Yeah, I have no explanation as to why missed yesterday's chapter update. I just missed it. Boo me, yeah, but I think the ending of this chapter will make it up to you.
"We could have done a white elephant exchange though," Mina dispiritedly said.
"I hate white elephants!" Bakugo shouted.
"That's racist," Kaminari replied.
Bakugo facepalmed and eyed Kaminari with a glare, "I'm talking about white elephant gifts you idiot!"
Everyone was gathered in the living room including the two guests of Shinso and Hatsume. Under the tree was a horde of wrapped gifts that varied in size. Yesterday's shopping trip was more than just a fun activity, but it was meant to grab a special gift for the person they chose to be their 'Secret Santa.' The students decided to do this event and to hold the raffle a week before winter break to give them time to think of an item. It was Hagakure's idea and plan to make this happen since it was a tradition in her household.
Iida cleared his throat loudly to gather everyone's attention, "Alright everyone settle down. The Secret Santa exchange is about to begin!" Iida turned towards the kitchen, "Sato, Kurt, Eri, are you all ready?"
"Give us a minute, Iida," Kurt shouted back, "These cookies aren't going to take themselves out!"
Hearing the word 'cookie' made some members of the class sigh in pleasure. Sato's cooking and baking was always A-grade cooking. If Sato didn't want to be a hero, everyone believed he would be one of the finest chefs in the world.
"How much more time do you need?" Iida asked.
"Five minutes, Iida!" Sato replied.
"Thanks again for inviting us," Hatsume said, sitting on the floor in between Mina and Shinso with a baby in her hands.
"Sorry it was last minute though," Shinso said, his expression remaining as tired as usual, "I'll be honest, I didn't expect this."
"How did you end up here anyway?" Kaminari asked, "Peter told me about Hatsume, but not about you though."
"He just asked me if I wanted to hang out with you guys during Christmas, and I had nothing better to do on the campus, so here I am," Shinso replied, glancing over to the kitchen, "Besides, my class and I don't get along."
"Villain treatment?" Kirishima questioned.
Shinso nodded, "Mmmhmm. At this point, I'm used to it, but it's a relief to get away from them."
"I'm just happy to have people to spend Christmas with," Hatsume spoke whilst screwing a screw, "But your situation sounds like a nightmare too."
"One that will end soon," Shinso replied.
"They're done!" Eri shouted from the kitchen.
"Yes!" Most of the class exclaimed in joy with the quieter ones smirking a little. From the kitchen, Eri, Kurt, and Sato walked to the living room with several plates of cookies in both of their hands.
"Clear the way everyone," Sato said as he and the others placed the cookies on the coffee table in front of them. The plates were stacked with freshly baked cookies that smell like heaven. From how the class spoke of Sato's skills in the kitchen, Hatsume and Shinso knew they were in for a treat.
Before everyone could grab one, Sato held up his hand, "One at a time unless you want to accidentally knock them over. Eri, you go first since you helped out," Sato said with a smile.
Eri smiled in glee as she grabbed a cookie and did not get to her seat before munching on the cookie. Eri nearly melted into the floor, and she almost did, but X-23 lifted her with a small smile plastered on her face.
"You loved that, didn't you?" X-23 asked.
Eri responded by taking another bite from the cookie. X-23 grabbed one of her own and soon everyone was getting a cookie one at a time. As everyone savored their treats, Hatsume and Shinso ran through theirs after the first bite because of how great it was.
"This is the best cookie I ever tasted!" Hatsume squealed in delight, "I would make babies for you for free if I can get a lifetime supply of these!"
"Really?" Sato asked.
"Nope!" Hatsume grabbed another cookie and began to munch on that too.
"Who else expected that those two would die of satisfaction?" Sero chuckled.
"It was obvious," Mineta answered, "Who doesn't like Sato's cooking?"
"Villains that's who," Peter joked.
"Or people with no taste," Aoyama said.
"Both figuratively and literally," Tokoyami said.
Sato was standing beside the couch with a big smile and blush on his face, "Thanks, guys! It means a lot to me knowing how much you enjoy my cooking and baking."
Jiro swallowed her cookie and responded to his comment, "I keep telling you Sato, you really should consider becoming a part-time chef or something related to food."
"It would help you make really good money," Uraraka added in.
Sato put his hands on his hips, "I know, I know, but like I keep saying, I'll think about that option once we graduate from U.A."
"Never too late to make some cash on the side though," Tsu said.
"It's a real wasted opportunity if you ask me," Bakugo bluntly said.
"Then why don't you do it?" Todoroki questioned.
"Your cooking back at the summer training camp was delightful," Yaoyorozu said.
Bakugo snickered at the praise he got, "Because that would be a waste of time. To stay at the top of the food chain I have to keep training my ass off!"
"Bro you aren't even at the top," Kaminari chuckled, "You're like 3rd or 4th place next to Todoroki or Midoriya with Peter clearly being number one."
"Shut your trap Pikachu!" Bakugo roared with mini-explosions setting on in his hands.
Shoji let out a soft hum, "Speaking of the summer camp, despite how horrible it was, it did teach us some valuable lessons."
The class got quiet as they recalled the events. They were blindsided by the previously dubbed League of Villains. Though their numbers were drastically smaller than the amount that invaded the USJ they made up for it with experience. Several big names were present such as Muscular and Moonfish, and unexpected foes who were a hassle to take down appeared like Dabi and Toga.
"Yeah, it did," Uraraka sighed with discontent.
"It taught me that if I don't act, I will probably live to regret it," Kirishima mumbled.
"It taught me that Kurt, X-23, and Peter, though far more experienced than nearly everyone at the camp combined, are still as human like us and aren't capable of solving every issue for us," Yoayorozu expressed.
Hagakure's clothes sagged a little, "It was a day unlike any other, but look on the bright side of things. It got some of us to band up together and fix a problem that we shouldn't have let escalate."
"Yeah," Deku smiled, "Kacchan was kidnapped-"
"Because you numskulls let Harry Houdini get the better of you like small children," Bakugo scowled.
Deku laughed a little at his friend's remark, "And we tried to fix that. Some of us went out and did something illegal, but hey, we did it."
"Thank Hulk for being around," Uraraka laughed anxiously, "Because ooo' boy we weren't ready for All for One!" Everyone shuddered at the name as an image of the King of Evil developed in their minds.
Ojiro shook his head, "No hero was ready for him. I thought the urban legends of a man who can steal quirks was just a myth but turns out he was real."
"And I thought he was as real as Santa," Mineta stuttered out before putting on a smile, "Lately Hulk has been more of an ally than a foe," Mineta's smile fell, "Despite what he did to All Might of course."
"I still haven't forgiven him for that," Deku growled, surprising some members of the class that the purest student was holding a grudge.
Shinso let out a breath of satisfaction, "Nevermind what Hulk did to both All Might and All for One, it was a sight to see when your class rescued Bakugo. It goes to show how close you all are."
Bakugo groaned in annoyance, "Stop with the happy feelings; I'm getting sick just hearing them."
Kirishima patted Bakugo on the back, "You're just feeling happy that you got rescued!"
"I didn't need any of your damn help!" Bakugo shouted to them.
Peter and Tsu both let out a single laugh, "Yes, you did!" The couple said. Bakugo glared at the two before focusing his attention back on his treat.
Koda hummed softly as he thought about the past, "Thinking back to everything that has happened to us before winter break began, I have to say that we did come a long way."
"That is very true, Koda," Tsu grabbed another cookie, "If you were still the same you as you were back then, you wouldn't have said that sentence just now. No offense."
"Non-taken," Koda lifted his hand with a thumbs up, "Past me wouldn't be comfortable sitting here, but now, I am. I'm glad for the change."
"As am I, Koda," Deku rubbed the back of his as he blushed lightly, "I'll be honest, I wouldn't have been able to talk to any of the girls if I was still my previous self."
All of the girls, minus X-23 and Hatsume, laughed at Deku's comment.
"Really, Midoriya?" Jiro snickered, "Thought we would bite?"
Deku shook his head, "Every girl I've gone to school with was mean to me. Even the nice ones."
"Nice ones as in-kind attitudes or-" Mineta almost finished his sentence but was stopped when Tsu smacked him over the head.
"The kind ones," Deku answered.
Mina smiled warmly at Deku, "They don't know who they missed out on. You're one of the best people I ever met, Midoriya."
"Yeah!" Hagakure exclaimed, "You're always one of the first people to jump into action without hesitation!"
"You know what to do in nearly any situation, and when you don't you improvise at an exceeding level," Yoayorozu commented.
"You're never uptight or a show-off when it comes to your quirk," Jiro eyed Bakugo, "Unlike someone else." Bakugo snarled in response as Jiro rolled her eyes.
"You even help us develop our quirks and point out flaws or hidden strengths we need to know," Tsu said.
X-23 snickered, "When push comes to shove, you've shown you're a badass in your own right. Coming from me that means something."
"Deku," Uraraka spoke, "You're one of the nicest, sweetest, and smartest people we've ever met. You're passionate about being a hero and you live up to the true ideals of what a hero should be. In my book, you're the best person here right now."
Deku was a total mess when the girls finished. He was practically hiding in his jacket and tried to disappear. To some of the girls, that only made him look adorable.
Hatsume looked between them all and smirked, "None of you are going to say it?"
Uraraka looked confused and a tad bit suspicious at Hatsume, "Say what?"
"That he's one of the cutest and most attractive boys in the school," Hatsume chortled.
That comment made Deku fall off the couch causing X-23 and Bakugo to laugh, the girls to blush, and the men to feel either jealous, annoyed, or neutral about the situation in front of them.
"Okay, we get it! Deku knows how to get a harem going, how about we move on!" Bakugo roared.
"A what?!" The girls shouted at him.
"Woah! Bakugo!" Kirishima was shocked by Bakugo's choice of words.
"Bakugo! Don't use such foul language!" Iida chastised while chopping at the air.
"Laura," Eri looked to X-23, "What's a-"
"Don't say it and I'm not telling you," X-23 quickly replied and shot a deathly stare at Bakugo, making the ash-blond haired student jump a little, "Remember to watch your tongue or I'll watch it for you!"
Bakugo sneered and looked to his left, "Then let's get a move on! I don't want to be here all day!"
Iida stood up and got in front of the tree, "Though the way Bakugo expressed it was crude, I do agree with him. Let's get the Secret Santa gift exchange going!" Iida turned to Hatsume and Shinso, "Since you two weren't present when we made this agreement, please feel free to leave if you feel awkward."
"I'm good," Hatsume simply said. Shinso shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against a wall.
Iida nodded his head and picked up a box, "Okay, the first gift goes to-"
*BAMF*
All of the bamfs appeared with panicked expressions on their faces. "We have a situation!" Blue shouted in distress.
Bakugo threw his hands up into the air, "Well someone better be dying!"
Hospital
"I'm dying…" Nezu said to the shock of Class 1-A with Bakugo looking more guilty than shocked. Nezu was lying on a hospital bed with Recovery Girl standing next to him checking on his condition. His heart rate was normal and his vitals appeared to be okay, but Nezu's expression said a different story. His eyes were weak, his expression was lacking the usual upbeat optimism it always had.
Inside the room accompany Nezu, other than Recovery Girl, were All Might, Dr. Banner, Midnight, and Aizawa.
"What happened?" Deku asked, being the first one to break from his shocked state.
"Is Principal Nezu going to be okay?" Peter was the next one to break from his trance.
Dr. Banner cleared his throat and looked at everyone in the room, "As of now, Principal Nezu is in stable condition, but we don't know for how much longer. As for how this happened...we don't know."
"Dr. Banner and I found him in his office on the floor passed out," Midnight said with her arms crossed and her expression seemed worried, "We were going to ask Nezu if he would like to accompany us to get some tea, and like I said, he was passed out on the floor. We found no evidence of any attacks so we believe he is suffering from some kind of unknown illness."
Aizawa closed his eyes and signed in slight anger, "As far we know, this could be from the work of an undocumented quirk attacking his system."
"What makes you say that?" Iida asked.
"Because if it were any normal illness, our nurse would have picked it up," Recovery Girl answered, "Her quirk allows her to identify any disease, virus, or any kind of microscopic organism invading the body. If she can't pick up any signs then most likely it is a quirk."
Kirishima shook his head in disbelief, "But who would want to attack Principal Nezu?"
Shinso answered with a grimace, "Anyone who has an agenda against U.A. Between all the heroes and staff here, Principal Nezu is at the top. There is a reason why he is the leading figure for the school, and it isn't because he has a good teaching resume."
"Young Shinso is right," All Might spoke, looking away from Nezu and to his students, "Principal Nezu is considered to be one of the smartest individuals on the planet, and he's proven his intellect more times than I can count. Many heroes you see today owe a debt of gratitude to Nezu personally, including me."
Midnight stepped forward, "Without Principal Nezu, the Board of Directors would have taken control of the school, and believe me when I say that is the last thing this school needs."
Aizawa's expression became irate, "The board would have run this school like a factory and train you, students, non-stop without giving you a proper education. Hero training would be a first priority with education being a second priority with a flexible option to make room for more training. It's because of Principal Nezu's genius that kept the board away and making the school into what it is today."
The students hadn't known just how valuable Principal Nezu was, but to hear from several of the most respected staff members express their concerns and praise Nezu for preventing those disasters from happening shows just how important he is. And how dire this situation is.
Yaoyorozu was the next one to speak up, "How do we help him?"
"By going to the North Pole of course!"
Deadpool had entered the room with papers that showed Nezu's x-rays.
"Wade," Aizawa vexed, "Get out. This is serious."
"I am being serious!" Deadpool shuffled through several of the x-rays and pulled out a photo of Nezu's chest, "Look at this spot near his heart."
Everyone gathered around Deadpool as he pointed to a dark spot next to Nezu's heart, "See that right there, that's dark magic."
"And how do you know that?" Kaminari asked.
"I've seen it before, I've worked with magicians, witches, wizards, sorcerers, and magic things." Deadpool flips to another page that shows the back of Nezu. Instead of a dark spot, the spot is replaced with a symbol that resembles a…
"A…" Todoroki paused for a moment to make sure what he was seeing is true, "….snowflake?"
"Not just any snowflake Zuko," Deadpool whips out a book from nowhere and turns to a page labeled, 'Krampus.' The page showed pictures of possible sightings of Krampus and several symbols that he used. One of the symbols was a black snowflake. "This is one of the symbols of Krampus."
"I thought Krampus only punished naughty children?" Uraraka was confused by this reveal as was everyone else.
"Never believe what you are told if it didn't come from eggheads," Deadpool stated. Deadpool closed the book and hopped next to Nezu, "To cure him of Krampus' curse, we need to set out to the North Pole! If Krampus is real then surely Santa is too! I mean I've met the guy in my world-"
"Santa is real in our world?!" Peter, Kurt, and X-23 asked with a stunning response.
Deadpool clicked his tongue, "Yes, he's as good as everyone says he is. Just don't give him the Infinity Gauntlet though, he'll go crazy mad with it."
"Moving on," Aizawa waved for Deadpool to continue.
"Right," Deadpool pulled out a map that pinned point where they were and where the North Pole is, "We all know Santa is in the North Pole, or at least that is where he should be, so if we were travel there and pray that we do find his workshop, we can ask Cookie Monster's fiercest rival about how to cure Nezu. And maybe, just maybe, get auto-placed on his nice list." Deadpool rolled up the map and placed it back in his pocket.
Everyone in the room looked around with concern and confusion. The situation with Nezu is dire and they want to help, yet the most logical explanation for a solution is based on a myth. A myth that would lead them all to a painful, frozen grave. They want to save their principal, but is what Deadpool is saying true?
Iida shook his head no, "Deadpool, I don't believe this is the right course of action. You said it yourself, only trust what scientists have shown us, and I know you are no scientist. What you are suggesting is not only debatable, but it can prove to be a fatal error for all of us."
"Iida is right," Yaoyorozu said, "As much as we all want to help Principal Nezu, the idea that Krampus is behind this and that Santa is real is very questionable. Here's another concept that is more logical, and can be proven by science at some point. Whatever kind of species Principal Nezu is, he is suffering from a disease that his kind can contract."
Everyone seemed to agree with Iida and Hatsume. As intriguing as what Deadpool is saying, Yaoyorozu pointed out a better explanation, and Iida showed the contractions in Deadpool's theory.
Deadpool did not seem at all dejected about the idea, but he was not going to budge on it. "You guys saw the symbol, and your theory, though realistic, isn't back-up either."
"At least our theory makes sense! Yours is based on fictional knowledge!"
"Have you not paid attention to the world around you? This IS a fictional world! We're living in a society that has superpowers!"
"That was brought about by genetics! It has a scientific explanation!"
"Before that baby was born, everyone thought quirks were just a myth! What makes my theory wrong simply because it hasn't been proven yet?"
"The part where it hasn't been proven yet!"
As Deadpool and Iida devolved into an argument that got everyone involved, the x-ray papers Deadpool was holding all fell. Eri watched them fall as did the bamfs. Each of them grabbed a paper when one of the bamfs noticed something. On the x-rays in the right corner, there was a letter. The bamf took a closer look at it and noticed it was the letter 'S.'
"Hey, check this out," The bamf told his brothers and Eri, "This has an 'S' in it."
"Why would that be there?" One of them asked.
"I don't know," Blue said, "But we should check the other papers to see if we can find any more letters." The bamfs and Eri carefully examined the papers until they spotted something. Eri was holding the x-ray Deadpool showed with the snowflake while the bamfs each had a paper with a different letter. "Okay, let's spell this out," Blue commanded. He and the bamfs looked at each other's papers and started to think about words that had all these letters in them. For a moment they couldn't figure it out until Eri pointed out something.
"Bamfs," Eri spoke, gaining their focus, "I think it spells...Krampus?"
"Krampus?" Blue was momentarily confused but blinked several times in realization, "Quickly, put the letters together!" The bamfs put the papers together, and indeed, the letters spelled out K.R.A.M.P.U.S. Blue looked over to Eri with a smile, "Eri you're a genius!"
Eri smiled back brightly as X-23 and Kurt looked down at the group. Before they could ask, the papers suddenly glowed a bright red color as everyone in the room froze. The papers the bamfs and Eri were holding suddenly flew out of their hands and floated into the air. The papers began to swirl around each other in a circle at a fast pace. The red lightly shining from them glowed brighter as a projectile image appeared before them.
Standing in the room was a skinny, humanoid figure. The being wore the same outfit as Santa Claus but torn and exposed the midsection of the figure and his black fur that was present all around his body. His eyes were a piercing green, his mouth had sharp front teeth, and he had a beard that covered his chin and sides. But the most notable features were the horns on his head, his left leg being a goat leg and not a human leg, a sack he carried on his back, and chains that were wrapped around his body.
"Oh, my lord…" Kurt mumbled to himself.
"It's Krampus," All Might said.
"Ha! I was right!" Deadpool cheered to himself.
Eri, in fright, ran behind X-23 as X-23 placed a hand on Eri and got into a defensive stance as did everyone else.
Krampus examined the area around him before focusing his attention on the group in front of him, "Congratulations, mortals, you have cracked the code." Krampus smiled sinisterly, "Though I am surprised it took the will of several children to solve it and not adults."
"We're not children," Blue said with assertiveness.
Krampus snickered, "Whether or not that is true, you still look as delicious as the small one behind her." Krampus pointed to Eri, "That one….oh she would look delightful as my main dish. The fear I can feel radiating from her, oh it makes me so hungry!" Krampus laughed, "Should I start from the head or the toes? Or maybe I should just dig in right into her liver and through her kidneys! Maybe I'll boil her alive and satisfy myself with a cooked meal!"
X-23 unsheathed her claws and let out a roar of rage, "You will stay the fuck away from her you sick bastard!"
Krampus rolled his eyes, "Oh please, I could have taken Eri without a second thought on any day of the week. I chose not to because I wasn't invested in her, but seeing her now ..." The image of Krampus suddenly vanished. Eri screamed as Krampus appeared in front of her showing his razor-sharp teeth, "Now I want her."
X-23 took a swing at Krampus, but her claws went through him. Quickly, X-23 lifted Eri into her arms as Eri buried her face into X-23 scared. X-23 pointed her claws at Krampus, "I will gut you if you get anywhere near her. That's a promise."
"Oh, like I haven't heard that before," Krampus's expression became stone-cold, "A child told me that. I ate him with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." X-23 growled loudly and held onto Eri tighter. Krampus was enjoying himself.
"Enough!" Aizawa got in front of X-23 as did the rest of the class, "Why are you here? Why did you poison Nezu?"
"Simple," Krampus pointed to Bakugo, "Because of him."
"Me?!" Bakugo shouted, "What the fuck did I ever do to you?!"
"It's no secret to anyone Bakugo that you're going to Hell," Krampus bluntly said. To hear that being said so plain-spoken turned everyone's nerves into ice, especially Bakugo's, "Your past is filled with unforgivable sins. Sins that would make demons turn their heads. Your attitude towards your parents is anything but kind and respectful, the classmates you hurt from your previous schools suffer from chronic physical pain or mental pain or both. Yet, I find it surprising to me that the one you caused the most grief too, the most pain, the most torment, and the most suffering is the one standing to your right." Everyone turned their heads to look at Midoriya. What was Midoriya hiding from them about Bakugo? What has Bakugo done?
Krampus laughed a little, "And that's just the tip of the iceberg. You don't know how many of your previous classmates have turned evil or even…" Krampus grinned devilishly, "Died because of you." The atmosphere around the room went sheer cold.
Bakugo couldn't move an inch as he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "No…" Bakugo shouted, "NO!" Bakugo roared with rage, "You are spewing lies! You're saying nothing by lies!"
"Am I, Katsuki Bakugo? Am I?" Krampus huffed, "Let's see here. Asa, dead by overdose; Chika, jumped from a tall building, Sakuko, jumped in front of a moving vehicle, Satoshi, wrapped a rope around his neck and jumped…" Krampus laughed even more, "Dare I say more?"
"Bakugo…" Peter looked at him with horror etched on his face, "What the hell did you do?"
Bakugo was frantically looking everywhere. Never has he been so scared, not for his life, but his sanity, "Nothing! I did nothing! That bastard is just...he's a fucking liar!"
"Would you like the evidence?" Krampus asked.
"What does Nezu have to do with me?!" Bakugo shouted with frustrated tears filling his eyes as he did not want to see the evidence if it was even real.
"He's dying for your sins, Bakugo," Krampus exclaimed, "When the devil is too busy, and death is a bit too much, they call on me by name you see for my special touch. And my special touch is seeing you die on the inside as everyone around you realizes just how much of a monster you are." Krampus picked at his teeth with his sharp claws, "I like eating people with fear, but the most savory meats are those whose souls are depleted because I know that I did my job, and I happily did it to the best of my devilish ways." Krampus looked to the side and smirked before looking back, "Bakugo, your time is coming, but before I snatch you away from a world that is better off without you, I wanna see you suffer. I want to see you wither away, watch as every single one of these people you call friends push you away and leave you to rot. I wanna see your face when Nezu dies and when reality hits you that he died because of you. You had the chance to be a better man, to use your quirk for good, and to protect those around you. Instead, you violated them, you bullied them, you injured them, you had fun and took pride in their torment. You loved watching their happiness fade away and seeing them submit to your power. You crave that feeling of superiority, and because of that, Bakugo, because of all the horrible things you've done, this Christmas will not only be your last, but it will be your worst. A nightmare before Christmas, but instead of a fictional skeleton teenage girls get horny over, it's a fucking half goat-half human coming to devour your spirit, your soul, your body, and you in all your entirety!" The image of Krampus disappeared as the papers gently landed on the ground before burning into ash.
The room was silent as everyone eyed the spot where the papers burned. For what felt like an eternity no one moved or spoke. No one dared to do anything.
That was until Kirishima suddenly grabbed Bakugo by his collar and pulled him towards his face. Bakugo looked into the eyes of Kirishima, and for the first time, Bakugo didn't see a classmate who looked up to him. He saw the eyes of many others before him. A man who knew pain, misery, and a lifetime of unyielding rage.
"You have one chance," Kirishima growled uncharacteristically, "One chance to explain why Nezu is dying because of you! What the hell did you do?!"