I'm back and alive! I have no words to express how sorry I am for the delay of this chapter. Let's just say life got crazy. I finally have time after so long, believe me, I am so relieved and happy to be writing again. It took a long time for me to get back in the zone since it had been a long time since I've worked on this story, but I think I've kind of gotten the hang of it. I hope you enjoy!

Oh. And I am SO sorry this chapter is out of season! Hope you don't mind a little bit of Christmas in July!

Chapter 11: Christmas in a Small World

After the sports festival and Honoka's confession, the orange haired girl became fast friends with Rin and Nico, fitting in perfectly into the close knit group. Even though she had been rejected by Umi during her confession, the two girls were still close friends and Honoka would sometimes accompany Eli and Umi to meet with Kotori after school. Nico and Rin especially enjoyed all the sweets Honoka would bring from her shop. Even so, no one enjoyed the sweets more than Eli. If it were not for the blond's exceptional self-control, she would probably be eating all the sweets Honoka brought all by herself. Umi was surprised that Eli had taken to them so well, especially since she knew her best friend wasn't the biggest fan of sweets. She knew that Eli enjoyed Kotori's baked goods as well, but clearly she enjoyed Honoka's sweets on a whole other level.

Weeks had passed and the weather began cooling down to an icy chill and with it came the unboxing of heavy scarves and coats that had been stored away seasons before. The windows brightened with bulbs of color as the season changed and stores advertised the holiday season. Winter break had arrived and school was out for the time being, with the occasional snow trickling from the sky. Umi couldn't believe that time had gone by so quickly, in her sheer happiness, she had let it flow by without giving it a second thought. The holidays were approaching rapidly, but she remained oblivious to her surroundings, the only she cared about were her friends and girlfriend, some of whom were walking beside her. To be more exact, her girlfriend Kotori was walking beside her with her hand grasping Umi's hand delicately while Honoka and Eli tagged along behind them, talking about the sweet shop's seasonal candies that would begin to sell in the following days.

"Uwaaaaa! My sister just texted me telling me that she won't be home until the day before Christmas!" Honoka whined as she stared at her phone screen in despair. "That means we're going to be short on staff during the busy holiday rush!"

Eli rolled her eyes. "It really wouldn't kill you to be on your toes for a couple of days."

Honoka pouted. "I bet I'm going to be too tired to even enjoy Christmas!"

Umi turned her sideways to speak to Honoka from where she walked in front of her. "Don't say that! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful Christmas!"

"Eh, my parents usually go visit some friends of theirs which leaves me to cook Christmas dinner for my sister and myself. But I guess it will be alright either way."

Kotori stopped walking, causing Umi to stop as well and look at her curiously. "Honoka-chan! Why don't you spend Christmas with me?" Kotori looked at Eli and Umi and gasped excitedly. "Why don't we celebrate Christmas together?! We can invite Maki-chan, Hanayo-chan, and Rin-chan and Nico-chan!"

Umi grinned. "That's sounds like a great idea! I was going to just go over Eli's and Arisa's anyways." She looked at Eli. "Why don't we all just meet up somewhere instead? I'm sure Arisa would love to hang out with Nico and Rin again too."

Eli smiled. "That's true. She adores hearing Nico sing just as much as Nico enjoys singing. She'll be tired from her school's exams so it would be nice for her to enjoy herself with a lot of people."

"Can I bring my sister too then?" Honoka piped in, cheeks already beginning to flush from excitement.

"Of course! I've been wanting to meet her for so long!"

"By the way," Eli turned to orange haired girl curiously, "Is your sister's name Yu-"

*RING RING*

Eli stopped mid-sentence as Honoka scanned her ringing phone. The young girl visibly paled as she read the entourage of messages her phone was receiving.

She groaned. "Oh no…I forgot I was supposed to help my mom at the shop today after school." She looked at everyone apologetically. "I have to go, I'll see you guys on Christmas then ok? I'll bring my sister along!"

With that, she ran off, clutching her school bag and phone as she maneuvered her way through people walking on the streets. Eli rolled her eyes while Kotori giggled.

"Well, at least her running has improved recently" commented Umi.

"That's sounds like so much fun nya! I'll text Kayochin to make sure she's going too!" Rin grabbed her phone and immediately began typing out the message to her best friend.

She, Nico, and Eli were enjoying tea at Umi's house as they got a head start on their vacation homework. Normally, Nico and Rin would wait until the last minute and beg Umi for help, but this time Eli had forced them to get an early start. Umi had invited Honoka too, but she was too busy with her family's shop to tag along. She had already confirmed that she would be attending the Christmas party with her sister, but it didn't seem like she had any time to spare before then.

Nico leaned over towards Rin. "While you're at it…can you try to subtly find out if Maki is going?"

Eli raised an eyebrow as she eyed Nico curiously. Umi asked, "Why's that?"

Nico looked away nervously and mumbled. "Because I think Christmas would be a good day..."

"Good day for what?" Umi asked, looking confused. "I think Christmas will be fun too, especially since all our friends are going."

"I don't think that's what Nico's talking about." Eli smirked slightly as she realized what Nico's plan was. "So Nico, just how long has this been going on?"

"Has what been going on?" Umi looked between Nico and Eli who ignored her.

"Ever since I met her really…when she gave me a ride home I asked for her phone number and we've been keeping in contact ever since. Well, I'm always the one to start the conversations, but she always responds!"

"Isn't it common courtesy to respond?" said Umi frowning.

"Have you two seen each other since then?" asked Eli.

"Yeah once…I invited her to the movies one day and we went."

"You and Nishikino-san?" Umi asked starting to get annoyed that she seemed to be missing something.

"Yeah." Nico grinned. "But there's no way she'll be able to resist the great Nico Nico Nii on Christmas of all days!"

"Don't use that to pressure her!" scolded Umi. "But resist what?"

Nico groaned. "Jeez, Umi! Isn't is obvious! I'm going to confess!"

Rin dropped her phone as her jaw dropped from shock. "You're confessing nya?!"

Umi gaped at Nico in shock too. Eli rubbed her forehead in defeat. "You two are so dense. You're lucky your girlfriends took the initiative to start your relationships."

"Girlfriends?" Umi gestured to Rin. "Koizumi-san and Rin are just friends though."

"Nope! Kayochin is my girlfriend!"

Now it was Nico's turn to gape at Rin with Umi following in suit.

"WHAT?" said both girls in unison. Eli laughed at their surprise.

"This time it's not your fault for not noticing. I actually found out on accident."

Rin nodded her head vigorously. "It's true! Eli overheard me while I was talking to Kayochin on the phone!"

Umi frowned. "Why were you keeping it a secret though? You know you don't need to keep anything from us."

"I was going to tell you guys, but I kind of forgot to?"

Nico groaned. "Great. Now I'm the only single one left in our group."

"What about me? I'm single too." Eli said looking annoyed by Nico's statement.

"Sorry Eli, while you may be the most sought after girl in school, you're really not my type."

"I didn't mean it like that" snapped the blond.

"I know, I know. I just love seeing how annoyed you get."

Umi laughed as Eli sighed in defeat. She smiled as she watched her friends continue to chat about Nico's upcoming confession. Nico apparently wanted to something special for Maki but didn't know what to do. The dark haired girl sighed happily as she realized that Kotori had brought happiness to not only her, but her close friends as well. Rin had found Hanayo, and Nico and had found Maki, Umi grinned at the thought of them together. It really did seem like fate.

"Oh! Rin-chan just sent me a message about a Christmas party?" Hanayo looked up at Kotori who was sitting cross legged in front of her with a dress on her lap as she prepared a needle with thread.

Hanayo and Maki were at Kotori's house helping her finish up some last minute designs for an upcoming fashion show. Maki wasn't the best at sewing, but she was the perfect size to act as Kotori's model for the clothes. She acted as her model while the Kotori made adjustments to the garments. Hanayo on the other hand, was gifted with neat stitches and would often help Kotori with simple needlework whenever she was behind on her work. The taupe haired girl had been enjoying spending her time with her girlfriend so much that she had put off her fashion work. It was crucial that she finished the designs soon, because the beginning of a new year was approaching and with it came an entourage of fashion shows and new year trends.

"Oh yes! I was going to tell you two about it today, but I guess it just slipped my mind." Kotori started sewing the blouse as she spoke. "Are you two interested?"

"Well of course! I'll tell Rin-chan that I'm going then!"

A muffled voice asked. "Will Nico be going?" Maki pulled a blouse down and turned in a circle. "Kotori, I don't think this needs any adjustments. It fits perfectly."

Kotori frowned and put down the clothing she was working on. She examined the blouse from all angles while Maki stood perfectly still, knowing how to from all the experience she had helping her friend.

"Maybe…" murmured the designer, seemingly deep in thought.

"Maybe for what? The blouse or Nico?"

"Huh? Oh the blouse. It might need some slight adjustments…" Kotori continued to eye it with her trained designer's eye, "I'm not sure if Nico-chan's coming for sure. Umi-chan was going to invite her but I don't know what her response was."

Hanayo looked up from her work. "Why are you so curious about Nico-chan?"

"I'm not!" Maki crossed her arms and looked away. "It was just a question. It didn't mean anything."

Kotori lightly swatted Maki's arms, motioning her to uncross them as she made some adjustments to the sleeves.

"Are sure about that? I mean, you specifically asked about Nico…" Hanayo eyed the now blushing model.

"Y-yeah, of course."

Kotori smiled widely. "Oh Maki-chan! You have a crush on her don't you!"

"W-what? I do not!" sputtered Maki, her face growing increasingly hotter.

"It's ok I didn't really expect you to admit it."

"I d-do NOT!"

"It's ok to like someone Maki-chan! Look at Rin and me! We liked each other for years and now we couldn't be happier now that we're finally an official couple!"

"Well that's different…you and Rin were like made for each other."

"And you and Nico aren't?"

"Well no…I mean she's different."

Kotori frowned. "Different from you? That's a good thing. You wouldn't want to be dating yourself would you?"

"Well no…but she can do so much more that I can. She can sing, dance, cook, clean, take care of her siblings wonderfully…she's like superwoman or something."

"And? Those are wonderful traits Maki-chan…I don't really see the problem here."

Maki sighed in frustration. "Well, I mean…I can't do any of that. All I can do is study and get good grades." She looked down at herself wearing Kotori's handiwork, "And I guess I look good in fashionable clothes too…"

Hanayo rolled her eyes. "No you don't. You look gorgeous! And I am sure Nico likes you just the way you are. Why else would she be always initiating conversations with you? I bet she was the one that asked for your number too."

"Well yeah she was. Wait, how did you know that she's always texting me?"

Kotori grinned. "You're just too obvious Maki-chan."

Maki's face burned as a bright pink flush spread across her cheeks.

"S-Shut up."

Both Hanayo and Kotori burst out laughing.

"You're too cute Maki-chan!"

Maki looked away in annoyance. "S-So is she going or not?"

"Well I already told you, I don't know for sure," Kotori grinned mischievously, "I will definitely find out though!"

"So Umi-chan, do you have the final count on who's coming? I want to reserve the karaoke room as soon as possible for the party." Kotori looked at Umi expectantly as Umi walked her home from their date.

"Well, both Honoka and Eli are bringing their sisters…so that makes four, plus Rin and Nico, which makes six."

"Oh! Nico is going? For sure?"

Umi nodded, "Yeah. By the way, has Nishikino-san confirmed if she's going?"

Kotori grinned and pulled out her phone and began typing quickly. "Yes, she has!"

"So, Minami, have you noticed anything with Nishikino-san? Anything different?"

"Different? Well…what kind of different?"

Umi scratched her head nervously, "Oh I don't know, like romantically different? Like has she shown any hints that she might like someone?"

Kotori stopped walking. "Why would you ask that? Do you know someone that likes her?" Her eyes flashed excitedly and she took a step towards her girlfriend. "Is it someone I know? Someone close to you that happens to be very passionate about singing and dancing?"

"….Ummm…that's very specific but maybe?" Umi looked uncertain. She didn't want to betray Nico by telling Kotori, but at the same time, since Kotori was friends with Maki, getting her on Nico's side would be beneficial to the short up and coming idol.

"Yay!" Kotori jumped up and down and twirled excitedly. She grabbed Umi's hand and giggled. "I love her so much" thought Umi as she admired Kotori's cuteness.

"This is perfect!"

Umi raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"

Kotori just giggled and winked. "It is!"

Soon the long-awaited holiday arrived, bringing with it a gentle snowfall to accentuate the holiday spirit. The colored lights that littered the streets reflected off the snow, creating a beautiful array of colors. People bustled busily in the streets, rushing to buy last minute purchases for their loved ones, while exhausted employees smiled gratefully at the clock as closing hour approached. It was the same for the Kousaka's sweet shop, with two young girls packaging the last sweets of the night, not the for their customers, but for their friends. Honoka wiped her forehead with towel gratefully, glancing at the empty displays.

"Looks like we completely sold out this year! Good thing I separated some sweets for the party." The orange haired girl beamed. "Time to finally get out of this shop and join the fun! You take the longest to get ready Yukiho, so I'll close everything up and clean a little bit before I get ready."

Yukiho grinned. "Oh I wouldn't worry about me taking forever. Shouldn't you spend some time getting ready too? Isn't that girl you confessed to going to be at the party?"

Honoka pouted. "I told you to forget about that! She and I are just friends now, I told you that. Plus, her girlfriend is an old friend of mine from middle school so I care about both them too much to even think about dating her."

"Alright alright. I'm just saying, just because you got rejected doesn't mean you shouldn't look presentable."

"I can still look presentable when I hurry!"

The younger girl rolled her eyes. "Sure you can. Just hurry up, we don't want to be late." She paused as she began to leave the room. "Your friends…they're nice right? They don't mind that you're bringing me along? I mean they don't even know me…and I'm younger…I'm not even in high school yet."

Honoka rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly Yukiho, they're happy you're coming! They're excited to meet you! Plus, I've been dying to introduce you to all them. They were all really supportive of me during the sports festival when I was forced to participate in the relay. You'll like them! And I think one of my friends is bringing her sister too, although I don't know how old she is since I haven't met her. I do know that she's younger though."

Yukiho grinned. "Yay! Ok, at least I'll have someone to talk to. Hopefully your friend's sister is nice."

"She must be if she doesn't mind listening to Nico talk about herself all day." Honoka grimaced. "But I'm sure you'll like Nico too, you like idols and Nico is obsessed with idols so you will be fine."

"Ok, I'm going to hurry and get ready then so that we won't be late. You should hurry too! I don't want to make a bad first impression on your friends or make them think that I was the one that made you late."

"We still have enough time. My friend scheduled it pretty late because there were a few of us that had some work to do before we could head over. Plus, I think that was the only time slot available when she reserved the karaoke room."

"Oh good! I was worried we would be too late to try some of your friend's baking. I always steal some from the stuff you bring home and its tastes amaaaaaazing!"

"Yukiho!"

Yukiho laughed and began running up the stairs that led to their rooms. "Whoops! I never meant to tell you haha!"

After about thirty minutes Yukiho came running down the stairs again dressed in warm stockings and low heeled boots. She twirled in her skirt in front of a mirror quickly before checking her makeup. Christmas was a special occasion, so she felt excited to dress up a bit. Honoka descended the stairs shortly after, wearing a similar outfit except with flat boots and a beanie covering the top of her head. Like Yukiho, she looked flushed and excited to leave.

"All ready Onee-chan?"

"Ready!"

The sisters entered the cool dark night, gasping as their skin adjusted to the lower temperature. Their cheeks flushed from the cold, but they still clutched their packaged sweets and continued down the road towards their destination. They chatted aimlessly, with Honoka finally having an opportunity to talk to her sister about her time in boarding school since that last time she had returned home. Yukiho told her older sister about her best friend and crush who also lived nearby, she also sheepishly confessed that she had used Honoka's amusement park tickets to take her crush and her sister, along with her sister's friends to park. The older girl had whined and complained for an entire block before Yukiho finally agreed to pay her back at some point, to which Honoka had readily agreed and ceased complaining.

"So what was it like taking your crush and her sister out? I mean I'm assuming all of her sister's friends were older than you, weren't they? And you seemed to be a bit nervous about coming with me today because of my friends are older."

She sighed in response. "Yeah, they are older, but…they're really nice. I got to know them a little bit more that day and they're really nice. They're actually your age I think."

"Really? Do you know what school they go to?"

Yukiho shook her head. "No, I never got to see them in their uniform, and I never really thought about asking either."

"I wonder if they go to my school? Haha imagine I actually knew them?"

"That would be way too weird," Yukiho rolled her eyes, "Besides…I heard that one of them isn't really popular with girls at least. So, I doubt that even if she went to your school that you would have heard of her."

"Oh, I see."

"But then again, Arisa noticed her." Yukiho sighed. "Well, she is really sweet though. I have nothing bad to say about her even if I wanted to. She was nice to me, even though she really didn't know me. I hate to say this, but I have the best love rival ever. I must admit though, she is pretty once you look past the scowl."

"Best love rival ever? That's an interesting title…and I don't know why but the name Arisa really rings a bell…" Honoka went silent, struggling to remember where she had heard that name before.

"Oh no, I said that out loud…I can't tell Arisa's secret. Even though Honoka doesn't know Umi or Arisa…it would be betraying Arisa's trust."

"But never mind my crush. What about yours? I know you said not to mention it, but I mean she is coming tonight. And you have an obligation to tell me who she is so I can get a good take on who is this mystery girl that stole my sister's heart!

"Yukiho! I told you, we're just friends now!"

"I know, but that doesn't mean you don't have to tell me who she is." Yukiho pouted. "I want to know who you confessed to!"

Honoka sighed. "Alright, I'll give you some sort of a signal to indicate it's her then. Or maybe I should just tell you her name. Ok, her name is-"

"Oh look we're here!" Distracted, Yukiho began to skip ahead towards the building, "Come on Honoka! I can't wait to feel warm air again!"

"Coming!" Honoka jogged up to the building, following her younger sister, the previous talk forgotten as the excitement of the party kicked in.

As they entered, they shrugged off their coats and check in at the front the desk. Honoka stepped forward the man behind the counter.

"Hi! Merry Christmas! We're here for the party under Kotori Minami. Can you tell us which room it's in? We might be a little bit early…"

Yukiho frowned. "Minami-san? That was Sonoda-san's girlfriend's name wasn't it? No, it can't be…"

"Honoka-chan!" squeaked a voice from the building's entrance. "You made it! And…Yukiho? What are you doing here? It's good to see you again!"

The girl with red brown hair turned slowly to face the newcomer. She instantly recognized the taupe haired girl as her love rival's girlfriend, Umi, who was also approaching. Trailing behind them was the Ayase sisters, with their blond hair and striking blue eyes. Yukiho's eyes widened as she watched her older sister rush over to greet Arisa and her friends. As Arisa approached, her eyes also widened to match Yukiho's, surprise clearly etched on her face. Eli's lips formed a knowing smile as she glanced first at Yukiho, and immediately flicked her eyes over Honoka. She knew she had guessed correctly about the two girls with the last name Kousaka.

"W-what? Kotori? Arisa and Ayase-san? Sonoda-san?!"

Honoka turned around to face her sister again. "Wait, how do you know them?"

Eli smirked. "We met under some interesting circumstances."

Yukiho smiled sheepishly. Honoka looked even more confused.

"Allow me to clarify." Eli said, clearly enjoying the situation while everyone seemed to still be processing what Yukiho's presence with Honoka meant. "Your sister was nice enough to give us tickets to an amusement park the last time she visited. From what I can see, she and my sister Arisa are really close friends."

"Oh!" Kotori clapped her hands. "How funny! Yeah, we actually met Yukiho a long time ago Honoka-chan! I didn't know she was your sister though! I should have thought about it though, I mean you do have the same last name…"

Umi smiled warmly at her girlfriend. "I don't think any of us ever considered it. I never realized what a small world this is." She looked up Yukiho and smiled at her too. "I'm glad to see you again, it has been a while."

Arisa walked over to Yukiho shaking her head in disbelief. "Who would have known that our sisters were actually already friends?"

Yukiho grinned in response, finally getting over the shock. "I know! But here, I would like you to meet my sister Honoka." She turned to Honoka. "Onee-chan, this is Arisa, you know, my best friend I told you about."

The orange haired girl's eyes widened slightly as she realized Yukiho's implication. "Oh it's so nice to meet you! Yukiho is always talking about you! I know how special you are to her!" She gave an obvious wink. Eli mentally groaned.

"It's nice to meet you too Kousaka-san!" chirped the younger girl.

"Onee-chan said that the girl she confessed to was going to be here…" Yukiho looked over the chatting girls, her eyes falling on the blond beauty who stood talking to Honoka amiably. "Is it Ayase-san? It has to be! She's so pretty and cool…but wait, isn't that bad?! I like Arisa, and my sister like Arisa's sister? It's like straight out of some cheesy ecchi manga or something!"

"Yukiho!"

The girl in question blinked as she emerged from her thoughts. Honoka was giving her a pointed look.

"I was just telling you, that Umi here was the one that helped me the most for the relay. You know the one that spent extra time to train me?"

Eli forced herself not to cringe at Honoka's lack of subtlety. She glanced at her favorite couple to make sure they weren't uncomfortable with this topic. Thankfully, both Umi and Kotori were completely oblivious.

"The one that…" Yukiho trailed off as processed Honoka's emphasized words.

"NO. Sonoda-san?! Sonoda-san is THE ONE?! My love rival…no…my love rival is also my sister's crush? The person she confessed to?" Yukiho's thoughts flooded her head as she realized how small the world really was. She looked at Umi in awe and said, "You're really something else aren't you Sonoda-san?"

Umi tilted her head in confusion. "I am? I mean I didn't think I spent that much extra time with your sister. It's something any teammate would do, or at least should do."

Kotori giggled. "Nope! Not everyone, just you Umi-chan!"

Honoka nodded in agreement.

"Sonoda-san…you have no idea." thought Yukiho.

"Let's get inside everyone, they should be serving us some drinks soon!"

At Kotori's announcement, the whole grouped left to their room, excited to begin the day's festivities.

They passed the evening laughing and singing, with Yukiho and Arisa laughing along with their sisters and friends. All the girls were natural singers, scoring well on each song. It was Yukiho's and Arisa's first time doing karaoke, so they were shy at first, but the enthusiasm of the group encouraged them to step out and try a song for themselves. They were all clearly in the Christmas spirit, and everyone was a bit more hyper than usual, as if they all had a surging sugar rush. Yukiho laughed at Rin and Honoka's antics and watched as they went out of their way to annoy Eli. She had never seen this playful side of the older Ayase sister, so it surprised her when she winked at her as Honoka lunged towards the blond to 'find her tickle spot.' Eli dodged her easily, causing the older Kousaka to crash into a waiting Rin instead. Tears gathered at Arisa's eyes as she laughed at their predicament. Kotori and Umi stayed close together the entire night, Umi shielding Kotori from any of Rin's pranks, and always tending to Kotori's every need. She noticed that Arisa had barely glanced at Umi the entire night, and instead kept stealing glances at her. Yukiho blushed whenever this happened, and her heart fluttered with excitement of the prospect of Arisa finally responding to her feelings. Hanayo would always laugh nervously whenever Rin would get out of hand, and was always able to tone the eccentric girl down by simply talking to her with her sweet soothing voice. Maki, on the other hand seemed on edge the entire night, with her finger tapping against her knee as she watched Nico dominate the karaoke mic. While she did seem to the be in high spirits like the rest of the girls, there were times where she would get quiet and twirl her hair with her finger. It was almost as if she was nervous for something, and just by her body language, it was obvious it had to do with the eccentric raven haired girl that sang more karaoke than anyone else. Kotori and Hanayo would take turns sitting next the Maki, and slightly nudge her at times, but she always just blushed and turned her head away from them after stealing a glance at the pigtailed idol. Whenever Nico sang any sort of romantic lyric, she would make an obvious gesture towards Maki to indicate that the lyric was for her. The red haired beauty would simply blush and look away again. Finally, to everyone's surprise, Maki stood up, her face red but determined and said,

"Let me sing a song, Nico-chan."

Nico grinned widely, and held out the karaoke mic to her. Kotori began to clap excitedly while Umi raised her eyebrows. Eli looked impressed.

"Well this should be interesting."

This time, when Maki got to a romantic lyric she faced Nico and sang it to her, as if she was determined to convey her feelings with her lovely, feminine voice. Nico seemed dumbfounded, but with a soft push from Umi stepped forward and took the took Maki's hand that was holding the mic and pulled the mic closer to her, so that the two girls were both holding it at the same time. She sang with Maki too, while Maki's nerves began to get the better of her. Before the she could tear away from Nico, Nico gave her a wink. That wink seemed to calm her and smiled gratefully and was able to power through the rest of the song confidently with Nico singing along. The entire group cheered loudly, as the two girls finished the song. Maki looked bewildered and genuinely surprised at what she had done, but Nico just looked excited. She grabbed Maki's hand and squeezed, causing yet another blush on the young girl's cheek. A knock on the door silenced the entire group as an employee poked their head in.

"Hey, just letting you know, ten minutes until your time for the room is up. We'll be closing soon so please be ready to leave the room by then."

Once the employee left the room, Rin let out a loud sigh.

"Way to kill the mood nya!"

Everyone laughed in response and began to gather their things and quickly eat the rest of the food. There wasn't much left, mostly the snacks the venue had provided, since everyone preferred the homemade food and desserts that Kotori, Honoka, and Hanayo had brought. Once they were ready to leave, Nico held her out her hand to Maki, who took it happily and let her lead her out of the room. Kotori clapped her hands at the sight and smiled up at Umi triumphantly, who nodded in return with a serene smile on her face.

When the group exited the building, there was a new couple among them. Nico and Maki emerged holding hands, Maki looking as if she might melt from both embarrassment and happiness, while Nico looked as if she couldn't believe what was happing.

"Best Christmas ever." Declared Nico, squeezing Maki's hand a little bit.

With a blush, Maki responded with a nod.

Everyone else chatted with each other, recounting the highlights of the night and laughing at the same jokes all over again. The group stopped in front after a few steps from the entrance, looking up in awe. In front of them, was a giant Christmas tree, as tall as the two-story building they had just left. When they first had entered the building, the tree appeared to be plain, but now it was covered in bright colored lights that hugged the tree, swirling around the body to the top where a giant, bright, golden star was perched at the tip of the tree. The girls looked at the tree in wonder, the lights giving a soft and warm aura as they flickered with the wind.

"I think I've heard of this tree before. Is this the tree with the legendary tree topper?"

Everyone turned to Eli as she spoke. She looked at them questioningly.

"Have you guys never heard of it? You know, the story about that one couple?"

"About a couple nya? That does sort of ring a bell…" said Rin squinting her eyes as she tried to remember.

"Well anyways, supposedly, this couple was walking along the street when one of them said they would love to be able to touch the star. The other, wanting to please their significant other, climbed the tree to get the star to bring to her. From then on, the star has been the symbol of love, and a good luck charm for relationships."

"Wait…that it?" said Maki looking completely unimpressed. She twirled her finger around her hair. "That story just seems so…anticlimactic."

Eli nodded in agreement. "I always thought so too, but Arisa has always loved that story. Right Arisa?"

Her little sister blushed and nodded furiously. "It's so romantic! I mean climbing this tree is frightening, dangerous, and hard! But it was done to give happiness to a loved one!" Arisa sighed. "But it just seems so impossible you know? Amazing, but impossible…"

"Uwaaa! When you put it that way, it does sound super romantic!" Honoka also sighed wistfully.

Umi looked at Kotori lovingly. "Minami, do you want-"

"I'm going!" cried Yukiho, completely interrupting Umi and running towards the tree.

"EHHHH?" Everyone stared at Yukiho in awe.

"Well, there goes my idea." said Umi chuckling.

Kotori giggled. "Well, we don't really need it. I think we are perfect just the way we are. But maybe it'll give Yukiho an extra little push."

Arisa stood frozen as she watched Yukiho jump on the tree. She couldn't believe it. Was Yukiho getting the star for her? Her face turned red but she couldn't help the smile that graced her lips. She now knew. She had known for a while, that Yukiho held her affection. It wasn't about Umi anymore, it was about Yukiho. Whenever she imagined holding someone's hands, or imagined making Valentine's day chocolates for someone, it was always her best friend that she pictured. She was worried that she had only paid attention to her because of her broken heart over Umi, so she had hesitated to talk to Yukiho about her feelings. She knew her best friend still had feelings for her, and she was so thankful for the patience she had while she sorted out her thoughts. Immense guilt also surged her body as she worried that Yukiho was putting herself in a dangerous position just to impress her, just to win her heart, when she already had.

Honoka hooted loudly for sister, jumping up and down as she cheered her on. Maki just watched on, looking impressed. Nico grumbled, and complained that Yukiho was making her look bad. Rin was also cheering loudly while Hanayo squeezed her arm from nervous anticipation. Finally, Arisa looked up at where Yukiho was climbing and called to her.

"Yukiho! I already like you!"

At that statement, Yukiho turned her head in shock and lost her grip on branch. Eli snapped her attention to her sister in bewilderment, shocked at her sudden boldness. Umi, noticing Yukiho's predicament called out in encouragement.

"Almost there! You can do it!"

Now more determined than ever, Yukiho began to climb faster towards the star. As she reached it, she extended her arm until her hands wrapped around the gold topper and yanked it out of place triumphantly.

"Wait." Maki said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her instead of the victorious climber on the Christmas tree.

"Isn't this stealing?"

Arisa smiled down at her phone screen, rubbing at the fingerprint at the screen. Her screen displayed a photo of her with Yukiho, carrying the star between them. Once Yukiho had returned to the ground, they took the picture happily, with Umi urging them to hurry before anyone noticed they had the tree topper. Umi said she would disregard the whole stealing aspect of it just this once, in order to respect Yukiho's determination to get the star. Eli had simply given Yukiho a nod of approval and seemed to agree with Umi. Nico and Maki also took a picture with the star, since they too were a new couple. Nico had teased Yukiho about making her look bad, making the younger girl even more proud of her actions. Arisa giggled at the memory. The young blond stood to walk towards her prized possession, where it lay on her desk, the metal reflecting the moonlight brilliantly. She delicately picked it up, smiling as she replayed the nights event one more time in her mind.

She finally whispered softly.

"Harasho."

I hope you liked it! I will be updating more often since I finally have time :)

If you're interested, please check out my other story "Don't Tell Maki". I will be updating that very soon!

Thanks for sticking with me, and please leave a review! I miss reading those, they used to always motivate me to write.

Until next time!