The cold winter air had finally set in. Its freezing temperatures meant everybody was dressed to battle against the cold. It also meant winter break was starting for those in school. It was currently the last day of school which made a lot of students very eager to get home and start off their two weeks of break. Yuna was standing just outside the main building, waiting for Hina to arrive so they could walk home together. The brown haired girl was wearing her winter uniform along with a scarf she had wrapped around her neck. It kept her fairly warm and was soft to the touch which made it comfortable to wear.

There was also another person waiting with her. Ano was standing next to her, currently on her phone texting one of her friends. The long haired girl had a scarf wrapped around herself as well but it was a different color than her friend's. She also wore a jacket that had fur in the inside on top of her uniform, since she wasn't that good in dealing with the cold. Earlier that day, Ano asked Yuna if she could walk with them, saying she had something special to say to the two of them. She would drop hints all throughout the day about it being something big and exciting. To be honest, the brunette was somewhat anxious about what it might be.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar head of black hair walking towards her. The short haired girl was wearing what she wore everyday but her usual track jacket was replaced by one that was more bulkier and effective in keeping her warm. She was still wearing her black shorts, no matter how times Yuna insisted she wore something more fit for the weather. The track and field bag she usually carried was nowhere to be seen though. I guess she no longer needs it for the time being, she thought as she saw Hina approaching.

"Ready to go Hina?" She said as soon as soon as the younger girl was close enough. She received a simple nod of the head in response and turned her attention to Ano, who was still on her phone.

"Ano come on, we're leaving." The blonde haired girl put her phone away after a while and proceed to follow her two friends. The three of them made their way to Yuna's house, the trip being somewhat uneventful. As they were walking, the brown haired girl noticed Hina was shivering a bit, though she made her best attempt to hide it. Before she could say anything to her, Yuna heard Ano say something in her ear.

"You should give her your scarf," she whispered after seeing her glance towards the shorter girl. The brown eyed girl took a moment to consider it, before unwinding the piece of wool from around her neck. Once all of it was completely off, she handed it over to Hina who was surprised to receive it.

"Aren't you going to be cold Yuna-nee?" she asked in confusion. Yuna shook her head in reassurance, saying it was fine for her to wear it instead of herself. Nevertheless, the black haired girl wasted no time in wrapping the fabric around her neck, instantly enjoying the warmth it brought. She caught a whiff of the smell still lingering on the scarf and felt a smile spread on her face along with a blush, though it was mostly caused due to the cold temperature. Seeing the smile on her face, Yuna couldn't help but feel herself smiling also.

When their little interaction was over, Ano cleared her throat to get the attention of the couple. She watched the whole thing in amusement, but decided she left the two of them waiting for long enough about the surprise she was going to tell them. When the blonde noticed the the two gazes of her, she began talking.

"So, I bet you're dying to know the surprise i've been hiding from you two throughout the day." She said excitedly. While Yuna was only mildly excited, Hina's face was lit up from amazement, even if it was hard to tell from just looking at her. The long haired girl paused for a bit, wanting their anticipation to grow more.

"I decided, along with the help of Nena's friend, Ichiki-san, and Hina's friend, Maki-san, that we're going to have a New Year's party like the one we had last year," she stated, failing to keep her excitement, "Although this time, it's going to be bigger and funner." Ano added the last part as she pumped her fist into the air, a wide grin on her face. The mention of last year's party brought fond memories back to Yuna. It was only her, Ano, and Hina celebrating New Years along with her family, but it was a special moment for her. The thought of having another celebration with all the friends she's made this year filled the brown haired girl with a foreign excitement. She looked over to her right and saw an equal amount of excitement on the Hina's face.

"Where is it going to be at?" The black haired girl asked. The question made Ano falter in her step. She let out a sheepish laugh, while scratching the back of her head.

"You see, that's the problem we've run into." she admitted, a blush spreading on her face. The fact that her plan wasn't fully fleshed out made her embarrassed to say it. Luckily, Yuna was there to save her from her predicament.

"If you want, I could host the party over at my house" she said kindly. The blonde looked at her in gratitude, though there was a bit of hesitance in her expression as well.

"Really Yuna? I don't want to burden you with this task." Ano knew a party this big would make cleaning up afterwards an absolute nightmare. She knew her friend could manage it on her own, but she didn't want the brown haired girl to deal with it by herself.

"Don't worry, I can manage it with no problem at all." She clarified with confidence. Her ability to be organized and take control of a situation with ease would make hosting the party a task she could handle. Last year's party was at my house too so I should have some idea about what I might expect. Ano took a second to respond, still looking hesitant, but after a while she said something.

"Ok, as long as you let me help with the preparation." she said in hopes of lessening the workload her friend would do. Yuna nodded in agreement, happy she would have someone to help her.

"Me too." Hina said from the sidelines. The rest of the wall was spent with Yuna being filled in with the details of the celebration by Ano. The party would be on the 31st of December and start at around 8 pm. It will continue until midnight, were all attendees would participate in the countdown to the new year.

While on the topic of attendees, Ano reached into her jacket trying to look for something. She took out a folded up piece of paper she had in one of her pockets. Unfolding it revealed a list of names that appeared to be scribbled on. She handed the list to the brown haired girl who began reading the list. The list consisted of these names: Ano Fuji, Ichiki Umi, Maki Seina, Komano Hina, Toomi Yuna, Miyama Nena, Futano Sasa, Aihara Miki, Moto Iona, Koba Youka, and Ariu Aki. There were some other names Yuna didn't recognize which were probably Ano's other friends or the friends of Umi and Maki.

"These names aren't set in stone or anything. They are just possible people we can invite that might say yes." She said quickly, not wanting to overwhelm her friend right off the bat. The brunette was slightly surprised by the amount of people that might join so she immediately began making mental preparation.

"If you know anybody else that might want to join, you can add their names to the list later." Currently, the number of people attending the party was 15. The number made Yuna realize how much cooking she would do, but luckily she would have both Ano and Hina helping her. Plus, it was less than the amount of cooking she did for the track team during the summer. Before she thought any further, the black haired girl spoke up.

"Can I invite my senpais." She said hopefully. The senpais she was referring to were Mishima Matsuri and Inamoto Miyu, the captain and vice captain of her track club. I could also invite Tsurugimine Kiri which would bring the number of people up to 18, though I don't know if she'll invite Sonou-sensei. Kiri was one of the friends she met while working with the kindred spirits. She was dating Sonou-sensei, the classical literature teacher who is well known for her kindness and cute appearance.

"Sure, the more the merrier!" she exclaimed with a thumbs up. Meanwhile Yuna, continued with her mental preparations, made a checklist of all the things she needed to get done for the party. Fortunately, she had two weeks to prepare which gave her enough time to ensure everything was in order. There was still something she needed to clear up first.

"What about Christmas?" The festive holiday was just around the corner which meant she had to plan for that a well. The blonde though for a bit before giving her an answer.

"I figured we could all celebrate that normally with our families since having a Christmas party and a New Year's party will be too overwhelming." Ano replied with a hand on her chin. The brunette nodded her head in understanding, content with the schedule for the next two weeks. The remainder of the walk was spent with Ano and gina eagerly discussing the party and all the fun activities the blonde had come up with. Yuna, on the other hand, was still thinking about things that needed to be done first.

If she was going to be making a lot of food for all the people at the party, she would need to make an estimate of how much ingredients to buy. However, if it was going to be accurate, she needed a list of all the people who are guaranteed to go. That means asking all the people on Ano's list for their response. This is going to require a lot of work, but I know it's going to be fun in the end, she thought with a light smile.

The next few days were spent getting the responses of the people on the list. A big majority of them said yes, including Nena and Sonou-sensei. The pink haired girl is usually not into this sort of thing but she ended up agreeing, much to the surprise of Yuna. Sonou-sensei also agreed since she said she would act as an adult supervisor, though it was a cover up for her real reason to join. She just wanted to spend time with Kiri, much to the other girl's surprise and joy.

The brown haired girl was especially surprised at the list of people who unfortunately won't be coming to the New Years party. Most of them were the friends of Ano, Umi, and Maki that Yuna didn't know. It was understandable, since hey probably had their own things planned for New years. A secret part of her was relieved the only people attending were those she was fairly close with.

However, the one person she knew who ended up saying no to the invitation was Moto Iona, Hina's track and field freind. Yuna was almost certain the blue haired girl would've said yes in an instant, but to her great surprise she didn't. It turned out that the energetic girl was going to visit the rest of her family after Christmas was over to celebrate New Years, which meant she wouldn't make it back on time for the party.

This brought the number of people attending down to 14, excluding her parents, who were having their own celebration by going to a restaurant for dinner which mant they wouldn't be eating at the party. The did say they would make it back in time for the countdown, though

Now that Yuna had a guaranteed number, she could begin buying ingredient for all the food she was going to make. But before she did that, however, she had to celebrate Christmas. Every year, her family and Hina's family would come together to celebrate Christmas. It wasn't anything to fancy or over the top. It was just something simple and fun they did, which didn't affect its importance to Yuna. The brown haired girl gave Hina a new pair of running shoes along with a matching set of bracelets the two of them could wear as a couple.

In return, the black haired girl gave Yuna a new cooking apron and a kiss on the lips. It didn't seem like much but to the brunette, it was the best Christmas she had ever experienced. Once the holiday was over, she began to prepare for the party that would begin in a few days. She spent the majority of her time preparing food with the help of Hina. Ano helped out by setting up a karaoke machine, one of the many things she planned for the celebration. She also helped out with the food, even though she said she wasn't that good with cooking.

Eventually, the day before the party rolled around which meant all the preparations were complete. All that was left to do was to make some final adjustment and finishing touches tomorrow, which Yuna could easily do. As she went to sleep that night, a certain thought kept popping up in her mind.

This is going to be something I'll never forget.