With You in the Future

Secret Santa 2020 (Part 3)

Once the whole cake was eaten and the table was clean, they took turns to take their stuff out from Sai's closet.

Hinata was looking for her gloves when she found Naruto's hat in her pockets. She watched him wrap his scarf around his neck and once he was done, she approached him and tiptoed to place it on his head.

"Ah, thanks Hinata. Hey, guess what I found."

He took out her gloves from his own pocket and she chucked, slightly shaking her head.

Then, when everyone was finally ready to go, Sai's flat door closed behind them and they all met with the chill wind of the night.

Since the first day of december, it was snowing every night, thickening the roadsides and the patches of black ice that seemed to wait mischievously for the most reckless ones on every street corner.

Fortunately, that hadn't stopped Konoha inhabitants.

Christmas and New Year were really something the villages would be eager to celebrate. Especially this year, after the last events that had taken place during the Rinne Festival. The moon incident had worried everyone who wanted now to gather and have fun.

Therefore, between the day the Hokage had announced that the entire world was out of danger and tonight, the whole village had been really busy.

Christmas lights lit up the streets, Christmas carols were sung by carol singers, ideas of Christmas presents were exposed at consumers' eyes in shops and the Christmas spirit warmed everybody's hearts.

It was almost impossible to not feel people's cheerfulness. Especially when younger ninjas surrounded them, asking for autographs and pictures with the heroes of the war, some more eager than others for speaking to Naruto in particular.

Being their quiet selves, Hinata, Shino and Sai left the group to sit at one of the shops at the Christmas market entrance. Eventually, the rest followed as they were speaking and they all decided to take another hot drink.

Her boyfriend took out his froggy wallet and paid for the hot chocolate with a lot of cream they will both share while she wished the nice workers a merry christmas.

Laughs and screams from children riding their chosen animal from the huge carousel echoed across the large Chritsmas market opened until dawn pierced the snowy clouds. A few couples who had left the intimacy of their home were wandering or playing with fate at the gift lottery. Groups of teenagers packed together in front of the shooting games and expressed their victories by patting on their backs. Families were taking pictures next to the giant Christmas Tree with Santa Claus and his elves, all of them having happy, toothy smiles.

It was the most beautiful time of the year.

And yet, back in the days Naruto failed to enjoy this cheerful atmosphere.

When he was younger, he might well be staring at the fake Santa Claus which seemed to be really friendly, he couldn't feel the overwhelming euphoria like the other children around him. So he'd bought strawberry cakes. The first year, he'd eaten the whole cake the same night and what he'd gained the next day was a stomachache. The second year, he'd savoured a small slide everyday, but after a while, he'd got tired of it. He'd then understood there was no point in having cake at home if he couldn't share it with someone. He also wasn't a good boy at that time so his name couldn't be on Santa Claus' good list. The worst was that all the toys he would've wanted to buy for himself were too expensive. Then gradually just the idea of buying something for himself had made him feel blue.

That's why every year, he'd taken the opportunity of the Christmas break the Academy gave its students to practice his techniques and in doing so, avoid all this atmosphere he failed to understand.