Swan Dive

Chapter 7: Christmas

A/N: So I know it's not Christmas yet, but did you really want to wait a month before the next update? Cause I'm trying to stick to my update on Friday thing I've got going on for this story. *Shrugs*

So please enjoy the fluffy chapter. It may or may not be the last bit of happiness before I CRUSH YOUR FEELS. *Clears throat* I mean before the plot moves along a bit more. Hehe~ (If you've read my Hetalia stories, then you'll know the kind of shit you should expect of me by this point.)

I love that everyone's so interested by this story~!

Chapter 7: Christmas

Izuku sighed in contentment. He loved Patrol Nights. He was disappointed that he could only go once a week, but he understood why. It was dangerous, and he wasn't allowed to legally fight. Eraserhead and Present Mic both had to be there in case something unexpected happened and to keep a better eye on him, just in case. They could only coordinate their schedules once every week or so, so that's when they could take Izuku on patrol.

After all, they were literally looking for trouble, which is bad enough as it is, but Izuku's practically defenseless in such a scenario, because he wasn't allowed to fight. You know, legally.

So far, Izuku was doing a very good job at staying out of trouble, and the things he was picking up from these outings were invaluable to him as a future Underground Hero.

Now, he knew how to track people, follow a trail, listen for those tiny signs of trouble, recognize a criminal meetup or hideout, and when someone was acting suspicious. Things that couldn't be taught in a warehouse or through videos. Things that only came with experience.

He was proud of himself, able to move much quieter now, and could even keep pace with Shouta most nights as they ran across the roofs. He wasn't as quiet as his teacher yet, but he was getting there. And his stealth skills were increasing too. The other day, he'd managed to hide in the same room as Hizashi for twenty minutes without being seen, even though he was in a rather obvious spot.

Even Shouta had been proud of him for that.

Izuku no longer fell asleep after a patrol. Not like he did the first time, at least. So even though it was the last hour, nearly 12:30am, Izuku was wide-awake. (And if these patrols happened to reset his sleep cycle to match Shouta's, then the only one annoyed was his mother.)

He pulled his scarf around himself a little more. Shouta had recently been showing him how to use a Capture Weapon like him, and Izuku was thrilled. He was picking it up rather well. Of course, Shouta's scarf was unique, so Izuku was practicing with Shouta's in the warehouse. The one he was wearing right now was just a normal scarf (unfortunately). It was almost Christmas, now, and a thin layer of snow blanketed the ground, as it usually did in the Kanto region of Japan.

Izuku smiled. His stealth training now included hiding evidence of his physical presence, too. So he got plenty of practice in the snow.

Normally, he didn't need to worry too much about hiding his tracks on a rooftop, though. Especially when they were giving chase to someone.

But hiding the crunching of his footfalls in the snow was something he was practicing. It was proving to be a challenge, especially when running. He just didn't understand how Eraserhead could move through snow so silently! Plus, he also had to be careful not to knock snow down into alleyways, alerting criminals to their presence.

Apparently, according to Hizashi, Shouta made that mistake once during his first winter as a pro hero. He still won the fight, but was hospitalized due to a concussion.