Around a quarter to seven in the evening, Kise arrived at the place where they had arranged to meet. 'They' were all members of the Kiseki no Sedai, and the place was right under the big Christmas tree in the middle of the area in front of the station. Kise sighed, thinking that Christmas was really to be spent with lovers, and everywhere he looked he saw couples, walking hand in hand. He tugged his scarf tighter, the cold wind still finding spots and holes to prickle his skin.
Upon arrival, he spotted that someone was already there. He grinned, not surprised to see Midorima, who was always early, despite being terribly uninterested and un-eager to come.
'Midorimacchi!' he called out. Midorima turned around and pushed his glassed back with one hand. In the other, he was holding a present. It was wrapped neatly and finished with a ribbon.
'Who's the present for?' Kise asked. The green-haired shooter just made his usual disapproving sound.
'It's yours, you idiot.' He shoved the present towards Kise, and the blonde accepted it, surprised and not sure what to expect.
'Thanks, Midorimacchi!' There was a thing about Midorima's glare that made Kise unwrap the present right there. He took off the ribbon and tore the paper away, only to reveal...
'A daruma doll? ... His eyes are already coloured!' Kise shot a disappointed and confused look at Midorima, who just pushed up his glasses, seeming to think it was a fair present for someone who was already a part of the Kiseki no Sedai.
'I'll be going. Merry Christmas.' Midorima turned and walked away briskly, leaving Kise alone again.
Kise sighed, dumped the wrappings in a nearby trashcan and put the daruma on the bench that was there. What was he supposed to do with a daruma doll with coloured eyes? Didn't that make it a completely useless gift? And why did Midorima just leave, weren't they all supposed to meet up?
Not much later, he saw another familiar face. Akashi had already seen him and was walking towards him now. Naturally, he hadn't expected Akashi to be early. He waved, mainly happy not to be alone anymore.
'Merry Christmas,' Akashi said to him, and he gave him a small present. It was wrapped in a lot of paper, and Kise wasn't sure what to do with it now.
'Open it, Kise.' The blonde said nothing and did as he was told, pulling and tugging until he got to what was inside.
'Scissors?'
'Yellow scissors,' Akashi added. 'Later. And merry Christmas.'
'Wha... ' Kise fell silent. This was just weird. Again, he threw away the paper and put the scissors next to the Daruma.
Soon after, he spotted a giant figure in the crowd, he couldn't possible be missed with that size. Murasakibara walked slowly, a plastic bag dangling from his left hand. He was, as usual, eating some sort of candy.
'Hey,' Kise greeted him, 'are you gonna give me something and leave as well?' The purple-haired giant seemed to think about it for a moment, then he shook his head.
'I was gonna give you candy, but... it's gone,' he lifted the bag, which was apparently full of empty wrappers. 'Want a bite?' Murasakibara held his candy bar lower so Kise could actually take a bite.
'No thanks,' he said. He was getting a little annoyed, and it was cold. If this was gonna happen, he'd rather met up somewhere inside.
'Tell me, what is going on?' Murasakibara stopped munching and looked at Kise. He saw that the blonde was seriously asking, so he swallowed.
'I dunno, I'm just doing as Aka-chin said.' Of course, Akashi... but what was he doing, and why?
'I'll be leaving now.'
'I guess...' The blonde ran his hand through his hair. What if he left as well? But he couldn't do that. There were still two people that he hadn't seen, and knowing Kuroko, if he wasn't here, he'd wait for hours in the cold while no one showed up.
And just when he thought that, he saw Kuroko standing about a metre away. He jumped a little in surprise, since he really didn't see him coming, or...
'Kurokocchi... how long have you...'
'I've been here since Murasakibara tried to feed you,' the blue-haired teen said. His deadpan face didn't express anything as usual. Kise laughed a bit. This whole thing was crazy. And it had been a while since Kuroko had surprised him like that.
'Merry Christmas, Kurokocchi. I bet your're gonna give me something and leave as well?'
Kuroko shook his head.
'I've got nothing, since I thought nothing would be better than something meaningless.'
'Kurokocchi...' Kise didn't really know if he should laugh or cry.
'But merry Christmas either way.' Kuroko put a hand on Kise's shoulder, and patted it. The blonde wasn't sure if it was consoling or not, he really didn't. And his ears were freezing off. He wished he had brought a hat.
And just like that, Kuroko was gone as well. Kise glanced at his presents. They really didn't make sense. He looked at the giant clock on the station building. It was five past seven now. He shivered.
'Now everyone is gone,' he quietly told himself. Everyone but one.
'I'm right here, you idiot.' Kise immediately recognize the voice behind him, and his heart jumped. It belonged to Aomine, the last member of the kiseki no sedai, and the last to show up. Kise turned around and flung his arms around the other. He was so happy he could cry, and he finally understood Akashi's plan. He must really be an idiot. And now even Midorima's present made sense.
'Aominecchi,' Kise whispered, holding him tight.
'Merry Christmas, Kise,' Aomine said gently, as he loosened his grip and they faced each other, eyes reflecting the thousands of lights around them. Aomine smiled at the model, then kissed him. As Kise kissed him back and closed his eyes, a single tear escaped from the corner of his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. Right then, light snowflakes started to fall down from the sky. They felt them on their skin, tiny specks of coldness. Kise opened his eyes again and realized that this must be the best Christmas present ever.