MP100 Secret Santa 2017!

to: @especially-espers

from: @starblastrz !!

From: @sarroli

To: @patheticnyas

From: @mysteriousknifedad

To: @flovvey From: @pickledylans

Happy Holidays! I know this isnt the most festive but i couldnt get the picture out of my head and i thought it was sweet :’) i hope you like it!!

Hi! We're really sorry for being late with the gifts but we had some problems.

from: @sliceofhorror

to: @okay-sha

From: Kasha / Okay-sha

To: Rachel / hydrachea

Message: Happy Holidays! I love TakeRitsu as a ship and so I ran away with that! Tried to keep the angst at bay, and this is how things turned out! It’s probably the fluffiest and shippiest thing I’ve ever written, so thank you for the awesome request~

Let Me Be Candid With You

“What are you listening to?”

Takenaka briefly considered sitting up to answer Ritsu’s question but decided it was much more comfortable to continue resting quietly on his lap instead. It was rare that the weather was nice this late in the year and pretty soon they wouldn’t be able to spend their free time lounging outside. Takenaka wanted to really indulge the moment…soak in the warmth of the sun above and the warmth cradling his head; the touch of fingers stirring idly in his hair and the sound of their breath in sync.

Ritsu allowed him a few more minutes of peace before he bounced the knee under Takenaka’s head and asked again, “Hey, what’re you listening to?”

Takenaka grunted, opening up a single heavy-lidded eye to regard Ritsu’s expression. He didn’t look very interested in getting an answer but Takenaka knew better than that. The guy may always emote “cool as a cucumber” but he was just like everyone else. Well, not exactly like everyone else. Takenaka liked Ritsu more.

“I’m not listening to anything,” Takenaka mumbled.

“Then, why are you wearing those things?” He asked, referring to Takenaka’s earbuds.

“Habit.” Takenaka opened the other eye and reached up to graze his fingertips across Ritsu’s cheek. “And why are you wearing this?”

Ritsu’s brow furrowed as he tilted his head into the touch. “Wearing what?”

Takenaka’s fingers traveled down to Ritsu’s lips before he, without warning, hooked a finger inside to stretch his mouth out. He gave a few tugs for emphasis, trying not to laugh at how silly it looked. “Wearing this frown? You’re too serious, even when we’re alone.”

Ritsu pulled away, covering his mouth with his hand as he broke into a grin.

“That’s just my face.”

“Mmm, I don’t know about that.” Takenaka weakly pulled at the hand hiding Ritsu’s face until the boy yielded to reveal his glowing smile. It was contagious, and Takenaka gave a sleepy smile back while patting Ritsu’s bottom lip with a finger. “That’s it. There’s your face. Should I take a picture for reference?”

Ritsu flushed, his smile turning into more of a grimace. “Gross. I don’t want my picture taken.”

“What?” Takenaka was a little thrown off by how severely Ritsu opposed the idea. “Why?”

“I don’t want my picture taken. I hate pictures.”

“I didn’t know you hated pictures.”

“It never came up.”

Well, that must have been true. But, now that Ritsu mentioned it, Takenaka was a little bothered that he didn’t have any special photos of the boy he cared so much about.

“You just…hate pictures?” he asked again.

Ritsu rolled his eyes to the sky, voice all attitude. “Yeah. I…well, I hate how fake it is. I don’t want to ignore how I actually feel and ‘smile for the camera’ if I’m actually miserable. Otherwise, I’m just lying, you know?”

Takenaka hummed without a tune as he considered Ritsu’s argument. He understood.

Regretful to cease their physical contact, Takenaka sat up to eye Ritsu. “Would you hate it if I took a picture of myself?”

Ritsu instinctively followed Takenaka once he got up, pushing their shoulders together to resume contact.

Takenaka fiddled with his phone and at last pulled up the camera, watching Ritsu in his periphery to make sure he wasn’t upset. When he felt certain he wasn’t crossing any lines, Takenaka pulled the phone away from his face and snapped a picture of himself.

Ritsu leaned a head in, curious about the outcome, causing Takenaka to draw the screen away as he sent it through text instead.

Ritsu’s phone chimed a few seconds later, and he looked at Takenaka curiously before fishing it out of his pocket.

Ritsu stared at the picture of Takenaka for a long time. It wasn’t anything special. The Takenaka in the grainy image wasn’t smiling and the sun washed-out his face a little bit. The angle made his nose look bigger than usual, and Takenaka hadn’t noticed until now, but the hair on the back of his head was spiked up from when he was laying down.

After the silence stretched on too long for comfort, Takenaka asked, “What do you think?”

Ritsu’s eyes continued to stare at the screen of his phone. “It’s just a picture.”

Takenaka felt himself grow defensive. “Well, yeah. What did you expect?”

“No, it’s just that… It’s just a picture, but… this makes me really happy.”

Takenaka blinked in surprise. Paying closer attention, he could see how Ritsu looked stunned.

“What?” Takenaka began to blush. “How could that make you happy? It’s just a dumb picture, right? It’s not special.”

Ritsu shook his head. “It’s weird but it makes me really happy. I just have this now.” Ritsu looked at Takenaka, their close proximity erasing any doubt that his expression wasn’t completely serious. “If I ever want to see you, I just…have this.”

“Hey, now. Don’t get carried away—the real-deal is better, by far, so you should always try to see me first.”

Ritsu continued to look at his phone with the corner of his mouth turned up with a smile. “It really isn’t a very good picture though, is it?”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Takenaka gently elbowed Ritsu to show his self-consciousness. “Are you happy or are you gonna complain about the quality some more?”

Ritsu dropped the hand holding his phone into his lap and gazed at Takenaka with that same crooked smile he had when he was trying to hold in his laughter. Takenaka bashfully ran a hand through his hair, trying to stop himself from smiling without a real reason. He was always eager to smile around Ritsu though.

“God, say something already!” Takenaka fumed, the blush already creeping across his face. He softly nudged Ritsu with his shoulder before turning away to avoid any more direct contact with the boy’s shining countenance.

Ritsu ignored the empty dismissal and wrapped an arm around him, nestling his face near Takenaka’s collarbone.

Takenaka smiled, leaning his head to rest on top of Ritsu’s.

“I really like you, you know?” Ritsu spoke so his voice vibrated across Takenaka’s skin.

“Yeah, I know,” Takenaka replied. “Same. Or whatever…”

Ritsu picked his head up to look at Takenaka at close-quarters. Their eyes met.

“Or whatever?” Ritsu asked, eyebrow quirking with a shadow of a smile still on his lips.

“Yeah.” Takenaka felt his face flush hotter. “Or whatever…”

Takenaka’s heart jumped as he felt Ritsu’s hand travel through his hair to rest on the back of his head. A light pressure pushed their faces close, close enough that they breathed the same air. Ritsu wouldn’t move any closer though…he never did when what he really wanted was an answer.

And Takenaka knew what he wanted to hear but was too stubborn to play along. Logically, he knew there was no secret between them that Takenaka liked Ritsu, but somehow, in times of intimacy, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Desperate to defuse the situation, Takenaka took a deep breath and puffed it into Ritsu’s face.

Ritsu yelped in surprise, jerking away. In turn, Takenaka reeled back in case of retaliation.

None came, and instead, Ritsu crossed his arms.

“Don’t be like that,” he said.

“Like what?” Takenaka asked, hand already creeping toward Ritsu to close the distance they’d created.

“Don’t play around when I tell you I like you…”

Takenaka’s heart leapt again, this time out of pain. He hated hearing Ritsu doubt his feelings for him and folded, spilling everything.“Of- of course I like you! I like you so much. I like you more than anyone else. It’s just kind of embarrassing to say out loud. But I do like you!”

Ritsu uncrossed his arms, taking the hand Takenaka had been reaching toward him and pulled them both into a brief kiss. It was a tender moment, sweet and relieving.

Pulling away, Ritsu’s eyes sparkled with pleasure. “Good.”

Suddenly exhausted yet satisfied, Takenaka keeled to the side to lie on the ground and recover.

After a few minutes of peace, Takenaka was startled by the sound of his phone going off.

Pawing around the immediate area, he finally found it by his side and pulled the screen up to view. It was an attachment from Ritsu.

Glancing up at Ritsu, who was still sitting beside him, he opened the text.

Similar to the one that Takenaka had sent, he was face-to-face with a fairly low-quality selfie of Ritsu. He’d taken the picture from down low, so there was a lot of nostril to take in. His skin was glowing white with the way the sun reflected in the picture. And, overall, he looked really confused about what he was doing—like he didn’t quite understand how to take the picture in the first place.

Takenaka held in a snicker, tapping to save the photo to his phone for later. Clicking around, he accidentally ended up opening another attachment that was sent immediately before the one he’d just opened.

Takenaka blushed seeing the off-center, slightly blurry, image of a kiss. He’d taken a picture then too?

“Ritsu, I thought you hated pictures,” he said he buried his face in his hands.

Ritsu chuckled. “I don’t know. I kind of like them when they’re a little shitty. Feels real.”

Takenaka refused to uncover his face, feeling as Ritsu laid down beside him.

“Do you like them too?” he asked with a smile on his voice.

Takenaka let Ritsu pull his hands from shielding his face. They were both a red as cherries, still grinning.

From: suwi

To: youre-joking

From: Cheese 

To: Chushi

Message: Hi there! I had so much fun with this prompt; thanks for all your cool ideas! I would’ve tried drawing it out instead, but my tablet’s ben out of commission these past few weeks, so I had to make a fic of it instead. I hope you can enjoy it anyway, and happy holidays! 

___________________________________________________________________

Wear something you don’t mind getting messy in, the text had said.

Well, thought Ritsu, cheeks flushed in a way that had nothing to do with the frosty December winds nipping at his face, if it stops at just “messy,” I’m setting them on fire myself. His brother meant well; he knew that. Just like he knew that if he met anyone even remotely acquainted with him while dressed like this, he would combust on the spot.

Ritsu shivered, rubbing his mittened hands — who the hell even sells sock puppet mittens? — together. If he were being honest, though, the mittens were the least mortifying part of the whole ensemble. Beneath an eye-bleedingly orange scarf was a truly revolting watermelon-themed turtleneck, hidden from the light of day by a puffy jacket covered in cartoon rodents of some sort. Even his socks couldn’t be spared from creepy-looking strawberries crawling up their sides. The only salvageable parts were the pants, which, save for a patch of bright yellow fabric on the left knee, were an unremarkable gray, and an out-of-order rainbow beanie.

A gust of cold wind stung his face. Grumbling, Ritsu pulled the scarf over his nose, nuzzling into the soft fabric. His brother’s fashion sense may have been corrupted beyond repair, but at least the clothes were warm. Shifting from foot to foot, Ritsu checked his watch. 5:07. He growled deep in his throat; he’d been waiting outside this ice cream parlor over fifteen minutes. If he had to spend even one more mortifying minute in public like this, he would —

“Ah, there you are!” As if summoned by his mutinous thoughts, his brother’s employer came jogging into view. “Sorry about that, the last client took longer than expect … erm, what happened to your clothes?”

“They’re not mine,” muttered Ritsu, shrinking further into the borrowed clothes. “They’re my brother’s.” Reigen raised an eyebrow. “He said my clothes weren’t warm enough, so me made me take the clothes he got when he and Teru went to the mall last month.”

“Ah,” said Reigen, as though that explained everything. Which it did. Hanazawa Teruki was a walking fashion disaster, and the more people realized it the better. If only his brother were one such person.

“Well, it’s not like you can talk!” Ritsu snapped, the flush of his ears hidden by the beanie. “What’s with those earmuffs anyway?”

“What, these?” Reigen touched the hot pink balls of fluff covering his ears. “A gift from a client. I couldn’t think of a polite way to decline, so I figured I’d give them an honorable death in the line of duty. Besides, they’re warm.”

Ritsu grunted. “So what are we here for, anyway? You said an exorcism?”

“That’s right.” Reigen dug around his pocket and pulled out a tattered slip of paper. A sudden burst of frigid air nearly yanked it from his grip, but he held on tight. “Apparently one of their machines started malfunctioning last Friday. When they tried to fix it, it started started spewing hot chocolate everywhere, and no one’s been able to go near it since.”

Ritsu waited. Reigen didn’t offer anything else. “That’s it?” he said, after several long moments. “We’re here to fight a broken hot chocolate machine? Why did I have to come, then? You don’t need me or my brother for that sort of crap.”

“Language, Ritsu.”

“What? All I said was —”

“It might be a cruddy job, but we can’t speak about our clients’ problems that way. It’s unprofessional.”

“Whatever.”

“Also, they don’t sell hot chocolate.”

“What do you mean they don’t —? Oh.” Well, that would certainly explain why they thought it was haunted. But still, what sort of ice cream parlor didn’t sell hot beverages in this weather? At the very least, it seemed like a wasted business opportunity, especially when one considered how prolific dessert cafés were now.

Reigen led the way to the back entrance, where the owner was waiting. After introducing themselves, the owner keyed in the code to the door. The locked beeped and turned green, and Reigen made his way inside. Ritsu followed close behind. “Just — just let me know when you’re done, yeah?” said the owner. She gave them one last nervous smile before shutting the door.

Inside the building was somehow even colder. Ritsu shivered as he watched his breath cloud in front of him, a stark white against the dark backdrop of the unlit corridor. Ahead of him, Reigen fumbled around a bit, searching for the light switch. “So, Ritsu,” he said, feeling the wall next to them, “how’s school going?”

“Fine, I guess.” As they made their way to the main service area, the two split off in separate directions, Ritsu towards the pastry displays and Reigen toward the service counter.

Reigen searched the wall behind the counter. “Mob was telling me you had a math test today; how’d that go?”

“All right.”

A loud clang echoed through the store. Reigen hissed, rubbing his elbow where he’d hit it against a soda machine by the sink. “Just ‘all right’?” he said through clenched teeth.

Ritsu shrugged. “I mean, I got full marks if that’s what you’re asking, but that’s not news or anything.”

“Hey now, full marks is nothing to sneeze at — aha!” With a triumphant grin, Reigen flicked a switch next to the sink. Bright fluorescent ceiling rods bathed the room in an artificial light before sputtering out and drenching them in darkness again. “What the —?” muttered Reigen, flicking the switch off and on and off again.  

“Nice, you broke it,” scoffed Ritsu, making his way over.

Reigen’s eyes flicked nervously to Ritsu’s and back to the switch. “That — that couldn’t have been me, though, right? The lights were probably busted anyway. And frankly, I think it’s better that we know now so we can tell the owner before she opens for business again. Yeah, now that I think about it, this is actually a good thing.” Impatiently, he pressed the switch again. “If they only just broke, shouldn’t the lights at least flicker?”

Just as Ritsu opened his mouth to offer to help, the machine next to them sputtered to life, emitting a strange blue glow. A quiet bubbling sound came from within it, getting drastically louder with each passing moment. “Should we … do something?” asked Ritsu, leaning away from the now rattling machine.

“Ah.” Reigen looked at the machine, then his elbow, then back at the machine. “It seems we’ve awakened the spirit.”

“We? I’m not the one walking around this shop breaking things like a blind ox.”

“All right, that’s fair, I awakened the spirit, but the point remains —” Whatever else Reigen had been about to say was interrupted by an explosion of turquoise light and scalding hot chocolate. Ritsu yelped, barely managing to dodge a jet of hot liquid aimed in his direction. Reigen wasn’t quite as fortunate; he moved his arm fast enough to protect most of his face, but his earmuffs got hit square on.

Ritsu’s eyes widened in concern. Above the din, he shouted, “Are you okay?”

“Just fine!” Reigen yelled back. He scrubbed furiously at his face, wincing. “Wow, that’s hot. Ritsu, think you can take care of this one?”

A silent sigh of relief escaped his lips unbidden; getting hurt on an assignment like this, and on Ritsu’s watch no less, would have been so avoidably stupid. Ritsu rolled his neck, grinning wickedly. “With pleasure.”

From the soda machine rose a whirling cloud of purple and red energy. Two enraged, iridescent glowered at them from its center, and a thunderous voice bellowed, “WHO DARES —”

Ritsu snapped his fingers. 

___________________________________________________________________

“I’m so sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you, but thank you again for all you help!” The owner bowed hastily before digging through her purse. Pulling out a checkbook and a pen, she said, “You said it was your standard fare?”

Reigen sighed, scratching his head with one hand while the other clutched his now ruined earmuffs. “Well, normally yes,” he said, “but because it’s the holiday season, we actually have a special discount going on now, so all consultations, exorcisms, and counseling sessions are thirty percent off.” He smiled, then, and offered her a gloved hand. “I’m glad my disciple and I could be of help.”

“I’m not your disciple,” Ritsu muttered. His comment went unheard.

The owner shook his hand enthusiastically. “No, no, thank you!” She pressed something into his hand, saying, “I know it isn’t much, but I hope you’ll accept these as a token of my appreciation. Consider it a holiday gift, if you will.” Stepping back, she bowed again and headed off towards her parked car.

Ritsu peered over Reigen’s arm. In his hand were two coupons for the ice cream parlor they had just freed. “I guess it’s a chain,” Ritsu commented. “Wait a minute …” He frowned, eyebrows pinched. “These expire today.”

Reigen huffed a laugh, throwing his arm around Ritsu’s shoulder. “Well then, Ritsu my boy,” he said, smiling, “what do you say to dessert for dinner?”

He could feel his eyes widen in amazement. “Really?” His brother never let him have sweets before dinner. 

Grinning, Reigen ruffled his hair and began walking them toward the main road. “Really. It’s on me.” 

Wear something you don’t mind getting messy in, the text had said.

  Well, thought Ritsu, cheeks flushed in a way that had nothing to do with the frosty December winds nipping at his face, if it stops at just “messy,” I’m setting them on fire myself. His brother meant well; he knew that. Just like he knew that if he met anyone even remotely acquainted with him while dressed like this, he would combust on the spot.

  Ritsu shivered, rubbing his mittened hands — who the hell even sells sock puppet mittens? —  together. If he were being honest, though, the mittens were the least mortifying part of the whole ensemble. Beneath an eye-bleedingly orange scarf was a truly revolting watermelon-themed turtleneck, hidden from the light of day by a puffy jacket covered in cartoon rodents of some sort. Even his socks couldn’t be spared from creepy-looking strawberries crawling up their sides. The only salvageable parts were the pants, which, save for a patch of bright yellow fabric on the left knee, were an unremarkable gray, and an out-of-order rainbow beanie.

  A gust of cold wind stung his face. Grumbling, Ritsu pulled the scarf over his nose, nuzzling into the soft fabric. His brother’s fashion sense may have been corrupted beyond repair, but at least the clothes were warm. Shifting from foot to foot, Ritsu checked his watch. 5:07. He growled deep in his throat; he’d been waiting outside this ice cream parlor over fifteen minutes. If he had to spend even one more mortifying minute in public like this, he would —

  “Ah, there you are!” As if summoned by his mutinous thoughts, his brother’s employer came jogging into view. “Sorry about that, the last client took longer than expect … erm, what happened to your clothes?”

  “They’re not mine,” muttered Ritsu, shrinking further into the borrowed clothes. “They’re my brother’s.” Reigen raised an eyebrow. “He said my clothes weren’t warm enough, so me made me take the clothes he got when he and Teru went to the mall last month.”

  “Ah,” said Reigen, as though that explained everything. Which it did. Hanazawa Teruki was a walking fashion disaster, and the more people realized it the better. If only his brother were one such person.

  “Well, it’s not like you can talk!” Ritsu snapped, the flush of his ears hidden by the beanie. “What’s with those earmuffs anyway?”

  “What, these?” Reigen touched the hot pink balls of fluff covering his ears. “A gift from a client. I couldn’t think of a polite way to decline, so I figured I’d give them an honorable death in the line of duty. Besides, they’re warm.”

  Ritsu grunted. “So what are we here for, anyway? You said an exorcism?”

  “That’s right.” Reigen dug around his pocket and pulled out a tattered slip of paper. A sudden burst of frigid air nearly yanked it from his grip, but he held on tight. “Apparently one of their machines started malfunctioning last Friday. When they tried to fix it, it started started spewing hot chocolate everywhere, and no one’s been able to go near it since.”

  Ritsu waited. Reigen didn’t offer anything else. “That’s it?” he said, after several long moments. “We’re here to fight a broken hot chocolate machine? Why did I have to come, then? You don’t need me or my brother for that sort of crap.”

  “Language, Ritsu.”

  “What? All I said was —”

  “It might be a cruddy job, but we can’t speak about our clients’ problems that way. It’s unprofessional.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Also, they don’t sell hot chocolate.”

  “What do you mean they don’t —? Oh.” Well, that would certainly explain why they thought it was haunted. But still, what sort of ice cream parlor didn’t sell hot beverages in this weather? At the very least, it seemed like a wasted business opportunity, especially when one considered how prolific dessert cafés were now.

  Reigen led the way to the back entrance, where the owner was waiting. After introducing themselves, the owner keyed in the code to the door. The locked beeped and turned green, and Reigen made his way inside. Ritsu followed close behind. “Just — just let me know when you’re done, yeah?” said the owner. She gave them one last nervous smile before shutting the door.

  Inside the building was somehow even colder. Ritsu shivered as he watched his breath cloud in front of him, a stark white against the dark backdrop of the unlit corridor. Ahead of him, Reigen fumbled around a bit, searching for the light switch. “So, Ritsu,” he said, feeling the wall next to them, “how’s school going?”

  “Fine, I guess.” As they made their way to the main service area, the two split off in separate directions, Ritsu towards the pastry displays and Reigen toward the service counter.

  Reigen searched the wall behind the counter. “Mob was telling me you had a math test today; how’d that go?”

  “All right.”

  A loud clang echoed through the store. Reigen hissed, rubbing his elbow where he’d hit it against a soda machine by the sink. “Just ‘all right’?” he said through clenched teeth.

  Ritsu shrugged. “I mean, I got full marks if that’s what you’re asking, but that’s not news or anything.”

  “Hey now, full marks is nothing to sneeze at — aha!” With a triumphant grin, Reigen flicked a switch next to the sink. Bright fluorescent ceiling rods bathed the room in an artificial light before sputtering out and drenching them in darkness again. “What the —?” muttered Reigen, flicking the switch off and on and off again.

  “Nice, you broke it,” scoffed Ritsu, making his way over.

  Reigen’s eyes flicked nervously to Ritsu’s and back to the switch. “That — that couldn’t have been me, though, right? The lights were probably busted anyway. And frankly, I think it’s better that we know now so we can tell the owner before she opens for business again. Yeah, now that I think about it, this is actually a good thing.” Impatiently, he pressed the switch again. “If they only just broke, shouldn’t the lights at least flicker?”

  Just as Ritsu opened his mouth to offer to help, the machine next to them sputtered to life, emitting a strange blue glow. A quiet bubbling sound came from within it, getting drastically louder with each passing moment.  “Should we … do something?” asked Ritsu, leaning away from the now rattling machine.

  “Ah.” Reigen looked at the machine, then his elbow, then back at the machine. “It seems we’ve awakened the spirit.”

  “We? I’m not the one walking around this shop breaking things like a blind ox.”

  “All right, that’s fair, I awakened the spirit, but the point remains —” Whatever else Reigen had been about to say was interrupted by an explosion of turquoise light and scalding hot chocolate. Ritsu yelped, barely managing to dodge a jet of hot liquid aimed in his direction. Reigen wasn’t quite as fortunate; he moved his arm fast enough to protect most of his face, but his earmuffs got hit square on.

  Ritsu’s eyes widened in concern. Above the din, he shouted, “Are you okay?”

  “Just fine!” Reigen yelled back. He scrubbed furiously at his face, wincing. “Wow, that’s hot. Ritsu, think you can take care of this one?”

  A silent sigh of relief escaped his lips unbidden; getting hurt on an assignment like this, and on Ritsu’s watch no less, would have been so avoidably stupid. Ritsu rolled his neck, grinning wickedly. “With pleasure.”

From the soda machine rose a whirling cloud of purple and red energy. Two enraged, iridescent glowered at them from its center, and a thunderous voice bellowed, “WHO DARES —”

  Ritsu snapped his fingers.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

  “I’m so sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you, but thank you again for all you help!” The owner bowed hastily before digging through her purse. Pulling out a checkbook and a pen, she said, “You said it was your standard fare?”

  Reigen sighed, scratching his head with one hand while the other clutched his now ruined earmuffs. “Well, normally yes,” he said, “but because it’s the holiday season, we actually have a special discount going on now, so all consultations, exorcisms, and counseling sessions are thirty percent off.” He smiled, then, and offered her a gloved hand. “I’m glad my disciple and I could be of help.”

  “I’m not your disciple,” Ritsu muttered. His comment went unheard.

  The owner shook his hand enthusiastically. “No, no, thank you!” She pressed something into his hand, saying, “I know it isn’t much, but I hope you’ll accept these as a token of my appreciation. Consider it a holiday gift, if you will.” Stepping back, she bowed again and headed off towards her parked car.

  Ritsu peered over Reigen’s arm. In his hand were two coupons for the ice cream parlor they had just freed.  “I guess it’s a chain,” Ritsu commented. “Wait a minute …” He frowned, eyebrows pinched. “These expire today.”

  Reigen huffed a laugh, throwing his arm around Ritsu’s shoulder. “Well then, Ritsu my boy,” he said, smiling, “what do you say to dessert for dinner?”

  He could feel his eyes widen in amazement. “Really?”