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CHAPTER START---
---December 17th, 2315...
"Are you sure you'll be fine without me? I just know how much you can't live without me..."
Sitting behind his desk, in his room, Horizon is typing away to complete some reports and update ongoing cases while speaking to Ryuko.
Her face was on one of the screens, showing a video of her on a train to the far side of Japan.
"Can't live without you, really? What makes you think you're my favorite 'Ryuko'?"
Her playful expression changes to a soft glare, "that's not funny."
"And that's your opinion. When are you getting back anyway?"
"Early January, you'll have to find some other way to occupy your bed for a month."
"I'm sure I'll think of something," Horizon says. "My plans are pretty much the same, just do the usual Pro Hero nonsense, make some appearances at orphanages, hand out gift, that kind of stuff."
"Oh, since when do you have a heart?"
"Hey! I'm nice to kids."
"I know, and it's cute. Isn't your class Christmas party today?"
"Yeah I can sense everyone getting ready downstairs, they're treating it as if it actually matters. It's just another day," he says.
"Well to some people it's important, like Eri, aren't you guys doing something special for her? I think you mentioned that before, right?"
"The Secret Santa thing, basically everyone pulled a name from a bag and has to get that person a gift, plus a gift for Eri."
"Oh, and who'd you get?"
"Asui."
"Frog girl, so what'd you get her?"
"Salt..."
Ryuko gives him an annoyed look, "that had better be a joke."
"It is, I got her a sword, a green one."
Ryuko looks confused, "why would you get her a sword?"
"What else was I supposed to get her?"
"Anything a teenage girl would like, did you ever consider that?"
"Yeah, and a sword is just better."
"Should I ask what you got Eri?"
"A gun."
"Babe!"
"I'm kidding," he laughs at her distress. "I wouldn't get her a gun yet, she's too young. And Aizawa wouldn't like it."
"And it's illegal! Did you forget that?"
"I'm Horizon, I can do whatever I want. If I got her a gun nobody would be willing to do anything to me about it."
Ryuko sighs, "so aside from thinking about handing guns to 7-year-olds, what did you actually get her."
"A knife, obviously."
Ryuko just shakes her head in disbelief, "Please tell me this is a joke..."
"She's too young for a taser, so I figured this would be better."
"How are you so smart and so terrible at this all at once."
"Hey it's a good idea, her Quirk isn't exactly good at self-defense and she's had a rough past, so getting her a knife is a good start."
Ryuko sighs, "I really hate how much sense that makes, but please don't give a child a knife."
"I'll teach her how to use it."
Ryuko holds her head feeling a headache starting, "You're...unbearable."
"Nah, you love me for it," Horizon looks at his door for a moment and stops typing. "I have to go, call me whenever you get away from your team."
"Yeah, the last thing I want is Mandalay realizing I didn't keep that promise, see ya..."
The moment they hang up there is a knock on Horizon's door, and with a thought he commands it to swing open.
And in walks Momo, wearing a green Santa Claus outfit with a matching fluffy hat. However, her hat had a little book at the top of it.
But Horizon was more concerned with the blue and white Santa Claus outfit folded in her arms.
"No," is all he says while she walks over to him.
"Everyone else is wearing theirs."
"They aren't me, I have an image to maintain," he says as she casually seats herself in his lap.
"You can still pretend to be a jerk while wearing this outfit. Plus I made this one different, it's the only blue and white one. All the others are like mine or the classic red and white."
"Hmm, tempting, but still never gonna happen," he wraps his arms around her as she leans back against him.
"How about just this" Momo takes out the hat from his outfit. Blue with a fuzzy white lining, and at the very top was a tiny scalpel. "You should at least wear just the hat, get in the Christmas spirit."
"Mmm..."
---30 Minutes Later...
Now sitting in the common area with the other members of 1A, Eri, and Aizawa, Horizon is wearing the hat just as Momo suggested while they start the Secret Santa reveals.
Deciding to go in seating order, Mina was up first.
Which is why she's currently dancing in place, celebrating while holding up the new boots Momo bought her.
After she got her gift, Eri's present from Momo was revealed, to be a thick stack of children's encyclopedias...
Apparently, Momo thought this was normal as she always asked for them while growing up, and even now reading encyclopedias is her main hobby.
"Well, who got Asui's name?" Momo asks, feeling embarrassed about her gift to Eri.
"That would be me," Horizon says, and everyone got a bit nervous. They really didn't have any idea of what he'd gift people.
In fact, they were expecting him to simply refuse to participate...but later that day Nezu convinced him to play along.
"Merry Christmas froggy," Horizon waves his hand and a piece of confetti floats into the air, and is suddenly swapper with a katana.
A light green scabbard and matching hilt with black accents.
Everyone's eyes open wide, not expecting that.
'I wish he got my name...' Tokoyami and many others think.
"A sword?" Asui reaches out and holds it, realizing it was short, the perfect size for her, and nowhere near as heavy as Scalpel.
"A normal one," Horizon says.
She draws the blade, seeing it really was standard, then looks a bit closer at it, "This isn't blunted..."
"Why would I get you a useless blade?"
"I thought it was a decoration."
"No this is for cutting people, although I don't think it fits the child-friendly Froppy style."
"I think I'll just hang it on the wall, but thank you, this is a nice gift," Asui says. "But what did you get Eri?"
"This," Horizon raises a hand and warps a white and yellow pocket knife into his palm.
Eri's eyes go wide as she recognizes what it is, and wanting to be like Horizon she excitedly reaches out.
Only for Aizawa to reach out and grab it first, "no knives, she's only 7."
"She's already 7, and when I was her age I could already use a sword, she'll have to learn sometime," Horizon shrugs.
"I'm trying to give her a normal childhood, not whatever you had," Aizawa says as he puts it in his pocket.
"Tch, normal doesn't keep the monsters away..."
---2 Hours Later...
While most of the students, and Eri, were asleep, some were up late watching the snow fall.
And others like Kirishima were outside playing in the snow, or as he calls it, 'testing himself against the elements'...he just wanted to play in the snow.
Now Horizon, Shinso, and Momo were sitting in the common area.
"So I'll have the tower all to myself until after Christmas?" Horizon asks.
"Yup," Sero says. "I haven't seen dad in a while so we've got a lot of stuff to do and talk about this winter break. Honestly, he wanted me to stay at home until the new year starts, but I don't think I can sit still for that long."
"Hmm, looks like I've been teaching you well," Horizon says. "Most of these people aren't gonna be doing any Hero Work during the winter break, it's a good time to get ahead of the competition."
"Well, you won't be doing my actual Hero Work either right?" Sero asks. "Minato Tokyo is pretty much a safe zone these days."
"Yeah but I've got things to do all across Japan, I need to take the time I have and get it all done, before the next semester starts and I'm stuck in UA again."
"What about you Yaomomo?" Sero asks.
Momo snaps out of her daze at the sound of her nickname, "I'm sorry what was that?"
"Winter break plans?"
"Oh, I'll just be here at UA, training."
"Seriously? Figured you'd be more happy than anyone to run back home, considering you live in that awesome mansion and all."
"Oh, about that," Momo's brain begins scrambling to think of a lie, not wanting her falling out with her mother to become public. "My parents are already abroad on a business trip so they wouldn't be there. So I just figured I could use the extra time to train and catch up to everyone else."
"That's pretty smart," Sero says. "But you really don't have to talk like that, you're almost at the top of the class. Honestly, the only person ahead of you is Horizon, and he's a cyborg."
Horizon sighs, "Can you please stop spreading that rumor? Honestly, the number of villains that have tried to hit me with saltwater because of it...so annoying."
Sero just begins laughing hysterically.
"And Momo, if you want you can visit Horizon Tower, since we're the only students basically spending the Christmas season alone, having some company could be nice."
Momo blushes, knowing how picky Horizon is about who he invites into his headquarters, "right, I'll be sure to visit!"
END CHAPTER---