>>1913941I was alone in the middle of the mall. She was still shopping inside the department store, looking for a "certain something" for the SOS-Dan, saying that I should wait for her outside. People were rushing past me, pushing and shoving along the narrow corridors. Alas, I was dragged with the crowd, with only a vague sight of my girl.
Fought as I did, I could not go against the flow of the crowd. Only when it settled down was I able to return to the store Haruhi was in. Unfortunately and predictably, she wasn't there anymore. Tired, I sat myself on a nearby bench, wondering where Haruhi is. About a minute or two later, I fell into a nap.
"Wake up, you sleepy bastard!"
In an instant, my eyes opened, only to have my ears ringing from that horrendous shout. But what I saw was not an angry woman. No, she looked more like she was flushed and worried.
"I was looking everywhere for you, Kyon..."
I opened my eyes in surprise, seeing her in such a sincere state. I quickly apologized, and thanked her for the concern.
"Yo-you're a Brigade member a-after all! As leader, I have a responsibility to look after my members!"
We then proceeded to exit the mall, with Haruhi leading me somewhere. The night was still young, the air was extremely cold, and lights flashed all over the place, seemingly like a Christmas tree. When Haruhi stopped, we were alone. She turned to me, with a red face and said:
"S-say Kyon, Christmas is a day you give a gift to someone you love, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Haruhi then pulled out a gift, and shoved it into my hands.
The force of the push was enough to pull me back to reality. I could've sworn a tear rolled down my face that time.
