Hello again! Welcome to the traditional 'Love Hina Christmas' 2-Parter. I've had this chapter planned for months, so it should be much better than last years. I have some really cute ideas for this one that I can hopefully express as well as I want to. And I promise, I won't let my 'sadistic/angst-side' get a hold of this one. :P
---Kouji Tamino
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Love Hina Next: Second Phase
Chapter 40: Where's That Holiday Spirit? (Part 1)
December 24th, 7:34 P.M. (Christmas Eve)
Junko sighed, standing in the middle of the shopping center. She was wearing a green sweater, green pants, brown boots, red coat, red scarf, and light green mittens. "Why am I here again?" She rolled her eyes. "I know why… It's because I was finally convinced to 'get into the Christmas Spirit' by the others… Just great… Now I've got to use the little money I've got to buy everyone gifts… Why I why didn't I just ask Shinichi for some money?" She snorted. "Oh, that's right… Because I'm too damn stubborn…" She looked around in confusion. "God damn, so many freaking stores! I don't know where to start…"
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Meanwhile, Shinichi was busy in his personal art studio, which was kept a secret for obvious reasons. "All right now, just a few more touches and I'll be done! I hope they like them, I've been working on these for weeks!"
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Elsewhere, Ami was wandering around the kitchen. She was wearing a turtleneck and pants, both white. "Oh no, oh no! I've gotten gifts for everyone else, but I've got no idea what to get Shinichi!" She sighed. "Maybe I could try cooking something?…" She shook her head rapidly. "No, all I can make is tea and rice balls! What kind of Christmas present is that?!" She blushed. "Then again, I could make a nice peaceful snack to have with him… Ack, why am I thinking about him like that?! Shinichi is just a friend, and--"
"Hello there, Ms. Ami…" Shinichi said softly.
"OH MY GOD!!" Ami screamed, turning around quickly and frying Shinichi. "Shinichi-kun!! Are you all right?"
Shinichi coughed a smoke cloud, more smoke coming from his nose and ears. He was wearing a red sweater and jeans, along with a Santa hat. "I'm… quite fine… Used to it by now…" He held up a gift box, which was surprisingly only slightly singed around the edges. "I was just… giving you your Christmas present… Although if I had known that it would offend you, I wouldn't have bothered…"
Ami gasped, waving her hands. "No, no, no!! It's nothing like that! I was just surprised by you, that's all!" She smiled. "A Christmas present for me? That's so sweet… I hope you didn't go through too much trouble…"
Shinichi chuckled, handing the box to her. "It was no trouble at all… My family is rich enough to buy the entire country a present, you know…" He said, jokingly.
Ami giggled. "That is true…" She looked at him pleadingly. "May I open it now?"
Shinichi shrugged. "I don't see the harm… Go ahead!"
Ami frantically shredded the wrapping paper to bits, holding the box under one hand while opening the box with her other. When she saw what was inside, her eyes became wide as saucers. "Shinichi-kun… It's beautiful! You made this yourself?"
Shinichi blushed. "It… was nothing…"
Ami shook her head. "No, this was a lot… Thank you, this was a wonderful gift." She leaned over and got on her tiptoes, kissing him on the cheek.
Shinichi blushed even more, leaving the kitchen with a bit of a wobble. "Like I said, it was no… problem is… um…"
Ami giggled again, hugging her gift to her chest. "Now Shinichi-kun's gift has to be extra special…"
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In the bath, Megumi and Sakura were reluctantly bathing together. They were both sitting and looking in the same direction. Megumi slowly opened one eye and chuckled. "Hey, Sakura… Where do you get your clothes? The local dump?"
"Heh, funny…" Sakura muttered. "Not." She stared at Megumi's breasts, then laughed. "Nice melons… Were they on sale?"
Megumi chuckled. "Well at least I'm not in love with my cousin…"
Sakura growled, standing up. "Damn it! Why can't people see that what I and Shinichi have is special?! We're bonded by destiny!!"
Megumi snorted loudly. "Since when? As far as I can see, you've been chasing around poor Shinichi…"
Sakura sighed sitting back down. "You're right… I'm just a love sick girl with the hots for my cousin…" She grinned. "But that's what makes me special…"
Megumi smacked her forehead. "You're hopeless…"
Shinichi, who had somehow found out where they were, walked in with two gift boxes. "Um, h-hey there, girls…"
Both Megumi and Sakura gasped happily, looking toward him. "It's Shinichi!! Want to join us?!"
Shinichi's eyes widened before he shook his head rapidly. "N-no, that's quite all right! I came here to give you your Christmas gifts… But since you are both still bathing, I'll just leave…"
"Nonsense…" Sakura said in sultry voice, both her and Megumi out of the bath and in towels. "We were just about done, anyway… Just trading insults, right?"
Megumi nodded, giggling giddily. "Ooh, I can't wait to open my present!"
Shinichi smiled. "Well you can open them now, if you like… I've already let Ms. Ami open hers, so it's only fair…" He yelped as the two women savagely ripped the boxes from his grasp and tore the paper to shreds. They popped the boxes open and grinned brightly, gasping simultaneously.
"Shinichi, this is wonderful!" Megumi shouted. "Thank you, I will treasure it forever!"
Shinichi nodded. "You're welcome! Now I've got to give Ms. Naoko and Ms. Kairi their gifts, then I'm heading out to find Ms. Junko!"
Sakura whimpered sadly. "So you're not joining me for a bath?…"
Shinichi chuckled lightly. "Not a chance… Besides, I'm much too busy…"
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On the third floor, Naoko was trying to cheer Kairi up. Naoko was wearing a sweater with a ducky on it, and pants, both pink. "Kairi-nesan…" she began, patting her on the head. "You can't stay cooped up here forever, you know…"
Kairi, who was in her living form, turned away. "Just leave me alone…"
Suddenly, Shinichi walked in, smiling. "Hello there Ms. Kairi, Ms. Naoko… Glad I found you both in the same place!"
"Oh god, just leave me alone!!" Kairi screamed, running out of the room and downstairs.
Shinichi sweat dropped. "Um… Was it something I said?"
Naoko shook her head, sighing. "She's been like this for weeks…"
Shinichi handed Naoko her gift, quickly running off. "Well um, Merry Christmas! You can open it now if you want!"
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As Shinichi made it down stairs, Kairi was already no where to be seen. "Um…" Just then, Tenshi walked by in her human form. He patted her on the shoulder. "Ms. Tenshi, have you seen Ms. Kairi anywhere by any chance?"
Tenshi nodded, pointing toward the open door. "Yeah, she ran outside… Must be awfully cold…"
Shinichi gasped. "Is she crazy?! She could catch a cold and-- Oh wait, she's already dead, isn't she? Getting sick would be nothing to her…" He looked outside at the falling snow. "But still, it must be very cold out there…" He put on a blue coat and hat, and slipped on his boots as he ran outside. "Tell the others that I'll be back soon! Hopefully!"
Tenshi waved as he left. "Okay! Stay safe! In your case, you'll really have to be careful!"
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Junko began walking out of the store, her shopping almost complete. "Jeez, this took forever… Only thing left to do now is to buy something for 'you know who'… Ugh."
As if on cue, Shinichi ran into Junko, making her drop all of the things she bought. She growled at him, making him yelp. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Junko! It was an accident!" They both got on their knees to pick up the items. "Here, let me help you…"
"No, that's okay--" They blushed as they touched hands, quickly picking up the stuff and standing up. Shinichi awkwardly gave her the items he managed to pick up. She smiled. "Thanks…"
Shinichi's heart started beating faster. 'Wow, she's actually smiling…' He cleared his throat, holding up another gift box. "Um, here… Merry Christmas, Ms. Junko…"
Junko took the gift from him, looking down at it. "Um… thank you…"
Shinichi nodded. "No problem! You're free to open it now, if you want… But I've got to go now! Bye!!" Shinichi quickly ran off in search of Kairi, as Junko slowly opened the gift.
"Let's see, what could he have gotten me?…" She stared at the gift inside. "Oh god damn it… He just had to give me such a nice gift, didn't he?"
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December 24th, 9:14 P.M.
After hours of searching, Shinichi returned to Hinata House. He sighed, kicking off his boots, taking off his soaked coat, and plopping on the couch. "Where could Ms. Kairi be?" He asked himself, taking off his hat and tossing it behind himself. He looked around. "Where did everyone go? They couldn't have gone to sleep already--"
Ami cleared her throat, suddenly appearing behind Shinichi. She bowed, smiling. "Hello, Shinichi-kun… You're home!"
Shinichi jumped out of his seat, falling to the floor. "Ms. Ami! You scared me, there…" Wait a moment. Something was a miss. As Shinichi stared at the space on the floor, he noticed a pair of red slippers with white puffballs on the end. He looked up and saw some nice, slender and long legs covered in nylons. He looked up even further and got to see under a very short skirt. So short, in fact, that he got a nice good look at Ami's round ass, barely covered up by her red thong. Shinichi quickly stood up, pinching his nose to keep the blood from flowing. "Msh. Ameh?!" He managed to muffle out. In addition to the aforementioned parts of the outfit, Ami was also wearing a red Santa tube top and hat.
Ami winked. "Merry Christmas, Shinichi-kun! What do you think?"
'Oh my god, that's possibly one of the hottest things I have ever seen!!' Shinichi screamed in his head. He began to scratch the back of his head nervously. "Uh uh uh um, it's erm, really nice…"
Ami giggled. "Well come on, silly!" She waved over to him to follow her into the kitchen.
Shinichi tilted his head. "Huh? What for?"
"The second half of your gift!" she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the kitchen, where there was a table with rice balls and tea on it.
Shinichi sighed in relief as they sat down. 'Oh good, Ami's ongari and tea…. That's always good… I thought that it was something else…'
Ami frowned. "Aren't you hungry? You were out for more than an hour, and--"
Shinichi chuckled. "Um, of course…" He grabbed a rice ball and took a bite, smiling. They sat there and ate, occasionally starting up conversation for a while. Soon, all the tea and rice balls were gone. Shinichi rubbed his stomach. "That was delicious, Ms. Ami… And um, the outfit you're wearing increased the enjoyment factor… It took a lot of courage for you to pull this off…"
Ami blushed. "Thanks… But it was worth it for you…"
Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Um… Thank you, I think… Um, I'm going to go to my room, now… Goodnight…" He about to stand up when Ami leaned over and kissed him on the lips. As Shinichi gave her a look of shock, she pointed up to reveal that they had been under mistletoe the whole time. He laughed, standing up and leaving.
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As he walked up stairs, he couldn't help but be worried about Kairi. "I mean, I'm sure she's all right, but she's been very upset lately…" He reached the hallway and began walking through it to his room. "I mean, she's only a ghost, right? She has nothing to worry about unless ghosts can die again… No, that's just silly…" As he opened the door, his expression went from worried to confused to shocked. "Ms. Junko?!"
Junko rolled her eyes as she lay on his bed. She was dressed in a strapless dress with a slit down the long skirt, high heels, and lipstick, all red. She was wearing nylons and even had her hair in pigtails, held by red hair bands. She smiled. "Yeah, yeah… Merry Christmas and all that crap… Since you got me such a nice gift, I thought I'd show you my feminine side…" She sat up, kicking her surprisingly nice legs over the bed. She sat in front of Shinichi on his bed, arms to her sides, unknowingly spreading her legs for him. "Get a good look, cuz it's probably all you're gonna get…"
Shinichi blinked rapidly. "Ms. Junko, you look… beautiful!" He raised an eyebrow again. "Wait, 'probably'?"
Junkp nodded, standing up and walking by. "Sure… If you can improve on yourself, you might just get lucky…" She kissed him on the cheek, winking. "Seeya later…"
Shinichi touched his cheek, and his lips. "This has been my greatest Christmas ever…" He plopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. "But… one thing is still a miss…" He got up and opened his window, staring outside at the city below. "Ms. Kairi is out there, somewhere…" He frowned as he heard small amounts of sobbing. After concentrating on the sound, he found that it was coming from above. He managed to crawl up on top of the roof, gasping. "Ms. Kairi…"
Kairi gasped in surprise, looking up at Shinichi. "What… what are you doing here?"
Shinichi smiled. "Well, someone needs to cheer you up, right? So, want to get out of this clod weather and go back inside… It must be freezing…"
End of Chapter 40.
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This chapter was a pain to finish. And no, the story is far from over. I've got plenty of new stories and characters up my sleeve, and this series isn't finishing until I implement every single one. The reason that this one took so long to get up was because I was sick. I'm still feeling a little crappy now. Hopefully I can get the next part of this up by the end of this week… If not, then definitely next week, before Christmas… So, until next time!
---Kouji Tamino
