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The Christmas cake is ready. With steady hands, Kasen pipes the last dollop of whipped cream onto the cake, nestling it between two large strawberries. At last, he breathes a sigh of relief, and dabs away the frosting on his chin with a towel. Nothing went amiss with the decorations, and he steps back to admire his work.
In front of him is a three-tier strawberry shortcake, coated in an even layer of whipped cream as white as the snow outside the citadel. The top of the cake is decorated with a ring of alternating strawberries and whipped cream dollops; he chose the strawberries himself, selecting only the largest and reddest ones. At the center of the cake are an assortment of chocolate decorations: stars, sprigs of holly, and of course, a large Santa figurine. Kasen did not make them 一 they were generously supplied by Mitsutada from his last trip to the store 一 but he was grateful for the addition.
Kasen smiles as he pores over every detail of the cake, from the way the red strawberries glisten against the white cream, to the tiny holly-shaped chocolates reminiscent of evergreens against the snow. Even that giant Santa figurine has a certain character that Kasen can’t help but chuckle at. It captures the winter spirit perfectly, and it is quite elegant 一 yes, there is no doubting the elegance of this cake! Perhaps he would have found such a Western-style dessert gaudy before, but his training journey changed him. He now understands the artistry behind a Christmas cake as much as that of a perfectly brewed tea, especially after making one himself.
He isn’t alone in admiring the cake for long.
“Kasen-san, you’ve truly outdone yourself!” Ishikirimaru remarks as he walks into the kitchen. Nikkari strides with him, their arms entwined at one side.
“But of course,” Kasen says, beaming. “I let my taste dictate was most sensible for the season, and it turned out perfectly.”
Nikkari chuckles. “Oh, it looks so lonely on the counter by itself! It’s begging to be shared.” He glances at Ishikirimaru, who blushes.
“Ah, but the cake is only the centerpiece! I must store it away then get to work on the nerikiri, we all must enjoy something lighter as well with the tea. It’s a shame that the strawberries won’t be as fresh...”
“Before you do that, though, we do have something from Aruji for you.” Nikkari lets out another chuckle, and this one sounds... suspicious to Kasen’s ears. He raises an eyebrow at him. “My dear, why don’t you show Kasen the present?”
It was then that he notices a flat box tucked under Ishikirimaru’s free arm. He holds it out to Kasen; he could see that it is covered in the generic wrapping paper from the department store close to the citadel’s exit portal.
“What has Aruji... Should I open it?”
Ishikirimaru shrugs. “From what I understand, Christmas presents are normally opened during the festivities themselves, but... Aruji made an exception for this one.”
Kasen tilts his head, still unsure at what this all meant, but gives in. He knows very little about Christmas; he only has scant memories of what the holiday meant to Gracia, but even then her version of it was a far cry from the modern one that the saniwa insisted on celebrating. Still, he does know that Christmas was supposed to be about giving gifts as a token of appreciation and love, and that is as true today as it was in centuries past.
That means that the gift is a sign of the saniwa’s appreciation and care for him. Right?
He sets the box on the counter and unwraps it, tearing right through the wrapping paper. As he takes the lid off the box and peers into its contents, his face goes white, then bright red.
Is this what his master considers elegant?
Then again, it is from Aruji. He certainly does not want to disappoint them, especially on Christmas of all holidays. The saniwa has given so much to the touken danshi 一 surely he can show his gratitude to them in return.
Kasen picks up part of the thing from the box and holds it up close, one eyebrow raised. At least it’s made of fine material; the saniwa’s taste cannot be doubted in that regard.
“Aruji wants you to wear it during the Christmas party,” Nikkari says with a grin.
“This? But this is hardly appropriate for the winter weather!”
“Oh, you don’t need to wear it the whole time. Just enough to present your beautiful cake, and Aruji would be delighted.”
Kasen is silent for a few moments, turning the present this way and that. He’s pretty sure that, from what h’s heard, this isn’t part of the usual Christmas traditions. Then again, the saniwa could be a little... unconventional.
And unconventional, he reminds himself, is not bad. Sometimes, it leads to new forms of elegance yet undiscovered.
Nikkari and Ishikirimaru share a glance, then turn back to Kasen. He regards the two lovebirds for a moment, then nods.
“I see...”
The Christmas party is in full swing, and dessert hasn’t even arrived yet. The dining hall is a mess of discarded wrappers and empty KFC buckets, and the walls ring with the cacophony of conversation. Ishikirimaru is not one to jump in headfirst, so he simply leans back and enjoys the scenes before him; beside him, Nikkari peels a mikan orange and sneaks pieces of it onto his lover’s plate.
At one table, Jiroutachi shares a bottle of sake with Nihongou, slurring as he tries to sing along to Christmas songs whose lyrics he barely knows. At another, the Toushirous are gathering around to share presents; Akita and Gokotai pore over a book of birds, Shinano wraps a woolly scarf around his face, and Houchou is trying to bargain with Hakata for more candy. All the while, Mutsunokami flits about from table to table, taking photos of everyone with the brand-new camera he received from the saniwa.
Ishikirimaru smiles to himself as he regards the chaos. He absentmindedly picks up a piece of mikan and chews on it, gazing back and forth between each table, then finally at Nikkari, who is smiling too.
“Did you know that Christmas here is usually a lovers’ holiday?” he tells Ishikirimaru.
“No, but that sounds lovely. It must be a blessing to spend a snowy day with your beloved, after all.” He pauss and takes another mikan piece. “…Do you prefer that we spend the day by ourselves together?”
Nikkari chews on his own piece of mikan and hums. “Not that I dislike the ruckus that everyone else is causing,” he says, his eyes following Mutsunokami chasing down Hizen with his camera. “But it would be nice to have some moments to ourselves. Perhaps we can go to a nice little restaurant, like what Aruji says…”
“Would Aruji even allow us to leave for that?”
“Hmm, not on such short notice. But it’s nice to think about,” he says with a chuckle.
“It certainly is.”
Ishikirimaru’s mind wanders away from the scene in front of him, and he starts to ponder on the tranquility of a lovers’ Christmas: a stroll down a busy street filled with humans, hand-in-hand with Nikkari, watching all the twinkling lights before settling down at a corner table in a cozy restaurant. They’ll lean on each other and watch the snow fall; Nikkari will say something delightfully cheeky that will make him blush. But before his musings can go on any further, the dining hall bell rings, and everyone stops what they were doing: the Toushirous put away their presents, Mutsunokami his camera, and Nihongou and Jiroutachi their sake.
Nikkari’s eyes are wide with excitement. “The cake is here!”
Isihikirimaru’s eyes go wide too, but for a different reason.
Kasen strides into the room, and he’s wearing the present. The bright red tight pants hug his figure, and the Santa jacket leaves his midriff exposed. Every movement he makes highlights lean muscles, normally hidden by his hakama and cape. Ishikirimaru tries not to stare as he walks to the center of the dining hall, but it’s hard when the costume accentuates the shape of his legs, so instead the holy sword fixes his eyes on the fur-trimmed hat perched on Kasen’s head.
He prays that no accidents happen during Kasen’s presentation 一 both for the presenter’s sake, and for his own too.
Kasen is carrying the Christmas cake with both hands, and apparently the cake is heavy enough for him to unintentionally show off his biceps through the bright red sleeves. “I present our final course for today’s meal,” he says, and there isn’t a hint of embarrassment in his voice 一 Ishikirimaru is impressed. He smiles sweetly, just as a good host would, but a closer look reveals that his cheeks are tinged pink.
Kasen takes a few more steps to the big table at the center of the dining hall and, with a little flourish, sets the cake down at it center. He turns to bow to everyone in the dining hall, first in this direction, then the other way, and Ishikirimaru lets out a nervous laugh.
“My, my, what a view!” is all Nikkari says.
Ishikirimaru prays a little harder for no accidents to happen.
The swords clap and holler; somewhere in the room, the saniwa is clapping and smiling as well. Jiroutachi laughs and lets out a hiccup, while Mutsunokami clicks away with his camera. At the sound of the shutter, Kasen balks, but he regains his composure and smiles. “Aha, I’m glad that you are all pleased,” he says, throwing in an little chuckle. Once the applause has died down, however, Kasen’s face goes red 一 redder than the strawberries on his Christmas cake 一 and mumbles something about putting on something appropriate for the winter weather before hurrying away out of the room.
Ishikirimaru breathes a sigh of relief; at least his prayers were heard.
Once the buzz of the dining hall has finally calmed down, the touken danshi are more than happy to try the cake once it’s been set down. A line quickly forms in front of the table, and Nikkari tilts his head. “Clever one, our Aruji is,” he says. “Of course Kasen’s skills in the kitchen aren’t to be doubted, but a show like that would make everyone interested in his cake for certain!”
“I never thought of it that way, but it is quite the strategy,” Ishikirimaru remarks.
He makes his way to the table, and the line has already grown long; he’s in front of Tonbokiri, who is holding back Sengo from engaging in what he calls his “special holiday unwrapping.” Once it reaches his turn, however, the cake is completely gone.
Ishikirimaru sighs. Too slow in lining up for the cake.
Before he can lament too much, Kasen returns, now wearing his typical indoor outfit. He has two more cakes in each hand, both identical to the first one, and sets them down on the table as well. Another line forms for the new batch.
“I did realize that one cake was not enough for all of us...”
Ishikirimaru looks up at Kasen and smiles. “Well done, Kasen. I’m grateful that nothing amiss happened.”
He turns pink at the compliment, but lets out a laugh. “It is an elegant thing to put on a pleasing performance for others, after all. Tell Aruji thank you for the... ah, gift.”
“Ah, of course I will.” He hums to himself as he cuts two generous slices of cake 一 one for himself, one for Nikkari 一 and makes sure that both of them have one strawberry each.
They head back to the table where Nikkari is waiting. He smiles at the sight of the two, and glances at Kasen with a twinkle in his eye. “Bravo, Kasen! I’m sure that Aruji was very pleased.”
Kasen sighs, but even that can’t hide his beam of pride. “It is an elegant thing to make one’s guests happy, after all.”
“You certainly succeeded there. Now, let me see if this cake is as delicious as your presentation...”
Nikkari digs into his cake, and Ishikirimaru takes a small forkful too. The first thing he tastes is the whipped cream, soft and smooth but not too sweet, followed the tart bite of strawberry. But the cream tempers its bite, as does the sponge cake, which is so fluffy it seems to melt in his mouth.
The cake is every bit as delightful as it looks.
Ishikirimaru savors the cake, letting the flavors settle for as long as they will last. Next to him, Nikkari has already enjoyed his first bite and is digging in for another, and across them Kasen watches their expressions with a nervous look.
“...Is the cake good?”
Nikkari speaks up. “My, Kasen, must you ask? We all know that your skill in the kitchen is impeccable!”
Once he’s fully savored the first bite, Ishikirimaru looks at his beloved, then at Kasen. “I have to agree,” he says. “To be able to experience such delicious food in this body, with the beloved company of others... ah, could I ask for anything more?”
“You could ask Aruji for that Christmas date,” Nikkari says.
He can’t help but smile at the suggestion.