Tired and uploaded a day late, here's the sixth day! If I wasn't already dead on the inside, I am now! Merry Christmas, to one and for all!
Christmas, Day 6: Secret Santa
"There's gonna be a what?"
Class 1-A of U.A. High looked at their homeroom teacher in surprise. Aizawa sighed, putting a hand on his eye. "One of those 'secret Santa's. It wasn't my idea, but all the other classes are having a 'secret Santa' of their own. All Might should have been to tell you, but he called in sick for the week."
The class began to whisper to themselves and with each other. Amidst the quiet chaos, Izuku was the only one to notice Aizawa sigh before silently pulling out a box. With a small tap, the class quieted down as the teacher spoke again.
"I'll need you all to take a piece of paper from the box. Each will have the name of someone from the classroom written on it. If you get your name, put it back in. Who you get is who you get, so don't complain. Yaoyorozu, you're up first. Second is Mineta, and Midoriya, third."
After a few minutes, everyone had gotten the name of the person they had to gift. After class, a few people, namely Mineta and Kaminari, asked around to switch their names with someone. A few deals later, and Kaminari got what he wanted, while Mineta was left with a boy's name. And so, the countdown for the days began, and people worked hard behind the scenes to find the right gift for the right people. In seven days, Class 1-A was expected to have their gifts ready for giving at the dorms, overseen by Iida.
With seven days remaining, Koda and Ashido found themselves at the same pet store. While Koda took his time searching for a pet, Mina deemed it all unsatisfactory, leaving to find a place that sold the type of animal that she thought would be interesting for the timid boy.
Six days left, and Midoriya tagged along with Kirishima, Ojiro, and Kaminari as the four scoured the mall, searching for what they wanted to buy for their secret Santa. The squad planned out what they were to buy and how much it would cost, though their groans in winces could be heard across the ground floor as they calculated the true costs of their items.
The day passed quickly, and on the next day, and the four were at the mall again, hoping that there would be a sale or something of the like to cut down the prices. Despite there being no such sales, they ran into Yaoyorozu and Aoyama, the former of which offered to pay for their costs because they were "good friends" for the price of knowing who the gifts were for. Aoyama commented on all of their secret Santas that it was "fitting in the grand scheme of things" and would "help their love flourish for one another", which the four boys, alongside Yaoyorozu, vehemently denied. In the end, Midoriya bought two items as a pair, Kirishima bought something beautiful and something to obscure and wrap it, Ojiro bought the most materials out of any secret Santa, and Kaminari bought something with his own money, only borrowing a miniscule loan from Yaoyorozu.
The day after, Uraraka and Tsuyu scoured the web for something to use. Despite the price, Uraraka bought an item for a couple and closing the window before Tsuyu could see what it was. Tsuyu had simply not known what to gift, buying a winter-related item due to having little to no interaction with her secret Santa. Shoji did something similar, buying an item related to his secret Santa's quirk. Now, all the trio had to do was wait for their gifts to arrive.
Barely three days remained when Hagakure, Iida, and Bakugou coincidentally met up at the same clothing store. Bakugou spent the least money out of the three on his gift, but he also was the one to spend the most amount of time searching for an item that would be fit for a hero's fan. Iida and Hagakure bought something from the same aisle, but while Iida left his gift unmodified, Hagakure put an excessive amount of 'things' onto hers.
With two days left until the deadline, Tokoyami finally put down his pen, sealing his gift in a rather small package. He considered making his gift look more "authentic", but decided against the risk of tarnishing his work. At nearly midnight, Jiro finished working on the last few measures and finally transferred her work over to a storage device. Todoroki, on the other hand, had been spending the past few days trimming his work to what he considered "perfection", despite it only being a replica of the "real thing". To the surprise of both himself and others, he had an eye for his style of gift.
The day before the gifts were exchanged, Mineta spent a majority of his day attempting to lift something, before finally calling in Kirishima to help him wrap up the item. Sero added the final modifications to the grip of his gifts, setting them down in an orderly fashion inside a semi-ornate box. Sato waited until it was nearly midnight to begin with his gift, only to find himself waking up to the finished result.
The 'day of truth' finally came and each gift was left by the Christmas tree, put in at different times throughout the course of Christmas Eve. At midnight, Iida ran through the halls, knocking on every door and alerting them with the same message: "It is time for the gift-receiving to commence! Everyone, to the tree!"
Gradually, people began to walk into the main lobby. A few of the students sat near the tree, some near the temporary fireplace, and the rest scattered around on the couches and the walls. Even Bakugou arrived, despite his initial reluctance.
"First up: Yuga Aoyama!" Iida yelled, pointing his hand at the direction of a small, glitter-covered package. "Will you please take your gift!"
Aoyama took the gift from under the tree, carefully undoing the tape and leaving no rips on the wrapping. He set the glitter-covered wrappings onto the table before pulling out a large, equally glitter-covered sweater with the words "Totally Fabulous" written on them. "If I do say so myself, this is..." He stared at his gift for a few seconds before commenting further. "Absolutely magnificent! It is a work of art beyond my dreams!"
As the boy put on the sweater, Iida pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose, reading the next name off of the list. "Mina Ashido!"
"Yay!" The pink-skinned girl slid off the back of the couch, jogging towards the tree. As she looked around, Iida pointed at a small box. Disappointed, she attempted to pick it up, nearly dropping it due to its heavy weight. She set it on the nearby coffee table, opening it as the other students crowded around, all of them looking to see what the gift was. To her surprise, a small, clean-cut diamond fell out of the package, with the phrases "You ROCK!", "Thank you!", "You're strong!", and other complements written on each face. She glanced around with a sly grin, rushing to the bathroom to clean off the sand that appeared to be dusting the small diamond. As she passed the gifter, she whispered a quick "thank you" before disappearing down the hall.
"Next!" Iida began, splitting away from the group. "Asui Tsuyu, will you please take the envelope tied to the top branch!"
As per request, Tsuyu made her way over to the tree. The top branch was oddly high, enough so that no one besides Shoji could reach it normally. Tokoyami walked from what the others considered to be his "brooding corner", calling Dark Shadow to grab the envelope and hand it to the frog girl. If his shape had been more distinct, one would have been able to see the chuckle that Dark Shadow held back as he re-entered Tokoyami.
The girl opened the gift, pulling out a piece of slightly-worn paper. As she read it, a blush crept onto her cheeks, and by the time she finished reading the entire poem, the paper had been stuffed back into her envelope and into her pocket.
After Tsuyu had sat back in her seat and started being bugged by Hagakure, Iida yelled out another name. "Tenya Iida!"
Midoriya looked at him, confused. "Why do you need to say your own name out loud? Why not say 'myself' or something?" he asked.
"That is much too informal, and not stating my name goes against the procedure!" Iida yelled, moving his hands up and down for emphasis. As he did so, he grabbed and opened a gift that seemed to be wrapped in the most elaborate way possible. After the wrapping had been undone, he was left with a cape, embroidered with excessive designs and intricate details. He stared at it for a few moments before deciding on his opinion. He folded the cape up, pulled out an index card, and wrote his gripes about the cape on the card.
"If you are the creator of this work of 'art'," Iida began, pointing at the cape, "Then I shall allow for you to make these changes by any point in time. The design is ornate, to say the least, but I would be unable to use it effectively in battle." The boy picked up the list once more, glancing through the names. "Ah! Ochako Uraraka, you are next up!"
"Thanks, Iida!" Uraraka replied, standing up from the couch. She spent a few seconds sifting through the gifts before looking at Iida in confusion. He responded by pointing at the small box wrapped in green and pink stripes. Curious, she tore the wrapper off, letting it float around her as she opened the black box. In it was a golden bracelet with half of a heart attached on its center, protected with red velvet. She moved her vision around the room, looking for someone with the other half. The bracelet was clutched by her heart, and she clutched it even harder when she saw a flash of silver disappear into the green boy's pockets. Realizing that the others were staring at her, she looked at them apologetically before pulling the bracelet onto her wrist and putting the black, velvet-lined box in her pocket.
"Mashirao Ojiro!"
The tailed boy walked up to the tree, only to notice a few Japanese plants sitting by the window. The pots seemed to have labels on them, each with his name then the name of the plant. A small note told him it was to decorate his empty house, and that's all there was to it.
"Denki Kaminari!"
Kaminari quickly jumped off of the chair he had been sitting on, tearing through his package. To the curiosity of the onlookers, there were multiple pairs of black gloves, each one in a package that labeled is as "shock-proof". To test it, he put on one pair, grabbing a nearby piece of floating wrapper, and let out a contained shock. He then took it off and used a similar voltage, instantly burning up the paper. He gave a thumbs up to the group, fiddling with one pair of gloves as he sat back down in his seat.
"Eijirou Kirishima!"
The hard-skinned boy quickly jogged up to yet another small package, opening it up to find a T-shirt with a picture of the Crimson Riot. It was captioned with "Manliness is the key to becoming the best!" Needless to say, Kirishima seemed excessively happy with his gift, despite it being small, and began to shed a copious amount of "manly tears".
"Koji Koda!"
Of the gifts, Koda's was one of the largest. He opened it tentatively to find a small terrarium. As he bent down for a closer look, he recoiled as a bug tapped the glass. Scratching the back of his neck, he carefully lifted up the tank, rushing up the stairs to carry it up to his room. Within mere seconds, he arrived back at the ground floor with an apologetic look.
"Rikido Sato!"
The sugar addict pounded his chest in response to his name, grabbing a medium-sized package. He tore open the wrapper and the tape, letting some kitchen utensils fall to the ground. Each one of the handles seemed to be covered in the same, unique material, produced by a single Quirk and with enough grip that Sato had to shake it off his hand.
"Mezo Shoji!"
The four-armed man found himself deadlifting what was obviously a small but heavy weight. Without bothering to open the gift itself, he left it by the stairs, too drowsy to be able to use it in the middle of the night.
"Kyouka Jiro!"
To Jiro's surprise, her gift was not a cheap one; in fact, had she not remembered how expensive it was, she would have dropped it in shock. It was the latest model from the iFruit company, and one she had been trying to save her money to buy for so long. To further her surprise, all of Class 1-A's phone numbers were already in the contacts, along with her favorite songs and "recommendations" from the gifter. She had a sneaking suspicion as to who it had been from, but she slipped it in her pocket nonetheless.
"Hanta Sero!"
Seeing as his gift appeared to be larger than the majority of the class's, Sero quickly shredded through the packaging. His happiness barely tapered when he saw that it contained two large boxes of hot cocoa. Sighing internally, he took the boxes and headed into the kitchen to warm some of it up, closely followed by Sato.
"Fumikage Tokoyami!"
The bird-headed boy looked up from his corner, calling for Dark Shadow to get the gift. After Iida pointed out which gift was for him, Dark Shadow brought back an envelope reminiscent of the gift Tsuyu had received. Inside were two tickets to the aquarium, and a note that read: "Hope you enjoy your date in a few!" Also reminiscent of Tsuyu's gift, he began to blush slightly as he realized who the gifter was pushing that he offer the second ticket to.
"Shouto Todoroki!"
Shouto made quick work of the wrapper, pulling out a pile of turtlenecks in varying colors. He chose one at random, heading behind the nearby corridor and changing it from the turtleneck he was wearing at the time. He had to admit that it was more comfortable than he thought it would be but remained silent nonetheless. Something about it made him feel both warm inside and a bit uncomfortable.
"Tooru Hagakure!"
The invisible girl quickly hopped up to the tree ripping open what appeared to be a multitude of presents. Each one contained something different; one contained a pink, hand-knitted hat with a small, white ball of fluff at the top, another contained a semi-expensive looking trench coat, one contained a pink and gold scarf, also hand-knitted, and the last contained a pair of snow boots. They all fit her perfectly, something that was rare due to how her Quirk made it impossible to guess her measurements. Despite it being a simple gift of clothes, they worked well together, and the other students could feel the happiness coming from her as she sat down, inspecting all of them.
"Katsuki Bakugo!"
The blond-haired teen grumbled something under his breath, refusing to budge from his spot. In the end, Kirishima carefully carried the gift over. As the smell coming from the gift wafted around the room, most of the students couldn't help but taste it as their mouths watered. Even Bakugou couldn't resist the temptation, tentatively ripping the wrapping off of the gift. Inside was a basket of random treats, ranging from cookies to sweet rolls, all organized and extra-sweetened. He had to glare at Mineta, who had begun his journey to grab something from the basket and immediately began to back off, before eating one of the sweets vigorously.
"Izuku Midoriya!"
Midoriya wondered what he could have gotten. He began to mutter to himself as he played with the wrapper, forcing Iida to lightly tap him on the head to get him out of his thoughts. The green-haired boy smiled apologetically, before pulling out a green sweater with the words "I AM A HERO" knitted onto its front. He could also see All Might's face knitted into the center of the sweater, making it all the better, in his opinion.
"Minoru Mineta!"
To the surprise of everyone present, Mineta's gift was by far the largest one. He tore into it expectantly, only to find that there was a cage with a cat, enough cat food to last three months, and a guide on how to raise a cat. While he was disappointed in the gift for being "extra work", the others exchanged glances, worried about how a cat raised by Mineta would grow up. In nearly six months, they would see a raven-furred cat strut around the outside of the dorms and occasionally hear meowing on the second floor.
"Finally, Momo Yaoyorozu!"
The long-haired girl set her book down on her seat, taking the final, non-decorative gift from under the Christmas Tree. Inside was a music cartridge, with a cover that read "Hard Punk" in sharp, cutting-edge letters. On the bottom was the musician's name, obscured by a piece of tape, despite it being fairly obvious as to who the album was made by.
"To bed, comrades!" Iida yelled, once again overpowering the hushed whispers in the lobby. "It is much past your curfew; we shall view our less secret gifts later today!"
"Don't you mean tomorrow?" Midoriya asked, confused.
In response, Iida pointed to a nearby clock. "It has passed midnight, so it is technically the twenty-fifth!"
"Can't you make today an exception, Iida?" Kaminari groaned. "It's Christmas, goddamnit. Cut us some slack!"
Iida shook his head. "I apologize, Kaminari, but sleep is essential to maintain one's health. I would recommend pulling all-nighters only when absolutely necessary, with today as an exception."
Despite their complaints, the students were drowsily walked up to their dorm rooms. Most of them immediately fell asleep, with the others only lingering between a state of dream and reality for a few minutes. Outside, a light snow began to fall, sprinkling itself over U.A. High's dorms. The next morning, the students would awake to multiple feet of snow to their delight.