Hello readers! I would like to thank Sefirosa and yukino76 for reviewing the previous chapter plus BubblesGoesPop for favoriting Hetalia on Ice! Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!
Itachi's alright, Sasuke...not so much yukino76. /:
Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of Naruto or Crisis Core. They belong to their respective owners. I only own this and every other story I have.
"This person is dear. Very dear in fact." From where he hid behind a nearby pillar to not-so-subtly spy on the transaction, Naruto's jaw dropped wide open. Had he heard Cloud right?!
That answer was enough to satisfy the woman as she gave a nod, a bright grin on her face. "Well then, I hope this very dear person of yours will love the present you bought and will know just how you feel."
"Thank you." Exchanging that single nod, the Strife made to leave.
He rapidly approached where the Uzumaki was at. At that moment, Kurama leapt from Naruto's shoulders, bounding back into his jacket. "Pretend you didn't hear anything if you want to live."
"Y-Yeah." That was not too far from the truth. Which was why he walked from behind the column in as natural of a manner as possible.
A blond brow quirked. "Did something happen?"
"N-Nothing important." That 'natural manner' was not as natural as the Uzumaki would like for it to be.
Thank goodness Cloud didn't press any further. "Whatever." He then eyed the many bags the other was holding. "I see you managed to get all of your gifts."
"Yep! I sure did!" The uneasy smile morphed into a brilliant grin.
A shrug was given. "Then let's go."
Naruto made sure not to ask about the fancy gift-wrapped box held in a fancy gift bag. His life may or may not have depended on it.
The 25th of December
Anyways, after the Strife had returned the Uzumaki to his hotel room and he had settled down, he checked his emails, doing what needed to be done; he had his cram session with Shikamaru, did all the final exam—which will be waiting for him and Sasuke upon returning, oh joy—reviews Chōji had sent him, and told Kiba all that had happened. But before going to bed, there was one person left to call...Natsu. They talked for hours upon hours on end about whatever came to mind: how the Dragneel's Job went, how awesome seeing old and new friends in the new place was, how the Fairy Tail guild was going to celebrate Christmas, how Naruto had to rush to get presents because of him forgetting the holiday due to what had been occupying his mind, etc. Naruto only fell asleep very late into the night—or should I say, very early into the morning. However, unlike the last few times, the Uzumaki made sure to not speak so loudly as to not disturb a certain someone aka Sasuke. Looks like he got a little self-awareness. Nice. Nonetheless, Natsu didn't tone down his voice, resulting in a more-than-a-little-annoyed Gray. Well, at least some progress was made.
The next morning, the fall of snow greeted everyone as they woke up. Overnight, the hotel had changed; boughs of holly decked the halls, jingling bells softly swayed in the drafts blowing within the building, little red-nosed reindeer appeared to prance about, twinkling stars shone on the walls, carols floated across the air, and so on. The Christmas spirit could be felt all around.
The Christmas spirit influenced everyone touched by it...even Naruto, even Itachi, even Sasuke. Yes, Sasuke too. As he enjoyed his omusubi with okaka and tomatoes and Itachi ate seaweed-stuffed onigiri with stir-fried cabbage and dango on the side, he didn't pay any craps to the twenty huge bowls of miso ramen with extra pork Naruto had had. Seriously, he didn't feel sick from seeing the nearly endless slew of noodles flying into such a small cavern and into such a seemingly tiny storage area. Oh yeah, and Kurama had piles and piles of pork products under the guise of being a strange-looking—but other than that, normal—fox.
Upon leaving—with Kurama reverting—the little café, a certain four met them. "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
"Zack, you didn't need to shout that at the top of your lungs." Cloud flinched.
He was all but ignored. "It's a time for happiness and cheer!" Aerith announced.
"It's a time to get together and celebrate with friends and family!" Tifa beamed.
Face-palm. "You guys..."
"Hey! I have an idea!" Naruto's exclamation turned six heads toward him. "Let's call all of our friends to wish them a Merry Christmas!"
Sasuke sighed. "Whatever." He crossed his arms. "Not that I can call anybody you can also call." What are the implications of that?
"I think it's best for Naruto-kun to do the calling as well." Itachi chuckled. "In that way, there will be less ruckus to be made."
Cloud just couldn't stop face-palming. "What a morning this will be." However, everyone else jumped aboard the Uzumaki's idea.
"First up..." Naruto pulled out his phone, dialing in a number he knew by heart. Immediately he switched to speaker mode so everyone else could hear too.
After several rings, the recipient picked up. "Ugh. Don't you know how early in the morning it is? I wanted to stay in bed and sleep in for longer."
"Hey Shikamaru!" The caller cried, disregarding the complaint. "Merry Christmas!"
A sigh could be heard from the other side. "You know you should be saying 'Happy Holidays' instead to avoid offending people who have differing religious beliefs."
"But no one here is offended!" Naruto retorted. He then looked up to those who were with him. "Is that right?" He received three eager nods, two reluctant nods, and one amused nod. Guess which one was which?
Eye rolling could practically be heard across the device. "Mendōkusei."
"So what do you plan on doing today?" Ignored. "Make shadow puppets?" That earned weird looks from more than one person.
A grunt answered him. "That, and sleep for most of the day and play shōgi with my dad."
"You really aren't doing much, huh?" A smirk crossed Naruto's lips.
Once again, a grunt answered him. "Of course. It would be troublesome if I had to spend all day doing tiring things." A loud yawn trailed that sentence. "If you will excuse me, I'll be going back to sleep." And he hung up.
"That's Shikamaru for you." The Uzumaki chuckled. Next, it was time to call another.
After several moments, that person came on. "Yes Naruto? Do you need something?"
"Hey Chōji! Merry Christmas!" He then rolled his eyes. "Or 'Happy Holidays' if you prefer."
Laughter followed. "I don't mind! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you too!"
"I'm with Sasuke, Itachi, and some friends I made on my trip right now and we'll be celebrating together." He quirked his head to the side. "What will you be doing?"
At that, the Akimichi burst into roaring laughter. "Eating many times my weight in food of course! Mom is going to prepare a grand buffet for tonight and I'll be piling my plates with roast beef, chicken, turkey, goose, quail...you name it!"
"Is this why dobe eats so much? Because he had been around someone else who has a limitless stomach for so long?" Sasuke may or may not have been haunted by such revelations.
Thank goodness neither of the two heard what he had said. "Man! I wish I was there! I could be helping you guys clear the table!" Thank goodness indeed!
"So true..." Both of their mouths pretty much flooded with drool. Sasuke more or less had to look away from the sight.
Thank goodness said drool pretty much vanished seconds later. "Well, I've got to go now! I have to call others to wish them a Merry Christmas!"
"Alright! Bye!" The call ended.
Two down, more to go. Guess who Naruto called next? "Hey Kiba! Merry Christmas!"
"Tch...whatever." The Inuzuka scoffed. "Merry Christmas to you too."
The scoffing did not deter the Uzumaki in the slightest. "Are you going to spend all of today with Akamaru?"
"Of course!" The guy barked. "I'll play with him all day and give him a special Christmas dinner!" He grunted. "Since I don't feed him this kind of food every day, it's alright."
A twinkle ignited in blue eyes. "Well, I have something cool to show you once I return." He smirked. "Akamaru will be getting a new friend!"
"Really?! What the heck are you talking about?!" The voice only grew louder and louder by the second. "Did you get a dog too?!"
The smirk only grew wider. "Nah." Got to keep him in suspense. "Well bye!"
"Wait—" The line was cut.
Sasuke sighed. "Usuratonkachi."
"What?!" Naruto retorted. "Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba are some of my closest friends!"
Itachi chuckled. "Orokana otouto..." He smiled at the Uzumaki. "It is time to make more calls, is it not?"
"It is!" Mood instantly improved. He beamed. "It's time to call everyone in Traverse Town!"
Aerith smiled. "It'll be nice to hear from them all!"
"Yeah!" The call was made in an instant.
One ring. Two rings. Three ring— "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
"...Merry Christmas." Three voices were far more energetic and eager than two others which were more calm.
Naruto grinned. "Hey Sora, Axel, Yuffie, Riku, Roxas!"
"Hey!" Five voices became one.
Itachi joined in. "It is nice to hear from you all again." He glanced at his brother. "Isn't that right?"
"...Sure." Sasuke spoke.
The Uzumaki took over once more. "So what will you guys be doing today?"
"We're going to watch movies and sing carols and have a feast and wait for Santa Claus to come!" Sora cheered.
Riku sighed. "How many times have I told you...Santa doesn't exist."
"Liar!" Sora screamed. "Santa is real and if he heard what you said, he would be mad at you!"
Axel chuckled. "You definitely wouldn't be on the nice list."
"There isn't a 'nice list' since there is no Santa." Riku was more than adamant in his claim.
Roxas snorted. "Everyone has their own beliefs and that's okay."
"Yeah! What's wrong with believing in something or someone no one else does?!" Yuffie cried.
Face-palming was audible. "Leon would agree with me."
"Isn't 'Squall' Leon's real name?!" Naruto interjected. He remembered what the Leonhart had said after all.
Sora stuck his tongue out and yes, that could be heard. "Leon is Leon in Traverse Town!"
"You know, it's like me saying you are me and I am you." Roxas muttered.
Axel broke into a bout of laughter. "You guys couldn't be more different!"
"Exactly!" Roxas cried.
Riku face-palmed again and again. "Leon or Squall...different name, same person; he would still agree with me."
"No he wouldn't!" Sora retorted.
"Yes he would."
"No he wouldn't!"
"Yes he would."
"No he wouldn't!"
"No he wouldn't."
"Yes he would—HEY! You're trying to trick me!"
It may or may not be time to hang up. "Uh...I have to go now. Bye!" Click. That argument seemed it would have lasted for ages. Nice. Now if there was an actual Santa...
"Those guys." Cloud face-palmed. "They're insane."
Zack snickered. "More like you're too sane."
"Cut loose once in a while, alright?" Tifa took a step towards Cloud.
Which prompted him to take a step back. "...Whatever."
"It's time to call everyone from Lumiose City! I can't wait to hear from them!" Naruto drew all attention to himself as he began to dial the Ketchum's number.
It only took a few seconds to get a response. "Hey Naruto! Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!" The addressed echoed.
And Ash wasn't alone. "Pipi Kapi!"
"...You too Pikachu." Sasuke reluctantly replied.
"It's them, isn't it?!" Squealing shrilled from the other end as light footsteps became louder and louder. "Merry Christmas!"
Slightly heavier yet softer footsteps followed. "Merry Christmas!"
"Dede nene!" Dedenne chirped.
Itachi chuckled. "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you too."
"Did you know?! A Delibird is giving out presents!" Clemont cried.
Bonnie sighed. "You're older than me yet are still so eager."
"I'm only ten you know!" Her brother retorted.
Sasuke speaking broke up the sibling infighting. "The Prisim Tower is closed today, right?"
"It is." Clemont confirmed. "The Pokémon deserve a holiday too. They're playing with each other right now." Realization suddenly dawned on him. "Oh crap! We need to go back up to check on them!"
Bonnie whined. "Do we have to?!"
"Dad told us to! It's our responsibility!" She couldn't fight that.
She couldn't fight that indeed. "Aww man!"
"Sorry about this!" Serena apologized.
Ash groaned. "We'll talk again later. I'm so sorry about this!"
"It's alright! I understand!" The Uzumaki declared.
The lightening of the mood could be sensed even from miles upon miles away. "Thanks! Bye!"
"Pi!"
"De!"
And the Ketchum ended the call.
Zack was more than a little confused with what he heard. "What are Pokémon?"
"Pokémon are mysterious creatures that roam only certain parts of the world." The Uzumaki echoed what he himself had been told before. "They come in all shapes and sizes. There are eighteen types: dragon, ghost, ground, flying, poison, bug, water, electric, rock, grass, dark, ice, normal, fire, fighting, steel, psychic, and fairy. Pokémon can either be one of those types or two. Pikachu is an electric-type while Dedenne is an electric/fairy type." Bangs shaded blue eyes. "However, they die under mysterious circumstances if they try to leave Lumiose City."
The Fair gaped. "Oh wow..."
"That's so sad!" Aerith gasped.
Tifa was no better. "That's upsetting."
"Naruto-kun, please call Makoto-kun now." Itachi intervened. He just had to. He didn't want the Christmas spirit to be ruined after all. "We haven't heard from everyone at Iwatodai after all."
The sullen mood had been lifted. For now. "Okay." However, unlike the other times, Naruto's phone rang for quite a bit of time. I wonder why?
"Ugh. Sorry about that." The call was finally accepted with Akihiko on the other end. "Yuki and Minako are just stuffing themselves right now and couldn't be bothered to stop."
Sasuke face-palmed. "How have they not dropped dead yet?"
"That's what I'd like to know!" Yukari screeched. "Geez, it doesn't even look like they gained an ounce let alone hundreds of pounds!"
Mitsuru chuckled. "You're jealous, aren't you?"
"Why shouldn't I be?!" The Takeba retorted. "I have to work so hard to maintain my figure!"
The Sanada sighed. "They are simply deaf to my warnings—"
"AND DONE!"
"AND DONE!"
Two bowls could be heard slamming onto the table from the other end. Applause followed shortly. "It's a tie!"
"Of course the chefs would like this." Akihiko face-palmed. Let's just say Sasuke and even Cloud joined him. And Yukari too.
Naruto whined. "Aww man! I wanted to be a part of that race too!"
"So you've been keeping up your eating skills?" Makoto inquired.
Arisato giggled. "You can race us the next time you come to Iwatodai! For now, you'll be with us in spirit as we chow down on our humongous Christmas dinner!"
"You two will too!" Naruto wept.
Four sets of face-palming played on repeat. Too bad it didn't get any better with what Itachi said. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Nii-san!" Sasuke screamed, scandalized. Let's just say two phones were forcibly hung up simultaneously by two people who were more than a little disgusted by the impossibly gluttonous physics-defying appetites: Sasuke and Akihiko.
A blue glare shot at the offender. "HEY!"
"Are you trying to make me puke...again?" Again?! What?!
Naruto gaped. "So yesterday—"
"It's alright, don't worry about it." Itachi interrupted. "Sasuke will eventually come to accept this aspect of you; it's a part of you after all."
That didn't change how the Uzumaki felt though. "But—"
"Whatever. Just stop talking about it." Cloud had blanched over. "You're going to make me hurl too."
Naruto obeyed; he didn't want to make things worse after all. "...Okay."
"Come on! You know who to talk to next!" The abrupt change in subject had heads turning toward Tifa.
Aerith nodded. "Yeah! We should wish our friends at Fushichō a Merry Christmas as well!"
"I want to hear from Tidus and Yuna too!" Zack cheered. "They're a really cool couple, just like how Cloud and Tif—"
Death glare. "Shut. Up."
"A-Alright!" The Fair shrieked. He turned toward Naruto so fast he nearly got whiplash. He didn't want to end up as a bloody pulp lying in a puddle of his own blood after all. "Just call one of them already!"
Translation: Mendōkusei=How troublesome, Orokana=Foolish, otouto=little brother, Pikachu=Pikachu, Dedenne=Dedenne, Delibird=Delibird, Nii-san=Older brother
How was it?
Please review! I really appreciate them and they motivate me to write more!
