The GATE Academy [Please read description]

Chapter 36: The Christmas Presence

December 25th, 2015, 8:13 pm

[Knock knock knock!]

"Who is it?" I called out as I was getting ready.

I had on a pair of black, slim-fit slacks and was just finishing up buttoning the top button of a black dress shirt. I had a red tie in hand and started to tie it as I walked over to the door. There was no response from the other side of the door, but that didn't bother me, I was preparing for a Christmas party.

As I opened the door, a cloaked figure stood in front of me. It raised its hood.

"Merry Christmas."

It was Abraxas.

----------

3 hours earlier

"Does anyone else think it's weird how Mizu and Falen have been hanging out waaay more since that whole Kaiser fiasco?" Riku asked, flipping through the pages of a small National Geographic book about monkeys.

Keita, Riku, Mizu, Kane, Ake, Ginzu, and Natsume, were all hanging out in my dorm. In a few hours, I would be hosting a small Christmas party for my junior friends. ASB wasn't holding any formal event this year due to a heightened security following a DH threat on us today, but they still encouraged us to celebrate the holiday, which was fine by me.

Curfew and the gender restrictions had been lifted for tonight, like Halloween, so we had decided to hold a party in Ake's (and Ginzu's) dorm, which was right across the hall from mine, and mine, which was slightly larger because of my ASB status. We moved the beds from Ake's and my dorms into Keita and Riku's, which was right next to mine. We would be using Ake's room as the food room and mine for the general hang out area. We lined up the walls of my room with furniture and had extra chairs in Keita's room in case we needed them. I moved my TV and speakers into my kitchen and had my Xbox One, Wii U (F0r Smash, we would be holding a tournament later in the night), and PS4 hooked up to it. My counter was lined with high chairs so the people could be playing as they overlooked the counter to the TV, which was large enough to see from the distance.

Even though the party was far from starting, we already had music playing over my setup from the kitchen as we decorated the room. We had been working with all the furniture and stuff for the past half hour and were taking a break, relaxing on the furniture we had just finished moving in.

"I don't think it's weird at all," I said, chuckling as I raised a plastic cup of water to my lips.

"Why does it matter?" Mizu asked, blushing slightly, "I would be more worried about Shizuo and Faith!"

Mizu laughed a bit with the other guys, leaving me in the center stage, but I wasn't in the least flustered. Natsume, who was sitting besides me on a chair, I having been seated on the end of a couch, held out a fist for me to bump? I did so with a grin.

"That's a fine piece of work that you landed there, Shizuo. If you hadn't swooped in when you did, I would have had to take her for myself," Natsume said before excusing himself to go get a drink.

"Quit lying to yourself, Natsume!" Ginzu called out to him, "ALL of the guys in our class tried when she was still with us and you didn't get any farther than them!"

"Oh shut up, she's missing out!..." Natsume shot back.

Riku laughed, "I wouldn't say that, the junior class president," he looked at me,  "Seems like a pretty good deal for her."

I raised my cup up to toast RIku for his comment and stood up.

"Alright, we're done with all of the furniture, so let's just deck this place out with all of the Christmas stuff. Did you get the decorations?" I asked Ake. He nodded and pointed at two totes next to the door.