December was a time when most people were at their most cheerful, the weeks leading up to Christmas the calmest and brightest days of the year for many people.

Sainan High was no exception as students went about their daily lives, buzzing with excitement as the days came ever closer to winter break. The halls bustled with people after school and between classes as students excitedly talked amongst their friends over what they were planning to do over their break.

The year was the same as every year for most of the students, but for the aliens, this year's Christmas would see a major shift from the year before.

The twin princesses had left now, finally obeying their father and returning to Deviluke before September started, and with their absence, the Yuuki household was quieter than usual. It was as if things were as they were before they had come, with Lala the biggest source of trouble for the now-12th-grade Rito once again, though Mikan, now in her final year of middle school, was more than happy to take care of Celine while Momo was gone.

However, the changes to that household were nothing compared to those within the Nakamura house. This time last year, Hiro was alone, living in a dusty house reflecting the darkness in his mind, his only companion the bitter hatred of a murderer he didn't even know was still alive.

Now, it was almost unrecognizable from how it had been before. It had replaced the Yuuki house as the most alien-active place in the city, a change reflected in the house itself with a new kitchen and living room, finally completely renovated after Darkness had destroyed it nearly ten months before.

The general happiness of the household was also much higher, and where it had once been nearly empty, now the rooms were filled with what were clearly people's possessions. Across the hall from Hiro's room, Nemesis's residence was still filled with boxes, but many were missing, their contents opened and sold off. The room Hiro had banned them from, the one his parents had once slept in, no was open, the dust cleared and the bed occupied for the few hours that Eve actually slept, though now, she had at least learned to have a somewhat normal sleep schedule now that she didn't have to use the living room couch.

Across the street, the Yukihime residence was just as lively, with Nymph now a full-fledged adopted member of the family, though she kept the Yōsei surname to avoid confusion at school, where she was officially a student after being granted official rights by the Japanese government. It was a welcome surprise when she finally met Yukihime Oshita, who had come home without announcement that November and was still there since.

Mavis, Camellia's mother, naturally had to be made aware of her daughter's headmate, and after being convinced that she was perfectly safe, she accepted Tsubaki as her own child, and the alien accepted it with open arms. Nowadays, she'd correct people if they called her by her old name, and now that she had finally mastered Japanese, she could use quite the colorful language when people still referred to her as Tsubaki, quite the funny thing to experience from someone who was physically 7.

All in all, this winter break would be different than last year. While there were still loose ends to tie up relating to Project Genesis, most of the more pressing matters were cleared now.

But it wasn't the time to be thinking about the project, or about the differences in species in general. Now, it was the last class before the break started.

"Hey, Nakamura. Hey, hey, hey, Nakamura." As usual, the boy next to him, who Hiro had forgotten about over summer break but had set back into his mind after being in class with him, poked his side, trying to get his attention while Tearju-sensei, who happened to be his teacher now that he was a second-year, wasn't paying attention.

Nemesis wasn't in his class this year, being assigned to Suguya Hitoshi-sensei, a new teacher this year who was in training to specialize with aliens, so she along with most of the other alien students were in his class this year. From Saero-sensei's class last year, only Hiro, Okamoto, and Kirishima Tabane were still there.

Apparently those two were dating now, and though he didn't know or care much about them, Hiro's congratulations were genuine. It was a nice change from how crazy things were in summer, and as a result, the three were now pretty good friends.

Of course, this had the unintended side effect of them being always around him, and Okamoto chose to sit next to him like the year before.

Rather than letting the boy continue bothering him, he acknowledged him, turning to face the boy and nodding.

"What is it? I don't want to know what you're doing with Kirishima-san over break." he said, and the boy laughed, stretching his arms behind him.

"Nah, she's not interested in anything like that. I wanted to invite you over to a Christmas party after school. Or are you still doing that thing with Nemesis?"

He shrugged, leaning back on his chair and crossing his arms. "She'd kill me if I didn't go with her. Today's the anniversary of when we met after all, it's pretty important to both of us."

The boy hummed, before shrugging. "Well, guess that makes sense. Have fun then. Of course, Tabanecchi is coming with me!" he announced, laughing, and Hiro smiled at the boy's happiness.

"-cchi doesn't really work when someone like you says it, Rin-kun." said the subject of the sentence, walking up to them as people started to pack up following the end of Tearju-sensei's long-winded rant about the cloning process...Something totally unrelated to the history class they were in, but since it wa so close to break she'd decided to just spend the period talking about anecdotes. "Please use -chan, or at least just drop the honorifics altogether."

Okamoto grinned as he turned his head upside-down to look at her, his eyes widening briefly as she moved to stand behind him, pressing his face into her stomach as she bent over to wrap her arms around his torso in a short hug before stepping back. Last year, the girl had been a kuudere at best and a tsundere at worst, but now, she had mellowed out, and was even often the instigator when they openly showed affection with each other.

Last year, such displays of affection would sicken Hiro, but now, it was just cute to watch, though it was still awkward sometimes.

Their attention was taken by Tearju-sensei clapping her hands, and she did the small jump that she often did when she was about to give an announcement.

"Now, class, those of you who actually are still awake after my ranting...It's time to go. I hope everyone is safe over the break, and have a nice Christmas!"

Hiro smiled as he stood up, picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. He'd be seeing the teacher again soon anyway since she was going to visit Eve sometime near Christmas, but for now, he was her student, not the homeowner that Eve paid rent to.

As the class funneled out of the door, he took some time and let them pass as he fished his phone out of his pocket, messaging Nemesis that he was heading out, and left the room, filing into the hallway.