"Recovery Girl-sensei, excuse me."
"Ryugamine-kun, are you here to see Yaoyorozu-chan? Heehee, don't let this old lady disturb you two youngsters then."
Chiyo chuckled warmly. She gave him a knowing look, before walking over and sitting in front of her desk.
Hiro, for his part, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He walked over to the only occupied cubicle and pulled open the curtains. There, a white blanket covered the whole bed, with a prominently human-shaped lump in the middle.
"Momo? It's me, Hiro."
"…"
The blanket didn't move. If it weren't for his keen senses hearing the rapid heartbeat below, he would have thought she was sleeping.
Still, if she didn't want to see him, he'd respect that.
"It seems I came at a bad time. You hadn't returned for a while so I was worried. Knowing you're safe, I'll leave now."
"W-wait!"
Just as Hiro turned around, a soft, delicate hand wrapped around his wrist.
"S-sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you, I was just…"
Hiro turned, and found Momo leaning over with a red face. Her hold tightened for a moment, before she relaxed and took her hand back to her chest.
"Embarassed? Don't be. You did great. Even though the situation was disadvantageous for you, you almost had it."
"…I've let you down. Even after all the help you gave, I couldn't even make it past the first round."
Momo's head lowered, her voice weak. However, a slightly painful flick at her forehead made her look up.
"You know, you're quite silly sometimes."
Hiro chuckled. He ignored the pout on her face as he sat on the chair next to the bed.
"Not to mention I also taught Tokoyami the basics of martial arts; I helped you, Momo, because I care about you."
The straightforward reply caused Momo's whole face to turn bright red. From outside the cubicle, a slight "oho?" was also heard. Hiro ignored them and continued.
"Being a hero can kill you. I want to help you so that would never happen- and that's what matters to me the most. Even if you lose during the first round of the Sports Festivals in our second and third year, that's fine. I will never be disappointed as long as you keep trying and doing your best."
Momo peeked at Hiro, her eyes a bit dazed. Seeing his warm and sincere smile, her lips subconsciously curved upwards.
"You say that, but if I really lost in the first round in the next two year's Sports Festival, I don't think I could become a hero anymore."
"Haha, I was exaggerating a little. Besides, gold will always shine. With your looks, personality, and ability, you'd easily rise through the hero rankings after you graduate."
Hiro chuckled. Seeing the gloom finally disappear on her face, he smiled in satisfaction.
After that, he continued to hang around inside the room with Recovery Girl's permission. Momo still needs a bit of time for her energy to recover after being healed, so he decided to accompany her. While waiting, they watched the ongoing match on the television above.
The battle between Midoriya and Kirishima was quite brutal.
At the start, the red-haired teenager had been doing very well. Because he could take the most blows, he often practiced physical combat with Hiro in the past three weeks. Thus, he was already used to fighting against a stronger and more skilled opponent than Midoriya, making him easily force the seaweed-haired teenager on the back foot.
However, during a desperate situation, Midoriya punched the air with his full power, sending Kirishima out of the ring at the cost of his left hand hanging limply on the side.
When the two were sent to the infirmary, Recovery Girl gave them a good talking to before healing them. The room became cramped, though, so Hiro got evicted by the old lady. And also…
"You sure you're alright? You can keep resting there. It's me who was kicked out, not you."
"No, no, it's fine. I've already recovered. J-just, please let me lean on you a bit."
That's right. When he got kicked out, Momo insisted on coming back with him. Recovery Girl said there was no problem for her to return, so the two of them were now outside the room, having just wished Kirishima and Midoriya a speedy recovery.
"Hmm, in that case…"
Amidst Momo's exclamation, Hiro swept her up her feet. Her head rested against his chest, steam practically gushing from her face.
"H-H-H-Hiro! I can walk on my own! Please, put me down."
"Nope. Just focus on your recovery. Besides, you know how strong I am. Even if your weight was multiplied by ten, I could still easily carry you."
"But that's not the problem…"
Momo whispered under her breath. Her cheeks turned warm as she became hyper aware of the firm hands holding under her thigh and back.
She lowered her head and leaned against his chest. A musky masculine scent entered her nose, which made her body hotter. Although she had become familiar with this smell for the past month, this was the first time she came in such close proximity with it.
Momo peeked at the face that was just inches away from hers- the face she often recently saw in her dreams.
Those clean and well-defined eyebrows that were neither too sharp nor too soft, it gave him a commanding demeanour without seeming too dominating.
His straight and defined nose, though not drawing much attention to itself, quietly complimented his whole face.
His well-shaped lips that were almost constantly curved into a gentle smile always made her feel at peace.
And then there were his eyes. Those golden, warm eyes that seemed to see through and accept everything about her without judgement.
Sometimes, she wondered how there could be such a perfect-looking guy in the world. Mina and the other girls in class believed he used his Quirk to adjust his appearance during his growth, just like what he did to strengthen his body.
She agreed with them- though that didn't change the fact she was slowly becoming attracted to her friend.
Hiro glanced down and smiled as he met gazes with the girl in his arms. Her eyes frantically shifted away, as if doing so would prevent him from noticing how she had been ogling him for a few minutes now.
He prevented himself from chuckling and continued walking onwards. He wasn't blind. From what he gleaned during their interaction, he knew Momo and some of the girls in class held some level of affection for him.
He had no plans to stop a relationship between him and them from developing, however, nor would he actively pursue them. He doesn't think they'd be able to accept his answers then though.
After all, this is a monogamous world. And as someone who would travel through the multiverse and will inevitably have an infinite lifespan, he had no plans of settling with just one partner.
As they reached the door near the stadium seats, Momo struggled once again. It was fine being held in Hiro's arms through the deserted hallways, but she'd die if so many people in the stands saw them.
Hiro smirked. He contemplated ignoring her, but seeing her pleading gaze, his heart finally softened.
"T-thanks."
Momo muttered, her bright red face looking everywhere except the boy beside her.
After stretching her somewhat numb legs, the two of them finally walked back to their seats without any incident, just in time for Mina and Ojiro's battle.