Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Fuuma/Kamui, Seishirou/Subaru, Kamui/Subaru,
Karen/Yuuto, Satsuki/Yuuto, Yuzuriha/Kusanagi,
Sorata/Arashi, Suoh/Nagisa, Akira/Utako, others
The characters and setting do not belong to me. They're Clamp's.
A Silent Night in Tokyo: Part 2
by Beth
Once the novelty of the mistletoe had worn off, everybody settled down again. They barely had time to converse before the sound of running feet echoed from the staircase.
"We saw the first star-" Yuka announced breathlessly, leaning against the banister.
"-just like Karen-san said-" Nataku added, slumping down next to the little girl.
"-so it's time for presents!"
"Why don't you go search for Santa?" Seiichiro proposed, wanting to buy time to put the presents under the tree.
"But he's already been here!" Nataku pointed out.
Indeed, there was a multicolored pile of packages under the verdant branches of the tree.
"Was that you?" Karen asked Nokoru, who shook his head.
Yuka claimed her right, as the youngest person present, to read the labels and hand out the presents. But her face fell as she got a closer look.
"It's all in kanji! I can't read those!" she whined.
"I can read them," Nataku said eagerly. It sank to its knees beside the child and took the first package. "This is for Nekoi-san."
"For me??" Yuzuriha squealed. "Cool!" She unpacked it quickly. It was a UFO Catcher doll. "Oooh, it's Hitokiri Battousai!" She pointed her finger at Kamui. "No use denying it, you're the only person here who knows I like Kenshin."
Kamui nodded and accepted the first of his gifts from Yuka. He gazed quizzically at the small golden ball with gold wings.
"It's a Golden Snitch," Yuzuriha explained. "I got everyone gifts from 'Harry Potter', because it's so cool!"
The next person to receive a present was Karen. The flame mistress immediately put on the witch's hat, also from Yuzuriha. In contrast, Arashi was rather reluctant about unpacking a white-and-pink striped box, and refused to try on the lacy merrywidow, to Sorata's chagrin.
Subaru laughed out loud at the first present Seishirou received. The Sakurazukamori glared at the assembled dragons while holding up a copy of "How to win friends" with two fingers. Fuuma waved at him insolently and hid behind Suoh when Seishirou smiled predatorily. Fortunately for him, the assassin was distracted by a book Subaru got - a quick glance revealed Sorata as the guffawing culprit - that made the younger onmyouji blush scarlet and hide it quickly.
Other gifts followed, including a Slytherin scarf for Fuuma, a hand-knit pair of gloves from Karen for Seiichiro, and the Harry Potter Playstation game from Yuzuriha for Satsuki; the computer wizard reciprocated with a customized cyber-cat. Then only three packages were left under the tree.
Nataku took the first one and looked at the label. "Shirou Kamui," it said.
"I thought you already got gifts from everyone?" Keiichi wondered, eyeing the pile of packaging next to his friend. "Who's it from?"
Everyone shook their heads. Kamui hesitated for a blink of an eye, then tentatively unwrapped the package.
It was a photo album. The pictures featured him, from a baby barely a month old to a photo he remembered his mother taking hours before her death.
That roll of film had been lost in the fire.
There was a dedication on the inside cover: "Remember your good memories as well. Tooru Magami-Shirou."
He realized there were tears running down his face.
Nataku picked up the next-to-last gift. "To Kyou-chan," it read in a puzzled voice.
"That's me."
Kakyou's fingers were very, very calm as they took it and unwrapped a shirt - blue silk and outrageously stylish. But they did clench the accompanying note convulsively, so that all a curious Fuuma saw was a drawing of a giggling and winking cat-girl with short black hair.
"There's one more," the bioroid said softly.
"Who-who's it for?" Kamui asked.
Yuka giggled, reading the messy hiragana on the label. "'To Sei-chan and my insufferably stubborn brother'," she read out loud.
Subaru gasped and hid his face in Seishirou's shoulder as the other man took the small package. It contained two tickets to a new romantic movie. And a note: "If either of you tries to kill the other again, I'll haunt you both until your death!!!"
The silence was broken, predictably, by Sorata. "So where's the food?"
"This way, please," Nokoru motioned.
They all admitted that dinner was excellent. The measure of Akira's cooking skills was the fact that both Keiichi and Sorata stopped talking in order to consume more. This left Kakyou as the surprising main speaker at the table. The illusory Dreamgazer spoke animatedly of current global issues, concentrating unsurprisingly on the ecological side, and other Dragons put in remarks between shoveling additional portions onto their plates.
As they neared dessert, the discussion grew more heated.
"Globalization means more opportunities to do good," Nokoru insisted.
"But the companies can pay people pennies!" Sorata protested.
"If the global corporations didn't pay those people, no-one would," Shimako pointed out.
"They devastate the environment!" Kusanagi thundered.
"And experiment on animals in countries where that's not forbidden," Yuzuriha agreed.
Yuuto giggled and started banging his spoon on his plate. "We shall overcome! We shall overcome!" he sang.
Sorata, Yuzuriha, Kusanagi, Keiichi and Fuuma joined in. "We shall overcome some day!"
"What's their problem?" Seishirou asked.
"Spiked eggnog," Subaru explained succinctly.
"All of them?" The Sakurazukamori eyed the table with suspicion.
"Maybe not the kid." Subaru noticed Yuuka sneaking a sip from her mother's glass of Bailey's. "Scratch that."
"Shut up!!!" Kamui yelled suddenly, breaking through the din. "If you want to sing, sing carols."
"Great idea!" Akira nodded and shooed the assembly back to the hall, positioning them around the Christmas tree. "Nagisa-chan, care to play for us?"
Nagisa picked up her flute, and Nokoru joined her on the piano.
"What shall we start with?" she asked.
"Something traditional," Karen said. "Does anybody know 'Asahi wa noborite'?"
Shimako and - surprisingly - Satsuki nodded, and they began:
"Asahi wa noborite, yo wo teraseri,
Kuraki ni sumu hito, kitari aoge!
Chie ni tomitaru Shu, yo ni idetari,
Satori naki hito wa, kitari manabe! "
Lo, now ascends the morning sun, and floods the world with light...Let all who now in darkness dwell the glorious sunrise greet...
There were two more verses to the carol before they finished.
"What now?" Yuzuriha asked.
"Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer," Sorata began, horribly off-key.
"Had a very shiiiiiiny nose!" Fuuma joined in.
"No, no, no!" Kamui stomped his feet.
"Awww, don't like it, Kamui-kuuuun?" Fuuma crooned.
"Childhood trauma," the Ten no Ryu leader muttered.
Nokoru broke up the argument by starting a new melody.
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly," Akira began the carol.
Fuuma and Sorata grinned at each other. "FA LALA LALA LALA LALA!!" they wailed, still managing to be off-key.
Kamui snorted with laughter. "Tis the season to be jolly," he joined in, followed by another choral "Fa la la la la, la la la la!"
"Don we now our gay apparel," Yuzuriha sang, oblivious to the snickers around the room.
"Fa la la la la, la la la la!" This time, Nagisa's soprano rose above the din, silencing the noise.
"Troll the ancient Yuletide carol," Kakyou added when no-one seemed eager to continue.
"Fa la la, la la la, la la la!" By this time everyone punctuated the rhythm by clapping their hands.
Once they were done with "Deck the Halls" they went on to "Hitsuji wa Nemureri". After much prompting and cajoling (and more than a few glasses of eggnogg), Subaru graced them with a surprisingly high-quality rendition of "White Christmas", followed by "Jingle Bells" to appease the pro-commercial fraction. Then they all sat back (and in the case of many of the women, shed a tear) as Yuzuriha used her strong, fresh soprano to sing "Mary, did you know".
"What would you like to sing now?" Shimako asked Yuuka.
The little girl started to respond, but was interrupted by a wide yawn.
"Bed-time then," Shimako decided. "I'll call a taxi."
"It's too late for you to go home," Nokoru protested. "There's enough room at the mansion for all of you."
"This way," Suoh motioned to the Chi no Ryu.
Seishirou stood up, careful not to drop the decidedly swaying Subaru. "I think I won't be needing a separate room," he mused.
"So sure of yourshelf?" Subaru slurred.
The Sakurazukamori decided to forego answering this. Instead he picked Subaru up and headed upstairs.
Finally Nokoru and Karen were the only ones left in the great hall.
"I do believe you've managed a Christmas miracle, Nokoru-san," Karen said.
"I offered them one night of peace. What they do with it... is their own problem."
"And you gave Tokyo a night of respite. A silent night."
Nokoru smiled and started to play again.
Karen drew a breath and recalled the words to an old, old song.
"Silent night... Holy night...
All is calm, all is bright
'Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace..."
{FINIS}
Author's Notes:
UFO Catcher dolls info here. Kenshin UFO Catcher doll here. Me want.
"White-and-pink-striped box" - Victoria's Secret, of course ^_^ The merrywidow (full corset and garter straps) was from Karen.
"How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie. One of the first self-help books, and perhaps Seishirou *could* find it useful - IIRC it provides tips that allow oneself to simulate a far greater degree of empathy than one possesses. But I've got absolutely no idea what Subaru got ^_~
Gifts from behind the grave: hey, it's Christmas - time for miracles, neh?
"We shall overcome" evolved from an adapted church hymn into one of the most-known protest songs of the civil rights and labor movements. Full lyrics available here
If anyone wants to read the actual words the Angels and Seals would have sung, had I not translated them, go to this page - a glorious collection of both English carols and their Japanese translations! Also midi files, so you can sing along.
And a special note: "Mary did you know" is IMHO one of the most beautiful modern carols. You can download Nancy Krebs' version here