After the parents left, it was a restful evening for the most part. Ikkaku found that again, no one had bothered to do their homework.

"You're still going to make us do homework?" Karin asked, surprised.

"Yes," Ikkaku said tiredly.

"Even after everything that happened?"

"YES."

Unfortunately, Monday didn't go well at all. Nearly everyone failed the math test. Ikkaku sighed; he just didn't understand his students. The afternoon was even worse. In the middle of French, they heard an "oink."

"Demi, no pig noises," Ikkaku said sternly, annoyed at the additional disruption.

"It wasn't me," he protested, just as a pig wandered into the classroom. Ameil, Uryu and Nat immediately gave chase.

"Dan, Chad, which one of you forgot to close the gate?" Ikkaku asked over the commotion. Before either of the guilty-looking boys could respond, Ameil shouted "Got it!" and handed the struggling and rather confused pig to Koga.

After school, things quieted down a bit.

"Hold still, Demi," Uryu said, frustrated. He was measuring the twins, who were to be sheep for the Christmas play. Karin and Bobby had gone to town to sell their grape juice and wool, then go to pick more berries. Ikkaku was a bit curious of what they else they were doing on their private trip but was to busy training to investigate.

Meanwhile, Yuzu, Ururu, Orihime, and Jinta were working in the kitchen. The rest were in the classroom getting ready for their play. Emily was helping with anything she could; she would go home sometime in January when her bruises weren't as bad, as she didn't want her parents to see her the way she was.

"All right, so how does this look?" Ichigo asked, stepping back. He was building a manger for the play.

"It's okay, but a bit uneven," Nan said with a critical eye.

"Bess, just jump," Ameil said. He, along with Dan, were holding the rope as best they could. Bess would be an angel in the play and was supposed to fly.

"Are you crazy?" she asked in indignation.

"Come on, we all know angels fly," Dan persuaded.

"I can just look over you guys instead," she said. "Don't you agree, Nan?" she asked, turning to her.

"I think you should fly," Nan said after some thought, checking how safe the contraption was.

"Fine, you be the angel," Bess said, taking off her harness. Nan went up to the loft, put on the leather harness, and jumped. She flew quite nicely and landed safely, to everyone's delight.

"What's Christmas like here?" Dan asked. He had arrived at Plumfield in January a week before Bobby left.

"It's so cool," Nan said from the loft, preparing to jump again.

"Yeah, Ikkaku draws two names to see who gets to help fetch the tree," Ameil said excitedly.

"And the people who don't go home have a giant feast!" Uryu said with a grin.

"And we all exchange gifts," Nan said, dreamily imagining and forgetting being an angel.

"And we all decorate the tree," Bess said happily. Secretly, she thought Plumfield's Christmas tree was much better then the Kuchikis'.

"We also get to hang stockings," Nan remembered.

"Cool, I can't wait. I always looked in windows at other people's Christmases," Dan said a bit sadly, and Nat patted his back. Just then they heard the dinner bell and everyone scrambled up.

"Come on," Ichigo said, beckoning. "Tonight we pick names!" When all had gathered in the dining room, Ikkaku pulled Nan aside as grace was being said.

"This came for you," he said quietly, handing her a letter.

"Oh," she said sadly, after she had finished reading it. "Dad said he will be away for Christmas again. Ever since Mom died, we haven't spent a single Christmas together," she said, completely dejected.

"At least your sister will be here for New Year's," he said in an attempt to cheer her up.

"I guess so," Nan said with a small smile. She and Nemu had grown closer since their mother died. They weren't sisters by blood, but since Mayuri had created her Nemu quickly became part of the family; as a matter of fact, Nemu was closer to their mother, while Nan was closer to their father.

After a few seconds, Nan walked over to the fireplace and threw the now-crumpled paper into the flames, watching it curl and blacken into ashes before slowly going back to the dining room. Ikkaku sighed yet again as she left. Mayuri barely spent any time with Nan since his wife died, choosing to shut himself into the lab with his experiments.