Special Chapter 1: A Christmas Tale(s)
He was alone.
He had no one to celebrate Christmas with. Old Mr. John had gone on a holiday to Seoul on his own, his classmates were all having their own sweet time playing and partying. Even his best friend Kaworu had to go to the church.
He was poor.
He had no money to spend for the day. His manager at the convenience store nearby ran into a car on Thanksgiving and was still lying in hospital, thus he did not have the time to give whatever December wages to him.
He was bored.
He could not think of anywhere to go to. In a metropolis run by capitalism like Neo Domino City, you need to have some cash in hand when you go anywhere. Nobody would accept an impoverished fellow like him into his or her door.
He sighed. This year was the worst Christmas ever.
When he was still a child, he lived in an orphanage. The kind ladies there would give him sweets for Christmas and when they had some extra bucks left, a big teddy bear. The whole orphanage would eat and drink and party until late in the night. Even when he moved out to live alone, he could still celebrate a decent Christmas night. Old Mr. John always had some roast turkey left over the day before, so he would donate all of them to him. He would also have a bit of cash in hand to buy himself a small gift or good food to accompany with the meat.
But this year, he had nothing.
He stared at the newspaper cutouts on his floor and imagined how would Christmas be like if he had the chance to join U.N.D.E.A.D.
'Maybe they would have a big buffet dinner at their own castle-like Headquarters. Or maybe they would have fun and games until the wee hours of the night,' he thought.
But he was wrong.
Time flew like light. It was Christmas Eve the next year.
'So beautiful!' squealed Amaya in delight. She was looking at the snow falling outside. Yuchi maintained his cool. He was reading the Unit Instruction Manual for the fourteenth time on his own bed.
'Hey, you bugger!' Amaya turned her head and shouted at Yuchi. Yuchi ignored her and continued to indulge in his reading.
'Hey, I said, you bugger! Mr. – Yuchi – Big – Bugger –!' Amaya seemed a bit annoyed.
Yuchi put down her book and stared at the girl at the far end of the room. 'What?' he asked coldly.
'Hgn!' Amaya made a face at Yuchi and turned back to look at her snow. 'Hey Mr. Bugger, are you bored?' she asked.
'What?'
'You can't hear me?' the girl was irritated by Yuchi's repeating questions. 'I said: Are – You – Bored?'
'Not really,' Yuchi laughed. 'I mean, staying in our rooms is our duty. After all, we are the Unit pilots and Al-Magnum would attack any time…'
'Hgn!' that was her reply. 'Buggers only know how to follow instructions. Duty, duty, duty, that's the word you buggers always listen to.'
Yuchi ignored her again and proceeded with his book.
But deep inside him, he really, really yearned to have a nice and warm Christmas. Sure, he was living under better conditions now, but he was not happy at all. There wasn't a bit of warmth in the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters. He understood the purpose of Commander Lupine not allowing them to celebrate Christmas outside the Headquarters, but he wanted someone to at least greet him with a 'Merry Christmas' or so.
Inside this big metal building were all people made of metal. They had no feelings, they had no emotions; they were already burdened with their responsibilities enough to show any feelings or emotions. Their faces had the same expression everyday – a serious, solemn look that would scare anyone coming to the Headquarters for the first time. Especially during a period for celebration like this. Everyone seemed more paranoid than usual. They expected Al-Magnum to attack the city anytime while the people were having their own fun.
'Ah, except for someone,' Yuchi thought.
Just two or three days ago, snow suddenly fell underground. It was another invention by the great Sir Bowman – he dubbed it the 'Artificial Snow Maker'.
'The old man wanted to liven up the gravely place,' Yuchi thought, smiling. Sir Bowman was one of the people he respected the most in the whole Headquarters. 'He always thinks of other people before himself.'
Yuchi closed his book and walked up to the window, where Amaya was. He looked at the snow, and let out a warm smile.
'W… What happened?' Amaya was a bit surprised by Yuchi's unexpected action.
'Merry Christmas, Amaya,' Yuchi said to his roommate with a warm tone.
'If other people won't, I will do it on my own,' he thought.
Amaya blushed. She had never thought that someone would be so friendly with her on Christmas, not to say the usually cold Yuchi Bugger. She smiled, held Yuchi's hand, and watched the snow falling together with him.
...
A Note from the Author
So in this special chapter, I did a flashback and also fast-forwarded the story to show the contrast between the two Christmases that Yuchi 'celebrated'.
It's a bit out of chronological order, but I hope you can forgive me for that.
Anyway, if you think this chapter is a filler, you are wrong.
The later chapters will show that, so don't miss it!
If you have any queries or suggestions, please do inform me through your reviews! Arigatou!
- Project M.G.