Standard issue disclaimer: Akamatsu Ken created and owns Negima. I am not him. This is a parody, protected speech. Thanks to my cowriters and the reviewers.

A Decadent Habits Christmas
Chapter Ten: Misora and Cocone

"No, said Sister Shakti, firmly and decisively.

"Please?" Misora asked, eyes shining.

"No."

"Do it for the kids."

"No."

"Do it for their parents."

"No."

"Do it for me?"

"Definitely no."

"Do it for the Christmas Spirit?"

Sigh. "We do not believe in anthropomorphized personifications of holidays, Misora."

"Sister Sourire would do it."

Now Shakti's eyebrow was twitching dangerously. "Sister Sourire abandoned her vows to live openly as a lesbian. While I am utterly unsurprised that you would regard her as a role model, rest assured that I for one do not."

"Yeah, that's so much worse than breaking them every chance you get," Misora muttered.

"What was that?" Shakti asked sharply.

"Nothing!" Misora answered angelically, knowing that Shakti probably knew what she'd said. "Please?"

"You already said please. Misora, when I say no, I do not mean 'maybe', or 'I'll consider it', or 'I need to be persuaded'. I mean 'no'. I mean that I will not—"

And then Shakti felt a slight tug on her habit's right sleeve. Frowning, she looked down at her side. Cocone was standing there, looking up with her usually impassive face somehow expressing immeasurable sorrow and regret, eyes giving the impression of being right on the edge of dissolving into tears. Her tiny lips moved just enough to softly say, "Please?"

Shakti let out a sound somewhere between a snarl and a groan. "Fine," she said at last. "I'll do it. Once." She turned and stomped off towards the stairs leading up to the church proper.

"Wow!" said Misora, eyes squared. "How did you manage to —"

"Sincerity, " Cocone answered, stone-faced once more. "I really do want to see it."

"Yeah, that'd do it. Well, let's hurry up before she goes and starts without us."

They quickly headed upstairs, narrowly avoiding being drawn into greeting duties at the church's front door with Sister Caren and that quote-unquote friend of hers who'd shown up to help during the holidays. Misora frowned slightly as she tried to remember the blue-haired woman's name. Sky or something, maybe. Ah well, it wasn't important.

Seeing her standing there with Caren, though, reminded her again how much had changed in the last little while. This time last year, it had been Sister Yui there; now she was gone, having left when Father Gendou did. Honestly, Misora didn't miss either of them, or Father Kirei. Father Joseph, who'd been quickly transferred in to take over the two excommunicates jobs, was a lot nicer than either of those guys had been.

At least, Misora thought so. Cocone disagreed, claiming he was creepy. But that was probably just down to how much time he spent obsessing over the girls' choir. Well, better that than the boys' choir, right? And not even Cocone had anything bad to say about the recently arrived Sister Yukariko, who worked most closely with Father Joseph, even now briefing the choir with him.

The two young acolytes arrived in the pews just in time to see Shakti approaching the elderly American cleric and speaking quietly with him. He seemed surprised, but nodded acquiesence promptly. (Misora expected that his thought process probably went something like, 'What, she wants to give me even more time to fuss over the choir? God bless us every one!'')

Assured now that there would be no last minute backing out, Misora and Cocone slid into one of the pews beside Sister Misato and her students, Hayakawa Naomi and Komatsuzuki Rie. They were lucky to find those seats, actually, since the church was starting to get a little packed, with students and teachers from the Catholic-run schools showing up for this Christmas Eve service.

Misora could see lots of familiar faces in the crowd, like that Eiko girl from the dodgeball game all those months ago, and some of her teammates. And the famous Kitajima Sara was here with her cousin, Kaede, as was grade school celebutante Houraisen Runa, with her guardian and teacher Suminoe Takako. And on Takako-sensei's other side, there was a woman in her twenties who looked like an older version of Runa-san. Could that be ... well! It was certainly a night for reunions, wasn't it?

Most of these people, Misora knew, were no more Catholic than she was. Some of them probably considered themselves CTG — Catholic Til Graduation, Misora thought wryly. But not too wryly, because until lately, she'd have thought of herself as being the same way, just paying lip service to the faith as part of her training.

Lately, though —

She was distracted when Shakti finally went up to the mike, said a warm good evening to everyone, and explained that by popular request (HAH!) she was going to start the evening off with a bit of light music. With that, she reached behind her back, pulled a guitar out of thin air and slung it across her shoulder. One quick tune-up later, she announced, "Feel free to sing along, and if you don't know the words, just follow along with the tune."

And then, just like on another Christmas Eve, in 1818, Stille Nacht began to play.

Misora did, in fact, know the words. But all she did was hum along in tune with Cocone, since she had other things on her mind.

Lately, though, she'd been thinking a lot about the notion of faith in a higher power. It had been a really dangerous year. She'd come far too close to dying, too many times, to not appreciate it. But time and time again, she'd gotten out of those fixes, rarely if ever by her own abilities. She wouldn't say that her survival was miraculous, exactly, but she did find herself wondering whether someone was watching out for her.

Well, if so ... then for that, for the warmth of the love I share with Cocone, for my friendships, for the music, and for Jesus Christ Our Lord ... Father in Heaven, I thank thee.

And then Shakti finished the last verse, and promptly forgot she'd said she was only going to do one song as she segued into another one.

Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Prospero año y felicidad

Such a show-off, that one.

NEXT: Ku Fei