Snow was falling gently onto the buildings and asphalt below, the dreary, gray evening sky ironically providing comfort to people. There was nothing more festive than the feeling of having a white Christmas.
The chilly cold, laying its hands on the comfortably dressed redhead, walking down the road, didn't manage to take the spring out of her step.
Gamo had presents to buy.
Yoshi had invited the crew to spend the holidays at her place, willing to provide them all with a fancy dinner for Christmas eve, home made by the one and only Yosh. Needless to say, they all immediately jumped onto the idea.
Nagatoro was bound to arrive by train within a few hours, while Sakura had arrived the night before. Since Yoshi and Gamo still lived in the same town, Gamo didn't have far to go.
Before night rolled around, Gamo wanted to hit up the mall and scout possible options for presents, at least one for each of her friends. Money wouldn't be an issue, as her performance at tournaments and other kind of events, had brought quite enough earnings where she was sitting on a very comfortable pile. That wasn't even considering the money the family gym was making.
But it wasn't just those three that she was planning to shop for. In the back of her mind, always present, was the thought of one man.
It had been a year and a couple of months, since their whole group had taken a trip to Tokyo and randomly ended up reuniting with this one special man, who had managed to capture the hearts of Gamo and her best friend.
Naoto Hachiouji was truly a unique specimen. The guy had a beautiful soul, filled to the brim with visions of magnificent colors, sounds and music that would make a grown man weep and yet happened to be one hell of a vicious bastard when he wanted to be.
The last time she saw him, face to face, Naoto had attempted to take his own life, due to the merciless assault on his mind via his depression, which had been caused by Nagatoro, and to a lesser extent, Gamo herself.
It was at that time, when he was lying in a hospital bed, at the potentially lowest point in his life, absolutely devastated by the lack of love for himself, that Gamo confessed hers.
Although, to be honest, the only reason she had the courage to do so in the first place, was due to how much her best friend, Hayase Nagatoro, had messed up.
Nagatoro being the woman who Gamo had always envisioned at Naoto's side. She was forever cursed to be in love with that man, yet never able to express herself in a healthy manner that would lead them to happiness. Which had caused her to snap, assaulting him in the worst possible way, entirely too drunk on her own, obsessive love with him to realize her mistake until it was too late.
Gamo was the only person who had known of this, for quite some time.
Nagatoro called her the night of said travesty, sounding like a broken down husk of herself, begging for her friend's help. Gamo, thoroughly shocked to the core by the uncharacteristically vulnerable and clearly devastated Hayase, rushed to her house, without missing a beat.
What she saw there at that moment, was the most pathetic and defeated image of the girl she could have envisioned. Empty, forlorn eyes. Skin, as pale as a corpse. A voice, barely audible, more like the whispers of a spirit. To say that Nagatoro regretted what she had done, would be more than an understatement. It'd be a brazen lie.
Never before had Gamo seen such shame and deep self loathing on the surface of another human being before. Every word passing through her lips was quiet, yet drenched in the most hate filled venom the redhead had ever perceived, and they were being directly injected into Hayase's own veins. It was such a severe shock to Gamo's mind, that when Hayase came clean about what she had done, Gamo couldn't bring herself to lash out, despite those strong feelings she had already been harboring in secret.
It was clear to her, from the way that Hayase was behaving and the words she was saying, speaking of herself as if there was no future in store for the tanned girl, that had Gamo left her there that night, by herself, Nagatoro would not have lived to see the next day.
The whole situation had been a terrifyingly grim reminder as to how violent and toxic love could get, if one wasn't mentally capable of dealing with all the fears, anxieties and overwhelming insecurities that would naturally arise from coveting another's love, all for oneself.
Not that everything about Hayase's love was 'natural'. Gamo always knew, from the day that she had started to pick on Naoto, that her way of going about grabbing his attention, was off, to say the least.
Gamo would like to say, she knew Nagatoro better than most.
The girl had never shown an ounce of interest in another, let alone the way that she had suddenly become obsessed with this one boy. You could say, this just stemmed from her being young and not having been exposed to the right guy, or girl, before.
But even keeping that in mind, the almost predatory way that Hayase approached this love for her Senpai, wasn't normal. At least, she didn't think so.
Gamo had long assumed that there were 'complexities' to Nagatoro, parts of her mind that weren't quite right.
And with each passing day that she observed her friend falling harder and harder into the abyss they called love, the clearer it became that Hayase was in trouble. There was something about her quickly derailing, and the train would eventually have to come crashing into something.
This was another reason, why she didn't consider herself much better than her friend.
Gamo had seen the warning signs. She had realized, that at the rate Hayase was going, something would have to eventually snap.
And she did nothing to stop it. She was a failure of a confidant.
Was that right though? Could she really blame herself for not stepping in, handling something that she had no qualifications or true understanding for?
She'd like to think so. After all, she swore that she would always look out for her friends and those she loved.
Hayase may have pulled the trigger, but in Gamo's mind, it would have never ended up like this, if Gamo had only unloaded her gun. As it stood, the lion considered herself just as responsible, her finger right there on the trigger, alongside Nagatoro's.
But never had she considered for Hayase to fall so far and absolutely destroy everything they had built.
Gamo would have interfered if she had only known. For Naoto's sake alone.
The redhead couldn't help but let out a sorrowful laugh.
A day away from Christmas eve, and she was torturing herself over ghosts of the past, which she could no longer go back to comfort.
Which honestly felt even worse on holidays like these, because the event, naturally, had caused a massive rift between Naoto and the four friends, which in time, had all come to value and adore their artistic friend. Being separated from him, the way they had become, based on something Hayase had done, caused quite a bit of a fallout between the group for some time.
Luckily, they had been through rough patches before, and there was nothing that could ever truly tear the four of them apart.
Or so Gamo had hoped, until the moment, she had finally come to realize that, she too, was in love with Naoto, which had put her into a struggle for the man's affection with Nagatoro.
A worthless struggle, to be fair, as it eventually dawned on them both, that their continued presence in Naoto's life, only caused further harm to the man they loved. Taking a step back, to fully appreciate the mess they had brought into his life, both women decided to step away from him, leaving him the time and space he would need to heal, in the hopes that one day down the line, he would potentially be able to love either one of them.
At the very least, they both wanted nothing more than for him to love himself.
If that was at all possible, they'd be content with that alone and love him from afar, knowing full well that they had squandered their chances.
Nagatoro and Gamo were clanking their glasses together, while letting out a joyful cheer, fully appreciating the festive spirit of the season.
The smells of delicious foods were wafting out from the kitchen where Yoshi was preparing the roast. Quiet, peaceful music was playing softly through the speakers placed around the room. The light of countless candles and strips of colorful bulbs tinted the environment in a warm glow.
Beneath the tree they had put up in the corner of the room, lay a dozen or so wrapped packages, all presents the four friends had bought for each other.
Except for one.
Wrapped in black paper, with red stripes partially covering it, and a slightly mangled looking bat on top, was a present that had reached them by mail two days prior.
Instructions attached to the package told them to not open it until Christmas eve, so that the illusion of the sender being there with them, could be kept alive.
And so, they waited patiently, the curiosity slowly wearing them down, but never enough to have them break protocol.
Yoshi, with Sakura's help, brought the roast out into the dining room and placed it on the table. It looked absolutely amazing, and the aroma coming off of it made the girls' mouths water. With Yoshi having fully spent her culinary repertoire on this achievement, the side dishes were simple things like fries, bread and a small salad bowl.
The three women smiled at Yoshi with intense gratitude, as they all took their seats and began to eat.
It was one of the most delicious things any of them had ever eaten, rivaling the cooking's of one curly haired man.
"How long were you planning on hiding this skill from us?" Gamo asked Yoshi, taking another bite and savoring the flavor. "You know you're going to have to make more of this now, right?"
Yoshi let out a gleeful giggle as she put her own fork down. "I didn't learn how to cook to not treat my best friends every so often."
"More like every day," Sakura joked, poking the other blonde in her side. "This is too good. I want more~"
Nagatoro flashed a toothy grin as she glanced at Yoshi. "Agreed. You're gonna have a lot of dishes to learn."
Yoshi could feel herself blushing heavily, buried beneath her friend's overwhelmingly positive praise, thinly veiled as threats to her freedom as a culinary individual.
"Stop it, you guys," she yelped meekly, trying to will away the color on her face. "I'll treat ya whenever we actually get to hang out like this."
Gamo immediately saw a golden opportunity and pounced on it.
"Guess we just have to come together a lot more often then," she said, taking a quick sip of her beverage. "Not like I'd need another excuse. I miss you guys a lot as it is."
Sakura hummed happily at this, leaning toward her redhead friend. "What's this Gamo? You feeling bored and alone without us in town?"
"Ey, ey," Gamo put her glass down, staring back at the blonde in feigned contempt. "On second thought, maybe you guys can stay lost."
Yoshi quickly glanced between the both of them, a bead of sweat appearing on her forehead.
"G-Guys?"
Gamo broke out into a grin and waved Yoshi's worries away. "I am just joking Yosh. Don't worry."
"Ah," the girl sighed out, happy that she was concerned over nothing.
Hayase, who had merely been listening in, while stabbing at her food listlessly, suddenly sat up straight and addressed the others.
"I agree with Maki. We should do this way more often. I never want us to drift apart. I know it's really naive to think you can always stick with your friends from high school, but I'd really like it to be true."
The group of women were taken aback by Hayase's frank outpouring of emotions. That being said, they all agreed, that hearing the way she felt was more than welcome.
"So, waiting until summer is not an option?" Sakura asked, with a sly grin on her face.
"Nope," Gamo responded with a chuckle. "Way sooner than that."
"Sooner!" Yoshi echoed, laughing out loud about bringing back her old habit.
"Oh no!" Sakura cried out as she stifled her own laughter. "The Yosh is back!"
"She's back!" Gamo repeated, with a heart warming smile on her face.
Hayase joined into the laughter, the four of them sharing the feeling of elation in this carefree moment.
Eventually the sounds of jolly bellowing subsided, and the four continued eating their meal. Each of them trying desperately to consume it in such a way that it might never end.
After the food and drinks disappeared, the girls leaned back in their chairs and appreciated the sensation of being completely content for a moment.
Yoshi was the first one to get up from her seat, and she quickly went to pick up the tray in the middle of the table, before being stopped by Hayase.
"We'll clean up," the tanned woman quickly informed her. "Least we can do."
Yoshi stepped away from the table, a bashful smile on her face.
Gamo and Sakura took that as their cue and got up as well. Soon, the three of them had started cleaning off the entire table, with no plates, silverware or even a single spot of grease left to be found.
Hayase fell back into her chair and took a quick sip from her drink.
"Rushing around like this, right after eating a meal like that, I think we might be stupid."
Gamo snickered as she joined her friend at the table. "You only realize that now?"
"Listen, I knew you were a lost cause, a long time ago," Nagatoro quipped, a scary glint in her eyes. "I just expected more from myself."
Sakura giggled, opting to stand herself, not wanting to sit down, despite the heavy feeling in her stomach.
"There was never any hope for you, Hayacchi," the gyaru said mockingly. "You might honestly be the worst of us all."
"Oh, keep going if you want a fight," Hayase said with a maniacal grin.
Yoshi quickly smacked Sakura's shoulder. "I'll kick you both out if you don't behave."
Gamo shook her head, thoroughly amused by her friends' antics.
"When are we doing the presents?" the redhead asked, leaning forward to gaze into the round of ladies. "Getting kinda late, don't ya think?"
Yoshi clapped her hands together, hopping up and down in excitement.
"Presents!" she crowed happily, running to tree. "Let's do it!"
The other three were instantly infected with her childlike excitement and got up to join her. All of them took a seat on the ground, forming a semi circle around the gifts laying below the tree.
Feeling like it was only right to have Yoshi go first, given that she was the host they were all grateful for, Gamo grabbed one of the presents she bought and handed it to her.
"Merry Christmas, ya silly goose."
Yoshi's eyes lit up in joy as she took a hold of the package and began gingerly opening it. Soon enough, the colorful wrapping paper gave way to a large purse, covered entirely with faces of all types of different dogs, happily barking and sticking their tongues out.
Yoshi squealed in delight and flung herself at Gamo, almost knocking the redhead over.
"Thank you so much Maki~" Yoshi shrieked, nuzzling her cheek into the taller woman's shoulder.
Gamo couldn't help but blush at her friends' aggressively loving embrace. "H-Hey, cut it out Yosh. You're being silly..."
After recovering from the joyous display, the girls began slowly exchanging one present after another.
Sakura had somehow gotten into her head that Hayase desperately needed to try and brighten up her look, which is why she had gotten her a fresh, new makeup kit.
Gamo wasn't sure whether or not she should consider this a jab at Nagatoro's lack of perceived femininity, but she knew Hayase would definitely see it as such.
Nagatoro, naturally, played with the idea of using it to apply a fresh coat of paint to Sakura's face once she had gone to sleep, but eventually resolved to showing mercy, and discarded the thought.
"Thanks Sakura," Hayase exclaimed as she stashed the kit in her bag.
Gamo received a beautiful new, spiked, leather collar from Hayase, which she immediately put around her neck.
"Heh, you look like a total badass," Yoshi said, essentially just sharing out loud what they were all thinking.
Gamo grinned, a hint of red on her cheeks. "Thanks."
One of the more extravagant gifts came from Yoshi, who handed Sakura a rather large package. The woman opened it, eager to see what lied beneath the paper, to find a beautiful, white winter coat, with a fur studded collar and hood.
"Oh my god, Yoshi, it's lovely!" Sakura cooed happily, immediately wrapping herself up in the coat. "I'll go outside right now; the cold can't touch me!"
"Oi, calm down!" Gamo yelped and quickly caught a hold of Sakura's hand as she tried to bolt past them. "We still got this one to open."
The redhead pointed toward the gift wrapping with the bat on top, still laying all by its lonesome on the floor.
Sakura huffed and put on a playful pout, but quickly sat down again regardless as Hayase reached for the gift.
While the package itself came with no sender or name attached, the bat almost instantly gave the origins of it away, which caused Gamo's and Nagatoro's hearts to start beating violently as the moment of truth finally came.
Urged on by everyone's excitement and curiosity, Hayase quickly unwrapped the small present, finding a jewel CD case within.
The background of the cover on it was in the same kind of black and red color scheme the girls had come to expect from this band's aesthetic, with Naoto taking center stage, looking up at single ray of light, piercing through the darkness above and falling onto him.
The text beneath the image told them the name of the single in their hand: The Lion and the Tiger.
Hayase gingerly opened the case, finding a handwritten note, neatly placed on the inside of it.
Hey girls, I hope you all are having a wonderful time celebrating right now. Believe it or not, I wish I could be there with you, but you know how it is.
I am not going to keep you long; I just wanted you guys to be the first ones to hear our newest single. I wouldn't have been able to write it, if that weekend in Tokyo never happened.
So, thank you all so much.
I am sure we'll see each other again one day.
Merry Christmas!
Naoto
While Yoshi and Sakura were themselves astonished at the sweet and hopeful words written on the note, it was nothing compared to what Nagatoro and Gamo were feeling.
Especially due that last line.
Naoto wanted to see them again. Or at least, he thought they would do so again.
The two looked at one another, sharing a bittersweet look of happiness and mutual support, slightly tinged by the underlying rivalry that would be flaring up when that day came.
They were both torn back to reality by Yoshi taking the case from Hayase's hands, hopping to her feet and strutting to her stereo setup.
"Let's check it out!" the blonde laughed, as she put the CD into the player.
Gamo and Nagatoro both inhaled deeply, fearing a single sound of theirs would ruin the moment.
Soon enough, a slow, melancholy melody began coming from the speakers.
As the girls settled down into the couch across the stereo system, Naoto's voice began echoing through the room.
The darkness within, formless and thin
I asked for release, just wishing for peace
No matter how far I'd go
The light, it would never show
It'd be a lie to say I know what I want
Like that'd time with us at the restaurant
When you looked at me, with all that love in your heart
While I wondered about, how you would tear me apart.
So now I am here, behind this veneer
Broken and cold, but feeling quite bold
I want you to see, the man I can be
Will you hold my heart, as I fall apart?
With eyes like big cats, claws in my heart
Fire and dark, two sides of my art
Love and Redemption, are we paying attention?
The Lion in you, loyal and royal, protection's your part
The Tiger in you, proud and loud, standing out in a crowd
Two sides of my soul, I don't want to depart
The Lion and Tiger, they belong in my heart
All the scars on my skin and all of these marks
They're fading on a whim, so I can begin
To embrace the idea, push away all my fear
I'll love you from here, till the day you appear
I'll miss you for now, that we'll allow
But hold onto these words, cause I won't let go
The next time we meet, I will be complete
The Lion and Tiger, together as one
A dangerous duo, second to none
Violent, never silent and always defiant
But deep in my heart, when I saw them depart
The truth came revealed, a secret unsealed
Behind their aggression, the constant transgression
They both are in fact, just two kind souls
Struggling to show the feelings they hold
Till the day that you see, the man I can be
Remember this vow, I make with sweat on my brow
The Lion and Tiger, two loves in my heart
I'll paint you a picture and you'll be my fixture
So, as I stand, alone in the dark
Looking above, falling in love
I see the light, the wild cats provide
It'll break through my heart, enshrouded in dark
I will be free, thanks to your part
As the music slowly began fizzling out, Sakura and Yoshi stared at each other, mouths agape. It was quite obvious to them, who the song was about and hearing, what was essentially a confession of love, to both of their friends, delivered in such a form, was wild.
Hayase's face had gone fully flush, her eyes shimmering with tears of joy, threatening to break through. Naoto truly still thought of her as someone special to him. He loved her, right? Wasn't that what it meant? Was she just reading too deep into it?
Gamo, sitting on the edge of the couch, hid her face in her hands, not wanting anyone to see that she too, was on the brink of bawling at the very idea that Naoto could find it in him to love her. Not only that, but he wrote a song about her and Hayacchi.
What did that even imply? Did he confess to both of them? How should they take that?
It was perplexing to say the least, but that wasn't nearly enough to lessen the overwhelming joy they were both experiencing.
Yoshi and Sakura just smiled at the sight of their stubborn and prideful friends, reduced to quivering messes of overbubbling happiness. They definitely looked beyond adorable like this.
"Seems Naoto-kun is a real player, ey?" Sakura giggled, knowing it would grab the two's attention. "Going after two girls like that, my oh my."
Gamo was the first one to recover, uncovering her burning, hot face to bark at Sakura.
"It's not like that at all! W-What are you even saying!? N-Naoto was just... being nice to us, you know, he- Damn it, man. Cut it out."
Gamo bashfully sunk her head, as she realized Sakura had managed to get a rise out of her, without the redhead even putting any thought into what she was going to say. Having played right into her hand, it was now clear that they all knew, who Naoto was addressing with the lyrics.
Hayase, feeling spurred on by Naoto's song, as if a strange and unlikely alliance had formed between the both of them, came to Gamo's rescue.
"Naoto would never 'play' with anyone like that," she sternly said, an unfazed expression on her face. "I am sure, whatever it is he wanted to say with this song, it was genuine and heartfelt."
Yoshi couldn't stop herself from grinning, absolutely amazed by her friend's cluelessness.
"'Whatever he wanted to say'?" she repeated in a mocking tone. "Seriously?"
Gamo lifted her hand, imploring Yoshi to keep quiet, but the hype girl wouldn't let herself be silenced.
"No, no, no," she laughed, knowing that Gamo was on the verge of breaking down into an adorable, messy shade of red. "My guy straight up sang his heart out about how much he loves you both. You telling me that was too vague for you two?"
Nagatoro tried her best to stay in control of her emotions, but by the way her voice started breaking the moment she started to speak, one could say she was failing.
"N-No, that's- That's something- You don't even know if that's- Seriously! Stop giggling you two!"
But neither Sakura, nor Yoshi, could cease the spurts of laughter they had broken out into.
Seeing their friends like this, was undoubtedly the greatest present anyone could have provided for them this year.
They silently thanked Naoto, and hoped that, no matter were he was at this moment, he too was having a wonderful Christmas.
Hopefully, they would all see him again, very soon.