The 14th year of the Taishou era, December

Oogami gazed out the window, watching the decorations go up in Ginza. 'This year, Kaede-san asked me to directed the special performance of "Kiseki no Kane", that will be only on Christmas Eve.'

He then heard a knock at his door. "Come in~!"

"Ano, Oogami-san..." Sakura uttered. She walked into his room and closed the door behind her. "Today you announced the cast for the play... demo, I don't see my name on the list anywhere."

"Eh?" Oogami scratched his head. 'Masaka... did I forget...?!'

"It's a mistake, right?? I do have a part, don't I???"

"Of course you do!" he laughed, "Sakura-kun, I'm still working on it. Don't worry about a thing. Wahahaha!!"

"I'm so glad!" she said, feeling relieved. "Oh by the way, Oogami-san... I-I was wondering if you had some free time from here on until Christmas... I had hoped we could meet together and have a... holiday date."

Oogami blushed. "Gomen, Sakura-kun! If you look at my schedule, I'm already booked from this week on. Maybe after the holidays we can!"

Sakura stared into his appointment book. "Breakfast with Maria... Shopping with Sumire-san... Lunch with Yuri-san... Lights display with Kouran..." And the list went on. "Sonna! You have all these dates lined up already?!"

"Eheheh... today is my one free day, but I'm devoting it all to working on the play. Now if you excuse me, I need to rework the script a bit more."

Sakura sadly went out into the hallway. "Oogami-san, you jerk..." she mumbled as she turned to go on her way. She then saw the Baragumi "EEEH?!"

"We're going to get a kiss from Ichirou-chaan!!" Yokohiko chimed, the three of them in Santa outfits as they set up a row of mistletoe across the hallway.

Sakura went pale. "KYAAAAAA!! MISTLETOE?!?" Scared out of her wits, she ran away from the scene.

Oogami didn't seem to hear the screaming as he looked at his calendar. "Are?" he uttered, "Today is..." Slowly he smiled over at the photograph sitting on his dresser.

* * * * * * * * * *
Instead of working on the play, Oogami got Kouran to come help him in the garden. "Yossha! What a great idea, Oogami-han!" she chimed, fixing up the configurations to her confetti machine, "To bring this out here again, on this day... Brings back some wonderful memories!"

"Sou desu ne!" he replied as he shoveled more ice inside, "For Ayame-san, we'll make it snow on this day."

"She'd be really happy if she were here... Aa! Let me enhance things so that we'll have more snow to play with! Time to speed ya!"

"Ano... are you sure you know what you're doing, Kouran??" he asked as the machine started to smoke. In the next instant, black smoke covered them and the machine shot a big load out up in the air at once.

"Oogami-kun, Kouran..." Kaede was coming outside with a thick coat and hat. "What are you doing out here??" Suddenly, the load of snow landed onto top of her.

"KAEDE-HAN!!" Kouran exclaimed. They quickly rushed over and dug her out. "Are you all right?? We didn't mean to crush you with all this snow..."

"Ha-Ha-Hai..." Kaede stammered, shivering with a runny nose, "I-I want you to get to ba-ba-ba-back to work now..."

"Understood!!" the two replied and started to head back inside. They both stopped to wonder why Kaede remained in the garden, even if she was cold. 'Maybe she's waiting for someone...'

* * * * * * * * * * *
Inside, Kouran ran off to her hangar while Oogami headed towards the stage. He then ran into Tsubaki. "Oogami-san! I was looking for you!"

"Really??" he asked, blushing a little, "What can I do for you, Tsubaki-chan??"

"I was wondering about our date on Christmas Eve - have you decided where we should go?"

"Well, it is your birthday, Tsubaki-chan; I think you should decide. Wherever you want to go, I'll take you there."

"Oh, Oogami-san!" Tsubaki chimed, hearts in the air. He suddenly fell onto the floor because a giant Christmas tree had ran into him. "Oogami-san!" Tsubaki gasped, kneeling to him. She then looked up at the tree. "Eeh??!"

"You jerk, Oogami-san..." Sakura sobbed, her teary face in the center of the tree costume. "You cast-ed me as the Christmas tree... There are no holes for my arms and Sumire-san keeps making fun of me... How could you give me this awful role!"

"Maa maa... it's not so bad," Oogami replied as he got up, "I don't know what Sumire-kun was talking about. I mean, you look cute in that getup, Sakura-kun. And I'm sure you can handle the difficulties of this role..."

"I AM A TREE!!!"

Oogami nervously smiled as the crying continued. "I-I've got some more work to do. Tsubaki-chan, I'll talk to later. Jaa na!!" He than ran off.

* * * * * * * * * *
Back in the garden Kaede stood, shaking and waiting for someone to show up. "YOOOOO!!!" chimed a happy voice. She looked up the tree and saw Kayama leaping down with his guitar. "Tis the season to be jolly~! Falalalalalalala~!"

"Stop the Christmas carols please," she scolded as she dug around in her pockets. "Kayama-kun, this is from upstairs. It's your Christmas bonus. They asked me to personally give it to you and to thank you for all your hard work."

"Waw!" he gasped, stashing away the check, "I'll be sure to buy lots of gifts this Christmas! Aa, do you know what Oogami wants??"

"Iie," she replied, "However, I do know your vacation starts today and you can do whatever what you please with that bonus. But, before you go I have a special assignment for you."

"Hmmm??" Kayama accepted the list and read it over. "The Teigeki grocery list?"

"It's been so busy around here; we haven't got anything for snacks. I've given you an adequate amount along with the list from the Gekijou's miscellaneous funds. Please go to the marketplace, get everything on the list - and nothing else - and be back by 1700 hours..."

"HAI!" he replied, giving her a salute, "You can count on me, Kaede-san! Now I'm off! Matta oh!" He cheerfully made his exit, singing, "Jingle bells, jingle bells~! Jingle all the way~!"

"No more caroling!!" Kaede yelled after him. She then sighed and went back inside.

* * * * * * * * * *
In the cafeteria, Kanna was serving her newest dish. "We've all been working hard on the play that I thought we needed a snack break. Tell me how it is!"

Maria stared down at the mesh of vegetation and sirloin on her bowl. "Ano, Kanna... what greens did you use in the soup? "

"Oh!" Kanna rubbed her head and laughed, "It's Mistletoe!"

"Na... Nani...?" Maria stammered, wearily looking at her friend, "Kanna... mistletoe is supposed to be... poisonous."

"KIIIIIII!!!" Sumire immediately spat out the soup, her face turning blue. "Itai! My stomach suddenly hurts...!"

"Yaa, Minna!" Oogami chimed, walking over to their table, "What's going on here??"

"Kanna-san is trying to kill me!!"

"Oh that's nice, Sumire-kun... By the way, how are all of you doing with your roles? As director, you should tell me any of your problems. I'll do my best to solve each of them."

Maria glared at him. "Cut it out, Taichou... I know what you're doing and it's not going to work."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Maria," he laughed, rubbing his head. "But since you are the lead, I'm especially worried about any concerns you have."

"Sou yo!" Kanna said, "Maria, you're going to be a great Mary! Let me know if there anything I can do to help!"

"Ara~! Help - you mean 'mess up'." Sumire chuckled into her fan, "Kanna-san as Joseph will be interesting to watch! OHOHOHOHOHO!"

"URESAI!! Casting Sumire as the angel Gabriel was a mistake! This prickly woman is no where near an angel!!"

Oogami nervously watched the argument unfold. "Uwah... please calm down..." He then spotted Kaede passing by the cafeteria. She didn't look too cheerful. "Yaa, Kaede-san~!"

"Oogami-kun..." she uttered, rubbing her eyes, "I think I'm going to go rest in my room. Could you handle everything today on your own?"

"Hai... demo, are you not feeling well?" he asked, leaning over.

"Iie, I'm fine... Please don't worry about me, Oogami-kun."

"I can't help it, Kaede-san. Let's go back to your room and talk about this..." Suddenly, the Christmas tree costume landed on top of him. "UWAAAH!"

Above, Kayama and Sakura peered over the railing. Kayama then waved his hand and turned to go. "Ehehe! I'm glad I forgot my scarf in the salon... Now I'm really off! Adios~!"

"C-Chotto!!" Sakura gasped, "Come back here!!" She could hear the yelling from below. "I-It wasn't me!! I was framed!!"

Oogami sorely got up. "Sakura-kun!! You should be practicing in wearing this costume! Now isn't the time to slack off!"

"Haiii!!!" she tearfully replied.

While Sakura got a good scolding, Maria couldn't help but grin. 'Yoshi... right on the target!'

* * * * * * * * *
Upstairs, Orihime, Reni, and Airisu were heading down the hall for the stairs. They paused to look up at all the mistletoe. "Wai wai!! Lots of kisses for Reni~!" Airisu chimed, leaping at the poor girl.

"Waah!!" Reni gasped, going to hide behind Orihime, "Scary..."

"What is going on here?!?" Orihime exclaimed, "Who is responsible for this?!"

Suddenly there was a blast of pink smoke in front of them. "The butai of love and justice - the Baragumi!!"

"I should've known," Reni uttered, while Jean-Paul gave her a couple of bear-kisses on the cheek, "Now... WHY??"

"We're waiting for Ichirou-chan!" Yokohiko replied, applying the red lipstick, "Kyaa! I can't wait!"

Kikunojou stared to the floor. "Wa... Watashi... mo..."

Kotone held up a camera. "I can't wait either! This most definitely will go into the official Baragumi photo album!"

"What strange people..." Airisu uttered while Orihime and Reni drag her down the stairs. "Ne, Airisu has been practicing the 'angel' song very hard this week."

"That's good," Orihime replied, as they went into the music room. She goes to the piano and takes out her music sheets, "Let's practice all together today, since I can't tomorrow. I have a date with Shoui-san..."

"NANI?!" Airisu gasped, "I also have a date with Oniichan tomorrow!!"

"Boku mo." Reni admitted, her face blushing.

"NAN DESU KA?!" Orihime exclaimed.

The three girls stared at each other for a moment. They then all went for the door. "SHOUI-SAN!/TAICHOU!/ONIICHAN!!"

* * * * * * * * *
Kaede was laying down I her room, staring up at the ceiling. 'This time of the year...'

Just then, there was knocking at her window. She went to open it and in jumped Kayama. "Mission accomplished~!" he chimed, going to put the bags down on the desk, "Yaa~! You should've been more challenging, Kaede-san!"

"You're done in record time," she noted as she checked her watch. She then checked the bags. "Everything seems to be here... Ara??" She held up a glass snow globe. "What's this?? This wasn't on the list."

"Eheheh, oh that... I thought you might like it. I bought it with my own funds so don't worry about the finances. But check it out! It's really cool when you flip it over!"

Kaede unenthusiastically flipped it over and watched the white paper shreds fall onto a little silhouette of the Eiffel Tower.

"Look, a blizzard!" Kayama chimed, "Yuki wa ii naa??"

She simply put it down on the desk. "Kayama-kun, that's all for today. You're free to go."

"Understood!" he happily said, giving her a salute, "But before I make an exciting departure, I was wondering about something, Kaede-san... Why haven't you been cheerful lately?"

"I guess you've noticed," she sighed, going to sit down in her chair, "I guess I'm down because of the holidays... I've never really enjoyed them."

"Why not?? The holidays are a time for making wishing and being with loved ones... It's great!"

"Iie... the case is not for me. For the last years, I've been always working during this time. And when I was little, my parents were never home to celebrate. Then, Neesan and I were always apart... I just never had the holiday spirit in me. I guess that's why I insisted Oogami-kun take over the play-planning, because I knew I wouldn't be able to do it myself."

"I see... Still, now's a good a time to start for anyone." he uttered, pacing around the room. He finally stopped and went over to her. "Hey, what do you wish for this year, Kaede-san?"

"Watashi...?"

"Come on! Decide!" he chimed, leaning over, "Name anything and I'll go out there and find it!"

"I doubt you'll be able to find me anything that I want," she chuckled, "I doubt it even exists. So give up, Kayama-kun!"

"I know what I want," he replied, rummaging through his pockets. He then held up something.

Kaede went pale. "M-m-mistletoe??!" She then looked back at Kayama, the mischievous grin on his face. "Oh no you don't!" she snapped, pushing his face away, "This is a direct violation of your position! I could report you for harassment!"

"Maa maa maa! I'm off duty!" he exclaimed, while he fell over onto the floor and Kaede grabbed a pillow for defense. She was about to hit him, but his serious voice caught her off guard. "I've been wanting to for a long time... Ever since that time Yoneda got shot... And you came and calmed me down..."

"Kayama-kun... I had no idea that you..."

He pulled himself of the floor and faced her. "We became such good friends, I didn't want to say anything. Also, I figured you'd react something like that."

"Sumimasen..." she uttered, averting her eyes from his, "I was... startled... I still am."

"Ehehe! Sorry if I scared you, but you can't hurt a guy for trying!" he laughed, turning for the window, "But I ought to get going... Happy Holidays, Kaede-san! See you New Years!"

"Ma-Matte..." she stammered. But he had leapt out the window and made his exciting departure. Kaede fell back down into her chair, slowly going to pick up the mistletoe. 'Kayama-kun...'

* * * * * * * *
>>>Flashback: Last spring, shortly after the return of Oogami-shoui

The lamp shifted from side to side, its single light beam running across the dark room. Kayama sat on a stool, his hands in his ungelled hair. It had been a long day and he didn't know if it was over yet. As far as he was concerned, he was stuck in that room until someone came with new orders.

"Kayama-kun!"

He slowly lifted his head and saw Kaede, in military uniform. It was the first human voice he had heard in the past twenty-four hours.

"Sorry if I took so long. I was up north, but came as soon as I heard," she noted, kneeling down to him and putting her hand on his shoulder, "What exactly happened?"

"Yoneda was coming out for his one o’clock meeting. And I was right there with him..." Kayama sighed, wearily rubbing his eyes.

"Did you get a glimpse of who it was??"

"Iya... It was a sharpshooter on the roof. By the time I got up there, he was gone."

"Sou ka... Meanwhile, the Sannin Musume came out and discovered him... But who was it who called the ambulance??"

"The new secretary..."

Kaede rubbed her chin. "Yoneda was rushed to the hospital and the Hanagumi was called. But you weren't allowed to go along?"

"It's too soon for them to find out about me," he replied, "That's what Yoneda wanted..." He then clenched his fists and pounded a crate in frustration. "Dammit! I should've done something!!"

"Kayama-kun," she uttered, catching him by the wrist. "Yoneda is going to be all right. He's a tough old man - a gunshot wound isn't going to stop him. Besides, you did all you could."

"I know, but..."

"As of now, I'm relieving you of duty."

"Na... Nan de?!" Kayama exclaimed, "Is this a punishment?!"

Kaede shook her head. "You need to get this out of your system. It's not going to help you when you're on the field. So… come out and get some dinner with me."

"Heh?? Is this an assignment or a date??"

"An assignment of course; I'm still on duty." she replied as she pulled him up onto his feet, "Anyways, you surprised me, Kayama-kun... I used to think you were always a cheerful, frivolous person. This is first time I've seen you like this..."

"Frivolous??" he sighed, "I can't feel cheerful right now... I feel horrible..."

Kaede put her hand on the side of his face. "Right now, don't think about it. Don't think about anything." He stared into her eyes, slowly nodding his head. "Let's get going."

"H-Hai!"

>>>>>>>> End of flashback.

'It was then, wasn't it??' Kaede told herself as she sat in the steamy onsen. Lifting a towel onto her head, she closed her eyes and sighed. 'Why wasn't I more careful? I have enough trouble with Oogami-kun, now Kayama-kun??'

His face suddenly appeared in her mind, the serious tone catching her off guard. "I know what I want..."

She quickly opened her eyes. 'Wah! Why all of a sudden?!'

She clutched her head and tried to blot it from her conscience, but she couldn't. Fond memories of them hanging out during the off hours, the laughs and singing, the fun they had - all of it kept coming to mind.

'Now, I can't forget about him... No, this isn't good...'

Even as she preoccupied herself with her inner struggles, she still sensed that someone was peeking in on her in the bath. On instinct, she grabbed the bucket and hurled it at the pervert.

"UWAAAAAAAH!!!" Oogami crumpled to the floor, a big bruise on his face.

"Oogami-kun!! How dare you!!" Kaede gasped, grabbing a towel to cover herself before he got up. "Kayama-kun would never...!"

"Kayama... how’d that guy get into the conversation..." Oogami uttered dizzily. He then fainted.

She ignored him and quickly made a run for the locker room. 'What am I doing??' she yelled at herself while getting her stuff together, 'Why did I suddenly think about him??' Once she was dressed, she went out into the hallway. 'I have to stop it right now!'

"Kaede-san, I'm so sorry!" Oogami rushed out after her. "I didn't mean to peek into the bath! I was just hiding! Everyone is out to get me! I don't know what to do!"

All of the girls he had holiday dates with suddenly appeared. "ONII-CHAN!/TAICHOU!/OOGAMI-HAN!/SHOUI!!/SHOUI-SA~N!!"

"UWAAAH!!" Oogami wailed, grabbing onto Kaede's arm.

"This is why..." she uttered, turning to his ear and yelling, "THERE SHOULD BE NO DATING IN THE WORKPLACE!!"

"I know! But it's the holidays!!" he cried as the girls gave chase. They chased him up to the top floor where he made an effort to go to the attic. There, the Baragumi caught him. "IYAAAA!!!"

"KISS!! KISS!!" Yokohiko chimed, putting his arms around his neck.

"Wa... Watashi mo...!" Kikunojou chimed.

"Camera's ready!!" Kotone chimed.

The girls stopped running and just watched in horror. "Eew..." Airisu uttered, clinging to Reni.

"Let's leave them alone," Maria suggested, "And go practice for the play."

"H-Hai!"

As they left, Sakura came hoping out of her room in the tree costume. "Minna~! Wait for me~!" She tripped and fell, going to roll down the stairs. "Itai, itai, itai, itai, itai...!"

Sakura tearfully stopped at Kaede's feet. Kaede just stood there, blinking her eyes. 'Demo... Kayama-kun isn't on duty right now...' She broke into a run, stepping on Sakura on her way towards the door.

"Doushite?? Doushite?? Why me...???"

Oogami came running down the stairs. When he stepped on Sakura, he lost his footing and fell over. "Sakura-kun??! Daijoubu kai??" She got up and hurled the costume at him. "WAH!" he squeaked.

"MINNA! HE'S OVER HERE!!" she yelled out. The Baragumi merrily rushed over.

"UWAAAAAAH!!!"

Meanwhile, Kaede ran down the stairs and looked all around. 'It's too late... He's already gone...' She could've been sad about this, but the warm feeling inside had possessed her completely. The smile couldn't go away. 'Kayama-kun... watashi...'

Yoneda was coming down the sidewalk with his arms full of boxes. "Yoshii! I'm done with my shopping! Aa, Kaede-kun, what are you doing out here?? Want to help me wrap all of these gifts??”

”Hai, Shihainin!” she replied. She stopped to see that it had started to snow. She cheerfully went after Yoneda into the Teigeki, singing: “Jingle bells, jingle bells~!”

‘See you New Years…’