'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring… except for maybe a martial artist.
"Hiiii-yah!"
Oh, on this silent and holy night, angry screams can be heard from the Tendo dojo.
16-year-old Akane Tendo has just split four cinder blocks in half with her knife-hand strike technique. She stood straight up to admire the perfectly sliced cinder blocks before her. She wiped off the sweat dripping from her forehead then continued on with her training. She was practicing her punches and kicks when all of a sudden, she heard a sweet, soft voice calling for her outside of the Tendo dojo.
"Akane!" Kasumi, her 19-year-old sister, called out as she slid open the dojo door. "Aren't you going to join us for our Christmas feast?"
Normally Akane would answer her respected older sister, but she didn't feel like it. She pretended she didn't hear her question and carried on with her practice.
Kasumi patiently waited for an answer then asked once more, hoping Akane would answer this time.
Akane put her training on pause then sighed. She just could not ignore her any longer. She respects her way too much to just simply ignore her.
"I… uh… I do not think I will." Akane hesitantly answered as she wiped down more of her sweat with the back of her hand. "I kind of want to stay here and practice my martial arts."
"Akane, it is rather cold in here. Don't you want to come inside where it's warm?"
"The sweat is keeping me pretty warm, thank you."
"Aren't you hungry at all? Dinner's almost ready."
"Look, Kasumi, as much as I love being around you guys, I rather not celebrate Christmas at all. It's just not for me."
Kasumi knew all too well the reason why she would rather not celebrate Christmas. As much as she hates bothering people to do what she wishes, she still persuaded.
"Akane… it would mean so much to me if you'd just eat with us. We miss seeing you around during Christmas." Kasumi said ever so gently. "Just this once would you try… for me?"
Akane hesitated for a moment then let out a defeated sigh.
"Alright… I'll join you guys as soon as I'm done here and with my shower."
The biggest smile spread across Kasumi's face. With that being said, she nodded and left Akane to do what she needed to do and headed back to the kitchen where she was cooking her festive meal.
Akane took a deep breath in and then out.
'This year will be different… right, mom?'
Akane had just finished taking her warm, steamy shower and headed straight for her room where she put on a cute red dress. As soon as she was finished dressing up, she went straight to the family room, where she and her family usually eat their dinner. As she was on her way there, she thought about her mom. She always thinks about her mom, but today especially.
It had been ten years since her mother passed away and it was on Christmas of all days. Ever since that fateful day, Akane never saw Christmas the same way again. It has been the same every single Christmas. Akane would be either stuck in her room or in the dojo like she was not too long ago.
'It's just so unfair how life just took her away… during the supposed most wonderful time of the year.'
Akane felt anger boil into her blood. Why did fate have to pick her mother out of everyone else in the world? Why her? What did life ever do to her that made it take away her beloved mother?
Akane stopped in her tracks realizing that she is getting herself worked up. She took a moment to take a huge breath.
'This is for Kasumi…' Akane thought as she eased up a bit.
She took another moment to be sure that she was fully calm, then walked right into the family room. Not even a second later of stepping in, her father joyfully screamed out, "Akane!"
He was acting as if he hadn't seen her for so many years. She does not blame him for being this excited though, it has been a decade since she last celebrated with her family. Akane greeted her father back with the best fake laugh and smile she could come up with.
"Oh, look who has decided to finally join us after who knows how long." Akane's 17-year-old sister Nabiki said in a sarcastic tone.
Akane decided to ignore Nabiki's sarcastic comment and sat down next to her father.
"I am so glad you're able to join us, Akane. We missed having you here with us." Akane's father said, almost in tears.
"Glad to be here too, dad," Akane said, trying to keep up her happy facade.
"Oh, I almost forgot Akane. You have to meet an old friend of mine," Akane's father said standing up from his spot on the ground. He walked out of the room for a moment and walked back in with someone else by his side. "Akane, I want you to meet Mr. Saotome. Saotome, my daughter."
"I-It's nice to meet you, Mr. Saotome." Akane said as she bowed her head as an introduction.
"It's finally nice to meet you, Akane," Mr. Saotome said as he bowed his head in return. "Tendo has talked my ear off about you the second you were born."
He then gave a light-hearted laugh that made Akane's dad laugh along with him.
"So where is that son of yours, Saotome? I'm sure Akane would love to meet him." Akane's father said as he sat back down on his spot.
"That boy… he was not able to make it this year. He's a little tangled up with other things at the moment." Mr. Saotome said as he took a seat next to his lifelong friend.
"Aww, well that's too bad. Looks like Akane will have to meet him next time, eh Saotome?"
"You know it, Tendo."
The two share another long laugh together.
Not too long after, Kasumi came in with the main course meal. "Dinner's ready!"
With that being said, they all settled down to eat.
Not soon after finishing their Christmas dinner, they played family games and watched a classic Christmas movie called "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Kasumi was sitting next to the radio listening to Christmas tunes while Nabiki was too busy texting who knows who. Akane's father and Mr. Saotome were crazy drunk off of Sake singing along to the song "Last Christmas" on the radio.
You'd think Akane was having a grand old time when in reality, she actually was not. She was not sad or grieving… she was… angry… disgusted. Just flat out furious. How dare her family to celebrate a holiday on the same day as her mother's death? Do they even care that it has been a decade? Are they even thinking about her? How dare they put on "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" when they knew how much the movie meant to her mother? Do they even realize how miserable she feels right now? A lot of these thoughts flew around in her head, but of course, she still kept the happy facade that no one really cared to notice. Akane could swear she felt the steam coming out of her head. She wanted to explode. She wanted Christmas to vanish for good.
Apparently, she was not really good at hiding her emotions because Kasumi noticed right away.
"Akane? Are you okay?"
That question alone was enough to set Akane off. Akane slammed her hands on the table, which startled everyone. Nabiki looked up from her phone screen and Akane's father and his friend startled emotions snapped the drunk out of them. The tears began to roll down her cheeks uncontrollably. They were hot tears of frustration. She could not contain herself any longer. She tried so hard, but they just would not stop.
"Akane…?"
"How… how could you guys…" Akane said under her breath, so quiet enough that no one could hear.
"Speak up, Akane, no one can hear through your pouting." Nabiki said as she rolled her eyes.
Akane looked up with fire in her eyes and repeated what she said but louder.
"How could you guys be happy on this day?! Don't you realize how stupid you all look?!"
"Akane…" Kasumi said gently.
"I'm sorry, Kasumi," Akane apologized, wiping tears off her face. "I tried, I really did. But I cannot be happy today. It just… it just seems like mom meant the most to me out of everyone else here."
"Akane, that is not true!" Kasumi said, raising her voice more than usual. "Mom meant something to everyone in this room. I'm sorry, but I think you're just feeling sorry for only yourself!"
Akane was taken aback. She has never heard Kasumi raise her voice like that ever before, not even talkback someone like that. She was so surprised that she did not have the courage to argue back. Kasumi realized what she just said to her younger sister. She covered up her mouth with her hand and ran out of the room.
"K-Kasumi, wait!" Akane yelled after her.
A flood of guilt washed all over her body. She felt like she ruined everyone's Christmas, especially Kasumi's when she was the one who brought her out here in the first place.
Nabiki let out a slight chuckle, not a very nice one either. "Leave it to Akane to ruin any family gathering we have."
"I… I didn't mean to… I just didn't want mom to—"
"Mom is dead, Akane, dead," Nabiki interrupted in anger. "Get that in your thick head of yours before you ruin Christmas even more."
Embarrassed by her own behavior in front of their new guest, she ran out and into her room. She felt so many emotions, but most of all, she felt ashamed. She has failed Kasumi, she's made Nabiki mad, and she bets her father is disappointed in her too. Akane slammed the door behind her and jumped onto her bed. She got into a fetal position and cried away all her tears onto her now soaked pillow.
'Mom… I wish you were here.'
Akane never noticed, but she has slightly fallen asleep on her soaked pillow. She never knew how much tears can really drain your energy. She looked at her alarm clock beside her bed. It was 11:00 P.M. No one came to check on her since she ran out.
'They all must be pretty mad,' Akane thought to herself. 'I don't blame them… I did ruin their Christmas after all.'
Akane was just about to lay her head back on the pillow when she heard a knock on her door.
Knock, knock, knock.
She sprang right out of her bed, hoping it would be Kasumi at the door. She opened it up only to find Mr. Saotome.
"Oh… hey Mr. Saotome."
"Hello, Akane."
"I… uh… I'm sorry about tonight. My behavior was unacceptable and I'm sorry if I ruined your Christmas."
"Oh, Akane, you do not have to worry about that. I knew how much your mother meant to you."
Akane avoided eye contact with him, still embarrassed by her behavior. She thought he was too kind to forgive her and her actions.
"Before I go, I just wanted to give you a gift."
"A… gift?"
Mr. Saotome nodded and dug through his bag. He took out a slightly messy gift-wrapped box and handed it to Akane.
"O-Oh… thank you, Mr. Saotome," Akane said, watching the gift closely. "A-Are you sure you want to give me a gift after my bad behavior?"
"Now don't you start with that, Akane," Mr. Tendo said followed with a heart-felt laugh. "It's Christmas now, come on. You don't have to punish yourself forever… people have their moments."
"Alright… thank you, Mr. Saotome."
"You're very welcome… take good care of it now. Have a Merry Christmas!"
Mr. Saotome walked away before Akane could ask what he meant by "take good care of it". What was in the box?
Akane nervously unwrapped the present and opened the box only to find a nutcracker. Akane smiled down at her gift. She's always wanted one ever since she was little. She would always add it to her wish list, but often it would get ignored by her family members because she was simply too "tomboyish" to own one. Underneath her tomboy features, she's always dreamed of being a princess with a prince by her side. She took a look at her little prince to notice that he has a cute pigtail and instead of a uniform, he had on Chinese style clothing. She adored him. He was different from the other nutcrackers, just like she was different from all the other girls. She held the nutcracker close to her chest. She placed the charming antique on her bedside table and gave him a peck on his wooden cheek.
"Goodnight… my prince."
With that said, she drifted off to a peaceful sleep… or so she thought.
To be continued...
(A/N: Alright guys, I know it ain't Christmas no more, but I had this story in my head for the LONGEST time and I had to get it right out of my system. I absolutely adore the Nutcracker story, but I wanted to change it up a bit to tie in with Ranma ½. I rewatched it lately and now I'm back in the fandom hell xD I really hope you guys like it!)