Kageyama Shigeo was a simple boy with powers. He looked simple himself, raven hair and eyes that never stood out at first glance. These characteristics led his classmates to have the habit of calling him; 'Mob.' Even his friend Tsubomi, called him by such an alias. Despite this; the average Japanese boy had grown on the name, and thus stopped caring a while ago.
"Nii-san! Come on, hurry! We have to go to bed! Mom's gonna get mad if she catches us." His younger brother hurriedly whispered as Shigeo kept his concentration with a nod.
However as average as Shigeo was; he enjoyed his small moments with family over the holidays. Just like any other normal child.
This raven haired boy was currently floating himself up to the top of the christmas tree in the dimmed living room. Shigeo flicked a finger, and the two small poorly wrapped presents were placed on the branches of the tree. The fake tree held the small gifts with it's snug bristles as the psychic aura finally ceased holding them.
"Okay, you did it! Come down." Ritsu waved from the floor, eyes sparkling with a positive shine.
Shigeo's feet safely touched the wooden floor seconds later. He felt woozy, his stomach churning uncomfortably. "Done…" Shigeo didn't protest when his little brother slowly tugged him back to their hallway. Their footsteps were light and soft, careful not to wake their parents.
"Thank you, Nii-san! I'm sure Mom and Dad will like your gift." Ritsu carefully opened his bedroom door. "Good night!" His younger sibling told with a wave.
"Good night, Ritsu. I'm sure they'll love your present more." Shigeo smiled through his nauseous body. "See you in the morning. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas!" Ritsu retreated into his room right after his parting words, and Shigeo determined to do the same.
The average boy had been in his bed since then. He was trying to sleep, but his mind just wouldn't calm down enough. Shigeo began to wonder about what this Christmas would bring. It was definitely a White Christmas from the snow outside, but how good would tomorrow be?
What if he messes up somehow? It's only Christmas, but many things can go wrong in one day. Shigeo didn't want to mess up his family's Christmas with his powers. His parents were naturally in a good mood, and that was nice. Even Ritsu, was excited for this merry holiday for a reason Shigeo himself didn't know. What if he suddenly messed everything up? What if his powers surge, destroying the presents, half the house, or even the tree from a nightmare?
Ah, then if that's possible...Shigeo won't fall asleep. That's it.
He was determined to stay awake.
Shigeo's eyes trailed to his clock from beside his bed stand. It was a few hours close to midnight, but he won't close his eyes to dream. He'll protect his little brother's Christmas day. He won't screw this up. What kind of big brother would he be without protecting his siblings hopes and dreams? While Ritsu never gave away if he believed in Santa, Shigeo would continue to do so. Hopefully Santa would aid him and prevent bad things on Christmas at least.
I'm tired. Shigeo didn't know how long he had kept this up, but sleep was dragging on his mind. His body felt oddly numb with exhaustion. The blanket was just comfortable as his bed. A deadly combination for someone who wished to stay awake.
Maybe he could close his eyes for a few seconds, not enough to sleep; but to rest his eyelids.
Shigeo did so, and unconsciously drifted off.
He snapped out of his beginning light sleep cycle after a soft whistle disrupted his quiet mind. Shigeo swiftly sat up, rubbing his wide eyes in order to recover from the gruff sound of a machinery's whistle. The boy slid out of bed, rushing to his window on unbalanced feet. He nearly fell, but caught himself using his own methods.
Blurred snow now remained on the outside ground, and the glass window gave off a cold wave of air once Shigeo got close to it. He moved his hand to rub the surface, allowing a trail of clear mist to disperse from the view.
He didn't expect to hear another high pitched sound that had sounded like a train's whistle. The noise was louder this time, closer. Shigeo glanced downwards to view his house's untouched snow, and decided to leave the room and investigate. He tossed on some boots, gloves and a coat his size.
Shigeo walked past his brother's room, and peered inside. Ritsu was quietly breathing while wrapped in his own blanket. There was no tossing to indicate nightmares or disturbed rest. His little brother was fully asleep; better not wake him.
"Good night…" Shigeo whispered before leaving down the hallway and eventually passing the tree before exiting the house.
The cold hit his face as soon as he opened and closed the door. Shigeo prevailed through, trudging through the front of his home. He passed poorly made snow bunnies (only his looked terrible, Ritsu's looked amazing) by the mailbox.
The whistle practically screamed in his ear this time as a rush of powerful wind crashed into the area. Shigeo shivered and held onto his arms in attempt to remain still as something started to slow down from it's powerful speed. He confirmed the machine was a train when the whistle resounded once more, a literal metal locomotive slowing to a stop in his neighborhood.
Shigeo had looked right because no one came outside their homes despite the noise. He then looked left to confirm the same outcome. Lastly, he looked back to his house. No one heard it? Just him? Even with the train's rumbling and hisses; the world seemed silent and still. The clouds seemed full enough to show possible snowflakes, but even the tiny pieces of snow didn't fall in favor of refusing to touch the train.
Shigeo mustered the courage to approach when he saw a man jump out the metal vehicle.
"All aboard! ...Yeah. You get the drift." A man with curly eyebrows and blond hair stood in a dark blue uniform, chewing on a white peppermint stick. "Hey, kid." He paused to view Shigeo's small form. "You coming?" His question was casual and inviting. Golden buttons in the front of his suit gleamed in the moonlight.
Shigeo didn't move closer. "Where?" His small voice dulled in comparison to the man's gruff one.
"To the North pole. You know; for the Christmas time of year and everything." The man explained. "I'm the conductor of the train this year; my name is Sanji, nice to meet you." Sanji introduced. He took out a board from who knows where, and began reading it. "I see...Your name is…?"
"Kageyama Shigeo, but everyone calls me 'Mob'." The boy bowed politely, and stopped once catching drift of Sanji's snickers. Shigeo watched Sanji's shoulders tremble while a few noises left his teeth. "Um…" Was he laughing at his name, or was it the Japanese customs? Either way Shigeo wasn't sure how to respond and embarrassment was starting to creep up his toes.
"Why so polite? Relax; it's Christmas. Don't kiss become more casual this time of year?" The conductor asked with a grin.
A train's whistle disrupted the conversation before it got further.
"Yeah, that's my cue. Coming?" Sanji questioned again, and Shigeo thought about his answer.
...He can't just get on a random train without his parents permission. He'd get in trouble, and worry his brother too. "No thank you." Shigeo finally said, shaking his head for good measure. "I have to get back inside now." He added quietly.
"Shame," Sanji shrugged. "But that's on you. Well, it was nice meeting you, Mob-"
"Woah, who's that?" A feminine voice spoke out, startling both Sanji and the esper.
Shigeo moved his vision to the girl his age. She was watching from behind Sanji's tall form on the metal train. Her white hair seemed to glow in the moonlight, and her yellow coat described sunshine and all things nice. The girl's ocean blue eyes elaborated waves of friendliness, and sparkles exploded upon her noticing his curious stare. She hoped down onto the snow and approached seconds later, footprints imprinting on the ice.
His personal space was soon invaded, and Shigeo found himself averting his eyes. Heat exploded, rushing to his cheeks as the cold didn't seem to affect his face any longer.
"Hiya! I'm Gardenia, what's your name?" The girl chirped in greeting.
"Kageyama Shigeo…" His dark eyes were trailing left, right and even down. It's obvious he was shy despite only speaking to the girl for a few seconds. Gardenia laughed, unaware of the Sanji's growing amusement. Shigeo remained quiet as Gardenia poked around with question after question, eventually complimenting his house and mailbox.
The raven haired boy was unsure how to converse with someone so talkative; he was reminded of Tsubomi, but he hasn't spoke with her for some time. Due to experience; the boy let Gardenia chat away until someone cleared their throat. The conductor looked greatly amused by Shigeo's flustered expression, and successfully retrieved both of their attention.
"Little lady, it's good to see you want to make friends, but the other children don't want to have the train wait all day. It's Christmas Eve, remember? We have to be there on time." Sanji explained to her gently. To prove a point, his eyes trailed to one of the train cars, lights shining through the windows.
Gardenia eyed the older person for a moment before spinning back to Shigeo with a welcoming smile on her face. "He's right." She grabbed his hands, her pale yellow cat mittens soft in the boy's gloved ones. "So come with us, Shigeo!" First name basis? Oh, she's not from Japan…?
Shigeo hesitated, his child logic beginning to float out into the wind as complex matters as peerpreasure arose. "I don't…"
"I promise you'll be back before your family wakes up!" Gardenia blurted, Shigeo mirroring wide eyes in response. "This train is pretty fast, and it serves hot chocolate too. "
Shigeo felt his stomach begin to churn again, but this time it was out of craving. Hot chocolate?
"So, wanna go? You can be my seat partner!" Gardenia tightened her grip, and the boy was uncertain if she was actually giving him a choice. Either way she had promised him something, and Shigeo was wanting to believe it.
"Okay." He might make a new friend out of this. No one has approached him this way before.
Gardenia cheered with a small jump before tugging him up and onto the train. "Let's go!"
Sanji was cackling in laughter the whole time, even as Shigeo followed Gardenia's quick steps.
Once the door was opened to the train cart, the inside was revealed.
There were children, all chatting or observing the scenery outside the windows. The seats were booths, soft and comfortable to sit on, as the young and innocent pointed and tossed funny jokes to their friends.
Shigeo did his best not to stare at a girl with green and red hair. She wasn't normal, not with that aura close to one of a spirit's; and so he made a mental note to keep quiet about it. The same was with her seat partner, who stared back at him, but with protective warning.
Shigeo quickly looked away in a cold sweat and allow himself to be dragged to an empty seat with Gardenia instead.
The booth cushion was as soft as it seemed. He barely noticed the train started moving along again up on seated.
"So Shigeo," Gardenia started with the boy's attention eventually swimming back to her. "Do you like cooking?" Her attempt at conversation was a bit unruly considering the fact children their age usually don't cook.
Nevertheless Shigeo slowly shook his head to her question.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I thought everyone did...How about I tell you some of my Dad and I's cooking stories?" Gardenia smiled apologetically, and Shigeo wondered if there could be anyone this luminous.
The young girl in front of him reached into her coat pocket and pulled a folded paper along with a hair piece. Her fingers revealed the scribbled drawing to have a beautiful design of a cake. Strawberries and whip cream littered the top and sides of the vanilla dessert. Her fingers played with her hair ribbon.
"This is gonna be my birthday cake in a few years; it's gonna be a blast! And…" She started to ramble about the ingredients and even the expensive cost.
That's how Shigeo's conversations went for a while. He carefully listened to Gardenia's practical life story, listening but patient. She had apologized about twenty minutes later, explaining she was a bit talkative.
He actually didn't mind at all. In Shigeo's opinion; he's rather have someone to speak with rather than remain alone the whole time.
"Hey." The two glanced to The owner of the new voice. It was another Japanese boy, but with dark brown hair and ocean blue eyes that screamed curiosity with waves.
"Why exactly did you two board this train?" His lack of smile was off, and posture represented caution despite the way he carelessly kicked his feet.
Gardenia opened her mouth to reply first while Shigeo kept struggling on how to recover.
"Personally it's because I want to see Santa!" Gardenia chimed.
"I see. What about him?" A finger was directed to the poor esper.
Right then; Shigeo kept his mouth shut in fear of saying something stupid. He didn't want the other children to start laughing at his mistakes.
"Oh! Well, Shigeo didn't plan on coming...But I convinced him to tag along! He seems like a cool guy." The girl next to him gave a reassuring smile, as if the sharp boy close by didn't mean any harm.
Shigeo's tiny heart did a funny flip.
"So you came on this train because of someone that might not even exist?" The brunette stared her down, and even Shigeo could begin to see his new friend start to freeze up despite her smile.
"Erm?" Gardenia tried, but her uneasiness didn't stop the logical child.
"And he," Shigeo was given a nod of confirmation this time. "Was taken aboard because of peer pressure, correct?"
Peer pressure? Shigeo wondered, and Gardenia looked just as puzzled by the new word.
"Did you two even think of the consequences of coming aboard a strange train?" His voice turned into an angry whisper.
"I, uh…" Gardenia started to struggle as well, and Shigeo found himself worrying over her possible failure in responding.
"I think we all knew what we were getting into." Shigeo blurted, and two pairs of eyes darted over to him. Waves of blue either gave off a warmth of appreciation, or heat of irritation.
Shigeo did his best not to shrink back from both gazes.
The brunette opened his mouth again but was cut off when a small fist roughly punched the top of his head.
"Ow!" He shrieked into his hand with a hiss. It was possible he but his tongue.
Either way the sudden action the trio as another member practically stormed in with an entrance.
"Shinichi, don't you dare bother anyone else with your detective ways! Leave them alone, Geez…"
'Shinichi' turned to his seat partner with a scowl. "Ran! Did you really have to hit me?"
Gardenia covered her mouth with soft giggles.
"Yeah! You were obviously making those two uncomfortable." This girl had brunette hair, a tuff sticking out like a horn. Her pale lavender eyes represented Angel-like quality.
Within his thoughts; Shigeo quickly decided she was a good person.
"My name is Ran, and this grumpy kid is Shinichi. Don't mind him too much; he just likes playing detective a lot." Ran waves over to the two smiling children with a friendly look on her facet.
"Hiya! I'm Gardenia!" The girl waved enthusiastically, grateful for the disappearance of the awkward silence.
"Kageyama Shigeo." Shigeo had introduced right after.
"Nice to meet you two." The girl brunette joyfully greeted while Shinichi looked away from the talking trio.
The other boy murmured a few choice words under his breath but Shigeo was unable to catch it.
Once the girls began to chat, they shared stories of what Christmas was to them. Shigeo got to input a few words once called on to contribute, and he was fine with that.
Eventually Shigeo had fallen asleep, but he woke up only fifteen seconds later with someone shaking him awake.
"Shigeo! Hey…!" Blinking the sleep out of his eyes; the esper sat up in his tired state.
"Mmh, yes Gardenia?" His limbs weren't numb, so keeping his eyes open wasn't difficult.
"Shh. We can't let anyone else hear our conversation!" Shigeo blinked as the white haired girl looked left and right suspiciously. Her eyes trailed to Shinichi, but the 'detective' brunette was too busy watching outside the dark window. Ran was taking a nap on his shoulder, but he seemed used to this type of scenario. His expression was nonchalant and bored.
Shigeo thought Shinichi was a bit cool. Just a little.
"Come here, Shigeo!" Gardenia's soft call shot the raven haired out of his seat with a careful slide off the seat. The esper made his way through the clean pathway since the other children were busy with their own selves. Sleep seemed like a pleasant way to pass the time. Shigeo could understand why so many of the children decided to take a nap.
Gardenia waved him over by the door. He finally caught up with her after ten more seconds.
"Okay, so I need your help." She told with a determined frown. Her lips were in a tight line to indicate seriousness.
Shigeo slowly gave a nod; her change of expression didn't hinder him in the slightest. He was actually doing his best to contain his positive emotions starting to show on his face. The raven haired boy isn't often asked for help.
"With what?" He managed to inquire, nearly averting his glance from her serious one.
"Another kid got on the train." Gardenia spoke, her voice in a whisper. She leaned closed to his ear, and Shigeo found himself once again shrinking away from her warm breath. He once again nodded to indicate he heard her. "Not just any kid, but someone from my school!" The esper child wondered why she was telling him about this.
"Then, shouldn't you go talk with them?" He offered a solution with a decent amount of logic, but Gardenia shook her head vigorously.
"Can't." The girl murmured.
Shigeo patiently waited her to continue, and after a minute of silence, she did. Her eyes dimmed
"I...Never talked with him before." She quietly admitted. "He's a bit...Odd. I don't think he has any friends. I just thought he wanted to be alone." The girl grabbed a fist full of her pale hair. "If he came on this train, then he must want to see Santa too." Her ocean blue eyes shimmered with the newfound motivation from before.
"It's a bit hard to approach him, but I think company will make this easier! So, could you help me?" Gardenia's sudden shy posture took a few moments to notice.
"I don't mind." Shigeo answered, watching Gardenia's expression begin to brighten. His hand was swiftly taken in her's, and the boy allowed himself to be tugged closer to the door.
"Thaaank you!" Gardenia's white teeth seemed to shine in the light. "Oh, but he's over there…" Her finger directed past the door window and to another sealed doorway. The fogged window remained outside, and Shigeo wondered how she knew her classmate was truly in there. "Wanna go on a short adventure?" She grinned, and the boy beside her only stared at their options.
"Better not." Gardenia jumped and Shigeo glanced over to view Shinichi walking up to them. His walking style was very easy going, but his intentions weren't. "You're not supposed to cross without an adult." He explained with a tilt of his head toward the door. "Just get back to your seats until the conductor comes if you really want to go."
Shigeo looked between the two, internally confused about what was going on between them.
"Some rules are meant to be broken." Gardenia countered, her mind already made up. "Shigeo and I," The grip on the esper's hand was tightened, and the raven haired boy stared at the floor in slight embarrassment. "...Will be crossing. With or without an adult."
Shinichi was a sharp child. Shigeo and Gardenia knew the other wouldn't let them go.
Gardenia knew the perfect solution for this. Always move faster than your opponent before they could react.
With a swift movement, she launched the door open. The cold wind from outside began to creep inside the warm room while Gardenia carefully pulled a dazed Shigeo with her. "Watch your step Shigeo! We'll do this in five seconds!"
The reaction was immediate. "Oi!" Shinichi hissed with expersation.
Shigeo didn't look back to see his expression. That would be too dangerous, especially with the moving train and chin metal lach in front of his shoes. Gardenia had already used her feet to cross, and used a hand to offer Shigeo reassurance.
"Hurry, before Shinichi drags you back!" She helped pull him over when Shigeo finally made movement to step forwards. Once done, Gardenia threw open the destination's door and left inside. Shigeo had followed due to his hand still being clasped with her's. He caught a glimpse of Shinichi standing on the other side before the door shut.
The heat from the new room began to settle on both children immediately.
Gardenia soon breathed in relief.
"That was a close one. You okay Shigeo?"
The esper had given her a small nod to respond, eyes scanning the room to view two pairs of eyes staring back at him. They seemed to be twins, the only difference consisting of the eyes.
Oh. Shigeo's mind had turned up. The boy with the green eyes didn't feel friendly at all. His lips were curled into a grin as he whispered something to his obvious sibling. Did we make a mistake in coming here? Not that his thought mattered; this was all Gardenia's idea.
Contrast to the negativity floating around; the girl beside him marched forwards. Shigeo slowly followed because he trusted her with this.
"Hey! I've seen you in my class a lot! What's your name?" Her approach was slightly demanding compared to how she talked with him, Shigeo realized.
"...Russell." The blond child with ice blue eyes spoke, his voice a tad softer than most. His eyes were empty, lacking the light of emotion most had.
Shigeo could relate, just a little; however this boy did not have powers like he did. There would be no words of understanding between them.
"Well Russell, I'm Gardenia!" She lightly nudged Shigeo, and he spoke after a moment of hesitance.
"My name is Kageyama Shigeo, nice to meet you two…"
He could've sworn the one with emerald green flinched. His smile had dropped, and Shigeo almost shivered under the hard gaze tossed at him.
"Why did you come here?" Russell's voiced moments later.
"Don't be so stiff! I just want to be friends; Oh, but Shigeo too!" Gardenia giggled into a hand, taking a seat next to Russell. Shigeo took a seat as well, just a little further away.
He didn't like how the other blond was eyeing him.
"Why are you all alone in this place? There's still plenty of space back with us!" Gardenia reasoned as she kicked her legs in the air.
Russell quietly shook his head, but the girl in yellow didn't want any of that. "Isn't it lonely?"
The stoic blond didn't answer. His odd empty blues remaining a still current.
"Right. Then, I'll stay with you. Don't mind me; I won't bother you too much!" Gardenia offered him a smile. She then turned her head to Shigeo as an apologetic look crossed her face. "Oh, I'm sorry Shigeo. I know you probably don't want to stay in here for too long."
Shigeo shuffled. How did she notice his slight unease?
"You can leave if you want. I'll walk you back." Gardenia got up, and the esper ended up raising both his hands to stop her.
"E-Er, no. I'm all right. Really." Shigeo managed to get out through a lump in his throat.
Gardenia furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"
Not really. His mind murmured after catching a mocking look from Russell's twin.
"Yeah." However; he couldn't just leave Gardenia here. Would kind of friend would that make him? "I'll stay…"
The smile tossed at him gave his heart a small lift.
"Yay! I'm so happy!" Gardenia beamed before flashing both Russell and Shigeo a grin. "Russell, wanna be friends?"
Russell averted his eyes to the floor. "Sorry."
Shigeo didn't expect his friend to laugh. "I get it...Lovers then?" Gardenia's teasing tone lingered even after her pause. "We're too small for that! So let's start out as friends first, okay?" She giggled, and her words floated around their heads.
Russell's eyes shot to her, a faint emotion invading his dull depths.
Yet, Gardenia didn't notice.
Then; the door had opened. The doorway where they came from.
The children glanced over to the one who intruded. The conductor was there, along with Shinichi.
"Geez, you kids are trouble." Sanji grumbled as he took a few steps forward.
Shinichi scoffed from behind him. "That was dangerous you two." The brunette strolled over to Gardenia. "Don't drag others into your stunts."
Gardenia didn't answer, her lips twitching into a frown.
"I came here on my own." Shigeo murmured, loud enough for the rest of the children to hear.
Gardenia regained her smile, while Shinichi only clicked his tongue.
"Anyways kids; I already collected the others tickets. Can I see all of yours?" The conductor came forward with a hole puncher.
Shigeo had no idea what he was talking about, but a nudge from Gardenia alerted him to check out his pockets after she pointed to it.
A simple golden ticket laid in his hand seconds later.
The others had theirs as well.
Gardenia proudly gave hers to Sanji, and the Russell did the same.
Shigeo reluctantly gave his to the conductor once he was the last one to have his ticket punched.
What do these letters stand for?
T.Y.M
Shigeo slowly put his ticket back in his pocket once returned. He decided to look at the paper later on. Shigeo had already noticed the one with green eyes didn't give in a ticket either.
However; it wasn't his business, and Shigeo didn't want to start anything.
The conductor then squinted his eyes. "Wait, did any of you receive refreshments?"
The children(minus Shinichi) looked to one another, and blinked.
They shook their heads.
Sanji sighed. "Right. I can fix that. We're almost at our destination, but this will be quick…" He tossed a glance to Shinichi. "You staying with them?"
Shinichi shrugged.
"All right." With that; the one in uniform left the moving room, shutting the door behind him in a hasty pace.
"Hot chocolate!" Gardenia chirped in joy while Russell merely stared out the window. Shinichi walked on over to join them. The girl immediately started a conversation, practically dragging the brunette into it despite his bored attitude. Russell was included as well, however the blond only made non-verbal actions.
Shigeo excluded himself from all of this. He was thinking about his resting family. Did they notice he left? Would they have even noticed his absence at all?
The lone boy watched the snowflakes fall while the scenery passed.
Perhaps...Coming here was a mistake.
"Shiiigeo! Come here! You can't run from us. We're talking about presents, don't you wanna talk about what you wrote to Santa this year?" Gardenia's chirp snapped his thoughts on half.
He quietly made his way to the group and stay closer. Thankfully; the boy with green eyes had lost interest in the group. He looked busy with the outdoor scenery. "Okay."
Shigeo is usually insulted or put down by his choices in what he favored. Here, he had a friend who didn't say hurtful things, and others who held back on unneeded sentences.
…Nevermind. This was a nice adventure for a lonely soul like him.
Conversations kept running on and on, even when the train finally stopped. Shigeo was drawing shapes in the foggy window with Ran, who decorated his circles with cat ears, and his triangles with ice cream tops.
She's really nice.
The children had gotten back into the main car with coaxing Russell. Gardenia did most of the work, and Shinichi brought of several reasons for him to come.
Shigeo will remain silent about the fact Russell's twin had mysteriously disappeared off somewhere.
"We have arrived!" Sanji called, children jumping off their seats in excitement. "Everyone off, we're lining up. Also, grab a partner for the trip!"
Shinichi partnered with Ran, and Shigeo assumed Gardenia would partner with her new friend(if Russell considered her one yet.) This was fine; he'll just be alone again as usual.
"Hey Shigeo, wanna partner up with me?" Yet she had surprised him with this question. The raven haired boy looked to her with dinner plate eyes, a bit awestruck.
"S-Sure?" He choked out, eyes unable to leave her smiling form. He managed to fall into a state of calm after a while of cold sweat and nervousness. He allowed Gardenia to take his sweaty hand and guide him off the train. A sense of deja vu visited, quick and murky due to lacking accuracy.
"Don't you want to be with Russell?" He mumbled, watching the ground as his legs took care of staying up straight.
"Hm? Oh, but Russell doesn't really like pairing up with anyone. I think he's had bad experiences with them." She explained easily, glancing back at the boy once before leading him again.
Shigeo however, found himself a little disappointed. He shifted as the cold finay hit his face, soft snow crunching under his shoes.
"I was still gonna partner up with you anyway." Gardenia murmured, catching his attention.
"Huh?"
"I already said we'd go see Santa together." Gardenia hummed. "And I'm going to keep that promise."
Shigeo wished to be a mob at that exact moment, wanting to hide his increased heart rate. Gardenia was nice, too nice. A bit too sweet for those whose been candy deprived for long periods of time.
The way the girl laughed at his red face only increased his embarrassment. Even as they left the train, exposed to the cold; there was no change in atmosphere. For the joyous children; the sun seemed to be out despite the stars glowing above. The moonlight played a role in the sparkling snow, only adding to the mystical effect in the Christmas air.
A tiny smile remained on Shigeo's face as he was eagerly pulled along by an equally smiling Gardenia.
The esper briefly forgot about the mysterious twin of Russell, or how he was afraid to enjoy himself.
"We're at the North pole? For real? This goes against everything I stood for!" A certain brunette cried out, covering his head with hands. Ran smugly pat his back, one of the many grins on her lips.
Christmas sure is wonderful.
"Huh? Where's he going?" Shinichi's murmur reached Shigeo's ears as he looked up.
"What?"
"The blond kid. What was his name again?" Shinichi's narrowed eyes stared in one direction.
"Russell." Although, now Shigeo is second guessing himself. "At least, I think so…"
"Well, Russell or not; that kid is drifting from our group." Shinchi tilted his head toward the blond in question. Upon the raven haired actually looking this time; the quiet boy definitely was drifting away. Russell neared one of the corners, his normal emotionless face present.
"It was hard enough to sense his presence. He's probably doing this on purpose." The observant boy explained, casually glancing back toward the other children who were busy looking at the toys being made.
"...I don't blame him. I'm a bit curious too." One of his blue eyes twitched, and Shigeo jumped a bit when the other boy's face twisted into some sort of snarl. "I'm going to find the truth of this place! There's no way Santa and his workshop, exists!"
Shigeo averted his eyes from the currently raging child in front of him. "B-But…" They were standing in the workshop right now, weren't they? Why would all of this be a lie? I don't get it. His thoughts whispered with a frown.
Icy ocean eyes landed on the raven haired seconds later. "Haah?"
Shigeo lost his voice, and shook his head nervously.
Shinchi scoffed, glancing to the right before taking a look at his best friend. Ran looked distracted enough. She was currently chatting with the other children, eyes bright as ever. Shinichi took a deep breath."All right." The sharp brunette murmured, inching away from her. "I'm going. Don't tell anyone. I'll be back." The boy told Shigeo before darting off, his shoes oddly lighter than most. Shinichi's footsteps were considerably softer than others. His path followed closely after Russell's, who disappeared long ago.
Shigeo found this cool. He wondered if Shinichi was well-known at his own school.
"Shigeo? Where's he going?" Gardenia's attention was caught yet again, but this time by their missing friends. She began to whisper in order not to catch their guide's ears. "Oh...Russell's gone too." She blinked, a rare frown coming to her lips. "Did they sneak off?" This question was directed at Shigeo, and he nodded to confirm her suspicions. "Figures..." The white haired girl didn't seem affected. A grin soon spread on her lips, a mischievous glint sparking in friendly ocean blue. "How about we follow them? Our very own adventure!" Her voice had remained a whisper, but still rose in dynamics.
Shigeo wasn't one to get in trouble. He wasn't; the child usually didn't cause such due to his practical loner status. In fact, his little brother was more mischievous than he was, although it could be because Ritsu was much smarter than him. "I don't…"
"It's Christmas, Shigeo! Don't you want to tell stories to your family about this experience?" She inquired, her voice still hushed. The boy stiffened, his mind swarming from good idea tossed at him.
"Liiike…Your little brother? Wouldn't he want to know?" He had forgotten of telling Gardenia of his family. Oh, but would Ritsu really want to hear about the magical train he went on?
Shigeo didn't even notice how they had already drifted from the group, now in the hallways of the workshop. "He would, right? Then...Let's go!" The boy blinked at Gardenia's sudden exclamation, before noticing how she swayed his movements by holding his hand. "I think we'll find Shinichi or Russell on the way! Both; if we're lucky. Hehe…" Shigeo bent to her will, in too deep to resist his friend any longer.
Nevertheless, the esper was slightly enjoying himself with the few times Gardenia would stop and ask him comments on the odd toys they'd catch a glimpse of, or the wrapping of presents.
It wasn't long until they entered a room that looked hidden compared to the rest.
"Yo yo, Shigeo…" She patted his back, and the boy gazed at her with confusion. "I think our friends are in this room. Somewhere." She pursed her lips, closing her eyes. "Yep. Definitely. I can smell 'em." The jolly girl confirmed.
Shigeo wondered how she could tell someone was present by just sniffing the air, but Gardenia was unique in her ways.
This empty room was dark, but there were lights dimmed to a point they could still see. There were hundreds of stockings, each being pulled by a wire. Pieces of colorful stockings were stuffed with candy, candy canes and the like. The machine close by hummed quietly, like an oven. Stockings were soon collected in a cart and driven into a darker metal tunnel.
In the corner of his eyes, he viewed a flash of green.
The esper looked over to Russell's twin in the corner, who gave him a friendly wave with a smile. The other boy was a bit creepy, with the shadows covering half of his face.
Shigeo however, shyly waved back, unsure what to make of this other's appearance.
"Who are you waving at?" Gardenia questioned with a curious stare, but Shigeo merely shook his head. Thankfully, his friend lost interest and tugged him over to a cart full of candy canes. "There's more than just peppermint!" The girl gasped before picking out two of the selected candies. She began eating a yellow one while she tossed Shigeo a grape flavored candy.
"Gardenia, I don't think we should touch those…" Ah, but she had already finished hers, and the girl was gazing at him to eat too. His ears practically burned at her intense staring.
Shigeo put it in his pocket to eat later. Please don't be mad at us for taking a little bit of candy. His silently pleaded to the absent workers.
"Da, da dum!" Gardenia's sudden outcry captured Shigeo's attention, directing his vision to the girl's stunt. She was climbing into one of the moving carts, falling in and poking her head out form the top. There were a stocking on her head, which would've looked hilarious if Shigeo didn't fear for his friend's safety. "Come on Shigeo! The quest to save the princesses awaits!"
Princesses? Shigeo's mind asked in a hurried question before the young esper ran over to the moving cart. He was effortlessly grabbed by Gardenia, and pulled into the cart of colorful stockings. It was a softer lander than he expected, and once recovering; the raven haired boy was greeted to one of Gardenia's playful smiles.
"I bet they went this way." She told him before observing the cart's pathway. Shigeo stood up to check their surroundings as well. This pathway turned out to have a lot heights and zigzag turns. ...A roller coaster of some sorts. It looks very dangerous, and the dim lights didn't help at all.
Shigeo gulped.
"I guess we're in for a dangerous journey." Gardenia's tone changed, a deep gruff sound latching onto her high pitched child voice. Shigeo ended up wishing she didn't do that. "It's time to escape from the elves keeping us captive, and save Shinichi and Russell." However; it appears the girl would turn this into a game, with or without permission. "Are you ready, partner?"
The cart began to ascend upwards, and Shigeo desperately looked for any kind of seatbelt. He actually did find a couple at the bottom, and dragged the buried belts up, tossing Gardenia her's, and placing his on. The girl had her seatbelt on before he even finished clicking his together, and once again the esper wondered if the girl had secret powers or anything of the like.
The cart paused for a slight second, and Shigeo felt his stomach turn in severe discomfort. Fear touched his veins as he hoped the cart wouldn't tilt off track.
"Aw, Shigeo...Don't be scared." The esper turned to look at Gardenia, whose smile dropped to a more genuine look. "I'm here with you, so…Don't be scared. We'll get through this together!"
Shigeo wasn't able to reply with the cart swiftly making its first round downwards, his stomach racing up to his heart as wind whipped his face. He ended up shutting his eyes, unable to take the speed assaulting him.
It was that moment; the boy realized he didn't like roller coasters at all.
Gardenia's enthusiastic yelling tells her own opinion however.
Shigeo was curled up on the floor, resisting the urge to throw up. He had left the cart after the ride stopped in another room, but it was had more lights. The boy lightly groaned as his own saliva began to taste bitter. Light bulbs from above hurt his eyes, resulting in Shigeo to close them.
"That was fun. A bit dangerous...But fun. At least we didn't go splat!" The girl giggled. "Like um...A birthday cake. Yeah!"
Shigeo said nothing in response. He silently went over the many times he activated his powers during that one ride while he struggled to calm his stomach. The esper didn't exactly want Gardenia to see him like this, but thankfully she was distracted with her own thoughts.
"That was close though. We almost fell off the tracks twice." Gardenia breathed in relief, soon expelling into a laugh. " We're pretty lucky, huh, Shigeo?" Her giggles echoed around the room.
Shigeo didn't find it very funny.
"Woah woah, Shigeo, are you okay?" She had finally noticed his pain, leaning over his fallen form. The boy couldn't make eye contact, or rather decided not to. "Looks rough...Are you hungry? No no, did you eat too much candy? I thought you only had one..." The girl's concerned look fell into a more curious one, her eyes still wide with worry.
"I'm...Fine." He gasped through the pain. "My tummy just hurts."
"Oh." Gardenia frowned at him. "I'll help you up. Does it still hurt?" The pale haired girl leaned closer, and Shigeo finally sat up. He didn't hear her come closer.
"N-No, I can do it…" He moved to get up, but stumbled with a sharp gasp of torment. Two young arms caught him, steadying his child form upwards.
"There." Gardenia confirmed. "That's it."
Shigeo quietly murmured an apology next to a thank you.
"It's fine; we all get sick sometimes." Her genuine smile with enough to give him a small upturn of his lips. The chirpy girl looked further around the room. "Oh, but there's another door. Can you hear them?" Upon her warning, Shigeo did hear voices from beyond the wood. Young and high, different from the elves.
"All right...Let's go. Think you can walk?" Her blue eyes gazed back to her friend, eyes full of understanding for either answer he would bring.
Shigeo silently nodded.
"Great." Gardenia dropped her voice to a whisper as the two moved closer to the door. "Then, let's do this. To the princesses." She snickered at the end.
The young cook threw open the door. There wasn't any lock, and the noise was loud enough to alert the ones inside.
"We have arrived!" Although not a minute later, her words died out.
Shigeo looked over to the two other boys, Shinichi staring back at him with curious wonder while Russell's expression wasn't identifiable.
"Er...Guys, what's going on?" Gardenia asked in a low tone of voice. Shigeo then looked to his friend, confused at what she meant. He looked back to the two children in the room, icy blue averting elsewhere.
Russell held a protective grip on his wrist. His sleeves wrinkled under small fingers as the blond refused to come within an arm's length of Shinichi. The brunette swiftly turned to them, a glint in his eyes.
The room was eerily silent for a reason Shigeo did not understand. Why was everyone quiet? Even Gardenia wasn't throwing jokes around like he expected her to. The boy looked between each child, but couldn't go further than the frowns on their faces(excluding Russell.)
"Gardenia, help me out here." Shinichi pleaded with grit teeth.
"With what?" Gardenia's voice echoed around the metal walls. She was almost oblivious, but Shigeo couldn't tell.
The young raven haired boy merely looked to the floor.
"This kid." Shinichi pointed a finger to Russell, who cowered away with a shake of his head.
"What? I just want to help you!" His tone went aflame with frustration. "You can't just…!"
Russell firmly shook his head, and Shigeo couldn't help for good admiration for speaking his mind despite lacking a real verbal response.
Gardenia shuffled next to her quietly observing friend.
"You...You know what? Fine. This isn't over, but I'll bite." Shinichi's expression fell to one of calm. "Whatever."
Gardenia looked between the two before taking a deep breath. Shigeo looked to her, and jumped slightly when her laughter echoed off the walls. "I see! Later then." The subject from before had been changed with her laughter, but her words indicated she didn't plan on leaving this alone.
"So, what were you two doing? Shigeo and I found a crazy cool cart ride!" The girl informed with a bright smile. "Oh, and we got candy too."
Shinichi scowled at them, to which Shigeo averted his eyes. "Don't steal from this place...That candy might be poison!"
Gardenia tilted her head to the side. "Why would it be? Who poisons people on Christmas?"
The small detective grumbled a few words darkly, and thankfully no one picked up his sentences.
"We should get back." Shinichi finally said, gazing around the room for a moment longer. "I hate being here. The trips' going to introduce 'Santa' soon too. We might as well get back." His words dripped with traces of venom.
"B-But we haven't found the presents yet!" Gardenia sputtered, eyes darting around the room.
"That doesn't really matter." Shinichi sighed. "Our parents-" He suddenly wheezed as if he was hit with an insoluble punch from a currently absent girl. "O-Our parents are waiting for us…" He weakly coughed.
"I guess you're right." Gardenia frowned, and Shigeo's thoughts trailed back to his sleeping little brother.
"Actually," Russell softly commented; the rarity of the situation causing all three heads to turn to him. "I saw wrapped presents."
A rumble of excitement escaped the girl's lips. "Where?"
"Behind the curtain." The blond murmured, eyes trailing to the back.
As he said; there was a soft rumble of a machine behind a thick cloth hanging from the ceiling.
Gardenia raced over despite Shinichi's call of protest. Shigeo heard snickers of mischief, although he wasn't sure where it came from.
Shinichi ran after her, and Shigeo slowly followed after. Russell walked as well, energy as low as the esper's.
"Gardenia, no!" Shinichi yelled.
"To adventure!" Shigeo peered around the curtain just to see his friend enter the machine. His heart nearly stopped. His finger raised, but the boy paused and put it down.
Not here.
Shinichi dove after her, a shriek of surprise echoing before disappearing with distance.
While Shigeo was still stiff, Russell slowly got onto the line of machinery, and allowed himself to be taken into the machine's tunnel. Icy eyes watched the esper before disappearing behind the metal walls.
Shigeo dumbly stared as he noticed the quiet mocking his frozen limbs. With a sweaty hands; the boy climbed onto the metal rolls, and entered where his friends were.
He was greeted to a crazy slide, one of the many miracles attacking his heart as he viewed the king sized path of slippery metal transporting him to a place of the unknown. All the esper did was close his eyes and hold everything in.
He can't burst here. His powers might harm the other children present.
Shigeo opened his eyes to a dull feeling of pain surrounding his limbs. He was laying on many boxes of different sizes, and the boy sat up upon catching wind of the other children whispering.
"Look where you've brought us! This is your fault; how do we even get out of here?" Shinichi's accusing voice was clear as day as Shigeo began climbing toward the group at the bottom.
"All adventures have their downsides." Gardenia countered, soon glancing the esper's way. "Oh, Shigeo!" Two more heads turned in tow.
"We didn't break any of the presents did we…?" Shigeo looked under his feet, but it was too dark to tell.
"No." Shinichi murmured. "I checked." He sounded sour about it, and thankfully no one asked why.
"Any ideas on how to get out of here, Shigeo?" Shinichi asked with a frown pulling at his lips. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "The top is too hard to crawl out of."
Meanwhile, Shigeo was nervous as to why they were asking *him* out of the other two children here.
"N-No…" The raven haired boy told. "I don't…"
Shinichi only breathed heavily and slowly in response. "Right…"
Gardenia was quick to jump to Shigeo's rescue. "Don't worry; the elfs will definitely help us! They'll find us eventually." She looked to Russell for his comment but he only have a silent nod. "See? Russell agrees!"
Shinichi slumped into the presents. "I don't care. I'm resting for a minute. Don't bother me."
The three other children respected his request.
Shigeo sat down to make himself comfortable despite the hard boxed presents. He was still cautious about breaking one, but his fears eventually eased up.
He watched Gardenia inched over to Russell, who in turn, glanced at her.
"...So." Her eyes reflected a familiar playfulness.
The blond remained quiet.
"What about those injuries?" The boy stiffened, but Gardenia tackled him without a care in the world. Shigeo jolted, unsure of what was happening as both children tumbled further down the present hill. He listened to his friend's snickering fade with the distance increasing.
Shinichi looked, but it was only a passing glance. It appears he didn't think this too dangerous.
Shigeo thought the opposite. He followed after then in a hurry, softly calling both of their names to determine if they were okay. The boy had found the two seconds later, both in an odd position. The esper blinked as he tried registering the scene in front of him.
Gardenia had Russell under her, his clothing sleeve between her teeth. Her blue eyes remained focused on him, but lacked a certain sparkle. The presents around them didn't offer any merry atmosphere as the situation began to rear its ugly claws. The girl had his other limbs pinned with her own. Gardenia's trail of vision firmly remained on the blond's arm. Exposed skin showed blue and black; the odd markings littered almost everywhere on his pale flesh.
Shigeo shivered, an unknown gravity passing through his bones and giving his own skin goosebumps. It felt as if a forbidden topic had been brought up, and while Shigeo didn't know what; he knew something was wrong. The raven haired boy shivered looked to the presents at his feet, not sure how to distract himself.
"Why didn't you get this treated? It could become infected. My Dad says so." Her ocean eyes were slanted in a way the esper didn't recognize. "You might get sick."
There was no response.
"Who did it?" Shigeo's head snapped up at Gardenia for her blunt bravery.
"I did." Russell's quiet reply barely reached either of their ears.
"Liar." The girl holding him, blurted. "How do you get bruises in the shape of large hands?" Her intelligence was shining through once again, but this time the cause for her cleverness wasn't a very happy one. "Did someone grab you?"
Shigeo was reminded of 'stranger danger' protocol, and shuddered. He hoped no kid would have to go through that. Granted; he never did, but he knew it would be scary. The raven haired boy made a mental note to keep a closer eye on his sibling when he got home.
"You're not going to answer?" Gardenia asked innocently before she smiled sweetly, and Shigeo paused in his thoughts. "Okay. A game then." She crowed before getting off the blond. The two stood up almost at the same time, Russell staring at the girl in what seemed to be unease in his empty eyes. "How about we guess?"
Russell said nothing.
"Yes? All right." The girl hummed and rocked on her heels, stumbling from the horrible balance on a present. She recovered seconds later, a rare frown once again on her features. "...Was it your parents? One of them? Those hands don't look slim, so likely your father or uncle." While she spoke, Shigeo's mind began to swarm from her implications. "He hits you a lot, and isn't like my dad at all. Or really, any of our dads." She used a hand to swipe the air.
The esper felt sick when Russell only looked away. It's true. Russell isn't denying it. His own lungs began to close up as the stress piled onto the Japanese boy.
"You don't like to talk to others, because no one is worth your time. You're hurt, but you don't want to speak up. You're quiet, because you need to be." Gardenia's voice dropped to a hurt whisper, and she shook her head. "And, I'm sorry. I wanted to talk with you earlier but…" She glanced over at Shigeo, and he stiffened.
The black haired boy quickly nodded for her to go on.
She did, with a sigh of relief. "I was a bit...Scared of you. I don't know why. It think it's because of your eyes. They're pretty creepy. Only a bit. Liiike, ice cubes. No life and cold. I don't think I would be able to touch them with my personality so," Gardenia cleared her throat and stalked forwards, stopping in front of Russell. "I want to help you. I don't know how yet, but I wanna help. How about we start being friends first?" She reached out a hand, fingers inviting.
"Why?" Russell mumbled, but Gardenia only laughed.
"Why not? Don't you want help?"
"I don't need it. I'm already staying at my grandparents for the break." Despite saying this, Russell slumped; an action explaining his future choice.
"Don't be stubborn!" Gardenia teased with a giggle, grabbing his hand. The blond didn't fight her off.
"You're the same as always." He murmured, and Gardenia grinned. Her smile was the only light in this area.
"Same to you! Have we met before?" Her tone had morphed into a questioning curiosity.
Russell slowly shook his head.
"Thought so!"
Shigeo allowed his heart to flutter, relief flooding his being. The boy breathed, only just noticing Shinichi next to him. He jumped, and the detective-like boy rolled his eyes. "At least they can do something about it together." The observant boy had murmured. Shinichi crossed his arms.
Yeah. Shigeo silently agreed.
The entire room shook and vibrated.
"Woooah!" Gardenia squeaked while stumbling, and Shinichi made it a point to drop onto the presents for leverage.
"Quick! Grab onto the boxes!" He had yelled over the loud noises of an steel moving. The other three children did as instructed, grabbing firm hold of the gifts. The room increased in intensity from it's earthquake, causing Shigeo to feel a bit nauseous from his growing fear.
"Guys look! The ceiling is opening!" Gardenia exclaimed over the shaking, and Shigeo opened his eyes to view her accurate observation. The ceiling was definitely opening. It had exposed the cold frosty air, and the chill fell upon the children seconds later.
Gardenia sneezed while Shinichi exhaled white mist. Russell didn't react much, but he was already poorly dressed. Shigeo on the other hand, was distracted by their new environment. Cheers and loud calling reached his ears, and the raven haired believed there was a party going on. The floor was moving upwards, and the vibration was starting to slow to a stop, only for a feeling of taking to the sky to descend on them.
Where were they now?
Obnoxious Christmas music brust through the air, and even Gardenia couldn't help but hum along. Shinichi shot her looks of annoyance but the girl either choice to ignore him, or hum louder.
"Santa!" Shigeo heard a childish voice chime.
"He's here!" Another commenter excitedly cheered, and the boy could've sworn he saw Shinichi's face darken to hardcore disbelief.
"Where?" Gardenia blurted before losing grip and tripping in her excitement. Russell caught her in the nick of time before she could fall to the very bottom of the enclosed space. She thanked him with a laugh, but the esper watching them felt a little sick.
Shigeo shivered at the thought of his friend in trouble. His thoughts however, were disrupted by the sudden impact of the ground. Recoil hit the presents, and barely touched the children residing on top. The esper's cheery friend giggled at the odd sensation, and fell back onto the presents like the other three did.
"Hey! What are you kids doing with the presents?" The group glanced upwards, noticing the couple of elves above. One was holding back laughter while the other looked unamused.
"Err," Gardenia coughed, glancing left from right. Her actions reminded the esper of Tsubomi's nervous habits. "Adventuring!" Her save was a bit late, but still nicely worded for those who were definitely going to get in trouble.
"Right...Adventuring." One of the elfs agreed despite the displeasure in his voice.
"We're not in trouble, are we?" Shinichi grumbled, his eyes refused to make eye contact with the mythical beings.
"Nah," One of the elves called down, "It's Christmas, so we're giving you a break. Come on up!"
With those words, the hyper girl was the first to dart her way up the presents and into the elf's arms. She was gently lifted and escorted out of the space, and the other children slowly followed to leave as well.
"Oh. We were in Santa's present sack. That makes sense." Gardenia nonchalantly commented as the trio of boys finally caught up with her. She observed the crowd of elves and the children who came here with them. "No wonder it was bottomless!" She giggled and clasped her hands together. "Come on you three! I wanna go see Santa!"
"As do I." Shinichi commented, but he wasn't jumping around like Gardenia was.
Russell made no comment, and Shigeo joined him in that silence. The three followed the speedy girl anyway, moving through the crowd easily. The army of elves had split a path for them. Shigeo thanked the elfs for their kindness, but was eventually dragged off by an impatient Gardenia.
They finally reunited with the groups of children, and an amused Sanji. "Hey, you four. Enjoy your little quest?" It was no surprise he knew, but the children in front of him didn't want a scolding, or worse.
Shigeo averted his eyes, unable to respond. Shinichi glared at the conductor. Russell didn't comment, and Gardenia beamed at the older blond.
"Yeah!"
The conductor snorted in reply.
"Wait!" Gardenia glanced back and forth. "Who gets the first present from Santa?"
The boys blinked, unaware of this development.
"Who knows?" There was a crunch as the man bit the peppermint candy stick he had. "Let's see…" The conductor pointed. Heads turned, and on Santa's lap in his sleigh, was a familiar child with brown hair.
Shinichi choked on air while Gardenia gaped. "That's really Santa, wow! Waait…"
"Ran?" Both Gardenia and Shinichi gasped. The detective-like boy was frozen, and the girl next to him seemed to be in a similar state.
The quieter children were okay with it, since they were used to disappointment. Shigeo couldn't see himself going up there even if he was picked out. How did that choice system work, anyway?
The lucky girl eventually finished her meeting with Santa Claus, rushing back over to Shinichi upon noticing him. A wrapped green present in her arms. "Shinichi!" She practically headbutted him, emitting a cry of pain from the sharp boy. "Where were you? Jerk! You left me all alone!" Ran hissed, holding her present close.
"Merry Christmas, Ran!" Gardenia greeted with a friendly wave, and Ran waved back sweetly before turning back to her best friend.
"I wanted to do some exploring…" Shinichi groaned, rubbing his chin.
"You always do exploring." Ran snorted almost rudely, resulting Gardenia to snicker in the back.
She began to scold him, and how 'partners don't just ditch one another'. Shigeo lost interest in their conversation despite the funny stunts and playful shouts.
Russell stared right at him.
Shigeo stared back, unease beginning to creep on his shoulders. "Y-Yes?"
"You saw him." Russell's voice was firm despite the softness lingering at the ends. "No one else can see him, but you saw him. How?"
The raven haired boy's mind swarmed as he searched for an answer. Who? Who was Russell speaking of? Ghosts can't be seen by normal people and…
"Your brother?" Shigeo inquired, and despite the deep frown that had passed Russell's face; the Japanese boy continued. "I can see ghosts...So…" He wasn't sure how to explain this to a non-esper. Does the other even believe in psychics?
"He's not a ghost." Russell interrupted. "He's-Not." The blond breathed slowly, as if remembering something upsetting.
This left Shigeo confused, but he didn't pry.
Shinichi's cry of outrage reached the skies, startling both boys. "Reindeer can't fly!"
Gardenia grinned. "Looks like you're wrong!"
Shigeo turned his head to watch Santa flying away on his sleigh with reindeer. A slight smile formed on his lips as Santa laughed with a 'Ho ho ho' before disappearing. The esper remained in his stupor, even as Shinichi's rambling became more consistent.
"Okay children! Back to the train! It's time to get you home." Sanji called, rounding up the kids and guiding them to the locomotive. "It's Christmas, so I know getting home is first priority." He cleared his throat. "So let's go! Don't wanna be late, right? Oh, and line up so I can punch your tickets!"
Gardenia grasped both Shigeo and Russell's hands before pulling him up and onto the train after getting their tickets punched.
Shigeo took a seat next to Gardenia as she eagerly chatted with Russell, who only listened to her words. He went over the ticket's advice in his mind as the time passed.
"What did you ask for anyway?" Shinichi grumbled across from them. Shigeo glanced over, noting how close Ran held her gift.
"None of your business." The brunette huffed, and her friend groaned in response. "It's to help me with my training though."
Shinichi stiffened. "Ugh, you're going to become an unstoppable monster…" He shivered to empathize his point.
Ran only laughed in response.
"Hey, Shigeo…" Shigeo glanced over to Gardenia. Her expression lacked her usual smile. "I guess we're going home. I have a feeling we won't be meeting for a while."
His stomach dropped.
"Goodbye isn't forever!" Gardenia quickly corrected, "So, let's make the most of our friendship right now, okay?" She smiled, and Shigeo numbly nodded.
However the damage had been done, and Shigeo was forced to remember how bad he had everything back home. He would be friendless again, because his true friends would be elsewhere and doing their own things. Even as Gardenia began to morph back into her happy self, Shigeo couldn't hear her.
White static had clogged out the bright girl's voice from his mind.
"Hey, Shigeo?" Gardenia gently nudged him.
The esper tiredly turned in his seat. His eyes slowly opened to a familiar gently smiling girl.
"It's your street." She told with her smile, her fingers pointing to houses outside the window.
The boy numbly got up. The conductor was standing by the door, a bored look on his face. Each step was a bit heavier than most. Shigeo heard Gardenia stand from her seat as he continued walking. He didn't trust himself right now to turn to her.
"Merry Christmas, Shigeo. I really hope we meet again." She bid farewell after slapping his back, and a crack spread through mindless static. "It was very fun!" He didn't turn, even as he felt his heart begin to ache.
"Merry Christmas." Shigeo quietly murmured before stepping out of the train and onto the snow. His yard looked the same as before. Everything looked just as he left it.
"Merry Christmas, kid." Sanji seemed to bow as the train began moving again. "And a happy New Year!" The train's whistle resounded before speeding away.
Shigeo caught Gardenia waving enthusiastically from the train window. Russell was with her, watching with his usual iced eyes. Shinichi was giving him a wave through one of the windows as well, although less enthusiastically as a certain pale haired girl. His vision even caught Ran giving him a smile of farewell.
He watched the train disappear before tugging his way back to his house. The young boy wordlessly passed the snow structures in front of the house. They were nothing but a faint memory to him. Even the cold didn't bite his face as it did before.
He went inside, and shut the door.
Silence greeted him, and Shigeo welcomed it.
He made his way back to his room, and checked on his little brother on the way there. Ritsu was still asleep(thankfully) and oblivious to his absence. Shigeo allowed himself to breathe. His little brother really is amazing. He wouldn't be able to sleep in the same position for that long.
The esper dragged himself to his room and threw off his coat in the corner. He would hang it up later. Shigeo laid back in bed, and turned to fall asleep. He was out like a Christmas light in minutes.
"Nii-san? Nii-san wake up." Shigeo didn't want to wait up this time. Let him sleep. The esper made a small noise before turning. "Nii-san!" His eyes shot open at his little brother's pained whine. His heart raced as he noticed his little brother was just holding a present in his arms. Shigeo sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"I found this under the tree. It has your name on it, Nii-san. From, 'Santa'." Ritsu sounded oddly excited, and Shigeo didn't object to the present being placed on his lap. He didn't bother telling Ritsu of his adventure just yet. "Open it. It's finally Christmas, and you deserve the first gift." His angelic brother said with his pure smile, and the older brother did just that. He unwrapped the box with his hands and opened the present.
Inside, was frame. A photo frame with a single photo.
Trapped in the pixels was a photo of Shigeo and his new friends chatting over hot chocolate. Gardenia had chocolate on her upper lip, and balanced an empty cup on her head. Shinichi looked unamused(his mouth opened to scold the playful girl), and Russell seemed indifferent.
The esper himself looked flustered in the frozen shot, but Shigeo couldn't help but think this was fitting.
This is…
His heart fluttered and the last of the static cleared with one clean swoop. The boy's numbness had faded to a dull bittersweet ache, and Shigeo found himself smiling back at the carefully framed picture.
The best gift I could ever ask for.
"Huh? Did you make new friends Nii-san?" Ritsu's curious question smacked the other boy back into reality.
"I did, Ritsu. I did. ...They were nice people."
He wondered if they would remember him, and vice versa. Shigeo definitely will, and the picture will remain in his room as a reminder for the adventure he had.
One thing was for certain.
Shigeo wouldn't ever forget Gardenia's inviting mittens, and how she accepted him right off the bat upon first meeting.
Merry Christmas. He hoped that message had got out to everyone in their respective homes.
Perhaps one day...They'll meet again. The world is odd, but coincidences do happen. Even as a mob, and even as a unique person. He didn't care. If he had to wait years, so be it.
Kageyama Shigeo will be ready for when that time comes. He'll get a better hold on his powers, so he won't hurt (or fear he'll hurt) anyone again. He'll start searching the day after tomorrow. He can do this.
Trust Yourself More.
The esper's ticket faded into dust, it's job finished.
A single hair ribbon, remained attached to the back of his coat pocket. His final gift, left unsaid.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed. This was crossposted, originally on my other account on Archiveofourown, under: TheNightWatcher
Apologies if many characters were out of character.