Christmas was approaching fast.
Early snow fell over the hurried bustle of Okina City, as the train bound from Inaba pulled into the station. Festive decorations lit up the streets – in delicious reds and golds – while people clad in woolly hats scurried to and fro, from the shops displaying "50% OFF!" in their windows.
Naoto stepped out on to the platform pulling her jacket around her; drawing a chattered breath, it appeared as a white cloud in front of her face.
Winter had hit them so suddenly.
She'd heard from Rise that a lot of the kids from school came to Okina to hang out, and according to Chie-sempai, it was the perfect place to do your last minute Christmas shopping. Although, judging by the sea of people, it seemed like it would be no easy task.
It didn't seem like a great time for them to be celebrating; what with the murder investigations still going on. However Yu had managed to convince the team that they should at least try to enjoy this time they had together, while they still could. Besides… they all did deserve a bit of a break at least, from battling in the TV world.
Naoto sighed, and took another deep breath.
The young detective was on a mission.
Glancing around at the busy crowd, she adjusted her hat before uneasily making her way out towards the noise of the market.
…
Erin had always been excited about the Christmas season as a child.
The bright colours, singing and feasting all seemed like so much fun…
But after growing up a bit, her innocence and enthusiasm had slowly died away, along with any hopeful illusions about spending a merry new year with her family. The only proper presents she'd ever received while growing up were socks and slippers from her grandmother – always the same colour, bright pink, but they had surely been better than nothing.
She wasn't a kid anymore; getting presents didn't matter to her… but, now that she had been earning her own money, for the first time in her life she found herself excited by the idea of choosing gifts for her friends.
Rise had practically blabbed already about what she'd bought for everyone, and that had only psyched her up for it. She'd been thinking all day yesterday about what she should get. Being indecisive, she settled on just finding the gifts when she got to the city.
Already armed with several plastic bags, Erin stopped for a moment, collapsing on a bench near the outdoor market stalls. Re-adjusting the spaghetti straps on her top, she let out a sigh; she was even more exhausted than she usually got when shopping with Yukiko. That girl loved getting out of Inaba, and would just flit around the shops, mostly just admiring - never really buying anything.
Erin smiled to herself, peering into one of the shopping bags and spotting the red flower hairpin she'd just bought, amongst rolls of wrapping paper and cellotape. She remembered that Yukiko had spotted it one time during a trip, and knew that such an elegant hairpiece would definitely suit her: she already couldn't wait to give it to her.
In another bag she had a cute pink pastel-coloured top, complete with yellow patterned sleeves: as soon as she'd set her eyes on it, she'd decided at once that it would be perfect for Rise. She'd had a hard time trying to choose between small and medium – the shop assistant hadn't helped much, saying at the last minute that the clothes from their store varied a lot in size, and were often smaller when they were actually on. Despite the trouble though, she hadn't been able to pass it up: it was so Rise's sort of thing.
She'd been thinking about getting some ear warmers for Teddie, seeing as he wasn't used to the cold weather in their world. As for the others, she was totally stumped – she wanted to find something they would like, and find useful. This was her first time buying presents like this; they just had to be special!
Her mind wandered through the faces of the investigation team, checking them off as she went, and finally falling on one in particular, making her blush.
Naoto… what on earth would she like?
She'd wondered about getting a detective novel; or some kind of book… but she thought that may be too obvious, since Yukiko had been the one to suggest it to her. Naoto did seem like a "book" person though… she probably already had a lot of those sorts of books at home.
Erin shook her head… it had to be something more original.
Her blush darkened all of a sudden at the thought of Naoto giving her a present… would she even do something like that?
Not that it mattered, of course. She was only focusing on giving gifts; she wasn't expecting to receive any anyway… apart from Rise's.
But still… if Naoto got her something, she couldn't help but wonder what it might be.
She wasn't even sure how she would react if Naoto…
Shaking her head vigorously, she forced herself to try and focus. Instead of staying stuck on that, in the meantime she would have a hunt around for something for Yosuke.
Hoisting up her bags, she began off towards the market. She'd had the idea of getting Yosuke something for his bike, since he used it all the time, but so far she hadn't found anything. She began browsing the many stalls, lined with all kinds of gaudy merchandise: dolls, teapots, board games, puzzles, kitchen wares, DVDs, clocks…
Erin paused, her eyes falling on a particular little clock: there was something familiar about the blue and white character wearing a hat. As she picked it up for a closer look, it suddenly let out a high pitched sound, casing her to almost fling it across the street. The creature's eyes lit up, and the words "good morning" appeared flashing on the built-in screen in its belly.
The stall clerk chuckled, "You like him? He's a special edition! Not many of the Jack Frost alarm clocks were made here."
"Eheh…" Erin nodded weakly, her heart still thumping from the shock.
"He wouldn't fail to wake you up, that's for sure!" the man laughed, while the clock continued to squeak his good morning call, "The time just needs to be re-adjusted. If you're interested in him, I could do that for you, at no extra charge?"
Staring and blinking for a moment at Jack Frost's cheeky face, Erin was suddenly bombarded with a great new idea.
Yosuke always had trouble waking up in the morning. Despite living virtually on the doorstep to Junes, he was still sometimes hurrying in late for work, wearing his apron backwards and giving an out-of-breath wave towards her usual spot at the cash register. She guessed that because his parents were the managers, he got off easier; but in any case, an alarm clock seemed perfect, and not to mention practical. It would certainly be very useful.
A smile grew across her face as she lifted her head, orange curls bouncing, "Yeah, I'll take it!"
…
"Naoto-kun?
"U-Uh…! Sempai?! Ahem, sorry, I… I didn't realise you were there."
"Didn't mean to scare you. Sorry… uh, what was that thing… you were looking at just now?"
"U-Uh nothing! N-Nothing… nothing at all!"
"Oh… uh, okay. If you say so…"
"…"
"So, um…"
"…"
"What're you doing around here anyway? …Shopping?"
"Umm, well… yes. Actually, Sempai, perhaps… you could help me with something?"
…
Now equipped with another heavy bag, Erin trudged tiredly up and down the shopping district, starting to run out of energy.
She had something for everyone now… except Naoto.
Why was it so difficult? Every time something popped into her head, it was dismissed straight away for sounding too lame, or bland. She had thought that girls were easier to buy for than guys… but not at all in this case. While she racked her brain, her stomach loudly reminded her that it was past lunch time: she hadn't eaten all day. She decided that a well-deserved break may help revive her and help her think of something.
She stopped at a quaint-looking café, inside the city's department store, not wanting to sit outside in the cold; it was packed indoors, but luckily she managed to snag a free table, after a couple had just got up and left.
Sitting down to eat, her nose caught on to the sweet, mouth-watering scents of Christmas cookies and pastries. The homemade snowman and Santa-shaped biscuits had been decorated with such yummy details; Erin just hadn't been able to resist getting a couple of them.
She wondered if her grandmother would like one when she got home… although, they probably wouldn't stay warm for that long. Nothing could compare to sweets that had been freshly made…
…
Suddenly staring at the now headless Santa cookie, Erin's eyes lit up.
…Why hadn't she thought of that before?!
She was a decent cook, and only ever improving… Chocolate and sweets were a total must-have at Christmas time! Also, it seemed like a pretty original idea…
A blush fell on her face. Maybe she should…
"Hey… N-Naoto…"
"Suzuki-san. I'm glad you came…"
"U-Um, I uh…"
"Hm?"
"Um… this… this is for you! M-Merry Christmas!"
"Oh! You… got something for me?"
"Actually, um… I made those myself…"
"Really? But… these look like they came from a store?"
"Oh… s-sorry… they didn't turn out exactly right."
"No. You have no need to apologise; I meant it as a compliment. In fact, I… think they're quite impressive."
"R-R-Really?! You really think so?!"
"I had no idea you were such a good cook, Suzuki-san… perhaps, maybe… you could help teach me sometime?"
"M-Me?! Teach you?!"
"Well then… I suppose I ought to give you something to thank you for this…"
"H-Huh? You don't have to Naoto—"
"Hmm… close your eyes…"
"O-Okay…"
"…"
A flash of blue hair from the corner of her eye made Erin look up, instantly breaking her train of thought. She almost gasped in surprise.
The very person she'd been thinking of was just outside the café, browsing a shop window opposite.
Naoto had a look on her face, indicating that she was deep in thought. She furrowed her brow, studying the gold watches on display; this Christmas shopping was a lot harder than she thought.
Erin blinked, not realising that she'd been staring. Feeling skittish, she thought about leaving quickly, but froze after she noticed another familiar face amidst the crowd.
Silver hair sparkling with a few stray snowflakes, Yu made his way over to Naoto.
"Found anything?" he asked.
Naoto shook her head, seeming a little irritated, "Unfortunately, no… this is far more difficult than I had imagined."
Yu tilted his head, wearing his usual unfazed expression. Naoto sighed.
"I appreciate your help though, Sempai… if I hadn't run into you, I would be no better off."
"Well… it would help if you told me who you're trying to buy a present for. I don't have much to go on."
Naoto's face suddenly flushed a cute shade of pink. She turned wide-eyed toward him.
"T-That's…! It's… c-confidential information!"
Yu's expression didn't change as he asked, "You said it was a girl…"
"Y-Yes… a female friend…"
"…Is it Erin?"
Naoto looked at him as if she'd just been struck by lightning. Her mouth fell open, and this time her face went scarlet.
"W-Wha… What makes you think that, Sempai?!"