Chapter 17: Merry Christmas Amai

Amai's POV:

Christmas is always an enjoyable celebration. My favorite part during this day is the beautiful white snow that's covering the soil, the streets, and the trees, and the marvelous falling crystals called snowflakes. And that is where I'm standing on right now, I feel the soft fluffy snow beneath my boots and I was skipping around leaving a trail of my footprints behind me.

My thick coat and beanie protects me from the cold, so I decided to lay on the snowy ground. While laying there, I began flapping my arms and legs to make a snow angel.

"Mom, look what I'm doing!" I yelled out and giggling. However, I didn't received any respond to her.

Maybe she is still asleep?

"Look at you, you might catch a cold if you keep that up."

Suddenly, I heard a male voice spoke with a concern tone. I stood up quickly on my feet and he giggled at me when I got startled. I glanced at the figure and stared at him as I cocked my head. This mysterious person has a dark hair and pale skin. He wore black clothes, jeans, and sneakers.

"Don't be scared, I'm not here to hurt you." The figure assured me.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"You don't know me?" The person said with a fake sad tone. He suddenly pulled something out of his pocket.

"Here take this, maybe this will help you." The person handed me of what looks like a photo.

When I was about to grab the picture, out of nowhere, there is a painful loud ringing in my ears making me squint my eyes shut as I grabbed my ears to muffled the noise. However, it didn't make any less worse.

"AAAHHH!!! Too loud!" I cried out.

I shot open my eyes and quickly sat up to turn off my alarm clock by forcefully slapping the off button and nearly crushing the clock with my bare hand. I sighed in relief when the annoying sound went silent, but I can still hear it ringing in my head. I glanced around the room and realized I'm not out of the backyard anymore and I'm no longer wearing my winter jacket. I also cannot stop thinking about my dream today because it feels so real.

"What a dream..."

I felt something cold sliding down my face, and when I put a hand on my cheek -- it's wet.

"Am I... crying?"

I wiped my tears with my blanket and suddenly, I began shivering when a cold breeze entered my room from the slightly opened window. I quickly shut the window down and look out the backyard. I saw the beautiful white landscape and snowflakes falling, however there is no mysterious person standing there. But oh well, it's already Christmas and this is no time to think so deeply.

I hurriedly got out of bed and tidy things up before going downstairs. As I descended down the stairs, a sweet aroma of vanilla filled my nose making me excited of what mom is making. I make my way to the living room and as I walk, I came across a Christmas tree filled with flickering lights and a magnificent giant star on the tippy top while beneath it are full of presents.

When I made it to the kitchen, I saw mom getting the vanilla cake out of the oven. The aroma is stronger than before and it made mouth drool.

I entered the kitchen and greeted mom happily. "Merry Christmas mom!"

"Merry Christmas to you too dear!" She replied always wearing a lovely smile on her face.

Mom took out the cake from it's mold and placed it on the spinning cake stand revealing a vibrant light brown color. I eyed the vanilla cake and it looks like it has a fluffy texture to it. Even though is not jelly, it jiggles like one after mom placed it on the stand.

"Oooohhhh that looks yummy! Can I have a piece?" When I was about to grab the cake, my mom slapped my hand with a rubber icing spatula.

"Owww!!! Hey?!?!" I glared at mom.

"Not yet Amai, the cake is not done yet we need to decorate it first." My mom stated.

"Why don't you run along to the backyard and play in the snow, I'll be making hot cocoa later." My mom suggested.

"Hot cocoa? Alright mom, can't argue with that." I beamed as I run up to my bedroom again and changed my pajamas into my winter attire.

I run down the stairs and dashed through the back door. I was met with a very cold breeze and the area around me are all white and fluffy. I giggled silly and skip along the snow as snowflakes like crystals fall into my white coat and pink beanie.

Suddenly, an idea popped inside my head. I pick a handful of snow and transformed it into a ball. Once it's an almost perfect circle, I placed the ball on the ground and began to roll it watching it become bigger and bigger. After that I'm satisfied with the size, I repeat the process, however this ball is a little smaller than the last one. I then stack this medium sized snowball on top of the larger one before searching for some pebbles and sticks. After finding some beneath the tree, I pierced the stick on both side of the snow sculpture and I used the pebbles to make a happy face on it.

"Wala! Done! A happy snowman!" I put my hands on both side of my waste while I eyed my masterpiece with pride. Suddenly, my composure drop when I felt someone is standing behind me.

"Huh?" I quickly turn around but no one is there.

"Mom?" I called out, but no answers. I walk to the tree and investigate around it, there's no one there.

I glanced up, taking a sharp look at the thick branches, there's no one else there too. Suddenly, I yelped when a tiny voice spoke from behind my back. When I turn around, I saw my cousin, Shiroi.

She has blue hair, pale skin, and red eyes. She wore a winter coat and a black beanie with a design of a cat.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry." She giggled.

I guess Uncle Shido and Aunt Kurumi just arrived, maybe I'll show myself later. Since my cousin is here, we can play here right in the snow.

"Amai, what do you wanna play?" Shiroi asked.

I put my hand under my chin and tapped my feet. "How about we make snow angels?"

"Oh that's too boring!" Suddenly, a sinister smile creeps on Shiroi's face.

Suddenly, she pick up a snow and rolled it into a ball before throwing at me.

"Hey!" I glared at her.

"We are going to play snow wars!" Shiroi stated.

Kotori POV:

Me, Shido, and Kurumi -- the three of us are sitting in the living room on a soft couch while the television is playing a Christmas movie. Instead of watching, the three of us just chat and laugh with each other and drink some coffee that I prepared.

"You know Kotori-san, we haven't got a rematch from our last encounter years ago. Remember that day when I decided to devour your brother?" Kurumi looks at me and I can feel she's challenging me with her stare.

Shido on the other hand started to feel uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Alright, stop it you two. It's Christmas, we shouldn't talk about these things an-".

"Oh no, I only remember beating you with my cannon." I put a smug smile on my face and cutting Shido's word pretending not to hear him.

Kurumi's right eye twitched and she replied. "Well, I was just tired that day. You know handling two spirits and dear Shido here really makes my angel eat away all my powers."

"Uh huh? How about we do it again then?" I challenged.

"Ara~ Are you sure? Don't wanna embarrassed yourself now Kotori-san." Kurumi smiled at me menacingly.

"STOP IT!!!" Shido roared out.

Both me and Kurumi stared at Shido, trying to hold our laugh and snickering. However, we failed to do so and we bursted into a fit of laughter.

"We're just messing with you!" I laughed.

"Dear, you should've seen the look on your face!" Kurumi laughed.

Shido glanced at both of us and stared with an annoyed look on his face. "It's supposed to be Christmas, not April fools."

*CRASH!!!*

Suddenly, I jumped from my seat when I heard shattering from the kitchen. I quickly run inside the kitchen and saw a small pile of snow on the floor with a broken glass from the window and shattered plates. My blood boils at the scene in front of me. I stomped towards the door leading to the backyard and when I opened it...

*Splat!*

I felt something cold covered my face and heard two voices saying "Uh Oh!".

Amai POV:

A Few Minutes Later~

I sighed and look at my cousin with a "This is your fault" glance. Both me and Shiroi are kneeling on the floor in the living room while three adults that are sitting on the couch are looking at us with a stern eyes.

"What can you say about your actions earlier?!" Mom crossed his arms.

Both of us avoid the gaze of my mother. And I spoke slowly. "Well... It was Shiroi idea..."

I suddenly got a piercing glare from my cousin which I'm trying to avoid her gaze.

"Shiroi, can you explain yourself?" Aunt Kurumi questioned.

Aunt Kurumi is a very calm person, but hiding behind that innocent face is a scary person that can freeze you through the bone. So, please Shiroi don't make this any worse.

"Uhhh... We just wanna play snowball fight and suddenly Amai here threw a snowball at me which I quickly dodged it and end up flying through the window." Shiroi explained.

"Thank goodness she didn't lie. Aunt Kurumi can sense liar and really hates it." I sighed calming down my nerves.

"It's mostly Amai's fault!" Shiroi blurted making me turn my head towards her almost snapping my neck.

I yelled out. "What?!"

"You're the one who threw it!" Shiroi raised her voice at me.

"Hold on! Hold on! You're blaming me?! It's your idea, you're the one who is to blame for this!" I argued back.

Suddenly, me and my cousin's ears feels like is on fire.

"Ara ara~! Blaming each other wouldn't solve the problem!" Aunt Kurumi stated.

"Say Kotori-san, what kind of punishment is best suited for them?"

I gulped when Aunt Kurumi asked my mom and my anxiety got worse when my mom smiled menacingly.

"My sink is full right now, they can do the dishes and clean up their mess as punishment." My mom replied and she pointed at the kitchen.

"Great idea!"

Both me and my cousin follow my mother's hand with our gaze and we can see different kinds of kitchen utensils filling the sink, making both of us groaned and moaned out of annoyance.

"Are you both complaining?!" My mother raised an eyebrow.

We quickly shook our heads and run to the kitchen and grabbed two stools to climb on before turning on the faucet. When I touched the water, I shivered aggressively.

"I hate you..." I muttered at my cousin.

After 30 minutes~

We both panting and chasing for air as we sat down at the dining table. We glanced around the sparkling kitchen feeling satisfied with the job we've done. On the tiled floor, you can barely see your reflection as it got transformed barely like a mirror from the intense scrubbing it went through.

"Wow! You two really outdone yourself!" Mom walks in with auntie Kurumi and Uncle Shido. The three of them wore an impressed look on their faces as they gazed upon the shiny kitchen.

My mom chuckled and told us. "Go back to the living room, I'll make you two some delicious hot cocoa."

Both of us smiled very wide and eyes sparkled. Both of us yelled out "Yehey!!!" while we dashed outside the kitchen making may uncle and aunt giggled while they also followed us.

While we sat on the sofa while watching a Japanese game on the television, I tugged Uncle Shido's shirt.

"What is it Amai?" He asked.

"Uncle Shido, I have a weird dream last night." I told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you having nightmares?"

"No, it's not a nightmare... it felt very real... I was actually playing at the backyard and suddenly a mysterious person appeared."

This got Uncle Shido curious. "Can you describe the person?"

"First the person is a mysterious guy, wearing a black shirt, jean, and a sneakers. He also got black hair and brown eyes, he just standing and smiling at me." I described. I saw Uncle Shido's eyes went wide and Aunt Kurumi stared at me with a worrying expression on her face.

I continued. "When I was making a snow angel, this man was concern about me getting a cold and when I asked him who he is, he gave me a picture. But before I can grab it, I suddenly woke up from my dream."

Uncle Shido's mouth opened, but he close it again. I can tell that he was lost for words about my tale.

"Dear, I'm sure it is jus-." Aunt Kurumi immediately spoke but Uncle Shido raised a hand making Aunt silenced.

"She deserves to know dear." Uncle Shido looks at her making Aunt Kurumi to only nod in respond.

Uncle Shido was just about to spoke, however my mom carrying a tray with five mugs of hot cocoa on it suddenly entered the living room. The sweet scent of chocolate and toasted marshmallow filled the room, combining with the scent of the brewed coffee that's still sitting on the table. It feels like we are in a cafe now.

"Enjoy your hot cocoa guys!" My mom placed the tray on the table revealing a steaming cocoa with a large toasted marshmallow on top that is almost covering the whole drink.

"Wow Aunt Kotori this smell is soooo delicious!" Shiroi complimented as she grabbed one mug before blowing softly and carefully taking a sip.

After taking a sip, her lips got covered by melted marshmallow which she licks it off clean. I also took one mug and carefully sip it and that's when my taste bud got filled with those sweet flavor of milk chocolate and toasted marshmallow, making me forget what Uncle Shido was going to say.

"Later tonight, we're going to open up all the presents that Santa gave us. And Amai?" My mom looks at me.

"Your Uncle, Aunt, and cousin here are gonna have a sleepover here tonight."

I smiled widely and I celebrated making the people around me laugh at my cute reaction.

Later Tonight~

"It's present time!" Me and my cousin shouted while we run towards the Christmas tree.

"Hold on you two!"

We stopped dead on our tracks when we heard my mom from behind.

"We need to wait for your Aunt Kurumi first before we opened up the gifts." Mom stated.

Suddenly...

"MOM HURRY UP!!!" Shiroi roared out.

My eyes went wide and my jaw drops down. All I can think to myself is "Wow! So brave!"

A puddle of black shadow suddenly formed in front of us and Aunt Kurumi slowly ascended with her hair all messy and mouth yawning.

"Ara ara~ I was dreaming about opening up some gifts and I just realized I was just sleeping. Sorry I'm late." Aunt Kurumi giggled.

"Since Kurumi is here, you two can go for it!" Mom gave us permission.

My cousin picked up the largest present. She rips off the wraps revealing a large playhouse.

"I'm gonna sleep here tonight!" Shiroi yells out.

"That's awesome!" I eyed the playhouse, it is like a tower or maybe I'm only tiny.

Now, it's my turn to pick a present. I scanned around the gifts and what caught my eyes is a tiny box wrapped inside a black gift wrap with a white ribbon securing it. When I stare at it, it feels like it is calling me. I quickly grab it and tear through the wrap. After getting rid of all the wraps and finally opening the box, there's a picture inside it.

"Mom, who is this?" I showed it to my mom. When she looks at the picture, she covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes went wide. I saw a single tear formed on her eyes before sliding down to her face.

"A-Amai, where did you get this?" My mom's voice cracked.

"I-It was getting covered by the other huge gifts... Mom are you okay?" I approached her and hugged her waist. She kneels down before grabbing me into a tight hug, I can sense she is holding and staring at the man's picture behind my back. I can also feel her tears drenching my clothes over my shoulder.

"Aunt Kotori?" I heard my cousin's voice.

"Kotori-san, is everything oka-" Aunt Kurumi paused. She and Uncle Shido approached mom from behind and she saw the picture that mom is holding.

I saw Aunt Kurumi's eyes got filled with sorrow, and Uncle Shido is the first one to step in and pulled us into a tight hug. My cousin and Aunt approached us and also joined in as my mother let's out a painful sob which made me in tears seeing her like this.

"M-Mom, can you tell me who is that person?"

"Sweetie... That's your father, and he is looking after us. This will be the only photo we are going to have and the last photo we're going to keep for the rest of our life..."