Thinking back, if Yamashita’s house had appeared as a background in a children’s animation, the episodes probably would have been cut during the import process to Korea.
That’s just how Japanese-style this mansion was.
No matter how similar it might be to Han Chinese architecture, honestly, how can you call a space that looks like an exaggerated yakuza hideout a Hanok?
Celebrating Christmas in such a place…
…gotta hand it to them; they must have worked hard.
That was the thought that crossed my mind as soon as I entered the mansion.
Right.
This huge Japanese-style mansion was already decorated in a Christmas style.
It seems Yamashita must have said, “I’m going to celebrate Christmas with my friends,” and his father, Mr. Yamashita Yohei, probably thought, “Then we need to create that atmosphere.”
Honestly, he seems to be a person with no sense of humor, so I doubt he decorated this just for laughs.
“……”
And as we passed through the entrance, Yamashita’s face turned a bit red.
He looked really embarrassed.
Is there really a need to be that embarrassed? After all, our house is also decorated for Christmas.
“Wow!”
Koko exclaimed joyfully. From the sparkle in her eyes, it seemed she liked the shiny decorations on Yamashita’s outfit.
“Meow.”
And Kuro, who was snuggled up with a sulky expression, seemed uncomfortable and cried out.
Maybe it was because all my friends on the way here had patted her head. Kuro sometimes acts like she’s longing for someone, and other times she wants to be left alone. Her mood changed like a cat’s, which was oddly fitting.
Speaking of “my friends,” of course, Yuka came along with us.
She suggested, “Let’s call our friends too.” I did contact some people I knew, but it turned out I was the only one who called anyone.
It was quite coincidental that the members gathered here were the same as from the summer training camp, except for three people.
For reference, the three missing people were Sasaki, Hagiwara, and Nakahara.
“……Hmph. I don’t know guys like you, oh big brother.”
Shii, who had decided to follow me, crossed her arms and turned her head sideways, suggesting that something must have irked her about Sasaki.
Maybe those two made a Christmas promise before Shii did.
Not wanting to get tangled in what seems like a love triangle or whatever weirdness that entailed, I didn’t press further.
We were already kind of in an awkward relationship with Hagiwara anyway.
“Hey, hey, Izumi, this place is totally—”
“Shh, be quiet!”
I heard Kaoru and Izumi whispering to each other.
It seemed Kaoru wanted to say something like, “Isn’t this a yakuza lair?” Yet, Izumi quickly elbowed Kaoru in the ribs. Kaoru made a guh sound and couldn’t speak for a while.
As we walked down the somewhat overly decorated hallway,
“……This is it. Basically, you can hang out here. If you want, I won’t stop you from wandering around.”
Yamashita said with a very dazed expression.
Friends or not, if the yakuza uncles see us playing around in the hallway, it couldn’t be helped.
“……By the way, my dad went out on a date, so you don’t really need to look for him.”
Saying this, Yamashita’s expression became even weirder.
Was he going on a date with Mori?
…It should still be Mori, right? I haven’t heard any news of their wedding.
Anyway, upon following Yamashita’s guidance, we arrived at a very large tatami room.
The distinctive smell of tatami wafted up. They say if it’s not well maintained, it can smell terrible, but judging by the absence of any odors in this room, it seemed like they either cleaned it recently or they were managing it extremely carefully.
I couldn’t quite figure out what this enormous room was used for, but whatever.
The real important thing was the massive tree in the middle of the room.
In the middle of this obviously Japanese-style tatami room stood a large tree, wrapped in the shiny beads from the hallway, with a big star on top shining brightly.
They even strung tiny lights around it. Since the tree was placed in the middle of the room, a pretty long multi-plug was brought over and connected, making the ambiance even more pronounced.
…
Well, I get that they put a lot of effort into decorating, but it really felt like the work of someone who didn’t have much experience with this sort of thing.
Even among yakuza uncles, there are probably many with kids, right?
“Um… this is nice!”
The first one to speak up was Fukuda.
“We have a huge tree back home too. You can barely see the TV from the sofa when you sit down, you know?”
“……”
“……Harumi, I don’t think that helps.”
Seeing Yamashita’s face turn even redder, Mako slapped Fukuda’s arm, and Fukuda quickly zipped his lips.
…Well, that’s fine.
At least there weren’t any uncles in this room. They probably made sure we wouldn’t run into them while wandering around the mansion. Above all, as long as we stayed in here, we’d be good.
“Then…”
In the silence of the room, the first to speak up was Mako, who had experience as a class president.
“Shall we get started?”
“O-oh…”
Kaoru raised one hand to try to hype up the atmosphere, but upon seeing no one follow her cue, she awkwardly lowered her arm again.
Come on, what’s going to happen to the mood?
*
What can we expect, anyway?
Either way, we’re all high school students. My identity may still be stuck in the realm of the uncles, but being among high school girls has taught me a bit about how to match the mood.
Anyway, we brought snacks and drinks of various types into the room, and it did a good enough job of creating a party vibe.
Although it was a very different atmosphere from the Western-style college parties where people stand and wander around with bowls of drinks, this eastern-style sitting-on-the-floor party was just fine.
“Wow, this is delicious! Koko, want to try?”
“Wow!”
Kaoru picked up a piece of chocolate and exclaimed before handing it to Koko, who caught it with her mouth.
The spark in Koko’s eyes made it clear she loved the chocolate without needing to melt it down.
I recognized that brand too. I had tried it before. It wasn’t hard and had a slightly chewy texture… it was a strangely sticky chocolate that reminded me of rice cakes. It seems to be quite a famous brand.
Kaoru likely hadn’t tasted it before; she just went with the vibe.
“Well, at least now that we have a tree, it feels festive,” Fukuda said, gazing up at the large star on top of the tree.
“If we didn’t have it, we’d just be gathering at a friend’s house. It wouldn’t feel any different from usual.”
“……”
But this time, it seemed like Fukuda wasn’t just saying it to flatter; Yamashita’s face turned red, but he didn’t seem particularly offended.
“I like mystery novels too.”
“Really!? We have quite a few stacked in the clubroom. Want me to lend you one? Just come by when you have time; I can assure you we have almost all the famous novels.”
I wondered if they really had that many books. Honestly, I doubt the clubroom has more books than the library.
Well, if it’s a well-known novel, you could just go to the library. The books Izumi was talking about were probably a bit more niche, types of books that weren’t widely known.
“Wasn’t Kotoné and Koko part of the literature club?”
“Yeah, that’s right. How about coming over after school someday? If you have time—”
Maybe because she was talking to a junior, Izumi, usually unable to strike up a conversation with boys, was energetically trying to increase the club membership.
“Hey.”
As I was scanning the room to see how everyone was enjoying themselves, Yuka slightly tapped my arm.
Turning my head towards Yuka, I saw she was gesturing toward one side of the room.
There was Shii.
Differently from the group that was starting to loosen up, Shii seemed a bit down.
Yuka and I exchanged glances and nodded, then headed over to Shii.
“Meow.”
On a whim, I picked up Kuro resting on the floor. She didn’t struggle to escape, but she made a very displeased face.
…I’m grateful she hasn’t fallen ill in the past few months, but I can’t help but wonder if she’s become overly bold as she’s grown.
She was extremely cautious of her surroundings when I first met her.
“What’s wrong?”
As I plopped down next to Shii, it seemed she flinched in surprise, trembling her shoulders slightly.
“Is something going on?”
“Ah…”
And as Yuka sat down beside me and asked, Shii seemed like she was about to say something when she clamped her mouth shut.
“Um, if you don’t want to say it, you really don’t have to.”
Yuka said that.
I plopped Kuro right in Shii’s lap.
“Se-senpai?”
Initially, Shii was a bit flustered, but then she started petting Kuro, who had settled onto her lap.
“Meow.”
Kuro, who had worn a notoriously annoyed expression in my arms, seemed to purr happily and began to rub against Shii’s hand.
“It seems like you like her more than me.”
“W-what? No, that’s not…”
“It’s fine. After all, you used to take care of Kuro.”
That’s right. If I hadn’t taken Kuro with me, that… being, whatever it is, would probably have taken an interest in Shii instead of me.
“Meow.”
Kuro seemed to agree with that by letting out a sound, further aggravating my annoyance. Although she says that, Kuro’s value is something I provide.
“I don’t know what sort of worries you have, but it’s Christmas Eve. Maybe it would be okay to just let everything go for today?”
Yuka’s face looked a bit cheerful when she said that.
That’s true.
Up until now, I spent Christmas with my family.
Well, that’s only natural, and it brings its own joy, but on the other hand, spending Christmas with friends like this is a whole different kind of joy.
“Is that… possible?”
“…Is this related to Sasaki?”
Well, since Shii’s full name is also ‘Sasaki Shii,’ I guess it fits the name, but still, we’d have to have more intersections in our relationship to address Sasaki as ‘Sota.’
Moreover, if I called Sasaki by his first name, Nakahara and Hagiwara would be shocked.
I never intended to be one of those heroine candidates.
“……”
Shii didn’t answer and just looked at me, blushing.
“……”
For some reason, Yuka was also looking at me blankly.
“……”
Even Kuro, who was on Yuka’s lap, was staring at me.
“……What?”
Did I say something weird?
“Uh, no, it’s not like that.”
I tilted my head, and Yuka quickly replied.
“Y-yeah! It’s just that I’ve never thought of it that way. Yes!”
“Meow.”
“……Really?”
Though something felt off about their reactions, I couldn’t find any grounds to doubt them, so I decided to just let the conversation end there.
I could end up saying something odd if I pressed further.
“Kotoné!”
Just at that moment, Koko called for me at the perfect timing.
As I turned around, something was shoved into my mouth.
Sweetness instantly spread through my mouth, followed by the faint bitterness that chocolate is known for.
“How is it?”
With a smile, Koko asked as she pushed a piece of chocolate into my mouth.
I bit into the chocolate. It was dusted with a chocolate powder reminiscent of cocoa, and the chocolate had a chewy texture similar to brownies while dissolving softly.
Indeed, it was incredibly exquisite.
“…It’s delicious.”
“Wow!”
Maybe it was sheer joy that her opinion was agreed upon; Koko raised her hands as if to celebrate.
Just as I was receiving another piece of chocolate from Koko, I spotted Yamashita sneaking out of the room.
Yamashita peeked back in through the door, his usual cool demeanor making him look a bit cute despite his actions. Our eyes met.
Yamashita gestured subtly without opening his mouth; he seemed like he had something to say.
“Hang on, I’ll be right back; I’m going to the bathroom.”
I wiped my mouth free of the chocolate crumbs with my hand and got up.
*
The reason I didn’t mention it to the others was simple.
If he just wanted to call me, he could have simply asked me to talk.
I noticed that even Yuka sitting nearby seemed to have seen Yamashita and quickly diverted Koko’s attention to help me slip out.
As I stepped outside with a quiet expression of thanks, Yamashita carefully closed the door.
“Hang on, come with me.”
If this had been my first time seeing Yamashita today, I would have been really nervous. To be honest, while he might not tanned blonde all the way, Yamashita does fit into the category of ‘gyaru’ type characters.
As someone who was an otaku during my teenage years, I hadn’t really developed a tolerance for people with such… vibes.
Yamashita started walking with me quite a distance from the room.
Is this conversation going to be something no one else can hear?
With a bit of curiosity, I followed him and soon stopped in front of a certain room.
There was a slight feeling of unease in the air.
No, it wasn’t that the room was wrong. This mansion might have been drenched in blood at some point, but it seemed to have been touched up, and there were almost no traces left.
However, this room… could it be that it was the room where I spilled my blood?
Am I associating this atmosphere with some fixed memory lodged deep within my mind?
“…What are you doing here?”
As I blankly stared at the room, Yamashita turned, asking me.
“Uh, nothing.”
And I quickly followed behind Yamashita.
And only then did I realize.
Throughout the mansion, there was a bizarre atmosphere lingering.
Not that there were any yōkai present. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have managed to notice such a feeling while chatting with my friends. I definitely would have felt a chill run down my spine. Yuka must have felt it too.
It was a completely different vibe from when I felt lonely. Rather—
“Here it is.”
But my thoughts were interrupted by Yamashita’s voice.
“This?”
In front of me was a door that looked no different from any other room.
Yamashita took a deep breath as if he was nervous about showing me this.
Could something have been happening inside the mansion? Did Yamashita really learn something about me?
As I pondered various worries, Yamashita swung the door wide open.
And my swirling thoughts flew away the moment I looked into the room.
“……”
“……”
“……”
We fell silent.
Yamashita, I, and the people in the room all stood silently.
In the room… there was ‘Santa.’
Dressed in a festive red Santa outfit and wearing a thick white beard made of cotton, it was Santa.
A yakuza Santa.
“…What do you think?”
“Eh?”
While my mouth hung open in shock, feeling at a loss for words, Yamashita spoke, slightly in a hurry.
“…The Santa who will bring gifts tonight.”
“Ah.”
“…Koko has been looking forward to it.”
Oh, I see.
Hmm.
What should I say about this?
For starters, he’s dressed as Santa.
And it seemed like they picked someone big to recreate the jolly figure of Santa.
The problem is the menacing eyes located between the fluffy white beard and the red hat.
I feel a bit bad saying this. I doubt this uncle intentionally has those eyes.
But still, honestly, I feel like he would make the kids burst into tears if they saw him.
“…What do you think?”
Yamashita asked again.
Could this not have been Yamashita’s idea?
Glancing at the anxious-looking uncles working hard to decorate the room, it felt like Yamashita might actually have received a lot of love in this house.
“…If you just relaxed your eyes a bit…”
In the end, I couldn’t completely overlook their goodwill while giving my evaluation.
Koko isn’t the kind of kid who would be afraid of a large guy dressed in red.
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