Tsubaki strode through the moist cobblestone streets of Death City, a bag of groceries in one arm and a surprise for Black Star tucked into her coat. She was accompanied by the gentle samurai, Mifune, who was kind enough to carry the rest of the groceries. Snow was somewhat rare around here, and it really added to the city's beauty this time of year.
"Even though I'm Japanese…" she said sweetly, "I think Christmas is my favorite time of the year."
"Well, last I checked, Christmas was pretty big in Japan too." said Mifune with a chuckle. "Who doesn't love a holiday where people get together, give each other presents, and guzzle alcoholic eggnog, right?"
"But there's so much more to it than that." Tsubaki sighed. "The colors, the music, the caroling, and everyone's always in such good spirits. People who aren't usually very friendly tend to be just a little bit nicer this time of year."
"Hey, beautiful!" a giddy voice called from behind them.
Black Star was rushing up to them wearing his favorite polar bear hoodie with Soul not far behind him, clad in black save for a red scarf draped neatly around his neck.
"Mornin', Tsubaki." said Soul in a subtly cheerful tone rather than his usual moody grumble.
"Kid's throwing a big bash at the mansion on Christmas Eve!" Black Star said giddily. "Every student, teacher, an' trash collector who's gonna be here that night is invited!"
Black Star was also at his happiest at this time of the year, Tsubaki found it too adorable for words.
"Who else's coming?" she asked, addressing Soul.
"Me, Maka, Spirit, Kim, Jackie, Blair, Ox, Harvar, Hiro, Akane, Clay, Crona, Marie, Stein, and Sid." Soul replied. "Anya, Tsugumi, and Meme went to Aspen and Kilik went with his family to the Bahamas…Lucky them."
"You an' Angie are comin' too, buddy!" said Black Star, addressing Mifune.
"Sure." said Mifune, smiling. "Should we bring anything?"
"Kid says not to bother." Soul replied "Says he's sparing no expenses. Well, be seein' ya."
Soul headed home and Black Star took a bag from Mifune and headed home with him and Tsubaki.
"Kid's parties always are always a hoot." said Black Star. "Last year, he had big party for his birthday an' he got annoyed when everyone didn't take the exact same amount of the same exact appetizers…"
"Heh…sounds like him."
"Then Soul an' I tried to take over the music, he ran over to try an' stop us, an' slipped on a banana peel…don't ask me where it came from, I have no idea."
Little did the two students and their traitorous friend know, sitting on a bench, sipping blood from a flask, while pretending to read a newspaper was Mosquito. He was hiding in plain sight in one of his most powerful forms, a form he was unrecognizable in, his body from four hundred years ago.
A Christmas Eve soirée at Gallows Mansion… he thought, how sweet.
He called Scarecrow on a nearby payphone and relayed everything he had just heard.
"Thank you, Mosquito." Scarecrow said delightedly. "I believe I know what to do with our little treat now. Concentrate all your efforts on Lord Death and his family. I want to know everything about the Death Family's activities; their habits, their morning and evening rituals, and any details you happen to overhear about this party."
"Understood." said Mosquito.
"I have just sent Eruka and Mizune to assist you; they should be there sometime this afternoon."
Scarecrow hung up and Mosquito began shuffling through the city, hands in his pockets. Scarecrow was a meticulous and considerate individual, not unlike Lady Arachne…although he didn't quite have her charisma, her stern, yet motherly air…her deep, womanly voice and seductive smile…
No…stop it…stop it…
He had to remain stalwart and keep his mind in the present. Lady Arachne was a thing of the past and he could not allow his mind to drift back to her again. He'd clawed his way out of that pit of despair and would never go back. As he made his way to the residential district, he spied a family of three: a man…tall, slender, and broad-shouldered like him, a woman, fair-skinned and well-endowed like Lady Arachne with an infant resting against her ample bosom. He couldn't help but visualize him and Lady Arachne with a child or two of their own…
Damn, he thought. It's harder than I figured.
"You okay, mister?" a familiar voice asked.
He turned around and his heart gave a small jolt of panic at the sight of Maka Albarn.
"You look like you have the holiday blues, or something." she remarked in a sickeningly cheerful tone.
"Oh…" Mosquito muttered, not wanting to sound antagonistic. "I was just reminiscing about someone I wish was here to spend the holidays with me."
"Oh…I know how that feels." said Maka, adopting a more sympathetic tone. "My mother can't make it here for Christmas…but she did say she'd be able to make it for New Year's Eve."
"Hm…how nice for you." said Mosquito, fighting the urge to keep his face and voice free of hostility.
"Well, I hope you hear from whoever it is soon. Merry Christmas!"
Mosquito watched as Maka gave warm wishes to the lucky family and headed into the small apartment building. He theorized that Asura took Lady Arachne's soul because he was having trouble beating Lord Death's students and needed more power. He was willing to bet that Maka was one of those students. That made Maka partly responsible for Arachne's death although she was also the one who generated enough energy to finally kill the kishin…so she was also the one who avenged her death…vengeance that could have been Mosquito's. Maka was little more than a pupa, so if she could kill the kishin, surely he could have. But revenge was like a work of fine art and could not be rushed for the sake of sentiment. He would drain Maka dry and watch as her mother came home on New Year's Eve to find only a shriveled husk waiting for her. It was going to be delicious…better than the finest and oldest of wines. It would be like emptying all of his pain and despair into another…that was truest and best kind of revenge.