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[color=ba2259]“You’re late, Rania.”[/color] Chiaki blinked her eyes in the direction of the dark-skinned girl. Before Touka could make a fuss about yet another newcomer crashing their party, she adjusted her glasses and sighed. [color=ba2259]“Relax. This is Misturi Rania. Another former Detention Club member and my partner.”[/color] Then her eyes scanned the faces in front of her before finally settling on Kanbaru. [color=ba2259]“As well as the previous Code Keeper of the Club. She’s here to attend the festivities. Just like me.”[/color]

[color=springgreen]“A-Ah, well it’s nice to have you b-both here, S-Senpais,”[/color] Touka said, mentally kicking herself. Had she known there were more girls showing up, she might have invested in another candy bowl. [color=springgreen]“E-Er, is there anyone else we should be expecting…Senpai?”[/color] Chiaki was paying her no mind. Instead, the former President was looking at the restaurant clock. 

[color=ba2259]“No. It’s just us for now,”[/color] Chiaki finally responded, taking a taiyaki from the bag and wrapping it in a paper towel. [color=ba2259]“The rest are no longer with us, if that’s what you’re wondering.”[/color] Another glance at the clock, only this time Chiaki was moving her body towards the door. [color=ba2259]“Apologies. I intend to stay longer, but there’s something I have to do right now. Make yourself comfortable in my restaurant, Rania.”[/color]

[color=springgreen]“H-Hey wait, you just got here. D-Don’t you want to-huh? Your restaurant?”[/color] Touka blinked, looking around at the space that had become their party room. The furniture and Chiaki’s words sparked memory in her eyes. [color=springgreen]“O-Oh yeah, Senpai. I wanted to talk to you about the other night when I-”[/color] Though Chiaki was already walking out the door, hurry present in her step. Whatever she had to do was apparently something that needed her full attention. [color=springgreen]“Ah…I can mention her sister later….”[/color]

Outside, the snow had slowed into a small trickle of flakes. Soft to the touch, the scenery could almost count as beautiful or perhaps even nostalgic. Nevertheless, Chiaki wasted no time from taking in the sights or the sensations. Rather, her gaze brought her forward to the gathered meeting spot. In the decrepit portions of Old Miso City, she spotted schools and playgrounds, relics of the past to her. She gave these thoughts and sights only a moment of consideration before moving on.

It wasn’t very long before she had reached their meeting ground, though she kept glancing about, as if to check the time on a clock that wasn’t present. Or perhaps she was self-conscious about being late. Whatever the case, it was just another corner before she entered into the alleyway of choice.

A sectioned off segment leading from the older parts of the city into the newer portions, it was a place of solitude and one where she could speak freely. No one was around, but Chiaki knew full well who would be waiting for her around the corner, waiting in the shadows of the alleyway. The taiyaki had since started to lose its warmth in her papered palm, but perhaps her guest would overlook it? It was a token, as small as it was, to something much greater. Something that couldn’t be retained or given back, now and forever.

Because when Chiaki rounded the corner, what she expected to find wasn’t there. What little warmth she would have found refuge in had been snuffed out and extinguished. Chiaki’s blank expression twitched a little, her eyes widening a fraction behind her glasses. Luna’s lifeless eyes stared back at her. 

A large, red wound crept from the body's right shoulder down to Luna's midsection. The tattoo mark that had once symbolized Luna’s Emblem was faded, barely recognized under the layer of red. The girl’s body had been left where it had fallen, cold and abandoned like the rest of the alleyway’s trash. [color=ba2259]“Luna….”[/color] Chiaki approached the body with slow, shaky steps, before collapsing to her knees.

In Miso City, the winters were cold and the hearts were ever colder. Among the values of love and friendship, miracles and wishes, there were always despair and spite. There would always be curses. And for every wish, those curses were traded in equal place. Perhaps for all on Christmas day, the city had gotten just that much colder.
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