Peter didn't expect to be having his Christmas break on Heiya Island. To a great degree, he expected to have his Christmas break at home with his folks, his bond mate, his younger siblings, and that he and his friends would contribute to their good deeds campaign for those that needed help. Some of the biggest part of that was in finding help for Topanga with the Green Sea Turtle that had been uplifted off Mexico after getting caught up in a bag of cocaine that had been floating in the water. And that had ultimately worked out well, with the Green Sea Turtle, Turquesa, returning to Mieni with Topanga and Lexia. He wished them well and hoped that things would quiet down, only to then get the news that his parents, Carl and Fran, would be taking the family to Heiya Island for Christmas break.
"You really didn't have to do this," Peter said to his parents as he walked with Mara down one of the hallways at the airport, "I mean Christmas is coming up... well..."
"We all like it," Fran commented, "we just thought that after what happened at UNLV interrupting all that you were working on for finals and all that... that... something more... distant might be in order."
Peter remembered that. Some time prior to the Christmas break, there had been a mass shooting incident on the UNLV campus, and while Peter, his friends, and the other Animalians attending the college were not present at the site, they did have to evacuate as per the security protocols that were put in place. It was something that then disrupted everything going on at the college and was stressful. To a degree, Peter could understand his parents wanting to set up something a bit more comfortable, as while he'd gained a fair amount of muscle when he became a Box Turtle Animalian, neither his muscle nor his shell made him bulletproof.
"And they have all the martial arts masters here," Carl added, "It might be something where you could find out how they're going to handle the "Year of the Dragon" competition next year."
"And we can learn a bit about their local holiday here," Mara commented, taking Peter by the arm, "after all... from some of the Animalia Ambassadoria videos providing some cultural information for American viewers... they have something that has some similarity to how we view Christmas in terms of being with family. Not to mention a shot to see this new island... and maybe even give them some help before we have to go back at the end of Christmas break."
Peter accepted that and they moved along. As they made it to the area where they would collect their luggage with his siblings moving along between the two pairs of Fran and Carl and Peter and Mara. It made for a quiet walk, though Peter thought he heard the word "kawaii" from some of the workers at the various checkpoints and parts of the airport, and it seemed to be aimed toward Peter's younger siblings. They'd hatched during Animalia's second year, and they were now at the point where they'd start to be entering school at WSA. In comparison to their bodies, their heads and eyes were a bit bigger, which fit in with their young age. The long-sleeved sweatshirt and jeans that were there under their shells added to one of the images of their own strength. From time to time, Peter had noted that Mara and her sisters often fawned over his siblings as well, so it wouldn't be impossible that others to find his younger siblings cute as well.
They picked up their luggage and then made their way out. There were some repetitions of the word "kawaii" as they made their way from the airport toward the main hotel on the island. Though, this time, a crowd began to form as some young kids and teens, many of whom were those rescued as part of the Interpool operations against some of the gangsters, cults, and other related groups that in the past had kidnapped children and abused them for some other purpose. Those that had surviving family after their rescue were largely returned to their family, but many of those that didn't have surviving family had remained on Heiya Island. Some became Animalians and some didn't, but many had heavily adopted a fandom for Japan's "culture of cuteness," and thus the sight of a group of young Box Turtle Animalians dressed in their own winter and Christmas gear triggered that. The large bag that held the family's Christmas gifts that Carl was carrying and had resting over his shoulder also raised some element of curiosity.
"Uh... we mean no harm... and are just here for bit of a vacation for our Christmas break," Carl said slowly as the group of rather excited looking kids and teens had almost pinned them against one of the outer walls to the hotel. Fran gave a heavy frown when she noticed that one of the older teens was looking at her husband's waist but kept her hands on her youngest while Peter and Mara tried to provide something of an added shield, just in case there was some kind of fan rush toward the younger members of the family.
"We'll help!" said one in Japanese.
"And give hugs," said another in Chinese while looking to Peter's younger siblings.
Peter heard the word "kawaii" get said over and over again. This only made him wonder how far this thing would go. As, while his younger siblings were indeed cute, it wasn’t proper to mob them, and as he looked back over his shoulder, he noted they were wide eyed and clutching at Fran’s legs. Even if this group had no hostile feelings, there was still a lot of people there and in a manner that his siblings probably weren’t used to. He was a bit unsure as to what to do when a firm voice cut in made all heads turn.
“That is enough, young ones,” came a firm, but feminine voice, “we are to be gracious hosts, not an unruly mob of fangirls.”
They turned to see a lone Artic Fox Animalian standing there in more traditional Japanese attire, which colored threads sewn into the cloth to look like flowers. Carl and Fran didn't recognize her, but Peter did.
"Aiko!" Peter gasped, "you're monitoring this lot?"
"That is not my job," Aiko answered as she looked to the group that was gathered around, "though, I will say that their behavior, from what I've been told has also greatly improved from when many were first rescued..."
"They're cute!" one spoke, "look at the cute round eyes..."
"I'd want to love them all!" another spoke.
"And it is fine to be friendly, but not to make people uncomfortable," Aiko answered, "particularly when they've likely just arrived."
This got the group of "fans" to back up a bit and the sound of some of the others coming indicated that those who were more responsible for helping this group "recover" were on their way. That put Fran and Carl at greater ease, though Fran kept her hands to her youngest as they hugged at her legs. Fran also then noticed that many of this group of fans seemed to now notice some of her youngest hatchlings having some sense of fear at the crowd and how quick they'd come up. From there, those fans began to look a bit guilty.
"Sorry," one said.
"We only wanted to be friends," another added.
That was ultimately enough to give the small group of Box Turtle Animalians the room to relax a bit. They wouldn't press any charges and were thankful that the group of fans were friendly and when they did get the time to stop and think, they recognized the mistakes made.