A/N: Next chapter for you, maybe the last I post today. (I've posted all of
the previous ones on the same day I'm posting this.) I think I'm gonna make
it in time! Yay! (gee, now I know what it feels like to have a deadline)
Enjoy!
CH 4 The next day, Miari woke up to more shaking, only this time it was much nicer and less bouncy.
"Miari-kun, come on. Time to go," said Bulma, trying to wake him. He groaned and rolled away from her.
"Go where?" he asked, pulling the covers over his head.
"Shopping silly," she said. "If you're going to stay here for a while you'll need some clothes. Plus all the sales start today. It is the Christmas season you know." Miari didn't answer, having already begun to drift off back to sleep.
"Oh no you don't," she said, grabbing the blanket away from him. "Now wake up. If you're not downstairs in the next five minutes. I'll get Chibi." Miari woke up.
'Not that demon alarm clock again!' he thought, sitting up. She smirked.
"I thought that would get your attention. Now hurry before I really do send him over here." Miari sighed, dragging himself out of bed. He pulled on his normal clothes, which had been washed, after rinsing himself off in a quick shower. He pulled his long hair back in a messy ponytail, half of it falling out.
As he went downstairs, he rubbed his arms, realizing how cold it was. He passed Trunks on the way, who was bouncing down from his room.
"Cold ain't it?" he said. "Mom just turned the heaters on so it's gonna take a while to warm up all of the house, but it'll be fine by the time we get back." Miari nodded and from downstairs, Bra came running up to met them.
"Trunks! Trunks! It's snowing!" she exclaimed.
"No duh it's snowing," he said. Then to Miari, "You have seen snow before right?" He nodded.
"Of course I have. I see it every year. And every year I like it less and less. Too cold," he said as they reached the bottom of the stairs and were greeted by a very impatient Bulma.
"About time," she said, then with a sarcastic air, "I was afraid you got lost up there or something. I thought I'd have to send the rescue dogs after you. And Miari couldn't you have at least brushed your hair out? Honestly." He shrugged, as she turned and headed out to the car.
The mall. Miari had been in a mall before. There had still been a few, plus Gohan had told him about what many different things were like before the androids came. Miari knew what a mall was.
This wasn't a mall. This was a nuthouse/zoo/boxing ring/everyone-for- themselves-survival-of-the-fittest-weastling-match, all stored in a nice little box about bust at the seams.
And his mother from this timeline, it seemed, was an veteran of this insane war.
She dragged all of them from store to store, picking out clothes for them (Trunks and Bra needed some new winter clothes too) and gifts for friends faster then Miari could separate one store from the next. Just as bad, he was used as her personal Carrier-of-Bags. It seemed, from what he gathered that this was usually Vegeta's job, but this year it had been passed on to him as he was easier to get out of the house and didn't insist on wearing spandex.
They entered what must have been the hundredth store, when he finally found a beach where he could sit down for awhile while Bulma continued her shopping crusade. Trunks and Bra came to sit down with him, bored of the seemingly endless journey through rows and aisles and racks of. stuff.
Bra sighed very loudly, showing her boredom and tiredness. Trunks rocked side to side, trying to keep his longing to bust out and run around like mad under control. Miari just leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind of all the running and yelling and whining of children. And above it all, the signs and store owners called:
"Get into the spirit! It's Christmas time folks! Don't be a Scrooge!"
Miari didn't have a clue what a scrooge was, but if this was Christmas; grown women fighting over toys, candles, dresses, and other things Miari felt were virtually useless, along with kids whining for this doll or that video game while men were dragged around and used as human shopping carts, who needed Christmas?
On his left, he felt a small tug at his jacket. He looked down to see Bra.
"Ne?" he asked her, wondering if she was going to start whining for another doll as she had been doing every time they passes a toy store.
"Can we go see Santa?" she asked. He stared at her. What did she mean by that? Bulma had explained to him a little bit more about the Santa Clause person, and he knew supposedly he lived at the North Pole. Did she mean she wanted him to take her there?!
"Uh." he started, not knowing what to say.
"It's okay Miari," Bulma called over to him. "Just let Trunks show you the way, he knows where to go." Trunks lifted his head and bit and smiled, feeling superior as kids will when they know something no one else does.
"Let's go," he said taking off, Bra following him. Miari grabbed all the bags, and ran after them, trying not to lose them in the crowd of people. Luckily, he managed not to let them get too far ahead and caught up with them when they came to a halt. He looked around, wondering why they stopped. They were standing in an amazingly LONG line, that lead into a small mini-house village. There were tall, fake pine trees along the path the line followed and they were all decorated with colored balls, shiny sliver and gold fuzzy stuff, little figurines hanging from strings and even more of those damn' lights.
He looked over to see were the line began to lead into the fake forest- village thing a few feet in front of them. By the entrance was a sign that said:
SEE SANTA HERE
Under that was a picture of a smiling man who's cheeks were candy apple red, just like the hat on his head which was surrounded on the brim by fluffy white that perfectly blended with his puffy beard and mustache that contrasted with his small, beady little eyes.
Miari jumped a bit at seeing it. 'What in the world.?' he thought. From right behind him he heard a familiar voice asking,
"What's wrong?" Miari turned to see Gohan there with Goten and Pan.
"Oh, hi Gohan," he said, then doing the best he could to point to the sign, "What is that thing?" he asked. Gohan looked over and seeing what Miari was indicating laughed.
"That's Santa you dope," he said. "That's his picture."
"All these kids are lining up to see his picture?" Gohan shook his head.
"No. Come on with me and I'll explain it to you."
"But what about them?" he asked, jerking his head at the kids.
"Don't worry. They'll go through the line and we'll wait at the end for them to come out. Besides, we'll look like a bunch of idiots standing in line with them. Plus these kids can take care of themselves, right?" he asked down to them. Pan looked up and nodded, smiling.
"See?" he said, grabbing Miari and pulling him along. "Like I was saying, that was just a picture of him. Kids go through the line and at the end they meet 'Santa Clause'. They sit on his lap, tell him what they want for Christmas, and get a candy cane."
"I thought there was no Santa Clause."
"There isn't. It's just a guy dressed up as Santa Clause."
"If there's no Santa Clause, then how do they know what he looks like?" Miari questioned. Gohan sighed.
"They just do! It's just they way he looks! Like the Easter Bunny." Miari stared at him, blinking. Gohan shook his head. "Never mind." Miari shrugged.
"In any case," he said, "I don't like the picture of him. He looks sorta creepy."
"Creepy?" said Gohan, surprised. "He's Old Saint Nick! How can he be creepy?"
"Old Saint Nick? I thought you said he was Santa Clause."
"He is! Geez, the guy has more than one name."
"I'm confused," he said. "Why is there more than one name for the same guy who doesn't exist and yet everyone knows what he looks like?"
"It just is," said Gohan, exasperated. Miari shook his head. This Santa Clause thing made no sense at all. About as much sense as Christmas did. "Hey look, there they are," Gohan said, pointing over to the group of kids who just came out of the make-believe town.
From where they were standing, they could clearly see the big, green chair and the fat man in a red suit sitting in it. Miari knew it must be Santa. He still didn't like the looks of him.
He wasn't as concerned for Trunks. He knew he could handle himself as could Goten, but he watched like a hawk as Bra and Pan went up there. He knew there was probably nothing major to be concerned about, but still, he was taking no chances.
Bulma showed up just as they group of chibi demi-Saiyans were coming over to them.
"Did you get to see Santa?" she asked them as they looked up to her, nodding. She smiled.
"Well I gotta go," said Gohan. "Videl and mom are waiting for us in some other store and they'll get mad if we're not back soon." Bulma nodded and waved as they headed off in the other direction.
Miari followed her as they weaved in and out of the other mobs of people, stopping in a few more stores before she would leave. All the while, Miari kept his eye on Bra and Trunks. There was something strange, he thought, about them after going up there. They seemed happier, and filled with something he couldn't really place as Trunks now held on to Bra's hand to make sure she wouldn't get lost in the crowd. He wondered for a moment if maybe they'd been possessed by something. And yet, if they were, he wasn't so sure this thing was something bad.
When he questioned Bulma about it, she just laughed and said,
"It's called Christmas spirit. Don't worry, you'll catch on to it soon."
'Christmas spirit?' he thought, then looked out at all of the mall's other shoppers. Despite the fact that most were running here and there, shoving past each other and grabbing for things, a few were just walking slowly together. Some holding hands, others laughing and joking around, and some others just sitting on benches next to each other, tired after running around from place to place and taking a break to just enjoy their friend's company.
"Christmas spirit," he said again, then smiled. Maybe there was something to this after all.
A/N: Hehe, I love this whole clueless-Miari thing. Please R&R!!! Thankies! ^_^
CH 4 The next day, Miari woke up to more shaking, only this time it was much nicer and less bouncy.
"Miari-kun, come on. Time to go," said Bulma, trying to wake him. He groaned and rolled away from her.
"Go where?" he asked, pulling the covers over his head.
"Shopping silly," she said. "If you're going to stay here for a while you'll need some clothes. Plus all the sales start today. It is the Christmas season you know." Miari didn't answer, having already begun to drift off back to sleep.
"Oh no you don't," she said, grabbing the blanket away from him. "Now wake up. If you're not downstairs in the next five minutes. I'll get Chibi." Miari woke up.
'Not that demon alarm clock again!' he thought, sitting up. She smirked.
"I thought that would get your attention. Now hurry before I really do send him over here." Miari sighed, dragging himself out of bed. He pulled on his normal clothes, which had been washed, after rinsing himself off in a quick shower. He pulled his long hair back in a messy ponytail, half of it falling out.
As he went downstairs, he rubbed his arms, realizing how cold it was. He passed Trunks on the way, who was bouncing down from his room.
"Cold ain't it?" he said. "Mom just turned the heaters on so it's gonna take a while to warm up all of the house, but it'll be fine by the time we get back." Miari nodded and from downstairs, Bra came running up to met them.
"Trunks! Trunks! It's snowing!" she exclaimed.
"No duh it's snowing," he said. Then to Miari, "You have seen snow before right?" He nodded.
"Of course I have. I see it every year. And every year I like it less and less. Too cold," he said as they reached the bottom of the stairs and were greeted by a very impatient Bulma.
"About time," she said, then with a sarcastic air, "I was afraid you got lost up there or something. I thought I'd have to send the rescue dogs after you. And Miari couldn't you have at least brushed your hair out? Honestly." He shrugged, as she turned and headed out to the car.
The mall. Miari had been in a mall before. There had still been a few, plus Gohan had told him about what many different things were like before the androids came. Miari knew what a mall was.
This wasn't a mall. This was a nuthouse/zoo/boxing ring/everyone-for- themselves-survival-of-the-fittest-weastling-match, all stored in a nice little box about bust at the seams.
And his mother from this timeline, it seemed, was an veteran of this insane war.
She dragged all of them from store to store, picking out clothes for them (Trunks and Bra needed some new winter clothes too) and gifts for friends faster then Miari could separate one store from the next. Just as bad, he was used as her personal Carrier-of-Bags. It seemed, from what he gathered that this was usually Vegeta's job, but this year it had been passed on to him as he was easier to get out of the house and didn't insist on wearing spandex.
They entered what must have been the hundredth store, when he finally found a beach where he could sit down for awhile while Bulma continued her shopping crusade. Trunks and Bra came to sit down with him, bored of the seemingly endless journey through rows and aisles and racks of. stuff.
Bra sighed very loudly, showing her boredom and tiredness. Trunks rocked side to side, trying to keep his longing to bust out and run around like mad under control. Miari just leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind of all the running and yelling and whining of children. And above it all, the signs and store owners called:
"Get into the spirit! It's Christmas time folks! Don't be a Scrooge!"
Miari didn't have a clue what a scrooge was, but if this was Christmas; grown women fighting over toys, candles, dresses, and other things Miari felt were virtually useless, along with kids whining for this doll or that video game while men were dragged around and used as human shopping carts, who needed Christmas?
On his left, he felt a small tug at his jacket. He looked down to see Bra.
"Ne?" he asked her, wondering if she was going to start whining for another doll as she had been doing every time they passes a toy store.
"Can we go see Santa?" she asked. He stared at her. What did she mean by that? Bulma had explained to him a little bit more about the Santa Clause person, and he knew supposedly he lived at the North Pole. Did she mean she wanted him to take her there?!
"Uh." he started, not knowing what to say.
"It's okay Miari," Bulma called over to him. "Just let Trunks show you the way, he knows where to go." Trunks lifted his head and bit and smiled, feeling superior as kids will when they know something no one else does.
"Let's go," he said taking off, Bra following him. Miari grabbed all the bags, and ran after them, trying not to lose them in the crowd of people. Luckily, he managed not to let them get too far ahead and caught up with them when they came to a halt. He looked around, wondering why they stopped. They were standing in an amazingly LONG line, that lead into a small mini-house village. There were tall, fake pine trees along the path the line followed and they were all decorated with colored balls, shiny sliver and gold fuzzy stuff, little figurines hanging from strings and even more of those damn' lights.
He looked over to see were the line began to lead into the fake forest- village thing a few feet in front of them. By the entrance was a sign that said:
SEE SANTA HERE
Under that was a picture of a smiling man who's cheeks were candy apple red, just like the hat on his head which was surrounded on the brim by fluffy white that perfectly blended with his puffy beard and mustache that contrasted with his small, beady little eyes.
Miari jumped a bit at seeing it. 'What in the world.?' he thought. From right behind him he heard a familiar voice asking,
"What's wrong?" Miari turned to see Gohan there with Goten and Pan.
"Oh, hi Gohan," he said, then doing the best he could to point to the sign, "What is that thing?" he asked. Gohan looked over and seeing what Miari was indicating laughed.
"That's Santa you dope," he said. "That's his picture."
"All these kids are lining up to see his picture?" Gohan shook his head.
"No. Come on with me and I'll explain it to you."
"But what about them?" he asked, jerking his head at the kids.
"Don't worry. They'll go through the line and we'll wait at the end for them to come out. Besides, we'll look like a bunch of idiots standing in line with them. Plus these kids can take care of themselves, right?" he asked down to them. Pan looked up and nodded, smiling.
"See?" he said, grabbing Miari and pulling him along. "Like I was saying, that was just a picture of him. Kids go through the line and at the end they meet 'Santa Clause'. They sit on his lap, tell him what they want for Christmas, and get a candy cane."
"I thought there was no Santa Clause."
"There isn't. It's just a guy dressed up as Santa Clause."
"If there's no Santa Clause, then how do they know what he looks like?" Miari questioned. Gohan sighed.
"They just do! It's just they way he looks! Like the Easter Bunny." Miari stared at him, blinking. Gohan shook his head. "Never mind." Miari shrugged.
"In any case," he said, "I don't like the picture of him. He looks sorta creepy."
"Creepy?" said Gohan, surprised. "He's Old Saint Nick! How can he be creepy?"
"Old Saint Nick? I thought you said he was Santa Clause."
"He is! Geez, the guy has more than one name."
"I'm confused," he said. "Why is there more than one name for the same guy who doesn't exist and yet everyone knows what he looks like?"
"It just is," said Gohan, exasperated. Miari shook his head. This Santa Clause thing made no sense at all. About as much sense as Christmas did. "Hey look, there they are," Gohan said, pointing over to the group of kids who just came out of the make-believe town.
From where they were standing, they could clearly see the big, green chair and the fat man in a red suit sitting in it. Miari knew it must be Santa. He still didn't like the looks of him.
He wasn't as concerned for Trunks. He knew he could handle himself as could Goten, but he watched like a hawk as Bra and Pan went up there. He knew there was probably nothing major to be concerned about, but still, he was taking no chances.
Bulma showed up just as they group of chibi demi-Saiyans were coming over to them.
"Did you get to see Santa?" she asked them as they looked up to her, nodding. She smiled.
"Well I gotta go," said Gohan. "Videl and mom are waiting for us in some other store and they'll get mad if we're not back soon." Bulma nodded and waved as they headed off in the other direction.
Miari followed her as they weaved in and out of the other mobs of people, stopping in a few more stores before she would leave. All the while, Miari kept his eye on Bra and Trunks. There was something strange, he thought, about them after going up there. They seemed happier, and filled with something he couldn't really place as Trunks now held on to Bra's hand to make sure she wouldn't get lost in the crowd. He wondered for a moment if maybe they'd been possessed by something. And yet, if they were, he wasn't so sure this thing was something bad.
When he questioned Bulma about it, she just laughed and said,
"It's called Christmas spirit. Don't worry, you'll catch on to it soon."
'Christmas spirit?' he thought, then looked out at all of the mall's other shoppers. Despite the fact that most were running here and there, shoving past each other and grabbing for things, a few were just walking slowly together. Some holding hands, others laughing and joking around, and some others just sitting on benches next to each other, tired after running around from place to place and taking a break to just enjoy their friend's company.
"Christmas spirit," he said again, then smiled. Maybe there was something to this after all.
A/N: Hehe, I love this whole clueless-Miari thing. Please R&R!!! Thankies! ^_^