Disclaimer: I do not own the song Yuki no Hana by Nakashima Mika.
What I Want For Christmas
SIGH
“-chan!”
BAM
“AYA-CHAN!! GET OFF OF ME BEFORE I THROTTLE YOU!”
The brown-haired girl sniffled, sliding off of her best friend’s back as she wiped away invisible tears. The black-haired girl she had pounced on was currently restraining herself as she tapped her foot angrily. They were both wearing the Yamabuki High School female uniforms.
“-chan is so cruel! I was just trying to express my undying love for my best friend!” She said, eyes sparkling as she whimpered up to . The other girl growled, turning away sharply to stalk off. The one named “Aya” followed her obediently.
In reality, her name was Sabaku Ayaka, and her best friend was . They had been very close since preschool, and were almost inseparable.
“Ne, ne, -chan, don’t you want your Christmas present?” Ayaka said, reaching into her bag to present a small box. blinked, before smiling softly and taking it, exchanging it with a present of her own.
They both pinkie-swore not to open it until it was Christmas Day.
“Hey… what are you going to get Akutsu-san for Christmas?” asked, plopping down on the snow under a tree as Ayaka blushed helplessly.
“I don’t know… Jin-kun doesn’t seem like the type to like Christmas…” Ayaka sighed. “I’m thinking of something sports-related, or maybe something to do with speed-racing…” smiled, ruffling her friend’s hair.
“You’ll figure something out. And don’t worry about something expensive. It’s only your first Christmas together!” Ayaka groaned.
“Don’t remind me. It’ll just put more pressure on me, knowing I have to get something memorable.” Ayaka rubbed her forehead. “And I’ve been really stressed lately because of exams and stuff. I’m sure Jin-kun is feeling a little neglected because of my studying hours.” She sighed again, and whacked her in the head.
“Aya-chan! Exams are over! You can stop stressing! If you’re worried about not spending too much time with him, than just invite him to do something on Christmas, just the two of you!” Ayaka’s eyes widened.
“-chan! That’s a fantastic idea! Oh gosh, I have to plan! I’ll see you later. Thanks so much!” Ayaka sputtered out quickly, running off. laughed softly, tracing the dirt with her finger as she watched her best friend dash off in the direction of her home. Sighing, plopped onto the ground, the snow making its way between strands of her hair, chilling her head.
“Ne, ne, you’ll get a cold if you do that.”
Peeking an eye open, smiled.
“Look who’s talking, Kiyosumi.”
The lucky tennis player grinned, dressed in a warm jacket and shorts. He plopped down beside her, leaning against the tree as she sighed once more. Reaching out, Sengoku brushed tendrils of her black hair away from her face, smiling as she giggled.
“Tickles.” She murmured. They sat in silence for a few moments. “Ne, Kiyo-kun?” He made a noise to show he was listening. “What do you want for Christmas?” Blinking, Sengoku looked into the eyes of as she stared up at him with a curious expression. He burst out laughing.
“Secret.” He said, winking. “But I’ll give you a hint.”
She cocked her head to the side puzzlingly.
“Something intimate.”
Her face heated up.
“N-nani?!”
shot off the ground, looking at him with wide eyes. Sengoku laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He pulled his eye down, sticking his tongue out at her.
“Like I said, something intimate.”
’s cheeks puffed up, and she whacked him in the shoulder.
“Don’t you kiss enough girls in a year?” She berated him. Sengoku shrugged. She sighed exasperatedly, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. “Well I obviously can’t get you something ‘intimate’.” She muttered. Sengoku smiled cheekily at her.
“Don’t be too sure of that!” He exclaimed, before hopping to his feet and ruffling her hair. “Anyway, I have to go do some more Christmas shopping. Ja ne!”
sighed once again, waving to Sengoku as he jogged away. Her hand fell down to rest in her lap, and her head bent over.
“Baka Kiyo-kun.” She murmured, drops of crystal tears dotting her hands.
<*><*><*><*><*>
This year, the first snow flowers bloom
as we draw closer
As I look upon this time
the happiness overflows in me
If we depend on each other’s love, we’re not weak
I simply, love you
These thoughts are straight from the heart
“Mm?”
groaned softly, her head buried under her soft covers as she reached a hand out to pat around her nightstand. Grabbing the offending cell phone, she quickly answered with a mumble.
“Moshi moshi?”
“-CHAN!! GET UP! IT’S CHRISTMAS DAY!”
yawned, stretching as she sat up with the phone still to her ear.
“Hai, hai Aya-chan. I’m up, I’m up.” She muttered. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she tried to pay attention to Aya-chan’s constant babbles. Something about needing to get ready for her day with Akutsu-san, and how she loved the present that got her. quickly opened the present Ayaka gave her, and a wistful smile came to rest on her lips.
“You’ve been complaining to me about a new wallet for ages now. I thought maybe you’d like one for Christmas.” answered, slipping out of bed and making her way to the gift Aya-chan gave her. There was a beeping that was coming from her phone. “Oh, hold on Aya-chan, I have another call.” She pressed a few buttons on her cell, before bringing it to her ear again. “Moshi moshi?”
“Yo, -chan.”
Blink once… twice…
“Kiyo-kun? Ohayou.” said cheerily. “Did you need something? Please hurry, I have Aya-chan on hold.” There was silence for a few seconds. “Kiyo-kun?”
“Do you mind spending Christmas Day with me?” He asked. blinked, freezing up.
“A-ah… s-sure. Where do you want to meet?” She asked with a slight stutter, cheeks flaming.
“I’ll come pick you up. Just be ready at 1:00, okay?” She snuck a peek at her alarm clock. It was 12:03.
“Yeah, no problem. Ja ne.”
“Ja.”
Sengoku hung up, and went back to Ayaka. She started to explain what just happened.
“Ah! Hontou?! Then hurry up and get ready! Kyaa~, -chan’s going on her first date!”
’s entire body flushed.
“AYA-CHAN!”
<*><*><*><*><*>
“! Sengoku-kun is here!”
“Hai~!”
gulped, rushing as she scrambled to get ready. Grabbing a jacket, rushed down the stairs to the front door.
“Kiyo-kun! Sorry to keep you waiting!” She exclaimed, grabbing her shoes. Sengoku smiled, waving it off.
“I just got here, it’s no big deal.” He said. smiled back at him, before grabbing her purse off the coat rack and slinging it over her shoulder. Her mother was smiling to them, waving as she watched them leave.
“Have fun you two!” She shouted. waved back in reply.
“Your mother is really nice.” Sengoku said, and chuckled.
“You say that because you don’t know her all that well.” said. “She can be an absolute devil when she wants to be.” They both laughed. “So where are we headed?” She asked, looking at him. Sengoku grinned.
“I thought you’d like some lunch.” As if on cue, her stomach growled.
“Aha… I think so too.” She giggled, holding her stomach as they made their way to a nearby vending machine. None of the stores were open on Christmas Day, so they had to settle for something from a vending machine. That was fine with though, as long as she got to spend this special day with a special person.
Sengoku Kiyosumi. They had known each other since middle school, including Akutsu and Ayaka. Ever since she could remember, has always had a deep love for Sengoku, but she was afraid to express herself. There were so many other girls that Sengoku could date, so much better and prettier than her. would rather not take her chances with her and Sengoku’s friendship.
So she kept quiet, watching from afar.
Wishing from afar.
<*><*><*><*><*>
“So, have you figured it out?”
blinked confusingly, tilting her head to look at Sengoku as they sat on a bench in the park. He chuckled, leaning closer to her face. She blushed, leaning back to put some distance between them. had never really liked contact with males, having grown up in a somewhat sheltered life.
Her father had died when she was a baby, leaving a fortune to her and her mother. When her grandfather died, he also gave her a considerable amount of yen, and as a result she and her mother were allowed to live in comfortable peace. She also had no siblings, and as a result grew up often alone when she was at school. It wasn’t until junior high that she made her first friend; Sabaku Ayaka.
Ayaka was one of the most popular girls in the school, but when she made friends with , that popularity declined rapidly. No one wanted to be friends with someone who was friends with . That’s just how things were. begged and pleaded for Ayaka to leave her alone, but the girl had stood strong, being persistent. Finally, began to open her heart to strangers, and Ayaka was the first to touch upon that.
Sengoku Kiyosumi was the second. He and Ayaka were childhood friends, and once tennis partners. Sengoku had gone to say hello to Ayaka one day, and found in the process. It was inevitable that the three of them grew closer and closer. Even though tennis often stole Sengoku away from them, even though the student council often stole Ayaka away from them, was content with her two true friends.
“Figured what out?” asked. Sengoku chuckled.
“My Christmas present.” He said. gasped, her hands flying over her mouth.
“Oh no! I completely forgot! Kiyo-kun, please forgive me! I’ll go out and buy you something now. Whatever you want! I don’t care how much it costs me!” She panicked, preparing to stand up and rush off with him to buy him a Christmas present. Before she was able to dash off though, Sengoku reached out and grabbed her arm, tugging her down onto his lap.
“Silly -chan.” He purred. “My Christmas present doesn’t have a price.” blinked, flushing heavily as she realized she was sitting on his lap, and that his face was unbearably close to hers. All he needed to do was bend down just a smidge…
This year, the first snow flowers bloom
as we draw closer
As I look upon this time
the happiness overflows in me
If we depend on each other’s love, we’re not weak
I simply, love you
These thoughts are straight from the heart
“Eh?”
Blinking, looked down to see her cell phone vibrating, and she quickly picked it up.
“Moshi moshi? Ah, Aya-chan? What is it?” A few seconds went by, and chuckled as she realized her friend was freaking out over Akutsu… again. She was about to give some nice advice, when the phone slipped neatly out of her hand to find its way into Sengoku’s.
“Hah? Aya-chan? It’s Kiyosumi.” There was silence, and then a bit of muffled talking. “Hai… hai… hai… Glad to see you understand Aya-chan. Now if you’ll excuse me!” cried out as Sengoku pressed the ‘END’ button, the phone clacking closed. That was the last thing heard before Sengoku’s lips descended on hers.
Unlike all those shoujo manga’s she read with Ayaka, or all those romance novels she read, sparks did not fly through her body. Instead, she felt a strange warmth and contentment as she wound her arms over Sengoku’s neck, drawing him closer. She swore she felt him smirk just a tiny bit, but it was gone as soon as it came.
“Kiyosumi…” breathed, as they broke apart. He was smiling softly at her, caressing her cheeks with his fingertips. “Kiyosumi… what…?” Sengoku shushed her, placing a finger on her lips as he gave her a peck on the side of her mouth. He drew her closer to him, and she could faintly feel and hear his heartbeat through his jacket.
“I wanted a kiss for Christmas.” He said gently, stroking her hair. “Not just any kiss, but ’s first.” She blushed red, snuggling further into him. He chuckled, and she could feel the vibrations of his laugh as she pressed her ear against his heart.
“You… you could’ve just asked me for one.” She mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. Sengoku laughed.
“I know. Now, what do you want for Christmas, ?”
smiled, craning her head up to look him in the eyes.
“I want to be Kiyosumi’s girlfriend.”
PAUSE
LAUGHTER
“That’s it?” He asked teasingly. grinned brightly, pecking him on the lips.
“That’s it.”
They gazed at each other, a wistful smile adorning their lips.
<*><*><*><*><*>
’s mother walked into her daughter’s room, clucking her tongue in disapproval at the slight mess. On the bed, there lay Ayaka’s present still on top of the wrapping paper. ’s mother walked over to it, lifting it up to gaze at it with a small smile.
Though small it was, it spoke volumes of emotion.
’s mother hurriedly cleared the room, putting things in their proper place and throwing out all the wrapping paper. There was something a little different about the room though. Something had been added, and it somehow completed the room’s look. For when ’s mother left the room, beforehand she had placed Ayaka’s present at the center of the headboard of ’s bed.
She turned off the lights, enshrouding the room in darkness as she quietly slipped out.
But for some strange reason, the picture frame and the photo of Ayaka, Sengoku, and smiling brightly at the camera, glowed faintly in the dark room.
©Snowflake