It was just another day, but there was something different about it, and that thing is called snow. The bright little flakes gently floated down from the clouds and told one that the happiest time of the year is now. The calendar read the 16th of December, nine days until Christmas, and only nine days to prepare.

Those were the thoughts of one Asakura Yoh, the fiancé of Kyoyama Anna. He couldn't deny that he lived a somewhat tough life because of her; that was an understatement. Even still, the young man kept a smile on his face. He had a secret that no one else knew: he was in love with Anna.

No one knew his secret, because the youth did an exceptional job of hiding the fact that he even had a secret. He was afraid of what Anna might do to him, because frankly, he thought she was intimidating more often than not. He knew that she had a soft spot somewhere though, and Christmas was just the time to find it.

Nevertheless, it was nearing Christmas, and the decorations hadn't been put up yet, considering Christmas wasn't exactly Anna's holiday. Even still, Yoh got up earlier than normal, which in this case would be around 4 in the morning. He looked across the hall and saw what he hoped to see, Anna sleeping. He thought, 'Let the decorating begin.'

The first thing he did was go outside and find himself a simple tree. After about ten minutes of walking in the snow, Yoh found himself nearly frozen, but with a tree. Carrying it under his arm, he ran back into the house. Unfortunately, he ran into the front door, and Anna was there waiting for him.

Even this early in the morning, Anna would scare anything with that stare of hers. Her eyes were so angry, they could almost kill. The first words out of her mouth were, "And what do you think you're doing?"

Yoh, being a relatively honest guy, said, "Looking for something."

"Oh, like the pine you're failing miserably to hide?"

Defeated, Yoh responded, "Yes," with his head hung low.

"Well get rid of it. I don't want it in the house." And with that, Yoh was forced to get rid of the tree or face the wrath of Anna, a fate worse than hell. He made the right choice, and the tree was gone.

Yoh had to walk back through the snow to put the tree back, and when he returned, he was, if possible, more frozen than before when he returned home the first time. Anna had some concerns, but she didn't show it; she wished to hide it behind her façade of no emotion. Simply, she shook her head in displeasure and said to her fiancée, "Take this; it'll warm you up," as she handed him a cup of hot cocoa.

Yoh smiled and quickly downed the liquid, instantly warming his frozen body. He grinned and asked, "Why didn't you want me to put up the tree?" Quickly Yoh realized that he had asked the wrong question, because Anna, as if on cue, gave him one of her "death glares." Retreating from his point, he said, "Um, never mind," and squirmed away.

After Yoh left the room, Anna sighed. She knew why she wasn't too fond of Christmas. Some might not understand it, but the reason Anna didn't like Christmas was because she never had that special someone to share Christmas with.

Over the next week, Yoh had formulated a plan for what to do to spruce up the inn in which he lived. By the time Christmas Eve Day rolled around, all of Yoh's friends had gathered in the enormous inn, hidden from Anna in the furthest corner of the expansive home, so as not to make her suspicious.

Conveniently, Anna decided to go shopping for groceries on Christmas Eve, as the outburst prone Manta (likely to make up for his lack of height) pointed out. The others shushed him, because they did not want Anna to hear their plotting, lest she return early and unleash all hell upon them.

As Anna returned home, she detected the sound of previously unheard voices. She peered into her home and saw "the gang" gathered and putting up decorations. 'How convenient,' she quickly thought, 'I'll have to take care of them myself. Yoh's going to have a lot of explaining to do.'

"Ahem," she started tapping her foot in an annoyed fashion. Suddenly "the gang" turned around slowly and shaking; they knew that Anna had come back before they had finished and feared for their lives. All she did was stare at them, and they quickly left the inn. "AND STAY OUT!" she yelled after them. As if she were living a paradox, Anna suddenly began to cry and run away.

Yoh, obviously caring for her, quickly followed in pursuit. "Anna!" he called out, "Please stop." All he got in return was a series of sniffles and tears from Anna; Yoh only chased after her faster.

After what seemed like hours, when Yoh finally caught up to Anna, she fell down crying. Yoh quickly disregarded all personal safety and sat down next to Anna, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to show his concern. Softly he asked her, "Anna, what's wrong?"

She sniffled, but then caught her composure and responded, "It's just Christmas for me. I never had that someone to share it with, so I grew away from it; who would want to spend it with someone like me anyways?"

A soft reply of, "I would," shocked Anna to her core.

She turned around and asked, "Really?"

One word greeted Anna's question: "Yes." A small smile graced Anna's face to match Yoh's perpetual grin. "And do you know what else?" he asked her.

"No I don't; tell me."

Yoh pointed to the ceiling and said, "We're under the mistletoe." Then the boy quickly kissed the girl. "Aishiteru Anna-chan. Merry Christmas."

Anna looked back and kissed him back, afterwards saying, "Atashi mo…anta o aishiteru, Yoh-kun. And I say a merry Christmas to you too."