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As Christmas Eves came and went with winter’s frost, distaste for spending it with her family swelled at the back of Aoi’s throat. Not because she hated them in anyway. She enjoyed sitting with her knees drawn towards her chest, feet thudding against her seat. Fingers kneaded around a mug of hot chocolate as conversations bounced off the walls and drooping tinsel and whatever else she and her sister found within a dusty cardboard box located inside their attic. The day never barred Aoi from her daily runs, cold air whipping her bare legs and slapping her face. Regardless of the date, she attended school and her extracurricular activities all the same.
But as time added another unit to her age, it also added expectations. Conversations about spending the evening with boyfriends grew in frequency among her companions, Aoi smiling and nodding like she understood.
People had to make do with how they were born and she applauded the fruits hard work brought those with the dedication to pursue them. Yet her sister’s femininity and petiteness and lack of enthusiasm for sports meant she wasn’t predisposed to a circle of never falling in love like Aoi, and Aoi couldn’t help yearning for that as well.
The closest Aoi came to having a boyfriend was when she asked Makoto to pretend to be hers a while back. It didn’t count but it led to him saying she shouldn’t change, that the absence of the femininity she craved made her appealing. Gave her the kind of beauty only attainable when one remained true to themselves. Even though Aoi still feared becoming like a Christmas cake she overheard male colleagues joke about, she believed Makoto.
For all the horrible things the mutual killings brought- for all the nightmares it induced to the point where its survivors still couldn’t live too far from each other- the bonds it forged between them couldn’t be broken. Not by despair or anything else.
It gave them a second family. And after a day with her blood relations, the idea of relaxing with this second family after months of rebuilding the world with little rest on top of her parents hinting she try getting in touch with her feminine side more couldn’t not appeal to Aoi.
Even if they were meeting at a party organised by Byakuya, who she doubted knew how to have a fun time not at the expense of others... though admittedly he wasn’t as bad as she first thought.
Not quite, anyway. How Touko and Byakuya could put up with each other without going mad evaded Aoi’s mind. Maybe it would be a good idea to check up on them. Make sure they were both still alive.
Almost slipping three times on paths sheeted with bumpy ice, Aoi jogged from her family’s home to the complex where she and the others lived. She inhaled air as crispy as the grass adjacent to her pounding footsteps. Air that contrasted to the toxic fumes which greeted them after they departed from Hope’s Peak, that had made the now pale noon sky once thick and black.
Yep. A lot of rebuilding had been done in a short amount of time. So much that Future Foundation allowed them a few days off work. What other reason could there be? Yasuhiro hinted a break would be nice, giving him time to catch up with his folks that he hadn’t seen in years, though he kept his yearning to wide yawns and wistful expressions. But none of the others requested leave as far as Aoi was aware- three objected and Makoto went along with the higher-ups’ announcement with neither complaints nor encouragement.
Clambering up the steps, almost tripping forward and falling down four times, she skidded to a halt in front of Byakuya’s door. Aoi prodded the button for the doorbell before swaying on the balls of her feet. When no one answered within the next five seconds, she shifted her weight to her toes and rapped her knuckles against the door.
Unsteady footsteps sounded. The door creaked open slightly.
Byakuya peeked through the crack, his hair tousled. “You didn’t have to knock twice.”
“Did you just wake up?”
“What if I did?”
“It’s almost noon! What are you sleeping for? Don’t tell me you forgot about tonight.”
Byakuya straightened up, hand dropping from the door frame to his side.
“Of course I didn’t forget,” he retorted. “When I choose to wake up has no influence over my preparing for later. There is still plenty of time for me to sort things out.”
Combing his fingers back through his hair, Byakuya regarded her with eyes only slightly more awake than a few seconds ago.
“You’re several hours early,” he remarked. He side-eyed her. “The party is tonight, or did you forget?”
Aoi glowered before exhaling and relaxing her face. No. No way would she give him the satisfaction of seeing her riled up at his stupid comments.
“I thought you could do with some help,” she explained, tone peppy, and she raised her fists with determination. Byakuya flinched belatedly. “I mean you’ve got us and the guys from the island coming over. That’s a lot of snacks to prepare and a lot of decorations to put up.”
“Decorations?”
“You didn’t think to put any up?” she asked, ogling him and wondering why the others let him be in charge of something so important. Or why Byakuya bothered volunteering in the first place if he was going to just sleep in. He probably planned on having everyone sit in silence or participate in an activity equally boring. “That won’t do at all! You’re lucky I stopped by or this party would have ended up a disaster. Step aside!”
Byakuya’s response got lost in his throat as she barged past and inspected his very plain apartment. Just as she thought. No. Worse than she thought. If she didn’t know better, she wouldn’t have known the time of year going by his boring old living arrangement. Boring even though she rarely visited so much of the interior was basically new to Aoi, her gaze skipping over paintings of landscapes and polished furniture with scrolled feet and the simple vase of flowers in the far corner. And it smelled boring too. He probably didn’t even bother preparing any food yet.
Aoi positioned her hands into the shape of a box’s outline, tongue protruding as she surveyed the hallway through the gap her hands formed.
“I’m sure I can get some lights and a wreath or five,” she said, facing him with a smile. “It shouldn’t be too-” She snorted. “What are you wearing?”
Though it was pretty obvious what he was wearing. Over his shirt, Byakuya Togami wore a wooly red jumper with green stripes and a colourful Christmas tree on the chest. And it wasn’t as if she never saw it before- she sat across from the person who made it several days ago while they breathed in the scent of food cooking in Kyouko’s kitchen. From the person who spent hours ensuring that the article of clothing would meet the reciplicant’s standards, constantly checking that the needles’ points were well away from where they could break skin. That the jumper would be perfect and nothing less.
Byakuya glanced down and didn’t answer straight away. “Fukawa made it for me... It’s ghastly.”
Yet he wore it anyway. Aoi smirked.
“I’m serious,” he snapped. “If last night hadn’t been so cold and had I been near a fire, I would have used the wretched thing as kindling.”
Before Aoi could answer, a different voice came from the living room.
“Are they gone yet, Byakuya-sama?”
He looked away when Aoi widened her eyes at him. “... She slept on the couch.”
***
Yasuhiro arrived next with a trolley of suspicious-looking crates. It rattled and thumped all the way up the flight of stairs, the complex’s elevator out of commission until one of the ex-Despair students came by later to fix it. Makoto assured the others that it would operate better than before after being worked on by a Super High School Level Mechanic, so everyone made do with the extra exercise.
Only Aoi enjoyed the arrangement.
“Hey, Asahina-chi!” Yasuhiro greeted when Aoi opened the door. “You look great.”
“This is how I always look.”
“Really? Well, you look great anyway.” Wincing and shaking out his arms, Yasuhiro stepped inside. A dangling bit of tinsel caught his eye and he flicked at it, admiring the rest of the sparkling hallway. “Togami-chi’s really gone wild with the decorations.”
“That’s because I put them all up.”
“Oh right.” He rubbed his index finger against the underside of his nose. “That makes more sense... wait, no it doesn’t.” He pointed at her. “He’s way taller than you! And it’s his apartment!”
“But he’s also Togami.”
Yasuhiro pushed the palm of his hand up his forehead. “Duh. I forgot about that.”
“Are you going to idle by the door all day?” asked Byakuya, and he emerged from the living room with Touko close behind. In her arms, she carried a sleek black case that had a thin paperback book on top that kept shifting as she hobbled after him. “You sure are a fine example of the lollygagging you claimed I was doing earlier.”
Aoi scowled.
Yasuhiro peered past her, face cheery and red from the cold. “Togami-chi!” He laughed. “Nice outfit! I didn’t know you’d be wearing that. If I’d known, I would have brought mine and then we could have matched.”
“Did your mother make you one?” asked Aoi.
“No. My dad showed me how to knit when I was a kid because I could never find a hat that fitted me, ‘right? And I always forget to catch a falling leaf in September so I’ve got to make sure I wrap up extra warm. I read it on the internet.”
Aoi decided not to question him for sanity’s sake. Instead she smiled at Touko. “You did a great job on Togami’s jumper, Fukawa-chan. He’s almost nice to look at.”
Byakuya proved the necessity of her inclusion of ‘almost’ by deepening his frown and disappearing into another room.
Touko blushed then sniffed in an attempt to regain her composure. “Of course I did a great job! D-Don’t insult me! As... As if I would give Byakuya-sama something horrible! My present to him is one of a kind!”
The book fell off the case and fluttered downward. Touko squeaked and bent over to pick it up, hitting the case against the floor in the process. Both items left her grip and she whined, clumsily gathering them into her arms before chasing after Byakuya.
“One of a kind,” muttered Byakuya. “That’s a way of putting it.”
***
All five non-comatose students followed Makoto inside like ducklings following their mother. Touko and Aoi were in the kitchen when the doorbell rang, Aoi chattering about her Christmas Eve with her family while Touko gave monosyllable descriptions of her own when explicitly asked. As nice as it was to spend time with her friend, Aoi found herself quite relieved when the final guests arrived.
Aoi greeted them at the door. Only Makoto, Byakuya and Kyouko had met them in person until now, with Touko meeting a few times with Sonia Nevermind. Visits to the island were kept to check-ups that couldn’t be done over the phone or by conference call, and Aoi studied each guest as they passed.
The first was Hajime, whom she recognised from photographs and from him being the centre of many discussions. He offered her a ‘hello’ and she gave him a ‘hey’ in return.
Then came someone shorter- Fuyuhiko, Aoi supposed, with a slight saunter in his walk and scowl playing on the corner of his mouth that fitted his Super High School Level.
Next a voice that, if voices bore physical forms, would have rolled out like a heavy carpet with fraying edges.
Its owner soon followed.
“Hey!” the owner said, grin toothy. “You’re Asahina, right? Purple-hair told me about you.” The girl stuck her index finger into her ear and twisted her wrist, head shifting to the side slightly. “Finally, someone else with big boobs! You’ve got to go a round with me at some point, all right?”
Aoi blushed, mentally noting to later ask Kyouko what exactly she said about her. “Eh?”
“Hey, is something cooking?” Sniffing. “Smells edible, like chicken and ginger. When do we eat? I’m-”
“Oi, oi,” came a male voice from behind her. A head with a mess of vibrant pink hair popped into view shortly after. He also had shark-like teeth. Aoi forgot to ask Kyouko about whatever had just bothered her and simply stared. “It ain’t exactly warm out here, y’know! You can eat all you like once Sonia-san’s outta the cold.”
“Oh,” who must have been Sonia said, pale green eyes coming into the light along with a pale face and pale hair, “it is not a bother at all. In fact, I would go as far to say that standing in this low temperature is actually quite refreshing. And if my standing out here gives Owari-san an opportunity to partake in socialising, I could never forgive myself if I let my selfishness take priority over such an activity.”
“In that case,” said the pink-haired shark Aoi remembered being called Kazuichi, “we can stay here all night!” He grinned a toothy grin that put Akane’s (that was her name!) to shame. “You... me... alone,” he waggled his eyebrows, “under the stars... together...”
“... Nevertheless,” said Sonia, “I do hope it is not impertinent of me to request this conversation proceed indoors. The novelty of this change of weather has worn off.”
Last to enter was Kyouko, who clicked the door shut upon entering and searched for a coat hook behind layers of tinsel and flashing lights. The five students followed her example and discarded their outerwear, and Makoto unwound his green scarf before placing it onto an empty hook.
“Kirigiri-chan made you that,” said Aoi, and she stepped beside Makoto. “Isn’t it cute? We spent all day knitting. So what did you get her, Naegi? You did get her something, didn’t you?”
Makoto reddened. “Of... Of course I did!”
“Good.” Aoi scratched the back of her head and giggled. “I mean, it would be weird otherwise. You are practically dating, after all.”
“Yeah,” said Makoto, “we are. Minus the practically I mean...”
Aoi gasped but Byakuya interrupted anything she might have started to say, positioning himself in the doorway leading from the hallway to the living room.
“If you’re all here,” he said, “then stop lagging behind and come in.”
Akane burst forward, salviating. “Is the food ready?” Her fingers curled and uncurled. “I’m starving! They wouldn’t even buy me any peanuts on the ride here. I almost ate Souda’s arm but then he started crying and that takes away the flavour, y’know?”
Sonia nodded. “Indeed. I observed it with my very own eyes!”
At the mention of the incident, Kazuichi pulled his beanie hat over his eyes and trembled.
“No,” said Byakuya. “I don’t know. Nor do I care. And the food is not ready yet. You will have to refrain from your cannibalistic tendencies for the time being... or at least until I’m not in the room.”
Akane pouted. “Seriously? Not even a sausage? Tell you what - if you gimme a sausage, I’ll let you touch my boobs! Though not with any sausages, if you know what I mean. That’s for regulars only.”
Hajime sighed. “Owari, do you remember what we said about how you should stop talking a sentence earlier?”
“Or two sentences earlier,” piped up Kazuichi.
Byakuya quickly turned away, arms folded over his chest. “... Stop wasting my time.”
“Ah?” went Akane. “Is that a no? Damn.” She ruffled her hair. “I thought a guy in a get up like that would be all over it. Or is it the complete opposite?”
Fuyuhiko snorted. Byakuya grimaced.
“Well, I think it is a darling article of Christmas wear,” said Sonia, hands clasped together over her chest. Byakuya’s grimace became more prominent. “It’s ever so quaint! It reminds me of the books I used to read involving little elves working under a dictatorship and old men breaking into families’ homes via the chimney. I must get myself one... I shall write to Novoselic upon returning to the island and obtain my own in the next six to eight weeks!”
“Christmas would be long over by then though,” said Hajime.
“I could make you one,” Kazuichi said. “It’ll be much better than his,” he jerked his thumb towards a fuming Byakuya, “because mine will have refreshment holders and rocket launchers! I betcha his ain’t got any of that.”
Kyouko coughed into the back of her hand. Hajime caught her eye and made his way into the living room. Everyone else soon became inspired by his movement to do so as well.
Last was Makoto, who hesitated next to Byakuya. “It really is a nice jump-”
“Shut up.”
***
It turned out Yasuhiro’s suspicious-looking crates contained large quantities of bottles holding alcoholic beverages. Makoto asked where they came from, spurring Yasuhiro on to start a tale promising an ex-dentist’s brother’s cousin’s friend’s neighbour’s aunt’s vet’s librarian’s escapade with the mafia and two bars of soap. The enthralling tale most present company zoned out through came to an abrupt halt when Fuyuhiko asked loudly for someone to pass him a bottle. Byakuya took one for himself as well, sitting in the corner on an armchair while Aoi grabbed Touko’s arm and sat her between herself and Sonia.
Fuyuhiko found a chair to sit on while the others settled onto the floor, Yasuhiro and Makoto against a wall while everyone else sat in front of the couch where Touko, Sonia and Aoi were.
“Their conditions are stable,” Hajime answered when Kyouko enquired. “We still can’t say for sure when they’ll wake up, but hopefully it won’t be much longer.”
“It is most unfortunate that they did not wake prior to this outing,” Sonia said, slumped forward. She examined the carpet. “Why, Hanamura-san would have whipped up the most marvellous of meals, and Togami-san- our Togami-san, I mean,” Byakuya took another swig but otherwise didn’t react, “he would have ensured this party was hella rad! And Koizumi-san would have taken photographs of our merriment, and Saionji-san would have danced, and Pekoyama-san-!”
“-isn’t here,” finished Fuyuhiko and he tried to set down his bottle onto the drink coaster on the end table beside him, but missed the coaster. “We get it, okay? It’s shitty enough they’re back on the island. You don’t need to rub it in too. It’s not like any of us can forget.”
Sonia gasped. “I... I am most apologetic, Kuzuryuu-san! It was discourteous of me to bring up such things.”
“Oi!” Kazuichi said, pointing. “Don’t speak to Sonia-san like that! Not all of us are cold heartless bastards like you.”
Fuyuhiko held out a fist. “Want to say that again, shithead?”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Yasuhiro patted the air. “Let’s not fight! Think of all the cleaning up Togami-chi would have to do. Instead of fighting, take a look at this.” He pulled out a laptop from a bag wedged between him and Makoto. “I brought Alter Ego.”
Rotating the laptop so everybody could see, Yasuhiro beamed when Alter Ego’s face came into view along with a cheery, ‘hello, everyone!’
“And if you go into a paint program,” Yasuhiro added, “you can draw him something to eat or a little present if you drag it over.”
They watched him open up a paint program and draw a wonky donut with the mousepad. He dragged the donut off the paint program’s window with the cursor and onto Alter Ego, who was bobbing up and down. Yasuhiro released the button and Alter Ego caught the donut in his mouth.
“That is pretty cool,” said Makoto as most of the others murmured in agreement. Alter Ego licked his lips. Aoi warned Yasuhiro not to feed him too much or else he wouldn’t be hungry later.
Hajime answered Kazuichi’s bewildered expression with his own and with a shrug of his shoulders.
Alter Ego’s head somersaulted. Yasuhiro turned the screen around and started to draw again, Makoto leaning to the side slightly so he could watch.
Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko continued glaring at each other.
Hajime fidgeted. “I think we’re all just frustrated at how slow progress has been. After so long, we thought they might start to show some signs of waking up... but there’s been almost nothing. And I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say there’s one person we all especially wanted to spend this occasion with.”
Fuyuhiko looked down. Sonia kneaded her fingers together. Akane frowned. Kazuichi scratched his nose and averted his gaze.
“They’ll be on their feet real soon,” Akane eventually declared. “Old man Nidai never goes down without a fight and neither will the others. They’ll just have to get us twice the number of presents next year to make up for it. Now how about we chow down, huh? Eating always make me feel better.”
Fuyuhiko picked up his drink and sipped from it.
***
Food came after several conversations. Conversations such as: ‘So you and Kirigiri-chan really are dating? Way to go, Naegi-chi!’, ‘It’s been more than five years but my mother recognised my hairstyle from a mile away’, ‘Souda-san, you’re leaning against my leg!’, ‘I was trying to keep you warm, Sonia-san, or do you wanna join me in my jumpsuit instead?’, ‘Hey, Asahina, you’re still up for that fight, aren’t ya? After we eat of course... well, thirty minutes after. That’s what Nidai would say, I think’, ‘Ah, Fukawa-san, may I have your autograph? I’m a hella big fan of your work. You’re my favourite serial killer’, among others.
When the exchanges dissolved into frankly immature anecdotes after Yasuhiro and Kazuichi started drinking, Aoi and Touko went to fetch dinner with Sonia following after. Before Kazuichi could take more than two steps, she demanded he stay and he obliged with no complaint. Lowering the palm of her hand, Sonia spun on her heel and joined her new friends in the kitchen that she smelled the aroma of with a smile.
Aoi saw her enter and waved. “Hey, Sonia-chan! Want to help carry some plates over?”
“It would be my honour though I do wish I came when you were preparing them,” Sonia said as she came forward and accepted a plate of chicken legs. “This cuisine is undoubtedly sublime, but I would have loved to show you all some recipes that have been passed down the Nevermind bloodline. They are so delicious that those who divulge it are immediately expected to ostracize themselves from society and become fishermen.”
“So why would you want to show us the recipes?” asked Touko, tray in her hands wobbling as Aoi stacked plates onto it. “Wouldn’t you get exiled... if you did...?”
“You are correct,” Sonia said. She closed her eyes temporarily. “It is just as well that I was absent during the preparation then. Thank you for alerting me, Fukawa-san. I believe you very well prevented my abdication.”
Touko grumbled and shuffled toward the door as Aoi collected plates for herself to carry. Waiting for Touko to reach her, Sonia accompanied Touko into the living room and set the trays and plates onto the large blanket Aoi found crammed down behind the couch cushions earlier that day. It now lay flattened out in the centre of the room.
Upon seeing food being placed onto it, Akane appeared next to the blanket so quickly that she no doubt gave her shins friction burn.
“Finally.” Drooling, Akane made pinching motions with her hands. “It smells... so good...!”
“Wait for us!” Yasuhiro yelled, and he tucked the laptop under his armpit. He scrambled forward as everyone drew toward the blanket and sat around it.
All except Byakuya, who remained on his armchair with one leg crossed over the other.
“Come on, Togami-kun,” said Makoto once it became apparent Byakuya had no intention of joining them. “It looks delicious.”
Groaning, Byakuya rose to his feet and walked somewhat steadily over. He plopped himself between Hajime and Touko, the former edging away to give him more room. Though, Byakuya seemed more inclined to lean more towards Touko than toward Hajime as he selected what he wanted to eat. Makoto and Kyouko glanced at each other but said nothing. There was no point when Touko would be the last to complain about Byakuya’s arm brushing against hers.
Plate heaped with meats and rolls, Akane placed her meal onto her lap and tucked in, crunching and chomping far louder than everyone else as crumbs tumbled down her chin.
“That’s the spirit!” Aoi said, her plate almost as laden with food. She nibbled a bit of chicken and moaned in delight. “It tastes amazing. It’s a good thing we’ve got more than enough for everyone. I said we’d have to prepare a lot, didn’t I?”
“Yes,” said Touko. “Repeatedly.”
“Why the hell are you stuffing your gobs so much?” asked Fuyuhiko when Akane snatched a roll he had been about to grab. “Leave some for the rest of us! And has any of this got milk in it? I didn’t go through all that crap to be killed ‘cause I’m lactose intolerant.”
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” said Akane. “We won’t get fat. I took a bit of salad. It’s all good.”
“That won’t negate everything else you eat,” Hajime pointed out.
“They’re right,” admitted Aoi. “We shouldn’t be eating so much. We won’t have room for Christmas cake afterwards.”
Hajime frowned. “That’s not what we meant at all.”
“It... It makes you wonder what they’re filling though, doesn’t it?” remarked Touko, smirking.
Akane mumbled something and continued eating, knuckles smearing crumbs across her lips.
Kazuichi gawked. “You... Y’mean like their...?” He gestured towards his chest.
Yasuhiro choked on the liquid in his mouth and Akane had to whack him on the back a dozen times. Well, she didn’t need to whack him on the back a dozen times, but she did anyway.
***
“May I suggest we listen to some festive tuneage?” asked Sonia once there was noticeably less food in front of them and Byakuya had returned to his spot in the corner with another bottle. Really, Aoi didn’t understand what his problem was. Or how he could just ignore all present company at his own party as if there was nothing weird or wrong about it. Whatever- his loss. Sonia added, “Some sick beats ought to augment the party’s atmosphere.”
It promptly came to light that no one thought to bring anything appropriate to listen to other than Sonia, who revealed a CD of Ibuki’s Christmas hits. But its appropriateness came into question when Sonia read out a few of the song titles: ‘I Found A Foot In My Stocking’, ‘Reindeer? No, It’s Going To Rain Deer’, ‘Rudolph The Red Nosed Ass’, ‘I Saw Mama Kissing Santa And I Think He’s The Dad’ with others.
Even ‘Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney’ was cut short after they found a music player and Ibuki screamed, ‘When Santa got stuck up the chim-neeee, we began to sh-ooooooout! “Let’s go and fetch the dynamite. That will blow him oooooow-t!” When Santa got stuck up the chim-neeee, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! All the bits of Santa Claus spread around the... ROOM!!!!!’ Hajime shut it off when Sonia started to sniffle and the rest of his friends traded pained expressions at hearing a voice they may never hear live again.
Silence followed until Kazuichi spoke up.
“It’s no big deal,” he said. “Me and Sonia-san can sing somethin’. Sonia-san, do you know the words to ‘Baby, it's cold outside’? Me and you could maybe do a live performance of it too, huh?”
Sonia ignored him and instead turned to Byakuya, who had risen from his seat carrying the black case Aoi recalled seeing earlier.
“Fukawa,” Byakuya said. “My music stand is in my room. You have ten seconds to retrieve it.”
Touko dashed out while Byakuya pulled back the case’s golden clasps. They snapped open as he fiddled, and it opened long after Touko had scuttled back. Balancing haphazardly on one leg, case against his raised thigh, he took out a violin and let its case thump against the carpet.
“You’re going to play the violin?” asked Aoi, watching as he pointed at where he had just been sitting. Touko finished setting up the music stand and went to fetch his book, her foot catching on the bottom of the music stand and sending it clanging to the floor. Byakuya bent down to pick it up.
“I wouldn’t have got it out otherwise,” he responded slowly. He raised the violin, readying himself to play. “I used to perform for my mother every year.” He jerked his head back, moving some hair from his eyes in the process. “Symphony Nine, Fukawa.”
Whatever doubts Aoi, and a few of the others, shared about his condition to play - about how he didn’t stand with the rigidness they so associated with him, or how his focus washed over the sheet music instead of honing in on it - melted away once he started.
A start sharp and swift and precise, invigorating to all those present, that carried on as he progressed. Never faltering even when Touko flipped to the next page, her attention always on him to the point where he would have scolded Touko about it on most other occasions.
Yasuhiro soon swooped to Byakuya’s side, Alter-ego left next to Makoto. One hand holding a half-empty bottle while the other balled into a fist, Yasuhiro cheerfully accompanied Byakuya’s performance at the top of his voice. Aoi rolled her eyes but tapped her feet to the soothing music that wasn’t Togami-like at all and the off-key singing Yasuhiro complemented it with, some words just random noises when he didn’t know the lyrics.
Sonia admired them and clapped, smile radiant. “How exquisite! Charming! Tubular!”
Kazuichi leaned back and cupped his hands against the back of his head, kicking one leg out while the other remained against his chest. “It’s okay, I s’pose. If you like that sort of thing.”
“Oh, I do like it very much. It’s so stimulating... why, I want to leap to my feet and dance!”
Kazuichi’s ears pricked up.
“Yeah, I think he’s pretty good too! Hey, Sonia-san, you wanna dance?” Kazuichi offered her his hand. “I’m not too good but you could walk me through it... adjust my position with your hands...”
To Kazuichi’s surprise, Sonia took his hands in her own and they rose together. Scarlet exploded across his face when she placed his hands onto either side of her waist, her palms on his shoulders. They moved away from the blanket and everyone else, pace slow as they swayed. Or rather Sonia swayed and Kazuichi faintly mimicked her, she staring into space while he seemed to collapse into himself.
Akane whooped. Aoi glanced at them with a small smile before returning her attention to Yasuhiro and Byakuya. They had a surreal liveliness to them that sucked her in.
“Togami-kun is a talented violinist,” remarked Kyouko as she observed Kazuichi and Sonia, twisting her neck around to get a better view, before choosing to regard Makoto instead.
He nodded.
“Makoto. Would you,” she blushed as she extended her hand toward him, “care to dance with me?”
“O-Of course!” said Makoto, even more flustered than her, and soon he and Kyouko were on their feet as well. Both replicated Kazuichi’s and Sonia’s stances only they looked into each other’s eyes as they rotated into an empty space, content with not spicing up their routine after Makoto stepped on her toes twice.
Fuyuhiko watched and listened for a while before placing his bottle to the side. He turned to Akane. “Oi. Owari. You... uh...?”
Akane burped and picked at something green stuck between two teeth. “Eh? What?”
“... Never mind.” Fuyuhiko turned to Hajime instead. “Hey. Hinata. You... You want to dance? Not as a couple or anything. I mean you have whatever you had with Komaeda and I’m not Nanami or whatever... and I would much rather dance with Peko, no offence, but... uh... yeah. How about it? One dance, you and me?”
It took Hajime a moment to answer.
“It’s a nice offer but I’ll have to decline," said Hajime. "Sorry.”
“You could have rejected me before I said all that crap,” Fuyuhiko told him. He picked the bottle back up and chugging some of it contents down. Then, he caught sight of Aoi, who sat at a right angle to him with a plate of half-eaten Christmas cake on her lap. Fuyuhiko cleared his throat. “Hey... Asahina? That’s your name, isn’t it?”
She turned. “Huh?”
Fuyuhiko twiddled his thumbs. “I... I don’t s’pose you want to dance? My legs are cramping up from sitting on my ass for so long.”
She blinked at him. “Oh. Uh... I’ve never... danced with anyone before. But... yeah. Yeah!” Aoi beamed. “That sounds like fun.”
“Good,” said Fuyuhiko. “Then I don’t have to pretend I know what I’m doing.”
***
“You’re thinkin’ about Tanaka, aren’t ya?”
“Pardon?”
Kazuichi pulled a face. “You don’t have to deny it or nothin’. I know you’re pretendin’ you’re dancin’ with him and not me. It’s why you ain’t lookin’ at me.”
Sonia flinched. “That’s...”
The rest of the sentence lodged itself in her throat and refused to be gulped down or released into the air.
“It’s cool though,” he said. He released her waist and unzipped a pocket stitched onto one of his jumpsuit’s legs. “Whatever he did to ya, whatever creepy ass curse he put on you, you... you really like him. I’ve seen you talkin’ to him every night with those furballs-”
“Hamsters,” she stepped back, aghast, “and you had no right to eavesdrop!”
“You’re right. But I just wanted to find out what he had and I didn’t.” Kazuichi reached into his pocket. “Was it the hamsters? The fancy words? The coat? The hair? I still don’t get it so I thought... maybe...?”
He pulled out a long purple scarf and unraveled it before giving it to her. Sonia stared down.
“This-?” She finally met his eye.
“Ain’t his, but it sure looks like it, right?” Kazuichi bared his teeth and prodded his thumb against his chest. “I found some books on knittin’ so thought I’d give it a shot. I can make cars so knittin’ a scarf couldn’t be too hard. It took me a while... couple of weeks maybe... but I thought you’d like it. Even if it’s ‘cause it reminds you of someone who ain’t me.”
Sonia didn’t speak for a minute, fingers exploring the object in her hand. Running up and down its subtle roughness. Kazuichi waited, doubt starting to cloud his features.
She smiled at him, wrapping it around her neck. “Let us continue dancing, Souda-san. And I assure you... I am intending on dancing with you this time.”
***
Fuyuhiko’s awkwardness made Makoto and Kyouko’s negligible. He looked everywhere except at Aoi and after a minute or so, drifted off to sit with Hajime and Akane. Instead of dancing by herself, Aoi found herself kneeling on the couch near Yasuhiro. His singing grew sporadic and hoarse, the bottle he had been either holding or singing into before now empty and on the coach.
“You sound awful,” Aoi said. “Maybe you should take a break.”
Yasuhiro flopped onto the couch next to her and groaned at the ceiling.
“You as well, Togami," she added.
Byakuya glared at her out of the corner of his eye.
Spotting an unopened bottle nearby on the floor, Yasuhiro bent over to pick it up. He frowned at Byakuya. “Your fingers are going to fall off, Togami-chi.”
"If you know how to play the violin," said Byakuya without so much as pausing from his playing, "feel free to take over.”
“Ooh!” Akane jolted to her feet and bounced over. “I’ll take over!”
Byakuya actually stopped at that.
“You play the violin?” he asked.
“No.” She flexed her muscles. “But Kuzuryuu and Hinata can make instrument noises while I sing.”
Hajime turned. “Huh?”
“You mean like acapella?” asked Fuyuhiko.
Akane blinked. “Aca-what?”
“Acapella.”
“Bless you,” said Yasuhiro.
No one spoke for a moment.
“Don’t you think you could have asked us first?” Hajime finally said, looking from Yasuhiro to Akane.
Fuyuhiko nodded. “Yeah, and what makes you think we want anything to do with this?”
Akane shrugged. “If you guys don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. I can sing and play an instrument at the same time by myself...” She raised her hands towards the ceiling. “I’ll play the bongos on my boobs!”
“Oh!” Sonia, who had stopped dancing once the music ceased, came forward. “That won’t be necessary, Owari-san! I am nowhere near as talented as Togami-san, but I hope I do not give the impression that I am a pompous airbag when I claim that I have studied the violin for several years and am not half-bad at it. Many generations ago, it was used to pass secret messages during concerts and it is a tradition that has been passed down ever since.”
Kazuichi’s eyes sparkled. “Amazing! Is there anything Sonia-san can’t do?”
“But of course! For example, I cannot breathe fire no matter how many times I try. My great-grandfather would be most displeased if he was still alive.”
Byakuya reluctantly handed Sonia the violin and she raised it to her chin.
“Performing the same piece as Togami-san would only highlight my inexperience, so I shall play some lively tunes that are popular in my country. This is called ‘Fairytale of New York’. I can’t quite recall the words, I’m afraid, but it’s nonetheless charming.”
She started to play.
Makoto and Kyouko sat with Aoi and Yasuhiro on the couch, the four squashed together in a row. Aoi expected Byakuya to head toward his armchair and was pleasantly surprised when he instead grabbed Touko’s waist and pulled her toward the other side of the room.
Both continued dancing long after Sonia finished.
***
“I’m going to buy Vegas,” Byakuya drawled to the ceiling, head lolling back against his armchair.
“Cool,” said Yasuhiro. “Can I have New York then?”
“You can have whatever the fuck you want. I just,” drink spilled down Byakuya’s sleeve when he waved, “I need to buy Vegas for Tokyo.”
Yasuhiro raised a hand to his mouth and gasped. “You already own Tokyo? Hey, then can I have Osaka?”
“Osaka? I thought you wanted... Kasa... Akure... Asak... ura. Asakura.” Byakuya slouched and looked around with bleary eyes. “Where is Tokyo anyway?”
“Can’t help you there, man. Geography was never my strong point.”
“I would like to know more of Tokyo’s geography,” the contents of Byakuya’s bottle sloshed, “if you know what I mean.”
“I have a map at home. I’ll bring it to work when we go back, ‘right?”
“Oh my,” said Sonia, pausing from sipping from a glass of drink that she retrieved from the kitchen and not from one of Yasuhiro’s crates. “I do believe Togami-san has had too much to drink.”
Aoi glanced at the pair. “Yeah.”
“And Hagakure-san is hella drunk too.”
Aoi squinted.
“Maybe,” she finally replied.
***
Byakuya fell asleep after attempting a passionate conversation about something to do with countries and foods and bunk beds, all accompanied with enthusiastic hand gestures. Touko nodded off a few minutes later, her cheek against his shoulder. Once their dinner was cleared away, Kyouko shook out the blanket and draped it over the pair. Behind the couch, against the wall, were two pillows, which they discovered the existence of after Akane crawled across the top of the couch with a marker pen that she dropped down the back of the couch when Makoto asked her what she was doing. The pillows were slipped behind their heads.
Kazuichi went out with Makoto and Kyouko to investigate the elevator, Kuzuryuu slinking off after them with Hajime close behind. Akane lay on her stomach in front of the laptop, asking Alter Ego questions and reciting her feats in gymnastics when requested. Sonia sat cross-legged next to her, chipping in facts about Novoselic when not listening with rapture to Akane.
Aoi was in the kitchen washing up (though really Byakuya ought to have been responsible for such a job) when Yasuhiro approached from behind and started drying whatever she had cleaned so far.
“Yo, Asahina-chi!” Yasuhiro beamed. “That was some party, ‘right?”
“... Yeah,” she agreed, attention downward.
He tilted his head to one side. “Is something bothering you?”
She sighed. “It’s just... forget it. It’s silly.”
“You say what I say is silly and listen anyway. It’s only fair if I return the favour, ‘right?”
When Aoi looked at him, he seemed so earnest that she dropped the dishcloth into the warm soapy water inside the sink.
“Do you... Do you think I’m going to become Christmas cake?” she asked.
“I doubt it. People don’t turn into foods unless aliens are involved, and I can sell you some stuff to ward them off if you want.” He rolled a fork over in his hand as he dried it with a tea towel. “My stock is genuine - after I started using it myself, I never met an alien again.”
Aoi puffed out her cheeks. “Not an actual Christmas cake but like... a metaphorical one. Some people say if you don’t get married by the time you’re twenty-five, no one will want you like no one wants Christmas cake after Christmas because it’s expired by then.”
Laughter was not the response Aoi anticipated nor wanted.
The fork joined the others on the rack with a clink. Yasuhiro noticed her expression and became solemn. “Asahina-chi, you don’t want a guy or a girl who thinks you lose your freshness as soon as you hit twenty-five. You don’t come out of a chrysalis on your birthday, ‘right? You’re still the you you were the day before. There are lots of guys and girls out there who are always opening new doors and seeing things they’ve never come across before, even if they are kind of old already. Age doesn’t matter at all.”
He dried a plate.
“Those are the people you want to be with, Asahina-chi. If you meet one of them tomorrow, great. Or if you meet one of them in a decade, still great. Because it won’t matter to the right person.”
Aoi picked up the dishcloth. “Thanks, Hagakure. That... means a lot to me.”
“No problem! Tell you what, I’ll give you a discount for that advice.” He scratched his chin and got soapsuds all over it. “Let’s see... what would that come to...? Eighty thousand yen... Ninety thousand yen...”
He looked up when Aoi’s hand fell onto his arm.
“How about I take you out to eat instead?” she suggested. “Tomorrow. I know a place that serves super tasty donuts.”
“... That’ll more than do.”