A Christmas for the Kenshin-Gumi
A RurouniKenshin Christmas Story by Nadya N.
Kenshin, Kaoru and all others are property of Watsuki Nobuhiro, I'm just borrowing them for this cute little Christmasy piece of fluff fic :P
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"ORO?" Kenshin fell over on the dojo floor, regretting it a second later. "Kaoru-dono, you want me to do WHAT?"
"Dress up like Santa-Claus for Suzume-chan and Ayame-chan!" Kaoru said for the third time. "Please Kenshin, it would mean a lot to them. After all, Christmas is tomorrow!"
"But...where am I going to get the costume?" Kenshin asked, rubbing the bump on his head.
"I took care of that." Kaoru smiled, disappeared and reappeared, holding a bundle of red-and-white fabric.
She tossed it to Kenshin. Kenshin unwrapped it, revealing a strange mess of red fabric and white furry stuff that looked nowhere near a Santa suit.
"Ano..Kaoru-dono?" a sweatdrop rolled down Kenshin’s head. "What is this?"
"Ummmm...well I might have messed up a little..." Kaoru said sheepishly.
Kenshin sighed. If he was really going to be Santa-Claus for the two girls tomorrow, he had a long night of sewing ahead of him...
The winter sun peeked into Kenshin’s room the next morning. Yawning, Kaoru knocked on the door.
"Kenshin? May I come in?" She opened the door.
"Hai, hai..." Kenshin said sleepily. "Here, I’m finished." He held the costume up to Kaoru.
"Wow." Kaoru said after a minute of admiring Kenshin’s hard sewing work. Kenshin was going to be the most perfect Santa she’s ever seen (and she hasn’t seen that many).
Another minute passed with no response from Kenshin.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked.
Kenshin was happily dozing on the scrap fabric pieces left over on the table.
"KENSHIN!" Kaoru shook him.
"Whaaaaat?" Kenshin yawned. "Can’t a Santa-Claus finally get some sleep around here?"
"No! Now we gotta get you a sleigh, some reindeer, some elves, a Christmas Tree and some presents for Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan!" Kaoru lectured.
"Orooooooo..." Another bump resulting from falling appeared on Kenshin’s poor head.
Kaoru unceremoniously picked Kenshin up, dressed him in the Santa costume, and dragged him outside onto the fresh snow.
"Now you wait here, look for some presents or reindeer or something. I’ll be right back!" said Kaoru and disappeared into the nice warm dojo.
Kenshin sat on the snow for a while, wondering what Kaoru-dono was up to. Then he began to get cold. He got up and walked around the dojo.
"EEEEE! Let go of me, ya old hag!" sounded from the dojo.
"Jou-chaaaaaaaan!" came a second later.
Soon, just as Santa-Kenshin was getting cold and bored, Kaoru appeared, dragging a sleepy and annoyed Yahiko and an even more sleepy and annoyed Sano outside. Two sticks were tied to the heads of each.
"Kenshin! I got us some reindeer!" Kaoru beamed.
Kenshin fell over again, thankful that snow doesn’t leave bumps on his head like a certain dojo floor does.
"Jou-chan, I’m gonna get you for this." Sano grumbled, helping Kenshin up.
"I’ll be right baaaack!" Kaoru smiled, and disappeared into the dojo for the second time.
"What is that ugly hag up to?" Yahiko struggled to get the improvised reindeer antlers off his head. "And what did she dress you up in, Keshin?"
Kenshin stopped Yahiko’s hands, and tied the antlers back on.
"Kenshin! Don’t tell me you’re in on this too!" Yahiko wailed.
"Guys, listen." Kenshin said calmly. "Kaoru-dono is planning a real Christmas for Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan. The little girls never had a Christmas before. Don’t mind her, she’s a little nervous, that’s all." (a high-pitched wail sounds from the dojo. Sweatdrops appear on Kenshin, Sano and Yahiko’s heads.) "Um...well a lot nervous. Please give the poor girl a break."
"Fine. But only for today," Sano unwillingly agreed.
At that moment, Kaoru reappeared, wearing a beautiful snow-white long-sleeved kimono, with light-blue snowflakes on it. The three guys stood frozen to the spot, as Kaoru posed.
"Kaoru-dono, you’re beautiful!" Kenshin said in awe, as Kaoru blushed and smiled. "But...why?"
"Well...I couldn’t find any elves," Kaoru smiled sheepishly. "So I figured we’d go with the nice Russian tradition (*Nadya jumps happily up and down in the background*) of having one pretty girl named Snow-Girl help Santa-Claus out with presents and things. Of course," Kaoru smiled sheepishly again, "Snow-Girl is supposed to be Santa’s grand-daughter but since you don’t have any grandchildren I figured I’d be your Snow-Girl."
"Kaoru-dono...I don’t need any elves if I have a beautiful Snow-Girl like you." Kenshin blushed. They looked at each other sweetly.
"Oh cut the mushy stuff already!" Yahiko yelled. "Don’t we have a Christmas tree to find?"
"That’s right!" Kaoru smiled. "Come on! I know the perfect Christmas-tree place!"
So Santa-Kenshin, Snow-Girl and their faithful reindeer happily walked the streets of Tokyo to the nearest forest, getting strange looks from all other citizens...
Hours later...
It was getting late and dark. Ominous clouds covered the sky, threatening to burst in a snowstorm any minute. Santa-Kenshin and company struggled on through the dark forest, past many fir trees that looked too evil and menacing to bring any kind of Christmas cheer.
"So where’s this perfect Christmas-tree place, Jou-chan?" said Sano, chewing on the millionth fir branch.
Kaoru sat down in the snow, defeated. "I can’t go any further... I’m freezing, tired, hungry, and I tore my best kimono. I don’t remember where the place was...I’m lost. I’m so sorry... I’ve done everything wrong, haven’t I... What a great Christmas I gave you guys..." she sniffled.
Kenshin sat down beside her. "Kaoru-dono, it’s all right... we’ll find the way back."
Kaoru sniffled. "How? And what about Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan?"
"Don’t worry...we’ll get back to them somehow. Maybe someone will find us..."
Kaoru cuddled up to Kenshin with his warm Santa suit. Sano and Yahiko decided to stand and walk around to keep warm, and call for help. "HELLOOOOOO! ANYBODY OUT THERE??"
Snowflakes floated down onto the forest, signing the beginning of a snowstorm.
"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...oh how did that song go again... Aoshi-sama, hurry up!" Misao called.
"Hai, Misao-chan." Answered a grumpy Aoshi. He had to carry a Christmas tree all the way to Tokyo from Kyoto, and was not enjoying it at all. And Misao had dressed him in a Santa suit.
"Oh come on Aoshi, don’t be so down! You simply don’t understand the happiness that is Christmas!" Misao scolded him. "Just wait until you see the looks on Himura's and Kaoru’s faces when we bring them this Christmas tree! And once we decorate it, it’ll even make you smile! Now come on, or we’ll be late! Oh look, it’s snowing!" Misao danced ahead on the road.
"Let’s hope my stupid pupil appreciates all this..." Hiko grumbled from behind. He wore a Santa hat, refusing to exchange his wonderful cape for anything, and carried a bag of presents and decorations for the Kenshin-gumi. "And I hope they have sake there..." she said as he took another gulp from his portable sake bottle.
A little black-and-white kitten bumped his nose against a sleeping Kenshin. "Meow!"
"Orrro?" he said, teeth chattering from cold. "Aww, what a sweetie..." Kenshin tucked the kitty into his Santa coat, next to Kaoru. "He would be the perfect present for the little girls...if we ever get home..." The kitten meowed, snuggled up to Kaoru and fell asleep.
Kenshin too fell asleep again, gradually losing hope of ever being found.
Sano and Yahiko wearily walked around, their teeth chattering from the cold.
Snowflakes half-buried the teeth-chattering Kenshin-gumi in a deep, dark forest on Christmas Eve...
Misao skipped ahead on the road, then stopped. She heard a strange sound. Without any signal to the two men behind her, she dove into the forest.
Snow crackled under her feet as she walked to the source of the noise. ‘Hmm...sounds like teeth chattering!’ she thought to herself.
She came upon four strange heaps of snow, whose teeth were chattering. One of the heaps of snow had red hair...
Misao gasped. "HIMURAAAAA!"
"Kyaaa!" yelled the Kenshin-gumi, surprised, shaking the snow off themselves. The kitten Kenshin was holding jumped and meowed to Misao.
"M-M-Misao-d-dono!" Kenshin said. "H-how d-d-did you f-find us?"
"It’s easy," Misao smiled. "Your teeth are so loud!"
Misao dragged the four frozen figures out onto the road, the kitten proudly sitting on her head.
"Look who I found!" she beamed to Aoshi and Hiko.
"Long time no see, my stupid pupil. Here, this’ll fix you right up!" Hiko said, giving them each some sake. They choked, surprised. However the surprise worked and they were thoroughly thawed-out.
After several exclamations of long-time-no-see, the five Kenshin-gumi, two Oniwabanshuu and one kitten continued down the road. Within five minutes they came to Tokyo, and shortly to the Kamiya Dojo.
In the Kamiya Dojo...
"When are they going to get ‘ere, grandpa?" a bored Ayame asked Dr. Genzai.
"Can we eat the cookies yet aunty?" a hungry Suzume begged Megumi.
Suddenly they heard someone singing outside.
"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells..." Misao sang proudly, accompanied by the kitten now sitting on Kenshin’s head.
Ayame, Suzume, Dr. Genzai and Megumi all rushed outside.
"Look aunty, grandpa, three Santie-Clauses!" Suzume exclaimed, pointing at Kenshin, Aoshi and Hiko.
"And reindeers!" Ayame was quick to point out. "And funny-looking elfses!"
"Meow!" said the kitten, jumped off Kenshin’s head, and ran to the little girls, purring.
"Merry Christmas!" said the three smiling Santa-Clauses, two reindeer, a Snow-Girl and an elf, all covered in snow, carrying a snow-decorated Christmas tree and a big bag of presents.
Then another "Merry Christmas!" was heard, and to the surprise of all, two more Santa-Clauses and a Mrs. Santa joined the party – no other but Saitoh Hajime smirking in his Santa hat, Saitoh Tokio carrying cake and cookies, and the happiest Santa of them all, carrying a small bag of presents – Soujiro.
"Wow, so many Santa-Clauses!" Suzume and Ayame exclaimed together, and ran to hug the strange-looking group.
"Ho-ho-ho-Oro!"
NOTE: about that Snow-Girl thing, and me bouncing happily in the background - that's a piece of Russian Christmas/NewYear folklore. And I'm Russian-born. :P 'Nuff said.