12 Short Stories of Christmas: Part 2
Story #5: Makoto and Ryuji
Narrator: Hotaru found a film idea, one that fit him like a glove. Later that night, we see Makoto and Ryuji, and they're ready for some love.
Night has fallen at the Sakamoto Residence, and as Ryuji puts the last of the dishes on the drying rack in the kitchen, he hears music playing from upstairs followed by Makoto singing.
"Santa baby, just slip a Sable under the tree for me," Makoto was heard singing from the master bedroom, "Been an awful good girl, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight."
"Makie?" Ryuji asked as he left the kitchen and made his way to the master bedroom.
As Ryuji walked up the stairs to his and Makoto's bedroom, he continued to hear his wife's beautiful singing.
"Santa baby, a 54 convertible too, light blue," Makoto sang, "I'll wait up for you dear. Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight."
Ryuji finally made it to the master bedroom, and when he did, he saw a very sexy sight. It was his darling wife, Makoto, and she was currently wearing a short, red, strapless, Santa-themed dress, red stockings, and a cute Santa hat on her head. Seeing his wife like this made Ryuji's face, which was currently in its 'monkey-state', redder than the dress Makoto was wearing. Seeing her husband's blushing face made Makoto giggle.
"I guess you like my outfit then, sweetie," Makoto asked seductively.
"I don't know what to say except Christmas came early for me this year!" Ryuji smiled.
"Why don't you come onto the bed and unwrap your 'gift' then, honey," Makoto purred, "Make sure to leave something nice down my chimney too."
"Oh, I will," Ryuji excitedly said as he joined Makoto on their bed.
The couple started to hold each other and make out as Makoto helped Ryuji out of his shirt, allowing her to kiss and feel up her husband's muscular torso. Before anything else could happen, however, Himari comes barging into the master bedroom.
"Mom, dad?" Himari asked, starling her parents out of their lovefest.
"Himari?!" Ryuji and Makoto exclaimed.
"Didn't we teach you how to knock?!" Ryuji asked.
"Sorry, but I…uh, what are you two even doing right now?" Himari asked.
"It's not important right now," Makoto said, "What do you want, sweetie?"
"I've been asking pretty much everyone I could think of about what the true meaning of Christmas is," Himari explained, "Do either of you have any ideas?"
"Christmas is that special time of year to be with your special someone sweetie," Makoto said.
"That's right," Ryuji chimed in, "Don't you know that Christmas around these parts is treated as a romantic holiday?"
"What if you're someone like me who doesn't have a boyfriend yet?" Himari asked.
"We're sorry, Himari, but this is kind of a bad time," Ryuji said as he shooed his daughter out of the master bedroom, "But you know who might know? Your Auntie Sae! Why don't you go hang out with her for the night and come back in the morning. Maybe we'll have a better answer for you then."
With that, Himari is back out in the hallway as Ryuji closes the door behind her. Confused and still lacking a proper answer to her question, Himari leaves the Sakamoto household and makes her way towards Sae's home.
Back with Makoto and Ryuji, the latter is seen getting back in bed with his wife.
"Now, where were we?" Ryuji asked before snapping his fingers, "Oh, right!"
Ryuji and Makoto went back to kissing each other before another distraction was heard from outside. It was a group of carolers singing 'Joy to the World'.
"Christmas carolers?!" Makoto asked in an irritated tone.
"The one time they want to show up to our neighborhood and they chose the night when action is about to happen!" Ryuji groaned, "Don't worry, I'll take care of this."
Ryuji left the bedroom and went downstairs to face the carolers himself.
Still shirtless, Ryuji opened up the front door and went out on the porch where he found the three carolers still singing their song.
"Hey," Ryuji shouted over the singing, "Do you guys mind? My wife and I are trying to 'get busy' in there and it's hard for me to do my thing with all of you singing!"
"Oh, we're just trying to spread a little Christmas cheer!" One of the carolers said.
"And I appreciate that," Ryuji said, "But if you could take your caroling elsewhere I'd really appreciate it."
"What's in it for us?" The second caroler asked.
"Well I don't have figgy pudding if that's what you want," Ryuji said, "What do you want?"
"What do you have?" The third caroler asked.
Annoyed, Ryuji took out his wallet and pulled out ¥18,000.
"Here, ¥18,000 for you all to split," Ryuji said as he handed the lead caroler his money.
"Much obliged, kind sir," The lead caroler said, "Have a happy-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Now beat it!" Ryuji said as he shut the door in the carolers faces.
"Well, fuck you too then," One of the carolers said as they left the Sakamoto's front porch and moved onto the next house.
Back inside, Ryuji made it upstairs where he found Makoto positioned on all fours on their bed, her rump facing him, meaning he has the perfect view of the red and white shimapan panties that she wore beneath her seductive Santa dress.
"Hot," was all Ryuji could say as he felt his heart skip a beat.
"Hurry up and grab a condom sweetheart," Makoto cooed, "Mrs. Claus needs you badly."
Excited, Ryuji went over to his sock drawer where he usually keeps his condoms. He pulled out the box, but when he reached inside there was none left.
"For real?!" Ryuji groaned.
"We're all out?" Makoto asked, disappointed.
"Yeah," Ryuji frowned before looking upon his wife, "You know, I'm feeling lucky today. We could just keep going as usual and I can just pull-"
"Ryuji!" Makoto cuts her husband off in a stern tone.
"Alright, I'll go to the pharmacy and get more condoms," Ryuji said as he put his shirt back on so he could leave to get more condoms.
At the pharmacy, Ryuji made a beeline for the prophylactic aisle. At this point, Ryuji didn't care what condoms he ended up with as long as he had a box so he could make sweet love to his wife. He grabbed the first box of condoms he saw and started to make his way to the cashier.
"Alright, got the condoms," Ryuji said with a smile, "Now to get in line and-*gasp*!"
What Ryuji was met when he got to the registers was every shopper's worst nightmare; Only one register was open and there was a long line of people with himself at the back of it.
"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!?" Ryuji yelled.
And so begins the most boring and patience-trying experience of Ryuji's life. He started to pout when one customer insisted on paying in only coins. He felt his blood pressure rise when something went wrong with the register and the cashier had to call the manager to fix it. And he nearly went ballistic when the customer in front of him took his sweet time getting all of the items he wanted from his cart; Ryuji timed it and it took the man 10 minutes to get the stuff out of his cart and another 10 to put it back in.
Finally, it was his turn. He put the condoms in front of the cashier, eager to pay for them. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when he grabbed his wallet and realized that he had no money left, and he gave every yen he had to make the carolers go away. Worse still, his credit card was expired.
"No! No!" Ryuji panicked, "No, no, no, no, no!"
"Hey, take it easy, man," the cashier said, "You've been on this line for a long time. And, since it is Christmas, these condoms are on me."
With that, the cashier took out his own credit card and paid for Ryuji's condoms, making the blonde man beam from ear-to-ear.
"For real!" Ryuji asked happily.
"For real," the cashier nodded in reply before handing Ryuji the condoms, "I can tell you have a lucky lady waiting for you at home and she's ready for a boot knocking."
"Oh, she sure is!" Ryuji smiled giddily.
"Well, have fun, sir," The cashier said, "And Merry Christmas."
"You too!" Ryuji said as he ran out of the pharmacy, condoms in hand.
Words couldn't even begin to describe how fast Ryuji drove home. The moment he returned home, he stripped out of his shirt, shoes, socks, and pants as he made his way upstairs, still holding onto the box of condoms.
"Makie, baby!" the half-naked Ryuji said as he came bolting up the stairs and into the master bedroom, "Our night is saved! I got some condoms right h-"
Ryuji was cut off with a very disappointing site. Ryuji had been gone for so long that Makoto grew tired of waiting for him and was sound asleep on the bed.
Ryuji was flabbergasted! After all that, shooing away his own daughter and some carolers, and going out into the night to buy more condoms, all just for his beautiful wife to be asleep when he returns. The blonde man silently whimpers to himself, as he collapses onto the floor to cry himself to sleep.
Story #6: Mana, Mitsu, Kaito, and Mai
Narrator: Poor Ryuji went to sleep that night, his balls bluer than the ocean. The next morning we see Mana and Mitsu, with a plan for a fun snowy day set in motion.
Mana and Mitsu are seen carrying a two person snow tube and they were on their way to the Ota Ward of Tokyo for a fun day of sledding down the big hill that was there.
"I've been looking forward to this day for so long," Mana said, excited.
"So have I," Mitsu concurred, "Nothing says wintertime like a fun sled ride down our favorite hill."
"Not for nothing but the first ride of the season is when I declare winter to truly start," Mana said.
"Me too," Mitsu replied.
"Oh, we're almost there," Mana cheered, "I can hardly wait! Can I sit in front for the first ride, sis, please?"
"I don't see why not," Mitsu said with the shrug of her shoulders.
"Yippie!" Mana cheered.
As the twins got closer to the hill, however, they noticed two other people there. It was Mai Mishima and Kaito Watanabe, and they had their own two person sled with them.
"What's all this then?" Mitsu asked as she and her sister approached their two friends, "Hey, Kaito, Mai."
"Hey, Mana and Mitsu," Kaito greeted, "I can see you girls are ready to go sledding."
"Yeah, Mana and I have been planning this for some time now," Mitsu said, "But in those plans, and forgive me for being rude, we didn't include you two in them."
"What do you mean by that?" Mai asked.
"She's saying this is our hill, it's always been our hill, and it will continue to be our hill until the end of time," Mana snapped.
"We don't see your names on this hill," Kaito said, "I think everyone has an equal right to go sledding down this hill."
"Well, can you at least let Mitsu and me have the first ride of the day?" Mana asked.
"Uh, last I checked, Kaito and I were here first so that's going to be a hard 'no'," Mai said.
"But we've been using this hill much longer than either of you," Mitsu protested.
"And we're older than you two," Mana chimed in, "You know what they say, age before beauty!"
"Sorry, but the answer is still 'no'," Mai said bluntly.
Mana and Mitsu weren't about to let their favorite sledding hill go without a fight. The twins came up with an idea to decide who gets to keep this hill all to themselves.
"Alright, tell you what," Mitsu said, "You two can keep this hill under one sole condition."
"And what condition would that be?" Kaito asked.
"If you two can beat Mana and me in a race down this hill, then you can keep it and we'll go somewhere else," Mitsu said, "But if we win, you two have to beat it! Fair enough?"
Kaito and Mai looked at each other and nodded before looking back at the twins.
"You're on," Kaito said.
The four kids positioned themselves at the top of the hill; Mana riding in the front of her sled while Mitsu rides in the back, and Mai riding in the front of her and Kaito's sled while he rides in the back.
"We don't start the race until I say 'go'," Mitsu said.
"Count us down then, girl," Mai said with venom in her voice.
"Fine then," Mitsu said, "3…2…1…g-"
"WAIT!" Shouted Himari, who came right the hell out of nowhere.
"Himari?!" Kaito asked incredulously, "What are you doing here?"
"I have spent the last couple of days asking anyone that I could possibly think of about what the true meaning of Christmas is," Himari explained, "Maybe you four can give me an answer."
"You want to know what the true meaning of Christmas is?" Mai asked.
"What did I just say?" Himari asked rhetorically.
"Well, Mitsu and I look at Christmas as a time for fun," Mana explained, "Go sledding, have snowball fights, build snow forts. You know, good, clean, wintertime fun."
"You know, for once, we agree with them," Kaito said as Mai nodded with him.
Himari looked at her four friends, still unsure she found the answer she was looking for.
"I've always been more of a summertime girl, if I'm being completely honest," Himari said, "But thanks for your input. Carry on."
Himari left the area so her four friends could continue their race.
"Ahem, as I was saying," Mitsu said as she, her sister, and Kaito and Mai got their game faces on, "3…2…1…GO!"
The two duos of sledders pushed off and they were now careening down the hill at a rapid pace. It was neck and neck, both going at about the same speed, and neither team giving an inch.
"We'll never win at this rate," Mana said.
"Hold on," Mitsu said, "I have an idea. Just lean forward a bit so we can get ahead of them."
As Mana did what was instructed of her, Mitsu reached down and grabbed some snow as they were racing by, forming it into a ball. With her and Mana ahead of their friends, she took aim at Mai, who was driving her's and Kaito's sled.
"And as the lord said in the holy bible," Mitsu said, "Eat snowball, punk!"
Mitsu threw her snowball right into Mai's face, blinding her and allowing the twins to further take the lead.
"So long, suckers!" Mana shouted.
"Kaito, help me out here," Mai cried, "I can't see a thing!"
"Don't panic," Kaito said, "Just keep driving straight. I have an idea! They wanna play dirty? Fine, let's play dirty!"
With that, Kaito took a banana out from his coat pocket, peeled it, threw the actual banana aside, and with all of his strength he threw the banana so it would land right in front of Mana and Mitsu. The twins gasp as they see the oncoming banana peel.
"Hold onto something, Mana!" Mitsu shouted as their sled went over the peel, causing the twins to wipe out.
Kaito and Mai couldn't celebrate for long as they were about to crash into the twins' wreckage, with Mai removing the snow from her eyes in time to see the oncoming sled. Kaito and Mai crashed into the Kitagawa twins' sled, causing them to wipe out as well. With both duos properly wiped out, they get up on their feet and glare at each other…well, everyone was glaring at each other except Kaito.
"That was a dirty trick you two pulled," Mitsu pouted.
"Says the girl who threw a snowball in my face," Mai protested.
"You left us no choice," Mana said.
"We want a rematch," Mai demanded, "Kaito, let's get back to the top of that hill!"
"No," Kaito said, looking at this three girl friends, "Look at us. We used to be the best of friends, but then this hill and competition got the better of us and threatened to tear us apart. Am I the only thinking that that's totally ridiculous? It's Christmas time, a time when we should be thankful for the friendships we have. What would our parents say if they saw us acting the way we were?"
Mana, Mitsu, and Mai let Kaito's words sink in before realizing that they were acting a little immature.
"I guess we were acting a little selfish in wanting to keep this hill all to ourselves," Mitsu admitted, "We should share this hill together. Don't you agree, Mana?"
"I guess so," Mana said, "What do you say guys, truce?"
"Truce," Mai and Kaito said as they shook Mana and Mitsu's hands.
"Well, now that we're all friends again, let's get back the top of that hill and have some fun!" Kaito cheered, causing the other three with him to cheer as they took their sleds back to the top of the hill, ready to continue their fun day in the snow.
Story # 7: Hayato and Yusuke
Narrator: As our four little sledders reconciled, having come to a proper truce. We see Hayato and Yusuke performing a good deed, at least that's what I deduce.
The scarlet and blue haired duo were in fact performing a good deed, as they were seen driving a truckful of toy donations out of Tokyo to the next town over. Delivering toys for toy drives was something that Hayato liked to do around this time of year, and this year he decided to bring along Yusuke to not only lend a helping hand, but also to hang out and have 'guy time'. Hayato, however, was treating this trip as a serious mission.
"Thanks for inviting me along for this trip of yours, Hayato," Yusuke said in a grateful tone.
"No problem," Hayato said, "But this isn't a day out with friends. We have an important job to do, and we're gonna do it!"
"I hear you, Hayato," Yusuke nodded, "How long is this drive anyway?"
"It's about a two and a half hour drive to the Hayakawa and a two and a half hour drive back," Hayato explained, "We should be back by nightfall assuming there are no drawbacks."
As Hayato talked, Yusuke's cell phone started to ring. The artist took his phone out from his pocket to see who was calling him, only to find Himari's number.
"Himari's calling me?" Yusuke asked.
"Answer it, see what she wants," Hayato said.
Yusuke answered Himari's phone call to see what she wanted, "Hello?" he asked.
"Uncle Yusuke, is that you?" Himari was heard on the other end of the line,
"Yes, Himari, it's me," Yusuke answered, "And Hayato is with me too."
"Hey, Himari," Hayato called out as he continued to focus on driving, "What's up?"
"Nothing much, I was just wondering what you guys consider to be the true meaning of Christmas," Himari asked.
"Well, Himari," Hayato began, "The true meaning of Christmas is being the best you that you can be by doing some good deeds. That's why Yusuke and I are driving to Hayakawa to drop off some toys for the toy drive."
"That sounds pretty cool," Himari said, "Well, I just thought I'd ask. I'll leave you two alone now, bye."
"Goodbye," Hayato and Yusuke said as the latter hung up on the 12-year old.
"Buckle down, Yusuke," Hayato said, "We've got a long trip ahead of ourselves."
We then begin a montage that shows different spots on the duo's journey.
We first see Hayato driving the truck with Yusuke doing some sightseeing in the passenger seat. As he scarlet haired man was driving, however, his eyelids started to grow heavy and he had to slap himself awake a couple of times. Yusuke noticed this and decided to drive for a little bit while his friend got some rest.
Later in the trip, after Hayato got a little bit of rest, as he's back in the driver's seat, the truck stopped at a four-way intersection in the countryside. As Hayato waited for traffic to pass, he looked out his window at a snowy field next to him to find, of all things, aliens standing there! Hayato had to do a double take and clean his glasses to make sure that what he saw was, in fact, aliens. But when he did, they vanished and only an empty, snowy field lay before him.
"Huh, I thought I saw aliens for a second," Hayato said as traffic cleared, allowing him to continue driving the truck.
At a later point in the trip, the truck was now driving down a two-lane highway as a second truck pulled up next to Hayato and Yusuke.
"Hey, look, another truck," Yusuke said as he noticed a CB Radio on the dashboard of the truck, "Let's see if we can have a chat with him."
"Uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, Yusuke," Hayato said, but it was too late as Yusuke had already turned the radio on.
"Uh, breaker, breaker, this is the Red Man and the Blue Man, ten-four, smokey's on my tail, what's your 411?" Yusuke asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Hayato said with a chuckle.
"Those are the things truckers say, right?" Yusuke asked.
"Come in, Red Man and Blue Man, this is Jackhammer, over," the other driver said on the radio.
"Oh," Yusuke said in surprise as he continued to talk into the radio, "Hey there, Jackhammer, what are we shipping today?"
"Just taking some Christmas hams to the nearest grocery store," Jackhammer was heard saying, "Gotta feed these families this holiday season, you know? What are you guys hauling?"
"We're hauling some toys for the toy drive over in Hayakawa," Yusuke answered.
"Oh, that's pretty nifty," Jackhammer said.
"Okay, Yusuke, you've had your fun," Hayato said, "Now hang up with the nice trucker so we can continue our quest."
"I don't know why you're so skittish about this fellow," Yusuke said, "He sounds friendly enough."
"Hey, you know," Jackhammer said, "I'm actually making good time and could use a break. Next rest stop we see you guys want to do a bump with me?"
Hearing that made Yusuke's face drop as Hayato has a 'I told you so' look on his face.
"A bump of what?" Yusuke asked.
"I got some delicious nose clams right here in my glove compartment," Jackhammer said, "And I'm more than willing to share with you guys."
"And what are nose clams, exactly?" Yusuke asked.
"Cocaine, my friend," Jackhammer said, making Yusuke even more nervous.
"Uh, I'm going to have to pass on that, thanks for the offer," Yusuke said, "I must be going now, buh-bye!"
With that, Yusuke ripped the CB radio off of the dashboard, opened the window, and threw it out of the truck.
"What was that for?!" Hayato scolded.
"Just get us as far away from that truck as possible!" Yusuke said as Hayato slammed his foot on the gas, allowing the duo to get away from Jackhammer and his truck.
Later in the trip, as the duo inched closer to Hayakawa, Hayato and Yusuke were seen listening to Christmas music on the truck's AM/FM Radio.
"Father Christmas, give us your money! We don't have time for your silly toys!" Hayato and Yusuke sang, "We'll beat you up if you don't hand it over. We want your bread so don't make us annoyed! Give all the toys to the little rich boys!"
As the two men continued to sing, Hayato wasn't paying attention to the speed limit; he was going over the limit. Worse still, they passed by a police car that was hiding behind a billboard, and the officer driving the car came out of hiding to chase after the truck.
Immediately, Hayato and Yusuke's singing was stopped when they heard the police sirens, causing Yusuke to look in the side mirror to see the officer chasing after them.
"Stop in the name of the law!" The officer was heard shouting.
"Hayato, I think we'd better pull over," Yusuke said.
"But we're making great time and we're almost at Hayakawa," Hayato said.
"Hayato, I think he means business," Yusuke said with worry, "He's gaining on us!"
"Not for long he's not!" Hayato said as he picked up speed and was ready to go 'off-roading'.
"Hayato what are you doing?!" Yusuke screamed.
"Hold onto something!" Hayato said as he took the truck off road and through the woods, causing the officer to stop chasing after them.
It was a wild ride as the truck careened through the forest, taking out every tree that crossed its path. Inside the truck Yusuke was holding onto the 'Oh Shit' bar and screaming his head off while Hayato continued to drive through the woods with laser focus. Hayato stopped the truck when it reached another snowy field. With the truck's side mirrors dangling by their wires, and the truck being covered in a series of smudges and dents, Yusuke uncovered his eyes as he took in his surroundings.
"Are we dead?" Yusuke asked.
"Nope," Hayato said, "We avoided the fuzz, the toys are alright, and that little detour turned out to be a shortcut. We'll be in Hayakawa in less than 10 minutes."
"Hayato, we almost died!" Yusuke scolded his friend, "And for what?! Some toys?! Don't you care that both you and I have wives and children to take care of? What would become of them if, heaven forbid, something happened to the two of us? Why do you care so much about these toys?!"
"You don't understand," Hayato said as he looked at the steering wheel.
"Understand what?" Yusuke asked.
"There are a lot of kids out there who are counting on me and these toys so they can have a good Christmas," Hayato said, "I should know, because at one stage in life, I was one of them!"
Yusuke calmed down when he heard Hayato's words, and he remembered how rough his friend's upbringing was.
"By now I'm sure you know that my father was a bastard and a half," Hayato explained, "Every Christmas my old man didn't go out and get toys for me, or food for a nice feast. Instead, he'd spend all of our money on booze, booze, and more booze. It was because of toy drives like the one we're helping out now that my Christmases weren't a total loss. And now that I'm grown, and have become a much better man than my father, I take it upon myself every holiday season to help our local toy drive anyway I can. That's why I'm so hellbent on getting these toys to Hayakawa. Because somewhere in that town is a kid with an upbringing just as rough as mine, and he/she is relying on these toys so he/she can have a merry Christmas."
Hearing Hayato's story made Yusuke's heart break. He always knew that Hayato's father was an abusive fiend, but he didn't know to what extent. That made him think about Christmas with Madarame. Even though he mentally/emotionally abused him, the old plagiarist would still try and make the holidays a special time for Yusuke by cooking him a nice meal and giving him a present or two.
"Even if Madarame wasn't a good man," Yusuke thought to himself, "At least he'd try and make Christmas special for me."
"Hayato," Yusuke said, somberly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know how important this was to you."
"Well, now you do," Hayato said.
Looking at his saddened friend for a few more seconds gave Yusuke the incentive to keep going.
"I don't know why we're still just sitting here feeling sorry for ourselves," Yusuke said, "We have toys to deliver!"
"You're right, Yusuke," Hayato said, perking up, "Hayakawa is only minutes away, and we can still deliver these toys on time. I just hope the engine still works after that trek through the forest."
Hayato turned the key in the ignition, and while it took a few attempts, the engine started up, causing the two men to cheer.
"Hayakawa, here we come!" Hayato cheered.
"Hayato," Yusuke said, "I'm sorry again if I seemed a little unsympathetic. Again, I had no idea of your plight."
"It's alright, Yusuke," Hayato said, "To be fair, I probably should've just pulled over for that cop and not risk our lives. I needed a good talking to. Thanks for being a great friend, Yusuke."
"Right back at you, Hayato," Yusuke smiled.
With that, Hayato drove out of the snowy field and back onto the road towards Hayakawa, the toys all set to be delivered on time.
Story #8: Sojiro and Futaba
Narrator: The men delivered the toys on time, they've surely made dozens happy. Back in Tokyo, Sojiro and Futaba were doing volunteer work, hoping to make things less crappy.
At the local mall, we see Sojiro dressed as Santa Claus with Futaba dressed up as an elf. She's wearing a green dress with red stockings, green elf shoes, and a green elf hat with a jingle bell attached to the top. Sojiro is seated in a big red throne in front of the large Christmas tree that was at the center of the mall. Behind a gate was a long line of children, ready to see Santa Claus and give him their Christmas wishes.
"This is so humiliating," Futaba whined over the costume she was wearing, "I can't believe I let you talk me into doing this with you, Sojiro."
"Don't worry, Futaba," Sojiro said, reassuringly, "It's only for a few hours."
"But what if someone we know sees me like this," Futaba worried.
"What are the odds of running into our friends here?" Sojiro asked.
"Okay, Santa, the first child his here," A mall worker said as he let the first child in…only for that first child to be Himari!
"Himari?!" Futaba exclaimed.
"Hey, Auntie Futaba, nice elf costume," Himari chuckled, "Very festive."
"What are you doing here anyway?" Futaba asked.
"I heard from Uncle Mishima that you and Uncle Sojiro would be here," Himari said before looking at 'Santa Claus', "I assume that's Uncle Sojiro under that beard?"
"Yes, Himari, it's me," Sojiro said.
"Cool," Himari said, "Anyway, I just wanted to ask you guys something. Do either of you know what the true meaning of Christmas is?"
"Well, for me at least, the true meaning of Christmas is making children happy," Sojiro said, "This will be the tenth Christmas in a row where I play as Santa Claus for the mall, and I love every minute of it."
"Eh, not really too big on kids if I'm being honest with you," Himari said.
"Well, everyone's definition of 'The True Meaning of Christmas' is different, Himari," Sojiro said, "You just have to find yours. Hang in there and I'm sure you'll find it."
"Alright, thanks Uncle Sojiro," Himari said.
"Do you want a picture with Santa and his elf?" The mall worker asked.
"Mmm, sure why not," Himari said as she pulled Sojiro up from his chair and wrapped an arm around him and Futaba, "Cheese!"
With that, the picture was taken and Himari left the scene with her souvenir photograph.
"Next," The mall worker said.
The next kid that walked up to Sojiro was a rather 'punkish' looking kid. The punk kid walked up to Sojiro and sat himself up on Sojiro's lap.
"Ho, ho, ho!" Sojiro went, "And what would you like for Christmas, little boy?"
"I want a GameStation 5 with all of the games," the punk kid said in a demanding tone, "I want all the controllers, and all the map packs for the new Cry of Loyalty game!"
"Charming little fella," Futaba said under her breath, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Here's my address, Mr. Sakura," The punk kid said as he handed Sojiro a sticky note with his address on it.
"Oh, ho, ho, little one," Sojiro said, trying to save face, "I don't know who this Mr. Sakura is. I'm Santa Claus."
"Bullshit!" The punk kid shouted, "You're Mister Sojiro Sakura, owner of Cafe Leblanc! I know where you live too. So I expect everything by the 25th, you feel me? Oh yeah, but everything in my mom's name."
"What is happening right now?" Futaba asked, becoming more uncomfortable with each passing moment.
"Okay, little fella, smile for the camera," Sojiro said as the mall worker prepared to take the picture.
"I ain't got no time for no pictures," The punk kid shouted as he jumped off of Sojiro's lap, "I'm out!"
The punk kid walked off, leaving Sojiro and Futaba to stare after him.
"I know someone who's getting a lump of coal in his stocking," Futaba muttered.
"Next," the mall worker said as a little girl came up and sat on Sojiro's lap.
"Ho, ho, ho, you're a cute one," Sojiro smiled, "What would you like for Christmas?"
"I want a pony!" The little girl cheered.
"Oh, a pony?" Sojiro asked, causing the little girl to nod, "Do you mean a toy pony or…"
"A real pony, Santa, a real one!" The little girl cheered.
"That might be a little difficult," Sojiro said, trying to let the little girl down easily, "A real life pony can't fit in my sack of toys. I'm also not sure I have any ponies in my stables back in the North Pole."
Hearing 'Santa's' words made the little girl teary eyes and her lips started to quiver. Futaba noticed this and intervened.
"What I think Santa is trying to say is that we'll do our best in getting you that pony you want," Futaba said.
"You promise," The little girl said with a sniffle.
"Uh-huh," Futaba said with a cheerful nod, causing the little girl to perk up in time for her picture to be taken. With the little girl's picture taken, she goes back with her family and Sojiro decides to talk with Futaba before introducing the next kid.
"Why did you have to lie to her, Futaba?" Sojiro asked, "Don't you know how much ponies cost? I was just trying to let her down easy."
"I'm sorry, Sojiro, but you saw how upset she was getting," Futaba said, "I don't want you to be responsible for a cute little girl's meltdown!"
"But by lying to her you're delaying the inevitable," Sojiro said, "She's going to have a meltdown one way or another."
"Look, we'll discuss this later," Futaba said, "Right now, can we focus on making more kids happy, please."
"Alright," Sojiro said, "But this discussion is not over."
"Next," the mall worker said, allowing a mischievous looking boy to come up and sit on Sojiro's lap, chuckling to himself all the while.
"My, you're a happy fellow," Sojiro chuckled, "Must be glad to see me, huh?"
The boy just continued to chuckle to himself, and Futaba could tell that he had something wicked planned.
"So, little boy, what would you like for Christmas?" Sojiro asked.
"I…would like…this!" The boy shouted as he ripped the beard off of Sojiro's face, revealing his true identity, causing Futaba to gasp in shock, and all of the kids on line to start screaming and crying.
"I got your beard, you old fart," The mischievous boy cackled as he jumped off of Sojiro's lap and started to run away with the beard.
"You little brat, give that back!" Sojiro shouted as he gave chase to the little boy.
"Nyah, nyah, nyah-nyah, nyah!" The mischievous boy teased as Sojiro chased him all around the Christmas tree.
As all of the chaos was unfolding, Futaba just stood there, completely befuddled. She looked over at Sojiro and the mischievous boy, then back at the line of traumatized children, and finally at the mall worker responsible for taking pictures.
"Can I go on break?" Futaba asked calmly.
"Sure," The mall worker said in an exhausted tone.
With that, Futaba left the scene as Sojiro continued chasing the boy to get his beard back.
"Give me back that beard or you're getting nothing but coal, little boy!" Sojiro shouted.
"Up yours!" The mischievous boy shouted as Sojiro continued to chase him.
Stories #9-#12 are coming soon.