Chapter 119: Christmas Kiss

Today was a special day. Christmas started in Rome in about 336, but it did not become a major Christian festival until the 9th century.

Christmas was an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people worldwide.

Although Shinto and Buddhism were Japan's two major religions, it did not stop the common populace from celebrating Christmas.

At 5pm, Shido was preparing a Christmas celebration at All Might's house when Eri's voice suddenly called out.

"Shido! I just received a call from All Might saying that Sir Nighteye had invited him to a Christmas party! He also mentioned that we can go as well if we wanted. What do we do now?"

Eri sounded a little sad that she couldn't celebrate her own hand-made Christmas party.

"It's fine. It's not like it would be the last time we will be doing this. Uncle Toshinori had celebrated Christmas with us for the past five years. Maybe it's finally time for All Might to hang out with his friends alone without us disturbing him." Shido said as he patted her head.

He looked around at the decoration he had put up over the week and appreciated his own handiwork, "Well, it's a waste if we were to tear it down now. Let's leave it until the next year rolls around."

"Alright, then. But what should we do now? It looks pretty empty now that it's just the two of us."

"Hey! Don't forget me as well!" Yoshinon's voice popped up.

"Oh! You haven't appeared for ten chapters already! I thought that the author had forgotten about you!" Shido exclaimed in mock surprise as he allowed the rabbit to climb onto his left hand.

"Tch! Don't just casually break the fourth wall!" Yoshinon complained.

Eri just giggled at their antics while Yoshinon asked a critical question.

"So where are we going now?"

"On a date," Shido replied simply.

"Eh? Then what about Eri's grandfather and I? We can't just walk between you two, right?" Yoshinon rubbed his forehead? Head? with his paws.

"What do you think?" Shido asked Eri. Honestly, he didn't mind Yoshinon coming along with them, but if Eri didn't want him to intrude on them, he would let Yoshinon go to Nighteye's party before going on a date with Eri alone. Eri's grandfather had gone somewhere to do whatever he needs to, under Shido's clone supervision, of course.

"I don't mind." Eri shrugged before rubbing Yoshinon's head, "He's cute anyway. Plus, where can children like us go anyway?"

"You would be surprised." Shido mysteriously smiled as he let out his broom, "Time for some make-over."

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Two teenagers came out of the house an hour later, and although none of them had any fancy jewelry or ornaments, they looked absolutely stunning.

The female had bluish, off-white hair and a tiny horn that poked out from her right temple. Her left temple also had a bump, but it wasn't as apparent as her right's. She was dressed in a white inner tee-shirt with long, slim-fit jeans. Donning an insulated jacket with fur linings with a color similar to her hair, Eri looked beautiful standing at 165 centimeters tall.

The male beside her stood at 177 centimeters tall and had long, light indigo-colored hair that reached his lower back tied into a ponytail and a fringe that covered his left eye. Like his partner's attire, he chose to wear a black tee and matching black jeans. His jacket was white in color, bringing out a stark contrast between his clothing.

And on Shido's shoulders, a puppet dressed as Santa hopped around.

Both of them wore gloves, and while Eri donned an additional knit cap, all three of which were white in color, matching the snow around them.

"Ta-dah!" Shido looked at his masterpiece and nodded his head in approval.

"You look beautiful, Eri. Can't wait to see you grow up for real." Shido complimented Eri, who blushed at his words.

"Y-You too..."

Eri couldn't help but stutter, seeing Shido's appearance in his teenage years. Although his child form was cute, she couldn't help but marvel at her boyfriend's future prospects. His long hair gave him a wild look, and when his red eyes gave a sharp yet teasing stare, Shido gave off a 'bad boy' aura, which attracted her deeply.

However, his looks were only part of why she was so attracted to him. The most important thing, she felt, was that gentle look Shido didn't show to anyone apart from her. Shido showed plentiful expression to everyone - a teasing look, a playful look, an angry look, a mocking look - everything, except for that gentle gaze.

Just as she was daydreaming about him, Shido couldn't help but smirk, seeing her so defenseless. He grabbed Er by her waist using his left hand and pulled her close to his body. His right hand caressed her cheek intimately as he gently placed her hair over her ears.

Not expecting the sudden action from him, Eri let out a cute shriek of surprise before eventually melting under his gaze.

Their foreheads touched, and Shido couldn't help but let out a satisfied smile.

"If I have you in my world, what else do I need?" Shido whispered before placing a kiss on her forehead and letting her go.

Eri couldn't react to Shido's actions the entire time; she was way too surprised by that, and it didn't help that she wasn't used to his teenage look, where one's looks would be at their prime.

"Alright, I know I'm handsome. Don't have to daydream about me when the real one is beside you." Shido smiled helplessly at the dazed Eri and said teasingly.

Eri snapped out of her daydream and looked at him with embarrassment. It had been a long time since she was embarrassed like this.

"Hmph! The one who should be happy is you. There's a beautiful girl beside you, and you only know how to tease her." Eri snorted in reply.

"Hmm? Going tsundere now? It's not like you...." Shido grinned at her reactions before whispering in her ear, "Besides, research has shown that people can't stop teasing the person they like, showing that they're very comfortable around them. I can't help it that I'm way too comfortable around you and can't stop teasing you."

Hearing Shido's words, Eri's already red face got even redder. She couldn't help but think that Shido has changed too much after his appearance grew up as well, but it didn't mean she didn't like it.

Eri couldn't find the words to reply, so Shido just grabbed her hand and started pulling her along to enjoy the Christmas night. He had it all planned out and planned to ensure that Eri would enjoy her time today.

"Finally, we're going now..." Yoshinon muttered. Watching the couple flirting in front of him annoyed him to no end.

The sun was currently setting now, and Shido brought Eri to walk around the mall first. However, as it was a public holiday, many stores were closed, causing Eri to pout a little. Shido just laughed as he dragged her to walk on the open streets instead.

He checked the time and realized it was barely half-past six.

"Eri, why don't we have an early dinner before going to walk around? The festival would be much more beautiful when the sun fully sets."

The lights were only partially lit up, but the sun could still be seen. Thus, the decorations and festival mood weren't very nice currently.

Shido suggested having an early dinner so that they would let time pass until nighttime came.

"Sure!" Eri didn't mind having an early dinner, so that was what they did.

They decided to eat at a fast-food restaurant that was currently having a sale.

As soon as they walked through McDonald's doors, they spotted a person in Santa attire, walking around while giving sweets to the children.

"Shido! Shido! Look! Santa!" Eri said excitedly. Despite the teenage looks that she currently had, she was only twelve inside, after all. She was still easily excitable when it comes to things like these.

"Alright, alright. Stop screaming out my name..." Shido smiled as he let himself get dragged by Eri to take a photo with Santa.

"Oh! A cute couple!" The photographer yelled out excitedly as he readied his camera for a photo, "Alright, put on your best pose and...three, two one! Smile!"

Shido and Eri positioned themselves on each side of the Santa and did a peace sign. Yoshinon hopped onto Santa's head and smiled widely as well, creating a perfectly symmetrical picture.

A flash of light appeared, and before even a minute was over, the photograph was taken.

While waiting for the photo to be printed, they took turns to shake Santa's hands, and he spoke, "Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, young couple! May both of you find happiness during this festival!"

""Thank you!"" Both Shido and Eri bowed to the hardworking Santa and left the scene before checking the photo in their hands.

The camera used to take this photo was actually the photographer's quirk, so the picture's quality was excellent.

"Wow! This looks fantastic!" Eri praised as she looked at the photo.

"You can keep it then." Shido didn't mind giving the photo to Eri if she wants it.

"Really? Thanks!" Eri said as she kept the photo in her purse.

"Let's eat now, shall we?"

After ordering their meals, they sat down at an empty table and enjoyed their meal. Even Yoshinon ordered a McSpicy to eat, with an apple pie as the side dish. It seemed that his love for apples had never decreased over the years and only increased.

Relishing in the Christmas atmosphere, the trio enjoyed a slow dinner, not rushing to finish anything.

"Well then, shall we walk around to digest everything we've eaten now?"

After wiping his mouth, Shido suggested to the other two.

"Can I have another apple pie to take away?" While Eri just nodded, Yoshinon asked Shido.

Shido squeezed the cheeks of Yoshinon and started pulling.

"Glutton! You and your bottomless stomach."

However, although Shido complained, he still went and queued up to get another apple pie for Yoshinon and Eri. Both of them loved apples, after all, and although Eri denied wanting to have another one, he could tell that she wanted it as well.

"Well, there you go." After about ten minutes of queuing and waiting, Shido finally got his order and gave it to the both of them as they walked out of the restaurant.

"Thank you~!" Yoshinon thanked Shido before munching on his third apple pie of the day.

Eri just held his hand and gave him a kiss on his cheeks before taking a bite out of her apple pie with a blissful expression.

"Woah! Someone is getting bolder by the day~." Shido was a little surprised by her initiative, but he didn't hate it.

The moment they stepped outside, a cold blast of air hit them in their face. Fortunately, Eri, Shido, and Yoshinon were well covered up, so the cold gust of wind did nothing more than just making the trio shiver a little and close their eyes.

However, as soon as they could open their eyes, what they saw left them breathless.

They were currently far away from the main road and nearer to a park, so seeing the fully decorated park lit up in golden-blue light was breathtaking.

Many people chose to go to the city center where a giant Christmas tree was present, leaving everywhere else less crowded, especially in places like this park. Nonetheless, the government did not slack off in decorating this park.

As they walked along the path of the park, they observed their surroundings.

The trees that directly surrounded the walkway were decorated with LED lights that shine golden with lit up. Each tree looked aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, and an exquisite star-shaped decoration was placed at the top of each tree.

"Beautiful..." Eri muttered subconsciously, and even Yoshinon stopped eating his apple pie to look at this scene.

"Yes. It is."

However, what Shido was looking at wasn't the pulchritudinous trees.

He was staring at the girl beside him with dazed eyes.

"Hey, Eri."

"Yes?" She didn't turn around to face him and replied to Shido absentmindedly.

Unknown to Shido, Eri was actually not paying attention to the trees as well. She was looking at Shido out of the corner of her eyes, anxiously waiting for something to happen.

'Something was supposed to happen now, right?! This was what was written in those books I read...he's supposed to do some-'

However, just as she was about to complete her thoughts, she suddenly found her chin being tilted upwards, and before she could even react, her lips were occupied by something foreign. And no, it was not the apple pie.

"Mhm?!" Eri instinctively wanted to push Shido away, but she found herself trapped in his arms, unable to do so.

Her arms were weak, and her legs lost their strength. Eventually, she lost the will to resist, and her hands managed to find their way towards Shido's neck and wrapped it around.

She was twelve centimeters shorter than Shido, so to reach him better, she started to stand on her tiptoes.

Her minute actions allowed her well-developed body to press against Shido's, causing him to smile in delight.

After two minutes of the chaste kiss, Shido finally released Eri's lips and smiled playfully.

Eri was too embarrassed about her actions and hid her face in Shido's chest.

"Thank you for the feast. It was sweet..." Shido whispered into her ears, "...like apple pie."

Eri's only reply was muffled by Shido's thick jacket, but his enhanced senses could hear what Eri said.

"Baka..."

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A/N: 'Pulchritudinous' means beautiful for all of you plebs out there. I know they are twelve, but their current (temporary) body is eighteen or nineteen, so I don't see the problem. Plus, this is anime.