Tenoh Haruka frowned upon entering the holiday-decorated retail store. She was not a fan of Christmas; in fact, everything about Christmas drove her insane. The songs, the frilly bows and decorations—all of it was crap, just to feed some capitalist-loving CEOs who were probably already getting checks from the government for "failures".

She and her partner Michiru had gotten into an argument this morning over the holiday. While Michiru stated that it was a special time of the year, Haruka adamantly argued that it was all bull, there was no feeling behind Christmas, and that this year would be better spent in silence instead of caroling.

Well, this subsequently led to Haruka being kicked out of the apartment by Michiru. Now Haruka was wondering the mall, giving the teal-haired woman enough time to cool off and perhaps forget about their stupid argument.

The particular store was no different than other stores that Haruka had been to. The glittery ornaments that adored counters and hung from the ceiling were all too similar to the other decorations in the mall. Haruka could hear little children whining to their mother about some special toy they wanted. Another girl, probably a teenager, begged her mother to buy her a particular shirt. "All the girls at school wear it!"

The mother shook her head. "No. We're not getting it, and that's final."

The young girl turned to her father. "Daddy, please, if you love me…"

The father turned to the mother. "Surely we could get it for her, Masaru…"

Haruka rolled her eyes and walked past the bickering family. All around her were slaves to the holidays. Nothing mattered anymore. The so-called "spirit" of Christmas was gone, all lost to commercialization. She spotted a big-screen TV in the next aisle over, advertising "the hottest toys of the season." "Thanks a lot," she muttered sarcastically, continuing her sulky march through the store. It was all the media's fault. If they had not taken over Christmas, perhaps it could be somewhat enjoyable.

Even then, she thought, it would still be a stupid holiday. Some little boy was born and gave the world peace? What the heck? What was it all supposed to mean? Probably some dumb religious story, she figured.

She sighed heavily and took a look at her watch. Hopefully Michiru was through being mad with her by this point, because she was ready to escape the mall. She was not sure why she even came here to begin with. She exited the double doors, blatantly ignoring the smiling pictures of some fat man in a red suit. She made her way to her car as the wind blew around her, whipping her short blond hair side to side. She crossed a walkway to the parking garage, and was so wrapped up in her thoughts about hating the holidays that she failed to see a pickup truck heading her way. When she did notice, however, it was nearly too late—a blinding flash caught her eye, the world became a blur. The truck finally passed, and Haruka noticed she was back on the sidewalk. Bewildered, she took a look around, and noticed a shy-looking girl standing next to her. There was nothing different about her; she had black hair and dark brown eyes—just a plain, everyday person. "You should really be more careful," the girl said quietly.

"Thanks," said Haruka gruffly, embarrassed by the whole situation. She usually took care of herself, and was not used to being pulled out of danger by other people.

"Merry Christmas," called out the girl as Haruka stomped off.

"Pssh. Stupid holidays."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. It really and truly is the best time of the year." The girl began to walk next to Haruka.

Haruka shut her eyes with anger. "It's a stupid holiday! Why is everyone so excited about it, anyway?!"

"It's a time of great peace and—"

"I don't care!" shouted the angry blonde, heading towards her sportscar.

"Well, Merry Christmas anyway," wished the young girl.

Haruka turned around. "I tell you it's stupid and still you say that?" she asked incredulously.

"I do not mean any harm by it. Besides, a minute ago, you could have suffered a much worse fate."

Haruka shrugged. "So?"

"So perhaps you should value your life more. If you cannot even enjoy the holidays, then what can you enjoy? Do you not value what a gift every day is?" the girl inquired, becoming emboldened by her questions.

"I…uh…well, I do a lot, you see. I've helped people, but never gotten paid back for it. I've saved lives too, but no one will ever know it was me. What's the point in doing things for other people when they don't do anything for you?"

"Because it is the right thing to do. I do nice things because I know it sets things right with myself. No matter what happens, I know at least I have done all I possibly can."

"But don't you ever get frustrated?"

The stranger smiled. "Sometimes, but even so…I believe that today is a gift. That's why we call it the present."

"Ah, so I see you're buying into this Christmas crap too."

"Maybe so. But what Christmas is really about giving to others. We had a gift given to us many years ago. We have a Savior who will welcome us no matter what path we take. And no matter what path you take, you can always find him."

"And you're a religious freak. Great."

"Better that than lonely the rest of my life." The girl sighed dejectedly and walked away. Haruka stared after her for a moment. Some of what she said made sense. What would cause a girl like her to be so nice? Haruka knew she shot down every argument the girl had to say, and yet…something nagged at her.

Haruka had a belief that everything happened for a reason. Though her typical response would be that things happened for bad reasons, perhaps this was different.

Perhaps getting a gift would make Michiru happy. Perhaps that was what this whole conversation was about—giving to her partner, instead of demanding things from her.

Haruka steered herself back towards the store. The least she could do was get her a present. Perhaps then Michiru would get off her back about being some sort of "grinch," whatever that was.

She re-entered the glass double doors, still ignoring the decorations, and headed straight towards the clothes section. Perhaps a nice dress would cool her down. She made her way through the crowded people and began to search the crowded racks for something in Michiru's size.

To her left, she noticed a little girl. She was perhaps seven or eight, and appeared to be having the time of her life, flipping a stuffed dog in the air. Haruka smirked at the girl's antics, and continued browsing the racks. Several minutes passed, and still, there were no parents around to claim the little girl. Worried that someone might snatch her in the midst of the store, Haruka began to walk over to her. "Hey there, what are you doing?"

"I'm playing with this dog!" exclaimed the girl gleefully, twirling around in a circle, with her black hair shining in the store's lights.

Haruka chuckled in spite of herself. The whole sight was so cute. "Is that your dog?"

"Not yet. My mommy told me to wait here and if I'm good, I get one." The child pointed to the display of several stuffed dogs, all in various colors.

Before she knew it, Haruka was saying, "What if I got you one?"

The girl's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, uh, here's a few bucks. Go on."

"Oh, wow, I have enough for two! Thank you!" The little girl hugged Haruka and ran off to pick another stuffed animal.

Haruka froze in the moment. She did the unthinkable—offered a young child money to keep feeding the economy. And yet…the smile on her face. She was so innocent, so pure…so grateful.

So that was what Christmas was about. Giving.

Ah.

Haruka began to feel a little twitch at the ends of her mouth. To the complete stranger, she appeared to be smiling. To Haruka, she was simply expressing her pleasure in helping a little girl achieve happiness.

Now, about Michiru's gift…Haruka made her way back to the clothes racks, searching for a gift. Perhaps after this, she would go shopping for her other friends, too. Usagi, Hotaru, Setsuna…everyone could have a little gift. Just that exhilaration of giving someone something…it was almost addicting. It was different than the adrenaline of the car races in which she participated in, but it was still the high of the moment that drove her.

After she made her purchases and exited the store, she noticed the Santa portrait near the entrance doors. The jolly old man was grinning, and seemed to be giving her a thumbs-up. She gave him one too, and dashed home to wrap her gifts.

Partly based on a true moment that happened to me as a child. Hope you enjoyed!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! (Or whatever other holiday you wish to celebrate.)