Kiri ☂ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
taotrooper) wrote2009-06-19 12:03 am
taotrooper) wrote2009-06-19 12:03 am
Entry tags:
[CCS] A foreign tradition
Story: A foreign tradition
Canon: anime?
Rating: G
Words: 1000+
Genre: general, comedy, crack
They had a free hour, since Kimura-sensei was absent that day. Perfect opportunity! She walked to her little locker room, and took out the plastic mask and the black veil. She put them on, and went to her destination. Of course, it was easier to scare her than her best friends. It was mean, but that was the holiday was all about.
She stopped and looked at her reflection at the nearest window. She saw her now hideous, pale face of a ghost looking back at her. Ahead of that, she could contemplate the auburn and yellow leaves, falling from the trees, at the school's green areas. It was beautiful, mysterious, poetic. But it was not the time to be distracted: she was on a mission. She hid a brown strand of hair behind her mask.
She advance through the rows of desks, some of the kids snickering at her. She didn't mind; she already knew she was more insane than some of them, and was happy being that way. She was herself, even if nobody else could understand her.
Finally there. She was in the middle of the two foreign boys' desks, who were now looking at her. The English boy seemed to get the idea, and was grinning in amusement. The Chinese boy was puzzled, eyes wide open. The girls in front of them were happily talking to each other, until the long-haired one turned to her, and so did the short-haired one.
The reaction was as quick as she -and the English boy, of course- expected to be.
"Hoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!," the cowardly gal exclaimed, and the whole classroom turned. The author was satisfied now, and she revealed her face.
"N-N-N-Naoko-chan? It was you?," cried Sakura.
"Of course! Sorry I scared you, but I had to."
"So that was why you brought the stupid costume to school, huh?," intervened Chiharu. "You wanted to give Sakura-chan a fright!"
"Um, no," she lied, "I just wanted to show them my costume, you know. It's from a Miyazaki film. It's not scary at all."
"Yes, it is!," said Sakura, still angry at her.
"Is it No-Face?," asked Tomoyo, looking at the white mask.
"Yeah!" Naoko's eyes shined. "I love that movie. And the part when she rides the water dragon and he..."
"Why the outfit in particular?," Li wanted to know.
"Don't you know what day is today, Li-kun?"
"Here we go again..." Chiharu sighed.
"Today is October 31st, isn't it? Halloween."
"That's right, Tomoyo-chan!"
"That reminds me! Sakura-chan, I just made this beautiful outfit that is perfect for Halloween! You'll look adorable in it! Can you go to my house today so you can try it on and I can film you a bit? Please?"
"Erm, Tomoyo-chan?"
"It's all orange and puffy, with black ribbons, and with this white laces, and the shoes..." Tomoyo went on, and Sakura just wanted to escape from her. Syaoran tried hard not to imagine the girl she liked looking like a wrapped pumpkin.
"So you disguised yourself because today is Halloween, Yanagisawa-san? I didn't know there was that tradition at Japan as well", said Eriol.
"In the big cities there are Halloween parties and trick-and-treating, but not in Tomoeda. Oh, right! Hiiragizawa-kun, it's a regular holiday in your country, isn't it?"
"Yes," he smiled, "we have our own traditions for Halloween in England, but we do some of the things you can see on the movies and TV."
"Wow," Naoko was excited and curious, so she decided to initiate a conversation with him, "so what do you do on Halloween then?"
"Well, we make Jack-o-lanterns, which are the empty carved pumpkins with candles inside, we pull pranks and dress up as you did, we cook soul cakes, which is a Halloween special recipe..."
"Does it taste good?," asked Sakura, who was hearing what they were saying, along with Tomoyo.
"I'm rather fond of them," Hiiragizawa smiled. "We also eat apples and nuts, sitting by the fire."
"That doesn't sound bad, does it, Sakura-chan?," said Tomoyo.
"No. It does sound very nice."
"But we do that while we tell some spooky stories," added Eriol. Sakura stepped back in fear, changing her mind.
"Did you know?!" Yamazaki joined to the group. "Halloween was created in America, at the south, when a thief used to dressed up with a white sheet every year at the end of the harvest, and stole all the pumpkins from the farms in the middle of the night. Everybody thought a hungry ghost had done it, so one year they carved an ugly face in the pumpkins so he could not eat them. The thief was scared of the ugly pumpkins, so he never stole them again."
"Really?"
"Of course not, he's lying again!" Chiharu pulled his ear and dragged him to his desk.
"I knew it was not true," said Naoko. "I read somewhere it's a pagan tradition from Ireland. Isn't it, Hiiragizawa-kun?"
"Indeed. For the Celtic people, the new year started on November 1st, so most of the things we do are derived from their rituals."
"I didn't know that!" Naoko was pleased.
"Are they telling the truth? Do you think they're trying to tease us, like Yamazaki?," Syaoran whispered to Sakura. She shrugged.
"During the eve's night," Hiiragizawa continued, his glasses had a bizarre glow, "it was said the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on for that night. Spirits would return to Earth, looking for living bodies to possess for the following year. The Celts would then dress up in ghoulish costumes and parade around the community to frighten them away."
After hearing that piece of information, the reactions on Sakura and Naoko's face were completely opposite. Kinomoto looked quite bluish and nervous, while Yanagisawa was in total bliss. Daidouji and Li were perplexed.
"So be careful tonight, girls," he concluded, lowering his voice, with a rather evil grimace, "since the season of darkness starts at midnight."
"Aaaaaaaaaah! No, no, no, no!"
"Thank you so much, Hiiragizawa-kun! You've made me so happy!"
"You're welcome, Yanagisawa-san." Eriol returned to his regular, polite expression. "Don't worry, Sakura-san, it's just a legend. It's not like spirits and witches and wizards exist... is it?"
"Um..."
At that moment, Professor Terada entered, so they couldn't think about the true meaning of Halloween anymore.
Until midnight, that is.
Needless to say, neither Sakura Kinomoto or Naoko Yanagisawa were able to sleep that night. For different reasons.
*******************
A/N: Everything Eriol and Naoko said about Halloween is true, I googled looking for Halloween traditions in England, along with its origin. I actually copy-pasted a a phrase, sorry about that. Yamazaki's story, as always, is invented. Naoko's costume is of a character from Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (aka Spirited Away).
Canon: anime?
Rating: G
Words: 1000+
Genre: general, comedy, crack
They had a free hour, since Kimura-sensei was absent that day. Perfect opportunity! She walked to her little locker room, and took out the plastic mask and the black veil. She put them on, and went to her destination. Of course, it was easier to scare her than her best friends. It was mean, but that was the holiday was all about.
She stopped and looked at her reflection at the nearest window. She saw her now hideous, pale face of a ghost looking back at her. Ahead of that, she could contemplate the auburn and yellow leaves, falling from the trees, at the school's green areas. It was beautiful, mysterious, poetic. But it was not the time to be distracted: she was on a mission. She hid a brown strand of hair behind her mask.
She advance through the rows of desks, some of the kids snickering at her. She didn't mind; she already knew she was more insane than some of them, and was happy being that way. She was herself, even if nobody else could understand her.
Finally there. She was in the middle of the two foreign boys' desks, who were now looking at her. The English boy seemed to get the idea, and was grinning in amusement. The Chinese boy was puzzled, eyes wide open. The girls in front of them were happily talking to each other, until the long-haired one turned to her, and so did the short-haired one.
The reaction was as quick as she -and the English boy, of course- expected to be.
"Hoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!," the cowardly gal exclaimed, and the whole classroom turned. The author was satisfied now, and she revealed her face.
"N-N-N-Naoko-chan? It was you?," cried Sakura.
"Of course! Sorry I scared you, but I had to."
"So that was why you brought the stupid costume to school, huh?," intervened Chiharu. "You wanted to give Sakura-chan a fright!"
"Um, no," she lied, "I just wanted to show them my costume, you know. It's from a Miyazaki film. It's not scary at all."
"Yes, it is!," said Sakura, still angry at her.
"Is it No-Face?," asked Tomoyo, looking at the white mask.
"Yeah!" Naoko's eyes shined. "I love that movie. And the part when she rides the water dragon and he..."
"Why the outfit in particular?," Li wanted to know.
"Don't you know what day is today, Li-kun?"
"Here we go again..." Chiharu sighed.
"Today is October 31st, isn't it? Halloween."
"That's right, Tomoyo-chan!"
"That reminds me! Sakura-chan, I just made this beautiful outfit that is perfect for Halloween! You'll look adorable in it! Can you go to my house today so you can try it on and I can film you a bit? Please?"
"Erm, Tomoyo-chan?"
"It's all orange and puffy, with black ribbons, and with this white laces, and the shoes..." Tomoyo went on, and Sakura just wanted to escape from her. Syaoran tried hard not to imagine the girl she liked looking like a wrapped pumpkin.
"So you disguised yourself because today is Halloween, Yanagisawa-san? I didn't know there was that tradition at Japan as well", said Eriol.
"In the big cities there are Halloween parties and trick-and-treating, but not in Tomoeda. Oh, right! Hiiragizawa-kun, it's a regular holiday in your country, isn't it?"
"Yes," he smiled, "we have our own traditions for Halloween in England, but we do some of the things you can see on the movies and TV."
"Wow," Naoko was excited and curious, so she decided to initiate a conversation with him, "so what do you do on Halloween then?"
"Well, we make Jack-o-lanterns, which are the empty carved pumpkins with candles inside, we pull pranks and dress up as you did, we cook soul cakes, which is a Halloween special recipe..."
"Does it taste good?," asked Sakura, who was hearing what they were saying, along with Tomoyo.
"I'm rather fond of them," Hiiragizawa smiled. "We also eat apples and nuts, sitting by the fire."
"That doesn't sound bad, does it, Sakura-chan?," said Tomoyo.
"No. It does sound very nice."
"But we do that while we tell some spooky stories," added Eriol. Sakura stepped back in fear, changing her mind.
"Did you know?!" Yamazaki joined to the group. "Halloween was created in America, at the south, when a thief used to dressed up with a white sheet every year at the end of the harvest, and stole all the pumpkins from the farms in the middle of the night. Everybody thought a hungry ghost had done it, so one year they carved an ugly face in the pumpkins so he could not eat them. The thief was scared of the ugly pumpkins, so he never stole them again."
"Really?"
"Of course not, he's lying again!" Chiharu pulled his ear and dragged him to his desk.
"I knew it was not true," said Naoko. "I read somewhere it's a pagan tradition from Ireland. Isn't it, Hiiragizawa-kun?"
"Indeed. For the Celtic people, the new year started on November 1st, so most of the things we do are derived from their rituals."
"I didn't know that!" Naoko was pleased.
"Are they telling the truth? Do you think they're trying to tease us, like Yamazaki?," Syaoran whispered to Sakura. She shrugged.
"During the eve's night," Hiiragizawa continued, his glasses had a bizarre glow, "it was said the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on for that night. Spirits would return to Earth, looking for living bodies to possess for the following year. The Celts would then dress up in ghoulish costumes and parade around the community to frighten them away."
After hearing that piece of information, the reactions on Sakura and Naoko's face were completely opposite. Kinomoto looked quite bluish and nervous, while Yanagisawa was in total bliss. Daidouji and Li were perplexed.
"So be careful tonight, girls," he concluded, lowering his voice, with a rather evil grimace, "since the season of darkness starts at midnight."
"Aaaaaaaaaah! No, no, no, no!"
"Thank you so much, Hiiragizawa-kun! You've made me so happy!"
"You're welcome, Yanagisawa-san." Eriol returned to his regular, polite expression. "Don't worry, Sakura-san, it's just a legend. It's not like spirits and witches and wizards exist... is it?"
"Um..."
At that moment, Professor Terada entered, so they couldn't think about the true meaning of Halloween anymore.
Until midnight, that is.
Needless to say, neither Sakura Kinomoto or Naoko Yanagisawa were able to sleep that night. For different reasons.
*******************
A/N: Everything Eriol and Naoko said about Halloween is true, I googled looking for Halloween traditions in England, along with its origin. I actually copy-pasted a a phrase, sorry about that. Yamazaki's story, as always, is invented. Naoko's costume is of a character from Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (aka Spirited Away).