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Kujou Sara would never have thought that a country as traditional and striving for immutability as Inazuma would so easily adopt holiday celebrations from faraway nations. But that was where she was - instead of fighting the rebellions, she was helping to decorate the city with conifers with strange ornaments, colorful chains and candles. Sara wondered why Raiden Shogun had agreed to accept something so weird. Her gaze rested thoughtlessly on the sweet candies on conifer branches.
“Madam Kujou Sara!” A feminine voice snapped her out of her thoughts. It was one of the messengers from Fontaine who brought the idea of the new holiday. “Where should we hang mistletoes?”
Sara furrowed her forehead and looked at the large cluster of small branches and leaves in the woman's hands.
"Mistletoes? Why would you hang them?" she asked.
A few people working to decorate the city exchanged knowing smiles. Some younger girl even giggled, making Sara uneasy. Was it something obvious she should be aware of?
"Oh, don't you know, Madam?" The woman she was talking to put on a mysterious smile. “Tradition says that meeting someone under the mistletoe allows you to kiss them. This brings good luck, especially in love. Sometimes it also signifies the will to marry. ”
Sara felt her face grow hot from the blush.
Huh?! These traditions are getting more and more ridiculous! And absolutely incompatible with Inazuma! Maybe she should talk to Raiden Shogun and try to dissuade her from celebrating it?
The woman in front of her smiled wider.
“Of course, this is just a tradition and no one is forced to celebrate it. However, mistletoe is one of the few things that stay green during the winter, so we hang it as a decoration.”
Sara sighed slightly. She was probably overreacting. It was just an ornament. Nothing to worry about.
“Fine. You can hang them together with decorative chains.” She waved her hand toward the nearest pole where the chain was already placed.
The woman bowed slightly and moved away in that direction, smiling under her breath the whole time.
Sara still had a bad feeling about this.
***
It was a mistake. It was a huge mistake.
When Sara walked through the city a few days later, she barely recognized her familiar surroundings. There were these strange conifers with ornaments everywhere, lights from unknown sources, smells of unfamiliar spices from stands from faraway lands...
And those outrageous mistletoes. She had already witnessed several people passing underneath them, giggling and blushing. Once she even saw an actual kiss, which was certainly inappropriate for a public place.
Did Raiden Shogun even know what outrageous things were happening in her country, which was supposed to be striving for immutability? How was what was happening supposed to fulfill that premise?
Sara was approaching the next place where the mistletoe was hung when she heard the sounds of kisses and conversation.
"Mamiko, I swear that one day instead of under the mistletoe I will kiss you at our wedding altar!"
“Oh, Suzuki!”
Sara felt heat gathering on her cheeks. She quickly passed the corner where the loving couple was hiding and hurried towards the Shogun's palace without looking back.
“Oi! Kujou Tengu!”
Arataki Itto? He couldn't find a worse time to show up! Sara could still feel her face burning from embarrassment.
Pretending she hadn't heard him, she quickened her step.
“Oi! Wait!”
To her misfortune, Itto seemed to be running towards her. She felt his hand on her shoulder, which stopped her from walking away.
“What do you even want, Crimson Oni? Isn't it obvious I'm in a hurry? If you want to fight, I refu…” Before she could finish her sentence, Itto interrupted her.
“Just come with me for a moment.”
Sara froze.
Did she imagine it or was Itto's voice somehow... softer than usual?
She finally got the courage to look up at his face, hoping he wouldn't notice her blush.
Itto watched her with a smile. His eyes, in which the lights of the holiday candles were reflected, seemed strangely nostalgic.
“Come with you?” Sara repeated. “Where?”
“You’ll see.”
Again that soft voice. What happened to the noisy guy?
Sara nodded hesitantly and felt Itto grab her hand and lead her somewhere.
It was strange going into close association with a man in the middle of the city. Sara felt the stares of passersby on her. Did they think she and Itto were a couple? It was ridiculous, but... for some reason it didn't bother her that much.
Itto turned at one point and Sara raised her head high, realizing they were on the stairs to the police station. And in the archway of its open gate was… the biggest mistletoe she had ever seen in her life.
Her eyes widened, unable to believe what she was seeing. Itto was leading her… underneath it?
Panic began overwhelming her as she didn't know how to react to what was happening.
Itto wanted to kiss her? Her? Here? In front of all the people of the city? It was hard to find a more exposed spot than these stairs!
The man finally stood carefully under the mistletoe and peeked at it. Then he turned to Sara, captured her other hand and looked her deeply in the eyes.
Sara gulped, not knowing what was coming. Would he confess his love for her? Would he just kiss her without saying anything? How should she respond to this?
Itto's smile widened.
“Now you can't refuse,” he said while leaning towards her.
Sara's cheeks burned as she felt his breath on her face. She shut her eyes, expecting his lips on hers at any moment.
“FIGHT ME, KUJOU TENGU!”
The sudden exclamation made her heart jump. She quickly opened her eyes and jumped away from Itto, staring at him in shock.
“Huh?!” she shouted, not fully understanding what had just happened.
The Oni grinned and flexed the muscles in his arms.
“We are under the mistlefoe, so you must accept my challenge to a duel!”
Sara blinked.
“Under a what?”
Itto frowned, as if he had to explain something obvious.
“The mistlefoe! There is a tradition that if you meet someone under it, you have to fight them! Awesome, am I right?”
Sara blinked once. Twice. Then she sighed heavily, partly because of Itto's stupidity, partly out of relief. Everything was fine. Stupid oni was still stupid and had no intentions towards her other than a rematch.
“Are you sure that's what this tradition is all about?” she asked.
The man hesitated, looking at her with uncertainty.
“Well… I hear you have to meet someone under the mistlefoe.... and the name ‘mistlefoe’ speaks for itself. Did I get something wrong?”
The woman placed her hand on her forehead.
“Firstly, it's ‘mistletoe’, not ‘mistlefoe’. Secondly, the tradition says to kiss the person you meet under it. This has nothing to do with fighting.”
“Oh…” Itto completely lost his confidence. His ears reddened slightly. “So you won't fight me?”
Sara sent him an emotionless gaze.
“I had been in a hurry before you dragged me to your stupid game. Now, excuse me…” She started walking away.
When Sara was almost at the base of the stairs, she heard hurried footsteps behind her.
Again her arm was grabbed, and after she turned to protest, her lips were captured by someone else's.
She froze in shock, trying to process what was happening. Itto held her close in his arms as if he was afraid she would run away. His lips moved on hers hesitantly, like he didn't know exactly how he should do it. Despite his loud nature, his kiss was surprisingly gentle and sweet. Sara melted into it, feeling like they were meant to do this, no matter their eventful past.
The kiss was fairly brief, but enough to quicken her breath when they separated. They stared into each other's eyes, gold to red.
“So…” Itto cleared his throat. “...we fulfilled the tradition.”
That was a weird thing to say after a kiss. Sara raised her eyebrows, unsure of what he was getting at.
A wide smile appeared on his face.
“Now, LET’S FIGHT!” he exclaimed loudly.
Sara's eyes opened wide in shock.
“What?” she asked after a moment.
Itto laughed shortly.
“You got what you wanted. Can we have a duel now?”
Sara couldn't believe what she was hearing. She felt like an idiot for thinking this fool was about something more than his need for a fight. He was just a jerk!
She violently pulled out of his arms and jumped back, staring at the man with rage.
“YOU STUPID ONI!”
Wings appeared on her back, and a fan of raven feathers came into her hand.
“Ooh, that’s the spirit, Kujou Tengu!” Itto bumped his fists together, looking at her with excitement.
This confirmed what she had already suspected.
Her lips narrowed into a thin line and her eyes filled with coldness.
“So you stole my first kiss just to make me want to fight?” she asked with anger. “I didn't expect such dirty tricks from a stupid Oni like you.”
The smile disappeared from Itto's face, turning into confusion. He seemed to want to say something, but Sara had already canceled her fan and wings and looked at him with contempt.
“You don't deserve a rematch,” saying this, she turned from him to walk away.
The general hadn't even taken a few steps when she once again felt Itto grab her arm. The third time that day. Maybe she should cut off his hands to finally get…
“I’m sorry, Kujou… Sara.”
Her eyes widened when she heard not only the sincere tone of the apology but also her name.
Did he just say sorry? He, Arataki Itto, the most self-obsessed man she knew? He, who doesn't accept defeat?
She glanced at Itto, who was scratching awkwardly at the back of his head with his free hand. He looked genuinely embarrassed.
“I thought you were mad at me because I didn’t kiss you under mistlef… toe…” He was avoiding her gaze. “But I guess I made things even worse. So, sorry.” After a moment he looked at her with a wide smile. “Well, if it’ll cheer you up, you stole the first kiss from the greatest head of Arataki Gang!” He pointed at himself with his thumb proudly.
Despite his confidence, Sara didn't miss the softly visible redness on his cheeks.
That idiot…
She sighed heavily.
“What an honor,” she said emotionlessly. “And what a shame something so precious was wasted on me.”
Itto looked at her as if he had just been insulted.
“Hey, I don't regret anything!” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You're smart, you're pretty, and you can kick my ass! What would a man want more from a woman?”
Sara felt her cheeks grow hot again from the blush.
How could he say such things with a straight face?
“And I'd kiss you again if you weren't Kujou Chicken and agreed to a rematch!”
The charm went immediately away. Sara felt a vein of irritation throbbing on her forehead.
“That's it. I'm out,” she turned away from him, but before moving, she looked at him over her shoulder. “If you grab me again, I will accuse you of harassment!”
Itto rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. You don't seem to be in the mood for a fight anyway." He extended his clenched fist toward her with confidence. “But you won't slip away from me next time, Kujou Tengu! I’ll get my revenge!”
Sara just sighed and started climbing the uphill path towards the Shogun's palace.
When she was halfway through, she heard a loud call behind her.
“Oooi! Kujou Tengu!”
Sara knew ignoring that idiot would be better, but she reluctantly turned and looked at Itto standing at the foot of the incline.
“HAPPY HOLIDAYS!” he shouted, which made her raise her eyebrows in surprise. “I hope you find something fun this holiday!”
After saying this, the biggest and most sincere smile she had ever seen from him appeared on his face. It was the kind of smile that, despite her confusion, made her feel some warmth in her heart.
The corners of her mouth involuntarily lifted up.
“You too, Crimson Oni. Don't spend this holiday in prison."
It was his moment to be caught off guard, though Sara didn't know if the reason was her words or the smile on her face.
Whatever it was, he froze with his mouth open and a slight blush on his cheek. He looked idiotic.
Sara chuckled and turned to finally leave.
Walking away, she looked up at the glowing ornaments and hanging mistletoes. Once again that strange warmth appeared in her heart.
Maybe this whole holiday thing wasn't as silly as she thought.