Before he even realized it, she had become one of the most important people in his life.

He came to the startling realization one day when they were hanging out together the summer before the start of their third year.

"Why do you do that when you eat noodles?" She poked him playfully, pointing at the soba curled carefully around his chopsticks.

"Do what?" He asked, staring at her inquisitively.

"This" She made a show of twirling her noodles obnoxiously around her chopsticks in a circular fashion. "You only do it with soba, too. You're so weird" she laughed merrily, taking a large bite of her clump of noodles.

"That's just the way I eat soba," he replied, swallowing his own clump of noodles. He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Did you know," he inquired lightly. "that whenever you ask for something, you look at your left or right, but never directly at the person?"

Ochako looked surprised. "Do I do that?"

"Yeah," he intoned. "It's almost like you're too shy to ask."

She puffed her cheeks, sticking out her tongue childishly. "I definitely don't do that! Try me right now," she challenged.

Todoroki placed his hand under his chin impassively, waiting patiently for her to steel herself.

"Todoroki-kun," she started. "Can you please pass me the tea?" Her eyes met his for a second, before quickly darting to the side.

"Aha.." he pointed out flatly. "There it is."

Uraraka deflated, shooting him a glare. "I just don't like bothering people," she muttered, pouting in embarrassment. "Of course you'd tease me about this!" She commented, facial features twisted in fake annoyance. "I know you too well."

He gawked at her in mock betrayal. "What do you even know about me?"

As she swirled her soba, her joking manner turned thoughtful.

"A lot, actually. I know your favorite food is soba, but specifically zaru soba, because you always like cold better than hot! I know you hate waking up early in the morning, but you're so used to it because your dad has been making you do it for years. But if we have a rare day to sleep in, you'll sleep 'til the sun sets, I swear!" she giggled, clearly reminiscing.

"Plus, you're super grumpy before 9 AM. Oh, and you avoid handshakes as much as you can! You say it's because you're left-handed and you don't like using your left side to do anything, which was probably true before, but now I suspect it's because you're super awkward and don't know how to shake hands correctly!"

She snickered at his apparent social ineptitude

Even though you aren't always comfortable in social situations, you're the first to notice and help out others. You're really observant and kind that way," her voice softened noticeably. Uraraka put down her chopsticks and pinned him with a serious, affectionate gaze.

"You're also a great listener and extremely thoughtful, even though you probably don't think so. You always strive to be better and better, and you've become so strong. You're just—you're such a good person, Todoroki-kun."

He was struck with an overwhelming feeling in his chest. It was so strange—when had she known so much about him?

And suddenly, he was jolted by the realization that he knew just as much about her.

She was Uraraka. She sang crazy off-pitch and at the top of her lungs whenever she had her headphones in since Midoriya had gotten her a noise-canceling pair for Christmas last year.

She loved starry skies and enjoyed forcing her friends to go stargazing with her. She was a classic example of a compulsive hoarder because she couldn't bear to part with anything anyone gave her, and it was only exacerbated by the fact that she gave every object she owned a ridiculous name.

Her personality was only rivaled by the brightness and warmth of the sun, and she was so nice and inviting that one time she'd accidentally invited the entirety of Class 1-A, Class 1-B, and the General Class to an outing meant for just her and Iida.

She had this gravitational pull not unlike her quirk that attracted even the farthest floating planets to her orbit.

And like the sun, she slowly became a constant presence in his life, continuously spreading her sunshine as far as light could touch.

He felt a staggering wave of something he couldn't even begin to comprehend, and all he could think was: is this what it felt like to be known and accepted and loved?

"Todoroki-kun? Are you okay?"

As he watched her bite her lip self-consciously, he realized that he had been staring at her rather intensely.

"Uh, Todoroki-kun—"

"Call me Shouto."

Uraraka's jaw dropped. She was dumbfounded. "What?"

"Call me Shouto," he repeated. "You're…very important to me."

At his explanation, she reddened and ducked her head down, looking even more nervous than she did before.

"You can call me Ochako, too," she responded shyly, fiddling with her fingers intently.

He felt as light as air. It'd been so long since he'd been able to feel so connected to someone, especially someone as bright and kind as Ochako. And in that moment, it hit him. That strange, familiar, warm feeling that she emanated.

It felt like…home.

The last time he felt this warm was when Fuyumi stepped in to care for him as their mother was treated at the hospital, holding him close and gently patting his back. He felt safe; he felt comforted. It was a feeling he had only associated with his elder sister.

Ochako brushed a stray hair out of her face and slowly raised her head to look at him, appearing oddly jittery. There was a soft look of fondness in her eyes as she opened her mouth to speak.

"I--"

He was reminded of Fuyumi's gentle demeanor and her ability to make him feel like he was right where he belonged.

"You remind me of my sister," he blurted out before he could stop himself.

She recoiled as if she'd been slapped.

Todoroki immediately scrutinized her in concern, noting her sudden inability to look him in the eye.

Had he said something wrong? He then realized that she didn't know much about his relationship with his family other than his less than friendly connection with his father.

She must've assumed that he had estranged his entire family, and the comment about his sister was an insult.

"Don't worry, it's a good thing," he quickly amended. "We have a good relationship. She's an amazing person."

Ochako smiled, but it seemed tight. "No, I understand," she responded almost resignedly. Forced cheeriness returned to her voice as she added, "I'd like to meet her one day!"

Something seemed off, but Ochako looked determined to be optimistic and cheerful during the rest of the meal. He tried to mention it a few times, but she just shook her head and called him silly.

As they bid each other goodbye, he kept sensing like there was something missing in her smile and in her laughter throughout the duration of their walk home. It was puzzling because she had reassured him multiple times, but he still felt it deep in his gut.

He arrived home with an uneasy feeling that told him there was going to be trouble.