27 (Belated) Holiday Special
An Ill-Advised Gift and Mysterious Theft
"Good afternoon, Tori-chan!" Naeko gave her usual cheerful greeting as she slid the front door open. The inside of Kotori's home was warm, like always, and was especially welcoming as winter gave the air of Konoha an icy chill. Kotori acknowledged her teammate with a standard noncommittal grunt and went back to her reading. A glance revealed her material to be a small well-thumbed book that Kotori carried with her, a book of poetry purportedly a gift from the girl's Mist Village mentor. "I'm surprised you aren't out finishing your shopping," Naeko continued as she kicked her shoes off by the door and slid it shut again to keep the warmth inside.
"Remind me why I should be shopping?" Kotori muttered, turning a page in her book. The poetry calmed her and brought serenity much in the way a warm patch of sunlight or a hot bath did, and had the advantage of being slightly more portable and convenient. The only problem with the book is that it lacked the novelty of a patch of sunlight and the privacy of a hot bath, but for a quick fix it was sure to do the trick. However, even now her small bubble of peace was interrupted by her abrasively cheerful teammate and irritation began to gnaw at the corners of her mind as if worrying a bad hangnail.
"Take a look at the calendar, silly. Today's your last day to shop, and the market's a zoo. You'd be lucky to find anything decent at this point," Naeko replied, setting her shopping bags by the couch and pulling a roll of wrapping paper from one of them. She next opened the equipment pouch at her waist and withdrew a tiny pair of scissors, then grumbled a curse as she realized what she'd forgotten. "You'd think I'd remember tape," grumbled the girl, glaring down at the shopping bags. "Tori-chan, would you please step out and get me some sticky tape from the store? And who knows, maybe you can snag a present or two while you're at it."
"Go and get it yourself." Kotori determinedly returned her focus to the pages in front of her, as if by force of haiku she could remove this distraction from her living room. She was also too comfortable in her place neatly tucked under the kotatsu and the thought of moving made her inwardly grumble. Her stomach then voiced an all-too-audible complaint, and Kotori realized she hadn't had anything to eat since that morning. Finally she lurched up from the table and muttered, "Fine, fine. I'll go to the store and get your damn tape, but don't get upset if I take a quick shortcut to grab some food." Wrapping herself in a thick coat against the cold, putting on her shoes and muttering curses all the while, Kotori then stepped out of her home and began the walk down into the heart of the village.
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"Are you sure this is it?" Taiki asked of the apothecary, squinting down into the waxed paper packet the older man had given him. "There isn't very much."
"There isn't much call for catnip these days," the apothecary replied, shrugging. "And this is the best I could find on such short notice."
The young man sighed, then reached into his pocket for the required money. "All right. Thank you very much." He handed his payment over to the apothecary, who nodded once in acknowledgement. "And this will dissolve in water?"
"It should. It's usually crumbled over food, but if you steep it in boiling water..."
Taiki grinned. "I get what you're saying." He pocketed the packet of herbs and pulled his coat shut tightly, snugging his scarf closer around his neck. "Thank you again, sir, and happy holidays."
"You too, son."
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An hour or so later, Kotori finished her errands in town and decided to pick up some food at the Ichiraku ramen shop before heading back home. She accepted a cup of hot tea from Ayame and, as she sat at the counter waiting for her order to be filled, thought she noticed a rather expensive-looking pendant hanging on a chain around the waitress' neck. I wonder if my uncle's wallet is substantially lighter now because of that little sparkler... Noticing Kotori's studying look, Ayame blushed and turned away, busying herself with straightening odds and ends on the other side of the counter. Kotori merely shook her head and contented herself with the soothing beverage, envisioning a quiet evening at home with a hot bowl of soba and her favorite night-time television programs. Let everyone else have their sentimental holiday, she thought with a disdainful snort. It's just an excuse to get them to spend money. When at last her order was ready, Kotori paid for it along with a generous tip and then left the shop to return home.
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The sound of conversation coming from her living room gave Kotori cause to roll her eyes as she entered the house, identifying the voices as those of Naeko and Taiki. "I hope you all didn't come expecting dinner," she called out as she stowed her coat in a closet by the door.
Taiki laughed from his place at the kotatsu, glancing over his shoulder to give Kotori one of his trademark brilliant smiles. "Ah, the infamous hospitality of the Yamataki clan shows itself again. If you were anything else than a cold-hearted wench, I would be surprised and disappointed."
"Hush, you," grumbled Kotori, wandering into the kitchen in search of utensils and ignoring the merriment that followed Taiki's pronouncement. Deducing that her teammates had no intention of leaving anytime soon, she scowled and muttered, "Fine, I guess you can stay for a while, just don't be too loud. I wasn't planning on having company today."
"That's okay, it'll just be us," Naeko assured. "Say, did you pick up that sticky tape for me?" Only quick reflexes on her part prevented her from being pelted in the head with a roll of tape that Kotori had brought back from her errands. "Thanks, Tori-chan. Now I can get the rest of these gifts wrapped..."
This seemed to spark something in Taiki's mind, and he spoke up next as Kotori beat a retreat from the kitchen to her secure spot on the sofa, where she curled up with a blanket and her dinner and turned on the television. "Speaking of gifts, I brought something for each of you. I'll be right back." He rose from his place at the kotatsu and disappeared into the darkness of the foyer for a moment, returning with a cloth-wrapped bundle and a smaller package wrapped in paper. "The fabric's a part of it," he explained to Naeko. "Courtesy of some of the finest weavers back at home."
Kotori did her best to ignore Naeko's pleased squeal as she examined the cloth and then moved on to the rest of the gift, a book of patterns. Turning her attention to her own gift, she removed the paper and blinked when she beheld a ceramic mug, glazed in a pattern of mist-shrouded trees. She then noticed a small packet inside and pulled it out, giving a puzzled look to Taiki. "The mug is pretty, Taiki, but the rest of it...?"
"Oh, that! I've noticed that you're under a lot of stress lately, Tori-chan, and this is just some tea I picked up that should help you relax. In fact, I'll make a cup for you now, if you like."
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The rest of the evening passed without major incident, Naeko presenting Taiki with an intricately-embroidered tunic and Kotori a shimmeringly dyed silk scarf. Kotori felt herself easing into a pleasant lull, relaxed by the company of her teammates and some property of the tea. I'll have to ask him what this is – I think I like it. At about eight o'clock, though, she politely excused herself on the grounds of lightheadedness and went to lie down for a while...
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Darkness had fully fallen over Konoha, and Kotori slept as if she'd been knocked unconscious. It cannot be said, though, that all of her drowsed – even as the girl's body heaved with titanic snoring, the cat-demon stirred restively and itched for activity. Damnit! That boy really is clueless. I want to get out and move... The Nekomata then chuckled wickedly as an idea occurred to her. I know I'm not scheduled to come out for another week, Kotori, but you can blame this on your teammate. So sorry...
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When Kotori awoke again, she was greeted by a pounding headache and general soreness in her limbs, plus the unusual sensation of many types of cloth brushing against her bare skin. All right, so I'm naked – or at least partly naked - that much is to be expected. But what the hell... Opening her eyes, she looked around and let out an alarmed curse at what she saw. "Oh my god. What did you do to me this time, you evil bitch? You weren't supposed to come out for another week!" Rubbing the sleep-grit from her eyes, she took a closer look at her surroundings and howled in rage. "And where did all these pants come from?" Feeling a familiar itch beginning to build in her sinuses and covering her skin, Kotori braced herself for a massive sneeze -
- and was jolted into lucidity by the sudden stab of a hypodermic into her momentarily bared behind. She squeaked in protest but felt the itch begin to ease, breathing a sigh of relief as she looked for her rescuer. "Taiki! Do you know what happened? I just remember going to sleep that one night, and then... I wake up in a pile of pants. None of these are even mine!"
"I'm still trying to figure it all out for myself," her teammate muttered, returning to his place amongst another pile of neatly folded garments. "But you've been out for a week, and now a good part of the village is in an uproar."
"I'd imagine so." Kotori stretched and began untangling herself from the various bits of clothing, trying to identify some of them as she went. The rather large pair that she'd been using almost as a blanket were easy enough, and she tossed them over to Taiki to add to his collection. "Those no doubt belong to Choji." Reaching into the pocket of the pair draped around her shoulders, she pulled out a receipt from a certain bookstore and turned red. "And these... these are Pervert-san's." A glance down at the pair she'd been using as a pillow provoked a retching sound. "I'll guess that those belong to the Pervert King himself... yuck..."
"And you're wearing mine," Taiki commented with an amused grin, affixing small scraps of paper to the identified pairs to show who they belonged to. "You might want to check your head, too..."
Kotori snatched the pair of black pants from her head, checking the pockets and noting that they were empty. She was ready to give up until she noticed a small bit of embroidery on the inside of the waistband, a familiar red-and-white fan symbol. "Gah! How did I wind up with Emo-boy's pants on my head?"
"You didn't. These are his." Taiki held up a pair of shorts with a set of bloody gashes in the right half of the backside. "Now I know that a lot of girls want a piece of ass from him, but this is taking it a bit too far, Tori-chan."
"Then whose are these?"
"Those belong to his older brother Itachi." Taiki shook his head and sighed wearily. "Don't ask, I'm still trying to figure that one out for myself."
"I must have been really messed up," Kotori grumbled, noticing a final pair of pants in her lap which she'd dropped in her initial shock of waking up. Rummaging through the pockets, she came up with a wallet – mostly empty – that caused her to stare dumbfoundedly when she identified it. "And these – they belong to Iruka-san! You know, one of the teachers back at the Academy?" An affirming nod from Taiki. "But why would I steal his pants?"
Her teammate shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Tell you what, Tori-chan – why don't you go take a shower and get cleaned up. Then we can get some food, clean up all of this," he gestured to the scattered clothing, "and then we'll decide what to do about the pictures."
This made Kotori sit up straight with an alarmed look at Taiki. "Pictures? Oh hell..."
Author's Note, 4 January: I know this is a bit late in coming, but there's just so much to do during the holidays. Celebrating with friends, going to parties, doing new research... so sorry for the delay. Here's hoping your holidays were spent well, and best wishes for the new year! We now return to the regularly scheduled storyline.