"Are you going to be okay?" Shinsou rubbed the back of his neck, reluctant to let Shirayuki walk with someone else. When she told him that she was visiting a hero agency with an upperclassman, he immediately started to worry. Dating or not, he still cared about her a lot and he knew how uncomfortable she was around strangers. "I could walk with you…"

She shook her head, but she was visibly shaking. "…I-I need to…be able to do this, Shinsou…thank you, but I just…if I ever want to become a hero…I need to be able to t-talk to strangers and…do things on my own…"

He frowned and wanted to argue with her. The thought of her going off with someone she hardly knew was causing his stomach to do anxious flips. I don't like this. What if something happens? She doesn't know this person. He leaned down to try to get a better view of her face behind her mask. "Are you sure? I can come to the hero agency to walk back with you when you're done. Where is it?"

"…I…I'm not sure…" she confessed.

"You're just going to blindly follow a stranger?" Shinsou was unable to contain his frustration and let it leak into his voice when he spoke. Immediately, he saw her shoulders droop and she bowed her head. "Shirayuki."

"Hey, Shirayuki! Ready to go? Tamaki, come on! You're the one walking with her; not me. Go over and talk to her."

Shinsou turned away before he could meet her new "friends". He was frustrated and he hated this jealous feeling gnawing at his stomach. True, he had broken up with her, but he still liked her. He still disliked the idea of her getting too close with someone else. He hated this feeling.

Shift P.O.V

Shirayuki was sad to see Shinsou walk away without even sparing her a good bye. It felt like when he had been ignoring her and she wanted to say something to him. She wanted to tell him exactly how it made her feel, but she was also afraid. If she tried to tell him, she may end up yelling again.

"Here you are! You told your guardian where you're going, right?" Togata was guiding Amajiki over to her with a hand firmly gripping his shoulder. He greeted her with a smile. "It shouldn't take too long and Tamaki will walk you home when you're done, right, Tamaki?"

"…Mirio, I can't…" The boy bowed his head, staring intensely at the ground and fidgeting with his bag.

"Of course you can! You wouldn't make her walk home alone, would you? When you invite someone out, it's only right to make sure they get home safe!" Togata beamed at his friend and then turned to look at Shirayuki again. He gave his friend a gentle nudge in her direction, still wearing that kind, warm smile. "Alright! Let me know how it goes, okay? I'll see you two tomorrow. I've got to get going to my work study. See you later."

Shirayuki's pulse quickened when she glanced up at the boy standing in front of her. She had failed to notice earlier, but he was decently taller than her. Giving a bow, she tried to contain her trembling and nausea. "…th-thank you…Amajiki-senpai…I-I appreciate this…"

He was silent for a long moment; simply staring down at her now that he had managed to unglue his eyes from the ground. "You haven't…signed up for an internship?"

"…n-no…um…none of them…m-made an offer…"

"…o-okay…let's go…" Amajiki turned and began walking.

Shirayuki had to take quick steps to keep up with him. Both students were painfully shy so both students were more than eager to be away from the crowds of civilians on the street. She tried her best to match his pace, but struggled a little. He's…too fast. I just can't-!

He looked over his shoulder, eyes still narrowed in a glare, and saw her get swallowed up by a crowd of people as they walked through a shopping district. Amajiki briefly caught sight of her pale, fearful face as someone approached her and he pushed himself out of his comfort zone. Taking quick, purposeful steps into the crowd, he gripped her hand and drew her away from the person without a word.

Shirayuki's face was bright pink when she was drawn away from the crowded area. She was embarrassed that she needed to be helped. She was still flustered from someone approaching her and asking so many questions. They had recognized her from the sports festival and wanted to know about the hero course at UA. She had barely stammered out an excuse to leave when Amajiki pulled her away.

The older student remained silent until they were safely on a train, heading toward the area his hero's agency was in. He seemed to have forgotten that he was holding her hand because when he glanced down, his glare intensified and he quickly released her. "…s-sorry…"

"…th-thank you for…helping me back there…I-I know I…shouldn't get f-flustered, but I…just froze up and…and…" She felt tears stinging her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek. She bowed her head and anxiously started toying with the hairband around her wrist.

Shinsou's words from earlier were starting to set in a little now that some time had passed. Truthfully, she knew next to nothing about Amajiki. She was relying on Togata's assurance that he was a good person. She also knew next to nothing about where she was going. Fat Gum's hero agency was what Togata had told her, but she did not know the address or much about the hero Fat Gum.

Bowing her head, she frowned and continued to fidget. I…wish I was stronger. I wish I was braver. I wish I could say something. I should…ask more questions, but…what if he gets mad? He's glaring at me.

Amajiki was, indeed, glaring at her from the corner of his eye. He was standing beside her as the train sped along, holding onto one of the handles from above and quietly muttering to himself when he got too nervous. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he bowed his head to redirect his gaze to the floor. He only looked up when the train gave a brief jolt that sent Shirayuki bumping into him.

He tensed in response and lifted his eyes suddenly, the ferocity of his stare making her flinch back. Those intense, dark indigo eyes scanned the area until he spotted an open seat a ways down from where they were standing. "…c-come with me…" he mumbled, gripping her hand again. He led her down to the seat and waited for her to sit before he took up an almost guard-like stance in front of her, facing her to block out strangers.

"…th-thank you…" Shirayuki kept her head down, feeling even more flustered than before. Her face felt hot and she was afraid that if she looked up, she might start trembling. From what she was able to see, he was already shaking a little.

"…yeah…" He lowered his eyes as well, but kept facing her so she was out of view of most of the other passengers.

The rest of the journey to the hero agency was made in silence. Shirayuki kept close to her upperclassman, not wanting him to have to save her again. I…can't need to be helped. A hero should be able to help themselves. She nodded to herself as they approached what seemed to be the hero agency.

"You're Umetarou's kid? You're so tiny!" The jovial hero greeted the two teenagers with a wide grin and approached from behind a desk, bringing with him a serving of takoyaki. Chewing, he stared down at Shirayuki and saw her bow. "Hey, no need to be formal! Just be yourself!"

"…y-yes, sir…um…it's…it's nice to m-meet you…" She kept her head bowed a little, peering up at the hero through her dark hair with curiosity. He was a large, round man with a sizable grin. His mouth was wider than a normal person's. It made her subconsciously lift a hand to her own mouth, hidden behind her mask. Like…my mouth…sort of…

He tilted his head and leaned down a little. "You have your dad's appetite? Want some takoyaki?"

"…I…I don't know…um…" Shirayuki closed her eyes, trying to summon some courage. "…you…did you…ah…d-did you…know my father…?" She heard him call her father "Umetarou". Was he friends with him? I don't remember…ever meeting this person before. I don't remember if my father ever had friends…at the house.

His smile grew and he moved back behind the desk. "Of course! Umetarou was great! That guy had a huge appetite! Sometimes I couldn't even keep up!"

Her fear started to melt after hearing him talk about her father in such a familiar way. "…w-were you…friends…?"

"I don't know if I'd say "friends"! He was almost fifteen years older than me! I really looked up to the guy, though, and we'd hang out! He was always so friendly with everybody; like he just wanted to make everyone in the world his friend!"

She took a deep breath and stepped toward the desk. "I…I want to become…a strong hero like he was. I want to be a hero like my father was!" Her heart was racing as she forced herself to make eye contact. She pushed her hair away from her face, trying to put on the most confident expression she could manage. "I need to…intern at a strong hero agency so-!"

"Are you kidding me?!" He sat back in his seat, popping a takoyaki into his mouth and chewing for a moment. "Amajiki, you didn't tell her?"

"…I-I meant to…but I…it's hard to…" He fidgeted beside her, his head down.

"Alright! I guess it's up to me then!" Fat Gum grinned widely and placed both hands on his desk. "Amajiki was supposed to tell you, but I guess it's up to me. I want you to do your internship here. Before you say anything, let me tell you why you should. I looked up to your old man so I promise I'll do whatever it takes to keep his kid safe! Secondly, you've got an eating quirk so we've all three got that in common! Thirdly, Amajiki could use a kouhai to practice talking to! I don't know what other agencies made offers already, but tell me you'll at least think it over!"

"Y-yes! I want to! I-if you don't mind…" Shirayuki could feel a sense of excitement and joy washing over her. She had felt a little depressed when no hero agencies offered to take her, but now she was presented with a great opportunity. Not only did this hero agency want her, but the hero in charge had known her father and he had a quirk that was a bit similar to hers.

"Great! I just need to fill out this form and you'll have to take it to school tomorrow morning. When the internship period starts, you just come here with Amajiki." He scribbled something on a piece of paper and pushed it across the desk to her. "Oh. Hey, Amajiki, you're walking her home, right?"

"Y-yeah…I can do that." The boy glanced toward her and then away again, his face a faint shade of pink. "…uh…I'm…glad that you're joining us…" he mumbled.

She bowed. "…I'm…grateful for the opportunity…Amajiki-senpai…"