The Winter Wonderland Miracle

Mission Info:

Saturn Sentobi, an alcoholic and a fortuneteller with psychic abilities, sat in a small shop that he had set up in Winter Wonderland's village center, surrounded by crystals and tarot cards. He had always been known for his psychic abilities, but he had never used them for anything other than reading fortunes, fighting his enemies, and the occasional game of poker. But this year was different, for Santa Claus, the legendary Space-Time specialist, was plagued with a mysterious illness and wouldn't be able to make all the deliveries by himself.

It was the day before Christmas and the villagers of Winter Wonderland were in a state of panic. Everyone knew that Santa Claus was the one who made all the deliveries and without him, there would be no Christmas. That's when one of Santa's elves came into Saturn's shop and begged him to help save Christmas. At first, Saturn was reluctant, he had always been averse to taking on unnecessary work for himself, and he never liked to get involved in the affairs of others. But the elf's pleas and the thought of all those disappointed children on Christmas morning finally convinced him to lend a hand.

Saturn made his way to Santa's workshop, which was located just outside the village center. As he approached the building, he could see that elves with pointy ears were running around in a state of chaos. The workshop was filled with the sounds of saws and hammers, but there was a sense of hopelessness in the air. Santa Claus the man himself was sitting in a corner, looking frail and weak, and unable to speak. Saturn knew he had to act fast, so he placed his hand on Santa's wrinkled forehead and used his Psycho Mind Transmission to find out what was wrong.

It turns out that Santa had a severe case of the flu, and it was spreading rapidly among the elves. Saturn knew that he had to possess the bodies of the elves using his Mind Body Switch Technique to keep them working, but he had to be careful not to spread the flu further. So, he used his telekinetic abilities - Psychic Weapon Manipulation - to control his axes and began chopping wood for the elves to use to make toys.

As the day went on, Saturn continued to possess the elves, making toys, baking cookies, and even singing Christmas carols. He was having the time of his life, and he was happy to help save Christmas. But, as the day wore on, Saturn began to feel the effects of the flu himself. His head was spinning, his nose was running, and he couldn't stop sneezing.

Saturn knew he had to take a break and rest, so he decided to take a walk around the village center. As he walked, he saw the villagers going about their business, some were buying last-minute gifts, others were decorating their homes, but there was a sense of disappointment on their faces. Saturn knew he had to do something to lift their spirits, so he used his psychic abilities - Mind Clone Switch Technique, and then Mind Body Switch Technique again - to possess a group of musicians and they started playing Christmas carols in the village center. The villagers started to gather around, and soon they were singing along and dancing. Saturn's plan had worked, and the village center was filled with the sounds of laughter and cheer. However, the Sun was about to set, and the clock was ticking on Christmas Eve.

He took a drag from his cigarette and sneezed before looking down at his wrist watch. He knew that he could not save Christmas by himself, and he needed some help.

---

WC: 604

Zunair had been staying at the inn, 'The Ole' Fiddle', for two nights now. Both nights during his stay the inn filled with commoners and partygoers. It seems a celebration was held every night. So, of course, the Hyūga joined in on the festivities, how could he not? The long hours were fun as the festivities continued throughout the night: singing, dancing, eating, and drinking flooded the whole building where the bright colorful lights lit up the inside. Zunair met a wonderful lady named Akemi, obviously an elder, but she had the stamina of youth as she pulled the Hyūga in to dance with her in the cleared-out area, teaching him some of their cultural dances. As the music played, Zunair swirled, it seemed like all the worries from his life had disappeared as he flowed through the crowd. Effortlessly swaying with new faces that came into view.

Next, he ate at a rather large table, filled with commoners passing around foods of all sorts. His plate quickly filled as he then began to savor every type of meat, potatoes, vegetables, and dessert. Each one was better than the last as the flavors danced in his mouth. He felt like he could eat forever as this was probably the safest and warmest feeling he has felt in such a long time. Free from his father and family's judgment. He could live like this if this is what life was like every day here.

He needed to work off his energy after being stuffed to the max, he would then proceed to the crowd and begin to dance again. Apparently, the littles, he liked to call them, knew about the drink as one of them named, Kenta, offered the young Chunin a bottle of Chuhai as he was dancing with him. When Zunair took a drink, he almost threw up everywhere, as he felt burn on his tongue and down his throat. Then soon the night came to an end as his vision drank itself away.

Zunair came to these lands with Onabi but after helping some of the villagers, he ran off to do some sightseeing. After a rough and brutal storm came to a close, Zunair found himself wondering the snow-covered streets, surprisingly with no hangover. However, much couldn't be said about the town folk as when he left the inn, there were still bodies passed out on the tables and ground. The sight of them made giggle.

Anyway, Zunair was on his way to do some sightseeing when one of the littles came up to him, asking for his help. The civilians knew of his status of being medical shinobi, so they figured he could help. Apparently, Santa, the renowned Space-Time specialist is sick, and so are some of his subordinates are also as well. Agreeing to the request, the pointy-eared fellow led Zunair to the workshop, however, a strange occurrence came to Zunair. While the village people were short in stature, he noticed a man coming from the workshop that was roughly his height with a knit hat on. Was he from here as well?  Not time to ask questions.

Finding himself inside the workshop, he saw the elvish kind working rigorously trying to complete the toys on time. However, looking at Santa, you can tell that he was out of commission and was definitely not going to be sleighing out tonight if Zunair can do something about it. Walking over, Zunair checked the frail man's symptoms, quickly gathering that it was the flu that was affecting not only him, but his little workers as well.

While Zunair is a medical shinobi, he's more versed in poison and wound regeneration, not disease. But with all his training, he still knew of a few remedies that could help. Heading to the kitchen where they are baking their cookies, Zunair took over the stove top to boil some ginger. Luckily for them, they had all the ingredients he needed. He then minced up some garlic and mixed it with a little bit of honey, adding some echinacea. He then threw the concoction in with the ginger, making it into a syrup texture.

This took quite a while to fix, but at least it was done. He started filling up vials for the elves and Santa to take, he walked out of the kitchen area and gave all of them the medicine. While the medicine might help in due time, it would not be quick enough for them all to get better for they have to also rest. Zunair wasn't for sure what to do next, he couldn't take on this whole operation himself and it be a success. Maybe someone from the village could provide assistance.

Heading back to the village, he wondered around aimlessly, handing out vials to whomever seemed sick. It seemed that Zunair was the last to get the news about the Christmas tragedy, but the townsfolk didn't seem to mind, as they were still celebrating. Dancing, singing, and playing, in the streets this time. At least they didn't let it get them down. However, Zunair saw the person from before, this time he was smoking a cigarette. Maybe he knows something?

"Not a big fan of the joyous occasion?" Zunair said as he approached the individual after he sneezed and was looking at his watch. Standing next to his right side, Zunair reached into his pocket and grabbed one of the vials and presented it to the man. "Are you sick as well? I made remedy that might help, but it won't heal you instantaneously." The Hyūga said with a short laugh as he looked into the partygoers.

"Strange, I feel like the commoners would be more upset about Christmas, but its seems that they're doing fine?" Zunair questioned as he continued to watch the people have fun. "I wish there was something I could do to help about it," the Creation Rebirth user said before turning his gave back onto the blonde.

TWC: 998

After being mysteriously teleported into the mystical winter wonderland after opening a golden scroll left at his doorstep, Jun was starting to get used to the cold, Christmas-themed village. He even started working at the Christmas tree shop, working part-time as a lumberjack, chopping down pine trees to sell them at the shop to the village’s folk, who were happily preparing themselves for the most important time of the year in winter’s wonderland: Christmas!

The whole village was pulsing with joy and life during the days before the 25^th, with lots of singing, dancing, eating, and drinking happening all around, and while not being a big fan of parties, Jun was enjoying such a vibrant place. But right on Christmas eve, just a day after a big party at the 'The Ole' Fiddle inn that pretty much all the village’s folk attended, while people were still battling their hangovers, some dreadful news arrived: Santa Claus was sick. Not only he was sick, but many of his elves were also sick. Christmas was ruined!

At least that was what most people thought, as the village folk was in a state of panic. Some were already packing their stuff to leave the village, calling it “cursed”, some were calling it “the end of times”, and some were actually trying to help saving Christmas. Most prominently, Jun’s fellow Kumo genin, Saturn. The fortuneteller possessed the sick elves bodies to keep them building toys, baking cookies, and even singing Christmas caroles around the village, trying to cheer up the folk.

There was another shinobi trying to fix Christmas, someone unfamiliar to Jun, a short, slender young man of light complexion with long, straight hair of black color that fades to mint green approaching his waist. The Konoha Shinobi seemed to a be a medical ninja, being called by the elves to heal Santa. He made some medicine to the elvish workers and santa himself, but Jun knew how medicine works in real life: it takes time to work. So, while Santa’s life was most likely out of danger, he would still be on the sidelines this Christmas night.

And that was the biggest problem that they had to solve in order to save Christmas: Santa Claus’ absence. While Saturn helped the elves build pretty much all the toys and the Konoha ninja treated the illness that spread through the workshop, the gifts still had to be delivered in time, and just a Space-Time legend such as Santa could do such thing. At that time, Christmas was indeed hopeless.

And where the hell was Jun this whole time while other Shinobi were trying to save Christmas? Well, he was facing the first hangover of his life after last night’s festivities, just trying to survive. The young shinobi woke up at Santa’s workshop attic, without a clue on how he ended up there, and learned everything that happened during that day by eavesdropping the elves gossiping around the shop: the panic among the workshop and the village with Santa’s illness, Saturn trying to save Christmas using his psychic abilities and the leaf shinobi crafting some medicine. And while his body couldn’t move as he was too wasted, Jun’s mind woke and listening to everything.

After many hours, the young Shibasaki clansman was finally able to gather his strength back and stand on his feet, still kind of dizzy. He checked his pockets to see if he lost anything during his “blackout”, and was surprised to find a crumpled piece of golden paper in his pocket, that resembled the scroll that took him to Winter Wonderland. After Jun uncrumpled it, he realized it was actually a letter, still sealed. There was something written in it, but Jun’s vision as still kind of blurred, so he had to focus his sight in order to read it: “SANTA’S CONTIGENCY PLAN, OPEN IN CASE OF EMERGENCY”.

Eureka! There was still hope for Christma! Jun had no idea how that letter got on his pocket, but that looked like Santa’s emergency plan, and that was without a doubt a big emergency. A till lightly drunken Jun decided to share the news with the other shinobis, so he dropped down from the attic and started started asking the elves in the workshop for the whereabouts of the other Shinobi. “They are outside!” – told Jun an old, grumpy elf who was baking some cookies at the kitchen.

Jun left the workshop through the front door and soon located his fellow Kumo shinobi, Saturn, having a smoke outside next to the leaf’s shinobi:

- GUYS, GUYS…. I FOUND IT! SANTA’S CONTIGENCY PLAN! - yelled Jun toward the two shinobi to call their attention, while approaching them both, with his hair all messy and smelling like cider, showing them the golden letter he surprisingly discovered in his pocket. 

---

WC: 800

Christmas was the one time of year Ban loved the most. It wasn't the joyous occasion of seeing families get together making memories or the warm sweets that would fill the air. No, instead what Ban loved about Christmas was the presents. When she was younger, Santa would always get ninja tools or new wooden armor that she would always grow out of. The other parts of Christmas always came second to the excitement of seeing a neatly wrapped present under the Christmas tree. However, Ban would soon find out that this timely tradition was at risk of collapsing.

While in Winter Wonderland, Ban spent most of her time training on makeshift training grounds she made out of ice and snow. It was good for her to get away from all the chaos of the other parts of Christmas. Ban wasn't able to escape from the noise but she reasoned it was better than nothing. The elves and shinobi rushed and worked to make sure everything was just right giving Ban a headache. She figured they wouldn't need her help with preparations since there were so many of them. She'd rather work on herself than just stand around.

As Ban was practicing decapitating her foes on some pine trees, the tone of the elves and shinobi shifted from joyous preparations to whispers of concern. Ban needed to go to the town to find out what was going on.

Two female elves were discussing amongst themselves with worried expressions. Ban approached them from behind, surprising the two elves. "What going on?"" Ban bellowed.
"Oh- there's been some terrible news. Santa is sick!"
"That's what going on? That's not too bad. He's a big guy he'll walk it off." Ban shrugged and turned to head back out.
"I suppose... Butt they're worried that the presents won't be able to be delivered."
Ban froze and snapped back. She looked at the two worried elves and then at Santa's workshop where the big man was. "Not acceptable." Ban moved past the two elves and towards the workshop. She wasn't going to allow a lack of presents this year, even if that meant she would have to do them all herself.

Once Ban got further into town, she noticed a group of shinobi working trying to get Christmas going. One of them was making medicine, one was using some kind of jutsu to help keep things automated. "Where's the big man? We need to get those presents out on time." Ban demanded to see him even if he was sick.

One of the shinobi from Kumogakure had a crumpled-up note in his handing, claiming it to be Santa's "contingency plan". "What does Santa need a contingency plan for? " Ban went to swipe the paper from the boy's hand to read it for herself.

WC: 472

As Saturn took a drag from his cigarette, his eyes were rolled into the back of his skull. He could still sense the world around him, but his mind wasn't yet in his body. He was in a transcendent state of pseudo-meditation, where the object or rather objects of his focus were the musicians whose bodies were in his possession as they pranced and sang on the other side of the street, gathering a small crowd.




"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!" The singer bowed, and his guitarist grabbed the microphone as the crowd dispersed, ""Keep in mind, flu and nasal infection are serious and might cause trouble to people, and should be treated seriously, this was a lighthearted way to approach the issue." That was when Zunair approached Saturn on the bench. The Genin turned his head, wiped his nose on a snotty ball of crumbled tissue paper, and took a hard sniff.

"Oh? I don't usually celebrate Christmas," Saturn spoke in a deep, raspy voice. His blue eyes were dark and slanted, with dark circles under them. He fixed his gaze on the long haired boy who approached him. He wasn't sure at first, if they were a boy or not, but he took a moment to scan him with his Sixth Sense skill. Aquarius. Likes: Music, food, intellectual conversations, reading, lotus's.  Dislikes: Lettuce, failing, Expressing his emotions.

"I think the dating system is erroneous, and any festivities revolving around the recurrence of a specific date in a year is delusional, because it is not accurate with the planetary rotations and patterns of chronological symmetry in reality." Saturn would tell the boy with mint green eyes, pointing a finger into the sky as if to make a point, "But the townsfolk here sure are enthusiastic about it.." He remarked, taking another drag from his cigarette. He would raise his brow curiously when offered a vial, and accept it, inspecting it closely.

"Does this have any alcohol in it?" He would ask, opening it and sniffing its contents. "Garlic.. and ginger...? That sounds about right.." He was not a medical expert, but he had heard anecdotes about the wonders of garlic and ginger. He downed the fluid in one single gulp. "Ahhh.. That's nasty.." He groaned, returning the empty vial to Zunair. "Thank you very much, kind stranger. May I know your name?" He would ask.

When Zunair made his comment about the crowd, Saturn groaned again. "That's because I possessed a band and made them sing a hymn for the crowd," He pointed at them, and sneezed, releasing them from his mental possession. He usually kept quiet about his powers, they were a secret that he guarded closely so as to avoid being judged by his peers for their taboo nature, but today he was sick and intoxicated, and cared less. Instead, he wanted to shed light on how hopeless Christmas was beginning to appear at this point in the day. As he pointed at the singer and guitarist duo, their eyes rolled up into the backs of their skulls and came back down, and their faces morphed into expressions that seemed quite different from how they appeared just moments earlier.

""Shigeo! What was that?!" The guitarist shrieked, grabbing his mate.

""That was you, wasn't it? Was that a prank? Don't play with me, Takashi!" The singer groaned, grabbing the wrists of the man who now grabbed him by his collars. As they kept fighting, Saturn pointed to two other citizens. They were still standing still whereas the rest of the crowd had dispersed, no longer paying attention to the musician duo.

"I possessed two civilians to start cheering for them so as to make a crowd too, look." Saturn pointed, as he released them in similar fashion, sneezing once again. They looked at each other with baffled expressions on their pale faces, and ran off in opposite directions as fast as their feet could carry them. Then, Saturn let out a deep disgruntled sigh of despair, and looked down at the ground where he had dropped his cigarette to stamp on it with his boots. He was beginning to feel pessimistic. "Even if we make all the toys on time, we still have no realistic way of delivering all of the presents to every household by sunrise."

He then turned his head up quickly when he heard a familiar voice. His face lit up. It was the wonder boy whom he knew had never failed a mission. He couldn't help, but let a grin slice across his face when he heard the words that came out of Jun's mouth. "Ah. Jun! Good to see ya! Of course you found the contingency plan!" He grinned, as he caught the smell of cider on the boy's breath. "Jun you dog! Have you been drinking? You stink!" He laughed wickedly before sneezing again, into the back of his elbow. The Shibasaki clansman had come a long way from the time that Saturn tried to bribe him to do his bidding when they met at the Drunken Kage Bar. His memory was foggy, but he was sure that Jun opted for a juice on that day instead of alcohol.

"Huh?" Saturn's neck was hurting to turn his head all around to meet all these newcomers one by one. "He's quarantined, I don't recommend seeing him." He told the tall short haired kunoichi who approached the group, "I should be quarantined too, but this kind shinobi here has made me drink a concoction of ginger and garlic. I think it should help make my sickness less contagious, right?" He turned to Zunair, with a hopeful look on his face, snot on his nose that he quickly wiped once again. From the side of his eye, he caught the kunoichi swiping at the letter.

"Oi, careful with that! It's our best shot!" He warned, forming hand seals Rat and Monkey in quick succession to use Mass Shift, moving the letter telekinetically towards him in space, but it would fall to the ground near Zunair's feet before he could grab it himself.

---

WC: 1162
TWC: 1766

Zunair was listening to the song playing before he approached Saturn, but he wasn't particularly listening to the words. He didn't realize up until 'Rudolph's lost his shine' point before the Hyūga knew what they were singing about. Giving a concerning look and motioning his head to the left, he just didn't know what to think about it. However, given the circumstances, it was rather cute.

Upon his first words with man, Zunair found out he particularly didn't like Christmas. What a shame, Zunair quite enjoyed it. He liked the lights, the decorations, the whole aura of it. Plus, it was a great time to spend with what's left of his uptight family, since most of them are dead. Aw, who was he kidding, he didn't spend no holidays with his family, but he really does like lights.

"So, I'm assuming that you're more into the astrologically sides of things," Zunair gave a small smile towards the man. Zunair isn't that up to date on astrology, but he has read a book or two about them, very intriguing indeed. "But the festivities are so fun; plus, it's another reason to drink without looking like an alcoholic, am I right?" The medical Hyūga chuckled at his own remark.

"No, unfortunately it does not, maybe next time I will add it in," Zunair said with smile. While the contents did not have alcohol in it, Zunair was always down for the drink. Always has been since he became a Genin. He didn't know what it was, he just like the way it made him feel. So, he always has a bottle on every occasion, dinner, lunch, breakfast and funeral. You name it.

"Yeah, I didn't say it was going to taste fantastic," he said taking the vial back from Saturn, "I am Zunair Hyūga, a pleasure to meet you," the mint eyed Hyūga gave a slight bow to the smoking man, "and you might be?"

The topic then shifted to him talking about how he basically mind controlled the civilians. "Interesting, never seen mind-controlling up close. I'm going to assume you picked the atrocious words for the song too," Zunair hit back with a little humor. He really didn't care that Saturn was possessing the townsfolk, he was just glad he didn't get effected by his technique. But to his enlightenment, Saturn gave Zunair front row seats to his psionic abilities. Saturn brought the singer and the guitarist. Their eyes were strange, the facial features were strange, all around it was very strange. Even when they got into an argument and then a fight. All from this man, Saturn, controlling them.

"Oi, mind my manners but that is pretty fucking cool," Zunair said as the blonde released the duo.

Next thing came to Zunair was the sound of an energetic individual, another blonde just like the man he had met.  He looked around the same age as Zunair. It was obvious that two knew each other, they must be from the same place. Anyway, through all the hootin' and hollerin' that he was doing, he announced that Santa has some sort of contingency plan? Well, at least it might hold a plan for how they can save Christmas, but, for now, that should be put on the back burner because obviously socializing is more important.

Well, he wouldn't call it so much socializing as Zunair didn't even speak because this male named Jun, reeked of cider. The Hyūga absolutely hates cider. It is like the equivalent to drinking cold medicine. Yuck. But he did find it strangely attractive. Zunair couldn't even tell you what it was. Anyway, the medical specialist was surprised he didn't stink as he was drinking last night as if it was his last night on earth. Maybe he does, maybe he smells just as Jun looks, horrible. Bring his hand up and huffing into his palm, smelling the air. Smelt minty, as usual. A small smirk formed a crossed his lips from happiness that he didn't smell like cigarette sickness to his right and dirty cider to his left.

Through his petty thoughts, he didn't realize they were joined by a woman. She had some nice silver hair going for her. However, her attitude almost shown through and Zunair could tell she was going to be someone bossy. He liked that. Before Zunair could answer, Saturn led the conversation, saying how Santa was sick and he was too and how Zunair gave him medicine.

"Oh yeah! Totally! Not contagious! Look at him, should be fresh as daisies in a couple hours," Zunair gritted his teeth, raised his eyebrows, and looked at the ground. What did he think was this remedy was? Magic? He could've made a better one, but he wasn't in his hospital and things around here and fucking scarce with people barely helping. 

Anyway, now we have the contingency plan flying around, getting crumpled and getting swiped from people's hands until it finally lands in front of Zunair. Sighing and rolling his eyes, he picked it up and opened the letter. Well, letter would be an understatement as it fell like a scroll. Zunair's eyes widen as a small seal in the shape of a santa hat fell out of it. Reading from the top,

"If you are reading this, then it must be a state of emergency and I, Santa Claus, is out of commission. Take this seal to Mrs. Claus and she will give you supply you with reindeer. You'll need to get the gifts into the sleigh and transport them to the kids. Each coordinate for each child is listed below. Mrs. Clause will pay you on completion. Next are the coordinates," Zunair finished and looked up to the group.

Mouthing, 'what the fuck,' he then said, "I'mma need a drink for this."

TWC: 1,968

As Jun went on to show Santa’s Contigency plan to the two Shinobi who were helping to save Christmas, a fourth person, a shor-haired Kunoichi, approached the group asking about Santa and the presents. Jun couldn’t quite understand what she said about the letter he was holding at his hands as his head was still kind of dizzy, an so he had no reaction at all when she went to swipe the letter from Jun’s hand. But Jun’s friend, although caught with the flu and looking pretty banged up, was still very sharp and used his telekinetic skills to get the contingency plan out of Jun’s hand before It could be taken by the unknown kunoichi. The fortuneteller indeed kept his reflexes while sick, but he could not keep the technique going until the letter reached his hands, so he telekinetically fumbled it right at the leaf’s ninja feet.

The medical ninja crouched and grabbed the crumpled letter, looking kind of skeptic as he rolled his eyes before unsealing the letter, falling to the ground as a scroll upon being opened, which amazed Jun since the latter looked so small before it was unsealed. “Santa is indeed a Space-Time specialist… perhaps he will teach this Space-Time rookie here if we indeed save Christmas…” thought Jun to himself. He just recently learned his second specialty but was still learning how to mold and use Space-Time chakra into jutsus.

The mint-eyed read Santa’s contingency plan, and as words left his mouth, Jun’s hope of saving Christmas started fading. The young Shibasaki clansman hoped that Santa had some kind of wicked and secret Space-Time technique that would just deliver the gifts to the right child at the right house or some kind of Christmas Miracle, but it contained instead instructions. They should head to Mrs. Claus and deliver her this letter, and she would supply the party with reindeers, sleigh and instructions. So, it was actually up to that just recently put together group of Shinobi from three different countries to save Christmas after all.

- I think it’s up to us to save Christmas, guys… nice to meet you all by the way, my name is Jun Shibasaki, I’m a Kumogakure shinobi… – said Jun to the 2 shinobi who he was unfamiliar with, before pointing towards Mrs. Claus workshop, that happened to be just a few hosues away from Santa’s – I'm sorry, but we'll have to leave the socializing part for later, Christmas needs us.

Yes, Mr. Mrs. Claus indeed worked in a different workshop, though they are one of the most famous couple of all mankind. While Santa’s workshop focused on building the toys, Mrs. Claus one focused on sewing the clothes that would be delivered as gifts to the (unlucky) children of the world. Jun went right away to her separate Shop, knowing that they should hurry in order to save Christmas. He entered the shop through the front door to find a desperate Mrs. Claus, walking around like a crazy person as if she was looking for something while shouting to some scared elves that were also on the search “WHERE THE HELL IS THE PLAN?”.

- Ma’am, I think we found what we are looking for… Santa’s contingency plan… - said Jun to the grumpy Mrs. Claus, who turned her attention towards the group.

She looked the shinobis from head to toe, analyzing those strange people who suddenly appeared in her workshop carrying the golden scroll/letter, with a mixture of anger and relief in her eyes, anger that a bunch of foreigners had Santa Claus's emergency plan, and relief that it wasn't lost as she thought until a few moments ago.

- Well, I don’t know how the hell that plan got into your hands… I would deliver the gifts myself but besides from Santa’s mind, this piece of paper is the only register of the coordinates of where the gifts should be delivered. It seems that fate brought the mission to save Christmas upon all of you, young ninjas… so it should be you all to do some Christmas miracle this year!

Before Jun could reply to anything that Mrs. Claus said, she clapped her hands and shouted “BRING IN THE SLEIGH”, and in a few seconds, a side door to the workshop opened and some elves drove Santa’s legendary sleigh, with all the legendary reindeers, into the workshop.

- I’ll make things easier to y’all as I know that none of you are actually Santa… - Horse-Snake-Ram-Dragon-Tiger, after quickly doing some handseals, Mrs. Claus casted a unknown jutsu and Santa’s sleigh poofed out of existence in a cloud of smoke. As the smoke dispersed, it revealed that she actually divided Santa’s big sleigh into four smaller sleighs, one for each ninja, with two reindeers carrying each one (Rudolph got the flue and was sidelined as well). – You guys got the coordinates, so what are you waiting for? Christmas is right upon us! HURRY! - shouted the old lady as the elfish workers were loading the smaller sleighs with gifts to be delivered.


Jun heart started racing upon hearing Mrs. Claus instructions… he never drove in his life, besides from riding Saturn’s summon, and his frist time would be piloting a smaller version of Santa’s sleigh. Not only that, but he still was mildly intoxicated by his first drinking night so that would definitely be interesting…

---

WC: 900
TWC: 1700

The randomly fated crew of shinobi was a strange one. Ban was already quite the character with her ferocious nature, making herself known as a woman who wastes no time with things that had to be done. However, the others were also quite interesting.

As Ban tried to swipe the plan's from the Kumo Shinobi, Jun, they suddenly floated towards the other colorful Kumo shinobi. Some sort of chakra parlor trick that allowed him to control objects telekinetically. Not only that, the Kono shinobi, Zunir, noticed right away that Saturn was the one controlling the elves to sing an optimistic song. Impressively, Zunir was also noticeably intoxicated from the smell of liquor and ginger in the air around him as he was conversing with Saturn. Jun, who had brought the contiguous plan despite not being an elf or a worker of Santa, seemed to know Saturn. Although it was not surprising that two people from the same village would be acquainted at the very least.

Although the assembled group was intriguing, it was still not enough to impress Ban. She had a bigger short-term goal on her mind: what was going to happen with the presents?

Onto the backup plans, it told the readers to take the seal to Mrs. Claus. From there, she is supposed to supply reindeer and coordinates for the readers to take with them. They were to deliver the presents in Santa's place.

Ban grinned at the idea that she would be the one to deliver the presents. It ignited a nostalgic feeling of joy within her that she would be personally responsible for passing out the gifts to children and adults. Ban even imagined herself in the traditional Santa suit. Instead of a large round belly, she imagine the suit would be tight enough around her biceps where they could be seen bulging in the bright red fabric lined with frosted fur and a large leather belt. Without wasting any more time with silly introductions, Ban went to the workshop with a new mission.

Once the crew had gotten to the workshop, they found Mrs.Claus busy taking the reigns in her husband's absences. Truly an icon and inspiration for spouses everywhere. Ban was truly impressed with her dedication. When they came up to her with the plans, Ban bowed respectfully. Despite some initial doubt about the plan, even said that she'd be willing to do them herself, she would allow them to take on the mission. Using an unknown technique she summoned the ride they would need for this mission: the famous Santa sleigh made into four smaller copies. This would allow the four shinobi to divide and conquer and, even more importantly, allow Ban to pilot her own sleigh. Instant glimmer in Ban's eyes. "M'am, you'll not be disappointed in me. I'll deliver the presents with more care and precision than Santa could." She would grab her icon's hand in a handshake and then a pat on the back. Mrs. Clause was surprised by the sudden approach but accepted it nonetheless. Ban would then turn to the crew with the same glimmer. "You heard her, girls. So sober up and get 'er going. Let's get this show on the road." Her tone was authoritative. The others might find her orders annoying and unnecessary but she didn't care. Ban would discipline them if they weren't up to her expectations even if they weren't from the same village.

Ban claimed one of the sleighs. "I'll be taking the presents to the island country. I know my nation the best. I'll also swing over to the volcano country too." Heaven knows the volcano nation was going to need some Christmas joy, they've had a rough couple of years and are starting to get back on their feet and boost morale. Of course, Kiriakure was also struggling, but she knew that her nation would make it through even if Christmas was canceled.

The elves were loading up the presents in the back, but it was taking too long for her taste. The Hozuki would grab an empty large red velvet sack and start speed throwing the presents in the bag. Each sleigh had its own pile of presents based on the coordinates they were given. Ban's pile was quite large. The sack filled up quickly as she started throwing them in. It became so large to the point that Ban wasn't able to just place the presents in the bag anymore and opted to throw them in (with care not to break anything).

As Ban was loading the sack with presents, the reindeer were being attached. Santa had a total of nine flying reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet , Cupid, Dunder, Blixem and the famous Roudolph. Unforunetly, Roudoulph wouldn't be pulling any of the slieghs because, like Santa, he was sick. but it still left 8 reigndeer for the 4 shinobi to use; each of them would be assigned two. Ban had gotten Vixen and Cupid.

The elves that were assisting Ban previously stoped and watched as the pile grew. There wasn't anything they could do, the only worry was how she was going to get into the sleigh. Luckily, Ban was genetically engineered for this. Ban went to pick up the sack, but wasn't able to get a good grip on the bag to get under it and lift. She needed to expand. The Hozuki is known for being able to turn their body into water and manipulate their bodies and water is known to expand. Ban weaved a couple hand signs before her arms and legs began to monsterously expand. Her hand was now able to hold a couple of the presents that were inside the bag from the underneght and hoist the whole sack over her head. The weight of the bag shifted around, causing it to wobble. Ban had a handle on it though and was able to keep the bag from falling and all their working being for nothing. As Ban placed the sack in the back of the slleigh, the front part of the sleigh bounced up from the uneven weight. The elves got nervous, seeing that there was probably too many presents in the bag. Ban didn't seem to share this concern though. She hopes into the front and suddenly the sleigh goes back down and evens out. Her muscles and weapons on hand were enough to distribute the weight equally.

Vixen and Cupid were going to need to pull a lot of weight, but they were ready. They had helped carry Santa and all the presents for generations. There was no way a buff bute and a portion of the presents were going to be an issue. They huffed and adjusted their harness, eye full of the same glimmer as Ban's. She was ready for take off but would wait for others before actually taking off, just in case.

WC: 1151
TWC: 1623

"Any good reason to drink is a great one. It's Saturn." The Genin from the Hidden Cloud told his name to the man who had asked him. "Atrocious?!" He shrieked, appearing offended at Zunair's description of the words he had picked out for the hymn, but his sour mood would be calmed by compliments about the nature of his power. "Why, thank you. I don't usually show them to my peers 'cause it's kinda weird, so consider yourself special, Zunair Hyuuga." He had said, before Jun Shibasaki showed up. His teeth sparkled as he showed Zunair an affirmative thumbs up to his sarcastic remark about the mindbender's improving health. He had not recognized the sarcasm behind the promising words that were spoken to him. "Huh?!" He shrieked again when he heard Santa's terrific contingency plan. It was the one course of action that he had deemed impossible. Manually visiting every house seemed like a mountain of a task that would be insurmountable by a small band of shinobi. But there it was, spelled out in the letter with crystal clear instructions. "More rum," He nodded at Zunair, taking out a second flask to offer it to him while he clutched the first, "I used my mouth on this flask. It's nothing fancy, but here's more cheap rum."

Saturn sneezed and took a swig from his metal flask before he trailed behind Jun to Mrs. Claus' workshop, but he did not forget the duo of musicians. Once again grabbing hold of their minds amidst their quarrelling, with a different technique that had the same effects, they strolled behind the fortune teller and the crew as they made their way to their destination. Of course, Saturn made them sing. He was determined to make Zunair take back his comments.


When the crew walked into Mrs. Clause' workshop, Saturn was met with her gaze mixed with both relief and anger. He returned a similar gaze. What's her problem? He thought, feeling rather agitated while the duo of musicians stayed behind him with frothy mouths and dazed eyes - still in his possession. He listened patiently to what the iconic spouse had to say to the crew of shinobi, and he was.... disappointed. At first, she had offered no real follow up, just a dictation of what the group already knew from reading the letter. "Listen here, old lad- Ow!" He was going to give her a piece of his mind, when Mimas, his octopus disguised as his knit cap gave his blonde locks a firm tug before he could finish his very first sentence, pleading him to stop. It was usually a disgusting purple blob, but it had the uncanny ability to take the shape and form of Saturn's items, and that included his clothing. It was also socially anxious, and averse to combat unless it was to defend its caretaker or his friends with whom it had grown accustomed. Saturn held his 'cap', and bit his tongue, waiting to see if Mrs. Clause had more to add.

"Yeah, no shit, Mrs. Clause." He slurred, rubbing his stomach and his stubble to show that he indeed was not Santa Clause. Mrs. Clause gave him a stern glare in response, and he scowled. After shaking her head, she finally summoned Santa's sleighs. "Whoo! Now we're talking!" Saturn cheered, his face finally lighting up again. He inspected each vehicle, sniffing them and feeling their texture. He had forgotten that all she had done was given them sleighs with which to do the same unsurmountable task. Before he could hop onto one of the sleighs, Ban had chimed in with her authoritative tone, once again derailing Saturn's mind. He scowled again, and cringed, before leaning in towards the taller kunoichi with his breath stinking of liquor. He wasn't shy about expressing his exasperation with her tone and request. "Sober up? Who do you think you're talking to? Baka." He hopped onto one of the sleighs and took another swig from his flask. "Jun, don't forget your new year's resolution: Drinking and driving only." He took out a third flask and tossed it at his compatriot's direction before pointing at him after the fact, his eyes were slightly crossed and his finger was off the mark.


"Very well. I will visit Fire, and Rice, and Tea, and Coffee..." He slurred, making Mrs. Clause unsure of his capacity. Before she could speak up, he addressed the musicians with his arms hanging out of the sleigh. "Shigeo, Takashi, you're with me! Oh, wait, that's right, you're my little puppets..." He crossed his eyes, focusing to make them walk over with his mind, and get onto his sleigh. "Hurry up, you elves. Slow pokes. The lot of you! Santa's got presents to deliver!" He slurred when he scolded the crew of hard workers, making Mrs. Clause frown. "Don't worry, Mrs. Clause. You sit tight. We'll deliver all of the presents! Hee Yaw!"

---

Saturn Sentobi, the shinobi-turned-Santa, was having the ride of his life on Santa's sleigh. He now had a bottle of sake in one hand and a bag of presents in the other. He smirked knowing that he had hidden the bottle from Jun and Zunair. Comet and Dunder were having a hard time keeping up with his drunken commands.

"Faster, Comet! Faster, Dunder! Do a barrel roll!" he slurred as they flew over the Fire Nation. The reindeer, used to Santa's gentle demeanor, were shocked by Saturn's behavior.

As they reached the Rice Nation, Saturn accidentally dropped his bottle of sake and it shattered all over the presents. "Oops," he laughed, sneezed and snorted, "Rice is made from Sake, right?" He asked Dunder, but did not receive a response.

Finally, they arrived at the Tea Nation, where Saturn, now fully wasted, decided to use his Mass Shift to deliver the presents instead of the traditional chimney method. The children in Tea would wake up to find their presents floating in mid-air, delivered by a drunken ninja Santa.

Santa's sleighs had been inexplicably fast. It was a few hours before dawn, and it was already time to head back. Though he could use some, Coffee wasn't a real nation. He hoped that the rest of the crew of Christmas Crusaders were successful in their own journeys and would regroup with him at Mrs. Clause' workshop.

---

WC: 1191
TWC: 2957

Zunair gave off a devious smirk when he clearly struck a nerve with the elder blond. Who knew someone that can control the minds of people has trouble keeping his own in check. Fascinating. Zunair wonders what else he could do to strike a nerve at the man. To get under his skin if you will. Well, it most likely has to be put on the back burner for now as they have a more serious mission to attend too. Alcohol obviously. Zunair takes the flask from Saturn before drinking half of the liquid contents that was stored inside.

"Not particularly a rum fan, but it will do. Thanks," Zunair smiled before handing the flask back to Saturn. He could feel the slight burn of liquid settle in his stomach, leaving a warm feeling.

"And you said peers? Aren't you like, OLDER," Zunair smirked as he intensified the last word. "Anyway, you should consider yourself special, I like my men older," Zunair announced with a wink towards the blonde before following the two that was leading their way to Mrs. Claus's shop. Zunair usually didn't act like this but maybe it was the holiday spirit getting to him, or maybe he was still slightly intoxicated from the night before. Who knows and who cares?

As the group made their way to their first destination, Saturn decides to take it upon himself to, once again, mind control the crowd into singing made up Christmas carols. Zunair thoughts were basically that Saturn is asking for his feelings to get hurt. Maybe he has kink. He has a degradation kink. That can be the only explanation. Luckily for the blonde, Zunair was willing to play that role.

"Clearly you aren't a lyricist. Didn't think it couldn't get worse than the last performance you put on but here I am, surprised." Zunair openly says with a deadpan look towards Saturn before giving him a few seconds to digest what he said before Zunair curling his lips into a grin.

A few moments later, the group has arrived at the shop, and it was a sight indeed. Not only was it a fucking mess, but Mrs. Claus was also too. She was screaming, throwing shit, scaring the littles. Having a complete meltdown honestly. A small laugh couldn't stop itself from escaping his lips. The big red lady looked feral and that was the best part of this day. Well, Saturn decided he was going to try and say something to her but stopped midway through as if something hurt him. He is honestly weird. 

Finally, Jun spoke out about how they had the contingency plan and the crazed-Mrs. Claus calmed down only a little as he saw relief take over the once anger look that she had. Good, good. Everything was settling out. The next part Zunair just blocked out of his mind because he didn't really care what was going on. Mrs. Claus basically did a lot of talking and summoned them some sleighs. Awe, he was actually disappointed. He wanted to get to know his ninja folk. Maybe get drunk with them. Oh well. 

Zunair just stood there like a statue as the littles were working their hardest to get the presents into the sleighs. Zunair wanted to help but he ain't getting no coin from doing all that extra lifting, so doing what he does best, he started rummaging through the shop for alcohol. He was a fiend, and he needed his fix. So, as everyone else is busy he actually found a bottle, THANK YOU, MRS. CLAUS. Vodka, his favorite; however, it was peppermint flavored. Fuck, but it'll do.

Returning to the group, he saw that everything was finalized, and they were prepared to set off. But of course, before a few soothing words from his comrades. Ban told them to sober it. Well, she goin' to be in for a rude awakening when they get back, especially since Saturn had been drinking before they even got there. Plus, she called them girls and Saturn did not like it. Zunair was sure it hurt her feelings when she was manliest one out of all four of them.

"I guess I'll go to the volcano country," Zunair opened rolled his eyes at the thought of going there. Isn't that where those hideous creatures come from? The ogres. What an abomination. Can't believe he actually volunteered for that country, but it is what is.

"I'll do my best dear, maybe I could be rewarded for being good, tonight," Zunair seductively said to Ban before blowing her kiss as he got into his sleigh which were led by Blixen and Dasher. Turning his head to look at Jun before saying, "see you soon," and giving him a wink then setting off for his destination.