December 25th, Christmas Day, 8:14 AM.
(Mhm... The clothes are fine, my hair isn't sticking up. My body... doesn't have any weird slls either. Very good.)
Standing in front of the mirror in his room, after repeatedly confirming his outfit, Itsuka Shido finally nodded.
(Next... I have my wallet, my phone is here too, the amusent park tickets... are also safely tucked away. And finally...)
After checking all the necessary items, Shido opened the drawer and took out a gift box carefully wrapped with colored paper and a silk ribbon.
(With this, everything is ready.)
Gently placing the gift box into his pocket, Shido took a long, deep breath and stared at himself in the mirror once more.
"Alright! Do your best! Itsuka Shido!"
Slapping his cheeks to hype himself up, Shido strode out of his room.
"Ah— Good morning... Onii-chan~"
Arriving at the first floor, Shido saw his younger sister—Itsuka Kotori—yawning while greeting him.
"Good morning, Kotori."
"Are you heading out already?"
Looking at Shido standing at the entryway getting ready to change his shoes, Kotori asked curiously.
"Yeah. After all, making Yutsuki wait wouldn't be good."
Shido replied with a smile.
"What about als at ho?"
"Breakfast and lunch are already made and in the kitchen. If they get cold, rember to heat them up before eating."
Shido answered Kotori, having prepared in advance. Seemingly feeling his enthusiasm through his words, Kotori chuckled, sighed, and tactfully didn't ask further.
"Understood~"
After giving Kotori his instructions, Shido pushed the door open and stepped outside.
"Well then, I'm heading out."
"Have a safe trip, Onii-chan~ I wish you a successful date."
Waving and watching Shido leave, Kotori couldn't help but shrug and sigh helplessly.
"Seriously, even though he played so late on Christmas Eve last night, he's actually this energetic early in the morning."
——————————
"Yutsuki... is she not here yet?"
Arriving in front of the Tengu Station, Shido looked around at the pedestrians on the street. Finding that the figure he was looking forward to hadn't appeared yet, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
"Not here yet, huh... That's true, I did arrive a bit early. I'll just wait patiently."
Glancing at the clock in the distance, there were still twenty minutes until the eting ti. Shido gave a bitter smile, silently reflected on his impatience, and waited while suppressing his excitent.
A person's perception of ti is always subjective and fickle. Twenty minutes, if spent doing sothing else, would clearly pass by in a flash. But when it beca a wait, Shido inexplicably felt it was long and agonizing.
(Speaking of which, it hasn't snowed this year.)
Exhaling white mist from his mouth, Shido looked up at the sky, absentmindedly thinking to himself.
Looking as far as the eye could see, ssy grayish-white clouds drifted in the air, covering most of the sky. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the cloud curtain, allowing Shido to catch a glimpse of the clear blue on the other side.
Although it was winter, it was slightly different from the past. While it was chilly, it wasn't freezing.
(I wonder if it will be a White Christmas this year.)
Shido wondered in his heart. Although he held a sliver of optimistic expectation, this region wasn't the type where it absolutely snowed in winter, so the chances were slim.
"Right now it's... 8:50 AM, still 10 minutes left."
Checking the ti once again and finding that only half the ti had passed, Shido couldn't help but sigh at himself.
(But knowing Yutsuki's habits, she usually arrives around this ti.)
Carrying a look of expectation, Shido cast his gaze toward the street again, searching for Yutsuki's figure.
(Not here... Still not here... Hm?)
Suddenly, Shido's eyes locked onto a woman in the distance.
She was a very gentle-looking woman. A light pink coat paired with an off-white sweater inside gave off a soft atmosphere.
Furry boots wrapped around her feet, with half-exposed denim shorts, and black thermal tights wrapping her perfectly proportioned long legs. Under the light, warm-toned outfit, it didn't look abrupt at all; instead, it appeared elegant and fashionable.
The woman's long hair was braided and draped over her shoulder. Her beautiful, delicate face carried a faint smile, making anyone who looked at her feel a sense of approachability.
(What a beauty. Plus, she feels a bit like Yutsuki... Well, I probably mistook her for soone else.)
Shido first furrowed his brows in doubt, then smiled bitterly and shook his head, denying his own guess.
Yutsuki's casual clothes... should he call them casual, or just sloppy... Basically, they always gave off a diocre, subtle feeling. It was as if she just grabbed a few random pieces from her closet, decided they looked okay together, and went straight out the door.
Such a pink-colored, coordinated outfit clearly didn't fit Yutsuki's personality.
Suddenly, Shido noticed the other party looking at him, and he hurriedly looked away.
(I shouldn't let my thoughts run wild. Let's just wait honestly.)
After reminding himself in his heart, Shido steadied his mind and continued waiting for Yutsuki.
However, to Shido's surprise, after noticing him, the woman walked straight toward him.
Watching the other party gradually approach, Shido's surprise turned into confusion. After seeing her face clearly, he seed to realize sothing, and his expression gradually shifted to astonishnt.
Finally, when the woman stood in front of him, as if afraid he was misunderstanding, Shido asked:
"...Yu...Yutsuki?"
"Mhm..."
The other party didn't respond imdiately. She just hesitated, looked Shido up and down, and wore a thoughtful expression.
Shido couldn't help but feel so nervous his heart started racing.
And then—
"What is this... So it's not Shiori-chan...."
The other party let out a very disappointed sigh.
(...Yep, that's definitely Yutsuki.)
Shido couldn't help but sigh helplessly in his heart. The nervous, heart-pounding feeling he had originally felt instantly cooled down by more than half for so reason.
"Isn't that obvious? What are you talking about, Yutsuki?"
"Eh... After all, didn't you crossdress as Shiori to go on a date with last Christmas? I thought you'd use the sa routine this year."
Yutsuki shrugged, speaking as a matter of course.
"That was a one-ti thing, a special exception among special exceptions! I am a guy. 'Spirit power cannot be used for personal purposes,' wasn't that what you said, Yutsuki?"
"What about normal crossdressing?"
"That's! A! No! Never! Today your date is Itsuka Shido, there will be no Shiori making an appearance."
Shido emphasized every single word.
"Alright, although it's a bit of a pity. But this isn't bad either."
Unexpectedly, Yutsuki didn't insist on the matter, instead accepting it very readily.
"You dressed quite handso today, Shido."
"Th-Thanks for the complint..."
Caught off guard by Yutsuki's praise, Shido scratched his cheek a bit shyly.
"Um, Yutsuki, your outfit today is also very..."
Mid-sentence, Shido hesitated. Although he wanted to habitually praise her by saying the clothes suited her well, he felt that description wasn't appropriate enough.
"Very... beautiful, captivating, so much so that I can't bear to look away."
After a mont passed, Shido finally spoke in a slow, solemn tone.
"Ahaha... I-Is that so? Then thank you very much for the review."
Hearing this, Yutsuki's cheeks flushed slightly. She tilted her face away and replied with a bitter smile.
Looking at her reaction, rather than calling her troubled, it was more like she was a bit at a loss for what to do.
"Did you pick these clothes yourself? It feels very different from what you usually wear..."
Yutsuki didn't deny Shido's question.
"Well, I asked Miku to help pick them a few days ago. The result was being forcefully dragged to a boutique and used as a dress-up doll for hours."
"That does sound exactly like sothing Miku would do..."
Shido suddenly realized, secretly giving Miku a 'Like' in his heart.
"She also took a ton of photos... At that mont, I suddenly understood how Shiori must have felt in my eyes."
"...Must have been tough."
(I should ask Miku to print an extra copy of those photos later), Shido calculated secretly in his heart.
"Alright... Let's end the idle chatter here. We are going on a date today, right, Shido?"
Seemingly wanting to toss her grievances to the back of her mind, Yutsuki shook her head and asked Shido.
"Tengu Amusent Park. I bought tickets for the all-inclusive night parade."
"Ah, there, huh... You didn't lose the tickets, did you?"
Yutsuki asked with a wicked smile.
"No, I made sure to check before leaving the house."
Despite saying that, Shido still opened his wallet to double-check just in case. After confirming they weren't lost, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"I definitely brought them. Let's go, Yutsuki."
"..."
"Yutsuki?"
Seeing Yutsuki not moving, Shido couldn't help but ask doubtfully.
"Shido, you're wearing n's clothes right now, and you're dating as a guy, right?"
"...Yes?"
Although he didn't understand why Yutsuki was asking, Shido obediently nodded and replied.
"Then let ask you, are the clothes I am wearing right now n's clothes or won's clothes?"
Yutsuki asked again.
"You an..."
Shido seed to realize sothing, but he wasn't quite sure. Seeing Shido not moving, Yutsuki sighed helplessly and gently raised her right hand in front of him.
"Hinting to this extent is my limit. If you still don't get it, I will go ho."
Hearing this, Shido showed a look of surprise, then took a deep breath and proactively held Yutsuki's hand.
"Is this okay?"
Shido asked a bit nervously. He didn't know why, even though this wasn't the first ti he held hands with Yutsuki, he was exceptionally conscious of it today.
"Mhm." Yutsuki nodded, her cheeks blushing slightly as she asked. "Um... is my hand cold?"
"A little... But don't they say people with cold hands have very warm hearts?"
"Going by that logic, your hand is very warm. Does that an your heart is very cold, Shido?"
Yutsuki retorted with a light chuckle.
"Well, uh..."
"Just joking. If you take it seriously, it'll actually trouble . Sigh... Thanks to Miku, I feel like my whole way of walking has beco weird."
"Haha, indeed..."
After a bitter smile and a sigh, Yutsuki adjusted her mood and led Shido by the hand toward the amusent park.
"Well then, let's go, Shido."
(Doesn't that an she wanted to hold her hand and lead the way...)
Shido sighed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Feeling Yutsuki's soft small hand leading him, he nodded.
"...Understood."
TL:This is a very interesting case, cause this side story was released before the main story of this fanfic ended ,but the tiline is the second Christmas, which an this far after the end of this fanfic by a long margin, so I originally intended to do this side story after the main story. But because so 'things' happened after final chapter and Shido and Yutsuki relationship level are far higher than this side story at that point so it won't it if I treat it as after story, and the title that original author used is nad 'If' so yeah, here you go.
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