What follows is a little something I thought would be appropriate for the season. For the most part, this will have nothing to do with Kodori, since she's currently MIA fixing things in yet another world.

Instead, this is something that happens to the Guests in Orario.

An Orario Christmas Special.

Tail 9

Orario. A place of many wonders. Magic, super powered people, weird animals, dangerous animals, monsters... Gods.

The people of Earth, who had come through the Gate to try and make a profit in Orario, so they could send back some of that wonder to their sponsoring country, had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to that last one.

Sure. Magic was weird, especially for the science types who only 'believed' what they could prove. But, under the 'microscope' so to speak, magic could be applied to some kind of science.

Super powered people? Eh, aside from being able to do incredible feats of strength, speed and endurance, they were still just people. Just like the people back on Earth, they all had their moods, respected respect, and followed the laws like most people.

Weird and/or dangerous animals? Yes, Orario had domesticated livestock and wild animals aplenty, and keeping all your limbs attached to your torso was much the same in both worlds when dealing with them.

Monsters? They were really just classified under 'dangerous animals' aside from a few small differences. Again, the fighters from Earth were able to easily adapt to this, and while their luck varied, there hadn't been any fatalities in the dungeon, even several months in.

Gods... This was the biggest hangup for the people of Earth. A handful of the hundred or so people from Earth had actually had a mental breakdown meeting the Gods of Orario. It surprised the 'natives' but the on staff counsellors understood the basis for the distress. For example, a devout believer in Ganesha, who met the one in Orario just... couldn't believe it.

With the 'voice' of God, there was no doubt that they were Divine. So for some, there was an incredible disconnect between 'belief' and 'reality'.

Then there was the derivative of worship, tradition. This surprised everyone from Earth. Not because the Gods had weird or vastly different demands for them. But that there weren't any at all. The Gods here in Orario simply didn't have traditions. No holidays, no special rules, no sacrificed to be made every other week at nightfall. Nothing.

That wasn't to say the city didn't have them. There were many yearly events! The Xenos Market, the Crafting Festival, the once per season 'dive' of one of the top Familia... But nothing to do specifically with any Gods.

But this lack of tradition brought on something special during the colder months in Orario.

(The Gatehouse, Guild building, communication booths.)

The Gatehouse, the name for Earth's collective dormitory/science station/communication hub/only place where plastics were allowed/Earth Embassy, wasn't really a busy place. Yes, this is where the people from Earth stayed/slept/ate/recovered, but almost all of the people there were soldiers.

Wake, eat, do soldier type things, eat, sleep. Sure, there were various recreational activities available to everyone, but for the most part, that was life here for them.

Usually.

"Phew." A mage, at least by her form of dress, slumped back into her chair next to another in similar clothing. "Ah, can you hang the sign for me please?"

A guild employee who was doing paperwork by a desk nodded and flipped a 'back in ten minutes' sign up.

A simple break room, it had enough space for maybe a half dozen to sit, eat, rest or maybe play cards. The other mage, also looking a little worn out through excessive magic use, nodded and passed her fellow a glass bottle with a cheerful logo (the BLUE Pharmacy!) sand blasted into the side. "Mint tea?"

"Thank you." The first took a sip, did a little full body shiver, then passed it back, "Phew, how many is that today? What's going on?"

The second accepted the bottle and took a small sip for herself. After her own little shiver, she shook her head. "I don't know. I mean, I don't blame any of them wanting to call home, but who'd have thought being a magic battery for the occulus would be so tiring all of a sudden..."

The guild employee put a little flourish on his paperwork and replied with, "I think it's a special time of year for them." He didn't look their way, his eyes instead scanning over his work, "I don't know exactly what, but it's following a pattern, certainly."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment, the only sound that of the two mages taking little sips from the bottle.

"Ah, ex...oh..." Someone on the other side of the Guild worker's desk spoke, spotted the sign, then stopped.

"Ah, Lieutenant Shino." The Guild worker said in nearly perfect Eastern, "Yes, it's been a busy day for the mages. If it's important..."

Shino shook her head, looking past him to smile at the ladies having a break, "I do want a booth, but if you could find my sister, I won't need a mage."

The two exhausted mages waved to the upbeat battle maniac JSDF officer, while the Guild employee nodded to Shino and said, "Ah, a moment then." And he opened up a little cupboard on his desk.

Inside were a carefully labelled and slotted collection of communication crystals. Conveniently shaped like rods so they would sit snugly in their padded recesses, they all had specific department labels.

He selected one, gave it a tap, and with a little 'ping' noise it lit up. "Gatehouse Hub."

"Earthbound Communications Room." The Guild worker declared, "Looking for Specialist Kuribayashi."

Pause. A very quiet 'click' as two communication crystals were touched together on the other side of the call. "Nanami here."

"Ma'am Nanami." The Guild rep started, "Your sister is here in the Earthbound Communications room."

Pause, "Ah, lost track of time. Five minutes. Out."

"There you have it." The Guild rep said, tapping the crystal in his hand to 'ping' it again, to signal the end of the call. "When she arrives we'll open a room for you." He added, putting the crystal away.

"Thank you." Shino said with a bow before turning to leave.

"Ah!" One of the mages made a noise to catch her attention. "We've been curious, why are there suddenly so many people calling earth?"

One foot still raised to take that next step, Shino replied with a smile, "It's almost Christmas. There isn't anything like it here, but back home it's like... the day to remind your family you're still alive. Holiday from work, big dinners, gifts, all kinds of stuff." And then she put her foot down and walked out to wait for Nanami.

"huh... They have a day for that kind of thing?"

There were many others who used the room in the following few days. So many in fact that the Guild had to hire a couple extra mages to supply the power to talk to the other side.

But something else happened at the Gatehouse.

As it got closer to Christmas, the the various people from all over Earth started to relax a little around each other. They weren't at 'war' or the like, but their differences were still a little bit of a wall between them all. But, once one person set up a little tree, another put one up, and the dozen or so squads started a little competition.

But there were some who either couldn't, or didn't want to, get into a pissing match on what squad could set up the nicest potted tree.

And, oddly, almost magically, everyone just dropped the individual squad celebrations, and went to Demeter for a single large tree they could temporarily keep in the common room of the Gatehouse.

It didn't know who it was. Or what it was. But it knew why it was. Many sentient beings never figured out the answer to that question, but this one... This one was born with the answer. It was in fact, the answer to the question of 'why' in of itself.

Created from a spark of hope, a wish for home, and a prayer to be able to return to their family, it started its life inhabiting a small glass sphere that had been hung on a pine tree. Around it, people of many shapes sizes and colours were decorating the tree. Bits of glass and metal, carved wood and paper.

It didn't have eyes, not as we know them, but it could sense, feel and perceive the people around it just by their unified purpose.

But, all too soon it felt, the people finished their task and left.

So it left its little glass orb, and wandered off in search of what brought it to life in the first place.

It fed from dreams. Dreams of home. Dreams of family. A house they left. A friend? A lover? A child? A parent? As it wandered through the dorms of the Gatehouse, it picked up on all of these things. No matter who they were, or where they came from, the taste of their dreams were the same.

But not all was right. These were dreams. They were hopes. They were wants. At the edge of everyone's dreams were the doubts. The fears. That they would forever remain a hope or dream, and that their want would be unfulfilled.

After three days of this, watching the people, nibbling from their dreams, and taking comfort it its own existence, it had gained enough strength, enough mental capacity, to think past 'why', and ask itself 'how can I make it better'.

While Orario didn't have a calendar like Earth, the residents of the Gatehouse kept track.

And so, December 25 came about. The Guild wondered why, but didn't stop, the entire Earth born staff of the Gatehouse from taking the day off. It was as if someone had brought it up, and everyone agreed to dedicate the entire day to anything but work. The people of Orario found it a little odd, but to be fair, going to the dungeon was ultimately a volunteer job. If the people of Earth didn't want to work for a day, then that was it.

That evening, while everyone put aside their differences (though not their differences in food preferences), those with any sort of culinary skill got together in the communal kitchen, kicked everyone else out, and made a feast.

They did their best with the local foods, to match the tastes from home. And while success varied, no one complained. Good cheer filled the common room, songs were sung in a dozen different languages, gifts were given (though, many of them were well received joke gifts, like a broken sword with a bow on it and a little note that said 'don't litter!'), and no small amount of alcohol was consumed (responsibly).

It was during this little festive gathering, that something weird happened. They all stopped what they were doing, including calling a friendly arm wrestling match off as a draw, to stare at it.

They all stopped what they were doing to look at the top of their tree. No one had put a star on it, since various places in the world used different stars for different things. But now, there WAS something up there.

A little glass ball. Glowing with all its might, with the colours of hopes and dreams gathered from everyone there.

"Nanami-chan?" Shino asked quietly, "That's magic right? You doing that?"

One of the only magic capable people in the room, the younger sister shook her head, "No... But I think I know what it is."

There was a pause as she took a couple steps closer to the tree. For most, those who had accepted magic existed and worked, but had no clue past that, she just kinda wiggled her fingers together for a moment. For those from the East, they could at least guess it was something related to Shinto.

All was quiet for a moment, before Nanami put her hands down and laughed. It was a good laugh, one part joy, one part self depreciation, like getting a joke last in a crowd. "Sis?" Shino asked. "What is it?"

"It's a little spirit of Christmas."

Merry Christmas. Thank you for reading everyone. And I hope the new year finds you well. See you in the next update.