When the cherry blossoms fall to the ground...
And the scent of perfume fills the air...
The air sparkles with a new life and light...
As the gates of Whole Cake Academy open for the day...

Yamato felt good as she walked down the hallway upstairs.

After witnessing Luffy break up with Uta, she felt more confident with how she wanted to express her feelings to him. Sure, he just broke up with her, but as her former father always said to take what you wanted before it went away.

Granted, this was the same guy who took out her hero because of petty reasons.

The tall girl shook her head as she fixed her Christmas sweater and hair before adjusting her red-striped horns. This was it, no turning back now. This crush of hers has gone on long enough!

Throughout their childhood, Yamato felt as if she was playing second fiddle to the charming Uta. If Yamato learned how to tame dogs for fun, Uta was captivating audiences with her singing voice. If she was learning how to fight, Uta was learning how to dance. Yamato even learned how to cook to gain Luffy's attention, but was quickly overshadowed by Uta when she created a song for their love!

With each discouragement and rebuff, Uta would taunt Yamato for not living up to feminine standards. This ruffled Yamato the wrong way since she didn't live up to those stereotypes and would mostly be seen as more masculine in some cases. From her fashion to her passions, there was nothing that Yamato could do to sway Luffy's eyes away from starting a relationship with Uta. In some ways, she felt as if she lost a long battle where everything was going in Uta's favor. Everything always went her way whether she wanted to or not.

Until now...

Now the favor was in her court! If they were dueling on the field of battle, Uta with sword and she with her trusty kanabo, Yamato just snagged a final blow to her head. When she left for tours, all the attention was on her. Nights of them staying up late to study, days at Partys Bar serving the customers, and even the summer at Paradise Beach changed everything. Luffy started seeing her as more than just a companion for his adventures, but someone he could confide with. Ace and Sabo could only give so much advice about life and the world, however, she gave him advice on how to deal with girls. Oftentimes she was the one helping him plan out dates for when Uta came home.

If anything, that girl should be thanking her for all those good dates.

Now, as she stood outside his bedroom door, her heart was thumping wildly in her chest. This was the moment she had been waiting for her whole life. All those years dropping hints, pining silently, wracking her brain, and speaking to the other girls in the family had led up to this! All she had to do was knock on the door and-

"I just...don't want to date for a while."

Her hand hovered over the door, almost pounding it over from her sheer strength alone. Luffy's voice came from behind the door, sounding so sullen. He must've called one of his friends or someone to talk to about the breakup. Looking around to see nobody in the hall, she pressed her ear against the door to hear the conversation he was having with the person on the phone.

"What happened to Uta? Did you tell her that you wanted to stay in town?"

"I did. She didn't take it well. She even tried to manipulate me into going with her."

"Ouch. No wonder you dumped her. No girl is worth that much trouble."

Who was this guy talking with Luffy on the phone? Yamato knew that Luffy only hung out around either her and the bros, his rec center buddies, or his friends at school. This guy sounded more mature and older than anyone he was around.

"So what are you going to do now Luffy? This is just one of many girls out there that you would give your attention to. Actually...do you have any girl best friends?"

"Of course I do! My brothers' girlfriends both like me well enough that we chat. Then there's Tama, but she's a little girl. There was this one girl I met years ago, but I forgot her name. And Yama-o..."

She heard him pause for a moment, the room getting quiet.

"I...well...if there was one person who's always been there for me it would be her. When I felt broken down when Uta left, she comforted me with a fun treat. She and I struggle to do homework together. And that summer at Paradise Beach made me so happy. She has been there for me the whole time and I've enjoyed her company the more I spend time with her."

This made her heart soar. So she did have value beyond being his wing-woman! At the least, he thought of her as more than a friend!

"Why don't you just date her? She seems like your ideal type."

A sigh came out of his mouth as Yamato leaned more to hear his reply.

"I couldn't date her now. I see her as a great friend and companion. Right now, I want to focus on my own life and figure things out now that I am not tethered to Uta anymore. I want to meet other girls since she chased away any girl who tried to be my friend."

"Looking for a change in scenery eh? Not wanting to be in another relationship without meeting all the girls?"

"My aunt has the papers ready. I think I'll be transferring to a school where I can finally make friends with the opposite gender."

"Bummer...I guess we'll miss you next year. Are you certain this is what you want?"

"Trust me. I want to develop long-lasting relationships, but healthy ones with females. No more deceptions, no more drama, and no more waiting around for someone to return."

With those words ringing in her head, Yamato brought herself back away from the door. Her eyes were closed tightly, her chest raising up and down. Water rained down from her eyes as she covered her face. Not wanting to stir up the sleeping family, she made her way down the stairs and opened the back door.

Outside, a fresh coating of snow covered the ground like a blanket. The snow had stopped falling, and tiny dots of clouds covered the sky. A soft wind blew her locks every which way as she knelt on the ground.

Yamato was usually better than this. No man would ever make her cry like this ever!

Luffy was a different story.

The Winter Concert had gone great!

Whole Cake was funded greatly by the pop star as she sang her new Christmas-themed album songs at their concert. Uta made herself known as she wore a sparkly red dress, her hair done in a braided ponytail, and a white feather boa. Her hands were covered with red gloves and a pair of fuzzy white earmuffs were on her ears. All the attention was on her for the entire night as she promoted the charity drive and the Secret Santa Exchange. It was the biggest turnout yet for the academy.

For Uta, this was just the ticket she needed to get back together with Luffy.

The scene was perfect. After she did some non-stop performance for three hours straight, she was currently on her break. Switching out of her performing outfit, she now wore a white sleeveless tube top, with silver sequins sewn onto the bottom. She wears a matching white and silver skirt with two rows of red sequins, one on the top and the other on the bottom. She pairs this with a matching white fluffy jacket. For her footwear, she has red and white heels with white bows and ankle-red glittery socks. With her newfound outfit and confidence, she felt as if this was the moment to impress him again.

After she was unfairly dumped, Uta spent her time in her music and life on the road. While it hurt in the minute, she made that pain turn into a passion for her career. It annoyed her to no end that he never called, texted, or even sent her a letter afterward. Just because they broke up didn't give him the right to ghost her. She complained to her father about this, though all he had to say was that Luffy wanted a real connection, not a fan one.

Which struck her odd since he practically adored her when she was a child. If there was a time when a girl tried to get close to him, Uta sent them off with a glare or charmed them to the point where they looked at her. Luffy encouraged her to create her art, he was her muse. If he had just said yes that night, she would've had him all to herself! No one would ever break them apart and that silly dog girl would've been all alone. Fine by her since he was more interested in her anyways.

"I have to say, that performance was good as always. The Princess of Pop does keep her crown."

Uta paused in her musings to turn and see Yamato coming up from behind her. The stupid dog girl could never keep her stinking nose out of her business! Ugh, she looked so repugnant that it took all her entire willpower to keep herself from sneering. Instead, she gave her a sweet smile.

"To what do I owe one of my adoring fans the pleasure of meeting me? Surely you should be back to your festivities in the main auditorium?"

Yamato crossed her arms, a smug smirk on her face. "Cut the crap. I know you're heading to where Luffy is. You aren't very subtle with the way you like him too. Lemme guess, you are still sore because you're his ex-girlfriend?"

SMACK!

Uta was seeing red as she glared at the now red-cheeked Yamato, who was both stunned and angered by this confrontation. Her bag fell to the floor, forgotten as the white-haired girl placed a hand on the cheek.

"You think you're so smug with being one of this pitiful school's top students. I'm not afraid of getting what I want and what I want is Luffy. He broke my heart on Christmas, but I am willing to give him one last chance to come with me. There must be a reason why he called me otherwise I wouldn't have come to this event. This just means that I am still an important part of his life."

"You truly have no idea whom you just slapped." Yamato gave her a cold look before getting in her face. "How delusional do you have to be that you can't comprehend that you are the reason he broke up with you! You lost him because you are selfish and don't like getting no for an answer! You only cared about yourself and never heard his dreams. This form of Luffy you have in your mind is only a dream! Wake up Uta and realize that he isn't into you anymore!"

"Shut up...I SAID SHUT UP, YOU DOG!" Uta stomped her foot in anger. "The reason why he doesn't love me anymore is that you interfered with our relationship!"

"I did nothing wrong! You should be thanking me for all those lovely dates he took you on."

Uta's face went ashen. "What are you talking about? You must be lying to me!"

Yamato laughed bitterly. "How could I lie about the tickets to the music festival? Or the lake house date? Do you think that Luffy had time to think of your very demands and likes? He tried his best, but even that takes a team to learn how to please you. Face it, Uta, you are nothing but a diva with a control problem."

Things were quiet between them, both glaring at each other. Neither one wanted to speak first as they were stewing in their anger. Yamato felt a block release itself from her chest as she realized she finally got her words out. Uta was fuming at the fact that there was some merit to Yamato's words.

"Alright Dog Girl, I'll tell you only this. I will back down now, but you aren't going to win. This is a school for girls after all. His eyes will wander and he will leave you as he did me. If by some miracle chance, he does turn his eyes on you, then that will be something worth celebrating." Uta walked in the other direction, turning to her. "Don't think you've won just because I backed down. This just means I've finally acknowledged you as my feminine rival. May the best girl win."

Yamato clenched her fists together. "Love is not a competition Uta."

"I know because if it was, you would be crushed."

"You're all talking, no action Uta. You don't scare me." Yamato leaned down, whispering in her ear. "Cause you'll be gone and he'll be here with me. Have a great tour."

Yamato watched as Uta stormed off before more damage could be done. A sigh slipped through her mouth as the taller girl made her way back to the auditorium for Camie's fashion show. This was a hollow victory at most. Uta may have left him alone now, but she promised that she'll be back soon.

"Hey Yama-o! Wait up!"

Yamato stopped in her tracks as Luffy ran to catch up with her. The two smiled at each other as they stared into each other's eyes. Luffy gulped some lost air into his lungs before his eyes darted upwards.

"Check it out! Someone left some greens hanging on the ceiling. Wonder if that is some school tradition?"

Yamato chuckled. "That's more of a Christmas tradition at best. Usually, when someone stands under the mistletoe you have to give them a kiss."

"Is that so? Guess I must honor that then!"

Luffy leaped upwards and placed a small kiss on her cheek. This turned Yamato's entire face red as she covered it up once again. Before Luffy could ask if she was okay, she pushed him down to the ground, making the concrete crack with how hard she pushed him. All he did was laugh at her reaction as she protested his sudden kiss.

Although, when she looked back at this memory, she would always remember her first kiss.

Next Time:

Boa: I need you to help me look after my niece.

Luffy: Hold on, you want me to help you babysit?

When Boa Hancock enlists the help of Luffy to watch over her niece, a battle ensues between the girls on who gets his attention more!

Luffy: Well aren't you a cutie pie?

Snake: *Blushes* I'm going to win your heart yet!

Will Luffy be able to calm this family feud? Find out next time!

"Babysitting Blues. The Snake Princesses Fatal Prey!"

Hello everyone!

Finally, after months of mental stress, writer's block, and other problems, I made the final Christmas chapter! I didn't want to leave you all on a cliffhanger forever. This was the most appropriate way to leave things between the Yamato vs. Uta match. Don't expect the girls to not duke it out again. It may happen soon.

In the meantime, we get a Boa-centric chapter next starring the snake princess and her little niece. Said niece is actually, in canon, S-Snake of the Seraphim. Since she is essentially a clone of Boa, I figured that she would be her niece in this story. Get ready for the battle of sexiness vs. cuteness!

Reviews are cool, and likes and follows make things juicier!