This Gift - A LightSpeed Love (Story)

Chapter 1: Let The Countdown Begin!

"For you, dummy."

These three words caught Yocchan Shiozaki off guard, the action that followed being a warm chocolate beverage being handed to her. "Um, what's this for Itsuki?", the raven asks raising an eyebrow at the smiling boy.

Itsuki Roiyaru cracks a soft smile, "It's freezin' and snowin' out here, and you're here denying a hot chocolate?", he responds to her, his soft smile still glued onto his face. "You're pretty weird, Yo."

"I mean, it's not that I'm worried about.", the spiky-haired teenager retorts back in a jest manner. "It's you that's making me shudder."

"Me?", replies Roiyaru with a small laugh, "And just what is it that makes you shiver, Shiozaki?"

Yocchan simply smirked at the boy, her eyes becoming closed for a moment. "What isn't wrong with you? You act like an ass most of the year, but decide show your soft side only when you want to?" Her eyes open once more, revealing beautiful scarlet irises almost invisible by one of the bright store lights behind the raven. "Just doesn't add up to me."

"Well, you haven't exactly been the smartest.", Itsuki jokes about before receiving a playful jab to his right arm.

"Brains don't matter now, do they?", Shiozaki adds to the blue-haired teen's sense of humor. Before she could say anything else, though, Roiyaru takes her hand to cross the empty street ahead of them. His jade eyes matched with the traffic lights surrounding the playful duo, but somehow Itsuki's seemed to glow just a bit brighter. The raven looked in awe at the boy's irises, so much so that she was almost mesmerized at the little moment. Probably a little too much, seeing how she missed a question he was asking.

"Shiozaki?", Itsuki asked her a second time, confused as to what was happening.

At the sound of his voice, Yocchan snaps out of her little trance. "Huh!? Where are we?", she asked with short breaths as if she'd just awakened from a nightmare.

Itsuki, more worried and confused than anything, just held her hand softly. "You alright, Yocchan?", the blue-haired teen asked, his eyes pleading with her to be honest with him.

Shiozaki, usually one not to show emotion, was now blushing uncontrollably at the sight of her rival. As much as she tried to hide it, she could be only control it so much. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine.", she managed to get out her mouth, somehow struggling to say three simple words. 'First I'm blushing and now I'm stuttering too?!' The teen thought to herself, 'B-But I can't lie, though. The way Roiyaru grabbed my hand, it was so...soft. And those eyes...' "D-Damn those eyes!" Yocchan screamed aloud, bringing unwanted attention to the two, most of which were looks of happiness and care whilst others either laughed or went on, fearful of the usually angry teenager.

Roiyaru, heavily bewildered to what was even going on, just outright asked his friend what was on his mind. "Yo, what the hell is going on? You're scaring me, and October just passed."

"N-Nothing's wrong with me, idiot!" The flustered girl angrily replied to him. "I-If anything, I-I should be a-asking you that question."

Roiyaru was taken back by the sudden question, and the spiky-haired raven's sudden anger, raising an eyebrow at her incoherent actions. "What are you talking about, Yocchan?", he asks in a soft voice, ruffling his messy blue hair in response to the question thrown at him.

"D-D-Didn't you say you were taking me out for a night on the town before we came here?", the girl groaned with her arms folded, pouting as she tried to hide her flushed cheeks.

"Yeah, what about it?", the mazed male replied back to her.

"It's already 9:37, and we've barely done anything except walk out of my house."

"Oh." The curly-haired gent looked at his classmate with shock, seeing as he was sort of failing her despite his  reasoning for bringing her along with him in the first place. "Well, then how about this?"

"How about what?", Shiozaki countered back.

"We'll start the countdown right now, and after that, we'll do whatever you want."

'The hell is Roiyaru talking about?', Shiozaki pondered in her head, her scarlet orbs focused sharply on Itsuki. "The hell are you talking about, Roiyaru?", the raven asked him sternly.

"Remember what I told you? I told you we were gonna have some fun until it was Christmas, right? As you said, it's already 9:39, so why not just count down the hours 'til Christmas hits?" His smile was infectious as always, shining brightly thanks to a white light around the duo. "What do ya say, Yo? Are you down?"

'There he goes again being so damn cute!' The dark-haired teen thought in the back of her mind. Her blush made its way back onto her face, Yocchan immediately removing her hands and turning to the side before Itsuki could see her. "Fine, I'll go.", Shiozaki finally replies to the boisterous boy, grumbling despite being more than excited to hear his response. "But you better have something great planned for me, dumbass!"

Itsuki smirked happily at his friendly rival. "If that's the case, then let the countdown begin.", he told her wrapping his arm around her before walking along the snowy streets of Tokyo.