John stood by the elevators, munching on a cookie while he waited for other guests to arrive.
After the incident with Alphy... And after making sure that Rin calmed down from seeing how cute Aurora was, John left everyone to their own devices.
Which meant that the girls were gushing about how adorable John's baby daughter was, but that was fine with him.
In the back, John could see Titor going around and messing with his magitech to create new decorations, but it seemed that guy was behaving.
So that left John standing around without much to do at the moment since everything was set up.
Well, they were still missing proper food, but Zhaojun, Daji, and Xuannu were going to swing by with those in a bit.
John pulled his phone out to check the time and go over the party schedule again.
It was still early. Just around nine o'clock.
The plan was to officially start off with the gift unwrapping around ten, so there was another hour. And he told everybody to get here a bit early, so that meant people should be showing up any-
*ding*
-minute.
One of the elevators opened, revealing Betty and Emily... Wearing matching clothes?
Betty wore a cozy-looking gray sweater paired with some snug jeans and furry gray boots.
Emily wore the same outfit. And the exact same outfit too, since her sweatshirt looked a size too big on her and the jeans were a bit loose.
Both of them were carrying gift bags with various colorful presents peeking out from inside.
After the bit with Alphy, John had a feeling he knew what that implied seeing those girls like that.
But he decided that it wasn't worth the trouble thinking about at the moment. So instead, he smiled and waved. "Betty!" He walked over and held his arms out to giver her a hug.
Betty smiled back and walked over, hugging John. "Father. Merry Christmas."
John patted Betty's back and then stepped away. After that, he looked over at Emily and nodded. "Merry Christmas to you, Emily. Thanks for coming."
She let out a bright smile and said, "Same to you, Betty's Dad! And thanks for having me!" Emily took a look around and said, "I kind of missed being home, but seeing all the Christmas decorations makes me feel like I never left. It's great!"
"I'm glad to hear it." John nodded and gestured towards the tree. "You can leave the presents there for now. We'll sort the gift exchange out when everyone's here. In the meanwhile, take your time enjoying the Christmas cheer. We've got cookies, milk, eggnog, and a bunch of other fun Christmasy exhibits scatter around."
"Ooh, cookies?!" Emily tugged Betty's arm and said, "Let's go get some, Betty!"
Betty smiled and followed Emily's lead. "You are far too excited for some simple cookies."
"They aren't just cookies, Betty! They're Christmas cookies! And eggnog too! And... Is that Frosty the Snowman over there?! Let's take a picture!"
John watched Betty get dragged away by her... friend? Friend. Anyway, he watched Betty leave with Emily before smiling.
It was good to see Betty loosen up a bit and relax like that. Even if John still wasn't sure exactly what his now independent daughter was up to with her personal life. But he wasn't going to be one to pry, so long as she was happy. And it definitely seemed like she was happy, so-
*ding*
Another chime. From the other elevator this time.
John looked over to see four familiar girls step out, dressed to the tee in formal gown and attire.
Yuri stepped out first, wearing a shimmering golden dress with white snowflakes. Her long blonde hair had been braided into a fancy side ponytail and her usual harsh expression was softer, hesitant. Instead of confidently striding out, she timidly stepped out, holding a giftbag in front of her almost like a shield.
Next was Chihiro. Like Yuri, she wore a fancy dress, hers a midnight blue with silver snowflakes. Her usual crimson glasses had been swapped out with a sleek pair with a black frame. That, matched with the way her dark hair fell behind her in soft curls gave her the appearance of an aloof princess, emerging for her first dance.
After Chihiro, Shu and Suzume stepped out together, appearing almost like a couple.
Shu didn't wear a dress like the other girls. Instead, she donned a sleek black suit with flared coat-tails paired with matching pants and shiny black dress shoes. A complete formal attire that, paired with her short hair, made her look like a bishounen instead of her usual tomboy look.
As for Suzume, she wore a pure white dress with lacy sleeves that looked like snowflakes stitched together. Her flaming orange hair was styled in a tidy French twist and held together with a pair of ivory chopsticks. A blend of Western and Eastern style.
John blinked and then slowly waved at the girls. "Good morning?"
Yuri reacted first and blushed. "M-Merry Christmas, Mister John. W-We brought presents for your new daughter!"
Chihiro rolled her eyes and said, "You don't need to be so shy, Riri."
Yuri glared at Chihiro, but then she remembered about John and quickly looked away, her ears turning red.
Shu raised a small wrapped gift box she carried with her and said, "Merry Christmas and congratulations!"
Suzume raised the giftbag she was carrying as well and nodded. "Yes! Blessings upon you and your family at this joyous time, Mister John!"
John smiled and said, "Thanks everyone. But, um..." He stared at their dresses again and said, "...You know that this was a casual party, right? Not that I don't appreciate dressing up, but it wasn't necessary."
Silence.
And then Yuri slowly turned to Chihiro.
"What?" Chihiro shrugged. "Best to make a good first impression, right?"
Yuri's gaze turned sharp. And it looked like she was seriously considering smacking Chihiro in the face. But then she let out a deep sigh and shook her head. After that, she looked at John and said, "Where should we put these, Mister John?"
John had to admit, Yuri had made a lot of progress.
Considering the fact that she chased him down just for making some ramen in the past, seeing her forcefully calm herself down was impressive. Enough that John was happy for her.
Especially since that meant her streaming life would get a lot easier in the future.
After all, the chat loved getting under the streamer's skin if they could. Not to mention all the clippable moments as a result.
But anyway...
John waved towards the Christmas tree and said, "Just place them there. After that, hang around, enjoy the treats, and have fun exploring the sites. Titor helped set things up too, so there should be some cool things to play with."
Suzume looked around the room and said, "And your new daughter?"
Of course.
John chuckled and pointed over to where Yue was still being surrounded by the other girls and said, "She's over there with my wife. But it looks like you'll have to wait in line."
Suzume looked over and smiled. "That is fine with me. Shu? Will you come with?"
Shu nodded and said, "Sure! I wanna see how cute Mister John's new baby is anyway."
With that, Shu and Suzume headed off towards Yue.
Chihiro hummed and eyed up the platters of cookies stacked in the distance. "...I suppose a cheat day is fine, right? It is Christmas..." Mumbling that to herself, Chihiro headed off towards the treats.
That left Yuri. She watched her friends leave and then sighed. "Well... I guess I'll go look around a bit." She looked at John and said, "Gifts by the tree, right?"
"Yep."
Yuri nodded and then walked off.
Leaving John standing awkwardly alone by the elevator doors again.
"...Maybe I should have planned this better."
Now that he thought about it, standing by the elevators to greet everyone over and over again was a bit redundant. And having them come down via elevator was weird too.
He really should have taken a closer look at the real estate Bai planned to invest in. A reception hall would have been better... Actually, a proper house would have been ideal. This was replicating the feel nicely enough, but it was still a bit weird overall...
*ding*
Another chime. A new set of guests arriving via elevator.
John shook his head to focus and then waited for the new arrivals.
And then he had to do a doubletake.
First, because the elevator was packed to the brim with people.
Second, because there were a lot of familiar faces in that crowd. Faces that shouldn't be in this world.
A blonde 'soldier.' A towering man with flowing silver hair that was said soldier's fated enemy.
A person with spiky white hair and steely gray eyes that was definitely a certain defender of justice.
Then there was a Western special agent standing next to an Oriental spy that both looked like the ones who came from a world where the undead roamed the land.
Third...
"Yo, Boss! Merry Christmas!"
...Maji and the other yakuza legends were standing in the middle of the group, each dressed in Santa outfits and carrying bags stuffed with gifts over their shoulders.
John blinked and then let out a sigh.
Note to self: Do better planning in the future when inviting a lot of people over.