Shirayuki took her new friends' advice to heart. She also thought of her father and how he had acted during his first sports festival. Trying her best, while also having fun, made for a good day. Even if it had started terribly. She had been a little afraid that the break up would distract her from the sports festival, but it seemed to be the opposite. The sports festival distracted her from the heartbreak.

She knew she probably failed to stand out among the other first year students, but she was just happy to be able to be with her friends and give every challenge her best effort. When it came to students facing off against each other, she sat with Ashido and cheered for their male friends. What would have normally been an anxiety-inducing event was so much better with friends.

"We're meeting up in two hours, right?" Ashido looked to Shirayuki as they left the stadium.

"…ah…y-yes…two hours…it's…the one near the station…?"

"Yep!" The pink-haired girl tilted her head and leaned in a bit, frowning. "Hey, are you okay? You seemed kind of down when you got here this morning."

"…I'm fine…I was just…a little sleepy…" Shirayuki hated to lie to her, but she also wanted to keep the heartbreak to herself. It was personal. It was burdensome. The last thing she wanted was to dampen the mood with something like that. "…Kirishima-kun…and Kaminari-kun…?"

"They're going and Bakugou and I think Kaminari invited Sero, too."

"…I see…" She had yet to really talk to Sero so it made her a little bit nervous, but she nodded. "…alright then…I'll see you later…"

"Oh. Are you waiting for your boyfriend to walk home with you? Did you want to invite him, too? It's cool if you want him to go with us."

It felt like her heart was being squeezed. She shook her head. "…no…he's busy…I'm walking alone today…"

Once Ashido was gone, Shirayuki sighed and bowed her head. The fun from earlier was starting to fade into the distance and was replaced with a cold sadness. She rummaged in her bag, wanting to find her phone so she could call her grandmother. She wanted someone to talk to on her walk home. Her fingers brushed against something crinkly and she drew it out of the bag.

Holding up a wrapped bun that Kirishima had given her the night before, she blinked away tears. For whatever reason, just looking at the custard bun made her feel a tiny bit better. She unwrapped it and began eating as she walked, keeping her head down to hide her mouth from passerby. I have to cheer up. I can't stay sad about this. Heroes don't get depressed…do they? All Might is always smiling. My father was always smiling. Heroes aren't supposed to show it, even if they get sad. Licking a bit of custard from the corner of her lips, she nodded to herself.

"There you are! Where have you been, Ume? I waited out here for twenty minutes. Do you think I have time to waste just standing around?" The voice came from ahead of her. It was sharp, cold, and female. The clicking of heels alerted her to the fact that Hikari was now walking toward her at a brisk pace.

Shirayuki lifted her gaze, meeting her mother's crimson eyes, and she felt like her throat was getting tighter. Her stomach suddenly hurt as if she might lose the bun she just ate. She lifted a hand to her cheek, where her bruise was still healing, and found herself halting in her steps. "…Hikari-san…"

"You know, I really expected more from you today. Umetarou would be so disappointed, knowing his only daughter did such a poor job of showing off her quirk. You didn't even place in the top ten. Honestly, I don't know why you think you have what it takes to be a hero. You're nothing like Umetarou; you're timid, frail, weak. You can't even show your face so how can you ever expect to become the number one hero?"

Each word felt like a stab to her heart. Shirayuki clutched the wrapper from the bun tighter, her hand curling into a fist. She lowered her head more as tears formed in her eyes. The fact that Hikari was bringing up her father made it so much worse. She felt like she was disappointing him now and that was an even deeper level of heartbreak. "…Hikari-san…"

Sharp, manicured nails reached to push her hair back from her face and lifted her chin. Hikari glowered down at her daughter for a moment before a smirk curved her lips. "Well. I suppose it's not all bad. I had the opportunity to speak with Todoroki today and gave him my business card. I think I'll arrange a dinner and we can discuss a quirk marriage. I heard that he has three sons. At least one of them will probably take you. Strong men like that prefer the timid type anyway."

"What the hell are you doing, you old hag? Are you some kind of creep that goes after high school kids?"

Shirayuki had never been so happy to hear Bakugou's voice. Her eyes darted to the side and saw him quickly approaching with a scowl. "…B-Bakugou-kun…this is…this is my mother…"

The woman looked at the boy and her expression fell to disgust as she examined him. "Oh? Another little friend of yours, Ume?"

A hand closed around Shirayuki's upper arm and Bakugou yanked her away from her mother, putting himself between them. "So you're the one that hit Ume? Great. I was hoping I'd meet you." There was a dangerous tone to his voice and the boy's eyes narrowed into a fiery glare that made Hikari's icy one look weak. "You ever put your hands on my girl again and there's gonna be hell to pay! You understand, you old crone?!"

"Your girl?" Hikari tapped a finger to her chin, glancing from the boy to the girl behind him. She smiled, but there was no warmth to it. "I see. Oh, Ume. The disappointment just doesn't stop, does it? I remember this boy. You placed first, didn't you? It's just a shame that you're from a nothing little family, with a terrible personality, and…oh, just to make matters worse…you're not even good-looking. Ume, it's such a waste of youth."

"What the hell are you saying?" he growled. Bakugou was not about to back down, but at the same time he was aware of how Shirayuki was trembling. She timidly gripped his sleeve and mumbled that they should leave.

"Well, if you must know…" Hikari's smile grew and she leaned down to be at eye level with the teenager. "I'm afraid she'll break your heart, young man. You see, Ume is Shirayuki Umetarou's daughter. Calorie Bomb's daughter. She needs to be with someone of much higher standing than…you. She's going to marry one of Endeavor's sons. So you should just run along and find yourself a nice girl from general studies. That should be more your type anyway, right?"

Bakugou reached back and grabbed Shirayuki's hand. He moved her beside him now and smirked at the woman standing in front of them. "Ume's mine. She doesn't have to do what you say. I don't even care who her parents are. I'll fight you if I have to! She's not-!"

"Bakugou." Shirayuki's voice was steady, but raised. She gripped his hand tighter for support and took a step forward. Her eyes lifted from the ground to meet Hikari's directly. Her free hand lifted to pull away her mask, having put it back on when Bakugou came to her rescue earlier. Facing her mother with as much confidence as she could manage, she began to speak.

"Hikari-san, you can't decide things for me. You're not my mother. A mother doesn't abandon their child. A mother doesn't hit their child or try to force them to do whatever they want. You're no one's mother. Grandma raised me…without any help from you. You can't just come back after so many years and try to act like a mother. You don't know me."

"Heh. Well aren't you bold? You really are Umetarou's daughter, aren't you?" Hikari sighed and straightened her posture, shaking her head. "Of course, just because you can suddenly talk without stuttering and whispering, doesn't mean that you're an adult. I am your mother. I decide what's best for you. As Umetarou's daughter, you should be with the son of a hero; not this trashy boy from a family of-!"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT MY FRIEND THAT WAY!" Shirayuki was trembling, her knees feeling weak and her stomach doing flips. Still, she forced herself to keep acting brave. She had no other choice. "You…are the worst mother ever! I don't have to talk to you! And don't you dare talk to Grandma because she knows what's best! She isn't going to do what you say, either!"

Not waiting for her mother to respond, the girl kept a grip on Bakugou's hand and started walking away at a quick pace. She needed to get away from Hikari. She needed to recover from what just happened. It felt great to speak her mind and stand up for herself, but she also felt exhausted now.

Shift P.O.V

This was the second bravest he had ever seen her act. The bravest, of course, had been during the USJ incident. When everyone was separated, she had ended up with Kirishima and himself. She fought pretty hard, but the most impressive thing was when she defended Kirishima.

A villain had managed to sneak up on him and was about to attack when she released a powerful calorie blast that hit the man directly in the chest. It had hit him so hard that it crushed his ribs and punctured his lungs and heart. Shirayuki had trembled and cried, but in that moment she had been insanely strong and courageous.

He could feel that she was shaking now so, as soon as they were out of sight of her mother, Bakugou took the lead. The boy was unable to stop the grin from spreading across his face as he broke into a run, keeping a firm grip on her hand. His heart was pounding when she raised her voice and he would never admit it, but he felt blood rushing to his face.

A look over his shoulder showed that her head was up, eyes briefly meeting his before darting to look straight ahead to where they were headed. He got them to the train station and boarded to go to her neighborhood. Sitting beside her, still holding her hand, he shook his head. "You should've kicked her ass."

"…I couldn't…she's still my…well she's…a civilian so…that would look bad…"

"She's trying to put you in an arranged marriage with that half and half bastard!" he argued. "I'd kick her ass!"

To his surprise, her shoulders shook and she lifted a hand to her mouth, even though it was already hidden behind her mask. She was trying to smother a laugh. "…th-thank you…for supporting me today…"

His face felt hot as he turned his head and used his free hand to rub the back of his neck. "Whatever. I thought that hag was trying to kidnap you." His grin returned and he squeezed her hand. "You need to speak up more, got it? You sound better when you're not mumbling everything."