On the Sixth Day of Christmas Kyoko gave to me….

Six Kyoko Demons,

FIVE GENTLEMANLY SMILES,

Four wax dolls,

Three broken phones,

Two Love Me members,

And a Stalker in Sakura tree.

12 Showbiz Days of Christmas

December 13th

Kyoko was exhausted. She'd woken up extra early this morning, so she could finish decorating the LME Christmas tree. For some reason, every time the tree seemed that it had been finished, the President would supply her and Moko with even more decoration to be hung up, as soon as humanly possible. For whatever reason, Moko had muttered darkly that it was because the Love Me Duo wasn't considered held back by human limitations. Personally, she was beginning to think the President was taking advantage of her perfectionism. Her blood type A personality had surged forth. And she had carefully constructed a blueprint for the placement of each ornament, so the tree would be perfectly balanced. However, every time the President gave them a new box of ornaments, she would have to redraw it.

Moko had threatened to never talk to her again, after she redrew the blueprints for the fifth time. Kyoko had said she would decorate the tree without Moko's help. A silly perfectionist curse was no reason for her to jeopardize their friendship. That meant she had rearranged and added new decorations to the tree this morning, upon finishing there were exactly five minutes for her to get the Box R set. After filming, she had to perform her 'uplifting the Christmas Spirit' work by following a director. The director had been judged by the President as being a step away from a miser on the Scrooge-Santa Claus spirit meter. Therefore, she had to find something to give him that would bring him up to at least a 'Frosty' stage. She had been taking notes, until she realized she was going to be late for the filming of Bridge Rock Live. After the filming, it was followed by more 'stalking', decorating the tree and taping another drama. Then she'd felt so guilty for not helping out at the restaurant as she promised, she cleaned the kitchen to make up for it.

Now, she was exhausted lying sprawled on the floor staring up at her ceiling. With all the work she'd been doing, she couldn't help be wonder about Christmas. What did Christmas mean to her? Sure it was the same day as her birthday, she shared that with Maria. Until last year though, she had never celebrated her birthday apart from Christmas. The two went hand in hand. Christmas was alright, it was a time when people could celebrate together. When she'd lived with Sho's family, where making the customers happy was the most important thing, she had never made a big deal about the holiday, she didn't want to make Sho's parents unhappy. It seemed she could never separate herself from that jerk. Kyoko was tired. She didn't want to dwell on that idiot, and she didn't want to think about what Christmas was to her. Rather, she closed her eyes….

…………….Dream time…………

The room was cold, shivering she blinked her eyes open slowly. Groggily she took in her surroundings. She was lying next to the table; apparently, she had not made it to bed, which explained why she was freezing. Drowsily, she tried attempted to sit up, while room blurred. Hehehe. Squinting, her eyes gazed around the room, she tried to clear her mind to tell if she really heard someone laughing. Hehehahahehe. She twisted her head searching for the source of the laughter, she was now sure she wasn't imagining. There was nobody in sight. Heheheh. There! Frowning, she saw nothing. She could swear the sound was coming from that direction. All she saw were pictures of Shotaro and Tsuruga-san. Hehehe. Her hands rubbed furiously sat her eyes. Definitely seeing things… Why would a shadow be moving when there was no one to cast it? A frightened grimace trembled on her lips. The shadow was still moving, only this time it had more form.

"WHAGH?"

The shadow was looking at her! It...blinked…pouting?!

"Oh, you're up. Finally. Guess we should get on with it."

Kyoko's odd expression wriggled growing, her eyes bright with shock. It talked! The creature stared at her disinterestedly.

"Yes. I am real. No. You are not insane; at least, not anymore than you were."

Kyoko's eyes grew more alarmed.

"I'm your personal demon spirit. You actually have more of us, but for various reasons we thought it best you only meet one of us. No. You have no fairy spirits so stop crying. The baka killed them all."

Now Kyoko wore a devastated, horrified expression. Why couldn't she have cute little fairy spirits?! Why plain, boring demons?! A sudden dark fiery aura arose surrounding her. I'll bet it's all that Baka's fault! I'll get you Shotaro!!

You know, it's because of that revengeful attitude that I'm your personal demon. You're right. I am your guardian demon. But don't worry, I have nothing against you…in fact, I fully support your vows of revenge against the Baka."

"Go away! I don't want a guardian demon!"

Kyoko said, huddled in a corner depressed. The demon shrugged.

"But we are so much more useful than the fairies. Plus, you don't get a choice. If you are seeing me, it means I'm here for an important reason…"

The spirit blathered, its little chest puffed out. Kyoko gave it a one eyed stare, muttering,

"And why do you have to be here?"

The little demon smiled.

"All because of you….You are the mistress. You are the one that wanted to know what Christmas meant to you. Otherworldly Agents Inc. believes it is essential that everyone know the importance of Christmas. Hence, the lovely tour you will experience tonight."

Wait, the lovely experience of Christmas? Why did that sound familiar to what the President had been saying?

"The agency is run by this crazy, energetic pixie, who is the guardian to some entertainment president in Japan, and well, you know how pixies can be…"

It shrugged its shoulders.

"It looks about time we started. Tour starts at 3 o'clock sharp."

Kyoko threw a glance at the clock reading 2:57.

"Wait tour? What kind of tour?! I can't leave in the middle of the night; it will disturb Taisho and Okami-san."

She glared at the demon fully awake.

"Don't worry. They won't notice you're gone. Just hurry up and throw on a sweater."

Kyoko quickly scrambled to grab a sweater.
"Tonight, you shall visit different Christmas times. It's up to you to decide what Christmas is to you! By the way, you'll be changing tour guides, so I won't be going with you."

The demon wailed out as the ground started to shift underneath Kyoko, and the world went black.

…First Christmas…

Thump. Kyoko landed in a pile of snow. Just bring a sweater?! It was freezing! What happened?! Had she…teleported? Her eyes widened. Gleefully she looked around, full of new found enthusiasm. Teleporting is something that might happen in a fairy tale! It was either late in the evening or earlier in the morning. She couldn't tell in the dismal gray weather. No one was moving about, so she supposed it was early in the morning. With no one in sight, she decided to trudge about in an attempt to warm up.

Looking around, she guessed she was back in Kyoto. Up ahead was a tall, traditional styled building. She recognized it as the inn ran by Shotaro's parents. Which meant the house owned by her mother should be on the way. Gazing at the ground below as she walked, she felt cold. Her feet steered her towards the inn. Smoke writhed in the air coming from the old style heat system they used to warm the inn. Within a few steps of the door she stopped, staring at the doors. This continued for ten minutes, before she was interrupted from her frozen state.

"Are you going to stand there forever?"

Slowly, Kyoko turned her head looking at the demon over her shoulder.

"Do you want to know why you can't go in?"

The demon shimmied around in the air.

"At this point in the past, you had never visited the inn yet. That would come later. Where you need to be now is in the other direction."

Confused she stood still, before turning to follow the swaying demon. They trudged on, until the demon came to a stop. Kyoko looked up. They were in front of the door to her house. The wriggling demon observed her.

"Go on."

"But... I thought-"

"No one will see you. You're invisible."

Invisible? Like ghosts.… She was not a ghost, was she?

"You're alive…not a spirit…stop overreacting…"

"Stop reading my mind!"

"Oh, you do have some backbone in you. I was beginning to wonder if my charge was a spineless girl. How horrible!"

The little demon shrugged impishly.

"So…are you going in?"

This was bad. Kyoko did not like it when her own demon reminded her of the baka. It was wrong! Heatedly, she stormed in the house, surprised when she saw the lights were on.

"hehehe. That way. Go towards the light."

Scowling at the little imp, she followed wanting to get ahead of the little demon.

"Hmmm…shh…shh…Go to bed…Shh…Shh…we can play again tomorrow."

Kyoko froze mid stride in the middle of the doorway. Whose voice was that? It was unfamiliar. Trepidly, she shuffled into the room. Only to be stunned by the sight.

"Hush, little Kyoko. No one's going to harm you, not while otou-san is around."

A slight, tall man sat in a rocking chair with a baby in his arms. He was smiling, while trying to coo a lively infant to sleep.

"Yep. That is your otou-san. This was the first night after you came home from the hospital, and your mother was too exhausted to care for you, so your otou-san volunteered to put you to sleep."

The room was heavy, pressing down on her. Hot tear ran down her cheeks. She couldn't remember him. It had been so long since he departed, she'd barely been four at the time. The same age as Maria when her mother past away. After that, her mother had become so cold. She had taken a black marker, and crossed out all the photos of her father that existed. She had thrown even more away. Rarely, rarely, did Kyoko think of her father, he had never really been a part of her life. A lot of regret washed over her.

"Your earliest memories were of Christmas. That first day, fresh from the hospital, being cooed at by your father while your mother shut herself away. Even until he was gone, he would play with you."

Kyoko stared at him, taking in everything she could. He had the same golden brown eyes as her. They were warm, passionate emphasized by little crow's feet. He was young; she thought he might have been twenty-nine when she was born.

"Otou-san would always insist Christmas was his and Kyoko's special day. He could rival your President with the way he went all out in decorating the house. You never went to sleep, until past midnight because the two of you would play, while he tried to teach you to speak, dance and sing. "

Faltering tiny steps brought her closer to the man, humming to the baby. Slowly she reached out to touch him…

'Otou-san…"

A slight breeze stirred in the rooming causing the tiny bell in the windowsill to chime. Her otou-san looked up startled by the sudden ringing of the bell, before giving a crinkled smile to the baby in his arms.

"Did you hear that Kyoko-chan? That was the sound of a winter fairy trying to sneak a peek at you…winter fairies love babies, especially those born on Christmas Kyoko-chan. You're very lucky to have one guarding you."

The baby gurgled out something that sounded like agreement. Kyoko stared helplessly at her otou-san.

"Most importantly, it was your Otou-san who taught you about fairies and rich young ladies. "

A wistful smile graced Kyoko.

"Time to go to your next destination."

…….Second Christmas…..

Kyoko blinked. She didn't understand. Just a moment ago she had been watching her otou-san whisper to her infant self, but now her surroundings were different. The warm baby room was replaced with an austere, empty room. Confused, she looked around; this was the room in the house she remembered…What had happened? The little demon had mentioned something about going somewhere else, but she had been too busy observing her otou-san to pay attention. Why did they leave? She hadn't been ready to leave. Forlorn she rose from her kneeling; reluctantly she walked out of the room she would now associate with her otou-san.

Looking around, she decided the house was empty, which made sense to her, she couldn't recall a Christmas where she and her mother had celebrated together. If this was supposed to be Christmas. When she'd proven the house was indeed empty, she decided she might as well go to the inn. Grudgingly, she left the house, taking the snowy path to the inn. Why would she want to near that baka? She didn't think she could take seeing herself being so lovey-dovey with him. This had to be punishment for all those years she idiotically adored him. Where was that no. 2 demon anyways? Annoyed she kicked at a drift bank causing snow to go flying.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing?"

Eyes wide Kyoko looked around for the cause of the voice.

"So rude. Interrupting others when they are sleeping! Jeez."

She caught sight of her demons slowly floating up from the snow-irritated? It glared at her, hands on its hips? She stared down at it.

"You're different from the one before."

Snort.

"Nooooo…."

More staring.

"Each time you change locations, you see a new one of us. It depends on what's going on. Grudge likes to explain things so you met her first. Sarcasm likes drama, so she asked for the emotional scene."

Continued staring.

"What! Don't ask me why she's like that…Fine. I'm Boredom, the fun one. I'm here to introduce you to your childhood."

Kyoko finally ended her staring, pivoted on her foot and resumed walking to the inn. Ignoring it.

"C'mon. Don't be that way. I'm supposed to be mad at you for kicking snow on me."

Kyoko's breath became visible. She picked up speed.

"Sarcasm was right; you don't have a sense of humor. Che.'

The roof of the inn became visible. Smoke snaked around in the air indicating that guests were present. She doubted she could remember a Christmas without guests being present. What age was she in this place? As she became older she had helped out with entertaining the guests more often, and didn't play with Sho as usual. This time when she stopped in front of the inn, it was to watch guests depart chuckling as they headed to the hot springs, not the unwelcome feeling that had come over her the previous night. She saw that they turned a corner leaving her sight before she entered.

Nostalgia swept over her. However much she might dislike Shotaro, she couldn't feel that for his parents. No, in many ways, his parents were her surrogate aunt and uncle. She couldn't think of them as substitute parents, as there was always that distinction that Shotaro was their only child, and while they might take care of her, she was not on the same level of importance as Shotaro. Kyoko could never find it in herself to begrudge them, because there were many instances she thought that it should be her mother handing her that cherry soda after a hard day of school, not Shotaro's mother.

The inn was exactly like her memories. The owners tried hard never to change the scenery, as the inn was supposed to be traditional not keeping up with modern times. She walked further into the inn finding the tearoom empty, she continued on to the kitchen. Oddly, the kitchen was empty also, but unlike the tearoom it showed signs of recently being inhabited. On the counter, vegetables were chopped up and separated into piles, and she could smell the broth warming the air. That was weird; Shotaro's father rarely left food in the middle of preparation, unless it was an emergency. She couldn't remember any emergencies that might have occurred on Christmas though. In the sink she found dishes, which was also strange because normally she would volunteer to wash them for Shotaro's father.

"Yaaawwn…You're looking in the wrong place….saaahh….try the house…"

The little demon no. 3 piped up sleepily from the top of Kyoko's head. Eyes bugging,

"Why are you sleeping on the top of my head?"

"Yawwn. I'm tired. Your hair is soft."

That explained everything. Sighing, Kyoko did what it said. The Fuwa family owned the inn, but they lived in a house adjacent to it. The temperature outside seemed to have dropped. She really wished she was wearing warmer clothes, but wasn't sure how that worked when she couldn't be seen. At a brisk pace, she made it into the house. There was a murmur coming from the kitchen so she headed there first. Shotaro's mother was in the kitchen with Shotaro. There was a wet towel in her hands.

"Make sure you wring it out tightly, so no water drips everywhere."

Kyoko was dumbfounded. Was Shotaro's mother teaching him how to do chores?! Shotaro rarely ever had to do chores, not when Kyoko was volunteering to do them for him. What was going on?

"You'll have to change it every twenty minutes, so it doesn't get cold. When you do that check to make sure the water bottle is still warm, if not come warm it up like I showed you."

Shotaro pouted a bit.

"Hai, Kaa-san."

What was going on? Shotaro's father descended the staircase, walking into the kitchen carrying a bowl.

"I couldn't get her to eat all of it, only half. She fell asleep again muttering sorry."

Shotaro's mother looked worried.

"It must be really bad, normally when she gets a fever she is more alert, but this time she passed out. "

Shotaro's parents regarded each other evidently worried. The only 'she' Kyoko could think of was herself. There was one Christmas, when she was ten that she fell down with a cold that had kept her bedridden four three days. Why would she be revisiting this Christmas?

"The thing about surprises are that you never know where they're going to come from or when they're going to come. "

Murmured the little demon. Huh?

"Shotaro."

"Hai, Tou-san?"

"Okaa-san and I must return to work, so we are relying on you to take care of Kyoko-chan while we're busy. Its important Kyoko-chan stays well. You have to come tell us if her cold gets worse. Understood?"

"Hai. I know Otou-san. Okaa-san showed me what to do."

"Don't forget to have her sip some water if she wakes up, or else she'll become dehydrated. We'll see you in a few hours."

Shotaro's parents left looking firmly at him. When they were gone, he glared at the towel, but picked it up and trudged upstairs. Slowly, he opened up the door to Kyoko's room, and entered. He stopped when he saw Kyoko asleep breathing raggedly Tiptoeing he went next to her bed and set down the bowl of water holding the cloth, then kneeled down beside her. Carefully, he twisted the cloth wringing out the water until it stopped dripping. He tenderly place the cloth on her forehead, before checking her water bowl to make sure it wasn't cold. When he was sure it was warm, he sat back on his knees looking unsure what he should do next.

Kyoko had followed Shotaro up to the room. She was astonished by the care he took of her. Why would he do that? He always considered her a nuisance; he could still follow his parent's instructions, but only take half the care. So why was he being so considerate? Her ten year old self started coughing hard all of a sudden, still asleep. Shotaro looked stricken, unaware of what to do. After a minute the coughing subsided, and she resumed her fitful sleep. Nervous, Shotaro licked his lips. Quietly, very quietly, under his breath he began to whisper something. Curiosity getting the better of her Kyoko leaned into hear what he was saying, but didn't need to as his voice grew louder.

"Chestnuts roasting over an open fire…"

He was singing! To her!

"Why are you so stunned?"

Demon no. 3.

"He loves singing, but is clueless to how to make you better…Why shouldn't he try and comfort you the only way he can think of?"

Kyoko was confused.

"But why would he do that? Sho never helped when I was troubled. He always just stood there watching me uselessly from the side."

The demon came off her head, and stared at her upside down.

"So what makes him uncaring? He still stayed there and watched you even when it made him uncomfortable. Even when he didn't know how to cheer you up without making it worse."

Kyoko didn't know how to answer as she helplessly watched the ten year old Shotaro sing her Christmas songs.

"I don't know."

"Heehee."

……..Third Christmas……

And like that Kyoko was in a new environment, Demon no. 3 and Shotaro gone. She wasn't at the inn anymore, either. The place seemed more modern and opulent. The walls were covered with garlands and tinsel, mistletoe hung from the doorway. She quickly exited, wary of the mistletoe since her encounter with Tsuruga-san earlier that week. The large hall was dark, except for the trail of lights strung along the walls. If she didn't know better she would say she was at the President's home.

"Well, you don't know better, I guess."

A cheery demon interrupted. Another one?

"Yep. I'm Wrath. It's a pleasure to meet you mistress-sama. I'll try my best to be of help."

"Ugh…ok"

Why did they all read her mind?

"Could you tell me where we are?"

"Oh, I suppose you wouldn't know. We are in Christmas present, well, it's not actually Christmas yet, but close enough. We, your demons, want to show you those that you have the largest impact upon. Sorry, but you'll have to figure the rest yourself."

Kyoko sweat dropped.

"Could you tell me what direction to go in, at least?"

Demon no. 4 pondered this for a moment before nodding.

"Yep. Heads towards your right and take the third door to the left."

How many rooms did the place have? Maybe it was the Presidents home.

"Silly, didn't I just tell you that it is?"

Kyoko paused a moment, hesitating, before pushing the door open. She shut her eyes quickly when the bright light blinded her. She had to blink away the spots. When she could see clearly again she saw Maria-chan sitting in front of the computer. She seemed to be reading an email that was distressing her. Every so often she would mumble something under her breath. Kyoko went closer to see what she was doing. Smiling, she regarded Maria, who was trying to email her father while reading his email to know how to respond. Kyoko was glad to see that they were having real conversations now, but she was a little worried about their discussion. Apparently, Maria had told her father about the President's lack of attention towards her lately. He seemed a little annoyed, offering to fly to Japan to scold the President for her. No wonder Maria was distressed. How would she handle the problem? Maria still wasn't comfortable with people flying long distances.

Please Papa, its okay. I understand why he isn't saying goodnight. Actually, I've told Grandfather a thousand times that I'm too old for him to still be doing this. Nee-san explained it to me, too. She said Grandfather was just so happy I wouldn't be upset about him celebrating Christmas he's gone a little overboard trying to help others experience his happiness. She said he had something special planned for me, so he would be happy if Maria likes it. I'm really happy Nee-san helped me; I was worried something was wrong with him. I found the perfect gift to get Nee-san in thanks-

Kyoko stopped reading, not wanting to spoil Maria's surprise. She was really so adorable at times. Kyoko loved the time they could spend together. Looking at the desk she saw four wax dolls…

"Maria-chan, you're too sweet…"

………Christmas Four………

Sigh. Kyoko was really, really getting tired of these switches. Where was she now? Definitely, not the President's house. Looking around she realized she was at LME. She walked out of the office and walked out on the third floor, staring at the top of the Christmas tree. It was early in the morning. Was it actually this time? Would she be back in time for work? Well, she supposed she was already at work.

'Nah. You're not physically here. Technically, your body is still in your room at the Darumaya."

"And…"

Kyoko demanded. Demon no. 5 appeared surprised.

"And what?"

"What are you called?"

"Oh, I'm Revenge. Nice to meet you by the way, but you could do with some manners. I suppose it's the Baka's fault."

Kyoko nodded at the last part.

"So I take it I should just wander about until I run into what I need to see, then you'll send me to a new place. How many more of these do I need to go on?"

Kyoko looked straight faced at the Demon no.5.

"One more time, but if your attitude doesn't change, a lot more."

Kyoko sweat dropped. Okay maybe she deserved that.

"But yeah, it's the same."

Shrugging her shoulders, Kyoko looked around slowly following the rail. A door slammed. Her eyes rushed to see where it came from. A frustrated curse helped her find the perpetrator. The bright pink uniform was visible on the other side of the third floor. Kyoko was curious as to why Moko was carrying a large box. Why was Moko there? Kyoko had memorized her schedule, and she knew the other actress didn't have to be in until eight that morning. Her curiosity grew as Moko dragged out a large ladder and took a box up with her, a rolled piece of paper between her teeth. In few minutes, Moko had the box open and was pulling out an ornament and placing it in the place Kyoko had drawn up in her blueprints. Hadn't Moko said she wasn't going to help decorate anymore? Why was she hanging decorations?

"She knows you'll get carried away and do it all yourself. That made her worry that you would over exert yourself. Therefore, she came in hoping to help you get half of it done, before you came in this morning."

Kyoko stared at Demon no. 5. Did Moko really care that much about her? A bliss smile visited her. She knew they were friends. She glanced at the determined pink figure once more, before her surroundings changed.

………Christmas Five……….

It was snowing very lightly, the snowflakes giant and fluffy, it almost seemed as if the air was alive with beaming snow fairies. On either side of her, large trees grew weighed down by the snow. Guessing she was in the country, she looked down at her feet and found she was on a gravel path. Thinking about it, she decided to take the path up instead of down. Hopefully, going up would take her where she needed to go. Every so often she would hear the chirps or rustling of birds, making her smile. This place reminded her of the secret spot where she would visit Corn.

Eventually, she came within view of a large cabin. As she came nearer, she realized it was a hand carved house. Smoke was wafting lazily out of the chimney, so she expected to see someone around. Entering the house, she found the living room deserted, though a carelessly tossed sweater proved the house was being lived in. Next, she walked to the kitchen where savory smells wafted about. Again the kitchen was empty, but she noticed two turkeys roasting in the large oven. In fact, the kitchen was beautifully made. It was large and spacious with the most up to date supplies. Though she wasn't sure about the adjacent ice room stocked full of perishable foods. Why not use a refrigerator? Who would eat that much food? Maybe she was at a resort; it certainly seemed as if she was in Hokkaido. That was strange: was she in the past or present? Kyoko had never been to winter resort before. Slowly she wandered out of the kitchens, and peeked in the rooms devoid of people, though it seemed as if the rooms were all being used.

Returning to the living room, she went out to look out the window. She smiled fondly. There must be children staying here, that is such a cute snowmen. Whoever the children were, their guardian must be a perfectionist. To have created a realistic snow Rudolph. HaaHaahaaa. Laughter was audible, coming from outside, but it sounded like it was coming closer. The door flew open and a tall blond man came running in with two pestering little children giggling at his antics. The blond man she recognized as her otou-sensei. Kuu. Who were the children following him through? And what was he doing in Japan? Last she was aware; he was filming a new movie in London. He fell on the couch as the children got a hold of him, tickling him.

"Ok, ok! I give! Grandpa will make brownies with you!"

"Yes!" "Don't forget Gramps!"

The two squealed. Kyoko was shocked. Grandfather?! Sensei ad a son, but she thought he had passed away?!

"No, your ojiji won't forget. But remember, we don't tell your otou-san!"

Maybe Kyoko had misunderstood sensei, but she could have sworn…oh well, maybe it was a complicated situation like with her parents.

"Oh? Since when are we keeping secrets from parents, hmmm?"

An older…Kyoko stated. Kyoko was stunned. Why was she looking at an older version of herself? Wasn't she in the present? And why was her older self with Kuu?!

"Kyoko-chan! You're here!"

Kuu burst out happily, while the children ran over to her demanding hugs. Her older self laughed.

"Hmmm…yes, I know I said I wouldn't be able to make it until tonight, but the new drama finished shooting my scenes earlier than I expected, so I headed straight here. I thought I could help with the cooking."

Kuu got up from the couch, and leaned over to give her older self a rib-crushing hug.

"Hey, I'm just happy my adopted daughter is here in time to celebrate her birthday with us. She doesn't have to slave the kitchen while she's here, no matter how delicious her cooking is. Besides I already put the food in the oven."

Older Kyoko raised her eyebrow.

"Enough for the whole family, you and Sai-kun?"

Kuu grinned sheepishly.

"It's not my fault he inherited my appetite. I was sure he would have the same contempt of food as Kuon."

Kyoko froze hearing that name. That was sensei's son alright; clearly she had misunderstood when she heard he'd past away. But….now she was curious. She wondered what Kuon looked like. Was he blond too? Slowly, she tuned back into reality to hear Kuu talking with older Kyoko.

"…yeah, he should be back soon. He and Julia are getting a last minute Christmas gift."

"Really, that's so odd. Usually, he is so ahead at buying gifts…"

"Yes, well, he planned this one ahead too, but for some reason he couldn't pick it up until today."

They shared an understanding look. The children were getting restless.

"How about I make some hot chocolate, and then we can play a game?"

The children nodded in excitement.

"Hai!"

Torn Kyoko decided to stay and watch Kuu and the children, while older Kyoko headed to the kitchen. After fifteen minutes, the door opened and a beautiful woman came through the door followed by a tall man carrying a load of presents.

"Grandma! Otou-san!"

The children ran up to them trying to get hugs, while the man awkwardly waited for them to settle down so he could put down the gifts. The children's eyes were wide at the sight of the gifts. Julia laughed, admonishing them,

"No opening gift until your Kaa-san arrives!"

"Hai, Grandma."

Kuu laughed at the scene, while the children gave him twinkling smiles. Kuon looked curiously at the kitchen hearing the noise of dishes, walking there to see what was going on. Julia looked inquiringly at Kuu.

"Oh, Kyoko-chan arrived a half hour ago, and insisted on helping with the cooking. Right now, the hot chocolate should be done."

Julia grinned.

"I'm so glad she made it, I would have hated it if she'd celebrated alone."

Kuu sighed.

"Yes, I was worried too, but she laughed me off saying that's the price of being an actress."

The children feeling excluded looked up at their Grandmother.

"We're going to play a game when the hot coco is finished. Do you want to play too?"

"I would love too."

Kuu grinned evilly.

"Who wants to bet their midnight snack your father will lose to Kyoko-chan again?"

The two children gave him flat stares.

"No deal! You know he's too polite to let a woman lose."

Laughter erupted in the living room as older Kyoko came out with the hot chocolate, a shadowed Kuon following in her wake. Kyoko was trying to get a better look at him when she heard a voice behind her.

"So, what do you think of your Christmas future?"

Kyoko looked over her shoulder to see a blindfolded demon swaying.

"So this is what my Christmas future will be?"

It nodded.

"Kuu said you were his adopted son, though in the future he changes that to adopted daughter, after people keep admonishing him. One Christmas he happens to be in Japan, and you happen to meet him and Julia, who invite you over to have Christmas with them. That began your tradition of celebrating together."

Kyoko was quiet as she contemplated.

"So it is always this festive?"

It smiled at her.

"This is just because you were too busy and missed Christmas Eve. When they discovered your birthday was on the twenty-fifth, they insisted on celebrating Christmas on the twenty-fourth and would do something different the next day for your birthday. Depending on where you celebrate, the Darumaya owners join you, or Maria's family."

Kyoko smiled.

"Really?"

As it nodded, she felt her heart warm, blinking back tears.

"It's about time to return. Are you ready?"

With a last look at the happy scene in front of her, she nodded.

……….Present……..

Several moments later, Kyoko opened her eyes to the sound of her alarm clock ringing. Stretching, she blinked to clear her blurry vision. Gradually, she got up from her awkward sleeping position on the floor. Seems as if she had fallen asleep. Maybe it had all been a dream? A slight grin transformed her attitude.

"There is one way to find out. Let's see how many ornaments Moko put up."

She turned to shot off the clock, stopping, eyes widening.

"Kyyaaahhhh! I'm late!!!!"

In a whirlwind she was gone. Two little demons stared at her, watching her go.

Sigh.

"Well, that's our mistress…"

The other demon nodded.

"I hope she gained something from this, Blind Desires."

"Don't worry, she did Grudge, she did….but not all of it."

Grudge looked up at the Blinded Demon.

"You mean she still didn't get that those were her kids….That that was Corn…."

Sigh. Grudge face faulted.

"So oblivious, so oblivious…"

The two commiserating demons just shook their heads.

Such a long chapter. Yes, past the 15,000 word mark! I couldn't resist the chance at a Christmas Carol parody with Kyoko though. It was the perfect chance to showcase her demons. Love the Kyoko demons. My only regret is I didn't fit Yashiro in the chapter. Thanks to those that reveiwed last chapter!

Please Review!

False Sourires