Eria

Scarlet Autumna was gorgeous as she always was - her long, lustrous red hair, her flawless face, her big warm, dark brown eyes...... but there was an air of gloominess that enfolded her, as if she was here to bring sad news.

Todoroki and I took our seat by the sofa. Although I was anxious of what going to happen, I was glad to have let him followed me because his presence calmed me.

"I heard that you saved my life. Thank you, Scarlet," I said, but Scarlet barely lit up a smile. Her facial features were downturned, as if she didn't deserve my praise.

"You shouldn't thank me. None of this would have ever happened if...... if it wasn't for...... my sister."

I clenched my fists. Goosebumps popped up across my arms and my body trembled.

"W-what are you talking about?" my voice croaked as I spoke.

"My sister was the one who planned your abduction. I'm sorry. If I have known it earlier, I could stop her and prevent you from......"

"I don't understand...... why... your sister... you have a sister? Why did she... why?" I sounded calm, but my body was still trembling. Todoroki touched my arm, but it wasn't enough to stop the trembling that racked my body.

"She's......she's my twin sister. I'm not sure why she tried to abduct you. I tried to get in touch with her for many times but she refused my contact. She was rather extreme in certain things...... since we didn't particularly have a good childhood to begin with. We went different ways when we grew up, and only by recently I knew she was in the country...... I didn't know what she was up to until I found out she was the one behind your abduction and attacks. I'm so sorry for what she has caused you."

"Where is she now?" Aizawa-sensei asked.

"She escaped when I arrived."

"Are the authorities still searching for her?" Todoroki asked.

"Yes. She has another accomplice it seems, but the police are still investigating. We couldn't get much information from the illusionist, Mugen though. Her lips are sealed tight," Aizawa-sensei replied.

"I'm so sorry Eria. I didn't know my sister's accomplices infiltrated my lab and...... Mugen had been such a hardworking and loyal worker for years and Wagatsuma was......" Scarlet's eyes were brimming with moisture, glinting with sincerity, but I was scared. I was scared to trust in people, even though I had known her for years. I remained silent throughout the discussion.

"The only clues we obtained from the lair was that someone had been put in hibernation in a large cylinder in that place. The DNA of the person is still under verification......"

"How are you going to guarantee she would be safe from now on?"

"The school is putting every effort to keep her safe within the campus......"

"The police and the Pro Heroes are doing their best to find the villain......"

My eyes started to lose focus. I couldn't hear anything anymore. The room around me spun and spun like a merry-go-round. The contents in my stomach churned and threatened to pour from my throat.

"Sorry, I can't... I have to leave..." I mumbled, standing up and sprinting away from the room before anybody could stop me. I ran in the cold night air outside, the bone-chilling temperature was unable to calm the raging fire within me. Was I angry? Was I scared? I couldn't tell. All I knew I was too exhausted to care. And all I wanted was to just close my eyes and open them again, hoping to find what had happened was just a bad nightmare.

Todoroki managed to catch up to me, despite my speed. He took off his coat and placed it over my shoulders, as I knelt on the snowy ground, gurgling and coughing from the vomit that wanted to come out from my mouth.

"Will everything ever be fine again? I'm just so tired......"

Todoroki knelt down on the snow next to me. He looked at me with his gorgeous pair of mismatched eyes.

He stayed silent for awhile, thinking of the appropriate words to reply me. "It will. Until then, I will be here for you. Always."

No matter how reassuring his words sounded, I wasn't really convinced.

***

The shock of Scarlet's revelation overwhelmed me for days. I tried to focus in class, but the fear of her coming after me again loomed in my mind like a horrifying ghost and severely disrupted my daily life. I didn't tell anyone about what Scarlet told me, so the only one in class who knew was Todoroki. He kept close to me, making sure I was safe. To others, it seemed like we shared a secret that nobody else knew, and it drew out the best of their curiosity. People were questioning if we were actually dating in secret, and I refuted all those assumptions, yet they didn't seem to buy it. Ochako wasn't pleased I didn't tell her anything, considering she was my best friend too, but she respected my decision and waited for me to tell her when I was ready to.

Soon, a light layer of snow blanketed the campus, and the atmosphere turned cold and rigid. The Christmassy feel that everyone adored was making its glorious annual return and I tried my best to focus on one of the festivals that I loved most. Thinking of special presents for my close friends managed to distract me off Scarlet's sister, which occupied most of my free time whenever my brain wasn't focused on anything.

I decided to make something for them. While searching online, I came across the interesting idea of crocheting so I gave it a try. I bought the tools and crocheting yarn needed from online, watched YouTube videos on crocheting tutorials, and crocheted day and night in secret. As long as I was crocheting, I didn't think of anything else except the smiles on my friends' faces when they receive my presents, and it proved to be a wonderful 'remedy' to the 'villain problem' that plagued my mind.

I made two pairs of matching gloves for Ochako and Midoriya, pink and green respectively. For Iida, I made a pair of leg warmers that could keep his engines warm when the weather turns colder. And finally for Todoroki...... I started to loathe the fact he could warm himself up with his quirk so whatever I crochet for him would be practically useless. However, I still crocheted a beige-coloured muffler for him, hoping he would like it even though he wouldn't need it. I knew I was biased for him but I had a huge crush on him anyway so... guilty as charged! If Ochako was going to be jealous, I was not going to feign innocence. She would do the same for Midoriya.

"I'm going to bed!" I announced to my friends.

"It's barely 9......" Ochako voiced out.

"I'm just exhausted......" I opened my mouth wide to feign a yawn.

My friends exchanged looks, especially Todoroki, whose brows were scrunched together disapprovingly. He probably suspected I was hiding something from him too. Before they could ask more, I quickly escaped from their 'clutches'. I hastened to the elevator and nearly bumped into Bakugou on the way, who was also retreating to his room. He shot me a vicious glare as usual and huffed.

"What the hell are you up to?" he asked.

"I'm just sleepy," I said.

But Bakugou's glare told me I wasn't very convincing. After all, he was too smart that he could figure things out just by staring at them.

"Are you...... and Half-and-Half Bastard -"

"No we are not dating. That's like the hundredth times I've told all of you."

He choked. "That was not what I was asking!" His face was burning red, either from anger or embarrassment.

When the elevator arrived, we entered it and the doors closed before us. "Okay......" I replied nonchalantly. "And for the record, we are not hiding anything."

He clicked his tongue. "Do you think I'm dumb to believe that?!"

"Okay fine. I'm making Christmas presents in secret. Don't tell anyone," I said, giving up this tiny secret to obscure the 'big' one.

"You bitch. That's not it -"

The elevator door opened abruptly and I slipped away hurriedly before he could grab me. "TAKASAKI!" Bakugou's angry voice echoed in the hallway as I quickly shut the door to my room.

"That guy is too smart......" I sighed, hoping he wouldn't start banging on my door. I switched on the lights and resumed my crocheting by my desk. With Christmas barely a week away, I had finished Iida, Midoriya and Ochako's present while Todoroki's muffler was halfway to completion by burning the midnight oil. If I had more homework, I would only get to sleep 2-3 hours that day, but it was a fulfilling process because it kept the unwanted distractions and nightmares away

When it was only two days left till Christmas, I finally finished crocheting the muffler. I wondered if my friends would like them, since the presents didn't look as perfect as I expected them would be.

The class decided to hold a Christmas party. Iida and Yaoyorozu split the class into two teams - one would be the cooking team while the other would be the decoration team. I was assigned to the cooking team, while Todoroki, Ochako, Midoriya and Iida were on the other team. I didn't know how I ended up in the cooking team, since cooking was never my forte. And with Bakugou acting as one of the lead chefs, he would probably murder me over my bad cooking skills.

After buying the food supplies needed, preparation started on Christmas Eve morning since feeding 20+ mouths was a great task. I watched with heavy heart as my best friends headed out to buy Christmas decorations, but was rudely chided by Bakugou who told me to focus.

"IS THIS HOW YOU CUT FOOD? YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!"

"THIS FISH IS SO RAW IT'S PRACTICALLY SWIMMING RIGHT NOW!"

"YOU CALL THAT FOOD?!"

Bakugou was literally the spiky-haired explosive version of Gordon Ramsay. I thought he would at least calm down in the kitchen, but his incessant roaring and chiding at people made no difference.

"I should have been in the baking team with Satou," I grumbled under my breath. But Bakugou's sharp ears heard me and he roared at me too.

"STOP GRUMBLING AND CUT!"

I shot a glare at him. Lousy, stinking, stupid - Pain struck my fingers and I yelped. My knife dropped to the floor with a loud clang. I clutched onto my injured fore thumb, where a visible graze was oozing blood.

"I'll get the First Aid Kit!" Kirishima said, running off.

Bakugou clicked his tongue. I thought he was going to yell at me again but he forcefully took my hand and inspected my wound carefully. Kirishima retrieved the First Aid Kit just in time and took out the necessary tools to treat my wound. It felt like I was having a 'royal' treatment and I was embarrassed.

"I can do it on my own," I said, trying to get my hand back.

But Bakugou's grip was tight. "Shut up, dumbass," he hissed. He cleaned my wound and smeared it with an antiseptic cream. I watched silently but was completely in awe of his concentration. How his brows creased, how his red eyes gleamed, how he pursed his lips, how his fingers delicately worked in silence - it was a stark contrast to his usual explosive demeanour. If only he was always this quiet, patient, calm and delicate...... but that would never be possible. In fact, watching him tending my wound delicately was such a rare phenomenon I should probably buy a lottery and try my luck later. He never tended to anybody's wounds before so I wondered what changed his mind.

After sticking a band aid onto my wound, he returned my hand to me. "If you cut off a finger, I don't give a shit anymore!" he shouted again, but Kirishima and Kaminari were smirking silently at a corner.

"Thanks......" I muttered, still taken aback by his change in attitude.

"On second thought...... you are fired from this position. LEAVE MY KITCHEN NOW!" He roared.

Yup...... this Bakugou is better.

I left the rowdy kitchen, where Kirishima and Kaminari were teasing Bakugou playfully. "Oh Bakugou, I cut my thumb! Help me~" "Oh Bakugou, I sprained my hand! Help me!" they cried, but Bakugou threw frying pans at them and it finally shut them up.

With no task on hand, I ended up in the lobby, where Yaoyorozu was creating costumes using her quirk and Jirou was preparing for the presents-exchange session.

"What happened to you?" Jirou asked, looking up from her phone. She was preparing a music playlist.

"I got fired," I said. "Anything I can help?"

"Could you help me arrange the costumes?" Yaoyorozu said as a red Santa Claus costume popped out from her arm. She was literally Santa Claus herself. "You can put the names on the costumes."

I turned to the large pile of red Santa Claus costumes she had created for the event. They all looked the same, except for their sizes since everyone in class varied in size. Beside the pile was another smaller pile of red pointy Santa Claus hats. They were differentiable from the different pom-poms that hung on the tips of the hats. One of them had a red-and-white pom-pom, which definitely belonged to Todoroki. Another one had a pair of tiny horns on it, which I assumed was mine.

I followed Yaoyorozu's instructions and paired the costumes with the hats. After tagging the names on them, I laid them on the table, and they silently waited for their respective owners to pick them up. By then, the sweet fragrance of desserts wafted in the air and I knew Satou was done with his baking. Bakugou's roars still resonated from the kitchen, meaning it would be some time till the scrumptious Christmas dinner is ready.

The decoration team finally returned from their shopping. They didn't buy much - tinsels, crackers, and all sorts of party stuff, but somehow they managed to secure a Christmas tree, which they carried through the lobby in an orderly manner. It was placed at the corner of the lobby, where the team started to decorate it with the decorations they bought. At one corner, Midoriya and a few were folding origamis to hang on the tree. Surprisingly, Todoroki was one of them, but his movements were clumsy and he kept folding out wrong shapes and sizes. He was too adorable to watch, with his creased brows and his pouty lips, and I chuckled.

"Don't laugh," he said. "I'm doing my best."

"Okay~"

He knew I was being sarcastic, so he briefly shot me a glare. In the end, he ignored me and consulted Midoriya for help.

I walked away from them, heading to the kitchen again when Ashido pulled me aside as if I was about to step onto a trap.

"Look up!" she shouted.

I looked up. On the ceiling, there was a familiar purplish globe that was glued to the ceiling, along with a branch of a strange plant.

"Mistletoe! That Mineta!" Ashido said. "He's probably booby-trapped the place!"

I sighed. "I'll handle it." For the sake of the girls in this dorm, I spread my wings and flew all over the place, plucking the mistletoes off the ceiling. Mineta screamed angrily when he saw me, but Ashido and Tsuyu had their ways to keep his mouth shut. After making sure the ceiling was safe, I landed next to Todoroki, who was still struggling with his origamis. He succeeded in making a few cranes that looked awkward, but it still brought a smile to my face.

"See, I did it," he said, proudly displaying his cranes, like a little boy showing off to his mother.

"Can I have one?" I asked.

"......No."

"Why?"

"If you want one, I have to make a better one. I can't give these to you. They don't look good," he said.

I chuckled. "Okay. Then I'll wait for your best one."

"What's that you're holding?" He pointed at the branches I was holding.

"Mistletoes. If two people stand under it, they have to kiss," I said teasingly, though my head grew a little heavy when I imagined Todoroki and I standing beneath it......

"O-oh......" he stammered. "So you're planning to......"

"No!" I vehemently objected. This dumbass! "I'm just clearing these off because Mineta glued it all over the place. I am not doing what you think I'm doing! And besides, there's n-no one else I thought of k-k-kissin - Get that off your mind!"

"Okay..."

"Everyone! Please get your costumes and be ready for dinner at 7pm sharp!" Iida hollered, watching his classmates retrieve their costumes in an orderly manner.

I took my costume after my tasks were done and prepared myself for the Christmas dinner. Everyone was well dressed in their costumes, holding all shapes and sizes of presents. Chairs were placed in a circle at the lobby, surrounding tables of scrumptious food cooked by the cooking team.

"Hello," Todoroki greeted me. He looked like a very young, slim and handsome Santa Claus.

"Hey," I greeted back. I didn't know why but I was getting embarrassed at how handsome he was. He had always been this gorgeous, yet my heart kept skipping beats.

We sat next to each other, waiting for the party to begin. Everyone else were huddled in their own groups, talking, laughing, drooling at the food. At one corner, Bakusquad were doing their best to put the Santa Claus costume onto Bakugou, who threw them off effortlessly. I thought he had grown a little more sociable, since he was one of the main chefs who cooked the dinner, but he refused to join the circle and wandered around. It was as if his tsundere personality made him reluctant to join us. He could have gone straight to bed, but his heart probably yearned to stay here......and he couldn't express it directly, for it would clash with his personality......

"Is something wrong with Bakugou?" Todoroki asked, sipping his drink. He noticed I was watching the boy strolling around, throwing off his friends' 'attacks'.

I shrugged. "Where are you going for the Work-Studies?" I asked. The school will be sending us out for Work-Studies again, even though we were barely Second Years. It seemed the school was eager to send us out to gain more hands-on experience, just in case if something happens in the future that our help might be needed.

Todoroki let out a silent sigh. "Take a guess."

I smirked. "Endeavour."

He let out an even longer sigh. "I'm just using him, that's all. What about you?"

"I was thinking about going back to Fat Gum's...... but it seems my mother has other plans."

"You're going to her agency then?"

"No. She said she wants me to be stronger than ever, so it's probably someone else. She'll let me know when it's confirmed."

"I understand why she do this. If you become stronger, you won't be afraid of the villain who try to hurt you......" he trailed off, watching me to see my reaction. He was probably afraid I would undergo a mental breakdown, but I was calm.

"I'm okay," I murmured.

Todoroki wasn't convinced. But before he could say anything, Iida has started his announcement. He was barely recognizable in his lifelike Santa Claus costume, equipped with a long white beard that covered half of his face. The only thing that made Iida look like Iida was his glasses.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! LET'S BEGIN!"

At the same time, Aizawa-sensei arrived with a little cute guest - Eri, who was dressed in a Santa Claus costume as well, her eyes glinting with joy at the joyous atmosphere that surrounded her. It was probably her first time enjoying a party, so she couldn't help but looked excited.

"Eriya!" she called me when she saw me, and she bounced towards me, carrying Easter eggs in her hand, presenting them like a present to me. "Trick or... treat?"

"No, that's not right," Aizawa-sensei corrected her gently.

With all the guests arrived, the feast began. Everything was too delicious that I made several helpings to myself. Even Bakugou who couldn't resist the food sat down silently to eat. Somehow, Bakusquad managed to force him to wear his costume.

After the feast, it was the presents-exchange session. The presents were piled like a little mountain, with ribbons strapped onto them so that everyone would draw their presents by chance. I chose a purple ribbon and pulled a square box to me. It was given by Shouji, which contained chocolates of various tastes. I thanked him and wondered who drew my present. Some were glad they received wonderful gifts, while some were disappointed that their gifts didn't reach their expectations.

As the night stretched on, we began to clean up the place and prepare for sleep. I saw Todoroki approach Bakugou and Midoriya, telling something important to them. It took them by surprise, judging from Bakugou's face of disbelief and Midoriya's face of surprise. I wondered what they were talking about.

When everything was cleared, everyone was retreating to their rooms. "Hold on," I said to my closest friends. "I ermm... have something for you guys too!"

Iida, Midoriya, Todoroki and Ochako looked at me quizzically. I hurriedly retrieved a bag from my room, fishing out the presents from the bag carefully. I didn't prepare any boxes, but I tied them up with beautiful ribbon patterns that I learned from YouTube.

"Oh my god," Ochako gasped as I handed her a pair of pink gloves. "You made this?"

I nodded, feeling a little shy. "They look kinda ugly cos I'm just an amateur though......" I said without any confidence.

Midoriya shook his head, rejecting my notion. He tried on his green gloves. "No way! These look awesome!" He flexed his fingers and the gloves fitted him comfortably.

"There are superb! Thank you!" Iida said, trying on his leg warmers. "How long did you take to make this?"

"A few sleepless nights......"

Finally, I handed Todoroki the largest crochet present amongst all. The other three looked jealously at the dark-blue scarf I handed to Todoroki, whose eyes were extremely wide. He was probably expecting gloves like the others, and it was obvious I was biased towards him.

"Thank you......" Todoroki muttered, caressing the muffler gently. He wrapped it around his neck carefully, trying not to tug onto any threads. His movements were clumsy and he didn't know the proper way to put on the muffler, so he wrapped it around his neck several times, adjusting the length.

Ochako was giggling at how red my face was, but she didn't tease me about it. "Damn it I didn't prepare anything for you!"

"It's okay," I said. "Just a token of our friendship. Don't try to give me back anything."

My friends kept thanking me again and again. They retreated to their rooms first, leaving me and Todoroki behind.

"Good night, Todoroki. Merry Christmas," I said.

"Wait." He fished out a tiny box from his pocket. "Here."

My heart was pumping viciously in my ribcage. It was drowning all my senses, but my eyes remained focused on the little box nested on Todoroki's palm. I breathed a little and opened the box, which weirdly resembled ring box. I half-hoped it was a ring, while also half-hoping it was not because it would never happen. I opened it meticulously, and inside rested an origami crane. It was purple, like the hair colour I used to have.

"My sister used to say folding 1000 origami cranes could make one's wish come true, and it's a symbol of hope and healing. I'm still 999 short, so I'll give them to you as soon as possible-"

I chuckled at his innocence. "You don't need to fold 1000. One is more than enough. It's the thought that counts."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Yes. Thank you very much." I looked at the tiny, fragile origami that looked like it could easily crumble if the wind blows, yet it felt extremely heavy - heavy with the thoughts and feelings Todoroki poured into it. I thought my heart was going to explode. I thought tears were going to flow. I thought I might really end up confessing to him if I couldn't control myself.

I quickly changed the subject. "W-what made you do this?"

He scratched his neck, looking a little embarrassed. "Well.... I wanted you to be safe and happy, so I thought this crane could grant your wish and keep you safe."

"If you want me to be safe, it would be great to get an omamori," I said jokingly.

"Ah... sorry. I should get you that then. I'll get it -"

"You dumbass......I'm just kidding." I held the crane dearly to my heart. "This one works just as fine."

"Really? Like an omamori?"

"Even better." I smiled. "Thank you."

We stayed a little longer in the silent lobby, alone with no one to disturb us, as if the world belonged to us and us only. A strong desire budded in me, and if I don't leave fast, I wasn't sure I would be able to hold back my feelings for Todoroki.

"Good night then, Todoroki." I started to walk away, but Todoroki remained glued to his spot, tilting his head upwards to look at something above him curiously.

"Ah," he gasped rather softly. "That's a......"

I looked up. My heart stopped beating.

It was a mistletoe. Right above our heads.

FUCK! I MISSED ONE OUT?!

Todoroki looked back at me. "Umm......"

"Oh my god look at the time good night Todoroki thank you for the gift I'm so sleepy now bye!" Words came out of my throat like a bullet train. I dashed out of the lobby into the elevator, ran to my room and hid my face under my blankets, screaming at my pillow. "Crap crap crap! This is too embarrassing! I shouldn't have told him about the mistletoes! This is too awkward! What if we actually...... URGH! NO! NOOOO! FUCK! SHIT! WHY DID I RUN?! THEN SHOULD I HAVE STAYED?! NO OF COURSE! ARGHHHH!"

I was completely restless for the whole night, wondering of the what-if scenarios that would end up in kissing Todoroki, wondering if I should have stayed, wondering if he wanted to kiss me too......

But of course, regretfully, there were no answers to my questions.

***

Author's notes:

1. *Throws in some suspense and pain and romance and Christmas for the new chapter* Sorry for the delay, but I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!!! I didn't really expand much on Scarlet's sister's profile (still need some time on this)... but it will be explained in the next few chapters I hope!

2. I havent started on the next chapter yet, so it will temporarily be on a hiatus. Work has drained energy from me that I didn't have the time to start on it, but i will do my best!

3. I have just bought the latest light novel for BNHA, so I will incorporate some ideas in the next chapters too!

4. I'm really glad despite my hiatus, there are more and more people who love this story as much as I do! Thank you for voting and adding this story to your reading lists!!! Your love for this story is my pleasure!!!

As usual, stay safe, take care and stay healthy!!!