There was only one more day of classes before summer vacation finally began, though 'classes' wasn't really the right word. It was mostly to go over the results of the final exams and provide feedback on the areas they all needed to improve upon. It was because of this that the day was kept mercifully short. They should be dismissed by noon.

Sure enough, when the 11:45 bell rang and Mr. Aizawa entered the room, he only provided a few brief words concerning the upcoming summer camp before taking his leave. It was commonplace that the class would break into excited chatter as soon as their teacher left and knowing this (L/N) took no hesitation in clearing away his things and making a quick beeline for the door. He had plans to relax beneath the cherry blossom on his hill outside the city and he was quite looking forward to it. But as was also commonplace, someone stopped him. And he had been so close too. Through the hallways, down the stairs, and out the doors without any interruption. But just as he was stepping off campus, she came running up from behind.

"(L/N)!" She called in a chipper voice. "The rest of the class and I are going to meet at the mall later this afternoon to shop for the training camp and I was just wondering if you'd like to join us."

He didn't bother to slow down for her this time, rather, her kept on with his pace responding shortly with a quick 'no' as he walked by. He hoped that would put an end to the interaction, but instead she ran up to him again, this time standing in front of him to block his path.

"Well then how about you and I do something together?" She suggested. "Just the two of us. That way the others don't give you a headache."

"No." He said more forcefully than before.

"You know what?" Yaoyorozu said impatiently, sidestepping so she continued to block him. "I've had quite enough of that. Since the beginning of the year all I've done is try to be friendly towards you. The least you could do is return the favor."

"I never asked you to..."

"It's called common courtesy." She said in a dangerously polite tone. "So, I'm giving you two options. Either you come shopping with the rest of the class this afternoon, or you promise to come over to my place tomorrow for a friendly visit."

He was quite taken aback by this sudden change in personality. Yaoyorozu was never one to be quite so... confrontational. He wasn't sure whether he should laugh or if he should be scared. A little of both seemed the most reasonable option. Then again, there wasn't anything stopping him from just refusing both options. What was the worst she could do?

The answer: follow him. She was resolute in her determination to make him choose between the two options before him. And thought this new side of Yaoyorozu was mildly amusing at first, she was quickly wearing his patience. Clearly, she had been spending too much time with Ashido.

"Fine!" He shouted abruptly. "Fine, you win."

"Really?" Yaoyorozu's voice was thick of surprise, but she was quick to recover. "I mean, yes, excellent. So will you be accompanying me to the mall, or will I see you tomorrow?"

He sighed. "You'll see me tomorrow." He said, choosing the lesser of the two evils. At least she alone was manageable. Or so he hoped. Please God, let this random outburst be a one-time thing.

"Alright." She said, telling him her address. "I'll see you tomorrow at noon."

Smiling, she ran off and towards the black car in which her driver had been following them. She dropped into the back seat and released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Being so forward and pushy was exhausting, and it certainly wasn't her, but it had worked. Of course, that was assuming he hadn't just been lying to get her to leave him be. Either way, she supposed, it was progress. At the very least he had pretended to give in. Which meant he would likely cave in the future if she pressed that hard again. She really hoped she wouldn't have to, though. It was a hard act to maintain.

[My Hero Academia]

True to his word, (L/N) found himself standing outside the entrance of the Yaoyorozu estate at twelve noon the following day. A tall wrought iron gate stretched around the perimeter of the property, which was so vast it took up several city blocks. God smite him where he stood if he'd ever felt more out of place, dressed in patched jeans and a fraying pale blue button up with no less than three different styles of button. Truthfully, he wouldn't have bothered showing if he felt he could've gotten away with it. But he didn't want Yaoyorozu to yell at him again. He'd never admit it, but it was actually quite frightening.

Rocking back and forth from the balls of his feet back down to the heel, he hesitantly pressed the button on the camera doorbell, bidding farewell to his final chance to withdraw. He braced himself for Yaoyorozu's amplified voice to echo through the small speaker, but that which greeted him was unfamiliar.

"One moment, sir." It said. Judging by their tone of voice, (L/N) decided whoever was on the other side of the call was clearly trained in all manners of etiquette. "Miss Yaoyorozu will be with you shortly."

His hands twisted around the neck of the cane, hanging his head uncomfortably as he felt the eyes of passerby lingering on him. No doubt they thought he was some street urchin come to beg for scraps at the feet one of the wealthiest families in the city. Several minutes passed before he heard her, though her voice did not come from the speaker as he'd expected, rather she spoke to him from the other side of the gate, surprised to find she had come to greet him personally.

"(L/N)!" She said in cheerful surprise. "I wasn't sure you would make it."

"Neither was I." He admitted.

"Well, I'm very glad you did." She replied as the gates swung inward to permit him entrance. As soon as they'd cleared, she stepped out to approach him and took hold of his hand, pulling gently to encourage him to enter. "Tell me." She said. "What kind of tea do you prefer?"

He had to admit, despite his initial misgivings the walk up to the house was rather enjoyable. The size of the property meant they were isolated from the sounds of the city, and the family's gardener had done an excellent job tending to an exquisite collection of varying flora. He hated to admit it, but it was quite nice there.

The trek to the house, which took nearly ten minutes, was a good half mile (0.8 km) stretch. Yaoyorozu held his hand the entire way, acting once more as his eyes. Two servants flanked the main entrance to the mansion and bowed them inside. (L/N) could judge the size of the house based on the sound of the doors alone and how their footsteps echoed off the walls of the entrance hall.

"Welcome to my house." Yaoyorozu said, excited for him to be there. "It isn't much, but it has its comforts. Come, I'll make you some tea and then we can move to the sitting room." She happily led him through the foyer and towards the kitchens, all the while ignoring the sheer look of bewilderment on (L/N)'s face. It isn't much?

A cup of jasmine tea was placed on the mahogany table before him as Yaoyorozu joined him on the sizeable couch which sat in front of a cozy, yet sizeable fireplace. He was stiff as a board, staring down at his hands which sat clasped in his lap. He did not belong here.

"Are your parents okay with me being here?" He asked uncomfortably.

"My parents are actually in Paris for the month." Yaoyorozu replied. "I was supposed to be with them but had to cancel due to the training camp. That's not to say they aren't aware, of course. But they're more than okay with me inviting friends from school over."

He couldn't help but scoff bitterly. He'd more meant 'someone like me' but decided not to press the issue.

"Tell me," she said, taking a small sip of her tea, "have you enjoyed your first day off school?"

He merely shrugged.

"Are you excited for the training camp?"

"Not really."

"What do you like to do for fun?"

"Nothing, really."

Momo released a small sigh. She didn't know what she'd been expecting. It's not like a forced meeting and a cup of tea would suddenly make him decide to open up to her. Nothing to do but keep trying, she supposed.

"I find that hard to believe." She said lightly. "Everybody enjoys something, including you. I just have to figure out what that something is." She took another sip of tea and hummed thoughtfully to herself. "What about learning?" She asked. "We tied for first on our midterms, and again on our finals! I imagine you must enjoy learning!"

He shrugged again. "I like to read." He offered.

"Excellent! That's all I needed to hear!"

Setting her barely touched tea on the ornate coffee table before them, she excitedly jumped to her feet and took him by the hand. He barely had time to register what was happening before she was eagerly leading him by the hand down the many halls of the large house. He nearly lost balance on more than one occasion. It seemed her excitement was so great that she forgot his handicap entirely. With a final turn and one last tug on his arm they finally came to a stop.

"This is our family's library." She announced enthusiastically. Her voice bounced off the walls of the large room and high ceilings. Every wall from floor to top was lined with bookshelves, neatly cataloged, and tenderly cared for. "I know you can't see it, but we have quite the impressive collection.

"I can tell." (L/N) said breathlessly. And he could. His second sight granted by his quirk allowed him to envision the grandeur of the room.

"Come, let's see if we have anything that piques your interest." Her hand found his once more as she dragged him over to the nearest bookshelf. "Let me see." She said thoughtfully as she perused the many volumes, her finger running along the spines of the books. "Here's our section on world history. Oh, and here's ancient philosophy. This one is one of my favorites. 'The Tao Te Ching' by Lao Tzu. Have you read it?"

(L/N) shook his head. "I haven't."

Sliding the book from its place on the shelf, she placed it in his surprised hands. "Oh, this too." She smiled, taking a copy of 'The Confucian Analects'. Within minutes his arms were laden with a stack of different philosophical works. Musashi's 'Five Rings', 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius, 'Republic' by Plato, to name a few. "Oh, forgive me." Yaoyorozu blushed, replacing a copy of 'Zhuangzi' on the shelf. "I got so carried away I haven't even asked if you have a preference."

"Uh, no." (L/N) said meekly. "These are... these are more than enough."

She led them over to the middle of the large room where there again sat a comfortable sofa, flanked on either side by large, winged armchairs. Placing the bulk of the stack on the table in the center of the seating arrangement, she plucked the 'Tao Te Ching' from the rest and sat on the couch.

"Come on." She said sweetly, patting the spot next to her. "I'll read to you."

Accepting her offer, he sat down, though on the opposite end of the couch, and she began to read. It was admittedly a rather short book, only taking around two hours for her to read aloud entirely. Once they were finished, she had one of the servants bring them fresh tea and they moved onto Plato's 'Republic'. They were halfway through book three when they decided to call it a day.

"I'll hang onto this one for us to continue next time." She said. "But you can take the rest with you if you like."

"A-Are you sure?" He asked, not wanting to accidently ruin her family's prized collection. But she seemed to not worry, instead nodding her head and pressing them into his arms.

"I think we might have a few in brail, too." She said, walking over to one corner of the room. "Ah, yes. Feel free to take your pick. I'll be right back."

With some hesitation, he moved over to where she had stood and selected several volumes whose titles interested him. Yaoyorozu returned a few minutes later with one of her old backpacks and placed the books inside before handing it to (L/N). She walked him back down to the property line and bid him farewell, making him promise that they would do this again. And surprisingly, he agreed. He was reluctant to admit, but he had enjoyed his time spent with Yaoyorozu.

Three days later he revisited. She was impressed to find he had already read his way through the dozen books he had borrowed, and after they finished the 'Republic', she sent him home with twice as many, insisting he needn't hurry and that he was free to keep them as long as he like.

"I think you must have read half the library by now." Yaoyorozu said, half amused, half impressed. "But again, you don't have to rush to return the books you've borrowed. We have multiple copies."

"I'm not trying to." He replied honestly as he unzipped the backpack. "I just, I don't have much else to do. And like I told you, I enjoy reading."

Their visits soon came to include thoughtful discussions on the many different texts. Yaoyorozu was particularly fond of their talks. She'd never met someone who liked to read as much as her. It was nice to have someone to talk to who could keep up with her intellectually. For (L/N), it was simply nice to have someone to talk to.

Even though he still didn't talk to her about himself, she still felt like she was getting to know him better. She'd never seen him so engaged as when they talked about books. His voice, usually so hollow and empty, seemed to come alive. She was happy she finally got to talk with him, instead of to him.

Training camp would start in just two days, so it was their last visit before then.

"The girls and I are planning on using the pool at UA tomorrow, if you'd like to join." She said as they neared the end of their visit.

"It doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy." He replied.

"Oh, come on." Yaoyorozu said. "It'll be fun. I promise."

"I don't know."

"How about this." Yaoyorozu said as she too placed her book on the table. "You come to the pool with us tomorrow, and then afterwards we can come back here, and I'll show you my father's personal collection. It's where he keeps all the first editions." She said, dropping her voice to a whisper.

She smiled as she saw the way his ears perked with interest, and she knew she had won.

"If it's that important to you that I go... then I guess I could."

She squealed with delight. "Oh, wonderful! I'll let the others know. Why don't you meet me here tomorrow at one o'clock and we can walk there together?"

She watched him through the bars of the gate until he rounded the corner, a soft smile still etched on her lips. Despite the time crossing over into the evening hours the sun still shone brightly in the sky. Momo's cheeks flushed with color, certainly due to the heat of the sun and no other reason. She definitely wasn't thinking of the many perfumes she could choose from to apply tomorrow morning, and which he would like the most. No. That's the type of thing girls think about when they like someone. And she didn't like him, at least not in that way. She didn't find the deepness of his voice alluring or his surprisingly well-defined body attractive. She wasn't interested in him in any romantic sense. She didn't... like... him...

...

Oh dear.

Don't say anything in front of Mina.