Here we go, second part of the Christmas chapter. I've got a new character poll up on the 'official' web page. Once again, the link to my web page is on my profile. I think I may take a break from writing during Winter Break and work on turning that web page into a full fledge website, complete with character profiles and the like. Anyway, here we go!

---Kouji Tamino

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Love Hina Next: Second Phase

Chapter 41: Where's That Holiday Spirit? (Part 2)

Shinichi got up from his bed 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. Her eyes were red and puffy and snot was running down her nose. "What… what are you doing here?"

Shinichi smiled. "Well, someone needs to cheer you up, right? So, want to get out of this cold weather and go back inside?… It must be freezing…"

Kairi glared. "Did I tell you to leave me alone?" She scooted a bit away from him. "Now go away and leave me be… I want to wallow in misery…"

Shinichi sighed. "Ms. Kairi, please… What's bothering you? Maybe I can help!"

Kairi shook her head, putting her head between her legs. "No… I'm sorry, Shinichi-kun… There's nothing that you can do to help me… This is… personal…"

He frowned. "Personal, huh?… I see… Well then, I'll just leave you alone, then…" He began to turn around to leave, then sweat dropped, looking back to her. "Um… Any idea on how I can get back down?"

Kairi smiled a bit, biting her lip to prevent herself from giggling at Shinichi's bad luck. "Well… I guess you can stay for a little while longer…" She gave a worried look. "But aren't you cold, Shinichi-kun?"

Shinichi smirked, sitting next to her. "I could ask you the same thing… You may be a ghost, but you are currently alive, if that makes any sense…"

Kairi nodded. "I didn't really notice the cold, though… Thinking too much about other things…"

"I see…" Shinichi muttered, looking down at the city. "So…" he began, trying to change the subject. "What do you think of the modern world?"

"Huh?" Kairi said softly, looking to him. "Oh… It's… okay… I really don't like how people have built skyscrapers everywhere and cut down trees to put yet another mall in that area…"

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean…"

"… The bastard cheated on me…" Kairi suddenly blurted out.

"What?!" Shinichi screamed, by her outburst.

Kairi burst out crying. "Shinichi-kun!! My husband he, he was still alive! He came back with a new wife on Christmas Eve!!"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "He did?! That's… terrible! Why would he do something like that?! You're such a nice and beautiful woman!"

Kairi huffed, putting her head between her legs. "I think it because I never put out…" She growled, mock-talking to her dead ex-husband. "Well, 'Mr. Horny', maybe I was waiting for a special occasion to--" She blushed as she realized that she was making a scene in front of Shinichi. "Oops! Heh heh, sorry…"

Shinichi laughed. "It's quite all right…" His expression became tense. "You're upset, and rightfully so… Excuse my language, but your husband was a shit-head. He could have at least talked with you before breaking the marriage and running off with some other woman…"

Kairi shivered. "Oh wow, it is cold out here…" She playfully glared at Shinichi. "Thanks to you, I finally noticed it…" She stood up. "Let's go inside…" She watched as Shinichi stood up as well, then gasped as he slipped. "Shinichi-kun, be careful!!"

Shinichi's eyes widened as he fell backwards. Things seemed to move in slow motion as he fell off of the roof. 'Crap!! I don't want to die like this!! Well, maybe die is an exaggeration… But damn it, this is really going to hurt!!' He raised an eyebrow as someone suddenly grabbed him in a hug. "What?… Ms. Kairi!! But why?!"

Kairi giggled. "Silly boy… I'm a sorceress, remember?" She muttered a spell and suddenly they stopped falling, a few feet away from the ground. "There, no harm done!" She let go of Shinichi and jumped down.

Shinichi soon followed. "Heh… Sorry about that…"

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December 24th, 10:01

And so, after they had gotten back to Shinichi's room, Kairi bid him a farewell and thank you before turning around to leave. Shinichi reached a hand out to her. "Ms. Kairi… Wait…"

Kairi turned around. "Yes, Shinichi-kun?"

"Um…" he began, awkwardly. "Well, um… If you ever need anyone to talk to…"

Kairi nodded. "Thank you, Shinichi-kun…" Her expression became sad. "You know… As long as I continue to be depressed, my soul can never rest in peace… I am forever bound to this planet as a ghost… Even if this planet dies, I will not."

Shinichi stared at her. "That must be horrible… Is there nothing I can do to help?"

Kairi gave him a sad smile, shaking her head. "I'm afraid not… I will never be truly happy again…" She walked over to Shinichi and kissed him on the lips. "But thank you for worrying about me… You've lifted quite a bit of my sadness…" She turned back around and left the room. "Bye, Shinichi-kun…"

Shinichi grinned, touching his lips again. "Wow, I'm a kiss magnet today… Um, Ms. Kairi!!" he shouted.

Kairi came walking back into the room, a slightly annoyed look on her face. "Yes, Shinichi-kun?"

"I forgot to give you your gift!" he held up a box. "Merry Christmas!"

Kairi gasped in joy. "Shinichi-kun! You didn't have to! I…" she took it from him. "May I open it?"

Shinichi chuckled. "Might as well, I let everyone else open theirs!"

Kairi opened her gift and gasped. "Shinichi, it's beautiful!" Inside was a framed picture of Kairi, drawn by Shinichi himself. It was a beautifully detailed full color drawing of Kairi sitting in front of the mansion at night and looking at the moon, a sad look on her face. She was wearing her old dress and waving a hand through her hair. The frame was gold and there was also a gift certificate with 100,000¥ on it. "Oh my, you really shouldn't have… What will your parents think with all this money missing, assuming you gave everyone similar gifts?…"

Shinichi nodded. "Yep, everyone got a self-portrait and a gift certificate… But my parents won't miss the money… That's how rich we are. They'll probably just assume I went on a shopping spree or something…"

Kairi's eyes widened. "Um… Just how rich are you, anyway? And what exactly does your father do for a living?"

Shinichi shrugged. "I don't know… That's the strange thing… I always ask him, but he always says it's 'not important' and that when the time comes, I will find out…"

Kairi frowned. "That's very… strange… Maybe that's why Jin was sent to assasinate your father, perhaps? Something to do with his profession?"

Shinichi sighed. "I sure hope not… I've had enough problems lately as it is… Well, goodnight, Ms. Kairi… I'm going to get some sleep…"

Kairi nodded. "Goodnight, Shinichi-kun…" She left the room, turning off the light.

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December 25th, 7:36 A.M. (Christmas Day)

Shinichi groaned as someone hit him in the face with a pillow. He slowly opened his eyes and grinned. "I had a feeling you three would be coming over…"

Shin laughed. "Merry Christmas, little brother… Well, someone had to come over, since our good for nothing parents are hardly ever around! God damn it, it's Christmas day and they're either working or living it up on some beach somewhere in the warmer areas!"

Shinichi sighed. "Yeah… It'd be really nice to have them be here for at least one year… Like in the old days, y'know?"

Kai, in human form, frowned. "Where's my present, you bastard?"

Meiruuna smacked him in the head. "Kai, don't be rude…" She smiled at Shinichi. "Merry Christmas, lover… Although I do have to ask… Where are out presents… Didn't really expect anything for me and Kai since you only recently met us, but what about your brother?"

Shinichi chuckled. "Oh, your gifts are under the tree…" He scratched his head in confusion. "Where are the others?"

"They're all downstairs waiting for you so they can open more presents…" Shin began. "So get up, sleepy head!" He grinned. "There are some more guests here as well…"

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Shinichi's jaw dropped as he walked into the living room/ball room. "The people I met at Hinata House?! What are you all doing here?"

Yamato smirked. "Well, we all missed Ami and the rest of you seemed pretty cool from when we first met you, so Meiruuna decided that we should all come here…"

Keitaro nodded. "I happened to meet up with Shin, so since he had a key we all came over with him…"

Tokimi hugged Ami. "Ooh, I missed you so much! By the way, you may have noticed that the wedding was erm… postponed… We're having it sometime in Spring now. Sorry!"

Ami nodded, hugging back. "S'okay… Spring weddings are so pretty!"

Rikina grinned at Sakura and waved. "Hey there… Sorry about the other day… Got caught up in the mood, as much as I hate to admit…"

Meiruuna smiled, walking up behind Rikina and wrapping her arms around her waist. "Oh, come on… You liked it and you know it!"

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Shinichi walked over to open it, but Sakura quickly ran in his way, blocking him off. "No, no, no… I'll get it myself…" She opened the door and saw… Jin. She raised an eyebrow. "Oh hey there… Haven't seen you in a while…"

He nodded. "Um…" He began, waving awkwardly. He kicked off his boots and walked into the house. "Hey there, everyone… Long time, no see…"

Yamato stared at his old friend. "Hello, Jin…"

Jin nodded. "Shima…"

Yamato shook his head. "I don't go by that name anymore…"

Jin chuckled. "I see…"

Kimomo squealed in joy. "Jinny?! Is that you?!"

Jin's eyes widened. "Oh, no…" Kimomo quickly dashed over to Jin and attempted to grab him in a hug. Jin grabbed her arm. "Please don't try and grabbed me like that… In my years of being an assassin, I've grown a habit to seriously injure people that touch me in the wrong way… Sorry…"

Kimomo backed off, frowning. "I see… I'm sorry… I won't bother you anymore…"

Jin smiled. "Oh come on…" He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Don't be that way…"

Kimomo blushed. "Jin… I…"

Elsewhere, a few of the others were opening gifts. Megumi, however, was having trouble… She stared at a gift that said 'to Meiruuna, from your sister' in hiragana. In her years in America, she had almost completely forgotten how to read and write in hiragana, katakana, and kanji. "Um… Okay, uh…" She checked to make sure that no one was looking. The coast was clear, or so she thought. She tore the gift tag off and held the gift up. "Okay, who's is this?"

Ami raised an eyebrow. "That's Meiruuna's gift from me… That's funny, I could have sworn that I put a name tag on there…" She stared at Megumi suspiciously.

Meiruuna took it from Megumi and began to open it. "A black scarf…" She smiled. "Thanks… It's been really cold, lately…"

Ami nodded. "You're welcome!"

Kai, in bunny form, floated down from the ceiling. "Heh heh… Looks to me like Megumi can't read! I saw her tear that tag off!" He yelped as Megumi snatched him up.

"Little tattle tale!!" She shouted. "I should eat you and rid the world of one less demon bunny!"

Rikina's eyes suddenly lit up. "Girl, I like the way you think… Fried or roasted?"

Meiruuna growled, snatching Kai away from Megumi. She rapidly switched her glares from Megumi to Rikina, then back to Megumi. "A pox upon both of you…" Her expression softened as she looked down at Kai, snuggling him against her chest. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Kai chuckled, enjoying being cradled between breasts. "I'm just fine where I am right now…"

Shinichi tilted his head. "But Megumi, you were so good at reading and writing characters… In fact, you're the one that taught me a few!"

Megumi nodded. "Yes, but… I got lazy, and never practiced them in America… I can remember a few, but…"

Shinichi smiled. "That's okay! To return the favor, I'll help you re-learn!"

Megumi smiled. "Thank you, Shinichi…"

-----

"So, you're a veterinarian?" Naoko asked.

Static nodded. "Yes, I enjoy my work very much… Especially when the cute animals come in!"

"Awww, you're so sweet!" She hugged Static, making him blush.

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December 25th, 4:54 P.M.

Shinobu poked her head out of the dining room. "Everyone, dinner is ready!"

And so, everyone crowded around the huge the dining room table. In fact, the table was so big, they weren't exactly crowded. They all had to sit at a small portion of the table. The dinner was pretty normal, aside from Kai flicking food around at people occasionally while in his human form. Everyone was talking, getting reacquainted after all this time. Sakura attempted to feed Shinichi several times, getting pelted in the head with food several times by Junko. After about the 4th or 5th time, Sakura replied to Junko with a fork to the face. Fortunately, Junko's 'toughness' protected her from the most of it. It was also fortunate that everyone had eaten at least one serving of food, because Junko then jumped over the table, grabbed Sakura by the neck and sent them rolling onto the ground. They both rolled on the ground, smacking each other and tugging on each other's hair.

"Whoo! Chick fight." Yamato shouted out. He winced as Tokimi elbowed him in the side.

Sarah sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Hey, hey… Break it up, girls… It's Christmas. Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men and all that other crap…"

"Hey, hey!" Shin waved a hand. "Wait up, this is starting to get good!"

"Disgraceful…" Motoko muttered, smacking her forehead. "Were we ever that bad, Haruka?"

Haruka chuckled. "Nah, you weren't that bad… Maybe a little crazier, but you didn't start bitch fights on freakin' Christmas…"

Shinichi sighed. "Cousin Sakura, Ms. Junko… Please stop…"

As if Shinichi had entered a codeword, they stopped. They looked around in embarrassment and stood up, trying to fix themselves up as much as they could. They then bowed. "So very sorry, everyone…"

"Sorry?!" Yamato yelled. "That was the best show I've seen in a while!" He groaned as Tokimi hit him even harder, in the exact same spot. "God damn, you've been violent lately…"

"Don't swear in front of little Naoko, damn it…" Tokimi growled under her breath.

Nina giggled. "Now isn't that the um… what was it again, Mama-Sarah?"

Sarah sighed. "Pot calling the kettle black…"

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And so, by the end of the day, the guests had left. Shinichi sighed as he picked up the last of the wrapping paper. "Well, today was fun… Best Christmas I've had in years…"

"When was your last good Christmas?" Sakura asked, having overheard him as she walked into the room.

Shinichi looked up to Sakura. "I dunno… about 14 years ago… When my family was still close… That was the year before my brother left…"

Sakura frowned. "Poor you…"

Shinichi shrugged. "Eh, it's not that bad, compared to your family life…" He gulped nervously, waving his hands. "Oops, I didn't mean for it to come out that way!"

Sakura laughed, hugging him. "It's okay…" Something suddenly caught her eye. "Oh, look…" She began, grinning slyly. "Mistletoe…"

Shinichi's eyes widened. "Oh dear god… But we can't…"

Sakura chuckled. "Come on, Shinichi, we have to do it… Pucker up, cousin…"

Shinichi gulped again, looking back up. '…What do I do?…' He thought, feeling extremely awkward. '… And is it just me, or does she get off on the fact that we are cousins?!'

End of Chapter 41.

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And there we go! End of the Christmas chapter. Anyway, this is the only chapter this week… I had a lot of trouble these two chapters, plus I have to work on a timeline so I can keep track of all these events. Also, I may or may not start working on turning that measly web page into a full website like I said earlier. But the more I think of it, the tougher of a job this is going to be… Anyway, until next time!