Secret Santa: Operation Matchmaker

※ Saturday evening, about 1 week before Christmas… ※

The bustling Central Mall had transformed into a winter wonderland of festive splendor— Christmas garlands wound their way along every railing, and giant holographic snowflakes and stars cast their own gentle glow as they shimmered in the open air, while the soaring central atrium was dominated by a massive holographic Christmas tree that stretched through all four floors. The ethereal display cast dancing patterns of golden light over the shopping crowds below, its sparkles reflecting off the fresh boba tea the girls had just acquired from their ritual stop at Boba Bliss.

“Let's split into those two groups according to the MAG nya!” Narumi declared, her tail swishing excitedly. “Yui-chan and Akari-chan together, while Emi-chan, Ash-kun and I take another route!”

Earlier, they had each privately whispered their Secret Santa recipient to Narumi's MAG, allowing it to arrange groups where no one would shop alongside the person they were buying for. The little device had practically hummed with pride at being entrusted with such an important organizational task.

"Let's go, Akari-chan," Yui said with a gentle smile, placing her hand on Akari's shoulder to guide her forth. Yet, her own shoulders slumped ever so slightly.

Muuuuuuuuuu, I want to be with Ash-san... Yui's internal voice wailed as she watched Narumi practically skip away, dragging both Emi and Ash in her wake.

Yui let out a small sigh but quickly caught herself. No no, being gloomy isn't fair to Akari-chan. Besides... She glanced down at her young companion, whose porcelain-fair skin and snow-white hair gave an almost ethereal appearance as she carefully sipped her honey milk boba tea. Yui felt her heart warm at the adorable sight.

Pomf!

A small weight settled atop Akari's head as Mochi made the executive decision to temporarily switch airfields. Piyo pipiyo piyo! (Air Traffic Control has deemed Primary Airfield insufficiently novel for continued operations) [You're just bored, aren't you?]

Akari giggled softly, reaching up with her free hand to gently pat Mochi with a finger.

"Herrokero!" she beamed up at Yui, completely unfazed by her new passenger. "Yui-nee-san, can we go up to the third floor? I want to look at the clothes in Starlight Style!"

The sight of Akari's bright expression paired with Mochi's impromptu perch was too precious to resist. A warm smile spread across Yui's face, her earlier disappointment dissolving like morning frost in sunlight. "Sure, let's go there first! You have an idea in mind?"

"Mm!" Akari nodded enthusiastically, then quickly steadied her head, remembering her feathered passenger. "Ah! Gomen, Mochi-san!"

Piyo piyo. (Mild turbulence acknowledged, secondary airfield remains stable)

As Yui and Akari headed off, Narumi led her own team up the elevator into Central Life, the mall's sprawling department store. As they walked between the aisles of stock, she suddenly pulled Emi close, her cat ears twitching with barely contained glee.

“Emi-chan, I have a plan nya!” Narumi whispered in excitement. “You know how Yui-chan has a tiny bladder? Well, with her Boba tea, she'll definitely need to pee a bunch... So once Yui-chan is using the bathroom, we tell Akari-chan something about frogs to get her to follow us, and then we just tell Ash-kun to wait for Yui-chan and keep her company for a few hours until we come back! Nyahahaha!”

[A few hours!??]

“Ara! Perfect plan Narumi-chan. Let's do it!” Emi giggled, her blessed bounties boing-boing-ing with enthusiasm. Her jade green eyes lit up behind her glasses as she suddenly recalled something. "Ah! And we can tell Akari-chan there's a special plushie of that Keroppy character she likes!"

[This plan is evil!]

“What are you two whispering about?”

Both girls jumped at Ash's sudden appearance. Emi spun around, arms flailing, nearly spilling her boba tea.

“O-Oh nothing Ash-kun! Ahaha—”, she casually replied, while DOKAN backing straight into a shelf of stationery, sending the carefully arranged items tumbling to the floor. A nearby shop clerk's eye twitched as they watched the disaster unfold on a shelf they had literally just re-stacked.

“I see.” Ash's expression remained neutral as he helped pick up the scattered items. “Actually, I have a question about Yui-san. What types of things does she like?”

Narumi's ears perked up instantly. Nya? Could it beee!?

“Well,” Emi began, adjusting her glasses with a glint in her eyes, “Yui-chan loves birds, especially cute small ones! And she spends a lot of time baking the cutest, tastiest pastries. Oh, and she also likes—”

Narumi elbowed her before she could finish that sentence. “Emi-chan! Don't give away everything nya! Though...” A mischievious grin spread across her face. “If you want to know more about Yui-chan's interests, maybe you should ask her yourself when we execute our master pla—unya!”

This time it was Emi's turn to elbow Narumi, though the impact sent her own chest bouncing dramatically. “What Narumi-chan means is, why don't you check out Crafters Sanctuary or Central Life for Yui-chan? They might have something perfect!”

As they moved through the stores, they occasionally split up to secretly make their purchases, reconvening afterward with suspicious-looking shopping bags held close. Between their clandestine shopping missions, they kept shooting glances at their MAGs to check the time. After all, according to Narumi's calculations, they only had about twenty minutes before Yui's bladder would demand its regularly scheduled break.

[Why do you know her bathroom schedule down to the minutes!?]

“All according to keikaku nya!” The cat girl grinned.

[Stop plotting against your friend's bladder!]

***

After an hour of shopping, the group reconvened in the fourth-floor food court, near the entrance to Crafters' Sanctuary. Yui immediately handed her shopping bag to Narumi.

“Um, I need to use the bathroom really quick,” she announced, before hurrying towards the nearby restroom.

“Me too!” Akari chimed in, handing her shopping bag to Emi—until Narumi's hand landed firmly on her shoulder.

“Akari-chan,” Narumi whispered, her heterochromatic eyes twinkling with mischief. “Did you know there's a special Christmas Keroppy plushie upstairs? It's wearing an adorable tiny Santa hat, and they only sell it during winter, nya!”

Akari's eyes instantly lit up. “Ehhhhh? Is that true!?” she whispered back, all thoughts of bathrooms completely evaporated from her mind. “But why are we whispering?”

“Ash-kuuun,” Emi called out sweetly, already backing away with Narumi and the starry-eyed Akari. “Could you wait here and keep Yui-chan company? Don't look for us, okay? We'll be back in a few hours!”

“A few—” Ash barely managed to blink before the trio vanished into the holiday shopping crowd with suspicious speed.

A few minutes later, Yui emerged from the bathroom, only to freeze mid-step as she saw Ash waiting alone. “Eh? Where did everyone...?”

“They said something about checking the lower floors for a Christmas Keroppy,” Ash explained with a slight shrug. “Told me to wait for you. And... specifically not to look for them.”

“O-Oh...” Yui's face heated up slightly as she processed being left alone with her crush. Keep it together, Yui! Just act normal!

Piyo piyo! Mochi chirped from atop her head. (Primary landing zone showing early signs of thermal anomalies!)

An awkward silence fell between them as they stood among the food court tables. Yui fidgeted with her shopping bag, stealing glances at Ash while pretending to be deeply interested in the holiday decorations hanging from the ceiling.

“Well,” Ash finally said, “since we might be waiting a while... would you like to look around?”

“S-Sure!” Yui answered a bit too quickly. Calm down! You're being way too eager!

Her eyes darted to Crafters' Sanctuary nearby, its welcoming entrance adorned with holographic displays showcasing seasonal handmade crafts.

“Um... would you mind if we...?” Yui gestured timidly toward the store, her voice trailing off into an uncertain mumble.

Ash followed her gaze and nodded with a small smile. As they entered the store, Yui's tension began to ease among the familiar crafting supplies. She found herself gravitating toward the origami paper section, fingers trailing over the delicate patterns.

“You love origami, don't you?” Ash observed.

“Ah, yes!” Yui's eyes lit up before she caught herself and tried to temper her enthusiasm. “I-I mean... I find it calming. Creating something delicate and detailed... like origami or baking small pastries and doing the icing” She carefully selected a pack of paper with winter-themed patterns. “Do… Do you have any hobbies, Ash-san?”

Pipiyo piyo! Mochi announced. (Primary Airfield Yui registering decreased thermal readings during craft discussion!)

Ash's expression turned thoughtful. “With my amnesia... I'm not sure what I might have enjoyed before. Combat training comes naturally, but that's more duty than hobby.” He paused. “Though lately, I've found I enjoy quiet moments. Like watching the sunset from high places, or just observing the city life below.”

“O-Oh...” Yui clutched the origami paper to her chest, her heart doing little flips. He's actually opening up to me!

"Maybe..." Ash tilted his head thoughtfully, "I should try learning to bake." A slight pause. "Truth is, I have a bit of a sweet tooth."

Yui hardly registered Ash’s unexpected admission, her heart fluttering at the possibility of them sharing a hobby. Ash-san... wants to learn BAKING? He's interested in something I love?? Her imagination immediately spiralled into a montage of her and Ash doubled over in laughter as they happily chatted while baking delicate pastries and piping perfect rosettes on extravagant cakes. No no no, get it together Yui!

"Y-Yes!" she squeaked, her voice coming out an octave higher than intended. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I mean... baking is really fun! And rewarding! And... and if you wanted, I could maybe... help teach you sometime?" The last part came out in such a rushed whisper that she wasn't sure he'd even heard it.

Piyo! Pipiyo piyo! (Alert! Primary Airfield Yui registering sudden escalation in thermal readings and coinciding audio instability!)

Ash's response was a small but genuine smile, Yui's knees immediately turning to jelly. "I’d really appreciate that," he said simply.

He said yes, he said yes, he said YES! Inner Yui was practically doing cartwheels while outer Yui somehow maintained a mostly calm facade, albeit with bright red cheeks.

After lingering in Crafters' Sanctuary a while longer, they spent the next hour exploring the upper floor, stopping at various shops before finally settling down at a corner table in the food court. Yui stared in quiet delight at her hot chocolate and slice of strawberry shortcake, topped with a delicate chocolate snowflake decoration for the holiday season. Ash had chosen a simple coffee and classic cheesecake, which somehow seemed to fit his cool personality perfectly.

As they enjoyed their desserts, Yui surprised herself by managing several minutes of comfortable conversation about the basics of baking without stuttering once—a personal record that Mochi enthusiastically announced to everyone within earshot. Several nearby diners who heard the sudden series of animated chirping glanced their way in confusion.

However, as Yui and Ash finished their cakes and the minutes continued ticking by with no sign of the others, Yui's patience began to wear thin. Even Ash was starting to look concerned about the time.

“Maybe we should try to find them after all,” Yui suggested, checking her MAG for what felt like the hundredth time. No responses at all to her stream of indignant messages about suddenly being left behind with Ash. Those three are definitely up to something...

“Agreed,” Ash nodded. “They're probably downstairs somewhere.” Leaving the café behind, the pair made their way to the nearest elevator. As the doors slid open with a soft ding, Yui's heart rate accelerated. It's fine, it's just an elevator. Nothing to be nervous about—

They both reached for the floor buttons at the same time.

Their hands brushed.

Yui yanked her hand back as if shocked by static. Face burning, she stared determinedly at the floor, trying to ignore how that tiny spark of contact seemed to surge through her entire body like a flutter of butterflies.

Piyo piyo! Mochi watched with interest. (Alert! Primary Airfield registered sudden voltage surge from unexpected capacitive coupling with Tertiary Airfield! Recommend immediate isolation and circuit stability test!) [You’re an electrical engineer now?]

The doors had just started closing when a surge of lively holiday shoppers flooded in, packing them together like sardines. Yui found herself pressed against Ash's chest, suddenly very aware of his clean, masculine scent and firm muscles beneath his jacket. Stop noticing these things! [Where did those people even come from??]

“S-Sorry!” she squeaked, her face reaching new heights of crimson.

“That’s alright” Ash smiled reassuringly.

That was when Yui caught their reflection in the elevator's mirror wall. Her eyes widened in horror.

Oh no. They were matching. [Ok, this is a bit much]

Her white sweater and deep turquoise skirt perfectly complemented his navy jacket and white shirt with turquoise accent lights. And they both wore orange scarves!

PIYO! Mochi fluttered his wings anxiously. (Primary Airfield stability further compromised by unintended colour coordination!)

The photonic elevator's five-second journey stretched into an eternity of awkwardness, as Yui stood squished against Ash while suffering the lingering side effects of that momentary yet devastating hand brush and while wearing matching outfits. When the doors finally slid open with a soft ding and the crowd of shoppers dispersed, Yui took off immediately—

—right through the lazily rotating holographic "CAUTION: WET FLOOR" sign that innocently hovered just above the freshly mopped section of polished floor.

ZUPYUUN!

Eh?

Her feet suddenly preferred to be where her head was— the world tilting as her legs shot forward.

PIIYOOO! PIIYOOO! PIYOYOOO! Mochi took off in a feathery panic. (MAYDAY! MAYDAY! PRIMARY AIRFIELD IN FREE FALL!)

Time seemed to slow as Yui's brain helpfully catalogued every mortifying detail of her descent. So this is how I die… In a shopping mall. In matching outfits with Ash-san. At least I won't have to explain to Narumi why I'm red as a—wait, will they write "died from a puddle" on my ARKS file!?? Will Crawford have to fill out extra paperwork because I slipped in front of a "CAUTION" si—

In one smooth motion, strong arms caught Yui mid-fall, sweeping her up into a princess carry.

“Careful,” Ash said quietly, his face inches from hers. [Are we speedrunning ALL the romance tropes!???]

Yui's mind instantly turned to jelly as she found herself staring directly into Ash’s eyes. They're such a beautiful brown—NO NO NO DON'T THINK ABOUT HIS EYES! But... were they always this intense up close? STOP IT! DON'T LOOK! But I can't look away and—oh gosh is that his heartbeat I can feel through his chest? Or is that mine? ARE THEY SYNCHRONIZED!? Her face somehow managed to burn even hotter, surely reaching temperatures that would make a photon reactor jealous.

Piyoyo piyo! Mochi declared triumphantly from his new airfield atop Ash's shoulder. Piyo… piyo? (Emergency landing successful! Primary Airfield has likewise landed, however… now registers unprecedented thermal escalation?)

PIYO! PIYOOO! He suddenly started bobbing frantically up and down, wings flapping in distress. (CORE TEMPERATURE APPROACHING CRITICAL LEVELS! SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION IMMINENT!)

“Th-Thank you” Yui finally managed through her flustered daze.

Ash gently set her back on her feet, his hands lingering on her delicate shoulders to ensure she was steady. Yui swayed slightly, still caught in an endless feedback loop of ‘Ash-sama touched me’ and ‘he princess carried me’ and ‘oh no everyone saw’, when—

Sawa sawa sawa.

“Nyaa, your boobs are squishing me down!”

“Herrokero! The pot is leaning!”

“Shiiii! I think they can hear us!”

A suspicious cacophony of rustling leaves and muffled whispers suddenly drew their attention, just in time to witness—

DOKAN!

An enormous decorative pot plant toppled over, revealing a sight that made Yui's soul want to forcefully eject from her body. Three extremely familiar figures sprawled in a heap of limbs and leaves. Narumi's tail stood perfectly erect in surprise like an exclamation point, Emi's glasses had migrated halfway up her forehead, and poor Akari looked like she'd been attacked by an aggressive fern.

Piyoyo! Piyoyo! Piyo! Mochi fluttered in surprise at the sudden revelation. (Multiple unauthorized surveillance units detected! Confidentiality: Compromised, Primary Airfield: Mortified!)

“Wha—” Yui's voice came out as a strangled squeak as the horrifying realization dawned on her. “Have you guys been… following us!?”

“Ehehe...” Narumi pressed her index fingers together, cat ears twitching guiltily. “Maybe a tiny bit, nya?”

“Gomen ne, Yui-chan…” Emi straightened her glasses with an apologetic smile that didn't look apologetic at all. “We couldn’t help but check that everything goes smoothly!”

Akari extracted herself from the plant, looking somewhat disappointed. “There wasn't even a Santa Keroppy plushie...” she mumbled, shoulders drooping.

“Don’t be sad, Akari-chan!” Emi patted the young girl's head. “I promise to buy you any plushie you want next time, ne?”

“Wait...” Yui's eyes narrowed as a thought struck her. “How did you even follow us down here? We took the elevator...”

“Nyahaha!” Narumi's guilty expression morphed into a proud grin. “We followed behind that huge crowd and jumped into the same elevator at the last second! Just had to duck down a little and you two were too distracted to notice us, nyahaha!”

“Ara ara, you really were quite preoccupied, Yui-chan,” Emi added with a knowing smile.

Yui's last functioning brain cell waved a tiny white flag and surrendered. With a tiny “hya!” that sounded more like a squeaky toy being stepped on, she whirled around, collapsing into a squat—burying her face in her hands, her skin burning visibly red through her fingers. Piyoyoo! Mochi chirped indignantly as he performed an emergency takeoff—an appropriate reaction when your airfield unexpectedly initiates a 180-degree rotation concurrently with a critical negative altitude adjustment. Fortunately, Tertiary Airfield Ash was within optimal approach vector.

Please tell me ARKS is accepting immediate transfers to the Kvaris outpost... Yui silently despaired. Permanent arctic isolation would be less painful than this...

Ash stood there watching the chaos unfold, a slight furrow in his brow and the ghost of an amused smile playing at the corner of his mouth. His eyes moved from the sprawled trio and their toppled plant accomplice to Yui's huddled form, and something in his expression shifted. The way Yui had been acting lately, her constant flustered state, the others' poorly concealed scheme... pieces of a puzzle he hadn't realized existed suddenly aligned with crystal clarity.

For just a moment, his perpetual calm cracked. His eyes widened a fraction, and the faintest trace of color touched his ears.

"Ah." The single syllable escaped him, quietly that only Mochi on his shoulder could hear.

Piyo! Piyo! (Tertiary Airfield showing signs of emotional revelation. Interesting developments detected!)