The next several events were pretty random.
But so far Shizuka and Toujou had moved on to the next round, so did Izuma and Aoi, as well as Oga and Hilda. We were all in the quarter finals now.
"...WE'D LIKE TO, BUT WE HAVE A VERY UNFORTUNATE ANNOUNCEMENT. IT'S ABOUT THE FIRST ROUNDS MATCH BETWEEN THE KANZAKI-HANAZAWA AND FURUICHI-OOMORI PAIRS...HANAZAWA HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE NURSES OFFICE DUE TO MYSTERIOUS STOMACH PAINS. THEREFORE, WE WILL BE HOLDING THE FIRST MATCH LAST. WE WILL NOW BEGIN THE SECOND MATCH, BETWEEN THE GOU-TAKENAKA PAIR AND THE KOYOSHI-YAMAKA PAIRS!"
This time Gou didn't wait for me to leave him alone and ran to the ring first.
"NOW THEN, WE'D LIKE TO BEGIN THE QUARTER FINAL MATCH! THIS TIME THE COUPLES WILL HAVE TO FACE EACH OTHER RACE!"
"We can win this!"
"IN THIS RACE THOUGH, EACH COUPLE HAS TO DO EACH OTHERS MAKEUP!"
"I'm out."
I grabbed Gou's sleeve before he could leave.
"OH, NO! THE GOU-TAKENAKA PAIR IS HAVING THEIR DIFFICULTIES!"
"Hey spiky haired idiot! Etsuko will make you look real good now!" Toujou yelled from the crowd but was told to shush by Shizuka.
"I'll make you look real good with my fist!" Gou yelled back before turning back to me. "No fucking way I'm doing this!" He tried to free himself from my grasp but no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't weaken my hold.
"Just bear with it. Were getting closer to winning."
"I said no!"
"YOU HAVE 5 SECONDS!"
"Please...Gou. Were getting really close." He found it hard to say no now that the words I just said tickled his ears and it became even harder to say no when he looked into my eyes.
"Fine! But when we fight, we will fight until one of us passes out!"
"YES! NOW WE CAN BEGIN!" A pair of assistance brought out a cart filled with make up and chair for the couple. "THE GIRLFRIEND GO FIRST! YOU HAVE 8 min!"
"Don't worry, Gou. I know what I am doing. " I said picking up materials from the cart. "The maid cafe has prepared me for this…" Gou shuddered seeing an evil gleam cross my eyes as I walked closer to him.
I will meet Santa Claus!
Once I was done with Gou, I had certainly worked my magic. His eyes were redefined with some neutral eye shadow and gave him a winged eyeliner look. I applied some faint blush on his cheeks and a rose colored lipstick on his lips.
"GIRLFRIEND TAKENAKA SURE IS AN EXPERT!"
Everyone from the crowd gasped at his transformation. He still had a scary looking face but with the makeup I applied, they couldn't help but be drawn to him. Not even Toujou said anything because he was too shocked.
"SWITCH!"
In between regretting his decision in staying and feeling nervous when noticing how close I was to him, Gou did pay attention to what materials I had used. He proceeded to imitate what I did, except he almost poked my eye out when applying mascara and pulled hard on my eyelid when putting on eyeliner.
"I did it!" He yelled stepping away to look at his artwork.
Gou had put some blue eye shadow on me with some eyeliner that had one eye have a thicker black line than the other. He put some blush on me but a dark shade of pink and some very red lipstick on my lips.
"OK! BOTH BOYFRIENDS WORKED VERY HARD BUT WHO IS THE WINNER?!"
She turned to the other couple and the spotlight hit on them.
"THE KOYOSHI-YAMAKA PAIR!?"
They got a great round of applause.
"OR THE GOU-TAKENAKA PAIR!?"
The round of applause was just slightly louder.
"LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE OUR WINNERS!"
This time Gou didn't pick me up because once he had the chance he ran to wash off the makeup off his face. I eventually followed his lead and missed the beginning of Izuma's and Kuneida's match.
Coming out of the bathroom once I was done erasing Gou's art, I was surprised to see Gou waiting for me outside.
"That was some thick ass makeup." He remarked pointing to the red marks on his skin. In order to get the makeup off, he had to scrub hard.
"I couldn't even recognize myself."
"You're telling me."
This almost made me laugh but I suppressed the urge and just slightly smiled. Gou had caught my change of emotion and he suddenly felt like an immense weight was put on him.
"I don't get it." He bluntly admitted. "Why do you want to win so bad?"
"Because I want to meet the real Santa Claus."
"I put makeup on just so you could meet Santa Claus"
"I know it sounds ridiculous but once as a kid I saw him and ever since that day, I've wanted to meet him."
"...Where were your parents?"
"My mom was sleeping and my dad was out buying milk. Why?"
Gou didn't have the heart to tell me the what he suspected happened that night.
But he wasn't the only one listening to my story because Toujou was on his way to the bathroom when he saw us and decided to eavesdrop.
If that spiky haired idiot brings you down and you end up losing, I will win this for you so you could get your wish! He thought clutching his fist in determination before running back to where Shizuka was because his match was about to begin.
For Shizuka and Toujou's turn, they had to do the "Exciting Mission: Date." Where they had to demonstrate they had a wholesome relationship. This involved acting out scenarios which made Toujou nervous.
Even though Toujou was determined to win, he was too frustrated in trying to understand what to act out that he found it hard to speak.
What the fuck can I say?! He thought, smoke coming out of his ears as the frustration started to wear him out. He saw Gou and I watching him from the audience then he regained his composure.
This one's for you Etsuko!
"I'm sorry, Shizuka...The guy I was fighting unexpectedly had a kid." Toujou said trying to look as convincing as possible.
Everyone in the crowd froze, trying to process what they had just heard.
Shizuka had to step in and do her part. Her infamous acting skills helped her win the hearts of all the judges and ultimately win the match.
The next pairs to move on where Izuma-Kuneida, Toujou-Shizuka, Oga-Hilda, and Kanzaki-Hanazawa.
"AND NOOOW, THERE ISN'T MUCH OF THE SAINT-SENT X-MAS REMAINING. IN THIS SEMIFINAL MATCH UP, WE HAVE THE GOU-TAKENAKA PAIR VERSUS THE IZUMA-KUNEIDA PAIR!"
"As expected for you to make such a bold move Izuma but you're going to regret that decision!" Gou screamed to a smiling Izuma.
Apparently for the semifinals they decided that a couple would have to participate in two matches and Izuma volunteered his team, which Kuneida wasn't too happy about.
"THE COUPLES WILL HAVE TO GO AGAINST EACH OTHER IN AN OLD FASHIONED EGG TOSS!"
Kuneida and I stood next to each other, egg in hand, as Izuma and Gou stood across from us.
"We may be on good terms now but I won't lose to you or Hilda. So go all out, Takenaka."
"Same here. Let's have fun."
"OK, GET READY...THROW!"
We both reeled our arms back before letting the egg go from our grasp and travel in the air towards our respected partners. In an instant both caught the egg safely in their hands.
Both guys looked at each other and repeated our same movements and we managed to catch the egg.
"NOW TAKE A STEP BACK!"
Kuneida and I decided to step it up by jumping back and landing on the ropes of the ring. Our feet accidentally touched because we landed a little too close to each other. This caused a spark between us as we both simultaneously moved our free hand to punch each other in the face but we both reacted quickly to it, so we ended up butting forearms.
"T-THIS IS CERTAINLY TAKING PROTECTING THE EGG TO A NEW LEVEL!"
We both then moved on to take a step back from each other then aiming a kick but then again we both saw it coming and blocked each other.
"Aren't you ganna throw it, Aoi?"
"No, you first."
Gou and Izuma watched calmly after they both took a step back.
"Can the both of you throw the egg, please?" Izuma asked sweat dropping seeing Aoi and I exchange one more blow.
We did as he said and threw the egg. Since we were taking the game to a new level, Izuma decided he would to. He caught his egg but after he did, he chopped the air beside him so that the egg would go away from where Gou planned to catch it.
Gou's eye's widened in shock as he saw the egg swerve right. He let go of the sudden surprise and his hand flew out to grasp the egg. He managed to get it on time and not have it crack.
"You gatta stay on your toes." Izuma teased.
The eggs were back in our possession and we jumped back once again, this time we were on standing on the side of the wall.
"Let's end this here!" Aoi said running towards me. I followed her lead and ran towards her, my heart pumping from the thrill of the fight. She threw another kick but I ducked just in time and grabbed her foot before flinging her away from me.
"Gou!" I yelled taking the opportunity to throw the egg while Aoi was busy. I fired the egg his way with all my might. Gou had prepared himself to catch it when Izuma distracted him by elbowing his side. His fighting instincts kicked in and he elbowed Izuma back. The glasses wearing horsemen saw it coming and pushed Gou down, making him fall back.
Because he was down, the egg flew past him and into the crowd.
"No!" I jumped back down to the ring and prepared to jump into the crowd but a hand came out and grabbed the egg before it crashed.
"I got it!" Yelled Toujou as he held the egg.
"AND BOYFRIEND TOUJOU CATCHES IT?!"
"Idiot! You shouldn't interfere!" Shizuka scolded him as she looked at him wide-eyed at his sudden action.
"That was a close one, right?!" Toujou laughed loudly, feeling proud of himself. The sudden flow of confidence made him laugh louder and tighten the grip on the egg.
It finally cracked and yolk dripped from his hand to his face.
"IN A TWIST OF EVENTS...THE WINNERS ARE THE IZUMA-KUNEIDA PAIR!"
While everyone was distracted, Aoi regained her composure and lightly threw the egg to Izuma who swiftly caught it.
"I...lost." My legs suddenly gave out and I feel to my knees.
"Ah, Takenaka. It's ok, you fought very well and made it to the semi finals!" Aoi yelled unsure of what to do because she didn't expect me to take it this hard.
"...H-Hey, Etsuko! I-It's ok!" Toujou rushed on stage with his hand still covered in yolk. I looked at him wide eyed as the memories of what just happened played in my head slowly.
"It's your fault you idiot!" Yelled Gou after he got up.
"I'm not the one who fell on the floor!" Toujou shot back.
"PLEASE GET OFF THE RING, WE NEED TO START THE NEXT MATCH!"
Coming back to reality, I snapped out of it and my self-control came back to me. I got up and started walking off the ring when Toujou put his hand on my shoulder.
"Etsuko, I will win my next match for you so just wait!" He declared then glared at Gou. "You will meet Santa Claus."
"She did this to meet Santa Claus?..." Aoi repeated as her eye twitched, realizing why I had taken my loss so hard.
The next match soon started and it was Toujou-Shizuka vs. Oga-Hilda.
In the end Toujou ended up losing.
"We can fight now, I would rather leave this place." I said to Gou as I couldn't bare to see who won.
Gou followed me outside and although he had been waiting for this moment he couldn't do it.
"Let's post-pone this fight." He said looking away from my surprised expression. "I'm not in the mood."
"Ok. Thank you for helping me." Gou looked back and felt his heart pump faster seeing the sincerity on my face. "It's ok that we lost. Whoever meets the real Santa Claus deserves it more."
"You know, Takenaka. Although I wanted to fight you...I can't help but see you as a woman now." Gou started to say as closed his eyes, feeling the heat rush to his face. He opened his eyes to see me already at a good distance away from him and didn't catch what he said.
"H-Hey wait!" He rushed to catch up with me but he didn't repeat what he said when he noticed a pair of ominous looking eyes stare at him.
"Oi, Etsuko." Toujou said coming towards us. "Sorry I couldn't make your wish come true...Listen Shizuka and I are going shopping, want to come?"
"Don't worry about it." I said giving him a small smile. "I'd love to. I gatta finish my Christmas shopping anyway." I turned to Gou and raised an eyebrow, asking if he wanted to come.
Gou was quiet for a moment, looking at the both of us then he saw a slightly annoyed Shizuka in the background and a interested Izuma behind her.
"No, thanks. I'm going home." He said and quickly walked away. "For sure not going to tell her that again." He muttered, feeling extremely tired.
Somehow the ones who ended up going shopping was Toujou, Shizuka, Izuma , and I.
"Hey, hey, Shizuka, look, look! Isn't this really cute?" Izuma asked pointing at some deranged snow man. In response, Shizuka only looked at him with a sore face.
"Man, this stuff is expensive…" I commented picking up a Santa Claus toy. "But it's really cute."
"Yeah, I thought that too." Added Toujou looking as he held up another Christmas toy.
I managed to find some decent gifts that wouldn't hurt my wallet too much and eventually had to leave early because I had promised to work that night.
"So you ended up getting her that toy?" Shizuka asked Toujou as they watched me leave. Behind him, he held the Santa Claus toy I had been looking at.
"She couldn't get the real thing so I figured this would do."
"Just when I think Santa Clause will come to me, he leaves." Shizuka said sighing before shaking her head at Toujou who looked at her confused.
"Hey, Shizuka! Look at this!" Izuma called out to her, holding another demented toy up in the air.
"Oh, well. I'll just have to try harder." She said shrugging her shoulder then walking in the direction Izuma was.
Ok, were done with the Christmas arc!
It took some time to decided what events should Gou and Etsuko do next but I decided that the makeup match would be perfect and the egg toss would be great. I wanted to stick with how the events of the manga went so I had her lose to Izuma and Kuneida.
I am planning to release one more Christmas chapter and will get to it right away. It has to do with the toy Toujou got her :)
I hope you liked this chapter!
