+ Jingle Bells +
[Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HxH characters.]
[Dedication: To Yomi-san. Thank you for giving me useful advice, and also the idea to write this story ^-^ Hopefully this one won't end up in your trash can ^^;;]
+ Chapter 1 +
Snowflakes danced in the air elegantly as one of the most interesting celebrations of the year approached. The houses were decorated beautifully with colourful lights and Christmas trees; everyone was happy and excited about the Christmas season. Malls were filled with Christmas decorations, too, as almost every store had something for Christmas.
An old man dressed as Father Christmas was sitting in the middle of a stage. It was designed especially for the special occasion with a big, red plastic sleigh and reindeers. It seemed like a very easy job, but many little kids who believed in Santa went to him, sat on his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas. The elves beside him were trying to stop a naughty little boy from pulling off the Santa's beard.
"Hey Gon! How's your job?" A boy came running to one of the elves. He had an unusual shade of hair -- silver -- and attractive big, dark blue eyes. He wore a white T-shirt and light brown pants, which were barely seen, for they were hid behind a large number of gifts and bags he was carrying.
The elf turned to him and waved, he was both happy and surprised. "Hi, Killua! What are you doing here?" He took off his little green hat and whispered to another elf that he was going on his break. Then he went to join the silver-haired boy.
"So Gon, is that your part-time job or something?" laughed the silver head. The two sat down by a water fountain. It was close to the stage where Santa was, so the elf could get back to his work quickly.
The elf -- a boy with black hair -- chuckled. "Actually, it's a volunteer work," he said. "I stand there by Santa and prepare candies and toys we hand out to the kids. But trust me, it's not as easy as it sounds." He sighed, but his companion didn't understand what was so hard about it. "Well.... just now, this boy almost pulled off Santa's beard, and before that, a girl almost broke his legs because she was so heavy.... and my job is just to hand out the candies, but this girl got a lollipop stuck on my back!" He paused for a second, realizing that he was talking too much. "But enough about me.... how are you?"
"Well....," the silver-haired boy stopped chuckling suddenly. The expression on his face showed hesitation. "I...."
"What's wrong, Killua?" asked Gon curiously. He was worried -- his friend was an easy-going guy, and unless something was wrong, he wouldn't have been so silent. "What is it?"
Killua hesitated a little, but finally, he looked up at Gon. "Well.... we're having a family get-together during Christmas and Boxing Day, so I was wondering if you'd like to come...." He then looked down again, wondering if Gon would go with him to the family get-together. The Zoldicks weren't exactly very friendly with Gon and his other friends when they went to the Zoldicks' mansion, but still, he wanted his best friend to join him for Christmas.
"I'd love to go, Killua!" replied Gon cheerfully. But his expression turned into misery almost right away. "But I don't know....," he turned to look at the Santa. "I think I'll have to work here till noon, but then it'd be like a three-day trip to your house...." To Killua's surprise, the thing that worried Gon the most wasn't Killua's family.
"Oh, don't worry," Killua was relieved that Gon wanted to go. "I'll just get one of the menservants to come dressed as an elf and take your place." After saying that, the first image that came into his mind was of one of those tough-looking guys dressed in a green elf costume with rubber fake ears on their ears.
But Gon didn't look too convinced. "That's okay then, but.... your brother -- Illumi's going to be there, too, right?" He recalled being attacked by Illumi when they were at the Hunter Examination. There was no telling if Illumi would attack him again. After all, he was going right into the house -- a mansion filled with assassins.
"I don't know about that," Killua stuck out his tongue. He thought for a moment and continued, "but the cook told us she'll make a stuffed turkey!"
"Turkey? Okay, then!" replied Gon. "I'll go!" After waving bye-bye to Killua, Gon went back to complete his day of work as an elf. He was full of excitement. 'Who knows?' he thought to himself. 'It might be fun spending some time with the Zoldicks. They might not try to kill me.'
However, the young, naive boy had no idea what the Zoldicks had in store for him. All he thought about was the stuffed turkey and a happy Christmas -- and spending some time with his best friend.
* * * *
It was three days before Christmas. Gon was still at the mall, in his elf costume. He had everything he'd needed for his stay at the Zoldick's, and he was waiting for a call from Killua. His cell phone rang just as he handed out some lollipops to the kids. "Hello?" he answered.
On the other end of the line was Killua. "Hey, Gon!" he said. You could tell, from his tone of voice, that he was excited about Gon visiting his house. "I'll go pick you up right now. Then we'll leave for Kukuru Mountain right away."
"Okay," replied Gon. "But where are you? I think the airship's going to leave soon...."
"I'd like two pieces of chocolate cake," was Killua's reply.
Gon frowned. "What did you say, Killua?" No reply. "What are you talking about?"
"Thank you, come again." Another voice came. It wasn't Killua, Gon recognized.
"Huh?" Gon was confused. "Killua, are you still there?!"
"Oh, sorry," replied Killua finally. "That was the cashier from the pastry store." People were talking loudly in the background, and he could barely hear Gon, so he yelled, "SHADDUP!" and the loud noises in the background disappeared suddenly. "I'm in the food corner right now. I'll be right over." With that, he hang up and started running to the stage where Santa was.
Killua had a bit of difficulty getting there, since he had a large backpack on his back -- filled with Christmas presents and other essentials -- and the big box containing his two pieces of chocolate cake in his arm. There were lots of people in the mall, so by the time Killua got to the stage, his cake was squished.
"Let's go, Gon!" Killua winked at Gon, who'd changed to his normal clothes.
They took their backpacks and left for the airport. The airport was crowded with people leaving for their vacation destinations, but by using their Hunter cards, they were able to get the best seats on the airship. They got a private room for themselves and in there were two soft, comfortable sofas, a tea table and even a TV.
Killua asked Gon what he'd bought as Christmas presents as he opened the box of cake. All the Zoldicks would bring a gift to each other, as the tradition stated, so Gon was to do the same. Gon felt awkward trying to pick out gifts for Killua's family members, but since he was going to be with them for two whole days, he thought he'd try to make friends with them -- at least so that they won't be too unfriendly with him.
Gon knew that there was no hope in trying to negotiate with the Zoldicks, but with Killua around, they probably won't kill him, he decided.
"Well....," Gon looked down at his backpack he was carrying on his lap. "You'll see. It' be no fun if I tell you right now." He stuck out his tongue at Killua. Gon was wondering what Killua got for his family, but like he said, the gifts were supposed to be kept as surprises. Holding his backpack tightly to himself, Gon wondered if Killua would like what he got for him.
"Fine," Killua stuck out his tongue also. "So.... hey, you want some of the cake?" He looked down to inside the box, which contained two pieces of cake -- actually, you can't tell what it was, since they were misshapen badly -- and chocolate frosting all over the place. Gon and Killua looked at the box with sweatdrops. "Damn," said Killua. "I knew I should have bought candy canes."
+ tsuzuku.... +
[Thanks again, Yomi-san ^^ Like you said, writing this story is actually a lot of fun ^^ Now that I have a guideline of what to write, I hope I can do at least a bit better than before ^-^]
[Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HxH characters.]
[Dedication: To Yomi-san. Thank you for giving me useful advice, and also the idea to write this story ^-^ Hopefully this one won't end up in your trash can ^^;;]
+ Chapter 1 +
Snowflakes danced in the air elegantly as one of the most interesting celebrations of the year approached. The houses were decorated beautifully with colourful lights and Christmas trees; everyone was happy and excited about the Christmas season. Malls were filled with Christmas decorations, too, as almost every store had something for Christmas.
An old man dressed as Father Christmas was sitting in the middle of a stage. It was designed especially for the special occasion with a big, red plastic sleigh and reindeers. It seemed like a very easy job, but many little kids who believed in Santa went to him, sat on his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas. The elves beside him were trying to stop a naughty little boy from pulling off the Santa's beard.
"Hey Gon! How's your job?" A boy came running to one of the elves. He had an unusual shade of hair -- silver -- and attractive big, dark blue eyes. He wore a white T-shirt and light brown pants, which were barely seen, for they were hid behind a large number of gifts and bags he was carrying.
The elf turned to him and waved, he was both happy and surprised. "Hi, Killua! What are you doing here?" He took off his little green hat and whispered to another elf that he was going on his break. Then he went to join the silver-haired boy.
"So Gon, is that your part-time job or something?" laughed the silver head. The two sat down by a water fountain. It was close to the stage where Santa was, so the elf could get back to his work quickly.
The elf -- a boy with black hair -- chuckled. "Actually, it's a volunteer work," he said. "I stand there by Santa and prepare candies and toys we hand out to the kids. But trust me, it's not as easy as it sounds." He sighed, but his companion didn't understand what was so hard about it. "Well.... just now, this boy almost pulled off Santa's beard, and before that, a girl almost broke his legs because she was so heavy.... and my job is just to hand out the candies, but this girl got a lollipop stuck on my back!" He paused for a second, realizing that he was talking too much. "But enough about me.... how are you?"
"Well....," the silver-haired boy stopped chuckling suddenly. The expression on his face showed hesitation. "I...."
"What's wrong, Killua?" asked Gon curiously. He was worried -- his friend was an easy-going guy, and unless something was wrong, he wouldn't have been so silent. "What is it?"
Killua hesitated a little, but finally, he looked up at Gon. "Well.... we're having a family get-together during Christmas and Boxing Day, so I was wondering if you'd like to come...." He then looked down again, wondering if Gon would go with him to the family get-together. The Zoldicks weren't exactly very friendly with Gon and his other friends when they went to the Zoldicks' mansion, but still, he wanted his best friend to join him for Christmas.
"I'd love to go, Killua!" replied Gon cheerfully. But his expression turned into misery almost right away. "But I don't know....," he turned to look at the Santa. "I think I'll have to work here till noon, but then it'd be like a three-day trip to your house...." To Killua's surprise, the thing that worried Gon the most wasn't Killua's family.
"Oh, don't worry," Killua was relieved that Gon wanted to go. "I'll just get one of the menservants to come dressed as an elf and take your place." After saying that, the first image that came into his mind was of one of those tough-looking guys dressed in a green elf costume with rubber fake ears on their ears.
But Gon didn't look too convinced. "That's okay then, but.... your brother -- Illumi's going to be there, too, right?" He recalled being attacked by Illumi when they were at the Hunter Examination. There was no telling if Illumi would attack him again. After all, he was going right into the house -- a mansion filled with assassins.
"I don't know about that," Killua stuck out his tongue. He thought for a moment and continued, "but the cook told us she'll make a stuffed turkey!"
"Turkey? Okay, then!" replied Gon. "I'll go!" After waving bye-bye to Killua, Gon went back to complete his day of work as an elf. He was full of excitement. 'Who knows?' he thought to himself. 'It might be fun spending some time with the Zoldicks. They might not try to kill me.'
However, the young, naive boy had no idea what the Zoldicks had in store for him. All he thought about was the stuffed turkey and a happy Christmas -- and spending some time with his best friend.
* * * *
It was three days before Christmas. Gon was still at the mall, in his elf costume. He had everything he'd needed for his stay at the Zoldick's, and he was waiting for a call from Killua. His cell phone rang just as he handed out some lollipops to the kids. "Hello?" he answered.
On the other end of the line was Killua. "Hey, Gon!" he said. You could tell, from his tone of voice, that he was excited about Gon visiting his house. "I'll go pick you up right now. Then we'll leave for Kukuru Mountain right away."
"Okay," replied Gon. "But where are you? I think the airship's going to leave soon...."
"I'd like two pieces of chocolate cake," was Killua's reply.
Gon frowned. "What did you say, Killua?" No reply. "What are you talking about?"
"Thank you, come again." Another voice came. It wasn't Killua, Gon recognized.
"Huh?" Gon was confused. "Killua, are you still there?!"
"Oh, sorry," replied Killua finally. "That was the cashier from the pastry store." People were talking loudly in the background, and he could barely hear Gon, so he yelled, "SHADDUP!" and the loud noises in the background disappeared suddenly. "I'm in the food corner right now. I'll be right over." With that, he hang up and started running to the stage where Santa was.
Killua had a bit of difficulty getting there, since he had a large backpack on his back -- filled with Christmas presents and other essentials -- and the big box containing his two pieces of chocolate cake in his arm. There were lots of people in the mall, so by the time Killua got to the stage, his cake was squished.
"Let's go, Gon!" Killua winked at Gon, who'd changed to his normal clothes.
They took their backpacks and left for the airport. The airport was crowded with people leaving for their vacation destinations, but by using their Hunter cards, they were able to get the best seats on the airship. They got a private room for themselves and in there were two soft, comfortable sofas, a tea table and even a TV.
Killua asked Gon what he'd bought as Christmas presents as he opened the box of cake. All the Zoldicks would bring a gift to each other, as the tradition stated, so Gon was to do the same. Gon felt awkward trying to pick out gifts for Killua's family members, but since he was going to be with them for two whole days, he thought he'd try to make friends with them -- at least so that they won't be too unfriendly with him.
Gon knew that there was no hope in trying to negotiate with the Zoldicks, but with Killua around, they probably won't kill him, he decided.
"Well....," Gon looked down at his backpack he was carrying on his lap. "You'll see. It' be no fun if I tell you right now." He stuck out his tongue at Killua. Gon was wondering what Killua got for his family, but like he said, the gifts were supposed to be kept as surprises. Holding his backpack tightly to himself, Gon wondered if Killua would like what he got for him.
"Fine," Killua stuck out his tongue also. "So.... hey, you want some of the cake?" He looked down to inside the box, which contained two pieces of cake -- actually, you can't tell what it was, since they were misshapen badly -- and chocolate frosting all over the place. Gon and Killua looked at the box with sweatdrops. "Damn," said Killua. "I knew I should have bought candy canes."
+ tsuzuku.... +
[Thanks again, Yomi-san ^^ Like you said, writing this story is actually a lot of fun ^^ Now that I have a guideline of what to write, I hope I can do at least a bit better than before ^-^]