A/N: this is a gift to lovelyhotaruu for GA secret santa 2021! i knew i was gonna write something christmassy, but i got very specifically inspired when i watched netflix's christmas series Dash & Lily. To me, it felt like a NM au waiting to happen, so i just went with it! i heavily based the plot off the d&l plot, but i tailored it so it could better fit nm. that being said, it might be a BIT ooc, considering that it's a romance that builds over the course of a very short period of time. take it with a grain of salt, ig. still, lovelyhotaruu, i hope you enjoy it!
CHAPTER ONE: I've got a real short wish list: I just wanna be alone for Christmas.
mikan's dare 1: do the scavenger hunt
December 17th
NATSUME
It's the most detestable time of the year.
Forced cheer, frenzied crowds, carolers. It's enough to make anyone barf.
People pretend they're better people than they actually are during the season. Christmas spirit is just tipping an extra buck and then giving yourself a pat on the back even though you're the asshole that went out to dinner on a family holiday and forced some poor guy to wait on you.
It's cold. It's wet. Everything is too bright. Too red. Too green. Too tinselly. Too twinkly.
Too depressing.
Why anyone would get all stoked about it was anybody's guess.
The only good thing to come of the whole thing is winter break, and Natsume was relishing it. The last day before break, he ignored the extra homework his teachers were assigning, the holiday talent show going on next week, everyone he knew whispering about the eventual and dreaded winter dance, the ugly Christmas sweaters half of his classmates were donning, and even the antler headband on his best friend's head.
It was the last day of school, and he was going to make the most of it.
"Don't you think it would be nice if this year we went with actual dates?" Ruka was saying, eating a festive sugar cookie with sprinkles on it, courtesy of Koko, who had handed them out with a little too much enthusiasm just a few minutes ago. Natsume was too suspicious to eat his.
"Why would that be nice?" Natsume quipped, setting his cookie aside. It was break time between classes and the two of them were outside at a table, ignoring the shivering cold. Ruka liked being outside, so Natsume didn't complain even though he much preferred his weather warm.
"Well, think about it. You go with a nice girl, there's twinkly lights, you slow dance together. Maybe even get a kiss in. Have someone to kiss for New Year-"
"Does anyone actually do that?"
"Yeah," Ruka said emphatically. "People with girlfriends."
Natsume shrugged.
"C'mon, Natsume. Every year, you and I go to that stupid dance 'stag' which really means we go together and every year we just stand there while everyone else is slow dancing. For fuck's sake, even Koko has a girlfriend now."
"That is troubling," Natsume agreed, venturing to take a bite of the cookie since it had been a couple minutes and Ruka didn't appear to be poisoned in any way. "Then again, nobody's met her, so can we really be sure she's even real?"
"It would be nice if this year we weren't the ones standing on the side watching."
"Seems like something only you care about," he replied. "I really couldn't care less either way."
At the end of the last class, Natsume exhaled triumphantly. It was over. He could go home and do nothing for the next couple days, just as God or whoever invented winter break intended.
Sure, he was always hesitant to go home to an empty, cold house, but he could easily go to Ruka's or hang out at a store to kill some time.
Until suddenly the teacher said, "I know you all have your books already but I'm gonna need you guys to have read every story by the time we resume class in January. Have a nice break everyone!"
There were a couple of mixed groans but no real urgency from anyone except Natsume, who turned, wide-eyed, to Ruka.
"What book?"
"You didn't check out the assigned reading? It's a bunch of short stories. I got mine last week."
Natsume sank into his chair while everyone else vacated the class. Winter break was going to be postponed by a couple of minutes then. And he'd just been feeling the closest thing to Christmas cheer he would ever feel again. How quickly his spirits fell. Oh well.
He let Ruka go on ahead and trudged reluctantly by himself to the school library. He had to dig through his backpack between the shelves to find the syllabus given to the class months ago. He finally pulled it out, torn and frayed as it was, and scanned the assigned reading until he found the anthology title. He shoved the syllabus back into his bag and then began the search for the book through the shelves alone, because he sure as hell wouldn't ask the librarian only to receive a stern look because he hadn't gotten it ahead of time like everyone else, apparently. After all, he was the only one left in the library now. Everyone else had gone home.
Winding up and down the aisles, his eyes scanning each and every shelf, he could think of few worse ways to wrap up a last day of school before break. Eventually he found the damn book, a fat volume of some two hundred fifty pages and he could hardly wait to have to read all of it the day before school resumed.
He was about to just yank it off the shelf and then check it out, but something caught his eye. Right next to the book was a red notebook, with nothing written on the faux leather spine.
He blinked at it. The lack of title piqued his curiosity, so he pulled it off the shelf, just to check if there was anything written on the front. Then he'd put it back and get out of there.
Just his luck, the front was just as blank-no ornate drawing or printed author. Instead, someone had written in black sharpie: DO YOU DARE?
What kind of person wouldn't at least open the cover to see what that was all about? Natsume figured it wouldn't hurt to check.
On the first page was a note, written in what was no doubt a girl's hand-writing. Very neat, but with a barely perceptible flounce to it. His own writing was a lot messier and imprecise, just like Koko's. On the other hand, Aoi's handwriting was beautiful. Then again, Ruka did calligraphy. Nobody's handwriting was as elegant as his.
Still, he had the feeling this was written by a girl, not by Ruka.
I've left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don't, put this book back on the shelf, please.
Natsume glanced back up at the short story anthology, still waiting to be picked up, unappealing and hefty with words he didn't want to have to read. He turned back to the notebook.
He could look some more. Just seeing these "clues" wouldn't hurt, after all. What harm could possibly come out of some rando's tame little library scavenger hunt?
Besides, it wouldn't hurt to kill some time in a novel way before he had to go back home.
He turned the page.
I see you've chosen to play. A revealing choice. Shall we begin?
This is a coded message. You can decipher it with the right books.
But only if you can find them.
Books? Was this some sort of trivia game? Because if so, Natsume wasn't sure he'd be up for the task. Sure, if he was with Ruka they could make a good trivia team, since Ruka knew a lot about science and art and Natsume was pretty good at sports stats and music. But even then they needed Koko on their team to be a complete powerhouse, because for some reason the guy was a machine with historical dates and figures.
But books?
A toss up. Ruka liked reading the classic lit assigned in class. He came to class with his books highlighted and marked with post-its and was always ready to share a favorite passage if he was called on. Koko hadn't read a real book since the fifth grade, far more interested in movies and TV.
And Natsume read sometimes-or maybe more than sometimes-because of his dad and Aoi, but his go-to genre of mysteries and thrillers likely weren't the kind of books this nerd was thinking of.
Still, he could give it a try.
He flipped the page.
I'm glad I didn't scare you away. To help you decode my message, here are a few hints to move you in the right direction.
You found this book the last week before winter break, right next to the required reading for the eleventh grade. So we'll start with an easy one. Get a head start on your assignment. 34/6/3 and 109/12/6
Natsume glared at the clue. First off, he did not want to start his homework. Reading any part of this book seemed like a chore. Still, he set the red notebook aside and pulled the anthology off the shelf. He'd need to eventually check it out anyway.
He glanced at the clue again. The numbers were puzzling but he decided they must be page numbers. 34, 6, and 3. 3 and 6 were pages in the same story, but he read the whole pages anyway, waiting for something to jump out at him. When nothing did, he turned to 34 to try there. No such luck.
Then again, the order of the numbers was weird too. 34, the bigger number, then 6 and 3. And those three numbers were separate from the other three. And they were divided from each other with slashes, not commas.
Natsume figured that meant the first clue was definitely on page 34, and the 6 and 3 would help him figure out what exactly-
Hmm. He went down six lines on the page and 3 words in.
Are-
Oh. Maybe the code was page number, number of lines down, word number.
If that was the case, this scavenger hunt would be easier than he thought.
Just his luck, the next set of numbers led him to the word you, which meant that he was onto something about hacking the code.
He wrote the words into the notebook and then turned the page once again, feeling confident.
And the other day Koko had really insinuated that his bad grades were because of how stupid he was. Ha. When he cracked this whole code, that'll show him.
Congratulations. I love a man who cares about academics.
Natsume stared at the words in surprise for a moment before continuing on.
The tutorial is over now. Good grades are the bare minimum. What I want to know is if you can tell me something about nanotechnology. 598/12/5
Nanotechnology? Natsume shoved the anthology into his backpack. He'd check it out later. For now, the notebook in his hand wanted him to stay in the library.
Again, he scanned the shelves. The books in the library were sorted first by genre, then by author, then by title. He was smart enough to know that what he was looking for would be in the nonfiction section under science, but after that he was at a loss, with no known author to turn to. So he poured over every title until he finally saw a huge tome by the name of The Essentials of Nanotechnology.
He did the same thing as he did with the anthology and was satisfied to find the word going.
He returned the book and opened the notebook again.
And over and over again, he checked the notebook, read the clue and then set out on a search around the library to find the book this mysterious person told him to.
It's good to be of scientific mind. But smarts aren't everything. One must also be well-dressed. 45/7/1 and 89/13/8.
Easy, a book on fashion, and since there were two of them in the library, he figured it was the one with "Dress Smart" in the title.
Now it's time to pull a fast one. It may be the twenty-first century, but let's go back in time for a moment. This time: listen. Japanese folk at its very best. 3/2:48
This one was tricky, but Natsume only checked one shelf, looking for Japanese folktales, before he realized he shouldn't be looking for a book at all. He went to the outdated box of cassette tapes in the back. There was still a listening station there too with big can headphones and everything. It wasn't the most popular part of the library. In fact, Natsume only knew about it because Ruka had found it and fallen in love with it.
So Natsume dug through the box of tapes until he found a tape featuring the very best of Japanese folk songs. Just as the clue instructed, he put the cassette in, put on the headphones, and played Track 3 til it was two minutes and forty eight seconds in.
He wrote the next word in and then put the cassette away in a rush, eager to get to the next-and what looked like the last-clue. He wasn't entirely sure how it happened, but he was starting to have fun with this little game. He felt smart figuring out the clues and he was so close to deciphering the code. He didn't have to tell anyone how easily he got distracted by some weird notebook he found in the library. It could just be his little secret.
Now for the last clue… for now. This one's personal. Find my favorite book to read this time of year. I love it so much it makes me want to break into song.
And then two sets of numbers. This last book would crack the whole thing.
This time of year? It had to be something wintry. And the thing about the song was obviously a clue, so the title must pertain to something musical. Song, sing, tune, dance, notes, musical, opera…
No.
Natsume groaned but moved dutifully through the shelves until he found it: A Christmas Carol.
And just like that he had cracked the code. He'd solved the whole thing.
Natsume checked his phone to see that almost an hour had passed and he'd hardly noticed at all. The librarian at the front desk was eyeing him suspiciously. She knew him from the occasional class trek to mass check out one required reading every once in a while, but she also knew that he still hadn't returned a book from the first semester at school so she obviously didn't expect good things from him.
His time was running out. He flipped the page to finish this adventure up.
I'm very impressed. You've managed to crack the code.
Depending on your answer, our journey doesn't have to end here.
I'm assuming you're a teenager, like me, since you're in the school library. If you're not, put this notebook away and don't ever pick it up again. If you are, my hopes are that you're a boy who likes girls. If you don't like girls, I wish you all the best in your romantic endeavors, but since this is an attempt at an endeavor of my own, I ask you to put the book back.
Natsume flipped the page.
Now is the time to give me the answer to my question. If you're the kind of person I'm looking for, but your answer is no, then I'm happy for you, but our journey together ends here. It was fun while it lasted. But if your answer is yes, then we already have that in common.
Natsume sighed.
After all those clues and running up and down the aisles in the library, he'd finally cracked the code, only to be posed the question: Are you going to be lonely on Christmas?
With his dad working long hours at his job and his sister rarely home, it did seem that way. His house was cold these days, feeling bigger than usual despite its modest size. Coming home to dark rooms and money for take-out on the counter wasn't exactly the key to a heartwarming holiday. He'd be home alone. Maybe he'd venture over to the Nogi house after he was sure they'd exchanged presents so he could give one to Ruka and maybe get invited for dinner, but even that plan made him a burden.
Yes.
If yes, then here's my next request of you.
Leave a message telling me how this time of year makes you feel. If I like your answer, you just might hear from me. If you're not scared.
Natsume leaned out of the aisle to look past the shelf at the librarian, who was still staring in his direction. He moved back and shrugged.
Ruka wanted him to find a date, after all. Might as well give it a shot. It probably wouldn't go anywhere anyway.
What kind of person was so desperate to not spend Christmas alone that they set up an elaborate game in a notebook someone might find? His curiosity was piqued, to say the least, and it's not like he had anything else to do in the first place. What kind of a person was this Clue Girl?
He pulled out a pen from his backpack and then started writing.
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're the kind of person I'm looking for. If that's the case, and I suspect it is (since A Christmas Carol is your favorite Christmas story, Scrooge), then I know you'll agree when I say: It's the most detestable time of the year...
When Natsume finished writing, he shut the journal and put it back on the shelf. It was doubtful the girl would see it again until January, but when she did, she'd see that he decided to leave her a clue of his own.
He wouldn't be the only one dragged around on a scavenger hunt, after all.
December 12th
MIKAN
She honestly didn't care what anyone said. This was the greatest time of the year! Mikan loved Christmas! Of course she did! After all, in her family, Christmas was all about love: when her grandpa met her grandma, when her mother met her father, when her uncle met his husband, when her older brother Tsubasa met his girlfriend. Well, the last story was a bit more complicated than that, but still, to Mikan, Christmas was love.
Mikan didn't have a love story of her own. She tried, over and over, but it never bloomed the way she wanted.
Anything from starting up a chat next to a cute stranger at the annual Christmas Eve showing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas or approaching another visitor of her favorite house on Candy Cane Lane, she tried it all to no avail.
"You like The Grinch too? It's one of my favorite Christmas movies. It's like A Christmas Carol, but with way more holiday cheer. Really, I should say A Christmas Carol is like The Grinch except that it only happens to take place on Christmas. The Grinch is all about Christmas-"
"Sorry, I'm actually saving that seat."
Blown off every time, Mikan was starting to believe that a Christmas love story simply wasn't in her cards. But that was okay, because love wasn't just a boyfriend! Love was family, and Mikan's family did Christmas like nobody else-
"What do you mean you're not going to be here for Christmas?!" Mikan asked, shocked to see her parents by the front door of their apartment, suitcases packed and all bundled up in their coats.
Her mother smiled apologetically. "Well, we told you we were planning a romantic trip for the winter-"
"I thought you meant for Valentine's Day!"
"You'll be alright here," her father said. "You still have Tsubasa and your grandpa, after all. And we'll call you on Christmas to watch you open your presents."
"Your father and I have needed a vacation for quite some time now," her mom added. "Please understand."
And Mikan waved sadly as her parents were whisked away by a taxi to the mythical land of Fiji.
But her parents were right. A smaller family than usual was still a family, and there was no way she could be lonely if she was celebrating with her brother and grandpa-
"You're leaving too?!"
Her Jii-chan was beaming happily. "I'm visiting my girlfriend for Christmas," he exclaimed. "Tsubasa will take care of you. He's responsible enough."
And Mikan didn't have the heart to complain, seeing him so ecstatic. He had struggled with his long-distance relationship. She could sometimes hear him crying from the living room at night. Tsubasa taught him how to do face calls, but it only lessened the pain by a fraction. So she also waved him good-bye.
After all, she wasn't alone. She was close with her brother after all, and since they were both single this year, they could have a really fun, festive time, just the two of them-
Tsubasa went barging through the front door, a grin on his face.
Mikan looked up from her place on the couch, where she was watching Elf. She'd been excitedly waiting for his return home. "Tsubasa! Great! I was thinking the two of us could go get hot cocoa tonight from the corner cafe like we do every year, just to start the holiday season off right-"
"MISAKI AND I JUST GOT BACK TOGETHER!" her brother declared proudly. "Christmas truly is a time for miracles!"
That was expectedly unexpected, but still! That brought the family up to three people, and the more the merrier. This was shaping up to be a great Christmas season. Just the three of them, a makeshift family, drinking hot cocoa together and chatting for hours. And Mikan had always liked Misaki very much, no matter how tumultuous her relationship with Tsubasa got. "That's awes-"
"She'll be here in a couple minutes, and I was planning on making this a date night, so Mikan, if you don't mind…"
"You want me to leave?" Mikan asked, hoping he'd say no and that her plan of hot cocoa could still hold water. Or even if they weren't in the mood to go out, they could at least let her join in for a night of board games.
Instead… "Yes, please, I really appreciate it!"
And when Mikan slowly got up from the couch, he hastily followed her out, pushing her ever so slightly towards the door.
"You're the best! Go somewhere fun, you'll have a great time!"
When the door closed behind her, Mikan's coat dropped over her shoulders by her impatient brother, she felt a horrible pit of acid unfurling in her stomach. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Christmas alone. She'd never experienced such a travesty. The holidays had always been a time of family and love and cheer, and now she felt like she was facing it all on her own.
She sat in the corner cafe, which was adorned with wreaths and holly and twinkly lights, sipping at her festive hot cocoa and morosely people-watching. Most of the time, when she went with her family to this cafe, she hardly noticed the other clientele, because she was too busy loving and being loved.
But this time she was alone.
There were a group of middle school girls in the corner, giggling in their hats and scarves. An elderly couple with a grandchild, cooing and laughing together. A young couple, sitting close, their hands intertwined as they whispered to each other.
Families and friends and lovers. Christmas was about love, but Mikan wasn't really feeling the holiday cheer this time around. She pouted at her solitary table. Christmas, alone. A travesty.
December 13th.
"I would invite you, Mikan, but my brother and I are meeting in the middle for Christmas this year. It's our way of 'reconnecting' as you always put it." Hotaru sat at her desk, flipping through the pages of her boring science book like she was skimming a magazine. "So there's no room for you in the equation."
"We've got to do something together at least!" Mikan whined, grabbing her best friend's hand. "You can't let me spend the holiday season all on my own!"
"I never understood that," Hotaru mused. "Why can't it just be one day? Why do you have to make a production out of it every year? Why must it be a two-week long event? Maybe your family is just tired of chasing you around every Christmas, doing all these cumbersome activities."
"These are family traditions, Hotaru! Traditions that my family are desecrating! They're ruining Christmas!" Mikan slumped in her seat. "The least you can do is keep me company on Candy Cane Lane."
"Absolutely not. I don't have the patience to look at every single light fixture with you."
"The Grinch?"
"God, I hate that movie. Hypocritical at most and generally irritating at least."
"You don't mean that," Mikan said, mostly to herself. "Gingerbread house?"
"Unless there's crab paste involved, I'll pass."
"There could be!"
"Pass."
"Christmas cannoli?"
"God, Mikan, just get other friends with the same annoying interests as you," Sumire said from behind them. "Imai is obviously set on being a Scrooge, just like every year, but it's hard not to be when you're always acting like you're Santa's favorite elf."
Mikan clapped her hands together excitedly. "Speaking of, I just watched Elf last night! Or part of it, until Tsubasa-"
"Not even friends. You need a boyfriend." Sumire placed a hand on her hip and sighed melodramatically.
"Huh?"
"Mikan is incapable of scoring a date most of the year, let alone during Christmas," Hotaru informed Sumire blandly. "She's about as enticing as a gingerbread cookie making class."
"That sounds pretty enticing to me," Mikan said.
"And only to you," Sumire retorted. "Imai's got a point. You come on very strong. It can scare suitors away."
"It's not my fault I have a bold personality," Mikan said with a pout.
"Then whose is it?" Hotaru bit out, her eyes never leaving her dull book.
"Listen, we just need to connect you with someone in a less traditional way. What you really need to do is meet someone indirectly. That way you can't scare them off."
"Like a blind date?" Mikan squirmed in her seat.
"Absolutely not," Hotaru deadpanned. "We are not ambushing an innocent man with dinner and Mikan. We have to work up to that. You only just got a boyfriend, but you think you're an expert. You're ridiculous. We have to build a connection where Mikan can't accost him, like, an online dating situation."
"I could never do something like that," Mikan murmured, nervous at how seriously her friends were taking this situation. "I mean, it's okay. I have my caroling group. We meet up every once in a while. We can do Christmas stuff together. Then again, they're all adults so they don't like to hang out with me after caroling as much and they all have jobs and friends and duties-"
"Online dating is out of the question," Sumire said, completely ignoring Mikan. "The only thing guys want from online dating is a hook-up. Mikan wants something long term. We need to find a guy who'd be into her, not just her body."
"How on Earth are you gonna find someone like that?" Hotaru asked incredulously, finally lifting her eyes off the book.
"Hey!" Mikan tried to interject.
Sumire hesitated, but only for a moment. Something seemed to catch her eye and then a wicked gleam shone in her pupils. "We catch him of course." She reached into Mikan's backpack, ignoring her indignant protests, and then pulled out her very private journal. Sumire placed the red faux leather notebook on Hotaru's desk with a smirk. "We'll keep it anonymous. She'll leave clues in the notebook and when someone finds it, they'll have to be smart enough to solve the puzzle in order to meet her."
"We'll leave it in the library," Hotaru pitched it, suddenly very intrigued. "That way we can be sure a guy her own age will find it."
"We're fucking geniuses," Sumire squealed. She opened the journal and gleefully tore out all the pages that were written in. Mikan gasped in horror, but she was lucky that she had only recently started writing in that particular journal. "Keep these sad pages to reread when you have a boyfriend," Sumire said offhandedly, dropping the torn pages on Mikan's desk. "And then you can come find us and thank us for saving you from an eternity of loneliness."
Mikan sighed in resignation, working to stuff her pages in her backpack so nobody could see her deep dark thoughts.
Sumire and Hotaru worked together to create the clues, grabbing Mikan by the hand after school and dragging her to the library where they searched for books.
"If he's gonna date my best friend, then he has to have an appreciation for science," Hotaru would say.
"There's no way I'll allow Mikan to date a guy without a sense of fashion," Sumire would reply.
Together, they created a set of clues to ensnare Mikan's "dream guy," but Mikan wondered how much of her own dream guy he could be if none of the clues were about her.
"Can't I come up with a clue?" Mikan asked. "It's my love life after all."
"We came up with one for you!" Sumire exclaimed excitedly. Mikan wondered when they had accomplished that. "Here, for the fifth and final clue, thus the most important one: This one's personal. Find my favorite book to read this time of year. I love it so much it makes me want to break into song."
"A Christmas Carol?" Mikan said.
"Wow, she guessed that pretty fast," Hotaru muttered. "Even idiots have their moments."
"It's my favorite Christmas book, but I don't even read that many Christmas books! I definitely don't like it as much as Elf or The Grinch or Rudolph! Why couldn't it have been a Christmas movie, or you could've included a non-Christmas book-"
"You need someone who's interested in the holiday spirit at least half as much as you are," Sumire rebuffed. "So it has to be Christmas. And we're in a library, so all the clues have to be something he can find here. Cut him some slack."
Mikan gave up.
Her friends had enlisted the help of the librarian, Sumire's aunt, to keep an eye on the book for them, to see if anyone looked at it or wrote in it.
But it didn't make a difference. It wasn't like anyone was going to find the book anyway. There were only a few days before the winter break started. Who would even visit the library so late, let alone go on a dorky scavenger hunt, picking through books and sorting out codes? Most people had better things to do.
And so the days passed, and not a single person touched that book.
Until, on the final day of school before the break, Sumire called in a hurry a couple hours after class was dismissed.
When Mikan picked up, her ear was immediately assaulted by a yell into the receiver. "YOU HAVE A CALLER! SOMEBODY REPLIED!"
mikan's dare 2: visit santa
December 18th
NATSUME
For the most part, the scavenger hunt had left his mind. He'd eventually gone home to a chilly house, ate fast food down the street, and then went to bed early after playing a few hours of video games. All in all, he was resigned to spending winter break in style: by himself.
He was okay with that. What was he supposed to do? Cry himself to sleep? No way.
His dad worked long hours out of necessity. He was a single dad, still dealing with the loss of a wife and raising two teenagers on his own. There's no way Natsume could complain about that for the sake of something as stupid and meaningless as a "family Christmas."
And Aoi was making friends. After her long period of out of character shyness in middle school, she was finally out of her shell again. She'd been bullied so terribly that her irritating and almost narcissistic personality had been forced deep down, where only her brother and father could see it, which was a shame, because they didn't really want to see it. But now, she had friends. She was her old self again. Natsume wouldn't try to stave off her progress by burdening her with his loneliness. It wasn't worth it.
So the logical thing to do was make individual plans for the holiday season, like eating by himself and playing video games by himself and reading by himself and maybe hanging out with Ruka once in a while.
He was more than fine with this set up. If he was lucky, he could even forget it was Christmas season at all.
But then he got a text from Koko.
target acquired ;)
Natsume furrowed his eyebrows. How? He'd only replied yesterday! The girl had to be some sort of dork if she was frequenting the library on a daily basis.
Yesterday he'd left a code of his own to the mystery girl: if she wanted to continue their little game, she had to visit the Yome Family Pizza Shop and replace the journal on the counter under the tip jar. She had to leave another clue for him to be able to find her again, as well as her name. There was only so much anonymity he would put up with.
"So you're playing hide-and-seek to try and score a date for the Winter Formal?" Koko asked, leaning across the counter with an ever-present sly smile on his face. Natsume stopped by right after school to let him know the plan. "Because Ruka told you to? Even though he definitely can't score a date himself in that short of a time?"
"Something like that," Natsume quipped, sitting at the counter and chewing on his pizza. "I'm just telling you to keep an eye out on the counter. And if you spot the girl herself, tell me what she looks like."
"You're so shallow."
"I'm curious."
"And if she's a complete uggo, then what? The game is off?"
"I never said that."
"But you meant it." Koko hesitated. "But isn't it kinda unfair for you to know what she looks like without her knowing what you look like? That's sorta uncool."
Natsume rolled his eyes. "Just think of this whole thing as like a secret spy mission, or a stake-out."
Koko's demeanor shifted again. "Of course I'll keep watch, pal! I'll keep my eyes glued to the counter like a hawk." He demonstrated by turning and zeroing in on the tip jar, face blank and focused.
"You don't have to give it too much thought. She probably won't see my reply until January. In the meantime, I'm just letting you know."
"I'm just honored you decided to go with me and not Ruka!" Koko turned back to Natsume with glee. "Me! Over your own best friend!"
"You're a direct line to a public place." Natsume gestured around them. Yome's Pizza was Koko's uncle's business, and Koko himself worked frequent shifts there, manning the register after school and during breaks like this one. It would be better to invite Clue Girl to a pizza place than to Ruka's house or something. Much less creepy this way. Allegedly, this pizza place was where Koko met his so-called "girlfriend" but Natsume was unconvinced of her existence. "And besides, I don't want to have to explain this to Ruka right away. I think he might give me a funny look, like he's proud of me for 'putting myself out there' or something stupid like that."
"Well, I'm proud of you too," Koko said, grasping Natsume's hands with his own. "You're growing up-"
"Shut up." Natsume rolled his eyes, pulling his hands away. "Just remember the tip jar."
"I'll let you know as soon as I see a red journal."
And so he did, texting a mere sixteen hours after Natsume found the stupid thing in the library.
So Natsume stopped by for a slice of pizza at 9:28 AM, making suspicious eye contact with Koko as he entered.
Koko waved ecstatically. "She was here!" he exclaimed, setting the journal down by Natsume's usual seat at the counter. "Your girlfriend was actually here!"
"She isn't my girlfriend," Natsume clarified. "I don't even know her. This is just a game."
"Whatever, at least she will be your girlfriend!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Natsume admonished. "What did she look like?"
Koko's smile withered. "Well…"
"Well what?"
"The notebook was already under the tip jar by the time I started my shift," Koko confessed. "So I didn't actually see her myself."
"Can we use the security cameras to see-"
"What security cameras?" Koko laughed at his friend's faux pas. "Whatever. She replied. And she left another clue for you, I think."
He gestured meaningfully to the notebook and then walked to the register where a customer was waiting.
Natsume slowly opened the notebook, flipping the pages until he got to the most recent entry.
Dear Notebook Boy,
Nice try. If you want to get to know me, it'll be through this book. If that's too challenging for you, then please return the book to someone willing to follow through.
"Oh, yeah," Koko said, interrupting his customer to address Natsume again. "She's kinda pissed you tried to trick her into revealing her identity."
"How could she even know that?" Natsume asked, astonished.
Koko shrugged awkwardly before turning back to the now irritated customer.
Natsume looked back at the book.
And if you want my name, you'll have to earn it through a dare.
You hate Christmas, right? Your mission, if you're brave enough to accept it, is to ask Santa for my name. If you've been a good boy this year, you've got nothing to worry about. But… if you want to get past the Santa guard, you might have to get naughty. Head to the biggest department store in the Christmas Village to find Jolly Old St. Nick.
He closed the book. So she was a sadist, was she?
Koko handed the customer his change and knowingly winked at his friend. "I mean, you've come this far, right?"
"I don't understand why I had to come too," Koko said, slipping his hands into his coat pockets glumly. "I already did my Christmas shopping."
"You're the one pressuring me into seeing this through, so you have to take responsibility," Natsume explained.
"I am not pressuring you at all. Here, let's just go back home-"
"No," Natsume said, elbowing Koko in the ribs. "Let's just go."
"You're so difficult to love," Koko teased. "This girl is in for a nightmare."
Still, he followed Natsume to the entrance to Santa's Workshop, where parents were lining up to have their kids sit on an old man's lap and reveal personal details to a stranger. "This whole thing is so creepy," Natsume whispered. "This girl must be some sort of sadist."
"Most people think Santa is cute," Koko retorted. "Maybe she just wants you to feel the Christmas spirit."
"I don't think so," Natsume dismissed. "I think I know her better than you do. She's torturing me."
"Just be nice to Santa. I don't think naughty kids get the presents off their wish lists."
"Uh huh." Natsume decided to get this over with, moving forward to the start of the line.
A bespectacled young man dressed in an embarrassing elf costume held an oversized candy cane up to block his path.
"Twelve and under," the elf said.
"I'll be quick."
"Twelve and under," he repeated, unamused.
"So, what I'm hearing is that you've made it a store policy to discriminate against teenagers."
"Teenagers cause trouble," the elf replied easily.
"Well, I'm eleven." When the elf bored into him with unfeeling and unaffected eyes, Natsume tried again. "I'm tall for my age."
"I'm calling security-"
Natsume froze, suddenly terrified that this dare had already gone horribly wrong before he'd even met Santa.
"Yo, do I know you?!" Koko shouted out amicably, suddenly appearing by Natsume's side to address the elf.
"Not unless you've been to the North Pole," the elf snarked.
"I swear I've seen you before!" Koko stared hard at the elf before he snapped his fingers. "You're an actor!" The elf's demeanor shifted, a smile spreading across his lips. "I knew it! You were on that crime show! You played… You played the murderer-!"
Right as the elf was helping, "The corpse-"
"-The murdered corpse!" Koko exclaimed victoriously.
"You saw that?" the elf asked, obviously touched.
"Are you kidding? You were incredible! I actually thought they used a real corpse for that scene, you were so convincing!"
"Thank you so much! You know, that role was particularly tricky-"
Natsume took his chance and snuck off, the elf thoroughly distracted by Koko's invented praise.
He raced ahead to the front of the line, past all the kids who were waiting. One child hopped off of Santa's lap and the next little girl moved to go next, but Natsume cut her off.
"Sorry, I'll just be a moment."
"Ho ho ho!" Santa cried. "We've got a big boy!" He was much younger than the usual Mall Santa. Natsume couldn't see a single wrinkle, so the white hair from the wig and fake beard seemed very off-putting. "I like to say you're never too old for Santa, but-"
Natsume cut him off, not in the mood for a whole conversation. Besides, there were kids waiting. "I'm not here to ask you for a present." He pulled the notebook out from his coat. "She sent me." He pointed to the red cover.
Santa nodded knowingly. "I see. Our mutual friend." He winked.
"Yes, so can I have her name?"
"Right up here, in my hat," Santa replied, poking at the fur lined hat on his head. "But, come, sit on my lap first."
Natsume blinked. "No thanks."
"If you want the present, you gotta sit on Santa's lap first," Santa taunted, wagging his finger. "Don't be naughty."
Natsume glared at him, but the parents behind him were starting to get frustrated, shouting at him to get a move on already. "Oh, for the love of-" He moved forward. "Fine." He wasn't entirely sure how, but this was somehow Koko's fault.
He was determined to do the bare minimum, to be mostly standing against Santa's leg, but Santa couldn't have that, grabbing him and firmly seating him on his lap. Natsume swallowed hard with discomfort.
"So about the name-"
"I'm gonna give you a warning, you little brat," Santa spat. "Our mutual friend is someone very special and dear to me, and I don't want her dating some snarky teenage smartass who thinks he's too good for her."
"Would you just give me the hat-"
"Promise me you won't hurt her."
Santa's grip on his shoulder was too firm, and Natsume was starting to lose feeling in his arm. "Ow, you are hurting me."
The parents gasped at that, and Natsume could see the elf shaking his head and making his way over to Santa's chair.
"Just promise!"
"Just give me the hat!" He leaned in to threaten, "Or I'll tell all these parents Santa smells like weed."
"Don't you dare, you asshole!"
Natsume reached up and ripped the hat off Santa's head, causing the wig to come loose. Santa cried out in surprise, reaching up to realign his wig, but Natsume was already gone, running away from the chair, gripping the notebook and hat as tight as he could. Unfortunately, a security guard was in his path, and just as he was about to change route, the elf appeared out of the blue, knocking him backward.
"What did I tell you? Teenagers cause trouble." He crossed his arms. "Are you going to come quietly?"
Natsume let himself be dragged outside of the store by the security guard and the elf, who followed after, shouting all the while.
"You are banned from SantaLand forever!" the elf announced.
"We don't have that kind of authority," the security guard said, eyeing the elf with judgment. "But you should stay away from this store from now on. And behave next time."
They walked away, diligently returning to the store.
Natsume pulled the hat out from under his coat. He'd managed to hide the hat and notebook in the midst of all that confusion.
He stared at the hat, turning it over slowly in his hands. He kept turning it, trying to find the name of the mystery girl somewhere on it. He shook the hat, but there was nothing inside. It was only when he looked inside the brim that he saw-
-A little mandarin orange, carefully hand-embroidered in bright colors.
Oh.
"Is that an actual smile I see?" Koko gasped in awe. "Incredible, the Hyuuga Natsume, with an actual smile on his face! It must be a Christmas miracle!"
"No," Natsume brushed him off, ducking his chin down. "But I did get a present from Santa."
"You stole a present from Santa," Koko corrected. Natsume shrugged, still staring fondly at the hat. "You actually had fun, didn't you?"
"Don't go around telling people that, because no one will believe you," Natsume warned.
"I got a present too!" Koko lifted up a photograph of the elf, dressed normally and not in that horrible costume. In Sharpie was written: Dear Koko! Stay jolly! Love, Megane the Elf!
"Is that an autographed headshot?"
"Yep! That elf is an actual celebrity! He's been on TV and in real stage plays! He's actually pretty cool!"
Natsume shook his head skeptically. He turned to the Santa hat again. "I think her name is Mikan," he told Koko.
"Mikan?"
"Yeah, there's a little embroidered orange here, and I have the feeling-"
"Mikan," Koko said with a smile. "I like that name."
"Yeah," Natsume agreed. "Me too." He remembered that he still had the red notebook in his pocket. "Hey, Koko, I think I'm banned for life from this place. Can you do me a favor?"
natsume's dare 1: go out for pizza
December 17th
MIKAN
She had only barely opened the notebook, excited to see if there could truly be love on the horizon for her, when she read several horrible words: Christmas is the most detestable time of the year.
"NO WAY!" Mikan slammed the door after entering her apartment. "HE HATES CHRISTMAS!"
Tsubasa and Misaki jumped from where they were canoodling on the couch.
"Mikan," Tsubasa said gingerly. "You might want to try a subtler entrance next time."
"The boy in the notebook," Mikan continued, ignoring him. "The one person who responded to the dumb experiment I told you guys about-he doesn't even like Christmas."
"But loving Christmas is, like, your whole personality in December," Misaki said.
"I know!"
Tsubasa shrugged. "Seems like he's not the one for you," he said. "Cut your losses and move on. Hope for better luck in January."
"What?" Mikan deflated. "Give up?"
"Well, yeah."
"Shouldn't I try anyway? Be more open-minded? Fight for it?"
Misaki snorted. "Mikan, you don't even know the guy. He's just pen on paper. He's not worth fighting for. If there's no connection, there's no connection. Move on."
Tsubasa and Misaki turned back to their cuddling, and Mikan sadly retreated into her bedroom, the notebook still in her hands.
When Sumire handed off the notebook, she had wrinkled her nose. "My aunt says she has no idea what his name is, but the only description she could give was that he was snarly."
Maybe she should give up on him. He was only the first caller after all.
Maybe the only caller she'd get.
She was being unfair, judging him so harshly and taking him completely out of the running based on a few measly words. She sat on her bed and kept reading.
Hello Clue Girl,
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're the kind of person I'm looking for. If that's the case, and I suspect it is (since A Christmas Carol is your favorite Christmas story, Scrooge), then I know you'll agree when I say: It's the most detestable time of the year.
Forced cheer, frenzied crowds, carolers. It's enough to make anyone barf.
It's cold. It's wet. Everything is too bright. Too red. Too green. Too tinselly. Too twinkly.
Too depressing.
Why anyone would get all stoked about it is anybody's guess.
And it really sucks that everyone expects you to be joyful even when you're not. Because when you're alone at Christmas it's somehow worse than being alone the rest of the year.
If you know what I mean, turn the page.
Mikan exhaled. She hadn't expected that. She'd been upset and frustrated at his description of Christmas. There could never be too much tinsel! And she was a caroler herself! This was slander! But then…
He'd hit the nail on the head. Mikan had never felt quite so lonely as she did at that moment. She thought back to that night she'd spent in the cafe, drinking cocoa by herself. She came there on her own all the time to have a coffee or pastry and she'd never felt a yearning sting or bitter ache, not like she had that night she'd found out she'd be spending the Christmas season on her own.
Is that how he felt too?
She turned the page.
A coupon fell out, for a place called Yome Family Pizza Shop. The address and phone number were listed there, as well as a cheerful slogan and a picture of their specialty pizza.
Go to the location on the menu. Sneak the notebook under the tip jar at the counter. Leave your name in the notebook too, so I have something to call you other than "Clue Girl."
Her stomach growled. Well, it was eight in the evening and it's not like Tsubasa or Misaki were about to invite her for a meal. It was dinner time and pizza did sound good…
Mikan skipped down the street. She'd never been so excited to eat pizza before.
She entered the store and suddenly her stomach sank.
Yome's was packed, absolutely filled to the brim with customers. There was no way she'd be eating here tonight. She'd just drop the notebook off with her answer and take off to go someplace less busy. If she waited too long for food she might starve.
She pushed past customers and fought to get to the front of the line, near the counter.
"Excuse me, don't mind me," she said cheerfully. She picked up the tip jar off its place on the counter and the guy behind the register turned to glare at her.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" he snapped at her. "We work hard for those tips, lady!"
"No, I'm not stealing! I'm just leaving something-" She panicked and held up the red notebook. "Does this mean anything to you?"
"YOU!" He pointed his finger in her face. "You're Clue Girl!"
He asked her what kind of pizza she wanted and then directed her to sit in one of the booths. He finished up some orders and then got someone else to replace him before he headed over to her with a slice of pizza on a paper plate. He dropped it on the table and then sat across from her.
"Clue Girl! In the flesh! Amazing!"
"Are you the boy in the notebook?"
"Nope, nope, not at all!" the guy responded. "I'm just one of his closest friends, Koko. Not his best friend, mind you, because that position is taken-"
"Aw," Mikan frowned in sympathy.
"Don't worry about it. Your boyfriend's not my best friend either. I have another one, thanks. One that's a lot more reliable."
"He's unreliable?" Mikan asked nervously.
"Well, how reliable can a guy be if he's trying to cheat at this little game you two are playing?" Koko laughed, but when he saw Mikan's affronted look, he froze. "Uh… I mean… really he just wanted me to catch a glimpse. Nothing more. He wasn't being a creep or anything, he was just curi-"
"You can't tell him you saw me!" Mikan blurted out.
"Huh?" Koko cocked his head to the side. "Why not?"
"Well… because I don't want him to know who I am." Mikan leaned back in the booth.
"Don't you wanna meet him?"
"No!" Mikan inhaled. How could she want to meet him? The only thing he knew about her so far were words her friends had written for her. None of herself was even in that notebook quite yet. This mystery guy had been himself, had written his own words with his own hand, but Mikan hadn't had the chance. She needed more time. "Not quite yet. I want to get to know him first. It's a lot easier to just write things down in a notebook. I mean, this friend of yours doesn't even like Christmas!"
"And you do?"
"As my brother's girlfriend says, around December, loving Christmas is my entire personality."
"Oh dear."
"Yeah."
"But it's not a lost cause, you know," Koko said. "I mean, his best friend is a Christmas lover too and they've been inseparable since kindergarten. And, well, I'm something of a Die Hard fan, myself."
"Die Hard?"
"Only the greatest Christmas movie of all time!"
"I'm more of an Elf girl, myself but… hey, isn't that an action movie? How is that-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there, because you don't wanna get me started on that. All you need to know is that there's a lot he will tolerate for the people he cares about."
Mikan blushed at this new information. "What's he like, your friend?" she asked, grinning.
Koko shook his head. "I don't think I should tell you-"
"Is he snarly?"
Koko bit his lip. "Well… the word my uncle uses is reserved." He hesitated, looking down at the untouched slice of pizza he'd gotten for Mikan. "Listen… he's a bit complicated. He has walls. He's had to deal with a lot of hurt, so he's not exactly a cheerful person. But once he lets you in, you couldn't ask for a better friend. There's nobody who will look out for you more. Trust me."
Mikan had been a bit let down at first, to hear about such a dismal and uncheerful boy such as this one, but by the end of Koko's description, she was glad. A good friend was a wonderful starting point for a good boyfriend, wasn't it?
What kind of a person was Notebook Boy anyway? She was curious to find out.
"Can I?" she asked. "Can I trust you?"
Koko smirked. "Listen. I clock out at 9 PM. After that, my uncle and cousins handle all the business, and they're not in on the red notebook thing. I mean, if I clock in the next morning and find a red notebook under the tip jar, how could I possibly know where it came from? I mean, the girl must have come after I left-"
"Oh, thank you so much!" Mikan exclaimed, rushing out of her seat to give him a hug. "Would you really do that for me?"
Koko shrugged, cheeks red. "I mean, yeah. And for him."
Mikan took her seat again. "For him?"
"Like I said, he's a complicated guy." Koko slid the notebook over. "But you gotta give me more than this."
"What?"
"Your move, Notebook Boy, isn't really a response and you know it. Can't you at least leave your name? I mean, that's what he asked for."
"Absolutely not!" Mikan shook her head. "He tricked me and sent you to spy on me-"
"Spy is a harsh word-"
"So I'm not really excited to…" She hesitated before grinning. "Wait… Your friend hates Christmas, right?"
Koko nodded slowly. "With a burning passion."
"If he wants my name so bad, he's gonna have to earn it." Mikan took the notebook and opened to the next fresh page. "He's gonna have to ask Santa."
December 18th
Mikan waited on the apartment steps, all bundled up in her favorite winter coat, watching the snowfall against the night sky. There was plenty of snow tonight, and she felt compelled to stick her tongue out and catch some flakes.
She heard someone call out, "Ho ho ho!" and then jumped to her feet.
"SANTA!" she exclaimed, running down the icy sidewalk towards the man dressed as Father Christmas.
"Careful!" he warned, but he still held his arms open for her. She hugged him tight.
"Tono!" She pulled away, looking into his eyes with excitement. "How was your shift tonight? I see your hat is missing."
Tono was her neighbor and she'd known him pretty much her whole life. He was way too young to play Santa. Everyone knew that, but he needed a job and when he'd asked his friend at the department store, there had only been one open position, so Tono took what was available. He was willing to play the part, to wear the wig and beard, to sweat all day and lose feeling in his legs as countless children crawled onto his lap to request their Christmas wishes. He wasn't too bad with kids either.
Mikan reckoned that one day, when he looked more the part, Tono could be a perfect Santa.
"Yep, I have a present for you." Tono handed her the familiar notebook. "He came right at the end of my shift with a plate of milk and cookies," he said sarcastically. "But, Mikan, if I'm being honest, I don't really like the look of this guy. He's kind of an ass. I don't like him and I'm telling you right now, your grandpa definitely won't like him."
Mikan shrugged. "Jii-chan isn't here."
"I'm just letting you know what I think. Be careful."
Mikan bit her lip sadly.
"Aw, don't be like that," Tono said, gently pushing at her arm. "It's Christmas. If anyone's supposed to be smiley at Christmas, it's Mikan. So Merry Christmas and ho ho ho and Happy Holidays and all that."
"Merry Christmas, Tono," she replied, giving him one more hug.
He made his way into the building but Mikan couldn't wait. She sat on the steps again and flipped to the latest page.
Dear Mikan,
Fine. We'll play your way. If we're gonna do this, I agree to play by your rules. No sting operations. No last names. No social media stalking. No pressure to meet. Personal questions are fair game, but answers have to be earned with a dare.
Well, I did your dare.
Tell me, what do you want for Christmas?