Hey, here's my latest fic. If you have no idea who half of these characters are, you might want to read my other story, "The Tides Never Change".
Hope you enjoy!
Hitsugaya's POV
"Ah, finally." I placed my pen down on the desk, shook out my cramped hand. That Matsumoto left me with all of her paperwork again, because she went off drinking with the usual crowd. It was late at night, so hardly any people were wandering the corridors. I took a moment to relax in the blissful silence.
But too soon someone charged through the doors to my office, almost knocking them off their sliding mechanisms. It better not be-
"Taicho! I'm back!" shouted my loudmouth assistant, dumping several bags onto the floor. Surprisingly, she was not drunk.
"Quiet down. People are sleeping, you know," I told her. "And why did you bring all of this stuff?"
"Christmas decorations!" she announced happily, rummaging around in the bags.
"Matsumoto-" I started to warn her, but she cut me off.
"See this? I bought silver to match Taicho's hair. And the ornaments for the tree are white and red. What color should the tree garlands be? White? Or maybe all the garlands should be silver…" She held different arrangements together to see what would look best.
"Matsumoto, we are not decorating." I said firmly.
"But Taicho~!"
"I mean it, Matsumoto."
"But I already bought all of the stuff!"
"Take it back." I crossed my arms, trying to stare her down. Which wasn't easy, considering the height difference.
"But-"
"No."
I could feel a headache coming on already. Nami, Kenji, Miyako, and Ryu entering my office only made the pounding intensify.
"Hey, Taicho!" Miyako smiled at me and stirred the drink in her mug with a spoon. From the smell I guessed it was hot chocolate.
"What are you doing here, Ohara-san? It's late."
"Just came to see the decorations Matsumoto said were here. Want some?" She tipped the cup slightly toward me. The frothy brown stuff swayed with the movement.
"You shouldn't be having so much sugar this late. In fact, shouldn't you be asleep?"
"Shouldn't you?" she asked, drawing the cup back toward her. "Who needs the height, anyway?"
"Ohara-san, you're shorter than me."
"Only by an little. Besides, I'm a girl. I can afford to be short." Kenji smothered his snicker with a cough while her smile grew wider. When will she ever learn to just keep quiet?
"Ohara-san."
"Yes?"
"Go away."
"But we wanted to see what Matsumoto bought."
"We're not even decorating, so there's no use in looking at it."
"Oh, come on, Taicho! Where's your Christmas spirit?"
"It's nonexistent."
"Don't be such a party pooper."
"Don't be so annoying."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
I sighed. Every year, I lost this battle. Might as well lose once more, before my head exploded. "Just look at them and go, all of you."
"Thanks, Taicho!" the four chorused, dumping the contents of the bags on the couch.
The cheers of "ooh"s and "aah"s reached me immediately afterward. I left.
The Morning of Christmas Day
Miyako's POV
I picked up the last pushpin and stuck it into the wall, trapping the silver garland beneath it.
"We're done!" Nami exclaimed, placing the last piece of trash into the huge plastic bag that held the rest of the scraps.
"It's about time," Kenji complained, but he was grinning like a madman, surveying our work.
It truly was a sight for sore…everything. My muscles were aching from reaching up to pin garlands and crouching down to clean the floor. But it was well worth the effort to see the shimmering garlands twisted with colorful strings of lights dripping from the ceiling, the top of a normal sized pine tree sitting in a red pot, draped with shining red and white ornaments. The tiny table we covered with a white and red tablecloth, and a "North Pole" sign hung outside the door. And everywhere, on the desks, in the corners, lining the bottoms of the walls, were blood red poinsettias.
"We'll take first place for sure!" Matsumoto declared. Every year the divisions held an office decorating contest. Tenth Division hadn't won in years, most likely due to the fact that we had a surly Taicho who restricted all things fun. Last year the winner was Fifth division. Momo really has an eye for that sort of thing.
"Well, we're going to go get ready. You guys are all coming, right?" Ryu asked, Nami nodding in turn. He was probably talking about the party that Matsumoto insisted we have with all of our friends. It seemed like every holiday automatically had a party attached to it.
"You mean the party?" asked Kenji. Ryu nodded. "I might come late…still have gifts to open, you know."
"Me, too," I added. Actually, I had already opened all of mine, but Matsumoto wanted to make sure I was 'presentable', after I showed up at Taicho's birthday party in my uniform. Which I though everyone, including the birthday boy, was okay with. That is, until I ran into Matsumoto afterwards. She made me swear to let her pick out my outfit next time.
"Well, see you there, everyone!" Nami sang as she skipped out of the room, followed closely by Ryu.
Later that day Matsumoto found me trying to hide and brought up my promise.
I'm going to regret this, I thought as I was led into her room.
Hitsugaya's POV
I squirmed in the formal human world clothes, something fancy Matsumoto expected me to wear. It was a white shirt, black pants and a jacket, and a scarf-like red thing tied around my neck. I felt absolutely ridiculous.
"But Taicho, you look great!" Matsumoto squealed as I made to rip off the jacket.
"Matsumoto, I'm not going to wear this."
"Taicho, I have to track down Miyako-chan soon, so just deal with it, please?"
"…No."
"Please?"
"No way, Matsumoto."
"But Taicho~! I'll bet Miyako-chan will think it looks good," she said suggestively. I felt my face heating up and turned to straighten a stack of perfectly aligned papers. She continued to embarrass me like only she could. "Doesn't Taicho like Miyako-chan?"
I didn't respond. Maybe that was the wrong thing to do.
"Aww! That's so cute! I'll make sure to hang up the mistletoe when I get there!" she called over her shoulder. "Now I have to go find Miyako-chan! Bye Taicho!"
"Matsumoto, wait!" I called. "What is a 'mistletoe'?"
She was already gone. I plucked Kenji out from the group of people passing by my door.
"Wakamoto-san, I need you to tell me the definition of a mistletoe," I told him.
For some reason, he found this humorous. He was clutching his sides, doubled over with laughter. I every second I waited shortened my candle of tolerance.
When he could finally speak again, he asked me, "Matsumoto told you about this, didn't she?"
"Yes. Now, what is it?"
"It's…a plant. That you hang up during Christmas. Like those poinsettias," he explained, pointing to a red flower on the floor.
"That's it?" Why was that so funny?
"Well, not exactly. See, you stand under it with someone you like, and-" his eyes suddenly grew wide, and he stopped. "Uh, yeah. That's it. Sorry, Taicho, but I really have to go now…presents to wrap…" he slipped out of the door before I could catch him.
"Wakamoto-san!" I called after his bobbing blonde head. He didn't turn around.
I slumped onto the couch, frustrated. Matsumoto must have told him not to tell me about it.
I changed out of the silly clothes and back into my uniform, and went looking for Momo. I wandered around the corridors until I ran into her. She was heading to the party at the office wearing a white and gold dress. I stopped her.
"Momo," I said, catching her shoulder.
"Oh, hey, Toshiro!" She turned around, her skirt spinning with her.
"Momo, I need you to do me a favor." I ignored the fact that she had addressed me incorrectly.
"What's that?"
"What's a 'mistletoe'? Matsumoto mentioned it."
"It's a plant you hang up at Christmastime, silly. Everyone knows that."
"Yes, but does it have some sort of meaning?"
"Well, if you stand under it with someone, you - mff!" She was cut off by Matsumoto's hand. It was just bad luck she happened to be passing through this corridor, looking for Miyako. Or maybe she was going to great lengths just to keep me in the dark.
"Taicho," she told me, "if you really want to find out what it means, just see for yourself. How about with Miyako-chan? Everyone will tell you then."
"Matsumoto, what is the meaning of all this secrecy? Just say it."
"Not a chance, Taicho. If you want to find out, stand under it with Miyako-chan. Bye!" She dragged Momo off to the party, leaving me confused.
I went back to my room to change again. I was going to go to that party and stand under the stupid mistletoe, just to find out what it meant.
I left my jacket in my room and strapped Hyorinmaru to my back.
"So, Master. What is the significance of a mistletoe?" He chuckled.
"You know what it means?" I asked, incredulous. Why did my inner self know? Was it that obvious?
"You're smart, Master. Come on, think about it. Everyone knows you like Miyako-chan," He teased.
"Think about what? And I don't like her!"
"You're so oblivious, Master. You, of all people, don't even know what you think!"
"But I don't like her!"
"Yes, you do. You think about her all the time!"
What? "No, it's just because she's my Third seat. I need to make sure she isn't, you know, dead or something."
"So, you care about her, then?" How annoying.
"Yes. Well, no, I mean…not in that way. I don't want her to be in pain, or anything."
"Because you like her, right?" …Why did he insist on twisting everything I said?
"It's easy, Master. I'm not twisting your words, you're twisting your own thoughts. I'm straightening them out for you."
"I'm perfectly capable of reasoning for myself, thank you, Hyorinmaru."
"Not in this you aren't. Master, you may be the best warrior ever seen on the battlefield, but you're a complete idiot when it comes to romance."
"This isn't a romance! And anyway, how do you know all of this? You're me!"
"Exactly, Master. I'm the part of you that realizes these feelings first."
"…Shut up, Hyorinmaru. And you never told me what a mistletoe is."
"I don't have to, Master. You plus Miyako-chan can only result in one thing, eventually."
"Extreme embarrassment?"
He chuckled. "Just stand under it with her and be prepared for the best thing ever to happen to you. Oh, and follow the rules."
"What rules?"
"The rules of the mistletoe."
"There are rules?"
"Yes, rules you must obey."
"I always follow rules."
"You might be tempted to break them tonight, if you value your face over Miyako-chan's love."
"She has no 'love' for me!"
He was silent. Darn that Hyorinmaru.
Miyako's POV
Matsumoto put the headband on me, and then carefully arranged my hair.
"Almost done! I just have to get the dress, and we're out of here!" she declared.
I sighed in relief and horror. This was the part I was dreading, since I didn't want to end up in something like what Matsumoto was wearing - a tight, silky red dress that came down to her knees, with heels that made my feet hurt just looking at them.
"Thanks for doing this for me, Matsumoto. Really, you shouldn't have." Yeah. She really shouldn't have.
"Oh, it's no problem, Miyako-chan. You're going to look so cute in this dress. I tried to pick something Taicho would like to see you in. But, if he's as taken with you as I think he is, it doesn't really matter what you wear, does it…?"
I didn't think much of this. Matsumoto tried to turn everything into a drama.
"The only problem was your size. You're so tiny! Even shorter than Taicho!"
"Thanks, Matsumoto," I said sarcastically.
"Oh, I can't wait until you stand under the mistletoe with Taicho!" She clapped her hands together and raced to her closet.
"Close your eyes." And so I did.
I could feel the smooth, cool inside of the dress. While she was zipping it up, I asked her, "Matsumoto, what's a mistletoe?"
"Well, it's hard to explain…basically, it's something you hang up during Christmas."
"Why do you stand under it? For good luck?"
"Something like that…let's just say that if you're under it with someone you like, you already have all the luck you need."
"Ah, interesting. It's my first year, so I don't really know anything about human world celebrations…"
"Yeah, it's Taicho's first time going to one of these. We've put it on for a few years, but he's never taken the time to go…says he's got too much work…but I actually did some this year and I know he's finished, so he doesn't have any excuse." She started to put my foot into a decidedly not high-heeled shoe.
"He's a workaholic. It's unhealthy."
"Yeah…" Something must have hit her then, as her voice changed just a hint. "I'd bet it would make Taicho's day if you stood under the mistletoe with him. You know, for luck."
"Maybe I will, then. He's been so grumpy lately…" I didn't fully believe her definition, what with the mischief in her tone.
"Okay! Stand up, turn to your left, and - tada!"
I opened my eyes to find a full-length mirror in front of me, reflecting someone else entirely. I had to look close to see me inside of a dark red, velvet dress that barely brushed my shoes. My hair was in loose curls, held in place only by a headband that matched the fabric I wore.
"You look great," she said.
"Thank you so much, Matsumoto. Really," I answered, thought I was nervous inside.
"Let's go, then." She grabbed something off the table and led me out of her room. I glanced one final time into the glass.
The girl in the mirror stared back. I winced.
On the way there, Kenji caught up with us.
"Hey, Matsumoto. And…" I turned around and pretended to frown.
"Aw, no hello for me?" I asked, pouting.
"Ah! Miyako-chan? Is that really you?"
I smacked him lightly on the head. "Of course it's me, stupid!" I laughed.
"Yeah, that's got to be Miyako-san. The only person that would hit me and laugh at my pain."
"Sorry."
"Nah, it's alright. Just a bleeding head wound, is all." He clutched the side of his head in mock agony. I noticed he wasn't wearing the fancy-schmancy clothes that were required for the celebration.
"Still wrapping presents?" I asked.
"Just finished. I'm on my way to change."
"Hey, Kenji-san?"
"Yes?"
I wasn't satisfied with Matsumoto's earlier answer. "What's a mistletoe?"
"You too? Taicho just asked-"
Matsumoto pulled me away, cutting him off. "Well, see you there, Kenji-kun!"
I was sure of two things now. One, the only way I would find out what that plant meant was to stand under it, and two, that the result was going to be very embarrassing.
Hitsugaya's POV
The party was small, compared to some of the ones Matsumoto had organized in the past. It was only her close friends, most of which I knew, but I still felt a little nervous. Like I would be judged as a newcomer, even though it was my office. The only comfort I had was in knowing I could immediately kick out anyone I didn't like.
I looked around the well-decorated room. There was Momo, Izuru and Renji on one side of the room, Kenji, Ryu, and Nami on the other. Ukitake, who brought me a candy cane, stood with his two vice captains on either side of him. Ikkaku was feeding Yachiru a giant white sphere of candy, something called a jawbreaker. The members of that Soul Reaper club for women were here, too, gossiping and admiring the food.
Matsumoto burst into the room, pulling a slightly reluctant figure behind her. I couldn't see her clearly because of the angle, but I could tell she was a girl because of her skirt.
"Hey everyone! I brought the final decoration!" Matsumoto announced.
Someone, Nami probably, shouted back, "Miyako-chan?"
"No, silly, this!" Matsumoto let go of Miyako's hand and held up a plant with shiny leaves. She went to hang it up, and revealed my Thrid seat fully, wearing a nice dress.
I looked away and walked to the other side of the room, staring at the ribbon-wrapped tree outside.
"She looks good, Taicho. You should tell her." Hyorinmaru chose a time like this to come back.
"…"
"Come on, Taicho. If you don't act soon, she won't be there anymore. Look!"
I looked. Sure enough, she was talking to someone I didn't know she knew. He must be Matsumoto's friend. He leaned one arm on the wall above her and she was laughing.
"Are you really okay with losing her? Could you take it if she fell in love with him?"
Yes. I'd tolerate it. If that's what she wanted.
"But would you ever be happy, knowing she was so close, and yet completely out of reach?"
That, I couldn't answer.
"You always assume the worst. It's entirely possible that they're just friends." I noted, which was true.
"It could be. Or maybe you're about to lose your first love."
"I don't love her!" But I walked toward them anyway.
"Ohara-san." I said to her, ignoring the guy she was talking to. Unfortunately, he was handsome. And tall.
"Hey, Taicho! Like the party?" she asked.
Not while he's around.
"No," I replied truthfully.
"But it's better than work, right?"
"That's debatable."
"Don't be such a grump! Oh, this is Hayashi-san."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Hayashi Yuuta, Third seat of the Fourth Division." he said, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.
"You, too. I'm Hitsugaya Toshiro, Tenth division captain." I didn't even attempt to lighten my expression.
Nobody spoke for a moment, and sensing the awkwardness, Miyako spoke up. "So, Taicho. You look good. Human clothes compliment you."
"You too, Ohara-san." Did I really just say that?
She laughed. "Wow. That just made my day. A compliment from you? What did I do to deserve that?"
"It slipped out."
"But you said it anyway. That must count for something."
"…"
"Well, I'm going to get some punch. Want anything?" she asked us.
"No, thank you, Miyako-chan," Hayashi declined politely.
After she left, he looked at me and said, "You know, I'm going to thank Matsumoto-san for bringing that mistletoe."
"Why?" I dared to ask.
"Why? Don't you know what happens when two people stand under it?"
"No."
"The guy picks a berry off the plant, and then he has to kiss the girl. So I might 'accidentally' walk under it with her…would you be willing to help me?"
"Told you," Hyorinmaru said.
"Actually, I can't," I told him.
"Why not?"
"I…know someone who likes her. He would be angry if I helped you." Which was true. I would never forgive myself if I went along with this.
"Oh. Well, I've got a message for him. Tell him he has to wait. I need her to win Momo back. After that, he can have her."
"I wasn't even aware that Momo was seeing someone."
"Well, she found out that I cheated on her, and dumped me. I've already got the other one back, but I want that peach, too."
"He's just using all three of them," I told Hyorinmaru.
"You have to stop him." As always, detailed advice.
"How?"
"Just tell Miyako-chan the truth. But slowly! Don't be blunt in this," he advised me.
"You won't tell her, right? I mean, man to man, she's okay, but she's just not as pretty as Momo."
"I won't."
"I can't believe he did that," Miyako said to me after I had explained about Yuuta. She didn't seen surprised at the mistletoe thing. Said it was just like Matsumoto to try something like that.
"I just repeated what he said to me."
"I don't want him with Momo-chan, either. She's too good for him."
"You should tell her, then."
"No, no." She paused. "We have to make sure he won't go after her…I don't want him bothering her. I mean, he's really charming."
"Not helping."
"Hey, I'm just stating the truth."
"What can we do?"
"How about…oh! I have an idea!"
"First one ever."
She stuck her tongue out at me.
"Just explain the plan," I said, slightly embarrassed of her childish nature.
She whispered it into my ear.
I was mildly amused. "You know, you may look kind, but you have a diabolical mind."
"It's what I do," she replied with a shrug.
So, I ended up going over to Kenji. "Wakamoto-san."
"Hello, Taicho," he said.
I cut to the chase. "You like Momo." I didn't even bother to ask him.
"W-what? No, no, we're just friends…" He waved his hands in front of his face.
"Wakamoto-kun, I'm prepared to help you out with this. So I need an honest answer."
"…Maybe a little, yes." His face was as red as the poinsettias around the room.
"Good. If all goes well, I'll tell you the plan in a few minutes," I said over my shoulder, already on my way back to base, the food tables..
Miyako wove her way through the people and tables to meet me. "Momo-chan says yes. Kenji-san?"
"Yes," I informed her.
"Perfect. Can you go tell Hayashi-san now? I'll get Momo-chan and Kenji-san."
"This is a favor you'll pay me back for."
"What? How unfair."
"It's not like you can go and talk to him."
"I guess…what do you want for it?"
"I'll tell you when I want it."
She rolled her eyes and went to find Momo and Kenji. As she walked away I couldn't help noticing how nice she looked.
"Stop staring at women and go tell Hayashi!" Hyorinmaru scolded me.
"You're the one that wanted me to notice her in the first place!" But I started to search for him anyway.
"Hayashi-san." I spotted his spiked black head from across the room.
"Hitsugaya-taicho."
"I think I'm prepared to help you out in this. But only once."
"Good. Ask her if she likes me. But be subtle about it," he warned.
"No promises."
I found Miyako and told her about what he wanted.
"Good. This is working out perfectly. Kenji-san and Momo-chan know about Hayashi-san. So they're ready to go."
"Did you hook up the camera and microphone yet?"
"Yup, just now."
"I'll tell him, then."
I walked back over to Hayashi. "So I talked to Ohara-san-"
"You didn't tell her anything, did you?" He looked very nervous and guilty.
Good. He should feel horrible.
"No, not anything specific. But I did find out that she…" This was hard to say, even though it was a total lie.
"What?"
"She does like you. But she doesn't know you were wondering."
"Good. This is working out exactly as I'd planned. You know, we make a good team."
"Yes, we do." I meant Miyako and I.
I informed Miyako and she went over to Hayashi, just to talk. I grabbed one of the glass ornaments, bounced it in my hand, and snuck into the closet.
It is a little known fact that you can sneak around to any part of the office through the ceiling. Usually, this is useless, unless you wanted to play a prank, but today was different.
I climbed into the space above the flimsy ceiling tiles and the actual roof, carefully clinging to the metal frames. On one side of the room, the mistletoe hung from a wall. The opposite had food tables. Then on another wall was the door to the garden, and finally on the last side was the office door.
I crawled around to the middle of the room, facing the mistletoe wall. Carefully, I slid a panel back just enough to throw the ornament through. The plan was when I saw Miyako and Hayashi coming toward the wall I was facing, I throw the ornament hard toward the tree, opposite the mistletoe.
While everyone is looking toward the glass, Matsumoto would yell, "You have to! It's spin the bottle!" and disappear. Kenji and Momo would move under the dark, waxy leaves. Then Hayashi and Miyako would look back, Hayashi would be frustrated, hopefully leaving Miyako and Momo alone, and not try to get back at Kenji. IF that failed, we would catch his guise on camera and show it to his current lover.
And because all plans work out so well, something went wrong, and I had to fix it.
I threw the ornament on cue, right where it was supposed to land, but Hayashi didn't pay any attention. Even when he was gently urged by Miyako to look, he continued to make his way over to the wall, undeterred. We didn't have much time.
Thankfully, Matsumoto didn't register the little setback. "You have to!" she said. "It's spin the bottle!"
She disappeared into the garden, leaving Kenji and Momo walking over, too late. Miyako and Hayashi would beat them there.
Quickly, I slithered down from the ceiling and picked up another ornament, and threw it, adding spin so it wouldn't appear to come from my direction. It hit him on the back of the head.
I ducked behind a table just as Hayashi yelled, "Who threw that?"
A girl's voice, Miyako's probably, replied, but I couldn't make out exactly what she said.
I dared to peek out form the table and waltz to the left of the room, near the door that led to the hall.
I couldn't help it, the scene was so funny and hopeless for Hayashi. There he was, mouth agape, eyebrows dancing furiously, face turning a pale purple. I was unable to tear my eyes away form something so funny.
"How cruel. You're laughing at his pain." Hyroinmaru chided me.
"Your point?" I asked.
"Cruel. So cruel."
I ignored him and continued to find amusement in Hayashi's frustration.
He pushed Kenji away and moved closer to Momo, murmuring something into her ear. Outraged, she shoved him, asking what his problem was and did he think that she would take him after this and to go find someone else to use. She stormed away, Kenji on her heels. As the duo passed, they winked at me. I nodded.
Hayashi whirled around, smiling at Miyako and saying something offhand. I caught the end. "…gotten rid of her, we can be together…"
Miyako didn't look angry, or happy, or annoyed. She just stared, crossed her arms, nodded at his feeble attempt to restore what he had.
Out of nowhere, she slapped the side of his face, hard. It left a red print and I started to laugh.
She opened the sliding door to the garden, and slammed it shut. Matsumoto ran out, rushing the captured footage to Hayashi's girlfriend. I walked in the opposite direction, toward the food, and then followed Miyako outside.
She stood under the big tree, alone in the garden, straightening the bright red bow Nami had tied around the trunk.
I held out a plastic cup of hot chocolate, waiting for her to take it.
She did, and said, "Isn't it too late to be having sugar?"
"Yes," I replied, and took a sip of mine.
"Have you figured it out yet?" she asked, after we had drained our cups.
"What?"
"Your favor."
"No."
"Do you even have a general idea?"
I was thinking of a way to reply to that when a blonde head poked out of the thick branches above us, and cried, "Taicho! Miyako-chan!"
I looked up. I could see her, my air-headed assistant, leaning precariously on a branch almost directly above us.
"It's dangerous up there, you know," I told her.
"Well, hurry up so I can get down from here!" she yelled back.
"Hurry up and what?" Miyako asked.
"Look at this!" she shined a flashlight on a mass of dark leaves. They hung on a branch above us, suspiciously snow-free. She didn't just…
"Matsumoto-san, don't you think I've had enough of the mistletoe for one day?" Miyako called.
"But…but…oh, fine. You're right, I guess." She jumped from the tree and trudged back into the office, shoulders slumped.
"Good call."
"Thank you. Favor restored."
"I didn't ask for it, so it isn't technically a favor."
"Come on, Taicho! Where's your generous Christmas spirit?" I remembered her asking me something like that earlier.
"It's nonexistent."
"Don't be so predictable."
"She's right Taicho. You're too predictable," Hyaorinmaru told me.
Predictable? I'll show him predictable.
"Ohara-san."
"Yes?"
"I know what it is."
She sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"
I moved her precisely under the leaves. "Just go with this," I said, and leaned in. Very carefully, I touched her lips with mine.
It was sweet, it was warm, and it was over too quickly. Luckily it was already too dark to see clearly, but I turned my head anyway, hiding a red face.
"You always surprise me, Master," Hyorinmaru chuckled.
"I'm full of secrets."
Suddenly I felt warm arms work their way around me.
"Thanks, Taicho. Best payment ever."
"You're welcome. Merry Christmas, Miyako-san." Oops. Didn't meant to call her that.
"You too, Taicho. Hey," she said, "you called me by my first name."
"Obviously."
Her hands untangled themselves and played with the ribbon on the tree. "Can I ask for one more thing?"
"What?"
"Can I call you Toshiro?"
"…No."
"Aw, please?"
"No."
"Fine. Party pooper."
"Ohara-san," I said, back to business.
"Yes?"
"You owe me another favor," I reminded her.
She smiled.
"I knew this was going to happen." Hyorinmaru jeered.
"Even I couldn't have expected this outcome, Hyorinmaru. How could you have known?"
"Easy, Master. You're too predictable."
I ignored whatever else he was saying and turned to Miyako.
"Want me to return that favor now?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied, and kissed her again.