Momo, Love is Always War! (Izuku x Momo)

5. Alone

Momo Alone

...

The stone cold beauty of Momo Yaoyorozu.

Literally...

She used to be so... outgoing, so welcoming and vulnerable. She would have no problem getting along with anyone, entertaining guys... actually speaking to them. Back during her first year here in UA, she was exactly the opposite of what she was right now. She was uptight, confident, poised... and she would have no problem showing her superiority to others. She was lovable, fun... and kind with those other traits, making her the perfect combination in one person.

Of course, that all came crashing down during the Sports Festival. Oh that horrible, yet necessary Sports Festival. It truly was a rude awakening for her. She failed, and it caused her to spiral down. She had her friends that comforted her through it, and she's definitely made some progress in overcoming said failure, but... here she was, now a product of what she didn't want to become.

She's never had anyone... there for her if you get what she meant. She's had people care for her, but never that one person who would truly help her overcome her hardship. The closest thing to that was Kyoka, and even she didn't know how to help her that well.

No one really understood how she felt. No one understood her pain or hardship.

Not her parents, not her brother... not her teachers... Aizawa included. Her classmates had some vague idea, but they only had the surface level part of it.

The one time she truly felt like she could really get passed it was during the final exams last year. Todoroki was finally able to somewhat help her push pass her self doubt and inhibitions, and perform at the level that she was capable of. That was the closest she had ever gotten to finally breaking the chains that held her back.

Yet... as soon as it was over, she went back to hurting.

Was it ever going to end?

Instead of working through it and overcoming it on her own, she buried it deep inside of her, allowing it to eat away at her spirit. It wore her down... it created... this.

An empty shell of the once happy and confident girl that was Momo Yaoyorozu.

The saddest part is... no one can see it. No one can see what she's still going through.

A part of that reason is because she's really good at hiding it. The believable facade she puts up is really only masking her true sentiments.

That's why she looks and acts the way she does. Her outward appearance hasn't changed in the slightest, yet the stoic, calm, and overall superior demeanor she portrays now is only a way to cope. She doesn't reject everyone because she wants to. She's just too insecure to give them a chance.

Well that and her underlying feelings for someone.

She would be like Nejire Hado. She wanted to be like her.

Yet, she never would reach that level of contentment with the world. She would always be this... cold, empty, sad girl that she hated so much. It's just how things were meant to be.

...

Sitting on the exact same couch as when she spoke to Todoroki the other day, she realized just how hypocritical she was.

She watched Shoto heal, right before her eyes. She watched the sadness and emptiness in those eyes turn right around into happiness. She was genuinely happy that he was able to find a brighter future in UA.

Yet even with the things she would tell him, she refused to heal herself.

Well, maybe she's being too harsh with herself. After all, she wants to heal. She wants to be free from this despondency in her heart. She wants to be alive, out there in the world... happy.