As the day began, Todoroki and the rest of class 1-A endured their usual list of classes, until lunch time once again came. Moving quickly to avoid losing time, Todoroki crammed his hero suit somewhat haphazardly into his costume case, and hurried out the locker room door. Lunch hadn't started yet, but he didn't want to risk losing any time he could be spending with Yaoyorozu.
Once he'd stepped into the hallway, Todoroki glanced around.
I don't see her yet. Maybe she's still changing?
For a minute or so, he stood around awkwardly—praying no one would exit the men's room and question him. Pretty soon, however, he heard the girls' voices coming closer to the door. Acting quickly, he straightened up and leaned against the wall, attempting to look as natural as possible by whipping his phone out of his pocket.
When his ears heard the creak of the door, his thumb twitched—currently scrolling through the "Settings" app, since he didn't have any sort of social media. Glancing over the top of his phone, he spotted Asui, Jiro, and Uraraka making their way out as a group. As they passed him, they caught eye contact with him, and shot him a knowing sort of look that Todoroki had no clue how to interpret.
Ignoring them, he cast his eyes back down to his phone, until at last, Yaoyorozu entered his peripheral.
Now's my opportunity. he thought quickly, sliding his phone back into his pocket.
As she was beginning to exit, however, he heard a faint voice shouting from depths of the locker room. Immediately, he recognized it as Ashido's, and judging by her tone, she was going to ask to sit with Yaoyorozu at lunch again.
No! Not again!
Yaoyorozu began to turn around.
"Did you call for me Mina—oh!"
Somehow, by moving at what must've been record speed, Todoroki sidestepped in-between Yaoyorozu and the locker room door before she could turn to face Ashido. For a moment, she stared prolongedly at him with a confused expression on her face—wondering how on earth he'd appeared behind her so quickly. It wasn't until Ashido's voice came again from behind when Todoroki finally made an effort to speak.
"Yaomomo, can we hang ou—"
"Are you free right now?" Todoroki interrupted, voice raised marginally louder than normal to mask Ashido's voice.
She hesitated slightly, somewhat intimidated by both his proximity, and the intense insistence in his expression.
"W-well, I'm not particularly busy," she admitted, "Today I was just going to eat lunch and study for a bit."
Realizing she was wary of him, Todoroki relaxed his face somewhat before speaking again.
"Studying?" he repeated, "So you'll be going to the library then."
She nodded, "That was part of the plan."
"Oh, okay." he paused, pretending to consider his next words when he already had a planned response, "In that case, mind if I tag along?"
She raised her eyebrows in surprise, but didn't seem opposed to his offer. "I guess if you'd like to come, I wouldn't mind."
"Okay." he glanced to the side for a moment, realizing that Ashido must've disappeared back around the locker room's partition, "In that case, let's go on ahead." Todoroki made a slight movement with his head, quietly gesturing for her to start walking away; to which she obliged without complaint.
As they both disappeared down the hall, Ashido and Hagakure exchanged a rather gossipy look to one another.
"He's sure been dominating her free time these days." Ashido commented.
"Makes it seem like there's something going on between them!"
They both giggled.
"What if they're secretly a couple!?" Hagakure squealed.
"Oooh, I hope!" Ashido grinned, "They could both use the company! And also, even if it's sad Todoroki isn't single anymore, for some reason I don't mind if it's Yaomomo."
"Right?"
* * *
Lunch itself was rather uneventful. After all, Todoroki did not want risk trying anything with so many people around. As a result, their conversation was rather cordial, and consisted of ordinary things like school or hero studies. At one point, Yaoyorozu went on a tangent about her parents' business, but she wasn't allowed to divulge too many specifics.
The part that was the most memorable, was their "study session" in the library.
Shortly after entering, both friends made their way to a secluded corner of the library, and found a window table with six seats around it. Though it was bigger than what they needed, Yaoyorozu recommended it because it was the most undisturbed table on a regular basis. They both took their seats across from each other, with Todoroki sitting with his back to the window.
"Well, I suppose we should get started."
"Yeah," Todoroki mumbled, pulling out some notebooks.
"Would you prefer an independent study, or to work together?"
Though slightly torn, Todoroki opted for independent study for now. Though he'd admittedly only come to hang out with Yaoyorozu, he had to convince her that he at least came to study a little bit. Otherwise, she might pick up on his ulterior motives.
And so the first five minutes passed without anything of interest happening.
Yaoyorozu closed her book suddenly, straightening the bookmark as she stood from her chair. The notion caught Todoroki's attention immediately, making him peer up from his boring mathematics textbook.
"Excuse me, I'm going to use the bathroom." she said quickly, sliding in her chair, "I'll be right back."
Todoroki shrugged, "You don't have to ask me for permission."
She cracked an odd smile at him before turning briskly back down the aisles of books, and disappearing from his sight. When she was gone, Todoroki let out a frustrated sigh.
This isn't going how I imagined it would, he admitted, pressing his forehead against the table, We're actually studying. I never study for things.
It was a strange knack of his—to completely disregard studying for anything, yet pass with flying marks on every subject. To an outsider he must've seemed like a god-like perfectionist who scheduled every minute of his daily life, but the strange reality was, Todoroki never worked hard if he could afford not to. Sure, he practiced using his quirk daily—that was necessary for him not to fall behind; but when it came to math, science, or the other core classes, he barely bothered to finish his homework. Perhaps if he really cared, he could become the best in the class.
The problem was, he didn't.
I'll just rest my eyes for a minute, he decided, letting his eyelids drift shut, At least until Momo gets back.
Eventually, Yaoyorozu returned back down the aisles of the library, navigating through the maze until she finally found their table again in the back of the room.
I hope I didn't keep him waiting too long, she thought quietly, It would be rude to suggest studying together if I'm not present the entire time.
Though upon her arrival, it occurred to Yaoyorozu very quickly that something wasn't quite right. Standing beside her chair, she peered down at Todoroki and realized with surprise that he'd fallen asleep.
Oh no! I did keep him waiting too long! she panicked, scratching her head, Ahh, I'd hate to wake him, but what else can I do?
Taking a seat quietly, she continued to stare worriedly over at him, mind unnaturally blank. A couple of times, she picked up her pencil and attempted to write down some notes, but every few words, she caught herself glancing back up at the top of his head.
Maybe I should wake him...
Despite the pressure, her body would not move. The silence of the room now began to hang over her as she hesitated there, feeling more uncomfortable with each growing second. She could feel herself getting restless.
Shifting her weight, she eventually placed her pencil back down, and rested her chin in her hand to observe him properly.
I can't focus all of a sudden. she realized, What's wrong with me?
Too indecisive to make a move, she wound up doing nothing.
Instead, she watched him in calm silence, tracing the contours of his head with her eyes as he slept silently in front of her. She took in the detailed strands of his hair, curiously observing the disheveled divide in his right and left half; noticing how the different colors blended into one another when they were as disorganized as they were.
The sight of it brought back a memory.
A few weeks back, after completing their post exercise, he'd rested his head on her shoulder. Though he'd only leaned on her for a couple of minutes, it was enough time for her to accidentally let slip the urge to stroke his hair—discovering in the process, that it was quite soft.
The phantom sensation sent a faint tingle to her fingertips. Technically, if she was gentle, she might be able to get away with it again—but should she?
Is he even asleep?
By now, it was too late now to hold back her curiosity. Just like earlier this morning when she'd linked arms with him, her desire burned like an inferno in her chest. Being within reach, yet untouching, was slowly becoming torture to her. She would've much preferred sitting next to him—though why, she didn't know. It was as if his mere presence were acting like a sweet perfume—drawing her attention in little by little, entrapping her mind until she could no longer focus it on anything other than his gorgeous face.
I'll just see if he's awake...
Carefully, with a trembling hand, she leaned forward and poked him once on the cheek. Instantly afraid, she drew her finger back, but noticed with curiosity that he didn't stir.
Is he out cold?
She reached out with both hands this time, letting her four fingertips press against the sides of his cheeks.
Nothing.
Good gracious!
For some reason, she felt incredibly lucky.
With a sheepish, irresponsible grin on her face, Yaoyorozu cupped his cheeks in her hands, contently enjoying the peculiar difference in temperature. Despite his angular jaw, his face was rather squishy—like a newborn, practically. It was so soft, in fact, she wondered with slight jealousy how nice it must be to live with such a clear, low-maintenance complexion.
She puffed out a cheek.
If only.
Her eyes moved up to his hair, I wonder how much I can get away with while he's so cutely vulnerable.
Still timidly delicate, she brought her right hand up to the part in his hair, intending to reorganize the strands back into their respective positions. Her middle finger made first contact—sending a ripple from her hand to her shoulder that made her heart skip.
It's softer than I remember.
Her eyes softened as she let her fingers run through the strands of his hair. Tracing the shape of his scalp, she could feel his warmth as she combed her hand along it. Savoring every second, Yaoyorozu sighed, a faint smile entering her face as that earlier desire once again evolved into something different.
A soft feeling fell over her—a sensation that she wasn't familiar with, but quite welcomed. Something about having him so close, and knowing that he was one of her prized friends, made her feel content and safe. It felt for a few precious moments that her world was glittering.
She liked that feeling very much.
Before she knew it, Yaoyorozu became so absent-minded with giddiness, she let her fingertips stroke his head in circles. Certainly he must've felt this, she realized, but she didn't mind. For the time being, Todoroki remained asleep, and that was all she cared about. After all, she likely would never get to experience something like this again.
"That feels nice."
Yaoyorozu blinked. Tilting down her gaze, a sudden sweep of terror rose through her veins when she finally noticed Todoroki was looking directly up at her with a single eye open. Frantic, she yanked her hand away and clutched it in her other one as she sputtered out a response.
"T-T-Todoroki!" she yelped, "You're awake!? I thought—I thought—"
"I know," he shrugged, finally sitting upright, "I got bored of studying, so I thought I'd rest my eyes for a minute."
"I-is that so?" her eyebrows knitted together, a worried sweat forming on the back of her neck, "...And how much do you remember?"
He paused for a moment, glancing off to the side as if he felt slightly guilty.
"I was never actually asleep, so all of it."
She choked, her face burning to a deep shade of red.
"HUH!?" she shrieked, "Th-then why didn't you say something!? I was convinced you were out cold!"
"I noticed, but I didn't feel like doing anything." he rested his chin in his palm, "Like I said, it felt nice."
As she sat fumbling for words, her embarrassment turned into frustration as she looked into his face. Despite being as stoic as ever, she definitely recognized the faint squint in his eyes as a look mischief.
I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this side of him, she thought crossly, remembering with annoyance their previous encounter in the garden, "N-next time, sit up when I come in so I don't get the wrong idea."
"If you're okay with that," he shrugged, "You seemed to be enjoying yourself more than I was."
She responded by hitting him lightly over the head with her notebook.
"That's enough already, please..."
"Sorry."
Shaking slightly, Yaoyorozu attempted to return her focus to her studies. Flipping through the pages with mild difficulty, she was about to start reading when Todoroki let out an obvious sigh. The sound intrigued her, and she couldn't stop herself from glancing up at him—only to make awkward eye-contact. He was still staring at her, apparently.
Lowering the cover of her book, she huffily replied: "What is it?"
"I'm bored of studying."
"It's only been about ten minutes."
"That's more than I normally do." he shrugged.
"How do you pass your classes?"
"Dunno."
She stared almost enviously at him before turning her head back down to her notes. "Is that all you wanted to say?"
"You took a liking to my hair."
Shocked, and rather annoyed he was still bringing this up, Yaoyorozu shut her notebook entirely and looked him square in the face.
"I got caught up in my thoughts! A-and frankly, I was curious since—" her face turning red again, she silenced herself before she could finish.
As she averted her eyes, Yaoyorozu could practically feel the intrigue radiating off of him. Surely, he must've been raising his eyebrow at her—once again trying to prod his way into information he had no reason knowing.
"Curious since... what?"
She picked up her pencil, trying to seem as dignified as possible despite the fact that she'd cornered herself.
"Your hair is rather soft," she mumbled, nearly choking on her words, "I was curious if you perhaps used some kind of product."
It was a ridiculous question that honestly had little to do with why she'd actually stroked his hair, but she wasn't about to admit that she'd only done it to remember how fluffy it was. She was fairly certain he didn't even use product, anyway. After all, he hadn't even bothered to comb his hair this morning—and yes, she'd noticed. Was it also slightly adorable? Maybe.
"Actually, I do."
She blinked, practically having already forgotten her own question. "You do?"
"Yeah."
Yaoyorozu processed this for several moments, suddenly becoming intrigued. "Really? What kind? I've been thinking of trying a new conditioner that can make my hair softer—it's rather thick, and I haven't had much luck with even the nice brands..."
"Ah, well... I don't have much knowledge on the subject, sorry." he scratched his cheek lightly, "You see, my sister Fuyumi bought me a year subscription for this custom shampoo on my last birthday. Because of my quirk, my scalp is sensitive or something so I have to get this specific brand or it could get irritated." he lowered his hand, a slightly bummed look in his eyes, "That's all I know, honestly. It's a bit of an expensive solution, too..."
Yaoyorozu shook her head, however, "Oh no, no, no! This has been some very insightful information! I'll have to look into trying that later. I've been wanting soft hair for a while, so at this point, a custom subscription sounds quite appealing." she then gave him a sorry look, "I'm sorry you have to live with so many difficulties surrounding your quirk though. I never imagined it could cause you to have skin sensitivities."
Todoroki shrugged, "It is what it is. We've all got something." his eyelids lowered, a mysterious expression suddenly entering his face, "More importantly..."
Before she could so much as react, Todoroki reached out to her, collecting in his palm the frontmost lock of hair resting on the right side of her face. For a moment, she flinched—her heart suddenly thrumming again as his delicate fingers slid through the strands of her hair, until they at last came loose at the end.
"I think your hair is more smooth than soft. There's nothing wrong with that in my opinion."
She could barely breathe by the time she was able to think straightly again.
"I-is it?" she twirled the strand around her finger, suddenly self-conscious, "I was aware of that, but I just thought I'd change things up a bit..."
"Well, if you want a more accurate opinion, I could move closer."
Her gaze flicked up immediately to find that he was already beginning to stand. Her heart jumped.
"Th-that's okay, you don't have to! I'll just take your word for it."
He hesitated halfway out of his seat, "You're sure?"
"Y... yes."
For some reason, he seemed disappointed. His eyes moved to the edge of the room, as if searching for another excuse.
"You got to touch my hair plenty..." he mumbled quietly.
Though his sentence embarrassed her somewhat, Yaoyorozu couldn't refrain from squinting curiously at him. The way he'd phrased that seemed almost bashful.
"Were you hoping to play with my hair, Todoroki?"
He pursed his lips slightly—something she'd never seen him do before. It was a sort of hopeful, yet shy expression that Yaoyorozu could not help but adore instantly. The result sent her heart pounding, and she had to sigh to relax it.
"D... do what you want." she mumbled.
The moment she said this, Todoroki immediately perked up.
"Well then."
Striding over towards her with his chair, he sat down diagonal from her at the corner of the table. Once seated, he slid his study materials in front of him, until he was finally situated enough to look at Yaoyorozu again.
"So, do you mind?"
"F-fine."
Feeling somewhat defeated, she worked her hair tie out of her hair, until it fell in black waterfalls across her back and shoulders. Combing through it once, she cleared her throat awkwardly, and turned slightly away from him so he could reach it.
"Just for a little bit," she added quickly.
"Right."
The second his fingers wrapped around her hair, her pulse fluttered. Carefully, with a surprising level of gentleness, he ran his fingers up and down—combing through snarls in a way that wouldn't hurt too much.
"It's indeed smooth." he commented softly.
When he moved his hand up again, she felt his fingertips brush against the back of her neck. The sensation tingled—his warmth lingering for only a moment, until it disappeared.
"I'm aware of that, I just wanted to try something new..." she sighed, barely able to keep her voice steady. He's so close to me! Why is this so... nerve-wracking?
"Smells nice too." he tilted his head a bit, trying to catch her eye, "What is it?"
"It's um... apple blossom." she turned back, finally peering into his face, "Do you like it?"
"It's okay," he shrugged, "I don't really have a preference."
For some reason this annoyed her. "Oh? Then what would you suggest?"
"Uh..." Todoroki looked perplexedly up at the ceiling for a moment, "Soba smells pretty good."
Her gaze soured slightly. Of course he'd say that. What was I expecting? "Typically people don't use food flavors as conditioner scents."
"Are you kidding? There're tons." he held up his fingers to count, "Strawberry, peach, kiwi, vanilla, pomegranate... I could go on."
"But not entrées!"
"Yeah, they exist."
"No one would buy a soba-scented conditioner!"
"I would."
"You're special!"
"Thank you."
With a frustrated huff, she finally gave up arguing. "I'm going to buy you that for your next birthday."
"You better."
When they finally stopped bickering, it occurred to Yaoyorozu that she'd let Todoroki play with her hair for several minutes now. Turning her head somewhat, she peered at his hands out of the corner of her eye, and noticed he was twisting two strands of her hair around one another.
"Enjoying yourself?"
"Mm."
A puff of air left her nose, "Is that supposed to be a braid?"
"If it is, it's not a very good one."
She smiled softly at him, amused by his rough attempt, "It looks alright for someone who's never tried before."
Twisting the last bit of the strands, he looked up at her—finally meeting her gaze. For a moment they both stared quietly at each other, eyes locked firmly onto one another's. Blinking once, Yaoyorozu felt her pulse leap into her head—bringing a slow crawl of color onto her cheeks the longer she looked at him. Todoroki's face was only about a foot away from hers. Technically, it was enough, if she wanted to, to close the gap between them.
Her lips trembled.
What? What's going on? My heart is pounding...
However, Todoroki broke their eye contact first. His eyes flicked down, and he leaned back into his seat so he could sit closer to his notes.
"Anyway." he mumbled, rubbing his neck.
"R-right. We haven't done much studying, haven't we?"
"No..."
Sighing for a moment to catch her breath, she glanced down at her notes, then back up to Todoroki's profile.
Just now... she wondered, what was that feeling?
Observing him closer, Yaoyorozu suddenly realized there was a twinge of red in his cheeks. Had he noticed too? That odd air between them just then?
It made her nervous.
"Oh, there's not much time left before we have to go back to class."
Yaoyorozu blinked, shaking out of her daze while Todoroki began closing his notebooks.
"Really?" she asked, "I feel like it hasn't been that long."
"We took our time during lunch, so we only got about twenty minutes in here—and that time is just about up."
"Wow. I didn't even notice..."
Casually scooping up her array of books, Yaoyorozu slid her bag over her shoulder, and joined Todoroki at his side. After he nodded once to her, they both turned and made their way out of the library.
Initially quiet, Yaoyorozu took a moment to recall everything in her mind. A lot had happened this afternoon, yet at the same time, nothing at all. Todoroki had spent his entire lunch break with her—no... she'd spent it with him. After all, he was the one who proposed they'd study together. The realization of that stirred her heart for the hundredth time that afternoon. Why? Why did she feel like this?
Her eyes cast up to the ceiling, a hint of a smile on her face.
"Time always seems to fly by when we're together, doesn't it?"
She felt him glance at her, an unknown expression on his face. "It does."
There was a calm pause between them.
"We've been hanging out a lot more lately, haven't we?" she commented again, this time turning to look at him.
Todoroki nodded, "That's true." he then paused, a slight look of worry flashing in front of his eyes, "Does that bother you?"
Surprised by the question, she immediately shook her head at him. "No, it doesn't bother me! On the contrary, I'm quite happy to spend extra time with you."
He blinked, his eyes widening a fraction in surprise, "Do you... mean that?"
"Of course." she found herself smiling even wider this time, a faint rosiness entering her cheeks, "I admit it's taken some getting used to. You're very hard to read, so I sometimes worry about your impression of me. But..." she peered up at him, "it seems I had nothing to worry about after all."
He stopped walking for a moment, his striking eyes observing her with growing interest. The feeling of him watching her almost made her nervous, but still, she continued.
"I've always felt like others were a bit off-put by me because of my awkward personality. And having such a famous family name tends to intimidate people, so as far as having friends goes, I haven't had too many..." she sighed softly, her smile becoming somewhat pained, "I was a bit lonely growing up, so meeting the others here at UA has been a refreshing change of pace. That includes you, Todoroki."
When she looked at him again, her smile radiated gratitude.
"You are one of my cherished friends. Thank you. Really."
Todoroki's wide eyes softened, until a small smile pushed onto his cheeks.
"You're welcome," he answered simply.
Eventually, both friends turned and continued their walk to the classroom. Though there wasn't much time until class, they walked slowly—savoring each second they had with one another.
"Yaoyorozu," Todoroki finally said again after several moments of quiet, "Do you mind if I call you the way your other friends do? Since we're so close now?"
"How do you mean? Which name?"
He looked her in the eye, a faint sparkle hiding behind his gaze, "Yaomomo."
The sound of him speaking her nickname sent a chill up her spine—a chill that, though strange, filled her with a sense of warmness that she couldn't understand. Her heart thrummed gently in her chest, bringing a smile onto her face as she quaintly nodded to him.
"Of course. I don't mind at all."
She heard an interesting puff of air leave Todoroki's nose as he turned away from her again—hands stuffed into his pockets.
"Then, I suppose you'll have to call me Shoto."
She practically jumped, "Huh!? B-but isn't that a little too familiar!? I mean—if you insisted, I suppose I can think about it, but—"
"Kidding." he ruffled a hand through her hair suddenly, making her blush, "Let's make it to class before we get scolded."
Yaoyorozu swallowed, ignoring her heart at best as she could as it fluttered strangely within her chest again.
"Right."