Warm Snowy Cold

[Ai Nightray]

Finally! It was finally the time for Hufflepuff Ai Edogawa to come to Japan. Most would be thinking that she was going back to her aunt and uncle for the Christmas season, but they were wrong. In fact, for this year, she had come back to her home country in order to spend time and celebrate the Yuletide with her older brother figure, Ryuuji, and his family. She couldn't believe that she was finally going to spend time with the old Ravenclaw again as it had seemed to be forever since she had last seen the boy after he had apparently graduated from Hogwarts New Zealand. She really missed the boy a lot and since it would be her first time spending Christmas with the Tsukino family, she had been really giddy and happy and excited the whole time since she left Hogwarts the day after the Yule Ball. She had been a bit jumpy at the plane ride and she could have sworn that the stewardess would have already killed her in annoyance were if she was not a passenger and if killing was not a crime. In Ai's realm, she had thought that the plane ride lasted forever when it truth, it was only hours that passed before she reached Narita Airport.

As soon as the plane ride was over, she had entered a cab and asked the driver to help her with her belongings. After all, she had brought Hisa and Sadie with her and of course some of her clothes. She couldn't very well leave her animal friends in her dormitory while she was in Japan, and so as expected, she was quite having a hard time with transportation means. Luckily though, the cab driver was very gentle and kind. Being who she was, Ai had a real hard time looking for the Tsukino residence and that was one of the largest reasons why she was glad that the driver was so patient with her. After almost an hour of travelling and searching, Ai and the driver finally found the Tsukino residence. The girl was once again assisted in getting out of the cab and afterwards, the Hufflepuff paid him with almost a fifty percent tip, which she at all didn't mind considering the services he had given her. Taking a deep breath, Ai fixed up her clothes trying to make her look as presentable as she possibly could before finally ringing the doorbell and waiting for someone whilst she stood in the snowy weather of Christmas in Japan.

 

[Ryuuji Tsukino]

The Tsukino family lived in a fairly traditional Japanese house. With their wealth, they could easily have easily bought a modern manor, however, with the Tsukino matriarch's insistence, they remained to take shelter under the mansion previously occupied by the older Tsukino generation. In front of the mansion was a pond full of different colored Koi fishes, and outside were winter Sakura trees which are beginning to bloom. The path outside was covered with a thick blanket of snow and at the bridge sat the Tsukino household's heir, Ryuuji Tsukino, his feet danging just a few inches above the cold water of the pond. He was in the middle of feeding the koi fishes when he heard the doorbell ring, and in a flash, the eighteen year old ran towards the gate of their house, all the while shouting that he'd be the one to open the gates.

The reason why the eighteen year old former Hogwarts student had been so excited to meet their visitor was because said person was someone that he had been waiting to see again for months. Ai. The younger girl had been the boy's younger sister figure while in Hogwarts, and when he graduated, he had failed to see the girl again. He missed the hufflepuff. In fact, he missed her twin too. It would have been great if the girl's twin had come with her. But alas, kami hadn't be too kind to grant all of his wishes. He couldn't be too selfish though. He should be happy enough that the girl had been there to visit him.

As soon as he opened the great gate of the Tsukino manor, the Ravenclaw enclosed the smaller girl in a hug, a big smile present on his face. "Ai-chan! You're late." he told her like a kid. He wasn't really sure if she had been late or not. Perhaps, he had just been too eager to see her again that it seemed that time stretch too much just to test his patience. He then let go of the girl and pulled her inside the garden, locking the gate before he ushered the girl to their house. "You must be really tired. Would you like to eat?" He asked her, and as they neared the the house, they were met a large Siberian husky, his sister's pet. "No chi, hush. She's a guest." he told the dog, patting it on the head as they passed it. The dog came running behind them, sniffing the girl as if to test whether she was a friend or not. As they entered the house, the boy gestured for the girl to sit down. They were inside a traditional Japanese room, with floor made of tatami mats. "You must miss sitting on a zabuton, ne? can you wait for a moment? I'll check if your room had been prepared already. In the meantime, you can explore the house. Just try not to get lost, ne?" With that, the boy turned to leave. He wasn't kidding when he warned the girl about getting lost. The Tsukino manor, after all, was full of secret rooms and doors which leads to a dead end.​

 

[Ai Nightray]

Ai had always loved the weathers of Japan! Who could not? Especially during the winter season wherein the blanket of white would cover the lands and paths. Though New Zealand was in the midst of a warm summer season, the Hufflepuff didn't mind at all the coldness of the season within her home country. If she could, she would have stayed in Japan still, but after Conan had disowned her, she could see no possible way of staying in the Agasa residence. Of course she could also stay in their old house, but then again, she wouldn't be able to provide herself enough during the time she would stay there. And so now, she lived in London with Jeremiah's sister and that was a good decision in the eyes of the young girl. She would work and her services could pay off her stay there. It was a good decision except for the fact that she did miss Japan. And now, she was back in her home country, and that was all thanks to a certain former Ravenclaw.

Ai knew she didn't have to wait long outside the gates of the Tsukino family. And she was right, for it had only been less than a minute before she had rung the door bell and now, someone was opening the gates. And much to her enthusiasm and delight, it was none other than, Ryuuji! How she missed her brother figure was quite immeasurable and it was shown as she hugged him as tightly as he had hugged her. She had not been happier in the whole year! It had only been months since she had last seen the former Ravenclaw but it seemed like forever with everything she had gone through in the past months. But those tears that shed tears and the face that had shown nothing but sadness in the past months were now showing pure happiness as a smile was making its way to her face. She couldn't help but giggle at her brother's antics and so she had let Sadie fly off to the inside of the house and she clutched Hisa in her arms as she was pulled by her brother inside. Ai had even barely managed to get everything within the gates before the older had pulled her in! And she couldn't help but stifle a laugh as she was once again being pulled towards the house. "I'm completely fine, Ryuuji-niichan!" the girl had said in perfect Japanese as they walked down the path and out of nowhere, "Cute!" Ai suddenly squealed as she caught sight of the siberian husky as she willed herself not to touch it with a cat in her arms. She wished the dog was friendly and it was quite a wonder that Hisa was being completely comfortable and calm.

The young girl was in complete awe as she entered the traditional Japanese house. It had been long since she had last entered one since she and her family used to live in a modern house. She entered and sat on one of the zabutons present within the room and she only smiled in response as the boy left to go check her room, sure enough, it seemed forever since she left and came back to Japan. Feeling a little bit bored within the room, she decided to stand, Hisa still in her arms and opted to look for the kitchen. She sure did hope that no one would scold her for doing so, after all Ryuuji said she could explore the house. She let her feet absent-mindedly take her anywhere as her mind was blank with nothing to do that it once again begun to be filled with thoughts of the past semester that it was once again making her stare into space whilst she walked.

Language: Japanese