Chapter 253: Everyone's Christmas Eve

“Jingle bells, jingle bells,”

“Jingle all the way!”

“Oh, what fun it is to ride”

“In a one-horse open sleigh.”

“Hey!”

…

December twenty-fourth. Christmas Eve.

Tokyo’s sky darkened especially fast. Before six o’clock had even arrived, night had already fallen over more than half the city. The entirety of Advanced Nurturing High School was submerged in deep indigo.

The shops in Keyaki Mall had long since finished their preparations. Cheerful Christmas songs drifted out from within. Strings of colorful lights were stretched from one end of the mall to the other, and finally wound around the enormous Christmas tree at the very center.

Orange-red, glowing white, floating green. One after another, they lit up. A riot of colors, lending brilliance to one another, illuminating the students’ faces.

Bearing large bags and small packages, overflowing with blissful smiles, they came and went in a bustling crowd, converging from every direction into this river of light.

Keyaki Mall, fifth floor.

“I suppose this is what you’d expect from a Christmas that Japan places so much importance on.”

Standing on the top floor, Fuyuji Mikage held a large bag of goods in one hand and several smaller bags in the other. He raised a hand to his forehead, let out a loud whistle, and gazed into the distance.

“This is my first time seeing Keyaki Mall this crowded.”

Just from a rough scan, he spotted quite a few familiar figures.

Also on the fifth floor’s top level, in the arcade, Ryuen Kakeru, dressed to the nines, was playing arcade games with a few of his lackeys. The flashy sound effects, paired with his chuunibyou laughter, made quite a few passing students retreat a full three feet away.

In a clothing store on the third floor, Cha-Cha was trying on clothes with her good friends, occasionally holding pieces up against herself to compare. In the corner stood Horikita Suzune, arms crossed, expression cold. Judging by how she looked like she wanted to leave but didn’t, she had probably accepted the invitation in order to build a better relationship with Cha-Cha.

At the first-floor entrance, Katsuragi Kohei was picking out gifts with his tag-along Totsuka Yahiko. Nearby, Hashimoto Masayoshi and Kito Hayato walked past together. Hashimoto had an arm slung over Kito’s shoulder, chatting with a grin, while Kito had both hands in his pockets, looking thoroughly uninterested.

Among them all, the most eye-catching was the school’s super-popular girl, Ichinose Honami. A huge crowd of Class B students swarmed around her in a dense mass, heading toward the karaoke boxes, leaving behind a trail of laughter and cheerful voices. But… why did it feel like Ichinose wasn’t in a very good mood?

Just as Fuyuji was hesitating over whether to send a text to check on her, a hand tugged at the hem of his clothes, pulling his attention back to himself.

He looked down. His gaze landed on a rather petite beauty.

Wrapped in a scarf and wearing tights, Morishita Ai raised her cool poker face and silently extended both hands toward Fuyuji, her lips moving soundlessly.

[Carry…]

“Tired?” Fuyuji took the cue and set down the shopping bags in his hands. He sat on the bench beside them and reached out to pull Morishita into his arms. “You should rest in bed a bit more.”

Morishita’s sneaky move had truly been unexpected, and it triggered a whole chain reaction.

Just interrogating Fuyuji had taken a huge amount of time. By the time the girls finally had a moment to spare, they belatedly realized tonight was Christmas Eve, and they hadn’t prepared a single thing for dinner.

That was when they hurriedly called Fuyuji back from the student council, then brought along Morishita-sama, who was patting her chest and insisting she was completely fine, and headed straight for Keyaki Mall.

“Hmph!”

Morishita quietly pressed her legs together and gently swung her fuzzy ankle boots up and down, acting unconcerned.

“I am Ai-sama, possessor of forest-like recovery abilities. A little post-exercise soreness is nothing. Actually, I was already fine this morning.”

With that, she shifted into Fuyuji’s arms without changing her expression, turned her face, and buried her pretty face in Fuyuji’s chest, working hard not to let herself cry.

Sniffle… sniffle…

Morishita clenched Fuyuji’s collar with both hands.

‘If I’d known… I wouldn’t have pushed myself. Why are my legs still numb, like I’m walking on cotton? Pulling off that magnificent display and cutting down my boyfriend on the battlefield must have been something Morishita-sama did.’

The boast she’d made, she absolutely couldn’t let them see through it!

One had to know that in the afternoon, Yamamura Miki had blushed and quietly asked her what the first time felt like. Even Shiraishi Asuka and Kamuro Masumi had secretly pricked up their ears and leaned closer.

Especially Shiraishi, who was usually so yamato nadeshiko-like, gentle and elegant, unhurried, as if everything was under her control…

Unfortunately, this was experience only someone who’d been through it could know. No matter how impressive Shiraishi was, it was useless.

At that moment, it had truly been the peak of Morishita-sama’s life. Utter satisfaction!

Following the questions from the other girls, the more she bragged, the more carried away Morishita became. In the end, she could only grit her teeth and come along to Keyaki Mall with them.

Which had now devolved into her having no choice but to nestle in her boyfriend’s arms seeking comfort.

“Aren’t Miki and the others done yet?”

Fuyuji worked hard to suppress his laughter, his chest trembling slightly. His palm brushed over the smooth hair at the back of her head. His gaze turned toward the cake shop across the way with its long line.

A rich, sweet fragrance seemed to drift over through the crowd.

Japan apparently had a custom of eating strawberry cake at Christmas. After buying the essentials, Shiraishi and Yamamura had insisted on coming to buy one.

“They’re already done. I just came out first.” Morishita mumbled against Fuyuji’s chest.

“Then… want me to carry you back later?”

“That…” Morishita clutched Fuyuji’s collar, seeming a bit torn. “Okay—”

“Alright, Fuyuji, we’re done. Let’s go home.”

Before the words could finish, three beautiful figures in various winter outfits had already stepped lightly up to the bench with a click-clack of footsteps.

In an instant, Fuyuji felt his arms go empty. The warmth abruptly departed.

The next second, Morishita was already standing beside him with a cold face, casually bending down to pick up two of the bags on the floor. With a flick of her twin braids, she left him a cool, aloof back.

“Boyfriend-kun, what are you standing around for? My time is very valuable.”

Fuyuji: “…”

Impressive, girlfriend-chan. I never knew your face-changing skills could rival Cha-Cha’s.

Stifling his laughter, Fuyuji picked up the remaining shopping bags and faced the girls with their varying expressions.

Shiraishi, walking at the front, wearing just the right amount of elegant smile;

Yamamura, silently trailing beside Fuyuji, her gaze always drifting downward, both hands carrying the cake box;

Kamuro, arms crossed, fingers tapping her shoulder, already showing signs of impatience;

And Morishita, still in place, striking a pose.

He drew a deep breath. A brilliant smile appeared on his face.

“Let’s go. Time to head back and eat.”

…

Beep!

A cheerful electronic sound rang out. Fuyuji pushed the door open, and the air conditioner’s warm air instantly wrapped around him, driving away the chill from the corridor.

The warm yellow light of the entryway flowed down, illuminating the large and small shopping bags in everyone’s hands.

“We’re finally back! Hurry, hurry, boyfriend, take it out.” Morishita cheered, casually tossing her bag onto the entryway cabinet and kicking off her fuzzy ankle boots, revealing small, exquisite feet wrapped in sheer black stockings.

She headed straight for the huge square cardboard box in the center of the living room.

“Kotatsu! Kotatsu! Kotatsu!”

“Be careful…” Kamuro followed close behind, a look of resignation on her face.

“Wait wait wait, don’t be in such a hurry.”

Carrying bags large and small, Fuyuji arrived late. He pinched his chin, pulled out the assembly instructions, and declared with full confidence. “Actually, I’ve carefully studied how to assemble it these past few days. Later, watch me perform a three-second kotatsu assembly for you.”

“Boyfriend-kun, go!”

“Nag, nag. It’s just a kotatsu. Who hasn’t assembled one before?”

Kamuro shot Fuyuji a glare and stepped forward two paces to tear open the packaging on the cardboard box. She immediately began assembling it with nimble movements.

“…”

Fuyuji and Morishita exchanged a tacit glance. Watching Kamuro’s fluid, practiced motions, the two silently swallowed the words on their lips and shut their mouths in unison.

Seeing that there were enough hands, Yamamura shook her head lightly, set the cake on the kitchen counter, and tied on the pink apron printed with a kitten pattern.

It was already past seven. She still had to prepare dinner for five people. The task was fairly heavy.

“I’ll help.”

The last one in, Shiraishi, wearing cotton slippers, walked up with a smile and set the large and small bags of food on the counter.

“Mm.” Yamamura nodded and handed Shiraishi the other apron, a light blue one.

A few seconds later, the two exchanged a smile.

Faced with those three somewhat childish people, the two girls with more mature temperaments always shared a certain tacit understanding.

From a balcony on the fourth floor of the Advanced Nurturing dormitory, in the deepening night, a warm white halo of fluorescent light shone through. A wisp of cooking smoke, faint and barely there, curled up from the balcony and blended into the drifting fine snow.

A dozen or so minutes later.

“Done!”

Amid the cheers of Fuyuji and Morishita, Kamuro straightened up, patted her palms, brushed off nonexistent dust, and made a declaration tinged with a bit of smug satisfaction and lightness.

A dark wooden frame, covered with a thick off-white cotton quilt, with a tabletop containing a heater in the center, radiating a reassuring warmth.

“Ooh~ As expected of Kamuro Masumi. I see you in a new light.”

Morishita was the first to lift the quilt and dive in, letting out a satisfied sigh. “Heaven!” Then, like a cat that had found a warm nest, she comfortably curled her whole body inside, feeling the warm current spread from her feet throughout her body, leaving only a small face flushed with happiness and a few strands of blue hair outside.

“Tch.” Kamuro clicked her tongue in displeasure, looking down at the head under the table. She said irritably, “What do you mean, ‘see you in a new light’? Was my image in your mind that bad before?”

“Because you’re always mixed up with boyfriend playing games. Based on my conclusion, spending too much time together makes you dumb.” Morishita closed her eyes peacefully and spoke lazily.

“Hey!” x2

Fuyuji and Kamuro’s faces darkened simultaneously. They spoke at the same time:

“You’re the one who spends the most time with that bastard!”

“Is that any way to talk about your own boyfriend?” (simultaneously)

Hearing this, Morishita silently shrank her head into the kotatsu, leaving Fuyuji and Kamuro outside staring at each other.

The air was filled with an awkward yet funny silence.

Time passed little by little. The night outside grew deeper. At some point, the sky began to sprinkle fine snowflakes, falling silently on the window lattice, only to be melted by the indoor warmth, as if sealing the clamor away in another world.

“Dinner’s ready~”

Yamamura carried the last dish to the kotatsu.

The space under the kotatsu wasn’t large to begin with. With five people sitting around it, shoulders and knees inevitably brushed lightly against each other, passing along each other’s body heat.

The aroma of food mixed with the warm breath of the heater, lingering in the small room.

“Clap! Let’s eat!” x5

Hands pressed together, the crisp sound of clapping rang through the room.

“As expected of Miki. Perfect as always. Good work. Eat more, you’re a bit thin.” Fuyuji praised without stinting.

“Mm… stop putting more in my bowl, Fuyuji. I can’t finish it all.”

“Where do you get off being such a biased boyfriend? Please look carefully. Your girlfriend is still right here.”

“Everyone gets a share. You’re all my wings!”

“Hehe~” Shiraishi’s violet eyes flickered. “Fuyuji~ It’s Christmas Eve today, you know. The last person who said something like that didn’t end up looking very good~”

“…”

Fuyuji silently shrank his neck and quietly placed a bite of food into his pal’s bowl, who was keeping her head down and eating. Then he shoveled a few big mouthfuls of rice into his own mouth.

Shiraishi-mama, please don’t scare me.

…

After dinner, the group squeezed together in the kotatsu, eating strawberry cake while watching the Christmas special on TV.

Under the kotatsu, the atmosphere grew more subtle and intimate.

Morishita, full and satisfied, was getting a bit sleepy again. Her head once more tipped onto Fuyuji’s shoulder.

Under the kotatsu, Shiraishi’s feet, through thin pure white stockings, lightly and seemingly absentmindedly rubbed against Fuyuji’s calf. Fuyuji, not to be outdone, began a foot war with her beneath the table.

Yamamura quietly ate her cake in small bites, feeling the body heat and presence of the people around her.

Kamuro hugged a cushion, eyes half-lidded, seemingly enjoying this rare moment of laziness and warmth. Only when Fuyuji’s leg accidentally brushed against her would she immediately shift away in disgust. But after a while, she’d quietly lean back.

Time slowly approached midnight. The snow outside gradually grew heavier.

The TV screen switched to a lively concert scene. A popular idol group held colorful confetti poppers, leading the whole audience in a loud countdown:

“Ten, nine, eight…”

The numbers on the screen began to jump, accompanied by the excited voices of the idols.

Under the kotatsu, Fuyuji quietly took Yamamura’s hand resting on her knee. She trembled slightly, but didn’t pull away. Instead, she cautiously and gently squeezed back.

On the other side, Shiraishi’s toes playfully hooked his ankle, gradually growing bolder, quietly exploring the white-stockinged foot deeper.

Kamuro seemed to sense something, let out a light hum, and turned her face away, red-faced and teeth gritted.

Morishita, hazily lifting her head, rubbed her eyes, and followed the screen’s voice, murmuring the countdown in a small voice.

“Three, two, one!”

“Merry Christmas!”