NOTE: This last part will be a tad brief. If you please. Short and sweet, fun to eat, while reading.

An Azumanga Christmas Carol

Chapter 5

Oh yes, yes, yes! The doll of Chiyo's "Father" was her own. The bedroom was hers, the house was her own. Even the junk strewn on the carpet was hers. And for some off reason, the Sailor Moon episode she watched of her curing Galaxia of her misery in white was in her head from that intervention with the Future spirit.

"I will live in the past and the present and the future!" Yukari repeated, scrambling out of her bed like eggs. "All three will be instilled in me, in the name of god. Oh Mr. Kimura! Praise to you and St. Nicholas and God! I say this on my knees, my Kimura, on my knees!"

She let out shrieks of delight as her face was strewn with big salty tears the boys in California would be proud of. They may have washed her free of her makeup, but have washed her free of her transgressions. She had been crying like a 1-year old child in her meeting with the spirit.

"The bed curtains…they are not torn down, they are still here! They are still here! The shadows, they will be dispelled! They will be! Zettai! Honto! Waha!"

She bounced off the walls, yelling at every corner, screeching like a monkey on steroids, even yelling outside, "ATASHI WA SUPER YUKARI CHRISTMAS ANGEL! FEAR ME! WAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAH!"

"Hey, quiet over there," said a passerby, "you'll upset the neighbors!"

Going to her room, she said, "I don't know what to do know! Wahahah! I am light as air, as merry as a schoolgirl, as giddy as a drunken fool who cheered on his Marinos to win the J-League crown over Urawa! Meeeeriiii Kuriiiisuuumaaasuuu! Ahahahahah! Wahooo! Wahaha! Ukiiiiiiii! Ukiiiiiiiiii! Ukiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" She pointed to an number of things. "There's the door that Kimura's ghost entered! There's where the Ghost of Christmas Present that looked like Osaka sat. There's the TV that flickered like crazy when Kimura entered! It's all true, it all happened! Wahahahaha!"

Honestly, she let out a laugh that a girl who had too much estrogen in her body would be jealous out. Yukari's fire and optimistic spirit was at an all time high. The holy mother of a long line of laughs and fun. A true entertainer. That's what she was when she was with the prodigy, the Osakan girl, the weight watcher, the failure, the jock, and the cat addict who had a spy, and the latter two were a couple. De facto, that was.

"I don't know what day it is! I don't care if it's January, June, September, April, shogatsu, o-bon…it doesn't matter what season, I might as well be a season! It's Yukari time, 24/7/365, I guess! Ahahahahahaaah!"

She turned on the CD player, and played a Chieko Higuchi classic, "Poi Poi Peace." Oddly enough, one of the members from St. George's had this on her cell phone. And oddly enough, in the distance the organ of St. Mary's Cathedral in Sekiguchi was playing the same song. And even more oddly enough, it was just a tune-up for the mass that would begin in an hour.

The sky was blue, the sunlight was bright, and the snowstorm had subsided, though it was still chilly, with a few flakes falling down.

"Excuse me," said Yukari to a girl in orange hair with a red mesh, a sweater, skirt and platforms, holding a handbag, "what day is it today?" Apparently, she was walking over to Shibuya to do some Christmas Day shopping at the 100-yen shop.

"Ha?" she asked with a scowl.

"What's today, young lady?"

"Today? It's Christmas Day," she said, smiling.

"All right, it's Christmas Day! I haven't missed a beat. The Spirits did it in one night, like they should. Yes." Turning to the gal, Yukari said, "Hey, do you know where the nearest KFC is located?"

"Oh yeah. I was just going to eat over there before I did some shopping, ma'am."

"Sweetness. Do you know if they are having a sale on buckets of Original or Extra Tasty Crispy?"
"Two buckets for 1800 yen," returned the gal.

"Awesome. Can you ask if they can send 8 buckets, 4 of each variety, with all the sides they have, large size to this address? Here, let me write it down for you." Writing the address on a piece of paper with the address and lists to buy, she said, "Here you go. And here's 10,000 yen. If there is any change left, it's all yours."

With stars in her eyes, she exclaimed, "Oh thank you so very much! I need whatever I can find, you know."

"You promise to do what I told you, right?"

"Yes, ma'am!" she said with a salute. "Thank you ma'am!"

"Call me Yuka-san," Yukari said.

"Okay…Yuka-san." Off she went to the KFC, to pay for the dinner, and to send it to the address.

"Hee heee, I will send this to Rie Sakaki's," Yukari grinned rather sadistically, with a giggle, "she won't know who sent it. It's big enough to fill a family 3 times over, one for the father, son, and spirit. Oh yes! Ahahahaaah!"

"Hey Ran," a young cashier with spiked hair said to her.

"Hey, Tatsukichi," Ran said.

Tatsuki said, "Anything I can help you with, my Ran-pyon baby?"
"I need you to spot me a free order."

"Huh? Free order?"

She whispered the plan. "…and I can treat you to dinner with Miyu, Aya, Rei, Second Place, and Mamirin, if you let me get this order for free."

"But…I can't do that! Restaurant policy!"

Winking at the manager, who winked back, Ran said, "They know me well. Now go!" She handed the list and the destination to where it would be sent to Tatsuki.

Another idea popped into Yukari's head. "I got it! I'll also ask 109 to give Sakaki's family a lifetime pass to their store. And I will pay for it! Man, am I so rich!" She did, and she gave the address of the receiver to Customer Service.

She then cleaned her room, put all the junk and trash in the wastebasket, and literally cleaned the house so that it looked similar to Nyamo's in appearance. That took two hours to complete. Afterwards, she dressed up in her brown and beige swearer, brown leather skirt and boots, tan coat and a scarf, and went around the city, greeting each and every one, hugging young guys, kissing old girls, petting cats (and not getting bitten by the gray biting cat, thank goodness), saying to everyone, "Meri Kurisumasu!' And they returned the wishes the same.

Yukari had not gone far when she met the two girls dressed in brown frocks and black fedora, the two girls that stopped by her office the other day. This time, Yukari would make her own change of plans.

"Tomo! Yomi!" said Yukari walking quickly toward them, "How are you ladies doing?"

The two of them said hesitantly, "Fine…I guess."

"I hope you guys succeeded in your donations, yesterday."

Said Tomo, "Um…yeah, we did." She turned to her partner for an explanation for the change in character.

Koyomi blinked. "Miss Yukari?"

"That's my name. And even though it may not be something you want to hear, I would like to donate…" and she gave the amount in her ear.

Her glasses glinted, "No way in heck! Are you kidding me?"
"No, that's my offer. No less, no more. And I will be willing to donate a little more if my paycheck will allow it. Will that be good for you two?"

"I don't know what to say, Miss Yukari," said Tomo.

Grabbing the bonkler by the head and giving her a noogie, Yukari said, "If you want to find somebody that is so not like me, go talk to Ebenezer Scrooge or something."

"R-right…" Koyomi's glasses glinted again. Somehow she knew Yukari's genki spirits were so high, they would make mountains cry. Shrugging, Koyomi received the donation, and she and Tomo left with a spring in their step.

"Boy, that Miss Yukari sure is something," said Tomo.

"Yeah," replied Koyomi, with a sigh.

"You'd think she was on E with that type of spirit."

Again the face meet a horizontal distortion as the two of them walked back to headquarters. The homeless and destitute would receive something huge in return. And this, from someone who was just willing to get by.

Miss Yukari went about the town, going to mass, talking to everyone, petting everything, and soaking herself in her newfound holiday bliss. Outside, on the big screen in Shibuya, a music video featuring the Kinki Kids was being played. Yukari never felt so happy, so ecstatic, so fancy free in her life. Starting today, she would sip alcohol in moderation. And Café Fribourg was the first place to do it.

"Excuse me," asked Yukari to the attendant at the restaurant, "but a woman by the name of Minamo Kurosawa is expecting me."

"I see," said the attendant. "She is seated at the table," and this time he pointed, "over there. And she has quite a few guests at her presence."

"Okay, sankyu."

She walked over and saw Nyamo, Eiko, and her nephews seated at a large table. "Nyamo 3 !" Yukari called in a singsong voice.

The crowd looked at Yukari. Nyamo, embarrassed a bit, said, "Who's that?"

"It's your friend in arms, Yukari. Will you let me join you guys at the table?"

"Sure!"

Seating down, she said, "Wow, Café Fribourg looks so wonderful."

"Yeah," said Eiko, "it sure is. So what will you be ordering first?"

"Hmmm…this dish looks cool."

"Ehhhh!? That dish is 4300 yen!" exclaimed Nyamo, a sweat drop coming down her head.

"No worries, Minamo," said Eiko. "I'll cover."

"Oh Yukari…" Her nephews laughed and toasted their water glasses.

"Here's to our Aunt Yukari," said one of the brothers.

"To Aunt Yukari!" said another.

"AUNT YUKARI! HEAR, HERE!" said all.

"The man is here!"

Yotsuba, always the eager one, walked over to the entrance. "Hey Mommy, someone's at the door," she said opening it. "Hello!"

"Hello there, kid," said the caterer man. He was wearing a blue outfit with apron, and holding large container full of food and drink straight from the restaurant.

The kid noticed something. "You have a weird hairdo."

"It's called spikes."

"Oooooh! Spikes!" Yotsuba pondered the possibility of receiving spiked hair. But then she began to wonder if that was better than her four-pigtail clover hairdo.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" asked Kaori, coming to the door.

"I'm from KFC, and we have a special delivery to hand to you. It's also free."

"Okay…what is it?"
"4 buckets of Original Recipe, 4 buckets of Extra Tasty Crispy, 15 buttermilk biscuits with syrup, 5 buckets of potato wedges, 15 corns on the cob, 5 cups of mashed potatoes with gravy, 1 large barbecued chicken pizza, 1 extra-large chocolate cake, and 8 bottles of Calpis Water with 15 bottles of ramune. Freshly made for you."

Kaori paled, then fainted. How did such a horde of food come about? It was, indeed, an amazement…and a burden. This was the first time the family had been treated like kings. Miura came into the room, drinking a box of milk. He dropped the box in sublime horror when he saw the caterer. "Hey, KFC! I've always wanted them to come to our door! This is so cool! Yes!"

Asagi and Fuuka walked in, followed by Ena. They too were mesmerized by the sight of a young man wearing a suntan, holding the feast of chicken and trimmings. "KFC!?" they exclaimed. "Whoa!"

"Tell me this is a dream," said Kaori, winded by the findings.

"But," said Ena, "who would give us this…feast?"

"You don't think," Fuuka said to the others.

"No way," said everyone except the caterer, who replied, "Did I miss something?"

"Mommy," Yotsuba said to Kaori, still on the floor, "why are you on the floor?"

Said the mother, half-dazed, "We…already got rice…"

As Kaori continued her slight catatonic melancholy, Miura said flatly, "Mom…you're weird." He and the others except for Kaori set the table and enjoyed the spoils given by a certain English teacher. Tatsuki smiled, and left, saying in a Lance Armstrong tone, "my work here's done."

The next day, Yukari was at her office. This time her desk was organized, but she was still reading "Katsuyato," and eating another bag of chips.

Sakaki was late. There was no doubt about that. She had been reveling in that dinner the KFC man brought her. At long last she came inside.

"Well hello there, Miss Sakaki!" said Yukari, in a fake old tone that she could easily pull off. "Why the heck are you late again?"

"I'm sorry," said Sakaki, bowing her head up and down like a Bobble-Head doll dedicated to her like a boy toy. "Please forgive me."

Yukari, shaking her head, said, "Come over here, Miss Rie Sakaki."

Sakaki did so, walking over to her employer and superior. Yukari's eyebrows were like antennas. Whiriririrrrrirr, whiriririririririrrrr. She was pulling off her disgusted look so well, when she was completely the opposite.

"Now, you know what," she said, walking around her, examining her from every corned as Sakaki gulped, "I will not allow this type of tardiness to happen. It is simple unacceptable. And you know what I will do to you? I will…" The disgust was erased in a split second. "…ask the principal to raise your salary! You are now an assistant instructor, instead of just an aide!"

Sakaki sweated like a pig covered in mud. "Miss Yukari…what are you saying?"

"I am saying that you have done a wonderful job as my aide and clerk, helping me in the office for 4 years, Miss Sakaki. I will ask tomorrow to have the school double your salary to help support your family. Also, when I am on sabbatical or leave, you can teach the little boogers the tricks of the trade. Can you do that?"

Tears in her eyes, Sakaki said, "Y…yes, Miss Yukari."

"Ahem…you can call me Yuka-chan. Cause I am as happy as a girl in grade school! Ahahahahah!" She grabbed Sakaki and swung her around, babbling nonsense like a brook by a waterfall. Sakaki paled and smiled. Her life had changed course to a conclusion her family would be proud of.

"Yu…Yuka-chan?"

Yukari was true to her word and some. After all, she was indeed a changed woman. She helped Maya heal from her injuries, and he grew strong and big, lived a long life, and as for Yukari, she became an immediate lover for cats and everything cute. She was another Sakaki, in some ways.

She continued teaching the subject the way it was meant to be taught, encouraging her students to participate in discussions, as if they were in college already. She took her job seriously, and with a profound seriousness and dedication to it. Her student excelled at every sports and culture festival, and many of them equaled alumna Chiyo Mihama in academic standing and integrity. Yukari had become the best of the best teachers, and Minamo Kurosawa had nothing but praise for her every time she stepped inside the school's hallowed halls. Praises indeed. The Lord may have canonized Yukari on the spot, by faith!

She was never bothered by the Spirits again, and she never drank another bottle of liquor, and if she did, it was in moderation. She only did it socially. Her house was always clean, her office was always clean, and she would even take Yotsuba on ride around town, although she was a little winded from the ride. Yotsuba enjoyed it anyway. She was, in many ways, invincible.

But most of all, Yukari Tanizaki knew how to keep Christmas in her heart, and to celebrate it the right way. And no one else did it better. Maybe Santa Claus and his elves and reindeer could do it better, but their spirit was in her, too.

And may her example be instilled in us, forever and ever, for many generations, until our dying day.

As Maya would have said it if he were human, or as Chiyo's father would also convey it with a heart of silver and gold…

KAMI-SAMA BLESS US, EVERYNYAN!

The End