Chapter Text
Hiroshi Kuronaga was not the strongest member of the Kiriyama family. In fact, he was probably the weakest. Being the smallest in size, this wasn’t much of a surprise. It rarely stopped his enthusiasm to engage in fights anyway, even if he did prefer doing so with his stronger friends by his side.
Although he was not the number one fighter in the traditional sense, there was a notable exception. One specific fighting activity where Hiroshi stood above everyone else. Other than his record in how many eggs he could shove into his mouth without choking (six), this was his greatest pride. He was the undefeated snowball war champion.
The moment snow started to fall during winter, his friends would almost refuse to walk next to him on their way to school, due to his endless “surprise attacks”. Mitsuru would tell him to “cut out the childish shit, Boss ain’t amused” (though Hiroshi thought Kazuo looked about as amused as he always did, so how could Mitsuru tell when he was less amused?), and Sho would complain about his hair being at risk of getting ruined.
Having had enough of their whining, Hiroshi had let them go unharmed so far this year, despite several inches of snow already covering the ground. The snow had definitely tempted him every day, but he had somehow managed to make himself wait. He had something better in mind anyway, which he was saving for the last day of school before Winter vacation.
It was about midday when he realized he needed to get to work, if he wanted to finish the preparations at time. The last day of school was Christmas Eve and they would be off a bit earlier than usual, so he only had a couple of hours to get everything ready. Hiroshi had spent most of class trying to come up with some sort of excuse as to why he would have to bail on them, but luckily it kind of solved itself. Kazuo said he needed to pick up something from the library, and declined wanting anyone to go with him (only Mitsuru offered anyway).
“Guess I can go take care of somethin’ too, then,” Mitsuru said vaguely after Kazuo left. “I need to… Talk to Hayashida ‘bout… A thing.”
“Uh huh,” Ryuhei replied, looking more than a little sceptical. “Y’know, you’ve turned into a huge fuckin’ nerd?”
“Fuck off. See ya pricks later,” Mitsuru rolled his eyes, heading off to their homeroom.
“Let’s grab a soda or somethin’ from the cafeteria?” Ryuhei suggested to the remaining two.
Sho agreed, but Hiroshi quickly shook his head.
“Err, nah, I have to… Take a piss,” he said, cursing himself that this was the best he could come up with after hours of hard thinking. “But like, I think I wanna do it outside.”
“What? It’s freezing. There’s a toilet right there!” Sho pointed out, nodding towards the toilets in the hall.
“I want what I want!” Hiroshi insisted, turning around to make a run for the entrance doors. He could just hear Sho ask Ryuhei “Should we be worried?” to which Ryuhei replied “Nah, this’ll be good.”
Once outside, Hiroshi started heading towards the field behind their school, which led onto a incline, where they sometimes ran for gym. His destination was at the top of this incline, where a lot of snow had been shovelled onto the side next to the pathway. It was perfect. He was turning a corner when he noticed someone seated on the benches next to the building.
Yoshimi Yahagi was staring down at her phone, her body shaking with every deep breath she took. Hiroshi paused upon seeing her, wondering if he should say something. She looked completely lost in thought, staring at whatever was on her phone screen. But with how deep her brows were furrowed together, he felt like he had to say something.
“Oi, Yahagi!” he called out to her, making her jump slightly. She had obviously not heard him coming. “Yo, what’s up?”
As Hiroshi changed his direction to head towards her, he got a closer look at her face. He thought her eyes and nose looked a little red, but it could just have been because of the cold. Or that asshole ex-boyfriend of hers was being a dick again. Hiroshi clenched his fists at the very thought.
“Hey, Kuronaga,” Yoshimi replied after catching her breath. “You’re not in class either?”
The question was pretty unnecessary, as the answer was obvious. He was there, after all.
“Nah,” Hiroshi shrugged, quickly thinking up an excuse as he sat down next to her. “Figured I’d have a smoke.”
“That’s perfect timing, you know. Like, I could really fucking need one,” Yoshimi said with a deep sigh, giving him what he could easily tell was a forced smile. “Can I bum one?”
Shit. Hiroshi realized he had left his pack of cigarettes in his locker along with his backpack. Coughing, he shook his head.
“Erm… Changed my mind ‘bout it. I’m tryin’ to quit,” he lied awkwardly. Yoshimi knitted her brows again, studying him intently.
“That’s… Sorta weird. Is something going on or something?” she asked, clearly not buying it.
Hiroshi cleared his throat, throwing a glance towards the small hill he was heading for in the first place.
“’Kay. But you’ll think it’s dumb,” he said, buying himself some time. Yoshimi shook her head intently at this.
“No way! Try me, pleaaaase!”
Giving in, Hiroshi thought maybe she would actually get the fun of it. She was usually pretty cool, after all. Definitely the coolest one in her squad.
“’Kay, thing is, I’m gonna build this fuckin’ awesome snow fort,” he said quickly. “’N then I’m gonna tell my friends to come hang out in it but really I’m gonna fuck them up with hundreds of snowballs. It’s gonna be great, like a damn missile attack. They ain’t got a chance to run!”
Looking back up, Hiroshi beamed at her. Yoshimi blinked for a second, taking it in.
“That’s it…?” she asked, her tone making it hard for Hiroshi to tell if she was disappointed or impressed.
“Err, yeah?!” he shifted on the bench. “It’s the last day of school, so, gonna give the fuckers a nice goodbye b’fore break!”
Finally, Yoshimi burst into a small laugh. “I think it’s pretty fucking great,” she agreed, nodding. “I’d love to see the looks on their faces!”
Hiroshi lit up, having hoping she would say that.
“Why don’t ya? Come help me out. We can finish in half the time ‘n make double the snowballs. I bet yer a good aim too, huh?”
He couldn’t explain why, but hearing her laugh like that after just having looked so down, had given him even more motivation to succeed in his attack. But only if she got to share the fun with him too.
Yoshimi didn’t have to think twice, she was still nodding eagerly.
“Hell yeah! I’m gonna show you how it’s done!” she teased, jumping to her feet.
“Oi, oi,” Hiroshi countered, standing up too. “Ya should know I’m the champion of snowball throwin’.”
“We’ll see, hmm?” Yoshimi teased him, pulling gently on his arm. “There’s a good spot over there!”
Pointing, she showed him the exact position he had already had in mind. Grinning, Hiroshi nodded to her.
“Not too bad,” he agreed.
They ran up the hill at a good pace; Hiroshi pretending to aim piles of snow at her as they went along. Yoshimi both shrieked and laughed as she zig-zag ran to avoid the loose snow.
“I thought we were friends! I thought we were a team! Stooop!” she begged playfully, finally reaching the top and taking cover by crouching down behind a lamp post.
Hiroshi brushed the remains of snow off his hands, breathing heavily as he caught up to her.
“Yeah, ‘kay. Peace or whatever. Let’s find a good fort spot!” he grinned, looking around the small area.
Once they settled on the perfect spot, the two of them got to work. It was going surprisingly easy, as the snow was what Hiroshi referred to as in perfect condition. It also meant the snowballs later would be just firm enough to hurt. Fuckin’ perfect.
He was surprised that Yoshimi turned out to be a pretty good builder too. Maybe building a snow fort wasn’t as complicated as he liked to believe, but she was making the perfect “bricks” for their foundation. They bult it in almost a C shape so they had a small opening where they could enter or leave the fort, as the walls themselves were just tall enough for them to sit on the ground and be completely covered.
“Ya ain’t cold?” Hiroshi asked her. He gave a quick glance to her legs; Yoshimi were wearing black tights in a fabric that looked thicker than normal, but not what he would call warm. Not that he had much clue when it came to these sorts of things. Blushing slightly, he added. “You’re in a skirt ‘n shit…”
“Nah. Bad bitches don’t get cold!” Yoshimi joked, finishing making a new snowball. She already had a small pile of them next to her, as they had begun making them immediately after finishing the fort. Hiroshi was right, they were making it in excellent time. They still had another thirty minutes or so before school was officially out. “I never wear like, coats or stuff when we go out in winter. Like y’know, to parties…” she trailed off.
“Huh,” Hiroshi commented, losing himself in thought for a moment. He did get cold. Wasn’t he a bad bitch? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? “Weird.”
“How many of these do we need?” Yoshimi asked, as she put down another perfectly made snowball. “Like, how many snowballs does it take to take your friends down?”
“Fuck if I know. A shit-ton!” Hiroshi insisted, even though this was probably a hard way to measure things. “Zuki uses so much shit in his hair, it takes like ten just to make a dent in that. Actually, y’know what, if ya manage to fuck his hair up, ya win!”
Yoshimi looked intrigued now. “What’d I get if I win?”
Well, he hadn’t really thought that far. “Braggin’ rights, I guess?”
“I’d love that,” Yoshimi chuckled. “Tsukioka’s hair, got it.”
They kept making snowballs in silence for a while, before Hiroshi figured it was time to give his friends an invite. He brought his phone out of his pocket, sending them a quick text in their group chat.
Hey, assholes. Got a cool new spot for us to hang ‘n have a cig. Get yer asses to the top of the hill.
Yoshimi was peeking over his shoulder, letting out a short laugh.
“Will they really fall for that?”
“Yeah… I think they will be like, curious or shit. They’re gonna wanna see what’s up, y’know?” Hiroshi nodded, putting his phone back in his pocket. “Ya ready?”
Yoshimi raised a hand, clutching onto a snowball. “Fuck yeah,” she said with determination.
Hiroshi figured he could take the time before his friends showed up to ask about something that had bothered him since he saw her on the bench.
“Ey, Yahagi… Were ya like, upset b’fore or somethin’?” he asked, throwing a snowball back and forth between his hands. “Y’know, on the bench.”
“Oh.” Yoshimi pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging her arms around them. She looked like she hadn’t expected this question at all. Maybe she didn’t think he noticed shit like that. “Uhm, a little, I guess…”
“Was it… ‘Cause of Kuramoto?” Hiroshi asked again. He quickly added. “’Cause I can kick his ass, y’know!”
This made Yoshimi laugh slightly, but she shook her head.
“Nah. I don’t talk to him at all, anyway. It’s like… Girl things I guess,” she mumbled, starting to pull apart the snowball in her hand, still hugging her knees. “I guess… Mitsuko sorta made these plans for us over the break and I didn’t really wanna do it. Y’know…?”
Hiroshi wasn’t totally sure what she meant, but it didn’t sound any good, judging by her expression.
“Like, dangerous shit? Like fights?” he asked, knowing he sounded as clueless as he felt.
“Not really like fights…” Yoshimi said vaguely, the snowball now completely destroyed. “Not really dangerous either, I guess. I just… I just don’t wanna.”
“Huh… So don’t, right?” Hiroshi suggested. He knew it was probably easier said than done. Heck, he had the reputation of being a follower too, even though he actually did like the shit he got up to with his gang. “Are ya gonna do it…?”
“No,” Yoshimi was quick to reply, no longer sounding uncertain. She looked at him, giving him a genuine smile. “No, I’m not.”
Before having a chance to reply, Hiroshi heard a loud.
“Oh, the fuck is this?!”
He immediately recognized it as Ryuhei’s voice, and gave Yoshimi a wide grin.
“Fuck, they’re here,” she whispered to him, smiling too. They both turned around so that they were facing towards the hill, still hidden behind the walls of the fort.
“Ya ready?” Hiroshi whispered back, snowball ready. Yoshimi grabbed one snowball for each hand, nodding.
“So ready.”
“Hiro, are ya even here?” Mitsuru called out, and they could tell by the footsteps the boys were coming closer.
“NOW!” Hiroshi cried out. He and Yoshimi popped up, throwing the snowballs at rapid speed towards the three boys. It looked like Kazuo had made the smart decision to go home.
“Ow, we should’ve fuckin’ seen this comin’!” Ryuhei groaned, but was quick to start rolling his own snowballs to fire back with. Mitsuru inhaled deeply for a moment, looking like he was gathering all his inner strength to deal with this.
“Fucker, you’re goin’ down,” he finally said, breaking into a grin too as he joined Ryuhei in the counter-attack.
Sho was too busy covering his hair with his hands to fight back, his lips curled into a deep pout.
“Hiro! How can you do this to me? And on Christmas Day!” he complained, clearly feeling very betrayed. Hiroshi only laughed, noting that Yoshimi was aiming almost exclusively at Sho. She was really going for that price. After launching what seemed like infinite snowballs, Sho’s pompadour finally looked like it was beginning to fall apart, parts of hair standing out to every direction.
“I did it! I did it! I won!” Yoshimi cheered, before dodging just in time to avoid Ryuhei’s deadly attack.
The fight lasted a good twenty minutes before they all called for a truce. Hiroshi used Yoshimi’s presence as an excuse, appealing to Mitsuru about how he didn’t want to hurt a girl, did he? It took some more convincing to stop Ryuhei from continuing the fight, but eventually, Yoshimi and Hiroshi both emerged from behind the safety of their fort, laughing and out of breath. Sho had long ran off to go try to salvage his hair in the school bathroom.
“That was so great!” Yoshimi was still chuckling as she walked with the three other boys down towards the school. “Thanks for letting me be on your team, Kuronaga.”
“Yer welcome,” Hiroshi replied proudly, as if this really was a great honour. “And ya did real good. Ya really fucked Zuki up!”
“Speakin’ of Zuki. Ya should go find him ‘n beg for yer life,” Mitsuru pointed out. “He ain’t gonna be too happy.”
“Shit, yeah,” Hiroshi sighed. “I need to get my bag too.”
“We’ll see ya Saturday, right? Early New Years celebration ‘n shit. I need to get wrecked,” Ryuhei fist-bumped Hiroshi’s shoulder firmly.
Mitsuru nodded. “Boss’ bringin’ tons of vodka. Ya better be there.”
“’Course,” Hiroshi confirmed. Where else would he be? He and Yoshimi watched his friends walk away, before she turned to him.
“I guess I’ll go home too,” she said, smiling slightly. “But… Thanks for today. I had like, lots of fun.”
Hiroshi smiled too. “Me too, yeah,” he agreed.
A thought suddenly hit him.
“Wait, hold on. Shit, I got a gift for ya. I mean, a reward. Y’know, for winnin’!”
Yoshimi blinked, her eyes lighting up. “You do?”
Without answering, Hiroshi ran into the school building. He had finally remembered something he sometimes put in his backpack for good luck, which he by coincidence had brought today as well. He was sure Yoshimi would like it as much as he did.
On his way to his locker, he bumped into Sho, who looked less than please.
“Oh. You,” Sho huffed, crossing his arms. He hadn’t really been able to save his hair to any remarkable degree, so he was looking a bit shabbier than usual. “If there’s anyone I didn’t want to see again this year…!”
Hiroshi laughed, reaching to run a hand through Sho’s hair with the intent to mess it up more, but the taller boy easily dodged this by taking a couple of steps to the side.
“Sorry ‘bout that, Zuki. But hey, perfect timin’. I’m ‘bout to give somethin’ to Yahagi as like… A Christmas gift sorta, ‘n ya gotta tell me if it’s a good idea or not!”
Curious, Sho followed Hiroshi to his locker, watching as the boy reached into his backpack. He pulled out a small teddy bear.
“What… Kanai’s bear?” Sho asked in disbelief. It was indeed the bear Hiroshi had stolen from the Kanai residence when the boys had broken into the house that summer.
“Oi, it’s my bear now. I stole it,” Hiroshi insisted, though this argument probably wouldn’t hold up in Court. “I was thinkin’ I’d give Yahagi this. Or is it… Too much?”
“The bear you stole when we broke into another classmate’s house six months ago? Oh, honey. No, I wouldn’t say it’s too much at all.” Sho shook his head, sighing.
“Pfft. Whatever, she deserves this!” Hiroshi reasoned to himself, looking intently down at the bear.
“True. She did fuck up my hair, so I would say she does deserve this,” Sho agreed. Hiroshi took no note of the fact that this might not be a good thing.
“Thanks, Zuki. Knew you’d get it!”
Yoshimi was still waiting outside the school building, rocking back and forth on her feet. She smiled when she saw the boys.
“There you are!” Unable to hold back a snicker when she looked at Sho, she covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry about… That, Tsukioka,” she nodded to his hair.
“I’m still the most stylish one here, darling. No need to apologize,” Sho commented, humming. “I’ll give you two a moment…”
He walked away from the pair, but not so far that he couldn’t eavesdrop on the conversation. Sho would never miss any gossip.
Hiroshi had the bear hidden behind his back, clearing his throat.
“As the new, undefeated snowball champion I’d like to give ya… Bobo!” he said, dramatically revealing the bear to her in a swift movement. Yoshimi gasped, sounding about as excited as if this was a proposal or something of that sorts.
“Really?! I get this?” she asked, taking the bear into her own hands. “He’s soo totally cute, Kuronaga! Thank you! I love hi- Wait. Did you just have him with you?”
She looked at him with a confused expression, causing Hiroshi to blush.
“No questions asked! Just take him!” he replied quickly, pushing Yoshimi’s hands holding the bear closer to her body. “And, y’know… Merry Christmas ‘n shit. Happy New Year. All that stuff…”
Yoshimi’s smile softened as she looked down at the bear again. She nodded a few times, swallowing. She looked way more touched than Hiroshi had expected, which made him blush even deeper.
“Yes…” she finally said, looking back up at him. “Merry Christmas and all that.”
Deliberating for a second, she swiftly moved in to place a quick kiss on his already burning cheek. “See you next year, I guess.”
Too stunned to say anything, Hiroshi just stared as she turned around and began walking away from him. He noticed she was gently stroking the teddy with her fingers, and he hoped she was still smiling too.
“Fuck,” Hiroshi quietly explained after a short while.
“You know, Hiro,” Sho chimed in, making his way back to the boy, looking about as stunned as he did. “I think you’re officially the first of you three losers to get a kiss. Is this what’s called a Christmas miracle?”
Hiroshi, still stunned by what had just happened, was still staring blankly in front of him. He wasn’t sure he believed in Christmas miracles or anything, but it definitely felt like some sort of miracle.
And holy shit was he exited to rub it in Mitsuru and Ryuhei’s faces. That might just be the best gift of all.