As soon as he got home, Haru dashed straight to his room without even saying a word.
"Welcome back!" his mom called after him, but the door slammed shut before she could get another word out.
She sighed, her face twisting in mild annoyance. "Well… that was rude."
Once inside, Haru went straight to the cabinet beside his desk, pulled out a laptop, and flipped it open. His fingers flew over the keys as he searched frantically.
"Central City… Gotham City… Metropolis… Coast City… they're all here!"
He let out a frustrated groan and pressed his palms to his face. 'Fuck… I'm such an idiot. Why didn't I search by city instead of history? Everyone knows history can be wrong! …and usually is.'
'How much has already happened that I don't know?'
He started typing the names of heroes, one after another, but nothing appeared.
Haru leaned back, rubbing his chin, trying to make sense of it all. "Hmmm… this can't be right," he muttered. "That was clearly the Flash, and judging by his suit, there's no way it's his first day."
He thought back for a moment. 'Wasn't there also a red light with the Flash?'
Then his eyes widened. "Don't tell me… that was Professor Zoom!"
'But that wouldn't make any sense!' He leaned into the computer. 'I've got nothing here. No Scarlet Speedster, no Blurs in the sky or citie… not even a Bat-Signal.'
'How could Professor Zoom and the Flash be running around without anyone noticing?… And what the hell are they doing in Japan?'
He paused, thinking it over, and his heart sank at the possibility. Covering his mouth, he whispered aloud, "Oh god… Is Barry messing with the timeline again?"
He thought some more, turning it over in his mind. 'Actually… now that I think about it, is it Barry or Wally? I mean, the lightning color was orange, right? Wally usually has blue. But in the animated series, they usually have the same color… well, except maybe in Teen Titans. Some animated series just give Wally the same orange, don't they?'
Finishing with his thoughts. He decided to just not dwell on it. It had nothing to do with him.
Then he thought to himself, 'Well… I guess I'm probably in DC Comics.'
As soon as the thought hit him, his eyes swept around the room; drawings of Superman and countless other DC heroes lined the walls, and action figures he'd made of them stood on shelves.
"Well… guess I really screwed myself, didn't I?" he muttered, his expression deadpan.
He got up from his desk chair. "Well, might as well try to mitigate the damage."
He began taking the drawings down. When he finally removed a Superman drawing he'd made a long time ago, a thought crossed his mind. 'Didn't I make one of these for Mom?'
'Nah… even if I did, there's no way she kept it this long. She probably threw it away ages ago.'
He dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come and turned his attention to the action figures.
*****
'Dear Santa,
I know I haven't written you a letter in the past five years or left you any milk or cookies… so, my bad. That changes this Christmas. You'll get what is yours, freshly baked, I assure you.
Anyway, I was wondering if you could do me a solid. I saw my dad looking at this really cool leather jacket that I know he wants, but it was too expensive. If you could get that for him, that would be amazing.
The same goes for my mom. She was secretly looking at a perfume not even two days ago, but it was really expensive, so she didn't buy it. I want to get it for her, so if you can, well, you know.
I know this is a lot to ask for, and I also know I haven't really been niceness-maxing to the best of my ability, but it would mean a lot if you could do this.
That's it, really.......
ACTUALLY, there is one more thing.
There's a family in America that really helped me out way back when…
They don't know me, but I still want to do something for them. If it wasn't for the way they raised their son, I know I would've lost hope when I needed it the most.
They live in a small town in Kansas called Smallville.
The Kents.
I heard from a reliable source that they like coffee, so if you could give them a premium coffee maker and some good coffee beans, that would be amazing.
Again, I know this is a lot, and I know how much you work, so if you can't do it, that's fine too. Also, don't forget to take care of yourself and get yourself a treat.
Oh, and don't forget that Darkseid has been really naughty this year ;)
Sincurly yours,
Haruya Hyoudou'
As Haru finished the letter, he folded it up, sealed it with tape, and wrote "For Santa" on the front. After a moment of thought, he added in big letters: DO NOT OPEN.
He stood up on his tiptoes and gently placed it on the Christmas tree, tucking it between some branches so it could hang like one of the ornaments.
Satisfied, he stepped back and glanced at it, a small, mischievous smirk spreading across his face as he imagined Darkseid's reaction once he gets coal for Christmas.
He then turned around to his mother, who was looking at the TV, and asked, "Uh… Mom? … Do you… know how to bake cookies by chance?"
Miki froze for a moment, her eyes suddenly sparkling in a way Haru hadn't seen before. A soft, delighted smile spread across her face as she looked down at him.
"Yes… I do, in fact," she said warmly.
Haru ignored the sparkle in her eyes and asked, "Can you… teach me?"
He had no idea what he had just unleashed by saying those words.