Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, any of its characters, WikiHow, or the WikiHow article that is featured in this story.

Pre-A/N: I know that this story would technically not fit into the timeline of Death Note… but just pretend it does. XD

Chapter One
Ornaments

As Misa entered Task Force headquarters, she couldn't help but notice something. It was the week before Christmas and there was no Christmas tree set up. Actually, now that she thought about it, there was absolutely nothing festive in the entire room.

I need to work on this, Misa thought to herself as she stared at the bare room she was standing in.

"People, listen up!" She clapped her hands together to earn the attention of the Task Force members. They all turned to her slowly, not looking nearly as enthusiastic as she was.

"What is it, Misa?" Raito asked. It was going through Misa's mind that he looked exceptionally good that day. She sighed and smiled widely.

"As you all know, Christmas is coming very soon." She paused for a moment for dramatic effect. Within this time L felt the need to say something.

"Are you expecting us to buy you things for the holidays, Misa?" he inquired. Misa laughed.

"Of course you're buying me things! I'll be buying things for all of you too! And we'll exchange gifts! That's what Christmas is all about!"

"Really? I was under the false impression that it was about the birth of the Christ." L turned back around to face his monitor. Misa scowled at the back of his head but continued talking anyway.

"As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted by a certain someone." She shot a glare at L. "Christmas doesn't only mean presents, it also means decoration! Christmas trees and pretty lights and garland and mistletoe." She wiggled her eyebrows at Raito suggestively.

"Misa," Mr. Yagami intersected.

"Yes, my future father-in-law?" Misa asked without realizing what she had said. Raito turned around and rubbed his temples. Misa wasn't fazed in the slightest by this.

"I really don't think we have time to decorate and buy things for Christmas. We should be concentrating on the case," Mr. Yagami said.

Misa's jaw dropped and the figurative cloud of doom appeared over her head. "But… but…" she stammered. "It's Christmastime! You all deserve a break!"

"Kira isn't taking a break," Mr. Yagami said. "Therefore, neither are we."

Misa frowned and looked like she was on the verge of tears. "O-okay."

Mr. Yagami sighed. "I'm sorry, Misa. But think of it this way: you'll get a break from your job at Christmas. You'll be able to do anything you want to."

Misa perked up at this. Anything I want to. He's hinting at something! He wants me to decorate this place myself!

Misa saluted to the Task Force members and smiled determinedly. "Don't worry, everyone! Misa-Misa won't let you down!"

Raito and his father exchanged looks of what Misa thought was underlying excitement. Sadly, she was mistaking confusion and terminal fear for enthusiasm.

~*~

Ten minutes later, Misa was stationed at the computer in her room, reading an article on WikiHow.

"Well, this doesn't look too hard," Misa said to herself quietly as she scanned through the article.

She had come up with an ingenious plan. Instead of going to the store and buying all the utensils that she would need to create a festive workplace, she had decided to make them herself. Homemade decorations! The Task Force would be so proud.

Step one of her job was the ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree. She wanted them to be special, which meant they had to be pretty, bright, and sparkly.

"Okay, first of all, I'll need a clear plastic ornament." She rummaged through the crafts on her bed until she found what she was looking for. "Yay! I'm doing well so far!"

She continued through the article, reading that she would have to take the top of the ornament off. She frowned for a moment.

"But how else would it hang from the tree branch…?" she wondered aloud, but begun twisting the top off anyway.

"Now I have to… squeeze glitter glue or paint into the ornament." She searched through the items on her bed again, but could find no paint. She did, however, find an unopened bottle of blue glitter glue. "Perfect," she murmured and begun getting to work. "This is going to be easier than I thought. I'll make these ornaments extra pretty and dunk them in sparkles. They'll all love it!"

~*~

Misa took a step back and admired her work. It was two days later, and Misa had already gotten everything done by nearly pulling all-nighters. Everything had gone perfectly; she had been able to quickly set everything up while everyone else was upstairs. She sighed happily as her eyes fell on her ornaments. They were so sparkly that when light fell on them they shone like little disco balls. In Misa's opinion, they were the best crafts she could have made.

She cleared her throat and jumped up a few stairs. "Everyone, come down here!" she called as loudly as she could. "I have a surprise for you!"

"Go to bed, Misa," a groggy-sounding Raito responded.

Misa huffed. "Come on, get up! Stop being so lazy, all of you!"

Raito groaned. "I thought you wanted us to take a break."

"You can take a break after you've seen all the hard work I've put into this!" Misa clapped her hands together a few times in an attempt to get everyone else down.

"Okay, Misa, we're coming," Raito said unenthusiastically.

"Yay!" Misa replied and waited at the base of the stairs.

It took about fifteen minutes, but soon Raito and L came downstairs together, followed by Raito's father.

"Misa… what's all of this?" Raito asked, squinting. Misa placed her hands on her hips. Sure, the lights were a tad bright, but it wasn't like he should have to squint.

"They're Christmas decorations, silly!"

"I know what they are," Raito said slowly, looking around, "but I meant… why did you do all of this work?"

"I knew you'd be proud of me!" Misa cried and threw herself at Raito, hugging him tightly. "I did this all for you and the other Task Force members! Do you like it?"

"My cakes…" L moaned suddenly from his station at the computers. "They've been replaced with these strange striped canes."

"Those are candy canes, L," Misa told him. "I thought you'd enjoy them."

"Candy canes…" L murmured, examining them closely. Misa giggled at him.

"Everything's so…" Raito waved his hand in the air as if that would finish his sentence. "Sparkly," he finally concluded. "Everything is shimmering… especially those." He gestured to the ornaments on the tree.

"I made those myself!" Misa said giddily. "I made everything myself! Except for the Christmas tree and the garland. But I added those sparkles and stuff to the garland, see?" She pointed to the artificial greenery that was wrapped around the stair banister.

"Yes, they look great…" Raito fidgeted. Misa caught this and narrowed her eyes at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked warily. Raito stayed silent but his father answered.

"Everything's a bit too… distracting," Mr. Yagami told Misa. "It's very nice of you to do all this work on the place, but…" he trailed off.

Misa pouted. "How is any of this distracting? I know they're twinkling, but seriously!"

"These candy canes are rather tasty," L commented, already on his second. Everyone rolled their eyes at him, except for Misa, who was still trying to get over her impermanent devastation.

"'Morning, everyone," a voice from the top of the stairs called.

"Matsu-chan!" Misa clapped her hands together, obviously over her previous irritation, and smiled brightly. "Wait till you see what I did with the place!"

Matsuda yawned in response. "What's all this shiny stuff on the banister?"

"It's called garland!" Misa told him haughtily. "Garland that I worked very hard on!"

"Garland, huh?" Matsuda yawned again and became visible near the bottom of the stairs. "What's all this – oh God!"

Misa watched questioningly as Matsuda covered his eyes with the back of his arm, looking pained. "What are all these bright lights about? Is someone trying to kill me?!"

Misa frowned at Matsuda's idiocy. "Humph, that's the kind of thanks I get for doing all this?"

"Why is everything so – AH!"

And then, tumbling down the stairs, came a very surprised-looking Matsuda.

"Matsu-chan?" Misa gasped, stunned. She ran up to him, standing next to a few other Task Force members who didn't look particularly surprised at Matsuda's tumble.

"I'm – I'm okay, I think," Matsuda murmured, groaned, and sat up slowly. "But those ornaments…"

"Aren't they perfect?" Misa asked.

Matsuda paused for a moment, emphasizing his next words carefully. "They've… got to go."

And thus, with a fallen Matsuda, a rather bitter Misa, and a candy cane-obsessed L, the Task Force's first Christmas together begun.

A/N: My friend NessiexCullen and I are writing five Christmas-themed oneshots on one of our favorite fandoms. I chose Death Note (no surprise there) and she's doing hers on The Host. Anyway, we're each giving each other five Christmas-related words and writing oneshots revolving around those words. The first word she gave me was "ornaments", so there you go! Also, if you've ever read The Host, please read my friend's collection of oneshots, because it's very good and you won't be disappointed.

Also, I couldn't remember if the Task Force members ever stayed at the headquarters overnight, but I felt that they pretty much had to for this fanfic.

Review please!

--Becky