Hello! this is the last story, although it was the first one I wrote for the Binan Advent Calendar, it's pretty long and I'm actually surprised to know that some people read it, anyways if you read it thanks!

Secret Santa

It is Christmas time, and the guys from the Defense Club and the Student's Council have agreed to have a small gathering on December 24th, so after that they can go with their families. However, it is not going to be a simple meeting, since Yumoto requested to do a special activity, "Secret Santa". According to Yumoto, that will show how closed they are to each other.

Therefore, that afternoon, December 21st, they get together at the Kurotama Hot Springs. Io and Ryuu arrive together, Akoya arrives on his limousine and Kinshiro, Ibusi, Atsushi and En arrive all together, a little late since En was not ready on time.

Yumoto does not mind about their lateness and gets really excited once all of them are together. The blond takes out a bowl with tiny papers and the rest look at him.

"Everyone has to take a paper!" Yumoto says almost screaming because of his excitement "Just make sure that the name on it, it's not your name, got it?"

The guys from the Defense Club are more than used to Yumoto's ideas, so they have a little exchange in their looks, but finally agree to take a paper, they already know they can say no to his junior. The first one to go and choose it's Atsushi.

"So, Atsushi, is it ok? You don't have your name on it, right?"

"No, it's ok Yumoto, I have a complete different name, En, your turn" Atsushi indicates, and the older gets closer to Yumoto.

"I hope to have Atsushi's name, that way it's gonna be easy to choose a gift" En says and Atsushi just giggles.

"So, is it gonna be easy?" Yumoto asks once En has the paper on his hands.

"Kind of… I guess" En replies in a monotonous way, everyone knows something for sure, En does not have to give a present to Atsushi "Your turn Ryuu."

"Please, please, don't make me give something to that guy" Ryuu murmurs before getting closed to Yumoto and looks at all the papers left, begging to any god to have mercy and some good luck "Io, you're next!"

Probably, no god has mercy for Ryuu.

"This is really interesting" Io exclaims once he has his paper, most of the people over there deduce another fact, he does not have to think about given a present to Ryuu since he wouldn't have called that option "interesting" it would have been something like easy or nice, anything but interesting.

"President Kinshiro you are next! I'll be the last one!" Yumoto exclaims when all the members from the Student's Council seem like they are going to stay there and patiently wait.

Kinshiro walks slowly, he knows he has accepted to make an effort to show that both parties can get along, but he is internally praying to avoid giving something to that guy. He slowly breathes and takes out the paper, now he hopes that he could have been able to hide his face of disgust.

"Akoya, come, come, you are next!" Yumoto calls out ignoring Kinshiro's face and waving his hands as if Akoya was not able to look him.

"Fine! Just stopped being so cheerful for something so simple, it takes away all the beauty away from this simple activity" Akoya exclaims and takes a paper; he sighs in relief because his paper has an acceptable name written on it.

"Now, now, Ibushi, your turn, come, come!" Yumoto jumps since there are only two papers left and he is eager to see which name is on his own paper.

"Sure, just one moment!" Ibushi says while walking towards Yumoto, he takes the paper and check on it, the name on it is a good one, maybe he can help Kinshiro out.

"Now it's my turn!" Yumoto grabs the last paper, check the name and widely smile "Is everyone fine with their result?" the youngest asks innocently, he doesn't know that some of them might not accept the fact that is quite uncomfortable to think about a present for the person they have.

"It's fine Yumoto, at least everyone made sure they don't have their names on it, so with just that is enough" Atsushi states and all of them try to nods.

"Ok! So remember the rules, you can't say anything to anyone else, the person you have has to remain secret until December 24th, the present can be handmade or you can buy it, and you have to really, really give something the other person likes, and you cannot put any type of label or name on the present, ok?"

"Yes!" an unison reply is given and the youngest smiles and he gets even more excited once he gets to spot Wombat and goes after him to cuddle him.

The others take that as a sign for them to leave. Probably, that also means that it's a good time to start thinking about what to give. Io and Ryuu decide to go together to the mall, En and Atsushi decides to take a walk around the city and the Student's Council leaves to go to Ibushi's place so they can have their traditional tea time.

"I must say I admire your effort to make the group even more closed, but please stop cuddling me!" Wombat exclaims trying to get rid of Yumoto's hold.

"I know, and you say I could cuddle you all the time I wanted because of this great idea, now stop complaining and let me cuddle you!"

Needless to say; there was no escape for Wombat.

December 22nd, 2:30 p.m.

Io and Ryuu are walking around the mall, the pink haired seems so aggravated that Io is considering to ask him what's obvious. Io already knows who Ryuu's Secrete Santa is, but he also knows he has to respect the rules. So, he decides to wait until Ryuu asks him for some help or until Ryuu just breaks down in tears of despair.

"Io, let's change papers, I'm sure you don't have my name and I don't have yours, so there's no problem if we exchange papers" so Ryuu's breaking down was faster than expected.

"You heard Yumoto's rules, we cannot reveal the name we have" Io replies, it's hard for him to give him that answer, but he actually does not want to give a present to Akoya, it would be harder to think about a present for Akoya and Io is not good at reading people's likes, other than Ryuu's that's it.

"But Io! You know Akoya hates me!" Ryuu covers his mouth as soon as he says the name.

"You just disrespected one of Yumoto's rules, and it was too obvious you have to give a present to Akoya."

"Crap… at least… help me, ok? I'll do my best to try to think of something that guy might like, but if I get too lost, please, please help me" Ryuu takes Io's arm and begs him with puppies eyes.

"Fine, fine, I'll help you, so… since we are best friends and we keep our secrets, I tell you my secret santa, it's Kinshiro" Io says smiling, he knows he was lucky in this case, for him it's easy to find the perfect present for the president.

Ryuu sighs defeated; Io won't change Kinshiro, since a perfect gift for him can be the cheapest book on a store or just a some kind of tiny but expensive detail, that's why he was so determined to keep him as his Secret Santa. They walk around the mall for a while, not having success in their first try of shopping their Secret Santa present.

They agree to see each other tomorrow to try to visit some other stores, and after that, they leave each other, Ryuu rushes to get on time to his date and Io walks to his home to go back to his business.

December 22nd, 3: 15 p.m.

En and Atsushi walk down the street of their town, En has been uncomfortable for a long while, but Atsushi is not sure why. Atsushi knows that En is happy with the name he has since he didn't make a fuss when he took it. They walk in front of a manju store and En sighs, definitely, something is wrong since he is not running to buy some manju.

"En, what's wrong?" Atsushi asks looking at his best friend.

"I think this would be my last Christmas" En states looking as he really means what he says.

"What are you talking about it?! Are you sick? Is there something wrong?" Atsushi questions alarmed waiting for En's reply.

"I'm sure Kinshiro has me as his Secret Santa… he would kill me… I'm sure!"

Atsushi stares at En in disbelief; this better is one of En's jokes.

"Seriously?" the bespectacled teen exclaims.

"Didn't you see his face?"

"En… can you at least give him a chance? I know he is a little rude with you sometimes, but it's Christmas and you have to have a little faith on Kinshiro, ok?" Atsushi says, he knows En has his reasons, but he also knows that the older has to try to be more confident of the president.

For a moment, En hesitates, he really feels his life could be in danger, but he can't say no to Atsushi.

"Fine! Let's go and look for a present for Yumoto" the dirty blonde says.

"En! It was supposed to be a secret!" Atsushi complains.

"Yeah, but I know that I would have come for your help at the last moment if I didn't tell you now, so it's better now, who's your secret santa?" En asks as if nothing has happened.

"I'm not telling you!" Atsushi says trying to sound angry.

"Is it one of us? Or is it from the Student's Council?" En keeps asking, even if his face does not show any excitement; Atsushi knows that En is completely eager for this activity.

"It's Io right?" En says once he has caught Atsushi looking at some tablets cases.

"En! Please stop it!"

"I got it, right?"

"Yes, you got it, are you happy now?" Atsushi says pouting he really wanted to keep the name as a secret.

"Yeah, I bet I can decipher all this Secret Santa before the 24th" En exclaims with a confident grin.

"If you do that, I'll cook you all the curry you want for a year," Atsushi proposes, he will find a way that En cannot guess everyone Secret Santa.

"Deal" they shake hands and keep walking around the city for their presents.

December 22nd, 4: 20 p.m.

The three members from the Student's Council had already had their traditional afternoon tea, and they seem to be lost at words since they just stay there in silence. Until the moment, that Ibushi feels that the silence has been enough and they need to talk.

"Kinshiro, if you need to change your Secret Santa I can help you with that" says the green haired boy.

"We all know you don't want to give a present to that Yufuin guy" Akoya follows Ibushi, after all he was the only one distress with the situation, "I guess you would love to give a present to my Secret Santa, after all I have Atsushi."

"That's even a better option than mine, so what do you say Kinshiro?" Ibushi asks to the president.

At that moment, Kinshiro's eyes light up, if Akoya has Atsushi and if he can change the paper that would make this activity a lot better. Nevertheless, he knows that if he does that it wouldn't be fair, not for the group or the purpose of the activity.

"I appreciate your help, however even if I don't feel comfortable given a present to that guy I will not change my Secret Santa" the president states.

Ibushi and Akoya exchange a look for a moment and then they smile at each other, they should have known better that even if this is a whole challenge for Kinshiro he would not back down.

"And just so you know, you disrespected one rule, well Arima has not disrespected it yet, but still you did" Kinshiro complains just to avoid getting more attention from this issue.

"That is true Arima; we still don't know who your Secret Santa is" Akoya says looking at Arima.

"It's Ryuu" the taller boy exclaims and shows the paper.

Immediately, Akoya frowns at the name and Kinshiro grunts in disapproval, they were not supposed to do this. Kinshiro clears his throat as trying to stop this childish moment between the members of the Student's Council.

"As I said, we should not have disrespected the rules" the silver haired boy states; and Akoya and Ibushi look at him.

"It's funny to share a secret, it's what friends do" Ibushi says smiling.

"It's true!"

Being at a lost of words, Kinshiro just stares as his partners.

"Hey! I have an idea; let's go to Tokyo to buy the gifts!" Ibushi proposes.

"That sounds like a nice idea, in that way I can also do part of my Christmas shopping for myself" Akoya replies and looks even happier than expected.

"It is fine with me, when?"

"Tomorrow, the sooner the better, I can request one of my drivers to take us so we don't have to think about a hotel at this time of the year," Ibushi says and all of them agree.

After some chatting and getting into the details for their trip, Akoya and Kinshiro leave Ibushi's place and go to their respective homes.

December 22nd, 8:00a.m.

The three members of the Student's Council are gathered and are ready for their trip to Tokyo. They don't really know what to expect of the day, but for the first time that's actually a good feeling, they are not stressing over paper work or about being serious and correct and following the rules. It's actually the first time that they are going out as a group of friends to enjoy a shopping day.

"I want to visti as many malls as possible, it's been a while since I visited Tokyo, we were so busy at school that there was no free time for trips" Akoya states and looks excited through the window.

"It's true, it's time for us to relax, don't you agree, Kinshiro?" Ibushi questions to the president.

"Indeed" it's the simple reply that Kinshiro offers, after all, he is still getting used to the idea of having the chance to share his emotions with his friends.

"So, president, have you thought about what to give to Yufuin?" Akoya questions.

That questions gets to freeze the environment for a brief moment. Although Kinshiro has accepted his Secret Santa, he didn't dedicate any time to think about a present for Yufuin. When Ibushi reads Kinshiro's face he decides to speak and try to calm down the tension.

"It's not a problem if you haven't thought about something, I am in a complete chaos as well; giving a present to Ryuu is not as easy as I thought" the green haired boy says giggling.

"Really?! That guy will accept any kind of present… well at least I think, anyways… ah… I guess… you know, we can help each other… since we already broke the rule," Akoya says twirling his hair.

"I agree; we can all help each other. Kinshiro knows Atsushi really well and can help Akoya. It might be possible that Akoya can help me out with Ryuu; and we both are gonna help you to find a present for Yufuin," Ibushi is the one to create what seems as the perfect plan of cooperation between them, and the other two agree.

They keep on talking for the rest of the trip, not just about the Secret Santa, but about who they think is going to give them a present. Trying to figure out a Secret Santa before it happens it's actually the funniest part of the game.

December 22nd, 11:30 a.m.

Ryuu is running late, as usual, so he knows that Io will wait for him no matter what. Nonetheless, this time he feels a bad, he does not have a good excuse for his 30 minutes lateness; he just overslept because he stood late texting to some girls.

"Io! I'm so sorry!" he says as soon as he's in front of his friend.

"I guess there's a story behind this" Io replies smirking, sometimes Ryuu' stories were very interesting.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but not this time… I woke up late, that's all" Ryuu answer sheepishly smiling.

"Well, I didn't expected that, anyways, let's go" Io says and walks slowly so Ryuu can recover his breath.

As usual, they talk about their daily routines, Ryuu's dates and Io's business, most of the times they don't understand the other's problems, but they listen to each other. They have gotten to understand the passion they have for what they love and that's why their friendship is so strong. Even though, they would have love to just keep talking and going around with the usual stuff, they know they have to buy at least one of the presents today, otherwise it would be harder to leave everything for the last moment.

"We should start with Kinshiro, I think he is the easiest one" Ryuu states once he realizes that it doesn't matter how many stores he visits, he won't be able to find something for Akoya so easily.

"Maybe you are right, we can go to a bookstore or maybe something he can wear it will be a nice present," Io says and Ryuu nods.

They moved to one of the biggest bookstore at the mall, none of them was sure of what kind of literature might be Kinshiro's favorite, but they knew that they could find something. They search through the historical books, the most mainstream ones, the books that talk about traditional arts, and so on. At the end, Io decides that a book about a historical review of the traditional Japanese archery, kyudo, will fit perfectly fine with Kinshiro. However, and even if it was weird for someone like Io he wanted to add something more.

"Man, at least you already have something, I'm still lost" Ryuu says while pouting.

Io pats Ryuu's back and smiles at him, and that comforts a little the pink haired. They keep going around, but at the end, they decide that is better if they go to another mall or at least to a different place since they have walked around every single hall for the third time in a row and nothing has inspired them yet.

December 22nd, 2:00 pm.

Atsushi knew pretty well, En wouldn't be awake before noon, but he never imagined that specifically today the blue eyed boy would decide to sleep until 1:00 p.m. For a moment, Atsushi thought that at least En would have been ready, but he was actually just getting up.

"En… you promised me you would be ready!" Atsushi claims, he lets out his disappointment with no fear this time.

"I'm sorry… I didn't go to bed early and when it's cold I like to sleep even more" En replies yawning and getting up from his futon.

"You didn't go to bed early? Why?" now the bespectacled boy asks curious.

"I stood up thinking about what to give to Yumoto and also…" En takes out a notebook and shows a specific page to Atsushi, "I think I've solved the Secret Santa, look!"

"I don't want to look at it!" Atsushi complains and covers his eyes.

"Ok, I'll say it out loud, we already know our secret santa's and I'm sure I'm Kinshiro' secret santa, so after that, I'm quite sure Ryuu has Akoya he was also disappointed when he got his paper. I got that around nine, then I believe that Io does not have to give his present to any of us since he said "interesting," we are no longer interesting to him since…

"En!" Atsushi calls him "Let's go to try to buy our presents and then you can tell me all your deductions, ok?"

En knows when Atsushi is getting a little bit angry, so he nods and goes to take a quick shower. After some minutes, he goes downstairs, where Atsushi is already waiting for him. En grabs some crackers as his breakfast, and has thought about buying something more on the road. It's better to prevent any kind of argument, so once they are on their way En quickly stops and buy some manju and then both keep walking to the town.

"So, have you thought about what to give to Io?" En asks, since he notice that Atsushi's anger has already gone.

"Well, I thought about the tablet case, and I also saw a nice sweater yesterday, he might like that, or probably a book; although I'm not sure," Atsushi sheepishly says while scratching his cheek.

"That sounds like a nice gift" the taller expresses "I've been thinking about what to give to Yumoto, he might be an easy option for a present, but… I don't want to give him just "something", you know?"

Atsushi nods and smiles, he knows that En cares a lot about all of them, even if he does not show it regularly. Taking advantage that Atsushi was already sure of his decision, thanks to En's approval, they go and buy that one first, and then keep on walking. As En says, the bad thing about given a present to Yumoto is that is mandatory to visit some childish stores and it's kind of uncomfortable for them. They decide that is better if they prepared better for the next day, and so they go back home.

December 22nd, 3:30pm, Kurotama's Hot Springs.

"Yumoto, shouldn't you look for a present for Ibushi?" Wombat asks to the young boy who is cleaning the baths.

"I already have my present!" Yumoto happily replies.

"But you haven't gone anywhere since yesterday!" Wombat exclaims alarm since he has the feeling that Yumoto won't accomplish the task.

"It's ok, it's ok, believe me, I already have something for Ibushi!"

A wild smile crosses Yumoto's face and Wombat has no other option than to trust the younger member from the Battle Lovers. At least, it was a peaceful afternoon for both of them. Yumoto is so focused on having the perfect environment for the meeting day that he hasn't even cuddled Wombat during the whole day, and Wombat is more than happy with that.

"Yumoto, when you finish come and eat something, it's not healthy if you keep on going like that" Gora enters to the baths and requests that to his younger brother.

"Sure brother, I'll be there in a minute!" the blond responds and puts the broom away "Come on Wombat, you also have to eat something" Yumoto takes Wombat into his arms.

At the beginning, Wombat is afraid of being cuddled to dead, but it seems like Yumoto is so distracted by all the preparations that he is not paying attention to the normal stuff. Well, nothing to complain, that works perfectly fine for Wombat.

December 22nd, 8:35p.m.

"It was a nice shopping day, but it's a shame that I have to request for a special shipping for half of my shopping" Akoya expresses, without a doubt he was the one who enjoyed their day the most.

"Yeah, it was a nice day, at least all of us got to get the present for our Secret Santa" Ibushi says "Even Kinshiro got to decide and it wasn't as hard as we expected it to be."

Kinshiro blushes a little, he is actually happy with the result, but he knows that it wouldn't have been possible without Ibushi and Akoya staying by his side.

"It wasn't that hard… thanks to both of you" he says and blushes a bit more "I just hope that Yufuin likes it"

Kinshiro wishes his voice didn't sound so desperate, but he knows it did. To be honest, he is really trying to get along with Yufuin, but most of his feelings do not cooperate.

"I'm sure he will," Arima says trying to comfort the president and also to bring him back from his thoughts.

"I know all of them will like our presents, I mean our presents are beautiful and all of them are according to their personalities" the youngest of the group exclaims and flips his hair gracefully.

Kinshiro smiles, a genuine and sincere smile, he is happy they have gone together and everything has gone well. At least now he can be in ease until the 24th, probably given the present is the hardest part.

December 23rd, 10:00am.

This time Ryuu is on time and greets Io happily, he thinks he has found the solution to his problem. Io looks curiously at his friend who seems like he has found the answer to all the greatest problems on Earth.

"I know the answer! I'm gonna buy him the first thing I get to see that resembles to him!" Ryuu happily exclaims and he looks completely decided to take that plan into action.

"Are you sure that is the best option?" Io questions a little worried that Ryuu just stopped thinking.

"Yes! That's what I'm gonna do, so let's go"

For some reason, Io has a bad feeling for this shopping day. They start their day on a commercial street, many stores for antiquities and some other interesting stuff. Along the road, Io finds something else, one old and fancy kyudo bow that seems to have some interesting history behind of it. Since the price seems to be quiet affordable, Io decides that's a good acquisition and with that he's done with his secret santa. Some moments later, Ryuu screams, he has found something, but Io feels it's not appropriate.

"Are you really sure you want to buy that for Akoya?"

"Just look at it! It totally reflects Akoya on it!" Ryuu replies he does not want to change his mind.

"Guess I cannot change your mind, but at least, please try to add something more" Io says as he accepts defeat.

"Sure man!" Ryuu replies and goes to pay for what he thinks is the perfect gift.

December 23rd, 1:35 p.m.

Today there was no problem on getting En out of bed, today the problem was to feed En before leaving the house. Atsushi sometimes wonder what kind of incredible force is the one in charge of giving him so much patience, but he is thankful to that force. Otherwise, he knows he will have many headaches every day.

"So, have you decide what to give?" Atsushi asks once they are on their way.

"Well, I thought about a puppy, but I asked Gora and he said that it wouldn't be a good idea, and because of that I deduced that Wombat survives Yumoto cuddles because he is an alien, so a normal pet is out of the list" En exclaims.

"What about a plushie? That's something he can cuddle and… it won't be in danger" Atsushi proposes.

"I guess it has to be that…" En replies and his attentions gets caught by a store full of plushies "Well, I guess that's the store I need in this moment"

"You don't seem pretty convinced" Atsushi comments and En shrugged and walks to the store.

The good thing, after that last visit all the gifts are ready and all the members from the Defense Club and Conquest Club.

December 24th, 4: 35 p.m.

Io and Ryuu are walking together to get to the Kurotama Hot Springs, both are carrying their presents, but the pink haired looks worried. Ryuu looks down at the bag he is carrying, then he sighs, what Io feared became real, Ryuu is having doubst about his present.

"That's why I asked you if you were completely sure" Io suddenly comments.

"Yeah, yeah, and I know you are always right… he's sure gonna kill me"

"Let's hope he has forgotten his ring so he attacks you with his normal strength," Io jokingly says, but Ryuu gets scarier.

"Man, he punched down that guy from the journalist club… he's gonna do the same to me"

"No, he's not, now keep walking, I was just teasing you" Io says as he regrets having said that comment.

December 24th, 4:45 p.m.

The Student Council is ready to go to their special meeting with the Defense Club members. All of them get on the vehicle that Ibushi took charge of arranging, and get on the way for Kurotama Hot Springs.

Akoya is very excited although he wants to show the opposite, but he actually wants to know his secret santa and he wants to have his gift now. Ibushi is somewhat anxious too, but being the calm one from the student council, he just lets himself enjoy the ride and waits for his destination. And lastly, Kinshiro just looks nervously to the box his carries on his lap, he knows it's something that Yufuin would like, but even though he cannot avoid feeling nervous, especially about the time to give the present.

"It seems we have arrived, Kinshiro, are you ok?" Ibushi asks the president.

"Of course I'm alright, let's go" Kinshiro replies and gets off the vehicle as fast as he can.

"Well, if he said so, let's go, I'm sure all of them are there" Akoya says and follows the president.

Ibushi sighs, he knows his friends too well, but he does not have the right to judge them right now. Before he gets off, he gives the instruction to the driver for the moment that they will need to be picked up and goes to catch up with his friends.

December 24th, 4:50pm.

Yumoto is happy, Io, Ryuu, Kinshiro, Akoya and Ibushi have already arrived. He takes them to the room that he has especially arranged for today's meeting. The whole room has balloons of all the colors that represent them. There is also a nice lettering with the phrase "Merry Christmas" on it and of course the table is full of food that Gora and Yumoto prepared together.

"Atsushi sent me a text some minutes ago, they are running late, so I told him there was no problem and that we will wait for them," Yumoto tells to all the guys.

"Well, that was kind of obvious," Ryuu says "Should we put our presents somewhere?"

"Yes! I have this huge basket for that" Yumoto says pointing to the big basket and all of them place their presents there.

December 24th, 5:15p.m.

"I can't believe you haven't wrapped the present," Atsushi complains walking as fast as he can while dragging En along with him.

"I didn't think it was necessary, what's the point of wrapping something if the person would unwrapping it?" En replies and Atsushi stays silence, he didn't think En would have that type of reply.

"It doesn't matter, now hurry up!" Atsushi snaps at En and both starts running to get to the Kurotama Hot Springs.

"By the way, you didn't let me finish my theory about the Secret Santa," En comments and starts once more with his theory of who gives who.

When they are almost at Kurotama, En has already finished his theory and Atsushi is terribly afraid that he might be completely right. The bespectacled boy looks sternly at En, he is so angry at this moment, but he knows that even if he wants to stay mad, he will not be able to. En has this kind of charm that even if he did something terrible wrong, Atsushi could not stay mad at him no longer than five minutes.

"You know, if you are right, fine I'll cook curry for you for a whole year, but I won't let you be part of any secret santa ever again!" Atsushi states strictly pointing at En.

"You know it's not true, you will leave me and again I will guess all the game before the "delivery" part" En smirks and goes passed Atsushi to get in, Atsushi sighs, and he knows En is right.

Now that all of them are in the Kurotoma Hot Spring the party can actually begin.

December 24th, 5:25p.m.

"We are sorry for the delay," Atsushi says when they finally get to see the others.

"Yo, good evening!"

"Yei! Now we can begin! Let's go to take a bath first!" Yumoto proposes and all the boys agree.

They could not have a meeting if they didn't go first to have a bath, it is their tradition and now the Conquest Club has become also part of the tradition. During their time in the bath, the younger does not allow them to talk about their present or how hard it was for them to het the present. So, in order to avoid talking about that, Yumoto asks them to talk about how they celebrate Christmas.

Ryuu says that when he was younger he used to go with his grandma to skate, they used to visit any place to go and enjoy the evening, at the end of the night they would go back home and have dinner together and then give a present to each other. In Io's case, he had a family dinner, he said it was something simple every year, but of course, they enjoy a lot. Then, Atsushi as well mentions that his family also had a family dinner, but sometimes it was a business dinner, so it was not so funny or entertained; at that Kinshiro nods in agreement, he also has been there and the way Atsushi celebrates Christmas is practically the same as he does. The two left member of the Student's Council share their experiences, both of them talking about business and luxurious dinners and their families travelling all the time, so sometimes it was not possible to celebrate all together. Then, one of the weirdest tradition is the one told by En, he says his parents look for really uncommon ways to celebrate Christmas around the world and chose one every year to celebrate it like that, this year it's the year for a Nordic tradition, but he does not remember which one. Finally, Yumoto says that ever since he can remember, he has celebrated Christmas with his big brother and even if they are only two they have enjoyed all their Christmas together.

After all that chatting, they move to the dining room, where Gora has already served a beautiful and well-prepared dinner. Honestly, they would have never imagined that Yumoto's big brother could do something like what they are seeing in this moment. They sit all together, with Gora and enjoy their dinner in the middle of more chatting and laughing.

Finally, the big moment arrive, the time to find out who is the secret Santa for everyone. No one is sure on how they will decide the order, the only one who seems to be ready to go is Yumoto, but does not say a word. So as usual, when no one takes the lead, En takes the word and organize how they will proceed.

"So Yumoto, you can give your present first, then the person to who you give will proceed then to give their gift and so on, does it make sense?" En asks when he realizes of how confusing his words were.

"Yes," all of them reply and En gets surprised that he was actually clear.

Yumoto takes his present from the basket, but before he gives it he runs to the garden "I forgot something!" he exclaims and then his footsteps can be heard when he is coming back. He takes the box and on top of it he places a vessel with some poppies.

"Ibushi! I am your Secret Santa, I hope you like my gift!" Yumoto says smiling and gives both, the box and the flowers to Ibushi.

"The flowers are beautiful and I'm sure they will add a wonderful touch to my garden, can I see the rest?" Ibushi asks and Yumoto nods, inside he finds a very particular tea set.

"That's a very, very, very old tea set, I thought you will like to have it" Yumoto explains when he sees the confusion that Ibushi is having, not because he does not want it, but because he actually knows that's a pretty expensive set of tea.

"Thank you so very much, it's a lovely present," Ibushi carefully places the gift right next to his spot and goes to pick up the present he has to give.

His actions are pretty natural, he is used to give, but not to be given, so maybe that was also part of his confusion a while ago. Ibushi walks then towards Ryuu and gives him the present.

"Thanks man!" Ryuu says before destroying the beautiful wrapping that Ibushi did, discovering a snowboard skate and a new pink cellphone case "Oh this is simply awesome, thank you so much Ibushi!"

"I am glad you like it" the green haired boy says and returns to his seat.

Now, it's Ryuu's turn, so after having such a beautiful moment, he now fears for what is going to happen to him. He walks to the basket and looks for his gift. Dear lord, he knows he is taking a lot of time, but he does not want to be the next one, and he knows En will call him a "drama queen" if he gets to complain. Well, time to accept his mistakes as the man he is.

He walks towards Akoya, the whole room gets silent, and the only one who observes with excitement is Yumoto. Ryuu extends his arms and mumbles a couple of words.

"I beg your pardon, I could not listen to your mumble," Akoya expresses before taking the gift.

"I'm your secrete Santa, please don't kill me… I just thought it looks like you"

Io just wants to grab Ryuu's hand and save him before Akoya's wrath can be unleash and just by that expression Atsushi and En face palm themselves, they don't want to know what's inside of the box. Slowly, Akoya carefully unwraps the box and then he calmy open the box and the content gets to be seen.

Inside the box, there's a porcelain doll with light pink and fluffy hair, the doll's eyes are blue. Also, she has a beautiful white dress adorned by laces many layers. The doll also has a tiny white hat and a pearls necklace. Being honest, it is one of the most beautiful dolls the guys have ever seen, but they are all waiting in awe to see Akoya's final reaction.

After what feels like forever, there's a reaction, Ibushi and Kinshiro knows Akoya is happy, since he gets to show a smile, but it was so quick that it was not visible for all the other people there. There's one more pause and Akoya stands up, Ryuu moves back, but nothing serious happens. On the contrary, Akoya extends his hand and offers it to Ryuu.

"Guess you did not mess up this time, thank you," the blue eyed says and Ryuu accepts the offered hand.

"Welcome man, there's also a mirror as a part of the gift..." Ryuu says, a small blush covering his face, he bought the mirror as a last minute option to prevent being smashed by Akoya.

Akoya simply nods and then moves to the basket. The present he brought was the one with the most flamboyant wrapped. He moves elegantly to where Atsushi is sitting and smiles.

"Merry Christmas! I hope you like it."

"Thank you, Akoya" the bespectacled boy replies and opens the box, there he finds five books, five books that belongs to his favorite collection and of course favorite author, "Oh geez, this is the greatest gift I could have ever received, thank you so much Akoya!"

"You are most than welcome," the pink haired says and takes a sit again.

Now it's Atsushi turns, as all the others have done, he goes to the basket, picks up his gift and goes to where Io is sitting. He kindly smiles and gives the bag to Io.

"Merry Christmas, Io!"

"Thanks!" Io replies and takes out the contents from the bag, one grey sweater with yellow details and a book by Jeremy Rifkin, one of Io's role models, Io smiles and thanks to Atsushi once more before going on and picking up his gift.

Once more they look surprise, Io was in charge of picking up the present for the president, that was something that most of them did not imagine. When Io gets in front of Kinshiro he simply gives the box to Kinshiro.

"Hope you like it," Io expresses and before Kinshiro opens the gift he returns to his seat.

The president does not like to be the point of attention, not in this kind of situation, so he tries his best to open the gift as quickly as he can, but being careful. Besides he knows once he is done seeing his present it'll be his turn, so it's better if he takes a few moments. Kinshiro has unwrapped the box and takes out what's inside, a nice book, he did not have, about kyudo and what he thinks it is the most bizarre, but unique kyudo bow he has ever seen.

"I really appreciate your gift, Io," Kinshiro says and bows to Io.

Now, if there would not be any noise in the room, two heart beats could be perfectly heard, but since there's a lot of chatting there's no way that those heart beats can reach someone else's ear, but their owners. Kinshiro picks up his present for the box, En tries to make a casual conversation with Atsushi, but immediately gets declined by the bespectacled boy. There's not a lot to do, they know that Atsushi will be observing their behavior and if they really want to prove that they are really trying to get along, they have to overcome this.

"Yufuin, this is for you," the monotone tone from Kinshiro is a bit kinder than usual to En, so the older tries as soon as he can react to take the present and smiles.

"Thank you, president!" En replies and he knows he has to open the gift even if he is a bit afraid of what it can have.

Before Kinshiro goes back to his seat, Atsushi smiles to him and nods as if telling him he did perfectly fine, Kinshiro smiles to Atsushi and goes back with Ibushi and Akoya. In the meantime, En is taking forever to open his gift, his excuse, he does not want to destroy such a perfect wrapping, Atsushi just rolls his eyes when En says that and elbows him in the ribs so En can hurry up, and so he does. Finally, En opens it and he cannot contain the emotion when he sees his gift. A whole set of supplies for a manga artist, not all of them knew, but En actually has the skill of a professional artist, but he just lack the motivation to work on it every day. En contemplates his present once more and then he stands up, before going to the basket he walks towards Kinshiro and they shake hands.

"Thank you very much!" En says, he has to admit, he was afraid for nothing.

"Welcome," the scene is heartwarming for Atsushi who finally feels like his two best friends can get along.

Finally En takes the last present from the basket and moves to the last person who has not received his gift yet, Yumoto.

"So, I'm your secret santa," En says, his voice as calm as usual.

"You are my secret santa, En! I didn't expect that!" Yumoto says excited and the rest just looks surprised that Yumoto is really shock that En is his secret santa, even if the events that have happened described it as the most logical thing.

"Well, yeah," En says, he pushes back the impulse of given a small smack on the back of Yumoto's head, after all it's Christmas and Gora is right there.

Yumoto, as Ryuu, destroy the wrapping and En smirks at Atsushi because of that. When Yumoto finally takes out all the wrapping he gets to see an onigiri plushie family handmade. All of the onigiri has a differnet color and a different expression, for a total of eight onigiris.

"This is so cute! I love them! Thank you so much En!" Yumoto says taking all of them in his arms and cuddling them.

"There's also one more thing, but I ask Gora to keep it until we were done and it's actually from me and Atsushi" En mentions and looks at Gora.

"I'll go for it" Gora says and goes to the kitchen, when he returns he brings a Christmas Cake, beautifully decorated with strawberries and lots of whipped cream.

All of them take a sit and wait for Atsushi and En to serve their respective portion and while they eat they keep on chatting and enjoying the evening. Although, it was not for so long, most of them have to return to their houses to have their traditional celebration with their families, but they are more than happy to know that for being their first Christmas as a group it actually went perfectly fine.

A little late, but I hope all of you had had a merry Christmas! and in case I don't get time to write anything, and a Happy New Year!