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It was hard to believe that this was their last winter at Hope’s Peak Academy. Three years gone by, almost as fast as Kazuichi could blink.
He wasn’t a sap, but it was hard to deny the fact that once graduation came around Class 77-B would be going their separate ways. They all had paths laid out for them, after all, futures practically predetermined by the Ultimate talents that they wore with pride. Sure there would be class reunions, or even just one-on-one meetups for dinner and drinks, but it wouldn’t be the same. Nothing would ever really be the same again, for any of them.
That was why Kazuichi had sat down on December 1st with a list of his classmates and what they might want for Christmas. He’d even checked it twice. He’d made sure that each gift would be absolutely perfect, then had prepared to make every single one by hand.
It had been the perfect plan, really. Except for the part where it was now December 24th, and he wasn’t even close to finished.
“Damn it,” he muttered to himself as he bent over Chiaki’s Power Glove. As their class rep her gift was the most important of all, and it would be a Christmas miracle if he finished it on time. He didn’t even dare look at the alarm clock on his bedside table – the third one he’d had to buy so far that year after accidentally turning the other two into functional engines – to see what time it was. He was late, late, late, that much he already knew. He didn’t need to rub salt into the wound.
Kazuichi leaned in closer, screwdriver in hand, to attach the controller onto the glove when a knock sounded at his door. He flailed in surprise, sending the screwdriver flying across the room into the wall.
“Kazuichi? Are you in there?”
“Crap,” he cursed. Chiaki’s gift was cradled in his arms, still only half put together, and now Chiaki herself was standing on the other side of his door.
“Is everything okay?”
“Totally! Just… Give me a second!” He had to stash the gift somewhere. Without a second thought, he pushed the Power Glove under his bed and scrambled to his feet to get the door.
He swung it open wildly, chest rising and falling with a dramatic pant. Chiaki stood there, fist raised in the midst of another knock and eyes wide.
“Everyone is at the cafeteria,” Chiaki said, lowering her hand and cocking her head to one side. “We’re all waiting for you.”
“Oh, uh… You guys can start the party without me. I’ll be there soon. Ish.” He awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck.
“What’re you wearing?” Chiaki asked, blinking up at him.
“Oh, this?” He reached for the elf hat perched atop his head. It had seemed funny at the time, but now he wondered if he just looked pathetic. “It’s nothing, really.” He balled it up and tossed it over his shoulder.
Chiaki’s gaze followed the arc of the hat, peering over Kazuichi’s shoulder and further into his room. “Are those presents?”
Crap. “What? No. Nope! No presents here!”
But Chiaki was already pushing past him into the room. “There must be enough presents for the whole class!”
“Well, almost,” Kazuichi admitted, following Chiaki inside. “I’ve still got some more to finish before the party tonight.”
“The party started an hour ago…”
“Yeah, I know that! I was just going to… make a fashionably late entrance, that’s all!”
Chiaki frowned, looking down at the mechanical bits and pieces scattered across Kazuichi’s room. “How much longer do you think it’ll take?”
“Only an hour!” Kazuichi replied quickly. “Or… maybe two?” Even as he said it, he knew he was severely low balling. He was only one mechanic, and he’d bitten off way more than he could chew.
Chiaki seemed to consider his words for a long moment, then a look of excitement crossed her face. “Let me help!”
“...Huh?”
“If the two of us work together it’ll go a lot faster… I think. I’ve platinumed Mechanic Simulator 1, 2, and 3! I bet it’s just like that.”
Kazuichi didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was probably nothing like that. In all honesty, he needed the help. In fact, he found that he wanted the help. Even if that ‘help’ was just Chiaki keeping him company while he put the finishing touches on everything.
“Yeah, okay,” he relented, wearing his own crooked grin now. “Come on, you can help with Miss Sonia’s gift.”
Kazuichi returned to his seat on the bedroom floor and Chiaki joined him, sitting cross-legged and reaching for a wrench.
“Let’s do this!” Chiaki said, pumping one fist into the air. It was the most excited that he’d seen her since Ibuki had agreed to a Guitar Hero tournament three weeks earlier.
Kazuichi smiled and reached for the half-finished digital console he’d been working on for Sonia – a modern twist on a classic Novoselic card game – when his eyes strayed towards the bed.
“Hey, uh… I’ve still gotta finish your gift. So don’t look, okay! I don’t want to ruin the surprise!”
Chiaki nodded her head in silent agreement, her eyes glued to Sonia’s present. Kazuichi breathed a small sigh of relief, then pulled the Power Glove out from underneath his bed.
“Whoa! Is that what I think it is!” Chiaki was pouncing on him before he even realized what was happening, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed.
“Gah!” Kazuichi cried, tipping backwards onto the floor. “I told you not to look!”
Chiaki ignored him, reaching instead for the Power Glove which she held up with pure reverence. “Kazuichi, this is incredible!”
“It’s nothing, really,” he replied, pulling himself back up into a seated position. “And besides, it’s not even done.”
“Still!” Chiaki insisted. “It looks just like the real thing! I could really improve my Bad Street Brawler game with this!”
“L-Like I said, it’s nothing!”
“Hey! Stop saying that.” Chiaki shot him a stern look, one he didn’t even realize she was capable of. “This is really impressive work. I bet everyone will love their presents.”
“If we even finish them,” Kazuichi sighed.
Chiaki puffed out her cheeks with a look of pure determination. “We will,” she promised him. “Now, hand me a #2 Robertson!”
They worked in silence after that, both lost in concentration as they tightened screws and soldered wires. Kazuichi had no idea how much time had passed – it could have been five minutes, or five hours, or anywhere in between. That was Kazuichi’s favourite part about his Ultimate Talent, after all. The ability to simply lose himself in his work and quiet all of the synapses that were otherwise constantly firing in his brain.
Kazuichi wiped his forehead as he finished putting in the last screw on the Power Glove. One down, way too many still to go. He was reaching for Ryota’s color-scanning stylus when he heard footsteps in the hallway. Kazuichi froze, ready to shove the stylus under the bed as well, but the voice that greeted them was far too bold to belong to the Ultimate Animator.
“Jeez, there you are! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
Mahiru walked right into Kazuichi’s room without even bothering to knock, Peko trailing quietly behind her. Mahiru stopped in the middle of the carpet, put her hands on her hips, and glared down at Kazuichi and Chiaki. “What the heck are you two doing?”
“Playing Mechanic Simulator 2 IRL,” Chiaki replied simply, not even bothering to look up from her work.
“Playing… what?” Mahiru replied, raising an eyebrow. “Kazuichi Souda, are you using our class rep for free labour?”
“What?” Kazuichi sputtered. “No, she– She offered! Tell them Chiaki!”
“Yup,” was all she said in reply, still fully engrossed in Sonia’s gift.
“See!” Kazuichi waved his hands helplessly at Chiaki.
“So, what exactly are you two doing?” Peko asked, squatting to Chiaki’s level to get a better look at the game in her hands.
“We’re… making gifts for everyone in the class,” Kazuichi replied, deflating slightly. So much for the element of surprise. “I kinda put too much on my plate and wasn’t able to get them done in time–”
“--And I offered to help,” Chiaki said, finally glancing up and showing off a small smile. “I thought it would be fun.”
Mahiru was still looking at them with suspicion, eyebrow raised so high it had fully disappeared behind her fringe. “And is it?”
“Yup,” Chiaki replied, giving a quick nod of her head before turning her attention fully back to the screw she was tightening.
“Do you suppose you could use our assistance as well?” Peko asked, glancing from Chiaki to Kazuichi.
“I can show you how to finish this gift,” Chiaki suggested, “and then I can start working on one of the other ones.”
“I’d like that,” Peko agreed, settling in beside their class rep.
“I don’t see why us girls have to help just because you couldn’t manage your time better,” Mahiru grumbled as she sat down on the other side of Chiaki, “but if this gets us all back to the Christmas party faster…”
Kazuichi felt his cheeks flushing, and his heart growing three sizes. He’d thought he was absolutely screwed but these selfless saviours (and Mahiru) had come to his rescue. It was a Christmas miracle!
Chiaki had just finished relaying instructions to Peko and Mahiru on which wires needed to connect where when two more girls stormed into Kazuichi’s room. On any other day that might have turned him into a drooling mess, but he couldn’t think about girls when Christmas was on the line!
“Big Sis Mahiru! Is Kazuichi trying to do something perverted to you?” Hiyoko’s hands covered her eyes as she marched into the room, lip turned upwards in a sneer. Ibuki followed behind her, hands on Hiyoko’s shoulders to guide her every step.
“Hey hey hey!” Kazuichi insisted, glaring up at Hiyoko. “Do you want coal in your stocking this Christmas?”
“I know Santa’s not real you stupid greaseball,” Hiyoko shouted back, “although I’m not surprised someone like you still believes in him!”
“Hiyoko, be nice,” Mahiru chided, perhaps the first time Kazuichi had ever heard her stick up for him before.
“As if he deserves it,” Hiyoko replied. “Can I open my eyes now?”
“Why were they even closed in the first place?”
“Because I don’t know what sort of weird crap you might have in your room!” Hiyoko cried, pointing an accusing finger at Kazuichi. “Like… what even is that?” She stared down at the stylus in Kazuichi’s hand.
“Oh, Ibuki knows this one! It’s a drawing-thingie for Ryota’s tablet!”
“Close enough,” Kazuichi agreed.
“Hey, what is it you guys are doing in here, anyways?” Ibuki asked, rocking forward on her toes. “It almost looks like Santa’s workshop!”
“You’re not half wrong,” Mahiru agreed, smiling up at Ibuki. “We’re helping Kazuichi finish all the presents he was making for the class.”
“Presents!” Ibuki cried, thrusting her hands into the air. “Yahoo! Which one is for me? Is it this one? Or this one? Or this one?” She had begun to bounce around Kazuichi’s room, picking up the various gift wrapped boxes.
“Hey, cut it out!” Kazuichi shouted, clamoring to his feet. “You’re gonna ruin the surprise for everybody else!”
“Everybody else!” Ibuki parroted, eyes widening. “That’s it! Ibuki knows exactly what to do!”
“Wait, Ibuki–!” Before he could say anything more to stop her, Ibuki had already dashed out of his room and was practically sprinting down the hallway. Teruteru really shouldn’t have slipped her those extra candy canes at lunch; the sugar had gone right to her head. “Crap.”
He turned back to his ragtag group of helpers. “We need to do something quick, before everyone else gets here! Are any of you any good at wrapping?”
“I can try,” Peko offered.
“Great, okay, so Peko’s on wrapping duty. Chiaki, do you think you can finish Miss Sonia’s gift before she gets here?”
“It’s almost ready… I think.”
“Perfect! Okay! We can make this work!”
“Hey bolts for brains. What about all of that.” Hiyoko gestured wildly at his desk – used more as a workbench than for completing any kind of homework – and the assortment of parts that cluttered it. The innards of the zoom lens for Mahiru, the circuits for Ibuki’s amp, the display screen for Nekomaru’s fitness watch.
Kazuichi deflated with a long sigh, shoulders sinking. “Perfect,” he repeated, defeat dripping from his voice.
“And just when I thought we were going to clear the stage,” Chiaki mumbled, setting Sonia’s game aside.
“It was a nice thought, Kazuichi,” Mahiru said, “but you really do need to work on your time management skills.”
The holiday cheer in the room seemed to have been completely sucked out as the reality of the situation settled on all of them. There was no way in hell they could finish all these gifts before Christmas, let alone in the next three minutes before the entirety of Class 77-B would be standing in Kazuichi’s dorm room.
“Thanks for the help anyways, guys,” Kazuichi mumbled, collapsing onto his bed. He reached for his long discarded elf hat and crumpled it in his fist. What a way to celebrate their last Christmas together, huh?
“Why does it look like a damn funeral in here?”
Kazuichi popped his head up at the sound of Fuyuhiko’s voice, striding into the room with all of the confidence of an Ultimate Yakuza.
“Young Master…” Peko whispered.
“Fuyuhiko’s right! Where’s everyone’s Christmas spirit?” Nekomaru asked, the rest of their classmates filtering in behind him.
“I heard there were presents!” Akane said, pushing past Fuyuhiko. “Hey, what kind of food is mine?”
Kazuichi wanted to open his mouth to ask Akane why the Ultimate Mechanic would be gifting anyone food, but he bit back the comment. It didn’t matter anyways. It wasn’t like Akane’s real gift was even finished.
“Kazuichi, there seems to be a problem!” Sonia stepped forward now, her brows furrowed in puzzlement. “I see only nine wrapped presents, but there are sixteen of us in the class!”
“That’s because someone’s bark is bigger than his bite,” Hiyoko teased, snorting into her hand.
“Shut upppp,” he hissed.
“I fear Kazuichi neither barks nor bites,” Gundham replied, glaring at Hiyoko, “and it would be an affront to canine-kind to even suggest such things.”
As usual, he had no idea what the hell Gundham was talking about. Shaking his head, Kazuichi tried to brush past the guy’s remarks and focus on the actual conversation at hand. “Yeah, okay, so maybe I didn’t leave enough time to finish making all the gifts, and maybe Chiaki was gonna help me try and get them done before the party was over but…” He trailed off, releasing a long sigh. “It didn’t exactly. Work.”
“Such an idealistic plan!” Nagito said, looking at Kazuichi with that smile that always made his skin crawl. “Christmas truly is the most hopeful time of the year!”
“Yeah, but you’re missing the part where it didn’t work,” he replied, tossing his elf hat at Nagito’s chest.
“I hardly think there’s any need to throw in the towel just yet,” Byakuya said. “Christmas is still hours away and, for better or for worse, we’ve all chosen to congregate here in your room.”
Kazuichi squinted. “What’re you talking about?”
“With all sixteen of us working together, perhaps we can make this work.”
He had to take a moment to realize just what Byakuya was trying to say. There was no way in hell that could pan out. There was only one Ultimate Mechanic, and even with fifteen helpers he couldn’t imagine them making any real headway.
But Chiaki had proven her chops, and Byakuya probably knew a thing or two about mechanical engineering; he was the Ultimate Imposter, after all. Mikan could probably figure out circuitry if Kazuichi just told her to think of it like a human body, and Nagito’s luck would probably cause him to trip, break an arm, and accidentally build an entire hoverboard all at once.
“Yeah, okay.” Kazuichi cracked a smile. “Yeah. This could work.”
“Just tell us what you want us to do!” Ryota said. “And we’ll try our best!”
And really, that was all Kazuichi could ask of them.
Class 77-B filled up every inch of Kazuichi’s dorm room, easily pairing up with each other to combine their own strengths and weaknesses. Kazuichi flitted about, providing instructions and components to each group that had formed until all remaining presents were placed in responsible hands.
Once everyone was given their role, Kazuichi leaned back against the wall and released a long sigh.
“Hey.” Chiaki slid up beside him, pulling the elf hat back onto his head. “This was a really nice thing that you did for everybody.”
“It would have been nicer if I’d actually finished everything,” Kazuichi replied.
“I don’t know about that,” Chiaki said, head tilted to one side as she gazed at their classmates. She wore a lazy sort of smile on her lips. “This might just be better… I think.”
Kazuichi was silent for a long moment, simply watching the people he called his friends as they worked. Akane, hanging over Nekomaru’s shoulder while he soldered; Fuyuhiko, listening intently as Peko explained everything she’d learned earlier from Chiaki; Ibuki, trying to lead the group in an impromptu rendition of Jingle Bell Rock.
“Yeah,” he agreed, wearing a genuine smile. “It just might be.”
Their last Christmas together at Hope’s Peak Academy didn’t end up being anything like what they’d planned, but for the rest of his life Kazuichi would swear that it was better than anything he could have imagined.
That it was the best Christmas he’d ever had.