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CHAPTER 98: What's Christmas?
It had become nearly impossible for anyone to operate outside without getting a chill, travelling from their toes to the top of their spines. Even if you bundled up well. So this particular activity had to be moved into one of the indoor facilities around the school, and away from the crowds, for the preference of the participant. Sakura had chosen this spot deliberately, far enough from the main buildings to provide privacy, close enough that Eri would feel safe.
After a bit of back and forth and gentle coaxing, Eri had finally conceded to training her quirk rewind. Everyone present was already aware of her abilities to rewind any living organism she touched to a past state of being. And now they had to work together to show Eri the potential and good that this power of hers possessed. But that was not going to be easy, when she knew that this power of hers was the reason she had been shattered the way she was, why she had scars across her body, and why her own parents couldn't even hold onto her. It was the reason she had missed out on a childhood, of being able to touch the sun.
Aizawa stood off to the side, observing with his usual stoic expression, but Sakura could see the tension in his shoulders despite all the precautions and preparations they had made. While Eri's quirk was volatile, there was no need for worry, as he could cancel out her quirk with a single glance, and Sakura could also force down the quirk painlessly with her jutsu. But this was more than their first practical training session.
They would be leading Eri over a tightrope placed between the gap she had made between herself and her quirk. If she fell, it wouldn't be easy to convince her to get back on that rope and walk it again.
Sakura had been helping Eri mentally prepare by giving her little exercises to improve her concentration, through meditation time, and breathing forms that would calm her nerves. She had been diligent.
But there was only so much hand-holding Sakura could do that wouldn't completely hinder Eri from learning to run. She had to let go, and this was the start of that point.
There was a desk set out in front of them, with Sakura on one side and Eri on the other. In front of them, a line of wilted flowers.
Sakura took one of the branches between her fingers, and she poured her chakra through, healing the plant and watching as the petals opened, showing off its new life. "Just like this, Eri, you'll be healing these flowers first."
"Healing." She chose that word specifically to begin guiding Eri towards acceptance of her quirk. There was no point in her learning to control a power she accumulated nothing but negativity towards. Otherwise, it would only solve half the problem.
Picking a new stem, she handed it over to Eri. "Remember what we practiced. Deep breath in. Hold it. Let it out slowly."
Eri's small chest rose and fell, her red eyes squeezed shut in concentration. Her horn, currently just as small as a thumb on the side of her head, began to give the smallest glow. A sign of progress.
"Good. Now feel your energy. Don't try to control it yet, just... notice it. Like noticing your heartbeat."
They'd been doing meditation exercises for weeks now. Teaching Eri to recognize the feeling of her quirk building inside her, to become familiar with its presence without fear. The same way she had helped Izuku with his recent quirk development.
They looked at the blossom, the withered petals barely holding onto its stem, bare and dormant in the winter cold.
"Good. Now reach for that feeling inside you, the one we've been practicing noticing. Don't grab it. Just... touch it. Gently."
Eri's breathing quickened as she attempted to listen to Sakura's words and put them into practice. If this were a current, she had to learn not to fight against it the way she had been, but to flow with it.
The branch between Eri's hands began to change. The once withered petals began to change from their dim, sunken shadow of themselves, unfurling their edges and finally coming back to their bright colors and life. Even its scent returned.
Eri pulled back with a small breath, "I did it!"
"Good job." Sakura praised, taking Eri's hands in her own, "You see that, Eri? This is your power; you can control it. With practice, you'll become familiar with the feeling of using your power. Once you get that feeling down, once you understand how it works and how it feels when it's active, you'll be able to use your quirk freely."
Free, that wasn't a term that had synchronized with Eri's quirk, which had been nothing but shackles since the day it arrived with her. Four years old, the only gift she would be able to carry for the rest of her life.
Shouta stepped forward, "Good work there, Eri." He noticed her horn had stopped glowing, still cautious. He hadn't seen the full extent of what happened if her quirk was pushed, but he had enough experience under his belt to know that just as quirks were unique to individuals, there was also a different effect if strained.
Izuku was a prime example for the class. Most of the time, quirks that were overused would result in
fatigue, and that was the best case scenarios.
"Your quirk seems to have some kind of buildup," he observed, trying to keep his tone calm without pressuring the girl. "When you don't release it, when you hold it in, that's when your horn grows."
Sakura touched Eri's horn, "But with training like this, you won't have to worry about that happening."
Eri looked down at the blooming branch in her hands, then up at Sakura, then over at Shouta. Despite her hesitance, despite the fear that still lived in her eyes, there was something else there too.
Hope.
Sakura wanted to make sure that hope had room to grow. That Eri had a brighter future ahead, one where her quirk was a gift instead of a curse.
"We'll practice again tomorrow. Same time."
"Okay," Eri said, still clutching her flower branch.
Shouta checked his phone, scrolling through something briefly before looking up. "We won't be doing anything around Christmas, though."
Eri went still and blinked with curiosity. "What's Christmas?"
Shouta looked surprised, even though it shouldn't have had that effect, knowing what Eri had endured and had lost, but he couldn't even mask his shock when Sakura mirrored the young girl's puzzled expression, as if they were the same age.
..
..
..
The common room, which was usually filled with bustling students and typical teen rowdiness, had fallen so still that they could hear the faucet dripping. And it wasn't due to a lack of company; there were a few of her classmates scattered around the room, enjoying snacks and watching a movie. Everyone was minding themselves, but all withing ear shot, so when Sakura went up to Momo, who was brewing tea in the kitchen space, and asked the question that made her classmate drop her spoon and cause a splash back, everyone else had also fallen quiet to check if they had heard her right.
"I'm sorry, Sakura, could you say that again?"
"What is Christmas?" The way Sakura said it showed that she was absolutely sincere in her question, but everyone looked at her like they were waiting for the punchline.
"She's not serious, is she?" Minoru asked pointedly. But no one could back up their disbelief and waited for Sakura to do that for them. However, she did not.
"You don't know what Christmas is?" Ochaco asked, her voice climbing several octaves. "Like... at all?"
"That's what I just said, isn't it?" Sakura replied, confused by the sudden intensity of everyone's reactions.
"But-but how?" Hanta sputtered. "It's Christmas! It's like... one of the biggest holidays! Even people who don't celebrate it know what it is!"
"Yeah, did you grow up under a rock or something?" asked Denki. He failed to notice Kyoka coming up behind him with her earphone jack to give him a good sound zap, and remind him to mind his manners.
"Or something." This was reminding her of the time she made that comment to Hitoshi about the internet, and he was on her case, teasing her about it. Maybe she should've just found him and asked for an explanation rather than creating this spectacle. The reason being because Shouta decided that instead of being a teacher off the clock and actually educating her on the matter, he told Sakura to ask her classmates to explain it and then teach it to Eri. She wondered if he was trying to get her back for something, or if he was just so pleased to discover that the infamous troublemaker, who also had a comeback to the rules and lessons, didn't know something.
"No, seriously though," Denki interrupted, leaning forward on the couch. "Christmas is amazing! You get presents, eat tons of food-
"Spend time with people you care about-
Everyone winced a little inside because UA wasn't letting its students go out for the holidays, at least not on Christmas, and they had made them aware of this in advance. Of course, the regular students had given more push-back, but the hero course students were feeling they didn't have much space to complain about the situation that had been put into place for their specifically for their protection.
"There's a tree!" Mina jumped in. "A whole tree! Inside your house! And you decorate it with lights and ornaments and put presents under it!"
"It's a celebration of family and togetherness," Tenya chided in, his hand already twitching to chop the air in excitement as it often did when he was speaking with passion. "The exact origins vary depending on cultural and religious background, but in modern society, it has become a secular holiday focused on-
"Santa Claus brings presents!" Toru's invisible form bounced excitedly. "You leave out cookies and milk, and in the morning, there are gifts!"
"That's for children," said Kyoka.
"There's also Christmas cake," Rikido chimed in. "Special holiday meals, hot chocolate, decorations everywhere-
"Christmas markets with food stalls and shopping,"
"Caroling, light displays, special television programs-
"Buildings get decorated, there's Christmas music playing everywhere, people exchange cards and gifts with friends and family-
"Okay, okay!" Sakura held up her hands, overwhelmed by the barrage of information. "I get it. It's a big deal."
Honestly, she was probably going to look this up more; while the bits and pieces were helpful, she still had to use them to make the full picture.
Mina leaned back in her chair, "Well, we're gonna have our celebration together, so we can walk you through it then!"
"That's right!" Momo said, clapping her palms together.
"Alright, cause this is going to be Eri's first Christmas, and if it's really such a big deal." Sakura took a breath, her eyes roaming over everyone, "I want to make this special for her. Aizawa mentioned it's coming up, and I wanted to understand what I'm supposed to do."
Ochaco said softly. "That's... that's really sweet."
"We should help!" Mina declared immediately. "Make it super special for her!"
"And for Sakura too," Tsuyu added, her finger on her chin thoughtfully. "If she's never celebrated Christmas either, we should make sure they both have a good time."
"Wait, hold on-
"We could do a whole class thing!" Denki said, already getting excited. "Big dinner, decorations, presents for everyone."
"Secret Santa!" Toru squealed. "We have to do Secret Santa!"
"What's Secret Santa?" Sakura asked, immediately regretting it when everyone started talking over each other again.
The explanation devolved into chaos, with half the class trying to explain the gift exchange tradition, the other half arguing about price limits and whether homemade gifts counted, and the games they had to include, and the menu they wanted, and Sakura even heard someone yelling about costumes for the occasion.
'I should've just made Aizawa tell me,'
"Sakura?" Eri's voice wasn't loud, but her presence had made everyone go quiet again as she entered the common room after being dropped off by a teacher.
"Yes, Eri?"
"Everyone's talking about Christmas," Eri said, her red eyes darting around at all the students. "What... what were you going to do for it?"
"We were just thinking about that," Sakura admitted. "Trying to figure out how to make it fun for you."
"Have you..." Eri hesitated, then pushed forward with the question. "Have you ever celebrated Christmas before, Sakura?"
Everyone was listening now, but attempting to look as if they had returned to their previous activities so as not to pressure Eri with their stares.
"No. I haven't sweetie, but I'm learning about it now so I can celebrate with you."
Eri's expression shifted. Her nervousness faded, replaced with sheer determination and excitement.
"Then we're going to have the best one together," Eri declared, her small hands clenching into fists. "The best Christmas ever. For both of us."
Covering her mouth, Sakura chuckled/ She reached out and picked Eri up, settling the girl on her hip despite Eri's surprised squeak.
"When did you get so grown up?" Sakura asked, smiling now. "Here I am trying to take care of you, and you're already looking out for me."
Eri's face flushed pink, but she was smiling too. "You always take care of me. I want to take care of you, too."
"That's the cutest thing I've ever heard," Mina whispered, not quietly enough.
"We're definitely making this the best Christmas ever now," Eijiro declared. "Class 1-A Christmas spectacular! No holding back!"
"I'll start planning immediately," Momo announced, already pulling out a notebook. "We'll need a budget, a schedule, a decorating committee, food preparation team…."
While everyone had become engulfed with their excitement, Katsuki stood at the corner stone of the room, ready to head to bed, when he overheard the commotion and came to yell at everyone to keep it down until he realized the topic broached was for the sake of Sakura.
Never celebrated Christmas.
What kind of life did someone have to live to reach sixteen without ever experiencing Christmas? And yet being able to talk about it so casually, like there was nothing wrong.
Katsuki's hands clenched in his pockets.
He turned and walked away from the common room, heading back toward his dorm room. Behind him, he could still hear the class making their plans.
..
..
..
Sakura, Katsuki, and Shouto were in the car together, while Toshinori was at the wheel, congratulating them all on obtaining their provisional hero licenses. Sakura looked at the card in her hand. She couldn't believe that this little piece of plastic was what determined whether or not it was legal to use the powers you were born with. But unlike before, she wasn't as critical of the system. By now, Sakura understood that these were immense measures to ensure peace in society, even if it was oppressive in a sense. She hadn't thought about it much until she had Eri, who couldn't control her powers yet and held so much fear for her own abilities, not to mention the exploitation she had to endure because of them. There was no perfect system, in truth. Even the shinobi one she had grown up with had been greatly flawed and had caused so much discord for her friends in its own unique ways. In truth, that was life.
"Are you alright, Sakura?" Shouto asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"You seemed concerned."
"I'm fine," she assured him.
"Alright." Shouto was at least quick to accept things and always took them at face value, more than he should, but that was his naivety shining through his exterior.
Just then, they heard a commotion, and the car swerved.
"The hell?! Don't you know how to drive, All Might?!" Katsuki hissed.
"At least you had your seat belt on," Shouto replied mildly.
"Shut it, Icy Hot!"
They got out and saw a group of people attacking civilians on the street and stealing their wallets. They were all wearing masks, riding a wave of water through the streets. No doubt someone's quirk. The three got out of the car before Toshinori could caution them. Now that they had their hero licenses, they didn't need permission.
They stood in front as the wave of water came at them. Shoto stepped up first. Freezing their tracks.
"Those purses and wallets don't belong to you," Shouto said as he froze the area, blocking them from escaping or going after civilians.
"What's the deal with you kids, trying to be pros?" One of them hissed.
"You can't just take other people's belongings." Shoto threw a wave of ice at the one who had spoken.
But the guy whom Shouto had frozen broke free from the ice barrier. "You think a little bit of ice is gonna make me throw in the towel? We did our homework on the patrol patterns around here, all to prep for today! Especially now, at the end of the year, we spent a whole month on this plan! It was all done for this moment, in this part of town where there would be plenty of suckers and not a single hero!"
"Get a job, loser," Katsuki said, hanging along the side of a light post.
Sakura sat atop that light post overlooking them and looked down at her classmates. "You guys want to handle this yourselves?"
"SHUT THE HELL UP AND GET DOWN HERE AND HELP!"
"High school brats sure are naive nowadays! Not to mention dumb!" The villain laughed. "I'm more determined than a couple of kids on their way home from school! Determined to run away!"
He took off with the rest of his crew, practically jetting down the road, with no concern for traffic.
"Let's get this over with. It's cold," Sakura said, dropping from the light post.
"Then wear pants!" Katsuki shot back.
"School uniform for girls."
"I got the boss," Katsuki declared.
"Okay," Shouto and Sakura replied in unison.
Sakura and Shouto moved first to take down the lackeys; they didn't speak to each other, but were still coordinated. They split left and right, flanking the lackeys.
Sakura's feet barely kissed the ground as she moved. Her first target was a burly man. He swung at her in a way that screamed, "I've never actually been in a real fight."
She ducked under his fist, used his own momentum against him, and delivered a palm strike that emptied his lungs like a deflating balloon. Before he hit the pavement, she was already airborne, her leg sweeping toward the next target.
Her heel caught him mid-sprint, and the laws of physics did the rest. He cartwheeled through the air like a broken propeller before crashing into a parked car hard enough to set off its alarm.
Ice erupted from the ground in crystalline walls. It caught two criminals mid-escape, freezing them from the ankles up until they stood like ice sculptures in a gallery nobody asked for. A third tried to circle around, thinking he'd found a blind spot. Shoto's fireside flared to life without him even turning his head.
The wave of heat hit, sending him stumbling backward directly into Sakura's waiting fist. She didn't even break stride, just redirected him into unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, Katsuki had locked onto his prey. The leader, who had some kind of carbonated water quirk. Who'd been so cocky moments ago. The device strapped to his arm hissed and whined. Jets of compressed water shot from his palms, not in streams but in blades, pressurized cutting tools that could slice through steel like butter through a warm knife.
Or was it a knife through warm butter? Katsuki didn't have time to figure out the metaphor because one of those water blades was currently trying to bisect his face.
He twisted mid-air, explosions propelling him sideways. The water blade missed his head by inches, close enough that he felt the displaced air kiss his cheek, close enough that a thin line of blood opened up where the pressurized edge had grazed him.
"THAT'S ALL YOU GOT?!"
The water blades kept coming. They carved through Shouto's ice barriers like they were made of tissue paper. Light posts fell, severed at the base, crashing to the ground in showers of sparks. But Katsuki was faster.
He closed the distance in bursts of explosive thrust, dodging and weaving through.
Katsuki closed his hands together, waiting for the heat to rise, which was taking longer than usual due to the cold weather and falling snow. He started spinning, avoiding the jets of water that could cut through concrete at this point, before opening his palms wide and releasing a heavy blast. The rapid temperature shift disrupted the delicate balance of dissolved gas in his water. The carbonation destabilized. His water blades dissolved into harmless mist.
"What-
The ice wall Shouto had been building behind him during the entire exchange slammed forward.
The water controller hit it face-first with a crack. He slid down the frozen surface and collapsed at the base.
"They've all been taken out, right? Anyone hurt?"
Katsuki snapped. "Do I look injured to you?! I'm not some-
"I'm asking if any civilians are hurt," Sakura clarified.
Katsuki had two of the criminals in his fists, dragging them along the ground like a child pulling toy trucks, except these "toys" were heavyweight.
"You three alright?"
Toshinori came jogging up with another hero sliding alongside him. Literally sliding. The man moved across the pavement like he was ice skating, his feet never actually lifting. His expression was oddly mechanical.
"Did you three handle this all by yourselves?" the hero asked. "And what about the stolen goods?"
Katsuki held up handfuls of purses and wallets, the stolen items practically spilling from his pockets.
Then Slidin' Go, because that was apparently his hero name, did something none of them expected.
He hugged them.
All three of them. At once. In a group embrace that was simultaneously touching and deeply awkward because Katsuki was still holding two unconscious criminals.
"Perfectly done!" Slidin' Go's smiled. "It's hard to believe you kids are still students! Thank you! You're sure to be top heroes one day!"
"GET OFF OF ME!"
"Right! Sorry!" Slidin' Go released them.
He gestured to the scene around them: unconscious criminals, recovered goods, protected civilians, minimal collateral damage. "You can leave the rest to me. I'll get statements from witnesses and process these guys."
As they walked back toward the car, Sakura glanced back at the water controller. His gauntlets were smoking, pieces of them blown apart.
"His gauntlets blew up," she observed.
Slidin' Go followed her gaze and nodded. "Inferior black market products."
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EARLY CHAPTERS FOR MEMBERS NOW: BUYMEACOFFEE
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter (99, 100, 101, 102)
-Kunoichi amongst Pirates chapter (44, 45, 46,)
-Crossroads of Fate chapter (36, 37, 38, 39)
-Through the Looking Glass chapter (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
- (Bleach crossover) Kunoichi amongst Reapers: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
-Commission: Demon slayer x My hero academia (PART 1 & 2)
- Kunoichi amongst Benders (Avatar x Naruto crossover) (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes WHAT IF SPIN OFF: Dorms and Exams
-(SEQUEL) Through the Spyglass chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6
-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi
Thanks for tuning in but now I've gotta tune out!
Sneak Peek Chapter 99:
"Remember what we discussed. Answer questions. Don't volunteer information that wasn't asked for."
"And Bakugo," Shouta turned his attention to the blonde. "If you threaten a single reporter, I'm putting you in detention for a month."
"Tch. I'm not gonna threaten anyone."
"You're already threatening them with your face." Sakura poked.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"
"And try not to aggravate each other on camera," Shouta warned, his eyes blaring red at them until everyone muttered a yes, sir.
'This is going to be fun,' Sakura rolled her eyes as they continued to make their way down the passage.