I can't do this! Shirayuki looked to All Might, hoping that he would see how uncomfortable she was with her partner. Silently praying that he might suggest a new partner. The hero had his back to her, talking to a few of the other students. A glance over her shoulder showed that Bakugou was giving her an expectant look now. "…I'm…not a good match…" she quietly protested.
"I'm not changing partners. Just deal with it."
She anxiously picked at the loose skin around her left thumbnail, frowning behind her mask. I can't do this. I can't handle this. He's still mad at me. I know he is. He won't stop glaring at me. I can't be his partner! Seeing Kirishima approaching, she felt hope bubbling up.
The redhead smiled as he drew closer and put a hand on Shirayuki's shoulder. "Hey, Yuki-chan. I'll be Bakugou's partner, okay? You want to ask All Might if someone else needs a partner?"
"…ah…y-yeah…alright…" She was starting to cheer up a little, but soon felt a hand close around her wrist and pull her back from Kirishima. "…ah…?"
"I said she's taken! I'm not changing partners so just find someone else! I called dibs on her," Bakugou argued. As he looked down at the girl, he saw her face turning a vibrant shade of pink behind her mask. "Listen up, red eyes. We're getting the best time on this obstacle course, got it? I wanna win and if we don't, you're paying a penalty."
Her pulse quickened and she chewed at her lower lip for a moment. Kirishima was still looking at them both, obviously concerned. "…I'm…not that strong…"
"Shut up. We're doing this whether you like it or not."
The girl bowed her head and gave the slightest of nods. As she tried to calculate how many calories she had eaten during lunch, her gaze wandered to All Might again. Kirishima was now trying to ask about making a group of three with her and Bakugou. He's…so nice. And he has such a sweet smile.
Beside her, the girl's partner narrowed his eyes. "What are you staring at?"
"…n-nothing…" Shirayuki slipped the hairband off of her wrist and secured her long, dark hair back away from her eyes. I can do this. I just have to breathe and stay calm. Deep breaths. Think of a calm lake…She took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling herself calm little by little.
"We're up first. Come on."
"…y-yeah…" She was acutely aware of the other students staring at them as they approached the obstacle course. Looking it over, it seemed fairly straightforward. There were targets to hit in order to get through different parts of the course as well as various obstacles that they could destroy or attempt to scale in order to get through to the end. Her heart began to race again when she realized why he was so adamant about partnering with her. Their quirks combined would be perfectly suited to maneuvering through the course quickly and efficiently. "…K-Kirishima-kun's hardening quirk…would be good for this, too…"
"Shut up. I picked you for a reason, red eyes."
The signal was given to begin and they ran into the course. Shirayuki was a little surprised to find him pushing her behind him, using his own quirk to take down the first handful of targets. It was when they came to the first big one that he grabbed her hand and pulled her in front of him, giving the command to take it down.
She closed her eyes and felt the pulsing begin in her right arm as she lifted her hand. As a blast of calorie-fueled energy burst from her palm, she felt his grip on her left hand disappear. Shirayuki felt warmth against her back and she realized that he was using his own body to anchor her, keeping her from being knocked down by the force of her own blast.
It was one of her weak points. When using her quirk, she had to typically try to use smaller blasts. The quirk burned up her calories so it was hard for her to put on weight. This was why her hero costume had the chest and legs weighted. The soles of the boots had special textures on them as well to help her keep from slipping if the blast pushed her.
"…ngh…th-thank you…" The target was blown away by the attack, left in shattered pieces and dust. Shirayuki felt a push against her back and the two began running again. I get it. Between the two of us, we can get rid of the targets pretty quickly. But if he had Kirishima, it would probably take less effort to break through the obstacles.
The rest of the course was conquered in good time. Bakugou took out most of the smaller targets, she took out the larger ones, and their combined force was used to break through any barriers or anything that was absurdly reinforced. Throughout most of the activity, Shirayuki felt herself shaking. It was not just from her rapidly diminishing blood sugar.
As she sat in the grass to spectate the rest of the students' attempts, she tried to recollect herself. It was unnerving to work with someone else so closely. Shirayuki had never used her quirk with someone else before. As nervous as he made her, she had to admit that it was oddly satisfying to watch her blast of energy mix with one of his explosions. The amount of raw power that the two could generate was definitely a good combination.
Redness spread across her face as the grass beside her rustled. From the corner of her eye, she could see him sitting next to her without any concern for how nervous he made her. With trembling hands, she reached up to let her hair down. It fell around her face, hiding the boy from her line of sight. She closed her eyes, trying to do her calm breathing exercise to help her relax a little.
He turned to look when he saw her let her hair down and now he glared, realizing that her eyes were closed and she seemed to be tuning everything out. "Hey!" Reaching over, he grabbed a strand of her hair and tugged at it.
"…ngh…d-did you…say something…?" she muttered. She opened her eyes, but kept her gaze averted from his.
Bakugou leaned over, irritated by her hair hiding her eyes from his view. When he finally saw her and noticed the reddish hue that was blooming in her face, he smirked. "What are you blushing about, red eyes?"
"…n-nothing…" Slouching a little, she started to fidget with the hairband around her wrist. We get to go home soon. I just have to get through a little more and then…I can go home. Wait. Shinsou-kun wanted to come over to see the kittens. That…shouldn't take long though. Her eyes lifted as Kaminari and Ashido approached the start of the obstacle course.
After school, Shirayuki tried to be quick about getting to the lockers. She kept her head down as she walked, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. The lower her blood sugar, the more nervous she seemed to get. Her body was starting to get shaky and weak so she was in a hurry to get home and find a snack.
"Yuki-chan! What are you doing on Sunday?" a cheerful female voice called.
She looked over her shoulder and saw her new friends approaching. A smile began to form behind her mask. "…ah…I don't really do much…on Sundays…"
"Alright, that settles it then! We're all going to hang out on Sunday," Ashido decided. "What time works for you? You seem like an early bird."
"…I…actually tend to stay up kind of late…" she confessed.
"What? I can't picture that," Kaminari remarked. "You study that late?"
"…er…w-well it's not really studying, but…I get caught up reading sometimes…" Shirayuki rubbed the back of her neck, knowing how nerdy she sounded. I wouldn't be surprised if they tease me about this.
Kirishima grinned. "That's cool. What kind of stuff do you read?"
"…ah…y-you…want to know what I read…?" She saw him nod. "…w-well it's…like…fairy tales and mythology…folklore…"
"Oh! It's like those books that you loan Midoriya, right?" The pink-haired girl beamed when she saw the other girl nod. "You should let me borrow one some time!"
"…y-yeah…if you really want…"
"So what are you doing right now? Just going home?"
Before she could answer, she felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck as her eyes met a pair of narrowed ones. Walking straight toward the group was their grumpy classmate, who seemed to have his attention locked on her. Shaky fingers pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and she frowned behind her mask. "…I…actually have plans tonight…I'm sorry…"
"It's cool. What are you doing tonight?" Kaminari asked.
"It's probably stuff for your grandma, right? You said that you help with the chores and stuff." Ashido smiled brightly. "Hang on! Don't tell me you've got plans with your boyfriend! That would be so cute!"
Shirayuki's face turned and she lifted her hands, shaking her head. "…n-no…I don't have a boyfriend or…anything like that…" She winced as Bakugou walked past her, half-expecting him to say something to her. Thankfully, he seemed to have decided against confronting her again that day.
The other three saw the way she reacted and Kaminari frowned. "Hey, Yuki-chan. What's going on with you and Bakugou? Is he bullying you?"
"I think it's the opposite of bullying," Kirishima argued.
"…what…does that mean…?" Shirayuki tilted her head. Spotting Shinsou waiting for her near the exit, she turned back to her locker to finish changing shoes. "…I…have to go so…um…about Sunday…?"
"Oh! Yeah! Here; let's exchange phone numbers, okay?"
As she walked to join Shinsou, she could not help but smile down at her contact list in her phone. I finally have more than one person's number in my phone, she thought with a blissful fluttering sensation in her stomach. I have friends.
"You look pretty happy. Did something good happen?" Shinsou spoke up.
The girl flushed pink. "…s-sort of…I exchanged numbers…with some friends…" she replied. "…and…my partner and I…got the fastest time in the obstacle course…"
He peered down at her phone screen and raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a pretty good day." Reaching into his bag, he drew his phone out. "You should give me your number, too."
"…what…?" Her crimson gaze slid from the screen up to his indigo stare. "…you…want my number…?"
The boy frowned and ran a hand through his hair. He had hoped that she would make it easier. "We're friends, right?"
"…we…are…?" As before, Shirayuki felt her body stop moving and moments later, her number was in his phone and she saw his name listed in her contacts. What just happened? Blinking, she saw him tuck his phone away again. "…um…my grandmother is home so…I-I apologize if she says anything weird…"