Chapter Text
One Month Ago, During the Sports Festival…
The temperature dropped several degrees across the stadium, sending chills down the audience’s spines. Any eyes that hadn’t been on Shoto Todoroki were now glued to the west side of the fighting ring, eager to see how he would follow up his impressive performance thus far.
In hindsight, the drop in temperature was not meant to be a means of gathering their attention, but a warning of what was to come. Anticipation quickly turned to shock as a mountain-sized glacier burst into existence, completely defeating the idea of there being any contest. The effect was disproportionate, devastating, disastrous and generally put a damper on the mood of everyone watching, from the stadium or otherwise.
“H-Hanta Sero i-is unable to battle! Shoto T-Todoroki is the winner!” Midnight announced through chattering teeth. Her words were met with absolute silence, with the crowd having yet to recover from the shock. To most, the actual outcome of the battle was the last thing on their minds...
...That is, with a few exceptions from Class 1-F. “So, what do you think?” Fuutou Nagashira asked his class representative, having assumed a deep thinking pose - one hand folded over his chest while the other scratching the underside of his chin, and a thoughtful expression which really did not go well with his blond hair styled like a beehive. “I knew he was strong, but geez.”
“Well, he is a recommendation student, and Endeavour’s son to boot, so it makes sense that he’s got a good handle on his Quirk,” the bespeckled president of Class 1F, Komako Masu, piped up.
“How would you handle his case if you were handed the reins?”
Such queries were common amongst the students of the management course, especially today, when it arguably mattered most. Fortunately, Komako had been pondering the question herself long before the start of the match, and had an answer ready to be fired off. “Well, he is quite the looker, despite that scar, or maybe even because of it. So I would trust his traffic redirection ability and target a young female audience.”
“And if he’s anything like Endeavour in his work ethic, there’ll be a lot of goodwill to be exploited anyways.”
“What say you, Midoriya?” Komako asked her vice president, who was busy muttering to himself, his pencil moving like a blur across his notebook.
“Yo! Earth to Midoriya!” Fuuto growled.
“Wha-?” The verdette snapped back to reality, prying his eyes from the pages. “Oh, sorry. What were you saying?”
“How would you construct Todoroki’s marketing campaign?”
“Oh, that’s easy. I’ll get an ice cream brand endorsement to target the kids demographic, then a warm mattress and bedding commercial for making him relatable with the elderly, and make him the face of Hokkaido tourism for everyone in between,” he rattled off like it was second nature.
“What about his connection to Endeavour?”
He blinked, his expression unchanging. “What about it?”
“Well, to us it seemed like the strongest platform to build his brand off of.”
“Hmmm… I don't know about that. I actually think he should try to dissociate from that tag as soon as possible.”
“Oh! You’re saying that it could be a negative influence?”
“Yes and no. It could potentially give him an initial boost in the ratings, but eventually, he will have to step up to the plate all by himself. In the end, it's a tag that will inevitably follow him throughout his career, but keeping it in check will allow people to see him for his own worth, which will be more sustainable in the long run.”
“That actually makes sense, even if it comes out of your mouth,” Futo grumbled under his breath.
Izuku found it best to ignore his passive-aggressiveness. His classmate had it out for him ever since he’d been elected vice president. To this day, he had no idea how he got that position in the first place. “Anyways, making a campaign for Todoroki is hardly a challenge. But you wanna know who I think is the most interesting person from this group?”
“Who?” Komako said, very much intrigued.
In place of a response, Izuku gestured out toward the center of the stadium. The leftovers of Todoroki’s fight had been taken care of, and two new fighters were already approaching the ring. “Next up, from one recommended student to the next, we’ve got the vice president of 1-A and the one-woman weapon shop: Momo Yaoyorozu! And her opponent, a creature of the night, proving that two heads are better than one: Fumikage Tokoyami!” Present Mic announced, bringing the crowd’s enthusiasm back up.
“Oh, I get it,” Fuuto nodded in understanding. “That Tokoyami guy’s got some real potential; all the appeal of an underground hero while still operating in the limelight, like a darker, edgier Edgeshot. And just imagine the mascot potential of his little bird friend - plushies will be flying off the shelves!”
“What? No! I meant Yaoyorozu!” Izuku swiftly corrected. “I mean, no disrespect toward Tokoyami. I’m sure he’ll go on to have an incredibly successful career, underground hero or not.”
“No, I get where you’re coming from, Midoriya,” Komako spoke up, their eyes fixated on the match below them. “If she can make a sword and shield from her body, imagine what else she could make. The possibilities are limitless.”
“And that’s not even the half of it! If she can make anything with her Quirk, that expands her capabilities as a hero further than we could ever imagine! Combat, rescue, infiltration, communication, and even support – her Quirk lets her cover all those bases and more! If she plays her cards right, her future as a hero could be brighter than-”
“Momo Yaoyorozu is out of bounds! Fumikage Tokoyami is the winner!”
“Wha?!” Izuku’s attention switched back to the field, where Yaoyorozu appeared just as shocked as him at the news. Slowly, her eyes trailed down her leg, where she found her foot had stepped back to a spot just inches out of bounds. It was hardly noticeable at a glance, yet, more than enough to unceremoniously end her run at the Sports Festival.
“You were saying?” Izuku didn’t need to turn around to picture the smug grin on Fuuto’s face.
“Well, um, everyone makes mistakes!” He gave her the benefit of the doubt, likely one of the only attendees in the stadium to do so. “She still has the potential to be an amazing hero!”
Fuuto snorted at Izuku, amused at his insistence. “Yeah, potential.”
Izuku rolled his eyes at him, but otherwise remained silent. Fuuto might’ve written her off already, but that was a mistake on his part. A lackluster performance wasn’t the end all be all - she still had three years to rise up and become an incredible hero, one of UA’s best.
He’d make sure of it.
———————————————
Present Day…
Despite the promise he’d made to himself back then, Izuku had been struggling to put it into practice even a month on.
Even now, his nerves were getting to him, legs feeling like jelly as he walked down the hall beside the girl in question.
Don’t get him wrong, he’d wanted to approach her sooner. Really, he had! But between internships, finals preparations, and the overwhelmingly regal aura Yaoyourozu gave off (they’d have to work on that part of her image), he’d found himself procrastinating on his managerial duties.
And yet, none of that stopped him from coming to her defense mere moments ago, fending off the horde of students who demanded she create miniature, plush versions of herself. He wished he could say he was surprised at the sudden urge to leap into action, but this was sadly nothing new to him.
It was certainly an… unconventional introduction, but he knew if Midnight were here, she’d call it an ‘unforgettable first impression that’s sure to sweep your future client off their feet’, accompanied by a dramatic swoon.
Regardless, he had made an impression, one he ought to follow up on before they made it to class. Recalling everything he’d learned from Midnight thus far, he took a deep breath and began what may be the most important pitch of his career. “So, you’ve started producing plushies of yourself?”
He held his breath while she spoke her response, fingers crossed behind his back. “Yes. It was for a class project, though I didn’t expect them to catch on so quickly… or at all.”
That sounded ludicrous coming from her. She’d have to be living under a rock not to see the reaction they garnered on social media. Unless… “Do you not have any social media accounts, by chance?”
“Hm, no, I don’t believe so.”
“Okay…” That immediately told Izuku the type of person he was working with. “That’s definitely a good thing - most sites are just endless cesspools of negativity - but if you want to have any sort of presence as a hero, we should probably establish some kind of presence there.”
He hoped he’d made sense, but he started to second-guess his words when Yaoyorozu raised her eyebrows at him. “‘We’?”
Izuku matched her surprised expression, internally cursing his loose tongue. “S-sorry, that’s assuming you’d like to have me as your manager.” He couldn’t afford to be presumptuous, not when he was dealing with the Momo Yaoyorozu! He was lucky enough to be talking to her at all; the last thing he wanted to do was jump the gun with her!
To his surprise, she met his offer with a warm, welcoming smile, one he vowed to make the cornerstone of her hero persona. “Considering all you’ve done for me so far, I’d say you’d be a wonderful fit!”
“Oh, really?” Izuku blinked, not expecting to seal the deal so quickly. Either the Luck Fairy had granted him a visit last night, or he’d seriously been underestimating his communication skills.
“I tend not to beat around the bush with these kinds of things. Now, is there anything you need me to sign?”
While he appreciated her taking initiative, she was a bit too far ahead. “Not yet. The management course offers a trial period, per Midnight’s instructions. Nothing needs to be signed until you’re a hundred percent satisfied with my work!” Izuku hoped he wouldn’t let her down in that regard.
“Very well then. Let’s make it an informal agreement.” Taking the lead, Yaoyorozu stuck out her hand, and Izuku recalled all he had been taught on giving a firm, businesslike handshake.
‘Tight grip, good posture, porcelain smile, and never. Break. Eye contact.’ Midnight’s words served him well, and the handshake went off without a hitch, save for Yaoyorozu’s surprisingly vice-like grip.
Once their hands disconnected, Izuku was back to being overjoyed at her agreement. “Great! Now we can really get down to business!” And boy, was he ready. In preparation for when he finally manned up and talked to her, he’d spent the past month compiling every scrap of information about her Quirk that he could find, then speculating on all its juicy, untapped potential. If even half of his advice worked, then she could potentially crack the top ten as soon as gradua-
“Yes, about the merchandise demand, I recall you mentioning an outlet where students can order my plushies without having to bother me in person. What exactly did you mean by that?”
Even though he wasn’t speaking, Izuku felt the urge to bite his tongue, rueing his past self. Truth be told, he was completely talking out of his ass back there, saying whatever he could to make the crowd go away while thinking little of the consequences.
He could focus on improving her skills as a hero later. Right now, he had to make sure his half-baked promises wouldn’t cost him the position he’d just been granted. “Oh, that? We just need to set up a website for people to order your plushies. And by ‘we’, I mean ‘me’. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll handle the official Creati merchandise store and the social media accounts!”
“Oh, well thank you. That’s very thoughtful.” Fortunately, the oversized doors to Classroom 1-A were coming up, which meant Yaoyorozu had to wrap up their conversation. “We’ll reconvene at lunch. Is that alright?”
“Yup! Sure! Perfect!” If his grin appeared a little too shaky, Yaoyorozu didn’t comment on it, and headed off straight to class.
The moment she was out of his sight, Izuku whipped out his phone and dialed a number, praying with each ring that the other end would pick up. “Maina, it’s Izuku. You know how to program, right? Can you please please pleeeeeeeeease make a website for me? It’s urgent!” His expression dimmed at the support student’s response. “You want me to do what in return? …Okay, fine. I’ll do it. Just promise it won’t leave much lasting damage.”
———————————————
Despite the rather eventful start to the day, once class began, it was business as usual for Momo Yaoyorozu. She received a few extra thank-yous from the classmates she’d gifted plushies yesterday, but no mention of her merchandise beyond that.
While she was thankful for that, the thought still remained etched in her mind throughout the first few periods, the weight of her customers’ demands clinging to her like glue. Not a day had passed, and she’d already felt the desire to be done with all this so she could put more focus toward her actual hero work.
Of course, that would be easier said than done, something she figured out during her walk to the cafeteria.
Despite claims from several envious peers, Momo did not consider herself a narcissist in any form. More often than not, those unaware of her lineage would treat as any other student. Such had been the case at UA… at least until today, when it felt like the other students seemed to be signaling her out as she walked down the hallway, their gazes solely fixated on her.
If that wasn’t proof enough, she could hear them whispering as well, her ears perking up at the slightest mention of her name. “That’s Momo Yaoyorozu, isn’t it?” She heard a student ask their peer.
“I heard she’s been making merchandise of herself,” she picked up from another, not even trying to hide the disgust in their tone.
“You think she’ll give some to me?”
“Is she really giving them out for free?”
“Doesn’t merch come after you graduate?”
“Bet she’s just trying to compensate for her Sports Festival loss.”
“Didn’t she intern with Uwabami? I saw her in a commercial with her.”
“Really? I guess that tracks.”
“Her family’s rich, right?”
“That’s probably how she’s able to sell merch of herself already.”
“I heard she makes them herself, with her own Quirk.”
“Really? Pfft! What a narcissist.”
As the comments continued, her steps quickened in turn, her face unintentionally pointed away from the other students. She wished she could disprove their claims right there and then, but stopping to argue against being called a narcissist would only prove the opposite. If anything, this helped fuel her determination to get all this plushie nonsense over with!
By the time she finally arrived at the cafeteria, she was more than ready to get started, beckoning her manager over to an open table at the first sight of him. “Midoriya! Come here! We need to discuss - Oh dear, are you okay?” Her tone switched to worry at the sight of the small, yet bloody Band-Aid on the side of his head.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Just a favor for a friend.” Any further queries were silenced when he produced a laptop from his backpack and excitedly slammed it on the table. “What’s important is that I’ve got your website up and running!”
“Really? Already?” she gasped, grateful for this news.
“Yup! I… know some people who were able to help out. Check it out!” He opened the laptop and turned the screen toward her, displaying the progress he’d made since this morning.
The website was… rudimentary, to put it best. There were no frills or flourishes of any sort, just white and black rectangles arranged in a basic approximation of a UI. It was as if someone picked the default template for a shopping website and called it a day. The only item listed was her plushie, which had a ‘coming soon’ label placed over it.
All of this was fine with her though; if a minimalist design meant the website would be up faster, she wouldn’t complain. “So people will be able to place their orders here?”
"That's right! But before we can start taking orders, I have two things to confirm with you."
Momo blinked, a small part of her worried that the whispers going around the school had reached Midoriya’s ears. She tried maintaining her composure, and largely succeeded, for no one could see her clenched toes inside her school shoes. "I’m listening…"
"First, the price point. Based on my market research, the prices of comparable merch items in the market are relatively low on the scale, ranging from a couple of thousand yen to around ten thousand, but the higher end of that range is usually reserved for limited edition plushies of top ranked heroes like Miruko..."
Midoriya’s voice dropped into a controversial whisper. "I heard that Miruko's agent hadn't told her about the plushies before signing with the manufacturing company, and that didn't sit well with her, so she went and destroyed their entire production facility, all by herself, which is what made that series of plushies 'limited edition' in the first place."
Despite herself, Momo let out a smile. From the way he sold the story, it was clear that Izuku would make a great marketer, knowing just how to hook in an audience with humour.
Midoriya continued, looking somewhat relieved that his joke landed. "But anyways, I think that given you aren't a pro yet, we can set the price point a little lower than that. I think 999 yen is a good place to start, and we can look at market corrections as and when we see the demand."
"Sounds good to me." Momo replied through gritted teeth. She had initially wanted to just give out the plushies for free. But hearing Midoriya talk about halving the going rate instead of a completely free product felt like the right way to go about it. That way, it wouldn't eat into the profits of the manufacturing company for those other plushies, as people would still prefer to purchase pro hero merchandise over some random amateur's.
Turning the laptop back towards himself, Midoriya started typing rapidly, as was evident from the flurry of tapping sounds she heard. But as he was typing, her new manager brought her worries to life by asking her the dreaded sourcing question…
"The second thing I wanted to confirm was how you are procuring this merch, because I’ve heard some conflicting statements on the matter.”
To most, the crack in Momo’s smile looked small, microscopic even. This was by design, her father teaching her never to show weakness, especially in moments of emotional distress.
Sure, it would be easy to be honest with her manager, tell him she’d been using her Quirk to produce her plushies. But the thought of that brought along the risk of judgement, not too dissimilar to what her peers had subjected her to mere moments ago. Would he believe her to be a narcissist too? That she only started this business venture to satiate her own ego?
She didn’t want to take the risk. Hearing such accusations from someone she worked so closely with could only be a negative. Work relations were among the most important in her family, and she’d be a fool to ruin hers by sharing too much about herself.
Let it be known she was not taking the coward’s way out! What she said next was in both her and Midoriya’s best interests, regardless of how true it may be. “No, not by myself. My family has access to several small-scale manufacturing outlets which we often use for personal matters. I’ll get in contact with them and arrange for the plushies to be shipped out. You don’t need to worry about that.”
This was not a complete lie; her family did have connections to multiple manufacturers, both big and small. It was only a matter of pulling the right strings to get them to produce her plushies. She might have to dip into some of her personal savings, given the low price they’d already agreed on, but it certainly beat working as a one-woman sweatshop.
“Oh, alright then.” Thankfully, Midoriya accepted her claims at face value. Why wouldn’t he? No claim is too outlandish when you’re connected to one of the biggest conglomerates in all of Japan. “I’ve got all the announcement posts lined up on your social media accounts, so I guess we’re set to launch this product.. Would you like to do the honors?” He turned his laptop back to her, the cursor hovering over the ‘launch’ button.
“Oh, why of course.” With an amused giggle, she clicked the button, and the official Creati plushie was now free to order for all.
As much as she’d like to stay and celebrate this landmark achievement for her career, there was still more work to be done on her part, mainly climbing out of the hole she’d dug for herself. Excusing herself from the table, she stepped out of the cafeteria and out of Midoriya’s sight.
Following a hurried glance around the hallway, confirming that she was indeed alone, she quickly dialed the number of one of her parents’ many manufacturing contacts. They may not have specialized in toys, but it was the best she could hope for under such short notice. “Hello? Osaka Textiles? Yes, this is Momo Yaoyorozu. I’m sorry to drop this on you so suddenly, but I have an important request. Would you perhaps be able to manufacture a line of plush toys for… Yes, similar to teddy bears. Oh, you have to order special equipment for that? …It’ll take how long to get started on production?!” A calming breath was the only thing standing between her and a panic attack. “No… that’s fine… I’ll send you the details. Just let me know when you’re ready to begin production. Thank you. Have a nice day.”
She hung up the phone, letting out a sigh she’d been holding in for what felt like hours. Not that she had the right to complain; a month was a long time to wait, but it also could’ve been much longer, given the nature of her request.
She counted herself lucky that her status granted her this luxury, but it did not make the reality of the situation any less damning. For the next month or so, she’d have to handle plushie requests all on her own, producing them with her Quirk, like the narcissist everyone made her out to be…
‘Still,’ she reminded herself during her walk back to the cafeteria, ‘nothing I can’t handle on my own.’ How big was the mob outside the meeting room this morning? Twenty students? Thirty? She could make three plushies for each of them and it would still expend less energy than one of her cannons.
She sucked in a breath, feeling her confidence return to her. A manufacturer would be nice, don’t get her wrong, but she was capable of handling this all by herself!
“Yaoyorozu! Great news!” She didn’t make it halfway to the table before Midoriya closed the distance between them, practically shoving his laptop in her face. As soon as her eyes met the screen, she could unfortunately see why. “We’ve already gotten a hundred orders lined up! Isn’t this great?! I knew that social media push would do the trick! I bet this is only the beginning!” he cheered in excitement, the exact opposite of Momo’s feelings on the matter.
“Oh…” She put on a smile to mask the dread pooling up in her gut. “How wonderful.”