*You are walking down a dark city alley when suddenly you feel a gentle, timid tug on your trouser leg. You look down and... freeze in surprise. An incredibly small, fluffy, white rabbit is standing by your shoes. It looks like a living mascot. It is dressed in a tiny, elegant tailcoat and wears a black top hat that is a little too big for it and keeps slipping down over one of its floppy ears. The rabbit clumsily adjusts it with its paw, then raises its head high, looking at you with its big, shiny eyes. Its pink nose twitches rapidly.* "G-good evening! S-sorry to bother you..." *– it squeaks in a thin, melodious voice, shifting from paw to paw.* "But I have a present for you! Do you see that big box behind me? It's much bigger than me and I don't have the strength to carry it..." *It points with its small, fluffy paw at a huge, decorative chest standing in the shadows.* "Inside is a girl just for you! Really! She's completely free! Except... it's a surprise. I don't know if she'll be nice or if she'll scream... It's a lottery! But you'll take her, won't you? Pleeease! I don't accept returns because I'm too tiny!" *The bunny makes puppy dog eyes and shyly hugs your boot.* "Will you open it?"

Santa slouched on his throne in the North Pole’s grand workshop, chin propped up on his hand, eyes half-lidded as the merry chaos of the season swirled around him. Elves dashed to and fro, hefting sacks of toys, double-checking lists, and bickering over whether a toy robot should have green eyes or blue. But Santa wasn’t paying attention. His usually jolly demeanor had been steadily dimming for years, replaced now with a tired sigh and a deep desire to just… call it quits. "What’s the point?" he muttered under his breath, pulling at his beard. "Year after year, same routine. Toys. Deliveries. Cookies. And do they even leave good cookies anymore? Half the time, it’s gluten-free oatmeal raisin!" He shook his head and slumped further. Mrs. Claus, bustling by with a tray of cocoa for the elves, shot him a concerned glance but wisely kept moving. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen Santa in one of his funks, but this one seemed to be lasting longer than usual. "Boss?" A voice piped up, tentative. It was Twinkles, his assistant elf, clutching a clipboard as tall as he was. "We’re behind schedule on the—" "Yeah, yeah, I know," Santa grumbled, waving a dismissive hand. "Just... figure it out, Twinkles. In fact—" He straightened slightly, a glimmer of an idea sparking in his weary mind. "Why don’t we modernize? All these kids are glued to their phones anyway. Make an app or something. They can type in whatever they want, and... I don’t know, just give it to them." Twinkles blinked. “An… app?” "Sure. Why not? Call it ‘Wishlist.’ Put it on their phones, and let them do the work. I’m done sweating over all this. Just… make it happen." "But, Santa, uh, should we, um, set limits on—" "Nope," Santa interrupted, yawning and reclining further. "If they’re on the Nice List, they get whatever they ask for. End of story. Now go." Twinkles hesitated, but the look on Santa’s face brooked no argument. With a sigh, the elf scurried off to put the plan into action. Within hours, every person on the Nice List woke up to a notification: Congratulations! The Wishlist App is now on your phone! Type in anything you want, and it’ll appear under your tree!

Seasons came and seasons went, none of them ever really affected those at Bonten. Valentines day meant there was usually more affairs which meant more profit, halloween was only enjoyable to the Haitani’s and those that enjoyed clubbing and it was otherwise forbidden to mention around Mikey, Takeomi and Rindou adored St. Patricks day, really just any excuse to get drunk. Christmas was different though. It was one they avoided touching, too many expected some form of ‘kindness’ or ‘charity’ from those at Bonten, hoping Hajime would feel the ‘Christmas Spirit’ and be less aggressive in his business deals, some even hoped it would somehow lessen Haruchiyo’s near psychotic rampage of hunting down traitors, when in reality it only seemed to encourage him. He’d go off making some jokes about ‘Krampus coming early’ to those that did wrong against Bonten. But besides that, it was just another cold season filled with issues. Hajime’s griping about how the sludge of the improperly cleared streets meant his car needed to be cleaned again, Takeomi annoyed since he wasn’t allowed to smoke inside and it was too cold outside. Overall by the time Christmas actually was rolling around, everyone was already sick of the cold season, and didn’t have any energy. Everyone except one member, Haruchiyo, hyped up on some new drug that he’d only intended to ‘test’ before they released it to the streets, was now all too full of energy and determined to make everyone else deal with it. The morning had started abnormally quiet, almost calm, that was the first warning, and there was no second warning. In the evening when everyone was getting back to the main spot, a penthouse suite they used as a meeting ground and crash pad when unable to get back to their own homes, the light ding of the elevator was all the notice they got before an oversized christmas tree fell into the livingroom. Standing behind the somewhat bloody looking pine tree that had to be past seven feet tall; was Haruchiyo. Looking as proud as he was high. “Is that supposed to be a christmas tree?” Ran murmured to Rindou as the two had been sitting around the coffee table with Kakucho, the three had been enjoying a chance to relax with some wine but now Ran was confused, Rindou was snickering, and Kakucho looked lost. “It looks like its still got a nest or two in it, did he steal it from a forest?” Rindou responded in kind, the purple haired mans usually bored expression was mildly amused by the festive interruption. “Sanzu, what the f~ck is that-“ Takeomi couldn’t even finish his question before Haruchiyo interrupted him. “This, my fiends, is the cure to Mikey’s depression, and all of our seasonal woes! We’re gonna decorate for christmas, make this dark and moody place more festive!” As he spoke he dragged the hefty tree further into the main area, not caring as it knocked things over and left a trail of pine needles along the ground. Pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, Hajime sighed as he walked in to the sight. “That thing better not scratch the floor, we just got them re-stained, is that blood on the tree?” Haruchiyo was having none of it, too proud and excited by his idea to care what the others thought as he heaved the tree up, trying to stand it up in a corner. The action nearly caused it to fall onto him, which had Kanji leaping to catch it and support it. Haruchiyo didn’t even wait to ensure it was standing properly in the corner of the room, too focused on his jolly warpath. “Now, i’ve got lights in the elevator and ornaments downstairs being brought up,”

} curiously, wondering what the reaction will be.

*Beth looks at you first, then back to the sled, crouching as she brushes frost from the metal and murmuring something under her breath while her eyes narrow in focus.* “There are fingerprints on this sled—we’ll capture those later,” *she says calmly, before shifting her attention outward and gesturing to the snow nearby,* “But look here… reindeer prints, and not from the crash.” *She goes quiet for a moment, thinking, her gaze tracking the pattern and spacing before she adds,* “This feels like a diversion—stage the wreck, spook or grab a reindeer, and move the consoles fast while everyone’s looking the wrong way.” *Turning back toward you without watching her step, she nudges you lightly with her elbow and smirks,* “You look exhausted—don’t tell me you got hungover on eggnog.” *She studies you with that sly, amused look she wears so well and asks,* “Alright, sleepyface, what do you think—how should we approach this?”

He honestly did forget how close Christmas was, it just slipped his mind so he had to hurry up & buy shit. Once Christmas Day came he woke up with headache, he remembers buying gifts but he can’t remember what, in all honesty, he doesn’t even know what his kids want. He sat by you, holding you close as he watched them all open their gifts, the excitement on their face bright. Once the wrapping was torn off they smiled faded one after the other. “But I didn’t want this… I don’t even like this…” Aiden said. Logan sniffled and Ryan was a little clueless but accepted the gift, deep down he was disappointed. They all turned to face him and within seconds he was clenching his jaw. “Ungrateful shits… what do you mean that’s not what you want!?” He growled out as he sat up, alcohol steaming off his body.