There were few times when Shirayuki really hated her mask. She wore it to protect herself. It was meant to hide her mouth so no one could make fun of her. The commute to school made her wish she had the courage to not wear it in public. It made it so much easier for people to recognize her from the sports festival. If Shinsou had not been with her, she was sure something bad would have happened.

Walking alongside her friend, the girl kept her head bowed. "…I'm…surprised that you haven't been approached…" she commented quietly. "…you were really cool…at the sports festival, Shinsou…"

He frowned and ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't make it as far as I wanted to," he argued.

"…no, but…you made it really far…" Fidgeting with the hairband on her wrist, she could feel her face heating up a little. Even though he broke up with her, they were still friends and she was really glad. However, it was difficult to fully make that transition back to friendship now. She still blushed around him and her stomach still did flips when he looked her in the eyes.

The previous day, they had spent the afternoon together. She kept thinking about holding his hand, but she kept her distance to respect his wishes. Just friends. I can't let myself distract him…or distract myself from my goals. I'm going to become a hero. I'll become a strong hero…and prove myself…make myself a hero that would make my father proud!

"You're in the hero course so…you're probably going to get offers from hero agencies now for an internship, right? I heard that's how it goes."

She glanced over and nodded. "…I just…hope that I get an offer from somewhere that can help me get stronger…"

Shinsou quirked an eyebrow and half-smiled. "You're really fired up today. Well, yesterday, too. There's something different."

The girl's shoulders drooped and she frowned behind her mask. Unfortunately, what had lit a fire beneath her was her mother. After standing up for herself and Bakugou, she knew she could force herself to act tougher and it gave her a rush of confidence. She knew she was still a long ways off from being as confident as her classmates, but this was a start at least.

Parting ways to go to class, Shirayuki tried to push away the memory of shouting at her mother. It was difficult when she saw Bakugou because it immediately brought back the memory of all of the terrible things her mother had said about him. She started to feel sad, but more than that she felt angry. She wished that she could have said something more. Something to make her mother regret speaking that way about her friend.

"You've got a pretty big appetite, Yuki-chan."

"Whoa! That's a ton of food!" Kaminari leaned over, peering down at Shirayuki's lunch as they sat at a table. "We don't have any quirk training stuff today, do we?"

"I didn't think we did," Ashido agreed. "That looks really good though, Yuki-chan."

She stared down at her tray, having not realized how much food she got until just now. In the moment, she had been hungry. Distracted. A little bit angry and a little bit depressed. No hero agencies had offered her an internship. As she lowered her mask, she slouched and quietly began to devour her curry and rice first. It had always been a comforting food for her in the past so she hoped that it could help her feel better now.

No agencies wanted me. What did I do wrong? I…obviously messed up. Where though? Did I really just not make any impression? My father…didn't do well in his sports festival, but he at least stood out. Shirayuki moved on to her second serving of curry and rice, eating with no regard for how the boy beside her was frowning.

The others were talking about the attention everyone had gotten on the way to school, but Kirishima seemed to be focused instead on Shirayuki's frown. "Hey, Yuki-chan, maybe we could both intern at the same agency. Wouldn't that be cool?"

She gave a nod, but bowed her head a little more and reached for her third serving. Before she could start on it, a pair of chopsticks jabbed into the piece of meat on top and she jolted. Turning to look at the owner of the chopsticks, she saw Bakugou glaring down at her. "…what…?"

"What the hell are you so depressed about? It's not like you won't get to intern," he growled, leaning in closer. His tray was set down beside hers and he took a seat. "And if she's going to intern with anybody, it's gonna be me."

"…um…I don't know…I-I wanted to…be picked by an agency…I feel bad if I have to make one take me…"

"You've got to be aggressive sometimes! Go in and demand that they take you! They'll see how determined you are and-!"

"Whatever. All I've got to do is say something and you'd be in," Bakugou interrupted. He started eating beside her, not even bothering to look over at the rest of the group.

"…aggressive…" Shirayuki finished eating and considered what Kirishima had said. It would definitely show initiative if she approached a hero agency herself, but just thinking about it made her start to feel nauseas. She bit her lip as she tried to determine what she could do. What she could manage, with her level of anxiety and timidity. Shyness was definitely not a good trait in a hero; people wanted someone confident and outgoing to come to their rescue.

At the end of the day, she walked alone down the hallway with the intention of meeting up with Shinsou to go home. Tomorrow. I'll…see what agencies are accepting interns…and I'll have to do something myself. She curled her hand into a fist in front of her and nodded.

It was as she did this that Shirayuki felt an odd sensation. Like there were holes being burned into the back of her head from a distance. This was not something she was overly used to; most people overlooked Shirayuki and she was glad for that fact. However, this was an intense stare and it was being directed at her specifically.

She kept her head bowed, biting her lip hard as she quickened her pace. Usually if someone was staring at her this intensely, it was Bakugou. This felt different somehow. Less dangerous, but still unsettling. She was afraid to even glance back and see who it was so she just tried to navigate her way out of the school as quickly as possible without drawing more attention to herself.

Shirayuki continued to feel that someone was watching her. No matter how fast she walked or how many turns she made, someone was behind her and they were not about to look away. She fidgeted with her hairband, nervousness making her stomach clench and making sweat bead along her hairline. I can't…do this. Why? I should be brave! I want to be a hero and people are always looking at heroes!

The girl shook her head, thinking of her homeroom teacher. Aizawa-sensei…doesn't like to be looked at, either. But he's a hero. He avoids the people that would look at him. Maybe I can be like Aizawa-sensei. Maybe I can-!

"Hey, Tamaki! You didn't ask her yet? She's almost gone!"

Hearing Togata's warm, cheerful tone above the clamor of the other students made her pause in her steps. Now she looked back and Shirayuki's crimson eyes briefly met a pair of dark indigo ones. The older student immediately narrowed his eyes and lowered his head so his hair hid his gaze. What…?

"Shirayuki! Good timing; he almost lost his chance! Can you come here? Tamaki's got something really important to ask you!"

She tilted her head slightly, but obliged. It was strange, but she found herself wanting to do what Togata asked. After all, he gave off that warm, kind aura. Like a living ray of sunlight. Like how a real hero should be, she thought to herself. As she approached the two male students, she bowed her head and shifted her hands to both hold her bag's strap. "…ah…d-did you need something…Togata-senpai…?"

"Not me! Tamaki, come on! Now's your chance!" He put a hand on his friend's shoulder, leaning in and smiling brightly. "You said it was important, right?"

There was a moment of silence as the boy tried to lift his gaze to look at Shirayuki, but then seemed to reconsider. Staring down at the ground, his mouth twisted into a deep scowl and he shook his head. "It's no good…Mirio, I can't-"

"You can do this!" Togata persisted. He gently held Shirayuki's shoulder and guided her closer to his friend, apparently ignoring the way both of the timid students started to turn bright red in the face. "And…friendship! Go!"

Friendship…? She was a little puzzled by his exclamation and looked from him to the boy standing in front of her. "…A-Amajiki-senpai…?"

His lips moved, but he was silent. He shoved his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath. "…a potato doesn't work…a cat…?" He gave himself a small nod. "Okay…visualize a cat. She's just a cat," he muttered to himself.

I'm a cat? Shirayuki was fidgeting with the strap of her bag nervously. She was aware that people were beginning to stare at the weird group of three. She was also aware of the warm hand gripping her shoulder; holding her in place while Amajiki tried to collect himself. "…I'm…supposed to walk home w-with my friend so…"

"Oh! Sorry, Shirayuki; we won't keep you for too much longer. We've got to get going soon, too," Togata apologized. Turning his head to look at Amajiki again, he frowned. "Come on! You can do this!"

When the dark-haired boy lifted his gaze from the ground, it was narrowed and met the girl's with a harshness. He took a step toward her, hands still in his pockets and that glare still fully intact. "Shirayuki-san, you...t-tomorrow…after school, come with me."

She stared at him in confusion as the wind blew a stray lock of dark violet hair across her face. "…Amajiki-senpai…um…g-go with you…?" The girl was now so nervous that she was shaking. All of her bravery from the other day was now nowhere to be found.

"Tell her," Togata urged. He gave Amajiki a slight nudge closer to the first year student, displaying a supportive smile as he did so.

"M-my hero agency, where I do my work study…the hero I'm working for wants to meet you." It was obvious that Amajiki was just as nervous as Shirayuki; they were both trembling and sweating a little from fear. Doing his best to maintain eye contact, he took another step closer. "So tomorrow…come with me to the hero agency…"

"That wasn't so bad! You know your brain is your worst enemy sometimes; it psyches you out before you even start. So what do you think, Shirayuki?"