It wasn't until sundown that he saw her again, wearing a happy smile and munching on a sweet Japanese dessert.

He had been flexing his hand, thinking about the consequences of hitting a civilian to defend a friend. It wasn't exactly a feeling of regret, although it did make him think about what it meant to be a hero. Was it the right thing to do, when he knew violence was never an answer? But he had been so angry and he hadn't been that angry in a long time. His body just moved on its own accord.

And it wasn't just him anyway. Bakugou attacked too.

"Todoroki!" she greeted cheerfully, and he watched at her apprehensively as she waved and approached him.

She seemed okay, actually, better than okay. Her wide beam didn't seem fake, either, which puzzled him. "Deku said you were here" She gestured to the empty bench he was sitting on, bemused by his aloofness.

He eyed her warily, but relaxed when she sat down and took a big bite of dango gleefully. She seemed to be back to her normal self. "I just needed some space to think. Are you..." he paused carefully, before finishing, "alright?"

Uraraka hesitated for a second and nodded lightly. "I think there was a lot to learn, and a good look at my own faults and motivations" she answered, before shooting him a sheepish smile. "Plus, I definitely have some questionable spending habits, and that's not fair to my parents."

"Nothing he said about you was true, you know," he pointed out. "You aren't defined by the amount of money you have"

She leaned back against the bench, looking skyward. "I know" she replied, suddenly straightening up and making firm eye contact with him. "But people like that only make me want to be a better hero..." She grinned at him with new sort of determination flickering in her eyes.

Shoto felt his lips curl up into a soft smile. He was sort of proud of her for not letting this bring her down and instead making her stronger.

"Plus," she continued, swinging her legs happily. "Bakugou cheered me up in his own weird Bakugiu-ish way," She chuckled lightly to herself. "But it was nice....really"

Bakugou? He did rise to her defense earlier. Were Bakugou and Ochako close?

He felt strangely put out, but he shook it off. He should be happy that Uraraka felt better. "Hmm.." he replied flatly.

She seemed to notice his less than enthusiastic response and tilted her head delicately to look directly at him. "Thank you for what you did," she said, and there were glimmers of something else in her smile.

Shoto looked taken aback.

"Deku told me what you did" she said. "Thank you for standing up for me," she placed a hand on his shoulder affectionately, her smile growing even wider.

And in that moment, the dull ache in his hand subsided.

It was worth protecting her smile