Chapter 8: Letters to Santa

Dear Santa,

Thank you for all the Christmas presents last year! This year, can I please have one of the big toy pirate ship sets at the toy store on my island? They have one right in the window but there's lots of 'em in the store. Riku wants one too and then we can have them battle each other!

I also want a blitzball, and a new shovel, and some new buckets for building sandcastles, because I lost my old shovel at the playground. I also want lots of candy. I don't care what kind it is. I like every candy.

And last of all, can you please let me beat Riku in one fight-

Sora's mother put her pencil down. "No, Sora. Santa Claus doesn't give presents like that."

"Aw, c'mon, Mommy! Please just write it down? Please? You don't know! Maybe he will!"

"It's not going to work. Santa only brings toys and candy. He's not going to help you fight Riku."

"It's not a REAL fight, Mommy!" groaned Sora, "It's not BAD fighting! It's just pretend! But he always wins. And I wanna win for once. So write it down."

His mother thought it over for a moment. "You know, it doesn't count if Santa helps you win."

"Huh?"

"Here, I would have thought you would rather beat Riku on your own. If you ask Santa to use some kind of magic to let you win, then you didn't really win. Santa did it for you. It won't count. But if you beat Riku without Santa's magic, then you can tell him that you won all by yourself."

Sora chewed on his lip. "Um…"

"But if that's how you want to win, I'll write it down…"

"NO!" Sora jumped up and spread his arms across the letter, as far as he could reach. "Cross it out! You gotta cross it out! I don't want Santa to do that anymore!"

"Okay, if that's what you want…" His mother fought back a smile and kept writing what he dictated to her.

And that's all I want for Christmas. That's it. Nothing else. The End. I'll make sure to put out lots of cookies for you and the reindeer.

Thank you.

Love,

Sora

Dear Santa,

Can I please have a big new box of crayons, like the one that's got 64 colors, and a new sketchbook, and also a coloring book with pictures of fish and dolphins and whales and mermaids? And I'd also like a big cherry lollipop because that's my favorite flavor. And Mommy and Daddy say that I can't have a real cat, so I would like a toy one that I can pretend is a real cat. And maybe some beads to make a necklace. Thank you!

Love,

Naminé

P.S. I drew a picture of you and Mrs. Claus and the elves and the reindeer at the North Pole. Can you please tell me if it looks right? And if it doesn't look like the North Pole, can you please tell me how to draw it? Thank you!

P.P.S. Sora told us he was gonna ask you for a new shovel because he lost his old one. I just found his old shovel so you don't have to give him a new one.

Dear Santa,

Hi, it's me, Riku. Thank you for my presents last year. Can I have a pirate ship set? Sora wants one too. We're gonna pretend that they're enemy ships and they're battling each other. But we're just pretending. We're not really fighting. We've been good this year.

I'd also like a sword with my name carved into it. Sora has one like that and it looks cool.

And that's it, except for one more thing. And it's what I really want the most, more than any of the other stuff I just asked Dad to write down. Can you please let me and Sora and Naminé come for a ride with you in your sleigh? We've all been really good, and I really want to see what the outside world looks like. It would be the best thing ever. We won't tell anyone about it or tell them how you deliver the presents. We can even help you deliver the presents. You don't even have to pay us munny like grown-ups do. We'll help you for free!

That's all I really want for Christmas. I do want the pirate ship and the sword too, but mostly I want the sleigh ride.

Thanks,

Riku

Dear Santa,

I can't wait for you to come to Radiant Garden on Christmas Eve! Grandma and I are making you lots of cookies! We're cutting them into all kinds of shapes, but I'm not gonna tell you which ones so you can be surprised.

Can I please have a stuffed chocobo? There's one at the store at the Center Plaza by the big fountain that's really fluffy and it has an eggshell on its head. I will name him Boko and I will love him and take very good care of him!

I'd also like a big storybook with fairy tales, and some candy canes, and some pretend food and a pretend tree so I can pretend that my toys are having Christmas.

Also, Santa, since I've been really, really good this year, can I ask for a big present? I want a friend. I like playing with Grandma and the big kids that babysit for me, but I don't have a friend who's a kid like me. So can I have one? A best friend would be even better! If you can't, it's okay.

Love,

Kairi

A/N: Of course, one of the issues with uploading a story that I initially posted on AO3 is that there's inevitably holiday chapters that fit perfectly with the season when I initially posted them, but now don't fit so well. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed the early Christmas story!