Sabaku no Temari | 10 | [In Person]

[suna_bitch]

[Anyone in Times Square will notice Temari wandering around aimlessly, very thankful for the coat that Gokudera had given her. Well, that and the new clothes that she'd purchased to integrate a little better with the general population....okay, a skirt isn't that great for cold weather so she invested in pants and a more suitable shirt.

She didn't quite understand the credit card given to her, just that she swiped it like other people did and she was given things. She'd bought a few small things, not sure if she was going to keep any of it, but mostly as an effort to see if it worked for anything that she decided to purchase.

Stopping close to the tree, she stared up at it, completely fascinated by the lighted tree.]

Comments

[suna_bitch]

[Recognizing Gokudera without even having to turn to him, she shifted her bags to one one gloved hand, shoving the other into her pocket. She may have gone a little over the top buying clothes, but she got enough to get her through winter and some replacements for when it was warm again. She doubted that she'd ever use some of the other things she bought, but perhaps Ran would love some of it.

Maybe one of the necklaces that she bought? ...it was either that or a hot cocoa maker.

Finally looking over to Gokudera, she couldn't help but think that this was just a waste of manpower. What if they were attacked? Who would defend them while they had so many people working of decorating the tree?]

What's the point? I fail to see the reasoning in such a waste of space.

[andsuddenlydynamite]

[He laughed a bit, yeah he thought it was a pretty big waste of space and effort too, but most people he knew in Europe didn't really expect much better from America.]

To look pretty. It's a holiday thing. Not as common where I'm from in Italy- too hot for trees like this to grow, but we still celebrate the same holiday... sorta.

[He exhaled a lungful of smoke from his cigarette, taking his eyes off the giant tree in front of him to smile over at Temari.]

Today is actually La Festa di Santa Lucia in Italy... doesn't look like they're celebratin' it though. Otherwise there would be a bunch of food and festivals and stuff.

[suna_bitch]

...To look pretty?

[After everything she'd heard about this 'Christmas', it seemed that every new thing she learned just took away from the original purpose. The tree and gifts just seemed to be superficial.]

This is a pointless holiday. I thought it was supposed to be about a baby or something...if gifts are such a custom, why doesn't everyone just give presents to the baby?

[She understood that it was an excuse to spend time with family and friends, but why would there be a holiday for that? When she wanted to spend time with Gokudera, she just knocked on his door...she didn't need a day to tell her to go do that.]

[andsuddenlydynamite]

[He laughed a little]

Well yeah, there's a big religious part to it, but the tree is some other weird thing entirely. The holiday is about the birth of some savior come to die for the sins of humanity and open up the gates of heaven in the afterlife. In Italy we usually put up naivety scenes, with the baby and all that shit. Since Italy is more closely connected to the actual religios aspect of it. Rome actually occupied the whole area all this shit supposedly happened in some two-thousand years ago. Before the Roman Empire fell apart it made Christianity it's main religion... then sort of fell apart and receded into what is now Italy, and became our capital city. So it kind of became this big thing since Rome had pretty much taken over the whole Mediterranean area and then some of Europe. Then a bunch of uptight religious butt-munches from England made there way over here a couple hundred years ago once the religion got all weird and messed up, and somehow brought decorating trees into it. There's supposed to be some saint related to the holiday too. Italy is more classical about it, but over here it's some big fat guy that comes down chimneys and gives good kids presents under their tree.

[And that, Temari, is the meaning of Christmas... abridged.]

Thing is, this country became a major world power so bits and pieces of what they do to celebrate shit here makes it's way over to Europe. In bigger estates like my old man's you'll find Christmas trees and stuff, but he just liked puttin' on a show.

[while he didn't want to admit it, he did enjoy that tree as a kid...]

I think it's all a bunch of stupid shit though. I haven't really celebrated any of it since I ran away... it's not too bad I guess. I mean, I'm more familiar with this than I am the Japanese holidays, even if it's still pretty different in Italy.

[he lets out a lungful of smoke from his cigarette.]