[A/N: Merry Christmas Everyone~ I hope you're all enjoying your Holidays this year!
December 24-25, 2014 ~
Here's a Holiday Special for all of you who love Christmas as much as I do.
I also feel the need to say "Happy Birthday Jesus" and to Anyone whose Birthday also happens to be in December.
This Christmas is going to be outside and seperate of all the chapters surrounding it and has nothing to do with the plot of the story.
They will be OOC and I may or may not use certain characters]
~
Reika's POV
"You're an idiot"
"Am Not!!"
"Yes you are"
"What? Why?"
"Because you are"
"That's not a reason!!!!"
"Sure it is. Urusai already. I'm tired of this"
"But Rei~ Its important!!!"
"Important for who? I already told you before. I don't care for that kind of thing"
"How would you know if you've never done it before?"
"I just know. Now drop it already you damned mutt"
"Samui"
Rolling my eyes at him, I threw off the tinsel that 'oh so conveniently' landed directly on my head after Kiba decided against my better judgment to climb a step-latter, in order to reach the top of the tree they set up in the living room. Only for him to loose his balance and ending with me being annoyed with him for the hundredth time today.
Ugh,
I hate holidays.
Using my hands to brush out the last of it from my hair, only to be suddenly grabbed and jerked into the kitchen where Tsume and Hana were busy cooking, cleaning and just running around while causing chaos in general.
Sighing aloud with a roll of my eyes as I was forced into a nearby chair.
"Hey Reika, taste this for me will ya? I can't tell if it came out right"
"I'm sure its fine Hana"
She shook her head, "No No No. Don't just say stuff you know I want to hear. Taste it and tell me what you really, Honest to God, think of this!!!"
With another sigh, I just decided it would be better for me to just eat it, say its good - even if I don't actually mean it - then quickly come up with a half-assed excuse so that I may finally escape this Holiday Fest from Hell.
"Fine"
She grinned happily, the same toothy one all Inuzuka's seem to possess. As she quickly brought out the food like substance to which I have yet to identify.
I don't usually cook anything special for holidays. Or in general.
So I can't be accustomed to all the things that happen on said holiday.
Quickly shoving a decent sized portion into my mouth, all previous notions of wanting to blow them all off and get out as fast as possible just seemed to of flown out the door.
What the hell?
"So.... How is it?"
Taking a moment longer to process, then swallow, I suddenly found I lost the ability to form words.
At least until she started to freak out and got in my face, yelling about how she's a bad cook and will never amount to anything int he culinary world.
Jeez.... over-dramatic much? Heh.
"Its good"
She froze in an instant, processing my words, all notions to freak out gone in that one instant.
"What?"
"Its good"
"Seriously??"
Nodding, I was then pulled into another hug, to which I suppose I should be used to by now right?
Hah, No.
She was so elated by this remark she did some kind of happy dance before she proceeded to run through the house yelling about being the greatest cook ever and whatever else she was going off about.
Jeez.... Smirking with a small chuckle, I took another one of them into my mouth.
Damn Woman. She really is good.
As she finally came back around, I couldn't help but shake my head at her. Then Tsume yelled for her to get back to work which brought her back into reality.
"Yeah Mom"
"Say Hana?"
"Yeah?"
"What the hell is this anyways?"
She seemed thoughtful for a moment.
"Ah, it was something I found off the internet called Spanakopita Bites. I know it might sound weird but its actually not half bad"
"Hn"
Humming in thought, I shrugged, then another thought hit me and I decided to get out of here before something else decides to drag me back into their loopy food daze.
Shaking the thoughts away, grabbing my coat and heading for the door
"Hey Rei, where are ya going?"
"Out. I need to check on something"
"Alright, but just be careful. Its cold out"
Nodding once, I went outside and was met with a freezing blast of wind.
I hate Winter.
I hate December.
I hate Snow.
I hate Ice.
I hate the Cold.
I hate the Memories that are intertwined into these things.
Basically, I hate everything..... but can ya blame me?
I mean.... its just way too freaking cold for my taste.
I wonder if it snows in Suna? Probably not. But how would I know?
Hah. I'd bet they must love this kind of weather in Kirigakure.
All that water probably has them all frozen over. Hahaha.
Am I Sadistic? Maybe. Probably. Most Likely.
Keh, I've got to stop doing that.
~
Making my way through the town, there were still a surprising amount of people hanging around the stores. I wonder if their all just trying to buy out the food? Its more probable their all doing last minute shopping. Shoving themselves into the small shops, pushing everyone else out of the way, grabbing at everything in sight and then shoving past everyone to get back outside again.
Then they preform the same thing all over again at the next store.
Keh. I don't understand it at all.
Or maybe that's because I've never had Christmas before. Not a real one at least.
Usually during the holidays, on a good day, I'd hide away in my room as father did whatever the hell it was that he did during that time.
Sometimes he'd leave me alone if he got drunk enough or the other way around depending on his mood of the day. It was occasionally difficult to tell which way it would go.
If I was lucky he'd just lock me out of the house at night when he'd bring some whore home, then I'd sneak a peek through the window only to witness his drunk ass on the couch sound asleep as the slut of the day went through all our stuff and pocketed what she could carry.
It was nothing new to me. I've seen it happen about five times already.
Got caught by them three times, threatened once, given looks of both sympathy and pity twice.
I remember the Last Christmas I had before he abandoned me.
The woman he'd brought home that night was one of the 2 times I'd been given looks of the usual variety. She had been tall, long black hair with pink eyes, her dress was black, strapless and went down to her knees, she'd been wearing black heels and brought an oversized winter coat.
Anyone who looked at her had to admit she was beautiful.
It was obvious.
I'd almost found it hard to believe someone who looked like her.... would settle for a looser like my father.... even if all she was after was his money, one look at him was a dead give-away how broke we were. Thanks to him blowing it on crap.
It didn't make sense to me.
Normally, I'd of just forgotten about the woman.
Locked the memories away. As I've always done with such things.
Yet she was different.
She wasn't like the other's.
After she took hold of whatever appealed to her, she came outside.
I stared at her as she made her way towards me.
At first, I'd prepared myself to be yelled at, or hit.
I'd backed away in inches as she'd approached, remembering all the times its happened before.
To my surprise, she crouched down to my height and looked me in the eyes.
That sympathetic look was evident, it almost pissed me off.
Who is she to feel sympathy for the child of a man she'd slept with and just robbed?
Something about that just seemed wrong to me.
People really are twisted.
If she felt so sympathetic, then why'd she steal knowing there was a child who could survive in that house better if there was actually money there to sustain her well enough until the next time?
It confuses me even to this day.
I remember so clearly though, she stayed outside with me in the cold.
Just.... talking.
Asking me questions, letting me question her.
She smiled.
When I'd gotten so cold that my body shook and I sneezed a couple of times, she took off her coat and put it around me. I'd blinked up at her in confusion. She simply smiled again.
A "What the Hell?" in the back of my younger mind.
Course at that moment, I'd been too stunned to say it out loud.
Next thing I knew, she was walking me somewhere.
I don't know what had possessed me to follow her.
Perhaps it was that rare form of kindness I'd never been given before.
It could of been because I was tired of standing outside for all hours of the night.
Or maybe it was because I knew I'd rather be anywhere than back at the house when father woke up again.
He was used to his money disappearing after a night with those women.
At first, he'd thought it had been me who took it.
When he didn't believe I didn't do it, he punished me.
By the time he realized I was telling the truth, well, nothing had really changed but he finally stopped blaming me for it and calling me a lying thief.
He still took it out on me though, considering the actual culprits were no longer around.
And the fact I was a better target than a fully grown woman who probably had lots of other male companions who would gladly take revenge on her behalf.
Heh, father is such a coward.
We'd ended up at some bar across town.
There were drinking adults everywhere, some smoking outside, others kissing in some dark corner. There was a bartender who looked like he was too young to be serving drinks at all.
He was tall, lean, with the typical attire a guy with his kind of job usually has with a black tie suit, he had shaggy blonde hair and blue-green eyes.
Most of the women here were dressed in rather revealing clothing, surprisingly enough, I actually recognized a few of them..... they were some of the ones that actually made it into the house.
Some couples dragged themselves into a back-room which I could only imagine what they did back there when nobody was looking. Keh.
I'd learned the woman's name was Kanyu Misahara.
Her stage name was Mushiatsui 蒸し暑い
Meaning: Sultry
Its obvious why she was named that, especially in this kind of work.
Not really a surprise.
The bartender's real name was Judai Sengui.
Because of his role here, they all just called him Bātendā バーテンダー
Literally meaning: Bartender
Heh, ironic no?
They probably just couldn't come up with a stage name for him.
For some reason I ended up staying there the whole night.
Then, strangely enough I was introduced to a lot of the other men and woman who worked there. Finding that a lot of them were actually good people, to my surprise.
Whether or not any of them were Ninja, I couldn't tell at the time.
It seems odd looking back on it now, they were probably the only adults who paid attention to me.
After that night, I often found myself walking by that old place, every year at this time.
I'd always be able to catch a glimpse of Kanyu and Judai, who would spend time on their brakes just talking to me.
She never came back to my house though.
I never expected her to.
Nobody ever comes back for more after being with my father once.
The man wasn't worth anything.
Sometimes, they'd also treat me to whatever was leftover from their nights at the bar.
I'd somehow gotten close to them.
Got attached.
Even now that I'm older, I still make a habit to walk past the place that brought somewhat of a comforting memory during the end of the year.
Course, memories of those things are better left to be told at a later time......
But still.......
I need to remember to find some spare time to visit them later.
~
As I continued down the street, I passed by many families.
Parents and their children.
The gleaming in their eyes, full of life, hope for the future.
Their happy smiles, radiating their innocence.
They who have yet to experience the pain of life.
Being able to be ignorant of such things.
I'm jealous of them.
Watching from afar as they looked through the windows, the children begging for everything in sight.
"Mommy, Daddy, can we get this for Christmas?"
"Yeah, can we, can we please!!!! we promise to be really really good this year"
The parents laughed as they watched their children.
"Hmm, I don't know. How about it Dear? Should we get it for them?"
"Perhaps Darling, but they're going to have to behave themselves"
"We Will!! WE WILL!!!" they called over and over
Again, laughing at their children, they looked at each other. The father picking up the boy and putting him up on his shoulders with a hearty laugh, and the mother taking hold of the girl before going inside the shop to buy it. The children's cheers could be heard even as the door closed behind them.
Then another family passed by
"What would you like to have for Christmas dinner?"
"Hmmm, Oh Oh I want Popcorn, Chocolate, Candy-Canes, Marshmallows....."
The mother laughed at her son, "That isn't food, that's candy"
He gave a cheeky smile as he giggled to himself before hugging her leg, "I know but its yummy"
Laughing again she shook her head, "How about some turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy?"
He jumped at the sound of it, singing his cheers. "YEAH!!"
"Alright then, come along. We'll go get it right now"
"Okay!!"
Another was dragging a Christmas tree on the ground while the others carried boxes of lights and ordainment's.
The father being the one to pull the tree as the mother heeded her children to be careful with the boxes of fragile things.
"Be careful you three, don't drop anything. If you get tired we can take a break. And honey, if that thing is too heavy for you then you should take a break too. I told you we should of gotten one of the smaller ones!!"
"We got it"
"Okay Mommy!!"
"I don't need a break! I'm the strongest of them all!!"
"What? This is nothing!! Don't worry about it, and the kids loved the big ones anyways. What kind of Christmas would it be without the biggest tree they've ever seen?"
She rolled her eyes at her husband who simply laughed at her and then started a race with the children, to which the woman started to worry again as she continuously called for them to be more careful.
Smirking to myself. Must be nice.......
I could feel an ache in my chest as I watched, before taking a breath and continuing on my way, thoughts of the past swirling through my head like the raging cold winds outside.
~
I never got many presents. Not in the form most children get.
There was nothing to look forward to.
Nothing ever good to eat.
No tree.
No lights.
No mountain high pile of presents.
No stockings.
No fire.
No music.
No spirit or cheer.
Just darkness.
Cold.
Wet.
Numb.
Empty.
Solitary.
Broken.
Unwanted.
Somehow, I've simply adapted and come to accept this from life.
I have no hopes of a brighter future.
I have nothing of value.
I have no desire to obtain that which is always just out of reach.
If I don't have any expectations from life, then I can't be disappointed.
If I don't set myself up for better things, then I can never fall short from them.
Simple.
Light.
Easy.
Painless.
Thoughtless.
Peaceful.
Acceptance.
Shaking all thoughts from my head.
Great, Now I'm getting depressed. Better get out of here already.
Hurrying my pace, I made it to the house. Knocking on the door and being met by my blond haired companion.
"Hey Naruto"
"Reika"
"Mind if I come in?"
He laughed, "Not at all. I didn't expect to see you today"
Shrugging, I stepped inside, "Yeah well..... the Inuzuka's were driving me crazy"
Laughing at my misfortune, he closed the door behind me
~
After having sat around for a few hours talking to Naruto, I thought it best if I went back to check on them. Who knows what those idiots would be doing when I got back.
Mentally sighing. Jeez....
"So, I suppose I'll see you tonight then?"
He nodded, "Yeah, I'll be there. Don't worry about it. Its just strange"
I blinked at him, "What is?"
"Ah. nothing just...... I know how much you hate holidays......"
Smirking at him with a sigh and slight shrug, "Yeah, well..... I suppose, its different this year"
He smirked back, a sort of knowing gleamed in his eyes.
"Different huh? Well, when you're having Christmas with the Inuzuka's things are bound to be a lot different from the ones you're used to, and its not just us anymore.... I have to share you now. What a freaking pain"
Laughing, I waved him off, "Jā matane"
Deciding to avoid anything more that could bring on old memories, I hurried back to the Inuzuka's house, and what I found was exactly what I'd expected.
Dogs were now running loose in the house, the fire alarm was going off, smoke was coming from the kitchen window, tinsel was littered all over the floor, the tree was toppled over onto Kiba who was struggling to be free'd, Tsume was yelling for everyone to shut up and Hana was yelling about her food getting burned.
I smirked.
Jeez these people...... I can't leave them alone for a minute.
Shaking my head at them, quickly going inside and looking down at Kiba.
"What the hell happened?"
He growled to himself, "I was trying to put the star on the top of the tree, but since my mother doesn't have a proper place to put it, it had been sitting in the dog-food cabenet. So when I took it out to put it on, all the dogs went wild and tried to eat it. In my haste to keep it away from them, I tried to push them all into the bed rooms, which back-fired. They all rampaged into the kitchen, which messed Hana up..... she tried to help me, but she missed the timer to take out the food, so it started to burn, which set off the alarm, which also made all the dogs run wild around the house...... Mom got mad and started to chase them all down but instead ran me over into the tree, which knocked over and now I am stuck and the house is a wreak"
Sighing aloud with a shake of my head "And I agreed to spend Christmas here because?"
He scoffed, "Because you never have it at your house, and even if you didn't come over here, we'd just go over there..... now I bet you can imagine how big of a mess that would of ended"
Grumbling in annoyance....... "I can..... unfortunately"
He smirked "Now can ya'hurry and help me up already!!!"
Rolling my eyes, I pulled the tree off of him and we pushed it back into its rightful up-ward position.
"Alright, now you go help Tsume get the dogs out of here and I'll go check on Hana"
With a nod he ran off to find his loud-mouthed mother as I found Hana waving off all the black smoke while coughing repeatedly.
"Hey, are you alright?"
"Reika!!! Its horrible!!! everything is turning into a big freaking mess!!!!!"
Sighing again, "Come on I'm sure its not that bad....."
"Look at it!!!"
It was charred to an ungodly color and smelled horrible. "Okay, maybe it is that bad"
She cried aloud, cursing the damned thing multiple times before resorting to violence against it to which I had to pull her away from it, "Calm down, calm down.... we can fix this...."
"How???? ITS RUINED!!!!"
"First, we turn off the damned alarm, then we get the dogs settled down, then we clean out the mess that was made, then you and I can go out and get another pot-roast...... Alright"
After she finally calmed down, she nodded and we all got to work.
~
Back in the town square, Hana and I were going to the markets to find everything we were looking for. Again having to watch as more families walked by, simply dragged Hana along faster to avoid tormenting myself further.
Jeez.....
"Alright so we got basically everything right?"
She checked the list she made over a few times before nodding happily with a smile, "Yeah, that's just about everything we needed.... Thanks Reika"
Waving her off, turning to get the hell out of here already "Don't worry about it"
"No really. Thank you. If you hadn't been here..... I'm sure Christmas would of been a total disaster zone"
Being caught off-guard, I froze at her words. "T-That's not....."
She laughed, ruffling my hair before wrapping an arm over my shoulders, "I'm really glad you're joining us for Christmas this year, Reika"
Being suddenly flustered, I kept my mouth shut, lowering my head so that my bangs covered my eyes, listening to her laughter as she dragged me around the market more.
How the hell am I supposed to survive with these people for another whole year after this?
Mentally sighing, I hadn't even realized that we had stopped, we were back at the house, everything was semi-normal once again. But there was more than that which caught my eyes.
Not just Kiba and Tsume were there anymore, now there was also the other Genin Teams here as well and the house was fully decorated in lights.
"Hey Reika!! Hana!!"
~
To say i was surprised was an understatement.
I was beyond that, so far to the point I had no idea what I was anymore.
What the hell? So much for it just being me, Naruto and the Inuzuka's....
But.... what the hell are they all doing here.
"Uh.... Kiba?"
He scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I swear It wasn't my fault"
I glared at him "Well that's reassuring" I muttered sarcastically.
Next thing I knew Ino and Sakura were both in my face..... Oh the Joy......
"Don't be mad at him Reika!!!" -Sakura
"Yeah, please don't be mad but we just had to, had to come over here as quickly as possible!!" -Ino
Raising a confused brow at them...... "Okay...... But......Why?"
"We heard all about how you've never had a real Christmas before"-Sakura
My eyes twitched in annoyance as I glared between Naruto and The Inuzuka's.
They were the only ones who were privy to such private information.
As I continued to glare death into them, they all backed away nervously.
"Both of you are so dead" I hissed through gritted teeth
Again laughing nervously, they ran to hide behind their friends.
I was being held back by the girls and Hinata who seemed to come out of no where.
"P-Please Calm D-Down Reika..... T-They didn't-t mean any-anything by it..... they w-were just concerned f-for you i-is all......" -Hinata
Rolling my eyes, letting out a loud huff, pinching the bridge of my nose, "Jeez"
After I settled and they were sure I wouldn't go at the boys again, they all dragged me into the living room where the tree was and we all sat down, where they all explained themselves.
Apparently.......
Kiba ran out to get more lights, he ran into Naruto, who decided to help him.
They went to the store, where they ran into Sakura.
Sakura just so happened to be with Ino.
Ino was dragging Shikamaru and Choji with her to Christmas shop for some unknown reason.
Shika claims that the "troublesome woman" broke down his door, demanding they spend at least an hour of Christmas together as a team.
Choji says he was just bribed with meat - Typical.
The girls being the nosy people they are interrogated the boys until they told them how they were going to spend Christmas which led to the conversation about how I usually spend my Holidays. To which they freaked out and started going off about things nobody but them understood.
Next thing they knew, everyone from all the other teams had been informed of this as well.
So they all came over to the Inuzuka's house.
Now, Apparently..... its all because they refuse to let me spend another holiday just sitting around doing nothing.
Also as it turns out...... Sasuke doesn't do anything for the holidays either.
So thankfully, I'm not the only one being hounded about all this crap. Hehehe.
Am I Sadistic? Maybe, Probably, Most likely......
I have to stop doing that.....
Shaking the thoughts away.
This is going to be interesting isn't it?
Keh, just my freaking luck.
~
The rest of the night wasn't so bad after everyone got over the whole, "Reika and Sasuke Don't celebrate Christmas with anyone" and the "We were forced here against our wills" crap that had been going on for about an hour or so. Hahahaha~
At some point, we had all eaten the food Hana made and then somehow everyone had picked out presents for everyone here, which was especially shocking for those of us who didn't buy anything for anyone.
Me, Sasuke, Neji, Shino being the ones who didn't get anything for anyone..... not really.
Or at least, not for anyone who was currently in the room.
Specifically the ones in the room who weren't originally invited.
Pfft. Typical.
The truth is, I had gotten Naruto Ramen, since that's a given.
Even though I don't care for it much, I even got something for Hana and Tsume, small things but still something.
Then Kiba..... I had no freaking clue what to get him so I settled for the first thing I'd seen.
A red-banned bracelet with dog paws printed on it with little charms hanging off of them that varied in a pattern of kunai and shuriken.
It seemed too good to pass up and also seemed to match with him perfectly, almost as if it was purposefully put there just for me to find specifically for me to give it to him......
Keh. yeah right..... like there's this all knowing person who is directing my life to go a certain way just for the hell of it? Tch. I don't believe it.
Thinking back, Jeez..... I felt like such an idiot when I bought it.
I've bought things for myself, for Naruto perhaps..... but that was it.
My limit.
Now, I've crossed a line and I can't stop myself from freaking out about it.
I feel so stupid.
Baka, Baka!!!!
Why do I feel this way? Am I supposed to feel like this? Is it normal?
If it is I hate it. Hate it. Kirai!!!!!
I was snapped out of my thoughts when they all turned to me to hand out my presents next..... since apparently, when I wasn't paying attention, everyone else had exchanged gifts.
"You're turn Reika" - Ino
"Uh.... I didn't....."
She waved me off and Sakura came over, "Don't worry about it, you can use one of our emergency presents alright? We get you don't celebrate Kurisumasu, so it can't be helped if you didn't buy anything for anyone..... it isn't a crime"
Internally sighing, I thanked her quietly and took the gift she held out, while also giving Hana and Tsume the gifts I bought them.
"Ah!! Daisukidesu!! Arigatō!!!" -Hana
"Dōmo arigatō gozai ma shita Reika" -Tsume
I bowed lightly and went back to my seat, avoiding any and all eye contact.
For some reason.... I feel really flustered right now....
Its unsettling.....
I don't like it.
Yet, that mood quickly vanished when Kiba suddenly jumped from his seat, piping off about how his mother and sister got a present from me and not him.
Rolling my eyes. Damn, he's such a moron.
Can't he tell how freakishly awkward and weird this all is to me?
Does he have to make such a spectical?
Is it so much to ask for him to wait until later?
Or at least until we're alone? Kami.
I will give him his present.
Just not until everyone else who was clearly not invited in the first place is GONE.
Honestly.
Is he really so much of an idiot that he can't think of these things for himself?
Keh, well now he's just asking for it.
"Hey What About Me??!!"
Glaring at him, I used my unemotional tone, "Nothing for you"
At this he hit the floor face first, the rest pf the group laughing at him as his priceless face became the highlight of the entire evening. Hahahaha~
I should mess with him more often.
That's what you get Bastard. Kuso yarō
"Ah.... you're so Zankokuna to me"
"Nan demo"
We ended up going back and forth like that until I hit him over the head and he finally shut up.
Not exactly how I planned the day would go......
Since its a holiday, I'd at least try to be civil with him.... but alas..... it wasn't to be.
The two of us can't seem to go a day without a fight.
Mentally sighing.
Its rather annoying actually.
I would NEVER admit to that out loud!!!!!
I deny I ever said such a thing!!!
I don't care what you people have to say about it!!!!
Great. Now I'm talking to myself..... Perfect.
Exactly how I wanted to spend today. Sarcasm.
This is why I don't celebrate Holidays......
Baka~
~
Once the people finally left, the two of us were alone.
Surprisingly enough, today was actually kind of fun.
Dispite previous downfalls of the day, everything seemed to work out alright.
"Hey"
He turned around to look at me, "Yeah?"
"Catch"
Tossing the wrapped present in his direction, he seemed surprised as he caught it and looked between it and me.
Feeling the sudden need to avoid eye contact again, I looked away.
My bangs covering my eyes again.
"M-Merīkurisumasu Kiba......"
I didn't look but I could hear the sounds of paper being torn at a rapid amount of speed, then the silence of him gawking at it.
Not daring to turn around and look at him, I started picking up the trash off the ground and throwing it out. Just as I had collected a handfull of it though I found I was suddenly being embraced, which made me tense and in turn drop all the crap I'd just picked up.
"K-Kiba!! What--?"
"Arigatō gozaimasu, watashi wa sore o aisuru"
Getting over my shock, I slowly hugged him back, "Dōi tashi ma shite"
At that, I felt a strange sensation of warmth go through me..... it felt nice......
I think I might be....
Am I Happy?
From what? The entire day?
Or because he liked the gift I gave him?
Both?
The sudden thought of it made me flustered and I'm sure I was red by now.
Jeez.... this guy.
I felt his hand on my head as he tousled my hair, before making me look him in the eyes.
"This is the best Christmas present I've ever gotten"
I could feel myself get even more red, if that were possible, he smirked.
"T-That can't be true!"
"But it is"
"No. You're just saying that. If you hate it then say so..... don't try to cover it up with some half-assed excuse to keep it....."
His next words shut me up.
"I love it. Honestly...... but more than that......"
He came in close to me, it almost felt as if we were the only ones in the house as he whispered to me in a husked tone.
"Aishiteimasu"
My eyes widened and I felt light headed, I could feel steam coming off of me from embarrassment and I didn't know what to do about it. He smirked, laughing lightly as he pulled me back into another hug.
"Bastard"
He just laughed again, tightening his grip on me.
I suppose I can let him get away with this just this once...... for a special ocassion.
Wouldn't kill me would it?
Sighing aloud, he only stayed like that for another minute or so before pulling back, a glint in his eyes as he looked down at me again. It almost made me uneasy. Almost.
"I've got something for you as well"
Set into another round of shock, I was left speechless as he suddenly bolted from the room
"Don't move, I'll be back in a second" with that, he vanished into the next room.
Really, I hadn't been waiting all that long before he finally came back and was holding a small box out in his hands for me.
"Merry Christmas Reika"
Slowly taking the box from him and opening it with caution, looking inside to see that it was a jewelry set of a necklace, earrings and ring.
"Kiba......"
Holding it out into the light, I'd gotten a better look at it.
The set was all made of pink colored stones.
"Their the Birth-Stones for October right?"
"How'd you?"
"Naruto told me"
Rolling my eyes again, "Of course he did"
"Ah, don't get mad. I wanted to find something that would suit you. I figured.... why not something with a touch of personalization?"
Scoffing it his strange logic, I smiled.
"Thank you Kiba"
This time, it was his turn to get flustered Hahaha~
Getting hugged one more time before he took the necklace out of the box and hooked it around my neck.
"I'd put the earrings on you but.... their not pierced"
"Hn" Humming in thought, "Maybe I will"
His eyes widened, at a loss for words.
It feels good to get the upper-hand Hahaha~
Next thing I knew, we were being interrupted by Hana and Tsume who were watching from the door of the kitchen
"Well whatta'ya'know?" -Hana
"Looks like they can get along better than they think" -Tsume
"Hana!!! M-Mom!!!!"
At this, the feeling of being flustered came back and I felt the strong desire to get away from everyone.
Quickly grabbing my coat and heading for the door, it caught all of their attention to which they called after me asking where I was going.
"I need some air"
"Rei" -Kiba
Not bothering to stick around to listen to him, I closed the door behind me.
~
Having been wandering around in no specific direction for the past 5 minutes, I found myself downtown. Back at the old grounds where that bar still stands.
I came here last winter as well. Everyone seemed alright here.
Not much had changed really.
The people may of gotten slightly older, but they didn't look it. Not really.
Walking up to the window, I caught sight of what was always so familiar to me.
As part of me wonders if its still worth coming back here every year, I find my name is being called from somewhere.
"Reika"
Turning around to see Kanyu Misahara. Looking just about the same as usual as she walked up to me and smiled as se usually does still for the same unknown reasons that she always does.
"Kanyu"
"Its good to see you again"
"Yeah, Same here"
She smiled again as she made her way to me, "Come inside, I'm sure the others would be glad to see you as well.
Hesitating for a small moment, "Is it still okay for me to be coming here?"
Her eyes widened, as she looked taken aback and confused before shaking her head and smiling at me once again
"Of course it is. You're always welcome here Reika"
At that, I felt a warmth go through me. The same I've been feeling a lot today.
Is this how you're supposed to feel on days like today?
Caught at a loss for words, she put an arm around me and walked me inside, where decorations had been hung everywhere around the room, the familiar faces from my childhood were all around as well. But the ones I was most familiar with were only a slight few.
Looking over to the bar, I saw Judai Sengui at his usual spot behind the counter.
He still looks like he's too young to be working here.
Hahaha Jeez~
"Hey everyone, look whose back" Kanyu
Suddenly all eyes were on us and I felt the need to hide behind her, but sadly, I never got that chance as I was being glomped by my old companions who were all talking at once.
"Well if it isn't little Reika" -Syrah
"Look how tall she's gotten" -Momo
"Kids grow up too fast if ya ask me" -Enya
"Hey, look at you, a pretty little vision. I wouldn't be surprised if you got yourself a huaband soon enough" -Hotaka
I went red and everyone else yelled at him for being an idiot.
"Hey, Hey now. Quit teasing the poor girl" -Ruby
"Yeah, don't try to force her into anything, she should take her time in that department. Not everyone is like you" -Kanyu
He laughed heartily and the rest of the group followed in suit, I just shook my head at his antics.
Idiots. The lot of them..... yet..... they're probably some of the closest people I have to family too.
"Reika"
I turned around to see Judai Sengui
"Judai"
He came out from around the bar to give me a hug
"Hey there!! Its been a while stranger"
"Yeah, it has"
Hey, hey now..... why don't you come over and sit down, tell me how things have been"
Nodding I followed him over and found a seat as he went back to work.
He made me a drink of hot chocolate like he always did.
"You know, you don't have to limt your visits to just once a year, why don't you come by for a visit more often?" -Judai
"Ah well, I can try"
"you better, its so boring around here without you ya'know?"
"Maybe I will"
Laughing, we spent the rest of my visit talking about old times and how current things have been.
They all already knew about my past, so we were all closer than most, and I also knew things about them that nobody else knew as well.
Its nice coming back here.....
~
After all was said and done.....
And even though there were a lot of unexpected turns along the way.
It turns out that it was some of the best fun I'd ever had.
Maybe.... the Holidays aren't so bad......
At least, not anymore.
Its a good possibility that If I keep spending it with Naruto and the Inuzuka's, then coming over to the old bar to visit more often.....
Christmas might actually become my new favorite time of the year.
Smirking to myself, I decided I'd better get back.
Waving good-bye to everyone, I was about half-way back before I ran back into Kiba again
"Hey Reika"
Caught off guard, I raised a brow, "Kiba? What are you doing out here?"
"Looking for you of course"
The familiar warmth I've been feeling for a good majority of today came back..... so I just decided to go with it.
"Why?"
He laughed, as if it were obvious, "Because we miss you. Now come on, lets go back"
Holding out his hand for me, his smile radiating his usual cocky-ness that at any other time would piss me off..... but not today.
Shaking my head at his antics, simply took his hand and let him bring me back.
"Merry Christmas Kiba"
Catching him off guard once again, he simply smiled and pulled me into him as we continued to walk back.
"Merry Christmas Reika"
~
[A/N: Have a Merry Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! 2015.
~
English to Japanese Translation:
See you later = Jā matane じゃあまたね (Ja Ne)
Shut up! = Urusai うるさい
Cold = samui (sah-moo-ee) 寒い
Hate = Kirai 嫌い
Christmas = Kurisumasu クリスマス
I love it = Daisukidesu 大好きです
Thank you = Arigatō ありがとう
Thank you very much = Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita
どうもありがとうございました
God = Kami 神
Bastard = Kuso yarō クソ野郎
Cruel = Zankokuna 残酷な
Whatever = Nan demo なんでも
Merry Christmas = Merīkurisumasu メリークリスマス
Thank you, I love it = Arigatōgozaimasu, watashi wa sore o aisuru
ありがとうございます、私はそれを愛する
You're welcome = Dōitashimashite どういたしまして
I love you = Aishiteimasu 愛しています