NeonHorizon: Did someone call for a taser...?

When Shirayuki left her room that morning, it was with a feeling of dread sitting heavily in her stomach. She had no appetite and had woken much too early. Lying awake, staring at her new dragon plush toy, she worried over what the next day would bring. Her date with Shinsou had been so nice. She had felt so happy. This date with Bakugou could only go badly.

She had dressed nicely for the previous day, but the amount of effort she put into her outfit on this day was minimal. Dark violet shorts, white knee high socks, and a pale blue blouse with short sleeves. Nothing nearly as nice as the dress she had worn for Shinsou.

Stepping out of her room, she heard her grandmother's voice and it made her pause. Who is she talking to? Did Bakugou-kun show up really early?

"You have a good appetite, don't you? Did you skip breakfast just to come see Ume?" the old woman asked.

Shirayuki entered the living room and stopped dead in her tracks. "…Grandma…what…?"

Kaminari was seated on the couch and flashed her a dazzling smile, lifting a hand in greeting. "Hey, Yuki! You're finally up!" The cookie in his hand started crumbling a little and he moved to try to catch the crumbs in his mouth.

"Oh! Ume, here you are! Your friend said that you're going somewhere today. Do you need some spending money?" Her grandmother turned away from Kaminari with a large plate of cookies, the expression on her face one of absolute delight.

"…no, I…still have some allowance left…" Shirayuki adjusted her mask and glanced back to Kaminari.

The blond was standing now, brushing cookie crumbs off of his shorts and watching the cats clamor to get at them. "Wow. You look pretty cute, Yuki. That color looks really good on you," he commented, grinning.

"…um…why…?"

"Oh! Sorry that I didn't call first! I probably should've done that, right? Well, anyway, you look really nice." He approached her and seemed to somehow know that she was frowning. "What's up?"

"…I-I'm just…confused…"

He tilted his head as her grandmother left for the kitchen. Realization crossed his features and his smile turned sheepish. "I'm coming with you on your date. You were wondering why I was here, right?"

"…yes…um…but…B-Bakugou-kun won't…like…"

"So?" Kaminari carefully avoided tripping over a cat as he followed her to the entryway. He watched her put on her shoes, pulling his own on without looking, and smiled once more. "Kirishima called me last night and said you had a date today, but he wished you had a taser. So here I am! Just think of me as your personal taser for the day, Yuki. You tell me to shock someone and I'll do it."

"…taser…?" She adjusted her bag over her shoulder and gave him a curious look from over her mask. I don't understand. Kirishima-kun was the one that suggested this, but he's worried about me?

"Yep! So if Bakugou, or anyone else, gets out of hand or makes you uncomfortable, you just tell me. I'll take care of them. Sound good?" The boy's golden eyes met her red ones and his expression turned sheepish again. "Also, Kirishima and Ashido don't know that I'm going along on your date. It's kind of embarrassing, you know? Getting worried so worried about a friend that I'm tagging along on their date."

Shirayuki could feel her face getting warmer and bowed her head. "…I won't tell anyone…" she agreed.

"We'll just pretend like I came here to hang out and didn't know, okay?" He saw her nod and Kaminari grinned. "You're really sweet, you know? I just said something super lame and you didn't even laugh."

"…I…didn't think it was lame…and you're my friend…you…called me your friend…and that made me really happy…" She fidgeted with her hairband and smiled behind the mask, embarrassed by how delighted she was over a simple word such as "friend".

When the door opened, they were greeted with the sight of Bakugou loitering near the gate. He looked first at Shirayuki and then at the smiling Kaminari. "What the hell is he doing here?! Did you call him?"

As the two teenagers walked toward the gate, Kaminari lifted his hands in defense. "Whoa! I just came over to hang out with her! Chill!"

"We're going somewhere! Damn it! You're not coming with us, got it?! Come on, Ume!" Bakugou grabbed her left hand tightly and started off down the sidewalk. When he felt her lagging behind a little, he glanced over his shoulder and scowled. Kaminari was now holding her right hand and walking with them. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I wanted to hang out with Yuki. Come on, it's not that big of a deal if I come with you, right? I'll hang back, if you want. I wouldn't want to intrude on your date."

Instantly, the other boy's face went red. "It's not a date! This is none of your business! Ume, let's go!"

She was pulled forward roughly, her right hand slipping from Kaminari's hold. The girl gave him an apologetic look as Bakugou pulled her forward. "…where…are we going…?" she finally managed to ask.

"We're going somewhere fun, okay? I thought about it all night and-!" He caught himself and went silent, gritting his teeth. The boy shook his head angrily. "I mean, I'm taking you wherever I want, got it?!"

To her complete, and pleasant, surprise she was brought to the cat café from the day before. The menu was different since it was morning and she felt happiness starting to bubble up again. These pastries…all look so good. A cat rubbed against her leg and she released a giggle from behind her mask. The cats and overall cuteness of the café was enough to make her momentarily forget her situation.

Bakugou watched her lift the cat onto her lap and his eyes narrowed. "Why's the face on that one so flat? It's weird-looking."

"…it's a Persian cat…" she replied softly. Shirayuki rubbed behind the cat's ears and was rewarded with purring. The bubbly feeling made her a little giddy as she let the cat rub its face against her covered cheek.

Shift P.O.V

Across the table, the boy's cheeks were burning with a blush. He had seen how happy the café made her the previous day and knew that this was where to start their date. They would start with her smiling and end with her smiling. He would show her a better time than that boy from class C.

The only problem with his plan was the dopey blond boy sitting to his right. Kaminari was smiling and reaching over to pet the cat that Shirayuki was holding. When he heard him make a joke about the cat's face and Shirayuki laughed, Bakugou felt himself getting vexed.

He managed to stop himself from saying something scathing. This was going to be a good day for her, even if it killed him. Looking down at the menu, he cringed at the names of the items. All of the drinks and food had cutesy cat-themed names that he would not be caught dead saying aloud. When the waitress came to get their order, he simply glared and pointed at what he wanted.

When their orders came, he began to eat, but paused when he glanced at Shirayuki. She had her mask pulled down so her full face was in view. The girl was currently enjoying a pastry and the smile on her lips after that first bite made his heart skip a beat. He put his head down as he lifted a bite of food to eat, but let his eyes lift to steal another glance. She was still smiling, her crimson eyes sparkling with bliss as she got ready to take another bite.

It made him irritated that he had to share this moment with their classmate. It was so rare that he saw her full face. Even rarer that he would see her smile. That idiot is ruining everything, he thought. Glaring at Kaminari, he chewed his food.

Gathering some of the pastry onto his fork, Bakugou smirked and leaned across the table. "Hey, Ume. Try this."

"…wh-what…um…?"

"C'mon. Open up." When she took the fork, he started to frown, but at least she was kind of doing what he wanted. She took a bite and began to smile wider, clearly enjoying it. "Give me some of yours."

"Here you go!" Kaminari used his own fork to get some of Shirayuki's pastry and, before Bakugou could dodge, shoved the fork into his mouth. "That's pretty good, right? It's chocolate hazelnut."

He yanked the fork out of his mouth, tempted to hurl at the other blond, when he heard laughter to his left. His eyes narrowed and shifted in that direction to find a two couples around their age near the entrance. They were snickering and it was immediately apparent that they were whispering. "What's so damn funny?!"

"I can't believe "Wide-mouth Shirayuki" is actually out with two guys! What the hell? Are they sight-impaired or something?" One of the girls snickered.

"Maybe they asked her out before they really saw her face!" a boy replied.

Bakugou heard them continue their taunting as his blood began to boil. A glance across the table showed that Shirayuki's head was bowed, but he could still see tears rolling down her cheeks. Her face was bright red from embarrassment and she was struggling to pull her mask back up. "That's it! You assholes want to fight?!"

"Whoa! Calm down, Bakugou!" Kaminari tried to stop him, but it was futile.

"Shut up! Anyone that makes fun of Ume has to answer to me, got it? I'm not letting them get away with talking like that about her! Come on, you cowards!"

When he got up and started advancing on them, the other teens rushed for the door. They left, but not without shouting a few more insults. Now he was fuming. As he sat down again, Bakugou glared at the door. "I'm not letting them ruin this, Ume. You shouldn't, either."

"…those kids…w-were from my junior high…" Her voice shook as she spoke and she wiped at her eyes, but the tears were falling fast. "…I'm sorry…it's my fault…this is my fault…"

"Yuki, it's not your fault. Those guys were just jerks," Kaminari tried to assure her. "Don't let them get to you."

Bakugou saw her crying and his scowl deepened. His hand darted over to grab hers. It was a little too tight of a grip at first and made her wince, but he loosened it to a comfortable level when he saw that. "Ume, look at me!" Her gaze lifted to meet his, her eyes shining wetly with tears. "I'm gonna make this better, got it?"