Rascal Does Not Dream Of Santa Claus (青春ブタ野郎はサンタクロースの夢を見ない) is the thirteenth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji. The thirteenth volume was originally release in 2024 and in English in 2024.
The following synopsis may spoil some aspects of the first twelve novels in the Rascal Does Not Dream series, if you do not want to ruin those stories stop reading until you have.
Book Twelve: Rascal Does Not Dream of His Student here!
Sakuta finds himself at a concert, the crowd swelling with anticipation after a surprise appearance by Mai. She announces to the gathered throng that she is the mysterious Kirishima Touko and she and the band kick into one of Touko's songs. The entire event spirals Sakuta into a state of confusion and he flees the venue, reaching for a cell phone to call Akagi Ikumi. After asking her to meet him in Yokohama did her realize he was in the middle of a very realistic dream. He wakes up to find himself still in the hot spring inn he and Mai are visiting during Christmas. Sakuta tells her all of the details of his dream, concerned for what it may mean. He is keeping Touko's warning about imminent danger to Mai in the foreground while he combs over the details. It is only after Mai gets a call from her manager about making an appearance at the same festival he dreamed about that he begins to think about the dreaming hashtag and how this may be prophetic.
Sakuta soon finds out he was not the only one that dreamed about being at the concert and Mail claiming to be the elusive internet songstress. There is so much buzz around other people having it and the dreaming hash tag that the news even covers the subject, bringing a lot of public scrutiny on Mai and the possibility of her being Touko. Sakuta meets with Akagi to talk about his dream, seeing he called her in it. To his partial surprise what she dreamed that night was her side of the events, further causing him to question if this was really seeing into the future or not. Much to her displeasure, she is now involved in his investigation. First step, talk with the real Kirishima Touko.
In early January he his junior and coworker, Koga, pulled him aside to talk abot the dreaming hashtag and everything surrounding Mai. She didn't experience the concert event, instead she told him about how Mai was badly injured at an event earlier in the year where she was made police chief for the day. The accident lead to her being in a coma for a prolonged period of time. Even more concerned about Mai's safety, with a potentially understood event that put her in danger, he redoubled his effort to reconnect with Touko...but how does one go about looking for a woman who nobody can see and doesn't exactly like being seen when she doesn't want to be? She came looking for him. After classes resumed at his college she pulled him out of one of his lectures to ask him to accompany her on a date. He decides its in his best interest as he can the time of having her attention to pressure her about her real identity and what the dreaming hashtag has to do with the danger to Mai.
The date ends up being a shopping trip as she seems to randomly wander through the area using him as her personal assistant. He and Akagi have been doing some investigating and have learned that prior to Mai attending college, the woman who claims to be Touko was an aspiring model who maintained a healthy internet presence. The conclusion they draw is her self esteem was obliterated by the arrival of a the most loved young woman in her vicinity. Sakuta believes the danger to his girlfriend is related to Touko wishing to regain the spotlight and restore herself to visible status. During the date Sakuta learns that someone close to him knew her very well prior to their life as college students. Armed with this knowledge he bets on that person to be the key to unlock her 'adolescent syndrome' and keep Mai safe at the same time.
Unlike the high school arc of the story, the college arc has kept Kirishima Touko as the primary focus for all of the problems surrounding Sakuta. This volume dives deep into the antagonist herself and see's Sakuta tapping into resources he hasn't leaned on before. While we are still dealing with a version of 'adolescent syndrome' we have dealt with in two prior occasions, the scope and gravity around Touko's invisibility does not feel like retread territory. There is even a brief return to Koga's problems year ago with her ability to dream up simulations of the future. Everything is starting to coalesce around the central threat that is the mysterious Touko and the problems that generate around her, causing Sakuta various levels of mental anguish. We are edging closer to the conclusion of this fantastic series and all of the cows are coming home to roost and with two more volumes until the conclusion, the story is growing stronger. The hardest part now is waiting for the next volume to come out...at least we have the return of the series to TV in 2025! I may have said this with the past few novels, but this one may have been the best so far. With each addition the story grows in quality and enjoyment.
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