"Are you going to be okay walking home?"
Shirayuki was pulled from her thoughts by Shinsou's question and lifted her head. "…I should…be alright…I'm going straight home after school so…um…I'll…I can send you a message…when I'm home…"
He looked a little surprised at first and then sheepish. Rubbing the back of his neck, Shinsou turned his head to the side. "Thanks. I'd appreciate it."
Why…does it feel like we're still together? Behind her mask, she frowned as she dropped her gaze to the ground again. It felt natural, but she had to wonder if this was alright. He had broken up with her. They were supposed to be focusing on school and training to become heroes.
Her internship had forced her to become a little braver so she tried to summon forth some courage now to ask him. "…we're…j-just friends…?"
His eyebrows raised and he nodded. "Yeah."
She nodded to herself and her frown deepened. I…like spending time with him, but…if that's what he wants…I have to respect it. I need to focus and I don't want to distract him, too. Shirayuki winced as her arm was bumped by someone and she was pushed against Shinsou's side.
The boy steadied her with a hand on her shoulder and glared at the person who bumped into her, but redirected his attention when he felt her shaking. "Shirayuki?"
"…I'm sorry…I…didn't eat…"
"What? Here. Just a second." Shinsou rummaged in his bag and frowned when his hand came back empty. "I know I packed something. It must've fallen out."
"…it's okay…I just…I need to get to school and…sit down…" she assured him, attempting a smile behind her mask. It was unusual for her to skip a meal since she was prone to low blood sugar fits, but she had no appetite that morning.
To make matters worse, Shirayuki had slept fitfully. She had nightmares and she was worried about her mother waiting for her at the school to confront her. She just hoped that they would not have active training where she would need to use her quirk.
Shinsou offered to get her something from the convenience store near the station, but she politely declined. He was definitely bothered by the refusal, but decided not to push her. Instead, he slowed his walking pace and kept a careful watch over her for the rest of their walk to the school.
Before they parted ways, the boy gently grabbed her arm and looked down into the girl's crimson eyes. "If something happens, call me. Okay? And let me know when you get home."
"…I…I will…" she promised, nodding.
Walking to her classroom alone, Shirayuki kept her head down and wondered what he was doing after school. He had mentioned that he was busy, but he never hinted at what his plans were. Is it…tutoring? Or does he have a part-time job? Are we…allowed to have those?
"Shirayuki-san! Come here; I have something to show you." Yaoyorozu smiled when Shirayuki walked over to her desk and displayed her phone screen. "I took these pictures recently and I thought you might want to see them. It's Earl Grey."
Earl…Grey? Remembering that Yaoyorozu had adopted a kitten from her, Shirayuki's eyes widened and she looked down at the screen. Her classmate showed her a bunch of pictures of the kitten playing with a wide variety of cat toys, sleeping in a big cozy-looking bed, eating from an expensive-looking food dish, and getting his fur brushed and styled to maximum fluffiness.
"…he…looks really happy…Yaoyorozu-san, you're…a good pet owner…"
The other girl blinked in surprise and smiled. "Thank you, Shirayuki-san."
"Oh! That's right! I have some pictures, too! There aren't a lot, but…" Midoriya entered the conversation, showing a few pictures of the kitten he had taken. It was mostly pictures of the kitten curled up on his pillow or perching beside an All Might action figure on his desk.
She was marveling over a particularly cute, but funny, picture of the kitten chewing on an All Might plushie when she felt an intense stare directed at her. Shirayuki felt herself subconsciously tense as she tried to ignore it. She tried to focus on talking to Yaoyorozu and Midoriya about their cats. It made her feel a little bit more relaxed.
"What's going on with your hair, Bakugou?! That's hilarious!"
"Shut the hell up!"
The girl jumped, nearly dropping Midoriya's phone and apologizing profusely. Hair…? She looked over her shoulder at Bakugou, who was glaring at the grinning Kaminari. His hair looked the same way it always did, but something had Kaminari laughing so she suspected it might have been neatly combed and flat when he entered the room.
A glance at the time showed that class would be starting soon so she bowed to the two other students and excused herself to go to her desk. Before she could fully turn, Shirayuki heard a quiet call of her name. She looked toward the back of the classroom again and saw Todoroki rising from his desk. "…Todoroki-kun…?"
"I want to see my cat today. Can I come over after school? I won't stay for very long. I just want to see her again."
"…ah…y-yes…if you want to…you can walk with me…" she agreed. She gave him a short nod and turned again to try to get to her seat.
Sitting at her desk, Shirayuki slouched a little and dug through her bag for her textbook for the first class. She was thinking about her afterschool plans now and was jolted back to the present by a sharp kick to one of the back legs of her chair. The girl bowed her head and closed her eyes for a moment. She wanted to be able to face Bakugou bravely, but the thought of raising her voice put her stomach in knots.
"Don't ignore me, Ume," he growled.
"…d-do you…need something…?"
"What did those nerds want? I saw you talking to Deku and that half and half extra. What did they want?"
"…we…were talking about kittens…a-and Midoriya-kun was showing me…pictures of his kitten…" She looked over her shoulder just enough to see his expression, expecting him to look angry. Instead, he just looked a little frustrated.
Classes went by quickly and uneventfully, but Shirayuki's appetite was back full force. Having skipped breakfast and gone without snacks, she was very shaky and her stomach was growling loudly. She tried to focus on getting to the lunch room and just getting as much food as she would need to stabilize herself, but her thoughts were fuzzy.
A hand gripped hers, pulling her along out of the classroom and ignoring the protests of Bakugou. "You okay, Yuki? You're shaking a lot. Is it your blood sugar?" Kirishima gave her a concerned frown once they were out in the hallway.
"…I skipped…breakfast today…" she murmured, sweating.
"You don't look so good. Oh! Here we go!" Kaminari drew a piece of hard candy from his pocket and held it out with a triumphant grin. "You can have this, Yuki-chan. It's not much, but it should help, right?"
"…th-thank you…" Shirayuki managed to unwrap it and savored the sweet strawberry flavor of the candy. Kaminari…I'll have to make him some cookies.
Kirishima's frown grew and he sighed. "Sorry, Yuki. I should probably carry some candy, too, huh?"
"That's a cool idea. We can all have spare candies." Ashido beamed as she came up on Shirayuki's other side. "Let's get some lunch. I'm starving!"
The group walked together to the cafeteria, being joined by Sero once they were there. Shirayuki felt her trembling grow worse when she saw the long line for food. The combination of low blood sugar and anxiety from the crowd was wearing down on her and she started fidgeting with her hairband.
"What the hell are you doing? Go sit down!"
She jolted and glanced toward the figure that had come up beside her. "…B-Bakugou…? I-I…need to get lunch…"
"Go get a table. I'll bring you something." He saw her looking at him curiously from behind her long, dark violet hair and he scowled. "Go sit down before you faint, Ume! I don't want to have to drag you to Recovery Girl's room!"
"…o-okay…thank…thank you…" The girl located a good table and seated herself, still toying with the hairband on her wrist. She was nervous about being back in school after her internship with Fat Gum, but she was a little relieved, too. She was glad to see her friends again and have a simple school day.
Shirayuki felt eyes on her and tensed a little in her seat. Not the intense stare of Bakugou, but someone watching her. She was about to glance up to timidly see if someone was actively looking her way, but was interrupted. A tray packed full of food was put in front of her and Shirayuki's eyes widened.
Curry with rice. Cutlets with rice. Noodles. Miso soup. Roasted fish and rice. Large portions and all crammed onto one tray. A pair of chopsticks was settled in front of her as well before Bakugou sat beside her. The sight of the food made her stomach growl even louder and she leaned in close to the tray. "…th-thank you…this…looks delicious…it's all my favorites…"
"Of course it is. Why are you surprised? I know what you like, Ume." He grumbled these words as he split his disposable chopsticks and picked up his single plate of food from the tray. "Start eating! And if you fall face-down on that plate-!" The boy paused as he saw the girl's crimson eyes grow teary. "What the hell are you crying about?"
"…sorry, I just…I…I was really hungry…" She lowered her mask and began eating, eager to satisfy her appetite. The girl was eating using her right hand, leaving her left one settled on her lap. This tastes even better than usual. Is it because I'm so hungry? I'll…have to repay him tomorrow. How much did this cost?
When the others came to sit with them, a hand dropped down to grab her free hand and the ash-blond boy started eating using his left hand. It was an obvious struggle, but he never acknowledged the weird looks the others gave him. On Shirayuki's other side, Kirishima cast a curious glance in the other boy's direction before he set a little juice box in front of Shirayuki.
"This should be plenty of calories, right, Yuki?"
"…yes, this…is more than enough…thank you, everyone…"
"It's not good to skip meals, you know. So are you busy after school? There's this snack place that opened in the neighborhood. We should all stop there on the way home." Kirishima's sharp-toothed grin was directed at Shirayuki, hope shining clearly in his eyes.