[Action] Love and joy come to you.
[OOC: Backdated to Christmastime.]
"We're going Christmas shopping," Amaya declared. "You obviously don't have presents for everyone yet, and this just shouldn't be allowed."
Naoko smiled a little. "I should have thought to go shopping weeks ago. The Christmas rush will be terrible."
"Not for us. We have superior hunting skills! The prey won't know what hit it."
The stores were, of course, packed full of people trying to find the exact right present. Naoko shrank back from the crowds, but Amaya refused to be discouraged. "Superior hunting skills," she whispered. "Now let's stalk the wild gift to its lair."
Shopping, even in the crowd, was almost fun with Amaya turning every store into an adventure. Naoko got something for everyone on her list; she even managed to sneak away unnoticed for long enough to buy Amaya a present. Fortunately, it was small enough to hide in her purse after she bought it.
"Now we skin and gut the carcasses," said Amaya. "Where do you keep the wrapping paper?"
"I think there's still some in the cupboard under the stairs," Naoko replied, carefully separating her gifts out into piles by recipient.
"Well, if you call that wrapping paper," said Amaya from inside the cupboard. "It's just as well I picked up some ribbon and bows while we were out." She came out covered in dust and coughing. "I would be wearing a black shirt, wouldn't I? When was anyone last in that cupboard?"
Naoko blushed. "Last Christmas? Or--no, I did get wrapping paper for birthdays. It's not much used."
"I can see that. Between Christmas and New Year's, we're going to go through that cupboard. I have a feeling there are all kinds of fun things in it, if we look. There might be buried treasure."
"Buried by pirates?"
"Of course! Who else buries treasure?"
"Why would pirates bury treasure in my house? I'm not a pirate, and I'm not even on a desert island."
"That's exactly why: it's the last place anyone would think to look. But we'll outsmart them, won't we, Naoko?"
"Absolutely," Naoko managed to say between giggles.
It was Naoko's idea to leave presents at her friends' homes stealthily on the day before Christmas. Amaya smiled at the idea and immediately volunteered to bring the boxes that needed to be shipped to the post office. That left Naoko to take care of her friends herself, which was exactly what she wanted. It was nice to have her aunt to help her out with some things, but Naoko didn't want to become completely dependent on another person.
She slipped up to Rika's door unseen and left the package without difficulty. The dress had caught her attention at a glance; it was so completely perfect for Rika, deep orange and fit for a princess. She knew the other girl would look lovely in it.
Sneaking up on the Kinomoto house was more difficult, since Sakura had a tendency to always notice when a friend was coming up to the door. However, Naoko managed it by waiting until she was sure her friend would be out to approach the house. The bag, festooned with Amaya's ribbons, would be impossible to miss when she returned. Naoko hoped Sakura would like the book of fairy-tale romances. They were mostly sweet and a little funny, just like Sakura.
Not trusting Haru or Touya not to trip over the gifts if they were simply left outside the apartment, Naoko went so far as to ring the bell and then dart around to be down the stairs before they came out to see who was there. She had let Amaya write the label on the large bag of presents and then laughed over it: The spoils of the hunt. She wouldn't be able to buy Touya tadpoles for Christmas, but tucked inside the anthology of small gods was a card entitling him to take her shopping for pond creatures in the spring. As for Haru and Kokoro, the real reasons she had given out her presents before Christmas, Naoko knew they would both be delighted by Haru's present. The girl on the music box had looked so much like Kokoro that Naoko hadn't been able to resist buying it for her father. And Kokoro would appreciate the friendship bracelet tucked inside her package as much as the book detailing famous unsolved poisoning cases. Also inside the bag were three smaller packages from Amaya, but Naoko hadn't been able to get a look at them before Amaya had wrapped them.
Naoko was smiling as she walked home in the cool afternoon air. For the first time in a while, she thought that perhaps she might enjoy having more people to give presents to at the same time a year in the future.
"Merry Christmas, Aunt Amaya," said Naoko, pushing the small box across the breakfast table. "It isn't nearly enough to thank you for everything you've done, but I--"
"You don't have to thank me, Naoko, so please stop trying. I'm here because I want to take care of you, and you don't have to repay me for that. So I won't take this as a thank-you present, you see?"
"Oh! Yes. I didn't mean..."
"It's all right; I know what you meant. Now, let me see what my favorite niece got me for Christmas..." Amaya laughed. "Naoko, where did you find these?"
"There's a little out-of-the-way store that sells second-hand jewelry. I mostly just window-shop there, but they do have wonderful things sometimes."
"I'll say!" Amaya lifted one of the earrings out of the box. The delicate-looking blue and yellow spires chimed against each other. "I can already think of exactly the right outfit to go with them, too. How do you do these things, Naoko?"
"It was just luck, really. They happened to be there, and I thought they looked like the kind of thing you would like." Naoko turned gratefully to the box next to her own place. "Hmmm...is this what I think it is?"
Amaya looked at the rectangular object. "It's a kitten. Can't you tell?"
Naoko nodded seriously. "Of course." Carefully, she divested the package of its ribbons, peeled the tape up, and unfolded the wrapping paper. "Ohhhhhh. Aunt Amaya, how did you know?"
"I saw you looking at it in the bookstore, to be honest, and you obviously wanted to buy it for yourself. I take it you like it?"
"I love it!" Naoko hugged the book close to her, The Complete Sherlock Holmes, an edition in English with annotations in Japanese to explain the historical and cultural context. She had wanted it badly but hadn't quite been able to justify the expense to herself.
After breakfast, Amaya asked Naoko, "Was there somewhere you wanted to go today?"
Naoko looked up from running her fingers over the cover of her new book and shook her head. "Not in particular. Why?"
"Usually on Christmas Day, I go to visit Ayako. Would you like to come with me? It would be an overnight trip."
Naoko thought about it. She had had her fill and more of graves lately, but on the other hand she hadn't visited her Aunt Ayako in a while, and it had never been the same sort of experience as her recent grave visits had been. Besides...she thought of the little box resting in her dresser, and nodded. "I would."
The cemetery was a tidy place, well-kept and well-loved. Naoko had visited regularly, when her family had made visits every year to see relatives, and always more than half the graves had shown signs that someone had been there recently.
Amaya smiled at the marker, as though it were really Ayako looking back at her. "Hey, Ayako. Merry Christmas. I brought you a present." From her purse she took a small box of chocolates, which she placed in front of the marker. "They're your favorites. I still don't understand how you can like coconut so much. I can't bear the things. But it's a present for you, not for me. I hope you enjoy them.
"I brought Naoko with me this year. You probably already know, but if you see your brother around, give him a good kicking for me, okay? She's a good girl, our niece. She's grown up nicely. Remember that little girl who always followed you around asking for stories? Now she tells other little girls stories of her own. Isn't that funny? Our little niece all grown up.
"I'm doing fine, myself. Sorry I haven't been over here lately, but I'm staying with Naoko for a bit to give her a hand. I don't have to ask if you understand; if I weren't taking care of her, you'd never forgive me, isn't that right? You can't fool me, Ayako.
"Here's Naoko. You'd hardly recognize her, would you?"
Naoko, who had been hanging back a bit, stapped closer to the marker. "Hello, Aunt Ayako. It's nice to speak to you again. I'm sorry I've missed a few years, but we weren't traveling much for a while. Maybe I'll come more often now. I brought you a present, too." She pulled a small box out of her purse and opened it. Dark purple flowers made of glass nestled in cotton, the gold paint highlighting the tips of the petals gleaming in the sun. "I always loved looking at your earrings.
"I should bring my brother here to see you. He's already met Aunt Amaya, after all, and I think you'd like him. He's really Sakura-chan's older brother, but he's mine too, now, a bit. It's a long story, really, how I got to know him. He's very nice. Between him and Aunt Amaya, I'm going to be doing fine.
"I love you, Aunt Ayako. Merry Christmas."
She turned away from the grave and moved slowly toward the exit, leaving Amaya alone for a while to talk. Naoko didn't want to intrude on a moment that didn't belong to her. Instead, she sat on a bench outside the cemetery and remembered her aunt.
When Amaya finished and came out, Naoko was so deep in thought that she jumped when Amaya spoke. "Ready to go home?"
"Yes."
It didn't feel the same as the last time she had visited a grave, not at all. Naoko missed Aunt Ayako, but it was possible to be happy even there. Talking to her felt like talking on the telephone to someone she hadn't seen in a long time. It was a bit sad, but she knew her aunt was listening at the other end all the same.
"We're going Christmas shopping," Amaya declared. "You obviously don't have presents for everyone yet, and this just shouldn't be allowed."
Naoko smiled a little. "I should have thought to go shopping weeks ago. The Christmas rush will be terrible."
"Not for us. We have superior hunting skills! The prey won't know what hit it."
The stores were, of course, packed full of people trying to find the exact right present. Naoko shrank back from the crowds, but Amaya refused to be discouraged. "Superior hunting skills," she whispered. "Now let's stalk the wild gift to its lair."
Shopping, even in the crowd, was almost fun with Amaya turning every store into an adventure. Naoko got something for everyone on her list; she even managed to sneak away unnoticed for long enough to buy Amaya a present. Fortunately, it was small enough to hide in her purse after she bought it.
"Now we skin and gut the carcasses," said Amaya. "Where do you keep the wrapping paper?"
"I think there's still some in the cupboard under the stairs," Naoko replied, carefully separating her gifts out into piles by recipient.
"Well, if you call that wrapping paper," said Amaya from inside the cupboard. "It's just as well I picked up some ribbon and bows while we were out." She came out covered in dust and coughing. "I would be wearing a black shirt, wouldn't I? When was anyone last in that cupboard?"
Naoko blushed. "Last Christmas? Or--no, I did get wrapping paper for birthdays. It's not much used."
"I can see that. Between Christmas and New Year's, we're going to go through that cupboard. I have a feeling there are all kinds of fun things in it, if we look. There might be buried treasure."
"Buried by pirates?"
"Of course! Who else buries treasure?"
"Why would pirates bury treasure in my house? I'm not a pirate, and I'm not even on a desert island."
"That's exactly why: it's the last place anyone would think to look. But we'll outsmart them, won't we, Naoko?"
"Absolutely," Naoko managed to say between giggles.
It was Naoko's idea to leave presents at her friends' homes stealthily on the day before Christmas. Amaya smiled at the idea and immediately volunteered to bring the boxes that needed to be shipped to the post office. That left Naoko to take care of her friends herself, which was exactly what she wanted. It was nice to have her aunt to help her out with some things, but Naoko didn't want to become completely dependent on another person.
She slipped up to Rika's door unseen and left the package without difficulty. The dress had caught her attention at a glance; it was so completely perfect for Rika, deep orange and fit for a princess. She knew the other girl would look lovely in it.
Sneaking up on the Kinomoto house was more difficult, since Sakura had a tendency to always notice when a friend was coming up to the door. However, Naoko managed it by waiting until she was sure her friend would be out to approach the house. The bag, festooned with Amaya's ribbons, would be impossible to miss when she returned. Naoko hoped Sakura would like the book of fairy-tale romances. They were mostly sweet and a little funny, just like Sakura.
Not trusting Haru or Touya not to trip over the gifts if they were simply left outside the apartment, Naoko went so far as to ring the bell and then dart around to be down the stairs before they came out to see who was there. She had let Amaya write the label on the large bag of presents and then laughed over it: The spoils of the hunt. She wouldn't be able to buy Touya tadpoles for Christmas, but tucked inside the anthology of small gods was a card entitling him to take her shopping for pond creatures in the spring. As for Haru and Kokoro, the real reasons she had given out her presents before Christmas, Naoko knew they would both be delighted by Haru's present. The girl on the music box had looked so much like Kokoro that Naoko hadn't been able to resist buying it for her father. And Kokoro would appreciate the friendship bracelet tucked inside her package as much as the book detailing famous unsolved poisoning cases. Also inside the bag were three smaller packages from Amaya, but Naoko hadn't been able to get a look at them before Amaya had wrapped them.
Naoko was smiling as she walked home in the cool afternoon air. For the first time in a while, she thought that perhaps she might enjoy having more people to give presents to at the same time a year in the future.
"Merry Christmas, Aunt Amaya," said Naoko, pushing the small box across the breakfast table. "It isn't nearly enough to thank you for everything you've done, but I--"
"You don't have to thank me, Naoko, so please stop trying. I'm here because I want to take care of you, and you don't have to repay me for that. So I won't take this as a thank-you present, you see?"
"Oh! Yes. I didn't mean..."
"It's all right; I know what you meant. Now, let me see what my favorite niece got me for Christmas..." Amaya laughed. "Naoko, where did you find these?"
"There's a little out-of-the-way store that sells second-hand jewelry. I mostly just window-shop there, but they do have wonderful things sometimes."
"I'll say!" Amaya lifted one of the earrings out of the box. The delicate-looking blue and yellow spires chimed against each other. "I can already think of exactly the right outfit to go with them, too. How do you do these things, Naoko?"
"It was just luck, really. They happened to be there, and I thought they looked like the kind of thing you would like." Naoko turned gratefully to the box next to her own place. "Hmmm...is this what I think it is?"
Amaya looked at the rectangular object. "It's a kitten. Can't you tell?"
Naoko nodded seriously. "Of course." Carefully, she divested the package of its ribbons, peeled the tape up, and unfolded the wrapping paper. "Ohhhhhh. Aunt Amaya, how did you know?"
"I saw you looking at it in the bookstore, to be honest, and you obviously wanted to buy it for yourself. I take it you like it?"
"I love it!" Naoko hugged the book close to her, The Complete Sherlock Holmes, an edition in English with annotations in Japanese to explain the historical and cultural context. She had wanted it badly but hadn't quite been able to justify the expense to herself.
After breakfast, Amaya asked Naoko, "Was there somewhere you wanted to go today?"
Naoko looked up from running her fingers over the cover of her new book and shook her head. "Not in particular. Why?"
"Usually on Christmas Day, I go to visit Ayako. Would you like to come with me? It would be an overnight trip."
Naoko thought about it. She had had her fill and more of graves lately, but on the other hand she hadn't visited her Aunt Ayako in a while, and it had never been the same sort of experience as her recent grave visits had been. Besides...she thought of the little box resting in her dresser, and nodded. "I would."
The cemetery was a tidy place, well-kept and well-loved. Naoko had visited regularly, when her family had made visits every year to see relatives, and always more than half the graves had shown signs that someone had been there recently.
Amaya smiled at the marker, as though it were really Ayako looking back at her. "Hey, Ayako. Merry Christmas. I brought you a present." From her purse she took a small box of chocolates, which she placed in front of the marker. "They're your favorites. I still don't understand how you can like coconut so much. I can't bear the things. But it's a present for you, not for me. I hope you enjoy them.
"I brought Naoko with me this year. You probably already know, but if you see your brother around, give him a good kicking for me, okay? She's a good girl, our niece. She's grown up nicely. Remember that little girl who always followed you around asking for stories? Now she tells other little girls stories of her own. Isn't that funny? Our little niece all grown up.
"I'm doing fine, myself. Sorry I haven't been over here lately, but I'm staying with Naoko for a bit to give her a hand. I don't have to ask if you understand; if I weren't taking care of her, you'd never forgive me, isn't that right? You can't fool me, Ayako.
"Here's Naoko. You'd hardly recognize her, would you?"
Naoko, who had been hanging back a bit, stapped closer to the marker. "Hello, Aunt Ayako. It's nice to speak to you again. I'm sorry I've missed a few years, but we weren't traveling much for a while. Maybe I'll come more often now. I brought you a present, too." She pulled a small box out of her purse and opened it. Dark purple flowers made of glass nestled in cotton, the gold paint highlighting the tips of the petals gleaming in the sun. "I always loved looking at your earrings.
"I should bring my brother here to see you. He's already met Aunt Amaya, after all, and I think you'd like him. He's really Sakura-chan's older brother, but he's mine too, now, a bit. It's a long story, really, how I got to know him. He's very nice. Between him and Aunt Amaya, I'm going to be doing fine.
"I love you, Aunt Ayako. Merry Christmas."
She turned away from the grave and moved slowly toward the exit, leaving Amaya alone for a while to talk. Naoko didn't want to intrude on a moment that didn't belong to her. Instead, she sat on a bench outside the cemetery and remembered her aunt.
When Amaya finished and came out, Naoko was so deep in thought that she jumped when Amaya spoke. "Ready to go home?"
"Yes."
It didn't feel the same as the last time she had visited a grave, not at all. Naoko missed Aunt Ayako, but it was possible to be happy even there. Talking to her felt like talking on the telephone to someone she hadn't seen in a long time. It was a bit sad, but she knew her aunt was listening at the other end all the same.