Author: Sevenremmy
. . .
White loaves of snow muffled sounds, turning the stumping of boots into crunches. Naked trees balanced patched of built-up snow on thin black branches. Glittery ice carpeted the curved roofs of temples located just by apple-red river bridges. Clusters of frozen rowan berries hang from tree fingers with hats of snow. Bullfinches puffed their plumages, looking more like fuzzy peaches with tiny feet. One bird hopped off a branch and heavy chunks of snow slipped off, landing atop Izuku's green beanie and exploding, sprinkling cold bits over his nose.
He gasped in surprise, his gloved hand coming up to swipe away the ice grains off his already chilly face.
Ochaco giggled beside him. Puffs of tiny clouds formed in front of her lips and evaporated just as quickly. She flicked the remaining snow off his head with her gloved hand.
If his face hadn't been already burned pink by the cold, he would've been blushing because of how close she was. She had snowflakes stuck to the top of her lashes. He wondered how that didn't bother her.
The cancelation of school for the winter offered the children time to be children. It didn't snow much in big cities, so the more high-quality winter experience was usually just outside, and holiday resorts took advantage of those open areas where people wanted to escape the tight city and enjoy the freedom of space and adrenalin.
It also meant a twenty-minute bus ride uphill followed by an hour-and-thirty-minute long train trip. Many students, like Tenya, wanted to spend the cold days with their families; some visited their sick relatives; and others had plans with their buddies elsewhere. Everyone had scattered.
Everyone but him and Ochaco.
He had enough time to visit his mom, but had no other friends outside of the ones from UA. Ochaco didn't get to see her parents due to their work backlog and their transportation trucks getting dallied back home. A flying poster detached from a magazine flashed the same light bulb in their heads: a Winter Resort getaway. Tickets were available via the vacation website. It wasn't exactly cheap, but his mother was happy to book them two tickets, insisting the two of them go have fun and reminding him to send her feedback on their journey.
Being slightly taller than his female friend, he helped tuck their bags over the seats before the bullet train could start its winter run. She took the side by the window because he knew she had a habit of looking out the window during their school trip bus rides. She did that for half the ride, occasionally asking him a few things.
"You're going with Miruko?" she asked, surprised. "Oh, she does all those cool kicks!"
As the world fluttered by the window in a blur, he propped the thinnest book he decided to bring along on his knees. "Yeah, I thought of asking her. If I'm going to focus on my legs, she'd know a few tips."
"I bet everyone will call you the jackrabbit Hero after," she joked.
"Jackrabbit?"
"You bounce more. Come to think of it, can they have two rabbit themed Heroes?" she wondered out loud, putting a finger to her lower lip as she thought.
He chuckled, still confused. "Why rabbit?" He might as well go along with her thoughts.
"Cause your costume looks like a rabbit." She lifted to hands over her head, mimicking long ears. "It's like you have bunny ears. I think they're super cute."
Even though it was warmer in the train, he hoped she'd think his blush was from the cold. The 'ears' had originally been designed to resemble All Might's hair strands. After his second costume upgrade, they became thicker, shorter, less like hair strands and more like the ears of an animal. He also never realized how his mouth guard gave him the appearance of a short muzzle. Combine that with his excessive jumping and crouching, he could see how she mistook his design being based on a rabbi or a hare.
