Naoko: Wowie! The second chapter!

Kuri-chan: It's not like you haven't written any stories before.

Sakura: KURI-CHAN! OVER THERE! points to the left

Kuri-chan: Huh?

Sakura: hits the cat with a mallet

Naoko: . We don't own it!

"Good morning Sempai!" Millie trilled as Meryl walked out of her bedroom in a bathrobe.

"Mmmm" Meryl responded. She walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup.

"Wow, you're up late," Millie observed brightly," and looked at the clock.

Meryl obliged to answer. "I was exhausted last night," she said. "Haven't gotten a good night's sleep since that last case."

"I understand," Millie said. "It's nice that we get a vacation! I wonder what I am going to do..."

"I'm planning on catching up on my reading," Meryl said as she grabbed some cereal and poured herself a bowl.

"I should probably write to my family," Millie said.

Meryl smiled at her. "Year, you should do it now that you have a couple of weeks off."

The two sat in silence as Meryl ate her cereal and Millie contemplated on the contents of her letter.

After Meryl was finished, she washed up her dishes and went to get the morning newspaper, which was delivered to their front door. To her surprise, in addition to the newspaper was a small golden Christmas tree with tiny little ornaments.

"What's this?" Meryl asked out loud, picking up the item gingerly and examining it with suspicion.

Millie popped up behind her. "It looks like one of those little trees you give out to your friends," she said.

Meryl peered closer at the tree and discovered that the ornaments were actually marzipan pears, coated in sugar. Near the bottom branches was a marzipan bird.

"Wow! It's beautiful!" Millie said. "It must have cost a fortune! Marzipan is expensive!"

"Yeah," Meryl said. She wondered if it was a little present from Legato and co. She looked at the doormat and saw a white envelope. She picked it up and opened it and took out a card with the picture of a tree and a bird on it. Inside the card was inscribed "On the first day of Christmas / my true love gave to me / A partridge in a pear tree." At the bottom, in different handwriting, was "I like you for how you are, not for how you look." Meryl sighed. She hoped fervently that it was not from Vash Stampede, but she knew better.

"Sempai, who is it from?" Millie asked as Meryl closed the door and brought the gift in.

"Vash Stampede," Meryl replied, set the tree on the dining room table, and sat down to look at it more closely. In addition to the bird and the pears was an inscription that read "To Meryl, I promise to protect you always."

Meryl sighed heavily. "I don't have time for Mr. Playboy to come into my life. Not that I want him in it anyways," Meryl said.

Millie smiled, amused.

"But you and Wolfwood on the other hand..." Meryl said and winked at Millie.

Millie smiled back. "He's a good friend."

Meryl turned her head to hide a smile.

Millie went back into the kitchen. "I want to go Christmas shopping today," her voice floated out. She came back in with a cup of coffee.

Meryl nodded. "I need to go, also." She gave a small smile. "I need some more clothes, also."

"You should wait until after Christmas to go clothes shopping," Millie said. "You might get some as a present!"

"Ha," Millie said. "Practically everyone gives me books."

Millie just smiled at her and went into the bathroom to shower.

Meryl sat down in a big, comfy chair and pulled the red comforter that was sitting on the nearby couch over her and stared at the little golden tree. 'What was he playing at?' she wondered. She lapsed into a stupor, wondering idly what marzipan actually tasted like. It was too expensive for insurance agents. Meryl hoped, however, that the two of them would be better off after this case. Her mind then wandered to what sort of gifts she should buy for whom until she was broken out of her reverie by Millie.

"I'm done, Sempai," she said. She followed Meryl's still absent gaze to the tiny tree. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

Meryl nodded. "Yes, it is."

"We should have some of the marzipan tonight with dinner."

Meryl nodded again and got up. "Are we going to go shopping together?"

"What would be the point of Christmas shopping if you didn't go alone?" Millie asked. "I'll see you later!" She grabbed her tan trench coat, keys, and waved as she opened the door.

Meryl marched into her room tiredly and opened her closed. She chose a pair of deep blue pants and a black Chinese shirt. She then stopped by her dresser and grabbed underwear and a bra and headed to the shower.

After she was done and heading to get her coat, she paused to look at the tree. On an impulse, she took one of the pears and popped it into her mouth. It was sweet and soft, with an almost smooth texture and an almond taste to it. 'Not too bad,' she thought as she grabbed her black pea coat, white scarf, and slipped on some black, knee-high boots.

She paused to examine herself in the mirror by the doorway before she left, then grabbed her black leather purse on an end table beneath the mirror. She checked her walled in the elevator - $$ 500. She briefly wondered why she was insane enough to carry that amount around and fingered the small derringer that she always kept in her coat pocket. The elevator reached the ground floor and Meryl stepped out and walked out of the apartment complex.

A thick blanket of snow covered everything, and a few people were out. Meryl guessed that most were at work. She paused for a second, considering where to go first, then decided for the toy store. She would get a chess set that her younger sister so desperately wanted. Her family was not very well off, and she knew that her sister would love it. She started walking, listening to the snow crunch under her high-heeled boots. After a fifteen-minute walk, she arrived at the toy store and gladly stepped into its cheerful warmness. There were only a few other people there, a harassed looking mother with two twin boys, who were fighting over a model airplane. The only other customer was a man examining a wooden rockinghorse. He looked up, and to Meryl's discomfort, it was Vash Stampede.

"Hello!" he said. He appeared to be as surprised as Meryl was.

"Hi," Meryl said cautiously.

"Fancy meeting you here," Vash said and picked up the toy horse.

"Yes... well, I'm picking something up for my baby sister, Meryl said.

"Ah. I have a five-year old nephew who has quite the passion for horses," Vash said. "I'm getting him a cowboy outfit, complete with a rocking horse."

Meryl smiled. "Anita wants a chess set." She said.

"Ah, I think I saw some nice ones in the back there," he said and pointed to the back of the shop.

Meryl nodded and smiled at him, hoping that he would leave her alone, but he followed her to the back.

There was a small, glass-paned counter that had several chess sets on display. She kneeled down to examine them. There were about seven in all, ranging from a simple set with chess pieces that differed from each other only by size and color, to a magnificent stone chess board and intricately carved rose and crystal quartz pieces. Meryl stared at the stone pieces; each piece had a different face and expression. However, what really caught her eye was a wooden chess set. It was beautiful: the board itself was different shades of cherry wood, and the pieces were simple but beautifully carved. Meryl smiled; she knew that her sister would love it. She looked at the price, and her stomach dropped when she read it: $$299. It was pricey, but she decided to get it anyways.

Meryl stood up and looked around for a cashier to pay for it. To her dismay, she and Vash were the only ones in the back of the store.

Vash smiled down at her. "Did you choose one?"

Meryl stared at Vash before replying. "Yes, the wooden one." She stepped away and headed out to the front of the store.

Vash followed her.

'I should probably thank him for that tree... but, if I do, he might send me some more,' Meryl thought.

As the woman with the twin boys was leaving, Meryl finally found a cashier.

"Excuse me," she said and tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" the man asked as he turned to look at her.

"I'd like to buy one of your chess sets," Meryl replied.

The man walked to the back of the store. "All right," he said. He walked behind the counter.

Meryl followed him, and to her annoyance, Vash followed her. 'This is getting on my nerves,' she thought. After she paid for the set, the cashier went to the back to wrap it.

Meryl turned to Vash. "Have a lot of shopping to do?" she asked. She was trying to be polite, though she wished that he would get the hint and leave.

"Not really, actually. I don't have many family members to send gifts to," he replied. "What about you?"

"Hm..." Meryl said. "There's my mother, my father, my baby sister, my brother, my sister-in-law, Millie, my niece and nephew, and my only living aunt."

"Wow, that's quite the list," Vash replied.

Meryl blinked and looked away. 'Why did I just tell him that?' she asked herself.

The cashier returned and handed the neatly wrapped box to Meryl.

She thanked him and said her goodbye to Vash, who had yet to pay for the rocking horse.

She walked out of the shop and continued down the street, looking at all the small shops. After a few minutes, it began to snow lightly, and on a whim, Meryl stuck her arms out and looked up into the sky, her mouth open to catch some snowflakes.

After standing there for a few minutes, she continued on her way with a renewed spirit. She stepped into a music store and began filling through the CDs, looking for ones her niece and nephew might like.

After flipping through the popular music section for ten minutes, Meryl headed to the cash register, two CDs in hand. She sighed as the cashier rang them up. She was never sure about what type of music her niece and nephew really enjoyed because their tastes always changed, depending on what their mother liked at the time. Meryl smiled slightly. Both of her brother's children were so fond of their mother. As she took the plastic bag handed to her, she mused that she could always send the receipt with the gifts so that they could return the CDs if they did not like the music choice. Meryl grinned as she left the shop. Money was also a good remedy.

Meryl checked her mental list as she stood on the sidewalk. She still had to get something for her brother, his wife, her aunt, Millie, and her parents. Meryl knew her mother loved anything green and growing, so she headed off downtown to a nursery to look for an interesting plant.

The path to the nursery went by her apartment, so Meryl decided to stop off there and drop off her bags and check for wrapping paper. She walked slowly, enjoying the sight of people hurrying around, going to meetings, luncheons, and Christmas shopping. When she arrived at the apartment complex, she ran into Millie.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sempai!" Millie said and covered her eyes. "I shouldn't be seeing this!"

Meryl chuckled. "Relax, Millie, nothing in here is for you."

"You might be saying that so I am not suspicious so I can think it's not for me but it really is, and then I won't be surprised on Christmas!" Millie responded.

"Suit yourself," Meryl said. "I'll hide these so you don't have to worry."

"Alright," Millie said and peeked out from between her fingers. "We ran out of wrapping paper, so I was going to go out and get some more."

Meryl nodded. "Right. What time are you going to come back?"

"Oh... late," Millie said. "I have to take something to the post office and then continue my shopping. I only got one thing."

Meryl gave a small laugh. "Alright. I can drop that thing at the post office for you, to save you some time."

"Oh, that's alright," Millie said quickly. "I don't mind."

"Alright..." Meryl said. "I'll see you later.

"Right," Millie said brightly.

The two parted ways and Meryl went up to the apartment and entered. "I wonder what Millie is trying to send..." Meryl said. She looked at her bags and rolled her eyes. "I guess I'd better hide these things."

She walked to her room and slid the bags under carefully as to not damage the chessboard or break the jewel cases of the CDs.

After she left the apartment building she slowly wandered down the street. "What should I get Millie this year?" she asked herself quietly. She did not pay attention to where she was going and bumped into someone walking out of a store.

"I'm sorry," Meryl said quickly and looked up to see whom she had run into. Her eyes widened.

"Oh, hello again," Vash said and smiled.

"Hi," Meryl said and looked around for a possible escape route.

"Are you alright, Meryl?" Vash asked.

"Yes, but I have to get going," she replied.

"Alright. Good luck with your shopping!" Vash said and walked away with a wave.

Trying not to feel bad about the way she was treating him, Meryl let out a long sigh and started walking again. 'At least he didn't try to escort me to the next shop,' she thought. 'I would have killed him if he did...' she laughed, amused by her own thoughts. She then groaned. 'I'm acting like a schoolgirl,' she thought. 'Oh well. If I don't ever acknowledge that I received his gifts, he will leave me alone eventually.'

As if to accentuate her thoughts, Meryl started to pay attention to the shops she passed. When she approached a stationary shop, she paused. Millie absolutely loved writing letters to her family, and a nice stationary set would be a wonderful present. Meryl entered the shop and looked around. It was the first time she had ever been in one, and everything was slightly fascinating. There were shelves of different types of paper in varying sizes. Most types had matching envelopes. Meryl gave a faint smile. None of these would work; not even for one letter. There weren't enough sheets in one set.

Meryl walked to the desk in the middle of the shop, where a wizened old lady was typing meticulously at a typewriter. "Excuse me," she said.

The old lady looked up and gave a wrinkled smile. "Can I help you dear?" she asked.

Meryl nodded. "I'd like to know if I can get some custom made stationary?"

The old lady blinked. "Of course," she said. "There are some books in the back with different sized paper, styles, and decorations." She pointed in the direction of the station. "Pick out what you want and write down the code on the pad of paper back there, and bring it up here. I can make it up for you as soon as you are ready."

Meryl nodded and smiled faintly and walked to the station. It was a large desk, neatly organized. On the right was a large book with different images, the left several examples of paper size, and in the center, a book on what type of colored paper she could choose. After about a half an hour, she had put together what she wanted. She chose the largest paper size; fifteen by eleven inches. The color was to be coffee colored, with little pictures of food around the edges; pudding, apples, bananas, muffins, cookies, and cakes. After thinking for a while longer, she put the quantity she wanted on the paper: 1500 sheets. She checked the "no" box for envelopes, knowing the manila envelopes would be cheaper.

Meryl tore her piece of paper off the notepad and walked to the front and handed it to the woman.

"Oh, my," was all she said before she walked to the back.

Meryl smiled as she watched the woman's retreating back. Knowing it would take a while, she walked over to the pen station to choose one to complete her gift. After looking at al the various types, ranging from elaborate feather quills to simple wooden pencils, she chose a fountain pen. It was simple and had only a black cartridge, but she knew that Millie would like it more than a large, purple ostrich feather quill. She went back to the counter, but the old woman was not back yet, so she set the pen on the surface and went to look at some of the stationary.

A little while later, Meryl's stomach rumbled. She pulled out her watch and looked at it. To her surprise, she realized it was 2:30. "Wow," she said to herself. "I lost track of time." She looked back to the counter and saw the old lady returning, so she walked over.

"Are you getting this too, dear?" the lady asked and picked up the pen.

Meryl nodded.

The lady put a large box on the counter and placed the pen on top of it and typed into the cash register. "You know, you aren't the only one this week with odd stationary orders. Early this morning, a nice young man came in and ordered twelve different cards, each with a different lyric to that Christmas song... what is it called again?"

Meryl was struck first with amazement, then humor, then dismay. So, he was going to send more gifts to her. "The twelve days of Christmas?" she volunteered.

"Oh, yes, that's it," the old lady wrinkled her face in thought, then put the pen in a small golden box. "He said it was to court a lady. It sounds like a wonderful present to me. $$ 75 dollars, if you please."

"Yes..." Meryl said. She handed over the money and contemplated Vash and his presents. She might think that too if it was not Vash that was sending the presents, and the lady was not her.

The lady slipped the two boxes into a large plastic bag. "Have a wonderful day, dear," she said.

Meryl stepped out of the shop and looked at the sky. It had gotten noticeably darker and the amount of snow dropping from the sky was increasing. She smiled and watched the flakes fall from the sky; an almost hypnotic sight. Tonight was going to be a wonderful chance to curl up in her bed with something to read and something to snack on. Popcorn sounded good. She could even forget Vash and his silly gifts that night. Meryl started to walk to her apartment with a sigh. She didn't know why that man bothered her so much.

Meryl arrived at her apartment with no mishaps. Millie was not back yet, so Meryl pushed the newest edition to her collection under the bed and pulled off her shoes and coat. After stretching for a minute or two, she walked into the kitchen and opened the snack cupboard. After pushing her way through a mound of pudding cups, she pulled out a bag of microwavable popcorn and heated it up. She then poured the buttery popcorn into a large plastic bowl and carried it to her room. After positioning herself comfortably on her bed, she picked up her copy of Guilty Pleasures # and started to read.

After about an hour, Meryl fell asleep.

When Millie came home, she found Meryl curled around a half-empty bowl of popcorn and a book next to her.

"Oh, Sempai," she said quietly and put the book on the nightstand next to her bed and took the bowl away. "You're lonely and you don't even know it."

# It's not what it seems, really. It's an awesome vampire book by Laurel K. Hamilton. And, the book is named after a strip club. But, that's not where it's based. A vampire owns it. A really, really awesome vampire. He's named Jean-Claude.

Naoko: ; . ; Poor Meryl!

Sakura: She should marry Vash!

Naoko: I should marry Legato!

Sakura: ..............

Naoko: Heee....