Hello, I'm back. Happy holidays. Here's my Christmas chapter, even if it's a little late. thx for reading xoxo
Now, the days were short and every hot breath turned to steam in the frigid air. Snow had not yet appeared, though an early arrival wouldn't cause surprise. The leaves fell dead across the sidewalks and Ochaco was a little depressed. She brushed her hair in the bathroom and noticed the dull purple under her eyes. It was tiring to be sad.
As she rode into the city, a huge wave of dread rose to meet her. She sat down. Another day, another disappointment. Ah, I'm so sad for myself. I wish there were two of me and one of me could hold the other me and say, Don't worry, Ochaco. It was an adolescent crush. Isn't it rite of passage to have yourself beaten, to lose? That's all part of becoming an adult. My troubles aren't so bad, after all. My parents are in debt. I see them at the kitchen table with stacks of bills, making loud phone calls. The train entered a tunnel. The only light in the car was lemonade-yellow fluorescent, falling from the tubes attached to the ceiling.
But, I'm allowed to mourn, aren't I? All my feelings have just sort of puddled up inside. There's nowhere for them to go, but soon they'll disappear. The sadness will evaporate. My affection will wither. I have other things to worry about. I'm training to begin a dangerous profession. My burden is to help the world, rescue the needy, dig my family out of troubles. But, life isn't all burden.
Other girls and boys read text on their phones, manga, and novels with their heads painfully crooked down. Women with serious hair, wearing tights, listened to music through their headphones. Nobody seemed particularly awake. The train rolled into warm sunlight and Ochaco felt happier, brighter.
I'm a young woman. I'd like to have fun. I'd like to have a boyfriend. Ideally, it would have been Izuku. Funny. I didn't expect Tsuyu to be the first to catch a partner. Honestly, I figured Mina. She's fun and cute and impossible not to notice. But no, it was Tsuyu. She's cute, too. In other ways. It's the big eyes and the big hair. Her posture's gotten better. And I swear her tits are larger than I remember. Is that what this is about? What is it about, Tsuyu? She's blunt. Or, she's honest. A straightforward girl. And was that it? Did she confess? Tsu's got her own sort of bravery. She's Hero material. Ah, but aren't I, too? I'm brave, too. So, what am I going to do. I've been moping for two weeks now. I can't continue to sit around like this. Oh, but Christmas is so soon. It's a couple's holiday. Girlfriends and boyfriends will flood the shops and the streets. Damn! Shit! This sucks. I don't wanna go to school.
She exits out of the hissing doors and the station, walks onto the avenue that would lead her school. Her scarf rubbed against her chin. The tip of her nose goes red in the bitter, slight wind. After two or three blocks of walking, she passed in front of a series of shops. A ramen stop, a bookstore, a foul smelling bar. A man falls out of the bar, into the sidewalk. He throws up at the feet of Ochaco.
"Ahh! What the heck!" Ochaco yelped.
The man looked up with woozy, drunk eyes. "I'm sorry, young lady. My mistake. I'm very sorry."
"Are you alright?"
He rolled upon the concrete, rising to his knees. "Alright? Not quite alright. I'm in a rut. I work from the afternoon into the evening. I walk to the bar, I dump my wages into liquor. Then I hike it home, sleep it off, and put on a new shirt for work."
"That doesn't sound good." Ochaco said.
"No, it's not good. But, it's what I do. You're a Hero to be, aren't you? I recognize the uniform."
"Yes, I'm in training."
"Ah, see, and I've thrown up at your feet. How pathetic, how gross."
"No, I don't mind, there's only a little bit - on the toes." Ochacho said, looking at her feet.
"Isn't it pitiful, however? A grown, working man drunk on the street. Stuck in a hole, a dirty rut. Haven't you felt that way?"
"Yes, certainly, I currently feel like I'm stuck." Ochaco bent forward, interested. Passersby sneered at the drunk man.
"So, what do you do when you're in a rut?"
"You escape?" Ochaco said.
"If only it were so easy." The man picked himself up, wobbling between his feet.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Ochaco offered a hand. He waved her away.
"Yes, I'm sure," he slurs and points at her. "Are you alright?"
"Me? Am I alright?"
"Yes, simple question." He hiccups. Spit shone on his chin.
"Am I alright?"
"Uh, yeah, I don't think you're alright."
"I'm not alright!" Ochacho squeeked. Her hands rose to her cheeks. "You, drunk man! I want to be alright!"
"Yeah," he said and burped. "I want to be alright too."
Ochaco held out her hand. "Let's vow to be alright. I'm tired of being sad."
The drunk man wiped his sweaty palm on the pant leg of his cheap suit. "Sure. I'm tired of being a public drunk." They shook hands. Ochaco could feel the humid, toxic heat emanating from his hand. His sweat smelled like hard liquor. She pulled away.
"Okay, I'm going to school now. Good luck, drunk man." She waved, stepped over the vomit, and left.
The drunk man fell on his ass onto the concrete. "Good luck."
As she walked away, he set his cheek on the cool sidewalk and began to snore.
Since they had coupled, Tsuyu and Izuku walked the six or seven blocks from Izuku's station to the school together in the mornings. They walked close to one another. With every few steps their shoulders touched or Tsuyu's long bow of hair swat into Izuku's calf. They weren't at all sure what the faculty or administration would say about two Heroes dating. To play it safe, they never held hands, no matter how tempting. Today was the last day of the term - just two days before Christmas morning .
These days, Tsuyu was bundled heavily. The winter was unkind to her amphibian facets. She often fell back asleep on the train and even as she walked with Izuku she let out a long yawn from under the two scarves wrapped around her neck.
"It's a good thing UA has central heating or I'd enter hibernation right away," she said.
"Your eyes were about to close yesterday during math." Izuku said.
"Thank goodness we're out today."
"You know, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Are you spending it with your family?"
"No, my parents don't get home until real late."
"Then, do you want to spend the night together?"
"The night?" Tsuyu exclaimed. She touched her bangs bashfully. "I'm not sure, Izuku. Maybe, it's a little fast?"
"Wait! Wait! The eve. Christmas Eve. Not the night."
"Oh! The eve! Ha! Yeah, that sounds great." Tsuyu said, blushing. Suddenly, she grabbed the elbow of Izuku's coat. "Ah, it's Ochacho."
Things between Izuku and Tsuyu (Tsuku, as Mina referred to them in her head) and Ocacho had become frigid, just as the weather had. Once they had happily shared lunch - the three of them and Iida - Ochaco now ate with Hagakure, chatting idly and watching Hagakure's food disappear and go nowhere.
Izuku waved. "Good morning," he said. Ever since, Ochaco had given him a cold, shy shoulder and did not return his greeting.
"Good morning," Tsuyu said.
Ochaco looked at them both. There was something refreshed in her face and a slight splatter of orange vomit on her shoes. She stood her ground.
"I'm trying to be alright!" Ocacho nearly shouted. "Good morning, Tsuyu, Izuku!"
She bowed, pivoted on her heels, and walked stiffly through the school gates. Tsuyu looked at Izuku.
"That was weird, but I think it was good," she proposed.
"I hope she doesn't do that everyday." Izuku said.
At lunchtime, Ochaco watched Toru Hagakure eat a cheeseburger and fries.
"The great thing, Ocacho," she said, "about being invisible is that you can slack a little bit with diet. Nobody's gonna notice an extra kilo or two! Obviously, as a Hero, I gotta keep trim and strong. Being light helps my stealth factor, as well, but I'm very content with my relationship with food. I eat what I want! Haha. Aw, I'm just going on and on about my self! Sorry, Ochaco. Is there anything you wanna talk about?"
"Well, Toru, we've been hanging out a lot lately. I'm glad I've gotten to know you better," Ochaco said. "Do you think I could ask you a personal question?"
"Of course! Ask away! I may be imperceptible to the naked eye but I'm an open book."
"Well, do you like anybody?"
"Do I like anybody? Ah, you can't tell but I'm blushing. I do, I have a current crush on - come closer, it's a private matter - a certain stoic, blonde young man with a tail."
"Ojiro!?"
"Yes! He's cute, isn't he? And strong, I saw him once break a lamp post with a swing of his tail," Toru beamed. "That's one his charm points - his tail."
"Holy cow."
"I don't think he'd mind an invisible girlfriend. He's very accepting, I've gathered."
"I think you'd make a great couple!" Ochaco exclaimed. "But-"
"But!?"
"But what if Ojiro was secretly dating, say, Tsuyu. And it seems they really like each other. What would you do?" Ochacho proposed.
"That's certainly a curveball," Toru pondered. "Well, I've lost haven't I? I'd be sad for a while but I'd have to get over it. Accepting disappointment and failure is what makes somebody adult."
"You wouldn't do anything?"
"What could I do? I like Ojiro, sure. But I also respect him. I would have to respect his desires and hopes and all that. It's a bind, but a necessary concession."
Ochaco looked into her lap. "You're pretty mature, Toru."
"My grades are bad but I have exceptional emotional intelligence! Between you and me, if this Hero thing doesn't work out I'd like to be a therapist."
The cheeseburger floating between Toru's invisible hands lost one chunk, then another and another.
Aizawa yawned at the lectern and wished 1-A a merry Christmas or New Year or whatever. He didn't actually say those words. He said, I'll see you all later, then left the building but it was understood that he meant something kind. So 1-A dispersed into the streets and waved goodbye to one another and wished happy holidays and then UA was officially deserted for break. Today, Izuku walked Tsuyu to her station, mentioning that he had errands to run.
"My mom needs some sort of soft charcoal for an art project," he said.
"Want me to come with?" Tsuyu asked.
He fidgeted and his eyes dipped. "That won't be necessary. You should go home and rest. Aren't you sleepy?"
Tsuyu's wide mouth swung open to yawn. Her long tongued arched. "Yeah, a little bit."
"Besides," he said,"we're hanging out tomorrow."
"Kero, okay then."
Outside of Tsuyu's station, Izuku swiveled around to see if any other UA students are in vicinity before kissing Tsuyu quickly on the cheek. "I've gotta go. See you later!"
He waved, walked off a bit, watched Tsuyu swipe through the gates and begin her commute then marched away into a thicket of buildings. On both sides of him there were shops, storefronts, stalls, street vendors.
Days before, Izuku had scoped out his options. What gift says, Tsuyu, I'm serious about you, I care. But I also don't want to come of as clingy. If I give her a ring a couple months into dating that'd be a little strong, no? Maybe I'm making excuses. I really do like Tsuyu. Enough to propose? No, that's impossible to think about. I'm very young. My brain isn't fully formed.
Izuku mumbling and unattentive bumps into an old, hunched woman. She lets out a gasp. Izuku steps back and bows immediately. "I'm so sorry," he says, "Please forgive me!"
"No problem, young man. In fact, I'm happy we collided. You see, I'm selling my wares. I've just come back from China, where they have incredible medicines, potions, and elixirs. I happen to carry, at this moment, a large selection of such wares for your perusal and purchase." She explained.
"Um, I think I'm alright. I'm not looking for medicine."
She leaned in. Her appearance was haggish. "Hmm, then what are you looking for?"
"A Christmas gift for my girlfriend."
"Girlfriend, huh? Tell me, boy, have you two, er, consummated your relationship?"
"That's a p-private matter!" Izuku flustered. "I'm leaving."
She grabbed his coat with a small, tight hand. "Has she seen your dick, young man?"
"If I tell you, w-will you stop asking questions and let me go."
"Allow me to cut to the thesis of our meeting. I have some very effective dick pills. In one month, a guaranteed three centimeters of length, one and a half centimeter of girth. One pill a day. One thousand yen for thirty pills. It's the real deal."
"A thousand yen?"
"Delicious bargain, isn't it? I'll admit, I'm not cutting much profit, but I'm a romantic. I remember my first boyfriend. My partner was a meek young man, like yourself. He's become something unassuming, like a bank manager. But, what a hog he had. I can picture it now. I recall the shivering it brought me. It was perfect, truly. I see that your blushing. No, don't cover your face. Listen, boy, this is in good faith. Take these pills! Get a little bigger, show your girlfriend a good time."
"Ma'am, please let me go. I'm so embarrassed I could cry." He warbled.
She folded a little, rattling bag in his palm. "Give me a thousand yen and I'll walk away."
"I don't want these!" He retorted.
"Listen, you're being difficult. It's a thousand yen. I'm making no money here. I'm trying to help your love life. Japan's birth rate is declining! Buy these pills then go shopping and then take these pills and then later have sex-"
"Fine! Geez!" He dug a thousand yen note from his wallet. "Here! Please."
She released him. "Thank you, boy. Good luck with your present and if you have curious friends please send them my direction!"
The old lady called to him but Izuku was already far away. Hot blood swam under the skin of his cheeks. He sat on a bench to cool off. The winter air felt nice on his blustering skin. What a stressful encounter. I was accosted and forced to buy… dick pills! Gah! How could I let this happen to me? She's an old lady. I wasn't going to shover her off. She's probably fragile! It wasn't robbery but it was something. I'd like to point to cops on her but, what, I'm going to walk an officer over and say, It was her, she grabbed me and sold me dick growing pills. They would laugh at me! You go to UA? Yeah, right! What a terrible outcome. But, I'm here for Tsuyu. I'm gonna get her something nice. To show her my appreciation and care! So, let's go! He stood up quickly and the baggie of pills fell onto the bench. Izuku mulled for a second whether he should take them or leave them be. After a minute, he grabbed them and shoved them into his pocket.
Back home, stripped of her uniform and cozied in pajamas, Tsuyu lay on her bed, kicking her feet and wasting minutes on her phone. It began to buzz in her hands. Her mother was calling.
"Mom, hi," Tsuyu said. "Where are you?"
"Hi, Tsu, your father and I are at a hotel in Nagoya. We'll be back tomorrow, late. Is everything alright at home?"
"Yeah, everything's good. They're watching TV."
"Did you order the KFC bucket? You know you're father loves his Christmas chicken."
"I'm picking it up tomorrow. I reserved it like a week ago."
"Good job. What a reliable young woman you are! You take after me, you know. Your father is always leaving things to the last second."
"Thanks, mom."
"Okay, just checking in. Like I said, we'll be in tomorrow at ten and home around maybe eleven."
"Oh, Mom, one second. I have a question. I was looking at the family album. There's a picture of you two at like a christmas party. Yeah, Dad's wearing a wack sweater. When you were younger and you started dating Dad, what sort of presents did you get each other?"
"Hmm, well, I remember when we spent our first Christmas together. I bought him some cologne. It smelled like oranges, I think. You're father back then was wearing a cologne that smelled like diesel or something. He said it was manly, but it reeked like burnt rubber. You're father bought me, what was it, I think a gift certificate to a spa."
"I see. I was just wondering. Yeah, love you. Three. Okay. Bye."
Tsuyu pulled on some snow pants, a turtleneck, her parka, hat, and enormous mittens. She was going out, she hollered to her siblings. They said, Bye, have fun, we need milk, and Tsuyu left.
It was a minor walk to the nearest shopping arcade. The synthetic fabrics of her parka and pants slid against one another and made a light, zipping noise. It was annoying and Tsuyu felt like a child. But if she wasn't bundled properly, she would turn groggy and slow. The people on the sidewalk began to thicken. The whole world was wrapped in scarves. The temperatures were low and the sky was a pale, cold blue. Yet, it hadn't snowed. And though winter was annoying for her, Tsuyu loved to see the snow fall and accumulate across the city.
Her face was lit up by beige light seeping out of storefronts. Mannequins posed in winter wear. Huge, loud advertisements were posted against the glass announcing price cuts, bargain deals, and clearance sales. Tsuyu couldn't help but touch a mitten to her covered chin. She thought. What am I gonna buy Izuku? He's not the materialistic sort. He would like...All Might merchandise. Yeah, he'd be pumped. But I'd like to get him something a little more serious. Something that says, We're dating, we're a couple. It could be cologne. He'd like that, right? It's mature and, you know, he'd probably used it next time we got… intimate. What if I got him a box of condoms? His heart would give out, haha! He'd probably throw up out of panic or something. Although, aren't we getting close to that stage in our relationship? Woah, is it the scarves or am I suddenly feeling steamy. Maybe we oughta wait a little longer. Yeah, a little longer. So, what to buy? Cologne, possibly. Socks, a shirt, a book, some stationery? Ah! He doesn't have any interests! Only Hero stuff! Though, to be fair, that's all I'm concerned with too. This is more difficult than I imagined. I'm glad I called Mom or else I wouldn't have been able to think of anything. Tsuyu paused to watch a sign spinner. It was a skinny girl with a third eye with an arrow shaped slice of colored cardboard. Tsuyu couldn't read the words on the sign as it was being flipped, and thrown. She could sort of make out that there was a half-off sale somewhere.
"Hey," she said, "Stop spinning that sign, I wanna see what you're advertising."
The girl with the eye held the sign still and pointed at a nearby bookstore. "It's fifty percent off for all books. Only some DVDs and manga, though."
"Thanks," Tsuyu said before walking inside. She dawdled around stacks of porn DVDs and cookbooks. Why are these in the same section? Big Titty City IX should not be next to Flavors of Okinawa.
The shopkeeper, a rotund man in a polo shirt, presented himself. "Hello, madame. I see you browsing our selection of smut. Are you possibly a lesbian? We have one of the city's best collections of lesbian videos. Great stuff. The Sultry Summer Camp series. Office Lady and Her Lunchtime Flings. Hokkaido Passion. Rare titles."
"No, I have a boyfriend, but thanks."
"Oh, I see, a young madame looking for a late Christmas present, am I right?"
"You're right."
"May I be of assistance? What's your man like?"
"He is… a Hero in training. He's cautious but brave. And very sweet."
"Oh, a Hero! How lovely. My nephew trained to be a Hero. His name is Cornetto. He shoots icicles. No? He works up north. Anyways, he's a long range Hero. Projectile based. And one day, he gets trashed by a Villain apt in close combat. Terrible. I visited him in the hospital. Broken jaw, dislocated shoulder. Ah, but your boyfriend, maybe he'd like a book on martial arts? Muay thai, possibly. A vicious fighting discipline."
"He's pretty good at fighting hand to hand."
"How about this? After a long day of training, what does he like to do? Does he jerk off?"
She raised a finger to her cheek. "Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure."
"May I suggest some porn? We have magazines, videos, erotic novels and games. You're vaguely froggy. He's into animal girls, isn't he? We just received a calendar with all sorts of animal girls in cute, nude poses. Salamander girls. Sheep girls. Girls with tails. Girls with claws. Venomous girls."
"No, please stop with the porn."
"Sure, understood. No more porn. How about some manga? All Heroes like manga. Stories of good versus evil. Adventure, suspense, cool fights and abilities. Or maybe the opposite: a school setting, a boy and a girl growing close, finding love, sharing their first kiss at the gate."
"I think he'd prefer the former. Also, you talk too much," Tsuyu announced.
"My, what a forward young woman you are." He parried.
"It's considered my strength." She said.
"So we're going to buy your boyfriend some sort of action manga."
"Yes, that sounds good."
"I have just the thing. Newly arrived from England, freshly translated. A vigilante living in London discovers a plot with tendrils all the way to the top. Our protagonist is bashing mercenaries, torturing crooked bankers, learning new weapon techniques from an Irish master. It's bloody and very cool."
Tsuyu thought about it, held her finger to her cheek. "How much is it?"
"All seven volumes come to three thousand yen or twenty-eight dollars or 32,000 South Korean won."
"That is… acceptable."
"I'll throw in a magazine of your choice, no charge."
She looked around the room and pointed a finger at a calendar with pictures of lime green iguanas. "Give me that calendar."
"You're lucky that's an unpopular option. Deal." He held out his fat hand and found it wrapped in Tsuyu's mitten. Tsuyu exchanged cash for the present. The fat man wrapped the manga and waved goodbye to Tsuyu, who dipped into the cold street once again. She looked down into the bag and sighed.
"I should've gotten the cologne," she grumbled, "Well, I hope he likes it."
She went off to buy milk for her siblings.
The next day, Christmas Eve, Izuku and Tsuyu met at her chosen cafe. They sat next to a heater to Tsuyu's relief. across from one another. Beside Izuku there was a large, long lump wrapped in gift paper. Tsuyu eyed it warily.
"What's that thing?" she said.
"Don't worry about it. That's for later." Izuku said.
"You know, last time I went to this cafe, Ochaco stopped talking to you and I."
Izuku sipped on some green tea. "That's bad mojo."
"Very bad mojo. Sucks too. I like this cafe. They have good pudding here."
"My mom makes good pudding."
"You should invite me over sometime."
"You've already come over though?"
"I mean getting introduced to your mom really. Since your dad is abroad. We could have dinner or something."
"Oh! Uh, let me think…"
"I don't mean to rush things-"
"No, wait. I was just thinking when you could come over. My mom's been very busy lately. Did I tell you she's being interviewed for her latest series of drawings? It's incredible. We were at the dinner table the other night and she said, Izuku, I've finally figure it out, I know what I'm here for."
"Woah."
"I guess the way we feel about Heroes, she feels about art." Izuku said.
"So, I can come over and meet her?"
"Yes."
There was a pause. Tsuyu stared at Izuku. He could read her face a little better. There was a minor shine in her large eyes.
"You're excited."
"I am," she said and sipped at her tea. "Please, tell me what's in the paper. It's just to big not to talk about."
"A present for Christmas."
"What a coincidence. I bought you a gift as well." Tsuyu placed a dainty bag filled with tissue paper on the table. "You go first."
Izuku shuffled his hand through the tissue paper and pulled out a box set of manga.
"Ah, something to read. Thank you." He inspected the set. "What's it about?"
"A national conspiracy is uncovered by a Hero in London."
"I like Hero stories." Izuku beamed.
"I know. That's a big part of your personality."
"Thank you. I'll read it right away. Are you ready for yours?"
"Kero." Tsuyu smiled. He picked up the lengthy thing next to him. The paper crinkled and the contents bent and slumped. It was not heavy in Tsuyu's hands.
"To be honest, I went shopping for hours and I couldn't think of anything. But then I found this and I thought it was cute. Uh, like you." He said bashfully.
Tsuyu removed a meter long stuffed gecko, made of bright green fleece. "You're right. It's very cute. I'm gonna snuggle with this later."
"It's not too childish?" Izuku asked.
"Maybe, a little bit. But that's okay. We don't have to be so serious all the time. Especially since our eventual line of work is literal life and death. I really like it. Especially now that I'm so sleepy all the time." She said and gave the gecko a squeeze.
Izuku eyed his own gift and drank his tea. "Has it been a good Christmas so far?"
"Of course. I have a boyfriend now! It's been great." Tsuyu put her huge hand over Izuku's and rubbed his knuckles. Izuku shuddered but soon relaxed and clutched her hand.
"I'm excited to introduce my mom to my girlfriend." He said. Tsuyu noted the confidence in his voice.
She spoke. "Hey, I just forgot. I've another present for you."
"But you don't have anything else with-"
She leaned forward and jammed her lips against his. Their teeth clacked. Izuku put his hand up to her cheek and they paused, locked happily as the snow began in the street outside.