Just a few minutes after entering the teachers' dorm, Mariko sprinted from her room straight to the shared bathroom. She stormed inside and quickly took off her clothes and entered the shower, washing her entire body and her hair. When she was finally clean, she left the cabin and hissed at the feeling of cold tiles below her bare feet. Mariko carefully walked to her locker and brushed her hair, starting from the tips and then going up, detangling the roots last.

She applied some non-washable oil and gently massaged it into the hair strands, and then dried herself with a towel and dressed into a different set of clothes. She was quite tired, but the day was not finished yet, she still hasn't given the present she had prepared earlier that day.

Before she left the bathroom, she entered the shared laundry room and left her clothes for washing in one of the baskets; she didn't want to do the laundry now, as the drum wouldn't be even half-way filled.

Senchi closed the lid of the basket and nodded at Vlad King, who entered the room, dressed in civilian clothes.

'Merry Christmas!' she greeted and saw his tired smile.

'Merry, but so exhausting,' he sighed and walked to one of the washing machines, placing his laundry inside.

'Be sure to get some good night sleep, sir,' she reminded politely and left the room, then quickly climbed the stairs, aiming straight towards her room.

Just as she placed her right foot on the first floor of the building, Hizashi materialized in front of her, making her jump from fear.

'YO!' he yelled at her and noticed her pale face. 'Sorry!'

'I almost had a heart attack,' Mariko looked at the man with wide eyes and raised inner corners of her eyebrows.

'Sorry, sorry! I just got too excited,' he laughed. 'We are hangin' out at Midnight's place, wanna join? We have some drinks?'

'Me?'

'Well, is there anyone else here, girl?' He winked at her and 'shot her' with finger-pistols.

'But it's so unexpected,' she admitted. 'I'm a student.'

'Come on,' Yamada swung his hand. 'It's Christmas, plus you always hang out with Midnight, we cannot just skip you when we are partying. And you are older than our regular students.'

'That's very nice of you, but I still did not expect it.' Mariko scratched her head with a smile and then nodded energetically. 'So, Midnight's room, yea?'

'Yes, madam,' he responded in English and started climbing the stairs.

Mariko gazed after the man until he disappeared from her sight. Then, she swiftly entered her room, making sure not to make too much noise, as Eri was most likely already sleeping. She reached under her bed and grabbed three, neatly wrapped gifts, all of them signed with a name. She had one for Midnight, wrapped in a dark purple paper, matching her hair color, one box for Present Mic, which was yellow, and finally the last one which was black with some golden Christmas tree on it - for Aizawa.

She placed all of them on top of each other and carried them in her arms, heading towards Nemuri's room. She turned to the side corridor and walked a few meters, then knocked on the door, balancing the three gifts on her left hand. When the door opened, she saw Midnight dressed in her civilian, elegant (but still sexy) clothes, whose face immediately brightened. Mariko smiled at the woman and handed her the small pile of gifts.

'Take this, please. I will be right back.'

Midnight accepted the wrapped presents and watched Mariko quickly turn around and storm down the staircase. The girl ran all the way to the common kitchen, keeping her footsteps as quiet as she could and then opened the fridge, pulling out a second chocolate cake she made with Eri that morning. She put it on a big plate and grabbed four dessert plates with small forks and then decided to grab two more extra, just in case.

She returned to the second floor and noticed that the door to Midnight's room is already open, as the teachers inside waited for her arrival.

'I'm back,' she informed, after stepping through the threshold.

In the middle of the room, there was a small, short table, enough for four people to sit at. At first, she spotted Hizashi, who was sitting cross-legged with his elbows placed on the desktop. Somehow, in just a few minutes since she last saw him, he changed into civilian clothes and changed his hairstyle back to the man-bun. He was wearing a velvet shirt in a wine color, with two top buttons untied.

'Lookin' slick,' she complimented him in English and then saw him nod with a smile.

'Thanks!'

She placed the plates in the middle of the short table and looked to the left, noticing Midnight and Aizawa, who were currently pouring some alcohol to nice glasses with engraved ornaments. Shota turned his head to Mariko, noticing her still moist hair. His hair was gathered in a loose ponytail, a few strands framing his chiseled face.

She stared at him and then forced herself to gaze at Midnight, who slid her knuckle on her lips, glancing from Shota to Mariko, sensing something that the young woman didn't understand.

'Hello again,' Mariko simply said to Aizawa, who lifted a glass towards her and took a sip of his whiskey. 'Where did you put the gifts, pretty lady?' she asked Midnight, who pointed her thumb at her desk. 'Alright. I brought the cake as well so please eat if you feel like it.'

'Oh kasutera?' Yamada looked at the plate and then at the ceiling, with pure delight on his face. 'I love these.'

'I'm glad,' Mariko replied and approached the boxes.

'Oh, you didn't cut it,' Midnight noticed. 'Come, Hizashi, let's get some knives.' She grabbed the man on his shoulder and dragged him outside of the room.

'WOMAN, CHILL! What-'

Although Shota and Mariko couldn't see it, Midnight gently slapped Mic on the shoulder, silencing him and staring at him meaningfully.

'Oh!' he whispered and grinned. 'I see.'

In Midnight's room, Mariko turned on her heel, grasping the first gift, which she wanted to hand over to Nemuri.

'Oh, what,' she said, confused and then looked at Aizawa, who stood still, gazing in front of him, as if pretending that Okaido isn't there.

Senchi turned her body to the desk and gently lifted the gift wrapped in the black paper. She pushed her hips away from the desktop and stood next to Aizawa, leaning on the drawer, close to three glasses and a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of red, half-sweet wine.

He placed his glass behind his back and tilted his body to the left, reaching to grab something. When he straightened himself and turned his torso towards Mariko, she noticed two gifts in his hands and a letter.

'Oh?' She looked at him, surprised.

'Am I not allowed to give you something as well?' he asked.

'No, it's just... Today is full of surprises.' She covered her mouth with a free hand and chuckled.

He looked at her with an expression she couldn't quite place, then extended his hands towards her, offering the gifts.

'Merry Christmas,' he said and she thanked him, responding with the same greeting.

She accepted the gift from his right hand and handed him over the one she was holding and then gently took the remaining box from his hand and was surprised at it's weight. Mariko took a step back and placed the heavier box at the desk and looked at the letter first. Eraser stood still, waiting for her to unwrap her presents first.

'Who is this from?' she asked him, not recognizing the names on the envelope.

'The kids you saved at the warehouse,' he replied softly and then watched her mouth part, before she tore the top of the envelope and removed the letter from the inside.

'Dear Senchi!

We were trying to find your home adress, but then we saw that your from the UA highschool, so you probably live close to the school, in the dorms. Thank you for your work as a hero. Thank you for saving us! We think you are very awesome! Also, we heard...'

Mariko crouched and placed a hand over her eyes, slowly rocking her body back and forth, as a tightening feeling rose in her throat.

'Stop, stop, stop, stop,' she chanted, making Aizawa smirk softly, though she did not see it.

She lowered her hand and continued reading with watery eyes.

'...that you had a high fiver and you were in the hospital for some time. We hope that you are all healthy now.

PS. My little brother loves your hero costume! And your Quirk is very cool!'

'Thank you so much,' she said after a few moments, after calming herself down.

'You are welcome.'

She placed the letter on top of the desk and reached to the small, light packaging. Mariko rotated it around to see the best possible way of opening it, but then decided to just tear one of the corners. She uncovered a layer of bubble foil, which she also tore, while frowning, as her interest peaked.

She unfolded the final piece of foil and saw a small Eraserhead plushie, the exact same one she had seen in Ms. Joke's office. Right under small Eraser, she saw the iconic, smiley face.

'Oh my God! Look!' She extended her hand towards Shota who closed his eyes and slightly lowered his head. 'So cute! And it's from Ms. Joke,' she informed and saw his face twitch.

She laughed at his reaction and placed the small plushie next to her, on top of the desk. Then, she reached to the heaviest box and noticed Aizawa glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

'This one is from him,' she thought.

Okaido unwrapped the neatly wrapped box, covered with lively green paper, matching the color of her eyes. She clenched her jaw, stopping herself from a high-pitched, excited noise. Her lips curled downwards in a smile and she carefully removed the wrapping paper, revealing a box with wireless earbuds inside.

'Oh, nooo, this are too expensive, I cannot,' she started looking at the man with pleading face.

He pushed his hips from the drawer and took a step towards her, then placed his hand on her hand and the other hand on her shoulder, pushing the box towards her chest.

'Enjoy,' he simply said.

'Thank you so much,' she replied and dropped her gaze to the box.

'Just don't listen to music during lessons.' He slid his hands into the pockets of his hero costume.

'I won't don't worry, sir,' she assured and looked up at him, seeing his piercing gaze. It wasn't hostile, yet she felt as if he was pinning her to a wall.

She looked at the small table in the middle of the room and took a breath.

'But it's your turn now,' she reminded and he slowly moved backwards.

Just as he shifted, the smell of his cologne hit her nostrils. It was an incredible mix of a spicy scent with a hint of lemongrass freshness. She closed her eyelids and inhaled the air, permanently engraving the smell in her memory.

The man took the gift into his hands and slowly unwrapped it, being careful of it's contents. As he unfolded the black paper with golden Christmas trees on it, he revealed a pair of pink sweats with grey stripes on the exterior sides of the pantlegs.

Mariko laughed seeing his unamused face; somehow, she knew that he is only putting on a mask.

'There is something else in there,' she informed and he removed the rest of the paper, carefully grasping the sweats in his hands.

He examined the clothing and reached inside of it, pulling out a big coffee mug with a sealed lid, designed to keep the temperature of the brewage for a longer time. The top of the lid was decorated with two, cute cat ears which were also functional, as they made removing the lid much easier. The cup was covered in a black, matte paint and on the side of it, there were white lines, creating cat's whiskers, smiled eyes and a cute, pet mouth.

'It changes design when the hot coffee is inside of it,' Mariko informed and looked at his face, curious if he enjoys his gift or not.

'Thank you,' he said genuinely and placed his gifts on the side of the drawer, then brought the glass with the whiskey to his lips, staring at Mariko from above it.

The woman didn't know what do to with herself. Suddenly, her arms felt completely useless and uncomfortable. She awkwardly pressed her hands to the sides of her body and heard the footsteps of Mic and Midnight on the corridor.

'Do you want some?' Shota asked her, pointing his chin at the whiskey bottle.

'No, if anything, I would prefer the wine, thank you.'

He nodded and placed his glass on the drawer, then opened the wine bottle. Just as the cork popped out of the bottleneck, the two teachers who ventured to the kitchen, stepped inside the room.

'Pour me some as well, Zawa,' Midnight requested and Present Mic crouched next to the table, cutting the cake into medium-sized slices.

Mariko quickly grasped the two remaining gifts and approached Midnight, offering her the gift, then doing the same to Hizashi.

'Thank you,' they both replied and then Midnight reached under the small table, retrieving another box, which she handed to Mariko. 'It's from me and Mic.'

'Thank you as well.' She bowed gratefully and started unwrapping the present.

'No way!' she heard Hizashi and lifted her eyes to meet his. 'Where did you find it?' he asked her, swinging a record of one of his favorite musical artists, which he was complaining about a while ago, as he couldn't find the album anywhere.

'I asked Jiro. Earphone Jack has parents who are musicians, I was sure they will know some secret places with rare recordings,' Mariko explained.

'That's so smart!' Mic admitted and quickly hugged Mariko. 'Thank you so much, girl!'

'I'm glad you like it.'

She unfolded the paper from her own gift and covered her mouth right after.

'Guys!' she called, then looked at Aizawa, Midnight and Mic, while frowning. 'That is so ridiculously expensive.'

'We can afford it, don't stress yourself too much,' Mic assured.

'Don't try anything either,' Aizawa reminded, seeing her defeated face.

Mariko glanced at Shota and then looked down at the box she was holding. It was a brand-new phone. The last one she had was shattered on the street, a few moments before she got kidnapped.

'Thank you so much!' She bowed to the three of them and folded her hands in a gesture of gratefulness.

'Haha!' Kayama laughed, looking at her ticket to an all-inclusive spa day with access to everything, including a very 'special massage'. 'You are so inappropriate.'

Mariko giggled, covering her mouth, seeing Shota and Hizashi peek at the ticket with curiosity.

'And guess what, they have very young staff,' Mariko informed and smirked at Midnight, who laughed out loud.

Aizawa rolled his eyes and Hizashi grinned and then grabbed a slice of the cake. Shota moved back to the drawer and handed both Mariko and Midnight a glass of wine and some whiskey for Mic.

Soon after that, all four of them sat at the table, talking about many different things, getting to know each other. At some point, All Might joined the party and brought a Mojang board game with him. They moved the cake with plates to the desk and made some room for the game to be placed on the table. After that, Mariko played one round and then switched places with Midnight, who was very playful due to her tipsiness.

At some point, she left the place, carrying the gifts she had received to her room and then returned to the teachers, who were beginning another round of Mahjong. Mariko sat besides Midnight and All Might, spectating the game, until she felt drained of energy.

The young woman placed her elbows on her knees, slightly hunching over and closed her eyelids, hearing the laughs and talks of the adults around her.

'Okaido, don't sleep,' she heard Eraser and barely managed to lift her eyelids.

'I'm literally not,' she replied and closed her eyes again.

After a few minutes she felt her head go heavy and the voices around her blurred, as she fell asleep. Seconds later, she felt a grasp around her waist and her torso getting tilted forward, then being lifted off the ground. Her eyes widened in fear, consciousness returning to her body. She looked at the back of the person carrying her over their shoulder and smelled the mesmerizing fragrance.