Happy birthday, Blackrose108! (For the other readers, her birthday is the 14th, not today.)

"Mannen, what are you going to be when you grow up?" Hajime asked, and Shin nodded in agreement. They were sitting at the base of the giant tree in Leafeania, with nothing to do. All of the older knights were at work, and the younger boys were tired of roaming the streets.

"I dunno. S'not like I really care." Mannen stood and jammed his hands into his pockets. He wouldn't have to worry about that for at least five years. Right now, he had to evade Sasame. "It's almost 3:00. I suggest we hide soon, before Sasame comes back." He sauntered away, expecting them to follow. But after a few paces, he realized that he was alone. The Leafe Knight of Ice turned around to see Shin and Hajime still sitting in place, staring at him with their wide eyes. "What're you waiting for?" Mannen asked. "Come on!"

"But, Mannen…" Shin began.

"What?"

"If… If you keep skipping your lessons like this, you'll never get a real job."

Hajime laughed. "Yeah, you'll be the Santa Claus at the mall!"

Mannen blanched. Playing dress-up for the rest of his life was definitely not what he wanted to do! But he still had to look cool in front of the boys. "S-so? I don't care." He turned his back on them, crossed his arms, and stuck his head up in what he hoped was a convincing and impressive pose. "As long as I don't have to sit through Sasame's boring lessons."

A familiar figure came into sight, walking purposefully toward the three boys. He carried a thick book in the crook of his arm, and he held paper and pencils in his hands.

"Sasame!" Shin called as he tottered toward the Knight of Sound.

Hajime yelled back to Mannen before running to catch up with Shin. "Ha ha! Mannen's gonna be Santa Claus!"

Mannen watched them go, muttering under his breath. "…There's nothing wrong with being Santa Claus…"

But… What if I do have to dress up as Santa? That would mean… Noisy, annoying kids on my lap every day. I'd have to wear a scratchy beard and a heavy red coat. And…

"Hey, wait up, guys!"

-0-0-0-

Seven years later, Mannen got a job as the weatherman on the news channel. Himeno and Hayate got kicks out of seeing the Knight of Ice on TV every night, and it was even funnier when he was wrong. You'd think that Mannen would be pretty accurate, being a Leafe Knight and all, but unfortunately, he wasn't.

ALTERNATE ENDING

"Are you done with the Christmas shopping, Himeno?" asked Hayate. They'd been at the mall for hours. Surely, she should have bought all of the presents by now.

"Hold on, dear," she answered. He sighed. Any longer, and the mountain of gifts he was balancing would collapse.

"Santa!" a small voice piped. Their four-year-old daughter held her mother's hand in a death grip as she pointed at the Christmas display.

"Okay, Yuki-chan." Himeno gently led the little girl over to the display, smiling indulgently. Hayate carefully followed behind them, staggering from the weight of his load. Luckily, the line wasn't long, so Himeno and Yuki had a short wait until they approached the front of the line. As the family before them left, Himeno got a good look at "Santa" for the first time. His clear blue eyes and pure white hair was oddly familiar.

"Mannen?" Himeno asked hesitantly. "Is that you?" Meanwhile, Yuki had ran up to him and plopped down in his lap. "Santa!" she yelled cutely.

"Himeno? Uh, I…"

She stood there quivering for a full minute. Then, she exploded in laughter, unable to hold it in. "Ha Mannen ha ah ha you're San- haha Santa ha ha ha Claus haha ha!" Himeno sat down hard on the floor as tears streamed out of her eyes.

"So, Hajime and Shin weren't kidding when they were talking about your future job, hmm?" Hayate, seizing the chance, had rushed out and stuffed everything he was carrying into the car. Now, he stood behind Himeno, staring at Mannen with his hands on his hips.

"S-stop it! Don't laugh at me! It's only part-time!"

Merodi-chan, 12.13.05