Date: December 24

Location: Shibuya

Current Objective: None

It was snowing and the temperature was starting to drop even more than it had when winter started! Luckily I actually went home to get a coat. It was a dark peacoat. Though, I didn't have my have my usually I'M SOOC hoodie on. The reason for this was that Futaba Sakura was currently wearing it under her aviator's coat. "Man, it cold fast."

"Your telling me…" Futaba moved uncomfortably as we kept walking around Shibuya. That could be because she was wearing her shorts. I smiled at her though, she seemed very upset about the weather. "So are you going to tell me where we are going yet?"

"Nope!" I smirked evilly now. We had just saved the world, now we were going to have try and keep Morgana's disappearance off of our mind. So, I did the best thing that I could do. I was going to have the best Christmas Eve I could with my girlfriend. Me and Futaba had been going out for just over three months now. We hadn't had the best time since then, with Akira being caught, finding out that Goro Akechi was the perpetrator of the mental shut downs, and his suspected death in Shido's Palace, then fighting a false god on Christmas Eve and losing a friend at the same time…

I didn't want to think about all that though. So, I took all those thoughts and moved them to the back of my mind as I looked down at the smaller redhead who had her cheeks puffed out at me. "That's not fair!"

"Hey, I don't have to be fair when it comes to this, my MC!" I kept my evil grin on face as she turned her head away from me in fake offense.

"Fine, but I'll figure this out before too long, my Rival!" I felt my heart melt a bit due to her warm smile. If my cheeks weren't already a little red from the cold, they were now. Apparently, Futaba didn't notice at all. Which I was slightly thankful for, I would never hear the end of it if she saw that. I knew where we were going. My plan was brilliant… or, at least I hoped it was. I needed to walk Futaba around randomly, then play music in her headphones while I blindfolded her.

Honestly, we didn't need to walk aimlessly, but I wanted to just walk with her for a bit. Since it was Christmas Eve, there were Christmas lights everywhere. Being that she had been a shut in for a few years now, I thought that it would be fun for us to go and see it. Plus, I could get a good few pictures while we were out. We were already heading back to Shibuya Station. Futaba looked to me with a raised eyebrow. "Why did you just lead us in a circle?"

"Mostly just to spend extra time with you." Now I could see that she was blushing. I smirked at her and pointed to my ears. "Well, I would ask for you to play some music in those headphones."

Futaba glared at me while barely being able to hold in a smile. "Oh, going to lead me down a labyrinth my Rival?"

I chuckled at the thought of me dropping Futaba into a place like Mementos when she still had her Persona abilities! She would have been out of there in just a few minutes! She also just so happened to have a photographic memory. "Something like that, but you should also close your eyes until I say so."

"Fiiiine." Futaba turned to me with a big smile on her face as she took a few steps forward and spun around to look at me. "But, we have to finish off the night by watching my favorite anime and I want fried chicken!"

I started laughing at her request, we hadn't really had much time to just relax recently. Honestly, it was a change of pace that I was completely OK with. "I think after our day… that would be amazing. So, let's just do that after this."

"Yes!" Futaba did her adorable little victory stance that she did when something that went her way. She would lean forward a bit and bend her arms in close to her head. She chuckled a bit as well. "Best reward yet!"

Once we made it to the station, Futaba started to listen to music and closed her eyes as she lightly wrapped herself around my arm. Her added warmth felt comforting and really helped me feel better. There was a lot we would have to deal with, but we were going to save that for later. I was just glad to be getting lost in the moment. I knew I was dwelling on the past, and I knew that was my biggest issue, so I only had to remember that the present would define me more than the past. So, yeah… getting lost in this moment in particular felt really nice.

Though… boarding the train was interesting due to Futaba not looking at where we were going… I uh, may not have planned this out the best. That realization came up after the third time Futaba bumped into someone. Still, she kept her promise and kept her eyes closed so she couldn't see where we were going. Though, this gave me a good idea at the effect we had on everyone. Especially since the conversations would continue immediately after we apologized. The people all around us were talking about a few things.

Yeah, there were a lot of conversations. Some of them were on random things like, where someone should meet them, or where a couple should eat. Most of them though, were about Shido's scandal. People actually wanted him to be held accountable this time, I guess it was difficult for me not to dwell, huh? Old habits die hard after all.

There was one more thing that I noticed every time we bumped into someone… Futaba clung tighter to my arm. She was completely trusting me with this. Dammit… I hope she loved this… Finally getting on the train, we got super lucky and found two open seats near the doors. As I sat down, I could hear the music in Futaba's headphones. "I'm not an AI robot challenging you." Life Will Change was a very appropriate choice for the day.

It took a bit, but finally, we got to Ebisu. It took a few more minutes of walking, but once we were where I wanted us. I shook Futaba's arm loose from my grip. I was able to slip away and get to the perfect distance as she looked down to pause her music. I held my camera up just in time for her to see where we were.

Click click! I got the image of Futaba's eyes growing wide and her mouth dropping slightly. There were a few out of focus snowflakes in the frame, but none covered up her face. The background was slightly blurred due to the fact that I didn't have any time to focus the shot, but the bokeh shot looked great! The lights behind her just perfectly outlining both sides of her face. There was a twinkling in her eyes that I had managed to capture as well.

It really helped that I had taken her to the Ebisu Garden Place. One of the most popular places in Tokyo for Christmas Eve. With its Christmas trees lining the the walkways, it was a breathtaking sight in person. Plus the restaurants made it a popular place for couples on Christmas Eve, which showed due to the number of couples here. And judging by Futaba's reaction, it was a good idea to bring her here. "I-it's amazing!"

I returned to a relaxed stance, a gentle smile on my face now. "So, did you figure it out?"

She turned away from me with an embarrassed look on her face. Ha! I had won this round! "I… I had an idea, I just didn't realize you would actually bring me here…"

Moving closer to her, I knew what she meant, there were times that we didn't feel like a couple. We still felt like friends, but I loved that the most. That gentle smile never left my face. "Of course I would, the world's greatest Main Character deserves the greatest Christmas Eve."

She started to blush even more than earlier. Her face was almost the same color as her hair. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that. Though, she was about to turn it back on me… go figure. "Well… it helps that I have the best boy… boyfriend…"

Like I said, she had turned it on me, and she did so in one motion. I stammered backwards, my face bright red. I think my face really did match her hair now. "W-well… that helps…"

We stood there in an awkward silence for a moment, the only thing that could be heard were those of the city. After a few minutes, I moved even closer to Futaba and reached out a hand to grab hers. She looked back up to me with wide eyes. "Hisoka?"

I smiled at her, this was what I wanted. I always wished for Futaba's happiness, even when we didn't know each other by our real names, but our online names. "Come on… let's go get that chicken you wanted."

Her face lite up like… well, a Christmas tree. "Yes! Oh, Christmas cake as well!"

I couldn't help but laugh at that as well. She was suddenly very excited. I wanted to keep her in this mood. It was going to be a fun night at this rate. It was already a very fun night as it was, but at this rate, it was only going to become even more fun. "OK, OK, I have enough money from Sojiro. So, let's get the best Christmas cake and the best fried chicken!"

TAKE YOUR TIME

We had finally made it back to my house. Opening the door to the dark home, it was clear that Mitsu was not home, I had an idea where she was. Though, Futaba was more or less focused on what hadn't happened. "Curse you, Christmas! I was really hoping for some cake or fried chicken, but there were long lines everywhere!"

I smiled at the girl's frustrated expression. There were a lot of people out this Christmas year, and I couldn't tell you why either. "Well, we were a bit late to the party. So, let's just chill."

"Good plan!" Her face moved into the form of a bright smile that warmed my heart a bit. "But still… The world should be thanking the Phantom Thieves! I'd love a few under the table donations!"

I chuckled at that one as well. "You have been looking at that new PC recently. Plus, I could use a few upgrades too." I patted my old camera hanging around my neck. We ended moving up to my room, sitting down on the bed, we were facing the TV. Futaba had taken off my hoodie which was with my coat, draped over my desk chair. Leaving me in a plain black shirt.

"I wonder how many couples are out there tonight." Futaba was in her usual sitting position. Her feet her up close to her. Her knees were up to her chest and she was leaning forward. "It, um… kinda feels like we're getting swept up in the romantic atmosphere."

I smiled at the girl. Her voice was softer than it usually was. I scooted closer to Futaba, we were really close at this moment, something that we both had gotten used to by this point. Though, it was still a tad foreign to us. Especially to Futaba, who until recently… was not able to deal with people outside of Sojiro, her adoptive dad. As for me… well, having a girlfriend was a relatively new development in my life. It was odd for me to be with her, but also natural as well. "I wouldn't mind getting swept up in it…"

"O-OK…" Futaba started to blush and smile as well. "So, the anime…"

"O-oh!" We moved to start watching the show. It was a show about a character that was powerless in a powered world. After about the third episode, Futaba press the button on the control.

"Oh, before I forget…" Futaba pulled out a small box from her coat. It was a pair of headphones. It was a Phantom Thief branded headphones. I smiled, it was a very good memento to have. I was speechless… "Here. No matter how old you are, it's always great getting a gift, huh?"

"I-it is…" I closed my eyes, I did have something that I could give her. Something special to both of us. I reached over to a picture frame on my desk. I smiled at the picture, it was a picture of Akira, our friend and leader of the Phantom Thieves, Sojiro, my aunt and guardian, Mitsu, Futaba, and me, eating dinner for the first time. "I figured, that it you would like this. I only just got it printed and framed…"

"H-Hisoka…" Futaba gently took the object from my hands. I could see just how much this present made her happy. "Thank you Hisoka… this means so much to me…"

"I'll treasure these as well." I tightly gripped the headphones and Futaba put the picture close to her chest. Smiling even brighter now, which was something that I didn't think was possible at this point.

"I'm glad you're glad…" Her face became serious now. "So, um… The present was important and everything…" Futaba shook her head and place her right hand under her chin. I was content to sit here and listen to her. "But this Shido incident is blowing up on the web. Threads are popping up all over the place… And… they're talking about the Phantom Thieves too."

I knew where this was going, it had been a fear of ours since we started going out… "...I'm worried. There are cameras everywhere in the city. It feels like they're always watching… I mean, if we get separated, then…!"

I stopped her by quickly wrapping my arms around her. I knew it, she was scared… I mean, Akira had been captured once, nothing said that we couldn't be again… I gripped her tightly. "I will never let that happen Futaba…"

"H-Hisoka…" After a moment or two, I felt her arms wrap around me. Her grip was tight, it felt like she was never going to let me go. I wouldn't mind that right now. I felt her slowly started to shake and I heard her start to sob. "I… I don't… I don't want to lose you too… My… heart… can't take that…"

"I will be here for you." Her sobs continued for a good while. I started to slowly rub her back to try and calm her. I may have been scared as well, but I knew that she didn't need someone who was scared right now. "It's OK, it's OK… I promise you… they will not seperate us… Do you believe me Futaba…?"

"I… I do…" Her breathing began to slow down. After a few minutes, she finally stopped sobbing. She started to pull away from me, so I started to move back to my original position as well, but part way through, she gripped tightly again. Our faces were close now, I could see that her eyes were red from crying, and her cheeks were puffy, and I could see tear trails running down from her eyes as well. "If you ever break that promise… I will be very mad at you!"

I could see that she wasn't lying, nor was she not scared anymore. Though, more than both of those… she was at peace right now. Like earlier, she was content to just be here with me. In that moment, I made a split second decision. I closed my eyes and moved forward. The next thing that I remember, I felt something soft against my lips. I had kissed Futaba for the time in our relationship… She was shocked at first, her eyes wide, but after a moment, her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into it as well.

After what felt like a lifetime, we finally separated. "I won't break that promise ever… If I ever break that promise… I will let you kick my ass from here to Hawaii."

"Good…" She closed her eyes again and placed her forehead against mine. We talked for a while after that. We ended up falling asleep in my bed, arms wrapped around each other.

TAKE YOUR TIME

"I'm going to kick his ass!" Sojiro growled as he looked at Futaba and I in my bed. We still had all our clothes on and there was no sign that anything had happened. Though, that didn't stop him from being over protective. "No, I'm going to kick both of their asses!"

"Sojiro." Mitsu placed a hand on his shoulder, turning him to face her. "It's fine, I mean, look at the day they had. I think they deserve to be left alone for awhile. Don't you?"

Sojiro was still fuming and was still ready to come and kick my ass. Though, he knew that Mitsu was right… They deserved at least one peaceful night of sleep. "Fine… If it happens again though…"

"Then we both kick their asses." Mitsu smirked at the man. She would not let them off easy though. She was going to make sure that they both never heard the end of this! "Anyway… we still have a night that we need to finish…"

Sojiro's eyes widened at that… He, uh… he forgot that as well… He was more focused on his daughter and Mitsu "son." One night… one night is all he would allow. I mean, the kids did just save the world. "Alright, alright… but I'm using the money for his next payment to buy the chicken for tomorrow!"

"Fair enough, now… let's finish this night." Mitsu walked down the stairs ahead of Sojiro, and with a sigh… He followed her down the stairs. Though, under her breath, Mitsu had one more thing to say. "Merry Christmas you two. May they all be this happy for you from now on."

All rights reserved to their rightful owners.

So merry Christmas everybody!

This will be up in two places.

First, as a temporary side chapter to the main story.

Second, as a One-Shot that will be in it's own place.

Finally, after the last dungeon, it will not be counted as a chapter, but it will have a permanent place in the story when we get to Dec. 24th in the story.

Also... yes, you can take this as a conformation of Mitsu x Sojiro.

Plus, you guys get a nice look at Hisoka's and Futaba's future relationship.

Welp, Hope you enjoy. Please send you feedback.

And one more for good measure... MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, and just incase, HAPPY NEW YEAR!