【当日じゃない日】白瀬咲耶

煙突がなくても / Even without a chimney

The story begins with some flashback narration from Sakuya. She details her times celebrating Christmas with her father, decorating the house all day in preparation. Her father apologizes profusely for not being able to hold their Christmas party on the right day but Sakuya has no qualms with his schedule. She’s happy to spend time with him as they decorate, eat cake, and enjoy the holiday together. As such, Sakuya says this is part of why she appreciates the season and wishes for others to feel their own joy.
Back in the present, Sakuya and Kiriko are discussing with Producer about their upcoming job. They’re set to appear at a Youth Club to play around with the kids, but Sakuya proposes something extra. Since it’s the holiday season, she asks if it would be alright to get the kids a gift for Christmas. Producer says it’ll have to fit within their budget for the event, but he respects the offer and allows it, saying Sakuya and Kiriko will now be taking over for Santa. Sakuya says she’s got a lot of respect for the big guy in red and is respectfully a mere mimicry of his out of admiration.
Later, out in town, Sakuya and Kiriko are on the hunt to find the right gift to give to the kids. They excitedly peruse the window displays filled with toys, candies, and decorations galore, but they’re on a finite budget so they can’t simply buy everything. During their search, Sakuya asks Kiriko when she found out about Santa’s true identity. Kiriko hesitates which causes Sakuya to apologize for thoughtlessly asking something of the sort and notes that she’ll be more careful around the kids when they get there. Kiriko returns the question and Sakuya explains the time she pieced it together. She was out in town with her father as they were looking around at the store displays, much like the two girls are doing now. There was a cute plushie that caught young Sakuya’s attention and she muttered to herself about it in the moment. That same plushie ended up appearing at their house on Christmas. Kiriko hasn’t entirely understood yet, so Sakuya continues that the reason she figured it all out was a simple point. There were other things young Sakuya had wished for in her heart, yet it was the plushie that showed up instead, something that only her and her father would have known about. Kiriko praises young Sakuya’s Santa for being such a sweet fellow, something that Sakuya is very proud of.

なぞとき / Riddle Solving

The day arrives and Sakuya and Kiriko show up at the Youth Club to play with the children. Upon returning to the 283 office sometime later, Producer tells them the Youth Club has sent something over for the two of them and that the contents are something they’ll have to see for themselves. There’s a message from the teacher that thanks them for making the kids happy, however the children have included something else along with the message. Three envelopes have been included and are numbered in order. Sakuya and Kiriko are intrigued at what could possibly be going on, so they opt to dive right in. The first envelope contains a set of five riddles.

What snacks did everyone eat that day? (6 characters long)
What’s another name for December 25th? (5 characters long)
Where did we all gather afterwards? (4 characters long)
Which game was the most fun? (9 characters long)
Your names are Shirase Sakuya and…? (7 characters long)

The two begin to rack their brains over the questions to solve the riddles. Sakuya thinks back to a kid showing off his seemingly delicious “glasses”. After connecting a the dots, they conclude the first answer must be “あんドーナツ” (An-donuts). The second answer is easily deduced to be “クリスマス” (Christmas). Kiriko figures that the third answer must be “がっこう” (school). The fourth answer harkens back to a game they played in which the kids were excitedly inviting Kiriko over to their area. The name of the game being played, “フルーツバスケット” (Fruit Basket), fits perfectly. The final answer, of course, is “ゆうこくきりこ” (Yuukoku Kiriko).
Having completed the riddles from the first envelope, Sakuya and Kiriko continue to the next one. The instructions this time tell them to take certain characters from the answers to the previous envelope’s answers:

The first character from the first answer, second character from the second answer, first character from the third answer, ninth character from the fourth answer, second character from the fifth answer.

Kiriko pieces together that the corresponding kana are あ　り　が　と and う, spelling out “Thank you”. The phrase opens up the final envelope, containing a medal. The final message says that they’ve sent a medal of gratitude as thanks for their time at the club the other day and hope that Sakuya and Kiriko have enjoyed the riddles as they too are part of the gift.