Deku's sleep was disturbed when he heard the sound of someone knocking on his door.
"I'm coming in", Detective Tsukauchi said.
A green-haired man was slumped on his desk which had a lot of papers and folders. There was trash piling up in a corner and a turned-on television was tuned in to the 24-hour news.
"I'm not here to judge and I know that your agency is new but… this place is in an alarming state. Have you at least tried to clean things or at least furnish properly?" Tsukauchi asked.
The hero agency was barely furnished as it only had one desk, couch, and a television. Everything else was empty space.
"I'm sorry. I have a lot of things to do that I forgot to do those", Izuku said.
"How long have you been working nonstop?" the detective asked.
"Three days?"
"The last time I checked on you was last month. And aside from the news on television, Toshinori said he didn't hear anything from you for the past three weeks. Have you ever taken off your hero costume?"
"Actually. Mei developed a machine that could clean my hero costume as fast as I could take a bath"
Tsukauchi sighed. He knew that All Might's successor was someone who could be a great hero but he never thought that he would be self-destructive. The detective already saw many heroes destroy themselves because of their environment. However, he had no authority to scold the young hero. All he could do was update All Might and have him talk to Izuku.
"You didn't come here just to talk, didn't you?" Deku asked.
"Ah, yes"
The detective handed him an envelope. When Izuku tried to open it, the strength in his hands disappeared and the envelope fell to the floor and spilled its contents.
"Are you okay?" Tsukauchi asked and then he saw it.
Even though it was clean, Izuku's green suit had some cuts. That was not the only one which was damaged. The hero's gloves and iron soles had cracks and his signature red shoes were worn out.
"Hey. Do you even take days off?" Tsukauchi asked.
"I try to take some but I would always get involved in incidents", Izuku answered.
He's just like him, Tsukauchi sighed.
"That's it. Today will be your day off", Tsukauchi told him.
"But-"
"No buts! Unless you want me to bring Toshinori here"
Izuku looked down with a bitter expression.
"I thought that Toshinori taught you to never make a face like that", the detective said.
"It's just that… People might be in danger because I took a day off"
"Don't worry. There are other heroes out there. You're not the only hero in this world. You deserve a break"
The green-haired man finally gave in and sighed.
"While you're at it, why don't you have your equipment repaired?" Tsukauchi suggested.
"I'll do that", Izuku said.
"Alright then. I'll come back tomorrow"
Tsukauchi left and Izuku looked around his office. The detective was right. His agency didn't look anything like the hero agency he once dreamed. For starters, it needed a new wallpaper and probably a carpet. He also needed to replace the couch and buy a more comfortable desk and chair. Money wasn't an issue. All he needed was time.
Izuku got out of his agency which was part of a building that had a cheap rent. He then thought that maybe it was time to move. But before anything, he had to go to Mei's studio.
He hailed a taxi. Normally, he would just jump and dash all the way but he wanted to relax as much as he wanted since it was his day off.
"Where to, sir?" the driver asked.
"Hatsume Studio", Izuku answered and the driver looked scared.
Hatsume Studio was famous to the point that it had to be placed at the corner of the city.
On his way there, he noticed that there were more couples than usual and that there were decorations on the trees.
"You must be a hero since you're going there, am I right? Thank you for protecting our city even during the holidays", the driver said.
Izuku then took out his phone and looked at the date, December 24.
It's already Christmas?! And wait…
He looked at his past messages and call history.
I haven't called mom at all for the last two weeks!
Realizing that fact, he immediately dialed her number. After one ring, a frantic voice shouted.
"IZUKU! MY BABY!" his mom cried.
"I'm sorry for not calling you!" Izuku apologized.
"Are you eating well? How about your sleep? Did you finally settle in your new apartment?" she unleashed a barrage of questions.
"I'm… eating fine. I manage to sleep at least five hours. And I might need to unpack a few more things in my apartment", he answered.
All Izuku ate was convenience store food. He could sleep five hours a day but he would do it on his chair. And when he meant by "unpack a few more things", he meant that only his bed was ready.
"Oh yeah. Are you coming home for Christmas?" Inko asked.
Izuku wanted to say "yes" but…
"Sorry, mom", he answered.
"Oh… It's okay. I guess heroes have no breaks. That's right! I have to attend the neighborhood association's meeting. Bye", she said.
"Bye, mom", Izuku hung up.
He knew that he broke her heart. It would be their first Christmas without each other. Izuku already resolved himself to carry that burden but it still bothered his conscience.
After a while, they arrived at Hatsume Studio. Izuku paid the fare and the taxi hurriedly sped away. The studio was famous for two things. It had contracts with many famous hero agencies. And the second selling point of it was…
A loud explosion occurred inside. Hatsume Studio was a hazard and so, it had to be placed in a far away corner where no one could get hurt.
Izuku sighed and entered.
"Oh! Midoriya!" Mei shouted and immediately rushed towards him despite being covered in soot.
"Hello Mei", Izuku greeted.
"What brings you here? Could it be… you wanted me to improve your costume?!" Mei excitedly asked.
"Costume maintenance", he answered.
She took the case containing the costume and opened it.
"Hmmm… These are badly damaged. If you want, I can further improve the impact of your iron soles… And also, I researched a bit about air pressure and I think I can use it in your Air Force Gloves!" Mei said.
"That would be nice"
"Alright! Time to work on these babies!" Mei ran off.
"Wait! When can I get them back?!" Izuku asked.
"I'll try tomorrow!" Mei shouted.
Now that his costume was being repaired, Izuku had no idea what to do next. He rode another taxi and went a mall.
Since it was Christmas, the mall was filled with people especially couples. For once, Izuku felt like a normal citizen. He was in a mall looking for things to buy and wondering where he would eat.
"Deku?" a voice behind him asked.
A woman with brown hair was behind him.
"Ochaco! What a coincidence!" Izuku greeted her.
"It's been a long time! How are you, Rank 7 hero?" she teased.
"You've heard, huh?"
"After that landslide incident, there's no way you wouldn't be noticed!"
"You also took part in that rescue"
"But you did almost all of the work"
They would've continued passing the praise but Izuku's phone rang.
"Hello?" Izuku asked.
"Deku. This is Tsukauchi"
The moment Tsukauchi called him "Deku", he knew that something was wrong.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Listen carefully. Right now, we are tailing a villain who has a bomb Quirk"
"And?"
"His name is John Smith, a criminal from Canada. Because of his sketchy movements, the police managed to identify him. His Quirk allows him to make C-4s from clay. We believe he planted them all around Megamall. Can you go there?"
"I'm already here"
"That makes things easier. Listen, John Smith's Quirk allows him to make C-4s that explode after a certain time or when he transmits a signal from his mind to its trigger. It can be disarmed using normal disarming methods"
"All I have to do is to find the bomb"
"Correct. Here is a list of all the stores John Smith visited. And be careful, he might have companions and if they see anything suspicious, the bomb will go off"
Deku listed down the stores on his notebook.
"Deku… What's going on?" Ochaco asked when she saw his serious face.
Izuku explained everything to her.
"We can't just evacuate everyone. He would just detonate the bomb. All we can do is move normally", Izuku said.
He looked at the list and gulped down.
"This is going to be hard", he muttered.
"Why?" Ochaco looked at the list.
Since it was Christmas season, couples flooded the mall… and so, stores that catered to couples were popular and gathered many people. Bombs were used in places with many people.
"I guess we're on a date!" Ochaco declared.
"A-A-Are you okay with that? This is a job for my agency and I don't want to impose on you especially you're taking a day off and that maybe you would prefer someone as cool like Shoto and…" Izuku gradually began to nervously mumble.
Izuku was the rank seven hero but despite that, he never went to a date. His high school days were filled with nothing but internships and trainings. That was why he was a nervous wreck.
"You don't want to do it with me?" Ochaco asked.
"I-It's not like that. It's just that I won't be a good partner too since this is my first date!" Izuku said.
Ochaco's smile faded.
"This… is my first date too… Now you're making it weird", Ochaco blushed which in turn, made him blush.
After a minute of silence, Ochaco cleared her throat.
"Are we… going to do it? It's for everyone's sake" she asked.
It's for the mission. It's for everyone's sake.
"Okay", Izuku said.
The first on the list was a cake shop.
"Okay… How are we going to do this?" Izuku asked.
"Congratulations! You are our 100th couple!" a staff member popped some confetti on them.
WHAAAATTT? Izuku was internally screaming.
"As the 100th couple, you are given a premium cake and two slices of a chosen cake! Congratulations!" the staff congratulated them again.
"Thank you!" Ochaco received the cake.
"Are you sure we should take it? We're not exactly a couple". Izuku whispered.
"Learn to accept free things", she whispered back.
"Let's take a commemorative photo!" the staff said and took a pic of the "couple".
Ochaco and Izuku went to a table and was served with cake.
"Where do you think the bomb is hidden?" Izuku asked but Ochaco was already eating.
"I don't know. Most mystery films I watch always had their bombs hidden in the toilet", she answered.
He went to the restroom and there was nothing weird until he looked at the bottom of the sink. There was a bomb attached underneath. Izuku took a deep breath and remembered everything about disarming a bomb.
Izuku got out of the toilet after disarming and putting it in his bag for disposal.
"Did you find it?" Ochaco asked.
"Yes. We're lucky this time"
"Maybe today's fortune telling is correct. After all, I got lucky"
Izuku finished his cake and they went to the next shop… which was a clothing store.
"Does it suit me?" Ochaco asked after trying out a shirt.
"Hmmm… Let's try another one", Izuku suggested.
After that, Ochaco would pick another one from a rack or pile while searching for the bomb. And then she would enter the fitting room and once again, search for it.
"I think this one suits me", Ochaco said.
"Then let's buy that one", Izuku told her.
That was their code for "I found the bomb and disarmed it".
"How nice. Her boyfriend actually bought her a nice blouse unlike a certain someone", a girl complained to her boyfriend.
Ochaco and Izuku were blushing as they bought the blouse.
The next shop was a shoe shop. They found the bomb underneath a bench.
"Ochaco! I did it", Izuku said and he noticed that she bought something and had it wrapped.
"L-Let's go to the next spot!" Ochaco told him.
They went to an arcade and found the bomb behind a crane machine when his coin rolled to the back. He would've given up and have the management help but somehow, he was lucky. And since he felt lucky, he tried to get a teddy bear from the crane game.
"Wow! You got it!" Ochaco was impressed.
"I won a lot of All Might plushies in games like this". Izuku said.
He then handed her the teddy bear.
"Eh?
"Here. It's kind of weird for me to have a teddy bear, don't you think?"
Ochaco and Izuku shared a laugh.
"Let's go to the next one!" Ochaco grabbed Izuku's hand and dragged him.
They went to another clothing store.
"I think this one suits me", Ochaco said and showed him a long red scarf.
"Alright. Let's go with that", Izuku replied knowing that she disarmed the bomb.
They went from one store to another as a "couple". The two of them went to a restaurant, bowling alley, karaoke room, and even a movie theater. It was already evening when they finished the list.
"Tsukauchi. We went through all of them and disarmed all of the bombs", Deku told the detective via phone.
"Alright. Let's hope that we covered everything. According to our intel, the bombs should detonate by twelve midnight", Tsukauchi said and hung up.
The two of them sat on a bench. It was then they realized that they were surrounded by couples and that it was Christmas Eve.
"Ummm…" Ochaco tried to start a conversation.
"Errr…" Izuku also tried his best.
Snow began to fall.
"Wow… A White Christmas!" Ochaco said.
"Y-Yeah", Izuku replied trying hard not to shiver,
Ochaco noticed his quivering lips and so she shared her scarf with him.
"O-Ochaco?" he was surprised and at the same time, self-conscious because of the little space between them.
"You need to keep warm. Who would be the rank seven hero when you're sick?" she asked.
"Please don't tease me", Izuku said and she giggled.
Ochaco looked at the bright lights and the passing people.
"This is what we protect, right?" she asked.
"Yes. The smiles of everyone… That is the thing we will never hand to evil", Izuku answered.
There was silence between them.
"Hey…" she called out.
"Yeah?"
"Do you… have a girlfriend?"
Izuku was surprised once again because of her sudden question.
"N-No! I'm barely managing to find time to sleep and eat! And girls aren't my forte. And like I said, I'm not as cool as Shoto and other heroes", he answered.
"Really? I think you're pretty cool"
"Huh?"
"From how you risked your body just to make Shoto use his fire. From how you saved Kota from Muscular. From how you saved Eri physically and emotionally from Overhaul. From how hard you fought the League of Villains until now. And from many other things. From those, I know that you are cool… No… You are amazing"
Izuku felt his tears coming up but he suppressed them. For some reason, he felt a nice feeling from having his efforts appreciated.
"Izuku… From our first year in UA… I actually-"
The green-haired man's phone rang.
"Did you catch him already?" Deku asked.
"Yes. And there were no explosions and casualties. This Christmas Eve will be a peaceful one", Tsukauchi answered.
"That's good news", he said and hung up.
"What is it?" Ochaco asked.
"We did it", Izuku answered.
Ochaco smiled and high-fived Izuku.
"It's getting late. I'll walk you to the station", Izuku offered.
"There's no need. If there's one thing, I want you to have this", Ochaco said and handed him a present.
"Isn't this the one you got from the shoe store?"
"Open it"
Izuku saw brand new red shoes.
"I saw that yours were worn out. You always liked that brand, didn't you?" she smiled.
He saw it once again. The same smile he saw when they finished rescuing the people from the landslide. The same smile he wanted to protect.
"Merry Christmas, Deku!" she said and skipped away.
"Merry Christmas"
Izuku looked the brand-new shoes and smiled. He swore in his heart he would treasure it always.
Merry Christmas guys and gals! Sorry if I haven't written for a while. Holiday season is a drag. Anyways, this is a one-shot and my attempt in writing a DekuXOchaco fic (although I'm not good at the romance genre but I tried since Christmas is a couple's holiday in Japan). And as always, hope you enjoyed and leave a review!
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Rain was falling as thunder clapped. A head of a Nomu rolled as he kicked it away.
A green-haired man was looking at a corpse of a brown woman. He knew that she had no memories or even connection with him. And yet, he lost everything when her life left her.
No…
He didn't "lose" anything.
He was "freed".
A Nomu charged at him and in a split second, its head was blown away from its body as blood covered his beloved red shoes.
Here's a dark ending if you guys didn't want that happy one!
Hope you enjoyed and leave a review!