pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

It was the day of Christmas, following the night of Christmas Eve. Komachi and I were heading to the shopping mall where everyone would meet.

Since it was Christmas, the streets up to the shopping mall brightly glittered from the illumination and ornaments and people going to the city were in high spirits.

Amongst those people, my little sister, Hikigaya Komachi, I knew all too well was the peppiest. She had been humming energetically since a while back.

"Pretty lively first thing in the morning, aren't you?" I said.

Komachi, who had been walking further ahead, turned around to me with a twirl. "Duh, it's Christmas, you know? And we'll be going shopping with Yukino-san and Yui-san too, see? And after that, we'll be having a party and exchanging presents, see? Of course I'll get super excited!" Komachi seemed to have understood our plans. Heck, she might even know more than me.

"Really? Well, I guess girls do like things like present exchanges and stuff. Whenever I hear present exchanges, I end up recalling the encyclopedia I didn't fill up and the guys I couldn't evolve…"

I reflected, with the nostalgic regrets enveloping me. With a gentle voice, Komachi encouraged me. "Big Brother, it'll definitely be a lot better from here on… See, even Ruby and Sapphire got remade, you know!"

"Your reason's weird… Also, I'm more of the original type of guy…" Well, if they decided to implement the Wonder Trade feature, then a lot of issues would be solved.

Then again, Komachi, exchange something with me… I looked at Komachi. She tapped my shoulders and pointed to the entrance of the mall.

"Don't sweat the details. Look, we made it, Big Brother. Ah, they're both here already too." I moved my eyes to the entrance of the shopping mall and Yui and Yukinoshita were standing there. They looked like they noticed us as well and Yui made a big wave with her hand.

"Yahallo!"

"Yui-san, yahallo! Yukino-san too, yahallo?"

"Hello." Komachi gave her greetings to Yui and Yukinoshita, but I really wish they'd stop doing that… It's a little embarrassing. I found myself checking around us anxiously.

"You guys sure are early. Is this everyone? If we're all here, let's get going." It was Christmas, so it was considerably crowded. I was fed up with having to walk through this congestion of people. There'd be nothing better than to get this over with quickly. But Yui motioned us to wait.

"Hold on. I invited Sai-chan too."

"Oh really? Then let's wait forever until Saika gets here."

"Okay, that works, but somehow that bugs me…" groaned Yui. Komachi spoke up from there.

"Yukino-san, Yui-san. Thank you for the Christmas present."

"Not at all, if you're happy with it, then that's great." Yukinoshita smiled, shaking her head telling her not to worry about it while Yui nodded her head going "yup, yup".

"I mean, I'm not sure what to expect from Big Brother with tastes like that, but I'm glad the two of you chose it for me!"

This time I was nodding to Komachi's words. No, really, they really saved me some trouble by choosing for me. Well, she was probably happier from the fact those two chose the present for her than what she received. Watching the smiling Komachi, Yui happily returned a smile of her own.

"Ah, right. We did give some advice, but the one who chose the present in the end was Hikki."

"That's true. Although he normally doesn't think all that much, he was worrying and worrying all the way until the end…" Yukinoshita winded her long hair with her fingertips and looked at me. Komachi's mouth was stuck open with surprise.

"…Huh? Is, that what happened?"

"Uh, you didn't need to mention that… Really stop, don't say anything…" I was supposed to look cool because I nonchalantly chose a present, but actually seriously worrying about what to pick was too embarrassing. Because Komachi's stare that was focused on me was uncomfortable, I decided to shift my gaze and the topic to something else. "Anyway, what's this about me not normally thinking all that much? I'll have you know there aren't very many who think as much as I do. I could literally get a bronze statue for it."

Yukinoshita placed her hand on her mouth, holding back her smile. "Oh? I'm sorry. 'You don't think of anything worthwhile' would've been more correct."

"You're not wrong there, so I'll give you that."

"So you're okay with that… Ahaha… Ah, but look, Komachi-chan. Hikki really did think about — Er… Komachi-chan?" Yui said to Komachi.

Komachi, who had been in a daze, restarted. "…Ha! Shoot! I almost got fooled by Big Brother being a hinedere again! A-Anyway, thank you two very much. Also… Big Brother too."

What, who's getting fooled here…? I was always getting fooled by Komachi's cuteness, you know. Both Komachi and I looked away from each other from embarrassment. "Mm. Well, it's not a big deal. Don't worry about it."

"Right, right." Yui looked at the both of us and let out a chuckle. Yukinoshita watched us with a gentle expression, but looking like she realized something, she spoke.

"In any case, Komachi-san, I know you're having a difficult time with your exams, so I'm sorry that we had to call you out like this. We did invite you, but was it really okay for you to come? If by chance you're just forcing yourself, then…"

"No, it's fine. Relaxing is necessary too." Yukinoshita glared at me. "If all you do is rest, not only do you get complacent, but your knowledge will too."

"Ugh, you hit it where it hurts…" Certainly, taking a break or trying to change gears was often used as excuses to ditch.

Seemingly in pain from those words, Komachi was mumbling something in a small voice next to me. "I wonder if Yukino-san's more of an education-conscious mom… A reliable older sister… One day, I want her as my onee-chan." Komachi's eyes visually sparkled.

"Yukinon, it should be okay. Komachi-chan's very responsible so you don't need to worry too much."

Certainly, Komachi's very responsible. Seemingly happy with that follow up, Komachi was whispering something in a small voice next to me. "I guess Yui-san's more of a Wise Wife, Good Mother, huh? A tolerant older sister… Eventually, I want her as my onee-chan." Komachi's eyes visually sparkled.

"Just what have you been mumbling about…?"

"Hahaha," Yui laughed nervously and Yukinoshita looked away. It was their turn to be embarrassed by what Komachi said. Well, what comes around goes around. The things she said went too far too fast for my liking.

Luckily I was used to Komachi's strangeness and was able to roll with it. Yui and Yukinoshita could not. They were getting all flustered. The worst part was that they were getting flustered over me. I wasn't shit dog. Still Yui was cute and sweet and Yukinoshita was brutal and gorgeous. It made a guy think. And it didn't always make a guy think appropriate thoughts. That was a serious problem when it came to a girl who cared about a guy. It might lead to a guy getting the wrong sort of idea. The last thing any of us needed was me getting the wrong sort of idea.

That's how disasters happen.

Sure I liked them and they liked me and they gave a shit about me but that would just be a bridge too far. Besides, I was a shade or two uncomfortable with it. I didn't want a girlfriend. I couldn't imagine adding someone to the left hand side of that expression when I did myself in. And I had to do myself in.

There, Yui noticed something and lifted her hand. "Ah, it looks like Sai-chan's here. Heeeey, over here!"

When I looked myself, running over here in the distance was Saika. "Hachimaaan!"

"Oooh~, Saika, you're here!" I stepped forward, ready to catch Saika in my arms.

"Sai-chan, yahallo!"

"Uh huh, yahallo!"

A refreshing greeting. On second thought, it really is a good greeting. 'Yahallo' sure is cute.

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

Presents. They were a type of Christian stepping tablets12 If you gave someone something mediocre, 'Aah, so this person actually thought I was someone who'd want something like this, uh huuuh', of the sort would come to mind.

Foresight. Tastes. Financial fidelity. Resourcefulness; it wasn't an exaggeration to say that those qualities were all judged… No, it might be an exaggeration. Probably, an exaggeration… It'd be nice if it was an exaggeration.

Well, I'll just ready my nerves just in case. The inside of the shopping mall was overflowing with people as well. Christmas carols were incessantly playing and people who passed by were carrying large bags.

All of the stores were decorated with wreathes and tinsel. Just a quick glance revealed that a fair number of stores were inside. "Oooh. I've never actually stepped foot in this shopping mall since it was built, but there's a lot of things in here, huh?"

I looked around finding it rare since this was my first time stepping foot in here. In the same way, Yukinoshita was anxiously examining the area. "It's rather big, isn't it…? Also, there's quite a lot of people since it's Christmas as well… Just walking is tiring…"

Yukinoshita had no endurance and also wasn't comfortable with crowds of people. Despair was fading in and out from every alternating letter of her words.

In contrast, there was Yui. "You're right! It's so lively, this actually might be kind of fun! Ah, look, there's a Santa here!" Reinforced by the merry atmosphere filling the interior of the mall, Yui was elatedly enjoying herself, pointing at the person in a Santa outfit distributing balloons in the area. She then pulled at my sleeve.

"Hey, hey, Hikki, how long did you believe Santa-san for?"

"I think I believed in him up until elementary school, maybe."

"Heeh, that's kind of surprising." Yui opened her mouth in surprise. Wait, it shouldn't be that surprising.

Even I had a time when I was just a pure, naïve child. Just when I thought I'd give her a piece of my mind, Komachi quietly stood next to me. "My brother when he was younger was sooo adorable, you know~. Especially in the pictures and home videos…. His eyes weren't rotten at the time either."

"What the heck? That makes me super curious!" It didn't look like Yui's voice reached Komachi as she had a regrettable expression with a distant look in her eye. It was like she was mourning those long days past.

I-I'm sorry, okay? Sorry that Big Brother turned out this way… After watching Komachi and Yui,

Yukinoshita smiled with a look of pity. "Just how did he turn out this way, I wonder…? Time can be quite cruel."

"You got that right. Everything was time's fault."

"Waah, as usual…" Yui let out a resigned sigh. Yup, that was also time's fault. I wasn't the one at fault here. "Hikki's beyond help, but Yukinon, did you believe in Santa?" asked Yui.

Yukinoshita looked into the distance and murmured, "By the time I was old enough to understand things for myself, nee-san already told me…"

"Aah, she was that kind of person after all…"

Poor Yukinon, poor Yukinon… Both Yui and I couldn't help but send her a gaze of sympathy. But since it was Haruno-san, there wasn't much she could do. Well, it might've been different if she blurted out 'that's onee-sama for you!' and clung onto her though.

Since there were so many people on the side that denied Santa's existence at a young age, Yui let out an embarrassing "ahaha" laugh. "Then again, it looks like most people find out pretty early, huh? I believed in Santa up until my third year in elementary~."

"Ahaha." Komachi laughed in the same way. "Oh you're such a joker, Yui-san."

"Ahaha, I know, right? I was just a teensy bit dumb back then…"

No, that still holds even now, not when you were just a kid…

Just as I was about to tell her this, Komachi beat me to the punch, with her eyes going sparkle with an adorable smile. "No, no, Santa really does exist. That just now was high in Komachi points."

"There it is! That naughty smile!" Although Yui pointed it out, Komachi's eyes continued to sparkle.

"Well, Komachi's always like that… Then again, we need to stop talking about this. There might be someone who still believes in Santa here… Like Saika."

"Ha! That's possible for Sai-chan…" We peeked in Totuska's direction and Saika frantically shook his hands. "C-C'mon, even I don't believe in him anymore. But… it'd be nice if he did exist though, I think."

Looking straight at Saika who let out an embarrassed "ehehe' laugh, Komachi threw her head back. "Whoa, so bright! Saika-san's too bright!"

"Anyway, with the mall being so large, it's hard to know which area we should start looking around in." Yukinoshita stated as she looked around. Well, there was a part of you that had no sense of direction after all…

Having been told that, Komachi groaned as she did a little thinking. "Let's see. What kinds of presents does everyone want to buy?"

"I was thinking of like maybe accessories or general stuff, but… What about everyone else?"

"When I was younger Christmas was all about the toys," Saika cut in.

"Oh I wonder if there's an R Us around," I took him up on his suggestion.

"Oh, sounds good. I'm starting to get kind of giddy now." The boy group was eager to go inside, but

Yui made an obviously displeased face. "Eeeh, we're really going inside?" Looking to calm Yui down, Komachi took her arms. "Now, now, they might have stuff like party goods, so why not give it a shot?"

"Now that you mention it, that's true. I wonder if they sell crackers." Yukinoshita nodded after thinking. Saika agreed with that as well.

"Yeah, let's try taking a look." As Saika headed inside the store, we followed right behind him. …Still, Yukinoshita-san, crackers of all things?

You were totally looking forward to this party, weren't you…? No, well, that's not a bad thing or anything.

The inside of the store plastered with Christmas special displays was submerged in a unique fanciness liken to a toy store, becoming a small land of dreams and magic.

Though Yui was reluctant earlier, she was raising her voice in happiness going "waah". Toy stores were truly places that allowed you to revert back to a child. Really, I don't want to become an adult, I don't want to work… As we walked about in that exciting space, we came across a familiar individual. That person was squatting in front of the plastic model shelves. It was Hiratsuka-sensei. As I stood there with my tongue tied, Hiratsuka-sensei noticed us as well. "Oh, Hikigaya…"

"Se-Sensei…"

"Ah, it's Hiratsuka-sensei."

"Oh, so Yui and the others were with you." Coming from behind me was Yui and the others and they noticed Hiratsuka-sensei as well.

"What could you be doing at a place like this?"

"R-Right. Basically… W-Work." No, that had to be a lie… You were totally mumbling your words and even though the heating wasn't all that strong, your hands were totally sweating. Still, Yui looked at Hiratsukasensei with innocent eyes.

"Huuuh, that must be rough. Even though it's Christmas too."

"Urg, nngh, y-yeah, well, it is work after all… It's just part of my job as a guidance counselor. It'd be a big deal if students caused problems during winter vacation from playing around too much. A-Aah, what a bummer. You know what they say about privacy and work. Even dinner conversations were becoming work related recently too. A, ha, ha, ha…"

"Sensei, your eyes aren't laughing…" Saika looked at sensei with frightful eyes amidst the space that shook with Hiratsuka-sensei's laughing voice. Once she finished her laugh, Hiratsuka-sensei took back her calm demeanor as if something had blown past inside of her.

"…So, I'm in the middle of my work, but what are you all doing?"

"We're thinking of holding a party soon so we're doing some shopping for that. Ah, I know. Sensei, why don't you join us?" Yui asked and Hiratsuka-sensei crossed her arms and contemplated.

"Fumu… Well, it doesn't hurt to cut loose for a bit. Maybe I'll bother you guys for a bit. Not like I had any plans anyway…" She added those words with a small voice.

Komachi tilted her head. "What ever happened to your work…?"

"Komachi, stop. Don't ask." I gently grabbed her shoulders and stopped her. Luckily, those words didn't reach Hiratsuka-sensei's ears as she started to rummage through the shelves energetically.

"So now that's decided, I'm suddenly feeling super excited! C'mon, look Hikigaya! There's a ton of fun toys around!"

Looking at how Hiratsuka-sensei was, Yukinoshita muttered. "She's energetic all of a sudden now…"

"I guess the lid's finally off…" Well, being able to change gears quickly was a good thing! As I explained her behavior in a positive light, Hiratsuka-sensei took a number of things from the shelves and showed me a wonderful smile.

"Look, Hikigaya, how about something like the Mini 4WDs? Once you're an adult, you get really hooked. There're also B-Daman, Hyper Yo-Yos, Beyblade… But I guess I still prefer Transformers. No, ZOIDS are hard to let go too. Aah, you can't forget about the trading card games too."

"Boys will be boys wherever they are after all." Komachi said to pacify Yui's given up voice.

"So why is Hiratsuka-sensei with them over there…?" Yukinoshita said with her head tilted. Well, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I mean, it was Hiratsuka-sensei after all. In this world, there was no such thing as something mysterious.

We boys along with Hiratsuka-sensei looked at more of the 'R Us shelves. Saika tugged at my coat's sleeve (cute). "Ah, hey Hachiman, look, look. They have a lot of Gunpla here." When I looked, a bunch of Gunpla was overcrowding the shelves.

"Oh. You're right. Are you interested?" Considering Saika's typical image, it didn't suit him very much. Obviously this included his facial features and body type, though there's also his sports club, he didn't really give off the impression he'd like this kind of stuff. When I asked, Saika's gaze lowered to the floor and he muttered with embarrassment.

"… Yeah, I am."

"…M-Me too!"

"Eh?" Saika looked at me with a blank face. Whoa, not good, not good. My hot pathos almost gushed out right there.

I had better revise my statement. "Aah, no, sorry. I couldn't hear you very well there so I said something weird. Sorry, but could you say that five more times?"

"Uwaah, what a good-for-nothing combo. But Big Brother, you used to make this a lot back then." Komachi said as she snatched a Gunpla from the box and lifted it up. "Aah, you used to break them all the time too though… Well, that's the fate of the older sibling."

Well, if you had a younger brother or sister, plastic models getting destroyed was common. To add, save data was no exception. It was natural for your adventure log to get deleted the moment their feet hit the console. Heck, 'I want to see this scene again' and you'd go out of your way to save on a different slot only to hear 'I wanted to start a new game, so I overwrote it' which caused you to lightly cry.

Filled with my young memories, I could hear Saika's sweet voice. "So Hachiman, you made them before too, huh? Me too. It was my dad who was into it at first though. "

"Heeh. That's actually kind of surprising." I replied back. I was totally under the impression Saika was brought up gracefully. For him to be influenced by his pretty dad– I mean, dad, was a bit surprising.

Saika covered his mouth with his hands and chuckled. "Really? I mean, I am a boy after all, you know?" The way Saika gently tilted his head and peek into my face from below was as if he was testing me. In the small distance that he covered by getting close to me, I reflexively lost my words and

"Urg, right, he is a boy after all, kuh…" Watching our worthless exchange, Hiratsuka-sensei approached us. She held a Master Grade set and looked it over.

"Oh, Gunpla, huh? I hear girls have been making them too recently… Surprisingly, this kind of hobby might affect popularity in the future."

"Are you serious? Now I'm starting to get interested… Kirara. " When Komachi's eyes sparkled, Hiratsuka-sensei laughed with provocation.

"Oh, Hikigaya's little sister. Want to have a match with me in gunplay then?"

As Komachi and Hiratsuka-sensei took opposing stances, for some reason, Yukinoshita slid to the front. "If you mean match, then losing won't be forgiven."

"So you got hooked by the word 'match', huh? Even though you're always being Yarukinainensan. You sore loser…"

Still, how exactly do you have a match with Gunpla… A match of craftsmanship? As I thought that, Komachi didn't seem to care at all about that, but was just ready to go. She displayed a fearless smile and then pointed at Hiratsuka-sensei and Yukinoshita.

"Fufufu! Very well! Then let's have a match! Should you win against me, for the prize… I will present you my brother!"

"Hohoo…" Hiratsuka-sensei looked at Komachi with a sharp glint. Crap, those eyes were serious!

"…Now just a second, Komachi-chan? Could you stop trying to sugarcoat your attempt at getting rid of a nuisance? I'll just say for the time being, but that's—"

"No, you can't! You definitely can't do that!" Yui interrupted the words I tried to say. The way Yui barged into made me look in her direction.

"Y-Yeah… Well, they certainly can't do that…"

"Ah… Um, it's not that they can't do that, er…"

When our eyes met, we both averted our faces.

"…"

"…"

We also went dead silent too. What the heck was this? I really wanted to jump to my death right now. And then, remembering a feeling of discomfort from watching Yui and I, Komachi looked at the both of us. "Oh? Oh? Is it just me, or a mood I don't know of is… Could this possibly, be…?" Komachi's eyes were illuminating.

Please, Komachi-chan, don't look at your Big Brother with those kinds of eyes…

"Ah, Hachiman. Why don't you pick something?" Noticing from my voice mixed with a sigh that I had lined up next to him, Saika did a turn.

"So you say, but I don't know what's what nowadays. I don't have the confidence I'd build them nicely either…"

"That's okay. You don't need to worry about it too much. With Gunpla, you can freely make things with whatever you can think of!" Saika's smile as he fervently talked with sparkling eyes was bright…

"When you put it like that, now I really want to try building something… Okay, maybe I'll go with this…" I looked through numerous ones and I reached my hands out for something that struck a chord with me.

As I thought that, I reached my hand out to another Gunpla, but Yui stopped me there. "Okay, choose again! One present per person!"

"Are you my mom or something…?"

Watching the terrible spectacle of the boy group from afar, Komachi groaned and thought for a little bit. She then clapped her hands.

"It looks like we're not going to get much shopping done if we stick with my brother and the others. Is it okay if we go look around on our own?"

"Uh huh, I think that way might be better." Saika agreed.

Yui also raised her hand. "Agreeeed! Okay, when you're done, meet up in front of the cake shop."

"Yes, see you in a bit." With Yukinoshita's words as a signal, everyone broke off into small groups. …Now then, guess I'll go get some presents.

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

-WG