Work Text:
Ms. Yaoyorozu was not one to be shy about provocative subjects such as how much skin should be shown. She was raised a lady, true, but she was taught the benefits of being comfortable in what she wore. The only times her parents asked her to change are when the outfits would mess with her daily life, or they had words they were not comfortable with. She respected their decision and changed.
What she didn't know was that not everyone was taught what she was. She had less faith in the men in her class, but she'd hoped that her fellow female friends would also be fine.
They weren't. Everyday when she donned her hero costume she was given looks of concern, of judgement, ogling from the boys, and fear from the girls. She couldn't understand why, so she decided enough was enough.
After the USJ, she and Jiro became close friends, she guessed being put in a life or death situation will do that to people. One day, after a particularly rough day of hero training, her costume was destroyed, but to her it was nothing that money couldn't fix, clearly the others didn't think as such. On her way to the changing room all the boys purposefully avoided her, minus Mineta (but Sero taped him up and dragged him along). Even the girls tried their best not to stare at her as she entered the room. It was tense the entire change.
"Jiro, could I speak to you?" She asked while tugging on her uniform skirt.
"Sure, what do you need?" The rocker responded.
"I have some concerns about the action of my fellow students, and I was wondering if you could explain it to me." She pulled on her blazer, and tied her tie as she walked over to her friend.
"Uhh, sure. I guess," they walked out together in silence.
Hero Class was their last class of the day, and all classrooms were cleared of most students and teachers. They shuffled into their empty homeroom class and sat in the first desks in the row, turned toward each other for a clearer conversation.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jiro pondered.
Momo stated her concern, "Why is it that all of our classmates, both the girls and boys, stray away from me when I'm in my Hero Outfit?"
Jiro was taken for surprise, "To be honest, it's a bit… Well how do I put it nicely? Eye-catching. It doesn't cover much and leaves a lot to the imagination, so we're trying to respect you by not staring at you all the time."
"Why would it be disrespectful? I chose the outfit, it's my decision to wear it. What I want to know is how I can get them to understand that there is nothing wrong with my outfit, or their quick glances."
"Well, why don't you explain it to me? If I can understand your reasoning I'm sure the others will come to understand it too." Jirō suggested.
Momo was elated, she knew Jiro would be able to inform their class, she had that way with people. She leaned her elbow onto the desk and started explaining, "You know my quirk: Creation, right? It transforms lipids into any atom I need to create any non-living material. Any item I create comes out from my skin, and destroys any clothing material that gets in it's way. My costume is designed to easily come off so I don't damage it if possible. I thought through my design, and I had actually planned it to be nothing more than A front-clasp Bra, and short shorts."
Jiro cut in, shocked, "-Wait, your costume shows less skin than you actually wanted? But aren't you embarrassed? I can barely stand being in a swimsuit."
"I'm not embarrassed in the least, it's just skin. It's not as if I'm strutting around in what I was born in - that would be embarrassing. I just happen to partly show off what more than half of the population has in my costume - breasts, that is, not skin." She didn't really need to clear that up, but it made sense to her.
"Then that's what you need to tell the class. Most don't look out of courtesy, but I'm sure that if you said that you were fine with it, they may be more willing to look your way."
Momo clasped her hands together and cheered, "That would be most amazing! I'd love not to be alienated during our hero classes."
"We can explain it together in class tomorrow, I'm sure neither All Might nor Mr. Aizawa will mind, especially if it's about your well-being."
They went home and waited for the next day.
As they walked into their homeroom class Momo motioned towards Jiro, silently asking for her to grab her classmates, and Mr. Aizawa's attention. "Um, Mr. Aizawa, Momo wants to speak to the class about a personal concern she has, would that be okay with you?"
Aizawa climbed into his sleeping bag and zipped it closed, "I guess, just don't take too much time."
The class was suddenly interested, it's not everyday that their vice president talks about personal concerns.
"Are you okay Momo?" A few asked, while others sat in silence.
Momo spoke clearly and concisely to her peers, "It has been brought to my attention that, out of courtesy, you all try not to stare at my hero costume. While I can somewhat understand that, I have been feeling alienated during our class because of that. I want to clear up concerns and answer questions so that we can work together without this becoming a bigger problem than it is."
Iida was unsurprisingly the first to raise their hand and speak, "I'm incredibly sorry that we have been making you feel alienated, we meant you no harm, we were merely trying to make sure you were comfortable during our class-time."
"It's alright Iida, that's why I'm here to clear stuff up. I am in no way embarrassed about what I am wearing, what I am showing, or the fact that I get stares. All I am concerned about is that I can use my quirk to its full potential without causing anyone harm."
Midoriya was quick to jump up, "I have been wondering about your quirk for a while. You said that your quirk is utilized by the lipids in your body, and that they transform into the necessary atoms and the end result comes out through your skin, right? Now is it only your skin or can it come out from your hair, and if you used your DNA to make an outfit much like Mirio does would it still get destroyed?"
Momo quickly cut him off, "I have not tried the hair or DNA thing, but that is not my concern. Yes the end product does come out of my skin which is why my costume has the ability to be easily shed. I kept my legs clear to both not inhibit my movements, and to have a clear space to create longer items. My stomach is mainly for small items like first aid and comfort items for hurt civilians, and my arms are usually for weapons. But every once in a while I need my entire back for large items. As Kaminari and Jiro can attest, it is not easy for me to create larger items, and they will always destroy my costume if I can't get it off. During emergencies, I don't have enough time, but if I did have enough time to unclasp and shed the back to save both a trip to the Support designer and any hurt civilians then I will do so. However, during class, I need to know that I can communicate with all of you quickly without worrying whether or not you are paying attention and can hear me. I am okay with stares, the only thing crossing the line is any kind of unfriendly touching that does not save my life or others."
Murmurs of agreement flooded the room as classmates began to understand. Iida was, once again, the first to speak up, “Thank you, Yaoyorozu, for bringing this to our attention. For too long we have acted as bad friends, we shall make it up to you in whatever way we can.” Most of the students nodded in agreement.
(Bakugou was grumbling about how ‘she didn’t need to explain that crap, since it was fucking obvious as fuck’). (The others would disagree).
“Thank you all for understanding, now Mr. Aizawa, I’ll give you the floor.” She did a short bow to her classmates and her teacher before heading back to her seat, feeling more confident and comfortable now that everything had been resolved. She was glad that her fellow classmates were understanding, and respected her.
[Aside from one nasty grape, but we don’t talk about him].