? Benevolence ?

I'm dragged out of bed sometime around noon by Kirishima. The aspect of leaving my bed seems awfully daunting but my red haired friend pulls me to my feet with a soft smile.

"C'mon, [N/n]! I've got something to show you! Please?"

At his pleading gaze, I smile and agree quietly. He brightens considerably, ordering me to put on my winter clothes and to meet him out front as soon as possible.

Dressed, I pop outside and find everyone standing around in the snow. Even Hitoshi is here. Kirishima grins excitedly when he notices my arrival and turns to address the class brightly.

"Alright guys! A lot has happened recently and I think we all could use a little mindless fun so we should have a snowball fight!"

Iida is the first to respond, a thoughtful look to his eyes. "This could be excellent practice for evasion and a class bonding exercise!"

"Let's just have some fun!" Mina adds in, bouncing excitedly.

Everyone murmurs their agreements and Kaminari throws his hands into the air. "All right! You're all going down!"

I'm almost a little surprised to see Todoroki speak up next. "Ice is my specialty. Objectively speaking, you are all at a major disadvantage."

Everyone seems to take this as a challenge and soon I find myself ducking behind a pile of snow, laughing brightly. Everything that's happened fades away and the only thing on my mind is dodging fistfuls of snow.

It's an all out war, most of the class involved. I stifle a laugh as a snowball smacks into Todoroki. He looks surprised. I guess we aren't actually at that much of a disadvantage.

I watch him toss a snowball at Iida but it falls apart before it reaches him. The look of confusion on his face is almost laughable and I decide to help him out a bit. I teleport to his side with an easy smile.

"You have to pack the snow in a bit more if you want it to travel farther."

If he's surprised by my sudden appearance, he doesn't show it. He simply glances down to his handful of snow. "Oh, that makes sense. I've never been in a snowball fight before."

"You haven't?"

He shakes his head. "My father thought it was a waste of time that could be better spent training."

I feel a spark of sadness when I realize that he must have missed out on a lot before I push it away and offer him a bright smile. "Well, I'm happy that you're getting to experience one now."

After a few tries, he seems to get the hang of it. Iida didn't even see his volley coming as it collided with his chest. I decide to take my leave when the class rep moves to get revenge.

Then Bakugou catches my eye. His features are schooled into a blank slate, pouring a bottle of water onto his ammunition. I assume he's simply going after Kirishima since the red head can harden until I follow his gaze.

He aims at Midoriya with an almost feral glint to his eyes and fires.

Time seems to slow as I watch the frozen snowball fly towards my friend and in seconds I'm next to him, pushing him slightly. I glance over just in time to see it hit me instead.

The extra momentum causes me to lose balance, and with no traction on the ground, I find myself on my back. Hitoshi is at my side in seconds, Midoriya peering over his shoulder. Lilac eyes meet mine and he's the first to speak.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

He isn't holding up any fingers.

"...is that a trick question? I'm fine, 'Toshi. I just got knocked off balance."

He eyes me critically as I sit up. "You teleported over but instead of just moving both of you, you pushed him out of the way. Do you see the issue here? You could've gotten hurt."

"Sorry... Midoriya, are y-you okay though?"

The freckled teen laughs, a relieved smile brightening his features. "I should be asking that. Thank you."

"You really are a hero through and through, you know that, right? Just can't stop yourself from saving anyone." Hitoshi teases lightly, pulling me to my feet.

"I didn't really make a conscious decision. I just did it."

"I know... that's what worries me." He adds the last part under his breath, probably not intending for me to hear.

Kirishima appears dragging along Bakugou before I can come up with a reply.

"[N/n], Midoriya, are you okay?"

I nod with a slight smile. "Yeah, we're good b-but Bakugou... you could really hurt someone like that."

The ashy blond rolls his eyes. "It'll hardly do anything more than bruise. I wasn't even aiming for you, boy scout. You shouldn't have jumped in the way."

Midoriya speaks up quietly. "Really, that could have ended badly, Kaachan."

Hitoshi nods at his words which causes the ashy blond to scoff. "You're only agreeing because I hit your boyfriend."

My face flushes brightly and I stutter incoherently. We haven't really told anyone that. I'm surprised when Hitoshi drapes an arm across my shoulders, voice complete void of any emotion. "Yeah and what about it?"

Bakugou just snarls quietly before taking off. Kirishima offers an apologetic smile and follows after him.

"You're dating?"

I flush at Midoriya's question but I manage a nod. It's not like it was a secret. It just never seemed like something to tell people for no reason.

"Well, that makes sense. You guys do spend a lot of time together... Um, thank you again. For- yeah."

He nods a couple of times before making his way over to Iida and I hide my face in my hands, embarrassed, until I hear Hitoshi murmur my name quietly and I peek up at him.

"...what?"

He pulls me the slightest bit closer, a glint to his eyes as he watches the class.

"Maybe they aren't so bad. Some of them, at least."

---
Shinso is warming up to the idea of befriending the class!!
Also this chapter is partially based off this!

Thank you so much for reading!!