A/N: Considering when I'm posting this here, this is quite late, but happy holidays to all you lovely KKM fans! Let's make every day a holiday, okay? Here's my gratuitously cute holiday epic. Okay, maybe not quite epic, but it's longer than you'd expect. I just wanted to write about everyone, because I love them too much. This takes place before the end of season two, as Yuuri can't move between worlds on his own. Please look the other way and pretend that Effe should be there. Some Yuuri/Wolfram and a few other slightly implied ships! Enjoy.

A Very Shin Makoku Krismass, or: "I Told You, It's 'Christmas!'"

Chapter 1: Deck the Halls

Although many castle guards gave him startled looks as he brushed past them through the halls, Günter paid them no mind. He marched forward with a determined stride, his long locks and billowy robes trailing behind him. He was the absolute portrait of grave regality. Every flowing hair was somehow perfectly in place, despite the fact that his pace stated with no room for doubt that time was of the essence for him.

He flung the undecorated wooden door to the kitchens open with one smooth motion, sending it flying against the stone wall. The four maids, who had been sitting around the center table within, promptly stood at attention, each fixing her skirt or hair nervously. "Lord von Kleist!" Doria cried out, causing a successive chorus down the line as each girl realized just who had burst in.

"Good afternoon," said Lord uttered hastily, as if only remembering formalities existed just then. "I have an important task to charge you with, for our very nation... nay, for our King himself!" he proclaimed directly after, with no more time spared for small talk.

The four moved in unison to salute, their backs held as straight as they could manage.

Günter smiled, looking satisfied with their reaction. Posing a hand outwards dramatically to point at the group, he declared, "I need you to create a Krismass Cake!"

Although Sangria and Lasagna exchanged confused glances, no one dropped from their salutes, remaining still and silent.

"What's the delay?" Günter asked, entirely in earnest.

Little Effe was the first one to fidget. "Excuse me, Lord von Kleist," she started shyly, "but what is a... Krismass Cake?"

"Well," Günter coughed, casting his gaze aside and pausing for a moment. After some thought, he looked back to the staff and continued with what sounded like total confidence, "It is a 'festive cake,' naturally!"

This time, each girl tilted her head in confusion. "A cake for a festival, you mean?" Lasagna offered, sounding uncertain.

"Precisely," Günter nodded.

"I didn't think there was a festival coming up," Doria mumbled, as if to herself. Sangria nodded, humming thoughtfully.

"But of course there is!" Günter cried out, passion in his eyes. "By the end of this moon, it shall be our treasured new festival, taken right from the divine homeland of His Majesty..." here he paused for dramatic effect, before booming out, "Krismass!"

The maids all gasped in unison, if only because it was a part of the script they knew Günter wanted to act out. "Krismass!" they all repeated, sounding amazed, before Effe followed with, "What is this 'Krismass' festival, though?"

"How fortuitous that you have asked," Günter replied with a delighted smirk. "It is a celebration of Winter and the spirit of love and gift-giving! Truly a festival noble in character, as expected of our sublime Majesty's world!"

"How lovely," Lasagna sighed, and the others nodded with small smiles.

Nodding emphatically, Günter continued, "Quite! And one part of this grand festival is the eating of the Krismass Cake. It is an essential part of the Krismass experience, eaten on the night before-Krismass Eve!"

Although three of the maids looked quite delighted still with this new excuse to celebrate, Effe furrowed her brows, still puzzled. "How is it different from a regular cake?" she asked, reluctantly ready for whatever otherworldly culinary mystery awaited her.

Günter looked caught only for a second, before he stiffened his shoulders and spoke as if reciting. "As I said before, it is 'festive.' And, I believe, a particularly proper Krismass Cake contains a surprise gift somewhere in the cake. The one blessed enough to receive the piece with the present is said to be granted eternal happiness!"

Sangria, Lasagna, and Doria all shared looks of excitement at the prospect of a cake with everlasting joy baked into it. Only Effe remained troubled. "A present... within the cake? That will be a challenge... what sort of present?"

"Something of value, as I understand it," Günter stated, as if it actually answered the question.

"Okay..." Effe reluctantly nodded, deciding to work something out on her own later. "And, what about the 'festive' part? Are there any symbols for this festival that I should put onto the cake?"

"An excellent plan!" Günter exclaimed with a flourish. "The primary symbols include... red, green, trees, and rheindier!"

"Rheindier?" the maids blinked back in confusion.

"They are majestic creatures from His Majesty's world! They seem to be some sort of flying horse-like creature, but with impressive, large horns."

Effe looked seriously distressed. "Perhaps... it would be alright if I left the rheindier out of the cake?" she asked hesitantly.

Although he appeared to consider it for a moment, Günter ultimately nodded. "You're absolutely right," he said. "It would be over-crowded and gaudy to include them on the cake as well."

The same thought flashed through all four of the girls' minds then: ...As well?

"Thank you, Your Excellency," Effe dipped into a curtsy, her head bowed politely. A chorus of voices joined her belatedly as the other maids followed suit.

"Very well," Günter stated with an approving smile. "I'll leave you to your work."

And, with one last flourish as he shut the door behind him, the state advisor was gone.

~*~* Merry Krismass*~*~

"What!? What's Christmas!?" Yuuri gaped, before gulping when he saw the nearly ravenous look in his tutor's eyes. Hurriedly, he took in a deep breath before he began rambling, "I didn't mean anything by that, I just, all I meant to say was that it's getting so cold here, that it feels like it should be Christmas soon. It's a holiday. I mean... all Christmas is, is a day when you give a gift to your girlfriend and go on a date, I guess. But I've never had one, so, well... yeah, I guess all I've ever done is eat a Christmas cake with my mom on Christmas Eve. Oh, well, a Christmas cake... it's just a festive cake, you know? Oh! But there are also those, um, well, in Europe I think, they have Christmas cakes where you bake a surprise into the middle somewhere. And if you get the piece with the present in it, it's super lucky! Yeah, I guess, it's only in Japan where Christmas is only celebrated so little, though..."

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

The hay scattered over the ground made an odd sound that was simultaneously wet and crunching beneath Günter's otherwise pristine boot heels. He paid no mind to anything undignified about it as he practically stormed into the stables, his hair splaying out dramatically as he turned his head back and forth in search of something.

"Dacascos!" he called out as soon as he'd found his target.

The soldier-turned-manservant had been knelt at Ao's feet, cleaning off the horse's hooves. He abruptly dropped the brush he'd been using, jumped to his feet, and stood at attention. "Lord von Kleist!" he practically squeaked.

"Dacascos," Günter repeated, his voice shrill. "I have a task of utmost importance for you."

He let the statement hang in the air for a moment, during which Dacascos only trembled slightly.

"We have before us a season of great celebration and festivity," Günter proclaimed with an air of great seriousness. "And for that sake, I have charged Anissina with the creation of..."

The dramatic pause was so extended this time that Dacascos hesitantly piped in, "The creation of...?"

Pleased with the audience participation, Günter obligingly answered while raising one arm in a theatrical pose. "Krismass Lights!"

"Krismass Lights!" Dacascos repeated, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"I've just received word that she has made a breakthrough with the invention," Günter sniffed. "And I charge you with assisting her in spreading the cheer throughout the castle!"

Although he looked positively miserable at the prospect of being in direct contact with an invention of Anissina's, Dacascos obediently saluted the Lord. "Y- yes, Your Excellency!" he cried. His feet were immediately in motion, ready for the march down to the famed inventor's workshop.

"One more thing," Günter called from behind him, taking an extra stride across some stalls of horses.

Dacascos turned on one heel to face him again, falling back into salute.

"And you mustn't breathe a word of this..."

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

"In other countries? It's a much bigger celebration, I guess? I don't really remember too well, but my mother says that in America while we were there, everywhere in the city was covered in Christmas lights the whole month leading up to it. Oh, Christmas lights? They're... they're these blinking strings of lights, I think they're usually either white or red and green. Oh yeah, red and green are the colors of Christmas! And everyone sings, 'Deck the Halls' and all! Um, deck the halls... it's about decorating them, with like, Christmas lights... that's all..."

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

Gwendal was not having a good day. This was not a particularly rare phenomenon, in all fairness, but this day was an especially awful day. For one, as he'd been traversing the halls between the dining room and his office, he'd run into Dacascos as the man hastily flung himself from adjoining corridors not just once, but twice. On the second instance, he had stood himself back up, saluted, and informed His Excellency that Lord von Kleist requested his permission at an important meeting. Gwendal's head was already throbbing with the onset of a migraine, but nevertheless he walked at full stride through the halls again, prepared to deal with whatever nonsense Günter considered urgent. The King had gotten himself transported back to his own world again, so as the current head of the State he had a mountain of work to attend to even without the dramatic advisor's idea of pressing business.

He barely had time to blink after turning down the corridor towards Günter's office before a round object came flying right into his face, falling in an arc from the ceiling. It was so perfectly aimed that it almost seemed to be calculated. The force was not quite enough to knock him over, merely leaving him dazed for a few seconds before his vision focused again, and he got a good look at the object now hanging directly in front of his nose. It was a glowing red orb, sprinkled with little glimmering flecks of silver.

"F- forgive me, Your Excellency!" a voice that was starting to get all too familiar cried out from down the hallway. Gwendal swiped the orb from his field of vision with the back of a hand, bringing a terrified Dacascos into view. He was looking down from on top of a ladder, a similar orb clutched in his hands.

"Dacascos," Gwendal growled as he strode towards the unfortunate servant. "Anissina is responsible for this, correct?"

Although it was phrased like a question, there wasn't a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Dacascos gulped, his arms twitching as if longing to salute his superior even while they held the orb in them. "Y- yes, Your Excellency," he stuttered. "Lady von Karbelnikoff has invented this system. It's named," he paused for a second, before continuing in a higher pitched voice, "Mr. Deck-the-Halls Number 5!"

Gwendal didn't even want to know what Numbers 1 through 4 had been like. He had too many memories of Anissina shrieking "A failure!" for his liking already. "I don't have time to deal with this right now," he snarled, turning his head aside. "I'll have a word with her later."

Paying no mind to any other cries coming from the terrified servant, Gwendal hurried down the corridor. The unfortunate doors to Günter's office soon met with the tremendous force of his arms, as he flung them open and stormed in without a word. He let his glare speak for itself, as it landed on none other than Lord von Kleist himself. He didn't even have the decency to look frightened by Gwendal's ire anymore, however. In fairness, his glare did soften considerably without his consent once he noticed that little Greta was seated at the end of the council table, swinging her short legs absently. As a matter of fact, most of the important figures in the castle were present-Conrart was leaning against the wall by the back, one idle hand on the hilt of his sword, Anissina was seated beside Greta with a steaming cup of tea, Lady Cäcilie was quietly chatting with the princess from across the table, and even Wolfram, his arms crossed primly, was resting against the bookcase, pouting ever so slightly.

"Gwendal!" Günter exclaimed as soon as he'd entered. "Now that you're here, we can begin, I believe?"

There was a general murmur of assent across the room. Gwendal refused to acknowledge him at all, his brow merely twitching in annoyance.

"Very well," Günter continued, standing from his chair in one fluid motion. His hair flared about his form dramatically. "I've gathered you all here today to explain to you a very important new holiday that we will be celebrating here in Shin Makoku for the first time this year!"

"I don't recall approving this," Gwendal grumbled under his breath.

Although he spared a second to cast a glare in Gwendal's direction, Günter prattled on without otherwise acknowledging him. "We will, at the end of this moon, celebrate our first annual festival of..."

An expectant silence fell upon the room, as Günter looked around with eager eyes, hoping to see the anticipation on everyone's faces. To his disappointment, he was mostly met with ambivalence, with the exceptions of Lady Cäcilie and Greta, who actually were genuinely excited.

"Krismass!" he exclaimed eventually, extending one arm towards the ceiling.

"Krismass!" Cäcilie cried out, sounding delighted, her hands clapped together.

Across from her, Greta repeated, "Chris... mas?" sounding equal parts confused and enthused.

Gwendal pinched the bridge of his nose tightly, shutting his weary eyes. "And what," he drawled, barely even wanting to ask, "is this... Krismass?"

"Krismass," Günter annunciated, his head held up high and one finger raised, in his full tutor form, "is the annual celebration of the spirit of love and giving. It serves to warm the hearts of the people during the cold Winter months! Ah, this divine and beautiful holiday comes from nowhere else but the land of His Majesty! What else could we expect from the country that raised our monarch to be so..."

While Günter started into his proclamation of the virtues of their King, Greta raised one hand as her daddy had recently taught her to when she had a question, and spoke up, "Um..."

Fortunately, Günter noticed her hand before he had gotten beyond "charming" in his list. He broke off, clearing his throat. "Yes, Greta?"

"What do we do, to celebrate," she paused before carefully forming the foreign word, "...Krismass?"

"An excellent question," the tutor smiled benevolently. "The primary event is an exchange of gifts, naturally. You present to your beloved one a present of exceptional meaning and personal value."

"How sweet," Cäcilie exclaimed, a dreamy look in her eyes. Although he rolled his eyes when his mother cast a meaningful look at him, Wolfram had undeniably stood up a bit straighter at Günter's words. Anissina chuckled softly, her teacup pressed to her lips, before taking a sip.

A bit offended for having been interrupted, Günter coughed before continuing, "And, for your acquaintances and family members, you procure stockings as gifts. Preferably, these exchanges all take place by an open fire and a Krismass tree."

"Stockings?" Greta asked, her head quirked to one side and her brows furrowed in confusion.

"An open fire?" Wolfram asked as he leaned forward, failing at looking disinterested.

"A Krismass tree?" Anissina asked, her eyes wide with interest.

"One question at a time, please," Günter said smugly, triumphant over having finally garnered enthusiasm for his holiday. "The exchange of stockings is an ancient custom from countries unfamiliar to even His Majesty! But, I can assure you that it is a time-honored tradition, and these stockings are an honor to receive. Only the well-behaved are bestowed with anything but oil, after all."

Gwendal scoffed when he noticed the pointed look sent in his direction. "I have use for neither stockings nor oil," he stated flatly.

"I wouldn't mind getting stockings!" Greta smiled, looking down at her kicking legs contemplatively.

"I'll get you a pair that will look darling with your newest dress, dear," Cäcilie offered warmly.

Interrupting the princess's exclamation of joy, Günter addressed the room once more, "As for Krismass trees, they are also a grand Krismass tradition. A grand pine tree stands tall at the center of the festivities, and is grandly lit up by the Krismass angel!"

"The Krismass angel?" Greta repeated, sounding amazed.

Wolfram frowned. "I've heard of these... angels," he spat out, almost disdainfully.

"Oh?" Günter looked at him with surprise. "His Majesty mentioned them to you?"

"It wasn't about this Krismass nonsense," Wolfram snapped. "When he was tired once, he just said something weird about me and this angel thing."

If Conrart was smiling with just a tiny bit more secret amusement than usual, no one but Gwendal noticed. He opted not to comment. It was probably one of those incomprehensible jokes he'd picked up during his time on Earth.

"Well, we can work out the issue of the Krismass angel at a later date," Günter replied thoughtfully, looking at Wolfram almost skeptically. "I merely wanted to inform everyone of the celebration that will be held at the end of this moon, in the main ballroom. We will feast and enjoy the Krismass lights, while exchanging presents with loved ones! It is truly a holiday filled with His Majesty's benevolent love..."

While Günter continued to extoll the wonders of their monarch's heart and home, Greta thoughtfully examined her hands, which were folded properly in her lap. Her mind was working furiously. It seemed obvious to her that she'd be getting a gift for Yuuri, but she couldn't work out what her father could possibly want. He was the King, after all, so all the resources of the country were at his fingertips. Nothing that could be bought, then, she decided straight away. She'd have to make something special...

Her musings were interrupted when Gwendal bellowed, "Enough! If that is all you have to say, I vote that we all leave now."

Günter hardly reacted to being so brashly cut off, and merely gestured leisurely to indicate that everyone was free to leave his office. Greta hopped off her chair and straightened her skirts absently. Without a word to anyone, Wolfram slipped out of the room, his chin held in his hand as if he were contemplating deeply. Conrart followed soon after, lips curved into an unadorned smile. For all the haste he'd displayed to leave, Gwendal only exited after making sure that he'd sent a glare to Anissina that conveyed the message: Do not think you are getting away with this 'Decking the Halls' trick.

"Shall we go, Greta?" Lady Cäcilie smiled down at her adopted granddaughter.

"Yeah!" Greta nodded excitedly, reaching up a hand to slip into Cäcilie's. "Who are you going to give a special present to, Granny Cäli?"

"Well, let's see..." Cäcilie's playful answer was cut off as the door closed behind the pair.

Günter looked expectantly at Anissina, the only remaining occupant besides himself. She remained seated, sipping at her tea with a faint smile. Nothing about her demeanor suggested any hurry to leave.

"Lady von Karbelnikoff...?"

When he finally spoke up, Anissina emphatically placed her teacup back down on the table. Her smile widening, she turned to him with a gleam in her eye. "We have matters to discuss... about this Krismass tree."

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

"I remember now! Foreign countries are all about Santa Claus. Oh, he's, um... he's this jolly nice guy, who goes around with his reindeer to all the houses, and puts presents under the Christmas tree! We don't have Christmas trees in our houses in Japan, but my mother loves the big one in the huge square in New York. She always wants to watch it light up on the TV. Oh, Christmas trees, well... usually they're super big pine trees, I think? You know, evergreens! And you light them up around Christmas time. Yes! There's the Christmas angel that lights them up from the top, I think. Actually, I played the Christmas angel once in a school play... no, nevermind about that. It's just a foreign story about Christmas Eve, I think. Nativi... I'm not sure. Wait, reindeer? They're like deer, and they have big antlers... well, the ones with Santa can fly, but no one actually takes that seriously anymore. The presents? Well, I'm only used to the way it is in Japan, where you get them for your girlfriend or whatever... but I guess they do it differently in Europe... Oh! I think the whole family hangs stockings by the fireplace! Yeah, stockings. And if you're bad, they put coal in your stockings instead of a present. Coal? You know, like the... the fuel. No, not oil really, but... Yeah, something like that..."

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~