Rejected Stones

In Heavenly Peace

Beta'd by Poliamida and Kylekatarn77

61. In Heavenly Peace

So is human life made of clouds and sunshine, and it is hard to tell whether there is more light than shade; whether there is more joy or sorrow in this world of ours.

-Amherst Collegiate Magazine, January 1855

A soft blanket of snow had fallen over UA, covering it in a layer of white. The campus lay still, slumbering in peace despite the tumultuous events of the past few weeks. Izuka lay sound asleep, snoring softly, wrapped in a layer of warm blankets. Beside his bed sat his prosthetic arm, charging in its stand. Though he had lost one of his cybernetic arms when he'd been kidnapped by the Shie Hassaikai, this time he and Mei Hastsume had been prepared with a spare. Currently, his arm was functioning as a sort of alarm clock. The time read 5:59, and slowly ticked over to 6:00.

Downstairs, there was a loud thump, then the pounding of feet up the stairs and along dorm halls to Izuku's room. He was just stirring when he was shocked into wakefulness by Mei diving headfirst into his chest.

"Izuku! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

Izuku gapsed, his eyes popping open to see Mei's grinning face hovering only inches above his own.

"I...what?" he wheezed. He glanced over at his arm, the time readout still showing only 6:00am. "Mei, we don't have any duties today, why are you waking me up?"

"Because it's Christmas!" Mei repeated, standing and tugging on Izuku's arm. "Come on! That means presents! Santa came! Come on, you like presents don't you?"

"I do like presents," Izuku agreed, allowing himself to be dragged out of bed. The door next to his slammed open, and Shinso stuck his head in, his eyes wild.

"What happened? Are there villains? Is it the MLA?" The other boy had his capture weapon wrapped around one arm, and was dressed only in a pair of long pants. Izuku was somewhat grateful he'd fallen asleep with a shirt on, and had worn sweatpants himself.

"It's Christmas!" Mei cried happily, dragging Izuku out of his room and pushing Shinso aside. "Come on Shinso, you have a present too! Santa brought presents for everyone!"

A few doors down, Uraraka stumbled out of her room, wearing only a t-shirt that was far too large for her. Behind her, Bakugo hopped out, struggling to put on his pants.

"Where are they?!" Bakugo roared. "I'll blow their heads off! I mean, I'll punch them, or something!"

"What happened, Mei?" Uraraka gasped. "Are you hurt? Is Hari ok?"

"Everything is OK! It is Christmas!" Mei declared. "It is time for presents! Come on, we have to wake everyone up!"

Shinso muttered a string of curses that made Izuku blush slightly. "I am not getting out of bed when it is this cold for freaking Christmas cake. Jesus Christ."

"Yes!" Mei agreed. "Shiozaki told me about him! Apparently it's his birthday!"

More doors burst open, with everyone from the class piling out into the hall and demanding to know what the emergency was. Uraraka slunk back into her room, her face flaming red, while Bakugo stood in front of her door, arms across his chest. A few minutes later, Uraraka emerged fully clothed and gave Bakugo back his shirt while Izuku was still trying to explain that Mei was simply excited it was Christmas and neither the Meta Liberation Army, the survivors of the Shie Hassaikai, nor the reclusive League of Villains, or any other nefarious organization, was currently attacking them.