Nothing dramatic is guaranteed to happen just because it's Christmas.
Today's not going to be a great memory or anything.
What exactly is Christmas?
Just how grand is this phenomenon known as Christmas?
Is there a right way to celebrate Christmas?
What is this luck that supposedly comes with Christmas?
Does something that's born on Christmas shine bright?
"Good Luck"
What exactly are you supposed to do on Christmas?
Hey, now!
Quit spacing out!
Oh, sorry. U-Um, Manager?
What is it?
May I take Christmas... May I take the 25th off?
You got a date?
I-I wouldn't exactly...
...call it that...
First off, is a date where you do
something fun with someone you're interested in to get closer to them?
And in that case, I guess you could sort of call this a date.
My date with Shimamura... What should we do on Christmas?
Chicken, a cake, a tree,
a present...
Oh...
A present for Shimamura.
A present, a present...
A Christmas present for Shimamura--
Heya, Adachicchi! What're you spaced out for? You feeling faint?
It's not that.
Oh, you must be waiting for Shimamura.
No, not really...
Hey, it's rare to see you alone.
Wut?
Oh, yeah. She's not here. How did she lose me?
Don't you need to wait for Nagafuji?
I don't usually get the chance to ask you out to lunch.
Thanks for the grub!
Let's eat.
Say.
Do you know what Shimamura likes?
Does she have anything she actually likes?
She's not the type of person that actually talks about stuff like that.
I know...
Have you been shopping with Shimamura before?
I have, but it's usually like a bookstore.
Oh, and we've peeked in a tea shop before.
Tea shop?
Well, we went because of me, but Shimamura did have a look, too.
Oh, yeah. I think there was a certain tea that she said smelled good.
But I don't remember if it was black tea or green...
I see. So tea...
You wouldn't happen to remember the name of that tea, would you?
Um... One sec.
Man, what was it? It wasn't barley tea...
Which shelf was it on...?
Nope, I don't remember.
The name is on the tip of my tongue, though.
I think I can remember it if I see it again.
If you see it... Um...
Will you look for it with me?
Hm. I mean, you could just take Shimamura with you.
Ah, I see.
In that case, I'll go with you and choose.
Really?
There's Hino!
There you are. Where'd you get lost at, Nagafuji?
Oh?
H-Hey...
Did you shrink?
Wha...?
It's just you seem smaller than usual, so I lost track of you.
What'd you say?!
Ow.
Do you mind if I have some ramen?
Hand over some bread, then.
There's a sweet one.
They're so close...
Ooh, give me that one!
Here.
I don't think I'd ever... be able to smack Shimamura on the head like that.
Sorry!
Adatty, have you been waiting long?
Nagafuji's not with you?
She apparently had something to do.
She has a day like that like once a year. Anyway, let's go!
Okay.
Oh... Do you want to get on the back?
I will, but we should get away from school first.
If a teacher sees us, we'll never hear the end of it.
Wow...
What?
I never thought of you as an honor student.
Praise me more.
I bet it is pretty weird...
That I'm imagining walking around town on Christmas with another girl
and my heart is about to burst.
I'm sure that Shimamura isn't this anxious about Christmas.
There's definitely a difference in how I feel about Shimamura and vice versa.
And I'm not sure if I want her to realize that... or not.
"Jikkokuya Jyugoro"
Thank you for coming by again.
Heya.
"Ginger Tea"
Do you come here often?
Yeah... I may or may not have someone in my family who drinks a lot of tea...
Ginger... That'd probably warm you right up.
Apparently, it works great for people who get cold easily...
According to my family member.
You don't drink it?
Well, I don't exactly get cold easily. Let's see, where was it...?
I'm pretty sure it was on this shelf...
Hey, Adatty. Can I ask you something?
Are you the type that would get mad if I confidently told you,
"Yeah, this is the one!" and was totally wrong?
I don't think my personality sucks that badly...
Oh, good. Then I think it's this one.
Man... Thanks for treating me. Though I sorta talked you into it.
Sure...
It's a bit chilly in here.
My legs are freezing.
Yeah.
You're totally anxious because you don't know what to say right now, huh?
Y-Yeah...
I'm sure it would've been the same with Nagafuji here, too.
Though, in her case...
Huh?
So that's what she had to do... Did you know about this?
Good grief. What am I going to do with you?
Huh? What?
Wanna follow them?
Let's not. They seem busy.
Ah, Adatty, always the honor student.
I thought I was the only one...
...that got to hang out with Shimamura alone.
Why were you with Nagafuji?
And the fact that I was totally wrong about that shouldn't hurt this much.
I'm so dumb.
Shimamura...
Just saying her name...
Just the sound of her name was enough to get me through this winter.
Hey, hey, hey.
Are you really an alien, Yachi?
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
But of course. I have never told a lie.
Then show me proof! Proof that you're an alien.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
I would be violating my agreement if I showed you, so I cannot.
The rules of the universe can be rather strict. Oh?
What is that, Little Shimamura?
My, my, my, what a dramatic sound...
You're the one that's dramatic, Yachi.
Just breathe into it more gently...
Ah, it's almost discount time, so I must go.
Huh?
Alienspeak?
Shimamura and I are just normal friends.
At least, that's how Shimamura sees us.
Even then, I still want to get closer to Shimamura one step at a time.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow.
But the closer you get, the more things get across.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow.
I keep mentioning Christmas with Shimamura, but...
Is it love? No, no, no...
Romance? No, no, no...
Like...?
Whatever it is, it's warm and fuzzy.
It's a warm liquid that flows through my chest.
Cool!
Huh?
What's this "Cool" supposed to mean?
Like, "Coolio"? Maybe she meant, "Chill out"?
Or, "Cool beans"?
Cool!
I want to hear Shimamura's voice...
I want to know more about her.
And I'll be able to hear and ask her lots tomorrow.
Were you waiting long?
I just got here.
You liar.
I've been watching you sitting here for the last five minutes from afar.
Huh?
Er, I was just joking. Anyway, sorry for making you wait.
I-It's okay...
So, I've been wondering ever since I saw you today...
Huh? What?
Why are you wearing your Chinese dress from work under your coat?
Oh, uh... Yeah, I guess I can't blame you for wondering.
Actually,
won't people think you're trying to lure them into a sketchy shop?
Look, even I know this is weird.
But... She said I looked cute in it, so...
Oh, I think it's fine. You look super cute.
It must be nice being so pretty. You can actually pull that outfit off.
B-But you're even cuter Shimamura...
You can skip the sarcasm.
Christmas all alone with Shimamura...
So, where are you taking me today?
Um, we should go to the 2nd floor.
Though Shimamura's probably only here because she felt obligated as a friend.
I need to stop. Whenever I let my guard down, my thoughts just go down a dark path
and I'll get depressed...
S-Sorry.
No, really. I'm sorry.
So, hey.
Don't suddenly grab my hand like a purse-snatcher.
Sorry.
Did you want to hold hands?
If we could.
Didn't we do this all before?
Possibly.
Next time, make sure you just ask if it's okay.
Yus!
What kind of response is that? How did you even pronounce that?
You might've sounded like a shrimp just now.
Just ignore that. Um...
I got it, though. I'll ask next time.
Good.
Come on.
You don't need to panic so much.
No one else is going to steal my hand from you.
But I'm not the only one that gets to walk next to you...
I was thinking we could play here.
Huh... An arcade.
Oh, hey. A ping-pong table.
Yeah, but I was thinking...
We could play... this. Air hockey. What do you think?
Sure, why not?
Okay.
Air hockey is sort of similar to ping-pong in some ways.
This was our pastime.
You can go first, Adachi.
Okay, take that!
Shimamura and I met on the second floor of the gym.
No matter how it happened, once we've met,
there was a path that led us there as well as fate.
No matter the encounter, there's always a grand past that goes along with it.
This is sorta different.
What do you mean?
Two hundred, 500, billions of actions done by everyone and everything
I play the video game version of this at home with my sister,
and it's definitely a bit different.
piled up together in order for two people to meet.
I wonder what kind of paths led us to meet.
Even one different decision would've meant that I wouldn't have met Shimamura.
And that fact alone...
Made me endlessly like my past self.
Y-You're pretty good at this, Adachi...
H-How you like them apples?
Jeez, Adachi. You're super good.
I never expected you to be the type to pick on noobs.
It's not like that.
I think you also had more wins in ping-pong, too.
Did I?
Wait, maybe it's me.
It's not fair to make stuff up just because I don't remember.
But it doesn't seem that long ago somehow.
When spring comes and we become second-years and the sun is out more again,
I wonder if we're gonna go to the gym again.
I think we can just go to class, come here after school, and play ping-pong.
A perfect score. You're a total honor student now, Adachi.
But man, we're gonna be second-years... We'll probably be in different classes.
Shimamura... here.
I bought you a Christmas gift... or something...
Wow... Well, this was a nice surprise. Can I open it?
Yeah.
Oh, hey. This is the nice smelling one. I wanted to try it out.
This is great!
But how did you know I liked this?
Just a coincidence?
No...
Hm... Oh, you must've asked Hino.
Y-Yeah.
You really didn't have to, Adachi. But thank you.
I never thought you'd be thinking the same thing.
Huh?
Since you're such a good little girl, Adachi,
Big Sis got you a present, too.
What is that?
A boomerang... Oh, and some goggles.
Am I supposed to wear it when I throw this thing?
Yeah. Oh, I threw it a few times before buying it.
It's way more fun than you'd expect.
I suck at choosing stuff like this, so I asked Nagafuji to help me pick.
Huh?
Maybe she'd want a boomerang.
I think kids would love them. They're super fun.
Though they tend to snap when you throw them around in winter.
Oh, I just told Nagafuji I was getting a present for my little sister.
Nagafuji... I see. So that's why she was with her...
Adachi?
Thanks... I'll take really good care of this.
Honestly, I didn't care about the boomerang, but...
The fact that Shimamura gave this to me... was the best gift I could ask for.
So, yeah. You hold the boomerang behind you,
and then throw it in front of you like you're going to chop something vertically.
Yeah, like that. Make sure you don't throw it up, though.
Well, it's your first try.
Were you able to catch it, Shimamura?
Yeah. But that's not bad for a beginner.
But you sorta look like you're in some movie,
throwing that thing in your Chinese dress. It's very cinematic.
Huh?!
Hup.
Not feeling it?
Yeah...
I see. Hey, should I go back and buy you something else?
No, no. I really like it.
I see.
But we probably should head back. It's warmer inside.
This was my only chance, I thought...
Here, where no one else was around...
This was the only place I'd be able to say something like this to Shimamura...
So I'm going to take it.
Even if I'm not ready... Even if I fall on my face...
Shimamura.
Huh?
Adachi?
I...
I really like you, Shimamura...
Like, really like you... love you...
Shimamura, I...
...want to be your friend...
I'm pretty sure we already are?
No, not just friends...
But I want to be like, your best friend.
My best friend?
I sorta really want to be that, so...
I'll do my best.
I-I see...
I don't really get it,
but it's great that you're so ambitious.
Y-Yeah!
Nothing dramatic is guaranteed to happen just because it's Christmas.
Today's not going to be a great memory or anything.
I mean, my mind just kept going blank,
so I didn't really have a chance to remember anything.
Just like scenery being covered in snow...
I'm just going to carve the memory of a white album into the back of my brain.
Episode 6: White Album
Next Time: 'Please Choose the Best Chocolate for Me'
Adashimapedia: Christmas.
What are you mad about, Hino?
I'm not.
Want some chicken curry at my place on Christmas?
It's Christmas, so chicken curry?
Yup. It's a Nagafuji family tradition.
I see. Guess I'll just have to come over then!