Secret Santa 2024 - Story collection

[Retornodelogay]

Welp, I know prompts went out not that long ago, but inspiration hit me like a truck (and perhaps I'm trying to escape some obligations, but who's counting?). Anyway, here it is! I hope you like it :)

Victim: Mirage_GSM (how appropriate)
Prompt: "When looking through the storage for decorations for the christmas party, some students come across an item from a previous year that makes them see another classmate through different eyes."

Lost & Found

“Okay, so what exactly are we looking for?”

The immensity of the storage room expands before the two girls. It’s actually not that big, but the amount of clutter prevents at least one of them from even guessing the color of the walls.

“A large cardboard box, with permanent marker writing on one of its sides spelling ‘Christmas lights’. Perhaps some of the wiring is visible from the top, as we did not bother sealing it properly last year. Thank you kindly for your help, Emi, I would have asked Hanako but her allergies-”

“Relax, I love helping with this kind of stuff. Just be careful, this place is a minefield. If you need to move, shout and I’ll help you.”

“Do not let my lack of sight prevent you from taking proper precautions as well. Do you see any boxes that match the description?”

Emi tries to decipher the barrage of information the room throws at her, but ‘cardboard box with permanent marker letters’ could probably apply to half of her field of vision. Even then, a suspicious green wire calls her attention.

“Maybe I do, actually. I’ll have to use a step ladder to reach the shelf but I’m pretty sure I see a green wire. Because they were green, right?”

“Apologies, but I do not recall.”

“Right, my bad. Stay here, I’ll be back in a sec with the ladder.”

True to her word, Emi’s back in less than two minutes, step ladder in hand. She navigates the maze of boxes to the best of her abilities and places the contraption firmly on the floor.

“Should you be going up ladders?” Lilly asks in a worried, motherly tone.

“Probably not,” answers Emi, placing her prosthetic foot on the first step.

Upon inspecting the box closely, Emi’s pretty sure that a Christmas miracle has just happened: it does say ‘Christmas lights’ on a side not visible from the floor. However, something else behind the big box catches her eye.

“Okay, I have the box, and I’ll probably need some help carrying it down, but there’s something else here.”

“Something else?”

“A present, with an attached note and all,” Emi leaves the lights on the shelf and goes down the ladder carefully, a rather thin and small gift box on her, with Christmas decorations and a big, flamboyant ribbon. “It may have gone unclaimed and ended up here or something. There’s no name as far as I can see, not even on the note,” she comes closer to Lilly, with the intention of guiding her to the ladder, but so that she can check the gift as well.

“We should return this to the school staff at once so that it may find its rightful owner.”

“But there’s no name, and it ended up here. The staff probably had no idea what to do with it. Maybe we can check the note to find hints?” Emi proposes. She wants the gift to find its way to its owner, of course, but curiosity is starting to get the better of her.

“That would be a blatant violation of privacy I will not take-”

“Oh, it’s in braille. Whoever at the school received it probably didn’t know how to read it and left it here. What a shame that we will never know who it was for. Alas, I shall leave it where it… belongeth?”

The sheer absurdity of Emi trying and catastrophically failing to imitate Lilly’s speech releases all the tension at once. But if it’s in braille, that means it probably belongs to either one of Lilly’s classmates or juniors, or in other words, someone she knows. It perplexes her that a thoughtful note and gift lost their way because someone couldn’t even bother to read the latter properly, and she will not let that happen again.

“I am going to pretend I did not hear your mocking for the sake of peace, and shall help identify the owner of the gift. May I?”

Emi places the small box on Lilly’s hand, who inspects it with practiced movements and quickly manages to find the attached note. Instead of being inside an envelope, the entire text is written on the paper itself. It does make sense, since sighted people usually can’t read braille, as this present proves.

“To my beloved Kenji.”

“Kenji? Isn’t that the nutso from your class?”

“I wouldn’t use such words to define a peer, although he is certainly…”

“An incel.”

“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that nomenclature. He is a particular individual, but I find no justifiable reason to continue reading. We have successfully identified the owner. Let us take the Christmas light-”

“Wait, wait!” At this point Emi can no longer lie to herself: curiosity won. “Maybe this isn’t a normal gift, you know the guy isn’t exactly reasonable. It may be a weapon, or something damning! A biohazard! And maybe whoever received it didn’t want to get a kid into trouble and just let it rot here!”

Lilly sighs. She doesn’t feel particularly attached to her classmate. He’s always been disrespectful, irresponsible, uncaring and, generally, a nuisance. Which doesn’t mean she should violate his privacy but… quite honestly, she just wants to finish this up and go back to her room to get some rest for what is going to be an exhausting week of Christmas preparations. At least she won’t be opening the gift itself, just reading the admittedly exposed note.

“Alright. We do not speak of this find outside of this room, and if the item proves not to be dangerous in any way, we return it to its owner.”

“Yeah sure whatever. Read, read!”

Lilly clears her voice and places her fingers at the top of the note. “To my beloved Kenji. I know this past year hasn’t been easy, but I’m proud to be wishing a merry Christmas to my son for the first time. I don’t know if this is the right size, but I’ve been told that the gesture is what counts. Mom will come around eventually, you’ll see. She loves you as much as I do, even if her words haven't been showing it lately. Love you very, very much, my son, and Merry Christmas, Dad.”

“He… he sounds like the sweetest person on Earth,” Emi would never admit it, but she’s struggling to contain her tears. “What the hell went wrong for him to end up… like that?”

“Regardless, it’s quite clear that this gift is merely a thoughtful present from a family member. We may leave it at his door.”

“Wait wait, we’ve come this far and we’re not going to open it?”

“As I have stated, that would be an unwarranted violation of his privacy.”

“What about payback? I for one wouldn’t mind a little revenge from the time he pretended to trip over just to hug me.”

“He is legally blind, Emi.”

“In one of the bathrooms of the girls’ building. Inside one of the stalls. You know what? You don’t have to make a decision,” Emi snatches the gift box from Lilly’s hands, who clearly doesn’t enjoy being taken advantage of in such a disrespectful way. “You can keep a clear conscience and blame just me, the horrible, no good… A BRA!? I knew his dad had to have something shady going on. Just another creep, like father, like son.”

“Emi, stop at once.”

“Now? A disgusting parent is sending his disgusting son some poor woman’s underwear and you want me to stop now? Gosh, and it’s so tight, poor girl must be tiny.”

“Ibarazaki, you know perfectly well I am not one for empty threats. If you do not return the gift at once I will start screaming for help.”

Lilly is angry beyond measure, and Emi’s witnessed enough interactions between this girl and her cousin to know better than to keep messing around. “Alright, alright, sorry. Here. I shouldn’t have done that,” Lilly inserts the object back in the box and tries to realign the separated parts as neatly as possible. “But… I think we should report this. It’s weird, and we still don’t know whose underwear that is.”

“It belongs to Kenji, and we are going to return it right this moment. And, as agreed, not speak of this ever again. Understood?” While her angry tone of voice doesn’t translate to her facial expression, the scolding remains just as terrifying.

“Wait, what am I… Oh. OH. Shit. That’s a binder!”

“Precisely. I would have thought you were much more sensitive to these topics.”

“Can you really blame me for not thinking the misogynist asshole may be trans? Doesn’t change the assholeness.”

“Regardless, you are going to leave this thoughtful present in a presentable state and ensure that it finds its way to Kenji. There will be no rumours, no strange looks, no nothing. And if anything out of the ordinary happens I will personally make sure it comes back to you, Ibarazaki, do be warned,” not even Emi’s mother is capable of instilling fear in her soul as effectively as Lilly does.

“Sheesh, okay, I know better than that. I can’t stand the guy, but I wouldn’t say anything. Promise.”

“I will hold you to that.”

“Come on, lighten up, let me guide you so you can help me carry the lights down,” she winks, proud of her pun, only to quickly realize it was in vain. “I’ll get to Kenji as soon as we’re done, okay?”

---

“Done. Left it at his door, knocked and ran as fast as I could, and that’s saying something. Happy?”

“Not a word, you promised,” Lilly’s already in her nightgown, clearly on her way to sleep in spite of the early hours. “And I’m sure you are aware that running blades are strictly forbidden inside buildings. Have a good night, Emi, thanks again for your kind help, even if it happened to be tortuous.”

“Hold on! Can we… talk for a second? If it’s you it doesn’t count, right? Today at least?”

Lilly holds onto the door of her room while she decides. It is quite early, and her closest neighbors have gone home for the Holidays, so it’s not like anyone could overhear the conversation. “Be brief.”

“Do you… do you think this is why he’s like that?”

“I know of… several persons in similar circumstances, and none of them act like he does. Personality traits have little to do with gender identity, I find.”

“Okay, but… maybe his mother was, like, horrible about it and-”

“Ibarazaki, I feel it’s appropriate to not leave merely implied that I, in fact, do not enjoy gossip, nor baseless speculation. Have a good night.”

“O… of course. Good night, Lilly. Sorry again.”

Lilly closes the door and lies on her bed, ready to sleep. A final, loud whisper can be heard inside her room. “But if I encounter her, I will give her a piece of my mind.”

[Lap]

I would have thought it impossible for me feel any kind of sympathy for Kenji, but you came close . A wonderful start to the holiday exchange, nicely done!

[Mirage_GSM]

Wow, that was quick!
And certainly not what I expected from the prompt Thank you!

I don't quite understand why his father would still send him a bra as a gift though. Feels a bit... I don't know... Like "I know you're a boy now, but you'll always be my little girl to me..."

[Retornodelogay]

Wow, that was quick!
And certainly not what I expected from the prompt :lol: Thank you!

I don't quite understand why his father would still send him a bra as a gift though. Feels a bit... I don't know... Like "I know you're a boy now, but you'll always be my little girl to me..."

It's a binder! A piece of clothing used to conceal one's chest, often used by trans men and transmasculine people. At first glance it might look like a bra, but it's much more tight and way more sturdy. If you look up chest binder on Google you'll see what I mean, and probably get Emi's confusion at first :)

[Mirage_GSM]

Hmm... What google images gives me for "chest binders", I would call tank-tops...
Never heard that word "Binder" before, so I was confused.
Thanks for clarifying!

[Grayest]

Victim: Sharp-O
Prompt: Snowed-in dorms, a mysterious anonymous confession taped to a door, Mistletoe on a door frame, sleuthing, any pairing(s), starlight, reindeer antler headband

The snowstorm was abominable, covering Yamaku Academy in a heavy white. The roads were mostly closed off and classes were canceled. Students had no choice but to stay indoors, preferably sipping hot cocoa. For some, it was a time to relax, but for Kenji, it was the perfect opportunity for covert operations.

Clad in his scarf and green trench coat he'd bought in the city, Kenji made his way to the girls' dormitory under the cover of night, a realm full of potential feminist conspiracies. His mission? Reconnaissance.

If I can keep an eye on their operations, maybe I can stop their plans before they take hold, Kenji thought, adjusting his glasses. Hisao's been getting too cozy lately—this might be the perfect way to pull him back from the brink. Or... maybe this mission will somehow prove he's not entirely lost to their clutches yet. The soft crunch of snow beneath him and the harsh winter winds were the only sounds that could be heard as he prowled to the building.

His skulking brought him to Shizune's door. That was when he spotted it; a crisp, folded piece of paper taped neatly to the center, trembling slightly as a draft passed by. Intrigued, Kenji snatched the note and unfolded it. The handwriting was unmistakably Hisao's but written as if his hands were trembling.

Shizune, I don’t know how to say this face-to-face, so I’ll write it here. You’re one of the strongest, most determined people I’ve ever met, and I... like you. I hope this doesn’t ruin things between us, but I just wanted you to know.

Kenji’s eyebrows shot up. "Holy shit," he muttered, adjusting his glasses. "The dude finally grew a spine."

His first instinct was to crumple the letter and toss it in the trash. Relationships were a distraction; a known gateway to being controlled at the hands of the feminazis! But something about Hisao's earnest words stayed his hand. With a rare burst of sympathy, Kenji decided to assist in his friend's romantic endeavor. "If they’re happy, they’re less likely to fall into the feminist cabal… probably."

Kenji’s mind raced. He needed a plan, something subtle yet effective. That’s when he saw it: a dusty plastic bag of Christmas decorations someone had left in the dormitory lobby room. Inside was a sprig of artificial mistletoe and a pair of reindeer antler headbands.

"Perfect."

The next morning, Shizune awoke to an unexpected sight. Balanced atop the doorframe of her dorm room was a bit of mistletoe, tied with a gaudy, red ribbon. Perplexed, she retrieved it, her sharp eyes narrowing as she examined the amateur handiwork. She turned her gaze downward, spotting a small, neatly wrapped package lying on the floor. Inside was the antler headband and a note:

From your friendly neighborhood Secret Santa.

Shizune adjusted her glasses, her curiosity piqued. Wondering who could have left it, her mind buzzed with questions. She decided to wear the headband as she prepared for the day, partly as a joke and partly to see who might react.

Meanwhile, Hisao had spent the morning pacing his room, his stomach twisted in knots. He hadn't heard from Shizune, hadn’t seen her, and had no idea if she’d even read his letter. What if she thought it was a joke? he wondered, clenching his fists nervously. What if she’s upset? Or worse, what if she’s just going to ignore it altogether? He considered venturing out, but the snow piled against the windows made even the short walk to her dorm daunting. No, stay put, he told himself. The last thing I need is to get stuck halfway there and look like an idiot.

He didn’t expect the knock on his door. When he opened it, there stood Shizune, bundled in a heavy scarf, the reindeer antlers perched atop her head. Her hands moved swiftly, signing to him with an amused smile. [Nice weather for reindeer games, isn’t it?]

Hisao blinked, caught off guard. [Uh... yeah, definitely,] he said, trying to play it cool whilst signing to her. [You look festive.]

[You left this, didn’t you?] Shizune signed, tilting her head slightly.

[What? No! I mean…] Hisao stumbled, his cheeks turning pink. [I didn’t leave that, but I…] He took a breath, steadying himself. [I did leave the letter, at least.]

Shizune’s teasing expression softened as she nodded, waiting for him to continue.

[I… meant what I said,] Hisao admitted. [You’ve helped me become strong and confident. I’m really glad I met you.]

Shizune reached out, tugging lightly at his sleeve to get his attention. Her hands moved again, slower this time. [I read it. And I’m glad you wrote it.]

Hisao’s shoulders relaxed, a shy smile spreading across his face. [Really?]

[Really.] Shizune adjusted her glasses, her expression warming. [You’re someone I admire too.]

The two stood in comfortable silence for a moment, the tension easing between them as snowflakes danced outside the window. From his vantage point in the shadows of the hallway, Kenji gave a triumphant nod. Mission accomplished.

"And another win for the resistance," he whispered to himself before retreating into the night, his scarf flowing in the wind like a heroic cape, leaving the pair to enjoy each other’s company.

Have a Merry Christmas, Sharp-O! I thought the prompt was super interesting and I had fun writing it.

[Sharp-O]

Have to admit, I never predicted this particular conflux of characters spinning out of my prompt but that was a super-cute story, Gray, and it definitely warmed my heart. Thank you very much and Merry Chrimbo!

[hdkv]

I must point out that the preferred way to post Secret Santa stories is either your own one-shot thread (if you have one), or Story Collection of that year (viewtopic.php?t=13682).

Since this thread already has comments I can only ask you to link it to the Story Collection at this point.

And the story was nice, thank you!

UPD: thru the magic of buying two of them mister Cook resolved the issue.

[Razoredge]

Victim: ToothedYew006
Prompt: Hisao becomes Santa Claus due to a mysterious turn of events. But he's slowly loosing his Santa magic. Since he didn't see the small prints, he didn't know what is happening. Now, he's looking for a certain someone to restaure his magic.

Cold war, slow revival

In life, some things happen when you least expect them. I didn’t expect my heart to fail this badly during a confession, but it allowed me to write another chapter in my life and to meet wonderful people.

What I didn’t expect, however, is my new condition. I always thought I would have a career in science, or teach science, but here I am, wearing a red coat all the time. Being the new Santa at such a young age is an enormous responsibility, and I wasn’t prepared for this.

Still, my entire existence now is dedicated to making children happy, so it could have been worse. I know I shouldn’t have signed this contract; Miki told me that was stupid. I didn’t take it seriously; I thought it was a joke, and yet, it impacted my whole life. Should have read the fine print, and above all, not made a bet with that strange old man.

Recently, however, things have gotten weird. Many children began to misbehave, no longer afraid of the consequences, even with the approach of Christmas. It had nothing to do with a sudden change in attitudes; many children simply stopped caring about who I am, and that can only imply one thing: I’m losing my magic.

I’ve read my contract many times; it definitely has nothing to do with how I am doing my job. I’m not the greatest Santa of all time, but I’m decent at the job, according to the contract, at least. Reading it again and again gave me the impression I was going nuts. It must have been some hidden clauses or stuff like that.

Approaching the contract to a flame to check if there was any invisible ink didn’t help either. Looks like a job for a magnifying glass. I take all my time to read the contract again, trying to find some tiny writing I could have missed. It takes time, a lot of time, but I finally understand why I’m losing my magic. Now that I’ve realized it, the reasons are really obvious.

(Hope you'll like it, buddy, and have a wonderful Christmas in advance)

I’m supposed to be Santa now, but in all the stories, Santa is never alone. Reindeers? Check, I got all of them. Elves? Check, I got an army of them, and they are working very well. Mrs. Claus? Nowhere to be seen, and for good reason. She couldn’t come with me, because I didn’t plan to marry my girlfriend at that time.

I wasn’t able to come here with Saki, and thus, I had no possibility of contacting her. She must be mad at me, but I’ll blame the contract for that. It clearly states that no normal ways of communication can work since I became Santa, but I don’t expect her to believe that, if she even entertains listening.

I got used to my condition, and I want to keep my magic, so there’s only one way to retrieve it. I must find Saki and ask her to become my bride. But after all this time, after abruptly cutting contact with her, which isn’t actually my fault, it seems impossible. However, I have to try; my whole life as Santa Claus depends on it.

Destination: Japan. After I left instructions to the Elves and packed the contract and magnifying glass, I rush towards my sleigh. God bless this invention; it allows me to travel around the world at insane speeds. If I relied on a plane, I would lose a huge amount of time, and in this current state of affairs, I can’t afford that.

Seeing the world from above is always a wonderful sight, so many colors and landscapes. I feel privileged to behold such a thing. If I ever find another job, I’m going to miss it, and above all, I’m going to miss the joy I feel when I make children happy.

Japan appears in the distance, my home country, which I’ve missed a lot, where all my friends and my family live. The country where I left the girl I love, where my heart broke again. I’ve spent countless nights crying because of it, but there was nothing I could do to change this situation before I noticed this tiny print.

I finally reach Tokyo and park my sleigh on a building’s roof. Finding her in such a big city will be a major problem, but there’s a list of places I’m pretty sure she could be at, which helps to narrow my search. First, I need to head for the Tokyo Faculty of Medicine. She always wanted to be a pediatrician, and I know she got a place in this university.

As I walk down the street, many people are turning around, looking at me as if I were a fool. I can’t blame them; they don’t know who I am, and for us, I’m just a crazy man in a costume. Christmas is in a month, and it’s not cold enough to wear such a coat, so discretion eludes me.

After a long walk, I reach the university, and I take a lot of time to find the medical library. This place is vast, and I wonder how she got used to it. Just like on the streets, many students are turning around, and even some of them make fun of me or even call me crazy. I couldn’t care less; I’m on a mission, and I intend to complete it.

When I reach the counter, a librarian becomes nervous when she sees me.

“Can… can I help you, Sir? Are… are you alright?” She’s genuinely concerned, probably thinking I’m crazy.

“Ignore the coat, please. I’m looking for one of your students.”

“Such a coat is difficult… to miss, sir,” she pauses. “There are thousands of students at this university. I don’t think I’ll be able to help you…”

Oh yes, you will. Saki is the opposite of unnoticeable; a girl clumsily walking with her cane at this young age is not something that you can miss.

“A girl with light chestnut hair, brown eyes, cherry earrings, and who’s always walking with a cane.” I say, describing her exactly as I remember.

It still takes her a few seconds to realize who I am talking about.

“Oh, that one… She came this morning, but I didn’t see her after that.” She replies. Unfortunate.

“Thank you, ma’am.” I reply, leaving the library.

There is a café in a nearby neighborhood that she likes to go to with her mother. Perhaps I’ll have better luck there. It’s quite a hike, though; over twenty minutes on foot. Along the way, I think about everything I could say to her, but also, what she could say in response.

I eventually reach the café, after asking several people the way. Once at the front door, I freeze. Saki is there, drinking a hot beverage, looking exhausted. My heart yells at me to go talk to her, yet my mind prevents me from doing so. What if she hates me for what I did or doesn’t want to talk to me anymore? Does she think I don’t love her? Did she find someone else? So many questions are rushing into my mind.

I’m staring at her for what feels like forever, before I muster some courage to face my destiny, or perhaps my doom. I’m moving slowly, and even that feels way too fast for my mind.

“Saki?” I mumble, nervous.

She realizes someone’s talking to her, and when she sees me, her mouth falls open. It is only temporary, as she clenches her fists while visibly twitching.

”You’ve got some nerve. You dare come here after what you did to me? Who the fuck do you think you are?”

She’s breathing heavily, as if she was trying to repress the will to slap me.

“I can explain everyth-”

“You show up here after a year with no contact, and you expect me to just listen to you? Do you even care about how things have been this past year because of you?”

“That’s exactly what I want to talk about.” I reply, twitching because of fear.

“I thought you were different. If you weren’t dumb, you would have explained yourself before leaving. And you dare come back here with that stupid outfit? Do you even have common sense?” she snaps at me.

“Saki, please, could you just listen to me?”

Her fist hits the table with a strength I never saw her exhibiting. She’s definitely mad at me.

“I loved you! More than anything! And you… you just left without warning, and without a word. You just dumped me out of the blue!” Tears are now flowing from her eyes, with an expressive pain on her face.

I sit down in front of her and take one of her hands in mine. A touch she wants to avoid at first.

“I still love you, Saki, more than anything,” I say as my heart races. “I never ceased to love you, and I can explain everything to you.”

She’s still trying to escape my touch, but she’s not twitching anymore, which is a good sign.

“I never lied to you, and I will not start today. But it’s one of the craziest things you’ll ever hear. And I promise you, everything’s true.”
“I hope, for your sake, that you have an excellent excuse; otherwise, I’ll never forgive you.” Saki barks.

I take off the contract from my coat’s pocket. She looks at me, puzzled. “That’s your excuse? That’s all you have to offer? Some sheets of paper?”

I sigh. Here we go, no turning back now. “You remember that party? The evening before I disappeared?” I ask.

She sighs heavily, looking at the ceiling. “Oh no, I don’t think I remember the night before my boyfriend at the time disappeared; I forgot everything… Any more stupid questions?”

“It all started because of this. You remember that strange old man? Kind of hard to forget, I mean, even Miki said he was doubtful,” I say, still twitching.

She doesn’t talk for a bit, lost in thought. It’s the kind of awkward silence you want to break, but you don’t dare to. She eventually speaks again.

“Now that you mention it, I remember I explicitly told you not to speak to him, but you did anyway. It’s not like I ever forced you to follow insane boundaries.” She rasps.

I just shake my head; she’s got a point. It was pretty dumb for me to do such a thing. We wouldn’t be where we are today if I’d done as she said. I’ve made many mistakes in my life, and during that evening, I made one of the worst.

I muster the courage to carry on. “ To be fair, I thought he was just silly, and I took everything as a joke; I know I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have signed this contract, I know that, but I did it anyway.” No excuses can cover the fact that it’s all my fault, and I know it.

“At least you’re smart enough to realize it, even if it’s a bit too late,” Saki says, still irritated.

“The reason I didn’t contact you for an entire year was… well… because I have become the new Santa ‘thanks’ to this contract.”

She bursts into laughing, clearly not believing me. “You expect me to believe that? It doesn’t make any sense. If this is your excuse, I’m done with you.”

“Read it, then.” I reply, confident with myself for once.

She reluctantly grabs the papers and reads. From time to time, she stops reading, and looks at me with a puzzled look, before carrying on her reading. “This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever read.” She’s clearly not convinced.

“Before all of this, did I ever not contact you, or lie to you? Even when I had my second heart attack? The first few days do not count, for obvious reasons.” I insist, just to make her realize I’m not lying to her.

“… You’ve got a point, I suppose,” She replies.

“Then, please, read the 12th clause aloud.”

“‘The signatory party acknowledges that conventional methods of communication will not be effective and that any alternative approaches are likely to lead to unsuccessful outcomes. Furthermore, the signatory party consents to using designated communication methods exclusively permitted for their new role as Santa Claus, in collaboration with authorized third parties.’” She finishes, sighing. “I’m sorry Hisao… But this… this makes no sense at all.”

“It doesn’t, yet. But I assure you, this is the truth. I wanted to tell you, to call you. Just to hear your voice, one more time.” I pause. “I’ve spent countless nights crying because of what happened. Calling you and coming back were the only things I wanted, but I couldn’t. If you don’t want to believe me, I won’t force you. But I have never ceased loving you.”

The way I look at her says it all, my love towards her is obvious. She knows it, but can’t repress her anger after what happened. I can’t really blame her.

“Let’s say I believe you on that point… but, you can’t expect me to believe you turned into Santa Claus. Even a child would not believe this,” she sneers.

“You think I enjoy wearing such a thing in public?” I reply.

Saki nods. “True, true. Your casual fashion sense is not… something I would call distinguished, but I would not think you would wear this daily without being forced to.” The anger in her voice is gone, or she’s great at hiding it, but I’d rather think it’s the former.

There’s another awkward silence between us. “I won’t say I believe everything you told me; that would be lying. But as you said, you never lied to me, and you were there for me all the time since I met you, even when I didn’t ask for it,” she says, with a shy smile. “I still resent you for what you did, though”

“I wouldn’t expect you to forgive everything with a snap,” I reply.

“Is there anything else you want to say? I need to… process things,” she says, looking at me.

“I need you. In my life.”

Saki’s expression becomes unreadable and my heart sinks. This is what I was afraid of, not knowing what she thinks about it. I don’t see anger or rejection, but I don’t see happiness, either. I should have expected that, but to experience it is another thing, and extremely unpleasant. If today’s the day I need to forget our relationship forever, it’ll be immensely painful, but I’ll accept that sooner or later.

I give her the magnifying glass. “Read the bottom part of the last page with this, please.”

She proceeds and gives me an inquisitive look. “So, you’re telling me you need me in your life because you would lose your magic otherwise?” She asks, not pleased about that part of the contract.

“Yes.” The following few seconds of silence seem to last forever. “I won’t pretend it doesn’t play a role in this whole situation, but more important than anything, I love you. This year I’ve spent without you was the worst year of my life. Not a single moment passed where I did not think about you. I don’t want to spend another day without you, Saki. You’re my beacon, my everything,” I declare, looking deep into her eyes with sheer love.

She takes a sip of her beverage, looking at me with another unreadable expression and deafening silence. My throat tightens, as I don’t know what to expect. I knew, before coming here, that she wouldn’t jump on me as soon as she saw me.

Come on, Saki, say something, I’m begging you. Anything, even something I wouldn’t like to hear, just say something.
She eventually speaks up again. “You know… This is a lot to process at once. But, at least I’m happy to hear that I was wrong about you not loving me anymore.”

“I can’t blame you, especially after what happened. But if there’s one thing I’ll never hide from you, it’s my feelings for you.”

“I… I need to think about it. I can’t just drop everything for your sake, even if I still love you,” she whispers, and the last part of her sentence cheers me up, even if I don’t show it. “How will I be able to contact you, though?” She asks.

“I’ll find a way. There must be a way. I promise you, I’ll find it.” I gently stroke her hand. “Take your time to think about it. It was really good to see you, Saki, and I promise you, I would never leave you again.”

She lets me go, and the last thing I say before I go out is how much I love her. Once outside, I look at my phone to see if I got any messages. Nothing. But a subtle flash on the screen catches my attention. I rummage through my phone to look for any changes, but to no avail.

Yet, there is one thing I didn’t check. My contact manager. And what I see makes my mouth fall open. There is a new number, one that I know by heart and that, until today, wasn’t there. It’s Saki’s number; I couldn’t confuse it with any other.

Selecting it, I type out message: ‘Thank you, Saki, for listening to me. Even if you don’t believe everything I told you. Just know that everything I told you is true. I’m so sorry for everything, please forgive me. I love you.’

To my joy, I can send the message, which means I’m now able to communicate with her as much as I want to. I don’t know what this means according to the contract I signed, but I know I will not spend another minute without talking to her. I have much to do to make up for what happened, and it starts now.

Only time will tell if I’ll succeed or not, and I intend to do all I can to achieve this. For me, for her, for us.

[Mirage_GSM]

Hello everyone!
Here is my entry for this year.
As always prompt and author’s notes will be at the end for spoiler reasons.

Replacements

It is the last week before the winter holidays and I have just let out class for lunchbreak when Makoto shows up in the door.

“Hello Akio, do you have a minute?” I gesture for her to come in, and she continues. “Have you heard about Shinichi yet?”

I shake my head. “No, has he fallen ill?”

“Not him… Apparently his mother has broken a leg, and he’s gone down to Hiroshima to care for her until the new year…” I have a bad feeling about where this is going. “…so the principal said you should fill in for him at the Christmas party.”

I groan. I thought I had managed to get around participating in the program again this year. “What was he going to do again?”

“The cooking contest.”

“Oh come on, I don’t know the first thing about cooking. Can’t you please do it? I know you can cook.”

“Sure, I can do it… But then you’d have to fill in for me with the beauty pageant. I’m not going to do both.” I grimace, and she continues. “Don’t worry. It won’t be too bad. You don’t have to do any cooking yourself, just watch out for anybody cheating, taste test the results and declare a winner at the end.”

Reluctantly I give in. Makoto’s right: How bad can it be?

---

It is the evening of the Christmas party and the cooking contest is about to start. We are behind the stage in the auditorium, and Mikado is handing me the forms while translating what Hakamichi is saying.

“So there will be teams of two, and there will be three teams competing.”

I check the list. The first team will be Nakai from my class and Ibarazaki from class 4. Then Kapur and Miura from my class and finally Satou from class 2 together with… Ikezawa? That is a surprise… “Well, it seems everything is in order. With just three teams we should get this over with in no…”

At this moment Miura arrives. She seems a bit out of breath. “Sorry Mr. Mutou, but we have to withdraw. Molly… Well, she seems to have caught some virus, and Nurse said she should not handle any food for the next few days…”

Okay, with one less team this should be over even…

“Unacceptable,” Mikado interrupts, probably at the behest of Hakamichi. “There are only three teams in the first place. It would not be much of a contest with only two contestants!”

Hakamichi grabs a microphone with one hand and Mikado with the other and heads out on stage. A few seconds later the auditorium is filled with the most atrocious noise imaginable as Mikado begins shouting into the microphone while standing directly before the speakers. It seems even Hakamichi felt that as she promptly takes the thing away from her again. Then Mikado addresses the audience again. Her normal voice is easily enough to reach everyone in the room – especially now that she has their undivided attention.

“Hello everyone! So we have a teeny tiny problem here! We need someone to fill in for a contestant!” No reaction in the crowd. “Nobody? Come on you don’t want the contest to be cancelled, do you?” Still no reaction. “Are you really going to leave poor Micchan here hanging?”

At the mention of Miura’s name an arm is tentatively raised in the back. “Ah, Taro-chan, I knew we could count on you! Come up here!” Arai climbs up, and Mikado drags him behind the stage.

Hakamichi looks satisfied, as Mikado translates. “See? No problem. We just have to…”

“I’m sorry Lilly, but I just can’t!” Ikezawa’s voice is full of panic.

“My, that is a problem. Are you sure? You were looking forward to it all day.”

“Yes, but I thought there would be at most a handful of people there. The auditorium is full to the last seat. I could never…”

“It is all right, Hanako. You do not have to force yourself. You should go and calm down, and I will tell Shizune that we withdraw from the contest.”

I see Hakamichi’s face getting more and more angry until she starts signing again. “Lilly, you can’t just withdraw five minutes before the show starts!”

Even Lilly jumps a bit at Mikado’s sudden exclamation, and Ikezawa takes a few steps backward and almost tears down a curtain in surprise. From behind the curtain there is a loud clatter.

Hakamichi darts forward and drags out a hunched figure that was hiding behind the curtain.

Mikado starts interpreting again. “Kecchan! What are you doing behind the stage? This area is off-limits to non-parti-ci-pants!”

Setou argues back. “Stay away from me, you feminist agent! I’m on a very important intelligence gathering mission! Those rules do not apply to me!”

“Of course the rules apply to you too, Kecchan! Rules apply to everyone! That’s what makes them rules!”

At this point Satou interferes. “I think what Kenji means is that he is volunteering to fill in for Hanako in the contest. That way he is a participant, and no rules have been broken, right?”

“I won’t volunteer for anything, you blonde…”

“Be quiet, Kenji!” Satou’s tone seems to surprise Setou so much that he actually goes quiet.

Hakamichi seems torn between enforcing a rule and ensuring a smooth cooking contest. After a few seconds she nods. She’s just about to start signing again when there is a soft know at the door.

I turn around and see Makoto there looking stressed. She is followed by Ibarazaki. The student council notices her as well. “Ah, Miyagi-sensei, I hope the beauty pageant went well?”

Makoto hesitates. “Yes… and no… Well, the pageant is over, but there was an incident afterwards. Apparently seeing Katayama in her Christmas Bunny costume was a bit too… stimulating for Nakai. He’s fine now, but Nurse insisted he follow him to his office for a checkup.”

I don’t think this day could get any crazier. What even is a Christmas Bunny?

“I’m sorry,” Ibarazaki speaks up, “I think under the circumstances I’ll have to…”

“I’ll do it!” Mikado interrupts. She turns to Hakamichi. “This is the last event, and you won’t need me to interpret until the finale, right. And we won’t find another replacement on such short notice, right? And we really, really, really, REALLY don’t want this contest to be cancelled, right?

Hakamichi sighs and gives her consent.

I’m getting a really bad feeling about this…

---

As the contest begins I take the mic and read out the rules. “So the challenge is the same for everyone: Chocolate chip cookies. The ingredients have been prepared according to the recipies you submitted beforehand. When you’re done I will test the cookies and declare a winner. Any leftovers will be given out to the audience.” At this point there is some applause. “Would you like to say something about the recipies you’ve chosen?” I hold the mic out to Miura.

“Well,…” she looks a bit sheepish – a look I rarely see on her. “Molly was going to do her special recipe, but since she can’t participate she told me to go for something simpler instead. We should be fine for ingredients, though.”

“We’re going to make a lot!” Arai interjects and gives a thumbs up to the audience which earns him a few laughs.

“It’s certainly best to stay with what you are comfortable, Miura, thank you. What about you, Miss Satou?”

“My mother sent me a recipe for Brown Sugar Scottish Shortbread. We have slightly adjusted it to suit the theme of chocolate cookies, but the test runs I did with Hanako turned out quite good if I may say so myself.”

There’s cheering from the audience again. Apparently the prospect of a foreign delicacy is well appreciated. I turn to Ibarazaki.

“The recipe I’ve chosen is to show that eating cookies does not have to be unhealthy. We are using whole grain flour and not too much sugar, so the calories should be quite low.”

The enthusiasm in the audience is quite muted at this declaration, but Ibarazaki’s grin still draws some cheers.

“In that case, let us begin!”

---

I watch the three teams working on their respective recipies. To be honest I have no idea what they are doing, so I’m not really paying attention. Some snippets of conversation reach my ears, but I tune them out thinking about an interesting physics publication I’ve read the day before.

”Don’t you think those cookies are kind of small Miki?”

“You’re right, lets make them larger. Nobody is going to get filled with such small things.”

“Kenji, I’ve finished the dough, can you please stir in the chocolate pills?”

“I protest this act of slavery at the hands of the feminist world-conspiracy!”

“Come on Emi-chan, this recipe has to be wrong. This has to be more sugar than is says here!”

“No! That is too much, Misha, too much!”

…

---

I glare suspiciously at the plate of cookies that Miura holds out to me. The cookies are enormous, but they all seem at most half baked. I break one in half, and the interior is mostly uncooked dough.

“I don’t think you can eat them like this, Miura. I’m sorry but I have to disqualify those.”

I push the plate back to Miura and take one of the cookies from Satou’s plate. I take a bite… and spit it back out immediately.

“What is this?” I examine the cookie. “Are those black peppers? Why are those even among the ingredients?”

Setou speaks up proudly. “You should never leave your room without them. You can scatter them behind you if you are chased to make your pursuers stumble, and you can use them to mix your own pepper spray…” He pulls a small jar from his jacket. “Did I mix those up? Damn, what am I supposed to do with those chocolate pills now?”

“Inedible. Disqualified. Next.”

Ibarazaki sheepishly holds out her plate of cookies. “They might have turned out a tiny bit too sweet…”

I hesitantly take a bite. As expected they are so sweet I immediately reach for a glass of water.

“Ineed, they are much to sweet, but…” I glance at the other two plates. “…considering they are just barely edible you win today’s contest by default. Congratulations.”

Somehow Ibarazaki’s elation is a bit muted.

Meanwhile I turn to the audience who has had quite a bit too much fun at my expense for my liking. “Anyway, it seems we have quite a bit of leftovers today, so our participants will make sure that everyone in the room will get to enjoy some of them.”

Next year I will have to make sure there is a suitable replacement for myself in time!

.....

So, Merry Christmas fortemorti!

The prompt was:

Mutou hosts a cooking show.

Short and concise, and still I took some artistic liberty to make it about baking instead of cooking… Sorry for that, but I thought this way it would be more Christmas-themed.

So my first question was “Why would Motou host a cooking show?”, and the answer was obvious: Because someone forced him to do so.

The next question was “Why would someone force Mutou of all people to host a cooking show?” And again the answer was easy: Because someone better suited to the job could not do it.

As my knowledge of cooking and baking is limited (if you are generous) I also this story could not be going that deep into cooking (not to even mention that I despise stories that spend pages worth of analyzing flavours of every possible dish…), so this story would go into comedy territory.

And when I thought about how to make the story funny I thought since I already had Mutou being a replacement for someone I’d just make that the theme of the story.

All of that took me 10 minutes at most – I think it’s the fastest I’ve ever come up with a story outline…

In fact I think I spent the most time looking up the first name of Ms. Miyagi. It seems there is not really a canon one, so I went with “Makoto”, the one I used in my notes for Katawa Kijo (even though I don’t think it ever made it into the story itself...)