Hallo! It is now...4:30 in the morning in good old Japan. And after the very long time that it's taken Inu-chan to write out her two chapters, here is one of the last chapters in this story, so HAH! I'm almost finished. /breathes heavily/
Disclaimer: Me no own.
Chapter Twelve
Snap. Simultaneously the Destinies eyes open, hardly daring to believe that it is Christmas. Simultaneously they turn their heads and stare at the alarm clock: 7 o'clock. They had all agreed to stay in one room for the night, just in case they had to strap each other down so they wouldn't go out early. And that room is Meagan's. It is clean, clean, clean. She went on a serious cleaning streak yesterday night, in an attempt to stay up late. It didn't work very long. The Destinies untangle themselves from Meagan's bed--their beds are all quite big, actually--and sit in silence for about...three minutes. Then they lose it.
As Nissi scrambles off to places unknown, the others run screaming around the mansion. "It's Christmas!"
"Wake up! Wake up!"
The Destinies infiltrate the boy's rooms. Jin and Touya groan as Malia jumps on them, pulling the covers up over their heads. They mutter that it is too early to be up opening presents and demand that Malia go back to bed. She tousles Jin's wild hair. He shoves her face first into the bed, floating up into the air. She moans her protest, shaking Touya awake. He's not a morning person, as mentioned before. Yusuke also shoves Meagan into the bed when she attempts to wake him up.
"I'm up, Meagan...I'm up."
He rubs his eyes and sits up. His hair is ungelled, a fact he quickly fixes. Kuwabara is actually awoken peacefully as Vanessa has no bat. She merely pokes him awake. As his eyes open and he sees his beloved Vanessa his eyes turn to hearts. "Hello my love!"
"DON'T CALL ME LOVE!"
Kuwabara nods, covering his head. Olivia simply bounds into Hiei's room and jumps on his bed. The Destinies have all agreed--after sneaking into Hiei's room when he's sleeping (it's good training)--that he is much more innocent while he sleeps. So Olivia waits a moment before roughly shaking him awake and listening to his husky voice yell at her for a while. She laughs, dragging him out of bed and yelling something about presents to be opened. Hiei notices that her skin has lost most of the pink tinge it had before. Kurama, surprisingly, is already up waiting for Nissi to enter. It is not Nissi who goes to wake him up, however, but Malia. She is a bit put off that he is already up but she drags him out anyways, down to the main room where everyone else sits ready to dig in.
"On your marks, get set--"
"Wait..."
Everyone turns to Olivia, who is staring at them like they have forgotten some Christmas tradition. Which, in her case, she has. They ask her what's wrong.
"Don't we...have to eat breakfast first?"
"NO!"
"But guys," she protests. "I don't think I can open presents if I haven't eaten."
"Hm...well, you grab Hiei and heat up those cinnamon rolls we made last night and eat with him."
"Yay! Thank you!"
And two eternally long minutes later, after Hiei and Olivia have finished their rolls, it begins.
The Destinies shoot off under the tree searching for presents wrapped in their color. They had decided to wrap each others presents and use a color coding system to limit the hassle of figuring out which presents are whose. White is Olivia, green is Meagan, red is Nissi, black is Vanessa, pink is Yusuke, brown is Kuwabara, yellow is Hiei--he was not very happy at this color--gold is Kurama, purple is Jin, and Touya is silver. Sadly, Botan has to be in Spirit World for Christmas and is spending it with her fellow ferry girls. But the Destinies and Co. have sent her several bags of presents.
Everyone grabs the presents wrapped in their respective colors and dig in, eager to begin.
The first present to actually be opened is one of Kurama's. It's quite strange because he carefully unwrapped the wrapping of a very big box (and the ribbon!) while the others just tore at theirs like rabid animals and he still got his opened first. It is, like I've said, a very big white box and as he begins to open the lid, a thought enters his head. He turns around and stares.
"Where's Nissi?"
"Who knows?" the Destinies shrug, glancing at each other cautiously. "Just open your present!"
Still puzzled but eager to see what is inside the box, Kurama yanks the lid up. FLASH! He blanks as a picture is quickly taken of him and this very large...creature burrows back into the paper of the box. Little black circles dance in front of his eyes and his ears detect something rummaging around in his large white box. And he has a good idea about who's in there too... As the circles disappear and his normal eyesight comes back he turns and smiles to the laughing Destinies. They only point to the box, so he peers inside.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS KURAMA!"
He does a double-take as Nissi pops suddenly back out holding something in her hands. She holds it out to him and he takes it in his own hands, gasping. It is a beautiful silver locket in the shape of a rose. He takes a moment to admire the outside before snapping it out and stifling a laugh. Inside is the picture that Nissi just took a few minutes ago when she first popped out of the box. Finally Kurama can no longer contain his laughter--the look on his face is just too funny. While he places it around his neck, Malia drags Nissi out of her box.
"YUSUKE!"
Whack! Meagan slaps Yusuke hard on the cheek as she unwraps her first present from him. As she continues whacking him into the ground, Kuwabara picks up the black object that had fallen to the floor on first hit, and holds it up for all to see. Lingerie. /spelling/ They sweat drop. Jin shakes his head in amusement, Touya in disgust, and Kurama just shaking it because he has nothing at all to say. He is actually surprised that Yusuke would have the balls to do that. The Destinies laugh their heads off.
"Oh, Yusuke..."
"Oh, thank you Vanessa!"
Vanessa twitches, wishing that she has her bat as Kuwabara comes and wraps her in a hug, a toy for his cat Eikichi dangling from his hand. Vanessa shoves him away, opening one of her own presents. She screams in delight, hugging her new Sesshomaru plushie to her chest. Her friends grin and nod--it was a good choice.
"That was from us," the Destinies inform her.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"
"YAY! Manga! Thanks, Nissi," Olivia holds up her manga for Nissi to see.
"Your welcome."
And this is how it continues for the next half-hour. Continuous unwrapping, squealing, thanking--until all of the presents are gone. Yusuke has recovered from his slap that Meagan furiously laid upon him and actually got some apology for that as Meagan found another present of hers from Yusuke that turned out to be a big Puu plushie. She adores it, much to Yusuke's delight. But she's still not going to forgive him for the lingerie... Hiei had gotten several presents from each of his friends...except from Olivia. She catches his eye and winks, holding up a present that she slips into her back pocket. Looks like he'll be getting her present later.
From Kurama, Nissi had recieved a beautiful /put present here. hahah/ which she absolutely loves. And, as usual, the Destinies loved the presents that they recieved from each other. But, there is one more present that they must give the boys. A very big present. So big, in fact, that all the boys' eyes widen to the size of dinner plates and their mouths drop open like idiots. The box is about the size of the Christmas Tree, which is very big itself.
"Merry Christmas!" the Destinies chorus, gesturing to the box. "Open it! Open it!"
With whoops of excitment all six of the boys immediately scramble to the box and rip up its outer layer of shiny black wrapping paper. Beneath the wrapping is a pure white box with a thin ribbon wrapped around it. The boys pull it off and toss it to the Destinies so they can do what they please with it. Yanking off the top of the box and moving the white paper around inside of it they find...another box? Yes, it's another box. Oh well. The boys pull it out and begin working on that one, repeating the process of ripping the wrapping, opening the lid, shifting through the paper, and finding another box. After three repeats of this, they begin to become suspicious.
30 Minutes Later
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Yusuke yells after finding another box. "WHERE'S THE STUPID PRESENT?"
The boxes that have already been pulled out lay in a heap against the wall. The boys are going crazy, looking frantically for the real box that holds their real present. It better be really good... Hiei is ready to slash the boxes into pieces, present or no present. Kurama rubs the back of his head in realization. He should have known a box this big would only cause trouble. Kuwabara can only poke at the box as if it will spontaneously combust and they can find their present. Jin and Touya resume unwrapping, opening, shifting, and finding another box.
1 Hour Later
"FINALLY!"
The boys open the second to the last box and find a smaller one inside of it, no surprise. They open that one and find the last box. It is small, like that which would hold an expensive necklace or bracelet. They look on the bottom and see words hastily scribbled upon it: YOU MADE IT! --the Destinies Breathing a sigh of relief, Kurama opens the lid of the pretty white box expecting to see something special. But...he doesn't. Yusuke's anger rises to boiling point. Kurama turns the box upside down and a solitary piece of paper flutters out of it and to the ground. He picks it up and reads it aloud:
"Thanks for taking care of us."
The boys look up to see the girls rolling on the floor laughing their butts off. Their howls soon turn to silent laughter which indicates that they are about to die from suffocation. So they swallow their anger and whack them all back to normal. Tears stream from their eyes as they look up to the boys with expectant faces. Kuwabara and Yusuke look at each other before stuffing their fists into their mouths so they won't blow up on the girls. Hiei grips his katana sword mumbling something that is apparently soothing him as his grip gets lighter and lighter. Kurama smiles at them, taking the joke much lighter than his companions. And Touya and Jin can only sigh, not surprised that the girls would do something like this to them.
Once the girls get their breath back, they push Vanessa under the tree and announce that they have something to say. Vanessa looks up at them with shining eyes. There is one present that Vanessa has been waiting for that has not come yet. Ever since her first bat broke when she whacked it against Touya's head, she has been itching for a new one. A better one. One that can whack a single target over a thousand times and still be in perfect, perfect condition. And it still hasn't come yet. She is developing a nervous twitch in one eye, fearful that she might not get it until her birthday: January 12--more than two weeks away. She can't wait that long.
"And, last of all the presents...Vanessa--this is from us Destinies."
From behind her back Malia pulls a titanium bat. Vanessa's eyes instantly go wide with wanting as she takes the bat into her hands. And everyone knows, as she looks up at them with her wide green eyes, to scatter. And they did--all except Hiei. He gives her a look--"Try and you die."--and graps his sword as if to pull it out of its sheath.
"Point taken. Care to help?"
"Sure."
He disappears and upon his return he is holding a struggling Olivia in his arms.
"Hiei you suck!"
The look on Hiei's face tells both Olivia and Vanessa that he is enjoying himself immensely. Olivia kicks and twists--no go. Vanessa raises her bat...THUD! Olivia lands on the ground sporting swirly eyes and a very big bump on the head. "Mwahahahah!" Vanessa grabs Hiei. "Who's next?"
"Onna, I think you've been getting too close to the oaf," a smirk slides onto Hiei's face.
Vanessa turns rapidly to stare at him--there is nothing but serious etched across his face. He stares upward as she pales and fumes.
"In fact," Hiei continues, "I'd be willing to bet that you love him."
"NOOO!"
Vanessa runs around the corner. Kuwabara, innocently and unexpectingly closes his door and smiles at Vanessa. WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! Hiei winces as the whacks continue. "Hiei..." Casually he turns to his raging girlfriend who has picked herself off the floor and shrugs innocently.
"I can't believe you jerk!" Olivia punches him hard in the gut and storms off.
"That one hurt..."
Slowly Olivia slips into Vanessa's room, pulling her Inuyasha plushie off the dresser. Wickedly she steps out and runs back to where Vanessa is still beating Kuwabara to a pulp. She freezes her body in mid-swing. Kuwabara runs off, blood trailing behind him. "Vanessa did you give Hiei permission to touch your Inuyasha plushie?" Her fingers twitch and the plushie behind her back flies out of sight. "Because he said he set you on me and Kuwabara to take the plushie and...burn it."
She unfreezes her.
"NO! Hiei get back here!"
Faster than she's ever gone before Vanessa searches out the little fire demon and shakes him furiously. He gives her a look of pures loathing.
"Onna."
"Where's my plushie?"
Hiei shoves Vanessa away and runs to Olivia, "What did you do?"
"I love you Hiei," Olivia flips a page of her book.
"Hn. Now I have that baka onna following me."
"No you don't. 'Nessa! I found your plushie!"
"Give!" Vanessa runs in, snatching the plushie out of Olivia's hand and giving Hiei one last punch.
She never does figure out that it was Olivia who really took it.
Later That Evening
"Olivia, we're going to go outside and drink eggnogg and roast marshmallows. Wanna come?"
Olivia turns to her friends, "Yay! But I have to give Hiei his present first, okay?"
"Sure. Drag him out too when you're done."
"Right!"
Too lazy to walk after such a feast they had for dinner, including all the traditional favorites, Olivia merely summons her smoky black cloud and flies up to Hiei's room, pushing the door open without knocking first. Hiei is sitting on the windowsill watching those outside try to light a fire without the help of Vanessa. They fail dismally and finally allow her to shoot her fire balls in. The flame shoots high and the two hear several screams of panic. Olivia stifles a laugh.
"Here."
She holds out her present, neatly wrapped. Curious, Hiei removes the paper and glances at his present. He gasps, staring at it. Olivia beams. "You like?"
"Hn."
"I'll take that as a yes."
In Hiei's hand is a picture placed in a very nice frame. And the picture is of himself and Yukina, both looking very happy. Olivia takes another thing from her pocket and places it around his wrist. A bracelet made of Yukina's hiruseki stones. His eyes widen.
"I didn't know what to get you but then I remembered that you didn't have any pictures of Yukina. So I went to visit her with the help of Kurama and she helped out a bit. Then Nissi taught me how to use this picture program and that's what it turned out to be."
"Thank you..."
"You're very much welcome," Olivia replies. "Hey, Hiei?"
"Hn?"
"When you cry, do you make stones too?"
"Hn. Baka onna--I don't cry."
He grabs her hand and drags her out of the room and down to where the campfire is before she can ask anymore questions. Olivia lets the matter drop, just happy that he likes her present. She removes herself from his grip, grabs a marshmallow, and stuffs it in his mouth, running away before he can yell at her. And thus does the first Christmas that the Destinies and the Rekai Tentai /a/n: sp?/ come to a smooth end. But tomorrow is sure to hold another day of fun as it is Olivia's birthday, and birthday's with the Destinies are always fun...
My laptop! It's working! Props to everyone for their ideas for the presents. Hahaha---Nissi for the whole prank with Kurama and Inu-chan for the prank on the guys. Yay me and my lingerie thing for Me-chan! Mwahaha! Tomorrow is my birthday/sweat drop/ Well, at least in the story. Domo mucho to Vanessa for writing those two chapters and I am signing off! Bis bald!