NeonHorizon: This chapter is just a tiny bit longer than usual. Apparently I was really excited because I wrote one page more than usual and had to cut back a bunch of stuff to make sure that everything worked out. Sorry. Who's ready to see Shirayuki stand up for herself?
Shinsou stirred awake at the sound of a soft chiming throughout the house. He blinked sleepily, a little confused as he looked around. Feeling a weight against his side, he turned to look down at Shirayuki. The two had apparently dozed off on the couch and there was now a blanket draped over them both.
The chiming came again and again. The boy frowned and carefully maneuvered his friend so she was now leaning against a couch pillow. He hated to leave her by herself, but it seemed like her grandmother was gone. As much as he disliked the idea of answering the door at someone else's house, he knew the visitor was not about to give up and leave.
Opening the door, he saw two students from their school standing near the gate. He approached them with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Do you need something?"
The girl gave him a puzzled look and then glanced down at a scrap of paper in her hand. "This is the Shirayuki household, right?"
Shinsou crossed his arms and leaned against the fence on the other side of the gate. "Yes. This is the Shirayuki house."
The other boy pushed up his glasses and frowned deeply. "Are you her brother? Is Shirayuki home? She missed school today and as the class president, it's my duty to make sure that she's alright!"
"I'm not her brother. And she isn't taking guests right now."
"Iida, it's okay," the girl assured her classmate. Turning from the boy in glasses, the brunette offered a smile. "Can you tell Yuki that we stopped by?"
After seeing Shirayuki in such a deep state of depression and confusion, he was wary of any of her classmates. If one of them was bullying her, chances were good that others might be bullying her as well. However, this girl seemed to be genuinely worried. Finally, he nodded. "Fine. I'll tell her that you were here."
As Shinsou turned to go back into the house, he heard a commotion further down the street. It sounded like her other friends. Thankfully, the two at the gate went to explain everything to them. She doesn't need that right now.
Locking the door again, he made his way back to the living room. Shirayuki was still asleep. She had fallen onto her side while he was gone and was now holding the pillow against her chest. Locks of dark, tangled violet hair fell across her pale face as she slept.
Sitting in front of the couch, Shinsou carefully reached over to draw the blanket up more so it covered her shoulder. The girl continued to sleep peacefully. He hesitated to do more, but was unable to resist a certain urge. His fingers gently pushed her hair away from her face, his fingertips brushing over her skin lightly.
He bowed his head, lowering his gaze to the floor as he tried to calm the racing of his heart. For the past year or so, he had had a crush on this girl. He was unsure if he would ever tell her, but now that he had expressed his feelings, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted.
Shinsou heard her move in her sleep and lifted his eyes. One hand was poking out from beneath the blanket, her knuckles resting against the couch cushion. He reached toward her, taking her small hand in his and watching her lips curl into a timid smile. As the two sat in silence, he wondered what her answer would be when he asked her that important question.
Shift P.O.V
Shirayuki's pulse was so fast that it almost hurt. She knew that holding a boy's hand and walking to school with a boy should not be such a big deal, but the butterflies in her stomach were powerful that day. "…Shinsou…yesterday…w-was such a good day…I wanted to thank you properly so…um…I made you something…"
He glanced over and saw her face flushing red behind her mask. His free hand rubbed the back of his neck and he frowned. "You didn't have to do anything."
"…um…h-here…" Digging in her bag, she drew forth a small box. "…I…didn't know what kind is your favorite so…I-I just made butter cookies…"
Accepting the box, he half-smiled. "You made me cookies?"
"…ah…i-if you don't like sweets that much…I could throw these away and make something else…I just wasn't sure…"
"I want these," he assured her. He popped the lid off and took out a cookie. Shinsou snapped it in half and offered one side to the girl. On their walk to the train station, he had heard her stomach growl. "Do you have plans after school?"
"…n-no…I shouldn't be busy…" Remembering what day of the week it was, her shoulders drooped. "…ah…a-actually, I…need to get groceries tonight…um…"
Shinsou tucked the box into his bag and they continued to the school. "I'll go with you." He saw the relief in her eyes and his half-smile grew a little. "If anyone gives you trouble today, tell me, okay?" She nodded and it seemed to satisfy him.
Shirayuki walked to her classroom with a sinking feeling growing in her stomach. Memories of what had transpired two days before made her hesitate to go into the classroom. Come on! I want to be a hero! I need to be brave!
"Shirayuki!" When he saw her flinch, Midoriya jogged the rest of the way down the hallway to her. "I-I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you. Um…I wanted to apologize for what happened the other day during training." His eyes fell upon the bandage that was over her left cheek and winced. "I'm sorry, Shirayuki."
"Deku was worried that you were out yesterday because of your injury," Uraraka explained as she joined them. She tilted her head when she saw the dark-haired girl begin to fidget with the hairband on her wrist. "Yuki? Are you okay?"
"…I-I'm fine…um…d-does anyone know if…if Bakugou-kun…is already here…?"
Uraraka and Midoriya exchanged a glance. "Is he bullying you?" the brunette asked. "If he is, you need to tell someone. It isn't right for him to pick on you."
"If he's bullying you, tell me, okay? I'll…I'll stick up for you."
The door abruptly opened and Kirishima beamed. "Hey, it's Yuki-chan!" The redhead's arms went around her midsection in a tight hug, lifting her off of her feet and pressing her back against his chest. "I was so worried about you! Don't disappear like that again!"
The girl's pale face filled with warmth. "…K-Kirishima-kun…!"
"Awww! Look how red she's getting!" Kaminari walked over to join them, grinning cheerfully. "Dude, don't keep her all to yourself."
"Sorry, sorry. There we go." Kirishima carefully set her down on her feet and a faint pink tint rose to his cheeks when he saw her blushing.
Shirayuki jolted a little as Kaminari pulled her into a semi-awkward side-hug and then finally let Ashido hug her. "…s-sorry…about yesterday…"
"It's fine. You weren't feeling well, right? We went to visit your house, but Uraraka and Iida told us that you weren't up to seeing anyone."
Remembering how Shinsou had told her that her classmates had come to the gate, she frowned behind her mask. "…ah…sorry about that…"
"It's fine," Ashido repeated, smiling. "We're just glad you're feeling better."
Shirayuki looked toward her desk and was glad to see that Bakugou was not there yet. She bowed her head and excused herself to sit down. As she settled in, the girl toyed with the hairband on her wrist. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. A still lake. Sunshine. Warm cookies. Kittens.
Stomping could be heard, crossing the room from the classroom doorway. A hand slammed down on her desk, right in front of her. "Hey, red eyes! What the hell is your problem? Why were you avoiding me yesterday?!"
As much as she wanted to be brave, the girl was unable to stop herself from beginning to tremble. "…I wasn't avoiding you…"
"Shirayuki was out sick yesterday, Kaachan. She wasn't avoiding you." Midoriya's voice came from close by as the boy attempted to defend her.
"Shut up, Deku! This doesn't have anything to do with you!" A hand gripped a lock of Shirayuki's hair and pulled roughly. "Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you, red eyes!"
The girl started to open her eyes and her face instantly went a vibrant shade of pink. Bakugou had leaned down, his face just a few inches away from hers. When he saw her looking, he smirked and tugged at her hair. What…? Why? Why is he doing this? Isn't it enough that he took my first kiss and…embarrassed me…?
He snickered. "What're you blushing about, nerd?"
"Kaachan, just leave her alone. She isn't doing anything-"
"She doesn't need you to defend her, Deku. Come on! Say something, red eyes!" He leaned in further, crimson eyes narrowing as his smirk became a little more sinister. "Say something or I'll really give you a reason to blush!"
Her next actions surprised everyone. "Stop it!" Her voice rose from its usual soft tone, escalating to a near shout. Both hands slammed against his chest and she shoved him back with as much strength as she could manage. His balance faltered, one leg got caught on a desk's legs, and Bakugou was sent sprawling onto the floor.
Midoriya stared in utter disbelief and watched as the blond boy pushed himself up onto his elbows. His mouth was twisted into a scowl at being humiliated in front their classmates and the green-haired boy moved to put himself between Bakugou and Shirayuki. "Class is about to start, Kaachan. Just let it go."
"Wow, Yuki-chan. That was pretty intense. You okay?" Kirishima walked over to check on her and when he saw the fury in Bakugou's stare, he frowned.
"Get out of my way! I'm not done with her!" the blond snarled.
"I saw what you did to Yuki-chan. That was really uncool. You don't pull a girl's hair. You know how unmanly that is? Real men don't do stuff like that to get a girl's attention." Kirishima met his glare with a firm look and the two kept their eyes locked until Aizawa appeared to start class.
Slouching in her seat, Shirayuki could swear that she felt the rage emanating from the boy sitting behind her. Fidgeting with her hairband, she bowed her head. I…raised my voice in front of everyone. And I pushed him. Now he's really mad at me. What is he going to do? I'm…really scared.
Her feeling of gloom was starting to grow. The fact that everyone was so worried about Bakugou bullying her made her feel bad. Shinsou, Midoriya-kun, and everyone in class. I want to become a hero and all of these people…feel like they need to protect me from my own classmate. It isn't right.
At lunchtime, Shirayuki tried to quickly leave to avoid a confrontation with Bakugou. As soon as she stood, an arm slip around her waist and began dragging her off toward the door. To her surprise, she found her eyes meeting Bakugou's as he stood at his desk. He looked confused for a moment and then angry.
Kaminari and Ashido were already waiting in the hall when Kirishima brought Shirayuki out of the classroom. She looked from them to Kirishima, who was now rubbing the back of his neck and glancing away. "…th-thank you…but I…I need to be able to take care of myself…and stand up to him…"
He grinned. "You're pretty determined, huh?"
"…I know what you said before, but…a hero really does need to stand up to bullies…" she murmured, lowering her gaze. The four began walking down the hallway and she curled her hands into fists. "…if I…can't even handle someone like him…how can I handle standing up to a villain…?"
Kaminari tilted his head. "Is it just me or was he more intense today?"
"Yeah. It was kind of like something was different. Did something happen the other day after the hero training?" Ashido gave Shirayuki a curious look.
Her face went red and she slouched. "…w-well…um…I found out…that he doesn't…didn't…hate me…he probably does now, but…he said…he liked me…"