Chapter 223


    We came home from the Rusutsu trip full of memories and pictures to show for it. Although my vacation turned out to be a lot longer than the others. Four months to be exact and mostly filled with sex day in and day out. While I enjoyed drowning in ecstasy, my most fondest moments were with my friends.


    Who could have thought Hana actually came back with an antler trophy. Apparently, she shot a damn deer alright after an entire night of stalking one with the hunting lodge. We snowboarded half the day with Hhan, then joined Yumi at the ice rink. ording to Kaede, she got a<i> lot</i> of reference material from people-watching me, Mio, and Hhan hanging out so much during the trip. I might even end up seeing those references put to use in the next issue of her manga.


    Hhan made ns for us to hang out again, but just us girls. Mio and I were going to drop by her salonster in the week for a spa date. Hana was back to Tsukiji High, catching up on student council work for bailing for four days. Yumi was back to doing questionable Yumi things.


    "That enough for you, sis?" I asked Hatsumi, who was pouting the entire time with her head on myp.


    "I still wish I was there with my little Saeko." Hatsumi threw a mini tantrum.


    As soon as I got back, my sister demanded that I tell her everything that happened. Omitting some obvious high sexual tension elements, of course. We were in the living room couch, waiting for Mio to finish changing to go to the mall. Why?


    Because Christmas was fast approaching, and Mio''s spirits had never been higher. We were only in Hokkaido for three and a half days. The rest of December was still ahead for winter break. There was so much Mio wanted to do. Raise a Christmas tree at home, raise another Christmas tree at the campus apartment, have that Christmas party with friends, visit the grandparents, and more. I was exhausted just thinking about it.


    Heavy footfalls mored all the way downstairs. Mio skidded into the living room bundled up and ready to go.


    "CHRISTMAS TREE TIME, BITCHES!" Mio shouted.


    "I''ll drive!" Hatsumi snatched my car keys.


    "But it''s my car…" I pouted.


    My disappointment quickly faded once I hopped into the passenger seat. Having someone else drive <i>me</i> was a nice change of pace. We cruised into downtown Tsukiji, to a mall where a section of the parking lot had been sectioned off for a menagerie of trees for sale. Spruce, evergreens, firs… all freshly cut and shipped from tree farms for the purpose of celebrating Christmas. There were even stic ones, too. The holiday wasn''t exactly widely celebrated here, but it has been catching momentum over the years.


    Mio nted her face against the window, ready to jump out the moment we park. That was exactly what happened. When Hatsumi pulled up to a parking spot, Mio flung the door open and flew out.


    "Mio! Oh, my god…" I groaned into my hand because she was already out of earshot.


    "Hehe. It''s alright. I still remember Mio being super excited about the next Christmasst year. Nothing wrong with letting loose," Hatsumi said.


    We followed Mio into the orchard. The smell of fresh trees, more crisp than the unpolluted Hokkaido reached my nose. My mind wandered in bouts of nostalgia.


    "Maybe you were too young, but do you remember when I used to bring you here as kids?" my sister asked.


    "Yeah, I actually do! Wow. Talk about a st from the past. All these trees used to be like skyscrapers to me— er, well… they kind of still are since I''m short… Wait. What happened to all the trees we bought and decorated?" I tried to remember but couldn''t for the life of me.


    "Ahh… Mom and Dad used to be a lot stricter back then. They didn''t like anything about the house being out of ce. But since they worked overseas, we''d put up a Christmas tree in the living room for a week, then gave it away before they came back. I had to scent spray and vacuum until the living room was pristine so they wouldn''t notice," she exined.


    The memories wereing back to me. Our parents were obviously more lenient about things <i>now</i>.


    Hatsumi continued, "I even remember all those times I held tiny little hand as we walked through the orchard. Your eyes were so wide seeing so many trees, and then so bright when we wrapped our tree in Christmas lights."


    "Okay, now you''re just embarassing me with memories…" I grumbled.


    "I just wanted to remind you that it''s important to let Mio make her own memories like you did. It''s how she''ll look back fondly on everything with you in the future like the two of us." Hatsumi smiled.


    "Older sister wisdom, huh?"


    "Just the wisdom of being older!"


    We caught up to Mio in front of thergest tree around, one that was probably meant for businesses or a mansion and not a house.


    "I want this one!" Mio eximed, arms out as though to embrace the tree.


    "And where do you expect us to put this?" I folded my arms.


    "Kahaha! Oh, cool your panties. I wasn''t being serious. You think what''s her name''ll let us put this up at Reza''s ce?" she asked.


    "I mean… it does look like the kind of centerpiece Hoshino Housing would put up. Don''t tell me you want to be the one to decorate it?"


    Knowing Mio, she definitely would attempt to. Actually, it might be a lot of fun. Recalling what Hatsumi told me to let Mio make her own memories.


    "Hrmm… I guess you''re right. Juna''ll prob hire people to decorate it for her," Mio said dejectedly.


    "Or we can suggest having the subi in the apartmentplex do it. Then you can be a part of the decorating," I offered, and Mio lit up right away.


    That made <i>three</i> trees Mio would be decorating then. Home, the apartment at college, and then a third at Aozora Heights.


    We picked out a small tree. Not too short. It was only a bit taller than Mio, so we would have plenty of surface area to decorate. Now that we had a tree, the three of us entered the mall and bought a whole bunch of ornaments, gands, lights, and a star.


    Mio was practically bouncing all the way home. Even as Hatsumi offered to treat us to lunch, she was tunnel visioning the Christmas tree instead. The second we got back, we went straight to putting it up in the living room.


    That was when Mio ran into her first problem. The three of us stood in the middle of the living room, wondering where best to put it. Our tree leaned against the wall in the meantime.


    "Why not in the same cest year''s tree was?" I suggested.


    "Ah, but the corner sucks! It''s like we''re saying the tree''s an after thought. Centerpiece? Centerpiece," Mio said firmly.


    "In front of the television? That''s even worse!"


    Mio furrowed her brows. She never even took tests and exams this seriously.


    "Hmmm. How about behind the couch? I think we can make enough space by moving the couch and coffee table a little closer forward," Hatsumi offered.


    We scooted the furniture as per my sister''s instructions. The space behind the couch was now sufficientlyrge enough for the tree and then some. It also made for a nice view looming over the couch.


    The three of us put up the tree and fastened it to a sturdy base, but there was still plenty of work to be done before this became a <i>Christmas</i> tree. I noticed Mio was already rummaging through the bags of ornaments. She pulled out the star and flew up.


    "Mio, wait!" I shouted right as she was about to plop it onto the peak.


    "Huh? What gives?" Mio frowned.


    "The star has to be thest ornament you put on!"


    "Why?"


    "Because… it''s bad luck?"


    "You''re lying aren''t you?" Mio narrowed her eyes at me, fingers clutching hard on the star.


    "Okay, I made that up. But you normally put the star onst. We have all these ornaments first. Let''s work our way up like, uh… oh, right! Like forey and sex before the climax!" I exined in anguage she might understand.


    There wasn''t any logic in it. But my sister''s words from earlier about letting Mio make her own memories were ringing in my head. Somehow, I just felt it was right and the more fun if we put it onst.


    "Hrmm. You make a fair point. Alrighty! The small fries first it is!" She stowed the star back into the bag and picked out a carton of colored fluff balls.


    "Hehe. You two are so cute! Ahhh~ I''m going to fill out my Christmas with Saeko and Mio photo album so fast at this rate," Hatsumi said, snapping away at us with her digital camera.


    Wait a minute… Exactly how much was Hatsumi nning on taking? I shook the thought away.


    "Are you going to make an entire home video out of pictures or are you nning on helping us put up ornaments?" I asked my sister.


    "Oh! You two go ahead. I just remembered, I had nned to bake some cookies. I''ll make a batch for you two while you do!" Hatsumi hurried into the kitchen.


    "Saeko, Saeko. Look what I got." Mio an ornament up by its string on her index finger.


    It was a cute ornament of two doves, wings red out and kissing.


    "It''s cute. Did you buy that at the store earlier?" I asked.


    "Nah. From the souvenir store at Rusutsu. I thought of us! It''s me and you!" Mio insisted.


    "I''m not really seeing it… Don''t you think we''re closer to bats?"


    Mio furrowed her brows. I thought she got peeved at me. Instead, she fished around underneath the coffee table for something and pulled out two sharpies. One ck and one purple. To my surprise, Mio started coloring the body and wing of the doves, then drew horns on the heads.


    "There. Close enough!" Mio hung the ornament high up on the tree. "What do you think?"


    "Still cute, but it honestly looks kinda silly. <i>You''re</i> silly." I shook my head.


    "Hehe. But ya love me anyway." She grinned.


    After an hour and a half in, the tree was beginning to look like an actual Christmas tree. All the gands, lights, and decorations really wrapped it all together into a single package.


    "The cookies are ready! Come and get some~" Hatsumi hollered from the kitchen.


    When we followed the sweet smell into the kitchen, I was appalled to see so many. The table and counters were full of them! Hatsumi wiped the sweat from her brow like a job well done. Talk about overachieving.


    "What the… When you said you were going to make cookies, I didn''t think you were opening a bakery!" I eximed at the amount of gingerbread cookies she made.


    "Mmm! It tastes like you put some Hatsumi''s special love juice in there!" Mio squealed with a mouthful of gingerbread.


    I red at my sister, who was fidgeting in ce. Because for Mio to taste her ''special love juice'', it couldn''t be anything else…


    "Did you really?" I asked.


    "It''s a secret." Hatsumi winked. "Just know that batch over there is perfectly normal!" She pointed over to a tray sitting on the stovetop. "This one over here is made with my secret ingredient— love!"


    As I scooted past them to grab a cookie made without ''love'', my sister stared at me like a lost puppy. Her demeanor lit up when I looked at the ones made with her secret ingredient. It became like a game, with me going back and forth between each tray to dictate her happiness.


    Sighing, I relented and tossed one of her special cookies into my mouth. The taste could only be described as exquisite, teasing my taste buds with a mixture of sugary sweet lust and cinnamony tickle. My whole body shuddered in ecstasy, and I wasn''t even having sex. Swallowing it left me wanting more, because my subus hunger remembered what Hatsumi tasted like.


    "M-Mio, remember we have the thing with Hhan about nning the spa date?" I reminded Mio, trying to distract from my baser instincts and urges.


    "Huh? Oh, yeah! Aww, that means we have to leave the tree unfinished untilter." Mio grumbled.


    "It''s alright," Hatsumi said. "I won''t finish the tree for you. You two can just continue when you get back. Oh, and take this. Give some to Haruka and your friends!" She provided us some small stic baggies with gingerbread cookies in them, too.


    The two of us flew into the city. Mio sent Hhan a text that we were on our way. This salon was closer to Yumi''s ce in downtown, probably to appeal to the richer housewives of the area.


    "Hey, girlies!" Hhan threw open the door.


    "Hey, girlie!" Mio went in for a hug right away.


    Hhan yanked both of us into the salon. I immediately recognized a few alumni from high school. Some were even third years that I remembered as second years, likely working as part-timers to make some extra money on the side.


    Hip hop music yed from the speakers. Most of the decorations were excessively vibrant, only something a a gyaru like Hhan could think of. Guests were mostly housewives, spoiling themselves after seeing their husbands off to work and kids to school. Hhan brought us to the back where three open seats were waiting. The instant we sat down, employees flocked over to give us the royalty treatment.


    Hhan hopped into the third and had her own workere by to get her started. They massaged our hands and feet. Washed thetter in the foot bath at the bottom of the seat. Hot tea and fruits were offered for free. I almost felt back epting Hhan''s hospitality, but she assured us that her employees were plentifullypensated.


    "So, I was thinking we go to this Korean spa called Petal. There''s a session that''s like 24 hours I want to try out," Hhan said.


    "A whole day?!" Mio and I gaped.


    "Aha! Yeah. It''s not all R&R though. I wanted to get some ideas. My next salon is gonna be a something like a Korean spa. I''ll call it, a Japanese spa!" she eximed, eyes glittering like the most profound revtion hade to her.


    "Are you trying to create a whole franchising or something?" I asked.


    "Oh, no way! That''s so much work. Too many credentials to pick up than just running a couple of salons. I''ve got my hands full managing things as it is. All I wanna open is a few ma and pa type ces, nothing biggie. Besides, I feel great being able to provide jobs to my friends if they ever need !" Hhan grinned.


    The two of us gawked. We were staring at an actual angel. Though, it was nice to know Hhan had our backs if any of us ever got shafted at work. Judging by the salons we had already gone to, she was already doing a real good job for someone who was essentially still a teenager.


    My phone started ringing. I thought Kana was calling me, but the name on the number was Juna Hoshino.


    "This is Saeko," I answered after picking up.


    "Miss Ito, I hope this isn''t a bad time. It is kind of urgent. I have a semi-truck over at Aozora Heights right now… The delivery people tell me it''s from you, billed to Hoshino Housing. Did you happen to send me a gigantic Christmas tree?" Ms. Juna asked.


    I froze and shot a look to Mio. When she saw, her head tilted to one side.


    "You…" I sighed.


    "What?" Mio blinked, seemingly none the wiser.


    "Hello? Miss Ito? I would very much like to know what''s going on, because they are setting up the tree right in front of the building!" Juna was growing increasingly more frantic by the second.


    Even after shutting my eyes, Juna continued to shout into the phone. I didn''t want to hang up on her. So much for rxing.


    "Sorry, Hhan. We gotta go. Something came up over in Tokyo," I said, dragging Mio off her lounge seat.


    "Huh? What gives! I wanna stay!" Mio pouted.


    "A. No prob. Come back over any time!" Hhan waved.


    Once we got outside, I exined to Mio the Christmas tree situation at Aozora Heights. To no surprise at all, she erupted intoughter.


    "Oh, yeah! That was me! Kahaha! I didn''t think they''d get it there so fast. Let''s go and start decorating it before the others do!" Mio insisted.


    "So it was you after all!" I pped a hand to my face.


    We arrived at Aozora Heights to the sight of two dozen subi putting ornaments up on the tree. Juna Hoshino was on her knees in front of it, staring up at the eyesore at herpany''s apartmentplex. Both of us hesitated in approaching her. Eventually, I tried to push Mio forward since she was at fault. We ended up wrangling until I got sent stumbling up to Juna.


    "So, about the tree…" I began reluctantly, "If you don''t like it, we can help you remove it!"


    "What? No, don''t get rid of it!" Mio protested.


    "I knew you two had something to do with this! It doesn''t matter anymore. The three''s already here, and I''m not going to try and argue with an army of subus." Juna sighed.


    A group of people were gathering in front of the gate, just beyond the apartmentplex. Passersby watched as subi decorated the 13-foot tall Christmas tree and took pictures and videos.


    "You know what?" Juna asked, tapping her chin. "Maybe being billed a 800,000 Yen for a Christmas tree isn''t so bad. This is my chance. I can prove to my father that Aozora Heights can be a sess! Why, hello prospective tenants!" She ran towards the crowd. "Might I interest you in a tour? For all you single men and women, this subus-adled apartment is just for you!"


    "Next time, Mio… how about we <i>don''t</i> make purchases on someone else''s money?" I sighed.


    "Hey, it worked out! Besides, there''s a giant star that I can put on this tree. Can I? Can I?" Mio pleaded with me.


    "Fiiiine! After this we still have our tree though."