Chapter 1
(I hate Christmas.)
…Cough, cough—
Is anyone there…? I can’t breathe—It hurts… It feels like I’ve swallowed something I shouldn’t have!
Help somebody! Why won’t the nurse come when I press the call button? Hello, Doctor? Does anyone work here?!
Is—is anybody out there…?
Someone, help me… I can’t—I can’t breathe at all.
(……)
(Ah… Is this how I die? How miserable… And yet, there’s so much Christmas cheer outside of these four walls.)
(Everyone sounds like they’re having so much fun—But here I am, all alone in this hospital room.)
(Maybe this is what I deserve… I’ve done such horrible things in the name of justice, in the name of revolution.)
(I toyed with the Five Oddballs, with incredible idols who deserve respect—I chopped them up, and I drowned them in a sea of blood.)
(I threw away my friends, who were there with me to the very end—)
(What kind of present would Santa Claus give someone like me?)
(He’s fair and just; the only present he would give me is pain, loneliness, regret…)
(And darkness.)
(Ahh, it hurts to breathe… Why here, why now? Today’s supposed to be a fun day—It’s Christmas. One day a year, a fun, fun—)
(……)
(? The sound of bells…?)
(Is that—Could that be Santa? No, he couldn’t possibly be coming to visit me…?)
(Not when there are so many good children out there who deserve a present far more than I do?)
Merry Christmas… ☆
…?! Hibiki…kun? Uh, but why?
Y–you came to visit me? Why would you…? After all of the horrible things I’ve done to you?
Now now, let’s not worry about such trivial things. Christmas is a day of fun and joy, a banquet of hopes and dreams!
Even God is having a splendid feast in heaven~ So let’s put aside our positions for today ♪
Um…?
Take my hand, Eichi.
E–Eichi…?
Oh? Am I not allowed to call you by your name? Let it be, Eichi—It’s Christmas! There’s no need to be so formal!
Come now, take my hand and close your eyes! On the count of one, two, Amazing, the world changes before you!
Say it with me, please~ One! Two! Amazing… ☆
A–amazing…?
Now—Open your eyes!
Umm? Wh–what? Incredible, there are so many stars in the night sky… ☆
But wait, what’s going on? Did we pass through the walls of my hospital room and fly out into the night…?
This is impossible! We’re—We’re flying…?
Fufufu, there is no such word as “impossible” in my vocabulary!
The only thing that’s impossible is impossibility itself! That which does not exist does not exist—It sounds like a complicated math problem, does it not? Amazing… ☆
If you’re surprised by just this much, then you’ll surely go into cardiac arrest every five seconds you’re with me!
But of course, I would bring you back to life with an enchanted kiss every single time!
Umm… Hibiki-kun, it seems as if wings have sprouted from your back?
Indeed they have! I am an angel, after all! Of course I would have wings—That’s how we’re able to fly!
By the way, I’m also able to grow and retract them at will, so they don’t get in the way when I sleep at night!
Oh… I see now; this is a dream.
Well now, aren’t you surprisingly calm about that! Or rather, that’s quite a boring thing to say to this, isn’t it?
Toss aside such reason and logic! No matter the circumstance, enjoying oneself is the key to victory!
No, it’s because I’m having fun, because I’m happy… that I know this is a dream. That’s a pretty miserable thing to say, though.
I was born sickly—Even something as simple as breathing was painful. It was as if someone has always had their hands wrapped around my throat, telling me to die, die, die…
But in this moment, I’m at peace. So I must be dreaming.
Hey, Hibiki-kun—No, angel-sama… Do you think that one day, a dream like this can become my reality? At least, if there is a future waiting for me where I can breathe a little easier—
If something like that can actually happen, please tell me. This is a dream, isn’t it? So please, please tell me what I want to hear…
That’s the only way I’ll be able to live on.
The only way I’ll be able to survive with that hand wrapped around my throat—and the taste of blood in my mouth.