If someone had asked Riko what she had imagined herself doing in the scant couple hours that remained of Christmas Eve, she would have answered with the usual fare: eating dinner with her family, wishing all a peaceful winter holiday, and following her nightly routine of getting ready for bed.
Never did she imagine herself staring out her window in abject disbelief as a poor imitation of Santa Claus broke into her neighbor's ryokan.
And just how did Riko know it was a fake Santa and not the real deal? (Besides the obvious answer, of course.) Simple: Santa never wore a miniskirt.
Quietly opening the glass door and creeping to the edge of her balcony, Riko ducked down as the fake Santa pulled out a set of tools from a burlap sack and began to work the window. A short time later, the window latch clicked open. Riko gulped in worry, paralyzed as this scarlet-clad intruder prepared to invade the room of her friend.
Then she heard it. The quiet and familiar giggle of a girl underneath the coat of red. And then...
"Full speed ahead into Chika-chan's room! Yousoro-ho-ho!"
"You-chan?!" exclaimed the redhead, utterly flabbergasted as she stood to her full height.
You whirled around so quickly that her skirt rose just enough for Riko to catch a flash of appealing snow-white panties. Her cool blue eyes were wide in surprise and she nearly fell off Chika's balcony as the burlap sack over her shoulder threw her usual balance off.
"Riko-chan?!" yelped You as she steadied herself.
For a long while, the two just stared at each other amidst the falling snowflakes of a cold winter's night, before one of them had the presence of mind to break the silence.
"...What are you doing?" asked Riko.
You stared at her blankly, before she said, "This is all just a dream, Riko-chan. I am not the You-chan you know. I am Santa. And you should absolutely get back to bed like a good girl so you can get your presents for the morning."
Riko frowned and crossed her arms. "You-chan, I'm perfectly awake. Now can you please tell me why you're about to break into Chika-chan's room?"
"Hey! Don't doubt Santa!" exclaimed You indignantly, "That's how girls like you end up on the naughty list! Is that what you want, Riko-chan? Are you a naughty girl?"
"That has nothing to do with what's going on!" replied Riko. She briefly wondered where she'd left her newest yuri doujin and if it was out for anyone to see. "Even if it's your best friend, you can't just go around breaking into people's houses!"
"You never seemed to care before."
"Before?! How many-!" Riko stopped short and cut herself off with a sigh. "Just... Look, just come over here so we can talk this over."
The brunette shook her head. "I can't. I'm on a timetable and I need to get back to my house before my mom notices that I'm gone."
Riko was not impressed. "Get in my room or I'll scream."
"You wouldn't!"
Riko raised a single eyebrow in challenge.
You sighed in sufferance. "Fine," she acquiesced. One short jump later saw her next to the redhead, burlap sack and all. She gave her friend a pouting frown. "I can't believe this is how you get girls to go home with you," she complained, "You really are a naughty girl."
"I don't want to hear that from someone almost guilty of breaking and entering!"
A few minutes later saw the two sitting on the floor underneath Riko's winter kotatsu, sipping tea and munching on crackers. After all, even if Riko blackmailed You into coming in, she still wanted to be a good hostess.
"So what's with... all this?" asked Riko, gesturing to You's costume and sack.
"I'm pretending to be Santa," answered You easily.
"Yes, I gathered as much. Why?"
"Because... it's in the holiday spirit?" offered You with a hopeful smile. She was quickly shut down by the redhead's scrutinizing gaze.
"You-chan..." intoned Riko menacingly.
"Alright, alright! I'll tell you, just don't hurt Santa on Christmas Eve!"
Riko grunted in acknowledgement and crossed her arms, waiting.
"So it all started a few years ago..."
Ten-year-old You Watanabe ran into her best friend's ryokan with a grin, slamming the door shut behind her to keep the cold away. Removing her winter attire and hanging it up as best as a ten year old can, she continued on into the lobby.
"Chika-chan! I'm here!" she announced.
But there was no reply.
Confused but undaunted, You clambered upstairs as fast as her feet would let her, intent on seeking out her best friend and spending Christmas morning with her. As she emerged into the upstairs hallway, she started to turn left to Chika's room, but the sound of voices coming from further down the hallway drew her attention. No one knew You was here yet, and her mother had always told her to announce herself before poking around in someone's home.
So You set off towards the voices, but when she could hear them clearly, she felt herself freeze at what was being said.
"...we just can't keep this up anymore. Chika's a grown girl, and it's getting harder to sneak into her room. We can tell her Santa doesn't really exist," said Mito.
"Oh, but Chika gets so excited every Christmas morning when she finds all those presents!" replied Shima. She giggled. "Besides, you still believed in Santa until you were-"
"This isn't about me!"
Outside in the hallway, You blinked. Santa... wasn't... real?
But... that couldn't be. That couldn't be!
Before she could stop herself, she threw back the door to the surprise of her friend's older sisters, tears streaming down her face.
"What do you mean Santa isn't real?!" she cried.
After a few heartfelt minutes of crying into Shima's chest while Mito stood in the background feeling guilty, You finally found the strength to speak.
"...Hey, Shima-nee, Mito-nee?"
"Yes, You-chan?"
"...Please don't tell Chika-chan about Santa."
The sisters exchanged a glance.
"I know what you said, and I get it. So don't worry about that. I'll take care of everything!" declared the little brunette.
Mito opened her mouth to dismiss You's idea, but Shima shot her a look. They'd already crushed one of her dreams today, how could they crush another?
"You-chan, pretending to be Santa is quite a lot of work," cautioned Shima. "Are you sure you want to take on that responsibility? Especially when you live all the way in Numazu?"
You nodded. "I'll do anything to protect Chika-chan's smile!"
"...And that's what happened," recounted the brunette as she lifted the mug of tea to her lips.
"You-chan..." said Riko with a disapproving frown.
The brunette stood, placing the tea back on Riko's table. "So now that you understand, I'm going to do what I do best and give Chika-chan everything she wants."
"Hold on," interrupted Riko as she reached out and grabbed You's wrist. "You can't just keep lying to her about Santa being real. She's sixteen! She should know the truth! And besides, don't you want her to know that her happiness comes from her childhood friend, and not some made-up myth?"
You looked down, a sadness coming to rest over her eyes, and Riko knew that this was something that You had agonized over before. "It doesn't matter where her happiness comes from," replied You. "So long as she's happy, then I'm happy."
Riko frowned. "I suppose you're just going to go through life pretending to be happy when you aren't. Again." The brunette didn't respond. The redhead sighed and continued. "Well, at the very least, I may as well go with you then. Misery loves company, and I already know this is going to make me miserable."
You blinked at her, unsure if she'd just heard that correctly, but Riko remained resolute. "Thank you for the support, but I couldn't ask you to-"
"I'm coming with you," declared Riko with finality.
"...If I say no you're going to scream, aren't you?"
Riko nodded.
"You know this is only going to complicate things, right?" The brunette sighed. "Well whatever then. But! On one condition..." You reached a hand into her burlap sack.
Five minutes later...
"Why did you just happen to have a sexy Santa costume on hand for me to wear?" demanded Riko as she tried in vain to stretch the miniskirt to actually cover something.
The swimmer shrugged carelessly. "I thought I'd leave something for you too once I was done with Chika-chan's presents."
"Why couldn't you have just gotten me a wholesome sweater or something?!"
"Because I've seen your sketchbook," deadpanned You in reply.
Riko looked away in a mixture of mortification and anger, face redder than her hair. "You could've at least looked away while I was changing!"
"If you get to see my panties then I get to see yours," justified the brunette as she opened the door to Riko's balcony, "It's only fair."
"You saw a lot more than just my panties!"
"Not really," dismissed You. "But at least I know what I'm getting you for next Christmas."
"What?"
"Bra pads!" answered You cheekily as she leapt across.
"YOU-CHAN!"
After a harrowing ten minutes of coaxing Riko to jump across from her balcony and another five minutes of pulling her up without losing any of the presents, You could easily say this was the single most difficult time she'd ever had pretending to be Santa.
"We haven't even gotten inside the house yet!" moaned Riko in misery as she recovered from the ordeal, "And we still have to go back..."
"I almost can't believe it. Santa's little helper is neither little nor helpful," replied You dryly with a rather pointed stare.
"Don't make me scream at you," warned the redhead.
You shrugged. "I can easily find a way to shut you up if I need to."
"Oh? Do you also have a ball gag in your bag or something? It wouldn't surprise me at this point."
"Of course not. All I have to do is..." You leaned close to Riko, pressing herself against her friend as she reached up and gently grabbed her chin with a hand, drawing their faces near. Riko's sharp intake of breath was more than indicative of the overall effect the action had on her. "...Find something else to occupy your lips with," finished You huskily.
The pair stayed in that position for a while, Riko red as a rose, You smooth as silk, before the brunette pulled away teasingly.
"Well. That's enough of that. Let's get back to the present, shall we?" she punned with a grin.
Riko could only nod, disappointed at the loss of a warm girl against her skin.
The pair clambered through Chika's window, the redhead freezing up as a certain someone woke up to the disturbance of their entrance. From the bed, a fluffy figure leapt down and trotted over to the pair.
"Arf!" barked Shiitake happily as his new friend came over.
"Shiitake! Be quiet!" hissed Riko.
"Hmph. You never bark all excitedly whenever I come over," remarked You in annoyance. Sure, she was a pretty common sight at Chika's ryokan, but it was still nice to be appreciated.
The dog stared at the brunette, blinking cutely. Then... "Arf! Arf arf arf!" he barked happily as he trotted over to You's feet.
"No! Be quiet Shiitake!"
"Now look what you've done!" snapped Riko as the bed's occupant began to stir. "Is this how you protect Chika-chan's smile?"
"Don't worry, I've got this." With that, You reached into her sack and took out a dog bone. Shiitake began to salivate as his eyes locked onto the special treat You always used to bribe him with every Christmas.
You held the bone up, moving it around as she made sure Shiitake was entranced by the treat. "Do you want it? Do you want the treat?" She began backing up, opening Chika's door as she exited into the hallway, Shiitake following. Riko looked on with concern as she led him away.
The brunette padded backwards as the dog remained distracted, knowing it was only a matter of time before Shiitake decided to pounce for the treat. She kept moving until she came to the first recognizable door and threw it open, tossing the treat onto the bed.
"Go get it!" she called.
Shiitake leapt through the open with a bark of happiness, and You slammed the door shut and sprinted back to Chika's room. In the distance, she heard a certain older sister cry out in pain as a dog landed on her stomach.
'Sorry about that, Mito-nee,' apologized You in her head, 'But Chika-chan's smile takes precedence over yours.'
When You returned to Chika's room, she was met with an unexpected, unsurprising, and mildly annoying sight.
"Riko-chan," she said evenly, "What are you doing?"
"I can explain!" claimed the redhead. "You see, while you were gone I thought about a good place for us to hide Chika-chan's presents."
"Santa doesn't hide presents," interrupted You, "That kind of ruins the whole thing, you know? But please. Continue."
"Exactly!" said Riko, as if that was where she was originally going with this train of thought. "And because Santa doesn't hide presents, I thought about putting them in a place where Chika-chan is sure to find them!"
"In her underwear drawer," deadpanned the diver.
"Yes! Because Chika-chan always grabs new panties every morning!" The redhead smiled, congratulating herself for coming up with a (somewhat) rational explanation for why she'd been digging through Chika's unmentionables.
You pursed her lips in consideration. "That's actually not true," she said, much to Riko's clear discomfort. "But even if it was, you've still neglected to explain just why you're wearing Chika-chan's panties around your head like a hat."
Riko couldn't explain that either.
You sighed and reached over, grabbing the panties off Riko's head and stuffing them back into Chika's drawer. "Come on," she huffed, "Let's stop taking her things and start giving her things instead."
"Okay..." murmured Riko dejectedly.
By the time the pair of Santas had finished their Christmas decorating and returned to Riko's room, it was half past two.
"Well," said You with a yawn, "Thanks for the assistance, I guess. But I should head home before my mom notices I'm gone."
Riko frowned. "You-chan, it's late. Just stay here for the night."
"Nah, I'm good. Besides, I didn't bring any other clothes, and I've intruded on you enough for one night."
But the redhead was adamant. "You-chan. You know what will happen if you refuse."
"What is it with you and screaming to get what you want?" asked You in annoyance. "Is this a super off day for you? Or do you have some new fetish I really don't want to know about?"
"Oh for the love of-!" Riko pulled back her covers and pointed forcefully. "Just get in the damn bed!"
You raised a curious eyebrow but acquiesced. "Whatever you say. I had no idea you could be this dominant."
"Stop teasing me and go to sleep already," huffed Riko as she crawled in after You.
You let out a giggle. "Alright, alright... Come here, you big screaming baby," she said, pulling Riko closer to her.
"Hmph. I may be a big screaming baby, but I'm your big screaming baby."
"That you are, Riko-chan. That you are..."
As Riko awoke on a peaceful Christmas morning, the first thing she noticed was the stark contrast between the biting cold pervading the air and the fulfilling warmth found beneath her covers with a certain brunette sharing them. As she snuggled closer to You to bask in her body heat, Riko noticed the second thing about Christmas mornings in Uchiura.
That was the anguished, bewildered, incredulous, and panicked cry of a certain ginger as she shouted out. "WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!"
Alarmed, Riko quickly jumped out of bed, pausing only to throw on a bathrobe as she hurried out to the balcony to see what was going on.
"Chika-chan, what's wrong?!" she called out.
A few seconds later, Chika threw open her window. "Riko-chan! You're not gonna believe this, but for the past several years, someone has been breaking into my room and decorating everything for Christmas! They even leave presents too!" Her voice dropped to a scandalized whisper. "And this time... I think they went through my underwear drawer!"
Riko blushed furiously at the complaints/accusations her friend was spouting, and realized that this could only mean one thing. Still, she felt it prudent to double check. "...Are you sure it wasn't Santa?"
Chika frowned. "Riko-chan, I haven't believed in Santa for years! Why would you even bring that up?"
"Oh. No reason..."
But Chika spotted a telltale flash of Christmas red below Riko's pink bathrobe, and the dots began to connect. "Wait a minute... Are you wearing a Santa outfit beneath your robe?"
"What?! What are you trying to say?!" exclaimed Riko, flustered.
The ginger's eyes narrowed. "Riko-chan... You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with my room being decorated, now would you?"
"Chika-chan, I just moved here a few months ago. You said this has been happening for years! How could I possibly have anything to do with that?"
"Then why are you wearing a Santa outfit?!"
Just then, a loud yawn sounded out from behind the redhead as You stumbled sleepily onto the balcony, draped in Riko's blankets. "Riko-chan," she slurred, "Why'd you leave me all alone...?" She all but collapsed against Riko, her strength sapped by the cold.
As Riko tended to her friend, Chika looked at the pair with pursed lips. "Oh I get it now," she said with a smug voice.
"Get what?" asked Riko as she hooked You's arm around her shoulders to better support her.
"Why you're dressed up as Santa," replied Chika. "It's because you were 'giving it' to You-chan last night, right?"
"Excuse me?!"
"My, how kinky of you! But give me the details! Did you have her sit in your lap? Did you go down her chimney? Did you ride her like a sleigh?"
"Chika-chan, stop it!"
"Was she your ho ho ho?"
"AHHH!" shrieked Riko in abject mortification as she practically throttled the brunette. "You-chan! Wake up and fix this! YOU-CHAN!"
~END~
AN: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
If you're like Chika, hopefully you have someone willing to be your You. If you're like You, hopefully you have someone willing to be your Riko. And if you're like Riko, you've already got both a Chika and a You so don't complain. :P