Parking Spaces
By Shibaryou
Yamaki groaned, waking up early that morning.
Four o'clock. Perfect.
It was December 22nd. Three days untiil Christmas. Yamaki had yet to do his Christmas shopping this year. However, that would soon change! He woke up early just so he could get to the mall when it opened at seven. Avoid the crowds, buy gifts for his friends and family. Be in and out in an hour.
Yes, his plan was fool proof. He may even have enough time to get a slice of pizza at the food court. Yes, this would be easy. He had his list, his money, nothing could go wrong! He may even be in enough of the Christmas Spirit to buy some food and drinks for the Hypnos Chrismtas Party!
...Yeah, right. He still hated this holiday enough to not want to go to that party. Nothing more than someone spiking egg nog, followed by a drunken Christmas Karaoke Contest with a chugging contest soon after. Yamaki wanted nothing to do with that. No. He just wanted to buy his co-workers some cheap ties, drop them off and get the hell out of there. That was it.
Yamaki made his way to the bathroom. A quick shower, get dressed, off to the car.
-
The parking garage was dark and completely silent, aside from the soft footsteps of Yamaki Mitsuo. No-one else at his building was going to the mall. No-one. They would have left by now, if they were smart.
Wait! What was that!
Yamaki could have sworn he saw something run away in the corner of his eye. Yamaki paused, carefully glancing to the right.
Oh, cut it out, Yamaki! It was probably a cat. Nothing to get worked up about-
There it is again! Something small and white. ...A kitten. Probably trying to find a place to keep warm.
Yamaki continued. His parking space was just a few yards away.
Yamaki jumped when he heard a giggling sound. That was no cat.
He began to walk faster. He was close to his care. Just a few more feet away! Hurry!
...No more sounds. Just silence. No more movement. Just Yamaki. It's just your imagination, Yamaki! It was a cat!
Yamaki unlocked his car door, opening it.
"BOO! Kuru!"
"YEEEEAAAAAA!" Yamaki jumped back, then he realized what had been stalking him, "...Oh, you." That damned Koala-thing. It was a Wild One, but posed no obvious threat. Yamaki did his best to ignore it, he could never catch it, no matter how many times it left itself in the open. However, it did take a liking to him and liked to "play" with him (ie: annoy him).
"Kuru! Goin' somewhere, kuru?" Culumon asked, extending his ears and trying to look cute.
"...Yes, Christmas shopping." Yamaki replied.
"Christmas?"
"A holiday that once held religious value, however, money-grubbing shop keepers have turned it into a commercial holiday and an excuse to raise prices beyond that of which a common man could afford." Yamaki explained.
"Sounds like fun! Kuru!" The little koala glided into Yamaki's car, sitting at the passenger side, "Let's go!"
"...Let's?" Yamaki asked, annoyed. Let's implied 'two or more' people would be going.
"Yeah! I wanna go Christmas shopping! Kuru!" The little Digimon smiled. Yamaki growled.
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"No!"
"With sugar?"
"NO!"
"Kuru..." The Digimon gave Yamaki the saddest, most pathetic of looks.
"...No."
"Kuru..." Even sadder, more pathetic.
"...No."
"Kuru..." Getting sadder, more pathetic. Gut-wrenchingly cute.
"...FINE." Yamaki got into his car. Culumon did a small dance, thanking Yamaki, "But, no grabbing the wheel or pressing the pedals!" He shouted, remembering an instance in which Culumon almost caused a twelve car pileup by grabbing Yamaki's steering wheel, then jumping on the brake pedal.
"Okay! Kuru!"
Yamaki groaned. This was going to be a long morning. He'll just ditch the little creature at the mall, or, when he least suspects it, grab him and throw him out of the car window while on the freeway. Yes, that would solve many problems.
-
Yamaki muttered curses under his breath. It was four thirty in the morning. And there was traffic on the way to the mall. Even if he did throw Culumon out of the window, it would not do him any good. The little rodent would just dance on the roof of his care.
Fortunately, he gave the little beast a pen and his notepad to occupy himself with. It kept him quiet, at least. There would be a mess of papers to clean up later, but in the end, a small price to pay.
At this rate, he would be at the mall by noon. Culumon would be out of paper by then.
"Kuru!" The little Digimon poked Yamaki in the arm with the pen.
"...What?" Yamaki turned to Culumon. A piece of paper was shoved in his face. Yamaki reeled his head back.
It was a poorly drawn picture of him with a big smiley face on it, the smile was so big that it actually went off of the circle noting Yamaki's 'face.' Yamaki groaned, turning away, "...Get it out of my sight."
"Kurururu!" Culumon went back to drawing more pictures.
Yamaki sighed. This was going to be a long day.
-
More time passed. It was five-twenty.
Culumon was out of paper. He was getting on Yamaki's nerves.
"Kuru! Kuru! Kuru!" Culumon was doing some weird sort of dance on the seat.
"Strike me...Now..." Yamaki growled, looking up.
"Kuru! What's this?" Culumon looked at Yamaki's radio, Yamaki was too busy glaring at the 'I brake for animals' bumper sticker ahead of him to notice.
"GRANDMA GOT RUNOVER BY A REINDEER!"
Yamaki jumped up, "What the?"
Culumon turned the volume of the radio up, playing with it.
"WALKING HOME FROM OUR HOUSE CHRISTMAS EVE!"
"TURN THAT DOWN!"
"Kurururu!" Culumon laughed, changing the station.
"THIS IS HIDEYOSHI MIYAMOTO WITH TODAY'S LOTTERY NUMBERS! THEY ARE TWELVE...TWENTY FIVE...TWO...THREE- AND NOW FOR OUR LOCAL WEATHER WITH MASAHARU-"
Yamaki slammed his finger on the 'OFF' button, "...NEVER touch my radio." He glared at the little Digimon. Culumon just laughed in return. Yamaki growled.
-
It was almost eight. The mall had opened two hours ago.
Culumon was listening to a CD of Christmas songs in the radio, while Yamaki did his best to drown out the Oh-So-Annoying Twelve Days Of Christmas by honking his horn at the cause of the accident.
Some idiot with a sleigh, dressed as Santa, was being pulled by eight reindeer on the side of the road (apparently some marketing gimmick for the mall), until the sleigh turned over and caused a six car pile up. Unfortunately, Santa and his Reindeer were not injured.
He was on Yamaki's side of the car, talking to police officers about the accident. Yamaki, venting his rage for having to face crowds, pounded his fist on the horn, visibly glaring at the man dressed up as Santa Claus.
Culumon turned off the radio, "Hey, Yamaki!" He said, looking at Santa, "Is that Santa?"
"...Yes." Yamaki said through his teeth.
"What does it mean when Santa raises his middle finger at you like that?" Culumon asked.
"It means...Merry Christmas. That's what it means." Yamaki rolled down his window, he held his hand out of the window, "YEAH! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU TOO, YOU IDIOT!" He screamed, "DRIVING A SLEIGH ON THE FREEWAY? WHAT'D THEY PUT IN YOUR EGG NOG?"
'Santa' proceeded to take a piece of his sleigh (which had been destroyed and piled to the side of the road) and throw it at the hood of Yamaki's car, despite police efforts to stop him, he continued. One piece hit Yamaki's windshield, cracking it.
Yamaki let out a string of Un-Christmas Spirited language at Santa.
"Kururururu!" Culumon laughed, "Santa must like wishing you a Merry Christmas! He's using both hands, now!"
-
Finally, they reached the mall parking lot. It was crowded. Very crowded.
Even the handicapped spaces were taken. A few more people "wished Yamaki a Merry Christmas" as they almost hit him once or twice. Culumon wondered why Yamaki got so upset when he wished them Merry Christmas in return. He seemed to use words Culumon never heard before that didn't sound all that nice...
"YEAH! SAME TO YOU, BUDDY!" Yamaki screamed, slaming his hand on the horn.
"Kuru... Is Christmas a time for shouting?" Culumon asked.
"...Yes. It is. Especially when idiots are cutting you off and-" Yamaki slammed on his breaks, sending Culumon (who had not been wearing a seatbelt) on the floor.
Yamaki screamed loudly, he stuck his head out of his window, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" He screamed, his eyes widened, "Oh, sh- AUGH!"
A rearview mirror smacked him hard on the forhead. The driver of the car sped off, while "wishing Yamaki a Merry Christmas."
Yamaki pulled his had into the car, growling various curses and leaning his head on the steering wheel, ignoring the person behind him honking their horn loudly.
"Kuru...Are you all right?" Culumon hopped on Yamaki's leg, looking at him with a worried expression.
"...Fine..." Yamaki growled, just fine. He lifted his head up.
"Hey! You have a mark on your head just like mine!" Culumon commented, smiling excitedly, "Why is it so bumpy, though?"
"...I hate Christmas..." Yamaki muttered. The person behind him blared their horn rammed him from behind, slamming his forehead on the steering wheel, painfully, "DAMMIT!" He screamed. He threw open his door, getting up in haste. So much haste that he forgot to unbuckle his seatbelt. He fell back on his seat.
Yamaki roared loudly and, through some unknown strength, pulled his seatbelt in two. He got out of his car, madly marching forward to the car behind him. Oh, he knew EXACTLY what he was going to do when he met the idiot driving behind him. A good hard punch in the face.
He stood next to the car, calmly. He tapped on the window, then reeled back his fist as it began to open. This was it...!
...Wait...
"B-Boss!" Yamaki lowered his fist, his jaw dropping.
The driver behind him was his boss, General Hida of the Japanese army.
"Yamaki, do you like your job?" Hida asked, calmly.
"...Yes, sir."
"THEN MOVE. YOUR. CAR!" Hida screamed.
"Y-YES, SIR!" Yamaki dashed forward, almost tripping, then he dove into his seat and accelerated forward at full speed. He didn't even close his car door.
"KURU!" Culumon screamed in surrpise as Yamaki drove around to the back of the mall parking lot.
There were three parking spots. Yamaki carefully parked in the middle spot, "...Finally..." He breath a sigh of relief, "...Now to just go shopping. Buy a cheap tie or two, something expensive for Hida to save my job, and-"
"MITSUO!" Hida opened Yamaki's door. He parked next to Yamaki.
"SIR, YES, SIR!" Yamaki shouted, saluting.
"Have a doctor look at that mark on your forehead, it's pretty red." Hida calmly said, "Oh, and cute...whatever that thing is."
"Kuru!" Culumon smiled. Hida gave him a pet on the head, then left.
Yamaki relaxed once more, resting his hand on his heart, letting out a long sigh.
"Kuru! What a nice guy!"
Once again, Yamaki sighed and said, "...I hate Christmas..."
"Kururururu! Christmas is the best!"
Yamaki gave an annoyed look to Culumon, who seemed oblvious to Yamaki's bad mood. The goverment agent got out of his car, looking to see how far away the mall was, "OH, GOD!"
It was at least a half mile of walking.
"Kururururu! Oh, boy! A hike!"
"...I hate you..."
-
The mall was packed. The stores were overflowing with people.
Yamaki sighed in defeat, "...I'm coming back tomorrow." He said, "There's no way I'll be able to buy gifts in this mess!" He kicked a stone pot for a mall plant in disgust.
"Kurururururu! There are so many people!"
"And that's bad-" Yamaki was intereupted as Culumon floated up to him and started pulling on his hand, "HEY!"
"Kururururururu! Let's go make friends! The more the better!"
"Are you insane?"
"KURU!" Culumon screamed in delight as he saw the most amazing sight! He heard about him in the Christmas CDs Yamaki let him hear. He was the most amazing person Culumon had ever heard of!
"SANTA CLAUS!" Culumon, somehow, flew in Santa's direction while dragging Yamaki with him, "Can we please meet him? Kurururu! He can give you the gifts you need!"
"Oh, God..." Yamaki groaned, realizing that the little Digimon wouldn't let him leave unless he met Santa Claus. Why did he even let this accursed beast go with him? All it did was cause trouble! Why, oh, why did he let that thing escape into the real world instead of deleting it?
Culumon patiently stood in line for Santa. The line's size was comparable to that of the walk from the parking lot. Yamaki's legs were throbbing, but, if it would make that beast happy. Perhaps he could ditch it while it was chatting with Santa.
"Kururu! You better not shout, you better not cry..."
"...I hate Christmas..."
-
They finally reached the front of the line. After two hours, they finally made it. Yamaki was angry. Culumon...was singing Jingle Bells.
"Ho ho ho! Aren't you a little old to sit on my lap?" Santa jokingly said to Yamaki. Yamaki thrust Culumon in front of him.
"...He's the one." Yamaki dropped the little Digimon on Santa's lap.
"Ho ho ho!" The mall santa laughed, "Merry Christmas!"
That was Culumon's Cue! He knew exactly what to do, "Merry Christmas!" He said, wishing Santa a Merry Christmas like how Yamaki told him (well, a rough equivalent for his hands).
Various shocked gasps from surrounding people echoed through the mall. There was a sudden silence.
"...Oh, God..." Yamaki smacked his forehead, "Ow..." He groaned, remembering the mark.
"...Kuru...?"
-
Out of pity, Yamaki brought Culumon home with him. The little beast was silent the entire ride (despite it taking three hours...). Not a sound. Yamaki had to carry him into the apartment. He didn't respond to any of his words.
They both sat on his couch. Culumon with his head down, sniffing and wiping a tear now and then, Yamaki (after putting a bandage on his forehead) was laying his head back.
It was almost half an hour before Culumon spoke, "...I did it wrong..." The little Digimon choked, "I did the hand-thing wrong..."
"...Yeah, that was it." Yamaki held up his index finger, "This is how it's done." He said, making it up. It got him out of explaining exactly what the original sign meant.
"I made Santa angry..." Culumon wiped away a tear.
"...He'll get over it."
"He hates me now... Kuru..."
"No, he doesn't..." Yamaki sighed, he couldn't believe he was doing this, "...I even know he doesn't..."
"...Kuru?" Culumon wiped away another tear.
Yamaki got up, "...Wait here." He said, rolling his eyes.
Yamaki went into his bedroom. There was a gift basket from Megumi and Reika in here from yesterday. It was filled with all sorts of junk food he would hate that Culumon would love.
Here. Some peppermint taffy, chocolate here, ribbon candy, caramels, a couple candy canes, wrapping paper, ribbon. He grabbed a small blank tag with a picture of Santa and the words "To:" and "From:" printed on it.
Put it all of the candy in the center of the wrapping paper, pulled the paper up to form a makeshift bag, tied it with ribbon.
Yamaki grabbed a red pen and wrote, "To: Culumon; From: Santa Claus" on it and tied it on the bag. He took a moment to admire his last minute giftwrapping. It looked okay.
Yamaki brought it into the living room, Culumon was still on the couch, crying. Yamaki took a deep breath and said, "LookwhatSantabroughtyou."
"Kuru...?"
"...Look what Santa brought you." Yamaki said, "He wanted me to give this to you before we left the mall." He sat next to Culumon and put the gift in front of the little Digimon, "...Open it." He rolled his eyes, wondering why he was doing this.
"...Kuru...?"
"Go on."
Culumon slowly tore open the paper. His eyes lit up as he saw what was inside, "CANDY! KURURURU!"
"...Yeah." Yamaki looked away. The little monster would probably make a mess of candy all over his couch. He would prefer not to witness it.
Then he felt something poke him in the lower arm. He turned back to Culumon, "...Hm?"
"Want some?" Culumon asked, holding up a candy cane to Yamaki.
Yamaki sighed, taking the candy cane, gently.
"Mr. Yamaki..."
"...What?"
"Merry Christmas!" Culumon smiled and raised his index finger (Well, his equivalent of).
Yamaki sighed, "...Merry Christmas." He raised his index finger.
The End