Patreon Exclusive – “Only a Dream” Chapter 1: You’d Make a Great What Now?

It started with a bunny.

Not a real one—though that wouldn’t have been the weirdest thing to happen before homeroom in Class 1-A. No, this was a hot-pink, bunny-shaped power bank with glowing ears and a smug expression that made it feel personal.

Kaminari held it aloft like he’d just unearthed a sacred relic. "Toru! Please! Let me borrow it for, like, ten minutes. Just enough juice to snag the All Might merch drop."

Across the room, Toru shrugged, fuzzy sleeves of her hoodie swaying. "I did lend it to Kirishima an hour ago."

"Wait, what?" Kaminari blinked.

Kirishima looked up from his notebook, still heroic but confused. "Yeah, I’ve got it. But I haven’t used it yet. I was waiting for class to start."

"THEN YOU DON’T EVEN NEED IT!" Kaminari exploded, lunging.

"It’s mine now, bro. Finders keepers."

"IT'S NOT EVEN YOURS! YOU CAN'T FINDERS-KEEPERS SOMEONE ELSE'S THING!"

Mina, mid-doodle of a grenade with a smiley face, perked up. "I say let them fight. Winner gets bunny rights."

"Seconded," Jiro added, eyes glued to her phone.

"I believe this conflict could be resolved peacefully," Iida attempted, hands chopping the air. "We must respect property and the spirit of lending!"

Ryuu leaned back in his chair, feet propped on his desk like a warlord surveying his kingdom. His bat rested against his chair like a throne scepter. His smirk said he was enjoying this too much.

Izuku, bless his responsible soul, turned to him. "You’re Class President. Shouldn’t you do something?"

"Nah," Ryuu said. "Too fun."

Todoroki, seated behind them, blinked. "Are they fighting over a glowing rabbit?"

"Yes," Yaoyorozu murmured, already manifesting a backup charger from her arm. "Unfortunately, yes."

"This feels like the dumbest reason yet," Sero muttered.

"No," Tsuyu replied, flicking her gaze to the escalating situation. "But it's top five."

Mineta muttered something about bunny body pillows and was immediately smacked in the head with a rolled-up syllabus. Nobody confessed to throwing it. The class silently agreed it was divine intervention.

"Gentlemen!" Iida barked, hands now windmilling. "This is no time for such bickering over electrical accessories! We are scholars of heroism, not children fighting over—"

"—a pink rabbit battery?" Jiro cut in.

Ryuu didn’t even blink. "Accurate."

That was when Momo stood up and summoned a sleek matte-black charging station that looked like it had a faster data transfer rate than the school servers. She set it down between the bickering boys with a solid thunk.

Kaminari stopped mid-rant. Kirishima blinked and slowly released the bunny.

"...Yaoyorozu," Kaminari whispered. "You are a goddess."

Kirishima nodded, eyes glassy. "I respect you so much."

As they scrambled to plug in their phones like starving rats, Ryuu passed behind Momo with the grace of a guy who knew exactly how to cause damage and walk away from it.

"You’d make a great mother, Yaoyao."

He said it so casually. Like he was commenting on the weather. Or the Wi-Fi signal.

Momo froze.

He was already halfway back to his seat by the time her brain caught up. She stared blankly at the charger. Her cheeks were warm. Her thoughts weren’t cooperating.

Make a great what?

She didn’t even reply.

–

By lunch, Momo had replayed the comment at least fifty times. Her mental inbox was full of questions, and Ryuu’s offhanded line was flagged as top priority.

She sat across from Mina, Jiro, and Tsuyu in the cafeteria. Hagakure slid in, tray waving overhead like a flag of chaos.

"Alright, what are we gossiping about? Is it Bakugo's protein shake hoarding again?"

"Old news," Jiro said, stabbing a rice ball. "He switched to hero-branded ones. Caffeine and violence."

"Baku-brew," Tsuyu deadpanned. "With two Ks."

Momo whimpered. "Oh god."

"Okay, okay, then what about Ryuu threatening the English class drone yesterday?" Hagakure asked cheerfully.

"Do not remind me," Momo groaned. "I swear, it flinched."

"He said, 'Correct me one more time, and I’ll flashbang your server,'" Mina quoted proudly.

"He meant it," Tsuyu said, sipping miso.

"I think he’s charming," Toru added, although her blush couldn't be seen, her frantic hand movements through her sleeves were obvious.

"You would say that," Mina said with a grin.

"Jealous?" Toru chirped.

"Girls," Jiro interrupted, tapping her chopsticks like a gavel. "Movie night picks. Focus."

"I vote horror," Mina declared.

"Anything but horror," Momo said quickly.

"Comedy," Tsuyu offered. "Ribbit. Watching you two argue is horror enough."

"What about that Ryuu-narrated dub of the sports festival?" Toru asked. "When he called Todoroki’s final move 'Frosted Flake, now with trauma'?"

Momo tried to laugh. She really did. But her brain had gone back to the bunny charger incident.

You’d make a great mother.

Why would he say that? Was that... romantic? Teasing? Literal? Did he mean she was nurturing? Responsible? Warm?

Did he mean with him?

She stabbed her rice like it had answers.

–

Momo stared at her textbook. Page 117 stared back, unfazed by her emotional disarray.

She was curled up at her desk in her dorm, hair tied back, notes organized with color-coded precision. The perfect academic image—if only she could focus.

She couldn't.

His voice kept echoing in her head. You’d make a great mother, Yaoyao.

And the worst part was, it hadn't been flirtatious. Not obviously. It had been sincere. Offhanded. Like he just knew that about her. Like he’d thought it long before he said it.

The idea burrowed in.

She slapped her book shut. "Enough."

She leaned back, exhaling sharply, and closed her eyes for just a second—just to reset her brain.

–

She was in a house.

Not hers. Not the dorms. But it felt warm. Safe. Something on the stove smelled like soup.

From another room came the sound of soft laughter. A child’s voice.

She turned.

Ryuu was there. Barefoot. Sleeves rolled up. Leaning against the counter with a lazy smile that felt too domestic. Too real.

"Dinner’s almost ready, Sis. Go and get ready"

Momo opened her mouth to respond—but her heart was already answering first.