And it's time for some Christmas bliss! Not to mention a major step in two of our couples' relationships. I don't own Azumanga Daioh, and neither do you.
Chapter 21, "An Osakan's Heart, and an Early Christmas Present, and a Special Gift..."
The day had finally come that many were wishing for this year: Christmas Eve. The holiday would provide an excellent time to give and receive, as well as further develop the relationships of the girls.
One particularly happy couple was that of Tomo and Yomi, who spent the holiday precursor at the latter's home. Both sat in Yomi's room, snuggled together while listening to her radio. "Ah, this is nice." Tomo commented, her head leaning on her girlfriend's shoulder. For once Yomi didn't have a comment; she simply turned Tomo to face her and kissed her. It lasted a few seconds, but they enjoyed every one.
When they parted, Tomo blushed a bit. "It seems so much nicer on the holidays, now that I'm with you." The smaller of the two continued, in one her rare delicate moods.
"Tomo...it'll stay like this, won't it?" Yomi suddenly inquired, causing Tomo to cock her head to the side.
"What do you mean? Of course it will! I don't know what I'd do if it were otherwise." She informed her. These words reassured Yomi, and she held Tomo closer.
Elsewhere, Sakaki and Kagura looked through some of the city's shops for potential gifts. "There's no telling what to get. With this kind of selection, it'd be impossible to find something for everyone by tomorrow!" Kagura cried, looking over the many visually appealing items for sale.
"You don't have to do that. We need to find something that everyone can do together, so we can have fun like we usually do." Sakaki argued.
"I know, but..." her shorter friend admitted. 'I can't think of anything I could get you, Sakaki! That's what's got me so miffed. Agh, I can't think of one damned thing!' she fought with herself. She didn't notice what Sakaki was doing until said girl placed a small charm necklace around her neck. "...Wha?" she murmured as she looked at it.
At the end was a miniature NecoConeco as the charm. At first she would have dismissed it immediately, but she turned and looked at Sakaki's expectant expression. "T-thank you..." she said. The two left off on their search again, with Kagura having gained a new affection for cats, and a deeper affection for Sakaki.
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At Chiyo's estate, she and Osaka watched joyfully as the first heavy snow of the season fell. "It's kinda fittin', ain't it?" Osaka drawled, placing her hands on Chiyo's shoulders.
"Yeah. There's a saying I heard, that if it snows on Christmas, the rest of the season will be good." Chiyo replied.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't think of anything to get ya that you wouldn't already have." Osaka apologized.
"Oh, you don't have to apologize! Having you here is enough for me." Her younger girl replied. It was then that a cold realization struck Osaka.
"I j-just realized...I'll be goin' back to Osaka to visit family tomorrow..." Ayumu whispered.
"What? But...but I thought-"Chiyo began to protest, but Osaka put a finger to her lips.
"Which is why were gonna spend as much time together as we can today." She instructed.
"...But I...alright." Chiyo surrendered, embracing her Osakan companion. "So what should we do to make the most out of the day?" she questioned.
"Well...maybe we should find the others and have a...I don't know, a celebration?" Osaka suggested. It would be an opportunity to celebrate many things; their relationships, the antics that had ensued through the year, and most importantly, their togetherness before they split on their career paths.
"I think that sounds just right. We'll have a great time," Chiyo agreed, "but what could we do to make it really special? It has to be something unforgettable!" she concluded.
"Well, we'll worry about that while we're out lookin' around for gifts." Osaka finished. With that, they left the manor to shop downtown.
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"This is so great!" Chihiro commented, walking about the park with Kaorin.
"I wonder what everyone else is doing? Probably staying in, where it's warm." Kaorin growled, trying to warm her hands.
"Oh, you spoiled sport! Winter is the best time of the year! The snow falls, people get together, and it isn't blazing hot like the summer." Chihiro contradicted. The two had been out for only a short while, but the cold got to Kaorin easily. So it's self-explanatory that she wasn't enjoying the outing much, if only because of the cold; she loved spending her time with her girlfriend.
"Maybe we should find somewhere nice and warm to go to?" she implored to Chihiro.
"Nonsense! This is Christmas Eve! We're going to find something to make this year...different." the other girl commanded, dragging her along. Along the way, they found Chiyo and Osaka.
"Hey, guys!" Chihiro called.
"Oh! It's Miss Kaorin and Miss Chihiro!" Chiyo told Osaka, who hadn't noticed; she was spaced out.
"What're you two doing out here? Any normal person would be insi-"Kaorin began to balk, but silenced herself at a frightening glare from the girl standing next to her.
"Anyway, what are you doing?" Chihiro asked.
"We were going to see what everyone was doing for today, and figured we'd get everybody together." Chiyo explained.
"Neither of us had anywhere particular to go, so we'll follow you." Osaka stated.
"...Right...well, shall we go then?" Kaorin hurried them, wanting to get anywhere warmer than their cold surroundings. It didn't take them long to find the people she least wanted to meet up with, Kagura and Sakaki. She remained silent, and Chihiro took a small lead in front of her.
"Kagura, Sakaki! Over here!" Osaka called.
"Yo! What's up?" Kagura responded.
"Hey, where'd ya get that neat charm?" the bubble headed girl asked her.
"Oh, this! Sakaki got it for me earlier." the other girl told her.
"Now if we can find Miss Tomo and Miss Yomi, we'll all be together!" Chiyo rallied them. The group then traversed the suburbs to Yomi's house, on the hunch that Tomo would have already raided it by now.
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"I wonder how long she can sleep like this?" Yomi growled. While they had been sitting together, her predictable girlfriend had fallen asleep in her embrace. And nothing had managed to wake her. Generally, Yomi wouldn't have minded, but she wanted to go do something. The situation wasn't aided when the doorbell rang. "TOMO!" she yelled, scaring the other awake.
"What the hell is your problem?" Tomo screeched.
Taking the opportunity, Yomi pushed Tomo off of her and went to answer the door. She was surprised to find all six of her friends. "What're you all doing here?" she demanded, a little more gruffly than she'd meant.
"We came to invite you to Chiyo's for an early celebration! Seein' as though a lot of us'll be visitin' family tomorrow." Osaka answered.
"Yeah! So do you and your pet wanna come?" Kagura asked, causing a familiar yell from somewhere in the house.
"Yeah, sure! She just needs to wake up first." Yomi told them. After a bit of coaxing, she got Tomo to leave to house. Along the way, they talked about what had happened through the day, or in Tomo's case, what hadn't.
"So, this morning Yomi and I were sleeping together, and she started-"the hyper girl was about to begin what would probably be a perverted story, when the subject grabbed her by the cheeks.
"Shut up, moron!" she roared as Tomo pinched back.
"Could you two not fight for one day?" Kagura inquired. At last they made it to Chiyo's mansion, and were happy to make it out of the cold evening.
"Ah, another minute and I'd have frozen to death!" Kaorin exclaimed, warming herself. The décor of the house held the traditional holiday atmosphere, with one exception:
"Hey, where's the tree?" Tomo gasped.
"Oh, it's in the other room. Come on, I'll show you!" the proprietor of the estate informed them. When they followed her, they were dumbstruck: the tree was taller than what most of their ceilings would be.
"Oh, I get it! You're flaunting your wealth again, aren't you, Chiyo-chan?" Tomo accused, pointing at her. Yomi slapped her hand.
"Don't say things like that!" she scolded. The eight of them admired the setting, each finding solace in the mood, and for that brief time Osaka and Chiyo's worries were as distant as stars.
"The year's almost at an end, and so much has happened..." Sakaki mumbled, taking Kagura's hand.
"Luckily, most things that came our way were for the best." Yomi added, resting her arm on Tomo's shoulder. By how late it was, they realized they'd need to disperse soon, so they discussed the year, next year, and plans for the future before leaving. When everything was over, Osaka and Chiyo remained.
"Chiyo, would ya like an early present?" Osaka asked.
"Hmmm? Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt." Chiyo answered. In what seemed like split second, Osaka placed her lips on Chiyo's. In that blissful moment, everything around them halted in time. When they parted, Osaka hung her head low.
"I-it w-was the only t-thing I could think of..." she confessed meekly. After the younger girl came back from the recoil, she smiled.
"It's the best present I could have ever asked for." She answered.
"R-really?" she queried.
"Yes," Chiyo said again, hugging her, "I love you, Ayumu Kasuga!" she cried.
"I l-love you too, Chiyo. Merry Christmas." Osaka said to her. As much as she didn't want to, she had to leave. As she did so, she waved to her girlfriend who saw her off.
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The next day, Christmas, all of the girls except Chiyo were off to see family and friends for the remainder of the day. But it sat fine with her, as she'd received a wonderful gift from a wonderful person. That was enough to keep her occupied. Not much happened during the day, but that evening, another great happening was occurring.
"Merry Christmas, Yukari!" Nyamo greeted as she entered the apartment with a package at hand.
"It's about time, Nyamo! Huh? What's that?" Yukari asked.
"Your present, of course." The younger of the two women replied, brandishing a gift-wrapped object.
"Really? For me?" her eccentric partner asked again. "Open it!" Nyamo pleaded with excitement. At first Yukari was skeptical, but upon opening it, the package revealed a sapphire-covered bracelet. "Oh, Nyamo...it's great!" she squealed. Adorning it, it was a perfect fit for her.
"I'm glad you like it. I couldn't think of anything you might fancy." Nyamo admitted. At that, Yukari decided it was time for her gift; one she prayed Nyamo would accept.
"I-I g-got a gift f-f-for you, too..." she managed to squeak.
"You did? I can't think of what it could be? What is it?" the more sensible of the two asked eagerly.
"W-well, I'm...I'm not sure if you'll be too happy with it..." Yukari began to falter, questioning herself at the last second.
"Whatever it is, I'll love it. That's simply because you got it for me, Yukari." Nyamo reassured her. Hesitantly, Yukari produced a small box from a bag.
"H-here..." Yukari offered the box to her.
"Hmmm, I wonder if-"Nyamo began, but her words caught as she opened it. Inside sat a small ring capped by a diamond. She looked to Yukari, and was soon realized the meaning of the gift in her expression: the normally steadfast, unpredictable teacher hung her head in embarrassment.
"M-Minamo Kurosawa...w-w-will you...m-marry me?" Yukari stammered, popping the question she'd worked to perfect for weeks.
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End of Chapter 21.
I hope you won't hate me for the cliffhanger at the end; I mean, you can all probably predict the outcome, but I'm sure I've teased you into demanding the next chapter. R&R as always, my faithful fans!