Chapter 16

"Do you have any big plans for the holidays, Anzu?" Tohru asked as she walked alongside the crimsonette in town. They'd decided to go shopping together since it was the older girl's day off from work and it had been a while since they could catch up.

Anzu stepped into a novelty store and looked around at all of the displays. "Momiji asked me to spend New Years with him. When I asked him about Christmas, he didn't answer me."

"That's weird." Tohru tilted her head. "Actually, maybe not…"

"What do you mean?"

"I was just thinking to myself." The brunette shook her head. Wanting to quickly change the conversation, she picked up an orange cat plushie and smiled as she showed it off to her. It wasn't her place to explain anything. If Momiji wanted to tell her, then he would when he's ready.

Anzu frowned as she knew Tohru knew something she didn't. She wanted to let it go, but now it was starting to eat away at her. Momiji hadn't responded to her since last night and Christmas was coming up in a few days. Picking up a picture frame, she let out a small sigh before continuing her shopping.

The two girls shopped for a couple of hours before leaving the shopping district as Tohru needed to return home to make dinner. They were enjoying each other's company when they ran into Hatsuharu at a crosswalk with his bicycle. Since Anzu wasn't going home with Tohru today, the two decided to split ways and the crimsonette started traveling with the cow spirit.

"Does Momiji not like Christmas?" Anzu glanced over at Haru.

Haru tilted his head as he wheeled his bike beside them. "Did he tell you that?"

"He didn't tell me anything." She sighed in frustration. "I feel like I'm missing out on something and everyone else knows but me. Is Christmas not a big family holiday or something?"

"No, it's not."

Anzu looked at Haru with a dumbfounded expression. "You don't decorate the tree with your family and eat a big breakfast before spending the morning opening presents and singing carols? My mom always had a big Christmas tree in the middle of the house with fake snow and we'd decorate it with a different color every year."

Haru stopped walking as he listened to her before realizing her side of the story. "Ah… That's how you all celebrate in the States. Usually, we spend New Years with our families… well, after the Zodiac New Year's banquet. Christmas is more like… a formality."

Now she was confused. Back home, Christmas was always such a big deal and there were always Christmas specials on tv. What really piqued her interest was this banquet thing.

"What's the New Year's banquet?"

Haru started walking with her again and explained about the annual, exclusive party which basically consisted of all of the members of the zodiac bringing in the new year with Akito. Usually everyone was mandated to attend, but last year, some members skipped out.

The two reached the entrance to the Sohma compound and Anzu stopped at the front gate. Right now, she felt like if she stepped foot in there, her chances of leaving seemed slim. Waving goodbye to Haru, she turned around to leave. Not only did she not want to run into Akito, she also didn't want to see the members of the Zodiac that rejected her at the last meeting.

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Today was Christmas.

Anzu woke up in the late afternoon with a ridiculous amount of bedhead to no smell of pancakes, no christmas cookie scented candles, no christmas carols playing, and no Mom sneaking into her bed to wake her up. As she rolled over, she noticed what time it was and got up to step out of her room to an empty apartment. Kureno had stayed overnight at the hospital with his mom since she was due to be discharged today. Since she hadn't set an alarm, nor did she feel too enthusiastic for the holiday, she wasn't surprised that she had slept in so late.

After taking some time to clean up and shower in case Kureno came back early, Anzu was finally ready for the rest of the day. Moving into the common area, the crimsonette sat down on the floor in front of the tabletop Christmas tree she was able to prepare and clasped her hands together as she looked at the picture of her mom and dad that she framed.

"Merry Christmas-"

A sudden knock on the front door startled her and she immediately jumped up. Padding over to the front door in her house slippers, she cautiously opened it, revealing Machi standing on the other side. The girl had a small gift bag in her hands and shared an equally surprised face.

"Machi? Why are you here?" Anzu asked before ushering her inside so she wouldn't be standing in the cold hallway.

"I was told there was going to be a Christmas party…" Machi looked around at the empty apartment. "I think I may have come too early."

The crimsonette was confused to say the least. She hadn't organized any kind of party, but she wasn't sure if Kureno had planned something or not. That didn't seem to make sense either because how would he have been able to contact Machi? The more she thought of it, the less her mind could wrap around.

"I startled you, didn't I?" Machi looked at the female apologetically. "I didn't mean to come uninvited…"

"No, no, that's not it!" Anzu assured her. "I'm really glad that you're here, Machi. I just didn't know if you'd be with your family or not for the holidays."

Machi thought about it. "My parents are probably working right now. It's pretty much a regular day for adults."

"...Seriously?"

"Yeah… Did I say something weird?"

Anzu would've replied, however there was another knock on the door. This time as she opened it, she was immediately ambushed by noise as soon as she turned the knob.

"Merry Christmas, Lola!" Momiji grinned as soon as he laid eyes on her. His eyes shifted to the coffee table and his grin grew even wider. "Oh gute! You already have a tree!"

Walking into the apartment was the energizer bunny, followed by Hatsuharu, Tohru, Kisa, Hiro, and Yuki. They each had bags of decorations or food in their hands. Soon enough, her apartment had been transformed into a winter wonderland. The boys handled all of the decorating while the girls were left to plate the food and redo any of the decorations that were less than desired.

"Lola!" Momiji grinned mischievously while everyone was getting some food. He had been able to pull her aside so they were alone by the front door. "I saved us a branch of mistletoe."

Laughing at the sentiment, Anzu looked up at the taller male and squished his cheeks together between her palms. Pressing up onto her tiptoes, she quickly pecked his lips. "There you go."

Pouting, Momiji continued to hold the mistletoe over their heads. "I can't get a longer one?"

"Thank you for putting all of this together." She giggled as she kissed him again. "Christmas was always a fun time for my mom and I. Maybe you could tell me what your family likes to do for the holidays sometime?"

"Let's just focus on the party today, Lola. We should get some food before it's all gone."

Momiji walked away first, heading back into the party. While all the commotion intensified, Anzu frowned as she thought about what he said. She felt a bit concerned by the tone of his voice, but as much as she wanted to confront him about it, she also thought it may be better to just leave it alone. Going back to the party herself, she smiled and tried to enjoy herself. Just being around Tohru, Machi, and Kisa was enough to lift her spirits. The group talked, played games, and even introduced her to 'Rich Man-Poor Man'. Apparently Yuki was pretty good at this game.

While they were taking a break to set up for the next game, Anzu got up to get something to drink. She thought she would be alone in the kitchen, however Hiro came in right behind her.

"Well, I'm still not sure how I feel about you, but Kisa seems like you just like she likes that airhead in there so I can tolerate you for now." He spoke as he threw his and Kisa's plate in the trash.

Anzu blinked at the surprise of his straightforwardness as she wasn't even expecting him to talk to her after everything that went down in the Sohma estate. Thinking this was some improvement, she answered him as she cleaned off one of the counters. "Thanks, I guess, although I'm not sure calling Tohru an airhead is nice. She's very sweet and likable."

"Apparently everyone likes her and everything she does. Some more than others."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Momiji liked her more than a friend."

Anzu turned to the young boy quickly. "Huh?"

"It was really obvious and still crystal clear now. Whenever she was around, he would follow her like a lost puppy - just like everyone else." Hiro crossed his arms. "Except this was serious."

"...How serious?"

"If someone else wasn't going to confess their feelings, then he would."

Unconsciously, the female's grip on the counter tightened as the sentence circled her head. She knew that his feelings had changed because he was with her now, but for some reason, they still stung. Hiro left the kitchen to sit back down with Kisa and her eyes followed him until they landed on Momiji, who'd found a space between Haru and Tohru in front of the table.

"Are you not enjoying the party?" Machi asked as she walked into the kitchen to get some more juice. The expression on Anzu's face was enough to tell her that something was wrong, but the redhead turned around so no one else would see it.

Anzu shook her head immediately. "No, I appreciate everyone coming over. I'm having a lot of fun."

"No you're not."

The female's shoulders dropped and she sighed. "It's not the party; it's Momiji. I'm figuring out that I don't really know him as well as I thought I did, yet he knows so much about me."

Machi tilted her head in confusion. "What do you want to know about him?"

"His family."

Machi frowned at this. On one hand, she understood what Anzu was talking about, but on the other hand, family seemed to be a touchy subject for everyone here. Well, she knew it was for her at least.

"It feels like he doesn't trust me with that information, but he trusts Tohru." Anzu continued. Glancing out of the corner of her, she could see Momiji happily talking with Tohru in the common area. "I was told that he liked her at one point in time too, but I don't want to seem-"

"Jealous?" Machi finished her statement and took a sip of her drink. "I mean, it sounds like a legitimate question to ask him, however I wouldn't think too much about it. Maybe he's not ready to share yet."

"Yeah…"

Anzu chewed on the inside of her cheek as she tried to sort out her feelings. She couldn't force him to share if he wasn't ready, so all she could do was just be patient. Her attention was pulled towards the male as he motioned for her to come back to the common area so they could sing karaoke together. Mustering up a smile, she left the kitchen to participate, hoping it would get her mind off of things.