Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Samurai/Super Samurai. PRS belongs to Saban. .
Tiptoes in the Night
12:23 a.m.
There was not a single stir in the Shiba House. The usually-blank night seemed far more whimsical as the rangers indulged in their slumbers and subconsciously awaited Santa's arrival. The hallway was dark and dim, leaving a beautifully lit Christmas tree in the corner as the only source of light in the house. Soft snores and deep breaths rang throughout the corridor containing the rangers' rooms. Even Kevin, who was commonly found fiddling with his shinai this late in the night, suppressed his hunger for training and became submerged in his sheets.
12:25 a.m.
A rough hand wrapped itself around the doorknob of the calligraphy room, daring to leave the door open ajar. A pair of cautious eyes glanced into the hallway. There was nothing in sight. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally.
The door creaked menacingly a millisecond later. A grunt of frustration escaped his lips.
"Man, this thing needs some oil."
Mike's right hand was tightly yet shakily gripping a long, thin present box coated in Christmas-themed wrapping paper and laced with a yellow ribbon. A slip of paper was etched between the ribbon and the present, peeking out beneath some red and green confetti. As he stepped into the darkness, away from the solitary comfort of the calligraphy room, he made a mental note to himself to step with equilibrium and caution. He had a mission to complete.
Anything was bound to happen in the Shiba house.
12:26 a.m.
He took his first step. He felt like he heard the clock ticking faster than normal once he walked down the corridor and passed Kevin's room. Hastily he closed the door of his own room, but once he heard a voice emanating from Jayden's room, he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Yeah, sis… I wish you were here... It would have been your first Christmas with the team…"
He's talking to Lauren.
Mike smiled in relief and tiptoed away from the room. His bare toes graced the hard floor, gliding noiselessly over to the other side and flinching from the harsh cold. He made sure his hands didn't bump into anything and drop the present. It wasn't long before he found himself in the living room.
12:27 a.m.
"What are you doing?"
Mike's pulse froze. If it wasn't for his hand clasped involuntarily over his mouth, he would've yelled from sheer horror. It was Antonio.
How in the world can he see me in the dark?
"I'm talking to you, amigo."
He groaned in agony. It was all over. He would forever be known and teased for his midnight escapades. He wanted to hurl himself further across the main hall and move out of sight, but his bare feet stumbled over what felt like a human's leg, causing him to yelp. His body caught itself on the edge of the couch, drowning in darkness; he would've surely shaken the house awake.
"What are you doing with my fish?" the voice came back, this time in a more whiny tone.
Mike nearly had a heart attack until the word "fish" caught his ears. In the presence of the dim Christmas lights, he stared dumbfoundedly at the gold ranger, whose legs were spread out and whose body was drooped against the bottom of the couch. His Santa hat was leaning over the right side of his face.
"Give me back...my fish," the gold ranger mumbled in his sleep. He yawned and tossed his symbol power equipment off of the couch with his arm. Mike breathed a sigh of relief after making sure the gold's breathing turned back to soft snores.
"Can't he take a break from his tech stuff?! It's Christmas, for goodness' sake!"
12:31 a.m.
Mike grew pretty nervous but started again anyway. He carefully walked around the couch, ducking every time Antonio' snores got louder than his previous ones. He even took the initiative to let Antonio's Santa hat completely cover his sleeping face.
Perfect.
He swerved through the dining room, wincing as the stench of Mia's burnt chicken still lingered in the air and sabotaged his nose. The smell followed him all the way to the kitchen.
How does Kevin even attempt to eat this stuff? As crazy as he is about Mia…
Suddenly, he heard footsteps. His heartbeat began to race. There was no place to hide and no chance to escape back to his room. Hesitantly, he hurled himself into the pantry, cramming his body beneath the spare towels and kitchen utensils. He dragged the packages of flour in front of him, hoping for camouflage of some sort. Before he even realized that he forgot to close the closet door, he saw a dark robe swish by and buried his face deep in the spare linens.
I'm not gonna get caught. I'm not gonna get caught.
Through the darkness he could see Mentor's feet shuffling into the kitchen. Ji's hands felt for the refrigerator and paused briefly before it, grabbing a water bottle. Mike wanted to keep watch and hoped the master would leave as quickly as he came, but the forest samurai was welcomed by another not-so-pleasant surprise. The scuffling of tiny, furry feet awkwardly and horrifically greeted the young samurai's highly ticklish back.
"Don't tell me…Don't tell me…!"
-Eeeek!
The closet exploded with Mike's violent squirms milliseconds later, and it was a wonder as to how Mentor did not notice it.
-Eeeek!
Mike battled violently against the creature's agility. His hands kept grabbing the back of his shirt. He had the ability to take down boatloads of nighlok, but he was failing drastically in his skirmish against this furry friend.
Not gonna get caught. Not gonna get caught.
Mentor placed his water bottle back inside. He pulled his Santa hat down to cover his ears and almost ran into the pantry door. The dark kitchen showed no particular signs of a stir as Mike paused and whimpered through the hands wrapped around his mouth. He didn't even wince as the furry friend, hurriedly exiting from one of the many holes on Mike's shirt, managed to dip over an open bag of flour on top of the green ranger's head seconds after climbing up the pantry shelf.
-Eeeek!
"They never leave the pantry closed, do they?" Ji murmured gruffly. He slammed the door to a close, completely unaware of the green ranger's existence within the pantry's mini world. Mike felt his breath get sucked out of him as he tried un-cramming himself in such tightly enclosed space-with a furry friend. His shirt was covered with holes, and his body was besmeared with all purpose flour. Only his right hand, which held the present and miraculously remained intact all along, escaped fate's assault.
"I hate my life."
12:45 a.m.
The flour-bathed, mouse-ridden zombie known as Mike made its last efforts to sneak through the kitchen and enter the hallway with the girls' rooms. Flour dragged behind him and attempted to create a path leading to the girls' rooms, so the green ranger made the effort to shake the flour off of his body and continued onwards.
12:46 a.m.
Mike slowly pushed the door open. There was a creak loud enough to stir the beautiful yellow ranger immersed in her sheets, but it was quiet enough to prevent her from waking up. The wooden ceiling fan created a natural breeze that blew her blonde curls over her face and blocked her view. Mike took a look at his floury hands and back at Emily's face, which started to glow from the moonlight that started to peek in from the nearest window and highlighted her fair face. Blushing, he placed the present on the table next to her bed. He couldn't resist smiling as her lips involuntarily curved into a sleep-inspired grin.
"Merry Christmas, Emily…I-I love you…"
1:00 a.m.
The rangers were finally snug in their beds. There was no ranger left pondering through the night. Mike managed to sneak a shower into his midnight schedule. Still, it would be another few hours until Santa really comes. Emily's room still glowed brightly from the moonlight that peeked in, and eventually the light settled on the wavering piece of paper caught between the folds of the yellow ribbon on Emily's present.
I know Santa has a bunch in store for you, Em,
but I wanted my present to be the first thing you
wake up to and the last thing you think about
when you sleep. This flute won't ever be a replacement
for the one your sister gave you, but it does serve as a
companion when you need it most. Merry Christmas.
~Mighty Green