LW: YEAH BABY! I'm on FIRE! NEW CHAPTER NEW CAHPTER NEW CHAPTER!

Poinsettia: So somehow you've managed to maintain such a cheerful attitude, even though you're technically the grim reaper?

Botan: Yep! I can give you tips for dealing with stubborn lunkheads anytime you want!

Poinsettia: Thanks!

Kaiba: ...

Yusuke: ...

LW: *sings* This chapter won't be nearly as long as the last one, fa-la-la- la-laaaaa, la-la-la-la!

Poinsettia: I still don't understand how you stay so cheerful.

Botan: Simple. Every time I feel a little gloomy after dragging someone down to hell, I just think, at least I'm a life extinguishing shinigami like that guy. *points to Hisoka*

Hisoka: ...

Tsuzuki: Leave Hisoka alone, you meanies!

LW: JOY to the world, it's time to start the chapter, please read, and leave, REVIEWS!!!!!

Everyone: ...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~

Over the sparkling city of domino, two shadows, Poinsettia and Seto Kaiba, soared above unseen to any below. Poinsettia zipped ahead hurriedly, and Kaiba behind reluctantly. Silence remained between the two, until he spoke up.

"Well this is un-natural."

"What? Oh, you mean flying un-aided miles above a city during a snowstorm experiencing past, present and future? I guess it is, but that's life, or in my case, death."

"That's not what I meant. Aren't you supposed to do your little disappearing act to get to wherever you're taking me?"

"I can't this time. That's only for experiencing visions of the past and future, Scroogey. The present is only accessible through the use of invisible flight. It says so in Holiday Haunting for Dummies. It's one of the books that Marley guy gave me."

How fitting." Poinsettia chose not to answer, but Kaiba decided that he'd had enough of the silence.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"You know what I mean."

"Oh, you mean flying un-aided miles above a city during a-"

"That's not what I meant! Why are you doing this to me? When you show me these visions, are you really laughing, enjoying your revenge?"

Poinsettia again didn't answer, and Kaiba didn't try to make her. They both maintained their tense state until finally, Poinsettia, then Kaiba, landed on the snow-covered path before a very well-known shop.

"The Turtle Game shop? Spirit, why have you brought me here? Spirit? Figment of my imagination?"

She had already disappeared into the game shop walls, and Kaiba feeling that he didn't have much of a choice, followed. When he found her inside, her deer-like ears had wiggled as she looked around in rapture. She completely forgot about her job and floated around the room watching everything from Serenity mischievously sneaking up on Mai and Joey with a bough of mistletoe, to Tristan trying to sing Jingle Bell Rock on the karaoke set. She explored around the tree, with its mountain of gifts surrounding its base.

She squealed with delight. "Humans are such strange but at least they know how to have fun." She went back to drifting around the party with Kaiba far behind.

"So," he gloated, "it looks like you're proving my point."

"What point?"

"My point about how the holidays are all about the gifts, the trees, the sparkle, the glimmer, the things that I can do without. I saw the way you eyed those gifts. They're what are keeping everyone in this room happy, and you know it."

"You really think so?"

"Don't you see how it's all just a waste of time? Everyone here spent hours finding gifts, and hundreds buying them. When they exchange them, they'll all 'ooh' and 'ahh', but after this season's over, they'll end up in a dump somewhere along with the Christmas tree and of all the trimmings." He threw Poinsettia a triumphant smirk. "Understand?"

Poinsettia gave her head a hard shake, causing her ears to flop about. She beckoned for him to join her by Yugi and Tea who were exchanging gifts. Tea pulled the wrapping paper off of Yugi's gift to her, revealing a tiny glass music box, with a little ballerina perched on its top. "Yugi," she breathed in surprise, "thank you, it's beautiful!"

"Well, since you like to dance, I thought it would be nice if I gave you a- ah- "

Yugi was interrupted as Tea pulled him into a hug, causing him to blush un- controllably. Kaiba still remained skeptical. "What was the point of showing me that? That box will most likely just sit on a desk somewhere collecting dust."

"That's not what I wanted you to see. Look at them, look all around you. It's not the lights, or the tree that gives this place its sparkle. What's putting a smile everybody's face is being with the people they love. That's really what makes this season special; it's that everyone finds a way to spend time with his or her loved ones. Understand now?"

"No, because none of this is true. If it were, then how do you explain the way you drifted around this party, grinning at the decor."

Poinsettia wrinkled her nose in confusion. "Oh, you mean, that weird looking shiny stuff they've hung all over the wall?" She pointed to the garland. "Or those boxes wrapped in paper over there? Or that really odd guy making weird noises?" She pointed to Tristan with the karaoke machine.

Kaiba growled, "I hope you're not going to try and push the religious bit of this holiday on me, I've never really put much stock in religion and I don't need a preacher-"

"And you won't have one. I was sort of hoping you could explain this religion business to me. I was a deer before you flattened me, not a human, so I don't really understand what all of that stuff has to do with the holidays. I just like watching all of these people enjoying each other's company. You should too."

They looked again at the party. Yugi was still blushing after his hug from Tea, Bakura was lecturing Grandpa Motou how to make a proper gingerbread cookie, Mai pecked Joey on the cheek, Joey fainted, and Tristan was gazing at Serenity with heart-filled eyes while she sang The Christmas Song. Kaiba, who still remained unaffected muttered, "You have no way of proving that it's each other that's making these idiots happy. You've just bored me into not believing you."

"So," asked Poinsettia sadly, "You still need more proof? Fine then. I'll show you someone here who has no one to share the holidays with, someone who feels very alone right now. You'll see how much he differs from the others."

"And I suppose this 'someone' is supposed to move me into lapping up everything you're telling me."

"It should, or you're even more hopeless than I thought. Look over there!"

She pointed to a corner hidden from the rest of the game shop where the light and luster of the festivities didn't touch. There it was dark and dismal with the exception of a window that let in a streak of light and displayed the quick-falling snow. Against that window leaned a lonely boy of ten years with long black hair, and sad blue-gray eyes. Those eyes of his watched the party in anguish. Every so often, those eyes filled with lonely tears. "It's Mokuba." Kaiba whispered, and then turned away from Poinsettia and his little brother in shock.

"Doesn't it look familiar?" asked Poinsettia. "I think I remember someone promising this boy that he would never feel lonely as long as he was alive. Where is that someone now, Kaiba?" He made no attempt to retort, but kept his back facing her. Poinsettia's anger boiled. "Are you shocked Seto Kaiba? Does it surprise you to find out that you were wrong about the holidays? Face it dear, your cruelty is like old fruitcake, it lasts, and lasts, and lasts..."

"So what you're trying to tell me is that I'm an insensitive person who's even forgotten his own brother?" asked Kaiba bitterly without turning around. Poinsettia nodded and replied, "Yep, that pretty much hits the nail on the head."

"Then get this over with. Show me your last pathetic visions so you can stop tormenting me and I can go back to being the cold, cruel Scrooge that you say I am." His shoulders shook a little, and he kept his eyes squeezed shut. "At least I'll finally be rid of you and your idiotic attempts to change me.

Poinsettia stared at him in confusion. She thought to herself, 'I give up. There's no way I'll ever change this guy no matter what I do. I guess I should just show him the last vision before the last four petals of this flowers fall...that had better not be guilt I'm feeling...' She pulled the book on the past, present and future of her assignment out of her sash and flipped ahead. 'That's strange, this book is supposed to show me Kaiba's Christmas future, yet it only goes one day into the future, and then abruptly ends. Time to be nosy.'

As she read the few remaining pages of the book, the expression on her faced turned from bland to shock, to horror, and then to pain. "No," she whispered sadly, "This can't be right...I don't understand." She dropped the book and distanced herself from it as if it would bite her.

"What's the matter spirit?" Asked Kaiba bitterly, "Can't handle death? I know this story well. The last vision that you will show me is my own death. I'm predicting that you're about to show me how I'm going to die years from now as an old geezer, a lonely corpse with nobody to mourn it. Nobody except one." He cast a shadowy look at his solitary little brother. "I might not have understood how he felt about this whole holiday mess, but I know that he'll still be loyal to me to the end." Poinsettia made a tiny noise between a whimper and a cry. 'I really can't fix this!' Poinsettia mentally screamed. 'Nothing I do can change what happens next, it's already too late!' Sadly she said to him,

"I'm going to show you something like that, but it's not years into the future, it's much closer than you think." She looked at him with large eyes no longer filled with anger or taunting. "I want you to understand that what I'm about to show you is probably irreversible. I'm not sure if I can do much about it."

Kaiba didn't appear to be worried, but he asked himself, 'Am I really going to die so soon?'

Poinsettia, knowing what was to come thought, 'But it gets worse than simply death...so much worse.'

The game shop dissolved.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*End chapter*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lil' Washu: Is Kaiba's going to die soon? How could things get worse than him dying? Is it really irreversible? Can anything be done to change fate?

Miroku, Watari, + Vash: *insanely drunk* I WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD! Keep on holding on your desire! You will get that shining love!

Lil' Washu: By the way, I'm placing a severe angst warning on the next chapter...

Vash: LOVE AND PEACE...AND EGGNOG!

Lil' Washu: Of course everyone here is too drunk to care...

Mokuba: Not everyone! What are you going to do to my big brother?

Kaiba: *brooding* Don't worry Mokuba, if she does anything too serious, there's always the possibility of revenge using that revolver in your closet. Remember that? It was one of your first playthings.

Poinsettia: Waaaah...

Lil' Washu: Ok, I need someone to do a holiday disclaimer. Poinsettia?

Poinsettia: WAAAAAAH!

Lil' Washu: Kaiba?

Kaiba: *glaring*

Yugi: Lil' Washu does not own Yu-Gi-Oh, InuYasha, Trigun, DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, FLCL, Yami no Matsuei, or Change the World by V6. Sue her, and you get coal for Christmas.

Lil' Washu: Thank you Yugi. Don't forget to review!

Miroku, Watari + Vash: Change My Mind Won't get lost if your passion's true I'm gonna fly with you again So you could spread your wings And you will fly with me away It's Wonderland!