Noël. Boże Narodzenie. Karácsony. Navidad. Weihnachten. Natale.

Christmas.

The word itself can be said to bring joy to the masses that know what it represents. It’s the season of shopping, for some. Santa, his elves and his reindeer. It’s red, green; silver and gold; sleigh bells and snow. For most it’s a time for giving, and being with family, enjoying the company of loved ones and rejoicing in things. It’s a day set aside as the celebration of Christ’s birth as the saviour to the world. It is, at its simplest, a time for joy. For one particular individual, it was a well-loved and well-celebrated time each and every year, for all of the above reasons and more.

But this year, on the 24th of December, Christmas Eve itself, Chero Aoyama awoke with a particularly unusual sensation that no, today was not a good day.

One of the strangest things about holidays is they are all very particular in their inner workings. Of course, many people don’t know this, but many a thing has slipped past the proverbial radar because no one cares to truly examine it more closely. Most specifically, each season has their own level of spirit which they impart onto any of those who celebrate it. It’s usually a tiny little spark of life, just enough to be spur people to grow happier and be more excited, which in turn nurtures the spark to shine brighter and stronger. These bright shining sparks can then brighten someone else’s mood and perpetuate the holiday senses of cheer and joy. Christmas is the most particular, because the spirit has to be shared. It is originally given in full, but each person will give it away to another when they do something kind, or generous. It’s part of the season, after all. There is usually enough of this to go around, but there are the regular scrooges who steal a few sparks and never return them to the equation, while nice, cheerier people make up for those lacking. By the Eve of Christmas itself, everyone should have a bit of the Christmas Spirit tucked away and safely guarded near their hearts.

However, on some occasions, people are missing their Christmas Spirit, for inexplicable reasons. They don’t become the scrooges, necessarily, but they don’t have the same level of happiness towards the time as others might. By Christmas Eve, the spirit can no longer be shared, because it has been given to whoever holds it at this time. Anyone left without has to find it on their own.

And this is not an easy task.