Chapter Text
Even after the war was won, they still had a bit of trouble going back to how things used to be. More often than not, one of them would wake up in the middle of the night due to the nightmares that still plagued them and the new scars they all wore on their skins.
After a bit of delay to start their second year, winter was fast approaching.
Chills were constantly going down through the bodies of the alumni more often than not, whether there were gusts of wind or not. Birds were no longer in sight as they migrated to warmer lands and words were often accompanied with puffs of condensation and snow threats to fall increased with each passing day.
At the beginning, the idea of living in the dorms alongside their friends and peers sounded like a good one. But now, over two years of living twenty four-seven inside the school grounds without being able to leave them without a very special permit was starting to pay a toll on UA residents.
Despite the war being over, Aizawa was still anxious to let them out by themselves.
With the midterms finally over, they could say they deserved a good excuse to celebrate and relax.
Tha particular day found Momo in her dorm—her old bed finally changed to the one provided by the school—with the rest of the girls with her for an impromptu study session/girl's night.
“I wish I could go out and have fun!” Ashido whined from Momo’s bed while she flopped over the pillow and tossed the book she was previously reading to the side.
Hagakure didn’t take long to join her. “Me too!” she said as she let herself fall on top of Ashido, taking her breath away as she landed on her stomach. “I heard there was a new crepe parlor near the station and I’ve been dying to try it!”
“We can always ask Satou-san for some sweets.” Momo interjected, her mechanical pencil still looming over her notebook. Hagakure was quick to reply. “It’s not the same!” her long sleeves flopping up and down for emphasis of her distress.
“I gotta agree with them on this one,” Jirou began. “It's not really the same, Yaomomo.”
Uraraka agreed to the motion with an enthusiastic nod. “I’ve been wanting to buy a few clothes for winter but I can’t find the right moment to ask.”
“Same for me,” Tsuyu joined. “Winter makes me really sleepy and the clothes I had last year stopped fitting me, ribbit.”
“I can make you some…” Momo suggested, unsure. Which earned a collective whine of “It’s not the saaame!” said in unison. Guiltily, she pouted at them and finally set her mechanical pencil to the side. Resting her knuckles on her chin, she started humming to herself for a few seconds before her face brightened as always whenever an idea popped in her head.
“What if I try to get permission to go to the mall for the weekend?” she said enthusiastically.
“Really?!” the other girls screamed in unison. Momo nodded confidently.
Tsuyu quickly croaked curiously. “And how are you going to do that, Momo-chan?”
Momo smiled at her. “I was planning on submitting a report to the principal about the perks about outgoings as staying in the same place too much it’s bad for our development as future heroes.”
Jirou whistled, impressed at that. “You’re really going out, aren’t you Yaomomo?”
The flattered one raised her chin proudly. “Everything for my girls.”
Tsuyu hummed doubtfully. “But if you do get permission, wouldn’t it be a bit late? If it is for this weekend, we would be out for winter break the next day anyway.”
Everyone visibly bummed at that. Suddenly, a sharp gasp was heard and the attention was immediately directed to Ashido, whose usual mischievousness was suddenly raised ten fold.
“What if we take this as an opportunity to throw another Christmas Party! We can buy presents and whatever else we’re going to need like last time!”
It took a few seconds to let it sink in before the rest of the girls started either cheering or sulking.
“Where are we going to hold it? In the common area again?”
“Can I take care of the music?”
“It sounds fun, ribbit.”
Momo hummed to herself, deep in thought. It wasn’t a bad idea, considering how it went back in their first year. But something told her this time it would be more fun.
“I can ask my parents if we can hold it in our mansion.” Momo finally spoke. The girls stared at her in silence, before bursting yet again in excitement. Overwhelmed by the overflowing energy, Momo waited for a moment before drawing the attention of the girls to herself again with a clear of her throat.
Momo smiled and continued. “And to change things a bit for the gift exchange, we can make an American thing Melissa talked to me about called 'Secret Santa’.”
After the war ended and Midoriya had to give his quirk away in exchange for them to win, Bakugou took it upon himself to get their friend a support item that would help him once the embers of One For All vanished completely. He talked about it to the whole class and Hatsume, saying that All Might had this acquaintance in America that could help them. So Momo took it upon herself to go over the materials they could use with Hatsume and Melissa, exchanging emails more often than not with the blonde girl about other things outside of the support topic.
Tsuyu croaked, deep in interest at the mention of the gift exchange. “What is it about?”
“It really sounds fun!” Momo began, excitedly. “You draw out a random name and you have to figure out what to give them while keeping it a secret from them until you give them the present!”
“Sounds like a recon mission!” Hagakure exclaimed.
Momo gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“It also sounds like the perfect excuse for training!” Uraraka said, fists clenched in excitement.
“If we are really going to do this,” Jirou said. “We have a lot to organize and keep in secret from the guys.”
“We are only allowed to talk about it on our side of the dorms, then.” Momo commented. “That way, the boys will remain unaware of this…” Momo frowned, deep in thought. “Though I will need to tell Midoriya about this, as he is our class president.”
This year he was chosen again for the spot and Bakugou and Todoroki managed to convince him to keep it.
“And when are we going to let them know about this?” Tsuyu commented, finger over her chin as always. “They’ll need time to look for the presents too.”
Momo hummed. “Maybe I can get permission for the whole class and let them know the same day? We make the draw then so we all can have time to investigate the gift.”
“Always thinking ahead Yaomomo!” Jirou exclaimed excitedly, causing Momo to blush at the praise.
“I will try my best.” she said humbly.
“But wait!” Hagakure chimed in. “Don’t you think Aizawa-sensei will have some say in this?”
“What if we invite him to the party?” Jirou said, at which Tsuyu hummed in thought. “He needs to look after Eri, though.”
Momo deflated slightly at that. “Convincing him would be harder…”
Ashido laughed a bit menacingly from where she was. “Don’t worry Yaomomo, I have the perfect plan!”
The rest looked at her in surprise. “You do?” Momo said. The girl in question nodded confidently as she threw a glance to Uraraka, Momo didn't get what it meant, but apparently the brunette did as her face lit up in understanding and a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.
Apparently Tsuyu also caught that. “I’m starting to have second thoughts about this, ribbit.”
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Mina had a mission and she was going to excel on it.
She and Uraraka were currently waiting outside the teachers dorms. Both their phones gripped anxiously in their hands containing their research from the previous night. They both spent a good couple of hours browsing every single thing that both knew would work.
They didn’t like to do this, but they knew it was the only weapon they could use against their teacher and the Christmas party was at stake.
As in cue, the retired underground hero made his way out of the building, with a very bouncing Eri behind his heels. The moment he spotted them, he stopped in his tracks and appeared to age ten years in a matter of seconds. Mina couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about what they were about to do.
“What is it now?” he groaned. Eri glanced up curiously at the girls.
Mina cleared her throat and placed her hands politely over her skirt, Uraraka following her motion. “We were wondering if we and the rest of the class could go out to the mall for Christmas shopping this weekend!” She bowed her head and by the corner of her eye Uraraka followed suit again.
Aizawa blinked. “Absolutely no.”
At his stern response, both girls raised their heads and Uraraka sighed. They slowly took their phones out of the pockets of their skirts.
“Then we have no other option, Aizawa-sensei.” Uraraka’s usual cheery voice was gone when she spoke.
“We didn’t want to do this.” Mina followed suit.
In unison, both girls shoved said phones in front of their teacher’s face, making him take a step back in surprise, his quirk activating by impulse.
“Just look at these cute cat themed winter clothes!” Uraraka cooed loudly, scrolling the images to the side to show him the garments she gathered.
Mina did the same with hers. “Don’t you think they would look cute on Eri-chan?” To emphasize, she stopped in a grey beanie with simulating cat ears knitted on the top and zoomed shamelessly at said ears. “Just look how fluffy the knit is!”
Aizawa’s brow quivered. His quirk slowly being released.
“And you know what’s better, sensei?” Urakaka spoke. “They all can be found at the mall we're planning to go to!”
“Wouldn’t it be a cute Christmas present?” Mina pitched in.
Tense, their professor slowly and dreadfully directed his gaze down and to Eri. She, who said nothing during the ruckus, had her eyes blown wide and full of wonder while gaping at the two girls in particular, justifying her previous silence.
He dragged his hand over his face, the most tiresome sigh Mina ever heard the man make until that moment coming out of his mouth.
“To use a child against me... You should be ashamed.”
Mina knew he would say something like that and warned Uraraka on the matter beforehand, knowing fully well the floaty girl would feel guilty about it if their sensei ever said something like this. Not like she wasn’t guilty herself, but she knew to not become a prey of it. They have a very important job and Mina will see it through, even if it meant getting her hands dirty.
“Not at all sir.” Mina replied. “We are doing this for Eri-chan too, after all.”
He raised his brow dangerously. “How so?”
She cleared her voice and quickly placed the glasses she stole from Iida—without him knowing— on her nose, making them glint at the movement. “I’m afraid you have no sense of girl's fashion and Eri-chan deserves to look the cutest on Christmas, don’t you think?”
Despite the blurriness the glasses were causing to her sight, Mina could tell her teacher gulped heavily. She glanced at Uraraka, who glanced back and nodded in agreement. They finally showed their cards and it was time for Aizawa-sensei to accept defeat.
One more glance to the eager big red eyes of Eri and it was all over.
“Fine.”
With nothing else to say in the face of his defeat, he took Eri by the hand and resumed his previous task, whatever it might have been. It wasn’t until they both were far enough that Mina cheered loudly and jumped in excitement.
Suddenly, a white blur wrapped her and Mina lost her balance. “Don’t make me change my mind!” Aizawa screamed in the distance.
Dreadfully, Uraraka screamed back. “We’re sorry! You can come to the party too, sensei!”
The white wrap sealed her mouth too the moment Eri began to ask about the idea of attending.
The groan their professor made could be heard all the way back to the main building in the school.
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The next morning, Momo, Ashido and Uraraka arrived with their thumbs up for a mission accomplished at the lounge.
“Are we really going?!” Hagakure screamed in excitement. Her sleeves flapped up and down at the emotion.
“We need to start planning now!” Ashido started. “We only have three days before the weekend!”
Momo shushed her urgently, causing Ashido’s mouth to close in one silent thud. “If we want this to be a surprise we need to be cautious about it, Ashido-san.” she whispered urgently. The girl in question nodded silently before standing up and motioning the girls to do so too.
Giggling to themselves they rushed to the elevator on their side of the dorm and left just as quickly. At their leave, some of his classmates blinked curiously, wondering what the hell was all that about.
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Once classes were over, Eijirou couldn’t help but sigh in relief as he put his Japanese book back in his backpack. Their teacher was already leaving the classroom when Aizawa-sensei appeared at their door.
Which was weird, considering they were not going to see their professor until the next day.
Apparently he was not the only one questioning his appearance as he heard some of his classmates were murmuring among themselves around him.
Aizawa didn’t even bat an eye as he made his way to the front of the class and stared at them. “Yaoyorozu, would you please make the announcement so I can call it a day?” he said tiredly. The girl in question stood up from her seat and made her way to the front. Giddy yet smiling, she stood where their professor previously was and cleared her throat. When Eijirou glanced to his side he saw Ashido smirking and the chill that went down his spine made him shiver.
“As you know,” Yaoyorozu began. “Winter break is almost here and we are all free from the midterms. So the girls and I thought it would be a good idea to hold a surprise Christmas party in my mansion to celebrate the occasion!”
“Really!?” Kaminari was the first to speak, slamming his hands against his desk as he shot up from his seat. The hairs of Eijirou’s nape stood up and taking a closer look at him, he noticed how Kaminari was causing static by the emotion. There was a collective murmur of excitement. To his side, Sero turned around on his seat to the side of the classroom. “You already knew that didn't you, Class Rep?”
Midoriya’s voice responded excitedly from his seat. “Of course I did!”
Uraraka giggled at that. “You only found out this morning, Deku-kun.”
Midoriya spluttered in disbelief.
Yaoyorozu cleared her throat and caught their attention once more, when Eijirou looked again he couldn’t help but notice their teacher was already in his sleeping back and nodding off in the corner.
“We were also thinking about a game for this party.” she finally said. Glancing to his left, Eijirou noticed how Bakugou, who was more than nonchalant about the announcement, was now paying attention at the mention of a game.
“What kind of game, Yaoyorozu?” the explosive boy demanded. Eijirou couldn’t see them clearly, but he knew his eyes were glinting dangerously.
“It is known as ‘Secret Santa’”, she began explaining while she took a ballot box from behind her and placed it over the podium. Where did she get that from? Eijirou wondered. “And it consists of each one of us drawing out a random name so we can get that person a gift without them knowing, thus the name.”
“I don't see how that's a game.” Bakugou groaned.
Yaoyorozu smiled. “For example, let's say you got…” she glanced around the room “Uraraka.” the girl in question let out an eep. “And you have no idea what to give her, so you need to investigate what she would like. But if she finds out before the present exchange, then you lose.”
Bakugou scoffed. “As she would catch me that easily.”
“You bet, Blasty!” she retorted from the back. Annoyed, Bakugou turned rapidly from his seat and let some sparks out of his hand. “Wanna say that again, Round Face?!”
Eijirou quickly stood up. “It sounds really fun!” he laughed out loud. “I'm in!”
In cue, the rest of the class began to exclaim their excitement; some asking the girls about their secret rendezvous concerning the party. As there weren't any contradictions, Yaoyorozu began to make her way to each of their seats starting with Hagakure and making the occupants draw a folded paper out of the box. When it was Midoriya’s turn, Eijirou noticed how he quickly took out his notebook and began scribbling down while covering his mouth with a hand to seal the mumbling away.
He couldn't help but snort at the sight. Classic Midoriya, brainstorming the moment he had a target in sight.
It took awhile for Yaoyorozu to reach his seat, buzzing with excitement and sporting a wide smile, he closed his eyes—just to be dramatic as the box only had one hole to peek—and shoved his hand inside to fish the first paper his fingers touched. Before he could open it, Yaoyorozu was already making her way to Kaminari.
Curiously, he unfolded the paper and grinned at the lucky person who would get the best present in the world. Quickly, he hardened the tips of his fingers and shredded the paper into smaller pieces than confetti so no one would be able to tape it back to its original form.
Now. What would Uraraka like? He needed to investigate soon and through, so he could get her a good present. Deep in his thoughts, he didn’t realize Yaoyorozu had already made her way back to her seat and that his teacher made his way again to the front.
“As we don’t want anything similar like the last time you went to the mall,” Aizawa began, a quick glance and he could see Midoriya cringing at the memory, but then deflating in concealed sadness. Poor guy. “We are going to have to set some rules. First, all phones need to be fully charged. Secondly, you’re moving in groups.” Now there were groans and complaints at that.
Eijirou quickly raised again from his seat and shoved his hand into the air. “Sensei! How are we going to keep the Secret Santa secret if we move in groups?”
Jirou agreed with him with a small “Yeah.” and Kaminari was nodding fast in agreement in front of him.
Aizawa gave one of his rare and chilling smirks that could only mean one of his classic ruses. “Take this as a last minute training. Each one of you is going to give me the name of who you’re giving the present to, if they find out, you’re out. If they don’t, that means one extra point for the next term. You can only group in teams of at least three persons. So be wise about who you’re teaming with.”
Eijirou tensed and sat back to his seat after giving a small bow for his interruption. This was going to be hard. They couldn’t just ask around who was giving who without giving away themselves. How could this count as training? He could hardly imagine some case scenario where this could be dealt with.
Seeing there were not going to be more interruptions, their teacher continued. “And finally, you’re going to be escorted by two other professors and myself—I’m talking about Present Mic and Thirteen—as they can pass as civilians easily. And finally, you have three hours to complete all your shopping.”
He smiled dangerously. “Good luck.” said that, he tossed his sleeping bag over his shoulder and left the room. Almost instantly, Ashido stood up from her seat and slapped her hands together before bowing profusely. “I’m sorry! I might have gone a bit overboard when convincing him and now he is taking revenge!!”
“He is probably just having fun in his own way.” Shinsou commented from his seat, though his furrowed brow gave away he wasn’t convinced in the slightest. Eijirou stood up again. “Come on guys! This still sounds fun and we can still figure something out!”
Uraraka cheered behind him and Eijirou turned around to her. “Yeah!” she said, her bubblinnes pronounced by her fist in the air. “We are earning that extra point!”
“We just need to be really smart about it.” Midoriya said, sporting a confident smile of his own. At which Bakugou scoffed and took his bag before standing up.
“Let’s try to figure out the gift before cracking our heads about the shopping bullshit.” he commented, slightly annoyed.
Eijirou smiled, knowing he was into it but trying not to be obvious about it. “I knew you were invested in this, Bakugou!”
Bakugou snarled but it lacked its usual poison. “Shut up, Kirishima! I’m going to beat all of you in this! I’ll get the perfect fucking present and as hell I will get caught when buying it!”
Said that, he quickly made his way to the door as Iida screamed “Language!” and the competitive spirit from the whole class made the worries subside almost instantly.
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When they made their way to the dorms, instead of going to his room as usual, Denki went straight to Kirishima’s and knocked on his door. He heard a ruffling from inside before the door opened in front of him and showed a pointy smile in his direction.
Without letting him greet as usual, Denki quickly went inside and urged Kirishima to close the door. Once he did, Denki finally spoke. “I need your help!”
Kirishima raised his eyebrows amused and made his way to his bed and sat before inviting Denki to do the same when he patted the other side. “Sure, bro. Who you got?”
Denki answered him once he made himself comfortable as requested. “Ashido.”
“Bro, then why are you asking me? Aren’t you friends?”
Denki groaned deeply. “Yes, but you know her since middle school, right?” Kirishima nodded at the question. “Then you must know her more than I do.”
“Dude, I didn’t talk to her until our last middleschool year was almost over and we only became friends until UA, we’re kinda in the same boat here.”
Denki groaned again and louder this time. “I’m screwed.”
“Hey no, bro!” Kirishima rapidly said while standing up. “Come on! What do girls like? Then let’s just narrow it to Ashido’s tastes. And while we are at it, maybe you can help me to figure out what to give Uraraka too!”
At that, Denki could feel himself getting a bit more hopeful and at the same time, realizing it could be fun too. And so, he and Kirishima began their brainstorm for the two girls in question.
A floor above them, Tenya was making his way through the floor. His previous plan was to ask both Uraraka and Midoriya for advice, but as soon as they arrived at the dorms and changed off the uniform, both made their own respective ways. Midoriya told him something about recipes before storming back to Heights Alliance and Uraraka saying she was about to fight against a fiery dragon for information before heading to the elevator of the boy’s dorms.
Perplexed by their energy, Tenya smiled to himself and shook his head in disbelief by their energy. Deciding to take their example, he was going to make an effort too for his Secret Santa. And thus, here he was: in front of Todoroki’s room. Knocking three consecutive times, he waited for the room resident to answer him.
The door opened and Tenya barely contained his surprise. In front of him was indeed Todoroki, still wearing his uniform, or more accurately, some of his uniform, as the blazer was discarded along with his tie and his shirt was unbuttoned from three buttons down the neck.
Upon seeing him, Todoroki blinked at him slowly. “What is it, Iida?”
Tenya quickly bowed. “I’m sorry for interrupting you mid-changing! Please resume your task and answer the door again once you’re fully dressed!”
Todoroki gave him a curious look. “Okay.” he said and closed the door again. A couple of minutes passed and the door opened again, this time, Todoroki was wearing a blue turtleneck shirt with a beige cardigan over it.
Tenya nodded at the sight. “Yes, you’re presentable now. May I come in, Todoroki-kun?”
“As long as you don’t tell me to clean my room or something like that this time, yes.”
He spluttered at the accusation. Making his way to the side, Todoroki invited him inside and Iida did as told. Again, he was amazed at the exquisite room decoration that his friend set his mind to again this year. He waited until Todoroki returned back in the room after closing the door. Seeing him still standing, he raised his brows. “You can sit down, Iida.” he told him as he made his way to the desk and took his discarded uniform. “Let me just hang this up first.”
“Sure.” he answered and waited patiently for his friend to finish his task. When he was done, Todoroki sat in front of him and stared silently. It passed a few seconds in utter silence before he spoke again. “Hmm, Iida. What do you need?”
The boy in question shook back up. “My apologies, I was waiting for you to ask again and I didn’t want to sound rude to just speak up.”
This time, Todoroki’s face looked more amused than just the steady seriousness. “You can always just talk without waiting for me, Iida.”
“Thank you, I will keep it in mind next time.” Todoroki nodded at him to go on. “As you can see, the Secret Santa business is making everyone excited and competitive.” Todoroki raised a brow curiously, probably knowing where he was headed. “But in my case, it’s turning out to be a bit difficult to come up with a gift.”
Now Todoroki’s brows raised both in surprise. “Who you got?”
Tenya adjusted his eyeglasses. “Yaoyorozu-kun.”
His heterochromatic eyes widened this time. “And you are asking me instead of one of the girls?”
“I was initially going to ask Uraraka-kun but she was busy herself and the other girls always move in groups and I didn’t want to encounter her and raise suspicion.”
His friend hummed at that. “I still don’t see how I can help you.”
“I believe you have a sister, haven’t you Todoroki-kun?” the boy responded with a blink. “I only have my brother and giving a gift to my mother is easy considering she raised me.” he adjusted his glasses again. “Plus you sit beside her in class and do get along, maybe you know something.”
Todoroki hummed at that, scratching his cheek slightly. “Well… My sister likes cute things or practical things. Is usually my brother who is better at giving her gifts. But it is usually something she likes or related to her likes.”
Tenya leaned over. “For example?”
“Once he gave her a gift card for a pastry shop she mentioned once she passed after work everyday.” he stood quiet for a moment. “Then blamed him for her weight gain.”
Tenya snorted at that, which caused Todoroki to stare at him. “My apologies, your siblings sound like fun.”
“They are when they aren’t arguing,” Todoroki replied. “Sometimes they’re scary.” Tenya raised his brow at that. If someone as calm as Todoroki said it, then it must be a sight to behold.
He thought for a moment what the boy in front of him told him regarding the gift card. Considering her quirk, Yaoyorozu was someone who enjoyed food profoundly. But he didn’t want to look plain nor uninterested regarding his gift and just give her some kind of gift card. But the idea of food related set a spark in his mind. There was something there beginning to form into a more tangible idea until the food topic branched to tea.
Letting his fist fall over his open palm, Tenya spoke up. “A tea set!”
Todoroki raised his eyebrow once more, but this time it looked more like amazement. “That actually sounds good,” he told him. “Any idea of the pattern or colors?”
Tenya laughed proudly at the question. “Flowers and pastel colors!”
Without missing a beat, Todoroki clapped at his response, letting a flat sound of amusement out that Tenya took it as a compliment. Now that he had an idea, it was time to get started at looking online for a shop in the mall that might have what he was looking for.
He was beginning to stand up before Todoroki raised his hand to catch his attention. “Now that we sorted out your problem, I need help with mine.”
Tenya immediately sat down. “Sure Todoroki-kun! Who did you get?”
“Midoriya.”
Iida frowned at that. “Of all of us, I believe you have the easiest one! Some All Might related merchandise and it would be enough.” he noticed then, Todoroki was pursing his lips. “Unless there is more to that. What is the problem, exactly?”
“I’m not sure what merch he already has and what he hasn’t.” he answered. “And I already have a plan to find out without him finding out, but I need your help.”
Tenya thought what it might be that he needed help with, until an idea crossed his mind. “I won’t allow you to sneak into his room without his permission!” he scolded loudly, chopping his hand up and down to make his point across.
Todoroki stared at him. “I won’t.” he said, at which Tenya relaxed. “Hagakure will.” Iida yelped at that. “And I need your help to distract him, or at least to not scold her for it.”
“As a former class president I can’t allow such a thing!” he chopped the air furiously.
Todoroki stared at him impassively. “Then I guess Yaoyorozu would find out her Secret Santa.”
Tenya gasped at that. “You would not dare.”
His treacherous friend smiled. Actually smiled and, for the first time, Tenya feared his friend despite seeing him freeze off half a city with his quirk. No matter how Tenya looked at it, he was completely cornered.
He sighed. “Fine. But I will only turn a blind eye as I will not sneak into his room.”
“Thank you, Iida.”
Tenya scoffed at him and began to make his way up the floor. He was almost crossing the door when he turned on last time to his dual colored friend. “So you know. Midoriya-kun mentioned the items he has in his room is only a portion of his collection as he left the majority of it back at his home.”
Seeing the confidence falter from Todoroki’s face, he gave his last internal laugh and closed the door behind him. He could clearly hear a faint “Damn it.” from the other side before making his way back to his own room victoriously.
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Thursday came and went and it made its way to Friday. There was only one day left before the shopping day and the anxiousness could be felt in the air along with the cold. Some of her classmates were going up and down spying and asking around for the gift they were going to give.
As for herself, well, Kyouka wasn’t exactly worried as she knew exactly what to give Todoroki plus what half the class was going to give who and what. She—along probably Hagakure, Shouji and Koda—already spied around looking for clues for their gift recon mission using her quirk for it. Luckily, she hasn't spoiled her own surprise by doing so and stopped her spying once she got what she was looking for.
So, swiftly being done with that, all she had to do now was to finish her preparation for the small surprise she was setting up for the party. Most of it was done, but there were still some small details that needed polishing and what not.
At that moment, she was reviewing her task list regarding said surprise in one of the tables in the common room. Crossing what was done and adding a few more notes she forgot the first time she wrote it.
In that moment, a shout brought her out of her concentration and saw, with much amusement and a choked snort, how Kaminari and Kirishima ran out of the building in panic along a dual shouts about something along the lines of “the complexity of female tastes”. Whatever that meant.
She was going back to her list as her laugh faded out but she suddenly saw how out of nowhere Midoriya began to float up to the ceiling with a yelp. Looking at the culprit they noticed a very deep asleep Uraraka on the couch next to the spot Midoriya previously was. The first one to completely lose it was Bakugou, as he laughed loudly and shamelessly, pointing at the victim between gasps and unshed tears; Sero fretting about the blond’s heart. Kyouka was about to take her phone out to record everything when she saw something from the corner of her eye.
Turning around, she noticed how Hagakure began to slip away from the room and to the stairs as she accidentally grazed one of the house plants and made the leaves dance by the touch. One look at the deep concentration of Todoroki’s face and the pointed stare of Iida confirmed her suspicions.
Todoroki was making his move regarding his present. She giggled at the overdramatic tension but covered it with the Midoriya ceiling mess. She didn’t want to be found out about spying on Todoroki the other day when Iida went to his room. She could have been caught if it weren’t because Iida was laughing at himself instead of checking his surroundings the moment he walked down the corridor.
Bakugou’s laugh was still prominent and it even began to turn into wheezes as Midoriya turned around and got his face stuck to the ceiling. Ashido was having the time of her life recording everything. One look around the room and Kyouka noticed Sero wasn’t around to put him down with his tape nor was Tsuyu.
“What if we just wake her up?” Shouji commented to Midoriya up the ceiling. With a bit of struggle, the boy in question turned his body around so he was staring down the ceiling again.
“N-No, it’s fine!” the boy motioned his hands to emphasize. “She’s been tired lately and I don’t want to wake her up.”
From where she was, Kyouka noticed how Uraraka was trying really hard to contain her laughter. So Todoroki dragged her in this too , Kyouka thought to herself. Amused, she returned to her business as the rest tried, keyword tried, to come up with a plan to put him back down.
While the ruckus was made, Kyouka didn’t notice how Shinsou slipped in the chair in front of her. She screamed inwardly at the surprise, but his raised amused eyebrows could tell her her reaction didn't go unnoticed.
“You could give Hagakure a run for her money, you know?” she told him, trying to sound offended. The purple boy shrugged at that with a smirk. “I’ve been told that a couple of times, I won’t lie,” he replied.
Kyouka blinked at him. “What do you want, Shinsou?”
“Asui’s favorite color.” he answered without missing a beat. Kyouka raised her eyebrow interest.
“What you’ve got?” she said.
“Other than not telling Todoroki you were spying on him the other day? Not much.”
Kyouka clicked her tongue in annoyance. “I forgot you were floormates.”
Shinsou smiled dangerously at her. “You did.”
They stayed there, staring at each other nor blinking in fear of the other move. She couldn’t do much. Unless…
“I can tell you who your Secret Santa is.”
“And spoil it for both of us? I knew you were tough but not unhero-like.”
He had a good point. “...Fine. It’s mint.”
“I asked for a color not a flavor.”
She stabbed him on the side with her jack. “It’s a color, you uncultured idiot!”
At least he had the courtesy to wince at the attack. “Alright, alright...” he said while he rubbed the sore spot. “Thank you.” he smiled at her, gratefulness visible on it.
She smiled back as he stood up. “You’re welcome.”
Once she was sure there were no more interruptions, she glued her eyes back to the notebook in front of her. She really hoped they would like it as much as she was loving it. With the laughs of the rest of her classmates, Kyouka began to hum a melody.
❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣
And finally, the day he has been dreading for the past couple of days arrived. Sunday morning promised to be a really cold one and Katsuki couldn’t feel grumpier about it. Groaning and all bundled up, he waited outside Heights Alliance where two vans were parked and waiting for them.
Their escorts were already there too, wearing casual clothes and talking upon themselves. Well, mostly Thirteen and Present Mic were talking between them while Aizawa stared at some point in the distance and looked rather annoyed.
It was a surreal picture, to say at least.
Damn it, he should have stayed inside and waited for when most of them were already ready to go and not freeze his ass like an idiot as he was currently doing. He turned and was already making his way back inside when the front door opened and Katsuki groaned once again. Uraraka was making her way out and when she spotted him, her eyes became determined and quickened her pace.
“No.” he told her once she reached him.
“But I haven’t said anything!” Katuski stared at her unimpressed.
“You’ve been nagging me with the same shit for the past three days! My answer is still no!”
“You’re really no fun, Bakugou-kun!” Uraraka pouted.
“That’s the point, Round Face.” he scoffed. He turned and went back where he was previously waiting at the van. By the corner of his eye noticed she was following him and he groaned again and loudly.
“What are you doing?” he spat at her.
“Being annoying until you help me out like the good friend you are!” she giggled. He took her by the face and pushed her away from him with just enough strength.
“We’re not friends.”
She tried to answer him but her words came out muffled as his hands were covering her mouth. He could just… Use his quirk. No, it was going far even for him. But the temptation was prominently still there.
He released her and resumed his step.
“And here I thought we had something special!”
“Get lost already!”
“Nope.”
He quickly turned and took a fighting stance and gave his most fearsome smirk. “Then I’ll have to fight you.”
She quickly took hers too. “Then so be it!” her eyes aflame by determination. Katuski faltered a bit. Last time he fought her, or more like sparred, she took a good hit that left him with a sore neck for two days. But maybe if he won she would leave him alone.
“If you win, I’ll help you with Kirishima’s present!” he stated. “But if you lose, you get away from me the whole outing!”
Uraraka smirked at him. “You’re on.” And she ran. It was silently agreed that it will be only sparring without their quirks. Her fist came from the right and he dodged in time, he took a spin and kicked her but she countered it with her arm. She grabbed his ankle hard and was about to twist it but Katuski slapped her hand away in time and took a step back.
Trying to not let her room to think, he attacked this time. He punched her right in the nose and for a moment Katuski felt bad when he saw he drew out blood. Noticing his hesitation, she took his hand, twisted it over herself and bent his wrist painfully. Katuski was about to kick her again but she pushed him at the back of his knee and made him lose balance.
With a loud cheer. She sat on top of him by the lower back and pinned both of his wrists down the floor. Damn it, it was cold!
“I win!” she said and Katuski could hear the smile on her face.
“Fine! Get off me already!” he shouted and struggled with her weight. She stood off and he quickly did the same. He was already dusting off his clothes when the angry shouts of Iida were heard at the distance.
“What the hell do you think are doing?!” he paced at them furiously, his hand chopping the air so rapidly Katuski could only see a blur.
He was about to tell him to piss off when Uraraka giggled. “I defeated the fiery dragon!” she exclaimed, both of her arms wide open to emphasize. He had no idea what she meant with that and let out a loud “ Hah? ” to demonstrate his offense. But apparently Iida did, as he stopped his hand motion and sighed exasperated while pinching the bridge of his nose.
“So this is what you meant the other day.” he commented, at which Uraraka nodded happily. The blood was still dripping from her nose.
“Oi, if you don’t clean that mess I’m leaving you behind despite your win.” he told her, angrily. Despite his bite, she smiled at him.
“Right.” She did the motion to wipe it with her sleeve but thought it better and stopped. She looked back at Heights Alliance when Iida took out his handkerchief and handed it to her. She thanked him cheerfully and pressed it on her nose.
“It’s not broken, right?” she asked cautiously and again, Katuski felt a bit guilty. Iida took her face and inspected it carefully by turning her head to the sides. While he was doing that, Katsuki noticed how Izuku along with Todoroki, Jirou and Shinsou were making their way to them.
He cursed silently. He didn’t feel like hearing more complaints.
“W-What happened?!” Izuku shrieked when he noticed the bloody fabric under her nose and how disheveled his clothes were. Todoroki quickly glanced at him and Katsuki returned it hard.
“You were fighting again, didn’t you?” Jirou sighed tiredly and shook her head. “What was it this time?”
“A deal of honor!” Uraraka replied. “And I won.”
Shinsou stared at him and smirked. “You did?”
“You wanna go too, mindfucker?!” he exclaimed.
“It’s not broken.” Iida finally said, interrupting their quarrel. Iida turned to the teachers. “Why didn’t you stop them if you were here all the time?” Aizawa sighed and Thirteen laughed.
“It was a lady’s honor at stake!” she exclaimed. So she was the one who told them not to interject. Katsuki scoffed and made his way to the van. Uraraka made a sound of surprise and her steps could be heard from the back.
He made his way in and took one of the seats at the back, Uraraka sitting next to him. Before she could attempt to make small talk, he took out his earbuds and played the first thing that appeared on his playlist loudly.
She pouted at him and looked to the other side.
Katsuki might have smirked at that.
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When they arrived at the mall, the teachers quickly took their attention as they stood around them at the entrance.
“As I said the other day: Go in groups of three. Be attentive with your phones. You have three hours. No more no less.” Aizawa told them as he passed his eyes to each one of them. Sending chills down their spines collectively by doing so. Noticing the tension, Present Mic interjected him. “And remember to have fun, dear listeners!”
They answered with a collective “Yes!” and began to part into groups. Hitoshi noticed how Bakugou was starting to make his way with Uraraka, Iida close behind them saying something to keep a watch on them if they decided to start another fight and Tsuyu just tagging along. Bakugou purposely quickened his pace, hoping they would get behind. He wasn’t that lucky.
Hitoshi stood with Jirou and Sero. A few paces from them were Midoriya and Todoroki.
“Todoroki-kun, want to go together? Though we still need a third member…” he heard Midoriya say. Turning, he noticed how Todoroki tensed at the proposal and it took everything within Hitoshi not to laugh out loud. The dual colored boy sent a quick glance at their direction and stared back at the boy in front of him.
“Sorry, Midoriya.” he said with a straight face and pointed in their direction. “I already promised I would help them out with their gifts.”
Midoriya quickly glanced at them and hummed. Turning the other way, he noticed Kaminari and Kirishima begging Hagakure for help. “I guess I will go with them, then,” he smiled. “Good luck, Todoroki-kun!” Once he said that, he trotted to the boys and they almost burst into tears by his arrival. Apparently they needed all the help they could get.
Todoroki was starting to make their way and Jirou muttered a small ‘shit’. Hitoshi looked at her amused. “I need to run. See ya later guys.” She went to another group with Hagakure and Kouda. When Todoroki arrived, he gave a curious look.
“I thought she was going to stay with us,” he said. Hitoshi coughed to mask his laugh.
“She said she already had plans with Hagakure.” he lied. Jirou owed him.
Todoroki hummed in response. Taking this silence as an opportunity, Sero wrapped his arms on each of their shoulders and grinned excitedly. “Let’s go then!” he said, and began to herd them away. Hitoshi turned to the other boy and shrugged. “Guess we are a team now.”
“Guess so.”
Once they caught up to Sero, Hitoshi decided to set a plan. “Sero, who you got and what are you planning to buy?”
He turned and winked in bemused conspiracy. “That’s a secret.”
“If it was one of us you wouldn’t tag alone.” Todoroki said, at which Hitoshi nodded in agreement. Sero sighed.
“Fine,” he muttered. “It’s Kaminari and I have no idea what to give him.”
Hitoshi groaned. “So we’ve been following you around aimlessly for ten minutes.”
A hum from his side told him Todoroki was thinking something. “What if you help us get our presents first and see if you get an idea while at it.”
Sero beamed up at that. “Sounds great, dude!”
“Alright.” Hitoshi replied. Taking the lead, he began to walk to the first store. After a couple of minutes, Hitoshi found what he was looking for.
“The outfits are nice.” Todoroki said, while eyeing the mannequins in front of him.
Sero eyed the clothes, looking just as lost as Hitoshi felt. “I only have a younger sister and right now she’s in her moody pre-teen phase.”
“I believe Asui it’s not the moody kind of person,” he replied, while making his way inside the store.
Hitoshi kept quiet as he was carefully inspecting the store for the item he was looking for. He should've thought better. The store was big and there was a lot of area to cover.
“Okay, guys.” Hitoshi called them. “I’m looking for something mint, you know, the color? Something warm for Asui to wear. I’m thinking about a scarf or a beanie. A sweater if we can’t find anything of the previous two.”
“Mint is a color?” Todoroki asked. Sero looked just as confused and shrugged. Shaking his head, because fair , Hitoshi took his phone out and showed them the tab where he investigated what color exactly mint was.
“It’s this one. There are many shades so I’m not exactly sure which one it is. So the closest color helps.”
Todoroki nodded seriously. “I’ll start looking at the back.” Once he said so, he made his way to said area. From where Hitoshi stood, he noticed how quickly the store attendants quickly made their way to help him. He knew it wasn’t just for their job.
He turned to Sero. “Can I count you in?”
He laughed and saluted. “Aye, aye!”
They parted ways with that.
❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣ ❣
Once the clock hit their three hour mark, they slowly began to make their way back to the meeting point. Izuku was excited beyond comparison. Now that they got their presents, all they had to do was to wait for the party.
He was already waiting with Kirishima and Kaminari, their presents already wrapped and ready. He never thought that it would be too difficult to choose a present for girls—as his only experience was his mother—but he was proven wrong. But despite that, he was glad he managed to buy something nice for his Secret Santa and hoped his classmate would enjoy it.
Their chatter kept increasing in volume as the rest of his class regrouped, a loud groan overlapping the rest was heard and Izuku giggled instantly as he knew it could only be Kacchan. Turning to the sound, he found him clearly annoyed and surprisingly exhausted.
“I will NEVER go shopping with you again,” he growled at his companions. “You. Just. Don’t. Shut. Up!”
Iida gasped, clearly affronted. “Excuse me?”
“You’re forgiven.” Kacchan deadpanned, made his way to the left and walked to the farthest bench he could find.
Izuku tried not to let his amusement show because he knew it would only be worse, but he couldn’t deny it was something fun to watch. Kacchan silently made his way next to him and hid his face on his shoulder and groaned. Izuku silently petted his blond hair in comfort.
Loudly, Aizawa cleared his throat to get their attention. When Izuku turned to him, he couldn’t help but feel surprised at the several pastel bags around their professor’s feet. His class at least had the better judgement of not pointing them out.
“You’re all here,” he began. “Make two rows and let’s head out now. Midoriya,” he called out. “Supervise they all get in the vans.”
“Y-Yes, sensei!” Midoriya squeaked out and raised his arm up, Kacchan complaining at being disturbed. “Everyone! You heard him! Two rows, please!”
Once seated, the chatting increased in volume. All his other classmates talked excitedly about the outing and the other stuff they bought that wasn’t concerning the gift exchange. Izuku quietly smiled to himself and leaned against the seat, Kacchan surly up to himself on the window seat, eyes closed and listening to music.
Smiling softly, Izuku focused on listening to the noise and conversations the rest of his class were having about their own gift hunting, taking it all in. He was thinking about the gifts he got for the people other than his Secret Santa and hoping they would like them.
“So you got what you were looking for?” a sudden voice asked, making Izuku’s eyes snap open.
“Oh, hey Todoroki-kun,” he said, as the other boy took a seat next to him. “I did, actually!” he patted the bags, pleased.
“That’s great.”
“How did it go for you?”
Todoroki hummed. “I had trouble getting my present but I think I got something great for them.”
“That’s good to hear!” he said, making the other boy nod in agreement. “Did you buy something else?”
“Hm,” he answered, looking down at his bags. “I bought some presents for Mom, Fuyumi and Natsu… And a mug for my father.” He pointendly didn’t mention Touya, but Izuku was not going to bring that up, as he knew it was a really heavy topic for his friend.
Izuku raised his eyebrows at that. “You did?”
Todoroki nodded. “Yeah.”
The freckled boy couldn’t help but smile. “That’s great, Todoroki-kun.”
“Hm,” the other boy muttered, leaning back to his seat. “I think it is.”