The Christmas Party

“S-so when we got there, we met up with a lot of kindly demons and devils! One of them even gave me a slice of Devil’s Cake!”

Satoshi’s pointed ears pricked up as Renais wriggled with joy in her seat, flapping her arms in the air like she would take off into the skies at any moment. His eyes lit up with curiosity, watching the girl on the other side of the screen as she took out several brochures from Occult Appreciation Day.

“They talked about all sorts of things,” she continued cheerfully, holding up the brochures in a way Satoshi could actually read them. “Curses, the differences between devils and demons, spirits… There was just so much stuff! And I also bought a lot of things, like… Um, hold on…” The demon quirked an eyebrow as Renais pulled out a suitcase from under her bed and dropped it on top, hastily flipping it open. His eyes widened at the sheer amount of things that popped out: several talismans and charms, a few crystals, and what he thought looked like a very blurry picture of a sea dragon peeking out from the surface of the water.

After a minute of gawking and watching Renais dig through the massive pile, Satoshi cleared his throat and said, “Um, it is good to see you so… enthused about the occult, but isn’t this a bit too much?”

The demon turned several shades of pale when Renais replied cheerfully, “Oh, no! This isn’t much at all, compared to what Sumireko bought! She bought TWO UFO pictures, Mr. Nakamura! Two!”

Unable to argue back, Satoshi simply watched Renais show off her new collection of occult items, his shock eventually giving way to a small smile. It was merely a few days since the two started talking again, after he had put up with a surge of people trying to murder him. Listening to the little magical girl get excited about so many things, like her favorite anime and the new cute dog she saw on the Vegas strip, was a pleasant break from watching his back for an ambush and making sure his transformations looked nothing like his usual self. Being so wary of everything was exhausting… so any amount of joy he could enjoy secondhand was like a cool breeze on a sweltering summer day.

Several explanations of each talisman she bought later, Renais relaxed in her seat, yawning loudly before she asked him, “So, what are you doing for Christmas?”

Satoshi stared at her for a couple of moments before it clicked. “Oh, the gift-giving holiday?” he said, though for a moment, he felt a little stupid. “I’m not quite sure. You do recall that we don’t particularly celebrate that here in Relgion, do you?”

“I know, but you know about it, so I thought…” Renais looked away from him, twirling a curl of hair around her finger. “I thought maybe you’d be interested in celebrating or something!”

‘Celebrating gift-giving when I can hardly go out without worrying about my enemies?’ was his first thought, his entire body tensing up. ‘When I hardly have enough money to care for myself, nevermind others?’ A pang of guilt followed those thoughts, the demon slumping in his seat. Why should he let his foes keep him from celebrating anything? And even if he couldn’t get anyone a gift, perhaps the greatest gift of all was merely his presence and friendship?

With that in mind, Satoshi straightened up and replied, “I should be able to. Though, did you have something in mind?”

Renais’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “Then, why not come over to Cian’s place? We’re gonna have a big feast and everything! We’re inviting a lot of friends, like Scarlet, Tina, some Kobbers, and more!” Slowly, her expression grew dim as a realization dawned on her. “W-wait, if we did that, we’d have to warp to Relgion, wouldn’t we?” she asked, shrinking in her chair. “Just remembered you can’t be summoned in… you know, odd numbered years…”

Satoshi blinked for a moment, reaching out for a cup of coffee on his cluttered desk and taking a long sip. A sly smile grew on his face as he set the cup down, his eyes meeting Renais’. “Oh, that won’t be an issue,” he said. “Summoning me won’t pose a problem, certainly not for the likes of Cian.”

“W-what?” Renais stared at him, dumbfounded. “But they all say you can’t be summoned on these years! You only show up in even-numbered years, so I thought…!”

“True, a majority of my appearances happen during such years,” Satoshi admitted as he took another sip of coffee. “I’ve made sure to bury what little exceptions there were away, and keep such exceptions to a minimum. After all…” He couldn’t resist breaking out into a mischievous grin as he said, “How else would such a small rumor become truth to the Overworld?”

There was a sharp gasp from Renais as her hand flew to her mouth. “You mean, you… you made that up?!”

“In plainer terms, yes.” The grin faded slowly as he continued, “It was the only way I could manage to avoid summoning attempts from people every single year, nevermind from Kuroma of all people.” He slumped back in his seat, staring at the ceiling and groaning. “You wouldn’t know true suffering until the one you despise most summoned you to their side each and every day, just barely finding a way to worm out of their grasp and escape to the world you call home.”

“The closest I’ve got to that was watching a train wreck of an anime,” Renais admitted with a meek smile. “B-but anyway, I understand, I think. I’ll let Cian know, and we can prep! Though, uh, those guys that are chasing you are gonna be really mad, huh?”

Satoshi sat up straight and shrugged. “I’ll find a way to deal with them, one way or another. Perhaps Scarlet would appreciate the bounties on their heads, along with the thrill of the fight.”

The magical girl nodded, smiling at him like an angel. That smile was quickly wiped off her face when there was a loud CRASH, the sound of glass shattering, and the collective sound of Prinnies going, “AWWWW, DOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!”

“Oh dear, I think we might have a problem,” Renais said, all her cheer fading into dread. “Um, before we end the call, do you think maybe we could watch something tomorrow? Maybe play an MMO? Something?”

“Perhaps, but you should probably take care of that issue first.”

With one quick nod from Renais and a wave goodbye, the camera screen went black, and all that was left was a plain ol’ chat client. The demon sighed and pushed himself away from the desk, standing up to stretch as far as he could. Slowly, he walked towards the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. The man that stared back was ragged, with wild hair that reached down to his feet, clothes stained with blood and torn where they shouldn’t be, and dark circles under his eyes that couldn’t be cured with the power of caffeine. Was this truly the person Renais wanted to bring to her party? Could he afford to go like this?

He forced his self-doubt and fear away, quickly hurrying to the computer and messaging someone whom he never expected to message. A certain Planeswarden, who was certain to help him with the issues that plagued him…

“Diadem? Sorry to bother you so late at night, but… I may need a fresh new look.”

Downtime

“Uwaaaah!”

The air was filled with the lovely scent of lavender as the black-haired girl lit up another candle and flung herself into her spinning chair, spinning in place until it slowed to a stop. She took a deep breath, savoring the smell before she reached out for her laptop and opened it up. She could hear the faint sound of a TV playing “Relgion’s Kitchen” from outside of her room and the “ping, pong” of Prinnies having fun with the ping-pong table. These sounds were further muffled when she slipped on her headset, loading up a chat program and humming something to herself as she waited.

For once, Cian and the others didn’t need her assistance. There were no bills to keep track of, no scramble to herd the Prinnies, no fretting over the latest injury Gonzales got at gym… She had nothing but free time for now, and Renais certainly wasn’t going to let the moment pass. Not when all of this would be gone, come next year.

Quickly, she scrolled down her contacts list, rushing to read through several conversations some other groups of friends were having. It was a bit much, as she hadn’t read any of them since last week, and boy, did knitting groups get intense! And the DnD group. AND the MMO group. And the…

Suddenly intimidated by all she needed to read, she hastily marked each and every group as read before a message popped up from someone.

“Renais?”

She scrambled to reply, “H-hi, yes, that’s me!” before she looked at who, exactly, was messaging her. Strange… She didn’t recall adding a TriDraggie702. Or maybe she did, but she forgot? Or maybe it was one of her friends using a different nickname?!? Unwilling to leave it up to chance, she quickly typed, “Oh, um, who is this? I don’t think I remember you.”

There was that horrifying 10 minute pause before slowly, but surely, TriDraggie replied, “I figured you wouldn’t recall; I haven’t used this in a few years. This is Satoshi. Perhaps better known as ‘Sato-chan’ to Sir Cian.”

“Aalkgfajlajdlgj I didn’t remember what oh god aaaaaaaaaa” Her palms were rather sweaty as she panick-typed away, continuing with, “I-I’m so sorry, Mr. Nakamura!”

“No, no, it’s fine.” The reply took another aeon and a half to get back to her. Another few minutes… then, “Bah, I’m no good at typing yet. I have a headset: do you mind if I call instead?”

Renais shook her head… then realized that no, he couldn’t see her, and just typed, “I don’t mind, go for it!”

It was a little strange… if only because Satoshi invited her to video call, too. She double checked her room, making sure that all the magical girl plushies were in place. Especially her Sumireko plush. She also made sure her hair ribbon was tied in and that she didn’t look like she was running off of 3 hours of sleep and three whole pots of espresso.

She was all ready to look cute, cheerfully greeting Satoshi with a, “Hi, Mr. Nakamura!” All of that cheer slowly evaporated as she realized that he, too, had a webcam… and he certainly saw better days. His long hair was messy and ragged, his eyes were sunken in like he didn’t sleep in an entire decade, and his clothes were in rags… At least the room behind him looked more organized and neat than he did. After a few minutes of horrified gaping, Renais built up the courage to ask, “Ah, um, Mr. Nakamura? Are… are you okay?”

“To be quite frank, no.” Renais could see the small frown hidden behind his robe, the demon avoiding her gaze. “Things were not entirely pleasant this past year, and it’s only now that I get some type of reprieve from it.”

On reflex, Renais blurted out, “I-I’m sorry! I’m so sorry to hear that!” Silence. All eyes- all five of HIS eyes- were on her now. Awkwardly, she retreated into the neck of her pink sweater and said, “I, um… is there anything I can do to help?”

His gaze never left her. He wasn’t smiling, but he certainly didn’t sound sad as he replied, “Your companionship is enough. If you would be willing to lend an ear, all the better, but simply chatting about anything will do, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“O-oh, um, if YOU wouldn’t mind telling me what happened…” Renais fiddled with sleeves, trying to find the right words to add. What could she say? What else could she ask?

Satoshi reached out for something, pulling out what looked like a big mug of coffee. It looked like Renais wasn’t the only one running off three pots of espresso. “Simply put… the hunter became the hunted,” he said with as much exhaustion as an old man who tried so hard to chase away a menace. Renais scooted closer to her desk, grabbing her Sumireko doll and holding it tightly as Satoshi continued, “I was enjoying a few successful bounty hunts- mostly involving bandits and escaped convicts and the like. However…” He paused to sigh, slumping onto the desk as his eyelids drooped. “Much to my disdain, I invoked the ire of a gang upon claiming a bounty on their leader. Ever since, they would simply not stop pursuing me, convincing stronger and stronger demons to aid them in avenging their comrade. It was not until Magus found this relatively secluded hotel for me and told the manager to keep me a secret from others that I found even a moment’s peace.”

“That’s… that’s kind of rough!” Renais replied with a small frown, sagging like a deflated balloon. “And you can’t go out or anything, or else they might find you?”

“It wouldn’t do to stay in all the time,” Satoshi admitted with yet another sigh. “I had to practice a little more transformation magic to disguise myself as someone else, someone more unremarkable, to go into town without being whisked into another battle without end. It wouldn’t do to burden the poor hotel manager to buy my groceries.”

Renais flinched at the thought of a gang waiting outside the hotel, several of them with spiked bats and wooden blades at their sides, ready to beat their prey to a pulp. “Yikes! Um, uh, why not go to Limbo, then?” she asked, her tiny, angelic wings flapping quickly behind her as she fiddled with her sleeves some more.

“That was my first thought, but they seem to be more the type to hold a grudge,” Satoshi said as he sat up straight… then slouched back in his chair, eye twitching. “One year also isn’t quite enough time for anyone to forget something like that. It took several years for the Dark Council to focus on other things after I killed Giradin, after all.”

“Oof… then, why not here?”

Satoshi stared at her, then tilted his head juuust a little as he replied, “Isn’t it quite crowded, between Sir Cian, Miss Parsee, the newly budding Virtues, the Prinnies, and yourself? I wouldn’t want to impose. Nevermind the fact that I have no secure form of employment, so I wouldn’t exactly be the best demon to rent a room to.” Renais did spot a small smile form on his face as he added, “But thank you kindly for the offer. I will be fine, moreso when the next year comes around. No doubt there will be yet another contractor… But enough about my woes. You seem to have a fair share of those, yourself, given how exhausted you look.”

Wait, did she not cover her sunken eyes? Renais quickly tried to hide her face in her sweater, but found that it was not exactly a good idea with a headset on. Reluctantly, she poked her head out, trying her best not to squeeze her Sumireko doll too hard. After a moment’s silence, she said, “Oh, um, just the usual: Wrangling Prinnies, balancing the books for Cian’s new catering company, trying to think of songs that aren’t just covers for stuff to perform with my new band…”

The demon quirked an eyebrow, looking a bit livelier than he did just a moment ago. “A band, you say?”

Renais hesitated for a moment, unsure as to whether or not Satoshi really cared. Why would he care? It was just a tiny lil band she was doing for fun. Still, when all five of his eyes were on her, all of them shining with curiosity, she couldn’t just leave him hanging. “W-well, um, I- I mean, uh, Bonnie, Gavin, Gonzy, and I entered a contest on a whim and, uh, we won part of it. That, and we were offered a record deal. We accepted, and, um… we’re practicing and trying to find out what sounds to do on tour before we release an official album.”

“Ah, I see! Well, congratulations!” Renais couldn’t help but blush when Satoshi started clapping for her. “Already, things are looking good for you! When you figure out those details, please, feel free to invite me to your first concert. I would love to see you perform live.”

Seeing the sheer joy and the smile and Satoshi’s face… Would that be the same one she’d see when Prinnystick performed live? And would it be multiplied by hundreds, a smile shared amongst their possible fans? Or would they all be frowns and boos, instead? “I-I, um, sure?” Renais stammered out as she tried her best not to let the pressure get to her before concerts were even an issue. It’d be okay, right? It’d definitely be okay-

The magical girl screamed as she hugged Sumireko Doll a bit too tightly, resulting in LOUD NERD NOISES, loud enough to startle Satoshi. “What in blazes was THAT?!?” he asked, straightening up his headset after it had nearly slipped off his head.

“Oh, uh, um, uh…” She tried to form a coherent thought, but nothing was coming up. Her cheeks were burning red from embarrassment and shame, though she tried to hide it behind her Sumireko doll. “I-it’s okay, it was just… the doll, yeah! And, uh… I…” A thousand butterflies fluttered in her stomach, nausea slowly overcoming her as everything became a bit too much. She took a deep breath and said, “Sorry, Mr. Nakamura, but I… I don’t really feel all too good now, so I think I’m gonna go to sleep.”

Satoshi stared at her and frowned a little before closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes, you do sound like you need rest. We can talk more tomorrow, if you would like.”

“R-right. We do have a lot to catch up on… and maybe we can do stuff together, along with Gonzy. Maybe watch anime, play an MMO, do… stuff…”

“Perhaps, but for now, do take care, okay?”

Renais could see the concern on his face, clear as day, before he ended the call. She sighed loudly before she shut down her laptop and flopped into bed, desperately chasing away worried about Prinnystick and all it entails. The thoughts came back like a cloud of bees, angrier and more aggressive than before. Sleep was the only cure for this sort of persistent thought, especially when she imagined empty seats and far too many tickets left unsold for their first concert.

Sleep didn’t come easy. It never did. But at least she found some comfort in the thought that maybe she might have one loyal fan amongst the crowd.