Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their respective owners
Note: Happy Birthday, Akashi! *huggles* ^q^ I'vebeenwaitingforthisdayforalmostforeverhuehuehue. May Akashi-kun lead a happy life and have enough screen time for the upcoming anime seasons. uvu Ooookay! I'll leave this here and go continue on the Circus AU /sweats Hope you enjoy!

The town was filled with the merry voices of people who strolled around the area, not minding the coldness of the air and from the sky which had already became dark, snowflakes gracefully fell onto the path which people walked and also on the trees that were aligned on the side. The excitement in everyone's expressions were obvious as it wasn't long until Christmas arrives. People were going in and out of shops, looking around, doing their Christmas shopping for the day. There were also people who just wanted to take a walk along the beautiful streets of tonight. Families and couples spent this Christmas week holiday together, hand in hand with gleeful smiles on their features.

"mother, look! The Christmas tree is really beautiful!"

A small boy— not more than the age of 8 —happily grinned as he pointed at the large, brightly decorated Christmas tree which was placed at the center of the town, his crimson red hair illuminated by the lights that shone colourfully as decorations. His ruby eyes sparkled as he looked at his mother— her long, crimson hair gracefully fluttered at a soft winter breeze, along with the peach scarf she wore as she walked a few steps behind him —who chuckled at her excited son. It was a first for them to go out into the streets freely like this so she understood his need of such excitement.

"yes, it is very beautiful, Sei-kun"

She gracefully said as the boy ran back up to her and took hold of her gloved hand, the smile not leaving his features. The boy— whose name was Seijuro —had always wanted to walk on the streets of Tokyo during the Christmas holidays but unfortunately, due to his strict father, he wasn't allowed to. It is a waste of time that should be used for study— was the words of his father. A sad look would always show upon the face of the young boy but he immediately covered it up to not show how he felt to his father. Feeling sorry for the lack of festive experience of her son, Seijuro's mother decided to take him out on this day, just the two of them, in complete secrecy from his father. The maids in the house were also requested to keep it a secret. Even though it wasn't Christmas, the atmosphere itself was close to it and it was good enough for the young boy.

"Sei-kun, would you like some taiyaki?"

The female offered as a taiyaki stall caught her eye, the hot steam which came out from the just cooked taiyaki the seller gave a small girl looked very tempting in the eyes of the two redheads. The boy nodded at his mother's offer and the two walked over to the stall. The seller saw the two and greeted them with a warm smile, which she returned.

"two red bean fillings?"

"No. Just one, please"

The seller nodded then he took out a paper bag and started to carefully place the still hot taiyaki inside of the paper bag.

"it's quite a cold day today, isn't it?" he asked, starting up a conversation.

"it is. Even the snow is falling. A rare thing for Tokyo" she chuckled.

"sure is" He laughed then handed the taiyaki to Seijuro and said with a grin, "be careful now. It's still rather hot"

Seijuro took the taiyaki from the seller— the warmth from the food gave him a comfortable feeling as he held it in his gloved hands —and uttered a gleeful "thank you".

The seller grinned at the cheerfulness of the boy and asked, "you look an awful lot happy today. Is it a special day?"

"yup!" he answered. "today is my birthday and mother is taking me out as a present. It is a first outing for me and mother so I'm really excited"

"well now," He chuckled, feeling amused by how happy he was to be able to spend time with his mother and also by the rather mature way he used to talk. "if that's so, consider the taiyaki as a birthday present from me"

"eh? Really?" Seijuro asked, eyes sparkling in wonder.

"yup" the seller grinned. "it's on me, kid"

"thank you!"

His mother chuckled at his happy reaction and thanked the seller herself before taking Seijuro's free hand in hers— his other used to munch in the taiyaki he got —and they continued their little walk around the town center. Many interesting things caught Seijuro's eye— such as the toys and the mouth watering desserts the shops had set on display, as well as the workers who dressed up as Santa and his merry men —and he would never fail to point out at the anything he found most interesting to show to his mother.

"mother, look! He has a red nose!"

Seijuro almost laughed as he pointed at a worker who was wearing Rudolph's costume. His mother chuckled and said with a smile,

"he certainly does"

Seeing her usually mature son act like a normal 8 year old gave a warm feeling in the female's heart, as she felt sorry for the boy, being forced to act like an adult at such a young age. Her husband was a man of rules and discipline so it couldn't be helped perhaps but she really wanted to let the boy have a taste of what a normal 8 year old child's life was. She wanted him to have a childhood to remember, a childhood to be fond about. Which was why she introduced him to basketball in the first place. At least, with basketball, it would serve as an escape for him, from the suffocating life inside the mansion. At least, he would have a childhood to remember that way...

Once the two reached the very center of the town, where a Christmas tree stood majestically with decorative lights on it, the female crouched down to her son's eye level and gently pats his head, a motherly smile on her features accompanying the action. Seijuro looked at her with slight confusion and tilted his head lightly to the side, unable to understand why his mother was doing the action.

"Sei-kun," she tenderly said. "No matter what happens in the near future, you should never give up. Always look forward. Never forget to treat others with kindness. And..."

She pulled him into a gentle hug— her head lightly leaned onto his and her hand tenderly stroked his hair while the other held his body close to hers —and softly said,

"I want you to know, that no matter what, I will always love you, Sei-kun... Always..."

Seijuro blinked innocently, confused to why his mother was suddenly saying her words of affection but he wasn't going to question, as her saying those words made him feel happy and also grateful. Grateful that he was blessed with such a kind mother who gave him a chance to escape from the cruel reality his father had given him.

"shall we head home, Sei-kun? Father would be worried if he finds out we are still outside at this time of night"

The female suggested, letting go of her embrace and placed her hands on her lap as she still stayed in her crouched position. The boy nearly pouted and his eyebrows wrinkled at her words, a sign of protest to the suggestion.

"but I want to spend more time out here with mother..."

His mother took his small hands and cupped them in her larger ones, a smile graced her features as she gently said, "then, how about this" she started. "we shall go again next Christmas together. I will persuade father to let us for a much longer time. What do you say?"

Seijuro's face lighted up at hearing the offer and he nodded, "okay!"

He beamed at his mother, who removed her hands from his and took off her right glove, sticking out her pinky and gesturing it towards her son, who understood her gesture and did the same as her. The two locked their pinky's together and the female tilted her head a little to the right, her smile widening, making it similar to the boy's.

"We will definitely go again next Christmas. It's a promise"

A promise...

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The faded colour of white from the ceiling of his room was the first thing which came to sight once Seijuro opened his eyes. Then, following suit, was the light— indicating the sun was already up —that came from the slightly ajar window, which sent a cold breeze from the opening, though it could hardly be felt in the heated room. Once his eyes adjusted to its surroundings, the redhead brought a hand to his face and covered the left side of his face with it, his visible right eye emotionlessly stared at the ceiling.

A dream.. huh..

He could feel that his cheeks were a little damp and he slowly rubbed his palm on his cheeks to wipe them off, the reason for the dampness not even doubted. He closed his eyes as he let his hand land on his side on the bed, recalling the warmth that he felt from the embrace of his mother, the gentle voice she used when talking, and the amount of love she showed him. And of course, the promise they made on that night.

"we will definitely go again next Christmas. It's a promise"

Though she had said that, that night was the first and last Seijuro had ever experienced. His mother started to get ill the next year on an October and the doctor advised her to stay at home and rest. She wasn't allowed to go outside especially under cold temperature. The cold would only make her condition worsen— was what the doctor said. Though he was sad he couldn't go around town during Christmas and it was an event he looked forward to for months, the one thing Seijuro hoped more than anything was his mother's safe recovery. The soft "sorry"s she gave him for not being able to go with him outside was responded by a shake of the head and a sincere "mother's recovery is much more important".

His mother pulled him into a hug and silently cried against the embrace. She felt guilty for not being able to grant his wish but oh how blessed she felt to be gifted with such a child who didn't even utter a word of blame. As he listened to the muted sobs of his mother, Seijuro quietly prayed for his mother's condition to get better, as he couldn't stand to see her cough violently every single time she tried to speak even just a second longer. Her smiles became weaker at every passing day and Seijuro could feel his chest tighten at each of those times. He only wished for his mother to be free from the pain her illness was causing her.

At the age of 11, Seijuro had first experienced the lost of a loved one. His mother passed away on her bed, a peaceful smile on her face as she uttered a barely audible "I love you" to her son who was right beside her at her last moments. Seijuro held back any tears that wanted to flow at the funeral. Daddy's advise, do not show any source of weaknesses. A 11 year old child wasn't even allowed to cry at his own mother's funeral. That itself was also a tragedy. The boy could feel himself being engulfed in darkness as he continued to look at his mother's lifeless body. She was the light in the darkness his father had created and that only light had been taken away.

There was no use at endless grieving but Seijuro had always thought that, even just once, he wanted to meet her again. Just one more time for him to utter the words he didn't have a chance to say during her last moments. But of course, it wasn't possible. Tears started to flow from the corner of his eyes and he place an arm over them, a sad smile forming on his lips as he uttered in a soft voice,

"mother..."

I.. love you too..

On the small table just beside his bed, there was a calendar, showing the month of December, a faint circle drawn around the 20th day.

This year would be another lonely birthday...

Thanks for reading!