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Kazuha was in her room, finishing up her knitting. She had planned to give Heiji a scarf for Christmas. She was proud of herself; it was the first time she had ever knitted anything, and she was pleased with the result. On Ran's advice, she had chosen red wool because, according to her friend, this color represented the “red thread of fate” that would bind her to Heiji.
“There, I've finished it. It's really beautiful and warm.” She said to herself, admiring her work. "And I finished it before tonight's party. "
Kazuha's parents had organized a party for New Year's Eve, and Toyama Ginshiro's colleagues and the Hattori family were of course invited.
The teenager had finished her scarf shortly before nightfall. There was only an hour left before the guests arrived.
“I have to get changed now !” She realized before heading to the bathroom.
Once she had finished her bath, she carefully styled her hair and applied her makeup. She had her traditional ponytail, but for tonight her hair was held back with a red ribbon to match her evening dress.
Once her makeup and hair were done, she slipped into her dress. For the occasion, the Osaka native had bought a long, slit dress with a high neckline.
“There, I'm ready, and I even match the scarf I made for Heiji.” thought, blushing.
She then took the scarf she had left on her bed and carefully placed it in a gift bag. She also took a small bag to put her phone in, and left her room to go down to the living room. The room was decorated with sumptuous decorations for the occasion. A Christmas tree about 3 meters long stood in the center of the living room. Some guests had already arrived. Kazuha recognized some of her father's colleagues, family friends, and uncles and aunts she hadn't seen in many years.
As she descended the stairs, she saw her father talking to a man with long hair who looked familiar.
“But that's...” She began to say before she saw her father looking at her and motioning for her to come join him and the man. She approached them with a wary look.
“You took your time getting ready, Kazuha, but you look beautiful, my dear,” said her father teasingly, putting a hand on her shoulder. The teenager just smiled before turning to...
“I suppose you know him, this is Iori Muga, the Ooka family's butler.” introduced Ginshiro.
“I'm delighted to see you again, Kazuha-sama.” said Iori, bowing respectfully to the young girl.
The Osakian was confused, wondering what her rival's butler was doing in her home. And did that mean that Ooka Momiji was here too?
“Kazuha ?” said Toyama, seeing that his daughter seemed lost in thought.
”Uh, yes...“ Her father's call snapped her out of her reverie. ”Forgive me. It's nice to see you again, too." She apologized with a curtsy. She still wondered what he was doing here, and she really wanted to ask him.
“You're probably wondering why I'm here.” The long-haired man said suddenly.
“Can he read my mind or something ?!” thought in amazement.
“It was Momiji-sama who wanted to see you again, but she didn't have your contact information. However, she knew that your father was Hattori-sama's father's subordinate. With that information, I was able to get in touch with your father, who, after our conversation, personally invited Momiji-sama.”
“That's right !” Ginshiro confirmed to his daughter with a smile.
“According to Iori-san, you and Momiji-san seem to get along well whenever you meet. That's why I thought it would be a nice surprise for you if I invited her for Christmas Eve.”
Following her father's words, Kazuha felt a sense of frustration. Momiji had obviously planned everything to see her, but why ? She had a pretty good idea...
The young Osaka girl wanted to get angry, both at her father, who hadn't even asked her if she and Momiji were really friends, and at Iori, who seemed to blindly follow her rival's orders. But not wanting to embarrass Ginshiro, she forced a smile. “Thank you for the surprise.” said, still smiling falsely. “But where is Momiji ? I'd like to say hello.”embarrassed, she contented herself with a forced smile.
“Thank you for the surprise,” she said, still smiling falsely. “But where is Momiji ? I'd like to say hello.”
“She received a very important call and went outside to answer it.” replied Iori.
“All right.” replied the girl with the ponytail. “Please excuse me, I have to put this present under the Christmas tree.” added, pointing to the gift bag she was holding. “And after that, I'll go see that Momiji and tell her what I think.” She said to herself as she felt her anger rising.
She went to place the gift for Heiji under the tree. She took the opportunity to look at the other gifts near the tree. Some of them had her name on them; they were probably from her parents, her uncles and aunts, and family friends. This made her smile, making her forget for a moment the presence of...
“Konbanwa, Kazuha-chan.” a voice suddenly came from behind her. She knew that voice very well, and it was precisely because of that voice that she felt anger rising within her again. She turned to face the person who had spoken to her. As she had guessed, it was Ooka Momiji.
The Kyoto native had also dressed up for the occasion. She was wearing a long, strapless, pale pink satin dress. The dress suited her beautifully and showed off her ample bosom.
“Konbanwa, Momiji. I suppose you've come for Heiji? ” asked directly in a bitter tone.
“You're pretty direct, aren't you ?” laughed the other high school student. "Yes, Iori found out from his sources that your family was organizing a Christmas party. And of course, Heiji-kun and his family were invited. “ added with a mischievous smile.
”No, but...“ grumbled the young girl, clenching her fists in displeasure.
”The little bag you just put down is for Heiji-kun, isn't it ?" asked, looking at the bag in question.
Kazuha, who had been frowning, replied with a nod.
“Well ! It looks like you're giving him something tiny.” teased the brown-haired teenager.
“The size doesn't matter !” retorted Heiji's childhood friend curtly.
“If you want my opinion, I sincerely think Heiji-kun will prefer my gift to yours.” said the Kyoto girl with a mocking smile.
“Oh yeah ? And what are you giving him ?” asked Kazuha with an intrigued look.
“Follow me outside.” invited Momiji.
The two teenagers left the Toyama house after putting on their coats, as it was winter.
In front of the house, several cars were parked, among them the Ooka family's limousine.
The brown-haired high school girl led her to her vehicle.
“Why are you taking me to your limousine ?” asked the girl with the ponytail.
“Look behind it.” said the other, pointing.
Heiji's childhood friend could see that behind the limousine was a red motorcycle that looked expensive and state-of-the-art. Surprised, she widened her eyes and suddenly thought ofthe scarf she had knitted. She didn't want to, but she couldn't help comparing her gift to Momiji's. Her handmade scarf seemed pitiful compared to her rival's motorcycle.
"I had it delivered here. They brought it not long ago, which is why I couldn't come and say hello before.“ said the Kyoto girl, but Kazuha wasn't listening.
”I can't, I can't give this scarf to Heiji. I have to find another gift before he gets here." She said to herself.
”Kazuha-chan ?“ said Momiji, seeing that the girl from Osaka wasn't listening to her, as she took her phone out of her small bag and dialed someone's number. She pressed the phone to her ear and the person on the other end answered quickly.
”Hello ? Kazuha ?" said the high school detective after picking up.
”Heiji ? Are you and your parents coming soon ?“
”No, I don't think so. Oyaji isn't here yet, and by the time he gets here and changes, I don't think we'll be there for another hour. Why ? Have the guests already eaten everything ?" He joked.
“Nothing.” replied, ignoring his joke and hanging up. “Great, that gives me time to see if I can find another gift.” She dialed a number again, but this time it was to call a taxi.
Momiji was intrigued; she didn't understand why her rival wanted a taxi.
“Are you leaving ?” asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, I have one last thing to buy” replied the girl from Osaka before heading for the house.
“What do you mean, one last thing to buy ?” asked the other teenager, following her.
“You'll see.” said simply.
Kazuha quickly went back inside and quietly went up to her room to get her wallet.
She went back downstairs and tried to avoid as many guests as possible. Many wanted to say hello, but she didn't have time because her taxi was already waiting. She left the house again, luckily for her, without running into her parents, because she knew they would strongly disapprove the fact that she was leaving the party for what they might consider a childish reason.
She got into the taxi and asked the driver to take her to downtown Osaka. During the ride, she wondered what she could possibly buy that would rival Momiji's gift. There was just one problem... she wasn't as rich as her rival, and she had spent quite a bit on the dress she was wearing. This last-minute gift hunt was shaping up to be quite complicated...
The taxi finally arrived at its destination, but unfortunately for her, it had started to rain heavily and she hadn't brought an umbrella. Luckily for her, the taxi had dropped her off not far from a café, so she ran inside to take shelter. The café was fairly empty, but it was large. There was only one young waitress, who looked about a year older than her, and she welcomed her.
“Irasshaimase ojou-sama !” the waitress greeted her politely. “Are you here to shelter from the rain ?”
“Yes.” confirmed the teenager. “I hope you don't mind.” she added, embarrassed.
“No problem, there are no customers tonight, but I should warn you that the rain is likely to last a long time.”
“What ?!” She exclaimed.
“Yes, and look, it's starting to get very windy.” She pointed to the window where leaves were blowing around.
"No, this can't be happening ! I have to go out and find a gift.“ The girl with the ponytail panicked.
”A gift ? But it's not too...“ The young waitress didn't finish her sentence because she was surprised by a power outage.
”Oh no, that's all I needed !" Kazuha exclaimed in annoyance as she searched for her phone in her bag to turn on the light. “Oh no, this can't be happening !” She said, her eyes widening as she saw that she only had one percent battery left. She barely had time to notice that she had three missed calls from her parents before her phone died. “Oh shit !” “ She began to break down and could feel tears welling up in her eyes.
”Calm down, young lady." The maid tried to calm her down. Although she couldn't see the girl in front of her very well, she could tell that she was on the verge of tears.
“You don't understand, I left my parents' party without telling anyone to go and get a present for my childhood friend. And now I'm stuck in a café with no electricity, no cell phone, and to top it all off, it's pouring with rain outside...” She sniffed.
"“Don't worry. I'll go get my phone from the cloakroom, and then you can call someone to come and get you.” assured the young waitress.
“Really ? Arigato !” thanked, her eyes lighting up again.
The maid smiled and tried to make her way slowly toward the cloakroom, but since she couldn't see much in the darkness, she tripped over one of the tables. Kazuha saw her fall as the other girl let out a cry of pain. Shocked by the scene, the Osaka native hurried to her side, but carefully so as not to trip herself.
“Daijobu ?” asked worriedly as she crouched down beside her.
“My right ankle... I think I've sprained it.” replied, gritting her teeth.
Heiji's childhood friend gently touched the maid's ankle and could feel that it did indeed seem slightly swollen.
“I'll go get your phone from the locker room so you can call for help.”
“No, ojou-sama, it's dark, I don't want you to get hurt too.”
“But...” said the high school student with a worried look.
“Don't worry about me, ojou-sama, I'm sure the power will be back on soon.” gasped the injured woman.
"At this point, you can call me by my first name. I'm Toyama Kazuha. And you ?“ sighed, gently massaging the maid's ankle
”N-Nice to meet you, Kazuha-san, I-I'm Tsukishima I-Ichigo.“
”That's a pretty name.“ smiled Kazuha.
”T-Thank you, and thank you for the m-massage..."
“It's nothing, I wish I could do more... But well, today is obviously not my lucky day...” said sadly.
“If it's not too much of an imposition, could you explain why you wanted to buy a gift at this hour ? When you were at a party?”
“It's for my childhood friend... Well, I consider him a little more than that...“ she confessed, blushing.
”I see. You love him very much, and I imagine he's coming to the party you were at tonight?“
”That's right.“
”But you didn't buy him a gift ?" “
”I knitted him a scarf, but..." She lowered her head and began to explain why she had decided to go out and find a new gift.
"You know, Kazuha-san, it's not the price that makes a gift valuable. You put your heart into that scarf, and that girl just maxed out her family's credit card. So believeme, you have nothing to envy her.“
At these words, Kazuha realized that she had gotten carried away too quickly. Ichigo was right, her gift was valuable, and she had no reason to be embarrassed by Momiji's.
” You're right,“ she agreed. ”Well, the good thing about this gift hunt is that I got to meet you.“ she smiled.
”Yeah, you seem like a nice girl, Kazuha-san,“ smiled the maid.
”Since we're both stuck here, how about we get to know each other a little better ?" “ suggested the girl from Osaka.
”I'm not saying no, it'll make the time go faster."
And so the two girls got to know each other. Kazuha discovered that Ichigo had been an orphan for two years, that she lived alone and worked to pay for her studies. This saddened her, especially since on Christmas Eve, she had to work at the café. She also learned that they had a lot in common, including the fact that they both practiced Aikido and believed in the power of o-mamori.
They talked so much that they didn't notice the time passing. But suddenly they heard the front door open abruptly.
“Kazuha, are you there ?” said the person who had pushed the door open.
“Heiji ?” replied, turning around as soon as she recognized the voice of her childhood friend.
"Aho ! Your parents were looking everywhere for you,“ he swore, turning on the flashlight on his phone to light up the café, which was still in darkness. He quickly spotted the teenager crouching next to a girl dressed as a waitress. ”What happened ? Are you okay ?"
”Yes, Ichigo-san sprained her ankle trying to get her phone from the locker room. We decided to wait for the power to come back on before going to get it, to avoid anyone else getting hurt.“
”But what about you ? Didn't you have your phone with you ? Do you know how many times we tried to reach you ?" asked the Osaka native, displeased.
“Sorry, it was dead.” admitted, embarrassed.
“Well, it doesn't matter now. Your father is waiting for us outside. We'll take Ichigo-san with us to get her ankle looked at, she needs some care.”
“No, that's not necessary.” Ichigo began to refuse, embarrassed. “I'll just get my things from the locker room, wait until midnight to close the café, and go home and put some ointment on it.”
“No, Ichigo-san, Heiji is right ! We'll take you home. You can't go far with your ankle.” Kazuha insisted.
“All right... thank you, that's very kind.”
“By the way, I guess it's almost time to close the café. What time is it, Heiji ?”
“It's 11:59 p.m... but it's almost midnight...” He was interrupted when the power suddenly came back on. Fireworks could be heard outside. “Now that's what I call a Christmas miracle.” said with a smile. “Merry Christmas, Kazuha.” added, smiling tenderly at his childhood friend. He was relieved to have found her. He hadn't really shown it, but he had been really worried when he arrived at the Toyama house and learned that the young girl was nowhere to be found. He also admired how beautiful she looked in her evening gown.
“Merry Christmas, Heiji.” smiled, blushing as she now saw in the light that her childhood friend was dressed in a very elegant red suit. They were both well-matched. “Well, you look very elegant tonight.”
”Uh, yeah, Okan insisted that I wear this suit." replied, embarrassed, scratching his head.
Seeing that the two friends seemed to have forgotten she was there, Ichigo, amused, cleared her throat to get their attention.
“Oh, sorry, Ichigo-san, I'll go get your things from the cloakroom.” said the girl with the ponytail.
Kazuha hurried off to fetch the maid's bag, while Heiji helped her sit down on a chair.
“Thank you, Heiji-san, you're as kind as Kazuha-san.” She said gratefully. “You two are perfect for each other.” added in a low voice.
“What did you say ?” asked the detective from the West, who hadn't heard her last words.
“Nothing. She shook her head.
Kazuha returned with Ichigo's things, and she and Heiji quickly tidied up the café before helping the maid out.
“Tell me, Heiji. How did you and Otosan find me ?” asked the girl from Osaka as they left the café.
“You know me, I'm a detective, there's nothing I can't find !” began with a proud smile. "No, actually, I can't take any credit this time. Momiji told us you had called a taxi, so we quickly assumed you couldn't be anywhere near the house. But then your father remembered he had put a tracker on your phone, and thanks to that, he was able to locate the last place your cell phone had been."
“But why did you go with Otosan ? You could have enjoyed the party, since Otosan had found my location.”
"Aho ! I wasn't sure we'd find you here, since your phone was off, so we just focused on your last location! I wanted to make sure you were here myself. “ replied seriously.
”Heiji...“ thought, blushing and widening her eyes. Hey, it's not raining anymore, she suddenly noticed now that they were outside.
”It stopped raining an hour ago.“ replied the dark-skinned teenager as he lowered the café's awning.
”Well...We were so caught up talking with Ichigo-san that we didn't even notice it had stopped raining.“ laughed the young girl, supporting her new friend, while Heiji finished closing up the café.
”That's true." smiled Ichigo.
Once the boy had finished, the three young people headed for a car parked not far from the café. It was Toyama Ginshiro's vehicle. When he saw them approaching, he got out and immediately asked his daughter why she had left. She replied that she had simply forgotten to buy something for the party. Her father scolded her for not telling anyone, but at the same time he was relieved that she was okay. Kazuha also introduced Ichigo, who had let her shelter from the downpour but had unfortunately sprained her ankle during the power outage. Inspector Toyama agreed without hesitation to let the waitress get treatment at their house and even offered her a place to stay for the night. The maid initially refused, but after some insistence from the Osaka native, she finally accepted.
In the car, the girls sat in the back while Heiji sat in the front next to his childhood friend's father.
“Kazuha-san, can I tell you something ?” The waitress asked suddenly during the ride.
“Yes ?”
“Believe me, Heiji-san only has eyes for you. I don't think he'll ever look at anyone else. You two are meant for each other. And as for your rival's gift, I don't think he'll accept it. He doesn't seem like the type to be interested in that sort of thing.” said in a low voice.
At these words, Kazuha blushed again and smiled.
”Arigato Ichigo-san !"
They finally arrived at their destination, and when they entered the house, everyone was relieved that the teenager was okay. The news of her disappearance had spread among all the guests. The Osaka woman's mother tended to Ichigo's ankle, while Kazuha lent her an evening dress.
Since everyone was worried about the Toyama girl, no one had opened their gifts yet. But now that she was back, the exchange could begin. Just as Kazuha was about to give Heiji his gift, he handed her a small box.
“Here, I got this for you.” said, blushing a little. “It's not much, I don't know if you'll like it...” he added as his friend opened the small box.
“Oh, thank you, Heiji !” exclaimed the young girl. He had given her a necklace with a handcuff pendant.
“The handcuffs are to remind us of a certain time.” He smiled, winking.
“I guessedS!” she laughed. “Here ! I made this for you...”
She took her gift bag from near the tree and gave it to him.
“Did you knit this ?” asked in surprise as he took the scarf out of the bag. “What a lot of work ! It's beautiful !” said admiringly as he put it around his neck.
“It suits you.”
“Kazuha, I wanted to take advantage of tonight to tell you that I...” began, blushing.
“Heiji-kun !” Momiji interrupted suddenly. She grabbed the Osaka native by the arm.
“Momiji ?!”
“Now it's my turn to give you my gift.” declared with a mischievous smile.
“No, but, um...” He tried to protest, but the Kyoto girl was already pulling him toward the front door. This annoyed Kazuha greatly, but deep down she wanted to see Heiji's reaction to her rival's expensive gift.His new friend's words had certainly comforted him, but he wanted confirmation that he hadn't lost to the other high school girl.
“Heiji, go see Momiji's gift, we'll talk later.” said the girl from Osaka, so that the boy would stop struggling. Quite surprised by Kazuha, Heiji nodded and followed Momiji, who turned around and gave her rival a confident smile. She was clearly sure that once he saw her gift, the boy from Osaka would throw himself into her arms.
While her childhood friend was with the Kyoto girl, the Toyama girl had gone to join her new friend, who was still sitting down because of her ankle but seemed to be enjoying the evening. They chatted for a while until they saw Heiji coming back toward her with a confused look on his face.
“You'll never believe it, Momiji wanted to give me a brand new motorcycle. I clearly refused, I couldn't accept it, but I don't think she took my refusal very well,” he said, scratching his cheek. “Because after I refused, she left quickly with her butler.”
Kazuha looked at Ichigo after Heiji's words, and they both started laughing.
“Why are you laughing ?” asked the Osaka native, raising his eyebrows.
“No, nothing, never mind. So what did you want to tell me earlier ?” “ She asked, approaching him and blushing.
”Oh, right... Um, can we go back to the Christmas tree ?“
”Yes. Excuse us, Ichigo-san, we'll be right back." said to the girl before following the boy.
The two teenagers found themselves back in front of the Christmas tree. They were both red because they knew exactly why they were there.
“Kazuha, what I wanted to tell you is that I...”
“Hei-chan !” interrupted Inspector Otaki, who approached the two friends. He was also one of the guests.
“Otaki-han ?” said Heiji, surprised.
“Sorry to bother you, but I need you for a case. It's urgent !”
“What, but...” He looked at the girl. “Kazuha, I'll solve this case quickly and come back, okay ?”
“Go ahead, Heiji.” She smiled. “I'll wait for you.” She promised.
“Hei-chan !” called the detective, who was already heading for the front door.
“See you later, Kazuha !”exclaimed as he ran after Otaki.
“I'll always wait for you, Heiji, because I know that one day you'll finally confess your feelings to me...” thought with a slight smile. She was disappointed that her confession had been delayed, but overall she was happy with her Christmas. She had made a new friend, Heiji had liked her gift, and she was almost convinced that he cared about her more than anything else.