Title: 12 Days of Christmas
By: Queen Beryl
It's already a little after the Christmas season, but I've gotta finish something, right? I hope you like it! Please RR! Oh, and I realize what the reviewers were referring to. This is a different dousing pendant. It's nothing special or whatever, but I sorta made it like Hitomi got used to wearing her old one so she got another one. I hope that clarifies things for the readers. I'll also explain it in the first couple paragraphs.... Sorry to confuse you all! ^^;
@---^---
Chapter 2: Day Two
Morning came quite too early for Bdelle. She had stayed up half the night thinking about Hitomi's reaction to the gift. Hitomi had sat there dumbfounded, her eyes wide. She fingered the pendant lovingly, as if it were a great treasure. When Bdelle asked about it's importance, Hitomi smiled as if remembering days gone by.
"This was the original pendant. I gave it to someone very special when I left him." Hitomi had confirmed.
"So that one around your neck is...?"
"Just another one I bought a little while later. It made me feel better."
"Oh, I see. Well, maybe... I mean, this pendant is the one _I_ left behind. I wonder what it could mean." Bdelle stated thoughtfully.
"Where, exactly, did you leave it behind?" Hitomi asked with greath enthusiasm.
"Just behind, okay?" Bdelle really didn't want to divulge the location.
"Well, I've gotta go home anyway..." Hitmoi said after a long pause in conversation. She grasped the pendant, bowed, and left in a sort of daze.
Bdelle rubbed her eyes, still not fully awake the next morning. She sat up slowly and looked around her as if she was missing something. She stood and put on her pendant.
"I should see if Hitomi is doing okay after school." Bdelle decided as she stretched and got ready for school. All of Bdelle's classes seemed to drag on and on. She didn't learn anything that day, that's for sure. She ran home to set her book bag down, having already decided to go to the arcade to find Hitomi. She entered the house and-
"Bdelle? Is that you dear?" Her grandmother called.
"Yes," Bdelle replied, slipping off her shoes and dragging her bag toward her room.
"There's someone here to see you, dear." Bdelle stopped short. Leaving her bag in the hallway she walked into the living room, hoping to find Hitomi. Instead, a young man of about her age, sixteen, stood by a table. He turned as Bdelle walked in. His deep maroon eyes were the first thing that Bdelle noticed. He was quite handsome, really, his black hair was long, which only made him more mysterious. He smiled hesitantly.
"May I help you?" Bdelle inquired politely. She wondered who he was and why he was here.
"I've come to deliver a package." He replied, his voice deep and soothing. Bdelle's face fell.
"Oh, well, thank you."
"Here you go." He handed her a large brown box with no labels or anything on it. Bdelle accepted it and looked over it.
"There isn't any address labels or anything."
"I know. Do me a favor, okay? If you see Hitomi today, don't tell her I was here." The mysterious stranger smiled.
"H-Hitomi?" Bdelle thought for a moment. "Who are you?" The boy hesitated slightly.
"A friend." He nodded and walked past her toward the door and left. Bdelle stood there, unmarked package in hand, her head spinning.
"What was _that_ about?" She asked herself aloud. Something strange was going on, but Bdelle didn't know what. That fact made her even more confused. She sat there, dazed for a moment, when there was a knock at the front door.
"Could you get that, dear? I'm covered in cooking."
"Coming!" Bdelle stood up slowly and went to the door. Hitomi stood there, all bundled up. "Hitomi!"
"Bdelle," Hitomi nodded and stepped inside.
"There's another package." Bdelle stated when Hitomi had taken off her shoes and scarf. "I think that this year it's something different. I'm not all too excited about receiving the gifts this year."
"Maybe because we're both getting them and it's odd." Hitomi offered.
"Yeah... sure. That's probably it." Bdelle said noncommittally. "The gift is in here. I haven't opened it yet."
"Great, so we'll both be surprised at the same time and try to figure out who it's from." Hitomi stated half-sarcastically. They entered the living room, and Hitomi started to open the box. Luckily for Bdelle, she hadn't noticed that there were no mailing labels. That got the awkward questions out of the way... for now. Hitomi sat back when she was done ripping open the box. It was again filled with the packing peanuts. Bdelle briefly wondered why they were inside when that unknown boy handed the package to her.
"Well, do you want to finish or shall I?" Hitomi asked, clearly hesitating with anticipation.
"I'll do it. We'll start alternating, okay? You got the first day, I get today, you get tomorrow, and so on. Sound okay?" Bdelle smiled.
"Sure. Hurry, I wanna see what i-"
"Ah, Hitomi, you're back. Are you two girls having a good time?" Bdelle's grandmother entered the living room though a small door that joined the kitchen to it. The older woman's brown eyes sparkled, as if she knew something that neither of them did. Bdelle noticed this and was about to comment on it, but Hitomi spoke.
"Yes, thank you, Obaasan." Hitomi smiled. "How are you?"
"Old, but that's expected, isn't it?" Obaasan laughed and nodded. "Well, I'll leave you two to... do whatever you were doing before I bothered you."
"You're no bother, Obaasan, and you know it." Bdelle laughed.
"That makes me feel better." The aged woman replied as she walked back into the kitchen. Hitomi opened her mouth to say something when Bdelle's grandmother walked back into the room.
"I almost forgot," she smiled, "would you like to stay for dinner, Hitomi?"
"I'll have to ask my mom, but I'd love to."
"Good, good. It's been a while since we've had company, eh, Bdelle?" The older woman winked. Bdelle froze and nodded stiffly as her grandmother left for the second time.
"Well, let's open it before anything else happens." Hitomi said the moment the third party was gone. Bdelle reached for the box when there was a knock at the door.
"Now what?" Bdelle turned irritably away from the gift. Hitomi sighed.
"Get that for me, Bdelle?" Her grandmother called from the other room.
"Yes." Bdelle replied and both she and Hitomi got up to see who it was.
"May I help you?" Bdelle asked, opening the door.
"We lost our frisbee on your roof." The little boy replied timidly.
"Come in, and I'll get it for you." Bdelle smiled and let the little boy in. She ran upstairs and opened the balcony window. She climbed up the thin ladder that was attached to the side of the house and pulled herself up onto the roof. She quickly found the frisbee and got back down as fast as she could. Hitomi was talking to the little boy when she walked back in.
"... don't know. It should be coming out right after Christmas." Hitomi replied.
"Okay, I'll check- oh, thank you." The boy grabbed his frisbee, bowed, and ran out the door.
"You're welcome." Bdelle said to the empty doorway. She shut the door, completely frozen because she forgot to put shoes or anything warm on when she climbed on the roof.
"Maybe we should start a fire or something?" Hitomi asked, nodding at Bdelle's bright pink feet and hands.
"I'll just put socks on." Hitomi ran to her room, tripping over her bag that was still in the hallway, and put on some wool socks that she never wore unless it was _really_ cold. She raced back into the living room, tripping on the bag again, and knelt next to Hitomi.
"Now we'll open it. And I don't care if all the frisbees in the world get stuck on your roof, we're opening it now." Hitomi leaned forward as Bdelle grabbed handfulls of packing peanuts. She picked up the gifts and handed one to Hitomi.
"I don't understand, exactly." Bdelle stated, turning the little rectangular box in her hand. "Why would you get tarot cards?"
"Why would _you_?" Hitomi countered, rubbing her thumb over the deck. "I used to do tarot card readings for a lot of my friends. I stopped after I got back- I mean, I just stopped."
"Well, believe it or not, before I moved to America I used to do readings as well. I stopped when I moved there because... well, I just did."
"It seems we're both being too mysterious to help at all. Okay, so we both stopped tarot readings. Why would we get cards now?" Hitomi pondered.
"I don't know. I'm just as confused as you are." Bdelle thought about that boy that showed up out of the blue and wondered how he was in relation with Hitomi. Was it her brother? Was he really just a friend? Maybe he was her cousin or something. Bdelle wanted to ask Hitomi desperately, but decided she should obey the stranger's wishes. Perhaps he had a really good reason not to be known to Hitomi. Maybe he was one of the players in this twelve days of Christmas game that was going on. Maybe-
"Bdelle, Hitomi!" Obaasan called, peering into the room. "Dinne- what is this mess?"
"Packing peanuts," Hitomi and Bdelle said together. Obaasan raised an eyebrow.
"Well, they don't belong all over my floor," she hinted.
"We'll clean it up, Grandmother." Bdelle smiled.
"Oh, you. You two can clean it up after dinner. Come and eat."
"On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, one deck of cards just for me." Bdelle sand under her breath as she and Hitomi went to eat dinner of rice, onion soup, and chicken.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Thanks to The lady winged Knight. S and Angel Of Kage for the review and attention to detail! ^_^
By: Queen Beryl
It's already a little after the Christmas season, but I've gotta finish something, right? I hope you like it! Please RR! Oh, and I realize what the reviewers were referring to. This is a different dousing pendant. It's nothing special or whatever, but I sorta made it like Hitomi got used to wearing her old one so she got another one. I hope that clarifies things for the readers. I'll also explain it in the first couple paragraphs.... Sorry to confuse you all! ^^;
@---^---
Chapter 2: Day Two
Morning came quite too early for Bdelle. She had stayed up half the night thinking about Hitomi's reaction to the gift. Hitomi had sat there dumbfounded, her eyes wide. She fingered the pendant lovingly, as if it were a great treasure. When Bdelle asked about it's importance, Hitomi smiled as if remembering days gone by.
"This was the original pendant. I gave it to someone very special when I left him." Hitomi had confirmed.
"So that one around your neck is...?"
"Just another one I bought a little while later. It made me feel better."
"Oh, I see. Well, maybe... I mean, this pendant is the one _I_ left behind. I wonder what it could mean." Bdelle stated thoughtfully.
"Where, exactly, did you leave it behind?" Hitomi asked with greath enthusiasm.
"Just behind, okay?" Bdelle really didn't want to divulge the location.
"Well, I've gotta go home anyway..." Hitmoi said after a long pause in conversation. She grasped the pendant, bowed, and left in a sort of daze.
Bdelle rubbed her eyes, still not fully awake the next morning. She sat up slowly and looked around her as if she was missing something. She stood and put on her pendant.
"I should see if Hitomi is doing okay after school." Bdelle decided as she stretched and got ready for school. All of Bdelle's classes seemed to drag on and on. She didn't learn anything that day, that's for sure. She ran home to set her book bag down, having already decided to go to the arcade to find Hitomi. She entered the house and-
"Bdelle? Is that you dear?" Her grandmother called.
"Yes," Bdelle replied, slipping off her shoes and dragging her bag toward her room.
"There's someone here to see you, dear." Bdelle stopped short. Leaving her bag in the hallway she walked into the living room, hoping to find Hitomi. Instead, a young man of about her age, sixteen, stood by a table. He turned as Bdelle walked in. His deep maroon eyes were the first thing that Bdelle noticed. He was quite handsome, really, his black hair was long, which only made him more mysterious. He smiled hesitantly.
"May I help you?" Bdelle inquired politely. She wondered who he was and why he was here.
"I've come to deliver a package." He replied, his voice deep and soothing. Bdelle's face fell.
"Oh, well, thank you."
"Here you go." He handed her a large brown box with no labels or anything on it. Bdelle accepted it and looked over it.
"There isn't any address labels or anything."
"I know. Do me a favor, okay? If you see Hitomi today, don't tell her I was here." The mysterious stranger smiled.
"H-Hitomi?" Bdelle thought for a moment. "Who are you?" The boy hesitated slightly.
"A friend." He nodded and walked past her toward the door and left. Bdelle stood there, unmarked package in hand, her head spinning.
"What was _that_ about?" She asked herself aloud. Something strange was going on, but Bdelle didn't know what. That fact made her even more confused. She sat there, dazed for a moment, when there was a knock at the front door.
"Could you get that, dear? I'm covered in cooking."
"Coming!" Bdelle stood up slowly and went to the door. Hitomi stood there, all bundled up. "Hitomi!"
"Bdelle," Hitomi nodded and stepped inside.
"There's another package." Bdelle stated when Hitomi had taken off her shoes and scarf. "I think that this year it's something different. I'm not all too excited about receiving the gifts this year."
"Maybe because we're both getting them and it's odd." Hitomi offered.
"Yeah... sure. That's probably it." Bdelle said noncommittally. "The gift is in here. I haven't opened it yet."
"Great, so we'll both be surprised at the same time and try to figure out who it's from." Hitomi stated half-sarcastically. They entered the living room, and Hitomi started to open the box. Luckily for Bdelle, she hadn't noticed that there were no mailing labels. That got the awkward questions out of the way... for now. Hitomi sat back when she was done ripping open the box. It was again filled with the packing peanuts. Bdelle briefly wondered why they were inside when that unknown boy handed the package to her.
"Well, do you want to finish or shall I?" Hitomi asked, clearly hesitating with anticipation.
"I'll do it. We'll start alternating, okay? You got the first day, I get today, you get tomorrow, and so on. Sound okay?" Bdelle smiled.
"Sure. Hurry, I wanna see what i-"
"Ah, Hitomi, you're back. Are you two girls having a good time?" Bdelle's grandmother entered the living room though a small door that joined the kitchen to it. The older woman's brown eyes sparkled, as if she knew something that neither of them did. Bdelle noticed this and was about to comment on it, but Hitomi spoke.
"Yes, thank you, Obaasan." Hitomi smiled. "How are you?"
"Old, but that's expected, isn't it?" Obaasan laughed and nodded. "Well, I'll leave you two to... do whatever you were doing before I bothered you."
"You're no bother, Obaasan, and you know it." Bdelle laughed.
"That makes me feel better." The aged woman replied as she walked back into the kitchen. Hitomi opened her mouth to say something when Bdelle's grandmother walked back into the room.
"I almost forgot," she smiled, "would you like to stay for dinner, Hitomi?"
"I'll have to ask my mom, but I'd love to."
"Good, good. It's been a while since we've had company, eh, Bdelle?" The older woman winked. Bdelle froze and nodded stiffly as her grandmother left for the second time.
"Well, let's open it before anything else happens." Hitomi said the moment the third party was gone. Bdelle reached for the box when there was a knock at the door.
"Now what?" Bdelle turned irritably away from the gift. Hitomi sighed.
"Get that for me, Bdelle?" Her grandmother called from the other room.
"Yes." Bdelle replied and both she and Hitomi got up to see who it was.
"May I help you?" Bdelle asked, opening the door.
"We lost our frisbee on your roof." The little boy replied timidly.
"Come in, and I'll get it for you." Bdelle smiled and let the little boy in. She ran upstairs and opened the balcony window. She climbed up the thin ladder that was attached to the side of the house and pulled herself up onto the roof. She quickly found the frisbee and got back down as fast as she could. Hitomi was talking to the little boy when she walked back in.
"... don't know. It should be coming out right after Christmas." Hitomi replied.
"Okay, I'll check- oh, thank you." The boy grabbed his frisbee, bowed, and ran out the door.
"You're welcome." Bdelle said to the empty doorway. She shut the door, completely frozen because she forgot to put shoes or anything warm on when she climbed on the roof.
"Maybe we should start a fire or something?" Hitomi asked, nodding at Bdelle's bright pink feet and hands.
"I'll just put socks on." Hitomi ran to her room, tripping over her bag that was still in the hallway, and put on some wool socks that she never wore unless it was _really_ cold. She raced back into the living room, tripping on the bag again, and knelt next to Hitomi.
"Now we'll open it. And I don't care if all the frisbees in the world get stuck on your roof, we're opening it now." Hitomi leaned forward as Bdelle grabbed handfulls of packing peanuts. She picked up the gifts and handed one to Hitomi.
"I don't understand, exactly." Bdelle stated, turning the little rectangular box in her hand. "Why would you get tarot cards?"
"Why would _you_?" Hitomi countered, rubbing her thumb over the deck. "I used to do tarot card readings for a lot of my friends. I stopped after I got back- I mean, I just stopped."
"Well, believe it or not, before I moved to America I used to do readings as well. I stopped when I moved there because... well, I just did."
"It seems we're both being too mysterious to help at all. Okay, so we both stopped tarot readings. Why would we get cards now?" Hitomi pondered.
"I don't know. I'm just as confused as you are." Bdelle thought about that boy that showed up out of the blue and wondered how he was in relation with Hitomi. Was it her brother? Was he really just a friend? Maybe he was her cousin or something. Bdelle wanted to ask Hitomi desperately, but decided she should obey the stranger's wishes. Perhaps he had a really good reason not to be known to Hitomi. Maybe he was one of the players in this twelve days of Christmas game that was going on. Maybe-
"Bdelle, Hitomi!" Obaasan called, peering into the room. "Dinne- what is this mess?"
"Packing peanuts," Hitomi and Bdelle said together. Obaasan raised an eyebrow.
"Well, they don't belong all over my floor," she hinted.
"We'll clean it up, Grandmother." Bdelle smiled.
"Oh, you. You two can clean it up after dinner. Come and eat."
"On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, one deck of cards just for me." Bdelle sand under her breath as she and Hitomi went to eat dinner of rice, onion soup, and chicken.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Thanks to The lady winged Knight. S and Angel Of Kage for the review and attention to detail! ^_^
