MAKING MERRY
Chapter 3 - Wrapped in Lights
Tohru rushed around, trying to finalize last minute preparations before the first guests arrived. Meanwhile, Yuki and Kyou watched with worry as it seemed that she would wear herself down in exhaustion before the party even started! Still, it was an impressive effort how much she'd managed to accomplish in such a short amount of time. She'd gotten up early this morning and finished her routine duties before diving into all the cooking preparations. Now the aromas of fresh baked Christmas cake, roast turkey, fried potato and wonton, and even pizza wafted through the house. Tohru had made an abundance of foods that were popular to eat on a Japanese Christmas but she was sure that with all the people coming over, and knowing how big their appetites were, that they'd be able to finish it all.
She had really made an effort these past days. She'd spent the entire time yesterday putting up the decorations. The theme of tinsel and colored Christmas lights that she'd used to trim the edges of the house outside had continued within the house as well. The upper walls of the rooms inside were tastefully edged with swatches of silver tinsel and strands of multicolored lights.
Looking at the lights, Yuki sighed as he remembered what had occurred the day before. He didn't know what had happened, but when he came into the room, he'd seen Tohru tangled up in Christmas lights and tinsel. She had looked like a sparkling wrapped life-sized present and the large thousand- watt smile she'd given him when she'd noticed him had made the sight even more adorable. It had been apparent to him that, despite the messy situation she found herself in, she was still having fun and happy. That was the most important thing. But he couldn't just leave her like that so he had tried to lend a hand in helping her untangle herself. Even now, he turned red as he remembered how clumsy he had been although it hadn't been completely his fault. That stupid cat was to blame, too.
"What you doing, you damned mouse?"
Kyou's irritated voice had startled Yuki as he was unwinding the Christmas decorations from around the entrapped girl, his arms almost going around her in an embrace. Unfortunately, when he'd turned to reply to the irritant, he'd also tugged the mix of tinsel and lights he'd been holding which sent Tohru spinning off-balance and crashing into one of the nearby sliding doors.
"Hey!" Kyou shouted in alarm as he rushed closer.
"Honda-san, are you okay?" Yuki crouched down next to her.
"Y-yes," she stuttered, looking slightly dazed. When she seemed to get her bearings and noticed the concerned glances directed towards her, she straightened hurriedly. "I mean, yes! I'm completely okay." Then she noticed the whole in the paper of the sliding door that her elbow must have gone through when she'd fallen. Her eyes widened as she began waving her arms frantically. "Don't worry! I can fix it! I'll go get the paper roll right now!"
She rushed to leave only to trip on the few decorations that were still wrapped around her legs. There was no place to go but to fall into the two males who were near to her. With a loud crash and puffs of multi-colored smoke, girl, cat, and mouse hit the floor. All the noise brought Shigure who stood at the doorway taking it all in, the figures sprawled on the floor in a tangle of tinsel, Christmas lights, and clothes.
"I'm so sorry!" Tohru cried, bowing her head.
"It's alright," the mouse soothed. "Honda-san hasn't done anything wrong."
"That's right," said the cat. "It's the damned mouse's fault!"
"What did you say, you stupid cat?!"
"Now, now," Shigure broke in. "Do you really think this is the time for that?"
He gestured towards the girl who was looking absolutely heartbroken, no doubt taking the blame all upon herself. Her eyes held an extra shiny glimmer, sure sign that she was on the verge of releasing those tears that were filling them up.
"Honda-san-"
Whatever the mouse had been about to say was abruptly cut off as two smoky puffs filled the air. With a loud feminine shriek of surprise, a wide-eyed and red-faced Tohru whirled around away from the sudden appearance of two nude human males standing in the living area.
"I-I-I'll go get the paper roll now!" she stammered.
Tohru rushed out of the room with an amazing burst of speed, leaving Yuki and Kyou to gather their clothes and get dressed. Once she was gone, the retransformed males were quick in the task of reclothing themselves. But once they had finished, they resumed glaring at each other and likely would have started fighting again if Shigure hadn't interrupted.
"If you break something else, you'll make more work for her," he sing- songed
That certainly gained their attention. Yuki sighed, knowing Shigure was right, though he'd never admit it to the dog. Still, Yuki couldn't help but recall an image of a Christmas-wrapped Tohru. Cute as it had been at the time, he was a bit worried about a repeat episode occurring. The likelihood was very high.
Shigure sighed. "Do you really think you can help? Especially if you two are trying to do it together?" He looked at Kyou and Yuki and then at the hole in the door and decoration strewn floor. "I really think we should leave it to Tohru-kun. She always manages to get the job done in the end. Everything will go much faster if you two leave her on her own and go your own way. Separately," he stressed, obviously with the idea that they'd only fight and break something else if they went away together.
Yuki blinked, shaken from his past recollections as Tohru puttered by again on her way to the kitchen. He looked at her back, wishing he'd been able to do more for her. But Shigure's words had been correct, Kyou and Yuki would probably have only made things worse so they had resolved to stay out of Tohru's way. Besides, Yuki thought as he shuddered, he really didn't have the best reputation when it came to fixing sliding doors. In that arena, he definitely would have been more likely to make things worse for her. In the end, any anxiety he felt over whether or not Tohru would be able to finish on her own had been for nothing.
Everything looked wonderful. In addition to the tinsel and lights that were strung up, lighted candles in festive votives were placed here and there, lending a soft glowing touch. And in the corner of the living area, Tohru had placed a small stool on top of which a small Christmas tree that she had found. It was a nice touch, decorated as it was with small paper origami ornaments of varying colors and designs. All in all, Yuki couldn't recall ever having seen the house look so festive and enjoyed walking around and taking it all in.
Still, there was the problem of having more people than usual in the house given that one room wasn't really all that roomy. To solve the problem of many guests and limited area, all of the sliding doors that divided the different rooms on the ground floor were to remain open in order to create space for all the incoming guests. There were now two tables placed next to each other in the living area, one taken from Shigure's room, so that everyone wouldn't be crammed together when eating. Plus, there were little place cards marking where everyone was to sit. They had all come up with the idea to prevent Tohru's friends from sitting too close to a Jyunnishi member and increasing the likelihood of having one of them transforming. The result was that the males would be sitting on one side of the room with all the females on the other.
Looking at the two tables set up side-by-side to create one longer table, Yuki really hoped there wouldn't be any problems.
Then the guests started to arrive.
AN: Just a note that Christmas in Japan is celebrated differently than elsewhere, more of a commercial thing than anything else and an excuse to get together rather than having much religious connections since only about one percent of Japanese are Christian. So, yeah, turkey or chicken, fried potato, fried wonton (with cheese filling), and even pizza are some of the foods Japanese eat for Christmas dinner. And also Christmas cake, although I've seen some that look like more like birthday cakes to me. Plus, they're usually bought since they're a little difficult to make but I figured it would be no problem for Tohru since she has such great culinary skills. (^^)
Tohru rushed around, trying to finalize last minute preparations before the first guests arrived. Meanwhile, Yuki and Kyou watched with worry as it seemed that she would wear herself down in exhaustion before the party even started! Still, it was an impressive effort how much she'd managed to accomplish in such a short amount of time. She'd gotten up early this morning and finished her routine duties before diving into all the cooking preparations. Now the aromas of fresh baked Christmas cake, roast turkey, fried potato and wonton, and even pizza wafted through the house. Tohru had made an abundance of foods that were popular to eat on a Japanese Christmas but she was sure that with all the people coming over, and knowing how big their appetites were, that they'd be able to finish it all.
She had really made an effort these past days. She'd spent the entire time yesterday putting up the decorations. The theme of tinsel and colored Christmas lights that she'd used to trim the edges of the house outside had continued within the house as well. The upper walls of the rooms inside were tastefully edged with swatches of silver tinsel and strands of multicolored lights.
Looking at the lights, Yuki sighed as he remembered what had occurred the day before. He didn't know what had happened, but when he came into the room, he'd seen Tohru tangled up in Christmas lights and tinsel. She had looked like a sparkling wrapped life-sized present and the large thousand- watt smile she'd given him when she'd noticed him had made the sight even more adorable. It had been apparent to him that, despite the messy situation she found herself in, she was still having fun and happy. That was the most important thing. But he couldn't just leave her like that so he had tried to lend a hand in helping her untangle herself. Even now, he turned red as he remembered how clumsy he had been although it hadn't been completely his fault. That stupid cat was to blame, too.
"What you doing, you damned mouse?"
Kyou's irritated voice had startled Yuki as he was unwinding the Christmas decorations from around the entrapped girl, his arms almost going around her in an embrace. Unfortunately, when he'd turned to reply to the irritant, he'd also tugged the mix of tinsel and lights he'd been holding which sent Tohru spinning off-balance and crashing into one of the nearby sliding doors.
"Hey!" Kyou shouted in alarm as he rushed closer.
"Honda-san, are you okay?" Yuki crouched down next to her.
"Y-yes," she stuttered, looking slightly dazed. When she seemed to get her bearings and noticed the concerned glances directed towards her, she straightened hurriedly. "I mean, yes! I'm completely okay." Then she noticed the whole in the paper of the sliding door that her elbow must have gone through when she'd fallen. Her eyes widened as she began waving her arms frantically. "Don't worry! I can fix it! I'll go get the paper roll right now!"
She rushed to leave only to trip on the few decorations that were still wrapped around her legs. There was no place to go but to fall into the two males who were near to her. With a loud crash and puffs of multi-colored smoke, girl, cat, and mouse hit the floor. All the noise brought Shigure who stood at the doorway taking it all in, the figures sprawled on the floor in a tangle of tinsel, Christmas lights, and clothes.
"I'm so sorry!" Tohru cried, bowing her head.
"It's alright," the mouse soothed. "Honda-san hasn't done anything wrong."
"That's right," said the cat. "It's the damned mouse's fault!"
"What did you say, you stupid cat?!"
"Now, now," Shigure broke in. "Do you really think this is the time for that?"
He gestured towards the girl who was looking absolutely heartbroken, no doubt taking the blame all upon herself. Her eyes held an extra shiny glimmer, sure sign that she was on the verge of releasing those tears that were filling them up.
"Honda-san-"
Whatever the mouse had been about to say was abruptly cut off as two smoky puffs filled the air. With a loud feminine shriek of surprise, a wide-eyed and red-faced Tohru whirled around away from the sudden appearance of two nude human males standing in the living area.
"I-I-I'll go get the paper roll now!" she stammered.
Tohru rushed out of the room with an amazing burst of speed, leaving Yuki and Kyou to gather their clothes and get dressed. Once she was gone, the retransformed males were quick in the task of reclothing themselves. But once they had finished, they resumed glaring at each other and likely would have started fighting again if Shigure hadn't interrupted.
"If you break something else, you'll make more work for her," he sing- songed
That certainly gained their attention. Yuki sighed, knowing Shigure was right, though he'd never admit it to the dog. Still, Yuki couldn't help but recall an image of a Christmas-wrapped Tohru. Cute as it had been at the time, he was a bit worried about a repeat episode occurring. The likelihood was very high.
Shigure sighed. "Do you really think you can help? Especially if you two are trying to do it together?" He looked at Kyou and Yuki and then at the hole in the door and decoration strewn floor. "I really think we should leave it to Tohru-kun. She always manages to get the job done in the end. Everything will go much faster if you two leave her on her own and go your own way. Separately," he stressed, obviously with the idea that they'd only fight and break something else if they went away together.
Yuki blinked, shaken from his past recollections as Tohru puttered by again on her way to the kitchen. He looked at her back, wishing he'd been able to do more for her. But Shigure's words had been correct, Kyou and Yuki would probably have only made things worse so they had resolved to stay out of Tohru's way. Besides, Yuki thought as he shuddered, he really didn't have the best reputation when it came to fixing sliding doors. In that arena, he definitely would have been more likely to make things worse for her. In the end, any anxiety he felt over whether or not Tohru would be able to finish on her own had been for nothing.
Everything looked wonderful. In addition to the tinsel and lights that were strung up, lighted candles in festive votives were placed here and there, lending a soft glowing touch. And in the corner of the living area, Tohru had placed a small stool on top of which a small Christmas tree that she had found. It was a nice touch, decorated as it was with small paper origami ornaments of varying colors and designs. All in all, Yuki couldn't recall ever having seen the house look so festive and enjoyed walking around and taking it all in.
Still, there was the problem of having more people than usual in the house given that one room wasn't really all that roomy. To solve the problem of many guests and limited area, all of the sliding doors that divided the different rooms on the ground floor were to remain open in order to create space for all the incoming guests. There were now two tables placed next to each other in the living area, one taken from Shigure's room, so that everyone wouldn't be crammed together when eating. Plus, there were little place cards marking where everyone was to sit. They had all come up with the idea to prevent Tohru's friends from sitting too close to a Jyunnishi member and increasing the likelihood of having one of them transforming. The result was that the males would be sitting on one side of the room with all the females on the other.
Looking at the two tables set up side-by-side to create one longer table, Yuki really hoped there wouldn't be any problems.
Then the guests started to arrive.
AN: Just a note that Christmas in Japan is celebrated differently than elsewhere, more of a commercial thing than anything else and an excuse to get together rather than having much religious connections since only about one percent of Japanese are Christian. So, yeah, turkey or chicken, fried potato, fried wonton (with cheese filling), and even pizza are some of the foods Japanese eat for Christmas dinner. And also Christmas cake, although I've seen some that look like more like birthday cakes to me. Plus, they're usually bought since they're a little difficult to make but I figured it would be no problem for Tohru since she has such great culinary skills. (^^)