Chapter 4

It would be quite the while before the relationship between Sawako and Nanako even began to resemble what it was before that night. During that time, they did not speak of that night to each other once. It was not as if they stopped talking to each other completely, but Nanako felt as if a great distance was put between herself and Sawako. She wished to bring up the event, but decided it was best to put it in their past.

"No point in opening old wounds like that…" she told herself.

-o0o-

Christmas Eve seemed to sneak up covertly in the mind of Nanako. Many students of Ryoko University had already left school grounds, reuniting with family and friends for the first time in perhaps months. Though Kuroi had not realized it, she was missing her family as well.

Packing the last of her supplies (enough for a few days) she slung the single duffle bag over her shoulder and left her room. She found Sawako's head peaking from behind the front of the couch, its front watching television.

"Well, I just finished packing," Kuroi announced from across the room to Sawako. Hearing this, she quickly sat up from her seat walked over to Kuroi, prepared to give her one final farewell before she went off.

"Leaving so soon?" the auburn haired woman asked.

"Yeah," replied the blonde. "The train ride is kind of long and it'll probably be even longer, given the snow."

Sawako glanced out the left corner of her eye out the windows above the sink and counters, at the white sky outside. "Yeah," she commented. "I think I heard that it'll snow for at least a few more days."

"Yeah…" Even after all this time, there still lingered uneasiness between the two students. "Will you be good on your own for a while?" Kuroi asked.

"Sure," was the other's response. "I'll be fine on my own for a few days. Not like I got family to visit." She was referring to the fact that shortly after Sawako became "wild," her family began talking to her less and less. Finally realizing she was no longer wanted in her own home, she moved out and lived with a friend for a bit before finally being accepted into Ryoko U.

They stood before each other in complete silence, each of them desperately trying to think of the next thing to say, anything to keep the conversation going. When a few uneventful seconds past, there was nothing else left for Sawako to do but speak the inevitable.

"Well," she said, "have a nice time… Good-b-"

"No!" Nanako suddenly blurted.

"No?" her roommate repeated.

"This isn't right. I shouldn't be going off and having fun over Christmas break while leaving my friend here to have no fun at all!"

"K-Kuro-chan, it's fine," Sawako assured her friend. "I be ok h-"

"Hold on," said Nanako as she fished through her pants pocket for her mobile. "I'll call my parents, see if it's ok for you come over for Christmas."

"Your par- Wait, WHAT! Nanako, stop! You don't have to-"

Too late.

She had already punched in the number and put the phone to her ear. "Mom?" she said into her mobile. "Hey, it me, Nanako… Yeah, I'm fine… Looking forward to seeing you tonight, too… Hey, listen, is it ok if a friend comes as well?… It's Sawako… Really, it's ok? Thanks!... I'll be there around 20:00, ok? See you then… Bye."

Hanging up and slipping her mobile back into her pocket, she turned back to her friend with a gleeful grin. "See? It's all set. You can stay for dinner and-"

WHAM!

Sawako's fist made contact with the crown of Nanako's head, producing a comically large bump. "I said I would be fine on my own, Otakuroi!" Yamanaka protested. "You didn't need to fucking do that!"

"Well, I felt bad leaving you here all alone," Nanako explained. "… So, will you be able to come?"

Voicing an exasperated sigh, Sawako replied with a "Sure… But I gotta do some shit before then, so I might get there later than you."

"Ok," said Kuroi with a nod. Even though Sawako sounded angry, Nanako smiled, knowing that things were finally back to the way they were. How she knew this was simply: she was just called "Otakuroi."

-o0o-

The train arrived earlier than expected, at around 19:30. With her home still a distance away, Kuroi slung her overnight bag over her shoulder and began to walk the snow blanketed road toward the center of her hometown, where her parent's home was located.

The town Nanako had grown up in was small, to say the least. The town's tallest building was the three story town hall. Nanako had always joked that if you stood atop it and threw a stone in any direction, it would always land outside the town's limits.

After a short walk, her home finally came within view: a modest two story home with a two car garage attached. Approaching the front door, she took in a deep breath before finally knocking on it. She could instantly hear her mother hurriedly telling her father to get ready. After a few seconds, the door finally opened.

On the other side appeared Nanako's mother, Hina, a woman of fifty years, with lightened blond hair atop her head. Behind her stood her slightly older husband, Takumi, a rather portly individual, sporting a balding head of light gray hair. Stepping inside, her parents instantly dispensed with warm greetings, eventually asking the inevitable questions.

"So, when does Yamanaka-san arrive?" asked Hina.

"She said she had a few things to take care of before she headed over here, so she said she'd probably be late," Nanako replied.

The three sat in the living room, where their Christmas tree was placed, and Nanako's parents began with their standard fare of questions: Having fun? How are your grades? Meet any interesting new people? Keep in contact with your friends from high school? With that last question, Nanako seemed hesitant to answer. In truth, she had forgotten all about high school and her friends from then…

It what felt like no time at all, the clock reached 21:14 and there came the sound of a rumbling car engine from the driveway outside, accompanied with two beeps of a car horn. "That must be her," commented Hina.

"Ah, yes," said Takumi, "the 'muscle car.'" When Nanako told her father about Sawako's car, he sounded very interested over the phone. A moment later, there came a knock at the door, to which Nanako instantly got up from her seat and approached.

"Oh God, please," she thought to herself, "please let Sawako dress somewhat formally today. Just for today…"

Opening the door, Nanako's hopes were instantly shattered or, as Sawako seemed to reference often, were shredded by a giant-ass sword.

Sawako had dressed no different than she would have on an average day. She stood in the doorway of the Kuroi residence dressed in black jeans, her military boots, leather jacket over a tight white t-shirt, and an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. Then, as if to intentionally instigate looks from Nanako's parents, she had tied around her neck a small, black leather belt (which almost resembled a dog's collar) and atop her head of auburn hair was a Russian officer's ushanka.

"Greetings," she said as she walked inside and took off her boots and placed next to the other shoes near the doorway. Tucking her hat into her bag, she approached both Mr. and Mrs. Kuroi with an extended arm. "Sawako Yamanaka," she introduced herself. "I assume you two are responsible for the creation of this little lady behind me?

Oh God, just kill me now!

"Y-Yes," replied the father. "I am Takumi Kuroi," he greeted, accepting Sawako's handshake.

"And I am Hina Kuroi," said the mother, doing the same. "We'll make some tea. You two can wait in the living room while we get it ready."

With that, the two students sat quietly on the same couch in the living room while both Hina and Takumi made the tea from the kitchen.

Looking around her, Sawako commented, "You got a nice place here, Kuroi."

"… Sawa-chan," said Nanako. "You think you could have dressed a little nicer for this? I mean, what's with that collar?"

"Hey, if I dressed all nice all of a sudden for them, I'd be lying to them by not showing them the real Sawako… And the collar is so you can keep me in line," she joked.

"What the fu-… Well, could you try and act just a little less like Sawako? Just for today? That means cutting down on your swearing."

"Fine, fine… Anything for you, Otakuroi."

"And don't call me that in front of my parents!"

Nanako's parents returned to the living room, the misses holding a tray with four cups that steamed with hot tea. Placing the tray atop a low, glass coffee table, Hina passed each person in the room a cup, allowing them to add sugar to their individual cups at their leisure. Taking a sip from cup placed into her hand, Sawako made the comment of "This is some good sh-… stuff, it's good stuff, Mrs. Kuroi."

Close call.

"… So, Yamanaka-san," began Takumi, "what-"

"Sawako's fine."

"… Very well, Sawako, what are planning to major in?"

"Music," she stated. "Maybe music theory, Musicology, something like that."

"Nanako has told me that you are in a band… Dirt Devil, was it?"

"Death Devil," Sawako corrected. "We're not really that big yet, but we're slowly getting some notoriety. Then again, our style's not that accepted."

"Why is that?" asked Hina.

"We're too much for people. Compared to the stuff we sometimes compete against in shows, it's like they are coffee and we're espresso."

"I see," Hina said, now showing an honest interest in what Sawako was talking about. "Oh, Nanako, I forgot to ask earlier. Have you joined any extra-circular clubs yet?"

Nanako open her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by Sawako answering, "Nope. We're both a couple of NEETS."

"NEETS?" asked Takumi.

"'Not in Education, Employment, or Training.'"

"Yeah," added Nanako, speaking for the first time during the exchange. "We're usually going out every night, so having jobs would be kind of a drag…"

"… Where exactly do you two go so often?" Takumi inquired from her daughter.

Uhh…

"Oh, you know, just some clubs every now and then, nothing big."

"Do you bring others along," asked Hina, "or is it just you two?"

Nanako knew what she was implying. She now needed to answer this question the right way to ward of her parents suspicions that-

"Nope," answered Sawako, "just us two ladies, out on the town like a couple of l-"

Fearing her next word, Nanako suddenly grabbed Sawako by her collar and yanked it downward with such force that it almost pulled her off the couch.

"Ouch. Damn it, Kuroi, I didn't think you'd do it that hard!" Sawako protested.

"You just don't know when to stop sometimes, Sawa-chan," Nanako groaned.

"What, I was gonna say 'long lost friends.' Don't get angry at me because you get a little embarrassed."

"I'm not embarrassed! You just-" Nanako turned her eyes back to her Mom and Dad who had, with widened eyes, watched the two's entire outburst. "Oh shi- I'm so sorry, Mom and Dad. This isn't what you're thinking, I swear!"

"… What are we thinking, honey?" asked Hina.

FUCK…

"N- Nothing! Nothing at all… Jeez, I need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me." Nanako shot up from the couch and quickly left the room and headed straight for the bathroom. Locking the door, she finally had a quite place to think.

"This is turning out horribly," she thought to herself as she looked herself in the mirror. "Damn it, Sawa-chan, what were you thinking wearing the damn collar… Wait a minute, why did I even reach for the thing?

Jesus, I don't even want to go back outside. I don't think I have the courage to look Mom and Dad in the eye after that little stunt."

There came a knock on the door. "Hey, Kuroi," said Sawako, "you ok in there?"

"No, I think I'll stay here for the rest of… forever."

"Come on, Nanako, come on out… If it'll make you feel better," she continued, now whispering, "I said the whole thing was my fault and asked them politely to forget it happened."

"You can't just tell people to forget something like that, Sawa-chan."

"… Fine, stay in there if you want, but your parents were worried seeing you run off like that. You should at least apologize for running off suddenly like that."

A few seconds later, Nanako slowly emerged from the bathroom and, with Sawako by her side as support, sat back down in the living room where her mother and father waited patiently.

Nanako had not the courage to look her mother and father in the eye, instead choosing to look at the spot of ground near her feet. Feeling the jab of Sawako's elbow into her left arm, accompanied with the command of "Apologize," Nanako finally worked the strength to lift her gaze and look both Hina and Takumi in their eyes.

She heaved a huge sigh before speaking. "… Mom, Dad… I sorry for that. I didn't mean to be so rude, leaving the room like that. And the thing with the collar-"

"Forget it," said Takumi. "Sawako explained everything."

"… She did," Nanako deadpanned.

"Your friend explained to us," Takumi continued, "that it was a sudden joke and that she admits that she went too far."

Nanako turned to Sawako. "Yeah," said the reddish-brunette, "it was stupid of me to pull something like that so soon on you. Sorry." With that, Sawako removed the collar from her neck and tucked it away into a pocket of her jacket.

Voicing a sigh of her own, Hina spoke. "Well now," she said calmly, "I think it is about time we had our dinner."

While everyone rose from their seat to head to the dinner table, Nanako was too flabbergasted to move. "They were that willing to forget the whole thing?" she thought to herself. "What exactly did Sawako say to them?"

"Hey, Nanako," said Yamanaka, "you gonna eat?"

Shaking her head from thought, she rose from the couch and joined everyone else at the table.

-o0o-

Much to Nanako's immense relief, dinner went off without another incident. Once everyone was finished, Hina collected everyone's dishes. Collecting Sawako's, she commented once more that "The food was excellent."

"Thank you, Yamana- I mean Sawako." Then, placing all the dishes into the sink, Hina glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was past 22:00. "Oh dear, it so late."

"I guess we're past out bedtimes, Nanako," joked Sawako. "Let's hit the sack." Nodding in agreement, the two grabbed their bags and headed upstairs to Nanako's room.

Once sure that the two girls were out of earshot, Hina turned to her husband. "Well, she does seem like a nice person," she said, obviously referring to Sawako.

"Hmm," said Tikumi in response. "She and Nanako seem to be rather close as well, especially after witnessing that."

"… Something on your mind, honey?"

"… Just a thought."

"What is it?"

"… Well, again, it's just a thought, but after watching them, I'm beginning to wonder if our daughter and Sawako are… you know…"

"Oh, honey, don't assume things like that," Hina assured her husband.

"But we have to be prepared if it happens, if Nanako and Sawako become… that close."

"… Well, what should we do if it happens? In both out families, we haven't really had le- Well, that kind of person. Should we support Nanako's relationship?"

Takumi voiced an exasperated sigh. "If it happens… I think we should be supportive. If it turns out that Nanako and Sawako are that close… We shouldn't get in their way."

"Honey, I'm scared."

"I am too… But these are changing times. What was considered blasphemous back when we were children is more accepted nowadays. We should just try to keep up with the times as best we can."

"… You're right," agreed Hina with a nod. "Still, I'm scared."

"Don't be scared… Our little girl is just growing up, Hina, one way or another…"

-o0o-

"Holy crap," Nanako sighed aloud, closing the door to her room, "that was more nerve-racking than I ever imagined… No thanks to you, Sawa-chan!"

"Hey, it's not my fault that you wanted to knock me around," she defended with a smirk.

"What the hell was that collar for anyways? What did you wear that in front of my parents for?"

"Hey, I chose to wear that thing on a whim," she said, retrieving said collar from her pocket and putting it back on (just to spite Nanako.)

"You've never worn that collar before, ever, and now you wear it to my parents house, claiming it was on a whim? I don't buy that one bit!"

Taking a step back, Sawako's grin widened. "Touché, Nanako," Sawako commended. "You saw through my ruse… Ok, you caught me. I bought that collar today, just for this occasion… The hat as well. I didn't own any winter hats."

Kuroi brought her right hand to her face and pinched the bridge of her nose, the feeling of a headache come across the horizon of her mind. "You couldn't have chosen a better time to break that thing out?" she asked. "I mean, I like it, but-"

"Wait… You actually like the collar?" asked Sawako.

Kuroi's face turned a slight shade of red. "… Actually, I do," she whispered.

Sawako smiled, turning slightly red herself. "I can let you borrow it sometime, if you want," she offered.

"N- NO!" Nanako instantly replied. "Let's just go to bed, already." As Kuroi dug out a pair of pajamas from her bag, Sawako looked around the room and asked "Well, where are you going to sleep?"

"What's that suppose to mean? On the bed, obviously."

"Well I'm not sleeping on the fucking floor, is that's what you're implying."

"Well neither am I. It's my room, after all."

"… Then we have two options: we both sleep on the floor… or we both sleep in the bed."

Her blush intensifying, she looked at her bed, her mind instantly picturing the sight of them both under one sheet. "Y- You mean at the same time?" she asked.

"Well duh, we're obviously not gonna take turns!"

Looking at her bed once more, Nanako relented. "Fine, I guess we'll have to," she said.

Putting on their pajamas, the two Ryoko U students both tried to squeeze themselves under the sheets and comforter of a single-sized bed. Much to Nanako's discomfort, in order to fit both of themselves under the covers with any sort of comfort, there was no other option than to be pressed against each other. With their warms backs touching, the lights were turned off.

Nanako, nervous of being in bed with another person (another woman, no less) couldn't fall asleep for at least another hour after the lights were turned out.

-o0o-

Nanako woke the next morning with the sound of Sawako's voice saying "WAKE UP, BITCH!"

Nearly falling out of the bed from the scare, Nanako shot her eyes open to see a fully clothed Sawako hovering her head above her. Kuroi noticed that her friend was wearing her collar once more. "… Are you going to wear that thing all the time?" Kuroi sleepily asked her friend.

"Yes," Sawako stated, "now get your ass up. It's Christmas, remember?"

"… So it is," she said back with a slight smile.

Ripping herself from beneath the covers and getting dress, the two headed downstairs but before heading into the living room, they decided on have a quick bit to eat. Frying up a few quick eggs, they brought their breakfast into the living room. Beneath the tree were several presents of varying size. Nanako remembered back to the many Christmases from before and how her parents wrapped their presents: Nanako's presents were primarily red, her mother's green, and her father's usually either blue or white. It looked like the majority of the presents this year were red.

After waiting a few minutes, Hina and Takumi emerged from the upstairs. After getting breakfast of their own, the entire Kuroi family (plus Sawako) gathered in the living room and began to open their presents. While the openings unfolded, Sawako seemed content with watching from a distance, admiring the joy on Nanako's face with each present she opened.

Nanako received mostly clothing this year (which she had asked for, anyway.) The present she seemed the most happy receiving was a new Sony CD Player (a gift she apparently been asking for for months.) Hina seemed most pleased with the gift of a gold necklace (complements of Mr. Kuroi), and Takumi enjoyed the most a new birdfeeder.

Once everyone of the Kuroi family had finished opening their presents, Sawako finally brought herself closer to the tree and retrieved a small, wrapped item from a pocket in her jacket. Passing it to Nanako, she gave a casual "Merry Christmas."

Suppressing her urge to squeal out in giddiness, Nanako gladly took the gift from Sawako's hand. Examining the shape of the package itself, she instantly recognized it as a CD case. Excited at the possibilities, she feverously ripped away the rapping. Her eyes widening at the black Playstation banner, she read the title of the game aloud.

"Metal Gear Solid… Hmm, I don't think I've heard of this game before," commented Nanako gratefully.

"That," said Sawako, "is because it's new. Just came out a few days ago, just in time for the holiday season."

"Thank you, Sawa-chan… Crap! I forgot to get your gift. It's just upstairs, I'll be right back," and with that, Nanako ran back up the stairs to return a few seconds later holding a small item, wrapped literally in newspaper comics, with the exact same proportions of Nanako's gift from Sawako.

Giving a smile to show her gratefulness, Sawako unwrapped her gift. Indeed it was a cd, but it was not a game. It was, in fact, an American music CD. Being as her English was rather rusty, Sawako attempted to say the band's name.

"Panaterra… I think I've heard of them before."

"The guy behind the counter recommended them."

"… Nanako, do you even know this band?"

"… No… But the cover looked interesting."

Nanako's mother stifled her laughter at Nanako's apparent gift-choosing thought process. "Mom, don't laugh! It's so hard to find 'metal' in music stores these days, I struggled even finding that!"

"Well, I like the gift either way. Thanks, Otakuroi- Oops."

Nanako's father shot up a single eyebrow. "Ota-Kuroi?" he repeated aloud. "I'm not sure I get it."

"Uh… H- Hey, Sawa-chan, you wanna check out the town for a while, to kill some time?"

Sawako shrugged her shoulders, giving a "Why not?" in response. After the two packed away their Christmas presents (or present for one of them) into their bags, they threw on their coats and headed outside.

It was clear that it had snowed the previous night as there laid a light fluffy layer of powder on the ground. Once outside, Sawako retrieved her car keys from a pocket in the jacket, but just as she was about to put them into the key hole on the door, Nanako protested.

"Wait, we don't need the car," she said, pointing to something in the distance in front of them. "The town's right there." Kouri was pointing to the cluster of perhaps fifteen two-story builds in the distance, perhaps only five blocks away. Sawako had not seen the town that well from driving in late last night.

"Damn, your town is small, Kuro-chan," commented Sawako. "So what? Do we walk there?"

"Of course… Unless little Sawa-chan's too weak to walk such a long distance," Nanako joked.

"Ha! Bitch, these boots were made for walking!" Sawako boastfully declared.

-o0o-

The town that Nanako had grown up in was just as she had left it: small and uneventful. Were it not for Sawako being there, poking fun and making jokes at nearly everything they walked by, Nanako would have returned back to Ryoko U by now. The girls spent hours doing what many would call "goofing around," but to them, it was much more than that.

When those two got together, they could turn the most mundane of subjects and converse about that one subject, such as "music in general", and pick the subject apart layer by layer until their conversation eventually reached the discussion of "the inevitability of music throughout the universe."

With nothing else to do in this town (which Nanako insisted on quite often), the two students of Ryoko U, finding a secluded bench in an unused playground, spent hours merely talking, one subject of interest leading into another with seemingly no end in sight.

When it reached around 16:00, Sawako and Nanako both decided that it was about time to head back to the University. Much of the student body had probably already done the same by now. Removing themselves from the town, they began to head back to the Kuroi residence by walking down the same road they took earlier.

At one point during their silent walk back, Nanako decided to speak up. "Hey, Sawa-chan?"

"Yeah? What's up?"

"I, well… I sort of have a… confession to give."

Sawako felt her heart stop. Turning around to face her blonde haired friend, they stood before each other in the empty, snow blanketed sidewalk. "A… confession?" Sawako repeated.

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you something…"

"Oh Jesus," Yamanaka thought to herself. "If this is what I think it is… Please be what I think it is. For the love of God, I've waited too long for this to happen…"

"You see," Nanako continued, "I wanted to tell you earlier, but with my parents being right there, it would have been embarrassing…"

From the distance they stood from each other, Nanako couldn't see the incredible blush that had formed on Sawako's face. "Nanako, you damn fool, just say it. Say it, Nanako. Say those three words that hang from the tips of your lips…"

"S-Sawa-chan…?"

"I. Love. You… Please, say it…"

"You see, I actually… I did know what that game you gave me was."

"… What?" Sawako whispered.

"I know, it's embarrassing to admit, but the truth is that I only acted as if I'd never heard of 'Metal Gear Solid' before. You see, I did that because-"

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

A tri-stack of bumps, one atop another, shot up from the crown of Nanako's head, courtesy of Sawako's fist. "W- WHAT THE FUCK, NANAKO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs in ultimate frustration. "Who the hell do you think you are? Working me up like that just to crush my heart into a thousand pieces! Have you no soul?"

"Ouch," moaned Nanako as she rubbed her newly formed bruises. "Sawa-chan, what do you mean?"

"Are you that dense! You can't just say all that stuff and not expect people to get worked up over it. This whole time, I seriously thought that you were going to say-"

"… Say what, Sawa-chan?" an oblivious Nanako asked.

I. Love. You.

"N- Nevermind!" Sawako replied. "Wait, what were you talking about all this time?"

"That game you got me: Metal Gear Solid. I acted like I didn't know what it was, but the truth is that I do know what that game is."

"… That's what you wanted to say?... What's the point in lying about that?" Yamanaka interrogated.

"Sawa-chan, I know that game was really expensive. You don't need to feel that you need to spend a lot of money on me. I would have been happy with any game from you."

"So what? I can't splurge money on my friends?"

"Well… It's just that your gift made my gift feel insignificant in comparison. You went out of your way to buy that expensive game for me while I… I got your gift from a bargain bin for only one hundred yen!"

Sawako unintentionally flinched at the mention of the price, whispering aloud "Wow, that low?"

"You see!" said Nanako, who was now beginning to cry. "I'm such a crappy friend that I didn't take the time to put thought in a gift. Instead I practically just grabbed the first thing I sa-"

In Nanako's tearful words, she had not noticed Sawako close the gap between them. Before she could even react, Nanako suddenly found her friend's arms wrapped around her shoulders and felt herself being held against Sawako's chest.

"Jesus, do you always cry this much?" Sawako asked in a soft voice.

"S-Sawa-chan?" asked Kuori, "what are you-?"

"Don't worry about finding me a better present, stupid. I love the present you already gave me. Don't think that you have to out-do me or anything."

Kuroi was now too stricken with emotions to speak a word, being held Sawako's arms. "She's… She's warm," Nanako thought to herself. "Not only is Sawa-chan extremely generous, she's very modest as well… Wow, she's so warm…"

Kuroi's thoughts were broken when Sawako finally lifted her arms from her friend. "Better?" she asked.

"… Y-Yeah," she whispered back.

"Let's head back home, to our home, Kuro-chan. We'll grab our things, you can say good-bye to Mom and Dad, then we'll head back. Sound good?"

"… Sounds good," Nanako replied with a nod and smile.

-o0o-

Returning through the front door of the Kuroi residence, Hina and Takumi shot up from their seats at the kitchen table and rushed to the door. Both were relieved to see their daughter and friend had return safely after being out for so long.

"Where have you two been?" Hina asked worriedly. "You two have been gone for hours!"

"It's ok, Mom," assured Nanako. "We were just hanging out around town the whole time."

"For six hours?" Takumi interrogated.

"Guess so," she replied nonchalantly as they removed their snow covered shoes. "Mom, Dad, sorry to bring this us so suddenly, but Sawa-chan and I kind of want to head back, if that's ok with you. I mean, we can stay another night if you-"

"Oh, no, that's quite alright," answered Takumi. "We know that compared to a university filled with peers, this town may seem quite boring to you in comparison. We don't want to be a burden by forcing you to stay. Really, you can leave now if you wish."

"Are you sure?" asked Nanako.

Hina gave a nod in response. "It was great seeing you again, Nanako, and hearing about everything from the university. It was also wonderful finally meeting you, Yamanaka-san. Your visit has been… well, eye-opening."

"Oh crap," Nanako thought.

"Well, if you say it's ok…" continued Nanako, "I guess we'll get our things and head off. Let's go, Sawa-chan." The two quickly headed upstairs and gathered their stuff and headed back down. However, before leaving, Nanako had to give her final good-byes. Giving both her mother and father a hug, she promised that she would continue to keep her promise of calling them every week. With Sawako giving her good-byes as well, the girls put their shoes back on and left through the front door together.

-o0o-

The girls arrived back at Ryoko University at a late hour. Due to the snow, Sawako was forced to take many detours that increased the length of their return journey. Finally returning to 414, it felt for both woman that weights had been lifted from their shoulders. Tossing their day bags into their respective rooms, Sawako went straight for the fridge and retrieved a pair of beers, throwing one to Nanako.

"A toast," Sawako proclaimed, "to a successful Christmas!"

"Yeah!" Nanako said back, knocking the two cans together like they were bottles. Down each in a single go (much to Sawako's surprise, given Nanako's previous experience with alcohol) Kuroi added something to her friend's proclamation.

"Although," Nanako added, "I still could have given you a better present."

"UGH! You're still going on about that shit? Look, I told you to forget about that." She paused, adding a playful look to her face. "However, if you still wanna give me something… my birthday is coming up soon."

"It is?" Nanako said with a gasp. "When!"

"January 31st. If you still feel like it, you can get me something then."

"You got it, Sawa-chaw!"

Sawako looked into her's friends excited face. "Damn it, Kouri, I really thought that today was going to be the day…"


Author's Notes: ... Wait, I'm finally speaking in this story? ABOUT TIME!

Figures that the Christmas chapter would be the longest one yet I mean granted alot happened, but whatever.

Ok everyone, I have something to confess... Metal Gear Solid actually came out in 1998. But I figured that 1998 is like five days away in the story anyway, I made a little lie. So, now that's two epic games that Kuroi owns? Not bad...

I got the collar idea from one of Zokusho's fanfics. In it, Patricia has Hiyori in a collar and leash. Really socially awkward, but funny as hell to read.

So, not much more to go. Stay tuned...