81 - Christmas Eve

                                    

                                          
It's crazy to think that I've been in the world of Heaven's Hell for a whole year now. I originally transmigrated here on January 15th.
                          
And now it's Christmas Eve. December 24th.
                          
The tournament ended a week ago and my fight with Bianca was a couple days ago. I haven't heard from her since.
                          
Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
                          
Anyways, that's the end of the tournament Arc, and Arc 6 should start in early January.
                          
The interesting thing about the future events are that the next four arcs take place in a span of three months, a lot quicker than the other arcs. And once Arc 6 is over, that's the end of Season 2 of the anime.
                          
I'd be surprised if things didn't change. It's definitely going to go off the rails now. So I need to be as strong as possible before then.
                          
In fact, I should be training right now. Why I'm not? Well, Irene is hosting a Christmas party for us and I'm sure that she would drag me from the other side of the earth in order to make me attend.
                          
And since it's a Christmas party, I'll have to buy presents for them. It's not a big of a deal money-wise.
                          
I have to buy a present for Irene, Iris, Isabella, Erica, Lily, Yui, and Amber, all who are invited to the party. If there's any others, Irene hasn't told me about them.
                          
Money isn't a problem because of the prize money I've won from my fights in the Underground Tournament, the harder part is what to buy them.
                          
I need to get all of them something that they'll like, while keeping everything in the same price range. I don't want to start some sort of love war from presents...
                          
It doesn't help that I've never really bought a present for a girl before. I got Kiera a necklace once, but it wasn't Christmas.
                          
And I loathe Kiera, so let's move on.
                          
The snow crunched under my boots as I walked across the sidewalk, checking out the multiple stores.
                          
It was quite a snowy day, meaning we have a white Christmas this year. I like white Christmases. It gives off a festive feel.
                          
There was a jewelry store, a souvenir store, a popular cafe, a cheese store, and many others. I spotted someone familiar standing in front a flower shop.
                          
"Valentine?" I asked.
                          
She whirled her head around surprised. "Kage?!"
                          
"What are you doing?" I wondered.
                          
"Just...buying some flowers..." She said, a hint of sadness in her voice.
                          
I wondered why buying flowers would make her sad. I didn't push any further though. I'd rather not make her start crying or something.
                          
"What are you doing here?" She countered.
                          
"Just buying some Christmas gifts." I replied:
                          
"On Christmas Eve?" She wondered, raising her eyebrow.
                          
"...Well, if someone told me sooner..." I grumbled to myself. "And I don't know what to get at all..."
                          
Rose closed her eyes, thinking for a moment before coming to a decision. "Well, mind if I help? I might be able to help you with the heart of a woman."
                          
"If you don't mind." I nodded.
                          
I have no clue what to get them. Wait, did I even mention them?
                          
"So, who are you getting a present for?" She asked.
                          
"Multiple people, but mainly Irene." I stated. "They all have to be of about equal value...though Irene's could probably be greater."
                          
"And I want it to be something that she would love. Something that will make her extremely happy." I added.
                          
"...You really love her, don't you?" Rose asked.
                          
"What?!" I gasped in surprise, my face tinting with a light red.
                          
"I mean, with what you're saying and the face you're making you obviously care for her a lot." She stated.
                          
"Yeah...I do." I slowly replied, a warm smile growing on my face.
                          
"Huh...that's...nice..." Rose sighed sadly.
                          
"You alright?" I asked.
                          
"Why do you love her?" Rose asked.
                          
Usually this question would be concerning, but there wasn't any sort of dangerous aura around Rose. She was a little sad, but I wasn't sure what the reason was.
                          
"Why..? I...she grew on me. I was going through a tough time and she helped me out of it." I stated. "I love her."
                          
"That's...nice." Rose sadly replied.
                          
"What's wrong?" I finally asked.
                          
"Huh?" Rose replied, slightly surprised.
                          
"You're becoming depressed with all the love talk. What's going on?" I pushed further.
                          
"I...there was a man I loved. But by the time I realized that, it was too late." She stated.
                          
"Was he-" I started to say.
                          
I was going to ask if he was taken by another woman, but Rose's next words stole the breath front my mouth.
                          
"He died." She stated. "He was an adventurer, overworked himself and died to a monster."
                          
"Oh...I'm sorry..." I awkwardly replied.
                          
"No, it's fine." Rose stated, shaking her head. "That's why I buy flowers every December. That was the month he died."
                          
"Red flowers. Every time. It was his favorite color." She added.
                          
"Red is a good color." I nodded.
                          
"Yeah." She lightly smiled. "I miss him. But that's why I'm becoming a strong adventurer. I'm going to do it for him."
                          
"That's a nice goal. Just don't overwork yourself." I told her.
                          
She looked at me, before lightly smiling.
                          
"Maybe I had the wrong idea about you..." She muttered.
                          
"What?" I asked.
                          
"Nothing." She replied, shaking her head. "I think they would like necklaces. The jewelry store down there has cheaper ones or more expensive ones if you have the money."
                          
"Thanks." I smiled at her. "See you next time."
                          
"Yeah...see you next time." She replied.
                          
I walked away, heading back to the jewelry store that I had passed by earlier. Entering it, I looked around for some necklaces.
                          
I found these beautiful ones which were all very similar. A chain with a very nice design on it to create a necklace. I easily had enough to get these.
                          
A yellow lightning bolt for Iris.
                          
A golden crown for Isabella.
                          
A golden sword for Erica.
                          
A black knife for Lily.
                          
Pink wings for Yui.
                          
An orange fire for Amber.
                          
And a red heart for Irene.
                          
I also grabbed one with a nice, blue stone. For some reason I felt that I would need it.
                          
I bought them and some wrapping paper that they also were selling, before leaving and heading back to the Mansion.
                          
Now I just have to wrap these in their boxes without letting Iris, Irene, or Isabella find out.
                          
I'm sure that tomorrow is going to be eventful...