"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" A deafening cheer rose from the house at the center of Kanoko Town. It was Gantan (New Year's Day), and Touko Nakamura invited her friends Belle Sengoku, Iris Ichimura, Cheren Kobayashi, and Touya Takahashi over to commemorate. But there was someone special she invited over to join the New Year's greetings. It was N Harmonia. N was her mysterious boyfriend, who she met in Karakusa Town when he was part of the Plasma Gang. Now he had reformed, and came back to Touko. "Otoshidama time!" Mrs. Nakamura cried. N ate some mochi as Touko received her annual otoshidama, money given to children on Japanese New Year's. Belle flinched a piece of kurikinton as she got hers. "Another otoshidama? YES!" Iris gleefully exclaimed as she received hers. Cheren and Touya got theirs simultaneously. "N? You want some otoshidama?" Mrs. Nakamura asked. "Of course..." N said nervously. He took his. Touko dug in her purse and got out some cards. "NOW IT'S TIME FOR KARUTA!" she screamed. The rest of the guests yelled in excitement, "Banzai!" (the Japanese word for "hooray".) They took off upstairs.
It was Setsubun, the traditional end of winter. Touko and N were at a shrine (a temple) and holding a pack of soybeans. N had a dish of ehoumaki in his hand, which he proceeded to eat west-southwest. Touko ate 14 soybeans, and then N ate sixteen. Soon, a person dressed as an oni arrived in front of the shrine. Touko, N, and everyone at the shrine threw the beans at the oni in mamemaki, yelling "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!" at the top of their lungs on repeat. The person dropped to the ground, and taiko drumming filled the air as Touko, N, and the crowd danced to the beat.
Hinamatsuri was here. Touko, Belle, and Iris were admiring the Hina-Ningyo placed on their windowsill, covered with a red carpet. "It's Girls' Day," Iris said. "And here are my Girls' Day cookies." She offered some cookies on a tray and Touko and Belle took them. Touko pointed to the top of the structure, with two dolls on top. "This is the top tier, which has the dairi-bina," Touko stated matter-of-factly between bites. "It houses the O-Bina, holding a shaku, and the Me-Bina. They're sometimes called the Odairi-sama and Ohina-sama." "Cool," Belle exclaimed. "Look," Touko continued, pointing to a gold screen in front of the dolls. "This is a byobu. And it's front of these garden trees." "Wow," Iris cried, stunned. Then Touko pointed to the two lamp stands that were part of the hina-ningyo. "These lamp stands are called the bonbori," she proclaimed, "and usually go with hibukuro". She then gestured towards the paper and silk lanterns decorated with cherry and plum blossoms. "Between the two dolls are accessories called sanbo kazari. It's made up of a peach branch called kuchibana." "How do you know all this stuff?" Belle asked. "I dunno. Just do," Touko said. She then told them about the san-inn kanjo, nagae no choshi, and all the other dolls on the seven tiers. After everything was explained, Belle and Iris labeled Touko as smart.
Touko woke up and checked the calendar. "May fifth!" she exclaimed. "IT'S CHILDREN'S DAY!" She frantically rushed downstairs after putting her clothes on to set up the koinobori outside her yard. "Hey, Touko! Today's Boys' Day!" she heard Cheren say while outside. She looked over. "Hi, Cheren. I'm setting up my koinobori for the Children's Day Holiday. Wanna see?" she asked. "Of course," Cheren replied. He ran over to the yard and looked at the carp flying. "Wow. Looks majestic," he praised. "Thank you. The kabuto and kintaro doll are on my windowsill," Touko said back. "Do you want some kashiwa-mochi and chimaki?" she asked. "Yeah," Cheren answered. "Let's go get them." After eating the snacks, Cheren left. Then N arrived at Touko's porch. "Happy Boys' Day," Touko told him. "Thanks," N responded. They leaned over...and they kissed. Touko blushed.
It was July 7th, and Touko and friends were prepared for Tanabata. They had some origami folded, and wishes were written on tanzaku and hung on bamboo. Belle had told the story of Altair and Vega. "Hey! Let's dance!" Touya shouted. So Touko, Belle, Iris, Cheren, Touya, and N danced and sang a traditional festive tune. "Sasa no ha sara-sara," Touko started. "Nokiba ni yureru," Touya followed. "Ohoshi-sama kira-kira," Belle sang. "Kingin sunago," Iris continued. "Goshiki no tanzaku," Cheren chanted. "Watashi ga kaita," N vocalized. "Ohoshi-sama kirakira, sora kara miteru!" the group trilled. Then a shooting star came, and Touko wished on it. "I wish me and N could marry..." she whispered. After the friends were done making their wishes, Touko tiptoed over to N and kissed him. N kissed her back. Touko knew they were going to marry.
Today was the day of the Bon Festival. Touko and Touya were going to hang lanterns at the shrine. They came early with paper lanterns. "Y'know, the Bon Festival is honoring the dead and the spirits that passed," Touya told Touko as he put his lantern on a hook. "Yeah," Touko responded. "We do the bon odori to respect them." After hanging up the lanterns, the bon odori started. "Oh, hey! Here it comes now," Touya exclaimed. They ran over to the crowd and danced the odori to the beat of a taiko drum. They chanted all the while. After the dance was done, applause erupted.
Summer arrived and Touko was ready. It was the day the summer festival began in Seigaiha City. She was dressed in a yukata, an informal summer kimono. Armed with a fan, she ran down the street and met up with her friends. Belle and Iris were wearing their traditional festival outfits, and Cheren, Touya, and N were wearing their festival uniforms. Touko giggled at the sight of Cheren in a yukata. "Hey, guys! Let's go!" Belle exclaimed. "Yeah," Touko said. They went down the road to the festival. They arrived at the festival and it was in full swing. Touya was in a happi, and he walked over to the people in the parade. The rest of the gang watched on the curb. The parade started, and Touya, along with some other people, were carrying an omikoshi - a portable shrine. Chants of "wasshoi soyita" and "ran ran hirosage" were heard as the mikoshi was tossed and shook. Touko and the girls waved their fan to the chanting. "Keep going!" N yelled to Touya. "WASSHOI SOYITA RAN RAN HIROSAGE" Touya shouted. After the parade was over, Touya ran over to his friends. He took off his happi, revealing a yukata underneath. "Wow," Touko stated in amazement. A taiko drum group arrived on the street. They started playing drums, and mikos (shrine maidens) encouraged everyone to do the ondo (a marching dance). Touko and friends did the ondo as they sang along to the chanting of the mikos. When the dance ended, the gang headed over to the shops.
Stars illuminated the streets as Touko, Belle, and everyone else ran down a road filled with stalls. Booths were everywhere, offering yakisoba, doriyaki, teriyaki, noodles, and other food. Touko bought some cotton candy to share with her friends. Iris and N took a bite and smiled. "Let's go play some games," Belle told Touko. "Sure," Touko replied. They went to a booth that held whack-a-mole. They paid yen and they started. "Hup! There's one!" Touko said as she hit a mole. "Oh! There's two!" Belle yelled as she hit two moles. "Take this!" Touko said as she hit moles one after another. "Take that!" Belle shouted as moles popped up simultaneously and she hit them. Then the game ended. "Now let's do goldfish scooping," Touko proclaimed. They ran over to the stall with goldfish scooping. They paid some yen and started the game. Belle tried to scoop a goldfish but the paper net dissolved. But Touko scooped three! "Woah," Belle cried. Iris came over. "You wanna play ring toss?" she suggested. "Of course," Belle answered. So they went to the ring toss booth. Touko handed in yen, and got some rings. Iris threw hers and landed on two bottles! Belle only got one. Touko tried her hardest and got four! "What the?" she asked in confusion. "Wow! You're a real winner!" Iris told her. "Let's play target practice," Belle said. "Yeah!" Touko and Iris responded. They got to the booth, handed in yen, and started playing. "Oh, no!" Touko said as she tried to hit a target but missed. "I got one!" Belle hollered as she shot down a target. "Darn, I missed!" Iris cried. "Finally! I shot down one!" Touko cheered. "Me, too!" Iris hooted as she shot down a target. The game ended. The girls ran over to the boys. "Lookit what we got!" Iris exclaimed. She showed N, Touya, and Cheren the toys they won - a stuffed Hello Kitty look-a-like and a water gun. "And I got this!" Touya claimed as he showed off his Transformer look-a-like mask. "Hey!" Cheren snapped. "How about we go to the kimodameshi?" "Sure!" everyone else replied. They went over.
The person in front paired Touko with N! "Yes..." Touko mumbled as they went in. Belle and Cheren were paired, and Iris and Touya were the last to go in. When Touko and N rounded a corner, a person dressed as a demon jumped out at them! "Aaaaaah!" Touko and N screamed in fright. Touko clang onto N for her dear life. Other people scared them, and when they came out, they were shivering. "Maybe we aren't so brave after all," N muttered. "Yep," Touko said.
Touko, Belle, Iris, Cheren, Touya, and N were excited. They got an up-close seat for the fireworks display. As they sat in the bleachers, Touko scooted closer to N. "N...this is magnificent..." she told him. "I know," he replied. Then the fireworks started. The gang gasped in awe as explosions of light boomed and banged. Touko then watched in delight as N turned to her and kissed her. "Thanks, N," Touko thanked dreamily. When the display was over, the gang minus Touko and N all ran home. N carried a sleeping Touko back to Kanoko Town.
The moon shimmered elegantly as Touko and her mother watched. It was the evening of the Otsukimi, and it looked like it was going to be a good night. Touko chewed her dango and pointed at the moon. "It's so clear outside..." Touko exclaimed. Then Touya and N came running up the porch. "Hey! Touya! N! What are you doing here?" Touko asked. "I just came to your house because I couldn't see the moon from mine," N replied. "And I ran out of dango," Touya chimed in. Touko giggled and blushed. "Well, it's gonna be a romantic night," she stammered. Touko took N by the arm and they sat down. "Kiss me, please..." Touko moaned. "All right," N responded. He kissed her on the lips. Touko felt N's warmth and smiled. They ate dango and had a good time.
"It's Sports Day, Taiiku no Hi," Touko said to Touya as they walked home from school in Sanyou City. "N and Cheren are gonna participate in a walking competition." "Wow, I forgot about that," Touya mumbled. "It's at five o'clock. Meet me at the Hiougi City school's field," Touko reminded him. "Okay," Touya proclaimed.
At five o'clock, Touko rode her bike to Hiougi City. She stopped at the school and ran all the way to the field. Touya, Belle, and Iris were waiting for her. "You came, Touya!" Touko exclaimed. "Yes, I did." Touya stated. "Look! There's Cheren and N!" Belle cried. She pointed to the crowd. Cheren and N were wearing athletic uniforms. Touko laughed a tiny bit when she saw N. "Let's cheer for N," Iris told Touko and Belle. They sat in the bleachers. A gun shot sounded, and Cheren and N went running as fast as they could. Iris waved a fan. "GO N!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "GO N! GO N!" Touko and Belle yelled. N crossed the finish line, and got in first place! "YAY! N GOT FIRST PLACE!" Touko screamed joyously. She and the rest of the spectators clapped and cheered. Touko ran on the track and hugged N tightly. "YOU WON!" she told him. "Yeah, I know. And I'm proud of that," N responded.
"Hey, Touko!" Belle shouted as she ran across the street to Touko's house. "What is it?" Touko asked. "N called. Today's Shichi-Go-San. He asked if we wanted to go to the shrine with him and watch kids cosplay," Belle answered. "Of course!" Touko exclaimed. "Then let's go!" Belle said delightfully. They took off to the Fertility Shrine.
At the shrine, N was waiting for them. "I knew you'd come," he stated. "Yeah!" Touko and Belle cheered in unison. They walked down the trail and saw kids dressed in beautiful kimonos. "Shichigosan is the Seven-Five-Three Festival. Boys of the ages three and five and girls of the ages three and seven go to a shrine, and pray to the gods for good health," N told Touko and Belle. "Isn't that sweet?" he asked. "Yes," Belle replied. "I know!" Touko cried happily. Boys and girls alike cosplayed. "Chitose Ame is candy given to these kids. It means, one-thousand year candy. Eating it means blessings for tomorrow. And seven, five, and three are lucky numbers, so kids of these ages are considered lucky kids," N continued. "Wow," Touko gasped. Touko touched N's hand as they walked. I want him to take me in his arms. PLEASE... Touko thought. But then they left as quickly as they arrived, back to Kanoko Town. Drat, no. Maybe next month, where the REAL holidays come in...
The Nakamura house had their Christmas tree set up. "It's Christmas Eve," Touko called out from the front door. "Belle? Cheren?" she asked, befuddled. "Over here, silly!" Belle hollered back. She ran out the door and to the center of town. "A snow sculpture display?" she questioned, still confused. "Yeah, that's right," Belle responded. "And guess who it was made by..." Cheren said in sing-song. "I dunno," Touko muttered. "N!" Cheren and Belle yelled simultaneously. "OH MY GOSH!" Touko roared in delight. Stunned, Touko looked at the sculpture. "Wait, this is..." she stammered on further inspection. "ME?!" she asked. "Yep! He did that for you!" Belle exclaimed. "WOW," Touko shouted, amazed. "I NEVER KNEW HE HAD SUCH FINE SCULPTING SKILLS!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. She fainted. "Touko?" Cheren quipped. "She fainted..." Belle moped, her head hung. "Let's take her inside, maybe she has frostbite or something," Cheren told Belle. "Yeah, we should. Wait, I know something better, too," Belle said. "And what's that?" Cheren asked. "Let's call N to come see her!" Belle schemed, excitedly. "Cool!" Cheren replied. Belle went back to her house and called up N, as Cheren took Touko back into her house.
"...Hello? Cheren? Belle?" Touko said out loud. She wearily tried to open her eyes, coming back into conscious, and saw that she was in her room. "Hey, Touko!" a familiar voice shouted. "That can't be..." Touko stuttered. She fully opened her eyes, only to see N! "N! OH MY ARCEUS!" she yelled as she pounced on him, making him fall back. "Touko..." N snapped. "Oh, I'm sorry about that. Really surprised you're here," Touko told him, embarrassed. "Well, do you want hot chocolate? Mrs. Nakamura's making some," N offered. "Of course," Touko answered. She helped N up and they walked downstairs.
"So, N, you made a snow sculpture of me?" Touko asked, eyes wide. "I did. Impressed, huh?" N replied. "I REALLY am. I think I fainted when I saw it!" Touko said in between giggles. Mrs. Nakamura gave Touko a mug of hot chocolate, and she sat down with Belle and Cheren. "You recovered THAT fast?" Cheren questioned. "Yep," Touko answered. N sat down with his mug. "On the count of three, we all drink our cocoa!" Belle exclaimed. Touko, Cheren, and N all nodded their heads. "One, two, three..." Belle counted down. "DRINK!" she then shouted. All four of the friends drank their mugs in unison. They all laughed afterward.
It was Christmas morning, and Touko excitedly woke up. "CHRISTMAS!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. She tore the covers off her bed, quickly got her clothes on, and frenziedly scrambled down to the living room to check out the tree. When she spotted the presents underneath, she cheered. "Lemme see what Santa got me," she said after she ate cereal. Mrs. Nakamura came down and watched Touko rip the wrapping paper off the first present. "A NEW IPHONE! YES!" she screamed. Then she ripped open the second one. "A PANIC! AT THE DISCO ALBUM! THEIR LATEST ONE! WOOT-WOOT!" she yelled. She tore open the third present. "A DVD OF TRON! YEAH!" she hollered. "And look inside," Mrs. Nakamura told her. Touko opened up the DVD box. Inside was the disc and the booklet. Touko removed the booklet...and found six Disney World tickets! "OH MY PERFECT PALKIA! SANTA GAVE ME TICKETS FOR ME AND MY FRIENDS TO DISNEY WORLD!" she screamed. She danced around the room, chanting "I'm going to Disney World!" "He gave tickets for you, Belle, Cheren, Iris, Touya...and N!" Mrs. Nakamura chimed in. "N?! Yes!" Touko happily cheered. She ripped open the next present. "A Wii U...yes, I've been wanting this one for two years!" she gasped. The last present under the tree she opened...was four tickets to see Panic! At the Disco. "For me, Belle, Iris, and N?!" she asked. "Yeah," Mrs. Nakamura responded. "OH MY DISTORTION WORLD! YEAH, BABY! GONNA SEE PANIC UP CLOSE!" Touko roared with happiness. She burst out the door, slamming it shut. "BELLE! CHEREN! WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD SOON! MY MOM GOT TICKETS! OH MY DEAR DIALGA!" she screeched, running to the sidewalk. Cheren opened his door. "What's that, Touko?" he asked her. Belle opened her door. "What's going on?" she questioned. "Mrs. Nakamura gave me six tickets to Disney World! Call Touya! And N's coming, too!" Touko hooted ecstatically. "Wow!" Belle said in awe. "Touko, I have a gift for you..." someone said. Touko turned her head. "N? What did you give me?" she told him. He held up two small boxes. Touko went to the first one. She opened it up. "A Funspot gift card! Yes! Now I can go to the ACAM again!" she happily proclaimed. Then she opened up the second one. It was a ring. N took the ring and kneeled on one knee, holding it up. "Oh my Arceus..." Touko stammered. "Would you marry me?" N questioned bravely and boldly. There was a long pause. "YES!" Touko deafeningly screamed. Belle and Cheren cheered. "Way to go!" Belle exclaimed. "Congratulations!" Cheren congratulated. Touko danced around the street with N, Belle, and Cheren in tow.
December 30. The day of the Toshinoichi, the year-end fair. Touko invited Belle, Cheren, Iris, Touya, and N to go. "Of course," Belle said happily. "I'd love to go," Iris exclaimed. "Yeah," Cheren stated. "I'm definitely going," N proclaimed. So the six friends went to Hiun City with spare items to trade. At one booth, Touko traded her old Nintendo DS for a pendant. It reminded her of the time she and N spent together. "I traded my DS in because I have a New Nintendo 3DS Touya gave me for Christmas," Touko told Belle. "Cool," Belle replied. Belle traded her old red glasses for a fishing net. "I traded in my glasses because I don't need them anymore. Cheren needs his, though. That's why he put his back on," Belle stated. Iris traded in her old tiara for a bell. "I traded that tiara because I'm not the Champion anymore. Touko is. So if that little girl I traded it to ever becomes the Champion of her region, she can wear that, Iris told Belle. "Wow," Belle said. Touya traded in his old belt for a bag. "I traded in that belt because it doesn't fit me anymore," Touya told Touko. Cheren traded in his old tie for a Poke Ball. "I traded that in since I'm not a Gym Leader anymore," Cheren told Belle. Finally, N traded in his old T-shirt for a glitzy headband. "I traded in that T-shirt since I don't wear it anymore. And this headband is for you," N told Touko. "T-t-thank you..." Touko stuttered. "Hey! You two over there, you look like us!" someone said. Touko and Touya turned their head and saw two people their age headed their way. "Yeah, you certainly do," Touko told the girl. "You sure do look like me," Touya told the boy. "I know, right?" the girl said. "Anyways, my name's Mei," the girl introduced. "And I'm Kyohei," the boy followed. A boy whose hair looked like a Qwilfish caught up with Mei and Kyohei. "My name is Hihihiroshi, bu call me Hyuu!" the Qwilfish-haired boy told the gang. "So Kyohei, Mei, and Hyuu. Wow, it's almost like me, Touya, and Cheren!" Touko exclaimed. Belle laughed, followed by everyone else.
It was Omisoka (New Year's Eve). Touko and her friends were over at N's Castle to watch the celebrations on TV, and hold a traditional celebration of their own. Verbena and Helena prepared amazake and Geechisu offered toshikoshi-soba and toshikoshi-udon to N. Osechi was made, too. At 7:30 PM, N switched to NHK to watch Kohaku Uta Gassen. "Wow. Never seen this show before," Touya said. "YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN KOHAKU UTA GASSEN?" Belle and Cheren shouted, shocked. "No, I haven't!" Touya replied. "Kohaku Uta Gassen is a popular TV program watched on Omisoka. It means Red-White Song Battle," Belle told him. "Singers and bands are divided into teams: the red team and the white team. They perform J-pop or J-rock songs and try to win the heart of the audience. At the end, the last singer sings, and the audience decides which team's performance was the best. The team that wins gets a trophy and a winner's flag. At the end, everyone sings Hotaru no Hikari. The show ends at 11:45, and programming switches to coverage of midnight celebrations around the country." N raised up and led everyone in a rousing rendition of Hotaru no Hikari. "Hotaru no hikari, mado no yuki," he started. "Fumi yomu tsukihi, kasane tsutsu," Belle followed. "Itsushika toshi mo, sugi no to wo," Touko continued. "Aketezo kesa wa, wakare yuku." Cheren chimed in. "Tomaru mo yuku mo, kagiri tote, katami ni omou, chiyorozu no," Iris sang. "Kokoro no hashi wo, hitokoto ni, sakiku to bakari, utau nari." Touya trilled. The group belted out the third verse. "Tsukushi no kiwami, michi no oku, umi yama tooku, hedatsu tomo, sono magokoro wa, hedate naku, hitoe ni tsukuse, kuni no tame..." Verbena sang the opening line of the fourth and final verse, "Chishima no oku mo, Okinawa mo!" Helena joined in, "Yashima no uchi no, mamori nari." Then the gang, Verbena, Helena, and Geechisu sang the last lines all together. "Itaran kuni ni, isaoshiku! Tsutome yo waga se... tsu-tsu-ga-na-kuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
"Hey, at midnight, the Hatsumode starts. Can we watch the bell-ringing?" Iris asked. "Sure," N answered. Then he turned to Touko and whispered in her ear, "Just you wait." He went through the back door and came back with the headband and pendant they got at the Toshinoichi. "Follow me," N told Touko. "Hehe...okay," Touko responded. She followed N out the front door to the golden porch. They sat down and looked at the bright sky. "Kinda like the Otsukimi from a few months ago!" Touko exclaimed. "Yeah, I remember that, that was fun," N replied. N moved closer to Touko and put his arm around her. Touko put her arm around N. "Today's the last day of the old year..." Touko groaned. "I know. But the new year's gonna be a fun one. Japanese customs say that if you sit on a beach at midnight, it brings good luck into the new year," N said. "And more otoshidama, too," Touko giggled. The couple looked up at the stars. N stood up and took Touko in his arms. He dropped her, but caught her bridal-style. Touko felt N's warmth again, but even more stronger and warmer than the last time. N brought Touko closer. Touko felt his breath, a cool mint, piercing her senses. She blushed. Their lips met...they locked...and they kissed. The kiss lasted a minute, but Touko thought it was eternal. Being in N's warm arms made her thankful to be alive. She longed for N and she got him. Touko remembered last month, she wanted N to kiss her the way she wanted. She'd hoped it would happen in the holidays...and it did happen, it was happening right now. N began to caress her cheek, softly. Touko forgot how soft N was. She stroked his green hair, looking into his sapphire blue, sparkling eyes, which looked like an ocean. Touko leaned in, and kissed N's soft, pink lips again. N kissed her, too. "The new year's gonna be great," Touko mumbled. "Yeah," N said. "I'll be with you through the year."