Hikaru

It was rare that Hikaru had much time to herself these days. In fact, she was pretty certain that the only way she would get a day off would be if the world looked like it was going to end again.

Of course, she could always ask for a day off, and of course Ryo would give it to her, but she kind of dreaded what he might get up to in her absence. There were jokes among those who knew both her and Gingka's father that the real Director of the WBBA was Hikaru Hasuma, not Ryo Hagane, and that most of her job was damage control. This wasn't strictly true, though the amount of time she spent rolling her eyes at Ryo's exuberance outweighed the time she spent doing anything else other than paperwork.

So when Ryo announced that the WBBA Tower would be shut for three days across the Winter Solstice, from the 20th to the 23rd, she suddenly found herself with more time than she knew what to do with.

Ryo, it turned out, was going back to Koma Village to take part in their annual Solstice Celebration, along with Gingka and Yuki. "It's a sacred tradition," he had told her solemnly. "We have to pay our respects at Mount Hagane." Then he had grinned. "And share all our news with our old friends, and eat lots of food, and welcome Yuki in to the Koma Village family. That too."

That had got her wondering. He had said that it was a sacred tradition, something special and unique and almost religious. It had to happen at the Solstice, and it could only happen if everyone was together to celebrate it.

So what about the rest of the world? What was it that made this time of year so special to so many people? Obviously there were those who had a religious festival at this time of year, or even a non-religious celebration, and that called to their hearts. But there were others who didn't have any ties like that.

What was it that made the last days of December special?

At first she was prepared to blame the Americans and the Europeans for transporting their traditions across the sea into her country, but that was only part of it. Something just felt different about this time of year.

Was it having lots of food, a feast against the famine that would once have stalked the land in winter? No, she decided. There were lots of other feasts – festivals and harvests and more – and none of them felt like this.

What about being with other people? Friends and family who so rarely came together would gather at this time to see old acquaintances. Surely that was what made it special. But when she thought about it, her friends and what was left of her family often reconvened at tournaments and battles and just because they felt like it, so that wasn't it.

Was it the weather, cold and wet and icy? No, not that either – other months were just as miserable and they weren't as special. Nor was it the fact that you could shelter from that cold by the fire.

Presents, then? Giving and receiving gifts given with love and care (or not)? Hikaru had quite a collection of paperweights now, as Ryo gave her one as a joke present every year, ever since she had complained that he always spun through her office like the King Lion Tearing Blast and messed up her in-tray. So now she got a beautiful blown-glass paperweight every year. But people gave presents for birthdays and anniversaries too, and that didn't feel like this.

Just what was it?

Decorations? She had protested at being forced to decorate her office until Ryo told her that she would get to pick all of it. A few days later, she had the prettiest office in the city at least, if not the country.

But she could decorate whenever she wanted, really, if she just asked. That wasn't what made December so unique.

Hikaru found herself staring out of the window across the city, lit up in the dark. It was quiet in her office, and it looked like most of the townspeople had headed inside too. The whole place was so peaceful.

Not that the world was all that peaceful in reality. Just a few days before, she had received a worrying email from the Russian bladers, suggesting that there was some sort of disturbance in the Earth's atmosphere again, and of course there were wars going on all around the world even as she stood there in the quiet.

She wanted it to be, though. She wanted all the fighting to be over. It was Christmas time. Wasn't it supposed to be about celebrating peace and goodwill to all people? Wasn't that how the cards she had received put it?

Was that why December felt so special? Because everyone was united for once in a wish to have peace and happiness, for the world to fall silent and breathe in the songs from the sky? Because it was the time when the year was coming to an end, and there was so much hope for the future?

Yes, she decided. The reason the last days of December always felt so different, so special, so sacred, was because no matter what you celebrated or what you looked forward to, or even if you had nothing to celebrate at all, it was a moment when the world waited in hope for a brighter future, for a return of the light, and for a new year dawning.