This story was revised a long time ago in order to make it work for an English class I had. There was one girl who, I do wish I was joking, said that the story was good, but the "weird names" were hard to pronounce and that distracted her from the story. Of course, this is also the girl who claimed canned coffee didn't exist to my roommate who used it in her story.

There are times when I question the educational system...

In any case, please enjoy the revised version and let me know what you think. I apologise if there are typos.

December 24th, 2015 [11:08 p.m.]

The soft crunch of snow under a pair of boots echoed in the otherwise quiet night as Akihiko Sanada made his way through the gentle fall of white flakes. Despite the cold weather, he was dressed in little more than a pair of black gloves, white slacks, black turtle neck, and a white blazer. Draped around his neck, in place his infamous crimson scarf, was one in a pale and creamy off-white; a gift he'd received back in his senior year of high school. His close-cut hair, an unusually pale shade of blond, was darker than usual from all the fallen snow it had absorbed. Raising a black gloved hand, he brushed the offending flakes that hadn't absorbed into the light strands away before returning it to his pocket where he clutched a small package between his fingers.

"It's cold tonight," he murmured softly, taking a moment to pause and glance up toward the sky. "Much colder than last year. Maybe I'll light the fireplace when I get home." Akihiko smiled at the idea as he quickened his pace. He was no longer restricted by the curfew of his high school dorm, but he had yet to fully break the habit of making sure that he was home before the stroke of midnight. Thinking about it, it was a silly habit to have. He wasn't in high school anymore; he was a fully grown man with a steady and well-paying job as a detective at the Iwatodai Police Department. If anything, late hours and being on the street at night should have been normal to him by now. However, tonight, it was especially important that he make it home in time. It was Christmas Eve and he had someone waiting for him.

As he rounded the corner onto the final street that would lead him to his apartment, the soft giggle of a female filled the quiet road and caused Akihiko to pause as he glanced around for its source. His gaze fell on a pair of students from Gekkoukan, his old high school, further down the sidewalk. They were headed in his direction, but had yet to notice his presence. The female, on the right, had both her arms linked around one of the arms of her male companion. The two were far too wrapped up in their conversation to care much for the world around them, forcing Akihiko to step to the side as they passed.

"Satoshi-senpai, can we stop by the mall before we go home? I heard they went all out on the Christmas display this year. I bet it looks beautiful!"

"The mall…?" the male repeated, a thoughtful look crossing his face before he grinned and nodded. "Sure, we could pick up a Christmas Cake on our way home."

"Can we really? Awesome! I can't wait! The one we got last year was—" The couple's voices faded into the distance, Akihiko found his mind slipping away with them as he closed his eyes and allowed memories to dance before the closed lids.

December 24th, 2009 [10:27 p.m.]

"Akihiko! Look over here!" A brunette female said in an excited tone as she tugged on Akihiko's arm, pointing toward the centre of the mall.

"Alright … No need to tug me, Hamuko. I'm coming." Akihiko couldn't help but smile at the other's excitement as Hamuko continued to pull him along. From the first steps they'd taken into the mall almost two hours ago, she'd worked up and almost child-like fascination at all the lights and décor around them. The way it all seemed to make her face light up made a warm feeling bubble up and settle comfortably in his chest.

In the middle of the fountain was a stone pillar that rose almost six feet high. Halfway up its stone body was a bowl that filled with the water which poured from the top, creating a waterfall effect as it rained down into the main pool of the fountain. The underwater lights along the stone floor of the indoor spring had switched out with their standard off-white bulbs for pine green ones. Along the length of the stone sitting edge, golden ribbon had been hung with care to compliment the coloured lights within.

"It's all so beautiful," Hamuko exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Aki, they're selling Christmas Cakes over there!" She pointed to a market stall that had been set up near the music shop. "Aren't they cute?"

Placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder, Akihiko gently steered her toward one of the benches beside the fountain. "We can pick one up to take home in a few minutes if you like, but I have something for you first…"

December 24th, 2015 [11:25 p.m.]

A sudden gust of icy wind cut the memory short as Akihiko shook his head and brushed the sudden onslaught of snowflakes from his face. The corners of his lips quirked upward in a wry smile and he tightened his grip on the item in his pocket. When he had gotten Hamuko to sit down, he had presented her with a wooden jewellery box with the promise that he would have a new gift for her to keep inside it every year. In return, she had given him the hand-made scarf that currently adorned his neck. It had been their first Christmas together as a couple, but it was surprisingly less awkward then he'd expected. It was during the middle of his history class that Akihiko had finally worked up the courage to ask Hamuko out for Christmas Eve and sent her a text message under his desk.

「私とデートしませんか？」

His heart had pounded against his ribcage as he awaited a response, only to have his heart simultaneously explode and stop as his mobile vibrated and presented her response:

「はい、私はしたいのか私に会いたいです。」

Later, he had rushed to her classroom during the lunch break to plan more properly. After the final bell, they dropped off their bags at their dorm and changed out their school uniforms before heading out for the night.

Forcing the thoughts back, Akihiko glanced at his watch, making a small noise of surprise. It was later than he expected, making him sprint down the street, glad that his apartment building was just a few yards ahead. His shoes were left at the door and his coat discarded over a hanger before he carefully removed the scarf from his neck and draped it over a hook. Out of habit, he ran his hand through his hair once more to brush out any snowflakes that had lingered. When he was satisfied, he reached into the front pocket of his jacket and pulled out the small box he'd been clutching earlier and placed it in his pants pocket as he moved into the main part of the house, turning lights on as he went.

As he entered the living room, he glanced toward the top of the fireplace and smiled faintly. Everything was exactly where he'd left it. "I'm home," he called out, knowing it was far too late for him to receive a reply. "Now… a fire and some hot chocolate." He nodded to himself, and slipped into the kitchen, pulling two mugs from their hooks under the cabinet as he passed. The hot chocolate mix was already sitting on the counter; he never saw much point in putting it away during the winter. Beside it on the stove, a kettle waited to be used.

Several minutes later, Akihiko re-entered his living room with two steaming mugs of the sweet drink clutched tightly in his hands. Setting both on the floor beside one another allowed him to reach for a small box of matches near the metallic gate that protected his carpet from stray hot ashes. After three attempts, a soft crackling met his ears and a "ha!" of approval slipped past his lips. The flames were bursting to life much faster than normal, but he couldn't find a reason to complain. His heater was practically broken and he hadn't yet gone out to fix it. A large fire was welcome.

Standing up, he reached for a frame made of dark cherry wood, and carried a picture that, thankfully, did not yet show any signs of age, even after six years. The photo inside was taken when he was in his last year of high school, sitting under a tree of Jugatsuzakura, the pale petals of the flowers standing out against the bright and lively colours of autumn around them. In his lap sat the brunette female from his memory, Hamuko. The girl was young, somewhere in her late teens, with auburn eyes and her chocolate-brown hair tied back. Like Akihiko in the image, the brunette was still in her school uniform; barely a few hours had passed after school that day. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and while both had known the picture was going to be taken, neither bothered to look at the camera. Warm smiles graced both teen's faces, but they had been too focused on each other to realize that a flash had gone off and the moment was recorded in time forever.

"I made us hot chocolate," Akihiko murmured quietly to the picture. "Extra marshmallows in yours. Just the way you like it." Before sitting down, he reached for what had been sitting beside the frame and picked it up. Both were placed on the floor beside the fuller of the two mugs and then joined by Akihiko himself.

December 28h, 2009 [6:43 p.m.]

"I made us hot chocolate!" Hamuko called from the kitchen on the first floor of Gekkoukan's newest co-ed dorm building. Stepping away from the stove, she turned around and approached the island-style table setting with black leather top swivelling barstools where Akihiko sat, spinning himself in a slow circle with a dazed look on his face. The sound of the ceramic mug hitting the wooden service of the table made him jump as he was pulled from his daze. His nose was met with the sweet smell of whipped-cream and chocolate, the scent making a smile of gratitude slip onto his face.

"Thank you," he said, raising his mug in a faint toast to Hamuko. "Smells awesome. I didn't know we still had cocoa mix."

"We don't," Hamuko replied with a shrug, plopping down on the stool beside Akihiko. "Shinjiro-senpai taught me how to make the mix from scratch. I thought I'd try it out—especially since it's so cold today."

Sipping absently at his drink, Akihiko's gaze fell on the cup in front of Hamuko and quirked an eyebrow. Floating on the surface of the chocolate drink was what he could only describe as a small mountain. A pile of whip-cream with a handful of marshmallows was slowly melting into the hot liquid. "Like it sweet, hm?"

"Of course!" Hamuko grinned, licking a large glob from the pile of white goop. "I'm a girl, I gotta have my fix of sugar or I'll go all crazy-like."

"I'm not sure the sugar is doing its job..."

"You're mean!" Hamuko pouted as she flicked one of her marshmallows from her mug at Akihiko, grinning in pleasure as the soft treat bounced off his forehead.

December 24th, 2015 [11:40 p.m.]

A small smile had formed on Akihiko's lips as he sat down, but even as his voice started to waver from the memory, it stayed firmly in place. "I'm sorry I'm late. Work ran later than expected, and I still had to pick up your gift. I have something… different this year." Akihiko reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, holding it in front of the frame as if the people pictured inside might suddenly move and turn to examine it. "Mitsuru and the others keep telling me it's pointless to waste my money on things like this, but I don't care. I promised to get you something new to put in here every year. I've never broken a promise to you before and I don't plan to start. You never broke the ones you made to me."

With a soft chuckle, he opened the box and held it out, watching as the simple, but elegant rose quartz ring sparkled dully in the firelight. "You always seemed to like red and pink; it's rose quartz. The woman at the store told me it symbolizes unconditional love; I thought it would be perfect." He paused, inhaling sharply as he forced himself to continue. "I… I should be giving this to you on one knee. I bet you'd be ready to smack me if I did, though. Then you'd call me an idiot for telling you not to cry, but in the end… you'd say yes, right? We talked about it once before when we were in the lobby together. The day you asked me what I saw when I thought about the future." Another breath, sharper this time. "I never expected you to say that you saw me."

"What do you see when you look into the future, Akihiko?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, after you graduate."

"Um... I guess I'll go to university."

"That's not what I meant, Aki. What will you be doing? Where do you want to be? Where will you be?"

"Why are you so eager to know about mine?"

"Just curious."

"Well, what about you? You seem pretty sure of things."

"Of course, I know exactly what's in my future."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"You."

Blinking back the stinging sensation that had suddenly formed in his eyes, Akihiko dragged his sleeve across them quickly and reached for the larger box he'd retrieved from the shelf and opened it. The gentle chime of music filled the room as different coloured glimmers of light reflected off the ceiling as the fire's light poured down on the contents of the box, nine other pieces of jewellery, glimmering brightly as if they were brand new. The ring, still nestled in its box, joined the other pieces with the gentlest care Akihiko's fingers could provide. The box was shut again and the music stopped.

"I never did get to answer you," he suddenly spoke, trying to ignore it as the sting returned. "You asked me what I saw, but we were interrupted." He reached for his hot chocolate and took a sip in an attempt to calm himself, but the drink tasted bitter against his tongue. "I saw the same thing I still see now, even if it's foolish." A sniff was followed by a soft plop, as a droplet of water hit the frame. "It was you; always you... I saw you and me together. We were happy. We were... always supposed to be happy. But..."

The words were left unfinished as Akihiko sighed; he didn't want to think about the incident that had taken place just after graduation. He didn't want to remember the police knocking on his dorm and asking him a rush of questions he didn't know the answer to or the confusion that followed. The thought of Yukari's tear-stained face telling him that Hamuko hadn't been seen nor heard from since the ceremony four days prior, when she was supposed to be visiting her aunt in another city, was something he felt was better left forgotten. How many days had he spent in silence, staring at his mobile, wishing, pleading, and begging with any deity he could remember the name of to make the her number appear on the screen. It all hurt too much.

"Ahaha, I guess I need to dust again, huh?" Akihiko chuckled weakly, using his sleeve as a makeshift napkin. "Today should be happy…" he trailed off, listening to the loud, echoing chime of the town's clock struck midnight. His eyes closed briefly with a gentle smile took their place as he opened them again. Gray eyes shifted from the fire to the photo, and the smile brightened. "Mitsuru and the others finally convinced me to come to New Year's celebration this year. They said I needed at least one day out of the year having fun instead of 'emo-ing' as Junpei put it. I'm not sure I had much of a choice in the matter, though... Junpei threatened to come break the door down. Sometimes I wonder if he realises he's threatening a detective. Maybe I should threaten to arrest him once. That'd give him a good scare, huh?"

Picking the frame up, Akihiko touched a finger to his lips before lightly touching the top of the brunette female's head. The next time he spoke, his voice was stronger.

"Merry Christmas, Hamuko…"

Translations (apologies if this is wrong. I haven't used Japanese in nearly two years.)

Akihiko: "Would you go on a date with me?"
Hamuko: "Yes, I'd love to!"