Have an extra long oneshot to make up for my shorter ones!
These two are my OTP - I love putting them through angst!
After this, Angels And Reapers will be continued, and Element 4 will come out shortly. My Undertale fanfic will unfortunately be pushed to the side. Likewise, I changed the present to my friend, and it will no longer be published on here.
Anyways:
MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!
Love ya all, Raven
On the twelfth day of Christmas my author gave to me...
Presents - Chiba and Hayami - Heartbreak and Romance
"Good accuracy." Hayami nodded at Chiba, crouched in front of her. His eyes were narrowed – or at least, Hayami thought so.
"Thank you – although I must admit, you've improved as well." Chiba curtly replied, getting to his feet. The duo, although it had been three years since they left 3-E, still frequently saw each other. Both had problems expressing their feelings to each other though – something Hayami hated with a passion. If only she could tell him how she felt…
That didn't matter though.
Chiba had a girlfriend.
"So." Chiba started as they walked out the shooting range. Hayami looked up.
"Things aren't going to well for my girlfriend and I right now." Chiba commente nervously with a nervous cough.
"They aren't?" Hayami enquired.
"Not really, no…"
"Want to talk about it."
"Not really. Not sure why I brought it up." Chiba abruptly replied. Hayami silently cursed herself.
"I hope it gets better, at least." She replied.
"Thank you." Chiba nodded and the two continued on in silence.
After a little while, rain slowly began falling from the sky, making the already dreary Christmas even more miserable. Hayami shivered. It was cold enough in her shorts – she shouldn't have worn them in December. In near silence, Chiba, noticing, slid his jacket off, pausing to wrap it around Hayami's waist. The girl started, hiding the slight blush on her cheeks. Chiba, appearing to not notice, walked on. Hayami kept up with him, cooling.
She hadn't realised Chiba had indeed noticed.
Frost clung to the air like a koala clinging to a branch of a eucalyptus tree. Perhaps, if Hayami stood there long enough, her pink hair would turn a dazzling white. Any change would slay the reminders plaguing her.
She had been standing there for ages, looking down at the thing laying before her. Usually, the stoic female didn't show any emotion. Today however, she would, just like the past few weeks. If her tear ducts weren't dried out. Even if they weren't, they would probably be frozen from the ruthless weather.
Did someone put a film tape in – or rewind the current one?
It seems like some greater power did, as a scene flashed before the sharpshooters eyes:
Hayami had been waiting in the Park for a while. This year, to mark her 25th Christmas, snow dusted the ground. Yet, there was none of the frost of the previous years. Just a pleasant chill to set the mood.
"Evening, Hayami-san." Hayami turned at her boyfriend's voice. They had been dating for exactly a year, to the day.
"Evening." Hayami got up to greet the cold, black-haired boy. As the two hugged – something they once would have considered out-of-bounds – Hayami felt something behind Chiba's back, rolled in his hands.
"Chiba-kun, what's that?" Hayami asked. Chiba stepped back.
"The present that's waiting for you when you get to your house." Chiba replied.
"Oh, really?" Hayami asked. She had yet to give Chiba his. Chiba nodded, handing Hayami a photo. It took a moment to register.
"A CAT?"
If only things could be different.
Hayami was sure many of her old classmates wished that every day. She had turned 43 earlier that year, and most of her classmates were also that age, with only a few still at 42. It was this time a whole 28 years ago that class 3-E were trying to assassinate their teacher. Yet now…
Sugino and Kanzaki, Karma and Okuda, Maehara and Okano, Kataoka and Yada and Nagisa and Kayano were all together. Oh, not to mention Yoshida and Hara, and Sugaya and Nakamura. Although, most of the girls weren't known by those names anymore. Between them, there were 13 children, as well as 6 others for Mimura, Kimura, Kurahashi and Fuwa who married outside the class. The rest were purely focused on their work. Most of them were successful – teachers, actresses, swimmers, gymnasts, librarians, government workers. Hayami herself was a journalist, which she loved. For the past 5 years, though, she was simply reporting behind the desk.
They all had it so happy.
Lucky for them.
"Mommy?"
37 year old Hayami was awake, standing outside her house. There was no sun this Christmas day – just a restless blanket of cloud. It really put a downcast mood in the air. There was no reason for it to linger though. Kaede Shiota – Nagisa's wife – had invited them all to a screenplay she was performing later in the day. Circle tickets, VIP. It would be the first film or screen play she had performed in since the birth of her and Nagisa's son, almost 18 months ago.
The door opened behind her.
"Good morning, Rinka-chan." Chiba greeted her, slipping out behind her.
"Merry Christmas, Ryuu-kun." Hayami smiled back at him. A mew behind Chiba told Hayami that the couples 12 year old cat, Midori, had joined them.
"I have a present for you that I don't think you'll be able to resist." Chiba laughed quietly. Hayami raised an eyebrow at her boyfriends's comment.
"I'd like to see you try." Chiba stepped beside her. As he was about to begin talking, Midori bounced onto the icy road with a joyful mew. Barely a second later had the cat fallen to the side with a mew. Laughing quietly, Chiba walked over to the cat, picking her up.
The car seemingly came out of nowhere, veering wildly.
"RYUU!" Hayami shrieked. All she heard next was a crunch and her wail of despair.
She wouldn't find the ring, wrapped in a shining golden ribbon and red paper, until the next day.
Hayami turned to see a young boy looking up at her. Hiroaki Hayami Chiba. Chiba-san. She named him after his father, with her surname as his middle name. Neatly cut black hair, and glowing green eyes.
"Yes?"
"Are you okay? You don't seem happy." Hiroaki walked over to her.
"I'm not happy, Hiroaki-san." Hayami sighed.
"Is this where Daddy sleeps?"
"Yes, Hiroaki-san, it is." Hayami snaked an arm around her son, who smiled. He was 5 years and 4 months, yet seemed much older.
"So can I give Daddy his present?" Hiroaki asked. After hesitation, Hayami nodded. Hiroaki shuffled forwards, before placing a present on the grave before them. It was red, and wrapped with a golden ribbon.
"Merry Christmas Daddy!" Hiroaki smiled, and Hayami felt her heart lurch. She took her son's mini hand in her own.
"Shall we go home? I'll treat you to some chicken." Hiroaki gasped happily at the suggestion. Hayami smiled, leading Hiroaki away.
Even if the brightest light in her life had gone out, another one will always be there for her. Always lingering in the company of the rest of class 3-E, there would be her son. He would always be there for her. Chiba would live through him.
It was the day after Christmas Day, and Hayami had just recovered the present. Unwrapping it, she stared at the diamond studded ring. Tears fell freely from her eyes, weeping for what she had lost. The usually emotionless girl had cracked, revealing the vulnerable child hiding underneath.
All of Class 3-E had reached out to her for her loss. Nagisa, Kayano and Isogai were on their way here to comfort her. All Rinka wanted was to be alone, though. She wanted to grieve for the man she had lost. For the life they could have had. For the present she never managed to give.
It was sitting in front of her now, next to the ring still posing in its box. Chiba would never know of the positive pregnancy test Hayami was going to give him.
It was this test that was striving her to continue on. This baby would need her. CHIBA'S baby, would need her. She couldn't give up now. As much as she wanted to be with Chiba, she couldn't abandon this new life. Chiba wouldn't have wanted her to do that. So instead, the broken girl was determined to fix herself, and to carry on in his name. To carry both of the presents from that fateful day, and tackle what was to come with both of their courage.
Hayami was a fighter. She was determined to stay that way,
