Believing that he had just awoken from a bad dream, Hiei shrugged the visit off of his shoulder and went on with his night. His sleep was uneasy and he tossed and turned as he heard the bell chime the second hour of the morning. He tossed enough that simultaneously with the sound he rolled right out of his tree.
Hiei: *rubbing head* This is getting ridiculous, I must find the source of that noise and eliminate it!
Shigure: HO HO HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! *pops New Years Streamers*
Hiei: >.> Oh great, another freak has come to bother me.
Shigure: Oh you certainly can’t mean that.
Hiei: I do.
Shigure: *overly-dramatic* ToT Oh, that hurts!
Hiei: Who are you supposed to be anyway?
Shigure: So glad you asked! *Ahem* Being the year of the Dog this year in the Chinese Zodiac, which is a year partially to my liking, *moves arms expressively* I have come to you as the Ghost of Christmas Present! This Christmas day we will spend together to show you the joy and happiness that can be found by putting other’s needs before your own! Come and I will show you!
Hiei: I have no interest.
Shigure: Sure you do! Currently your sword skills may rank that of a black belt but your social skills are at best a white, all you lack is practice! Now come!
So Shigure grabbed Hiei by the wrist as they flew through the streets of town. Every humble window that Hiei peered through was filled with smiling faces and laughter, even though the homes were run down and the food was meager. Finally they landed in front of a rundown trailer park.
Hiei: *sarcastic* Oh yes, I can see how this dingy trash yard is overflowing with joy. So tell me, what is it like to be in a constant state of stupidity?
Shigure: It’s Christmas here too you know! Just look inside that trailer right there. *points to a run down shack*
Hiei: Hn. *walks over and looks inside* It’s that idiot nephew of mine, Joey.
Shigure: With his blooming young wife, Mai, don’t you forget! Come, let us go in.
With that Shigure pushed Hiei through the wall so they found themselves inside where they could hear the conversation between Joey, Mai, and their guest.
Joey: …and then I pulled my scapegoat an’ all my life points were saved!
Little Yugi: Wow, that was an excellent strategy, Joey!
Tea: Great going!
Tristan: Heh, sounds like it was dumb luck, you’re the real scapegoat.
Joey: Why…I’ll scapegoat you! *pulls Tristan in a headlock*
Mai: Boys! Settle down, you’ll knock the eggnog over!
Joey: Oh boy! Eggnog!
Little Yugi: So are you ready for a little friendly game of duel monsters?
Joey: Ya betcha! Mai and I just got special Christmas Editions that we’re eager to try out! Haha!
Hiei: >.> Stupid boy, wasting his life away on games that produce nothing.
Shigure: Don’t be so hasty in judgment. You see that quiet girl in the corner? Serenity there is like a sister to him since neither had decent parental figures to look towards. He entered a tournament and won all in order to pay for a much needed surgery for her health. In her precious frail eyes, your nephew is a hero that she can look up to and be inspired! *shakes finger* If you think about it he has done a lot with his life, but try as he might, he never seems to earn the much desired acceptance of his uncle!
Hiei: Hn. Sentimental fool!
Mai: *draws a card* Ha! Now you boys are in for it! I play my card of ultimate destruction! Curse of the Jagan! *lays down a card with Hiei’s picture on it* This will steal all your Christmas cheer and reduce your life points to zero!
Little Yugi: Oh no! Where did you get that ultra-rare card? It’s tough to beat!
Tristan: Yeah, looks like Mai has this one in the bag!
Mai: Yes; it’s good to know Joey’s uncle is good for something!
*Everyone laughs*
Hiei: This is repulsive. Take me away from here.
Shigure: Very well… *grabs Hiei’s wrist and they start to leave*
Little Yugi: Hold on Mai, I do have a way to beat it, because with Curse of the Jagan, you just triggered my trap card: …
Shigure: Too bad, I really wanted to see the games conclusion; I could have turned that into a great novel!
Hiei: >.> I have little concern of your writing career.
Shigure took Hiei across the city to a more rural area and they landed in front of a dome-shaped home.
Hiei: Why have you brought me to this upturned salad bowl?
Shigure: Don’t you know? This is the home of your faithful employee! Look inside; there is not much to see since he can only afford a one roomed shack and has a wife and four children to take care of in that cold and crammed space!
Hiei: I pay him better than this, what does that fool spend his money on?
Shigure: Well we can’t all live in trees now can we? Being human…well half human, and a family of humans...well some of them are…they need shelter, warmth, food, clothes, electricity and phone for you to disturb him at home with, water to wash your laundry, and a television with 500+ channel cable so he can audit all the commercials you put out so you can sue the stations when they don’t play them. And these things don’t come cheap, ho no! And then the little essentials such as toilet paper and pencils do amount to a considerable sum as well! This dingy house has one of the lowest monthly payments around, which is still more than half of his paycheck! That doesn’t even consider that the other half of him is saiyan which requires a lot more food than normal to give him the strength to meet your exceptionally high demands!
Hiei: >.> You just like to hear yourself talk don’t you?
Shigure: *proudly* I haven’t even started on the tax rates!
Hiei: Let's just get this over with!
Shigure: All right, then come on in and observe this charming little family! *pulls Hiei in through the wall*
Amelia: Oh daddy! It’s so good to see you home for Christmas! *glomps Trunks*
Trunks: Yes dear, it’s good to be able to see all of your bright shining faces.
Arisa: Hey there, come to the table NOW before your dinner gets cold!
Momiji: Yay! Time for our Christmas feast! Come on Shippo! I’ll race you!
Shippo: Hey! That’s no fair, you know I can’t run!
Momiji: Then I’ll piggy back you to the table! *pulls Shippo on to back*
Shippo: Yay! Ride ‘em cowboy!
Hiyono: *tying napkin around neck* Hungry Hungry Hiyono!
Amelia: *attacks table* FOOD!!!
*everyone seated at the table*
Trunks: First children, we must bless the food and give thanks to Hiei, the founder of this feast… *starts to bow head*
Arisa: Ha! The founder of this feast! If that little cheapskate were here right now, *shakes fist* then I’d give him something to feast on!
Trunks: Calm yourself dear. Small as our meal is, it is better than nothing.
Arisa: While we sit and starve, he has more money to swim in than that Scrooge McDucky character!
Hiyono: He’s no better than a bloodless tearless demon!
Shippo: We don’t know what it is like for him though. He’s probably all alone right now. Money can’t buy love. We should ask God to bless him!
Hiei: What’s with the runt who can’t walk?
Shigure: He seems to actually care for you, as for why that’s beyond me…after all this holiday is to remember He who made the blind walk and lame see {Shigure means made the lame walk and the blind man see, but he never could get this line right}, or so quoted little Shippo there before we arrived, not to mention healing the wounded heart or melting the frozen soul of a heartless…
Hiei: >.< I meant why can’t he run!
Shigure: Oh, well that is because he is a fox demon and ever since his foot got caught in a fox demon trap, he is unable to use his one foot.
Hiei: How did he get to be a demon.
Shigure: Don’t you do your genealogy? With the saiyan genes from his father and his mother’s personality, of course you would get a demon, you know you are from saiyan descent as well.
Hiei: So all those kids are demons? Then these furnishings are meaningless!
Shigure: No, only Shippo is a demon. The other boy, Momiji, is a cursed rabbit and the girls ended up with their mother’s strong spirit and just father’s appetite.
Trunks: CHEW ATTACK!!!
Hiyono and Amelia: ^o^ CHEW ATTACK!!!
*Trunks and the girls dig in the meager meal while Momiji grabs a baby bird thigh right from under Hiyono’s nose right before she gets to it*
Hiyono: That was mine! HIYONO PUNCH! *starts hitting Momiji with puppets*
Momiji: Waah!!! Somebody, Hiyono’s picking on me!
Hiyono: It’s called “Tough love!”
Trunks: o.O Please kids, don’t fight.
Arisa: That’s my girl! Take abuse from no one!
Amelia: Stand back parental units! Swiping food is the exact opposite of JUSTICE!
Shippo: Lay off of him already Hiyono!!! *coughcough*
Hiei: That fox is pretty weak and pale for a demon.
Shigure: *forlorn sigh* The future I see isn’t too bright. I fear that come next Christmas his spot at the table may be empty.
Hiei: You…mean he’s going to die?
Shigure: *sing-song* ^.^ Well I suppose that is a possibility. I am only the ghost for the Present, I don’t know the future. Que cera cera! Just let him die and stop crowding up this miserable world, right?
Hiei: I can’t believe a blissful person such as yourself can say that so light-heartedly.
Shigure: Oh I’m sorry *puts sigh mark by face but still smiles* Now I’m depressed!
Hiei: -_-; Fool…
Shigure: What I meant before is that I have no idea what the future holds, you’ll have to ask the next ghost about that.
Hiei: I’m sick of visit’s from ghosts.
Shigure: Tut! Tut! You’re not listening! Please, for all our sakes, take the moment before Future arrives to ponder on what you have seen and heard this evening. After all, once future comes, there is no turning back!
Hiei: >.> You just never stop, do you!
Shigure: ^o^ On the other hand, you are always welcomed to spend some Christmas time with me and my friends!
Instantly the scene dissolved from the cruddy love-filled home to a place of strange nature. Nothing about it seemed real and for the first time surrounding folk, of which there were only two, were able to interact with Hiei and his Host.
Ayame: Ah! Shigure! How long I have waited for your blessed arrival! The night is long and I am in no mood for sleep!
Shigure: Aya! You read my mind, tonight it seems we will be sharing the same dream!
Ayame and Shigure: *Thumbs up* YES!!!
Hatori: -.- Idiots.
Hiei: -.- Agreed…
