The Popular Belief

Chapter 1

A todomomo fanfic (cross-posted on tumblr)

Author's note: I really hope you guys enjoy it :) Please review; I love reading them!

Despite popular beliefs, Yaoyorozu never accepted the idea of lasting relationships. As ridiculous as it sounds, Yaoyorozu grew up in an environment where relationships meant business, and in turn, business meant money. Her family was wealthy; everyone knew that of course, but to her, wealth started to become something really dark and twisted. In her world, wealth was what attracted 'family friends', if you could even call them that. She was fed with a silver spoon since she was a baby and she donned gold jewellery for every social event for as long as she could remember. She could technically obtain whatever she wanted with a snap of her fingers, but at the same time, she had to work hard to give her parents something to be proud of. At the age of 8, Yaoyorozu noticed that what really was intangible were people who wanted to know her for her. Not because of the Yaoyorozu family name. And so entered Todoroki Shouto.

Todoroki, Yaoyorozu swore, was the only person who came from a well-known, greatly publicized family, who never seemed to give a damn about the world. He had to uphold his family name but the composure that he instilled on everyone around him came as a surprise to her. Ever since the exam where the two fought against their beloved teacher two years ago, the girl admired him more so than before. From the wires where he was left hanging, he shouted to her a short speech that Yaoyorozu can still hear, placidly repeating in her mind, as if it were on a broken record. It left her emotional.

But when it came to confrontation and discussion, Yaoyorozu would have to admit that it wasn't her strong suit. Her innocence and naivety were like a spring breeze brushing over soft fields; gentle, fresh, and unwavering. And that's what plagued her. Jirou had consulted her many times, with a smirk of course, over matcha lattes and cinnamon buns, that talking to him about her inadvertent crush was key to 'success'. What Jirou meant by 'success' however was still a mystery to her, but if that could clear her mind and cure the constant anxiety whenever Todoroki was a meter away from her, then maybe Jirou was right.

One casual morning came, and the black-haired girl, with her signature pony tail, was struggling to carry a pile of "Hero History" workbooks across the UA hallway. Like always, she volunteered for teacher without hesitation, and she was told to bring it to the staff room where he will begin his long treacherous journey of homework marking. She treaded carefully on the clean marble floor, noticing the few scuff marks that periodically became visible as she walked, giving the only evidence of student existence. Quiet echoes of her footsteps disturbed the silence of the hallways, coercing her to move faster. If it weren't for UA's strict policy on using one's quirk on school property, she would have fashioned a pair of skates by now.

A short, slight tap was heard somewhere on the left of the girl, and with a few more steps, she noticed two girls, one with vibrant pink hair, and the other dark brown, taking something out of their lockers. Were they even supposed to be in the hallway during class time? Yaoyorozu stood far in a corner, the perfect perspective to see what they were doing. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back…right?

"I want to give him this, what do you think?" The pink haired girl, spoke quietly, "I made these myself!"

A heart-shaped box peaked through the girl's tiny fingers. Valentine's Day chocolates? But wasn't Valentine's Day way past?

It was the brown-haired girl's turn to speak. She leaned forward, Yaoyorozu noted, and she took the box out of her friend's hands. The contents inside the box rattled a little, and the other girl quickly made a 'shush' gesture with her finger.

"This is really sweet," the brown haired girl spat, her tone like venom from a snake, "I don't think he will accept it though. Haven't you heard about the other girl he's been seeing?"

Yaoyorozu almost laughed. These first years sounded so immature she couldn't bear it any longer. The girl continued to balance her books and was about to tiptoe away when the conversation steered itself towards an eerie ending.

"Todoroki-san? Seeing someone?" The pink haired girl sounded disappointed. She grabbed the box away and carefully packed it neatly into her backpack.

"Ya, rumour has it, he's out with the same girl almost every week. You know, sitting in cafes and stuff," the other girl hissed, "I wouldn't confess to him now if I were you."

A sudden shock resonated through her and Yaoyorozu's heart began to hammer. As if all her blood rushed toward her tired arms, a workbook started to tilt forward. Haphazardly, Yaoyorozu shifted her weight on her heels, praying to God it wouldn't fall. But it did anyway, and the loud thump made the two girls jump in surprise with Yaoyorozu's presence. Cursing (which was surely forbidden in her unwritten family code of honor), she placed the steady pile on the floor, gaze fixed on the book which was now half opened. She picked it up swiftly, acting as if the other two girls were simply statues, Yaoyorozu placed it on the stack and continued on her way. In the corner of her eye, she saw the two girls, mouths agape. Whispering, the two girls turned quickly on their heels to leave. Yaoyorozu could only hope they didn't recognize her.

Yaoyorozu returned to class with the most neutral expression she could put on, and sat at her seat. Noticing the white and red haired boy resting his chin on his right palm, she felt her mouth turning dry. Lately, he's been extra quiet. He wasn't very social to begin with, but it was as if he was always busy thinking about something. Was he really seeing someone? How could anyone in her class not notice that if he were? Or is she just out of the loop because of all the training she's been having lately? The sound of the lunch bell startled her out of her reverie and she watched as Todoroki follow Deku and Iida out the door. Unknowingly, she let her innate self-deprecating side take over. Her 8-year old impression of the world might be right after all.

When school ended that day, Yaoyorozu grabbed Jirou's arm in haste and dragged her somewhere quiet despite her best friend's protest. That scene in the hallway earlier was still fresh in her mind, and her head was still pounding from all the questions and the confusion that flooded through her. She fiddled with her left hand nervously and looked straight into Jirou's eyes.

"What's going on Yaomomo," Jirou spoke, watching as Yaoyorozu opened her mouth to speak but closed it again like fish out of the water.

Face furrowed, the taller girl exhaled.

"I think Todoroki has a girlfriend. Or something like that."

Eyes wide, Jirou stifled a giggle, "What? How can that be?"

Scents of pine and oak left Yaoyorozu slightly calmer and she spoke carefully this time, enunciating every word.

"He's seeing someone."

Jirou looked surprised, "Is it just a rumour?"

"Yes well…hearsay and rumours could somewhat be true you know."

Jirou shoved both of her hands within her pockets, "Well I honestly don't think you should be worried at all. I mean look at you!" Jirou's intonation started to rise, "You excel in class, you're beautiful inside and out. How can anyone reject you?"

Jirou smiled, "Look at it this way, this should motivate you to confront him even more."

Yaoyorozu bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, pausing for a few seconds to compose herself.

"Okay, I'll do it. Maybe I'll fail but I know I'll regret if I don't."

Those words prompted her best friend to grin widely again and she felt Jirou's warm hand patting on her shoulder in reassurance. Yaoyorozu thanked her for the support. As the two parted ways, Yaoyorozu left, holding onto as much determination as she could muster.

Crumbled up love letters or whatever they were, sat scattered across her desk. She was an excellent writer at school, for Pete's sake, why can't she do this?

Fingers fidgeted with the unused pile of expensive note paper she got for her birthday last year, and she placed a piece in front of her for the twelfth time. She gulped and guided her pen swiftly across the blank canvas. Yet her words became jumbled every time her pen touched the piece of perfumed paper, expressing nothing but gibberish; her writing, blue ink swirled gracefully as if dancing on the surface, was as coherent as a 5-year-old's daily journal, the ones overworked children had to do for homework. She covered her head in her arms in frustration, releasing a loud groan that was sure to wake up her mother. The clock on her desk blared brightly.

1:11 am.

Oh God, she was supposed to be asleep four hours ago. A funny thought appeared in the girl's head. People say when the clock hits 11:11 or 1:11, that's when someone's wish will come true. If rumours were right, which she really hoped that none of them were, she found herself clasping her palms together and shutting her eyes tight. She mumbled something silly and prayed. Usually she would ask for perfect grades, but this time was different.

The next morning, Yaoyorozu woke up groggily. Her letter finished in a rush the night before, lay comfortably on her desk, not wanting to be taken away. She sighed as she swiped it into her bag and headed out the door.

Jirou made the occasional eye contact throughout that day's class with Yaoyorozu and the girl weakly smiled back everytime. Her thoughts were packed with imaginary scenarios of her planned encounter with the boy sitting next to her. She accidentally gave her black backpack a light kick, where the neatly folded letter in a white, pristine envelope was.

Labeled and sealed, she made sure.

The only conversation she has had with the boy next to her that day, however, was his brief question about when the legendary hero Shadowstalker's first debut was. Of course the girl answered within a few seconds. Her head was filled with so much useless details she wished she didn't have photographic memory. The boy nodded in appreciation and went back to studying, and Yaoyorozu swore his eyes reflected a tinge of dull uncertainty.

Her chance came when Deku invited everyone over to his house for a quick study session before their history test. Yaoyorozu, popular as always, was asked by Kaminari, Jirou and a few others hundreds of times to tutor them at Deku's place. She hesitated, putting her hands up to refuse, but her soft-heartedness got the better of her and she finally accepted the request. She turned her head and saw Todoroki packing his things too. Grabbing the hem of her skirt, her voice came a little bit louder than she anticipated.

"Todoroki."

The boy turned to her, and she felt an uneasiness that seemed too familiar.

"Can we talk outside for a minute?"

He let her take the lead and both of them ignored the odd stares directed from their classmates. Every step the girl took felt heavy, and she doubled checked with the feel of her fingers over the thin fabric that the letter was tucked away attentively, folded, in her skirt pocket. They stopped behind the gym building and a dead, unwanted silence embraced them. The girl paced back and forth a little as Todoroki leaned against the concrete wall, wondering what was so urgent. The sun was setting and the light that peeked softly out of the trees settled on the boy's face, emphasizing every inch of his chiselled features. She didn't realize how close they stood, enough to see every detail, from the scar to his perfect heterochromatic irises. Must be great winning the genetic lottery, she thought. Funny enough, she noticed how hard it was to focus given their proximity. Finally, the girl spoke, voice trembling.

"I just wanted to say how much I wanted to thank you, Todoroki. For the past few years."

The boy cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "I see."

The girl stared at him in anticipation, hoping the next words to be something more meaningful.

"If that is all, then maybe we could go back?" He asked monotonously, "You're heading to Deku's too right?"

He looked at her, eager to hear her answer but her heart was beating so loudly she could barely hear her own thoughts. Todoroki straightened his jacket with a slight movement of his hand, and Yaoyorozu swallowed hard. Her chest heaved, and she felt numb.

"Actually," the knot in her throat wasn't relieving, "I have something I wanted to give to you."

Her voice trailed off. Head slightly lowered, she looked up, peeking to see his expression. The boy was clearly taken aback. He let his arms rest on his side and noticed the letter that she took out then. Grasping it tightly, she extended it towards him. She really wanted to push it into his hand and escape, but her legs were rooted. The boy looked at it for a brief moment.

As if his next words were taboo, he analyzed them carefully and slowly. His voice was as rough as burlap, and he released the words quickly, wanting them out of his system.

"Is it about the arranged marriage?" He said, voice deep.

Was this his sarcastic attempt in comic relief?

She could see regret in the glint of his eyes.

The air turned sour between them. The tension was so thick, the girl found it hard to breath. Both of them, eyes locked onto each other, had nothing but a painful serenity. For a second, she actually wished that words, alone, could kill.

"What?" She managed to say in between hitches of her breath, letter still in hand. She could feel chills, either from Todoroki's subconscious quirk release, or maybe from her own anxiety.

"After this year's graduation, our last year, I mean…" He halted, gaging the dangerous path his message was surely headed towards, and continued, "I'm getting married."

As irony presented itself at her expense, the letter fell out of her hand, making no sound, just like the nonexistent impact it would have on him, she thought. The sun has completely set now, street lights burst into life, creating imaginary fireflies along the trails. It was so dark, where they stood, and Yaoyorozu was thankful for it at the moment, hiding the sorrow that seeded in her heart. He looked at the letter on the ground and back at her.

"Well," she faked a laugh, "I had no idea!"

Her voice was so, so stiff.

"Congratulations." Yaoyorozu felt lost as her mockery and laughable desires melted into oblivion.

Thank God for drama classes, right?

"I thought maybe Deku had let it slip."

She turned around, neglecting the letter that seemed to be ensconced into the muddy puddle, but stopped in her tracks when his voice rang through the air again.

"My mom and dad arranged this long ago, and as stupid as it was, I signed it to make my mother happy. In a way, she was forced to support this too, you know?"

Her lips pressed tightly together, feeling as though a thousand needles had just pierced her skin.

"No, I don't actually."

She looked away, trying so hard to not show any emotion. But as she shifted underneath the iridescent lights, he made out the wet eyelashes that lined her eyes, batting every time she blinked. He understood he wasn't obligated to explain to her anyway, but a sickening feeling inside him urged him to. She persevered and sent him one last smile. He heard the steady ticking of the watch on his wrist and laments on her expression which penetrated through him like the thorns on beautifully adorned roses.