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sluggybasson107 · 4 years

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The Christmas Gift

Digimon

Pairing: (Gen) Ken and Yamato

8041 Words

Warnings: None

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. All Digimon related content belongs to Akiyoshi Hongo and Toei Animation

Summary: As Christmas comes closer, the Chosen Children decide to do Secret Santa this year. Both Yamato and Ken learn two things. One, there’s always more to a gift than it seems. And two, friends can come from places you least expect it.

A/N: Wow, this is my first Digimon fanfic! I was a little uncertain about posting it, but I thought it would be a fun read! It was written for NaNoWriMo2020. The only thing I want to mention is that I did not use honorifics only to make it easier for me.

Hope you enjoy it!

Part One

Ken

Winter was here. The cool breeze was soft and cold, carrying fluffy snowflakes to the ground. The sunset creates an atmosphere of a warm, fuzzy evening. The sidewalk is moist with the snow on the ground. Parts were a mixture of snow and water. Mush? It sure feels like it. Kids were outside together, building snowmen and snow angels. Adults chatted, holding containers of lattes and coffee which gave them warmth. I thought that I could enjoy a silent, peaceful walk. And it was for the most part, except for-

“Ken, are you even listening?” Daisuke asked, with annoyance in his tone. He looked at me with a glare, waiting for an answer that he knew well.

“Um, I’m sorry Daisuke, I zoned out.” A blush crept on my face. “I want to hear what you said. Do you mind if you repeat it?” Daisuke’s face became soft, forgetting about the little incident. He started to repeat what he said.

“Well, I was thinking that all the Chosen Children should do a Secret Santa this year. December is starting in a few days. And this way, we don’t need to worry about getting everyone a gift.” He paused, then he frowned. “I thought it was a good idea, but apparently to you, it wasn’t that important for you to listen to!”

“Look, I didn’t mean too! It happens sometimes!” I proclaimed. Daisuke grinned at my response.

We stopped in front of his apartment building. I pushed open the lobby door. “What do you think about it? You feel like it’ll be fun?” I felt his eyes on me, waiting for an answer.

Is Secret Santa a good idea? There is so much that I don’t know about the other Chosen Children. Even after we defeated BelialVamdemon, I felt distant with some of the Chosen Children, especially the older six. What if I got one of them? This whole thing could end up embarrassing me in front of everyone.

“Earth to Ken! Are you there?” Daisuke was waving his hand in front of my face. “You’re daydreaming again. If you are going to do this all night, then what’s the point of you coming over?” Daisuke’s teasing tone said otherwise.

“I need to think.” A grin grew on my face as we entered the elevator. “Besides, who’s going to help you with your homework?”

Daisuke pressed his floor number. Then he started to tap his head with one hand and put the other on his chin, exaggerating a thinking expression. “I could ask my sister. She loves to help me!” Daisuke deadpanned. We both looked at each other, then burst out laughing as we left the elevator. “Seriously though, what do you think about it?” He opened the door to his apartment for me.

“We’ll worry about that later. We need to focus on your homework for now.” Daisuke groaned in response. After a quick hello from his parents, we walked inside his room. Daisuke dropped his bag on the ground, and we sat down to work.

Daisuke was looking down at the math problem, his face covered with concentration. He was struggling with finding the median and interquartile range. I’ve been helping him understand how to figure it out. I agreed that if he got this problem correct, we could take a break.

“Daisuke, it’s been five minutes. I need an answer.” I poked him with a pencil. Daisuke sighed, then repositioned himself. He continued to stare at the piece of paper with concentration, not giving me an answer.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and he snapped his head up. “Thirty-four! Both are thirty-four!” A grin grew on his face as he saw my nod of approval. “I did it, Ken!” He got up and did a little dance, pointing to the sky. I couldn't help but feel happy for him too. I neatened up his papers as Daisuke headed for the door. “Come on, Mom should be done with dinner.” As we walked out of the room, the smell of soba hit me in the face. My stomach made quiet grumbling noises in response. I glanced at the clock. It’s already six? That explains a lot.

I pulled out a chair next to Daisuke as his mother came over with dinner. Soon after, Jun and her father joined us at the table. Everyone started to dig in after they were ready. I brought my chopsticks holding soba to my mouth. Once I had one bite, I wanted more. I looked around and saw that everyone thought the same. Except for an exchange or two, everyone was too busy stuffing food in their mouth.

Daisuke took a break from slurping his noodles. “Wow, this is great Mom! Those cooking lessons are paying off, aren't they?” Jun nodded in agreement.

I stopped eating, resting my chopsticks on the bowl. “It was delicious, Mrs. Motomiya. I’m impressed.”

His mother beamed from all the compliments. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it! It took a lot of work to put the right amount of salt and flour in it.”

Everyone seemed to finish up their soba because Daisuke’s family left the table. Daisuke turned to me. “Did you make up your mind? About my idea?”

Great. I sighed as I was bracing myself for backlash because of my answer. “I’m too scared,” I stated. Daisuke’s face filled with confusion. He waited for me to expand more. He must have thought that it was a dumb response. I don’t blame him.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine Ken. You won’t be the only one who gets assigned someone that they are not close to.” Daisuke’s face went dark and he started to shudder. “What if I get Mimi? Or worse, Jyou?” I laughed in response, feeling better about the idea. I suddenly felt Daisuke’s hand on my shoulder. “You can be honest with me Ken. If you don’t want to, I’ll drop the subject.” Daisuke gave me his famous smile as he spoke.

“No. I'll do it. I want to get to know everyone better.” I said with a burst of courage. “Besides, I’m dying to see what you get for your person.” I grinned. But secretly, I felt that this will go bad.

Yamato

Taichi is always happy after school. Always. But Taichi was way too cheerful today. The way he bounced over and sat next to me on the bench was a dead giveaway. He must have been holding in some ‘exciting’ news. He kept on glancing at me as we waited for Sora. It was starting to annoy me.

It was one of those rare days where Sora, Taichi, and I had no activities after school. I ignored Taichi as I watched the school entrance. Well, I tried.

“Can you please stop staring at me like a weirdo?” I snapped at Taichi. A smile grew on his face because he had my attention.

“What do you mean? I’m not staring at you!” He put on an innocent face. “It’s only in your imagination Yamato!” I tried moving away from him, but he leaned on me in such an exaggerated way. He had all of his weight resting on the left part of my body. Most people passing by were probably thinking that he was trying to snuggle with me, which was not the case.

As Sora walked out of the school entrance and headed towards us, I slipped off of the bench, making Taichi fall off the bench and yelled a high pitch scream.

“Yamato! I’m gonna get you back for that!” Taichi got up from the ground and headed towards me, with revenge in his eyes. Before I could react, he grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled his hand back for a punch.

Smack!

I suddenly saw Taichi fly from my vision, and Sora replaced him. “What are you doing!” Sora yelled.

“What am I doing? You should ask your boyfriend! He made me fall on the ground!” Taichi countered, having an over dramatic look on his face.

“It was probably for a good reason!” Sora glared at Taichi, and he returned it. Sora offered her hand to Taichi and he took it. She then pulled him up. Her attention shifted to me. “Yamato, are you okay? Did Taichi hurt you anywhere?” She looked me over.

“Sora, this is only Taichi we’re talking about. He’s as dangerous as a puppy.” I said with a smirk. Taichi was about to retort, but Sora stood between us.

“Okay boys, settle down. We need to start heading home.” Sora walked away from us, and not wanting to get on Sora’s bad side, Taichi and I followed quietly.

After some awkward silence between us as we headed to our homes, Taichi suddenly lit up with the same energy as before.

“I forgot! Did any of you guys hear from Daisuke recently?” Taichi’s face was etched. Sora was baffled as she glanced at me. We both shook our head no. His smile grew. “Well, Daisuke came up with the spectacular idea of doing Secret Santa! Doesn’t that sound fun!” Taichi ran ahead as he turned our way, walking backwards. “The anticipation of figuring out who your Secret Santa is! Getting the perfect gift for your assigned person!” Taichi added many hand movements along with his reasoning. “I thought it was a great idea. What do you guys think?”

Sora had a soft smile on her face. “That sounds wonderful. I’m sure everyone will agree. Right, Yamato?” Both of them stared at me, waiting for me to agree. But I didn’t feel like this was a good idea.

“Uh, maybe I’ll sit out.” frowns immediately replaced their smiles. “You guys can do it though!”

Taichi went up to me and hugged my arm. “Come on Yamato! What’s the worst that can happen? It’s just for fun!” Taichi’s face was pleading. I shook him off of my arm.

“No Taichi.” Both of them looked at me, waiting for me to break and say yes. Both plodded and frowned.

“Yamato, I want to participate. You can’t expect me to do it alone, without my boyfriend?” Sora complained, with a pout.

“I’m sorry, but it’s no. And that’s final.” Taichi and Sora stopped walking and looked at me, giving me puppy eyes. I wanted them to be happy, but I do not want to participate in Secret Santa. No way.

But the way they looked at me in such a sad way. This was one of my closest friend and girlfriend crying out loud. I can’t say no.

Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say-

“I’ll do it.”

They both cheered and did a high five.

Date: December 3rd, 2004

From: Miyako

To: Taichi, Yamato, Sora, Koshirou, Mimi, Jyou, Takeru, Hikari, Daisuke, Iori, Ken

Subject: Secret Santa

Hello everyone!

I don’t know if all of you heard, but Daisuke came up with the idea yesterday of doing Secret Santa this year! I asked my siblings to mix up all of your names and send you an email of your assigned person. You should get them tomorrow if everything goes right!

We’re planning on exchanging gifts on the 23rd of December, so be ready then!

Please email me today if you do not want to participle (but please take part in it!)

See you later~

Miyako ♡

Ken

“What are you doing with your friends Ken?” Mom asked as she turned off the television.

“We’re doing a Secret Santa this year.” I informed her while I helped her collect the dishes from the dinner table, “They’re announcing the person we got tonight.” Mom grabbed the plates out of my hand and placed them in the sink.

“That sounds fun! Who’s announcing the names?” I grabbed my schoolbag, checking through all my homework to see if I completed it all.

“The Inoue siblings are!” Wormmon announced, waddling towards us. “Not including Miyako of course.”

Mom glanced at a nearby clock and frowned. “You would think that they would have told you already. It’s getting late.”

Right as she said that, I received an email on my D-Terminal. Both Wormmon and Mom walked over, wanting to know who it’s from. I grabbed it and saw the messenger.

“They announced it.” I looked away, not wanting to see who I got. What if it was someone bad? Even if I know the person well, what if they don’t like what I get them? I should have never agreed to this.

I shoved the D-Terminal to my mother. “You read it.”

She grabbed the D-Terminal, and she let Wormmon see.

“‘Congratulations! You got Ishida Yamato as your assigned person! Hopefully, he’ll like your gift!’ Signed, Chizuru, Momoe, and Mantarou.” Mom read out loud. She furrowed her eyebrows. “Who’s that?”

“He’s part of the older Chosen Children. He was the one who helped out in Mexico with me, Ken, and Gabumon!” Wormmon elucidated. Then they started to go back and forth, talking about Yamato.

I headed into the bathroom and took out my toothbrush and toothpaste. Is he a good person or a bad person to get? I know he’s into music. I could ask Takeru or Sora his favorite band of his at the moment and get him some merchandise for them, but would that seem too generic? His first reaction to that would be that I put little thought into it. He’s just too hard to read. I guess it could be worse. Maybe I can get him some cooking utensils, or a new guitar strap. I spat out the remaining toothpaste in my mouth. Wouldn’t he want something that he can be emotionally attached to, instead of some gear?

“Ken?” Wormmon grabbed onto my leg. “You okay, you’ve left the water running for a while.” I snapped back into reality and turned the faucet off. There was suddenly a knock on the door frame. I glanced over to see Mom with her hand extended out towards me with the D-Terminal.

A soft smile grew on her face. “Here,” I took the D-Terminal. I realized that there was some money with it. “you can use this to get him something.”

“You don’t need to do that! Mom, I have some money.” I tried to hand her back the bills, but she shook her head.

“It’s fine. I want you to use it all. Goodnight Ken.” Before I could protest, she headed out of the bathroom. Wormmon headed for my room and motioned to follow.

“Are you glad you got Yamato?” Wormmon climbed up the ladder leading to my bed.

I shut the door and took off my shirt and pants. “I don’t know,” I responded. I slid on my pajamas.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Wormmon looked down at me, leaning on the pole surrounding the bed.

I sighed while climbing up the ladder. “I don’t know how he’ll react to my gift.”

“He’ll love it Ken, no matter how bad it is.” I pulled the covers over us.

“I hope so Wormmon.”

Yamato

Since when did it get this cold? I know it’s past dinner time, but the temperature dropped tremendously. There was barely anyone on the sidewalks. Not that I thought there would be.

I crossed the last road as I approached the apartments. Walking inside the lobby was like being in summer. I took off my guitar case and jacket as I nodded to the attendant and headed towards my room.

I unlocked and opened the door. “Dad, I’m home!” I announced. I flicked on the lights. Was he home? I dropped my stuff inside my room. “Dad?”

I guess he was working overnight again. Then I’ll have to prepare his lunch tomorrow. What’s something that we haven't had in a while?

My phone starts to ring.

“Hello?” I spoke into the receiver.

“Hi, Yamato! Have you checked your inbox lately?” Sora’s voice came from the phone.

“No, I haven't. Did they announce the names?” I wedged my phone between my shoulder and neck as I started to gather ingredients to make yakiniku.

“They did!” Sora informed me. I pulled up my recent emails. “Who’d you get?”

“I’m not going to tell you Sora!” A laugh was heard from the other side. “I’m checking right no-”

Congrats! You have been chosen to be Ichijouji Ken’s Secret Santa! Have fun getting him a gift!

From, Chizuru, Momoe, and Mantarou

Ken was my person.

I dropped my soy sauce on the floor.

Part Two

Ken

I faced the entrance to a clothing store. Yes, the boy genius Ichijouji Ken can’t seem to figure out what Yamato would like for Christmas, so he resorted to clothes. You might think that he knows exactly what he’s looking for, but he doesn't have a clue.

I took a deep breath as I entered the store with the sixty dollars that my mother gave me.

“Welcome! Do you need help finding anything?” A store employee said, greeting me as I walked into the clothes store.

“No, I’m fine.” I walked away before they could ask me anything more. What does Yamato wear? Every single time I’ve seen him, he’s wearing black. I guess I can get him some black clothes, but wouldn’t that seem like a plain gift? Are there black clothes that pop out more?

I walked up to the cashier who was folding some clothes. “Hello. Do you have any clothes for men that are black?”

The woman looked up with a smile. “Can you get a little more descriptive? There are too many clothes that are black here.”

“Uh, shirts or jackets for men that are edgy?” Is that what Yamato’s into?

The store clerk smirked at me. “I see. You’re into that style of clothing.”

My face went red as a cut watermelon. “No, it’s for a friend. He seems to wear clothes that are black a lot,” I sighed. “But I can’t tell what he exactly wants.”

Her face turned sympathetic as she put away the clothes that she folded. “Maybe you try looking at this.” She went in the back and came out with a bunch of coats.

I picked up the top one. It was a dark grey leather jacket with a fuzzy inside. It seemed decent, but would Yamato like it? I looked at the next few, but none of them stuck out to me.

“Do none of them seem good?” The clerk started to grab the clothes that I set aside.

“I don’t think he’ll like any of them.” I glanced around the store, but nothing seemed good enough for him.

“Well, I can look at more dark colored shirts and jackets if you give me his shirt size.” She stood there, waiting for an answer. I didn’t know his shirt size! I felt my face go back to a dark red.

“Um, well…” I trailed off. She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know his size. For anything.”

The store clerk broke out in a laugh. I couldn’t help but laugh along at my ignorance. “I’m afraid I can’t help you much then. Maybe you could visit later.”

“I’ll do that. Thank you.” She gave me a friendly wave and smiled as she went in the other direction.

I felt that I failed as I walked out of the store. What was I thinking, going to a clothing store unprepared like that? All I learned from that was that this was going to be arduous.

Yamato

“Yamato? What’s the matter?” Takeru’s voice came through the phone.

I sat on the couch. “What’s been popular with boys your age.”

“Um, what do you mean by that?”

I thought about my word choice. I can’t give away that I want ideas for Secret Santa. “What new games or toys or whatever has been popular with the kids in your grade?” Why do I have to sound so obvious?

Takeru’s side went silent. Did he make the connection that I have Ken?

“Well, there is something.” I heard Takeru boot up his computer.

“I’ve-I mean, other boys have been wanting this new game that came out a week ago.” My phone got a notification. “I sent you the name by email. You can look at that. I gotta go, bye!” He hung up before I could respond.

I checked the game’s name and I typed it into our computer. The game seemed to be different from your average game. It at least seemed interesting. Maybe Ken would like it. I decided to look into it more. I read the description of the game.

And saw what this particular game contained.

Let’s just say, I yelped as I closed the tab as quickly as possible.

“You know, you used to complain about me leaving piles of stuff out in the open. Now, look at you.” Dad came inside the apartment to me being surrounded by magazines.

“This is a one-time thing, Dad.” I flipped the page of the magazine I had in my hand to see some soccer gear that was being advertised.

He walked over and peered at my magazines. “What are these for anyway?”

“I’m looking for a gift for Ken. We’re doing a Secret Santa this year.”

“Is Ken that intelligent kid? Wouldn’t he want something that has to do with school?” He headed for the fridge and took out last night’s meal.

I shut the magazine and sighed. “Dad, no kid wants a textbook for Christmas. Even smart ones.” I started to think of the possibility of getting Ken a textbook for Secret Santa. If I did that, everyone would laugh at me. And Ken would be there disappointed in me. I can’t do that.

“Well, what does he like to do in his free time? You can’t think too much about it.” Dad patted my shoulder. “You’re his friend. You can do this.”

“We haven't talked much since we went to Mexico. I don’t know if I can say I’m his friend.”

“Then use this opportunity to become his friend.” Dad headed into his room, leaving me at the table alone. I started to clean up my pile of magazines until I saw one contain news about the new manga that got released, and that’s when it hit me. A book! How come I didn’t think of that? I darted to the computer as I looked up new books for adolescents.

I finally felt like I was on to something.

Ken

I sat in front of my computer, typing all sorts of things in the search engine. From ‘best gifts to give to teens 2004’ to ‘mom Christmas ideas for boys’

If anyone saw me do this, I would be dead.

“Ken, you’ve been typing for more than an hour, you must have found something for him.” Wormmon hunched over the computer top, blocking my view of the screen.

“Nothing seems to be good enough.” I pushed myself away from my desk and crossed my arms. “What would Yamato like?

“Well, Yamato loves to perform. He spends loads of time on gigs. What’s something that you can get him for that?” Wormmon crawled off of the computer and jumped on my lap.

“It’s not like I could buy him a new guitar.”

“Then get him something he can have while performing.” Something while performing? I can’t get him a new outfit for concerts, I learned that the hard way. I can’t get him any gear because that could be way too expensive. What could he use on stage? It can’t be too noticeable. Then an idea came to me. I scooted my chair to the computer then searched up ‘Teen-Age Wolves Japanese band concert’ and images of Yamato’s band came up. It took a glance at Yamato’s hand for me to realize that my new idea can work.

Yamato

Deep breaths Yamato, deep breaths. You’re just going to go inside a school. You do this every day, what’s the worst that could happen? I pushed open the school doors. It’s not like you are going to be arrested. Hopefully.

The male at the window looked at me and motioned me to come over. “Hello! What are you here for?”

“I was wondering if I could look at the books Ichijouji Ken checked out recently.” I felt my cheeks turn into a cherry as I spoke. “I need him to get a gift for Christmas, and I thought he would like a book. But I don’t know what he reads.” I knew this was a horrible idea. I don't know how I’m going to live with this.

Everyone in the room stared at me. “You’re kidding me, right?” The male started to laugh, and everyone joined in. “You don’t even go here!”

“I know it’s such a weird request, but if you could at least have the librarian say what types of books he enjoys, I’ll leave without any trouble.” The people in the office shared a look, and one of them shrugged. The man turned around to face me.

“If the librarian allows it and you give me your name, then we could.” The man smirked at me. “The story behind this is way too absurd to ignore.”

Relief flooded through me. “Thank you so much. I’m Ishida Yamato. I attend Odaiba Middle School.”

“Ishida Yamato? The singer from ‘Teen-Age Wolves’?” A woman in the office spoke.

I nodded. “Yes. You know us?”

“Yes, my daughter loves your band! Do you mind if you...” The woman held out a piece of paper with a faint blush. I grabbed it and looked at her with an eyebrow raised. “To Yutsuko.” I finished the message and gave it back. “Thank you, she’ll love it.”

“Ichijouji Ken? Let me see.” The librarian typed in his name into the computer. “Oh! I know exactly what he loves to read!” The librarian got up from her desk and grabbed two books. She placed them in front of me. I’ve never heard of these titles before.

“He loves these books?” I asked, examining the top book.

“He does! He’s already read those two though.” The librarian paused, thinking. “The third and final book comes out in a week. He’s super excited about it. The school is going to get a copy, but I don’t know when we can because the books are flying off the shelves. The series is popular at the moment. If you want me to, I can find different books that he likes.”

“No, this is perfect!” I blurted. People in the library stared at me with disapproval. “Thank you so much,” I whispered.

The librarian nodded. “He’ll love it.”

Ken

I gripped my piece of paper with vice as the car pulled to a stop. My mother in the driver seat unbuckled her seatbelt and I followed.

“You ready?” She gave me a reassuring smile. I nodded as I opened the car door.

We walked into the jewelry store and the cashier greeted us. I felt the weight of the sixty dollars in my pocket as I walked up to him.

“Hello! Do you need help with anything?” The employee asked with a smile.

“Could I make an order for a custom necklace?” I passed the piece of paper to him, and he nodded.

“It could be done.” He grabbed some sheets of paper. “Here are your options.” There were different designs on the paper for custom necklaces. They all looked great, but the one on the third row stood out to me the most.

I looked at Mom. “You think the third one looks good?” She nodded. I looked back at the employee. “The third one please.”

We gave him the information that was required. At the end of the transaction, he told us the price. “Okay, that’ll be eighty-five dollars and sixty cents.” I froze. That’s more than what I had!

“Here.” My mother pulled out some bills and the man accepted. Before I could protest, she took the receipt and dragged me out of there. What was she doing?

Right when we entered the car, I shouted at her. “Mom! Why’d you paid for that? Eighty dollars is way too much!”

She smiled at me. “Yamato will love it.”

“I know that! But that’s going too far!” I put the sixty dollars I was planning on spending in her purse. “Nobody pays that much for Secret Santa. Let’s go back and cancel the order.” Before I could leave, she spoke.

“It’s just that,” she sighed. “I’ve never seen you so excited.” My face turned red. “You’ve been trying so hard to get a gift for him. You don’t want that to be wasted, do you?”

I shook my head.

“I’m glad that’s settled then.” She pulled out of our parking spot before I could stop her.

Yamato

Right when I went home, I went to the author’s website. She’s doing a signing near here. It also comes with her new book for free. If I could get her to sign a copy to Ken, he’ll love it! I clicked on the signing information page and was greeted with a disheartening sight.

Seventy dollars? Seventy dollars is the price to go and meet her? I know the librarian said that the series was super popular, but really? That’s when I checked the book preordering, and there was none left to preorder! I felt the opportunity for a good gift slip from my hands. There were only twelve more days to get Ken a gift. The signing was in five days. I groaned as I put in the information to pay for signing.

This better be worth it.

Taichi

“Hey, Sora! Yamato!” I ran up to the couple, who were walking to a lunch table with food. I was also holding a tray of food that seemed indigestible.

“Hey, Taichi!” Sora gave me her smile as we sat down at a table. “What’s up?” I had to ask the question that has been burning in my mind.

“How are you guys doing with Secret Santa? There are only ten days until the twenty-fourth.” I asked. I stabbed my fork into the mystery meat. I didn’t know who Sora and Yamato got, but I bet they’re easier than Mimi.

“Great! I got everything I needed, and all I need is to package it up!” Sora said. She looked at her boyfriend. “How about you Yamato?”

All Yamato did was stare in the distance with his facing giving off an I want to murder look. You could feel the negative energy coming from him. He didn’t respond to her.

“Hey Yamato, you doin’ okay?” I poked him with the bottom of my fork.

He didn’t budge.

All I and Sora could do was look away awkwardly and continue eating.

Yamato

I handed my ticket to the employee at the door. They looked at it and handed it back to me, giving me a nod of approval. I walked inside to see a crowd of people waiting in a line. I joined in. It felt like the line moved every ten minutes. It must have been two hours until I was able to see the author at her table signing books. I impatiently tapped my foot as each person got their book signed.

When it was my turn, an employee had me go up to the author.

She gave me a friendly smile as she got a copy of her new book and opened it. “Hello! Who’s the book for?” She asked.

“Ichijouji Ken,” I answered. I suddenly felt many eyes in the room look at me. Maybe I should have just said Ken instead of his full name.

Her eyes narrowed. “You sure don’t look like him. You related?”

A blush formed on my face. “No, I’m his friend. We’re doing a Secret Santa, and I wanted to get him a copy of your book.”

Everyone in the room seemed to stop staring. The author gave me a grin. “This seems to be a little overboard for a Secret Santa.” She joked.

I did an awkward laugh. “I know he would like it. He talks about your books all the time.” The author finished her message in the book, then she handed it to me.

“That makes me so happy to hear that. Tell him I appreciate it.” I nodded as I was ushered out of the way for the next person. I left the building and headed home in the cold. I only checked the message that the author left after I stepped foot into our apartment. As I read it, a grin grew on my face.

He’ll love it.

Part Three

Ken

I walked up to the Inoue’s door and knocked. I felt the weight of the box inside the paper bag that I held. I kept on reassuring myself that he would like it. I took a deep breath as the door to the apartment was opened.

“Ken!” Miyako hugged me by the neck. “So glad you came!” She moved away and held open the door for me. “Taichi and Daisuke were just about to see who could stuff the most marshmallows in their mouths!” She ran ahead, taking my hidden gift with her. I looked under the tree to see a bunch of trashy bags. It seemed that everyone followed the rule of keeping your gift a secret by hiding it inside a bag.

I took in the surroundings as I wandered inside the Inoue apartment. Taichi and Daisuke were both stuffing marshmallows in their mouths, Jyou was trying to prevent them from choking, Koshirou and Iori were playing cards, Miyako and Mimi were admiring the Christmas tree while gossiping, Takeru and Hikari were frosting cookies, and Sora and Yamato were watching the current events unfold on the couch.

I felt my cheeks go pink as I saw Yamato. What if he doesn’t like it? Is it as good as I thought it was? I thought of the many ways this could go wrong. I shuddered. He’ll never like it. He’s not gonna like-

“Uwwaagghh!” I suddenly saw Daisuke, teary-eyed, spit out all the marshmallows in his mouth. “I give up!” Daisuke dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

Taichi spat out the marshmallows in his mouth into the trash. He pumped his fist upward. “Aw yeah! What did you expect was going to win?”

Hikari spoke up. “Not going to lie, but I thought Daisuke was going to win big brother.”

“Same here,” Koshirou added. Everyone nodded in agreement. Taichi faked a look of betrayal.

Then Chizuru entered the room. “Well, are we going to start or what?” Chizuru asked. Momoe and Mantarou with a camera followed. “You all go into Miyako’s room, and we’ll remove the gifts out of their bags. We’ll call you in when we’re ready.” We all went into Miayko’s room. It was awkward as everyone sat around waiting for the Miyako’s siblings to prepare the gifts

“Mimi, do you think your assigned person will like their gift?” Sora asked.

Mimi winked at her. “I’m sure they’ll love it.” Everyone laughed in response and I chuckled. How can she be so confident?

Miyako turned to me. “Ken, do you think the person you were assigned will like your gift?”

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Will Yamato like it? I felt my whole body go red and my eyes start to water. “I don’t know,” I whispered. I gripped my pants.

I felt someone’s hand go on mine. I looked up to see Sora in front of me. “I’m sure they’ll like it, Ken. Just have faith in yourself.” Everyone was staring, so I only nodded in response.

“Everyone come out! We’re ready!” Momoe hollered. Everyone got up and headed back. Mantarou started to record us walking inside. All the gifts, from big to small, were laid out under the tree.

We all sat in a circle as Chizuru and Momoe handed out our gifts for everyone.

“I think Daisuke should go first since he came up with the idea. Then, everyone to his left can go after.” Iori proclaimed. Everyone agreed. That’s when I noticed that I was on Daisuke’s right. I was going to go last! I couldn’t help but wonder what my gift held.

Daisuke ripped open his wrapping paper and took a look at the gift. “Oh my gosh! I love love love love love love it!” Daisuke turned it around, revealing a few soccer posters with his favorite players on it. “Thank you Secret Santa!” He called out, holding his posters in the air.

Next was Koshirou. He took a long, good stare at his wrapped box, then he unwrapped it. His face filled with delight as he saw what it was. “A computer cleaning kit! Thank you so much!” Everyone shared an of course he would love that look.

Then, it was Yamato.

I felt my body heat up as he picked it up. Then, he slowly unwrapped the gift. Everyone shared a glance when Yamato revealed a jewelry-like box. He slowly lifted the cover of the box.

His face was covered with awe as he gently held the necklace in his hand. His mouth was left open. Everyone ‘oohed’ and ‘awed’ as they looked at his gift. It was a necklace that was Yamato’s name. If you turned it around, it had a song lyric inscribed on the back. “Yamato Ishida. ‘I’ll even walk on the edge of a knife’” Yamato read. He gently touched the inscribed words before putting it around his neck. A smile formed on his face. “I love it so much. I don’t even know what to say.” His face went pink with embarrassment. “Thank you so much.” The way he reacted was better than I imagined. I couldn’t help but grin. He loved it!

After that, everyone went through the gifts. After Yamato, Jyou got a mug that read ‘World's Best Dad’, Miyako got a shirt that read ‘Bingo’ on it, Takeru also got a shirt that read ‘I Love Hats’, Iori got a new kendo bag, Mimi got high-quality makeup pallets, Taichi got some deodorant (everyone laughed at that one), Sora got a flower show ticket that started in February, and Hikari got a brand new collar for Miko.

It was finally my turn.

Everyone’s eyes were on me as I took my gift out of a Christmas themed bag. Right when I saw it, I almost dropped it. “No. Way.” My excitement grew so much. It was a book from my favorite author! I wanted to get a copy, but it was sold out! “I don’t know what to say! I love it! Thank you” I traced the spine with my finger. I wanted to head home and start to read it right away!

“There’s a note!” Koshirou pointed out. I looked at the piece of paper lying on the ground.

“It says ‘Look inside, there’s a surprise!’ on it.” I read out to the group. I put down the note as I opened the cover of the book.

I gasped as I saw what was on the page. A signed copy! “This can’t be real! Those signings were super expensive!” I exclaimed.

“Read it out loud!” Sora requested. I then started to read the message.

“‘To Ken Ichijouji. I feel honored to be writing to one of the smartest kids in Japan! Your friend went all the way to Tokyo and waited in line for three hours just for me to say Merry Christmas to you. That’s when you know you have a true friend standing by you. They told me how much you love to read my series, which makes me so happy! I hope you have an amazing Christmas and an amazing time reading this!’ Then her signature follows.” I almost went to tears. I couldn’t believe they went through all this effort for a silly game! “Thank you to whoever is my Secret Santa.”

“Okay, now that’s done, we revealed who was your Secret Santa. When we say go, point to the person who you were assigned.” Mantarou announced. Who did mine? Who would have gone through the effort to get me a signed copy of my favorite book series? Daisuke? No, he wouldn’t get me a book. Koshirou? I don’t think he would have had the courage to talk to the author and get the book signed. “Three,” I turned to Yamato, who made eye contact with me and looked away in a bashful way. That’s when it clicked. “Two,” I looked down at my book and smiled to myself. “One...”

“Go!”

I pointed to Yamato, who had a surprised face as he saw me pointing at him. I gave him a shy smile, and I returned it. The room suddenly was filled with laughter as I looked around and saw…

Everyone got each other? Mimi and Taichi, Jyou and Daisuke, Iori and Sora, Koshirou and Hikari, and Takeru and Miyako were pointing to each other.

“Was this done on purpose? Why’d you guys do that?” Miyako asked. Everyone quieted down to hear the answer.

“We thought it would be fun if everyone got each other. That way, it felt like more of an exchange.” Momoe explained. Miyako just huffed in response.

Everyone started to mingle then, talking about their gifts to their Secret Santas.

I grabbed my present and admired it. I couldn’t believe that Yamato, a Chosen Child that I don’t have the best relationship with, gave me this. I stood up. I wanted to find Yamato, but he wasn’t in the room. Where was he? I asked around, but it seemed like nobody knew.

“I saw him exit the apartment. At the moment, I didn’t think much about it.” Chizuru informed me. “I don’t know where he would have gone, though.”

Why’d he leave? I opened their door and walked into the hallway with my book. That’s when I saw the floor number for the elevator go upwards. The roof? I clicked the up arrow and waited for the elevator to go on my floor. When it did, I entered it and sent it upwards.

The doors shuffled open as I walked onto the roof. The cool breeze felt nice as it hit my face. That’s when I saw Yamato leaning on the fence surrounding the edge. He was facing the other way.

“Yamato?”

He didn’t answer.

I walked up to him and leaned on the fence next to him. He turned to face me with a soft smile. “I love the view up here. With the stars and the city lights.” He said. He then pulled out the necklace. “This is the best gift I’ve ever received Ken.” We both blushed. “Besides my harmonica and guitar.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

The breeze picked up, grabbing onto my sweater. You could hear people below talk and sing about Christmas. Snow fell from the sky, covering the city with white. I was tempted to stick my tongue out and catch one. It was a beautiful sight.

“Uh, thank you so much, Yamato.” I sputtered out. “I didn’t expect you to get me this book.” He gave me a confused look. I realized what I said then. He must have taken it the wrong way. “Not that I didn’t like it! I love it!” Somehow, my blush became a darker shade. “I’m sorry.”

That’s when Yamato turned and faced the city. “To be honest, I freaked out when I saw your name. I didn’t know what you liked.” A smile formed on his face. “Because I’m so smart,” he said with sarcasm. “I went to your school to see what books you read in the library.”

What? My eyebrows raised with shock. “You’re serious? They must have rejected you!”

“No, they actually let me ask your librarian what you love to read! I was thinking I was going to get rejected.” He threw his hands up. “But school, out of all the places, let me in!”

I grinned. “I had a similar experience! I also panicked. I went to a store to get you black leather clothes.” He whipped his head around to face me with shock on his face. “The thing is that I didn’t know your clothing size! You could tell that employee thought I was so dumb.” We both laughed.

“I’m glad you didn’t do that.” He grinned. “Sora always teased me that I wore ‘edgy’ and ‘emo’ clothes. If you gave me those, she would never let me alone.” His face suddenly lit up. “I also forgot. At the signing of the book, the author wanted to let you know that she was extremely grateful that you support her.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say.” Did she really think that? That’s when I remembered that I was still known in Japan. I’ve tried to disappear from the news and the internet, but it seems like people recognize me.

“Yet again, she also said that the Secret Santa gift was super dumb. You could hear it in her voice.” Yamato joked, imitating her voice. It was really impressive, especially since he has such a low voice.

Then, he laughed. I couldn’t help but join in. I never knew how fun it could be to talk with Yamato. I looked down at my book. I finally understood why he was well-liked.

“Thank you. For everything.” Yamato said, gripping onto his necklace. “But I think we should head inside.” I forget that there was a party going on. How much time has passed? We both headed into the elevator and headed into Miyako’s apartment.

When we opened the door, everyone was hanging out.

“Where did you two run off to?” Taichi asked, who was playing cards with Jyou, Miyako, Koshioru, and Takeru. “We’ve been waiting for you two.”

Yamato shrugged. “The roof.”

Well, I’m glad that you two came down now. We’re about to start caroling!” Daisuke announced, holding bells. He passed them to me. He went around, giving the Chosen Children bells and sheets of paper with song lyrics.

“We’re now able to see if the famous Ichijouji can sing!” Mimi exclaimed, doing over dramatic gestures. “He’s going to start us off doing a solo in Jingle Bells!”

“I didn’t know about this! I’m not ready!” I protested. “I’m a horrible singer!” Nobody was buying it. I don’t want to sing! Especially in front of everyone.

That’s when Yamato spoke up. “Ken and I will both sing.” He smiled at me. “Besides, what’s the point of caroling if you’re doing it alone!” He grabbed the paper handed out to everyone.

That’s when I realized that I was going to be leaving tonight with something that I never knew I had.

Something that I never knew I needed.

Epilogue

Yamato

The crowd screamed as I went on stage. The flashing lights blinded me, but I was used to it. I looked at Takashi, Yutaka, and Akira. They nodded at me, saying that they were ready.

I grabbed the microphone. “You ready?” I asked. The crowd responded in screams. I waved, telling them to quiet down. “We have a treat for you all. For the first time, we’re going to be performing our two new songs. The first is Tobira (Door), then after Hitoribocchi no Seesaw (Alone On The Seesaw)!” They got louder as I positioned myself and my guitar.

I looked out into the crowd. I found the Chosen Children sitting in front of the stage. I gave Sora a smile, which she returned. I looked at Gabumon, who did a thumbs up.

Then, there was Ken, sitting by all the Chosen Children and their partners. He was bookmarking his new book. He already got through a fourth of the book. He peered at my neck and saw the necklace that he gave me. I grabbed onto it, made eye contact with him, and smiled at him. I gave the signal to my bandmates to start up the music. I didn’t know how everyone would react to the two new songs, but I decided to perform it.

Besides, it’s not fun to restrain yourself. It’s better to take the risk and walk on the edge of a knife.

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