Christmas.

It was, festive all over town along with the couples jammed packed everywhere an
d the parading of the young spouting weeey, weeey 1, a frightening event. For those
who were ostracized by society, look no further for something so hateful.
But, wait. Just a moment.
To those who cursed Christmas, hold your intentions higher.
On the internet, you shouldn t mess around, posting things like those who agree Chr
istmas should be discontinued retweet this . That was just the ramblings of a lose
r.
What you should be cursing wasn t Christmas, but those who unreasonably recited wey
, wey all year long. The merry city and the frivolous couples were, Christmas or
not, annoying. The idiotic students going wey, wey were in fact even more troubles
ome like the beginning of spring.
To those who denied Christmas, hold your intentions higher.
You shouldn t be giving worthless excuses like
ust nonsense of the weak.

I m actually Buddhist (lol) . That was j

In the first place, mentioning the names of God and Buddha and proceeding to den
y Christmas was nothing short of being arrogant.
If you were truly a loner, then you wouldn t be relying on other people, let alone
gods.
Bringing up the god that you didn t even know existed wasn t something you should do
, but instead, using your resolute mental fortitude, you should be denying Chris
tmas.
Don t pray to god, lest your heart be crushed.2 Don t demand, but take.3 Do so, and
it shall be given you.4
To begin with, livestock had no gods nor did corporate slaves.
Whether you were alone or with someone, Christmas would visit this year as well.
In other words, Christmas was
It was Um, in other words, you know, it s that thing, yeah. Anyways, how should I s
ay this, this is really bad To this day, I ve never actually properly enjoyed Chris
tmas before, so I don t know what I m supposed to do, seriously, what the heck am I
going to do about this ?

The school campus that was already on winter break was empty.
The sun had already set in the scenery that peeked in from outside the window. F
aint voices of those engaged in the activities of their sports could be heard co
ming from outside as well.
The fields were slightly lit up by the glow that spilled out from the school bui
lding and gym and the street lights. With no presence of people and minimal ligh
ting, this campus was bleak as barrens. The chilly winds that blew from the sea
shook the windows.

However, thanks to the slight heating, this room was submerged in warmth.
Haaaa The tea sure is good! Sitting diagonally opposite of me, Yuigahama let out a
voice that resembled a sigh of relief as she gently placed her mug on the table.
Both Yukinoshita and I returned a small nod to Yuigahama and placed our hands ar
ound our tea again. Yeah, yeah, we had better treasure our teatime!5
It s a good thing the Christmas event went well
om the sensation of finishing a job.

said Yuigahama laidback, easing up fr

Yukinoshita smiled. That s true. I wasn t sure how it d turn out, but it looks like we re
relieved of a burden now.
I guess so. Feels like it s been a while since we ve had the chance to relax too
In reality, these past few days were filled with unease as if something had been
chasing us the entire time.
The Culture Festival, the Sports Festival, the field trip, the student council e
lection, and lastly, the Christmas collaboration event. All those days appeared
and disappeared, faded out and faded in
Weren t those just floating lanterns6? Did I
die or something, non?
As I was reflecting about that, I drank the rest of the remaining tea. Although
the cup was empty, it was still slightly warm.
I let out a short sigh. In that timing, three sighs overlapped.
Yukinoshita casually lifted her face and looked at Yuigahama s mug.
would you like another serving of tea?
Ah, thanks!

Yuigahama-san,

said Yuigahama as she happily extended out her mug.

Hikigaya-kun, hand me your tea cup.

Mm.
I handed over my cup without any particular complaints, but after thinking about
it more closely, I had the feeling her words were oddly different for me.
Uh, wasn t the reception just a little unequal there? The disparity s a little too obv
ious, you know? I said.
Regardless, Yukinoshita quickly directed her gaze to the box atop the table. As
she was preparing the tea, she opened her mouth, Also, there s quite a bit of cooki
es left over so could I ask you two to help finish them?
Totally not listening to me either Okay, well, I ll still eat the cookies though. It d
be a waste since we won t be at school for a while.
I rustled through the cookies or whatever that were bunched up in the box and Yu
igahama peeked in from the side.
I ll take two!
Sure, please help yourself.
Yay! The cookies that Yukinon makes are so good!

Yukinoshita showed her a small smile and Yuigahama happily tried to bite into he
r cookie. But suddenly realizing something, she vigorously stood up from her cha
ir.
Er, wroooooog!
Yuigahama s voice echoed in the quiet room.
Oh, what s the deal, suddenly standing up like that?
You ll spill your tea, you know.
But since Yukinoshita and I were long familiar with her noisiness, our reactions
were composed. Heck, Yukinoshita was acting like a mom of the sort too.
Unhappy with our reactions, Yuigahama abruptly shot open her eyes and continued
further. You two are just way too laidback! Today, weren t we supposed to talk abou
t what to do after this!?
Remembering once it was mentioned, Yukinoshita tilted her head.
, we were, weren t we

Speaking of which

Yeah, yeah! So, today s Christmas, what should we do? It s a rare opportunity, so let s
all do something crazy! Finally obtaining a satisfying response, Yuigahama nodde
d as she abruptly stretched out her hands.
Still, we were at a loss to her question. Reflexively, I scratched at my head. Ev
en if you say let s do something I was planning on spending Christmas normally at h
ome though.
Eeeh? Is that reaaally normal? Isn t Christmas, more like, where everyone goes PAN
with that PAN-PAKA-PAN kind of feeling? 7 kind of feeling, right?
What kind of feeling is that? I have no clue what that means
Especially that PAN-PAKA-PAN part. That PAN-PAKA-PAN.
Yukinoshita placed her hand on her chin and began to think. I don t believe spendin
g Christmas at home is anything unusual. In the west, celebrating it with your f
amily is supposedly commonplace.
But we re in Japan
er there.

Yuigahama opened her mouth, moaning in discontent, but I stopped h

Wait, calm down, Yuigahama. The European founding fathers were the ones saying th
at. So the correct answer here is to obediently spend your Christmas with your f
amily. This is what they call the Christmas that was GLOBALIZED by way of the WO
RLD STANDARD.
I retorted with an argument, but Yuigahama s reaction seemed somewhat indifferent.
She shook her hands in front of her face.
No, no, I don t know what the deal with THE WORLD or the STANDARD, but does that re
ally matter? Everyone s enjoying it like normal even if they aren t too knowledgeabl
e about it.
That s true, after getting localized over here, it s become a unique aspect of Japanes
e culture, said Yukinoshita after some consideration. For Yukinoshita to be persu
aded like this was rather rare. Still, there was something else that was more sh

ocking.
Yuigahama actually made a sound argument
Fufuun.

Yuigahama displayed a triumphant smile, teeming with pride.

Well, fine. Let s suppose that what Yuigahama said is right. So, what s the correct w
ay to enjoy Christmas in Japan then?
Yuigahama tilted her head and went

hm?

Eh, like I said, normally

To me, normal means to spend Christmas at home. I ve never spent Christmas with any
one outside of my family before. What exactly are we supposed to do? Should I ju
st go wey, wey ? It s not like we re in front of a station of a college in April here
Yukinoshita nodded. It looked like she agreed as well.
olleges in April tend to be annoying in various ways.

Certainly, stations near c

Those guys were seriously saying weeey for sure Especially if it s Christmas in the ci
ty, then those guys were definitely going wey, wey, yolo, yolo . When I think about
how I might end up seeing guys like that, that alone already made me
I despaired to the thought of those guys who were sure to cause a ruckus no matt
er when or where regardless of whether it was at the beginning or end of the yea
r.
Yuigahama waved her hands that went no way.
r yolo or whatever.
They totally do. Like Tobe.

No, no, they don t say stuff like

weeey

I retorted instantly.

Yuigahama was at a loss for words. Aah, Tobecchi is But it s Tobecchi, so there s no h
elping it or something You sure had your way with words even if you were trying to
brush it off with a smile.
Yukinoshita, who was listening, tilted her head and of course, said some horribl
e things as well. Tobe-kun doesn t really matter right now, but, um, what does weeey
and yolo mean?
It really didn t matter to Yukinoshita and it seemed like she was more interested
with weeey and yolo than with Tobe. When asked, Yuigahama cocked her head to the si
de inquisitively.

Who knows? I wonder

Maybe, English? Yuigahama said innocently, causing my cheeks to l
osen. I couldn t help but mix in a smile, letting out a voice that was meant for s
peaking with a child.
That s right. To Yuigahama, any word she doesn t know gets treated as English, see. I
t s okay, she just can t help herself.
The way you re saying it so nicely makes me upset! Yuigahama retorted back sullenly.
But look here, you were using the same kind of logic where all foreigners were
Americans, so I couldn t help but think of you as a little child, so what d you expe
ct ?
On the other hand, Yukinoshita had earnestly considered Yuigahama s remark and was
contemplating about something. So weeey in English would be the equivalent of wait ,
hich would be the meaning of matsu , I suppose

No, I m pretty sure that s not it.

In fact, they probably didn t even know a lick of English, especially with their J
apanese already being suspicious. But apparently, it had nothing to do with them
having issues with wording or having low communicative ability. As a matter of
fact, actually managing an actual conversation with a limited arsenal of vocabul
ary like crap , totally that , ooh right , that, for sure , and so forth indicated thei
munication ability was stupidly high. It was one super contextual culture. It re
ally emphasized our cultures are soooo different!
While I was thinking that, Yukinoshita tensely looked in my direction.
un, wey. Stay, house.

Hikigaya-k

So treating me like a dog, huh ?

Don t tell me you were betting your life on that? What do you know, that s pretty so
phisticated.
Don t even bother; I was ready to hit the road to my house a long time ago
When I attempted to head home obediently as I was instructed, Yuigahama forcibly
pulled my sleeve and sat me back down.
Wait, wait! Just wait! We haven t even decided on anything yet.
Yeah, but still Besides, you say to spend Christmas with everyone, but what are we
supposed to do?
Although I readjusted in my seat, I didn t see any signs of progress from here. As
usual, I still didn t understand what you re supposed to do when you hang out. By a
ll means, I d appreciate it if someone made a manual. Please put it on the Daijise
n8. I feel there were a lot of people who could get the job done as long they kn
ew the step-by-step process.
Well, a manual like that couldn t possibly exist, as people learned through hearsa
y and under those who were experienced.
Yuigahama, who lived a life of hearsay, nodded her head as she thought. Go nuts ! I
s something Hikki probably wouldn t like The illumination is pretty? Then again, Hi
kki would just say he ll go look at it by himself Ummm, ummm
I couldn t help but find myself slightly impressed with her.
Oooh, she s thinking ahead It looks like we can finally see Yuigahama s growth.
Actually, I think Hikigaya-kun s growth is what we can t see here You re going to be com
ing along anyway, so why not give up? You sure don t learn. Yukinoshita said with a
look of amazement. But I had a thing or two to say about that.
Look who s talking, it doesn t look like you re learning either. You can t expect me to t
ag along if you put it like that
Oh, I can t have you looking down on me. I m making sure to learn myself, said Yukinos
hita, showing an unyielding smile. But midway, it lost its spirit. Yuigahama-san,
she may not look like it, but she can be really stubborn, so there are times whe
n turning her down is pointless.
That s not learning, that s being whipped

Well, Yukinoshita and Yuigahama s slightly unhealthy relationship was in its own w
ay a sign of progress, so that s fine, yes.
Or so I was thinking until Yuigahama shot up her hands.

Ah, I know!

It looks like you have something in mind. Can we hear it?

Once Yukinoshita was ready to hear her out (fully whipped), Yuigahama lifted her
finger. She spun it and opened her mouth not looking very confident. Umm W-We can
all eat chicken together, or something!
We can already eat that at any time, can t we ?
With that logic, then places like the yakitori stores would have Christmas every
day. Besides, there s already chicken at my place anyway.
Yukinoshita adjusted herself towards me with a smiling face.
u don t mean I am ?

There s ? Are you sure yo

Hey, hey, I can t have you lumping up other chickens with the ones at my place. The
y re super easy to eat since they re boneless too. Include my pops and we have two l
ively ones. Compared to houses elsewhere, our place was extravagant. By the way,
when we count chickens, can we count them using lively ?
If they re still alive, then
Don t say things like
g chicken anymore!

lively should be fine.

still alive ! Grotesque things are banned! I won t feel like eatin

Yuigahama let out a heart wrenching scream. Still, if it ended on that note, the
n Yuigahama s suggestion wouldn t mean anything anymore.
If you re not going to eat chicken, then that means we won t need to hold a party. Th
e objective is gone.
Hikki, you schemer! said Yuigahama, choking on her words, but still continued. O-Ok
ay, if chicken s no good, then Let s eat cake instead, cake!
Cake, huh
I tried giving some thought to cakes. Honestly, back during the earlier Christma
s event, we had made a mountain of cakes, so I wasn t sure what to think if we had
to eat even more of them. Besides, whether it was chicken or cake, we could eat
those whenever we wanted. The condition, during Christmas , seemed just a little t
oo lackluster.
Hmmm.
Yuigahama looked into my face apprehensively and asked,
erested Hikki, were you bad with sweet things?

Huh, you don t seem too int

Just as I was about to open my mouth to answer, an individual did so before I co

uld.
Not at all. As a matter of fact, he likes thems.
Why did you answer, Yukinoshita ? Was this self-introduction time or something? Wel
l, I do like sweet stuff though
Yukinoshita flicked away the hair against her shoulders and looked at me with a

composed expression. It s not something we need to check. Coffee that sweet isn t som
ething you can drink unless you have a considerable sweet tooth, right?
Hah, you re underestimating MAX COFFEE too much. Sweet tooth or not, I drink it out
of necessity. The farmers of Chiba are extremely likely to buy them in bulk too
. When it comes to replenishing body fatigue, it s the most optimal.
In reality, the farmers of Chiba did tend to buy MAX COFFEE in bulk, even 4-koma
magazines too. I saw it in an extracurricular lesson during elementary when we
went to a farm so there s no doubt about it. Times of exhaustion called for someth
ing sweet. To be consuming this much MAX COFFEE made me wonder if the residents
of Chiba were just way too tired.
Just when I figured I d enlighten them to the sweetness and wonders of MAX COFFEE,
Yuigahama tilted her head. Hikki, you don t really seem like you re tired though Like
how you re always conserving energy or maybe being economical, or laidback? You al
ways feel like that.
Just so you know, conserving energy and economical doesn t mean to take it easy
So you re aware that you ve been cutting corners in life However, from the perspective
of people you don t know, your rotten eyes would certainly give the impression th
at you re tired Yet you re completely healthy As usual, your eyes are formidable.
No, as a matter of fact, this conversation is making me tired. So can I go home?
Like I said, you can t go home yet! Argh, whatever s fine! For now let s decide on some
thing! Something, okay!
So pushy
So this was the mysterious hardheadedness that whipped Yukinoshita, huh ?
The rude thought floated in my head and Yuigahama casted her face downwards.
If you don t really want to, then, that s fine too
ve peeks with upturned eyes.

said Yuigahama, shooting me suggesti

Er, no, it s not that I don t want to, but when I hear Christmas, there re just too man
y little things that I can t wrap my head around or something
When she showed me that kind of expression, I couldn t help but feel incredibly gu
ilty. But if I pardoned the framework-like thing called Christmas here, I had th
e feeling she might go hey, hey and nag about other things too. Unless we could dr
aw a line that I d be okay with, it wouldn t work Uwaah, this guy sure was a pain. By
this guy, I mean me.
As I was groaning while conflicted, Yukinoshita who was watching our exchange le
t out a short sigh. It s not something you need to think so hard about. Instead of
Christmas, think of it as a simple party. I ll be accompanying Yuigahama-san.
Yuigahama s face instantly lit up when she heard that and she flew at Yukinoshita.
Yukinon, thank you! That s right! Maybe a simple party might be better. Iroha-chan
and the others are probably busy with the student council too. Besides, we can t
hink of it as a thank-you to Sai-chan and Komachi-chan for helping us earlier.
Yes, if you think of it as something to appreciate their help, then I believe tha
t would be enough of a reason to go. Yukinoshita said, peeling Yuigahama off of h
er. I listened to the suggestion and contemplated.

I see, you have a point

Why?

But, well, today won t work for me.

Yuigahama removed her face from Yukinoshita and looked at me.

It was either from chicken or cake that I remembered I was entrusted with the ta
sk of bringing home the party barrel we reserved.
I need to bring back chicken for my family. Besides, you know, at least for today
, I need to prepare dinner instead of Komachi.
Yuigahama made a surprised expression.

He s surprisingly a devoted husband

It s rather rare for Hikigaya-kun to have any plans.

I instinctively smiled bitterly in response to Yukinoshita s words. You re absolutel
y right. For the most part, I d never have any plans, but in regards to family, mo
stly Komachi, I made sure not to ignore them.
Sorry, but anyway, that s how it is, so today is a no go.
I see If you have things to do, then there s not much we can do, I guess Yuigahama nod
ded her head, looking convinced of something. She made an ahaha laugh and quietly
sighed.
It may have been a sudden suggestion, but Yuigahama was probably looking forward
to Christmas. In her case, she had plenty of friends she could spend time with.
That s why I felt apologetic when she was making this kind of expression for some
one like me.
Yukinoshita looked at Yuigahama anxiously, presumably feeling the same way. She
then shifted her gaze to me. If today doesn t work, you won t mind tomorrow then?
Well, I don t have anything particular to do.

I answered as I scratched my head.

Realizing what that meant, Yuigahama looked at Yukinoshita, then me, and clapped
her hands.
Eh, eh, ah, right, I see! Okay, tomorrow it is then! So tomorrow, we ll get ready a
nd get everyone to go buy presents and stuff!
Quietly watching the energetic Yuigahama, Yukinoshita nodded as well.
nk that s fine. Today, I m feeling, just a little tired

Sure. I thi

It looked like that was a relief for Yukinoshita. But thanks to that, our conver
sation ended on a good note and I stood up from my seat. Now I just had to go pi
ck up the chicken and go home
Okay, so we ll leave it at that.
I put my hands on the door to the room. Aah, right. I had to say this just in cas
e. After rethinking, I turned back to the two.
See you, tomorrow.
Yukinoshita looked slightly surprised, but she quickly showed a small smile whil
e Yuigahama energetically waved her hands.
Yes, see you tomorrow.

Yeah, see you tomorrow!

Taking those remaining words with my back turned, I left the room. It felt like
it had been a long time since I was able to exchange these kinds of trivial good
byes.

I headed home after picking up the chicken at KFC.
I m baaack.
I called out and went up the steps. When I opened the door to the living room, K
omachi, who had been lying on the sofa, stood up and jogged over.
Welcome back, onii-chan!
Yeah, here. The chicken. I handed over the party barrel I was holding to Komachi.
She carefully took it and carried it to the kitchen.
Thanks ? Mom s going to be home soon too.
That so, how about pops?

I took off my coat and tossed it onto the sofa.

Komachi picked it up, straightened it on a hanger, and said,

What a stone cold reaction
ps?

Who knows?

What did you do this time to make Komachi hate you, po

So pitiful, you re so pitiful pops. There wasn t much he could do about his daughter
hating him, but needing to work on a day like this, corporate slaves were truly
pitiful
Putting that aside, are you sure you shouldn t be spending time with Yukino-san and
Yui-san today?
Spending Christmas Eve with family gets first priority, after all.
Komachi made an odd face.
something else in mind.

Mmm. You sound like a girl that says no because she has

Eh? That s how girls refused? Gosh, the boys who honestly thought she sure is a good
girl to be spending time with her family were totally pitiful Why do you always hav
e to feed me unnecessary information like that?
Scary Girls were scary Now that I ve been exposed to this story, I couldn t help, but
suspect almost all the girls who behaved a certain way meant something else. You
thought she sure is a nice girl to give me cough drops , but it turned out she act
ually meant You re so boring, shut up, here have some candy , or something like that.
Again, which middle school me was this?
As I trembled from the fear, Komachi placed her hands on her waist and threw out
her chest. The thing about onii-chan is that while you re extremely cynical, you a
lso like to dream a lot. I just think I should gradually destroy those illusions
of yours. This is a little sister s love, you know?
Aah, why thank you missy
I didn t really need that Imagine Breaker though

As I felt disheartened, Komachi glanced at the party barrel in the kitchen and t
hen looked at me anxiously. Onii-chan, you didn t have to worry about us. You could v
e just enjoyed your Christmas Eve, you know?
That s not it. We just rescheduled a party to tomorrow, that s all. We re going to buy
some presents and then have the party or something afterwards.
Really? What the heck, I want to go too!
made me remember.

Komachi leaned forward and blurted and it

Aah, speaking of which, they did say they wanted to thank you for the help today
ut you re still in the middle of tests

Gosh, taking a day or two off from studying isn t going to change anything. I just
need to make up those two days of work on another day!
That s what they call a death flag. I m still okay . Just a bit more and I can do it .
nk I just might make it . While you re reciting all that, it d be long over; that s what
they call a deadline. Listen here, Komachi. You can push back your deadlines, b
ut you can t do that for test days.
Normally you can t push back deadlines either, onii-chan
ep, but pitying eyes.

Komachi looked at me with de

Ha, ha, ha You re right about that. You couldn t push them back The recent memory of t
he collaborative Christmas event chasing after me gave me nightmares. Urgh, just
why did things like deadlines exist in this world ? Especially when there d be peop
le who could be happy without them The fact that these formidable enemies called
deadlines were causing many people to suffer, it might as well be considered as
an evil. Therefore, the solution that could destroy the existence of that formid
able enemy would be justice. But I digress.
Deadlines weren t the issue right now, but Komachi. Deadlines, important. Little s
ister, much more.
But messing around given the season, I m not so sure about that
Dear, was this really fine? Dear, was this really in the best interests of Komac
hi? The person in question, however, looked unperturbed and was even happy-go-lu
cky.
No worries, no worries. See, just what is onii-chan doing right now? , did he do some
thing again? ; it s a big problem since I can t concentrate with these thoughts!
Well, I understand where you re coming from.
I was the same way. What s Komachi doing?
I hope there aren t any weird bugs sticking t
o her. Kawasaki Taishi isn t pushing her against the wall as he talks to her or anyt
hing, right? Because if he is, I m going to murder that damn brat
Those thoughts wou
ld consume my mind and it d be common for my fist to transform into various shapes
.
When she saw me looking convinced, Komachi forced one last push. Also, as far as
Komachi s concerned, being told to study just makes me lose my drive.
That s it. Exactly that. Seriously that. Totally exactly that. There s nothing, but t
hat. I reflexively pointed at Komachi. When you get told to study or work, your ef
ficiency just drops, strange as it is.
I sighed in exhaustion and Komachi roped me in with a smile.

Riiiight!? And. That s

. Why
Well, as long we don t stay out too late, then I guess.
Yay! I better figure out what kind of presents I want to buy!
Although Komachi was raising her hands up in the air in joy, I should at least g
ive her a warning. If she failed her exam because of this, I wouldn t be able to l
ook her in the eyes.
You better make sure to study. Ah, that s right. Almost forgot the present. I grabbe
d the bag that was tossed onto the sofa, took out a bag from inside, and rested
it on Komachi s head. Here. Merry Christmas.
Making a curious expression, Komachi placed her hand on the bag atop of her head
and fixedly looked at it. After that, Komachi s face from her mouth to her ears g
radually turned to a smile.
Is this

a present for me? Onii-chan, thank you! Hey, can I open it?

Go ahead. Though it s just something I bought on the spot after I got Yukinoshita a
nd Yuigahama s recommendation. If you re going to thank someone, thank them.
Komachi s hands stopped just right before she was about to open her present with a
look of surprise
Huh? You chose it together?
Well, it just kind of happened.

I answered.

Komachi made a wicked smile. Hoooh, is that sooo? Oh, I seeee, together, huh?
What s with that irritating face and tone of yours?
That s totally getting on my nerves. I glared at Komachi, but she kept her teasing
smile while giving me a lukewarm stare.
No, no, this is just a smile overflowing with happiness, that s all. As a matter of
fact, what you told me just now was the absolute best Christmas present ever.
Oh yeah? Well, as long you re happy, then whatever.
I spoke from my shoulder and Komachi lifted up a finger and took on a haughty at
titude.
Ah, but listen to this, onii-chan. When you re giving a present to a girl, you shou
ldn t mention that you chose it with another girl. As far as Komachi s concerned, th
at s very low in Komachi points. Well, since I m your sister though, it doesn t matter
. In fact, it makes me very happy. Seeing onii-chan, Yukino-san, and Yui-san uni
ted is the best thing I can see.
Yeah, yeah. I very rarely give presents to people in the first place, but I ll keep
that in mind. Anyway, guess I ll get dinner ready.
Yeah! Ah, that s right. I better mail Yui-san about tomorrow
As I took note of Komachi s advice, I headed for the kitchen.
Alright, first off was Christmas at the Hikigaya household. Let s show them what I
got Or so I said, but aside from the chicken, it s mostly just side dishes.

It was the day of Christmas, following the night of Christmas Eve.

Komachi and I were heading to the shopping mall where everyone would meet. Since
it was Christmas, the streets up to the shopping mall brightly glittered from t
he illumination and ornaments and people going to the city were in high spirits.
Amongst those people, my little sister, Hikigaya Komachi, I knew all too well wa
s the peppiest. She had been humming energetically since a while back.
Pretty lively first thing in the morning, aren t you?

I said.

Komachi who had been walking further ahead, turned around to me with a twirl. Duh
, it s Christmas, you know? And we ll be going shopping with Yukino-san and Yui-san
too, see? And after that, we ll be having a party and exchanging presents, see? Of
course I ll get super excited!
Komachi seemed to have understood our plans. Heck, she might even know more than
me.
Really? Well, I guess girls do like things like present exchanges and stuff. When
ever I hear present exchanges, I end up recalling the encyclopedia I didn t fill u
p and the guys I couldn t evolve
I reflected, with the nostalgic regrets enveloping
me.
With a gentle voice, Komachi encouraged me. Onii-chan, it ll definitely be a lot be
tter from here on See, even Ruby and Sapphire got remade, you know!
Your reason s weird

Also, I m more of the original type of guy

Well, if they decided to implement the Wonder Trade9 feature, then a lot of issu
es would be solved. Then again, Komachi, exchange something with me I looked at K
omachi.
She tapped my shoulders and pointed to the entrance of the mall. Don t sweat the de
tails. Look, we made it, onii-chan. Ah, they re both here already too.
I moved my eyes to the entrance of the shopping mall and Yuigahama and Yukinoshi
ta were standing there. They looked like they noticed us a well and Yuigahama ma
de a big wave with her hand.
Yahallo!
Yui-san, yahallo! Yukino-san too, yahallo?
Hello.
Komachi gave her greetings to Yuigahama and Yukinoshita, but I really wish they d
stop doing that It s a little embarrassing. I found myself checking around us anxio
usly.
You guys sure are early. Is this everyone? If we re all here, let s get going.
It was Christmas, so it was considerably crowded. I was fed up with having to wa
lk through this congestion of people. There d be nothing better than to get this o
ver with quickly.
But Yuigahama motioned us to wait. Hold on. I invited Sai-chan too.
Oh really? Then let s wait forever until Totsuka gets here.

Okay, that works, but somehow that bugs me

groaned Yuigahama.

Komachi spoke up from there. Yukino-san, Yui-san. Thank you for the Christmas pre
sent.
Not at all, if you re happy with it, then that s great. Yukinoshita smiled, shaking he
r head telling her not to worry about it while Yuigahama nodded her head going yu
p, yup .
I mean, I m not sure what to expect from onii-chan with tastes like that, but I m gla
d the two of you chose it for me!
This time I was nodding to Komachi s words. No, really, they really saved me some
trouble by choosing for me. Well, she was probably happier from the fact those t
wo chose the present for her than what she received.
Watching the smiling Komachi, Yuigahama happily returned a smile of her own. Ah,
right. We did give some advice, but the one who chose the present in the end was
Hikki.
That s true. Although he normally doesn t think all that much, he was worrying and wo
rrying all the way until the end Yukinoshita winded her long hair with her fingert
ips and looked at me.
Komachi s mouth was stuck open with surprise.
Uh, you didn t need to mention that

Huh? Is, that what happened?

Really stop, don t say anything

I was supposed to look cool because I nonchalantly chose a present, but actually
seriously worrying about what to pick was too embarrassing. Because Komachi s sta
re that was focused on me was uncomfortable, I decided to shift my gaze and the
topic to something else.
Anyway, what s this about me not normally thinking all that much? I ll have you know
there aren t very many who think as much as I do. I could literally get a bronze s
tatue for it.
Yukinoshita placed her hand on her mouth, holding back her smile.
don t think of anything worthwhile would ve been more correct.

Oh? I m sorry.

You

You re not wrong there, so I ll give you that.

So you re okay with that Ahaha Ah, but look, Komachi-chan. Hikki really did think abo
ut Er Komachi-chan? Yuigahama said to Komachi.
Komachi who had been in a daze restarted.
Ha! Shoot! I almost got fooled by onii-c
han being a hinedere10 again! A-Anyway, thank you two very much. Also onii-chan t
oo.
What, who s getting fooled here ? I was always getting fooled by Komachi s cuteness, y
ou know. Both Komachi and I looked away from each other from embarrassment.
Mm. Well, it s not a big deal. Don t worry about it.
Right, right.

Yuigahama looked at the both of us and let out a chuckle.

Yukinoshita watched us with a gentle expression, but looking like she realized s
omething, she spoke. In any case, Komachi-san, I know you re having a difficult tim
e with your exams, so I m sorry that we had to call you out like this. We did invi

te you, but was it really okay for you to come? If by chance you re just forcing y
ourself, then
No, it s fine. Relaxing is necessary too.
Yukinoshita glared at me. If all you do is rest, not only do you get complacent,
but your knowledge will too.
Ugh, you hit it where it hurts
Certainly, taking a break or trying to change gears was often used as excuses to
ditch.
Seemingly in pain from those words, Komachi was mumbling something in a small vo
ice next to me. I wonder if Yukino-san s more of an education-conscious mom A reliab
le older sister One day, I want her as my onee-chan. Komachi s eyes visually sparkle
d.
Yukinon, it should be okay. Komachi-chan s very responsible so you don t need to worr
y too much.
Certainly, Komachi s very responsible.
Seemingly happy with that follow up, Komachi was whispering something in a small
voice next to me. I guess Yui-san s more of a Wise Wife, Good Mother11, huh? A tol
erant older sister Eventually, I want her as my onee-chan. Komachi s eyes visually s
parkled.
Just what have you been mumbling about ?
Mmm? That s a secret! ?

Komachi sent me a wink, waving her index finger.

Damn it, this girl was too cute to the point it was irritating, seriously.
Well, anyway, we don t need to be all that worried, right? Besides, look, even I pa
ssed the tests! Yuigahama lightly hit her own chest.
Yukinoshita made a difficult expression.
we can say

When you put it that way, there s not much

Please say something! You need to follow up somehow!

Yuigahama s crying voice was interrupted by Yukinoshita s composed tone.
Then, question. Name the prefecture that s ranked first in the production of Satsum
a sweet potatoes. Further, Ibaraki Prefecture is ranked second.
Eh, eh!?

Yuigahama panicked from being quizzed out of the blue.

You don t really need to think twice about this

Isn t this way too easy ? You gave a big hint away.
Easy and a big hint

Potato, Ibaraki Ah! It s Chiba Prefecture!

Incorrect. I said Satsuma, didn t I ? The correct answer is Kagoshima Prefecture. By

the way, Chiba is ranked third.
Yukinon, trick questions are unfair!

There was no trick. It was really simple actually

and Yuigahama groaned in discontent.

said Yukinoshita with amazement,

Then again, how the heck did she get Chiba from those hints? What s this, were you
saying Chiba was the same as Ibaraki because they gave off this feeling of pota
toes somehow? Could you stop trying to diss Chiba?
Komachi, who had been watching their exchange, asked with a confused expression.
Yui-san, just how did she pass?
Miracles and magic, right? Well, Komachi should do okay on the tests. By virtue o
f being my little sister, her problem solving skills are good. She s an idiot, but
she s good at handling things.
Your appeal of trying to show how good you are at problem solving is a little bit
annoying, but I can see what you re trying to say. Yukinoshita nodded her head, se
emingly having no qualms with my opinion. Really though, what s with the annoying pa
rt ?
Still, it looked like that evaluation was odd for Komachi and her face turned in
to a frown. Mmm, it doesn t sound like a compliment at all though

Aah, that s true. When you get told you re good at handling things , you feel like you re
cheating or something. Yuigahama expressed her agreement.
Hoh, surprisingly it was bothering her. Well, it s true that Yuigahama was good at
handling things. That s probably how people saw it from the way she d maintain just
-right distances with people. So it wouldn t be odd to hear one or two unpleasant
things about it. Girl society s pretty scary, after all.
I see. Then, let s think of something else

Little sneak, or something.

It got even worse!?

Yukinoshita placed her hand on her chin in disregard to the surprised Yuigahama
and after thinking, she majestically opened her mouth. Impertinent little or the l
ike.
Yukinon, you re like a boss character!
I had no absolutely no idea why Yuigahama was looking at Yukinoshita with admira
tion, but in contrast to Yukinoshita, Komachi opened her mouth with a twinkle. Li
ttle devil, or something! ?
You re going to say that about yourself!?
Aah, no, Komachi s just that kind of girl. So including that, that part was what m
ade her good at handling things. In other words, if we were going to change how
we described being good at handling things, then
Komachi s cute, or something.
Yuigahama had a disgusted face.
Hikki s response kind of hurts

There s the sis-con

It s fine that you get along, but

Nope, not at all. Even if she got into my eyes, that is.
Just how much do you love her!?

Yuigahama withdrew midway.

But there was also someone next to her doing the same thing. Uhhh, just now, even

I was just a bit grossed out there, onii-chan. I m okay with it at home, but doin
g that outside is just a little problematic.
So it s fine at home
A-Ahahaha
When Yukinoshita stated with half amazement and half surprise, Yuigahama laughed
with the same feeling. There, Yuigahama noticed something and lifted her hand.
Ah, it looks like Sai-chan s here. Heeeey, over here!
When I looked myself, running over here in the distance was Totsuka.
Hachimaaan!
Oooh~, Totsuka, you re here! I stepped forward, ready to catch Totsuka in my arms, b
ut behind him I could see a wild boar running my way like the surging waves of a
storm.
Hachimaaaaaaan!
Aaah

Zaimokuza, you re actually here

While Zaimokuza was steadying his violent breathing with a

poke to Totuska.

fushururu! , Yuigahama s

Sai-chan, yahallo!
Uh huh, yahallo!
A refreshing greeting. On second thought, it really is a good greeting.
re is cute.

Yahallo

su

As I was thinking that, the revived Zaimokuza turned to me and raised his hand. I
ndeed, Hachiman. Yahalloooo!
Then again, this greeting was really embarrassing
me?

Even so, why did he greet only

Y-Yeah So, who called Zaimokuza? I checked with Yuigahama and Yukinoshita with a qu
iet voice and the two s faces distorted in confusion.
Eh? You weren t the one that called him, Hikki?
I thought for sure he was under your care
No, I didn t call him
Still, the one good thing about Zaimokuza was that you could place any doubt to
rest with just it s because it s Zaimokuza . It also included not having any interest i
n what he did. In other words, it s basically whatever works ?!
Well, that s fine. I was going to thank him at some point anyway.
Indeed. If you wish not to turn bald, then I would advise to not fret over the sp
ecifics. So to speak, for what reason do we gather today? Zaimokuza spoke.
Komachi looked at both Yuigahama and Yukinoshita. Ummm We re going to have a Christm
as party, but before that, we ll be doing some shopping and buying presents for th

e gift exchange. Does that sound about right?

Yuigahama nodded in response.
.

Uh huh. Since we re all here now, we should get going

I suppose. Let s get this over with quickly.

shopping mall.

Yukinoshita said, heading inside to the

We all followed right after her.

Presents. They were a type of Christian stepping tablets12
If you gave someone something mediocre, Aah, so this person actually thought I wa
s someone who d want something like this, uh huuuh , of the sort would come to mind.
Foresight. Tastes. Financial fidelity. Resourcefulness; it wasn t an exaggeration
to say that those qualities were all judged No, it might be an exaggeration. Prob
ably, an exaggeration It d be nice if it was an exaggeration. Well, I ll just ready m
y nerves just in case.
The inside of the shopping mall was overflowing with people as well. Christmas c
arols were incessantly playing and people who passed by were carrying large bags
. All of the stores were decorated with wreathes and tinsel. Just a quick glance
revealed that a fair number of stores were inside.
Oooh. I ve never actually stepped foot in this shopping mall since it was built, bu
t there s a lot of things in here, huh?
I looked around finding it rare since this was my first time stepping foot in he
re. In the same way, Yukinoshita was anxiously examining the area.

It s rather big, isn t it ? Also, there s quite a lot of people since it s Christmas as we
l Just walking is tiring
Yukinoshita had no endurance and also wasn t comfortable with crowds of people. De
spair was fading in and out from every alternating letter of her words. In contr
ast, there was Yuigahama.
You re right! It s so lively, this actually might be kind of fun! Ah, look, there s a S
anta here! Reinforced by the merry atmosphere filling the interior of the mall, Y
uigahama was elatedly enjoying herself, pointing at the person in a Santa outfit
distributing balloons in the area. She then pulled at my sleeve. Hey, hey, Hikki
, how long did you believe Santa-san for?
I think I believed in him up until elementary school, maybe.
Heeh, that s kind of surprising.

Yuigahama opened her mouth in surprise.

Wait, it shouldn t be that surprising. Even I had a time when I was just a pure, n
ave child. Just when I thought I d give her a piece of my mind, Komachi quietly sto
od next to me.
My brother when he was younger was sooo adorable, you know~. Especially in the pi
ctures and home videos . His eyes weren t rotten at the time either.
What the heck? That makes me super curious!
It didn t look like Yuigahama s voice reached Komachi as she had a regrettable expre

ssion with a distant look in her eye. It was like she was mourning those long da
ys past. I-I m sorry, okay? Sorry that onii-chan turned out this way
After watching Komachi and Yuigahama, Yukinoshita smiled with a look of pity.
t how did he turn out this way, I wonder ? Time can be quite cruel.

Jus

You got that right. Everything was time s fault.

Waah, as usual

Yuigahama let out a resigned sigh.

Yup, that was also time s fault. I wasn t the one at fault here.
Hikki s beyond help, but Yukinon, did you believe in Santa?

asked Yuigahama.

Yukinoshita looked into the distance and murmured, By the time I was old enough t
o understand things for myself, nee-san already told me
Aah, she was that kind of person after all
Poor Yukinon, poor Yukinon Both Yuigahama and I couldn t help but, send her a gaze
of sympathy. But since it was Haruno-san, there wasn t much she could do. Well, it
might ve been different if she blurted out that s onee-sama for you! 13 and clung onto
her though.
Hachiman, since the dawn of time, I had never placed any faith in Santa! In this
world, I have no God, Buddha, Santa, or giiiiiiiiiiiiiiirlfriend! Zaimokuza screa
med out loudly as he clenched his fist.
I understand your feelings, but why are you talking just to me ? Let s talk about the
se important things with the others, yeah?
I couldn t deny the fact that girlfriends were on the same vague plane of existenc
e as gods, Buddhas, and Santa. It was only that point alone that made it worth l
istening to Zaimokuza s opinion.
Since there were so many people on the side that denied Santa s existence at a you
ng age, Yuigahama let out an embarrassing ahaha laugh. Then again, it looks like mo
st people find out pretty early, huh? I believed in Santa up until my third year
in elementary~.
Ahaha.

Komachi laughed in the same way.

Oh you re such a joker, Yui-san.

Ahaha, I know, right? I was just a teensy bit dumb back then
No, that still holds even now, not when you were just a kid
Just as I was about to tell her this, Komachi beat me to the punch, with her eye
s going sparkle ? with an adorable smile. No, no, Santa really does exist. That j
ust now was high in Komachi points.
There it is! That naughty smile!
Although Yuigahama pointed it out, Komachi s eyes continued to sparkle.
Well, Komachi s always like that Then again, we need to stop talking about this. The
re might be someone who still believes in Santa here Like Totsuka.
Ha! That s possible for Sai-chan
We peeked in Totuska s direction and Totsuka frantically shook his hands.

C-C mon, even I don t believe in him anymore. But

think.

it d be nice if he did exist though, I

Looking straight at Totsuka who let out an embarrassed ehehe

her head back. Whoa, so bright! Totsuka-san s too bright!
I-I m going to become liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!
line of sight, even he was suffering.

That also appearing in Zaimokuza s

Good grief, these guys just didn t prepare themselves enough

ce was natural for Totsuka, jeez.
Uh, I doubt you can turn into light
suka s Santa instead.
Just what are you saying ?
r.

laugh, Komachi threw

That level of brillian

But since I can t turn into light, I ll become Tot

Yukinoshita said in disbelief as she brushed away her hai

Ha! Shoot! I was supposed to stay composed, but before I noticed, I had complete
ly turned into light
Anyway, with the mall being so large, it s hard to know which area we should start
looking around in. Yukinoshita stated as she looked around.
Well, there was a part of you that had no sense of direction after all
Having been told that, Komachi groaned as she did a little thinking.
t kinds of presents does everyone want to buy?
I was thinking of like maybe accessories or general stuff, but
else?

Let s see. Wha

What about everyone

Then, surprisingly, Zaimokuza responded with a suggestion.

When you hear Christmas, you think of toys. And when you hear toys, you think of
Us!

Aah, their commercial tune has some pretty nice lyrics. It really made you sympat
hize.
What kind of song was it again?
the R Us commercial song. Uhhh

asked Totsuka, and I tried to sing the lyrics from

I think it went like this

I want to staaaay a child, funfufufu funfufu? No, that s not right. Nya? Nyanya nya , I
don t want to become an aduuult, I don t want to work
As I was singing, I could feel t
he mood get muddy and depressing. H-Huuuh? Was this song really that much of a d
owner?
Totsuka made a slightly strained smile, wondering the same thing as I did.
W-Was it that kind of song ? Although most of it was made up on the spot, you re amaz
ing to remember only that last part properly Ah, but it looks like there s a R Us ov
er there.
Indeed. Let us enter.
Oh, sounds good. I m starting to get kind of giddy now.
The boy group was eager to go inside, but Yuigahama made an obviously displeased

face.
Eeeh, we re really going inside?
Looking to calm Yuigahama down, Komachi took her arms.
stuff like party goods, so why not give it a shot?

Now, now, they might have

Now that you mention it, that s true. I wonder if they sell crackers.
dded after thinking.

Yukinoshita no

Totsuka agreed with that as well. Yeah, let s try taking a look. As Totsuka headed i
nside the store, we followed right behind him.
Still, Yukinoshita-san, crackers of all things? You were totally looking forward
to this party, weren t you ? No, well, that s not a bad thing or anything.

The inside of the store plastered with Christmas special displays was submerged
in a unique fanciness liken to a toy store, becoming a small land of dreams and
magic. Though Yuigahama was reluctant earlier, she was raising her voice in happ
iness going waah .
Toy stores were truly places that allowed you to revert back to a child. Really,
I don t want to become an adult, I don t want to work
As we walked about in that exciting space, we came across a familiar individual.
That person was squatting in front of the plastic model shelves.
It was Hiratsuka-sensei.
As I stood there with my tongue tied, Hiratsuka-sensei noticed us as well.
kigaya

Oh, Hi

Se-Sensei
Ah, it s Hiratsuka-sensei.
Oh, so Yuigahama and the others were with you.
Coming from behind me was Yuigahama and the others and they noticed Hiratsuka-se
nsei as well.
What could you be doing at a place like this?
R-Right. Basically

W-Work.

No, that had to be a lie You were totally mumbling your words and even though the
heating wasn t all that strong, your hands were totally sweating. Still, Yuigaham
a looked at Hiratsuka-sensei with innocent eyes.
Huuuh, that must be rough. Even though it s Christmas too.
Urg, nngh, y-yeah, well, it is work after all It s just part of my job as a guidance
counselor. It d be a big deal if students caused problems during winter vacation
from playing around too much. A-Aah, what a bummer. You know what they say about
privacy and work. Even dinner conversations were becoming work related recently
too. A, ha, ha, ha
Sensei, your eyes aren t laughing

Totsuka looked at sensei with frightful eyes amidst

the space that shook with Hiratsuka-sensei s laughing voice.

Once she finished her laugh, Hiratsuka-sensei took back her calm demeanor as if
something had blown past inside of her. So, I m in the middle of my work, but what a
re you all doing?
We re thinking of holding a party soon so we re doing some shopping for that. Ah, I k
now. Sensei, why don t you join us? Yuigahama asked and Hiratsuka-sensei crossed he
r arms and contemplated.
Fumu Well, it doesn t hurt to cut loose for a bit. Maybe I ll bother you guys for a bi
t. Not like I had any plans anyway She added those words with a small voice.
Komachi tilted her head. What ever happened to your work ?
Komachi, stop. Don t ask. I gently grabbed her shoulders and stopped her. Luckily, t
hose words didn t reach Hiratsuka-sensei s ears as she started to rummage through th
e shelves energetically.
So now that s decided, I m suddenly feeling super excited! C mon, look Hikigaya! There s
a ton of fun toys around!
Looking at how Hiratsuka-sensei was, Yukinoshita muttered.
sudden now

She s energetic all of a

I guess the lid s finally off

Well, being able to change gears quickly was a good thing! As I explained her be
havior in a positive light, Hiratsuka-sensei took a number of things from the sh
elves and showed me a wonderful smile.
Look, Hikigaya, how about something like the Mini 4WDs? Once you re an adult, you g
et really hooked. There re also B-Daman, Hyper Yo-Yos, Beyblade But I guess I still
prefer Transformers. No, ZOIDS are hard to let go too. Aah, you can t forget abou
t the trading card games too.
Zaimokuza was pulled in from the lineup that was close to our senses as boys. Ind
eed, bundled with golden cards signed by the cast and new specially drawn illust
rations, Precious Memories with raving reviews from Movic is on sale!
What s with the sudden commercial ?

I was surprised by his unexpectedly good voice.

Totsuka nodded as well. But card games are pretty fun. I used to play all the tim
e Let s abide by the rules and have a fun duel!14
Your hunger is lacking! But for men, then Chogokin15 is the way to go! Become the
liiiiiiiiiiiiiight!16
Hey, seriously, your screaming is making me want it now
Because of Zaimokuza s exclai
med in a cool voice, I found myself leaning forward and checking out the toys as
well.
On the other hand, speaking of the girl group, they were looking at us with cold
stares at a distance away.
Haa, I guess boys just like that stuff, huh?
Boys will be boys wherever they are after all.
ven up voice.

Komachi said to pacify Yuigahama s gi

So why is Hiratsuka-sensei with them over there ?

ted.

Yukinoshita said with her head til

Well, it wasn t anything out of the ordinary. I mean, it was Hiratsuka-sensei afte
r all. In this world, there was no such thing as something mysterious.17
We boys along with Hiratsuka-sensei looked at more of the R Us shelves. Totsuka t
ugged at my coat s sleeve (cute). Ah, hey Hachiman, look, look. They have a lot of
Gunpla here.
When I looked, a bunch of Gunpla was overcrowding the shelves.
Oh. You re right. Are you interested?
Considering Totsuka s typical image, it didn t suit him very much. Obviously this in
cluded his facial features and body type, though there s also his sports club, he
didn t really give off the impression he d like this kind of stuff.
When I asked, Totsuka s gaze lowered to the floor and he muttered with embarrassme
nt. Yeah, I am .
M-Me too!
Eh?

Totsuka looked at me with a blank face.

Whoa, not good, not good. My hot pathos almost gushed out right there. I had bet
ter revise my statement. Aah, no, sorry. I couldn t hear you very well there so I s
aid something weird. Sorry, but could you say that five more times?
Stop right there! Hachiman! Zaimokuza gripped my shoulders, keeping me in check wh
ich allowed me to return to my senses again.
Th-That was close. The way his face was blushing bright red as he looked away tr
ying to muster his words out earlier was one thing, but also how cute the way he
lightly tilted his head with a mix of surprise and confusion as he narrowed eye
s almoooost made me slip out something weird. Thanks Zaimokuza! I sent him a loo
k and Zaimokuza lifted his glasses as he operated his smart phone.
I will ready the recording, so buy me some time!
Yeah, leave it to me!
What a reliable fellow Zaimokuza was! I d never had guess to use a recording of To
tsuka s voice as an alarm clock to wake up in the morning and night! This guy real
ly was disgusting! But no objections from me! Except streaming it was NG! I want
to monopolize it, after all!
The moment I tried to open my mouth in hopes of buying some time, Komachi interr
upted me with a sigh. The strategy was a failure!
Uwaah, what a good-for-nothing combo. But onii-chan, you used to make this a lot
back then. Komachi said as she snatched a Gunpla from the box and lifted it up.
Aah, you used to break them all the time too though
er sibling.

Well, that s the fate of the old

Well, if you had a younger brother or sister, plastic models getting destroyed w
as common. To add, save data was no exception. It was natural for your adventure
log to get deleted the moment their feet hit the console. Heck, I want to see th
is scene again and you d go out of your way to save on a different slot only to hea

r I wanted to start a new game, so I overwrote it ?

y.

which caused you to lightly cr

Filled with my young memories, I could hear Totsuka s sweet voice. So Hachiman, you
made them before too, huh? Me too. It was my dad who was into it at first thoug
h.18
Heeh. That s actually kind of surprising. I replied back. I was totally under the im
pression Totsuka was brought up gracefully. For him to be influenced by his pret
ty dad I mean, dad, was a bit surprising.
Totsuka covered his mouth with his hands and chuckled. Really? I mean, I am a boy
after all, you know?
The way Totsuka gently tilted his head and peek into my face from below was as i
f he was testing me. In the small distance that he covered by getting close to m
e, I reflexively lost my words and Zaimokuza in the same way emulated Totsuka. F
or what reason?
That is right, Hachiman. There is no way this cutie could ever be a girl!
Urg, right, he is a boy after all, kuh
Watching our worthless exchange, Hiratsuka-sensei approached us. She held a Mast
er Grade set and looked it over.
Oh, Gunpla, huh? I hear girls have been making them too recently
s kind of hobby might affect popularity in the future.
Are you serious? Now I m starting to get interested

Surprisingly, thi

Kirara ?19

When Komachi s eyes sparkled, Hiratsuka-sensei laughed with provocation.

Oh, Hikigaya s little sister. Want to have a match with me in gunplay then?
As Komachi and Hiratsuka-sensei took opposing stances, for some reason, Yukinosh
ita slid to the front.
If you mean match, then losing won t be forgiven.20
So you got hooked by the word
n-san21. You sore loser

match , huh? Even though you re always being Yarukinaine

Still, how exactly do you have a match with Gunpla A match of craftsmanship? As I
thought that, Komachi didn t seem to care at all about that, but was just ready t
o go. She displayed a fearless smile and then pointed at Hiratsuka-sensei and Yu
kinoshita.
Fufufu! Very well! Then let s have a match! Should you win against me, for the priz
e I will present you my brother!
Hohoo

Hiratsuka-sensei looked at Komachi with a sharp glint.

Crap, those eyes were serious!

Now just a second, Komachi-chan? Could you stop trying to sugarcoat your attempt a
t getting rid of a nuisance? I ll just say for the time being, but that s
No, you can t! You definitely can t do that! Yuigahama interrupted the words I tried t
o say. The way Yuigahama barged into made me look in her direction.

Y-Yeah
Ah

Well, they certainly can t, do that

Um, it s not that they can t do that, er

When our eyes met, we both averted our faces.

We also went dead silent too. What the heck was this? I really wanted to jump to
my death right now. And then, remembering a feeling of discomfort from watching
Yuigahama and I, Komachi looked at the both of us.
Oh? Oh? Is it just me, or a mood I don t know of is
yes were illuminating.

Could this possibly, be ?

Komachi s

Please, Komachi-chan, don t look at your onii-chan with those kinds of eyes As I wa
s thinking that, watching that exchange from a distance, Zaimokuza let out an in
credibly dull voice.
Hachimaaan, I totally don t care, but can I like go pick a Gunpla already, huuuh?
Eh, aah, right. I ll go look over there for a bit too. When I headed to where Zaimok
uza was, I could hear Komachi click her tongue from behind.
Tch, that darn chuuni-san

He interrupted at a good spot too

Phew, I guess we re putting the match on hold. Well, why don t we go check it out too
? Hiratsuka said and everyone rummaged around inside of the store.
I lined up next to Zaimokuza and Totsuka who were looking at the Gunpla.
I m suddenly feeling tired now
Ah, Hachiman. Why don t you pick something? Noticing from my voice mixed with a sigh
that I had lined up next to him, Totsuka did a turn.
So you say, but I don t know what s what nowadays. I don t have the confidence I d build
them nicely either
That s okay. You don t need to worry about it too much. With Gunpla, you can freely m
ake things with whatever you can think of!
Totsuka s smile as he fervently talked with sparkling eyes was bright
When you put it like that, now I really want to try building something
I ll go with this

Okay, maybe

I looked through numerous ones and I reached my hands out for something that str
uck a chord with me.
Zaimokuza spat out an exaggerated sigh.
at? You re really going toooo?
Eh, what, is this no good?
d his answer was vague.

Aaah, Hachiman, you re going to choose thaa

I looked at Zaimokuza wondering what the problem was an

No, it s not that it s not good

It s not that it s not good, buuut

But the thing issss.

You re so annoying This is the problem with otakus Whatever, this works for me. With
this suit, I will become a Super Pilot. I stated with an attentive face and Zaimok
uza made a needlessly determined face.
Hohoh, if that is so, then I will go with this suit that shines brightly in the e
ye of the storm and I ll return it twofoooooooooooooooooold! We both glared at each
other and showed an unpleasant smile.
Yuigahama then barged in, clapping her hands and said Okay, stop, stop. These are
presents you won t know who will get.. Hikki and chuuni, you both need to think m
ore about it.
Mmg, I see
Both Zaimokuza and I obediently put back the Gunpla on the shelves. So m
aybe a more mainstream Gunpla will work As I thought that, I reached my hand out
to another Gunpla, but Yuigahama stopped me there.
Okay, choose again! One present per person!
Are you my mom or something ?
Watching the terrible spectacle of the boy group from afar, Komachi groaned and
thought for a little bit. She then clapped her hands. It looks like we re not going
to get much shopping done if we stick with my brother and the others. Is it oka
y if we go look around on our own?
Uh huh, I think that way might be better.

Totsuka agreed.

Yuigahama also raised her hand. Agreeeed! Okay, when you re done, meet up in front
of the cake shop.
Yes, see you in a bit.
With Yukinoshita s words as a signal, everyone broke off into small groups.
Now then, guess I ll go get some presents.

After leaving the R Us, I aimlessly wandered around the shopping mall. Although t
here were a variety of stores located inside, nothing seemed to click even from
quick glances at the store. I also found myself running away whenever the clerks
would run over to me just from a brief look.
I finally managed to go inside to a variety store where the clerk couldn t call ou
t to me, but I still didn t know what to pick.
Still, they say to pick out a present, but We won t even know who it ll go to
Choosing
something that would be useful in some form, but not a nuisance to anyone is pr
etty difficult I blabbered to myself (special skill) and organized my thoughts. Th
en, there was a person who had been quietly standing behind me.
Fu, fu, fu, you seem troubled.
Ooh, Komachi. Well, I most certainly am.
When I turned around, Komachi was assuming a daunting post. She then lifted a fi
nger.
Times like this are where expendable things are good, onii-chan.

Expendable things?
What do you mean by

expendable ? Like a NINJA? That s a bit suspicious, isn t it ?

I tilted my head and Komachi continued. Yup, it won t feel depressing if there s noth
ing left. Throwing it away wouldn t be an issue too.
R-Right

So with the assumption it ll get tossed, huh

Now just why would this

s getting at. In short,
s? Candy, tea, or daily
just like Komachi said,

brat say something so scary ? But, well, I see what she wa

expendable things were, in other words, consumable thing
necessities, well, stuff like that, I wonder? I see, it s
they re easy to get rid of.

Once I was convinced, Komachi went further. Things you can wear are just a little
heavy too. Like accessories or expensive stuff.
Scary

My little sister s showing the face of a woman

Well, I ll see what I can find.

Okay, good luck. I ll see you later then.

Yeah.
Komachi dashed off looking like she some things in mind. Remaining there, I rais
ed my hand, saw Komachi off, and scratched my head.
Things you can wear are heavy , huh? Well, that sounds about right
Heavy things didn t only trouble the giving side, but also the receiving side, aft
er all.
Alright, let s look for something
make Totsuka happy or so

something that ll make Totsuka happy

something that ll

I readjusted my mood and decided to enter the closest store.

There was a store with a relaxing atmosphere in contrast to the shopping mall co
ngested with people. After entering, I was, as usual, looking through all the it
ems.
It looked like this store was a home decor store, with many types of interior it
ems, accessories and tableware.
I couldn t complain about having an assortment of items to browse through, but the
more choices a human had, the more he s unable to act and that happened to be the
very predicament I was in.
Aah
d

What to buy

I ve been looking around for a while now, but I have no idea what s goo

As I was grumbling to myself, a voice called out to me from the shelf across.
Ah, Hikki. You re checking out this store too?
Mm, Yuigahama, huh? Yeah, well, for me, I have no idea which stores had variety g
oods or not though.

I gently placed the miscellaneous item I picked up which had some incomprehensib
le Asian style to it back on the shelf.
Yuigahama, who was watching, came up next to me and wryly smiled.
ce anything could work, it s actually kind of hard

Mmm, right. Sin

Picking anything would be a bad idea, wouldn t it? Things that changed based on a p
erson s preferences definitely never become anything worthwhile afterwards.
It s not like this was limited to presents either. Things that couldn t find a conse
nsus always ended in a dispute. It was especially at times like these where we d n
eed a GRAND DESIGN CONCENSUS that had an INNOVATIVE WIN-WIN relationship. Not go
od, my head s ascending.
You don t need to think all that hard about it. I mean, your feelings are what s impo
rtant, or like how you d be happy from the fact they thought so much about their g
ift to you That s why anything works. Yuigahama said as she poked her index fingers
together.
Well, feelings are important wasn t all that difficult to understand.
However, just how much worth was placed in the feelings that weren t conveyed and
the thoughts that couldn t reach? Besides, I felt it s the thought that counts wasn t al
l there was to it.
I let out a small sigh. The anything part is what s getting me though
you wouldn t know what to do if you were given a Gunpla, right?

Besides, look,

Yuigahama blinked several times and slightly averted her eyes.

Aah Erm, that s, well, I guess so
f me instead, maybe.

I guess I d end up worrying about what they thought o

Right? It s one thing to have the person you re giving a gift to be considerate towar
ds you. If that s how it s going to turn out, even if I don t want to, I d have to serio
usly consider what I want to pick.
Once you gave the gift and after a slight pause, they told you
Th-Thank you , forcing
themselves to be energetic, that s the moment when you d want to die. With those im
aginative thoughts being drawn in my mind, I scavenged through the shelves in de
jection.
Yuigahama broke into a smile. You re so serious about the strangest things In that c
ase, I d better think a little harder about what to pick too.
Right, you do that. We won t know who gets what, after all.
I guess so, said Yuigahama. Both Yuigahama and I placed the tableware and accessor
ies in our hands back on the shelves. Yuigahama then reluctantly opened her mout
h. But it d be nice if it did go to the right person. That is, returning the favor f
or my birthday, I haven t really properly given one to Hikki yet, so
Eh? I asked back, but what that was referring to came to mind. Although it felt li
ke a rather long time since then, it was at most only half a year ago. It s likely
she was talking about that present I gave to her back then. However, I felt tha
t was just a gift I used as an excuse to settle my entirely selfish sentiment us
ing her birthday as a cover.
Aah, no, it wasn t that kind of thing, so don t worry about it. It was just my return
gift in the first place. If we keep going back and forth, it ll never end. I felt

this was also a part of my selfish reasoning. However, since I had no other reas
on as of now, this was the only way I could put it.
But, Yuigahama wasn t looking at me and instead gently whispered,
as to end though

It s not like, it h

Those casual words pulled at my heart.

I, guess so.
Uh huh.
Both of us were quiet.
A relationship that didn t end was something I couldn t imagine at all. It was proba
bly just a dream, a delusion, or possibly an ideal; something that I didn t think
could ever be real.
For how beautiful it was, it was painful, and I couldn t find the words to say bac
k to Yuigahama.
The silence was destroyed by Yuigahama s bright smile. Ah, that s right. Actually, it s
almost Yukinon s birthday.
Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that.
ieve it should ve been in winter.

I wasn t sure of the specific day, but I bel

Yuigahama grabbed something from the shelf and quickly put it back. After doing
that a few more times, she glanced at me. When it was my birthday, um, my present
, you went to buy it with Yukinon, right?
Pretty much. Komachi was there too though.
U-Uh huuh. Yuigahama responded nonchalantly. The miscellaneous item she had in her
hands, she placed it again back on the shelf and stared at it. Then, it d be nice,
i-if you could go out, with me Um, shopping that is
I looked at the shelf as well and somehow tried toying with the item Yuigahama h
ad in her hands from earlier.
If it was just shopping , there wasn t a reason to refuse. I think. Just like the tim
e when I went with Yukinoshita before, the objective this time was clear as well
.
We did make the promise of going out together at some point, but that, too, shou
ld ve been something else. So it might be okay to be a little more easygoing regar
ding this.
I let out a quiet, unnoticeable sigh and lifted my face.
it s just shopping, then whenever works for me.

Mm

Shopping, huh ? Well, if

Okay
Yuigahama gave a short reply and looked away in embarrassment. Ahead of where
she looked, she noticed Yukinoshita who seemingly came to this store to choose p
resents too.
Ah, it s Yukinon. Okay, let s leave this talk for later. Heeey, Yukinooon! Yuigahama s
poke quickly and she dashed off towards her.
Oh, Yuigahama-san and Hikigaya-kun.

Yuigahama placed her hands on Yukinoshita s shoulders after she turned around.
non. Have you decided what to buy?

Yuki

No, not yet. I received quite a bit of advice from Komachi-san, but
You don t say. Yukinoshita was with Komachi, huh?
I don t see Komachi anywhere though
Komachi-san s over there.

Yukinoshita pointed.

When I looked, Komachi really was there. She was

but she was just a little odd.

Oh, there you are. Hey, Komachi What are you doing? Upon looking, Komachi was colla
psed on a gigantic cushion, as if there was no response. She was spacing out, he
r eyes somehow hollow. But when she noticed I was calling out to her, she quickl
y returned to her senses.
Ah, onii-chan. This is good! This sofa that turns people into good-for-nothings!
Uwah, amazing, I m totally going to become a good-for-nothing. Ah, not good, Komac
hi, at this rate, I m going to
Komachi mumbled and mumbled as she sank further into
the sofa. Was this what they called the power of the sofa that turned people int
o good-for-nothings ?
Eh, is it really that good ? Now I m totally interested.
I want to give it a try too. As I thought about how I would collapse on the sofa
with Komachi and how it would feel to have afternoon nap time with her, I tried
to take a step forward only to be stopped by a voice.
Oh, I believe that isn t necessary for Hikigaya-kun, right? You re already a good-for
-nothing after all.
When I turned around, Yukinoshita was smiling.
Stop with that nice smile of yours. Did you not know? If you multiply a negative
with a negative, it becomes positive.
If you add negatives, then it just becomes a bigger negative. Did you not learn a
rithmetic in middle school?
No, wait. Think in reverse. We can also try propagating this so everyone becomes
a negative. Look here, Yukinoshita. If everyone s a good-for-nothing, then the goo
d-for-nothings will disappear.
Yukinoshita let out a big sigh. That misguided equality mindset is just like alwa
ys. As I thought, that sofa really isn t necessary for you.
Listening to our helpless exchange, Komachi finally got up.
Phew. Up we go Well, I guess so. What my brother wants is something more family or
iented. As far as Komachi s concerned, rather than a sofa that made people into go
od-for-nothing, I want a wife that ll make my brother into a good-for-nothing ? Hi
nt, hint, hint!
Heh!? Eh, eh, no, ummm, I m just, umm
Yuigahama who had been smiling wryly from the side tried to speak up, but her wo
rds just wouldn t come out. I m glad I get the feeling I d drop dead if I were to hear
anything right now On the other hand, speaking of Yukinoshita, she shrugged off K

omachi s gaze.
Komachi-san, unfortunately, I don t believe that wish of yours will be granted. It s
impossible for Hikigaya-kun.
Eeh, really? What a bummer. I really want someone to succeed me already
Mmm, Komachi-chan, you ve been trying to get rid of me too much lately, haven t you?
I think it d be okay if you delayed our inevitable parting just a little bit, oka
y?
Well, I was grateful for Yukinoshita writing off Komachi s pointless appeal, but s
till, I wasn t quite too satisfied with what she said.
Hey now? Could you, like, not destroy a person s dreams with just a few words?
Yukinoshita sent me a cold gaze. Despite what you say all the time, you re someone
who actually goes through with things, aren t you?
Aah, I can see that. Hikki, you seem like you d work despite complaining all the ti
me. Yuigahama nodded her head.
Komachi turned towards me.

There you have it, onii-chan.

An unpleasant image came to mind. No, honestly, I really just can t get into the mo
od Perhaps I ll get worked hard on mediocre pay, and as I spit out curses towards t
he company, I ll find myself working overtime, bringing me up to an average salary
. By the time I become used to it, I ll end up giving up thinking, Phew, maybe this
life isn t so bad after all , and end up living a life as a healthy corporate slave.
I m just so worried and worried that I ll end up like this I m seriously worried about
my future.
His imagination is strangely realistic
Yet, the point he s worried about is off the mark
Yuigahama and Yukinoshita both had disheartened expressions. Really, I had no ho
pes or dreams.
That s exactly why I want to at least have some dreams. I will definitely, become a
full-time house husband
I can t help, but find it mysterious how only rubbish conclusions result from someo
ne so imaginative
Yukinoshita let out an exaggerated sigh.
Now, now, as you two know very well, my brother has that kind of personality. It ll
be a big help to me if you don t expect too much from him. Komachi supported me wi
th not very supportive words.
I suppose so. I ve already given up.
A-Ahahaha. W-Well, he s a lost cause.
The two were saying harsh things, but only Komachi looked happy as she peeked in
to my face.
Hear that! Isn t that great, onii-chan!?
No, no, that s not great at all. They ve given up on me and think I m a lost cause, you
know.

That hopeless feeling wasn t something to scoff at. Consider at a part-job time: I
t was on the level of not being expected of anything
Aah, aaah, aah, you don t need
to do anything anymore .
To Komachi though, that didn t seem to be the case with her smile still intact. Mmm
? I don t know about that. I think it s a good thing though Fufu, oh whatever. Then w
e won t need this sofa huh?
Right. In place of a sofa, we have a fluffy fur ball rolling around at home anywa
y.
Komachi nodded in agreement. Aah Kaa-kun, right? But I bet Kaa-kun would be happy
with this sofa though. With this, he might just yawn all day.
Yup, yup, I can see that. Just why do cats go straight for sofas and futons anyw
ay? I thought that, but apparently that wasn t something limited to just cats.
Yuigahama hit her hands, imagining something in particular. That s true! I can see
Sabure hopping up and down on the sofa too! Maybe I should buy it.
Nah, I m pretty sure he ll just sink into it If our cat just laid down, he d probably ju
st sink too.
In that instant, Yukinoshita stopped her movements with a jolt.
urrfectly down ? That cat is, so cute.

If the cat, laid p

J-Just now, there was an extremely, cold punny onee-san here No, the voice was rea
lly quiet, so I might ve misheard it. I looked at Yukinoshita.
With a turn, she had an attentive face, looking my way. Hey, Hikigaya-kun, are yo
u sure you shouldn t buy this sofa? After all, pets are a part of the family and i
f you treasure spending Christmas with your family, then a present would be perf
ect, right?
No, could you stop acting bashful with that it s perfectly logical! elated face of yo
urs? That theory of yours was as full of holes as beehives
Maybe it was something like that; it was a theory structured like a honeycomb th
at she was being bashful about Just how am I going to avoid her suggestion?
Komachi pulled at my sleeve. Ah, onii-chan. This sofa has a small cushion version
. This size should be okay, right?
When I looked, there was another cushion made from the same material.
Yukinoshita gently rubbed the cushion and nodded.
rfect for a cat. Right? Hikigaya-kun.
Your criterion s becoming completely cat-centric
at other things too.

I believe this size would be pe

. Well, I ll think about it. I ll go loo

I had the feeling the longer I stayed, the closer I d be to buying that cushion ju
st for my cat. So I ended the note with vague words. It looked like Yuigahama an
d the others respectively still had things they wanted to buy as well.
Okay, then, see you in a bit.
After I saw Yuigahama and the others leave, I left the area as well.


Since I finished buying what I needed for the present exchange and, well, a coup
le of other things, I decided to go to the cake shop that was designated as the
meeting spot..
I readjusted the paper bag with the present inside in my hands and checked the c
lock.
Phew For now, I managed to buy the presents
d here either. It s almost about time too

No problem with the meeting place aroun

The others should be coming about now. I decided to stand there and wait. As I w
as fiddling with my smart phone, I could hear a listless voice you d hear at a par
t-time job at a convenience store.
elcome,

come.

Hm? This annoying voice sounds awfully familiar

You re so loud. I sent him a menacing gaze and the person with the listless voice
was wearing a Santa outfit and seemed to be selling cakes at the front of the st
ore.
elcome,

come.

You sure are annoying. I thought, but I couldn t really move from this meeting pla
ce. I tried to not let it bother me, but the annoyingness was too much for me th
at I ended up looking. It was then the eyes of that listless Santa met with mine
.
Ah. Oh snaps? Ain t that Hikitani-kun!?
The listless Santa openly started talking to me. Aah, this guy sure is annoying.
As it turned out, it was Tobe.
Ooh, surprised me there Tobe, huh ? Talking to me out of nowhere like that, I almost
thought he was a friend for a second there
Tobe acting so familiar made me cringe a bit, but that didn t seem to bother him a
s he tried to talk even more. Beh, ain t that a coincidence for us to be meetin at a
place like this, yeah? I m tryin to sell some cakes right now, but I m freakin bored
here.
Aah, so that s why you re a Santa
ing ?

Wait, isn t it a bit odd you have free time while work

Not a single customer s comin . Beh, I m seriously bored here.

lazy attitude while pulling the hair at the back of his neck.

Tobe blabbered on with a

But even so, there was no way I could relieve him of his boredom and I could onl
y respond with repetitive, brief replies.
Is that so?
Yeah, totally so.
Hooh
Yeaaah, totally man

I see
Noticing that our conversation wasn t heading anywhere, Tobe awkwardly stuttered.
h But sup? Hikitani-kun, whatcha doin here?

Aa

It was a topic that he had to squeeze out forcibly. Um, having to be considerate
of me and all, sorry, okay?
Nah, just doing a little shopping of the sort.
Since he changed the topic, responding was basic manners.
Happy that he found a way to continue the conversation, Tobe leaned forward. Shop
pin fer real? What, what, what kinda shoppin are we talkin about here? Seriously? H
ikitani-kun, ya shop too? I gotta know what s up here!
No, even I do some shopping every now and then

Just what does this guy think I am ?

Crap, what do I do? I don t really want to talk any more than this, not like I had
anything to talk to Tobe about anyway While I was unsure what to do, someone was
standing nearby.
Hikigaya-kun, is something wrong?
Oh, Yukinoshita. Nothing, I just happened across Tobe here.
It looked like it was almost time for everyone to gather since Yukinoshita was h
ere. When she heard Tobe , Yukinoshita tilted her head mysteriously. No, Tobe as in
Tobe. Why was that mysterious to you? You don t know him?
But well before Yukinoshita, Tobe had been tiling his head mysteriously. He was
looking at the both of us.
Oh? Oh? Yukinoshita-san? Why are both of ya shoppin

? Ah! Uh huuuuh.

Hey, what s with that pause just now? What the heck did you just imagine?
king Tobe.

I tried as

But Tobe seemingly had already made his own conclusion internally, going uh huuuh
while looking between me and Yukinoshita.
Displeased by Tobe s curious stare, Yukinoshita squirmed uncomfortably.
It seems like there s a misunderstanding here, but it s not like, that s, the case
At first, Yukinoshita glared at Tobe with a tense expression, but near the end,
her strong voice had shriveled and I couldn t understand what she had said last.
Tobe, like the usual Tobe, wasn t listening to Yukinoshita and hit my shoulders. Aw
w man, if that s how it is, ya shoulda just said somethin , and we coulda given both
of ya some time together at Destiny.
No, that s not how it is
listening.

I said, guessing at what Tobe was referring to, but he wasn t

Watching Tobe, Yukinoshita looked like she was in a bad mood.

Do you mind if I leave now?

Eh, yeah. Well, you were the one who talked to me first though.
th eyes asking her if she needed me for something.

I looked at her wi

Yukinoshita stuttered with her words and she abruptly looked away. Oh, right Becau
se Tobe-kun was wearing the Santa outfit, I didn t notice him, so I just Still looki
ng away, Yukinoshita s small voice disappeared midway.
When I looked ahead of where her gaze was, Yuigahama was approaching. Noticing u
s, Yuigahama waved her hands to us. Hikki, Yukinon. What s wrong ? Huh? It s Tobecchi.
Following her, Tobe, standing next to me, made a surprised face as well.
Eh, eh? Yui was here too

.? Ah! Uh huuuuh.

Again, what the heck did you imagine?

Tobe pulled at his hair again and hit his forehead. Say what, the heck! Goin shopp
in with two girls is totally crazy! Seriously, Hikitani-kun, ya a total normie ma
n! Serinormietani-kun, fer real. Heck, ya might as well be Seritani-kun?
No, I don t have a clue what that means. Also, my name was never Hikitani in the fi
rst place. I said, but he wasn t listening. He was spouting beh, beh and all sorts of
stuff.
Yuigahama spoke to him. Tobecchi, are you working? We re actually here to shop for
a Christmas party.
Ah, that so
It looked like that explanation somehow convinced him. As Tobe was nodding his h
ead, it looked like it was just about time for everyone to gather. Totsuka and K
omachi arrived as well.
Aah, it s Tobe-kun.
Waah, long time no see!
Getting excited from having met people he knew, Tobe did hand signs that Stan Ha
nsen would do.
Ooh! Ain t it Totsuka and Hikitani-kun s little sis! Weeey!
What kind of greeting is that? That s pretty annoying.
A-Ahaha I mean, it s Tobecchi, so
edly looking at Tobe.
It s like a greeting from some tribe

Yuigahama said so hopelessly and Yukinoshita was fix

I don t understand what he s saying at all

Right? Trying to understand it causes pain.

he didn t seem to mind.

I sent an apathetic look to Tobe, but

Merry XMAS, weeey!

Look, he s yelling aga
me way.

Just as I was about to say, Komachi greeted him back in the sa

Weeey! Merry XMAS!

Because Komachi next to him was in high spirits, Totsuka looking a bit confused

joined in as well.

W-Weeey!

Weeey!
Huh!? Even Hikki joined in!?
Hah! Shoot! I reflexively lured myself in B-But, you know, if Totsuka and Komachi
were there, surprisingly, it might just work, weey.
Overjoyed that everyone returned his greeting, Tobe happily looked at everyone.

What s this, what s this? Havin ya ll really here really gets ya pumped up or somethin ?
, oh? If I look a bit harder, ain t that Zaimokuzaki-kun there? Zaimokuzaki-kun, w
eeey!
Who the heck was Zaimokuzaki-kun? It looked that was referring to Zaimokuza. Jus
t when did he get here? Tobe, you have some good eyes When I looked in Zaimokuza s
direction, he looked bewildered having been spoken to.
Wey? Wey, wey!? Wey, weeey!?
Tch. Seriously, he should go die with those wey s.
Onii-chan, you sure are blunt.
No, Komachi-chan, you know? Annoying things were annoying. The source of that an
noyingness, Zaimokuza, was mumbling about something in confusion.
Wey, wei, to

u, Eightman!? In Japanese, Hachiman!?

Huh?
Who is that? Who is he? What kind of man is he?
Yeah, he s in my class, Tobe. He s annoying, but he s a good guy. Also, fundamentally,
he s annoying. I briefly explained.
Zaimokuza nodded. I see, I see. Indeed, that truly is annoying. Particularly that
long hair and his loud voice, and further, that familiarity.
That s one amazing boomerang you just tossed there
The entirety of what you said applied to you too, you know
Still, that mongrel, why does he know my name ? Further, he even turned my name int
o a codename . Ha!? Could he be from the organization!?
I guess so. Unlike you, he belongs to a group, so I guess he s a person from anothe
r organization.
Yes, yes, I do not belong anywhere after all Uh, heeeeeeeeeeey! Hachimaaaan! Heeee
ey! While saying, he was hitting my chest. What is this, a one-man comedy routine
22?

On second thought, Zaimokuza s more annoying

With that in mind, even Tobe s voice wasn t
that bad. And speaking of that Tobe, he opened his mouth looking like something
came to mind.
Ah, actually, Yui and everyone, ya ll havin

a Christmas party?

Uh huh, that s right.

Oh, oh, then wanna buy this cake? This place here is my senpai s cake store, ya see
. They asked me fer a favor. It d be totally bad if we don t sell out.
Mmm, cake, huh? What should we do?
Yuigahama worried about what to do and a sudden loud voice reverberated inside t
he shopping mall.
I ve heard what you had to say!
Huh? Hiratsuka-sensei?
Hiratsuka-sensei s appearance with her coat flapping despite no presence of a bree
ze bewildered Tobe. Her heels clacked nosily as she approached.
It looks like you re in a bind with the leftovers.
That s totally right. We re in a total bind here.

Tobe looked at the stack of cakes.

Looking at that, Hiratsuka-sensei nodded. She directed a sympathetic gaze to the

cakes. I understand I ll buy all of them
The ones that don t sell, are very lonely af
all.
Wait a second? Let s stop giving the cakes feelings, okay?
Tobecchi, that didn t count, okay? Yuigahama quickly told Tobe, realizing all the ca
kes really would be bought out at this rate.
It d definitely be difficult eating them all if we bought them.
But even if we buy one, that doesn t change anything.
Komachi and Yukinoshita s words caused Tobe to become dejected and he spoke with a
feeble voice. But seriously, if we don t sell these out, it ll totally be bad. Senpa
i s totally gonna snap, fer real. How should I say it? Power harassment or somethi
n ? So could ya ll help me out here?
Listening to his story, Totsuka tilted his head.
kes?
Even if you say that

So you want a way to sell the ca

There isn t much we can do right now though.

As I thought, Yuigahama energetically shot up her hands.

Here!

Hoy, Yuigahama. Letz hear it.

Make it cheaper!
That could work.

Tobe nodded to Yuigahama s straightforward and simple answer.

Furthermore, Zaimokuza thought of something as well and confidently cleared his

throat. Hapon, including a special bonus will increase the value! Here, we can us
e my specially written novel
That ain t gonna work.
The American attitude Tobe took when he lifted both his hands was just a bit ann
oying, but Totsuka s contemplating face blew that all away.

Totsuka looked like he thought of something and opened his mouth. How about a ser
vice where you write names on the cake, like on your birthday or something?
That s totes possible, I say.
Listening up until that point, Yukinoshita nodded.
ited item?
That could work.

How about labeling it as a lim

Tobe responded back.

This guy s obviously fine with anything, wasn t he ? But despite all of what we brough
t up thus far, I felt leaving it up to Tobe s judgment wouldn t get us anywhere.
No, all of those are pretty difficult, aren t they? We re limited to what we re allowed
to do by the store s authority. If you don t want to get harassed by the top, why n
ot just ditch your work?
Pretty dark, Hikitani-kun, pretty dark. Gettin harassed by the top is totally bad.
Just one thing that s real good, countin on ya!
Coldly refusing him after he clapped his hands together like that would ve given m
e a bad conscience. As I looked at the cart stacked with cakes, wondering if the
re was anything Tobe could do at the moment, I noticed stickers near the registe
rs Well, it s almost about that time.
Mmm Ah, how about that? The cakes will be half-off, right? Why not push that up? S
ee, the half-off stickers are over there too.
Then, for some reason, Hiratsuka-sensei, instead of Tobe, reacted. Uu, half-off I
know, right When you pass 24, you re half off And when you re past 25, you re ready to g
et thrown out
This is about cakes, right? We re talking about Christmas cakes, right?
irming, but my voice didn t reach Hiratsuka-sensei.
Why won t they sell even though they re on bargain ? Haa.
eached out to the half-off seals.

I tried conf

Hiratsuka-sensei said as she r

C-Crap, Hiratsuka-sensei s putting the stickers on herself. Hurry! Someone hurry up

and take her!
Yuigahama went in to stop Hiratsuka-sensei as well. S-Sensei, it s okay! Half-off i
s totally a good thing! I mean the sales tax goes up!
That s not a follow up, you know
That s right, if it s the consumption tax, then that means there s last minute demand,
so that s different from Hiratsuka-sensei.
Hold on! Yukinoshita-san!
Please stop cornering her! Someone please buy her! Someone please take her! The
cost performance s the best too!
I really wanted someone to take her already. If no one did, then I just accident
ly might end up taking her instead. Actually, was there a reason why this person
couldn t get married ? It s one of the top three mysteries amongst the Seven Wonders
of the World, seriously.

Well, given our situation, the only thing we can do is call out normally.
Calling out, huh

If only we had something to attract attention with.

Yukinoshita s idea caused Tobe to react.

Ah, that totally could work! Like check it, we even have some extra Santa outfits
. Also, reindeer horns too! Tobe said, taking out a Santa outfit from behind the
register.
Yuigahama examined the outfit and groaned.
.
That means a boy will have to wear it.
.

But this doesn t look like it d fit a girl

Yukinoshita said and Tobe looked at us boys

Naah, it looks a bit too tight for Zaimokuzaki-kun

Eh, y-you want me to wear it?

Sooo, Totsuka or somethin ?

Totsuka was surprised, but so was I.

Why was I ignored just now, non?

It wouldn t be a good idea to have onii-chan directly deal with customers, so it ca
n t be helped In any case, Totsuka-san, please! Komachi tapped on my shoulders. She
then showed a smile to Totsuka.
O-Okay, I guess I ll try wearing it then
Since Totsuka was being treated properly as a boy, he looked motivated. Once he
took the Santa outfit from Tobe, he quickly went behind the register to change.
Mm

There we go.

There was the sound of rustling clothes and a gentle voice. It looked like he wa
s afraid of being seen directly, so he went behind everyone.
After Totsuka finished changing, he came up to us.

H-How is it ?

Looking at Totsuka twist his body in embarrassment, I slipped out my voice.

Ooh

The Santa outfit he was wearing was bigger than his size, so it hung loosely res
embling a miniskirt. The way he pulled at the fringes at the partition because i
t bothered him looked very sweet. Feeling embarrassed from being stared at, he u
sed one of his hands to cover himself with his hat. His flush red cheeks and his
white skin were adorable.
Tobe, gooooooooooooooooooooood job! Maybe Tobe really was a good guy It s possible
we could make good friends. Well, I d probably just forget him in a week though. I
will, forget about Tobe, in a week
Tobe nodded his head in satisfaction.
n out together. elcome, cakesirs?

Ooh, ain t that good? Alrighty, let s try calli

Tobe was trying to demonstrate how to call people out, but was that really helpf
ul ? Even Yukinoshita was frowning.
Just what is he saying? I don t understand at all
It s hard listening to late night convenience store lingo after all If you translate
it, it s probably, Welcome, would you like a cake? I think. I confirmed for the time

being.
Totsuka then looked at me with a sparkling gaze. Hachiman, you really do understa
nd O-Okay, I ll try it too. W-Welcome. C-Cake Would you like a cake?
There was movement in that instant.
Fumun, well then, those objects of cake, all 7 trillion of them, I will take them
off your hands!
Ah, excuse me, could I have a cake too please?
I lined up right after Zaimokuza and took out money from my wallet, waiting for
my turn.
On the side, Yukinoshita let out an amazed sigh.

Why are you buying one too ?

Wha, oh shoot. The overloading cuteness made me

Ah, but, it looks like it might get crowded now.
When I looked, shoppers were looking our way wondering what the commotion was ab
out. After looking at the showcase, menu, and the stockpiled cakes, they were co
nversing. It looked like there were people planning to buy cakes right now. With
the flow of things, the cakes just might sell out without issue.
Realizing the same thing, Tobe grew confident from relief and blurted. Naah, that
totally worked. With cute girls here, of course it d turn out this way!
Cute girls!? Fu, fu, fu
y smile.

Hiratsuka-sensei reacted with high speed, displaying a happ

Seeing that, Komachi s voice choked up. Uu, my tears are blurring the illumination T
hat s right, sensei is a girl after all. Yes, I totally understand. Women are alwa
ys maidens at heart after all.
Thanks to other customers observing the showcase, people passing by also stopped
.
Seeing how things turned out, Tobe laughed in satisfaction.
tal lifesaver. We ll sell out at this rate.

Yeaaah, but what a to

Ah, no problem. Then again, it s not like we did anything

Well in truth, it s not like we did anything particularly special either, I though
t.
After looking around at the customers, Hiratsuka-sensei opened her mouth, Fumu, t
his is what they call a line summoning other lines. It s like a ramen shop.
Don t they call that a trap ?
Well, trap or not, if it solved Tobe s problem, then that s fine I looked at Tobe who
asked us for help and as far as Tobe was concerned, it looked like the objectiv
e was achieved.
He gave us his thanks and took out a cake from the showcase.
Hikitani-kun and y all are holdin
do y all a candle service ?.

a party, right? Have a cake as my thanks. I ll even

We don t need candles on a Christmas cake

For some reason he winked with a bling ?. Annoying
But, well, if he s giving it to us, then we ll gladly take it off his hands.
I took the cake and Yuigahama expressed her gratitude.

Tobecchi, thanks!

Nah nah, ya helped me, so we re all good. A ighty, Juicy! Party! Yeah! said Tobe, givi
ng a thumbs-up.
He was annoying, but a good guy. Annoying though.
I don t understand at all what you re saying, but thank you very much.
y thanked him.

Komachi politel

We said our byes and left gradually. If we stayed any longer, then we d get in the
way.
Just as we were about to leave, Totsuka waved. Okay, see you later, Tobe-kun.
Weeey, see ya! Tobe waved his hands to us while helping the customers. His voice w
as needlessly loud.
Damn, I m real jealous. I want to spend next year with Ebina-san too
ar testing time? Beeh. That s totally baaaaad man.

Huh? Ain t next ye

With those murmurs from behind, we left the shopping mall.

After leaving the shopping mall, with Yuigahama guiding us, we found ourselves i
n a karaoke box at the front of the station. Once we entered the room we booked,
everyone held crackers in their hands.
Once everyone was ready, we naturally made eye contact. And go said Yuigahama in a
small voice and all at once, voices and sounds overlapped.
Merry Christmas!
Following the noise of crackers were the sounds of opening chanmeries and toast.
Everyone was celebrating Christmas.
On the other hand, I found myself looking throughout the room.
So, why karaoke again ?

I asked.

Yuigahama set the plates and answered, If we went to Yukinon s place, we d get noise
complaints. Also, this karaoke place lets us bring cake too.
Uh, well, it s not like there s anything wrong, but
oke up.

As I tried to speak, Yukinoshita sp

I finished cutting the cakes. Still, I wasn t expecting to get three whole cakes fr
om him. Yukinoshita said, distributing the cakes.
Komachi nodded.

Tobe-san s a good person, isn t he?

Was it just me or did you mean that he was someone convenient?

Well, it s true that Tobe was a good guy, but since it didn t go any further than th
at, it made me feel bad for him. Not to mention Isshiki s use of him wasn t somethin
g to laugh at either
Here, Hachiman. There s chicken too.
Ooh, thanks.

I said, taking the chicken.

Zaimokuza who sat next to me made a blissful face while Hiratsuka-sensei across
was happily pouring drinks.
Hachiman, meat is good. Meat is real good

Deep-fried food soothes your heart

C mon, drink up, drink up, though it s just chanmery.

Everyone was enjoying this Christmas party in their own way. We ate chicken, cak
e, got engrossed in conversation, and toasting with our glasses
But wait. Just a moment.
Is this really Christmas ? That doubt wouldn t leave my head.
I slowly placed my glass on the table to confirm that. The ice in the cup bounce
d off of each other.
Hey, do you mind real quick ?
What is it?

Yuigahama looked at me as she chewed her cake.

I looked at Yuigahama s eyes and slowly asked,

birthday party?

So how is this any different from a

Eh?
The moment I asked, Yuigahama stopped.
I mean, we re at karaoke again, eating food, cake, and doing toasts Is this really t
he right way to spend Christmas? This doesn t feel any different from going wey, we
y and now I m starting to fear for my own identity
T-That s, um

Yuigahama stuttered, looking away.

Ahead, Komachi had an unpleasant face. Uwaah, you re such a pain, onii-chan. You re s
uch a pain. Komachi said.
I wasn t the only one who had thought that because Yukinoshita stopped eating her
cake and she narrowed her eyes.
Certainly. How exactly is this any different ?
Ha! Not good. The pains in the butts are spreading!
omachi only) and Hiratsuka-sensei laughed.

Komachi said apprehensively (K

Hikigaya, you re like a Cheetah Just when I thought you took a step forward, you imm
ediately take two steps back 23 She made a smug smile.
But listening to her, Yuigahama whispered into Yukinoshita s ear.
cheetahs really like that?

Hey, Yukinon, are

I-I wonder? I ve never heard of that before

r head.

The cat professor Yukipedia-san tilted he

Hiratsuka-sensei groaned out in pain. I-It didn t get across, huh I guess that s how i
t is Our generations are completely different after all Haa. With the generation ga
p before her eyes, Shiratsuka-sensei sank.
No, I m sure our ages were pretty different too
Aaah! I don t know what s going on, but the pains in the butts increased!
achi.

screamed Kom

Totsuka looked like he realized something. Ah, but look, Hachiman. We still have
the present exchange so that should be Christmas-like!
Ooh, you re right about that!
I see, present exchanges were very Christmas-like. Unlike birthdays where it was
just one side giving, Christmas had both sides exchanging presents.
When I was convinced, Komachi squeezed her fist. Nice! Nice Totsuka-san! With tha
t being said, present exchaaaaange! Okay, okaaay! Everyone, please take out your
preseeents! Please put them in the middle of the table! Komachi began giving ord
ers in an effort to get rid of the bothersome atmosphere.
Here, this is okay, right?
Starting with Totsuka, everyone obediently followed Komachi s instructions. Komach
i checked that the presents were all gathered.
Okay! Then we ll get to mixing them!
Shuffle tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!
Using Zaimokuza s scream as a signal, Komachi shuffled the presents at random and
began to explain the rules of the present exchange.
So, we ll shuffle the presents around and you ll get whatever present when the music
stops. Well, as for the rest, just read the mood as we go along.
This girl, she tries to be considerate, but sometimes her explanations can be ver
y crude
Just like Yukinoshita said, I didn t understand how things worked from Komachi s cru
de explanation. If you weren t nice to the beginners, they d just quit, in things li
ke beat em games.
Well, it ll be faster if we just get to it. Now then, the music s starting!
sensei said and she operated the karaoke remote controller with beeps.

Hiratsuka-

It looked like it functioned for these kinds of parties too. What a convenient w
orld.
When the music started to play, everyone quietly passed the presents right to le
ft. Everyone was quiet in the meantime.
Noticing that the atmosphere was oddly rigid, Yukinoshita spoke reluctantly. What
exactly is this bizarre silence ?
This is, like, a lot more normal than I was expecting

Hey, Yuigahama, is this how

it s supposed to go?
U-Ummm Well, for the most, it s something like this, I think. Surprisingly, the Chri
stmas parts tend to be less exciting
I think I was subjected to a really regrettable story just now
ed.

Oh, the music stopp

Okaaaay. Then let s start off with onii-chan s present!

Called out by Komachi, I took the present in front of me and proceeded to unwrap
it.
Me first, huh? Let s see

Oh, this is

a USB flash drive.

Gefukon, gefukon, okopooon. It appears that you have received my present. Zaimokuz
a named himself after making weird coughs. Were those really coughs? Still, this
was a present from Zaimokuza, huh ? It was kind of surprising.
Ooh, Zaimokuza s huh? This is pretty darn practical of you What s up with you?
caught off guard by the fact that he actually picked something useful.

I asked,

Zaimokuza adjusted his glasses upwards and displayed an elated smile. Worry not,
Hachiman. I made sure to put the documents with my story in there for you.
What to do, I don t really need that.
Fuhahaha! During the winter, do yourself some good and read it! Now then, from wh
om did I get my present from? Zaimokuza began opening the present in front of him
, ignoring my disappointment.
Oh, what is this, what is this!? Is this not what they call a cushion!?
In Zaimokuza s hands was a fluffy cushion.
Looking at that, Yuigahama raised her voice. Ah, that s the series of cushions that
turn you into a good-for-nothing.
So that means it s a present from Hikigaya-kun?

asked Yukinoshita.

Yeah. The sofa was too big and expensive, so I went with the cushion.

I answered.

In the end, I couldn t decide on what was good and went with what they recommended
at the store that time.
Zaimokuza fiddled with the cushion and checked its quality.
Indeed, this is quite good. Starting today, I shall hug this while sleeping.
Er no, stop that, that s gross.
Not listening to a thing I was saying, Zaimokuza placed the cushion to the side
and rested his head on it.

Hm, let s give this a try Oh? Ununu . T-This is! Zaimokuza s eyes shot opened. This abu
nt warmth and this fluffy softness, and how it adjusts its shape to my needs . Ah,
I, can t, no more I aaaaaam faaaaaaaaaaalling ! Drop. Zaimokuza went silent.
Ooh, Zaimokuza became quiet. That cushion sure is useful.

Ignoring Zaimokuza who fell asleep, the present exchanged continued.

Um, okay. Shall we go with Hiratsuka-sensei next?

Komachi called her name.

Hiratsuka-sensei nodded and placed her hand on her present.

very cutely Mmm, oh, hand cream, huh?

Umu, this is wrapped

When we looked around wondering whose present it was, Totsuka reacted.

Ah, yes. This season will get you really dry so that s why. There s also shea butter
in there too, so it really moistens you up. I use it a lot myself during club.
S-Sai-chan, you re amazing
Overwhelming girl power
Yuigahama and Komachi were taken aback. Of course I was too. Hiratsuka-sensei, t
hough, wasn t anywhere close to that.
I see, so this is girl power So if I use this, I wonder if it ll increase mine Haa, I
could, use some moisture Since I m so dried up Hiratsuka-sensei kept going dry, dry
peatedly like curses.
Somehow, the atmosphere was getting dried too. Sensitive to that, Komachi barged
in frantically.
Ha! Shoot! The atmosphere s becoming a pain again! Okaaay, Komachi s next! Oh, this i
s a wrapped rather fancily The inside is, ah, tea leaves. So that means this is f
rom Yukino-san!
Inside the wrapping was a rectangular can. It looked like something I ve seen befo
re in the club.
When Komachi guessed right, Yukinoshita returned a smile.
Yes. I tried looking for something that isn t too strong
asy expression. It s just
Just?

Yukinoshita then made an une

Komachi asked further.

Yukinoshita sent a glancing look at me.

oriented towards coffee instead.

I thought maybe Komachi-san might be more

Aah, I see. Now that she mentioned it, there were a lot of occasions where I dra
nk coffee. Even in club, I was drinking MAX COFFEE. So that s why, she thought Kom
achi, who I lived with every day, might be drinking it normally just as well. Th
e reason for Yukinoshita s concern was something I could understand.
But that was a needless worry.. Komachi happily held the can of leaves close to
her.
Not at all, that s not it in the least. Well, I do drink it quite a lot to match wi
th my brother though. But, but, with this, maybe my brother just might be enligh
tened to the joys of tea!
Umu, receiving a present that ll expand your interests is something to look forward
to. Hiratsuka-sensei said as she fiddled with her hand cream.
Komachi nodded her head.
r present next?

That s right! Okay, okay, Yukino-san, why don t you open you

Sure.
Yukinoshita reached out to the present in front of her and Yuigahama broke into
a smile.
Ah, that s mine!
Oh, is this bath salt? The packaging is cute too
. I think it s wonderful.

That s very like you, Yuigahama-san

Right! Actually, you can use this with a scrub too!

This is one incredibly girly conversation
ting cute together.
Hiratsuka-sensei hit her knees.
igahama

I thought as I watched the two of them ac

Darn, bath salt, huh ? I think I overlapped with Yu

Eh, sensei, you bought something like that?

I asked her in surprise.

She was going oh shucks while pressing against her forehead. Yeah, to think I d overl
ap with a high school girl of today, huh? Oh darn, what to do?
This person s really happy for some reason
The present that apparently clashed with the present that came from a high schoo
l girl of today was apparently given to Totsuka when I followed her gaze.
Yuigahama looked at that present with sparkling eyes.
ow I m really curious. Sai-chan, try opening it.
Okay. Here I go

Eeh, I wonder what it is? N

Ummm, this is

When he undid the plain wrapping, what appeared was an enshrined box.
Looking at that going

hoeeh

in confusion was Yuigahama.

An assortment of hot spring items

That does certainly resemble bath salts But there s something decisively different a
bout it
said Yukinoshita as she pressed against her temple.
Komachi also had trouble commenting. Mmm, it s less like a girl, but
an adult!

like an o-, old

Uu, I can t help but feel the consideration

Hiratsuka-sensei wiped her eyes, looking close to breaking down.
Totsuka quickly displayed a smile like the blossoming of a flower.
hot springs, so I m really happy.

But I do like

I-I see Well if Totsuka s happy, then whatever. My image of it was different from e
veryone else s, but I agreed with Totsuka. Y-Yeah Well, for us guys, it d be something
to happy about.
R-Right? It s a little too early for you guys, but a beer after a long bath is the
greatest, you know! Hiratsuka bounced right back thanks to that and said somethin
g manly.

I think I understand why sensei can t get married. She s a lot manlier than those boy
s over there. Komachi said with sadness.
Okay, well, it s true that Hiratsuka-sensei was rather cool for a woman, us boys a
ctually being a lot timid in comparison
Okay, so last one is me then.
Yuigahama reached out to the present in front of her.
So that means it s a present from me!
From Komachi-chan? Huh, that makes me super curious. Can I open it?
Please, please!
Komachi urged her on and Yuigahama undid the wrapping.
Ah, it s soap! Thank you! This is actually one of the popular ones right now too!
That s right! I m using it right now and it has a really good smell!
Hoh. So this is how presents between girls were It s like, THA GIRLS, ah, no, THE G
IRLS, huh? I then felt a feeling of discomfort.
Huh? You ve been using that soap? I ve never seen it before though
Ah, yup. I only bring it out when I take a bath. I mean, I wouldn t want onii-chan
and dad using it, right? That d be kind of gross too.
Eeeh ? I-Isn t that a little mean? Onii-chan received a huge shock just now

Gross , huh ? C-C mon, what s so bad about me using the soap ? I couldn t help, but be dep
sed.
Yuigahama clapped her hands in realization of something. Oh, I know. Yukinon, let s
use this together today. Oh, with the bath salt too! I can t wait!
I don t mind, but

Eh? You don t mean to go in together, right?

Eh? But if we don t, then we can t use it together

Yukinoshita and Yuigahama went, Eh? Eh? , as they looked at each other. I couldn t he
lp but go Eh? myself, trying to confirm various things. G-Go in the bath together,
you say? Then again, don t go saying stuff like that in a place like this! You re m
aking me think about a lot of things because of that!
Hey, Yurigahama, I mean, Yuigahama. Talk about that stuff after you get home, aft
er Because, you know Just because.
Though I tried to get the point across with vague words, Yuigahama apparently di
dn t understand at first, but gradually grew bright red.
Ah, y-yeah.
Yuigahama-san, you dummy
said Yukinoshita with a disappearing voice. Um, if you re go
ing say that with a flush red face like that, even I was getting embarrassed It w
as even more so with Komachi staring at us with a grin.

Gefun, gefun, morusu . Fuumu

d at some point, it seems ?

Upon opening my eyes, the atmosphere has become very od

Ah, chuuni-san, did you just wake up? It s okay if you just sleep a little longer.
Komachi went ufufu with a smile directed at Zaimokuza who tilted his head with a c
urious face, but that was actually kind of scary
In any case, today s main event, the present exchange, had safely ended. Now what
were we supposed to do next?
So the present exchange s over I don t see anything else Christmas related
Yuigahama and Komachi thought while groaning.
Komachi suddenly lifted her face.
stmas carols!
T-That s it!

Ha! Speaking of Christmas, then that means Chri

Yuigahama agreed and Komachi nodded.

In fact, there s nothing else I can think of!

Really?
Apparently I wasn t the only one with the same thought. Yukinoshita frowned. Is sin
ging enough to make it feel like Christmas, I wonder ? Yukinoshita said with skepti
cism, and Totsuka started to think of something.
Christmas carols do have a lot of imagery with it and just listening gets you in
the mood too.
Correct. A theme song can be said to be the face of a product Truly, face song! T
he song draws a spectacle before your eyes. Zaimokuza nodded his head, thinking h
e was saying something good.
On the other hand, the sitting Hiratsuka-sensei felt like she was already out th
ere. Her eyes were flying all over the place, going Gahaha!
Oh, going to sing, are we? Sounds good, sing, sing! If you guys aren t going to sin
g, then I ll sing Single Bell instead!
Hiratsuka-sensei, is she drunk ? There shouldn t be any alcohol. Yukinoshita said. Of
course, there weren t any alcoholic drinks. She was probably just drunk from the a
tmosphere.
Influenced by the energy, Yuigahama gripped the microphone and stood up.
igahama Yui will sing ! Here, Yukinon too.

Okay! Yu

Eh, wait, why me too ?

Yukinoshita tried to refuse the microphone presented by Yuigahama, but cornered
by Yuigahama s immovable smile, she reluctantly took it.
Weeeey!
Komachi shook the tambourines to heat up the moment for the two.
Well, if it wasn t for this opportunity, we wouldn t have been able to hear these two
singing. That s why, well, we could consider this an event special to Christmas p
arties.

If so, then, I suppose we could consider this as our very own way of spending Ch
ristmas.

The cold wintry wind was blowing along the street that continued from the statio
n
Once the party was over and we left the karaoke box, the sun had long set. Compa
red to the afternoon, the number of pedestrians had dropped considerably.
Christmas, too, was just about to end. We were walking down the night lane, a sl
ight feeling of loneliness hanging in the air.
Yuigahama stretched.

Mmm, we sure sang our hearts out

In the end, it just turned into karaoke, huh ?

I said.

What exactly was that party about, anyway ?

Yuigahama faltered with her voice. W-What s the big deal? It was fun.
But I wonder if this was enough as a thank you to Komachi-san and the others
Yukino
shita murmured, looking worried. That s true, at first, I had the feeling that the
entire premise was to thank Komachi and the others. But, still, judging by thei
r behavior, worrying wasn t necessary.
Well, it looked like they had a good time, so it should be fine.
Uh huh, I hope so. Ah, but Hikki, was it okay for you to come with us? I know Kom
achi-chan told you, but you didn t really have to walk us back.
That s true. My house is just right over there as well. Yukinoshita said and looked
further up the path. Up there was the apartment Yukinoshita was living in. The d
istance between the station and her place wasn t exactly that significant, so ther
e wasn t a need to walk them back, but with Komachi s insistence, I was here now.
Well, there s the cake and other baggage. This much isn t a big deal.
I see. That s a big help then. There s quite a bit of leftover cake too.
But, but, it s kind of nice having an entire cake left! It s one of my dreams! Eating
it whole! said Yuigahama with an ecstatic expression, and Yukinoshita sent her a
cold stare.
If you can really eat all of it, then that s fine

It s actually quite painful.

So you tried it before

While delving in that kind of conversation, once we walked through the street in
the park, we made it into the main street. Now that we had made it this far, Yu
kinoshita s house was just over there.
Ah, we can see Yukinon s place now.
Yes. Hikigaya-kun, up to here is fine.
We stopped before the crosswalk that passed over the main street.

Is that so? Alright, here, the cake.

Okaaay.
I handed over the cake I ve been holding the entire time to Yuigahama.
Also, can you take these back with you too?
the pouch.

I said, and took out two more bags from

Although Yuigahama and Yukinoshita accepted them, they stared at it wonder exact
ly what it was. Upon realizing, they asked timidly to check.
Eh? Are these

Christmas presents?

For me, and for Yuigahama-san

breath in surprise.

There s one for each of us.

Yukinoshita let out a small

How they earnestly looked at them with really unexpected faces was somehow embar
rassing.
Well, it s like a thank you for the tea cup. Unable to directly look at them, I shift
ed my eyes away in a completely different direction.
Is it okay, if we open them? Oregairu_v06-5_473
Mm, sure. I ambiguously replied to the question asked in confusion. When I thought
about what kind of reaction they d give after opening the bag, my hands started t
o sweat despite being in the middle of winter.
I could hear blowing winds along with the sound of the ribbon being undone. I th
en heard small gasps.
Waa
They re scrunchies
The breaths that the two girls let out were somehow warm and unconsciously, I fe
lt relieved.
Yukinon and I are matching! Yuigahama said as she looked at hers and then Yukinosh
ita s. Her voice sounded like it was full of joy.
Yuigahama s blue while mine s, pink ? I feel like this should ve been the opposite.
No, that s good, or at least I think
Just why I decided to do it that way, I wouldn t have been able to explain it prop
erly at all. I was at a loss even if I was asked. However, I felt that it was su
rely the right, because it was something I considered in my own way; a conclusio
n that only I arrived at. It s fine even if I didn t understand it. I think gifts we
re just those kinds of things.
I see
said Yukinoshita, just quietly and not asking any further. She lifted her fac
e from the scrunchie in her palm and smiled. If this is a form of gratitude, then
I ll gratefully accept it.
Yeah, Hikki Thank you. I ll take care of it. Yuigahama gazed directly at me and gentl
y embraced the scrunchy in her hands at her bosom. I couldn t look directly at her
out of embarrassment.

Yeah. Well, I ll leave it to you to take care of it I mumbled my words, and ahead whe
re my averted gaze was the lights of the crosswalk turning red to green.
O-Okay, I ll see you later.

Using that as a signal, I sent them off.

Yeah, see you later ! Good night.

After Yukinoshita and Yuigahama nodded to each other, they quietly began walking
away.
I watched their backs as they grew further and I turned my back as well.
Alright
I let out a quiet breath and looked up at the sky.
The night sky of winter was clear, and I could see Orion very well. There were p
robably other constellations, but unfortunately, Orion was the only one I knew.
I think there were a lot of things that you wouldn t be able to recognize just bec
ause you could see them. Would there ever be a day I d be able to notice the thing
s I once overlooked?
With the guidance of the starlight and street lights, I smoothly took a step.
Hikigaya-kun.
Hm?
I turned around after being called to a stop, and standing directly in the middl
e of the crosswalk was Yukinoshita. Yuigahama had already finished crossing over
and was looking at Yukinoshita with a slightly curious face.
She stood there idly, tying her hair together, but when our eyes met, she gently
combed through that hair with her fingertips.
The pink scrunchie, highlighted against her glossy black hair, radiated even in
the dead of night.
Yukinoshita stopped her hand that caressed her hair, looking hesitant, but after
seeing the start of the countdown of the lights, she quietly breathed in. She t
hen opened her palm halfway and waved slightly back and forth.
Merry Christmas.
Y-Yeah Merry Christmas. I was taken back due to her suddenly speaking up, but I some
how managed to reply back.
Yukinoshita chuckled, expressing a small smile and briskly ran after Yuigahama w
ho was waiting ahead.
The two lined up and exchanged several words. Yuigahama then made a big wave wit
h her hand. On the cuff of her hand was the blue scrunchie swaying back and fort
h.
After seeing that, I turned my back once again.
Guess I ll go home
Despite having walked around the entire day, oddly enough, my steps were light,

and I found myself starting to hum as well.

The curtains of night silently descended, with the cold winds massaging your che
eks. Even so, the lights of the city were faintly warm like candles, tenderly il
luminating the Christmas that was soon to end.
Prayers that didn t reach and wishes that weren t granted surely existed.
But, peacefully, those, along with the clear exhaled breath, would surely be all
owed, at least for today.
That breath that also shook someone s light surely existed.
Whether you were alone or with someone, Christmas would visit this year as well.
That s why, to everyone out there, Merry Christmas
Midword
Top
Afterword
A phrase from Project Arms. ?
A Japanese meme. Akin to something like lel, lawl of the sort. ?
A quote from Eureka Seven. ?
A phrase from the Bible. ?
Kongou from Kancolle loves tea. ?
The Obon Festival is a Japanese custom that honors the spirits of one s ancest
ors. Typically these floating lanterns are placed on the river which follows a s
tream down somewhere late at night. ?
Sound effects that Atago from Kancolle makes. ?
Japanese encyclopedia of the sort. ?
Wonder Trade ?
Komachi s coined dere term for Hachiman. Twisted dere so to speak. ?
Good Wife, Wise Mother East Asian ideal of the supposed role of women. ?
A fumi-e (???) is an object that was used to identify Catholics and sympathi
zers during the Edo period of Japan. It typically had a picture of Virgin Mary o
r Christ and if the people reluctant to step on it would be branded as a Catholi
c and sent to Nagasaki for torture, execution, etc. ?
A line said by the younger sister of Ayase Eli, Ayase Arisa. ?
A line spoken by Kotori Mizuki from Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal II. ?
Chogokin A line of metal robot and character toys sold in Japan. Originated
from Mazinger Z. ?
A line said by Guy Shishioh from GaoGaiGar, also voiced by the same voice ac
tor. ?
A line from a short story collection, Hyakkiyakko, by Natsuhiko Kyougoku. ?
Sei Iori s dad from Gundam Build Fighters also loves Gunpla. Also Sei Iori is
voiced by Mikako Komatsu who does Totsuka. ?
Kirara? ?
Aila Yurukiainen from Gundam Build Fighter is voiced by Hayami Saori who als
o voices Yukino. ?
Wordplay on Aila s last name which is Yurukiainen in Japanese. The wordplay part
, yarukinai (?????) here means no motivation to do anything . ?
The proper term in Japanese is nori-tsukkomi which is where you play the str
aight man and the boke by yourself. ?
Kiyoko Suizenji, also known as Cheetah, released a single caused The 365-Step
March . This made its debut in 1968. ?