NeonHorizon: I had some free time so I wrote this. Figured you might want more content to read? I don't know. I kind of like this story so far. It's relaxing for me to work on. Not a lot of pressure like some of my other stuff. Enjoy.

He stood waiting for several minutes, staring out at the rain. It was just as heavy as it had been that morning so he knew that she would need to come back for her umbrella. Looking down at it, he really did not want to be seen walking in the rain with it alone. It was printed with little flowers, just like her mask.

Where is she? He looked over his shoulder at the other students that were getting ready to leave and he tried to find her in the crowd. Shinsou frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. It was unlikely that she would appear until the bulk of the crowd had dispersed.

He had known her since he was nine. She had transferred to his elementary school and was a gloomy girl back then. Always kept to herself. Always reading a weird book that no one else seemed to know about.

Even back then, she wore that surgical mask to hide her mouth and nose. He knew what she looked like though. In their last year of elementary school, another boy had ripped it off of her face and exposed her mouth. It was wide. Strange-looking. She had cried for the rest of that day and refused to look at any of her classmates for the rest of the week after that.

Settling the umbrella across his shoulder, he decided to look for her. Sure enough, she was hanging around her shoe locker and glancing anxiously toward the crowded exit. Shinsou's eyes narrowed and he followed her gaze. "The sooner we leave, the sooner you'll be away from that."

"…I know…" she assured him. "…but…I'm scared…"

"It's fine." He stood with her for a while, but meandered away when he saw a few other students from 1-A approaching to talk to her. Did she make friends?

The students were two boys and a girl. The one with red hair was smiling and immediately launched into a conversation with Shirayuki, seeming to not notice how nervous she was. The blond seemed happy to just go along with what he was saying and the pink-haired girl was talking about seeing kittens.

She's taking them to the kittens, he realized. Looking out toward the rain once more, he vaguely wondered if they were alright in the storm. What am I supposed to do now?

"…Shinsou-kun…um…I-I can bring your umbrella tomorrow…"

Hearing her call to him, he casually looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "You remember where I live?" He saw her glance away and nod. "Bring it to my house when you can." Again, she nodded. Shinsou watched her walk to the exit with the other three students and wondered if she intended to share the other girl's umbrella. Instead, he saw the red-haired boy open his umbrella and she stepped closer to him. Oh. I see.

Shift P.O.V

"Did you have a good day at school, Ume?" Her grandmother's eyes widened when she turned away from the kitchen and saw her granddaughter standing there with three other teenagers and a box of kittens. "Oh! I'm sorry. I'm not used to Ume bringing friends home. I'll get some tea started. Ume, can you get your friends some towels? You all look drenched."

Her face burned pink with shame, but she went to get some towels. They insisted on coming over because they wanted to see where I live. I've never had people come over before. How do I explain this? And…are we friends? Bringing the towels back with her, she quietly apologized for the inconvenience and handed them out to her classmates.

The girl's grandmother returned from the kitchen with a tray, bearing a tea pot and mismatching mugs. "I'm sorry that we don't have anything fancy; it's just green tea," the old woman said. "We don't usually have guests."

"…grandmother…these are my classmates…" Shirayuki heard the others introduce themselves and felt her heart skip a beat when she heard them say that they were her friends. Really? Are we really friends now?

"I didn't know that your name was Ume," Ashido remarked. "That's a cute name! Is it written as "plum" like your hair color?"

"…yes…" She bowed her head, feeling extremely embarrassed. Her grandmother had given her the name. "…it's…"

"It's a little old-fashioned. I'm sorry, Ume." Her grandmother beamed. "Oh! I'll get some snacks! I'm sure that your friends are probably hungry."

"Your grandma seems really nice," Kirishima spoke up. "So is it just you and her?" He saw her give a slight nod. "You don't have any brothers or sisters?"

"…only child…" Her stomach was starting to do flips as she realized that all eyes were on her. "…um…my grandmother raised me since I was nine…it's just the two of us here so…I've never really had time for much besides studying and chores…I don't like to leave her alone because it's dangerous…"

"Are we your first friends?" Kaminari asked, excitement leaking into his tone. He seemed completely unaware of what he was implying.

"…y-yeah…I-I mean…if we're friends…if you want to be friends with me…" Her eyes widened when she felt herself being pulled into a hug by the pink-haired girl beside her. "…wh-what…?!"

"Of course we want to be friends with you! Ugh! I can't get over how adorable you are, Ume-chan!"

She winced. "…can you not…call me that name…?"

"How about "Yuki"? Like a nickname?" Kirishima suggested.

"…I…I like that…"

"It's really cute! Yuki-chan suits you pretty well," Kaminari agreed.

Shirayuki smiled behind her mask and nodded once. A nickname. That's something that friends call each other by, right? Does this mean that we're really, truly friends?

The others stayed for a little while longer before they had to go to their own homes. By then, the rain had at least died down to a slight drizzle. Shirayuki looked out at the puddle-ridden sidewalk and wet pavement, frowning at the sight of lightning in the distance. It might start again. I need to take Shinsou-kun's umbrella to him before it gets worse.

"Those friends of yours are very polite," her grandmother commented. She was settling into her favorite chair in front of the television, a cup of tea in hand. "You know, Ume, you don't need to be afraid of having people over. I don't mind a little mess. You're a teenager; it's good for you to have some friends."

She nodded, but could not help feeling as if her grandmother felt bad for her. Since moving in with her grandmother, she had not made a single friend. She knew that it was more than a little pathetic. It made it feel that much better now that she had somehow managed to make not one, but three friends.

Putting on a coat, she turned to look at the old woman over her shoulder. "…I need to take this umbrella to someone…I'll be back soon…" Shirayuki felt a certain tremor in her limbs, a sensation of weakness settling into her body. She silently cursed herself. The errand would have to be quick.

"Alright. Make sure you're home in time for dinner. The rice should be done soon." The woman's brow furrowed as she looked at Shirayuki. "Ume? Ume, dear, did you use your quirk at school today?"

"…I did, but…not too much…I'll be back soon…" Her footsteps were quick, a renewed sense of urgency taking hold of her as she gripped Shinsou's umbrella.

Once outside, it took her a moment to remember where exactly he lived. They did live in the same neighborhood, but it had been a while since she had to know where his home was. The two had been forced to work on a project together in middle school so she had gone there once or twice to exchange notes.

Walking through the light rain, Shirayuki almost wanted to remove her mask so she could enjoy the scent of the storm. The air felt cool and refreshing against the upper half of her face as she splashed through puddles. Her mask was getting a little wet, making it stick to her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Where was it…? I'm sure it was around here somewhere.

Shift P.O.V

He stood on the corner for a moment, watching her. The girl was leaning against a fence, head bowed and her dark hair falling over her face. Even from this distance, he could see that she was shaking and struggling to look around at her surroundings. Shinsou knew immediately what was wrong. He had seen this happen in middle school when she used her quirk to try to defend herself from some bullies. Her blood sugar is low. She must have used her quirk.

Crossing the street, he approached her from the side and leaned down to peer into her eyes. "Hey, Shirayuki."

"…Shinsou-kun…I brought your umbrella…" she replied, weakly.

The boy glanced at the umbrella and accepted it, his gaze soon fixing upon her trembling hand. "You don't look so good," he started.

"…I'm fine…just…a little shaky…light-headed…"

"Your blood sugar is low." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away when she gave him a questioning glance. "Come on. I got food from the convenience store."

"…I…couldn't take food from you…I'm sorry…"

Shinsou's eyes narrowed. It was clear that she was embarrassed; her face was bright red behind her surgical mask. He knew that she would refuse his offer if he made it again. There was only one option if he wanted to make sure she did not collapse. "Did you take those cats home?"

"…y-yeah…my grandma…said that I could try to find them homes and…" Shirayuki went silent, her body unmoving as she stared back at him.

He took her hand without saying a word to her, easily getting her to follow him home. Her quirk eats up any calories she consumes throughout the day, he remembered as he watched her eat. The more calories, the more powerful her quirk is. She isn't dieting, is she? Or did she just forget to plan ahead?

When she had finished eating the food he put in front of her, she sat with her head down. The mask was hanging loosely around her neck, revealing her wide mouth and pale pink lips. There was a small cut on her lower lip, most likely made by her biting at it. "…thank you…" she finally murmured.

"Are you feeling better?" He saw her nod. "Good. Go home, Shirayuki. It's going to rain again."

She stood, her dark hair falling over her face as she secured her mask once more. "…Shinsou-kun…thank you again…for this morning…"

The boy ran a hand through his hair and turned away. "You said that you have the kittens at your house, right?" He saw the girl nod. "I want to come see them."

"…do you…want to come over on Sunday…?"

"Tomorrow. After school. What's your address?"