No more love letters

Xmas fair - Prologue

"So, who's coming with?" Kazuo could barely finish his sentence before Nemu enthusiastically accepted. "Me!!! Me! I'm coming with!" Her love for christmas markets was as visible on her face. Everyone knew she loved the holidays, even strangers would at least guess so after overhearing her talk about whatever new tidbit she had come across that day. "That makes two!" Kazuo seemed happy, and a little relieved despite how obvious it was that Nemu would join him.

The others chuckled at their childish joy. But even they felt the holiday spirit. Hikari shot Pallet a quick glance before answering confidently, "I'm sure it'll be fun! I need to look for some more christmas deco anyway. You'll come too, right?" She directed the last part towards Pallet, who jolted at the sudden attention. "I- yeah..?!" It still surprised him every time that anyone, especially Hikari, wanted him around. He would have attended the fair regardless, lurking in the shadows and watching the others have fun.

But being invited to the fun was far more exhilarating than just watching. "I'll ... be there!" His voice sounded jittery from all the excitement, drawing a wonky but genuine smile on his face. Hikari returned his smile, more than satisfied with the outcome before turning to Avi. "What about you?" She asked, purposely ignoring Aki who stood right next to Avi. He would just invite himself anyway. "Yeah, what about you, Avi?" Aki chimed in, more teasing than friendly.

"I don't know, do you want to go?" Avi asked in return, tone matching Aki. "I don't know, do you?" Aki replied, mocking her. There was no winning arguments over Aki, and Avi knew that. She sighed and relented. "Alright, let's go then." With the last person of the group convinced, the atmosphere lit up. Everyone could already smell the delicious treats sold by the many stands.

And just like they imagined, there were more than enough options to fill their bellies with. "Oh man, it's a lot colder than I thought... how are you not cold in that?" Hikari complained, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to generate some warmth. Pallet, who was walking next to her, was wearing more of a suit than a winter jacket. "It's... because I'm a vampire... My body temperature is lower." He explained, clearly shivering with every word. He was judged with a raised eyebrow, but the topic was ultimately dropped. For now.

"What do you guys wanna do?" Hikari asked the group, or, half the group actually. Somehow, Nemu had already managed to get lost, and Kazuo must have went after her. "Well... that's was quick." Aki chuckled, having long noticed that they were gone. All the better for him, one step closer to having a one on one date with Avi. "We should look for them... we came here as a group after all." Avi suggested, she knew what Aki was thinking and knew better than to let his plans run smoothly.

"I agree." Aki obliged unexpectedly. Uh oh, that wasn't a good sign. Had she helped him without realizing? "We should split up and meet back here in an hour. Or if you find them, just text us in the group chat." He suggested, hoping that Hikari would get the hint and cut him some slack. After all, she too would get the opportunity to be alone with Pallet for a while. "That's a great idea!" Hikari happily took the bait presented on a silver platter. "Pallet, will you search with me? I may already have a hunch where they could be..." She continued, taking Pallet's hands in hers, hinting at the food stalls they just passed. Where else would the two lost lambs go?

"I'll search with Avi in this direction then." Aki announced, even though neither Hikari nor Pallet were paying attention to him anymore. Not that he cared, he just wanted to make sure that Avi didn't run off. "...You're so sly." She commented, turning away from him and walking in the direction that the other two didn't go. It was almost funny to Aki how much her actions contradicted themselves. She always complained and complied. "Haha. What else did you expect?" He teased, following her with a leisurely stride.