A Very Eri Christmas
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest installment of Hailstorm Vol. 2! We got a rather relaxed chapter this week but first, I think I need to explain why this one and the Demon Slayer chapter are so late. Well long story short, family vacation. That's right I got away for a week and it wasn't half bad, though it did put a mild damper on my writing schedule. But here it is now and hopefully it'll have been worth the wait for everyone. Also, a shout out to Aoui's recommended artist, Akihito Evon, for creating the cover page for Vol. 1 of My Hero Academia: Hailstorm. Now then, with no guest review questions to answer, let's head on in!
U.A.: Class 1A
The end of December and the second semester was approaching. In fact, it was only a few days away, meaning the time to wrap things up had come. Although, that didn't mean they couldn't have a bit of fun during that time. Like laughing at yet another moment of Bakugou getting the shaft because he couldn't help but be Bakugou. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Laughed Kaminari and Sero as they were replaying a video on their phones, "you two got interviewed for a full hour and they didn't use a single one of Bakugou's answers! You can't even see him except in the corner in this one frame!"
Naturally this had the explosive blond seething as he ground his teeth loud enough that Clay and the others could probably have heard him from the other side of the classroom. "Use my answers…" he growled in embarrassment.
"What answers," said Slade, "you sat there and snarled like a junkyard dog every time they tried to ask you something. Heck if I took every question you answered and replaced it with the sounds of dog growling, I don't think anyone would know the difference."
"They just kept asking stupid questions!" Exclaimed Bakugou as he continued to grind his teeth.
"They've had three interviews since they stopped those villains," observed Jirou while absentmindedly wrapping one of her jacks around her fingers, "and thanks to his attitude, whatever good rep Bakugou had for getting his provisional license just went poof." She was referring to a recent development that occurred while Bakugou and Todoroki were coming back from their provisional license exam. The two had had their provisional hero licenses for a grand total of thirty minutes before a group of villains using a wave of water to snatch purses had shown up. The two U.A. students had dealt with them quite quickly and by the time a pro hero had shown up, all that was left for them to do was to haul the villains off to jail.
For some reason this caused quite a stir and led to multiple reporters requesting interviews from the two. And while Todoroki had been his usual professional self, Bakugou had been, Bakugou. He'd pretty much looked irritated the entire interview and gave a scathing response whenever a question was asked. Although Clay was far more concerned about another incident which had occurred in the mountainous region of Deika City. It was said that a riot had occurred with twenty people wielding powerful quirks, bringing much of the city to absolute destruction in a period of fifty minutes.
What Clay found odd was how little information there was on the rioters and how the people around the area were reacting, or rather their lack of reaction. When Camino had been wrecked by All for One and All Might's battle people had been freaking out. And the destruction in Deika City was said to have been worse, though with fewer casualties. Yet the residents of Deika City didn't seem to be all that shaken up about it and a lot of their answers sounded vaguely similar. The Cloud Wielder knew he was probably just being paranoid, but something about the whole situation was nagging at him. 'Everyone is saying public opinion has turned back in favor of heroes ever since Endeavour's fight with that Nomu,' he thought, 'but these folks sound almost bored about the whole thing.'
"So what do you think, Clay," said Mina as she got his attention, using her hands to make a binocular shape around her eyes. "You think people are starting to look at heroes differently again because of Endeavor's hard work?"
"Hard to say, honestly," replied Clay as he returned his phone to his pocket, "public opinion can turn on a dime. Endeavor's win against that Nomu definitely helped, but they might go right back to complaining if another bad loss occurs. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but I think it's gonna take awhile before people start feeling safe again." Mina might've said more to that, but the door to the classroom opened up.
"You're right to not be too optimistic," said a voice none of them expected to hear in their classroom, "things might be heading in a positive direction for now, but there is a sense of urgency behind all of that. Ask yourself this: are the cheers rooting for the heroes actually prayers for victory? Until recently, many heroes have been about showbiz, but now, people are calling for pro heroes to act like real heroes!"
"Mt. Lady, Miss Midnight?!" Said the class in a mixture of surprise and awe.
"We've asked Mt. Lady to come as a special instructor," said Aizawa as he came walking in wearing a snuggie-type of sleeping bag that had arms, "since you all are getting more exposure, Midnight is here to help too."
"I didn't get any more exposure!" Growled Bakugou. 'Then work on your attitude,' thought Clay, Slade and probably most of the rest of the class.
"Look I know I'm not one to talk," said Mineta as he pointed at Mt. Lady, "but she's the most showbiz one here!"
"Quiet," said Mt. Lady with a quick slap to the grape boy's head before holding up a card that said 'media' on it. "Today's class will be a media practicum taught by none other than I, Mt. Lady, active hero and gorgeous hot commodity. I shall be teaching you how a hero should behave."
"I don't know what we're about to do," said Kirishima before pumping his fist, "but let's tackle it with a plus ultra attitude!" A resounding cheer was heard from the class, or at least most of them. 'Did she say 'media practicum'?' Thought Clay uneasily.
On the Grounds of U.A.
"This class will be practice for a hero INTERVIEW!" Announced Mt. Lady as she stood on a stage in front of a giant screen decorated with numerous 'U.A.' symbols.
"And now we face the power of the invisible enemy 'stage fright'," quipped Slade as Mt. Lady signaled for Todoroki to come up on the stage.
"You were amazing out there Shoto," said Mt. Lady as she held up the faux microphone to him.
"What are you talking about?" Questioned the Dual Quirk user, somehow not catching on to the idea of what they were doing.
"Pretend you just finished some hero work," whispered Mt. Lady, a look of partial disbelief on her face. Shoto nodded in understanding as the pro heroine continued. "Shoto, what kind of hero would you like to be?"
"A hero who can make everyone feel safe when I arrive," replied Shoto evenly.
"How wonderful," said Mt. Lady, "I know I'd feel safe if a handsome boy came to save me, though my heart would definitely start racing!"
"Do you possibly have…heart problems?" Questioned Shoto as Clay, Slade and several members of the class facepalmed. What made it worse was that they knew Shoto wasn't joking, he legitimately thought she might have heart problems. Thankfully, Mt. Lady had enough professionalism to not comment on it.
"What kind of ultimate moves do you have, Shoto?" She asked. The 1-A student decided to show instead of just tell as he used his right hand to throw up a massive ice wall.
"Heaven-piercing Ice Wall," explained Todoroki, "it not only covers a wide area, it's good at stopping my enemies and can even create a place to stand. It has quite a wide range of uses. When that doesn't prove effective enough, I have the more powerful Flashfreeze Heatwave."
"What about Flashfire Fist?" Questioned Jirou with a tilt of her head.
"Flashfire Fist is my old man's move," said Todoroki as he went back to the stage, "I'm nowhere near his level yet."
"Don't worry, I'm not here to say anything about your personal issues," assured Mt. Lady, "though if you want people to feel safe, it might be good to smile here and there. A boy like you will slay the ladies with your smile."
"If I smile….women will die…?!" Said Todoroki with an actual shocked expression on his face. This time Clay and Slade couldn't help the laughter that followed.
"Excuse me," said Tokoyami as he raised a hand, "are we supposed to show our super moves too?"
"Well you see, U.A. students," said Mt. Lady as she knelt down on the stage, "you might be a lot more well-known than before, but it's not like the whole world knows who you are. Your ultimate moves are symbols of who you are! Through them you can let people know what you can do. For real time teamwork with other heroes, warring against villains and having people trusting you with their lives, there's meaning behind why heroes yell the names of their moves out loud." All of this was honestly quite surprising to hear coming from a woman who, until recently, only cared about how she looked in front of a camera.
Though given recent events it wasn't the most surprising thing. Several heroes had changed their tune about how they approached their profession, no doubt in response to the changing atmosphere around pro heroics itself. "Now then, let's get on with more interviews!" Said Mt. Lady happily. They proceeded rather quickly after that.
Iida, Momo and Uraraka ran through their interviews with little problem, though Iida talked a little quickly in his. Then came Slade's turn as he took a breath and walked up on to the stage. "Now then, what's your hero name?" Asked Mt. Lady as she held up the mike to Slade.
"Density Hero: Dark Matter," answered Slade as he clenched his fist, "the fleet-footed hero with the strength of an iron wall."
"Oh I see," said Mt. Lady, "and what might a super move of yours be?" Slade's answer to that was to greatly lessen his density before leaping off the stage and coming down with a heel drop at high density.
"I call it my High Density Heel Drop," said Slade, "with careful shifting of my density while in midair, I can bring a mass amount of pain down on any villain. What's more, I can use this same move with my elbows, knees and fists. Combine that with my wrist cables, and I'm a human wrecking ball!"
"Oh, very nice," said Mt. Lady, "and you don't seem to have much in the way of stage fright either. Very good, now, who's next?" The answer to that question was Tokoyami followed by Kirishima, Then Mina and Kaminari. And while Clay wanted to put his off, he figured he'd waited long enough. So as soon as Kaminari was done, he stepped onto the stage next.
"And what might your hero name be," asked Mt. Layd as she held the mike up to Clay. 'Here goes,' he thought as he assumed a partial stance and generated some clouds from his right hand. "I'm Cloud Warrior Cirrus, the storm that strikes at the world of villainy!"
"Not bad," said Mt. Lady, "and what sort of super moves might you have?" Clay responded by producing a large cloud over the ground nearby which formed into a familiar, venus flytrap-like shape that produced a flash of lightning.
"My Grasping Thunder technique," explained Clay as he shifted his clouds through a few other shapes, "it is one of the most powerful moves that my quirk can produce. With it, I can stun a single large villain or multiple small-time crooks. Thanks to my ability to reshape my clouds, there's practically nothing that my quirk or this super move can't grab a hold of, making it a reliable move for capturing all kinds of villains."
"And the effect isn't half bad either," said Mt. Lady, "very good. Now on to the next student." Clay nodded as he dissipated his clouds before making his way off the stage. He was followed by Ojiro and Shoji, all of whom didn't have any problems with their interviews. Then came Bakugou's.
"I'm not gonna say random stuff like the rest of these extras!" Exclaimed Bakugou with an angry smile on his face, "Just shut up and follow me!"
"You're not quite as bad in an interview when you're by yourself," noted Mt. Lady with a sigh, "I think I get it. You just don't see eye to eye with the rest of humanity."
"We could've told you that," said several students from Class 1A as Todoroki stepped forward.
"Sorry Bakugou," he said, "you got cut because I was there. I honestly hadn't thought about what might happen if we both did the interview at the same time."
"Don't go thinking you're so great!" Growled Bakugou as he pointed at Todoroki, "Like I'd ever let someone like you have influence over me!" 'And this is why you got cut in the first place,' thought Clay as he massaged his temple. Though his annoyance with Bakugou was quickly forgotten as the next student in the class stepped onto the stage. And froze up completely the moment Mt. Lady held up the microphone.
"So it's Deku, right," said Mt. Lady, "I saw what you did back there!"
"I'm…glad," Midoriya forced out, "really glad." 'Huh, and I thought my quirk let me get up to high density,' thought Slade, 'I'm not sure he can even move much right now.'
"What did you think about it," continued Mt. Lady, trying to be encouraging.
"I'm…..glad," Midoriya forced out again, moving his arm so stiffly and mechanically Clay could almost swear he heard metallic creaking.
"When did that guy learn how to do my Hardening quirk," said Kirishima with a grin on his face.
"He's so nervous," noted Tsuyu, "come to think of it, he doesn't do stuff like this very often."
"Try almost never," said Slade, "he may want to be the number one hero, but he's never liked being the center of attention."
"He'll have to get used to doing it to at least some degree," said Clay, "though Uncle can teach him plenty of ways to avoid the media when necessary. Hmm, maybe I should request a day of class dedicated to that." Slade simply shrugged as they continued watching the faux interview.
"Many of your moves seem to be inspired by All Might's," noted Mt. Lady, "do you admire him?"
"YES!" Barked Midoriya in response. That seemed to be all until he suddenly started talking again. "But I wanted to do more than just copy him, I tried to customize his moves to fit my own style better-." 'And now the muttering starts,' thought Slade as he rubbed his own temple. While it was true that he and Clay had gotten used to it long ago, most people wouldn't find such a habit all that entertaining in an interview.
Fortunately, Midoriya quickly realized what he was doing and ceased his muttering, instead deciding to go with a different approach. He knew everyone had been concerned about him ever since Black Whip appeared and went wild at the joint training exercise two weeks earlier, so he decided now was a good time to put their fears to rest. The green-haired boy raised his right arm and extended it outward as if he was about to perform a Delaware Smash, but with his fist clenched instead. Then, using the image of an iron door unlocking, he unleashed his new quirk.
What emerged was a single black whip, about the size of a common garden snake that fizzled out after about five feet. "All right!" Exclaimed Midoriya as everyone else looked on in either bewilderment or mild disappointment. "Only a small wisp came out now, but it's the first step to controlling it!"
"What was that?" Questioned Mt. Lady, having no idea what he'd been trying to do. Meanwhile, Bakugou was annoyed at Midoriya getting excited over such a small wisp. 'Well progress is progress,' thought Clay, 'but you really should've picked a better time to show that one off.' On the upside, all that was left was Tsuyu's interview, which she easily nailed with her signature brand of froggie cuteness before class was over for the day. It would prove to be one of the last major classes of that semester.
A Few Days Later: U.A. Heights Alliance
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Exclaimed everyone as they officially declared the beginning of the U.A. dorm Christmas party. It had taken a few days of planning, naturally, and the buying of several supplies in order to make it all happen. The lounge area now had Christmas stickers decorating the walls and windows and a medium-sized Christmas tree had been set up with numerous decorations next to the largest window. The two main tables had been pushed together to hold all the signature dishes with a smaller table being used for the remaining snacks.
But what really set the atmosphere for the night was the fact that everyone was dressed in either a green or red santa suit, save for Bakugou. Though Mina was trying her hardest to at least get the red coat on him. Clay himself was wearing a green Santa suit as he leaned more towards green than red anyway, while Slade was wearing a red santa suit. And expectedly, it was quite a wonderful party as everyone ate their fill of the food provided while chatting amongst themselves. Though there was one subject that put a slight damper on their celebration.
"They're telling us all to do work studies this time," said Kirishima, "we must be the busiest first years in the history of U.A.!"
"You two are going back to Ryukyu, right?" Questioned Jirou to her neighbors on the couch, Uraraka and Tsuyu.
"That's right," affirmed Uraraka, "and where are you planning on going, Jirou. Are you thinking of trying Death Arm's agency again?"
"To be honest," said Jirou, "I was thinking more of going to Gang Orca's agency."
"Gang Orca's agency?" Repeated Tsuyu questioningly, "that seems an odd choice."
"Actually, Clay pointed out that he could help me with my quirk," replied Jirou, "remember he's got that sonar blast move that paralyzes people? He might could teach me a trick or two like that."
"Oh, I see," said Momo, who was standing in front of the couch, "that's actually a pretty good idea. I need to think of an agency with a hero who could help me with my quirk." Jirou nodded in agreement, though she wouldn't say the actual reason she wanted to go was just because Clay was there. The two of them had actually thought up the excuse together, realizing that it wasn't an entirely terrible idea.
"What about you Midoriya?" Questioned Iida, who had an actual santa beard decorating his face, "would Nighteye Agency still be able too…?"
"Centipeder took over the agency, right," said Kirishima, "so he should totally be on board for letting you do another work study with them."
"Well, that's what I thought when I gave them a call," said Midoriya, "but it turns out they're way too busy right now with the transition in the agency, and Gran Torino said he wasn't available right now either. I'm pretty much stuck in limbo at the moment."
"Man that's a bummer," said Kirishima with less enthusiasm than before.
"But unlike last time when it was optional and I had to find my own agency, the school is actually willing to introduce me to someone since it's an assignment now," Izuku said with a little more upbeat tone.
"I see," said Slade before him and Kirishima both looked over towards Bakugou, who was still being stalked by Mina with an extra red coat. "Hey Bakugou, are you going to Best Jeanist again?!" He and Kirishima both exclaimed at the same time.
"Huh," said Bakugou with his usual annoyed tone. Though he was also distracted long enough for Kaminari to run by and throw a santa hat on his head.
"He can't," said Clay, drawing his friend's attention as he held up an article on his phone, "I read this earlier. Best Jeanist hasn't been sighted for several days now. The police have officially listed him as missing." A murmur broke out among the group then as some had had no idea about this development. Fortunately, Kirishima leapt in to steer the conversation to a lighter topic.
"But you still had a ton of people asking for you after the sports festival, right?" He said, "so you can probably go wherever you want."
"I'm not interested in learning from some riffraff after all this time," said Bakugou as he pulled the Santa Hat off his head and tossed it. Though Mina was quick to leap in with yet another attempt to get the Santa jacket on the explosive quirk user.
"Stop trying to put that on me!" he exclaimed in his usual irritated tone.
"Oh come on, give into peer pressure already," said Mina as she pointed to the others, "everyone else has one on. Even Clay and Todoroki are wearing one."
"I said NOOOOO!" Bakugou yelled back before a cloud dropped the Santa hat back on his head.
"I don't know how they do it around your house, but Christmas is a pretty big deal where I'm from," said Clay, "so why not take one day, or in this case one night, and be something besides an asshole for a change."
"That's right, this is a holy night!" Exclaimed Mineta from the other couch as he slammed his hands down on the table, "so let's not talk about school stuff either!"
"Hearing the words 'Holy Night' coming from Mineta is kinda weird," commented Kaminari.
"But he does have something of a point," said Sato as he walked into the lounge area with yet another meal he'd baked, a whole turkey, "so let's get back to enjoying the food!" For some reason, everyone was quite surprised that he could cook regular food in addition to the sweet food he usually cooked. But that too was quickly forgotten as the front door opened.
"Sorry we're late," said Aizawa, "it looks like you've already started."
"Yeah we've been going for a good few minutes, but there's still plenty of food," said Clay, "so come on in." Their teacher nodded as he opened the door all the way, revealing the adorable sight he'd brought with him. It was Eri in a red Santa outfit that was just the right size for her.
"Trick or…..Treat?" She said questioningly while holding her hands out like she had a bag.
"No, that's the other holiday," Aizawa said as he knelt down and quickly corrected her.
"SANTA ERI!" Cheered a large majority of Class 1A as they gathered around to welcome the little horned girl.
"Um, demons out, demons in, demons out, demons in," said Eri as she started throwing salt or some other sort of powder.
"That one's not for another two months," Aizawa told her.
"Hey, did you happen to bring Togata along with you?" Questioned Kirishima.
"Togata's attending a party that's currently being thrown by his class," explained Aizawa, "Eri knows more people in this class, so that's why I brought her here." He then shifts his gaze to Eri. "Go on and have some fun." She nodded before going over to Ochako who was completely enamored with how cute she was in her Santa outfit.
"I painted some eggs," said Eri as she held up a couple of said eggs.
"That's Easter, but it's okay!" Said Uraraka as the others started asking her how she was doing. Midoriya and Clay, meanwhile, moved over towards Aizawa.
"Her horn's getting bigger, isn't it," noted Midoriya as he saw it poking out from under Eri's hat.
"It is, but she's not letting it get her down," said Aizawa, "she's taking what you said to heart."
"That's good to hear," said Clay, "hopefully in time she'll learn to control that gift of hers. I've no doubt it'll be amazing when she does." Aizawa nodded in agreement before sending Midoriya and Clay back to the party. And it was a wonderful time with a lot more food, drinks, and wonderful conversation. Jirou was convinced to get her guitar out to play a few songs while Clay pulled his keyboard out of his room as well. Iida was more than happy to be the conductor, or at least attempt conducting while the rest of the Class sang along to the Christmas tunes.
After that was a present game where everyone got a present and set it in the middle where several strands of tape were attached to it. Bakugou, who'd finally given up on avoiding the coat and hat and put them on earlier, attempted to get out of it but quickly got one of the strands wrapped around his leg and wound up playing anyway. When it was ready, everyone grabbed a strand and pulled, sending the presents in all directions where they each wound up with a student. Slade wound up with a giant coat that resembled Ectoplasm's while Clay got a gold and blue scarf.
Mina happily tossed the dumbbell she got around while Jirou was quite happy with the tribal pattern blanket she received. Momo got a book on quantum physics, Midoriya got some tasty mochi and Eri got a gigantic purple buster sword that Tokoyami had brought in. Needless to say, Mirio freaked out a little when she showed it to him later. It was honestly one of the most fun Christmas parties they'd ever had and all the students there hoped next year's Christmas party would be just as fun. Too bad it wasn't going to work out that way as tragedy would soon strike at them all.
And that wraps up the early Christmas party, well early for us anyway. Once again I hope you all enjoyed this little chapter and as always feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes in training tackle yet another challenging work study! 'Til then.