The Snow We Gazed Upon That Day

What He Gazed Upon

"...That reminds me. Satou-san gave you a Christmas present, right?" Karuizawa inquired.

"I dunno."

"It's no use trying to trick me. You noticed the present the moment you met up with her, didn't you?" Karuizawa further asked.

She had gotten to know me too well. She was right; the moment I'd met up with Satou, I'd noticed a present peeking out of her bag. One wouldn't just carry a present on a day like today without any meaning. I had guessed it was probably for me. It was likely something Satou probably intended to hand over if her romantic confession went well. 

"How's it feel to have missed out?" Karuizawa asked in a teasing tone. "You've probably never gotten a present, have you? I mean, this is you we're talking about."

Without looking me in the eyes, she pulled a small package from her bag and presented it to me.

"It's a Christmas present from me to you. Take it, and be grateful."

"Are you sure it's ok for me to accept?"

"Think of it as me comforting you for not starting a relationship today. Something like that. In return, you can pay me back for about twice the amount it's worth," she teased.

"I feel like I'm being scammed here," I replied, accepting her gift and acknowledging my loss. "Did you actually buy this for me?" I further asked.

Karuizawa turned toward me and started to say something, but she froze, as if she was hesitating. After a pause, she looked away from me again.

"Yeah... I did buy it for you. As thanks for helping me out all those times. Is that a problem?" Karuizawa replied, as she turned to face me again, showing a flustered look on her face. I didn't immediately respond, because I was a bit stunned by her honesty.

"What?"

"Nothing. I was just a bit surprised by your honesty, is all. I had expected you to respond with something like 'I didn't buy this for you. It was something I bought for Yousuke-kun just in case,' or something like that."

"Is that what you take me for?"

"Yes, actually."

"Hmph!"

Karuizawa pouted in response to my jab at her. As we continued walking, I tried to change the subject.

"By the way, just to set things straight... the one who proposed the double date was Sato-san, not you, right?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

Karuizawa was trying to deceive me, but I could see I'd hit the bull's-eye. "Your acting was spot on, but here and there Satou was acting pretty strange."

"Ah. So you noticed too, huh? I also thought Satou-san was a little suspicious." 

It seemed she and I shared a similar opinion on Satou's acting. I put my hand into my coat pocket and remembered I had put a small paper bag in it. 

"Oh, yeah. I have a Christmas present for you, too"

"Huh? You're kidding!"

"It was a lie."

"Huh? You wanna get smacked, Kiyotaka?"

"More precisely, it's just a regular gift. You may not find it necessary, but here you go." I took out the paper bag and handed it to Karuizawa.

"Wait a second. A drugstore bag? Are you mocking me?" Karuizawa peeled off the cellophane tape. Inside the bag, she found neither a fancy accessory nor a cute stuffed animal. "Cold medicine and a receipt?"