Hinamizawa Hell
Omake 1-7
Ch. 21: Merry Christmas
"Haa…Haaa…how much father is it?"
"Well, I figure that if we go about 5 more minutes of walking in this direction, then we will find just the right grove of trees to pick from Shi-chan."
"Then we'll just need to figure out how to get it back in one piece. We do have quite a walk back to the car Komoto-san."
"Satoshi-kun, what's a little walking to when you find that one perfect Christmas tree? Trust me, it'll be worth it."
Amongst the crunching of the newly laid snow on the ground, Komoto, Shion and Satoshi made their way through the dense groves of trees in search of the Christmas tree for the party. Though they had made a fresh and early start to the day, their quest proved much harder than expected. Their effort in finding an axe and the right place to log a tree was easy, but getting to the destination and finding the right one was arduous. Shion seemed to be at her limits already, now being helped by Satoshi behind Komoto as they trudged through the snow.
Just as Komoto had stated previously, in 5 minutes they had managed to find the right grove of trees to pick from. As the sunlight of the winter sky shined upon the grove, they marveled at the majestic illumination of the rays upon the ice and snow, almost being blinded by the sheer exposure. As they adjusted to their surroundings, Komoto began looking around at some trees, trying to figure out which one to submit to the fate of a holiday.
"Hmm…too big…too fat…not long enough…damn, harder than I thought," he stated.
"Komoto-san, you shouldn't be too picky about these things. Just pick one that looks well balanced," replied Shion, shaking her head.
"Shi-chan, this is a masterful art a man possesses. Women don't understand precision about placing a tree in a man's house…" he replied, grinning with his back to her. Shion blushed red; angered at the fact that Komoto had practically debased all women on the matter of picking out a Christmas tree.
"Hmm…Komoto-san, how about this one? Seems about right I think," spoke Satoshi. He stood by a tree a distance away. As Komoto and Shion came to his position, Komoto nodded in agreement.
"Yup, I think this one is perfect, Satoshi-kun. See Shi-chan, I told you that this was a man's skill," Komoto patted Satoshi on the back, at which he awkwardly just smiled and rubbed his head a bit. Shion, from Komoto's perspective, was honestly starting to get annoyed at him; however, she only grinned and retorted him in victory.
"Oh really? A man's skill? Well then, since Satoshi-kun had found the right one, I guess that means he's the man and you're just the little boy without the 'wood'. Way to go Satoshi-kun!" Shion kissed Satoshi on the cheek, earning him another smile and a bigger blush. Komoto, on the other hand, felt like a sword had gone through his chest, earning him an unwanted defeat in a contest of wits against Shion. He sighed and decided to leave it be, continuing on their mission.
"Ok, you guys go stand over there in cover. I'm just going to…"
"WAIT! Tell me that's not what I think it is!?" yelled Shion.
Komoto had stood near the tree, beginning to duck tape what appeared to be a satchel to the lowest part of the base. He seemed nonchalant about it, acting as if it was normal. However, he just looked at her confusingly.
"What? It's just a C4 satchel charge. That will save me some time in cutting down the tree…"
"NO! Bad Komoto-san! Use an Axe! An A-X-E!!!" Shion said, snatching the remote detonator from his hand and replacing it with an axe. Komoto just looked at her, murmuring to himself. She smiled and watched him chop with intensity at the tree, eventually, falling it after about 20 basic strikes.
For most of the day prior to the party, Mizuho and Rena were preparing some of the dishes for the next day. Keiichi and Mion were out delivering the party details to their parents and friends, as were Satoko, Rika and Hanyuu putting the decorations up around the house. The day was going pretty smoothly for everyone, except at times when the creampuffs were being made and Hanyuu had managed to get a whiff of their scent. Rika and Satoko had to evidently lock her into a closet until the creampuffs were hidden away and done with until tomorrow.
After most of the day was done and over with, the last part of work involved putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it for the most part. As to Satoshi's choice of tree, the measurements and fitting in the living room was next to perfect. Height, length, color, type, and even the spread of the tree's limbs were in full balance with the corner of the room. When the job was done, thankfully with everyone's help, all that remained was decorating it. However, to everyone's own effort, they couldn't think of what to do. Frankly, none of them had ever really seen a real Christmas tree before, except for Satoko and Satoshi.
"Hmm…so, do we just put the beads on and then the lights?" asked Keiichi.
"Wait, I thought we need to put up the globes too?" stated Mion.
"You've all got it wrong! You need to put the lights, beads, then the globes and finally the star at the top!" replied Satoko. She shook her head at her friend's inability at knowing such things.
"But a Christmas tree also needs cute things on it too! Auu…like ornaments and even cute figures!" Rena began drooling over ideas as to how to make the tree look cute enough, at which everyone else grinned.
"Rena, it seems like you have a general idea of what it should look like. We'll leave it to you the...n…"
In mere moments, Rena, who had a dark expression on her face had suddenly went into "Kawaii" mode. She snatched all the materials from the boxes, and instantly began coating the tree in decorations. Beads were whipped onto the tree, as were the lights, decorations and ornaments were hung with precise accuracy upon tree limbs, and even the star, which would be placed high atop the tree, was lobbed onto it with a mere flick of her hand. After witnessing it all, the tree could have been said to have looked perfect.
At this, and with Rena turning back to her friends with a smile on her face, the response was unanimous.
"How does that look everyone? Is it good, is it?" she asked.
Everyone could only fall flat on their backs, stupefied in fear at Rena's awesome power in "Kawaii" mode.
Later that night, as the others went to back to their respective homes, Komoto lied down on the couch, viewing the illuminated tree in the darkness and quietness of his home. Mizuho joined him no to much later and lied down next to him, his arm supporting her head which now rested in the crook of his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling a blanket over their bodies for warmth. After a few more moments of quietness, Mizuho spoke up.
"I never imagined that we'd be like this Komoto-kun. I thought we'd still be just mercenaries, aiming for this impossible dream of happiness…" she stated. Her long, blue hair was strewn across her face and the blanket, covering her eyes from Komoto.
"Impossible? No…I don't think it's impossible. All it took was a little courage and some faith to get where we are now. I'm happy that we are together and that we can make memories like this with the others. Hinamizawa is our home. Always has been and always will be," he replied. Komoto only snuggled closer to Mizuho, earning a sigh of pleasure from her.
"But, it is still kind of hard to believe all this. I look forward to new experiences with you and the others Komoto-san, I just wish that it will last forever and not be a dream that I'm having…"
At this point, Mizuho was so relaxed in Komoto's arms that she drifted off into a peaceful sleep for the rest of the night. Komoto smiled, watching her sleep as peacefully as she did. To him, she didn't look like her usual tomboyish self, definitely not like a gun-ho female wanting to join a rag tag group of mercenaries. However, at that moment she looked like an angel in blissful sleep, so beautiful to him that his heart easily skipped a beat. After watching her like that for almost ten minutes, he sighed and kissed her on the forehead before turning the lights out and going to sleep as well.
"I'm sure this isn't a dream, and I'm glad it's that way," he whispered.
Into the midday of Christmas Eve, Komoto hadn't awoken until around noon. It was quite early in the morning when he went to bed, so waking up was the usual for him around that time. As he rose from the couch, he smelled the aroma of different dishes for the party being prepared by Mizuho. He smiled to her in the kitchen, greeting her with a yawn.
"Auug…Morning love. What time is it?" Komoto rubbed his head, trying his best to wake up.
"Almost 12. I can't believe you slept that long. You never did that when we were mercenaries," Mizuho replied, multi-tasking with some eggs and noodles.
"Well, I wasn't retired then last time I checked…" he replied with a grin.
Most of the day wasn't intense or arduous in preparing for the party. Thanks to everyone's help the previous day, the work was all completed, except for Komoto's run to a liquor store for some wine and beer. After the preparations were complete, Komoto and Mizuho didn't do much else except make sure the weapon room was locked and watch some t.v. to kill time.
*Ring*
"Hold on…be right there…"
*Ring Ring Ring*
"Geez…I said I'd be there…!"
Komoto was in the kitchen, finishing up some last minute cooking and heating of some food, when the first guests had shown up. Upon the guest's displeasure at his speed, Komoto rushed to the door and opened it fast. Seeing that no one was there, he stood there on the spot and looked around the area.
"Hmm…that's odd. I could have sworn…UGH!"
After what seemed like a harmless step onto his own doorstep, Komoto had suddenly become a victim of a well known trap master's folly. His foot instantly became snared in thick rope, which literally swept him off his feet and sent him into an upwards spiral into the air. After the world stopped spinning and his body's flailing limbs ceased swinging from side to side, Komoto just hung as straight as his body could, looking for the culprit.
"Sa…toko…" he murmured in anger.
"Oh ho ho ho…I finally got you Komoto-san. Merry Christmas!"
Komoto swung around face to face with Satoko, who grinned evilly at him. She held the back of her hand to her mouth, laughing at Komoto in victory. He began to think that this past week just wasn't his best of days.
*Damn…ousted by a kid…I must be losing my edge…* he thought.
"Well, Merry Christmas to you too Satoko-chan. I see that Santa may be bringing you a nice lump of coal this year…" he retorted. Satoko backed off a bit in fear, knowing the tale of evil kids getting lumps of black coal on Christmas Eve.
"Hey, it's all in practical fun anyway. Hmph…" she retorted. Komoto just chuckled.
"Scratch that. I think you'll get some 'lead' instead!" He looked darkly at her, to which she went wide eyed and ran in fear into the house. Satoko had to remember not to try any more traps on him unless it was well worth dying for.
As Komoto spun around again, he discovered that Rika and Hanyuu had accompanied Satoko as well. They carried the gifts and smiled at the upside down Komoto.
"Nippah! Merry Christmas Komoto-senpai!" spoke Rika. She patted him on the head and walked past him, placing the presents under the tree inside.
"Nice to see you too Rika-chan. Umm…Hanyuu, can you please get me down from here…" he asked. At this point, Komoto could feel the blood rushing to his head.
"Auuauu…I can't. I'm way too small to even reach your feet, nano desu…" she replied, apologizing for her lack of help.
*Geez…a welcoming commodity for everyone…just my luck…*
"Hey honey, want some help?"
*Oh no…*
Komoto turned around again and found Mizuho by the doorway, dressed in blue jeans and a black turtleneck. She held one of her sharp knives to her lips, almost licking the sharp blade playfully. It was as if she had just begun contemplating how to slice up her constricted prey.
"Umm…please Mizu-chan…not today, ok?" he begged.
"Fine…you're no fun…" she flicked the knife with precision at the rope above, and with skill instantly sliced it. Komoto would have been sent crashing down to the floor had she not lent him a leg to hold onto. Thankfully, his neck was spared a breaking that day.
Not too long later, many other guests began to show up for the party. The next guests to arrive were Tomitake and Takano supporting the still injured Dr. Irie in crutches. Later, Shion and Satoshi arrived followed by Kasai and other Sonozaki family members. Rena and her father, accompanied by Mion, Keiichi and both of their respective parents came as well, lugging a large amount of gifts for everyone else. Detective Oishi and some police members, including Akasaka and his wife and daughter, showed up surprisingly bearing gifts and food too. Even Chie-sensei and Oryu Sonozaki were able to come, bringing with them some Sake and alcohol for the occasion.
As the sun finished setting over Hinamizawa, the last ray of light left the high mountaintops and hills of the village. The starry night sky, cloudless and seemingly perfect in peace, overcame the village on that holy evening. Amongst many dark houses of the village, now the inside lights turning out for the night, the one lone house near the ways of the intersection and the mill area was seething with festive life. The warm glow of the home, which had once existed as the coldest and darkest of homes in the village not even two weeks prior, was now the complete opposite. Music, talking, drinking and merrymaking reigned over the house that night in celebration of Christmas.
Rena, Mion and Keiichi sat on the couch, chatting and laughing away at memories shared and revealed of days past. Mion sat between Keiichi and Rena, resting happily in the crook of Keiichi's shoulder, smiling at Rena while she imagined what kind of cute and new things she would receive for gifts. Rika and Satoko were with Hanyuu, enjoying the foods and snacks before the main dinner, with Rika happily sipping on a brand of her favorite wine. Shion and Satoshi were with her parents, discussing some rather private matters away from the others, but none the less not a frown was seen on any of their faces; probably a discussion of plans that may bring good tidings in the future. Dr. Irie and Chie-sensei were sitting at the main table, eating some of Chie-sensei's homemade curry and striking up conversations that made both of them blush profusely for the rest of the night. Tomitake and Takano, on the other hand, were with Mizuho and Komoto, as well as Keiichi's and Mion's respective parents, discussing a few new developments coming in the near future.
"Well, Jiro-san proposed to me a while ago actually. While I was in the hospital in my medically induced coma, he vigilantly stayed with me until my health improved. When I woke up, he suddenly busted out with his proposal to me, to which I gladly accepted," Takano showed to Mizuho, Akane, and Keiichi's mother the engagement ring proudly worn on her wedding finger. They marveled at the gold and diamond intricacies of the ring, congratulating her for the good news.
"My, you soldier's really must be paid well to afford such items," spoke Akane.
"Actually, no we aren't. It's the time and saving really…" spoke Mizuho, Komoto and Tomitake all at once, smiling awkwardly. The others just laughed in response.
"Well, I'm happy for you two. You must inform everyone of the date for the wedding," spoke Mizuho.
"My, you two have certainly outdone yourself here. I can't believe you both managed to put together such a party with the help of our children," Akane smiled to the two hosts, who blushed a bit.
"Thank you. We really couldn't have done any of this without their help actually. We're just glad that we managed to pull it off in time," Komoto responded.
"So I was told that you have to attend their club meetings as some sort of punishment? Rena-chan even told me you actually lose to their games Hagara-san," Rena's father interjected on the discussion, drinking some wine as they chatted.
"Eh? Well, yeah, about that. Not that I'm coming off weird or anything, but I am currently retired as a mercenary and I happen to have a lot of free time on my hands. That and I do have to keep my promises to them," he replied, nervously.
"I'm glad, then, to know they can relate to someone like you Komoto-san. Please watch over them when you can. They can be quite the wild bunch those kids," spoke Akane.
"Kids? Actually, I really don't see it that way. You've brought them up well enough to take care of themselves quite surprisingly. But none the less, I'll do my best to look after them." At this, the other parents thanked him for his generosity. "…besides, they really know how to have fun. I'll just have to stick around and see where it goes."
They all looked over to the others, watching them talk in the living room while eating their food. The parents smiled at them, watching as they marveled at the extravagancy of the gifts under the tree. The bright colors and beautiful designs of the tree and gifts almost made Rena want to take it all for herself and put it in her room at home to look at year round.
Mizuho smiled at the others, wishing herself that she could have a child of her own someday. Komoto, noticing this unusual smile of hers, didn't understand at first but decided to pass it off by grabbing her hand and giving her a loving squeeze. She snapped out of thought and smiled back at him.
"So if you two are retired now, what will you do to keep yourselves occupied? There's plenty of work to do around the summertime here in this quant village, but even now it is quite dead as is just being at home I'm sure." Oryu had now interceded on the conversation, speaking directly to Mizuho and Komoto with some unknown intent. It seemed unbeknown to them that Oryu knew something, for which she happily smiled at Mizuho for.
"Umm…well, Komoto and I discussed that, and I've actually put in my application with Chie-sensei's approval to help around the school during the day. I don't having any teaching credentials, but I'm sure that I can at least learn to become a teacher." Mizuho convinced the others easily that the job could be done, which helped her support the final decision on the matter.
"What about you, Hagara-san?" asked Akane.
"Well, as much as I'd like to just do nothing and sleep in the house all day, I'm more afraid of getting rusty. It's kind of hard to just jump off the war bandwagon and on another for peace, so I've actually put in my application with Detective Oishi's department as an outside consultant for the police. I'm going to be training them in special tactics and other sorts of things. I'll even be able to have free use of the firing range year round." His announcement actually seemed quite fitting of him, leaving Oryu to agree with their decisions.
"Hmm…that seems like the best direction for you two. However, I have something special I want to ask of you Otome-san…" asked Oryu.
"Kei-chan, can you come here for a second?" asked Keiichi's father.
He went over to his son and pulled him aside from the others for a few moments, leaving Mion with a confused look. His father began to whisper into his ears for a bit, telling him something that seemed important.
"Kei-chan, I just found out that one of my contracts is finally going to be finalized for some art pieces that I've commissioned for a private company. Your mother and I are going to Tokyo for a few days, and we're going to need to leave tonight if we are going to make it in time for the signing," his father stated.
"But what about the party?" he asked, hoping in the very least they would stay a while longer.
"Sorry son, but nothing can be done. We're already packed, and a taxi will be here soon to pick us up…" he said, however, with a smile on his face. "…so, since we're going, why not bring your girlfriend over to stay at our house for a night or two. I won't even tell your mother about it while we're gone…" he chuckled close to his son, which made Keiichi blush a lot. He looked to his father as if he had gone insane, but when his father mentioned something else about what he called "rubbers" did Keiichi realize just how much his father was serious.
"Eh!!! Are you kidding me!?" Keiichi yelled, almost causing a scene amongst the partiers.
"Dear, the taxi's almost here…" spoke his mother.
"Oh well, that's our cue. Take care son, and 'be safe'!" His father patted his son on the back and joined his wife, who hugged her son before leaving. Komoto and Mizuho escorted them to the door, waving goodbye as they started to enter the taxi. Keiichi, meanwhile, sighed at yet another one of his parent's unexpected absences, but smiled in the fact that he and Mion would be alone for the night.
"Hey, Kei-kun, where are your parent's going? It's not even late…" asked Mion. She came up behind Keiichi and gave him a loving hug unexpectedly.
"Off on another business meeting in Tokyo. That's just like them…" he sighed.
"Aww don't feel bad about it. You've got me and the others for the rest of the night Kei-kun," she patted him on the head.
"Well, yeah that's true. And if you want, my dad said it was ok for you to keep me company at home for the next two days too. Wanna stay over for a night or two?" he asked.
Mion looked at Keiichi with a blank stare for a few moments, then turned her head away and blushed profusely, like Keiichi had never seen before.
"Umm…that is…if it's ok with my parents then I might…"
"Oh, don't worry Mi-chan! I already had the go-ahead from your parents. Take good care of my son for me!!!"
Keiichi's father suddenly, from the shadows, burst out of nowhere behind his son, giving both Mion and Keiichi near death heart attacks. They pounced near the wall in fear of him, almost knocking over one of the wall decorations. However, once Keiichi found out that it was his father did he begin to yell in embarrassment and demand why he was back in the house.
"Oh, sorry, I just forgot my keys. Take care you two!" he rushed outside the door snickering all the way back to the taxi, fortunately escaping one of Keiichi's sonly beatings.
"Umm…I guess that settles it Kei-kun, heheheh…" blushed Mion. They looked at each other awkwardly for a few moments then just laughed it off.
"So Rika-chan, having fun?" asked Komoto. Rika sat alone on the porch for awhile, sipping some wine with Hanyuu for once. Hanyuu decided it was a good occasion for alcohol, so she drank some as well, if only a little.
"Mii…I'm having a blast. I never knew Christmas could be so much fun for everyone," she responded.
"Nano-desu! It's nice once in a while to enjoy a new holiday!" Hanyuu happily ate on one of the few creampuffs she allotted for that holiday.
"Heh…good to hear. Same goes for me," Komoto leaned on the porch railings and looked over Hinamizawa in the darkness of the night for a bit.
"It's kind of hard to believe we really reached our happy days in the end," stated Rika suddenly. Komoto turned and looked at her with a confused expression.
"Well, I don't think it's hard to believe Rika-chan. I mean, sure everyone has some bad times in life, but we have the good too. Even if we have to endure some hard experiences, there will still be good in it somewhere. No place is perfect after all…" he smiled, being somewhat cryptic to Rika-chan.
"That is true. Right Hanyuu?"
"Yes, that is so."
"Ok, it's decided! Since Kei-kun was the one that made us go to all this trouble of buying presents, he will be the first one to open our gifts!" stated Mion. She threw her hand into Keiichi's pile and pulled out a random gift for him. As luck would have it, it was Satoko's gift to him.
"Be glad I got you something Kei-chan. I put a lot of work into it. It's one of my best masterpieces yet!" stated Satoko with some pride.
Everyone watched as Keiichi accepted the gift from Satoko, which was a small rectangular box. It was quite heavy for its size, leaving Keiichi to wonder what it was. He began to open the box, with the others sitting around waiting for his response.
"Thanks Satoko…I really appreciate it…UGH!"
As was Satoko's usual ploy, Keiichi fell for another one of her traps. This time, it came in the form of a 'pie surprise'; a simple and yet elegant method involving a somewhat harmless Christmas gift as cover for a spring loaded pie launcher. Upon contact, Keiichi's face was completely covered in white whip cream, from which he looked to the others with a blank expression as they laughed and fell to the ground, holding their sides as if they would burst from laughter.
"Please…tell me you all got me normal, non-pie throwing gifts at least…" he asked, getting up and slamming his fist against his palm, ready to give Satoko a beating. However, she just smiled and handed him another gift, being sincere to him.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Here, I think you'll like this one much better," she said, innocently.
Keiichi sighed and opened the box, cautiously this time and with precision so as to not set off an imaginary trip wire. This time, however, Keiichi opened a small box and revealed a brand new watch, to which he smiled and quickly wrapped around his left wrist.
"Thanks Satoko-chan. I really needed one," he stated, not mad at the pie trick anymore.
After the first gift was given, Keiichi received many gifts from the others; all the while the adults exchanged gifts to one another. Among his various gifts were a brand new pocket knife, manga and sketching books, as well as some new clothes for the winter months. He even received a new baseball glove from Shion, something he looked forward to using during the summer with the others. However, once he looked over the gifts did he realize Mion hadn't wrapped one for him. She walked up to him and whispered in his ear.
"Your gift isn't until later, ok?" she kissed him on the cheek and smiled, to which he blushed and gulped in amazement.
Upon everyone receiving their gifts, Keiichi was satisfied to find that the others greatly enjoyed their gifts from him later on. Mion's gift, like his own, wouldn't be given until later, at which he blushed even more just thinking about. On the adult's side, Komoto had given Mizuho a new gold necklace with a locket. In it, he put one of their old mercenary photos of them together into the separate slides, to which she outwardly expressed her love for it. In return, Mizuho's gift for Komoto was something similar in terms of reminisce, but in reality was quite unique. She had taken his old dog tags and cleaned them up at a local jewelry shop, as well, managed to get a brand new silver chain for the item. In addition, she took off one of her own dog tags and put it next to his on the chain, signifying a small symbol of their love for one another. Komoto proudly wore it immediately, kissing her on the lips and hugging her.
The other adults, barring Keiichi's parents, did something of a mystery Santa for exchanging gifts. Among the gifts given, Akasaka had given Tomitake a new camera lenses, Dr. Irie had given Chie-sensei, of all recipients, a new curry cook book, and even Akane had given Kasai a new pair of sunglasses. Of all the gifts given, almost every one seemingly fit the recipients. It was as if no gift given that night went unwanted.
As the night grew on, the adults and teenagers knew the time drew near to end the festivities. After cleaning up any messes from food or gift wrappings, and cleaning the dishes, everyone respectfully thanked Komoto and Mizuho for the wonderful holiday and took their leave. Even Oryu, who opposed such holidays, did not show a single bit of bitterness towards the occasion. She even expressed her willingness to host the party the following year at the house; an announcement so astonishing to the Sonozaki family that both Shion and Mion could only bear smiles the rest of the night.
Rika, Satoko, and Hanyuu were taken back to their house with Kasai as their driver. Shion and Satoshi would later be dropped off at Shion's apartment by her parents, while Keiichi, Mion and Rena were dropped off by her father. Everyone else went their respective ways back home, including Akasaka with his family back to their hometown. Detective Oishi and Chie-sensei talked with Komoto and Mizuho respectively about their applications, assuring that they would be under review after the holidays.
As everyone left, with the house having very little cleaning to do the next morning, Komoto sat down on the couch and sipped on some sake with Mizuho at his side.
"What a day!" he sighed, drinking some more sake.
"Tired Komoto-kun? I do think you may be getting rusty with all this fatigue you've had lately, heheheh…" she chuckled a bit and took his sake glass from him, taking a swig of it herself.
Komoto didn't smile at her comment. It struck something, thankfully a moment that Mizuho didn't catch. Deep down, he was thinking too much lately about how tired he felt. Not just the fatigue, but his whole body just didn't have the energy he used to. He figured it was just being retired, but truthfully he knew the reason was his health and the adrenaline usage he experienced. It was all catching up on him, so maybe retirement was the best for now.
"Yeah…that or I just need the sleep. Having less adrenaline in my system has a toll you know," Mizuho looked at him for a bit and frowned.
"Maybe you should have Dr. Irie take a look at you again. Are you feeling unwell?" she asked, starting to worry.
"I'm fine. Dr. Irie said I would experience these kinds of things for awhile. It's just part of weening off the adrenaline…" he stated, smiling at her.
Once Mizuho knew he was honest, she gave a sigh of relief. With another swig of the bottle she finished off the rest of the sake.
"Heh…thanks for the gift. I really appreciate it," she stated.
"Same to you. I won't take this off, you know?" he joked with her. She blushed in response happily.
"You like it that much, huh? If your that satisfied, then I won't have to give you your other gift then…" she teased him, sticking out his tongue.
"Hmm? Wait, you mean…"
Mizuho put the sake bottle down and crawled over to Komoto on the couch, moving up to his ear and giving a sensual whisper like none other.
"Let's go to the bedroom, love…" With that said, Mizuho took his hand and guided him to the room, at which he happily accepted her invitation.
On the car ride home, Mion held tight to a wrapped package meant for Keiichi later that night. At the same time, he kept his gift for her back at the house in eager anticipation. Rena's father, meanwhile, cautiously drove the three to Keiichi's home, while in the back seat of the car sat Mion, Keiichi in the middle, and Rena, who surprisingly dozed off to sleep on his shoulder. She seemed really tired once they left the house, at which Keiichi found it funny that she suddenly passed out in the car, drooling out the side of her mouth.
Mion saw this, and felt a ping of jealousy in her heart. She passed it off and rested her own head against Keiichi's other shoulder, at which he smiled back.
Once they reached the home, Rena, sleepily, waved goodbye to her friends and fell back asleep in the back seat, hugging her new gifts in her arms. Her father waved goodbye as well, putting the car in reverse and driving the opposite way towards their own home. With the wind beginning to pick up and the snow now lightly falling again, Keiichi and Mion ushered themselves into the home quickly.
"So…Kei-kun…we have the house to ourselves again, huh?" asked Mion. She became nervous somewhat and didn't dare meet her eyes with Keiichi's. She slowly took her coat and other winter clothes off, taking her time in her thoughts.
*Kei-kun, I'm ready, so please…*
"Hey, Mi-chan…you there?"
"AHH! Um..yes?" Mion spaced out, then realized Keiichi was waving his hand if front of her face. She blushed and recovered.
"You thirsty? I'm going to get some drinks…"
"Umm…yeah. Water please…"
Keiichi moved to the kitchen, grabbing some glasses and the drinks. Meanwhile, Mion took Keiichi's "gift" upstairs and made sure it would be ready. When he came back into the hallway, Mion was gone.
"Eh? Mi-chan?"
Keiichi wandered into the living room, didn't see her there, and guessed she was upstairs. As he started to ascend the stairs, Keiichi heard Mion call out.
"Umm…Kei-kun…not yet. I'm still getting something ready. Just go into your room, ok?" she called from the upstairs bathroom.
Keiichi, wondering with eager anticipation of Mion's gift for him, did as told and went into his room. He placed the drinks on his desk and, likewise, pulled out her gift from a drawer. It was neatly wrapped in green paper with a gold ribbon. He placed it on his futon, and waited for Mion to return.
After a few minutes, Mion, wearing what seemed like a white robe, came into the room and, at the same time, blushed like Keiichi never saw her before. She sat down and held the robe tight to her chest, not daring to reveal what was going to happen just yet.
Keiichi looked at her with awe. Somehow, he felt his night would either be very awkward or extremely good. He gulped and recovered his thoughts, trying to regain himself.
"Ah…so anyway…Mi-chan…I hope I didn't cause too much trouble for you and the others over the shopping. You really…didn't have to." He smiled and looked at the ground for a bit.
"Don't worry about it. We all wanted to do that for you this year Kei-kun. Besides…I wanted to do something special for you anyway…" she smiled, looking at the ground as well.
"Well…I looked around most of the day while I was shopping, and well; I think this one was perfect for you. If you'd accept it, please, by all means here…"
Mion looked at him with open eyes a bit, then down to his lifted arms and hands. In the palms of his hands was a small gift and, happily, Mion accepted it. She looked it over, loving the pretty golden bow on it, but soon slowly undid it. After carefully removing the wrapping paper, Mion revealed a small blue case, bigger than a wedding ring box. She sighed in relief, thinking Keiichi would unexpectedly propose to her, but a bit disappointed still. However, as Keiichi waited for her approval, she opened it up and, with awe and speechlessness, she smiled and the discovery.
In the blue box was a beautiful golden necklace with a gold, heart shaped locket. She marveled at the designs on it, which had beautiful flowers over the outside of it.
"Keiichi…it's beautiful!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. As she was about to put it on, Keiichi stopped her.
"Wait, there's more. Open it up."
Mion looked back at the locket, and did as was told. Slowly, she opened the heart and revealed two more unique features. On the right side was a picture of them together, probably taken by Tomitake-san for Keiichi's gift. They looked so happy together during that summer in the photo. In the other half, however, was something Mion didn't get right away.
"… 'What only belongs to you'?" she stated, reciting the words in the locket.
Keiichi got up and slowly took it from her. He went behind Mion and began to put the necklace on for her. Mion could feel Keiichi's warm breath on her neck as he explained, sending pleasurable feelings along her spine.
"Mi-chan…this locket made me think a lot actually…of what I thought was our worst times in the past…" he stated, darkly.
"Worst times? You mean…our memories?"
"Yeah. When I saw this locket, I remembered something in my memories. Remember the doll I gave you?" he asked.
"Yeah…I remember. I keep it on my bed and sleep with it every night."
"…Lucky doll…" he murmured, blushing at the idea.
"What?" she asked, not hearing him.
"Er…nothing. Anyway, I remembered about that time in another life we had. Because I didn't give you that doll in that past life, you became sad and depressed for awhile, just before…well, Shi-chan went insane with anger and hatred…but most importantly, after all that had happened, I realized then that I was…afraid."
"Afraid? Of what?"
"Of us…Mi-chan. I was afraid that if I gave you the doll that something between us would change. I thought I would be embarrassed about it, and that we wouldn't look at each other the same way after that. I thought we wouldn't be able to have those fun times anymore."
Keiichi didn't move away from behind her after finishing putting on the locket. Mion raised her hand to where it rested against her chest, and felt her heart begin to go into overdrive as Keiichi began to wrap his arms around her in a hug.
"Mi-chan…when I didn't give you the doll, I didn't think anything of it. I thought you'd laugh it off then, but now I realize that wasn't the case. You wanted me to see you as a girl, and in this life I made a commitment to see you that way. I gave you the doll in this life, because I wasn't afraid anymore. And…I'm glad I gave it to you and only you Mi-chan…" Keiichi turned her around to face her. She looked deeply into his eyes and couldn't help but feel intoxicated by how her body was feeling about him. "…This time, where we are now, I wanted to make something clear to you. Mi-chan…when I had those words engraved in the locket-"What only belongs to you"-I mean to say that this is the gift I gave you so long ago and for you to realize right now. My heart, from the moment I met you, has always been yours to keep, and it always will be…"
At this statement, Mion began to uncontrollably shed tears of happiness, sadness, joy and love. She smiled, and put his hand to her cheek, likewise, he began to wipe away the tears.
"Kei-kun…I feel the same way! Every time we were together then, my heart always felt like it is now about you. For that, I love you Kei-kun!" she pulled him into a kiss, one that was very memorable for them.
After what seemed like years in that single kiss, they broke it off and blushed again. Mion, not afraid of anything anymore, looked at Keiichi with earnest eyes.
"Kei-kun…I'm sure of it right now…of what I want for us." She stated. Keiichi looked at her with some confusion. She moved up on both legs in front of him and smiled.
"So since its Christmas and all…I wanted to do this for you. I wanted to make this the most memorable night of our lives. You've done your part, now let me do mine. So Kei-kun, come here and unwrap your present…"
Keiichi didn't act like a child or an idiot this time. He knew what was gonna happen in a small form, so in himself he acted mature. Slowly, he got up and, with Mion's hand for guidance, pulled on the robe's velvet waist rope. In moments, her robe fell off, revealing, like Mion had decided upon, a unique Santa costume, but with Mion filling it out was sexy none the less. She pulled out of nowhere a small Santa hat and put in on top of her head. On both hands and feet were fluffy gloves and slippers, at the same time, she wore something next to lingerie over her body but none the less keeping it cosplay-ish. She was covered head to toe in red, white and green colors: a complete Christmas trinity of design.
Keiichi looked at her, his eyes wide and focused on her, and his jaw suddenly dropped. A nose bleed instantly projectiled out of control, metaphorically speaking in a sense. He drooled over seeing Mion in such a cosplay, completely at a loss of words to how beautiful she looked.
Mion only grinned in pleasure at seeing Keiichi like he was. She was embarrassed and blushing profusely, but it didn't stop her from her final decision. She moved up closer next to Keiichi, pressing her chest against his own. Her bust completely made itself apparent to Keiichi, proving to him that it wasn't some impossible dream.
"Kei-kun…I love you, and for that, I know what I want for the both of us. So please…" Mion moved closer to Keiichi and whispered seductively into his ear "…be gentle…"
"G…gentle?" he stuttered, giving Mion a bigger smile.
"Kei-kun, please…"
At that moment, Mion pulled Keiichi over to his futon, and lied down. They were both beet red at this point, their hearts going into overdrive with wanting for one another. The lights of the home went out soon after they both lied down in the bed, looking at each other's eyes in the darkness. After a while, they moved closer together and let their inner desires take over, with it all seeming so natural yet so new to them. It was a consummation of their love, one that had no regrets or worries in. For them, it was their most memorable night together that would be remembered for all time. For Mion, she had shown her real girl side. For Keiichi, he had given his heart to Mion. And for both of them, they knew and shared what love could really be.
And so ended that night for everyone, both lovers, friends, family members, and associates alike in the now quiet yet silent village of Hinamizawa. The snow fell till mid morning on Christmas day, the sun finally breaking out of the clouds and shining upon Hinamizawa in a spectacular fashion. For those who awoke that day, the sunlight was almost symbolic that the worst was over for the village after so many trial and errors. What seemed like the achievement of peace was finally reached…
…But still, things never stay as they are, even for a broken reality. The real battles were just on the horizon; ones that would be fought personally, physically, and spiritually. The village, through these battles, would stand up to the ultimate test of this world. No rules or instructions were in this game, as it was an all or nothing loss. For what would begin in the early summer months would be the start to the final battle: for Rika, her friends, and even that world's sake.
To be continued in Hinamizawa Hell: "Revealing Demons" arc.
Author's Note: Hey everyone, finally finished the omake. Hope you like it.
Coming up next is the "Revealing Demons" arc, one of what would be the final two arcs for the story. Stay tuned, as the horror and misfortunes of Hinamizawa come back in full force, this time, to determine the fate of the village and everyone who cares about it. Coming in the next two weeks, the first chapter, hopefully…so stay tuned!