1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

liz wanted to try something out this winter. she had noticed since moving from the dangerous streets of

ooklyn that the people of death city weren't very religious, and vaguely had a nice and happy relaxing time. the city had been rather gloomy lately, too, with the revival of the kishin asura and the hectic duties being carried out by shinigami-sama and shibusen. she decided to cele

ate a holiday, and liz knew just the one, too.

she hadn't told anyone her idea yet, and waited until one morning, while eating

eakfast, to share it. after everyone was seated, liz cleared her throat and announced, "hey, i've been thinking'. wouldn't it be cool to cele

ate something? like a winter holiday?"

patty swallowed a spoonful of cheerios and gasped, face alight with mirthful wonder. "yeah! let's do it! let's do it!"

gazing up at liz as he finished taking a sip of tea, death the kid raised a quizzical

ow. "what 'holiday' are you suggesting we cele

ate?"

"i was thinkin' maybe chanukah?"

kid wiped both sides of his mouth with a napkin, then folded it into an even square beside his mug. "i have no such religious beliefs. it wouldn't be probable to suddenly cele

ate this 'chanukah' as i have no religion."

liz bit her lower lip and grumbled, "we're not gonna do it for the meaning!" she stood up. "we'll do it for the hell of it!"

the young shinigami scowled. it was hard to win against the thompson sisters once they had their minds set. "alright, we'll try."

the sisters high-fived, liz grinning with triumph. "first order of business: shopping!"

"maybe it wasn't such a good idea to

ing kid shopping with us." liz whispered to patty, smothering a hand over her face in frustration. they turned around and walked back to the first aisle, liz giving an irritated moan as she saw kid knelt on the floor, busying himself with the task of rearranging the shampoo bottles so they were neatly aligned according to height, width, shape, color, and price.

liz bent down beside him, hands on her hips. "come on, kid. that's the people who work here's job."

"i'm fully aware of that, liz." he mumbled, eyes fixated on the shampoo before him. he placed a bottle exactly beside another, got to his feet, and surveyed his work proudly. "perfect."

"what do we need to get again, sis?" patty asked.

"we need candles, wrapping paper, gelt-these chocolate coins, and milk, since we're out of it."

"what about the thingy you put the candles in?"

"the manorah? oh, i ordered that and some dradels online."

"big sis is the best!"

the three made their way to the candles. kid said he wanted white ones, and then began opening the boxes to pick out the ones that matched in height. after thirty minutes, they started for the wrapping -paper, when patty poked liz's side and pointed a skulking kid.

"what's wrong, kid-kun?" patty asked gently. he was glowering, and at the sound of his weapon's voice, a