"Yaoyorozu I… No." Why would I address her like that? We've been dating for almost two years now. Why are you acting so cold-hearted? Shouto recollects his thoughts and tries again.

"Momo. It's been a while." Are you stupid? Of course it's been a while. You purposefully avoided her.

"Momo. Hi." AHHHHHHHH! "DAMMIT! WHY IS THIS SO HARD!?" Shouto grabs his table and flips it. They aren't loud, but the sounds of crashes coming from his room are enough to cause concerns to his dormmates. "Should we do something?" Izuku is just a few degrees from turning Shouto's door open. He knows it would be troublesome to intervene, but these types of reactions tend to happen out of habit. An altruistic attitude is certainly a characteristic of a great hero in the making, but this isn't about being the hero and saving the day. Shouto is Izuku's best friend, so it's only natural for him to show a deep concern. Especially when his best friend is rehearsing his lines for when he confronts his girlfriend. He knows Shouto's not the best socially inclined person. In fact, to any stranger, Shouto would come off as cold, blunt, and awkward. Izuku knows better, but hearing his friend struggling over and over again, isn't just concerning it's painful. Fortunately for him someone else is there to help clear his clouded judgement.

"Let's head downstairs." Kyouka grabs Izuku by the hand and drags him down the stairs.

At the student lounge, the two sit quietly by the table. The room was oddly quiet despite the people present. Denki is watching an interview on the Pussycats' comeback, while Katsuki is reading a book on the ethics of hero agencies. Izuku normally expected Denki trying his best to annoy Katsuki, but this time the two are very focused on what they're doing. Even more impressive to him is how Kyouka is handling this whole situation. She's sitting across from him calmly tapping her fingers to the beat of whatever song she's listening to. Izuku can't recall the name of the song, but it has very heavy bass line, and a ominous, feel-good melody to it. As Izuku starts to stomp his feet to the rhythm of the song, he starts wondering how Kyouka actually feels about all this. He knows being too involved in Momo and Shouto's business is intrusive, but Kyouka is Momo's best friend. "Surely she must be feeling the same way?" is what he's thinking, but before Izuku can ask her, "How are you dealing with all this?" Kyouka decides to break the silence. She calmly pause the song, closes her laptop, and slides it aside.

"UGH I FREAKING HATE THIS!"

Katsuki sets his book down, and Denki turns off the TV. Both leave the couch area and grab a seat on the table. Izuku looks as the two robotically sit down and stare at what Kyouka has to say. Now there's a reason for these two particular people to show any ounce of concern. The easier one to answer is Denki. He's dating Kyouka, and whenever he anticipates her getting upset he instinctively sits next to her. He already knows the protocol: he shorts out and makes her laugh, and she spends the next half hour taking care of him. If that doesn't take her mind off whatever's bothering her, then he simply talks to her. Standard procedure, nothing special. Kyouka reaches for her earjack, but he cautiously takes it away from her. She has the unhygienic habit of biting on her earjacks when she's anxious.

"Huh? It's half-and-half isn't it? Should I blast him til he gets some sense?"

Now Katsuki is the other concerned one, and his reasons for being involved are rather unnecessary. For one thing, he's not that close to Shouto, and as far as Izuku knows the same can be said for Momo.

"Just relax, Bakugou. It's none of your concern."

"I'll make him repent!" Sparks fly out of his hand.

To any outsider observing from afar, or reading this story, it looks as if Katsuki is an ex who is still cares for Momo. However, Kyouka can vouch for him that the two have grown a close bond through the numerous collaborations they've done. Being in the band for the cultural festival, group projects, and even hero internships. The two have spent a significant time together. A romance between them would surely sound like something straight out of a shoujo manga: the unruly but talented delinquent and the poised student representative. However, at most the feelings he reciprocates are that of a good friend. A good, honest, destructive friend.

"Okay calm your concerned ex, still not over her, ass down. There's no reason for us to get involved."

Which is a great opportunity for Kyouka to make fun of his unnecessary overprotectiveness over Momo. More sparks light out of Katsuki's hand. He wants to retaliate, but a simple "Ehh." is enough to calm him down to continue listening to the conversation.

"To be honest. I hate getting in the way of their marital problems, but I feel obligated to."

"They're not married, Jirou-san," Izuku points out. "And what you do mean by obligated?"

"Well Yaomomo isn't exactly the best when it comes to confronting Shouto about problems in their relationship."

"Well to be honest, this is the first I've heard of them having problems."

"That's only because when something happens, she plays it cool, and it just miraculously dies out."

"I see."

"But this is different. If they don't talk it out, then it could turn out ugly, and I don't know why Momo isn't actively confronting him about it. At least Shouto's rehearsing his lines. I bet she's in her room right now reading a book, trying not to think about all this." In her enraged monologue, Kyouka hadn't realized that she was standing up the entire time. She looks around the lounge. All her friends sharing the same shocked look on their faces. Kyouka's known to be aggressive at times, but this is the first time her passion is powerful enough to influence her environment. Rather than sitting back down she pushes her chair aside. "I'm heading to Yaomomo's right now!" The rest of the boys are left speechless.

"What a hypocrite." Katsuki blabbers.

"Why is my blood boiling?" Izuku whispers.

"See? This is why I love her." Denki boasts proudly.

"You're too young to make that decision."

"Look. I know with these types of things, it's hard for you to talk about it directly, and I know you visited his mom and big bro, but they're too nice to tell you straight up what to do. I'm your best friend so I don't care. If what I have to say is hard, then I know you have to hear it."

Momo sighs and sets her book down, and faces Kyouka. "What are you saying?"

"You have to initiate the talk."

"What?" Momo angerily swivels back to her desk and picks up her book again. Kyouka walks to Momo, grabs the book out of her hands, and throws it across the room. After the book makes a loud thud, Kyouka marches back to her chair. Now she has Momo's full, undivided attention.

"I don't know what exactly is going through his head, but I know for sure he's asking one question: Does she even care?"

Momo is flabbergasted that her best friend would even utter those words. "OF COURSE I DO!"

"Well show it!"

"This isn't my fault!"

"I know you don't think it is, but in some ways…"

"In some ways what!?"

"...This could've been avoided."

"What do you mean?"

Kyouka takes a deep breath, tussles her hair, and stretches on the back of her chair. Momo annoying waits for her to continue.

"I mean you guys tend to let things play out without really resolving anything."

"That's not true!"

"Is it? You tell me everything. Whenever something goes wrong I suggest for you to talk to him, and you simply shrug it as if it's nothing. You're lucky it's nothing serious up until now." Momo looks away, unable to admit her guilt. "You always say 'it'll work out,' and to be honest this is so unlike you. You're always the first to speak in class, and whenever there's something wrong you're always quick to address it. So why it so hard when it comes to Todoroki?"

"He's the one who started this mess."

"Well he did, but lemme ask you did you ever bother to ask him what's wrong?"

"I mean I–"

"I know you try to make him feel better by doing kind things to him, but did you ever sit down with him, and ask what's bothering him?" Again Momo had no answer.

"Not even a call? Did you even try to text him?"

"NO!"

"What? Are you so entitled, and not at fault, that you expect him to come to you!?"

"NO!" Momo starts crying on her desk. Kyouka realizes that she may have gone too far, and rolls her chair close to Momo. She stretches her hand out and pats Momo on the shoulder. "You two need to talk it out. Please. This is clearly very hard for him to do on his own."

Momo brushes Kyouka's hand gently, wipes her tears off, and looks at Kyouka angrily. "Get out."

"Huh?"

"I need to sort things out on my own."

"Unbelievable!" Kyouka barges into the lounge and drags a chair by the table. The sound of the chair legs scraping on the wooden floor make a loud, high-pitched scream.

"Shhhh!" Kyouka slams herself on the chair before turning her head to see who's here. Only Denki and Katsuki remain in the room. Kyouka fiercely looks at Katsuki as he's reading a book while munching on some pickled pepperoncini. Without even meeting her gaze he points his finger at the couch next to him.

"Where's Midoriya?"

"The nerd has training with All Might in the morning so he left as soon as you dipped."

"What about Jamming-Yay?"

"He was concerned about you, and wanted to stay up til you got back, but as you can see the idiot couldn't keep his word." Kyouka turns to look at Denki who's curled up in a ball on the couch as he whispers "Wheyyy..." in his sleep. The peaceful, but silly look on his face is enough to melt away the anger she felt.

"That's adorable." She quickly leaves her chair and lifts Denki's head so that he can rest on her lap. Katuski slams his book shut, and throws it at the table. As she gently pets his spiky, blonde hair, Katsuki continues to munch on his spicy snack.

"Wasn't it you that said not to meddle?" He says as small, visible chunks of pepper fly off his mouth.

"Well I meddled?"

"How'd it go?"

"She kicked me out."

"Wow. That's a first."

"I know. Should I feel honored? Those were some of the meanest Yaoyoroeyes she laid on me."

"Probably not."

"You right."

The two sit there quietly, trying to not to think about what happened.

"You know for two brilliant people, they sure are stupid when it comes to these things."

"Oh you would know? Seeing as you never yelled at Camie before."

"Damn right I never... Ahh!?"

"Shhhh. You'll wake Denki up."

"I'm really tempted to."

"You really shouldn't talk while your eating too. You're leaving a mess on the floor."

"Now I'm really tempted to."

Alone with her thoughts, Momo sits quietly on her bed. With nothing but the bright luminance coming from her phone, she continues to contemplate what Kyouka said to her earlier.

"It'll work out…" she says to herself as she hugs her pillow for comfort. The truthful words her best friend spoke rings in her ears, the stinging tones harshly repeat as it goes straight into her conscience. She squeezes her pillow ever harder, trying to force out her anger in the least aggressive way she can think of.

"I didn't do anything wrong."

Momo is strong. She knows well enough to not put the blame on herself, but she is also proud. Though she won't show it outwardly like some of her classmate, Katsuki in particular, she does take pride in her capabilities. So when someone proves her wrong, she can't help but get upset over it. It's a huge blow to her self-esteem. This also means that it's hard for her to admit fault.

"What could I've done?"

She continues to sit on her bed, when suddenly she hears a crash coming from her bookshelf. The sound isn't enough to wake her neighbors, but loud enough to catch her attention. She gets off her bed, throwing her pillow on the wall in the process. She heavily walks her way towards the bookshelf to see what fell. She grumbles to herself, and makes a flashlight so she can see better.

"A matryoshka doll? Why did I keep this?" To her, making a doll of herself isn't all that special. She makes these all the time. "What makes this doll so special?" she asks herself. She quickly runs to her desk, and turns on her lamp. A magnifying glass emerges from her hand, along with a stand so that she doesn't have to hold it. The setup she materialized is perfect for inspecting the finer details of the doll. With her keen eye, it didn't take long for her to notice that there is something on it.

"Why are there scorch marks on the side?" It takes her a while, but a flood of memories eventually rush back. She opens of the doll to confirm her assumptions. "A flashbang." She puts on a pair of sunglasses and presses on the switch on top of the grenade, but nothing happens. "It's used." She can recall the moment clearly.

"What's wrong?" Shouto asked.

"Nothing." At least that's what Momo told him, but her tears say something different. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but before he could speak, the intercom announced their victory.

"Todoroki and Yaoyorozu have passed!"

Done with their final exams, Shouto offered to walk Momo to where the rest of their classmates were. After all she was the one who won this for them. It's the least he could do. The walk there was quiet. A lot of things have happened, and they were still shocked that they beat their teacher. Although barely. Yaoyorozu almost didn't pull the lever fast enough, but a pass is a pass nonetheless. In no time at all, they were by the entrance to the room. "This is as far as I go."

"Would you like to join us?"

"I need to get some rest. I might just go to Recovery Girl after this." Momo nodded. "You know she's watching in there right now. Maybe you can go there."

"It's alright. I can wait in the infirmary." Momo glanced at Shouto's body. There seemed to be nothing wrong with him. No bruises, cuts, or scratches. Although their test with Aizawa was intense, they came out of it virtually unscathed. She thought that maybe he just wanted some time to himself. "Alright then. I won't impose any further." Momo blushed once she realized she was still looking at Shouto. He seemed to have noticed too because his face started turning red.

"Anyways. Thank you."

That was the second time he thanked her. She knew that she came up with the strategy, but she didn't win it for them completely. She wanted to show her appreciation.

"Todoroki-san!" The two stare at each other for a bit.

"Thank you."

It's a simple phrase to utter, yet for some reason those words were so hard to say. Perhaps she was still embarrassed by their awkward moment.

"Oh yeah." Shouto reached into his pocket and took out a doll. "Here."

"Why did you keep–"

"I thought we could have a momento to remember this day by. I wanted to keep it for myself, but you made it."

"You really don't have to. I make these all the time."

"It would be rude of me to do so." Momo stood silent. She opened up the doll. The parts of the stun grenade she used were put together again. She looked at the side of the doll. Part of it was burned. She looked back at Shouto, but before she could say anything his back was turned away from her. He waves goodbye to her, cooly making his exit.

As she continues to hold the doll, she's reminded of the time when Shouto and her started spending more time in her room. It was after she made him Chicken Soup, but before their first date. For some reason the final exam came up, and Shouto recalled what Aizawa had told him.

"It's nice to try and be considerate to the girl…"

Now thinking back Momo realizes that Shouto's been doing exactly that. He's taken care of her. He's been grown with her. Most importantly, he's opened up to her. As she sits quietly in her room, she can recall all the times he's tried to speak about his concerns. She would always comfort him with a hug and some reassuring words, and at times with treats and such, but they have never really delved deeply and tried to resolve whatever he's facing. Totally the opposite when it comes to her. All the times he's gently hugged her as he gave advice to her. Whether it be classwork, internships, or personal problems he was always willing to hear her out, and say whatever counsel he thinks is best for her to hear. She continues to stare at the doll, but tears start clouding her vision. She lays her head down on the desk.

"I'm so stupid," she says as she bangs her head on the hard mahogany. She takes a deep breath and reaches for her phone. "Please answer, please!" A couple of rings, but no one answers. "He must be sleeping…"

She doesn't stop there, and sends him a text.

"Shouto can we talk?"

By the time her phone rang it was dawn. Momo actually missed the call because she fell asleep, but a text was sent to her.

"Meet me on the rooftop," it said.

Momo quickly grabs her sweater and leaves her room.