From: "P. Rico" Hi Guys, This is the second part to "All I Want For Christmas". I just couldn't let my favorite Okashira and his bunch go through the holiday without sending them a little bit of Christmas Cheer. I hope you enjoy it. Standard Disclaimers. ******************** All I Want For Christmas...:The Kyoto Chapter By P.Rico "Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, 'Tis the season to be jolly, Fa, la, la..." "Misao what are you singing?" Misao looked up to see Okina and Aoshi standing before her. "A Christmas Carol," she replied. "Omasu's new English, Jonathan boyfriend taught it to me." "Christmas?" muttered Aoshi. "Do you know about it?" asked Okina. "I've heard of it." "Oh, Aoshi-sama," exclaimed Misao. "It's a wonderful holiday. All you're friends and family come together and exchange gifts and eat a big feast and just enjoy enjoy each other's company. Especially if they hadn't seen each other for awhile." "It sound's nice Misao," said Okina. "In England they'll be celebrating Christmas in a week," Misao informed them. "Can we celebrate it this year Jiya? It's a great holiday and Jonathan won't feel so homesick." "I don't see why not," said Okina. "Aoshi?" Aoshi merely shrugged. "Yatta!" cried Misao. "I'm going to go tell the others!" The next week was busy for Misao as she prepared for Christmas. She made sure she has a present for everybody and everybody made sure that they had a present for Misao. That is, everybody except Aoshi. As usual, he had separated himself from the rest of the Oniwabanshuu and their activities, opting to remain in the temple and meditate or practice. This, naturally, disappointed Misao greatly, who so wanted her Aoshi-sama to participate in the preparations for Christmas. The week flew by and before Misao knew it, it was Christmas Eve. Jonathan had showed Shiro and Kuro how to make a traditional English Chritmas Eve dinner to which the two cooks had added their own special touch creating an interesting blend of the two cultures (my that's a mouthful ^-^). They had all sat down to eat when Aoshi came in. "Aoshi-sama," said Misao. "Look at all this wonderful food Shiro and Kuro cooked." Aoshi nodded to the group in a greeting then bowed slightly. "You'll excuse me if I don't join you. I'm not hungry right now." With that, he headed toward his room. The others began digging into the food, but Misao was worried about Aoshi. She quickly excused herself from the table and ran after him. She caught up with him as he was just entering his room. "Aoshi-sama, are you feeling well?" Aoshi spoke without turning to face her. "I'm feel fine. I just had a late lunch." "Oh," said Misao then added, "You are coming to dinner tomorrow, aren't you?" Aoshi shrugged. "Maybe." "But it's Christmas." "Misao, that means absolutely nothing to me." "But, Aoshi-sama..." "Misao, I have better things to do than entertain you're childish fantasies." Aoshi regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but his pride wouldn't let him apologize. Instead, he walked into his room and shut the door on her, like he always did. Misao stood outside, staring at the closed door for a while. "Fine," she decided finally. "Be that way. I won't let even him ruin my first Christmas." She put on her brightest smile and went back to the dining room, even though on the inside, she knew that it was easier said than done. --- That night, when everybody had gone to sleep, four spheres of light entered the Aoiya and began roaming the halls. They stopped momentarily before Misao's room before entering. Inside the spheres materialized into the ghostly forms of Beshimi, Hyottoko, Shikijou, and Hannya. "Poor Misao," said Beshimi. "Aoshi-sama was a little harsh to her," commented Shikijou. "I'm sure he didn't mean it," remarked Hyottoko. "But that doesn't change the effect," said Hannya. They were silent for awhile. "Maybe we should talk to him," said Shikijou. "I don't know. Aoshi-sama might get mad with us for butting into his relationship with Misao," said Hyottoko. "What's he going to do to us if he doesn't? We're already dead," commented Beshimi. "Point." "Then it's settled," said Hannya. "Let's go." --- Aoshi couldn't sleep. His confrontation with Misao earlier was still bothering him. That, and he kept getting the feeling that there were people, other than the usual residence, inside the Aoiya. But he had gotten up several times to look and didn't find anybody. "Your being paranoid," he sighed as turned over on his side trying to get comfortable. Suddenly, he felt the familiar presence of four old friends in his room. --- "Well," said Beshimi. "Go on, Hannya." "Why me?" "Why not?" "You were Aoshi-sama's favorite," said Hyottoko. "I was not," protested Hannya. "Yes you were," argued Shikijou. "He never offered to teach the rest of us kenpo." "Well, he never offered the rest of us that special muscle building medicine," replied Hannya. Aoshi suddenly spun around and sat up. "Would you four stop arguing and tell me what you need to tell me?" Normally, a person would jump at the sudden sight of ghost in his room. However, this time, it was the ghost that jumped. "Aoshi-sama," said Hannya. "You're awake." "I've felt your presence since you entered the Aoiya," replied Aoshi. "Besides, who could sleep with all the noise you're making." "Sorry about that, Aoshi-sama," mumbled the four. "Well?" Aoshi looked at the four expectantly. "Well, what?" said Hyottoko. "Ghost don't usually come to the earthly plane unless they have something to do." "Oh, yeah," said Beshimi. "Go for it, Hannya." The other three quickly stepped back leaving Hannya to face Aoshi alone. "Um...well..." "Hannya, you've alway been able to speak freely around me," said Aoshi softly. Hannya kneeled down beside him. "Aoshi-sama, it's about Misao-chan." "Is something wrong with her?" asked Aoshi with a concerned look on his face. "There is," Hannya held up a hand to stop the onslaught of question he knew would be coming. "There is and you're the only one who can make things right." Aoshi sighed. "I know where this is going." "You should make a decision, Aoshi-sama. One way or the other. Stringing her along like this is unfair." "I know. But it's very difficult for me." "Aoshi-sama, you want her to be happy, I know, but you don't seem to realize that pushing her away only making her miserable." Aoshi sighed again. "I think we'll leave you alone to think about it." Hannya rose to his feet and the four began to walk away. "One more thing." The four turned back to Aoshi and were surprized to see a small smile on his face. "It's good to see all of you again." They returned his smile as they disappeared into the shadows. Aoshi laid back on his futon. What they didn't know was that he had already made his decision but he didn't quite know how to act on it. "Tomorrow," he decided. "Tomorrow I'll take the first step." He found it very easy to fall asleep then. --- It was Christmas Morning and Misao couldn't be happier. At least, that what she kept telling herself. But she knew that the presence of one particular person would make her enjoy this occasion even more. She looked up at the stairs then sighed looking down at the present she had bought for him. "Who am I fooling," she muttered to herself. "He's not going to co--" "Misao." Misao looked up. A bright smile appeared on her face when she saw Aoshi descending the stairs wearing his best attire. "Aoshi-sama, you came." "I'm sorry about last night," he said. Misao lowered her head. "Aoshi-sama," she said quietly. "You don't have to come just because you feel guilty. I'll understand if you don't want to be here." Misao's hear skipped a beat when Aoshi smiled. "Truthfully, I'm here partially because of that, but mostly because I really want to be here, with you." Misao smiled again, especially when she realized what they were standing under. She handed him the gift in here hand. "Merry Christmas, Aoshi-sama." "Thank you Misao, but I'm afraid I didn't get you anything." Misao's smile turned miscevious. "I'll think of something." Aoshi didn't really like the sound of that, but decided to play along for now. "What do you have in mind?" Misao pointed up. Aoshi followed her finger and saw a green plant hanging from the door frame. "What's that." "Mistletoe." "Mistletoe?" Aoshi's gazed returned to Misao's who's smile had widened slightly. "I'm ready for my gift now, Aoshi-sama." ******************** ARGH! More sap! I was trying to make this more of a comedy like the other story, but it just turned out that way. And I don't know what the deal is with those long sentences. Well, I hope everybody has a Happy Holiday and a Bug-Free New Year. _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- Register now and you could win a Volkswagen New Beetle at LiQ.com! Click below, 'cause it's going fast! While you're at it, check out our great entertainment products at fantastic prices! Click Here ------------------------------------------------------------------------