[ A day or so after the knitting party, Ryoko spent a lot of time working, making sure she'd get this done. Excitedly, she decided to meet Taiga after she was done with her part-time job!
Kinda trying to be inconspicuous, holding a gift bag stuffed with tissue paper. Waiting, waiting.
[ Lucky for Ryoko's freezing limbs, today was a relatively slow day in the flower shop so it's not long before the door chime rings and Taiga's heading out into the cold. Part time work might be done, but there were what felt like a million more things to figure out for the party. Even if it's more complicated than she expected, Taiga just had to work even harder!
So much harder that she nearly passes by Ryoko without noticing, only stopping after a double take. ]
Aaaaah!!! I-I almost forgot you were gonna stop by--sorry sorry! What's up?
[ Hey, getting all that done was still pretty good! Nice work, Taiga. Ryoko waves her concern off. ]
I brought something for you. I know you've been working hard lately, and the weather's only getting colder, so...
[ She hands over the bag. Inside, a red, broken-rib stitched scarf. It has something that looks kind of like a cat stitched onto it. Most importantly... it's kinda got a slight pink aura to it. ]
[ Just a bit of pointless whining, as Taiga looks to the bag to find the scarf, delicately pulling it out and dropping the bag into the snow. She's silent, inspecting each detail in awe as if it were a marvelous work of fine art. ]
It's... warm...?
[ The only words that come to Taiga's mind as she brings it to her face to confirm. ]
[ It really was warm. She had no shortage of scarves back home, always losing them or dropping them into muddy snow. Expensive scarves, becoming disposable because of her own self. But this scarf, even outside of it's warm glow, was instantly a precious treasure to Taiga; something to cherish and care for. It was special.
Taiga buries her face in it, holding it tightly. ]
[ --It was hard to describe the tug that Ryoko felt at her heart just now. As if Taiga hadn't been kind to her before... now, that she's been given her assignment for next month, hearing that felt so different.
Her appreciation, how closely she held onto it...
She's glad that Taiga can't see her wiping away a tear. ]
Glad to hear it!
[ This was the exact thing she needed right now. Something to bring her spirits up. ]
You've been spreading so much warmth around the city lately, that you should have some for yourself too. If you ever need more, just let me know and I'll be there with some cocoa.
Ahh--have I really...? [ Taiga had been exhausted, truth be told. Running around, trying to organise so many different, interlocking pieces, gathering an ever-growing pile of gifts, it felt like she couldn't pause to recognise her own efforts. But... she really did need to do so. ]
Do you think Santa's noticed yet? He'd probably be upset if I worked too hard, wouldn't he...
I didn't expect there to be so many people who've never heard about Christmas before. I couldn't handle a world without Christmas! How else do they get through the cold and snow?
[ An exaggerated sigh. ] I can't let Santa worry about me, Ryoko... I'd die! Maybe we need hot chocolate, stat!
The new year? It's still cold after that... Maybe we need even more holidays, so before we know it, the weather's warm again. The season of continuous partying! I know, it's a pretty genius idea.
[ Taiga takes a moment to wrap the scarf around her neck, hair fluffing up in such a way that somehow manages to make her look even more hair than human as compared to her normal self. ]
O-oh, wait! I forgot something inside, gimme a sec!
[ Zoom! Taiga's back through the flower shop doors. ]
[ You're definitely not wrong, Ryoko... 3 months of family bonding would ruin many a familial relationship. There's not too much time to dwell on it before Taiga is back, clutching a floral giftbag in her hands. Yes, that might be a bag from the flower shop. Taiga holds it out for Ryoko to take. ]
You can't get away empty handed, y'know! Here, here, open it!
[ Inside the bag is a deep blue scarf, matching the color of Ryoko's soul gem. It's... far from skillfully made, with uneven stitches and frayed tassels at the end, but what mattered most to Taiga was that she made it with her own two hands. ]
[ ...And now, it's Ryoko's turn to be shellshocked.
She had figured that Taiga cared a lot about Christmas traditions, sure. She had no idea that she had overheard, or even really cared about the potential stories going around about the scarves. If Ryoko were to receive something like this from her, she was sure she would've gotten something from a store.
It was so imperfect. There were ways it could have been better, but that just confirmed to her that this wasn't anything purchased.
"It's like leaving a part of yourself with the other person... I don't think that needs magic to keep someone warm." ]
I... [ A pause. She's so close to saying something really stupid, so she catches herself. ]
Thank you. You must have worked really hard on this, huh?
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action!!
Kinda trying to be inconspicuous, holding a gift bag stuffed with tissue paper. Waiting, waiting.
...it's still kinda cold outside. ]
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So much harder that she nearly passes by Ryoko without noticing, only stopping after a double take. ]
Aaaaah!!! I-I almost forgot you were gonna stop by--sorry sorry! What's up?
[ No, she doesn't notice the bag. ]
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[ Hey, getting all that done was still pretty good! Nice work, Taiga. Ryoko waves her concern off. ]
I brought something for you. I know you've been working hard lately, and the weather's only getting colder, so...
[ She hands over the bag. Inside, a red, broken-rib stitched scarf. It has something that looks kind of like a cat stitched onto it. Most importantly... it's kinda got a slight pink aura to it. ]
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[ Just a bit of pointless whining, as Taiga looks to the bag to find the scarf, delicately pulling it out and dropping the bag into the snow. She's silent, inspecting each detail in awe as if it were a marvelous work of fine art. ]
It's... warm...?
[ The only words that come to Taiga's mind as she brings it to her face to confirm. ]
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[ She trails off, trying to gauge Taiga's reaction. She... looks stunned. A good stunned? Bad stunned? ]
...um... is it... is it okay?
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[ It really was warm. She had no shortage of scarves back home, always losing them or dropping them into muddy snow. Expensive scarves, becoming disposable because of her own self. But this scarf, even outside of it's warm glow, was instantly a precious treasure to Taiga; something to cherish and care for. It was special.
Taiga buries her face in it, holding it tightly. ]
I love it...
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Her appreciation, how closely she held onto it...
She's glad that Taiga can't see her wiping away a tear. ]
Glad to hear it!
[ This was the exact thing she needed right now. Something to bring her spirits up. ]
You've been spreading so much warmth around the city lately, that you should have some for yourself too. If you ever need more, just let me know and I'll be there with some cocoa.
...without the spice.
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Do you think Santa's noticed yet? He'd probably be upset if I worked too hard, wouldn't he...
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[ "Person" being used lightly here-- but that's fine. It felt rude to not consider him as such. ]
I don't think he'd be upset, just concerned. I know you're excited too, but we do still have more than a month to go... don't push yourself so hard.
[ Hypocrite that she is. ]
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[ An exaggerated sigh. ] I can't let Santa worry about me, Ryoko... I'd die! Maybe we need hot chocolate, stat!
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[ Will hot chocolate solve this issue... well, they can pretend it will anyway. ]
Just goes to show you how much we need to spread holiday cheer. Otherwise all we'd have to look forward to is the start of a new year.
[ And that's something she doesn't want to look forward to yet. ]
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[ Taiga takes a moment to wrap the scarf around her neck, hair fluffing up in such a way that somehow manages to make her look even more hair than human as compared to her normal self. ]
O-oh, wait! I forgot something inside, gimme a sec!
[ Zoom! Taiga's back through the flower shop doors. ]
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[ She knows that some are already not fond of family over the holidays?! Continuously though... ]
Oh, uh--
[ Too late. She's gone. ...what in the world? ]
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You can't get away empty handed, y'know! Here, here, open it!
[ Inside the bag is a deep blue scarf, matching the color of Ryoko's soul gem. It's... far from skillfully made, with uneven stitches and frayed tassels at the end, but what mattered most to Taiga was that she made it with her own two hands. ]
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She had figured that Taiga cared a lot about Christmas traditions, sure. She had no idea that she had overheard, or even really cared about the potential stories going around about the scarves. If Ryoko were to receive something like this from her, she was sure she would've gotten something from a store.
It was so imperfect. There were ways it could have been better, but that just confirmed to her that this wasn't anything purchased.
"It's like leaving a part of yourself with the other person... I don't think that needs magic to keep someone warm." ]
I... [ A pause. She's so close to saying something really stupid, so she catches herself. ]
Thank you. You must have worked really hard on this, huh?
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[ Taiga glows brightly at Ryoko's reaction. ]
I-I know it's not perfect, um... The one you made looks a lot... less wobbly. I wanted to try anyway, s-so!
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If I wasn't constantly concerned for that boy, I'd kill him.
[ Ryoko?! ]
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[ ...
She can just explain this to Akutagawa later. ]
If he does anything really dumb, just bonk him on the head.