"It's not anyone's fault that-"

"There's no way in hell we're sharing-"

"If everybody would just calm-"

"I can't believe we have to-"

"Is there really nothing we can-"

Shinso sighed for the umpteenth time, feeling his eye twitch at the scene before him. He made sure he would be at least half an hour late, hoping he could sneak out after making his attendance known; but when he saw the rest of them still stuck in the lobby of the 24-hour KTV restaurant way beyond the assigned time, he couldn't help but run a hand through his face.

It was absolute chaos!

He only needed a few seconds to figure out what the hell was going on. For some weird reason, the staff of the establishment ended up booking both class 2A and 2B into the same function room, mistakenly thinking that the two groups were joint. Now both classes were at an impasse – not wanting to celebrate Christmas together.

Shinso fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. KTVs in the area were a dime a dozen. How on earth did they end up booking the exact same place?

"What the hell makes you think we wanna hang out with you fucking losers?!"

"If I remember correctly, it was a member of class 2B who won this year's sports festival! Who's the loser now?!"

Shinso sighed. He could tell that majority of the mess had been caused by Bakugo and Monoma. The extent of their arguments eventually started pulling everyone in on the context of solidarity. He clicked his tongue. Why was it that whenever any form of conflict was occurring, blondes were always in the middle of it?

"Bakugo. Monoma."

"What?!" They echoed simultaneously, glaring at him for cutting off their-

"Quiet."

It was a simple, curt command addressed only to the both of them, but the effect it had on the rest of the group was instantaneous. Not even the music blasting through the surround sound speakers could dull the silence that suddenly enveloped the entire room.

Shinso turned his attention towards the staff of the KTV, asking a few routine questions. It turns out that the booked function room was big enough for both classes, and that there would be no issues regarding the food, and the agreed upon cost of their reservation.

Shinso scanned the rest of his peers, directing his attention towards the class representatives. He blinked, shifting his gaze between Iida and Kendo. "What do you guys think?"

"Well…" Kendo shrugged, eying the rest of class 2B with a questioning glance. "We have two choices really. We can head to the dorms and just have our end of the year slash Christmas celebration back there… Or we can share the room with class 2A and have a joint one here."

Iida nodded, folding his arms as he swept his eyes through the rest of class 2A as well. "Personally, despite things not being how we intended them to be, I don't see this being a big problem."

Shinso watched the rest of the group eventually start to agree to the joint celebration, albeit begrudgingly. Members of the staff started guiding them through the establishment, but not before throwing Shinso a grateful nod.

"Uh… So are we just gonna leave them here or…"

Everybody turned to look at Kaminari who was gesturing at the two silent blondes still standing in wait by the lobby.

Shinso let out a long, exasperated breath at what was to come next. He ignored the pats of encouragement and pity on his shoulder as the group left him alone to deal with the two frozen loudmouths. He clicked his tongue.

Why didn't he just stay at home?


Shinso could feel the beginning signs of a migraine coming. Ever since he released Bakugo and Monoma out of his hold, they wouldn't leave him alone.

"You fucking fight me, you hear me eye bags?! We're heading back to the training-"

Bakugo suddenly sat still, frozen and docile.

Monoma blinked out of the forced sleep, still completely disoriented as he scanned his surroundings. Had he been brainwashed again? He snapped his head towards the only purple-haired boy in the room; his gaze doubling back towards the other blonde sitting right beside him. He laughed out loud, completely forgetting his earlier displeasure towards Shinso.

"Serves you right, stupid!"

Monoma pointed at the meek looking hothead like it was the world's funniest joke. He slapped a hand against his thigh, pulling out his phone to take snaps of the monk-like Bakugo sitting passively on the sofa. "Hey guys!" He called out to everyone, urging them to come over for a photo.

"Everyone say 'dynamite'!" Kaminari joined in, taking a selfie with the rest of the group crowding around the blank-faced Bakugo.

"DYNAMITE!"

Kaminari burst out laughing at the photo, sending it to the chat group of class 2A. He knew for sure Bakugo never checked his mail so he was in the clear. If the spiky-haired blonde ever did decide to look, they would be well into winter break by that time, making it difficult to hunt him down.

"Hey, send me that!"

"Sure! Send me some of yours too!"

Monoma and Kaminari started laughing at the photos once again, wiping the tears out of their eyes at the hilarity of it all. It was almost impossible to get Bakugo to join in on a photo, even more so to take one of him without a scowl on his face. Seeing him with such an innocent expression was enough to keep them laughing for weeks!

Shinso closed his eyes, utterly tired not just because of the repeated use of his quirk, but also because of the booming noise coming from almost every corner of the room. He sighed. He needed a break.

Bakugo blinked out of his stupor, feeling his face go hot at the realization that he'd fallen under Shinso's control once again. He growled, swerving towards the transfer student, ready to yell his head off, only to see that the space beside him was now empty.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS EYE BAGS?!"


Shino bent down to pluck the can of black coffee out of the vending machine. He groaned. He didn't particularly enjoy preserved coffee, but it wasn't like he had a choice at the moment. He pulled at the aluminum key, sniffing the drink through the now opened hole. It was far from the scent of freshly ground beans, but it was enough to ease the throbbing against his temple. He took a small experimental sip, scrunching his face at the strange taste, but it would have to do.

Shinso tucked his free hand into the pocket of his bomber jacket, allowing himself another taste of the canned coffee. "Is there a reason you're following me?" He waited for his pursuer to step out of the shadows, watching him from the corner of his gaze. He let go of the folded knife in his grasp when his eyes landed on a familiar face. He pulled his hand out of his jacket casually, stuffing it into the pocket of his jeans instead.

"I didn't mean to seem like a stalker."

Shinso raised an eyebrow at the sheepish blonde standing in front of him. He blinked, swallowing down the groan of annoyance threatening to crawl out of his throat. Of course it had to be another blonde. "What do you want?"

Ojiro scratched the back of his head, not sure what to say exactly. He'd been meaning to talk to the general studies transfer student since the start of the school year, but for some reason, he just couldn't seem to find the right timing.

"I, uh… W-Well, what I want to say is…"

Shinso shifted his stance, facing the stuttering blonde head on. Ojiro had been one of the few people in his class who never bothered him. He could probably count in one hand all the exchanges they've had in the entire year. He could tell that the tailed boy wasn't particularly comfortable around him, but after what happened at last year's sports festival, who could blame him?

"I just- What I mean is…" Ojiro sighed out loud. Why was this so difficult? He chanced a glance at Shinso, fidgeting under the purple-haired boy's quiet discerning eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Shinso blinked. Once. Twice. "Huh?" He watched Ojiro fix his eyes on the floor; hand back to scratching the back of his head.

"I'm sorry about how I acted during last year's sport's festival." Ojiro felt the familiar pang of shame in his chest, still frustrated with his past behavior. "I… I made you seem like some sort of…" Villain, he stopped himself from saying. "…cheater." He decided on instead, forcing himself to look Shinso in the eye, grounding his resolve further.

"I'm sorry."

Shinso looked away, feeling incredibly awkward. He wasn't exactly sure what Ojiro wanted from him earlier, but he definitely didn't expect this. "It's fine." His hand was at the back of his neck, rubbing soothing patterns against his skin. "It's in the past."

Ojiro nodded, equally uncomfortable. "I just wanted to get it off my chest. It's just been bothering me ever since."

"It shouldn't." Shinso shook his head, throwing his half empty coffee can into the recycling bin next to him. "Your suspicion was warranted."

"No. It wasn't."

Shinso eyed the determined look on Ojiro's face, confused by his sudden obstinacy.

"Just because you weren't in the hero course, didn't mean you didn't want to be one. Just because you don't have a stereotypical hero quirk, doesn't mean you aren't hero material."

Shinso blinked, taken aback by Ojiro's words. He's only ever really heard them from Aizawa… and Kaminari during his transfer exam for the hero course.

I know you said you weren't interested in making friends and all that, but I like you, dude! You're a proper hero-hopeful like the rest of us!

"You made me realize that… there are so many different ways to be a hero." Ojiro shrugged, looking away sheepishly. "And that one way isn't necessarily better than another."

Shinso looked away, holding down the urge to rub against his nape once again. "It's fine." He pocketed his hands into his jacket, shrugging nonchalantly. "But… I appreciate the sentiment." He watched the blonde nod in response, directing a small smile right at him.

"So… I guess we can be friends now, huh?"

Shinso shifted his head back slightly, taken off guard by the sudden change in the discussion. He glanced at the hopeful look in the other boy's eyes, utterly confused by his statement. He let out a decisive breath, turning away to head back to the party.

"I'm not here to make friends."

Ojiro's brows rose all the way up to his forehead as he watched the purple-haired boy walk away. He hummed to himself, chuckling a bit as he shook his head.

Did Shinso not realize that he was surrounded by people who already considered him one?


"There he is!"

Shinso swallowed down a groan at the sight of Monoma and Kaminari pointing right at him from across the room, simultaneously announcing his arrival. They were standing on the KTV room's stage, each holding a microphone. He turned around to leave, but a hand landed against his shoulder before he could head out the door.

"Heads up, Bakugo ran out looking for you." Kirishima threw him an apologetic look, earning a tired glare from the purple-haired boy. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger!" He raised his palms up in the air.

"Come on, you're late!" Monoma was by his side, grabbing him by the elbow to drag him further into the room.

Shinso tried to pull himself out of the annoying blonde's grasp, only to feel another arm drape over his shoulder. He raised an irate eyebrow at Kaminari, feeling the smaller boy pull him down slightly to compensate for their height difference.

"Since Shinso is here, all we need is Bakugo!"

Shinso finally freed himself from their hold, eying the rest of the room disoriented. Everyone was seated around the leather couches, looking at them expectantly as they stood on the stage. "What the hell is going on?"

"They're trying to have a contest."

Shinso turned towards Kendo before scanning the rest of the males lined up alongside him. "What contest?"

"Who's the most popular guy in our year." Kendo shrugged offhandedly, done with having to reel in everyone's crazy antics. As much as she hated most of Monoma's ridiculous ideas, this one actually sounded entertaining.

Shinso narrowed his eyes at the sight of Tetsutestu, Todoroki, Kaibara, Iida, Monoma and Awase standing on stage with him. "Then why the hell am I a part of this?"

"Aoyama nominated you, and the rest of us voted you in!"

Shinso glanced at Ashido's grinning face before before darting his gaze towards Aoyama, glaring death at him. His disdain seemed to go over the blonde's head, completely unaffected.

"They said we could only nominate four people per class." Aoyama sighed dramatically, running a hand through his hair before resting his chin between his opened palms. "I wanted to be in the running, but I realized that perhaps it was high time I gave others a chance. I mean-"

"So that's how you got in!" Ashido interjected, completely ignoring the rest of the flamboyant blonde's rambling.

"You're definitely better than Aoyama!" Hagakure raised an invisible hand in the air; the movement of her sleeve the only evidence of her waving hand.

"I think Deku should have made it too." Uraraka folded her arms across her chest, irked that Bakugo had been selected instead.

"Oh, no! It's totally fine! I mean, there's no way I could be popular!" Midoriya scratched the back of his head, laughing at the whole thing.

"I was actually supposed to be a part of it too, but in the spirit of Christmas, I decided to host instead!" Kaminari threw a thumbs up towards everyone.

"What are you talking about? No one nominated you." Jiro corrected, earning a glare from the blonde pikachu.

"Can't you just let me have my moment, Jiro?!"

Shinso shook his head at the absurdity of it all, moving to step off the stage, only to be stopped by a raised hand coming from Momo. She was standing by the steps, making a dry ice machine materialize out of her shins.

"What are you doing?" He looked at her weird.

"They said it would set the mood." She shrugged, lifting the edge of her shirt a bit to produce an electronic device that emitted varying shades of neon lights.

He scoffed. As if the entire karaoke room wasn't littered with enough lights already! He moved towards the front of the stage, just about to hop off when Tetsutetsu's hand landed on his shoulder. "What?"

"Come on, Shinso! Don't be so uptight!"

"Yeah, it's just a bit of fun." Kaibara shrugged, rubbing a finger against his nose.

"Not confident you'll win?" Awase had both his hands on his hips, leaning towards him with a superior look on his face.

Shinso glared back at the three class 2B boys, not bothering to glorify them with a response. He could tell they were enjoying the attention. He snorted. He didn't give a damn about popularity. "And you're both fine with this?" He shifted his gaze towards Iida and Todoroki.

"Everybody decided on it." Iida sighed. He thought the whole thing was pointless as well, but the voting process didn't lie. The majority always wins.

Todoroki shrugged, leaning against the wall with both arms crossed over his chest. "They said all we needed to do was stand on stage for a couple of minutes."

Shinso clicked his tongue at their lack of resistance. All they had to do was say no, and this whole thing would have gone away.

"I had no idea Shinso was so popular."

"Well he is kinda cute."

"He seems like a pretty cool guy too."

Tsuyu listened in on Kodai, Komori, and Tokage as they whispered to one another; turning her gaze towards Shinso to scan him from head to toe.

He was taller than most of the guys in their year, and if it weren't for the default tired look on his face, he could actually be attractive. She hummed to herself. Kaminari actually had a point when he said Shinso had the face of a popular guy.

He was quiet but not shy; smart but never arrogant. He was fair, decisive, and calculating. He was a hard worker with a talent for combat, and a natural affinity for leadership. He would always refuse positions of power, but he was unfairly good at it. So much so that the people in class would gravitate towards him during group activities, arguing over who gets to be in the same team as he was.

Tsuyu grinned at Shinso's discomfort, watching him argue with the rest of the boys on stage. He was always so calm and collected, looking unbothered no matter what the issue at hand was. So seeing him out of his element, aggravated and perplexed was definitely amusing.

"This is stupid." Shinso shook his head, pocketing a hand in his jacket. "The fact that he's here makes this whole fiasco even more unreliable."

Monoma felt his lips part, glaring at the thumb directed right at him. "Excuse me? I'll have you know that I am plenty popular! Just last week a pretty white-haired freshman asked-"

Shinso started walking away, but not before making sure Monoma would stay quiet long enough for him to get as far away from the KTV establishment as possible. No one else bothered to stop him anymore, knowing what fate would befall them if they tried.

"I have somewhere else I need to be." Shinso threw a glance at their class representative, nodding his goodbye.

"Oh, of course, Shinso. It's-"

The loud slam of a door cut Iida off.

"There you are, fucking eye bags!"

Shinso rolled his eyes, noticing the incensed blonde stomp towards him through the corner of his gaze; tiny explosions going off in his half fisted hands.

"I'm not falling for another one of your shitty tricks! I'm gonna beat you to a damn pulp!" Bakugo quieted down, glaring at him through narrowed bloodshot eyes.

Shinso didn't even need to think about what to say to get a reaction out of the loudmouth. "Is that so, sparky?"

"Shut the-"

Just like that, Bakugo was back under his control.

Shinso didn't know if he should laugh or shake his head. For someone who belonged to the list of top students in their class, Bakugo was seriously an idiot.


"Here we are, Master Hitoshi."

Shinso nodded his thanks, taking the large suitcase his chauffer offered to him in silence.

"I shall be back on the morning of the 26th to take you to the airport."

"No need, Jin. I'll take a taxi." Shinso raised a hand to silence any further protests. "It's the holidays. Go home to your family and don't come back until next year."

"Master Hitoshi, your mother-"

"I'll see you next year, Jin." Shinso reiterated with more resolve, throwing the middle-aged man a firm glance as he feigned an exasperated sigh. His eyes softened a little at the quiet grateful look his longtime chauffer sent him.

"Thank you, Master Hitoshi." Jin bowed reverently, smiling at the teenage boy who waved a hand at the gesture; the look of aggravation clear on his face.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" Shinso rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. It was weird having a much older person bow at him that way.

Jin chuckled at his young master's embarrassment, offering a smaller bow this time around. "Happy holidays, Master Hitoshi."

"Happy holidays, Jin."

Shinso watched the car pull away, nodding at the older man when he rolled down the windows to throw him one more wave of goodbye. When the vehicle was no longer in sight, he turned around to eye the familiar house he was standing in front of. He sighed.

When his mother told him she wouldn't be able to make it back in time for Christmas, he wasn't surprised. He was supposed to fly out to Paris to meet her today, but when she found out about his class's Christmas Party, she insisted he attend and moved his flight on the 26th of December. He shrugged it off, thinking a few days at home alone wasn't that big of a deal. That wasn't new. The fact that it was Christmas didn't even bother him at all.

His mother wanted some of the house employees to stay a bit longer, but he insisted they be allowed their leave. It was the holidays after all. They should be with family. What he didn't expect though, was what his mother decided on instead.

It's just for three days, honey! Aizawa-sensei said it's totally fine!

He groaned, standing by the front door, feeling completely awkward. He had given is mother a proper scolding when he found out that she pawned him off to Eraserhead on Christmas.

What was she thinking? The underground hero probably wanted some peace and quiet during the holidays. Now he had to look after–

"What are you doing standing outside in the snow?"

Shinso blinked, just now realizing that the door was open and Aizawa-sensei was standing right in front of him, eying him weirdly.

"Sensei." He bowed awkwardly. "Good evening."

Aizawa raised a brow at the overt politeness. This wasn't the younger boy's first visit to his home, so why was he acting so odd? "Come in." He stepped to one side, making space for him to pass.

Shinso politely took off his scarf, threading it carefully through the hanging rack against the wall. He peeled off the long puffy parka coat off his shoulders, making it pool a bit on the floor before hooking it over his hung scarf. He unzipped the fleece jacket that reached up until his knees, hanging it against a free hook. He took off his shoes, lining them up neatly by the shoe rack, leaving him in his bomber jacket, thick wool joggers, and fleece socks.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at the strange discomfort he could feel off of his protégé as he stood quietly by the entry way, waiting for some sort of signal that it was okay to move.

"Toshi."

Shinso's eyes were on him in an instant. "Yes, sensei?"

Aizawa opened his mouth to call him out, but decided against it. He sighed. "Have you eaten?" He watched the purple-haired boy nod his answer, lifting a hand against the back of his neck.

"How was the party?"

Shinso glanced at the underground hero, feeling awkward under his scrutiny. He did this more often now – asking him about his day, about his classmates, how he was adapting to the course, how he was coping in the dorms. He sighed.

He kept telling himself it was just because Aizawa-sensei was a teacher. He just cared about his students. That was that. As for him, he was an investment. Eraserhead needed to at least make sure he wasn't wasting his efforts on a lost cause.

It definitely wasn't because the UA professor, in a way, kind of, sort of, saw him as a son. And it certainly wasn't because the older man, in a way, kind of, sort of, saw himself as his dad. He shook his head. It was ridiculous to even think that.

"It was… okay." Shinso allowed himself to answer. He felt Aizawa-sensei's eyes linger on him for a moment, no doubt trying to scrutinize if he was telling the truth. He looked away. The underground hero seemed to do that more too – reading between the lines, deciphering the hidden meaning behind his curt answers.

"Did you have fun?"

Shinso blinked at the unexpected question. "I…" He paused, surprised by the answer on his lips. "I did." He watched his mentor's eyes soften, reaching out a hand to ruffle the top of his nearly frozen hair.

"Good."

Aizawa stalked off, pointing a hand towards the stairs. "You can put your things in the guest room."

Shinso nodded, knowing exactly where it was. He's been in the pro hero's house more than a couple of times, but this was the first instance he was actually sleeping over. He's never really stayed the night. It felt like such a huge intrusion on his mentor's privacy. Besides, Aizawa-sensei already had Eri to take care of. He didn't want to add another burden on his hands.

"Ah. And about what came in the mail this morning."

Shinso froze mid step, holding onto his suitcase with a vice grip. Without responding, he hurriedly rushed up the stairs as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Toshi!" He heard Aizawa-sensei call out, but he was in the guest room in the next minute, locking the door before the older man could catch up. He knew Aizawa-sensei warned him not to buy any more gifts, but it was Christmas and he just…

He wanted to.

Aizawa ran a hand through his face, eying the stairs tiredly. He seriously needed to have another talk with that protégé of his. When the courier truck stopped by earlier, dropping three huge boxes in front of his house, he thought it was some sort of mistake. But when he saw the name of the sender, he could only pinch his nose in exasperation.

An electronic massage recliner.

An ergonomic work table and chair set.

A box full of colorful wooden blocks.

Eri was positively ecstatic at the gift, touched that the purple-haired boy knew she liked building. Aizawa wasn't surprised at all. Hitoshi was incredibly observant, and highly talented at reading people. The fact that he had an impressive memory helped as well.

"Shota-san! Shota-san!"

Aizawa paused at the foot of the stairs, turning to glance at Eri who was running towards him with his phone in her hand.

"It's Hizashi-san!"

Aizawa plucked the phone out of the little girl's grasp, placing an automatic hand over her head in thanks. "It's me."

"MERRY CHRISTMAS SHOTA!"

He pulled the phone a few inches away from his ear, groaning at the shrill of his longtime friend's voice. "Christmas eve is tomorrow night." He corrected in his usual deadpan tone.

"We're on the way, Eraser!"

"Better get your booze ready!"

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a feeling they would crash his home once again this year. "There are children here."

"Oh right! Hitoshi's staying over too, huh?"

Aizawa hummed his agreement.

"What did you just say, Mic? There's another kid?!"

"Oh you should see him with this one too, Emi! I never thought I'd live to see the day Eraser acts like a dad!"

"No way!"

Aizawa felt his eye twitch at the sound of two boisterous laughs resounding through his phone. "Hizashi, you better not bring those two-"

"Ah! Wait, Nemuri! Shota's still-"

"See you in ten minutes!"

The line was dead before Aizawa could throw in a threat. He groaned. He needed to get more cloth binds. He knew it was Christmas, but perhaps three mummies hanging from his roof could pass off as left over Halloween decorations?


End of Chapter 6!

The next one is going to be the last chapter. I have to say... This has been one of the most random, unplanned, anything goes story I've ever written :p It's been really fun so far and it's been a great bit of stress relief from the heaviness of life at the moment.

I hope this story was able to make you guys LOL! Never underestimate the effect of a really good laugh :)

Until next time! Reviews would be appreciated ^^