Chapter 6 – Wolf at the Door
9:23 pm, 24th December 2198
The return journey took far longer than the initial one, with numerous delays including one which had kept the train stationary for a whole half-hour. Thankfully they'd had seats the whole way this time which had made the trip much more comfortable. Ruri had spent most of the trip asleep on Hari's shoulder while Erina, sitting opposite them, had just sat there silently with her arms contemplatively folded. Hari wasn't sure what she was thinking, but the sporadic conversation they'd had on the way reassured him that she hadn't reverted to her suicidal state just yet.
It was quarter past nine by the time they eventually reached the village. They had disembarked into the cold winter evening and were now heading for home. The wind tore harshly at their bare cheeks and the air was fluffy with falling snow, but they pressed on relentlessly, their coats clutched around them and their eyes squinted against the wintry weather. Despite the conditions it seemed like they were home and dry. At least until Erina suddenly stopped dead, fifty feet from the house.
"Miss Won?" Hari inquired, puzzled.
She shook her head in defiance. "No. I won't go in until they invite me."
"What do you mean?" Hari asked. "We've already invited you."
"I don't mean you," Erina said coldly. "I was talking about them." She motioned at the house with her head to make it clear for him.
"What?" Hari exclaimed. "But you've come all this way! You can't back out now, there's no…"
"Hari, come on," Ruri said, touching his shoulder as she walked past him towards the house. He gasped as she continued on away from them, not even looking back. With a quick apologetic glance to Erina, he ran to catch up with her.
"Hey! Ruri, what are you doing?" he demanded. "We can't let her back out now!"
She answered without looking at him. "Don't worry, she's not going anywhere. This is just a measure to spare her pride further damage. Think of it as a formality."
"I don't get it! What do you mean? Why are you leaving her out here in the snow?"
"Trust me Hari," she stated, not smiling. Before he could answer, she strode up to her front door and yanked it open with a force which told him that he had to, whether he understood it or not. Sighing, he followed her inside deciding to see how this padded out.
Ruri paused in the doorway, scraping the snow off her feet before allowing Hari in to do the same. No sooner had the door closed behind them then they heard Minato's teasing voice from the kitchen.
"Well, it looks as though the princess and her knight have finally returned!"
A second later Yurika lunged out of the kitchen in their direction, her whole body quivering with relief as she darted over to embrace her daughter. "Where have you two been?" she screeched hysterically. "We've been so worried, I was on the verge of sending out a search party you know!"
"I'm sorry Mother," Ruri replied blandly. "But we went to fetch a guest."
"Hmm?" she drew back curiously, normal service instantly restored in her demeanour. "A guest? Who's that Ruri dear?"
"A friend in an enemy who desperately needs our help," Ruri replied cryptically, walking into the kitchen with her mother and Hari in perplexed tow. Everyone was sitting around the table finishing a meal of pasta that Akito had whipped up and every pair of eyes shot in their direction as they entered. Akito and Minato looked at them with relief, Jun and Megumi, with greeting and Yukina and Mikoto with accusation.
"Hiya Ruri!" Megumi chirped cheerfully. "Merry Christmas."
Ruri was as freakishly composed as ever. "Hello Miss Reinard, Mr Aoi. I apologise for my lateness. And Mother, Father, I am sorry for making you worry."
"Ruri, what about the guest you were talking about? I didn't see anyone else with you," Yurika said, shiny eyes bulging as they demanded an answer from her.
The pale girl turned to face her parents. As neutral as her face was, her words were saturated with feeling. "Mother, Father, it is time for some seasonal forgiveness."
"Ruri, you're not making any sense!" Akito exclaimed. "What are you talking about? Who is this person?"
Ruri nonchalantly gestured with her arm. "Take a look out of the kitchen window."
In a frenzy of pushing back chairs, everyone upped and dashed over to see what Ruri wanted to show them. The visibility was poor with all the falling snow but by squinting they could just make out the figure, standing alone in the midst of winter. Akito recognised her first and cried out. "Hey, that's Erina!"
"Erina? Are you sure?!" Yurika yelled incredulously. "My goodness, it is her! Oh Ruri, don't let her freeze out there! Go and bring her in! Akito, put the kettle on, she'll want a cup of tea!"
"Hold the phone! You're inviting Erina in here? Even after all the mean things she's done?" Yukina demanded hotly. The image of her trying to manipulate Akito with knowledge of his parents was clearly still fresh in her mind.
"The Tenkawa Christmas party excludes no-one," Akito announced. "Especially not a lonely woman who turns up on our doorstep on Christmas Eve."
"That's right," said Ruri quietly
Despite having instructing her daughter to do so, Yurika had run to the front door first and flung it wide. "Erina!" she called from the doorway, waving her hand at her. "Erina, come on in!"
The dark figure in the snow turned to regard her and then, with slow dignity, she started towards the house. Her face and eyes were strangely vacant as she came, almost like Ruri's were, Hari noted. As she came up the steps to them, Yurika clasped her shoulder with her left hand and Erina's hand with her right.
"Welcome to our home Erina! Please come on in and warm yourself up!"
"Hello Yurika," Erina replied, flatly and almost inaudibly. "Thank you for welcoming me. I won't trouble you long."
"Nonsense!" chirped Yurika. "You can stay, it's Christmas! We'll set you up with Minato in Ruri's room! Now come on, let's get something hot in you!"
"…okay," Erina said, clearly stunned by this munificent display of hospitality. She stepped over the threshold, out of the cold darkness outside and into the warm welcoming arms of the Tenkawa household. As she crossed into the hall, Hari gave himself a secret fist of triumph.
"She's in! Mission accomplished!"
The raven-haired woman followed a beaming Yurika into the kitchen and was met with a chorus of greeting. "Hi Erina!" everyone said in jolly unison, coming over to welcome her. Minato gave her an affectionate hug, Jun and Megumi shook her hand and even Yukina and Mikoto added their personal greetings, in the form of a 'hi' and a nod. Akito was last up, and took her hand in his own with surprising tenderness.
"Welcome to our Christmas bash Erina!"
"Thank you," Erina replied, seemingly too overwhelmed to say any more. Hari knew that never in her most far-fetched dreams would she had expected a welcome like this. His sharp vision detected an ever so slight shimmer in her brown eyes, betraying the joyful tears amassing there. He smiled at that, altogether very pleased with the way this was turning out.
As the newcomer was being besieged by first greetings, and then Minato's relentless conversation, Yurika sidled over to the two children who had brought her here.
"So that's what you two were doing all this time?" she whispered. "Going all that way to get her?"
"Yes," Ruri replied. "We figured she would be lonely and needed somewhere to spend Christmas. Isn't that right Hari?"
"Ah-huh."
"You did that for her? Oh, you two!" She flung herself at them and caught them both in a hug, one in each arm. "That's so considerate of you! Oh, you're both such wonderful children!" She squeezed them both tightly, with a windpipe-crushing grip. "I'm so proud of you!"
"Er, thank you, Miss Misumaru," Hari stammered, struggling for breath.
"You deserve some credit Mother," Ruri said, speaking into her shoulder. "After all, whatever consideration I have shown today was put there by you."
"Oh Ruri, Ruri!" Yurika kissed lovingly her forehead. "My lovely little girl!"
* * *
She shook hand after hand, received hug after hug. It was unbelievable, this warm reception she'd been given. She'd been nothing but nasty to them throughout the whole Lizards War, and yet here they were, not only taking her in, but happy to do so as well? It delighted and baffled her in equal measure.
"This is the kind of thing Ruri was talking about. If I can learn to show and accept goodness like this, then there is hope for me yet. I can find something worth celebrating Christmas for."
No sooner had the greetings finished than she found a steaming cup of tea and a mince pie thrust into her hands. A seat was put under her and in next to no time she was being questioned about how she was and what she'd been up to. The answers to the questions were painful for the most part, but the questions themselves were bliss. To have people curious about her life and genuinely concerned about her wellbeing was such a heartening feeling and one she hadn't experienced for such a long time. Erina couldn't help but smile and laugh as her confidence soared once again.
"Yes, this is the goodness I am seeking. Starting now, I will change my ways and light candles of my own, to shine forth and obliterate the darkness the surrounds me."
She gave herself a secret smirk. It certainly looked as though this Christmas coming would be far more enjoyable than the one she'd had originally planned.
A/N – Final chapter coming tomorrow!