NeonHorizon: I had trouble deciding on a hero name for Shirayuki so I just had my sister pick one out. I hope it isn't too weird. I thought it sounded cute, but...meh. I don't know.
"Okay, so last time things were a little formal. It's not usually that stuffy around the agency. So let's have introductions again, but just you two. You guys need to practice speaking up more."
Shirayuki felt her pulse instantly quicken at the thought of introducing herself. Even if it was just to her upperclassman, she still felt nervous. Her stomach threatened to upheave everything she ate that morning, but she fought to keep it down. "…I-I'm…um…m-my name is…Shirayuki Ume…ah…b-but my friends call me "Yuki" and…my h-hero name…my hero name is…K…it's...Kcal…"
Her face was burning so she knew it must be bright red. She bowed her head to try to hide the blush, but her hair was pulled back in a ponytail since she was in her hero costume. The costume was adding to her embarrassment. She wished the costume flowed and hid her the way that Amajiki's did.
The older student was standing next to her, across the desk from Fat Gum, and his eyes widened when he was told to introduce himself. He tugged his hood forward more, trying to hide his face in shadow as he bowed his head as well. "…m-my name is…Amajiki Tamaki…" He went silent for almost a full minute as he seemed to struggle with his next words.
"You can do it, Tamaki. She's even shyer than you are."
He gave a short nod and lifted his head a little. Dark eyes narrowed on Shirayuki intensely as he drew a shaky breath. "M-my hero name is…Suneater."
She bowed, hands clasping together as she had nothing to fidget wit. "…I l-like your hero name…Amajiki-senpai…it…it sounds really cool…"
Fat Gum beamed and reached across the desk to pat her on the back. "Bonus points to Kcal for the compliment!"
"Ah…w-wait, I…I like your hero name…" Amajiki stammered.
"Too late; she beat you to it. Okay! Now that introductions are out of the way, let's take Kcal on her first patrol! Since it's her first day, I think we'll try to avoid doing anything crazy."
Both students nodded their agreement and followed him. Out in the street, the two teenagers instinctively drifted behind him a little. Nervousness made Shirayuki keep her head down and she found herself wishing her costume had something on her wrist that she could fidget with. Her hairband was currently keeping her long, dark violet hair pulled away from her face.
"You know, I used to join Umetarou on patrols sometimes. He always knew where to find the best restaurants; huge portions on the cheap. It always felt like he knew the owners, too. Like they were old friends."
Shirayuki felt a small smile forming behind her mask. "…m-my father…could make friends with anyone…it was s-something that he loved…making friends…"
"What about you, Kcal?" Fat Gum looked back and turned around. "Wanna try walking next to me? You both wanna be pros someday, right? Hiding behind me isn't going to help you."
She nodded and trotted to reach him. "…I-I'm sorry, sir…and…um…w-well I have trouble…making friends…but I like having them…I have…a few friends at school…and they're wonderful…"
"Good to hear! Suneater, get up here and join the conversation!"
The girl bowed her head again as Amajiki came to stand with them. He has friends, too. Togata-senpai and…that girl with the blue hair. She bit the inside of her cheek and nervously picked at the skin around her right thumbnail. If Togata-senpai hadn't spoken up…I wouldn't have met Amajiki-senpai and…I wouldn't have this internship. I need to thank them both. Cookies…or…?
"What?! You're already friends? I never would've guessed. I thought Kcal was just someone you knew from school."
"M-Mirio…introduced us," Amajiki explained. "So…w-we're friends…"
"If you're friends, you shouldn't have too much trouble talking, right? Go ahead and get a conversation going. What's something you both like? We're just on patrol so it won't hurt to talk a little."
Friends…? Shirayuki lifted her eyes from the ground, briefly flitting in Amajiki's direction. He looked almost like he was in pain. She felt the exact same way. It was difficult to think of what she could say, what they could talk about. True, Togata had decided that they were friends, but they had hardly spoken to each other about more than butterflies.
As Amajiki began to mumble something about picturing a cat or potato, Shirayuki pushed herself to be the first to speak. "…b-butterflies…" She saw his head snap in her direction, his narrowed eyes making her flinch back a little. "…I…um…w-well…I like…the blue morpho butterfly, but…ah…wh-which one is your favorite…?"
Something changed in his eyes as he stared at her. He took a few steps closer, but with his eyes still narrowed and his mouth still turned down into a frown, he looked intimidating. "Blue morpho…I…I like those, too."
Before their conversation could progress any further, a number of screams erupted from the end of the street. The hero and two students looked in that direction to see a large, muscled man sprinting down the middle of the sidewalk. He charged past the trio, a bundle of different purses tucked under his arm as well as what looked like a large gun.
"I've got this one! You two try to gather the owners of those bags so I can return them, okay?" Fat Gum took off after the man, leaving the two teenagers behind.
Before an awkward silence could settle, Shirayuki caught the sound of tires screeching. She looked back to the end of the street in time to see a huge cargo truck rounding the corner and speeding in her direction. Her pulse pounded and she saw the driver lean out the window, waving around a gun and screaming at everyone to get out of his way.
This…this is real! This is a villain! Or a criminal! I have to do something! She gritted her teeth and moved quickly. Her right arm lifted and she positioned her legs the way Bakugou had showed her to keep herself steady. Heat raced along her arm and she closed her eyes as a powerful blast left her hand to try to take out one of the front tires to stop the truck.
Meanwhile, Amajiki moved to try to clear the street of civilians. When he turned his attention back to the street, he saw her releasing multiple little bursts to try to take out the tires. She succeeded in popping one, but the man behind the wheel was tenacious. The truck was now speeding straight for her, the popped tire sending up sparks as the metal of the wheel grinded over the pavement.
I need…a big blast. I don't know if I can do this! What if it happens again? Like last time…when that villain died. I don't want to accidentally kill another villain, but he was willing to hurt these innocent people! She heard the driver shouting something at her, but it was hard to hear over the shouts of civilians.
"Aim for the front of the truck." The advice was quiet, from right beside her. Amajiki's quirk turned his right hand into a massive clamshell to protect them both if the man tried to shoot.
"…I…I can't…my balance…I'll fall over…" Tears of panic sprang to her eyes. I can't do it! I can't do anything! This is just one criminal and a truck, but I still can't-! Shirayuki's eyes widened as she felt a pressure against her back. "…S-Suneater…?!"
He bowed his head, lifting his right arm to keep her head protected from potential gunfire. His left fingers extended, morphing into long tentacles that wrapped around her waist. The older student's feet became hooves, planting firmly against the ground below. "You…need to send a long shot into the front…for as long as you can," he advised. "…I'll support you…"
"…o-okay…um…b-brace yourself…!" Just as the truck sped up more, Shirayuki lifted her left arm and sent a combined blast from both hands into the front of the truck. She was pressed tighter against her upperclassman's chest, her teeth gritting at the awkward position as well as the strain of maintaining this blast.
The longest she had ever held a blast was about ten seconds. She usually released short bursts that could vary in power, but this was different. A long blast. Enough to hold the truck at bay as Fat Gum came barreling past them to apprehend the man driving it.
She was starting to tremble after a full minute. After two minutes, Shirayuki began to feel drowsy and struggled to keep her eyes open, her arms up. Low blood sugar and pain were quickly taking their toll on her. The heat from her blast was making her arms burn, the recoil and pressure of the blast were making her muscles ache and her bones feel like they might cave in.
Behind her, she could hear the scrape of hooves over pavement and was vaguely aware of the fact that she and Amajiki were being pushed backwards by the blast and the truck driving into it. Shirayuki managed to hold the blast until Fat Gum got the man out of the truck. The second that she let the blast die, her knees gave out beneath her and she went limp in Amajiki's grasp.
She came back to consciousness just a few minutes later, on the ground. Trembling, with tears rolling down her face. Shirayuki saw her upperclassman kneeling next to her, trying to figure out what to do. He looked scared and turned, trying to get Fat Gum's attention. She lifted a hand, shaking almost too much to get a grip on anything.
For Shirayuki, low blood sugar brought on feelings of weakness. Fatigue. She wanted to tell Amajiki that she needed some food from the pouch on her costume's belt. Her mouth refused to cooperate, her thoughts too muddled to really form a fully coherent sentence anyway.
Thankfully, Fat Gum finally seemed to realize what was going on and rushed over to the two students. Apparently he knew exactly what the problem was and grabbed the pouch from her belt, rummaging around for one of the little cakes she had packed. He started tearing off a small piece from the cake, holding it out for her to take.
As she took it, he released a sigh of relief. "So you get those fits, too, huh?"
Shirayuki drew her mask down, grateful for the fact that he seemed to understand the low blood sugar fit, but also confused by it. Did my father…have a low blood sugar fit in front of him…? Her embarrassment quickly overshadowed the puzzlement as she realized her mouth was in full view as she ate.
"…are you okay…?" Amajiki timidly muttered, averting his gaze.
"…I-I'm…fine…I should be…um…"
"Maybe we should call it quits for a while until you-"
"N-no! Um…I mean…I w-want to keep patrolling…please…"
Fat Gum grinned. "Alright! That's the spirit!"