It was Christmas Eve, and Kofuku had planned a dinner party. Unfortunately, so had Hiyori's parents, who had chosen the most boring dinner guests imaginable. Elderly Mrs. Kimura kept rambling about her grandson who was "only a little older than you, Hiyori dear." If that grandson really did as impossibly well at everything as Mrs. Kimura claimed he did, he must not have time to sleep, Hiyori thought. But she kept the thought to herself and kept smiling politely.

She was relieved when, as the meal ended, her mother turned her attention to Hiyori and said "You look tired, Hiyori. Maybe you should rest?"

"I am tired," Hiyori said truthfully. Anyone would be tired after listening to the exploits of Seiji Kimura's chess club. Mrs. Kimura seemed to have memorized entire games . . . and to be under the impression that another high school student would want to hear the progress of those games, move by move.

So Hiyori pounced on her mother's suggestion, pretending to be exhausted by a day of studying. She said a graceful farewell to the Kimuras and left the room.

Instead of going to bed early, she snuck out of the house and hurried on her way to Kofuku's. Dinner there sounded lively: she could hear laughter and music all the way from the street. Hiyori's heart lightened and she skipped as she reached the door.

The door was opened by Yato, who might have had a little too much to drink. "Party's in the back," he said. "What took you so long?"

Hiyori opened her mouth to answer, and then paused, distracted by something dangling over her head. "What's that?" she asked, craning her neck.

"Kofuku's idea of a joke! That's mistletoe. Everyone who comes in through the door gets kissed. It was pretty funny when old Tenjin got here . . ."

"Kissed?" Hiyori interrupted. "You said everyone gets kiss. Does that mean someone's going to KISS me?"

"Of course . . ." Yato paused, and stumbled. His cheeks turned red. Was he blushing? Hiyori felt her cheeks starting to burn, too.

"We don't have to do it," she said. "It's just a joke." But Yato put down the beer in his hand and moved a step closer to her.

"Do you mind—" he started to ask.

But Hiyori never found out how he was going to finish the sentence. Kofuku came barreling into the entryway from gods-knew-where, shouting "Hiyorin!" She crashed into Hiyori and the two tumbled out the open door. And by the time Hiyori got to her feet and dusted herself off a little, the mistletoe had disappeared.

She thought she saw Tenjin tucking it carefully into one of his pockets, but she was probably mistaken. What could a god of learning want with mistletoe?