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[ Maybe she was already feeling emotional. Maybe her period is coming up. Maybe she's been under a lot of stress lately. Maybe she's just a teenage girl. Who knows why teenage girls do the things they do?

Darin takes her hand and she absolutely just bursts out sobbing, her free hand coming up to cover her face as she cries helplessly, wordlessly, tears dripping down her face and over her fingers and onto her blueprints. ]

Hey, come on.

[Darin reaches his arm across her shoulders and pulls her in closer for a hug.]

Listen, Momo. You're special. You're undeniably special. And someone is going to see that and they're going to look at you in a way no other person ever has. To them, you won't just be a hero. You'll be their entire world.

[Darin feels like a huge jerk now for teasing her earlier.]

You know, if I were your age, I'd probably be crazy about you!

[ Clearly embarrassed by her outburst, Momo does her best to stop the tears, wiping her face on her sleeve. She still has hiccups of a sob, but she does her best to make her face into something presentable for present company. ]

Oh, Darin-san... Thank you. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me.

Hey...don't be sorry. Don't ever be sorry. I know a little thing or two about doubting yourself.

It's okay to feel that way, sometimes. As a budding hero, you have to keep your best face forward. You can't show any weakness. You're a symbol.

Sooner or later, the person you want to be becomes a mask. You don't even realize it when it happens. And when you do, suddenly it all becomes about keeping up this facade so you don't disappoint the world around you.

[He gives her a somber smile.]

I want you to know...you don't have to act around me. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be anything but Momo. I'll never fault you for it and I sure as hell won't turn you away.

[Because if there's anyone who knows anything about masks and facades, it's the guy sitting next to her.]

To me, you'll always be Momo first. Anything else will always be second.

[ Momo nods sadly. ] No one has ever said it like that before... Put a name to the pressure we're under.

[ She looks up, expression suddenly wide-eyed as though she's afraid she's said something wrong. ]

That's not to say I don't want to do it! It's worth it, to help people! To be a hero... Who can inspire and protect people who need that... It's all I've ever wanted.

But... [ She slumps down again, using her sleeve to wipe away the teardrops that had fallen on her blueprints. ] Sometimes I think it doesn't leave much room for me to be anything else. You say I'll be Momo first... I don't know that I know who Momo is, sometimes.

Well...Momo can be anything she wants to be. Being a hero doesn't mean you can't do other things.

...Have you considered taking a break? Allowing yourself to just...relax? Spend time with friends?

[ Momo resolutely shakes her head. ]

The Hero Course is very competitive. I can't slack off for a moment. I'm already at a disadvantage, being here. I have to do what I can not to fall behind.

"Competitive?"

[Darin makes a face.]

Why does it need to be competitive? You all want to be heroes, right? You should be supporting one another.

We do-- we are, in school. But there are also competitions, to see who is the best among us.

Every year, U.A. hosts a sports festival. It's televised nationally, and attendance at the stadium is always sold out. It stands as students' first real chance to show off our talents to Hero agencies. The results of the sports festival helps us obtain internships later on.

[ She slumps a little in her chair, remembering her defeat against Tokoyami. ] I scored well in the first two events, but lost in a head-to-head match against one of my classmates, Tokoyami-san. He ended up going on to tie for third place overall.

But that...

That's an almost insane amount of pressure to put you kids under! How many of you have even mastered your abilities? They're putting people who grow at different paces up against one another and then televising it on a national scale!

[The more he hears about this, the more it upsets him. He knows he shouldn't rail on the school Momo obviously loves, but...someone as skilled as her...someone with so much potential...she's so committed to this that she can't even figure out who she is, yet!]

...It's...Hrgh...

[He obviously has more to say but he's biting his tongue for her sake.]

That's what we're there for! To learn to master our abilities, and become real Heroes!

[ Momo can see that Darin is keeping his true feelings back, but it just doesn't occur to her that anything U.A. does is wrong. ]

I know that but...I mean. You can't learn heroism in a class room! You can train your powers and abilities all you want, but heroism? True heroism? That's something that comes from in your heart...

[He sighs.]

Do you know why I took you on as my apprentice? It wasn't just because I wanted someone to teach me and help me around the forge.

[ Momo wants to argue that the students in the Hero course are learning heroism, through internships and combat drills and other scenarios in which they have to play the part of real heroes. But Darin seems to be taking this in a different direction anyway... ]

Why is that?

Because you have a power inside of you that can't be matched. It's not just your ability to create.

A blacksmith...isn't just someone who hammers away and makes weapons and tools. Anyone can learn how to make that stuff. It's about passion. It's about looking at something formless, something that any other person wouldn't think twice about, and giving it shape. Adding to it. Building it until it surpasses its own limitations.

I took you under my tutelage, not to just teach you refining techniques. I wanted to show you that inside of you burns a flame hotter than any forge. Hotter than the sun. And with your two hands, you can take anything, anyone, and bring to light their true potential.

Your heart is your forge. Your hands are your hammer and anvil.

You aren't just...Creati the hero. You have many facets and you can shape them just as easily as you can shape metal. Who you are, who you want to be, who you will become, they're all part of one piece. Your hero's edge is honed. But you can't neglect the other parts of you...

[ Momo's eyes go wider and wider, tearing up again. One hand comes to her chest, clenching into a fist as if trying to hold the flame Darin had mentioned-- hotter than the sun. ]

Ohh... Darin-san! You can't go saying those things!! I'm going to cry again!

I have to, Momo. Because if I don't say it, no one else will.

You, Momo Yaoyorozu, are a living forge, brimming with potential!

[He places his hands on her shoulders.]

Don't just limit yourself to one thing! You can be anything you want! Heroism isn't the only blade you have!

While you're here, live your life! Have fun! Experience the world and hone the other parts of yourself.

[ When Darin takes hold of her shoulders, the tears finally fall, but Momo is smiling as wide as she things she's ever smiled. She nods enthusiastically, blinking rapidly to clear the tears from her eyes. ]

Mm! I will! I will live my life to the fullest and experience everything this world has to offer!

[Screw it. He reels her in for a hug.]

You're going to doubt yourself and that's okay. You're going to make mistakes and that's okay too! But never lose yourself. You are so much more than just a hero competing to be the best. You're kind. You're loving. You deserve an identity of your own before you become an identity for the people.

I'm going to be right there with you, okay? Because if anyone knows about trying to find themselves, it's me.

[ She stiffens slightly at the sudden hug, but eventually curls herself around him, tucking her face into his shoulder.

In a small, watery voice, she just murmurs, ] Thank you.

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