Christmas in the Lost Ground

Chapter 12: Christmas Day

By Nanaki

They arrived to find the Tairen manor all lit up with Christmas lights, even though it was daytime. However, though it wasn't snowing at the moment, the clouds overhead were still fairly dark, so the lights brightened the place up considerably. As they headed inside, Cougar carrying a bag full of presents, they found that the mansion's main visitor reception area was already fairly crowded, though part of that was due to the nearly twenty foot tall tree in the center of the room. Most of the adults were seated on sofas arranged in a semi-circular pattern around the tree, watching Scheris gleefully tearing into her absolutely huge pile of presents. Next to her, Mimori was helping Hiryu open up his own stash, while Ryuho stood off to the side snapping pictures, a big smile on his face.

The Kiryus were seated right next to the tree, sipping at hot chocolate, smiling as though they were absolutely fascinated whenever Scheris hurried over to proudly display another present. The Tachibanas were sitting contentedly on the next sofa over, surrounded by their own fairly substantial pile of opened presents and discarded wrapping paper. Someone had placed a red bow from one of the presents on top of Kiriko's head, which Kazuma thought was pretty ridiculous since she was still so newborn that she looked more like a plucked turkey than an actual baby girl, but oh well.

On the sofa next to that, Urizane was stretched out, snoring away with a Santa hat perched on his head. It looked like everyone had gone the safe route and gotten him a watermelon, but that should suit him just fine. As Cougar walked by, he pulled a watermelon of his own out of the bag of presents and added it to the pile. "Merry Christmas everybody!" He called out genially, and almost everyone turned to wave at the new arrivals. "Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum, or however it goes."

"I... don't think that's how it goes." Ryuho said quietly.

Cougar ignored him, and started unpacking their load of presents under the tree, while the other new arrivals got settled on a still empty couch. Soon enough, Cougar headed over to the couch with an empty bag, though he had one small present in his right hand, which he gave to Melissa. "Oh, what's this?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I just figured your supply of presents here would be pretty limited, so someone ought to get you something." He shrugged.

"Well, that was very sweet." She smiled. Cougar handed her a pair of scissors from the bottom of the bag, and she was opening the box in no time. "Now, I wonder what this could- holy crap..." She held up a gold necklace with a dazzling, clear gemstone hanging from it. "Is this a diamond?" She whispered.

"Well, it better be, or else I got fleeced big time." Cougar grinned.

"Sheesh, real subtle Cougar." Ryuho muttered under his breath. Mimori quickly turned her head and made shushing gesture, before turning back the other way. Ryuho found himself wondering once again if he had married the most hopeless romantic in the entire world, or just the continent of Asia.

"Good Lord, how much did this cost?" Melissa wondered out loud.

"Look, it's no big deal." Cougar shrugged again. "Money exists to be spent. At least, that's the stupid thing that I believe. Besides, it's nothing compared to what Kazuma got Kanami."

"THAT'S nothing compared to what you bought, Kazu-kun?" Kanami sounded skeptical as her eyes remained focused on the diamond. "What the heck did you get?"

"Well, I WAS going to save it 'til a little later, thank you very much Cougar, but what the hey." Kazuma pulled a present out from under the back of his sweater that was just slightly larger than the one Cougar had given Melissa. "Merry Christmas, Kanami."

Kanami neatly used the scissors to open the package, not tearing the wrapping paper in the slightest. "Whoah..." She gasped as she took the lid off, then an almost disbelieving laugh escaped from her. "One emerald just wasn't enough, huh Kazu-kun?" Kanami held up a necklace that was composed entirely of emeralds set in gold, eleven in all.

Kazuma shrugged. "Well, I was actually thinking along the lines of a diamond too. But, when I saw that in the jewelry store, it reminded me of the color of your eyes, so-"

"Awwww!" The sound came from both Ryuho and Mimori, but it Ryuho's case, it was sarcastic. "Just makes you feel all warm and squishy inside, huh?" Ryuho added.

Kazuma's right hand had risen up and formed a fist before he was even consciously aware of it, the creaking leather of his glove loud in the sudden silence. "Ryuho, you-"

"You should remember," Kanami cut in, "if you're thinking of teasing us, that I'm capable of doing things to you that are WAY worse than any injury you've ever suffered at Kazu-kun's hands." She kept her eyes on Ryuho as an almost evil-looking grin appeared on her face. Ryuho simply held up his hands in a defensive gesture, and didn't say anything else. Now, she turned back to Kazuma. "Well, even if it was an unnecessary way to spend an UNBELIEVABLE amount of money, it was also very sweet. Thank you, Kazu-kun." She planted a kiss on his cheek that lingered for a moment, and Kazuma was suddenly very tempted to kiss her back, even in front of everyone like this.

"So, um..." He quickly turned away, looking toward the tree again. "Where are the Elian brothers?"

Mimori rolled her eyes. "SOMEBODY got them all motorcyles." She said, clearly not completely approving. "So they're out trying them out right now, even though the roads are icy and the twins don't have driver's licenses yet."

"Hey, it's a practical gift!" Ryuho grinned. "You know the twins are chomping at the bit to join the LGDF when they turn sixteen, and as of yet they haven't awakened Alias like their big brother has, so they need some way to get around."

"So then why give their big brother a motorcycle too, when he knows how to fly?" Mimori wondered.

"Well, it wouldn't be fair to give his little brothers a great present like that, and leave him out." Ryuho explained. "Besides, now he could potentially drive that motorcycle off a cliff, then fly away before it hits the ground. How great is that?"

"Okay, that is pretty freaking awesome." Kazuma had to agree. "In fact-"

"No." Kanami said simply, and Kazuma turned to her, puzzled.

"No what?" He wondered.

"No, you are not buying a motorcycle just so you can drive it off a cliff!" She informed him. Everyone now turned to them with eager expressions on their faces, clearly expecting an entertaining argument.

"Okay." Kazuma shrugged. "Sheesh, who do you think I am? Cougar?" He grinned.

Kanami regarded him with a raised eyebrow for several seconds, before a smirk appeared on her face. "You know, something tells me that your sudden capitulation in this matter isn't really based on the fact that you know I'm right."

Kazuma smirked right back. "Let's just call it pragmatism."

"So, what does that mean? That I'm automatically going to win every argument now?" Kanami wondered.

"Well really, how many times have you ever LOST an argument with me?" Kazuma asked.

"Good point." Kanami grinned.

"All right already!" Cougar walked back over to the tree. "Let's get busy opening some presents."

"You know," Kanami leaned over to whisper in Kazuma's ear, "You kind of DID win an argument this morning."

"Heh." A big grin appeared on Kazuma's face. "I think we can keep that just between us. And anyway, we BOTH ended up the winner in that case."

.

Shortly after noon, the presents had all been opened, the wrapping paper had largely been cleaned up, and the conversation was starting to die down. Ryuho got up, yawned, and stretched. "Well, it's about time, I think."

"Time for what?" Mr. Kiryu asked.

"Why, time for the big annual snowball fight!" Cougar flashed a toothy grin.

"Oh, but the Elians aren't back yet..." Mimori protested.

"I have a feeling they'll be back by the time we get done building our forts and making our snowballs." Cougar shrugged.

Kanami raised her hand. "Yeah... I think you can count me out today. Between the fight with Kenjo and Kazu-kun's attention, I'm pretty wiped out physically."

"Kanami, it's just a friendly snowball fight." Ryuho shrugged.

Now Kanami turned to regard Mrs. Kiryu. "Never listen to an alter using male when they say 'It's just a friendly' anything. They get INCREDIBLY carried away every time."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mrs. Kiryu said dryly.

"In that case, you can count me out too." Kazuma spoke up. Between the flight into space and the other activities of the past twenty four hours, he was still pretty worn out.

"But, you're our team captain!" Cougar protested.

"I don't know why." Kazuma shrugged. "You're way better at this game than I am." That was true enough. Cougar could throw a snowball hard enough to knock someone over and leave a nasty bruise. In fact, if he really wanted to freak someone out, he could throw the snowball hard enough that it turned back into water and evaporated before hitting them, just because of friction with the air.

"Because you always INSIST on being team captain, under threat of extreme violence." Cougar reminded him.

"Do I? Oh well, you're in charge this time." Kazuma shrugged.

"In that case..." Cammy stood up. "Would you watch Kiriko for a while so Asuka and I can both play?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Kazuma nodded, sitting up a little straighter. He gingerly took Kiriko from Cammy, looking so worried that he was somehow holding her wrong that Kanami couldn't help smiling.

"Hmm..." Cougar tapped his foot, looking thoughtful. "I'm seeing the potential for an interesting variant here."

"What do you mean?" Ryuho asked as he headed for a hall closet and started putting on his coat.

"Not counting the kids, we've got three alter users, and three non-alter users." Cougar observed. "Assuming Melissa wants to play, that is." He glanced at her, and she nodded. "So, instead of the usual two teams, we could have a three way battle."

Ryuho shrugged and turned to his wife. "Mimori, what do you think?"

"I think the two of us could beat TEN other two person teams." Mimori grinned.

"Now you're talking!" Ryuho laughed. "Tachibana, how 'bout you?"

A determined look appeared in Asuka's eye. "What, you think I'm afraid to take on two S-classes because I'm a B-class? This is a snowball fight, not an actual battle. Bring it!" He flashed a toothy smile.

"All right then, let's go!" Cougar smirked as he put his own jacket back on.

"So, wanna go watch, at least?" Kanami asked as everyone else headed outside.

Kazuma thought about it for a second. "Well... nah. We both know Cougar's going to win."

Kanami raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? You sure about that?"

Kazuma just looked at Kiriko's tiny, sleeping form as he thought about it. "Yeah, I'm sure. Speed is the most important thing in this contest. Plus, there's no way he's going to let himself lose in front of Melissa."

.

Cougar stood just behind the walls of his fort, staring down Ryuho, his right hand clenching and unclenching above his massive pile of snowballs. Ryuho started counting down. "Ready... get set... wait for it... not yet..."

"Start the flipping game!" Asuka shouted.

"Go!" Ryuho shouted, and several things happened simultaneously. All three alter users started forming their alters as quickly as they could, while the three ladies backed up behind their respective alter using men, relying on them to act as cover. While Cougar just assumed a defensive stance, the other two teams started hurling snowballs as rapidly as they could. Ryuho definitely had the advantage in this department, as Zetsuei's antennae hurled close to a dozen per second. However, those he lobbed at the Tachibanas just harmlessly disintegrated against Asuka's spinning Eternity Eight shield.

Those that he lobbed at Cougar, on the other hand, were simply caught and tossed back at an even greater speed, so that Zetsuei was soon too busy swatting them out of the air to launch any new ones. Melissa stared at Cougar in amazement. His torso hadn't even moved yet; the rest of him stayed stock still while his arms moved in a blur, glowing brightly with the power of the other side. He finally turned a bit to catch a snowball that Cammy had chucked at him. He grinned as he tossed it up and caught it a few times, before hurling it back so fast that no one could see it.

Cammy shrieked and dropped to the ground, but she didn't need to worry. The snowball had evaporated completely before it ever got close to her. "Cougar! Play nice!" Asuka shouted at him.

"Make me!" Cougar shouted back, keeping his eyes on Ryuho, who looked like he was waiting for someone else to make the first move.

"You asked for it!" Asuka laughed. "Eternity Eight Extra Shot!!"

"Oh hell! Get down!" Cougar shouted as he ducked down behind his snow fort, pulling Melissa with him. Peeking over the top of his fort, he saw that in addition to the eight treasure balls, several snowballs were hovering in formation along Asuka's arm as well. Then he took cover again as Asuka launched his attack, feeling the snow fort splattering all around him. "Sheesh, talk about overreacting." He complained as he stood up, brushing the snow off his jacket.

"Well, men tend to do that when their women are threatened." Melissa said quietly from behind him.

"I know, but I wasn't trying to be threatening. Just..."

"Kind of a jackass?" Melissa suggested.

"That'll work." Cougar laughed. Then, his arms became a blur again as Zetsuei launched more snowballs his way. He sent half of them back in the Tachibanas' direction, but once again, Asuka's shield deflected them all. "Melissa, we need some kind of delayed reaction attack here." He said quietly. "Why don't you start throwing them underhand, with parabolic trajectory?" He figured he wouldn't have to explain what he meant by that, since she was a college student.

"Longbow style. I gotcha." Melissa nodded. Moments later, as Asuka easily deflected another barrage with his shield, a snowball fell out of the sky at a steep angle, splattering right onto Cammy's head. Asuka belatedly angled his shield up to ward off attack from this new direction, only to be nailed under the arm by a hard throw from Cougar that knocked him over.

"Oh man, we're out of it already?" Asuka sat up with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Only because your instinct to protect me is apparently greater than your instinct to protect yourself." Cammy smiled as she put her arms around him. "Which is very sweet."

"Well..." Asuka smiled as he brushed the snow out of her hair. "I do what I can."

Now that the third faction had been removed, Ryuho was putting all of his effort into eliminating Cougar from the battle, and things seemed to be going his way. He was throwing snowballs himself now, so his side essentially had the others outnumbered three to two. Plus, Cougar's fort had been obliterated, so he had to intercept every single snowball or risk having it hit Melissa. On top of that, Scheris was loudly cheering her parents on from the sidelines, while Hiryu just stood there wide-eyed, clutching his sister's jacket while he sucked his thumb. Still, Cougar just calmly stood in one place, catching everything and hurling it back.

Then, Cougar's eyes widened as Zetsuei suddenly started darting back and forth, sending snowballs flying at him from a variety of directions. Now Cougar was having to dart back and forth as well, sometimes just smacking the snowballs out of the way instead of catching them. However, Cougar knew this was an all out attack, and Zetsuei was rapidly running through Ryuho's supply of snowballs. If he could just keep this up for about ten more seconds, victory should be his...

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a snowball heading right for his head, and realized that Mimori had slipped around to the side during Zetsuei's blitz. He also knew that there wasn't a thing he could do about it, because if he actually took his eyes off Zetsuei for even of a fraction of a second, he'd be eliminated that way. No, he had to somehow win in the split second he had left before the snowball hit-

Just then, Melissa stepped forward and batted Mimori's attack out of the air, then countered with one of her own. Mimori sidestepped it, only to be plastered in the torso by a second snowball that Melissa had thrown right after the first. Instantly, Zetsuei's barrage switched to focus on Melissa. Cougar charged forward to try to deflect them all, but a few got past him, smacking Melissa in the side of the head. "Damn it! Radical Good Speed Wheels Unlimited!" Cougar zipped back over to his own nearly untouched snowball pile, then disappeared into a blurred form that sent snowballs flying at Ryuho even faster than Zetsuei could block.

As Ryuho toppled backward into a snow bank under the force of this counterattack, Zetsuei dissolved back into the air. "Crud. I failed..." Cougar kicked at the snow as the armor that had covered his legs disappeared as well.

"What are you talking about?" Ryuho asked as he stood back up. "You won!"

"Maybe, but even so..." Cougar shook his head. "Any victory that requires the sacrifice of the main heroine leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."

"Sheesh, it's just a game, Cougar." Ryuho observed as he dusted the snow off his clothes.

"True enough. Which is why I challenge you to a rematch, right now." Cougar's smirk returned as he helped Melissa up.

"You're on!" Ryuho grinned as both he and Mimori headed back to the cover of their fort.

.

"Sounds like Cougar won the first round." Kanami said, not opening her eyes.

"Mm." Kazuma agreed, not opening his eyes either.

"Hey, Kazu-kun..." Kanami forced her eyes open, but otherwise didn't move.

"Mm?" Was his incoherent response.

"I don't think it's a good idea to fall asleep holding a baby." Kanami observed.

"You're... falling asleep too." Kazuma countered.

"I... am not." Kanami mumbled, but her eyes closed again, and her head slumped forward.

Kazuma found it ironic that he could be so relaxed around a girl that he had just started dating two nights ago, and that he had made love to for the first time less than twenty four hours ago. He should be nervous as hell right now, worried about screwing the relationship up. But, he reflected, this wasn't just "a girl", this was Kanami. HIS Kanami.

He realized that his eyes were closed again, and Kanami probably WAS right that he shouldn't fall asleep holding Kiriko. There had to be some sort of baby carrier over by the Tachibanas' couch. Yes, he just needed to open his eyes and walk over there... With that thought, he was out like a light. So Kiriko was the only one who saw the otherwordly glow of the other side coming from Kanami's direction.


Kazuma found himself watching himself answer a cell phone on the front porch of his own house. It looked like it was in the fall. "Kazuma! Thank God I got ahold of you!" Urizane's voice came over the phone, and it sounded desperate.

"Don't worry, I know what's going on." Kazuma said in a rather dire tone. "And I'm going to take care of it. But who's my backup?"

"Nobody!" Urizane shouted. "Kazuma, you're IT! You're the only one!"

"What are you talking about?" Kazuma asked in a disbelieving tone. "Where's Ryuho?"

"Comatose." Urizane answered simply.

"What? Still?" Kazuma was dumbfounded.

"It's amazing enough that he's even alive!" Urizane replied.

"Fine then." Kazuma sighed. "Where's Cougar?"

"MIA." Urizane sighed as well.

"Elian One?" Kazuma was beginning to sound a little desperate himself.

"Also MIA." Urizane responded.

"Tachibana?" Kazuma asked in disbelief.

"He's conscious, but he lost a LOT of blood." Urizane reported. "He probably couldn't even get out of bed right now, never mind going up into space."

Kazuma bit his lip as the implications of this information sank in. "Urizane, I just defeated three of the enemy's aces BY MYSELF. I'm running on fumes here!"

"I know, Kazuma!" Urizane responded. "I know, but if you don't go, then we're ALL dead. You're the ONLY one who can do it! Unless..." His tone seemed to brighten. "Unless Kanami goes with you..."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!" Kazuma roared. "Even if the circumstances were better, I would never risk her like that!"

"She IS the most powerful alter user ever recorded." Urizane gently reminded him.

"No, no, no!" Kazuma shouted. "And Urizane, if I don't make it back... Then we never had this conversation, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Urizane sounded confused.

"I mean, the thought of having her go into space with me never crossed our minds. Got it?"

"But Kazuma, I don't see-"

"GOT IT?!" Kazuma demanded.

"Okay, got it!" Urizane sounded irritated. "But Kazuma, if you go alone, that probably means..."

"I know what that probably means." Kazuma said tightly. "How much time do I have?"

"How much time until what?" Urizane wondered.

"Until the missiles hit the point of no return." Kazuma explained through gritted teeth.

"Um... About twenty minutes, according to projections." Then, he seemed to realize what Kazuma was thinking. "Wait a minute! This isn't something to leave to chance, Kazuma! You've gotta go now!"

"No. I don't." Kazuma was about to shut the phone in anger, but thought better of it. "If I don't see you again Urizane, have a nice life. And tell Cougar I'm going to kill him in the next one."

"Wait, Kazuma! Where are you going?"

"For a walk." Kazuma said simply, then he did flip the phone shut.

.

Now, Kazuma saw himself walking through the woods near his house, with the yellow fall leaves fluttering in a light breeze. Next to him walked a little girl that Kazuma at first took to be a very young Kanami. However, he noticed that she had the same reddish brown hair and golden eyes that he did, and Kazuma realized that he had to be looking at his daughter.

"What's the matter, Papa?" She asked, looking up at the serious expression on his face.

"I hate to say it, Princess, but it looks like I'm going to miss your birthday party." Kazuma forced a smile onto his face.

"Why?" She asked simply, a distraught look appearing on her face.

"You're a smart girl, Ayase. I'm sure you've figured out that all the grown-ups around you lately wouldn't have constantly been telling you that everything is going to be fine unless they were worried that everything WASN'T going to be fine." Kazuma grinned.

"But why do you have to miss my party?" She asked, tugging on his arm, and both the Kazuma in the dream and the Kazuma watching the dream felt his heart start to ache, just a bit.

"I have to go make sure that everything really WILL be just fine." Kazuma forced the smile to remain on his face.

She seemed to think about that for a second. "Papa, why is the mainland trying to destroy us?"

Anger instantly flooded his mind, anger that his daughter would even have to ask such a question, but he forced himself to stay calm and give the most honest answer he could. "Basically, because they're afraid of us."

"Why are they afraid?" She asked innocently.

"Because... You and I were born with special powers that most people don't have. They're afraid that if we really wanted to, we could destroy THEM before they could do anything to stop us."

"But, you don't want to destroy them, do you?" She asked, sounding skeptical. She clearly didn't believe that her father was capable of such a thing.

"Only when they upset my daughter." Kazuma smiled down at her. "But in general, no, I don't want to destroy them. I just want them to leave us alone." Then, he glanced at a watch on his left hand. "Ayase, I have to tell you something that might make you very upset. But I need you to be a brave girl and listen to me, okay?"

"Okay." She said in a very small voice.

"If I don't come back-"

"Why aren't you coming back?" She instantly gasped, and Kazuma knelt down and scooped her up in a hug.

"IF I don't come back, I need you to understand something. It won't be because I don't love you, or I don't love your Mom, or because I didn't try my hardest to get back to you. It's just that sometimes there are things in life that no one can fix. Not even me." He said quietly, because he was afraid that he was about to start crying, and he didn't want to make his daughter any more upset than she already was.

"But why do YOU have to go?" She asked in a pitiful voice.

"Because I'm the only one who can." He explained patiently. "Believe me, there's nothing I'd rather do right now than go back to the house and have fun at your party. But, unfortunately, a big part of being a grown-up is having to suck it up and do things you don't want to do." He patted her back reassuringly. "I have to go now, Princess." He stood up, and she backed up several steps, as if she knew what he was about to do. He stretched both his arms out, and craters appeared in the ground on either side of him. "I have to go, because I was born with this power!" Armor quickly formed on both of his arms, and continued to form over the rest of his body. "The mainland wants me to think that it's not good, but if this power gives me the strength I need to save everyone, then there's no way it can be bad!" He turned to grin at his daughter, his eyes and mouth now the only things visible under the armor that covered his face. "Wouldn't you... agree?"

"Yeah, Papa!!" Ayase shouted, looking much happier now. "Go get those bad guys!"

Kazuma gave her a thumbs up. "You got it!" Then, the whiplike structure protruding from his right shoulder slammed into the ground, and he was suddenly rocketing skyward, encased in a blazing golden fire. In mere seconds, the sunlight of a bright autumn day was replaced by the blackness of space, and ahead of him, reflecting the brilliant, unfiltered sunlight, were missiles.

Lots of missiles. Several dozen at least. But thankfully, they were spaced fairly close together. Close enough that if he detonated one in the center of the formation, the explosion should cause those around it to detonate as well, then those explosions should take out more... If luck was on his side, he would only have to survive one nuclear explosion, and that was something he could probably do, even with his power as depleted as it was. "All right!" He clenched his fist, and the golden fire around him increased in intensity. "It was a good try, mainland, but you forgot one very important thing! I ALWAYS WIN!! SHELL BULLET-"

Then, there was a blinding light, accompanied by an incredible, unbearable heat.

After that, there was only darkness.


Kazuma blinked rapidly as he awoke. There was a soft, alter powered glow in his eyes, and for a split second, he thought it was coming from Kiriko. But then, he turned his head, and realized it was coming from Kanami. The glow faded quickly as she began to stir as well. Kanami blinked, and a frown seemed to be on her face for a second, before she smiled at him. "Sleep well?" She asked.

"I'm... not sure." Kazuma carefully moved an arm out from underneath Kiriko so he could rub his eyes.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Kanami asked, turning to look at the Christmas tree.

"I've never had a dream that was so good and so bad at the same time." Kazuma said calmly, but instantly, Kanami's head whipped back around, an intense look on her face as her eyes met his.

"No... No..." She shook her head. "Tell me we DIDN'T have the same dream! That one felt like an actual nightmare, so I thought it was just based on my premonition earlier..."

Kazuma shrugged. "Did we have a daughter named Ayase in your dream?" He'd thought that was the good part of the dream, and focusing on that might calm her down. Unfortunately, Kanami's reaction made him wish he'd lied, or at least asked a more ambiguous question.

"No..." Kanami seemed to be trying to say something else, but it just choked off into a sob. She slid over on the couch, burying her head against his neck, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, careful! You're gonna squish the baby girl." Kazuma warned her, trying to shift Kiriko out of Kanami's way. However, between being moved around and Kanami's distress, Kiriko woke up, and started to wail. 'Great,' Kazuma thought to himself. 'TWO crying girls to deal with. Well, better get used to it.' In most ways, Kanami was a very strong person, but she'd never been shy about crying. And if they were going to have a daughter... 'Yeah, better get used to it.' He told himself again.

"All right." Kazuma put his left arm around Kanami's shoulders. "Even if that was a genuine vision of the future, there are a couple things to consider here. First, according to pretty much every sci-fi movie I've ever seen, the future is never written in stone. A glimpse of the future is just a glimpse of one possibility."

"That's true..." Kanami sniffled.

"Second, did you actually see me die in the dream?" He smiled.

Kanami looked up at him now, surprised. "Well, no, actually. But it was definitely implied..."

"Yeah, I got that impression too." Kazuma admitted. "But, I think it's just as possible that I'm going to pull off another of my patented last-second miracles." Kiriko was still squirming a bit in his right arm, but she seemed to be settling down. "Besides, even if I knew for sure that I was supposed to die at a certain date and time, I wouldn't spend my life dreading that moment. I would meet that moment head on and smash my way through it! Just like HOLY, Mujo, and Kenjo."

"And Ryuho?" Kanami prompted.

"And Ryuho." Kazuma nodded, a grin on his face. "Besides, how could I lose knowing that you're waiting for me back home?"

Kanami smiled. "Leave it to you to turn a vision of your own explosive death into a pickup line."

That Cougar-like smirk appeared on Kazuma's face again. "Hey, I think that, by any reasonable standard, I've already picked you up."

"That you have." Kanami sniffled, then stood up. "All right, I'm gonna go check on the turkey."

"Well crud, I thought we'd at least make out a little..." Kazuma mumbled once Kanami was out of the room. "Oh well, I DO want the turkey to be moist." Suddenly, an unpleasant odor assaulted his notrils. "Oh! What the?" He looked down at Kiriko. "Is that YOU? Eesh, there's nothing else it could be. Okay..." He started heading back to the closet by the main entrance, to get his jacket. "All right kiddo, we're going to find your mom, right now."

.

At about three that afternoon, everyone was seated around the long dining room table, with Ryuho at one end, and Mr. Kiryu at the other. In the middle of the table was the traditional turkey, mashed potatos, stuffing, yams, and steamed brocolli. Plus, there was also a platter piled high with crab legs, and a gravy boat full of lemon butter next to that. Kazuma wasn't quite sure how the crab had become an annual Christmas tradition, but it definitely tasted good, so he didn't much care. Everyone was unfolding their napkins and getting ready to dig in, when he stood up. "Um... If you don't mind, I'd like to say a few words." Kazuma looked around the table.

"YOU'RE making a toast?" Ryuho raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the guy who usually starts eating early whenever I make a toast?" He wondered.

Kazuma shrugged. "I usually have a low tolerance for schmaltz. But not today." He looked around the table again. "First off, Merry Christmas, everybody!" There was universal applause at this. "This is a special Christmas for a couple of reasons. First, because we're welcoming some new friends to the Lost Ground." He nodded at Melissa and Mrs. Kiryu. "Second, we're welcoming back some returning friends." Now he nodded at Kanami and Tadanori Kiryu. "Plus, we've added a new member to this extended family since this time last year." He smiled in the Tachibanas' direction.

"It may sound odd to refer to a collection of people who love to argue and give each other a hard time so much as a family, but that's exactly what we are." Now Kazuma looked down at his plate, not entirely sure where he was going with this. "You know, the one up side to growing up without a family is that you get to pick who fills that role in your life, and I couldn't have asked for a better family than everyone who's here right now, especially you, Kanami." She looked a little embarrassed by this announcement.

"The past two days have been the best forty eight hours of my life, and most of the credit for that has to go to Kanami." He grinned. "But it wouldn't have been as memorable without every single person who's sitting here right now. So..." Kazuma thought for a second. "I'll spare you any more of my babbling. Let's eat!" There was laughter all around the table at this.

As Kazuma sat down, Kanami leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Think this family will be even bigger next year?"

Kazuma shrugged. "Between all the people of reproductive age currently sitting here, I think that's a pretty safe bet."

Kanami looked down at her fidgeting hands now. "Think OUR family will be any bigger next year?"

Kazuma turned to look her in the eye. "I have no desire to be insulting when I say this, but God, I hope not."

The smile returned to Kanami's face. "Good to know we're on the same page, Kazu-kun."

"Hey, you two lovebirds gonna eat or what?" Cougar thrust the platter of crab legs in Kazuma's direction.

"Oh, we're going to eat." Kazuma grinned. "And then probably a nap, then I'm going to eat again. It's Christmas, after all."

"It sure is." Cougar grinned. "Oh, and nice speech, little brother. Nice speech."

.

(Nanaki's note: With the holiday season fast approaching, this chapter feels a lot less out of place now than if I'd written it back in June or July. You know, when I probably SHOULD have had it done. At any rate, I remain cautiously optimistic that this story will actually be finished by Christmas. Mainly because I'm getting very eager to get to work on Part Two of this Altered State trilogy, which will be called "The Right To Exist". Stay tuned for another chapter in relatively short order.)