Chapter 1
On the 1st day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
Hiruma Youichi, Devil of Deimon Senior High. Blackmailer extraordinaire and definitely the most feared person known in Tokyo, is standing in front of a megastore, wearing a grimace. December has descended upon the Land of the Rising Sun and everyone is busy doing their Christmas shopping. All district shops and department stores are pulling out the stops in decorating the theme 'White Christmas' this year.
He wished he could scoffed at the pathetic humans rushing to do their shopping, buying items as gifts during this festive season at an inflated rate when it's only 2/3 of the price during normal days. Half price in after-sales. But alas, he's also doing his shopping as well. Currently he's short of three gifts in his side of the list. Hiruma wonders if she has any better luck in getting all 6 highly unusual baubles for the crazy dare she came out with. It's been awhile since they've done this. 1st time they ever done this was their one and only Christmas together back in elementary. It was 'Jingle Bells' and Cerberus was the reindeer, pulling the two kids in a sleigh made out of cardboard. The 'over the hills' part was a slide in the playground where they first found the dog. They screamed instead of 'laughing all the way'. (A/N: Just imagine trying to pull that stunt of a cardboard box on a snow-covered slide and see the outcome. Someone in AFV did that and gone Humpty Dumpty, Ouch!)
After that, they lost contact and he never done it with anyone else. Until now. The elf teen decides to try his luck during closing time, since the owners are more likely to give discounts during that period especially if the weather is very cold and they wanna get home early. Of course, if that failed to make them slash their prices, his little black book will do the trick. By the time he gotten home from his trip, which he declared mentally will be the last time he's fighting with an obaa-san over a stupid rug, it was already dark and there in front of him at plain sight, hanging on his doorknob, was a small box swathe in glossy candy-colored wrapper.
Hiruma jerked from the knob and brought it in. He unwrap it without taking out his overcoat and lifts the lid. Layers of white cold fog swell out from the inside, surprising the young man. He blows until he could see the content hidden behind the melting dry ice. It's a green pear, one of the largest he's ever seen. And one side of the fruit has been carved.
Putting his gloved hand in to retrieve his gift, Hiruma walked over to the dining table to examine it. "Damn that neko. So that's what she means by toying with the meaning of the lyrics." In his hand, a tree was engraved based on the natural shape of the pear. At the center, was a bird. A partridge, if his presumption is correct. He looked at the parcel he bought earlier. "Lucky me, I've gotten the correct 12th item without fully aware of the twist. The last two items will be easy, especially the turtle doves."
…a partridge in a pear tree.
P.S. The last item is actually a shaggy rug, the picture is actually a face of a cuckoo clock, with the drummers replacing the numbers of the on the timepiece. If anyone out there actually saw it for real, email me. I'll love to have it in my room. Kukuku.