Snowflakes fell like whispers from the heavens — soft, indifferent, and endless. The town of Hirayama was dead quiet, the only sound being the electric hum of vending machines and the occasional hiss of wind slipping through narrow alleyways. It was the kind of night poets called "beautiful," but Sotsuki Tatsuo thought it looked like a refrigerator that forgot how to die.
He walked with his hands buried deep in his pockets, scarf trailing behind him like a forgotten ribbon. His breath fogged in the air, fading just as soon as it appeared. That felt appropriate.Everything about him was temporary — his happiness, his anger, even his despair. He had learned that early.
"...Snow again," he muttered to himself, voice flat, eyes half-lidded. "How original. Nature really outdid itself this time."
He said it with no sarcasm, no anger, just weary indifference. He liked talking to himself. It was less awkward than talking to others. People always wanted something — a reaction, a laugh, an emotion. He didn't. He just wanted the quiet.
A Life of Despair, Told in a Monotone
Since childhood, Sotsuki Tatsuo had been alone. Not lonely — alone. There was a difference.He didn't mind the bullying. Didn't mind the forced smiles from teachers who pretended they cared. Didn't even mind his parents, who turned his life into a performance of forced excellence.
"Study harder, Tatsuo. You need perfect grades. You'll thank us later."
He never did. He didn't care about later. Later was just a word people used to excuse their misery now.
He aced every test, not because he wanted to — but because failing would mean more talking, more yelling, more of that suffocating pity people wrapped him in like an itchy blanket.So he became quiet. The calmest storm in the room.Even when he wanted to scream, he just whispered it inside his head and moved on.
Now, seventeen years old, standing under a flickering streetlight in the middle of December, he felt that same tired calm — the kind that comes when you've accepted life's cruelty like background noise.
The Vending Machine and the Coke Can of Fate
He stopped at his usual vending machine — the one near the park, where the hum of the motor blended with the faint buzz of power lines.He dropped a few coins in, pressed the red button for Coke, and watched as the can fell with a satisfying clunk.
When he cracked it open, the fizz broke the silence like laughter in a funeral hall. He sat down on the nearby bench, where the snow barely touched the wood, and stared at the sky.
"Boring," he said after his first sip. "Everything's boring. Even being depressed is boring."
He leaned back, letting the cold bite at his neck. His reflection in the Coke's metal surface stared back at him, distorted, hollow-eyed. He chuckled dryly.
"Hey, me," he said to himself, "if you disappeared right now, do you think anyone would care? Nah. Maybe the vending machine. It'd miss my money."
A single snowflake landed on the rim of his can, melting instantly.
He looked at it and smiled faintly — not out of joy, but out of recognition."Even snow melts fast when it touches me," he said. "Figures."
That's when he heard it — a deep, resonant "Ho ho ho."
He froze. The words didn't echo like a normal sound; they vibrated, like someone was laughing through the air itself. The snow above him swirled, gathering into a spiral, and from it descended a stranger — or something like one.
The Figure from the Sky
He was enormous. Not fat, exactly, but broad — shoulders like mountains, and eyes that looked like molten gold. He wore a red coat, fur-lined, his boots crunching against the snow with each step. And though the world around him seemed to dim, the vending machine's glow reflected perfectly on his silver belt buckle, shaped like a reindeer's head.
"Good evening, young one!" the figure boomed cheerfully. "A cold night for such gloomy thoughts, don't you think?"
Sotsuki blinked. Then sighed.
"...You're blocking the view," he said.
The strangers laughter shook the air again. "Oh, how delightfully rude! I like your spirit! Tell me your name, young soul."
"Sotsuki Tatsuo," he muttered. "And you are…?"
The person straightened, striking a heroic pose that would've made an anime protagonist jealous. "I," he declared, voice echoing across the snow, "am Saint Nicholas — protector of children, bringer of joy, the one and only… Santa Claus!"
The silence that followed was long enough for a snowflake to fall, melt, and freeze again.
Sotsuki took another sip of Coke."Right. And I'm the Tooth Fairy."
The man's smile faltered slightly. "You don't believe me?"
"Nope."
"I descended from the heavens in a spiral of divine snow."
"Pretty cheap visual effects, old gramps."
"I can grant wishes!"
"Cool. I wish for you to leave."
The figure pouted — actually pouted — like a scolded dog. "You're quite the skeptic, aren't you?"
Sotsuki stood up, brushing snow off his coat. "Listen, Santa, or whatever cosplay convention you crawled out of — I'm not in the mood for a Christmas special. Go find some kid who still thinks magic fixes everything."
He started to walk away.
Santa's Proof
"Wait."The persons tone changed. Lower, quieter — like thunder before the storm. "You really think I'm just a story?"
Sotsuki turned halfway, frowning. "What, you gonna pull a rabbit out of your hat?"
Santa's eyes glowed faintly. "No. Rabbits don't survive the North Pole."
He raised one gloved hand, and the air shimmered. The vending machine began to hum louder, louder — until it exploded in a burst of light. When the smoke cleared, it wasn't destroyed — it was new. Gleaming chrome, ice-cold glass, every button lit like a rainbow. The machine vibrated softly, as if alive.
Sotsuki stared.
Then he deadpanned, "Wow. Free repair service. Truly magical."
Santa blinked. "You… you're not impressed?"
"I just wanted a Coke, not a miracle."
The person stared at him for a long time, then burst out laughing again. "Marvelous! Truly marvelous! You're the calmest soul I've met in centuries."
"Yeah," Sotsuki muttered, "lucky me."
The Challenge
They ended up sitting side by side on the bench. Santa sipped a Coke too — somehow he'd found one the exact moment Sotsuki looked away.
"You seem troubled, Sotsuki," Santa said gently. "I can feel it — that weight in your heart."
"I'm not troubled," Sotsuki replied. "I just exist. That's all."
"That's the saddest sentence I've heard since the Ice Age," Santa said, shaking his head. "You don't believe in joy anymore?"
"Joy's overrated. People pretend to be happy because it's what they're supposed to do. I don't have the energy for pretending."
Santa's eyes softened. "And yet you walk through the snow to clear your mind. You drink Coke alone, thinking about your life. That doesn't sound like someone who's given up."
Sotsuki chuckled bitterly. "You're surprisingly good at therapy for a fictional freak."
Santa grinned. "Well, when you spend centuries listening to wish lists, you pick up a few things."
For a moment, they sat in silence. The wind carried faint carols from the distance.Then Sotsuki said quietly, "Even if you were real… you couldn't change my life. Nobody can."
Santa's expression turned serious — almost regal. "Is that a challenge?"
Sotsuki smirked. "Take it however you want."
Santa leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "Then I accept. I, Saint Nicholas, vow to make your life interesting again."
"Good luck," Sotsuki said. "I've been bored since waking up this morning."
The Night of Falling Stars
What happened next was pure chaos.From the shadows of the park emerged figures dressed in black and red, carrying strange glowing weapons shaped like candy canes. Their leader, a granny with silver hair and a peppermint eyepatch, pointed her weapon at Santa.
"There he is! The Saint! Capture him!"
Sotsuki blinked. "What the hell—?"
Santa stood up, cracking his knuckles. "Ah. The Noel Hunters. Still trying to steal my Christmas Core, I see."
"The what?" Sotsuki asked flatly.
Santa winked. "Long story. Basically, they hate joy."
Lasers — actual lasers — shot through the air, lighting up the snow like fireworks. Santa spun his bag around, and from it emerged — no exaggeration — a sword made of candy cane steel.
"Stay back, Sotsuki," Santa said, voice deep and fierce. "This might get messy."
Sotsuki sat back down on the bench. "Go wild you, moron, freak!"
What followed looked like a fever dream. Santa fought — like an action hero from a Christmas blockbuster that never existed. Every swing of his sword sent waves of crimson light through the air, turning snowflakes into tiny stars. The Noel Hunters attacked in unison, but each was thrown back by invisible force fields shaped like snowflakes.
When it was over, the ground was littered with defeated enemies who smelled faintly of gingerbread. Santa dusted himself off.
"Still got it," he said proudly.
Sotsuki took another sip of his Coke. "You're insane."
"Thank you," Santa said with a grin.
A New Beginning
As the moon rose higher, the last of the snow settled over the battlefield. Santa turned to Sotsuki, eyes glowing faintly in the cold light.
"So, young Sotsuki. What do you think now?"
Sotsuki looked at him for a long moment. Then he smiled — a real smile this time, small but genuine."You're still ridiculous," he said. "But… maybe not fake."
"That's progress!" Santa boomed. "Tomorrow, I'll show you what Christmas really means."
"Don't bother," Sotsuki said, standing up. "You'll just fail."
"Then I'll enjoy trying."
Sotsuki smirked, walking past him. "Bring it on, Saint."
Santa laughed as the child disappeared into the snow, his red coat billowing behind him.Above them, the stars shimmered — like twinkling ornaments on the world's biggest Christmas tree.
End Scene
In the distance, Sotsuki could still hear Santa humming an old, forgotten tune — something between a hymn and a battle song.He didn't know why, but for the first time in years, the cold didn't feel quite so heavy.
He muttered to himself, "Guess this winter won't be as boring as usual."
And somewhere, far away, bells rang faintly in the night.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next Episode Preview:
Santa moves into Sotsuki's apartment?! The kids quiet life is over as Saint Nicholas tries to 'save his soul' by teaching him the 'true joy of making tea, friendship, and mortal combat!' Prepare for chaos in Episode 2: "The Saint of the Shared Apartment."