Work Text:
Christmas Eve is special.
Because of course, it is; everybody and their pets know why.
For delinquents around the hood, however, it holds a few deeper meanings.
It's called the Christmas Truce, or Trêve de Noël in one of those old, crummy books in the Antiquarian Bookstore.
The whole thing is self-explanatory; everyone stops fighting for a whole 48 hours straight and just chills.
Well, not with guns and explosives at least; snowball fights are perfectly acceptable, apparently.
People would simply rest, have some hot food, puff some smoke with their breaths and bunch up together around a burning oil drum.
It's nice as long as it lasts.
For those who still want to be productive, they're in for a special moment as well.
Due to the weather and the ongoing festival, the manpower requirement in the logistics and delivery industry will drastically increase.
Posters about the urgent need for one-day part-time jobs from warehouses and online stores are all over the black market.
And here's the kicker; these jobs are often from legal companies in the autonomous zone and don't require valid student IDs to apply.
Additionally, since they're all legit businesses and considering the nature of the hiring, the payout is typically way higher than usual.
Not only it's a surefire way to make some quick cash, but they don't have to worry about safety hazards and contract fraud.
It's definitely exhausting, of course, but seeing and feeling a Kraft envelope full of cash will make it all go away.
Talk about a labor of love.
"......"
Saori frowns at the LCD screen of the pager she received for her delivery job; the last order in her shift.
The package seems nothing special on the outside; a medium-sized box with only a few pounds in weight.
The problem is the location: based on what she knows, no buildings or people are gathering over there.
She did deliver some presents for folks around the oil drum bonfire, but there were extra notes for that.
She decides to turn on her phone and check on that location via a satellite map.
It's a ruin of buildings; broken concrete walls and craters are scattered around that area, without a single shed of light.
Her instinct is protesting against the idea of going there.
Is this... what he called a dead drop? She takes another brief look at the box sitting in the cargo bed.
If that's the case, then she shouldn't worry too much; she just delivers the box and doesn't know the content.
And Christmas Truce is still in effect if that offers any sort of comfort.
"Hmm." But what if it's not?
She's rather careful and keeping herself away from quarrels in the black market recently, so no, can't be them.
...Is it Trinity? Technically, Arius Squad members are still wanted criminals there.
And if anyone, it would be them to set up such as scheme.
Perhaps they want to apprehend her, and send the word out to draw out the rest?
Won't make it easy for them. The grip on the pagers tightens.
But then again... There's no proof.
And Saori deliberately chose to work away from the part closer to Trinity.
She even went as far as to vet the employer to make sure they have no ties with them.
Perhaps I'm just overthinking.
Perhaps it's someone who wants their gift handed over secretly due to... whatever reasons they have.
Like the one she delivered earlier today; a wrapped book, given to a small, pink-haired girl with black wings, shades and a mask.
Anyway, standing here will offer no answer and certainly no profit.
She's good at following orders, and she's got a job to do.
Saori checks her rifle for the first time today and kickstarts the crappy moped and goes on her way.
The view is about what she'd expect.
Visibility is low, the moon is on the festive vacation as well; the weather report said it may snow tonight.
Dust, gravel and concrete pieces rattle the moped as it struggles to trudge the non-existent path.
Saori stops the moped and grabs the box instead, she's not keen on breaking the ride and getting her pay cut.
Good thing it's small and light enough so she can still shoot with one hand.
Worst case scenario, she can still simply drop it and fight; no "fragile" or hazard stickers on the box.
Saori walks away from the moped and into the ruins, rifle at the ready.
"......"
Had there been an ambush, now is the best time to strike, but no.
She has been keeping a close eye around her feet and shin height for booby traps and mines.
No footprints or faint glow of halos either.
Nothing.
This place is dead.
Saori walks further into the ruins, there must be something here, her intuition says so.
"!..."
And she is right.
There's a small object hanging on a broken-off rebar directly in front of her, can't tell what that is from a distance.
The ambient light is about as low as it can get, yet somehow, it seems like it's glowing.
Everything about it screams unusual to her.
She takes a closer look anyway.
It's a silver pendant in the shape of a ᚷ; not a regular X, it's slightly slimmer and narrower.
Saori lowers her rifle and reaches for it subconsciously.
As if it calls to her.
"Boo."
"!!!"
She thrashes out a spinning back fist before she can even feel surprised. Blocked.
A rapid withdrawal of her arms, followed by a mid-kick to gain some distance.
It worked, but the feeling of kicking something firm tells her it didn't do much harm.
Saori drops the box and brings up her rifle with trained speed and precision.
She flips off the safety and squeezes the trigger with zero hesitance.
"Woah," The dark smudge of a figure speaks before the instant her rifle goes off. "Cool it, big girl."
The former leader of Arius Squad freezes, and it's not because of the cold.
"It's good to see you've still got it," The silhouette makes themselves, no, himself recognizable. "Saori."
"S- Sensei!? Why are you here!?"
She lowers her rifle and flips the safety back on in astonishment.
"Well, I ordered that," He gestures at the dusty present box on the ground. "And uh,"
Two rips of velcro and some faint noises come from him; he's taking off gloves, Saori assumes.
"This."
Snap!
"!..."
The entire ruin of this building comes to life in vibrant colors; lines and lines of Christmas light bulbs are wired around the concrete and rebars.
Routed around and over her shoulder height, no wonder they went unnoticed when she scanned around.
Their light makes him more visible: he's in a tan wool cloak and there's what looks like a gun case on his back.
Among all the blinking, colorful lights, a pair of silver ones stand out the most in her eyes.
"Merry Christmas, Saori," Sensei announces softly, no winter cold can take away the warmth in his smile.
"......" Meanwhile, Saori feels both baffled and flattered at the same time. "Sensei, is this...?"
"For you," He walks up to her and picks up the box and the pendant. "You like it?"
"Uhm... I- I- don't know what to say..."
"I take that as a yes then," He dusts her off with gentle pats.
She has swapped her crop top and cap for a sweater and beanie of the same color, and her coat is pulled up to her shoulder.
He hands over the box back to the deliverer. "Here, this contains all the presents I prepared for the rest of the Squad."
Inside, a flower field guide for Atsuko, and a 1-year subscription card to the fashion magazine for Hiyori.
A teddy bear wearing a red scarf with silver embroidery that says Things are going to be okay for Misaki.
And four vouchers from Shibaseki Raman, custom-made in collaboration with the owner.
"And this," Sensei unshoulders the rifle case and shoves it into Saori's vacant hand. "Is for you."
On the case, there's a tag, listing all the parts and modifications it has.
- LWRC IC-A5:
- - 12.7" Barrel w/ Custom Spiral Fluting
- EXPS3-0 Holographic Sight
- EFAB Hybrid Muzzle Device
- Handbrake X Foregrip
- SSA-E X Trigger w/ Auto Sear
- SCS Buffer Spring Assembly w/ H2 Buffer
- Titanium Barrel Nut & Lower Parts
- Custom Paint Job & Laser-engraved Emblems
"And also, here's the-"
"Sensei!" Saori can't help but raise her voice or else she's going to be drowned in gifts.
It's way too overwhelming; first, she almost shot him (again), and then he made this light bulb thing, and then these presents...
"C- Can you pause for a moment, please...? I need to gather my thoughts..."
Her voice is on the brink of trembling, the presents in her hands feel way too heavy to hold onto.
"Hm? Sure," He dramatically gestures at the wreckage short wall. "Have a seat on the ice-cold and dusty concrete then."
Saori follows that order unironically. This guy...!
Sensei takes a seat next to her with an exhale.
"Sensei-"
"-Uh-uh, before you start," He gives her a finger. "I've texted Atsuko and told her that you'll join them soon."
"And bring over my presents on the way," He snickers. "Consider it an actual one last job."
"As for the rifle," He rests the case on her lap. "I can't keep it; there's a big ass Arius emblem on the lower receiver, so."
"You deserve a break and a treat, Saori," A pat on her shoulder. "I say it. I suppose my word still has some meaning to you, no?"
He practically takes all the things she wanted to say right out of her mouth, leaving her speechless.
"It's... a lot, Sensei." Saori thinks out loud. "I'm flattered."
"Well, I've got one last thing for you." He fumbles underneath his cloak without looking.
"T- There's more!?"
"Oh trust me, this one you definitely deserve," He pulls out a kraft envelope. "Your cut."
She takes the envelope with both of her hands; the order was a pay-when-delivered.
Saori opens the envelope to check the number.
And she's met with thirty 10000 Yen bills instead of 1000 ones.
"Sensei..." Saori practically moans; at this point she should expect this kind of stuff from him, but still.
"Well, if you have any problems, allow me to break it down for you." He takes the envelope back.
And hands her two bills. "Here's the actual pay."
That should be it...! She is helpless and overwhelmed, in a good way. Probably.
"This is delivering the order ahead of time..."
Two more.
"This is the tip..."
Five more.
"This is for dressing for the weather..."
Five more.
"This is for being nice to me..."
Eight more.
"And uh... This is the holiday bonus. There you go."
He stacks the rest Eight bills on top to finish it off.
Saori feels like she's going to faint.
"I trust you to manage your money properly, alright?" Sensei ruffles her beanie. "If the bank chooses to fuck with you again, you let me know."
"Y- Yes." She robotically puts the bills back into the envelope.
"Now," He gets off his feet and offers a hand. "You can go clock off and enjoy the rest of the holiday with the Squad."
Maybe she'll take it better if I imply that it's for all four of them? He muses.
"I..." A hesitance. "I'm not sure what else to say other than 'thank you'..."
"That's plenty enough for me," Sensei reaches for her hand. "It's what I do after all."
Little artificial stars blink around her in all sorts of colors, surrounding her and the two unwavering moons.
Saori stands firm as she's lightly tugged back up.
A piece of snowflake falls between them.
"Ah..." "...'bout time."
Flakes and flakes of snow silently fall upon them; soon, the world will be rendered in a coat of white.
"Here," He hands her a note with a location. "It's an empty house with running water, electricity and heat."
"The former resident abandoned it due to sandstorms and uh, corporate bullshits."
"The Squad should be there now, and you can join them."
"Enjoy the presents, have some proper food at the ramen stand nearby, and scram before the authorities find you, okay?"
"And of course," A cheeky smile shows on his face. "I've never told you any of these."
"......" Nothing comes out of Saori's mouth.
Just another thing added to the overly long list of what she should repay him for, why not?
"Heh. You'll get used to it." Sensei adjusts her beanie he just ruffled.
The tender eyes greet her again, glinting in silver and narrowed by his smile.
Her own Santa Claus.
"Be seeing you, big girl. Merry Christmas."
Snap!
The ruin returns to the dark and dead silence once more.
As if it was all just a dream, and he was never here to begin with.
The evidence of his appearance, are the presents in her arms, and the fleeting tug in her heart.
"......" Saori sighs helplessly, but the smile on her only deepens.
Never ceased to amaze.
Had it been several months ago, all these will be beyond ridiculous to her.
The former leader of Arius Squad walks out of the ruin and loads her presents on her moped.
She's good at following orders, and she's got a job to do.
"Merry Christmas, too. Sensei."
Saori begins the last stretch of the work today as she mutters the blessing.
Knowing full well he will hear that, clearer than anyone else.