Author's note: This whole chapter focuses on an entire different writing style/format, instead of your old long paragraphs, almost like as if this is a test chapter. Trying to see what works easier for the eyes and what doesn't or something. This is also surprisingly a shorter chapter, so I hope you won't get too bored about it. I've been really busy with other stuff so I couldn't really focus much on this. But I hope you enjoy the newest entry to this collection of stories. So, enjoy ^-^ (Might re-edit this, or add on more to this chapter later on actually. Honestly didn't feel too proud about this one since I don't think I portrayed some of the characters right here. Along with the fact that this was delayed a lot. Either way enjoy)
The events that have happen here, take place after the snowman competition, and date story. (Vol. 8 Ch. 69 + Vol. 6 Ch. 45). But you don't really need to know all that for this one.
As the days went by, the holidays have also started approaching . Not too much has happened between Nishikata and Takagi throughout the holidays, but then came christmas.
Nishikata Walked down the same street. Navigating through the maze like path, he then thinks to himself "... How can I get back at her in Christmas now...".
As usual, Nishikata continues to think how exactly he could get back at his friend Takagi, after all the teasing she's done to him. No matter what he's planned, she's seemngly always one step ahead of him and his plans. But this time around, it's different.
Continuing to walk down the path, Nishikata was actually walking towards the mall in all actuality, since school wasn't going to be in session for a while. But Christmas was nearing closer and closer.
"(Maybe I can get her some sort of fake present... A surprise attack! she won't see that spring coming just right out of the gift!)" Nishikata thought.
But then went back at a frustrated state because he kept thinking it just wouldn't work on Takagi, of all people.
Arriving at the mall, he began his search for any item that could help him or give him an idea on how to get back at Takagi.
Unfortunately, he couldn't quite find much at the first few stores. Becoming even more frustrated.
"Is there anything that would actually at least stand a chance against her?" Nishikata said, a bit out loud.
"Who're you talking to Nishikata?" A voice behind him replied.
Nishikata turned around, becoming startled for a moment until he saw who it was. "Takao?" Nishikata said, calming himself down.
"Didn't think I'd bump into you of all places" Takao said, "Neither did I" Nishikata replied.
"What're you doing here anyways Nishikata?" Takao asked, making Nishikata quickly start thinking of an excuse. "Oh well you see-" Nishikata started, but was soon interrupted.
"Don't tell me you're trying to get something for Takagi-san, isn't it?" Takao said. Nishikata then blushed a bit, but quickly replied "No! It's not like that!".
Takao smirked, and started walking, Nishikata also followed along while explaining "I'm just trying to surprise her with something is all" "It must be pretty special" Takao commented, "Again! It's not like that!".
As Nishikata calmed himself down a bit with a sort of confused Takao, Nishikata then asked "What're you doing here anyways?".
Takao stayed quiet for a bit, while Nishikata was wondering why he was like this until he finally spoke. "Just, trying to get a gift for someone is all".
Nishikata, even more curious, further asked "Who's this 'someone' ".
"Can't say" Takao quickly responded, riling up Nishikata's curiosity even more.
"Where were you heading to anyways Nishikata?" Takao asked, " Was trying to find anything that could be used for, or help me think about the 'surprise' " Nishikata replied to Takao.
"You sure are putting in a lot of effort for that" "Again!"
As the duo made their way throughout the mall, unfortunately, Nishikata couldn't find much for his own needs. Takao however did find what he was looking for in the end. The two then proceeded to exit the mall, walking down a snowy path. Later on, a conversation brewed up.
"Ear muffs?" "Well, er, yeah..." Takao responded to Nishikata.
"You got lucky then, since they really were the last ones on sale" Nishikata said. "Well, yeah... But they weren't the types I was looking for exactly" Takao said, as he grabbed the ear muffs out from his bag, revealing them to actually have some cat ears.
"Maybe this wasn't so much of a good idea" Takao said as he sighed.
Nishikata then decided to comfort his gloomy friend, "Well, you never know whether they'll like it in the end or not".
...
"Hey come on, at least you got something compared to me" Nishikata said, trying to break the awkward silence. Takao then gave out a gag, making Nishikata respond once more with "Again!"
...
"So are you gonna give it to them or not?" Nishikata asked, "Honestly, I don't really think this one's gonna work out" Takao responded. "Darn..." Nishikata muttered.
"If you want, I can give this to you" Takao said, "Maybe this really was the thing you were looking for in the end" as Takao let out a quiet laugh, while Nishikata became embarrassed once more.
"...Actually..." Nishikata started, as he actually did start thinking a bit more about this. Takao then raised an eyebrow and stopped laughing for a bit.
"Can you actually hand me that over?" Nishikata said, as his friend listened and gave the ear muffs to him.
Nishikata then put them on, "...H-how do I look...".
A burst of laughter took over Takao, while Nishikata became even more embarrased. "What? You're the gift?" Takao mocked, as he kept laughing.
Nishikata then proceeded to take out his cell phone, and see himself on his camera, and he too laughed. The both laughed for a good while before Nishikata then put the ear muffs away in the bag. "I think I know how to get back at her now" Nishikata said confidently with a smirk.
Takao once more raised an eyebrow, but decided to shrug it off once more, "Alright man, I'm glad I at least helped" Takao said, before he started giggling a bit more.
-Earlier before the boy's trip to the mall began
Takagi walked down the snowy path, humming a tune. "(I wonder what he's going to do for me this Christmas)" she thought, "(Don't think he'll ever expect something from me though)" she added on, as she continued her way down the path happily.
Takagi then made it to the abandoned lot, and actually saw a certain someone looking bored, sitting on the planks of wood alone. Takagi decided to approach the person, "Sanae?" she said.
The girl looked up to Takagi, "Oh, hey Takagi."
"What're you doing out here?" Takagi asked, as Sanae stood up. "Nothing too special at all, just thinking."
Takagi tilted her head a bit, continuing to ask her "Are Yukari and Mina here?".
"No actually, Yukari's out on a family trip, and Mina happens to be sick around this time. So it's just me." Sanae answered, "I got bored at home and decided to go for a jog, but it became a bit tiring thanks to this weather, so I took a break here".
"I see" Takagi responded, "I was actually gonna head towards the mall to go buy something, you wanna come with me?" She continued.
Sanae thought about it for a bit before answering, "Well it's not like I got anything better to do" making Takagi smile wide as the two began going down the path.
"So what exactly are you gonna be looking for?" Sanae questioned along the way. "Some yarn and materials for knitting" Takagi answered.
"You can knit?" "Yep" Takagi said back, impressing Sanae a bit.
"What're you knitting?" "A scarf. It's a gift for someone" Takagi said.
"Ah I see, that person must be lucky then" Sanae commented, With Takagi being a bit surprised about that comment. Almost making her blush.
"Are you preparing or getting a gift for someone, Sanae?" Takagi asked.
"Don't really plan to aside from getting one for and from my family, since my other friends are kind of busy you know." Sanae said, making Takagi's smile fade a bit.
"I see" Takagi said. "But I have also been a bit interested in knitting as well" Sanae continued, peaking Takagi's interest.
"You think you can teach me later on?" Sanae asked, "Sure!" Takagi responded.
...
"I'm telling you man, the Ultimate soccer series really did great crazy at around season 2!" Takao said.
The 2 boys continued down the path. They were really on their way to the little shop that they usually visit.
"Yeah definitely, I mean, just imagine how much more better it could be if they added a season 3!" Nishikata said. "Yeah, I'm having some high hopes for that, even though the studio hasn't teased or even talked about the possibilities for season 3. I heard that even though season 2 was good, not many got too into it" Takao said sadly.
Nishikata then also got a bit down, "Well, not everything can always come fast, which is why we sometimes just have to play the waiting game and hope for the best" Nishikata said.
"You think they'd make the spinoff from the manga series an anime?" Takao asked. "Well I hope they can, that was a good spinoff too, and the artists have already put in a lot of chapters already, so it's possible" Nishikata replied.
"Yeah... Oh we're here" Takao noticed, as the two arrived at the shop.
Nishikata then opened the door, and to both boy's surprise, Takagi and Sanae were there, looking at list of sweets and food. "Ah, hello Nishikata and Takao-kun!" Takagi greeted, followed by a "Yo" from Sanae.
"A-ah, hey Takagi-san... And Sanae-san" Nishikata greeted back with a wave. Nishikata then noticed some bags next to the door.
"O-oh hey Takagi-san...A-And Sanae-san" Takao greeted back as well.
"You looking for some snacks?" Takagi asked, as she approached the 2. "Actually, uh, we're more hungry for something other than a snack" Nishikata responded
"I see, well we were too actually! at the moment we're just looking for what to eat, wanna join us?" Takagi said.
Nishikata thought about it for a bit, and then got into his zone, "(Of all times, I didn't think she'd be here, really. Especially when I got this item on my hand now. I'm just hoping she won't ask about it at all... Thinking about it now, what were those bags at the door? they kind of looked a bit familiar... Maybe they belong to her? Is she already planning to go on the offensive soon?!... No way... Nrgh)" "Nishikata?" Takagi called out the spaced out Nishikata
"Oh! Uh, sure! What do you say Takao? (Don't think you're gonna leave me alone on this one Takao!)" Nishikata snapped out for a bit.
"O-Oh yeah, sure (Damn it Nishikata!)" Takao said and thought, as the two boys made their way to the row of food with a happy Takagi.
"(I wonder what's up with Takao now actually... He's acted just a bit strange right after we entered the shop...)" Nishikata thought, while also thinking about what he was going to eat.
After a bit of time, Nishikata made his choice "Guess it's been a while since I've eaten this, so I"ll go with this" as he picked out the Thick Naruto ramen. Takagi noticing this also went with the same one, "Guess I will too" She said, causing Nishikata to blush a bit as he remembered a certain event happening here.
"Hm... I don't normally eat instant noodles... Guess I'll go with this one" Sanae said, as she picked out a cup that had vegetables (Kagoshima ramen). "...O-Oh, I like these too" Takao said a bit unexpectedly, as he also chose it.
As the 4 made their way to the register, about to buy their noodles, Nishikata realized he had a hefty amount of money since he couldn't find anything at the mall for his own needs. "O-Oh wait, guys" He said as he reached down to his pocket.
The 3 looked at him, "I think I got enough money to buy for everyone" Nishikata continued.
Takagi became a bit surprised about the offer "O-Oh, really Nishikata?" She asked.
Nishikata then realized too late on what he just did, "(... WAIT NO, THIS ISN'T WHAT I LOOKS LIKE... But then again, if I play it off and am able to invite everyone to it, maybe it won't loo-)" "Ah don't worry about me Nishikata" Takao interrupted his thought bubble, which later freaked him out.
"I appreciate the offer but I don't really want you to be too generous... For... Me... (How did I spend it all already)" Takao thought, as he couldn't find any change on himself.
Sanae looked at Takao suspiciously "You don't have any yen at all, do you" She said. "N-no wait I mean... Well... I-I just forgot about bringing an is all." Takao responded back with.
"Don't beat yourself over it, I actually was going to offer to buy everyone's stuff as well, but Nishikata beat me to it" Sanae said.
"A-Ah I see (Thank you Sanae-san)" Nishikata thought, but little did he know Takagi actually had something up her sleeve.
"How about this, since me and Nishikata have the same type of noodles, he'll buy for himself and me. The same thing applies with you Sanae and Takao-kun" Takagi said.
"Y-Yeah we could do th- (WAIT, NOW THIS ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE SOME SORT OF DATE, AND IS ALSO EMBARRASING!)" Nishikata thought, as he looked at Takagi "(Darn you Takagi-san...).
Sanae also agreed to it, and so both Nishikata and Sanae went off to buy the noodles. "It took you 2 pairs a while to just figure out who's paying" "We're not couples!" Nishikata quickly said while blushing, Sanae also looked a bit down, hiding her face. Takagi just laughed and Takao also tried to go along with it, a bit nervously.
As Nishikata was about to go up first and ready his noodles, he realized that there was a problem "Wait... There's only 2 chairs here" he noted.
The group also realizing this, looked at the shop owner, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't think there'd be more than 2 people wanting to stay and eat here during the winter. Not only that, but those really are the only 2 chairs here in this shop" he stated.
The group was in a bit of a pickle, but naturally, Nishikata and Takao volunteered to eat outside at the bench until Takagi spoke, "How about we all eat together outside somewhere?".
Both boys then began thinking about it, and because of that, Nishikata got back into his zone "(Maybe she's going on the offensive a little too soon... Then again we're a group, so I can't really see her teasing me too much, or embarrassing me... Maybe this is fine... But then agai-Huh?)" Nishikata's thoughts were on a pause, as he saw takao actually shaking a bit. Luckily for the 2 of them, the other 2 girls were more concentrated on Nishikata and his response than at the shooked Takao.
"(Could it be?...)" "Sure! I don't really see much of a problem so I'm fine with it" Takao said as he once more interrupted Nishikata's thoughts.
"(GAHHH, W-W-WAIT TAKA-)" But Nishikata's thoughts were once more cut off, "Alright then, what about you Nishikata?" Sanae asked.
"O-oh, uh, sure (NO, NO, NO!)" The boy thought, panicking about his words being too open to choices.
"Alright then, as a group we go" Takagi said happily, as she put some hot water in her noodles, opened the door and exiting. The group soon followed along with Nishikata in last place, trying to keep up a smile.
"oops.. Almost forgot the bag... Wait they left there's here too..." As Nishikata looked back at the group getting farther away, and then back at the bags.
"... I shouldn't... But..." Nishikata said as he stretched out his hand to see what was inside the girl's bag. But he once more snapped to his own senses "No..." he said. Off he went, carrying everyone's bags without knowing what was inside the girl's bags.
He checked his bag once more to make sure it wasn't too open enough to know someone peaked in there, which thankfully it wasn't, but then he noticed something further down inside the bag "What's this?".
As he had departed from the shop, he held up a little note in his hand, beginning to read it.
After all that, the shop owner was just confused as soon as the group departed, and were out of sight.
-After some time
Luckily for the group, they managed to quickly make it to the abandoned lot, and sit on the wooden planks, eating.
Nishikata arrived last, and as the group noticed him, the 2 girls also noticed their bags on his hands "Ah! Our bags" Takagi said.
"Yeah, I almost forgot about those bags along the way" Nishikata said, handing them over to Sanae and Takagi.
"Thanks Nishikata... You didn't happen to look at what was inside, did you?" Takagi questioned him, making Nishikata blush a bit.
"N-No I didnt!..." "Oh?..." Takagi said, as she gave out a smile.
Nishikata then instantly became stressed, "(W-W-Wait! Maybe she really did have something to use against me!... Nrgh, no way... And that was my only chance to see what was inside, now I'll never be able to know what's coming next for m-)" "Hey Nishikata, your noodles are getting way too soggy now" Takao warned his friend, as he continued eating his noodles.
Nishikata freaked out, while Takagi and Takao laughed a bit at him. Sanae observed this moment for a bit. "So did you, or did you not peak inside them Nishikata?" Sanae asked, followed by a "No! I didn't'" from Nishikata, as he soon later complained about his noodles being too soggy.
"Hm, what's in your guy's bag anyways" Sanae continued asking, causing Takao to then look very uneasy, and Nishikata almost spitting his food out.
"U-Uh, well, you see, it's just that... Well uh" Takao said, trying to think of an item other than the one inside the bag.
"well?" Sanae questioned again, making Takao force a smile while still thinking of an item.
"Well I mean, why should we show our item, when we don't even know what's in yours?" Nishikata said, only to be shutdown by Sanae as she said "But we don't even know if you really did peek into ours".
"(Damn, I can't get around her)" Nishikata thought, as he turned away making a bit of an annoyed face. Takagi then stood up from her seat, and got in front of Nishikata, leaning forward closer to him.
"Are you sure you didn't peak, Nishikata?" Takagi asked, as Nishikata started forming a tiny blush.
"N-No! I didn't" Nishikata said once more. "Are you lying?" Takagi questioned again, as she leaned even more closer to him. "(H-How can she act this way in front of people?!)" Nishikata thought, with his blush growing even more. He turned away and then answered once more truthfully "I.. I didn't Takagi-san".
Takagi's smile then faded a bit. Standing up straight, she continued observing Nishikata for a bit. "Hm, alright then, let's play a quick game when we're done eating, everyone" She announced.
Nishikata then became surprised but suspicious about this announcement, while the others were taken a bit aback by it. "And what's this game going to be? Takagi-san?" Takao asked first.
"A team snowball fight" She said.
"(...Hm... What's her game here..)" Nishikata thought. The 3 then agreed, and asked about what the rules were for the game.
"I was thinking it'd be me and Sanae against Nishikata and Takao. If you get hit by at least one snowball, you're out" Takagi explained.
"What's the prize, or punishment?" Nishikata questioned. He then realized why he had his suspicions about this whole thing.
"The way the prizes would work is like this, if our team manages to defeat your team, we get to see what's inside the bag, same could be said the other way around except, if your team gets defeated, but you took out one of us out, we see your bag, but you 2 get to choose which one of our bags you want to see. We'd have to show what's in all of ours bags if our team loses overall" Takagi finally explained.
"Ah... Wait a minute isn't this kind of unfair for your side?" Nishikata pointed out.
"Hm? you think we won't be able to beat you 2?" Takagi asked.
"(Ohoho, getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren't you Takagi?)" Nishikata thought. "Alright then, we'll soon see and find out the answer to that" Nishikata said, smirking.
The group then finished up their noodles, "This actually tasted a lot better than I thought" Sanae said. "Why do you say that?" Nishikata asked.
"Last time I ate these, they weren't that good as I remembered..." Sanae said. "Maybe it's because you're able to enjoy this with others you like?" Takagi tried explaining her feeling.
"Hmm... Maybe..." Sane said, as she looked at the others, and smiled very slightly. Takao turned away and hid his blush, while Nishikata started thinking "(Come to think about it, these noodles aren't supposed to be anything too special... Yet, the last time I ate these were with Takagi.. And they also tasted... No way, I'm just imagining it!)" Nishikata thought, as he started blushing, and trying to hide his realization.
"Something the matter you 2?" Sanae asked, "You both seem rather more red today" She continued.
"Oh! It's nothing actually, I'm just really feeling under the weather today, you know?" Nishikata said, making a hand gesture that meant that it was nothing. "Noodles can be a bit too hot for me to handle you know?" Takao also said back.
"... Weirdos" Sanae said, causing the boys to feel a bit sad and depressed about the comment.
Takagi laughed for a bit before saying "Are we ready to start soon?". This caused Nishikata to look a bit cocky, saying "Sure, but don't be surprised when we win against you".
"Hey uh Nishikata" Takao whispered, "Yeah Takao?" Nishikata replied. "You realize what we're kind of up against right?" Takao said.
. . .
"(OH RIGHT SANAE!)" Nishikata realized, putting his arms on his head.
"Well then you're on" Sanae replied back to Nishikata's previous boastful comment, while Takagi smiled. Causing him to just become even more nervous about the match.
Takagi was enough for Nishikata to handle in this game, but when you add in Sanae to the equation, everything looks near impossible, even with help. "We're gonna have to try to end her first Takao" Nishikata whispered his plan. "But don't underestimate Takagi-san..." Nishikata also said, as Takao nodded.
Everyone was in their positions. They all then proceeded to countdown to start.
...
GO!
Throughout the snowball fight, a kind of "accident" occurred.
"O-Oh.." Nishikata said, as he looked at the sight.
One of Takao's snowballs hit Sanae's face.
Of course Takao rushed over to her as he realized what he did, and wanted to make sure if Sanae was alright, but to his surprise he was ambushed, as Sanae then threw a snowball to him while her face was still covered with the snowball. "Got you" Sanae said.
Takagi then called out an "Out!".
This confused the 2 boys "W-what? we weren't on timeout or something?" Nishikata said. "No one ever did call it out, right? A player also doesn't get out if a snowball is thrown directly to their face, so Sanae can continue playing" Takagi replied.
"Hrgh!... (Darn you Takagi-san and Sanae-san)" Nishikata thought, as Takao exited the field in a depressing mood.
As the game continued, to Nishikata's surprise, he managed to get Takagi out, which she also didn't expect.
"Oops, I'm out. Nice throw Nishikata!" Takagi said, as if cheering for him, which made Nishikata blush. "(I-I got her!... But the game's still going, I just need to get Sanae-san out. If I can keep myself calm and collected, I just might be able to stand a-)"
Nishikata walked out of the field with a depressing mood. A snowball could be seen covering his jacket.
"You tried Nishikata, you tried"
And so the girls celebrated their victory, surprisingly though, Sanae actually had a smile up while celebrating. Meanwhile, the boys were at panic, and nervous overall.
"(What do I do, what do I do!)" Nishikata thought, "(At any rate, if both of them do see what's inside the bag, I don't think I'll ever be ready for what Takagi-san will say next...)"
As Nishikata continued to panic, Takao proceeded to grab the empty cup noodles on the wooden planks and then go over to Nishikata. "Hey Nishikata, you think you can throw these away?" Takao asked him, unexpectedly.
Nishikata was a bit baffled by this, but either way he continued to grab the cups. Nishikata then looked at the others, and then directly to Takagi-san, soon she stared back!.
"Something the matter Nishikata?" Takagi asked
...?
"You don't know where the nearest garbage can is?" Takagi continued.
"Y-Yeah, I don't (Why am I doing this, why am I doing this) you think you can try helping me out and find it? since it's also your stuff at the same time? (This doesn't even make sense, this is going bad)" Nishikata's mind continued going wild.
Takagi tilted her head a bit. She observed her surroundings once more, then back to the group, and then to Nishikata. She instantly smiled and said "Sure, let's go. You guys are able to open the bags while we're away" walking off, as Nishikata followed while also being dumbfounded about her response.
...
"So uh... Who goes fi-" "I Wanna see what's in your guy's bag first" Sanae cut off Takao. Takao then gulped, and became shooked for a bit. Takao then handed over his bag to Sanae.
"... I have another question for you Takao." Sanae said before opening the bag. "What is it?" Takao said back, curious. "Does this bag belong to the both of you, or just one of you?" Sanae asked.
Takao had no response, his brain was looking for a solution, an excuse, a lie, or anything to this whole thing. "Well?" Sanae asked.
Takao gulped. Ready with his answer, he opened his mouth.
...
Takagi and Nishikata walked on the snowy path, looking for the garbage can. Nishikata was still very surprised about his request being accepted by Takagi, especially at that time. But while he was still shocked, Takagi shot out a question "You didn't actually need my help, did you?".
"(CRAP! SHE ALREADY KNEW!)" Nishikata thought, freaking out. Takagi laughed as Nishikata stuttered with his words, "N-No, you got it all wrong, it kind of is hard to find one with this weather happening" He tried making an excuse.
"Hm?~" Takagi said, as Nishikata tried making a poker face. "Well I don't mind, I'm actually glad you asked for that favor" Takagi said, "Hm? How come?".
"I get to tease you more while we're searching" She replied back, smiling wide. This caused Nishikata to become even more nervous, and be more on his guard. "(No wonder why she still accpeted it, this really was the perfect chance for her to go on the offense!)" Nishikata thought.
Takagi then laughed, making Nishikata blush further more until she continued talking, "I Shouldn't really tease you. After all, you really did help manage to cheer up someone's day".
This caused Nishikata to become curious about what Takagi meant, so he asked about it. Takagi then trusted Nishikata with this story, so she explained.
-Earlier today, After the girls got done shopping at the Mall
"So are you doing anything special today or tomorrow with anyone?" Takagi asked Sanae.
Sanae thought about it for a bit, and rather stayed quiet before answering "No actually... I can't really do anything special today with my family, as they're always usually busy with their other things, or are choosing out gifts for tomorrow".
"It's been really boring this month. I feel like there would've been so much more being done if it wasn't for this stupid weather. Not only that, this is what I'm usually used to every year... I can never seem to enjoy this holiday at it's fullest..." Sanae continued. This caught Takagi off-guard, she then replied "I see...".
"Don't be too sad about it though, at least I still had one moment to enjoy this month." Sanae said, trying to form a smile, yet she couldn't.
They continued walking quietly for some time. "Then why not continue enjoying this moment more, and hang out together today?" Takagi proposed, "Eh?" Sanae said, surprised.
"Since we're getting a bit hungry, we could head to the usual little shop we often visit, eat there, and plan out our day " She continued. This also continued catching Sanae off-guard, "What do you say?" Takagi said cheerfully.
Sanae, then took no time for her answer, "Sure".
-Present time
...
"I'm pretty glad I saw you too as soon as you entered the shop, and continued hanging out with us" Takagi continued happily. Nishikata blushed for a bit, but understood the whole thing now.
"Thank for cheering her up, Nishikata" Takagi said, as she looked down while still keeping up her smile.
The 2 continued walking quietly now, still searching for the garbage can. Nishikata finally spoke, "You know, you're a really good friend, Takagi-san...".
...
"W-WELL I MEAN, TO SANAE-SAN YOU KNOW, AFTER ALL YOU DID FOR HER, AND STILL CONTINUING TO DO FOR HER" He said, as he turned his face the other way.
"Thank you, Nishikata" Takagi said, forming a big blush. Nishikata did not face her yet, or even knew about it at all, and even when he finally calmed down, she too calmed down, missing that moment.
After some time, they did indeed find the garbage can, throwing away the small cups. They then started to make a return to the abandoned lot. Takagi then started once more, "Can I ask one more question Nishikata?". Nishikata became curious about this once more, "Sure".
He then regretted it as soon as Takagi asked her question, "Who does that bag actually belong to?". Nishikata once more searched for an excuse, "I, well, it obviously belongs to m- "It couldn't have been yours since it was brand new, and you still had money left to buy both our food" Takagi cut him off.
"(You don't have to make it sound like some sort of date you know!)" Nishikata thought. He was cornered from this now, as Takagi picked up on why he had an unusual amount of yen, and started piecing together on why that bag was important to Nishikata, along with them being separated from the other 2.
"You think everything's going alright for them?", "...I... I don't know...".
...
Sanae was holding up the cat ear muffs. It was quiet as Takao waited for her response on it.
"... I didn't know you were into these things" Sanae said, causing Takao to be a bit annoyed as he thought"(Of all the assumptions! it was this one...)".
"N-no actually, this was supposed to be a gift for someone tomorrow" Takao tried explaining. "I see... Hm? What's this" Sanae said as she noticed something in the bag, then reaching out to it.
Pulling it out, it was a small note, this then lead to freak Takao out as he quickly said "W-WAIT DON'T READ TH-" "To Sanae-san..." Sanae read out loud from the folded note. Takao then turned away, and put on his hoodie to try cover himself.
-Hope you enjoy the gift, and have a Merry Christmas-
Sanae continued reading
...
It was very quiet, Sanae was looking down, and Takao was still looking away. "Hey Takao?" Sanae called out to him, "Yeah?" He replied.
"How do I look?" She asked. Takao then slowly turned to her, and saw her wearing his gift. Sanae was blushing very hard. Takao struggled to blurt out his thought until Sanae gave him a little push, "Well?" she said, turning her head another direction.
"You look cute!" Takao said, closing his eyes as if he expected to receive something rough from her back. "... No one's ever said that to me before..." Sanae finally replied back.
The two's faces were burning, shortly after Sanae's reply, the two even decided to not look at each other. Sanae wanted to change that, as she formed a snowball and called out Takao. Takao then faced her, as she the quickly put the snowball on his face. "Now we're even... You dork..." She said, struggling to not make a smile.
As the bits from the snowball came off from Takao, he too could be seen smiling. "Kimura told me that your friend Mina was sick, along with that, I knew Yukari also went on to a family trip... So I just thought I could get something for you I guess..." Takao said.
Sanae looked down, trying to cover her newly formed blush, but she still had enough willpower to say "Thank you... Takao... I really like it actually...". They then returned to having their faces burning hot once more.
It was not until the other 2 finally returned. "Ah! Sanae, you look cute in that" Takagi complimented her.
The duo then looked at the opposite direction, "(I didn't think she'd actually look cute in that, huh!)" Nishikata thought as he continued looking at sanae wearing the cat ear muffs. "Are those the things that the boys had?" Takagi asked Sanae.
"They sure are, I never thought they'd be into this stuff really" Sanae continued, making Takagi laugh, "They're quite the bunch, aren't they?" Takagi also commented.
"H-Hey wait, I thought tha- (No wait, this has to be a joke...)" Nishikata said and thought, as he kept quiet while blushing out of embarrassment and sheer confusion.
"Did you two decide on which one of our bags you wanted to open?" Takagi questioned.
This was finally Nishikata's chance to see what was inside Takagi's bag, and so he questioned Takao about which one he wanted to open, thus Nishikata received "I don't mind or really care about it too much anymore, you can choose yourself" from Takao, as he was looking away from the group still.
As Nishikata then glanced over the bags, he still hadn't decided which bag he should choose to look inside into, since he kept continuing thinking about it. "(... Do I really want to look inside of one of these bags?... Only reason why I let our bag slide, was because it was actually Takao's... And it was now or never to give that to her... At the same time, it doesn't feel like there's something in there that can be used to tease me...)" Nishikata thought, before Takagi said "Something the matter Nishikata?".
"Oh! It's nothing, I'm still deciding" He quickly said. "You're not thinking about something dirt about what's inside the bags, are you?" Takagi said.
"N-No! That's not it!" Nishikata quickly replied. Sanae followed along with Takagi, saying "Pervert". "I swear!" Nsihikata replied to Sanae.
Takagi then laughed, "Don't worry, there's nothing like that in our bags. Nothing too bad or special really" she said. Takagi then turned and started walking around, waiting for Nishikata's decision.
"Hm?... (Nothing too bad or special ehh?... Then I guess this should be my final decision)" Nishikata thought.
"We choose!... Neither." Nishikata finally said. This kind of confused both the girls a bit, along with surprising Takagi furthermore. "What made you say that?" Sanae asked.
"Well you see, I'm not actually too interested in anything girls buy you know?" Nishikata tried to say, smuggishly. "(Hold on... I think I worded this wro-)" "That's sexual harrasment" Sanae commented on his response.
For the most part, this did surprise Takagi a bit, she was really thinking he'd choose her's to see what was inside, but he didn't. She took a deep breath out, and thought "(What a relief, at least this gift will still be a surprise after all)".
"Well if that's your final decision, then so be it Nishikata" Takagi said happily. Nishikata then smiled and said, "Yup, unless Takao changed his mi-" "No" Takao said, "Then my decision is final".
...
"Hey, snowflakes are pouring down" Nishikata said, as he held out his hand catching one. The rest of the group noticed this, "You're right!" Takagi said.
"I've always wondered what was so special about these patterns" Takao said as he analyzed his.
Sanae also observed this as well with Takagi. "Hm~" Takagi said, holding up a snowflake. She then proceeded to walk next to Sanae.
"Maybe you're the lucky one here" Takagi whispered to Sanae, cheerfully. This caused Sanae to once more turn red.
The boys then turned around towards the girls before Takagi leaped in front of Sanae, declaring "Let's make some snowmen!".
...
A woman is sitting on a chair, thinking and writing on a paper. After a while, she took a break and decided to read a book. Moving over, and laying down on a couch.
Shortly after though, she proceeds to stand up, shifting her attention to a picture frame. Grabbing it and observing it, almost caringly. She then turns around to her screen door, she was in an apartment.
While looking outside, she was still holding ont the picture. Snowflakes were falling. She formed a smile as she once more looked back at the picture frame.
Inside the picture it could be seen that there was a group of 4 people, all next to some snowmen. Behind that group was a lot of snow piled up in different places, lots of footprints, and overall, it just showed as if a lot went down in that field.
The woman then sat back down on her chair, and began writing cheerfully. After some time, a knock could be heard. The woman went on over, saw who it was, and opened the door saying "Welcome home! Did you manage to find something?"
The one entering wore a scarf that looked knitted, he had a briefcase and bag on his hands. "It went well, I managed to find something for the party. how's the script going for you?" It was a man wearing glasses who responded back.
The woman smiled as she observed the bag, it was a bag from a certain mall's store. "I'll go make some tea" the woman said, closing the door.
The apartment's plate name was "Takao".