ToTT: A Very Saber Christmas (Ch. 9.5)

Chapter 9.5
December 20th X793, four days ago (Note: This story occurs over a year after the events currently happening in Trail of the Tigers' main chapters)

The Fiore Christmas Ball. Thousands of people attended in classy formalwear and danced to various songs of different genres, with classical being a common theme. In attendance, there were members of both Sabertooth and Unchained Soul, including their Masters. At the moment, the current dancing pairs were Sif and Sting, Hayden and Eriko, Alexander and Brianna (both of whom were blushing heavily), and even Ryuunosuke and Sakura, and Ezra and Yukino. Eugene, Josh, Kai, Brooke, Violet and the others were focusing on espionage and stealth. They were on a mission, rather than a visit.

Eugene and Brooke simultaneously spotted the target, and the second he went outside, the entire ambush group pounced.

December 24th X793, 8:12pm, now

"Come on, slowpokes, hurry up!", Sif said as she playfully chastised Hayden and Eugene, while simultaneously dragging them by their sleeves. "The stores'll be closed by the time we get there!", she yapped after. When Sif released them as they were entering a store, Hayden attempted to escape. Only to have his tail grabbed, but not by Sif, by Eugene!

"If I have to go through with this, so do you, Wolf.", Eugene said calmly as Hayden gave up and followed Sif with Eugene. Within just fifteen minutes, Eugene and Hayden were carrying so many items Sif had bought, they were both shaking at the knees almost.

"Gah...why is it we have to do this but the others don't?", Hayden mumbled to himself. Sif heard the noise, and turned and gave both Slayers a rather mean glare of sorts, startling them both to silence.

Elsewhere.

Brooke, Josh, Kai and Akabane were hiding in a bush. All them staring in the direction of a small café. They weren't on a mission. They were watching Alexander and Brianna, both in rather classy clothing, sat at a small table on the terrace of the second floor, enjoying a meal. However, they were both slightly blushing and were almost constantly silent, agitating Brooke as she waited for something to happen.

"S-So--.", they both said simultaneously, interrupting each other. Alex scratched the back of his combed, styled hair (as a opposed to his usual scruffy style), and Brianna laughed softly, awkwardly.

"This is painful to watch...", Josh chided to his three companions around him, not taking his gaze off of his sister and his best friend on a date.

"In my opinion, this is hilarious." Kai said with a smirk on his face. He was fighting the urge to laugh loudly.

"So far, it seems things are going well." Akabane said calmly. "I wonder how this will develop."

"Shh, look!", Brooke said with an excited whisper as she pointed at the pair.

Brianna had shivered (she was in a dress for the love of all things holy), and Alexander had stood up and was in the process of draping his coat over her shoulders. When he sat back down, they both became notably more comfortable, and were even smiling at each other, rather than blushing and making weird expressions.

"Aw, how gentleman-y!", Brooke chirped happily.

"Lame. She should have brought her own coat if she was cold.", Josh said in response, only to be kicked down a set of nearby stairs by Brooke for the comment.

"Jackass.", Brooke said with a smug smirk.

The three still remaining looked back, as Alexander and Brianna were leaving the café, but instead of walking robotically, Brianna had her arm coiled with Alex's! Josh returned with a big bump on his head, and a look of bemusement, earning laughter from Kai and Akabane. Alex and Brianna were strolling down the street together, both chatting and seeming happy in each other's company.

Alex suddenly stopped and darted for a bush. He dived over the bush. Nothing there. He shrugged and returned to a confused Brianna. "Thought I heard something.", he reasoned to her. As they walked on, Brooke, Josh, Kai and Akabane were all hiding in a thin gap between buildings, all with exasperated and startled expressions on their faces, having nearly been caught spying.

Thunder suddenly boomed, and the heavens opened, raining heavily on the land. The pair on the date scampered to hide under the awning of a nearby inn. They were acting more and more romantic. Alexander was leaned on the wall, with Brianna also leaning against him, cozying into him for warmth, as well as to be sweet. Alex blushed again as he hesitantly raised his arms, visibly stuttering with his movement, before his hands met, and his arms were around Brianna.

Brooke was almost squealing in joy, but Josh and Kai luckily avoided her blowing their cover, by placing their hands over her mouth. They were all lurking at another café right near the inn, dressed in disguises of course. They all made sneaky glances at Alex and Brianna, while also making sure they themselves didn't end up being rain-drenched. The table they were at had a large umbrella over them for just such an occasion.

"Well, this became more romantic really fast." Akabane calmly said in a quiet tone as so the couple wouldn't be able to hear him.

"Yeah, if only we got the right push, it'd complete things." Kai said in response.

"Want me to summon some mistletoe over them?" Violet said, appearing out of nowhere. This almost made the group shout in shock but Brooke who was the most used to this covered Kai and Josh's mouths. Akabane was shocked but he didn't make a sound.

"Isn't that cheating?", Josh asked the youngest member of the Woodland family.

"Well, it is the Christmas season. Mistletoe kisses are basically tradition.", Brooke responded to Josh, instead of Violet. "Go ahead, Vi. Summon a Mistletoe and-- Eh?!?", Brooke yelped, almost as if she had choked on her own air. The other kids also had expressions of surprise on their face.

Before Violet had even summoned the Magic Power to bring forth a Mistletoe, Alexander and Brianna were already in the process of kissing! Their kiss was a gentle, heartfelt one, compared to the more ravaging and forceful versions. Brooke pushed the younger Wizards around her so that they could not see what was happening. "Le~et's just keep it PG for you...", she said nervously.

Both young Wizards were visibly smiling during their kiss, and were practically grinning when it ended. Brianna rested the side of her face on Alex's chest, and his arms got noticeably more firm when it came to hugging her. "Want me to...?", Alex practically purred to Brianna.

"Definitely. Do it now...I want you to.", Brianna returned. The remarks of the couple made the younger ones blush in awkwardness, especially Brooke.

"This isn't appropriate for public affection...!". Brooke said with a nervous stutter in her voice.

"What isn't?", Alex said to the group of youngersters, with a smug grin on his face. That was when the group realised they had been moved--no, teleported over to Alex and Brianna, who also looked a tad smug. "Y'know I knew you were there from the very start.", Alex revealed to the group, surprising them. "Like my dad, I can uniquely pick out Magic Power signatures. Yours aren't very hard to miss.", he continued. Brooke just laughed in embarassment. The group went through all that trouble to not be seen, yet they were known the whole time.

"And if you'll greatly excuse us...", Brianna said as her hand traced along Alex's cheek and she moved her face towards his again, causing the group to squawk and flee elsewhere into the rain, letting the pair have their moment.

Elsewhere.

Hayden and Eugene looked like the grumpiest little reindeers in the world. They sat there with frowns on their faces, while wearing red noses and reindeer antlers. "You both look so adorable~!", Sif giggled happily as she jumped in between them after setting up the camera. She was dressed as Mrs Claus, wearing a knee-length Santa dress with a white chest, black straps, and white furry seams/hemlines. She noticed their frowns, and before the camera counted down to zero, Sif planted a kiss on Hayden's cheek, and then Eugene's cheek, in order to get them to display different expressions rather than frowning the whole time.

Hayden blushed and went beetroot, with a half-grin on his face, while his eyes looked startled. Eugene however, merely looked embarrassed as he still didn't want to take part in a picture looking like something he hunted on a normal basis. When the photo snapped, Sif was in the middle with a happy grin, Hayden looked flustered, and Eugene was just a grump. "You grinch.", Sif teased Eugene after receiving the photograph. "Anyway, I just have a few more things to buy. Don't worry, they're light. Bu~ut I'll need your opinion on one of them.", Sif said as she beckoned the boys to follow her to a clothes store, both of whom were cursing mentally.

After buying a few outfits, for both genders (seemingly for everyone), Sif turned and stopped the boys. She had already stored her new outfit with Requip prior to them seeing it. "I want your honest opinions, okay?", she said, to which Hayden and Eugene nodded in agreement. She proceeded to Requip into her new outfit. Her hair was released from its bun, revealing that she had cut it from waist length, to just below her shoulders. The outfit itself was a party dress that channeled class, and was made of white satin. It was strapless, and came down to just above her knees. The skirt expanded as it got lower towards its hemline. Sif giggled happily at how it looked, and looked up at the two boys for their opinions. "Well?", she asked them.

Hayden was almost speechless, he was struggling to get a word out. That basically confirmed what he thought to Sif, earning a smile from the girl. She turned to look at Eugene for his.

Eugene slightly blushed as he looked at how good Sif looked in this outfit. Thankfully, he could still express his opinion with words as well. "You look very pretty in that Sif, it suits you." he said with a small smile.

She grinned happily and triumphantly, due to the fact that she had gotten two positive reactions to her new dress. "Thanks, guys!", she said as she Requipped into normal street clothes. A white trenchoat, a purple plaid skirt, grey tights and a pair of knee-high black leather heeled boots. "Come on, we should get back home. The little party starts soon!", she said as she scampered out of the store, with Hayden and Eugene still hauling the large amount of gifts.

Meanwhile, back at the house Ezra was adding the final touches to the setup for the upcoming party. He adjusted the Tree ornaments, he laid out an array of food and drinks, he even lit up the fireplace to his preferred level. Zuno pounced onto his head, and Ezra handed the little critter tinsel and the Christmas Tree star. Zuno proceeded to scamper up the tree and place the star on the top, and then ran across the wall as he put up the various ropes of tinsel. Just as the pair finished, Sif, Eugene and Hayden walked through the door, all of whom were amazed by the amount of holiday spirit that had engulfed their current home.

Eugene and Hayden then sighed in exasperation, and dropped all the gifts Sif purchased onto the floor and sofas. "This is so cool, Ezra!", Sif said, praising her older brother's decorative skills.

"Thank you. I had some help from Zuno, too.", Ezra replied, with Zuno pouncing onto Eugene's shoulder and chirping happily as he just perched there.

"Thanks for the hard work Zuno." Eugene said as he rewarded the small creature with a fruit. He then looked around the place. "Man, you did a lot of decorating, it almost looks like an entirely different building."

Ezra smirked slightly, and then went into the kitchen. The smell that came through the open door was so delightful that it made even Sif's mouth water, so lord knows how Hayden and Eugene, with their superior sense of smell, must be feeling right now.

Little more than ten minutes later, Brooke, Josh, Kai and Akabane returned. Josh, Kai and Akabane were struggling in their race to get inside first, until they all fell. Brooke simply used them as a rug and literally walked right over them.

"Take it easy, kids.", Hayden said a tad sternly. "Wait. Where are Bree and Alex?", he asked them as he noticed the absence of his future-daughter and his best friend's future-son.

"See for yourself.", Brooke said as she pointed at the window.

Hayden, Sif and Eugene all peered through the window, and were rather surprised by what they saw. Alex and Brianna were sitting on the bench on the house's porch, cuddling together. "Aww! It finally happened and I missed it?", Sif whined as she watched the young, new couple.

Meanwhile, Hayden's tail got all prickly as he seemed the slightest bit ticked off. Brianna is his daughter after all, so he has a reason to be protective. The state of Hayden's tail made Sif giggle a bit, before Ezra called out from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready, you better all be sitting by the time I get in there.", he said, with a semi-threat mixed in. Within a minute, everyone had their coats, hats and scarves sitting on the hanging rack, and were all sat around a dining table, waiting patiently for their food. When Ezra eventually brought the food in, they had a celebratory clink of glasses...and that was when Hell rose on earth.

2 hours later

Brianna and a shirtless Alex were messing around in the garden like any loving couple would do. Josh, Kai and Akabane were completely out of it and were sprawled up the stairs. Brooke and Sif were laughing wildly and jumping around while singing random songs at the top of their voices. Ezra was wearing a kimono and was sat on the table, cross-legged, bellowing orders at everyone, only for them to ignore him and thus end up getting smacked. Hayden and Eugene were having a childish scrap in the hallway. There was something they had in common. Everyone was completely wasted.

"What the crap are you talking about!?! Dolphins don't fly with wings, they fly with airplanes!" Eugene exclaimed to Hayden. He was one of the people in a drunken state and he and Hayden had gotten into some stupid argument that made no sense. In the back of his mind though, something was trying to pull him back to reality.

"Noo~oo! They fly with their tails! Dumbass!", Hayden barked, literally, as he pulled on Eugene's cheeks, stretching his face like rubber.

3 hours later

Everyone was starting to konk out. The only ones still awake were Sif, Hayden, Eugene and Alex. Alex was enjoying himself consuming the fire from the fireplace, meanwhile Sif was trying, in her drunken mind, to stop Eugene and Hayden fighting, but the two kept going at it. In order to grab their attention away from each other, Sif Requipped into a rather revealing, black lacy outfit clearly meant for private use. Pushing her hair up, she pouted and tried her best to distract them from fighting. "Hay~den...Eu~gene...", she almost purred in her efforts to do so.

Eugene continued to argue with Hayden in a drunken manner and then he heard Sif calling to them in a sultry voice. This was enough to make him and Hayden turn their heads in curiosity. Eugene then blushed as Sif was wearing a rather revealing outfit and she was acting in a very seductive manner. At this point, Eugene just snapped out of it. "What the crap is going on?" He said to himself as he recovered from the ensuing headache. He saw Hayden staring at Sif with a flushed face and his tail was wagging. He then walked over to Sif. "Sif, snap out of it, you're wearing something you normally wouldn't wear in front of us." He tried to reason with her but he made sure not to touch her as from experience touching a drunk person (drunk females) in this current state had the possibility of making things awkward. Even this distance was cutting it close.

Sif simply ignored Eugene for the moment, as she goofily laughed at Hayden flat on his face with his tail in the air, so surprised by Sif's appearance that it made him pass out. That's him down for the night.

"Whee~!", Sif giggled as she practically flung Eugene around in an apparent "dance" of some sort. She leaned towards his ear. "Wanna know a se~cret?", she chimed quietly. And then she passed out against him.

"Well, Wolf's out of commission." Eugene said to himself as he saw Hayden fall unconscious. Sif all of a sudden flung onto him and leaned close into him. She said something about a secret into his ear and before he could finish asking about that, she passed out. "And Sif is out too." Eugene said as he picked her up in his arms and laid her on a nearby sofa. He found blankets and put them over both Sif and Hayden so that they wouldn't catch cold. What was she going to say anyway? Eugene wondered to himself. Ah well, I'm going to bed. He then headed off for the room he was sleeping in.

About five hours later into the night, later, a semi-drunken, exhausted Sif went for a wander around the house, looking for a bedroom. She silently opened the door, and stumbled towards the seemingly-occupied bed. She climbed onto it, and looked at the male silhouette for a moment, before just slumping onto his chest gently, with a warm smile on her face.

Eugene was about to fall asleep when he heard the door open. His eyes opened wide at this intruder. It was most probably not an enemy and more likely to be Violet and perhaps Brooke but his instincts from living in a constant life or death situation during the first half of his life made him ready for any approaching enemies, even when asleep. What came into the room was something Eugene was not expecting though. Sif had walked into the room in a half drunken stupor and was headed towards him. At that moment, a flash of memory came into his head. Crap, is the alcohol still affecting me a little? For some reason, despite the situation, Eugene made no move to stop Sif from getting in bed with him and laying on top of him. It feels warm and cozy... Eugene thought before he succumbed to sleep alongside Sif.



The next morning...Christmas Day! Alexander, wearing only his usual shorts, woke up on the swinging bench out back with Brianna laying against him, both of them wrapped in a thick blanket. He smiled down at his sleeping girlfriend -- they were a couple now --, and gently wriggled from her, to position her so that she didn't wake up. He tip-toed into the house, before darting up the stairs to the bathroom. That was when he saw Brooke and Violet standing at the door of Eugene's room, both of them smiling happily. When he leaned on the door frame and peered round its corner, he was a little surprised at the sight, but it was nonetheless quite sweet to behold.



Sif was sleeping on top of Eugene, whom had his arms around her, cuddling her into him. And then Brooke sneezed, causing the two sleepers to shift. The movement startled the three kids, and they leaped to hide behind the walls of the room before they were seen. Sif rose her head up and yawned, rubbing her eyes softly to open them properly. And then hell broke lose.

Both of them screamed in fright and surprise, and Sif practically launched herself off the bed. "What the hell?! Did you trick me in here when I was drunk, Eugene?!", Sif yapped, all the while her face was entirely white in fright.

"To be honest I don't remember much from last night besides the fact that we all got drunk, you weren't the only one." Eugene said in response as he began to calm down. He then remembered the last moment before he fell unconscious. "Wait a minute, you were the one who came into my room...." He then rubbed his eyes as he tried to process the situation. "Well, on the bright side, we didn't wake up naked so I think it's safe to say that it is probable that we didn't end up doing anything we would end up regretting while we were drunk." He said this somewhat analytically.

Sif just stood there, gobsmocked at all of this, her eyes hidden by her hair, as her face flushed bright red. "Well, why didn't you throw me out?!", Sif retorted, "And, please, as if I'd do anything with you.", she responded sarcastically and rather defensively to the Dragon Slayer looking at her.

Alex, from his hiding spot just outside the room with the girls, inhaled a bit, as his nose crinkled.

"To be honest, I have no clue." Eugene replied honestly. "First you're walking into my room and the next thing I know, you're getting into my bed and we fall asleep, bringing us to our position from a minute or two ago." He then proceeded to change his clothes. As he wasn't raised among normal humans for a majority of his life, he didn't really mind if someone else was there while he was changing. At the very least though, he would keep his underwear on. "And from my experience in dealing with drunk people, a majority of them women for some reason, anything could happen when you're drunk even if you don't think it would happen."

"Do you have to change right in front of me?! This is the fifth time you have done that! You're only making this worse!", Sif almost whined as she got to her feet. Realising her short nightgown, she quickly Requipped into a casual outfit. A yellow jumper and a pale brown pencil skirt. Her long, freeflowing hair was also tied up into a high ponytail as well. "You do not tell--", Sif went to say, until...

"ACHOO!!!", Alex barked from the hall, causing the girls to dive on him and get themselves to a hiding spot before they were found. Just as they got out of view, Sif and Eugene came out of the room, looking around them for the eavesdropper.

Eugene quickly had his clothes on as he heard the sound. It was almost as fast as Sif requipping her clothes. "Did you hear that? Someone's there." He said before the two of them rushed out of the room and look down both sides. "Who do you think it was? It'd be bad if it was Hayden or your brother. They might've tried to kill me or something." He said seeing that nobody was there. He then smelled them. "I smell our daughters and our nephew." He whispered to Sif as he pointed in the direction of where they were hiding.

Sif immediately teleported in that direction, stopping at the corner of the wall. "Gotcha!", she yelled as she dived round, ending up landing playfully on her future daughters. Alex, meanwhile, was making his escape. He was an open target for Eugene, however...

At the top of the stairs, Alex tripped on the carpet, and ended up rolling down like a human avalanche, yelling out in surprise. Unlucky for him, there was someone coming up the stairs. Brianna! He rolled right into her and they both ended up flying back down, with Alex ending up becoming Brianna's seat by the time they stopped. She had landed right on him, knocking the wind out of him with the force of the landing. "Ow...", they both groaned, with Brianna rubbing where Alex basically headbutted her in the face.

"That is why you must always keep on your guard and be ready to react." Eugene said with a small smile as he jumped down to where the two were on the floor. "I would think I'd have told you that in the future. You okay?" He asked when he reached them. "Hopefully this will teach you not to spy on your Aunt and Uncle or at least be silent."

Sif, Brooke and Violet came down the stairs, with the young girls giggling at what just happened. Alex raised a shaky hand, about to reply to Eugene before it flopped and a little white ghost floated out of his mouth."Kyaa~! Don't die!", Brianna and Brooke squealed comedically as they put the ghost back inside Alex. He lay there with a blank expression.

"Let me...get my air back and...I'll get up.", he croaked as Brianna got off of him and brushed herself down, Requipping into normal clothes, rather than armor.

"Moving on...Merry Christmas, guys!", Sif spoke with a perky tone in her voice as she grinned, as Ezra walked in the door. "Where've you been?", she said playfully to her older brother.

"You were all sawing logs when I woke up, so I went for a walk.", he returned plainly as he removed his wooly coat and gloves. It had snowed heavily overnight, and now the snow was over ankle deep. He looked down at his down-for-the-count son on the floor. Without even needing to think, he said one word, "Alexander.", and the boy got to his feet like a rocket, headbutting Eugene in the stomach accidentally in the process, causing Sif to giggle, obviously amused.

"I see you have him trained now to move at your every command." Eugene said as he got up having not gotten hurt. This was due to a certain somebody punching him with much greater force each time he got close to this person. It was then there was a knock on the door. Eugene opened the door and immediately stepped back. The first reason being that one of his guildmates, Sakura, the guild subleader would come bursting in and the second reason was to not be too close to the girl that was sure to be behind her.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!!" Sakura exclaimed as she did indeed burst through the door. Atsuko was right behind her. A bit behind them were Ryuunosuke, Kurogane, and Shana.

"Ah, hey guys, glad you could stop by." Eugene said as the came in.

"Please excuse the intrusion." Kurogane said out of politeness with a smile.

Sakura's rather loud entrance startled half the people in the house; Brooke tripped over Alex's foot and fell into Eugene, Brianna and Alex both yelped, and a stupidly loud thud came from the back room of the house, followed by an annoyed dog-line whine. At least he was awake now. Meanwhile, Sif and Eugene were having a chuckle at the result of Sakura's entrance.

"Sakura! You guys came!", Sif responded happily after the dust settled, greeting her guildmates with a happy grin. She began chattering with the girls in the house as they all got comfortable, meanwhile the guys sat down with them...keeping their distance from Atsuko of course. Ezra was in his kitchen preparing dinner for later. Hayden, meanwhile, stood in the doorway of the lounge with a gloomy glare, having been woken up earlier than he would have liked. His chest was bare, but he had his trousers on, and the blanket from last night rested over one of his shoulders.

"You're lucky we're friends now...", Hayden grumbled sleepily as he stretched his arms up and let out a pitchy yawn, like a dog would. His furry tail was drooped down the back of his legs. "Anyone want a drink?", Hayden asked as he walked past the group towards the kitchen, getting just an inch too close to Atsuko...!

Atsuko noticed that Hayden was in her range. The Unchained Soul members and some of the future kids also noticed and became fearful as the world seemingly went into slow motion. Atsuko's body was already in motion to hit Hayden because of her androphobia. But this time, it was slightly different. They could see her leg move for a kick. Additionally, flames were covering her legs. Well, this is a new one. Eugene thought to himself as he felt the world go back to real time. Atsuko unleashed a flaming kick at full force right at Hayden's crotch, hitting square on and knocking him into the air a bit which was then followed up by a flaming punch at full power to the gut, sending him flying into the wall. "Kyaah! A guy!" She exclaimed in fear before running to hide behind Sakura.

"Wolf, you're on fire! Literally!" Eugene exclaimed as he saw Hayden's trousers catch on fire. "Shana!" He said to the sniper girl who nodded as she took out a key.

"Yuyu, help me out!" She said summoning a celestial spirit that looked like a little penguin. "Yuyu, use Ice Beam!" The little penguin blasted an beam of ice which impacted dead on at Hayden's crotch which was where the fire was.

Hayden flopped from the wall, face-first to the ground, motionless. Sif looked a tad bugged and yet, also a little worried. Little blue lines were by her eyes. "He's gonna be so angry when he wakes--", Sif said with a facepalm before a distraction made her stop abruptly.

Hayden...was standing up! Not even 30 seconds after Atsuko's attack, Hayden was on his feet, shocking almost everyone in the room, even Sif and his own children. "--Up?! Eh?!?", she shrieked in surprise. Usually it takes one attack from Atsuko to just knock a man out. Even Eugene and Kurogane had been subjected to that! But Hayden was standing up after that brutal kick from the girl!

"Oi, girl. What do you think you're doing kicking me like that in my own home, huh?", he growled almost patronizingly, as his fringe hid his eyes partially, but instead of their usual gold, they were shimmering a bloody red color.

"Looks like Wolf can take a hit or two to the no no spot." Eugene said being calm about it all. "Anyway Wolf, to explain, she has androphobia and is scared of guys. It gets to the point that she will hit any guy within a meter of her. So calm down Wolf, she didn't do it out of malice or anything." He then turned to Atsuko. "Atsuko, you should apologize too." The girl nodded and did so albeit quietly out of fear.

Hayden sighed as he cooled off. As he swatted the ice off his trousers, the hole caused by Atsuko's fire was dangerously close to exposing his 'intimate area'. While his black shorts beneath his trousers still hid it, it was quite a close call. "Guess I should go get changed.", he said was he disappeared up the stairs, along with Alex, who was still wearing only his casual shorts.

Sif turned to look at Atsuko at the other end of the sofa. "So how come you brutalised Hayden but only punched every other guy?", the girl asked with a little laugh behind her voice, as she put Violet on her lap, looping her arms around her like a loose seatbelt.

Atsuko looked nervous as she responded. "We didn't have the coordinates for this house so we had to start from the middle of town. There were so many guys too close to me because the streets were somewhat crowded and I had to hold it in so I wouldn't cause a scene. The moment the dog person came near, I couldn't hold back anymore and released it all at once." She explained. She then looked at Violet who looked happy being on her mother's lap. "So how is parenthood so far? It must have been an unusual experience considering the situation." She asked with curiosity.

"Ah, Atsuko, what'll we do with you? What if a poor guy came up to you to ask you out? Granted it'd be funny to see a guy flying across town, but still.", she asked her fellow Unchained Soul member. When Atsuko inquired about parenthood, Sif smiled and gave Violet a cuddle. "It's weird, considering I don't even have a grey hair yet, but it's the best feeling ever.", Sif said while smiling down at her future-daughter, and then looked up to Eugene to see if he has a response as well, with her cheeks slightly blushed with warmth and happiness.

“How many times do you think that’s already happened?” Atsuko said in response. Because of her appearance, it was already quite common for guys to approach her and ask her out or try to flirt with her. And it was just as common for those guys to be sent flying or at least for Eugene or Kurogane, if they were around, to take the hit. Sif had been next to her on some of those occasions. “I wouldn’t want to be with a guy that liked me only for my looks anyway.” Sif then said how being a parent was the best feeling ever as she cuddled with Violet, making her giggle. Sif then looked towards Eugene with a smile which gave him a small feeling of comfort.

“Why are you looking towards me?" Eugene asked feeling somewhat embarrassed for some reason. He was seated at least a meter away from Atsuko as so that he wouldn't get hit. Violet also gave him a smile and Eugene couldn't help but smile and pat her head. "Yeah, being a parent was a completely new experience but it's quite the feeling."

"You seem quite happy." Atsuko commented.

Sif looked at Eugene with a smile, after Atsuko's remark. She turns to the girl and proceeds to answer for both herself and Eugene, "We are. Recently I've actually found it hard to stop smiling!", Sif said with the happiest grin anyone has ever seen on her, which is quite a feat, considering she smiles a lot. Brooke looped her arms around her father's shoulders, giggling happily along with her mother and sister.

"Don't worry, Miss Atsuko! I'm sure there's a great guy out there that is perfect for you! He might be closer than you think, maybe even in this town!", Brooke said to the Unchained Soul woman with a perky tone behind her young voice, smiling all the while.

Just as Brooke finished talking, the boths both returned with Hayden appearing first, as Alex tailed behind and teleported across the room, to the kitchen door, both of them fully clothed. Hayden was wearing a blue button-up t-shirt with a pair of slate grey jeans, and Alex was wearing a black tank top with a white zip jacket left open, and a pair of maroon shorts grazing his knees. Alex avoided Atsuko, but Hayden seemed to be pushing his luck just a little.

"It'd be best if you didn't get too close." A hand gently grasped Hayden's shoulder as Kurogane said this to Hayden with a small smile while pulling him back a little to make sure he was not within range.

"Yeah Wolf, just because you can take a hit doesn't mean you should be pushing your luck." Eugene added.

"I swear, you two act like my bodyguards sometimes!" Atsuko exclaimed in a slight joking tone alongside a laugh.

"It'd be more accurate to say we protect other guys from you." Eugene also said this in a joking tone.

"And even if Hayden here can take a beating, if you send him flying enough times, you're going to destroy the house at some point." Kurogane said calmly as he motioned to the small crater in the wall from Hayden crashing into it earlier.

Hayden looked at the wall. His skin went white, and he let out a frightened squeak.

"Hayden? What's wr--Eekk!!", Sif had the same reaction. Scattered across the fireplace and the floor, was the shattered remains of an ornament made of glass. It looked to have been a sculpture of the Sabertooth guild emblem. "Oh no...the figure..", Sif stuttered, "Ezra had worked on that for over five years!", she forced herself to speak as she and Hayden immediately began clearing the mess.

"What's all the noise out here?", Ezra said as he poked his head out of the swinging door, his blue bandana around his head like a chef hat.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!", Sif and Hayden almost yelped simultaneously, after which Ezra disappeared back into the kitchen to finish the dinner preparations. The two panicked as they created a crafty way to hide it, using a Christmas wreath to do so.

A few hours later.

Hayden was sat on the sofa, covered in bandages. He had been punched by Atsuko four more times, albeit two of them times being caused by other people. The first accident was Alex tripping and falling beside Atsuko, and space-swapping with Hayden right before the girl hit him. The second was Sif falling from a ladder and knocking Hayden into an awkward position right on top of Atsuko! His face had landed right on her chest! As a result, Atsuko punched Hayden flying off of the terrace and into the back garden pond.

He sat cross-legged as he sulked. His tail was flopped to the side, the tip flicking in annoyance. He was glaring at both Sif and Alex, both of whom looked nervous for obvious reasons.

"Stop looking at me like that, Hayden! You know me falling was accidental!", Sif said in response to the expression on Hayden's face.

"You caused me to land in the most awkward position I could have possible landed in!!", Hayden literally barked at his friend. "And you!", he said as he focused on Alex, "Why did you switch me in, why me of all people?!", he barked again, causing Alex to chuckle nervously.

"Guys, you're causing Atsuko much stress. Please be more careful." Eugene said as he saw Atsuko run off and hide behind Kurogane. She normally would have hid behind Sif or Sakura but both of them were right next to either Hayden or Ryuunosuke so her only options were Eugene and Kurogane. Even then, she kept a little under a meter away from him. Normally, being within a meter of a guy would have made her punch out but she was comfortable enough with the two swordsmen to lower the gap a little.

"Atsuko, you may also want to hold back a little. I don't think the house can take too much more." Kurogane said gently to the girl behind him.

"I am holding back." Atsuko said quietly in embarrassment.

"Okay then, let's change the mood and have some fun!" Sakura said cheerfully as she grabbed Sif, Shana, and Atsuko in a blur and ran off with them into another room. From there, the sounds of forced changing and struggling could be heard. Soon after that, the sounds stopped and the girls came out in revealing Santa outfits.

"Sakura, what the crap!?!" Shana exclaimed out of both anger and embarrassment as her face was bright red. Atsuko didn't completely mind. She was used to wearing this sort of clothing but she did feel a little self conscious despite that.

"Oh come on, we should get into the holiday spirit!" Sakura exclaimed happily. "So what do you think?" She asked mainly directing it towards the guys as she struck a pose which came naturally to her from her time being a model for Sorcerer Weekly.

"Mother....why?" Akabane said quietly to himself out of embarrassment alongside a facepalm from seeing his mother act like this.

Josh looked equally as embarassed, but his blushing face only made him even more adorable.

"This is even shorter than the one I own, Sakura!", Sif whined as she pushed down the front of her dress in an attempt to keep herself barely decent.

Hayden's face was beetroot, and he was clearly struggling to find words to speak, however...it wasn't clear who he was looking at. "I'm just g-gonna...", he gulped, "I-I'm..", he continued to stutter as his eyes lurked from Sif, to Sakura, to Shana, to Atsuko, and then he awkwardly made his way into the kitchen, tripping over the carpet, and then catching his tail in the door, earning a yelp from him.

"I'm heading out. Running low on ingredients.", said a voice from the main hallway. It was Ezra.

"Wait up, I'll come!", said Alex, who was clearly looking for a way to escape this madness, and his face was also as red as Hayden's was. Ezra Requipped a long winter coat with a fur-trim hood onto his body, and Alex put his jumper back on as they walked out the door.

When they left, it was almost as if a barrier had been lifted. Sif attempted to escape back to the bedroom to get her other clothes. "Can I change out of this please?", she asked Sakura, even though she was already half way out of the door.

"Wow, I expected Wolf to be a bit more resilient to this sort of thing." Eugene said with a small laugh as he saw Hayden run off into the kitchen. He and Kurogane were rather nonchalant about the matter as they were used to Sakura dressing like that as well as Atsuko at times. Ryuunosuke didn't react at all but that was normal for him for anything.

"I'm going to go change." Shana said as she stormed off back to the bedroom to go change back to her normal clothes.

"Ah well, since the most of the guys ran off, I don't see much more of a point in staying in them." Sakura said before giggling a little. "I didn't expect them all to act so innocent though." The girls all went back to the room to change.

Sif was the first to return, and was back in her comfortable clothes from before. She lifted Violet and sat her back on her lap as she perched on the sofa beside Eugene. She was obviously flustered and slightly embarrassed about the recent ordeal. She was sulking; her eyes were closed and she was breathing sharply.

"Thanks for your hard work, putting up with Sakura's whims once again." Eugene said with a small smile as he patted Sif's head a little. On occasion, it was common for Sakura to play around with Sif, Shana, and Atsuko.

Meanwhile, in the town's market.

Ezra and Alex were walking through the streets as a gentle trickle of snowfall continued to blanket the town. The snow crunched under their feet as they went to multiple stalls. Ezra thanked a salesperson with a smile and nod, as he lifted his purchased food in their bags and turned to look for Alex, when he heard the sounds of a struggle. He ran to the source of the sound, the corner of the street. Just out of the range of a streetlight glowing in the night, Ezra saw three men assaulting a women, clearly with dark intentions. He immediately dropped his groceries and Requipped two Magic Pistols into his grasp.

Ezra blurred forward at such a speed that the snow on the street actually split and was scattered into the air. He kicked two of the men down the street, doing the same to the third but with an elbow to his face. As he landed, he did a swirve, his boots digging into the ground, and his pistols aimed at the thugs. All of this was almost in slowmotion for the woman. Ezra's gentle expression throughout, his short hair waving gently in the tailwinds. "Tornado Shot!", Ezra casted as he fired one shot from each of his handguns. The two shots conjoined ust before impacting the middle of the group, and they erupted into a small tornado that launched the trio flying into the horizon, kicking up quite a breeze in both directions of the street, fluttering hair and loose clothing, and blowing snow away.

When it was done, Ezra, who was stood in front of the woman, turned to check up on her. He went to speak, but he went silent upon seeing her face, a rare feat for someone like him. It seems the same condition had afflicted the woman too. The pair were stood in silence; Ezra with a strucken expression, the woman with one of awe. "I-I'm Ariana.", she said quietly and nervously.

"I'm Ezra.", he responded. "Did they harm you, Miss?", Ezra questioned the woman, who was dressed in a grey dresscoat with her warm brown hair flowing down in front of her shoulders.

"I'm fine. Just a little shaken up. Although that's partially from how cold.", she chuckled with a slight shiver as she fixed her ruffled dresscoat, which had been shaken by the attack and the wind.

"We have room for a few more back out ours. I was getting more ingredients for dinner. Would you care to rest up there?", Ezra asked the woman with his usual tone in his voice.

"Thank you, that's very kind.", she said with a smile on her face that seemed to charm even someone as stoic as Ezra.

Alex came bolting round the corner, carrying the bags that the stuff he bought was in in his hands. "Dad! What's goi--", he said but stopped abruptly as he skidded to a complete stop, staring at the woman, Ariana, in complete awe and shock. "...Mom...?!", he said quietly with shaky breaths before teleporting himself away before Ezra managed to see him.

Meanwhile, back at the house.

A clatter came from the kitchen. Hayden went to investigate, and found multiple grocery bags dropped on the floor. "The hell? I smell Alex on these, but he's nowhere around here...", he thought out loud, with Sif and the others in the lounge hearing.

"He teleported after he dropped off the groceries." Eugene said as he came in to see the bags on the floor. "He went off somewhere wanting to be alone. That one breath or two I could hear from him before he teleported out sounded saddened and stressed. However, at this point, I can't figure out why. Hmm..." He thought to himself for a bit. As he said this Shana had come out. "Shana, use your rifle to lock on where Ezra is."

"Roger that." Shana said with a nod as she took out her sniper rifle. She wasn't going to shoot but use the scope.

"The general coordinates of the shopping district are within 23-50 and 78-30." He gave Shana bearings as she went outside and aimed. It didn't take long for her to locate him.

"Ezra located." Shana reported.

"Is Alex with him?" Eugene asked.

"Negative." Shana said in response. "There is a woman next to him."

"Describe her." Eugene said, knowing that there wasn't time to switch positions to look through the scope himself as he couldn't adjust the scope of a sniper rifle if Ezra and the women moved.

"Long brown hair, gold colored eyes, wearing a grey dress coat. She seems to have some good chemistry with Ezra." Shana said adding in some teasing at the end. It was then Eugene and most likely Sif realized who it was.

"Sorry Wolf." Eugene said apologetically as he quickly drew his sword and activated a spell. "Forest Dragon's Darkness Realm!" In the next moment, Hayden would find all of his senses disabled, leaving him blind, deaf and more. Sakura and Atsuko were in another room at the moment doing something else, Ryuunosuke had temporarily gone back to guild hall, and Eugene was sure Shana and Kurogane would keep quiet. They had become his 'back up files' just as he would be theirs if any of their memory were to all of a sudden be gone, something that had happened in the past which led to the necessity of the 'back up file' system. "The woman is Ariana. I'm sure you kids know who that is and how that affects Alex. Do you know where Alex would be after seeing her?" He asked the ones who knew Alex the best. His family from the future and close friends.

"We do.", Brianna and Brooke said simultaneously. "Ariana, erm... Ariana was Ezra's wife...Alex's mother.", Brooke said, rubbing her arm somewhat with nerves. "She died a few years ago, in our time anyway. But, remember how we said the disease killed a lot of our family...?", Brooke said as her voice got quieter and quieter.

Brianna sighed. "It wasn't the disease that killed Ariana. It was Ezra that did it.", Brianna said with a slight quiver of fear in her voice.

"Yeah, I know." Eugene said in response with a grim expression on his face. "I don't know why he did it though. This takes domestic abuse to a whole new level." Despite the small joke, his tone remained serious. "Since you said that you know where he is, I'll assume at least one of you two can reach him?"

Almost everyone looked at Brianna in unison.

She was about to protest but sighed in defeat. "You have a point...", she said in response to everyone looking at her. She Requipped into winter clothes and darted out of the door, heading straight for Alex's favourite spot. Within about fifteen minutes, she eventually reached a pristine lake a few miles away from th town, and hidden by a near-ridiculous mass of trees. The lake was as clear as the sky, and was pristine and almost heavenly. The moon's reflection was visible right in the middle, and Alex's silhouette could be seen sitting on one of the lake's shores, barely being touched by the moonlight.

Brianna said nothing. She simply sat beside Alex, and looked at him. He had his hat pulled down to cover his eyes partially by pinning his fringe down. Alex was sitting with his knees bent up, and his arms rested on them. Brianna put her hand on his nearest arm, causing him to look up at her. Even in the darkness, Brianna could tell Alex's eyes were hiding a broken soul. "Alex...", she whispered softly.

Alex lurched towards Brianna and embraced her, his face buried into her shoulder. While his words sounded as fragile as glass, he had yet to physically cry or sob. "I promised myself I'd be strong. I promised I'd be able to get through seeing her again. But I wasn't...I'm such a wimp.", Alex chastised himself as he clutched Brianna's arms for comfort.

She moved her arms around Alex, rubbing the back of his head gently. "I get why you want to be strong, Alex. But here is what I don't understand.", she began to speak loud and confidently in order to get her point across. "What I don't understand...", she said as her hands clenched into fists, "Is why you think you have to do it alone, Alexander!!", she almost snapped at him. Unseen by Alex due to the darkness, Brianna was shedding a tear or two. Whenever anyone, not just Brianna, used Alex's full name with him, it meant that they were incredibly serious about what they were saying, and that the matter is majorly important.

Alex looked up. It was slightly obvious he was smiling, even if it was only a little bit. "Brianna...I've been meaning to tell a secret for years." Alex said with notable hesitation in his tone of voice.

She looked up, with a little noise of inquisition.

"I-I, uh, I..", he desperately tried to gather words, "I..--", he continued before he just stopped all together. Instead of speaking, he simply brought Brianna close and pressed his lips upon hers for a few seconds, but to the two of them, it felt like eternity.

Brianna's hand gracefully moved along Alex's cheek. "I feel the same way.", she said with an amused giggle, as she got to her feet and practically dragged Alex up as well. "So now that that just happened...are we...?", she questioned nervously as her voice trailed off and her cheeks got warm.

Alex took Brianna's hands into his own. "I'd hope so. Otherwise that moment is just gonna be an awkward memory.", he said with a laugh, as the two began to walk. "Oh, Brianna, there's one more thing I wanted to tell you.", he continued.

"Yes?", she said as she looked up at him.

Alex hesitated. "Never mind.", he said with his usual charming smile, as he used his Territory Magic to teleport himself and Brianna back to the house, their hands still linked.

“So it finally happened huh?” Eugene said as the newly formed couple (not exactly new in his eyes) teleported back into the house and were holding hands in a manner that couples did. “Congratulations I guess although it was pretty obvious that it was going to happen.” He then remembered something. “Oh yeah, I forgot to turn back on Wolf’s senses.” He turned towards the werewolf who was still moving around, not knowing where he was going due to not being able to smell, hear, or see. Eugene deactivated the spell and Hayden’s senses returned just before Atsuko came out of the room she and Sakura were in. As he was in her range, Atsuko screamed in fear before punching Hayden in the gut and into the wall besides Eugene before running away again. “Wolf, Alex is back and he and your daughter are now officially dating, although I thought they already were.” He added that last part as an afterthought. “So are you going to be the overprotective parent?” He asked in a slightly teasing tone.

Hayden coughed. "Damn you all to Hell...", he wheezed as he unstuck himself from the wall. "I'll get to you in a minute...when I have air in my body again...", he grumbled, before sneaking in a glance-glare towards Atsuko.

Sif just patted Hayden on the head while he was still laying on the spot he had flopped upon on the floor. She laughed, rather amused by the current state of things. "You're quite a punching bag today, poor thing.", she said as she helped the Wolf to his feet.

Atsuko had already ran off at that time. Eugene crouched next to Hayden. "Well Wolf, now you've tasted a bit of what me and Kurogane go through everyday except she doesn't hold back on us." He said with a small smile.

Hayden lay there face down for a few moments. Until he attacked Eugene with a sucker punch uppercut to send him into the ceiling.

Meanwhile, Ezra and Ariana were on their way back to the house, which was in quite a messy state! Sif and all of the children were running around in a panic trying to tidy everything up. Meanwhile, Hayden was still just laying on the floor as he recovered from being winded by Atsuko. Despite all else, he proved he was no joke; he hadn't been knocked out once by the girl.

“What the crap was that for Wolf?” Eugene calmly asked as he got out of the ceiling. He noticed the kids were cleaning, signaling that Ezra and Ariana were going to reach here soon. He activated his magic and summoned clones of himself. “Okay guys, let’s do this!” He exclaimed raising a shout from the clones before they all got to work. Together, everyone was able to get the house clean and somehow repair the damage from Hayden being sent flying into the walls. In the midst of all the repair work though, they failed to notice they kept running over Hayden each time they passed where he was laying which was common as it was like the middle of the room. A few times heavy objects or tools even fell on him. When they had finished and they knew that Ezra and Ariana were almost there. Eugene mouthed to the kids and Sif to act like they didn’t know Ariana at all. He then went to Alex. “Stay strong okay?” He said as he patted Alex on the shoulder. “Act natural!” He said out loud after that causing everyone to look like they were doing something.