Authors note:
Speaking: "…"
Thinking: '…'
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Momo POV
Three days later
Class 1-A
It had been a week since the USJ incident, and regular classes had resumed four days ago. Class 1-A was currently sitting through a biology lesson from Professor Midoriya. Normally, Momo would be the most excited and enthusiastic person in the room.
But since she returned to school, the empty seat beside her was a grim reminder that not everyone had fully recovered.
It had been a week since anyone had seen or interacted with Todoroki, since no one could break through the ice he'd encased himself in. Professor Midoriya did mention that he and a few others could force him out, but it was Todoroki's decision, not theirs.
And today, that was going to change. The sports festival started tomorrow, and Momo could not, no, would not, compete if Todoroki didn't attend. Fighting him was her goal, without him there, it meant nothing.
After the bell rang and the others packed up to head to their next class, non-hero combat with Midoriya, the young creation user approached the green-haired teacher.
"Professor, may I have a word with you for a bit?" she asked.
Straightening a stack of papers, he turned to her with his usual smile. "If it's important, you may. If not, it can wait until the end of our non-hero combat lesson."
Fidgeting with her school bag, she straightened up and said, firm and clear, "I want to try and get through to Todoroki." She met his eyes without a hint of hesitation.
"Oh, let me guess, you don't want him missing the sports festival, right?" he said calmly while finishing packing his things. Momo was about to confirm, but he cut her off. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. As long as you have an idea how to break through the ice, I'm not going to stop you. You may take the lesson to try whatever you wish."
He tapped his cane, creating a portal next to them, and gestured toward it. "It's not like you need this lesson to prepare for the festival. I can sense your battle prowess has improved significantly. Whatever the case, this portal will drop you right outside the ice prison."
"Thank you, Professor. And yes, I've been working on some things to make myself stronger. Your research helped me greatly in my training, so thank you once more." She bowed and stepped toward the portal. Barely hearing his last comment"I'm curious to see your results"before she vanished.
Opening her eyes again, she found herself standing before what used to be Gym Gamma. Now it was just a colossal, rugged block of ice.
"I've never actually been here... but it really is awe-inspiring. To think Todoroki can create something like this and maintain it for this long."
She slapped both cheeks, shaking off the distraction. "Alright. Time to get Todoroki out of there."
She focused on a very specific item she wanted to create, far more versatile than her usual tools, and far more complex. But before it could form on her arms, something unexpected happened.
Her right eye opened on its own. And the eye itself had changed appearance to a golden iris and blue pupil. Seeing her reflection in the ice, she remembered exactly what this was.
The crow. It was using her eye to see.
Before she could question it, her body erupted into strange golden-blue flames. They didn't hurt. If anything, she produced them naturally.
'Is this the power of that crow? Fire?' she thought, moving her hands and watching the flames follow.
Then an idea struck. She placed her burning hand on the ice to test it.
It worked. The ice around her hand melted rapidly. Taking the chance, she stepped into the ice wall melting through the barrier.
Before long, she felt no more melting. Instead, a violent blizzard surged around her, pure cold wind and storm filling the hollowed interior of the gym. And in its center, on a throne of ice, sat the person she'd come for.
An ice crown, split vertically in half, floated above his head.
A regal ice cloak with a white fur collar draped around his shoulders.
He sat with his head in his hands, icicles forming around his body, his feet frozen to the ground.
Shoto Todoroki.
Momo wasn't sure what form he'd taken, but judging by his frozen legs, he didn't have long before he trapped himself completely. So she pushed forward.
The golden-blue flames were the only reason she didn't freeze on the spot. Thanks to them, she pushed through the raging frost with little issue.
Todoroki still hadn't noticed her. When she felt close enough, she called out:
"Todoroki!!"
He flinched. His head snapped up, eyes wide, frozen handprints still clinging to his face.
"Y-Yaoyorozu... h-how did you get in here?"
She considered telling him outright, but instead simply said, "A little bird helped me."which is technically true.
He finally noticed the flames surrounding her, confusion flashing across his face before hardening back into a frown.
"I guess it doesn't matter. Leave." His tone left no room for negotiation. The temperature around them plummeted even further.
Momo felt it now, the biting cold creeping into her skin.
'How can he generate something this cold?' A shiver shot down her spine.
"Why, Todoroki? Why are you still not coming back to class?!"
He turned away, unable to look her in the eye. After a moment, he answered, voice low, "You should know better than anyone. I failed as a leader, and as a result, you got hurt."
Then added , quieter "I hurt you."
Momo marched through the storm, creating a warm coat to buy herself time. With heavy steps she pushed toward the center.
'So that's it. He thinks it's his fault. That's what's been eating him alive. If I don't get him out now, he'll freeze himself to death.'
"Shoto! LOOK AT ME!" she shouted.
His head jerked toward her, eyes wide.
'There. I said it, his first name.' The storm weakened around them.
Standing right before him, she grabbed his ice-cold hand, pressed it to her sternum, and activated the rune.
Feeling tranquility spread through her chest, she spoke softly but firmly.
"Stop, Shoto. You don't have to carry this. I may have gotten hurt at USJ, but this isn't an injury or scar I'm ashamed of."
She guided his hand down her shirt just enough to reveal the gently pulsing rune.
"It's a symbol of my growth as a strategist," she declared.
Tears ran down his face, freezing instantly. His expression cracked as he lowered his head.
"But I don't deserve it," he said, voice breaking. "Here I sit with all this power, and as a leader I've accomplished nothing. Worse, you and the Masakis got hurt because of my incompetence. I'm just as pathetic as my father."
Momo didn't understand what he meant, so she knelt to his level and deactivated the rune.
"Then tell me what happened to make you think that way. Please, Shoto. I want to understand your pain."
He stared at her, taken aback, then sighed. "...Fine. I suppose you deserve to know."
The blizzard stopped. On the icy floor, statues formed, his family: mother, father, sister, two brothers, and himself.
"I have two siblings. Years ago, we were four. Everything fell apart because of my father's obsession with creating the 'perfect heir' someone with both my mother's ice and his fire."
"When my oldest brother, Touya, was born, he didn't get what he wanted. Touya had incredibly strong fire, but his body was built for cold, not heat. Every use of his quirk hurt him. Father abandoned training him. But Touya had already set his heart on becoming a hero."
"With two more 'failures' my brother and sister, who only inherited Mom's ice, Father's hopes reignited when I was born. He trained me to be his tool to surpass All Might."
"But Touya didn't give up. One day, training alone in the mountains, he burned too bright. The entire forest turned to ash with him. Only his lower jaw was recovered."
"Not long after, my mother, who had suffered years of domestic abuse, snapped. I walked into the kitchen while she was making tea. She turned, panicked at the sight of my left side, and poured the boiling water on my face. Earlier, on the phone, she called that side 'unbearable to look at.'"
He touched the burn scar over his left eye.
"Father sent her to a mental hospital. I've never seen her since. They always told me my appearance might trigger her again."
"Our family is a mess. It's been broken for years. And now I'm no better than him. He hurt his family... and I hurt the people I care about."
As he finished, the ice statues melted away.
'So that's why he always looked so hollow when family came up' Momo realized.
With renewed resolve, she hugged him tightly. The golden-blue flames melted the ice around his body.
"It's okay, Shoto. You're not your father. You're the kindest, most caring person I know. You could never be like him. And stop feeling sorry for us, we didn't die. And what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger." She pressed his head lightly to her sternum, over the rune.
"B-but—" Shoto began.
"No buts. You're the only one capable of leading Class 1-A. So start acting like it."
He sighed. The icy crown above his head dissolved into snow, and the cloak faded away.
"I guess I can't win an argument against you, no matter how hard I try."
"No, you can't. I'm your vice leader. I'm responsible for you. And I made a promise with myself to face you in the sports festival and show you how far I've come."
"Really? Is that so? Then I guess we'll face each other in a couple of days at the festival," he said, completely unaware.
Staring blankly, Momo replied, "You do realize the sports festival is tomorrow, right?"
"...Huh?" Shoto blinked at her. "Was I really in here that long?"
She chuckled. "You were. But it's time you come back to your team. And don't you think it's time to melt all this ice?"
Looking around, he finally noticed the frozen gym. "Yeah... I guess you're right, Momo," he said, making her blush as he raised his hand to seemingly ignite his flames.
Instead, the energy crow inside Momo's eye tore itself free, cawed, spread its wings, and flew off, melting all the ice as it passed.
"Well... I guess it served its purpose and is now returning to its master," Momo said as they watched it disappear into the distance.
"Indeed," Shoto added with a grateful smile.
___
At the 1-A Lesson
Same Time
A teacher in a black and green suit watched as the golden-blue crow flew over the training fields. He had a satisfied expression on his face.
'It's astounding what the subconscious mind can do when it has aura manifestations to play with' Izuku thought.
"You shouldn't underestimate us, professor! If you look away like that, you're going down!" Kirishima yelled as he charged with a hardened fist.
"He's right, professor! It is unwise to lose focus while fighting," Iida added, flying in with a supercharged kick.
Without even looking, Izuku grabbed the engine user's leg, which was slightly faster than Kirishima's punch, and used Iida to swat the redhead away. Both students went flying off the field.
'It was about time for him to snap out of his regret. If Momo hadn't stepped in, I might've had to intervene to pull him out of his grief over hurting her as Odin' the space user thought before addressing his class.
"Your combo attack was poorly timed. And Kirishima, you didn't react fast enough to catch Iida. Four rounds against Haruki for both of you."
"No please, anything but that!" they pleaded in unison, but it was too late. A hand was already on both their shoulders, neon green and blue hair visible between them.
"Sounds like I got more subjects for my performance. This'll be fun eight matches. Hehehehe."
"Noooooooo!" they screamed as the mad clown dragged them off.
"The youth of today," Izuku chuckled, then glanced back at the crow.
'This year's sports festival will be interesting.'