Hi, all! I'm back again, and I'm finally updating UDS with a new short story that bears a Christmassy theme in the spirit of this lovely holiday season. I certainly hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, lol! Now, onto the story…
A/N: I don't own Bleach…
Unbound Deleted Scene #2:
A Day in a Life: Takuya Hokkaido Edition
"First Christmas"
"So…pretty…"
These were the only words Takuya could form at the moment as she stood outside on the shop's small porch and watched the snow fall gracefully from a cloudy gray sky. The ground had already been covered in the pure white ice when she'd stepped outside that quiet morning, and she'd immediately become entranced by it the moment she laid eyes on it.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Orihime's voice startled Takuya slightly, but she smiled nonetheless when the girl appeared in her peripheral view.
"Yes, it is very beautiful, enthralling even." Takuya replied. "I could stand here and watch it forever."
"Me too." Orihime chimed. "Snow has always made me happy, even more so now that it's come just in time for Christmas."
Takuya looked at Orihime then, an inquisitive expression taking over her features. "…Christmas?"
Orihime returned Takuya's inquisitive gaze. "You've never heard of Christmas?"
The ebony-haired girl timidly shook her head "no."
"It's one of the greatest and loveliest holidays of the year, and it's celebrated almost everywhere." Orihime explained gleefully. "There's gift giving and big, tasty dinners and Christmas trees and lots of pretty lights and decorations and hot-cocoa drinking and caroling and lots of fun times with family and friends and a whole lot of other awesome stuff."
Takuya giggled at the auburn-haired girl's enthusiasm. "Wow, that does sound really nice."
"Oh it so is." Orihime said, smiling brightly. "Hey, we should see if Urahara has a Christmas tree. If he does, we can put it up and decorate it together."
At that, she grabbed Takuya by the hand and pulled her back into the shop where they proceeded to seek out the shopkeeper.
"A Christmas tree? No I don't think we have one of those around here." Urahara replied as he sipped his tea. "Why do you ask?"
"Because, it's Christmas time, and I think we should have one." Orihime said earnestly. "You do celebrate Christmas, don't you?"
"Kinda."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We celebrate it…only we've never had a tree…or gifts…"
The auburn-haired girl gasped sharply. "A Christmas…with no Christmas tree or gifts?"
Urahara nodded.
"Did you at least have a nice dinner together?"
"Not really."
"…Did you guys at least spend a little quality time together?"
"Nope."
Orihime's brow furrowed as she folded her arms over her chest, and she shook her head in disapproval. "Well that's not going to be the case this year. If I'm staying here, then we are going to have a Christmas tree and dinner and everyone is going to spend time together."
Urahara blinked confusedly at the girl. "But…why do we need to –"
"Because this is going to be Takuya's first Christmas and it should be one that she'll always have fond memories of. Are you going to rob her of that?"
The shopkeeper quickly put his hands up and shook his head, a comical grin on his face. "No, of course not. I wouldn't want to be responsible for that."
"Good." Orihime said with a smile; she then turned to face Takuya, who sat quietly beside her. "Alright, it's time for us to go out and do some Christmas shopping."
"Ummm…can I come along, too?" Ururu's quiet voice drew the three's attention to the hallway entrance, where the small girl now stood. She'd overheard the entire conversation.
"Of course you can come, Ururu." Orihime replied cheerily. "The more, the merrier…"
"Bah, Ururu doesn't need to go anywhere." Jinta said, suddenly appearing behind Ururu and bringing his hand down roughly onto her head, eliciting a whimper from the girl. "She's got plenty chores around here that she needs to handle."
"Actually, I think it would be a great idea if Ururu came along with us." Takuya commented, eying the boy. "From all that I've heard so far, it would seem that she's never been Christmas shopping either. It will be an excellent first time experience for both of us."
"I agree. Ururu, you may go with Orihime and Takuya." Urahara said. "I'm sure Jinta wouldn't mind doing your chores for you at all, would you, Jinta?"
"What? C'mon, Urahara, that is not fair…!"
The shopkeeper fixed the boy with a stern glare. "Would you…Jinta?"
"…No, sir, I wouldn't mind at all." Jinta muttered begrudgingly.
"Excellent, then it's settled." Urahara said coolly. "You three should go ahead and prepare yourselves to head out. One thing I do know about this time of year is that it can get pretty hectic out there, even with the weather we're having."
"Right." the three girls said in unison.
"Oh, one other thing…will you need Grimmjow or Renji to go with you today?" Urahara asked.
"No, I'm sure we can manage on our own today." Orihime said.
"Very well."
At that, the three girls departed to their rooms to prepare for their trip into town.
Within about half an hour, all three girls were prepared to leave. Feeling obligated to contribute to the cause; both Urahara and Tessai provided the girls with a good bit of their own funds to aid in their shopping trip. After exchanging their "good-byes" and "be carefuls," the three set out on their mini-journey to downtown Karakura.
From his place on the roof of the shop, Grimmjow watched the girls as they began their trek across the snowy lot. He pulled his dark blue coat tighter around him to keep stray snowflakes from landing on his neck, and then shoved his hands into his pockets. A minute or so later, another presence joined him, sitting about three feet away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Renji brushing the remains of accumulated snow away from his sitting spot. His deep red hair wasn't in its usual ponytail today, and rather fell around his face like a curtain of blood, most likely to keep his face warm. His attention didn't linger on the man for too long, as his eyes immediately found the three girls again shortly before the disappeared from the view of the lot.
"You're up early." Renji finally spoke, breaking the somewhat awkward silence looming between them.
Grimmjow merely grunted at the man's remark; taking a deep breath, he stretched out his senses finding Orihime, Takuya, and Ururu almost immediately among the myriad of other insignificant spiritual pressures.
"Kinda thought you were going with them."
"Tch, hell no." Grimmjow said almost defiantly. "I spend enough time around those annoying humans thanks to Urahara putting me in that damn…high school."
Renji chuckled slightly. "Yeah, I suppose you do. And there's supposed to be a lot more of them in downtown Karakura."
"I know that. I've heard plenty about this…holiday rush shit just by listening to them talk about it at the school, about how it's so crowded sometimes you can't even move properly and how vulgar these humans can get. What the hell do you think would happen if I were put into all that shit?"
Renji couldn't help but laugh as he pulled his own coat a little tighter around him. "Well, we'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble, that's for sure."
"Exactly." Grimmjow muttered; he growled lowly, the thought of being caught up in sea of human shoppers causing his ire to rise slightly. "Everyone would be in trouble."
"We made it. Finally…" Orihime said with a minor sigh of relief as the three girls began walking down the busy sidewalks of downtown Karakura.
Takuya gasped in slight awe and astonishment as her eyes wandered over all the buildings surrounding them as well as all the people scattered everywhere as they made their way down the busy sidewalk. She couldn't recall ever being in this part of Karakura before. It was crowded; not even Karakura High had this many people. When they reached the corner of one block, they stopped. Takuya immediately recognized this to be one of the "shopping blocks" Orihime hand mentioned on their way here. It was lined with various department stores, food stores, gift shops, and eateries, and it was getting steadily more crowded with lots of bustling people. Takuya felt herself gulp a little.
"Ok guys, this is the place that we will be doing our shopping." Orihime explained. "This whole block is lined with stores that will have basically everything we need."
"What will we be buying?" Takuya asked.
"Well a Christmas tree for starters, and lights and decorations…we'll be doing that part last. We also need to get a gift for everyone." The auburn-haired girl then produced two lists and gave them to Takuya and Ururu. "I have everyone's names on that list, just so we don't forget anybody."
"So, do we go get gifts for everyone first?" Ururu asked.
"Yes, we're gonna be doing that first." Orihime replied, grabbing the small girl by the hand. "We can all go together or we can go to different stores on our own. Which do you want to do Takuya?"
Takuya thought for a second. "Are you going to keep Ururu with you? I'd hate for her to get lost in all this…"
"Yeah, I'll keep her safe." Orihime said with a slight smile, her hand tightening slightly around Ururu's.
"Ok, well, you two be careful." Takuya said.
"You too, Takuya…oh wait, one more thing…" Orihime pulled out a small cell phone from her coat pocket. "Keep this with you. I wrote my number on the back of the phone case. If you need to, just dial the number and press "Send" to call."
Takuya nodded, immediately putting the phone in her pocket so she wouldn't lose it and waving after Orihime and Ururu. She stood and watched the two until the disappeared in the bustling crowd. Then, with a deep breath, she began to make her own way down the busy block.
"Ok, gifts for everyone…" she murmured as she looked over the list of people. "Ichigo, Uryuu, Rukia, Renji, Chad, Orihime, Ururu, Jinta, Urahara, Tessai…hmmm, one's missing…"
She paused for a moment, her brow furrowed only slightly. Pulling out a pen she'd brought along for marking off names, she added a final name to the bottom of the list. "…And…Grimmjow…"
Smiling slightly, she folded her list and continued her walk. The first store she stopped at was a women's clothing and accessories store. Taking a deep breath, she walked in and looked around. She wasn't surprised when she found a large crowd in the store as well, moving here and there as best they could without running into each other. Without much thought, she grabbed an available shopping cart and moved to the side of the store containing the clothing.
"Ok, a new outfit for Orihime, Rukia, and Ururu…"
She picked items up here and there, doing her best to consider what it was that each girl liked as well as making sure that the outfits matched and would actually fit them. So far, she'd successfully created three casual winter outfits consisting of a pair of pants for each, sweaters, scarves, hats, mittens, – she personally really liked mittens for reasons she couldn't explain – jackets, and even socks.
"Alright, now all that's left are the shoes…"
At that, Takuya made her way over to the shoes, and immediately found pairs for Orihime and Rukia. And, after only a few minutes of searching, she spotted what she deemed as the "perfect pair of shoes" to complete Ururu's outfit. They were the cutest soft pink boots she'd ever seen. She'd reached down to pick them up from their boxed resting place on the shelf when they were suddenly snatched from right under her hands, so quickly in fact that she immediately retracted her hands for fear that they would be taken along with the box. She looked up to see a short, dark-haired lady tossing the shoe box into her own cart.
"Oops," the woman sneered in a nasally voice, looking back at Takuya as she walked away, "sorry about that, did I take the box you were reaching for? Oh well, maybe next time right?"
Takuya stood in slight shock. Was this what Mr. Urahara was warning me about before we left?
- FLASHBACK -
"This time of the year brings out the worst in people in the retail community, especially the shoppers, so I'm told. Try not to let it bother you too much if you encounter somebody who just seems to be overly rude on purpose, ok?"
Takuya nodded. "Ok. I'll do my best."
- END FLASHBACK -
"…Oh dear…" Takuya murmured as she slowly turned back to the shelf where the shoes used to be.
Fortunately enough, there was another pair of the same exact shoes hidden further back on the shelf. She quickly reached out and picked the shoes and placed them in her own cart. After checking over all her items and nodding in approval of her selections, she went to the front of the store to make her first purchases of the day. The cashier was kind enough to give her one larger bag in which she placed the shoes and neatly folded items. With her bag in hand, she left the store with a feeling of accomplishment.
"Three down…" she said as she retrieved her list from her, checking all three girls' names on her list. "And now for the gentlemen on the list…"
The next store Takuya stopped in was a household and appliance store. The crowd wasn't as large in here as it was in the clothing store, but where people didn't take up space, the items they hoisted around did. Boxes containing outdoor appliances, furniture of all kinds, rolling tool chests, and the like were being rolled around everywhere. She blew slightly at her new obstacle as she grabbed a cart and moved into the store.
After quite a bit of looking around, Takuya finally came to a stop in front of a shelf containing tea makers, and immediately saw one that she knew a certain shopkeeper and his assistant would love. It was made of rust-proof stainless steel, included a rack for holding small boxes of teabags, and had a built in warming plate that would keep the tea warm for extended periods of time after it was made. It even came with a few bags of complementary tea. She laughed lightly as she pictured the two's reaction upon receiving the gift. As she reached out to grab the box from the shelf, she was once again caught painfully off guard when a set of hands shot out and snatched it away. Completely dumbfounded by this, she looked around to see the same woman from the previous store giggling insanely as she put the box in her own cart.
"I guess today just isn't your day, huh? Doesn't look like you're getting any gifts." she guffawed as she sped away.
Takuya looked after the woman until she disappeared off the aisle, her brow furrowing only slightly for a quick second before turning back to the shelf. After a few seconds, she'd found another tea maker and, to her great pleasure, the second one had all of the same features of the first and it held more tea. Smiling at her small victory, she placed the tea maker in her cart and moved off the isle. By the end of her time in the store, she had the tea maker as well as some new tea cups and utensils to go along with it. Upon leaving the store, she retrieved the list from her pocket again.
"Ok, that's Urahara and Tessai." she said, checking the two names on the list. "Now for the rest…"
Her next stop had actually taken her across the street to a department store. It was the largest of the three stores she'd been in so far, and definitely the most crowded. Not wasting any time, she grabbed the first empty cart she saw and went in. Once she'd gotten going, she found that it was fairly easy to find nice gifts for the remaining guys on the list. For Ichigo, she found a sports jacket and pants to match; for Renji, she picked up a burgundy bandana and the best pair of sunglasses she could find; for Uryuu, she found a brand new sewing kit; and for Chad, she'd found jacket and pants set befitting of him as well.
"Ok, for Jinta, lover of video games…"
Takuya moved over to the electronics side of the store and quickly found the video games. She was amazed at how many there were to choose from, as well as the variety of consoles to play the games on. She stood for a brief moment looking over the vast amount of games until she narrowed it down to two in particular that she knew he would love. They were fighting games, Jinta's favorite, one based on strategy, another purely brawling. She'd just begun to reach out to collect the two games when, for the third time that day, someone else reached out and swiped them before she could even touch them. Takuya sighed as she looked toward the one responsible and almost face-planted when she saw the same, dark-haired woman from the previous stores.
"You know, I'd better not see you again. Otherwise I'm gonna start thinking that you're following me." the woman said, cackling as she dropped the games into her cart and rolled away.
Takuya ground her teeth as she watched the woman disappear onto another aisle before taking a deep breath and turning back to the game shelf.
"Stay calm…just remember what Mr. Urahara said…don't let it bother me…" she murmured to herself as she found the games again, plucked them off the shelf, and placed them into her cart.
She then paused to retrieve the list from her pocket again and check off the remaining names. "Alright, everyone's covered…everyone, but Grimmjow…"
A thoughtful expression shone on her facial features then. She was positive that the Espada didn't know what Christmas was, and that even if he did, he wouldn't care if he'd gotten a gift or not; more than that, she knew that he more than likely wouldn't even appreciate it if he got it and would probably deem it as useless to him and shove it off to the side never to be touched again. Even still, she wanted to do it, to get him a gift.
He's here with us now; even if he doesn't want or appreciate it, at least I'll have peace of mind in knowing that I thought about him when no one else did…
And with that, she began looking for a gift for the Espada. After about thirty minutes of searching, she came across something that caused her to gasp in awe. Sitting on a shelf displayed among other keepsakes and decorations was the most beautiful snow globe she'd ever seen. Inside its glass sphere were two figurines that resembled tigers standing amongst little faux trees, and artificial snow glided and swirled around them all by itself. A soft light that changed between shades of blue, white, and green reflected on the water that filled it, causing it to glow beautifully.
"This is it…this will be my gift to Grimmjow." she said softly to herself.
She then looked below the display shelf for a globe that was already boxed and ready to go and sighed with relief when she found it. It was the last one on the shelf. With an excited smile she reached for the box…only to have it snatched out of her reach…again. She gasped in blatant shock, and she immediately looked up to see who had taken it; she felt her face flush hot when she saw the woman again, leering at her with the snow globe in her grasp.
"Oh my, it looks like I've taken the last one. What a shame…" she said as she put the globe in her cart, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Ya know I should commend you for finding such spectacular gifts. You saved me the trouble of having to look for them myself."
With a final, haughtily triumphant laugh, the woman proceeded to walk away with her prize. Only this time, she'd only managed to take exactly three steps before a hand clamped down on her shoulder, pulling her back so hard that she was literally thrown to the floor and her cart was sent careening into the shelves. Momentarily stunned and disoriented by the sudden action, the woman sat up and prepared launch a tantrum until she got a good look at Takuya's face…and her own face began to pale.
The ebony-haired girl towered over the woman, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Several emotions raged behind her now icy gray eyes, but the most prominent of them all was anger.
- Back at Urahara's, from their spot on the roof… -
Renji looked in the direction of the city, his brows furrowing slightly. "Hmmm, that doesn't feel too good. Someone's spirit energy is starting to show signs of spiking."
"Tch, the hell do you mean someone? That's Takuya's spirit energy." Grimmjow muttered. "Someone must be pissing her off."
The red-headed shinigami looked back at the Espada. "You aren't gonna go do anything about it?"
"What the hell do you expect me to do? Besides that, ain't Orihime in the city with her? She should have it perfectly under control."
After a second or so, Renji turned his gaze back toward the city. "…Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's hope she does anyway…"
- Back in downtown Karakura, in the department store -
"What the hell's your problem girl?" the woman snapped, trying to sound as furious as she could to mask the terror she was truly feeling. "You must be out of your mind! I should have you arrest-"
"Silence!" Takuya shot back cutting the woman off, her anger steadily increasing; the burning sensation at her core had returned, and was slowly transforming her anger into pure rage. "I don't know if you are purposely trying to provoke me with your spitefully rude behavior or not, but I will not simply stand by and take it any longer. I am trying to have an enjoyable Christmas shopping experience, but every time I turn around, in every store I've been in, you always seem to be there just to mess it up!"
"Look, girl, you need to calm –"
"Don't tell me what I need to do! Now get up off the floor and give me back the snow globe!"
The woman glared at Takuya defiantly. "Why should I? I saw it first!"
Every light in the store began to flicker the instant those words left the woman's mouth, and slight gasps could be heard echoing around the entire building. From her spot on the floor, the woman began to feel her body become distinctly heavier, as if someone or something was lying on top of her and weighing her down. After her own gasp escaped her, she chanced a look at the girl still standing over her. What she saw made her blood froze. Takuya's countenance had visibly darkened, and her body had begun to tremble with rage. Faint blue light had also begun to outline her silhouette, making her seem bigger than she actually was and nearly sending the woman into hysteria.
"Give. It. Back." the eerily false calm of the ebony-haired girl's voice sent a splintering chill racing at light speed up and down the woman's spine, and she quickly scrambled to her feet and rushed to her cart to retrieve the box containing the snow globe.
"H-Here…j-just take it." she said, handing the box over to the seething girl.
The instant the box left her hands; she turned on her heels, grabbed her cart, and ran in the opposite direction, not once looking back. With a deep, shaky breath, Takuya set the box down into her own cart and then immediately sank to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself. The burning across her midsection had become almost unbearable, and the pain flared slightly with every breath she took. Tears had begun to well up in her eyes as she fought to calm herself down when, suddenly, the cell phone Orihime had given her started ringing. She fished it out of her pocket and flipped it open.
"Hello?"
"Takuya, are you alright? I felt your spirit energy suddenly spike a moment ago." Orihime's voice was tainted with worry.
"…Yes, I'm ok. I just…let something get to me…"
"What happened?"
"It's nothing serious, and it didn't last long enough to be worth troubling over."
"Are you sure you're ok, Takuya?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry."
"...Ok…well, are you about done getting gifts?"
"Yes."
"Ok. When you finish, meet back up at the street corner we parted on, ok?"
"Ok. I'll see you in a few minutes."
"Ok…"
Takuya closed the phone and put it back in her pocket. Then, after a minute or so, she slowly pulled herself to her feet. With one arm still wrapped around her torso, she made her way to the check-out at the front of the store to purchase the last of her gifts.
The remainder of the three girls' time in the city was spent grabbing lunch at a sandwich shop and buying a Christmas tree and the decorations to go along with it, as well as wrapping paper and gift bags to wrap up the gifts they bought. Over the course of it all, the burning at Takuya's core had greatly subsided. The rush of the wintery air bringing a welcome chill to her body, and Ururu's delightful, yet uncharacteristic chatter about what a great time she'd had today, had helped her to forget all about her encounter with the insufferable shopper. In no time at all, she'd reacquired her usual calm and her mood had greatly improved. She smiled to herself as they headed back to Urahara's shop, happy that the day had turned out to be a great one after all.
Christmas day rolled around quicker than anyone had anticipated, but it was warmly welcomed just the same. Ichigo and the others arrived at the shop that afternoon, all drawn by the shocking news that the place had actually been decorated for the holidays and that there was going to be holiday dinner and gifts. Talking, laughter and awed gasps filled the atmosphere of the shop as gifts – and hugs – were exchanged. At one point, Renji had literally jumped across the table and hugged Takuya as tight as he could after receiving the gift she'd gotten him.
"You're the best! Thank you so much!" he cheered.
Takuya laughed at his reaction while trying not to fall over under his weight. "I'm glad you like them." she said.
He released her after a second or so and went back over to the table, putting on his sunglasses immediately after he sat down.
"We're inside, Renji. I'm pretty sure you won't need them in here." Ichigo commented, laughing.
"Who cares? I'm still gonna wear them."
Ichigo shook his head at the red-headed man. "Alright, suit yourself."
Takuya sat back and watched everyone ogle their gifts with a contented smile until she noticed that a certain Espada was not in the room. She then stood to her feet and walked over to the Christmas tree, where she retrieved a shiny, dark blue gift bag from underneath it. Slipping out of the dining area as quietly as she could, she made her way back to His room and slowly opened the door.
The Espada was sleeping rather soundly when she tip-toed in. She closed the door softly behind her and then moved around to the side of his bed. After sitting down and placing the bag behind her, she reached out and nudged his shoulder.
"Grimmjow…wake up…for just a moment, please…"
With a slight groan, the Espada's azure blue eyes slowly slid open. He frowned slightly when he saw the girl.
"The hell do you want, girl?" he mumbled groggily as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
Takuya smiled. "It's Christmas day, and everyone's here with gifts and we're about to have a nice meal together. Why don't you come join us?"
"For what?" Grimmjow said, yawning.
"Well…I think it'd be nice if you did. There's lots of gifts around there…"
The Espada stared blankly at Takuya for a second or so before speaking again. "You can't be that naïve, girl. I'm a hollow amongst a gang and a half of fucking shinigami…and others. I hate them and they hate me. Do you honestly believe that any of them actually went out of their damn way to get anything for me?"
Takuya hesitated somewhat before shaking her head. "…No, I'm not so naïve to think such a thing. I'm pretty certain that not one of them got you a gift. But…"
She reached behind her, retrieved the bag, and set it in front of her.
"I'm not any of them."
Grimmjow was caught off guard to say this least, and left speechless long enough for Takuya to speak again.
"I know you probably wouldn't want it, but I got it anyway. While it is true that you are a hollow and technically the enemy of everyone here, I still think that you should get a gift. You are here with us now, and you're protecting me. I think that deserves something, don't you?"
Grimmjow half-glared at the girl, not knowing whether he should snap at her for even bothering to do something like this or not. He didn't have much time to decide, however, as Takuya pushed the bag closer to him. Her gray eyes glimmered with anticipation, silently urging him to open it. With an exasperated sigh he took the bag, broke the strip of clear tape that had kept it sealed closed, and looked inside. His eyes widened slightly at what he saw – something clear, obviously made of glass. He reached in the bag and pulled out the object.
"What is it?"
"It's a snow globe. It's battery operated, so when it's turned on, the snow swirls around on its own." Takuya explained. "It also has lights at the base that make the water glow blue, green, and white."
She reached out her hand, and Grimmjow placed the globe in it. She then turned it on its underside to reveal a little black switch.
"You just switch this to on and…," she flipped the switch and twirled the globe once before give it back to Grimmjow, "you get a beautiful snowfall in the palm of your hands,"
She then handed it back to the Espada, who by now looked a little less annoyed and a little more…interested…kind of. He watched the artificial snow swirl around the glass sphere, propelled by some unseen force, for about a minute before looking back at Takuya, who was now moving to stand to her feet. In one swift movement, he reached up, grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her back down, eliciting a startled gasp from the girl as she suddenly found herself face to face with the Espada. After a few brief seconds that seemed like forever, he finally spoke.
"Thanks." The word sounded forced, as if he'd had to mentally prepare himself so that he could say it without self-destructing, but it'd made her smile warmly nonetheless.
Seemingly satisfied with her reaction, Grimmjow released her and turned his attention back to the snow globe – his snow globe – currently resting in his lap. Takuya stood up a second later.
"You're welcome." she said quietly as she walked to the door; she turned to face him a final time before she stepped out into the hallway, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. "Merry Christmas."
The Espada grunted in reply as he set his gift down beside his bed and lay back down. "Whatever." he muttered, pulling the blankets back over his body and shutting his eyes.
Takuya smile widened slightly as she stepped back into the hallway and closed the room door behind her. With a contented sigh, she sauntered happily back to the dining area to rejoin the others.
"Takuya, there you are." Orihime greeted the girl with a hug. "So, are you enjoying yourself?"
"Yes, I most certainly am." Takuya cheered happily. "This was a fantastic first Christmas. I can't wait next year!"
And that's a wrap :D! Even though it was slightly difficult to do, I actually really enjoyed writing this short. It made me feel even more ready for the holiday season. So, what'd ya think? Did you like it? Hate it? Feel free to share your thoughts… Thanks for reading!
xLSx
P.S. – I wish everyone a lovely, safe, happily blessed holiday season, and I hope that it will make for a brilliant ending to a wonderful year and a shining start to a brand new one!