Snow: This was due out on Christmas day.
Rain: But some neko put too much on their plate to do everything on time.
Cy: Shut up Rai. I am trying to watch TV here
Snow: -pulls out remote and turns off TV- Oops
Kaden: Will you act your age not your shoe size?
Rain and Snow look at each other
Rain and Snow: Umm…..no?
Alex: Well Guys Happy Holidays even if you read this is June.
Snow: I do not own any of the anime I may have used to build this fic. And remember this holds a lot of spoilers for Rain's and my fic. Stuff that will not happen for a while. If you want to read go a head. It is not major stuff. Just pairings and such.
About a month ago Zel started going crazy. With our knowledge of the Nigenkai we knew of the holidays and what days not to try to go to the human world one of which was coming….Christmas.
Zel was trying to hang up lights that some how keep blowing and other stuff that ended up in the attic with all the other shit we never wanted. It would have been thrown to the basement but that is where the wine cellar was. Rain wanted nothing to mess with her concoctions as Zel tended to call them.
Snow and Rain were watching her cut up a stack of papers. "Okay you guys I want you to write your names and what you want for Christmas on the paper I give you."
"Why the hell would we do that?" Everyone looked to Rain only to see her point to Snow who was the one to say it. "What you know you were thinking it."
"That may be true but you did not have to say it in such a way." Tsuari (1) came out of the kitchen with tea for everyone and except Rain who was already drinking some thing she had may herself and no one else would get near it.
Zel almost looked hurt by this. "Christmas is one of the best Christian holidays there is…."
"There you have it. None of us bow to your god. We have talked about this before." Snow said thinking of Ahriman.
"Some of us bow lower than others." said Rain hitting a sore spot on Snow. (2)
Snow's normally blue eyes turned red and she leaped the bar and moved to attack Rain only to have a feather blow up in front of them. "Children I don't what you are talking about but the past is just that the past. Moving on….fill out your piece of paper."
"Why the hell should we. This Christmas is not some thing that is celebrated in the Makai. There is not Santa Clause that would come in a hundred miles of the portal opening with out drinking some of that." Snow finished up pointing to the glass Rain was drinking from.
Snow paused then finished. "Even when I lived in the Nigenkai with a kid we did not celebrate Christmas. Now that my kids are grown you want me to go along with this?"
"But the kids are going to be in on this. They will have to change names with there own little group." Zel seemed so crushed by Snow's words.
Snow sighed. "Do as you please. I will only go alone with it as a way of making up for my out burst just now. How does this work?" Zel went on to explain the rules of Secret Santa. (Snow in a teacher get up. Class, if you don't know them ask your neighbor)
"And one more thing it can not hurt the person you give it to."
Once everyone turned in there pieces of paper names were drawn. Now the one thing everyone hated….shopping.
BREAK
Snow looked at the name she drew.
Zel
Any thing that comes from your heart will do.
'Damn freaking angel. What the hell am I to get her? Damn selflessness. She needs to get some greed in her. That would be nice to see.' Snow walking into her main office in Nigenkai.
"Kiki. I need a cross necklace. Some thing classy yet screams I will yell at you for not going to church every Sunday."
"Price range Snow-dono?"
"I don't care. It is for a friend but keep it under lets say…."
BREAK
Rain debated over what to get Dante that would not kill him. 'I could get him a….'
Rain did not know if he liked it and little did she care. Walking into a gun show. Well he was a hunter. A freaking hunter some how found his way into my pack. That can't be right. He acts like we are always there to bug him. You would think after hunting our kind he would learn something. Mate one, mate the pack.
What does he do? Mates Cy and then expects us never to see her again. He really is a fucking baka to think that a pack would lose members that way.
'Damn hunter why is he even alive?'
BREAK
Dante looked at the damn thing Cy was making him carry. Not only was she a time master but also a vampire and here he was carrying something she had made with his money for this stupid Secret Santa bull shit. He just had to draw the crazy kitsune that has never seen eye to eye with him and he did not mean her short stature.
But Cy wanted to play alone so he did. He drew the damn kit and now he was going to buy her something so says the rules. Hmmm…..other than booze what does she like? That is it….
BREAK (too lazy to write what everyone else goes through)
Christmas Eve everyone was at the bar having a little fun. Rain was putting out some spiked eggnog and cookies for Santa.
Christmas day the (in Rain's words) pack got together to play to Zel's little dream of a happy Christmas morning. The demons could have been happy with sleeping in. Everyone had at least one gift under the tree. Some mates had gotten each other gifts; Cy loved the dagger Dante got her. It had blue roses on it.
Zel said that the children, aka brats, should go first. Mind you the second generation were fully grown as some had kids of their own.
Mana was the first to open her gift as she was closest to the tree. She carefully unwrapped the gift only to drop the box. Inside was an earth tone index card sized sheet of paper with 5 words on it. "My room or yours? Shippo."
Dark and Kurama got some dirty looks for cheering. They had 'corrupted such a young innocent soul.' Yeah right.
Shea, Jinchu's mate went next. She opened a box that held a black sweater. Like a true secret Santa there was no card. Rin was given an orange scarf and she thanked whoever gave it to her but yet again no one spoke up.
Tenchu, Rain's daughter and Jinchu's twin opened her next. It was an outfit that would only be found in the Nigenkai and only one person would buy it….Joey, her human mate. Snow had to hold Rain back when she kissed him.
"No PDA you two."
Joey opened a small box with the only contents a small piece of coal. All the demons burst out laughing. Seeing his distaste Jinchu took the small hunk of earth back and cleaned it off to show the diamond underneath.
"Damn kitsune tricks," Snow said laughing.
Truex, Alex and Trunks' son, opened his box getting doc related items from the human world. He was just like his mother and a healer. Trunks was Alex's lavender haired god. Trunks being a cooking genius helped Alex with herbal mixtures.
Shippo was next to open his gift. The reason for Mana's shock came out in the open when he saw what the box held. It too was an index card. The only difference in the gift he gave Mana and this one was who signed and the color of the card.
Ombre was given a gift card. He thanked and laughed, after Shea told him she had no clue what to buy him. Truex had gotten Jinchu a sword care kit from the northern lands. Jinchu and Truex shared a hand shake that all the guys but Joey knew. It was yet another way to show him that he was not wanted in the pack.
Kitcho still being kind of young was given some fun, fire proof, toys for a boy his age. Kohaku got a weapon care kit for ancient weapons. He shook his head at his mate. She laughed at the inside joke.
The 'adults' were next in there gift giving. Miroku and Sango and their 8 children were having a family holiday in the Caribbean. Zel said she would pass out the gifts to make it move faster so they could start the party. Each gift was to have the givers name on it. That was the only rule that was different from the brats.
Alex was handed a box to find a really rare plant. The plant had great healing powers just by just sitting in the room as the ill or injured. Alex hugged Dark, the thief must have gone through a lot to find it.
Dante was handed a box. It was from Rain. This alone was a shock but when he opened it the shock doubled. It was a modified gun with a box of youkai special bullets. "They will kill almost any demon. Almost." She smirk. "They won't kill any thing above A."
Rain was given a box from Dante. Opening it she found a flask. The flask had a fox and a wolf playing on side and the symbol of her clan on the other. "A aged spiced rum is inside."
"Thanks Dante, you really aren't that bad." Everyone was shocked. She never used his name.
Snow had the air knocked out of her when Zel saw the cross she gave the angel. It was glass tubing with holy water in it. It was simple but very pretty at the same time.
Tsuari opened a heavy box of kitchen knives and a book. The cook book was from a clan far in the southern lands. He thanked Kurama with the same hand shake that Jinchu and Truex shared, Tsuari also hugged Kurama.
"The hug whore strikes again," Rain said laughing her head off.
Orphen was next to open his gift. It was only a card. But the fine handwriting held more meaning than anything else. Orphen was to be the first human to be a guard of the Western Domain. That was a great honor. He had always helped now he got to decide if he would like to make it official.
Duo's present was something that would not go unused. It was a waffle maker. The only thing was that the design inside of the maker was a scythe. "I could make waffles when we are done."
"That would be good Tsuari. Thanks a lot dude."
Maru looked at Zel's gift to him. It was a pair of fluffy pink slippers. Snow was all but laughing at him. "Try them on Love. You know I think they would go great with your pj's." Rain and Snow burst out laughing.
Snow was handed a long box with Kaden as the giver. Snow opened the box to find not the sword that she thought it would be but a wooden katana and paints. Snow looked up at the vampire and smiled. She had wanted to paint on a training katana for a while now. "Thanks Kaden." Kaden nodded in return.
Duo's gift to Kaden was a small booklet. They were coupons to have him do simple task for her. Kaden smiled at her mate. She never seemed to show PDA when both guys were with her.
Kurama was handed a small box. There was a packet of seeds that could only be found in some of the most dangerous parts of the Makai. Kurama gave Orphen his thanks and put the seeds in his long red hair.
Dark was next. He was given a first aid kit that could be taken with him on heist. Alex was given a hug to thank her. "I just don't want to see you after one because you have an infected cut."
Like Rain and Dante, Trunks and Cy had drawn each other's name. Cy gave Trunks a new spice rack with many rare and hard to find spices. Trunks gave her a promise to cook any thing that she wanted for a romantic dinner for her and Dante.
With the gift handed out the party began. Rain brought out the eggnog and all the demons had to cover their noses. "What the hell did you put in that?" Snow said
"Oh you know a little of everything." Rain said with a smirk that only the kitsune could muster.
"Never again man. Never again." Snow said laughing.
The bar was closed for the private party. But a banging came on the door. Rain opened it to find her pirate crew standing there. "MERRY CHRISTMAS CAPTAIN!" was heard through out the area.
"Good thing you guys are here. I was trying to figure out how to send 30 barrels of rum to the ship." She laughed and let them in. "You know everyone I think. If not….well then that is your problem. Just don't steal from these guys you don't want to deal with that."
So until late into the night, they partied with little care. Even Zel had a drink or two. Which was just a hangover waiting to happen. They all danced while Duo ate waffles.
Well Happy Holidays and try not to kill each other.
Well that is the end.
1. Tsuari is our ice dragon friend. He will be in LoaP sometime between 15 and 17.
2. Snow and Ahriman will have a fling of shorts for a while. Happen in the upcoming chapters
Tsuari (wearing a Santa hat.): He everyone leave a truthful review.
Rain: Flames welcomed
Tsuari: Yes be as cold as you wish
Snow: Or you can say how much you love it…..what if is just an idea.