Christmas in Konoha:
A Missing Since Monday Spinoff
Chapter One
A lot of things have happened since we came to Konoha. From facing Gatou to dealing with Orochimaru's Mama's Boy, Kabuto. We still haven't figured out what happened to the manga. Now, when I say "we" I'm referring to Kris, Alexis, and myself. Who are we, you say? We're all from one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Central Illinois, USA.
Here, we call it the Richland Bottoms. The "Bottoms" for short. People there who like to pretend that they mean something to world of gangsters have given it the pet name "The White Ghetto." In my opinion, the Bottoms basically means the homes for "white trash". Yes, I've lived there and have no problem with calling myself "white trash", considering the poverty level and the selling/usage of illegal substances.
So, just to explain to those who don't understand what happened to the three of us, we basically were goofing around in some newly opened Magic Shoppe near Wendy's(a place where one of our former friends work) and got zapped into the world of Naruto. And if we ever go near a cursed box again, you don't have to tell us twice not to mess with it.
Now that I'm finished reminiscing about our old home, let's talk about our new one! We live in a nice two story house right next to Uzumaki Naruto. Yes, the one and only Naruto. Kristopher lives with him while Alexis and I are stuck together in this house. As nice as it is, it frequently needs repairs thanks to Mr. Ebisu who just happens to work and has direct contact with Hokage the Third on a daily basis.
From out on the street you can walk into the house, finding yourself in a room that we use as a hall. To your direct right, there's the staircase and from the left of it is door that leads into another room. Directly ahead of you is the doorway into the kitchen. To your left, you can find a door that leads to our downstairs bathroom. If you'd walk ahead and go through the door next to the staircase you'd find our living room. There isn't much here except for a western loveseat and two chairs. There's a coffee table and small entertainment center. We don't have much for the television so it's set on the floor and used for a lamp stand.
Alexis and I listen to the radio a lot so our brains won't be rotted by watching the television. It wouldn't matter anyway. Konoha only has two television stations anyway. One is run somewhere near Hokage's place and the other is a foreign station that doesn't come in that well.
To the right there is a doorway leading out to a small patio and to the left is another set of glass doors, leading into the guest room. It isn't used much so everything in there is covered with sheets as to not allow anything to get dusty.
If one were to enter the kitchen they would find a large wooden table that would be able to seat at least eight people. The left side of the room is the kitchen area. There isn't much to see there except for a sink, stove and refrigerator all stuffed into a corner. Above the sink is the window and above each set of counter space are cabinets.
Upstairs is a small hallway that leads to a dead end with rooms on each side. The first door to the right leads to a storage closet, while the next leads to my room. On the left is the room to Alexis' room and the second door leads to a bathroom. How we could afford a house with two bathrooms is still beyond me. Ebisu still hasn't told me the price of our house.
Currently, no one is occupying the house because we're all at Hokage's. Alexis and I were just finishing cooking while Kris and Naruto were teaching Konohamaru how to set a table. The table was an eastern style so we'd all have to sit on the floor instead of chairs.
I put on my mittens and pulled the turkey out of the oven. It was steaming so much I had to take one off and wave it over the bird. After putting the glove back on I tried to lift it. I sighed and tried again. It was too heavy for me. I looked at Alexis and she just shrugged and looked away from me, stirring the pasta salad. Okay, so she wasn't about to help me. When was she ever willing to help when it required effort?
I took off the mittens and threw them on the counter. Another pair of hands snatched them up and put them on. I looked from the mittens up to the owner's face. I smiled. It was Ebisu to the rescue again. I backed away and allowed him to take the tan bird out of the oven. While he was walking out of the kitchen area, I went ahead and helped Alexis with other preparations.
We walked into the dining room in a straight line. Ebisu sat the turkey on the table while Alexis and I followed close behind with trays of different delicacies. I had carried the dressing while she took the pasta. It was like her to carry the lightest. That was okay though, I suppose. She was the second youngest, considering Konohamaru, so why not let her do the least work?
I pushed up my glasses that were being fogged by the steam of the hot food I was carrying. The metal of the trays clanked against the wooden table as they were set down. We all walked back into the kitchen and carried what was left in.
When we were all finished, Alexis and I stretched out the table cloth from under the pans. Now that everything was straight, it would be safe enough to invite Ojiji-san in to eat. He was probably finishing up last minute paperwork. Konohamaru sat on the right side of the head of the table, while Kris, Naruto, and Alexis sat in a row across from him. The girl got comfortable by sitting on the pillow that was placed in her seat. She straightened out her legs under the table and relaxed, smiling at all of us. Still, she was adjusting to Japanese etiquette.
Ebisu and I nodded to them all and walked out of the room. He shut the door behind us as we started to walk down the hall. I sighed in relief and brushed at my clothes. With catching up with me, he took off his pink, frilly apron. I smiled, just watching him. It looked funny over his black uniform and totally out of place for a ninja.
"So what are we celebrating again, Ashurii-san?" He asked, adjusting his sunglasses as he always did. Did I really have to re-explain it?
"Today is the last Thursday of the month, is it not?" I asked, pulling my glasses off and cleaning them with my shirt. Our strides copied the other side by side.
"Yes, Yes it is. What about it, though?" He still appeared confused. I stopped infront of a door on our left side and turned around to him. I leaned my back against the door and held onto the handle.
"Where we come from," I explained, "This is a day of gratefulness. A day to give thanks, also known as Thanksgiving."
"We also have a day of appreciation, but why celebrate now?" He still didn't get it.
"Because there is a legend behind our day of appreciation." I said, knowing that it was actually a day of U.S. history, but I didn't want to go into it. If I told them anything about our history, he'd question even more and eventually we'll have to tell him everything. I didn't want that to happen.
I turned back around and turned the doorknob.
"Wait," he said, causing me to stop. "What about the legend? Aren't you going to tell me?"
"I'll tell you and everyone else over dinner." I turned my head back to the door and opened it slowly, peering in. He stood behind me, his head above mine.
"Hokage-sama?" I whispered, looking around. He was sitting at his desk, shuffling papers. When the stack was straight he set it in one pile and rolled up the last scroll.
"Yes?" He asked slowly gazing toward the door.
"E..Ebisu-san and I have a surprise for you." I fully opened the door, walking in with Ebisu still behind. As we entered the Hokage gave us a questioning look. Though not othe kind of look that was seeking surprises, just a questioning one that would be expecting anything. "If you're done with your work, we'd like to take you there."
The Hokage nodded and got up from his seat. Ebisu quickly hid the pink apron behind his back. The old man walked toward us and looked us back and forth.
"Well?"
"Er!" Ebisu turned around and led our way out. We were soon seated at the table. Hokage still couldn't understand why we were having such a feast and why Naruto and our family were there. It was strange that Konohamaru was so quiet as well.
Ojiji-san looked at me, wanting an explaination. And that, was what I was going to give him.
"Where we come from," When I said 'we' I was referring to Kris, Alexis and myself, "Today is a day of appreciation."
"We have a day of appreciation as well," Hokage pointed out, "So what makes yours so different?"
"Well, for one, we celebrate with a feast." I continued.
"And the feast represents?"
"It represents a day of legend in our country." Kris and Alexis gave me strange looks. They didn't understand why I was explaining it as a myth rather than history. Hokage relaxed in his seat as Ebisu scooted closer to me. I suppose he wanted to hear me better, but whatever. "The legend says that a long time ago when our country was being founded by the white man, many a tribe of copper lived there. They fought long and hard over a place to live and the white man didn't know how to care for themselves during the winter. Never before had they experienced such harsh coldness. Nor did they know how to cultivate the land to store food when the land died for a season."
They all leaned a little closer, very interested in my story.
"So one day someone decided to use their common sense and ask for help. But this was after several people of the white man died. Instead of forcing themselves onto the tribes of copper, they decided to listen. Then they understood that they were intruding on copper land. So, together they all worked long and hard until the harvest at the end of the summer. As you can see, it is the end of summer now. It is this time of the year that we celebrate the temporary peace that was kept between the white and copper man."
"What do you mean, 'temporary peace', Ashurii-san?" Ebisu questioned.
"Well, this all happened before there was once again chaos and confusion. So the white man took military force against the copper tribes and stole their land, raped their women, and converted the heathens." They all looked at me funny when I mentioned the word 'heathen'. "So let's eat before they decide to Christianize this holiday too!"
Alexis, the Christian, glared. Kris couldn't help but laugh at my crude, religious joke. After the tension settled down, they all nodded, acknowledging the story.
"Ashley, you forgot to tell them it's also known as a family holiday."
"Neh, neh, a bunch of relatives slash friends slash people get together to celebrate this holiday by killing innocent turkeys and eating like gluttons." I said really fast, getting weird looks from the three others. "The end. Now let's eat! I'm hungry!" I whined.
"Neh, neh, my behind!" Alexis growled, "Do you have a biased view of the white man because you're of the copper tribes?"
"Yeah, Ashley, you do sound kind of biased when you talk about it."
Konohamaru leaned into the table and gave me stern glance. He looked as though he were heavily concentrating.
"Oi, Ashurii-nee-san! You are darker than Kurisu and Arekusisu-chan." I couldn't help but blush. "Are you really copper?"
"Well, if you want the truth.." I sounded a little nervous talking about it. Bringing up more about our history than needed may cause a few gaps in my storytelling. And where there are gaps, there are questions. "I'm a mix of both."
Konohamaru looked rather surprised.
"Yes, I'm a mix of both copper and white." I held up my finger. With taking it down I picked up my chopsticks and broke them in half. My stomach growled loudly as they all just sat.
"Well, whaddya waiting for? Dig in!" My friends smiled and started to eat without question.