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The snow was already coming down quite hard. I swear, December only began a few days ago—I still struggle to believe that Christmas is next week. I've yet to concern myself with shopping, and now I've ended up alone in a huge mall, unsure where to go first. The one thing I got wrapped around my head is my priority; Vivid Bad Squad comes before everyone else, they're my second family. I did ask Tsukasa if he and his sister were planning on joining us this year, and all responses were affirmative. Though, he mentioned inviting the rest of his group, so that's three more gifts to worry about. Not to mention that Akito's older sister is likely bringing her music group too… It's not a big deal, just more thinking than predicted. The first thing I have to do is get everybody I expect to see this coming week in my head. To the surprise of nobody, it's difficult to come to conclusions when hundreds of conversations are surrounding you at once. I need to find a calm area to figure everything out.
The options are limited when it comes to being quiet in a mall. The food court isn't preferable, lurking in stores makes you a prime target of being escorted for stealing, and the list goes on. The search went on for so long, I almost forgot what I was looking for to begin with. Eventually, a relatively empty coffee shop caught my attention. There were only the workers and a couple of customers as far as I could see. The atmosphere was warm and roomy in there, contrasting with the repeating white floors and glass panes bordering the escalators. This may be the best I can get, but that's alright for me—I can't expect a store to be entirely deserted unless it's closed, that's simply unreasonable. I walked in, looking around for an empty table. They all shared the same birch color. Each had four matching chairs around them as well.
"Toya!" A boisterous voice called out, catching me off guard. There was Mizuki Akiyama, right in front of me before I had realized. "What brings you here? I don't think I've ever seen you in this store, at least."
"Christmas shopping," I admitted after a light hesitation. "I know Christmas is far too soon to just be starting, but the time passed by so quickly this year..."
"No judgment, don't worry! I'm here for the same reason, couldn't have said it better myself! I swear the month started this week..!" Her pure smile was infectious. "Say, do you wanna tag along with me for the day? You're free not to, but I figured it'd be more fun with two considering we're here for the same reason!"
"I see no reason why I shouldn't. You're always fun to talk to." How could I say no, anyway? Despite being so different from me, we got along as if we were the same. It's impressive, in all honesty. "I was going to start by listing everyone I wanted to give to this year, if you don't mind," I explained, sitting across from her original seat.
"I was doing the same, you're all good. I think I'm just going for family, Nightcord, and VBS this year, however." She sat back down at last. "A gift for anyone outside of them may go out of my budget…"
Budget wasn't the first thing on my mind; I just wanted to make my closest friends happy. Akito, Kohane, An, Tsukasa, Saki, Rui, Emu, Nene, Ena, Mizuki, Kanade, Mafuyu. Now that I think about it, that's twelve people I want to feel my appreciation for this year, and that's without counting family. As long as I don't get carried away, it'll be fine. I began to pull out my phone to write down all of those names, but Mizuki interrupted me.
"Oh, wait! You can tell me the names of everyone you wanna get gifts for so I can write them for you. I already have a list for myself, I'll just add you underneath."
"Are you sure? I can easily do it myself—"
"Of course I'm sure! Here," she slid her phone across the table to me as if she had no care about possibly dropping her phone.
"Careful..!" I exclaimed. "I don't wanna be the cause of your phone breaking." My concern only resulted in a stifled giggle from Mizuki. I darted my sight away from her eyes to her phone. The list in front of me was exactly what she told me: family, Nightcord, and VBS. Picking up the phone, the texture of the case caught my attention before anything else. Tons of little cute charms glued on top of white lace. I would have guessed this was Mizuki's phone if she hadn't handed it directly to me. I rapidly typed my name and everyone I was shopping for today before handing it back to its rightful owner. It felt embarrassing to have it in my hands, but the reason was next to impossible for me to figure out. "Here you go, sorry."
"What are you apologizing for?"
"I don't know, it just felt awkward holding something that belonged to you," I tried to explain.
"Aw, there's no need to apologize for that, I don't care. You're a caring one, aren't you?" She teased, laughing softly. "Are we all done here, or do you need anything else? I think I'm gonna check out the makeup places for Ena. She's been saying she wants to try out new styles but hasn't had the right products."
"I think I'm good here." I stood up, pushing the chair behind me. Even though my eyes were still avoiding her gaze, if it weren't for Mizuki, I would've had no idea where to start after this.
"Alright, then!" She beamed, packing up her belongings. "Let's go!"
"Right behind you," I mumbled, a hazy feeling in my chest fading in. I should drink more water… Mizuki traversed the mall for a long while before stopping in front of a store I hadn't visited before.
"Oh, I love it in here!" She said, grinning softly. "They have jewelry and plushies, cute stuff like that! The makeup is on the right side, everything else is on the left. Go wherever you want, we can check out once we're both ready." I could barely say anything as I walked into the bright lighting. Jewelry, plushies, cute stuff like that is all on the left, as she said. I bet Kohane would love a plush—I can't keep getting away with consistently giving Saki the plushies. Scanning through the selection, not much caught my eye. I was ready to give up on the store, but when I turned around…
It was a bunny plush. Baby pink, accented with white. It was fairly soft to the touch, but slightly heavy. Mizuki would love this, I thought. I meant to buy her something, anyway. This just seemed like fate. I couldn't help but smile as I imagined the look of glee that would spread across her face once she received it.
"Toya, I think I'm all good in here. Did you find anything?" Mizuki asked. She didn't give me the chance to speak before gushing over the plush. "Woah, this is adorable! I can't believe I've never seen this here until now! I'll have to get one of my own soon," she giggled through her words.
"This is it," I replied flatly. A look of slight concern was passed towards me before Mizuki held my hand and walked me up to the front of the store. My heart was almost pounding out of my chest, and I couldn't understand why. My face ran hot, and the cold began biting me out of nowhere. This was almost nauseating. I stayed quiet as I handed the bunny to the receptionist, hoping the feeling would pass away soon.
"Hey, wait for me outside of the store real quick, okay?" Mizuki requested abruptly. I nodded and walked out, the lighting instantly getting easier to handle. What was going on back there? That combination of feelings has never hit me like that before.
At last, my shopping partner would walk out of the store, handing me one of her two bags. "This one's yours," she said before rolling a bit of her hair between her thumb and index finger. "Do you feel okay? You've seemed a little off since we went together. I don't want to make you uncomfortable at all."
"Oh, no, it's nothing you did! Sorry about that." I rushed to explain that she did nothing wrong; I felt guilty letting her get the impression that she had upset at all.
"Okay, I just wanted to make sure. I think I left my phone at the coffee shop, I'll be right back. Stay right here!" …I could've sworn I saw her put her phone in her purse. Although, with every new thing I've experienced today, I wouldn't be surprised if hallucinations made a feature. I shouldn't question anything so I don't make anything more awkward than it already is. How could I have messed up a fun outing with a friend so badly?
Everything had calmed down now: No longer did I feel sick, and I could get my thoughts straight without resorting to panic. There's no doubt that she brought her phone with her. Even after settling down, I couldn't seem to figure out what was going on. No more than three minutes had passed until I heard that familiar, unique voice calling out my name. Mizuki walked up to me carefully, a white cup in her left hand, her phone in her right.
"I got you something while I was there, I hope you don't mind," she mumbled, placing the cup in my hand. A thin sheet of paper grazed against my palm. I placed down the bag I was holding to turn the cup around—a handwritten note in simple yet cute handwriting. It read, "Thank you for being with me, I truly appreciate everything!! Make sure you take off the lid before drinking☆ - Mizuki". I lifted the lid to see a pink latte, topped with creamer in the shape of a heart with flowers surrounding the edges.
"This is really kind of you, thank you," I gushed, feeling my face run hot again, but now, I'm beginning to think this is because of Mizuki's sweet words and care for others. It must be because I'm unfamiliar with the feeling of attraction, it made me feel sick. "I'm sorry for making you worry and everything, I hope you know I didn't mean to."
"I realize, I'm not mad at you or anything, and I don't want you thinking I am," she assured me before trapping me in a deep embrace. "You're a great man, Toya. You would never do anything to hurt anybody on purpose, and I love that about you." I'm sure she noticed my heart rate increase rapidly because she let go soon after, but then she slid something cold on my wrist: a silver and light pink bracelet with the letter M in the middle. As I looked up, I saw her own bracelet. It was silver and light blue with the letter T in the middle.
"We're matching," I observed. "I love them… I just hope you didn't spend too much on these."
"It doesn't matter how much I spent on them, the thought is what comes first. Merry Christmas, Toya. Besides, I get paid again before Christmas, so if I run out this week, there's always next week!" Mizuki's tone brightened as she explained her reasoning. "Plus, I'm always available if you wanna meet me here again, and we didn't exactly finish our shopping today, either."
Upon her revelation, I couldn't help but grin again. I was so lucky to have somebody as beautiful yet thoughtful as her in my life. "Let's go on, then. We've got a few hours until the mall closes. Oh, and…" I went back into the bag given to me a few moments ago, pulling out the bunny plush. "I feel like now is a good time to give this to you; I saw it and you were the first thing that crossed my mind."
"Are you serious? Oh my god, thank you tons!" Mizuki exclaimed grabbing onto the plush gently.
"Merry Christmas, Mizuki."