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Pariston truly loved the holiday season. Not because of the weather; he actually didn’t do all that well in the cold. Nor did he hold any particular fondness for any of the religious or cultural holidays. And to be quite honest, some of the decorations seemed just a tad on the side of tacky (not that he would ever say so). But the holiday spirit- that was something that just couldn’t be replaced. Pariston deeply enjoyed the pervading good cheer and generous attitude that people instinctively began to cultivate as the year began to draw to a close. It made his heart stir in delight.
People were simply so easy to mess with, this time of year.
The holidays also gave Pariston a wonderful opportunity to pull off an idea he’d had for a while, and a New Year’s party for the zodiacs was innocuous and enticing enough to make it the place to do so. After, he reasoned, he deserved to have his fun and good cheer as well, and what could be better than drumming up some delightful amusement to bring in the new year? That, and catching up. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little bit interested in what the others had done this year. There’d been a lot of talk, and even with his position in the Association, not nearly as much information as he would’ve liked to receive was given to him.
The party started at 9:30, promptly, as stated by the invitations, and the zodiacs milled in to the banquet hall Pariston had rented especially for the occasion at various times before and after, with Cheadle arriving promptly on the dot with her usual put on poise and Piyon hurrying in at 10 after 10, citing an issue downloading an app and apologizing whilst taking photos of the decorations.
“Wow, Pariston, you really went all out, didn’t you?” Piyon cooed, snapping a pic of a particularly ornate centerpiece. The room was definitely extravagant; every piece of furniture and decoration was color-coordinated in a bold shade of blue or silver, delicate, and very obviously expensive. Saiyu stared at a shining chair upholstered with silk as if confused with how to go about sitting on it.
“Was all this really necessary?” Mizaistrom, looking similarly uncomfortable, asked. “This seems a bit too much for just a New Year’s get together.”
“Of course it was necessary!” Pariston exclaimed, smiling wide. “I would never think to deliver anything but the best in a party for my dear friends.” Pariston spread his arms at this, earning him a scoff in unison from his guests. “Besides, I hear throwing a party as exquisite as possible will bring you wealth and good fortune in the New Year.”
“O, you don’t really believe in that kind of stuff, do you Pariston?” Cluck asked, from where she and Geru were having no problems with the furniture, and in fact taking full advantage of them.
“Well, now, I wouldn’t really know if it’s true or not,” Pariston said, falling back to the bar and pouring himself a glass of champagne. “It’s simply what I’ve heard. It can’t hurt to try though, now can it?”
As Cluck let out a huff of acknowledgement (if not acceptance) of his answer, Ginta spoke up, having been perusing the extensive buffet table with Botobai. “Didn’t you invite the chairman?”
“Ah, I see you’ve found the roast duck! The ones in this dish have been flown in fresh from one of the country’s most pristine lakes and cooked by a true professional. It is said to be the best that one can find.”
“Pariston,” Ginta rumbled, “where’s the chairman?”
“Yes, I was getting to that.” Pariston, hmmed, pausing to take a sip of his drink. “It seems he has, sadly, been asked to attend to something else tonight. I did try to keep his schedule clear, but he is rather busy.”
“You did invite him,” Cluck demanded, quirking an eyebrow.
“Of course,” Pariston soothed, “as well as Ging.”
“Ah, I see that good for nothing hasn’t shown his face here yet, either,” snarled Kanzai, still staring suspiciously at the admittedly heavy-looking chandeliers.”Typical.”
“It really isn’t a surprise,” yawned Piyon, flopping down in a seat and typing away furiously on her phone. “I’d bet he doesn’t show ‘till after midnight.”
“I’d take that bet,” Saiyu laughed. “I don’t think he’ll show at all.”
With that, the conversation fell to the bashing of Ging, which had become something of a standard at this point for when Ging famously missed a gathering, (often) and then petered out into more idle chatter as the group started to actively mingle, with the previously quiet Cheadle and Saccho beginning to join in. Pariston took the chance to step back and survey his work. More than a few of the zodiacs were visibly uncomfortable with all the splendor; Kanzai still glanced up at the ceiling every once and a while and Botobai was perched on his chair like he was afraid he might break it, but simply making a few of his fellow hunters uneasy with the decoration was merely cursory. The real fun was yet to begin.
“Okay, everyone!” Pariston clapped his hands once it was clear everyone had finished eating. The time read 11:40; and everyone looked at him, expecting a New Year’s Eve speech. Instead, however, Pariston pulled out a small silver box about the size of a grapefruit, and the expectant looks turned to ones of surprise and suspicion.
“What is that?” Kanzai asked, and Pariston chuckled in amusement.
“Why, it’s my gift for the white elephant exchange, of course,” he smiled, taking the confusion covering the faces of his colleagues. “Don’t tell me none of you brought one?”
A chorus of no’s went up, with Kanzai being the loudest. “Where the hell’d it say we were supposed to?”
“Oh dear,” Pariston frowned, looking at the box thoughtfully, “I must have forgotten to note it on the invitations. Now how will I determine who to give this to?”
“Keep it,” snorted Cluck. “No one wants that.”
“Oh, but I went through so much trouble to get this,” Pariston mourned, cupping the box in his hands. “It would be terrible of me to not give it away, and slightly rude of you all as my guests to not take it.”
“No one really feels all that bad about being rude to you, Pariston,” Piyon muttered into laptop.
“And to think,” Pariston continued, “I really had to prove all three of my stars as a Hunter to get my hands on this.”
Instantly, Pariston could see where his plan had fallen perfectly into place as sudden interest became apparent among the zodiacs. Saiyu leaned forward, trying to see the box more clearly. “What’s even in there?”
“Obviously I can’t tell you,” Pariston moved the box out of sight, “If you truly want to know, however, you could always take it and open it yourself.”
The dilemma became apparent to everyone then. They all desperately wanted to know what could possibly be in the box, but at the same time, no one wanted to be the unfortunate sucker who had to open it. They were all sure it was a trap, but exactly what kind eluded them. The hall grew silent as everyone debated what to do, but as much as Pariston relished it, he was on a schedule that had to be kept.
“You know,” he began, “I think maybe we can play white elephant anyway.”
It was Geru who took the bait. “How,” she asked, and Pariston tossed the box at her.
A snake leapt out and caught it in it’s jaws reflexively, but Geru quickly realized her mistake and tossed it next to her.
“Whoever has it when the clock strikes the last stroke of midnight is the winner.” Pariston declared, immediately stepping out of reach at the first dong rang out.
One
The box landed in Cluck’s lap, who quickly batted it into Botobai’s face.
Two
Botobai swatted it towards Saccho, who dodged it
Three
and Piyon leapt for it before it hit the floor.
Four
Catching it, Piyon immediately decided that she didn’t want it after all and hit it towards Ginta and Saiyu
Five
where Saiyu caught it, then passed it to Ginta
Six
who passed it back to Saiyu
Seven
who passed it back to Ginta
Eight
who hit it up into the air
Nine
where it bounced off the chandelier and landed on Kanzai’s head
Ten
who smacked it into Cheadle’s waiting hands.
Eleven
Cheadle looked Pariston in the eye.
“Twelve!” Pariston crooned. “Happy New Year’s everyone!”
“I’ll open it Pariston,” Cheadle said, not looking happy about it. “On one condition.”
“Oh?”
“You never do something this ridiculous again,” she said, and ripped off the bow.
The rest of the group crowded as close as the dared as they watched Cheadle remove from the box what seemed to be and ordinary brass bell.
“What is this?” Cheadle questioned, squinting at it.
“Oh,” Pariston grinned. “Just something I picked up from someone long ago.”
“What?!? So what was all that about ‘working to get it’?” Kanzai shouted.
“Why don’t you give it a ring?” Pariston suggested to Cheadle, who hesitantly, picked it up and did so. Nothing happened, except for a very pitiful sound from the bell.
Oh well, thought Pariston, raising his arms to begin placating his guests, who were almost all extremely annoyed with him at the least, I’m not God. Cheadle looked at the bell and
gave it one more ring.
The door burst open, and Ging appeared, looking ragged as usual and unsurprised to find everyone yelling at Pariston, though it became silent once they realized his presence.
To Saiyu, Piyon whispered quietly, “You owe me.”