XX A/N XX

My first holiday themed work. Honestly, I've been wanted to write something like this was a while; my regular writing subjects are gritty and war like, but I've been stuck in the same thing for so long, I want to branch out.

I doubt this will be all that great; I've always had trouble coherently transitioning ideas to writing and looking over this chapter I feel I've been over dramatic, but I still decided to post it regardless. And I decided to take a interesting approach to it; I'll upload a chapter corresponding to the day of the month the chapter takes place on. This means there will be a few skips, since I won't cover every day. But I hope you all enjoy the story regardless.

Cultural context: Christmas Eve and Christmas is celebrated differently in Japan, due to the low prominence of Christianity. Christmas Eve is more akin to the western celebration of Valentines day: couples will get together, usual have dinner together, ect. Christmas isn't even an official holiday, so schools there are still open on the 25th. Still, it is a interesting variation of the holiday, and something I think has a lot of story potential. Christmas day has it own unique celebrations. I'd recommend looking them up.

Setting context: According to Naomi's phone, the day they did the charm was October 27th, 2008. So that would mean Naomi and Ayumi's expedition to the Shinozaki estate took place somewhere around November 10th of the same year. Blood Drive would therefore start sometime in January 2009.

I apologize in advance for any hiccups about cultural differences.

X December 1st X

December had finally come to Japan. The temperature was a cool sixteen degrees Celsius, prompting many residents to adorn light jackets. But the most noticeable sign was the vast amount of lights that had been strung out and hung all over the city. Miles and miles of it adorned stores, houses, and many public areas. All of it in anticipation for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the New Years.

The first two were not official holidays, but the concepts behind them were very popular in Japan. And so, stores were packed with people of all ages doing early shopping for gifts that would no doubt become scarcer as the days went on. Restaurants were packed with people young and old trying to get reservations for the 24th, some of whom stood in line for well over an hour or willing paid a large sum for hotly contested slots. Even though the day was more than three weeks away, you could already see the anticipation in many girl's faces as they waited to see if someone would ask them out. Likewise, you could also tell many of the boys were struggling to find the courage to do so.

It was all absurdly cheerful to Satoshi, who hadn't been swept up in the euphoria. In fact, he just seemed to watch it all, detached. He had nothing against the holidays; In fact, him and his family had always enjoyed spending the 25th and New Years together. But the brown haired 17 year old couldn't look forward to it because he was too busy thinking about the past and present.

Heavenly Host was part of it. Even more than a month after the horrible event, just the slightest thought about it would make him shudder or break into a cold sweat. His friends and him had just wanted to give Suzumoto a good send off for being a good friend, and just a few minutes later they'd been fighting for their lives in a horrible school filled with bodies and malevolent spirits. Satoshi, his sister Yuka, and his friends Naomi, Ayumi, and Yoshiki had just barely managed to escape. Three of their friends and their T.A hadn't come back. Suzumoto, Morishige, Shinohara, and Ms. Yui were gone, literally wiped from history as if they'd never existed.

That experience alone had been enough bad memories for a life time. None of them had come out of it the same; the horror and guilt had already started affecting their lives just a few days after they'd returned and the joy of survival was crushed by the realization of what had transpired. All of them were uneasy in everyday life and the interaction between them all had begun to show strain. Satoshi had wanted to move on. He'd wanted everyone to try and be happy and return to normal because that's what they're friends would have wanted. But Naomi and Ayumi just couldn't let go of what happened.

Deep down, Satoshi really couldn't say he was surprised. Shinozaki probably still blamed herself because she'd been the one to suggest the charm, even if she had no way of knowing what would happen. She still thought she was responsible and wanted to fix it. Naomi wanting to act was hardly a surprise either. Even if she hadn't been responsible for her actions, she still blamed herself for Shinohara's death even after it was clear Seiko herself didn't blame her and wanted her to go and be happy. She'd just wanted to see her best friend again.

So just a few weeks after they'd returned, they'd both acted.

Satoshi still wasn't sure exactly what had happened even now. Both girls just hadn't shown up to school one day and neither had answered any calls or texts. Satoshi and Yoshiki had both been worried and both agreed to visit the girls' houses. That's when they discovered both of them had been at the hospital and had instantly rushed over. Satoshi had been relieved when he learned Naomi was just there for shock, but Yoshiki and him had both been horrified to learn Ayumi was in the intensive care unit for some horrid injury.

No one could tell them what had happened, because no one knew. They couldn't even see Naomi because the police were still investigating the matter. But both boys had dug in their heels and refused to leave until they found out what had happened, staying well into the evening. Satoshi's parents had arrived with Yuka in the evening to try and take him home. He'd refused and, after hearing why, Yuka had stubbornly dug in with them, leaving their parents no choice but to allow them to stay the night and through school the next day and wait for news.

In the end, they didn't get any. Given Shinozaki's injuries and the hysterical state Naomi had been, the police had chalked it up as an assault or possible mugging, kidnapping, rape, or other type of attack. It seemed to make sense to the girls' parents, but to their friends, they knew it had to have been something more. But they agreed not to ask Naomi as to not upset her anymore then she already was. They'd finally got a chance to see her, though she'd been knocked out by a sedative before hand.

Seeing her laying there with her face frozen in fear even while sleeping, Satoshi couldn't remember a time he'd ever felt more miserable.

Though Shinozaki remained in intensive care, Naomi had been allowed to leave a week after being admitted. She'd returned to school a week after that. Even then, seeing how subdued and quiet she was, neither boy had pressed for answers. They'd just welcomed her back and tried to act like nothing had happened, hoping someday she'd eventually get the courage to tell. So far, that hadn't happened.

The moment Satoshi found himself thinking about nearly everyday know was those 30 hours he'd spent in the hospital waiting. Yuka had passed out in his lap not too long after arriving, and even Yoshiki had fallen asleep despite the coffee the hospital served. But Satoshi had been awake the entire time, alert and waiting for whatever news would show.

He realized he'd been terrified. Terrified when he found out Naomi was in the hospital. Terrified when he heard she was so worked up. Terrified when he overheard her mother telling doctors and police she'd had recent mental health problems. He been terrified most of all just after they'd finally been allowed to see Naomi, and they'd asked a doctor how long she'd have to stay.

They'd been told she might be transferred to a mental hospital for further treatment, since she apparently had a recent past of emotional instability.

A mental hospital. Far away from all of them when the one thing she needed most was to be around people who understood what she'd been through. Hearing that, Satoshi had almost become sick. But what could he have done if they decided to? Nothing, because no one would've believed them. He would've only been able to watch. Even after Heavenly Host, he'd never been more scared in his life then when he thought Naomi might've been taken away.

He often thought back to that moment and the relief he'd felt when Naomi had shown back up at school. He thought about it cause it made him realize something: He really cared about her.

He cared about the others, or course. He'd been there for Yuka after they'd got back and she'd started having night terrors. Yoshiki had been unusually on edge right after they got back and had actually started to become depressed after he found out Shinozaki was in the hospital, and would skip school a lot of days just to hang around the hospital in the hope something would happen. Satoshi had been there to cheer him up when he could.

But he seemed to find himself worrying about Naomi all the time. Hoping she would released soon. Hoping she'd come back to school with them. And even after she'd come back, he was worried because she wasn't the same; it was like she'd been detached from everything around her. Even if she'd constantly messed with him, he missed the old Naomi. He wanted her to stop blaming herself and being sad. He wanted her to be happy again.

He really cared...and that had made him realize: He loved her. It had taken two back-to-back tragedies to make him realize that. He had no doubt about it either; that was how he felt.

But what to make of it?

Any normal boy who made such a conclusion would confess or, lacking the courage, ask her out or get her something. At this time of the year, they would certain ask to take them out on the 24th. But to Satoshi, the idea seemed so...odd. Between what had happened to them and how Naomi was acting, the idea of doing something so carefree seemed alien in his mind. But the thought persisted.

Should he try? The question was picking at his mind every hour of every day. Could he ask her to go out with him on the 24th? Would she feel up to it? Could they even have fun with so much horrible knowledge and memories shared between them? What would happen if she said no and it damaged their friendship? Would it help them both?

He didn't know. Sitting in class thinking about it, we wished more then anything Heavenly Host had never happened, that they were all just normal teenagers, and that deciding to ask her out wasn't such a complicated idea. The conflict must've shown on his face, because it didn't go un-noticed.

"What are you looking so down about?" Yoshiki asked him during the period between classes. It was one of the few days he'd come to class rather then skipping to wander around the hospital all day. Satoshi was reluctant to answer. He knew Yoshiki was interested in Shinozaki, and would probably would have tried to asked her out if she hadn't been in the hospital, so talking about his own problems might have come off as inconsiderate. "Still worried about Nakashima?" Yoshiki had always poked fun at Satoshi for liking Naomi, only now he would be telling the truth.

"Y-yeah." Satoshi admitted. Both looked over to Naomi's desk across the room and out of ear shot. She was sitting there blankly staring at the desk surface, seemingly unaware of everything around her. Before Heavenly Host, they all would've gathered and talked during these breaks. Now, that rarely happened. "She's really seemed depressed since she got out of the hospital..." Yoshiki leaned back, put his legs on his desk, folded his arms behind his head, and didn't say anything. Being so desperate to know what happened to Shinozaki, Satoshi expected him to be a little cross with Naomi for not telling them what happened. But at least he didn't say so out loud; he cared about her well being too.

"You could probably cheer her up, you know? Since she likes you and you were her best friend after Shinohara. You should take her out or something." Yoshiki remarked, trying to inject for humor into the conversation, something he was still able to do despite how grim things were. Normally Satoshi would nervously laugh and tell his friend off for messing with him. But that was the old Satoshi. This time he responded truthfully.

"I would... but...it would things seem awkward?" Satoshi wondered out loud. "After what's happened to us, won't it seem strange to do something like that?" He missed Yoshiki's almost comical reaction to him finally admitting he wanted to ask Naomi out. After pulling himself off the floor and back into his chair, Yoshiki tried to answer him.

"Well..." Yoshiki scratched the back of his head, unsure what to say at first. "You got a point..." He admitted after giving it some thought. "But if there's a chance, you should take it. Can you think of anything else that would cheer her up?" Satoshi shook his head. "You won't know until you ask or actually try." He concluded. "Might end up doing some good for both of you to do something normal." After that, he grinned again and gave Satoshi a light slap on the back. "I say go for it."

"...Thanks." Satoshi nodded, glad to see his friend looking out for him. He felt better having shared that dilemma, even if it still hung over him.

"Don't mention it. Damn." Yoshiki swore when the bell announcing the start of class rang and students started filing back to their seats. Naomi wearily raised her head for the lecture. Over the period, Satoshi found himself glancing over every few minutes.

Should I? He wondered. Maybe it could be good for them. They could have some fun and, even if it was only temporary, forget everything else. Naomi might finally cheer up and remember there were other people that had been around her than Shinohara. But still, Satoshi couldn't shake the nagging thought that asking such a thing at a time like this when she was distressed wasn't right.

Once the day's class periods were up, everyone stood to leave. They both watched Naomi gather her things and leave the room quickly to rush home like always. As far as they knew, she never left home for anything but school now. Satoshi sighed.

"Like I said, you could probably cheer her up if you just asked." Yoshiki beat him on the shoulder as he passed.

"Is it that simple?" Satoshi asked himself. He sighed again, grabbed his stuff, and left behind everyone else. After Heavenly Host, nothing seemed simple anymore; everything always seemed bleak and just...wrong, was the only word he could think of.

But Satoshi still felt some sort of optimism, especially now that Yoshiki had backed him up. December had always been a month that brought joy across the entire country...maybe it could do the same for them? It was something to think about, at least.