Shouto Todoroki was the last person Momo Yaoyorozu wanted to see her like this; collapsed on a sidewalk in the rain, hair down and drenched, obvious tear stained face and puffy eyes, clothes sticking to her in uncomfortable places. The worst news Yaomomo could ever hear ringing in her ears.

Her high school sweetheart being the one to find her was not on the list of things she wished would happen right now.

Yet, contrary to her unspoken wish, Shouto stood there, umbrella in hand and a look of concern etched onto his face as he looked down at her, sitting on the edge of the walk, rainwater coursing over her entire body. Her feet were particularly wet, as they sat awkwardly in the run off dips next to the sidewalk.

Yaomomo's already wide eyes widened slightly further, and an anguished sob passed her lips before she could quench it. She whipped around to face the street and away from Shouto, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her head.

Her body started shaking as the tears returned to her eyes and she could no longer hold them back.

She barely understood the closing sound of the umbrella behind her, and heard a splash in the puddled rainwater as Shouto took a cautious step towards her.

"Yaomomo?"

When she didn't reply, he took another step, and then another and he was standing beside where she sat. She inched her feet into a different direction so her face was as far away from his vision as possible, but it was made difficult by the biting cold that was encasing her feet.

"Yaomomo, are you alright?"

What a silly question, did it look like she was alright?! The rain was promising to pitter-patter her to death, and she was hoping on it succeeding! What part of any of that made her look "alright"?! She almost laughed, but it came out closer to a whimper so she didn't bother finishing the laugh. Instead, she pulled herself more into the huddled form she was taking.

She was hoping that would compel him away, she must look like a crazy person after all, and everyone else who had attempted to talk had left hurriedly. Shouto didn't walk away, instead he sat himself down next to Yaomomo, on her left side on the upward incline of the street, and clasped his hands together and looked up at the sky.

Her tears were distracted from falling by his presence, and she peeked out at him through a gap in her arms.

The umbrella was closed and held in his clasped hands, his legs were crossed, with his left in the water while his right laid across the knee of the left. His hair was sleeking down, with the tips sticking to his forehead and neck due to the rain.

Her heart panged. He looked so handsome. Just like he had when they were dating in senior year- and all the years she had known him.

She forced herself to look away. She didn't need to be sad about their failed relationship, she had more important and crucial issues to worry about right now anyway.

Shouto could stay as long as he wanted for all she cared, it wouldn't change anything no matter what he did.

It was her family that was the issue after all.

And no one could fix it.

Not Shouto, not her parents, not even All Might could have fixed anything.

There wasn't a point in saying anything to anyone anymore.

Not when her entire ideology and beliefs, her fundamental opinions that had developed at a young age due to her parents, not when all of it had fallen apart by one simple sentence out of her father's lips.

A guttural sob shook her body, and she couldn't stop herself from crying out.

"YAKUZA!"

She lowered her arms and hugged herself, turning and staring, her body shaking with cold, at a surprised Shouto.

"Wha-"

She didn't let him finish.

"Yakuza! My family… they have ties to the yakuza!"

Her voice was raw as she sobbed, her whole-body racking from both the emotionally driven tears and the freezing rain that was encompassing her body and sending cold shivers.

Shouto was silent next to her, instead, he fought through his clear shock and reopened his umbrella, and held it over Yaomomo's head as she continued to let her emotions be free.

"My- my parents- they've lied to me my whole life- to everyone!" She wiped at her nose from instinct, the current her could care less about mucus at the moment. "Their money doesn't come from a wealthy hero relative or ancestor- it comes from filth!" Her breath was coming out in long shudders, and she was gulping to find air through her bodily crying and trying to speak.

Her throat felt as if it was closing from how raw she had made it.

Shouto got closer and put his arm slowly onto her shoulders and leaned over to her. He still hadn't said anything, but Yaomomo was glad he hadn't. What would he say that was good anyway?

"All the parties they hosted- it was just a way to please their boss and distract people from what they were really doing." She leaned against him dejectedly, her head tilted to stare up at Shouto with hurt filled eyes, hands digging painfully into her arms as her voice throbbed and shook as she let out what was most hurting her.

"All those times they had me display my quirk at parties- they were showing me off. Like some sort of product! All those times I discovered something new I could make with my quirk, I remember mother would write a long letter to her father- claiming that she was writing a beaming letter about my amazing growth to a loving grandfather, when really- "

A pause happened as another painful tremor went through her body and forcing her to remember to breathe. Shouto moved closer, his eyes flickering unseen by her between a dark alleyway across the street and Yaomomo's face.

His right hand squeezing reassuringly on her shoulder while his left side started heating up the air around them while also keeping the rain off with the umbrella, though it did nothing to stop her already soaking form from shivering.

"She was just informing their higher ups of my development. I- I thought they were just proud… but it turns out it was all for- all just for show. Their love for me- I'm… I'm sure it was all fake now."

Her body was completely numb at this point, and the tear ducts had seemed to have frozen over.

Rain continued to beat down on them, and Shouto hugged her one armed to his chest as Yaomomo's teeth started chattering, she sniffed and tried to force herself to think clearly as her brain muddled and froze. She wanted to vent more, she wanted to shout and scream about her problems and fears. She wanted all the lies her parents and family had fed her to be known by everyone- but the emotional breakdown and long exposure to the rain was starting to catch up with her.

"I'm…. related to the worst people… I can't go back... not to that lie, I can't…." Was all she managed to mumble out, her eyes getting droopier and body felt sluggish.

Shouto must have noticed it, and the sharp coldness of her skin- as he finally spoke again.

"We need to get you out of the rain."

When she didn't answer, he closed his umbrella and stood up, gently standing her with him. After they were standing on stable ground, he shrugged off his jacket and wrapped her in it, he was just taller and broader then her that she could put her arms through it and wrap it around herself almost like a blanket. After wrapping her, Shouto picked Yaomomo delicately into his arms bridal style. And post making sure she was comfortable and secure, he started briskly walking to what Momo dimly hoped was his car and that he wasn't going to walk her the entire way.

Momo listened to the sound of his footsteps splashing in puddles and tried hard not to let the tears start falling again. With no more talking happening, it meant that Yaomomo was alone with her thoughts, which meant the most horrid scene of her life kept replaying itself.

"Momo we need to talk to you.". An easy, normal, yet anxiety inducing sentence that most parents say- but in Momo's head it was like hearing someone start to read out a prison sentence. The rest of her father's words had crashed and crushed down upon her like a falling rock as he explained in detail their strong family connections to the yakuza. The room had spun and denial came pouring out of her lungs. She had shaken her head so much it was still whirling inside, her parents attempted to better the situation, but all they said just made it worse. Their flat words were accompanied by a methodical ticking of their pride and joy grandfather clock, it's ticking becoming a deafening noise before the argument started.

A weird click noise interrupted her disturbing thoughts, and Yaomomo forced herself back into the present. They had made it to Shouto's sleek blue car, and he maneuvered her into a position where he could open the passenger door. She ducked her head as Shouto gently lowered her into the leather passenger seat, her drenched red dress squeezing out water as she put weight on it. Momo reached for the seatbelt, but her hands were to numb and shaky to even get more than a loose grip on the strap, and her strength was sapped so weakly that she could barely pull the belt an inch. Shouto's warm left hand covered hers, and he helped her trembling and numb fingers with the seat belt, leaning slightly into the car to help push the buckle in.

As it clicked, Momo grasped Shouto's hand, the warmth coming off him relieving some of the cold that was taking away her strength and she was able to give it an appreciative squeeze. She wanted to let him know just how much it did mean to her that he didn't just leave her there crying. Momo raised her other arm and placed it on his right shoulder. He didn't move, just looked at her in his usual piercing way with his mismatched eyes.

"Thank you." Momo whispered, her voice still scratchy and eyes downcast from his. She didn't want to look at him, she was thankful that he got her out of the rain, but the utter shame she was carrying for everything that he had seen of her in the past 20 minutes was too much for her at the moment.

She couldn't even call herself a hero anymore after learning just what had to happen to get her there, and Shouto, who's always been a shining example of what heroes should be and strive to do, deserved better.

Silence followed her thanks, and then Shouto squeezed her hand in return, a strong reassuring gesture accompanied by a kiss on her drenched black roots.

"I'd do it anytime."

The cold in Momo's cheeks got warmed as blood flowed to form a blush that spread to her neck. The sudden affectionate move had caught her off guard, but it was a welcomed warmth.

Shouto drew back out of the car and shut the door. Momo curled her legs beneath her and hugged his jacket around her like a safety blanket as he climbed into the driver's seat and started driving.

The dim dash lights of the car lit up both of them in a soothing glow, and Momo felt her eyes start to droop as the lull of the car and steady rainfall on the roof was enough to remind her of the tired behind her eyes. But before she closed her eyes, she leaned over and rested her head on Shouto's shoulder, and then she allowed her eyes to close and the battle with the dark thoughts began again.

She was in a horrid situation.

There was no way she could deny that, and tomorrow the panic and despair would set in fully and her mind would go crazy trying to figure out what to do. She had no money for herself, no car, nothing materialistically important was within her reach without her parents also having a hand on it. And without money, she didn't have a place to stay.

She could room with Kyouka Jirou, or any of the girls from 1-A, but… if she did, she'd have to explain why she needed to, and Momo felt as if telling Shouto had been too much strain, she was not prepared to tell anyone else; at least, not yet.

The mere thought of telling anyone made her nauseas, she didn't even want to spill to Shouto, let alone her previous classmates! The more she thought about it, the surer Momo was that she had gotten lucky with Shouto finding her.

He now knew that Momo has ties to the yakuza, the epitome of opposite hero, and yet all he had done was listen. He hadn't reacted negatively, he didn't immediately start suspecting Yaomomo for her unwanted connections, and Momo wasn't sure she could safely say other former classmates would react the same.

Some might even turn her in.

That shocking thought, that someone she trusts would put her in cuffs purely for parental connections and mistakes, made a chill go up her spine. She had a secret now, one she could only tell a select few, and something that will isolate her from her classmates and friends.

Eyelids squeezed tight as the mental image of an empty, dreary, lonely cell leaped into Momo's mind. Her mind spiraled and the sound of her friends, disappointed and distrusting, reached the middle of the cell where she lay curled, separated by her family's ties.

Shouto moved his arm to shift gears, and Momo was brought back out of her thoughts momentarily as the smooth material of his shirt and a little bit of skin rubbed across her face.

Her right hand flew and gripped his sleeve, physical contact was anchoring her from her thoughts reentering that dark cell. She forced herself to breath evenly, the air passing through her nose making an audible shaky sound.

In, out, in, out.

"Are you alright? Do you need me to pull over?"

Shouto questioned, his voice soft.

Momo shook her head, her grip not loosening on his sleeve as she spoke, her eyes opening slightly.

"No, no I'm ok. Just…"

Her hand tightened, and her bottom lip trembled as the cell visualized in her mind again.

"I'm just scared." Momo whispered truthfully.

Shouto was silent for a moment, and then he asked, "What are you scared about?"

"I… I'm scared because I don't know what to do. I don't have a place to go, or any money. And my father is determined to find me and make me join, even though I want nothing to do with it…" His sleeve twisted in her fist, and Momo buried her face more in his arm. Voice still trembling, she was on the verge of tears again. "And, I know I could go and live with someone, Kyouka or any of my friends… but, to do that I would have to tell them why I needed to… and I'm… scared of how they'll react if they know."

She sat up, pulling her face away from his arm though her hand still clenched at his sleeve. She stared absently at the blue lighted radio, the time fading in and out in dark blue, the numbers barely registering in her numb mind.

"The yakuza… it's not something that's to be taken lightly, all my friends know that and… I have a strong connection to it." Her broken gaze shifted to stare at her hand, the same hand that had first made a matryoshka doll perfectly. The hand that had made her parents faces beam with what Momo had always assumed was pride, but they actually were smiling because their place with luxury was secure. With a child with a creation quirk, the yakuza couldn't cut all ties with them if they ever wanted to make use of Momo's quirk. Her hand curled into a fist. "I wouldn't blame anyone if they started suspecting me. Not when I have such a connection."

The car pulled over and stopped. They were in a suburban area now, and Momo realized she had no idea where Shouto was taking her.

He turned in his seat to face her, his face set in a frown.

"If your friends really know you, they wouldn't suspect you for a second. And this could just be because I've seen how freaking distraught you are about finding this out, but the you I know would never put herself anywhere near the yakuza if she had any say in it, and if they do suspect you then they were never good friends in the first place."

His left hand reached over and grabbed her hand on his sleeve, holding it tightly.

"You can stay with me, I already know, and I want to help. Don't worry about bothering, you are never a bother to me Momo, please remember that. Forced Yakuza connection or not- I care about you a lot."

Momo woke up in soft sheets, with the sound of rain still thumping dimly on the roof. Sitting up carefully, Momo looked at her surroundings with confusion.

How did she end up here? This wasn't her room or her bed, and the plain looking walls and décor was the opposite of how her parent's mansion was. A picture on the bedside table caught her eye, and she reached over and picked it up, noticing as she did so that she was wearing a white cotton shirt that was definitely a man's.

The picture frame was one of those digital ones that slide between pictures, and she leaned against the propped-up pillows to look at them.

The first picture was of class 1-A, and had been taken the day of their graduation. That must mean that whoever's house she was in was part of 1-A, which made Momo feel safer. She could trust any of the boys she went to school with- except the pervert- so if this wasn't his house she felt more relaxed. She didn't have to think of which boy it was, as the next picture made the memories of what happened last night come flooding back.

It was of Shouto and his mother.

Momo quickly replaced the picture frame back on the bedside. She was starting to feel sick as her mind whirled as it cycled through everything that had happened last night.

Her parents, Yakuza, intruding on Shouto, all of it made her feel like laying back down and crying. Tears started to fall down her cheeks and she leaned back against the pillows.

Her parents were a dominant struggle in her thoughts as she tried desperately to remember anything that could prove their connection to the yakuza wrong- but she came up with more examples of them being part of it then reasons why they were not.

She rubbed at her eyes and shoved all those thoughts to the side, she needed to find Shouto and apologize for imposing on him first, then she was going to figure out what to do next. She did enough crying and questioning last night. Today, she was going to find answers.

Sliding off the bed, Momo walked towards one of the two doors in the room. This one was slightly ajar, and peeking inside revealed it was a bathroom. It was a simple bathroom, with all the usual setups. Hanging off the top of the shower rod however, was her red dress from last night. It was still wet to the touch as Momo touched it, and looking at the ground revealed her high heels and pantyhose she had been wearing were thrown haphazardly into a corner.

Considering the mirror, Momo remembered vaguely being handed the shirt and changing into it, which put the embarrassing thought that Shouto had undressed her at ease.

Moving out of the bathroom, Momo walked through the only other door, her bare feet stepping from carpet to stiffer carpet. She was in a small hallway, with a door immediately to her right and in front. Both doors were open and she could see the laundry in the right one and the one in front was a training room. It was bigger than Shouto's room, and had normal exercise equipment in it.

A very short way down the hallway was the kitchen and living room, and Momo walked in that direction. She would have seen Shouto if he had been in either of the two rooms so that meant he had to be in the remaining rooms.

They were both empty. The kitchen was cleaned spotlessly and the living room had a couch facing a tv, but there was no Shouto in either of them.

Scanning both rooms sharply, Momo noticed a sheet of paper on the otherwise empty kitchen counter. Momo's bare feet felt the coolness of the tile as she walked towards the paper, picking it up, she read Shouto's neat yet hurried handwriting:

"Yaomomo,

I got a call from my agency so had to leave, if you wake up before I'm back help yourself to anything in the house. Tv, food, whatever, use anything you need. I'll be back as soon as I can, so please don't consider leaving until I'm back."

-Shouto

Momo reread the note, he really was being nicer to her then she deserved. Not leaving her to die in the rain had been enough, but letting her sleep in and use his house was to kind of him.

A small smile touched Momo's lips as she read the last part again. He didn't have to worry about her leaving either, but he was. He knew Momo well, she had planned on leaving a note if he was out of house and leaving, but his polite request to not leave made her decide not to, she wanted to thank him before she left and leaving a note wouldn't do her thankfulness justice.

Folding the note, Momo placed it back on the counter and opened the fridge, scanning the contents almost cluelessly. She needed to eat so she could use her quirk and make herself some clothes, it was embarrassing walking around in only his shirt, so that was the first thing she needed to do.

She turned the tv on to have some sort of noise in the background- without it she fell back into her dark thoughts that were counterproductive of what she wanted at the moment.

After eating and making herself some clothes, Momo went back into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair. She hated the feeling of unwashed teeth and her hair was knotted from the rain so she had to or else she'd feel more horrible. As she rinsed her mouth, her red dress caught her eye. It was still wet, and it made her think about the predicament she was in.

She couldn't go back home; she wasn't ready to face her parents. But what else was she going to do then? She had the money to buy an apartment, but it was all on her master card that was supervised by her parents. If she bought anything with that card her parents would know where and could use it to track her, and she didn't want to chance it. She couldn't keep freeloading off Shouto, that would be…. weird to ask of him.

They had dated in senior year, but mutually broke up after graduating so both of them could focus more on their Hero career. It wasn't that the emotions or attraction had faded- they hadn't for Momo at least- but more so they both had just decided that it wasn't the time to date. They didn't see much of each other, except for the few times they've worked together and every time Momo remembered just how much she liked him after the fight.

He was still the handsome, flippant, determined person she had fallen in love with, with just a hint more emotions.

And the fact that she was still attracted to him would make living in his house hard emotionally if he didn't feel the same way, and being in the emotional situation she was in with her family, Momo would rather not add additional emotional baggage.

She needed a better place to think. The bathroom though nice and clean, was small and constricting to her thoughts.

Momo walked into Shouto's room and her eyes fell onto the bed. It had a lovely view of the rain and lightning to look at, and she needed the comfort of the pillows while she climbed onto his bed and got comfortable, making a notebook and pencil easily after she was in place. Opening the notebook, she started making two lists- one of things she needed to do and the other of things she couldn't do without her parents finding out. A frown grew deep on her face as the lists crossed more and more.

After thirty minutes, Yaomomo put the notebook and pencil down and rubbed her eyes. She was tired and stressed.

Why oh why had she let her parents reach their hands into so much of her life? She could barely do anything without them finding her, and she knew they wanted to.

Last night as she had ran out in tears, she had heard her mother call out, but her father stopped her and reassured that Momo would be back. And If she didn't come back, then they would find her. They had people for that in the Yakuza after all.

Tears welled up again in Momo's eyes, she didn't know how she was going to get out of this. She might not have a way out.

Her car was still at her parents and had probably been tagged, her cards were all connected to her parent's accounts and they would be alerted to any of her purchases and the location where she made the purchase.

And because of that she would have to go off the radar if she wanted to avoid them, which she could do with her quirk, but she wanted that to be the last resort. She had always wanted to be a hero, and Momo was determined to find a way to still be one. Even if that meant having to use her cards and be prepared to fight or see her parents.

Momo uncovered her eyes, she had been holding her head in her hands for the last couple minutes while she thought, and reevaluated her lists. She started making changes, crossing out certain points and making new ones. She had almost remade the lists entirely when the sound of the door unlocking reached her ears.

Her body tensed, and her mind immediately went through multiple scenarios and objects she could create in case it wasn't Shouto. Slipping off the bed, Momo crept quietly on her bare feet towards the door, her father saying they would find her echoing in her mind. Peeking around the door frame towards the living room and kitchen, relief filled her as Shouto's white and red hair identified him. His back was to Momo, but he soon straightened and turned to look towards the kitchen, his sea green eye and scar further proving it was him.

Momo straightened herself and walked into the hallway, closing the door behind her out of habit.

Shouto was looking at her, his eyes giving her a once over. They stood in silence, both just looking at each other. Suddenly unsure of what she wanted to say, Momo folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the opening of the hallway. Waiting for him to say something.

"I'm glad you didn't leave."

Shouto thankfully spoke, looking away from her as he set his keys on the counter and started taking off his coat.

"I'll admit I was going to, but I wanted to talk to you in person so I decided against leaving for now."

His eyes glanced sideways at her as he hung his coat up, and Momo subconsciously checked his casually clothed body for injuries. It was something they both always did when they saw the other after a while, it was their private way of checking on the other without crossing the invisible lines they had both lain down when they broke up. They needed to keep things professional and distant, and this was their way of doing so while still caring.

"You plan to leave then?"

Shouto inquired, slipping the muddy shoes off his feet, one hand balancing himself against the wall.

"Yes. I don't want to impose upon you more then I already have." Momo said, her eyes diverting from him in favor of looking to the right. She could only see him from her peripheral, but he had paused.

"I… don't know what imposing you're talking about, but if you want to leave then I won't stop you."

Momo heard him move closer, and soon he was back in her vision leaning against the couch. His eyebrows were scrunched together and his gaze piercing her.

"Can I ask if you know where you plan on going?"

"You can, but I'm afraid I don't have much of an answer. I'm still figuring it out." Momo answered truthfully.

Shouto was quiet, his eyes looking at her intensely. Momo grew unsure of whether she should continue talking, and after he didn't speak for another minute she decided she would. Last night she had told him everything, there was no point in stopping now.

"I… don't want to go back to my parents. At least, not yet. I want to figure out a way to still be a hero and stay out of the yakuza my father's trying to mold me to be. But… to do that is hard. Everything I own is connected back to them, especially my credit cards and I don't have any cash on me, and if I withdrew some it would tell me parents where I am." Momo shifted slightly so she was facing Shouto directly, her eyes flickering towards his before she looked down at the floor. "So, I figure I need to go underground for a while, which I could do easily with my quirk, I just need to figure out where I… I'm still figuring things out, like I said."

After everything that Momo Yoayorozu has been through, Shouto Todoroki might not have been the first person she had wanted to find her sitting out there in the rain, but she was glad it had been him in the end.