He sat up slowly, hardly believing his ears. And to his bizarre amazement, a table covered end to end with a large feast had been set up in the middle of his room, a candlebra supplying ample light. Also, sitting at it was none other than Choji, in another of those red and white santa hats.
Sasuke looked at him weirdly. Choji, seeminly oblivious, wolfed down his food, one dish after another, only pausing to release a loud, hearty burp.
"Why are you eating in my room...?" Sasuke finally got around to asking.
"Herro," Choji said through a mouthful of food. "Em tha Ghosht of Krishmish Preshen." (Translation: "Hello, I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present.")
"Okay then. So what are YOU here to do?"
"My job."
There was a silence as Sasuke waited for Choji to elaborate a little more, but he just continued wolfing down his food.
"So? What are you going to do? Just eat the whole time? I'm learning an aweful lot about Christmas this way, let me tell you."
Choji wiped his mouth on a napkin with a frown, pushing his chair back and finally standing. "How rude. I was eating. Alrighty then, Mr. Impatient, we'll get rolling now. Speaking of rolls..." choji reached for a basket on the table that was filled with bread, and Sasuke watched in irritation as he stuffed a few into his mouth.
As the last snagged roll was devoured the room grew hazy again, and after a brief moment Sasuke found that he and Choji had come to a small, cozy house with a small fire lighting the room. There was a thick wodden table and not much else besides decorating the room, and at it sat what looked to be a haggard Tenten, who sat as if the table had a very interesting ingraving on it. Which it didn't.
"Okay then. What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked 'Tenten.'
But Choji, standing next to him, shook his head. "No one's going to hear you this time. We're invisable, and no one can hear us. We can't even touch anything."
"Well that helps. What am I supposed to do, then?"
"Just watch."
The door opened suddenly, a flurry of snow and wind rushing through, and into the one room house walked Rock Lee, looking very much as he had when Sasuke had seen him on the other side of the door back at the room that wasn't his.
"Dear, we're home!" Lee cried cheerfully. He lifted up a bundle he had been holding in his arms. "And we have Christmas dinner!"
" 'We?' " Sasuke asked Choji, arching an eyebrow.
"Daddy, I'm hungry..." said a voice that was too deep to be a child's, and into the room after Lee came Might Gai, in toddler clothes, a crutch under one armpit.
Sasuke choked on air in surprise. What the heck!?
"I know, I know little guy, we'll get going. Close the door for me, please, would you?"
"Yes, Daddy," said Gai, shutting the small door.
"Okay, this is messed up on so many levels," Sasuke choked.
"Well, Little Gai had an early growth spurt. What do you do?" Choji shrugged.
"How old is he supposed to be??"
"Six. And a half."
"He doesn't look any younger than 30."
"How rude. Keep watching, would you? Sheesh! If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all."
Lee set the packae on the table and opened it up to reveal a hunk of bread.
"It looks delicious, Lee, you've done a wonderful job."
"Too bad I have to work tomorrow. I asked Mr. Scrooge, but he told me to come anyway. I just wish that for one day I could stay home with my family, especially on C-Christmas...Christmas Eve..." Lee was getting all snifly again.
"Oh, suck it up," Sasuke huffed.
Choji scowled. "Where is your heart?"
"I haven't a clue. Can I ask you something, Choji?"
"My name is NOT Choji. I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present! We're watching what is happening RIGHT NOW, only as ghosts, and we're here, not cooped up in your dark little room. So I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present, you got that??"
Sasuke glared. "Whatever. Can I ask my question now?"
Choji returned the glare a moment, then turned away with a grunt. "Go ahead."
"Why does Gai-sensei--I mean Little Gai--have a crutch under his arm?"
The mood around Choji became gloomy in a mere moment. "About time you asked. Little Gai has Polio, and thanks to the state of poverty Rock Lee and Tenten are now living in, they can't get him medical attention that could save him. As it is, Little Gai won't survive to live long enough to see his 10th birthday."
Sasuke wasn't too thrilled on how moody the atmosphere was getting. "Um. Okay. If Lee is so desperate to stay home with his son then he should, obviously."
"Dummy!" Choji smacked him across the head. Sasuke rubbed it and gave him a look of death. "He's trying to save money for the operation, and he can't do that if he looses his job with you, Mr. Scrooge. I really think you should have a heart and give Rock Lee the holiday off. And a raise."
"Uh-huh. Whatever."
"You're not listening, are you?"
"Well nobody's listening to ME. I'm NOT Mr. Scrooge, so don't expect anything out of me."
"You ARE Mr. Scrooge. Don't try to worm your way out of this. At this rate, you'll be on your way to the host of Christmas Future." Choji shuddered. "Are you sure you don't believe in the Christmas spirit now?"
"I'm sure. I think I can handle another one of you losers."
"Oh, dear. Very well, then I suppose, let's head back." The room was hazy and then it was dark, and there was a bed in the corner.
Choji, and the table with the food on it, were gone, but Choji's voice wasn't. "Too bad, Mr. Scrooge, but you'll have to meet up with the third and final ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Future. I guess I kind of feel sorry for you. Oh well, not my problem."
"No, it's not, Sasuke growled, and shuffled over to the bed and plopped down onto the bed to wait once again.