authors note
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heyo! It's me! So, I didn't realize
this chapter was gonna be so long, but
it's totally worth it. unfortunately, this is
going to become a joint chapter with
next chapter featuring the Shimura & Bakugou Christmas. But fortunately, since it's a joint chapter, it'll be coming out tomorrow! just a little valentine gift from moi à toi.
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v
" One, two, three.."
" MERRY CHRISTMAS!!"
Night had fallen, but people's spirits were bringing light to Heights Alliance. The class had planned a small little Christmas Eve Party, just to celebrate the holidays before they all went home for their Christmas break. Kaori cheered with her classmates, smiling at all of the festive food and decorations they'd put together in less than an hour. The class was dressed in green and red holiday uniforms, with Santa's iconic fluff at the end of each piece. Kaori had at first declined putting anything on, but Mina had other plans.
" C'mon, Kaori~! You know you wanna! Besides, I wanna take a group picture with the girls! So we can remember this when we're old like your dad!" Mina gushed, holding up a red jacket to the girl. Kaori turned toward the alien female, steam coming out of her ears.
" MY CHICHI ISN'T OLD!" She defended, successfully being distracted as Mina moved faster than All Might, dressing the girl in the red jacket. Mina pulled over each one of the girl's, having Momo and Kaori stand at the center as the shorter girls, crowded around them, posing in their own unique ways.
" THREE, TWO, ONE!! SAY ALL MIGHT~!!" Mina sang, the camera flashing as all the girl's smiled in unison. The girls broke into laughter as Mina pranced over to her phone, looking at the picture in excitement.
" Alright! I'll have these printed out soon, we'll all have a copy!" Mina cheered. The girls broke into their own conversation, eating food and drinking. Kaori looked around at the people that surrounded her, smiling in gratitude. I wish we could stay here. As Kaori's eyes traveled over the room, she noticed Bakugou's figure trying to sneak away. Kaori smirked, having a wonderful idea. An awful idea. A wonderfully, awful idea. She whispered into Mina's ear, snickering a few times as Mina's face broke out into a mischievous smile. The girl's disappeared from sight, gathering what they needed to execute their plan. As Bakugou lingered around the couch, Mina snuck up to him slowly, but was caught red-handed. With his hands shoved in his pockets, there was no way he could catch her in time. Kaori sped towards him, throwing the Santa hat over his head of spikes.
" Are you going back to Jeanist Bakugou?" Kirishima asked from the couches, catching the secret couple's attention. Bakugou huffed, kicking at the ground as he recalled what he'd read just days previous from now. Jeanist was missing and not a thing led to his disappearance.
" Nope. Jeanist is inactive right now, so, no leads." She spoke up, leaning an arm on Bakugou's left shoulder.
" Oh, you're not doing it with Mr. Aizawa?" Midoriya looked up quizzically, so sure she'd be back to her underground hero work study. She shook her head.
" They're asking for more well-known Heroes, out in the field type. It was my plan, either way, to drop him eventually and look for someone more in the spotlight, I just didn't expect it to be so soon." She explained, getting nods from Kirishima and Midoriya on the couch. Bakugou growled lightly, ripping his shoulder from under her arm, letting her fall face-flat onto the ground.
" DON'T USE ME AS AN ARM-REST, DAMMIT!! DO I LOOK SHORT TO YOU!?"
" You guys had a lot of people scouting you from the Sports Fest, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding somebody!" Kirishima supported, flashing a happy smile. Kaori turned herself over on the ground, looking up at her friends who now hung upside down.
" Thanks Kirishima! SAY THANKS BAKUGOU." She threatened through gritted teeth, punching his calf lightly. He growled down at her, kicking her side. She hit his knee, making him groan before he stepped on her stomach lightly.
" OW! OW! MY SCAR!" She fake cried, hunching up before falling back on the ground. His face twisted in concern for a moment before seeing her smirk up at him. He growled, kicking her side again before walking off. Kaori chuckled lightly, turning herself over with a grin.
" I could've sworn I saw him worry about you for a second~" Mina's voice spoke strangely as she loomed over Kaori. " SEEMS A LITTLE LIKE LOVE, HUH KAORI." Kaori's face lit up as she jumped off the ground, starring at Mina confusedly.
" Your eyes need fixing." " Your heart needs fixing." " Bitch." " Dense motherfuck-"
" Sorry we're late." They heard from Heights Alliance doors. The two girls turned toward the doorway, Kaori's face lighting up as she saw a sight that made her Christmas all too merry. There stood Shota Aizawa and our best girl, ERI! And following them, Hitoshi Shinsou.
" Uh...Trick or..Treat?" Eri tried, giving a nervous smile. Aizawa knelt down to her, explaining that she had two holidays mixed up. The Class was quick to greet her, making small comments on her adorable attire.
" Go on. Enjoy yourself. You too, Shinsou." Aizawa gave a small smile to the little girl before looking up at Shinsou. Kaori gave a bright smile, enveloping Shinsou into a side hide. He grunted from the impact, but smiled for a moment after.
" Hope you don't mind me joining you." Shinsou said, rubbing the back of his neck as Kaori let go of him.
" Are you kidding? You're welcome to join Class 1A anytime you like! You're my Brother, after all." She said with a bright smile, punching his shoulder excitedly.
" SHINSOU! WHASSUP MAN! Welcome to 1A Christmas!" Kaminari greeted, walking over with an excited smile. Shinsou was surrounding by a few people rather quickly and was roped into a conversation before he could shy away. Eri walked up to Kaori and Midoriya first, giving a bright smile.
" I'm so excited! This is my first Christmas in a while!" Eri exclaimed, pumping her fists excitedly.
" We're so glad you came, Eri!" Midoriya cheered, hugging the girl excitedly as she gladly returned the hug.
" This'll be your favorite Christmas, Eri-chan! We'll make sure of it!" Kaori promised, ruffling up the girl's blue locks. Eri laughed and for that evening, everything was perfect. They celebrated together, as friends and family, exchanged gifts. It was peaceful and the family that'd grown together smiled like never before. Even Bakugou enjoyed himself. While exchanging gifts, Kaori presented a box to Eri, smiling excitedly as the little girl starred at it in awe. She urged her to open up, not wanting to wait any longer to see Eri's expression. Eri took the ribbon, slinking the thread out from the knot before opening the lid of the box, seeing a cylinder with intricate designs decorating it. Eri took it from the box, identifying it as a smaller sort of telescope. She looked through it before gasping in surprise, the world turning into beautiful crystals of all sorts of colors. Kaori laughed at the girl's reaction, ruffling up the head of blue hair.
" It's the kaleidoscope! Thank you, thank you Ori-chan!" Eri cheered, jumping into Kaori's arms with excitement, her own arms clinging to Kaori's neck. Kaori smiled brightly, hugging the girl as she pat her back lightly.
" I know this is a little overboard, but," She heard Shinsou's voice from behind them before hearing a soft mew and a cheerful gasp. Eri let go of Kaori slowly as Kaori turned to see Shinsou behind the couch, holding a kitten in his arms. It seemed to have already grown quite a bit, and for the first time in forever, Kaori saw him smile in public. Eri took it in her arm's carefully, hugging it to her chest.
" My Dad is gonna murder you." She grinned, chuckling softly as she thought of how Hizashi would handle it.
" Nah. Mr. Aizawa loves me. I am his honorary son." Shinsou boasted, placing a hand on his hip. Kaori caught herself right there, realizing she'd subconsciously called Presentation Michael Dad. Holy mother of All Might. I can't believe Hitoshi didn't catch that.
" Thank you, Hitoshi! She's so adorable~! You'll help me take care of her, right?" Eri asked, taking Shinsou's attention. Shinsou flashed a small grin, petting the kitten's head with his thumb.
" Absolutely-" Before Shinsou could finish, there was a sudden exclamation, the sound of cheering and rushing footsteps. The three turned toward the commotion, finding people rushing into the courtyard, cheering and dancing together.
" What's going on?" Eri asked, petting the cats head lightly. They peered closer before Mina reemerged through the door, grinning excitedly.
" Hey, come on slow pokes! It's snowing~!" Mina cheered, rushing back out the door. Eri beamed excitedly, sliding off of the couch and running towards the door as she still held the kitten in her hands. Shinsou followed after, grabbing a spare Santa coat as Kaori laughed, standing from her spot on the couch. There was a knock, almost inaudible, from Heights Alliance doors, the two older teenager's turning toward the door.
" I'll grab it! You go ahead; and take my coat, give it to Eri. Can't have her or the cat getting sick." She said, sliding off her coat before throwing it towards Shinsou. He nodded, catching the coat with ease before walking out to the courtyard, closing the door behind him. Kaori stepped over the piles of boxes and wrapping paper, forced to hop for a moment before calmly walking towards the main doors. Must be All Might; haven't seen him since yesterday! She opened the door, but no skeleton stood there. She looked at her surroundings, only seeing the darkened sky littered with shadowy clouds and soft snow. She meant to step outside, just for one extra look, but her foot suddenly hit something and her gaze was averted to the porch. She looked down, seeing a box wrapped up in brown bagged paper, a red ribbon tied around it to hold it together. She picked it up, seeing a tag overturned. She flipped it over, reading the scribbled handwriting, a bit smeared at the bottom.
To : Kaori Shimura. Hey, Bestie!
From : JIN, YOUR BESTIE!! Annonymous, we are not friends
She blinked in realization, remembering the Jin from months previous. She smiled lightly, happy to know that he hadn't tried anything since they met. She chuckled at his confusing tag, untying the ribbon carefully as to preserve it. She unfolded the wrapping paper, finding a box, a mochi brand plastered on the front. She smiled thoughtfully before looking around 1A's front yard one last time, hoping to spot the man. How did he even get on campus? She shrugged it off, thankful for the fact he must've been doing a little better. Maybe visiting him as Omen wouldn't be so bad. He shouldn't be too hard to find. She stepped back into Heights Alliance, closing the door with her foot as she starred at the mochi with a smile.
" What's that?" She looked up, seeing the gruff expression on Bakugou's face. She smiled, looking back at the tag.
" An old friend of mine delivered something. We met a few weeks after I started my Work Study. He was having a rough time, so I offered to buy him Mochi. He returned the favor, I guess." Kaori held up the treat, still smiling as she stuffed the ribbon in her pocket. Bakugou narrowed his eyes at the gift, the tag she was looking at, then her.
" How old is this friend?" He asked, stuffing his hands in his pocket. Kaori giggled, surprisingly, walking forward and placing a kiss on his cheek.
" Don't worry. He's Chichi's age, a little too out of my range. You want a mochi?" She questioned, opening the box slowly as she moved toward the counter. Bakugou smirked for a nanosecond before returning to his bored expression turning around with a small confirmation. They stood at the counter, eating mochi as they discussed possible work study options.
" Ori-chan!" There was a small cheer as Eri reentered the living room, running up towards the kitchen's island, hugging the cat to her chest. She glanced at Bakugou before stepping further behind the counter, becoming wary of his scowl.
" I like your cat." He said gruffly, before returning to chewing on his mochi. Eri brightened up at this, holding the cat up proudly, petting the cat's back with a gentle touch.
" Isn't she cute? I named her Cherry, because her eyes are pink! I'm working on making cherry flowers pretty again with Ori-chan! I want to work on lizards, but she says it's too early." Eri spoke excitedly, rambling to him excitedly before giving a little pout, remembering it wasn't quite time to work on little animals yet.
" That's a green, Eri-chan. We're just starting to turn your Quirk off, remember? Good things take time-" Kaori started, but Eri finished her phrase, sighing a little.
" -take time to understand. Hey, isn't he the one you really like?" Eri questioned, looking to Kaori curiously before pointing at Bakugou. Kaori choked for a moment. Eri turned to Bakugou, watching as a smirk tugged at his lips. " She shows me pictures of you sometimes, and says you're wild! But really fun. She also-" As Eri opened her mouth to release more secrets, Kaori stuffed a strawberry mochi into her mouth, watching Eri chew confusedly before gladly finishing it with a smile. Bakugou turned to her with a smirk.
" Why'd you do that, Ori-chan? I would've loved to hear-" Before Bakugou could finish his sentence, Kaori stuffed a mochi into his mouth as well.
" She also says-"
" ERI!"
" What?"
- B O N U S -
As many decided to crash for the night, having prepared everything for everybody else, few stayed behind to help the small cleanup crew. Kaori grabbed pieces of paper and empty boxes, their very being being sent into oblivion. Which oblivion, we will never know. Kaori grabbed another handful, watching as they disappeared in a flash of light beneath her finger-tips. Eri was really trying to rat me out this evening. Cannot trust that kid with secrets. As she covered the majority of the room, she heard her name be called with a few others.
" Midoriya, Bakugou, Shimura," Kaori turned to the monotone voice of Shoto Todoroki, her bestie in trauma-..I MEANT JUST BESTIE. Just bestie. Her bestie, Shoto Todoroki. Midoriya and Bakugou, who were currently collecting leftover food and plates, looked toward the boy, seeing him carrying a stack of his own plates.
" Forgive, but I overheard your conversation from earlier. If you don't have many ideas for Work Study's, I was thinking," He paused for a moment, waiting to see their reactions. Kaori raised her brow in curiosity, obliterating another box. Why's he acting so mysterious?
" Come with me, and do a Work Study with the #1 Hero."
Endeavor