12/24- Hello, all! Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you might celebrate around this time! *smiles* This is the Christmas Special for Cinnamon Eyes, and it has nothing to do with the current storyline. At all. It's like a big ol' omake, and for that reason there will NOT be an omake at the bottom! :P The real story, as I've said before, takes place in April, and since Christmas is in… December… It's obvious that this wouldn't really happen. I doubt that it will even make much sense… *shrug*
My only regret is that I couldn't have waited until after chapter 4 to put this out. The reason for that is because this would take place after Hitomi becomes doubtful of her feelings towards Otogi. YES, I just gave you a huge spoiler! It doesn't matter; you knew it was going to happen, anyway! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Anyway, who bothers to read the Author's notes? This section is only for my benefit, really! If you read this section, then say "OYAJIDE AND ONPU SHOULD BE TOGETHER!!!" in your review. Because they SHOULD!!
Oh, and… Ojamajo Doremi is the bomb. EMAIL TOKYOPOP AND TELL THEM TO TRANSLATE OJAMAJO DOREMI MANGA! MY INPUT ALONE WON'T WORK!!!
But of course you WON'T. I bet you don't even know what Ojamajo Doremi is!
Oyajide is the best.
12/27- Twenty million Hitomi fans around the country! Sorry to keep you waiting!! (This is an inside joke, sort of. This was said at the beginning of the preview for the episode where Yami and Anzu go on a "date," except "Anzu" was said where I put "Hitomi". It's amusing because we ALL know there aren't that many Hitomi fans OR Anzu fans… Are there even that many Yu-Gi-Oh fans in Japan…?) Sorry I didn't get this up on time. My parents found it incredibly amusing to ban me from the computer starting Christmas Eve. Their reasoning included mysterious phrases such as "homework," "five books," and "reading." Hmmm…
Also, I have been trying to keep the inserted Japanese to a minimum in this story, but this chapter seems to have a little more than usual… because there are some puns that, when translated to English, would be lost.
Cinnamon Eyes
Christmas Special
"Help!" Princess Hitomi yelled to her friends, who were several hundred meters below her. "She's trapped me! Save me from the clutches of Majokeiko!!"
"Hitomi!" Yuugi, dressed in silver armor, pressed his hands to the Chaos Shield and craned his head upwards.
"Our cards have been stolen, Hitomi-chan!" Honda yelled up to her. He, too, was dressed as a knight. "None of us have the capabilities to remove the shield!"
"Hiro-kun, was it Majokeiko?!" She directed her Seiyaryuu to descent towards the ground, after failing to find an end to the cylindrical prison.
"Probably," growled Jounouchi, the court jester.
"She let you keep that card, Hitomi-san?" Anzu the tailor asked as Hitomi tried again to direct the rose-scaled dragon to fly lower.
"SHE USED THE SWORDS OF REVEALING LIGHT ON SEIYARYUU WHILE I WAS IN THE AIR!!!"
Everybody groaned.
"Don't fall off, then!" A snow-colored dragon outside of the barrier appeared in front of her, and the icy-eyed rider smiled. It was Kaiba Seto, the wealthy merchant. "Dragon scales can be slippery."
"Seto-kun…"
"Kaiba-kun!" Yuugi yelled up to the boy. "You have your Blue Eyes! Do you have the rest of your deck?!"
Kaiba scowled at his arch-rival. "No, I don't! That witch stole them, and I'm going to get them back! And don't follow me!!" He pointed his dragon upwards, and they flew into the cloudy oblivion.
"I'll save you, Hitomi-chan!"
Recognizing the voice, Hitomi moaned, "Oh, no…"
Prince Otogi leapt off his steed and pulled out a deck of cards. "These cards are the only ones left in the kingdom…" He selected a magic card, and held it up. "De-spell!"
The barrier and swords disappeared, but various flying monsters automatically surrounded Hitomi and Seiyaryuu. "Otogi, don't do any more! I'm fine!!"
"Ridiculous!" He pulled out another magic card. "BLACK HOLE!!!"
"WHAT??!?" Everyone screamed at him in unison.
"Don't worry, it only sucks up the monsters! Hitomi-chan is perfectly safe!" The monsters all fizzled away, and the princess instantly started falling, having lost her dragon. "Oops." Seeing his mistake, Prince Otogi ran to catch her. She landed lightly in his arms, and they were then transported to a setting with flowery, bubbly, pastel surroundings.
"Ryuuji-kun…" Hitomi looked up into his eyes lovingly. "Thank you so much… for saving me…"
The raven-haired boy just chuckled and brought his face closer to hers. "Welcome to my otogibanashi."
Without giving it another thought, the princess slowly lifted her head up, and her soft, moist lips reached…
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!" Hitomi sat bold upright in her bed, covered in a cold sweat. She looked towards the clock. Four o'clock on a Sunday morning. December 24, the start of winter vacation.
She sighed and fell back onto her pillow. What was with that dream? She covered her face with her arms, and tried to get back to sleep. It made absolutely no sense! Nobody acted like themselves, either… and I would never willingly kiss Otogi… She touched her lower lip. Still… How would it feel? How would his lips taste? She blinked her eyes and hit herself over the head. GRR! What am I thinking?! I hate him! "I HATE OTOGI!!!"
The neighborhood dogs started howling, and a shoe soon banged into her window, followed by a voice ordering her to shut up. Otogi… Hitomi ignored these events, and brought her sheets over her head. That dream is not true! I don't like Otogi! She sighed. What am I taking it so seriously for? It's just a stupid dream. Like stupid Otogi. She turned over and was silent for several minutes. Then she sat up again.
"HE WON'T GET OUT OF MY HEAD!! Okay, if I'm going to think of a boy, it should at least be a boy that I can tolerate." She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, and quickly drew three stick figures. One had a triangular head and a big smile, and the second had a huge frown and fangs. It was facing a smaller, widely smiling stick figure, with large pointed hair and long, pointed bangs. "There! Hiro-kun, Seto-kun and Yuugi-kun! That's better!" She stood the picture up against the lamp on her bedside table, and rested on her pillow again, smiling and staring at it. Then she knocked the picture off. "ARGH! No boys! I must concentrate on SCHOOL!" She grabbed a textbook and stood it up on her bedside table. She laid down again, smiling at the book with a slightly crazed grin. "THERE!! I'll sleep now!"
An hour later, she was still awake. She dragged herself out of bed, unable to get back to sleep, and decided to wrap the presets for her friends.
"Okay, let's see…" She pulled out various bags and sorted through them. "This is for Yuugi-kun, this is for Jounouchi, this is…"
***
At a quarter to eleven, Hitomi headed towards the Kame Game Shop, carrying six presents, neatly wrapped. Overestimating the time it took to walk there, she walked in the door five minutes later.
A wrinkly, bearded face appeared in front of her. "WELCOME!! Are you another one of Yuugi's lovely friends?"
Hitomi's eye twitched. "What do you…"
"Ahh, Hitomi!" Yuugi appeared behind his grandfather in blue pajamas covered with yellow stars. "Um… you're kind of early…" He blushed and headed towards the stairs. "I just… I have to get dressed… I've been too busy setting up to get dressed."
She giggled, and nodded. "That's alright; I'm sorry I came so early."
"No, no, that's okay!!" Yuugi waved his hands in front of his face. "It's my fault, you're only ten minutes early! I should have known that people might come a little early."
"Yuugi-kun…" Hitomi crossed her arms in pretend frustration, "stop taking the blame and just get dressed."
He nodded vigorously and started running up the stairs.
Hitomi called after him, "I like your pajamas! They're very cute!!"
A thump was heard as Yuugi slipped. "They're not cute! I'm not cute! You're… he… NOT BEING CUTE NOTHING!!!"
"Oh, I missed seeing Yuugi in his pajamas." Seto came through the door and sighed mockingly. "Were they embarrassing?"
Hitomi smiled up at the CEO. "They were very cute."
"NOT CUTE!!!"
"Ahh…" Kaiba set seven small packages on the counter. He motioned towards them, seeing that she was staring at them. "They're not worth my time and money. I just got everybody something because I am a man of manners."
She put her hands on her hips sarcastically. "Surely you don't mean that for everybody?"
Seto just winked.
"Hey… Seto-kun…" Hitomi was still looking over his gifts. "Seven? There's me, you, Yuugi-kun, Jounouchi, Hiro-kun, Mazaki, and Bakura… did you get a present for yourself?"
"If I did, it would be much bigger."
"True… who else is coming then?"
Seto shrugged. "I think that Otoki person."
"It's Otogi… wait, WHAT?!"
At this point, Yuugi entered the room again. "Oh, hello, Kaiba-kun! And Anzu and Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun…"
"Oh!" Hitomi spun around. "Jounouchi's here!"
Seto sneered. "Loser dog…"
She walked up to Jounouchi, her hands behind her back, and looked up at him sweetly. "Hello, Jounouchi!"
"Erm…" he glanced left and right. "Hel- ARGH!!!" Honda had sneaked behind the blonde and jammed on a Santa hat. Full of snow.
The room erupted with laughter.
Jounouchi spun around and grabbed Honda by the collar of his turtleneck. "Whad'dya think you're DOING?!"
Honda smiled and waved. "Merry Christmas!"
"Ohh…" Jounouchi let go of Honda and started brushing snow off. "Where did you get this snow, anyway? It's not snowing…"
"I made it." Hitomi smiled sweetly, then frowned and spun around to face Yuugi. "YUUGI!! Did you invite Otogi?!"
Yuugi, looking slightly startled, answered, "Y-yes, I did…"
"Oh, that's right." Honda lifted a bag, and emptied it of its contents. Thirteen boxes of varying sizes were soon piled up. "Otogi said he's going to be a little late, so he gave me his presents. He said to start the present exchange without him. Those are mine, and those are his." He pointed to the two opposite sides of the pile.
Anzu crossed her arms. "Since when are you so chummy with Otogi?"
"Ahh… well…" Honda blushed. "I figured that maybe, if I was around him sometimes, then at least one of his fans would notice my handsome face."
Jounouchi glared at him. "Given up on my sister?"
"Ahh!! Lovely Shizuka!!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?" Jounouchi soon had Honda in a headlock. "Honda, you bas-"
"Hello, there!" said a pleasant voice.
Yuugi ran between Honda and Jounouchi, separating them, to reach the door. "Bakura-kun! Hello! Come on in!!" He turned to everyone else. "Go get comfortable in the living room, and I'll get the snacks!"
"OKAY!!" Everyone quickly threw off their shoes, if they hadn't already, and ran to the living room, quickly claiming their own spot. Sugoroku came in as well, and sat himself between Hitomi and Anzu.
Yuugi soon walked in with a platter of choufu, jonainagashi, and other snacks. Setting it down, everyone cheered "itadakimasu!" and started eating.
"Yuugi, do you have any healthier foods for your friends?" asked Sugoroku.
Yuugi smiled. "Nope!"
"Yuugi, did you make these all by yourself?" Anzu held up a flower-shaped jonainagashi. "It looks too good to eat!"
Yuugi blushed. "Yeah… thanks…"
"Is Otogi REALLY coming?!" Hitomi asked in a panic.
Everyone nodded.
"BUT I DIDN'T GET HIM A PRESENT!!!"
Everyone stared at her, and she blushed.
"Um… I… That's not meant the way it sounds! But it would be rude to give everyone a present but him. I hate Otogi! Okay, I'll go get him a present now." She left, and heard them all chuckling behind her.
***
Hitomi wandered down the streets, peering in shop windows. She scolded herself for not realizing that she could have easily gotten a suitable gift for Otogi at Yuugi's home. Well, I'm already here, so I might as well look around. If I don't find anything, I'll go back to the shop and get him something there… She looked in the window of a nearby bakery and sighed. He has a bunch of gaming things, anyway… She passed by an arcade, a jewelry shop, a music store… then saw a tall, black-haired boy come around the corner.
Shoot! She ran into the nearest store- a craft shop- and watched Otogi pass by. She sighed, relieved that he didn't see her.
"Welcome!"
"Huh?" Hitomi turned around and saw a kind-looking woman standing behind the counter. "Oh, hello! I'm sorry to barge in like that." She gave the woman a half-bow.
"Can I help you find something?" She emerged from the register and walked towards Hitomi. She was at least a head shorter than her customer was. "We have items made by various artisans. You'll probably find something that you'd like."
"I don't know… I didn't intend on buying something here, just hiding from… a stalker, you could say." She giggled, inspecting a very intricate candleholder, made of clear glass swirled with several various other colors. "So you get things from all around the world?"
"Yes, but a lot of the things here were made by me."
"Wow…" Hitomi was bent over, looking at a thick bracelet engraved with hieroglyphics and other Egyptian symbols, looking like something that would be worn by a pharaoh. I should have gotten this for Yuugi-kun… he seems to like Egyptian things… She stood back up and took a slow look around the little shop. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you have anything that would work… Thank you so much, though!" She smiled and bowed again.
"Come back anytime!" said the woman as Hitomi started walking out the door.
"Oh, I will, thank…" Hitomi stopped short and peered at a figurine that was placed in the window. She hadn't noticed it when she was outside, since she was in a panic to hide. "Do you think I could have a closer look at that right there, if you don't mind?"
The woman walked over and picked it up. "This?" She handed it over, and Hitomi inspected it. It was a ceramic figure of a white horse, and riding on top was a prince wearing elegant clothing. Every detail was paid attention to: the pattern on the clothing, the mane on the horse, the glittering eyes, even the individual barbs and barbules on the feather in the prince's hat was paid much attention to. The ebony-haired prince had a detailed, serious face, permanently stuck with a small straight mouth, which seemed to smile despite the shape, because of his bright cobalt eyes. This is perfect…
Hitomi looked at the woman again. "How much is it?"
"Four thousand yen," she smiled.
"Eeeeeh?!" She gaped. "Um… well…"
"And I'll gift-wrap it for free."
Hitomi put on a contemplative face. Augh… that's more than I want to spend on HIM, but… I suppose he'd get me something of equal or greater value, knowing him… I guess it's only fair… She handed it back to the woman. "I'll take it, gift-wrapped, please."
"All right, then." The woman offered another smile, and Hitomi effortlessly smiled back. She fished out the money as the woman was wrapping the present, and soon realized that she was smiling from ear to ear and blushing. She was too giddy to stop. Hitomi, get a hold of yourself…
"Is this for your stalker?" asked the woman as she handed the box to Hitomi.
"Ahh…" Blushing even more, she quickly ran out the door. "Thank you!"
But she couldn't stop giggling on her way back to the Game Shop.
***
"Hitomi-chan!!!" Otogi stood up as she walked in the door. "You're here! I've missed you so much!!"
She took her coat and shoes off, and walked into the living room. "You saw me in school yesterday, Otogi…" she sighed.
"But that was for such a short time!"
Everyone rolled their eyes.
Yuugi gestured to the small pile of remaining presents. "We opened all the presents except for the ones to you and the ones from you… I hope you don't mind…"
"Pfft…" Hitomi waved her hand. "I don't care." Then she smiled. "Don't be shy! Open my presents if you want!"
On cue, they shuffled through the pile to find the ones marked as theirs. Everyone was soon pushed away as if a bomb had exploded in the presents, and Jounouchi stood up, victoriously holding up a small package. "I GOT IT!!!"
Honda leaned on his hand. "That's great, Jounouchi, but you didn't have to scatter the other presents all over the room in the process."
"What do you mean? That's good! Now we don't have to all be crowded together!!" He tore the paper off. "You got me… dice…"
Hitomi shrugged. "I was on a low budget."
Jounouchi suddenly appeared next to her and nudged her in the side. "Low budget, huh? You probably got them from Otogi for free!" He gave her a devious grin.
"Um… no…"
"I would have if you'd asked, Hitomi-chan…" Otogi stood to the other side of her. "Don't be afraid to talk to me. I won't bite." He thought a bit, then added. "Well, maybe if…"
"Stop thinking gross, Otogi!" Hitomi fumed. "Never in a million years! Why can't you be innocent and cute like Yuugi?!"
"NOT CUTE NEVER!!!" yelled Yuugi, holding the rabbit plush that Hitomi had given him.
Everyone stared at him. "Uh-huh…"
Kaiba thumbed through the ridiculously thick book that he had just received. "I think I already read this… but thank you, Hitomi."
"Yeah, thanks for my book, too!" exclaimed Honda from the other side of the room, waving a book entitled '101 Tricks and Pranks to Pull on Your Friends.'
Anzu sat back down in a chair. "I love the bear, Hitomi-san!" She hugged it close.
"Wow, Kawara, you must have gone to a total of… what… two stores?"
Everyone stared at the source of the comment. "BAKURA WAS SARCASTIC?!"
He blinked his huge, innocent eyes. "Well, look, she only got books and toys." He held up his plush elephant. "And WHY did I get an elephant?"
Everyone shrugged, and a few people giggled.
"Hey…" Otogi crossed his arms. "Hitomi-chan didn't get me anything!"
"Oh… uh… yeah… here." She handed the box over. "I grabbed it at the last minute, so don't get any ideas."
He opened the box and took out the figure. Everyone stared at it in awe.
"Ah, yes, low budget." Jounouchi nodded knowingly. "You wanted to save your money for your boyfriend."
"NO!!" She stepped on his foot. "Freak! I hate him!!"
"Thank you, Hitomi-chan," smiled Otogi. "It's just like a fairytale prince."
Hitomi looked back at him, and then blushed, remembering her dream. "Yeah, whatever." She walked around the room, gathering the remaining scattered presents. "Can I open mine now?"
***
All of her presents that she received were small, at least in size. Yuugi had given her two packs of Duel Monsters cards, as could be expected. Jounouchi, Honda and Bakura gave her gift certificates to bookstores, but they were considerably different in cost. Anzu made a charm bracelet with glass beads and pewter charms. Seto gave her a gift that looked like it was a small piece of paper wrapped in wrapping paper.
"Wow, Seto-kun, you gave me the smallest gift you had. I feel SO special." Everyone laughed a bit at this, and she opened it to see that it was… a small piece of paper wrapped in wrapping paper. On it, Seto had neatly written, 'As you are the only one at the party that I tolerate, I will give you a better present when they are not around.' She rolled her eyes and counted the gifts up. "Six…" She closed her eyes, expecting what was coming. "Oh, goodness, who am I missing."
"ME!!!" Otogi walked over and handed her a small box. "I looked long and hard for something that would suit your beauty."
She sighed, and tore the paper off. Upon opening the lid, she couldn't help but gasp. "It's so pretty!" She took out a golden necklace, strung with a dark, teardrop-shaped ruby, which was surrounded on the edges with clusters of tiny diamonds.
"It matches your eyes." Otogi took the necklace from her hands and unclasped it, standing behind her.
Blushing furiously, with the others watching on, she said, "I… I can put it on myself!"
He chuckled and moved in front of her. "No." As he wrapped his arms around her neck, she blushed an even deeper red, noticing how close her face was to his. It probably matches my face, too…
Overwhelmed by the rush of blood mixed with the scent of his hair, a unique smell that she couldn't place, she began to feel a little dizzy. "O… Otogi…"
He laughed in the back of his throat and moved his hands to rest on her shoulders, right where they met her bare neck. "It's perfect."
She felt his breath on her skin, and her eyes closed. Otogi, you idiot… She fell forwards, and was quickly caught by the one she would have least- or most, she wasn't sure- desired to have caught her.
"Ahh, she fainted!" Honda brushed the pink hair out of her face and laughed. "She must have really fallen for you, Otogi!"
"Literally," joked Jounouchi. He received a rare laugh from the others.
"Ahh, what should I do?" Otogi hung his head backwards. "I don't want to bring her to her home, because her parents might think I drugged her or got her drunk or something…"
"I know!" Sugoroku held up a finger. "You can take her to your home! Because you know the Christmas tradition…" He elbowed Otogi, who was blushing furiously.
"That's worse than drugs or alcohol…" muttered Anzu.
"Hohohohohoho!! Come on, my boy, you know you want to!!" Sugoroku slapped Otogi on the back, and was then attacked by the others.
"In case you're serious, I do not want to do that. Yet. Neither she nor I are ready."
Yuugi folded his arms. "I think you should, Otogi-kun."
Otogi was so startled he nearly dropped Hitomi. "Yuugi! What?!"
"Take her to your home, I mean. She shouldn't be out for that long." He smiled. "It's innocent enough."
Otogi looked down at the girl sleeping peacefully in his arms. He lightly kissed the top of her hair. I won't let any harm come to you. That's my otogibanashi.
***
Aww, that's so sweet! I really didn't see that ending coming. I'm serious. I never plan out what I'm going to write before I sit down to write it :P
Until I got halfway through, I had no idea what Hitomi was going to get Otogi. Then I thought that I should have a better reason for her to have that dream than "I wanted to put it there."
I think I'll up the rating to PG-13… *does that*
Oh, "otogibanashi" is the Japanese word for "fairytale." You get that word when you add the kanji for "story" at the end of Otogi's name. Also, "itadakimasu" is a traditional Japanese blessing said before eating. Choufu is a rice cake wrapped in a light cake. Jonainagashi is a sweet made out of mashed white beans. "Majo" means "witch," and "Majokeiko" is sort of my tribute to Ojamajo Doremi (the witches all have "majo" in front of their names).
I think I covered everything. This chapter has some really good quotes that I need to put in my nee-san's quote book. Such as, "I hate Otogi! Okay, I'll go get him a present now."
I think you can guess the adult Japanese Christmas tradition. If you can't, good for you.
I WANT YUUGI'S PAJAMAS!!!