A/N: dam,,,  i wanna rewrite so many chapters rn. anyway,, hello!! how r u?? :))

EDIT: THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I UNPUBLISHED AND PUBLISHED THIS BC I HATED IT SHSHHSSH i hate myself lol sorry

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It's already been three days since the typhoon season's effect truly struck Japan and the revealing of the stranger's identity occured.

A thought that came to the peppermint shaded hair boy's head rushed through him, causing a slight feeling of sadness to emgulf him.

'Go make her happy.'

The last words that spilled out from the lips of Todoroki Shouto's grandmother.

Thinking about that phrase in his situation currently felt heartbreaking in an odd manner. Not very heartbreaking, but it did sadden him.

He wanted to reveal himself for the sake of Momo's safety and happiness, and he wasn't able to succeed in doing said action.

She was safe, that was alright by him, but being ignored by her felt obviously quite cruel. She talked to hin from time to time, but the thing is, she only did when she needed to. She didn't want to cause a rumor of some sort after all.

Momo was still exhausted and confused. She still didn't understand Todoroki, and she really wish she could. She lacked the strength to somehow ignore and just simply accept Todoroki as the stranger all along, but til now, it still felt unreal.

Todoroki, in the other hand, had his own struggles of overcoming his doubts and the position he was currently in, tangled in his own mess.

Currently, Todoroki was locked inside his sanctuary drenched in darkness. It was early in the morning, but the sun wasn't shining. It was cold, and Todoroki didn't seem to have a problem with it.

He was being swallowed by his blankets, eyes stuck on the wall, wide awake.

It was now his turn to go through Momo's previous situation, in which he tries to fix the bond. In which he tries to make things normal again.

Momo had her own conflict, the struggle to understand Todoroki and the stranger's differences. It's still so overwhelmingly peculiar to think that Todoroki, a friend, a very, very close friend of hers, is the same person she texted for several months. She wanted to overcome this overwhelming feeling, but it was like this strong wave attacking a small village.

Obviously, readers wouldn't be too surprised, it was quite expected. Momo didn't expect it though. Think of it as realizing your mother is your sister.

Todoroki stared at his palm, still covered up with bandages she provided for him. The umbrella he received was lying on the ground, dry, indicating it wasn't used in a while.

Todoroki felt kind of lonely. He used to adore being alone, he used to not take interest in his class, until she suddenly made her way to his life.

Does she think the same
aswell? Perhaps.

Just kidding, of course she does.

Todoroki sighed, tossing and turning in his bed for hours felt awfully infuriating and somehow quite stressful.

It was still pouring, and it matched the mood in Todoroki's room expectedly. The afternoon was filled with waterdrops pattering the ground and silence in the halls.

It felt lonely. Awfully lonely. Everything returned to square one, everyone somehow went further from Todoroki's grasp, leaving him alone, as if everything he has done for her was all wasted.

He swore he didn't do anything wrong, but looking at it from a different perspective, specifically Momo's, he came to a conclusion she must be uncomfortable around his prescence, and he respected that. He gave her time to think, and he accepted his fate and his state of lonliness.

Brushing his fingers lightly against the cotton sheets, he sighed. Silence fell upon the area, and it was definitely the best time to talk to someone in such a cold state, plus weather.

When that thought rushed into his mind, at the right timing, a knock came from the wodden door across the room.

Todoroki's body jolted up from the bed (..or futon. ) at the sudden gentle sounds. Audible muffled whispers came from across the door.

He sighed (for like the fourth time), and got up.

He flinged his legs across his bed (.. or futon maybe?), his feet making contact with the cold floor as he got up. Shuffling to the door sluggishly, Todoroki silently cursed under breath as he began to twist the knob to reveal an emerald eyed maiden in a raincoat.

"Ah, Todoroki! Finally." She exclaimed, her smile brimming and her eyes shimmering with relief.

It was Kendo Itsuka, his wingwoman.

He cocked an eyebrow. "What are you-"

"You haven't been answering my messages for the past days, so I decided I should come over and ask what's up!" She smiled, pulling her phone out from her coat's pocket to show her phone.

Todoroko squinted his eyes, taking a closer look at the messages.

-

• KENDO ITSUKA •

< Hey, how did
it go?
[Sent; 1:01 AM]

< How did she
react? Did it
go well? :D
[Sent; 1:02 AM]

< How did she
feel?
[Sent; 1:02 AM]

< Wait, maybe I'm
disturbing the
moment. Whoops.
[Sent; 1:04 AM]

< I'll check on
you later!! :D
[Sent; 1:04 PM]

[ 5:00 PM ]

< Hey :]
[Sent; 5:08 PM]

< What's up?
How did it go?
[Sent; 5:08 PM]

< Heyyyyy :/
[Sent; 5:09 PM]

< Heyyy come on
I helped you :/
[Sent; 5:09 PM]

< Maybe you're busy
again,
[Sent; 5:10 PM]

< I'll check again later
;o;
[Sent; 5:10 PM]

-

He began to swipe his fingertip against the screen upward, scrolling down.

A long chain of messages of yelling and angry emojis appeared.

"See?" She chuckled.

Todoroki rose his head. "Sorry about that." He replied, his voice monotone as he scratched his nape. "I was busy."

Kendo brushed it off with the slight wave of her hands. "It's alright, it's alright," She said, giggling between her words as her emerald orbs crinkle into crescent moon shapes.

"Was it too much trouble coming here? It's still pouring outside a lot."

"Not really, it wasn't that difficult."

Todoroki stayed silent for a while. "Sorry you had to come all this way."

Kendo stiffled a laugh. "Seriously, it's fine!" She chuckled.

"Wouldn't everyone have taken it the wrong way when you arrived here? Did they ask you why you're here?"

"Oh, right. They did. I did a little bit of explaining so everything's okay." She smiled. "Mind if I come in?"

"How straightforward."

"Should we talk downstairs then?"

The memory of Momo's body swallowed in the couches with a cup of tea in her hands from the early morning appearance in his head. He needed to give her space.

".. No thanks. Come in."

Kendo smiled before shuffling in slowly as Todoroki made way for her enterance.

●

"Wait, seriously?"

Kendo's brimming green eyes widen, her tone shocked.

Todoroki didn't move a muscle or made any change with his position. Arms crossed, back against the wall, legs crossed on his bed and head hanging low.

He sighed before nodding briefly, not giving his visitor a glance.

Kendo, who was sitting on the ground didn't change her reaction.

"W-Wait .. so Toga Himiko, a member of the League of Villains, stalked Yaoyorozu for months, in the disguise of Furukawa Sora, to kidnap her or recruit her or something?"

Todoroki released another sigh from his lips. "Yes." He said softly.

Kendo clutched her head, leaning backwards a little.

"Okay, w-wait, first off, why didn't you tell me about Furukawa? That's a huge emergency and uhm, thing! Like, it's meant to be dealt by the Heroes and authorities!" Kendo rambled, clearly troubled from that info.

Todoroki didn't lift his head. "I wanted to deal with it alone."

"That doesn't even make sense!" Kendo exclaimed, her hands doing odd hand gestures that suggest frustration.

"That Toga girl could have killed you!"

"She actually nearly did,"

"What?!" Kendo exclaimed, eyes widening even more.

Todoroki sighed softly, quite annoyed by the loud rambling from his guest. He still remained polite though.

"We didn't get hurt though."

Kendo lifts her finger towards the bandages surrounding his palm. "Explain that thing on your hand!" She demanded in a childish manner, despite that, you can clearly tell she was genuinely concerned.

His eyes land on the bandage around his hand, staring with rather empty eyes. "It's nothing. Just a small scratch from training."

"Pfft, yeah right!" Kendo exclaimed, clearly sarcastic.

Todoroki doesn't respond, and Kendo finally sees the gist of the situation he was just in and the outcome's effect.

She sat back down, cooling down her childish troubled state. There was a moment of silence, and the only thing that filled the room was rain pattering against the roof's surface.

Kendo takes her time to think of the right words to say.

"I'm sure you're disappointed of the outcome, aren't you?" She questioned, despite the question's answer being quite obvious.

Todoroki nodded.

"What .. did you want the ending to be exactly?" Kendo asked gently, trying to keep him comfortable.

Todoroki sighed. "I .. don't know." He trailed off, his voice withering away.

Kendo stared, worried about his state as her eyebrows lowered, a frown forming on her lips. Driven by her concern, she spoke once more.

"Are you sure you don't?"

"I'm not." He casually answers.

Kendo leaned a bit backwards at the sudden response, quite startled.

"I just .." Todoroki lifted his hand, pushing through his peppermint shaded hair, frustrated. He sighed, "I guess I just wanted to see her happy and safe, or something." His voice was low, coated with a stressed out feeling.

He sounded exhausted.

"And I did that shit instead."

His hand falls back down. He bit the inside of his cheek, hard. His teeth sank into the flesh, eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

"I should have done some other thing instead that .. that didn't cause that."

Kendo's eyes widen to see Todoroki at such a state, but she doesn't say anything. She continues to listen to him pour it all out, and she doesn't dare to interrupt him.

"I mean, I practically fixed everything up just a few days ago during that typhoon but .. how the hell did it get to this?" He slapped his palm against his face, his nails slowly sinking into his skin.

Kendo listens carefully.

His eyes avert to the side, eyes pooling with drops of sadness.

"I'm sure she hates me now."

●

Momo scrolled through the messages she received, examining every word stated.

She tried to see it from a different perspective, specifically trying to see it as Todoroki.

Nothing connected, no clues whatsoever. It felt so surreal, she didn't have the guts to accept it, even after three days.

Her eyes went a bit lower in disappointment. "Is it even okay to like him?" She mumbled.

"Oii, Yaoyorozu!"

The sudden calling of Momo caused the said maiden to bounce at the couch, startled. Shutting her phone off immediately, she turned around to find the source of the sound.

It was Kaminari, Kirishima, and Izuku by the dining table, a chess board separating the freckled boy from the duo. "Can you whip us up a White King Piece? We lost one." Kirishima requested, chuckling afterwards.

Her eyes brimmed with interest as she stood up, quite excited and curious. "Of course!" She smiled, approaching them. Pulling up the sleeve of her turtleneck sweater, her arm was exposed and then began to blaze with light. Out came out a chess piece, the King.

She handed it to Izuku. "Ah, thank you!" The said green haired boy said, smiling at Momo. The said raven haired girl nodded, and proceeds to examine the board. Kirishima proceeds to move a piece, and waits for Izuku's turn. The game continues to unfold, and Momo was pulled in, immersed of the competition and the tension of the silence.

As the sound of a Bishop piece brushing against the board softly entered Momo's ears, she slowly turned to Izuku. "Mind if I join in?" Momo asked politely, quite hesitant.

Izuku smiled. "Oh, of course! It's even unfair that Kaminari and Kirishima are working together."

The said pair laughed.

Momo pulled out a chair and sat beside her freckled friend, and stared, waiting for Kirishima to make a move.

Once he finally did, Izuku and Momo began to share whispers.

The game continues on, and soon enough, Izuku was winning.

The thing is, Momo sort of realized something during the game.

The biggest reason why she joined in was to avoid those confused thoughts. She wanted to distract herself from those fuzzy and complicated things.

Unfortunately, everytime Kirishima and Kaminari proceeded to do their turn, Momo couldn't help but continue to zone out, thinking if ever liking Todoroki was actually a bad thing, or even a good thing.

It felt somewhat strange for her to develop feelings for the Peppermint haired boy. It felt wrong aswell. Did she like the 'stranger' or Todoroki as Todoroki? It felt awfully complicated, a puzzle she couldn't solve. Perhaps there's a missing piece?

Is Todoroki exactly the same as the 'stranger' ? Do they have the same vocabulary? Same lighthearted humour? Do they have the same heart? The same kind of mindset?

The thought of Momo admiring Todoroki as the 'stranger' more than him being himself felt so wrong, but, Momo wanted to know more about Todoroki, wanted to know, desperately know if ever Todoroki actually was the same as the stranger, if ever he acts like that in real life too, in face to face too. Does he even-

"Yaoyorozu? You alright?"

Momo snaps from her train of thought.

Her head begins to turn to different directions, only to meet a pair of emerald orbs.

Izuku gave her a concerned smile. "Are you okay? You spaced out." He said.

Momo's eyes widen. "Oh," She softly said, finally understanding where her head has been going. She chuckled. "S-Sorry .."

Momo was still getting the hang of hiding her emotions, it's awfully difficult.

"Let's continue!"

●

"Todoroki, I think you need to understand what she feels."

The young orange haired girl forced a smile for Todoroki.

"I'm really trying to," The boy sighed.

Kendo's smile fell into a concerned expression.

"Do you understand what you did though .. ?" Kendo softly asked, clearly hesitant.

" .. Mhm."

Kendo remained silent. She didn't have much to say, but she thought maybe this comforting silence could offer Todoroki some time to reflect.

After few long minutes of rain hitting against the roof and silence between the two, Todoroki sighed softly.

"I should .. learn more from this." He muttered softly.

Kendo piped up, curious of what else he has to say. Her head rose with curiosity.

"I should respect her privacy and .. give her time, I guess."

Kendo's eyes widen at the sudden declaration he made in the moment. She cocked her head to the side.

"Woah, really?" Her tone was surprised, drenched in confusion. After constantly meeting him during Fridays and Saturdays, she knew very well Todoroki would be the type to be respectful and such, but if he ever had an opportunity to interact with Momo, he would take it despite difficult circumstances.

Afterall, he did get out of his way to catch up to Momo during her visit to the graveyard in the rain.

The drastic gentleman change that occurred was overwhelming in a good way.

Todoroki lifted his head slightly.

"She did ask for space," He commented. "Plus, I got her number without asking, it's going to take some time for me to redeem myself, I look like a creep."

Kendo's eyes brimmed. "Todoroki," She began.

A smile formed on her lips.

"I'm sure Yaoyorozu will appreciate that."

She felt a sense of pride to see how much Todoroki matured in his own way. It was like raising a puppy.

She recalled Todoroki constantly asking her for help in messaging Momo and how do girls work and such. He was always constantly troubled by the things Momo despised and desired, and eventually came to understand it from his own perspective.

She remembered his eyes constantly shimmering with brightness and sparkles every time Momo would message back. He was always troubled by what to say and how to say it. Kendo would constantly assist him, giving him jokes to say and letting Todoroki find his own way to say it in his own words. He would smile just a little whenever Momo would laugh at his jokes.

He lacked boundaries. He never knew when he crossed the line, like that time when he was too honest with Momo back at the staircase. When he started considering her feelings more than his after Kendo 'lectured' him about it, he really grew.

He even apologized to Momo for making her so flustered all the time when he said odd things. When he informed Kendo about his acts, Kendo was just filled with intense happiness and pride for the boy.

He's really learning now. He learned her boundaries and finally concluded he needed to learn from all the odd things in the past, and look upon them as steps forward.

It was amusing to see him be so dense to his own feelings.

●

"Checkmate!"

Izuku said proudly with a pleasant yet humble smile on.

"Oooh, you actually did win, Midoriya." Momo tells her teammate after reviewing the board one more time, before giving
him a chuckle.

"What? How?!" Kirishima exclaimed in unison with Kaminari, reviewing the board multiple times.

"Ahh, we have to do the dishes tonight!" Kaminari cried in despair, slamming his head against the table.

Momo patted him in the head. "It's okay, Kaminari, I'll help you clean up." She laughed, despite the fact the pain her head wouldn't go away.

"Alright! I'm heading home now!"

A familiar voice came from the staircase, and immediately Momo turned her head around, and sees an emerald eyed girl, with a dangling orange ponytail at the side of her head. She was speaking with Mina, her smile brimming.

Momo's eyes widen before slowly getting up.

"Kendo?" She called out, slowly approaching the said friend of hers.

Kendo turned her head away from Mina, and met eyes with dusky orbs. "Ooh, Yaoyorozu! I didn't see you here earlier," She greeted happily.

"Me neither." Momo laughed. "What are you doing here?"

Kendo glanced to the side, eyeing someone across the room that looked familiar from the corner of Momo's eyes.

"I had to return something I borrowed after your birthday. I couldn't do it before because of the weather and I just found out about a day ago." Kendo chuckled.

"Ohh, I see." Momo gave her an understanding smile.

"Do you have an umbrella with you? It's pouring a lot this afternoon." She asked, concerned as she examined Kendo's hands, hoping an umbrella would be in her graps.

Her companion laughed at her concern. "No need to worry, I left mine outside to dry up."

She them turned her head to different directions, examining the whole dorms.

"I should go now, it's getting late,"

Momo nodded. "Yeah, you should."

Kendo simply smiled before proceeding to walk. "I'm leaving now, thank you for your kindness, Class 1-A! Sorry to intrude,"

The whole group of people present in the area replied with a very long and sustained 'bye.'

Momo waved briefly, a new train of thought began in her head, what did she forget on her birthday, different theories start to form.

She sighed before turning away, not noticing a boy with two shades of color on his hair staring at her before as she walked away, before he exited the building.

●

"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?" Todoroki asked, watching as Kendo prepared her blue umbrella for her journey back.

Kendo laughed after lifting it above her head.

"You're really in an intense level of gentleman now, aren't you?" She chuckled.

She adjusted her coat just a little bit. "It's okay, I can head there alone. I have to be there quick since I promised I would help Tetsutestu prepare dinner tonight," She said.

"Be careful on your way there." He said.

"Yeah, yeah," Kendo brushed it off with a giggle as she turned away.

"Good luck with Yaoyorozu," She said softly as she walked away.

Todoroki watches her as she strolls in the mud carefully, before he let out a sigh. He shoved his hands into his pockets and lifted his head up to watch the rain pour down.

It's nice with a new change of atmosphere, it felt a lot softer and lighter beneath the porch than his dark and isolated room. He took some time to breathe, to arrange his feelings and motives, inhaling the pleasant scent of rain.

Todoroki's first thing to keep in mind was keep his space from Momo despite his desire to speak to her again. He gave her some time to think.

Todoroki's second important thing to keep in mind was restrain himself from saying odd things. He despised whenever he saw uncomfortable, sometimes he couldn't even tell the difference of her flustered and flattered feelings to her uncomfortable looks, causing him to be more careful with his words.

Todoroki's last and important thing was to avoid being hostile. He never really was hostile, but he did think he definitely was after that incident. He decided whenever a conversation brought up between the two, he would by no means try to continue it, just to give her space.

Maybe that's not the best ideas and motives, but it's the least he can do.

He continued to inhale the scent of rain before he heard the door open behind him.

He looked back to meet eyes with an ebony haired girl in a turtleneck sweater.

"Ah." They said in unison.

"S-Sorry to intrude," Momo forced a laugh. Her eyes shifted to different directions as she walked out, pushing the door close and entering the porch.

The sudden appearance of Momo caugh Todoroko off guard, due to that, he looked away immediately, his eyes gazing at the rain.

Momo by the other side, staring at the rain.

Now, none of us actually got to see what Momo was thinking after Kendo left.

Let's do a rewind type of thing.

As Kendo exited the building, Momo returned back to her seat with the chess board, apparently Kirishima requested a rematch.

She pulled the chair out, and sighed as she plopped her chin on her palms, watching as the boys prepare the chess board for another match.

Due to the long period of time of arranging, Momo was zoning out once again.

She began to recall some things.

Once Kendo mentioned the birthday blast she had, she remembered messaging Todoroki, who was known to Momo as the 'stranger.'

She remembered sobbing into her pillow, and being comforted immediately by Todoroki, and that's when it struck.

Momo remembered, that she went headfirst into the situation.

A click. That's what Momo heard in her head.

'Shouldn't I just .. face it headfirst in this one too?' She thought.

It's been three days, and that was technically enough for her to collect herself. It was enough for her to actually get up from bed.

Is she mentally prepared? Most likely not.

So, that was a 'no.'

But, risks.

Risks were something Momo often took.

Even before, she took multiple risks, starting with the time she responded to that unknown number, to the time she answered the call from her father.

She always feared taking risks, but, if the outcome has a potential good ending in the end, she was willing to take it.

Concluding, Momo asked her companions where Todoroki went, stood by the door, taking deep breathes as Kendo was preparing to leave.

When she gathered enough courage, she exited the building, to find Todoroki standing still.

Here they are now.

Now what?

◇