Side Story: Santa Shiro

The Fool.

It is a pathway once taken by a chosen person. He was able to fight against the scheme of a Pillar of the Universe, protecting his existence from Mysteries.

His adventure was one of the reasons why Shiro chose this power as a medium to regain his strength. It was simply captivating to see a mortal struggle against a god; and win in the end.

Although, if he went the normal way, he would've taken great risks and time. Even the Acting Method wouldn't be able to fully ensure a smooth sialing life form within the world where it came from. Thus, it was converted into something that he could take, which is in the form of a system reward.

Nevertheless, Shiro begann to grow fond over the said stories that it entailed.

As such...

*****

"...A talking vending machine?"

"Please don't lump me with normal vending machines. I am the first edition of the wish-granting vending machine manufactured by..."

Misaka could no longer bear listening to the 'mystical mracle-granting vending machine's' words. It all sounded like pointless mutterings on her ears.

"Alright, alright. Since you are being so suspicious, I'll take my leave."

"Fine."

A person appeared out of thin air beside the vending machine. He was wearing a set of Victorian outfit as well as a pair of metal-framed glasses.

"A mage..?"

"I'm... not." The man paused for a while. "I'm just a man living on his retirement. You know, getting tired with many things and all..."

She suspiciously eyed the self-proclaimed 'old man' who didn't look old at all. Although, she had a reason to believe him. In this world, there are many things that could reverse the aging process, effectively becoming young forever.

"Anyways, since it is currently Christmas, I believe it is my job to act as Santa Claus."

"..."

Misaka doesn't know whether to laugh or be vigilant in his words.

"So... What is it that you desire?"

Facing his serious question, she thought of a ridiculous request.

"What if I want the path to become a Level Six Esper?"

"Level Six..."

Seeing the man fall in deep contemplation, she was about to take it back when he looked at her once again.

"It should roughly be on the level of Magic Gods in this world. That shouldn't be something too hard to give."

Upon his words, Misaka found out that time itself had stopped. Only she was able to interact with her surroundings and move freely.

"Considering the man within this Academy City... I'll give you the means to hide this from him."

A gift box manifested on top of his palm. After signing the Christmas card, he gave it to Misaka.

"This should be the side when I'll say Merry Christmas! I hope you could fully utilize this gift."

Just as she was about to respond, she found out that everything returned to normal. The man and his vending machine is long gone, and the only thing that remained is the beautifully-wrapped gift box on her hand.

"Am I dreaming..?"

Misaka would definitely question herself more by the time she opens this present.

*****

The man's sigh echoed in the endless void.

"Some worlds has their own end. It is inevitable they would have an epilogue. It's just that I hated it and..."

Shiro reminisced the experiences he had over his long years. The most recent one would be his messy battle against his version who became an apostle that sought to end everything. It was a conceptual battle on the level of two beings on the very peak. He reckons nobody wuld be able to write it perfectly with words.

As for what happened after that...

It is quite a long story.

All he could say was that...

Handling a harem is not that easy.

"Next world, it is."

Manifesting a sleigh, Shiro continued acting as a Santa Claus with a matching outfit and white beard. Though, his beard didn't suit him at all.

Using his ability to travel world, he arrived on a new world.

The moment he did so, he felt the entire world itself reacting on his arrival.

'Not now.'

With a thought, his existence disappeared, as if there never was any foreigners that entered just now. The hostile Honkai Energy gradually receded.

Soon, Shiro arrived in a blue planet.

'Another parallel Earth. She said that her adventures here are fulfilling.'

After settling everything, they were able to connect with his 'stubborn' daughter who went out on her own to find him. He apreciated her sentiments, though this world is another matter altogether.

Despite her measures, she wasn't able to completely eradicate the threats this world possessed. For once, this world is very special in a way that it birthed a special will that adopted a 'survival of the fittest' approach. The destruction of many worlds due to honkai is also repeated on a cycle, prompting its residents to adapt.

Just now, he found out a totally different race living on another planet. They abandoned their phsyical body and lived through the use of mechanical bodies instead.

Unfortunately, the people of Earth didn't have that option.

Nevertheless, his daughter contributed enough to ensure the preservation of the world's high-end forces.

Just like before, he plans to become a full-blown Santa Shiro of this world.

...

A red-haired woman was spending her Christmas... with more than a dozen bottles of alcohol.

"Hiccup..! I... another Christmas spent..."

Suddenly, her shapr senses came back as she heard something go through the chimney of her fireplace.

Thud-!

"Ow! How the hell did Santa go through these..."

Much to her shock, Santa Claus crawled out of the fireplace. His outfit started burning from the edges, though it mysteriously disappeared as soon as she blinked.

"Who are you..?!"

Santa Claus deadpanned at her.

"Do you even need to ask?"

"Well... Santa Claus..?"

"You got that right."

The drunkard and Santa Claus seemingly got together well.

Santa Claus opened the huge red bag on his shoulder and began searching for something. While he did so, the drunk Himeko asked something.

"Don't you... Don't you need to come when children are sleeping?"

"So you consider yourself a child?"

"Hell, no!"

Soon, she began preparing something for him. It was her last piece of cookie along a glass of whiskey.

'Who is he..?'

'I don't have my battlesuit...'

'I need to notify someone...'

Under the facade of a careless drunkard, Himeko began thinking of solutions to the Santa Claus who appeared just now. At the very least, she couldn't feel any honkai energy or the likes, signifying he is not that strong. However, which weakling could sneak inside St. Freya Academy, in her room out of all places?

Finally, Santa Claus took out two small black boxes and placed it underneath her Christmas Tree.

"Right... Your students... Can I leave their presents here? I don't want to be labeled as a thief by sneaking in their rooms."

Himeko looked at him with an incredulous look.

"Don't you have a legal team in North Pole? More importantly... Why have you only thought of it when you sneaked in my own room?"

"Well, I believe Miss Himeko wouldn't immediately call me a thief or whatnot. After all, your most precious thing would be the 120 Years Old WIne stored in your cellar. No thief would steal something like that."

"You..."

His words is the same as telling her she didn't have much belongings for a thief to steal!

Seeing her nod, Santa Claus began placing the gifts for her students as well. It amounted to more than a dozen. It turned the desolate Christmas Tree into a slightly festive one with all the gifts below it.

"Alright, that wraps it up." He said before noticing the cookie and the whiskey. "Was that for me?"

"If not?"

"Alright. You have my thanks."

Santa Claus swiftly ate the cookie in one sitting. He then followed up with the unusual combination of whiskey that washed it down his throat.

"This is it. Have a Merry Christmas, Murata Himeko."

Much to her surprise, he started going through the fireplace once more.

"Wait! You..!"

She didn't expect that he would suddenly leave after that. She didn't mind the flames of the fireplace and checked the chimney, but to no avail.

By the time she went outside, all she saw was a vague silhouette of a man riding a sleigh being pulled by reindeers.

"...What the hell."

Himeko blankly returned to her room. Her sight caught a glimpse of the gifts placed under her tree. Being cautious of bombs or something, she looked at them more closely.

When she found the one with "To: Himeko", she didn't hesitate to open it.

"Huh..?"

It was a black box. She opened it and saw it had a syringe enclosed on it. A note was placed on the inside of the lid which stated:

[This settles your problem. Honkai energy is quite a troublesome thing, but this should be the most perfect solution to control it. Merry Christmas.]

[Yours Truly, Santa Claus]

With Santa Claus' words as well as the unexplainable charm he possessed, she had the inclination to believe him.

"Was that really... Santa Claus?"

.....

"After this... It's time to face those night attacks again..."

Little did everyone know...

Beside his will to help many worlds complete their stories, another main reason why someone with such a strong power chose to become Santa Claus is to avoid his wives' sneaky attacks...

If others knew about it, they would merely say one thing to him:

"You lucky bastard!"

*****

A/N: This signifies the first side story after a long time. While I can't completely promise the stability of the updates here (due to uni), I'll try to drop a couple of side stories every now and then. For now, I'll be writing a chapter for my [A Better Life!] tomorrow. 

Here's hoping that I will finally be able to finish my research paper before the next semester comes...

Happy Reading~!