"The Town of Eternal Winter sure lives up to its name," Jiro grumbled. Currently the group of seven were trudging through the immortal blizzard, legs caught in snowbanks that imitated quicksand and icicles hanging off of their eyelashes like gems off of a stalactites.

The snowflakes that whipped against their cheeks left them with a constant burning sensation, but they knew if they didn't want to turn purple then they had to keep moving.

Mina was the only one who wasn't affected by the cold due her to excess fur. At first the way she bounded easily through the weather was amusing, but now the other six found themselves overflowing with jealousy. 'I just had to come back as a zombie, huh?' Momo had mumbled at one point.

But there was always a storm before the calm. Or did the saying go the other way around? Maybe it was something about a silver lining. It didn't matter. The point was that even the rage of the clouds above left with hazed with an angelic dust came to an end as they stumbled into the eye of the storm. 

Their bodies that had just began adjusting to the violence of it all were not prepared for the stillness that enveloped them. They could still hear the echoes of it all behind them, but their sights were completely set on the blinding sun that reflected gorgeous of the crystalline lawns.

The homes that were laid out on the roads and hills before them were normal besides the snow that beautifully complimented each and every one of them.

Winter was not that common outside of this region of the continent, which is why the girls had pledged to make it to this specific town. Untouched, untainted by their oh so "glorious" ruler. What was their secret?

"It's beautiful," Uraraka breathed in awe. As a demon who had never experienced that type of cold, she could almost feel her admiration growing for the icicles that formed at the ends of her hair and the frostbite that kissed her nose.  

"It's cold," Asui responded with a short ribbit. Her friends glanced to her and noticed how both her eyes and hat drooped in a similar fashion. Her knees were slightly bent, turned inwards so that they almost touched. She seemed to be drifting off.

"It seems as if her experiment has been working," Enomoto noted.

"Which one? The familiar one?" Yaoyorozu asked. Serafina confirmed with a nod. "So she's turning into a frog? That can't be healthy."

"I don't know how it works, she's the wizard," the witch shrugged. "But it seems as if she's taking on frog-like attributes. Her body is probably forcing her into hibernation right now."

"Hibernation?!" Jiro echoed shouted, muffling a shrieking laugh behind her gloved hand.

"We should probably go find someone who will let us warm up in their house then," Hagakure said. She pointed towards the closest building, observing the smoke that rose from their brick chimney and the soft light that shone from inside.

The rest agreed, and they headed further into the Town of Eternal Winter.

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁

"We can't thank you enough for your hospitality, ma'am," Momo spoke up from over the rim of her mug. Steam rose off the hot chocolate from inside.

"Anytime, darling," the kind woman before her smiled. "But, please, call me Edith." She was of middle age, her years beginning to show in the wrinkles that lined her mouth and forehead. They were beautiful, graceful waves. Her confidence seemed to radiate through her gorgeous brown eyes, yet it was subtle enough that her presence was not too overwhelming for the still evolving teenagers.

Everyone knows teenagers, no matter monster or man, are the most susceptible to the beauty around them.

"What's brings you children to our oasis?" Edith asked. "Especially with your little hibernating friend, here? It's dangerous for her to be out in the cold like that!"

Tsuyu had been wrapped up in several layers, consisting of cotton blankets and silk sheets. She lacked the energy to drink so it was the next best thing. Still, she was slowly coming back to them, her eyes blinking slowly and her cheeks gaining color as time went on. Edith's husband had left a few minutes prior to fetch the town's healer.

"We were on our way to defeat the king!" Ochako immediately cheered, her eyebrows furrowing and her fist raising with determination.

Mina nodded. "And the Town of Eternal Winter is on the way, so we thought we'd stop by and find out why he hasn't bothered you guys yet!"

"You guys are going to what?" The older woman's eyes widened.

"Right, my bad," the demon giggled. "He's not the king... more of a war criminal who killed our true king."

"Oh my..." She patted her chest and leaned back a bit. "I hope you ladies have been training. Fighting a fire mage at his level is nothing to bat an eye at."

"Fire mage?" Serafina echoed. So he's a magic user... Hagakure noticed the disgruntled look that befell her girlfriend and patted her thigh with encouragement.

"Aren't you gonna protest against us doing this?" Jiro asked in confusion. Every other stranger they had mentioned it to thus far was against their aspirations. Something about wasted efforts and letting men do their jobs. Complete gibberish.

"Well, I don't exactly agree with the idea of letting kids go off into a life or death battle but... I've been through this before. I know nothing will stop you."

"'Been through this before'?"

Edith covered her mouth daintily as she chuckled. A sudden melancholy seemed to envelop her as she thought about her part in history.

"Oh, my son Mashirao and his friends were such troublemakers."

It was without a beat that all of the girls jumped from their seats and began sputtering out nothings (besides the transforming wizard). Chaos bled through the walls as they all shouted at one another, their excitement bursting as they connected the pieces.

"I take it you know Mashirao?" Was all Edith could muster in her unexpected frazzled state. The monsters all nodded happily, cheeks burning with recognition. "How so?"

"Ojiro's one of my best friends!" Toru exclaimed. She missed him. They all missed their boys. "Plus we're close with the rest of King's Guard too!"

"Yeah," Serafina frowned a bit. "It's still kind of upsetting how they up and left the kingdom after defeating All for One."

Momo laughed to mask her sadness. "I miss Iida. I enjoyed leading with him."

"Heh, I miss all of Kaminari's dumb jokes," Jiro rolled her eyes. "And the way he'd help me fix myself up in the morning since I can't use a mirror."

"And the way Deku would mumble about anything!" Ochako laughed.

"Or what about when Bakugo would literally blow up and Kirishima would deflect it like it was nothing!" Mina's tail wagged furiously.

"Sero was the only boy in our village who didn't go after Toru because he knew how I felt," Serafina added.

A collective sigh rang through the room before they all plopped back into their seats. They didn't notice the tears that pricked at the corners of Edith's eyes or the relieved smile on her face.

She was a mother missing her only child. Her little boy was a hero, and ever since he had left she had worried. She had never realized the friends that were watching his back.

And so they swapped memories the rest afternoon; one last tribute to the past before the seven girls shaped the future.