Gosling

||Chapter 1||

"A little more to the left."

"Yeah, you almost got it!"

"No! Go slower idiot!"

Momo's black eyes sparkled as they darted around the arcade. Machines sat on top of one another. Each filled with different souvenirs ranging from cute stuffed animals to hero paraphernalia. It was all so new and she was having a hard time containing her excitement as her feet slowly pulled her towards the back of the shop where some of the class 1-A high school boys had gathered around one of the machines, shouting encouragements or advice to a boy with messy green hair.

Momo took a spot on the side.

Midoriya Izuku's face was set in a line of deep concentration as he focused on lowering a silver claw into a pile of All Might figurines.

It missed.

Midoriya put another coin in, his scarred hands resuming their position on the controls. Momo's eyes darkened at the sight, a pang resounding in her stomach. Unlike her, Midoriya hadn't gotten into U.A. on recommendations. He had worked for every accomplishment and every win. He was even moving up in grades. Ever since he had rescued Eri in their first year he had been excelling faster than she could comprehend.

Momo's eyes darkened. She shouldn't be here when exams were so close. She needed to maintain her top spot. She didn't have the strength or fighting abilities of Midoriya or the other members of the Big Three that would guarantee her a spot as a hero once she graduated.

Momo swallowed. If she let her grades slip, if she lost her position people would start to question why she was even in the hero course. She bite her bottom lip and took a half step back when a deep voice stopped her.

"Yaoyorozu, are you alright?" Momo jumped turning to face the class' top student, Todoroki Shouto.

Todoroki was a recommended student like herself and one of the Big Three. He had been her seatmate for the last three years and the person she looked up to most.

Momo tilted her head back to meet Todoroki's heterochromatic gaze.

He was noticeably taller and more muscled than back then. When she had first met the red and white haired boy he had only been a few centimeters taller than herself but now he stood tall enough that if she stepped forward her head would rest comfortably under his chin.

It wasn't all that had changed. Although he hadn't lost his stoic personality, there was something different about him now. He had grown warmer, less arrogant. He cared more about his friends and classmates and it showed in these little gestures.

Todoroki's blue and gray eyes searched her face and her stomach fluttered.

"Yaoyorozu?" he asked again.

Momo felt warmth spread through her. He always seemed to know when she was being silly and letting her anxiety get to her. She could already hear him chastising her for her thoughts, reminding her that her worth wasn't tied to her grades.

He was going to be a great hero.

Momo smiled and shook her head. Her worries disappearing as swiftly as snow melting into spring. "I'm alright Todoroki-san."

She meant it.

This was her first time in an arcade and she should be relaxing and enjoying the experience. Besides, being with her classmates, cheering each other on, even if it was only to win a figurine, was part of being a hero too.

Todoroki stared at her for another moment.

The claw clamped down onto a prize and Momo turned her attention back to the arcade game, joining in with the excited 'ohs' and 'ahs' of her other classmates.