Nervously fidgeting in her seat, Uraraka exchanged nervous smiles with Deku who was sitting on her left with an expressionless Todoroki on the other side of him avoiding his dad's constant stare.

"Where is everyone?" she quietly leaned over and asked.

"I'm not sure myself…" Deku said turning to hear Endeavor scoff.

"It's no surprise that Hawks is late, but it's uncalled for the others to be." Endeavor huffed out, only turning his head when they saw Bakugo enter and quickly pull out a seat next to her.

Raising his brows since all eyes were on him, the blond began to glare back. "Where the hell is everyone?"

Chuckling both Uraraka and Deku smiled. "We were just wondering the same thing."

"You were late too." Todoroki simply stated.

"Had something to take care of." Bakugo said keeping his gaze on the table and tapping his finger. They were expecting him to go off as usual, so when his whole demeanor changed, and he became quiet Uraraka exchanged puzzled looks with both boys who shrugged back. Unsure as to what could have been the cause of his sudden mood change, she hesitantly reached over to touch his hand that was resting on his lap but stopped when the door suddenly swung open to reveal Mr. Aizawa, the principal who popped his head out of his scarf, All might and Best Jeanist.

"Do you always have to do that?" Mr. Aizawa tiredly rolled his eyes when the principal gracefully left the warmth of the scarf to climb onto his seat at the head of the table.

"Sorry Aizawa, with the weather being this cold I just couldn't resist." Principal Nezu happily grinned. "Now I must apologize to everyone here that we're late, but we had to make sure everyone was accounted for since we have a special guest today."

"Jeanist?"

"Hello, Dynamite it's good to see you again." The pro hero nodded, taking a seat opposite him. "But I'm afraid I'm not the one whom the principal is referring to. Although I will say that I, as well as some of the other Hero Agencies have been informed about the things that have been going on and are willing to lend a helping hand."

"So, who is this special guest?" Deku inquired.

"Me!" Hawks grinned walking in next but stopped when he saw the annoyed glare from Endeavor. "What? Don't tell me I'm late again."

Clearing his throat Principal Nezu gave Hawks an amused smile quickly ushering him into the meeting room. "Is he here as well?"

"Oh, you're talking about him?" Hawks pointed his thumb over his shoulder and the four students briefly widened their eyes, surprised to see Riku follow behind the pro. "I believe you have met."

"Oh?" Mr. Aizawa as well as the rest of the pros turned to look at the students.

"Yeah, funny story I ran into them one day when I was eating out with Riku…at church…reading to kids…on one of my off days…" Hawks sheepishly grinned at their sudden silence knowing full well that this wouldn't go well with the teachers otherwise. "Isn't that right guys?"

Clicking his tongue Bakugo gave Hawks a small glare in response while the other three vigorously nodded.

Lifting an eyebrow Riku did his best to keep the smile from his face. "Thank you all for allowing me to attend this meeting."

"Not at all. We are in your debt after all you've done." The principal smiled. "Would anyone like some tea?"

Sitting down while everyone started to pour themselves a cup, Hawks kept the smile on his face while mouthing the words 'Saved your ass.' To the four, with Uraraka and Deku both covering their embarrassed faces.

"Yours too." Bakugo huffed.

"Touché." Hawks sat back in his seat with an impressed smirk.

"I-It's good to see you guys again." Deku said.

"Thanks man, it's been a while." Riku smiled, turning his gaze to Uraraka next. "Hey cat girl, nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too." She showed her signature smile.

"Alright now that everyone is here, can we get on with this meeting?"

"Yes of course. And again, I do apologize Endeavor as well as to the rest of you since I understand you all have a busy schedule." Principal Nezu linked his paws together. "So, let's get right down to it. Hawks if you will please start."

"Me?" Hawks pointed to himself before proudly getting to his feet. "Ok…well…hey everyone I'm Hawks, I was born December 28th so I'm a Capricorn. I'm currently single – by choice may I add." He quickly pointed out giving Uraraka a playful wink. "I Um…like quiet moonlit walks on the beach but nothing beats flying. I've been a pro hero for some time now and I'll tell ya sometimes it's not easy work, but it makes it worthwhile when I get to sit down with a nice bucket of fried chicken." Exhaling loudly, he placed a hand to his chest. "Woah thanks I needed that." Sitting down he slapped Best Jeanist on the back. "Alright Jeanist your turn buddy."

Slowly blinking at the pro next to him Best Jeanist along with everyone else quietly stared at Hawks for a solid minute.

"What? Was that too much info?" Hawks curiously scratched his head. "Or did I come off too needy?".

"Yes well…" Clearing his throat Principal Nezu tried to keep a straight face while All Might gave him a thumbs up. "Thank you for that. Oh, Uraraka you have a question?"

Lowering her hand, she turned back to Hawks with a barely contained smile. "Your birthday is on the 28th? How come I didn't know about this!"

Seeing the confused look on the pro's face Deku leaned forward with a smile. "Hers is on the 27th."

"What! You never told me! We SO need to do something!" He jumped from his seat until Endeavor groaned.

"Can we please stay on track."

"Fine." Hawks pouted slumping back into his seat. "But you're not invited…" he mumbled before getting back up. "Alright people let's get serious for a change and stop any side chatter. Todoroki jr I'm talking to you."

"Huh?" Lifting an eyebrow Todoroki saw Deku sheepishly shake his head.

Walking over to the screen Hawks picked up the remote to show them what information they'd gathered so far.

"Ok, so we know that the Ipponmichi is an organization that has been around for a while, we still don't know who was responsible for its creation. But what we do have is a name. Hana."

"We think this Hana woman is either in a leadership position or could be the big mastermind behind this whole operation." Endeavor said leaning against the wall.

"Um correct." Hawks tapped his chin. "But Endeavor, next time please raise your hand. Thank you. Now moving on…"

Placing his elbow on the table Todoroki discreetly covered his mouth to hide his growing smile when he saw Endeavor trying to calmly breath through his nose.

"There have been more frequent kidnappings going on in different parts of Japan. We estimate between 15 to 20 a week now and it doesn't seem to stop. With how big this case is we can't afford to not involve any of the other agencies, but we still need to be careful since we really don't know if any of the big heroes have been compromised, which is why we are keeping this group rather small for now. But rest assured yours truly has not." Hawks proudly smirked when he saw Best Jeanist roll his eyes and lift his hand up. "Yes Jeanist?"

"So, this Hana…what else do we know about her? And how come we haven't heard of this group before?"

"That's what I want to know too. Why haven't we heard of her?" Mr. Aizawa said, giving Hawks a pointed look. "I am not raising my hand."

"That's where your kids get it from…" Hawks mumbled to himself. "Good question, it seems she hasn't been on our radar because from what our informant informed us- hahaha see what I did there?"

"Hawks."

"Right! So we don't know exactly why, but if she's really one of the big people calling the shots, then we can safely assume she just didn't want to be found. And we were told that she has multiple quirks at her disposal which makes sense given what this organization does and prides themselves on other than selling, they do experimentations too."

"Experimentations on quirks…that's something that always troubles me." Principal Nezu quietly said. "Experimentation on any living thing is horrendous in itself…but this…."

"Wait, if this woman really is able to wield multiple quirks at once…" Deku frowned sharing a look with a worried All Might.

Nodding Hawks pulled up a map of Japan. "We think she knew or had some dealings with All for One. Which of course is a big concern if that's the case. But on another note, our informant did confirm that the main base of operation is here in Japan."

"Are you shitting me?" Bakugo sat up. "You mean it's been here the whole time?!"

"Bakugo." Mr. Aizawa sternly said pinching the bridge of his nose at his outburst and language.

"Afraid so, and Dynamight don't forget to raise your hand." Hawks shook his finger at the irritated blond. "But we still haven't been able to pinpoint exactly where in Japan, but we have various pro's working on getting that information as we speak. Yes Uravity?"

Dropping her hand and sticking her tongue out at her boyfriend who rolled his eyes, she continued. "So, if you don't mind me asking Riku…are you the informant?"

Shaking his head Riku looked over at Hawks.

"Riku's been working for my agency for a few years now. Given his profession he's able to gather some information from various people at the club, but our main informant is someone else. Someone on the inside. They've been feeding us intel since the attack in your school last year. And I'm not at the liberty to disclose their identity since it could compromise their position, and with people like the Ipponmichi… this is not something we can afford to lose. But thanks to this person we were able to find out about Toga's trip overseas and gather the information we have so far."

"And this informant will only speak to you, correct?" Mr. Aizawa asked Riku who nodded, "Is there a reason why?"

"Let's just say he's not the trusting type..." Riku said, averting his gaze to the screen. "Although I haven't heard from him in a while."

"Right, the last thing we received was a message saying '3 months' and that could mean plenty of things, but it went dead silent after that. We have yet to get anything else." Hawks said giving Riku an apologetic look that Uraraka caught. "So, whatever this means we just need to make sure we're prepared for the worst."

"And Toga?" she quietly asked, ignoring the sudden silence of the room. "Any news on her?"

"As for Toga…we know she's working closely with this Hana person. And…she seems to be a suspect in a few murders that's happened right before some kids went missing." Hawks said with a somber tone to his voice.

"Kids…?" she whispered before covering her mouth and silently listening as the pros continued talking. How could this keep happening? How could she let someone like Toga slip through her hands? If she hadn't then those people...those kids…

Feeling someone grab her hand under the table and give it a gentle squeeze she looked sideways to find Bakugo already staring at her with a confident expression before addressing Hawks once more.

"So, what are we doing about this?"

"Hands people, hands. This is a school, right?" Hawks exasperatedly asked addressing Principal Nezu before turning back to Bakugo who looked a second away from causing some property damage. "Right now, all we can do is hope for our informant to appear and give us something more to work with or find their base of operation. Once we do, then we can shut them down. From there it shouldn't take long to disclose the locations of all the other facilities around the world. Now I'm not saying that'll get rid of them for sure, but it'll be hard for them to recover from."

"Did they say anything about whether they found a way to bring Shigaraki back?"

"Not sure yet All Might. Hopefully they haven't, that wouldn't be good for anybody. But we do have information about this weird doctor that's been working for them."

"Doctor Garaki?"

"Nope. Meet Doctor Fujiwara." Hawks said changing the screen to show an older slender looking man with a black suit, pale skin with sunken eyes that seemed to be smiling and mirrored the way his lips curled into an unpleasant grin exposing a set of metallic teeth. Jolting back from the screen along with everyone else, Hawks grabbed his chest. "Woah! That's one creepy looking dude!"

"So that's him?" Best Jeanist said leaning forward in his seat to get a better look at the doctor while Hawks frantically started pressing random buttons on the remote.

"How do you change this thing?!"

"So, it's safe to say that he's been working there voluntarily?"

"Yeah, I mean have you looked at this guy?" Hawks pointed at the screen and breathed a sigh of relief when he managed to turn it off. "Well, that's staying in my nightmares for a while. Which brings me back to the villain Yasha your kids were able to capture last year."

"Nothing out of her yet?"

"No, she refused to talk Eraserhead."

"Maybe we can have someone like Hitoshi Shinso interrogate her. He has been making big improvements to his quirk to a point even the retired pro hero Daichi is impressed."

"And from what I remember that old geezer is hard to impress." Hawks muttered. "But I'm afraid that's not possible."

"Why not?"

"Because Yasha is dead. We found her in one of the interrogation rooms before we even got there, bleeding out."

"When?" Best Jeanist asked.

"A few weeks ago. We still don't know how that was possible since we had guards everywhere, but the ones that were in the room with her…let's just say I'm not looking forward to seeing something like that again…" Hawks rubbed his hands over his face. "But as for now that's all we have."

"Alright." Endeavor quickly made to leave.

"Actually…there's something I want to talk to you about." Todoroki suddenly spoke up keeping a firm gaze on Endeavor. "In private."

Once the meeting was finally concluded and everyone started to bid their goodbyes, except for Todoroki and Endeavor who quickly excused themselves after hearing about his oldest son. Uraraka continued to absently stare out the window thinking over everything that was discussed in the meeting.

Placing his hand on her shoulder, he felt her place her hand on top of his already knowing it was him. "We'll get her. Don't worry."

"I know…" she whispered. "I just hate not being able to do anything for this long, while everyone just continues to suffer because I let her get away."

"Oi stop that. None of this is your fault ok." Bakugo saw her turn to look up at him with those big brown eyes he grew so fond of.

"Then why do I feel like this?" she softly asked. "I've wanted to help her for so long…but now…"

"Hey" Turning they saw Riku approach them. "I hope I didn't make a bad impression on you guys."

"It would've been fuckin helpful if you told us from the damn beginning that you were working for a hero agency." Bakugo narrowed his eyes.

"You mean just like telling me that you guys were not old enough to drink?" Riku lifted an amused brow.

Grabbing his arm before Bakugo could move, Uraraka gave Riku a small smile. "It's fine. I'm sure he had his reasons."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." Riku said glancing between them. "If it's alright with you, can we grab some coffee or something soon so we can talk in private?"

"The hell?!" Bakugo seethed stepping in front of her. "Why, this isn't private enough for you?"

"Katsuki…" she quietly scolded making him stubbornly look back at her. "It's just coffee with a friend."

"Tch."

"Yeah, I mean you could-" cutting himself off Riku saw Bakugo yank his arm free from her grip and storm out. "Come with us….? I hope everything's alright. I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's fine." She exhaled loudly, wondering the same. "I think he's just had a long day. I'll talk to him later."

X

"Woah dude she really said that?!" Kirishima's mouth dropped open after hearing Bakugo explain what happened when he went to talk to Ms. Yano. "And you didn't explode the office? Wow man you've really changed huh?"

"Not funny asshole!" Bakugo growled laying on his bed. "Not like I wanted to get fuckin expelled right before graduating."

"Well if you want my opinion-"

"I really don't sparky."

"- I'd say just forget what she said." Kaminari finished.

"What?" That got his attention lifting himself up on his elbow.

"Come on bro! When have you ever listened to someone? Or even let something that someone say about you bother you that much?" Kirishima frowned. "Especially when none of that is true."

"Oh yeah? Then tell me why that fuckin jerk from the bar decided to ask my girl on a damn date right in front of me?"

"Riku? Riku was here?" Kaminari piped up. "That's awesome, that guy is pretty cool."

"Yeah, and are you sure he asked her on a date? And who's to say she would even say yes-"

"Well, she did idiot."

"Erm ok…." Scratching his head Kirishima shook his head. "Well either way I think you're just letting what Ms. Yano say get to your head buddy. So just try and relax alright. Don't get all you know…you."

Snorting Kaminari nodded. "Yeah, that'll be disastrous."

"Shut the hell up Sparky!"

X

Giggling Uraraka happily finished decorating the tree, happily leaning back on the couch with her friends while drinking Yaoyorozus yummy tea and listening to Christmas music until her phone vibrated.

Hawks: So, what are we doing for our awesome birthdays? And how old are we turning?"

Uraraka: 18

Hawks: Nice! ?

Uraraka: Stop. And we're going on our 3rd year ski trip for the weekend.

Hawks: What? I love to ski! Fine since you asked so nicely, I'll volunteer as a chaperone.

Uraraka: Please don't.

Hawks: Too late. I already wrote our teacher.

"Uraraka."

"Huh?" Snapping her head up, she saw Mr. Aizawa tiredly peering down at her.

"Did you tell Hawks by any chance about the trip?"

"Um…no…." she discreetly put her phone away.

Exhaling tiredly, Mr. Aizawa gave her an annoyed look before turning away. "I guess another chaperone couldn't hurt, even if it is him."

"Oh, dang it." She groaned pulling her phone out when she received another incoming message.

Hawks: ? ️? ゚マツ here we come!

After everyone began to open gifts after dinner, they all continued to enjoy the festivities letting the Christmas vibe relax them. Sure, they were out of school for the next couple of weeks, but that didn't mean they were stopping their work studies, which of course Uraraka was grateful for since it allowed her to still get an income and spend her free time at home.

Skipping over to the kitchen she stopped at the entrance smiling when she heard Bakugo laughing at something Kirishima was saying while he and Sato were getting the desert ready. Taking the moment while he was distracted, she quickly gave Sato a pleading puppy dog look before reaching over trying to snatch a cookie."

"Don't even think about it." Bakugo spoke over his shoulder.

"Oh, come on! I finished my dinner, and these are staring at me!" she whined hearing Sato laugh at her expense.

"I swear you're worse than a child." Rolling his eyes, he turned his head with a slight smirk as he continued taking the remaining cookies out of the oven. "They're still hot so unless you want to burn yourself-"

"Ouch!"

Whirling back around Bakugo gave Kirishima an incredulous look as the red head sheepishly waved his burning hand. "What in the actual fuck Shitty hair?! What did I just say?!"

"Ow!" Uraraka quickly fanned her burning lips dropping a piece of her cookie.

"Seriously?!"

"Hey, are they ready yet?" Kaminari and Jirou walked in each grabbing one and immediately dropping it with a hiss. "Ouch!"

"Alright that's it, I'm done!" Bakugo huffed throwing the dish towel down and intending to walk out.

"Come on don't be mad. They just look so yummy!" Uraraka gave him a playful smile, placing her hands behind her back and leaning forward.

Rolling his eyes, he scowled at the others who were quietly chewing and watching in amusement. "Fuckin fine. See if I care. I hope you all burn yourselves too." He grumbled.

"Hey!"

Draping his arm around Bakugos shoulder, Kaminari accepted another cookie Jirou had wrapped in a napkin for him. "I've got to say…I'm really enjoying this dude."

"Oh, get the hell off!" Bakugo barked shaking his arm off and now going after them.

Shaking her head Uraraka gave a satisfied hum while leaning back on the counter.

"Talk about still acting like kids huh?" Jirou mused. "But I guess that's what makes them them."

"Yeah…oh hey Jirou I was meaning to ask if you decided to take the offer Hawks gave you?"

"I've thought about it." Jirou said chewing on her cookie. "And I think I'm going to take it. But after graduation."

"Really?!" Uraraka squealed bouncing on the tips of her toes. "That's great!"

"I know." Jirou chuckled. "I can't wait and besides it'll be nice to have you guys there."

Smiling, Uraraka gave her a fond hug which she returned. "I'm glad and I'm even happy you seem happier lately too."

"I am." Jirou smiled with a slight blush looking back over where the guys were still running around the living room while Mina and Yaoyorozu scolded them to be careful. "I really am. I mean Kaminari and I decided to take things really slow and not jump into anything right now. We're fine with knowing we like each other for now, so we'll see where this goes."

"That's good to hear." Uraraka smiled walking over to the others and sitting on the couch while talking. The evening continued with everyone laughing and enjoying their last Christmas party in the dorms together but promised that it wasn't going to be their last. Uraraka felt like her cheeks were starting to hurt with how much she laughed.

Hearing Iida attempt to try and sing Christmas songs as she leaned back on the couch smiling at Bakugo who had his arm around her, scoffing at the song but couldn't help the small smile wanting to make an appearance on his face. "You're enjoying this huh?" she quietly whispered.

"Fat chance round-face." He smirked down before placing a small kiss on her forehead.

Once everyone started to make their way to their rooms for the night, Uraraka was just finishing with the plates while Bakugo just came back from throwing the trash out and Sero was putting all the chairs back. Deku was quietly talking on his phone outside and everyone was pretty sure it was with Melissa by the ongoing blush on his face.

"Alright people we're heading to bed." Mina yawned walking inside the kitchen with Tsu.

"Wow Tsu I really love those on you." Uraraka grinned gesturing to the bright green earrings she had on.

"Thank you. Midoriya gave them to me. But I'm not much of a jewelry type of person. Ribbit."

"Yeah, well they still look beautiful on you Tsu."

"Thank you." Tsu smiled before leaving. "I'll see you guys the night before the trip for the concert."

"See ya." Uraraka smiled putting the last of the plates away until she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist from behind.

"So did this stupid party manage to satisfy you?" Bakugo said placing his chin on her shoulder.

"You bet." She giggled, turning around just as he grabbed her hand leading her out of the kitchen. "Where are we going?"

"Well last year we didn't get to do any of this sappy shit because of me, so I want to take full advantage of it now."

"What are you talking about?" she giggled once they stopped in the hall. "I got to see you for a little bit when you surprised me remember. And that was enough for me."

Taking a shaky breath in as he watched her eyes shine as she stared up at him, he couldn't stop the warmth radiating through him. "Ochaco…"

"Huh?" Furrowing her brows confused, she saw a light shade of pink dust his cheeks as he gestured up making her do the same and smile. "Mistletoe?"

"Oi it wasn't my idea alright!" he said defensively. "I'm pretty sure Raccoon eyes put it there."

"Ok." She giggled, feeling him intertwine his fingers with hers and still found it adorable how little simple things like this could keep the shy blush on the usual confident boys' face.

"But there are a few things that I'm grateful for this year…"

"Oh yeah?"

Nodding he looked down at their joint hands giving her a gently squeeze before slowly meeting her eyes and swallowing down hard. "Ochaco I…."

Slowly getting on her tip toes as her eyes flickered to his lips, he leaned his head down and grazing his fingertips against her cheek met her lips.

It didn't matter what, but she always managed to put him at ease even with just a smile, a simple touch and with that… he let all other thoughts pause for the moment and just enjoyed the feel of her in his arms and under the mistletoe.