A/N: It is a bit late but here it is!
"Ho! Ho! Ho! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!"
The SPR made noise as the clock hit midnight. They all made a toast and greet each other. They sang Christmas carols and eat food. The adults also drank some liquor to celebrate. They were happy and although Naru didn't show much of expression, Mai and Lin knew he was enjoying it.
They took some pictures- though Naru's a bit reluctant. Lin also had copies of it and sent it to Madoka and the Davis Couple with Christmas greetings attached.
"So, since it's past midnight, who will open his/her gift fist?" Bou-san asked in excitement.
"Me! I will open mine first!" Mai joyfully answered and went to the Christmas tree to find the one that has her name on."
They sat in a semi-circle beside the tree and watch Mai get a small rectangular box wrapped in Christmas wrapper from under the tree. She shook it and made a faint noise.
"Open it! Open it!" Ayako urged as Mai slowly destroy the cover. Bou-san and Ayako almost choked when they saw an iPhone box after the wrapper was discarded.
"An iPhone?! Seriously? That is an expensive gift. Who is the sender?" Bou-san asked and look around.
"Me." They saw Masako raising her head while looking down. There is a tinge of red on her face as she said that.
"Wow, Masako, this is an expensive gift. Thank you." Mai responded as she smiled at her.
"W-well, compared to the phone I damage on our first meeting, this is nothing!" Masako answered and covered half of her face with her sleeves.
"First meeting?"
"Ah. When I save her from falling from the second floor of the old school building, my phone's screen broke. I am surprise you still remember that. Thank you! I love you, Masako." Mai said, teasing her in her last sentence.
"Humph!"
"Masako-chan, you're next!" Bou-san said and Masako nodded at him. It didn't take long for her to open up the big square box in her arms.
When she opened it, she saw a modern pink dress that have bling around the waist.
"Whoa. A dress. Come to think of it, I never saw Masako wear another style aside from kimonos." John noted as he look at her.
"Yeah. I hate it when I picked your name but I decided to buy you a decent gift. Come, thank me." Ayako arrogantly smirked at her as Masako glared at her. Mai, who is watching from the side interrupted them after smelling the start of an argument.
"Lin-san, open yours!" she quickly said and look at him with expectant eyes.
Lin sighed and went to the Christmas tree. He picked up a box and pulled the strips of the ribbon without any say. His box is as big as Masako's so they wonder what his gift is.
When he lift the box's lid, the others went closer and peek inside the box. It is a bag that is designed to contain laptops and cameras. And of course, John being John, he added an improvised Christmas card inside.
"Uhm. It is from me. During our case in Yuasa High, I saw that the strap of the bag that you use to put in your laptop is a bit damaged so I bought you a new one. I hope you like it." The young priest calmly said in his Kansai accent and bowed.
And Lin being Lin bowed back and said 'Thank You' without saying more. Ayako went next and was gifted a make-up palette by Lin. She tried to flirt with him after that but she just embarrassed herself when Lin ignored her.
Naru gifted John a book about Japan's culture while he got a Japanese traditional clothing in dark blue color from Bou-san. Last but not the least, Mai gave a new guitar to Bou-san and it was signed by two of his favorite band artist. He got the biggest gift out of all of them.
"Hey, Mai. Whose gift is that? I notice it not being picked by the others so I wonder who own that." Ayako asked her while looking at the box in Mai's arms.
"Oh. I didn't have time to give it so I will be giving to him later." Mai answered and smile.
"Oh? For a boy?" Bou-san asked in a teasing tone that made Mai stiffened. Naru, who is drinking tea beside Lin also stopped and groan faintly in annoyance. Of course, Lin did not fail to notice it.
"Y-yes. It is for a boy b-but before you tease me, I just want to say that he is not a lover or something! He is just a friend that help me all the time!" Mai said while waving her hands left and right.
Though that didn't stop them from teasing her. Naru continued sipping his tea with a grim face as he watch the others tease Mai and this so-called boy. Lin, who was enjoying the show hid his smile as he secretly took a photo of Naru's jealous face.
They learned that Mai, Lin and Naru will be going overseas for a trip so they all agreed to send them to the airport the next day. The group had a lot of fun and went home after cleaning up the office.
Mai opened his apartment and put the gift on the table in her living room. She smiled and open the box. It is a Japanese traditional clothes in indigo color.
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Guardian. I hope you like it!"
She didn't know if it was a coincident but Bou-san bought the same thing for Naru except the colors are different. But Mai noticed that the color of their clothes resembled the color of their eyes. Mai giggled as she imagine them wearing it at the same time.
Mai didn't know who Genie was or why does he wear his boss's face but she like him as a friend and she really like them to wear the traditional clothes and stood side by side. Mai closed the lid and tied the ribbon. She placed it in her cabinet and went to sleep.
***
Naru's parents called to greet him a Merry Christmas after their small party in the office. They asked him how he is and politely report how he is doing in his new environment. He also greet them and ended the call with his Mum saying 'I Love You'.
Naru look through his window and saw that the snowing is still showering the place. He sank into his bed and closed his eyes. He opened his mouth to whisper something and showed a genuine smile.
"Merry Christmas, Gene."
***
They were only 8 years old when their parents died and was sent to an orphanage. Their father is alcoholic and their mother has a mental disorder. The parents died after a serious argument when they were at school. They just saw the police and doctors hovering around their house the minute they arrived.
The twins didn't know what to feel about their parents' deaths. Their parents didn't care about them since they were born. The neighbors and the nurse who were taking care of them for free is the only one who cared about them. They also had no good memories with them so they're a bit apathetic about what happened.
The older twin, however, was a bit worried about their future. He worries where will they go and what will they do but thankfully, their kind neighbors and the nurse took them to an orphanage in the neighboring city.
They lived quietly there even though they are bullied by their fellow orphans by being weird. The older twin has the ability to see and channel the ones that are not seen by normal people while the younger twin can make something levitate or know something about a thing's history after touching it. They were born with these abilities but they do not have the full control of it yet.
The nuns and the priest noticed something about them and thought that they are possessed by spirits or demons so they performed an exorcism but nothing happened to them. They learned that they are born with it so they called some help from professionals who can help the twins.
Many people came to examine them and many wanted to adopt them because of their abilities and some even dared to kidnap them for experimentation but they were saved by a couple that witnessed the whole thing.
The twins were terrified and shaking when they were rescued. The couple reprimanded the orphanage for their lack of attentiveness and security. The couple transferred the twins in another place and let some trustworthy researchers help them understand and control their abilities. The couple who saved them accompanied them for a week but they disappeared all of a sudden. The younger twin asked where they went but the researchers said that they returned to their homeland.
They were under the President of British Society of Psychic research, Mr. Martin Davis and his team treated the twins well. The twins thought that they were sold but the team considered their rights and gave them food, clothes and shelter. They met Mr. Davis' wife, Luella Davis and had taken a liking of them. After weeks of interacting, Luella and Martin decided to adopt them
They were given names and migrated to UK after that. The older twin is Eugene and the younger one is Oliver. They had never met the couple that saved them after migrating. The twins were involved in paranormal since then.
Eugene was hailed as the 'perfect medium' as he grew up. He spoke in the language the ghost used while channeling and communicating with ghost. Oliver controlled his psychokinetic abilities pretty well and also his psychometric ability. They graduated early with their high IQ that made them a hot topic but thanks to Martin Davis' influence, they had kept the twin's information and protected them from the eyes of the media.
They grew up well with the care and love from the English couple. The couple gave all they need and want and receive love from a parent, a thing their biological parent failed to give. Of course, the twins reciprocated the affections and lived as a family.
The elder twin is cheerful and playful. He teases his cold younger twin as a past time and hang out with others like a normal teen. He has a strong sense of justice and is easy to be affected by emotions. He pities the unfortunate and tries his best to help them
While the younger focuses on his study and graduated college at a young age. At the age of 15, he started studying for his doctorate. He is quite the opposite of his older brother. He locked himself up in his room and do not easily let people in his circle. But although he don't usually show it, he cared a lot about those people he held dear.
He was slowly warming up to the others when Eugene suddenly started to change little by little after their sixteenth birthday. Oliver didn't know what happened and saw him acting normal around the others but he can feel something wrong about him and he noticed that his older twin don't hang out with others anymore.
He also asked their parents how did they met them. Oliver and their parents thought it was strange for him to ask and inquire what is wrong but Eugene just laugh it off and said that he was just curious. Weeks passed, Oliver forgot the issue in his mind since he saw his brother starting to go back to normal.
Eugene suddenly decided to go to Japan one day for a seminar and a research about the country's culture. Their parents agreed to let him go since Eugene knew how to speak in Japanese and some basics about the country. The Davis Family was assured that he will be okay but they were shocked when Oliver suddenly announced his brother's death in front of everyone with a melancholic heart.
Oliver was preparing for his first trial lecture in the academy when he noticed that he had no proper clothes for the event. He thought of borrowing clothes from his brother, who is a clothes hoarder but was unexpectedly caught off guard when he experienced his twin's death right after touching his clothes using his psychometric ability.
They requested the help of the police to locate his body that was on the bottom of some lake. It has been a month but they received no news so Oliver himself took a break from school and went to Japan to find his missing brother under the guise of 'Kazuya Shibuya'. Due to his parents' worries, they made Lin Koujo, who served as the twin's mentor for many year, tag along with him as a guardian and a bodyguard.
He established the Japan Branch of SPR and worked as a manager of the research center. He named the agency as Shibuya Psychic Research as a disguise and work like a normal person. He searched for his brother and accepts cases that interest him from time to time.
Then one day, he suddenly a case from a high school principal. The case is obviously some kind of a simple poltergeist or a work of humans but he accepted it on a whim.
Even Lin, who knew what he is like, was bit surprised when he saw that. But nevertheless, they started to work only to be disrupted by a student named Mai Taniyama, an interesring being to him.
She injure Lin and forced him to be hospitalized. Oliver met some exorcists and a medium during the case. Mai had helped him a lot and he was a bit surprised by her cleverness and efficiency in gathering information. And although Lin objects his idea, he hired Mai to be his assistant and learn new things about her.
Oliver also formed friendship among his co-workers. Though, they are a bit loud and annoying, he more or less enjoy their time while investigating. Mai is very clever and noticed some things that are not easily seen. They had also noticed her investigative skills and that made Lin worry about exposing their identities.
Mai is so close to them and is with them every day afterschool or in the weekends. There are clues lying around the office that can lead to something about who they are and what they really do. Lin keep on reminding Naru about this but Naru always ignore it and tell him that it is alright since Mai seems not to notice and act like she normally do.
However, Lin, who is a cautious one keep his guard up and continue to monitor. He had also reluctantly accepted the job of a paparazzi from Madoka, his co-worker in England and the Davis Couple. He noticed his charge's unusual affection towards Mai and quickly reported it to them.
But instead of being alarmed and cautious like he expected, the three surprisingly shocked but happy at the same time. They told him to regularly report what is happening between the two and made him took pictures of them. He is originally discontented about this and planned to reject the idea but he can never win over the 'Queen Madoka'.
He fulfilled his job and report daily. He was so dissatisfied but witnessing Naru show some emotions he don't usually show and act unlike himself, he started to like this new 'profession' little by little.
He was also surprised at how good he take pictures and store all the pictures in his secret memory card. He is good at this 'paparazzi' job but he surely wouldn't dare to say this to others openly because of his job. He was a little worried about this but he still do his job and protect their identities from the others.
***
A/N: This chapter is a bit long and it is not really Christmas-ish but I hope you enjoy! And as for the game today, let's talk about the ones who first discover this fanfic here on Wattpad. There are silent readers and I am very thankful that they read my fanfic but unfortunately, I don't know their names. So let's stick to those who are active and the ones who revealed their names in the comment sections and in my notifications. Remember, no telling!
4 TRUTHS AND 1 FALSE
1. MayTuesday0 is an early reader and voter.
2. Misaki150502 is the first one who commented in this fanfic.
3. TokkaKen is the second one followed my account.
4. Unknown_Silence27 is the first one who tagged my username to join a game.
5. Elizabatbella said she would cry if I stop writing the fanfic.
- I am really really thankful for these people who support me from the beginning. And I am also very very grateful to those who read the fanfic silently and those who support me until now. Of course, I will not forget the ones who support me now. Arigatougozaimasu Minna! This means much to me!
- @ClairBongolto5, the '@Jira03 edition' of 4T&1F will be on the next chapter. 😊😊
***
Here are the answers of our previous game!
4 TRUTHS AND 1 FALSE
(Christmas edition)
1. Masako will gift something to Mai.
-True, She felt a bit guilty when she saw Mai's broken phone. Though she is a bit reluctant buying her a gift since she is jealous of her.
2. Bou-san got a guitar for Christmas.
- True
3. Naru and Gene will receive clothes for Christmas.
- True, Naru and Gene were raised overseas and not in Japan despite having blood of Japanese running through their veins. So they do not have any Japanese traditional clothes in this fanfic. Though Bou-san was a bit fascinated by Naru's black fashion, he thought that having a different style of clothing would suit him. As for Mai gifting Genie the same presents as Naru, it was a coincident. While buying gifts for Genie, Mai thought that since it's nearing New Year, it would be appropriate to 'burn' some clothes for him to wear. I don't know if it's practiced in Japan but burning something for the spirits is also equivalent to offering them something to use in their spirit form.
4. Naru and Mai will have a date for Christmas.
-False, I am sorry. I feel bad for doing this. But I am still thinking whether or not to arrange a date between these two. Haha
5. Christmas is a bit sad for Mai.
-True, this will serve as a spoiler for you. It will be mentioned for the next chapters.
***
A/N: Hello guys! So that's it for this year! I am sorry if I will only stop here but I have no choice. Haha I lost my manuscripts (AGAIN?! 🙄🙄).
I have lost those manuscripts for so many times that I have to review and rewrite again and again! Some were wet because of the typhoon and some were placed somewhere by me. Sorry!!
I am such a clutz and I forget about a lot of things! But I promise to complete this! I will finish this!
And as I have said a while-no, a long time ago in the previous chapters, the fanfic will end after the Bloodstained Labyrinth. So expect some revelations in the next chapters.
Stay tuned!
I miss you guys! And I will see you soon! Gotta finish my lessons first. Haha See you! ❤️❤️❤️