Ashido told her that it was fine that she would come over later than planned. In fact, the pink-haired girl seemed really excited when she heard that Shirayuki was going with their upperclassmen. Even with her friend's blessing, Shirayuki still felt guilty about the change of plans.

"…you're…sure that it's okay…?" She glanced over at her friend as they walked down the hallway from their classroom.

"Of course! Yuki, a pro hero wants to talk with you! It's super important! You have to go! I'm kind of jealous, to be honest. You're making connections right now for when you graduate. Fat Gum will probably want to take you on as a sidekick after high school."

"…i-it's probably just…something small…he knew my father…so…"

"That's awesome!" Ashido grinned and patted her on the back. "Not to mention, didn't you say that upperclassman wanted to have dinner with you when you're done at the agency? That's pretty cool!"

"…it's…cool…?"

"Of course it is! He probably likes you, Yuki!" Her friend paused and grabbed the other girl's shoulders, her pure black eyes staring into her friend's crimson ones. "You have to tell me every detail, okay? And if he makes you cry, he's gonna have to answer to me, got it?"

"What's going on? Is Yuki going on a date or something?" Kaminari approached the two with a raised eyebrow, Kirishima right behind him.

"…n-no…it's not a date…my senpai from Fat Gum's agency…h-he just asked if I…want to get dinner after I visit today…it's…it's not a date…" Shirayuki did her best to make her protests heard, but her mask muffled her voice and her face was turning a bright shade of pink.

Grinning, Kaminari leaned in closer to the two girls. "What? There's nothing wrong if it is a date, right? So what's he like?"

"Hey, let it go. If she said it's not a date, it's not a date. You're going to embarrass her," Kirishima spoke up. He frowned and came up beside Kaminari, glancing from the blond boy to the violet-haired girl. Their eyes briefly met. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked away. "I have to go. See you on Monday, you guys."

Shirayuki felt a heaviness settle in the pit of her stomach as he turned away and she lowered her gaze to the floor. For that brief moment when their eyes met, she saw something there that made her guilt increase tenfold. More than just concern; his eyes held fear and disappointment.

Kaminari went after Kirishima and Ashido went her separate way soon after, telling Shirayuki that she was excited for their sleepover. Shirayuki continued down the hallway alone, her head bowed as she fought back tears. Kirishima…looked so upset. I made him upset, didn't I? I don't know what to do. I don't know…how I can make him feel better.

Standing outside, she reached into her bag and found her phone. She typed a message to him, but hesitated to send it. Staring at her phone screen with teary eyes, she bit her lip behind her mask. It's my fault. It's all my fault. How can I make him feel better? I just…want to make him feel better. He looked so upset.

"Yuki…?" The voice came from her left and Amajiki took on a startled expression when he saw tears roll down her face. "Are…are you okay?"

She quickly wiped at her tears, her cheeks turning red again from embarrassment. "…I-I'm sorry…um…I just…my friend…h-he's upset and I…I want to cheer him up, but I just…I don't kn-know what to say…"

How can I be a hero if I can't even help my friend? Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, soaking into her mask, and she began to tremble. I have to do something. I have to…be courageous and do something to make this better. She lifted her head, making her eyes meet the dark eyes of Amajiki. "…I-I'm sorry, but…could we…could we m-meet some other time…and could you…t-tell Fat Gum that I'm sorry, but I…I have to do something to help my friend…"

Amajiki looked alarmed at first, eyes widening slightly. A warm hue rose to his face, spreading out to the tips of his pointed ears. He lowered his head and gave a small nod. "Okay…that's fine. I-I was kind of nervous…and I know it was short notice anyway. Um…could you call me later? We can talk about what day would work." His voice, though quiet, held relief.

She nodded and soon Shirayuki was hurrying down the sidewalk. Never before in her life had she nudged past strangers so she could get somewhere faster. She was always polite, always timid. Murmuring soft apologies whenever she even slightly bumped someone else's shoulder. Now she was being bold.

The girl tried to avoid actually bumping anyone, but when she saw the bright red hair of her friend up ahead, she quickened her pace to a run. He was oblivious; walking with his hands in his pockets, alone. When Shirayuki caught up to him, she made the boldest move of all.

In her frantic need to somehow cheer him up, to lift his spirits from the sadness she saw earlier, Shirayuki panicked and did the first thing that came to mind. It was embarrassing. Her face turned as bright red as his hair as both arms wrapped around him from behind and she pressed her face between his shoulder blades.

Kirishima jolted at the abrupt hug and froze in his steps. "Hey! What-?" He looked over his shoulder and found her timidly looking up from behind stray locks of dark violet hair. Instantly, a pink flush overtook his face. "Yuki?! What is it? Are you okay? Did someone try to-?"

"I…I'm not…good at cheering people up," she started, forcing herself to speak up more than usual. "Before you talked to me…I never really had friends. When I see you upset, I want to make you feel better. But I don't know what to do. So I…panicked. I'm sorry."

A grin spread across his face and he turned around, wrapping his arms around her in a hug and pulling her against him. "Yuki! Do you have any idea how cute you are?!"

"…wh-what…?" She felt her pulse speeding up and both hands grasped the back of his shirt tightly. "…I…I don't understand…um…s-so the hug…?"

"I love it! I mean, I don't really want to let you go now!" He laughed a little and squeezed her closer against him for a second before moving his hands to her shoulders. Kirishima saw her blushing and his grin turned sheepish. "You're too sweet, you know that? You really came running after me…it's like something from a movie! That was really cool!"

Shirayuki closed her eyes when he lifted a hand to try to wipe her tears away. "…did it…cheer you up…?"

He blinked in surprise and his grin fell. "Well, yeah! The girl I like just gave me a hug. I'd have to be pretty cold to not be cheered up by that!"

She thought it was impossible, but even more blood rushed to her face and she lowered her head. That…was why he was so sad. I wasn't even thinking. Shirayuki hugged him tighter, her pulse skipping when he patted her on the back. "…I…I told my senpai…that I wanted to cheer you up so…m-my plans got cancelled…um…if you want to…if you don't have p-plans…Ashido-chan isn't expecting me for a while…"

Kirishima leaned back and took both of her hands in his. The boy's smile was warm enough to make her heart feel like it was melting. "Wanna go somewhere fun? Just the two of us?"

Shift P.O.V

It hurt when he heard that she had plans to go to dinner with that upperclassman. Kirishima knew he should just be happy that she seemed excited, but it was impossible to ignore his own feelings. He liked her a lot and when she started dating that boy from class 1-C, it had hurt. He was worried it would happen again. At least if she was with Bakugou, he could still hang out with her a lot.

When she surprised him with that hug, he was so worried that she might have been in danger. The second he knew that this was just a hug, not a silent plea for help, the world seemed to fall away around them. It felt like they were the only two people left and his heart started to race.

As much as he wanted to keep that respectful distance, since it had been such a short while since her break up, he could not deny that he wanted this. Being able to hug Shirayuki made him feel like he was floating on a cloud. He hated to see her cry, but the fact that she was this worried about him proved how much she liked him.

Once she agreed to hanging out with him until she had to meet with Ashido, he knew exactly where he should take her. After all, the cat café had made her so happy before. Kirishima wanted her to be able to forget any sadness or guilt she might have felt and replace it with joy. He wanted to see her smile.

Shirayuki was sitting across from him, currently petting a cat with short fur and strange, folded ears. She seemed lost in this blissful moment and when she realized that he was watching her, her eyes sort of crinkled at the corners as she smiled behind her mask. "…this one…I've only seen a Scottish fold once before…"

"A Scottish fold? Oh! Because of his ears? Wait. You could tell what kind of cat he was right away?" Kirishima saw her nod and he beamed. "You probably know a lot about cats though, right? You've probably always had them."

"…ah…w-well…not always so many…" She lowered her head a bit and reached up to pull down her mask, revealing her frown. "…when I was really little…before my father died…we only had one cat…"

"What kind was it?" He knew how much she loved cats and he wanted to know more about her. Shirayuki never really talked about her life before she lived with her grandmother. I bet they had one of those cool exotic breeds. Didn't she say that her mom really loved cats? But her dad was into them because her mom was.

Crimson eyes half-closed as she rested a hand on the cat's back. "…h-her name was Aika, but…I called her "Neechan"…she was around nine years old when I was born…and she was a black cat with one yellow eye and…one green eye…um…she actually…lived to be around eighteen…"

"Whoa! That's pretty old, right?"

She nodded. "…she was in my life for nine years, but…a little before I moved to my grandmother's house…she passed away in her sleep…"

"She probably lived a really good life, though! I bet you guys took really good care of her," he assured her. Kirishima could see that she was starting to look a little bit sad and hurried to think of a way to lighten the mood. The answer came in the form of a rather portly-looking dark orange cat waddling its way over to the table. It plopped down beside his chair and began to loudly meow to be picked up. Despite being in good shape, it was still a bit of struggle to heft the blobby cat onto his lap. "Hey, so what kind of cat is this guy?"

Shirayuki blinked in surprise and stared at the cat for a long moment. Her lips stretched into a wide grin as she gave the cat a half-bow. "…Blob-san…" She blushed pink when Kirishima chuckled, but she seemed pleased to have made him laugh.

Shift P.O.V

With the approach of the hero course's summer training camp, his additional training would be put on a brief hold. His mentor seemed to be compensating by pushing him harder in their private lessons. It left him a little bruised and fatigued, but it was all going to be worth it.

Once he was in the hero course, Shinsou could start to move toward becoming a hero. As he walked down the sidewalk, he hoped to get into class 1-A. It would be ideal for his goal and then he could be in the same class as Shirayuki. They could do homework together and they would be able to get as close as they were before.

His after-school training had ended a bit earlier than expected so he was just gradually making his way home from the station. Contemplating stopping to grab some snacks and maybe drop by Shirayuki's house to surprise her. He frowned, remembering what she had said the previous night.

They had sent messages back and forth to talk about their weekend plans. He knew before that she was planning to have a sleepover with her female friend Ashido, but when she mentioned going to Fat Gum's hero agency with her upperclassman, he started to worry a little. It was true that they had broken up, but he could not deny that he still liked her.

Shinsou grimaced, the heat of the summer sun starting to bother him. He went into a convenience store and grabbed a bottle of water before going to look at possible snacks. It reminded him of that day he and Shirayuki skipped school. They had spent the day sitting on the couch in her sitting room, watching movies and eating snacks together.

They would both have at least a few days free during the summer. Once she came back from the summer training camp, he knew there would still be a bit of the break before the next term started. He wanted to have another day like that one; where they could just spend the day together hanging out in her house.

He made his purchases and started to think about how to pitch this idea to Shirayuki. She was still sort of delicate; easily made anxious. He had to be careful how he presented the suggestion.