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It's his ninth Christmas. Sakuya wakes up, only to find no presents under the tree.
"Santa only visits good kids, so don't cause any trouble, okay?"
The same old words from his grandmother are stuck on loop in his head, as he feels himself crack ever so slightly.
Yet, for the next year, he continues to do as many good things as he can for others. He tries his best to cheer his classmates' spirits, helping strangers out on the streets when he can, and so much more. But what he sees as good only makes his current caretakers more distant...
One year later, and it's his tenth Christmas. There are no presents. He doesn't celebrate with his "family", either. They're on vacation. That night, he lulls himself to sleep with the help of his own quiet sobs, wondering to himself what he did wrong this time.
...He's a terrible child, isn't he?
The following years are all too similar, and he's already come to the conclusion that his grandmother's words were all a lie. Despite knowing it, he still continued to do good for the world around him, with a small glimmer of hope in his heart that Santa would come one day.
Joining Mankai brought his hopes up more than he expected. He went the entire year with no doubts, genuinely believing things would change in his favor, but...
Of course, his fated moment never came the following Christmas. Citron was the one to hear Sakuya on the opposite side of their dorm room at the stroke of midnight, and the entire story was spilled.
Sakuya made him swear not to tell anyone else. He didn't want the others to find out. After all, only kids believed in Santa, right? So he should've grown out of believing in him a long time ago. He knew it wasn't right to keep everything to himself, but it became a habit for him to keep everything tucked away in the back of his mind, whether it be his anxieties or other feelings, and moved on. He continued to do good things, left unnoticed by everyone—not like he cared, anyways.
It's Christmas Eve, the night before his second Christmas with Mankai. He doesn't bother to stay up that night to chat with anyone, opting to flee to the confines of his dorm room to brace himself for what would happen the next morning.
Even while he slowly fell asleep, he doesn't recall ever hearing Citron return.
Christmas Day. Sakuya's still alone in his room. He haphazardly slaps on a pair of jeans and a sweater, and goes to the living room, where... There's a Christmas tree in the center, with a bunch of neatly-wrapped presents under it, more than he'd seen the year before.
No one else is in the room besides him, and he takes it in himself to approach the base of the tree. The first thing his eyes focus on is a large note with his name on it.
Apologies for the late presents—Your address kept changing, and I couldn't keep up with it... As an apology, here are a few extra gifts as a little treat!
Merry Christmas, Sakuma Sakuya.
He doesn't notice the pitter-patter of feet entering the room as he rereads the note multiple times, tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill onto the paper in his hands.
It's not until the others cheer a joyful "Merry Christmas!" that he snaps back to his senses, startled by the sudden chorus of voices ringing in his ears. He looks at his dear company members, to the presents, and back to them; not hesitant in rushing up to them for a group hug.
It's in that moment where all the hope he's lost over the years comes rushing back to him, and he can't help but think... Maybe Santa was just waiting for him to find the right family.