

“...It’d be an honor, it is the number one heroes' agency at all...but...” She trailed off as if realizing a truth that had long been there but was just now put to life. Her hands clasped together.

Just what he wanted to do, his hands pressed and warm around hers.

“... Doesn't your father’s agency take in strong, fire types? I’m afraid I’m just not that...”

He scoffed, with an air of disbelief. “Then Endeavor has signed himself as the total idiot of the year, you’re perfection, Momo..”

‘Perfect for me.’

She smiled, an amused one, soft air blowing through her nostrils.

“Thank you for your kindness, Todoroki-san, but, I think I’ve got to prove myself worthy of the honor first.”

His heart sank, pulling over his mask of indifference.

“The offer is still on the table, so don’t decide just yet...think about it first..”

‘Don’t you want to be with me?’

“Well, if you insist, but... I’m not promising anything.”

“Your call.”

‘How hard was it to say yes.’


Their stroll ended before a rustic, low gate, a metal shedding off its former proud, black paint. Her humble dwelling barely benefitted from the dull, orange light stretching from a nearby post. Most of the surrounding areas drowned in pitch black, save only for the wash of light breaching from a small window on the first floor.

Nevertheless, it was a haunting, quiet residence.

She could do better than that. He thought. But that ship had long sailed now, she was leaving this place in a few weeks, and he’d be more than happier to accompany her out.

Looking down at her jet-black curtain of hair, and into her clustered fingers around her purse. He realized he simply couldn’t just let her go and feed her to the monster house.

“Seems like the others aren’t home yet.” She mumbled under her breath. With a slow turn of her chin, she looked up to him, a telltale to end the night.

“You’re leaving tomorrow, Todoroki-san.”

And he had never been so jumbled at making decisions as he was now. It was almost like she wanted him to stay, her eyes waxed with a woeful sheen.

“I guess I shouldn’t trouble you about staying a while longer...”

‘Of course, she can trouble him, anytime she wants’.

“You sure you won’t be needing any company? It seems lonely there.”

Her features broke into something like a contained laughter, or rather a level above a smiling expression, a small hand flying over her mouth. “My landlady doesn’t allow visitors at this time of night, I thought I told you that already.”

‘Oh’. He thought. But the rule did make a way for him.

Everything was silent except for the distant noise of the chirping crickets and cicadas. Not one seemed brave enough to bid the other goodnight.

A slow and delicate hug removed him from his rumination. His hand moved on its own to caress her head, sliding down her nape, while another rested gingerly on her lower back, ghosting over her outline like she was a fragile glass. As quickly as she did, she removed herself.

“Good night, Todoroki-san.”