Rira Holiday Specials Book!!

2020 Christmas Story #2: The Mercenare's First Christmas! Kinda.

Ahaha- I might've made it longer than originally intended, but here you go-

Ira's POV
                                     I teleported to Earth to find a bunch of white stuff on the ground, flakes of it falling from the sky, water having crystallized, and lights and decorations everywhere all over Seashell Bay! Not the kind of thing a Mercenare like me would ever expect to see. I raise an eyebrow at the ground and crouch down a bit to touch the unknown substance. I flinched a bit when I touched it, it was really cold but it seemed pretty harmless. I think I've seen this stuff before...on that mountain where we found the princess, but I don't know what it's called. I stood up again and made my way through the city..I was a little taken aback when I realized I could see my breath! The very air around me was cold, I wonder what's happening here. Just my luck, Marmo is washing my jacket today, so it was extra cold for me. I hug myself a bit for more warmth and look at the people around me. No one seems very concerned, in fact, they all look really happy. Little kids are playing in the white, cold stuff and the grownups are drinking some sort of chocolate-scented drink and some other kids are drinking it with the grownups, but most kids have really little marshmallows in theirs. The whole street was surrounded by happiness, it'd almost be impossible to find a dark heart, now. But for once...I don't really mind. Sure, it's cold, but it's also...I dunno, warm, in its own way. No, that sounds dumb. If Marmo were here, she'd be making fun of me, saying I sound like a glitter brat. Suddenly, a breeze rushed past me and I shivered.
'I gotta find somewhere warm to stay in or something, it's freezing!!'
I thought, running into the first public place I saw. Once I entered, I realized I had run into a restaurant. The second I came in, I heard some voices I'd much rather not have heard.
Glitter Force:"IRA?!"
I looked over to see the Glitter Girls all looking shocked to see me...well, Ace and Spade looked like they hated my guts as usual, so naturally, fear ran through my spine like a car on a race track. I could almost feel my face go pale- if I can even get any paler than my normal skin tone, that is.
Me:"annnd just like that, I'm leaving! See ya!"
I said trying to leave without any trouble, but of course, I was pulled away from the exit and turned around...but instead of the two scary, hateful faces of Ace and Spade, I saw Diamonds kind, smiling one. I was confused, why'd she stop me?
Rachel:"you look cold, how about you just stay and sit with us for awhile? You'll get sick if you're left out in the cold with those clothes. Why would you still dress like that in the middle of winter? And without your jacket, too!"
Me:"w-winter..? Is that what's happening outside..?"
Rachel:"hm..? Yeah. Haven't you ever seen snow before?"
Me:"snow..? Oh, the white stuff on the ground everywhere?"
Rachel:"yea-
Maya:"you've never seen snow?"
Heart said, somehow having appeared beside me. I shook my head in response. She looked at my clothes.
Maya:"where is your jacket anyway? Rachel's right, you will get really sick if you're left out there. Come on, have a seat."
Me:"my jacket's being washed 'cuz it got covered in mud yesterday, lucky me..and..are you sure? I mean, won't it be...I don't know...awkward..?"
Maya:"well, sure, maybe for a bit, but there's always something to talk about! Come on, it'll be fun, I promise!"
Diamond:"and you don't have to accept our offer, I'm sure there are other places, but it's always nicer to spend time with other people on Christmas."
Me:"huh?"
Rachel:"eheh..I'll tell you in a sec."
Me:"..."
After thinking it over for a second or two, I sighed and sat down on an empty stool that was one seat away from Clover.
Me:"I can't believe I'm doing this..."
I mumbled, slightly embarrassed. If this was a trap, I'd be as good as trapped. I'm too cold right now to teleport and it's not like I'd ever win in a fight against all of them on my own. Diamond sat next to me in the empty spot beside Clover while Heart sat down beside Spade. Spade and Ace glared at me and I flinched. Ok, yeah, I admit it, they scare the crap out of me. I know they don't seem very scary at first glance, a little girl and a pop star, but it's Ace's Glitter Form that scares me! And Spade has every right to hate me for everything I've done, I'm a horrible person, but does she really always have to glare at me like that?! This is already nerve wrecking enough! Sitting with my enemies, what am I thinking?! Ok, that's enough panicking..it's ok, I'm ok, I just need to sit through this one awkward moment with the Glitter Force and then I can hit the road.
Maya:"Ira..Irrrra..Irrrraaaaaaaaa...IRA."
Me:"h-huh?!"
Maya:"are you ok? You've been quiet for awhile.."
Clara:"well, look at how he's playing with the ripped end of his shirt, he's probably just nervous."
It was only when Clover mentioned it that I realized I really was fiddling with my shirt. I blushed a little bit more and let go of my shirt, putting my hands in my lap instead. The girls all start giggling at me and I look up.
Me:"h-hey! W-What's so funny?!"
Rachel:"sorry! It's just that we've never seen you so..well, shy!"
Me:"w-what do you mean..?! I'm not..w-well.."
After considering it for a minute, I realized that had I not been a little shy I wouldn't have been playing with my shirt in the first place.
Me:"...I'm just- thinking of ways to escape..!"
Like I'm ever gonna tell them they're right about something! That would be no different than admitting defeat! They all started to laugh again, but I felt a little more comfortable than before. Not that much comfortable, but comfortable enough. Time passed by quickly. The girls told me about Christmas, Santa Clause, hot chocolate (they even gave me some, it was..fine..), candy canes, gingerbread, other Christmas sweets, snowball fights, snowmen, sledding, snow angels, Christmas trees, decorative lights, presents, skating, mistletoe, I could name a lot more! Oh man, if Marmo ever finds out about Christmas, she'll be ripping through the streets buying as much stuff as she can carry and more. And I'm sure Bel would enjoy it too, he's always had a soft spot for sweets and candies (especially lollipops) even if he won't admit it much. Yeah..they'd like it. The only problem is, Christmas is a time for joy, giving, being...selfless...and Mercenare's aren't really capable of any of those things..
Oh well..some things are just never meant to be. I guess it's for the best..Mercenare's just ruin everything in the end...that's all they're good for...that's all...that's all I'm good for. Sitting on a bench outside now, with a light winter outfit on that Rachel bought for me earlier, and lightly chewing on a candy cane, I thought further about how impossible it would be to stay here, let alone bring Marmo and Bel along and show them how great it is. Rachel and Maya walked over and sat down on either side of me as I continued to chew on my minty treat.
Rachel:"well, you look deep in thought."
Me:"hm..."
Maya:"is something wrong? Tummy ache..?"
She whispered that last part but I still heard her and rolled my eyes before I could stop myself.
Me:"nah...it's nothing. Besides, why should either of you care?"
Maya:"that's what Christmas is about, Ira!"
Me:"which is exactly why I shouldn't be here in the first place!- ..."
'Crap...I yelled that out loud...'
Rachel and Maya both stared at me and it made me uncomfortable to the point where I was shifting around under their gaze.
'ShouldnthavesaidthatShouldnthavesaidthat
ShouldnthavesaidthatShouldnthavesaidthat...'
I kept repeating the mantra in my head.
Rachel:"you...what do you mean by that?"
'AwkwardAwkwardAwkward...'
Me:"erm...forget I said anything-
Maya:"oh no, you're telling us what you're talking about and I'm not taking no for an answer!"
Me:"..."
'Oh god...'
Me:"...well, think about it! You people keep saying Christmas is about giving, caring, loving, all that mushy stuff! What's a Mercenare? Evil, period! Nativity? We'll destroy it! Hot chocolate? We'll dump it on people for the soul purpose of burning them! Sledding? Sabotage! Skating? Cut holes in the ice! Presents? Christmas tree? Set it on fire! Kids? 'Santa's not real!' I could go on and on!!"
Rachel:"you could do those things, sure...but you haven't yet, so why would you start now?"
Me:"I don't know! You've seen me get angry! It just happens!"
All:"..."
Me:"...do you know what "Ira" means...?"
Maya:"there's a meaning?"
Me:"there are multiple meanings...but the meaning I was given was "wrath."
Rachel:"wrath..? Like, the sin?"
Me:"yeah...all Mercenare names are more or less related to a sin...you could say that, whether we choose to or not, we all represent those sins. My anger, Marmo's need for trivial items, Bel's unwillingness to help until the last minute...hell, Gura was obvious since he was always eating, and Riva...well, he was less obvious, but he's supposed to represent envy."
Rachel:"but...aren't there seven sins? What happened to the other two?"
Ira:"they died fighting Splendorian's. I can't say what exactly happened, since I don't know, but the aftermath wasn't a pretty sight..."
Maya:"wait- you saw the bodies??"
Me:"...I'm not even supposed to be telling you any of this. All I'm trying to say is, it's in a Mercenare's nature to ruin things in some way, whether it's our own choice or not...meaning, if I get angry enough, I'll probably destroy everything...which is why I can't stay."
Both:"..."
I stood up from the bench and I could feel them staring at me. I looked at them and sighed.
Me:"I'll only say this once...but, thank you."
Rachel:"for what?"
Me:"for telling me about this whole Christmas thing, I guess. Letting me be part of it, even just for awhile...it was kinda nice.. See ya."
Before they could say anything, I teleported away. Instead of going to the hideout, I decided to pay the mall a little visit. I pulled my new jackets hood over my head and pulled the scarf over my nose, choosing a makeup store first. I know I'm probably being pretty suspicious just walking in with my features covered, but this is just supposed to be a quick grab and go. I looked through the small aisles of products and, remembering that Marmo was complaining about how her mascara dried out, grabbed a tube of it and got some lipstick for her too. I know what kind of stuff she uses since I watch her use it all the time. I stuffed the products in my pocket and quickly left that shop without interruption. Like I said, I'm a Mercenare..the people running that shop should be glad that I'm just stealing instead of destroying the whole place. Next, I hit a candy store. I took a small box of hot chocolate and some candy canes. An employee was about to stop me from leaving, so I teleported away. Who would believe him if he told anyone he saw a kid disappear? No one else was around. I made it to the hideout and when I got inside, Bel and Marmo stared at me. I started to take off my scarf and jacket while Marmo spoke up.
Marmo:"the hell happened to you? And where did you get new clothes?"
Bel:"what were you doing? You were gone for three hours, Ira."
Me:"it's none of your business what I do in my spare time. Whatever, just take these."
I threw the makeup at Marmo, and the other stuff at Bel.
Me:"Merry Christmas, losers."
Marmo:"Christmas?-
I went into my room and closed the door. No point in telling them anything, since they'll just make fun of me.

3rd Person POV
                                                   Marmo and Bel sat confused, staring at the stuff their teammate gave- no, threw at each of them. Marmo picked up the mascara tube and opened it to see if it was some kind of trick, but no. A genuine product, same with the lipstick. Bel took one of the mysterious red and white hooks Ira threw at him and hesitated before putting some of it in his mouth. He made a noise of slight surprise before taking it out of his mouth again.
Bel:"it's minty...not bad, actually."
Marmo:"he got the right brand and everything."
They both stayed silent for a few more moments before turning to face each other. Marmo sighed and stood up from the couch.
Marmo:"alright, time to get him something, I suppose."
Bel:"huh? Aren't you supposed to be greed?"
Marmo:"would you rather let him have leverage over us? If we don't give him something in return, he could make us do him favours."
Bel:"whatever. Fine."
Marmo:"you're willing to come? Aren't you supposed to represent sloth?"
Bel:"it's tedious, but you're right. Besides, I'm not letting you take all the credit for choosing his gifts and making me do said favours alone."
Both of them may or may not have been covering up the fact that they actually wanted to repay him out of gratitude. As if they'd ever say that out loud. The two adults teleported to the same mall from before and each got Ira something.

Later, at about 1 in the morning, Ira woke up and decided to grab a snack from behind the bar. However, when he opened his bedroom door, he found something already waiting for him. Two boxes, around the same size each, with his name on them. Ira hesitated before opening one. It was from Bel. Inside the box was a new bowling ball and some snacks...and a note. The note said;

"I know about your nightly trips to the back of the bar, so I saved you the trouble."
-Bel

Ira:"huh. Well, it makes sense, he's back there the most."
Ira said quietly before moving onto the next box, which he guessed was from Marmo. He opened it and the first thing he saw was his purple jacket neatly folded and cleaned. He picked it up to take a better look, but then he noticed something else in the box. Another piece of clothing, but it was blue. Ira set his jacket down and picked up the blue fabric. It unfolded as he held it out to reveal that it was a onesie.
Ira:"..."
After a few minutes, he realized and gasped slowly and finally whispered in delight.
Ira:"Stitch onesie."
There was also a note in that box. This one said;

"You really like that weird blue thing, don't you? Don't understand your obsession, but I saw the onesie and decided you might like it. Merry Christmas, or whatever you said earlier."
-Marmo

Excited, he ran back into his room and quickly put it on. It was a little big, but he was still happy with it. He put the hood over his head and took the boxes back into his room with him. He sat on his bed, ate some snacks, and eventually fell back to sleep. Everyone was content with what they'd done that night.